Chapter Text
Carla stared at Betsy typing away on her phone in the break room. Everyone's shifts were over ten minutes ago, Betsy was the only one still there and Carla had plans to close up and make her way home early and Betsy was normally the first one out of there.
"My amazing mother has forgotten me again," Betsy looked up at her when she walked over, "Didn't even bother to text this time."
She sighed, home early wasn't happening, and now, she might have to see Lisa. Carla was avoiding her. It was just so awkward especially with the more that she was realising that she really liked her and it was never going to go anywhere. "Do you want a lift home?" she offered. "It's better than the bus," she tried to persuade her when Betsy just stared down at her phone.
"Fine," Betsy sighed, standing up, "I pick the music."
The last thing Carla expected, after being called out multiple times on the drive because she didn't know Betsy's music, was a police car parked outside the Swain house. "Still cares more about work than me," Betsy muttered, getting out of the car and slamming the door.
It was Lisa's boss that got out of the police car, though, and said something to Betsy. She shoved him away to go inside the house. Carla quickly pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. "What's going on?" she called over to him.
"And you are?" he prompted.
"Betsy's boss, Lisa's friend," she answered, deliberately leaving her name out of it. It didn't have the best reputation in this town, especially with the police.
"DS Swain has been injured in the line of duty," he told her. Carla's heart dropped. She felt everything all at once. Was Lisa okay? Why did she break her promise? She wasn't meant to put herself in harm's way. What if she went and died before Carla told her how she really felt? It was not her time.
"She's at Weather field General, I am meant to bring Betsy to h-"
"Is that how you just told her?" Carla sprinted to the front door of the house. Her other mum died in the line of duty. That news would need care. Luckily, the door wasn't fully shut and Carla pushed her way in.
"Betsy!" she called out, taking her shoes off. The house was clean, it felt wrong to leave them on. It wasn't that well decorated either, just quite a few pictures of Betsy, there was one by the door with a woman she didn't recognise. That had to be Becks. She ran through the house and up the stairs. It hadn't been properly decorated at all.
There was a cat waiting by what Carla could only assume was Betsy's room. "Betsy," she called out, "It's Carla, can we talk?" She probably should've gotten more information about what had actually happened so she could comfort Betsy properly but she just wanted to make sure the teenager was okay. "Betsy, please, he told me, I know."
"You don't know!" Betsy yelled back at her. "You don't know what it's like!" she heard Betsy's voice break and she was clearly crying.
The cat pawed at the door. She tried the handle. "Betsy, I'm coming in," she told her. She wasn't going to leave her alone. That was the worst thing, a vulnerable sixteen-year-old. Carla would never do that.
"No," Betsy protested, trying to hide. Keep that mask up, hide her vulnerability. So many times Betsy reminded her of herself.
"Betsy," she walked over to her. She looked so small, so vulnerable. She was pale and shaking. She sat down on the floor in front of her. "Sweetie," she reached out an arm and rested her hand on one of the knees pulled up to her chest. "Right now, you have every justification to feel what you are feeling," she told her, "Just please accept some help too. I'm not going to leave you alone, love."
Betsy looked up at her for a second, studying her face. "Why? Why do you even care?"
"Because I care about you," Carla made sure to keep eye contact with her, "Sure, you're gobby and moody," she teased, "But you're smart and fiercely independent," she saw Betsy's eyes light up for a second. She went on, she was going on until Betsy thought she mattered because she clearly didn't think that she did. "You remind me of me a scary amount so I know that you want to be alone and hide because you don't want anyone to see you weak or in pain but I also know, from experience, that it's a lot less painful when you let people in."
Betsy stared at her in almost disbelief.
"I'm not leaving you," Carla repeated, "Whether you like it or not."
It took a moment but then Betsy leaned against her and broke down in sobs that shook her whole body. "Let it out," Carla whispered, wrapping her in a tight hug, "Just let it out." She couldn't imagine it, having one mum injured in the same way the other died. Lisa was going to be in trouble when Carla got her hands on her. Don't put yourself in harm's way. That's what she agreed to. Carla had no idea why she trusted her.
She didn't know how long it was but Betsy's sobs slowed down. "I'm going to be sick," she whispered and bolted out of her arms and out of the room. Carla followed her into the bathroom, held her hair back and rubbed her back gently. Betsy shook as she leaned back against Carla.
"This is too much commitment to not leaving me alone," she muttered, almost in an attempt to be sarky.
Carla shook her head, "It's fine," she reassured her, "Why don't you brush your teeth and I'll go talk to that idiot outside, find out what's actually going on?"
Betsy got some colour back in her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands, moving away from Carla. "If it's nothing, we're not talking about this ever again," she warned her, furiously wiping at the tears on her cheeks.
"If it's nothing, I'm filing a formal complaint against that idiot outside because he's terrible at delivering news," she squeezed Betsy's hand gently.
Betsy laughed a little, shaking her head and leaning back against the sink. "Just go check," she told her.
"Okay," Carla rubbed her back softly, "I'll only be a couple of minutes, love."
She waited for Betsy to give her a nod before she ran down the stairs and found that, thankfully, the guy was still outside. "You do realise her other mum died in the line of duty, right?" Carla shouted at him, "And you tell her like it's nothing!"
"I really need to get her to the hospital," he shifted uncomfortably.
Carla sighed and shook her head, "That's not the issue here, I'll be taking her so where is Lisa and what's happened to her?"
"You're not family," he told her, "I can't just give out inform-"
"Okay," Carla shrugged, "You can go upstairs and tell the sixteen-year-old," she told him, "She might struggle to hear you over the sound of her vomiting."
The guy sighed and leaned against the car, "She's been shot in the line of duty, she was wearing a bulletproof vest but one of the bullets nicked her shoulder, she's in surgery now, they think she's going to live."
