Disclaimer: I do not own anything Peaky Blinder related, that belongs to the series creator Steven Knight.

Face Claim for Rosemary Parker: Celina Sinden.

Chapter Ten: Wish You Were Here.

Stepping into her home, Rosemary could not wrap her head around what she had just been told; it did not seem real and she almost wished that this entire thing were a dream of something to come. It had been a strange few days and Rosemary knew that there was no escaping what came next; it was not going to be easy, especially with no news of when Thomas would be coming home and she felt so alone. Setting her bag down on the table that was near the front door, Rosemary felt like she had stepped into a dream and she closed her eyes wishing that things were different and that she had more time to prepare.

"There you are… I was wondering where you had gotten to, Ada needs her dresses repaired and you said you would help me," Polly said stepping out of the kitchen, she had come around early in the morning so that they could get it done. She had no idea what Ada did with her dresses but there was not enough money now that the boys were off fighting in war to be constantly replacing her clothes.

There was no sign of the war ending and with Christmas only a month away, they were going to have to deal with the fact that they would not be expecting the boys home this year. Turning to look at Rosemary, Polly stopped seeing the look on her face; her stomach dropping and she wondered just what had happened while Rosemary was out that could make her so upset.

"Rosemary?" Polly asked spotting the look on the younger woman's face, her stomach dropped as she watched her to start to cry and she feared just what had happened while she was here alone. They had talked about Rosemary coming back to the main house, but the young woman had decided against it wanting everything to be perfect for when Thomas came home.

Barely able to hold back, Rosemary burst into tears and clapped a hand over her mouth to quieten herself; she knew that she was being stupid that it was a good thing but she feared having to do this alone. Polly had her arms around Rosemary as quickly as she could, she held her close while Rosemary cried in her arms; she did her best to offer her comfort, not sure what had happened to cause this to happen.

"What am I going to do? Tommy isn't here, how can I do this without him?" Rosemary cried, she had not been prepared for this to happen much less while Thomas was away in Europe fighting in a war. There was no telling when her husband would be home and it could be years before she truly saw her husband again; that was if he were not killed while he was there and she was left a widow.

Polly was confused listening to Rosemary ramble, she was frightened that something had happened to Thomas and that she had not been told about it. Rosemary was Thomas's wife and she would be the first to know if anything ever happened to her nephew while he was fighting in the war. It could arrive any time without warning and Polly knew that Thomas would want her to take care of Rosemary if anything happened to him.

"I'm pregnant," Rosemary whispered sharing the news that she had received not too long ago, she had been unwell recently and when she had started to show, she had known that she had to see a doctor. It was quiet for a moment and Polly only held Rosemary tighter, it was a blessing and she was sure of that; she just hoped that Thomas would get to meet his child. Thomas would have been thrilled with the news, whatever happened it was the start of his family with Rosemary and Polly had no doubts that a baby would certainly ground her nephew.

"You will do it for him… and that child will be worth it," Polly insisted, it was not going to be easy especially with money being so tight, but she was sure they would work something out. Mary had been kind enough to offer Ada a job with her to earn some money, but it was not going to be much and they would band together as a family to make this work.

Rosemary could also count on help from her mother, Victoria had visited several times since Robert had left and she would be thrilled at the news that Rosemary was going to be a mother. Resting a hand on her stomach, Rosemary wished that things had worked out differently; she wished that she were able to share this news with Thomas face to face and see his reaction in person when he found out he was going to be a father.

Wiping the sweat from his face, Thomas squinted around the tunnel that he was working on and wondered just how far they had tunnelled since he had arrived in France. It had been weeks of digging in the dark with no sign of stopping, morale had been low between the men especially when it became clear that the predictions that they would be home by Christmas were false and the end was nowhere in sight.

Looking around the dimly lit tunnel, Thomas's eyes swept across the men that worked beside him; it was not easy work and there seemed to be no end in sight for any of them. The days were long, the work hard and he wanted nothing more than to leave this behind and go home to his wife and family; he missed them, and he would give anything to be at home right now.

Getting back to work, Thomas could only think about how things would work out; there was no sign of peace being reached and things only seemed to get worse. Thomas was not sure how much longer he worked before the call came for them to finish for the day; the slow move out of the tunnel only reminding time just how far they had come.

It was not far before they were stepping out into the trench, it was dark, and Thomas often wondered if he would ever get to see the sun again. It had been weeks of waking before the sun came up to go down into those tunnels and then coming back up to the moon above them again; the mud seemed to get deeper each time they returned. Heading slowly to their beds for the night, Thomas listened to the grumbling around him; no one was happy with how this war was going. They had been promised quick returns home yet there was no end in sight and the only way people did return home was with bits of them missing or in a box so that their families could bury them.

"Shelby… letter," an officer called to him as he walked passed, and Thomas perked at the idea of news from home, it was always something that cheered him up after a day in the tunnels. He received letters weekly from his family and Thomas did his best to write back to them when he had the chance; not that he could share much about the nightmare that he worked in.

