Five seemingly endless days had passed since Tommy sent Johnny Dogs after the man that had attacked Evelyn. The Lees had located him, which was what Johnny had told him when they left the snug under the pretense of getting a beer for the Irishman. Since Johnny wasn't one to pick up a phone and inform him of any delays, Tommy was slowly growing impatient. He should have heard from Johnny by now.

And then there was Evelyn. He hadn't agreed to her deal, but he thought he understood why she didn't want him to interfere with her work, which was why he was still looking for a way to satisfy his own need to keep those associated with him safe as well as respect that she had chosen a path that would always expose her to a certain degree of risk. At least while she wasn't allowed to run her own practice. Tommy wasn't particularly interested in the gender politics of this decision but when someone's goals didn't interfere with his own, he was rather happy to live and let live. Of course, he'd heard from Arthur that she had waited for him when he went to open the Garrison on Monday afternoon to ask him to teach her how to throw a punch. Arthur had been reluctant to tell him and Tommy wasn't sure if his brother was afraid of stepping on his toes or if Evelyn had asked him to keep it a secret. Either way, Tommy was aware that Arthur knew better than to keep a secret from him ever since Arthur Senior's last visit where Arthur had kept his secret about investing in their father's lies a little too long.

Arthur's concerns of course had been rather unwarranted, if she wanted to learn how to punch, that was alright with him. That being said, he didn't think it was more than a well-meant, if somewhat useless gesture. He'd seen how she had frozen when the man had grabbed her, and he doubted she would have attacked him even if she had known how to do it. Why she would want to learn how to punch someone then was beyond him. She obviously also disliked his men following her and Tommy knew that it was not sustainable for him to continue having her watched. He needed his men elsewhere as he was continuing to secure racetracks for the Shelby Company Ltd. So, another solution had to be found, and quickly.

In the meantime, he kept busy looking after the family business to distract himself from the things that were on hold for the moment. Such as Johnny Dogs' return.

'Here we fucking go again', he muttered now as he maneuvered the car around a pothole in the street. The streets of Small Heath were not yet used to cars and for him to get to Charlie's boatyard he was forced to take them, nonetheless. It was just shy of 11pm when he arrived but he saw Charlie and Curly standing near a fire.

'Charlie, Curly.'

'Tommy, here for the horse, I hope?', Charlie eyed him suspiciously. Tommy was fairly certain he still hadn't been forgiven for his decision concerning the guns all those months ago. Charlie and Polly were too stubborn, he thought. It wasn't like he could change anything that had happened, so why dwell on the past now?

'Yup', Tommy told him and squeezed Curly's shoulder.

'I'll come with you, Tommy', Curly was as obsessed with the Clydesdale as he was with every other horse. Though Tommy could tell that Curly also enjoyed the additional challenge that came with nursing the animal back to health.

'Have you given him a name yet?', Tommy asked, vaguely remembering when Grace had asked him that about the white horse. She'd even offered to name it herself and Tommy remembered being amused by that then. He wondered now how many of their interactions had been genuine. Luckily, the sound of Curly clearing his throat interrupted his thoughts.

'Ms. Evie…well, we named him, yes', Curly sounded unsure.

'A secret then?', Tommy inquired, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Why did everyone act like they couldn't mention her around him? He hadn't even made up his own mind about what he thought of her exactly. And maybe that was the problem, he mused. Indecisiveness wasn't in his nature. Indifference, yes, but he knew the point of indifference had been crossed when he'd called on her to have her fish Kimber's bullet out of his chest.

'At…At..Atlas', Curly stuttered, before a small smile spread across his lips and he started bobbing his head up and down. 'His name's Atlas, Tommy.'

Tommy nodded, petting the horse in question. He vaguely remembered hearing stories about the Titans of Ancient Greece. One of his mother's friends had been fond of telling their violent stories around a fire late at night during the short summer nights they spent on the road. Tommy was fairly certain that he'd been one of the only ones still awake then but even he couldn't remember much now. Regardless, it seemed like a good name for the giant horse.

'So, how's Atlas doing, then?', Tommy inquired and listened to Curly's explanations until he eventually bid farewell to the horse, giving him an apple he'd brought for the visit. Atlas rewarded him by gently rubbing his head against his chest. Tommy was quickly taking a liking to the gentle horse.

