Third Person POV

"Mr. Barrow." Carson called as Thomas was picking up a pair of dress shoes left by some careless footman.

"Some people just..." Thomas did not hear Carson's call and continued to place the shoes onto the table where the footman would see them.

"Mr. Barrow!" Carson exclaims, louder this time and with more of an urgency. The under butler dropped the pair of black Oxford shoes and exited the room to meet Mr. Carson.

"Yes, Mr. Carson?" He sighed, blatantly disrespectful, but not unlike the response Carson usually received.

"Master Branson wishes to have a word with you in the library." He finished, carrying on with his duties, leaving Mr. Barrow to wonder what exactly he needed to speak to him about. Perhaps he had found a way to help in the situation with Annabelle. She had been staying at Downton for quite sometime, and certainly couldn't continue for very much longer.

It wasn't as though the servants weren't kind to her, or that anyone particular complained about her presence. In fact, most times, you could barely tell she was there. She often played with little Sybbie out in the gardens or even in the vast greens that surrounded the estate. Thomas just did not imagine this life for her. As she grew older, Annabelle would surely be forced into servitude, learning the tasks of a cook, or a maid of some sort. She was too bright for that, too imaginative to become anything less than a teacher.

These were the thoughts that tumbled through Thomas' mind as he climbed the stairs to the library.

"Mr. Barrow, come in." Tom opened the door and greeted Thomas with a face of uncertainty and a false smile. Something was most definitely irregular. "Here sit." Tom gestured to one off the empty chairs, but Thomas declined. Something about sitting on one of the family's pieces of fine furniture made him uncomfortable.

"Alright, well, Mr. Barrow, I'm afraid I may have some troubling news." Barrow's figure stiffened as Tom began to speak. "Annabelle can't stay here anymore. It's impossible."Before finishing his comment, Barrow panicked.

"What can I do? I can't just give her to one of those orphanages. Yes I agree she needs to go elsewhere, but where can I send her?" Tom calmed the now hysterical sounding Thomas.

"Mr. Barrow, she would grow up in servitude, do you really wish such a thing for your niece?" Tom stood next to him. "Look around you, is this you want for your niece?...What I meant to say was, do you not want your niece to be able to choose her life, as opposed to having it forced upon her?"

"I will try to find something that will work, Master Branson." Thomas turned and began his descent of the staircase.

He ran into Daniel in the hall, on his way to his room. "Oh, Thomas, wonderful news, I...What's the matter?" Although it pained him, Thomas ignored Daniel's chipper demeanor, as he continued to his room. However, Daniel was having none of it, secretly taking his hand in his, "Thomas, what is wrong, did something happen with Mr. Branson?"

"Daniel, for once, just leave me be." He shook Daniel's hand away and slammed his door behind him. Thomas sat himself onto the bed, head in his hands. The door, being unlocked, swung open to reveal Daniel, arms crossed like a disapproving mother.

"What on Earth are you moping about for?" He asked as he shut the door behind him. Thomas looked up at him with a face full of sadness and worry. "Is it about Annabelle?"

Without even a nod or acknowledgement, words poured out of his mouth. "We can't keep her here, he wants me to give her to an orphanage. I can't let her go there, all alone, abandoned. She can't just live in an orphanage, some girls' home that would neglect her and deny visits. Daniel, I'll never see my niece again." Thomas felt a sharp pain shoot across his face.

"Get a grip, Thomas." Daniel had smacked him across the face, to say he was shocked was an understatement. Danny took his hand and gently stroked Thomas' reddened face. Removing his hand, he intertwined their fingers. "I'm sorry, love, but you needed that. You just need to deal with this, we knew that little Annabelle couldn't stay here, it was just a matter of when it was going to happen. Listen, I have a plan." Thomas nodded for him to continue. "Good. What if we were to convince Jimmy and Blodwen to adopt her?"

