Thunderous clapping. That was all Tommy could hear as he buried the pickaxe into the clay repetitively. The deafening throbbing of his heartbeat in his ears was making it almost impossible to keep digging. He was deep underground, somewhere where he never wanted to be again, but had been forced to despite his best efforts. The humid earthy air that filled the tight space felt like it was crushing him from every direction. Sweat covered the bottom half of his face underneath the scarf he was wearing, the drops running into his mouth and making it taste of salt. His skin was itchy and uncomfortable from the layer of mud that caked it but despite all this he was determined to keep pushing forward. The wellbeing of his family depended on it.

It was a good thing Tommy's stomach was empty because he could feel it twisting in his gut as he thought about Charlie. His son had been snatched away in broad daylight and right out of his own arms. He had believed that Maddie deserved his anger and suspicion when Charlie had been taken, but he had soon realised once he had calmed down that who he was truly angry at was himself. The blame lay solely with him he realised, and he had tried to redirect his guilt onto her and his family unjustly. Despite Maddie keeping it secret that she was aware that more people knew who she truly was than they'd originally thought, putting them on the backfoot, she had been the first one to notice Charlie had disappeared and ended up getting shot in the leg trying to get him back. Tommy was still unhappy that she had neglected to share the events of what happened in London with him, but he believed that she certainly never imagined that keeping that secret would lead to this.

Tommy swallowed back bitter saliva as he began to angrily dig his path forward, aware of how little time he had to make it to the Russian's vault. He was plagued with worry, thinking about whether Michael and Maddie had gotten Charlie back and whether John and Arthur would need to go ahead and blow up the train. He knew he shouldn't doubt her, but with so much on the line Tommy wondered whether Maddie could take down the demon which had, by all accounts, walked all over her. The image of her bruised face and bloodied leg appeared in his mind spitefully and he tried to shake it off. If she couldn't take him down, both she and Michael will be dead, along with Charlie and the whole family since Hughes will know that Tommy had betrayed him. Then he remembered the huge vampire she had slain at the Watcher's Council all those weeks ago and all the fights she'd had since and managed to bite back his doubts. Maddie was not only stronger than him, but she also had the motivation to get Charlie back. That purple demon was as good as dead.

The stress and anxiety began to overwhelm Tommy and he began to feel his heart smacking into his sternum harshly and a tightness begin to constrict his chest. He sucked in the air around him rapidly but with difficulty, pausing momentarily in his task and closing his eyes tight as he recognised the familiar feeling of panic begin to take over his body, making his muscles shake. No, I can't stop, there's no time! He grappled to try and calm himself down, trying to pull his mind away from the mud and fear. He thought back to the last happy, content memory he had and was transported back to the car journey to the orphanage with Maddie and Charlie. Her beautiful face lit up his vision, no bruises discolouring her perfect skin as she smiled at Charlie and then at him. Tommy watched her as she played with his son, noticing as if for the first time of how close they had become. She had gone from being apprehensive of Charlie to filling the role of his mother, making Tommy love her even more. Instead of feeling a sting at seeing Maddie in Grace's place, Tommy had felt joy. He had never expected to find someone who could fill that hole in his life, and he definitely didn't think he deserved it. In that moment he knew that he would do everything in his power to keep this new family together.

Tommy kept the image of Maddie and Charlie in the forefront of his mind and gradually noticed his heart begin to settle. He took a deep breath and continued on with the same memory playing in his head on a loop and taking his mind out of the tunnel just enough to keep him calm.

Eventually, after another hour of digging and a few worries about the stability of the tunnel, Tommy and his men made it to the wall of the vault. The cold uniform brick a welcome sight through the blurry mess of clay and mud. He planted the explosive and set it off as quickly as he could manage in the cramped dark tunnel. The explosion was loud enough to cause his ears to ring painfully, but at least the sound was preferable to his deafening heartbeat. He scrambled out of the hole into the vault, a thick brick dust filling the air making it difficult to see where the jewels were. Tommy hurried around the room, holding up the jewels to his eyes so he could see them properly before stuffing them into a sack he had brought. He grabbed the last item, the Faberge egg, just as Letso called out to him.

'There's not much time! Let's go!'

Tommy clambered back into the tunnel and he and the others eagerly crawled their way back along it towards fresh air and freedom.

Tommy raced through the darkness on the quiet lane toward the only phone box for miles around. He could see the grey rectangular structure in the distance, illuminated by the headlights of his car. His skin felt dry and itchy from the mud that was still caking his skin, but he resisted the urge to rub the dirt off until this task was done. He needed to know Charlie was safe before he could do anything else, the stress of not knowing giving him a throbbing headache and nausea.

He pulled the car up next to the phone box and immediately jumped out and wrenched the door open and enclosed himself in the small space, the dim light barely illuminating the signpost on the wall of the box. He dropped the change into the phone and turned the crank aggressively, holding the earpiece to his ear as he awaited the sound of the operator's voice. The woman that took the call sounded annoyingly cheery for the middle of the night and Tommy tensed his jaw so as not to angrily snap the address of the office to her. He began tapping his finger impatiently on the top of the phone as he waited for the call to connect and for the ringing to start.

As predicted, the phone rang only once before it was answered, and Tommy sighed a loud sigh of relief when he heard the familiar sound of Maddie's voice through the earpiece.

'Is that you Tommy?' she asked, a nervous tension and an odd nasally tone in her voice.

'Yeah, it's me,' he replied.

'Oh, thank god,' she sighed. 'We got him back Tommy. He's unharmed.'

Her voice changed to a more relaxed and joyful tone as Tommy nodded to himself and sighed with relief at her words. Charlie's safe, he and Maddie are both alright, he repeated to himself in his head to reassure himself that it was real.

'Let me speak to him,' he asked.

'Yeah,' said Maddie followed by a crackling sound of her moving the mouthpiece and her voice sounding again but like it was from further away. 'Say hello to your daddy Charlie.'

There was a short pause and some more crackling before Tommy finally heard his sons little voice.

'Dada?'

'Charlie?' he said, a wide smile stretching across his face. 'Hello Charlie.'

'Hello,' responded Charlie followed by the unmistakable sound of a yawn. 'It's bedtime.'

Tommy couldn't help but chuckle at how calm his son sounded, as if he'd spent the day playing in the garden rather than being held captive, although the quietness of his voice signalled that he was very tired and had been kept awake so he could speak to him.

'You go to bed. Good boy,' said Tommy with a chuckle.

'Night night,' yawned Charlie before more rustling and voices on the other side of the phone told Tommy that Ada had taken Charlie off Maddie to put him to bed and Maddie's voice soon returned on the line.

'Tommy?' Tommy hummed in response as he rubbed his eyes, trying to stem the tears that were beginning to build. 'Did you get the jewels okay?'

'Yeah…' he sighed, not wanting to elaborate on the details of his experience in the tunnel over the phone.

'Good,' said Maddie followed by what sounded like a small laugh. 'But there's some bad news on this end, we got Charlie back but not in time to stop the explosion.'

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He knew it was a long shot to hope that they could avoid blowing up the train, but he knew that a whole new battle would be coming as a result of it. However, in that moment he didn't care, they had gotten Charlie back that was the most important thing.

'It's alright, I'll deal with it,' replied Tommy shortly.

'Okay… When will you be back?' asked Maddie nervously.

'Morning. I'm driving through the night,' he said. 'Take Charlie home and get some sleep, you deserve it.'

Maddie paused for a second before answering. 'Okay, I love you.'

'Love you.'

Tommy hung up the earpiece on the receiver hook and leant his head down to look at the floor a brief second before he felt the tears that were demanding to be released start to tip over his eyelids. He let the tears wet his eyes and cheeks as he wept, the intense stress of the last twenty-four hours now breaking his composure. He was thankful that he was alone and had the freedom to let his guard down without judgement, there weren't many occasions where he was at liberty to do this, and he let himself finally feel the shock.

What had he gotten them into? Was the business with the Russians worth risking his own son just to make the most amount of money his family had ever made? Of course not, he realised. But he had been so cool and calculating about the opportunity he had willingly ignored the risk to those closest to him and carried on anyway. What the fuck did he expect? Alfie was right. There is no fucking line in their world, not after all the things he and his family had done since they returned from France.

Tommy only let himself cry for all of two seconds before he sucked in a breath and forced his face back into its stony mask. Straightening up he left the phone box and returned to the car. As soon as he was inside, he lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, his eyes closed, inhaling the fumes as a welcome friend before breathing them out again. He sat the cigarette between his lips as he usually did and turned the key in the ignition.

Tommy was glad that he'd decided to stop back at the Lee's camp before driving back home so he could have a bath and rid his body of the mud. The water had been tepid, like the baths he used to have before he had Frances to run them for him, and he couldn't get every trace of mud from his skin and hair, but it would do for the time being. He felt considerably more comfortable with somewhat clean skin and some fresh clothes for the journey home and found that he was able to relax a little more now that the main reminder of being in the tunnel was gone.

The familiar border of Warwickshire came into view an hour or so after the sun had risen, and Arrow House loomed into view soon after that. Tommy spotted Ada's car on the drive as he got closer to the house and realised that she must have been the one who drove Maddie and Charlie home last night. He pulled up outside the front door, braking harshly in his impatience to get inside and see Maddie and his son. Ada met him at the door with a concerned look on her face although she didn't try to ask him anything as he approached.

