Downton Abbey 1. Chapter 1

Fixing our Broken Hearts.

Chapter 1.

1922.

* * *

A year. That's how long it's been. Since her Darling Matthew died and his only son and child was born. Mary looked at the grave, even though it's been a while she can still remember her normally cold heart shattering, Matthew Crawley had broken her, for the last time. She still loved her deceased husband, she always would, she'd never be able to love any man the same.

'' Hello my darling. I know you'll think I'm silly for coming here and talking to a grave. Today was supposed to be your birthday. In my books it is your birthday. George has grown so much, and oh my darling he looks so much like you. I'll visit again soon, I promise.'' she put her fingertips to her mouth and pressed them gently onto Matthew's grave. Just as she was about to get up she saw Tom standing at Sybil's grave, Mary's heart broke for him too. He'd been suffering twice as long as her, two years since he'd lost his wife and mother of his child, two years since Mary had lost a sister and a friend, she walked over to Tom and stood by him.

'' I hope I'm not intruding.'' she said softly, he turned to look at her

'' No, you're not.'' he said with a small smile

'' Do you want to go back to the house?''

'' No, but thanks.''

'' It's fine.'' Mary patted his arm and walked off, Tom and herself had grown much closer through out the year, maybe it was the absence of their lovers or maybe they were friends all along? The question still irked Mary a little, she liked having someone to help her through what had happened, not in a demented way. Mary sighed and rubbed her gloved hands together, it was Winter, so it was bound to be cold. Her darling son had turned one three months ago, she remembered crying and Tom who had happened to be walking past to his room had heard her and comforted her.

* * *

_Flashback._

I had just finished changing George into his nightclothes, Mama had insisted upon a Nanny, but I wanted to look after my son by myself

'' Goodnight my little Prince.'' I said as I kissed his forehead, gently moving his golden locks out of the way first

'' Nih' Mama.'' his little brown eyes starting drooping as he talked with his still developing speech

'' I'll see you tomorrow.''

'' Mmm.'' he said in agreement as he went out like a light, I walked along the corridor to my bedroom, I changed into my nightclothes and sat on the edge of my bed, I felt the tears prick in my eyes

'' Oh Matthew! Why?!'' I whispered breaking out into full blown sobs, I heard footsteps rush to my room and a knock on the door

'' Mary.'' Tom. He slept in the room next to mine, of course he could hear my wallowing

'' Yes?'' I said weakly from my tears

'' Can I come in?'' the last time a single man entered my room it didn't end well.

'' Yes, but I warn you, I don't look good.'' I could practically see him smiling a little, he entered the room and took in my sobbing form

'' Oh Mary.'' he said softly while sitting next to me

'' Why couldn't it have been me instead of him?'' I asked looking up at his face

'' Don't. Say. That. Mary, if you had died instead of Matthew, I don't think he would have coped at all, neither would anyone else.'' he said wrapping an arm round my shoulders

'' Even so, why do all the better persons in life die?''

'' Because the world is cruel, and unfair, it takes away the things that are actually worth living for.''

'' Tom Branson you should be a poet when you grow up.'' I teased sadly

'' Eh, I'll try.''

'' Thank you.''

'' For what?''

'' Watching me wallowing, and just... thank you.'' he kissed my forehead

'' Anytime.'' and with one small smile he had left the room.

_End Flashback._

* * *

I let out a shaky breath as I arrived at the Abbey, Mama will try and bring some rich lord to dinner... again. Couldn't she understand, I'm just not ready to move on yet.

'' Lady Mary, you've been standing there for a few minutes, are you alright?'' Carson said concerned

'' I'm alright Carson. Thank you, if Mama wonders where I am, tell her I'm with George and Sybbie, if she's up.''

'' Of course M'Lady.'' I smiled a little and walked up to the nursery where Sybbie and George stayed, I saw them both sitting up in their respective cribs chattering on about who knows what

'' MAMA!'' George said reaching up for me, I smiled and picked him up.

'' Aun' Ree.'' Sybbie couldn't say Mary then, so she called me Ree

'' Hello Sybbie, have you and Georgie been good?'' she nods her head wildly as a yes

'' Yes, Aun' Ree, we have.'' she said in her adorable voice, if you listened closely, you could hear a tint of an Irish accent

'' Good, now, do you want me to play with you and Georgie?''

'' Yes.'' I smiled and sat George on the ground, I picked up Sybbie placed her beside George, I got out some random toys for them to play with, I smoothed out my skirt and sat down in between them

'' Now, what do I do Sybbie?'' I asked smiling at my two year old niece

'' Bwuild house for dollies.'' she said pointing to some toy bricks and a couple of teddies and porcelin dolls

'' Alright, what will Georgie do?''

