Frank's day in court arrived a week after the meeting with Jackie. During that time, Frank and Carla had been focusing mainly on the wedding to distract them from the looming date. By that point, Carla knew she had run out of time when it came down to calling off the wedding. They had been too caught up in the day to day life of work and school runs and the added pressure of the visit from the social worker meant that there was simply no time for them to have any deep and meaningful conversations. It wasn't like she could just blurt the words 'I don't want to marry you' over their breakfast. Besides, Frank had been doing better in terms of his communication skills when it came down to making decisions. Maybe the drama from the past couple of weeks had shown him that he didn't need to be wound so tightly all of the time.

"Carla?"

The woman in question shook her head of her confusing thoughts and focused on her fiance who was rummaging amongst some papers on the dining table. "Sorry, what did you say?" She asked.

"My phone? Have you seen it?" Frank asked slightly frustrated. He drew in a deep breath to calm his nerves as he looked at his watch. "I should have left for court five minutes ago." He muttered more to himself than Carla.

At that moment, Rachel came over to the table. "Mummy, can we get a hot chocolate from Pops before we go to school?" The eight year old asked a little distracted as most of her concentration was on a device in her hand.

Carla was about to respond but before she could, Frank jumped into action when he saw what Rachel was so engrossed by. "What are you doing with that?!" He exclaimed and snatched his phone from her much smaller hands. The agitated man gave it a once over and he glared at the girl when he didn't like what he had seen. "The battery is near enough dead!" He exclaimed.

Rachel flinched and cowered behind her mother. "I'm sorry." She whimpered.

Carla reached behind her and patted her daughter's back reassuringly. "It's ok, sweetheart. Frank is just being a grumpy pants." She teased and then gave Frank a pointed look. "You need to calm down." She told him.

Frank's eyes widened in disbelief. "Calm down?! She stole my phone-"

Rachel jumped to her own defence at his accusation. "I didn't steal it! I found it in the bathroom!" She retorted. "Maybe you should look after your things better – that's what you're always telling me when I lose stuff."

"Don't get smart with me, young lady." Frank warned as he pointed at her.

Carla slammed the palm of her hand on the table top before things escalated between the pair. "Right...you, " She began as she pointed at Frank, "better get going. You were moaning about being late a few moments ago and you," she turned to Rachel who was looking down at her bare feet, "go and get your socks on. I'll be up in a minute to sort your hair out."

Rachel scurried off to do as she was told which left Carla and Frank alone once more.

"You better not be thinking about getting her a hot chocolate on the way to school. Not after-" Frank began but Carla cut him off.

"Don't start, Frank. Don't worry about what we'll be doing...how many times have I told you to watch the way you talk to her? That aggressive tone is going to do nothing but scare her." His fiance told him.

Frank drew in a deep breath and nodded his head. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to her. I guess I'm just a bit wound up with the case and everything." He admitted.

Carla smiled sympathetically and stood up from the chair she had been perched on. "I know but remember...it will be all behind us after today. Chin up." She said to him as she looped her arms around his neck.

Her fiance drew her closer to his body and kissed her gently on the lips. "Mmm. I better go." He whispered.

Carla squeezed his shoulders and stepped out of his hold. "Good luck." She told him and with that, he was gone

As expected, the hearing lasted for the majority of the morning but as soon as the judge made his ruling, Frank left the court house to sort out another thing he had weighing on his mind. That consumed much of his afternoon and once he realised that it was a bit late to start work at that point in the day, he decided instead that he would be the one to collect Rachel from school. He made sure to send Carla a brief text to let her know that he was ok and that she didn't have to worry about the school run before taking a slow drive to the school.

That's how Frank found himself standing in the playground of Bessie Street at around three o'clock later that afternoon. He smiled and waved when he saw his daughter's teacher open the classroom door and hoped that she had seen him. After all, he didn't particularly feel like standing around for ten minutes waiting for Rachel to be called upon by her teacher.

Fortunately, the young woman had seen him and Frank faintly heard her call over her shoulder; "Rachel, your daddy's here!"

