Tommy's baby sister comes to him just before Christmas with a very specific request.

Edith's Age: 3

Set: 1913

"I want a baby." Edith states as she comes to stand in front of her big brother, Tommy choking on the smoke of his cigarette as he takes in the tiny girl in front of him.

"You want a what?" He coughs out, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"A baby." Edith replies, hands on hips. "Just like Martha. I wan' a baby."

"You can't have a baby, Edith." He replies, glancing over at her.

"Why not?" She stubbornly asks, glaring at him.

"You just can't."

"But, why not?"

"You're too young Edie, ok?" Tommy states, shaking his head at her attitude, internally, trying to hold in his laughter at the sight of his baby sister glaring at him, trying to be serious.

"No." Edith states with a shake of her head, unamused by the fight her older brother was putting up.

"No?" Tommy repeats with an eye brow raise, taking in the defiant stance his sister had taken.

"No." She repeats, shaking her head once more. "And if you won't give me a baby, then I'll ask John."

"John won't give you a baby."

"He gave Martha a baby!" She protests, stomping her foot on the ground.

"John is not going to give you a baby Edith." Tommy repeats, still desperately trying to hold in his laughter at her stubbornness.

"Then I'll ask Arthur."

"Arthur's not giving you a baby either." Edith huffs impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Finn?"

"Nope."

"Ada."

"No."

"Uncle Charlie."

"Definitely not."

"Curly."

"Not gonna happen."

"Aunt Pol." Tommy sighs, rubbing his hand over his face as he internally groans.

"You know what? Yes. Ask Aunt Pol. See what she says." Edith eyes him suspiciously, eyes narrowed until a smile breaks out, bouncing on her heels as she shrugs her shoulders.

"Ok." She states, turning on her heel. "Aunt Polly!"

"What do you need, love?" Polly asks as the youngest Shelby collides with her legs.

"I wan' a baby. But Tommy said no." Edith replies, looking up at her Aunt who raises her eyebrows.

"He said no, did he?" Polly glances over at her nephew who was watching the scene through the doorway, still sat by the fire. He raises his arms in a shrug, silently asking Polly what he was meant to have said. "What kind of baby do you want?"

"Like a little one. Like Martha. And I said to Tommy that if he won't give me one, I'll ask John. 'Cause John gave Martha a baby. But Tommy said no. But why won't John give me a baby, if he gave Martha a baby? That's not fair." Edith protests, brows furrowed as she tries to make sense of her brother's argument. Tommy lets out a laugh, quickly covered by a cough as Polly shoots him a pointed look, reaching down to lift the small girl on to her hip.

"It's different for John and Martha," Polly starts, holding her hand up to silence Edith as she opens her mouth to speak.

"How-"

"It just is." Polly states. "When you're older, I'll explain it. But for now, maybe you can write Father Christmas a letter and ask him if he'd very kindly bring you a baby doll on Christmas Day." Edith considers this option for a moment, head tilted to the side before she nods, allowing Polly to place her in a chair at the kitchen table. "Now, here you go. Do you best. Maybe draw him a picture, eh?" Edith nods enthusiastically, taking the paper and crayons off her Aunt. She ducks her head down, tongue stuck out in concentration as she attempts to write her letter to Father Christmas; really just a bunch of squiggles, but Polly could see no harm in her trying. The letter would only end up in the hands of her big brother, who would make sure his baby sister got exactly what she wanted for Christmas.

"What was that all about?" Polly asks later that evening, after having put Edith to bed, finding her nephew in the same place Edith had left him hours before.

"What was what about?" He asks, barely looking up from the fire, exhausted from the day in the betting shop.

"Edith wanting a baby, and you sending her to me." Polly's replies, moving further into the room.

"Well what was I going to do Pol? She was about to go and ask every member of the family for a baby!" Tommy exclaims, laughter evident in his eyes.

"Well, you're getting her a baby doll for Christmas." She states, passing him the 'letter' Edith had written, standing back with her hands on her hips; Tommy now knew exactly where Edith had copied that stance from.

"Am I ever?" He laughs in reply, shaking his head.

"Yes. You are. You're not going to break that little girl's heart, are you?" Tommy huffs, knowing Polly was right. There was no way, if his baby sister wanted a baby doll for Christmas, that he was going to be the one to let her down and not find one.

"Christmas is two days away! Where am I going to find a baby doll now?" He complains, rubbing his hand over his face.

"You'll find one." Polly replies as she turns to leave the room.

