By the time Evie finished brushing Bard, night had fallen and she rushed home through Birmingham's narrow, dirty streets. As always, her day had been so busy that she had forgotten about lunch. It was with a certain sense of dread that Evie realized she and Johnny had eaten the last of her fresh bread that morning. Apart from some already sprouting potatoes there was likely not much to be found in her kitchen. The one exception would be the shelf overflowing with cans of fancy cat food that she purchased for Oz. Shaking her head at her own forgetfulness Evie quickened her pace even further. It was too late now to do anything about it, the stores would have already closed hours ago.

Just as Evie was unlocking her door, she overheard something that made her pause, the key half-turned in the lock as she froze in place.

'Yes, another visitor last night! Gypsy-looking fella…', she quickly identified the voice as belonging to her upstairs neighbor, Ms. Powell. Evie noticed that the door to the stairwell of the building was ajar and realized Ms. Powell and whoever else she was talking to must be standing in the hallway or on the stairs gossiping. Specifically, gossiping about her, Evie.

'I thought she worked with animals. Should have known a young thing like her working like that would be trouble!', someone else was saying.

Evie quickly ran through her options. She could confront the gossiping women, or she could ignore them but that would mean letting them get away with making nasty comments about her when they must know that she could be within earshot. That latter option didn't sit well with her even before the next sentence reached her ears.

'One of them is Thomas Shelby, did you know?', Ms. Powell had lowered her voice, but Evie still heard the question.

'Of course, I heard from Susie that that girl, Lizzie, the one that lives on Susie's street isn't working anymore. And he used to see her a lot. Now she works for him, which really makes you wonder…', the other voice had switched to a whisper now. They were evidently aware that discussing the Shelby's was not something one should be caught doing. Well, that settled it, Evie would not roll over and let them shame her for something that hadn't even happened!

'Good evening', she announced, poking her head into the dimly lit hallway, carefully watching the look of horror on Ms. Powell's face that quickly gave rise to something that almost resembled embarrassment.

'Oh…Miss Calman, it's you!', the older woman exclaimed now, tugging on the sleeve of the woman that stood next to her. Evie glanced at her quickly, recognizing her as a woman who lived a few houses down the street from her.

'I'm afraid I don't know your name, mam', Evie said with false friendliness in her voice as she slowly walked towards the other neighbor, her hand outstretched. The woman looked at her hand with disgust but was clearly aware that she must have overheard her discussing the Shelby's. Evie was working under the assumption that it had been implied Tommy was seeing a prostitute by the name of Lizzie, of course, she could be wrong, but between what had been said and the effect that her ill-timed arrival had on the women, Evie was fairly certain her assumption was correct. At the very least, it would have to be something of a similar magnitude for them to react the way they did, faces red and eyes frantically looking for a way out.

'Uhm…', the woman swallowed audibly, then reluctantly made to shake Evie's hand. 'Jane Harlow.'

'Pleasure to meet you, I'm sure we'll see each other around, yes?', Evie now switched from saccharine sweetness to a low whisper. 'Unless I hear you first that is.'

She let the threat hang in the air for a moment before she nodded at the poor Ms. Powell and headed back out into the street. She was pleased with her little performance but at the same time she could feel rage twisting in the pit of her stomach and desperately wished she was with Arthur practicing her self-defence skills. She acutely felt the need to punch someone or something and realized that she would be unable to spend the evening at home in her present state. For a moment she considered heading to the Garrison but then decided against it, instead heading for Charlie's boatyard to see Atlas. Maybe she could tell Curly about her plans of introducing Atlas and Bard to each other and then there was the matter of Loki's training. Evie had a very clear idea of what she did and (most importantly) didn't want Loki to learn and while she trusted Curly with the training, she had never let someone else train a dog of hers before. Then again, she'd never needed or wanted a dog to help her stay safe. The thought was still unsettling to her although Evie knew that it was one of the better ideas that had been born out of the chaos of the last week.

When she arrived at the boatyard, she noticed that the gate at the entrance of the property was locked up and she was glad then that Charlie had given her a key earlier in the week. He hadn't seemed too happy about it but he had gruffly told her that if she was going to keep coming by to check on the 'damn' horse (his words), then she might as well have a key to do so no matter the circumstances. Evie suspected that Charlie had come across more gruffly than he'd meant to. He clearly wasn't used to having people other than Curly around so much. Evie carefully locked the gate behind herself, acutely aware of how dark the property was at night. She'd only been there in the early hours of the morning since her first encounter with Thomas and then there had been cars and fires. Now, pitch-black darkness surrounded her and only the gurgling sounds of the Cut provided some sense of direction. Slowly, she made her way over to the stable, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she left the streetlamps behind.