Thomas thought about his proposition, then shook his head, "It sounds delightful, but how do you suppose that we convince them to take on another child, while they have their own on the way?" He squeezed Daniel's hand in reassurance. Danny brought up Thomas' hand to his lips and kissed it lightly, in order to comfort his distressed boyfriend.

"Leave the convincing to me. You just continue to be the wonderful man that you are." Daniel reached his hand to Thomas' neck, pulling his face to his own, kissing him sweetly on the lips. The kiss became more heated and as Danny tugged at the older man's hair, Thomas began to speak.

Barely above a whisper, Thomas utters three beautifully dangerous words to Daniel, "I love you." Danny pressed his lips against Thomas' neck and repeated the same sentiments.

"And I love you, Thomas." Daniel's lips brushed his collarbone, sending shivers through Thomas.

"Good Lord, Daniel." Thomas shakily uttered, and kissed Daniel again.

They were so absorbed in each other, they almost missed the small knocking at the door. Luckily, Daniel was more observant than Thomas.

"Thomas, someone's...at...the...door. " Daniel stuttered, and jumped out of the bed to answer the door. "Well, hello there Annabelle, what would you like... Oh, darling don't cry, come in here." He lifted up Annabelle and shut the door leading to the surprisingly, empty hall. Thomas sat up slowly and looked at his small niece as Danny set her on the bed next to him.

"Little Belle, what is bothering you? You know that it is harder to frown than it is to smile." He grinned at the little girl, and she sniffled.

"Uncle Thomas, is it true that I have to leave?" She pouted and rubbed her weepy eyes. Daniel sat next to the duo and glanced down at the child and back to Thomas. He shrugged, not knowing what to say, he gestured to Daniel to say something.

"Where did you hear that, dear?" Thomas asked, concerned about her distressed attitude.

"I heard Sybbie's father telling her, I was going to play with her, but I was so scared. Do I really have to go?" Tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm afraid it is...but I have some good news, you're going to stay with my sister and her husband. They're really good friends of Uncle Thomas." Danny patted her head, but she only cried more.

"But I don't want to leave." The tears that had threatened to spill onto her cheeks fell out in streams.

"They live on a farm...with chickens, and cows...." He added, in attempt to sweeten the deal.

"Alright...I guess I can stay for a little bit." She was still distraught, but nothing could be done about that at the moment.

"Good, we'll go tomorrow." He saw her tattered play-clothes and knew that no matter how much it would crush Thomas to have her leave them, it was for the best. It wasn't as if they could care for her, anyways. Sure the maids could do certain things for her, but a life of servitude was not a life meant for a child. "Now go play." She nodded, squeezing her uncle in a toddler strength hug, then doing the same with Daniel.

When she left the room, this time it was Daniel who got smacked, on the elbow. "Danny, they haven't even agreed to taking her in, yet." Danny looked at Thomas, rolling his eyes.

"Thomas, have you seen Annabelle? Could you say no to her?" He said in a cheeky tone.

"I can not say that I have." Thomas kissed Danny's forehead lightly. "Now go get a nap in while you can. The family may want to go somewhere this evening and you will have to actually do your job." He laughed.

"Ha, very funny Thomas, have a nice nap." He smirked, leaving Thomas alone to sleep.

Time Skip

The next morning, after Tom heard their plan, he granted them to visit Ireland. Everyone in the house could see how it pained him to be unable to join them. An Irishman belonged in only one place, Ireland. Unfortunately for him, that was impossible.

"I don't know, Danny, are you sure about this?" Thomas asked as they exited the train to make the journey to the farm.

"Thomas, I swear you worry too much. It will all be just fine." Daniel took a few steps away from Thomas. Sadly, even something as little as a smile at the wrong time could result in imprisonment. (Not joking here)

After nearly an hour on foot, by midday, they reached the "Kent" farm. It was beautiful, no denying that. Thomas almost envied them. The couple had a perfect piece of land, were able to marry whom they desired, although, the latter was more important to him than anything. Jimmy even appeared quite happy, picking apples from a tree in their great mass of orchards.