"That's great," Carla muttered sarcastically, trying to force her panic and all her feelings for Lisa into a little box. She had to be there for Betsy, she had to keep herself together. It wasn't like Betsy had many other people. It was just her so she pushed it into a little box and pretended that she wasn't feeling anything. "Where do I need to take Betsy?" she asked.
"Weatherfield General," he told her, taking out a card and scribbling something on the back, "Tell them this and my number is on there."
"Thank you," Carla slipped the card into her pocket. She didn't mean it, she didn't say anything else, she went back inside to check on Betsy. She heard the car pull away. The cat was waiting at the top of the stairs. She scratched the top of his head. Carla had no idea what she was going to tell Betsy. She had no idea what happened to Becks, that would help her to navigate what was a good idea to say. She stared at a photo of Becks and Betsy on the wall. They looked pretty similar but it was Betsy's smile in her mum's arms. It was so big, Carla had never seen her smile like that. She didn't want to be the one to tell her this and cause that little girl even more pain.
Carla took a deep breath and knocked on the bathroom door. Betsy opened it and studied her face, "Just spit it out," she sat down on the edge of the bathtub.
"She's at Weatherfield General, in surgery, she was shot in the shoulder but they think she's going to make it," Carla recapped as quickly as she could, ending on the good news.
"I hoped I was being dramatic," she took a deep breath and clearly tried to pull herself together, "Let's go."
"Do I need to feed the cat?" Carla asked as she followed Betsy to her room to get her things.
Betsy sighed and stared down at the cat, "There's an automatic feeder for the stupid thing. Both mum and I were feeding him and he got too fat."
"Okay," Carla reached out an arm for her and Betsy leaned against her, accepting the little hug before they made their way to the car. She picked the music again but this time with no comments about how old Carla was. She mostly stared out the window. It was clear Betsy didn't want to talk.
Carla pulled into the hospital car park and Betsy turned more and more pale as she did. "It will be fine," she reached over and rubbed circles on her knee.
"I hate hospitals," Betsy whispered the confession.
"I can imagine," Carla sympathised, "We can wait here before we go in."
"But m-"
"Let me check, no point going inside until she's out of surgery," she pulled out the card and dialled the number. She glanced over at Betsy and she had a small smile on her face at that. He told her to call Kit, Kit was apparently in the hospital waiting for news so Carla did just that. He told her that she was still in surgery, and said he could keep her updated over text. She had the phone on speaker and Betsy nodded.
"I could pop to the Smiths inside, grab us some food," Carla suggested, moving her seat back to get comfortable. They were probably going to be here for a while. "Have you eaten anything since lunch?"
"I'm not really hungry," Betsy wrapped her arms around herself.
Carla nodded. They mostly sat there in silence, just waiting. After half an hour, she went to get some food and water for the two of them. Betsy drank some water which was good at least. It took an hour but then they got a text that she was being moved to ICU, that she could have visitors in half an hour's time. They waited twenty minutes before they went inside to find Lisa. They got through quickly and then they just waited outside the ICU.
They were alone in the waiting room and Betsy initiated the hug, leaning against Carla. Carla didn't say anything, she just hugged Betsy tightly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Betsy cried softly onto her shirt. The nurse came in and Betsy jumped away from her like she was on fire.
Lisa has a tube in her mouth, she was hooked up to a lot of machines. She looked more vulnerable than Carla had ever seen her. She felt tears stung at the back of her eyes as she stared at her. She wasn't meant to be in this position, this wasn't meant to happen. Carla wasn't meant to be staring at her in a hospital bed.
"I can't," she felt Betsy slip away from her and it brought her back to reality. She looked at Lisa again but she couldn't stay, she chased after Betsy down the hallways. Betsy ran into the disabled bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
She tried to get there before Betsy locked the door but she wasn't fast enough. "Betsy!" she knocked on the door, "Betsy!"
"I can't do this," Betsy called out, "Just leave me alone."
"We've covered this," Carla sighed, "I'm not leaving."
"I'm not either," Betsy challenged her.
It took fifteen minutes, Carla knocked on the door every thirty seconds or so before Betsy realised that she wouldn't leave and opened the door. "You're stubborn," Betsy wiped her eyes.
"I've been told," Carla sighed, opening her arms for her. Betsy collapsed into the hug. "What do you want to do, sweetie?" she whispered, "Whatever you want."
Betsy didn't say anything, she just shook her head and broke down crying in her arms.
"I just want my mum," she told her after a few minutes.
"I know," Carla played with her hair gently, holding her as close as she possibly could, "I know, love."
A nurse ended up coming over to them. She offered to fully update Betsy on everything. Carla went in to check on Lisa while Betsy got the full rundown. The nurse was good with her and knowing everything seemed to calm Betsy down. "You weren't meant to do this," she told Lisa as she walked in, taking a seat next to her and taking her hand, "You promised," she whispered, "You said you wouldn't," she lifted their joined hands and rested her head against them, "Betsy can't handle this, Lisa, you have to wake up soon because I don't know how much that girl can take."
She heard a noise and she dropped their joined hands as she looked up. "She's not waking up," Betsy announced and Carla's heart dropped. "I mean tonight," Betsy panicked, "They have her on drugs so she heals and they don't want to wake her up until tomorrow morning," she clarified.
"Don't do that to me," Carla collapsed back in her chair, holding her chest.
Betsy laughed a little, taking a seat opposite. "I'll give you some space," Carla stood up.
"Hannah says that I can't stay here overnight," Betsy stopped her, "And said she might need to call social services," she shifted awkwardly in her seat.
"I can stay with you at yours or you can come to mine," Carla told her, "Up to you."
"Thank you," Betsy smiled at her weakly.
Carla collapsed against the wall outside the hospital room. "Are you dating her mother?" the nurse asked her.
She looked up at her. "No, I'm Betsy's boss and Lisa's friend," she clarified, trying not to feel sick, "And I can look after Betsy tonight, don't worry about that."
"That's good, we were thinking about setting her up at the station," Kit appeared behind her.
"In a cell?" Carla stared at him, shaking her head, "I can handle it."
