I know this chapter is shorter than the rest and nothing really happens but I felt I needed it rather than doing a massive time jump. Thank you for all of the lovely reviews.

3.

Walking into Carla's hospital room Michelle sat the overnight bag down on the floor, watching as her friend pulled herself into a sitting position she looked around at the large bouquets of flowers.

"You starting a florist?" Michelle joked.

"Peter," Carla sighed, rolling her eyes. "The nurses keep promising to get rid of them but I think it's been quite busy out on the ward."

Michelle sat down in the chair. "Want me to get rid?"

"I suppose," Carla shrugged. "You're not supposed to have flowers in a hospital anyway, something about spores and bacteria," she added.

"Has he been around again?" Michelle asked.

Carla shook her head. "Not since the scan last night."

"You were sleeping when Rob and I came back in, your fever was still pretty high and the nurse said you'd probably be out of it for the rest of the night," Michelle said, feeling the need to explain why she hadn't come back last night.

"It's ok," Carla reassured her friend. "I don't need babysitting 24 hours a day."

Michelle nodded. "I know. I just didn't want you to wake up alone."

"I didn't," Carla assured her.

"I thought you said Peter didn't come back?" Michelle frowned.

Carla pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing as her stomach pulled. "He didn't, Rob was here, I don't think he'd left so I forced him to go home and shower. Told him me was stinking the place out."

"Little brother's protective streak is out in full force," Michelle joked.

"Yeah," Carla sighed.

Michelle watched as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "Why do I get the feeling you're not too happy about that?"

"It's just he hates Peter … like really, really hates him," Carla worried.

"With good reason. The way Rob sees it he has no loyalty to Peter, his only priority is you and after everything Peter has put you through he's well within his rights to hate him," Michelle summarised, not quite sure what Carla's issue was.

Carla rested her hand on the stomach. "But no matter what has happened he's still the father of my baby and I don't want her to be born into a world where there's so much hate."

"Her?" Michelle stammered, not quite sure she had heard Carla properly.

"Yeah," Carla smiled. "We found out last night. It's a little girl. I'm having a little girl."

Unable to contain her excitement Michelle practically jumped out of her chair as she wrapped her arms around her friend, being careful not to cause her any pain. "Oh Carla. A little girl. A mini Carla. That's amazing."

"It makes it all seem so real. I'm going to be someone's mother," Carla whispered.

"I know," Michelle grinned.

Running her hand across her stomach in lazy circles Carla mirrored her smile. "I never thought I could do this 'Chelle but now she's here, growing inside me I really want it, I want her."

"You'll be a great mum," Michelle assured her.

"I'm going to try my best," Carla vowed. "Which is all I can do is try my best for her, I never had that, I never had a mother that put me first but it's not going to be like that for her. Starting now she has to come first which is why no matter what's happened I could never completely hate Peter, he's her father and that will always mean something. Even if we're not together anymore."

Michelle looked up at her friend. Her eyes wide with alarm. "Please tell me you're not thinking of taking him back?"

"No," Carla insisted. "I made that crystal clear last night but I want my daughter to have a father and … he needs to clean up, stay sober and fight for her but if he does that then I won't keep her from him. I couldn't … she'd only end up hating me in the future for it."

"He's a mess Carla," Michelle pointed out.

Carla looked across at the scan photo that sat on her bedside table. "I know. But he has so much to fight for. Simon and this little girl they need him and I know deep down he knows that. He has to know that."

"But Tina, what if-"

"He's not a murderer Michelle," Carla said, her voice strong and full of conviction. "Despite what I may have said previously I know in my heart that he's not capable of that. He gave me my life back after Frank and there's no way that the man who did that could have taken the life of someone else, no matter how angry or drunk he might have been."

"Ok," Michelle agreed.

Carla eyed her friend. "But?"

"I didn't say anything," Michelle hedged.

"You didn't have to," Carla replied.

Michelle looked down at the ground, not wanting to see her friend's face as she spoke. "I know you didn't do it. And if you're right and Peter didn't kill her then who did? Who else had reason enough to kill Tina."

"I don't know Michelle," Carla sighed. "But I know that I didn't kill her and for the sake of my little girl I have to believe that the truth will be enough because otherwise there's no way I'll get through this. If I even for a second allow myself to believe that I could go down for this, that I'll have to give birth to my little girl in prison and then have social services take her away I won't be able to breath. I won't 'Chelle … so I can't. I can't think about that. Not now. Not ever."

"Besides you have more important things to think about," Michelle said. "Like choosing a name for your beautiful little girl"

Carla smiled, lazily tapping her fingers on her barely there bump. "I have 20 weeks to think about that."

"I know, but there's no harm in making a short list," Michelle prompted.

"I might have a few," Carla finally admitted.

Leaning her elbows on the bed Michelle rested her head in the palm of her hands. "Do you remember when we were kids."

"Vaguely," Carla smiled.

