"Esme and her two kids, Henry and David. They're all dead."

Johnny Dogs had been stuttering when he revealed the tragic accident. At least that was what it appeared to be. A carriage accident. The horses lived, but Esme and her two sons didn't. While Johnny Dogs was explaining, Tommy's mind was spinning. What was he missing here? Who had tampered with the carriage? Luca Changretta couldn't have been back already.

Turning his head slowly, he watched how Polly and Ada immediately came to John's side, trying to get him to calm down. He had been an emotional wreck after Emily Wright's rejection. And now this. Esme and his sons were gone. But he had no time to be gentle, no time to provide comfort to his brother. He needed to find out what happened, and he needed to act.

"Get a hold of Moss. Tell him to get every single police officer on our payroll to investigate the matter." he told Arthur, while the Lee boys watched with interest.

Maybe there was some hope here after all. Some hope to make things right with the Lees. Show them some care for the matter. Tommy knew what he wanted to do.

"I do not believe that this is the hand of Luca Changretta but the carriage has been tampered with." he explained to them. "Esme was part of my family for a long time now, despite what happened between her and John. And those two boys were my nephews. I will personally arrange the funeral and cover all expenses."

The Lees liked what they were hearing and nodded, but without saying a word.

"Thank you, Tommy. You are the greatest friend." Johnny Dogs shook his hand and smiled, while tears could be seen on the corner of his eyes.

"Of course." Tommy murmured and hugged the man, his eyes still on the Lee men behind him.

As soon as they made their way out of the house, Tommy heard Polly hissing his name. John was in the armchair, mumbling complete nonsense. If they were not careful, they would lose him. It was worse than at the time in the gallows. Two of his children and the woman with whom he had been sharing his life were dead.

Tommy cursed and rushed over to his side.

"John…brother, look at me." Tommy grabbed a hold of his face and met his gaze.

"S'my fault." John whispered but Tommy shook his head violently and tried to make him snap out of it.

"No. It's not, John."

"She left and I didn't stop her. And she took the kids. And they're gone."

"You will get through this and we will help you." Polly promised him and rubbed his arm.

It took a couple of minutes and even Arthur's help to get John to breathe normally again. The news came as a shock to all of them. But this was no time to fall apart. Not like last time. They would get through this as a family.

Looking into his brother's eyes, John finally asked, "What happened, Tommy? Those wops are not back…"

"I don't know. That's what I am trying to figure out. Changretta is not back. I would have known."

"He could have asked someone else. Sabini…" Polly suggested but Tommy shook his head, "No, he wouldn't dare. How could he risk it? We still have his mother upstairs. And we agreed. No children are involved in this vendetta. He gave me his word. These bunch of fuckers at least honor their agreements."

"And who doesn't?" Polly genuinely asked.

Sighing, Tommy stood up and eyed Tatiana across the room. She looked concerned. Genuinely concerned for someone other than herself, and he was pleased to see that. More and more, she was shaping up to be the woman he knew she had been deep down, before that God damn revolution started. And the warmth in his eyes confirmed how pleased he was.

"This is my city. Nothing happens here without my knowledge. And no one makes a move like this one without retribution. I wasn't fond of Esme. But she had been family. And for the sake of the children John lost, I will find out what happened." Tommy vowed, his eyes never leaving Tatiana's.

It signified reassurance for her, and for the rest of his family.

…

As promised, the Lees had been granted a proper funeral for Esme. Tommy had taken care to get only the best of flowers, the best of carriages to hold the casket, and of course, Jeremiah was present for prayer and the final words from her family.

In respect, the Shelby family all attended, wearing black. John himself said a few words and moved to touch the foreheads of both his lost children. They were too young.

"I can't believe this is happening." Polly whispered and rubbed her forehead.

Next to her, Tommy held his head up high and responded, "What's done has been done. Our family has been through enough. But from now on…"

"From now on what, Thomas? Are you going to guarantee our safety? Just look at all the trouble you have caused for the past year. You have ruined us all. I may never recover from the gallows, John has lost his wife and two children, you got Tatiana with a child she doesn't even want, Churchill may be turning against us as we speak and we may all die simply because we chose not to make peace with the Changrettas."

"As I said, Polly, I will do everything in my power to stop all our suffering, and I will succeed. Just leave it to me." Tommy ended the conversation and closed his eyes, listening to Jeremiah preaching. It helped sometimes. It soothed him to listen, even if his relationship with God was close to non-existent.

