I had no idea what I was doing once we had walked through the front door but I knew that I needed to get the hell out of Birmingham. John had taken Lily out of my arms so I could remove my coat. I kicked my shoes off at the bottom of the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as I ran upstairs to our bedroom. "Evie!" John called and I could hear him close behind me. "I can't be here anymore, John. I can't." I told him, climbing onto my stool to get down some suitcases from the wardrobe.
He was quickly beside me, taking the suitcases off me and throwing them on the bed. He then turned to me, holding my arm as I jumped down from the stool. He kept his hand on my forearm, making me stop in front of him. "Eve, tell me what happened at the prison." he demanded, bending his knees so he was almost eye level with me. I couldn't fight the tears any longer. "He watched. That night he could have stopped it all but he just watched. He did nothing to help me or Tommy and he enjoyed it. He fucking enjoyed it. He told me that he enjoyed watching." I told John, my eyes blurring from the tears as I rambled on.
"Who watched what?" he asked, his voice deadly as I realised what I had said. I blinked away the blurriness and looked into his face. My eyes darted around the room. "Where's Lily?" I asked, sniffing. "She's in her room. Who watched what, Evie?" he demanded, searching my face. I watched him for a moment, fresh tears forming. "We lied to you." I whispered, my voice breaking. His brow furrowed. "About what?" he asked, his own voice barely above a whisper. "About the night Tommy and I got attacked. Campbell didn't stop Sabinis men in time." I told him, searching his face as he pieced together what I was saying.
His hands were suddenly gone from my arms. "John." I whispered as he took a step away from me, straightening. I reached for him but his expression told me not to. "Please, John." I whispered, my heart breaking. "Wait there." he demanded, his voice deadly as he turned to the door. "John, please!" I shouted after him, he paused. "I need my husband, not John fucking Shelby." I told his back, my voice breaking. He didn't say another word to me as he left.
My world tore in two as I sank to the floor, sobbing. My back hit the wardrobe as I brought my knees up under my chin, tears streaming down my face as I wrapped my arms around my legs and put my head on my knees. I couldn't control my crying as the sobs ripped through me. I couldn't think straight as my mind focused on John's face, his reaction, over and over again.
Suddenly, there were arms around me. I momentarily stopped crying and I looked up as someone pulled me into their lap. I searched Johns face as he cradled me into his lap and chest. "I've got you, Eve. You're safe." he whispered, kissing my head. I dissolved into tears again, letting out all the pain and heartache from the last few months as I rested my head on his chest and grabbed a fistful of his jacket.
I jolted awake, unsure where I was as the arms around me tightened. "Hey, hey. I'm here." John whispered, pressing his lips to my forehead. I tilted my head up to meet his lips, pressing them to mine gently. John stroked my hair as I pulled away again, taking in my surroundings. We were on our bed, in our room, in our house. I sighed contentedly before noticing the setting sun out of the window. "I've slept all day?" I asked, my voice croaky. "Yeah, you needed it." John told me, handing me a glass of water. "And you stayed with me all day?" I asked, sitting up and taking a sip. "Of course." he told me, stroking my back.
"Where's Lily?" I asked, turning to look at him as I ran a hand through my hair. "She's with Tommy and Finn. They're going to look after her until tomorrow. That's where I went earlier." he told me with a small smile. "Thank you." I whispered. "I'd do anything for you, Eve." he replied, sincerity in his voice. "You just gotta talk to me, alright?" he added, bringing a hand to my face. I nodded against it, gently kissing the bottom of his palm.
"How bout I do you a nice bath?" he asked, searching my face. "Only if you join me." I told him, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. "I think that can be arranged." he grinned, pressing his lips to mine once more. I smiled up at him as he released my face and stood, stretching before leaving. I laid back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before stretching. I turned my head, looking out the window at the dusky clouds that passed over the houses. I closed my eyes for a moment, savouring the unusual quietness of the house.
"Hey." John called gently from the doorway. I opened my eyes and turned towards the door. "I fell asleep again." I smiled, stretching again. "I know." he smiled, "Your bath is ready." he told me. I nodded at him, sitting up. I got off the bed and padded over to him, going onto my tiptoes to press my lips to his. "Thank you." I whispered, pressing my lips to his again. "I'm just going to go over the road. Get some stuff for tea." he told me, brushing his hand down my forearm. "I'll be waiting." I told him, pulling him down for a final kiss before leaving him in the doorway.
