A/N: This chapter is where the story starts to move along a little bit. There will be a couple of time skips every so often but nothing major just yet. I hope you're all still enjoying this fanfic and please reviewas I love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!
Chapter 10:
Two weeks past until the day finally arrived. Carla had taken the day off of work so she could be at the cafe when Rachel was due to be dropped off. She knew it would look suspicious to the social worker but she didn't care. She desperately wanted to see her girl and if she had to pretend to randomly be in the cafe when they turned up to do so then so be it.
It was coming up to midday and Carla was sat at a table facing the entrance in the cafe sipping a coffee when the bell above the door chimed. She looked up and her face instantly lit up when she saw Rachel enter the seating area.
Their eyes met and it was almost as if the world around them came to a standstill. Two weeks without any contact seemed like a lifetime for both of them.
"CC!"
Carla jumped up from her seat and held her arms out towards the girl who sprinted the short distance towards her. Rachel leapt into Carla's arms and clung onto the woman in a monkey like fashion when she was lifted up into her arms.
The little girl buried her face into Carla's neck and Carla cradled the back of the child's head. The factory boss closed her eyes contentedly and took in a deep breath.
"Hi, baby. I've missed you." Carla whispered into Rachel's ear.
The pair continued to embrace for a couple of seconds and then Rachel leaned back slightly and rested her hands on Carla's shoulders. "I missed you too."
They took a minute or so to just take each other in and ensure themselves that what was happening was real. That's when Carla remembered the circumstances that had separated them in the first place.
Carla's eyes widened and she gently lowered the girl to the floor so she was standing on her own two feet. She then crouched down in front of Rachel and lifted her casted appendage. "How's your arm? And your head?" She questioned and looked at the spot on Rachel's forehead that had been bandaged up when she last saw her. There was still a mark there but Carla could tell just by looking at it that there would be no scar.
Rachel shrugged nonchalantly. "They're ok. My arm hurts a little sometimes but I only have to wear the cast for four more weeks!"
Before Carla could respond, someone decided that was the moment to make their presence known by clearing their throat. Carla glanced up and pushed down the urge to glare at Jackie who had dared to intrude on her and Rachel's reunion. Instead she stood up straight and gave the woman a fake smile.
"Hello, Jackie. It's good to see you again." Carla greeted in a civil manner.
Jackie nodded and crossed her arms. "I didn't realise you would actually be here today. Mr and Mrs Cropper made me aware that they knew you and at first I was skeptical about letting them take Rachel on but their record's clean although it has been a few years since they've fostered anyone. I held a meeting with my colleagues and we agreed that Rachel is best suited to a home environment rather than an institution so we made the decision to let Rachel come and stay with the them."
At the mention of the cafe owners, Carla was reminded of why they were all there in that specific location. She smiled and looked over to the couple who, at some point, had made their way over to the trio. "I've known Roy and Hayley for years. They're a pillar in this community and are always looking for ways to help. They're good people." She said before she then turned her attention to the little girl who was looking curiously between the four adults stood around her. "Rachel, these are my friends and they're going to be looking after you for a while until I get stuff sorted out. Can you say 'hi' to Roy and Hayley?"
Rachel smiled and gave a little wave. "Hi." She squeaked out shyly.
Roy nodded in his usual awkward manner whilst Hayley grinned and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Hi, sweetheart. We're so glad to finally meet you. You're going to have so much fun with us." She told the girl rather excitedly. "I don't know if Jackie has told you but we own this cafe. We live in the flat upstairs. You're room is all ready for you."
Rachel smiled as a way of thanks. "Can CC come and see it?!"
Hayley thought about the girl's question and glanced up at the social worker, a little unsure of what to say. Jackie let her arms fall down to her sides and nodded once. The factory worker smiled and looked back to the girl that was about to be left in her and her husbands care. "Of course she can, love but first, how does a milkshake sound? Carla told us that chocolate is your favourite?" Hayley asked and Rachel nodded and grinned in response.
"That sounds like a great idea. You can sit and drink it whilst I have a quiet word with Mr and Mrs Cropper." Jackie announced.
Carla sat down in her recently vacated seat and had to scoot the chair back slightly when Rachel wasted no time in jumping into her lap. Carla wrapped an arm around the girl's stomach to secure her in place. It wasn't long until Anna came over with the chocolate shake.
