The Slayer and the Blinder

by StoryQueen2

Maddie is 2020's current chosen one: The vampire slayer. Until she is pulled through time to 1924 and the world of the infamous Peaky Blinders. Years and dates are an estimation so don't judge me too harshly! Initial slow burn romance with some eventual regular smut so read at own risk.

22. The Worst Day and the Perfect Day

'ARGH!'

The sound of Maddie's sudden scream caused Tommy to snap his head up from the document he was reading on his desk to look in her direction. She was sat on the sofa, hunching over with her head in her palms and the fingers of her good hand fisting a handful of her hair.

'Maddie?' he questioned with concern as he abandoned what he was reading to march over to her. The headache she had been complaining of since the previous evening looked like it was becoming a serious problem and he felt himself begin to worry. Neither of them had thought much of it until this morning and now Tommy was getting the distinct feeling that something wasn't right. Once he reached Maddie, he put his hand gently on her shoulder and felt that her whole body was tense like a taught elastic band. However, after a second her body relaxed, and she slowly began to lift her head to look at him. 'You alright? Is your head getting worse?' Tommy asked softly.

When Maddie's gaze settled on him, she paused for a moment and looked back at him with what he would describe as mild confusion. Her eyes wandered around his face as if she had just been approached by a complete stranger and was trying to figure out what they wanted. Tommy furrowed his brow back at her in question as she continued to look at him this way and remained silent.

'Maddie?' he prompted again, his stomach now feeling uneasy.

Her face then quickly regained its composure and she smiled at him softly. 'I'm fine,' she finally said making him look at her in confusion.

'What about the headache? It sounded like it was getting worse.'

'Oh… er yes, it did for a moment, but it's gone now,' Maddie replied.

Tommy gazed back at Maddie for a few seconds with uncertainty. Did her slayer powers also mean that headaches could just stop just like that? From her now calm demeanour it certainly seemed that way, although she was now staring back at him blankly, her face adopting an odd flat expression that was neither happy nor unhappy and it made an uncomfortable ripple travel up his spine.

'Let's go home anyway, eh? Rest before everyone joins us for dinner later like we planned,' said Tommy eventually. Maddie looked back at him confused, as if she didn't know what he was referring to but quickly nodded and smiled before standing up slowly.

'Very well,' she said. 'How many people will be coming?'

He gave her another perplexed look. What on earth has gotten into her? She knew who would be coming, it had been her idea to have the dinner at Arrow House as another celebration of defeating the cultists, so why had she forgotten? Not only that but Tommy now noticed that she was speaking more formally than ususal.

'Are you sure you're alright?' he asked again, placing his hand softly on her face. Maddie nodded with another brief smile.

'Of course.'

Perhaps the fight she and Marie had had in the tunnels had been more taxing on her that Tommy initially thought. Apart from a broken wrist, he had been glad to see that she was unharmed, and she had seemed to be her usual self the previous evening apart from the headache. Now he thought about it, the headache had started after she had emerged from the tunnels and the suspicion that something else had happened down there began to niggle in the back of his brain. However, this was only a suspicion, more than likely she was just tired from getting poor sleep during the night.

'Okay,' replied Tommy with a nod. 'Come on then let's go home.'

Taking a cigarette out of his pocket, Tommy turned and began to lead the way out of his office and heard Maddie begin to follow him. They passed Pol again on the way out, who looked pleased to see Maddie looking better, and he said a hasty goodbye as he opened the door to leave. Maddie gave Pol a curt nod in goodbye, another unusual thing for her to do, as he held the door open for her. As she passed her, Pol and Tommy gave each other a concerned look but said nothing before he left as well.

In the car ride home, Maddie did not engage in conversation with Tommy and instead sat with her arms crossed over her chest as she stared out of the window with that odd expression on her face again. He debated whether to question her further but decided against it, making his mind up that she must just be exhausted. The previous few days had been a whirlwind for the both of them. Over the course of the week, they had gone from fearing not just the watchers and what they might do next but also the cultists and their plans, to then making a truce with the watchers and defeating the cultists over the course of two days. All the while she had survived an attack from the current slayer before befriending her and he had learned that his aunt had the ability to perform gypsie magic he didn't even knew existed.

Tommy's first impression of Marie had been mixed, although he had been careful not to let Maddie know this. She was impressive, just like Maddie, and undeniably beautiful in every way. He had been more attracted to her than he had let on to Maddie, although the attraction was only skin deep, her appearance seeming to mesmerise everyone who looked at her. She had also been an impressive fighter, her style emanating finesse indicating her high level of self-discipline. In contrast, Maddie fought with more instinct and was rougher around the edges which was probably why Marie had bested her on their first encounter. Tommy recalled wondering what the current slayer was like when he first met Maddie and chuckled internally at how different and yet similar, they were.

In the end they had both been grateful that Marie showed up when she did, even if she and Maddie didn't initially get along, much to Tommy's frustration. Her assistance with the cultists was exactly what they needed, along with the information they got from the Watcher's Council, which made the fight much more weighted in their favour. Even if they did get a hold of the gypsie magic, Tommy doubted it would have helped much on its own. The sacrifice that Maddie had to make in agreeing to have a watcher and have the council watch over her a lot more however was a significant drawback. But if there was one thing he understood, it was that sacrifices needed to be made when you needed to win a war.

Now it all seemed to be over, for now at least. Another hopefully calm hiatus in the drama had hopefully set in and Tommy was looking forward to some normality before Maddie's new watcher would eventually show up. There was a horse race at Cheltenham in a couple of weeks and he had decided he was going to take her as a surprise along with the rest of his family who he'd ordered to keep the event quiet. The idea had come to him a few days prior, the arrangements easy enough to make. All he needed to do was get her a dress for the occasion, her wardrobe was already reduced by half since she had ruined half of it fighting or getting covered in blood, not that any of her clothes would have been suitable for Cheltenham anyway.

As Tommy pondered his plans for Cheltenham, he felt his heart begin to flutter nervously in his chest, another idea coming into his head as he remembered something which he had put to one side a while back. He and Maddie had been through so much in such a short space of time, their relationship blossoming despite the numerous setbacks and near-death experiences. And he now decided that the time was right.

It was time to ask Maddie to marry him.

'Why don't you get some rest? I'll be in my office if you need me.'

Maddie considered Tommy for a moment with her arms folded over her chest as Esther took their coats. Esther surveyed the two of them, noticing their bruises and Maddie's bandaged wrist and was quick to make her face neutral. He decided they probably needed to divulge the finer details about Maddie to her in the near future as he doubted that she wasn't already suspicious that something was going on. That was if the visit by Marie the other night hadn't already put the fear of god into the poor woman. Maddie looked around the foyer, flicking her eyes around as if she was unfamiliar with where she was before nodding once.

'Alright.'

With that she turned away from him and began toward the stairs as Tommy let himself give a small shake of his head in puzzlement. Maybe a good rest would shake Maddie out of her odd mood. Or at least he hoped. He retreated to his office and found himself there for a number of hours, pouring over various paperwork and managing to forget about her and her strange behaviour. At about half past four, the phone rang, and Arthur's flustered voice answered on the other side.

'It's Linda, Tom,' he began. 'She's gone into labour.'

Tommy recalled that Linda had been due a couple of weeks prior, the baby now more than overdue and Tommy couldn't help but feel relieved. Not just for Arthur who had been waiting with bated breath for his child to arrive over the past few days, but also at the relief that it meant Linda would be absent from the dinner that evening. Tommy knew he should have felt guilty for feeling that way but when it came to Linda, anytime she didn't show her face at a family event was a blessing.

'That's good news Arthur,' Tommy replied.

'Yeah,' said Arthur. 'Esme and Lizzie are here taking care of her and are going to deliver the baby. I'll be heading over early. Best the women take care of this.'

Tommy raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, not expecting Arthur to leave Linda when she was in labour but didn't press him further. Likely his brother's questionable control of his nerves of late was the reason he had decided to avoid the situation. He gave his understanding and hung up the phone before returning to the last of his work.

Arthur's car could be heard coming up the driveway a short while later as Tommy stood from his desk to have a glass of whiskey now that he had finished his work. He poured one for Arthur as well and took it into the foyer as Arthur walked in looking considerably shocked that his baby was finally on the way. He handed his older brother the glass which he accepted without a word.

'To your new family Arthur,' said Tommy, holding his glass up in a toast. Arthur nodded with a quiet grunt, mimicking him in the toast before downing his drink in one.

'Arthur,' said Tommy, grasping his brother's attention. 'She'll be alright, eh.' Arthur nodded, seeming to perk up a bit but still remained silent. 'We should tell Maddie, she'll be excited to know,' he added just as in that moment Maddie emerged from the corridor that led to the kitchen.

'Tell me what?'

Maddie was still dressed in the same clothes as she had been earlier and looked like she hadn't rested at all. The cast on her wrist had also been removed and he assumed that she felt it had healed enough not to need it. Tommy creased his eyebrows at her, now remembering the marked change in her demeanour that he had since forgotten about.

'Er… Linda,' began Arthur, finally able to speak. 'She's in labour.'

There was a slight pause, where Maddie's face remained neutral, looking almost disinterested, before she let a polite smile turn her lips up. 'That's wonderful news,' she said, remaining stood on the spot as Arthur looked back her slightly perplexed. The delay in her reaction was enough to make Tommy's stomach tighten. The coolness of her reaction was even more worrying. She would usually have started jumping up and down and thrown herself into Arthur's arms to squeeze the air out of him, but instead she had barely moved.

'Er… Thanks,' replied Arthur hesitantly, casting a questioning glance at Tommy and he knew that his older brother had also picked up on the change in her. 'You feeling alright, Mads?' he asked. 'Last night taken a toll on you?'

Maddie let out a huffed laugh before pressing her lips together in a smirk, although it was not her ususal smirk, but was tainted with an almost imperceptible bitterness to her features. 'You could say that,' she responded. 'Come, lets have a few drinks whilst we wait for everyone else.'

Maddie began toward the sitting room, not bothering to check if Tommy or Arthur were following. The two of them paused a moment as she disappeared down the corridor and Arthur turned to Tommy with concern.

'What the fuck's gotten into her?' he asked, expecting Tommy to know the reason for her behaviour.

'I don't know,' he replied. 'She's been acting strange all day. Something isn't right.'

Arthur looked back at Tommy and shrugged, not knowing what could be causing her change, before they both decided to follow her to the sitting room. Maddie had already poured herself a glass of whiskey as they entered, and she poured them both a fresh shot into the glasses they were still holding.

'Cheers,' she said before bringing her glass to her lips and sipping the brown liquid. Her face remained relaxed as she swallowed. No grimace, no silly noise or coughing as was her normal reaction. Alright, now Tommy was sure something wasn't right.

'What's going on Maddie?' he asked stiffly, boring his eyes into hers.

She looked back at him confused, 'I don't know what you mean.'

'You've been acting different all day. I know there's something going on.'

'I'm just tired, Tommy,' she said, with a tone of false apology in her voice. 'But I can't seem to sleep which is making matters worse.'

Silence fell between the three of them for a second before Arthur nodded, seemingly happy with her explanation and squeezed her shoulder affectionately before going to sit down. Tommy however lingered, his gaze not leaving hers as she looked back at him with a look of faux innocence. He, unlike Arthur, was not appeased by her poor attempt at brushing him off, the untruthfulness evident in her voice. However, it seemed as though she wasn't ready to tell the truth anytime soon and he decided to leave it for now, finally breaking his glare away and sitting on the sofa.

The three of them sat in silence drinking for a while until Arthur began a conversation with Tommy about the races in an attempt to distract himself from thinking about Linda no doubt. This passed the time until everyone else arrived, filing in loudly and all ready to begin enjoying themselves. The only people absent being Ada as ususal as well as Linda, Lizzie and Esme. As usual, everyone greeted Maddie with a hug, although they had to initiate the interaction which she looked less than keen on and by the time everyone had settled, Tommy could sense from everyone that they too had picked up on the change in her.

Nevertheless, his family evidently didn't seem too concerned and began talking animatedly about the previous night's victory, repeating their individual tales again as they had the previous night. During this time, Tommy observed Maddie carefully, and watched as she listened in silence as she walked around the room slowly. As the stories unfolded, her expression became increasingly more tense, almost angry, her jaw set and tense as her teeth were evidently gritting together. She walked a circle around the room and eventually he stopped following her as she rounded to walk along the back of the sofa behind him. The conversation died down then as everyone began to sip their drinks, a moment of quiet reprise as he cast his eyes over to Polly who caught his eyes and smiled before her expression suddenly dropped, her brow creasing as her eyes flicked up to something behind him. His muscles began to tense immediately before Polly's warning even left her mouth.

'Tommy, behind you!' she yelled, dropping her glass on the floor and spilling whiskey on the carpet.

Tommy whipped his around and immediately spotted the raised kitchen knife in Maddie's hand before he threw himself forward just as her arm flew downwards, aiming for his neck. He dived off of the sofa, the knife narrowly missing as it stabbed into the sofa cushion. He turned and righted himself as everyone in the room seemed to move all at once, rising to their feet and retreating from Maddie who was still holding the knife in the cushion, a hellish glare that he had never seen her use before.

'Mads?! What the fuck?!' yelled John angrily who had also jumped off the spot on the sofa next to Tommy. He gave a gesture to her to suggest that he thought that this was some kind of joke, but Tommy knew it wasn't, if he hadn't reacted as quickly as he had, he was certain she would have buried that knife into his neck. Maddie cast her glare at John before straightening up and removing the knife from the sofa and laughing menacingly. Everyone was too dumbstruck to move, just staring back at her in pure shock and confusion. She had just tried to stab Tommy and was now laughing in such an evil way that it was sending chills rippling up his spine.

