Disclaimer: I don't own The Peaky Blinders or the characters aside from the current OC and any I may introduce later. I'm only writing this story for my own amusement and don't earn any money through it.


3 years later

Ekaterina Victoria Mildred Chetwynd-Talbot - or Katherine Smith as she called herself now - hurriedly made her way through Small Heath, following after the boy running before her. This boy was Finn Shelby, the nephew of her employer. He had beaten at her door, screaming something about Arthur bleeding and being black and blue. The way he had said it had her running as well, fearing the worst.

They reached the house at Watery Lane and barged in, Finn still leading the way. John and Polly looked to her. "Oh thank god Katy, you're here." the young man exclaimed with a chuckle. "Ada's been giving orders like she knows what she's doing." The young woman in question scoffed and put a bowl of water on the table. "I'm a trained nurse." Arthur groaned and took in a sharp breath. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts me face."

"I bloody am." Ada proclaimed and John chuckled. "You went to one first-aid class in the church hall and got thrown out for giggling. Unlike little Katy here." He put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her nearer to the table. "John's right." Polly, the matriarch of the family, chimed in; standing up from the table. "So let an actual trained nurse work on your brother." Ada let up from Arthur and pouted.

Ekaterina remembered that day John had mentioned well. It was what had brought her to this family. After having arrived in Birmingham she hadn't known what to do. She had found a room quickly, for what she was thankful. The landlady was mostly nice, too. But she had to find a way to support herself, as she couldn't live from her savings forever. The only problem was that she had never actually learned something that seemed useful in this situation.

She had asked in a few pubs and bars for a job as barmaid, something she deemed doable for herself. But had been turned down each time. "You're too pretty and delicate looking." one owner had said to her. "Trust me darlin', I'm doing you a favor. The men will eat you alive." She had felt disappointed at that, but in the last pub, the "Garrison", a flyer had drawn her eyes to it. It had been advertising a first-aid class. As she hadn't known what to do otherwise she had decided to just go and see how it went.

That's where she had met Ada Shelby, now her best friend. She was a couple years older than herself, but they had instantly been drawn to each other; sitting together and talking before the course began. The course itself had been a short affair for Ada, however, when one of the instructors had brought in an anatomical model of a man, with penis and everything, and she had instantly started to giggle uncontrollably, being unable to stop. So she had been thrown out for "disturbing the learning atmosphere" and Ekaterina had feared to never see her again. Ada, though, had waited outside for hours, until the course was over. Then she had invited her for coffee into a cafe. The rest was history, so to speak.

The first-aid class had only been the beginning for Ekaterina. She found that she quite enjoyed learning about the human body and how to help and save people. She felt useful, something she never had before. So, after the course, she had decided to go to a nursing school here in Birmingham and when she was finished Polly, who she knew by then as well, had talked her into working for the Peaky Blinders. Truth be told, in the beginning, she hadn't known what that meant. She had had only had a vague idea about what they did, though she knew it was illegal and so, probably, dangerous. But she had needed the money, as she had reached the end of her savings by then and Polly had offered her more than twice the money any clinic was willing to pay her. So she had accepted and by now she knew her position and what was expected of her.

She approached the table and sat down, putting her bag next to her, taking the hand Polly had been holding a moment ago into her own. "Bloody hell, Arthur. The way Finn was screaming for me to come I thought you were dead. But turns out you've only gotten beaten up again." She tried to move his fingers and he groaned when she came to his thumb. "Dislocated. I have to set it back." The girl stared at him with her piercing green eyes and he drew in a shaky breath. "Make it quick."

The moment he had ended his sentence she jerked at his thumb, making him shriek. "Damn, woman. Give a man a bloody warning." Ekaterina calmly started to wrap up his hand, having stabilized his thumb with a piece of wood Polly had given her. "It was quick, no?"She asked nonchalantly and John chuckled. "And the Ice Queen of Small Heath makes her entrance. No mercy for old Arthur here, aye?" The blonde girl was not deterred by his words, continuing her meticulous work. "Maybe I would have some mercy if you Shelbys stopped to constantly get into trouble and hurt yourself. And out of all of you boys I have to put together Arthur the most." She sighed. "Seriously, he is even worse than Finn, and he is ten."