"How's she holding up?" Kit nodded over at Betsy.
"Not great," Carla told him, "Look," she knew all about how much of an asshole he'd been to Lisa. She took a deep breath and tried to keep herself calm. "I also think it's best Betsy doesn't see too many people, when she does she shuts down."
"Hint taken," Kit held his hands up.
Once Kit left, Carla called Sarah and put her in charge at the factory for the next few days. Her next phone call was Betsy's school. She found it online. She explained what was going on and got Betsy an excused absence for the next week and had them email all her assignments to her. That took too much of her time but they eventually accepted that they couldn't talk to Lisa and that she was genuinely injured with the help of a doctor. Her final call was to Ryan.
"What's going on, Carla?" he asked excitedly.
"Lisa's been injured," she sighed, "Betsy and I are at the hospital, I need to take her overnight, I'm going to stay at Lisa's place so can you bring m-"
"Can we stay at yours?" Betsy appeared next to her, "It's closer, right?"
"Okay," Carla nodded, "Can you change the sheets on Bobby's bed? I'll stay in his room tonight and Betsy is going to crash on my bed."
"Holy shit, Carla," Ryan breathed, "Is Lisa okay?"
"She'll be fine, they are keeping her asleep until tomorrow and we can't stay overnight," Carla explained, mindful that Betsy was next to her getting some water. "She was shot," Carla finished, looking over at Betsy, "In the shoulder."
"Carla," Ryan sighed sympathetically.
"Can you just get some pizza in as well?" Carla breathed. She didn't need the sympathy, she was so close to breaking down. Sympathy didn't help her keep it together.
"Pepperoni," Betsy called out.
"You hear that?" Carla checked, "And cheesy garlic bread as well please."
"On it," Ryan told her, "Do you need picking up from the hospital?"
Carla shook her head and then realised she needed to speak. "I've got it, thanks Ry," she told him.
They got home very late. Carla couldn't handle going to see Lisa again. She told herself that she was just letting Betsy have her space. That wasn't true, though. Seeing Lisa like that was unbearable and she had to keep it together for Betsy. Carla took Betsy to get her things and some stuff for Lisa to take to the hospital the next morning. Carla figured out how to feed the cat then they went to her place. Ryan had the pizza ready for them.
Betsy at least ate some of the pizza and some garlic bread, which was a good sign, and then she went for a shower. Carla collapsed against the sofa.
"How are you doing?" Ryan's voice almost gave her the fright of her life.
"Were you just there waiting for Betsy to leave?" Carla turned to look at him.
Ryan ignored her, "You seem to be holding up well."
"Only one of us can be breaking down and the sixteen-year-old that is reliving the exact way her other mum died right now gets that privilege," Carla sighed, "Look I really don't wanna talk about how I am, Ryan, I am barely keeping it together as is, right now."
"Betsy isn't the type of girl to take a quick shower," Ryan sat down next to her, "So how are you?"
The tears stung the back of her eyes, "Ryan, please leave it," she bit out.
Instead, he wrapped an arm around her and she couldn't keep herself from crying. Everything from the day, she was so overwhelmed. Lisa, Betsy, everything. She hated being like this, so out of control. She couldn't bear it.
She pulled herself together before Betsy got out of the shower and splashed water on her face. She showed Betsy where she'd sleep and then collapsed in Bobby's bed. She didn't sleep at all.
She got up and walked around slowly, drinking some water. Carla wasn't going to get any sleep. She checked on Betsy. She was sleeping but it looked like she had cried herself to sleep. Carla shut the door softly and collapsed on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
She maybe fell asleep a little on the sofa but she didn't feel well rested at all. She made herself a very large cup of coffee at five in the morning to prepare herself for the day. Betsy appeared at six-thirty and took her own cup of coffee while Carla drank her second. She didn't look awake enough to talk so Carla didn't say anything. She just put some toast in front of Betsy and ate some herself. They left for the hospital early.
Lisa had been taken off the medication and they said that she would wake up soon, they'd also removed the tube in her mouth. She was just lying there now, breathing on her own, and she actually looked peaceful. It was rare to see Lisa look so peaceful. She was always on the go. Betsy went in ahead of her while Carla found out how she was doing. Apparently, she was doing better than expected and healing faster than anyone expected.
"Hi," she walked into the hospital room. Betsy was sitting on the chair nearest to the door.
"Hi," she looked up at her.
"She's overachieving," Carla told her, "Healing faster than expected."
"Of course, she is," Betsy rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
Carla wrapped her arms around Betsy, "Hey," she whispered, "She's going to live."
Betsy leaned against her, "She's going to be insufferable until she can get back to work."
She laughed a little and moved away from Betsy, taking a seat in the chair opposite her. She looked down at Lisa and she didn't know what to do. Her phone buzzed with a text and she breathed a sigh of relief and focused on the texts that Sarah was sending her about the factory. She answered them quickly and a couple of emails that she had been sent. Betsy's leg bounced as she typed away on her phone. Carla didn't like to use her phone in the hospital room but it was too quiet. She wasn't needed, she didn't need to do something, sort something out and Carla just had to stare at Lisa.
"Did you talk to college?" Betsy interrupted her spiral.
"I made sure you got an excused absence," Carla looked up at her, "A truancy officer sniffing around isn't going to do anyone any good."
Betsy scoffed, "I already have the worst attendance," she shrugged, "Nobody cares." The 'about me' to finish that sentence was left unspoken.
"Not true," Carla shook her head, "What assignments are they emailing you anyway?"
"Let’s not talk about that," Betsy decided.
"I'm interested in how they teach fashion design," Carla prompted and it was true. It wasn't just a way to get rid of the silence. "Are they having you make any of your designs?"
Betsy studied her face and her leg bounced a little more than it already was. "Not yet but we could do it at the end of the year for a stupid fashion show, the best designs get picked or something, but there's no way I’d get picked." From the look on Betsy's face, she clearly didn't think it was that stupid. She wanted to be chosen.