'What the fuck is going on?!' blurted Polly eventually, sounding considerably panicked. She wasn't the only one panicking, Tommy realised. They were now facing a woman who had more strength and speed that all of them combined and who now for some reason wanted to attack them. The same woman that he loved.

'I have been waiting for this moment all day,' said Maddie finally, smiling maniacally. 'To get you all in one room.'

Everyone looked at each other confused and with no short amount of fear before Tommy looked back at her.

'Maddie… what – what's going on?' he asked, for once in his life feeling short of words.

Maddie turned to him and laughed again. 'Oh, you poor lovesick man,' she leered. 'I shouldn't have expected you or anyone else to figure it out.'

'Figure what out Mads? For fuck sake, you're scaring us!' pleaded Finn, whose face had turned a worrying shade of grey.

Maddie looked at them all again and gave a look of impatience before elaborating. 'She came close to stopping it,' she said with a nod. 'But she was a fool to have broken that tablet when she did.' The room remained in a state of shock and just stared back at her dumbly and she rolled her eyes before letting her head fall back, sucking in a deep breath through her nose. 'Of the all the bodies that could have been my host. It ended up being the young, strong body of a slayer.'

Maddie's fists clenched, as if feeling her own strength in her muscles and Tommy then realised how much of an ignorant fool he had been for not realising that the woman in front of him wasn't Maddie, and hadn't been since that moment in the office that morning. She tilted her head back up, her eyes initially closed, pausing before opening them. Her eyes were no longer a beautiful blue but were instead completely black, including the whites, and the room collectively flinched and took a step backwards in freight.

'Mads?' questioned Arthur.

'Oh, I'm sorry,' said Maddie, a new deep voice speaking through her lips as well as her own creating an eerie echo that warped her voice. 'But Maddie isn't at the wheel at the moment.'

'Then who is?' asked Polly, stepping up beside Tommy and grasping his arm.

'Hallan,' answered Tommy, already figuring it out. He watched as the demon twisted the face of the woman he loved into a contorted grin before laughing victoriously.

'Looks like the lover has more brains than the rest of you,' said Maddie. 'Too bad I'll still have to kill him, along with the rest of you.'

That was enough to snap everyone out of their trances and they began to back away as Arthur and John drew their guns to point them at Maddie who chuckled with amusement.

'No!' yelled Tommy, holding his hand up. 'Maddie is still in there.' John and Arthur hesitated but kept their guns raised.

'You poor poor man,' laughed Maddie. 'Sorry, but your little slayer whore isn't coming back.'

With that she grabbed the arm of the sofa and she launched it across the room where it crashed into the wall, missing Johnny by a foot, and knocked over the cabinet with a crash as it landed on it. Polly let out a short scream and Tommy felt her pulling his arm backward as everyone else also began to retreat.

'Everyone out!' commanded Tommy and everyone began to run toward the door. Before he turned, he saw Maddie raise the knife that was still in her hand, ready to throw it toward Polly. He grabbed his aunt by the arm and yanked her toward him, nearly causing her fall. 'Pol!' he warned as the knife whistled past and caught her on her upper arm, making her yelp.

Maddie began to laugh, and Tommy could hear her footsteps behind him but he didn't look back. Instead, he grasped Polly by her shoulders and pushed her toward the door at a run behind the others who had managed to get out. Once out of the door he quickly closed it, slamming it hard behind him. The doors in the house sometimes had the keys to them left in the locks by the staff and thankfully today was no exception. He quickly turned the key and removed it before turning to his family who were all gathered in the corridor in freight.

'Go!' he ordered, pointing down the corridor toward the foyer. He knew the door would hold Maddie for less than a few seconds, so they needed to move quickly. They all took off at a run down the corridor, stumbling over each other in their panic. Once they were halfway down the corridor, he heard a loud bang sound from behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see the sitting room door burst open, splinters flying everywhere before she stepped out into the corridor and made to follow after them at a brisk march.

When they spilled out into the foyer, Tommy also closed the door to the corridor behind him and locked it again before pointing to the large heavy cabinet a couple of feet away.

'Help me move this!' he yelled, and all the men quickly lifted it and dragged it over to the door so it was blocking it as Polly watched, rosary in her hand and a quiet prayer on her lips.

'What are we going to do Tom?' asked John, panting with the effort of running and lifting.

'That's not Mads anymore,' joined Arthur. 'She's going to kill us all. Tom, we're gonna have to-.'

Tommy cut his brother short with one quick and furious stare, knowing what he was suggesting.

'Maddie is still in there,' said Tommy angrily. 'Hallan said she 'wasn't at the wheel'. That means she still in there. He's just possessing her body.'

'We don't know that Tom,' said Arthur with a shake of his head. 'And if you're right, that demon will still kill us all before we can help her.'

Tommy opened his mouth to reply, there was not a chance in hell that he was going to kill Maddie, not when he knew that she was still in there. However, before he could speak, a thunderous bang came from the other side of the door, making the walls and ground shake. Everyone moved back a few steps, unsure of what to do as another bang sounded, the cabinet doors opening and the various ornaments inside fell out and smashed on the floor.

'What do we do Tom?' asked Finn.

Tommy didn't reply, he had no idea what to do but he knew that were at least going to have to fight Maddie in some way. 'Go and get some of Maddie's weapons from the basement, something blunt. Maybe we can try and knock her unconscious.'

They all didn't look too convinced by his plan but either way Finn and John both headed toward the basement at a sprint. There was another bang and this time the cabinet teetered forward before falling back against the door again.

'Get back!' ordered Tommy, stepping backward a few more feet as everyone followed.

There was a tense quiet pause before a final bang sounded and the cabinet fell forward and crashed to the floor and the door flew open. Maddie stepped through the doorway and over the fallen cabinet, her black eyes taking in the petrified faces staring back at her.

'Still here?' she asked rhetorically. 'I half expected you all to be hiding or driving away by now. You must all be braver than I thought.' Tommy took a shaky breath before stepping forward, making Maddie look directly at him and smile evilly. 'Something to say?'

'Maddie,' he begged, calling past Hallan and to the woman he knew was still in there somewhere. 'I know you're in there. Please, try to fight him.'

Maddie tilted her head back and laughed hard, the sound echoing horribly around the room, before she looked up again and began to take a step toward them. Then she suddenly stopped, and her face scrunched up in pain, a shrill scream leaving her mouth as her hands grasped her head. Tommy instinctively made to walk toward her but he was stopped by Johnny who held him back. The sound was enough to make milk curdle and felt like it lasted a lifetime before it eventually stopped and she opened her eyes again, her blue irises now back and looking at him with panic.

'Tommy-!' she stuttered before reaching out a hand toward him. 'I can't – he's too -!' she strained painfully before putting her head back in her hands and screaming again.

Tommy strained against Johnny's grip in his need to go to Maddie, ready to turn and punch the man out when she lifted her head again, the cold black eyes back again. He was right, she was still there, that was her! Her expression looked furious, and an angered grunt left her mouth. She caught sight of everyone looking at her and chuckled devilishly.

'She does not have long,' said Hallan through Maddie's lips. 'Once I've killed you all I'll have enough strength to take over this body completely.' In that moment, Finn and John re-emerged carrying one of Maddie's quarterstaffs and a crowbar which they must have found somewhere in the basement. She turned to look at them and smiled. 'Really?' she goaded. 'You're going to try and fight me?'

John gripped the crowbar tightly and lifted it higher, signifying that was exactly what they were going to do. A silent moment passed, and everyone stood stock still, waiting for someone to make the first move when a terrified cry sounded from above them and Tommy looked up to see Charlie's little face peering through the gaps in the banister.

'Mama!' he cried, fresh tears spilling down his face as he looked down toward Maddie.

Tommy felt all his organs attempt to tie themselves in knots and jump out of his mouth at the sight of his infant son. He cursed himself for forgetting that he was in the house as Esther appeared on the landing looking terrified and picked up Charlie before looking down on the scene below her. She must have taken herself and Charlie to hide when she heard the commotion. He could feel the blood leave his face and he snapped his head to look over at Maddie who was looking up at Charlie, her face initially blank before a look of pure evil crossed her features and a quiet and sickening laugh echoed from her lips. She began to walk toward the stairs just a few feet away from her and now Tommy felt his hand reach for his gun without hesitation. Please, forgive me Maddie, he begged internally as he raised his pistol.

Maddie's foot landed on the first step as Tommy fired his first shot. The bullet ripped through her calf making her stumble onto her knee on the stairs, an angered roar escaping her. Her head snapped up to look over at him, pure fury in her eyes and face, her brow creased, and teeth bared. He was quick to fire again and hit his intended target, the bullet hitting her shoulder. The force was enough to push her back onto her feet and take a step back. The shots were enough to distract her as John had taken the opportunity to get close to her with the crowbar raised. She cast Tommy another even more furious look, not noticing John's approach, as he swung the crowbar hard at her head, hitting her square in the temple. Maddie's head snapped sharply to the side and back again before she fell with a loud thump onto the stairs with her eyes closed, unconscious.

There was a pause as Tommy lingered on the spot with his gun still raised, the shock of what he had just done making it impossible for him to move. He had just shot Maddie. Twice. He had been convinced that he wouldn't even be able to hurt her like that but as soon as he had seen that look on her face as she looked at Charlie, that had all changed. The only sound that filled the room was Charlie's loud shrill cries from above them and Tommy finally lowered his gun and looked up to see poor Esther holding onto Charlie for dear life, cradling his head in her neck so he wouldn't see the scene below him. Tommy reconnected his brain to his feet and began to run toward the stairs. He looked down at Maddie as he passed her and saw that she was still alive and was seemingly unconscious for now.

'Check on her!' he ordered, looking over his shoulder to Arthur before carrying on up the stairs to check on his son. Once he reached Esther, her face so pale that she looked ill, she took an automatic step away from him and Tommy held her hands out to her.

'It's alright Esther,' he said calmly. 'Please give me my son.'

Esther swallowed and tentatively held Charlie out to him, and he took his crying son into his arms held him tightly against him.

'Mama!' screamed Charlie desperately and Tommy stroked his head and shushed him quietly. He had never heard Charlie refer to Maddie as his mother before and could feel tears stinging the back of his eyes. Witnessing what had just happened must have scared him to death, confusion at seeing her that way making him realise that she had become like his mother. After a few seconds, he stopped screaming and instead began sobbing into Tommy's shoulder as he looked over to Esther who was looking over the balcony toward Maddie.

'Mr Shelby,' she began shakily. 'What on earth is going on? You just – just sh- shot Maddie!'

Tommy sighed as he tried to think of how to explain the situation to her, now regretting fully that he hadn't told her about Maddie and her world earlier.

'Maddie isn't well,' was all Tommy managed to say as he looked over the banister to look down and saw everyone crowded around her unconscious body.

'What shall we do with her?' called John from below, looking up at Tommy expectantly.

Maddie was unconscious for now, but Tommy knew that it wouldn't last long, and he doubted that Hallan would be in the best mood once she regained consciousness. They needed to get her secured somewhere whilst they figured out how to exorcise the demon out of her. Hw then recalled the cold room adjacent to the kitchen where the chef prepared the animals for dinner, picturing the numerous hooks, chains and ropes that were in there to hang up the carcasses to drain of blood. It was the last place he wanted to see her tied up in, but it was the only place that had any chance of holding her.

'Take her to the cold room and find something to tie her up,' instructed Tommy. 'I'll be there in a minute.'

John looked back at him unsure before looking down hesitantly at Maddie, as if she might wake up any second, before bending over to pick her up and cradling her in his arms. As he began to make his way toward the kitchen with Finn, Isiah, Polly and Johnny in tow, Tommy took Esther's arm and calmly guided her down the stairs again toward Arthur who had stayed behind.

'What now?' he asked as they reached the bottom, passing the red stains of Maddie's blood on the carpet. Tommy also noticed the two bullet holes in the wall and was glad that the bullets had passed fully through her as he had intended. He turned to Esther and handed Charlie back to her as she looked at him confused.

'We need to get Charlie away from here,' he said before pulling his car key out of his trouser pocket and holding out to Esther who looked back at him aghast. 'Esther, I need you to take Charlie and drive the two of you to Arthur's house. His wife Linda will be there as will Esme and Lizzie.'

'But… Mr Shelby I-,' protested Esther before he cut her off.

'Please do as I ask Esther,' commanded Tommy. 'We will call to let them know what has happened.'

Tommy bent down to kiss Charlie on the head, whispering to him that he was going to stay the night with Aunt Linda as he nudged Esther lightly toward the door. She looked back at him once with hesitance before deciding to do as he asked and began to hurry out of the door, and he heard his car engine start up before turning back to Arthur.

'Go and call your home and tell them what's happened,' Tommy asked. 'Then come and help us.'

Arthur nodded and marched off toward Tommy's office as he made his way to the kitchens. He marched into the cold room to find Maddie had been placed on the floor, Polly leaning over her inspecting her gunshot wounds and dressing them haphazardly. John and Isiah were looking around the room and gathering up various ropes and chains to use to restrain her. Finn and Johnny were stood behind Polly, watching herwith tense postures, evidently scared that she would awaken.

Tommy marched dover to Maddie and knelt down next to Polly, 'How is she?'

'She's breathing fine,' she said. 'And the bleeding is beginning to slow. Those were good shots Thomas.'