Moments later, Rachel stepped out of the classroom feeling rather reluctant. She was hoping her mummy would have come to get her that day as she was still upset with Frank for shouting at her just that morning. However, it seemed as if she had no choice but to go with Frank. After all, she didn't want to cause any more problems for Carla who had been evidently stressed in the recent days.

'Because of the stupid wedding.' The little girl thought to herself as she came to a stop just in front of her adoptive father. It was suffice to say, neither of her parents had time enough in the recent days to listen to her when she had tried to talk about her feelings regarding the broken friendship between herself and Simon or any other worries that had happened to be on her mind. Frank was his usual standoffish self and Carla had seemingly been too wrapped up in her own little bubble. If she wasn't worried about the tight deadline on the factory's latest order, she was talking flowers and ceremony music. If neither of those weren't the case, Frank somehow was able to distract her mother with yet another family dinner with his mother and father. Said dinners were the worst as – even though Rachel had been present – all the adults seemed to talk about was businesses and babies and wedding vows.

"Hello, blondie." Frank greeted and offered to take her backpack but she ignored the gesture and instead crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where's Mummy?" She demanded to know. At that moment all she wanted was to go home and shut herself away so she could work on her subtle plan to get rid of Frank for good. She just knew that herself and her mother would be so much happier without him in their lives.

Frank sighed and crouched down in front of the girl. He attempted to undo her folded arms but she stepped back and waited for an answer. "Mummy's at work right now and is very busy. I thought we could go to the cafe so we could talk about what happened this morning." He explained his presence and her mother's absence.

Rachel thought over his words carefully and pouted. "Can I get a milkshake? And cake?" She asked.

The man – who was still crouched before her – chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure we can manage that." Frank told her as he stood up.

Without a word and ignoring the hand Frank offered her, Rachel brushed past him and headed for the school gates.

It didn't take long for them to get to the cobbled street and once the car was parked outside the cafe, Rachel unstrapped herself. Without warning, she jumped out of the car and headed into her second favourite place in the world – the first favourite being wherever Carla was at any given moment.

"Hi, Pops!" Rachel exclaimed and gave Roy a hug around the waist.

The cafe owner - as usual - felt awkward with the unexpected display of affection but once he had composed himself, he tentatively patted the child's back. "Good afternoon, Rachel. Where are-" He was about to ask where Rachel's parents were just as Frank walked through the door.

Frank sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. "What have Mummy and I told you about running off, blondie?" He asked rhetorically before deciding to drop the matter entirely. "Look, just don't do it again. Go and find us a table whilst I put our order in." Rachel released her hold on Roy and left to find a table, leaving Frank and Roy alone.

Roy gestured for Frank to follow him to the counter which the man did so. "How did it go today?" He enquired not wanting to mention the word 'court' just in case a nosy neighbour was in ear shot.

The other man nodded in thanks at the cafe owner's subtle nature. "It went as well as expected. Better in fact. I have to pay a fine and I'm getting some points on my license." He informed the man before looking down briefly in a show of remorse, "although considering how badly Stella was hurt, I can't help but feel like I got off lightly."

The older man hummed as he thought over Frank's words. "I'm sure the judge made the right decision. It was an accident, after all. As for Stella...I heard from Leanne today that she's being discharged from the hospital."

"Yeah, I saw them getting out of a cab outside the Rovers when I was driving past." Frank replied.

Roy, upon noticing the growing line behind Frank, decided that enough small talk had been exchanged and took the business man's order.

Once their order was placed, Frank sat down opposite Rachel at the table that was situated just by the entrance to the flat above their heads. "So...how was school?" The father asked.

Rachel shrugged. "It was ok." She said shortly and then as an afterthought; "I thought you said we were going to talk about this morning?" It was a statement and not a question.

Frank smiled and nodded his head. "I did indeed. Look...I know it's not an excuse but today I had to go to court-"

"Only because you lied to the-" Rachel interrupted him before being cut off herself.

The dark haired man leaned over the table so his face was inches from hers. "Keep your voice down." He whispered through gritted teeth and then looked around the cafe and sighed in relief. Thankfully the rest of the occupants of the room were all too engrossed by their own conversations or chosen activities. "Carla already told you why I did what I did." He ground out lowly before leaning back into his chair.