As soon as Jeremiah finished his prayers, he invited the family members to say their last goodbyes, before engulfing the bodies in flames. He watched the look on John's face, having to witness the family he once had wither before his eyes. He was back where he started, with a dead wife and four kids to look after on his own.

Jeremiah wasn't sure that now was the time to do this, but his faith convinced him that he had a soul to save, a soul who found itself at the Garrison, not so long ago, looking for employment. He knew it was possible that John cared a great deal about Emily, and if God was kind to him, he would be given another chance, with a good woman.

"John. May we speak?"

John faced him and nodded. His mood was the same as it has been since he found out his children were gone. Standing straight, with his hands behind his back and a rather bored expression, he asked, "What is it?"

Jeremiah was hesitant, before replying, "It's about Emily."

At the mention of her name, he saw John's eyes light up, as if some kind of hope had been presented to him. The look in his eyes were slowly shifting to desperation.

"You saw her? She came to the Garrison?"

"Yes. Eventually she did." The hesitation was still there, and John was beginning to notice.

"What did she say?" he insisted, and gave Jeremiah a look which convinced him not to fuck with the Shelby brother. This was not the time to put things lightly. John wanted to know exactly what the fuck was going on.

"She was complaining about a rash on her arm. I saw it. It has started to spread."

"She's hurt?" John asked, looking ready to dash back to her apartment in Small Heath.

"She's fine for now. The problem is…well…she asked me not to say anything, especially not to you. But a while back, right around the time Esme left you, she came to the Garrison with her kids. Emily was there. Esme started screaming and accusing her of stealing you away from her. Emily tried to explain that she didn't know you were married, but Esme wouldn't believe her. She put a curse on her."

"What?!" John exclaimed, and started attracting a lot of attention his way, right at the moment when Tommy was trying to talk the Lee boys back into business with him against Changretta.

But John didn't fuckin' care. Ultimately, it was all business for Tommy. John doubted he would change. He sold out his own family to the gallows when he had the first chance. What chance would Tatiana and that new child have with him? What about Charlie?

John moved to leave, when Arthur grabbed him by the coat, pulling him back, "Where're you going, eh?"

The younger brother pulled himself free without saying a word and walked off the field.

Tommy immediately made his way over to Jeremiah, to have the full story.

…

By the time the funeral was over, Arthur needed rest and a good drinking. Going to the Garrison was no option. Tommy didn't want them exposed. They hadn't been in a while, and Arthur was getting pissed. He got pissed just by having to defend John in front of Tommy by the time the whole family reached Polly's house.

"He loves her, Tom." Arthur threw his peaky on the armchair in the living room.

Polly, Ada and Michael had gone in the kitchen, while Linda was nowhere to be seen. The housemaid, Mary, who had been watching all the children, was ready to start lunch for the family.

"I know that." Tommy said softly and pulled out a cigarette. He made a point of not smoking in the same room as Tatiana, but when she was not present, all bets were off.

"You do." Arthur said, not as a question.

"But that is not the point."

"What is the point then, Tom? Hm? He can only ever marry someone you approve of?" Arthur didn't know what had gotten into him. He hadn't had the balls to question Tommy like that in a long time.

Tommy himself seemed surprised for a moment, but then schooled his features and stated more quietly so as to not make a scene in the whole house, even if John was not present, "Yes. And I do not trust that girl. Evidently, I don't have the time to ask around about her. John is my brother and so are you Arthur. Whether the whole lot of you want to believe it or not, family means everything to me, even if certain actions from my past may have made you doubt that."

"Or maybe you're just scared that John will go through the same thing you did? I don't think that girl's too bad, Tom. She's good, and Jeremiah agrees."

Tommy put out his cigarette, shaking his head and said, "Girls like her have something to hide." and without a word, headed up the stairs. Arthur knew, it was to check on Tatiana. He noticed that his brother was more and more interested in spending time with her lately, but didn't question it.

At that moment, Linda walked in and threw a paper at him. It landed right on the floor.

Arthur picked it up, shaking with anger when he saw the writing. "What the fuck is this, Linda?"

"Exactly what it looks like. I am done. I am leaving and I am taking Billy with me."

"The hell you are." Arthur growled and ripped up the paper, which only made Linda smirk.

"That wasn't the only copy. But perhaps when you're finally mature enough to handle it, you will take care to sign all I need so that I can finally go to the country and make a life for myself."

"What the fuck are ye doing?"

