For 1i2h3a4t5e6m7e

He had to be dreaming.........right? This was a continuation of the drunken hallucination from the night before..........wasn't it? But the soft hair felt so real. It felt as soft as it had the night that he had ballsed everything up. And it even smelt the same; the soft odour of flowers drifting up and filling his senses. The skin............it was warm, wonderfully warm. The kind of warm that would be nice to wake up to in the morning; the kind of warm that you would want to place your arm around and pull close to you in bed, to help you fight the nip of cold in the air. But it couldn't be (Y/n)............it couldn't be the beautiful school teacher that he had pushed away..........could it?

"Just five more minutes............Hector won't mind............" The vision by his side hummed sleepily, as Arthur's fingers brushed delicately over her cheek. The sound of a man's name coming from her lips, making his already broken heart, break all the more; the thought that the woman that he had lost, had found herself someone to love, making all his worst fears come true.

"(Y/n)................?" Arthur said softly, as he swallowed at the large lump that had formed in his throat. The oldest Shelby finding himself smiling for the first time in nearly two years, as the lady by his side murmured slightly. It obvious that she wasn't overtly pleased about being roused.

"(Y/n), luv.................." Arthur spoke again. The ex-sapper himself, amazed that his tone could sound quite so sweet. The older man forgetting about his aching head and body, as the school teacher slowly moved. (Y/n) stretching slightly, as she sat up.

"Mister Shelby............." (Y/n) suddenly blurted out, instantly waking as she realised that Arthur was looking at her. The smile slowly disappearing from his visage, as she pushed herself away from the bed and got to her feet.

"Well, at least you made it though the night. I'll go and find Tommy..........." She continued, before turning and making her way to the door.

"(Y/n)............is that really you............" Arthur called out, as the school teacher reached for the doorknob.

"Of course its me................."

"But..........but why are you back..............?" The oldest Shelby son continued, as he pulled back the sheets and slowly lowered his feet to the cold floor; shakily making his way over to where she stood.

"Tommy came to find me. Told me what you had been doing to yourself. For some reason he thought that I might be able to help you. That I might be able to dissuade you from taking the path that you seemed to have chosen. Though how I, a simple, boring school teacher could do that, I don't know. Now, you should go and freshen up a little. I tried to clean you as best I could last night, but I am afraid that you still smell like a mixture of a brewery and a sewer." (Y/n) explained, before turning back and opening door to the room.

"(Y/n)..............." Arthur said, as he caught her arm.

"Yes, Mister Shelby...................?"

"Thank you.................." The oldest Shelby simply said, as (Y/n) pulled her arm away from him.

"There is nothing to thank me for. I haven't done anything. Now, I will go and find Tommy." The school teacher explained, before quickly closing the door behind her.

                                                      >>---------------------------------<<

(Y/n) closed her eyes as she slumped against the wooden ingress. She hadn't meant to be so cruel; it wasn't really her; but Arthur had hurt her, and she wanted to hurt him in return, despite every part of her feeling the need to pull him into her arms so that she could hold him tight. Despite how much she wanted to tell him that she still loved him. No, this was the only way. She would do all she could to help him, to dissuade him from the self destructive path that he had chosen; but after that............after that, she would go back to the farm. She would do all she could to forget about Birmingham, the Shelbys, and make a new life for herself. She would find a man to love, one that would be loyal only to her; (Y/n) sure that Albert would happily fit that bill if she were to ask him.

"Miss...............?" A cheery little voice suddenly said. The former school teacher opening her eyes to see a smiling young Shelby looking up at her.

"Oh Charles.................." (Y/n) replied, as she fell to her knees; the boy throwing his arms around her.

"Have you come to be our teacher again, Miss? I don't like Mister Martin.......none of us do. He's not a good teacher like you.........."

"I.............I would very much like to, Charles. I miss you..........all of you. But............for now I am here to help your uncle Arthur. I promised your father that I would do all I could. So, why don't you show me where he might be; and after that, you can tell me all about school, Mister Martin and what you have planned for Christmas." (Y/n) replied, doing her best to make the young man think of something other than her returning full time to Small Heath. Charlie taking her hand and leading her to the dining room, where he knew that his father would be having breakfast.

                                                     >>----------------------------------------<<

Tommy sat in his usual chair at the head of the table; his breakfast growing cold and his cigarette burning down to his fingers. He hadn't slept all night, the moment that he had been tempted to kiss (Y/n), going around and around in his mind. As much as he had wanted to do it, he had brought the former school teacher back to Birmingham for just one reason, and that was Arthur. Tommy only able to imagine what his older brother would do, if he were to discover that he had feelings for (Y/n).

He had thought about going to join her as she sat by Arthur's bedside; but what good would that have done him. No, he would just have to accept the fact that if (Y/n) did actually return to Small Heath, it would not be because of him. It would be because of the feelings that she still had for his brother.

"Good morning............." A voice came. Tommy looking up to see (Y/n) and his son stood on the far side of the table.

"Just to let you know...........he's awake.............."