Standing outside the room, Ada did her best to consider what was running through her brother's mind. She had lost Freddie many years ago, but the pain she still felt when she thought about him was raw. She missed him. She wondered what he would think about her and what he would think about their son. Would he be proud? Would he be happy for them? Of course, she had lost Freddie when she had been young. She had been young and in love with him, but they had not built a life together, not truly. They hadn't built the life that she had wanted with him.

But as she looked through the glass and into the room, her eyes remaining on her brother, she wondered what he would do if Elizabeth didn't wake up. Tommy was strong. He was clever. He was capable. But he would be none of those things without his wife. He had come to rely on her. He had come to depend on her. He needed her and, though he never openly admitted in public, Ada knew. He had gone into war and had come out of it a changed man. He was not the same Tommy. Then again, none of the men had been the same. But when he found Liz it was like a part of the old Tommy returned. He actually smiled when he was with her. He actually softened. She was a part of him just as he was a part of her. The two of them could not function without each other.

"Seventeen."

Pol's voice whispered behind Ada. She turned her head to the side as her aunt came to stand aside her. Pol kept her eyes focused on the woman in the bed, her face pale and her lips parted. Ada arched a brow, but turned her gaze slowly back into the room.

"She was seventeen when she first met Tommy," Pol said to Ada. "Fifteen years ago, before the war, he took her in and protected her. It seems like a lifetime ago after all they have gone through."

"I remember," Ada said, recalling how Tommy had kept the girl hidden in his bedroom so that her father and brother could not find her. She had stayed there for a while, Tommy being the one to protect her not only from the Kimbers, but from his own family who were less than impressed with her being hidden in their home. "She was like a duck out of water when she first came to us."

"She still is," Pol said slyly. "She might have wised up and she might be able to hold her own against Tommy and others who threaten her family…but this life…it was one she never wanted. She was just too weak to leave Tommy."

"Too weak or just in love?" Ada asked.

"Is there a difference?" Pol wondered, pulling a cigarette from her purse and lighting up. She offered one to Ada, but the young woman shook her head, declining the invitation. "Love makes us weak, Ada. We both know that."

Ada said nothing in response to that. She knew what her aunt was saying, but deep down Ada did not want to believe that. She did not want to believe that love was something to be avoided. She never wished to think that, even though she missed Freddie terribly. She still believed that she could have love one day. She just did not know who with.

Before she could think of some witty response to Pol, footsteps sounded down the corridor alongside panting breath. The two women turned in sync, their eyes casting down the corridor and to the source of the noise. Ada sighed in slight relief when she realised that it was just Andrew. His cheeks were puffed out and reddened, his hair windswept and his eyes seemed to be wet. He slowed as he approached the women, his eyes landing solely on Ada.

"I came as soon as I heard," he said to her.

"We're glad you managed to get away in time," Ada said.

"I never saw anyone there…I did not know…" he said in short breath, struggling to form a coherent thought and air it publicly. He looked into the room, unable to stop himself as his focus went to Elizabeth as she slept soundly. "Is she…"

"The doctors do not know," Pol was the one to speak truthfully and Ada felt a lump form in her throat. She struggled to swallow it down, her mouth arching downwards as she tried to stop her bottom lip from quivering. "She hit her head and they believe the damage is severe. They…they say there is nothing they can do."

"But…but she has to wake up," Andrew blurted out and shook his head. "She has to wake up."

Laying a soothing hand upon his forearm, Ada brought his gaze away from Liz and onto her. Looking her in the eye, he watched her shake her head sadly, silently telling him that there was nothing he could say that would alter the outcome. He looked down at her fingers and moved his own to rest on top for a brief second, squeezing them tightly before she pulled back.

"She has been a better friend to me than I can begin to say," Andrew whispered.

Ada nodded. "She is a kind woman."

"Too kind for this family," Pol added on.

They lapsed into silence then and Ada sighed. "I should go in and try to get Tommy to go home and rest."