'Where is he?' asked Tommy.

'Upstairs with Maddie,' she responded and gave a look like she wanted to add something else but decided against it.

Tommy nodded and marched past her to make his way upstairs. He ran up the steps as fast as he could with no sleep and jogged down the corridor toward Charlie's room. He heard his son before he saw him, the glorious sound of his laughter making its way along the corridor. He turned the corner and entered the room, spotting Charlie on the floor playing with his toys with Maddie knelt next to him. Not stopping, even when he saw her look up at him out of the corner of his eye, he dropped to his knees on the floor and scooped Charlie into his arms and hugged him to his chest with one arm before drawing Maddie to him with the other, burying his face in her hair on her shoulder.

They embraced silently for a second before Tommy could feel another round of tears begin to return to his eyes again and before he could contain them, he began to weep quietly into Maddie's shoulder. He felt her body stiffen momentarily before relaxing again, her hand coming up to caress the back his head soothingly as she leant her head against his. They stayed like this for a minute, Tommy letting the feeling of holding his son and Maddie's comforting action calm his sobs. He heard a small sniff come from her as they embraced, and he knew that she was also shedding some tears.

Once they'd both calmed, Tommy straightened up and released Maddie so he could lift Charlie up above his head with a smile before kissing him on the top of his head and placing him back on the floor with his toys. Finally, he turned to look at her properly and realised he hadn't gotten a good look at her face when he walked in the room and blinked once in shock. He brought his hands up to her face as she smiled back at him sheepishly, and he brushed her hair out of her face which she was obviously using to hide most of it. Her face was black and blue yet again only this time it covered all her face. Some places had begun to turn yellow but most of the bruises were still fresh looking. He examined her face silently and noticed that her bottom lip had been cut and was swollen on that side. Moving upwards he saw that her nose was almost twice its normal size and was pointing slightly to the left and her eyes were noticeably bloodshot and bruised as well. Tommy's brow gradually furrowed with concern and anger as he inspected Maddie's face and she eventually brought her hands up to remove his from her bruised cheeks and shook her head at him.

'It's not as bad as it looks. You should see the state of the other guy's face,' she said with a half-hearted chuckle.

Tommy noticed the nasal tone in Maddie's voice again and realised it was because her nose was broken, and she couldn't currently breath through it. He didn't find her joke amusing and gave her an unimpressed look.

'Don't,' he warned, shaking his head. 'Don't try and convince me you're alright.'

Maddie sighed and looked down at her hands guiltily before looking back up at him and nodding defeatedly. She took her turn to inspect Tommy and reached up to pull and bit of dirt from his hair, flicking it away as she smiled back at him.

'Are you okay?' she asked. 'And don't try convince me that you are if your aren't either.'

Tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, Tommy sighed and ran his hands down his face slowly before looking back at Maddie who was casting him a look of concern. He could tell she was probing him to open up about being back in the tunnels again as well as let out all of his bottled-up feelings about the last couple of days. The thing was, he wasn't used to opening up at this level, even with her. It had taken a considerable amount of time for him to share his thoughts with Grace and even then, he avoided discussing his traumatic experiences from France. He wasn't sure how to begin this topic and instead looked for confirmation of something else from her.

'Is this who I am Maddie?'

'What is?' she replied, looking taken aback by the odd question.

'This,' he reiterated, indicating around himself at the house they were sat in. 'Am I a man who puts his son's life at risk for this life I've created?'

Maddie's mouth opened slightly, her jaw stuttering as she absorbed the implications of Tommy's weighted question. She looked at his face silently, searching it as if for the first time, trying to identify any signs of the tyrannical man he knew he was. She brought herself up onto her knees and shuffled up closer to him, bringing her hand up to caress his face gently before bringing her face close to his.

'You've done bad things Tommy,' she began, making his heart sink in his chest at her observation. 'But you're not a bad man. You love Charlie, me, and your family and what happened wasn't because you didn't care about us. It's just bad people who did terrible things.'

Maddie closed the space between them and kissed him, her welcoming soft lips much needed against his after what felt like an age. Tommy let her honest words sink in and felt his personal guilt lift a little. He knew he wasn't completely blameless as she believed but the fact that someone as good as her, being a vampire slayer, didn't see him as an evil demon was enough to reassure him that he had a decent side.

They broke away from the tender kiss and they looked at each other for a moment, Tommy twirling a strand of her hair with his finger before letting a half-smile pull his lips up. Maddie returned the smile and they both let out a tense breath in unison. He decided he would share his experiences from the war with her once they were safely in bed together at the end of the day. That last conversation was enough heavy questioning for now and there were still things to be done before the day was up. Firstly, his rendezvous with Tatiana.

Tommy swallowed thickly, a new feeling of guilt rising to replace the old one as he pulled his pocket watch out of his pocket to check the time. He needed to get going in the next few minutes if he wanted to make it on time. He looked back at Maddie who was waiting expectantly for him to tell her what his next move was.

'I need to get going. I'm meeting Tatiana to exchange the jewels for cash,' he explained, voicing this plan for the first time to anyone other than himself or Tatiana.

'Wait… what?' asked Maddie looking considerably confused and apprehensive at the mention of the Duchess. 'Didn't we just steal them off her?'

'We made a deal,' said Tommy. 'I'd steal the jewels for her, make it look like she had nothing to do with it and she betrays her own family.'

Maddie stared at Tommy gobsmacked before her expression turned to one of annoyance.

'When was this decided? Why didn't you tell me about this plan before now?' she asked, sounding hurt.

A sharp guilt-ridden pang stabbed at his stomach as he looked back at Maddie as the memory of his last interaction with Tatiana began to haunt him. He had managed to keep the memory suppressed up until now, wanting to wait for the right time to admit it to her once the robbery was over. He could see that she was trying her best to hide the look of terror in her eyes, a previously forgotten worry now beginning to resurface. She was right, he was a man who did bad things, he only hoped that she would be able to forgive him this one.

'I kissed Tatiana.'

Tommy watched Maddie's reaction closely as he admitted his transgression emotionlessly. She sat very still in front of him, staring back at him with glassy eyes as a range of different emotions flickered past her face. Sadness, anger, disbelief, doubt, and fear, one after the other distorting her purple features. She sucked in a breath through her swollen nose and he spotted a tear forming in the corner of her eye which spilled over and ran down her cheek. An uncomfortable knot in Tommy's stomach twisted as he realised his mistake of keeping this to himself until now. The constant testing of trust on both sides between he and Maddie were beginning to take their toll and he could see that trust wavering yet again in her eyes.

That dreaded night at the Russians party had been one of the worst nights he'd had in recent memory, behind the nights Maddie got injured and when he got his scull caved in. Once the business of valuing the jewels had been concluded, Tommy had wanted nothing more than to get back in the car and drive home. But that unfortunately hadn't been an option if he wanted to make sure he didn't arouse any suspicion.

As Arthur and John engaged in the party, John especially. Tommy resorted to sitting in as quiet a corner as he could find, sipping on the Russian vodka in the hope it would blur out the debaucheries that surrounded him. Men and women alike were walking around naked and fucking each other blind; men and women, men and men, women and women. He hadn't experienced this kind of orgy before and despite his unshakable demeanour, even he found the openly homoerotic display a little surprising. Tommy hadn't really given much thought to homosexuality before, he wasn't disgusted by it by any means, mostly just indifferent, but nevertheless seeing it up close in such an environment took some getting used to.

Tommy remembered wanting to go home to Maddie. Yearning for her desperately in that moment, knowing that even if she was there, it would make the whole situation less tedious. However, she was not there and in order to try and forget about that fact, he had kept drinking the vodka quietly, striving to remain unseen. This strategy obviously wasn't a good one because soon after, a naked woman spotted him, noticing that he was fully clothed where the rest of the room wasn't and stalked over to him sensually. He held his hand up to deter her, but she ignored him and planted herself on his lap, topping up his glass with a bottle she'd brought with her. Tommy stiffened and let out an annoyed huff as the naked woman decided to treat him like a chair.

'Get off,' Tommy instructed evenly, but the woman ignored him again. She giggled, obviously assuming he was playing games, and put her face into his neck, beginning to kiss it making him recoil. His temper soon snapped, and he placed his free hand on her shoulder, shoving her firmly away from him. 'Enough,' he snapped, the woman almost tripping over from the force he had pushed her with.

She gave him a venomous glare before turning and stalking off to find someone more willing to engage with her. God did he wish this night would end. At this rate he even wished that Alfie had stayed, even having a conversation with that prick would be more tolerable than this. But since the incident with Alexander downstairs, there was no wonder Alfie had been escorted from the property as soon as the valuation was over.

Tommy was left alone after that for some time. Enough time for him to begin to get pleasantly drunk on vodka, the party now feeling less annoying than it had before. Then, just as he thought he'd gotten away with sitting alone all night, Tatiana appeared and sat herself next to him on the sofa and handed him a fresh glass of vodka.

'This one this better,' she said. 'It is my aunt's best bottle.'

Tommy eyed her and the glass once before nodding. 'Thank you.'

