Back to normality?

Chapter 64

As Michelle and Tom headed to the hospital with their newborn daughter, Carla sat on the sofa in the nursery, holding her familiar bear and cried while Peter stripped the bed and put the dirty linen in the wash; grabbing two mugs of coffee, he set them on top of the changing table before sitting next to Carla and pulling her into his arms.

"Hey, it's okay; the paramedics said everything looked okay. It's been a long day, why don't you try and get some rest?"

"I...I thought...she wasn't...she..." she cried, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Ssh, it's okay; all your built up emotions about today has all got too much. I'll run you a bath and then we can get the kids home, eh?

Letting out a shaky, tearful breath, she nodded and allowed him to wipe away her tears before he passed her the mug of coffee and headed into bathroom; as she settled into the scented bubble bath, she took Peter's hand and gestured for him to join her.

"I've got you" he whispered, slipping in behind and and holding her close.

"Sorry" she whispered back.

"What for?"

"Been silly"

"You're not been silly; you were feeling anxious this morning already and helping Chelle, the adrenaline kicked in now its worn off and made you stop and think. We'll get Simon to bring Tilly back in a bit and you can have snuggles with her and we can have an early night"

Taking a calming deep breath, she nestled her head into his chest until the water started to cool; once dressed in their lounge clothes, they sat on the dry end of the sofa, waiting until Simon walked in with Matilda babbling away on his hip.

"Someone woke up happy from her nap" he said, settling Matilda onto Carla's lap before sitting on the armchair. "How's Michelle?"

"She and baby are doing fine; getting checked over at the hospital" Peter answered, seeing Carla was more interested in having cuddles from her daughter.

"I'm gonna go meet Abby for a bit if you don't need me to have Tilly?"

"That's fine mate, thanks for this afternoon"

"No problem"

As Simon left, Carla kissed Matilda's hair before looking up at Peter as he rested his hand on the back of her head.

"I should take Coco out for her walk, do you want to come and get some fresh air?"

"I wanna be here if Michelle comes home"

"They're likely to keep them in, at least overnight; it might help to clear your head?"

"I wanna stay here"

"Okay" he whispered. "I won't be long; call if you need me"

Kissing her forehead, he grabbed the lead and attached it to Coco's collar and pulled on his jacket before leaving; when he returned twenty minutes later, Carla was in the kitchen, making a mug of coffee.

"Hey, Where's Tilly?" He asked as she passed him a mug.

"In the play pen"

"Any news?"

"No" she answered, tearfully. "What if somethings wrong? What if I did something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong love; both Michelle and the baby were fine. She's a couple of weeks early so they just need to run some tests to make sure; I'm sure Michelle, or Tom, will phone when they can" he said, putting their mugs on the counter so he could hold her close.