If the cafe worker was shocked at the sight of Carla Connor holding a child, she didn't show it as she placed the drink in front of the pair. "You must be Rachel. Roy and Hayley have been looking forward to you coming to stay. You're going to love it here. How old are you?" She rambled excitedly.
Rachel took a sip of her shake before responding to Anna's question. "I'm eight." She told the woman who got even more excited, if that was even possible.
"Oh, you're only a year younger than my Faye. I should introduce you to her soon. I suppose you could both do with a friend around here. You probably have loads in common. She's been in care herself and I've just recently adopted her." Rachel nodded a little awkwardly and glanced behind her towards Carla who was smirking slightly.
Carla could tell that the girl in her lap was feeling a little uncomfortable under Anna's slightly overbearing scrutiny. She looked at Anna and smiled. "Thanks, Anna. Rachel isn't being her usual self at the moment. I think everything going on is a lot to take in for her."
Anna cooed and gave them an understanding smile. "Of course. Our Faye was the same way. Don't worry, a couple of weeks around here and I'm sure she will come out of her shell." She said and with one more look towards Rachel - who had by that point become engrossed by her beverage - decided that it was the right moment to get back behind the counter.
Rachel swallowed down a mouthful of the chocolate substance before speaking. "She was weird. What's her Faye like? I don't think I want to be friends with her."
Carla chuckled and smoothed the hair on the back of Rachel's head. "Anna's really nice actually. She's just easily excited and I wouldn't be so sure about Faye. From what I've heard she's a bit like you. She seems to get up to mischief and has an attitude to match yours."
Rachel gasped and gave Carla an affronted look. "I don't have an attitude!" She objected. The pair was quite for a few seconds as they just stared each other down - Carla with a raised eyebrow - before they both burst out into giggles.
They had just got over their laughter when Roy and Hayley came over to the table, Jackie not far behind them. Carla and Rachel glanced up at the three of them, a little annoyed that their alone time had been interrupted.
"Rachel, I'm going to head off now otherwise I'm going to be late for my next appointment. Are you going to be ok here?" Jackie asked and gave Carla a somewhat wary look.
Rachel smiled and nodded. "Yup. I'm with CC. Of course I'm going to be ok." She stated.
Jackie nodded and then gave Roy and Hayley a subtle gesture. Hayley snapped into action and addressed Rachel. "Ok, how about Roy and I show you around upstairs. I think Carla and Jackie need to have a little chat. Don't worry we won't show you your room until Carla comes up."
The little girl gave Hayley a skeptical look and then turned to Carla questioningly. Carla sighed and nodded. "Go on, darlin'. I'll be five minutes tops. I'm sure Roy and Hayley won't mind if you take your milkshake with you." She told her and made the decision to reluctantly remove Rachel from her lap.
"That's no problem at all." Roy spoke for the first time in the girl's presence.
Carla watched on as Hayley took Rachel's hand into her own and lead her to the door that went through to the stairs up to the cafe's living quarters. Rachel looked over her shoulder briefly at Carla, scared that the woman would once again disappear. Carla smiled reassuringly and gestured for the girl to 'go on'.
Once Roy, Hayley and Rachel were out of sight, Carla then turned to face Jackie. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked the woman who was still standing up. Carla knew what Jackie was doing. The reason why the woman refused to sit down was so that she could show Carla how 'powerful' she was but the fearless Connor woman wasn't about to rise to the bait and start quivering under her relentless stare.
Jackie sighed and crossed her arms. "I just wanted to say that it's clear how much you care about Rachel."
Carla took in a deep breath before she released it and swiped at her face. "I don't just care about her. I love her." She insisted and then froze when she felt a sense of foreboding, "why do I sense a 'but' coming?"
The social worker gave Carla a small smile. "I just want to give you some advice. If you really want Rachel back with you, you're going to have to get the ball rolling on getting approved to be a foster parent. I don't know why you haven't already and I'm sure it's got nothing to do with how committed you are to that girl but there is obviously something going on in your life that's making you feel so much reluctance."
Carla squinted and tilted her head to one side. "What are you saying?" She asked. It was weird having a somewhat civil conversation with the woman who, up until that moment, had spoken towards her with nothing but judgement and animosity.
