Thomas whistled as he walked to Jimmy's room. He felt much better after a long nap and some hot food. Mrs. Hughes had permitted him to go sit by Jimmy again.
He knocked on Jimmy's door, "Jimmy? You awake?"
Getting no answer, Thomas softly opened the door, and froze in shock. Jimmy's bed was a mess, the sheets in a tangled mess and Jimmy nowhere in sight.
"Mrs. Hughes!" he yelled, panic starting to edge into his voice.
"What? Oh my!" she exclaimed as she saw the empty room.
Hearing the sudden commotion, Mr. Carson came in, "what is going on here?" he demanded.
"Well, it seems that James has gone missing" Mrs. Hughes said.
"I can see that" Carson responded a bit sarcastically.
"Mr. Carson! The Duke of Crowborough's in the village. Would you like me to ask Mr. Crawley if he wants to invite him up for dinner? He's at the pub" Mr. Moseley popped his head around the doorframe.
Thomas stiffened when he heard the Duke's name mentioned. Instantaneously drawing a conclusion to the situation that had transpired, he rushed out of Jimmy's room, rudely pushing past Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes. He barely paused to pull on his jacket and sprinted out the door, running to the village.
After his adrenaline infused sprint, Thomas finally skidded to a wild halt in front of the Grantham Arms.
He pushed the pub door open and stormed past the startled customers. Thomas barely caught a glimpse of the bartender's startled glance as he made his way to the back part of the pub. Taking the stair steps two at a time, Thomas forcefully pushed open each door as he ran down the hallway. He ignored the customers' irritated and alarmed cries.
He paused for breath at the end of the hallway. There was only one more door and he shouldered his way in.
The room was empty, nothing much, just a chair and table, a bed, and a dressing table. However on the bed there was a figure with tousled blond hair curled up, and covered by a blanket. Thomas instantly knew this form to be Jimmy.
"Jimmy! Jimmy!" Thomas shook Jimmy's shoulders forcefully. There was no response except for a weak moan. Looking more closely at Jimmy's face, Thomas could see a fine sheen of sweat had broken out on Jimmy's brow, indicating a slight fever.
Sliding his arms under Jimmy's body, Thomas staggered out of the room and down the stairs.
He paused by the bar, sliding most of Jimmy's weight onto a bar stool.
"Where's the other man?" he snapped at the irritated bartender.
"What other man? And who are you?" barked the man. Thomas glared and with one hand, flipped a few coins onto the counter. He waited impatiently while the bartender greedily counted the money.
"Oh that one. He left a lot o' money an' told me not to go anywhere near that room" the bartender's eyes lit up with the memory.
"Did he leave?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah. Last night" the bartender turned away to attend to a customer.
Thomas carried Jimmy to Mrs. Crawley's house. It was closer than Downton, not that Jimmy was that heavy, but Thomas was concerned and he knew that Mrs. Crawley was a doctor.
His arms full with Jimmy, Thomas kicked the front door several times until someone opened the door.
"Where's Mrs. Crawley?" Thomas asked breathlessly. He was surprised to see Ethel open the door.
"I-I-I'll go fetch her" she said and ran, leaving the door wide open. Thomas sighed, he really hadn't cared much for Ethel when she was in service at the big house, but now he almost felt sorry for her. He knew how it felt to be scorned by the world.
Thomas walked in, carefully navigating himself and Jimmy around the door. Mrs. Crawley came running down the stairs, looking slightly shocked to find a servant entering through her front door.
"Ethel told me you were here Thomas, but…" she drew off, staring as Thomas lowered Jimmy onto a couch.
"Can-can-can you do anything for him?" Thomas asked.
After a careful and quick examination, Mrs. Crawley stood up.
"He seems to just be unconscious" she said, "Carry him upstairs. I have a spare guestroom."
Thomas scooped Jimmy up and followed her up the front stairs. Mrs. Crawley hurriedly pulled back the covers on the bed and Thomas gently lowered Jimmy down, carefully resting Jimmy's blond head on the clean pillow.
"I'll tell Ethel to have some food brought up for you. In the meantime, I'll ring Downton to tell them you and James are alright."
Thomas thanked her gratefully and sat down in a chair next to Jimmy's bed.
~:~:~
A few hours later, Jimmy woke up. His face twisted in pain as his eyes adjusted to the electric lights Mrs. Crawley had kept on. He sleepily tried to pull the covers over his head, but Thomas jerked the covers back down.
"Mrs. Crawley, he's waking up!" called Thomas.
"Jimmy. Jimmy wake up" Thomas said gently.
"Jimmy?" murmured Mrs. Crawley.
"Nickname" Thomas responded softly, turning his full attention back to a half-conscious Jimmy.
Jimmy slowly opened his eyes, "what time is it?" he groaned.
"Morning" Thomas replied, his face breaking out into a relieved smile
Mrs. Crawley smiled at Thomas's expression and hurried away as the telephone rang.
"What happened?" Thomas asked gently as he sat back down.
"I don't really know. One minute I was at Downton, the next, the pub. It was the duke…he must have snuck in and…I don't really know" Jimmy said, pushing himself to sit up.
"What does everyone think at Downton?" he asked worriedly.
"They're just glad to know you're alright. Mr. Carson suggested you rest here for a few days. Dr. Clarkson will be around to check on you in a bit" Mrs. Crawley said as she popped her head back around the door.
"You sure you're alright?" Thomas asked concernedly, starting to stand up.
"Yes, but please don't go yet" Jimmy yawned, already starting to fall asleep again.
Thomas smiled and eased himself back down. He looked down in startled surprise as Jimmy fumbled for his hand.
THE END.
Hope you liked it!
