"Come on, Blair! Hurry!"

Charlie was running ahead of Blair through the grass, glancing back over his shoulder with bright laughter and a rosy glow in his cheeks.

The sun was shining and the air was warm, a late afternoon haze had began settle across the land, birds tweeting in the trees and a gentle breeze making the heat just about bearable.

It was a Friday afternoon and Blair had just finished up with Charlie's schooling for the day, promising him that she would take him out to the stables if he got all of his spelling correct. Of course, he did, heading straight to the mud room to pull on his boots without tidying his pencils away.

Blair cleaned up after him happily, straightening up the room ready for Monday morning before following the sound of Charlie rustling around in the pantry.

"What are you doing in here, Mister?" Blair said with a laugh, tickling the boy's sides as she pulled him away from the shelves.

"Sugar cubes for Dangerous, we have to take her some!"

"Alright," Blair said, unable to say no to him, "Go and tie your laces and I'll meet you by the back door, go on."

He did as he was told, leaving Blair to package up some sugar cubes and carrots before changing shoes herself and finding Charlie waiting for her by the back door, his hands and face pressed up against the glass.

She unlocked the door and he immediately set off running. Blair enjoyed being outdoors and was thrilled that Charles was just as keen to spend his free time playing outside until nightfall, happy to be surrounded by nature and fascinated by the navy night sky once the sun went down.

He was full of life, awakening a warm feeling in Blair that she hadn't felt since Jamie's passing. The world had seemed quiet since she became a widow, like there was constantly a looming, grey shadow over only her. Though now, with Charlie, Blair began to notice a break in those grey clouds.

"What's wrong?"

Blair furrowed her brows when Charlie stopped running, his feet rooted to the spot and his hands dangling by his side.

"Charlie?" Blair asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Where is she?" Charlie said, walking slowly towards the stables.

Blair followed him, her curiosity growing just as much as the child's at the whereabouts of the horse. Dangerous usually spent her time outside, being visible from the kitchen window almost every day.

A gut feeling told Blair that something was wrong, however not wanting to worry Charlie, she tried her best to reassure him.

"Maybe she's inside? You hold the sugar cubes while I go and check."

Blair handed him the bag, feeling her heart sink as Charlie's smile slowly faded to nothing. She didn't like seeing him frown, the emptiness behind his eyes reminding her all too much of the way his father once looked at her, resurfacing old pain.

The stable was empty when Blair peeked around the edge of the door, frowning when the expectation of seeing Dangerous wasn't met. The reigns that were usually hung up on the walls had gone, too, as well as a brown leather saddle.

She sighed, taking a moment to think about how to tell Charlie. Letting people down was the last thing Blair liked to do, even if it wasn't her fault, she hated making people feel bad, despite being as little as a messenger in a situation.

"She's not in there, is she?"

Opening her mouth to speak, Blair's eyes were drawn to a car racing down the gravel driveway in the distance.

"Look, Charlie. Your father is home, why don't we go and say hello? You can tell him how good you did with spelling today."

Charlie sighed and rolled his eyes, but grabbed hold of Blair's hand nevertheless, swinging their arms together as they headed back to the house. Blair listened to Charlie's mindless rambling as she watched Thomas step out of his car on the driveway, noticing from far away the echo of the door slamming shut loudly.

Once they were back inside, Blair helped Charlie pull off his boots before the boy disappeared deeper into the house, the light patter of his footsteps slowly fading out the further away he went. She had intended on stopping him before he ran off, hoping to explain to him that perhaps now wasn't the best time to speak to his father judging by the aggression he slammed the car door closed with when he arrived home. However, she didn't get the chance.

Heading through the house towards the staircase, Blair gasped as she was nearly knocked off her feet by Charlie running past her, tears streaming down his face and horrific sobs choking from his chest.

"Charlie? Charlie come back here!"

Tommy's voice echoed from the high ceilings as he stormed out of the drawing room, his eyes dark and narrow and his hands stuffed in his pockets, a tired look passing over his face.

Charlie ignored his father's shouts, continuing to run up the stairs and slam the door to his bedroom closed, silence falling across the house straight after.

"What happened?" Blair asked, turning to look at Tommy who was stood with pursed lips, his eyes fixed on a portrait of himself and Dangerous that hung framed on the wall above the stairs.

"I had to put her down," he said, letting out a heavy breath, "Told him it was for the best and that she was happier now, but he doesn't get it."

Blair could feel the hurt brewing in her stomach as she looked at Tommy, knowing just how much it would've killed him to put down his horse. The two of them had spent hours together tending to horses when they were in love, Tommy had even taught Blair how to ride. Spending time at the stables was their favourite pastime as a couple, especially for Blair. It wasn't so much because she loved horses like Tommy did, but because she loved how he would act around them. She adored how gentle he became, how calm and relaxed he seemed as he tended to them, how regal and powerful he looked as he rode them, the way he would smile down at her with a grin brighter than he'd ever given her before.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy."

He kissed his teeth, shrugging his shoulders slightly. Acting tough was something that came second nature to Tommy, but Blair could tell that his heart had broken inside at what he'd had to do that day, the lump in his throat was painfully obvious.

"Can I make you a drink, something to eat?"

Lighting a cigarette, he shook his head, shaking out the match, "Just check on Charlie, would you? He'll be alright."

Blair nodded, saying nothing as Tommy walked down the hallway and closed the door to his office behind him. She sighed and headed up the stairs towards Charlie's room, knocking on the door.

She held her breath, listening to a small sniffling and coughing from inside the room that made her swallow hard.

"Charlie? It's Blair, can I come in?"

"Okay."

Closing the door quietly, Blair sat down beside Charlie on his bed, placing an arm gently across his shoulders. The boy remained stiff for a few moments before finally crumbling and falling into her side, his arms wrapped around her torso as he cried into her chest, his breathing becoming hitched and ragged as he tried to control his sobs.

"Why would he send her to heaven? She was our best friend, me and Daddy loved her."

Blair tried her best to console him, telling him the same things she assumed Thomas would've already said to him, but hoping that it might resonate more coming from her.

"Why does everyone we love have to go? He was so sad after my mummy went to heaven, why would he send Dangerous there if it's so sad?"

Blair felt a hard tug on her heartstrings as she cradled Charlie, his words cutting her deeply. He was only a child and yet he had experienced pain and loss more so than many adults had. He was compassionate and loving, a quality that she remembered his father having once upon a time. Blair just wished he knew that his father did have a kind soul underneath it all, but convincing a child of that wasn't an easy thing to do, especially when their father was Thomas Shelby.

"You're not going to leave, are you? I don't want you to go, Blair. I love you too much."

With blurry vision from a coating of sudden tears, Blair placed a gentle kiss on top of his head, squeezing him tightly against her chest. Part of her felt like she wasn't supposed to care about Charlie the way she did, like it was wrong of her to have such a deep connection for another woman's child, but as he looked up at her with red, tear-stained cheeks, nothing else mattered.

"I promise I'll never leave you, Charlie. I love you too much, too."