𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐗.
black star day
❝ WHO'LL BE WEARING BLACK FOR YOU? ❞

BIRMINGHAM,
ENGLAND 1919

♜ ━━━━━ IT WAS BLACK STAR DAY.

And there was much to do.

Tommy'd been all round Small Heath, to the Garrison to rouse Arthur, to Charlie's so he'd fetch the wagons, to the garage to prepare the motorcar, and then to John and Esme's where he walked into quite the trist between them. All before nine o'clock. He'd finally returned home to find Polly in the kitchen, still in her dressing gown, curly hair undone. Her voice was low and reverent, head tilted back so her closed eyes faced the ceiling and the sky above it.

"Dear Lord, make this day pass well. Let none get hurt, and make them that do not Shelby's." His aunt ran her fingers over the beads of her rosary, murmuring, "Watch John 'cause he has so many depending on him. Watch Arthur because he's as likely to hurt himself as anyone else. Watch Thomas. I know how he is. But he does what he does for us."

She went to cross herself, paused, and then peeked at the ceiling.

"I think. Amen."

WIth a quiet exhale, Polly was preparing to go back about her routine when she found Tommy already staring at her. The woman stilled and then glanced at the floor for a moment before a confession and reproach felt necessary in equal measure.

"I used to do that every morning during the war." She shot him a pointed glance, "Hoped I'd done it for the last time."

"Today will be the last time, Pol. After today, there'll be no need for prayers. We'll be set." Voice low, he gave her a small nod before striding away, "Family meeting, half—ten."

Intent on getting back to business, Tommy moved through the house but stopped when he reached the staircase. Little Adeline was sat on the top step, still in her too big nightgown, her thick socks on, and chin resting on her fists with puckered lips. There was a look of absolute determination if he'd ever seen it. Strangely enough, he found himself almost smiling in amusement.

Tommy leaned against the bannister, asking, "And what're you up to?"

"Waitin'," her little voice travelled down to him.

"For?"

"You."

With a quiet hum, Tommy walked up and then eased onto the step beside Del, sitting shoulder—to—shoulder with his little daughter. When he looked down at her, she was already staring up at him. She was healing up nicely, her cuts scabbing over and her bruises turning hues of yellow and green. He gave her a nod hello. She nodded her own hello back. Then, he reached into his suit coat and began searching for a cigarette — surprised to find none, especially when he distinctly remembered putting them in there this morning.

Suddenly, a hand raised before his face and he saw a small fist of cigs awaiting him.

Tommy raised a brow. Del smiled pleasantly. 

F—ck's sake. His own daughter stealing from him.

He ought to give her a whacking to remember. His own father would've, and no mistake. Instead, Tommy found himself amused. His Del was quite the pickpocket; it was actually impressive. He took the handful, put all but one back into his pocket, and then ran the cig along his lips to moisten it.

"Tommy?"

"Mm?"

With a sigh, the little girl tucked her thieving hands between her knees and asked, "When's our Ada comin' home?"

"Sooner than you think." He lit the cigarette and pulled a long drag, "D'you know what's today, Della?"

Del let Tommy distract her. His question promised something better than her perpetual disappointment, anyway. So, the girl shook her head, dark curls shifting across her back and shoulders as she did.

"It's Black Star Day."

"What's it?"

"It's the day where everything changes for us Shelby's." Her Tommy was vague as usual, "Now, I need you t' do something for me. Two things, actually. Think you can manage?"

"I can." Della's eyes lit up and she somehow managed to scoot even closer, resting a small hand on his knee, "Promise I can, Tommy."

"Good stuff. First, there's trouble coming and you've to stay out of it, which I know is hard for you to do." She made a face and he smirked a little wider, "And second... there's going to be a meeting and all of our family is to be present for it."

The look of absolute shock on Del's face was enough to make Tommy laugh. Genuinely, actually laugh. She'd never been allowed to join a family meeting before, not even once. Whenever there was one, she'd be ordered out of the shop and the big green doors would be shut in her face. The girl was wary to get her hopes up, in case he was just fooling, but she couldn't hide the wonder in her voice.

"Even me?"

"Yea." Tommy dropped a hand on her head, scratching at her scalp once more, "Especially you, my little trouble."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

An hour later, in the Chinese district of Birmingham, Tommy stared down Inspector Campell for what would be the last time in a long time.

