Chapter 74

Rosie looked, understandably, confused as he came bursting into the kitchen, where she was sitting reading one of the books he had bought her in thanks for her magic idea, at the same time as the back door swung open and a troop of children, in various states, appeared in to meet him.

"Arses on seats until I figure out which one of you it is is that's getting the hiding that'll mean they won't sit for a week!" he growled, gesturing to the kitchen table.

Rosie glanced between him and Finn, who was at the head of the group, closed her book and slid up and out of her chair. He thought she might have actually been about to wander off altogether, making herself scarce, until Lily came in at the end of the line, crying through three fingers that were lodged resolutely in her mouth. The redhead looked from him to the child, then stood against the sideboard, her arms crossed, but without saying anything.

"Tommy – what's going…" Polly's voice came from behind him – she had obviously followed him up – trailing off as she realised he had shouted the kids in. He held up the ball, she nodded and went back to the shop, closing the door and trusting him to deal with it.

"Sit," he repeated, his voice low and dangerous, then, once they were all around the table, he slammed the cricket ball down in the centre – hard and with a bang that made Lily give a particularly loud sob and a jump.

She really was a soft child and it rankled him to note Katie glaring at her in her distress. It was hardly Lily's fault, and if any of the rest of them had shown as much of a sign of being upset as she was, then whatever one of them had smashed his window might be in for less of a sore arse than they were.

"You," he said, jabbing his finger at Finn, "Have already had your arse smacked in this very kitchen for balls landing against the window – what did I tell you would happen if a window got smashed, eh?"

"You'd tan my hide like it had never been tanned before," Finn muttered, staring at the table.

"Aye – and obviously that was a warning that was easy enough to ignore, eh?"

Finn bit his lip and didn't reply.

"You've bloody well all been there when I've been shouting out about leathering you for this ball playing that's been going on out the back," he said, turning his eyes on the rest of them, lingering on George, Alfie and Isaiah in particular, leaving Katie and Lily a little more out of it, "So what in holy hell went through your heads when you decided to do whatever the hell you were doing?"

None of them met his eye or answered him, but Lily's wailing grew louder. There was a bang as someone – and he was sure it had been Katie judging from the quick wince on her own face - tried to kick her and missed, smacking their foot against the table inside.

"Right, Katie," he demanded, rounding on her, "You can go first – give me a bloody explanation about what happened out there?"

She focussed on Lily, her little face fierce, then turned her Shelby-blue eyes to his for a second before focussing a little below, more at his collar and saying, "Wasn't us Uncle Tommy."

"What wasn't you?"

"We didn't smash the window," she replied, nodding as if to herself that she'd said the right thing.

"You never smashed the window, eh?"

"No," she said, shaking her head and still not quite meeting his eye.

"Who did then? Maggie fucking Murphy?"

"Was someone else and they ran away."

"Ran away, eh?"

"Yeah."

"That what happened, Alfie?" he asked, bringing his nephew into play with no warning, letting them all know they'd all be bloody questioned as he saw fit.

"Y-yeah," Alfie half stuttered, sticking to the bloody story even if he was slightly less bolshy about it than his sister.

"Isaiah, the person who ran away – you know who they were?"

"No Mr Shelby."

"Never seen them before, eh?"

"No Mr Shelby."

"Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"That's your cricket ball, right?"

"Yeah?" Finn replied, obviously not sure what he was going to be asked next.

"Right – and I take it you didn't know this person either, eh?"

"No."

"So how come your ball ended up in the hands of someone you didn't know so it could smash my window, eh?"

"Dunno."

"Dunno?"

"Yeah, just – just happened."

Tommy shot him an incredulous look – unsure if he was insulted that they thought he was going to buy their story or vaguely impressed that they had stuck it out this long. Still, he'd get it from them – and then they'd rue the day they'd ignored his orders about taking their balls out the front and for ever thinking they'd get away with feeding him this lot of rubbish.

"George – person who turned up and took Finn's ball, take it you didn't know them either, eh?"

"N-no Uncle Tommy."

"Boy or girl?"

"Eh, what?"

"This person, George," he repeated, keeping his tone calm and slow, "Who turned up and none of you knew them despite Finn's ball ending up in their hands, was it a boy or a girl?"

