AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello!

So, as you can see under my username, I'm 08 and I am a new member of . This is slightly nerve-wracking because this is my first fanfiction EVER, so please show it some love! Downton Abbey is one of my absolute favourite television shows at the moment and I cannot express my great love for it in words (I'm sure many of you know how I feel when I say this). This is just my little note of saying hi and I do hope that I can be welcomed into this amazing fanbase that has grown over the years.

Now, enough of my ranting and on with the chapter!

"Welcome back, sir."

Having returned from another extensive day at the firm, Matthew was greeted by Thomas in the foyer of Downton Abbey, upon his arrival. Ready to offer his services, Thomas had taken the jacket and hat Matthew had worn today and his briefcase off from the floor. With his hands clasped together, Matthew glanced around the foyer, in hopes of hearing the light clicking of his wife's heels across the wooden floor to welcome his return. He was waiting for her head to pop out from the library, but tonight, Matthew was left without warm greeting.

"Do you happen to know where Mary may be?"

"I believe Lady Mary is in your bedroom, sir," Thomas replied, straightening Matthew's jacket over the crook of his right arm. "According to Anna, she had stayed there for the majority of the day."

Matthew frowned in concern. Before his departure this morning, Mary was still deeply asleep, an occurrence that rarely happened during the days he had work. It was accustomed to wake up by each other's presence before getting ready, but not without a few stolen kisses in the warmth of their bed. However, Matthew's morning routine did not seem to bother his wife, nor did he have the heart to wake her in such a peaceful state. Granted, things have not exactly been the same since Sybil's passing nearly six months ago, but their mornings were always the same.

"Oh dear," Matthew murmured under his breath.

Had she fallen ill? Matthew couldn't help but to feel a growing concern for his wife's well-being. It wasn't in her nature to stay put in one spot all day.

"Would you like me to help you get ready for dinner this evening, sir?" Thomas asked, snapping Matthew back into reality. "The dressing gong has already rung."

Matthew curtly nodded, with a frown still creased between his brows. "Yes, thank you. But, I would like to go check up on my wife beforehand. I shall meet you in my dressing room in a moment."

"Very good, sir," Thomas nodded and headed up the stairs to drop of Matthew's belongings in his dressing room.

Looking at the grand staircase of Downton, Matthew shuffled up the stairs, taking two steps at a time and walked down the silent corridor that led to their bedroom. Reaching the door, his hand ready to turn the doorknob, but hesitated and decided to knock instead.

"Come in," he heard a faint reply.

With a deep breath, Matthew turned the doorknob and saw his wife at her dressing table, dabbing a bit of perfume on her wrists and neck while Anna was finishing off her hair. Mary caught Matthew's presence in the reflection by the vanity mirror before a loving smile escaped her lips.

"You're back."

As her cue to leave, Anna drew back from the vanity table and curtly bowed towards Matthew before she exited the room, leaving the couple to be in each other's company. Mary stood up from her little stool and walked over to where Matthew stood and lightly tiptoed to gift him a welcoming kiss, which he gratefully accepted. The warmth of her lips perfectly molded over his, as a hand went to cup her porcelain cheek. His other arm unconsciously wrapped around her tiny waist, a gesture that Matthew had become so accustomed to since their marriage of almost a year. As they broke apart, Matthew gazed at his wife's appearance and smiled.

"You look absolutely beautiful this evening," he said.

Mary smiled. "Any married man smart enough to say such things to their wife knows what he's doing."

"Then, I guess you married a smart man."

She chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I did."

Matthew kissed the temple of Mary's forehead, all the while inhaling her scent, the scent that he had come to grow to love.

Gently pulling away from his embrace, Mary walked back to her vanity in which she took the time to browse through her jewelry box.

"You should get dressed," Mary said as she placed a pair of pearl earrings onto her delicate ear lobes. "Dinner is about to start soon and Grandmama is coming over tonight."

Despite wanting more time with his wife after a long day in Ripon, Matthew obliged to Mary's words and entered his dressing room.

