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 Fourteen: The Newest Shelby.
Hurrying down the street, Polly moved as quickly as she could in the rain; her coat pulled close around her as she went and she ignored anyone who attempted to get in her way knowing that she could not be late. The news had come as a bit of a surprise and she certainly had not been expecting it this late in the evening; she had just been climbing into bed when Yvette had had come on her door.
The poor girl had been out of breath, soaked to the bone from the rain that had been falling all day and looked more like a drowned rat than anything else. There was no way that she could miss it and she could only imagine what Rosemary was going through right now; it was her first after all and they were never easy. The only regret remained that Thomas still was not back from war and Polly could only imagine how he would feel when he had to read about the birth of his first child via a letter.
Finally reaching the street where Rosemary lived, Polly was more than relieved to find the door open a little so she did not have to knock; she hurried her way along and started to remove her coat before she was even inside the doorway. Quickly hanging it up, Polly headed up the stairs towards the bedroom where the midwife was attending to Rosemary while Victoria held her hand tightly; her encouraging words doing little to help her eldest daughter. The two women shared a look over the top of Rosemary's head as Polly moved to the side of the bed that was free and took Rosemary's hand; they both knew that whatever happened that they had to be supportive of Rosemary.
"Nice deep breathes now Rosemary," Polly instructed calmly as she squeezed her hand in comfort, such things brought back memories of her own experience in childbed. Polly wiped the hair stuck to Rosemary's forehead out of the way, there was no way in the world that she would have missed this moment; the birth of any child was always a special occasion.
There was no telling how long the labour could go on for, the baby could arrive anytime between now and tomorrow; she just hoped that there would not be any complications for either mother or child. The last thing that Polly wanted to do was write to Thomas and tell him that he had lost either his wife or his newborn child; it would break his heart that, she was sure.
Rosemary nodded her head, she had not thought that this day would come so quickly and she hated that she would not get to share it with Thomas; she had prayed nightly that he would be home for this moment. However, it seemed that her prayers had gone unanswered and she would have to face this without her husband; she wondered if he would even get to meet their child when they were born.
It was not long before the midwife told them it was time for Rosemary to start pushing; her hold on Polly and Victoria's hands never wavering as she laboured to push her baby into the world. Gritting her teeth, Rosemary did as she was instructed as she pushed; she could not wait to hold them in her arms and she hoped that they looked like Thomas.
It was not long before the cries filled the air and Rosemary collapsed back onto her bed; her mother praising her and wiping the sweat from her face with the damp flannel that she had. Polly couldn't help but stare in awe, she couldn't quite believe it and she could only whisper encouragements as she watched the midwife cut the cord.
"It's a healthy baby girl Mrs Shelby," the midwife announced moving to wrap the baby in a blanket before passing her over to her mother; a smile on her face as Rosemary eagerly took her in her arms. Polly stared down at the newest member of the Shelby family and grinned, this little one was going to have her father wrapped around her little finger when he finally meet her. There was no doubt about it, Polly was sure this little one would be as beautiful as her mother when she was older; she could only imagine what Thomas would be like with any suitor came a calling.
"What are you going to call her?" Victoria asked peeking down at her beautiful little granddaughter, she was adorable and she wished that Thomas were here to experience this. Rosemary swallowed, she had never thought that she would be in this position and naming her daughter alone.
Staring down at the letter that had just been handed to him, Thomas could not bring himself to open it in fear of what it might say; he knew what this letter was and he wanted nothing more than to avoid it a little longer. The fact that the war had dragged on for so long had all but guaranteed that he made missed the birth of his child; he had wanted nothing more than to be there when it happened.
Turning the letter over in his hands, Thomas took a deep breath before he opened it; he found himself holding his breath as he stared down at the letter that had been sent by his aunt. Polly's writing made him almost a little disappointed that it was not from Rosemary, he guessed she had been tired after the birth and Polly hadn't wanted to delay in sharing the news with him.
His eyes slowly took in the writing from his aunt and his heart fluttered at the news that he was the father of a little girl; it was unexpected but not unwelcome news. A small part of him had hoped that it would be a boy, he knew what to do with boys and he had helped raised Finn once their father had walked out; he was not sure what to do with a little girl. He had always found Ada rather annoying when they were growing up and he was worried just how he would handle a daughter especially if she were anything like her mother; he was going to have his hands full driving off suitors.
"What news from home?" Arthur asked gruffly seeing his brother reading a letter that he was sure had Polly's handwriting, he sat down close to him in their trench and he hoped that there was some good news from there. He hated that they were still here when the war was meant to be over by now; he had never thought that they would make it home from this hellhole.
"I have a daughter," Thomas whispered almost in awe of the fact the more that he thought about it; he wished that he could see her and he wanted nothing more than to be at home with his wife and baby. He had picked it so much in his mind when he had slept in the tunnels but he could almost see it now, a small bundle nestled in his arms as he sat back on the bed next to Rosemary, who smiled tiredly at him.
Arthur paused at the news, a smile forming on his face at the news that he had a niece and he could not believe that the news had come so quickly. It seemed not to long ago that Rosemary had written to Thomas to inform him that she was carrying their child, the celebration had perked up many at the camp at the time and now the news was her that Rosemary had given birth.
"Congratulations," Freddie said taking a seat nearby, he had heard what Thomas had said and he was rather surprised; he had never thought that he would see the day that Thomas Shelby would settle down. He could only imagine what Thomas would be like with a daughter, any man that was stupid enough to catch her eye had better run for the hills. The massive smile on Thomas' face said it all, he was happy and despite the situation that they were it was a good reason to celebrate.
Sitting just a little away from where Thomas was seated, Robert could not help but overhear what had been said; his stomach churned at the news that he had a granddaughter. He wondered who she looked like, he was sure she looked just as beautiful as her mother had when she was born; Rosemary had been a little angel and he wished she could have stayed that small forever.
However, now she was all grown up and had a family of her own; it made Robert wish that he had handled the situation better when she had told him that she had wed behind his back. He had always hoped that he would walk her down the aisle and it had broken his heart that she had chosen to elope instead. He looked down at the letter that he was penning to his wife, he frowned not sure what to say to her especially when she had not written to him with such news.
"What's her name?" Arthur asked wanting to know what his adorable niece was called, he was sure that she had a beautiful name and he knew that she would be the envy of everyone if she looked like her mother. There was no telling when they would get to meet her and they would have to get to know her through the letters that they would receive from home.
"Kathleen Victoria Shelby," Thomas replied smiling, he loved the name that his wife had chosen and he was sure it suited her perfectly.
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