He took a sip of the clear spirit and immediately tasted that it was far superior to the one he had been drinking before, sweet and smoky at the same time making it more palatable. Tommy took another sip straight after and enjoyed the taste on his tongue. He looked back over at Tatiana dubiously, wondering what her motivation was in bringing him alcohol and sitting with him, but she just looked back at him with that weird psychotic smile. He noticed for the first time since arriving that Tatiana's brown hair had been cut since he last saw her, sitting on her shoulders in loose waves. She was also dressed differently than earlier, less gaudy and expensive in a stylish but tasteful dress. The ensemble seemed familiar although with his head beginning to go fuzzy, he failed to pinpoint why. Tommy waited for her to speak first, he wasn't interested in what she had to say and therefore wasn't going to ask her about it. She looked at him amused before finally speaking up.

'I think I have a proposition that would interest you,' she said. This was enough to draw Tommy's attention and he looked over at Tatiana stoically but with a raised eyebrow to signify for her to elaborate. 'But first I think we should drink more,' she said with an infuriating smug smile, holding her glass up in a toast.

Tommy blew an angry puff of air out of his nose but begrudgingly held up his glass wordlessly in return. He took another sip of the vodka and shut his eyes for a moment, trying to zone out the racket that was going on around the room. Tatiana didn't make anymore attempts to talk for a couple of minutes and just sat quietly next to him; he could hear her taking sips of her drink every now and again, which he also did as they sat in silence. The vodka she had given him was also stronger than the rest and Tommy soon began to feel his head become fuzzier, a weightless sensation running over his body. The silence they were sharing turned out to be short lived and she eventually broke the silence.

'My aunt only employs the best whores,' she said, Tommy turning to face her again.

He gave her an indifferent look, he couldn't care less whether the whores were good or bad, he wanted nothing to do with them. It was strange, if it weren't for Maddie, he would have probably allowed himself to indulge in intimacy with a number of the prostitutes here, but she had enthralled him so much that she had changed that part of him intrinsically. He took a large swig of the vodka, finishing the glass which he put down on the table next to him. He could feel Tatiana watching him and he looked at her questioningly. There was no doubt that she had noticed his distaste for the scene surrounding them, and more than likely she knew the reason why.

'But you are not interested in whores are you Mr Shelby?' asked Tatiana rhetorically.

Just then, Tommy felt a sickly wave ripple over his body as the vodka suddenly began to kick in, his head feeling like it was trying to part from his shoulders. He didn't have chance to throw an annoyed look at Tatiana before he was forced to shut his eyes and rest his head back to try and stop the room from spinning. He cleared his throat and pinched the bridge of his nose, regretting his decision to drink the vodka, it was his least favourite spirit after all.

As he took deep breaths to try and sober up a little, he found that it only made him more lightheaded, and he began to forget where he was and who he was sat with, the swimming in his head making him disorientated. He leant more into the sofa, leaning over to one side and soon felt his head rest on someone's shoulder. Their soft hair tickled the side of Tommy's face, and he took in a deep breath as he relaxed into them. He smelled the familiar scent of rose soap and woody perfume on their skin and the stimulus immediately brought the face he wanted to see most into his mind. He opened his eyes a little to look at her and saw Maddie's slender neck and brown hair in front of his eyes. Instinctively he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into her neck more. He heard her chuckle as she began to hold his head against her shoulder.

Tommy was so out of it, he didn't even wonder why Maddie was there, but he didn't care. He pressed his lips to her neck before slowly beginning to kiss and nip at it. She responded by sighing and caressing the back of his head which fuelled him on more. However, he had soon had enough of her neck and began to peck kisses up over her chin toward her lips. Once they connected, he put his hand in her hair, pressing their faces together harder, forcing her mouth open with his tongue. Maddie was more than willing and began to kiss back ravenously, a victorious chuckle rattling over her chest. They began to devour each other hungrily as she began to inch over onto his lap, grinding against his now solid erection. he moaned deeply against her lips and gripped at her waist roughly. She began to laugh more earnestly now, the sound a lot deeper than it usually was. She broke away from the kiss to bring her lips to his ear.

'Shall we fuck here or find a room?' she whispered seductively.

Tommy stopped and loosened his grip on her and pulled back slightly, finally realising something wasn't right. Her voice was too deep, too dark, her accent completely different to usual. He leant back and pushed the woman who he thought was Maddie away enough to see her face and had to squint at her to make out her features. His vision soon cleared well enough to see and he recognised the Cheshire cat like grin of Tatiana looking back at him as he also remembered where and when he was. His face dropped as he realised what he'd done, and reflexively threw her from his lap back onto the sofa harshly.

'Fuck!' he muttered.

Tommy heaved himself of the sofa, his head and stomach rolling awfully, and staggered away from Tatiana toward the nearest door that would take him out of the hot sweaty room. He barged out the door into an empty corridor that was blissfully cool compared to the party room. The fresh air immediately helped clear his mind a little, but he had to lean against the wall as he walked down it so he wouldn't fall. The familiar sensation of needing to vomit began to bubble in the pit of his stomach and he hurried toward what he hoped was a bathroom. A few seconds later he heard someone follow him into the corridor and footsteps run to catch up with him.

'You want to find somewhere quiet I presume,' said Tatiana smugly.

Tommy looked up at her with a thunderous expression. She was pursing her lips in a smile, looking very proud of herself. He fought every instinct to wrap his hands around her neck and strangle the life from her and instead made to carry on down the corridor and ignore her. He could feel his face sweating as his stomach did somersaults and he had to grit his teeth so he wouldn't vomit in the middle of the corridor. What the fuck is going on? He had never felt this way before after drinking alcohol, he hadn't even had that much. Then he realised he'd started to feel lightheaded once he started drinking the vodka Tatiana had given him. There was no way one glass would be enough to make him so disorientated and sick and he finally cottoned on to what had happened, and the realisation made the contents of his stomach begin to make its way up his oesophagus.

Stumbling into the bathroom, Tommy slammed the door shut behind him before Tatiana could follow and narrowly made it to the toilet before the bitter liquid contents of his stomach surged out. It tasted of acid and vodka, a combination which was worse than acid and whiskey it turned out. He wretched a few more times once his stomach was empty before the nausea eventually subsided and he sighed with relief. His senses came back to him more now the spiked alcohol was out of his system although his head was still swimming. He rinsed his mouth out with water and splashed some cold water over his face before straightening himself up, fury now replacing the nausea. He flung the bathroom door open to see Tatiana leaning against the wall waiting for him, grinning insufferably.

'You drugged me,' stated Tommy with a dangerously flat tone.

Tatiana's grin widened, not a modicum of guilt even passing her features. That explained how quickly he had lost his senses, and why she had cut her hair and dressed so differently to ususal. She looked a lot like Maddie, from a distance they would have looked identical to anyone who was drunk. She had even gone to the effort of using the same soap and perfume as her to solidify the ruse. However, in the light of the corridor, she didn't even compare. The amount of effort she had gone to in her mission to get Tommy in bed was in fact quite pathetic, he realised. She knew he had no interest in sleeping with her and the only way she would be able to do that was to drug him and impersonate her competitor. Tommy scoffed at Tatiana, letting her know just how pathetic he thought she was and finally her smile disappeared. She pushed herself off the wall and walked right up to him, staring him down as he stood his ground.

'You wanted it Tommy, you still do,' she whispered deeply. Helet out a huff of disbelief, the woman was completely delusional. How she could still believe that he wanted to fuck her he'd never know.

'You're fucking lucky I'm not going to cut your eyes out right here,' threatened Tommy, his voice laced with fury and menace. Tatiana blinked; the only sign she'd shown of being intimidated since they met. Her features set into a mixture of defeat and annoyance. He didn't blame her, not after all the effort she had gone to. 'I suggest you tell me this proposal before I change my mind,' he instructed.

Tatiana stepped back and regarded him for several seconds. At one point she looked like she was going to slap him and test whether he was being serious before wisely deciding against it. It was then that she revealed her idea to steal her family's jewels from under their noses. Tommy delivering them to her and her paying him in full the following day. Her family's cause was a lost one and she wished to cut her losses while she still could. Heconsidered her proposal for a couple of minutes before deciding that this would benefit him far more than the original plan. He wouldn't have to blow up the train and would save his family from possible imprisonment.

'Deal,' said Tommy, holding out his hand to her which she shook. 'And if you come near me again tonight, the deal is off and I will kill you.'

He turned away from her without waiting for a response and made his way outside to smoke several cigarettes in a row. Tommy avoided the party and its guests for the rest of the night, instead spending most of his time outside and trying to shake off the feeling of guilt that plagued him.

Tommy was snapped back to the present as Maddie finally broke the silence between them, her voice shaking in a way that made him shiver.

'You lied to me.'

The statement felt like a punch in the gut. It took Tommy a second to realise that she was referring to the moment in the attic and immediately started to shake his head in protest.

'No, I didn't sleep with her,' said Tommy. 'I didn't lie about that.'

Maddie cast him a disbelieving look, tears now dripping out her eyes earnestly.

'Oh, and that makes it okay?' she asked tersely.

Tommy shook his head again. No, it didn't make it okay, far from it.

'I was going to tell you when I got back but I couldn't risk you doing something rash.'

'Like cutting your head off for instance?'

Tommy sighed and nodded. 'I'm sorry.'

Maddie huffed angrily, shaking her head at him, not willing to accept his apology.

'Why Tommy?' she asked quietly with a look that said she really didn't want to know.

