Chapter twenty-six: In search of Peter Pan

Three weeks later,

The boom of thunder caused Kate's eyes to fly open. She exhales deeply and sighs. She'd just managed to fall asleep, now with the storm; she'd never be able to fall back asleep immediately. Her room is drafty and cold. She flips on the light by her nightstand and carefully gets out of the bed.

She'd been stuck in this bed for almost 3 weeks and it was driving her insane. The pain was almost non-existent now, but the doctor insisted she stay in bed. Ada had kept her company for 2 days and they'd discussed some upcoming social events and plans. She was sad to see Ada leave, they'd become friends during her brief stay.

Thomas, Ruby and Charlie regularly checked in on her throughout the day. They joined her for lunch and tea up in her room and the two children babbled about what they'd done that day. She suspected Thomas had been using their marriage to his advantage to deal with some of his business on the side. He always checked in on her every night before going to bed to see if she needed anything. She never did, but they'd still wind up talking for almost 30 minutes before he finally went to his chambers.

Halloween was 5 days away and the decorators would be arriving later this morning to get the house ready for the party. She'd run the list by Thomas last week and he'd approved, after forcing her to promise that she'd stay seated. She'd actually invited a few friends that she hadn't seen in years, but she knew that they had children around Charlie and Ruby's age.

Kate exhaled as she carefully got of the bed. The thunder crashed loudly, causing her to jump as she lit her candle. She stood up and made her way towards the fireplace. There was wood in the hearth, so after checking the flue, she lit the fire. After making sure, the fire was blazing nicely, she lid the candle on the vanity and carefully walked down the hall.

She walked barefoot, so her feet didn't make a sound on the floor. As she passed she passed the nursery, she heard crying. She went to the door, opened it and turned on the light. The children were nowhere to be seen.

"Charlie?" her heart rose into her throat for a moment. "Ruby?"

"Here." Charlie hiccupped as he came out from under his bed, with Ruby behind him.

"Oh," she beckoned for them to approach her. "come here. Scared of the storm?"

Ruby nods. "It's loud!"

Another bang of thunder causes them to jump. Kate leans over and picks up Ruby, who's getting heavier. "It is loud tonight." She exhales deeply as she shifts Ruby so she's not leaning onto her chest. "Alright you two, let's go to my room." their faces light up as she switches off the light. "I'll read you two Peter Pan, until you fall asleep."

Charlie scampers ahead to her room and claims the right side of the large bed. Kate grabs Peter Pan from the bookcase before getting under the covers. She smiles as both the children lay on their sides and she delves into the magical story of Peter Pan and before long, both of them are sound asleep. She carefully leans over to turn out her light with a smile on her face.

So, this is what a taste of motherhood was like? She liked it.

Kate jumps as her alarm clock goes off. It's 8:00. She sighs and begrudgingly sits up in bed, waking up two sleepy heads on either side of her. "No." Ruby moans as she turns on her side.

Kate laughs. "We have to get up, you two have school."

"Don't want it."

"Too bad. Come on, I've got work to do."

Ruby's head shoots up. "You're not supposed to be up!"

"Today, I get up."

"Daddy's going to be mad at you."

"Probably." Kate laughs as she lifts Ruby out her spot and wiggles towards the edge of the bed. "Come on, I've got people coming at 8:30 and you two need to eat." Ruby yawns and shuffles blindly towards the door with Charlie. She laughs and grabs her pink robe from the bed. "Come on, I'll walk you back to your room."

"Thanks for reading to us." Charlie says as she secures her robe. "It was fun. Lizzie never let us stay with her."

"That's because, I'm sure she stayed with your father. There wasn't room for both of you." Kate opens the door and steps into the hall. "We're almost done with Peter Pan. We shall have to find you a new book."

"There they are!" someone shouts. "With Mrs. Shelby!"

Kate frowns and peers over the railing, along with Charlie and Ruby as Thomas comes tearing up the stairs, worry on his face. Kate gasps and covers her mouth as she realizes that the entire household must have been looking for those two for the last fifteen minutes. "Oh dear."

"Charlie! Ruby!" Thomas nearly trips on the last step. "Are you two alright?"

They look confused by his reaction as he kneels at their level. "Yes." Charlie says hesitantly. "We were with Kate."

"I am so sorry about all of this." She says as she pulls the robe tighter against her. He stands up abruptly. "They were scared of the thunderstorm last night, so I-

"They're not allowed of their rooms at night." Now, he was getting upset. She could understand, he was their father and she'd probably worried him half to death. "Didn't they tell you this?!"

Both children shifted uncomfortably. They hadn't told her that, they'd forgotten to inform her. Kate made a decision in a split second. "Yes, but I wasn't going to leave them in the room when they were terrified." Both the children stared up at her in shock. Thomas was upset and she'd rather take the heat than those two.

"Those rules are put in place for a reason." He bites out.

