A/N: Stupid title, but I doubt you care much about that. Season six spoilers abound of course. This was written for Muddlethrough who won the sweepstake I ran on tumblr to see what people predicted for the last season. For her prize, she requested a story 'bridging the gap between the last ep of series 6 and the Christmas special. Settling into married life and their 'love nest' maybe bringing in why Mrs Patmore knows to call it that and for Mrs Hughes to agree without feeling embarrassed, like it's not the first time she's heard it?'. It allows me to include a portion of a story which I started and then abandoned in favour of a great many other things! There's also a nod to a little scene in my story 'The Wedding of the Decade'.

In the old days it would have been a rare thing that the cook and housekeeper should find themselves with time off together and, indeed, in the years before the war it would have been highly unlikely that they should have wanted to spend those precious hours in each other's company.

That was before, however. Before health scares, unwanted suitors, deaths, and the reduction of staff. All those shared experiences that make a life and build a friendship, meaning it was perfectly natural that on this bright summer's day, Mrs Carson invited Mrs Patmore to view her cottage.

'You don't mind do you?' Mrs Carson enquired of her husband as she pulled her gloves on, silently wondering if she'd imagined the slightly plaintive note in her voice.

'Why on earth should I mind?' Charles leant back in his chair, frowning slightly.

'Well, it's our space isn't it? I didn't think you'd want it filled with people.'

'Mrs Patmore is hardly people', he said as he stood and crossed to where she lingered, biting her lip by the door. 'It's our home, but that doesn't mean we can't share it. Especially with Mrs Patmore, we owe her a lot.'

As if to prove the point, Charles reached out and gently ran a finger over her cheek before taking a step closer to her and slowing kissed her lips, edging his tongue along them so that he elicited a small moan from her, and the gratifying sensation of her hand clutching his upper arm.

He stepped back after a few moments, pleased to see a smile on her lips as well as in her eyes. She looked towards the door and then back at him, smirking a little.

'My, my, Mr Carson – you are becoming brave. A kiss with the door open!'

He returned the smirk but his eyes remained serious as he stared at her. 'You make me brave Elsie.'

Her mouth fell open slightly as the significance of what he had just said registered in her mind.

'A kiss with the door open and the use of my first name!' she said, a teasing note in her voice attempting to cover quite how moved she was by his freedom.

'Don't worry, I won't make a habit of it!', he remarked, knowing that if he kissed her again he would find it very hard to let her leave.

'Go and enjoy your afternoon. You might ask Mrs Patmore to check the range – it's been smoking a bit.'

She sighed, having hoped comments of that nature were behind them. 'If you think it necessary, of course I will.'

She turned to leave, but was prevented by a tug on her arm. She forced the disappointment from her face before she looked up to meet his eyes, and was surprised to find them full of contrition.

'I didn't mean that in the way you think. I've been trying to fathom the reason those roast potatoes were so burned, but it might just be my own incompetence.'

She laughed at that and shook her head, moving towards him again, reaching out to place a hand on top of his right arm, giving it a squeeze as she stared up at him. 'We'll both be incompetent together then.'

They shared a smile at the unlikely situation as they lingered in the doorway. She did not move to kiss him, but continued touching his arm, whilst his hand lightly rested on her waist , both of them content to read their mutual love in eyes that sparkled.

They were interrupted by a sharp cough.

'I do hope I'm interrupting something.'

Mrs Carson turned, heart sinking slightly that the discovery would derail her husband's newly fledged freedom of expression, and was therefore surprised when she felt herself being pulled to his side and heard his rumbled 'Not at all Mrs Patmore, just saying goodbye to my wife.' She felt him leaning down to kiss her and she tilted her face to receive it, but the angle was difficult and she felt his lips brush the corner of her eye. He squeezed her waist and then pushed her towards the door. 'I'll see you tonight.'

She caught the slight smirk Mrs Patmore wore and could not help but blush as she walked towards the back door. Looking back down the corridor as she made to leave, she saw that he now lingered in the doorway to the pantry, watching her depart, and her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him. They shared a smile, and then the absurdity of the situation caught her and she laughed. It was a sound which carried her husband through the rest of a very long afternoon and evening without her company.