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know. You were protecting us." She said tiredly as if she had heard the story a thousand times.

Frank nodded and tapped the table so her attention was solely on him. "Yes. If people found out what really happened, Mummy would have gone to prison for a very long time." He told her, keeping his voice at a low volume. "None of us want that to ever happen, do we?"

The little girl shook her head and swallowed down the lump in her throat that made its presence known when the thought of Carla going to prison popped into her mind. She knew that if that had happened, she would have been stuck with Frank for forever and Rachel couldn't have thought of a worse fate even if she had tried.

"I'm glad we got that cleared up." Frank spoke, interrupting the eight year old's thoughts. "Now, about this morning-"

"You were mean. Again." Rachel reminded him.

At that moment, Roy came over to the table to deliver their order. A chocolate milkshake and a big slice of red velvet cake for Rachel and a simple black coffee for Frank. "Can I get you anything else?" The elderly man asked as he looked between the pair. He mostly asked so he could check in with the little girl who he thought of as a pseudo granddaughter. Roy was vigilant when it came down the child's welfare and he couldn't help but feel like Rachel was never overly content when left alone with Frank. He also often found himself brushing off suspicious thoughts about his wife's male boss but at the end of the day, it wasn't really his place to intervene when it came down to the little family's private life.

Not knowing Roy's true thought process, Frank answered his seemingly simple question. "We're good, thanks." However just as Roy was about to get back to work, he turned back towards the table when Frank called his name and waited to hear what the younger man had to say.

"Actually Roy, do you think you will be able to watch madame here for a bit after we're done with this?" Frank asked and gestured to their beverages and the plate on the table before them. Rachel went to protest as she desperately wanted to see her mother but Frank was quick to carry on; "It will only be for a couple of hours or so. Carla and I have a few things to discuss and I want to take her for a drink or two after she's done at the factory."

Roy, always happy to help his friends and neighbours and knowing Hayley would be thrilled at the prospect of spending some time with the little girl, responded to Frank's request. "I'm sure that will be more than fine."

Frank thanked the man and let him carry on with his next task as he turned to his daughter who was glaring at him. He sighed in exasperation as he responded to the look he was receiving. "What have I done now?" He asked.

Rachel's nose scrunched up as she crossed her arms on the table top. "I wanted to see Mummy after this." She told him

"I know you did, blondie," Frank began, "but your mother and I need to talk." Rachel tried to speak but a hand being held up stopped her. "It will only be for a couple of hours. After we're done with boring adult talk, I have a surprise to show both of you."

Rachel thought over what he had told her as she slurped on her milkshake. After swallowing the mouthful of her drink she finally spoke. "Ok. Adult stuff is boring anyway. Can I have my tea here? Nana Hayley's cooking is way better than yours and Mummy's." She said and then took a big bite of her cake.

Frank let out a chuckle at that and nodded his head. "You're probably right about that and I'm sure Hayley won't mind feeding you whilst you're here." He said as he watched her become engrossed in her after school treat. "Hey," He called and Rachel looked up at him as she wiped some crumbs with the sleeve of her school jumper. Frank resisted a grimace at the action and continued with what he was going to say, "I really am sorry about being 'mean' earlier."

The little girl squinted her eyes as she studied his facial expression to gage whether or not he was being genuine. Frank ensured his expression was as earnest as possibly and inwardly let out a breath when the girl accepted his apology.

"But I didn't steal your phone. I did find it in the bathroom." She told him not forgetting the fact that he had accused her of the crime.

Frank's eyes fluttered closed as he let out a deep breath. "I know, blondie. I shouldn't have accused you." He admitted before trying to move on. "Now how about you tell me about your day? Have you got any homework I can help you with?"

The two remained in the cafe for another half an hour. By that time, Hayley had arrived after her shift at the factory. Frank made some small talk with the woman and thanked her and Roy for babysitting his daughter before leaving to find Carla.

Carla's head shot up from the paperwork she had been engrossed in as soon as she heard the factory's office door open. She let out a small gasp when she saw Frank enter the room and leapt out of her chair to greet him.

