I'll get an update out of Running Away tomorrow during my free...


Time went on and the realisation that things could have been very difficult really was setting in. Today was the day they attempt to bring Carla out of her coma, they were all worried in case she didnt. Well, they were told she most likely wouldn't so in a way they were preparing for that but they were trying to be hopeful because if they were all honest hope was the only thing getting them through this whole situation. He was sitting beside her holding her hand as he stared at her body, the nurses rushing around him as they sort the ventilator out to see if Carla would wake up. This would be the ultimate test, for him and for her. He just hoped that she would wake up. She had to wake up.

"Are we ready to begin?" the doctor asks, all the nurses nod

"Come on Car" Peter whispers looking at her body, the rest was such a blur his focus was on her, entirely on her

"Come on love you can do this" Johnny encourages as the heart rate monitor starts beeping, Peter breathes a sigh of relief, tears in his eyes

"Your daughter's breathing for herself" the doctor smiles, Peter begins to cry "I must warn you that until we know the extent of Carla's mind there may be complications but this is a good start especially so soon after the accident"

"Can she hear us?" Johnny asks, Peter looks to the doctor

"It's likely so feel free to speak to her" the doctor smiles "We're going to do some more blood tests as well to check on the baby to see what's going on there as well as Carla's general health"

"Ok, thank you" Peter nods squeezing Carla's hand gently "Hey beautiful...you're going to be ok, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere"


It was exhausting, all Carla was doing was sleeping, she had opened her eyes once or twice within the last few days but she soon closed them and continued to sleep. Today was Christmas day and Peter was determined to make it the best he could for her. He arrived at the hospital and he was immediately brought to the side where he was told that Carla was not doing as well as they originally thought. It broke him and made him feel as if the world really did hate him.

"Hey love" Peter whispers entering the room with tears in his eyes, she just looks straight ahead unable to comprehend the situation, "The doctors told me everything, we're going to get you better dont worry.

"We have a neurologist coming to see you later Carla" the doctor smiles as Carla tries to open her mouth

"It's ok" he takes her hand and gives it a squeeze, she just stares at him "Can you hold a pen?"

"She doesn't have any feeling from her waist down right now" the doctor informs Peter who nods "She's also lost the ability to speak to we'll have to run some scans but we want to give her a break for a bit if thats ok Carla?"

She nods weakly

"Does she know about…?" Peter gestures to Carla's stomach, the doctor shakes their head "Ok"

"We thought you might like to tell her"

"W-W" Carla whispers, Peter turns to face her and offers a small smile, he stands up and kisses her on the forehead

"What?" he questions, she nods weakly "Why didn't you tell me you suspected you were pregnant?"

"P-P" she whispers, the doctor passes Carla the notepad and paper, she struggles to hold the pen "So-so...so"

"You dont need to apologise" Peter whispers taking the notepad and writing the letters of the alphabet out on the paper "Point?"

"Mm" Carla frowns rather confused, Peter sighs gently sitting on the edge of the bed, he puts his arms around her shoulder, she looks up at him with a small smile

"Here," Peter says quietly taking the notepad and pointing to one of the letters, Carla does the same and Peter writes them down in order

Sorry

"Oh love" he whispers kissing her on top of the head "Did they tell you? About…"

No

"Well you're pregnant, love" he murmurs into her head as the tears spring to her eyes, Peter wipes them using his thumbs "Don't cry"

Not

Yours

"What?" he questions with a soft frown, she looks up at him and cries more "It's not mine?"

Soon

"Too soon to be mine?" he assumes, she shakes her head before pointing to the paper

Time

"Love…?" he questions very confusedly, she closes her eyes picking away at her nails

"Uh-uh..I…" she moves her mouth before sighing knowing it was pointless

Don't remember

"You dont remember?"

Confused

"Shall we stop?" he asks, she nods slowly gripping onto his arm and holding his hand "Do you need anything from home?"

She shakes her head

"Alright, that reminds me!" he exclaims jumping off the bed, Carla frowns as he places the gift down on her lap but she just stares blankly at it "It's Christmas"

"C-C" she tries to speak but Peter shakes his head, he sits down beside her

"Do you need help opening it?" Peter questions, Carla nods weakly allowing Peter to help her open the gift "I was shopping for Si in town and I saw this in that department store you like, it'll keep you warm in here"

"F-Fl-fl" she mumbles glancing down to the fluffy blanket which Peter had given her

"Fluffy, yes" he nods smiling at her, she smiles at him and runs her hands over the material, he takes it and places it over her body for her, Johnny enters the room with a small smile

"Hey, love"

"Have the doctors spoken to you?" Peter questions, Johnny nods sadly sitting beside Carla and taking her other hand

"How are you feeling?"