Tommy decided to tell her what happened at the party, right down to the last detail, including the part about Tatiana's trick that caused him to lose his sense of what was happening. Reliving the memory again was enough to make his stomach churn but he bit it out nonetheless. As he told the story, Maddie's face gradually changed from devastation to wrath although the anger didn't seem to be aimed at him.

'I'm coming with you to meet her,' stated Maddie once he'd finished his recount and Tommy furrowed his brow at her, not expecting this response to which she elaborated. 'So I can run my axe through her head.'

Maddie made to get up, but Tommy stood and grabbed her by the arm. 'No, she needs to pay us for the jewels. Then we'll never see her again.'

'I don't care. Not after that little stunt she pulled.'

Maddie was no longer regarding Tommy with anger, and he realised that she'd concluded that he wasn't to blame for his unfaithfulness, but Tatiana was. He knew he wasn't purely responsible, the woman had drugged him, but he should have been more on guard and known that it wasn't Maddie who he was kissing.

'Maddie, please,' Tommy pleaded. 'She's not worth it.'

This made Maddie hesitate as she absorbed what he'd said before sighing and nodding.

'You're right,' she said. 'But if I ever see her again, she's dead.'

Tommy nodded, an amused smile painting his lips. 'Agreed.'

Maddie smiled back awkwardly, looking down as she tried to find her words.

'I'm glad you told me, even if it was a bit late,' she said.

'I'm sorry,' repeated Tommy.

She shook her head. 'It's alright, I forgive you.'

Tommy sighed with relief. He didn't believe that he was worthy of her forgiveness, but he couldn't bear the thought of her hating him or worse leaving him because of his indiscretion and decided he'd accept it. He looked at his pocket watch again and saw he was now running late.

'I've got to go,' he said. 'Wait here with Charlie and Ada, I'll be back in a couple of hours.'

Tommy leant down to plant a gentle kiss to her lips before turning to leave the room.

'Remember, you can always shoot her if she tries anything on you,' called Maddie as he left, making him chuckle to himself.

'If you're ever in Vienna look me up.'

Tatiana smiled at him before he sighed and finally turned his back on her with no intention of setting eyes on her again. He was glad to be seeing the back of her, even more so after she shot her own valuer in the face. He sincerely hoped that her comments about the jewels being cursed was true, even if one of them had maybe cursed Grace to death. Maybe these ones would lead to Tatiana's eventual end if he were lucky. He picked up the briefcase of money and slumped back to the car. He could feel the exhaustion of the past few days overwhelming his body; he wanted to sleep but there were still a few things left to do before he could rest. Namely, divide the money and enquire as to the aftermath of the train explosion which unfortunately wasn't stopped. The journey back home felt long despite not being too far away from the house, the tiredness making time feel sluggish. Once home Maddie came out to meet him, smiling to see him back so quickly.

'How'd it go?' she asked.

Tommy held up the suitcase. 'As planned.'

'And the Russian bitch?'

Tommy huffed with amusement. 'She's gone to Vienna. Let's hope she stays there.' Maddie nodded, looking considerably pleased to hear that Tatiana would hopefully never be seen again. 'I need to make some calls. Everyone will be here soon, there's a meeting in my office in half an hour,' informed Tommy.

'Okay.'

Tommy walked past Maddie into the house and straight to his office, shutting the door behind him. Chairs had already been set out ready for the meeting which he weaved through to reach his desk. He put the suitcase on his desk before sitting down and picking up the phone. He got through to the minister for foreign relations relatively smoothly and went straight to the point in finding out what damage had been done.

'Your family are lucky Mr Shelby,' sighed the minister. 'If it were anyone else a warrant would be out for your brother's, cousin and aunt's arrests and they'd be facing the noose if it weren't for your convincing arguments last week.'

Tommy made a mental note to thank Maddie again for her genius idea of the suggestion charm. He remembered the meeting he'd had with the various MP's well and thanked his lucky stars for the lifeline she had thrown him. It had been more difficult than with John, but the charm had worked wonders and he had managed to get his family out of various charges, but only just it seemed.

'I see,' replied Tommy.

'You are walking on very thin ice, Mr Shelby. I must stress the importance that if anything else were to happen, or if any of them were to leave the country at the current time the warrant will go out for their arrest.'

'I understand.'

'I'm also afraid that this will lead to the temporary stripping of your export and betting licences until a decision has been made. A fine may well be issued as well.'

Tommy sighed. This was indeed a high price to pay but all these issues were easily solvable, especially if he were to use the charm again. He was just relieved to hear that he wouldn't have to tell his family that they were going to be arrested. Arthur and Linda were not going to like hearing that they wouldn't be able to catch their boat to America, but they had no choice if Arthur wanted to remain a free man.

'Thank you, I'll be in contact again in due course,' said Tommy before hanging up the phone.

He rubbed his eyes wearily as he slumped over his desk and lit up a cigarette. He allowed himself a moment's respite before pulling the suitcase toward him and emptying the money onto his desk. He spent the rest of the time before the meeting counting out everyone's share, lining up the stacks and rolls neatly. He put his own share back in the suitcase and tucked it under his desk. A minute later everyone filed into the office and took their seats in front of his desk, anxiously awaiting him to speak.

The meeting was tense to say the least, the silence lingering after Tommy's every word. He admitted he didn't know what came over himself when he had his outburst, angrily pointing out how his family had accepted the money despite not wanting to participate in the first place. Polly looked extremely angry in a calm and reserved way after this. Michael had gone through with killing Hughes and had accepted the money for it, but Polly had tried to give it back only to have Michael take it back again. Maddie had watched on with a solemn look as Tommy voiced his concern for his character again, looking for an answer as to why he put them all in this situation for the sake of money. When Polly and all the women spoke up about a new direction for the company, Maddie had also piped up, agreeing that she wanted to hear Polly's proposal. Already exasperated, Tommy decided not to address the issue there and then and instead turned to Arthur and Linda who announced their intention to leave.

'I wouldn't recommend you leave Arthur,' said Tommy, causing he and Linda to look at him confused.

'What?' asked Arthur.

'The government are aware of what we did. I've managed to get us out of arrest but that means than none of us can leave England until further notice.' Arthur and Linda looked at each other as the rest of the room looked around at each other nervously. 'I'm sorry brother,' said Tommy before Linda got up from her chair angrily.

'You wanted this to happen!' she shouted, pointing angrily at him. 'To stop us from leaving!'

She looked as though she was ready to march over and hit him, but Arthur hushed her and she sat back down with a huff.

'It's alright Linda. America's not going anywhere,' he said, rubbing Linda's arm gently.

'Also, the government have also stripped us of our export and betting licences for the time being,' carried on Tommy, ignoring Linda's outburst.

This information created a more virile response from the room, everyone looking at each other in shock before beginning to protest to Tommy angrily.

'But that's our entire business Tommy!' said Ada as if he didn't already know that.

Michael and Polly also had a lot to say about the matter which Tommy just listened to wordlessly, staring blankly at them as they gesticulated. The only one who remained silent was Maddie who cast him a sympathetic look. He eventually threw his hands up to silence the room.

'I already have a plan to rectify the issue,' stated Tommy.

It was only half a lie; Tommy had a few ideas as to how to turn this around but hadn't decided on a solid plan as yet. Polly scoffed and folded her arms angrily.

'Well, we all know how well your last great idea went Thomas,' she snapped, eliciting agreed nods from the room.

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Well, it's either this or the noose, which would you prefer Pol?'

This silenced the room immediately, the gravity of the trouble they were all in now only just dawning on them. Polly sat back down slowly and placed her head in her hands in despair as Tommy sighed.

'As I said, I'll handle it. Right now, all of you take your money home, don't spend it until I've cleared up this mess alright?'

The room sighed in unison and looked down deflated. This should have been an occasion to celebrate a successful plan, but it had left everyone disheartened and Tommy only had himself to blame. They all got up one by one and trudged out of the office, not saying goodbye as they took their money to their cars and drove off. Soon he and Maddie were the only people left in the room and she got up to approach him. She cupped his face with her hands and examined his features with her eyes which were still bloodshot but already looking better.

'You okay Tommy?' she whispered tenderly, brushing the hair on his forehead to one side.

'I'm tired.'

This was all Tommy could manage to say, his body was begging for sleep, and he felt like he could pass out any minute from exhaustion. Maddie nodded knowingly and took his hand in hers.

'Come on, let's get some sleep.'

She led Tommy out of the office and up the stairs to the bedroom, the bed a welcome sight. They stripped themselves of their outer layers and Tommy collapsed into the bed as Maddie settled in next to him and he felt her stroking his head as sleep quickly took him.

The two of them slept through to the following day, Tommy opening his eyes groggily but feeling rejuvenated. He was pleased to see that as they slept Maddie's face had healed considerably, all the bruises now yellow. Also, her nose was now pointing the right way and the swelling had gone, her eyes were no longer bloodshot, and her lip had healed completely so she looked pretty much like her normal self again. He noticed some other bruises on her body that were also healing which she hadn't shown him the day before, but they obviously weren't serious.

'Morning,' yawned Maddie as they awoke. 'At least I hope it's morning.'