"We must have been like what 7? 8? And we went to the summer fair at school, they had that competition where you had to chose the name of the doll and if you got it right you won the doll, do you remember what names we chose?" Michelle asked, recalling a time decades ago.

Chuckling gently Carla nodded. "Yeah. You thought her name was Alice, which if I recall correctly was what Ryan was going to be called if he was a girl."

"Yeah, I never wavered from that name," Michelle remembered. "And you chose .."

"Francesca, I called the doll Francesca," Carla answered.

"And you won," Michelle continued. "But the minute you got the doll you shortened her name to Frankie, chopped off all her hair and turned her dress into a pair of dungarees, you were such a tomboy right until you hit puberty."

Laughing Carla soon regretted it as her stomach began to ache. "Sometimes I forget I just had surgery."

"You need to take it easy," Michelle warned.

"Yes Mum," Carla said, her voice light and teasing.

Michelle poured herself a glass of water. "So is Frankie still on the short list."

"Nah," Carla sung, screwing up her nose.

"Are you going to tell me what is?" Michelle wondered.

Lifting her eyebrows in a teasing manner Carla shook her head. "Nope."

"That's cruel," Michelle sulked.

"I know," Carla agreed.

Lightly nudging her friend Michelle rolled her eyes. "I guess I'll just have to wait 20 weeks to find out."

"Yes you will," Carla laughed as she nudged her friend back before taking the cup of water from her and finishing it off.

"Have they mentioned when you might get out of here?" Michelle asked, changing the subject once again.

Carla sighed, leaning back against the pillow. "Probably not for a few days, apparently I have to have IV antibiotics until they are sure the infection is totally out of my system."

"Want me to bring anything else in for you?" Michelle offered.

"Something to read," Carla replied, putting the now empty cup down.

"Magazine or book?" Michelle queried.

Carla raised her eyebrows. "When was the last time you knew me to finish a book?"

"Magazines it is," Michelle laughed.

"Could you also speak to Sally, ask her to take over the factory for me until I get back," Carla asked, needing to know that her business would be ok, because it wasn't just her future that depended on the income it created it was her daughter's too.

Lifting her head from her hands Michelle poured another glass of water. "Actually I was thinking I might step in, take over until you're ready to come back."

"You don't have to do that," Carla said, not wanting Michelle to put her life on hold.

"I know," Michelle assured her. "But I want to, besides I had fun working there with you and I've managed the factory on my own before," she reminded her friend.

Carla rested her hand on top of Michelle. "You more than managed it. You saved it."

"Well then that's settled," Michelle insisted. "I'll take over Underworld until you're ready to come back. Besides you don't want to give Sally too much power it will just go to her head and that's the last thing anyone wants."

"Oh God could you imagine it," Carla laughed, tears streaming down her face.

"It would be the creation of a monster," Michelle agreed.

"That we would be unleashing on the world," Carla added.

The light moment between the two friends was interrupted by the shrill ringing of a mobile phone.

"It's not mine," Michelle shrugged.

"It's mine," Carla frowned. "I forgot to turn it off."

Reaching down onto the floor Michelle picked up her bag, taking the phone out she handed it to her. "It's Peter."

"Leave it," Carla instructed.

"Want me to turn your phone off?" Michelle offered.

Carla nodded. "Yeah."

Taking the phone from Michelle she put it under her pillow, out of sight, out of mind in the hope that Peter would take her refusal to the answer the phone as a sign she wasn't ready to talk again yet.

"Are you ok," Michelle asked.

Carla shook her head. "But I will be."

"Want me to speak to him?" Michelle suggested.

"No," Carla sighed. "He'll get the message eventually."

Emptying the overnight bag into the small cupboard Michelle leaned back in the chair. "I hope so. For your sake."

"He probably just wants to make sure the baby is ok," Carla reasoned.

"He knows the baby is ok," Michelle reminded her.

Carla let out a long, slow, breath. "At least he's making an effort."

"Why are you defending him?" Michelle wondered.

"I'm not," Carla insisted. "But on the other hand I'm also not going to take everything he does and assume it's part of some big, evil plan. He was really affected by seeing the baby last night, finding out it's a girl … I don't know, I think it might have been just the push he needed to see how much he's spiralled out of control."

Michelle blinked slowly. "Great. So next time Peter goes off the rails we just have to plan a near death experience to bring him back. Got it."

"'Chelle," Carla warned.

"I'm sorry," Michelle apologised. "It's just you were sick Car. Really, really sick and I don't think just because Peter was concerned it means you should let him in."

Taking a deep breath Carla mentally braced herself. "I'm not. Peter and I are over. He knows that and I know that. But like I said before this is his daughter too and I want him to get better, I want him to find a way not just for her, or for Simon but for himself too because if he doesn't then … he'll die 'Chelle, his body it can't take anymore and I don't want that. I don't want him back but I don't want him dead either."