She walked down the stairs and Johnny smiled at her, she smiled back and walked into the back room and then into the kitchen. She poured herself some orange juice, smiling softly as he got the keys out of the bowl on the side, she breathed out and held up the folder with all of her medical information. She was a bundle of nerves, Johnny could tell but he assured her that it would be fine. They walked out of the pub and Carla breathed out as they went to get in the car, she smiled and looked out of the window as he drove her to the hospital. They walked through the corridors, waiting in the waiting room until she was called in, she looked at Johnny and nodded, she went in and he waited for her.

"Hi Carla"

She offered a weak smile.

"Don't be so nervous" the midwife assured her, she breathed out and nodded "I know it's hard not to be but I'm here to help"

"I just don't know where to begin, I don't know what to do" she admitted and folded her arms over her chest "Do you have my results?"

"I'd like to do a scan. If that's okay with you?"

Carla swallowed and nodded, she breathed out nervously and walked over to the examination bench, she sat up on it and the midwife smiled at her.

"Are you okay?"

Carla nodded, she closed her eyes and just looked straight ahead, flinching at the cool gel on her belly, her fingers wrapping around the paper sheet beneath her.

"Is...is everything okay?" Carla asked, her voice small, her heart beating in her chest "It's not there is it?"

"I need to get a second opinion, do you want me to call anyone?"

"My dad he's out there" Carla whispered, the midwife nodded and got up, she gestured for Johnny to enter and Carla breathed out wiping her eyes

"What's happening?" Johnny asked, he sat down next to her and she turned to look at him "Carla-"

"I don't know" she whispered, shrugging "I don't know Johnny..."

A doctor walked into the room, the midwife behind her and Carla breathed out, smiling as Johnny took her hand.

"Hi Carla, I'm Dr Allen, I just want to check your scans and make sure everything's as it should and with you being a transplant recipient I'd like to take over your care-"

"Is something wrong with my baby?" Carla asked them, Johnny rubbed his head "Please, just tell me"

The doctor turned the screen around and Carla frowned.

"Here" Dr Allen smiled, Carla swallowed and looked at the screen "This is your baby but here..."

She moved the transducer and Carla's eyes widened.

"Oh my...Carla, that's..." Johnny trailed off, Carla looked at him and then turned to the doctor, she covered her mouth and just stared at the screen

"Twins" she whispered, Dr Allen nodded and she swallowed "Oh my god it's twins"

Johnny laughed a little and took her hand, she shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"How has this happened?" Carla looked at her, Dr Allen smiled a little "I wasn't expecting twins, I wasn't expecting anything and..."

"Twins are more common in older pregnancies, if twins run in the family that can also be a factor too"

Carla breathed out and nodded, there was a chance, a chance that these could be Peter's babies.

"We want to keep a close eye on you this pregnancy, it may be quite a strain so we need to keep on top of everything. You'll need a lot of support as well, this will be quite a strenuous process so I'm going to contact the mental health team as well just to make sure you have all the support you need"

"That's fine" Carla swallowed, she looked at the screen "They're okay though, aren't they?"

"Strong heartbeats, the right size for the gestation you're at…it all looks good. I'd like to take some blood if that's ok with you. I'll see you in a month's time, an appointment will come in the post"

"Yeah, yeah that's fine" she nodded and sat up "Actually…"

Carla sighed and looked at Johnny.

"I'm in a bit of a situation and I was wondering if there was a way to tell the paternity-"

"There are clinics that specialise in it, they'd do a blood test or you could wait until the babies are born"

Carla nodded.

"I'd put your conception date around the third week of November if that helps at all?"

"Yeah that doesn't really help, unfortunately" Carla laughed a little "Both fathers are related so…"

"I thought you didn't want to find out" Johnny softened, Carla scrunched her nose

"I don't but in case I do have to then I want to know my options" she sighed and looked at the doctor

"How about I give you some leaflets," she said and Carla nodded "Go home, read them and decide what you want to do, there's no judgment here"

Carla nodded and smiled.

"Let's do these tests and then you can be on your way"

They walked through the hospital, stopping at the café to pick up a takeaway hot chocolate for her and a coffee for him. Carla didn't say much, she was just absorbing the situation and she just knew her secret would come tumbling out of her mouth soon enough but it couldn't happen yet, it just couldn't. They sat outside and talked for a bit, she prattled on about the factory and avoided any talk over what was going on in her womb, Johnny accepted that for what it was. They got up and Carla frowned at Daniel bounding towards her, Johnny looked at her and she swallowed, breathing out softly. The last thing she needed right now was to get enthralled in the latest Barlow family drama.

"What are you doing here? Did Peter ask to see you-"

"Uh, no-"

"She was here for me" Johnny smiled "Moral support"

Carla smiled at him softly, she was so thankful someone had her back.

"Peter's here?"

"You don't know do you" Daniel sighed, he pinched the bridge of his nose and Carla looked at Johnny "He was admitted, he started coughing up blood, it was awful Carla"

She dropped her gaze, Johnny smiled at her.

"He won't want to see me Daniel" Carla shook her head "I have more important things I need to worry about here"

"Please" Daniel begged, she sighed and folded her arms over her chest "Please just try"

"I thought you all hated my guts" Carla emphasised, Johnny looked at her and dropped his gaze "I'll try but if he start's shouting the odds-"

"Carla" Johnny groaned, she rolled her eyes and looked at him "Be careful"

She rolled her eyes and walked off with Daniel.

