A/N: Hello! This is now cross-published on Archive of Our Own, same name. Please read and also review!

~X~

Autumn

1918 Birmingham

Dorned in the colour of grief, the colour of despair and hurt. Anne wore black that sunny autumn day and she hated everything that had anything to do about the very formal occasion at hand. The weather was too perfect, the dress was too nice. She chastised herself for even spending money to look somewhat put together. But Polly had insisted that she needed to get her shit together, so there she stood. Rather nice looking.

The flowers the kids had stolen from a field outside of town the day before looked way too serene arranged around the grave in which her dear friend now laid. Martha wasn't supposed to die, not this early into her life. She was a decent human being, robbed from life. Anne cried, she hated crying. But at that moment she was crying like a little bitch. She wasn't doing it prettily, or in a gentle manner to show sympathy, she didn't have her shit together at all. She had snot running down her nose, her cheeks flushed a disgusting red, her chest heaving as it forced air into her to keep going.

"Fuck this," the broken woman muttered, her hands had a vice grip around the bible that Polly had given her for the service. She would burn it when she got home, because no god of hers robbed a young woman of a good life this way. No god of hers took a mother away from her children. No god of hers would rip a young woman away from her far away husband, who hadn't been able to say goodbye.

"I want mummy back" Darcy cried as she pulled on Anne's heavy skirt. Katie stood beside Polly and was crying so hard that snot came running out her nose. Anne supposed she had unfortunately made an example of how to act at a funeral. Polly would scold her later, the woman was sure.

James and Tim, recently turned 4, didn't understand what the fuck was going on. Finn was silent, and wore a sombre face. Ada had her arm around her younger brothers shoulders, and was furiously dabbing a handkerchief at the pretty tears running down her face.

"Darcy stop pulling my dress" Anne sighed and ripped the young girl's hand away before taking in a vice grip. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and just felt the chilly air dry her tears. Anne had never met John before, but she would be more damned than what she already was if Martha's children didn't receive the love they so very desperately deserved. She would take care of Martha's legacy, until all of the Shelby children were old and happy.

~X~

Winter

1918 Birmingham

It was utter madness that Sunday at the platform of the Birmingham train station, hoards of families being reunited as soon as the train doors opened. Train after train of returning soldiers, Anne stood there next to Polly and Ada, Finn and the kids were with them as well. She held them closely as they waited for their father to return. The twins had been utterly restless that entire week, even though most of them didn't even remember how their father looked. She had made sure the house was warm and clean, that evening they would have a roast dinner she had slaved over for hours.

"They are here!" Ada shouted, and waved with both of her arms high in the air to signal the men over. Most unruly, it was a true statement to the young woman's age and the blatant disregard to decorum or awareness that she might hurt someone with that wild flailing. Polly sighed happily, relief evident as her whole body relaxed.

"Tommy! Arthur!" Ada shouted, "John!"

The men were grim. Their flesh clinged onto their skeletons, they were bleak and scrawny. But at least the visibly oldest broke away fast to hug his little sister.

"I missed you" the man muttered into her hair. His grip was fierce, Ada's the same. They all took their rounds to hug, to cry, to rejoice. Anne felt left out, but it was unjustified really. She hadn't lost anyone to the war. Nor did she belong to the family.

"Hello Finn, remember us?" The man, Arthur, asked and pet the head of his brother. The boy nodded, shy because of age.

"Who is this?" The man, whose blue eyes screamed death and exhaustion, asked. He was assessing her, looking her up and down with much scepticism.

"I'm Lily Anne Wright, I work with Polly" She answered, her voice was drowned out by the crowds around them. But the man heard. The youngest, whom Anne deducted to be John, looked around confused. And Anne felt nauseous.

With his twins in either of his arms, he asked. "Where's Martha? She didn't come with you?"

No. Oh dear lord no. The man didn't know. He didn't know his wife was dead.

"You didn't get the letter?" Polly asked, calm and collected. But shocked all the same.

"What letter?" John asked.

"Mommy is gone, she's in heaven Anne said" Tim told his father, and John almost dropped the boy on the ground. But he managed to set them down before looking at Polly. His eyes frantic, his body tense.

The young man shook his head something fiercely, his heart breaking before the whole family to see."No… no no no '' John muttered, "She-" He was exploding with emotions, and his older brothers were quick to get a strong grip around him.

"Yes" Polly stated, her strong eyes cast downward. To be utterly, horribly honest, Polly Grey had never really had any sort of love for Martha. In her honest opinion, as she swore to god for it, John only married the blonde because she got pregnant with Katie. Not out of some true love bullshit. And Polly knew Martha knew that, but the silly woman fancied herself in love with the ungrateful fuck anyways. She gave him everything, down to her last breath. For a life and a home for a man who had fucked others and gambled and lied and put more children inside of her to make her stay. Polly had seen the woman on her deathbed smiling out of love for life and her family and her gypsy heart had cursed her for being so perfect.

