Ok so now we're back maybe to nicer chapters than the last one ;) I needed to write it because I needed to make Elsie shy and unconfident, remember she's still only 17.
I had Carson arriving quite early because I wanted them to have years together so she could recover and they could gain a friendship :) But this is set at the end of December so about a month after the 'incident.'

She made her way up the stairs, oblivious to the world around her, maids and footman running past her she didn't see them, she didn't hear them, she stared at the floor as she walked, slowly, towards the library, she didn't even hear her own name being shouted at her.

"Elsie! Will you just listen to me!" Beth now came and stopped in front of her, blocking her path to the door,

"Get out of the way Beth" she muttered attempting to get around her,

"No! I'm not letting you do this, it's not fair on you, or any of us, don't do it!"

"I have to, now move out of the way" she was getting annoyed now

"No Elsie I'm not…"

"Do not disobey me Beth and its Mrs Hughes to you" she walked past a stunned Beth and knocked on the library door.

Beth stared after her, feeling as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her, she wasn't one for crying in the open so she held herself together. She knew Elsie was upset and had clearly been badly affected by the events last month, she was very quiet and the standard of her work was slipping, luckily the rest of the staff were sympathetic and were working hard to give her a break. Robert had been looking for a new Butler, he was apprehensive at first but he knew he needed one so he'd taken longer to examine every piece of information about them, interviewing each one of them to make sure he'd find one who would bond well with Mrs Hughes and wouldn't make her feel scared or uncomfortable. He'd assigned Beth, Ruth and Edward to look after her and see she was back on her feet soon as it was them that had been there for her, they'd been with her when the police had arrived, Beth had held her hand as they examined her injuries. Ruth had admitted to seeing Mr Wright looking at Elsie a lot, Edward admitted to hitting him when he claimed Elsie'd wanted him to do it and Beth admitted to Elsie being terrified of him and begging her to protect her from him.

Now, as Beth watched Elsie go through the door and she couldn't help feeling that she was letting her friend slip away.

Elsie had gone in, intending to give in her notice, she'd thought it all through, she would go and live with her (now widowed) sister until she decided she wanted to work again. But she wanted to get as far away from Downton as she could, the memories still haunting her at night, she could sometimes feel his hands on her, she'd think he was there and look around her to reassure herself he wasn't.

But as she'd gone into the room, she'd been faced with a smiling Lord Grantham and another, it only took one look at the way the man was dressed to know why he was there. She found herself falling back against the door and breathing quicker. Robert noticed this but thankfully the other man didn't.

"Ahh, please do come in Mrs Hughes, I want to introduce you to someone"

She was hesitant in entering but this man looked nice enough, at least Wright made it clear as soon as she met him that he wasn't to be trusted. This man was taller than Wright had been, he was even taller than his Lordship yet he could only be mid-twenties, he had black hair which was smoothed down over his head. She couldn't help but like him immediately.
She smiled timidly as she extended a hand towards him.

"Elsie Hughes, housekeeper"

"Charles Carson, the new Butler"

As her hand touched his she felt immediate warmth inside her and all her fears seemed to melt away. Suddenly it felt like they were the only two in the room and she couldn't help but wonder how long she'd now been staring into his eyes. His eyes were brown but filled with kindness and warmth; she certainly didn't mind looking into them. His voice was deep and commanding but there was a playful side to it. His hand was giant compared to hers, yet his skin was soft, she couldn't help imagining what it would be like to have said hand gently caressing her cheek.
She blushed at this thought and pulled her hand away and avoided his glance.

"I'm certain Carson here will be an improvement on the last butler, I'm sure you'll take him under your wing for the time being Mrs Hughes"

"Of course" she smiled up at Robert.

She retired to her sitting room that evening, she sat cautiously at her desk, glancing at the door every so often, but she attempted to concentrate on what she was doing.

A soft knock on the door came, she wasn't as frightened by this particular knock as she was usually by anyone else's.
Beth didn't wait for a reply she simply walked slowly in, wearing a face of guilt and looking at the floor. Elsie looked at her then looked down at her hands. They exchanged a silent apology and looked up simultaneously looked up.
They didn't speak, simply moved towards each other and Beth found herself in Elsie's arms, the younger girl stroking her back as she cried into her shoulder.

They broke apart and Elsie wiped the tears cascading down Beths face, she tilted her head to the side as Beth raised hers to look in her eyes,

"are you're really going then?"

It was only at the point that Elsie remembered why she'd gone into the library that morning, she'd been so distracted all day she hadn't even noticed that Beth had been ignoring her, she'd been trying to decide what she thought of Mr Carson – he seemed very nice, something about those eyes made her feel warm and protected.

"No, I'm not going, his Lordship's gone to a lot of trouble to make sure this Butler is suitable and he did it for me so, the least I can do is stay."

