Sorry not updating yesterday. I've been quite busy but I hope its worth it.

A very nice Carter chapter


"Morning" Peter whispers stroking her hair as she looks up at him and yawns tiredly "Good sleep?"

She nods biting her lip, he leans in to peck her on the lips before pulling out a box from his pocket and passing it to her

"P-P...e-t-e...r" she smiles looking down at the box, he opens it for her

"For you" he smiles taking the ring out of the box and taking her hand gently, he pushes the ring onto her finger causing the tears to prick her eyes

It was a beautiful ring though, he changed it slightly from the last time he proposed. It had a different diamond in it, a different stone. A grey-ish kind of green coloured one which matched the colour of her eyes, she was impressed. In a way, she wished she could express it to him in a more verbal way and it saddened her that she couldn't. There was one thing she was sure of and that was that this was going to last, she was determined. No more mistakes, no more lies and more importantly she wanted her love for Peter to show. They sat with each other a bit and Carla fell back asleep as she had been very tired lately, Peter had an inkling it was down to the baby and on top of the intense physio, it was likely for her to be exhausted. Soon enough Jenny arrived and Peter clocked Michelle who was with her so he exited the room to speak to her.

"Oh my god" Michelle whispers as the tears spring to her eyes, Peter rests his hands on either one of her arms

"She's ok" Peter assures her, Michelle brings a hand up to her mouth "We had a devastating blow the other day but we're ok, we're doing this"

"She might never…" Michelle trails off, Peter nods sadly "Oh Peter…"

"I know" he whispers bringing her in for a hug "She's still Carla, her speech is much better than it was, she's starting to string words together now even though her voice stammers quite a bit but she's doing really well. I'm so proud of her"

"Is she awake?" Jenny asks holding up the bag which she brought with her "There are some bits in there which she asked for, girlie bits which she said you were incapable of buying"

"You see?" Peter questions with a chuckle "She's still Carla"

"I guess" Michelle whispers wiping her eyes "She looks peaceful though, content almost"

"Yeah, we're working through this, it's going to be hard but we'll get there"

"And the baby?"

"Growing on track so far" Peter confirms, Michelle breathes out and nods "Come on, she'll want me to wake her so she can see you"

"Okay" Michelle whispers as they enter the room, all three of them, Peter gestures for Michelle to sit nearest to Carla, she leans over and brushes her fingers gently against the skin of Carla's arm "She looks so peaceful"

"Hmm" Peter hums looking at Carla as she yawns tiredly, her eyes open and she smiles widely "Look who's here to see you, love"

"Hey" Michelle whispers as Carla reaches her arms out, Michelle hugs her and holds her "You're doing so well babe, you are"

"H-H...i" she smiles as Michelle kisses her on the head, Carla shows her the ring

"Oh, thats stunning!" Michelle drools taking Carla's hand and examining the ring "Good choice Peter"

"It's an adaptation of the last one" Peter informs her, Michelle grins "Show Michelle the scans if you want to see them of course"

"Yeah, I do" Michelle confirms as Carla reaches over to grab the numerous scan photos "Ah so this is my niece or nephew then?"

"It's a boy, I'm convinced" Peter smirks, Carla just rolls her eyes glancing to the chair and biting her lip "Do you want to move to the chair?"

"Y-Y...es" she nods biting her lip, she manually picks her legs up and moves them so they were hanging over the edge of the bed, using the strength in her arms she moves herself to the chair

"Well done baby" he whispers kissing her on the forehead, she points to the wheelchair "I don't know Carla, not without the nurses"

She pouts her lips at him and gives her impression of puppy dog eyes

"I'll go and get a nurse" Jenny suggests, Peter nods rolling his eyes knowing Michelle being there was giving Carla a confidence boost she needed right now

"Hello, Carla" the nurse waltzes in with a smile "Do you want to try and move to the wheelchair?"

"R-R-R...ea..d-d...y" she confirms biting her lip, Peter smiles at her newfound confidence

"Ok then" the nurse smiles bringing the wheelchair over to her and putting the breaks on, Carla adjusts the arm so it could be moved down, this way it allowed her to shift herself onto the wheelchair

"You're doing so well" Peter assures her, she looks up and nods wincing slightly as she uses all of the strength in her arms to move herself to the wheelchair

"Are you ok?" the nurse checks with her as Carla adjusts the arm slightly "Did that hurt Carla?"

