the marriage (john shelby.)

Twenty Two.

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Tommy was on the road to recovery and had left hospital much earlier than he was supposed to. He'd been to London and had a meeting with Alfie Solomans and now he was in the car waiting outside Amelia and John's house, ready to take her to find Michael.

Amelia was busy in the kitchen making food for the kids in the front room whilst John played with Ciara, holding her like a sloth on his arm as she slept.

"If you wake her up I will never forgive you." She pointed a bread knife at her husband.

"The more I look at her the more she looks like you. Your nose, your eye colour, your mouth. Was I even involved?" He joked.

"Yes you fucking well were." Amelia abandoned making the food for a second to place a kiss on John's lips.

She felt like she'd barely seen him. The two of them had become ships in the night and they missed each other. They were very much in love with each other despite neither having the balls to admit it.

"Good. Have you got work today?" He enquired and stroked the black tuft of hair that was Ciara's.

"No." Amelia carried on making sandwiches with her back to him, concealing her nerves. "I'm just out."

This Michael mission was between her and Tommy only and she wasn't sure how to feel about keeping secrets from John.

"How long before you need to go?" He asked, his voice low.

She could feel his presence behind her as she sliced up some bread. His body was extremely close to hers and she could feel his breathing on her bare shoulder.

"I don't know. I'll go whenever." Amelia shrugged.

"Well how about I let the kids look after Ciara and give you the best 10 minutes of your life." John whispered close to her ear.

"10 minutes? That's an overestimation if ever I heard one." She smirked.

"I'll fucking prove it."

John disappeared out of the kitchen for a moment as he handed Ciara to her older siblings. He instructed them to entertain themselves for 15 minutes and closed the door behind him. He then speed walked back to the kitchen and wrapped his arms firmly around Amelia's waist, causing her to squeal in shock.

"Get off." She smiled as John kissed up her neck.

"No. Never. You're mine now." He mumbled against her skin.

"Where are the kids?" She put the knife down and brushed the crumbs off her hands.

"Living room." His lips made contact with her shoulder.

"Are they busy?" She smirked and ran a hand through his hair.

"Very." John smiled against her skin.

"Then you best get me upstairs then cause I don't know how long they'll be busy for." She turned around in his arms and wrapped them around his neck and kissing him.

John lifted her up off the ground, her legs automatically wrapping around his body. He carried her out of the kitchen and almost tripping up the step into the hallway, their lips never parting. She pulled away for a second and held his face in her hands.

"Does this make us bad parents? Having sex instead of feeding them?" She breathed heavily.

"If is then lock me the fuck up." He laughed and kissed her again.

The pair of them finally made it to the staircase before being interrupted by a limping Tommy flinging the front door open. He took one look at the pair who were now lying on the stairs with John's shirt half open and sighed.

"For once, can you please stay on task?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Fuck off Tom." John shouted at him.

"No, I need to get ready." Amelia kissed her husband once more before pushing him off and running up the stairs.

"What's all that about then?" John angrily asked his older brother.

"We'll explain later. I just need to borrow her for a bit." Tommy cooly explained as he was greeted by the baby Shelby's as they escaped from the confines of the living room. "You'll be okay on your own won't you? Just feed them and make sure they don't choke."

"Thanks." John sarcastically spat. "Come on you lot."

John herded his children into the living room, snatching the baby off Katie before she dropped her.

Amelia emerged at the top of the stairs and made her way down the staircase clumsily as she tidied up her clothes.

"You're a bloody mess girl." Tommy remarked.

"Thank you my lovely brother in law." She made it to the bottom without tripping. "Come on then."

The pair made it out to the car and Tommy started to drive them. Amelia quietly examined his cuts and bruises to see if they were healing.

"I'm fine." He spoke gruffly.

"You will be fine. You're not there yet." She patted his leg and stared out at the country fields. "We're bloody miles away Tommy."

"He's a country boy. Raised by good and hardworking parents. Got a brother as well." Tommy revealed.

"He's only 17 Tom. Is he really ready for this lifestyle?" She enquired.

"No. And he never will be. But what he has to learn is to adapt. You learn and you get used to it all. Soon it just becomes a way of life. You weren't ready and you adapted." Tommy stopped the car.

He'd parked them at the end of a road. There was a field to the left of them with two boys inside, playing.

The city girl had never seen something so pretty in all her life. There were trees everywhere with the green and blue of the sky merging beautifully. The houses looked like something out of a picture book or postcard.

The only time she'd seen something vaguely familiar was when she married John in a field. A smile grew upon her face as the thought flashed across her mind.

"Come on day dreamer. We need to find this boy."

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a/n: hello i am alive still. i was on holiday and now i'm having heart palpitations thinking about my results. x