Carla and Hayley arrived at the factory not long after dropping Rachel off at school. Hayley got to work at her machine whilst Carla made her way into the office where Frank had his head buried in paperwork. She couldn't say for sure, but Carla thought he still looked a bit upset over what had happened with Rachel earlier on in the morning.

"Hey, grumpy pants. I know what will cheer you up." Carla spoke lightheartedly. She took her phone out of her bag and unlocked it in order to pull up the pictures of Rachel in her full school uniform. Carla didn't think twice about planting herself in his lap in so she could show him the photo on the screen. He made room for her by scooting the chair back from the desk.

Frank gave a small smile at the first one and chuckled lightly at the goofy face of the girl in the second. The third made his face drop to a stone cold expression. The smile on Carla's face in the picture had never made an appearance in his presence nor had the matching one on Rachel's. They both looked content and genuinely happy...why couldn't he make Carla ever smile in that way? He tried to hide his true emotions on the matter but it was hard.

Carla saw the look on his face as he stared at the photo of her and Rachel and frowned. "What's the matter? Don't you like it? I was going to get us both a copy to put on our desks." She told him. Her thoughts went down a different track to Frank's. Carla assumed he was upset over the fact that he missed out on the picture perfect moment.

Frank sighed and shook his head. "No. I love it. It's a great picture and you both look beautiful. It's just...I should have been there with the two of you. It's like you said, this morning should have been an important family moment and what did I do? I ruined it!" He moaned although secretly he felt like he had done nothing wrong in the way that he had tried to deal with the little girl's behaviour. He knew he couldn't tell Carla that though as she had already made it clear that she thought he had crossed some sort of line.

Carla pouted and ran her fingers through his short dark hair. "Awww. We'll get one of all of us when we both take her. Just be patient. Rachel just needs to get used to you and before you know it, she'll be 'Daddy's Little Princess' and I'll be the one nagging you for being too easy on her." She joked.

Frank pulled a face, "I hope you're right, Carla."

His girlfriend winked at him. "I'm always right and don't you ever forget it!" She warned him and pointed a finger in his direction. Then a thought came to her, "you know, I think I'm going to call Jackie right now and tell her that we want to start the fostering procedure together. It's about time I stopped putting it off. It's going to look bad on my part."

Frank raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you aren't getting ahead of yourself? I mean, it's not like I've fully moved into your place yet."

Carla shook her head and got up to sit at her own desk. "No. I'm sure. The sooner we get Rachel back home, the sooner you two can bond. Her being with Roy and Hayley is not going to help in that respect. And as for you moving in...why don't we go to your place on Friday night and start packing? You can be fully moved in by the end of the weekend! You're at mine almost every night anyway." She was rambling and she knew it but she just couldn't stop herself. She was just way too excited about tying up all the lose ends in her new life.

Frank smiled, "really? I mean, are you sure? I thought you would have wanted to spend this weekend with Rachel?" He questioned her.

Carla thought about the predicament she found herself in before she shrugged slightly. "I'm sure once we explain what we're doing and why, she'll understand. Besides, once she's home with us we will have every weekend to do stuff."

Frank raised an eyebrow, "and by stuff you mean..."

Carla's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands girlishly, "shopping, shopping and oh! More shopping!" She exclaimed. Frank chuckled and shook his head disbelievingly in response. Carla slumped a little in her chair, "what? I have to at least try and make Rachel a little girly! The only way I can do that is by taking her shopping. Do you know how many cute dresses I've seen in the shops in town?!"

Frank hummed in response, "you just want an excuse to take up valuable wardrobe space with more shoes, clothes and handbags for yourself! I'm not going to have any room to store my own clothes at this point!" He teased.

Carla gasped and clutched at her chest, "never!" Then she turned more serious, "no but honestly, one weekend is not going to hurt. We have the rest of our lives for the three of us to do fun things. Just imagine the summer holidays and Halloween and oh! Christmas! I can't wait!" She gushed. "Right, enough chatter! Let me call this woman!" She dialled the number and held the phone up to her ear before waiting somewhat impatiently for her call to be answered.

