Arthur pov
At half 12, me and Mason were downstairs eating dinner and Lydia was still sleeping. I wasn't working today because i took the day off to look after lyd. A knock on the door disrupted our dinner. The staff answered the door and seconds later, the door to the dining room swung open and John stormed in
"What ya doing?" He asked
"Dancing. What the fuck does it look like?" I replied sarcastically taking a bite of my sandwich
"After Tommy killed the gypsy's that poisoned our lyd, they shot and killed one of our men. We told ya bout it" he explained
"I thought we were sorting that out sunday"
"It is Sunday. Come on. Tommy's waiting" he said
"Well i can't leave lyd. Not when she's ill" I countered. I really wanted to beat the shit out of those gypsy's. But my daughter needed me
"I can look after her. As long as you promise to kill those fucking gypsy's" Mason said stuffing his face.
"Alright. Take good care of her. There's left over pasta in the fridge. Just need to heat it up. There is cake in the kitchens. If she's too cold-"
"I know Arthur. I've done this all before. We'll be fine" he reassured me. I clapped him round the back and then followed John out of the house. We got in the car and drove to the garrison where the peaky blinders were all waiting for us
Mason pov
After Arthur left, I went upstairs to check on lyd. She has been sleeping for a very long time. When I walked into her room, I noticed her bed was empty. But then I heard the sound of heaving and quickly realised why she wasn't in bed. I ran into the bathroom and saw her hunched over the toilet.
"Oh darling" I said sympathetically as I held her hair back. Tears slowly ran down her cheeks as she finished and sat back against the bath
"I hate this" she mumbled putting her head in her hands. I wrapped and arm around her and she leant into me before letting out a loud sob.
"You'll be better soon lyds. Just take time" I told her rubbing her back.
"I don't care" she whispered crying
"Don't say that" i said quietly kissing her head
"I just want daddy" she sobbed leaning into me further. I realised that we just needed Arthur at this minute
"Dad will be back soon lyds. He's just gone out for business" she quickly looked up at me with tear stained cheeks
"You just called Arthur Dad. You havnt done that before" she stated with a small smile
"I guess I did didn't i" I replied smiling down at her. I hugged her tightly and helped her stand up. I saw her legs shake beneath her so I lifted her up and carried her to bed
"Do you want anything to eat?" I asked her. She was still crying slightly
"No I'm alright. Can you go and get daddy?" She asked sweetly. I felt my heart break knowing it was impossible
"No darling I'm sorry. He'll be back soon but I need to stay and look after you" I said kissing her forehead
"Oh OK. Can you lie down with me?" She asked wiping away her tears. I nodded my head and crawled in next to her. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest
After an hour, she woke up and ran to the bathroom again. I followed her and once again, held her hair back. She started crying on the bathroom floor
"I want daddy" she cried.
"Alright darling. He'll be back soon" I comforted her
"I want him now. Please mase" she sobbed. I thought about it for the moment but her puppy dog eyes quickened the thinking
"OK fine. You've convinced me. The staff are in the house so if you need ANYTHING, just yell and they will help you. I'll be as fast as I can. Promise" I said kissing her head. She thanked me but then threw up again.
Arthur pov
We spent half an hour walking up to the field where the gypsy have took camp. When we got there, there was alot of discussing. Tommy was talking to the leader of the gypsy's who swore he had no idea what we were on about
"We don't know about a killing. All we know is one of our people was shot. But we never retaliated" he said
"You're a liar. We have witnesses that say you stormed into a house, and shot Oscar ohara" Tommy said calmly
"You killed my mother" another man yelled before being held back
"Ye? And she nearly killed my little girl" I said punching him in the face. John and finn held me back before we all pulled out our guns. The gypsy's did the same thing
"Dad" I heard a yell. I saw Mason run in the middle of us and the gypsy's camp
"Mason get out the way" Tommy yelled to him
"No. Lyd wants ya" he said looking at me
"I'll be back soon just leave" I shouted to him not wanting him to get hurt. He didn't have time to leave before we heard a gun fire. Mason turned around to face the gypsy's and I half expected him to fall to the ground
"If you're gonna try and shoot, atleast get better aim" he laughed before pulling out a gun and shooting the man who tried to kill him straight in the head.
The gypsy's started shooting as did we and it wasn't long before the leader was laying on the floor, dead.
"Leave and take ya families with ya. Before we shoot you all" Tommy ordered them. They quickly ran away and I turned to Mason. He ran over and hugged me as I did him
"You stupid boy" I said ruffling his hair
"You could've been killed" I told him angry
"Ye well lyd wants ya. She's still sick and she keeps crying for ya" he explained. We got in the car and I started driving home
"You called me dad" is said in the silence
"Is that OK?" He asked nervously. I chuckled and clapped him round the back
"You're a good kid Mason. And you're my son as Lydia is my daughter" I replied. We got to the house and I immediately ran upstairs to go find lyd. She was hunched over the toilet puking up her guts
"Hey baby girl" I said going to hold her hair back. She stopped and didn't say anything, just hugged me
"Let's get you to bed. Have you eaten anything?" I asked. Me and Mason helped her up and slowly walked her to her bed
"She's had a glass of water and that's it" Mason replied. We got her in bed and tucked her in
"I'll get you some toast" i told her kissing her forehead
"I'm not hungry thanks"
"You need to eat. Just try for me. Please" I begged. She smiled small at me and nodded her head. I stroked her hair behind her ears and went to get her some toast
YOU ARE READING
The Gift- Complete
FanfictionArthur Shelby has 0 to very little experience with children. Sure he entertains his nieces and nephews but it's not quite the same as being a father. He doesn't need to take responsibility for them and he can give them as much alcohol as he pleases ...