"Eh – eh-"

"Simple question."

"Boy," Katie said loudly, just as George gathered his answer to be, "A girl."

"Right – so we'll just put the lies to one side then, eh?" Tommy said, raising his eyebrow and looking around them all, slightly triumphant as he watched them exchange worried glances and squirm in their seats, "I've a mind to wash all your bloody mouths out – but here's the thing – one of you smashed that window, but all of you were out the back with the ball. So either one of you confesses and gets the hiding, or every single one of you gets a hiding – what's it to be?"

"You can't give us all a hiding! That's not fair!" Katie shouted, her indignance at his statement overcoming any worry she might have been experiencing.

"It's perfectly fair – every single one of you is getting a smacked arse, let me just assure you of that, because every single one of you has been told about playing with balls out the back – so you all knew fine well what you were doing."

"Me and Lily haven't been told," Katie grumbled.

"That might be true, but you've sat there and fed me a pack of lies Katie, so I'd say a smacked arse won't do you any harm in reminding you of how to behave, eh?"

She wriggled on her seat. He glanced at Lily, her face bright red, her fingers in her mouth and tears on her cheeks. He didn't have the heart to bring her into it properly.

"Alfie – where's Jack?"

"Ran for it when the window got smashed," Alfie muttered.

"I'll get him later, anyone else do a runner? Other than your non-existent, imaginary new mate?"

Alfie shook his head.

"So it was one of you lot or it was Jack. And given he's bolted and left you in it I reckon if it was him you'd have been telling me it was him the minute you were over that door."

He watched Finn and Katie twist their mouths into comically similar expressions, their eyes both darkening slightly as it seemed to dawn on them that blaming Jack could have been a simpler way out of it.

"Alfie – who was it, eh?" he asked his nephew the question straight, staring him down.

"We're not telling Uncle Tommy!" Katie half shouted, banging her fist on the table, glaring at Alfie now.

"Oh, you're not bloody telling," he growled, going to her seat, hauling her up by her collar and smacking her as he continued, "You're not bloody telling, eh? That your game?"

"No!" she squealed, trying to pull herself out of his grip, "We're not telling."

"So every single one of you gets a hiding then, that's the outcome you're going for?"

"You can't give us all a hiding Uncle Tommy, it'd be too much work," she replied – her belief in her statement quite true, for all he was very much ready and willing to prove it false.

He smacked her again and released her, telling her – and the rest of them, "I can assure you – you can all get in a line across this kitchen and I'll take you forward one by one until I've got six very sore and sorry little children on my hands."

"We're not little children," George muttered – like his sister apparently, just like their bloody father actually, when he was insulted his annoyance and indignation at it would overcome his sense of self-preservation - or, in John's case, any sense at all.

"Not little children, eh? How come you're on a summer holiday from school and outside playing instead of working if you're not little children?" Tommy asked, smacking the back of George's head, "You'll be on the road to convincing me you're not little children when I see you contributing something and doing a bit of work for the family. Until then, you're little children."

"We could help," Isaiah said suddenly, "Me and Finn, we're ready to work for the family."

Tommy raised an eyebrow, "Ready to help out, eh?"

"Yes Mr Shelby," Isaiah answered, eager now that the topic of work was on the table.

"Help me out then – whose hide am I tanning for the smashed window?"

Isaiah's dark skin hid what Tommy was sure would have been a bright red flush on Finn's face had he been having the exchange with him, but Tommy saw the boy's eyes widen before he shook his head, shut his mouth and looked down at his hands.

He glared around the table at them all, then, sighing, went to his last resort.

"Lily," he said, coming round the table to her, gentling his voice slightly as he took her fingers and pulled them out of her mouth.

She shook her head and closed her eyes, knowing he was about to ask her questions the rest of them didn't want her to answer, and he knew he was taking advantage of the weak link as he put a hand under her chin and tiled it up, ordering her, "Open those eyes and look at me."

She squeezed them very tightly for a second before opening them, her pupils almost blurry to him behind the tears.

"You're my best girl Lily, you tell me the truth – who was it smashed that window, eh?"

She took and breath and shut her mouth.

"You stop that breath holding Lily, I don't like it and you know I don't," he told her, his tone slightly less soft, "Now you tell me what happened out there."

