"Who the hell is that?" Carla groans as the phone rings halfway through the night, seeing Johnny's name displayed, Carla answered it, Peter pulling her body in close to him
"Johnny?"
"Carla you need to come home"
"We're not allowed, I thought Lilah spoke to you?" she questions her anxiety setting in knowing that something may have happened, a thought niggling in the back of her mind that Rob may have done something
"She has, she's in prison-"
"What?! She can't be are you sure?" Carla sits up as Peter turns on the side light, frowning slightly at what happened
"She just rang me, she's in prison, I don't know if I should tell you I don't want you to have a setback"
"Johnny tell me" Carla persists as Peter lifts Carla up and placing her in between his legs, his hands on her bump
"She's in custody, for assaulting Rob, looking at possible charges of murder while they investigate further"
"W-wait, R-Rob's dead?"
"This is why I didn't want to tell you! She said it would be a bad idea considering something about your condition"
"I deserve to know, and thank you for telling me, we'll be on the next plane out of here" Carla says hanging up the phone an getting up throwing everything from the wardrobe in her suitcase
"Speak to me Carla" Peter says as Carla bursts into tears, Peter getting up to bring her into a hug, Michelle knocking on the door and entering biting her lip
"What's happened?" Michelle questions as Peter sways Carla from side to side in his arms, Michelle putting a hand on her shoulder, Carla turning to cry into Michelle's shoulder
"Rob's dead"
"What? How?"
"Lilah killed him, we need to go back" Carla turns to face Peter wiping her eyes as Peter nods slowly, helping her pack some clothes into a suitcase, Cala wiping her eyes in grief every now and then, Peter sighing, holding her by the shoulders knowing it was late, guiding her to the bed
"Calm down eh? Me and Michelle can do this" Peter smiles tilting her head up to kiss her softly on the lips, Carla smiling slightly curling up in a ball on the bed, Peter draping the linen over her as she watches him and Michelle do the packing
"Hold her Peter, look" Michelle points to Carla who was crying silently to herself, her hand on her bump rubbing it gently
"You sure you dot mind doing this?"
"I'm sure, just hold her" Michelle encourages as Peter nods sliding in beside Carla who was practically frozen with grief and shock, Peter lifting her up into his arms, albeit a little more difficultly, holding her in his arms like a baby as she cries into his shoulder, Peter stroking her hair, placing a hand on her bump, kissing it softly, at this point he didn't know what would happen when they returned home
Flashback
"We've had reports of an assault at this address" the officer replies to Nick who was standing at the door, letting them both in
"Um yes" Nick points to Rob's lifeless body, the paramedics following after the officers and tending to Rob, Lilah stepping out smiling mournfully at the officers
"May I ask who committed this act of assault?"
"It was me-" Nick cuts in before Lilah had a chance to say it was her
"Nick" Lilah hisses glaring at him wondering why he was covering for her the thought of him taking the blame for her confused her, no one ever did that for her in the past, she was such a lone wolf, despised by many people because of her history
"Your friend here doesn't seem too convinced?" the officer questions as Lilah closes her eyes, Nick wrapping an arm around her shoulders
"It's a shock to the system, he was a close family friend" Nick lies as Lilah nods slowly knowing that this may be an opportunity to keep her license and job if Nick took the blame for her
"Is this true?" the officer questions, poised with his notepad
"Yes, his sister is a very close friend to me as well"
"Could you explain to me how he ended up at the bottom of the stairs?" the officer quizzes both Lilah and Nick
"Well he interrupted me at my workplace, then I drove him here where it was a bit more private for us to speak, he got angry then I guess…I saw this flash of anger in his eyes, then he grabbed my wrist and pinned it up against the wall, then I told him how ridiculous he was being because he wanted to see his sister, she didn't want to see him though and then I kicked him in the stomach with my knee then ran into my house, he followed me and then I got to the top of the stairs then Nick followed…it all happened so quick"
"Then I grabbed him at the back of his collar and pulled him back, I lost my grip then he fell, he hit his head on the post of the bannister then we left him, then called 999" Nick fills in as the officer writes down what was said
"We have a pulse!" they hear one of the paramedics call form the hallway
"Right I'll leave the investigation there, I'm afraid you can't stay here tonight, you will need to go elsewhere, is there any contact details I can grab for you both?" The officer asks as Lilah grabs a piece of paper writing her number down on it, then Nick writing his down on it as well
"Thank you, you can collect a bag and head off, please don't hesitate to ring me if you remember anything else"
"I'll give you a lift Lilah" Nick smiles as the police officer leads her upstairs trying not to disturb any of the evidence and it was that point where Lilah remembered her house was littered with CCTV…
…End of flashback
Carla, Peter, Michelle and Alannah were waiting at the airport, dark bags underneath Carla's eyes from the lack of sleep she had last night, Alannah playing with the toy which Michelle as holding for her. Peter stroking Carla's hair gently trying to get her to close her eyes for a bit the only problem was that Carla's eyes were glued open and he was starting to get concerned, this really wasn't helping the baby.