The entrance was opened and in came Thomas, the still unofficial leader of this family, cigarette in mouth and a bottle of whiskey in one hand. "Let me see him." He approached the table, giving the small girl a glance. Intense blue met piercing green. Then he handed his brother the bottle. "Well, have this." Arthur immediately opened the bottle, taking a healthy swig and Thomas put his hand into the water bowl. He wringed out the cloth swimming in it, reaching for the whiskey bottle again. "Give me that." Then he put the wet cloth on Arthur's face, making him hiss. "You're all right." Thomas soothed his brother.

Arthur seized his arm. "He said Mr. Churchill sent him to Birmingham." Ekaterina stilled for a moment and Tommys eyes flew to her. Interesting. Arthur continued. "National interest, he said. Something about a robbery." Tommy stopped and drew back, finally taking his cigarette out of his mouth. "He said he wants us to help him."

"We don't help coppers." John interrupted him and Arthur held up his good hand, making him stop. His gaze was fixed on Tommy. "He knew all about our war records." His eyes momentarily wandered to the small hands working to fix his hurt one. "He said we're patriots like him. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said-" He suddenly groaned again. "Bloody hell, Katy. Be a bit gentler, will ya?" The girl only rolled her eyes. Arthur turned his head back to his brother. "I said we'd have a family meeting and take a vote."

Tommy stared at his oldest brother, not sure what to say. For one he still thought having Arthur know about the guns was not a good idea. And second, he didn't want to talk about business in front of the little "nurse". Even after almost a year of knowing her he still didn't trust her. "Well, why not, hm?" Arthur asked when Tommy remained silent. "We have no truck with Fenians or communists." Still no answer and Ekaterina finally finished her wrapping. "What's wrong with you?" Arthur turned to Polly. "What the fuck is wrong with him lately?"

The woman scoffed. "If I knew I had Katy buy the cure from Comptons chemists, no matter the costs."

.

.

When Ekaterina was finally finished with Arthur it had already turned dark. The girl stepped out of the house, turned her face to the sky and sighed. She had settled down here voluntarily. She could have moved to another city. Still, she sometimes missed being able to see the sun or the stars almost always when she wanted. The rumors she had heard about the thick smog of Birmingham were true.

"Good evening, Miss Smith."

That dark voice startled her, though outwards she didn't give away anything. She slowly turned to her right. "Good evening, Mister Shelby." She calmly greeted back. Tommy stared down at the small, petite girl, whose head only just so reached his shoulders. Her piercing, bright green eyes looked up to him and made his skin crawl. "Watch out for green-eyed people." He could hear his mother's voice in his head. "They can see beyond." The way Katherine Smith sometimes stared emotionless at people, things or even nothing at all for minutes at a time did make him question if that was true or if that was just some strange habit of her personally. But if she could, he did wonder what she saw.

He remembered the first time he had met her. He hadn't been back from France for even a week yet, when he had one day gotten out of bed after a night of restless tossing and nightmares. He had then gotten down to the kitchen, were no one was anymore but this one, strange girl. She had been sitting at the table, a book and a plate full of bread with marmalade spread over it before her. She had sat there, reading and eating like it was the most normal thing in the world. With her delicate stature and long, bright blonde hair she almost seemed like some kind of fairy creature, like his mother had always insisted exist. And he had almost actually asked her if she was such a thing. Instead, what came out of his mouth was "are you a whore".

He didn't know if he had asked her to insult her for behaving like she lived in his house or just wanted to rile her up a bit. Maybe he had really been a tad bit hopeful to have a chance to lie with a girl that seemed so surreal without having to do anything. He didn't know, but he had asked.

