It was true. Elizabeth had kissed Tommy once they were back in the car on the way home. She had smiled into the motion as Tommy cupped the back of her head. He pulled back after a moment and kissed her on the top of her head as she smiled widely. It took a moment before she laughed softly.

"We're having another baby," she said to him. "I can't believe it."

"What do yer think, eh?" Tommy wondered from his wife as he began to drive. "A boy or another girl?"

"I don't mind," Elizabeth said, running hand down Tommy's arm as they drove back towards Small Heath. "Tommy, we need to tell Charlotte. Do you think she will be happy? She has been an only child for a long time now. It will be odd for her."

"She will make a good big sister," Tommy said with a nod of his head. "We can tell 'er over dinner tonight, eh?"

"Sounds good with me," Elizabeth declared.

After they had returned home, Tommy walked into the small house with Elizabeth in tow. They closed the door and locked it before noticing the sight in the kitchen. Arthur was sat there with Pol opposite him. Tommy looked at them with an arched brow as his wife pulled her gloves from her hands and tossed them onto the worktop counter. Charlotte was sat with Finn in the living area, both of them reading through a book.

"What's goin' on 'ere?" Tommy asked from both of them, seeing a look of seriousness on their faces.

"The factor was trashed," Arthur said. "Two Italians go in and cause havoc. They tossed pain and they beat up some of our workers. We 'ave both of them on the run, but we think they're rogue from Changretta. Just two Italians lookin' to make a name for themselves."

"Do we 'ave our men lookin' out for 'em?" Tommy asked.

"Aye," Pol responded with a nod of her head. "I've 'ad security around Michael increased and around this 'ouse."

"So what do we do?" Arthur wondered.

"We do what needs to be done," Tommy said. "We secure the factories better and we draw them back out into the open where we can find 'em and stop 'em."

Elizabeth wondered what he was on about, but she kept silent. She folded her arms over her stomach as Tommy threw his cap on top of her gloves and reached for a glass of whiskey. He drained the contents of it in a moment as Elizabeth put the kettle onto the stove and boiled some water for tea.

"And 'ow do we do that?"

"I'll think of somethin'," Tommy informed them.

"Then you 'ad better think of somethin' quick," Pol said to him. "Because time isn't on our side, Tommy."

Tommy simply nodded and watched Arthur and Pol move to their feet and leave. Pol looked to Elizabeth for a brief moment and Elizabeth simply nodded as the matriarch of the family let her lips quirk for a brief moment. Elizabeth poured herself a cup of tea, holding her saucer in her hands as she leant back against the worktop, her eyes moving to Tommy.

"What is the plan?" she asked from him. "I know you, Tommy. You have a plan before you tell anyone else you are thinking of one. What is it?"

"Aberama Gold is a gypsy hitman," Tommy informed his wife.

Elizabeth blanched. "Tommy, are you serious?" she demanded of him.

"Deadly," he informed her. "Aberama is on his way to Birmingham as we speak. The Golds are a dangerous family and I know that, Liz, but our families 'ave a past. They won't betray us."

"And how do you know that?" Elizabeth enquired from him.

"Because he knows I can pay 'im. Men like 'im are easy to understand, Liz," Tommy spoke. "Don't worry, eh? I've got this under control. I just need yer to trust me. We need Gold to 'elp us outnumber the Changretta family."

Elizabeth let out a deep sigh. "I do trust you," she promised her husband. "I just worry about you as much."

Tommy nodded his head and smile softly before stepping towards her. He kissed her chastely before taking hold of her hand and letting his other hand go to her stomach. Both of them peered down and Elizabeth placed her cup and saucer on the worktop behind her.

"Why don't we tell 'er now, eh?" Tommy suggested to his wife. "We can tell Charlotte now."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth wondered from him.

"Positive."

Nodding, Elizabeth and Tommy walked into the living room and saw Charlotte with Finn. Tommy asked Finn to leave them for a moment and the boy did so. Elizabeth sat down on the settee besides Charlotte while Tommy sat to the other side of her. He moved his arm over the back of the seat and looked down to Charlotte for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" Charlotte wondered from her parents.

"Nothing at all, darling," Elizabeth said, moving to take hold of her daughter, hauling her into her lap as Charlotte balanced there. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her daughter as Charlotte held onto her mother's arm. "Daddy and I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" she wondered from her mother.

"Well…" Elizabeth said, trailing off and looking over to Tommy, a smile playing on her face as he moved a hand to brush Charlotte's hair gently from her face. "How would you feel about becoming a big sister, Charlotte?"

Charlotte looked slightly confused for a moment as Tommy took hold of her small hand inside of his big one. The little girl's brows knitted together as she looked between her parents. Elizabeth's lips quirked upwards as she noted the confusing glance on her daughter's face and a soft laugh escaped her as she squeezed Charlotte tighter.

"I'm going to have a sister?" she asked.

"Or a brother," Tommy said to her.

"When?" Charlotte wondered, the smile seeming to grow on her face.

"Oh, not for a lot of months," Elizabeth informed her, "but yes, you are going to be a big sister. We are having another baby."

Charlotte continued to smile before she seemed to think. Tommy saw a look of concern fall on her face and he moved to brush her cheek softly with the back of his hand.

"What is it, darlin'?" he wondered from her.

She chewed down on her lip for a moment before looking to her lap. "Will you love the new baby more than me?" she asked.