"What I'm trying to tell you, Mrs Connor, is that I genuinely believe that you would be a good fit for Rachel. Get yourself on the fostering register and I'm sure you'll have her in your care as soon as you probably think." Carla opened her mouth to question the woman but Jackie carried on regardless, "you're a successful business woman. You earn good money and it's obvious that you have a good heart. I can honestly say that when the time comes I will be there in your corner when you're ready to pursue custody."
Carla said nothing and only gave a small wave when Jackie once again announced that she had to go. She couldn't believe what she had just heard but the butterflies in her stomach told her that she hadn't just dreamt up the short but very important conversation.
Carla made her way up to the flat in the cafe not long after her conversation with Jackie just as Roy and Hayley finished showing Rachel around the living quarters. Rachel noticed Carla's presence straight away ad hurried over to her.
"CC! Come on, I want to see my room!" The little girl demanded and tugged on Carla's hand whilst she bounced up and down in anticipation.
Carla chuckled and tucked a piece of Rachel's hair behind her ear. "Ok, ok. I'm coming." She told her and had no choice but to follow the girl as she was dragged over to the door of the spare room.
Roy and Hayley was stood by the door and Hayley smiled. Roy spoke, looking unsure, "it's not much but we did what we could in the time we had."
Carla smiled appreciatively. "I'm sure it will be just fine. Thanks, Roy."
"I wanna see! I wanna see!" Rachel demanded once again and hopped from foot to foot.
The adults chuckled and Hayley was the one to open the door, gesturing for Rachel and Carla to enter. Stepping into the room, it was obvious that the couple hadn't made any permanent changes to the decor. Although they had added some personal touches to the room. Prior to Rachel's arrival, Roy and Hayley had asked Carla what the girl liked and didn't like. Carla basically informed them that the kid wasn't much of a girly girl but that her favourite colour was purple.
As she looked around the room, Carla smiled. The curtains and bedspread were purple and they had even gone out of their way to get a shaggy purple rug. Carla had also warned them that Rachel had a slight fear of the dark and so Hayley took the opportunity to show them the solution they had come up with.
Hayley turned on the ceiling light and handed Rachel a small remote control with different coloured buttons on it. "I saw this in the hardware shop and I thought it would be cool. If you press one of the buttons, the colour of the light changes! Why don't you try it out?"
Rachel smiled and, as Carla expected, pressed one of the purple buttons. The light changed to a soothing lilac glow and the little girl gasped in shock. "This is so cool! Thank you!" She exclaimed before shocking everyone by giving Hayley a tight hug around her waist.
"Hey, let me have a look at that. I think I might have to get one of these for my room back at the flat." Carla commented and held out her hand. Rachel handed the remote over and Carla looked at it briefly before pressing a multicoloured button. They were all slightly shocked when the light bulb started flashing all the different colours of the rainbow. "Oh aye! You could have a one man party in here!" Carla joked as they all looked around the room in awe.
Roy cleared his throat, "I don't think that would be a very good idea. The neighbours might not like it." He said seriously.
Carla looked at him seriously but then chuckled, "oh, Roy! I was only messing!" She teased and smiled when Rachel and Hayley both laughed whilst Roy smiled awkwardly. The smile refused to leave her face. She was elated to have Rachel back, even if she would temporarily be staying somewhere else.
Roy shuffled awkwardly on his feet before addressing his wife, "uh, Hayley, shall we give Carla some time alone with Rachel? I don't want to leave Anna downstairs alone for too long."
"Oh of course. I'll go and head over to the factory and see if I can help Mr Foster out with anything." Hayley announced. She then turned to Rachel, "have a little think about what you want for tea tonight and tell Carla and then she can let me know."
Roy left the room and at the mention of tea, Carla got a look on her face as if she had just remembered something. "Oh Hayley, don't worry about tea tonight. Frank suggested we should all go to the bistro to celebrate."
Rachel pulled a disgusted face and rolled her eyes at the mention of Frank. This went unnoticed by both Carla and Hayley who carried on discussing the plans for the evening. The little girl sat down on the bed and looked around the room. Rachel supposed her new surroundings would do for now but if she was honest, she just wanted to go back to Carla's home.
AKA her home!