As he was about to leave the boatyard he was interrupted by a whistle. He turned around to see a smirking Johnny Dogs striding towards him, cap drawn into his face and hands disappearing deep within the pockets of his linen pants. The man looked entirely pleased with himself, although that didn't necessarily mean much where Johnny was concerned.

'Took you long enough to get back here', Tommy commented drily while lighting a cigarette. There was no doubt in his mind Johnny would want a drink before he'd offer any kind of explanation of what had happened, so Tommy thought he might as well make himself somewhat comfortable.

'You got a drink for me?', Johnny inquired as predicted.

'I'm sure Charlie's got something.'

A few minutes later they were seated on upturned boxes next to a second fire. Tommy watched the flames flicker and lick at the cold air, their reflections thrown back at him by the Cut that flowed lazily past them. Johnny was busy opening a bottle of what appeared to be rum.

'So?'

'Hang on', Johnny took a big sip, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then grinned. 'All taken care of, chief.'

'What took so long?'

'Oi, Tommy. A little more respect please, you asked me to be discrete', Johnny smirked at him. 'You know that's not my strong suit.'

'Aye', Tommy acknowledged though he wasn't entirely convinced that it should have taken this long to be discreet about it.

'How's Lynn?', Johnny took another sip straight from the bottle. Tommy thought he was changing the subject rather quickly but then again, technically this was all because of Evelyn. The fire was casting long shadows across Johnny's face, making the first wrinkles that were appearing on it look longer and deeper than they really were. He looked tired, Tommy thought.

'Safe, I've had my men watching the house.'

'She's letting you do that?'

Tommy shrugged in response, remembering her attempt at making a deal with him. He'd wondered afterwards if she'd been too drunk to come up with a better offer. He also remembered the look of disappointment and frustration on her face when he'd turned it down. Her golden curls had framed her face and her green eyes had become so big, reminding him of a puppy.

'If I didn't know Lynn better, I'd ask if you were seeing her', Johnny was grinning again, he seemed well aware of the fact that no one else would say this to Tommy directly. It reminded him of when they'd been boys. Johnny Dogs was always getting into trouble, more so even than the other children and it seemed his old friend was still itching for the rush of adrenaline that came with deliberately ignoring rules – written or otherwise. Tommy just raised an eyebrow at him before flicking the remainder of his cigarette into the fire.

'Well, if there's nothing else to report', Tommy stood up, taking one last look at the reflection of the flames playing on the surface of the Cut. How could something so disgusting, so nasty as the water of the Cut be one of the few things that truly made him feel like he was home – for better or for worse?

'Unless you want details…', Johnny didn't seem capable of wiping the grin off his face. But as Tommy walked away, he could hear Johnny running after him. 'Oi, Tommy? Will ya give me a ride to Lynn's?'

During the short ride to her place, Tommy let his mind wander. With Kimber defeated and his first victory now secured beyond a shadow of a doubt, he was starting to feel the familiar restlessness again. He recognizes that no matter how high he would rise; he would always crave the beginning of the next step. That moment of uncertainty, before things either fell into place or disaster ensued.

When he stopped the car in front of Evelyn's place, Johnny looked up and down the street.

'Quite the neighborhood', he said sarcastically.

'You could ask her to move', Tommy suggested, a smile curling the corners of his lips as he imagined how she might react to that suggestion.

'Oh no, I know me place, Tommy', Johnny chuckled and got out of the car before slapping his hand against the door. 'Does she still have that beast of a dog?'

'Never seen a dog with her.'

'Aye, good for me', Johnny told him conspiratorially.

Tommy didn't quite know what to make of that but nodded and slowly drove away, watching as the light spilled out of Evelyn's home and into the dark street. Even over the rumble of the engine he could hear her exclaim Johnny's name. She'd said she loved him like a brother, and it sounded exactly like Ada used to greet him. Before Freddie. Well, maybe it was longer than that, maybe it had been like that before the war. He couldn't remember when she'd stopped shrieking his name in excitement rather than anger, but it must have been a long time ago. He missed his sister, even the absence of her anger left him feeling like he was missing out on something pure and alive by not having her near him. Slowly, an idea was forming in the back of his mind and Tommy tried to keep his distance, giving it room to grow and mature before he would examine it more closely.

