AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this is it! Thanks to all that have followed and left comments. This was my first story for this fandom and I'm glad people enjoyed it. As of now, I am unsure if I will be continuing this as a series. I stated if I do that I can only see myself going up to season four if I am to do a true canon-compliant piece. I know going into season 4, the in-between after season 3, I do have a story there.

In general with this fandom, I do have two other story ideas. I am currently working on one right now. But thank you again for reading!

Also, this chapter was inspired by a scene in the first Outlander book.

1913

Evelyn is on a time limit. She knows the longer she waits the harder and more dangerous it is.

She knows most wouldn't even consider doing what she is. She has overhead from Silas how Arthur dealt with these situations. She doesn't know if Thomas is the same way.

After all, she knew the consequences of sleeping with a man that wasn't her husband.

She had debated on the many ways she was going to tell him. She knows if she approached him at his house everyone would know. She and Thomas never had any interactions and her request to speak in private would draw whispers. It also would be unusual to be in the Garrison unless her brother was in there.

Evelyn does however know that Thomas spends most of his downtime at Charlie's Yard. He had a love of horses. Charlie's Yard was located on the Cut and no one would think of anything if she were to take a walk along the Cut. Not many spent time there, to begin with.

Besides, the walk would give her time to figure out what she was going to say. She knows foolishly she wants to keep the baby. She doesn't care if Thomas wants to be with her. This child was a piece of her. She also fears if the abortion goes wrong. She doesn't want to take the risk. She just wants support for the baby.

If not, she does plan to curse him with the knowledge of telling their child he didn't want anything to do with them. Their child would know his name and who he was.

She walks along the edge of Cut. The summer weather is slowly turning to fall and there was a slight chill in the air.

She knows her life is about to change and she would be lying if she wasn't scared. She has no funds to support a baby. She knows Henry will kick her out as soon as she tells them.

Maybe having the baby would be cruel as she has no skills or way to support herself. She would be condemning her child to a life of poverty and the stigma of being a bastard. She wonders if it's selfish to keep the child.

Evelyn looks up and she almost trips over her own feet as Thomas is smoking a few feet away.

She must have made a sound as he turns his head towards her. He throws his cigarette in the water.

They eye each other silently. Evelyn is unsure of what to say. What does someone say after what they've done? Thomas hasn't sought her out since that night. She hasn't made any type of effort either. Nothing was supposed to come from that night. It was only supposed to be a night.

"Everything alright?"

Evelyn swallows the lump in her throat. Her mouth is dry as cotton. She licks her lips. "I'm pregnant." She blurts out. She ignores the churning in her stomach.

Thomas doesn't show any reaction. It unnerves her.

Evelyn stands taller. "And I'm keeping it." Her voice wobbles a bit and she finds his eyes trail down to her stomach.

Thomas steps closer. His hand trembles as he places it on her stomach. "We'll get married."

Evelyn shudders. Her eyes go wide. The edges of Thomas' lips curl up. He brings her in a hug.

"It'll be okay," he promises.

She decides to believe him.

1919

Evelyn knew something was wrong when Arthur and Silas had come back bloody from a night out at the Garrison.

There were no injuries on them thankfully. Yet from how they were avoiding her eyes, it doesn't take her long to deduce that this was Thomas' mess. It also meant it most likely had something to do with her.

Since what happened, Evelyn had been staying at Polly's. It's not like she had anywhere to go where she could house two boys. Besides, she had to hide the bruises on her neck. She is still unsure of how to handle what happened. She didn't blame him. She did blame him for letting it get this far. All she wanted from him was to talk to her.

Evelyn folds her arms across her chest as she looks at her brothers. She is grateful the boys are asleep for the night.

"Spit it out. The both of you," Evelyn orders. She doesn't bother helping them clean up. Polly is standing by her fireplace with a black cigarette in between her fingers. They all were in for the night and in bed when the boys came knocking.

The two look at each other. Silas is the one to talk. "Tommy got into with Duncan Hayes."

