A/N Thank you for ALL YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! It was so amazing. woah!

Here's the last chapter. And: Why do I always construct such complicated inner monologues? AHH, why can't I write something simple?! ;)

still not my characters. I just tried to give them a little back story.

He does not back off, in fact he deepens the kiss and Elsie instinctively knows that she has made the right decision. He did not reveal her inappropriate behaviour months ago to Mrs. Barnes or anyone else. He has kept it a secret, although she had broken the rules. His rules. Charles Carson, the rigid and dutiful butler of Downton Abbey gave her a new home and a chance to be herself, to let go of the ambitious Elsie Hughes. He is the reason why she feels safe and comfortable at this large estate. An experience she never had before in all those years she has worked in service. From the first encounter she knows that she can trust him and that he will never betray her. There is no discomfort when she works alongside him, when they talk or discuss things. No fear of being mistreated or not valued. Charles Carson makes Downton Abbey worth living and staying.

She knows this now after their second kiss. His hands still rest on her hips and the small of her back, hold her close and she rests her cheek on his chest, feels his heartbeat. He is different from Joe. Joe who showed his feelings openly, was never afraid of anything, would do everything for her. Even promise her the moon and the stars on the night sky. Every other woman would have envied her. Still, what she wants is something different: a home, a place where she knows she will grow old, the feeling of security and affection. Life on a farm is hard and consumptive. Year after year, harvest after harvest. There is hardly time for anything else than hard work. Only the mundane feelings and necessary emotions would have survived between her and Joe. It is and will be different with Charles Carson. It will be perfect although she does not know what will happen next. For now she feels at ease, relaxed, safe.

ooooo

He cannot let go of her. One hand wanders down her back, the other draws her closer into an embrace. His head and his heart fight a battle. For a long time Charles had tried to ignore his feelings, tried to not fall for her completely. But Elsie Hughes is too perfect, too strong, too womanly. She is his counterpart in every way.

During the years on the road he has met many women. All of them immediately seemed to fall in love with his voice, his height, the way he walked. He remembers even more silly reasons and explanations. All of them worthless compared to Elsie Hughes. She is different. She is the only person that ever managed to see behind the façade he had created for himself over the years. All the perfection, the rules, the self-discipline do not matter for her. It was the kiss on the cheek she had given him months ago that made him realize this. Yet he was not able to react, hid himself behind his rules. Like he always did. It is the only thing he knows that protects him and enables him to stay focused.

Her head rests on his chest now. She feels comfortable in his presence. It is obvious, even to him. And although his hands cannot stop touching her he is afraid, surprised about his reaction, uncertain how to proceed. They cannot go back to being simply two colleagues that work in the same house for the same family. She will be housekeeper in less than five weeks. He will share the majority of his day with her. What about his rules?

"You will be housekeeper then", he hears himself say into the darkness. "We will work together."

"We already do." Her voice is muffled, her head still rests on his shirt and her arms encircle his waist.

His throat is too dry and his voice sounds too hoarse. "There are rules." Maybe she understands how he feels.

"I know." She lifts her head and looks up to him.

"And…", he starts but is cut off by her next words.

"I broke them…" A sad smile becomes visible on her lips.

And he cannot help himself but smile too. "No. We both broke them." It is true. He could have stopped her.

Before she answers she closes her eyes for a moment, thinks obviously. "You make the rules." It is like a proposal, a challenge.

She is right about this. It is as simple as that. "I know." He takes a deep breath before he continues. "Therefore I have to keep them upright…" The sentence is not finished, hangs in the air between them, waits for him to make a final decision.

"But?" she needs to know what he thinks. Her hands leave his back, fall to her side. She takes one step backwards. Regret starts to well up inside her and she holds her breath.

He does not want to let her go and the next words are the most difficult he has ever said. He ignores the voice inside his head, the one that tells him to forget about this night. "It feels wrong to do so." He feels how she relaxes and her hands find his hips again. Suddenly this is more important than everything else: the house, his work.

There is a difference between Mr. Carson and Charles Carson. In front of her she sees the man she trusts unconditionally, finally. There is no hesitance when she answers. "I trust you, completely."

"You will make a perfect housekeeper, Elsie." Another step forward, closer to her.

"We will work together." She repeats what he has said in the beginning.

"As a team."

"And your rules?" It is the final question and she feels that he has not answered it yet.

"I will think about them. We will find a way." Because to him, for the first time in many years, it is not a set of self-imposed regulations that control his decisions but his heart.

"Together?" She asks cautiously and her question is answered when his lips meet hers for a second kiss.

THE E N D

Hope you are not dissapointed. It took me a few days to figure out how to end this story. Not completely happy about it but it's the best I could think of ;)