1910, Small Heath, Birmingham

John Shelby and Lilian Davis were the one couple you think would never break up. They'd get married, have kids live happily ever after and they did live happily ever after from the ages of ten to fifteen when Billy Davis decided he had enough of the Shelby's and shipped himself and Lilian away to London where they stayed. The couple did in fact do one of the two they had a child together. Only this child was a daughter who Lilian wouldn't see except for the occasional trips to Birmingham and catch glances of the blonde girl.

Billy never knew about the girl or so everyone thought. Lilian swore at the age of fifteen when she figured out she was pregnant that she would give her daughter to John in the hopes that he'd decide to keep her only when the girl arrived outside Six Watery Lane at midnight on the Eleventh of December 1910 with the bundle that appeared to just be blankets that happened to be just under two hours old, Polly Gray was going to bed when she heard muttering from outside the front door.

The woman obviously had to investigate.

As she opened the door she felt her face twist into confusion as she saw the familiar head of ginger hair, "Lily?"

Hearing her name the girl froze and looked up from the sleeping baby to the woman she saw as her mum, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Polly asked as she stepped closer to the girl, peering at the blankets. Once she saw what the blanket actually was her hand made its way over her mouth to conceal a gasp.

"She's John's," Lily told her. "I can't keep her, Pol and it hurts me. So please take her before I decide to leave with her." The woman wasted no time grabbing the baby from the girl arms since she was basically throwing the baby at her and cradling her.

"What's her name?"

"She doesn't have one," Lily sniffled, her hands reaching to the back of her neck to unclasp her necklace. "Don't let her lose this and I promise I'll come back one day."

A tired John made his way down the stairs, yawning until he heard Lilian's voice causing his to freeze as he listened in on the conversation behind held just three steps away from until. The teen was confused to say the least but even more confused when he heard the wail of a baby.

Is the baby mine?

No. She would have told me, right?

"John can never know I was here," the girl's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"If you go now, he won't ever find out," Polly told her as she tucked a piece of hair behind the girls ear before kissing her forehead.

"Promise me, you'll look after her," Lilian's voice cracked as she looked at her daughter one last time, stroking her cheek since she had now settled in Polly's arms. The woman and unknowingly to the two John watched Lilian place her necklace, the last thing she had from her own mum, on the baby's blanket.

"I promise you, I'll look after her," Polly swore and Lily let out a sigh of relief before making her way back down the dark street.

"Go," Polly turned to John. "Go get your girl back because this baby needs both of her parents."

"How-"

"Go before you miss her again," Polly pushed him out of the door and watched him run to the ginger girl who happened to have her held hung as hot tears spilled down her cheeks while she held in a choked sob.

She could hear footsteps rushing towards her but she was too focused on trying to not trip over her own feet while she cried to care who it was into the person gripped onto her shoulders stopping her from walking and pulled her into their chest.

She instantly knew who it was.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, gripping the back of his shirt. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you and I'm sorry that I've just left our baby with you."

"Don't leave me again," he begged as she pulled away from the hug and his hands rested on her cheeks, head dipping slightly to see her face properly.

The girl avoided eye contact with him, "I don't have a choice."

"We'll get married, it'll just be me, you and the baby," he begged. "It's me and you always and forever, right?"

Lilian pushed his hands off her cheeks, John's smile dropping, "We're fifteen, John. I can't stay here because if I do we both know he'll find me and he'll hurt you or the baby and I won't be able to handle it, so you stay here and raise our daughter while I go back to London and keep my dad as far away you and her as possible." She didn't even let him answer before she walked away leaving him alone on the street, rain had started to pour as she walked further away from him.

He knew better than to run after her again no matter how much he wanted her to stay, he knew deep down that it wouldn't be as easy as he made it out to be. With his hands resting on the top of his head and tears forming that threatening to fall he watched her cross her arms, holding her coat tighter to her body shielding her from the cold and rain. Once she was out of sight he began his walk back to the house his head hung and tears spilling down his cheeks which he could pass off as rain.

The baby's cries could be heard three doors down which made John speed up and open the door to Polly's house earning the woman's attention who looked to him with a hopeful smile until it dropped when she was met with her nephew's tear stained face, glum expression and a shake of his head. He then proceeded to take the crying baby from his aunt's arms and place her on his chest as he sat down and began rubbing the baby's back.

"What's all the noise?" Tommy asked as he and Ada entered the living room and was met with the sight of John slouching on the couch with a baby laying now peacefully on his chest.

"Keep your voice down," Polly scolded him as Ada sat beside her brother leaning into his side, carefully not to wake or disturb the baby.

"Is she yours?" Ada whispered, bringing her hand to stroke the baby's cheek.

"Yeah," John nodded, wrapping his arm around the girl's shoulder.

Ada sat staring in awe of the baby, "She's so little. What's her name?"

"She doesn't have one yet, sweetheart," Polly commented as everyone now including Arthur who also wanted to see what all the commotion was about. The Shelby's sat in silence, all staring at the baby from different parts of the living room; Tommy and Arthur from the doorway, Ada from beside John and Polly from the opposite sofa.

"Aurora," Arthur broke the silence.

"Like Sleeping Beauty?" Ada asked lifting her head from John's shoulder to look at Arthur.

"She is beautiful," Polly commented, agreeing. "And has done nothing but sleep and she's only been here half an hour."

"Aurora Martha Elizabeth Shelby," John announced. "After you and mum," he told his aunt.

"She'd have loved her," Polly told him with a smile. John looked from his daughter to his aunt with a smile.

"Right," Polly called getting Ada's attention. "Bed for you missy. Aurora will still be here when you wake up don't worry."

With a groan the girl hesitantly and slowly got up, leaning down to kiss Aurora on her forehead. "I'm going to be the best auntie to you," she whispered.

"Ada!" Polly warned.

"Okay, calm down," she rolled her eyes, her brothers chuckling at her behaviour.

"You'd think you've never seen a baby before," Arthur chuckling. "Are you forgetting about Finn?"

"He's not a baby anymore," she grumbled, pushing his shoulder as she walked past him and up the stairs to Polly, leaving the boys.

"She couldn't stay," John told his brothers and they instantly knew who he was talking about.

"Billy's a prick who hates the wrong brother," Tommy spoke up. "You're the good one, it's us he should hate."

"He's ruined my family before it even started," he mumbled, shushing Rory who had begun to stir. "I'm going to take her upstairs before she's screaming the house down."

"Night, brother," Arthur patted his shoulder as he walked past, Tommy doing the same.

"She'll come back one day," Tommy said. "I'm sure of it."

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞:
My babies are back !!!!!!!!!
Anyway as the title says 'The beginning' this is still an Isaiah fic if you're new or didn't read the old version but this chapter is just an introduction of John and Lilian who without them you wouldn't have Rory so then you wouldn't have Rory and Isaiah.