In The Bleak Midwinter || Part 6
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 & Part 5
Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Reader
Warning: Character death & adult content
Gif Credit: @ txepulin, @shelby-tommy, @ckare, @ smallestdeath Thank you for allowing me to use your gifs!
Tag: @lainey-laneâ, @pindlemouse, @thelastemzy, @helloandreabeth, @fandoms-broke-my-life, @taylxr0, @shelbysbushblog, @accio-witty-username, @iamtheonewhocares, @infinitelycharmed23, @kingsmanstories, @shelby-gin-limited, @taylxr0, @sympathyfortheblinderdevil, @neversleeping4am, @icebluegriffin @johhnshelby If you left a message I tagged you. If you donât want that just let me know. And If you want to be tagged in the future let me know.
Note:  This chapter is based around the opening scene in 4.02, naked by the window, in the tub. This could definitely be a hard chapter to read. And I really tired to capture the gravity of the situation both between Fiona and Tommy, but also John. So I hope that comes through. This chapter is far beyond my comfort zone. Iâm not comfortable writing adult content and Iâm definitely not confident about it. Thatâs part of the reason Iâm really trying to push myself as a write with this chapter.Â
I want to give a special thanks to two people who were crucial with this chapter. @tommysmutnothingbut Thank you so much for taking the time to give me some pointers. This chapter is nothing like your incredible work, but I really tried to take your suggestions and apply them. Letâs just say I definitely had my fair share to drink when I wrote it ;) Also, @lainey-lane, My editor. I couldnât have written this without you. You know it scared me shitless so thank you for reading it and giving me honest feedback! And always having my back!
Both these ladies are incredible writers as well, so if you havenât checked out their work, I highly recommend it.
As always Comments, Likes, and Reblogs are greatly appreciated! Thank you to everyone who supports this story! Without you, I probably wouldnât write it or at least not post it lol. This one goes out to the 900 followers I some how managed to get. Donât know how that happened, but you fucking rock!
You arrive back in Small Health early in the morning, when the smoke from the factories and chimneys mixes with the fog coming off the canals and leaves the smoke laced air heavy like dew in your lungs. It sticks to your clothes and your skin like dirt thatâs hard to wash off.Â
Everythingâs painted dark like soot, not even the morning rays can soften as the sky looms a hazy shade of greyish yellow. Whistles blow all around you for the factories as a horse and cart trot on by.Â
You half expect a drunken man to stumble past you, trying to beat the rising sun, but no one dares come near you this time, not with Tommy Shelby by your side.Â
You never imagined coming back here to stay. Youâll never miss this place.
You barely make it back to Small Heath before word reaches you of the tragedy thatâs unfolded.Â
Itâs chaos, Arthur is nearly inconsolable when he arrives to tell Tommy. Even with Linda by his side, his words slip out past a choked breath, eyes heavy with tears, face crinkled with lines.Â
Tommyâs composed even in the eye of the storm, as Ada trembles, biting at her lip to hold back tears, while Linda asks a flurry of questions no one bothers to answer.Â
Tommy doesnât blink - he commands. Barking orders, and suddenly youâre all headed to the hospital, even you and the children, because he doesnât want to leave you alone and there isnât time to round up men, he needs them to guard Michael.
But you see it, as you ride off to the hospital, the boys tired weary eyes staring back at you from the backseat, exhausted from the long night and confused over why everyone is crying.Â
You see it as you glance over at Tommy in the driverâs seat, his knuckles white as they grip at the steering wheel, gaze focused, eyes barely blinking⊠Everyoneâs heart is broken.
The news is only confirmed at the hospital - John is dead, Michael gravely wounded.
Polly is like a winter storm blowing in heavy from the east. She hollers and cries, you hear her voice billowing out from the hallway, past the swinging blues door where Tommy told you to stay and wait with the children.
âWhat are you doing here?â Linda asks as the storm rages on around you.
Her question ripping your attention away from the wails echoing out from the long white hall. You turn to her, taking in the pale color of her skin, more pale than you ever remember.
âI donât know.â You answer honestly with a quick sigh. Your gaze drifting down to the multicolored tiled floor where the boys play with a handful of tinker toys you managed to grab before you left for the hospital. Playing quietly, but not blind to the pain unfolding around them.Â
You suddenly, donât know how youâre going to break to them Christmas isnât coming today, or that John is gone.
âI donât knowâŠâ You numbly repeat, your gaze returning to that long white hall.
You console Polly the best you can like Tommy asked. Rubbing your hands up and down along her arms as you listen to the flurry of words and demands she makes, that Michael will be alright, heâll be ok.Â
You donât know what to say, you donât know anything in that moment, but you are a mother and that alone stirs an empathy deep from within you. You canât imagine what youâd do if something ever happened to Finn.
âHeâs strong Polly. Strong like you. Heâs gonna pull through.â You assure her, giving her arms a strong squeeze as she finally meets your eyes.Â
Youâll always feel a connection to this woman, this fearless strong woman who saved your life and your sonâs with her generosity, but looking at her now you hardly recognize her.
She looks at you, her sonâs blood smear on her nice fir lined coat, beautiful in her cloche hat and ringlet curl as she stares at you with eyes swollen from too many tears, her pupil wild and unhinged as she meets your gaze.
âIf he- If he-â Her voice starts to waiver and crack, the sound of it alone shatters your heart more deeply than itâs already broken.
You pull her desperately into your arms, clutching her close. âHe wonât.â You swear it. âHe wonât.â
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