Lucille

It seemed that no matter how good their day in London was, Lucille and Tommy were destined to return to the muck and problems of small Heath as if nothing had happened. As they sat in the car on the way home, Lucille felt worse than she had when they went. They were leaving Dawson behind, just as they had in France, with the same promise that they'll see each other again. The only comfort that she could find, was in the fact that this time there was no war keeping them apart. Instead, she knew it would be Tommy's business of whatever sorts, and she could tell that Dawson was more interested in it that he ought to be.

When they returned to Small Heath, it wasn't late enough to be dark, but they had been gone long enough for Lucille to miss Adds. The day had been the longest she had spent away from her daughter. But she knew it would do them both good.

"There she is, Adds. Your mum."

Polly rocked the little girl in her arms as she left the house on Watery Lane, hearing the spluttering of the car. Lucille stepped over, opening her arms to take Adds in for herself as Tommy left to drop the car at Charlie's yard.

"Come quick." Polly muttered, shuffling them both into the house and through to the kitchen.

She seemed tired. Her under eyes were darker and more crinkled than they usually were, as if the obvious fatigue was weighing hem down. Polly lit herself a cigarette, having a smoke and immediately letting her eyes shut and shoulders drop before she was tensing up again and glancing toward Lucille.

"I need to tell you. Before he gets home." The words tumbled out of her bitten lips, the trace of smoke still under her nose.

"Before Tommy- has something happened Pol?"

"Yes, and I need your help telling him. He'll go mad." Polly's eyes were flirting around as she thought about how she would tell him.

"Is it Ada?"

A pit formed in the bottom of her stomach. Lucille watched as Polly nodded slowly, her eyes moving to rest on her and Adds. She looked conflicted- wanting to feel happy but not being able to from stress and worry.

"She was married this morning. To Freddie Thorne." Pol breathed out, as if it was a relief just to tell someone.

"But that's wonderful! Isn't it? Her child will have a father."

Polly shook her head, smiling slightly. If only that were the case. She'd give anything for it to be true. Lucille didn't know about the small outbreak of civil war in their family, which Polly knew would soon be hers too, and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. Aunt Pol wanted to preserve her ignorance of the reality, but at the same time knew she had to find out the truth. Later rather than sooner.

"It's not the chain of events that Tommy was pushing for." Polly settled on saying.

"But why not? This is the best version of things that could happen for Ada." Lucille exclaimed, feeling Adds begin to squirm in her arms.

"Things don't exactly work on happiness around here."

Lucille frowned. "I've realised."

Polly followed suit, her lips twisting downward as she saw the look on the woman's face. She may not have wanted to be in her own situation, but Polly didn't envy Lucille at all. 

"But that's why I need you. I tell him and you convince them that this is how things work." She said with a firm nod, pointing with her cigarette.

"I don't understand yet, Pol? What're they so messed up in that he can't let his own sister have a wedding?"

"Aw sweet." Polly stepped forward, placing a tender hand to her cheek, stroking her smooth skin softly. "There are things happening with him that even I don't know about."

She pulled away, taking Adds and placing her in the cot by the sitting room and begun to rock her back and forth in it. The struggle she had seen in Polly had begun to form on Lucille's own face, her lips pulling into a flat line and brows furrowing.

"But you'll know soon enough. He'll have to tell you because he'll want to tell you. The only weakness for a man like him is love and he's got a whole lot of it for you and your daughter." Polly said.

"There's something I do understand now though." Lucille nodded surely.

"What's that?"

She broke out into a sweet smile. "I understand why he talked so fondly of you."

"Stop it, you'll make me blush." Polly wafted her with a hand, her other reaching for her own cheek and feeling it heat up.

"It's true. I don't think any of us would get through anything with out you and I've only been here for a little while."

Before Polly could reply, the door was opened and they dropped into a anticipating silence.

"Ready?" Polly whispered and Lucille nodded.

Tommy walked through the door, his hands automatically moving to remove the cap from his head, the other ruffling through the hair on the top of his head. He set it down, not noticing the two staring at him expectantly, until he turned to walk through the house, stopping in front of them.

"Alright?" He said, his eyes taking in their tense figures and hands clasped together.

"Are you armed?" Polly asked.

"No."

Her eyes fluttered to Lucille, who nodded comfortingly, before speaking, "Alright, I'll tell you." She paused. "Ada and Freddy Thorne we're married today. They defied your orders, they haven't left the city."

Tommy was silent, which scared her more than if he had thrashed out in anger. He was still too, his hands gripping against the bench that he leaned against, knuckles burning a furious white.

"We can deal with it." Polly said hurriedly.

"What?"

"Me and Lucille. We can deal with it." She said, and Lucille nodded along.

Tommy looked toward her, eyes trailing through her blonde hair, still messed from the car journey home, and toward her sparkling eyes, set with a pleading gaze. His jaw tightened, not able to look away from the hold that she had on him. Lucille was so innocent in it all: she didn't know the depth of the conflict, the history of his problem. He couldn't let the image she had of him be tainted any more than it had been.

"No," he said firmly, shaking his head in finality.