"Oh, Charlotte," Elizabeth cooed, bending down to kiss her on top of her head. "No, sweetheart, of course not. We will love you both the same. Listen to me, your daddy and I love you very dearly and that will never change. We will love the new baby like we love you and I am certain that you will love him…or her…too."

Charlotte nodded her head then and Elizabeth bent down to kiss her on the cheek as Tommy looked to his wife and she shot him a look with wide eyes and her bottom lip sticking out as she cooed over their little girl. Tommy chuckled and nodded back to her before moving to his feet and looking down to her for a moment.

"Come on, you," he said. "I think yer need to get some sleep, eh?"

Elizabeth bid goodnight to her mother, slipping down from her lap as Tommy took hold of her hand and hauled her into his arms, holding her tightly to him. He carried her up the steps and into his old bedroom, letting her rest on the bed. He knelt down in front of her as she sat in front of him and he took hold of her hands.

"Now I need yer to do me a favour, Charlotte," he whispered down to his daughter.

"What is it?" she asked of him.

"Yer mummy is pregnant now and we both need to look after 'er," Tommy said. "So we need to make sure we look after 'er and keep 'er safe, alright?"

"Yes, daddy," Charlotte said to him.

"Good girl," Tommy responded and moved to kiss the top of her head. "Now yer get changed and get into bed. I'll be back in a bit to say goodnight, eh?"

Tommy was a man of his word, leaving his daughter to change and then coming back in. She was already under the covers, her hair fanned out on the pillow as she pulled the duvet up to her chin. Tommy perched on the edge of the bed and moved his hand to brush her hair softly.

"When can we go home, daddy?" she asked from him.

"Soon," Tommy promised her in a soft voice. "We can go 'ome soon, alright?"

She nodded her head and Tommy bent down to hug her as she wrapped her small arms around his neck. He kissed her softly on the forehead before leaving her to sleep for the night, shutting the door and bathing her in darkness before he moved downstairs and back to his wife.

Finn was already in the living room and Elizabeth looked to Tommy as he walked in.

"I told Finn," she said.

"Yeah," Finn nodded. "Congratulations, Tom."

"Thanks, Finn," Tommy said to his younger brother. "Why don't yer go and make sure Johnny Doggs is doin' 'is job, eh? Then yer can go to bed, alright?"

Finn nodded. He wanted to help Tommy. He truly wanted to help him. But he didn't know if he could help him in the way Tommy wanted him to help him. He didn't know if he had it in him. It took a moment before Finn left the house and Tommy looked to his wife for a moment as she flopped onto the seat again.

"Charlotte's sleepin'," Tommy said to her. "Well, she should be soon."

"Good," Elizabeth said. "Bless her, it might take her some time to adjust."

"She'll be fine," Tommy promised her and sat down next to her. "She's a good girl, Liz."

"She is," Elizabeth agreed with him on that front.

"That's why I need to protect 'er at whatever cost, alright?" Tommy said. "So I need yer to stay 'ere with 'er when I go to John's funeral, alright? I've got to get Gold comin' there…the funeral is in the open and I suspect whoever attacked the factory will come to John's funeral lookin' to pick us off."

"Jesus, Tommy," Elizabeth complained. "I have one minute of good news and then you tell me this?"

Tommy nodded. "I'm tellin' yer this because I need yer just to trust me when I say that I am doin' this to protect yer and Charlotte…and the little one in yer."

It took Elizabeth a moment to inhale sharply before she let out a shaky breath.

"I know," Elizabeth said, taking his hand in hers. She laced their fingers together and squeezed tightly before nodding her head. "So what is the plan?"

"I'll 'ave Gold secure the premise and stop the Italians before they can even get close to us, alright? But I don't want yer there or Charlotte because even though the risk to us is minimal and maybe non-existent, I ain't riskin' it, alright?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I just wish you wouldn't risk anything."

"Aye, so do I sometimes."

Elizabeth felt some guilt at not going with Tommy to John's funeral, but she knew that it was for the best. She was there to keep Charlotte safe. She sat with her in the kitchen, helping her with some schoolwork that had been set for her over Christmas. She was trying to keep her routine as normal as possible. Tommy had bid goodbye to them, telling Elizabeth that there was security outside.

She had kissed him goodbye, urging him to be careful before she set about entertaining Charlotte and keeping her mind occupied.

"Mummy, do you have a name for the baby?"

"Not yet," Elizabeth said to her daughter. "Why?"

"Because I like the name Maria," Charlotte said. "There is a girl in a book Finn is reading to me and she is called Maria. I like that name."

"Maria, hmm?" she mused and Charlotte nodded. "That is a nice name."

Before Charlotte could say anything there was a knock on the door. Elizabeth stood up and moved towards it. She had grown accustomed to Tommy's guard knocking on the door and asking to come in and use the outside lavatory. As she pulled the door open, she looked down to the step to see a man stood there, a smart hat on his head as he looked down to the ground.

Elizabeth frowned, realising she hadn't met him before. She arched a brow and kept her hand on the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked of him and he slowly looked up, his face coming into view.

His cheekbones were prominent and his jaw was rather square. His nose protruded somewhat from his face. He had a dusting of stubble around his chin and lips, a toothpick sticking out from his mouth as he eyed Elizabeth with a smirk on his face. It was then when she began to panic and tried to slam the door shut, but he caught it, stopping her from moving any further.

"Now is that a nice way to greet me, Mrs Shelby?" he asked from her in an Italian accent and Elizabeth's eyes remained set on his.

"What do you want?"

His smirk seemed to grow. "Revenge."

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