"Here" Peter offers her the notepad, she points to the letters and Peter spells it out for her before showing the notepad to Johnny

Tired

"We can leave you to it if you want?" Johnny offers glancing at Peter who smiles at Carla, she takes the notepad and tries to pick up the pen but gets frustrated so much so she cries

"It's ok" he reassures her as she cries, he runs his hand through her hair to soothe her "I know it's frustrating but we'll get there, you have so much support behind you"

"We'll stop love," Johnny says quietly, Carla nods sadly allowing Peter to hold her "How about I leave you two to it, I'll be back soon"

"Thanks for popping by Johnny," Peter says quietly, Johnny nods and leaves the room, Carla picks up the notepad and points to the word tired "You sleep, close your eyes, that's it…"

He watches her eyes flutter shut, her head rested against his arm as he brushes his fingers through her hair until she was sound asleep. He just wished that things were different, her confusion was hard to understand but he knew with strength and determination they would get there eventually…


The neurologist came and ran some tests on Carla and it was concluded that due to a head injury Carla had as a result of the accident her brain was damaged. This meant that she had lost some speech functions and she would have to work on getting those back which would be another challenge they would have to face. Carla was also told that she had a form of paralysis, they didnt know if this would be temporary until they ran more tests but they were hoping it would be instead of permanent which would be another thing Carla would have to contend with. A midwife then came to talk to Carla about the baby, Peter helped her communicate with the notepad but as soon as they started to talk about the baby she clammed up and refused to communicate so the midwife suggested that they read through some leaflets together to help prepare them as due to Carla's complex medical history it was going to be a very risky pregnancy especially now as well as she would be recovering throughout it.

"Is she sleeping?" Johnny questions, Peter nods looking at Carla who had her eyes closed "How did it go with the midwife?"

"Not good" Peter sighs quietly looking down at Carla who was lying there peacefully "She clammed up, it's a lot of information for her and its a risky pregnancy"

"You should get off Peter" Johnny observes, he shakes his head "You're shattered its been a long day for you"

"I'm not leaving her, no way" he shakes his head, Carla's eyes open and she looks at Peter "Hey, love"

"H..H…" she gulps before biting her lip, she reaches out for the notepad and Peter passes it to her

Go home

"I dont want to leave you, sweetheart, I'm worried about you" he kisses her on the forehead, she bites her lip

I'm fine

"You're not, love" Peter whispers quietly, she bites her lip and frowns

Johnny's here

She points to the notepad as Peter writes it down,

"I know but I want to be here to help you-"

"Just go home and rest Peter I'll stay here with her and I will call you if she wants to see you"

Go

She passes the notebook to Johnny, Peter chuckles and nods collecting his jacket

"I'll see you soon ok, dont give those nurses a hard time" he bends down to kiss her on the forehead, she smiles slightly turning to face Johnny

"B...B…" she mumbles, he smiles at her pressing a finger to her lips, she grins at him

"I'll see you soon"


"How is she?" Ken questions placing a coffee down on the table in front of his son, Peter sighs closing her eyes

"She can't speak, she can't feel her legs so they need to run more in-depth tests to see if her paralysis is temporary or permanent as they're unsure. Then there's the pregnancy which is just a complicated mess as she has a complex medical history, her kidney, the risk of premature birth then all of this on top of it. Then there's her mental health which could be enhanced by post-traumatic stress due to the crash. Why did this have to happen?"

"I dont know son" Ken places his hand over Peter's "She's strong though, stronger than most"

"And thats about the only positive" he mutters "She's so different dad, so different. You know what she's like, she's so happy all the time and now her happiness just feels empty, and I know it's not just me feeling like that it's her as well"

"Have you thought about what you want to do when she comes out?"

"I dont know what to do" he admits "She's going to need a place which is accessible, I mean I have money where I can put a deposit on a place as we did save up a little bit when we were thinking about buying this place"

"Have you looked at Victoria Court? It's accessible isnt it?"

"Thats true but we wouldnt be able to afford it, she won't be working it'll be just me so it's impossible anyway" he sighs closing his eyes "It's all such a mess, she'll probably be in a rehabilitation unit for a bit so at least that gives me some time to get things sorted for her"

"Could she stay at the pub with Jenny?"

"That stepdaughter of hers has moved in, hasn't she? It's not accessible this is the problem" he sighs rubbing his forehead "It's all such a mess"

"You're doing well son even if you dont think you are" Ken assures him, Peter sighs and nods slowly "She's so lucky to have you"

"Maybe" he muses "Anyway I'm going to go out for a walk to clear my head, maybe go and meet Si"

"Good idea" Ken nods "And just remember you're doing your best"

"Thanks, dad...it means a lot"