To Fix a Broken Heart

Summary: She was broken, fragile and in pieces. Cora was a troubled girl who just happened to get involved with the Shelby family. No one ever asks for a dangerous life but when it's thrown at you, there are only two things you can do; let it engulf you or run away and she didn't want to run.

A Shot in the Dark

This place had changed a lot since the wake, Cora didn't waste anytime in getting over Edward and making this place her own; it was more modern and fresher, no longer stuck in the past. One of the maids took his bags up the stairs and Cora was helped in by another. She held the hilt of her walking stick tightly and watched Tommy from the corner of his eye, whatever he was going through was troubling him, he barely spoke to her in the car he was just thinking to himself.

"You can have the west wing all to yourself, there's a study there and a few guest bedrooms. It's the quietest part of the building and it seems like you need the peace to work out whatever's going on in your mind."

"The west wing? I thought that your room was there?"

"Not anymore, I took the east because that's where all the sunlight is and I'm turning one of the rooms into my own studio. As soon as I don't need this stick anymore, I'll be looking for a new partner. Get myself performance ready."

"Another tour?" he turned to her; his brows furrowed. He knew that she wanted to continue dancing but he didn't think she'd prepare for a tour so soon… Prepare to leave Birmingham so soon.

"Why not? I'm young enough for another few." She slipped her arm underneath his and gazed up at him. "You can come with me, see the world."

He was hesitant, on one hand he wanted nothing more, but he wasn't going to tour the world while his children were at home wondering where he was or when he'd come back. "I don't know, travelin' was never on my agenda."

"It won't be for a while yet, could be up to a year. Plenty of time to think about it." She let go of him and attempted the stairs, gripping the bannister with one hand while using the stick for support with the other. "I'll show you to your office, let you make yourself comfortable."

He placed his hand on her back and guided her up the stairs. "Did I piss ya off?"

"No, you haven't, I just forget sometimes that you have other commitments. I just need to be more realistic."

"We'll take this one day at a time, no rushing into things. You've got healin' to do and I have a plan to create."

She nodded and led him to a room in the furthest corner of the corridor. Cora opened the door and let him have a good look at the room. "Hopefully, you'll be able to create whatever it is you need to in here."

Tommy stepped into room and had a good look around, there was plenty of room to set up a desk and a telephone line. He walked towards the window and looked down at the back garden, he hadn't realised before that there was so much land that was now in her possession. It was serene, everything that he needed. "This'll do."

"Whatever you need, just let one of the maids know. Dinner is at seven and if you need anything, I'll be in the east wing."

He heard the bottom of her walking stick turn against the wooden floor and once he couldn't hear her heels march away from his office anymore, he started to scheme; he wasn't going to allow his family to suffer at Dominik's hands, he needed to come up with a way to get rid of him and fast.

It had been weeks since Tommy decided to stay at her home, but it was becoming exceedingly rare to lay eyes on him; he would appear at dinner and then disappear back into his own wing until breakfast, he was becoming a recluse and she worried for his mind, but she wasn't going to smother him, he didn't need that either. Tommy would come round in his own time but as she waited for him to re-join civilisation, she was going to continue her hunt for a new partner but there was only one person that would be the perfect match, she wanted him to agree but there was more chance of him rejecting her. She waited in her new studio, staring at the reflection that glared back at her, Cora was starting to look like herself again, colour had returned to her face and it was easier to move without the stick, dancing on the other hand was still a grey area; the last time she trained properly was at the opening of the studio months ago, her body was going to be fragile and preparing this time around was going to take a lot of work.

Once her stick was propped up against the wall, Cora stepped into the middle of the studio and slowly stretched out every kink and every ache in her body, she was amazed by how much of her flexibility she had lost in a few short months, but she was determined to get it back. She would try the simplest of moves, with her heels together and her toes pointing in opposite directions she moved her arms into position in front of her and carefully bent her knees, lowering herself until she couldn't hold the position anymore. She attempted a more difficult plié, her legs weaved across each other and her feet straight and just as she was about to lower herself, one of her maids knocked on the door. Cora didn't turn to her and just looked at the maid through the mirror.

"Miss Maxwell, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but there's a gentleman at the door. He says you're expecting him."

"What day is it?"

"It's a Friday."

She furrowed her brow at the young woman and finally turned to face her. "Did you get his name?"

"Alexi Kozlov."

"He wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow." She fixed her cardigan and followed the maid out of the studio. "Have a room made up for him."

"Miss Maxwell, where is your cane?"

"I can't have a potential dance partner see a weakness." She bit her lip as the nerves began to dance in her stomach; Alexi Kozlov and Cora had been friends many years ago, both attending the same dance school in Moscow but when she foolishly chose Julian as her partner over Alexi, it ruined any bond they had. Him being here was a step in the right direction but he was just as ambitious, if not more so than Cora, if she faltered then she may as well kiss her career goodbye. If he could work with her, the two of them could go worldwide.

Her former friend had changed over the years, Alexi in his teenage years was thin and short but he had grown into a strong and great man. He raised his brow at her with a sort of devilish smirk.

"Cora, you haven't changed since the last time I laid eyes on you." Alexi used his native tongue, he rarely spoke English, but he wanted to test Cora, see if she still remembered the Russian he spent years teaching her.

It took her a moment to process what he said, she hadn't spoken Russian since she left Moscow but once she worked out what he had said, all those lessons came back to her. "And you have completely changed, had I have known that you'd turn out like this, I wouldn't have picked the French man." She held her hand out for him to take and when he took it, he pulled her into a hug.

