Tommy let his hands hold onto his wife's hips, the motion soft and his fingers light. Elizabeth let out a shaky breath at the feeling of him so close, wondering when the last time they had been intimate had been. They had been rowing so often that she hardly thought about anything other than not ripping his head off for something he had done. Recently, things seemed to have calmed down. Well, they had calmed down enough to make Elizabeth realise that she was craving intimacy with Tommy. She wasn't afraid to admit that. Why should she be? It was human nature.

Tommy, meanwhile, could smell his wife's usual sweet perfume and he did his best not to feel dizzy at it. Closing his eyes for a moment, he let his nostrils flare before he bent down to kiss her on the neck as she held the gun in front of her. He had been helping her practice her aim for the past twenty minutes and he was bored. He wanted some other form of entertainment and the fact that he could feel his wife's back pressed against his front was enough to drive him insane.

"Tommy," Liz complained as she felt him sweep her hair over her shoulder as his lips continued to press against her neck. "I thought that you were teaching me how to shoot?"

"I was," Tommy protested against her skin, "but I'm bored of that now."

"And you call the shots, do you, Mr Shelby?" Elizabeth taunted him and Tommy moved quickly.

Grabbing the gun from her hands, he pocketed it back in his holster before he moved his hands to his wife's waist. Pushing her back on the sodden grass until she was against a tree, Tommy listened to her laugh softly as her arms crossed over his neck and her eyes met his. She watched him with intrigue, the smile still on her face as Tommy saw the lights from the manor in the distance. Ada was looking after Charlotte for the evening while he spent time with Liz.

"I'm callin' 'em tonight," Tommy nodded. "And tonight, Mrs Shelby, yer goin' to go to that bedroom and yer not comin' out until mornin'."

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush as she heard him, but she didn't complain. Instead she moved until her lips were pressed tightly against Tommy's. Both of them craved each other and Elizabeth knew that it had been too long since they had last been together. The previous time had been out of anger and while they both enjoyed the passion, they also enjoyed taking their time.

"I love you," Elizabeth whispered as they came apart for air. "Never forget that, Tommy."

Waking up the following morning, Elizabeth felt as though she had nothing to worry about. She didn't think about the opening up of the new factories for the new Shelby business. She didn't think about Changretta. She didn't need to think about anything. Instead, she remained focused on the previous night.

Rolling over onto her front as her thoughts consumed her, she flung an arm out, half expecting to hit Tommy. Of course, she never touched him. Instead she found Tommy's side of the bed empty. Groaning, she let her head flop down, knowing full well that he would be awake and working already. This was Tommy. He was always working.

Elizabeth slipped from the comfort of the duvet and mattress, grabbing hold of her nightgown and shrugging into it before taking hold of her robe. Tugging her hair into one hand, she twirled it upwards and pinned it at the nape of her neck as she wandered through the house, heading down the staircase and towards the study. She found Tommy sat in his chair with Charlotte in his lap, looking down at the sheets of paper in front of him.

Loitering in the doorway, Elizabeth watched the scene unfold for a few seconds as Charlotte let her finger point at the numbers on the paper and Tommy kept his hands steady on her waist so that she didn't slip. His eyes were set on the paper as his chin rested on top of Charlotte's head, his lips quirking upwards as he listened to his daughter do the sums that he had on the sheets of paper.

"Forty, isn't it?" Charlotte asked from him.

"Did you forget to take away the ten?" Tommy asked.

"Oh," Charlotte mumbled. "I did."

"Has your father got you working on the books already, Charlotte?" Elizabeth wondered as she entered the study and took a seat in the chair opposite Tommy's desk, her eyes set on her husband and daughter as Tommy chuckled and Charlotte nodded.

"Daddy asked me if I could help him," Charlotte explained coherently and Elizabeth wondered just how her daughter had managed to turn into the little girl. Before she knew it, autumn would be here and she would be ready to start school. Of course, Elizabeth had been teaching Charlotte already, finding that she had a keen interest in reading and simple arithmetic.

"And she is doing a wonderful job," Tommy said in response. "Aren't yer?"

"Well, if she is doing such a great job then she deserves a treat, doesn't she?" Elizabeth said and Tommy ached a brow as he heard his wife speak and she moved to her feet, looking happy and free for the first time in a long time.

"Yes!" Charlotte shrieked as Elizabeth bent down by her daughter and husband's side, her hand moving to cup Charlotte's cheek as Tommy looked to her.

"What yer got planned?" he enquired, his voice full of wonder.

"I think a trip to the new ice cream shop-"

"-Yay!" Charlotte's shriek interrupted Elizabeth who laughed as her daughter struggled in Tommy's arms and slowly slipped from his lap. Tommy watched her and he couldn't stop himself from smiling as he watched his daughter. He found her enthusiasm contagious. In fact, he found everything about his daughter contagious. He adored her and worshipped the ground she walked on.

