FLORENCE SHELBY HATED HOSPITALS and anything to do with them, due to the fact that she had seen multiple family members in hospital beds, most reasons being because of their lifestyle — the girl remembered when her father had been put in the hospital not long after he got back from the War, and the memory haunted her, the girl remembering the time her mother was hospitalised when she was much younger. It had always been so traumatising to see her family members in this place, no matter what they were in for, it was always heartbreaking to see, but being on the other side of the fear and worry, was completely different. Waking up to her father, uncle and aunt looking down at her with different expressions on their faces, Florence knew that whatever happened, couldn't be good; they couldn't all be this distraught over her getting shot, there had to be something else that had happened. By the complete distraught on Arthur and Ada's face, and the discomfort on Tommy's face, she knew that some one had died. "Who's dead?" Florence weakly asked her family, unable to move due to waking up after so long from being under on drugs.

Ada looked back at Arthur and Tommy, the three all exchanging looks as they truly didn't know what to say to her about what happened to John and Michael, since it shouldn't be the first thing the girl hears after waking up from an attack from her fathers enemies and being shot in the middle of it all. Neither of her brothers gave her any ideas on what to say to the teenage girl, not even the girls father, who couldn't bring himself to tell Florence about her uncles death, so the woman looked back at her niece with a soft smile, hoping that the girl wouldn't question any more on what had happened this morning. "We're just glad to see you awake, Flo." She eventually told the young girl, hoping that she would successfully change the subject; she wasn't lying to her niece, but she wasn't telling the truth, either, she just needed to find out a way to change the topic so she wouldn't have to tell her about John, it still broke her heart to even think about it.

Florence gave her aunt a disbelieving look, knowing that she was covering up something, the girl could read her family members like a book, and the look on all of their faces indicated that something terrible had happened whilst she was under. "You all wouldn't be looking so upset about a gun wound." The teenager pointed out, trying to sit up in her hospital bed, but failing when she felt her stitches tighten against her skin, wincing in pain as she tried to do so. "So, who died?" Florence carried on, just wanting to know what had happened and get it over with, so she can start grieving and hopefully without her family staring down at her.

Once again, Ada looked back at her older brothers for some help, all of them knowing just how much John meant to every single one of them, and not wanting to tell the eighteen year old that one of her uncles had been killed by the same men that had shot her, and that her second cousin was currently in critical condition because of it. Tommy knew that it had to be him that told his daughter about the death in the family; he wasn't planning on doing it the second the girl woke up, but she wasn't giving up with trying to find out what had happened, she was stubborn, just like her father.. The man sighed as he pulled a chair and sat next to the girl, motioning for the other two to leave as he knew the girl wouldn't want to be told with them both in here, and when they left, he faced his daughter, the girl already looking up at him with her bright blue eyes, "Your uncle John was shot and killed this morning." He informed the girl, trying to make his voice sound as soft as he could, knowing that this was going to break his daughter, "And Michael is in critical condition." He added, knowing that she was very fond of her second cousin, also.

Florence blinked at his words, not moving as she tried to come to terms with what he had just told her — John died, the uncle whom always knew how to put a smile on her face, no matter what circumstance, was gone forever, and he wasn't coming back. The thought alone made her chest squeeze tight, the feeling that she couldn't breathe flooding her system, her lip beginning to quiver at her fathers words, not knowing what to even say back to that. She looked away from the man who was looking at her with a look she had never seen before, and she couldn't even picture what he was thinking, the man's face was as blank as it always was, except this time, he looked like he was in some sort of pain from telling her about his brothers death and his cousins condition. Although the girl felt completely heartbroken at her uncles death, she couldn't help but think on what Esme was going though, along with all of their kids, "Esme? How is she?" She asked, pushing her grief aside for the woman.

Tommy knew what the girl was doing, hell, it's what he did when he received news like this, he always tried to think of different things so he didn't have to think about the problem at hand, knowing that it's what she needed, he went along with it. "She's not doing well, but she knows she has to get through it for the kids." He told her truthfully, knowing full well that the girl would go off on one if she was lied to at a time like this. The girl tried to move again, clearly trying to get out of the bed, when Tommy put his hand down on her shoulder as gently he tried to get her to stay down on the bed, "You shouldn't be moving, you'll rip your stitches." The man said more sternly, annoyed that she was being stubborn at a time like this.

