Barrow's Boy - A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

William

     Teddy was nearly ten when he attended his first wedding, if you could call it that. He wasn't sure what counted as one, when the groom was too weak to stand and the ceremony was held in a bedroom, but he supposed that any union of two people should count.

     It started when Lord Grantham discovered that both Mr. Crawley and Mr. William, as Teddy still referred to him, were both wounded while fighting in France. Teddy was much older now, he had seen some of the wounds and terrors that the men brought back from the war and he was able to understand just how terrible it all was. He knew that any news from the front was never anything good, and he had, of course, been right. 

     He was sure that Anna was supposed to be the one to tell him, Thomas wasn't always good at that kind of thing, but he had accidentally overheard it before anyone had gotten the chance to. Mrs. Patmore was not the quietest of people and, with Teddy sitting right by the kitchen, it would have been hard for him to miss. He wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying, but he had definitely caught something about William being injured and, from there, everything began to just unfold.

     William and Matthew arrived at Downton not long after, joining the many men upstairs, and leaving Teddy to both worry and wonder about how they both were doing. He hadn't been able to see either of them, but his father had told him enough that Teddy knew that neither of their prospects looked bright. Mr. Crawley was facing paralyzation on the bottom half of his body, and Mr. William was facing much worse.

   Teddy sat with Abigail, finding that her company was the only one he could handle at that given moment. Everett was just too much, and Percy had become much more vocal with the group in the past few years. Neither of them would allow Teddy to have the quiet environment he was needing, but Abigail always seemed to know what mood Teddy was in. 

   The pair sat in their usual trees, Teddy leaning his back against the trunk as he sat on a sturdy branch. Abi sat across from him, straddling her branch in what could only be described as an unladylike way, but Teddy didn't really care. He never cared about them acting proper.

    "Papa has this big business meeting tomorrow over dinner. I'd do anything to get out of it, but Mama insists that I sit through it." She said, looking out into the distance. Teddy just nodded, reaching up and rubbing his eyes.

     "How's your father?" Abigail turned her head to look at him. Teddy sighed, crossing his arms before responding. 

     "Busy. As usual." He told her. He couldn't recall a time that Thomas hadn't been busy, mostly because he could barely remember anything from before the war, but he did have one memory that involved Thomas using his day off to just spend with him. It was one of his best memories, and it had especially been so while Thomas was away. 

     "Tell me about it." She said, her voice soft and calm. "Papa's always doing something. I swear, I only see him for meals now." Teddy nodded, biting his lip. 

     He wasn't sure why, but his mind had wandered to his secret that he shared with his Dad. But he had promised not to tell anyone, and he honestly wasn't sure how Abi would respond to hearing that Thomas Barrow was not Theodore's real father. He was sure that his friends had never even considered it to be a possibility.

     "How's Mr. Crawley?" Teddy was pulled from his thoughts and but he was right back into his head as he wondered how Abi had heard of Mr. Crawley's injuries. "Mama heard it from Mrs. Crawley. They're friends, I think. Talk whenever they see each other in the village, at least." 

    "Ah." Teddy nodded. He didn't know Mrs. Crawley very well, but he knew enough that he knew this was a very likely possibility. "I'm not entirely informed on those things, but they're not sure he'll be able to walk again. That's what Dad told me, at least." Abi brushed a strand of hair out of her face, twirling the mahogany locks on her finger for a moment before speaking again.

    "I see," Abi said, then smiled a bit. "Of course, the great pirate doctor would know these things." Teddy laughed at the reminder of their game. They hadn't even thought about it in a while, after all, it had been years since it was invented. 

     "I believe the title is 'Pirate King and Doctor Extraordinaire', ma'am." He said, returning her smile, although it must not have been as convincing as he thought. Abi only laughed for a few seconds before she brought the change of topic.

     "Something's wrong." She observed, Teddy not denying it. "Care to share?"

     "It's nothing." Teddy shook his head, looking towards the ground, but he ended up sharing anyway. "It's just that a footman from Downton came with Mr. Crawley the other day. From what I've heard, he's not doing well. I like him, I don't want anything to happen to him." Teddy's vision was becoming slightly blurred from the tears that were forming in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, feeling absolutely foolish for crying in front of Abi, but she didn't seem to mind too much. 

     Abi didn't seem to know what to say, but she did give him a quick apology for what had happened. Teddy expected her to just move on from the topic and start talking about something else. Instead, she climbed down from her tree and motioned for Teddy to follow her.

     Teddy quickly climbed down, landing on his bottom as he jumped down from a branch and quickly picking himself up again. Abigail smiled a bit but was kind enough not to laugh as she took his hand and led him through the trees.

     "I want to show you something. I found it while out here the other day-"

     "You were out here the other day? Alone?" Abi just shrugged, giving Teddy a small smirk. He ha to laugh at that. Of course, out of all of the girls in this village, Abi would be the only one willing to journey into the woods by herself. And Teddy loved that about her.

     She led him through the trees for another minute or so before they came to a stop by an old shed. Teddy stared at it for a moment, his head tilted in curiosity. He didn't even know how Abigail had come to find this, not to mention why she was so interested in it, yet she was already opening the door and motioning for him to follow her inside. 

     And he did, following Abi into the shed and listening to the many ideas she had for it.

    It was the day after that Daisy stood by William's bed, her hand in his and her other hand holding a bouquet. Teddy stood with the Downton staff, watching as the union was formed between the two. He couldn't help but think about how sad it really was. He knew that William loved Daisy, but he had also heard Daisy having her doubts. Honestly, Theodore believed that Daisy did love him back, but she hadn't had the time she needed to come to that conclusion. But she didn't seem to have the time, as even William himself seemed to know that he didn't have long. Teddy couldn't help but think that he was very brave. After all, he was dying and yet, instead of grieving for himself, he was worrying about the wellbeing of those he loved. 

     Teddy felt a hand be laid on his shoulder, and he glanced behind himself to see his father, who glanced at him before they both looked back at the small ceremony. The weight of his father's gloved hand on his shoulder was very welcomed, as Teddy frowned a bit, looking at the scene in front of him. 

     The next day, Teddy insisted on wearing something black. It felt right that William was properly mourned.