"Hindsight is a marvellous thing. I was sorry to hear about what happened to both of your partners. When I read it in the papers, I thought that it would be the end of your career."

"You read about it?"

"I was doing a few shows in Paris with a troupe and it was all over the headlines."

She let go of him and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, I couldn't let something so horrible stop my passion for ballet."

"How many people have you reached out to, to replace Julian?"

"You just want to know where you ranked on the list, don't you?" when he replied with a grin and a nod, she replied, "To be honest, you're the only one I've sent a letter to. When I found out you were a free agent, I wrote to you. Although I didn't think you'd actually reply."

"I just came to see if you've kept your talent. I had someone else reach out to me from Ukraine. How you perform impacts my decision."

It felt as if her stomach were about to fall out of her ass, she could just about do a plié and she was half expecting Alexi to suggest throwing her around the room or to perform a whole routine from their repertoire. "What's stopping you from taking a job closer to home?" she placed her hand at the back of her head and fiddled with a few of the pins that kept her bun in place.

"The girl that has wrote to me is talented but has no recognition, whereas from what I remember, you have the talent and over the past few years, you've built a name in our world."

"Fair, I can't fault you for wanting a bit of fame for yourself."

"If our partnership works, we'll be stars. I want that and I know you want that."

"More than anything."

"Then shall we see if your talent holds up?"

Whoever had entered Cora's house, their voice carried all the way up to the office Tommy had called home and when he heard the foreign language and the accent, the fear that Dominik had found his hiding place struck him. Paranoia took over him and he placed his gun into the holster that hung against his ribs and ventured out into the hallway. That was when he heard that Cora was responding in Russian. He tried to get a proper look at the man in her foyer but from his position, he couldn't see a thing. He listened to them walk further down the downstairs hallway until he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. He needed to know if he had been found, he had to know for his own sanity who was in the house. He wouldn't hide away, if the opportunity presented itself, he would eliminate his threat. He tidied his jacket and flattened his hair down as he passed the mirror. He made his way to the door of her studio and glanced through the small window on the door, watching the stranger dance with Cora.

He could see the pain on her face as she executed every move, but this man, whoever he was, was pushing her to go harder. He didn't understand the language they spoke in, but he had a fair idea of what he was saying to Cora. He was ready to walk away and return to his office to make a few calls but then she spotted him through the window and beckoned him into the room.

"What's going on in 'ere then?" Tommy buttoned up his blazer to conceal the gun as he stepped into the studio. He heard noise coming from this room, but he had no idea that she had finished creating her studio, he had no idea that she was ready to dance again. Tommy had been too stuck in his own problems to notice anything.

"Tommy, this is Alexi Kozlov," she gripped onto her waist as she tried to regain her breath, "Alexi, this is Thomas Shelby, he'll be staying here for a few weeks." She watched as they briefly shook hands and flicked a stray piece of hair out of her face. "I'm praying that Alexi will accept the role as my partner."

"I'm making no promises," He spoke English better than she remembered but his accent was so thick, sometimes it sounded like he was speaking another language entirely, "I can tell that you're a bit rusted, but with a bit of work you can get back what you've lost."

"It has been a few months since I've danced."

"I know, for your own sake, you better be ready to put in the work."

Tommy didn't know if Cora had told him the truth about why she hadn't been dancing but he had saw the pain it was causing her and heard how she was breathing; it was too much too soon. He could see that she wasn't ready, and this man would keep driving her until she snapped.

"Does this mean that you're going to be my new partner?" she stared up at him, her eyes sparkling as she envisioned her future success; touring the world, shaking hands with royals and her name on billboards.

"Let's see how the next couple of weeks go, for now it is a maybe." Alexi placed his hand on her shoulder and glanced between Tommy and Cora. "I'm going to get my belongings from the car, we'll train properly after a good night's rest."

A sinking feeling filled her as she watched Alexi leave her studio, she thought she had performed well, but not well enough for his standards. She let out a sigh and tilted her head towards Tommy.

"You're gonna wreck yourself tryin' to impress 'em." He warned as he took a step towards her. "Why aren't you usin' your stick?"

"I can't appear fragile; I can walk just fine without it." She rolled her eyes at him; Cora had been doing fine away from Tommy's overprotective gaze, he couldn't just show up and pretend to care. "I'll be alright, dreams only come with a bit of hard work." She raised a brow and ran an eye over him slowly. "I'm surprised to see you venturing out of your office, why? Did you finally create your plan?"

He could sense the annoyance from her, he could only imagine that her idea of him staying at her home was different from reality, he just didn't want her to get too involved. "I have a plan; I just need to fine tune a couple of details."

"Will it get you out of whatever trouble you're in?"

"It's a risk, but there's no need for ya to worry." He closed the space between them, his hand finding her face and his fingertips stroking her cheek delicately. "I'm just waitin' on someone gettin' back to me, give me the go ahead."

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his hands against her skin, almost instantly, she forgave his disappearing act. "If you need my help, all you have to do is ask. You've done so much for me…"

"No. Stop thinkin' that ya owe me. Everythin' I've done, I've done because,"

She waited for him to say the words she had said to him the night of the wake, but she could see that he struggled; she cut him off with a kiss and allowed him to pull her closer. She didn't know if she were ready for anything more, if either of them was, she would enjoy this rare moment of bliss, however long it lasted.

A:N Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Do you think Cora will be able to help Tommy with his problem? Will the two of them ever make things work between them? Thank you for your support!