Swapping Stories

Hey new chapter. Kind of wondering what parts of the show to follow.

Daniel POV

     A few days after Saint Valentine’s Day,  everything seemed well. However, something was nagging at me still. I barely knew a thing about Thomas. I saw him in the hall and was about to speak with him when suddenly I was tapped on the shoulder.

     "Excuse me, Daniel. Lady Mary would like to drive to London for a week's stay." Anna said.

     "Now?!" I sigh, then remember my manners. "I meant when would she be driven?"

     "Oh, sorry. She won't be ready for at least a week. She wishes to leave next Tuesday. " Anna said.

    Well, I could get to tell Thomas and have time to speak with him. "Thank you Mrs. Bates." I walked out of the hall to work on the car for a while.

    "Thomas. May I speak with you? " I ask knocking on his door.

    "One moment Daniel." I heard a shuffling of papers and a chair being moved. The door opens and Thomas stands before me. "What can I help you with at this time of night?"

    "May I come in?" I questioned.

    "Certainly." He replied.

    I walked in and he closed the door behind me. "Thank you."

    He walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek. "Thomas, please I need to talk to you."

    "We can talk, too." He says cupping my chin.

    "Thomas I'm serious." I shoved his hand away, then realizing that I hurt him. "I'm sorry. I just need to ask you something. It's been pestering me."

    "Anything." He smiled.

    "Thomas I love you, but I honestly don't know a thing about you." I said.

    "Daniel. Are you sure you want to hear about me?" Thomas’s smile faded to a frown."I'm not a very good person,  or at least I wasn't."

    "Thomas. No matter what you used to be, I want to know about the you that you are now." I reached over and squeezed his hand.

    Tears started to puddle in his eyes, but being the way Thomas is, he smiled on. "If it means that much to you. Ask what you'd like."

     We sat on his bed and I began my "interview". I asked about many things, like what his family was like, where did he grow up, how long had he worked at Downton. Finally, the real question arose. "Why are things different between you and Jimmy?"

     His back stiffened and he became silent for a minute. "I mistook his friendliness for something more and it lead to both of us being affected by it." It seemed to have bothered him so much that I didn't dare continue to prod on that matter.

     "I was born on a small farm in Dublin. I grew up with my aunt and my sister. In the Summer, we sold potatoes and if the crops were good enough we sold corn to make extra money. I moved here a few months ago with them to support them after the farm was foreclosed." I said all of this to divert the conversation away from the subject of Jimmy, Thomas looked grateful for it.

      "Whatever happened to your parents?" He asked, solemnly.

      "I'm not sure. Mum was a cook and Pa worked as a tailor. Me sis told me they were captured by Monks. But my aunt said they were run over by stampeding cattle. That was when we went to her farm." I explained.

       Thomas looked at me, concerned. "I'm so sorry."

       "No my sister, Blodwen, she was closer to them than I was." I laid my hand on his.

       "Are they here in York?" Thomas questioned.

       "No. They're in London. York was the only place where I could get a job." I said then remembered the trip. "That reminds me. Lady Mary wishes to travel to London for a week, starting next Tuesday."

       "Oh." Thomas sighed and dropped my hand.

       "It's just a week. I'll be back." I tipped his head and kissed him lightly.

       "Ok. I'll survive for a week without you." We kissed again and I left to my room, comforted by the knowledge that I now possesed.

Thomas POV

        Again, I dressed in my liveries and went to breakfast, only to see Daniel and Jimmy laughing up a storm. Everyone else joined in, even crotchety old Mr. Carson smiled. "What is so funny?" I asked a bit annoyed to not be included in the conversation.

        Jimmy smacked Daniel on the back as if he'd known him for years. "Danny was just telling us all about a time he fell out of a tree on his aunt's farm."

       Daisy interrupted, obviously dazed by Daniel. "Come on Daniel. Tell us another. "

       "Now Daisy, we mustn't waste Daniel's time. Breakfast must be served soon." Mr. Carson stated.

       "But Mr. Carson, we have a few minutes and they are quite funny." Mrs. Hughes said.

       "Well. Alright." Mr. Carson conceded.

       Daniel began his story. "So besides the old apple trees on the farm, we had a few goats you know fer keeping the grass at bay. That day, I was in charge of pulling the weeds in the field, being the child I was, the idea did not thrill me. Finally my sister was finished with my complaints, so she told me a "secret". She told me that you could get the goats  to pick out the weeds by feeding them fresh pies. I thought this was brilliant, so I ran inside and took all of the homemade pies my aunt pulled out of the oven and fed them to the goats. It turns out, the secret only resulted in time outs and no supper." Everyone laughed at the tale, even Carson.

     "Oh Danny,  how do you come up with these stories?" Jimmy asked through laughs.

     I suspiciously glared at him. It really wasn't that funny, I thought. After we dispersed, I didn't see much of Daniel, at least not without Jimmy trailing behind and when Tuesday came around, I woke too late to say goodbye. As I walked around the corner, sad to have missed him, I heard someone say, "Mr. Carson, may I have a week's leave in London?"

Dun dun dunnnnn. Lol but seriously long chapter. I guess I was just in the zone. Feedback is always good! !!!Ps What parts of season 5 should I include and pictures for each part? Let me know.