"One thing I have learned is that you and I are opposites. But also just the same. Like an image in a mirror." The inspector turned to look at his own image in the mirror, fixing his tie, "We hate people. And they in turn hate us. And fear us." He turned over his shoulder to meet Tommy's cool and collected eyes, rumbling voice taking on a tone of warning, "Before the day is over, your heart will be broken, just the same as mine."

Campbell collected his coat and his hat, striding ever closer, but Tommy didn't give an inch.

"Men like us, Mister Shelby, will always be alone." The inspector paused but a few steps from him, greyed brows arched in bitterness, "And the love we get, we will have to pay for."

What Tommy didn't know was that he'd have to pay for love in more ways than one. In distant years, he'd have to pay in money, yes, but also in blood.

But for now, Tommy simply smiled and said, "You forget, Inspector, I have my family."

And it would be his family that bled for him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

True to Tommy's word, Ada was back and with the baby, fat and pink and squalling. At this point, Del was ready for her little cousin to go back where he came from. She didn't say that but. She seriously doubted Ada nor Polly would appreciate such a thing. Even if the baby was a menace, Del was happy her aunt was back. She just wished she'd stay forever now. She just wanted everything to go back to how it used to be. Pulled from her thoughts, the six year old couldn't keep from making a face as Polly tried to help her hold the baby, bouncing him with her bony knees.

"That's it, Lamb." Pol tried and failed to hide her laughter, "Well done."

"Ugh." Della groaned, not enjoying this at all, "He's loud."

"'Course he is, he's a baby. Babies are s'posed to be loud." Ada smirked as she leaned in the doorway and kicked her barefoot, "You should've heard yourself. You were twice as loud."

Del's nose scrunched, "I cried that much?"

"No, not cried." Pol smiled, stroking her cheek, "You laughed. A lot."

"Why'd I stop?"

Polly looked so terribly sad all of the sudden. Ada did, too, sinking further into the wall. Del looked between them, brows furrowed, still bouncing the fat crying baby on her knees. Her great aunt didn't provide her with an answer, instead taking the baby from her and waving her towards the door.

"Now you go play, Lamb. And you wait until it's time."

"Time for what?"

Polly gave her a sad smile, "For the family meeting."

Wait, Adeline did, forgetting all about her confusion about the sudden shift in mood. She waited and waited and waited for a seemingly endless stretch of time. She told her gang she had prior engagements for the day. She tried to keep out of trouble with Finn with only moderate success. She laid on the floor and stared at the ceiling. 'Til, finally, it was time. With Finn at her side, little Del strode into the shop like the rest of the Blinders, chin held high and hands locked behind her back.

Her first family meeting and she was buzzing with excitement.

But she was doin' her best to stay out of trouble and not draw attention to herself. That was Finn's advice anyway, about how best to be let in on future meetings, and she was determined to see it through. With Polly at her side, she perched on one of the money tables, legs criss—crossed beneath her to keep from fidgeting. It was much harder than she'd expected.

"Everybody here?" Tommy's eyes scanned the room and when he received a nod from Polly, he let out a deep breath, "Orright, then. Let's get to business."

"Oi." Uncle Arthur cut in, stepping round him towards where Del was sat, "Wait Tommy, we've got ourselves an interloper." 

He snatched up the little girl, who shrieked, and he ruthlessly scrubbed a hand over her hair, tangling her curls something awful.

"Aw, Uncle Arthur, lemme go—!" She pushed and shoved at his hand, kicking her legs to be freed.

Arthur laughed despite her demands, "Should I toss 'er out on her bony arse, Tommy?"

Del's eyes shot wide and she looked sharply over at her father, fearing her hopes were crumbling right before her eyes. He'd told her she could be here. He wouldn't lie. He didn't lie about their deal, he didn't lie about Freddie and Ada, and he wouldn't lie about this. Right?

"No, Arthur. Today, Adeline belongs here as much as the rest of us." Tommy met her eyes with a determined nod, "She's staying."

Arthur was surprised at that, he set her down all the same but. She scooted safely away and folded herself back up, making sure no one could snatch her again. But she'd be all right. Tommy said so. Now, her da stood at the front of the room before the blackboards and addressed the whole of their gang.

