Just a warning that there is mentions of miscarriage and child abandonment/orphans in this chapter.

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I woke up with the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

It was as if the world around me was preparing me for something bad with the brewing storm clouds over Small Heath. A cold shiver ran up my spine as I watched a couple of orphaned boys run across the street and into a dark alley.

Tugging my coat tighter around me, I ducked my head as a strong wind blew over the street trying to pull my hair from its braid.

"Nurse Shelby!" someone called over the roar of the wind. "Nurse Shelby! Help! We need help!"

I glanced over to the panicking lady hanging out of the window above the butchers screaming for me.

"Help Nurse Shelby!"

I could have argued and said it didn't feel right.

I could have told her it was my day off.

I could have turned my back on her.

I didn't because there were people staring at me and it would do no good for Tommy to have rumours about my ignoring people in need.

Rushing into the butchers where two panicked men were waiting, I looked at them both in confusion hoping they'd talk before I had to ask them what was happening.

"It's Nora, she's in labour," the elder man said, the fear clear in his eyes.

"It's too early," Nora's husband, Greg said, wringing his hands in anxiety.

I knew what they meant. Nora was only five months pregnant.

If she was in labour, there was no way this baby was going to make it.

Without saying anything to them, I dashed upstairs wishing I was at least on duty so I had my medical bag.

"Nurse Shelby," Nora's mother sighed in relief at my appearance. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she knew this baby wouldn't make it. I think she was just relieved that I was here to save her daughter.

"How long has she been having contractions?" I asked, stepping forward to take a look between Nora's legs.

What I wasn't expecting was Nora to kick out at me, her foot landing a rough kick to my stomach as she glared at me.

"Get back!" she shouted, her hands turning white from the grip she had on the blankets. "You won't take my baby."

She must have understood that there was no way her child was going to survive.

I bit my lip as I rubbed at my lower belly, rubbing where she kicked me. She looked absolutely devastated and there wasn't anything I could do for her.

"Have you called for a midwife?" I asked her mother, winching as a painful twinge shot through my body. Nora really got me good with that foot of hers.

"We were about to when we saw you," she muttered, her eyes flickering to NOra as she groaned out in pain.

"Get as much hot water as possible. Clean towels and blankets." I gathered my hair into a bun, twisting a ribbon around it to keep it in place. "I'm going to run downstairs and ask someone to get another midwife and Doctor Turner."

"The doctor?" Nora sounded heartbroken, her eyes shining with fear at the mention of the doctor.

"I'm going to be blunt with you Nora," I told her, rolling my sleeves up and giving her a stern look. "You're losing this baby and there's nothing we can do to prevent it. From the amount of blood you're too far into your labour to stop it. If you want children in the future then the doctor needs to be here to ensure there's no complications." I turned to her mother then, giving her a pointed look as she hovered in the doorway. "Mrs Goodman, if you want your daughter to survive I need you to get me hot water and clean towels."

Without another glance at the crying woman on the bed, I made my way downstairs, preparing to talk to her husband.

"Is she alright?" Greg asked as soon as I stepped back behind the counter. It astonished me that they were open and serving customers when someone they loved was going through such a loss above them.

"I'm sorry to say Mr Gibbs, but your wife is losing your baby." I found it best to be frank in these situations. It pained me so much to see their agony, I didn't need to share sympathies with them until after I had helped the best I could. "You have a couple of minutes to speak with her before we complete the procedure. Though, please wash your hands thoroughly before seeing her."

He brushed past me as quick as lightning and I gave Mr Goodman a sad smile.

With a deep breath, I stepped outside into the bleak street and shook my head as it started buzzing. There was no way I was prepared for this.

"Oi," I called out to two of the homeless boys, waving them over. They looked at each other for a moment and debated whether to run before they came over cautiously. "I'll give you a coin each if you do me a favour," I said, pulling out a coin for each of them each. "I need one of you to get Doctor Turner from the clinic and I need the other one to get Jeremiah Jesus. If you do this and come back, I'll get you both a treat from the bakers."

"Yes Mrs Shelby," they both said, nodding their heads enthusiastically, running off in opposite directions once I dropped the coins in their hands.

Taking in another deep breath, I made my way back upstairs, giving Mrs Goodman a hand with the bowl of boiling water.

