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April 1915 – Ypres, Belgium

Matthew sat in the dark trench, writing another letter to Mary. It had been several months since he had left Downton, and he was still alive, still fighting for the chance to get home safely. The 'trenches' were the worst living conditions he had ever come across – muddy, wet, rats crawling everywhere…he hoped that after this war, he would never set eyes on a damned trench ever again. 'No-man's land' was described as 'hell on earth' by some of the men in his regiment; once you stepped foot out in the middle between the British trenches and the German trenches, you never knew whether you would come out alive. It scared Matthew every time the whistles from the sergeants and captains blew, the time you had to clamber up the ladder and shoot at every enemy target you could see. Matthew hated killing people he didn't know, but this was his duty. One he hoped never to do again at the end of it all.

He sat by a small light attempting to write a letter. He tried to write to Mary whenever he could, and he kept the letters from her in this army jacket – her letters was what was keeping him alive. He was living to get back home to her – and of course Mother – but he missed Mary terribly. He smiles to himself every time he thinks about the moment they shared a kiss before he left for this hell, when they both saw sense past all of the titles and the big houses. He loved hearing from her, hearing all of the news from back home and hearing what she was doing every week – it kept him going. He so badly wanted to go back home, and run into her arms and never let her go again. That's all he wanted. He turned back to his paper and continued to write some more to his love, before he was interrupted by Branson and William entering the trench. He smiled warmly at both of them, he was glad he was with them – even though they were servants at Downton, here everyone was the same. They were all soldiers fighting for the same cause, and they all got along well; it did take a while for Branson and William to stop calling Matthew 'sir' but they had got there eventually! The two of them sat down next to him, and started a conversation.

"Writing to Lady Mary then?" William asked, before Branson nudged him in the ribs, "Ow! What the dickens was that for?"

Branson chuckled before answering jokingly.

"Who do you think he was writing to? Of course it's going to be Lady Mary," Branson chuckled, with Matthew joining in too – the times he spent with the pair of them were the only times he really smiled in the trenches now. Oh and getting letters from Mary.

"Yes I am writing to Mary William," Matthew smiled, before looking back down to write some more.

"Have you heard anything from Daisy?" Branson asked curiously.

William proudly patted his breast pocket of his jacket, his wide smile infectious to anyone who saw it.

"Yes, we've been writing every week!" William replied. All three chuckled, before their sergeant poked his head through the make shift curtain by the entrance to the trench. All three of them stood up quickly and saluted, careful not to bash their heads on the muddy 'ceiling'.

"If your quite finished with your joking around!" the sergeant boomed at them, "Grab your guns, we're going over the top!"

The three men quickly grabbed their guns and helmets before making their way along the trench to join the rest of their regiment. Matthew had the same feeling he always had before they went under the barbed wire and into 'no-man's land' – he felt sick, scared, nervous. But at the same time, he knew Mary would think he was very noble and brave and that's what made me know he would come home. He quickly grabbed a letter from the inside of his jacket and kissed it, before focusing on the task ahead. William and Branson next to him looked petrified, and Matthew quickly whispered words of good luck to both of them. They both nodded weakly, before a booming voice was heard once more.

"Fix bayonets!" All of what was heard across the tents was the fixing of bayonets to the top of guns, ready for battle.

"Load guns!" Matthew checked his rifle was fully loaded before closing his eyes briefly. He could hear the booms of the big guns, firing shells over at the German trenches, and then they slowly faded – it was the front patrol's turn now. He thought of his Mother, he thought of everyone back at Downton and he then thought of Mary, her beautiful face in his mind. He has to get home.

Then the sheer blast of whistles from the leaders go, and suddenly he's rushing forward, up the ladder and he's into 'no-man's land'. And all the while, he's still thinking about Mary.

Branson was right next to Matthew when the whistles go and he's soon following Matthew into 'no-man's land', roaring with the rest of the regiment as they race towards the German front line. His mind quickly drifts back to Sybil – he misses her terribly and back in the trench, he does the same as Matthew. He closed his eyes, and imagined her and their conversations before he had left. He regrets not telling her how he felt, and he hopes this battle isn't he last, so he can maybe write to her or ask Lord Grantham how he is. He has kept his love for Sybil quiet though – one word of it to Lord Grantham and he would probably go for a court martial! No, he keeps fighting on, determined to see her again and he won't make a mistake next time he does – he'll tell her exactly how he feels and he doesn't care what society thinks.