'' Georgie, will bwuild farm.'' George was listening to Sybbie with such a serious face I almost laughed

'' Awigh.'' George said, and with that he started building his farm

'' And what will you do Sybbie?''

'' I will, fwind some clothes and twea pwarty things.'' she beamed proudly, I smiled at her, oh she definitely is Sybil's daughter

'' Alright then.'' I said kissing her forehead, I started building a 'house' for the dolls, when I was finished, I started to help George a little because he was struggling

'' Aun' Ree, look at all the clothes and twea pwarty things I fwound.'' Sybbie said pointing to a small pile of toys

'' Excellent! Good work Sybbie. Did Georgie and I do alright?''

'' Yes, put all the dollies 'round the twable.'' she pointed to the small table that was in the room, it had some chairs around it

'' Alright, Georgie, we're going to put the dollies round the table.''

'' Yes Mama.'' when we had all finished playing tea parties, I started to tell them a story for their nap

'' Twenty years ago, there was a girl, she was eight years old, she had two younger sisters, one was six and the other was four. One day all the girls decided to have a tea party.'' my lips twitched at the memory

'' What happen?'' Sybbie asked

'' Well...''

* * *

_Flash Back._

'' Sybil, hold my hand if you want.'' an eight year old Mary said to her youngest sister '' You can too if you want Edith.''

'' Okay.'' Sybil said as she reached for her sisters hand

'' Edith?''

'' Are you silly? I'm to old to be holding hands.'' she said, her nanny had told them they were to old to hold hands, though Mary could see that glint in Edith's eye that meant she wanted to

'' Edith, we don't always have to listen to Nanny.''

'' Alright then.'' Edith firmly grabbed her sisters hand, they all walked downstairs to see Carson

'' M'Ladies!? What on earth are you doing down here?'' Carson asked shocked but secretly pleased, he had admired Lady Mary for taking better care of her sisters with something the Nanny didn't have, Love.

'' You see Mr Carson, we were wondering if we could have some cake, secretly. We're having a tea party.'' Mary said full on grinning at the butler

'' I see, I'll see if I can find some chocolate cake then, but, remember not to eat to much, we don't want any of you to get ill do we?''

'' No Carson.'' Sybil said looking up at him with her bright blue eyes

'' That's right Lady Sybil.'' he went out of the room and got some cake for the girls who thanked him, they rushed upstairs and ate the cake they had been given when Sybil knocked over a full teapot

'' EEP!'' the girls said

'' EEP, is right!'' Mrs Kelder said angrily, Mrs Kelder was a very fat woman, she had a very red oval shaped face, dull brown eyes and frizzy red hair with so many streaks of grey, it looked like an empty fireplace.

'' We're very sorry Mrs Kelder.'' Mary said trying to hide her grin at the thought of Mrs Kelder getting so mad she'd explode into lot's of multi-coloured confetti that would just float in the air forever and ever.

_End of Flash Back._

* * *

'' Wat happen next?'' Sybbie asked giggling

'' You see...''

* * *

_Flash Back._

Mary had been hiding under Carson's desk, she'd been planing to run away from the Governess, but alas, she didn't know where to go.

'' Lady Mary?''

'' H-Hello Mr Carson.'' Mary hiccoughed from her tears

'' May I ask, what in Heaven's name are you doing down there M'Lady?''

'' Well, I wanted to run away.''

'' I see.'' the old man said trying to hide his smile

'' I-I wanted to run away because, I always get blamed for everything, everyone loves Edith and Sybil more than me.''

'' And why did you decide to hide in here?''

'' Because I wanted some silverware to sell.''

'' I don't think your father would like that very much, how about I give you sixpence instead?'' he said holding out some sixpence

'' Very well, but you must not forget to charge me interest.'' and with that she had kissed him on the cheek and skipped out of the room.

_End of Flash Back._

* * *

Sybbie smiled up at her Aunt, knowing that she wanted to be like her when she was older. George was already asleep

'' Go to sleep Sybbie.'' Mary said softly

'' Not go.'' she said grabbing for Mary

'' I'll see you later, I promise.'' Mary said wincing at a sudden backache

'' Alwight.'' and with that Sybbie was sleeping soundly, Mary rubbed at her temples, was she coming down with something? She'd gotten a sudden backache and minor headache

'' I never expected you to be a story teller.'' Tom said from where he leaned on the door way

'' Neither did I. How long have you been standing there?''

'' Long enough.'' he shrugged while walking over to see Sybbie, Mary got up and pressed a small kiss to George's head and walked out of the room leaving Tom with Sybbie and George.

* * *

Anna was dressing Mary, Mary let out a tired sigh

'' Are you alright M'Lady? If you're too hot I can get another dress?''

