Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this one.

Special thanks to those who left such kind reviews :)

Also I've changed my penname if you haven't noticed, It's now CarlaPeterLove and that's also where you can find me on twitter!

Even though he had done it about fifty five times already today, Peter still couldn't help but take a few moments to stop and think about how lucky he was right now.

There he was, stood in the rather luxurious and extremely clean bathroom of Carla Connor… or was it really Tilsley now?

He couldn't be sure.

He still didn't know if Carla and Nick were still married and if she had even changed her name.

The thought of Carla's name now being Carla Tilsley really burned Peter, deep down inside, it angered him... a lot but Peter knew better than to pay too much attention to that anger because he knew the reason that she wasn't called Carla Barlow anymore was all down to him.

Not that Carla's surname really mattered of course.

All Peter knew right now was whilst it was clear that Carla was still hurting over Nick, She had seemed to have moved on from him.

The short walk back to Carla's house was full of cheery chatter and laughter about the fact that they were getting some odd looks due to being soaking wet but as they approached the bright white house on the end of the street, Peter suddenly felt his heart begin to pound behind his wet T-Shirt.

Of course the offer Carla had made him to dry off at hers had been accepted right away and as she pulled her house keys out of her damp pocket, She smiled and said,

"D'ya reckon you've got some spare clothes in there then?" She nodded towards Peter's car as she spoke and then she opened the door to let Bailey in who darted right into the house.

Carla was left stood on her doorstep whilst Peter got his own keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car.

"I hope so." Peter said half laughing as he walked over to his car.

Carla didn't know what to do so she just lingered rather awkwardly in her doorway as Peter began to search his car.

As she watched, Carla noticed that Peter's car seemed to be full of all sorts of stuff, clothes, books and general items that you wouldn't normally find in the back of someone's car.

After ransacking the rather full boot of his car, Peter had found a pair of dark jeans and a black T-Shirt that seemed as if they would do, As he pulled them out he also grabbed an old pair of black boots and called over to Carla,

"Found some."

"Good." She said, smirking with a raised eyebrow as Peter approached her with his clothes in hand, He grinned back at her as she couldn't help but laugh and say, "Otherwise you would ave had to wear one of my slinky dressing gowns whilst you wait for your clothes to dry."

"Or I could ave just waited in me Birthday suit." Peter said with a cheeky wink.

Rather than respond, Carla just flashed Peter a suggestive smirk before walking into her house properly.

"Come on, get a wiggle on I'm freezing." She said as she walked, gesturing for Peter to follow her in.

After a good ten minutes splashing about in the water and then the five minute or so walk back to the house, both Carla and Peter were almost at the shivering state as they had approached her front door.

Peter took a deep breath as he walked and couldn't work out why he was so nervous to be going into Carla's home.

His best guess was because he knew that at one point this home he was entering was once going to be the home of Carla and Nick.

Peter also guessed he was feeling this way because at one point, Carla's home was his home.

Carla shut the door behind Peter and then, she bent down to unzip her boots and said to him,

"Just kick your shoes off ere if ya want." Peter nodded and used one foot to casually slide off one of his shoes, as he did so Carla picked up both of her boots and squinted at them closely.

Peter grinned as she inspected every inch of her shoes and knew he was in for a grilling.

"I'm sure they'll be fine…" He said as he kicked off his other shoe and as Carla took one last and very look at her wet boots.

"Hmmm… I think we'll wait for em to dry before we make that analysis shall we?" She said placing them both on the floor next to Peter's. "But if you've ruined em, you're well in for it." Carla added before pulling off her damp jacket, she then put her hand out for Peter's and said, " Give it ere, I'll hang it up in the kitchen."

Peter pulled his wet leather jacket of his shoulders and handed it to Carla. As she took it off him he noticed she had goosebumps running up and down both arms.

"I'm gonna wack the heatin on as well…" She said noticing how observant Peter was being. She then looked at the dry clothes Peter had in hand and nodded up the stairs that they were now stood in front of. "First door on the right is me bathroom… You can get changed in there if ya want."

"Thanks." Peter nodded, he hesitated but Carla walked down the hallway and into the kitchen that was ahead of her, as if she was one hundred percent comfortable with Peter being her house.

He desperately wanted to follow her because he was dying to see what her kitchen was like and everything else for that matter but he knew he should really get out of his wet clothes first.

