I arrived home with thoughts of Bessie.

On how lonely she was now she was left without her husband, without her family and with a baby on the way.

I was consumed with my thoughts that it took me a second to realise it was far too quiet when I returned home and closed the door behind me. It was for that reason I thought something was wrong.

I came down into the kitchen slowly, reaching out to the house with my magic. Nothing seemed wrong with the house, the magic was as strong as ever, and nothing seemed amiss.

I wasn't too surprised to find Tommy sitting at the table, one hand holding his cigarette while the other playing with my teacup from this morning. I knew he was looking at my tea leaves, trying to figure out what they meant. I knew he couldn't read tea leaves, that was only something Polly knew how to do.

"Where's Thomas-J? I was hoping to get a couple of cuddles in before he went down to bed," I said, skirting around the elephant in the room.

Tommy took a drag from his cigarette before locking eyes with me. He looked at me with crystal clear eyes and I almost felt like I'd done something wrong.

"He had a long day, was chasing Arthur around the office all morning and was climbing all over John this afternoon," he muttered, putting his cigarette out in the ashtray.

"I thought Ada was meant to have him today."

"Aye, she was but no one could find her." Huh, that was unusual. When Ada made a promise to watch Thomas-J, she normally stuck to it. "Andromeda." God I hated it when he called me that. I felt like a naughty child being scolded. "You need to take that potion."

Oh.

He was thinking about the pregnancy.

Taking in his face, I could tell he'd been thinking about this all day.

"Okay," I said, going over to the pantry and pulling out the hand-sized cauldron that was used to gain the result of the potion. I set the little black cauldron on the table and went back to the pantry searching for a circular bottle that held a violet potion. Finding it, I grasped it in my fingers and took it over to the cauldron. Uncorking the lid, I poured the potion into the cauldron, watching carefully as Tommy shifted in his seat. "All I have to do is add a few drops of my blood and if the potion turns a pale pink it means I'm pregnant. If it goes to a dark purple it means I'm not."

With a nod from Tommy, I picked up the needle that hung on the edge of the cauldron and pricked my finger, letting a few drops fall into the potion. We didn't have to wait long for the potion to change colour. Five seconds after my blood mixed with the potion, it changed to reveal the answer.

Pink.

It was pink.

"We're going to be okay, Thomas," I told him, grabbing hold of his face and lifting it so he could look me in the eye. "We will make this work, Tommy."

He didn't say anything but I could almost see his thoughts bouncing around in his head. He had plans, dangerous plans, plans that wouldn't be safe with a new baby on the way.

"If I could raise Thomas-J during the war when we didn't know the outcome, I can raise this baby with you in Small Heath with that inspector being around."

"Go to bed, Romy," he said, his eyes not leaving the pink potion.

"Tommy—"

"Go on, go to bed, you need your rest."

I didn't see the point in arguing with him. He had that look on his face.

As I kissed him goodnight, I knew he wouldn't be joining me for a long time if at all. This news was too much for him and I knew he needed time to wrap his head around it.

I needed time to wrap my head around it.

I loved this child already, I truly did. It was part of Tommy so how could I not love it, but it wasn't the best time for another child. I wanted to wait. At least until Thomas-J was three or four.

I wanted time with just Tommy, as selfish as that sounded, I had spent two years loving him and fearing for his life. I just needed time with him.

And now this baby was here and it felt rushed.

Don't get me wrong, I would love this child, but I didn't feel ready.

I had just started in a career I truly loved. I needed to be a nurse, it was my calling and now I felt like I was already letting everyone down.

I stepped into Thomas-J's new room, the one he would share with his cousins when they stayed over and looked over his little face as he slept in his cot.

Knowing everything I did about future Tom Riddle, I just couldn't help but love the child he was now, with two parents that adored him and a family that would die for him.

It made me wonder if his life would have been like this if someone adopted him in the original timeline, if someone loved him the way I do, would it have prevented his dark side or was he always going to end up that way?

Was it because my blood had changed him and with Tommy's blood added his whole genetic make-up made him different?

Was his soul the same?

Would he grow up to be the same charismatic young man Tom Riddle was as he planned to split his soul? Was there a darkness still inside him or had that all changed?

What would his sibling be like?

Would he or she look like him? A spitting image of their father? Would another son be a twin copy of Thomas-J?

Would our daughter look like me or Tommy?

Too many thoughts but only time could tell.

With a soft kiss to his head, I closed the door behind me and settled into bed, running my hand over Tommy's empty space wishing he'd let the thoughts in his mind go and join me tonight.

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Tuesday came and went with the promise that no one beside myself and Tommy would know about the baby.

I didn't want to tell anyone until I was further along and I knew he needed the time to get it in his head that we would have two children at the end of the year.

Wednesday morning I was setting up the Garrison with the help of Grace, while Thomas-J and Edward sat playing in the corner where I had set up toys and books for the children.

Ada was here softly talking to a couple of women that had come with biscuits they made for the drinks. She was showing them over to a table and placing two cups of tea in front of them.

