Let's get Carla back where she deserves to be, shall we?

Just a reminder that this fanfic was planned pre-Carla taking over the factory. I'll just call myself Mystic Chloe from now on.

This is only a blip for Carla and Peter, though I do love them rowing, and things might start to get a bit angsty between them as they continue to try to fight their feelings whilst being pissed off with each other over the next few chapters!

And just to quote another favourite TV show of mine: "Don't ever date a man who can't handle your P.O.W.E.R".

Let me know what you think!

Nick Tilsley clicked the Underworld office door closed, shutting out his wide-eyed, nosey workforce, including his suspicious younger sister. He turned to instead meet the intense gaze of his ex-wife. She was sat at her desk with her hands clasped on top of it, her expression serious though with a flicker of deviousness behind her eyes. Carla slotted into place in that chair like nobody else ever could; since Nick had made the brave decision for her to take back the controls whilst he took some time out, he had been reminded of the cutthroat, killer business acumen that had attracted him to her in the first place. Though there was no spark between them whatsoever five years on, he couldn't help but acknowledge how much she suited his business. Watching her with intrigue, he perched on the corner of his own office desk that had been left abandoned of late.

"Are you going to enlighten me on why I've been summoned, or are we playing a guessing game?" he asked. Carla narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips twinging into a faint smirk.

"Playing games is more your style," she shot back. Nick sucked in a sharp breath. He could never tell with Carla whether her sharp digs were merely banter or a stark reminded that their working relationship would never be what it once was, regardless of the truce they'd made in recent years.

"You do realise that I'm your boss and have the ability to sack you on the spot?"

"For now."

"Ah, so that's why you've dragged me in here. You're worried what's going to happen to your job when I hand over to somebody else." Nick had announced his imminent departure the previous day, having recently discovered that he was the father of a ten-year-old child and wanting to spend more time as a family man to make up for the years that he'd lost. Carla smirked.

"Please. Anybody with half a brain cell would keep me on here. Only reason you've got half your contracts is down to me," she replied. She hesitated for a brief moment, taking time to consider the perplexed expression plastered across Nick's face. She didn't know how he would react to the statement that she was about to make. "I'm not worried about my job because I've decided I don't want it anymore… I want yours." Nick's eyebrows shot up so fast that they almost disappeared into his hairline. "I want to buy your share."

"Carla… Are you sure?" he asked, frowning in confusion. He'd heard so many rumours about the goings on in Carla's personal life recently, from his sister as well as half of the girls on the factory floor, but Carla had yet to share anything with him yet, he supposed partially due to the fact that he was rarely present in the office these days. Carla gave a single nod.

"Deadly."

"Look… I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I've not had Sarah mouthing off at me about the recent development in the you and Adam saga," Nick continued, articulating his words with hand gestures that indicated Carla's stomach, wanting her to tell him about her pregnancy herself rather than confirm that he had been taking gossip as gospel, "You know… What you're going through."

"That I'm three and a half months pregnant, you mean?" Carla stated, bluntly.

"Have you actually thought this through, or is this a split-second decision you've made? I know how impulsive you can be."

"Nick, I want to build a legacy for my kid. Surely you of all people can understand that now?" She sighed, and she gave a small smile as she took in her surroundings. The factory had changed drastically in the fourteen years that she'd been involved in the business in one way or another, and she had literally had to build it from the ground up on more than one occasion, but it was so much a part of her that she wanted nothing more than to hand it down to her son or daughter when the time came, for them to reap the benefits of her years of hard graft and the difficult times that she'd forced herself to fight through. "This place, it's not just bricks and mortar to me. Underworld has been in my family for years, and I've got memories here that are irreplaceable. Yeah, the layout's changed and so have most of the staff, but when I look out there at those machinists, I can still see Paul, and Liam, and Aidan bossing them around and telling them what's what. They're not all good memories, but they're mine. I've built this place to be what it is. And that's something that I want my kid to be proud of in the future, you know, "Look at my mum, look what she's managed to do". And before you say it, this isn't a hormone thing. I know what I'm doing, I'll get someone in to fill my current role so that when the baby does come, I can take a step back."