Tommy nodded as he moved to inspect Maddie's head, more concerned that John's good swing had cracked her skull. A dark ugly bruise had formed on her temple, the area looking slightly swollen. He carefully ran his hand over the bruised area, feeling for any signs that her skull was broken and sighed with relief when he felt that the bone was smooth to touch. Satisfied that she wasn't seriously injured, well at least for her standards, he got up and approached John to help them gather what they needed.

Once they had enough items, they carefully dragged Maddie over towards the wall near where a thick iron loop was set into the wall about a foot off the ground as Arthur joined them.

'Linda's had the baby,' he announced, causing everyone to look at him. 'It's a boy.'

This would normally be a statement that would make the whole room erupt into cheers and applause but considering the circumstances, everyone gave Arthur the best smile they could muster, only Pol getting up to give him a hug and congratulate him. He came over to help as they tied Maddie's hands tightly behind her back and her feet together at the ankles with thick strong rope before tying her wrist ropes and ankle ropes together so that she was hog tied on the floor on her side. The knots were tight enough that they were already leaving marks on her skin, but they had no choice if they wanted the ropes to hold against her slayer strength. Tommy then passed a heavy chain through the loop in the wall before threading it through the ropes tied to Maddie, connecting the end of the chain with a large thick padlock. He stood up and looked down at his work and began to feel the tears threatening his eyes again. Not only had he shot the woman he loved so much he was going to ask her to marry him, but he had now hog tied her and chained her to a wall. He only hoped that if she had an idea of what was happening, that she would understand and forgive him.

'Now what do we do?' asked Finn who was looking down at Maddie in distress having looked uncomfortable the entire time they were tying her up. Tommy remained silent; the words not able to form in his mouth yet as Polly spoke up next to him.

'I should go and check on Linda and the baby and I'll come back later.'

'No,' said Tommy, turning to her. 'I need you here.'

'Tommy, I don't know how much use I'll-.'

'The spell book,' said Tommy sternly, making Polly blink. 'Were there any spells for exorcism in there?'

Polly hesitated, trying to think back to the book that was written in such an old version of Romani and Shelta that neither he nor Pol had been able to read most of it. She glanced at Johnny, who had also helped her read the book who gave a quick shake of his head and a shrug.

'Not from what we managed to translate,' said Polly. 'But there's still a lot of it that we didn't manage to read.'

'That books a fecking puzzle Tom!' said Johnny stepping forward. 'Even I can't read the fecking thing.'

Tommy ignored Johnny's annoyed outburst and glared at the two of them, 'Both of you, go upstairs and start reading the rest of it. Find something we can use.'

'But Tom –,' began Johnny before Tommy stared him down angrily and he raised his hands up in submission. 'Alright, alright!'

Pol and Johnny left the room together and Tommy turned back to his brothers and Isiah who looked back at him expectantly.

'What shall we do?' asked Isiah.

'We take it in turns to watch her until she wakes up,' Tommy said, tilting his head down to Maddie's prone form. 'And hope that the ropes are enough to contain her until we can find a way to exorcise the demon.'

Tommy sat in his office with his whiskey decanter next to him, puffing on the last cigarette in his case. He had done nothing but sit and fight back the tears in his eyes since he had finished watching Maddie for the past two hours, having declared that he couldn't sit and watch her bruised form chained to the wall another minute and commanded that John take over from him. As he had been sat there, he had realised that there was a chance that they wouldn't find a way to exorcise the demon Hallan and that it would take over her body, quashing her essence out forever. A tear spilled over his cheek, and he hastily wiped it away with a clearing of his throat. There was no time for tears now. Not when Maddie needed his help.

He got up from his chair, refilling his cigarette case from the stash in the cabinet before he went to join his family in the drawing room where Polly was trying to interpret the spell book, Arthur also trying to help her and Johnny with the translation.

'What have you got?' asked Tommy as he entered, hoping that they at least had found a relevant spell.

'A fat load of nothing Tom,' huffed Johnny, who already looked like he'd given up.

'Keep trying,' commanded Tommy as he slumped into a chair.

'Tommy?' asked Isiah hesitantly, turning his gaze toward him. 'Shouldn't we call Marie? This seems like something we need her help with.'

Tommy didn't fail to notice Isiah's slight blush at the mention of the other slayer and remembered noticing his attraction to Marie the previous evening. Tommy shook his head solemnly.

'She'll be in France by now and by the time we could get in contact with her and get her on the ferry back it'll be too late. Something tells me Hallan won't take long to break free and kill us all once he wakes up.'

Isiah looked down defeatedly as did everyone else in the room.

'What about the watchers?' asked Arthur, a distinct sound of distaste in his tone. 'They're a bunch of fuckers but they would probably help us.'

Tommy sighed. He knew Arthur was right but was reluctant to admit it. The watchers would certainly have the means to exorcise Hallan, but he wanted to avoid involving them unless it was necessary. This would undoubtedly cause them to doubt Maddie even more than they already did and would certainly lead to them having a great hold over her and his family as a result. No, they needed to find what they needed themselves.

'I'll only consult them as a last resort,' said Tommy. 'I want to keep this as quiet as possible.'

Everyone sighed as Tommy got up and joined then at the table to assist in translating the spell book. After a while it was becoming evident that they were getting nowhere and would need more help if they had any hope of getting what they needed.

'Arthur, go home and get Esme,' said Tommy. 'We need her help in this.'

Polly nodded in agreement as Arthur rose to leave, 'Yes, as I hate to admit it, she was the one who understood the majority of this last time. Give my love to Linda and the baby.'

Arthur hurried out and they soon heard his car retreating up the drive. They all poured over the book's pages for another hour, the night beginning to get late, until Tommy came across a word on one of the pages that he recognised but couldn't quite remember.

'Pol,' he said, grabbing her attention and pointing to the word in question. 'Do you recognise this word?Scoate?'

Polly looked at the word he was pointing to and nodded but looked unsure.

'Hang on… yes! It means to take or pull something out.'

'Like out of a body?' he asked, now feeling hopeful.

'Maybe,' nodded Pol as she scanned the rest of the page. 'There look, it saysdrac - 'demon'.'

'I think this might be it,' said Tommy with some relief as Arthur's car could be heard returning up the driveway again as the clock on the mantlepiece struck midnight.

When Esme walked in, she marched over to the table and looked down at the page they were all looking at. 'What have you got so far?' she asked hurriedly. Tommy handed her the page and watched as her eyes travelled side to side quickly as she read it. When she finished, she nodded and placed the paper back on the table. 'It's definitely an exorcism spell. But I'll need time to translate it fully. Looks like we need some ingredients to perform the spell.'

'Then get to work Esme, and fast. Make a list of what we need, and I'll send Finn and Isiah out to get them,' said Tommy as he rose from his chair and indicated for Esme to take it.

'But won't the magic shop Maddie mentioned be closed?' asked Isiah.

'Then you'll have to break in and take what we need,' stated Tommy flatly before turning on his heel to leave the room. He decided he had better check on John and Maddie and marched through to the cold room to see that she was still in the same place he had left her.

'She hasn't moved a muscle,' said John. 'You sure I didn't break her skull?'

'You didn't. But you gave her one hell of a swing. It's just a matter of time before she wakes up.' John nodded before yawning and rubbing his eyes. 'I'll send Finn and Isiah to take over. I don't trust either one of them to guard her alone.'

Once Tommy had sent Finn and Isiah to watch over her, leaving strict instructions for neither of them to leave the other alone with Maddie in case she woke up, he and John returned to assist the others with the spell. They obsessed over the it with difficulty for what felt like hours, painstakingly translating the words they didn't know and piecing together the sentences, so they made some semblance of sense. Eventually, they managed to piece together enough to be confident that they had the list of ingredients they needed, sighing with relief that they had gotten somewhere. Then, the door burst open, and Isiah ran in panting and looking nervous.

'I told you not to leave one of you alone in there!' said Tommy, getting up from his chair when he realised the reason why Isiah had probably disobeyed the order.

'Tom, she's awake!' he said and with that they all hurried out of the room and toward the kitchen.

When they entered Tommy saw that Isiah was right, Maddie had woken up and had sat herself onto her knees on the floor, her hands and feet still tightly bound. Finn was stood a yard or so in front of her, the two of them talking together which stopped as they walked in.

'It's alright Tommy!' called Finn with a smile. 'It looks like the demon's gone!'

Tommy looked down at Maddie and saw that her eyes were now back to normal again and she looked up at them all and gave them a rueful smile.

'Yeah, he's gone,' nodded Maddie, wincing with the movement. 'So, you can all untie me now.'

Tommy eyed her suspiciously as she looked back up at him expectantly. It seemed too easy. Too convenient.

'Get away from her Finn,' ordered Tommy, making Finn look back at him confused.

'But Tom, it's fine she's-.'

'Do it. Now.'

Tommy's cold command was enough to make Finn step back a few steps in bewilderment, but he kept his eyes on Maddie. He took a few steps toward her, and she gave him a look of bafflement. 'Tommy?' she said with a sigh. 'Come on, it's me. You can untie me now.' She pulled at her restraints in an effort to free herself but the knots that they had tied had seemed to do the trick. He knelt down so that he was eye level with Maddie and stared her in the eye. He needed to know that it was her, without any doubt.

'What's my son's name?' asked Tommy.

'What?' asked Maddie in confusion, a flicker of nervousness passing over her features. 'Come on Tommy this is ridiculous.'

Tommy shook his head, not happy until he got the confirmation. 'What is my son's name?' Tommy repeated more slowly and with more authority. Maddie looked back at him, maintaining her air of innocence and confusion for a few more seconds before realising that he wasn't going to budge. Then her features suddenly changed, and he watched as her pupils expanded to engulf her entire eyes as she snarled and threw her weight forward toward him, making him step back up and away again.

'LET ME GO!' she screamed hideously, the pervious deep echo back in her voice as she writhed her body against the restraints. Everyone in the room flinched at the sound of her scream and Finn looked positively sickened that he had fallen for her trick. She struggled against the ropes and chains, screaming more as she pulled against them. The chain holding her to the wall groaned with the force she was exerting on them, and everyone cast each other a worried glance, knowing that the restraints would only last so long. 'You will all pay for this!' she screeched, before continuing to struggle and growl at them.

Tommy could feel the alcohol in his stomach bubbling dangerously, making him sick and he quickly turned away from her and began to usher everyone out into the kitchen, all of them also seemingly happy to get away from Maddie and her banshee like screams. He left the door open ajar so he could still see her through the gap as he turned to his family. Esme and Pol both had tears in their eyes, the sight of Maddie in this state evidently too much for them. Despite this, Tommy turned to them and ordered them back to the drawing room along with Johnny to start preparing the spell.

'Finn, Isiah. You two go and get the list of ingredients off Polly and go into the city to the magic shop and get them,' he explained, pushing Finn away harshly before he could ask any questions.

'Can I trust you two to watch her?' Tommy asked Arthur and John once everyone was out of earshot. 'I don't think I can be around her whilst she's like this.'

Tommy tried to keep his voice even as he said this but failed to contain the slight breaking of his voice at the end of his sentence. He looked away from his brothers and run his hand through his hair and over his face as John and Arthur gave each other an understanding look and nodded.

'Yeah, of course brother,' replied Arthur, putting his hand on Tommy's shoulder. 'We'll stay and watch her.'

Tommy nodded his thanks to his brothers before making to exit the kitchen as fast as he could, wanting to get as far away from Maddie's screams as possible. He shut himself in his study again and snatched his decanter from his desk, drinking straight from it and not bothering with a glass. He then opened his cigarette case and took out the last one yet again, having already smoked the full case after refilling it earlier in the evening. It seemed the distance between his office and the kitchen wasn't enough as he then heard the faint sound of Maddie screaming again creeping up the hallway. Tommy lifted his hands to cover his ears, closing his eyes to will the sound away. He couldn't bear to hear her make that noise. Couldn't stand the awful echoing voice of the demon tainting her real voice. The faces she had pulled and the things she had said were painted like a picture in his mind and they made his skin crawl. He can't let this demon win. He won't.

Tommy eventually uncovered his ears and heard that Maddie had stopped. He made his way to the drawing room to help Pol and the others prepare the spell. It was another hour and a half before Finn and Isiah made it back with the ingredients they needed, Maddie not making another sound during that time. Polly and Esme busied themselves with the ingredients, putting all the herbs they needed into a pestle and mortar to grind together into a paste. Johnny inspected the wooden box they had also brought with them that was engraved with intricate patterns and writing.

'How did you know this was the right box?' he asked. The box was apparently needed as a vessel to hold Hallan's spirit and trap it inside once it was excised from Maddie.

'The shop owner woke up when we started kicking the door down and opened it for us,' started Isiah. 'Once we explained what had happened, he gathered what we needed and gave it to us without charge.'

Tommy nodded, glad that they didn't have to steal from the shop which he remembered Maddie mentioning she was rather fond of.

'I think we're almost ready,' announced Esme who had rolled the herbs into a small incense burner and gathered up the page that had the words to the spell on it. The words were unfamiliar to Pol and Esme, but they were confident they knew how to pronounce them. They all took a deep breath, looking at each other and nodding before heading to join John and Arthur. They were both stood inside the doorway to the cold room and as they saw them approach John pulled the door to again. Tommy gave them a look to tell them to give him an update.

'She stopped screaming eventually and has just been sat like that since,' said John, nodding his head toward the gap in the door. Tommy looked through it to see that Maddie was knelt still with her head bowed over, her hair covering her face.

'We have the spell, are you two ready?' asked Tommy and his brother nodded.

'Let's get our Mads back,' said Arthur before opening the door and leading everyone in.