"I think that is a yes," Elizabeth said.

"Mummy you need to get changed," Charlotte protested.

"Well, you can hardly have ice cream before breakfast," Elizabeth responded. "We can go this afternoon as a treat. Perhaps we can go for a walk in the park this morning?"

"And feed the ducks?"

"If we 'ave enough bread," Tommy said.

"Why don't you and daddy go and see if we have any bread and I will go and change?" Elizabeth suggested and Charlotte was already tugging on Tommy's hand, urging for him to get up and move with her to the kitchen. Tommy did so, quickly pecking his wife on the lips as he went and Elizabeth watched them go before she went up to change.

She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth before washing her face, her hands splashing the water over her face before she went into the bedroom and set about finding a skirt and a blouse. Shrugging into a blue combo, she sat at the dressing table and worked at her hair with a brush. That was when Tommy entered the bedroom, leaning against the wall as he watched her.

"What's gotten into yer?" Tommy wondered.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, keeping her eyes focused on the mirror. "Wanting to do things with my family?"

"Well….yer…" Tommy said awkwardly. "But not that, yer look 'appy, Liz. Yer look free…yer look relieved."

Elizabeth shrugged. "I just want us to be happy, Tommy. We are doing everything we can to help your family and it is out of our hands. We cannot sit and worry about Changretta forever. We need to move on. We need to put Charlotte first. She hasn't seen us happy in ages. She deserves that…our daughter deserves that."

Tommy nodded in agreement with that analysis. Of course Charlotte deserved happiness. She deserved that and so much more. He only wished that he could make sure he gave it to her.

Wandering through the park, Elizabeth kept hold of Charlotte's hand while Tommy remained behind them, his hand on Elizabeth's back as he kept his gaze moving back and forth. Elizabeth couldn't help but notice how people moved out of their way as they walked by. Some would remove their cap and nod to Tommy, who offered them little in response. An occasional tilt of his head would have to do. Elizabeth knew that Charlotte was oblivious to it all. She was more entertained by feeding the ducks.

As Elizabeth crouched down by her daughter's side, she moved her hands to hold onto her daughter's waist. Charlotte broke up some bread and threw it into the pond, watching as the ducks came swimming forwards and began to pick at the food. Tommy pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it up and taking a deep breath on it.

"Mummy, why do the ducks not share?" Charlotte enquired as Elizabeth shrugged and tilted her hat back on her head so that she could look to her daughter.

"Because some people are far too greedy," she responded.

"But why?" Charlotte continued to question as she tossed some bread into the pond and the same two ducks continued to fight for the piece.

"Because…" Elizabeth trailed off, her eyes moving to skim over to the water in front of her. "Because some people do not appreciate what they have and they do not know how to share. Look at those ducks. They had a big piece of bread and they could have shared."

"Like when I share my sweets with Finn?" Charlotte enquired.

"Exactly," Elizabeth whispered, a smile on her face as she kissed her daughter on the forehead and then drew herself up to full height.

Glancing over to Tommy as he stood a few paces from them, she saw how one of his hands was in his pocket while the other held his cigarette at his lips. He blew out puffs of smoke as he continuously looked around. Elizabeth knew exactly what was going through his mind as she moved the few steps to him, turning her head over her shoulder to make sure Charlotte did not move.

"I know you," she informed her husband as he looked to her. "And I know what you are thinking about."

Tommy shifted from one foot to the other, dropping his cigarette to the floor and stubbing it with the toe of his shoe.

"I know," Tommy responded. "I know we 'ave to keep goin', but bein' out in the open-"

"-In the open on your side of town where they dare not venture," Elizabeth interrupted him. "Tommy, we cannot keep living our lives in fear. It is not healthy for us, nor should we be forced to act this way. We did nothing to Angel Changretta."

"Nah," Tommy responded, "but our family did."

"Listen," Elizabeth said, her hand moving to Tommy's arm, "today is going to be a nice day. We are going to continue as if everything is normal like we agreed. For Charlotte."

Looking to his daughter as she tossed in more bread, Tommy let his head nod slowly. "For Charlotte," he echoed back.

Elizabeth wandered back to their daughter, taking hold of her by the shoulder. She turned to look up to her mother, smiling widely as Tommy watched the scene unfold in front of him. His expression was one of glee before he heard the noise in the distance.

The yell caught him off guard as people screamed loudly, their shrieks ringing in his ear as he tried to place the location of the commotion. Looking into the park, Tommy saw people ducking out of the way, moving to jump to the floor. In the sea of panic was a figure of calm. A long figure wearing a long beige trench coat, his hand raised in the air and his arm extended. A hat perched on his head while his eyes were focused straight ahead. Following the line of his sight, Tommy looked to the gun he was holding and then who the man was staring at. But before Tommy could move or even contemplate responding, the bang had echoed through the park.

...

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