"Hello, Jimmy!" Daniel hollered, causing the rickety ladder he had been using to fall out from under him. Luckily, he was able to catch hold of a stray branch, however, the (literal) fruits of his labor were not as fortunate. Apples came tumbling out of the wooden basket and into the path of an incoming car, unsalvageable.

Jimmy mumbled some unintelligible curses under his breath, before catching sight of their smaller companion. "Oh hello, Daniel, Thomas...How nice of you to, drop by." He slid off of the branch, onto a patch of dirt, and approached his visitors at the gate. "Who is this?" Jimmy smiled at the figure hidden behind Thomas.

"Jimmy, this is my niece, Annabelle." Thomas stepped away to reveal the little girl. "Don't be shy, say hello."

When she didn't speak, Jimmy knelt to her level, reaching out a hand. "Hello Annabelle, my name is Jimmy." She returned to her original position behind her uncle, so he tried a different approach. "Do you like animals?" She nodded and he brought over a small yellow ball of feathers, a baby chicken. You could see a smile form on her face, but she nervously backed away. "Go ahead, hold him, he won't bite."

She took the small chicken in her hands and pet it softly, looking up at Jimmy, her eyes crinkled in glee. "Thank you, Jimmy."

"Jimmy, what is all of that noise for?" Blodwen, now visibly pregnant, stomped out to where they were all currently standing. Not missing a beat, she ran up and embraced her younger brother. "Danny, you didn't tell me you were coming to visit! Thomas, you too?! What a wonderful surprise!" It was then that she noticed the tiny girl, with a chick in her hand. "Who...how...what?"

Seeing how confused Blodwen was, Thomas decided to explain, "Blodwen, this is Annabelle, my niece."

Still puzzled, Annabelle whispered something in her brother's ear, before pulling him away from the rest of the group.

"What?" She said when they were separated from the group.

"Her parents abandoned her, we've been caring for her. The problem is, Thomas can't keep her at Downton, she'd be thrown into servitude."

"But Daniel, we have to support ourselves, not to mention the one on the way."

"Blodwen, haven't you always said that you wanted a big Irish Catholic family?"

"Yes, but..."

"Look at her, Bloddie." He pointed to the area where Annabelle and Jimmy were sitting with the chicken hopping around. The girl was in a fit of giggles as more chicks surrounded her, laid at her sides, pecking the grass. "Do you really want her to go to an orphanage?"

Blodwen couldn't help but smile, her eyes connected with Jimmy as he played with Annabelle. He would make such a good father...

"Oh, alright... What's one more mouth to feed?" Her intended sarcasm, became more of a motherly tone, upon glancing at the toddler.

"Thank you so much, Bloddie." He gave her a slight peck on the cheek and moved back into their group. "She said yes." He whispered to Thomas.

"Really?" Thomas turned to look at Daniel. "You know, I could kiss you." His voice was quiet.

"I know..." The sadness in his voice was unmistakable.

"How are you, Annabelle? I'm Blodwen." She sat on the grass next to Thomas' niece, adjusting so her bulging stomach wouldn't cause her as much pain. Annabelle looked up at Daniel's sister, happy. She stayed silent, but cheery, regardless.

"Jimmy, dear, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Blodwen took his hand in hers, walking to the apple tree, no doubt to tell him of Annabelle's reason for being here.

"I can't believe your sister agreed, Danny. What would I do without you..." Thomas said, suddenly being stopped midsentence by Daniel.

"Annabelle!" She had made her way to the middle of the road, chasing after a runaway bird. "Annabelle, come back!" Daniel dashed to the pavement to catch her...but it was too late. When Jimmy and Blodwen returned, nothing could be done. They stood there helpless, as the crash ensued.

"Annabelle..."