He walked upstairs, trying to go quickly so his wet socks didn't make marks on Carla's carpet, leaving her downstairs in the kitchen.

She hung her and Peter's wet jackets over the side of one of her wooden dining room chairs and walked over to where her heating thermostat was to put on the heating, although she knew full well that the goosebumps on her arm weren't just due to the fact that she was cold.

Carla knew that there was another reason her arms had turned that way and it was because of the situation she had currently found herself in.

Peter… yes Peter Francis Barlow was currently in her house, the very same house that not even her own family had been inside of yet and not only that, right now he was probably in her house half naked.

Carla couldn't help but grin at the thought but then felt like a foolish teenager and stopped grinning even though she was the only person in the room other then Bailey of course.

He was stood in the corner, tired from his walk and currently having a long drink from his dog bowl which was kept in the corner next to his cosy bed.

Meanwhile Peter was still upstairs in Carla's bathroom and after getting out of his uncomfortable wet clothes and putting his dry ones on, he took a little bit of time to look around Carla's bathroom.

It was gleaming white, with all the usual stuff a bathroom had in it of course but it was the bath that Peter thought was truly amazing.

It was so big it almost took up one whole side of the room. It had Victorian style taps and chrome legs, which lifted it off the floor slightly and Carla had placed some candles around the side that was next to the wall, candles that looked as if they had been very well used.

Peter then looked at all of Carla's bath products which sat in a basket next to her bath and other than a few new ones, he was pleased to see that she still used most of the same stuff as she had done when they were together.

It was all Peter could do not to pick up the bottle of conditioner that Carla had left on the side of her bath and take a sniff of it because he had always adored the smell of it.

He went against this urge because he felt as if it might be slightly weird and as he picked up his wet clothes, yet again he couldn't believe that any of this was happening.

Never in his wildest dreams would he have dreamt that he would be stood in Carla's house and even though it was due to very platonic circumstances, he still counted his blessings.

He walked out of Carla's bathroom to see that down the hallway were two other rooms and the thought that one of those rooms was Carla's bedroom, made Peter ache even more than before because he now had the sad and lonely image of Carla being in there all alone in the early hours of this morning.

He'd had the thought of Carla waking up at three am in a state, in the back of his mind since she had told him about it on the beach and it made Peter feel incredibly upset to think of her going through such a tough time by herself..

Peter decided he couldn't take too much longer to get downstairs as he was sure Carla would start to wonder where he was.

He hated the idea of Carla thinking that he might be snooping but as he started to walk down to the kitchen he noticed that there were many pictures hanging on the wall which led back downstairs and a few of them had definitely caught Peter's eye.

The first one he stopped at was one of Carla and three people he instantly didn't recognise, Carla was sat amongst them and as Peter looked at the girl next to Carla with the dark hair and then at the man who had his arm around them both, he guessed that they might have been her new found family.

The next photo Peter stopped at was one of Carla and Hayley Cropper. It had been taken in The Rover's Return Pub one day and Carla and Hayley both looked so genuinely happy in the photo which looked as if it might have been taken at Christmas, that Peter couldn't help but smile broadly at it as he went down the next step.

The third photo was a picture of Carla and her friend Susie who lived in Los Angeles and it was one of them on a night out somewhere, both with large glasses of wine in their hands and both looking pretty stunning too.

It was the last photo that actually surprised Peter.

Not because of who was in it… It was only a picture of Carla with Michelle. They had their arms around each other in friendly embrace and they both looked ecstatic, Carla especially.

It was the actual occasion for the picture that stunned Peter.

That picture… the one he was staring at of Carla and Michelle had been taken by Peter himself… not only that but it was one he'd taken of them on none other than his and Carla's wedding day.

Yes, Carla was wearing her wedding dress in the photo and she looked completely and utterly radiant as she stood with her arms around Michelle's middle.

Peter's throat went dry as he stared at the picture of Carla and Michelle, besides the fact that seeing Carla look so beautiful in her wedding dress again even in photo form made Peter's heart almost slip a beat.

It also brought back so many regretful memories for Peter and he was amazed to see that she had chosen a picture like that to place on her wall… after all, even though it was a truly lovely photograph, he was surprised to see that Carla would have put something on her wall that was so reminiscent of that dreadful day when he ruined everything.