Having changed for dinner, Matthew re-entered the bedroom to see Mary sitting on their bed, aimlessly gazing out the window. Her slender fingers were fiddling with her wedding band, a habit of hers that Matthew would often see. It appeared to Matthew that Mary did not seem to be aware of his presence and it gave him an opportunity to fully see his wife.

Her creamy, porcelain skin that would normally illuminate under the light seemed to be paler than most days. Matthew was almost certain Mary carried a waxy hue, a complexion that he rarely saw her carry. Her cheeks were sunken in, further accentuating her already sculpted cheekbones, looking as if she hadn't eaten for a couple of days. Then her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes that were always so full of life and passion now looked tired and weary.

Matthew felt a pang of guilt for not seeing his wife up-close until now. How long has she been like this? What was he doing all this time? Had she fallen ill without his knowledge? He had recently got a promotion at the firm back in Ripon, which included longer hours and more paperwork along with the new wage. But, this also meant not seeing his wife as often as he would like, only seeing her during dinners in the evenings and on the weekends. It was no wonder Matthew had not seen his wife's current state until now.

Closing his dressing room door behind him, Matthew walked over to his wife, clearing his throat to acknowledge his presence. He crouched before her, staring up into Mary's eyes, which seemed to drift back into reality after seeing her husband's familiar face. His hands were placed over hers as his thumb gently caressed her soft skin.

"Darling, are you alright?" Matthew asked softly, with a voice under growing concern.

"Of course," Mary replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Despite her answer, Matthew heard a hint of wavering, not being entirely convinced over his wife's response. She was physically in front of him, but it didn't feel like she was with him.

"I'm not quite sure. It's just… you just look tired that's all," he said. "I heard that you stayed in bed for most of the day. Would you like me to tell the others that you're not feeling well so you could rest?"

"Don't be ridiculous. That won't be necessary," Mary answered. She stood up from the bed, letting Matthew's hands fall from hers and started shuffling towards the bedroom door. "We mustn't be late, Matthew. They might be all waiting for us."

Knowing he wouldn't get an answer out of Mary so easily, he straightened up from his position and followed behind his wife and wrapped an arm around her. After planting a kiss on the crown of her head, the two headed downstairs for dinner.

At dinner, Mary sat between the Dowager and Edith, with Matthew sitting across from her. She didn't want to be constantly under his care despite his good intentions. It was true that she had stayed in bed for most of the day, but how Matthew had come to this knowledge, was beyond her.

It was the first time in nearly a year since she was woken up by Anna's presence in her room instead of her husband's movements of getting ready for work. All of her muscles ached and she felt a headache arising. Her belief was that if she rested for most of the day, she would feel better by dinner. Though her headache had left, her body was still sore and cried for a hot bath to ease the tension away.

Sitting beside Cousin Robert, Matthew couldn't focus on much of their conversations for his eyes kept glancing towards Mary from across the table. He noticed she had barely taken a few bites to eat and whenever a new dish was served before her, she would take the smallest portions, but gently moving it around her plate for the appearance of it being eaten. She had minimal conversation with the women, but they didn't seem to take notice. She mostly listened and stared down at the table, with her hand pushing her fork across the plate. It was the same stare she had when she was sitting in their bedroom, looking so lost, and vulnerable. Matthew just wanted to get up from his seat and comfort his wife, but refrained from doing so. After all, he knew that getting an answer out of Mary from incessant questioning would only irritate her even more. Instead, he waited out until everybody was ready to head to the drawing room for more casual conversing.

As everybody started walking out of the dining room, Matthew caught Mary's elbow and gently walked her off to the side of the lobby.

"Darling, is there something the matter?" he asked once more. "You've barely had anything to eat at dinner. I know you don't like to be constantly cared for, but you must know and understand that I'm only asking because I'm genuinely concerned for you."

Mary weakly smiled. Confessing her feelings had never been a strong trait of hers. She believed showing emotion was a sign of great weakness, even if it towards her own husband. It was something he was still chipping the ice away, but it's only in Mary's nature to restrict herself from revealing too much of her feelings.

To be quite honest, Mary didn't feel very well. All of her aches and pains seemed to have gotten worse over dinner and she suddenly felt chills running down her spine.