A glance at the clock informed them it was still morning but only just. Sighing Tommy heaved his body out of bed and opened the curtains. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, the heat of the room telling him that it was hot outside. The office wouldn't be open today, with no legal way to do business at the moment, there was no point in going but he felt strangely freed at the prospect of a day of doing nothing. A day to try and forget the trauma of the past few days and enjoy some time with Maddie and Charlie and she got up and joined him by the window.

'Beautiful day,' she commented with a smile.

Tommy turned to face her and kissed her passionately, embracing her tightly before breaking away.

'Let's go and enjoy it, eh?' he replied, giving her a genuine smile that made her beam with excitement.

The juxtaposition between the atmospheres of the previous forty-eight hours and this new day were startling. The removal of any work-related responsibility for a day made Tommy feel weightless and free for the first time since he was a teenager. He, Maddie and Charlie spent the day together in the sun, Tommy dressing in some of the only casual clothes he owned, lightweight trousers and shirt, which to Maddie apparently weren't casual at all and she teased him relentlessly all day for it. She herself had worn a dress made of the thinnest material she could find and refused to wear stockings or shoes all day due to the heat. It was a good thing there was no one else around as she decided to tie the skirt of the dress in a knot so that it was shorter and sat high up her thighs which Tommy made no complaint about.

They had a picnic in the garden and taught Charlie different games like catch and football. He struggled to grasp the importance of using his feet however and kept picking up the ball and running away with it much to Maddie's amusement. They took him on a ride across the fields on Luna, to which he squealed happily as they cantered along the river. But by late afternoon, he begun to tire and grumble hungrily so they passed him off to Harriet to get him ready for bed while they stayed outside in the warm afternoon sun. As they lay on the grass together in comfortable silence, Maddie rolled onto her side and smiled widely at Tommy, her face emanating pure joy. He smiled back and she began to laugh, causing him to cock his eyebrow at her in question.

'I don't think I've seen you smile so much in one day,' she explained.

Had he been smiling that much? He hadn't realised. Upon reflection he realised he had actually had a smile on his face for the entire day since they had awoken. This was a day that Tommy never thought he'd ever experience, not after the life he'd led for the past ten years. Just the three of them was all it took to put a genuine relaxed smile on his face and now he was desperate to have more days like this now that he'd tasted what he had been missing.

'I suppose I never have,' said Tommy with a low chuckle.

'I wish every day was like today,' Maddie pondered as she shuffled closer to Tommy to rest her head on his chest.

'That would be nice,' he admitted, although it was a childish fantasy that of course wasn't possible. Especially in his family.

They lay in silence again and Tommy began to absentmindedly run his hand up and down Maddie's back with his eyes shut. He did this for a few minutes before moving his hand over to her waist and down to her hip which he squeezed firmly. She gave a small sigh at the contact and lifted her leg up to wrap over his as she began to run her hand over his chest. He hugged her closer to him and she looked up at him through her lashes. The bruises on her face had gradually begun to be replaced with mild pink sunburn from the intense sun which gave her a glow that her pale skin previously lacked.

She drew herself up to look down at him and after a pause, dropped her lips to his softly. They kissed gently, lost in the calm warm moment on the lawn, not caring about the passage of time. Tommy felt his cock begin to stir in his trousers and as much as he was enjoying the tenderness of the kiss, he now had the urge to be more forceful. He ran his tongue over Maddie's bottom lip before biting it sharply, making her gasp. She got the message straight away and shifted her weight to straddle him as they became rougher with their kissing. His hand went straight for her backside right between her thighs as if it had a mind of its own and squeezed hard. She automatically flattened her body against him and ground her hips down onto his erection. His moan was stifled by the kiss, and he reached up and laced his fingers into her hair before pulling her head to the side, breaking their lips apart so he could suck at her neck.

They writhed against each other on the grass in full view of the house, not caring who was watching as they became lost in each other for the first time in what felt like weeks. Tommy eventually got tired of being underneath Maddie as she ground herself against him infuriatingly and he rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He ran his hand up her leg and bunched her skirt up to her hips as he kissed around her jaw. Her moans gradually became louder as he slid his hand up toward her underwear and eventually ran his fingers over the top of them firmly.

'Tommy,' she gasped, as if suddenly realising where they were. 'What if someone's watching?'

'Let them,' he whispered into her ear in a deep voice laced with arousal.

The thought of someone watching them didn't turn Tommy off, but in fact aroused him more, his cock throbbing at the idea and he punctuated his statement with a nip to Maddie's earlobe. She must have felt the same way as she gasped again and pushed his head further into her neck. Understanding her silent request, he moved his lips down her neck and toward her collar bone, only barely brushing her skin which he knew made her crazy. He began to unbutton her dress at the front and growled menacingly when he realised that she hadn't been wearing a bra all day, angered that he hadn't noticed until now. He opened the front of her dress to expose her breasts before immediately bringing one of her nipples into his mouth and sucking on it hard. Her back arched up off the grass and she groaned in heady pleasure. Tommy couldn't stop the smile that played on his lips before he started to bite down slightly harder on her nipple causing her to nearly scream like he knew she would. He looked up and could see Maddie's face creasing with the effort to not be too loud, but he wanted her to scream his name for the world to hear and there was only one sure fire way to do that.

Releasing her nipple, Tommy began to kiss down Maddie's stomach whilst finding the top of her underwear with his hands. Her breath began to shudder with expectation as he slid them over her knees and discarded them before gently pushing her knees out to the side. Her pussy was dripping as he expected, and he grinned smugly as he began to plant teasing kisses to her thighs. She huffed with impatience as he took his time to make his way inwards and eventually grabbed a handful of his hair to start pushing his head down. It was times like these that Tommy wished he was stronger than Maddie so he could resist her and tease her for longer but alas that wasn't to be. He let her guide him to her folds where he finally ran his tongue over them slowly, tasting her juices on his tongue.

Tommy realised it had been too long since he'd indulged in giving Maddie oral, immediately regretting neglecting this practice considering how much he enjoyed it. The taste of her was enough to send him into a frenzy and he couldn't restrain himself from devouring her pussy within an inch of its life. She started to pant and wriggle frantically as he ran his tongue around her folds, to her clit and into her pussy in one smooth motion. He grabbed her hip bones and pinned her down to the grass as he continued this pattern a few times, her moaning becoming louder and more high pitched. Then he felt her muscles suddenly begin to tense and he knew she was close. Tommy returned to her clit and flicked it lightly with his tongue before sucking on it firmly in the way he knew would bring her over the edge and before too long he was rewarded with what he wanted.

'Tommy! Oh… fuck!' screamed Maddie so loud that it was sure to be heard by anyone in the house.

She orgasmed hard and Tommy struggled to keep her hips still as he continued to suck on her clit until he was sure it had ended. Maddie gradually relaxed onto the grass and he released her clit and crawled back up to her face to kiss her lips. She kissed him back hungrily as he got a kick out of making her taste herself on his lips. Then he felt her hands wandering down to his cock which was now marble hard and throbbing. She quickly undid his trousers and released his cock from its confines before rubbing the head over her still wet pussy. Tommy moaned a low rumbling moan and Maddie tightened her grip around him making him hiss as she brought her lips to his earlobe and nipped it.

'I want you to fuck me on the grass Tommy,' she sighed seductively into his ear. 'I want you to fuck me right here where anyone could see.'

Her words were enough to send him into a predatory frenzy and he growled loudly before pushing his cock inside her roughly. He gasped at the tight wetness that surrounded him and didn't hesitate before beginning to thrust at a fast pace as Maddie called out his name even more to spur him on. Tommy's mind spun with how good she felt, how hot and wet her pussy was around his cock and his pace soon became animalistic, not afraid of hurting her due to her slayer strength. She began to pull on his hair as she moaned uncontrollably, and he quickly felt his climax beginning to approach. He grunted loudly as he came, his whole body tensing as he emptied himself inside her.

They both panted like dogs for several seconds before Tommy noticed how sweaty they were, their clothes almost drenched in it. An unfortunate consequence of fucking in the hot sun. He looked up at the house to finally see if anyone was watching but saw the windows empty, although he doubted that they had been a few seconds ago. They sat themselves up and righted their clothing before getting up, which was when he noticed the numerous grass stains that covered their clothes.

'If no one knew what we just did, then they definitely will when they see the state of us,' joked Maddie with a giggle before looking up at Tommy suggestively. 'Join me for a bath?'

There was Maddie's insatiable libido, back with a vengeance and Tommy couldn't help the grin that forced his lips up in response to her suggestion. Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms and over her shoulder playfully making her squeal and laugh as he carried her inside. The house was eerily bereft of staff and he knew that they had definitely watched them from the windows and were now avoiding them as he carried her through the house up to the bathroom.

The evening was spent with mostly no clothes on, Tommy and Maddie only leaving the bedroom to have dinner; Tommy actually eating all of his plate for the first time in months. Eventually though, their stamina began to dwindle, even Maddie's, and they settled into bed curled up next to each other as the sky finally turned completely black. It was then that he realised what he'd forgotten to do the previous day: tell Maddie about his time in France. He breathed deeply as he decided that now was the time to share the most personal and damaged part of himself with her. He looked over to her and with a purposeful look and she smiled inquisitively back at him.

'What is it?' she smiled.

'It's time I told you about France,' replied Tommy with a nervous swallow. Maddie paused and then smiled knowingly, rolling over onto her side and resting her head on her hand.

'You sure?' she asked as she used her other hand to gently start tracing his cheekbones.

