A/N: Final Chapter. Hope you enjoy and thank you all for your reviews!

Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1-3.

At long last, the day of the fight had arrived! There was excitement on everyone's faces, as servants and masters alike made their way to the village that Saturday afternoon.

Anna was now able to rest her worries; no more training, no more dangerous interactions between her husband and the under butler. She was as glad of that, as she was for the good time John seemed to be having.

Since that first day of training in the ring, Thomas had been calmer and even friendly. He would snipe at one or two of his inferiors but maybe that was because John had banned him from smoking for the duration. In general, both men had been quite peaceful. They would share heated words at meals but once training began they were the image of focus and professionalism. Now and then, Anna would even catch them sharing a laugh and pats on the back. She wouldn't mind one bit if their relationship would continue on so friendly, but she doubted it would.

John and Thomas had arrived before everyone else at the village, where they were given a paper to sign and a red band for Thomas to wear in his arm. They lunched at the Grantham Arms and they spent some time around the ring, talking with villagers and Doctor Clarkson, who had advised Thomas to wrapped his wounded hand a bit more than usual, just in case.

'Are you nervous?' John asked, when they were alone.

'Not one bit.' Thomas replied, placing his hands on his hips. He noticed the septical look John shot him before looking down at his feet. 'Maybe, a little.'

'If you do everything we trained and keep your thoughts focused you'll win,' John reassured him. 'You are good at this Mr Barrow, very good.'

'Well...' Thomas began but before he could finish his sentence he saw the crowd of people coming from the House arriving. 'There's your wife.'

Anna ran to John's arms and he kissed her cheek lovingly. 'I couldn't wait to see you,' she said, 'How's everything going?'

'Well, we are just waiting now. Love...are you sure you want to watch this? You know...it'll probably end up with a few broken noses and blood.'

'I know, but I want to watch. I want to see the fruit of that intensive training of yours.' She smiled, and turned to Thomas. 'And I want to cheer for you as well, Mr Barrow.'

'You're just here to see me thanking your husband at the end, aren't you?'

'That, and I don't want you to get hurt either.'

'Ever so kind,' Thomas teased but he knew she was being honest.

People began to gather near the ring. His Lordship and family sat in comfortable chairs, protected by parasols, while women, men and even children, fixed their hats and searched for a bit of shade to protect from the sun. Soon, the sound of men daring others to bet on each fighter could be heard, and even the humblest of people spent the little they could for the good of the hospital and school. It didn't matter what result would come of this, the institutions would always win.

Not fifteen minutes later the two fighters were in the ring, each at their corner, receiving instructions from their coaches. John looked at young Johnson as the boy tied his gloves and prepared himself.

'He's full of himself,' he whispered to Thomas. 'He thinks he can win easy against an amatuer.'

'I'll show him,' Thomas sneered.

'Listen,' John grabbed his shoulder. 'Don't be the first to hit. Lack of patience will ruin you. He knows more of this than you, he probably has more resistance as well, let him get tired. Let him become frustrated. Be patient and he'll come to you. That's all he wants. To run at you and take you to the ground in the first round. And we won't have that.'

'Don't worry.' Thomas stood up at the sign from the judge. 'I'll do as you taught me.'

'No kicking, no biting, no spitting,' the judge said. 'Fair play at all times. Thomas Barrow, Jack Johnson...it's time.'

The bell rang and both fighters were ready.

'Come on,' Jack whispered, trying to provoke the under butler, but Thomas knew better now. He would trust John's teaching.

The boy threaten to strike, but Thomas didn't move. He knew young Jack would do this, so he remained in the same place, hands up, half covering his face, feet apart and body forward. He saw his rival's face twitch in annoyance and grinned when he understood that soon the fight would actually begin.

The first round was not at all bad. Quite fair for both sides. A trial more than an actual competition. The second round was different. Jack was a fine boxer, younger, faster, more resistant. Thomas' lungs gave him a hard time breathing, all those years of smoking were complicating his situation but the under butler proved to be as persistent and his opponent.

