Okay so this is slightly AU as I decided to have Mr. Bates's trial not take place until after Christmas.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters but I'm going give them a good time before I return them to ITV.
Summary: Anna decides to bring a little extra happiness to our favourite heads of staff at Christmas time.
As Anna lay in her bed smiling to herself, she couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to pull it off. It had all started as a simple way of her trying to find a way of thinking about something other than John. Her smile faded and tears threatened to fall once again at the slightest thought of him but she forced herself to focus on the success of the day.
Every year the staff would exchange gifts amongst themselves. Usually they weren't given too much thought and happened to be whatever the staff could make or purchase for the lowest price without too much fuss. Her mind wandered to a handkerchief she had been given by Mrs. Patmore as a Christmas present last year. It had the letters L. M. already embroidered on it and smelt like it had been used many times before it was given to her. She shuddered at the thought and remembered with a sly smile how she had 'accidently' dropped it into the fire. Mrs. Patmore had made a bit of a fuss but she didn't really seem to care that much at the loss of her 'precious' gift. It was this lack of caring that had annoyed Anna. When she was younger, her parents had always put so much thought into the presents they would get or make for other people. They always tried to come up with something special even if it was only a modest handkerchief; they would at least have the courtesy to wash it and sow the correct letters into the fabric. They had always told her that 'it is the thought that counts'. That is why Anna had resolved to change the goings-on in the downstairs section of Downton Abbey. She decided to come up with a big plan to bring everyone together and hopefully bring some cheer to the house before what was sure to be a terrible time in the new year when the trial was due to go ahead.
Secret Santa! It was perfect. She had always loved receiving her gifts from Santa and what could be more fun than playing Santa to the rest of the house. She had thought that if the servants were forced to buy only one present then they would have to put some decent effort into it. It is always better to receive a gift that has had some thought behind it rather than any old tat that they were able to get their hands on at the last minute. At first, she had giggled at the thought of Thomas picking Mrs. Patmore's name or even more silly, the thought of Mrs. O'Brien picking Daisy's. The image of the scowl that would become even more permanently fixed on O'Brien's face was enough to set Anna off into a fit of giggles which she struggled to control. The only thing that kept niggling at the back of Anna's mind was the one pairing that she kept coming back to was that of the two heads of the staff. They had been so good to her since the revelations about John and herself. She remembered that night Mrs. Hughes had spent soothing her as she had cried in her parlour. She had felt such a fool for crying but Mrs. Hughes kept reassuring her that it was perfectly alright and 'better out than in'. Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson seemed to work so well together and always reminded her of her Mom and Dad. Anna knew, that however much they seemed like an old married couple, they would never act on any feelings that anyone could see that they have for another because of the strict rules that they applied to themselves for fear of looking foolish or even worse, less authoritative than usual.
She knew all that they needed was a gentle push in the right direction so that would be able to show what they truly felt for one another. So this was what led to Anna's big scheme to rig the Secret Santa!
It's hardly the easiest of tasks to pull off when you are not used to being so cunning but Anna was up to the challenge. She had forced herself to rise extra early to make sure her task was completed even though she loathes having to be an early riser any morning. She set about writing all the names of the staff on different pieces of paper. She had decided to wait until the staff was having dinner so that she could include Mr. Molesley and Mrs. Bird who were going to be in Downton today to help with a special banquet that was being hosted by Lord Grantham for a large group of his army comrades and who were likely to be here on Christmas day as well. She had spent her whole night thinking about how she was going to pull this off and had finally come up with her plan of action. She placed all the names of the staff (including James who was the new chauffeur) into a small bag she had found but kept the names of Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson in her hand. She knew that everyone would be gathered in the kitchen before them so she would have to get everyone else to take their names first.
Mrs. Patmore was starting to dish up the dinner for the servants when Anna strode in with her little bag.
"I've had a plan!" She announced.
"This should be interesting" Mrs. O'Brien deadpanned.
"Well actually it is. This Christmas, I think it would be fun if we all did Secret Santa. Everyone has to choose a name from this bag and keep it a secret. Then you have to get that person a present. On Christmas day, we will all place them under our little tree in the corner with just the name of who it is for on them. That way we don't have to own up to who we bought for. Here, I'll go first".
With that she picked out a name and stuffed it in her pocket so that it wouldn't get mixed up with the pieces of paper with Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson on them. She then went round to each member of th staff and got them to pick a name. Right on cue, Mr. Carson entered.
"And what, may I ask, is going on here?" He asked raising one eyebrow.
Discreetly throwing Mrs. Hughes name into the bag as she walked over to him Anna explained "Oh we've decided to play Secret Santa this year and everyone is getting involved. We wouldn't you to feel left out Mr. Carson so why don't you choose a name".
He didn't comment and just reached in very quickly and took out the piece of paper. As he looked at the name he smiled and said "Well I suppose it would be nice for all the staff to have something to cheer about this year"
Mrs. O'Brien rolled her eyes. Anna was on cloud nine and couldn't wait for Mrs. Hughes to join them. She slipped the other piece of paper with Mr. Carson's name on it into the bag when she heard footsteps on the stairs.
"Sorry you all had to wait" Mrs. Hughes said as she came into the kitchen.
"It isn't a problem, Mrs. Hughes. Anna has an idea she wants to share with you" Mr. Carson explained and Anna couldn't help but smile at the eagerness in his voice.
"We're playing Secret Santa and there's one name left for you to choose, Mrs. Hughes" Anna beamed as she watched Mrs. Hughes take out the last piece of paper.
"Well it will be nice to have something to cheer us all up" Mrs. Hughes said as she looked at the name, not realising how similar to Mr. Carson she sounded.
As everyone sat into their meal, Anna couldn't help but feel triumphant. It wasn't until she was getting ready for bed that she remembered that she still hadn't looked at her piece of paper. She took it out with excitement….Thomas.
"Well I suppose that's what I get for rigging the damn thing" She laughed as she lay down onto her bed.
I love hearing what you guys think about what I've written.
I look forward to seeing if you have any suggestions for what presents might be purchased.
As always, thanks for reading :D I really appreciate it.