"Nora, when the midwife gets her, she's going to give you something that will help with the pain, for now, I'm going to massage your tummy to help with the delivery," I told her, moving over to the bed, and raising her nightdress over her swollen stomach. "Mr Gibbs, it's best if you leave now. Someone will collect you when it's over." I felt him shift behind me before he left, a deep sigh leaving him as he went. "You might feel a little pressure but don't fight it."

I gently pressed my palm into her stomach, increasing the pressure as I massaged her tummy trying to relax the muscles. Nora was so tense it wasn't helping the process. I knew what she was doing. Clenching herself to prevent the baby from coming but it wasn't going to work.

Twenty minutes later I was happy to see Dotty rushing into the room, her medical bag bouncing against her side. She gave me a concerned look, her eyes flashing to Nora as she cried out, curling in on herself.

"Baby's coming, Dotty," I told her softly, looking up from peering between Nora's legs.

"Doctor Turner's on the other side of the city in a medical conference," she said, "I've called the hospital and they've sent an ambulance. They said it could take a couple of hours."

"We can only hope that this bleeding slows down once the baby is delivered," I muttered, shifting over so Dolly could join me at the bottom of the bed.

"I can take it from here," she said, a soft look on her face as she gave me a sad smile.

"It's alright, Dotty, I can help."

"It's your day off," she argued, nodding her head at the door indicating for me to go.

"It doesn't matter, Dotty, I'm not leaving you here without help," I snapped, flinching as another pain shot through my stomach.

"Looks like you won't have to," Dotty said as Mary came into the room, giving me a rushed smile as she sorted herself out. "Go on, I'll call on you later and let you know what happens."

She didn't need to call me later. I already knew what was going to happen.

Giving a reluctant sigh, I rose from the floor and turned to Mary.

"Jeremiah Jesus will be here soon to help with the baby." We all knew he'd be here to bless the baby even though it was born stillborn. It was something he always did for miscarrying mothers.

They both gave a grimace at the indication that Nora's miscarriage was real and I left them quickly, not bearing the tension in the room.

It was still bleak outside but there seemed to be more smog in the air.

"Mrs Shelby," a soft voice called and I looked down to see the two boys from earlier.

"Come along then lads, let's get you a treat," I muttered to them, smiling softly at the large smiles that crossed their faces.

It was only a short walk to the bakery but as we made our way there I already knew what was happening.

The cramping had started shortly after being kicked in the stomach and I knew soon, there would be bleeding.

It wouldn't be a lot. At first it would be heavy but then it would be like a period.

I didn't know how to feel about miscarrying my baby.

After seeing Nora and her devastation I felt like I couldn't experience it the same way she was.

Here I was miscarrying at three weeks and she had made it to five months.

Did I have a right to feel saddened?

"You okay, miss?"

I glanced down at the lad, taking in his dirty face, the unkept dark hair and his blue eyes.

He reminded me of Thomas-J.

Would this have been the life for my son if I'd left him without a mother?

Running around the streets stealing and starving.

"What's your name?" I asked him, ignoring the question he asked.

"Arthur, miss." Huh, he looked familiar. "Me Ma said I was named after me Da, but he didn't want me." The more I stared at him, the more he reminded me of someone I knew. "Daniel was born a couple of months before da went off to war."

"I thought you said your father didn't want you," I muttered seeing the resemblance between the two boys. It was clear now that they were brothers. And they looked like a set of brothers I knew.

"Yeah well didn't stop him from fucking Ma whenever he wanted it," he grumbled and I knew in that instant he was Arthur's boy. "Hey," he called, swatting at my hand as I clapped him over the ear.

"You watch that mouth of yours," I told him, sharing a smile with Daniel as he laughed at his brother's pain. "So you and Daniel share the same father?"

"Yeah, Ma warned us to stay away from him. Thinks we don't know who he is but I remember him when I was a baby," he grumbled and I could hear the nager in his voice.

"Would your father happen to be Arthur Shelby?"

Arthur didn't say anything but Daniel's eyes widened in fear at the mention of the name.

"Where's your mother?"

"Ma got into some trouble. Told us to leave the house as these men came." He looked over to Daniel quickly as lowered his voice. "I went back." From the sombre look on his face I knew what he was going to say. "She's dead."

"How long have you been on the streets?"

"About two weeks." He gave a shrug and I knew he'd been doing his best to protect Daniel. "I can't take Danny back to the 'ouse. It stinks. I snuck in to get food but once that ran out I started grabbing it out of bins and off people that weren't looking."

