If I Lay Here

Small Heath, Birmingham, 1921

Lucy Shelby wasn't like her family. At least, not in the traditional way. They were loud, they rather liked a fight, and they most definitely didn't care about education the way Lucy did. All these things aside, Lucy Shelby loved her family more than life itself. 

Finn, her twin brother, was older than her by 13 minutes and absolutely refused to let her forget it. Now at the age of 14, he'd also grown a considerable bit taller than her, even besting Tommy for height. Being the two youngest in the family had been difficult for him. He wasn't taken seriously and hated being ordered around, so he used his 13 minutes of "maturity", as he so fondly called it, to try to tell his sister what to do as well. Now, Lucy may have been much more reserved than the rest of her family, but she was not one to let others walk over her. She'd told Finn to shove his "maturity up his arse" on many an occasion. 

Today was a perfect example of this. Today was Freddie Thorne's funeral and incidentally, the day their pub was blown up. Lucy watched as Arthur gave Tommy the news at the funeral. He hadn't outwardly reacted, but Lucy could tell it was bad news as his eyes darkened and he motioned Finn over, whispering in his ear and nodding towards Lucy. 

"Finn, what's going on?" Lucy questioned as he made his way back towards her. 

"Nothing for you to worry about." Grabbing her arm gently, he led her towards one of their cars, Isiah already trailing behind. "Tom just wants us to head home now." 

"Do I look stupid to you?" She asked as she stopped in her tracks, him still slightly pulling on her arm. "I know something's not right." 

"Listen Lu, he wants us home. If you shut up and do as you're told for once, I'll tell you once we're in the car."  

Isiah opened up the door for Lucy and helped her in. Giving him a small smile in thanks, she immediately turned to her brother for information. Sighing, Finn filled her in as Isiah began the drive back to Watery Lane. 

"Look, I don't know much, but someone blew up the Garrison. We don't know who and we don't know why, so Tommy wants everyone home until we can figure out what happened. And don't ask anymore questions because I don't know anything else." 

Lily didn't respond. She sat in silence, pondering what this could mean. She knew her brothers' business wasn't exactly legal, which did tend to stir up a fair bit of trouble. But she also didn't think that they were on the outs with anyone. The Lees hadn't bothered them since John had married Esme and that god-awful Irish inspector had left town around the same time Grace had.

"Well, who do you think could have done it?" She finally questioned Finn.

"What did I just say? I said I don't know." He snapped back at her.

"I'm not asking what you know, I'm asking what you think." She quipped back. Finn was privy to many more family meetings than she was and she wondered if he might have some insider information that she was missing. 

"Lu, I think he'd tell you if he knew. He's worse at keeping a secret than you are." Isiah laughed from the front seat.

"I can keep a secret just fine, thank you very much!" Lucy bristled a bit, thinking back on Ada's romance with Freddie and how she, at only 11 years of age, kept this secret from her four brothers and supernaturally intuitive aunt. 

"Besides, we don't even know if it's a threat. The Garrison's just been fitted for gas. Perhaps gas and electricity don't mix! I'm sure Tommy would agree with me if we just stopped quickly to talk to him. I wanted to spend at least five minutes with my nephew today, you know." 

"Alright Lucy! Enough! When Tommy gives us an order, we follow it. You know that's for our protection as well as his. He could he be safe if he's distracted by not knowing if you're in a safe place?"  

That shut Lucy up. She knew Finn was right, and even though she wasn't happy about the missed time that she should have been spending with her nephew, she knew better than to disobey a direct order from Tommy. As they pulled down Watery Lane, Finn signed and opened the door to help her out. Isiah bid them a quick farewell, saying he'd park the car and then head back to his own home a few doors down. 

Finn nudged Lucy a bit as they walked into the empty house. "I know you're just asking questions because you're worried, but maybe a game of snap will take your mind off of it, yeah?" He knew her too well. Inside her chaotic mind, she needed reasons for everything that happened. It's why she asked so many questions and tried to gain as much information as she could. Everything had to have a purpose or it drove her mad. 

Lucy brewed them both a cup of tea before joining Finn at the kitchen table. She could put aside her worries for a few minutes as her competitive side came out with a vengeance, another added bonus of being one of six siblings.