Coraline Murphy

13.

Tommy felt weary as he ran his hand through his hair. Having just been told by polly that Freddie and Ada weren't leaving town, he now had to worry about that too, and the fact that he'd promised Moss that they'd be gone.

On top of that, he was still reeling from his argument with Coraline. They'd never argued like that before, and he laid in bed replaying their conversation over and over in his brain.

He couldn't get over the fact that she'd contacted someone other than him when she needed help. For the majority of their lives, she'd gone to him and his family in times of trouble, just as they too had relied on her. He smiled wryly thinking of how she'd squared up to someone almost twice her height who had been teasing a 10 year old Ada.

And who even was the Sol fella? Coraline had called him a business associate of her father's, and if he was anything to go by, he didn't trust him. How could Coraline have trusted him when she was at her weakest?

The bigger question he was asking himself, was why hadn't he looked for her himself? He knew she'd been taken to the medics tent, and it was bound to have been only a matter of time before they realised she was a woman - surely she'd have been easy to find. So why hadn't he looked for her?

He knew the answer. Whilst he didn't know where she was, there was a chance she was still alive. He hadn't looked for fear of discovering news he'd dreaded; that she'd never recovered from her injuries.

When sleep finally came to Tommy, it wasn't peaceful. All of a sudden he was back in the trench with a wound where a bullet had grazed his arm, and a lifeless soldier on the ground beside him. The sky was dark and stormy, the last of the days natural light being snuffed out by the heavy clouds and smoke-filled air.

It was eerily quiet; Tommy could hear his thoughts knocking around his head as if they were being spoken aloud - where was he? What was going on?

"Tommy?"

The breathy whisper of his name, so quiet that he almost missed it amidst the noise of his own brain, just caught his attention. He looked down at the soldier, taking in their youth, the spreading red over their dark uniform, their deep blue eyes.

"Coraline." His stomach lurched and he pushed himself to lean over her. "Coraline, what's happening? Why are we back here?"

"Back here? Tommy, are you okay?"

"You shouldn't be here - we shouldn't be here."

"Tommy, you're hurt." She reached up, placing a gentle hand on his arm above his wound. "Let me help you."

"No, no, Coraline, lie still." He pushed her gently back when she tried to sit up, grimacing as his fingers came back slick with her blood.

He looked around desperately for signs of allied help - surely they'd be here by now? There'd been no gun fire for a while.

Tommy turned his face back to Coralines, noting how her skin had paled further. He could see the blood oozing from her chest, spreading over her army issue coat.

"Coraline, look at me." He held her chin in with the hand of his good arm. "Last time, you survived this, okay? You can do it again."

She stared up at him, her eyes showing her confusion. "Tommy, I don't understand."

"This is just a dream. This is just a dream." Tommy repeated to himself as if saying it over and over might wake him from this nightmare.

"Sir?"

He gripped her chin tighter, noting that her eyes were starting to lose focus.

"It's me, Rory, it's Tommy."

"I knew someone called Tommy once," she spoke softly, her voice barely audible. "I took a bullet meant for him. I almost died, and it was his fault. I pushed him out of the way."

He looked at her in horror as she continued. "I loved him," she said. "But he chose someone else. Someone better. I was worth nothing."

"That's not true, Coraline," his hands were starting to tremble; her breathing was getting shallower. "I didn't choose her. It's just business."

"I took a bullet for Tommy Shelby, and he took another woman."

"Coraline, please," he saw one of his tears land on the dreary green of her uniform before being absorbed by the fabric. "Don't say this - it's not true. Its always been you. It always will be. I... I love you, Coraline."

Her eyes had closed, and as he leaned his ear over her chest, he realised she'd stopped breathing. With a shaking hand, he pressed his fingers against her neck, just as he had done almost a year ago in the war, and found nothing.

Without a moment's hesitation, he pushed himself onto his knees so that he was perpendicular to her body, and laced his fingers together on the top of her chest. He started to push down, as hard as he dared, willing it to force her heart to pump what little blood she had left inside of her around her body.

His wounded arm was making him dizzy with the pain, but he could not, would not stop. For what felt like hours, he continued chest compressions on his Coraline, pleading with her not to leave him, before finally, he cried out for help, falling to her side, unable to continue any longer.

"Tommy?"

He looked around from where he lay to see where the voice was coming from.

"Tommy!"

Tommy's eyes shot open, and he saw Danny staring down at him in concern. "You alrigh', Tommy?"

Trying to catch his breath, Tommy sat up quickly, taking in his surroundings. He wiped his hand over his sweat coated forehead as Danny peered at him in concern. "Your girl alright, Tommy? You were shouting for her."

"Shes fine," tommy replied gruffly. "I'm fine. What do you need?"