Tommy took a deep breath and sighed, nodding. 'Yeah.'

Tommy wasn't sure where to begin and took a moment to think about what he wanted to say as Maddie waited patiently for him to speak. He started with the memory of he and his brothers volunteering for the army, not then realising what the consequences would be. He had started out in the Small Heath rifle regiment with his brothers but had been transferred to the tunnelling division shortly after with Danny Whizbang and Freddie Thorne, who at the time he got along with. He told her about the battles of the Somme and Verdun where he and his comrades had dug under the enemy's feet and killed the machine gun operators on the other side of no man's land.

Retelling these memories from the war was a surreal experience and Tommy could hear his voice faltering frequently. When he got to the memory of the incident in the tunnel with the French tunnelers, where Freddie took a bullet for him, he had to pause for a minute as the dreaded sound of the shovels and the gunshot plagued his thoughts. Maddie silently and patiently listened to his recount of his time in France, stroking his hair comfortingly at all the right moments.

For the first time ever, Tommy then confessed how guilty and hollow the experience had made him. How it had made him into the cold and ruthless man that he was today. He had survived through a war that he should have never returned from, so everything else after he got back, he had treated as extra. The experience haunted him every day and, in his dreams, so he couldn't get away from it, never truly move on and it was like carrying a demon on your back all the time.

'If you ask Polly, she'd tell you I used to laugh a lot. We all did,' he said. 'But none of us came back the same.'

Tommy recalled Danny Whizbang and how shell-shocked he had been since they came home and wondered how the hell he hadn't ended up the same way.

'You've laughed a lot today,' Maddie pointed out with a small smile. Today had been the first day in years in which Tommy had spent all of it happy. It gave him hope that the rest of his life might not be as miserable as he expected it would if she was going to be in it. He fell silent as he felt that his monologue had come to an end, and she cuddled up closer to him so their noses were nearly touching.

'How do you feel?' she asked.

'Alright,' sighed Tommy. He hadn't expected opening up to her like this to lift some weight of his shoulders, but it had, and he was thankful for it.

'I love you Tommy,' whispered Maddie. 'And I don't think you're that ruthless.'

Tommy huffed a small laugh at her innocent comment but was glad that she didn't see him as such a bad man, even after all the reasons he'd given her to believe it.

'Thank you, I love you too.'

Maddie shut her eyes and sighed as she settled next to Tommy, and he wrapped his arms around her as she fell asleep, the exhaustion of the day pulling her into sleep before him. He stroked her hair for a while as she snoozed, he himself apprehensive of sleep. Despite the conversation they'd had, he feared that the reliving of his past would cause the old nightmares to return followed by the new ones he currently suffered, and the thought kept his eyes open. Eventually however, his own exhaustion was fighting to win and after half an hour his eyes were dragged shut.

Tommy had been right to fear falling asleep as his dreams were plagued with the sound of shovels and screaming but he couldn't wake up from it. The nightmare persisted for what felt like eternity. He crawled through the tunnels in France into the tunnel underneath Hampton Court as he was pursued by the shovels somewhere behind him. Finally, though he emerged into a small cavern where he was able to spread his limbs out and breathe. However, something more horrific awaited him. He fumbled into the cave and rolled over, hitting something cold but soft. He turned his head and let out a scream as he recognised the dirt covered bodies of Maddie and Charlie, lying next to each other in the mud, their eyes staring ahead, cold and lifeless.

'Tommy, wake up!'

Tommy sat bolt upright as his eyes flew open, a panicked gasp escaping him. He panted heavily and looked around to confirm that he wasn't in the tunnel but in his bedroom. His skin was dripping with cold sweat and his chest felt painfully tight as his heart raced making his ears ring. Then he felt Maddie's hands on his shoulders, and he registered that she was knelt next to him, looking at him with worry. He sighed and tried to slow his breathing as he ran his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes.

'Are you okay?' asked Maddie quietly. 'You were tossing and turning and then you screamed and I had to shake you awake.'

Tommy could feel his muscles twitching as he tried not to shiver, the cold sweat on his skin cooling even more. Maddie cupped his face with her hands as she rested her forehead against his and he grasped her wrists as he took another few breaths before replying.

'I'll be fine,' he said shakily.

'Your soaking,' she whispered as she ran her hand through his hair. 'I'll go get a towel.'

Maddie made to get out of bed, but Tommy held her wrist fast and pulled her toward him.

'No!' he burst out. 'Stay a minute.'

Maddie looked back at him confused before nodding and Tommy pulled her toward him so he could rest his head on her shoulder and breath in her scent. It had all been a horrible nightmare, none of it real but part of him was afraid that this was just another part of the dream; that if she left the shovels would start again and if he followed her into the bathroom, he'd find her dead on the floor.

'What happened Tommy?' asked Maddie. 'In the dream?'

Tommy sighed and hugged her closer, his breathing finally beginning to slow as he replied. 'Shovels and mud and... you and Charlie were... gone.'

Maddie let out another sigh before pulling back and forcing his face up to look at her.

'It wasn't real Tommy, we're still here, you're not in France,' she soothed, her voice tender and comforting. Tommy nodded; the panic now almost subsided. 'Let me get that towel, eh?'

'Yeah,' agreed Tommy as Maddie reached over to turn on the bedside lamp.

The light calmed him further and he finally felt like he could relax. She got out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom as he sat himself of the edge of the bed. She returned two seconds later holding a clean towel which she passed to him as she sat next to him on the bed.

'Maybe that talk last night wasn't such a good idea,' said Maddie as Tommy dried his face and hair.

He took a moment to consider what she said, maybe voicing his darkest moments and emotions wasn't the best way to move on from them. But then again, keeping them bottled up for so long hadn't done much good either. Maybe this was just the steppingstone toward getting rid of these nightmares for good, he thought. What he needed to do was to confront his deepest fears in order to accept them and put them behind him.

'No,' replied Tommy with certainty. 'I needed to say it all out loud. The nightmares will get better.'

Despite his confidence in what he said, Tommy struggled to sleep for the rest of the night, only managing to doze for a few minutes at a time before waking up and staring at the ceiling. This routine continued until morning and the morning sun began to shine through the gaps in the curtains. Maddie had managed to get back to sleep relatively easily and was still fast asleep when he looked over at her. Sighing, he carefully removed her hand from his chest where she had rested it when she fell asleep, managing successfully not to wake her. He got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, deciding there was no point in lying awake in bed any longer.

As Tommy washed away the remnants of his sweaty odour in the hot shower, he let himself laugh ironically at how a perfect day like yesterday had been followed by such a bad start to this one. However, if sleeping in wasn't to be his fate this morning then he may as well make use of it. After his shower, Tommy shaved his face, removing the stubble that has started to grow the previous day before going back into the bedroom where Maddie was still asleep. He picked out a clean suit and dressed silently, making sure he didn't accidentally wake her as he laced up his shoes. He checked his reflection in the mirror, the dim light of the dawn sun just enough to be able to make it out. It was as if the last few days hadn't happened, his appearance creating the illusion that he was getting ready for normal day at the office even though that was far from the case.

Tommy left the bedroom into the silent corridor, not even Frances was anywhere to be seen, and he made his way downstairs to his office. The room had been returned to its usual state the previous day, the sofas and tables back and the chairs nowhere to be seen, the clock on the table reading five o'clock. Firstly, he grabbed a cigarette from the large box on the side table and lit it before filling his silver case and putting it in his pocket. He sat at his desk and smoked for a few minutes before stubbing out the cigarette in his ashtray. His foot knocked into something under his desk, and he looked down to see the suitcase with the money in it that he'd left there and completely forgotten about. Tommy removed the money and locked it into his desk cupboard before leaving the suitcase to one side. He'd been so enthralled by the happiness of the previous day that he'd neglected to put the money away safely, an unusually careless thing for him to do.

Tommy sat and thought as he sat at his desk for a while. He knew he'd only had one day off, but he was itching to begin the process of getting the company re-running again before too much damage could be done. He also wanted to process what happened in his dream on his own in the hopes that it would improve the chances of him sleeping that night without it happening again.

For the next three hours, Tommy wrote several letters addressed to the relevant members of parliament, requesting official meetings and hearings in order to get their licences back. He was reminded of the fact that he needed to get glasses as he leaned in close to the paper as he wrote, something else he'd also been neglecting to address. I'll have to ask Alfie for the details of the man he recommended, thought Tommy. He also scribbled down a quick list of people to call once the clock hit nine to verbally begin planting the seeds in his plan to get the company back on its feet. As he began to seal the letters he'd written, there was a knock on the office door.

'Come in,' ordered Tommy and he looked up to see Frances enter the room.

'I didn't expect to see you up so early Mr Shelby,' she said, a slightly disgruntled look on her face. 'Do you need me to get you anything?'

Tommy guessed her comment was a result of the antics he and Maddie got up to on the lawn and in the bedroom the previous day, something that the whole house would have heard and most likely witnessed but he kept his expression firm and indifferent as he regarded her. Clearing his throat, he finished sealing the letters and stacked them in a neat pile.

'No, I don't need anything,' replied Tommy. 'But have these letters sent via urgent mail, I want the recipients to read them today.'

Frances nodded and took the letters as Tommy handed them out to her.

'I'll call for a courier now,' she said. 'Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes if you are taking it sir.'