"And the money?" Nick asked, warily, not entirely convinced by her story of the ghosts that haunted the shop floor.

"Don't worry about the money, it's not an issue."

"Carla, I've had other serious offers. I need to know that you're not just going to let me down at the last second, you've got form-"

"Nick, I said it's sorted and I meant it," Carla interjected, sternly, "I've got savings, the bank's willing to give me a loan to make up the bulk of it and I've spoken to Johnny. He's moved some things around."

"Johnny's okay with this?" Nick queried. He shuffled around the desk to find his office chair and sunk into his seat, before hitting some buttons on his keyboard and bringing up the sample contracts that had recently been drafted for him. He'd had conversations with Sarah, who had instantly pounced on him the minute that he'd announced that his share was up for sale, but she had already admitted that she was going to struggle to make her finances work. Initially, he'd been willing to wait until she was ready, but that was before an immediate offer had been on the table.

"Johnny gets it. This was our family business, and I've convinced him that it's not going to put me under too much pressure."

"And will it?"

"I could run this factory in my sleep. And to be honest, it'd probably be less stressful being in charge than it is watching you steer this place into an oncoming iceberg." Nick gave a chuckle at her response, knowing that in spite of her arrogant facade, Carla respected him as a businessman and appreciated how he had brought the factory back from the brink after the roof collapse a few years before. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and chewed on the inside of his cheek, skim-reading the contract on his screen, which stated that he'd been willing to sell to Sarah at a significantly lower price than his share was worth.

"We need to talk figures."

"Steady, aren't you meant to be a happily loved-up man these days?" Carla teased, habitually flicking her tongue across her upper lip as Nick gave an unattractive snort, "Nick, I know what this place is worth. Just get those contracts drawn up pronto, I can sign on the dotted line and transfer you the money by the close of play." Nick gave her a genuine smile along with a small, incredulous shake of his head. He found it almost humorous how their worlds had collided yet again in spite of everything that they'd been through together over the years.

"You know, if someone had told me five years ago that we'd be sat here like this now, I'd have laughed at them."

"We were getting married five years ago, so I hope me being pregnant with somebody else's kid would have got a bit better than a laugh out of you."

"I mean us being back to where we started. Here in the factory office, me with Leanne, you with Peter…"

"Me and Peter aren't together," Carla reminded him quickly, though as always the words sent a painful ache through her chest. Nick smiled.

"Give it time. Take it from someone who knows, it's amazing how much soulmates can get through together."

Shaking Nick's hand, Carla felt a wave of mixed emotions rush over her, which she could only assume were heightened by her off-balance hormone levels. She was thrilled that she would soon be back where she belonged at the front and centre of Underworld, she was relieved that she had made a reliable investment towards her child's future, and she was overcome by a sense of nostalgia and memories of the past - good and bad - that the factory always gave her, but she was also nervous. Was she making a rash decision to take on more responsibility when most mothers-to-be would be thinking about maternity leave? She tried to brush her worries aside, though, as she stepped out of the office to face the troops that she could finally call her own again, ignoring Nick's insistence that he wanted to break the news to Sarah himself first.

"Girls… Sean… Michael… It's really not got the same ring to it now that there are so many blokes working here, has it?" she joked, trying to mask her nerves as multiple sets of eyes suddenly turned to her, including those of Sarah from her position at the back of the room. She drew in a deep breath before continuing, "I have a bit of an announcement to make… A couple of announcements, actually, but one that is going to affect you a bit more directly." She noticed Nick step into place beside her out of the corner of her eye, hands sheepishly shoved into the pockets of his suit trousers, unwilling to meet his sister's intense stare. "Do you want to break the bad news, or shall I?"