But for now, he's running – dodging shells being rained down by the German's until they stopped and their front line is hurtling towards them. Branson aims his gun and he's firing, firing at any German he can see. Beside him, he can see fellow soldiers of his regiment going down like flies, and he's picking off German's, in anger for killing his comrades. He's not the Branson everyone knows back at Downton – this war has changed him and he's angry that this war ever started, that people are needlessly dying. He hears a cry beside him as he falls into a shell hole, mud blurring his vision. He continues to fire from the top of the hole, and looks to find the source of the cry. He feels sick when he does find the source – William.

"NO!" He screams, as William lies writhing in agony on the floor, blood streaming from his stomach. He can't believe it, his anger rises again as he sees his friend is lying there, dying. He gets up and blindly shoots, screaming as he does before he reaches William. As he does, he hears cries of 'Retreat!', and they are all swarming back to their trenches. Branson picks up William, looking down at him as he tries to run back with the wounded William.

"Branson…" William's voice barely a whisper as the light from his eyes slowly fades away.

"Shh Will, it's going to be alright. Your going to be fine," Branson tries to reassure him, but the next time he looks at William, he knows it's too late. His eyes are now empty, motionless and he goes limp in Branson's arms. Branson is speechless – he's angry and upset that his friend is dead. He tries to hold his tears back but fails, as he drops back down into the trench, carrying William's now motionless body. He cries silently as he finds the medic team, who confirm his fears and take him away on a stretcher, covered up. He says his own goodbye to his friend and then he's gone. He hopes to God that Matthew is safe, and he puts his head in his hands as he sits where they had sat little more than an hour before – the three of them having a laugh. He's relieved when Matthew comes into the trench; he could have hugged the man as he entered; out of breath and muddy but mercifully alive. Matthew instantly senses something is wrong, and asks the inevitable.

"William…Where's William?"

Branson shakes his head, and all of his tears come spilling out again. He manages to choke out an answer, before wiping his tears away from his mud and blood streaked face.

"He's gone. He's not coming back."

Matthew clasps a hand over his mouth and the pair of them sit in stunned silence, knowing now they have to survive.

Bates wants to be back at Downton – he misses Anna terribly. They write to each other constantly, but he wants to see her beautiful face again. He doesn't mind life so much at headquarters with Lord Grantham – he's given three hot meals a day and a comfortable bed to sleep for the night so compared to those in the trenches, he's lucky. He's lucky to be there at all, with his limp and all, but Lord Grantham insisted that he went with him. The headquarters isn't far from the front line, and he can hear the soft boom of the big guns at night when the battles are raging on. He worries for his friends down in the trenches; Branson, William and Matthew, along with all of the other men in the Downton regiment. The regiment is now a real mix-match of regiments, as some regiments are now too small to run on their own. He hates the fact that men are needlessly dying, and he's happy to stay with his Lordship. They occasionally visit the front line and see the troops – a way of raising morale. He often has a good conversation with Branson and the others, and they swap tales before his Lordship is done with his business. He can't fight in the battle because of his leg injury, and the stories he hears make him glad he doesn't. Plus, he knew Anna would permit it. Oh how he misses her. The night out in the courtyard when she admitted how scared she was scared him too – he doesn't want her to leave her even again after this war. They have only just started stepping out and yet, he's here fighting his damned war! He prays that it ends soon, so he can see his Anna again.

Today, he is off to visit troops on the frontline with his Lordship, and as soon as he sets foot in the trench, he can sense something is wrong. They eventually find Matthew and Branson with a few other unknown troops, and he greets them heartily with his Lordship. He however notices someone is missing.

"Where's William?" His Lordship asks cautiously, and the half –hearted smiles on Matthew and Branson's faces disappear instantly. Branson looks down at his boots, and after a silence, Matthew speaks.

"He's….gone, sir. He's gone."

Lord Grantham's face displays shock as he digests the news, and Bates has to turn away. William. Dead. He's incredibly saddened to hear that the boy he had turned to look after at Downton, the nice young lad who everyone took a liking too, is gone forever. He finds it hard to digest the information, and his Lordship is the same; neither know quite what to say. Eventually Branson mutters that he died during his duty, and William will be remembered as a brave man. Mr Bates notes that Branson is particularly distraught over the death of his friend, but is staying strong. After a while, Lord Grantham and Mr Bates leave. He shakes both Matthew's and Branson's hand and gives them words of hope and encouragement.

"You both are very brave, and I know everyone back home will be proud of you. God be with you," Bates says to the pair of them, smiling softly before turning away. That night, he thinks about poor William and what a kind fellow he was. His thoughts turn back to Downton and the rest of the servants – he can imagined they will be extremely saddened over this latest news. All Mr Bates has to do now is get home safely, so he can be with his dear Anna once more.