"I have always been a woman of the church, Arthur. I never believed in divorce…until of course, when I married you. The great Tommy Shelby's little lap dog. Doing everything he bids, when you are the eldest brother in the family. It should have always been you leading it. But what do you know, I married a huge disappointment. And you drag me down with you. You saw what happened here today. I am not going to end up like Esme. I am taking the boy and I am leaving you. Besides, I don't think that you'll notice my absence that much. What with you prancing around with that Baker woman…"

Arthur pointed a finger at her "Her name is Marie Kimber, and that there's a lady."

Let out a chuckle, Linda rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever."

"You're not taking my boy."

"The child always belongs to the mother. You can't raise him, Arthur. You're not even capable of taking care of yourself. In any case, there is a good chance you'll die in this stupid vendetta before you even have the chance to do anything about it." The blonde explained.

To this, Arthur had nothing more to say. Just what Linda was expecting, and so, she had one last thing to say to him before taking her leave.

"Good luck to you, Arthur."

…

Tommy knocked on the door to her room, as he was accustomed to for a while now. Tatiana welcomed him inside with a smile on her face. As expected, Charlie was there, playing with his toy horses. It warmed his heart to see them getting along so well. For a known selfish woman, Tatiana had taken a liking to the young boy and offered him her company ever since she came here.

"What?" Tatiana asked innocently, noticing that Tommy had been staring at her.

"Nothing." Clearing his throat, Tommy called out to his son to go off and play with Karl in the other room, so they could have some privacy. Like a good boy, Charlie obeyed without protest. There wasn't a rebellious streak in him. Aside from his physical features, the boy didn't seem to resemble neither him nor Grace in personality as of yet.

As soon as Tommy and Tatiana were given the privacy they desired, Tommy plopped down on her bed and let out a long sigh, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. Tatiana let him calm down for a while. It was clear that was what he came here for.

"How was the funeral?" she eventually asked him.

"As could be expected. The good news is that the Lees are now considering to support us in the vendetta."

"They still think that it was the Italian?"

"Yes. But I don't think so. This wasn't Luca Changretta's work."

"Then whose?"

"Someone who thinks to send a message. Not to John, but to me. Show me how easy it was for them to get to someone from my family. It is a statement."

There was a moment of silence which followed. Tommy kept his eyes closed, until he felt the bed dip. Tatiana was now sitting next to him, her hand touching his cheek. It was comforting. He couldn't remember how long it's been since he felt her touch.

"You have more enemies now." she whispered, stating the most absolute truth.

"Yes." Tommy agreed, knowing he was to blame for that, but Tatiana had other ideas.

"It is my fault."

"What?" Tommy immediately straightened and grabbed her hand.

"You heard what happened to my aunt and uncle. I am a target now. That old man at the party practically threatened me. And you feel you are forced to keep me here because I am carrying this child."

"I want this child." Tommy insisted, looking into her eyes.

"Yes, I know. But what about me?" Tatiana finally asked him, and Tommy furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"If I decide to have this baby, what will happen to me after?"

"I already told you that you are welcome to stay. I will not deprive you of this child. You will be under the protection of the Peaky Blinders." Tommy promised her, rubbing her hand with his thumb.

Tatiana watched how attentive he was being with her. It was very sweet, but she was still skeptical. Was this all for show, to get her to accept having the child?

With a small smile, she stood up and he released her hand, watching her closely.

Walking around the room as if she was deep in thought, she asked, "And if I accept, I will be staying here with your aunt Polly?"

"No. You will be staying with me and the child at my place." Tommy explained, matter-of-factly.

Tatiana offered him a small smile, clearly pleased with his answer. Her smile was matched by his in an instant.

"For a man nearing death by Italian bullet, you are very generous." She told him with a small laugh, which he found adorable.

Tommy realized that they were going back to those playful times. The ones when they teased each other with words, but he knew that if they kept this up, it would not end there. They would tease each other with their hands, and then their mouths. He couldn't deny how attracted he still was to her. It never stopped.

Her beauty was surreal. And now that she had grown accustomed to Birmingham fashion, simple dress, stockings and an occasional hat when leaving the house, she was looking more and more alluring.

Tatiana was a smart woman, one who knew how to charm, manipulate, use her beauty for her own gain, and she has always succeeded. But now, with all of these changes in her life, he realized that she herself was changing, all for the better. She had grown to be caring.

That playful smile was still on her face when she came back towards him and put her hands on his shoulders. Offering him the same kind of seductive smile and intense stare that he had been used to, she asked, "And what will we be doing there?"

"Whatever we want." He responded without any hesitation, not breaking eye contact.

"That sounds tempting."

But it didn't go any further than that.

Breaking eye contact, Tatiana took a seat on the bed next to him and was nearly hugging him from behind.

"I think you are upset. But not about what happened. It's something else."