"Hi, Jackie? It's Carla Connor. I have some very exciting news..."

XXX

Whilst on a lunch break, Carla has received a phone call from the prison her brother Rob was being held in. She only agreed to speak to Rob because the prison officer sounded so solemn. However, what her brother had to say knocked her for six.

Her mother was dead.

Carla wasn't sure what she should have felt at that moment but in all honesty, she was a little numb as she held a brief conversation with her near inconsolable younger brother. It wasn't until they had ended the call that Carla's feelings came rushing in like a big wave. She went from feeling nothing to feeling everything from sadness to resentment.

Frank could tell that something had happened when she returned from the lunch break he opted to skip. However, he chose to temporarily gloss over her change in mood in order for them to focus on a meeting with a potential new client.

The meeting didn't go according to plan. The client gave them ridiculous prices and Carla ended up losing her patience with the woman and kicked her out.

"Well that's just great!" Frank exclaimed as he slammed the office door behind the retreating woman. He looked back at Carla who sat down at her desk, teary eyed and looking like she could burst at any second.

Frank huffed, "oh no, don't start crying! You've gone soft since Rachel's arrived! Wimp!" He taunted her, annoyed that she had messed up the meeting that he worked so hard to set up.

Carla shook her head, "shut your face, you!" She tried to exclaim but her voice cracked with emotion and it was clear to anyone that could hear it.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You were fine this morning!" He pointed out.

Carla stood up, "nothing's wrong with me. I'm absolutely fine!" She told him in a sarcastic tone before storming out of the other door that he wasn't blocking.

Frank sighed and looked up at the ceiling before he decided he should probably go after her. She was obviously upset over something but she was so stubborn. It was like pulling teeth when he tried to get her to open up at times.

He followed after her and they ended up on the empty factory floor - the machinists had to take a late lunch as they found themselves behind on an order. "You know Hayley's going to be asking how the meeting went when she gets back? How am I going to tell her that you've basically cost the business a hundred grand because you've been acting weird?" Carla scoffed but refused to look at him. "Come on, Carla. What's going on?"

Carla deliberated telling him before she finally said off handedly, "my mum's died." She then quickly changed the subject when she saw the flash of sympathy on her boyfriend's face. "Anyway, a hundred grand, Frank? Are you for real? Were we looking at the same figures? There was more comedy in them than a Jim Davidson routine!"

Frank wouldn't let the more serious matter drop though. "Never mind those figures. What's this about your mum?" He questioned, thinking maybe he hadn't heard her correctly. Carla continued to ramble about the obnoxious client until Frank realised what she was doing, "Carla? Your mum's died?" His tone was soft and filled with genuine concern. One thing was for sure, he didn't like to see her hurting and at that moment, she clearly was.

Carla's eyes flickered from his face to a spot on a far wall, "she kept ringing to say how poorly she was. But with everything going on with me and you and Rachel...I was too busy to really listen. I didn't realise how serious it was." She stopped and took in a deep breath, "I do now, don't I?" Her tone and body language both screamed defeat and she went to try and go back into the office in order to focus on some work.

Frank took her by the shoulders, "woah, hey, look at me." He whispered as she avoided eye contact. When Carla realised he wasn't going to give up, she looked at him and allowed a tear to fall when he cupped her face in his hands. "You can't work like this. Take the afternoon off and get some rest. You've had a shock and could do with one. Then once I'm done here, we can go for a drink."

Carla shook her head, "no, no, I don't need a drink. What I need to do is try and focus on something else just for now." Frank went to protest but she pulled away from him and braced herself. "I'm going to take the afternoon off, don't worry." She assured him. "I need to go into town and get some more school stuff for Rachel anyway. Tell Hayley not to worry about collecting her. I'll do it after I'm done in town and I'll take her out for her tea."