'' I'm fine thank you.'' the truth is Mary felt very hot and it was January and she was wearing a dress with small straps Anna curtsied and walked out of the room leaving Mary to put on her jewelery,  
there was a knock at the door

'' Come in.'' Tom walked in dressed in his dinner clothes '' Tom?''

'' I wanted to apologize.''

'' For what?''

'' I felt as though I was rude to you at the...'' he trailed off not managing to say the word

'' It's fine.''

'' Really?''

'' Yes, I understand why though.'' Mary got up and they both left for dinner.

* * *

Mary sat at dinner beside Isobel, she felt nauseus and kept playing with her food, no one had noticed so far, she'd only been able to eat small bites, about ten minutes had gone into the dinner when Isobel asked

'' Mary dear, are well?'' everyone's head's snapped over to them

'' No Isobel, I'm not at all well, I'm afraid you'll all have to excuse me.'' Mary said standing up and shakily walking out of the room

'' I'll go stay with her.'' Isobel said following after Mary

'' I don't mean to sound rude but, it was only a matter of time before someone else developed an illness in the house.'' Edith said sadly

'' I'll go and phone Clarkson.'' Tom said, all he was thinking was ' I can't loose her, George can't loose her, he hasn't got a father, but he needs his mother.'

* * *

Mary lay on her bed in her nightgown, Isobel was sitting next to her and occasionally dabbing at her head with a damp clothe

''Isobel.'' Mary asked slightly with a rasp

'' Yes?''

'' It's not the Spanish flu.'' she stated more than a question

'' I don't think it is either.'' Tom walked into the room and took in Mary's weak form

'' Doctor Clarkson is here.'' he said turning to leave

'' Tom! Stay, please.''

'' Alright.'' Tom sat on the edge of the bed next to Mary when Dr Clarkson came in, he examened her

'' Well it's not the Spanish flu.'' Tom did a little mental dance in his head

'' But?'' Isobel asked concerned

'' It appears Lady Mary might have Typhus.''

'' What?'' Tom asked confused

'' It's where the patient has headache's, back pains, coughing fits, fevers, Photophobia, low blood pressure and other worse symptoms. I think a maid has it to.''

'' Thank you.'' Mary said weakly taking in the thought that she could die.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

* * *

Mary slept soundly. Tom hadn't left her side the whole time she was ill, she told him to go and eat something but he refused to leave her side. To be honest, Tom was afraid, no he was terrified. It was like someone was replaying the events of Sybil dying in his head, he just couldn't leave Mary's side, what if something happened and he wasn't there, or worse, what if Mary died and he wasn't there, Tom couldn't even bare to think of Mary dying, it was so bizarre. He sighed, leaning back on his chair he fell asleep.

_Tom's dream ( or nightmare...)_

_Tom woke up from his sleep to see Mary looking just as pale_

_'' Matthew...'' Delirium. Dr Clarkson said it was a symptom._

_'' Mary, it's Tom.''_

_'' Matthew, stop driving so fast...'' Oh God, she was seeing his death..._

_'' Mary, it's just a dream.''_

_'' Matthew look out, there's a truck, there's a truck Matthew, drive out of the way, slow down!''_

_'' Mary!''_

_'' No! Matthew no! Matthew get up, don't lie there! Please...''_

_'' Mary!'' he started shaking her, that's when he noticed how hot she was, no she was boiling! She had to be at least 105 degrees or more!_

_'' Tom?'' Mary asked when she woke up_

_'' I'm here.''_

_'' That's-'' she stopped when she broke out into a harsh coughing fit, she started to go as white as paper_

_'' ISOBEL!'' Tom shouted, Isobel burst into the room a second later_

_'' Tom what is it?!'' as soon as she saw Mary she ran into the joint bathroom and pulled out a basen. She handed it to Mary who threw up, Isobel checked and there were some streaks of blood running through it, her eyes widened in alarm and this didn't go unnoticed by Tom who immeadiately grew alarmed, the worst thoughts were running through his head and he couldn't get rid of them at all._

_'' What is it!?''_

_'' Phone Dr Clarkson Now!'' Tom ran out of the room and did as he was told only to come back and see Mary clutching her abdominan in agony, Edith, Robert, Cora and Violet came rushing in._

_'' He's on his way.'' Cora was practically sobbing at the state of her daughter, probably from memories of Sybil's death which Tom was trying to push out of his mind._

_'' What is it?'' Robert asked_

_'' She took a turn for the worst about five minutes ago.'' Isobel said rubbing Mary's back as she retched, five minutes had passed and Dr Clarkson rushed in_