I slowly sank into the warm welcoming water. The steam was slowly filling the room and it was definitely what I needed. I traced my finger over my slightly swollen stomach as I let the water warm my muscles. I leant back in the tub, leaning my head on the edge as the baby kicked my hand. "You're so loved, my little baby. You've got three amazing uncles who will spoil you rotten. Two crazy aunties that will fight for you no matter what. Two amazing cousins. A brilliant big sister and an amazing father. You'll want for nothing." I said, closing my eyes.
"You forgot his beautiful, intelligent, sexy mother." John's voice came from the doorway. I opened my eyes and smiled at my husband. He was leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pockets and a toothpick between his lips. His intense gaze was enough to melt me as he watched me. "You're wearing too many clothes." I told him, raising my eyebrows at him. "You just want to get me naked, Mrs Shelby." he laughed, coming into the room. I pretended to think about it for a moment. "Yes. Yes, I do." I replied, grinning. He chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Let me help you wash your hair first." he told me, removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. I sat forward obediently, pulling the wet fabric tie from my hair. I ran my fingers through my curls, trying to undo the damp braid. John came over, making quick work of unwrapping the wet hair. He then picked up the nearby cup and started pouring water over my dark curls. "Head back." he told me. I did what he told me, angling my head so I was looking up at his blue eyes as he worked.
"Thank you." I whispered as he rinsed the suds from my hair. "For what?" he asked, his eyes coming to mine. "For being my husband." I smiled. "For being Lily's father and being my John." I added, watching his face. He paused for a moment, watching me before pressing his lips gently to mine. "I love you and I love Lily and I will always be your John." he told me, resting his forehead on mine. "Sometimes I need to be John fucking Shelby but I will never stop being there for you and the kids." he added. "My God, I love you." I smiled, pressing my lips to his.
The kiss was gentle at first but quickly deepened. John discarded the cup and reached into the water, making me squeal as he picked me up. I smiled against his lips as I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He didn't seem to care as my body soaked his waistcoat and trousers. He slowly started walking towards the door, his lips trailing down my jaw and neck. I lifted my chin to allow him better access as his hands on my back held my body to his. He bit along my collarbones before dropping me onto our bed.
I brought myself up onto my elbows and looked up at him with heavy eyes as he undid his waistcoat and shirt, dropping them both to the floor. John quickly got on top of me, pressing me back down to the bed as I pulled his undershirt up and over his head. I ran my hands appreciatively down his toned chest and stomach. "John? Evie?" A voice called from the stairs and John groaned loudly above me as I let out a giggle. "For fuck sake!" he muttered, getting off me and picking up his undershirt before leaving.
I could hear him talking to someone as I sat up, picking Johns shirt up from the floor and slipping into it. I could tell John was agitated, probably for the interruption more than the actual conversation. I stood up and finished doing the buttons on the shirt, leaving the top two undone as it fell to the middle of my thigh. I knew it must've been family to just walk into the house like that so I padded out into the hallway.
"Hi, Finn." I greeted, smiling at the teenager as I leaned against the wall. "Hey, Eve. You feeling better?" he replied, looking between me and John. "Yeah, thank you." I responded. "I just came over to get some stuff for Lil." he told me. "Her bear is in her cot, make sure you take that." I told him, pointing towards her room. "I'm going to go and start tea." I said to John, looking up at him with a lazy smile. "Alright, I'll be down in a minute." he replied, bending down to kiss my lips before I went downstairs.
Once downstairs, I went through to the living room. I put the gramophone on, the soft music of the Nutcracker ballet filled the room and I smiled to myself as I went into the kitchen. I could still hear the melodious music as I went about prepping the meat and various vegetables John had brought over. "Bye, Evie!" Finn called from the hallway. "See you later, Finn." I called back before going back to humming along to the music. "Now where were we?" John asked from behind me. Before I could answer he had picked me up, turning me and sitting me on the table with him stood between my legs. I let out a laugh as he pressed his lips to mine.
A/N Thought we needed some John/Evie time. Let me know what you think!