Back with Carla and Hayley, they were quietly discussing the rapidly growing relationship between the factory owner and her business partner. Carla glanced over to Rachel and after making sure the girl was somewhat content, turned back to Hayley. "Just between you and me, Frank and I have spoken briefly about going for custody of Rachel together. He's going to be moving into the flat in the next week or so." She couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes even if she wanted to.
Hayley's eyes widened in shock. Although she was happy for the usually unlucky in love woman, she couldn't help but feel a little concerned. "Wow! That's a big step. Are you sure you and Mr Foster aren't rushing into things? I mean moving in together and taking on a child. They're big milestones. I just don't want you three to be put under any unnecessary pressure." Hayley's voiced her concerns.
Carla quickly shook her head. "I know me and Frank seem like a bit of a whirlwind romance but it's not like we've just met. We've been working together for months and I knew him before he even brought into the factory. If anything, it should show the social worker how committed we are. This way Rachel will have a proper family. I just know Frank is going to spoil her rotten."
The more Carla justified her situation with Frank, the more concerned Hayley became. She was sure she could see a little bit of self doubt in the woman's eyes but chose not to bring it up. Instead, she changed the subject in order to not spoil the lighthearted atmosphere.
"Well I hope everything works out for you all. Anyway, I'm going go to work. Did you say to meet outside the bistro at five thirty?" Hayley asked.
"Yeah. Frank and I have a telephone conference at five otherwise it would have been sooner." Carla told her.
"Ok. Well I'll see you girls later." Hayley said.
"Bye, Hayley. Rach, Hayley's going to work now. Say bye and thank you for all the cool stuff." Carla called over to the girl.
Rachel looked over to the doorway and waved. "Bye, Hayley. Thank you!"
Hayley grinned. "You're welcome, sweetheart." She replied and with that she left Carla and Rachel alone.
"CC?"
"Yeah, baby?" Carla asked as she sat on the bed beside the girl.
Rachel scrunched up her nose slightly. "What's a 'bistro'?"
Carla chuckled and wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulder. "It's just a posh word for a restaurant." She explained simply.
Rachel rolled her eyes exasperated. "So why don't people just call them restaurants?" She enquired innocently.
Carla shrugged. "I don't know, darlin'. I guess so they can pretend that they're posh?" She suggested and winked.
The girl shrugged and after a moment voiced her next thought. "Does Frank have to come for tea tonight? Why can't it just be me and you?" She whined slightly.
Carla gave Rachel a stern look. "Eh, I won't be having any of that. Not today. Do you understand?" She scolded and the blonde child frowned and looked down at her feet. "It was actually Franks idea to go to the bistro so it wouldn't be very nice if I said he couldn't come and anyway, the reason why we've invited Roy and Hayley is to say thank you. Without them, we wouldn't be here right now."
Rachel sighed softly and looked back up at Carla who's facial expression had become slightly softer. "Is Frank your boyfriend?" She asked, straight to the point.
The dark haired woman took in a deep breath before nodding. "He is and I better warn you now that when you come back to live with me, Frank will be living at the flat too." Rachel opened her mouth to object but Carla put a stop to it. "I know it's a lot for you take in, darlin' but things are going to start changing very quickly for everyone. There are going to be a few adjustments for all of us but together we can get through it, ok? Me, you and Frank…we're going to be a family. Won't it be great having two parents?" She hooked a slender finger under the girls chin and lifted her head so they could gain eye contact.
Rachel looked into Carla's eyes and could see how happy she was, she decided not to ruin everything for the woman who was fighting so hard for her. She would just have to figure out a way to get rid of Frank when she eventually went home with Carla.
The child shrugged in response to Carla's previous question and swallowed. "I suppose it will be good. One more person to buy me things, right?" She said cheekily.
Carla laughed and tapped Rachel's nose. "You've got that right, girly!" She agreed and then became slightly more serious, "but it also means that there will be one more person there to love and take care of you." There was a a moment of silence before Carla remembered something and began to dig through her handbag.
"Speaking of people buying things. Frank and I got you a little something." Carla announced as she took out a wrapped package. Rachel's eyes lit up as Carla handed her the gift. She hesitated but all it took was for Carla to say, "well open it then!" for her to rip into the wrapping paper with abandon.