"He will not listen," Pol spoke.

"I cannot blame him," Andrew whispered. "If it were my wife I would not leave her side."

"But he has been here for three days…Charlotte will not move from his lap…James will not budge from that chair. They cannot stay there forever."

"I would not put that past him," Andrew said.

Tommy Shelby scared Andrew. He did not deny that. He knew that Tommy had enemies. He knew that Tommy had a reputation in Birmingham. He was not a clean-cut man. He had shady business going on. But a part of Andrew wondered if he did actually do things because he thought they were the right thing to do. From snippets of what he had heard from Elizabeth and Tommy's conversation, he knew that the MP was trying to stop Mosley from gaining power. He also knew that Tommy loved his wife and daughter more than anything.

Elizabeth had alluded to what they had gone through in the past. She never spoke in much detail and he did not pry. It was between the two of them and that was all. But Andrew knew that there were things she kept hidden. Not that he could blame her in the slightest.

"I have to try," Ada finally spoke and moved into the bedroom.

Her footsteps were tentative and her eyes were wet as she looked over the sight she saw. Charlotte was still curled up on Tommy's lap, her head tucked against his chin and his arms wrapped around her. She was covered in his suit jacket to keep her warm, whilst his coat had been placed around James who was slumped in the chair and sleeping soundly.

Charlotte was also asleep, her breathing soft and light and Tommy ran his thumb in circles over her arm that she had draped along on top of his. His chin was perched just by the top of her head and he inhaled the scent of her hair. She still smelt of smoke, but if he inhaled strongly enough he could smell the familiar scent of her shampoo that gave him comfort.

"Tommy," Ada whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping children.

Her brother lifted his gaze onto his sister, but she saw nothing there. He looked completely empty. He looked blank and emotionless, almost as though there was nothing inside of him. He said nothing and so Ada was left to continue speaking.

"You need to go home and rest," she said to her brother, voice light. "You need to move from that chair and sleep…Charlotte and James…they need rest too."

Tommy shook his head. "I am not leaving her," was his only response.

"Tommy-"

"-That is final, Ada," Tommy said, voice slightly broken and he shifted his gaze back to his wife.

"Then at least take Charlotte and James home," Ada urged from him. "They cannot stay here much longer. It is doing neither of them any good and you know that."

"Elizabeth needs me," Tommy said.

"And so does Charlotte," Ada added on and Tommy had no response to that. He knew that his sister had a point on that. Of course she had a point. He looked down to his sleeping daughter while Ada spoke again. "And that boy there need you too, Tommy…please…you know that they will not want to leave without you. Just take them back to the house and see them to sleep. You can come back then. Do it for them. This is not healthy. They cannot stay here infinitely."

Tommy knew that his sister was speaking sense. He knew that this was not doing his daughter or James any good. He could not keep them here, not indefinitely. And he knew that they had no inclination of when Elizabeth would wake. He nodded his head at that and began to move.

Raising his free hand, he let his thumb roam over his daughter's cheek as she slowly stirred, shifting on his lap. "Charlotte," he whispered her name delicately. "Wake up, sweetheart."

She opened her eyes slowly, her gaze shifting around before focusing on her father. He looked down to her, trying not to show her how scared he actually was.

"Daddy?" she whispered back up to him.

"Yeah," he said in a whisper. "We need to go 'ome for a little bit, alright? We just need to 'ome and get some sleep."

"Is mummy coming?"

Tommy gulped, mouth dry. "No, darlin'," he spoke earnestly to her. "But we will come back and see 'er after yer get some sleep, alright? Mummy is sleepin' and so yer need to sleep too."

"I don't want to leave her," Charlotte said, eyes wide and wet.

"And yer not leavin' 'er," Tommy promised her. "Alright? Yer not leavin' 'er because yer will be comin' back and she is always with yer. Yer mother is always with yer. Now, yer need to be a brave girl for 'er and just go 'ome and sleep. Can yer do that for 'er?"

