Darby Sabini is the last thing on Daisy's mind three weeks after Epsom, and yet when he sees her across the road whilst she is coming back from a lunch with Alfie he acts as though he should be at the forefront.

He doesn't smile as he greets her and nor does she, albeit for different reasons. He is aloof, as a rule, and powerful and she is the most vulnerable she's been in… well, since she thought Tommy had died. She isn't Fleur anymore and Daisy, the real Daisy - the orphan, the widowed woman, the makeshift-mother of prostitutes all across London - doesn't have any interest in talking to the man ever again. She was doing it purely for Tommy's benefit, for the Peaky Blinders' benefit, but Darby doesn't know this. The last time he saw her, she was grinding herself all over him like a… like a whore.

"Mr Sabini," she exclaims with no attempts to hide her exasperation. She isn't Fleur anymore.

"Fleur," he says, pulling her to him sharply and pressing his cool, hard lips against her cheek. "I'd heard you'd left London." She isn't Fleur anymore.

How rumours fly, she thinks. It is for the best, though, that this is the rumour going around. Fleur has left London, left Daisy. She exists only as a reminder to Daisy of what prostitutes go through and what, and why, they need to feel comforted. She exists to fuel Daisy's ambition to help any woman who wants somewhere to sleep, someone to talk their problems through with - a safe place from any desperate man clinging to the hope that these women need his affections more than any other. Desperate men can be dangerous. But as Daisy had learnt, desperate women can be too.

"I'm still here," Daisy points out the obvious. She needs to leave this situation and quickly - she wants absolutely nothing to do with Sabini, not since Tommy and Arthur ended up taking all of his money at the races last week. Of course, Sabini is a rich man in his own right - nothing could make him poor. But the races were a blow and if Darby were to find out that Daisy was involved with the Peaky Blinders…

It would not bode well. And Daisy has had enough trauma in her month for anymore to ensue.

"You ran off quickly the last time we saw each other."

Yes, she remembers. Painfully.

"I heard you were at the races last week," he says, his tone stating it rather than questioning. He knows she was there and he wants her to know this.

She smiles swiftly. "Work. You know."

He smiles back. "Plenty of rich men to choose from." His accent seems harsh in comparison to Tommy's lilting one, the one that reminds her of home.

Her smile tightens imperceptibly. "Yes."

He stares at her with too much intensity; her discomfort only grows when he takes a slow and casual step forward. "I heard you were involved in a commotion with the Shelby's."

"I was nearby."

Her heart starts to beat faster in her chest. She can play this game of deadly flirtation forever, but this feels…off. He is looking at her as though he is surprised and somewhat of even more interest than before. She doesn't like it one bit.

"So you admit you know them?"

She shrugs, trying to remain calm even though everything in her is telling her to run. She notices that the men he is with start moving around her, and she struggles to maintain this facade.

"I—"

"Daisy!" A female voice calls out, excitedly. The voice sounds familiar, but for some reason, Daisy knows that when she turns around it will not be one of her girls running after her.

The woman with short dark hair and a pretty face smiles gleamingly at her. She is dressed well, even for the decent areas of London. Daisy's heart beats impossibly faster as she recognises this woman, this mirage from another life entirely.

"Ada?"

Ada Shelby giggles in a move that, once upon a time, would've been out of character. "Of course, silly! I was waitin' for you at the house but I heard you'd been kept busy with Alfie so I thought I'd meet you here instead!" She walks right up to the shaking girl she'd once called her best friend and starts primping her - fluffing her hair, touching her jacket. "You owe me a slice of cake, you promised me!"

Both women are painfully aware of what Ada is doing - diffusing this situation that Daisy has found herself in. Daisy isn't entirely sure what is going on, but has decided that between Darby Sabini and Ada Shelby, she'd much rather be with the girl she grew up with.

So Daisy smiles, and grabs Ada's hands in her own. "I'm sorry I'm late, you know how much Alfie likes to talk!"

Ada groans playfully, as though they have been friends all their lives, but Daisy can see in her eyes that she is hurt. She is angry. She is not the same girl Daisy left behind, just like Daisy is not the girl Ada remembers. They are both stronger, hardier, more heartbroken and world-wearied. "Oh god, do I!" With this, Ada starts pulling her away down the street and Darby's men glance at their boss uncertainly.

As Daisy looks over her shoulder to see his reaction, Ada simply pulls her along steadily. Darby looks irritated, but he lets the girls go with a nod. Daisy's heart starts to beat at a less painful level, and her stomach relaxes slightly.