Florence frowned at her fathers touch, trying to shake him off in an instant, "Let me go." The girl mumbled, trying to push the man off so she could get up off of the bed, not wanting the man to see her cry, that was the last thing she wanted at the moment, not when she had done so well being strong in front of him over the years. Florence had always put up a front when it came to her father, especially when she found out what he did for a living, as well as her uncle Finn, whom she was closet to age with; if that boy could handle the things this family did, then why couldn't she? When she felt her eyes burn, the tears threatening to show, the girl struggled even more as Tommy now placed both of his hands on each shoulder, pushing her down, "I don't want to be here! Get off of me!" She snapped, now trying to punch his arms as the man merely took it, having a feeling that she just needed to get her anger out on him, and he didn't mind that, if anything, he deserved it.

Although, when the girl stopped struggling all together and practically gave up trying to get off of the bed, Tommy furrowed his brows, seeing the girl now placing a hand over her face to hide it when he saw her body shake from sobs. As much as Florence tried to hide it from her father, he could hear her pained gasps from under her hand, the man sighing as she let out all of her sadness without any comfort — he liked to be alone when he was sad, until Florence was born, then, he had the girl to thank for getting him through it, with his problems after the War, with Grace's death, and now, it would be with John's death, too, so the least he could do was help her, too. "C'mere." Tommy mumbled, holding his arms out as an invitation for the girl to hug him and cry on his shoulder; at first, he hadn't expected the girl to even look in his direction, but when she finally removed her hands and looked up at him, he saw just how broken the girl really looked.

The father was relatively surprised, however, when the girl pulled herself up into the man's arms, accepting his comfort as she let out her cries, finally letting herself open up to the man, whom hadn't seen her cry like this since she was a child and he came back from the War. The girl was so different now, so grown up, and Tommy was the proudest dad ever, happy with how his little girl had turned out, and it pained him that she was so closed off with him, hiding her true feelings because she didn't want him to know; that isn't the relationship he wanted with his daughter. Now that her life was threatened, along with the rest of their families, the man knew that he had to do something about the relationship he had with each family member, before it was too late.. The whole family had issues, they all knew that, but if they wanted to get through this war alive, they all needed each other. "Everybody keeps dying." Florence choked out, burying her face into her fathers chest as he stroked her hair like he used to when she was a child. How times had changed.

At her words, Tommy's heart broke even further, hating to see his daughter so distraught over this whole thing, and he hated that he couldn't bring John back, that he had been the cause of it all, his family all hated him, and the only way he could think to fix it all, would be to kill the person responsible for it all. "I know." Is all the man could say to her, holding her tight as she cried in his arms. As he held her tight, he knew that he was going to kill the fucker that had broken his family.




——




Being back in Small Heath was a strange feeling for Florence, it felt like she was a child again, running around the streets with Finn by her side, causing trouble as the days went on where they would wait for the men of the family to return from the War; where the Peaky Blinders had first been formed, where the family business had taken off, and where the family had originally found happiness. Coming back felt like they were going back in time, like everything they had worked for felt like it was for nothing, like they were rewinding and heading back to the place where they all began. But not all of them were returning. John was gone, Esme had left, and Michael was still in the hospital in critical condition, three family members missing from the group as they all had to return to stay safe, away from the people that were trying to kill them all. Although Florence had grown up with Finn by her side, she felt strange returning without Michael — the moment he showed up at Small Heath, the girl had gotten along with him, and being so close in age, they went to the pubs together, having fun until the morning came, along with Isiah, but now, it felt dark, like they couldn't have fun again.

As the car door opened besides her, Florence was taken out of her trance, looking to her side to see Finn holding out his hand to help the girl get down, due to her stitches still restricting a lot of her movements, including anything that required climbing, and since the girl had to jump down to get out of the car, she needed help. Luckily, her father had Charlie to take into the house, and since she had practically broken down in his arms back at the hospital, she didn't exactly want to talk to him much, out of embarrassment that she had been vulnerable in front of him, the one thing she didn't want. The girl reached out and took Finns hand, the boy taking his other to help the girl down without moving too much, even if it was incredibly painful, she tried to cover it up with a grateful smile, even though Finn could see it was a pained one. "Do you want help getting in?" He asked, once she was down on the floor, straightening out her dress. Finn had been told by Tommy to not leave her side, but if anyone knew Florence, it was that she would want to do this all by herself.