"Finally!" She exclaimed as she gave him a once over. "I thought you'd never show your face."

Frank held out his arms placatingly and nodded to show he understood her worry. "I know. I'm sorry. I did send you a text to let you know I was picking Rachel up from school."

Carla didn't miss a beat as she responded to his poor excuse. "School finished over an hour ago. " She looked through the blinds expecting to see her child out on the factory floor and whipped her head back towards Frank when there was no sign of the girl. "Where is our daughter?"

Her fiance didn't respond straight away and instead walked towards her so he could wrap his arms around her waist. Frank couldn't fight back the satisfied feeling he felt when he took note of the fact that Carla had clearly been worried at his lack of updates. He managed to hide his true feelings when he silenced another one of her questions with a kiss.

Frank pulled away after a while and gave her a reassuring smile. "Rachel is fine. Roy insisted he and Hayley have her for a couple of hours whilst we catch up." He lied smoothly. "I took her to the cafe for a milkshake and bit of cake to make up for losing my temper with her this morning."

Carla gave a small nod of acceptance before turning the subject onto her next concern. "Speaking of catching up, how did it go today?" She asked him.

The man shrugged and smirked. "Piece of cake really. I have to pay a five hundred pound fine plus some additional costs and I only got eight points put on my license." He told her.

The dark haired woman sighed in relief as she removed herself from his hold and sat down on top of the large safe they had in the office. "Thank god." She breathed and leaned into Frank when he perched himself beside her. "A poxy fine and some points. Is that all?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yep." Frank said and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Now we can look forward – just like I've been telling you these past couple of weeks."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as both of them contemplated the future. Frank was focused on the wedding and what lay ahead for their family whilst Carla once again thought about the complete opposite. Now that everything had been sorted out regarding the crash and the consequential court case, what was stopping her from calling everything off? Or at least postponing the wedding?

Before her thought process could overwhelm her, Carla slapped her palms down onto her thighs and stood up. "Well, we should think about relieving Roy and Hayley of our little terror." She stated as she collected her jacket and handbag.

Frank stood up and took her hand into his own and squeezed gently. "There's no rush. I saw Hayley after she had finished up here. She said she's more than happy to give Rachel her tea whilst we go and celebrate." He informed his fiance.

Carla frowned at him and shook her head to emphasise her confusion. "Celebrate?" She asked him.

The man nodded his head and smiled. "A toast if you like – to our future...to freedom."

"Oh no," Carla began, "I don't think that's such a good idea." She told him honestly.

Without commenting on her protests, Frank began tugging her out of the factory. He let her set the alarm and lock up before continuing to coax her towards the Rovers.

"Come on. Just the one." Frank continued to insist as he lead a very reluctant Carla across the cobbles and towards the public house.

Carla tried to slow the man's footsteps down to delay the inevitable but Frank did not let up. Eventually, Carla relented to the idea of going for a drink but tried her best to get him to agree to one of her conditions. "Ok, ok but not in there." She begged him and pointed to the pub in question.

Frank chuckled at her nervousness and hoped his next words would make her cave. "Why not? We had our first date in there. It will be nice to commemorate the rest of our lives together in the same place." He told her.

His fiance scoffed as they came to a slight stop. "Oh what, the place where the landlady thinks you ran her over?" Carla responded.

The dark haired man turned so they were face to face and held both of her hands in his own. "We're going to have to do it sometime. Come on." His tone was final and Carla, not having the energy to kick up much more of a fuss, released a heavy sigh and followed him into the pub.

As she had expected, Karl demanded that they leave as soon as he saw Carla and Frank enter the boozer. Carla tried to get Frank to go elsewhere before things between the two men could escalate but, of course, Frank stood his ground. The angry man ranted at Frank as he got closer and closer to him and Carla could do nothing but hang her head as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with the rest of the punters. All eyes were on them and she hated the feeling.

Her head shot up and her blood turned cold when Stella came out on crutches from the back and announced her presence, being assisted by her two daughters. Carla avoided eye contact with all three blondes who were stood behind the bar as Stella spoke words of peace and forgiveness. At first, Karl was not happy with his girlfriend's decision but the injured woman was eventually able to talk him down.

