A hum followed the gunshot. Alfie and Ruthie stood, unmoving, staring at each other. What just happened? Alfie looked down at himself feeling his chest and stomach for any sign of pain. Nothing. He missed! Alfie thought. He looked back up at Ruthie who had not taken her eyes from his face. Slowly her eyes traveled down to her stomach where her right kidney was. They both watched as a small speck of blood grew bigger. She touched it, looked at her bloody right hand, then back up at Alfie. Alfie searched her face for any sign of pain or fear. She blinked and swallowed, keeping her hand over her stomach. As soon as her legs began to give out, he wrapped his arms around her, catching her. He held her as he slid down to his knees. Silently they stared at each other. A single tear running out of the corner of her eye to her hair. He gave her the slightest shake of his head, as if silently begging her not to leave him. She laid there in Alfie's arms, staring at the face of her lover until he began to blur. Then she closed her eyes, and all went black.

Alfie held the unconscious Ruthie. He knew he needed to react, to do something, anything. But all he could do was hold her. Slowly as if through a tunnel he began to hear his name. He looked up and saw Tommy running towards him. He looked at Simon and Arthur had already gotten to him, disarmed him, and was beating him.

"Alfie! Get her in the car!" Tommy said as John sped down the road, running over the opposition as he did so.

Once the car had gotten to them Alfie picked up Ruthie and they both got in the back of the car. Tommy told John to get out and make sure Arthur didn't kill Simon. The two of them were to keep him in Alfie's 'bakery' until they were instructed otherwise. Tommy got in the car and drove the bleeding Ruthie to the hospital.

Alfie held Ruthie close, his hand over her wound putting pressure on it. He kissed her head as fear began to overwhelm him. What if we're too late? The car screeched to a halt and Tommy opened the back door so Alfie could get out. They ran in the doors of the hospital and Tommy yelled for help. Two doctors and a handful of nurses came running with a gurney. Alfie laid her on the moving bed as Tommy explained that she had been shot. As they wheeled her away, a nurse turned to stop Alfie and Tommy following.

"We will take it from here. I will update you if anything changes."

Tommy and Alfie stood, watching them wheeling her away. Alfie turned angrily and put his bloody hands through his hair before he punched the wall, breaking two of his knuckles.

"Alfie – " Tommy began

"Where is he?" Alfie demanded.

"Look, I know what you are going through. But –"

Alfie drew his revolver and pointed it at Tommy. Tommy fell silent.

"Where is he?" Alfie demanded once more. "I won't ask again."

"He's at your bakery. John and Arthur are there with him."

Before Tommy could add any more, Alfie was walking out the door.

Alfie drove down the streets of Camden, with the absence of three of the leaders, the battle was over. Sabini had seen what Arthur had done to Simon and called his men off. Gypsies and Jews were now cleaning up the streets and Alfie knew tomorrow it would look as though nothing had happened.

When he arrived at his bakery he went down the stairs and found John and Arthur staring with disgust at Simon. When they spotted Alfie, John stepped forward.

"Well? What did they say?"

Alfie shrugged, "We don't know anything." His eyes never left Simon's.

There was a moments pause before Arthur looked at John.

"Let's go John."

"But Tommy said to stay here."

Arthur looked at Alfie, who looked back with a clenched jaw.

"I know, but it's time to go." Arthur knew Tommy had made them keep Simon alive for this reason. Tommy knew what it was like to have the woman he loved shot with a bullet intended for him. And he knew Alfie would want to do something about it. The two brothers left and proceeded to the hospital to await any update on their sister.

Meanwhile, Alfie stared at Simon. Anger and disgust covered his face.

"Did she die?" Simon asked with a twisted smile.

Alfie turned and walked to the corner of his office to grab his cane.

"So, what was the point in all this?" He asked as he walked back, his knuckles white as he held the cane tight.

"Bitch lied to me." Simon said, now supporting a sour look.

"Lied to you?"

"Yeah. When I was dying in the war." Simon looked down.

Alfie tried to decipher what he was talking about, then it hit him.

"She was your nurse?" Alfie asked.

"Yes, I got injured and stayed at the hospital she was working at. I'd watch her try to help the men, and when one came in that we knew wouldn't make it through the night she would hold their hand and sing to them until they took their last breath."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"I caught a fever from my wound. It got bad and she sat by my bed and sang one night. I thought I was going to die but I didn't. And I knew it was her singing that saved me. She was my own guardian angel."

Alfie looked at Simon confused. "Then why would you want to kill her?"

"Because! It was a sign! She was meant to be with me! Not you!"

Alfie felt pity for the man. He had been damaged by the war, and not just physically.

"And now she is going to die. And there wont be a soul there to sing to her." Simon said with a chuckle.

Rage filled Alfie. He raised his cane and swung as hard as he could, cutting Simons eye. Simon laughed. Alfie swung again and again. This fucker is twisted and mad. Finally Simon's chair fell to the side and Alfie threw away his cane and began punching him. Plenty of men came back from the war different. That didn't make it okay to hurt innocent women. Alfie took all of his rage and fear for Ruthie's life out on Simon until Simon was no more. Alfie sat back, breathing heavy. He didn't know how long he had sat there, but finally getting up he returned to his car, and went to his house to change out of his blood stained clothes. He threw a clean shirt onto his bed and missed. As he went to pick it up, he found a stocking. The stocking Ruthie had lost the first night they spent together. Alfie picked it up and looked at it, remembering every detail of that night. Noticing he had been gone for almost three hours, he quickly got dressed and went back to the hospital.

As he got there, he noticed every member of the Shelby family was there. Polly and Ada were crying and the men were all sitting down. Tommy began to walk to Alfie, a serious look on his face and Alfie's face went white.

Six months later

Alfie walked through the door and up to the counter to make his order. When the plate was put in front of him a voice came from the back.

"Charge him extra."

"Extra? I don't know that it's worth any more?" Alfie said with a small grin.

"Is that so Mr. Solomons?"

"Yes. I'm afraid you have over-priced your bread Ruthie Shelby-Borofsky-Solomons, whatever the fuck your name is."

He began to grab the plate, but Ruthie pulled it away from him. "Pay up." She demanded as she leaned over the counter with a smile.

Alfie leaned in and kissed her, and she motioned her head to the right. "He's over there."

Alfie looked and saw Tommy Shelby sitting at a table in Ruthie's bakery reading his paper. Turning to walk to the table he gave Ruthie a wink.

Thanks to their wedding a new alliance had formed, before God and all of the witnesses, between the Gypsies of Birmingham and the Jews of Camden Town. After telling Alfie she had made it out of surgery and the doctors were unsure if she would make it through the night, Tommy watched Alfie sit by his sister's bed for three days. He held her hand and once, Tommy was sure he heard him singing to her. There was no way he could withhold his blessing on their marriage. Since then, Alfie and Tommy met regularly. Alfie never told Ruthie what they were meeting about but Ruthie knew her husband and her brother well enough to know they were planning to take over England one city at a time. She didn't know if they would succeed but they were happy. She put her hand over her belly and watched as her husband said something cheeky to her brother. She couldn't wait until the evening so she could tell Alfie the news. She didn't know what the future held for them, gangsters rarely got happy endings, but as long as they were together nothing else mattered.