Rachel gasped and squealed when it was revealed that she had just received a brand new mobile phone. She wasted no time in opening up the box and examining the gadget. She then jumped into Carla's lap and gave her a huge hug.
"Thank you! I love it!" The little girl exclaimed.
"You're welcome. Now listen to me. There are going to be some ground rules, ok?" Carla warned.
Rachel untangled herself from Carla but made no effort to climb off the woman's lap. "Like what?" She asked, trying to match Carla's significant look.
Carla crossed her fingers and prayed that her next words wouldn't prompt any complaints from the little girl. "This phone does not leave this flat, ok? You're not to take it to school or if you're out and about. Also, you're to give it to Roy and Hayley for safe keeping at bed time as that's when you should be sleeping and not playing with phones. Have I made myself clear?"
Rachel nodded and smiled. "Is that all?" She asked.
Carla nodded but then went on to say, "yep and this," she tapped the top of the mobile, "is mainly just so we can talk everyday. You're only to make calls to people that myself and Frank -and of course Roy and Hayley - approve of."
Rachel thought over the small but clear list of rules for a couple of seconds before she nodded her agreement once more. "Ok."
Carla was relieved that Rachel was willing to comply with the rules and she showed that relief by placing a kiss to the girls forehead. "Good girl. Now, do you want me to help you set that thing up?"
"Yes please!" Rachel begged.
The two spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking Rachel's small amount of belongings and getting her settled into her new environment. They managed to find a channel that had some kids cartoons and snuggled on the couch in the living room until it was time for Carla to go back to work. It was decided until they figured something out which was more permanent, that Rachel would sit in the cafe under Roy's watchful gaze whilst Hayley and Carla were both busy at work.
Just before five thirty later that day, Carla and Frank were waiting outside the bistro for their three other dinner companions. Carla was a little nervous as this would be the first time she would be out in public with her girl whilst being surrounded by other people on the street. She knew they were going to get some strange looks but at the end of the day, she didn't care. She secretly couldn't wait to show Rachel off.
"Carla, would you calm down. They'll be here any minute. Roy and Hayley don't strike me as the type to be late." Frank told his girlfriend who was currently craning her neck to look around the street for any sign of the cafe owners and the little girl.
Carla relaxed slightly and hooked her arm through his as if she was trying to anchor herself to the ground. "I know. I'm just worried that Rachel's going to be overwhelmed…I mean she's just met Roy and Hayley and now she's going to be in some restaurant where she'll probably meet more people we know. And what if she doesn't like the outfit I picked out? Do you know how hard it is to find appropriate clothing for children for places like this? Never mind the fact that my child happens to have an aversion to dresses and anything remotely pink!"
Frank sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm sure whatever you picked out will be just fine. Stop stressing. That isn't going to help Rachel adapt to anything." Out of the the corner of his eye, he spotted a small group approaching, "look, they're here. Now smile. This is supposed to be an exciting day!"
Carla unhooked her arm from around her boyfriend's and waved at the trio. She laughed a little when Rachel bolted over to them with Roy and Hayley struggling to keep up. The little girl crashed into Carla who was almost winded by the sudden impact but she didn't fail to wrap her arms around the child.
"Not that I'm complaining, darlin but did you really miss me that much? I only saw you a few hours ago!" Carla teased as Rachel pulled away from the hug only to take hold of Carla's hand.
Rachel twisted her mouth in thought. "Mmmm not really. You just give the best hugs!" She said sweetly.
Carla then remembered what she had been thinking about just before Roy and Hayley arrived with Rachel. "Do you like the outfit? Let me have a look. Are the boots ok?"
Rachel stood back slightly and allowed Carla to examine her. She was dressed in a pair of black leggings and a lilac smock top the outfit was accompanied by a smaller version of one of Carla's leather jacket. Carla had also decided to splash out on a pair of black Ugg boots which weee currently on the child's feet.
"I love the jacket! It's just like yours!" Rachel pointed out as she bounced up and down. A few seconds later, Roy and Hayley came to a standstill besides them.
Hayley was slightly out of breath as she spoke. "Oh my god, Rachel. Please don't run off like that again." She scolded softly.
Rachel gave a little huff and rolled her eyes. "I didn't have to cross the road and CC was right here! It's no big deal!" She answered back.