Peter eventually entered Carla's kitchen to find her stood leaning on a kitchen counter, which was placed alone in the middle of the room..

She had also changed her clothes and was now wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans with a black jumper, her damp hair was still hanging either side of her face and she was staring down at her phone and scrolling away as Peter gazed around the very large open plan kitchen and living room that Carla had.

She had three steps that led down to her living room where there was a large flat screen television on the wall and a grey sofa adorned with matching fluffy pillows in the middle.

In true Carla fashion there was a coffee table with countless magazines scattered on top and when he looked closer, Peter saw that Carla had put more pictures around the place. She even had a bookshelf full of em.

As he squinted his eyes to try and see what or who the photographs were off, He almost didn't hear Carla say,

"Chuck us your wet clothes then, I'll give em quick rinse with mine n then put em in the dryer."

The sound of Carla's voice startled Peter and as he spun around, she smiled at him in an amused fashion.

She didn't say anything however, she just walked with her hands out so Peter could hand over his wet clothes.

It was then, in that moment that Peter realised he was not only handing Carla his wet jeans and T-Shirt but he was also handing her a wet pair of boxer shorts.

Peter just grinned, not looking the least bit apologetic at Carla who raised an eyebrow slightly and walked over to the washing machine.

She didn't say anything again but couldn't help but return a grin to Peter as she bent down to put his clothes in the machine.

As she did so, she threw in his damp boxers, his still very wet T-shirt but she didn't put his jeans in straight away. She sat on her knees as she then shoved a hand into each pocket.

"Just checkin…" She said, which made Peter laugh out loud but also made his heart race at the same time because clearly Carla hadn't forgotten how bad he could be at remembering to empty his pockets before a wash and sure enough, as she pulled his left jean pocket inside out, Carla found a five pound note and half a packet of Spearmint Polo mints. "I knew it." She said smugly, shaking her head as she threw the jeans into the washing machine and shut the door.

"What can I say eh?" Peter chuckled sitting down on a stool that was one side of the kitchen counter, shaking his own head as Carla set the machine to rinse the clothes and then got up. "Old habits n all that."

"I guess some things never change eh?" Carla smiled reminiscently as she looked down at the mints she had in hand. They were ones that Peter always had on him and ones that at times, Carla was pretty notorious for stealing them off him.

Peter nodded slowly and smiled back at Carla but now she sighed a little wistfully and then said,

"I'm making a brew, do ya want one?"

"Yeah go on then." Peter nodded as Carla went and switched the kettle on. Peter took this opportunity to gaze around her kitchen some more as Carla gathered two mugs and as Bailey sunk down onto his cosy blue bed in the far corner of the room. "You've got a really nice place ere Carla." He eventually said, when he was done eyeing up all her fancy kitchenware, although he was sure a good majority of it must have come with the house because Carla was definitely not the culinary type.

"Thanks…" Carla said, nodding, "Although I can't take all the credit. The house was pretty much furnished when I arrived." She nodded towards the kitchenware that Peter had been looking at with a smirk knowing he'd been watching it all along.

"Still…" Peter said half laughing, "I like how you've made it your own… Like with all the pictures n stuff…" He trailed off. Half wanting to mention the one taken at their wedding on the stairs and half not because he knew how awkward it would be to do so.

"Well thank you." Carla nodded coyly, "It were dead weird at first… Getting used to not seeing the same faces all the time y'know but putting all the pictures about the place… it kinda helps y'know. Seeing Chelle n Johnny's faces when I come downstairs for me morning coffee… it comforts me a bit."

"Yeah…" Peter nodded understandingly but then he gave Carla an extremely cheeky grin and joked, "So tell me, what ave I got to do to get a picture up there eh?"

"Not a lot to be honest with ya" Carla said demurely but Peter was suddenly smiling back at her so affectionately that is was all she could do not to remove the ridiculous space that was between them.

She was stood at the kettle and as it finally boiled, she quickly turned away from Peter, glad that she had a moment to blush privately.

She was still amazed that after everything, Peter could have this pretty overwhelming effect on her and when she had made the cups of tea and turned to him, She still felt sheepish, even if she didn't show it.

"Thanks." Peter said, taking the hot mug of tea off Carla who had walked around the kitchen counter and handed it to him.