"I'm fine, but I am feeling a little tired," she responded. She wasn't lying, but she wasn't exactly telling Matthew the entire truth either. "I think I might head upstairs early and ask Anna to run me a bath. Do you think you can tell the others that I've gone up?"

"Of course," Matthew said, with great concern in his voice. "I'll come up as soon as I can."

Mary sighed in relief and pleasure as she let her herself soak in the warm bath that Anna had drawn, letting all of her aches and pains slowly melt away. Her head was propped up against the edge of the bathtub, with the rest of her body emerged in the rosewater. Her eyes were closed and she let the quietness lead her to a place of tranquility. Without her knowing, Mary slowly drifted in and out of consciousness, unaware of how long she had been in the tub until she faintly heard Anna's voice from afar.

"M'lady?" Anna said. "M'lady, are you alright?"

Mary's eyes slowly fluttered opened as she saw Anna holding a couple of towels in her hands.

"How long have I been in here?"

"Nearly thirty minutes, m'lady," Anna answered. She opened up the large towel in which Mary slipped over her body and carefully climbed out of the tub.

"After draining the bath you can be excused," Mary said. "You've done enough work for one day, Anna. I think I can manage the rest."

"Thank you, m'lady," Anna thanked as she began draining the bath before heading back to the servant's hall.

After changing into her silk nightgown and dressing robe, Mary exited the bathroom and into the bedroom she and Matthew shared. She found him sitting atop on their bed, also wearing his dressing robe and a little frown across his face.

"How are you feeling?" Matthew asked as he motioned his wife over to his side.

Mary walked over to the bed and sat beside her husband, letting him warm an arm around her shoulder.

"I took a bath. My muscles were aching a bit so I thought a bath would do some good."

"Perhaps you're coming down with something," Matthew mumbled. He placed a hand over Mary's forehead, but silently prayed to God in relief when he found no traces of a fever.

"Really, Matthew…" Mary lightly scolded. "You worry too much."

Matthew sighed as he placed a kiss onto his wife's forehead, then her nose, and then found the softness of her lips over his own. As he drew back, he leaned his forehead against hers, their noses gently brushing against one another.

"I'm sorry," Matthew apologized in a gentle whisper. "I feel as though I've been neglecting you due to work."

Mary drew back and it was her turn to carry the frown. "Why? You've not neglected me at all."

"You may not feel like I have, but I do," Matthew said. "With the new promotion at work, I feel like I have let you down as a husband. Anna just informed me of your muscles aches that have been reoccurring for almost a week now and that you rarely ever leave the house because you've been feeling a little under the weather. You refuse to have Dr. Clarkson come up and check to see if you're alright."

Mary frowned even deeper after hearing her trust with Anna had been broken. "Anna told you? Why would she-"

"I asked her."

"Oh…I see."

Matthew stood up from his spot and kneeled in front of his wife, the same way he did before the evening's dinner. His large hands enveloped her soft ones as the couple gazed into each other's eyes.

"I'm just concerned, darling," Matthew said. "I just want to be sure that you're not gravely ill. Surely you can't be angered by my desire to ensure your well-being."

Mary's frown slowly dissipated after hearing her husband's response. Handling illnesses were not his strong suit with everything that has happened in the past.

"Of course I'm not angry," Mary sighed. She combed her fingers through Matthew's floppy bangs. "I could never be cross with you. Frustrated? Yes, but angry? Never."

Smiling, Matthew helped Mary into bed, drawing the covers over her body. Blowing out the candle beside her, he walked over to his side with the help of the light illuminating from the full moon seeping through the translucent drapes. He slipped beneath the covers and drew Mary into his embrace so her head was by the crook of his neck.

"You will inform me the next time you feel even the slightest unwell?" Matthew asked.

He felt Mary sigh as she nuzzled herself closer towards his body. "If it makes you feel better, then yes. I promise."

Satisfied by her answer, Matthew closed his eyes as the two of them drifted off to sleep.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, how did I do for the first chapter?

Comments/advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm new at this, so please excuse any mistakes I may have made!

I hope to see you soon!

08