She looked up at him; her big, green eyes giving him goosebumps. Yet her face was totally expressionless. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, making Tommy question if he was actually still sleeping but having a nice, if a bit bizarre, dream for once; when she finally opened her mouth. "We are all whores, Mr. Shelby. We just sell different parts of ourselves." Then she returned to her book. A few minutes later Ada had come down, finally introducing that girl to him as "Katherine Smith", explaining that she was the exclusive nurse of the Peaky Blinders and her best friend to boot.

Her answer had left a lasting impression on him. But he had also understood something very quickly: this girl did not belong here and she wasn't who she claimed to be. Or more like, no one knew anything about her past or even where she had come from. Her appearance and behavior screamed "upper class" and he wondered how she had ended up in a shit hole like Small Heath. Why she had ended up with his family. He did not trust her.

He took a drag of his cigarette. "Finished putting my brother back together?" She slightly nodded. Her eyes wandered to the side. "What copper was Arthur talking about?" She asked suddenly. He exhaled the smoke. "That's nothing for you to break your little head over." Her eyes returned to him. He had to give her credit for not being able to see any fear in her gaze, like most people reacted to him. It intrigued him. "But I think I should break my head over it." He flicked away the ash from his cigarette. "And why?" She didn't break the eye contact. "Because I need to know if I can expect something like that happening again." She said, referring to Arthur. "Or if I even should go to the undertaker and order some coffins in the name of the Peaky Blinders."

He continued to stare down at her, finally noticing the walking stick she always had with her, even though she obviously didn't need any help with her walking. He finally broke the eye contact. "You want a drink?" He suddenly asked. "Let's go to the Garrison." To be honest, Ekaterina didn't want a drink. Especially not with Thomas Shelby. But she knew that you never refused on offer made by him; not if you were smart. And she knew that he had his reasons to invite her, something he had never done before. Until now they had both actually, more or less, ignored each other. And something in her wanted to know what had prompted this sudden change in behavior.

"Sure. Lead the way."

.

.

When they arrived at the pub they could hear singing - something that hadn't happened since the Shelbys had returned from war. The audience almost immediately quieted, though, when they noticed that one of the two people entering was Thomas Shelby. But the tall, pretty blonde woman standing on a table bravely continued on.

The boy I love is looking at me

Can't you see him standing there?

Waving his handkerchief

As merry as a robin

"Interesting." Katherine Smith commented, her piercing gaze on the woman. "I thought singing in the Garrison was prohibited by your orders? If I had known you have changed your mind I would have come earlier and joined her with the piano." She pointed with her chin to said instrument standing at the back of the pub. Tommy, whose eyes had been on the woman as well, looked at her through the corner of his eyes. "It still is."

The woman finally finished her song and in the following silence Harry, the owner of the pub, approached them. "Mr. Shelby, Miss Smith." He greeted them. "We haven't had singing in here since the war." Tommy slowly moved his eyes to the man. "Why do you think that is, Harry?" The man, who was probably older than Tommy, moved his gaze to the floor like a chastised child.

Tommy suddenly took Ekaterinas arm, pulling her to the snug. "A bottle of whiskey and two glasses." He muttered over his shoulder, making her stop. "Actually," she turned to Harry and Tommy looked at her irritated. "I'll take some white wine, Harry. And a glass of water, please." Harry nodded and only then did she allow Tommy to pull her into the snug.

The man immediately went over to the window, waiting for their order. "Take a seat." He ordered after a few moments of Ekaterina remaining stood as well. Reluctantly, she let herself fall into a chair. The window opened and the blonde barmaid pushed the tablet with their drinks through it. Her curious blue eyes briefly connected with Ekaterinas green ones, trying to decipher what Thomas Shelby was doing here with a girl. Then she muttered a tense "Harry says it's on the house." when Tommy placed a few coins before her and took the tablet. He didn't say anything, turning to the table, and Grace reluctantly closed the window.