"Right. I've brought you all here today 'cause this is the day we replace Billy Kimber. This is the day we become respectable. The day we join the official National Association of Racecourse Bookmakers." There it was again, the barest hint of a smile on her da's face — Della loved the sight of it, "But, first, we do the dirty work. Now, you've all known this day's been comin', I just haven't told anyone the date."

He pointedly turned away to peer up at the scores on the board with a cigarette at his lips.

"We're going to the Worcester races. Track opens at 1:00, we get there at 2:00. Now, Kimber thinks we're going there to help him fight the Lee brothers." He motioned to her aunt and uncle with a bit of a mocking tone, mouth twisting upward, "But thanks to the efforts of our John and his lovely new wife, Esme, the Lee's are now our kin. I interrupted those efforts this morning and, uh, I can assure you all, John is making great sacrifices in the cause of peace..."

Strangely enough, everyone laughed. Everyone but Del.

The girl's head cocked and she asked loud enough for everyone to hear, "What sacrifices?"

"Never you mind," Polly told her through her giggles.

Her da smirked but also didn't answer her questions.

John was strangely bashful, "Yea, orright."

Bloody adults, Della rolled her eyes.

Tommy moved on, "So, it'll be us and the Lee's against Kimber's boys. We take 'em out but leave the bookies. I'll expect a swift victory which will send a signal all the way to London that we believe in letting legitimate businesses run peacefully."

Tommy wanted Del to see this, to be a part of this; that was why he had her come to the meeting. Here and now was a monumental moment for this family, the moment where everything changed. From here on out, this would be the legacy she was going to grow up with, and one day it'd all be hers. Everything he built, it would all rest on her shoulders. Adeline might as well be present when it came to fruition.

John spoke up, "And, uh, what about Kimber himself?"

"I'll deal with Kimber." Tommy's voice briefly dropped low before he looked out at everyone else, "Any other questions?"

Del had a lot, actually; she figured she'd keep them to herself but.

"Yes." Polly raised her hand and moved towards the green doors, asking, "Oh, does anyone object if I bring a newcomer to the meeting?" She murmured briefly to someone outside before she pulled the door open and announced, "I'd like to introduce the newest member of the Shelby clan."

Then, in came Ada with her baby boy happy in her arms. One—by—one, the men began to applaud as she strode forward and beamed proudly. She came to a stop at Della's side, glancing briefly down at her as if for assurance. The little girl took hold of her sleeve and nodded sternly.

She was confident about this. Tommy wanted Ada back home, she knew he did.

"Welcome home, Ada," her da murmured quietly.

Ada nodded back with a small smile, glancing down at the baby, "We named him Karl. After Karl Marx."

"Karl bloody Marx." Arthur scoffed in amused disbelief, waltzing over to get a chance to hold his new nephew, "Let me get a look at him!" Their uncle raised the baby high, dropping a cap onto his little baldy head, "Hey, look, he looks just like me, look!"

"That's his arse looks like you, Arthur," John shot back to make Del giggle.

"He's orright." Her eldest uncle decided happily, "He's a Shelby."

As everyone got on with what they needed to do, Tommy drew in a long breath and asked, "Well, Ada... Am I forgiven?"

Della held her breath.

His little sister hesitated for a brief moment, "If what Aunt Polly says is true, you are."

"It's true."

Ada heaved a sigh and surged forward to hug him tightly, "Thank you, Tommy."

The whole of the shop burst into applause and cheers as their family was reunited once again. The uncles were passing the chubby baby between them, Finn giggling and pulling on his little feet. Pol rushed over to embrace Ada and Del giggled as Tommy tugged the girl off the table and onto his hip. She wrapped her arms tight round his neck and peered excitedly up at his face.

He arched a brow, "Happy?"

"Happy," she grinned back.

The excitement was contagious, but the excitement just couldn't last long, could it.

Not an hour later, Tommy burst back into the parlour in a frenzy, the door slamming shut behind him, already calling orders. All the men had left to go for one final piss up at the Garrison 'fore the races, but apparently they weren't going to races anymore. Something far different was happening. Del looked up from her picture book on the floor as Ada jolted upright in her chair, having just begun to snooze while her niece practised her letters.

"Ada, wake up!" Tommy snapped out to his younger sister, "You, Della, and the baby get into the bullring where there's lots of people."