"Tommy! Tommy – it was me!" Finn blurted out, getting to his feet.

Tommy's turned his head to Finn, unsurprised, and glared at him, "Right – out the back."

Finn nodded, accepting his condemnation and headed out without saying anything else, his shoulder slumped.

To his surprise, Lily began to cry harder.

"Hey, my little love, what you so upset for, eh?" he murmured, patting her head.

He supposed this was exactly like Christmas, when she'd been upset because Katie had gotten herself in trouble.

"I imagine she's upset," Rosie spoke for the first time since he had come into the kitchen, "Because she knows Finn's going to get his mouth washed out with soap for lying about smashing a window to cover for someone else. That it, Lily?"

He looked between the two sisters, then at the other kids still sat at the table, who were all looking uncomfortable.

He looked back to Rosie, cocked his head just a little in questioning – enough that the kids wouldn't see it – and she glanced at Lily, then back up to him.

He raised an eyebrow. She thought Lily had smashed the window. As if! The smallest of them all – perhaps bar Alfie – and the one who played with dolls and books and drew pictures and didn't play with balls very much – she wouldn't have had the strength. But then again, perhaps her lack of playing also might mean of them all she would be the one with no ability to aim…

He glanced down, watching her shoulders shake as she cried.

"Katie, is Finn covering for someone?" he asked, his eyes still on Lily as he questioned his niece.

"Not saying," she replied.

"So that's a yes then."

"I said I'm not saying!"

"He's confessed and gone out the back to wait for the hiding – if he wasn't covering for someone you'd all be ready to scarper with no more arguing. Who's he covering for, George?"

"Not saying Uncle Tommy," George replied.

He turned to look at George with a raised eyebrow before turning to Isaiah, who muttered, "I'm not family – I'm saying nothin'," and then his eyes travelled on to Alfie, who stayed silent but shook his head.

"Lily," Rosie said, coming over and crouching down in front of her, "Look at me – did you smash that window?"

Lily didn't say anything for a second, then let out a roar and a fresh wave of tears

"Well I think we know who smashed the window then, eh?" Rosie said, straightening up and laying a hand on Lily's head, her eyes meeting his as the child stood and lunged forward, wrapped her arms around Rosie and cried into her.

"For god's sake," George said rolling his eyes at Katie, who rolled her own back at him and shook her head, as if questioning why they'd bothered in the first place.

"Right," Tommy said, still processing the situation, "George – up!"

"What?" George asked, confused as Tommy went to stand by the kitchen door.

"Up – come on – you can go," Tommy replied, gesturing his head in the direction of the front room and the front door.

"Oh – oh, right," George said, getting to his feet and making his way to the door.

Just as he reached him Tommy grabbed his arm and George yelped in surprise – apparently having forgotten what he had promised them all about getting smacked backsides regardless of who had actually smashed the window.

"You don't play with balls out the back, understand?" Tommy said through gritted teeth, smacking side to side with every syllable.

George assured him that he did and Tommy replied, "Good – out the front," sending him on his way with some final smacks.

"Alfie – you next," he said, turning to his younger nephew.

He repeated the process – even including Isaiah and figuring the boy's father wouldn't have any issues with it, he certainly hadn't when he'd taken him out the back at Ada's birthday tea – until they were left just him, Rosie and Lily in the kitchen.

He went where Lily was still pushed into her sister, put his hands on her waist and tugged her off, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap, rocking her a little as she cried.

"Right you, calm down, eh?" he murmured, stroking her back, "What's got you this upset eh? All these theatrics just blowing things out of proportion for you my little love?"

She didn't answer him, just continued to cry.

"I imagine what's got her so upset is less the theatrics and more that she knows she's going to have a sore backside soon," Rosie said with a raised eyebrow, her own tone sharper than his.

He glanced up to her and frowned. The child was upset enough.

"Don't even think about it Thomas," Rosie told him, raising her own eyebrow.

"Don't think about what?" he demanded.

"What you're thinking about – just get that thought process stopped and get on with it," she replied.

Clear as mud, as usual. He sighed, shook his head and turned his attention back down to the bab in his arms.

"Oh, my little love, what am I going to do with you, eh?" he murmured, kissing her head.

"What you're going to do Thomas is exactly what you'd do if it had turned out Katie had smashed the window," Rosie told him.