"Why wouldn't you be picked?" she asked her.
Betsy just shrugged and looked back down at her mum. Carla followed her gaze. Lisa was still not awake. They said it could take an hour or so. An hour or so of replaying Lisa's words in her mind, how it wouldn't be such a bad thing, and looking at Betsy's heartbroken little face. An hour or so of replaying the stupid moment where she messed up their friendship and realised that she really liked her. She couldn't
"Can I see some of your designs?" she asked.
"They're stupid," Betsy didn't look at her.
Carla looked down at Lisa again. She wanted to sort out her hair, it had gotten messy overnight and was spread across the pillow. She wasn't letting herself touch Lisa though. That was Betsy's domain. She wasn't anything to Lisa. Just a friend. Carla wasn't crossing a line. Plus, the last person she wanted to catch onto her stupid crush was Betsy.
"I don't think they will be," Carla told her sincerely, "And we've all done stupid designs. I'll dig mine out back at the factory at some point."
Betsy looked up at her this time with a little smile, "You're relentless," she rolled her eyes and opened her phone. Carla got up and went around the bed as Betsy opened her gallery and some of the screenshots she had. They were really good and once Carla convinced Betsy of that, it was hard to get her to stop talking about them.
"This is a sight for sore eyes," Lisa's voice interrupted Betsy.
"Mum!" Betsy jumped out of her chair and pretty much dived on top of her. Thankfully, she didn't touch her injured shoulder.
"Betsy," Lisa wrapped an arm around her weakly. She looked very surprised as she held her close. Lisa looked down at her and then up at Carla.
"What day is it?" she mouthed.
"Wednesday," Carla told her, "You had to have surgery," she did everything to keep her voice calm. The realisation seemed to dawn on Lisa as she looked down at Betsy who looked like she was crying on her mum's shoulder but her face was buried so deep in her shoulder that Carla couldn't tell. Lisa rubbed her back gently.
"I'll go get a doctor," Carla rubbed Betsy's back softly and squeezed Lisa's hand, "Give you two a minute."
She walked out of the room and let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. Lisa was okay. She was alive. Carla buried her head in her hands. It had been so long, so much. She took another deep breath and pulled herself together. She found a glass of water and gave Betsy a little longer. She looked in and Lisa was talking to Betsy who'd lifted her head. She refilled the water again and took some more deep breaths. Carla still needed to keep herself together when all she wanted to do was cry, scream and yell. Their conversation slowed by the looks of it and Carla went over to the nurse's station and told them that Lisa had woken up.
She and Betsy watched from the door as Lisa had a lot of tests. Betsy's walls were right back up and she leaned against the door frame as far away from Carla as possible. "I'm going to the bathroom," she announced, clearly uncomfortable as they started to examine Lisa's shoulder. Carla just turned away.
"She stayed at yours?" Lisa called out.
"Don't worry, we fed the cat," Carla kept her eyes averted. It felt like it was something she shouldn't be looking at. "I didn't want to leave her alone," she added, glancing back at Lisa. She couldn't look away again, Lisa held her gaze and she couldn't rip her eyes away.
"Thank you," Lisa told her sincerely, "Seriously, Carla, thank you for looking after her, thank you for everything."
Carla swallowed, her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. "It's no problem," she told her, very conscious of the fact that the room was full of doctors. She couldn't say what she wanted to say. She couldn't tell Lisa off for putting herself in harm's way.
"How has she been?" Lisa asked her.
She sighed and Carla averted her eyes again. "Not good," Carla told the wall.
"I'm sorry," she heard Lisa direct her words to the doctors, "Can we have a minute?" she asked.
Carla looked back around as Lisa shifted away from the doctors. One of them started to object, "It wo-"
"Please," Lisa insisted, "I need a minute before my daughter gets back," she told them firmly.
They agreed reluctantly and adjusted Lisa's shoulder, warning her not to touch it. The stitches were exposed. "How not good?" Lisa asked her.
"Well, your boss doesn't have the best tact, just spat it out while she was standing outside, trying to get into the house, took barely ten seconds and then she was running inside," she told her, "I gave her a lift home," Carla clarified, "Got lucky that I saw something happened and followed her into your place."
"She said you refused to leave her alone," Lisa commented, "And it wasn't in a sarky way at all."
Carla laughed a little at Lisa's joke, moving to lean against the end of Lisa's bed. She needed something between them. She gripped the bars at the end of the bed and tried to keep her emotions under control. "Yeah, well, I couldn't just leave her alone," Carla shrugged.
"You didn't have to put up with a moody teenager, though," Lisa smiled at her.
She sighed, "You know, you made me a promise," Carla reminded her, "You said you wouldn't put yourself in harm's way," she took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions in check, "Because that kid out there can't take it."
Lisa nodded softly. She looked close to tears and guilt stabbed Carla right through the gut, she stared down at her hands. "I tried to get away," Lisa admitted quietly. Carla looked up at her. "It's why he got my shoulder. Not moving would've been better, would've got the vest."
Carla nodded and there was a knock at the door. "Your daughter's coming back," the nurse told Lisa.
"You can finish off the dressing," Lisa told them, biting her lip and wiping her eyes. Carla moved out of the way and leaned against the wall as Betsy walked back in.
"Ugh, I thought you'd be done," she shook her head and walked back out, taking her phone out. Carla looked over at Lisa and it took a lot for both of them not to burst out laughing. She looked down at her phone as they started to dress Lisa's shoulder. It had a little too much blood for Carla to be okay with staring at.
"You two can stop staring at your phones now," Lisa called out and Carla looked up, putting her phone away. Betsy walked in at the same time.
"So when are you getting out of here?" Betsy asked, shifting uncomfortably between her feet and biting her nails.
"A couple of days," the doctor announced, "We need to monitor the wound to prevent infection but we're going to move her out of the ICU after lunch."