Frank gave her a look of uncertainty, "will you be ok on your own? I could always call the girls and tell them we're closing early for the day. I could come with you." He suggested.

"No, it's fine. To be honest I just need to be on my own for a couple of hours. I'm sure spending some time with my girl later on will help me sort my head out." Carla told him and let a weak smile slip onto her face.

Frank felt slightly rejected but didn't show it. "Ok, but you know where I am if you change your mind." He told her.

This time, her smile was a little more genuine. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection, tilting her head back so she could give him a small peck on the lips. "Thank you. I'll be home just after Rachel's bedtime. Maybe we could get a Chinese?"

Frank gave a slight nod of agreement. "Ok. Sounds good."

Carla sighed and stepped out of his arms. "See you later." She said before going into the office to collect her bag and jacket.

Without looking back at her retreating form, Frank said quietly, "yeah. See you."

XXX

Carla plastered a fake smile on her face as Rachel bolted towards her as soon as she noticed her waiting on the school playground. The factory owner didn't hesitate and opened out her arms to accept the child who came barrelling into them. It was a bittersweet moment when she finally got her arms around the little girl as Carla could never remember herself and her own mother showing their affection for one another like that, let alone in public.

"Hi, baby! Did you have a good day?!" Carla questioned and crouched down in front of Rachel once she had stepped back a few inches.

Rachel beamed and nodded exuberantly, "yes! I answered loads of questions during maths! More than anyone else! And I painted a picture for you but Ms Maloney said I can take it home when I've got a back pack and guess what?!" She rambled excitedly.

Carla was relieved to see the girl smiling so much. She didn't think she could deal with Rachel if she was on the verge of a meltdown, not with how she was feeling that afternoon anyway. "What?!" She asked, her tone matching her girl's.

"Faye and I are best friends! She's in year four but that doesn't matter. We see each other at playtime and at lunch. You were right! We are kind of the same!" It was then she caught sight of Carla's shopping bags, "did you go shopping? I thought you was at work? Did you buy me anything?"

Carla chuckled and stood up so they could finally leave the school. She held onto Rachel's hand as they strolled along the pavement. "My, my, my...you're full of questions today aren't you?" She asked teasingly.

Rachel hopped from one foot to the other. "Yep! And you have to answer them!" She demanded.

Carla laughed out loud at that - a real and genuine laugh. "Well...yes I went shopping and yes I've got you something...a few things actually and the reason why I'm not at work is because I decided it would be more fun to collect my favourite girl and take her out for drum roll...pizza!"

"Yay!" Rachel fist bumped the air, "I love pizza. Can I get pepperoni stuffed crust and bbq wings? I love bbq wings."

Carla smiled as she walked towards the high street where she knew there was a pizzeria. "Sure you can, sweetheart."

"And can I have coke?"

"Yep."

"Oh, oh and ice cream for desert?!" Rachel practically begged and pulled on Carla's arm.

The dark haired woman sucked in a breath and squinted her eyes as if she was thinking deeply, "ohhhh...I don't know about ice cream as well! We don't want you to explode!" Carla teased before she then went on to poke the girl in the stomach which happened to be one of her most ticklish spots.

Rachel giggled and swatted Carla's hand away, "stop it! I won't explode! I can eat lots and lots and never be full up!"

Carla threw her head back and giggled loudly, her signature laugh that caused some other parents and students - who were going in the same direction as them - to look back at her. "Ohhhh, that sounds like a challenge! Come on, less talking and more walking! I'm starving!"

The rest of the walk to the pizza place was filled with Rachel telling Carla - who 'oohed' and 'aahed' in all the right places - about what she had learnt in school that day. It wasn't long until they were sat down at a table with Rachel tucking into her after school treat.

"I thought you were hungry, CC?" Rachel asked as she noticed the untouched slice of pizza on the plate in front of Carla. The woman had barely spoken once Rachel had received her promised pizza but instead she just clutched at her mug of coffee and stared down at the table, lost in her own thoughts. She had glanced up every so often to make sure Rachel was still distracted by her food and didn't pick up on her melancholy mood.