"Oh, be my guest…" he mumbled in response. Carla didn't need telling twice, and beamed at her workforce.

"Well, first thing's first, I know you're all aware that Nick has been looking to escape this madhouse. I'm sorry to tell you all that I am the idiot who has taken the bait, and I will be back bossing you all around first thing tomorrow morning as I have just sealed the deal and bought Nick's share of this hellhole." There was a general consensus of happy cheers and mutterings, though some of the workers had confused expressions on their faces, likely caused by the snippets of gossip that they'd been overhearing in recent weeks. Carla accidentally caught Sarah's eye and noted that she looked livid, arms folded across her chest and a scowl directed at her brother.

"It'll be lovely to have you back, Mrs Connor!" called Sally Metcalfe, ever the biggest fan of whoever was paying her wages. Carla shot her a grateful smile, before allowing her eyelids to flutter shut for a second as she readied herself to finally say her next words out loud.

"There is something else that I want to talk to you all about. I know that I've been the subject of a lot of rumours and speculation lately, and I wanted to set the record straight. Yes, I am pregnant. Peter and I are going to be having a baby come August. I'm sure you're all just as surprised as we were, but now we've had time to let it all sink in, we're both very happy."

"Oh, Mrs Connor, that's wonderful!"

"Congratulations, Mrs C!"

As she was swept up in a rush of people flocking to her side to congratulate her, Carla watched in her peripheral vision as Sarah stormed straight across the room and stopped millimetres from her brother, glaring at him furiously.

"We need to talk," she snapped at him. Nick cautiously tore his gaze from the floor beneath his feet and looked her in the eye, before sighing at how angry she was and glancing at Carla.

"We'll be in the office…"

"Yeah, I think I'll let you handle that one on your own," Carla replied, wanting to keep as far away from Sarah as she could judging by the way that the younger girl refused to even acknowledge that she was in the room, "There'll be a round on me over at the pub, ladies!"

Propped up at the bar with Johnny and surrounded by most of the factory workers, Carla suddenly felt as though she'd taken a step back in time, albeit this time around she was cradling a glass of orange juice rather than a glass of Merlot. It made a change for her to be able to watch other people getting progressively drunker whilst she remained stone-cold sober. Though she soon wished that she could down a couple of shots of Scotch to take the edge off as the door of the pub flew open and Peter stormed inside, marching straight towards her.

"I need a word."

"You've just had four."

"I'm not messing around, Carla."

"Alright, alright, out back," Carla said quickly, shooting Johnny a strained look as she ushered Peter past him, behind the bar and through to the living room, where she firmly closed the door behind her. As soon as she turned around, Peter was directly in front of her, causing her to flinch.

"When were you going to bother to tell me?" he demanded through gritted teeth. Carla closed her eyes and drew in a deep, calming breath. She was fairly sure that she knew where this line of conversation was going.

"Tell you what?" she asked, cautiously.

"You know damn well what. The factory."

"How did you find out?"

"Beth."

"… Beth?" Carla screwed up her nose in confusion, "Since when have you ever talked to Beth?"

"Beth told Tracy, who delighted in telling me everything… Carla, what the hell are you playing at? You're having a baby!" Peter seethed, loudly dropping his hands to his sides in exasperation. Carla cooly raised her eyebrows.

"I'm aware of that, but I didn't realise it rendered me incapable of owt else. What is this, 1870?"

"And we had a conversation only a week ago about how that baby might be born disabled and, you know, how we were going to get through that, how much time and energy that would take up." Peter sighed and shook his head incredulously. "Why would you do something so stupid?"

"Peter, it's my factory. It's always been my factory. This just makes it more official. And it's a secure future, for me, for my baby. I've not just jumped into it blindly, I've got plans, I'll get in a manager, I'll barely even have to go into work once the baby's here. I'll just need to touch base from time to time while I sit at home reaping the rewards. But it's something, Peter, it's something for me to focus on, something that's mine. I can't just be someone's mum."

