author's note: read 39 first!

It was unusual just how easy it was for a person to pack their entire life away into a suitcase, well it was easy in practical terms, but not in the emotional sense. Florence trusted Tommy and whatever he had planned, but she knew in her gut that there was a chance the plan might fail, she wasn't in the business of optimism anymore.

As she stood beside Tommy, Finn and Polly in the gin distillery, her mind remained plagued with images of the night before, of how George had killed his own brother in cold blood. She was unnerved by the man he had become, not because she feared that he may harm her, she knew he wouldn't, but because George's gentle temperament was now hidden under a thick layer of stone, much like a Shelby's heart.

"It'll be over soon," Tommy assured her as he stood before her, "We'll be okay."

Heavy footsteps caught Florence's attention as she turned her attention from Tommy to the open doorway, met with the sight of Luca Changretta and his remaining men. She stood beside Tommy, Finn on her left, standing firm as a member of the Shelby family.

"Look, all that's left of the Peaky fucking Blinders," Luca smirked as he stood opposite the four of them, taking slow steps towards Tommy with a smirk lingering on his face as he clicked at one of his associates who placed his case on the table, "I've had my lawyer draw up these papers, they cover every enterprise in your possession, bars, restaurants, warehouses...every fucking thing that you've taken all these years to gather together, there's even a clause especially for my darling Florence."

Florence couldn't bear to look at him, she felt safest as long as she remained under Tommy's gaze.

"You will sign everything over to my family or you're going to die, right here," Luca warned Tommy, just inches separating them, "I would've buried you all, but my mother, she knows you, she said it will be worse for you if I let you live and take everything that you have," He glanced at Florence, "The woman that you love...Where are my grandchildren?"

"With their uncle, saying their goodbyes," Florence told him, remembering everything she had told Vinnie that morning.

Luca glanced at his men and then back at Florence and the Shelbys, "Search 'em," He pulled Tommy's gun from its holster, handing it to one of his men before he stood opposite Polly, "Especially don't trust this bitch."

He pulled at the buttons on her shirt, noting no sign of a weapon as his men patted down each of them and Florence, one by one.

"So..." Luca held up his pen, "Sign, every fucking one of them," He huffed as Tommy stared at him blankly, "You can sign them on your knees, on the floor," Luca brushed the documents onto the floor.

As Tommy continued to remain stoic, Luca hauled the table over on its side, storming towards Tommy with anger in his eyes, "Get on your fucking knees and sign."

Tommy nodded, kneeling on the floor as he looked up at Luca, "A friend of mine once said...big fucks small, so I had to find someone bigger than you, now you may know there are two families in Brooklyn who want to take over your monopoly on the import of liquor into New York."

"But if they move against you in New York they'll start a war between the families," Polly told him with the slightest smirk.

"But if you were to die in a vendetta with some fucking bookmaker in Birmingham, they could take over your business without a war," Tommy added.

"We also contacted a businessman in Chicago, he's also interested in moving into the liquor business in New York," Polly remarked as though she were reciting poetry.

"His name is Alphonse Capone."

"You been talking to that fat fuck?" Luca scoffed.

"See, all the blood relatives you brought with you from New York, they're all dead, Mr Changretta, and these men here, they work for money, for the highest bidder," Tommy told him, "They now have new orders."

"Is that right?" Luca turned to face his men, "Is that right? Daniel? Matteo?"

"Looks like your luck...or I suppose I should say, blood...has run out," Florence stepped towards her father, filling the gap between him and Tommy, "You might be my father by blood, but you will never be my family."

Angered by everything that had come before and the final blow from his only child, Luca threw his hands around Florence's neck, squeezing against her windpipe and restricting her breath as he strangled her. She thumped her fists against his wrists, hoping to free herself from his grip.

In complete fight or flight, Tommy threw his weight against Luca's body, knocking him straight into the table and freeing Florence from his grip, her breath faltering as Finn caught hold of her in his arms, steadying her on her feet.

Luca was strong enough to put up a fight, shoving Tommy against a pillar, but fuelled by complete rage and a need to protect Florence, Tommy pushed against him, ramming his head into the crate of gin bottles on the table. He struck Luca's head against the table again and again, blood staining the wood.

The room felt quiet and Finn gripped Florence's hand as in walked a man risen from the dead. Tommy hauled Changretta's limp body off of the table, letting him see what it meant to take a Shelby for a fool.

Tommy stepped away from Luca, wrapping his arms around Florence, burying her face in his chest. She may not have had any love for her father, but her mind was plagued with enough darkness, she didn't need the memory of what came next branded in her brain.

Arthur raised his gun, shooting Luca point blank, the bullet exiting his body and hitting one of the large gun barrels. Luca's body fell to the floor as Tommy cradled Florence against her chest, his breath heavy as he attempted to disguise his fear.

"Tell your people in Chicago that Michael Gray will sign the import licensee to New York," Tommy told the men, as he continued to hold onto Florence, "Three hundred barrels of English dry gun a month."

"Leave, all of you," Arthur ordered them, "Tell your boss what you saw here today, and tell him...you don't fuck with the Peaky Blinders."

"Hey," Tommy glanced down at Florence, cupping her cheeks with his hands, running his thumbs back and forth under her eyes, "It's over, you're safe,"

"I love you, Thomas Shelby," Florence whispered with a wavering voice, holding onto his wrists.

"I love you too, more than you'll ever know," He smiled, glancing at the two suitcases that she had packed for the sake of the 'deal' with Changretta, "What's in the bags?"

"Everything that belongs to the children and I in case Luca tried to test us." Florence gazed up at him, relieved that their nightmare was over.

"Don't bother unpacking when we go back to Watery Lane," Tommy told her, resting his forehead against hers as though there were no one else in the room, "I want you, Daisy and Oliver to move in with Charles and I at Arrow House."

"Like a proper family?" Florence whispered.

"Like a proper family."

Sun had set over Birmingham and for the first time in as long as Tommy Shelby could remember, his once hollow house was a home full of smiles and laughter. His children were happy, his family were happy and the woman he loved more than anyone else was happy too.

There was harmony again, when just over a year ago he had been a burden to his family in that very place, letting them think they would be hanged, he was now a forgiven man, and everyone who mattered to him was in that room.

"Look at my new dress, Daddy!" Daisy spun around in a circle in the drawing room that was full of their closest friends and family, and as Tommy watched his daughter with pride, a small part of his heart felt as though it were healing everytime she called him that.

"A proper little star, eh?" He gestured for him to join her on the sofa, pulling her onto his knee as Florence watched from across the room with a proud smile on her face, "You'll be causing all sorts of trouble one day with a smile like yours, a proper little Shelby, aren't you, my girl?"

"You're the biggest star, Daddy," Daisy told him, "Because Mummy loves you."

"You're a smart girl, Daisy," Tommy wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head as he watched George approach Florence with trepidation, "Why don't you go and see if your Uncle Finn knows where Frances keeps the sweets."

"Alright," Daisy nodded, climbing off of her father's knee and running across the room towards Finn who was standing with Isiah.

Florence hesitated as George stood beside him, unsure what exactly to see since the shock of what she'd witnessed at the church had slowly dissipated.

"I handled it," George told her, his eyes trained on Tommy's portrait on the opposite wall, "No one knew where he went when he left Birmingham, nobody needs to know that he ever came back."

"No one else saw him?" Florence whispered.

"He came up the river, almost as if he didn't want to be seen," George told her, taking a swig of whiskey from the glass he held in his hand, "And after you'd gone I discovered that he'd been armed, and it filled me with relief to know that he never had the chance to use that on you."

"I suppose we won't ever know, will we?" Florence sighed, her gaze connecting with Tommy as he sat on the other side of the room.

"George," Florence looked up to see her brother standing beside her, "Would I be able to borrow my sister for a moment?"

"Of course," George nodded, "Lizzie will be wondering where I went with her drink."

"It went well today, it seems, everything is alright again," Vinnie sighed, "Are you alright?"

"I think so," She nodded, ignoring the way her body continued to ache, despite the medication provided by her doctors, "There was something I wanted to talk to you about, actually."

"What's that?"

"Mum's house on Watery Lane," She answered, "I want you to have it."

"What?"

"I have a home here with Tommy, the children and I don't intend on returning to London," She told him, "And I don't expect you to remain in Birmingham forever, but I want you to have a place that you can call home whenever you want."

Without a word Vinnie wrapped his arms around his sister, unsure whether she knew just how much her generous offer meant to him. Well it was an easy decision for Florence, to give her brother somewhere he could call his own, to feel secure in the way he never did as a child.

"I'm so glad you found me," Vinnie whispered.

"I'm so glad I found you, too," Florence soothed as she let go of him.

"Right, oi!" Tommy gained the attention of the room as the music came to a pause, "Before we all go and eat, I'd like to say a few words. The last time we were all here, it ended badly, but now we're in a happier place," He held out his hand gesturing for Florence to stand beside him, "That's it, I'd just like to raise a toast-"

"Hold on," Arthur interrupted, "A few words I wanna say from the heart, and this time you're gonna let me finish, Tommy," He stood up from his seat as Florence took the seat beside where Tommy was stood, her body fatigued from the day's events, "Now as you all know, Arthur Shelby is dead, because of that, Tommy's offered me a way out, a new identity, start a whole new life for myself, and I thought about it, made a decision, I ain't fucking going nowhere."

The room erupted in cheers of delight and laughter, toasting Arthur's position in the family.

"Our enemies are gone, dead, all of 'em," Arthur remarked, "For the first time since me and my two kid brothers, Tommy and John enlisted in the Warwickshire Yeomanry, we have peace, so I'd like to make a proposal, all of you, Shelby Company Limited, insist that Tommy here takes some time off, puts his feet up, war is over, no one wants to kill us," He raised his glass in a toast, "To peace."

Silently, Daisy returned to the room, a handful of sweets in her hand, placing one in Tommy's grasp and one in Florence's. Tommy was quick to lift the little girl up in his arms, raising his glass, "To family, blood and beyond."

"To family."

"Now go and enjoy that spread our chefs have put on for us, eh?" Tommy instructed his family.

Florence lingered by his side as the rest of the family filed out of the room, leaving just the pair of them with the three children.

"I should be putting these little ones to bed now, before they wear themselves out," Florence told Tommy, the flames from the fire illuminating his skin.

"Be quick," Tommy told her, "The sooner we eat, the sooner our family go home, the sooner I get you to myself."

"Thomas Shelby, you are a devilish man," Florence smiled, offering him a quick kiss.

"Florence Harrington, you remain an angel," Tommy smiled.

"That I am not," Florence shook her head.

"An angel?"

"A Harrington," She smiled, "The divorce has been finalised, I am Florence Dawson once again."

"And if I have my way, you shan't be Florence Dawson much longer," Tommy whispered, dancing over the prospect of marriage as he glanced down at their three children.

"Come on you three," Florence smiled uncontrollably at her children, ignoring the weight of fatigue that plagued her body, "Bedtime."

Tommy Shelby wasn't sure how long it took to put three children to bed, he knew that putting one child to bed could be a great tiresome effort, but he was sure that forty minutes for three children was excessive.

His eyes darted between Florence's empty seat and the rest of his family who were sitting around the long table, wrapped up in their own conversations. He decided instead to join his own young family upstairs, that he'd help Florence put the three excited little ones to bed, that he'd read Daisy to sleep as she shared her excitement about her new home.

"Tommy?" Polly frowned as he stood up from the table.

"I'm going to check on Flo and the children," He told her as he promptly left the dining room.

"Alright."

Tommy made his way up the grand staircase, guided by little light as he reached the top of the staircase, met with a deafening silence with every step he took. 

He entered the boys' room first, pushing the door open gently to see Oliver and Charles tucked up in their beds, sleeping peacefully. He pulled the door closed and continued down the hallway into Daisy's new room, she was just the same as her brothers, fast asleep in her bed.

After leaving Daisy to sleep peacefully he continued onto the bedroom that was now the space he shared with Florence, where he imagined  they would spend countless moments alone, wrapped up in each other, consumed by each other's being. He pushed the door open, met with the sight of Florence laying in their bed, her back to him as he entered the room.

"I knew they'd have worn you out soon enough," Tommy smiled as he entered the room, concluding that he would simply join Florence in an early night and let his family see themselves out of his house, "Daisy's be running rings around her brothers before long."

Tommy made his way around to Florence's side of the bed, crouching beside her, her eyes were shut and her face was such a vision of peace, he wondered if her dreams were equally as peaceful.

He ran his hand over her cheek, the smile on his face faltering at the cool temperature of her skin, given the fire that Frances had lit in the fireplace just hours before.

"Florence," He knelt beside her, resting his hand on her shoulder, "Flo, darling, it's me, it's Tommy."

She failed to respond again and this time Tommy began to panic, he climbed onto the bed beside her, gently shaking her shoulder, but receiving nothing but silence. She looked so peaceful and yet he was filled with dread as he gazed down at her.

"Florence, open your eyes for me, eh?" He said firmly as he cradled her, resting her head against his chest, "Come on, Flo, I need you to look at me."

He knew what the truth was, he knew what it meant, he just feared what might happen if he dared to acknowledge it. Perhaps he could live in their very own fantasy land just a little while longer, where the concept of one day making Florence Dawson his wife wasn't such a far fetched concept.

What came next was a guttural sob of emotional pain from Tommy's body, its weight reverberating through the house, startling his closest family members.

Polly stood from her seat at the table, hurrying out of the room, followed by Ada, Arthur and Finn.

"Tommy," Polly whispered as she stood in the open doorway, her nephew's back was turned to her as he cradled Florence and Polly was quick to fear the worse.

"She's gone," He muttered, staring down at Florence's face as tears escaped his eyes, "Florence has gone."

"Daddy?"

Tommy looked over his shoulder, met with the sight of not just Polly and his brothers, but his little girl, dressed in her white nightgown, clinging to her teddy bear as she stood beside Finn.

"Eh, what are you doing up, Daisy?" Finn was quick to scoop her up in his arms and remove her from the room, the way he'd hoped someone might have done every time death had plagued his family when he was just a little boy. He buried his pain, aware that Daisy needed him to be his most usual self, that his duty was to protect her from the pain as long as he could.

"Tommy," Polly approached with trepidation, "Are you sure?"

"She's not breathing, Pol," Tommy muttered as he cradled Florence's lifeless body, "She's dead."

Polly knelt on the floor beside the bed, brushing Florence's hair out of her face as her eyes glossed over. Polly stared at her in devastation, riddled with guilt, having failed to save her best friend's daughter.

"Where's Vinnie?" Ada asked, her voice wavering.

"Downstairs...He's er, he's downstairs," Arthur stumbled over his words.

"I'll tell him," Ada whispered before quietly leaving the room.

"Tommy," Polly soothed, fearing that the doctors must have missed something, "Can I see her?"

Tommy loosened his hold on Florence, letting her head rest in his lap as Polly placed her hand against the young woman's neck, failing to feel any signs of life, she then pressed her hand against Florence's stomach, it was firm, and Polly knew it was likely Florence had suffered some sort of internal bleed, something that the doctors at the hospital must have missed. She gently lifted Florence's hand to her lips, placing a gentle kiss to her pure as snow skin, fearing what yet another loss would do to Tommy. 

There were few things Tommy Shelby was incapable of turning to gold with his touch, it seemed that his future with Florence was one of them.

The weight of the sapphire engagement ring in his jacket pocket weighed heavier than her lifeless body. He had been waiting for the perfect moment to ask for her hand, a moment that never came, instead he was robbed of the only person he felt safe beside. The regret that lingered in his heart was like no pain he had ever known, as he wondered what he could've done to save her, or perhaps they'd been destined for such an ending from that very first night behind The Garrison.

He was sure that if she had asked him to, he would've given it all up, at least he did his best to convince himself that he would. But Florence had always known that it was the hunger for greatness that fuelled Tommy Shelby, and he would go mad without it. 

As she slipped away in his arms, like the grains in a sand timer, his unwritten prophecy fulfilled itself, his nightmares had become a reality, and he was Thomas Shelby, the lone man once again.

Thomas Shelby's vice had finally become his virtue.

author's note: i know this might not be the outcome that anyone wanted, but i kind of knew it would always end this way and it would've felt disingenuous to go the other way with the story

just one more chapter and an epilogue left!