Evie was sitting next to Johnny on her shabby couch. He had wrapped his arm around her again and the two had been drinking the rum that he'd brought with him. For the first time in almost a week, Evie felt content. She'd been busy, her days as always were filled with the cases that Dr. Robertson didn't want to see. Usually that just meant the owners weren't able to pay his fees, but Evie knew how to keep her expenses minimal and her head down. In addition to her work, she'd also been meeting with Arthur.

'Arthur Shelby is teaching me how to throw a punch', she told Johnny now and grinned at him as she watched the corners of his lips be pulled towards his comically round ears that she loved so much. They'd always reminded her of a boy whose mother had pulled on them too often as a punishment.

'Why didn't you just ask me, little Lynn?', he teased her.

'Well, you weren't here', she said with her best impression of a pout and Johnny laughed.

'Tommy's having you watched, I doubt you'll need to know how to throw a punch.'

'I know but Johnny, I can't always count on someone being there. It's not right but what's more, it would be foolish to do so. And Tommy…well, you know, I actually barely know him!'

'So, how did you two meet?', Johnny asked and Evie didn't blame him for his curiosity. She hadn't grown up with the gypsies and as soon as she'd been old enough, she had moved to Edinburgh to attend the New Veterinary College. And then she'd gone to France. It was almost funny to her that by pure coincidence one of the only people she was spending time with these days just so happened to be of similar heritage as her. That very same heritage would have her believe that it was fate, but Evie didn't believe in that for one moment.

Evie told him about how she'd met Tommy and when she mentioned the white horse and the curse, she was so focused on telling the story and petting Oz on her lap that she missed the look of guilt that crossed Johnny's features briefly when she mentioned the cursed horse. After that he resumed listening with a more neutral expression until she mentioned that Tommy had started waiting for house calls with her on Saturday nights.

'So that's why he cares!', Johnny wagged an eyebrow at her like he expected her to be in on the joke.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, you know, before the war Tommy worked with horses. He had very little interest in the family business and as a kid he was always running off to be in the stables from dusk to dawn', Johnny explained, rolling his eyes at the idea of working when one could be getting into mischief.

'Oh', was all Evie could say. It all made so much more sense now and she wondered why it hadn't occurred to her before that spending time with her and the animals likely wasn't just a distraction born out of curiosity but rather an act of remembrance. She was familiar with those herself, both rituals to remember who she'd been before her father passed and rituals to remember who she'd been before France. It was so easy to get pulled into the maelstrom of memories to connect with who she had been, the little girl she'd left behind.

'I saw your sister, you know?', Johnny said after a while and not before he'd given her a cautious look.

'Mazella's my half-sister', Evie corrected him halfheartedly. 'Well, I've got to say Johnny…I'm surprised the two of you still see each other.'

'Ouch', Johnny Dogs clutched his left hand to his heart as though he'd been mortally injured by her joke. The sudden shift made Oz jump out of her lap, he meowed and then stalked off to the door.

'Will you let him out, Johnny?', Evie got up to get additional blankets from the bedroom and when she stepped back into the living room Johnny looked at her skeptically.

'I'm invited to stay the night?'

'Course you are! How many times have I slept in your Vardo?', she gave him a rueful smile remembering that even then she'd slept better in his Vardo than in Mazella's. And that was even before they had started fighting. Evie knew she wasn't ready to revisit that chapter of her life and as much as she enjoyed seeing Johnny again, she realized it was inevitable that he would keep bringing up her family. With that came a heritage that she barely knew anything and about…and that was another Pandora's box. She simply didn't want to dwell on any of it right now.

'I have an early start tomorrow, Johnny', she informed him a few moments later and he nodded but from the way he was eying the remainder of the rum, she had a feeling it would be a while until he'd go to sleep. 'There's some bread and cheese in the kitchen, make yourself at home.'

'Thanks, little Lynn', he told her and got up to kiss her forehead. Johnny was only 10 years older than she was, but this had always been their ritual and Evie was glad that the man seemed as unable to hold a grudge over her stubbornness as ever.

Laying in bed a few minutes later, Evie listened to Johnny moving around in her kitchen. She'd kept her door wide open to let the sounds lull her to sleep. Johnny was one of the few people she trusted. She knew that he could be sly as a fox, but she had also never caught him lying to her. There was an honesty to him that she had thought she'd recognized in Thomas Shelby too. Though Tommy hid it much better, his features were impenetrable while Johnny couldn't even keep his lips in a straight line most of the time. Saturday was fast approaching and one of Evie's last thoughts was whether Tommy would show up again or if he'd stay away now.

