Coming Home

Chapter One

Starts out on Carla's last episode in the show!

"Carla, please. You have a police investigation hanging over you. You can't just leave." Michelle begs her, unable to even consider life without her best friend.

"I need to go, I can't just stay here Michelle." Carla explains as she continues to pack her bag and Kate stands, watching near to the door of the flat. 

"Yes you can. You don't need to go. Carla." Kate walks towards her, as they both stand pleading with her not to leave them.

"I can't. Everybody hates me." Carla confesses, tears running down her cheeks.

"Carla they're a bunch of hypocrites. We all know they've all done so much worse. They'll forget about this soon enough." Michelle tells her, unable to hide the anger she feels towards how so many of her neighbours were acting.

"Will they though? I'm not sure I can stick around here whilst they try and make up their minds how much they hate me," Carla explains, sadly.

"Look, please. Just don't leave now, not today. Just stay for a bit longer, a few weeks-"

"Michelle-" Carla interrupts her before Michelle finishes what she was saying.

"No no. Just a few more weeks, okay? I don't know, see what happens and see how people are and if you can move on, you can stay. If you can't then go alright but please. Just a few more weeks?" Michelle begs as her and Kate watch her, hoping she'll agree.

Carla turns back to face her, looking in her eye before she answers, having lost the strength to argue any more.

"Just a few more weeks."

---------------------------

Around six months later...

"I'm glad you decided to stay." Johnny tells Carla as they sit in the office of underworld.

"You know what? So am I." She replies as they smile at each other. "I can't believe how dead set against it I was. It's crazy to think how differently things might be if I hadn't had listened to Michelle that night."

"Yeah well I'm very happy you did. Anyway, come on you. We're off for an early family Christmas drink in the Rovers." Johnny tells her, getting off his chair.

"Sounds riveting." She answers, sarcastically.

----------------

"I suppose we could get them the drinks they asked for, what do you think Carla?" Johnny asks her as they, along with Kate, Aidan and Michelle are gathered in one of the booths at the rovers but he receives no response. "Carla?"

"Hmm yeah what?" She replies, as if snapping out of a trance.

"Are you okay babe?" Michelle asks her as they all watch her, clearly concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine. Anyway, what were we talking about?" She tries to divert the subject.

"We were just discussing the underworld Christmas party whilst you seemed to be off in a daydream," Kate laughs. "Come on then, are you gonna tell us what's up?"

"What? Nothing, I'm fine." Carla tells her, although they can all tell how sits rates she is.

Michelle, sitting next to her, follows her gaze to see where she's looking as she sees just who it is that's distracting her.

"I thought you were over Nick? Well, not over him obviously but like, you know what I mean?" Michelle asks as Johnny, Kate and Aidan also point there heads towards the little table in the corner of the Rovers where Nick, David, Gail, Audrey and Kylie are sitting.

"I am." Carla replies although she looks unconvinced. "It wasn't him I was staring at." She tells her sadly.

Michelle looks back at the table, confused. "You fancy David?!" She says, a little bit too loudly as Johnny, Kate, Aidan and Carla all break into simultaneous laughter but Michelle just continues to look at her waiting for a response.

"No I don't, you plonker." Carla rolls her eyes, still laughing, feeling slightly cheerier.

"Oh, well are you going to explain then?" Michelle asks, expectantly.

"Gail was-" She starts but Michelle quickly interrupts her.

"Gail's the one you fancy? Aah it all becomes clear!" She practically shouts as they attempt to contain their laughter.

"Shut up," Carla laughs. "No, I was just getting the death glare." She raises her eyebrows, suddenly serious.

"Aww darling, don't worry about them." Michelle tells them.

"Yeah Chelle's right. You can't let them get you down. It's nearly Christmas," Aidan tells her, sipping his beer.

"I didn't realise you were the Christmassy kind of person?" Carla asks.

"Well, no, I mean. It's alright and all but I'm more excited this year. I feel like it's our first year as a proper family and I have Eva, Kate has Caz and-" he says before awkwardly stopping. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Carla smiles awkwardly at her brother. She's about to continue before she's distracted by the sound of the rovers door opening.

As she turns curiously to see who's come in, that's when she sees him.

It had been over a year since she'd set eyes on him, nearly two since they'd actually had a proper conversation and she'd forgotten the familiar feeling that rose in her every time she saw him.

The feeling you get when you're breath is just taken away, the feeling you get when something amazing happens, the feeling you get when you see someone you love, even if you've forgotten just how much you do.

"Carla," he says, suddenly spotting the woman he'd so long to and secretly hoped to. Unbeknown to her, he currently has the same feeling that she has, the one that wouldn't go away.

"Peter"