"You've been very brave, Arthur, but you don't need to do this alone anymore."

"You gonna take us in yeah? We gonna live a fucking life with our Da? He don't want us!"

"You're father may not want you but I married \your Uncle Thomas. Do you know what that means?" Arthur gave a grunt, his eyes darting away from me. "It makes me your Aunt and I don't let family live on the streets when they have family to look after them."

"You got your own kid," he grumbled and it was nice to see his true age coming through. The boy could be no more than six years old, Daniel was only four, but poor Arthur had been a parent to him for four years.

"Yes, your cousin, Thomas-J. Just because I have my own children doesn't mean I can't look after my two nephews. I look after John's children, your other cousins."

"What 'appens if Da comes and tells ya to get rid of us?"

"I'll tell him to fuck off," I told him, ruffling his hair as we came ot a stop outside the bakery. "Our family can only grow stronger with the pair of you joining us."

"I'll think about it," he grumbled, his eyes flashing to the baked goods in the windows.

"How about, you come back for lunch, have a wash, get some clean clothes and stay for dinner? You can decide to leave after you've both eaten." He looked like he wasn't going to agree so I said something I knew he couldn't resist. "Do it for Daniel."

"Fine."

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When we arrived home, I could feel the trickling of blood slowly running down my thigh. I was doing my best not to panic in front of Arthur and Daniel. I didn't want to scare them off.

"Ada," I called out to her, seeing her poke her head down the hallway. "Can you make some lunch for these two boys?"

She gave a nod, the confusion clear on her face as she turned to prepare them something to eat.

Arthur led Daniel into the kitchen, his eyes going to Thomas-J as he played on the floor and he kept a hand on Daniel's shoulder as he took in the magic in the room.

That also confirmed my suspicions. The house should have stopped all magic in the presence of strangers. I keyed the magic to continue if family came through the door.

"Ada, do you mind keeping an eye on the boys while I change?"

"Who are they?" she asked, but I could tell she had already formed some idea based off their appearance.

"These are Arthur's sons." I gave Arthur a smile as he snapped his eyes at me, glaring. "This is Arthur and Daniel," I said louder, indicating each boy.

"You can call me Artie," Arthur grumbled, helping Daniel into a chair. "Ma called us Artie and Danny."

"Okay, Artie, Ada's going to make you some lunch and keep an eye on you while I change." He gave a nod, his eyes staying on Ada.

"Why are you covered in blood?" Ada asked, her eyes dropping to the blood-stained dress.

"I helped with a miscarriage. It's where I found Artie and Danny, they helped me out."

"That was good of you boys," Ada said to them both, giving them a large smile. I could already see Danny relaxing in the house. It was probably the first time in weeks, probably years that he's felt safe.

Glancing at them one last time, I made my way upstairs, taking deep breaths as I went.

When I reached our room, I closed the door and quickly removed my skirt and slid down against the door, burying my head in my hands.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed, speaking to no one but feeling the comfort as I apologised. "It's my fault." I knew logically it wasn't my fault but I couldn't help but blame myself.

I let out a moan as the cramping increased and shifted onto my knees, rocking myself into the floor as I grabbed onto a shirt Tommy had left on the floor. The rocking helped to distract me and eased the cramping a little.

I could go downstairs and grab a potion that would clear up the cramps and make everything numb but I felt like I needed to experience the pain for punishment.

"Romy?" Ada called through the door, her voice soft as she tapped lightly on the wood. "You okay?"

I stifled a cry as I curled in on myself feeling the horrid stickiness between my legs.

"Romy?" I felt the door open and knew Ada figured out what was happening at her small gasp. "Oh, Romy," she cried, dropping to her knees and bringing my into her arms. "It's going to be okay," she promised, pressing a kiss to my head before rushing out of the room.

She returned a few minutes later with a bundle of towels and blankets. With a wet towel, she carefully cleaned between my legs and muttered nonsense as she brushed one hand through my hair.

Once I was clean, she lifted me and rested me on the chair next to the bed and quickly went to sort the bed out. She laid out a towel and covered it with a white sheet before leading me over and laying me in the bed.

As if she was my mother, Ada pulled the covers over me and tucked me in, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"You get some sleep and I'll send for Tommy."

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