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 Eighteen: Welcome Home.
4 years.
48 months.
208 weeks.
1461 days.
35064 hours.
The war had taken four years of his life and Thomas Shelby was not even sure that he was relieved to be home; he had dreamt of this moment for so long at the beginning but now he felt so unsure. Around him on the train platform, people cheered for those who were returning home and the mood was joyful that this day had come after so long.
There had been so much loss that there had been fears that they would never return home, that the war would last forever and that none of those that had left to fight would come back. His eyes scanned the gathering of people trying to find anyone that he recognised, he nodded to the men that he had fought alongside as he passed them pleased to see that they had been reunited with their families that had missed them dearly. Thomas came to a stop as his eyes came upon the sight of his aunt, he stared at her unable to believe that she was standing just a few feet from him; he tightened his grip on his bag before he walked towards her.
Tears filled Polly's eyes as she stared at him, she moved through the crowd towards him and threw her arms around him; she held him close as she tried to hold back her tears. John and Arthur had arrived back days ago, and Polly could not believe that all her boys were coming home safely; there had been so many boys from their street that would not be coming home to their families and their bodies remained buried in France unable to ever come home.
Closing his eyes, Thomas allowed himself a moment of weakness, the war had changed so much for him; he had missed so much, and he would never gain that time back that had been lost. When he opened his eyes, he felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw who was standing behind Polly; he was in awe of what he was seeing and he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
"Tommy," Rosemary whispered softly, a small smile on her lips as she stared at her husband; she almost could not believe that he was finally standing before her after all these years. She had kept all the letters that he had sent her while he had been away, it had given her comfort to reread them when there had been no news to speak of.
Polly smiled slowly releasing Thomas, she turned to look at Rosemary knowing that this was a moment that they had only ever imagined; she did not have to guess why Thomas had gone so still in her arms. His eyes were firmly locked on the little girl that was tucked slightly behind Rosemary's legs, her little head poking out to peek up at the strange man that her mother had talked about non-stop that morning.
"Say hello to daddy," Rosemary cooed softly to the little girl, crouching down slightly so that she could tuck a strain of blonde hair behind the girl's ear as she smiled at her encouragingly. Slowly approaching her husband, who stood frozen as he stared at them; Rosemary could only imagine what was going on in his mind right now after all these years only able to communicate with them through letters.
The little girl peered up at Thomas, her blue eyes just as piercing as his own and with that one look Thomas knew that he was completely wrapped around her little finger. She was everything that he had imagined and more, he had never thought that he would come home to this and he dropped his bag when his family were in touching distance.
Opening and closing his mouth, Thomas couldn't find the words that he had been longing to say as he looked at his daughter; his eyes drinking in every inch of her being. Peeking up at the man that her mother had called her father, the little girl tilted her head and reached out to poke his nose when he crouched down to greet her; a small smile filling her face as she did so. A smile filled Thomas' face and he couldn't stop himself as he reached out and picked up his daughter for the first time.
"Hello Kathleen," Thomas whispered holding her close, she was perfect, and he could not believe that she was his; she was a little angel and he would do anything for her. It had been far too long in his opinion, far too long for him to be away from home and there was much to be done now that he was.
Rosemary stood back and smiled at the scene before her, she ignored the nagging feeling that settled in her stomach; she could worry about that later, right now she was simply happy that Thomas was home and safe.
Stepping into their home, Thomas was surprised how little had changed since he had left to go away to war; the house looked exactly how he had left it all those years ago, he wasn't sure what he had expected to find when he came home. Of course, there were the small additions that had come from having Rosemary and Kathleen fill the house while he was away; toys in the living room and clothes drying on the maiden in the kitchen.
Rosemary followed him into their home, she had done her best to keep things just as he had left them; she had done her best to maintain their home and make sure it was suitable for Kathleen at the same time. Their daughter was everything that she could have dreamed of, she was thrilled that Thomas finally got to meet her, and she would do anything to make sure that he was comfortable here.
Of course, Polly had wrangled a promise that they would have dinner with her and the rest of the family; she wanted everyone together as soon as possible for a meal that had been four years in the making.
"I should settle her down for her nap," Rosemary murmured shifting Kathleen on her hip, it had been an overly exciting morning and she was starting to fall asleep. She headed upstairs leaving Thomas to linger, he watched her go and sighed to himself before moving into the living room; for the first time in his life, he felt like an interloper when standing in his own house.
His eyes taking in every part of the place that he called home, it did not feel the same anymore and he was surprised just how much had remained the same while he was gone. A frown starting to form on his face as he thought about how much had changed while he had been away, there was so much to be done and so much he had missed out on.
Taking in the living room, Thomas frowned to himself; he wanted better for Rosemary and Kathleen, they deserved better than the shit-hole that they called home. He had spent four years of his life fighting for King George V and the country that he called home to come home to find his family barely making ends meet; it angered him that they had been forced to deal with this. He had made a promise, a promise that he would take care of Rosemary and Kathleen and he intended to keep it; he was going to make sure that they were given the best and he would change their fortunes.
The sound of Rosemary coming back down the stairs snapped Thomas from his thoughts, he moved to the door way and watched her; she was even more beautiful than he remembered even in his dreams. His memory certainly did not her justice and he was determined to prove that he was more than worthy of her; he moved towards her knowing that nothing would take him away from her or Kathleen again.
"I have missed you," Rosemary whispered, she felt tears build in her eyes and she had worried that he would not come back to her. There had been times that she was convinced that she would get a knock at the door and it would be someone arriving to tell her that Thomas had been killed. Even after that close call in the tunnels where Freddie had saved his life, Rosemary knew that at any given moment that Thomas could die and she would have to wait weeks to find out that he had gone.
Stepping forward, Thomas wrapped his arms around Rosemary and held her close; it had been a long war and so many good men had died. He had mourned the loss of many a friend, people that didn't deserve to die in a muddy trench while the war continued to wage on.
"I worried that I would lose you as well," Rosemary mumbled into his shirt, her fingers clutching at it as the first few tears escaped; she clutched at him knowing that she could have lost him as well as her father. The last couple of years had been difficult and Rosemary was thankful that she had not faced it alone; she buried her face into his neck simply happy to hold him.
The death of her father had left it's mark, her mother had done her best to keep the house afloat even taking on a second job to pay the bills and keep food on the table for them all. Thomas did not reply, he did not want to tell her how close he had come to losing his life in the past four years; he was here now and he was going to give her the best life that he could.
Robert was gone and had left his family behind, Thomas had no plans of doing the same anytime soon and he hoped that he would be able to keep his promise. There was no way that he was going to allow his wife and children to live a life like he had done growing up.
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