"Hmmm?" Carla hummed and placed her coffee on the table.

"Look, I've nearly eaten all of mine and you haven't even eaten one slice yet! I'm going to win the competition!" Rachel told her.

Carla smiled softly. How could she not smile at the child's innocent antics? "Oh, right. Well to be honest I don't think I was as hungry as I thought so I guess you do win."

Rachel grinned, pizza sauce and bbq sauce smeared all over her cheeks, "I knew it!" Then she looked at the chair beside her which contained the mysterious shopping bags, "when can I see what you got for me?"

Carla was grateful for the distraction and wasted no time in showing the girl her brand new backpack as well as some PE stuff and new trainers. Thankfully, Rachel was pleased with her new possessions as she inspected them all the while she continued to devour her meal.

A short while later, Rachel had convinced Carla that she wouldn't 'explode' if she had an ice cream and not long after that Carla, found herself paying the bill. Once outside the restaurant, Carla flagged down a cab and they were soon heading towards the street.

They spent the rest of the afternoon at Roy and Hayley's flat cuddled up on the sofa watching cartoons and a DVD. Bath time and then bedtime soon came around. Hayley offered to deal with both tasks so that Carla could get back to Frank. However, the grieving woman insisted it was fine and that she could afford the time it took to get Rachel settled for the evening.

Carla lay on the bed in Rachel's room with her arms around the girl. She thought that the excited child had finally nodded off but she was proven wrong when a little voice called out to her.

"CC?" Rachel whispered.

"Yeah, baby?" Carla responded softly and ran her fingers through the little girl's soft blonde hair.

"Why are you sad?" The inquisitive child asked simply.

Carla sighed and forced a smile onto her face, "I'm not sad, darlin'. How can I ever be sad when I'm with my girl?"

Rachel gave her a doubtful look, "You are sad. I saw you crying to Hayley when I came out of the bathroom. Did something happen? Have you and Frank broken up?"

Carla swallowed and shook her head, "no, sweetheart but something sad did happen today." She admitted. There was no point hiding the truth. Rachel would eventually start asking questions about Carla's family.

Rachel tightened her little arms around Carla, "oh no. What was it?"

"I just got some really bad news..." Carla took in a deep breath before biting the bullet, "I found out that my mummy went to heaven."

"Oh." Was all Rachel said and then there was a moment of quiet reflection until she spoke up again, "it's ok to be sad, CC. My mummy died too but I have you now. Maybe you could find your own CC?" She suggested innocently.

Carla felt tears burn her eyes and she swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. "Yeah maybe, sweetheart." She then looked at the digital clock, "why don't I sing you our song again? You should really be asleep by now and I know that always helps."

Rachel nodded and snuggled into Carla as she began to sing softly. As was expected, the little girl drifted off to sleep. Carla took a few moments to bask in the stillness of the room before quietly untangling herself from Rachel and climbing out of bed.

She said a very quiet goodnight to Roy and Hayley before leaving the cafe flat and as she was walking along the street, she caught sight of the familiar green sign of the Rovers. She looked at the pub thoughtfully before crossing the road and heading towards the familiar building.

A couple of glasses of wine wouldn't hurt, given the circumstances.

XXX

Carla was just about to finish up the last of the bottle of red and was working herself up to go home and face Frank. She was in a slightly drunken world of her own in the booth which the rest of the punters had given a wide berth, she didn't even notice when Peter came in and sat opposite her.

"What's all this then? I thought you had been doing well recently." He said out of concern. He didn't want to make it sound like he was giving her a a telling off but that's how it came across to Carla.

"Oh, Peter, dot lecture me. Not today." Carla moaned as she brought a knee up to her chest so she could tiredly lay her head on it.