The two women walked the short distance to the cottage in companionable silence until they reached the tree lined lane.

'This'll be interesting come winter', remarked Mrs Patmore jovially.

'That's what Mr Carson said, although we've not had a bad snow fall since Mr Crawley proposed to Lady Mary.'

'It'll be heavy this year' Mrs Patmore said in a dark tone, 'the apples in the orchard are on much higher branches than normal.'

Mrs Carson shook her head at the old wives' tale, but said nothing in return. They were approaching the cottage and she needlessly waved her hand at the building.

'Here we are.'

Mrs Patmore stopped to take it in. It looked longer than her own cottage, although she wondered if Mr Carson might have to stoop when he was upstairs, given the closeness of the upstairs and downstairs windows. She admired the flowers which tumbled over a portion of the wall and was glad that her friends had such a space to retreat.

'It's lovely' she said warmly. 'It suits you.'

'I don't think we could have found a better home if we'd chosen ourselves. We were lucky it was Mrs Kirk's cottage, she always was a stickler for good presentation.'

She drew the key to the front door out of her handbag as she spoke and laid it in her palm. Mrs Patmore did not look at it, thinking it to be just an ordinary key, but if she had chanced to peek at it, she would have seen an interlocked C and E engraved at the top of it. Elsie smiled as she placed it in the lock and pushed open the door. Charles had presented it to her two weeks after their return from honeymoon.

She paused in the doorway, turning to smile at her friend. 'He carried me over the threshold you know.'

Mrs Patmore gasped as she heard this intimate secret and reached out to squeeze her friend's hand in acknowledgement of the importance of what had been shared. Elsie felt the pressure and smiled, although really her mind had flown back to that moment and the events leading up to it.

CE*CE*CE

They'd retuned to Downton expecting to slip back almost unnoticed and instead they had been greeted with great fanfare and joy. It had taken both of them by surprise, and they'd both found that a few moments solitude were needed to take stock.

He had disappeared upstairs to his old room and found it to be completely devoid of anything that might mark it as his place of refuge for so many years. It was just a room, he told her later, and as he removed the name plate from the door, written in her beautifully rounded script, he felt the final nail hammer into the coffin of his old life.

He had returned to the party swiftly, needing her presence to push the melancholy from his mind, but found that she was not among the throng. Mrs Patmore had looked up from her conversation with Miss Baxter and tilted her head in the direction of the housekeeper's sitting room. He'd set his course thither and finding her door half ajar, had knocked – something she had been teasing him about since their engagement had been announced, but which he still felt was absolutely necessary.

She had been standing reading through some papers, but set them down as he entered and moved towards him a little.

'Did you find anything?'

'Just my name.' he replied, drawing the little label from his breast pocket, handing it over. She looked down at it and drew her forefinger over the words. 'How long ago did I write this?' she pondered, more to herself than him.

'I didn't check your room, but I could go back up for yours too?'

'No need Charles' Moving still closer, she had placed her hand on his shoulder and looked up at him, smiling tenderly. 'I'm only Mrs Hughes here, so I have no need of a reminder.'

'And you honestly don't mind?'

'We've been through that. I might wish his Lordship hadn't been quite so relieved, but it will make things easier. Just so long as I remain Elsie Carson when we're alone, I shall be quite content.'

He had curled an arm about her waist and pressed a brief, chaste, kiss to her cheek, fully cognizant of the half open door (the remembrance of which caused Mrs Carson to smile as she unlocked her front door – how far he had come since then). 'Always' he had promised as he drew away from her.

'Well then, shall we go and inspect our new home Mr Carson?'

'With pleasure Mrs Carson.'

It had taken some minutes to extricate themselves from their colleagues who all wanted to assure them they were pleased and happy to have them back. Elsie noted a look of something in Anna's eye and made a mental note to find out what was behind it, whilst making an actual appointment with Mrs Patmore so she could be brought up to speed on events. Something told her she would not be disappointed with the tale.

They set off and were soon on the path leading away from the house, each carrying a suitcase. Elsie deflected the protests of her husband that she let him carry the bags by tucking her arm through his. She needed the closeness after the proper distance they had kept up through the last few hours. In truth, she could do with a kiss, but they were still in possible sight of the house, and she knew he would never be so open even if, logically, there was no one to see them.