'Come on, Mr Barrow.' John tapped his back while Jimmy gave him water. 'You are doing fine. Take deep breaths. Let him fail before you hit him. Keep calm.'

Thomas breathed in, coughing a little as he did so. 'I'm fine, I'm fine. That young dog won't have the better of me.'

'Do not let him uppercut you. You'll probably faint if he does. Keep blocking him if you can't do anything else.'

'How many rounds to go?' Thomas asked and John looked over at Jimmy with worry in his face.

'Four more.'

'Four?!'

'They decide to make it eight. You can do it, Mr Barrow. I believe you can do it.'

John's words surprised Thomas. Never in his life had he thought he would hear such a thing coming from the valet, and as shocking as it seemed that reassured him and made him believe himself.

They nodded at each other and Thomas stood up from the little stool and went back to the middle of the ring. He stared at Jack for a moment, the boy seemed unshaken and he cursed him. If even Mr John Bates believed in him, he would win this fight and clean that smug look from the young man's face.

The bell rang again, and Thomas realised he hated that sound. He saw Jack walking towards him, fearless, vain, sure the fight would come to an end after this punch, but the under butler remembered the valet's words. 'Let him come to you and once he fails you strike.' And that's exactly what he did. Young Jack didn't see it coming. He failed his punch and Thomas caught him right under the chin. Unprepared and out of support, the boy fell onto his back and stayed there for a few seconds before the judged helped him stand.

'That's it!' John cheered. 'Perfect!'

Thomas smiled back at him and at the crowd, proud of himself, but the fight was not even close to the end.

Jack had been shaken, but he was a boxer and he knew how to make it last.

'Get out of that corner, Mr Barrow! Get out of there!' John shouted. Thomas was trapped on the ropes. 'Judge, dammit! Look at what he's doing?' John yelled, but the judge seemed only to be interested in watching young Johnson.

Everyone in the crowd was enthralled. Some cheering for Jack, others for Thomas. His Lordship was possessed, calling it foul and citing the rules angrily to the ring. The women were cringing, the men excited and children eyed open, thrilled with all the blood and damage.

The rounds were even. The last two were about to happen. Thomas sat on the stool, bleeding, shaking and babbling some incoherent words.

'The bastard...I'll kill...'

'Mr Barrow, look at me!' John slapped his face, trying to keep him from fainting while Jimmy cleaned his wounds with a wet cloth. 'You can do this. Look at the boy.' He supported Thomas' head. 'See, he's as battered as you are. He's got training in London and you have barely a month of it...look at him!' he encouraged. 'You've got this.'

The men stood once again and the round began. They were both dancing now, both tired and dizzy. Thomas shook his head and saw the boy coming at him again. They held each other and the judge had to stop them.

'No hugging!' the man yelled and they stood in their place again.

Thomas hit the boy hard on his cheekbone and Jack had to support himself on the ropes, but before he knew it, young Jack was hitting him again. Hard and cold, and the under butler fell to the ground.

Next thing he saw, was the valet's face, talking to him, both his hands supporting his head.

'Last round. Keep your body forward, hands up to your face, knees flexed. You can do this, Thomas. You can win this. Come on son.' John washed his face with water. 'Show him how wicked you are!'

Thomas smiled at his words and nodded, 'I'll knock his shining teeth out.'

'Yes! Do it. Imagine it's me.' John winked and Thomas couldn't help but laugh.

The last round began and Thomas was determined to win. He saw Jack eyeing him from head to toe and then he did exactly what he was expecting. Indeed wisdom was far better than strength, and the boy ran at Thomas with the last bit of energy he had.

When Johnson was about to hit, Thomas pulled away and bobbed under the young man's arms and when he stood up straight he used all his force to hit him right in the face. He could feel the cracking of bones beneath his glove and heard the thump of Jack's body falling to the the ground.

