"I don't know about this, Babs. You were coughing up blood the other night. What if—" Jonathan began to say.

"Don't worry, Jon. I'll do my damnedest to make sure that Tommy doesn't know." Barbara said while fixing her hair in the mirror.

"You need to tell him if you're serious about your…interest in him."

"I know, but I can't tell him. How would he react? Would he leave me behind like my sister had done to me?"

Jonathan sighed upon hearing this and shook his head, saying, "I have no idea. Those Blinders are unpredictable, I mean, we didn't expect them to give us that job at the wedding."

"Jon, you might be right, but I'm going to enjoy today and I'll see what happens." Barbara said with a sigh.

Before Jonathan could speak up, she was already gone. He took a deep breath and grabbed one of the plants to start work on selling them…

Barbara walked around the seats in the stadium until she saw a familiar cap nearby. Her excitement escalated as she ran up and sat next to Thomas. She tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to her and said, "So, you managed to show up…I have a present for you, love."

With that, he put a buttercup in her hair, watching her look up at it and gasp happily.

"You got me a buttercup?!" she asked. "Thank you so much!"

"I know how much you adore them, so I found this near the entrance and saved it for you."

"Oh, you're such a gentleman, Tommy!"

She smiled at him before watching his focus shift to the race happening. Barbara assumed that the rumors HAD to be true that his family's main business was rigging horse races judging by the intense concentration he showed.

Jonathan's words about telling Thomas about her illness echoed through her head. Before she could speak up, her face grew hot once she realized that Thomas had his hand on top of hers.

"Are you alright? You seem distracted." he asked her.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Barbara said with a nod. "So…is it all true? About your family being involved with these races."

"Why, of course, it is. Now, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Barbara nodded and fidgeted with her skirt, unaware on what his question might be.

"Go on. I don't mind at all."

Thomas lit a cigarette and stared at her, sitting in silence to ponder on what to ask. They spent a moment gazing into each other's eyes in a staring contest of sorts. Barbara blushed at him while feeling her heart hammer into her chest rapidly.

"So, what's the question?" she asked, which broke the silence.

"When I first heard your last name, I thought it sounded familiar to me…" Thomas said. "Then, I remembered that my brothers and I knew a soldier named Evan Whitehurst during the war."

"You knew my brother? How did you manage to interact with him before his death?"

He took his cap off and sighed.

"I was a sergeant major during the war. Your brother was a brave young man and one of the most optimistic men I've ever met despite the harsh conditions. He followed me around all the time and has accidently called me father on occasion."

Barbara sighed, knowing that Evan never really had a father figure after their dad's death. She went back to messing with the skirt while biting her lip. The thoughts about her little brother were interrupted when Thomas gave her hand a small squeeze to get her attention.

"Barbara, are you sure you're alright?" he asked her.

She could hear Jonathan screaming to tell him the truth in the back of her mind. Maybe he was right, she HAD been hiding this for as long as she and Thomas had known each other, even longer.

"I need a drink. Could we go to The Ancient Raven?" she asked. "I'm sorry if it was so sudden."

He looked back at the race and put his cigarette out, shaking his head.

I'm sure Arthur and John will give me the information on the race later…he thought.

"No, it's alright, love. We can go." Thomas said before holding his arm out to her.

The two sat towards the back of the pub and were silent with the exception of the occasional sigh. Barbara finished her drink and gave her glass to the bartender for a refill, wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Barbara?" Thomas asked her.

"I'm fine, Tommy. Really, I am." she said.

"You were crying. I don't think that it means that you're doing well…"

She froze for a moment to think about what to say and sighed.

"I appreciate that you care so much about my well-being. No one outside of Jon had been this kind to me before."

Immediately, he kissed her forehead, which made her breathing increase as she looked into his eyes. Without thinking twice, she grabbed him by the hand and stood up with him before kissing him.

It was the moment they both have been waiting for…they quickly let each other go as Barbara stepped back and went towards a corner. She needed to tell him, there was no use in hiding now…

He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If there is anything wrong, you can tell me, love." Thomas said.

"No…" Barbara said under her breath in between sobs.

The gangster raised an eyebrow at her response and turned her to face him.

"What's wrong? PLEASE, tell me."

She could hear Jonathan saying to her to tell him again and that she couldn't avoid it.

"I'm…sick, Tommy. We can't—"

"Sick? Is that what's wrong with you?" he asked.

"It's NOT that! Tommy, I'm…I'm dying…" Barbara said.