Beth smiled through her tears and clutched so hard to Elsie that she struggled to breath,

"this house couldn't run without you Mrs Hughes, I'm so glad you're staying!"

"You don't have to call me that Beth, not until I'm 40 at least and I'm not quite there yet" she winked at Beth as she turned to go back to her desk.

"What do you think of the new Butler?" Beth perched herself on the arm of the settee.

She was almost shocked before remembering the level of closeness between them, anyone else would have been scolded for such a question.

"He seems nice enough" she didn't want to admit how he warmed her heart, it seemed foolish as she'd only just met the man and she of all people should avoid falling for anybody. She almost couldn't believe what had gone on in the space of 4 months.

"You feel you can … trust him? Enough to talk to him and let him get … closer to you … as a friend"

Elsie looked up, but looked down again, that was what she couldn't decide, if they became friends there was always going to be part of her that was held back, the part that didn't want to reveal things about her; her childhood, her relationships, her dealings with Mr Clarke and Mr Wright. If she was unwilling to be open, they could hardly have a rewarding friendship.

She sighed "I don't know, time will tell"

She'd woken in the early hours of the morning and upon failing to go back to sleep, she'd decided to go downstairs. She went into her sitting room, suddenly falling back against the door in sheer terror to see Wright facing her with that familiar sly smile on his lips, she blinked – he was gone. Exhaling deeply she decided maybe it'd be better to go to the kitchen, as the kettle boiled she perched herself on the counter, letting her legs swing, to anyone unfamiliar she would look like a kitchen maid or housemaid at best, sometimes she wondered if she was still too young.

Upon hearing footsteps she hopped off the counter and simply lent against it. Mr Carson entered and she couldn't decide whether she was pleased or sad to see him. She was partially embarrassed when she remembered that she was standing there in her dressing gown with her hair in a braid on her shoulder but as he too was in his nightclothes she felt mutual embarrassment.

"Mr Carson? What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same question Miss Hughes" he raised his eyebrows at her, she hadnt noticed how curly his hair actually was as it was slicekd down that morning, she was surprised at how funny it was, she suppressed a giggle as she turned towards the kettle.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to make myself some tea. Did you want something?" She began to make her tea, facing away from him.

"I'll join you for that cup of tea if you don't mind, I ... couldn't get to sleep"

"Oh, any particular reason?" her voice was soft and gentle, she could tell there was a reason.

"Nerves I guess, this house, this job… makes me slightly nervous"

"You'll get used to it Mr Carson, it's daunting at first but it'll get easier" she was still facing away from him but could tell he was smiling at this.

She turned round to hand him his mug and their fingers brushed as he took it, despite the cold kitchen her whole body warmed up at this, he smiled at her as he took a step back to resume his place by the stove.

"Thank you Miss Hughes"

"It's Mrs Hughes actually" she raised her eyebrows as she took a sip of tea,

"are you married Mrs Hughes?"

"No, but as I'm housekeeper, my name automatically becomes Mrs Hughes"

"It can't do you much good to be referred to as Mrs"

She was rather taken aback by his boldness but looking at him she could see he was smiling at her and she was reminded of when they'd first seen each other.

"It certainly surprises people when they first see me, I suspect like many you don't approve of such a young housekeeper either"

"On the contrary, I was worried I was going to have to work with a strict, middle age bore" he winked at her and she was sure he could see her blush in the dim light

"Well, if you stay here for 30 years I'm sure I'll become that"

"I'll be the judge of that, I guess I'll have to stay here 30 years to find out"

"I'll probably drive you mad long before then" she surprised herself at how comfortable she felt with him here, she'd struggled to feel this comfortable with male members of staff she'd known for months, she'd known this man a day and she was already finding a cheerful side to herself she'd forgotten.

"You must stop putting yourself down Mrs Hughes; my first impression of you is that you are a lovely and charming young girl who must be exceptional at her job to have achieved the position you have"

She blushed deeper this time, "thank you Mr Carson, that … means a lot to me." She turned to place her mug back on the counter but jumped back in fright as she turned back around, she hadn't heard him move closer to her, although he was only a few feet away, leaning to put his mug down as well, she was still scared by it.

"I'm sorry, are you alright Mrs Hughes?" he took a step closer, but this only frightened her more.

"Perfectly, thank you for the company Mr Carson" she hurried past him, out of the kitchen and back up to her room.

When she was safely back in her room, she thought about how happy she'd felt with him, how nice it'd felt to be able to talk to him. She felt angry at herself for leaving so abruptly, he must have thought her very rude, but she couldn't help but suddenly become nervous as he came towards her.

They didn't speak privately again till Sunday evening, she'd needed to talk to him about some business and he'd offered her a cup of tea once they were finished, she didn't want to leave so she accepted.
She felt the same tingling feeling as his fingers brushed hers when he handed her the cup, his smile warming her heart so she couldn't help but return it.

