Today was the day that the four Shelby brothers enlisted into the army, voluntarily. Rumours were spreading quicker than a whisper in the wind, that a war was amongst them.

Six months at the most away, they were saying and Bash truly believed them. He knew he'd be able to cope being away from his normality for six months, he'd most definitely cope better than Arthur. Despite being in the same boat as John; with a wife he was leaving behind, Bash was more accepting of his fate. After all, he didn't have any children to worry about and he wasn't truly in love with Dora; she was nothing more than a sort of trophy wife. Her words, not his.

If John hadn't said he'd be willing to go, none of the other lads would've, not until much later on. They all had a nagging voice in the back of their heads saying that if they were to go, they wouldn't return.

Of course, voices were just that. Voices.

Theodora wasn't that much of a lovely woman, a bright intellect who could hold a conversation when held at knife point but boy did she have the worst personality known to man. Her voice was almost angelic, if you could ignore the nasally aftertaste it had and the way her voice changed octave more than it probably was necessary, but she was his wife. The co-inhabiter of his house, and thankfully it was inches away from the rest of his kin.

Dora's child wasn't his, and was going to have been a reason she would've ended up in hell after death, and luckily for Bash it had lived with its grandparents since birth. Theodora wasn't a maternally driven woman so this didn't affect her - at least not in a way that losing children had affected Polly.

In fact, she barely went down to visit her child. Whenever she did, the three times she had done since giving birth; she returned within a few days and said nothing of it.

Her other excursions to the other end of the country though, Bash found out she had been seeing another man. He expected nothing less, really, but for her to ask for the train fair was a little bit more than a punch to the gut.

"If you don't remember much about em' Dora, remember that Bash had amazingly these big dimples, Tommy had the brains and those crystal eyes, Arthur had the brawl and John; our lovely John, well he had all the kids. Didn't he, Martha?" Polly Gray tried to ease the situation as the women sat in the Betting Shop with glum faces.

Polly hadn't liked Theodora since the woman walked into her house and mocked its decor. But, she tried her best to be as civil as possible with her, after all, she wasn't going to be the reason the two divorced. That would've meant the money her family had put up in the agreement wouldn't be there's.

Polly always had an ulterior motive.

Always.

Martha; Johns wife, couldn't believe how upbeat Polly truly was.

She had the most to lose, all but one of her nephews were being sent to their deaths and she couldn't change a damn thing, so she didn't think of it like it was their deaths day. No, the boys were simply nipping out for cigarettes, more razor blades and a few pints.

They'd be back soon.
They'd better be back soon.
They had to be back soon.

"So, who's running what when our boys are gone?" Dora asked, showing her true intentions.

She only ever called the Shelby brothers "our boys" when it suited her, when it made her look good— when she wanted to make herself look less like a one dimensional bitch without malicious true intentions.

Dora barely cared about the Shelby men, and she didn't even carry the Shelby name. She had point blank refused to adopt it after the two were married and Bash didn't really care. All that Dora ever cared about was how much money she could take from them before they realised; and so far, it had been seven pounds and three shillings.

"You're in the Garrison with Martha. Ada and I will run this betting shop and I'm sure Finn would love to help."

With that small piece of information, Dora was livid. Why was someone of her status being made to work in a place full of the common folk? Surely, someone who carried the Longley surname and the legacy that it supposedly had with royalty, would be somewhere other than a pub. A stingy pub.

"Aunt Pol!"

A voice called out, but it wasn't just any voice. No, it was Bash; Sebastian Shelby, the middle child, who had been the one to tell for her- Tommy followed rather quickly behind her, them both being completely unaware to the self-proclaimed mothers meeting that had been going on.

Eyes scanned the room, brows raising once John, Arthur and Tommy saw their elusive sister in law, Bash didn't really seem to even acknowledge her like John did to Martha .

No one really expected him to, though. Not when they were about to ruin their Aunts sanity.

"Go-on, Bash! Tell her, or are you too scared?" Tommy taunted, jabbing his elbow into the side of his brothers chest, earning a whack from Polly and a glare from Ada who just wanted her brothers to stay home- to not get themselves hurt, because it was inevitable with the Shelby Genes.

Sebastian Shelby was no chicken, no scaredy cat- he was the bravest; in his eyes obviously, out of everyone. Gently, or rather harshly, shoving his younger brother sideways, a wicked grin slid onto his face.

"Ant' even been to war and they've already promoted me. Int' that great?"

That piece of information was new, even to Thomas, but Bash enjoyed keeping everyone on their toes. He was far too quick of a thinker to not pull one over his brothers eyes; though he had wanted the perfect time to tel people of his promotion.

Pollys face dropped, to her; a promotion wasn't the best thing to hear, it meant that her favourite nephew would have more responsibilities and more of a chance to be injured during this prolonged six month war- it was bad enough all four of the older Shelbys were being shipped off to God knows where to fight God knows who. She knew that Finn would be distraught, Ada wouldn't quite understand why it had to be Bash and his wife— well, Polly knew that the money hungry woman would be over the moon to receive a bigger pay check.

"Shouldn't you tell your wife this information in private?" Dora almost shrieked with her nasily voice, drawing the attention back to her.

"No- you ain't exactly family, are you?" Bash said aloud, he wasn't supposed to but that didn't mean he didn't mean it.

Bash didn't marry for love, not like John had, and how Tommy desired it- he married for his family, for better connections just in case something happened- and he was secretly hoping that she'd run off whilst he was away, allowing him to live out the rest of his life without the woman who sucked every ounce of happiness out of him.

"Sebastian! You shouldn't talk to your wife like that!"

There it was again, Dora's insufferable voice; grating on every last nerve in his body- he wasn't one to hit a woman, or even fathom it, but her actions weren't that of a noble lady as she claimed to be, she was more common than the Shelbys combined.

"Oh, bite me, Theodora."

Thomas physically cringed at the oh-so common bickering between husband and wife; Bash always had excuses as to why he was never home, usually by the Cut, or with the Shelbys uncle, Charlie, looking after the horses. Anywhere his wife wouldn't be seen dead near- places with too much dirt or too many common folk around.

"I'm going to see Charlie." That was Bash's go to excuse to leave and he'd always stick to it, the moment Lola shows up in Charlie's Yard, is the day Hell freezes over- or the day someone dies.

Probably not even then, actually.

"Right- so I'll see you when you come back from war, then? Because you can never stay in a room with me for more than a minute, are you a puff? Do you prefer the company of other me-" Dora was cut off by the sharp slap from Polly Grey, there was no way she was going to let the harlot slate her nephew without repercussions.

"Watch your mouth- this isn't your home, Theodora. The moment Bash leaves Small Heath, we all know you'll run back to your parents."

The cold hard truth seemed to hit a nerve, her face contorted from a scowl to a fake pout. Polly Grey didn't care, Ada Shelby didn't bat an eyelid and Martha- well, she simply turned her back to the Fake Shelby without a care. The two Male Shelbys had already left, without hesitation- the slap was enough to witness for one day.

"You'll regret that, Elizabeth Grey. You'll regret that!"

With that, the women left the hysterical Dora without a care, not even batting an eyelid; but little Finn had a better idea, picking up a glob of mud mixed with either beer or water and threw it at her rather pale dress before running off to find Thomas and Bash.

Boys will be boys, right?