As soon as the women round the corner of the street, out of Sabini's view, Ada releases Daisy as though she scolds her. Her words immediately dry up mid-sentence, and her expression sours to a level Tommy would be proud of.

They both keep walking for fear of Darby following them, but they drift apart slightly, the wind flowing between them creating the semblance of a barrier.

"What are you doing here Ada?" For some reason, she is not alarmed when this Shelby graces her city. When Arthur showed up, her stomach had plummeted and a feeling of dread had swooped in and stolen her breath. This time, she knows Ada is not here with bad news. So this begs the question: what is she doing here?

Ada takes three deep, long breaths and then grabs Daisy's arm to pull her to a stop. "You need to come back to Birmingham. Back to him. He's a fuckin' mess and we all know it's because of you. So pack your bags and come with me back to him. You owe him that."

Daisy rips her arm from Ada's hand. "I owe Tommy nothing. Not anymore." She almost paid off any imaginary debt she was thought to owe the Shelby's with her life. She and Tommy are on equal ground for possibly the first time in their lives.

"I know now that you didn't leave us, Dais. It—it was Aunt Pol who said somethin' to make you go, we know. She told us. She lied to you, she lied to us… She never liked you, Dais, and we all knew it but we never thought she'd actually…" She trails off. "He's not talkin' to any of us now. He'll turn up for our meetings but… but he's not alright." She looks up into Daisy's eyes, facing the woman head on. "He's not been alright for years now."

Tears spring to Daisy's eyes as she thinks, I've not been alright either. Not since 1914. Not since your Aunt ruined my life with a lie. But she thinks she'd rather be lied to a million times than have Tommy dead in a field in France.

Ada sees her eyes glass over and her expression softens. "You've loved him forever, Dais. Why can't you go to him? Hm? Is it us? Has Aunt Pol's meddlin' ruined Small Health for you?" She swallows shakily as she wraps her arms around herself. "I know we're not friends anymore but I'd still look out for you. We all would - Arthur, John… I know I don't have the right to ask you anything but I love my brother almost as much as you do. So please… come back to him. Please. Fix him." Ada's eyes, so much like her brothers', search her face with a sympathetic edge, and she quietly continues, "And let him fix you."

When Tommy arrives in London the following week, Daisy's home for the strongest women in the city is the first place he goes. Before he knocks on the red door, he straightens his suit, takes a deep breath and tries to think of what he'll say.

There's nothing he can say to undo the meddling of his own flesh and blood. The woman who raised him ruined his life, ruined Daisy's life and he can't forgive Polly for that. He can barely forgive himself for believing her. Looking back, he knows he shouldn't have believed Daisy would leave him. Tommy didn't know much about the world, and especially nothing about love or relationships, but he knew that Daisy loved him as though he'd handed her the sun and the stars. And he knew he loved her even more than that.

He hates himself.

Everything bad that has happened to that girl has happened because of him. She'd been beaten as a child and as a teenager because he'd not been strong enough then to stop it. She'd been alone for years in the Great War because he'd left her with his fucking Aunt. She'd turned to prostitution to scrape by…because of his own self-doubt. She'd been hurt time and time again: their first reunion, Grace's pregnancy, Epsom…

He didn't deserve her. He doesn't deserve her. He knows it. He doesn't deserve such kindness and peace in his life, not after what he's done.

But he sure as fuck is going to fight for her anyway.

Daisy opens her door nervously, as though her body intuitively knows who is on the other side. Tommy's face looks as unsure as she's been feeling since Ada left with a final plea to come back to Birmingham. Back to her home.

She wants to be with Tommy. She knows this like she knows her own name. She loves him and she wants to be with him if he wants the same… But she also knows that his business is in Birmingham. And her business is in London. She cannot leave these girls yet… They have all grown so much since coming through the same door she now opens, but they are not ready to run the place alone. They need her experience, need her patience and her guidance…and her money.

And yet, her heart still sings when she sees Tommy Shelby's face, his bright blue eyes, his strong jawline, his confident stature.

God, she loves him.

"Hello Daisy," he says quietly, unsure.

She breathes, "Tommy" like an adulation - not on purpose, but as though she can't control herself when he is near. He gives her a small smile as though he knows exactly what she is experiencing.

Their eyes roam over each other hurriedly, soaking in the other as though they are starved. She feels nine years old again, excited and nervous and…strong.

And just like that, she knows exactly whats she is going to do.

I really am sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoyed this installation regardless. This chapter was planned to be the last with an epilogue to follow, but I want one more chapter out of this story - I have loved writing it (and hopefully you've all enjoyed reading it!).

Thank you again for sticking by this story, despite my terrible consistency in updating.

See you next chapter for one last time :'( xo