Come Back To Me - A Thomas Barrow fanfiction

-It's okay, i'm here-

Hi ! I just want to precise that this story is taking place at the period of time of the show, with the same characters, but I will not follow the main storyline. I will surely include some of the stuff going on in the TV show, but it will not be the main storyline. Again, I do not own Downtown Abbey or any of the characters ! Comment and vote, it would be appreciated!

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" NO ! Dad ! Timothy! Please don't leave me alone ! You promised me ! You promised me to never let me down ! Please... NO !" I screamed in the dark, my body sweating and sobbing.

"Gabrielle." Someone shook my shoulder. "Gabrielle, wake up. It's okay." Opening my eyes, I could distinguish Anna's worried features in the darkness of our bedroom. I heard footsteps in the corridor, coming near the door of our bedroom. The door opened swiftly and Mr. Carson entered, followed by the rest of the staff. Everyone was here, seeing me in this weak position. Mrs Hugues asked me :

"Are you alright Gabrielle? We heard someone screaming and we were worried about what was happening."

"Yes, I'm alright." I lied and my voice cracked. I quickly raised a hand to my mouth to muffle the cries and hear footsteps coming towards my bed. Strong arms wrapped around me as the person sat down next to me. I looked up to see Thomas with an expression showing pure sadness. He closed his eyes and whispered in my ear :

"It's alright, Gabie. I'm here. It was just a dream, don't worry. Just get back to sleep." He was rocking me back and forth, and played with my golden hair.

I nodded as he stood up and left the room, that was already empty. The others must have returned to their respective bedrooms.

When I woke up, it was almost 2 in the morning. I tried to sleep as much as I could, but I was frightened to fall back into a bad dream, to see my whole family dying once more. Not wanting to wake Anna up, I dressed up quietly and made my bed. I left the room and made my way down the stairs. I sat at the table and looked at the empty chairs around me. Not knowing what to do to occupy myself I decided to braid my long, golden hair.

I had a little trouble doing so, and had to start all over for the third time. As I started to braid again, a warm, sleepy voice talked behind me. I turned around quickly, only to find Thomas already wearing his suit for the day. He approached and asked me :

"Do you want any help with your hair ?"

"You know how to braid hair ? I'm surprised, but I could need your help." I responded, with a small smirk. "What are you doing here at this time in the night ?"

"I ask you the question back, but I think that I already know the answer. Are you alright, Gabie ?" He asked, starting to brush my hair with a new comb. He started to style my hair in a complex braid, letting lose strands of hair fall down on my face. He then sat down next to me as I responded :

"I want to say yes, but honestly, I don't know. But I just have to keep going, and forget the past." I replied, shakily.

"What was your dream ? If you can tell me, of course. But I just want to help you."

"My brother and father died at the front, and I received the news yesterday morning. Since then, I keep replaying their death, as I imagine it. Timothy, my brother, promised me that they would come back home. But I guess he was wrong." I took a deep breath and smiled at Thomas. " There's just something bothering me a little. Everyone seems surprised to see you smiling, and being kind. How were you before ? I don't want you to change just because I seem weak and lonely."

He turned around, and stood up. "Gabrielle, I think it would be better for you to stay in ignorance for that case. I have done wrong things in my life, and I regret it. But I've always wanted to change, and I just couldn't find how. But since you arrived, yesterday, I don't have to force anything, I guess that my good side just come out naturally. And I'm very grateful for that." He looked at me, and the corners of his mouth raised a little, making me feel tingly.

Just at that moment, Anna came rushing down the stairs, fixing her apron. And gathering brooms, buckets of water, and cleaning cloths.

"Thomas, did you see Gabrielle ? She isn't in our bedr-" She looked at me and sighed in relief. "Oh, there you are ! Hurry up, we must clean up the library, the sitting room, the-"

"Anna, just tell me what to do, I will clean it. Don't worry." She looked at me, and handed me cleaning supplies.

"Good morning, William !" I nearly bumped into him while he was making his way down the stairs, putting on his bow tie.

"Oh, hi Gabrielle! " He looked embarrassed and asked me if I were alright, probably because of what happened last night. Everyone seemed to avoid to look at me in the eyes.

"I must go." With those words, I followed Anna, running a little to catch up on her.

"Gabie, I'm sorry for letting you down, last evening. I didn't know what to do, and I just ignored all of the atroce things that she told you. Really, I'm very sorry. Will you forgive me ?" Anna asked me, with an honest look on her face.

"Of course I forgive you, Anna. You didn't want lady Mary to be outraged, and you did the right thing." I patted her back, as we continued to walk.

The house was absolutely gorgeous, much different than my ancient house. in every room, on every wall, were framed pictures, landscapes, and enormous windows. The furniture seemed so clean and comfortable.  

I started to dust as Anna scrubbed the floor.

"So... you and Mr. Bates ? How long have you two been together?" I asked her, giving her a knowing glance.

"We... we're not together. But I think I love him. I don't really know what to do, to be honest." She replied, straightening her apron. "Hello Daisy ! Is this the last fireplace you're washing this morning?"

"Yes, I'm almost finished ! Mrs Patmore will be very angry if I'm late ! I must go !" She replied in a hurry.

Daisy seemed to be around fifteen years old.  From what I've seen, Mrs Patmore, the cook,  seemed to be bossing her around, even if Daisy did nothing wrong. The young girl seemed so gentle, ready to break at any moment.

About an hour later, Anna and I were finished cleaning all of the rooms. Just as we were leaving the library, a beautiful woman entered with two younger girls by her side. Anna and I slightly bowed in front of them.

"You must be Gabrielle, the new maid. Welcome to Downtown. I'm Cora Crawley, but just call me Her Ladyship. Those are my daughters, Lady Sybil and Lady Edith."