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

Some of you will have noticed that several chapters have disappeared, I decided to rewrite and explore what happened during the years that I originally planned to skip since the story felt lacking without them.

Chapter Fifteen: The Newest Shelby.

Hurrying down the street, Polly moved as quickly as she could in the rain; her coat huddled around her as she went and she ignored anyone who attempted to get in her way knowing that she couldn't be late. The news had come as a bit of a surprise and she certainly hadn't been expecting it this late in the evening; she had just been climbing into bed when the knock had come on her door to tell her.

There was no way that she could miss it and she could only imagine what Rosemary was going through right now; it was her first after all and they were never easy. The only regret remained that Thomas still wasn't back from war and Polly could only imagine how he would feel when he had to read about the birth of his first child via a letter. Finally reaching the street where Rosemary lived, Polly was more than relieved to find the door open a little so she didn't have to knock; she hurried her way along and started to remove her coat before she was even inside the doorway.

Quickly hanging it up, Polly headed up the stairs towards the bedroom where the midwife was attending to Rosemary while Mary held her hand tightly; her encouraging words doing little to help her friend. Mary almost looked relieved at the sight of Polly, she stepped aside to allow Polly to take her place knowing that she would be much better at this than she was.

"Nice deep breathes now Rosemary," Polly instructed glad that she had made it, she wiped the hair stuck to her forehead out of the way. There was no telling how long the labour could go on for, the baby could arrive anytime between now and tomorrow; she just hoped that there wouldn't be any complications for either mother or child.

The last thing that Polly wanted to do was have to write to Thomas and tell him that he had lost either his wife or his newborn child; it would break his heart that she was sure. Rosemary nodded her head, she hadn't thought that this day would come so quickly and she hated that she wouldn't get to share it with Thomas; she had prayed nightly that he would be home for this moment.

However, it seemed that her prayers had gone unanswered and she would have to face this without her husband; she wondered if he would even get to meet their child when they were born. It wasn't long before the midwife told them it was time for Rosemary to start pushing; her hand held on tightly to Polly's as she started to push her baby into the world.

Gritting her teeth, Rosemary did as she was instructed as she pushed; she couldn't wait to hold them in her arms and she hoped that they looked like Thomas. It wasn't long before the cries filled the air and Rosemary collapsed back onto her bed; she allowed Polly to wipe away the sweat from her face before her baby was put into her arms.

"It's a healthy baby girl Mrs Shelby," the midwife said once the baby was safely in her arms, she moved back to make sure that the placenta was safely delivered and intact. Polly stared down at the newest member of the Shelby family and grinned, this little one was going to have her father wrapped around her little finger when he finally meet her. There was no doubt about it, Polly was sure this little one would be as beautiful as her mother when she was older; she could only imagine what Thomas would be like with any suitor came a calling.

"What are you going to call her?" Polly asked peeking down at the beautiful little girl, she was adorable and she wished that Thomas was here to experience this. Rosemary swallowed, she had never thought that she would be in this position and naming her daughter alone.

Staring down at the letter that had just been handed to him, Thomas couldn't bring himself to open it; he knew what this letter was and he wanted nothing more than to avoid it a little longer. The fact that the war had dragged on for so long had all but guaranteed that he made missed the birth of his child; he had wanted nothing more than to be there when it happened.

Turning the letter over in his hands, Thomas took a deep breath before he opened it; he found himself holding his breath as he stared down at the letter that had been sent by his aunt. Polly's writing made him almost a little disappointed that it wasn't from Rosemary, he guessed she had been rather busy since she had given birth to their child.

His eyes slowly took in the writing from his aunt and his stomach filled at the news that he was the father of a little girl; it was unexpected but not unwelcome news. A small part of him had hoped that it would be a boy, he knew what to do with boys and he had helped raised Finn once their father had walked out; he wasn't sure what to do with a girl. He had always found Ada rather annoying and he was worried just how he would handle a daughter especially if she was anything like her mother; he was going to have his hands full driving off suitors.

"What news from home?" Arthur asked seeing his brother reading a letter, he sat down close to him in their trench and he hoped that there was some good news from there. He hated that they were still here when the war was meant to be over by now; he had never thought that they would make it home from this hellhole.

"I have a daughter," Thomas said almost in awe of the fact the more that he thought about it; he wished that he could see her and he wanted nothing more than to be at home with his wife and baby. Arthur paused at the news, a smile on his face at the news that he had a niece and he couldn't believe that the news had come so quickly; he had never thought that they would still be here after all these months.

"Congratulations," Freddie said taking a seat, he had heard what Thomas had said and he was rather surprised; he had never thought that he would see the day that Thomas Shelby would settle down. He could only imagine what Thomas would be like with a daughter, any man that was stupid enough to catch her eye had better run for the hills.

Sitting just a little away from where Thomas was seated, Robert couldn't help but overhear what had been said; his stomach churned at the news that he had a granddaughter. He wondered who she looked like, he was sure she looked just as beautiful as her mother had when she was born; Rosemary had been a little angel and he wished she could have stayed that small forever.

However, now she was all grown up and had a family of her own; it made Robert wish that they had handled the situation better when she had told them she was married. He had always hoped that he would walk her down the aisle and it had broken his heart that she had chosen to elope instead. He looked down at the letter that he was penning to his wife, he wondered if she knew that they had a granddaughter; he would encourage her to seek forgiveness.

"What's her name?" Arthur asked wanting to know what his adorable niece was called, he was sure that she had a beautiful name and he knew that she would be the envy of everyone if she looked like her mother. There was no telling when they would get to meet her and they would have to get to know her through the letters that they would receive from home.

"Kathleen Victoria Shelby," Thomas replied smiling, he loved the name that his wife had chosen and he was sure it suited her perfectly.

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