Carla tutted and bent over slightly so she could look the girl in the eyes. "Don't be rude, young lady. Next time you tell whichever adult you're with where you are going. Maybe Roy and Hayley hadn't spotted me and Frank yet." She told her seriously.
Rachel looked down and played with Carla's fingers. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.
Carla lifted the blonde's head, "it's not me you should be saying sorry to." She stated and looked over at Roy and Hayley.
Rachel followed Carla's line of sight and pouted. "Sorry, Hayley. Sorry, Roy."
Hayley smiled to show she accepted the apology and Roy simply nodded and said, "you're forgiven."
Frank watched this all happen all the while keeping to himself. He had a feeling that Rachel's attitude towards him hadn't changed - given the fact that she had ignored him entirely - but he decided to make the first move anyway.
Taking a couple of steps towards the girl her greeted her, "hi again, blondie."
Rachel was about to glare but Carla who had felt her tense next to her, gave the child's arm a small shake as if to warn her off of showing any cheek. Instead, Rachel offered a small smile but didn't relax as she replied to Carla's 'stupid' boyfriend.
"Hi, Frank."
Frank, realising that was all he was going to get out of her looked at Carla and raised an eyebrow. Carla sighed and shrugged, giving him a look as if to say 'be patient'.
Roy cleared his throat and reminded everyone as to why they were where they were. "Shall we head inside?" He asked and glanced between his four companions.
"I think that's a good idea. I don't know about anyone else but I'm starved!" Carla announced in a lighthearted tone in order get rid of any awkwardness.
A while later, the party of five were tucking into their food and enjoying general dinner talk but after a while they got onto a more serious subject.
"While we was talking to Jackie earlier, she mentioned that she had sorted out Rachel's transfer to Bessie Street. She'll be starting tomorrow." Hayley mentioned.
Carla took a sip of her wine before smiling. "That's great. Don't worry about not having any uniform stuff. As soon as I found out the date Rachel would be coming, I went out and picked up some blouses and trousers. I think I've heard that the red jumpers can be brought at the school itself. I'll bring them over in the morning. I hope it's ok that I come with you to drop her off. At least just for her first week or so."
Hayley smiled in understanding. "Of course it's ok, Mrs Connor. School starts at nine so if you come over around seven thirty I'm sure that will give us plenty of time for breakfast and for Rachel to get ready."
Carla turned to Rachel who was tucking into her burger but it was clear she was listening to what the adults were saying. "Are you excited, sweetheart?" She asked.
Rachel shrugged and took a sip of her juice. "I guess. I didn't really like my other school." She commented.
Frank then joined in on the conversation, "well I'm sure you'll get on great at this one. The kids from the street seem to enjoy going to school most of the time."
Without looking at the man, Rachel hummed in somewhat agreement, "we'll see."
Frank then tried to engage in conversation once more. "Hey, if you eat all that I just might get you a desert. I bet you love chocolate cake."
Rachel looked up at him this time and gave him a cold look. "I don't like cake." She deadpanned.
Carla scoffed in response. "You could have fooled me. You were always begging me to bring you back the chocolate fudge cake from here." She called the girl out on her lie and didn't miss the look of disappointment on Frank's face.
Frank was quick to cover up his feelings and laughed. "Oh, Carla. You've got a lot to learn. I think it's a well known fact that kids change their mind on a regular basis." He said. "Isn't that right, Hayley?"
Hayley let out a small laugh. "Oh god yes. Children tend to change their mind more times than we change our socks."
"See," Frank told Carla before then going back to Rachel, "it's ok. If you don't want cake, you can always have ice cream?"
Rachel shrugged. "Maybe."
At that moment, Peter - who was accompanied by Leanne and Simon - walked past their table and stopped dead when he recognised the weird combination of people sat at it.
"Hello, everyone." He greeted, his eyes lingering in Carla a little longer than the others.
The four adults greeted Peter politely and for a moment, Carla and Peter's eyes connected. No one else seemed to notice except a curious little girl and Leanna who didn't say or do anything except from glare at Carla. Rachel looked at the older blonde and all but burned a hole in the side of her head when she saw the look she was giving her 'CC'.