Charlotte nodded her head and Tommy kissed her forehead.

"Can I kiss her goodnight?"

"Of course."

She climbed off of her father's lap and Ada squeezed her shoulder as she passed by. The jacket around her had fallen off and onto Tommy's lap. He picked it up and moved to the end of the seat. He watched on as his daughter bent down and kissed her mother on the cheek. James had awoken by then. He had heard the conversation and was watching silently.

Tommy stood up, his limbs aching. He struggled to stand, feeling numb after being in that chair for so long. He stretched outwards and moved to his daughter who was still stood over her mother's bed. He bent down, moving his jacket onto her small form and helping her into it. It buried her completely, but he only wanted to keep her warm.

"Come here, Charlotte," Ada urged, sensing that Tommy needed a second with Elizabeth as he bent over her bed, his hand cupping the side of her head and his thumb roaming over her cheekbone and his other hand brushing her hair softly. "Let's just give your daddy a moment."

She took hold of the little girl by the hand and led her from the room, nodding at James and urging for him to follow. She guided him by the shoulder and the door closed softly behind them.

Tommy remained bent over his wife's bedside and whispered to her softly. "Yer will wake up, Liz, do yer 'ear me?" he whispered to her, his eyes roaming over her. "Yer 'ave to wake up because I can't do this without yer, do yer 'ear me? I cannot do this without yer…raise Charlotte…look after James…be who I am…I can't be any of it without yer. I need yer. I need yer so much and I love yer. Do yer 'ear me, Liz? I love yer so, so much."

He moved to kiss her on the forehead, the motion soft and gentle. He stood up and turned around, the pain inside of his chest overwhelming him as he walked out of the room. Moving into the corridor, he found Ada, Pol and Andrew stood there, James and Charlotte in front of them. His gaze went to his daughter as she moved towards him and held her arms out. He bent down and picked her up, letting her cling to his side as he wrapped an arm under her legs. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she rested her cheek onto his shoulder. He looked down to James, the young boy stood there with tears falling down his face.

He managed to hold onto Charlotte with one arm and his free hand moved down and out. He held his hand out to the young boy and he tentatively looked to it before he took hold of it, not shying away from some form of comfort. He needed it. He wanted it.

Tommy began to walk down the corridor without another word, heading towards the exit with the others in tow.

Standing over his desk, Tommy hadn't slept since he had returned home. James had insisted on staying in Charlotte's room and Frances had worked quickly. She had produced a makeshift bed on the floor, dragging his mattress from his room and placing it in Charlotte. He had left the two children to sleep after putting them to bed and then headed to his study. He had to work. He had work to do.

He rested his hands on top of his desk as the door opened and Arthur walked in along with Finn. The two of them looked to Tommy and he kept his gaze lowered, cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Tom…about Liz…we're sorry," Arthur said.

"Is she goin' to be alright?" Finn asked, voice slightly more panicked and then Tommy did look to his little brother: his little brother who Elizabeth had tried to protect and nurture since she had met him. "Liz...she 'as to be alright."

"I don't know," was all that Tommy said to them. "But I want whoever planted that explosive found."

There was silence then. Tommy looked between them. "What?" he demanded from their silence.

"Tommy, this feels dangerous," Arthur said, voice deep and low. "All of it feels dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Tommy echoed back to him. "My wife is lyin' in that 'ospital bed…my Liz…I don't care 'ow dangerous it is. I want them found and I want revenge, do yer understand me?"

There was silence then. None of them said anything. Instead Tommy sunk down into his seat and buried his face in his hands. Arthur and Finn stood there awkwardly, uncertain of what to do. Tommy was the strong one. He was the one who held the family together. But they could not expect that of him, not at that moment in time.

They stood on the spot and watched as Tommy shook, his silent sobs taking hold of him and chilling the room.

….

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