Tommy didn't bother to move for the rest of the evening. Instead he remained sat on the settee that night, his wife resting with her head in his lap, sleeping softly. She had her hands dangling above her head, resting in one of his as his other hand went to move over her forehead, pushing her hair back. The fire was slowly dying out, but Tommy was warm enough without it.

"In France there would be nights when I stayed awake," Tommy said, reaching for a cigarette from the coffee table in front of him, making sure he didn't wake Elizabeth up. He didn't know why he was doing this. He didn't know why he was talking to her when she couldn't answer him. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that it was easier. It was easier to speak to her when she was sleeping. It was easier to open up and admit his feelings; admit that there had been a time when he had been scared.

"I wouldn't sleep for days on end," Tommy continued lighting up the cigarette and inhaling it sharply as Elizabeth mumbled incoherently, moving to lay on her side her cheek still pressed against Tommy's thighs as the blanket covered her bare body. "I would stay awake and think about random things…things that didn't matter…like what they might be serving for breakfast…or how long I could go without pissing in the trenches."

He chuckled then, the sound low and vibrating as he stared into the distance.

"But then there were nights I thought about comin' 'ome…comin' back to yer…but when yer didn't write I don't know how I coped. I kept tellin' myself I 'ad to put one foot in front of the other…keep digging…because even though we were diggin' to the enemy trenches…I thought I was diggin' to the truth…diggin' to come home quicker and find out why you never wrote back…find out what 'appened to yer. And the nights we faced the enemy…looked into the eyes of men we had to shoot…I kept tellin' myself that shootin' em was the only option. I had to stay alive because I 'ad to come back. I 'ad to get back to you, Elizabeth. Not that the poor sod on the end of my bullet didn't 'ave someone. He probably did…some pretty little gal back 'ome."

Tommy exhaled a shaky breath before placing the cigarette back to his lips.

"But it was war," Tommy whispered. "If I didn't kill 'im then he'd 'ave killed me, eh? But even today…the nightmares…I see their faces and I wonder if they would 'ave seen my face if they 'ad killed me."

Tommy went quiet then, his hand moving to his wife's face slowly as he let his thumb roam her cheekbone.

"But I came 'ome and yer my redemption, Liz," Tommy whispered. "You and Charlotte…you 'ave to be my redemption."

"You are absolutely hopeless, Thomas Shelby."

It was the morning that Tommy was due to travel down to London to meet with Alfie and he was still laid in bed, Charlotte balanced in his lap as he held her gently to his bare chest. His wife was wrapped in a white nightgown and thin pale pink robe as she tore around the room, packing a case for Tommy to take with him.

"Why do I need so many shirts?" Tommy asked, frowning as he watched Elizabeth's braided hair fall into her face and she folded the shirt.

"Because you might," Elizabeth simply answered, placing the shirt into the trunk before wandering into the bathroom to find his toiletries. He didn't bother to question her, instead focusing his efforts and attentions on Charlotte.

The little girl in his arms bobbed around happily, making gargling noises as Tommy held her up in the air and then brought her back down. He kept his gaze on her, his lips quirking at the sight of her. He found himself unable to smile when he had Charlotte in his grip. Instead he was always happy and business didn't matter. Nothing mattered when he had the babe in his sight.

"Promise me you will only be gone for the weekend," Elizabeth demanded from him, resting the toiletries on top of his clothes in the small trunk.

"Promise," Tommy simply spoke. "Besides, I 'ave a meetin' back in Birmingham on Monday mornin'. Pol wants us to hire a new girl."

"So the business is going well?" Elizabeth checked with him, pushing her braid behind her back, feeling wisps of hair stick to her sweaty neck as she made the motion.

"Very well," Tommy nodded to her.

Elizabeth smiled and closed the trunk, letting herself move over to the bed and sit on the edge of it, perching delicately by Tommy's thigh as he turned to look to her, his lips slowly coming to brush her cheek as she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes slowly as Tommy let his lips press into her hair for a moment.

"I'll be back before yer know it," Tommy assured her. "And Sabini will not be a problem for us anymore."

Nodding, Elizabeth didn't know if she should feel relieved or worried. She suspected it was a mixture of both.

"I'll always come back, Liz," Tommy assured her. "Always."

Tommy had not thought he would be back in Alfie Solomons bakery anytime soon, but, then again, life had a funny way of making impossible situations happen. He checked the pocket watch in his waistcoat while the baker sat across from him, finishing off paperwork and peering down onto his desk with his half-moon spectacles.

