midwife » michael gray. [completed]

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR.

     → CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR; JUDGEMENT DAY.

[Before we start, I just want to say that I think all the timelines go a bit of the window at this point so we are going to pretend that they went to prison in like May and they came home early December? Also, John will not fucking die. It is not happening, not at all. Never will in anything that i ever write, i refuse to do it and i refuse to believe that he is dead. And in my mind, John is just on a very long holiday with Esme]

Every time Hannah got a spare moment, she would be on the telephone to Tommy or down by Watery Lane, asking him about what was happening with the prison situation. There was never any progression, which was no surprise to Hannah, with Tommy claiming that he was working on it or that something had come up that had side-tracked him from sorting the mess out. Hannah often wondered what could be more important than getting his family out of jail, but then she realised that this was Tommy Shelby and the man couldn't care less about anything.

Linda had successfully given birth to hers and Arthur's baby, possibly the only positive thing to have happened over the few months that had occurred. Hannah had been able to assist at the birth, under Sister Maria's watchful eye. It felt good to be able to wear the uniform again and hold a new-born in her arms, felt like a part of her was slowly coming back. Of course, it didn't last long and she was soon put back to doing voluntary work at the hospital. Not that Hannah minded, it was usually so busy, especially on the weekends, that it kept Hannah from thinking about Michael for a few hours. It was also something that she loved to do, so that brought her slight happiness and reminded herself of what she used to be before Father Hughes came onto the scene.

"Another returned letter for you, Hannah," Betty said lightly as she handed Hannah the letter that had a bright red stamp on it.

Seen as Tommy wasn't doing much to bring his family home, Hannah had decided to try. She wasn't much of an argumentative person, and she struggled to get her points across in the letters that she sent to the local council and the courts, but she did her best and spoke with honesty and truth about every member of the Shelby family. She didn't tell them about what Father Hughes had done, but she hinted at the fact that he was a terrible person with no morals or self-respect and that Michael had acted out of self-defence. It wasn't true, of course, Michael had entered that building fully wanting to murder the Father, but it was also for closure, even if it wasn't the best way to go about it.

Unsurprisingly, Hannah had every letter returned to her. The courts and local government figures not wanting to know, or associate themselves, with the Shelby's. It didn't stop Hannah from sending the letters though, every letter returned was just another letter sent and she wasn't going to give up until all four members of the family were walking the streets of Birmingham again. Arthur deserved to know his child, John had children who were waiting for him at home, constantly asking Esme where their father was and Polly needed peace after the dreadful couple of years, she had woefully endured. Hannah just needed Michael to be home, she needed to know that he was safe and well.

Hannah's main issue was that didn't know who to speak too. She didn't hold the power that Tommy did and she didn't have the contacts that Tommy had. The sisters could possibly have been some help but they would never involve themselves. To them, the family were exactly where they belonged.

As Hannah walked through the market, collecting some vegetables for dinner, she spotted the infamous Shelby walking along the cobbled street with his cap down low and a cigarette sitting in his mouth. It was very rare that Tommy showed his face around the streets of Small Heath, preferring to stay in London or at his stately home but every now and again, he would visit back to check on how the business was doing. Hannah would also spot him hanging around the convent, more than likely to check up on her to make sure that she wasn't going off the rails.