"You're going to have to let her into this business one way or another, Thomas." Polly snapped, her eyes suddenly darkening as she glared pointedly toward him.

"Where are they?" He asked, ignoring the look and threat.

"Freddie's comrades have safe houses, why do you want to know?"

"I want to buy them flowers," he said, his voice mocking and laced with a poison dropped from the fangs of a snake, "Why do you think?"

"Would it be so bad if they stayed?" Lucille asked.

He breathed out, his eyes closing. It was as if he had realised something. "I promised I'd run Freddie out of town."

Polly's head snapped toward him.

"Promised who?"

"I told the coppers Freddie wouldn't come back. It was part of the deal." He said, refusing to meet the eyes of both of the women.

"What Bloody deal? What happened to family votes? Family meetings?"

Lucille was selfishly pleased to hear that even Polly hadn't heard a word about this business that he had decided to take up. But it still hurt, to know that he was keeping so much from her despite the fact that they had agreed to share themselves with each other. To Lucille, that meant everything, not just their love. It seemed that Tommy wouldn't agree.

"If you let us deal with Ada and Freddie, it'll end in peace." Polly said, her voice low and quite, taking another approach in gaining his approval.

"You've had your fill of war Tommy, don't push yourself into another." Lucille's hand was over his as she spoke. He looked up to her once again, his face stone cold, except for the minute glint in his eye. 

They don't understand. Tommy couldn't help but think it. He didn't blame them wholly but that didn't stop him from feeling the anguish that their pleading caused him.

War. They compared his business to the immense conflict that he had faced little over a year ago. Many failed to see the good things that were brought with it. She had been lead to him by war. It had given him a family, a child, in the darkest of times. It wasn't the act of war that made him sick in the head- it was the things that they were fighting for, the people that controlled them.

But war, he had always thought, would be a good thing for him if he was in control. They would soon see. The war on the streets would lead only to good things, like Lucille. There would be no more bad, no more shovels, no more guns. No more fighting.

"You Get Freddie out of town Pol, or I'll deal with him myself." He said, before turning in his heal quickly and disappearing from the room.

Lucille stood frowning before she spoke through the heavy silence that had been left. "That could have gone worse."

"But Christ, it could have gone better." Polly said, her brows furrowed and eyes worried.

It was only three days later and both Polly and Lucille were walking toward the flat where Ada was hiding, the younger woman hurrying behind with Adds in her arms as she raced off. They had decided that it would be best if Polly talked, being the only one of the pair who could ever be called intimidating, while Lucille would be there as a comfort as well as a reason to keep things tame. She had agreed easily, having never met Freddy Thorne and only wanting to be there for the sake of Ada, who she already knew would hate the arguing.

They stepped into a meagre flat, made only of a single room. There was an iron framed bed in the corner by the musty window and a cluttered fire place covered by odd, ripped papers and old cups of tea. They stood for a few minutes, gazing hesitantly around at the mess, until Ada walked in, shortly followed by a man who glared instantly at the sight of her Aunt.

"What the bloody hell is she doing here? Who are you?" Freddy looked between the two, clearly offended.

Polly stepped forward as she pulled a white package from her purse. She handed it over, watching with a smirk as she stared unsurely, his lips pulled into a bitter sneer.

"Two hundred pounds, Freddie." She said.

"For what?"

Ada stepped forward, Lucille's hand brushing comfortingly against her own. She looked tired, or more bored of her situation than anything else. At the same time, she appeared worried, like she knew what his response would be and how the conversation would go down.

"For us. For a honeymoon that goes on forever." She said.

"Where did it come from?" He asked, still eyeing them warily.

"Family funds."

"Pockets of widows and desperate men." He snapped and Ada frowned.

She stepped forward, her hand reaching for his.See sense Freddie."

"Tommy is not going to let this rest. Times like these a communist in the family is bad for business. You have to leave the city." Polly said, only making Freddy's temper worse.

"You think I can't handle Tommy Shelby?"

"You can't. I'm having trouble these days and I'm twice the man you are."

"Quiet, you'll unsettle Adds." Ada said, her arm wrapped around Lucille's elbow, her hands shaking as she pleaded with him.

"Adds?" Freddy's head snapped toward the child. "Tommy's bloody child!"

Though he had quietened, his jaw was still clamped shut and eyes darkened. He was shaking his head, only just letting a bitter laugh escape from his lips.

"Named after the sister he's pushing away." He said, eyes staring straight toward his wife.

"I went into town. The Cunard office. I booked you both tickets for the next boat, from Liverpool to New York." Polly took the attention away, watching as Freddy shook his head.

"America Freddie. They've already had their revolution, we'll not need to bother." Ada said, a hopeful smile on her lips.

"Would you ladies at least let a man sleep on it?"

Ada sighed as she moved to the side, waiting for Polly to pass after she had finished staring at him resentfully. Lucille slipped past first, her hand brushing the younger woman's arm.

"It'll be okay in the end."

She just hoped it would.

Unedited
Working on making chapter much longer since I have a
tendency to make them
quite short.
Sorry for the wait.
M x