The Me You Can See [1] (T. Shelby/OC) BWWM✅

Chapter 1 - Danny Whizz-Bang

"Thank you, Anna" Claire, one of the younger girls at the brothel comments as Anna packs up the bag with the herbs that she'd used to help take down Claire's swelling.

Claire's eye was swollen shut and there was a large, dark bruise on her cheek. Anna knows that it would change colours until it fully healed but that doesn't mean seeing it is nice for her.

Anna-Maria's mother, Annabella, had been a woman of medicine and she managed to share with her daughter some of the knowledge that she had.

Annabella had wanted to become a nurse and help people but she had been refused because of her race.

Annabella would always tell her daughter that she'd have to work twice as hard because she was black and a woman in a world that hated people for being either or both of those things.

"It's my pleasure, Claire" Anna replies, "just take care of yourself, okay?" she says as the younger girl nods at this.

Anna doesn't consider herself a doctor or even a nurse but she's always been gifted with the eagerness to learn and know and that usually meant that she wanted to learn to the best of her abilities.

Her father used to tease that she was just like her mother but Anna likes to think that she was like both of them. Her mother taught her how to nurse people back to health to the best of her abilities and her father taught her how to read, write and count.

"Of course" Claire nods but they both know that she'd be taking more customers throughout the day. Anna doesn't hold it against her.

It's her livelihood.

"I'll tell Polly about what happened here" Anna says to her.

Technically the person that needs to be told is Tommy but she hated his guts so that'll happen when hell freezes over.

⚜️The Me You Can See⚜️

"Mornin' miss Williams" Harry Fenton greets Anna when she makes her way into The Garrison Pub, "the usual?" he asks her as she nods at this.

The bar wasn't technically opened yet but there was an exception for her since she worked with the Peaky Blinders.

"Yes please, thanks Harry" she says as he pours her some coffee.

The pub was in no way a café but Anna usually came there for coffee, it was on the truly rare days when she'd go there for alcohol.

"Busy morning, ma'am?" he asks politely as he pours her the coffee.

Harry liked Anna. He thinks that she's a nice lady.

She was a good woman with a steady head on her shoulders and even though she worked for the Peaky Blinders she didn't go out of her way to show people that she was friends with them.

In fact anyone who didn't know her would make the mistake of assuming that she wasn't dangerous and there could be no greater mistake on their part than that one.

"No more than usual" Anna replies as she shoots him a grateful smile for the coffee, "the boys been by yet?" she asks him.

"Arthur came by for a drink" he reveals. Arthur usually spent the entire day drunk out of his mind. She has no idea how he even managed to walk given how much he drank but he claimed that it helped to 'numb' him. "You missed him by a couple'a minutes too" he adds.

"And John?"

"Haven't seen him yet" Harry informs her.

He doesn't bother telling her about Tommy because he's well aware that they aren't even remotely friends as Anna takes a sip of her coffee only for Danny Whizz-Bang to burst into the pub, screaming loudly about mud and Germans as he overturns the tables as Anna hops out of her seat.