Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.
Face Claim for Rosemary Parker: Celina Sinden.
Chapter Sixteen: The Late Robert Parker.
"Fall back. Fall back. Retreat." Thomas shouted moving as fast as he could, dirt covered his face and the rain poured down heavily making it difficult to see; he ducked and dodged through the trees as he raced away from the attacking enemy forces. The rain blinded him as he moved but he refused to stop, around him men fled for their lives and cursed as slowly they were picked off one by one.
His heart pounded in his chest and he was sure that this was the moment that would end his life; there was no help coming and they were outnumbered, this was where he was going to die. Some muddy hill in the middle of France, the rain pouring down on him and he was thousands of miles away from home where he would much rather be.
The man in front of him crumbled to the ground and Thomas felt his heart stop as he realised just who it was; he rushed forward and dropped to his knees, he turned the man over and pressed his hands against the wound. His eyes darting around him, the steep incline of the hill giving them some cover from the enemy shooters but Thomas knew that staying here was not an option.
"Stay with me Robert," Thomas ordered, his eyes trying to find somewhere that they could both hide; the rain almost blinding him, he could not see a thing and the enemy was fast approaching. His hands were quickly covered in blood and the cold seeped in through his trousers; he did his best to stem the bleeding but there was little that he could to save his father-in-law.
"I was wrong about you," Robert rasped moving to grasp on to Thomas' shoulder, he would die here and if it was the last thing that he did, he wanted to make amends for misjudging Thomas. He had hoped for more time, more time to make things right with Rosemary and to go home to his family; to be a grandfather to his grandchildren but alas that was not meant to be.
Thomas shook his head, now was not the time for that and he was not sure how much time they had before someone came across them; he doubted that would end well and he had no way to defend himself without a weapon at hand.
"You're a better than any man that I could have asked for, for my Rose," Robert babbled, he hated that he would never get to meet either of his grandchildren and he prayed that his wife would forgive him for not making it home to her like he had promised.
Victoria had made him promise to come home to her, she had been his light in the darkness with her letters and promises that things would be better when he named it back home. Robert had heard so much about little Robert and Kathleen, he had hoped to meet them and make amends for his harsh treatment when he returned to Birmingham; now all he could do was hope that Thomas would forgive them.
Thomas stopped looking around and focused on Robert, there had been a slight improvement in their relationship while they had been in France but he had never imagined that it would end like this. He had not ever expected that Robert would be saying this to him, he had known how little Robert thought of Peter; the son-in-law that remained back at home while they fought in the war.
"Take care of them. I want her to be happy. Promise me. Give them the best. Promise me." Robert pleaded, he pulled off his dog-tags and pressed them into Thomas's hand; his eyes pleading with him. He wanted them to make it back home to Victoria, he wanted his wife to have some small part of him and he knew that she would be devastated by his death. Robert had been so pleased when Victoria had told him that she had made amends with Rosemary; he wanted his family together so that they could support one another.
"I promise," Thomas replied quietly, he would do anything for his wife and daughter; he would do anything for them and he was determined to make it back to them. He had missed the birth of his daughter and no number of letters would ever make up for every moment that he missed with Rosemary and Kathleen.
"Forgive me… forgive…" Robert whispered before his eyes glazed over, he stared towards the sky as the rain pounded down on them. Thomas held onto his father-in-law as he took his final breath and left the world behind; he was silent as he slowly lowered Robert to the ground, knowing he would keep his promise.
Rosemary clapped a hand over her mouth as she stared down at the letter that she had received from Thomas; this was not what she had been expecting when she had received a letter from him. Collapsing back into her chair, tears filled her eyes as she read the news that her father had been killed in action and she almost could not believe what she was reading; a part of her wishing that this was some cruel joke.
News of deaths were not rare in Small Heath and Rosemary prayed nightly that her family would be spared the news that they had lost someone to this dreadful war. Already spanning two years, it was far too long for Rosemary's liking and she had prayed that they would all return home safely but now she knew that was not going to happen. Rosemary felt numb as she took in the news that her father was gone, she prayed that he had not suffer in his final moments.
The letter in her hand dropped to the floor and Rosemary did not move as she cried, she tried to stifle her cries so that she did not wake Kathleen who was sleeping not far from her The last thing that she wished was to disturb her one-year-old daughter, she hated that Kathleen would never get to meet her grandfather; she wrapped an arm around herself as she cried trying to hold herself together.
"Rosie! Rose! Are you home?" called a voice from the front door, someone pounding on the wood in an attempt to gain her attention; she got to her feet and hurried to the door so that Kathleen wouldn't have been disturbed. Opening the door, Rosemary stared down at the tear-streaked face of Ellen and threw her arms around her youngest sister knowing what had happened.
The officers must have turned up at the house to inform their mother of their father's passing; she almost could not believe that this was happening to them right now. There had been so much hope that when her father returned that all would be well, her mother had told her one night when Kathleen was a newborn that her father had deep regrets and would make amends when he came home.
"Father's dead… they came and told mother," Ellen wept holding onto her older sister, her face buried in Rosemary's stomach as she cried. It had been unbearable at home, she couldn't stand it and she didn't want to believe it when the officers had broken the news to their mother.
Rosemary nodded her head, she ignored the looks from her nosey neighbour knowing that she did not care what she thought; their father was gone and Rosemary could only imagine how their mother was taking it. There would be talk for days behind twitched curtain, something that Rosemary could not deny that she had been guilty of with Martha when the officers knocked on people's doors and told them the news.
A part of her wanted to go straight to the family home and see her mother but she had no one to watch Kathleen and she was not going to wake her daughter to go running to her mother's house. It would not end well and Rosemary wanted a little time to wrap her head around what had happened; she gently tugged Ellen inside knowing that Yvette had probably sent her here while she dealt with their mother.
Rosemary could only imagine how their mother was taking the news that her husband of twenty-seven years had been killed in combat. Thomas had not said much about what had happened, in fact he had only written to tell her that on the 6th of October her father had been killed; he had wanted her to know not sure when they would arrive to tell the family.
Sniffling Ellen allowed Rosemary to lead her into the kitchen and ushered into a seat, the sounds of their mother's screams of denial still ringing in her ears even now. There was no doubt in her mind that the neighbours had heard and Yvette had been quick to send her to Rosemary's knowing that would be a better place for her instead of at home.
Especially with Colleen only seeming to make the situation worse by thinking only of herself while their mother grieved the loss of her husband. Rosemary set about making them tea, she felt like she was in a state of shock; no one was safe it seemed and she didn't know what she would do if Thomas was next. The war was far from over and she feared just what that would mean, she had already lost her father and yet her husband was still there with his brothers.
Rosemary knew that any one of them could be next.
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