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 Twenty-One: The Spanish Influenza.
"I have done all I can. It's in God's hands now," the doctor said stepping out of the bedroom, he looked at the people gathered in the hallway knowing that what he had to tell them wasn't going to be easy. This was the twentieth case that he had dealt with in the past week, the disease was spreading quickly and did not seem to be slowing down as it made its way through the country. There seemed to be no one that was being left unaffected, it was doing the rounds and nothing seemed to be able to stop it.
"It's the Spanish Influenza then?" Polly guessed with a frown, this was not what she had been expecting; she had hoped that her family would be at least spared from this. When she had received the call that Rosemary had collapsed while at home, she had feared that perhaps something had happened between Thomas and his wife. The news that it was illness that threatened Rosemary did not bring Polly anymore relief than her fears; she knew that the Spanish Influenza was something that truly worried her especially if it was affecting her family.
"It is," the doctor confirmed, he wished that there were more that he could do but he had done what he could and he hoped that Rosemary would recover. Victoria rested her hand on Thomas's shoulder, she did not know what to say to him and she could not imagine what was going on inside of his head right now. She was sure that Rosemary could recover from this, she could not imagine what would happen if she did not; she did not think that Thomas would cope if he lost her. Of course, their marriage had been strained since his return from war but what marriage had not been changed; he had seen unimaginable horrors and done things of which he had never dreamed.
Thomas did not say a word as he pushed past the doctor and into the room where Rosemary was; he shut the door behind them not wanting to be disturbed. His eyes glued on Rosemary's unmoving form that now lay in their bed, the sheets covered her and she looked so pale; if it were not for the moving of her chest then Thomas would have thought that she was already dead.
Slowly he made his way across the room, he took up the seat by her side and carefully took one of her hands; pressing a kiss to it, he held it cautiously in his own as he bowed his head. Thomas could not quite remember the last time that he had truly prayed for anything, he did not think he honestly believed in a God that could allow such horrors to happen in a world.
But for Rosemary, Thomas was sure that he would just about do anything for her; he could not imagine carrying on without her or raising their daughter alone. It had been the thought of her that had pushed him to make it home, it had been his letters that had sustained him and made him hope that when all this was over that everything would be okay when he came home.
"I know we've had our differences, my actions often putting us at odds," Thomas began, his eyes closed as he spoke and he was thankful that there was no one around to see him now. The room was so quiet and still, it felt strange and he could not quite place the feeling that it invoked in him; it left him uneasy and he knew that he had to make this right.
"You ignored all the prayers that I said to you about coming home, about saving all those men," Thomas murmured shaking his head, he gritted his teeth as he thought about all those men that should have made it home to their families but didn't. He didn't know why he was the one that made it back, there were certainly more deserving people than himself that should have made it home.
"But I am begging you now, don't take her from me… she's the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't know what I will do if you take her from me," Thomas continued, everything he did was to make sure that Rosemary and Kathleen had everything that they deserved. Rosemary was the best thing that had ever come into his life, he did not even want to consider the path that he would take should she not make it and he was left alone in this world.
"Please love… don't leave me in this cruel world alone," Thomas pleaded, he held on tightly to her hand knowing that he would trade anything in the world for her to be well again.
The sound of someone shouting pulled Thomas from his thoughts, his eyes trained on the letter that he had been reading; he set it down and got to his feet wondering what all the commotion was all about. It had been several days since Rosemary had fallen unwell, she had never awakened or worsened in that time; she remained silent and still, a fact that Thomas still found it hard to deal with it. He sat by her side when he could and he prayed each night that she would return to him; the doctor feared that if she would not wake soon then she would not wake at all, that she would simple slip away.
"Tommy!" called a voice making him hurry a little more, he was not sure what had made someone call for him like that; however, he knew that there was only one possible source. He took the stairs two at a time as he hurried towards the bedroom where Polly was waiting for him; she had tears in her eyes and his heart pounded in his chest. Fear gripped him that Rosemary had passed while he had been in the kitchen taking care of some business.
"What is it?" Thomas asked fearing the answer, his aunt was a strong woman and he could only imagine what had occurred to make her cry this way; he didn't think that he had ever seen her cry other than when her children were taken from her because of a nosey neighbour who couldn't mind her own business. He searched her face for a moment as Polly struggled to find the words to express what had happened; however, Thomas quickly moved past her, his nerves getting the better of him about what had happened.
Stepping into the room, Thomas came to a complete stop at the sight of Rosemary sitting up in bed; the cushions had been moved so she could do so comfortably. He stared stunned for a moment before he hurried across the room, wrapping his arms around her not able to believe that she was finally awake; that for some reason God had answered his prayers and allowed her to live.
"Tommy?" Rosemary croaked, she felt terrible and was rather confused about what had happened; the last thing that she remembered was getting ready for bed and it had been late. Now she was in bed, in the middle of the day and the reaction that Polly had given when she had woken told her that she was missing something; the woman had hugged her really hard before calling for Thomas.
Seeing her husband, the look on his face told Rosemary that things were more serious than she realised; he looked so tired and there were tears in his eyes as he stared at her in awe. Thomas held her in his arms, he couldn't believe that she was really awake and he prayed that this was a sign that she was going to be okay.
"I thought I'd lost you," Thomas whispered pulling back only to kiss Rosemary, he had feared the worse and he was so thankful that he had not lost her like he had thought he would. There was no way that he would have been able to handle raising Kathleen, he could not imagine raising a daughter and the idea alone was scary enough for him let alone the fact that it had been close to happening.
Their daughter was currently staying with Rosemary's mother so that she could not be infected with the illness that had very nearly claimed the life of her mother. Victoria visited nearly every day, she wanted to make sure that her daughter was okay; she could not believe that this had happened to her family after they had already lost Robert. Surely, they had suffered enough with the need to bury one of her daughters, she loved them all so dearly that she prayed that she would never bury any of her children.
"I love you," Thomas whispered, his focus returning to Rosemary and away from the dark thoughts that threatened to consume him; the sickness continued to spread around them and so many had already lost their lives to it. He rested his head against Rosemary's, he had to get them away from the crowded streets that were overrun with diseases and he knew that there had to be a way to get his family out of Small Heath.
The very idea that it had already reached into his home and tried to take his wife, it scared Thomas to death and he swore that he would never have forgiven himself if she had died. Rosemary stared at her husband, she could almost see the wheels turning in his head and she feared that this was not going to help his behaviour only make it worse.
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