She was surprised, therefore, when he came to an abrupt halt by a bench under a tree, set down his case, did the same with hers, and drew her close, one arm winding about her waist whilst the other hand caressed her cheek lightly.

'It has been at least five hours since I last kissed you properly.' he said sombrely, and without further prevarication and before she had time to let her smile grow, he closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to hers.

The gasp she gave as his tongue swept the roof of her mouth was lost in their heated exchange, but he sensed it all the same, and was proud to have elicited it. He didn't always feel bold enough to make such advances, but she was always delighted when he did.

As they kissed in the gathering dusk, she lost herself slightly to the delights he inspired within her and felt great satisfaction at the quiet moan he gave as her gloved fingers ran, feather light, over the nape of his neck.

He drew back far sooner than he really wanted, but instead of picking up the case and moving on, as the last shred of her common sense supposed he might, he moved to the bench, and invited her to sit before doing so himself.

'I meant it as a compliment when I said it felt as thought we'd been away for a month. This last week has felt as though we were in another world. I hope you know how very happy you've made me?'

She might have deflected his words with humour, would absolutely have done so in the past, but now she could believe what he said and appreciate the look in his eye that told her they were the absolute truth.

'The feeling is mutual my love' she said, drawing his hand up to kiss his knuckles, before standing and reclaiming her case. He rose slowly, and she replaced her arm in the crook of his as they turned back towards the path.

A short while later, they reached their intended destination. The sun was setting behind the cottage, sending rosy shards of light spilling over the roof. The shared a look of agreement that yes, this was ideal and how lucky they were to have such a place to call their own, but they said nothing as they moved towards the door.

Mr Carson drew the key out of his pocket , unlocked and opened the door, but made no move to actually enter his new house. His wife tried to move past him but found her way blocked.

'You're not stepping foot inside.'

'Am I to sleep out under the stars Mr Carson?' She chose to inject humour rather than exasperation into her question, and was rewarded by a chuckle from her husband who was still blocking the entrance.

'No, but I do need you to put down that case.'

She complied. 'Very well, but are you going to tell me why?'

'Because' he said, turning so that he faced her completely, and putting an arm about the middle of her back, 'I am going to carry you over the threshold.'

She didn't have time to back away from him, before he stooped slightly, put his free arm under her legs (ensuring her skirts were in place) and lifted her into his arms.

'Charles Carson!' she almost shrieked, laughter bubbling up, as she fought to release herself. 'Put me down! I'm much too heavy! You'll hurt yourself! Charles, please!'

'I'll only hurt myself if you don't keep still.' He had not moved from the step and now turned his head to look at her, their faces so very close together and on the same level, which was a rarity indeed when they were both fully clothed and vertical. 'You're not too heavy, and I would very much like to carry my bride into our home.'

Being so close, she watched his eyes darken as she felt his heart rate quicken against the hand she had placed on his chest to steady herself. Silently, she nodded her agreement and with that he took one step, then another, and they were in their house.

'Welcome home, Mrs Carson' he said, before leaning forward ever so slightly to kiss her firmly and warmly on the lips.

CE&CE&CE

Mrs Carson had moved through the door, hung her friend's coat and entered the kitchen as she had allowed herself to indulge in the happy memories, and was only recalled to the present by the blurred movement of a hand waving back and forth in front of her.

'You've not heard a word, have you?' asked Mrs Patmore who looked highly amused, although her smile was fond and understanding.

'Well. How embarrassing. I do apologise.' Mrs Carson blushed and turned away to light the stove for their tea.

'Nothing to apologise for – I'm pleased to see you happy.'

Mrs Carson hummed noncommittally although she couldn't deny the truth in the statement. Sensing a change was needed, Mrs Patmore stood in the middle of the kitchen and turned in a slow, deliberate, circle. 'So', she said, 'this is the scene of the great domestic battle of 1925!'

Mrs Carson chuckled as she set the kettle to boil. 'Aye, although there's been a truce of late.'

'Good! Although did I hear him suggest getting me to check the range?'

'If you wouldn't mind.' Mrs Carson waved her hand in its general direction.