"Give us a minute, eh, Shelby?" Alfie spoke. "Yer know, if yer missus had come to do to my books then I might not be having so many issues."

Tommy shook his head slowly. "She's got 'er 'ands full right now."

"Ah yes!" Solomons said, his voice booming as he shuffled his stacks of paper and then slid them to the side. "I 'eard you 'ad a little girl, right? Bet she's a belter. She should be if she takes after her mother. She's a very pretty bird, yer know?"

Tommy remained calm and collected, despite feeling slightly uncomfortable. He knew how good looking his wife was. He had seen her that day and thought as much. But her good looks made up for her naivety. When Tommy had first met her, she had been sheltered from the world. All she knew was her life of high society and that was what she had been trained to know. There were still times she was like that; like she thought she belonged in a different world.

"Anyway, Sabini," Solomons spoke, pushing his hands together and resting them on his desk. "What we gonna do?"

"I thought it was obvious?" Tommy said, his brow arched.

"I didn't know if it was," Solomons replied. "That little bastard deserves to die."

"No," Tommy shook his head slowly. "All we do is assert our authority back down 'ere. We just do that…show 'im that he's had it."

"Killing him would be easier," Solomons said, frowning. "Besides, he almost 'ad his men rape yer wife when yer last down here. I thought you would want him dead."

"Things change," Tommy said, remaining emotionless. "All that I care about is finishin' this job and gettin' back to Lizzie and Charlotte."

"Charlotte?" Solomons spoke. "Take it that's the daughter's name?"

"Aye," Tommy said. "So, are we goin' to do this or what?"

Elizabeth could hardly sleep the weekend that Tommy was gone. She had been pacing around the house, her hands on her hips and crumpling the blouse she wore tucked into her black skirt. Charlotte had been restless too, almost as if she sensed that her father was gone and in potential danger. Elizabeth didn't know how much more she could take.

"Thought you could use some of this."

Pol had called around to the house, holding a bottle of whiskey in her hands. Elizabeth closed the door behind her, moving into the sitting room where Charlotte was in her cot.

"Tommy has bottles of whiskey stashed around the house," Elizabeth reminded Pol. "And I don't drink."

"Yer a Shelby now," Pol reminded her. "It's a priority to drink, especially when the nerves need calming."

Elizabeth did smile then and nod her head slowly. She took hold of two tumblers from the small drinks tray in the corner of the room while Pol placed the bottle down and went to coo over Charlotte, picking her up and holding her to her chest as Elizabeth poured the drinks.

"He's supposed to be back today," Elizabeth commented in a small voice. "I just hate the not knowing part of everything. I want to know exactly when he's supposed to be home…all of this mess with Sabini…he doesn't need it, especially since Churchill made his intentions known."

"Tommy will do what he 'as to do to keep the business goin'," Pol reminded Elizabeth as she sat down on the settee, holding Charlotte in her lap as the small girl began to gurgle softly. Elizabeth watched her for a moment before handing her the tumbler of whiskey. She held hers in her fingertips before sitting down on the chair across from Pol.

"Besides, I 'ave somethin' to talk to yer about first," Pol said and Elizabeth arched a brow. "I wanted yer to know before Tommy. Maybe you can calm 'im down when he finds out."

"What is it?" Elizabeth enquired.

"Before Arthur went with Tommy to London…well…he asked Linda to marry 'im."

Elizabeth would have spat out the whiskey had she not placed it down on the table. But she did scoff and shake her head, leaning forwards and letting her head drop in between her legs. She did her best not to look too worried over what she was hearing, but she knew that Tommy would not take the news well. Tommy had no trust in Linda.

"He's been seeing her for…how long? It hasn't even been six months, has it?"

"It hasn't been long enough," Pol muttered, downing her drink. "And there's somethin' about the girl that I don't trust. Yes, she calms Arthur down, but I think there's more to it…like she wants to change him for good."

"I know," Elizabeth agreed as Charlotte began to cry gently. She stood and took her daughter from Pol, swaying gently from side to side as she tried to stop her sobs from echoing through the sitting room. "But calming Arthur down is not a bad thing, necessarily. I just…I am not keen on her ever since she had an opinion of Tommy that I did not entirely like."

Pol chuckled then, nodding her head slowly. "Always stick up for 'im, don't yer? I think that's the real reason I accept yer now."

"I will always defend him," Elizabeth said. "I know him and I know he is not a bad man. He is just…complicated…"

"And no doubt you know he will lose the plot when he finds out about this marriage."