"Why?"

Silas licks his lips. "I think it's best you ask your husband that one."

Evelyn raises an eyebrow.

"He said some nasty shit, sis," Arthur grumbles. "Tommy was in his right."

"Of course, you think so," Evelyn snaps. Thomas would rather pick fights than talk to his wife.

"Maybe it's best you go home," Polly suggests gently. Evelyn can't help but look betrayed. "Let Tommy have his pride."

Evelyn shakes her head. The last thing she wants to do is cater to her husband's pride. He was the one that let it get this far. She heads back into the room she has been staying in with Polly to at least put on a proper dress over her slip.

She ignores them all as she makes the trip back to 6 Watery Lane.

The door is unlocked and quiet as she steps in. She doesn't hear Thomas in the house. She doesn't smell the lingering scent of a cigarette burning. She does check every room in the house for a glimpse of her husband but finds him nowhere. Ada isn't home either. It's strange to find the house so quiet - empty.

As she stands in their bedroom, she locates his box of Opium and she throws it away out of spite. She even burns the bloody box he keeps it in. She opens the window as the room smells of his poison. She gets to work on tidying up the space. She changes the sheets and knows that she will need to take their blankets to the wash.

She doesn't know how they got to this point.

She hates the distance that he has put between them.

She is carrying a pail of fresh water for their small basin when she pauses at the sight of Thomas sitting in the extra chair in the room.

She notices his hands are bloody, which is clutching his cap that is soiled with blood.

He doesn't look at her as he places his cap on the nightstand. She fills the bowl up with fresh water. Thomas needs to be the one to bridge the gap between them.

"So you come home after I cut your lover?"

Evelyn looks at her husband.

He works on grabbing another cigarette and places one between his lips.

She marches forward and snatches it out of his mouth. She slaps him hard across the face. Her handprint leaves an angry red imprint.

"How dare you say that to me," she roars. She can't help herself and she smacks him again on his other cheek. "What is the matter with you!"

"What's the matter with me!" Thomas roars back. "How about the fact every night when I close my eyes I'm back in that fucking war! In those tunnels scarping in the dirt for my wedding ring and the picture of you and Jamie. I can't look at that fucking wall without hearing the tinkering of shovels on the other side. And when I come home I have to deal with the fact other men have no qualms in expressing their desire to fuck me wife!"

"Are you trying to make this my fault!" Evelyn shrieks. She shouldn't be surprised that he would be trying to place the blame at her feet.

"It is your fucking fault!" He answers as he stands up from the chair. "That fucking bastard didn't just want you out of fucking nowhere!"

"It's not my fault men can't control where they want to stick their cocks!" Evelyn fires back. "And I have been trying since the day you came home to get you to talk to me, but you prefer to get fucking drunk and be out on the streets like your fucking father."

Evelyn doesn't wait for a response as she attempts to slap him again in his face. He grabs her wrist.

"Oi, enough!"

Evelyn growls as she makes an angrier attempt to kick him in the balls.

Thomas dodges and places his leg between her own. "Try that again and I'll slap that arse of yours and you won't sit for a week."

"You're nothing but a fucking brute and fool!" Evelyn struggles to get out of his hold. "This is just you trying to lay ownership as if I'm your fucking property. You just want something to control. I don't belong to you, Thomas."

"You do belong to me," Thomas seethes. "And you are me wife whether you like it or not."

"I don't like it! I'm just here for you to stick your cock into when you have the urge!"

Thomas' grip becomes tighter. His face goes blank and his skin turns dead white. "Let go of me!" Evelyn shouts. "Let go, you fucking bastard!"

Thomas lets go and Evelyn finds herself falling back onto their bed.

"You foul-tongued bitch. What gives you the right to think you can speak to me that way!"

"I'll speak to you any way I want! This is all because of your hurt pride."

Thomas charges at her and they collapse on the bed. He nudges her legs open and his hands cup her face and sets his mouth on hers.