"N-No" she shakes her head biting her lip, Peter narrows his eyes and bends down in front of her, he offers her the phone

"Love? We saw you wince" Peter whispers cupping her cheek, she avoids his gaze, her lip trembling

"Carla where did it hurt?" the nurse questions, Carla leans forward and yelps in pain slightly "Your back?"

She nods sadly, the nurse sighs slightly and smiles

"O-O...k-k n-n...ow," she says quietly, the nurse nods "A-A...c-c-c...he"

"It aches?"

"Mhm" she nods with a small smile as Carla adjusts the arm to it was up fully, the nurse adjusts the footrests and places Carla's feet on them, she places her hands on the wheels and moves herself to Michelle "H...i"

"Hey" Michelle bends down in front of her, Carla grins up at her before turning to Peter who had tears in his eyes, Jenny as well

"You're moving around, love" Peter breathes out trying to compose himself, Carla smiles up at him, he bends down and pecks her on the lips "You're doing so well, I'm so proud of you sweetheart, so proud"

"You've made so much progress Carla" the nurse smiles, Carla grins "Once you get used to moving yourself from one place to another then the possibilities are endless"

"Hello Carla" the doctor enters the room glancing at Carla's nurse "We have made progress"

"She said her back hurt a bit when she moved" the nurse informs him, Carla smiles

"Ok Carla, where did it hurt exactly?" the doctor questions, Peter passes her the phone

"Shooting pain up my back"

"Hmm ok" the doctor nods "Is it ok if we get you back into bed, I want to check your back over and the site of your emergency operation when you were first admitted after the accident"

"O-o...k" she nods wheeling herself over to the chair, the nurse puts the breaks on and Carla yelps as she moves herself onto the chair before letting out some tears

"Alright," the doctor says, Carla tries her best to compose herself but the pain was just too much. She ended up sobbing violently "I'll get you some pain relief quickly ok?"

"A-a" she cries, Peter goes over to her and allows her to sob into the side of her leg, her fingers gripping onto the arms of the chair, the nurse holding her hand

"You're doing so well just try not to think about it" Peter whispers finding this situation really hard right now as he hated seeing her in pain

"I-I...ah!" she cries more and hisses in pain, the doctor enters the room with a cannula, the nurse immediately grabbing the anaesthetic spray and the doctor inserts the cannula before giving Carla a dose of pain relief

"We're going to bring the hoist in so we can move you without hurting you or possibly hurting you further"

"No" she shakes her head, Peter raises his eyebrows at how she was all defiant all of a sudden as well as how she didn't stammer

"What did you just say?" the nurse narrows her eyes at Carla obviously having the same thoughts as Peter

"No," she says before gasping and covering her mouth, the tears springing to her eyes

"What is going on?" Peter breathes out at how much progress Carla was making today, this really did feel like this was the day where she was going to make the most progress "Do you want to move yourself?"

"Mhm" she nods allowing her to use her strength, Peter and the nurse helping her move onto the bed, she breathes out as Peter pulls the covers over her legs

"Ow" she cries, Peter kisses her on the top of the head as she sobs

"Ok, Carla can you sit up for me? Lean on Peter for support" the doctor says as Carla nods leaning on Peter as the nurse rolls Carla's top-up "Let me know where it hurts"

She grabs the phone,

"Shooting pain"

She cries as Peter hushes her gently running his fingers through her hair, Michelle bends down by the side of the bed

"Can you feel my hands?"

"N...n-n...o" Carla grits out before yelping once more

"You need to give her something stronger"

"We're limited at what we can give her because of the baby," the nurse says, Peter hushes Carla as she continues to cry

"I'm going to get the ultrasound," the doctor says, Carla nods tiredly as she continues to sniffle into Peter's chest

"It's ok" Michelle assures her as Carla continues to cry, she allowed Michelle to take her hand

"Alright Carla we're going to see what's causing this pain," the doctor says quietly "We're going to send you down for some scans as well"

"Thank you" Peter groans as Carla continues to cry into his chest because of the amount of pain she was in "It's ok, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere"

"You seem to have quite a bit of swelling around the broken vertebrae," the doctor says quietly "We want to send you for some scans ok?"

"O-ok" Carla murmurs wincing ever so slightly as the nurse helps her lie down "P-P...et..t..er"

"Yes, love" he whispers bending down beside her and passing her the phone

"Will the operation stop this pain?"

