NEW REIGN || Tommy Shelby

V. NO REST

- NO REST -

June 26th, 1921

The ride to Small Heath was silent. John and Arthur had decided to stay, so Tommy and Rose took the train home. Tommy slept the entire journey while Rose checked his steady heartbeat each mile. They rode through the sunset, the world falling asleep as they rattled over the rails into the darkness of Birmingham.

When they arrived, they took a cab home, still bathed in silent exhaustion. The car took them to Tommy's house on Watery lane, and Rose sent a silent prayer of thanks that the betting shop adjacent to it was closed for the day and quiet.

She wrapped her arm around Tommy's waist as they walked through the door and up the steep set of stairs. The entire house was dark and Rose blindly felt her way up the stairs to Tommy's room. He tried to guide her, but she could feel his body sagging more and more with each step.

"Here we are," she muttered, pushing open the bedroom door with her foot and guiding him to the bed which was illuminated by the smallest thread of moonlight.

She made quick work of his jacket and suit, pulling them off and draping them on the dresser across from him bed. The floor creaked as she pulled of his shoes and socks, muttering to him as she went. He tried to speak back, but the drugs they had given him and the injuries that were still healing kept him sedated.

She pulled the blanket up to his chin and leaned over his battered face. She pressed a kiss to his brow.

"Sleep well, my love."

He let out a low, grunting noise- the most talking he could do- but she knew what he meant.

Stay.

She laughed quietly. "Did you think I was going to leave you like this?"

She unbuttoned her skirt and blouse, kicking off her shoes and stockings. The bed was already warm from his body heat when she nestled next to him and she savored the warmth of his skin against hers.

"No, I'm afraid you're stuck with me, Thomas Shelby."

She pulled herself closer, so that his head rested on her neck, and swore she felt him smile against her skin.

***

She woke up shivering. Her jaw ached from clenching it and her stomach was tight from bracing against the cold. Blindly, she reached a hand out to grab onto whatever warmth Tommy could offer her, only to find the bed next to her also cold. And empty.

Like a bolt of lightning, she sat up. She squinted in the darkness, seeing that Tommy's jacket and and hat were gone. Quickly, she pulled on her skirt and grabbed one of Tommy's knitted sweaters from his dresser, pulling it over her head as she grabbed her coat and ran out the door.

As she walked, she told herself it was useless to worry about him- that everything was fine; but the nagging part of her brain whispered new fears with each step. What if he was in trouble?What if he had been attacked again? What if there was some sort of problem that would put him in danger? What if he had decided to leave her?

And the state that he was in-

She tried to calm herself by repeating again and again that he was smart and capable, but he was in no state to leave the house, let alone wander around in the cold and dark of night.