"And what if it gets too stressful?"

"It won't."

"What if it messes around with your mental health again?"

"It won't!" Carla snapped, before biting down on her lower lip for a second, the mention of her previous battles with her mental health problems suddenly making her bubble with anger, as if Peter's concern was actually a way of making her feel like she wasn't strong enough to handle being in charge anymore. "Have a little bit of faith in me - I can make this work. I know what I'm doing. I'm doing this for me, for me and this baby."

"So why didn't you come to me and speak to me about it before jumping in there all guns blazing?" Peter asked, his voice dropping to a gentler tone to show how hurt he was by being the last to find out about Carla's plans, "Do you know how stupid I felt finding out from Tracy, of all people?" Carla looked away from him and down at the floor, the guilt trip that he was trying to send her on having a different effect than what Peter had expected, instead making her self-defence mechanism kick in as it so often did, which usually resulted in her saying things that she would later regret.

"You gave up the right to have a say about what I choose to do with my life when you decided that you didn't want to be with me," she mumbled, wishing that she could take the words back the moment that they had left her lips. There was silence for a moment, and Carla reluctantly looked back up at him to see his physical reaction, though instantly wished that she hadn't. He looked so hurt, so taken aback by her words.

"I thought we were in this together…" he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper and cracking as he spoke. Carla bit her lip. She was sure that she could see his eyes glazing over. Despite their difficulties of late, they'd become a pair again, and though they weren't together in the relationship sense, they'd seemed very much together as a partnership. But making decisions without him had changed all that.

"I shouldn't-"

"Forget it. I see what this is now." Unwilling to be in her presence any longer, Peter moved past her and wrenched open the living room door, before skulking back through to the bar without even giving her a backwards glance. Carla sighed and followed him.

"Peter, wait…" she called, but it was to no avail, as Peter slipped past Johnny and disappeared into the pack of tipsy factory staff before swiftly leaving the pub. Noticing that Johnny was busy serving a customer, Carla quickly ducked beneath the bar, drawing out a half-full bottle of red wine and a clean glass and setting it on top of the bar. She cracked open the lid and poured out a fair measurement, before lifting it to her nose and inhaling the familiar, comforting scent. Fortunately, it was at this moment that Michelle elbowed her way past the singing factory staff and made an instant beeline for her best friend, quickly plucking the glass out of her fingers.

"Are you stupid?!"

"I wasn't going to drink it," Carla insisted, honestly, "Just the smell is enough to make me feel better these days. It's been a long day."

"So I've heard. I think me and you need to have a little chat, Carla Connor." Carla groaned.

"Not you as well." She took Michelle by the arm and reluctantly led her over to an empty booth, which was far enough away from the lively punters that they wouldn't be drowned out by the noise and would be well out of earshot. "Well?"

"I've heard some funny rumours about you today."

"Why change the habit of a lifetime?"

"Involving you buying a certain factory off of a certain blond charmer?"

"If by 'factory' you mean 'Underworld' and by 'charmer' you mean Nick, then yes. News travels fast," Carla replied, bluntly, her eyes fixated on the full glass of wine that Michelle had set down on the table between them. Michelle slowly shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Just when I thought you couldn't shock me any more, you go and pull a stupid stunt like this."

"Why is everybody acting as though I've just volunteered myself as a sacrifice?"

"I'm guessing Peter didn't take it very well? I saw him storming out of here looking like he was about to murder someone," Michelle observed, having witnessed Peter slamming the door of the Rovers behind him and furiously storm in the direction of the Barlow household just prior to her own arrival. Carla gave an obvious roll of her eyes.

"It was like he was more pissed off with me buying the factory than sleeping with Adam," she mumbled.

"Can you blame him? Carla, you have a baby to think about now, you can't just go making decisions for yourself anymore, you have to involve him."