Maddie remained in the same position as everyone filed in, not even looking up to see who had entered. They all looked at her hesitantly before Tommy nodded to Pol to light the incense and begin.

'We're going to get you back Maddie,' said Tommy as the rancid smell of the incense filled the room. Finally, her body showed signs of movement, her body shaking as amused laughter emanated around the room. She slowly lifted her head up to look at them, shaking her head pitifully at them.

'Your magic will not help,' she chuckled. 'I will have this body for my own.'

'We'll see about that,' hissed Polly venomously, making Maddie look at her with her eyebrow raised.

Polly turned her attention back to the page and began the first line of the spell as Maddie growled and began to struggle as she had done before, only this time Tommy could hear the chains groaning louder and small popping sounds as the fibres of the ropes were beginning to snap one by one. Everyone in the room tensed and put their hands on their guns.

'You'd better get a move on with that spell ladies,' warned Johnny. 'I don't think those ropes are going to hold her very long.'

Maddie writhed angrily against her restraints, growling and grunting with effort as Esme began to speak the words of the spell along with Polly. Esme then scooped some of the left-over crushed herbs into her hands and cautiously approached Maddie who on her approach whipped her head up to look at her before spitting at her furiously.

'Filthy fucking gypsie magic!' she spat. 'You cannot get rid of me so easily!'

As Maddie finished speaking, Esme threw the wet herbs onto her snarling face and stepped back hastily. The herbs seemed to have an effect because she screeched again and recoiled, seeming to be in pain. She threw her head back and roared before throwing her weight against the restraints again, now evidently desperate to break free. The ropes around her wrists began to fray and ping rapidly and Tommy turned urgently to Esme and Polly.

'Pol!' he called urgently in command for them to hurry.

The two of them continued chanting, Esme grabbing the wooden box off Johnny and opening it in preparation as they reached the final line of the spell.

'Afară!'they yelled in unison and Tommy knew what the word meant:Out!

'Afară! Afară! Afară!'they chanted again.

Maddie's face scrunched up in pain and she began to foam at the mouth with the amount of effort she was exerting. Then there was a loud snap and her left arm broke free from the ropes and she lunged forward and swiped at Esme, narrowly missing her skirt as they all stepped back several steps. She turned to scowl at her other arm that was still trapped and began pulling on the ropes and chains which quickly began to bend now she had both hands to pull them properly.

'Afară!'joined Tommy hurriedly, shouting the word angrily along with Polly and Esme, looking around the room for everyone else to join in.

'Afară! Afară! AFARĂ!'they all yelled together.

Maddie stopped struggling and screwed her face up in pain again before suddenly vomiting onto the floor before throwing her head back into a deafening gargling scream. A dark green, almost black smoke started streaming out of her mouth into the air above her and everyone stopped chanting as Esme held the wooden box up. The swirling cloud of gangrenous gas suddenly shot through the air toward the wooden box in Esme's hands, nearly knocking her over before she quickly closed it and clipped the metal locks shut.

Tommy quickly turned back to Maddie in time to see her body collapse limply into a heap on the floor, her eyes closed. He leapt forwards and knelt down next to her, scooping his arms underneath her to lift her into his chest. Everyone else hurried over to circle them and looked down at her with bated breath. He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face that had stuck to the vomit that had dribbled down her chin, not that he much cared about that. After a second Maddie's eyelids flickered, and Tommy inhaled in anticipation as her eyes opened slowly.

A long and pained groan escaped her lips as her eyes opened fully and he sighed with relief to see that they were again back to the normal crystal blue he had grown to love so much. She looked up at him briefly before glancing at all the faces above her.

'What the fuck happened?' said Maddie, her voice sounding sore. 'And why does my throat feel like I've swallowed a watermelon?'

A loud collective sigh followed by humoured laughter erupted around the room as Tommy pulled Maddie into his chest and kissed the top of her head as a happy tear tricked down his cheek. She tried to lift her right arm only to find it was still attached to the wall and her ankles and she looked over to it in confusion.

'Erm… Why am I chained to the wall?'

Everyone looked at each other and laughed again. 'It's a long story,' said John as he knelt down to cut the ropes from Maddie's wrist and ankles.

'Don't you remember?' asked Finn with surprise.

'Remember what?' she asked, sitting up once her bindings were cut and rubbing her head painfully. She looked at the confused faces in the room and seemed to pause in thought for a moment before creasing her brow in worry. 'What happened to me? The last thing I remember is being in Tommy's office.' Maddie winced suddenly in pain and then noticed her two wounds in her calf and shoulder, inspecting the dried gauze and looked around the room in more of a panic as realisation set into her eyes, 'What did I do?'

Tommy sighed and looked over to his family who looked back at him and Maddie sympathetically before he stood and then assisted her to her feet and smiled down at her, a feeling of overwhelming happiness to see her back with them.

'Maybe we should all sit and have a drink, eh?'

It was now a couple of hours past dawn, and everyone was beginning to feel considerably worse for wear. Tommy had helped Maddie clean up the wounds to her shoulder and calf after leaving the cold room, putting a couple of stiches in them mainly to help them heal that little bit faster. She had been quiet for most of the task, silently cleaning her calf as he cleaned her shoulder before she eventually plucked up the courage to confirm what she was obviously suspecting.

'It was you who shot me wasn't it?' she asked so matter-of-factly that it took Tommy off guard.

'Yes,' he responded followed by a pause. Maddie nodded before a sniff escaped her and he turned her head to face him and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

'I must have been doing something really horrible,' she muttered, her eyes bloodshot and red.

'You were about to,' replied Tommy, which made Maddie look slightly confused and he planted a kiss to her forehead. 'I'll explain once we've sorted you out.'

Once Maddie had been patched up and had changed into fresh clothes, they went downstairs to join everyone else who were waiting patiently in the sitting room. They passed the various doors that she had kicked down, as well as the cabinet in the foyer which had been moved to one side and the broken glass and pottery had been swept aside. Tommy saw her glance reluctantly at the damage she had caused, and he put a supportive hand on her back. In the sitting room, the sofa that she had upturned had been put back and was mostly undamaged, but the cabinet it had collided with had only been semi-tidied and it and its contents were piled next to the wall. Maddie paused and looked at the mess and pursed her lips. Tommy rubbed her back softly and she quickly looked away from the mess. She sat down next to Arthur who handed her a small shot of whiskey as Tommy sat on her other side, and she rested her head on Arthur's shoulder for a few seconds before lifting it up again and taking a deep breath.

'So, I think you should all start from the beginning,' she announced.

As they relived the ordeal of the night, Tommy watched Maddie closely for her reaction. At certain points in the story, she would close her eyes and crease her brow as if she was trying to remember something and he could also see that she was constantly fighting further tears from spilling out of her eyes. However, once Tommy started describing the part where she had nearly gone upstairs to hurt Charlie which pushed him to have to shoot her, the tears started falling fast and she looked at him with horrified eyes. He knew that the real Maddie wouldn't have hurt a hair on Charlie's head and wasn't surprised to see that this news was traumatic for her to hear. She continued to listen silently to the rest of the details, wincing when they quoted what she had said whilst tied up, until they finished talking and a silence fell over the room.

'I think I'm beginning to remember,' muttered Maddie eventually as she twirled her thumbs in her lap. 'I remember a flash, of seeing all of you looking at me scared and… I called out to you…'

'That must be when you pushed past the demon,' said Arthur. 'You spoke to us but then he retook control.'

Maddie nodded as if it was becoming clearer and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

'I don't know what to say,' she eventually said. 'How can I even start apologising for this?'

'You don't have to,' urged Tommy, reaching over and squeezing her to him. 'It wasn't you. It was Hallan.'

Maddie huffed, 'I should have known that something was wrong after I got out of those tunnels. I could have killed all of you.'

'Don't blame yourself love,' said Polly from across the room. 'There was no way that you could have known this would happen.'

Maddie looked unsure but reluctantly nodded in agreement. There was another pause before she spoke again.

'Speaking of Hallan… er, where is he?' she asked looking nervously around the room.

Esme stood from her seat and took a few staps across the room to a table where she had set the wooden box where Hallan's essence was trapped inside and held it up so Maddie could see.

'He's trapped in here,' she said, and Maddie gave the box a wary look. 'It should hold him indefinitely but only if no one tries to open it.'

'We should hide it somewhere,' said John. 'Where no one will find it.'

Tommy thought for a moment and agreed that hiding the box away was the best way to ensure Hallan wouldn't be released from his prison. He thought that the best way would be to bury the box, ideally under the foundations of a building, that way it was unlikely to be dug up any time soon.

'I'll think of somewhere to bury it,' said Tommy. 'Where we can keep an eye on it and make sure no one ever finds it.'

The room nodded their agreement and Esme put the box back where it was before yawning and stretching her arms above her head. 'I don't know about the rest of you but I'm going home to bed,' she said. 'Delivering a baby and then exorcising a demon has taken all the energy from me.'

'Huh?' asked Maddie suddenly. 'Delivered a baby? You mean…?'

She turned to face Arthur who looked back at her with sudden realisation that no had told her that Linda had given birth, obviously not remembering the incident where Arthur told her whilst Hallan had been possessing her.

'Oh yeah, sorry Mads I forgot that you wouldn't have remembered,' Arthur apologised. 'It's a boy.'

Maddie's face finally lit up in a smile and she threw her arms around Arthur who nearly spilt his drink as a result, 'Oh Arthur! I'm so happy for you!'

This news seemed to have cheered Maddie up considerably as the smile remained on her face after she broke away from Arthur.

'Speaking of, I should be getting home to Linda,' said Arthur and he rose from his chair followed by everyone else.

'We should all be getting home,' agreed Polly who walked over to Maddie and gave her a kiss on the cheek before going to leave. Everyone else also said their goodbyes and left one by one, leaving Maddie and Tommy alone.

She wrapped her arms around him and sighed as he did the same, kissing the top of her head tenderly. This had been one of the worst ordeals that they'd had since Maddie arrived into his life and he was now certain that they were destined to be a regular occurrence. He only hoped that they would now have a longer stretch of time to just be normal. After all, he still had to propose to her as he had planned.

After that night, Maddie made the stalwart decision to take a holiday from slaying. As long of a holiday as she could get away with. They were aware that a watcher was going to eventually show up to train her so they hoped for as long as possible before that happened. She had decided not to tell the council about the Hallan possession as she was certain it would result in a watcher turning up at her door the next day, so she kept the information to herself.

Tommy noticed that Maddie, although almost back to her usual self, seemed more withdrawn and quiet and he suspected that the shock of learning that she had attempted to kill him and his family, including Charlie, was still lingering. He had to gently reassure her that she wasn't a threat to Charlie when she initially refused to spend time with him the next day, the reluctance clear in her features. Charlie had been desperate for Maddie to be around him, the ordeal obviously causing him to think that she had disappeared just like Grace had. Once she realised this, Maddie had held him to her for almost two days, letting him sleep with her and Tommy their bed. He woke up in the middle of the night to hear her whispering to Charlie that she would never frighten him like that again and that she loved him and Tommy more than anything. Tommy wished that he could bear some of Maddie's emotional burden, wanting her to see that he and his family still loved and trusted her, but he knew she needed the time to process what had happened.

Tommy and Arthur took the wooden box containing Hallan to a building site outside of one of the factories they owned a few days later. The building was being expanded and new foundations were being laid that day and Tommy personally buried the box at the bottom of the dirt and rubble hole and watched as the workmen poured the cement over it before walking away, satisfied that they wouldn't be seeing Hallan again.

The other issue was Esther. Tommy and Maddie agreed that it would be silly to not tell the housekeeper everything at this point as she had now seen much more than she had bargained for. When they had sat and told her everything, she had initially looked at them like they were insane, but Tommy saw that once she had put the puzzle pieces together, all the strange things she'd seen since starting her job at Arrow House now making sense with their explanation, she seemed to relax and accept that what they were telling her was true. It would prove helpful that Esther was in on these secrets, she had proven to be apt at many things in her job, including first aid and sewing which would prove helpful in Maddie's case.

By the middle of the following week, Maddie had gradually began acting like her old self again. She insisted on helping fix the damage to the house and promised to pay Tommy back before she realised, he was the one who paid her wages anyway. The work of nailing new doorframes in place seemed to help her come to peace with what had happened and that night once the work was finished, she and Tommy fucked for the first time since the ordeal, going for hours until their legs couldn't hold their weight anymore.

The next day was the day Tommy had planned to go into the city and buy Maddie a dress for Cheltenham which he still hadn't told her about. He planned to tell her that night at dinner and present the box with dress in it to her. He imagined what her expression would be when she opened it at felt himself getting excited at the thought. He also needed to buy a ring, arguably a much more important item in this circumstance. Maddie, he noticed, wasn't one for jewellery apart from the occasional earrings and a cross she wore around her neck, but he hoped that she would be open to wearing a ring.

'What are you smirking about?' asked Maddie at breakfast and Tommy suddenly realised he had been smiling to himself as he thought about proposing to her. He quickly set his features into his emotionless mask and gave her an indifferent look.

'Nothing important,' Tommy answered before turning back to the morning paper so he wouldn't have to make eye contact with her.

'Humph,' huffed Maddie jestingly. 'You never tell me what you're thinking Tommy, it's so bloody annoying you know!'

Tommy fought the urge not to smile and laugh at her frustration and instead grunted once in response as he stared at his paper and out of the corner of his eye, he caught her roll her eyes at him.

'Fine, don't tell me then,' she sighed, and they continued their breakfast in silence.