"You're more than welcome to stay and get yourself and Carla a drink." Stella told Frank who nodded in thanks.

They got their drinks - a red wine for Carla and a bottle of lager for Frank – before retreating to find themselves a table. Carla kept her head down as she still felt people watching them, even the factory lot who were celebrating Sean's birthday.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Frank commented and brushed a piece of hair back from Carla's face. He could tell she still felt uncomfortable but he was sure she would relax after a couple of drinks.

Carla took a small sip from the glass in her hand before she responded. "People are staring." She told him quietly.

Her fiance squeezed her shoulder and tried to be comforting. "Let them stare. It's easy for them to judge when they don't know all the facts." He said, echoing the exact same words she had spoken to Deirdre a day or so after the crash. "Besides, Stella knows it was an accident – that's the most important thing."

Frank sighed tiredly when Carla refused to meet his eyes or anyone else's for that matter. "I know what will cheer you up." He claimed. "You know I said this," he gestured to their drinks, "is to mark the rest of our lives?" He waited for her to show any sign of acknowledgement and carried on when he received a nod. "Well...I've got a surprise for you a bit later. I'm just waiting for a phone call to confirm it."

Carla hummed suspiciously as she swirled her drink around to occupy her wandering mind. "I hope this 'surprise' isn't too extravagant." She told him pointedly and raised an eyebrow.

A smirk graced Frank's lips at her words. "Nothing is too extravagant for you." Carla released a soft scoff as she shook her head. "Don't worry. You're going to love it." He assured her and then proceeded to place a kiss to her temple.

Over an hour later, they had just finished their second beverages and were about to order their third when Hayley walked into the pub with their daughter. The child ran over to her mother's side and hugged her tightly.

"Hi, Mummy!" She greeted.

Carla looked around and smiled at Hayley in greeting before turning her attention back onto her daughter. "What are you doing here?" She asked in disapproval. It was safe to say that she didn't feel particularly comfortable with her daughter being in the pub in the evening. Not only could it get a bit rowdy but she also didn't want people to think she was a bad mother.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Connor." Hayley spoke up in response. "I tried to hold off bringing her here for as long as possible but then she began to get worried." The older woman stated.

"I missed you. Don't be mad at Nana Hayley." Rachel told her mother as she settled into the stool next to Carla.

At that moment, Frank's phone rang. "I have to take this." He told Carla who watched him leave the table.

A few minutes passed by whilst he was on the phone. Hayley apologised once again and Carla waved off the woman's sentiments. The two began to talk amongst themselves with Rachel interjecting with details about her day at school and the activities she had participated in whilst at the cafe flat. Frank then reappeared back at the table, an all knowing grin on his lips.

"Sorry, love. Looks like we don't have time for another round. That was the phone call I've been waiting for." He told Carla. "Come on, I booked a taxi for about this time and it will be here any minute."

Carla looked between her fiance and their child. "But what about-" She was about to ask what they would do with Rachel, it was around the time of the evening when they began her bedtime routine, after all. However as if reading her mind, Frank stopped her from voicing her train of thought.

"Oh, did I not say?" Frank winked in Carla's direction, "this is a surprise for the whole family. You both need to be there." He stated and sighed at the reluctant look on his fiance's gaze. "Carla, relax. I know it's only a couple hours until Rachel's bedtime but I promise we won't be out too late. Besides, everyone is entitled to a late night every so often."

Carla gaped at his words as she tried to think of another excuse as to why they should just call it a day and go home. Usually Frank was as stickler for the rules and insisted on sticking to them. He always made it a point to say that they should have their tea at the same time every day and that Rachel's bedtime shouldn't be something that was up for debate.

"I want to see the surprise." Rachel insisted and that worked to get Carla's attention.

The mother looked at her child and, as always, couldn't face disappointing her. "Ok. Fine." She sighed as she stood up and took a hold of Rachel's hand. She pointed a finger at Frank and spoke her next words in a warning tone. "But we better be back before nine the latest."

Frank looked down at his watch and smiled. "That's more than enough time." He assured her.

