Hi everyone, only a short one as this is my first ever fanfic so i hope you like it, thoughts will be appreciated. The title of this story is a favourite song of mine by Storm Lee, fantastic singer/songwriter- i recommend you check his music out.

Angels calling his name

'So this is what dying is like' Thomas thought. Not what he had imagined at all. Knowing him, he thought he would be falling down into some kind of deep, dark, bottomless pit. He wasn't exactly in God's good books so going to heaven, he considered to be very unlikely. However, so far, he had to admit it wasn't so bad. He felt as if all the weight that he had been carrying all his life had suddenly been lifted off him. In short, now he no longer had a life to burden him, he felt at peace.

However,confusion soon started to chip away at this new found feeling. He could hear voices, familiar voices, calling his name, although they all seemed to blur into one. It was hard to put a finger on who these voices belonged to. All he knew was that he had heard them before. Suddenly, a beautiful voice spoke to him, louder and more clear than all the rest ever were. The voice of an angel. Now, Thomas started to believe he was indeed, by some miracle in heaven. After all, you don't get angels in hell, unless you count the devil of course. He was even more sure of it, when the voice became more than a beautiful sound amongst the chaos. The voice belonged to the one person in his life who was able to both make and break his heart at the same time -Jimmy.

Noweverything started to become more clear, the other voices had belonged to some of the staff at Downton. He could now hear Mrs. Hughes, Andy, and even Carson. 'Oh come on! I have Jimmy's voice with me in heaven, but I have to be stuck with Carson's too, is this some kind of joke?' Thomas wondered maybe if God had intended to punish him in a different way than hell would. Or maybe this was hell after all. Either way though, Jimmy was there and that was enough.

You needed me

Thomas' eyes slowly opened. He could smell cigarette smoke, the sort of smell that clung to the walls and fabrics in his room at Downton. A dim light was slowly growing across the the ceiling above him, its fingers stretching out into ever shadow, until none remained. He was in his room again. That much he was certain of. He had died and come back. Or he had never left in the first place, those voices weren't from heaven and he wasn't dead. He was very much alive. He tried to sit up, but felt as if he had no strength to do so. He may be alive, but he certainly didn't feel it.

As Thomas slowly adjusted to the fact that he was alive,and not in a twisted version of heaven, he became aware of the presence of someone else in the room. He heard whoever it was, clear their throat and then sigh as they fell asleep again. 'Who would care so much about him, that they would voluntarily sleep in his room?' Thomas wondered. 'Most would run a mile if asked to do so, especially most men.' It was Thomas's turn to sigh now and in doing so the person near him woke.

'Thomas? Thomas, you're awake! It's alright, I'm not going anywhere'

'Jimmy? What are you doing here?' Thomas suddenly found the strength to push himself up on his elbows and look over to the chair on his right hand side, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Thomas smiled.

'I must go and tell, everyone, they've been so worried about you.' Jimmy got up and started to the door, but paused when Thomas spoke.

'Don't, please, not yet.' Thomas felt a quiver creep up into his voice as he spoke. He didn't want them to see him like this. 'What happened?' Thomas asked, even though he new full well the reason why he was lying there, like this. 'Why are you here, Jimmy?'

Jimmy sat back down, resting his hands on his knees, just as he had done all that time ago when he had agreed to be Thomas' friend. He looked tired and his golden blond hair was a mess, which wasn't like Jimmy at all. He always spent ages making sure it was immaculate. 'I got a letter from Mrs Hughes, when I was in London. She didn't go into any details, but said that you had been hurt and that you needed me to come and see you.'

'But Jimmy, you being here...I...you didn't…' Thomas stopped as he felt a warm tear flow down his cheek. 'You didn't need to come, this isn't anyone's fault other than my own, it's my burden to bear, my problem to fix.'

'No, Thomas. I had to come. Mrs Hughes, said to me when I got here, that she wrote to me asking me to come, cause she was worried you would try again, to...you know'. Thomas nodded, sparing Jimmy from having to say it. 'You have been a friend to be more times than I had ever deserved, I needed to be there for you. I'm staying here as long as you need me to.' Thomas didn't know how to respond to that, how to tell him that he would always need Jimmy, but he knew that could never be. 'You're wrong you know.'

'What do you mean?'

'About it all being your fault. Sure, you did it, but most people here, from what I heard didn't exactly try to stop you. They couldn't see that you were suffering, that you needed company, as much as any other man or woman needs it. I shouldn't have left.'

'You didn't have much of a choice in the matter, from what I recall, Jimmy.'

'Yes, well I was a fool and an idiot then, and I will try not to be either ever again' Jimmy said with a determined nod, which made some of his hair flop down over his forehead.

Thomas smiled and looked at Jimmy, 'Don't try too hard, it's one of the things I love about you.' Realising what he had just said, Thomas looked away.

'It's alright Thomas, I know I'll always be more than a friend to you, I get that and you don't have to hide how you feel about me, if you don't want to, not around me anyway. I think hiding so much is part of what got you into this situation, so if I can help with that then I will. It's what a friend would do.'