A collection of short works dedicated to John & Anna Bates (and any Baby Bateses). In no particular order or place in time; modern or otherwise. :)

Carson est mort. Il a longtemps été le majordome de Downton Abbey. Mais pour Mary, il était bien plus.

Escaping a life of boredom and duty, Mary leaves her wealth behind to gain a new life and start again. When she moves to an estate on the Cornish coast, working as a governess for a young boy, she finds herself employed by a certain Mr Crawley whose strange way of life intrigues and confounds her. Their innocent world is turned upside down when both their pasts return to haunt them

This story picks up in Season 5, it may or may not be an alternate ending, we'll just have to see what transpires.

Modern AU where Mr Bates and Mrs Hughes have past together...

Mary and Matthew's wedding day, where a small, but not insignificant detail is giving him fits. A modern Mary and Matthew one-shot. Part of the Live In My Memory modern AU series, the sequel to Unless You're Sure.

S5E8 Missing Moment. Anna and John have been called to Scotland Yard under false pretenses, thus throwing their lives into upheaval yet again.

In 1899, Sarah O'Brien meets Cora Crawley for the first time. She abandons her 23 years later under mysterious circumstances. As their paths cross again, Cora is determined not to let go. Chronicle of a two-decade long relationship, a four-year separation and a difficult reunion. Canon compliant.

This story is made up out of five short scenes, each of which captures the moment of death for the principle characters who died in the show

Dr Anthony Strallan is asked to perform monthly checkups on the children at Edith Crawley's Home for Children. He doesn't expect to fall head over heels for Miss Crawley herself.

Mary and Matthew leave London to celebrate their four-year wedding anniversary away from their children and anything that might distract them from spending precious time together. While they are away, they have an encounter that might change their lives and their marriage. A modern day Mary and Matthew story, part of the Breaking Bread modern AU, the sequel to Allurement.

Anna has to take a business trip over the weekend leaving John to take care of their little girl.

Modern Cobert AU. A story of young Robert and Cora, how they met and how they came back to each other.

A must read for all Downton Abbey fans!

A half British-half Belgian woman (Anna Smith) works as the doctor at a mining outpost in the post 1920s Congo. The newest supervisor, an ex-Army surveyor (John Bates) recently released from a contract with British Petroleum, comes and they butt heads over the care of the miners and the locals because of the mining process.

In which Mary finds herself gradually and unwittingly moving in with Matthew

"It was all Sybil's fault, really. If she hadn't decided to have her wedding in Chicago in February, then Mary wouldn't be stuck driving halfway across America with her ex-boyfriend, who she was pretty sure she still hated." It takes an impromptu road trip for Mary and Matthew to find something like reconciliation.

Sarah O'Brien never expected to see her former employers face to face ever again, when she stayed in India. But when she has to be Cora's lady's maid one last time, will she be able to keep her feelings in check?

Sybil Crawley is a nursing student who hasn't had sex in far too long. With the help of her friends, she goes in search of a one night stand to satisfy her needs. But when her feelings get in the way and she finds herself to have a much more complicated relationship with her new beau than anticipated, it feels like her whole world is crumbling around her.

Madge is a maid that is mentioned but never really seen in the Downton household. This is her story.

Harold Hepworth watches Violet, Countess of Grantham, and wonders at the tie that bound him to her without release. [a Winter Rose one-shot] [pre-DA]

Cora is an ex witch who hasn't told her very mortal boyfriend Robert about her general witchiness. Martha being Martha decides it's time to change that. Cora Robert Magic AU.

When the scandalous news that Lady Anna Smith had a man die in her bedroom finally breaks, she leaves her home in Yorkshire to ride out the storm in America. After a dismal month in New York, she takes up an offer to ride west to see California. In the company of cowboy rancher, John Bates (who invites her to visit his spread in Northern California), she discovers a new world.

It starts with a broken fountain pen, but will it end with some serious stargazing?

What if Matthew hadn't met Lavinia? How might things have been different? Essentially a S2 AU from 1915, based on what might have happened if Mary and Matthew had met on the train from London to Downton in 1916. A fix-it of sorts, while still staying true to the characters, keeping Lavinia alive as well as introducing a couple original characters.