Instantly, the boy brought his hands up to his nose and cried out in pain.

Thomas looked around and heard everyone calling his name. People were cheering for him and clapping and he couldn't help but bring his arms up in victory. The judge came to him and named him the winner as he looked over to John who looked a bit teary with emotion.

He was given a silver medal and when he received it he took a deep breath.

'I want to say something,' he shouted before glancing at John and nodding. 'I want to say something.' Everyone went silent. 'I just want to say...thank you to...Mr Bates. For a month, he has trained me, and...I never boxed before. If it wasn't for his help and words of...wisdom I would never have made it past the second round. So...' he looked over at John again, 'Thank you, Mr Bates.'

The men smiled at each other one last time, before Thomas left the ring with the doctor.

'It was a brilliant fight, Bates!' Lord Grantham patted John's shoulder. 'I could almost picture you in there. You did a great job with Barrow.'

'He was a good apprentice, My Lord.'

'Yes, I am sure he was...Oh...Cora. Excuse me, Bates...Cora!'

'John!' Anna found him in the middle of the crowd. 'That speech was very moving. He was almost crying.'

'He was in pain, surely...' John said humbled.

'Stop, John! He was honestly thankful and you were too. I saw,' she smiled.

'Alright, maybe...' he kissed her cheek.

'Let's go home. His Lordship gave us the rest of the day. He's so thrilled with all this.'

'Yes, he is. But...you go, I...there's something I want to do first.'

Anna nodded, knowing what her husband meant. 'I'll be waiting for you, then. Don't take too long.'

'I won't, love.'

John was waiting for Thomas outside the hospital, when some time later he saw him walking slowly and in pain in his direction.

'Funny thing, you know...I told Mrs Bates I would lend you my cane when the fight was over.'

Thomas grimaced. 'I suppose you must be some sort of seer.'

'Not always, unfortunately,' he gave a small smile, looking down at his feet.

'You won. Happy now?' Thomas asked bringing a cigarette to his lips.

'We won, more like. Don't you pretend you are not full of yourself now. After all these years you are quite predictable.'

'True...' He took a deep breath, tasting the bitter smoke of his addiction once again.

They both walked in silence for a moment before Thomas stopped on the path.

'There's something I want to tell you.'

'What's that?' John turn to face him.

'I want to thank you.'

'You already did that.'

'No! I thanked you for the training...not...'John looked at him curious. 'You know what...who I am. What I am. But you treated me as your equal...' he sighed, 'as a man. A proper man. I saw no doubts or disgust in your face, you even called me son.' Thomas smiled. 'My father hasn't called me that since I was a boy.'

'Thomas...what makes a man proper is not his...preferences, but his morals, his values. If he's good at heart. You are not less of a man for who you are...different yes, but no less. We are all different after all, aren't we.'

'I did like working with you, Mr Bates.'

'And I with you.' They smiled. 'There's free drinks at the pub. His Lordship's paying. Go drown your pain.'

'Since when do you drink?'

'I don't. I'll be celebrating with my wife.'

'Oh, I see.' Thomas twisted his nose. 'Well, see you tomorrow.' He offered his hand, and John took it gladly. 'And it's Mr Barrow to you.'

John grinned. 'I am not expecting you to love me from now on.'

'I would never.'

'Good. Although we can always pair at cards.'

'Surely, but only because I know you don't want to lose to me. You go now, you can't make Mrs Bates wait too long or you'll spend the night on the sofa.'

'I would hate that.'

This time of companionship would never be forgotten for either man. They would share nasty words, provocations and all sorts of disagreements in the years to come, but now and then life would give them moments of calm in the servants hall or in the courtyard while John polished some shoes under the warm sun and Thomas smoked. In those moments they would be at peace in each other's presence, their memories travelling back to that month where they were actually friends. They would be able to talk in those moments, even laugh, and every time they paired in a card game, no one else had a chance against two champions. They would always be rivals, but with a deal of truce.

Thank you for reading :)