"Yeah, so everyone keeps saying. But 'Chelle, I did this for the baby. For us. This isn't about Peter, and I couldn't expect him to understand. You, though…" She trailed off, and gave Michelle a small, forlorn smile. "I thought you'd get it. That factory's been in our family for the best part of fifteen years - it is our family, and when my baby's older, I want it to know that. I want it to see Mummy calling the shots, and to know that our family made it what it is, all of us; Johnny, Aidan, Liam, Paul… It's our legacy." Michelle returned the smile in spite of her reluctance to agree with Carla's decision, and she reached across the table, taking Carla's hands in her own. She knew how much Underworld meant to Carla - what it meant to their whole family - and she understood why Johnny had so easily succumbed to Carla's wishes and, as she had already heard from a livid Sarah, had offered Carla the additional money that she'd needed. The factory was more than just a business to them, it was something that still contained a part of the loved ones that were no longer with them.

"How can you possibly think you'll be able to run a factory and look after a newborn?" she asked, softly, reminding herself that Carla had no real idea of how demanding motherhood would be. Carla's smile broadened slightly and her green eyes lit up.

"Well, I've got a manager in mind, somebody who I can rely on - and pay well - to take over when the baby's born, to be my eyes and ears while I carry on working for home, nipping in for the odd meeting here and there. Somebody who I know will make the same calls that I would, who I've worked with before and knows how I like things done. Someone I can trust."

"I can't see Sarah Platt agreeing to be your right-hand woman anytime soon," Michelle teased.

"'Chelle, come and be my co-pilot again. We were great in there together - well, except from when we left daft men get in the way." Carla took a deep breath, giving Michelle's hands a reassuring squeeze. "I meant what I said, I want this to be a family business. What better way to do that than to have my cousin by my side."

"Sister," Michelle quickly corrected her. She hesitated for a second as she considered her options. She didn't know how long she was planning to stay in Weatherfield for, but she had no intention of returning to Ireland in the near future. Realistically, she knew that she couldn't invade Ryan and Alya's space forever and would have to find a place to live soon, which would involve getting a job. And there Carla was, handing her a respectable job with a decent salary on a silver platter. She knew the business, she knew the staff, and she would feel like she was helping her friend when she needed her the most. "What's your back-up plan for if I say no?"

"Blackmail," Carla replied, her expression serious, "Figure I probably have something decent on you after all these years." Michelle grinned.

"Then I suppose I have no other choice, do I?" she responded, "Though this doesn't mean I agree with what you're doing at all. I think you're being stupid, and that you should be resting and not stressing yourself out over orders and deadlines and posh business lunches."

"But you're saying yes?"

"Of course I'm saying yes, you daft cow." Both women leapt up from their seats, and Carla threw her arms around her best friend's neck, embracing her tightly. She cursed her hormones as she felt tears flood her eyes and quickly tried to blink them away, the thought of the Connors taking over Underworld once again filling her with bittersweet memories of past times.

"I promise I won't be a bitch," she assured her, but Michelle gave a loud, disbelieving laugh.

"I'll hold you to that," she retorted, "But you could make a start by making up with Peter." Carla groaned, releasing Michelle from her grasp and taking a step back, giving her a pointed look

"I'm not apologising," she insisted, "See, he doesn't think I can do it, be a mum and a boss. But 'Chelle, if this baby's a girl, I want to show her that there's no limit to how much she can handle, that she can do everything that she wants to do and not have to make sacrifices in her life just because she's a woman and it's what society expects her to do. And if it's a boy… I want to show him that Daddy isn't always right about everything." Michelle shook her head but smiled regardless, plucking up the glass of red wine from the table and lifting it to her lips as she slipped her arm around Carla's waist and led her back towards the bar to join the celebrations. Carla and Peter's biggest problem was that they were both extremely stubborn, and neither would be willing to back down in a disagreement. But she wasn't worried; she knew that they would be fine. They were like magnets, and she was sure that their draw to each other would soon bring them back together again.