There was nothing gentle about the kiss. Evelyn pulls back. "What do you think you're doing?"

He pulls back and shucks his coat off. "Thought it was reasonably clear. You think your fit to do as you please. Think you need to learn who you belong to."

"I don't want to sleep with you!" Evelyn protests as Thomas begins to remove his clothing.

"You're my wife, and if I want you, then I'll have you," Thomas tells her he unbuttons his trousers.

Evelyn tries to scoot up and out from underneath Thomas. However, he pulls her back down and covers her body with his. He gives her a demanding kiss.

Evelyn uses her free hand and grabs at Thomas' hair. She pulls him away and it causes him to hiss. "You think you can order me to your bed? Use me like a whore!"

Thomas flips them and she is straddling his lap. "Is that what you think?"

"It's what you've been doing to me for the past few months," she informs him grimly. "You can shut everyone else Thomas, but not me. I'm your wife."

The fight seems to leave them both. Evelyn is tired and just wants her husband. She doesn't want the stranger that has been in her bed.

Thomas' eyes turn cloudy. "When I was over there, I would think about what you said about me eyes."

Evelyn frowns. She had feared her words would haunt him as they haunted her. "Thomas, I -"

He shakes his head. "Don't apologize. No one came back the same. But me..."

His hands trace the fading bruises on her neck. "You should -"

"Don't finish that thought," she tells him.

"I don't think I can ever talk about it, Evelyn. I want to leave it buried in France. I don't want it in our bed."

"The war is a part of you now, Thomas. You don't have to shovel it all alone."

Thomas sits up and holds her hard against him. She feels his heart beating against her chest.

"You shouldn't forgive me for what I did. I could have killed you," he utters against her chest.

"But I do," she replies. "But if it happens again…"

"It's wont," he promises.

Evelyn knows it won't. "I know."

"I want you, Evelyn," he tells her hoarsely. "You shouldn't want me."

"But I do," she tells him.

She is flipped over onto the bed. He doesn't bother finishing undressing. He spreads her thighs open and in a single thrust sheathed himself to the root of her. She gasps while he groans in her ear.

He presses himself into the depth of her as he meets her lips. Evelyn sucks in a deep breath as he hammers into her.

"You're mine, Evie," he whispers harshly against her lips. "You'll always be."

Evelyn can't help the moans and quivers that escape her. Thomas keeps battering her where it came to a fine line between pleasure and pain. Her thighs were sure to bruise from the repeated impact.

Her legs rise to wrap around him. Each stroke sends a jolt deep into her belly as her hips lift to welcome it. She feels him deep inside of her. A slow blush takes over her body as she feels his tip at the opening of her cervix.

Thomas pushes her legs flat and a scream erupts from her lips as white blinding light erupts beneath her eyes.

"Fuck, Thomas!"

He grips her hair and his blue eyes bore into her grey ones. His eyes aren't hollow. They were shining with triumph as he watches her. He rests his whole weight on her as he chases their release. His thrust was harder and faster as he captures her lips. She bites his lip and tastes blood.

She feels his teeth on her neck. No doubt a deeper bruise will overtake the fading one. Her nails dig into his back at the tenderness she feels from his teeth making her skin sting.

Their cries mingle together as his warmth floods her. Thomas drops his head to her breasts. Her fingers begin massaging his scalp.

"I have plans, Evelyn. Plans to get us out of Small Heath."

Plans mean other people will probably get angry at the move for power. This means that it will require her to smooth over any hurt pride within the family. "I trust you," she tells him.

He moves to his knees but keeps himself inside her. His hand comes out and grips her chin. He forces her to look into his eyes. "I love you."

Evelyn chuckles. "Just because you gave me a good fuck doesn't excuse anything."

Things weren't fixed, but she knows that they would get better.

"No pleasing you, eh."

Evelyn smiles. "I love you, Thomas."

"I'm always gonna need you."

"You make sure to remember that," she tells him.