With that Frances left the room, leaving him alone again. He glanced at the clock and saw it was shortly after eight. There had been no sign of Maddie yet, but he knew she would be awake soon, she never missed breakfast as long as she could help it. He decided to wait for her in the dining room, reading the morning paper as he sipped at a cup of tea. Soon enough, she appeared dressed in her outdoor attire, obviously expecting a day much like the previous and gave a look of disappointment when she spotted Tommy's well-dressed figure sat at the table.

'How long have you been up?' she asked as she sat down.

'Long enough,' he replied, giving her an apologetic glance.

Maddie nodded, looking down at her lap slightly crestfallen. As much as Tommy wanted to have another day like yesterday, he knew it wouldn't be the same, not with all the details of his plan to get everything back to normal running through his head. She would just have to entertain herself for the day, something that shouldn't be difficult for her, but he still felt slightly guilty for disappointing her.

'You're not trying to avoid me are you? After last night?' asked Maddie out of the blue.

Tommy looked over at her perplexed and saw the insecure look in her eyes. Was he avoiding her? As he asked himself this, he realised that the answer was yes, but not because of her. He had always thought better when he pondered the problem in his head alone before asking someone else their opinion. Last night's nightmare was no different. The dream was ticking over in the back of his mind and he still needed to figure out what he made of it before he could share that with Maddie. He fully intended on doing that, just not yet. Sighing, Tommy put down his paper and reached over to take her hand in his, ready to tell the truth for once.

'Yes, I have,' he said honestly, earning him a blink of surprise from Maddie. 'I need time to be alone with my thoughts before I can tell you about them. Working helps me do that. I'll tell you once I'm ready.'

Maddie paused before giving Tommy a small smile, thankfully believing him and he realised how much better things turned out between the two of them when they were honest.

'Okay, I get that,' she said before sighing. 'But what does that mean for me today?'

Tommy wished he could give her something helpful to do, but with the office closed there wasn't anything she could help with. Then he remembered the charm that he would need to use again at the meetings he'd planned and wondered whether it could be improved.

'The charm,' he began. 'Do you think you could improve its effectiveness?'

Maddie gave Tommy a sceptical look as she considered his request before shaking her head.

'Um, I'm not sure if I can,' she said before giving an annoyed huff before mumbling. 'I wish Giles was around, he'd know what to do.'

Tommy recalled Maddie telling him about Giles, the man who had helped her train as a slayer and who was a reasonably experienced warlock. The man would indeed be helpful but he wasn't here so she would need to try and figure it out herself.

'Try thinking about what he'd say if he were here,' prompted Tommy.

Maddie raised her eyebrows at the suggestion before a hopeful look spread across her face and she sat up straighter.

'Yeah, you're right,' she said. 'I'll picture him silently judging me for my stupidity and the solution should come right to me.'

The last part she said more to herself than to Tommy and he wondered what kind of odd relationship the two of them must have had as he picked up his paper again and continued reading.

Tommy didn't eat much of his breakfast whereas Maddie ate it all, their usual routine seeming to have returned to normal. As the time approached nine o'clock, he excused himself from the table and kissed her on the top of the head before returning to his office. She smiled as he left and he conceded regrettably that he didn't expect to see her face again until dinner. Upon return to his desk, he picked up the phone just at the stroke of nine and got put straight through to the minister for trade who sounded almost alarmed at receiving a phone call just as he began his day.

Tommy spent a considerable amount of the day on the phone. When he wasn't talking down it, he was writing proposals and requests that he would need in preparation for the meetings he had planned, the list of which was growing with each passing hour. He worked through lunchtime, the pile of cigarette ends building in his ashtray and his whiskey decanter approaching empty. He hoped by now that his letters he'd written that morning would have reached their intended destinations and sounded urgent enough for their recipients to reply straight away. He then set about calling Michael, ordering him to assess the state of the legal side of the business and estimate what damage had been done. He also called on John to do the same for the betting side of things, wanting him to calculate the potential losses they could expect until they got their licences returned. Tommy also called Alfie for updates on the state of the London outfits since the robbery and was glad to hear that business was good. He remembered to ask Alfie for the address of the oculist who'd made his spectacles and scribbled it on some scrap paper and tucked it into his jacket pocket. As soon as Tommy hung up the phone to Alfie, it began to ring again, and he picked it up after two rings.

'Thomas Shelby,' he answered.

'Ah Mr Shelby, its Mr Grisham calling,' came the voice of one of the men Tommy had written to. 'I'm calling on behalf of myself and my colleagues regarding the correspondence we received form you this morning.'

'Yes, and your response?' asked Tommy getting straight to the point. Mr Grisham made an amused noise at the other end of the line at his forward question but answered to the point.

'We request that you attend a meeting with us tomorrow morning at seven sharp in my office in the commons to discuss the matters you highlighted.'

'Seven?' repeated Tommy, slightly surprised.

He hadn't expected for them to agree to a meeting so soon, he must have made the desired impression in his letters. However, if he wanted to get to London in good time, he would have to leave this evening to drive through the night and hopefully catch a couple of hours of sleep in a hotel before the meeting. That meant leaving Maddie alone for the night, something he wasn't keen on doing after the conversation they'd had that morning, but he had no choice.

'Is that suitable for you Mr Shelby?' asked Mr Grisham.

Tommy cleared his throat. 'Yes, I'll be there.'

With that Tommy hung up the phone and glanced at the clock. Nearly six o'clock. He wouldn't have time for dinner, he needed to leave straight away. He got up from his desk and left his office at a fast pace. He called for Frances once he was out and asked her to fetch Maddie as he began up the stairs.

'I'm sorry sir she went out riding,' replied Frances. 'She asked me to tell you that she left you something in the bedroom when she left.'

Tommy's heart sank, he doubted she would be home before he left which meant he couldn't say goodbye before he did. He nodded his understanding to Frances before addressing her again.

'I'm driving to London tonight Frances,' he informed. 'Have my car made ready.'

Frances nodded before setting off to do as he asked before Tommy turned to march up the stairs to the bedroom. Once inside he spotted something on the bed and walked over to it. It was the charm that he intended to use and was chuffed to see that Maddie had managed to hopefully improve it. There was a small note next to the pouch and he picked it up to inspect it, recognising her rounded handwriting.

Think I've managed to improve it. Convinced Frances to tell the cook a joke so I reckon I have! Going out riding, see you at dinner.

Under her message, Maddie had drawn two dots with a curved line underneath that looked like a face smiling and Tommy laughed at the note that was so indicative of her before a sad feeling came over him as he pictured her coming home and he not being there. He put the note in his pocket to look at later in case he needed to before pulling his suitcase out of the wardrobe and filling it with fresh clothes and overnight supplies. He placed the charm between his folded clothes in the suitcase before closing it and leaving the room again.

Tommy hurried downstairs and found Frances waiting for him. He passed her the suitcase to put in the car before making a quick visit to his office again. He found a blank sheet of paper and began to write his own note to Maddie in this own fine slanted writing:

Maddie,

I have been called to a meeting in London tomorrow morning and will have to drive through the night so I'm sorry I can't see you at dinner. I'm taking the charm with me.

When I return tomorrow, I'll be ready to talk.

All my love,

Tommy

Tommy folded the note before leaving the office to where Frances was waiting with his cap which she handed to him as he handed the note to her.

'Please give this to Maddie when she gets back,' he ordered before putting on his cap and walking out the door.

Taking one last look around to see if Maddie was anywhere in sight, which of course she wasn't, Tommy got into the car and pulled away to begin his long drive back to London.

'I have to say Mr Shelby, your requests are more reasonable than I expected,' said Mr Grisham with a satisfied nod.

He finished writing down what ever note he was making on the paper in front of him, the other board members doing the same and Tommy watched them patiently from the opposite side of the large table. The meeting was going better than he had predicted; Maddie was right when she had said she had improved the recipe for the charm.

The men opposite Tommy stopped writing and began to exchange words quietly between themselves, so he took the opportunity to reach into his pocket for his cigarette case. As his fingers passed over the cool metal, his index finger brushed what felt like a scrap of paper and he realised it was the note Maddie had left him the night before. He rubbed the small scrap of paper between his thumb and forefinger for a second, keeping his hand in his pocket, before letting it go and pulling out the cigarettes and lighting one up. The note reminded him how much he was already missing her, despite only being away from the house less than a day, but still he found comfort in carrying it around with him.

Tommy let out a long breath quietly to himself as he smoked and rubbed his eyes, waiting for the men to finish their conversation. Driving in the dark meant that he had arrived in London in the small hours of the morning and had managed a meagre two hours of sleep in the hotel before needing to leave for the House of Commons shortly after a non-existent breakfast. As a result, his eyes were now stinging from lack of sleep and concentrating took more effort than it should have. However, Tommy knew he wouldn't have managed many more hours of sleep even if he had the time, because even in those two hours he did get, the haunting echo of shovels had begun to sound in his head. In fact, he was thankful he had awoken so the dream he'd had the night before couldn't make another appearance.

Fortunately, Tommy was spared any more tedious waiting as the men's conversation finally settled and they turned back to him with formal smiles.

'We agree that the terms of your proposal are more or less achievable Mr Shelby,' began Mr Grisham. 'But we will need to sit down with various other ministers over the next few days to iron out any problems and finalise the proposed contracts.'