Mrs Patmore marched up to it and cast an appreciative eye over the equipment. 'it looks too new to be smoking much.' She started clanging about, opening and shutting doors, before casting a triumphant grin at her friend. 'I'd say it's more to do with this being too high', and with a swift jerk, she yanked the top tray out and replaced it a rung or two lower.

'There' she said, standing up and brushing her hands against each other, 'that should solve your problems.'

'If only!' laughed Mrs Carson, lifting the tea tray from the table. 'Let's take this in the sitting room – we barely get a chance to use it, we're up at the Abbey so much of the time.'

The sitting room was spacious, taking up the rest of the downstairs of the house. A sofa and two large armchairs were arranged to benefit from the fireplace, whilst a long sideboard dotted with picture frames and a sturdy bookcase, only a third filled, took up much of the other part. A plethora of tables on most of them were scattered about, to strategically fill the room with soft light when the night drew in. windows at either end of the room allowed for plenty of natural light to filter in and Mrs Patmore caught sight of the garden at the back of the cottage. It looked inviting and she could imagine her friends sitting comfortably together in the evening light.

She gave a tiny sigh of regret that such an experience was apparently beyond her reach, although she quickly put the thought aside and turned, smiling, towards her friend who had set the tea in front of the sofa.

Mrs Carson, having had many years to learn the ways people attempted to hide their true feelings, and was particularly attuned to the cook's , was not so easily fooled by her friend's show of bravado, and after a few minutes idle conversation on matter such as Anna's pregnancy and what would happen if Mr Molseley did turn to teaching full time, Mrs Carson took a sip of her tea and said, more to her cup than the woman next to her:

'Nothing's changed, not really. I hope you know that?'

Mrs Patmore glanced over at her friend before directing her gaze towards the fireplace and laughed ruefully.

'Lady Grantham said much the same to me after your wedding ceremony, when I was making a spectacle of meself and turning into a blubbering fool.'

'I don't remember that', Mrs Carson smiled fondly whilst marvelling that Lady Grantham should have taken such pains – a thought she chastised herself for immediately. The fiasco over the coat still stung occasionally.

'Yes, well you were otherwise occupied in the porch. I still don't think you spent those minutes talking.'

'Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.', declared Mrs Carson, although the slight blush on her cheeks undermined the lofty words.

'But Lady Grantham is right', she carried on, looking directly at Mrs Patmore. 'The running of the house continues as usual, Mr Carson and I disagree almost as much as we did before, and the world weeps drama and excitement into our paths just as it ever did. The only real difference is …'

'That you've got this to call your own.' supplied Mrs Patmore, looking around the room appreciatively, yet a touch wistfully. 'Your own little nest to share with just one other person. It's lovely and I don't mean to sound envious … but, well, I suppose I am a little.'

'Oh Beryl.' Mrs Carson said, reaching out to pat her friend's knee, trying to rid her voice of the note of pity she was sure would be resented by the other woman.

'It's not something I ever thought I wanted, especially after Mr Tufton showed me what I was lucky to avoid, but then you made me see just how it could be and I suppose I fell to wishing.'

'What do you mean, I showed you?'

'Well, you married your best friend, didn't you?'

The plainness of the statement caught Mrs Carson off guard, but she couldn't deny the fact and she smiled. 'Yes, I suppose I did. But you don't have to know someone for twenty years before you marry them. What about Mr Mason – he's been very attentive.'

'Well, he wants to show his appreciation for the farm, and having Daisy so near is a real blessing.'

'It's not just Daisy though is it?' Mrs Carson wondered if she was pushing too far, but continued nonetheless. 'I've seen the way he looks at you.'

'Don't be daft!' exclaimed Mrs Patmore a little louder than her close proximity to Mrs Carson warranted.

'I will admit that my own troubles preoccupied me greatly at the beginning of this year, but I would have had to have been blind not to notice the way he looks at you. Not the way Daisy attempted to push him away.'

'Ah well, Daisy's young …' began Mrs Patmore attempting to divert the conversation away from herself.

'Daisy' Mrs Carson interrupted, slightly exasperated, which gave her words an added edge, 'is almost thirty and should have learned how to share.'

'True', mused Mrs Patmore. 'She's better now that I've reassured he that we care for her just the same and always will.'