He glanced to her again, "Katie's – I mean – Lily didn't mean to!" he spluttered in annoyance at her before speaking more soothingly to the child, "Did you sweetheart?"

"I don't think Katie would have meant to either – I don't see any of them lining up for a hiding like it's their idea of a good time Tommy."

She spoke sharply but when he looked up at her and raised an eyebrow the memory of that morning obviously flashed simultaneously through their minds and she blushed, the corners of her mouth turning up in spite of herself and his mirroring them.

It had been a pleasant morning once he'd gotten his message through about not opening doors to strangers… But this, this wasn't pleasant in any way.

The thing was, though he was loathe to admit it, she was right.

"Alright, my little love," he said, "I reckon we both know your sister's right – any of the rest of them wouldn't be getting away with it, eh? And that was our deal, wasn't it, that you'd be a real Watery Lane kid?"

Lily gave a howl and her fingers started their path back to her mouth, but he intercepted them with his own, taking them firmly in his.

"Right, sweetheart, what's got you this upset? You've had a spanking before and you'll get one again I'm sure, just like the rest of them, eh? I know it hurts and it's not pleasant but it's not the end of the world, is it? You've recovered just fine from the last one."

"Y-yeah b-but I. Don't. Want. A. H-hiding!" she gasped out, fresh tears coming to her eyes even as her body seemed to be too busy convulsing with the effort of the crying she had been doing to consider starting again.

"Lily, what do you think a hiding is?" Rosie asked suddenly.

He glanced between them, then realised why Lily was so upset and tried not to laugh.

"Lily, sweetheart, hiding's just another way of saying spanking," he told her, fighting to keep his mouth straight.

"S'not?" Lily asked, trailing off and pointing at the razor strop hanging up on the wall.

"God, no," he told her, not fighting not to smile anymore as he realised what she'd thought, "Lily, sweetheart, that is not for girls in this house and it never will be, alright? It's for boys and even Finn didn't get that until he was much older than you are now, eh? That's not for little ones and it's not for girls. My hand will do you just fine for most of your trouble, eh?"

"I'm going to get her some water," Rosie announced, rummaging in the cupboard to collect a glass and heading out the back.

Lily had seemed to settle slightly – physically at least – since his confirmation that she was not going to be reckoning with the bloody strap for her misdeeds and had laid herself against his chest by the time Rosie came back in.

"Finn's looking a bit twitchy out there, jumped a foot when I opened the door," Rosie commented as she came to bend to Lily, holding the glass to her mouth, "Here, you drink some of this and calm yourself down."

The child obediently gulped down some water and let Rosie put it on the table and come back and wipe at her face.

"You're alright, eh?" he murmured down to her as Rosie straightened back up from the face wiping.

She gave him a sorrowful glance.

"Ah, let's just get it over with, eh bab?" he suggested, gathering his own guts for it, "Same as the rest of them would have got, eh?"

She nodded and didn't fight him as he tipped her over his knee – though the twelve light smacks that he gave her (which was, if he was being honest, probably not entirely the same as what the rest of them would have got, but it would do, he was sure, to stop her ever playing with balls out the back again) were more than enough to have her crying again by the time he was done.

"There, there, that's it all done with," he muttered, pulling her onto his waist and standing, walking about the kitchen and rocking her.

He was tempted to add on – and you can take it up with your sister for why it was done in the first place – but he didn't. For all he hadn't wanted to go through with it, he knew Rosie had been right.

"Alright," he decreed, when she had finally calmed down, "I need to go out the back and see Finn about what he's playing at – you go to your sister, eh?"

Lily slid off of him and went to Rosie, still looking slightly bewildered at the events of the last twenty minutes or so. It hurt his heart a little. Still, it had been fair and it had needed doing.

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and headed out the back, lifting the strap as he did so.

Finn started when he saw Tommy appear, his face determined enough but not without worry, his eyes going to the razor strop in Tommy's hand.

"Got anything to say?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Finn shuffled his feet and shook his head.

Tommy snorted and nodded his head at the wall, "Alright then, over you go, let's get it done."

Finn shook out his shoulders then, gingerly, reached his hands to the wall.