"You're welcome." She replied, putting her own mug down before going back to where all her food was kept, she pulled a packet of digestive biscuits out of the cupboard as Peter sipped his tea and asked,

"So go on then, tell me? Do you ave a job down ere or are you just a lady of leisure these days, spending your time walking your dog n eating amazing brownies down the local café?"

"Oh I…work…" Carla said mysteriously as she returned to the counter where Peter was sat. She smiled as she put the biscuits down next to the five-pound note and the mints, which she had placed there earlier.

"So you ave a job then?" Peter asked surprised, wondering what kind of work Carla could be doing in Devon.

"Oi!" She cried, wanting to reach over and give Peter a playful slap but not being able to because she was sat rather far away. "There's no need to sound so shocked y'know, I mean this is me ya talking to… Carla Connor also known as the Weatherfield Workaholic."

"I know..." Peter chuckled, nodding as Carla handed him the packet of digestive biscuits. "I mean I knew you must do something ere… as I said earlier the image of you in Devon was one I couldn't get me head around n that was mainly because I can't see you working anywhere other than the factory…" Carla nodded but then she looked sad at the mention of Underworld and Peter looked apologetic which she hated. "Do you miss em?" He asked delicately.

"Every day…" Carla nodded, "Although don't tell em that if ya see em." She grinned.

"Your secret's safe with me." Peter said tapping the side of his nose. "So where do you work then?" He asked, picking up his mug to take a sip of tea.

"No… Enough about me." Carla replied, shaking her head secretively. "Let's talk about you instead."

"Me?" Peter said with a laugh as he put his cup down on Carla's kitchen counter.

"Yeah. I mean all we've done today is talk about me and whilst I kinda relish being the centre of your undivided attention I think we should talk about you for a bit." Carla said endearingly.

"Alright… although I warn ya I'm still just as boring as I always was." Peter grinned.

"Peter Barlow you are many things… but boring aint one of them." Carla said, shaking her head at him with a little smile.

"I'll… take that as a compliment shall I?" Peter said amused, Carla nodded at him and waited patiently for him to say, "What do ya wanna know then?"

"Hmmm..." Carla said dipping her digestive biscuit into her tea. "Are you still working for that boat company?" Peter was about to ask Carla how she knew about the boat company he worked for but he had guessed it was because secrets were not kept well in Weatherfield so instead he just answered Carla with.

"Sort of."

"Sort of? What does sort of mean?" Carla asked picking up her cup of tea.

"Sort of means, they still employ me but let's just say I don't plan on staying there for much longer." Peter said vaguely.

"Why's that?" Carla asked, watching Peter in such a charming way that he couldn't help but be a little more honest and say,

"There's a lot of ridiculousness going on there at the moment that I'm not happy with and I might ave said a few words about it that me boss didn't quite like."

"Of course." Carla nodded, knowing that Peter Barlow not putting his opinion across was something that didn't happen very often. She watched him roll his eyes dramatically as she took a sip of tea, "Do I even wanna know more?" She asked with a smirk.

"No." Peter said shaking his head, Carla put her cup down onto the kitchen counter and laughed as Peter then said, "Anyways hopefully I'll be out of there soon."

"But then what would ya do with yourself every day?" Carla asked taking another biscuit out of the packet.

"Well…" Peter began quietly, "I'm… actually thinking of going back…"

"Back where?" Carla asked without thinking but by the look on Peter's face she could tell what he meant. "Oh… back… back."

"Yep." Peter nodded. "Back… back."

There was a silence between him and Carla for a moment, she silently dipped her biscuit into her cup of tea and bit into it gingerly.

It was a good minute or so before Carla eventually spoke.,

What she really wanted to say was that right now she didn't want Peter to be anywhere but where he was right now but of course, Carla didn't have the guts to actually say that to Peter, instead she just smiled at him and said,

"You'll Dad n Si will be pleased. Ave you told them yet?"

"No. I'm not gonna say anything until it's all set in stone, I mean just in case anything happens cause there's a few things I need to sort out, last thing I need is to be getting their hopes up n then letting em down again eh?" Peter had tried his hardest to sound casual but something about he what he had said and the way he had said it sounded a little off beat to Carla.

She also saw the look on Peter's face as he spoke. He looked regretful, slightly ashamed and as if he really wanted to make sure that he didn't want to let down anyone else ever again.