She and Betsy went to get some food while Lisa was moved. They found her again in a private room talking to the boss that had no idea to deliver news. Betsy paused in the doorway and she turned very pale. Carla stepped past Betsy. "Sorry, are we interrupting?" she called out with the full intention of interrupting and getting that guy to leave.
"No, don't worry," Lisa shot a relieved smile her way.
"I really ne-" her boss started.
"No, my daughter's here," Lisa glared at him.
He took the hint and Carla blocked him from getting anywhere near Betsy as he left with a barely muttered 'I hope you feel better soon'. "How long are you off work?" Carla asked as she stepped out of the way to let Betsy in.
"He was just getting my statement," she told him, "It doesn't matter, anyway," Lisa shrugged it off as Betsy took a seat next to her uncharacteristically quietly.

"What did you get?" Lisa nudged her.
"How did it happen?" Betsy blurted out, "Both you and Mum, how did it happen?"
Carla had no idea what to do. Lisa was looking very pale and maybe the most frightened that Carla had ever seen her but it wasn't her place to stay.
"Like I know that it was on the job but what exactly happened on the job," Betsy pushed.
Lisa took a deep breath and then nodded in her direction. Carla smiled, "I'll just be outside," she moved and sat in a chair outside the room, shutting the door to the hospital room. She ate and kept an eye on the door.
It was fifteen minutes before Betsy ran out of the room. "Betsy!" Lisa called after her and Carla glanced inside and Lisa was trying to get out of bed.
"Don't move," Carla warned her, pushing the button to call a nurse before she chased after Betsy. The nurses could handle Lisa. Good luck to them.
She caught up to Betsy in the car park. "I am not made for running like that, Betsy," she leaned against the wall, "Can you just stop?"
Betsy laughed a little at her, leaning against a post opposite her. "I just needed air," she ran her hands through her hair, "I hate that they do that job," she admitted quietly.
"I know," Carla wrapped an arm around her.
"I didn't want to cry in front of Mum and make her feel guilty," Betsy's voice broke and Carla pulled her into a tight hug. Betsy cried against her shoulder. She pulled herself together after a minute or so. "You know chocolate would make me feel better?" she smiled at her hopefully.
Carla sighed and pulled a fiver out of her pocket, "Get me some as well," she told her.
She made her way back upstairs to get to Lisa quickly. "I mean it, never again," she told her, shutting the door to the hospital room behind her and letting herself breathe a small sigh of relief when she saw that Lisa was okay and in bed. "Please never put yourself in harm's way again," Carla carried on her rant, walking over to her, "I know you love your job and I know you are so good at it but Betsy can't take it, I-" she took a deep breath, pausing next to Lisa's bed, "Betsy can't take it," she repeated. Hoping that Lisa didn't pick up on it.
"Where is she?" Lisa clearly picked up on it but she did her the favour of not addressing it.
"She's got a fiver out of me for chocolate," Carla smiled.
Lisa smiled at her, shaking her head and then reached for her hand. "I'm okay, Carla," she told her sincerely, "You know I'm okay, right?"
Carla swallowed and took a deep breath, "I know," she let Lisa tug her closer and she sat on the edge of the bed, "I just didn't sleep much last night," she tried to brush it off.
Lisa rubbed her thumb over the back of her hand gently, making eye contact with her. Carla couldn't look away. She smiled at her gently and reached out, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Carla-" Lisa started.
"What chocolate do you like Carla?" Betsy walked in and Carla jumped away from Lisa. She sat down in the seat, trying not to panic. "You weren't answering your texts."
"That's unusually caring," Carla laughed, "Just plain milk chocolate is fine," she told her.
"Cool," Betsy smiled at her and walked out again.
Carla looked over at Lisa, "Maybe you should get injured more often," she nodded towards where Betsy had been.
Lisa laughed, "She used to be like that a lot more," she looked out the door, "When she was younger, she loved to help with everything."
"Betsy?" Carla questioned.
"Her favourite thing was the dusting rag for a little while when she was two," Lisa tried to reach for her phone.
"Don't move," Carla reminded her, pushing back against the bed gently and reaching over her for her phone. Lisa pulled up a photo of a two-year-old Betsy cuddling with a yellow dusting rag. "She's too cute there," Carla smiled, "And so blonde," she looked at her practically white hair.
"She got that from me," Lisa smiled, "Becky gave birth to her but it was my egg, when Betsy was younger, she looked like a carbon copy of me when I was the same age as her."
"You can still see it now," Carla smiled at her.
Lisa took hold of her hand again and smiled at her nervously. She looked like she was going to say something. Something about them. Their relationship. So she had picked up on Carla's little slip of the tongue.
"Not now." It sounded a lot more like a beg than Carla wanted it to. She couldn't take that conversation at all right now though. She was exhausted. Not now. She couldn't take Lisa pushing her away right now.
Lisa's face fell a little and she nodded, "Okay," she breathed, "Not now or not ever?" she checked very nervously. Carla could almost feel her shaking.
"Now," she clarified. She could take her pushing her away later but that question didn't really make sense. Carla had no idea what Lisa wanted to say.
Lisa nodded and pulled her hand closer. She pressed a kiss to the back of it. Carla again had no idea what to do. She was far too tired for this crisis. It was messing with her head. She smiled at her and Lisa smiled back. Had she just agreed to something? Carla was so tired and she found it hard enough to think properly when Lisa was around anyway.
The door opened again and they moved apart as a nurse came in, "Sorry I need to take your blood again," she apologised.
"Go ahead," Lisa smiled.
Carla pulled out her phone and stared at it so she didn't have to look at the blood. She was too squeamish for that. Betsy came back with chocolate just after the nurse was gone. She had no change somehow from three bars of chocolate and managed to make sarky comments about her chocolate choice and her mum's favourite chocolate. Dark chocolate. Carla made a mental note of that fact. Then she got a phone call from Sarah and she had a crisis that apparently only Carla could solve. She tried to get out of it but she had to go in the end.
