the marriage (john shelby.)

Thirty Eight.

24th December 1925

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"Who's the prettiest girl born on August 12th?" John used his baby voice before blowing a raspberry on Delilah's belly.

"You do this everyday. They're 4 months old John, they try to eat their own feet. I doubt they'll know their birthdays." Amelia smiled as she watched her husband and his new babies.

"Fuck off." He spoke normally. "4 months, already?"

"4 months already. My girlies are growing up fast. 35 hour fucking labour. My vagina will never look the same." Amelia mused and sipped her tea.

"And who's the prettiest girl born on August 13th?" He babied his other daughter Juliette before blowing a raspberry on her belly.

"Daddy!" The other five children cane bundling downstairs into the living room being carefully not to tread on the kids on the floor.

"Morning my little football team." He smiled and let them all create a pile on top of him. "Your auntie Ada popped round this morning to drop your presents off and you were all asleep!"

"I wasn't. You shooting pigeons kept me awake. Woke the girls up to." Amelia rolled her eyes.

She heard the letterbox in the door rattle loudly and some letters land on the floor, making a mental note to go and retrieve it.

"Sorry love, didn't mean to." He struggled to breath under the kids. "Kiss?"

"Nope." She smirked before standing up. "You can whistle for it. Make me an excellent Christmas dinner and you're off the hook."

"Just you wait till tomorrow!" He shouted as she walked into the hallway to collect the post.

In the pile was one that had come from America. She normally would've put it down to Ada, but the fact she'd already visited earlier aroused suspicion. She tore open the envelope and revealed the Christmas card.

On the outside, there was a beautiful house in the snow. The house looked eerily similar to the house that Amelia and her family were living in at that very moment. She opened the inside and her heart sank at what was there.

To John, Amelia, Katie, Alex, Harvey, Emily, Ciara, Delilah-May and Juliette-Rose,

Happy Holidays. Hope the year goes out with a bang.

Love from Luca Changretta x

The most harrowing part of it all was the black hand situated on the left hand side of the card. 

"John, what the fuck is this?" She shouted in panic.

He immediately ran to her and read the card, his stomach churning.

"What does it mean?" She asked again in a raised voice. "John What the fuck's going on?"

"It's nothing, give it here." He chased her into the living room as he tried to snatch the card out of her hand.

"John what the fuck is it?" She shouted.

"It's from Luca Changretta, we killed his dad." John shouted as he grabbed the card from her.

"Oh yeah, I remember." She nodded slowly, filled with anger.

"It was Tommy who killed him! It was fucking Arthur that pulled the trigger! All right, it was mercy, but it was Arthur. Anyway it makes no fucking difference! To them, it's family." John protested his innocence. "The black hand came here. Everybody will have got one."

"John, he knows our children's names. Our four month old babies's names!" Amelia cried.

"I don't fucking know how! He knows what our fucking house looks like Amy!" John sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

"I'm scared." She admitted. "But we're family now. We made an agreement, a solemn promise."

"Amy this is a threat on my life. On our lives. This is more than just us now, this stretches to anyone that's got a card." John instructed.

Amelia paused for asking the question she couldn't bring herself to asking.

"Will Dan have got one?" She asked.

John gave her a look, not opening his mouth in case he hurt her.

"What do you think?" He shrugged.

"He's my brother! I can't let him die! He's got kids and a wife, just like you have John!" She cried. "Twin boys, Freddie and Alfie. John I can't lose him or you."

"You won't, I promise. Just stay on your guard. Keep all the doors locked, don't open the door to anyone and if you have to leave the house, take the shotgun." He told her.

"And what about you? He wants you dead." She asked as he poured himself a whisky.

"I've just got to hope and fucking pray that nothing happens." He downed his drink all in one. "I need to ring Arthur, I need to see if he's got one."

"John, what if someone dies?" She whispered.

"Who?" He sighed. "If anyone he'll take Tommy out. Get rid of the patriarch, fuck up the rest of the team."

"You haven't spoken to Tommy since he got you arrested. Remember? You shit yourself when you had a rope around your neck. I don't want you back in contact with that waste of space and energy." She snapped.

"He's my brother Amy. At the end of the day, he's probably got a card and that means he's gonna end up dead." John was in despair.

"I don't want you dead, that's why I'm acting the way I am!" She looked ready to cry.

John realised that his wife was on the edge of sobbing and carefully held her in a hug, almost as if she was a porcelain object he didn't want to break. Her tiny frame felt so fragile in his arms that he was too scared to squeeze her any tighter in case she shattered.

"Amy, I swear on my life that we'll be okay. It's all just hot fucking air Changretta is using to frighten us. He's just trying to seem relevant and remind us he's still there. Nothing's going to happen love." He lied to her to make her feel better.

"You promise?" She said, her face squished up against his chest.

"I promise."

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A/n: these are the last few chapters and they are fucking me up x