Carla's heart sank as the black cab Frank had booked for them turned into an upmarket residential area in Wilmslow on the outskirts of Manchester. She had a feeling that she knew what the so called 'surprise' was and she couldn't help but once again feel like the rug had been pulled out from under her. Had the conversation they had just the other weekend not sunken in?

"Woah! These houses are huge!"

Rachel's wonder filled voice brought Carla back to reality just in time for them to pull up outside of a three story house. Following Frank's lead, mother and child climbed out of the cab and waited on the pavement whilst the dark haired man thanked the cab driver and paid the fare.

"Ok. I think I've already guessed but can you just tell me what we're doing here?" Carla asked and tried to hide the agitation in her tone.

Frank smirked and held his arms out wide in a gesture towards the house in front of them. "Honey, we're home." He said in a bad American accent which made Rachel scrunch her nose up in disapproval.

Carla gaped at him and put her arm out to stop him from moving up the three car driveway which lead to the front door. "Aye?!"

Rachel tugged on her mother's arm. "We're moving?! I don't want to move!" The little girl protested with panic in her voice. It had taken them ages to get to this giant house in the ostentatious area. She didn't want to move so far away from all of her friends and not to mention her Pops and Nana Hayley!

Frank sighed and put his hands in his trouser pockets. He couldn't say he wasn't disappointed in 'his' girls reactions. Carla was known to be a fan of the finer things in life and Rachel was always banging on about them not having a garden. He couldn't help but feel like they were being ungrateful. He had done this for them, after all.

"Come on. We might as well take a look since we're here." Frank insisted and gestured for them to follow him to the door. "Plus I've managed to bag us quite the bargain on this place since the previous buyers backed out last minute." Carla still looked unsure as she watched him pick up a bottle of champagne from an ice bucket on the doorstep and took out a pair of keys from his suit jacket's pocket. "What we will save on this house will pay for one hell of a honeymoon." He stated cockily and winked at his wife to be before unlocking the front door and holding it open for the other two reluctant house viewers.

Carla looked down at her daughter and gripped her hand reassuringly. "I don't want to live here." Rachel said quietly so Frank wouldn't hear and get mad.

Her mother smiled and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind the little girl's ear. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll sort this out." She promised before the two of them walked up the rest of the drive way hand in hand towards the rather inpatient looking Frank.

"There's a little treat for you in that bucket, blondie." Frank told his daughter and nodded towards the ice bucket.

Her blue eyes lit up when she saw a little can of 'Dr Pepper' in the half melted ice and she wasted no time in stooping down to retrieve it. She didn't want to risk Frank changing his mind about the 'no pop' rule so quickly cracked it open right there on the door step before taking a huge gulp. The child felt her mother place a guiding hand onto her shoulder and pushed her gently over the threshold.

"We'll start with upstairs, shall we?" Frank called over his shoulder to the pair and made his way to the staircase.

Rachel felt like she had climbed a mountain by the time they had got to the top floor of the house. Frank opened the only door on the top landing and gestured for the eight year old to take a good look around. "What do you think?" He asked. "It's just like your room back at the flat. Only twice the size. Enough space for plenty of camp beds for when you have sleepovers."

The girl looked wide eyed around the room before turning her gaze to Frank. "This is my room?" Sure, the room was kind of cool and it was massive but she still wasn't sure she wanted to live there. Something about the house just didn't feel right add it definitely wasn't as cosy as their actual home.

"Got it in one and this isn't even the best bit. Follow me." Frank said. Carla and Rachel stepped further into the room only to come across another door which was flung wide open by the excited man showing them around. "Ta-da! Your very own en suite!"

Rachel's mouth fell open once more and looked up at her mother who was in a somewhat state of shock. The little girl squeezed Carla's hand softly to get her attention. "Uh...Frank, don't you think she's a bit young for her own bathroom? I mean...who's going to be cleaning this place? I can't run a home this size and the factory at the same time." The dark haired woman pointed out.