"What is he, your keeper?"

"He's protective" Carla rolled her eyes and laughed a little "Let's just get this over and done with"

They walked back through the hospital and Carla followed Daniel's lead, they walked into the emergency department and Carla breathed out as she set her eyes on Peter. She sighed softly at him sleeping and sat down in the seat next to the bed, he opened his eyes and coughed so Carla reached out for the water and poured some into a cup and poised it to his lips. He pushed her hand away and Daniel groaned in annoyance.

"This was a mistake," Carla said, she got up and Daniel grabbed her arm "Seriously, I don't need this right now"

"You need to talk, the both of you" Daniel muttered, Carla sighed and looked at Peter "I know you want to talk and I think you should too"

Daniel looked at him, he was begging and Carla sighed.

"I need to get back to Johnny-"

"Johnny?" Peter prompted, Carla turned to look at him, she dropped her gaze "Is he okay?"

"He just had an appointment and I went with him-"

"Jenny didn't want to go?" Peter looked at her, he knew she was lying and Carla pulled a face

"I don't see how this is any of your business" Carla muttered, she dropped her gaze "If you want to talk to me calmly then that's okay, it's fine but just focus on yourself okay? I can't be used as a punching bag right now"

She looked up at Daniel and smiled a little.

"I'm sorry" Carla nodded and left, Peter sighed in annoyance and got off the bed

"Carla wait!"

He got up and stumbled out of the room, she turned around and sighed.

"Just sort yourself out Peter, you said you didn't need me" she shook her head "If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Simon, do it for..."

She dropped her gaze and sighed.

"I have to go"

She walked out of there and Peter turned to Daniel, he gestured to the bed and he nodded knowing she was right.

Johnny drove Carla home and she smiled softly at him, she walked into the pub and then sank down on the sofa, tucking her legs under her body. She smiled as Johnny sat down at the table, he looked at her and she smiled softly reaching out into her bag and pulling out the scan pictures. Johnny took it from her and shook his head, she smiled softly and breathed out as she picked up her phone before sighing and biting her lip, for some reason she expected a call from Peter. She got up and took the scan off Johnny, shoving it into her bag before saying she was going to get her head down for a bit upstairs as she was so tired.

There was a knock on the door and Carla went to answer it, she frowned at Peter being there.

"They let you out then?"

He shrugged and walked into the room, he sat down on the bed and Carla stared at him.

"Daniel's right, we should talk," Peter said quietly, Carla nodded and sat down on the bed "About everything"

Carla offered a tight smile.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for all the things I said to you and bringing up our baby..." he trailed off, Carla turned her head and breathed out "That was too far, that was..."

She didn't want to say anything.

"That was unforgivable but what you did to me, to us..." he shook his head, Carla swallowed and nodded "You...you hurt me"

"We hurt each other" she corrected him "And to say that I wasn't a mother, god I hated you so much-"

"So you slept with Adam"

"I'm sorry" Carla whispered "For hurting you but if you carry on drinking Peter you will die"

"I'm not listening to this" he got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him

She sighed and placed her hand across her belly, a tear falling from her cheek as she breathed out.

"We're going to get through this, together" she swallowed, smiling softly "I promise"

She just hoped that her promise wouldn't be broken.

Carla walked down the stairs, Johnny smiled sympathetically at her and asked if she was okay, she said she was popping out and that she needed to do something for the remainder of the day. Johnny made her promise to take it easy and she nodded, she said she would and then left. She knocked on Daniel's door and he answered, letting her up. Her eyes widened at Adam being there and she looked at him, he looked at her before getting up and leaving. The awkwardness of the situation was astounding.

"Why are you here?"

"Peter came to see me," Carla said quietly, Daniel looked at her and nodded "We talked and by talked I tried to be honest and I think it might have made things worse"

"I just don't get it," Daniel said quietly, Carla sighed "Usually you have so much fight in you, especially when it comes down to Peter"

"It doesn't just come down to Peter anymore," she said quietly, dropping her gaze "To be honest I don't know why you're giving me the time of day"

"I just want Peter to get better and I know you want that too, so I'm willing to do whatever it takes. You know Peter inside and out and I think you can help him"

"I do get it, Daniel. I really do because I might need him too"

He frowned at that and Carla reached into her bag, she passed the scan over to him and he sighed softly pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Carla" he groaned in annoyance, she bit her lip "How long have you known?"

"Not long but I need your help here, I wouldn't be asking you if I wasn't desperate. Please, Daniel, I can't lose these babies I have to do everything in my power to make this work, and you know if Peter got attached and something went wrong..."

"This changes everything Carla, are you insane?" Daniel looked at her, she breathed out and pinched the bridge of her nose "Peter needs to know"

"I agree but not yet," Carla said "Not until...not until I know everything is going to be okay, my health isn't great, you know that and if I lost these babies...it could throw him over the edge"

"I don't get why you're telling me"

"Because Peter's going to need a lot of support, I don't know if I can give that to him no matter how much I want to because believe I really do but I have to put my health first, I have to Daniel"

He nodded and smiled.

"Fine," Daniel said quietly, he passed the picture back to her "I'll see what I can do, I'll try and help"

"Thank you" Carla offered a small smile "You can't tell anyone about this-"

"I won't"

He said.

"I promise"

She just hoped he lived up to that promise.