Tommy felt her hands wrapping around his torso, and he placed his own on hers, enjoying the comfort. He had wanted to discuss this with someone. He just never found the right person.

Taking a breath, he started explaining, "You may not know this, but a while back, before this vendetta started, right after you left for Vienna, I made a deal which sent Arthur, John, Polly and Michael to prison. The Economic League was powerful and with the ties they had with the police…there was nothing I could do. They issued warrants for their arrests. The trucks came, and I had to watch them take my family away."

"But you got them out?" Tatiana guessed.

Smiling at her cleverness, Tommy nodded, "I did. Right before we got the Black Hand from the Italians. It was a close call. They would have been hanged if I hadn't intervened when I did. It was tough. Michael got over it. Polly didn't. And Arthur and John…they felt betrayed. We came together as a family out of obligation, to face Luca Changretta together as one or we would all perish. But once the vendetta is over, they may very well decide that we go on our separate ways."

"And you don't want that."

"No, I don't. I am in a position where I have to blackmail the Crown and Winston Churchill himself with the use of that information about the Zinoviev letter. I cannot guarantee their safety if we go on our separate ways."

Scoffing, Tatiana rolled her eyes and held him tighter, "Come on, Tommy. You want them with you. Just say you would miss them. You don't want them to leave. Do not lie."

Despite knowing that she was right, Tommy didn't say a word.

Realizing that he wasn't going to admit it, Tatiana sighed and told him, "Maybe I can make you feel better."

Tommy's eyes widened a little, as he turned his head towards her and scanned her up and down. She had always been so direct in her intentions. While he found it refreshing at times, there were other times when he wished she would express more through actions, than words.

Smirking, Tatiana stood up and faced him, shaking her head. "Not that way. I am not one of your whores, Tommy. I gave you sex as part of our deal. The cause was enough motivation for me. But now the cause no longer exists." she stated sternly. It almost sounded like an insult, but she didn't care. She was not his play-thing. Never was. And just because she was staying with him, it didn't mean he owned her. She was making that point loud and clear.

His eyes smiling at her boldness and though his mouth wasn't, Tommy nodded, "I know."

"I wanted to give you some news." she corrected.

"I'm listening."

Touching her belly, Tatiana kept him in suspense before saying, "I have decided to have the baby."

…

"Emily!" John slammed his hand on the door of her apartment several times.

What happened at the funeral got him on edge. And on top of that, he had quite a lot to drink on his way to her home. But he didn't care. He needed to talk to her.

"EM! OPEN THE FUCKIN' DOOR!" John yelled out and started slamming his foot against it. From what he could tell, the door was locked from the inside. She was home, and she was ignoring him.

The last threat he managed to get through that he would break down the door, made her finally open it. John was gasping for air when he finally saw her. But she was looking at him as though he was going insane.

"Are you out of your mind? What are you doing?" she finally had the courage to ask, as he made his way inside her house.

She quickly looked around in the hall to make sure that none of the neighbors had heard anything. With the latest developments in her life, the last thing she needed would be people eying her apartment with suspicion.

Before she realized what was happening, John had closed in on her and blocked her escape, pining her against the door. His eyes were dilated and he looked very vulnerable. In a matter of seconds, he was kissing her, and she couldn't bring it in herself to stop him.

He traced her neck with his fingers, his mouth at her pulse, making all her senses go on overdrive.

John had never been the kind of guy to rely on his words to express his feelings. He hoped this would convince her of how he felt around her. Compared to his brothers, he had always been the romantic type. Once he got attached to someone, he could not let go. And he hadn't been able to fuck anyone since he met her.

She had been so gentle with him, so attentive and patient. She liked his kids, a lot. So, why couldn't she have said yes? Why couldn't she spare him this misery and agree to marry him? This rejection had hurt him a lot more than when he found out about Tom and Lizzie.

"John." Emily moaned and grabbed the back of his neck tightly, as he was slowly pushing her dress down. He had been dying to see her breasts, and he wasn't disappointed.

The moment she felt his fingers rubbing her thighs gently and heading towards her mound, Emily finally regained her senses and started pushing him off. "Wait. Please."

"Fuck." John mumbled, leaning his head into the crook of her neck. He was pissed, but he would never force himself on her.

"Is this about the Christmas party?" Emily asked him softly, cupping his cheek as soon as he lifted his head to look into her eyes. She was prepared with a reason for her rejection, of course. She just wanted confirmation. But from the look in his eyes, she realized that something else was going on here.

"Esme's dead. David and Henry too." John told her, his voice almost emotionless while his eyes looked lost.