Tommy kissed Maddie on the doorstep as he was preparing to leave; the kiss lingering for several seconds before he cupped her face and looked down into her eyes. He loved her so much. More than any other woman before her, even Grace. He realised then that he was indeed sure that he wanted her to be his wife. His beautiful, strong yet peculiar wife from the future. He must have had an odd expression on his face as these thoughts crossed his mind as Maddie quirked her eyebrow up at him as he just held her face and looked at her silently.

'Er… Tommy?' she prompted. 'What the hell is up with you today? If it's possible you're even more non-verbal than ususal.'

Tommy blinked and cleared his throat before lowering his hand and putting it in his pocket. 'Nothing,' he responded. 'I'll see you later.'

Before Maddie could question him again, he turned and descended the front steps quickly and got in his car before driving away, her puzzled expression watching him from the doorway. He went to the office first, business still needing to be done before he could dedicate time to what he really wanted to get done that day. The various meetings he attended were tedious and his mind kept wondering back to Maddie and his proposal plans. This caught him out more than once, as it had at breakfast, as he had to ask people to repeat questions and have his attention drawn back to the conversation. He knew this was out of character for him as the various people at the meetings kept giving him perplexed looks and asking if he was alright. The only people who obviously knew what was on his mind were his family, who found his lack of concentration very amusing.

'You still planning to pop the question, Tom?' asked John quietly when no-one else was in close proximity.

'That is my intention.'

'Let's hope she says yes then!' chuckled John.

Tommy knew he meant it as a joke, but he gave his brother a scornful glare all the same causing him to stifle his laughter. Tommy was confident that Maddie would say yes, at least he thought he was. She was so independent and free-spirited, much like the women in his family, that he debated whether she would prefer to keep things as they were. But Tommy, after watching Maddie with Charlie for the past few days, was beginning to feel the desire to have a child with her creeping up on him. If they did want to do that, then being married before they did so was the preferable thing to do.

Then it occurred to him that despite the two of them sleeping with each other now for almost six months, Maddie hadn't already fallen pregnant. He recalled pondering this before, even if only briefly when Esme had her last child and had watched Maddie hold him. Since then, he had conveniently forgotten about it and now remembered how odd it was. Then the sinking thought occurred to him that maybe she couldn't have children because she was a slayer. Having a child as a slayer would likely be impractical so maybe they were cursed with not being able to conceive so that eventuality wouldn't happen. This revelation was beginning to worry him to the pit of his stomach, so he buried it down inside him for the time being. Even if it was the case, it wasn't enough to stop him from wanting to marry Maddie.

As soon as Tommy had his last meeting of the day at around three, he hastily packed the few letters he needed to take home into his briefcase and marched out of the office. He drove the short distance to the Bull Ring and parked up on one of the busier streets that was lined with clothes shops. Leaving his briefcase inside, he stepped out of the car and walked toward the first shop window and inspected what was on display. The items were obviously expensive, which meant that this shop was one of the more luxurious, but despite this the dresses on the mannequins seemed dull and drab, especially for a late summer day at the races. Hewas vaguely aware of the passers by that were giving him a wide berth as they realised who he was, much as they always did, as he decided to look inside the shop in case they had anything that he liked the look of. As he stepped in, he didn't initially see anyone behind the counter and took it upon himself to start inspecting the clothes rails. After a couple of minutes, a lady emerged through the back door into the shop looking flustered.

'I do apologise,' she said, not looking up. 'I've had a lot of alterations to-.'

As she looked up and saw who was in her shop, the lady stopped abruptly and went a deathly shade of white. Tommy put one of the garments he had picked up to inspect back on the rail and turned to the woman who was looking at him gormlessly.

'I'm looking for a dress to give someone as a gift,' he said gruffly, putting his hands in his pockets. The woman looked at him a few seconds longer, taking her time to recover her wits before a shaky breath left her and she approached him cautiously.

'Of course, Mr Shelby,' she replied. 'Is it for an occasion?'

'Cheltenham,' nodded Tommy.

The woman gave a small smile and indicated to a collection of clothes on the other side of the shop, 'These dresses are our top-of-the-line items suitable for expensive occasions.'

Tommy didn't reply and instead began to rifle through the dresses as the shop attendant watched him nervously. They were definitely the best quality items in the shop, but despite this none of them jumped out to him. Maybe it was because they were all rather modest in design, he thought. They all had some kind of sleeve and were longer than knee length, unlike most of the modern fashion in bohemian London which consisted of the flapper style. He remembered Maddie's outfit that she had been wearing when he first laid eyes on her, how it had showed so much skin that it hardly seemed worth wearing. He wanted something that showed off some of her skin on a warm summer's afternoon, he realised.

'Anything take your fancy Mr Shelby?' asked the woman and Tommy turned to her and shook his head.

'No,' muttered, making the woman look slightly downhearted. 'Thank you for your help.'

With that he turned sharply and exited the shop, getting the impression that the woman was at least relieved to have him out of her shop despite not making a sale. Tommy walked along the street to the next shop and repeated the same process he had just done, thinking it a miracle that none of the women that attended the shops fainted considering how pale they all went when they saw him. Each of the shops was similar to the last, none of them having any dresses that Tommy had in mind, not that he had a good image of what he wanted in his head. After an hour, he had stepped out of the last shop on the street with an annoyed huff, still emptyhanded, and began to fret that he wouldn't be able to find anything. Then he remembered a conversation he overheard between Polly and Ada once when Ada had been up from London. They had been talking about clothes, so it was a small miracle that what they had said had managed to be imprinted onto his brain. They had mentioned the name of a shop, which they had just called 'Audrey's' at the time but the jist of their conversation was about how much they liked the place. He assumed that the shop must have been nearby and walked down a few different streets until he eventually came across it.

'Audrey's Tailors' was written above the doorway of the small shop which didn't even have a window. It was an unassuming little place and Tommy began to doubt his aunt and sisters taste until he realised that they must get their extravagant gowns they wore to dinners and events from somewhere.

Tommy stepped into the shop, a little bell above the door tinkling, as he emerged into a dark but well-presented room. He took off his hat and looked around, the shadow his cap was casting making it more difficult for him to see. The place was lined with multiple garments of many colours and styles, the walls decorated tastefully, and an inviting smell of expensive perfume lingered in the air. Yet another shop assistant was sat behind a small counter, looking down at a ledger and writing quickly. She looked up and saw Tommy, pausing momentarily before small smile turned up her lips.

'Mr Shelby,' she said. 'This is a surprise. I usually expect to see your aunt or sister in here but not you.'

Polly and Ada must have frequented this place often for the shopkeeper to feel so confident and familiar with him. She was young, very young to be a shop owner. She seemed to be a similar age to Maddie, with caramel blond hair that was cut short and styled into finger waves. This shop certainly seemed to cater for the younger, more stylish women in the city.

'I am wanting to buy a gift for someone,' said Tommy, not commenting on what the shopkeeper had said. The shopkeeper had a thoughtful look on her face for a second before she nodded and smiled again, getting up from her stool.

'Is this someone Maddie, by any chance?' asked the shopkeeper, making him look at her sternly. He had no idea just how much Ada and Pol had told this woman and was finding he wasn't impressed by it.

The shopkeeper chuckled on seeing his expression, 'Don't fret Mr Shelby. Maddie has visited this shop a couple of times with Ada, and I overheard them talking about you.'

Tommy considered the shopkeeper for a moment and relaxed, deciding that she meant no harm. In fact, if Maddie had visited her before, then perhaps he would have better luck. Indeed, the shopkeeper proved him right and smiled again.

'Luckily for you that means I have a good idea of what sort of thing Maddie likes,' she said. 'What's the dress for?'

'Cheltenham races.'

'Uh-huh,' she nodded, pausing in thought a moment. 'Follow me.'

The shopkeeper led Tommy just a few yards through the shop, weaving between some clothes racks to stop near a mannequin that had been set up in the corner of the room. He halted when his eyes landed on the dress the mannequin was wearing and his eyes ran up and down it excitedly. It was made of an expensive lilac silk that hugged the mannequin in a flattering way, the skirt hanging lower at the back and shorter at the front. It had no sleeves, and the neckline was lined with beads and jewels, cut lower down than what was probably deemed acceptable. Tommy could immediately picture Maddie wearing the dress and knew he had found the right one, an erection threating to make an inappropriate appearance.

'Do you like it?' asked the shopkeeper walking up to the mannequin and turning the dress around so he could see the back. The back dipped low down the back, a style Tommy hadn't seen many times before and was now even more sure he wanted the dress and even more so to see it on Maddie.

'It's perfect.'

'I did have Maddie in mind when I saw it myself,' commented the shopkeeper. 'It is the perfect size for her. Though I should warn you, it is the most expensive item I have.' Tommy cast the shopkeeper an unbothered look. He would pay more than what he paid for his car to see that dress on Maddie's body.

'I'll take it.'

The shopkeeper beamed from ear to ear and nodded before beginning to take the dress off the mannequin as Tommy walked over to the counter to wait for her. He lit up a cigarette as the shopkeeper came over with the dress and began folding it on the counter neatly. She pulled a box out from under the counter and placed the dress inside, covering it with thin tissue paper. She tied a gold-coloured bow around the box to keep it shut, tying a fancy knot in the ribbon. As she had warned, the dress was indeed expensive. At least it would have been for Tommy just a few years ago even, costing more than his pocket watch which was one of the finest watches in the country. Nevertheless, he handed the shopkeeper the money which she looked more than happy with, and he picked up the box off the counter.

'What's your name?' asked Tommy, realising he should have asked this earlier.

'Lorraine,' she replied as she locked the money away in her till. 'Audrey was my grandmother, she passed the shop on to me when she died.'

'Well Lorraine, I think you can shut the shop for the rest of the week after that sale.'

'I might just do that. Thank you, Mr Shelby,' beamed Lorraine before showing Tommy out.

Tommy's next errand, buying an engagement ring, was far easier than finding the dress. He was familiar with all the jewellers in Birmingham and made a beeline for the one he knew was the best as soon as he left the dress shop. He had brought multiple items from Mr Foggarty, the owner of the jewellers, over the years and he trusted that the quality of the metal and jewels were of a high standard.

Mr Foggarty was surprised when Tommy asked to see his selection of diamond engagement rings and politely asked who the lucky woman was.

'Maddie,' he replied. 'She came along rather unexpectedly.'

Mr Foggarty could see that Tommy was being intentionally vague and didn't press him more and instead showed him his finer selection of rings and gave his personal recommendations. All the rings were exquisite and cost a small fortune, as was Mr Foggarty's standard, but varied a lot in their designs, a lot adopting the modern art deco style. Tommy looked down at the rings silently as Mr Foggarty patiently waited for him to speak. There were many rings with singular diamonds, varying from small to large, inlaid into a gold band. Tommy pictured one of these rings on Maddie's finger and knew they would look attractive but weren't particularly practical, and practicality would be an important factor in her case. He knew that she would likely remove the ring when she went patrolling to avoid breaking or loosing it, but it had become a regular occurrence for evil to show up unexpectedly meaning she wouldn't always be able to do so. A ring with a diamond that protruded out too far would likely hurt her finger when she punched someone and would certainly break with the amount of force she punched with. So, he turned his attention to a smaller selection of rings which had much smaller stones in them that didn't protrude out too far and his gaze lingered on one in particular.

The ring was made of silver rather than gold, the metal smooth rather than etched with a pattern like most of the others. Rather than one diamond, this ring was inlaid with five; one small but still the largest of the five in the middle with two even smaller diamonds on either side so the jewels ran along the top of the ring, almost flush to the metal. The ring reflected the light in a dazzling way, almost glowing. It was a petite and modest yet classy and extravagant. It was perfect.

'How much for this one?' asked Tommy, pointing to the ring.

Mr Foggarty smiled and raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, obviously not expecting him to choose that particular ring.

'That is a fine choice but not what I expected Mr Shelby,' commented Mr Foggarty as he picked up the ring in its box. 'This one is the most expensive despite using silver. The diamonds are of the finest quality despite their size. I've valued this ring at £1000.'

Tommy struggled to keep his face even but managed to not give away his shock. He did not expect that ring to be quite that expensive, costing more than the dress and his car combined. He also didn't have that amount of money on him but knew Mr Foggarty would be happy for him to send the rest of the money the next day. The cost didn't matter; Maddie deserved the best. She would likely protest if she knew the expense Tommy had gone too but he wasn't intending for her to find out.

'I'll take it.'

That was the second shop owner that Tommy had made very happy indeed. Mr Foggarty was more than happy for him to send him the rest of the payment the next day after he had cleared his pockets of all his remaining cash. He imagined what sort of lecture he would get from Polly when she realised how much money he had taken from the vault to pay for such extravagant items. Tommy tucked the ring in its fine velvet box away into the inside pocket of his jacket before nodding to Mr Foggarty and leaving the shop.

Tommy hid the box with the dress in on the chair that would be opposite Maddie at the dining table just a few minutes before they were due to have dinner. Since he had gotten home, he had hidden the box under his desk before she had realised he was home. Luckily, she had been out riding when he got back so it wasn't hard to do. However, he felt like a child at Christmas trying to steal his presents from under the tree when he had to covertly sneak the box into the dining room in case she appeared from the bedroom after getting changed. The ring had remained safely in his pocket, Tommy not wanting to leave it somewhere, even in his safe, deciding he wanted to keep it on his person.

He sat at the head of the table waiting for her, knowing she wouldn't be too late when food was involved. Soon enough she appeared, freshly bathed and dressed, beaming widely as she laid eyes on him. Tommy returned the smile, unusually enthusiastically he knew, and Maddie slowed her walk and squinted at him suspiciously.