Once in the shed that they were using as a stable she was relieved to find oil-lamps and matches. There wasn't any electrical lighting that she was aware of, but the oil-lamps actually cast a warm and almost cozy light around the small space. Atlas was watching her as she slowly walked towards the giant horse and began petting his forehead, slowly pushing strands of his mane away from his eyes. He looked better with each passing day, his fur had started looking a little healthier and he was starting to look more alert, his ears perking up as she continued petting him.

'My good boy', she told him as she caressed his long neck. She'd discovered to her great relief that despite his physical condition, he seemed to trust humans and enjoyed her touch. Curly had told her that Atlas was fond of Tommy as well, which hadn't surprised her. If she was being honest, she missed him on her house calls now whenever she encountered fearful or aggressive animals and it irked her somewhat to admit that where she relied on experience with livestock, he seemed to have something more. When he whispered to them, it seemed like the animals absorbed the meaning of his words even as Evie had to poke and prod them to diagnose what was wrong.

Evie slowly forgot about her encounter with her gossiping neighbours as she went to top off the water trough and rearranged some of the straw. There really wasn't anything to be done for Atlas, Curly had obviously completed every possible chore before he left and so eventually Evie settled down in the straw next to the horse and pulled out her notebook to look over her scribbled notes on the cases she had seen today. It was cold in the enclosure, but she'd found an old blanket and was now reading contently, the quiet in the box only interrupted by the occasional noises of Atlas exhaling loudly, his nostrils vibrating as he did so.

Evie would have been unable to say how much time had passed when she heard steps outside the building. She jumped to her feet and dropped her notebook but kept her eyes on Atlas who seemed entirely unfazed. It was probably just Charlie or Curly, she told herself.

'Hello?', she called out, keeping her voice steady, ignoring how much her stomach had started churning.

'Evelyn?', it was just Tommy. He stepped into the shed and Evelyn noticed that his usual impassive expression had actually given way to a brief moment of genuine surprise.

'Oh, Tommy', Evie exhaled, releasing the breath that she'd been holding and immediately regretted doing so as her stomach growled loudly. If she hadn't blushed, she thought Tommy might have believed that it had been the horse, but her reaction made it abundantly clear that she was the source of the sound.

'What am I looking at here, exactly?', Tommy asked her, waving his hand – cigarette included – in her general direction and Evie looked around. The blanket she'd been using was crumpled into a crescent shape on top of a mound of straw and on top of that, like a cherry on a piece of cake, rested her notebook and scrap pieces of paper. Evie gave him a small smile, admitting to herself that it had to be quite the picture. Add to that the dramatic noises her stomach had made, and it was almost comical.

'I was just spending some time with Atlas', she told him, patting the horse gently on the shoulder.

'And he ate your dinner?', Tommy inquired in mock-disbelief.

'Well…I might have forgotten my dinner', technically, she told herself, it wasn't a lie. She truly had forgotten about it. It was just that she'd forgotten about lunch as well as dinner.

'Unbelievable', he was shaking his head at Atlas like he knew the horse would agree. After a moment of silence he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an apple, holding it up and looking at Atlas first and then Evie before he extended his hand in her direction.

'Tonight she wins, buddy', he told the horse apologetically and as much as Evie wanted to refuse the apple, she knew her stomach would loudly be calling her a liar if she tried.

'Thank you, Tommy', she mumbled instead as she took the apple and began eating it. She felt somewhat guilty about eating the food meant for the horse. 'I'll bring him a treat tomorrow morning.'

'That's silly, you know full well that Curly spoils him rotten', Tommy rolled his eyes at her and Evie knew he was right. She watched him scratch Atlas behind his ears and smiled as the horse bent his neck to bring his massive head closer to Tommy.

Suddenly, the shed was illuminated by bright light, followed immediately by the deafening sound of thunder. On the heels of the thunder, rain followed. The kind of rain that drowns out every other sound of the storm. Atlas was now nervously stepping from one leg onto the other, his eyes opened wide and fixed on Tommy, like he was holding on for dear life.

'It's alright, my boy', Tommy told the horse before switching to Romani murmurs. Evie peered outside thinking of Oz. She trusted that he had his hiding places for times like these and the cat had probably sensed the weather long before the storm actually started. Evie sighed.

'Birmingham has the worst fucking weather', she said to no one in particular and Tommy chuckled.

'The weather is only the beginning of what's wrong with us', he informed her. 'Why'd you come here?'

'Robertson was the only one willing to hire me out of well over 50 applications that I sent out to vets all over the country', Evie could hear the bitterness in her own voice.

'Ah', Tommy nodded but continued petting Atlas until he'd calmed down. The rain was steady now and if there was thunder, they couldn't hear it above the drumming of the rain against the roof. Evie had sat back down in the straw and packed away her notes.

'Still hungry?', Tommy inquired then, and Evie's gaze dropped to her hand that unbeknownst to her was clutching at her stomach. There was no use denying it and so she nodded, meeting his gaze, trying not to look embarrassed this time.