'That's good to hear, and I'm sure Mr Mason will see the change in her, so I would think it only a matter of time before he turns up in the kitchens once again.'

'Mrs Hughes! Are you trying to become a matchmaker?!'

'Well, I've nothing better to do now I've become an old married woman.'

She attempted to say this seriously, but it was no use, she caught Mrs Patmore's mock outraged look and burst into giggles, which set her friend off, as they always did, and soon they roared with laughter.

As Mrs Patmore threw her head back in an attempt to control the giggles, her eye caught sight of a length of black material by the side of the armchair nearest the fireplace.

'What's that?' she said, as she stood and reached to pick up the item. 'Is this Mr Carson's tie?!'

Mrs Carson attempted to sound unruffled and business like as she held out her hand for the item. 'That goes to show how often we use this room. I've been looking everywhere for this.'

'And just why is an item of Mr Carson's clothing on the floor?' asked Mrs Patmore smirking.

'Oh hush. It's hardly scandalous. It was after … his Lordship's scare. You remember how upset Mr Carson was. When we finally got home, neither of us felt much like sleeping and so we sat in here talking things through. He must've removed his tie to try and relax.'

Most of which was perfectly true, except for the timing. Mrs Patmore had not noticed the slight hesitation in the explanation, but Mrs Carson had been on the point of mentioning Mr Barrow's suicide attempt, before reminding herself that the cook was unaware of the entire episode. Her explanation covered both situations, but in many ways, her husband had been more upset by Mr Barrow's situation. It had been an unsettling experience for him, and a test of the healing pwer the love they shared held.

CE&CE&CE

They'd barely spoke on the short walk home, both lost in thoughts about the day and how it had unfolded. Silently they had gone straight upstairs, and as she had taken a seat at her dressing table to unpin and brush out her hair, he had moved towards the bathroom.

She knew this silence of his, knew it meant far more than an absence of words and was therefore not unduly surprise when the sounds of evening ablutions ceased and all she could hear through the door was the occasional sigh. She carried on preparing for bed, but when he finally re-entered the room, still dressed as he had been when he left it, she knew sleep was not right for that moment.

She held out her hand, which he eagerly took and moved towards the door. 'Let's have some tea.'

He did not answer, but as they reached the bottom of the stairs, he tugged her towards the living room and, pausing only to switch a few of the lamps on, he crossed to one of the armchairs and sank into it with a sigh, drawing her down onto his lap, embracing her fiercely.

In hushed tones he confessed his thoughts about his treatment of Thomas, his feelings of guilt mixing with the aggravation the man inspired in him. She encourage him to talk, only commenting to draw out his ideas further, and almost half an hour went by before a pause allowed her to lean back slightly to look him in the eyes.

'I'm proud of you, you know. It's not so very long ago that you might have blamed him for all his misfortune and not seen the part we've all played. It won't be easy talking to him, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the fact you have done so.'

He smiled a little and squeezed her waist in thanks for her warm words. As he did so, he seemed to realise for the first time how underdressed she was, and moved one of his hands so that it skimmed her knee. He kept it above the fabric of her dressing gown and nightdress, but even so she could feel the heat of his body, which warmed her almost as much as the look of desire in his eyes.

'I love you' he said lowly, almost fiercely, the conviction deeply evident in his voice. 'I don't say it often, and I think I've not been that good at showing you in an everyday way either. But I do. I love you.'

'I know you do' she answered, feeling the emotion fill her heart anew as she saw it spill from his eyes. She leaned back towards him, curing into his shoulder, and threaded her fingers through the hairs at the base of his neck, indicating with only the slightest pressure what she wanted.

Their lips met and ignited the flames of their love instantly. She had marvelled before how many different ways there were to kiss her husband, and she gave herself up to the heady quickness of their embraces. They had settled into a pattern somewhat since they had returned from Scarborough, their love making languid and balanced as they allowed themselves all the time in the world. But this quick ignition, this spark and flare of desire harked back to their first days together after the initial awkwardness had been dispelled. Then they had come together in a rush and fever as they poured out all their emotions, so long locked up and now given freedom to be explored.

His lips had long since left hers and were making an exploration of her collarbone, nipping and sucking at the skin that only he was privileged to see and touch, as his hands finally made it underneath her nightdress and gently circled the top of her knee before lightly stroking the inside of her lower thigh.