'Why are you so bloody cheerful?' she asked before sitting down.

'Am I not allowed to be cheerful?'

'No!' Maddie mocked. 'You're supposed to always be gruff and moody whilst I bring the cheer and joy!' Tommy chuckled through his nose, infinitely happy to see that Maddie's sarcasm hadn't suffered since her demonic possession. 'Well… whatever is making you so happy I hope I get to find out what it is.'

'Maybe you will,' smiled Tommy just as their dinner was brought in and placed in front of them, turning Maddie's attention away from him instantaneously.

They ate in silence, just the sound of chewing filling the room. Tommy had to try not to glance too often toward the box on the chair next to him, knowing that Maddie would certainly notice. He waited patiently for her to finish eating, him finishing after a few mouthfuls as usual and residing to drinking his whiskey instead. He lit up a cigarette as she was on her last bite and she sipped at her small glass of wine she'd gotten into the habit of having at dinner. He looked over at her unblinkingly, waiting for her to notice which she soon did, and she threw him a questioning glance as their plates were cleared away.

'What now?' she asked with a slight childish moan in her voice making Tommy smile again. He took a drag of his cigarette and cleared his throat, reaching over to grasp the box under the table.

'I've got something for you,' he said causing her to look at him questioningly. He pulled the box out from underneath the table and gently placed it in front of her and she looked down at it initially in surprise before an excited smile lit up her face.

'A present?' she exclaimed. 'But… why?'

'Why not, eh?' responded Tommy. 'Why don't you open it?'

Maddie gave Tommy another questioning look but smiled excitedly and undid the ribbon holding the box together. She grasped the lid of the box in both hands before closing her eyes and lifting it off, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes again. The dress was still concealed with tissue paper and she bit her lip before slowly peeling back the paper to reveal the purple silk underneath. A short gasp escaped her lips followed by a long pause as she just looked at the jewelled purple neckline of the dress lying in the box in awe. Tommy watched her face closely, her eyes wide with admiration and her breath quickening slightly, making her chest rise and fall rapidly. Then she tentatively reached inside the box and grasped the straps of the dress to lift it out, treating it like it might burst into flames if she moved too fast.

'Oh Tommy…' she sighed. 'It's gorgeous.'

Maddie stood up and held the dress in front of her over her body to get an idea of what it looked like. She looked down at it in silent astonishment as she ran her hand over the soft expensive fabric. She looked up at Tommy and he gave her a small provocative smile and she gently placed the dress back in the box before sitting down again.

'Where are we going then?' she asked. Tommy shouldn't have been surprised that Maddie had figured out that the dress was for the purpose of wearing to a special occasion although he was sure she didn't suspect the main reason was to propose to her. He paused for a moment, making her wait in anticipation for his answer and he wondered what she must be thinking.

'Cheltenham. Tomorrow,' smiled Tommy eventually.

'Cheltenham?' she confirmed. 'As in we'll be in the posh bit with all the rich people and not down on the betting pitches with all the men?'

'Yes.'

Maddie's face lit up excitedly and she clapped her hands together in several small little claps before looking back down at the dress again and admiring it some more.

'Go and try it on for me,' said Tommy, his tone darkening somewhat, and he gave Maddie a devilish look. He had let her have her moment of childish awe, now he wanted to see the expensive silk he had just spent a pretty penny on caressing her pale skin.

Maddie initially smiled and went to pick up the box before pausing and looking back at Tommy mischievously. 'Won't that ruin the novelty?' she teased, and he could already feel himself tensing as he realised where this was going. 'Maybe I should wait until tomorrow. I don't want to risk damaging it either.'

Tommy stared back at Maddie sternly, hoping that it would be enough to make her fold to his will, but she chuckled at him and put the lid back on the box. Looks like he would have to be patient and wait.

Tommy relaxed back against the headboard of the bed as he read the handful of papers he had brought back from the office, his glasses balanced on the end of his nose. He had discarded his suit for the night and was laid on the bed covers in his underwear. He could hear Maddie in the bathroom, water from the bath sloshing about as she bathed again after doing some training in the basement. He glanced over at the dress box she had left on the chair across the room and felt silent resentment towards her for refusing to put it on, making him turn back to his papers and try his best to forget the dress was there for now.

A few minutes later, he heard Maddie getting out of the bath but continued to read his documents undistracted. This scene was a common occurrence for Tommy; he would often take some of his work up to bed if there were only a few things left to do rather than sit in his office and do them, and she often left him to it and just settled to sleep next to him. He lit a cigarette and rested it in his mouth as he reached the last few letters he needed to read that had come from America that morning. Ada was doing a good job of setting up contacts in the States and more correspondence was coming through by the day, further expanding their ever-growing empire.

Tommy perused the letter silently as the bathroom door eventually opened and he heard Maddie take a few steps into the room but was otherwise so engrossed in the letter that he didn't really notice her entrance.

'Still reading?' asked Maddie curiously. Tommy nodded but didn't look up, remaining silent. The letter was long and detailed; the company who had sent it listing out the terms and conditions for their partnership seemingly in full. He heard her sigh quietly from across the room, but he ignored her. 'Isn't that stuff really boring?' she asked, her voice seeming slightly closer than before.

'No,' replied Tommy, dragging on his cigarette and blowing out smoke around himself. He was vaguely aware that she was trying to get his attention, but he was stoically refusing to turn his focus away. Serves her right for refusing to try the dress on, he thought.

There was another irritated noise that came from Maddie's direction followed by a silent pause and Tommy concluded that she had given up on trying to distract him. Then he felt the mattress of the bed sink near his feet, like something was putting weight on it and she spoke again, only this time in a sensual whisper.

'I think it is boring. I know something that you'll find more interesting.'

Tommy paused his reading mid-sentence but didn't look up straight away as he felt Maddie's weight climbing onto the end of the bed. Slowly he finally looked up and felt his blood immediately rush downwards. She was wearing the pink lingerie she had brought, his favourite lingerie. She was on her hands and knees on the bed near his feet and was looking back at him with a hungry look in her eye. She bit her lip at him, and he fought to keep his expression neutral, keeping still with the pieces of paper still in his hand and the cigarette hanging precariously between his lips.

Maddie remained still for a moment before slowly lifting one hand and knee up to begin crawling up toward Tommy, placing her limbs on either side of his legs. Her eyes were heavy lidded as she approached, her hips swinging purposefully from side to side as she crawled up his body, her breasts pushing together in full view, commanding his attention. He knew she was ignoring his erection on purpose as she passed it, instead coming to a stop so that her head was hovering over the stack of papers he was still holding. She looked down at them as he continued to stare at her breasts, making her chuckle which caused her breasts to wobble temptingly.

'I don't think you need these anymore,' she whispered, and he felt her grasp the stack of papers in his hands which he willingly let her take before he heard them being dropped without care, making them all scatter messily on the floor. With his now free hand, Tommy began to reach forward toward Maddie's taunting breast, but her hand snapped up to grasp his wrist, stopping him. Finally, with an annoyed huff through his nose, he looked up to meet her eyes and she gave him an infuriatingly victorious look. 'You don't get to touch tonight,' she teased. 'You have to keep your hands to yourself.'

'Or what?' replied Tommy dangerously. First, she denied him the dress, and now she was denying him the ability to touch her. She was playing a dangerous game with him; she knew how much he hated being denied what he wanted.

'Or you don't get what I have planned for you.'

'Which is?'

Maddie smirked knowingly and Tommy had to fight the urge to grab her roughly and devour her right there. If he did, he knew she would likely break away, keeping to her word. Plus he found that her statement was beginning to rouse a curiosity within him that was tempting him to do as she commanded.

'You'll find out if you behave yourself,' Maddie breathed seductively, making Tommy bristle at her boldness. Despite his annoyance however, he gave her one single nod in agreement and a devilish smile crept onto her face. She released his wrist which he placed obediently on the bed by his side as she reached up and pulled his cigarette from his mouth and placed it in the ashtray on the side table without moving her eyes from his. She reached up again, and he prepared for her to remove his glasses but instead she placed her index finger on the part that rested on his nose and gently pushed them further back so they were on more securely. She leant forward then to bring her lips agonisingly close to his ear so that he could feel her breath tickling his neck. 'When you wear those glasses, it makes me so fucking wet,' she whispered sensually, and a hot heat rippled angrily under Tommy's skin. 'You can feel for yourself if you want?'

Tommy gritted his teeth together hard, almost giving himself cramp in his jaw. He hadn't expected for her to use such brash tactics to tempt him, and he was already regretting agreeing to her little game. However, he wasn't going to give in so easily, no matter how much he wanted to feel Maddie's dripping wet pussy with his fingers. When he didn't make a move to touch her, she breathed a sweet laugh against his neck before pressing her lips softly against the skin under his earlobe. He sucked a breath in through his nose and held his breath before she then began to kiss and nibble the sensitive area of skin. His cock was already marble hard in his underwear and was begging for some kind of attention, but Tommy resisted the urge to move as Maddie began to kiss slowly down his neck. He recognised the technique; it was the same thing he'd done to her so many times before and had revelled in the way it made her squirm and whimper desperately for more.

Tommy was determined not to give Maddie the satisfaction of reacting to her ministrations and remained still as she slowly worked her way down to his clavicle and then to the top of his sternum. She then began to kiss down the centre of his chest, diverting only to nip harshly at both of his nipples which forced him to clench his fists at his sides. As she continued down further, she didn't shuffle her knees backward, so her backside ended up arching into the air as her mouth drew closer to the base of his stomach. There she paused for a second and he took a breath in anticipation for her next move, not daring to pull his eyes away for even a millisecond.

Then Maddie flattened her tongue against his stomach before, in one long movement, licked a wet stripe up his torso to his neck and up further to run her tongue along his jaw and to his earlobe, back to where she had started. Tommy couldn't control his hands with just balling his fist up any longer and had to quickly grasp the bed sheets in both hands and tensed his arms as she moved back up his body again. He continued to grip the sheets and closed his eyes as Maddie began to nibble his earlobe gently, still refusing to make a sound however apart from his breathing. She began to kiss along his jawline again and it soon became clear that she was planning to put him through the same ordeal again, only even slower this time. When she reached his nipples again, Tommy couldn't prevent his breathing from becoming laboured with the effort of clenching his fists together and began to let out little huffs of air form his mouth despite trying not to. Eventually, she reached the base of his stomach again and paused, Tommy praying that she wouldn't do it all again a third time. Thankfully she didn't and instead looked up at him through her eyelashes, fluttering them prettily like she was completely innocent of any wrongdoing, and he clenched his teeth again silently.

'Are you enjoying yourself?' she asked with a smirk.

Tommy stared back at her silently for a second. On the one hand, he was decidedly not enjoying himself, his cock felt like it was being tortured with neglect and his muscles were burning from the tension. However, on the other, he was enjoying Maddie's torture immensely and was close to begging her to carry on, but he knew his pride wouldn't allow him to do that. Instead, he let out a long tense breath and gave her an unbothered look before shrugging silently. Her eyes narrowed dangerously; he knew that an indifferent response would make her more impatient although he also knew it was risky to provoke her in such a way. She huffed an unamused laugh and tilted her head down to look at his erection which was close to ripping the seams of his underwear before looking back up at him with her eyebrows raised.

'Looks like your cock is enjoying it,' she hummed seductively before suddenly grasping his underwear and tearing open the buttons at the front to release his cock, making Tommy flinch. 'Maybe this will change your mind?'

Maddie sat back before aggressively grasping Tommy's hard cock in her hand and squeezing firmly. His whole body tensed in response, and he failed to stop a strained grunt from escaping his lips. His hands left the bed and began to reach forward to grab her arms, but he stopped himself just in time and she smiled at him, impressed. She waited for him to lower his arms back down and to relax his body before she began to work her hand up and down at a slow steady pace. Tommy went back to holding onto the bedsheets as she worked him, knowing exactly when to slow down and speed up so that he quickly became out of breath.

'What do you want to touch Tommy?' Maddie asked after a minute, making Tommy look at her pleadingly to not make it even harder for him. 'Do you want to touch this?'

Maddie took her free hand and pulled the strap of her bra down her arm and pulled the front of it down to reveal one of her breasts. Her nipple was hard and an arousing shade of pink in the dim light of the room. She reached up and cupped her own breast and pinched the already erect nipple between her index and middle finger as she let her eyes close momentarily in pleasure. That should have been him pinching her nipple, he thought, I know how to make her moan with just my thumb and index finger. Tommy wanted more than anything in that moment to say yes, that he did want to touch her breast, to kiss it and suck her nipple so hard that she would scream. But instead, he kept still and silent.

'Or maybe here?' she asked before abandoning her breast and running her hand down her stomach to her crotch. She pulled her briefs to one side to reveal her wet pussy and Tommy's cock throbbed furiously in her hand as she continued to pump it without pause. Maddie pushed her finger down between her folds and sighed in pleasure, Tommy helpless as he watched her circle her clit a couple of times before removing her hand and bringing her hand up to suck her finger into her mouth. She closed her eyes again as she tasted herself and he could no longer contain the impatient moan that he was holding in his chest.

Maddie opened her eyes again and looked sympathetically back at him, smiling mischievously. 'Do you want me to stop teasing you?'

'Yes,' replied Tommy without a moment's hesitation. He wasn't sure how much more he could take before he ended up finishing with her hand clasped around him, spilling hot cum all over his stomach. She smiled again and released his cock, making him sigh in relief, although the respite was short lived.