'Well, come on, I'll give you a ride home.'

They huddled under the heavy blanket, holding it above their heads to shield themselves from the worst of the rain as they ran to his car. Stopping on the passenger side first, Tommy opened the door for her before running around to the driver's side.

'Fucking hell', he exclaimed but she could see the adrenaline rush through him. The rain was coming down hard and Evie had felt the blood in her veins surge too as they ran for the car. It was dangerous to be outside now and yet she almost regretted how quickly they'd gotten to the car. Evie giggled and Tommy started laughing. It was the first time that she had actually heard him laugh out loud, not a chuckle or suppressed laughter, no, it was a roaring laugh that filled the car until it seemed like it would explode. Evie grinned at him, certain that she looked like a mad woman, but she didn't care, the moment felt too good. Tommy ran his hand through his wet hair, he was absolutely drenched just from walking around the car to get to the driver's side. Water was now dripping onto the leather bench that they sat on and Evie traced the path it was taking with her finger.

'I've always loved thunderstorms', she confided in Tommy, who slowly stopped laughing.

'Hard not to', he agreed and started the car.

'Tommy?', Evie asked, trying to raise her voice above the noise of the rain and the car engine. 'Is the Garrison still open?'

'It's Friday, Evelyn', he told her, and she knew he was rolling his eyes at her. 'No food there though.'

'Well, truth be told, I only have potatoes that are starting to sprout and stale bread', Evie admitted. She'd rather go to the pub than face her dark and lonely tenement. 'It's been a busy week.'

Tommy shook his head at that but continued driving and Evie wondered if that meant they were headed to the pub.

The rainwater was running down Tommy's neck and he could feel it soaking his shirt underneath his coat, making it cling to his body. He stepped around the car to find the passenger door half-opened and Evelyn poking her head out, surveying their surroundings suspiciously.

'Where are we?'

'6 Watery Lane', he held out his hand for her, watching as the rain washed over it. There was no recognition in her eyes, and he reminded himself that she truly did not know Birmingham well at all. 'My place.'

He watched as she looked up and down the street one more time, then at the buildings around them. Finally, she put her hand into his and stepped out of the car. The rain turned her hair from a shiny gold to a dark, brownish color within seconds and her curls flattened into straighter lines while he fumbled with the key. As they stepped into the hallway, he noticed that the light in the betting shop was still on. If there was a Shelby still working on a Friday night, it would have to be Polly and sure enough, she stepped into the hallway just as he took Evelyn's coat to hang it next to his.

'Would you look at that?', Polly commented, lighting a cigarette and surveying the scene in front of her.

'Polly, I'm sure you remember her, this is Evelyn Calman', Tommy started and looked at Evelyn as he said it, waiting to see if she would introduce herself as 'Evie' to Polly like she had with his brothers. It seemed however, that Evelyn had no such intentions. In fact, she looked almost cautious as she approached Polly, holding her hand out just barely enough to convey her intentions. After a moment - and another look at Tommy - a smile stole itself onto Polly's face.

'It's good to meet you, dear', Polly clasped her hand and Tommy could see that she gave Evelyn a genuine smile, before her noise scrunched up. 'The two of you smell like horse shit, by the way.'

Tommy laughed and could only imagine that precious embarrassed look on Evelyn's face.

'Well, Poll, I found her in Atlas' box. Her stomach was growling like she was about to eat the horse', Tommy said and watched as Evelyn spun around to face him, her eyes wide and her cheeks still burning red. Her mouth opened but then closed again and he raised his eyebrow at her knowing full well that he'd won that round.

'Well, since you didn't grace us with your presence earlier, your leftovers are still in the kitchen', Polly smirked at him before returning to the betting shop to finish doing whatever had kept her there all evening.

Tommy showed Evelyn the way into the kitchen, where she promptly stopped when she saw his solitary place setting on the otherwise empty table.

'So, you didn't eat either then?', she seemed rather smug as she asked it and Tommy tutted at her.

'That may be so, but my stomach isn't screaming bloody murder', he informed her watching the smug expression fade from her pretty face. She shivered then and he watched the goosebumps spreading over her neck as her dress clung to her body and water ran from her hair over her collarbone and into the neckline of her dress. He managed to look up before letting his eyes wander any further and informed her, he'd just get some towels and dry clothes.

When he returned with said items, she was already heating up the food and her hair had been pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. Of course he had noticed from the beginning that she was pretty, beautiful even, but she had reminded him a little too much of Grace then. He'd chalked up any attraction he felt to the fact that her hair reminded him of the other woman and before he knew it, working alongside her with the animals, he'd found himself observing the way she treated the animals and their owners and their interactions had become more professional. But now he increasingly found himself thinking about her, not just the animals and her work, but the woman behind it all. The type of character that it would take to choose the path that she had chosen.

