![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apachefirecat posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
anythingdrabbleTitle: Heirs
Fandom: Downtown Abbey
Characters/Pairings: Matthew/Mary, George
Word Count: 500
Rating: G/K
Summary: In the wake of her husband's death, Mary spends another sleepless night.
The nanny would do this job, she knows. It's what they keep the woman for honestly, more than anything else, but there are times when she needs to be alone with just herself and the last vestiges of her husband's memory. Mary trails her fingertips softly across her baby's belly. The child is freshly cleaned and back in his cradle, and she's quite certain the entire household would think she's taken leave of her senses to be here this late in the night.
But she cannot sleep. Her memories are everywhere. Matthew is everywhere. She sees her husband in their baby's smile, in his eyes, and swears she can even hear him in their child's gurgling laughter. This child is going to grow up to be as strong as Matthew. How can he not when they were both always so bold and domineering? Mary's lips twist into a sad, sardonic smile at that silent admission.
How much time? she then wonders, her brief smile disappearing as quickly as it appeared. How much time had they wasted? How much time did they waste arguing about Downtown and who was right to be the heir? How much time did she waste when it seemed they would have a spare heir, or when she tried to wed herself to another who could protect her family's name? How much time had they lost when they could have been together? How much time does she still have stuck here now on this Earth without her beloved?
Life was cruel. She had thought she was finally going to be happy. For a short time -- a very short time -- she had been. Now Downtown has its heir. She could easily rule her land from behind her child, sculpt him to always make her decisions and choose as she would choose as he grows into the title. But she cannot. How can she care about a place that nearly stole her last chance of love?
Yet she must. She must somehow persevere for Matthew, and for this child before her, the last thing she or anyone in this world has left of Matthew. He gave her everything, she thinks forlornly, even his very life for he'd been driving home so joy-filled from their celebration. She should have kept him with her, but instead she'd sent him on home with their news. Their news of a heir for whose position she can no longer find it within herself to care.
Thunder suddenly blasts, and lightning illuminates the nursery from the window. The babies cry, confirming Mary will be awake for the rest of the night. She does not care. Comforting them may actually distract her, and besides, she welcomes the rain. If anyone sees her tear streaks, or asks why she is so weary, she can always blame it on the weather. Her tears fall silently as she lifts her son and carries him through the stormy night. "Let me tell you another story of your papa."
The End
Fandom: Downtown Abbey
Characters/Pairings: Matthew/Mary, George
Word Count: 500
Rating: G/K
Summary: In the wake of her husband's death, Mary spends another sleepless night.
The nanny would do this job, she knows. It's what they keep the woman for honestly, more than anything else, but there are times when she needs to be alone with just herself and the last vestiges of her husband's memory. Mary trails her fingertips softly across her baby's belly. The child is freshly cleaned and back in his cradle, and she's quite certain the entire household would think she's taken leave of her senses to be here this late in the night.
But she cannot sleep. Her memories are everywhere. Matthew is everywhere. She sees her husband in their baby's smile, in his eyes, and swears she can even hear him in their child's gurgling laughter. This child is going to grow up to be as strong as Matthew. How can he not when they were both always so bold and domineering? Mary's lips twist into a sad, sardonic smile at that silent admission.
How much time? she then wonders, her brief smile disappearing as quickly as it appeared. How much time had they wasted? How much time did they waste arguing about Downtown and who was right to be the heir? How much time did she waste when it seemed they would have a spare heir, or when she tried to wed herself to another who could protect her family's name? How much time had they lost when they could have been together? How much time does she still have stuck here now on this Earth without her beloved?
Life was cruel. She had thought she was finally going to be happy. For a short time -- a very short time -- she had been. Now Downtown has its heir. She could easily rule her land from behind her child, sculpt him to always make her decisions and choose as she would choose as he grows into the title. But she cannot. How can she care about a place that nearly stole her last chance of love?
Yet she must. She must somehow persevere for Matthew, and for this child before her, the last thing she or anyone in this world has left of Matthew. He gave her everything, she thinks forlornly, even his very life for he'd been driving home so joy-filled from their celebration. She should have kept him with her, but instead she'd sent him on home with their news. Their news of a heir for whose position she can no longer find it within herself to care.
Thunder suddenly blasts, and lightning illuminates the nursery from the window. The babies cry, confirming Mary will be awake for the rest of the night. She does not care. Comforting them may actually distract her, and besides, she welcomes the rain. If anyone sees her tear streaks, or asks why she is so weary, she can always blame it on the weather. Her tears fall silently as she lifts her son and carries him through the stormy night. "Let me tell you another story of your papa."
The End