Only a second passed before her hand was replaced with the soft, hot wetness of her mouth wrapping around him. Tommy hissed angrily and had to stop himself again as his hand reached instinctively to grasp her hair. He looked down to see her looking up at him, her cheeks sunken in as she sucked eagerly on his cock. He slammed his hand down against the bed again angrily; he wasn't about to ruin this now. Maddie laughed around him, and the sensation made him shiver with pleasure before he felt her tongue circle the head of his cock in one smooth motion.

'Fuck!'

The exclamation left him before he could stop it and it only proved to give Maddie more fuel as she repeated the action three more times making him see stars behind his eyelids. He was already so close to his orgasm; his balls feeling like they were ready to burst at any moment. She then proceeded to bob her head up and down, sucking just hard enough to make him begin to moan, before doing the same motion with her tongue every time she reached the top. Each time she went down, she pushed the head of his cock past the threshold of her throat, the tightness making him forget who or where he was. No longer able to keep his hands by his sides, Tommy reached up to hold onto the headboard, feeling like Maddie might just succeed in sucking out his soul at this rate.

Soon, Tommy began to feel his climax approaching and he tilted his head back as Maddie picked up her pace, also sensing his end nearing. He groaned loudly and swore between gritted teeth as he came into her mouth as she eased it of him, loving eyes looking up at him. She hummed in satisfaction and released his cock from her mouth with a pop as his body went limp with exhaustion. How he had managed to keep his hands off her he would never know. She sat up and smiled as he watched the bump in her throat ripple as she swallowed his cum.

Despite his exhaustion, Tommy decided she'd had as much fun as he'd allowed her to have and lunged forward, grabbing her by the waist before throwing her onto the bed beside him and rolling over to hover above her. She squealed in shock and looked up at him with wide eyes, the regret of playing her game evident in them.

'My turn,' muttered Tommy huskily, making Maddie sigh. 'You touch me you get nothing.' She nodded quickly in response, an eager smile on her face which he quickly erased by grasping her cheeks with his hand. 'Don't look so smug,' he warned before letting her go and moving down to pull her knickers off with one swift movement.

Without any warning, Tommy pushed Maddie's knees apart and pressed his fingers against her pussy. She was so wet that her juices quickly began to cover his fingers and she whimpered pleadingly, pushing her hips up against his hand. He knew then that he couldn't wait to taste her, not even to put her through some torture first as she had. He removed his hand and ducked his head down between her legs, pressing his tongue against her opening and immediately tasting the sweetness of her arousal. It was like a drug, ten times better than opium or cocaine. Unable to stop himself, he sucked and drank up every drop of her arousal hungrily until he knew he needed to stimulate her more. She was already screaming blue murder in response to his attentions, not used to this level of aggressiveness when it came to pleasuring her with his mouth. He reached his hand up to her breast and found her bullet-like nipple, quickly pinching and twisting it between his fingers. Maddie moaned loudly and like a tap, more hot nectar dripped from her and into Tommy's waiting mouth.

'Ah fuck… Tommy… p-please don-, I don't want… want you t-to,' she stuttered with difficulty, now losing the ability to speak.

Tommy didn't really care what it was she was trying to say as the taste of her was sending him into a frenzy. He flicked her clit with his tongue to try and get more juices from her and he realised that he was growling hungrily in his desperation. She arched her back off the bed as he got into a rhythm of massaging her clit before drinking in the wetness that continued to pour from her. After a couple of minutes of this however, he could tell that she was close to finishing, her thigh muscles beginning to flex and close around his head. She was panting uncontrollably, moans and screams escaping her lips with every movement of Tommy's mouth.

Then Maddie came hard, the last of her cum gushing from her as she screamed and swore at the top of her lungs. He drank the last of her, humming with pleasure as finally lifted his head up to look at her. She looked down at him with shock and disorientation, struggling to catch her breath. Tommy lifted himself up and lay beside her on the bed, lighting up a new cigarette before gazing down at her adoringly as she looked back at him with a satisfied grin.

'Next time you try that I won't be so gentle,' murmured Tommy with a stern look in his eye.

Tommy's shoes were echoing periodically through the foyer as he paced impatiently waiting for Maddie to appear ready to leave for Cheltenham. Everyone else had arrived in preparation to all drive there together and were also waiting for her, although rather more patiently that he was. He could tell that his pacing was getting on everyone's nerves, but he didn't much care.

As he should have known, Maddie had taken her time getting prepared that morning and had refused to let Tommy stay in the room whilst she dressed. He was desperate to see the dress on her, the fantasies he'd had the night before and even the dreams he'd had despite the events of last night clouding his mind incessantly. He knew she was purposefully pushing her time to the final minute before they were due to set off so that he couldn't find the time to have his way with her again before they even got to Cheltenham.

Finally, he heard the bedroom door upstairs open, and everyone looked up relieved and expectant as they waited for Maddie to appear. As she appeared at the top of the stairs, there was a loud collective gasp that echoed around the room. The dress fitted her perfectly, the silk draping flatteringly in all the right places. The lilac colour made her skin glow even in the dim light of the foyer. She had paired it with a pair of matching shoes which she luckily already owned along with a pair of elbow length white gloves, some long silver earrings, and a silver necklace. Tommy was glad she had chosen that jewellery and felt the small box in his coat pocket discreetly. The ring would fit with the ensemble perfectly. She had also done her hair in finger waves and wore a beaded headband to finish the look.

Everyone stared at Maddie silently as she paused at the top of the stairs; even from the long distance her blush was obvious. She began to descend the stairs to join them, keeping her head low in embarrassment until she reached the foot of the stairs.

'You look beautiful,' said Polly and Maddie looked up and smile gratefully.

'Yeah, you look smashing!' agreed John who gave Tommy a sidelong look, casting him a knowing smirk.

'Thanks guys,' muttered Maddie bashfully before approaching Tommy. 'Do you like it? Was it worth the money?'

Now that Maddie was stood closer to him, Tommy could see that the dress showed off her shoulders, neckline and cleavage in the most flattering way and it took a lot of effort not to stare at her inappropriately. Yes, it had been worth every penny.

'It is,' he agreed with a small smile.

'Hang on,' interjected Polly. 'You brought this Thomas? Just how much was it?'

'That Polly, is none of your concern,' replied Tommy, giving his aunt a stern look. She pursed her lips at him but soon let her features soften again.

'I suppose it doesn't matter,' she said. 'It really is a stunning dress.'

'Oh! But you all look great too!' exclaimed Maddie, holding her arms out to gesture to everyone.

'I'm sure we do,' nodded Arthur gruffly. 'But it won't mean much if we don't end up at the races, eh?'

With that they all headed outside to the cars where the drivers Tommy had hired for the day were waiting. He, Maddie and Polly travelled in one car with everyone else split across the rest of the cars. Ada was also coming and was due to meet them there. The journey took a couple of hours, during which Tommy felt himself becoming increasingly nervous. He could feel the weight of the velvet box in his jacket pocket leaning against his chest and the reality of what he was planning to do finally dawned on him.

Tommy's proposal to Grace had not been traditional in any sense. After she had confessed that she loved him and dropped the news that she was pregnant with their son, it had been a case of him simply telling her that they were getting married. No getting on one knee and asking. He had just told her like the matter was already decided. This time would be different. He was going to get on one knee, hold the ring up and ask Maddie to marry him.

Then the decision would be in her hands. Not his.

When they pulled up to the entrance to the racetrack, the expensively dressed men and women bustling about in droves, Maddie's face lit up excitedly.

'I've never actually watched a horse race properly before,' she admitted. 'I never got to watch them when I was at the tracks on blinder business.'

'You'll love it,' smiled Pol as the car door was opened for them by a valet and they all stepped out into the sunshine.

Tommy stood himself next to Maddie and held his arm out for her to hold which she did with a wide smile as the rest of his family got out of their cars behind them. During the journey, he and Polly had talked her through some of the etiquette expected at an upper-class event like this since they were going be in the VIP area. Maddie had nodded with a creased brow as they explained that she ought to remain close to Tommy or one of the blinders at all times since the other guests would likely be even worse than the ones she had encountered at the orphanage opening. When they were to walk in, it was customary for the women to hold the arms of the men they were with to signify that they weren't single. Polly walked her through how to be a tad more ladylike, mostly when it came to food and drink and Tommy admitted that she had poor table manners, and that was coming from a man who was raised eating outside with his bare hands. All the information seemed to overwhelm Maddie after a while, so they comforted her and just told her to do as Pol and Ada did as best she could.

Maddie looked around at the crowd and swallowed nervously, although she continued to smile and looked up at Tommy for reassurance who looked down at her and gave her an encouraging squeeze of the arm. Hopefully her nerves would settle, he thought, it wouldn't be fair launching a proposal on her when she was already getting jittery at her environment.

'Come on,' called John who stepped forward with Esme on his arm and began climbing the steps. 'I'm dying for a fucking drink.'

He said this slightly too loudly and a few passers-by cast John a disgusted look and Maddie giggled silently, covering her mouth with her hand. Polly rolled her eyes and began to follow them up the steps and Tommy realised that it wasn't her manners he needed to worry about.

Tommy led them to the VIP area where they would be watching the race from, the large extravagant room already filling with other guests. On the way there, he recognised several people who nodded to him as he passed. Several members of parliament, business owners from around the country and other wealthy influential people. They gave polite smiles to Maddie also who returned them but he didn't fail to catch the odd curious glances they cast at the woman hanging onto Thomas Shelby's arm and judging from her slight blush, she didn't either.

Once in the royal box, John released Esme and made a beeline for the private bar. Maddie loosened her own grip on Tommy and looked up to him. 'I'm going to get a drink too,' she said with a tense sigh. 'Do you want me to get you a whiskey?'

'Alright,' nodded Tommy. 'Stay close to John.'

Maddie nodded and turned away, walking quickly over to join John at the bar. Tommy went over and found the large round table where his family's names were all written on small cards. Ada evidently hadn't arrived yet as he was sure she would have greeted them straight away. He wandered out onto the balcony and pulled out his cigarettes, lighting one before leaning on the rail to look down over the track.

The grass looked vivid and green, evidently well cared for which meant hopefully that there was wet spongy earth beneath. One of his newer horses which he kept liveried near Cheltenham would be racing today, and the colt, Hill Prince, did better on wetter ground, just like Grace's Secret had done. Tommy managed to distract himself from thinking about the upcoming proposal with his thoughts on the race for a few minutes before the nervousness returned. The race was due to start in another hour and a half, after dinner had been served. This seemed to be the best time for Tommy to pop the question, before they would all gather on the balcony to watch the race. That at least gave him time to gather himself and make sure he wasn't shaking like a bloody fool when the time finally came. After a few minutes, Maddie found him on the balcony and handed him his drink which he took a grateful sip of as she looked over the balcony to admire the track and the surrounding area with its ever-growing crowd.

'Wow!' she exclaimed. 'I didn't realise how popular horse races used to be!'

'Are they not popular in your time?'

'Not as much,' she admitted. 'Animal rights is sort of a thing in my time. There's a whole debate whether horse racing is cruelty towards horses.'

'Animal rights?' questioned Tommy, finding the phrase to be practically ridiculous.

'Yeah,' smiled Maddie. 'It's the rights of animals not to be abused and stuff. Some people don't even eat meat; they call themselves vegetarians. Oh, and vegans are the hardcore ones, they don't eat anything that comes from animals, like cheese and stuff. They also don't agree with animal parts being used in fabrics and stuff. It's a whole big thing'

Tommy blinked a few times in stoic bafflement. He hadn't understood half the words Maddie had just said but he found the notion of refusing to eat meat or anything that came from an animal on the basis that it was cruel to the animal was beyond his comprehension. He was surprised she hadn't mentioned this before but since she was obviously fine with eating meat, she probably hadn't thought much of it. She laughed as she sipped her champagne, noticing his puzzled look.

'I don't think I've seen you so speechless,' she laughed.

'Neither have I,' admitted Tommy as they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

'Maddie!' came Ada's voice from behind them and they turned to see her run over to them and hug Maddie tightly. This was the first time they had seen each other since before Maddie had been possessed by Hallan and they were evidently elated to see each other.

'Oh, Ada am I glad to see you!'

Ada also gave Tommy a small hug before the two of them began talking animatedly to one another, Polly joining them and passing Ada a drink. After a minute Tommy politely excused himself, wanting to leave the women alone to talk and saw it as a good opportunity to consume as many drinks as he could at the bar alone for a while. He passed Arthur who was sat with Linda at the table, who looked pleased for once to be out of the house. From what Arthur had told him, Billy, their new infant son, struggled to sleep most nights and commanded her attention constantly so this opportunity to escape had obviously put her in a good mood. Hereached the bar and ordered a whiskey before sitting on one of the stools and sipping at it silently. He was left mostly in peace, only the odd guest greeting him as they ordered a drink before walking away. After a while though, another familiar voice spoke to him from his right only this one was one of the last voices he wanted to hear.

'Tommy?' came the posh female voice. 'What a pleasant surprise.'

Tommy resisted the urge to grimace. Why today? Why this race? He sighed and turned to face the woman with an even expression.

'May,' he greeted. 'It's good to see you.'

May Carlton smiled at him, that same sad smile she had two years ago, and sat herself down on the stool next to him. 'How are you?' she asked as the barman brought her a gin and tonic without even asking. 'Do you have a horse in the race today?'

'Yes,' Tommy replied. 'A colt I brought not long ago. Hill Prince.'

'Oh, so he is yours,' May commented. 'A fine horse I must say.' Tommy nodded but didn't say anything in reply. After an awkward pause May spoke again. 'I'm sorry to hear about your wife, Tommy. It is a great tragedy.'