Ada and Del shared a frantic look just as Polly pushed into the room, suddenly going very still at the sight of him. Della's nervous eyes followed her father while he walked tight circles in the parlour, clenching his hands in and out of fists to quell his frenzied energy, already panting to keep time with his rapid heartbeat.

Pol lowly asked, "What's going on?"

"We've been f—cking betrayed." Tommy paced restlessly through the room, running his hand across his fringe, "Someone let slip. Kimber's men are on their way here."

Polly quickly motioned Ada up as she pulled Della numbly to her feet. The girl swallowed thickly. The dangerous man. The one her da wanted her to stay away from. He was coming to Small Heath? To their home?

The girl's eyes were massive, "But you can fight 'im off, Tommy, can't you?"

Tommy looked down at her, as if suddenly remembering her presence, as if suddenly remembering that she could speak at all. His gaze struggled to leave her face, caught on her hope, her absolute trust in him. He didn't know how to tell her he wasn't sure they could win this one. How for all his thinking, all his planning, he might've just doomed them all. Her hope was beginning to burn at him. He looked and paced away, still burning.

"It's just us. All the Lees are on their way to Worcester, we're outnumbered." Tommy brought his hands down onto the mantel with a bang, "F—ck!"

Del jumped while Pol's eyes narrowed, already thinking ten steps ahead, "Who else knew today was the day you were moving on Kimber? You said you kept it a secret. Who else did you tell?"

Tommy went very, very still. Del watched with near fascination as the frenzied energy fell off him and he leaned back into the wall. Something strange was happening to his face, something very like realisation crashing down upon him. Polly wore the same expression.

"There's only one thing can blind a man as smart as you, Tommy: love."

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"It's that barmaid."

Del nearly flinched at the implication. Love? Her Tommy loved the barmaid? Since when? How could he? The little girl shrunk back, a strange sting of betrayal singing through her chest. Tommy's eyes flicked open, but he couldn't bring himself to look at anyone. He kept his eyes down, staring dully at the floor beneath Della's barefeet.

"I'll deal with Grace." Polly determined tightly, her father's gaze still locked on the ground, "If you set eyes on her again, you might kill her."

As Ada ushered her out the parlour, Del thought she might just kill Grace the barmaid herself.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As it happened, Polly didn't kill Grace the barmaid, who really wasn't a barmaid at all. An agent of a Crown, she was, but she had saved Tommy, and so they drank instead of using their fists. Pol always knew when was the time for violence and when was the time for peace. There they sat, at a table in the Garrison, two women with their glasses of whiskey.

"What was he like?" Grace eventually asked, "Before France?"

"He laughed. A lot." Polly answered with a far—off look in her eyes, a smile on her lips, "He wanted to work with horses, raise his daughter round them."

The blonde couldn't help but softly smile as well, "He won medals?"

"Threw them in the Cut." Pol considered this with a quiet inhale, frowning now, "Ah, not a single man came back the same. You know, after all this is over... he might forgive you. He might take you in. Can never tell with men. They go for whoever their d—cks point at and there's no changing their minds. But I should tell you something."

The air in the pub changed, just as quickly as the look in Polly's eyes did.

"I will never forgive you. Or accept you. Or take you in. And it's me who runs the business of the heart in this family." Polly Gray leaned forward in her seat, smoke drifting from her cigarette as she threatened, "And as far as I'm concerned, you're a snitch from the Parish. And if you're not gone from this city by tomorrow, I'll kill you myself."

Grace stared back at Polly; these two strong women across a No—Man's Land of their own.

"Now go."

Grace did. She stood, gathered her purse and her gun, and she moved towards the exit. But she paused right before the doors of the pub, turning back to tell her, "Maybe what really upsets you is the thought that, one day, you might lose him."

When there was no reply, Grace turned and left the Garrison forever.

And in the silence left, Polly thought, No. They wouldn't ever lose Tommy, not for as long as Adeline Shelby lived.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Tommy stood before the Garrison pub, giving orders and raising a battlecry with the Small Heath Rifles once more. There would be no help from the law today. They would be outnumbered three to one. But they had never lost a fight yet. They had ten minutes left before Kimber and his men arrived, and it was time to make their peace with whoever they had left.

And Tommy had one final order to give to his men:

"If any Shelby man dies here today, you bury us side—by—side."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Del waited for the inevitable.

