Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.

Chapter Eleven: A Day of Peace.

"They were meant to be home by now," Ada whispered staring at the tree that sat in the living room, she hadn't been able to hide her disappointment all day that her brothers weren't home from war. Whenever she had heard a noise outside, she had looked towards the front door to see if it was her brothers returning; however, every time she had been disappointed as there was still no sign of them.

Her words were greeted with silence and Ada didn't have to look to know that her words had been agreed with; she wasn't the only one that disliked the fact that they weren't home. Rosemary didn't look up from the shirt that she was mending, she wished with all her heart that Thomas was here, and she hated that the war was dragging on.

Everyday there was more news of men dying in France and there seemed to be no end in sight for the fighting that they had been promised would end by Christmas. Clearing her throat, Rosemary tried to keep the tears at bay while she worked; she couldn't believe that things were working out like this.

It had never crossed her mind that she would be expecting her first child while her husband was away fighting in some war; she wanted him home more than anything and she prayed for him every night. It was hard to believe that he had been gone for four months now, it seemed strange that she went home to their empty house and she found it hard every time that she did so.

"Do you think that they will ever come home?" Ada asked softly, she feared that her brothers would never return; her father had abandoned them, and her mother was dead, she didn't want to lose anyone else. It kept her awake some nights that there could be a knock at the door at any moment to tell them that one of her brothers wouldn't be coming home.

"Ada," Polly scolded, she didn't want to be thinking of anything like that and she hated that they had no real idea about what was happening in the war; anything that could be details of war was crossed out when the boys sent letters home. It was hard enough to handle everything without fearing that they might never see Arthur, Thomas or John again because of this retched war.

"I hear your sister is due soon," Polly said changing the subject and looking to Rosemary, it wouldn't be long now before she was an aunt and she was sure that everyone would hear about it. People whispered about Peter enough because of his refusal to go fight in the war; they called him a coward and just last week he had been pelted with vegetables while he walked down the street. Colleen might have wanted her husband by her side, but she was quickly learning that people weren't as understanding of her reasons as her family were.

"She is," Rosemary replied, if she remembered correctly her sister was due the first week of January; she wasn't sure what would happen when that time came. Things had been strained since she had married Thomas and Rosemary doubted that was going to change anytime soon; she doubted that she would even be told when her sister had delivered the baby. Victoria hadn't said a word to her since she had told her parents that she had married, and Rosemary doubted that she cared that she was pregnant.

Turning her focus back to what she was doing, Rosemary wondered if her mother had heard about her pregnancy yet; she had considered going to see her mother and sisters when she had found out about her pregnancy, but she decided against it. She didn't feel ready to see them and she doubted that they would forgive her for marrying Thomas anytime soon.

"He's staring again," John muttered glaring across the trench at Robert, it was hard to believe that they had been here for four months now and nothing seemed to have changed and there was no sign of the war stopping anytime soon. They were meant to be home now, they were meant to be reunited with their families by now and yet they were still here fighting a war that never seemed to end.

Thomas shrugged his shoulders, he had stopped caring what his father-in-law was doing and he was tired of the looks that Robert seemed to offer him whenever they were in the same location. He did his best to stay out of Robert's way, the last thing that he wanted to do was fight with him; the news would only upset Rosemary and used against him in some way.

"I don't see what his problem is… at least you're here helping with the war effort, what's Peter doing?" John mumbled annoyed, he honestly didn't see what the problem was, and it wasn't like Thomas actively sort out trouble or was anything like their father. Thomas did his best for his family and had been nothing short of a gentleman when it came to Rosemary; he cared for her and anyone who truly knew him could see it.

Arthur nodded in agreement with what John had said, they were surprised that Thomas was acting so calm when it came to the situation at hand. He guessed that Thomas didn't want to give Victoria or Robert any more reason to dislike him; he was going to be a father in a matter of months and that was scary enough right now.

"It doesn't matter… besides, they can't hate me forever," Thomas replied focusing on the latest letter that he had received from Rosemary, he smiled as she told him about how she had felt their baby move and she had started to set up the nursery. Every part of him wished that he could be there to help her, it was hard to think that there was a big chance that he would miss the birth of his child. The sound of a commotion snapped Thomas from his thoughts, his hands resting on his gun as his eyes swept the trench; no one dared move as their commanding officer hurried past them.

"What's going on?" John asked sitting up, the sound was coming from no man's land and he was worried that the German's were up to something; he clutched at his weapon praying that this wasn't the end. Thomas slowly pushed himself up and peeked over the top of the trench, his eyes widening, and he saw what was happening and he felt relief fill him slightly.

There was both sides of the war coming into no man's land and there was no fighting; it was odd to see such peace here when the last few months had been so harsh. Slowly everyone seemed to make their way over into no man's land and greet the men that they had been fighting against; there seemed to be no anger or hatred between the gathering of men as they all greeted one another.

Soon there was a game of football, exchanges of food and gifts happening; the dead from both sides were collected allowing them to be buried. It was like a peace had fallen over them and the ceasefire was welcomed by all, it was nice not to have to worry about fighting or digging instead they were just men celebrating Christmas.

Thomas patted his brothers on the shoulder, today was a good day and it gave him hope that soon they would be able to go home. No one wanted to be here fighting and surely if they could have this day of peace then they would surely be finished with the war soon and they would be able to return home soon and be with their families.

Little did they all know that the war would last for another four years.

Author's Note:

Okay. I am curious if you guys want me to cover the entire WWI or after Rosemary gives birth would you like me to jump forward to the end of the war?

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