_'' What happened?'' he asked taking Mary's blood pressure_

_'' She was having a delusion of Matthew's death. I woke her up and noticed how hot she was, we started talking and she went into a coughing fit I called for Isobel, she started vominting.''_

_'' Dr Clarkson, I want to know why her vomit had blood in it.'' Isobel said, Mary started sweating more than normal_

_'' It must have been her throat- her blood pressure.''_

_'' What?'' they all asked confuzzled ( A/N: I know it's not serious but I had to put it.)_

_'' It's to low to be healthy.'' Mary's breathing started to quicken_

_'' Oh God!'' Tom said trying to not think of Sybil's death_

_'' Help...'' Mary gasped as she writhed in agony, Tom found it horrifically ironic that she was dying like Sybil in a way._

_'' Help her!'' Tom snapped crouching down at Mary's side with Cora_

_'' Can we take her to the hospital?'' Edith asked alarmed and getting a sense of Deja vu_

_'' There's nothing that can be done, once the fit's start the patient doesn't stand a chance.''_

_'' There has to be something! I won't let my daughter die! Not this time! And what about George?! He's already lost his father!'' Robert snapped_

_'' Lord Grantham I'm sorry.'' Mary was gasping for air, Tom felt the tears leak down his face_

_'' Mary all you have to do is breath for us.''_

_'' Mary no!'' Edith shouted as she rushed to her sisters other side, they listened to Mary's last and final words_

_'' Tell... George and Sybbie... I love them... I love y...ou all... bury... beside... Matthew... I lived... happily...''_

_'' Mary just breath please!'' Tom begged, they watched in horror and memory as Mary's neck strained upwards and she let out her final breath_

_'' No...'' Cora gasped through her tears, another one of her children dead, not coming back. She looked like Sleeping Beauty, except this time, her prince was dead and so was she._

_'' Mary please.'' Tom cried, his head drooped onto the bed sheets and soaking them with tears then he heard a sing-song voice sing_

_'' You don't know. Don't know, how to live on. The Mother, friend and daughter is dead, she won't ever wake up~ by tomorrow she'll be in the ground, cold and dead. Tick tock her time is up. Tick tock it's time for you to wake up.''_

_End of dream._

Tom woke up with a start, he wiped the sweat off his brow and sighed, Mary eyes were fluttering

'' Tom?...''

'' I'm here.''

'' My back hurts.''

'' It will for at least a week.'' he said smiling softly

'' Is everyone else alright?'' that's not like Mary Tom thought

'' Well a maid died two days ago, and Daisy recovered.''

'' That's good... minus the death part.''

'' Thank God you're alright.'' Tom said running a hand over his face

'' Tom, go and eat something, I'll be fine.'' Isobel came to the door

'' Ah you're awake!''

'' No, I'm still sleeping.'' there's the Mary I know he thought again

'' Tom she is right, we don't want you falling ill as well.'' Tom nodded and went down to breakfast.

* * *

Two weeks had passed and Mary had made a full recovery. She was just finishing putting George to bed when her mother walked in

'' Should you be doing that?''

'' Honestly Mama, I'm better. I was ill not invalid.'' Mary said rolling her eyes

'' Sorry.'' Cora said sheepishly, she looked at her little girl, no her little girl was a woman now, a mother and widow.

'' How are Papa and Tom getting on with the estate.''

'' They're getting better, but they still need ideas.''

'' Oh.'' Cora looked down at her grandson

'' He's absolutely a spitting image of Matthew.'' she whispered, Cora was right, he had seemed to have inherited Matthew's kind nature, hair, nose and face shape. The only thing that identified him as Mary's were his big dark brown eyes exactly like his mothers, and that Mary was happy with.

'' I know. I'm going to get ready for dinner.'' Mary kissed her mothers cheek and walked out of the room.

* * *

Mary sat at dinner when Robert said

'' The car broke down, and since Greene has no real experiance at fixing them we might not be able to go anywhere for a while.'' Mary's eyes lit up

'' I could fix it.'' she said surprizing everyone, Carson's eyes nearly popped out of his head

'' What?'' her Grandmother spluttered apalled

'' I said I could fix it. Matthew taught me some things about how to fix a car, so why don't I give it a go?'' she asked hopefully, reminding everyone in the room of when Sybil spoke about nursing

'' A-are you sure?'' her father asked still shocked

'' Perfectly sure.'' she said happily

'' Alright then.'' Mary had to bite her lip from squeeling, Tom looked at Mary amused at her excitement he also felt proud of her

'' Robert! Mary's a _lady_.'' Cora said

'' It is her decision Cora, she's a grown woman now.'' Mary nodded her head in thanks to her father.


End file.

Downton Abbey, Drama, Romance