After handling the client meeting, she made it back to the hospital, Lisa was asleep and Betsy was sleeping with her head resting on her mum's uninjured shoulder. Carla snapped a photo and instantly sent it to Lisa and took a seat on the sofa by the window and slowly answered some emails. She didn't want to wake either of them up. She was actually tired herself. She stifled a yawn.
Unfortunately, she definitely fell asleep because she woke up with a nurse coming in. "Sorry to wake all of you," the nurse apologised, "We need to take more blood."
Carla rubbed her eyes and yawned. She didn't plan to fall asleep at all. "Betsy," she looked over to see Lisa trying to nudge her daughter awake.
"Don't worry," the nurse whispered, "I can use this arm," she smiled, "Don't wake her up."
Lisa smiled softly and looked over at her. "Morning," Carla teased, laughing softly and raising an eyebrow at her.
"Don't act like you didn't fall asleep too," Lisa whispered, shaking her head at Carla.
"You slept for like a day," Carla argued back, "And I didn't sleep at all last night."
Lisa shrugged, grimacing as they took blood from her arms. Carla smiled at her sympathetically. "Is the doctor coming in here again today?" Lisa asked when the nurse finished, "I kind of need to know when I'm getting out of here to sort everything out with this one," she nodded at Betsy, "I also need to feed my cat," she joked.
"Can't your partner help?" the nurse nodded over at Carla.
"Oh," Carla swallowed awkwardly, "We're not-"
"Yeah," Lisa shook her head, "We're…" she trailed off.
"I'm her daughter's boss," Carla eventually forced out, "And we're friends," she didn't look at Lisa as she said it. It felt like she was hurting Lisa with what she was saying. Lisa looked a little disappointed. Carla was probably seeing things. She'd just woken up and she was just seeing what she wanted to see.
"Oh, sorry, I just assumed," the nurse smiled awkwardly, "You're a good friend," she told Carla uncomfortably, "I'll go get the doctor to update you," she told Lisa.
"I can take her again tonight," Carla offered, "Either at your place or mine and I can feed the cat, whatever Betsy wants."
Lisa shook her head, "You've already done so much, Carla," she whispered.
"Who else are you going to call?" Carla challenged her, "I don't mind at all, Lisa."
Lisa looked uncomfortable but she nodded. "You're not wrong," she admitted.
"I care about you two," she told her sincerely. That might be the understatement of the century. "I would rather take Betsy and know she was okay and properly taken care of."
Lisa nodded slowly. She took a moment, looking down at Betsy and kissing the top of her head softly. Then she made eye contact with Carla and Carla found it impossible to break eye contact with those green eyes. They were hypnotising. "Thank you," she told her sincerely.
Betsy wanted to sleep in her own bed so after they ate dinner, she picked up some of her things and took Betsy back to her and Lisa's. Lisa had given her instructions about where all the spare sheets were and which one was her guest room. Betsy said she'd be fine alone overnight but she and Lisa were in agreement, Carla was staying no matter how awkward it was to stay at someone's place when they weren't even there. Betsy, understandably, wasn't the best host either. Carla had to figure out where everything was by herself. She had shrunk into herself completely after she'd woken up, she seemed very embarrassed by the fact that she'd been caught cuddling up to her mum.
Carla was so exhausted that the awkwardness faded as soon as her head hit the pillow. She didn't have the energy to care about anything but sleep. She was woken up by a cat meowing loudly early in the morning.
"Shut up!" Betsy interrupted the cat shouting loudly. Carla laughed and buried her face in one of Lisa's pillows. It was far too early for this but the cat was acting like he was dying. She groaned and dragged herself out of bed.
"He misses mum," Betsy complained, "This is why I hate the stupid thing," she crouched down at his level, "She's not here," she told him firmly, "You don't need to wake us all up."
Carla fed him early to get him to be quiet while Betsy went back to bed. They had a couple of hours still until visiting hours. She made herself a cup of coffee and collapsed on the sofa. It still felt like she shouldn't be there and she was invading Lisa's space. She took her cup of coffee back upstairs to the guest room, which felt less invasive and less uncomfortable.
She managed to get food into Betsy before they left that morning. "She can go home this afternoon," the nurse announced as they walked in. The doctor was there too.
"Really?" Betsy checked uncomfortably, walking over to her mum and collapsing into the chair next to her.
"Yeah," Lisa told her, taking hold of Betsy's hand and trying to pull her closer.
"What will she need to do to look after herself?" Carla checked, staying awkwardly near the edge of the room. It wasn't her place like it was Betsy's but she was worried about Lisa. She didn't have the best history of taking care of herself well.
"We were just getting to that," the doctor turned to Lisa and Carla pulled out her phone, noting down everything that he said. Neither Lisa nor Betsy were doing that. Some of it she'd need help with. Carla made a mental note of that. She couldn't do everything by herself. Especially cleaning out the wound site. She wouldn't be able to reach over and do it. The doctor was looking at Betsy but she turned very pale when she saw the wound. Carla didn't fare much better.
"I just have to do it once a day, right?" Lisa checked.
"Once a day," the doctor confirmed, "You could go down to the GP, I could look into getting you a daily appointment with a nurse there."
Lisa looked uncomfortable with that. "Yeah I'll think about it," she told him.
Carla texted her the instructions that she'd written down as the doctor left. Lisa was turning to Betsy as she did that. "How did you sleep, Betsy?" she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Your stupid cat woke us up," Betsy muttered.
"I think he misses you," Carla added more gently than Betsy's eye-rolling.
Lisa smiled at her, "Did you sleep okay?" she looked over at Carla expectantly.
"I was so tired that I couldn't not," Carla smiled at her. She had meetings that whole morning so she made sure Betsy and Lisa were okay and went back to the factory. She warned Betsy to call her if she needed absolutely anything and that she would leave her meeting. Carla then made sure that she would be out in time to bring lunch over to Betsy and Lisa. She had only been eating hospital food and Carla didn't want her to be subjected to that for any longer.