It had taken Tommy the full two days until Christmas to find a baby doll for his sister, nearly all of the shops having sold out to close to the big day. With the doll finally wrapped up, safely tucked under his arm, Tommy trudges home to Watery Lane through the snow, looking forward to putting his feet up by the fire, a warm cup of tea in his hand. Heck. Maybe even something stronger. Yet the light still being on in the kitchen squashed that idea immediately as Tommy approached the house, knowing that they light being on meant his sister was still awake, probably still bouncing off the walls around Pol as she finished getting things ready for Christmas Day. The second Tommy walked through the door, Edith was in his arms; the older sibling may complain but in reality, there was nothing better than a tight hug from his baby sister after a long day at work. He playfully groans as he swings her up into his arms, teasingly complaining under his breath about how much she weighed (in reality, she was as light as a feather). Edith took no notice, as per usual, throwing her arms around Tommy's neck in a tight hug.

"She wouldn't go upstairs until you got home." Polly explains, laying a hand on Tommy's shoulder as he sways the now sleepy girl in his arms. "You ok to take her up? I could do with getting the last few presents wrapped." Tommy nods in reply, toeing off his boots before heading upstairs with Edith still in his arms.

"Come on then, Edie. Let's get you to bed. Or else Father Christmas won't leave any presents for you." Edith lets out a little gasp against Tommy's shoulder, quickly followed by a long yawn that racks her whole body. Tommy lowers her gently to the bed beside an already sleeping Finn, tucking her in before pressing a kiss to her forehead, backing out slowly to retreat to his own room for the night.

The following morning, Tommy wakes early, listening out for his youngest siblings, expecting to hear them going wild, climbing the walls as they wait for one of their siblings to wake up and take them down to open presents. Tommy lays in silence for a moment, shocked at the lack of noise that surrounds him; he slides himself out of bed, moving slowly towards the door, intending on popping his head around the door of his sibling's bedroom, seeing if they were awake yet, and then returning to bed for at least another hour of sleep. However, he didn't need to go further than his own bedroom door before finding his youngest two siblings. There, lying at the top of the stairs on his stomach, was Finn, and directly outside his door sat Edith, teddy in her hands as she patiently waits for Tommy to wake.

"Tommy!" Edith gasps, scrabbling up from the floor and flinging herself at Tommy who catches her quickly, hoisting her onto his hip.

"Merry Christmas Edith," Tommy bends down, wrapping his arm around Finn to pull him up into his arms, placing him on his other "Merry Christmas Finn. Let's go and wake Arthur, eh?" The two young Shelbys giggle excitedly at their yearly Christmas tradition, holding on tightly to their big brother as he makes his way down the hall towards Arthur's room. "Ok. Quietly now," Tommy whispers, lowering his younger siblings to the floor and easing the bedroom door open for Edith and Finn to slip inside. They tiptoe quietly to the edge of the bed, Tommy watching on in amusement from the door at their comically slow pace, creeping towards the bed on their toes. Once they reach their destination, they clamber up on to the bed, jumping on to Arthur's sleeping body as he wakes with a yelp of surprise. Tommy attempts to hold in his laughter as he watches Arthur grab Finn and Edith, tickling them both in turn as they squeal and squirm away.

"Morning," Ada yawns, appearing at Tommy's side, leaning against the door frame beside him. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Ada." Tommy says, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Let's leave them to it, eh? Get some breakfast?" Ada nods enthusiastically, following Tommy back down the hallway.

Hours later, after all the presents had been opened, Edith sat in a mountain of wrapping paper, wide eyed and grinning as she finally found the one gift she had truly wanted.

"I got a baby!" She shrieks, hugging the doll to her chest. Polly looks over at Tommy over Edith's head, giving him a wide smile which he copies, watching the excitement on Edith's face. "Look Martha! I got a baby like you!" Martha and John had recently had their first child (the rest of the family unsurprised they had started having children so young), the older girl smiling warmly at Edith, patting the space on the sofa beside herself and John.

"Come and sit with me, sweetie. I'll show you how to look after your baby." Edith jumps up from the floor, climbing on to the sofa, watching as Martha carefully hands baby William off to John. She tucks her hands under Edith's arms, scooting her backwards so her back was flush against the back of the seat, positioning the baby doll in Edith's arms with a smile. "There we go. What's your baby's name?" Edith thinks for a moment, head tilted to the side as she looks down at her doll.

"Millie." She states with a nod, looking up at Martha. "Like my friend at church."

"Millie's a lovely name." Martha comments, glancing back at John with a smile as they watch as Edith rocks baby Millie in her arms.

"She loves that doll." Polly comments later that afternoon as she clears up the remains of Christmas lunch while the boys and Ada played in the back yard under the watchful eye of Martha. Christmas lunch had been served and eaten (a real feast as it had been dubbed by Finn, scoffing down more than his fair share of the meal); Edith had been a trooper, her energy not waning until after dessert had been eaten, when she had slid off her chair, straight into the waiting arms of Tommy where she laid now, fast asleep against his chest, baby doll tightly tucked in her arms. Tommy looks up at Polly with a smile, nodding his head. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger. Lord help us when she's older."