A/N: Thank you a thousand times over for all of your kind messages, words, reviews, and encouragement. I am sorry this took so long! I have been focusing a ton on my day job and that has paid off – which means I have a bit more time now to write! YAY. Enjoy.

Chapter 10: Knowing

~o0o~

Tommy groaned when he came in his hand later that night. It hadn't taken him much —- just the mere thought of taking off Sophie's already ripped dress and he came undone just as fast as he did when first discovered such a pleasure. All while the innocent, infuriating angel he was thinking about was asleep in her bedroom down the hallway.

This was becoming a bigger problem than he knew how to deal with. He had never felt this way about a woman before and it was driving him to distraction in all aspects of his life, and frustrating him to a breaking point. Wanting Sophie and not being able to have her was excruciating. Was she truly so blind to him that she didn't see his forced anger and arguments with her were simply a shield to protect himself? The larger he built the wall between himself and Sophie, the worse he felt. She didn't deserve what he was throwing at her; all because being in a room with her made him think things about her he shouldn't.

Tommy repeated what was quickly becoming a nightly mantra for him. She's too young. She's too innocent and good. She has no interest in you. John would kill you. Polly would kill you. Someone would find out and she could get hurt.

He was already worried about the bullet, and not because it had his name on it, but because she had found it. Did the Lees know about Sophie's connection to their family? Did they know she took care of the horse? He never wanted her to be alone in Small Heath again, but trying to control her was as foolish as trying to control Ada.

He had a plan for the Lees. A plan that he knew would work only if he was able to execute it before they came after his family in a more noticeable way. He smirked to himself that a clear threat of danger didn't keep him up all night, but decidedly inappropriate thoughts about his sisters' childhood best friend did.

~o0o~

The next morning, Sophie sat quietly at her desk in the betting den, tucked away into her corner outside of Tommy's closed office. She was doing sums of the bets from the day before and finding a large amount of mistakes in the maths that the boys did. She quickly crossed out a few figures and scribbled in her own notes, already having devised her own shorthand for the process. She was so caught up in the books that she didn't notice Henry leaning against her desk until his shadow blocked her light.

"Good morning, Henry"

"You've been avoiding me, Sophie." His tone was good-natured but she still blushed, knowing it was true. Since the night they almost kissed and he asked her out in a date, she had been cordial to him in the office, but not overly friendly.

"As you can see, I've been quite busy fixing the messes you and the boys make", Sophie put down her pen and looked up at him. His boyish, lopsided smirk was endearing, especially in stark contrast to his suit.

"I do it on purpose." He winked at her. "Have you thought any more about going to the pictures with me?"

She had. Many nights she stayed away wondering why she wasn't jumping at the chance for a date with Henry. If she was being honest with herself, it was mostly because she was scared to be with a boy alone. She didn't know how to act or what to say or what he would expect from her at the end of the night. She had an idea, but that was what scared her the most.

But she couldn't spend all her time working and tending to Princess. Ada would be getting married soon and probably move away from her. The thought broke her heart. She had just gotten her best friend back and was about to lose her. She couldn't be mad at Freddie – they were meant to be from the very start – but that left her without anyone her age to do things with.

"Henry, I'm not sure…" Sophie started, apologetically. As her voice trailed off, Tommy walked into the office, a cloud of gloom and smoke. She caught him staring at the two of them as he hesitated outside of the door to his office. She took a deep breath and then leaned over the desk so she could speak more quietly, "Actually, yes. The pictures sounds lovely."

"How 'bout tonight? You free?"

"Perfect." Sophie smiled.

"I'll be 'round to get you at seven." Henry beamed.

"Henry, get to work." Tommy glared at him before heading into his office and once the door was shut behind him, Henry and Sophie shared a laugh. He gave her a wink and headed off to do his job for the day, leaving her to the books.

She knew exactly what pushed her over the edge into agreeing – the man now behind the frosted glass door to his office.

~o0o~

"You can't tell John" Sophie looked desperate as she sat with her best friend in the living room later that day. Ada was wearing a smirk and her eyes were bright as she sat in one of the armchairs with sleeping Mary in her arms. Sophie's chest was occupied by Emma, napping peacefully just like her sister.

"I won't. But you should. He's always been there for you. Henry may be his mate, but he's not that much older than us…" Ada whispered back, trying not to wake the girls.

"I guess I'm not so much worried about John as I am Tommy finding out."

Ada covered Mary's little ears, "Fuck Tommy. I don't know why he's so hard on you."

The more time they spent together again, the more Sophie realized how much she had missed Ada's friendship. She was so different than the girls she met at school. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and be herself and Sophie was thankful to have finally reconnected with such a like-minded soul. "Henry is handsome, isn't he?"

"Yes. Not like Freddie, but decent enough," Ada teased. Sophie rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Emma, cuddling her closer. The little sigh of contentment she gave made both girls smile.

"Do you think he'll want to…" Sophie blushed. Sex wasn't something she talked about openly with anyone, but she was realizing how silly that was now. Birmingham was much different than London and Ada was much different that her prissy boarding school friends.

"Of course he'll want to. He's taking you to the pictures for a reason! But it doesn't mean you have to. Don't be like me…" Ada put a hand on her belly. It was a small bump, but noticeable if her she was sitting the right way.

"You shouldn't regret that baby, Ada. You and Freddie will have a wonderful family."