"Oh I'm sure you won't do that…" Carla said and she spoke in a way that made Peter feel as if she was being truly honest with him. "I'm… glad you're going back?" Carla then said because a part of her really was and this part intrigued Peter a little.

"Are you really?" He asked slightly suspiciously, watching Carla closely who nodded and said,

"Yeah because you going back means I'm a woman of me word, after all, I told Simon you'd be back one day didn't I?"

"You sure did." Peter nodded with a reminiscent smile.

He thought back to that long ago conversation on the bench outside Audrey's salon and he remembered how even though the conversation had been a pretty light hearted one, he had felt so incredibly sad because he genuinely couldn't believe that he and Carla were over.

"It feels like just yesterday don't it." Carla said sighing slightly, showing Peter that she was on the same wavelength as him.

"Yeah it really does…" Peter said, trying his absolutely hardest to remain cheery and relaxed about things even though he could almost be near to tears. "I was such a different bloke back then, I know it probably don't see like it but I am…" Peter looked at Carla to try and suss out if she believed him or not but he soon found out as she smiled at him fondly for a moment.

It was such a sincere and soft smile, almost drove Peter crazy because he was waiting for Carla to speak.

"You are different…" She began, "but also… you're somehow… exactly the same." Peter looked confused, not quite sure what to say to this but Carla laughed at him and said, "Like you're still you but slightly… mature if you exclude your rather ridiculous ridiculous behaviour on the beach that is." Carla grinned, "I mean I really feel as if the time you've spent away from your family has changed you."

"Wow…" Peter smiled feeling a little more at ease now Carla had explained, "I don't reckon I've ever been called mature if me life."

"Oh don't get too excited, I only said slightly mature." Carla said with a smirk, she took another sip of tea before she felt brave enough to say, "and you've stayed sober all that time as well?" She had been avoiding this subject all day because she didn't want Peter to feel as if she was being too intrusive but at this point, Carla knew it would be okay.

"Yes." Peter answered instantly and truthfully. "I've been sober for one year, eleven months… I could even tell you the days n minutes of you wanted me to."

"Oh I know you could." Carla replied, "It's good to hear though Peter, Really good actually."

"Thanks." Peter nodded appreciatively, "N that's actually another reason I'm thinking of heading back to good old Weatherfield. The drinkin, well that was main reason I left wasn't it. I went to clear me head because I felt as if I couldn't stay but now… well now things are different..." He trailed off knowing that the main reason he left Weatherfield was because he felt as if he couldn't be around Carla.

It wasn't her fault of course, He didn't blame her at all. Peter just felt that if he couldn't live in Weatherfield with Carla… he couldn't live in Weatherfield without her.

Now if Peter was being totally honest, he could have returned home to Weatherfield a long time ago but he didn't and once again the reason he didn't was because of Carla.

Peter knew there was no way he could return to Weatherfield whilst Carla and Nick were together.

Even though they'd been apart for years Peter knew that he could never cope with having to watch Carla and Nick be a couple but once he had heard that they were going to leave, he had started thinking maybe it was time for him to return home.

"You're right." Carla sighed, lifting her teacup to her lips to take a sip, "Things are so different."

The atmosphere between Carla and Peter was dynamic as they continued to drink their drinks companionably.

Carla asked Peter a bit more about when he planned to go back up north and then they went on to talking about random other subjects but there was a question that Carla had been dying to ask Peter for a long while now and after finishing her cup of tea and after a long conversation about Simon, Carla finally found the nerve.

"Can I ask you somethin?" She asked, leaning forward to reach for the polo packet that she had placed on the kitchen counter earlier.

"You just did." Peter replied with a smirk.

"Can I ask ya something else then?" Carla grinned as she opened the half packet of mints.

"I dunno… can ya?" Peter replied which made Carla roll her eyes and say,

"Seriously Peter…" She said, tutting, "I wanna know…" She pulled a mint from the packet which then made Peter let out a silent laugh because whilst they had been talking about how much had changed, some things had definitely stayed the same and here Carla was again, stealing his mints.

"You wanna know what?" Peter asked as Carla popped the little white mint into her mouth with a grin.

"I wanna know…" Carla began, casually using her tongue to fiddle with the mint in her mouth and leaving Peter not only in suspense but also feeling ridiculously jealous of a silly little mint. "What does your girlfriend think of this little visit you've made to Devon?"