"We won't know until we do the scans," the doctor says as the nurses help her change into a gown "Shall we go then, Carla?"

"O-Ok" she nods as Peter kisses her softly on the lips

"She'll be just fine, we'll look after her," the nurse says as more people come in to wheel Carla down to the scan

"She'll be ok" Jenny assures Peter who just cries, Michelle brings him in for a hug knowing that he probably needs it

"She's strong ok, she's so strong" Michelle assures him as Peter nods wiping his eyes "Maybe Jenny could get us all a coffee?"

"Yeah I'll do that then I'll speak to Johnny as well, phone the prison" Jenny confirms, Peter smiles slightly and nods watching her leave the room

"Are you ok?" Michelle questions, Peter lets out a weary sigh "It's ok to struggle Peter"

"I just hate seeing her like that, she can't do anything Michelle, nothing"

"I know I was shocked when I saw her, every little step, it's progress, her speech is getting better isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is" Peter confirms "That's about it. I really thought we were making progress today"

"And she will make progress again," Michelle says "It's just going to take time. Have they said when she will be out?"

"A month maybe?" Peter shrugs "Unless they find something in these scans of course"

"Have you sorted a place to live?"

"Well Jenny said she would put her up there but it's not ideal, the stairs for instance and her stepdaughter has moved in as well so I don't know how she would cope there. My dad suggested Victoria Court as it's accessible but I can't afford a place like that just from cabbying so I don't know what to do"

"I can help" Michelle confirms "I can give you the deposit-"

"No, I have the deposit, the money is ready to go but it's the rent, the bills I can't afford that"

"I'll stay around then" Michelle confirms "I'll work alongside you and then I can do all the girly things with her because I doubt she would want you doing that would she?"

"I guess not, no" Peter sighs quietly "It would help but I don't want you to stay unless it's too soon"

"Peter, this is for Carla, you don't need to worry about me," she says quietly, Peter narrows his eyes "It's not like I have anything to go back for is it?"

"Your parents?"

"Are too nosey for their own good and I miss being here around the rest of my family?" Michelle says quietly "And if I'm helping out then I want to stay. No buts."

"Fine, have it your way" Peter mutters, Michelle grins triumphantly "I guess I best get on the phone to some estate agents then?"

"You should" Michelle confirms causing Peter to roll his eyes as the doctor enters the room with a small smile on his face "Is she ok?"

"They're bringing her up now"

"Is it something bad?" Peter asks, the doctor just smiles as nurses bring Carla into the room dosed up on more painkillers

"She's getting some well-needed rest," the nurse says putting the brakes on Carla's hospital bed and hooking her up to some monitors

"What's wrong with her?" Peter asks looking at Carla sleep peacefully

"Carla has nerve damage" the doctor explains simply "Her pain was another side effect of her accident. I'm so sorry"

"It's ok," Michelle says softly "So is she going to be ok?"

"We're going to try her with some new medication to see how she goes and if she doesn't respond to this medication Carla then may choose to go for the operation if she wants or if she thinks she can handle the pain we can discharge her on her original discharge date"

"Go ahead with the operation?" Peter responds incredulously "She's pregnant, I thought you said it was too risky!"

"It is and Carla would essentially put her unborn child in danger if she went for the operation but it could revert her pain"

"Is there a chance that the baby could survive after?" Michelle asks glancing at Carla who was sleeping peacefully

"There's a chance, yes" the doctor confirms "But it's entirely up to Carla and what she wants. I'm going to liaise with the midwife and then she will come down and have a discussion about what we can do for Carla and what would be best for her and the baby"

"Thank you" Peter murmurs glancing at Carla who had opened her eyes "Hey, you"

"H-H...i" she smiles, he kisses her on the lips softly

"You get some more sleep yeah?" he runs his fingers through her hair "You look tired baby"

"H-H...ur...ur...t" she whimpers as Peter glances to the nurse who prepares an ice pack for Carla to see if that helped

"Here" the nurse smiles "This might help with relieving it a bit, we just have to experiment. If that doesn't work we can try heat"

"Shall I hold it for you?" Michelle questions, Carla nods tiredly allowing Michelle to press the coolness against her back "There we go"

"I'll leave you to it for a bit, her midwife will be down any minute now"

"Thank you" Peter whispers tilting his head to the side and looking at Carla who was gripping onto his hand "Is that helping?"