"Rachel," the sound of her name prompted the child to look away from Leanne and instead focus on Carla who had called on her. "This is Leanne, Peter and Simon. Everyone, this is Rachel. She's staying with Roy and Hayley for a bit until we get the go ahead for her to live with me permanently." Leanne choked out a sarcastic laugh but Carla refused to entertain her. Today was meant to be a positive experience and she wasn't going to to let the jealous woman ruin it.
"Simon goes to Bessie Street as well so at least now you will already know someone there." Carla told Rachel who looked at the curly haired boy stood by Leanne. The two children looked at each other curiously and Simon was the first to smile, a smile which Rachel hesitantly returned.
Peter ruffled his sons hair. "Yeah, I'm sure Si will look out for you. Won't you, buddy?"
Simon looked up at his father and his smile widened. "Yeah. I can show you all the cool hiding places in the playground!" He told Rachel.
Rachel nodded in response. "That would be cool."
There was a somewhat awkward silence as the conversation dwindled out. Leanne took it upon herself to nudge Peter a little. "Come on. At this rate we won't have time for desert. By the time we finish dinner it will be time to go home and get Si to bed." She lectured but in a light tone. In all honesty, she just wanted her husband far away from Carla as soon as possible.
Peter sighed and shared another barely noticeable look with Carla. "Yeah. You're right. Well, we'll let you guys get on with your meal. See you around." And with that the Barlow's had headed towards an empty table.
By the time they had finished their dinner, the excitement of the day seemed to have caught up with Rachel who was practically falling asleep at the table. Carla, Frank and Hayley were just finishing off the second bottle of wine whilst Roy was nursing an orange juice.
A sleepy Rachel crept onto Carla's lap and rested her head on the woman's shoulder. She closed her eyes and within minutes she was asleep.
Slightly tipsy, Carla laughed at something Frank had just said and caught Hayley's eye who gestured to the child in the younger woman's lap. Carla glanced down and cooed softly before looking at the other adults at the table.
"She's out like a light. It's been a long day, bless her." She looked over at Frank, "do you mind if we stop off at the cafe flat so I can change her and tuck her into bed? I've missed being able to do that."
Frank smiled softly. "Of course I don't mind. Whilst you're doing that maybe Roy could show me these trains he's spoken about."
Roy perked up slightly at the sound of his name. "Ah, it would be my pleasure." He agreed.
Carla placed her glass on the table and stood up, still with Rachel in her arms. Frank then stood up himself followed shortly by Roy and Hayley. The dark haired man placed some money down on the table and waved off Roys attempt to do the same.
"Don't worry, Roy. I've got it covered. It's the least Carla and I can do for you and Hayley." He told the man who awkwardly put his money away.
"Awww. Thank you, Mr Foster. I won't tell the other's at work. They might start calling me 'teacher's pet'." She joked.
Frank chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure you've got a point there, Hayley." He then turned to Carla who - looking pretty tired herself - was swaying soothingly with Rachel still in her arms. "Do you want me to take her?"
Carla glanced at him unsure but then decided that maybe this would give Frank the opportunity to bond with the girl they were planning on fostering - possibly adopting - together. "Ok. Try not to wake her." She whispered as she leaned towards him. Frank was just about to lift Rachel out of Carla's arms but the small movement was enough to wake the girl.
Rachel whined and swatted in Frank's direction, "want CC." She grumbled.
"I know, blondie. CC isn't going anywhere. I was just going to carry you home so she can tuck you into bed." Frank told the girl softly and once again tried to take the girl.
Rachel lifted her head, "no! I want CC!" She screeched and gained the attention of the other occupants of the bistro.
Frank sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated being humiliated in public and that's exactly what the little girl had just done. However, before he could snap, Carla was quick to defuse the situation.
"Ok, ok. I'm here, baby. I'll carry you." Carla said quietly and pushed Rachel's head back onto her shoulder gently. Frank gave her a look and was about to say something but Carla shook her head. "Just leave it. Give her time, darlin'."
Frank eventually relented under Carla's adamant stare but to say he wasn't happy was an understatement. Rachel had only been back for five minutes and she was already getting in between himself and Carla.
A/N: I actually found it a little difficult to do Roy's character justice. I hope those who are reading think I'm ignoring him but I have tried to get his mannerisms across to the best of my abilities...