She went through the meetings quickly before she got all three of them pizza. It was Betsy's request and Lisa agreed to it so Carla got it and, by some miracle, got the three boxes past all the nurses. Unfortunately, when she arrived, Betsy and Lisa were arguing. "I'm not going," Betsy was shouting.
"What's going on here?" Carla announced her presence.
Betsy rolled her eyes, pushing away from the wall she was leaning against. "Mum wants me to go to college tomorrow. It's so stupid," she marched towards the door.
"What? It's not like you want to spend the whole day sitting around with me because those are the two options," Lisa trailed off towards the end as Betsy marched out.
"She might actually want to," Carla pointed out, putting Betsy's pizza off to the side and placing the other boxes on the table at the end of Lisa's bed.
Lisa shook her head in almost disbelief, "She-" she started but cut herself off, thinking for a moment, "It's not-" she sighed, "You really think she wants that?"
"Yeah," Carla opened both pizza boxes and moved the table so it was in the right place for Lisa to reach it. Lisa sat up a little more.
Betsy walked back in awkwardly as Carla took a seat next to Lisa's bed. "Can I eat my pizza in your car?" she looked at Carla, "Please."
Carla sighed and pulled out her car keys, "Drive off and I'll have her arrest you," she warned Betsy.
"Thank you," Betsy smiled, taking the pizza box off to the side and her car keys.
Lisa eyed her a little, "I wouldn't have said 'yes'," she murmured once Betsy had left.
"Better than her sitting here mad at both of us," Carla shrugged. Betsy still reminded her of herself. She used to need space. Carla used to push people away, get mad and hurt them to get it. Betsy was asking to sit in the car because there was no space in the hospital. It was better than she used to do. "She reminds me a lot of me when I was younger."
Lisa shrugged and Carla nudged her, "You've got to actually eat the pizza," she reminded her.
She took a bite and studied Carla a little. "Would you have driven the car off?"
Carla laughed, "Probably but I also would've stolen the car keys," she admitted, "But it wasn't like there was a car to steal." Her mum never had enough money to buy a car, that all went on drugs and everything else. Her stepdad had a van at one point but she wasn't looking to get herself killed stealing that.
Lisa smiled softly, "What do you mean Betsy reminds you of you then?"
"A lot of anger and a lot of hurt and very little trust in people," Carla explained with a small shrug. She didn't want to get into all of it too much. Thankfully, Lisa nodded and didn't push it any further.
It took the loss of a couple of slices of pizza to keep the two nurses who came in halfway through Carla telling Lisa about the meetings that she was either really good at acting interested in or she was actually interested in them. It was better than answering questions about her family and her childhood. She didn't have the energy of Lisa's sympathy and comfort. If that happened, she had to pull herself away and it took everything within her every time she had to do that.
They needed some final bits of Lisa's discharge paperwork. Carla packed the pizzas into one box and waited outside for Lisa to change into the clothes that Betsy had picked out for her to leave the hospital in. Carla sat on the chair outside and checked her phone.
"Carla!" she heard Lisa call out.
She left her bag and the pizza on the chair and knocked on the door, "Lisa?" she checked.
"I need help," she heard Lisa call out and she opened the door.
Lisa was standing there in a bra and jeans. Carla tore her eyes away and stared down at the floor. "I can't get the jumper on," Lisa admitted, "I can't lift my arm."
"Okay," Carla shifted awkwardly, taking the sweater from Lisa and keeping her eyes trained on the floor. She tried to figure out what she needed to do. "Bad arm first," she suggested and Lisa nodded, holding out the arm. She winced as Carla helped get the jumper up her arm and then pulled it over her head. Lisa managed to get her arm through the other armhole and Carla pulled it down and looked up at Lisa. She realised how close to each other they were. They hadn't been this close since she hugged Lisa in her flat.
"Thanks," Lisa spoke softly and Carla could feel her breath ghosting over her face. She glanced down at her lips and then back up at Lisa and Lisa had seemingly down the same.
"I saw your stuff outside," Betsy announced herself and Carla quickly took a step back.
"I got stuck in my jumper," Lisa smiled slightly awkwardly, "Had to call reinforcements."
Betsy looked between the two of them, "Okay," she shrugged suspiciously, "Did you get discharged?"
"We're going now," Lisa told her and Carla nodded, taking the keys that Betsy was offering her.
Lisa signed the final bits of paperwork and the nurses tried to give them a wheelchair to take Lisa out in. That was a fever dream, though. Lisa was never sitting in a wheelchair. Carla looked over at Betsy and the two of them tried not to laugh as Lisa glared at the offending item. "I can walk," she told the nurses firmly, "It's my shoulder, not my legs."
"Unfortunately, it's hosp-" one of the nurses tried.
Betsy covered her mouth with her hand as Lisa glared at the nurse. "I can walk," she insisted, "Come on," she looked over at her and Betsy.
"You have to choose your battles with her," Betsy advised the nurses, giving her an awkward smile as they followed Lisa to the lifts. Carla barely managed to survive, opening the door to the car for Lisa.
"You're going to need to accept some help," Carla warned her as she got into the car.
"I can do basic things," Lisa argued and Betsy rolled her eyes as she got into the back of the car.
"I have to live with her," Betsy muttered.
Lisa turned around as Carla shut both doors. "What was that?"
"Nothing," she heard Betsy smile far too sweetly as she got into the driver's seat.
Betsy went into the house first with her mum while Carla got all of Betsy's things from the last few days out of the car. When she caught up and went inside, Betsy was arguing with her mum. "Just sit down, it's not that bad," she insisted.
Carla rolled her eyes and put the bags down, "You're not meant to be exerting yourself, Lisa," she reminded her walking into the living room.
"I'm fine," she insisted.
"You're not," Betsy snatched the glass she picked up out of her hand.
"Just sit down, Lisa," Carla stepped between her and the slightly messy coffee table and stepped closer to her so she had no choice but to back up and sit on the sofa.
