Gold. The new Garrison was very… Gold. Lingering in the doorway, Eileen was overwhelmed by the plush interior of the pub. She remembered the first time she had stepped foot there on that night with Tommy and how dingy the place had seemed. Now, it had grandeur and oozed wealth. It was yet another sign of how the Shelby family were rising up in the world.

"My my, Mrs Shelby." The brunette found herself being swung around in a welcoming hug. "Tommy's got himself a keeper."

Johnny Dogs grinned at the woman, as enthusiastic and lively as ever. It was hard not to smile back when in the man's company. "Thank you, Johnny." She replied graciously, allowing the man to give her another spin to the beat of the music.

"A drink for the lady!" The man called out, twirling her in the direction of one of the men carrying a tray stacked with champagne flutes. Taking one of the glasses she took a large sip and surveyed the rest of the pub.

Arthur was behind the bar, busy ensuring that no one was left with an empty glass. On the opposite side of the room, John was in hysterics as he watched Finn wince his way through a glass of liquor. Curly and Uncle Charlie were playing cards with a cluster of men that she loosely recognised from the stables. And Polly, thankfully, was nowhere to be seen.

After their last encounter, Polly was the last person that Eileen wanted to see. She had only wanted to help the woman find her son and somehow it had blown up in her face. Her mind flashed back to that revolver pointed at her head and the sound as the bullet ripped through the ceiling. The woman was unstable and Eileen feared what she would do next.

Downing the rest of her glass, the brunette politely and obediently did the rounds of the pub. It was part of her duty with being a Shelby wife, no matter how much she hated the small talk. She was just finishing her second glass when the voice pierced her ears.

"What do you think, ey?"

Her eyes pressed tightly shut. It was a voice she knew all too well - husky, warm, strong. Sometimes the voice sounded like her own conscience.

Eileen turned, gaze immediately locking on Tommy's. For a moment, the rest of the Garrison faded into blackness.

"What do I think?" She repeated, words dry as they left her pursed lips.

Tommy stepped closer, casual and calm as ever. The normality of his stance infuriated her.

"Looks alright." The man gestured at the pub around them. "Don't you think?"

His eyes levelled on her, challenging and unreadable. The last time she'd seen his face it had been beaten to a pulp, it seemed his wounds had healed well. Upon first glance, one could hardly tell that Tommy had been on death's door.

"Looks great."

Eileen's words fell like lead, nails tightly digging into the flesh of her palm. He had some audacity.

Tommy closed the gap between the pair, hand falling to the small of her back. The touch was both comforting and a warning - he didn't want her to make a scene. Refusing to drop her gaze, the man's breath tickled against her neck as he leant in and placed a peck on her cheek. "You look nice."

Exhaling a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, Eileen's response came quickly and sharply. "Fuck you."

The words acted as a trigger and she felt pressure on the small of her spine as Tommy guided her through the crowded bar-room. He offered a polite nod to passing faces and the occasional 'alright mate' when necessary. Eileen stayed cold and quiet, even when the door to the backroom locked behind them.

Like the rest of the Garrison, the backroom was now plush and redecorated. Her mind flashed back to the old wooden tables and chairs that had previously been scattered across the place, now replaced with red velvet table clothes and gold stools. She preferred it before.

The hand fell from the small of her back and Tommy moved to look at the brunette face on, eyes searching and waiting for some kind of response. He didn't wait long and was soon greeted by a harsh smack across his cheek. It was deserved.

Clearing his throat, Tommy rooted in his coat pocket for a cigarette. He held it between his lips and let the silence linger whilst he lit it. The brunette stared back at him, hand shaking slightly as she reeled from the slap she had given.

"Not a word." The brunette's voice broke as she spoke, though refusing to let any tears fall in front of the man. "Not even a fucking word to tell me you were okay, Tommy."

Tommy calmly exhaled a mouthful of smoke. "Well I'm fine, aren't I?"

Eileen felt tears brimming at the corners of her eyes but quickly blinked them back. She wouldn't be soft, not today. "You weren't." She countered. "Do you know what I had to watch? What they did?-"

"-Of course I fucking do."

The questions seemed to have touched a nerve. Tommy's gaze momentarily fell to his feet, lingering on a lasting drag from the cigarette before he looked back to the girl. "Of course I fucking do." He repeated, calmer this time. "Where do you think I've been, ey? I've been fixing this fucking mess."

Eileen's eyes looked at the bruising under his eye and the scar slashed across his left cheek. He could try to pretend it didn't happen but it did. She would never forget the night they had met Darby Sibini.

"That's the thing, Tommy." She smoothed the layers of her skirt. "I don't know where you've been or what you've been doing." Her tone was cold as she added, "You don't tell me anything."

Staring back at her, Tommy seemed unwilling to respond to her statements. He knew they were all true. He didn't tell her anything but it was for her own good. The London business was supposed to be swift and successful, he had never thought she would have anything to worry about. He took a slow step forward, hand brushing against the curve of her hip. The feeling of guilt was overwhelming with his mind immediately replaying Sibini's actions. His hand fell.