The next day, Evie woke up around 6am to make coffee and get ready for work. She tried her best not to wake Johnny up since he was still snoring on her couch. His cap was resting on her kitchen table and Evie couldn't resist picking it up to see if he'd sown razors into the brim. While the water started boiling in the kettle, she stared at the cold glimmer of the razor blades. They seemed clean enough at first, but Evie noticed that the fabric was darker and still damp around the blades compared to the rest of the cap. It seemed like they had been recently cleaned and Evie thought she had a fairly good idea of what it was that Johnny did for Thomas Shelby.

'Put that down, sweetheart', Johnny mumbled, sleep still weighing down every syllable. Evie put the cap down and continued making her coffee and putting a dish with food out for Oz who would be meowing at her kitchen window any moment now.

'You still make the best coffee', Johnny told her later when they were sitting at her table eating her slightly stale bread and drinking her coffee.

'It's to make up for my awful food', she gave him a rueful smile and Johnny's eyes glimmered with humor. It had always been so easy between them and Evie suspected it was because she was one of the few women that Johnny had no interest in romantically and for this, she was grateful. The path that she had chosen had taken her further away from everyone she loved with every step. First when she moved from the Aran islands to Edinburgh and certainly when she left the British Isles altogether to treat the war horses in France. Admittedly, the physical distance would have been more easily bridged than the disapproval that had soured and eventually destroyed what was left of her relationships with family and childhood friends.

'Will you stay in Birmingham for a while?', she asked him then.

'Oh, that's not decided yet', Johnny shrugged. He wasn't one for making plans and Evie figured that was exactly what Tommy took advantage of, knowing Johnny would always be available at a moment's notice and leave for almost any destination without taking so much as a moment to say his goodbyes. Johnny was a gypsy through and through; it wasn't just in his blood, Evie imagined that he would have chosen the freedom of the road regardless of his ancestry.

As had become her habit, Evie's first stop was a visit with Atlas. Usually she'd help Curly brush him and muck out his enclosure before heading to work but this morning she didn't encounter either Charlie or Curly. With Johnny's half-hearted attempt at helping her, she still managed to arrive at work on time. The morning quickly turned into the early evening as she had a lot of house calls to make that day. There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary with any of her visits and when she headed to the address that the receptionist had indicated would be her last for the day, Evie wondered if she'd see Johnny again this evening. He hadn't committed to anything, of course, and Evie figured that he truly didn't know where his day would take him.

The last appointment was on a farm that she hadn't been to before. It was on the outskirts of Birmingham and Evie watched the muscles of her horse working under his skin. She'd bought Bard when she first arrived in Birmingham and realized she would need a somewhat reliable form of transportation if Dr. Robertson wasn't going to provide her with a car as had been advertised in the job listing. She was wondering if she should talk to Curly about having Bard and Atlas meet each other to see if the two stallions would get along. Atlas had been kept with another stallion, so he might enjoy the company and know how to behave around Bard. Bard on the other hand had a tendency of being a little nippy, so Evie wasn't entirely convinced that a meeting would be successful right away.

Finally, Bard pulled her cart – and it really was more of a cart than a carriage – into the lane-way of the farm. Immediately, a Doberman appeared, barking and growling viciously until a male voice called him back and the dog trotted slowly back towards his shelter without so much another look at her or Bard.

'Good evening, I'm Evelyn Calman', Evie introduced herself to the man that was now walking out of one of the buildings.

'Ah yes, come this way', the man nodded and continued wiping his fingers on his pants. Evie followed him into the smallest of the stables and immediately heard high-pitched yelping. It didn't sound painful, it actually sounded more like young puppies playing and Evie couldn't help but start smiling. She missed Samson, her mastiff had died shortly after they arrived in France and Evie couldn't help but think it had been for the best even though he had still been fairly young. He would have had a miserable time during those long and dreary years in France. The sounds increasingly sounded like a litter of puppies and reminded her of how long it had been since someone had called her to examine a dog. People didn't usually call a vet for their dogs or cats.