"I've heard a lot of women talking about this all week," Grace said, as she organised the plates of biscuits and tea cups on the bar. "A lot of them seem happy about it."

"There's nowhere for them to go, we all need friends in this world, Grace, sometimes it takes one person to open doors to others."

I left her at the bar to ponder her thoughts and greeted the large group of women that entered the pub hesitantly. They all seemed to relax once they were sure they weren't in the wrong place - probably reassured there were no men around - and came in, most carrying small plates of food.

I didn't ask anyone to bring food with them, it was something I learnt small communities did.

By the time everyone had arrived, the Garrison was packed. The only time I had seen it like this was when a match was on or on a Friday and Saturday night.

It was around ten o'clock when Bessie walked into the pub, one arm cradling her large belly while the other was holding onto someone else's arm. I was slightly surprised when I saw Lizzie Stark enter the Garrison but smiled when she gave Bessie a reassuring smile and led her over to me.

"Good morning, Mrs Shelby," Lizzie greeted, shooting Bessie a look. "I heard about your sessions and thought Bessie could benefit from them." She pulled her cousin forward and I gave Bessie a small smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Bessie, and it's lovely to see you Lizzie."

Despite what most thought about Lizzie, I could see the struggle she had everyday. Her thoughts weren't easily hidden and I caught glimpses of them on occasion.

She wanted to help Bessie, even more so when she learnt of her husband's death and she didn't know how to do that without doing her night job. She made a good deal of money from it, a lot more than she would if she worked in the factories and it was that money that was keeping Bessie in her house and well fed.

No one knew this but Lizzie and Bessie.

And people went around judging Lizzie and they didn't even know why she was doing it.

"There isn't a lot of space left, but you can both join me at my table," I said, leading them over to where Ada was talking to Ellanora. Surprisingly, Ellanora and Phineas had decided to buy a house in Small Heath - he said it was because he liked the area and spent most of his time here anyway but Ellanora told me it was because his family lived here.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on staying," Lizzie said and I knew it was because some of the other women were staring at her, their judgement heavy in their glares.

"I would like it if you stayed," I said to her, letting her know that I didn't care about the other women.

With a nod, Lizzie held her head high and sat down with us, accepting the tea Grace brought to her.

There was a bubbling of chatter between all the women, laughter from a few tables and the excited squeals and giggles from the children in the corner.

And it all felt right.

It felt like we should be doing this, should get the time out of our busy lives to talk to each other, offer our support to everyone and let every single woman know we were there for each other.

"This looks good for Tommy," Ada said as she watched some of the women leave, happier than when they arrived as we approached the afternoon. "If the women are happy, what do the men have to complain about?"

"You're right, Ada, what do the men have to complain about?"

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Thursday morning I was woken by a warm hand resting on my lower stomach.

"I had a dream about her," Tommy muttered, his thumb gently rubbing over the non existent bump.

"Hmm," I mumbled, still clogged with sleep.

"We were all in this big house, the whole family. Me, you, John, Arthur, Ada, Polly, Newt and Alfie. There were other's with us, wives and husbands, and lots of children." I smiled at the thought of a big family. It was something familiar to us both. "We were wearing those christmas jumpers of yours, Thomas-J was about eleven and this one was nine, but there were others too, twin boys of about seven, another boy of about five, I was holding another little girl probably two and there was this little baby in your arms."

"That's a lot of children, Tommy," I muttered wondering if he was just dreaming or in touch with what his future had in store for him.

"They were all ours too," he said and I glanced at him to see a smile on his face.

Was this what he wanted? A big family?

"All seven of them?" I asked him, wondering if I'd be like Nanna Molly and popping out a bunch of children.

"She was your spitting image, just like TJ's mine." Tommy shook his head and lifted himself slightly so he could lock eyes with me. "There were a lot of children, not just ours, but other children running around and playing, they all looked happy and there was a lot of magic around us."

"There's a lot of magic around the house now, Tommy. I don't think that would ever change in the future." He hummed as his hand stayed resting on my stomach, the heat from his palm sinking into my stomach beneath my nightdress.

"There were a lot of faces I didn't recognise, two men with Polly, one older and a younger looking one, two children with Ada but no one around her at first until a man comes to her and greets her with a kiss. Newt had a woman with him, dark hair, quite tall and there was this other couple, they seemed close with Newt."

The detail he was giving about this dream had me questioning whether it was actually a dream. Most people couldn't remember these small details in their dreams but Tommy seemed to remember them all.

It had me wondering if it was more than that.

He had the magic running through his blood but there wasn't enough for it to light his magical core but perhaps it was enough to allow him to glimpse into the future like myself.

Polly had enough to allow her to talk to the spirits and her instincts were strong. Would it be possible for Tommy to have a similar ability?

"Have you come to terms with the baby then?" I asked, shifting in the bed so my back was resting against the headboard.

"I would never ask you to get rid of the baby, Romy, no matter what situation we're in. This baby is part of us, and was created from our love. I'll love her as much as I love Thomas-J." He leant over and gave me a soft kiss. "We'll manage."

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