Barrow's Boy - A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

What Comes Next?

     They'd all had their own losses during the war. Teddy had lost William, who had been a good friend to him growing up. He'd lost valuable time he could have had with his father, and, quite honestly, it seemed that some of the childhood innocence had been ripped from his body upon seeing just how badly the soldiers had been hurt. Abigail had lost her uncle. He'd been lost in a battle just days before the war was declared over, and she hadn't found out until after the announcement had been made. Percy had to leave his home in America and come here, leaving behind his mother in her own country, and having to spend a few years with his aunt and uncle while his father went to fight. Everett had lost his elder brother very early on, and some of his brother's closest friends in the following years. 

      Between the four of them, it seemed that much had been lost, and there was nothing they could do to fix it. But, together, they had gotten through the war and had continued with their lives.

     Teddy had just finished an evening out with the three of them after school when he returned home for the night, tired from the long day. He approached the door to the downstairs of the Abbey, as he always did, and found his father standing outside, smoking a cigarette. Thomas pulled the cigarette away from his lips, letting a puff of smoke out of his mouth as Teddy approached him. 

     "Are you not spending time with your friends today?" Thomas asked. Teddy hugged his school books to his chest and shook his head.

     "Not today. Everett has this big dinner thing tonight, Percy is helping with something on the farm, and Abi's spending tonight with her father before he leaves for London." Thomas nodded, looking at the cigarette between his fingers.

     "You have any work?"

     "A little bit of mathematics. I'll get it done." Thomas nodded again, seemingly content with this information. Teddy stood there for a moment before looking up at Thomas again.

     "Dad?" He asked, watching as Thomas took another drag from his cigarette. "Now that the war's over, what comes next? Are you going to work here again?"

     "No. I've different plans." Teddy tilted his head to the side. Thomas dropped the bit that was left of his smoke and stepped on it. "You ever heard of the Black Market?"

     "No. But I don't think I want to go there." Thomas laughed, shaking his head.

     "It's not a place. It's people selling goods." Teddy stared at his father for a moment.

     "So, like a store?"

     "Not quite. Think a bit more private."

     "Why is it called the Black Market then?" Teddy asked, his grip on his books tightening. "Is it bad? Is it illegal?"

     "Don't worry about that. I'm just considering joining the Black Market to earn some money for us." Teddy wasn't entirely sure what to say. Thomas had quite obviously ignored his question, but that didn't mean that Teddy didn't have others.

     "Will we stay here? Or do we have to leave?"

     "We'll see." Teddy decided that he wasn't going to get much more out of Thomas, so he said a quick goodbye to him before he walked inside and made his way up to his room to do his school work.

     Theodore was back to writing, continuing the story he had started a few months ago, although he wasn't sure if it was even going anywhere at this point. He'd eaten dinner with everyone else, had overheard some complaints about the current lack of staff, and had continued to wonder about his father's earlier words. Now, however, he forced himself to focus on characters and plots as he wrote out his eyes on the paper in front of him. 

    He had become so immersed in his writing that he practically jumped out of his chair when someone knocked on the door. 

     Turning to look at the door, Teddy smiled upon seeing Anna, who smiled back in her usual kind way. "There's someone waiting for you downstairs." Curious and confused, Teddy got out of his seat and followed Anna down the stairs.

     Katherine stood by the wall, holding a basket in her hands, the basket containing a few papers, pencils and her mathematics book. 

     "I'm sorry to bother you, Teddy, but I've been trying to figure out the work for hours and I just can't wrap my head around it. Everyone else I thought to ask was busy, so I thought I would try you." Teddy offered her a smile

     "You're not bothering me. I'll go get my work and I'll show you what I did." He said, motioning for Katherine to sit at the far end of the table before running up to grab the work he had completed earlier. 

     Teddy and Katherine sat together there for about an hour, even though they were done in less than twenty minutes. But, they had gotten to talking and soon enough they were both laughing and passionately discussing their interests and hobbies. It turned out that Katherine was quite interested in astronomy, which surprised Teddy quite a bit. He had never given much thought to the stars before, but now Katherine was sharing the many stories behind them, and everything behind zodiac signs.

     "When were you born?" She asked, after naming the twelve signs.

     "August 29," Teddy replied, very curious as to where this was going.

     "You're a Virgo then," Katherine explained, thinking about it for a moment. "Virgos are known to be hard-working, creative, practical and kind. But they're also worrisome and over-critical at times."

     "Well, that sounds like him." Mrs. O'Brien said from her seat, not even looking up from her sewing. Teddy hadn't even been aware that anyone was listening, and felt it rather rude that she had been eavesdropping on them the entire time. 

     "I'm not over-critical!" Teddy replied, and turned all the way around as he heard Thomas laugh behind him. 

    "You can be." Teddy opened his mouth to argue, but Katherine cut him off.

    "Don't try to deny it. You're not helping your point if you do." 

    "Alright. What's your sign?"

    "Pisces. Gentle, compassionate, intuitive, and artistic. But also fearful and overly trusting." Katherine replied. Teddy nodded, feeling that this description fit Katherine very well. She went on to continue talking about different stars and constellations, leaving Teddy to listen with a smile on his face.

First of all, if you know what the chapter title is referencing, you are amazing! Comment it and, if you're right, I'll give you a little shout-out in the next chapter!
I'm very curious to know what everyone's thoughts are on Katherine? Should she join the group of friends, or should she stay out of it? This chapter had a great lack of Everett, Percy and Abigail, but I promise they will all be back soon. 

Don't forget to vote and comment! I love reading what you all have to say!