Frank waved off her concerns. "We'll get a cleaner. No biggie." He shrugged. "One second. You're going to love this." He carried on when his fiance still didn't look convinced. Brushing past the two girls, he went over to a set of double doors that they had failed to notice beforehand upon their entry into the room. He pulled the doors outwards to reveal to them a large walk in closet. "Carla, I bet your going to have a whale of time filling this up. There's one twice the size in the master bedroom. I see plenty shopping sprees on the horizon."

They stayed in the room for a couple of minutes as Frank continued to waffle on about the theme they could decorate the room with along with what kind of bed they would get and whether or not blinds or curtains would be the best option. Rachel nodded along although she still wasn't sure about the whole moving thing. Why couldn't they just redecorate her actual room? A room she was rather fond of.

Frank eventually carried on with the tour of the house and they descended the stairs to the floor below. He showed them the smallest bedroom in the house which he labelled the 'guest room' as well as the 'guest bathroom' – he made sure to mention that there was another bathroom downstairs that they could use when they had parties or just casual visitors. A third door was swung open which revealed the master bedroom.

"This is where the magic happen." Frank announced and raised a suggestive eyebrow at Carla who he pulled into his side.

Carla scoffed and whacked him on the chest with the back of her hand. She checked to make sure Rachel hadn't heard what she assumed was his attempt at humour. "Little ears, remember." She told him with her own eyebrow raised pointedly.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." Frank excused his small faux pas. "Anyway...does madame approve?" He asked in an attempt to move on.

His fiance sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "How could madame not?" She asked sarcastically. Frank gave her a small nod and clinked their champagne flutes together before taking a sip of his beverage.

"Hey, what's this room for?" Rachel called out to her parents.

Frank smirked and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and 'whispered' into her ear but made sure Carla could hear as she approached them to find out what her daughter had discovered. "That, blondie, will be your little brother or sister's room." He claimed as he made eye contact with Carla who glared at him. "Come have a look. I thought it would make a perfect nursery the moment I saw it."

"Mummy said she's not having a baby!" Rachel exclaimed and looked at her mother in shock.

Carla's glare turned even more severe - if that was possible - at the sound of betrayal in her daughter's voice. "I'm not, darlin." She assured her daughter, not taking her eyes off of Frank.

"Not yet anyway." Her fiance responded as he matched her glare. Deciding not to ruin their first visit to the new family home, Frank decided to quickly change the subject. "I've also done my research into the local schools. There's a great private school about a ten minute walk from here. They have an 'outstanding' on all of their Ofsted reports."

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and now she was the one shooting Frank daggers. "I don't want to go to a stupid private school! I like Bessie Street. All my friends are there. This house is so far away, I will never see Faye again!"

Frank tried to placate her with a 'comforting' hand on her shoulder but she abruptly stepped out of his reach. "You will make plenty of new friends and Faye can visit anytime she wants." He said after releasing a somewhat annoyed sigh.

"No. I don't want to live in this stupid house anyway." The eight year old responded and went over to her mother seeking comfort. "I don't want this house, Mummy. Don't make me live here." She begged.

Carla wrapped her arms around her daughter and felt the child begin to shake with repressed sobs. "Did you really have to land all of this on her all at once? We haven't even discussed any of this yet." She ground out towards Frank who pinched the bridge of his nose. Carla then focused back on her daughter and crouched down in front of her. "Why don't you go and look for the garden? A big house like this must have one." She suggested as she wiped away the tears that had rolled down the girl's rosy cheeks.

Frank interjected at that moment. "That sounds like a good idea...a little birdie told me that there might even be some play equipment out the back. I was told it was exactly like the one from the cottage in Wales." He told the girl, hoping to get her out of her funk. The man watched on as Carla brushed some hair out of their daughter's eyes and nodded at her as if to say 'go on'.

Rachel glared at her adoptive father as she pushed past him to go down the stairs. Once they were alone, Carla folded her arms across her chest and walked towards Frank with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You've got it all worked out, haven't you?" She asked rhetorically and scoffed when she took note of the questioning in his dark eyes. "Oh come on, all this talk about nurseries and schools and décor. You're loving this." She spat at him.

Frank smirked and took another sip of champagne. "Absolutely." He admitted before pressing a kiss on her unsatisfied lips. "Come on," the man called out to her as he headed for the stairs, "there's still so much more to see of our magnificent new home. Plus, we better make sure our wild child hasn't completely trashed the place on her way to the garden."