Evelyn turned around then and looked at him curiously as he handed her the towel, one of his shirts, and his draw-string pyjama pants. There hadn't been anything more appropriate for her, since Ada had left, there were only men in the house apart from Polly and well, he wasn't exactly looking to go through Polly's clothes just then.

'Thank you', Evelyn mumbled, and he could feel her eyes on him as he closed the curtains and turned to stand in the door to the hallway, his back turned to her. He could hear the wet clothes hitting the floor and the towel going over her body. After a few moments she cleared her throat and he turned around. She was standing with her back to him, stirring the stew that was starting to boil in the pot. Her head was covered by the towel, wrapped into a turban around her hair and through his white shirt he could she the outline of a green bra and he regretted choosing a white shirt. The last thing he wanted was for her to catch him starring. Not when he still wasn't sure if he could trust her.

A little later they were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. Tommy had cut up some bread and Evelyn had divided the stew into two bowls. They were both still eating when Polly joined them again. She sat down at the table and Tommy felt her eyes moving from one to the other. His aunt was no doubt coming to her own conclusions and he was sure that sooner or later he would have to listen to them.

'So, Tommy here got you a dog?', Polly inquired finally, and he raised an eyebrow at her. He hadn't spoken to anyone but Curly about it.

'Charlie mentioned that Curly won't have any time for his actual work soon if the two of you keep roping him into your ambitions of becoming zoo keepers', Polly offered by way of explanation.

'Yeah, uhm, a Doberman. His name's Loki', Tommy noticed the small smile on Evelyn's face as she spoke about the puppy. She'd called it a compromise but he was fairly certain that she wouldn't have agreed if she hadn't wanted the dog and he remembered Johnny mentioning a 'beast of a dog' belonging to her at some point in the past.

'Loki', Polly rolled the name around her tongue. 'Which one was that again?'

'Loki is the trickster of Norse mythology', Evelyn smiled like she expected them to understand and then elaborated when she saw their faces. 'Loki represents chaos and the thin, sometimes arbitrary lines that divide good from evil. He crossed that line repeatedly and was eventually punished by the Gods and chained to a rock with his son's entrails and a venomous snake perched on his head, causing him enough pain to shake the earth. When he was finally freed at the beginning of Ragnarök, a time during which our earth died and was reborn, Loki and his remaining sons fought the gods to create a new world order. Eventually, he died during the battle alongside many of the gods. Loki himself though was neither good or evil, he just cleverly used the already existing chaos and disorder to his advantage.'

'Did you hear that, Tommy?', Polly asked him rhetorically. She was smirking but her eyes were serious as per usual. 'Loki must have though he was too clever to fall victim to the very same powers he challenged.'

Tommy looked at her annoyed. Why did everyone have to keep holding Kimber and Campbell over his head like that? They had all profited from the risks that he'd taken and their business was growing stronger and more successful practically by the day now.

'So he should have just kept his head down and followed rules made for a world of black and white, one of moral extremes that ignore the complexities of human reality?', Evelyn inquired before he could think of something to say. She looked so serious, like she couldn't understand how Polly could have possibly interpreted her story as a warning. 'If that was ever the lesson, then I doubt it can be applied to the modern world.'

She couldn't possibly be aware that she was literally defending the fact that he had stolen guns, hidden them from an agent of the crown, and killed another man over access to his racetracks. Tommy thought that it was probably more likely that the story of Loki reminded her of her own situation, not being allowed to practice veterinary medicine but slipping through the cracks of the system wherever possible to pursue her goals. It was a different kind of revolution from the one Freddie Thorne was fighting for but one that most certainly would not attract the same wide-spread appeal since he imagined that men stood too little to gain from women joining the workforce in areas that had been dominated exclusively by men for centuries. Specifically, men that earned wages well above that of a simple seamstress or schoolteacher.

'Is that so?', Polly just asked, and he could tell that she didn't mean to antagonize Evelyn. After all, Polly had never been one to argue against moral ambiguity.

'If you ask me, yes', Evelyn gave Polly another one of her small smiles before profusely thanking her for the stew. Tommy grabbed a bottle of whisky from one of the shelves and returned to the table.

'Oh no, it's time for me to call it an evening', Polly explained as she got up from the table and left after another pointed look in Tommy's direction. He was certain that she'd have more to say on the subject of Loki, or maybe she was gearing up to talk to him about what she called 'matters of the heart'. Either way, he wasn't particularly looking forward to their next encounter.

'It's Irish', he informed Evelyn, but she pushed her glass towards him, nonetheless and Tommy poured them a first round of drinks. It wasn't how he had planned on spending the evening but sitting around his kitchen table drinking with Evelyn Calman was certainly not a bad outcome either, he mused as he watched her release her hair from the towel. No, he certainly had no reason to complain at that moment.