For the battle to commence. For the final word to come. She'd waited for this, too, when her Tommy was gone away in France. At the time, she'd not known that was what she was waiting for, really, but she saw it happen to other kids her age and she knew the loss of one's father was as inescapable as the sun rising in the east.

On the homefront, word would arrive at the doorstep of 6 Watery Lane with a small slip of yellow paper and a man who'd delivered the killing blow far too many times to offer any kind of meaningful apology. Dead brothers, dead nephews, dead fathers.

At least now they'd have a body to burn in a vardo, more than just a distant memory to lay to rest.

At least now they'd light candles for him at the Parish, like they had for her mother, like they had for her grandmother.

At least now she would know to mourn him. Before, she was too little to comprehend death, to recognise what she had been lacking. She'd no memories of him. Just as she'd forgotten her mother, she'd have long forgotten him, and there would've been no reason for her to even miss him. But now, she knew him and she remembered him and she'd miss him if she lost him.

Lost him for good.

But 'fore Del could drop any further into despair, Ada pushed into her bedroom with a demand, "Little trouble, you come with me right now!"

The girl pushed herself onto her elbows from where she was laying dejectedly on her bed. She peered confusedly as her aunt rummaged into her closet and then threw a mess of black material straight at her face. Del nearly groaned and pulled herself free. Now was not the time for dress—up. It was time to put her foot down.

"A—da! You've got your own baby doll now." She wagged her finger, "No more dressin' me!"

"Fine, you dress yourself." Her aunt huffed and dusted her own sleek dress off, "But where we're goin', you've to wear somethin' black and dangerous."

Del's nose scrunched at that, "I'm already dangerous."

Ada laughed at that, "Too right, Della. But black makes sure people know it."

That was fair enough. Still, she had to ask, "Where's we goin' but?"

"Where d'you think? Right in the middle of the action."

Del's eyes slowly widened. She liked the action, of course she bloody did. But Tommy had given her explicit instructions to stay out and away from trouble today. She'd hate for him to get sore at her, now that they'd been getting on so well. Besides, she was still bruised and battered from the copper incident.

"Tommy won't like it—,"

"F—ck Tommy! No need to let the boys' have all the fun, yea?"

Del's brows raised and a grin slowly split across her face. Now, Ada was talking. The little girl happily shed her clothes and dragged the black dress over her camisole and knickers, shaking and dancing so it settled in place. She picked up her razor blade and tucked it between her fingers for a weapon. She was ready for battle.

"Those men are goin' to get themselves killed, go down in a blaze of glory." Ada set her hands on Del's shoulders, looking her right in the eye, "And it's up to us women to not let that happen."

Della nodded assuredly.

Women always had more sense, anyway.

They snuck out the back door while Pol paced in the kitchen, too busy fretting to notice their absence. Ada was fairly dragging her away from Watery Lane, the wheels of the carrier that once been Del's clattering along the gravelly road with baby Karl sleeping contentedly inside. Della tightened her hold on her razor blade and tried to suck in a sharp breath, chest feeling buzzy with the wild thump—thump of her heart. Ada kept marching onward.

Distantly, the girl could hear her Tommy's voice calling, "—saying something about being out—gunned?"

Oh bloody hell, Ada was willingly dragging them straight into a proper shootout. And all Della had was her f—cking razor blade. Del was fairly jogging to keep up with the bruising grip on her hand, not at all sure what their plan would be once they got there. The men were just before them now, all dressed in black coats and suits, and Ada and Del charged through them like a pair of bloody Moses' in the Red Sea.

"Move!"

Finally, they pushed through and strode right into the middle of their small battlefield.

Del caught her breath at the sight all round them, the horde of Kimber's men behind and the whole of the Peaky Blinders standing in front. Her da, uncles, Mister Jesus, Scudboat and Lovelace, Danny Whizz—Bang, even Curly all staring back with wide horrified eyes. Freddie was out of jail and here too, now, holding a gun that looked big enough to blow Small Heath off the map. He lowered it instantly, as did most of the others, when their shocked gazes landed on the girls standing between the men about to engage in battle.

Tommy's gaze locked on Del instantly, that familiar confidence and collectedness fading away. There was genuine fear in those icy eyes that matched hers, that she'd begun to recognise, look for in a room. But the fear was new, and it was terrifyin'.

She couldn't bear to look.

Freddie's eyes darted in panic, "What are you doin'?!"