Gasping, Emily immediately pulled him in for a hug, saying, "Oh my God. John…I am so sorry. What happened?"

"An accident. Someone messed with her carriage. I think the wops did it, but Tommy doesn't think so."

Biting her lip, Emily closed her eyes and shook her head in sorrow. Of all the things that could have happened now…

While she was distracted, John grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled away her sleeve to reveal the rash. She had been planning to put another bandage on it later. Her mouth gaped, as she stared at the concern look on his face. Did Jeremiah tell him?

"Em, I know a gypsy woman. She helped Tommy a while back. She could fix this."

"No. I am not seeing any gypsy. I don't want any more spells or anything of that to be done to me. It will go away eventually. It has to." Emily insisted and released her hand from his grip. She wasn't convinced, but she hoped that perhaps now, with Esme gone, the curse would lift.

Nothing of what she was saying was seeming to get through to John, though. He looked like he was ready to devour her again. Leaning over, he kissed her once more and whispered, "Why'd you say no, Em?"

"John, we can't be together. Look at what's happened. I don't want to end up like Esme. Your world frightens me." Emily tried lying the best she could.

She created the image of Emily Wright as a sweet, pure girl, caught up in this world of crime simply because John Shelby fancied her. But she had been in this for a long time, ever since she was born. And she was on the wrong side.

The truth of the matter was that he and his whole family frightened her. Of what would happen if they found out the truth about her. They would have her tortured or killed, she was sure of it. No Changretta could be spared and that included her.

That was why she needed to get herself protection. She would do whatever it took in order to make that happen. Even if it meant taking on the role of spy for another gang. Because if she did this, John would be safe, and so would her mother.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. It was clear that no matter what she said, he would not be leaving anytime soon.

"You should lie down." She whispered, and he nodded eventually, without saying anything else.

…

Marie walked into the dining room, just in time to see Arthur angrily shuffling through papers. He noticed her presence and looked up.

"I am sorry, didn't mean to disturb you. I just couldn't help but notice Linda storming out of here earlier with Billy. Is everything alright?" she said.

Holding up one of the papers, Arthur stated, "Linda asked for a bloody divorce."

Marie truly didn't know what to say to that, except apologize and excuse herself from the room.

Arthur stopped her from leaving. "No. No. Come here. Sit down, Miss."

"I already told you to call me Marie."

"You're a real Miss. That's what I'll call you." Arthur insisted with a genuine smile.

"If you like it, then I won't object." Marie answered with a similar smile, taking a seat next to him, as Arthur poured her a drink. She did her best to ignore all the papers laid down in front of her.

"Thank you." Marie appreciated the glass of gin he had given her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Marie asked, noticing how tense he was, while holding his own glass of liquor. She was afraid it would end up breaking in his hand.

"Yeah…just thinking…marriage is trouble."

Sighing, Marie nodded with a sad smile. "I agree with you there. It was no easy picnic being married to Billy Kimber for so many years. He kept me hidden because he didn't want to admit that I was the brains behind many of his operations. He beat me when I didn't comply…loads of times." Marie explained, and noticed how Arthur gritted his teeth at her confession.

"Why didn't you leave him, eh?"

"Because of the business. The legitimate part of it at least, was all me. Billy became a well-known gangster, the biggest in the whole of England at the time, before the Peaky Blinders made themselves known, and I felt I would be in even more danger than before, if I dared act out and threaten to leave him. He liked things the way they were. Him in the spotlight, me in the background. Meanwhile, he flounced about with a different whore on his elbow every single day."

"If he were alive, I would've killed him now."

"But your brother beat you to it."

"He always does." Arthur mumbled, as he took another swig of his drink.

"You are your own person, you know. You shouldn't feel as if you have to compete with him. He is who he is, and you are who you are." Marie reasoned, when she realized the sensitive subject which was brought up.

"Others always expected better of me, Miss. 'Cause I'm the eldest. They look at me and see me like my dad always did. The disappointment."

"Well, they're fools."

A drink later, the papers in front of them had already been forgotten, Arthur and Marie were engaging more and more in personal discussions. It was pleasant. Marie couldn't remember the last time she felt such comfort next to a man of power. Because that was who Arthur Shelby was, despite his lower ranking in the organization.

"Something ails you, Miss. What is it?"

Marie met his gaze and whispered, "The year is almost up. In a couple of days, the Italians will return, in a greater number than before. I promised your brother that the Brum Boys would be ready. But I fear we may be in over our heads."

…

A/N: As always, thanks for reading, guys. The next chapter is going to get more intense. Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think! :)