"That's our flight, come on Car" Peter smiles as Carla stands up holding onto him, Peter holding their carry on Michelle rubbing Alannah's back affectionately to settle her
"Luckily we got first class so hopefully you'll be able to rest Car" Peter smiles rubbing his hand up and down her arm as they board the plane sitting in their seats, Carla resting her head against Peter's shoulder, Alannah starting to whimper
"Oh baby girl please don't cry" Michelle hushes her as she begins to cry, Carla gesturing to hand her over which Michelle does
"Hey gorgeous" Carla bounces her up and down on her knees causing her to stop crying, Alannah placing her hands on Carla's bump, the baby reacting briefly to it which made Alannah cry more, Carla laughing slightly
"Do you not like your cousin eh?" Carla teases Alannah who whimpers in her arms, Carla resting her in the crook of her arm and giving her a dummy to settle her, Alannah falling asleep instantly, Michelle smirking towards Peter
"Thanks for settling my child for me" Michelle grins as Cala shakes her head unamused, handing Alannah back to Michelle who kisses her forehead gently
"I'm so tired" Carla complains as Peter nods knowing she was up half the night
"Why don't you try and sleep, we won't leave you"
"He's moving around so much though, I don't think I could sleep"
"Oh sweetheart, he's really active isn't he?" Peter sighs placing a hand on her bump rubbing over the swell of her stomach the baby kicking actively at it
"It's been none stop for a few days now, he's not making it easy for me, he better come out of the womb thanking me" Carla rolls her eyes resting her head on Peter's shoulder as they begin the flight back to Manchester…
Flashback…
"Is that all?" The officer asks Lilah who puts her stuff in a holdall
"Yeah it is, can I go now?"
"Yes, we will be in touch regarding the offence" the officer smiles slightly as Lilah nods heading downstairs to leave her house, Nick waiting in the car for her as she gets in, Nick driving away so that they didn't get interrupted
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Nick scoffs as if it wasn't obvious
"Cover for my actions, you do realise my house is littered with CCTV?"
"They won't notice it…look Li, I know you're good at what you do and the way you rehabilitated Liam-"
"Well that's utter rubbish, please don't lie to me"
"I like you, I always have" Nick replies honestly as Lilah sighs rolling her eyes
"But why? I'm a mess most of the time, I work with criminals and I balance three jobs on mainly caffeine with barely enough time for myself and quite frankly I don't see how you could like me"
"You're in denial, whatever has happened in your life, you can move on you know?" Nick turns to face her briefly as she sighs pushing his chin towards the windscreen, Lilah slumping back into her seat closing her eyes, in all her years she was so prickly, so defensive, but with Nick there was something else there, she could trust him and there wasn't many people she could trust in this world
"Maybe I am…"
"Is this the right hotel?" Nick questions as Lilah nods sliding out of the car and grabbing her holdall from the back seat, Nick doing the same
"Thank you, for covering for me….you didn't have to do that and I don't deserve it"
"You do though, you're amazing you know that, you just need to believe in yourself" Nick smiles as Lilah closes her eyes taking Nick's hand in hers, Nick pulling her in, an arm around her waist as Lilah looks up into his eyes. Nick leaning down and planting a soft kiss on Lilah's crimson red lips
"Stay?"
"Of course"
End of flashback…
"She's finally asleep" Peter nudges Michelle who smiles, looking at Carla's eyes which were shut, hopefully not dreaming about memories about Rob
"I can't believe Lilah murdered Rob though…it just seems so out of character, she's so kind and caring, I know she had a bit of a temper on her but…"
"I think this may effect Carla a lot more than she may make out, we just need to keep an eye on any symptoms of relapse right now" Peter smiles stroking Carla's hair softly, weaving her hair between his fingers
"I know we do, she'll get through it, she always does"
"She didn't last time though and the time before that, I don't mean to be negative but I can't help but worry"
"I know you can't" Michelle pauses "but look at her, six months pregnant and she hasn't batted an eyelid over that has she? That's a big and challenging change in her life, I reckon she'll be just fine…"
"I hope so, I really do…"