Roguish Women- Tommy Shelby

The End

            Tommy had another seizure on the ship back to England. He left his cousin's body in Miquelon, refusing to make any more arrangements for Michael, not even in death. Tommy thought about his sons, thought about Kate as he fell to the ground of his cabin. His body seized, stuck in a prison of his own mind. He curled into himself, trembling as he tried to regain control. He just had to get control again.

~~~~

Spring had broken by the time Kate got word from Tommy again. It was a short telegram sent to her in Margate.

Landed in Southampton. One last thing to take care of.

Love.

Tommy.

~~~~

The explosion rocked Warwickshire for miles. Tommy didn't look back as his estate erupted into fire. The horses were moved to Margate, along with the caravan. It was all he needed. All he ever needed, the open air, horses, the wagon, and his family.

How twisted things had become, how clouded his judgment had become. It was all too much and he was desperate to free himself from the shackles he'd been locked in for years. Granted, they were shackles he'd put on himself.

~~~~

"Daddy!" Henry and Jack ran across the beach to get to Tommy who was coming down from the pier.

The man dropped to his knees, gathering the boys into his arms. He held them for a long time, kissing their cheeks and coming to terms with how big they'd gotten in the years he'd been away. But they remembered him and that was all he could ask for.

"So tall, aye?" He sat back on his heels, looking over the twins. Henry's hair was still white-blonde, Jack's hair was nearly black as ink and had a bit of a wave to it. Their blue eyes were vibrant in the budding spring sunlight. "Missed you two, missed you more than I could possibly even say. I'm sorry." His chest was tight with grief over lost time and joy because of the reunion.

"Tom."

He looked past the twins and saw his wife approaching. The years had been kind to Kate. She had been so broken as she ran from her past. Her love and adoration for her family had rebuilt her, creating a warm, loving person with everything to live for. In all that she'd been through, she'd only grown stronger.

Her blonde hair was pinned up, a few pieces pulled loose because of the coastal wind. She wore a simple linen blouse and a knee-length skirt. A far cry from the decadent and gaudy costume she wore in the Moulin Rouge when they first met. She was starting to develop laugh lines around her eyes yet she still looked just as youthful as before, with the same coy glint in her eyes.

She smiled when she saw him which brought Tommy more relief than he could have ever imagined. He stood up and met her halfway.

"You're staying?" She whispered as he hugged her.

"Yeah." He answered. "I'm staying." Was his work done? Perhaps not. He'd always been working toward a goal that was always off somewhere in the distance. The sweet victory that he would know when he finally reached it. But with every passing year and every convoluted plan, it felt like that end got farther and farther away from him. Maybe there was no end. It was something Kate had accused him of many years ago. She knew he would never be satisfied, never be sated. His life finally boiled down to two options. Give up his futile plan and retire to the life he never thought he deserved or work on that plan until it killed him.