"Mmm" she nods weakly closing her eyes, Peter kisses her gently on the forehead before looking up and seeing Carla's midwife with the ultrasound machine

"Hey," the midwife says softly "I just wanted to have a talk with you if that's ok Carla?"

"Mm" she nods biting her lip as the midwife pulls a chair up

"I've spoken with your doctor ok and we're assuming you want the best chance of your baby surviving right?"

"Y-Y...es" Carla confirms biting her lip

"Ok then so I think the best thing we do right now is find alternative ways to deal with your pain alright? And then when we get to the point of viability for your baby we perform a c-section and then keep you in hospital whilst you recover this way you will be ready for the operation on your spine"

Peter passes Carla the phone

"No c-section, I'll deal with the pain"

"Sweetheart after seeing you in pain today…you can't put yourself through that" Peter trails off, Carla shakes her head

"Peter this is my decision"

"Ok, fine" he sighs in response knowing she was being defensive

"I'm not having a c-section so early on, I want to give my baby the best chance of surviving. If naturally, I need one then I will have it but I'm not scheduling one, not at that point in my pregnancy"

"Ok, well you don't have to decide just yet" the midwife glanced at Peter who was rubbing his forehead "I would like to check on the baby if that's ok?"

"Fine"

"Alright" the midwife smiles setting up the ultrasound scan, Peter helps Carla move onto her back "Sorry if you feel this"

"It's ok"

Carla says looking at the screen expectantly

"Here we are" the midwife smiles as Carla takes in the image of her baby "Around fourteen weeks, I'll take some measurements"

"Look at that" Peter whispers as Carla looks up at him with a small smile on her face "It looks the same size?"

"Mm" Carla nods turning her attention to the midwife who had a worried look on her face, she glances back at Peter

"Is everything ok?" Peter questions, the midwife sighs and closes her eyes

"Your baby is measuring around the twelve-week mark" the midwife explains, Carla frowns "Has the internal development of a fourteen-week gestation, strong regular heartbeat. Your baby's growth has stunted Carla which means your pregnancy is at a much higher risk now than it was and you will most likely need a c-section if the baby's growth doesn't pick up"

"It's alive though, right?" Peter confirms, the midwife nods "Thank god"

"It's hanging on in there," the midwife says "We'll just have to see what happens, we'll support you"

"What would you recommend I do?"

"You know I'm only allowed to give professional facts, not opinions," the midwife says, Carla sighs "I'm sure whatever you choose will be the right decision for all of you. How about I leave you to it then you can talk?"

"O-Ok" Carla smiles as the midwife leaves the room, Carla turns to Peter

"What do you think I should do?"

"I don't know," Peter says "I really don't know. It depends on you, I will support you either way. Will you be able to deal with the nerve pain until they can try and fix it, you know what the midwife said before when that baby starts getting bigger you could be in a lot of pain sweetheart and I don't want to see you in that pain if I'm being honest"

"Michelle?"

"This could be your last chance to have a baby Carla and if you really want this then if I was in your position I would do everything I can for that baby growing inside of me"

"I want this baby, Peter"

"Ok" he nods "And how do you want to go about doing this then?"

"I'm going to continue with the pregnancy, if it comes to me needing an emergency c-section then I'll have it if it's before the due date but I'm not giving up my baby's chance of survival because I am in pain"

"That's your decision," Peter says quietly, Carla nods "Me and Michelle have also been talking"

"Mm?" she nods

"As you're looking to be discharged in a few weeks she's going to help out with the rent and move in with us, we're looking at a place in Victoria Court as it's accessible with the elevator, no stairs in the flat"

"You don't have to do that"

Carla smiles softly at her friend who takes her hand

"Hey, I want to, plus I will be glad to get away from my parents trust me" Michelle grins, Carla smirks slightly "I want to help so the next few days are going to be job hunting"

"T-Th..t...ha...nnn...k y-you" Carla smiles, Michelle kisses her on the forehead watching as Carla yawns

"Come on, get some sleep" Peter whispers, Carla nods "Do you want one of us to hold the cold compress to your back?"

"Mhm" she nods shifting onto her side and allowing Michelle to press the compress to her back

"Have a good sleep sweetheart" Peter smiles brushing a strand of hair away from her face before kissing her softly on the lips, it wasn't long before Carla was asleep...