'Oh Charlie!' she whispered, using the name she reserved only for moment of deepest love and intimacy, her voice catching on the 'r' so that it rolled more than usual and precipitated an echoing groan from him. She needed to reciprocate, could not take all this passion from him without giving some in return. Shifting slightly on his lap, smirking at the latest groan her movements inspired, she grasped the ends of his bow tie and slowly pulled then until the careful knot came apart in her hands.

She pulled the material away from his neck, not noticing where it fell, and undid the restrictive buttons of his collar and the first two of his shirt. She leaned forward to place a kiss to his Adam's apple and the base of his throat, and spoke his name against his skin.

He felt it reverberate within him and tightened his grip on her thigh. He managed to keep hold of the groan of desire at the sensation, but was unable to do so as she removed herself from his lap, and turned to face him, bending a little so she could look him in the eye – although he was far more focussed on the glimpse of her swaying breast from the gap in her nightdress.

'Come to bed Charlie' she whispered against his lips, and he complied instantly, neither of them paying any heed to the scrap of material that lay by the chair until Mrs Patmore found it some weeks later.

CE&CE&CE

These thoughts and further conversation with Mrs Patmore were cut short by the sound of the bang of the front door.

'Elsie?' came a voice from the hallway, and after a quick surprised glance between the two women, Mrs Carson hurried out to greet the owner of the voice.

She had not expected to see her husband until much later, after dinner had finished. He'd had no reason to return for his evening livery. They had both agreed some months ago it was easier to change for the evening at the Abbey, after a series of passionate encounters at the cottage had significantly delayed them.

'Hello' he said, drawing her into his arms and kissing her deeply enough to leave her breathless.

'Charles!' she admonished, pulling back and tapping at his wrists which were on her waist, so that he released her. 'Mrs Patmore's still here!'

'Can a man not kiss his wife in his own home?' he grumbled as he followed her into the sitting room, smiling at the cook who had risen from her seat. 'It's hardly shocking.'

'I quite agree Mr Carson.' Mrs Patmore grinned. 'I've the monopoly on houses of ill repute, thank you very much.'

The trio laughed, happy they were able to joke about a subject that had set them all on edge for a time, although Elsie's laughter was arrested as she heard her husband whisper in her ear 'and it's payment for that kiss in the kitchen, which I could not properly repay at the time.'

Mrs Patmore noted the blush on Mrs Carson's face and understood it as her cue to leave. 'I'd best be off. Dinner won't cook itself! I take it Mr Barrow is in charge?'

'He is' confirmed Mr Carson, seeing he look of exasperation on her face. 'He needs the responsibility if he's going to get a good position.'

The beam of pride Mrs Carson gave her husband confused Mrs Patmore as much as the new championing of the under-butler, but she chose not to question it.

'Well, you two enjoy your nest', she said as she left, 'I'll see you in the morning.'

The front door, she thought, was shut behind her perhaps a touch too quickly, and as she chanced a glance back at the cottage as she reached the lane, she thought she glimpsed a couple in the sitting room, arms entwined and lips locked together.

She had been correct, she thought. It was a nest for the Carson's, but more importantly, and perhaps surprisingly for those who saw them interact at the Abbey, it was a love nest they shared, and Mrs Patmore was happy she had witnessed even a tiny part of that love.

She moved off towards the Abbey, promising herself she'd not let her new moniker for the cottage slip – well, not unless the tease was worth it. The love nest indeed – whoever would have guessed!

A/N: The second flashback links to the Carson chapter of my Insights fic, and also to something I'm planning to write, but havn't fully planned yet (and unlike most things I write, it does need planning before I start). I don't actually think Mrs Patmore said the words love nest to Mrs Carson before the point in canon (because Elsie definitely blushes a little), but I wanted an open conversation between the two women on the subject of love. Also – Daisy, I think she's probably about 14 at the start of the show – she's one of the lower ranking servants, so that would fit, 15 years have passed, so she's around 29. High time to grow up (although if you're a 29 year old widow who's still a virgin (deathbed wedding an all), you'd be quite immature too).

As always, I would love to know what you think!