"Are you settling in more now?" she asked after they'd been silent for a while

"I think so yes, I enjoy it here"

"Good, I'm glad you like it here"

"Yes and I'm not planning to leave anytime soon" he chuckled and she couldn't help but laugh too,

"Good, I wouldn't want you to leave; it's nice to finally have a Butler like you … a..a..as we've been without one for a month" she quickly added, hoping he wouldn't misunderstand what she meant.

"Well, I've heard I'm an improvement on the last one, did you know him well before he left?"

She stiffened and nearly dropped her cup, she suddenly felt the room shrink and the air become thin, she could hear him, feel him, smell him, she breathing increased as the terror of that night engulfed her. Until a concerned voice brought her back into the room.

"Mrs Hughes?"

"No..I..I didn't really know him" she put her empty cup on his desk, "I think I'll turn in Mr Carson, goodnight"

She practically ran out of the room, he couldn't understand what he kept doing that made her run away.

He wondered how he could find out more about her if she wouldn't tell him and it was Beth walking past his pantry that gave him the idea.

As the months went on, they gradually became closer. She noticed that his behaviour changed slightly, at first he seemed to be acting and talking more carefully around her but then he became more relaxed and they got on like a house on fire.
As they got to know more about each other they were able to work closely together and then be themselves in the evenings, she became more and more comfortable with him.
She couldn't always bring herself to be comfortable around other men whether she knew them or not but something about Mr Carson, or Charles as she was now able to call him, made her feel safer, if she was in the room with someone else but he was there she felt safe, that he would save her from anything that could happen.
They found they had a strong friendship and were a good team when it came to running the house, the London season was fast approaching and she'd begun to worry, Charles would go with his lordship and Edward, he would leave her – she'd be unprotected.

Somehow though, it was as if Beth could read her mind because she'd been reassuring her for weeks that she'd be ok and 14 weeks wasn't too long, despite her being such a good friend, Elsie couldn't work out how she seemed to know exactly how she felt without asking.

The morning of his departure she'd been in an oddly good mood, he was packed and ready to go and saying his goodbye to her, at this moment she threw her arms around his neck lifting herself off the ground, she expected him to receive this badly but instead he held her close to him, chuckling and said he'd miss her too, she made him promise he'd write to her and then, regretfully, Elsie had let him go.

The next few months seemed to fly by, his letters kept her going and she was always hurrying to meet the postman, she was like a young child waiting eagerly for a reply from Father Christmas. He replied almost immediately upon receiving her letters and always signed them with;

Forever your friend,
Charles

It made her smile to see this, it was like he was swearing to protect her forever and she was grateful for this show of affection. When he returned it wasn't long before it was her 18th birthday, being popular downstairs, after the upstairs dinner, they had a little party downstairs, George played some of Elsie's favourite tunes on the piano while the servants sang and danced.
Elsie managed to slip away quietly; Charles noticed and followed her into her sitting room, carefully making sure he knocked loud enough so she knew he was there.

"You're not having fun?"

She turned in surprise but relaxed when she saw him, walking over to him,

"No I am, but, I'm not one for big parties and drinking" they peered out of the door and she nodded in the direction of Edward and Ruth who had been dancing on the servant's dining table but were now engaged in a passionate kiss, causing the other servants to whoop and cheer.

He chuckled at this, "you getting too old for this sort of fun now?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, "oh I wouldn't say that"

They looked at each other for a second but his expression caused them both to burst into laughter,

They gradually stopped laughing and looked at each other for a moment before he lent forward and gently kissed her, as soon as he did it he was terrified that this would scare her but was pleasantly surprised when she gladly returned his kiss placing her hands on his neck, he moved his hands to her lower back and when they pulled apart he pulled her tightly to her and she wrapped her arms around his waist, he felt her try and pull him even closer to her though she wasn't able.
She'd been about to kiss him but he'd got there before she could, she was so glad to finally have him to herself, she felt a kind of reassurance now, now he could be forever hers rather than just her friend.

"I love you Elsie Hughes, I love you so much, I'm going to keep you safe, protect you and give you everything I can offer because you deserve it, you're incredible to me" he whispered to her, kissing her sweet smelling hair.

She felt a tear fall down her cheek, she'd been foolish, it wasn't protection she'd wanted from him – it was love and she'd finally got it, she knew he wouldn't leave her and she was certain he'd protect her forever.

He wasn't a fool, not to her, not to anyone. He adored Elsie Hughes, always had and always would.

I will write an Epilogue :) Hope this chapter lived up to the expectations, I'm sure it'll be preferred to the last, please please review :)

Apologies that it's all bunched together, I've tried loads of different ways to split it up so the paragraphs are more spaced out but it never works :/