"I'm sorry; I just felt that it was best-

"They're my children!" He shouted at her, causing her to jump. "You don't do anything without consulting me! Do you understand that?" Kate just turned on her heel and headed towards her room, his words hurt her. He made it clear that she wasn't anywhere on the same level as Lizzie and Grace when it came to parenting. "Kate?" he bellowed from behind her. "Don't you walk away from me!" She slammed the door in his face and locked it. He banged the door with his fist, causing her to jump. "Kate!"

"Go to hell!" she screams at him as she heads towards her closet. She'd stay in here, give him a moment to settle down and then try to discuss things reasonably with him. He had a right to be upset; she understood that, he was their father. However, she was his wife and by all accounts, their mother!

The door splintered open with a crash! Kate let out a scream as Thomas came barging through the door! Kate raced for her purse on the vanity and grabbed her gun. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She knew he had a dark side to him, but she didn't think he was abusive!

Her gun was empty, but she cocked it and aimed it at his head anyway. Thomas froze as he looked her dead in the eye, stunned that she was actually pointing at gun at his head. "Stay away from me!" she snarled as venomously as she could to him. "Or I'll shoot, I promise you!"

Tommy stared at her, Kate was furious, but then so was he. She'd taken his children in the middle of the night, causing him to worry and upset the whole household! What was she even doing out of the bed?

"Put the gun down." He orders.

"Or what?" she demands. "You'll hit me to teach me a lesson?"

He frowned. "What?"

"I said I was sorry!"

Charlie and Ruby ran into the room. "Don't yell at Kate." Charlie stood in-between the two of them. "She didn't mean it!"

Ruby started crying. "It's our fault!"

Thomas glanced at them. "Get out of here!" he wasn't sure what Kate was going to do to him at this moment. She did step back and she turned the gun so it wasn't aimed at him or the children. That gave him some relief; Kate didn't want to shoot him. However, he wasn't going to give her a reason to shoot him. He knew for a fact that she'd killed a man before, so, she'd have no qualms about shooting him.

"We didn't tell her the rules." Charlie stated. "She lied and said we did…so we wouldn't get in trouble."

Thomas turns towards her and asked. "That true?" he was surprised that she'd lie about so little a thing.

At that moment, Polly comes around the corner and pulls out her gun. "Drop it!" she orders. "Or I'll drop you where you stand."

Thomas holds up his hand. "Poll, it's alright, put the gun down."

"This woman has a gun aimed at your head," she points out sharply. "or have you failed to notice that?"

"Kate's scared." Ruby points out innocently. "Daddy yelled at her."

"You tell everyone to respect me, because I'm your wife. By all accounts, I should be allowed to behave as their mother. But then," the words start flowing out her like a fountain. "the moment I show some motherly instincts, you start to shout at me! So, tell me Thomas Shelby, what I am?" she demands. "Is everyone allowed to respect me, except for you? Are you the only one allowed to disrespect me?"

"You're not their mother." Polly bit out. "You have no right to take them out of their room."

"Then…what is she?" Charles asks, exasperation bleeding into his voice. "Our nanny? Isn't she our mother?" he can hear his own temper rearing itself in Charlie's voice at this moment. "if it was Lizzie, you wouldn't have cared!"

Thomas shot him a look; Kate beat him to the punch. "Charlie, I'm not Lizzie. Not everything applies to me. I'm not equal to everyone in this house."

Again, she managed to wound him with her sharp words. "You're right Charlie," he studies her carefully. "she is your mother and she's my wife." Those words broke her; he could see it in her eyes. "Put the gun down Polly, Kate's not going to shoot me." he holds her gaze. "I'm sorry Kate."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "You don't do apologies."

"Just this once, because you deserve it."

She bites her lip, debating for a moment before uncocking the gun and setting it on the nightstand. He exhales and steps towards her. "Don't you ever, approach me like that again." her voice sounds as if she's fighting against tears.

At that moment, he hears what Ruby saw. Kate had been terrified to death. He should have known his temper would have frightened her in such a manner. She was skittish and considering how her brother treated her, God only knew how her father had treated her. She'd suggested that she'd grown up in an abusive household, now, he'd given her the impression that she'd married into one.

"Do you understand me?" he nods as she crosses her arms over her chest, attempting to look tough, but failing miserably. He'd seen her upset and angry, this was the first time seeing her vulnerable. "If you scare me like that again, I swear-

"I know, I know." he assures her as he places his hands on her shoulders. She exhales and rubs her eyes. "I won't lay a hand on you Kate, even when I'm angry. You have my word."

"Thank you." she croaks as she places her hands underneath his elbows. "I'm sorry for pointing my gun at you… even if it was empty."

He simply nods as he pulls her into his arms for a tight hug and a kiss on her brow. She exhales and holds onto him; he can feel the tension leaving her body. "We good?"

"In a minute." She mumbles against his chest. He inhales deeply, noting her hair smells like roses today. "It's going to be bumpy for a bit."

He nods. "Yeah. But….I think we'll make it work."

Kate sighs. "I agree, Thomas Shelby. We'll make it."

Idcam: Polly's always had issues with the women Tommy loves, Grace is a good example. It's going to be a bit bumpy at first, but they'll iron things out.