'The next few days?' questioned Tommy flatly, keeping eye contact with Mr Grisham. 'I was expecting this to be finalised today.'

Mr Grisham faltered slightly, stuttering out a breath of air as he glanced to his colleagues on either side of him before replying. 'I'm sorry Mr Shelby but it will take us the rest of today to speak to the appropriate people and put the correct procedures in place to have the meetings. It looks like you may need to remain in London for the rest of the week.'

Tommy kept his expression indifferent although he felt his heart sink into the floor. He hadn't planned for this eventuality, having only expecting to be in London for the one day. Despite the charm, he hadn't managed to convince Mr Grisham to have everything in order by the end of the day, which meant that it really must take the time he was claiming it took to implement the requests Tommy had proposed. He could hardly complain, virtually all of the requests he had made so far would have been turned down if it weren't for that charm hanging around his neck. He felt his heart grow tighter still as he cast his mind back to the note he'd left for Maddie and how he now wouldn't be able to return that day as he'd said. The rest of the week, Mr Grisham had said, and it was currently Wednesday. By the sounds of it Tommy would have to stay in London until the mid-weekend and he imagined the disappointed look on Maddie's face she would no doubt have when he came to tell her that fact. Sighing with frustration, Tommy stubbed out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray on the table and looked back the men with a calm expression.

'Very well,' he agreed stoically.

'Excellent,' smiled Mr Grisham. 'We will begin the process this afternoon and I will send you a telegram of the times of the meetings we'll need to have over the next few days. But for now, Mr Shelby the rest of today is your own.'

Tommy resisted the urge to scoff, he may have the day to himself, but it was already two o'clock and he still wouldn't be able to return home and get back to London by tomorrow if he wanted to factor eating or sleeping into the mix. A fact that made the whole situation seem more insufferable than before. However, he did have other tasks including getting himself some spectacles made and more suits for that matter since he'd only brought enough for one day; so, at least he could keep himself occupied.

'Thank you,' said Tommy gruffly as he stood, the other men following his lead.

After shaking all their hands briefly, Tommy promptly left the office without another word and weaved his way briskly through the parliament building. He soon reached the entrance and emerged out into the warm afternoon sun. It reminded him of the warm day he and Maddie had spent together in the garden and the memory only proved to worsen his already dour mood. He hadn't realised how used to her company he had become over the last few months until now, a remarkable difference to his previous preference to solidarity.

Tommy trudged back to his car and drove back to the Ritz hotel, trying not to let his mood sour further as he passed various people on the street enjoying yet another warm summer's day. Once back, he marched straight to his room, throwing his jacket onto the bed and removing the charm from around his neck before sitting at the small desk where the phone sat. He stared at the phone for a few minutes as he decided what he was going to tell Maddie, hoping that she wouldn't be too upset. Knowing her, she would try her best not to make a big deal of it, but Tommy knew that part of her would be hurt about him not coming home. Especially after he said he was avoiding her yesterday so he could think things over in his head alone. He rubbed his eyes again before running his hand through his hair tensely. There was no use in overthinking it and putting it off any longer, the sooner he accepted he wouldn't be seeing Maddie's face for the next few days the easier it would be for him to get on with it. He picked up the receiver and asked for Arrow House before waiting patiently for Frances to answer. It took her longer than ususal, but she eventually answered, sounding her usual tone of terse for the middle of the afternoon.

'Frances,' began Tommy, not bothering to say who he was knowing Frances would recognise his voice. 'I won't be returning tonight. I'm going to be staying in London for a few more days.'

'Very well, Mr Shelby,' replied Frances unsurprised and unperturbed. 'Is there anything that you need me to do in your absence?'

'No,' stated Tommy flatly. 'Please bring Maddie to the phone.'

'Of course,' said Frances, sounding slightly annoyed and Tommy guessed that Maddie was either outside or in the basement. The line went quiet as he waited, trying his best to be patient but couldn't help but tap his fingers on his knee despite his best efforts. A minute or so passed and Tommy heard the receiver being picked up.

'Hi, Tommy,' came Maddie's voice. 'How's it going?'

She sounded out of breath and Tommy guessed she must have been in the middle of training. He pictured her flush sweaty skin and grumbled silently inside.

'Very well,' replied Tommy. 'You did a good job with the charm.'

Maddie giggled childishly on the other end of the line. 'I suppose you could say itworked like a charm?' Tommy let out a singular laugh at Maddie's poor joke before his sallow expression returned as he began to miss her even more. 'So, what time will you be back?' she asked cheerfully, obviously not picking up Tommy's solemn tone of voice during the conversation.

'I won't be coming back tonight,' he stated after a pause.

'Oh…' was all Maddie responded, her voice quiet and loosing its previous cheery tone.

'There's more meetings I need to attend over the next few days. I won't be back until the weekend.'

Tommy forced out his explanation with gritted teeth, seeing the image of Maddie's deflated form in his minds eye.

'The weekend?' she repeated, sounding even more disappointed.

Tommy sighed and nodded. 'I know I said I'd be back today, but it's important that I stay in London until the matter is sorted.'

'It's alright,' said Maddie, letting out a weak laugh. 'What you've got going on there is more important than being here. I'll survive.'

Tommy took in what she said, he wasn't so sure that what he was doing was more important than being home with Maddie and his son. The last few days had shown him that there were some things that were more important than his work, his family in particular. He opened his mouth to voice this thought but stopped himself.

'I know,' smiled Tommy. 'I'll see you when I get back, eh?'

'Yep,' agreed Maddie, although she still sounded crestfallen. 'Good luck with all the meetings and stuff.'

'Thank you.'

With that Tommy put down the phone, never really being one for goodbyes. At least Maddie had taken the news better than he expected, making him feel a little less moody about having to stay in London. He rubbed his face with his hand and yawned, the tiredness beginning to catch up to him. He looked over at the bed longingly, wanting nothing more than to indulge in a nap but the day was getting on and he needed to visit the oculist and the tailor before he could allow himself a rest. Instead, Tommy got up and put his jacket back on, noticing the dark circles under his eyes as he checked himself in the mirror before leaving the hotel again and made his way to the address Alfie had given him.

Tommy walked out of the oculist's squinting at the painfully bright light of the sun, his eyes now sorer than they had been all day. He had concluded quickly that visiting the oculist was a bad idea on such little sleep, the various glass lenses that he had instructed Tommy to look through triggering a headache to start behind his eyes. However, it was one less thing he needed to do, and his spectacles would be ready by Saturday to pick up, meaning he'd finally be able to read a newspaper without having to hold it humorously close to his face.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Tommy paid a visit to his regular London tailor a short distance away who always had a suit or two made for him in case he came in, and this time was no exception. With all his errands done, heheaded back to the hotel again where on entrance to the reception, the man at the desk called him over and handed him a telegram with the parliamentary coat of arms printed on it.

Tommy nodded his thanks to the man before opening the letter and reading it quickly. It did indeed seem like the next few days were going to be busy ones. He informed the the man at the desk that he would be staying at the hotel a few more nights and asked for some dinner and whiskey to be brought to his room before turning and making his way upstairs. If he could have, he would have skipped dinner and flopped straight into bed but by the sounds of it he had a lot of preparation to do before he could sleep. The food arrived promptly at Tommy's door, the knock sounding before he had even had chance to smoke a full cigarette. He opened the whiskey first and took a large swig before settling onto the desk chair with a plate of food next to him. As ususal, he shouldn't have bothered ordering the food as he only picked at it intermittently as he bent over his desk writing for the best part of three hours.

By the time he put his pen down, he was thoroughly through with the day. The whiskey bottle empty and his head throbbing incessantly in protest. The clock only read half past ten, which for him was early; even Maddie would likely be awake for many more hours if she had decided to go out patrolling. He undressed and crawled into the warm bed, switching off the lamp to leave him in complete darkness. Settling his head on the pillow, he shut his eyes and fell asleep with relative ease.

However, Tommy's sleep was not to be a peaceful one. Soon after falling asleep, the nightmare, the one that had awoken him two nights ago, plagued him again and he awoke with a start, dripping in cold sweat that had soaked through to the sheets.

'No,' he muttered to himself. 'Not again.'

He could still hear the sound of shovels coming from the opposite wall and scrambled to turn on the lamp before anything could dig its way through. Tommy sat and stared at the wall and panted rapidly, his heart racing in his chest. He sucked in air through his nose to calm down and sat himself at the edge of the bed as the sound of the shovels began to recede. It seemed as though that dream wasn't going to be a one off, and it also seemed the prospect of any more sleep that night was going to be impossible.

Tommy got up to the bathroom and rinsed his face in cold water, leaning over the sink as he wished wholeheartedly that Maddie was there. Maybe with her presence he might be able to get some sleep. On the other hand, he had no desire to constantly wake her up in the middle of the night with his nightmares and burden her with the task of comforting him every time. Sighing despairingly, he shuffled back to the bedroom and before getting back into bed he found his jacket and rifled through his pocket to find Maddie's note. Tommy lay back on the bed and unfolded the note and re-read the words that were written in her odd penmanship, grinning as he got to the small smiling face at the end.

For the rest of the night, Tommy lay on the bed awake with the lamp on, looking at Maddie's note or the ceiling until the sun rose and peeked through the velvet curtains.