"I don't regret it. I just know that things could have been very different if Freddie hadn't come back. It's still hard. I don't know what we will do…"

"I'll always help you. However I can." Sophie promised her friend. They had spent most of the afternoon talking about Ada's small, upcoming nuptials and how Sophie could help make them as perfect as possible.

"I know, Soph. But now, I have to help you find something to wear for tonight. Let's put the girls in bed and see if I have anything for you to borrow."

~o0o~

"Pol, where's Sophie?" Tommy asked when he walked into the kitchen at the end of his workday, which ended hours after the rest of the office had gone home. He needed to be ready for Cheltenham; he couldn't leave anything to chance.

Polly didn't turn around from where she was at the sink, washing dishes from supper, which Tommy had unsurprisingly missed. She had long ago stopped saving plates for him. If he could manage to survive on whiskey and cigarettes, then that wasn't her problem. "She left about an hour ago, why?"

"Left?"

"Yes, left. What did you need?" Polly put the washcloth down and turned to her nephew.

"There were a few things in the books that I needed her to explain to me." He lit a cigarette.

"It will have to wait until tomorrow. I don't know when she'll be back." Polly's tone made it clear that her end of the conversation was finished and that irritated Tommy. When Sophie had first come into all of their lives, Polly had protected her almost as much as John had, and now was no different.

"Well, if you tell me where she went, I can ask her what I need to ask her now." Tommy continued, starting to tap out an erratic rhythm with his shoe on the wood floor.

"You've made it very clear to everyone in this house that you do not care for her, so I don't see why I need to tell you where she is." Polly brushed past her nephew. She had a glass of whiskey and a book calling her name and she didn't have time for his games. "I know where she is and John knows where she is. She's safe and that should be good enough. Leave the poor girl alone and let her have some fun. She shouldn't be working into the night."

Tommy took a long drag from his cigarette to calm himself down and think before he said anything that would give himself away. Anyone else would drop it and move on. But he wanted, no, needed, to know where Sophie was.

"Well, where's John then? It's fucking important."

"Is it as fucking important as ending whatever idiotic war you started with the Lee's or finally dumping those stolen guns like you promised me you would?" Polly put a hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to keep at it. Tommy just shook his head.

"Where's John? The Garrison?"

"She's at the pictures with a friend. Just leave her be." Polly sighed. John was already unhappy that Sophie was asked out on a date by his friend Henry and she didn't want Tommy causing a scene at the pub.

"A friend?"

"A friend."

"Right." Tommy put out his cigarette that he had already nervously smoked down to a nub and grabbed his coat from the hook by the kitchen door.

"Thomas…" Polly knew she couldn't stop him from going, especially if what she had been fearing was true.

"Yeah, Pol?"

"Does she know how you feel?" Polly wouldn't say she was particularly close with any of the boys in the way a mother is with her sons, but Tommy always had been the dearest to her. And she prided herself on knowing him in some ways better than he knew himself. Now was one of those times.

Tommy didn't look at her or answer and was out the door before she could blink.

~o0o~

Henry had his arm around Sophie in the dark theater and she had to admit that she was enjoying this date more than she had expected to. He had taken her out for a quick dinner at a pub downtown, and then to the theater to see Charlie Chaplin's new film, Sunnyside. She liked that he wasn't afraid to laugh with her at the slapstick, glad to be with someone who didn't take himself so seriously.

"You look beautiful when you laugh," Henry whispered to her, his lips brushing against her hair. If another on-screen gag hadn't made her giggle right then, she was sure she would have blushed.

"EVERYONE OUT!"

Sophie squinted when the lights were abruptly turned on and the film turned off. Her ears were assaulted by the protests of dozens of couples around them and the confusion of what was happening.

"Fuck…" She heard Henry say and when she turned her head in the direction he was looking, she felt as if her stomach was going to drop out of her body.

Tommy Shelby was walking down the middle aisle of the theater, telling everyone to leave and they were listening without hesitation. They all knew who he was and they did not want to upset him, even if it meant not seeing the last bit of the film. It wasn't a minute before he was standing at the end of their aisle.

"Did you not tell him?" Henry asked Sophie and she stood up, shaking her head. She shouldn't have to tell him anything.

"I believe we paid for a movie and we only got to see two-thirds of it." Sophie said, acting completely unintimidated, even if she was angry and shocked that he would go to such lengths to ruin her fun.

"I certainly hope it was worth it." Tommy put his hands in his pockets as she approached him, stepping over people's forgotten bags of popcorn in their haste to get out of the theater.

"It was absolutely worth it, and I'd like to see the rest if you don't mind." Sophie continued as politely as she could muster. She could feel Henry behind her now and she was impressed he hadn't run out entirely.

"Mr. Shelby…" he started, clearly about to try and string together a story. Sophie felt bad for him, and protective. She was having a nice time and had forgotten all of her days' worries. She also knew that his job and standing as a Blinder could possibly be compromised because of her.

"I'll speak with you later, Henry." Tommy made it abundantly clear he was only interested in talking to Sophie, but her date did not move.

"Understood, we can leave, but I would still like to take Sophie home."

Sophie saw Tommy's eyes turn blacker than she had ever seen them and she reached down to her side, found Henry's hand, and squeezed it. She was impressed that he didn't abandon her to the wolf so easily. Truthfully, part of her wanted to turn and run herself. The other part wanted to slap him for being such a prick.

"As much as I have no doubt Sophie would like that, I would prefer if I took her home. Her and I have something that we need to discuss." Tommy looked between Henry and Sophie, without an ounce of emotion on his face, "I'll be waiting at the car."