As they entered the first horsebox in the stable, Evie laid eyes on six gorgeous Doberman puppies and their mother. The bitch lifted her head to stare at her for a moment but put it down again after another look at the man in front of Evie.

'They are gorgeous!', Evie exclaimed as she watched them tumble about. They appeared to be just under 2 months of age. 'What or whom would you like me to examine?'

'I should have specified when I called', Tommy's voice said behind her and Evie spun around. She hadn't even noticed another person in the barn, let alone Thomas Shelby, and she scolded herself for not paying more attention to her environment! It would be no use having Arthur teach her how to punch someone if she was too distracted to even notice potential attackers. Before she could continue thinking about this, Tommy began explaining. 'You're here to pick a dog.'

He was actually smiling at her, little wrinkles appearing around the outer corner of his eye. It still made him look younger, almost boyish as he continued smiling with self-satisfaction. He was evidently pleased with his explanation.

'Excuse me?', Evie inquired, practically feeling her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline.

'I should head back out', the owner of the dogs in question cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped around Tommy.

'I can't keep a dog with me, Thomas', Evie specified. 'My landlord doesn't allow it. Besides, I don't have the time to properly train a puppy, I have Bard, Atlas, and Oz to take care of already!'

'Curly was here this morning. Says he can train him to accompany you', Tommy said still smiling. It seemed like he had convinced himself that his plan was fool proof.

'The landlord, Tommy', Evie reminded him, trying hard not to look at the puppies that were now nipping at the hem of her dress to get her attention. They were irresistibly cute.

'You could look for a different home', Tommy suggested, his smile turning into a grin now, which somehow made him look like he was even more pleased with himself now. It all seemed to be going according to his plan and Evie couldn't help but shake her head at him.

'Tommy, I can barely make ends meet in that shabby tenement. Where do you suggest I look for lodgings? With Charlie and Curly?', she inquired, irony dripping from her every word.

'I'm sure Curly would love that'

'I'm serious, Thomas Shelby, I cannot take a puppy home with me.'

'You wouldn't be taking him home today, just pick one and Curly will start training him next week. First the dog'll stay here, then with Curly for a bit. After that you would get him and my men would finally be able to work on more important tasks', Tommy added the last sentence with more gruffness in his voice now but it was clear that he just wanted her to go along with his plan.

'I didn't ask for your men. In fact, I distinctly rem – '

'Pick a dog, Evelyn', Tommy just said and crouched down to play with the nipping puppies.

'How about this one', Tommy lifted up what was clearly the largest of the already massive puppies. And Evie admitted that under the circumstances, Tommy was giving her an out that suited her own agenda. She had wanted a dog and she had wanted for his men to stop watching her every move. It made her more nervous, actually, and this reminded her that she hadn't even noticed Tommy walking up to the box not three minutes ago.

'No', she shook her head at the puppy in question but gave Tommy a small smile as she pointed at the puppy that was currently rolling about in the straw, trying to get the attention of the rest of the litter. This puppy was clearly not nearly as interested in her and Tommy as the rest and he looked just too comical, his ears flopping about as his little body kept twisting itself into absurd positions. He looked so uncoordinated still and she couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

'Loki', Evie said and crouched down to scratch his round little belly. Tommy chuckled.

'You're picking the class clown?', he inquired but sounded rather amused with her choice even as his words suggested disapproval.

'Just look at him', Evie grinned, lifting the squirming pup into her arms, admiring his gorgeous rust colored markings.

'Oh, I don't need convincing to get a dog', Tommy reminded her, lighting a cigarette and standing back up.

'Tommy?', Evie asked as she continued to cuddle Loki.

'Yeah?'

'Thank you. I know this is a compromise.'

Tommy hummed in response before he crouched down again to sit in the straw, letting the rest of the litter climb all over him as he smoked his cigarette lazily, his eyes half closing. Every now and then she could feel them on her as she played with Loki and then gave the mother a quick exam. It made sense to ensure that she was of good health. Ideally, she would have liked to have taken a look at the sire too, but she didn't want to seem too impolite and the dog had looked healthy at least from a distance.

The sun was already setting when Tommy and Evie left the stable. Evie let Tommy drive up the lane-way in front of her, knowing that he would be faster in his car than she and Bard would be. She watched as his car slowly made its way back into Birmingham before her until their paths parted just as they reached Small Heath and the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon.