MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ CHAPTER 19!!!

"I think my waters have broken."

"Right," Polly stood up from her seat, noticing the puddle of fluid that meant that Florence was right, that baby was on its way into the world, "We need to get you back home then."

"I don't think there's enough time," Florence winced, the uncomfortable twinges she had been experiencing all day suddenly presenting as pain.

"How long have you been feeling pain, Florence?" Polly asked as she came to the girl's side.

"Since this morning," Florence exhaled, "I just assumed it was those braxton hicks you both warned me about."

"Oh no my darling, this is labour," Imelda smiled as she joined her daughter, "Your baby's on its way."

"Right," Polly sighed, knowing she was better prepared than anyone to deal with yet another childbirth. She turned her attention to the men in the shop, clapping her hands together to get the men's attention, "You men all need to leave, now."

The race is about to start," One of the men dared to speak up.

"I don't give a fuck," Polly replied sharply as Florence's pains continued, "Out, all of you, right now!"

Mumbles and whispers of disagreements crossed the men's lips as they stood up from their chairs, shuffling out of the doors as Polly ushered them out of the room. Despite not being Florence's mother Polly felt an instinctive urge to protect the girl, and she would do whatever she could to do that.

"I can't give birth in the betting shop, Pol," Florence sighed as Polly returned to her side, "But I'm not sure I'll make it back to the Harrington estate."

"Let's get you back to our house, Floss," Imelda suggested, circling her hand over her daughter's back in the hope of comforting her.

"Come on then ladies," Polly smiled as she and Imelda wrapped her arms around the girl, guiding her out of the back door and through the yard to the back door of her mother's house.

"I can't imagine how the pain can get any worse than this," Florence groaned as she felt pain run through her body again.

"You'll be alright, petal," Imelda assured her as they guided her into the house, "Women do this everyday across the world, and you are just as strong as them."

"How long will it be like this?" Florence muttered as the two women guided her towards the sofa in the middle of the room, helping her to sit down.

"There's no set time on childbirth I'm afraid, my love," Imelda sighed, "You were born very quickly, Pol always said it was because I was so young."

"Can you check that everything is alright, Pol?" Florence asked, clinging to the woman's hand, "I need to know if it'll be as difficult as it was for Ada."

Polly rested her hand at the bottom of Florence's baby bump, immediately relieved to feel the baby's head was exactly where it should be for a safer labour, "Everything's as it should be, we just have to wait now through the contractions until it's time for you to push, alright?"

"Yeah," Florence nodded as she breathed slowly through the pains while Imelda busied herself searching for blankets, towels and a bowl to fill with water.

"Would you like me to call Elijah?" Polly asked, stroking Florence's hair back out of her face.

"Yes, he should still be at work," Florence winced as another contraction ran through her body as she clung onto Polly's arm to get her attention, before whispering, not wishing for her mother to hear, "And Tommy, he should be here."

"You want me to get Tommy?" Polly questioned.

"I need Tommy." Florence answered, Polly immediately knew what that meant, truly she had always known that baby was a Shelby, it was Florence asking for Tommy that confirmed her suspicions. She had always known that Tommy had cared for Florence, but as she kept her eyes on the girl, she wondered what could make a man like him do something as foolish as to let her go.

"I'll do what I can to find them both, sweet girl," Polly assured her as Imelda returned with towels and blankets.

"I don't think I can do it without them," Florence winced in pain.

"How's she doing?" Imelda asked as she sat beside her daughter.

"She's asking for Elijah," Polly explained, deciding that it was not the best moment to tell Imelda that her new grandchild was in fact a Shelby, "I'll run next door to use the phone and I'll call the office."

"Don't tell Richard or Margaret if they answer, I don't want them here fussing over me," Florence told her.

"Alright, my darling, I'll be as quick as I can," Polly assured her before rushing out the door, heading back to her own home.

She pushed the door open, heading through the empty betting shop to the office where the phone was wired up, picking up the receiver and asking to be connected to Harrington's brewery.

"Hello, this is Elijah Harrington's office, can I help?" The secretary answered.

"My name is Elizabeth Gray, I'm a friend of the family, it's regarding his pregnant wife," Polly replied.

"If you give me a message I can pass it on to him," The secretary answered, oblivious to the power of the woman at the other end of the phone.

"My name is Elizabeth Gray, formerly Shelby, so if I were you sweetheart, I'd transfer this call to Mr Harrington right away," Polly told the girl sternly.

"Apologies, Mrs Gray, putting your call through right away," The secretary rambled before transferring the call to Elijah's office, the phone ringing until he promptly answered.

"Elijah Harrington speaking," He answered.

"Elijah, it's Polly, the baby's coming," Polly told him, not wasting time over pleasantries.

"Right now?" Elijah replied, sounding startled.

"We're at Imelda's house in Small Heath, Florence is asking for you," Polly explained.

"What's she doing in Small Heath? I thought she'd be resting," Elijah sighed.

"You and I both know that girl has a mind of her own and a heart of gold, she came to check on our Ada," Polly told him, "Now less talking, and get yourself to Small Heath."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Elijah replied, "Thank you, Polly."

"It's alright, now go get yourself here," She smiled before putting the phone down, wrestling doubt in her mind about Tommy's involvement. She knew that he was scared of love, but to let his own child go like that, to let another man raise that child, she wasn't sure she could fathom it.

She left the phone and hurried out into the street, noticing how clouded over it was, a winter chill lingered in the air, just as it had when Florence was born. There seemed to be barely anyone around, no sign of John, Esme or Arthur, but as Polly could hear the pain Florence was in, even from outside the house, she knew that she needed to find Tommy. Whether it be to notify him of the imminent arrival of his child or to throttle him for letting a woman like Florence and his unborn child go, Polly had yet to decide.

As Polly paced the street she spotted one of the Peaky boys, "Oi!" She gestured for him to approach her as he crossed the street to meet her, "Have you seen Tommy?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Well if you do, tell him to get back to Watery Lane, he's needed at the Dawsons', understood?" Polly explained.

"Alright," He nodded.

"On you go," She sighed, hurrying him along, hoping and praying that Tommy would at least be there to meet the new child.

She made her way back to Imelda's house where Florence was still sitting on the sofa in pain as her mother, Imelda sat beside her.

"Things are still slow," Imelda muttered as Polly joined the two women.

"All in good time," Polly answered as she crouched in front of Florence, "I've spoken to Elijah, he's on his way."

"That's good," Florence nodded, hoping he would make it in time, she needed at least one of those men by her side to get through such an ordeal.

Hours had passed since Polly had spoken to Elijah, and he was nowhere to be seen. For the first few hours the contractions were slow and steady, but in the last half an hour they had begun speeding up and increasing intensity, suggesting to each of the women that the baby was almost ready to be born.

With every minute of Elijah's absence that passed Florence panicked that he had changed his mind. Perhaps he wasn't there because he'd returned to the house to pack her bags, which he'd have Geoffrey drop off with little explanation. She wouldn't blame him if he did, but the concept of losing him terrified her. They had become so close since they married that she had hoped he would stay by her side for more reasons than just the promise he made to protect her and the baby.

A heavy knock at the door caught each of the women's attention as Florence lay across the sofa, her legs propped up, ready for when the baby would arrive. She hoped it would be Elijah, or maybe word had got to Tommy.

"I'll get it," Imelda sighed as she made her way to the door, leaving Polly to keep an eye on the progress of Florence's labour.

Imelda opened the door and in barged three police officers, "You can't just come in here, my daughter is giving birth!" Imelda exclaimed as the men trampled through the house.

"You heard the lady, this is a delicate business," Polly sighed as they stood before her while Florence continued to breathe through the contractions, "What is it with you coppers showing up everytime a baby's born on this street, eh?"

"We're looking for Thomas Shelby," One of the police officers told the three women, Polly and Florence were immediately fearful.

"What do you want with Tommy?" Florence muttered as she looked up at the three men.

"He's wanted in connection to a large sum of illegally obtained weapons amongst other things," One of the officers explained.

"Well he's not here," Polly told the three of them, although it was evident they didn't believe her.

"We'll need to check," One of the officers replied.

"Do it and be quick, for fuck sake, I'm about to give birth," Florence shouted in pain as the officers dispersed across the house.

The door burst open again and in came Elijah, looking disheveled yet relieved to be there, "I'm so sorry, did I miss it?"

"No," Florence shook her head as he came to her side as he slipped his coat off, discarding it over the back of a chair, "But it won't be long."

"Where the fuck have you been?" Polly asked flippantly.

"There's police officers crawling all over the city, I got stuck behind three vans of them trying to get into Small Heath," Elijah explained.

"They're looking for Tommy," Florence told him, "Three of them are upstairs, thinking we've stashed him away or something stupid."

"There are police in the house while you're giving birth?" Elijah remarked.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Florence quipped, agitated by the pain that labour was causing her.

"I'll deal with them," Elijah told the women before disappearing upstairs.

"Pol," Florence winced, "The pain's getting faster and worse, I think it's time."

"Well we're all here, we're going to make this as comfortable as possible, alright?" Polly assured her.

"Thank you for being so understanding, gentlemen," Elijah's voice was heard as he made his way back down the stairs, followed by the three police officers.

"Apologies once again, Mr Harrington," The lead officer replied as Elijah showed them out of the house, "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Why don't you try and enjoy the rest of your evening with a baby the size of a watermelon trying to come out of your-"

"It's time to push!" Polly cut her off once the police officers had left the house.

"Elijah?" Florence looked up at him, holding her hand out to him.

"I'm here, alright?" He soothed, crouching beside her, interlocking her hand with his while Imelda hovered beside Polly.

"Polly, it feels like I need to push," Florence muttered, clinging to Elijah.

"Push whenever you're ready," Polly assured her.

It took Florence at least forty minutes to make what felt like any real progress, her body ached and all she really wanted was to curl up in a ball and sleep. The pain didn't fade, if anything it proceeded to get worse with every push.

Florence pushed with all her energy, leaning forward into the contraction, her body trembling as she closed her eyes in the pain. Elijah kept his eyes on her, wishing he could take her pain away from her as another contraction ran through her abdomen.

"Very good," Polly smiled as Florence opened her eyes, gasping for air, "For this next one I need you to try and push harder, alright?"

"Okay," Florence muttered as Elijah wiped her hair out of her face that had become laced in sweat. She took a deep breath and pushed through the next contraction, gripping Elijah's hand so tight that he feared she could cut off his blood supply, but he didn't mind, because what he was witnessing might just have been the most incredible thing he'd ever seen.

She finished pushing, looking to Elijah for reassurance as he kissed the side of her head, "I am so proud of you."

"We've got the head, my darling," Imelda smiled, holding back the tears of pride as she witnessed the birth of her first grandchild.

"On this next push we'll be getting the baby's shoulders, so when you push, breathe through it, okay?" Polly assured her, knowing that was often the moment girls struggled the most with.

Florence couldn't hold it within much longer, she pushed as hard as she could, letting out a long cry of pain as the contraction pushed her baby further, knowing she didn't have long to wait until she met her child.

"Very good, Florence," Polly smiled, "I think with one last push this little blighter will be with us, okay?"

"I don't think I can do this, Eli," Florence whispered.

"Yes you can, you are doing so well, Flo," Elijah assured her, gently squeezing her hand.

Florence pushed again, breathing into it with every fibre of energy that was left in her body. She felt what could only be described as relief as Polly and Imelda's eyes lit up, laying eyes on the newest addition to the family.

"It's a little girl," Polly smiled, her face dropping when she noticed the baby's quietness.

"Pol, why isn't she crying? They always say the baby's meant to cry," Florence began to panic.

"Just a moment," Polly replied, attempting not to panic the girl as she and Imelda wrapped the little baby in towels, "Sometimes the little ones just need a little warming up."

"Is she okay?" Florence whispered as Elijah wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her head.

Polly cut the umbilical cord and Imelda rocked the baby as she swaddled her, waiting to hear a sign that she was okay.

As everyone in the room sat in fear a harsh cry ripped through the room, Florence sobbed with relief as her baby cried, as to her that was the sweetest sound, knowing that her baby was alright.

"There we go, sweet girl, just as stubborn as your mother," Imelda smiled fondly at her granddaughter, "Would you like to meet her?"

Imelda handed the baby to Florence, she held her against her chest, cradling her new daughter as the little girl quickly settled, comforted by her mother's warmth, "Hello, little love, you scared us there."

"She's perfect, Floss," Elijah sighed, kissing the side of Florence's head.

"She's ours," Florence whispered, kissing him gently.

An hour or so passed since Florence gave birth to her brand new daughter, she had since changed into fresh clothes, eaten food that her mother and Polly had cooked for her, and had spent the rest of those minutes sitting beside Elijah on the sofa, cradling her tiny baby who was wrapped in a snow white blanket knitted by Imelda. She couldn't quite believe that little girl was a product of her, and of course a product of Tommy.

There was a tentative knock at the back door, causing Florence to glance over her shoulder as Elijah whispered, "I'll get it."

"You and that little girl look perfect together," Polly smiled from the armchair, "You were made to be a mother, Flo."

"I only learnt from the best," Florence replied as she looked up to see Elijah returning to the room accompanied by Finn.

"I'm going to start on the washing up," He told the three women, "Finn wanted to see you."

"You've got a keeper there, Floss," Polly grinned.

"Come and meet the baby, Finn," Florence gestured for him to sit beside her.

"She's tiny," Finn whispered as he took a seat beside Florence, holding his finger out for the little girl to hold onto, "I'll make sure to look after her, Flo, like Tommy and the boys did with you."

"You're a sweet boy, Finn," Florence smiled, kissing the top of the boy's head.

"Has she got a name yet?" Finn asked.

"She does." Florence replied.

"Does she?" Imelda smiled with intrigue.

"Elijah and I decided on her name when you were in the kitchen making dinner," Florence beamed, gazing down at her sleeping daughter, "We'd thought of a few names but none of them felt suited to her, but I knew we needed a beautiful name for a beautiful girl, so we're calling her Daisy."

"Oh that's a perfect name for a perfect little girl," Polly replied.

"Daisy Louise Harrington," Florence announced, "Our little flower."

"That is just perfect," Imelda beamed, in awe of her daughter and granddaughter.

"Finn, have you seen Tommy?" Polly asked the boy, "The coppers came by earlier, said they were looking for him."

"He told me he was expecting trouble, said I should go somewhere safe, and he always told me that Imelda and Flo's house was somewhere I could be safe," Finn explained to the women.

"And do you know where he is now?" Polly asked.

"I don't know, he was in the pub, I told him that there were coppers coming," Finn told her, "He left with that barmaid, Grace."

Florence and Polly made eye contact, neither of them wanting to give anything away. They both knew why Tommy was with Grace, they both knew what Campbell must have found to be going after Tommy. But neither of them knew what betrayal awaited the blue eyed Shelby man.

"Well, as long as the police haven't found him," Florence sighed, attempting to hide her dismay.

"Florence is right," Polly agreed, "There's not much any of us can do, we can only hope that Arthur and John are alright."

"Ma, can Elijah and I stay here tonight?" Florence asked, looking down at her daughter, "I don't quite fancy making the journey back to the house so soon after giving birth."

"All three of you can stay as long as you need," Imelda smiled, admiring the little family that Florence had made for herself.

"I'm not convinced that Margaret and Richard will be impressed by the idea of making the journey to the Small Heath to meet their first granddaughter," Florence signed.

"Well that just gives the rest of us more time to spend with that beautiful little flower," Imelda smiled.

author's note: so what do we think my darlings? i was always going to make tommy a girl dad...