Cross my heart - Tommy Shelby

•9•

Warning: swearing, injuries

Tommy walked with a purpose, the purpose was to get home uninterrupted.

If it were anywhere else in the country it would be safe to say that it would be unlikely that people would be out of bed at this time of the morning.

Small Heath, however, the complete opposite. There were whores and homeless lurking on the street corners. Drunks and drug addicts alike had been kicked out of pubs and into the blackened streets as the night waned into early morning.

But Tommy didn't have to worry about being stopped, he practically ran Birmingham. If anything people were almost repulsed by him, as they immediately moved away as he strode back to Watery lane.

Is average 15 minute journey took him 7 minutes this time, his mind was reeling and his fingers urged him to begin turning the classified pages.

So with that thought in mind he unlocked the front door and entered the house as quietly as he could.

The last thing he wanted was Aunt Polly smacking him for waking Finn up, that and having John and Arthur say "I told you so."

So instead he went straight to his room, locking the door behind him he switched his gas lamp on. And put the thick file on his bed.

He couldn't get his mind around why his girl had a classified British file full of documents on Eliza.

The last he had heard about any sort of files being used was from Arthur, when he claimed Campbell had all the Shelby boys' files at hand and was willing to use information against them.

But Grace wouldn't betray him would she? She seemed sweet in nature, hardened and strong- but sweet.

If his brothers could hear Tommy now, they'd say he was turning a blind eye because the Irishwoman was a good fuck. That he was putting the entire family at risk because of a girl that he'd known for less than 6 months.

He lit up another cigarette, all of the thinking was causing tension to rise in his muscles. Tommy didn't want to think about putting his family at risk or accusing his girl of betrayal, but alas his thoughts came back to the same conclusion. It is possible that all of the business with Campbell was linked in some way.

He slumped on his bed, placing his reading glasses on his face as he took a deep breath and turned the first page.

It was the picture of Eliza, hair tied up and her flight suit on. She had a hardened look on her face as she conveyed professionalism and seriousness, but he could see in her eyes that she was proud of her accomplishments.

The print below it had all of the girl's personal details.

Date of Birth: 10th December 1893

Tommy hadn't known she was only two years younger than him, he had though she was younger than John- judging by her smaller frame and bossy temperament.

He read on.

Place of birth: Kilkenny, Ireland.

Tommy was again surprised, Eliza didn't carry the signature Irish accent that Grace and Campbell did.

He briefly remembered Harry mentioning his mother was Irish and that he and his sister were born there, but other than that he would have assumed they both grew up in Small Heath.

He carried on reading. They had everything- a copy of her birth certificate, even legal documents that showed Harry as her care dependant guardian when she was younger.

They had everything and it all went into a loop of why did his Grace have this information?

He felt as if he was prying into Eliza's personal life- but his intrigue got the better of him as he continued to turn the pages.

He stopped after 30 minutes as he discovered a photo of his younger brother and Eliza, they were both in uniform and both were holding rifles as they sat on a makeshift seat of wood.

They looked grimy and tired as many soldiers did, but it looked as if they were both in fits of laughter.

It burnt a feeling of jealousy within him for some odd reason.

Tommy turned to the next page. Military records. He skimmed the page, trying to ignore the bits that felt personal and hard to read about.

That was until he read his name, he could feel his face contour into confusion. He hadn't even know Eliza then.

He immediately went to the beginning of the paragraph and read out loud. It appeared to be a mission report.

10th November 1916 Sergeant Fenton was tasked with a solo flight to take observations of a German camp north of the Somme.

Her plane was shot down at approx 0800 hours and she landed west of the German camp, when upon impact she sustained injuries.

Fenton then disposed of the camp of 47 German men, as she sustained more injuries.

She found the camps sapper tunnel and proceeded to dig continuously for 32 hours until she came into contact with the allies sapper tunnel, which at the time held Thomas Shelby, Freddie Thorne and Daniel Owen.

She sustained injuries at the hands of Thomas Shelby who mistook her for a German tunneller and later passed out as a result of extreme blood loss.

Tommy was in a state of shock. That was her, that night in the tunnel. It was Eliza who he tried to kill.

He held his head in his hands, he felt guilt that he didn't even know he was capable of.

Tommy didn't want to read on but he needed to know what happened after, he needed to know the consequences of his actions.

He turned to the next page, which showed extensive medical records.

There was a diagram which circled where she had been injured.

Three bullet wounds, one in her left kneecap, one in her right upper arm and one that had grazed her side.

A major concussion caused by impact of the crash as well as a large gash on her left thigh.

And finally a large stab wound on her shoulder- which had been caused by Tommy.

Tommy felt more guilt when he read of the amount of surgeries and time that Eliza spent at a rehabilitation home.

He allowed her to bleed out and caused one of the injuries- which was intended to be a hit to kill.

But the last straw was when he found a memo from the war office.

There was one certain letter that stood out from the rest, the one that explained that 'Thomas Shelby will be awarded a Victoria cross in your place.'

He hadn't known that he had taken the credit away from Eliza, that he had taken away her dignity and pride.

He finally understood why John and Harry had gotten so pissed off.

He had taken so much from Eliza, and he was that ignorant that he hadn't known until now. Tommy put his head into his hands once more and for the first time in years, he wept.