John was defeated and a sound of a horrid scream echoed throughout the platform. He screamed for his love, out of rage and sorrow. He screamed for the times he had been unfaithful, all of the moments with Martha that he had chosen not to take only to steal and lie instead, He screamed for his damned soul to end him where he stood and to drag him down to hell to repent.

"John!" Arthur shouted, holding his brother strong as the man shook with shame and tears and self hatred. "Stop it! keep it together"

Anne looked on with sorrow and relief, the love Martha never doubted, and on which she swore upon many times had survived the war. "I'm terribly sorry" She said and looked down upon his children, all of whom stood by her for comfort and known safety.

"Why?" John asked, broken.

"Noone knows, not even the doctors knew what was wrong with her" Ada cut in before Anne could even open her mouth. "She just withered away"

"Who's been taking care of the kids?" Arthur asked, holding his brother tight.

Polly had during all of this been able to light up a cigarette, motioning with her hand towards the obvious anwser. "Anne have, done a great job too"

"Really?" John seemed sceptical, but then again couldn't deny the very familiarity that the woman had with his children. It was so familiar that many others on the platform that didn't know the women had simply thought that Anne had four children of her own.

"I loved Martha," Anne said, holding Katies hand still. Darcy had hugged her father and then walked back to hide behind her skirts as usual, while the young twins had been the first to run with their scrawny legs to greet John."She didn't deserve-"

The train whistled something loud and ear piercing, it was time to leave and for the next group of people to gather and wait for their loved ones.

"We have dinner ready at home, let's go" Polly stated, as they were pushed away from the platform anyways. It was a quick affair to get going, rainy, grey Birmingham met them with its usual cold embrace.

~X~

Tommy and Anne were in the betting shop, it was clean and cosy as usual. No dirt or cheap things in sight. It was Anne's idea, to give the customers the sense of trust and reliability.

"This is nicer than how we left it" Tommy huffed, a glass of gin in his hand. He was inspecting it, and her.

Anne, gin in hand as well, rolled her eyes. "Me and Polly worked hard on it"

"Modest" Tommy observed, his voice dry and bored.

"Always" Anne answered in kind.

Tommy placed his glass down on the table."We ought to have a meeting tomorrow, about business"

Anne raised an eyebrow and sipped on her drink."What business?"

"My family's business" Tommy said, explaining it like she was a toddler. "You will be compensated for the work you have done for us"

Anne also sat her glass down, her face serious and tone deadly."That is not necessary, I work for a set fee, with some extra for Martha's children" The woman reached for the gun hidden in the inseam in the back of her skirt.

"Perfect, you would like to continue being their nanny then?" Tommy was arrogant, but he was also drunk and didn't know this woman. He had no idea.

She walked around the great wooden table, right up to the man freshly homebound from a world war."Nanny?" She hissed and grinned in wonder,"did you just call me a fucking nanny?"

She laughed, and she felt the humour all the way down in her stomach."Oh you are a joke Mr. Shelby, a joker truly if you think for a second that I would just hand over everything to you and your brothers and go on my merry away"

Tommy stood firm, in both views and body. "It is our business, not yours"

With the pistol now aimed straight to his jugular, Anne huffed. "You see, it is my business, Mr Shelby, and you see I have well come to terms with the fact that the world seems to have ended and been born anew" she released the safety of the gun,

"How, you may ask? Hmm? How? Well it all started with pestilence, and I worked my hands and mind and soul to the bone around the hospital. All the nurses had gone off to war and I got laid off from the factory as I started to get more involved with the business, but business is booming when you target those who have nothing left to live for. So I saved as many as I could, both staff and the sick I did, and then the third horse came, a bit out of order and in a horrible manner. As famine wouldn't stop spreading. But I cured the famine and made sure those in need got their food, any food, and they all started to turn to the Peaky Blinders for food and hospice, which we gladly helped with for a small fee of course. They might not have a single penny left in their name but they had food and a warm bed to sleep in, and thanks to the likes of you, the war ended. I have now conquered war and so all of the torn and broken will be in need for some return to normalcy, and a drink at the local pub and a bet for a better life couldn't hurt now could it?" Anne hissed, her eyes fierce and focused. She was staring right into his ungodly soul.

"And now I only have you, the last horse, death. You have death in your eyes and red stained hands, so the question is, shall I kill death now and just move into this new era or shall I master death and ride alongside with him? Until death do us part in this new peaky world, I supposed?" Anne asked. She was serious, Tommy could tell. She wouldn't hesitate to blow his fucking brains out if he didn't agree to her terms. She-devil, witch. Thief, monster. She had the reins, the papers, the money and he hated her for it.

All he felt was hatred and lust. And so he kissed her.