"I don't like you two ganging up on me," she complained, "I'm not an invalid."
"You literally are, mum!" Betsy raised her voice, "You've been shot, you're an invalid and you're impossible!" she marched out, grabbing the coffee mug that had also been left out.
Carla grabbed the TV remote and flicked through the channels. "It's afternoon TV, there's not going to be anything good," Lisa pouted.
"You're acting more like Betsy than Betsy," Carla laughed, "How do I get the streaming up on this?" she looked down at the remote.
"You two are useless," Betsy came back in and took the remote, quickly navigating to the streaming apps.
"Mum doesn't know because she's not around enough to use it," Betsy looked at her mum pointedly, "Nor is she around enough to ever watch anything so don't ask her what she wants to watch."
"I watch the news," Lisa defended herself and Carla just shook her head at her. That was in no way a defence.
"So you've never binged a cop show," Carla turned to face her.
Lisa sighed, "No."
"Okay, do you want to watch a Yorkshire crime drama about a female police sergeant, a murder in a small coastal town with David Tennant, Olivia Colman and Jodie Whittaker or a series following the police anti-corruption unit which is a lot better than I'm making it sound?"
"Do I have to pick one?" Lisa asked her.
"Yep," Carla smiled.
Lisa rolled her eyes, "The second one."
"Can you get up ITVX?" she turned to Betsy, "And the show's called Broadchurch."
"On it," Betsy sighed, "And I'm going upstairs because I am not subjecting myself to this."
"It's really good," Carla argued as Betsy put on the first episode. She sat down next to Lisa.
"Can you just get me some water first, please, Betsy?" Lisa asked.
Betsy rolled her eyes again but she went to do it as the ads played. "Are you going to babysit me?" Lisa whispered.
"I'm not leaving Betsy alone with a very stubborn patient," Carla teased her, "And it's going like you're going to learn how to relax by yourself."
"I know how to relax," Lisa protested.
"No you don't," Betsy laughed, passing her the glass of water.
The show started and Carla shushed both of them. Betsy rolled her eyes and disappeared to her room. "Who's that?" Lisa pointed at the screen and the boy standing on the edge of the cliff.
"Just watch," Carla told her, tapping her knee, "All will become clear."
Lisa did watch. She leaned forward on the sofa and she was watching very closely. She looked so down at every ad break, collapsing back against the sofa and muttering about the fact they didn't know enough to figure out who'd done it, that it was too slow. "Patience," Carla reminded her at the third ad break.
"I am being patient," Lisa complained, "But we've seen this stupid Tesco ad like five times." Her head dropped to Carla's shoulder. She could feel her heartbeat get even faster and she expected Lisa to move her head but she didn't. Carla slipped an arm around her and Lisa leaned closer even though she lifted her head. It didn't feel right moving her arm away, moving away from Lisa. She was scared that she'd break the small moment that she had with Lisa.
The only movement was when Lisa rushed to put on the second episode but then she moved right back into her position, leaning against Carla. She stayed there for the whole of the second episode. Carla was the one that moved at the end of the second episode. The little alarm that she'd set for Lisa's medication had gone off during it but she hadn't wanted to interrupt the episode.
"Well, it clearly didn't become clear," Lisa complained at the end of the second episode. It was the first comment that she didn't mutter or mumble under her breath.
"You're invested," Carla teased.
"It's not fair that you know who did it," Lisa smiled. An actual proper smile. Carla loved that smile.
"You need to take your meds and eat something with them," Carla reminded her.
"Okay, Doctor Connor," Lisa teased as Carla stood up. Carla rolled her eyes but it was for show, she could barely keep the smile off the face. She found Betsy already in the kitchen and she schooled her features.
Betsy was making a sandwich, "The meds," she shrugged.
"Just what I was coming in here to do," Carla grabbed the unopened medicine from the counter.
"Oh, so you stopped flirting with Mum for five seconds," Betsy raised an eyebrow at her.
Carla choked on air. "What?" she managed to get out.
"I can't believe it took me so long to see it," Betsy shrugged.
So many things for Carla to process. First, Betsy had picked up on it. Second, she actually seemed okay with it and third, she was not flirting. Carla popped out the correct pills and handed them to Betsy to put on Lisa's plate. "We're just friends," she landed on telling the sixteen-year-old.
"Sure," Betsy commented sarcastically, "But do you want to be?" she asked her very sincerely and profoundly before taking the plate and glass of water into a living room.
Carla got herself a glass of water and leaned against the wall. She couldn't do anything with Lisa right now. She'd just been shot and she didn't want it. Lisa didn't want her. It wasn't the right time. It was probably never going to be the right time. Carla needed to move on and stop caring. She put down her glass of water and took a deep breath before she walked back into the living room. Betsy and Lisa had been talking but they stopped as soon as she walked in. Lisa looked a little uncomfortable.
She didn't know entirely what to do with herself apart from standing awkwardly in the doorway. Lisa smiled over at her, "Are you going to make me watch the rest of this by myself?" she prompted.
"Course not," Carla pulled herself together and sat back down next to Lisa and turned on the next episode. Betsy stayed, sitting on the other sofa.
"Who's that?" she started asking a few seconds in.
"The detective," Lisa told her before shushing her.
"What's going on?" Betsy asked after a couple of seconds and Carla tried not to laugh as Lisa sighed dramatically and paused the episode before explaining where they were in the story. Betsy settled in to watch and Carla kept the distance between her and Lisa this time.
Betsy left after one episode and Lisa paused the TV once she left. "You really won her over, you know," she turned to look at Carla, "I don't know how you did that."
Carla shrugged, "Like I said, she reminds me of me." She studied Lisa's face. Carla couldn't stop thinking about the reason that it was so important to Lisa that she won Betsy over. "I just tried to be the person that I would've needed when I was younger."
Lisa smiled at her softly. She looked like she was going to say something else but she breathed out softly instead. "Thank you," she squeezed her hand and she didn't move it away as she started the new episode.