"I'm good thanks, Finny." Florence replied, patting him on the arm as she slowly walked past him, her hand resting on top of her left hip as she limped towards the house, ignoring the many Blinders around her as they were stationed all over the place. Very soon after finding out that John was killed, Michael was in critical condition and Florence had been shot, Tommy decided that it would be best for the whole family to move back to Small Heath, where all of the family would be together again, where the man could keep an eye on them and they wouldn't be attacked out of the blue just like John and Florence, and after a fight amongst everyone about how much they didn't want to, they had all agreed that it would be the safest option, and unwillingly came along.

Florence didn't argue much about returning to her home town, since she didn't live that far away from it, anyway, that, and she knew that she would need all of the help she needed with her gunshot affecting how she got along normally, and having Ada near her would be a benefit for her. Arthur and Linda weren't happy in the slightest, though, not wanting to return, but Florence knew that it was mostly Linda who didn't want to, since she completely despised Tommy and everything that he stood for. Florence still didn't know what to think of that woman, since she always gave the family reasons to hate her, the teenager was still on the fence with her, but knowing that she made Arthur happy, and that they had a child together, she would stay in her own lane, and keep her nose out of their business.
When Finn saw Florence struggle to walk to the house door, the boy shook his head at how stubborn she was being about accepting his help, before rushing up to her side, linking his arm through hers as she instantly began to lean against him in exhaustion from walking a metre. "Stop being stubborn." Finn scolded her, rolling his eyes at how annoying she could be at times. Growing up, that was the one thing he hated about Florence, the fact that she was always so stubborn, it always got her in trouble.

"Stop being annoying." Florence retorted, rolling her eyes right back at him as Finn helped her walk to the front door, the two of them pausing as they took in their old home — they had a lot of memories in this house, like the two of them sneaking in a fag under the table in the kitchen and being caught by Tommy, or playing hide and seek where they would always hide in the cupboards, until they were too big, to do so, and just hanging out in general, not having a care in the world as they laughed and played games, even during the War. Walking in this house, really opened up to the two teenagers just how close they used to be, and how much they had drifted apart over the years, as they both moved out and had their own things going on. "I miss being kids." The girl mumbled, the front door shutting behind them as they started to walk further into the house.

"You still are." Arthur spoke up from the kitchen, Florence and Finn instantly smiling at the sight of him as the man greeted his brother before bringing his niece in for a hug, the girl gladly returning it as she had missed his presence at the hospital for the last few days..

"That's bloody rude." Florence retorted, pulling away from the hug and accepting the chair that the man pulled out, gratefully taking a seat and sighing in relief when the pain in her side started to die down a little from the lack of movement her body was making. Even walking from the car to the house was tiring, and she didn't know how she was going to keep up with everyone.

"Why aren't you with Linda?" Finn asked, taking the opposite seat as Arthur shrugged, hearing Tommy's footsteps coming down the stairs after putting Charlie to sleep for his nap after the journey.

Florence could tell by the look on Arthur's face that he had an argument with Linda, probably about having to come back here, and she felt bad that their relationship had pressure pushing down on them, but at the same time, Linda knew what she was marrying into, and she had always hated how the woman tried to change her uncle all of the time. "She wanted to be alone, so I thought I'd come see how you're doing." Arthur replied, motioning to Florence who smiled at his words, not showing that she knew the real reason. "How's your hip?" He asked.

Florence shrugged as her father walked in, ignoring each of them as he grabbed some whiskey and started pouring himself a glass, "Hurts." She told her uncle, not knowing how else to describe how she felt — being shot wasn't something that she wanted to happen again, that was for sure.

"You're a proper Blinder now, aye?" Arthur joked, as Tommy downed his glass in the background.

"I hope not." Florence mumbled, as Tommy finally turned around.

"We need to call a family meeting." The boss of the family announced, as Arthur instantly nodded, kissing his niece on the forehead before walking off to gather everyone.

Florence merely watched him go with a longing look, a bad feeling in her gut that the danger wasn't going to stop here, she she feared that another one of them would be lost..