Tommy waited, watching both fascinated and impressed as Finn got into position and waited, obviously fully expecting a strapping to start.

"Jesus – you were properly ready to go through with it then, eh Finn?" Tommy said.

Finn stiffened and didn't answer.

"Up you get – was just checking how far you'd go," Tommy told him.

Finn stood up, clearly confused, and Tommy pulled him to him.

"Right proud of you, chavi," told him, running a hand through his hair, "You're a good phral, eh?"

Finn looked up at him.

"Aye, she's squealed that you didn't do it," Tommy told Finn, nodding down at his youngest brother, his hand still on the back of his head.

"Oh," Finn managed.

"Proud of you," Tommy repeated.

Finn flushed, "Has Lily… Is she…?"

"She's had her spanking," Tommy told him, figuring that's what he was asking about, "She's fine, same as you lot are always fine afterwards – five minutes of peaceful, contrite kids I get and then it's back to your usual, eh?"

Finn gave a bit of a grin and stood back out of Tommy's hold.

"Whose idea was it then, to cover for her?"

Finn shrugged, "I think me and Katie thought it at the same time, she just looked so scared Tommy. Started crying right away."

Tommy nodded, "You can go in and see her or go jump the wall to get out the front – the rest of them have had their arses smacked for the ball playing and been sent back out."

Finn nodded and looked to the kitchen door for a minute before setting off down the back. Tommy's heart panged a little. He figured he knew that look – part of the kid did want to go in and check on Lily, and the other part of him, the part that had won out, knew it'd be seen as soft if he did go in to check on her before he went back out. He supposed that reluctance to be seen as soft was important when you were a boy of eleven.

"Oi, Finn," he shouted after his brother's retreating back.

The boy turned with a questioning look.

"Tell Katie to come in and see me, eh?"

As it was, he was a man enough now himself to be comfortable with the fact he was soft with women and children. It was how it should be, after all. He could cut and blind, sure, but he'd protect Rosie and Lily from all of that. He lit a cigarette and headed back in to check on her himself.

She had been calmed down slightly and given a biscuit and a glass of milk by the time he went back in, which she was nibbling on nervously and which she put down when he came back in.

"I'm sorry," she told him, "Didn't meant to get Finn into trouble."

"Ah Finn's alright, he gets himself into trouble, eh bab? And no need for sorry," he said, holding his cigarette in his mouth and speaking from the side of it so he could pick her up with both hands, squeezing her tightly to him, "You've had your spanking and we move on, eh? That's how it goes."

She curled her arms around his neck and nodded a little.

"Still my best girl, eh?"

She nodded, more forcefully and gripped tighter.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Rosie had set Lily to helping her mix something for the lunch when the front door went. He went through to open it and his eyes found Katie, looking slightly apprehensive.

"In you get," he told her, standing back and tilting his head to direct her over.

She didn't move, just stared up at him.

"Come on, in," he ordered.

"Why?"

He raised an eyebrow and she sighed, then took as few steps as it would have been possible to take to get her what would count for 'in.'

"I want to shut the door, Katie – and I reckon you'll be wanting it shut too," he told her.

Her shoulders slumped as she moved forward another few paces, enough for him to close the door, turn to her and crouch down on his haunches to address her.

"Protecting Lily, eh?"

She shrugged.

"C'mere," he said, glancing down to indicate the spot in front of him.

She looked at him like she thought he was mad.

"C'mere," he repeated, more firmly.

She moved towards him, everything in her looking like it was fighting not to.

He reached out once she was within arms' length and pulled her to him, hugging her tight. She let out a little noise of surprise, then relaxed slightly.

"Proud of you," he told her, kissing her head, "You did good, Katie girl."

"Really?" she asked, amazed.

"Aye – really," he told her, keeping one arm around her and using the other to brush her dark hair back out of her eyes – it was wild and probably needing cut, but he'd let Polly see to it, "Shelby spirit eh? We protect our family. That's what you were doing and I'm proud of you for it."

She processed his words, not looking quite like she trusted them.

"I mean, you ever try feeding me a pack of lies again and I'll tan your hide, make no mistake," he told her, "We protect family above all, but there's no need to be protecting Lily from me. Still, I'm proud that you tried to protect her."

"You've never had a spanking Uncle Tommy," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"You reckon?" he asked, amused at her self-assurance.