"I don't burden you with things you don't need to know about." He replied simply, the now-free hand slipping casually into his trouser pocket.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. After the night of the attack she had been sensitive to practically anyone laying a hand on her - Tommy's touch was the first one that hadn't made her stomach turn. It hurt her that even he felt repulsed by the action.

"My father came to see me tonight."

Tommy looked up, expression neutral. With Chester Campbell's return to Birmingham he knew it would only be a matter of time before the man reached out to Eileen.

"And?"

His eyes were stoney and emotionless as they stared back at the girl, desiring to be challenged.

"Duggan." Eileen didn't disappoint. The name harsh as it rolled off of her tongue. "Does the name mean anything to you?"

As Tommy looked back to his wife, he noted that her eyes seemed to be staring through him rather than at him. It was a look he was unfamiliar with when her eyes were usually so soft and warming.

"No."

It was a lie and they both knew it.

"Michael." He returned the challenge. "Does the name mean anything to you?"

Eileen's stance seemed to falter. She had never faced off against Tommy in this manner and she was beginning to realise why he was able to command such authority.

"Polly told you."

"She did." Tommy answered, pressing the nearly-burnt out cigarette back to his lips. "Seems I'm not the only one with secrets, ey?"

Eileen acknowledged the legitimacy of his statement. They had both been keeping secrets from the latter but she liked to believe her own secrecy had been with good intentions. After all, Polly had been the one to ask her not to tell Tommy in the first place. The woman had only changed her mind when she had refused to give her the location of her son.

"My secrets don't end with people dying." Eileen countered. "Duggan, whoever he was. You killed him, didn't you?"

Tommy noticed the hesitancy as the brunette said 'killed'. No matter the horrors he exposed her to, there would always be a side to her that was too naive to be in this world. It was one of the things he loved most about her but he feared it would be her downfall. There was no place for naivety amongst the Peaky Blinders.

"Yes."

He didn't lie this time. There was no point.

"Why?" She pressed.

Tommy's answer came just as quickly.

"Why not."

Eileen fell quiet, mouth opening but closing as she failed to find a response. Two years she had spent with the man and somehow he could still feel like a stranger. Her father had frequently told her she had married a monster, she had just never been able to believe it.

"Are you about done with these fucking interrogations, ey?" Tommy asked, roughly tossing the end of his cigarette into an ashtray. He was sick of being questioned by his own wife. He more than anyone knew that his morals were slanted, he didn't need Eileen to tell him. The words were harsh and he rest a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to soften the blow, "I told you, you and Danny have nothing to worry about."

The brunette's eyes locked on Tommy's, body warm at the sensation of his touch. This was what he always did - used her infatuation against her. Not this time.

"You're delusional, Tommy." She shrugged the hand off and took a step back towards the door. "You just can't fucking see it."

Tommy matched her step and wasted no time in questioning her. "What can't I see, ey?" He looked to the girl. "You know who I am, the things I've done. You've seen it."

Eileen's heart felt heavy in her chest, it's beats practically thundering in her ears. He wasn't wrong. Since their time together, the brunette had seen two men lose their lives at the hand of Thomas Shelby. The first had been the man sent by her father to their hotel room in London. The second had been Billy Kimber. Yet, somehow those deaths hadn't felt wrong. This - all of this new business felt wrong.

"What's so fucking different this time?" Tommy's voice tore through the silence, agitated and bored with their bickering. With Arthur and Polly acting out, he hardly had time for domestic issues. Eileen was supposed to be his rock.

"You could hang for this, Tommy!"

The brunette's words were explosive, hands going to the side of her head in frustration. "Do you not learn?" She continued. "My father would give anything to see you dead."

Tommy's mind flashed to his meeting with Chester Campbell in the hospital. "I know what I'm doing."

"Of course you do." Eileen quipped, eyes rolling as she retreated to the door leading back into the bustle of the Garrison. "Thomas fucking Shelby, always ten steps ahead." The sarcasm was thick but Tommy resisted the urge to bite. The woman had every right to be mad at him after he'd fled to London without a word of reassurance.

Tommy watched as the brunette fumbled with the door lock, his hand slipping into his pocket to retrieve another cigarette.

Finally the door lock clicked and Eileen looked back to Tommy with sincerity in her eyes.

"You'll get yourself killed, Tommy."

There was a pause as Tommy exhaled a mouthful of smoke.

"Eileen." The call fell flat and the door slammed shut.

It was late by the time Tommy eventually made it back home. After all, it was rude to leave your own re-opening early.

Shrugging out of his coat, the man pulled his peaky cap from his head with a reluctant sigh. He wasn't prepared for round two of their argument and his mind was still racing from round one. He knew that he had handled the situation poorly but he didn't have time for family issues when his business world was falling apart.

The house was eerily quiet as Tommy walked up the stairs, family portraits staring back down at him. It almost felt like they were judging him too. Tommy stared back at the faces - in paint they looked perfect.

Forcing his gaze away, the man noticed that the bedroom door was ajar but the lights were out. All was still and he stepped into the room to find the bed empty. Was he surprised? Probably not. Reaching into his pocket, Tommy pulled out a loose cigarette and perched on the end of the mattress whilst he lit it. Eileen was gone and a quick peak into the nursery confirmed that Danny had gone with her. Suddenly, he was beginning to understand what the brunette meant when she called the house big and empty.