Peter didn't say anything as he examined her. "Something's happened. Is it Frank? Has he hurt you? I never liked that man!" He fumed and her next words stopped him from leaving the pub and hunting Frank down.

"No. I just found out my mother died." She told him, not wanting to hide it from him. She could never hide from him.

Peter gave her a sympathetic look and took a hold of her hand. "I'm sorry to hear that but you and I both know that this," he tapped the neck of the wine bottle, "isn't the answer. Not for you and it certainly isn't going to do any good for that girl of yours."

Carla scoffed and lifted her head, her eyes were half open as she spat at him, "that little girl is better off without me."

Peter was shocked by her words and then chuckled without humour, "don't be ridiculous. I saw you at pick up today. You're great with her! Simon said all she did was talk about you at school."

Carla shook her head. "You don't know the half of it." She muttered. "How can I expect our relationship to ever be perfect if I never even had one with my own mother? I can't be a mum. I was a fool for ever thinking that I could."

"Carla," Peter sighed, "no one ever has a perfect relationship with their parents. Name someone around here that does! You're going to have your ups and downs with her and go through the stroppy teenage phase. That's just a part of life. If anything, you should know how to be a mum by doing the exact opposite of what your mother did with you."

Before Carla could respond, Leanne made an appearance beside the booth. She crossed her arms and glared at her husband. "I thought you just popped out for some fags? What are you doing with her?"

"I bumped into my dad and he invited me for a soft drink." Peter said pointedly and gestured towards Ken who was waiting at the bar, "and if you must known, her mum has died."

Leanne's cheeks flushed in slight shame and she looked at Carla who refused to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that." The blonde said in the softest tone she could muster, "but is a pub really the best place for you right now?"

Carla laughed sarcastically and shook her head in disgust, "you just can't help yourself can you? Even now you have to knit pick." She said before taking a sip of her glass of wine.

Leanne stood next to Peter, "maybe we better get her in a cab. Where's Frank? Do you think we should call him?" She whispered but Carla, unfortunately for Leanne, still heard her.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here. I don't need Frank." She snapped and then downed the rest of her wine. "I can get myself home. Not that it's any of your concern." And with that she collected her bag and jacket and left the pub without another word.

XXX

Carla kicked off her shoes as soon as she stepped through the door of her flat and had to hold herself up by leaning against the wall as she shrugged off her jacket. She dropped her bag onto the floor with a loud 'thud' which Frank took as his cue to announce his presence.

"I was starting to think you had got lost." He commented sarcastically and watched her closely as she stumbled over to where he was sitting on the couch.

Carla huffed in response to his snarky greeting. "Not now, Frank. I can't deal with anymore agro."

Frank was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke again. "So much for coming straight back after putting Rachel to bed. Alcohol isn't the only answer, Carla." He was more upset over the fact that Carla had chosen to find comfort in spending time with Rachel as opposed to him but what also grated on him was the fact that she had then proceeded to go for a drink afterward even though she had turned down his offer to do so earlier that day.

"I just wanted to relax, on my own, with a glass of wine. Is that so bad?" Carla defended herself.

Frank scoffed and looked her up and down as if he were judging her, "a glass? Try a whole bottle! Look at the state of you, unfocused and droopy eyes, slurring your words." He laughed mockingly, "is this what's going to happen every time when bad stuff happens? Do you really want Rachel to ever see you in this mess? Do you really want her to have an alky as a mother?"

Carla felt tears burn her eyes as she shook her head. "Don't say that. My mother died and I just wanted a drink. Is that so bad? I know I screwed up and I'm sorry but please don't turn your back on me. I need you." She broke off into a sob. The guilt she felt was almost unbearable.

Frank sighed and pulled her into his arms, she buried her face into his chest and clutched onto his suit jacket. "Shhh. I'm here. I'll always be here." He whispered into her hair. A small hint of a smirk appeared on his face when he realised just how easy it was to get her to see things from his point of view. All he needed to do was play on her insecurities and she was putty in his hands.