"I believe you boys call this 'No—Man's Land'," her aunt casually called back, pushing both Del and the pram into place.

Now they formed the perfect barrier, a line of defence between the Billy Boys and their Peaky Blinders.

"Ada—!"

"Shut up and listen."

Freddie cried, "Have you lost your mind—?!"

She raised a finger and shouted, "I said, shut up!"

Even bloody Kimber was shocked.

Ada's jaw set and her balled fists made her knuckles turn white. Del planted her feet, like she'd seen Polly do when she was gearing up for a row, made her face stern like Tommy had every time she'd disobeyed him. She wasn't grown yet, she wasn't even a proper Blinder, but she was a Shelby.

And that had to be enough.

"Now, most of you were in France. So you all know what happens next." Ada nodded to Della purposefully as she went on, "She's got a father here and I've got brothers and a husband, but you've all got somebody waiting for you. Now, we're wearin' black in preparation. I want you to look at us."

Her voice echoed across Garrison Lane.

"I want you all to look at us!"

They did, each of these men peering over at them.

"Who'll be wearing black for you? Think about them. Think about them right now, and fight if you want to." Del watched when Ada raised a hand in her direction, a finger pointed directly at the youngest Shelby's, "But that baby and that girl ain't movin' anywhere."

Freddie sucked in a sharp breath. Tommy looked paler than she'd ever seen.

"And neither am I."

Del shifted uneasily.

The silence that followed was deafening. But madly, amazingly, something seemed to be changing. The tides turning. Good sense and self—preservation washing over these men like a wave.

A voice to her right startled Della, forcing her to look as Billy Kimber told them, "She's right, you know. Why should all you men die?"

Del felt the tiniest bit of relief just before the whole world went to hell.

"It should just be them who's caused it!"

In the swiftest of movements, Kimber suddenly raised his gun and fired. Once. Twice.

Chaos rained down upon them.

Blood spurted and Tommy staggered backwards.

Del found herself on the ground, covering her head.

Danny Whizz—Bang was brought down.

Ada dashed towards her baby.

For a minute, just one minute, everything slowed as if time itself was stuck in Pol's special jar of honey. One minute of everything at once. Anything before was nothing. Everything after was nothing. Nothing in comparison to this one minute. Karl's cries mixed with the rapid fire of guns and bullets. Del couldn't drag her eyes from her bleeding father. The Peaky men began to scream and shout in a flurry of demands and pleas.

"Don't shoot!"

"You're all right, Tom!"

"Adeline!"

"Ada, move away!"

"Tommy!"

"Della, stay down!"

"Hold your guns up!"

"Da!"

As if brought back to life, Tommy jolted forward, raised his gun, and put a bullet through Billy Kimber's head. His little daughter flinched and the man stumbled, as if his body hadn't caught up with his brain, and then he was felled.

"Enough!"

The world came rushing back and everything went still. Gangsters on both sides froze, guns still raised and aimed, unsure of what to do. Del panted in the mud, just feet away from the dead men bleeding out.

"Kimber and me fought this battle one—on—one. It's over!" Tommy was still on his feet and his voice cracked while it echoed against the familiar buildings, "Go home to your families."

Kimber's men didn't know what else to do but obey. They gathered their fallen leader and began to drag him through the dirty streets 'til they left Small Heath altogether. None of the Peaky Blinders moved. They were all just waiting for Tommy's first move.

Della's raspy breaths shuddered the puddles of blood beside her face, and she gazed down at Danny's limp body with wide horrified eyes. The sound of boots crunching in gravel dragged her gaze upward. Tommy stumbled towards her 'til her vision was filled with his quivering body, teeth clenched and icy eyes looking absolutely wild.

One year. One f—cking year. Polly kept his Adeline alive and well for five years while there was a bloody war on and it'd taken him exactly one year to nearly get her killed. Twice. Killed in a police raid, while he was off sleeping with the bloody enemy. Killed in the middle of a f—ckin' gang war, while he was boasting and acting like he had nothing to lose... For a moment, Tommy thought he might be sick.

"What the f—ck..." He wheezed when he stopped above her, "Honestly, what the f—ck..."

"'M sorry," Del gasped out desperately, nearly trembling all over.

Tommy bent and gripped her by her thin shoulders, shaking her rather harshly, "What the f—ck were you thinkin'?"

