Back to normality?

Chapter 35

On Monday morning, Peter let Scott into the flat, Carla was sat on the sofa, Matilda sleeping in her arms; moving the blankets and clothes off the chair, she gestured for Scott to take a seat as Peter made them a drink each.

"Sorry about the mess" she apologised.

"How are you doing Carla?" He asked, watched her gently pat her daughter on her back.

"I'm okay, a few wobbles but I'm okay; we're finding our own routine that works, aren't we Peter?" She said, as he put the drinks on the coffee table and sat next to her.

"She's doing brilliantly" he answered, resting on arm across the back of the sofa.

"And how are you finding things...mentally?"

"A few down moments but not too bad overall; I think it's more to do with lack of sleep than anything else"

"It's important to try and rest when you can, at least until a proper routine is in place; exhaustion can be a trigger on its own"

"I know and Peter has been great; sending me to rest and looking after me. Michelle too, she's been round everyday, sometimes more than once..."

"That's good, having a supportive family; have you had any triggers since the night you gave birth?" He asked, picking up his cup as Carla placed Matilda into Peter's arms and did the same.

"I don't think so" she answered, looking to Peter.

"I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary; Carla hasn't retreated into herself or shut herself away. We had a quiet first day alone but she's been to see Roy and my dad; we take each day as it comes and if Carla wants to go out or stay in, we work around it" Peter answered.

"That's great to hear; I'm going to keep you on the higher dose of the antipsychotics until your hormones have levelled out and then we can reassess. Is there anything you want to talk to me about or ask?"

"Just one thing" Carla said. "Would you like to hold Matilda? You're a big part of the reason she's here"

"I'd be honoured" he smiled, placing his cup and notebook on the table before taking Matilda into his arms. "She really is beautiful Carla; seeing you now, compared to a year ago, it's amazing to see how far you've come. A year ago, you were about to see Peter for the first time but seeing that first proper connection you had, I knew you'd come through it somehow; you knew what you wanted and you worked at it"

"Peter gave me hope and strength" she said, leaning into him. "Even when I was on the fire escape, thinking he was Aidan, he made me feel safe; he was the only reason I stuck at it"

"I'm glad to see you doing so well; so what I'm going to propose is...I'm not going to schedule another meeting until the end of the month. Give you a chance to be a family but if you need me or you find yourself struggling, you know where I am; you'll have your bloods taken at your next check up"

"Okay"

"I'm gonna leave you to it"

"Thanks for coming" Carla said, standing to take Matilda into her arms. "And for everything you've done for both of us"

"You're welcome; I'll see myself out" he said, putting his notebook away and putting his rucksack on his shoulder.

With Scott gone, Carla sat back next to Peter and rested her head on his shoulder.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked.

"Can we go for a walk? See Simon, maybe grab some lunch with Michelle?" She asked.

"Course we can, why done I settle Matilda while you get the bag ready?"

"You might want to take the frame downstairs first"