Carla held back tears of frustration as she pushed herself to follow him to the ground floor of her latest 'surprise'.

"I don't think I have ever been as happy as I am right now in this moment." Frank spoke later on that evening. The sun had gone down leaving them in darkness as they sat in the open plan space of their 'new' kitchen/dining room area. The only light to illuminate their quiet surroundings was coming from the moonlight outside which filtered through the French doors leading to the expansive garden.

'Speak for yourself.' Carla thought to herself bitterly as she rolled her eyes. She tried to keep herself as relaxed as she could due to the fact that her daughter had long since fallen asleep curled up in her lap. A sense of sadness crept into her heart when she realised that very soon, Rachel would be too big for Carla to hold her like how she was at that moment. She was aware that if Rachel hadn't lived most of her life being mistreated and malnourished, the child would already be too big to coddle but she would continue to do so for as long as the girl would allow her to. The dark haired woman wasn't oblivious to the fact that she sometimes 'babied' her little girl but she couldn't help it. After all, she had missed out on a big chunk of Rachel's childhood so in a way, she was making up for lost time. 'Why does my life constantly feel like it's filled with nothing but 'if onlys'?'

Whilst these thoughts circled around in her head, Carla responded to Frank's statement absent-mindedly. "You must have lead a very quiet life." She teased.

Frank smiled at her quip and pulled her closer towards him. "I can see our future playing out right in front of me." He told her. "Me and you - the most sexiest and wonderful woman in the world - sat here with the curtains drawn...blocking out the rest of the world whilst the kids are asleep upstairs." His tone was wistful as he spoke and he made sure to emphasise the word 'kids' – as in plural.

Carla resisted the urge to stiffen up and gazed down at her daughter's sleeping face. "Speaking of kids...don't you think we've got our hands full with this one?" She asked as she looked at him.

Her fiance shrugged. "I'm sure the team we make can pretty much handle anything given everything we've just been through." He told her before adding, "besides, it will be nice for Rachel to have a little brother or sister. Someone for her to look out for, you know? Sometimes I wish I had a younger sibling and I don't want my daughter to miss out on an experience like that."

The woman next to him scrunched up her nose. "Younger siblings aren't all they're cracked up to be. You'll only need to meet my kid brother to work that one out." Carla responded.

Frank drew in a breath and released it slowly. "I just thought it would be nice to have a baby of our own." He said without thinking.

Carla gave him an affronted look and glanced down at the child she loved unconditionally before glaring at the side of his face. "An who, exactly, am I holding right now? Chopped liver?" She asked him sarcastically but without any sense of humour.

"Carla," Frank groaned quietly, "I didn't mean it like that-"

"Then what did you mean, Frank?" Carla whispered harshly through gritted teeth.

Frank sighed and scrubbed at his face tiredly. "I just meant...wouldn't it be nice to have a tiny human who was the perfect mix of us both. A little boy or girl with my charm and your beautiful green eyes?" He tried to fix his bad word choice but Carla clearly remained unimpressed.

She resisted the urge to scream as she answered him. "I don't want a baby. Not now. Maybe not ever." She told him honestly.

'And especially not with a man like you!' She thought to herself.

Frank decided to back down at that moment. She had said maybe not never which meant that there was hope she would change her mind and that he had room to work with. He was sure she would cave if he pushed the subject hard enough. After all, he had managed to get her on side on most things throughout their relationship.

"Look, it's fine. We'll hold off on the whole baby thing. Let's just enjoy the here and now." Frank said and pressed a kiss to her temple. "All that matters right now is that we're here, together, with our beautiful daughter. In our new home. Anything beyond that will all eventually fall into place." He then got up after looking down at his watch and took Rachel from Carla's arms. The woman couldn't help but feel like he had just taken a piece of her heart away. "I think it's time we get this one into a proper bed." Frank announced.

Carla nodded in agreement and stood so she could follow his path to the front door. She couldn't wait to go home and get herself and her child as far away from the house she had just spent two long tortuous hours in.

She hoped to never see said house ever again.