Taking the letter, Thomas headed straight for his bunk wanting to relax a little before he went to sleep; no doubt that he would be woken early in a few hours' time to head back into the tunnels. Flopping down on his uncomfortable bunkbed, Thomas slowly opened the letter and smiled when he saw his wife's hand writing; her letters always made him feel better.

'My Dearest Tommy,

I often wonder how you are getting on. I would be so relieved to get a letter from you soon. I cannot help feeling a bit anxious. Of course, I know you will write as soon as you can, but the time seems so dull and weary without any news of you, if only this war was over, and we were together again. It will be one day I suppose.

I received some wonderful news this day, I am with child, and I do so hope that you will be home in time to see our first child born. I will pray for your quick and safe return to us. I wish you were here, I love you with all my heart and I will see you soon my love.

Rosie'

Staring at the letter, Thomas reread the last paragraph as a smile slowly started to form on his face; he could not believe it, he had never thought it would happen so quickly especially since he was France right now. It had never crossed his mind that when he left Rosemary that she was pregnant, it hadn't been too long after their wedding that he had left for training and now it had been months since he had seen her. John stepped into their shared with several other men, the conditions were rather cramped even if everyone had their own little space to call their own in their quarters.

"What is it?" John asked seeing the look on Thomas's face, he looked almost happy and that was not something that anyone saw anymore; their time here seemed to have drained away any notion of happiness in all of them.

Things were not getting better in the war, they were getting worse; so many were being injured or sent home dead, the fact that this was meant to be over soon did not seem possible when the fighting just seemed to continue. They had all been told that they would be home by Christmas, a promise that was not going to be kept as the fighting continued to get worse and there was no true end in sight.

"It's from Rosie," Thomas said looking to his younger brother, it was news to be share and they could do with some good news right now; he was sure that the fighting would be done by the time the baby was due. He prayed it was, he wanted to be there when his child was born; he wanted to share that experience with his wife, he wanted to be there and hold his child when they came into this world. Rosemary could not be more than three months along and while there was no way that the war would be over by Christmas; Thomas felt hopeful that maybe, just maybe he would be home for when the baby was due.

"She's pregnant," Thomas announced unable to stop smiling, he had never really thought about having children but with Rosemary, things just seemed to fall into place and he could not imagine them not having a big family. It was like a dream, just the news that he needed to keep him fighting and working towards getting home to her and their baby.

The bunker seemed silent for a moment at the news before everyone who had heard him started to congratulate him on the fact, he was going to be a father. The news was just what they needed, and Thomas was sure that the news that he was going to be a father was going to spread quickly. There hadn't been much good news for them to celebrate, the darkness of war seemed to just swallow them all and there had been no end in sight for any of them that didn't result in their deaths.

He shook hands with every man that shared the bunker with him, the smile on his face growing ever larger at the idea of being a father; he could just picture the child now. The little boy would look so much like him, but he would have Rosemary's beautiful brown eyes; he would be a strapping lad and Thomas was sure that he would make him proud.

Standing back watching the scene, Robert frowned at the news that his eldest daughter was expecting her first child; they had not spoken since she had announced that she had married the Shelby boy. A part of him had hoped that she would come to her senses, that she would realise that Thomas Shelby was not worthy of her; that she would see that she had made a mistake by marrying him.

Robert could still remember all the trouble that Arthur Shelby had caused before he has skipped down, the man was not worth the air that he used and Robert feared that Rosemary would be left with nothing like Anne had been. It had been further upsetting when she had not even come to him to say goodbye as he left; he had seen her at the station with Thomas and his family saying goodbye.

Robert could not understand what Rosemary saw in the Shelby boy, she could have found someone better; she deserved better than the rat hole that Thomas Shelby called a home. He had known the man's father and Arthur Shelby Sr. had walked out on his family years ago and had been a hustler, a thief, and a whore-monger; something that Robert could only see the man's sons turning out to be like.

The two men had clashed quite often before Arthur had disappeared, they'd even had a punch up when leaving the pub once or twice. A frown formed on his face, Robert shook his head and moved to turn away from the Shelby brothers and he wondered when Rosemary would come to her senses. Rosemary was going to have her eyes opened if Thomas returned home to her and her child; she was going to get her heartbroken, that Robert was sure of.

Heading out of the bunker, Robert did not look back, he knew that Victoria would have to be told before news spread around their home, they had enough to deal with since she had gotten married. Victoria had even pleaded with him to let it go, she didn't want their family torn in two over this and Robert couldn't shake the feeling that his wife had been apart of all of this without him knowing.

That she had known what Rosemary had been planning to do and had not stopped her. Robert knew that his wife would deny any knowledge if he asked her, it was not worth fighting with her over when he had no idea when he would be coming home to her and their children.

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