She fumbled for words when his hands trailed over her face and arms, searching for any signs of injury. She craned her neck to look at Ada who was currently in Freddie's arms and of no use at all. Her uncles were crowding behind her father, looking just as Tommy was, halfway between furious and relieved.

"I'm sorry, Ada said to, she said that..." Della shook her head, gathered her thoughts, and finally choked out, "I—I couldn't lose you, could I? I just got youse back, Da."

Da.

There, she said it again. He hadn't just imagined it. It hadn't just been wishful thinking.

Da.

Suddenly, he wanted to weep. He wanted to scream.

Tommy harshly rubbed his face with a hand, huffing out a low breath like it might clear his mind from the horrible things he'd conjured whilst seeing his only child on the wrong end of a barrel. Suddenly he brought Del into his chest, one hand cupping protectively on the back of her head. Del forced her numb arms to wrap around his waist, fingers curling into the thick wool of his coat.

"You're safe, my little trouble, it's orright." His heart thundered beneath her ear as he made a promise, "You're safe now, I'm right here."

Della closed her eyes and she believed him.

Over her head, her da ordered Scudboat and Curly to gather poor Danny's body.

She wasn't completely convinced Tommy would protect her when Polly came looking, and then found out what had happened. Turned out, it didn't matter. Pol simply took one look at her, covered in mud and blood, and all thoughts of a whacking were washed away. She wrapped Del in her arms and hugged her close, standing outside the pub as the men took care of Tommy's bullet wound inside. They honored Danny Whizz—Bang in the snug of the Garrison, took off their hats and raised a bottle.

Then, they celebrated their victory. The Peaky Blinders had won. Tommy would heal. Billy Kimber was dead. Freddie was free. Ada was happy. The Lee's were successful at the races. Inspector Campbell would be leaving town. Finn and the uncles were dancing and drinking. Her family would get away with murder, just as they always had. Del raised a glass of tonic water while all the rest raised glasses of whiskey and gin.

To Shelby Company f—ckin' Limited.

May they have no limitations.

Tommy went away for a bit, to take care of a few loose ends, but he'd be back. Del wasn't worried. She wouldn't lose him. Never again. Della fell asleep in the warmth and safety of Polly's arms, waiting for her da to carry her back home.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Dear Grace,

Without a secretary, I write my own letters, and I write without malice.

I learnt long ago to hate my enemies, but I've never loved one before.

The door creaked open and Tommy turned to see a sleepy looking Della tiptoe through the old office door. After visiting Grace at her apartment, he'd returned to the pub and he'd carried his daughter back home so she could sleep in her own bed. It seemed that wasn't what she wanted, however. Del's eyelids hung heavy and her little peach lips were parted slightly, breathing in low deep breaths. Her hand lingered on the doorknob, dragging a blanket behind her and holding a wooden horse that looked quite familiar to her chest.

Tommy said nothing, looking at her as she was looking at him.

The idea of New York is interesting, but I have worked so hard for this day. For this victory. I have responsibilities here, for people I need to protect, and people who I love.

She lingered in the doorway, his Della, dressed in Ada's enormous nightdress and Finn's thick wool socks. The nights were getting cold. It was his job to make sure she stayed warm. She looked so small suddenly, so small and so cold. His head jerked in a gesture to call her to him all on its own.

On small quick feet, she raced to him and her hands dug into his thighs when she climbed up onto his lap. She wormed her way onto his sore chest just as she had his sore heart, and he tucked her head beneath his chin and let her rest deep within.

When he was certain she would move no more, he continued writing his letter.

Before the war, when I had an important decision to make, I used to flip a coin. Perhaps that is what I will do again. Polly tells me you fell in love for real, and Polly is never wrong about matters of the heart.

I will give you my decision within three days.

All my love,
Tommy Shelby

With his young daughter asleep against his chest, Tommy flipped a coin.

And far away at a train station, a gunshot echoed.

━━━━━━ annie speaks ━━━━━━

she finally called him da! it's been a long time coming and i needed to build it up so much so that this moment would be as monumental as it is. whew, i hope you all felt it? this chapter was chock full of so many emotionally charged moments along with so many sweet ones, what were your favorite parts?! any fears or predictions for the future?

thanks so much for coming on this journey with me so far!

and so, my lovelies, we have reached the end of series 1. catch ya next sunday for a chapter set two years later for series 2? xx