She nodded, "You wouldn't say that if you had done."

He snorted, "Caught them plenty growing up Katie, same as every other kid does. My mother was dead before you were born but she had a good right arm, I can assure you of that. Not a bad left arm either when it was closer."

Katie frowned at him, "Not the same."

"You think not?"

She shook her head then, looking around the room, "Where's Lily?"

"In the kitchen."

"She comin' back out?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, "Go in and ask her. I need to get back to work."

She extracted herself from him and went through. Tommy stood up and shook out his legs. By the time he'd followed through Katie had been assigned a spoon and was helping Lily with the mixing.

"Look at you being helpful, eh?" he said, ruffling her hair.

"Keeps them out of trouble for five minutes," Rosie said, rolling her eyes as she chopped at some carrots.

He went to stand behind her and patted her backside, kissing her head and remarking, "A good woman in this house, that was all we were needing, eh?"

"Dunno where you find them Tommy, I suppose I'll do in the meantime," she replied, with a grin.

He squeezed her arse appreciatively, "You'll do for all time. Half of me's hoping those results of yours never arrive and you can stay in this kitchen and cook and keep this lot occupied instead of going to help other people."

"Well that's a bit selfish, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm a selfish man, don't like to share what's mine," he told her, squeezing again.

"I'm going to take them to the gallery in town tomorrow since we didn't get going in London," she told him, "Keep them occupied for a bit that way."

"Alright," he nodded, "You need money?"

She shook her head, "Should be alright. I'll take them for lunch though so I'm making a big enough lot of soup here - and that bread'll prove and be ready to just get fired in the oven in the morning - that you should all be able to help yourself tomorrow, that alright? Just'll need heated up."

"I'm fairly sure we'll manage," he assured her, smiling to himself and kissing her head.

She seemed to have forgotten that they ever fed themselves before she'd lived there, or during the weeks when she'd been at school. Silly as it was, her concern was touching and he'd figured her feeding of them all was her way of taking care of them, the same way he wanted to make sure he took care of her needs.

With a final grope of her arse he headed back into the shop, catching John and Arthur's eyes and nodding them into Arthur's office. Cheltenham was the day after tomorrow, they needed to get the plans settled.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

There was a chicken and leek pie for dinner that night – alongside generous servings of roast potatoes, carrots, peas and a thick gravy. As he sat waiting for her to bring it to him, the smells of the cooking wafting around the kitchen made his stomach rumble. For all he could manage – as in, he could exist – without her cooking, he and his stomach had certainly become accustomed to it.

"We having Finn's favourite dinner for a reason?" Tommy asked as she set the gravy jug down in the centre of the table.

"Kind of figure it's me who set the example of taking a hiding for someone who broke a window," she said with a smile at Finn, "Suppose I'm just touched it rubbed off."

Tommy rolled his eyes – he had almost forgotten, in a way, the event that had led to him finally asking her to come and be his.

"Your hero antics, eh?"

"That's it."

"That what you were channelling Finn – thinking you'd be the hero of the hour to the bab?" he asked his brother, smiling between them.

"Well, sort of - not that it did much good," Finn replied, rolling his eyes and looking at Lily, "Squealed on yourself. If you'd just did as I told you and kept quiet and not said anything…"

He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Then you'd have a sore backside and she'd be feeling terrible," Rosie finished his sentence from where she was dishing up the first plateful over by the range.

"Ah, that's what little sisters do Finn," he replied, sagely, "They ignore their older brother's good advice - and sometimes you clout them and hope it motivates them to listen in future and other times you just need to let them make their decisions and the both of you have to learn to live with them."

Rosie was smiling widely as she came over and set his plate down to him.

"What you so happy about?" he asked, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

Unexpectedly, she sat in his lap and kissed him full on the mouth. Instinctively, his arms went around her.

"What was that for?"

"I knew you'd see sense," she told him, kissing him again, "I knew once you'd calmed down you'd be rational."

"What?" he asked, slightly dazed by the open display of affection.

"You just need to let your little sister make her decisions and both of you have to learn to live with them," she said, widening her eyes at him.

"That is not what I meant and fine well you know it," he said, his tone darkening, realising what she was at, shifting his knee and fighting the urge to smack her, "Up you get and get on with the dinner and stop twisting my words."

