A/N A birthday ficlet for the lovely kouw! Thanks for being my friend sweetie!

THUNDERSTORM

Night turned into day when lightning struck outside followed by a roll of thunder. Elsie awoke with a start and sat upright in her bed. All day she had felt the thunderstorm coming. Dark clouds had hung above the castle and a strong wind had blown when she went to bed a few hours ago. Another flash of lightning illuminated her room. A second later it was pitch black again and heavy rain pelted against the two tiny windows. Elsie counted the seconds, waited for the next thunder. She had only reached ten when another lightning struck, the thunder so loud this time that she was sure some nearby tree had been hit. Her hands trembled and sweat started to form on her forehead. The thunderstorm was directly above them and Elsie had never felt save in the attics at such weather. She needed to be downstairs in the safety of the servant's hall or her sitting room. As fast as possible she got out from underneath her cosy duvet and into her slippers and dressing gown. Before she left her room, another lightning struck and Elsie had never made it that fast along the corridor towards the staircases. When she was halfway downstairs she realized that she had forgotten to bring a lamp. Now it was too late to climb back upstairs. She knew her way around every corner of the large house by heart anyway. Within a few minutes Elsie safely reached the basement and quickly made her way into the kitchen to fetch some hot water for a cup of tea.

The weather had been mad the last couple of days. Unbearable heat followed by icecold wind and hailstorms. And now the thunderstorm along with the heavy rain had woken him from a wonderful dream. Angrily he pushed back the covers and lit the lamp on his bedside table to have enough light to read the time on his fob watch. Half past three. In two hours time he would have been awake anyway. Groaning he got up and took the dressing gown from its hook by the door. He would go downstairs to work a bit and then get changed into his livery before the kitchen maids were up to lit the fires. There was absolutely no way for him to fall asleep again once had been woken so abruptly.

ooo

The hallway downstairs was dark when he descended the last couple of steps. No one was up yet but it would not take long until the first maids were up. He turned right to go over into his pantry but a light and a sound from the kitchen caught his attention. No one should see a sleepy and tousle-headed butler in the early hours of the morning. Perhaps it had not been such a good idea to leave his bedroom dressed only in his pyjamas and his old, shabby robe. Charles listened for a moment to find out who was in the kitchen at this ungodly hour but whoever had made the noise was quiet now. Slowly and minding his step he took a few more steps into the direction of his pantry. The kitchen doorway was now visible and he peered around surprised to find Mrs Hughes sitting at the small table usually occupied by Mrs Patmore. A cup of hot tea stood in front of her and she was blowing into it to cool the hot drink. Charles decided to silently make his way towards his pantry now. If it was only Mrs Hughes, he would be fine.

A floorboard creaked behind her and Elsie jerked her head around. "Who is it?" She quickly closed the top buttons of her dressing gown and pulled the shawl she was wearing around her shoulders a bit tighter. The maids were not up yet. Perhaps a cat had been locked inside the house or they had some mice yet again. "Who is it?" She repeated her question and now someone stepped from the shadows into the dimly lit kitchen.

"It is only me." Mr Carson, in the same state of undress as her, stood in the doorway. "I'm sorry if I have given you a fright."

"The thunderstorm scared me more." The moment she had said it, lightning and thunder struck again. Elsie shrieked and almost spilled her tea across Mrs Patmore's precious recipe books. When the sound of the loud thunder had died down she was still clutching her chest, eyes closed, her pulse racing.

"Is everything alright." He was standing next to her now, his hand resting on her shoulder. It was obvious that he had tried to calm her down but Elsie was still shaking and could not open her eyes. She had to breathe deeply a few times before she was able to relax a bit.

"Yes, thank you. I dislike thunderstorms as you might know." Her hand searched for the cup of tea and she took a sip to calm her nerves. "I better return to my sitting room where I can draw the curtains." She stood and Mr Carson let go of her shoulder. "Thank you Mr Carson."

"Whatever for. Let me know if you want to have some company." He showed her one of his rare smiles.

Elsie was about to agree to his offer when one more thunder, so loud as if the lightning had struck the large tree in the backyard, made her jump in fright again. She grabbed his upper left arm and held on to it, pressing her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat that had sped up a bit too.

He was unsure how to react. They had never been that close except for the day they held hands at the beach, and a very timid embrace the night Lady Sybil had died. His first instinct was to take a step back and give her some room, not embarrass her. But then he felt how her body quivered and he remembered her words you can always hold my hand if you need to feel steady. Maybe this was the moment when he could make her feel steady and safe.

"Shhhh. It's only a thunderstorm. I'll stay with you until it's over." His right hand gently rested on the small of her back. They stayed like this for another minute before Mrs Hughes looked up. Charles could see in her eyes that she had accepted his offer. "I'll make you feel steady tonight if you want me to."

"Thank you." To his surprise she kissed his cheek, then let go of his arm and turned around, walking towards her sitting room.

ooo

Elsie took one more deep breath before she went inside her small refuge. Maybe thunderstorms were not so scary after all.

THE END