Her condolences seemed sincere enough, but he noticed the glint in May's eye. A hopeful glint. And he felt his insides turn a little as he realised that she still felt for him.

He cleared his throat and nodded politely, 'Thank you.'

After another long pause, May must have found her courage and she spoke up again. 'Are you here with anyone today?'

'My family,' replied Tommy. He knew that this wasn't what she was getting at, she undoubtedly would have spotted his brothers walking around the room by now and had already gathered this. However, he didn't want to enter into this discussion with her when he had more important things on his mind.

'No one else?' she prompted, evidently not willing to take Tommy's hint. He sighed and opened his mouth to reply honestly when the exact person he didn't want to appear picked that moment to approach. Maddie bounded over with a beaming smile on her face, stopping next to him and putting her hand on his arm.

'Hey!' she said, and he caught May cast her a sour glance which she quickly changed to one of curiosity. 'I was going to ask if I could…' Maddie trailed off as she noticed May looking at her with a smile classic of the upper classes trying to look polite whilst they were actually sneering internally. 'Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something?'

Maddie looked back at May and gave her an awkward smile. Great. This was the last thing he needed. May was the first to respond, Tommy having been struck silent by her sudden appearance.

'Oh, not at all!' said May who offered her hand out to Maddie who shook it as she peered at May questioningly. 'May Carleton,' she continued in introduction.

'May, this is Maddie,' said Tommy, finally recovering his senses. He didn't digress what relationship Maddie was to him however, deciding that introducing her as his current lover and hopefully soon to be fiancé, to one of his ex-lovers was a decidedly bad thing to do.

'How do you know each other?' asked Maddie questioningly, having picked up on the obvious tension in the air that could be cut with a knife.

May opened her mouth to respond but Tommy beat her to it. 'May trains horses. She trained a horse I entered at Epsom for me a few years ago.'

Maddie nodded, thankfully believing him. It was the truth, but not the whole truth, and he had a feeling that she probably knew that. May gave him a mildly amused look before she turned her attention back to Maddie.

'It's nice to meet you,' she said.

Before May could ask Maddie how she knew him, Tommy quickly changed the subject, clearing his throat to grab Maddie's attention. 'What did you want to ask me Maddie?'

'Oh, erm… I wanted to ask if it's okay that I go downstairs with Finn and John to where they place bets?'

Tommy wasn't a fan of the idea, but if it meant that Maddie was out of the same room as May for the time being then he was willing to let her go.

'Just stay close to John,' nodded Tommy.

Maddie smiled at him thankfully and leant forward to give him a peck on the cheek as May watched them curiously. 'I will,' she agreed before turning to May. 'It was nice to meet you.'

With that Maddie turned away, heading in the direction of Finn and John who were waiting for her near the door, and he watched silently as she left the room with them. He turned back to face May who was sipping at her drink with her eyebrows slightly raised.

'Well…' she said. 'She is certainly beautiful. If a little young for you.'

Tommy stiffened slightly at her backhanded compliment. Maddie was younger than him, ten years his junior to be precise, but this was hardly a gap that was uncommon amongst the ilk that May was used to, and he knew she was saying it for the sake of finding a reason to dislike Maddie. He had never regretted sleeping with May more so than he did in that moment. She was jealous of Maddie he knew, just as she had been of Grace, and he wished that the woman had enough self-respect to move on from him.

'And she has no idea who I am really does she?' asked May, causing Tommy's irritation to finally flare up.

'And it will stay that way,' warned Tommy, giving May a cold look before picking up his drink and standing. 'Enjoy the race.'

Tommy marched away toward his family who were all sat at the table and sat in his own seat next to Arthur who leaned into whisper to him.

'Wasn't that the posh woman who trained your horse for Epsom?' he asked.

'Yes,' Tommy replied tersely.

Arthur sat back up and stifled a snigger under his breath, finding the scenario of one of Tommy's previous lovers talking to Maddie rather hilarious. Tommy ignored his older brother and sat back in his chair with a huff, grabbing the attention of Ada who shuffled over to sit next to him with a concerned expression.

'What is the matter with you?' she asked, and Tommy looked at his sister for a moment in thought before sighing and rubbing his face with his hands.

'I need today to be perfect Ada,' he said, making her look back at him in confusion. Ada was one of the only people he hadn't yet told about his plans and decided to explain himself by showing her what was going through his head.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small black velvet box and handed it to Ada who looked at it wide eyed, immediately knowing what it meant. She opened the box and gasped audibly as the ring caught the daylight and glittered at her.

'Fucking hell Tommy!' she exclaimed in a loud whisper. 'This must have cost a fortune.'

Tommy didn't comment and instead held his hand out for Ada to give him the ring back which he swiftly returned to the safety of his inside pocket. Ada pursed her lips before smiling tentatively and placing a comforting hand on his arm.

'She'll say yes Tommy.'

Tommy prayed she was right, hoping that the awkward interaction with May hadn't put a seed of doubt into Maddie's mind.

'I know,' he nodded, forcing himself to believe it with all his heart.

After about quarter of an hour, Maddie returned with John and Finn and sat themselves down at the table with the rest of them. Tommy quickly noticed Finn's stupid grin and was quick to question what had happened in the short time they had been gone.

'Oh… er nothing Tom,' stuttered Finn, avoiding his gaze which only made John snigger as Maddie cast them both a look. A look that told them both to shut up.

'What happened?' questioned Tommy firmly, piercing Finn with his glare, knowing he'd be the one to cave the quickest.

'Nothing Tom,' he babbled nervously. 'Just some idiot decided to try it on with Mads.'

Tommy felt his whole body tense instinctively and turned to look at Maddie with concern, who was looking back at Finn like a sister would look at their sibling when they had said too much.

'Maddie?' questioned Tommy. 'Who was it?'

Maddie rolled her eyes and looked at him, giving him a look to tell him to relax which only proved to irk him more. Whoever this man was, he picked the wrong woman and the wrong day to try and take advantage of.

'It's fine Tommy,' she sighed. 'I took care of it.'

'And now so will I,' said Tommy darkly and she shook her head at him.

'He'll be long gone by now Tom,' said John with a snigger. 'Maddie made sure of that.'

Tommy gave Maddie a look to elaborate and she withered slightly under his stare, looking guilty. 'I may have broken one or two of his fingers.' The whole table then proceeded to giggle and snigger under their breath, all except for Tommy who sighed in exasperation. So much for Maddie acting more ladylike, he thought. She looked around the table and bristled at their laughter. 'What?!' she hissed angrily. 'That's what he gets when he tries to grab my arse out of nowhere!'

'Shhh Mads!' urged Ada as she stifled another giggle. 'People will hear you!'

Maddie huffed angrily and Tommy gave her a concerned look, 'Did you attract much attention?'

'Nah,' interjected John again. 'He made a noise like a girl and ran off, but no one picked up that it was Maddie who caused him to squeal.'

'Good,' nodded Tommy although he could feel the furious heat bubbling in his stomach at picturing an awful pig of a man trying to touch Maddie in that way. If he had been there, the man would be lying dead in the horse's stalls with no eyes by now.

The laughter died down and Tommy thought that he had heard about all the drama that had occurred when Finn smiled again. 'Oh and Mads decided to put her own little bet on.'

Maddie now looked at Finn with pure fury, and he quickly looked away and she looked up at Tommy again with another shy and guilty look.

'A bet?' he prompted, now feeling worry niggle at his stomach. He hadn't even realised that she had brought any money with her but assumed she must have brought some of her wages with her in her bag.

'Well, I am at the races,' she said timidly. 'I've never bet on anything in my life, so I thought I'd give it a go.'

John and Finn began laughing together, evidently in on some joke that the rest of them were so far unaware of.

'What horse did you bet on?' asked Michael, his curiosity peaked.

'Dawn Run,' replied Maddie and the whole table then erupted into to disbelieved laughter.

Dawn Run was the least favourite horse of the entire race, it's odds to win at 1/30, and Tommy felt his heart sink and he pinched the bridge of his nose in despair. Why had she bet on that horse? More importantly, why hadn't his brothers talked her out of it? He gave his brothers angry looks to ask them just that and they held their arms up in submission.

'Don't look at us!' protested Finn. 'She just placed the bet without even telling us.'

'How much did you stake?' asked Tommy, turning back to Maddie and praying she hadn't been completely stupid.

'Not much…' she said with a shrug. 'Just a few weeks wages.'

Tommy shook his head in disbelief as John and Arthur howled in laughter. He rubbed his eyes before turning back to her.

'Maddie,' he began. 'That horse only has a one in thirty chance of winning.'

'Yeah,' agreed Maddie. 'But if it does win doesn't that mean I get more money?'

'Yes. But that's because it's so unlikely that it will win.'

Maddie looked slightly doubtful for a moment before smiling and giving him a look of optimism, 'Well, maybe I'll get lucky.'

Tommy sighed and decided it best to drop the subject. It wasn't like she needed that money and it was hers to do with as she liked. Maybe loosing it all on bets would teach her a valuable lesson on how to gamble wisely.

Despite Maddie's interesting gambling strategy, the day's little hiccups so far hadn't deterred Tommy from his plan, and he felt the nerves begin to return as the time that dinner was going to be served began approaching fast. He kept looking intermittently at his watch as Maddie and his family chatted around him happily, the groping and betting story already long forgotten. After a while, she got up announcing she was doing a trip to the bar and he stood to join her. Once they were at the bar, away from the prying ears of his family, she looked up at him and gave him a measured look.

'That woman, May, from earlier,' began Maddie and Tommy closed his eyes in preparation for what she was about to ask. 'You slept with her, didn't you?'

Tommy sighed and looked down, avoiding Maddie's eyes. 'Yes.'

Maddie remained silent for a moment before letting out an amuse laugh. 'I think she still likes you.'

'Yeah,' nodded Tommy. 'I know.'

'Well,' sang Maddie, her tone suddenly changing to a happy one. 'Too bad you're taken, eh?'

Tommy looked at Maddie to see her smiling cheekily at him and she gave him a brief kiss on the lips. Relief spread through him, thankful that she didn't feel threatened by May's presence. Once they had ordered their drinks, they clinked their glasses together and took their first sips as yet another unwanted voice boomed from behind them.

'Well, isn't this a fuckin' coincidence?'

Both Tommy and Maddie froze on the spot and glanced at each other with disdain. Not him, he pleaded internally. Anyone but him. Tommy put his glass on the bar and tuned to face Alfie with a flat expression.

'Alfie,' nodded Tommy in his usual greeting. If May's presence wasn't bad enough, now fucking Alfie? Why was he getting the sense that something was working against him today?

'Isn't it just lovely to bump into a good friend on such a fine afternoon?' rambled Alfie. He was wearing an expensive suit with his usual black hat and white scarf. He looked to Tommy for a response who cleared his throat in irritation.

'I suppose it is, Alfie.'

Alfie stared back at Tommy for a second, not looking at all offended by Tommy's iciness. He turned then to look at Maddie, looking her up and down in her dazzling outfit and held his arms out to her.

'And would you look at this gorgeous lady,' Alfie boomed, making Maddie blush in embarrassment. 'You look as pretty as a picture Maddie luv!' Alfie stepped forward and gave Maddie a kiss on each cheek before stepping back again.

'Erm… thanks Alfie,' she muttered awkwardly, casting Tommy a nervous look.

They hadn't seen Alfie since the incident with the Russians and Charlie's kidnapping, and the sting of betrayal was still lingering between them, even if Alfie was decidedly ignoring it.

'I notice one of your horses is running today, Tom,' said Alfie. 'Best of luck to you, yeah?'

'Thank you, Alfie,' Tommy said with a nod.

'Say hello to your family for me yeah?' finished Alfie, and with a tip of his hat he walked off toward his table where other Jewish men were all gathered.

'I really wish I could just punch him in the nose sometimes,' muttered Maddie and Tommy chuckled heartily under his breath.

'Maybe one day, eh?'

Dinner came and went in a flash despite the fact that Maddie purposefully took her time eating so as to maintain her air of sophistication as so she wouldn't accidentally spill anything onto her dress. During dessert, Tommy could feel the moment he had been dreading fast approaching and his family kept throwing him discreet looks throughout the meal, silently asking when he was going to make his move. More drinks were served after dessert and he held on just a little longer, savouring the liquid courage the whiskey was giving him as he waited for the conversation to come to a natural halt. He sucked in deep breaths through his nose to calm himself, Maddie not noticing as she talked animatedly to Ada who was sat next to her.

Why was he so bloody nervous? After all the things he had seen, the most terrifying of which happening since he met Maddie, why was he the most petrified he had ever been in this moment? Because she is the most important thing to ever come into your life, he answered to himself internally, but does she feel the same way about me?

There was only one way to find out, he realised as the conversation at the table died down and Tommy took the opportunity to clear his throat and grasp everyone's attention.

'This is a good a time as any,' he announced before turning to look directly at Maddie, staring into her blue eyes which were looking at him with curiosity. 'Maddie. I have something to ask you.'

Maddie looked back at him cluelessly but smiled her pretty smile back at him and turned her body on her chair to face him. 'Yeah? What is it, Tommy?'

Tommy sighed and stood up from his chair, reaching his hand into his inside jacket pocket as he slowly lowered himself onto one knee in front of Maddie who eyes quickly widened as she realised what was happening. He withdrew the velvet box from his pocket and opened it with a shaky breath. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she looked down at the ring and the whole room seemed to go deathly silent. By now they had attracted the attention of the entire room who were watching in anticipation for what he was about to say.

'Maddie,' Tommy uttered shakily. 'Will you marry me?'