"Who is this woman?" Ekaterina asked as Tommy placed the two glasses of wine and water before her. "Who knows. Probably some posh, disgraced girl who was unfortunate enough to get washed up at Small Heath." The girl took the water, pouring a bit of it into her wine. "That so?" She commented while doing so. He observed her movements. "Not only just wine, but a spritzer. Are you afraid I'm trying to make you drunk, Miss Smith?" Her gaze bore into his. "I'm on duty, Mr. Shelby." She explained and took a sip of her drink. "I have a mother who is bound to go into labor at any moment and a teenage boy who may not survive the night if his condition takes a turn for the worse again. I may have to work again tonight and I prefer doing so while not being drunk."

Katherine Smith was not a simple nurse anymore. She had turned into an all-rounder in her time in Small Heath. The Peaky Blinders not only cared for their members and employees, but their families as well. As most of the men of Small Heath, by now, were in some form employed by the gang, her area of responsibility was quite big. Now she was nurse, midwife and, sometimes, therapist, all at once.

Tommy nodded his head, taking a drink himself. "Your dedication to your work is admirable." He said and he did mean it, to some extent. "But that's not why I asked you to join me." Immediately, her gaze turned hard. "If this is about my employment, again, I inform you that my contract still is with Polly, not-" "No." he interrupted her. "It's not."

One of the first things Tommy had done after returning from France (or tried to, at least) was terminate the contract the Peaky Blinders, seemingly, had with the small girl before him. He had wanted her out, didn't want to feel her piercing gaze on him anymore that seemed to reach to the debts of his soul. His aunt, though, had raised hell at the mere mention of it. "She is just a nice girl, doing what I have employed her for; and doing it good." She had argued. "Her contract is with me, Tommy, not you. I decide if she gets to stay or not. Leave her be." She had threatened and been hostile towards him for a whole week afterwards. So Tommy had decided that getting rid of the girl was not worth being at odds with his aunt.

"You asked about the copper." He continued and she nodded. "Well, Winston Churchill himself has sent someone down from Belfast to investigate a robbery." Her eyes twitched. "I know this already. Arthur has said the same thing." He slowly fished out a cigarette out of his case and lightened it. "So what more do you want to know?" She took in a deep breath. "Thomas, I'm not stupid." He got goosebumps from his name rolling out of her delicate mouth. It was the first time she had used it. It had always been "Mr. Shelby" before. "If Winston Churchill has sent him it means the crown is involved. And that means it's something big. King George is not known for interfering in simple matters."

His interest was peaked. "What do you know about the King, little Katy?" He asked in a mocking tone, trying to get a raise out of her. But she didn't take the bait. "Enough to asses the situation, I would say." She said in an even tone and leaned her upper body slightly forwards. "And I think I know you good enough by now to say that, whatever is going on for that copper to come down here, you are somehow involved."

He took a long drag of his cigarette, staring her down. "So you know me now?" He mocked and the blonde sighed. She took her wine glass and emptied it. Then she stood up, taking her medicine bag and walking stick. "Well, it has been a pleasure drinking with you, Mr. Shelby." Her words were nice enough, but he knew she didn't mean it one bit. "But I think it's time for me to return home. I don't like walking around alone late at night and as I said, my night could be quite short. So I think I should get all the sleep I can."

She fished a coin out of her purse and put it before him. "For the drink and your time." He eyed the coin and the small hand before him, but didn't take it. She drew her hand back. "Good evening, Mr. Shelby." She turned around and went out of the snug, closing the door behind her. Tommy looked at the door for quite a while after she had left.

Outside, Ekaterina threw a glance at the pretty barmaid. Something bothered the girl about her, though she couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was. Nevertheless, a new copper and a new barmaid? Ekaterina didn't believe in coincidences. This was highly suspicious in her mind. When the barmaid suddenly returned her gaze the girl immediately turned her eyes away. She went through the entrance into the cold night air. She just hoped that this copper was not who she thought it to be.


AN: Two chapters in a row to give you a good impression! Please leave a comment if you like it :)

Lulu