SPEAK NOW | peaky blinders

06

Ana looked up at her mum, "And this strange woman's sister is who exactly?"

"A trickster," Thea responded passing her a handful of documents. "She pries off vulnerable women, started in the war then mentioned something about a Shelby looking for her children. So then I realised she was on about Polly and given everything she's done for us I thought I would try and figure out where her kids are." Ana flicked through the certificates looking for Polly's name.

"What exactly am I looking for?" Ana asked. "Did she mention any names?"

"No. Just keep looking for Polly's name."

"How many weeks pregnant are you now?" Ana asked.

"Sixteen," Thea smiled. "Pol says I'm having a girl."

"I'm going to have a baby sister?" she squealed, accidentally knocking over the pile of documents which ended up being for the better. "Oh! I found Pol's name!"

Thea's head whipped up, "Which one? Her son or daughter?"

"Daughter," she replied scanning over. "But she died in Australia a while ago."

"Right," the older woman nodded. "Keep looking for her son."

Ana looked up to the clock that was on the wall and let out a sigh, "We've been here for three hours. How did you even get all these documents?"

"Used the your dad being a blinder and borrowed these from the parish council," she shrugged. "Are you sure there is no death record for her son?"

"Yes, mum. I can read you know," she rolled her eyes.

"Don't get snappy with me, I'm only bloody asking," Thea rolled her eyes.

"Well I wouldn't be sat here looking through the adoption certificates if he was dead would I?" Ana's eyes immediately widened and her jaw clenched. She'd just ratted herself out. "Fuck."

Thea stilled and dropped the piece of paper she was holding, "You already knew he wasn't dead didn't you that's why you moved straight onto the adoption certificates." Ana refused to meet her mum's eye's. "Anastasia Maria Kingston."

"Not the full name," she groaned, placing her head in her hands. "Yes I knew but-"

"No. No but's. You lied to me," Thea crossed her arms.

"Because Tommy told me too."

Thea raised an eyebrow, "So now you listen to Tommy?"

"No but it's in Pol's best interests that we keep it a secret and I found it," she responded, holding up two pieces of paper. "Michael Gray born to Elizabeth Gray and then that's his adoption paper."

"And you're sure that's him?" Thea asked, ignoring the footsteps that got closer to the door.

"I've seen him and according to Tommy he looks more like his dad than Pol."

"You've seen him?" she asked in a teasing manner.

"Yes," Ana sighed.

"And?"

"He's uh attractive, nothing like Jack."

"And?"

"And what? I can't act on anything because of Jack," she shrugged.

"Me and your dad are working on a way around it," Thea sighed. "I promise we'll get you out of it."

"I should have listened to you and stayed away."

"Maybe so," Thea shrugged. "You know, me and you are a lot more alike than we realise."

"How so?" she asked, her elbows leaning on the table.

"Well my mum, your grandma, told me to stay away from the Solomon's boy and I didn't. So because of that I agreed to marry him because if I didn't then me getting disowned was for nothing. I met your dad a few months before the wedding and well fell for him but we couldn't act on those feelings so we remained friends and then I invited to the wedding and he objected which Alfie wasn't happy about obviously and we called off the wedding when we were at the alter and he let me go," Thea told her. "Then your dad borrowed the money from Oliver and Liz and we couldn't pay back in the time they wanted it so we made the deal that our firstborn's marry each other."

"And you told me to stay away from Jack and I didn't and now I have to marry him but you're not disowning me right?" Ana asked to make sure.

"No, we're not disowning you," Thea chuckled. "Who know's you might up have a love like mine and your dad's."

"Maybe," the brunette shrugged and turned her attention to the nurse who was looking to Thea with a panicked look.

"What is it?" Thea asked.

"It's your husband," she announced.

"Dad?" Ana asked, her face paling. The Kingston duo jumped up and ran after the nurse.

"How bad?" Thea asked.

"Bad," the nurse whispered making sure Ana didn't hear.

"Ana," Thea placed her hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, I need you to go home or to John's or even Polly's but I need you to go now and I promise I will ring you as soon as I know anything about him."

"But-"

"Now is not the time for but's," she cut her daughter off. "Go now."

Ana reluctantly left the hospital but ended up waiting outside where Isaiah and Finn found her. "Ana?" Isaiah asked. Ana looked up wiping her eyes. "What happened?" he asked.

"There's something wrong with my dad," she sniffed. Finn and Isaiah shared a look before Isaiah sat next to her and Finn disappeared inside the hospital.

ೃ⁀➷

Thea gasped when she saw the state of her husband, "What happened?"

"I'm fine," he coughed.

"Tell me what happened," Thea repeated more sternly.

"Oliver Robinson is very pushy about Ana and Jack getting married and I said it would happen when Ana feels comfortable since they pressured them to get engaged when they were sixteen," he sighed.

The Kington's turned their head to the door where Finn was knocking, Thea opened the door. "She's worried about her dad and you can't blame her since you were in the hospital three weeks ago," Finn told the woman standing in front of him.

"He'll be fine," Thea attempted to reassure him. "Tell Ana I'll ring her in an about an hour."

Once Finn had left Thea turned back to her husband, "Is she in danger?"

"No, Tommy won't let anything happen to her," Henry told her. "She's safe."

ೃ⁀➷

Ana paced the betting shop, Polly staring her down. "Ana, pacing isn't helping," Esme sighed.

"I can't lose my dad," she shook her head. "I've already nearly lost my mum four times."

"Your dad will be fine," Esme stood up and walked up her stopping the teen's pacing. Polly had disappeared out of the shop when the phone began ringing the teen racing to it.

"Mum?"

"He's fine," Thea responded and Ana let out a sigh of relief. "I've got to get back to work now but I'll be home soon."

"Where's Tommy?" Ana asked Esme after putting the phone down.

"In his office," Esme replied. The teen making her way to his office.

"I need you to sort out the Robinson's and quick," Ana told him.

"I'm busy," Tommy replied, not looking up.

"And my dad is in the hospital and it has the Robinson's written all over it and you said you'd help," Ana reminded him, watching him sigh and look up.

"I'll deal with it when I can."

"Just remember, he dies. So do you," she told him before walking out.