Barrow's Boy - A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

The Crash

Farming had never been something that Teddy found much interest in. Of all of the professions he had learnt of as a young boy, it had never struck him as something he would like to do, or something he would be good at.

And yet, when Percy asked if he would be willing to help them harvest their crops, Teddy was happy to accept. Perhaps it was because he respected both Wilsons, or perhaps it was the excuse to get out of the Abbey for a bit. Either way, he had agreed, and he was now at the farm, listening to Percy's directions. 

Also there was Miss. Gibson, who was wearing an old pair of trousers and was right down in the dirt, helping to get the crops harvested in time.

Teddy's hands were already covered in dirt, as were his trousers, boots, and, well, pretty much all of him, as a result of the short dirt fight that he and Percy had had earlier. He was sure that he would give Carson a heart attack as soon as the butler saw him. Perhaps Teddy would have to bring Dr. Clarkson with him, just in case.

Once Mr. Wilson had decided that they'd done enough for one day, Teddy followed Percy inside, accepting the cup of water that his friend had offered. 

While the Wilsons had gone to quickly finish up another job, Theodore was left sitting with Miss. Gibson at their table. 

"I'm planning on running the school newspaper again this year if you're still interested," she said, looking at Teddy and smiling at him. Teddy grinned and nodded. 

"Definitely," he agreed, placing his cup on the table.

"I think this year I'm looking to have an assistant editor. Do you know anyone who might be up for the job?"

"Um," Teddy glanced down, causing Winifred to laugh. 

"I was hoping that you'd point out yourself." Teddy looked up at his teacher and smiled. 

"And I was hoping that you'd want me to."

"I am so lucky that you didn't want to go to Grammar school," she replied, brushing her hair behind her ear. Teddy stared at his teacher for a moment, a frown coming onto his face. 

"What do you mean?"

"Grammar school. Surely you were asked by your last teacher to apply. It would have been right before you turned eleven." Now thirteen, Teddy had no memory of grammar school even being mentioned to him. As he shook his head, a look of slight irritation came onto Miss. Gibson's face. 

"You mean to tell me that one of the smartest boys in the school didn't get asked to apply for grammar school?" Teddy shrugged.

"Maybe they knew that we wouldn't be able to afford it anyway."

"But the scholarship, Theodore! Your teacher was supposed to have his best students apply for a scholarship."

"Oh," Teddy frowned, looking down at the table. "Well, that teacher didn't like me much anyway. Besides, if I went to grammar school, then I never would have had you as a teacher."

Miss Gibson smiled at that, although she clearly still seemed annoyed that grammar school had never even been mentioned to him. 

"You would have done well in grammar school though. If you'd been given the chance to go."

Teddy was walking down the road on his way back to the Abbey, quite honestly not paying much attention to what he was doing, completely lost in his thoughts. That was until he heard it. 

There was the screeching of car brakes and the noise of two vehicles crashing into each other. Teddy was definitely paying attention now. 

He went running down the path, pulling off his hat as he went around the corner and saw the accident down the road. There was one vehicle, but where was the other. The driver of this vehicle was looking down in the ditch of the side of the road, giving Theodore his answer.

Teddy made his way towards the man, looking up at him. 

"What's happened?"

"The bloody 'ell do you think?" The man replied, seeming to not realize that he was talking to a child. Teddy simply brushed this off, looking down into the ditch. He placed his hat back on his head, then began climbing down it, wanting to see if anyone had survived. If they had, they would most likely need a doctor, sooner rather than later. 

Teddy was not expecting to see Mr. Matthew Crawley.

He froze at the sight of the man lying there, blood dripping down the side of his face. Once he'd taken in the sight, he walked towards the man, putting his hand on his neck in an attempt to find his pulse. 

Matthew's blood had already started dripping down his neck, and, as Teddy pulled his fingers away, it was now also on them. 

Teddy could have sworn that he felt his stomach drop, and, after a moment, he looked up at the man who owned the truck. 

"You need to go to Downton Abbey."

"What? You can't tell me-"

"You need to go to the Abbey, and tell Lord Grantham that Matthew Crawley is dead."

I am so sorry. 

This marks the end of Season 3. Following this season, there is a 6 month time skip. In the past, I have filled the time skips with scenes from Teddy's life. Is this something that you're all interested in reading, or would you rather I do the time skip as well? I'd like to know what my readers think.

Thank you all for reading and sticking with the story. I understand that my updates can become far apart when I get busy, but I appreciate you continuing to read.