Elizabeth chuckled then as she heard Charlotte began to calm herself down and Elizabeth kissed the top of her head.

"He'll be cautious," Elizabeth agreed. "But I will try to make him see sense as much as possible. Just because Linda is going to be a part of the family doesn't mean that…"

Elizabeth trailed off as she heard a loud banging noise. She furrowed her brows and moved with haste towards the front door, Pol chasing after her as Elizabeth kept Charlotte to her. The sight she saw was enough to make her grow pale.

"He got 'it," Arthur's voice echoed into the room. "A bullet in the stomach. We got it out…but he 'asn't been with it since yesterday."

"No," Elizabeth said, the sight of Tommy dangling between Arthur and John enough to make her stomach churn. His white shirt was covered in dried blood and his waistcoat hung open. His face was beaten, also covered in dried blood while his eye was bruised and rimmed black.

"Pass me 'er," Pol demanded from Elizabeth, noticing how the girl was frozen. Pol prised Charlotte from her arms while Elizabeth moved forwards to her husband, her hands going to his cheeks and she held them tightly.

"Tommy," she spoke his name in a high pitched tone. "Tommy, come on…open your eyes and look at me…you're home."

But he didn't. He kept his eyes closed as his lips parted, shallow breaths leaving him.

"We should get 'im laid down somewhere."

"Upstairs," Elizabeth said to John once he had spoke and she led the way with haste, bounding up the stairs and into their bedroom, letting the rest of them follow.

Once in the room she pulled the duvet from the bed and plumped up the pillow. She moved to the small jug of water and took hold of a towel from her vanity unit. John and Arthur deposited Tommy on the bed, a gasp of pain coming from him as his head hit the pillow. Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed, letting the jug and towel rest by her feet. She pulled on Tommy's shirt, unbuttoning it and pulling it off of him.

"We need a doctor," Elizabeth said, looking down to the blood soaked bandage covering his abdomen.

"Tommy said we can't," John declared, pulling out a cigarette while Elizabeth glowered at him. "If the doctors get involved they will want to know why he was shot…and he ain't willin' to tell 'im."

"I don't care," Elizabeth snapped at John. "He is hardly breathing. He is barely here…someone…just get a doctor…"

Pol pursed her lips from the doorway. "I can find someone discreet," she spoke. "Boys, get downstairs and leave Liz to it."

Elizabeth nodded, grateful for Pol and her sanity. They all left the room and Elizabeth finished baring Tommy's body from the waist upwards. She moved her towel into the jug of water and rinsed it before applying the damp cloth to Tommy's chest and wiping away the dried blood.

"You idiot, Thomas Shelby," she whispered as she completed the motions. "Why did you have to go and get yourself shot? Why? Why could we not have left all of this misery behind?"

Tommy said nothing, but Elizabeth could hear him breathing softly as she pulled off the bandage once she noticed that someone had left a clean one on the bed beside Tommy. She let her hands shake slightly as they grew redder with blood. She gently pushed the bandage from his stomach and looked to the dried blood and the small wound. How could a bullet cause such a small hole yet so much damage?

She wiped the blood away again then before making sure the wound was clean and bandaged it up again.

"Liz."

His voice was weak, but he had said her name. Moving further up the bed, Elizabeth let her hand rest on his chest as her other hand went to his cheek and she did her best to avoid his bruises.

"I'm here," she promised him. "I'm always here."

"Didn't go to plan," Tommy whispered, his eyes still closed as Elizabeth scoffed and rolled her eyes, pushing Tommy's hair from his forehead.

"No kidding?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically. "Just try to keep still and the doctor will be here soon."

"No doctor."

"Tough," Elizabeth responded. "A doctor is coming, Tommy. Pol knows one who won't say anything about this. But you will see a doctor. Do you understand me?"

Tommy didn't truthfully have the strength to argue with her. Instead he gulped loudly and then managed to peel one eye open, looking to his wife as she moved to kiss him chastely on the forehead.

"The things he said," Tommy whispered, his voice low and husky. "About yer…our daughter…"

"You killed him?" Elizabeth asked.

"Not before he 'ad a go at me."

"And he lost," Elizabeth said in a small voice, her forehead resting against his as he managed to move a hand to her forearm, his fingers wrapping around it.

"No one wins against me," Tommy said, a small smirk on his face.

"I would like to stop testing that theory, Tommy," Elizabeth said as Tommy pursed his lips to kiss her softly. "I really would."

A/N: Do let me know what you think!