"I didn't twist them, I repeated them exactly as you said them."

"Well they were for Finn, not me."

"Oh! So it's do as I say and not as I do! A fine example to set Thomas!" she flared, striding across the kitchen and bringing Finn and Lily's plates over, setting them down loudly.

He felt the kids' eyes on them as he glared at her as she returned for her own plate.

"Look here woman-"

"Don't you look here woman me, saying one thing and meaning another," she spluttered as she put her own plate down, straightening and standing by her chair with her hands on her hips, "One rule for you and one rule for everyone else, that it?"

"Your liberties are wearing thin," he warned her.

She raised an eyebrow, "I thought my liberties had reset this morning."

He sighed and stood, going around to her so he could speak quietly, not over the heads of Finn and Lily who were undoubtedly drinking in every word.

"Look you, for a start we agreed if you had issues you would keep them until we were alone," he murmured.

She sighed, "I know but-"

He put a finger on her lips to shush her, "I know. It just came up unexpectedly. I see that. Now, I love you, and fine well you know it, but Lily's decisions got her a spanking. Ada's have got her a husband who is a wanted man, a baby that she'll need to bring up on the run and a threat hanging over her of her being put in an arrest warrant. It's not the same stakes. Now, I know your thoughts – I know yours and bloody Polly's – and I've considered them. But the decisions will end with me, alright?"

She didn't answer for a second, then, tentatively, "I love you too. And I understand, I do, but I think you're just going about it all wrong. You could help them – get them out together…"

"I tried that, Rosie. Remember when I wrote Freddie? He doesn't want my help and he's not for leaving. That hasn't left me much choice."

She slumped, her hands leaving her hips, going to his waist, "I just want her back Tommy. Even if she couldn't be here, if she was talking to us…"

"I know, my love, I know," he murmured, pulling her to him and kissing her head, not letting her feel his own sigh.

It was what he wanted too – but how far in the future it would be was anyone's guess. Even if he got her home, he didn't reckon Ada would be talking to any of them for a while.

"Why you not eating?" he demanded of Finn once Rosie had extracted herself from him and sat down to her own dinner, "Rosie made your favourite."

He figured acting like absolutely nothing had just happened was the best way forward. Finn, upon consideration, obviously came to the same conclusion and took a huge mouthful of pie.

Lily, he noticed, seemed more or less unconcerned and was cutting her potatoes noisily, the knife grinding into the plate or skiting across it in turn.

"Well, Rosie's rewarded you with your favourite dinner for your hero antics, suppose I better think of something too," he said, lifting his own cutlery and cutting into his pastry.

Finn watched him with wide eyes.

"Anything you're after?" he asked his brother, who shrugged and shook his head.

Tommy brought his forkful to his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, swallowing before offering, "Well I suppose you were awfully grown up today, stepping up and protecting Lily so how about helping on a job, eh?"

Finn nodded, looking like he couldn't quite believe his luck. Him and Isaiah loved being entrusted with even the most banal and trivial tasks.

"Cheltenham is the day after tomorrow, you want to come?"

Finn nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah. Yeah I do."

Rosie snorted, "A fine addition that'll make to your date."

"You'll go with John and Arthur, John'll keep an eye on you. But you do as you're told, you hear me? I hear you hesitated or disobeyed one order and you won't be coming along again, alright?"

"Yeah – yeah I understand Tom," Finn replied, practically tripping over his words in his excitement.

"Tommy," Rosie said, a dark note in her voice.

He met her eye and raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"Is that a good idea? Really? It's going to be dangerous, what Arthur and John are doing."

"Listen to that Finn, Miss Hero Antics over there taking people's beatings for them and holding knives to shopkeepers is worried about keeping you safe. I smashed the illusion of the toughest girl in school for you, eh? Soft as any of them underneath it."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him as he grinned and helped himself to another forkful of her truly excellent roast potatoes.

Back to the banal family interactions in this chapter because they're my favourite. I love to write Tommy and Rosie with the kids and I wanted something indulgent. Hope you enjoyed!

Thank you for reading and commenting and interacting, it really, truly it makes my day when I see emails from fanfiction coming through or see asks on my Tumblr etc, I appreciate it so very much.