So technically this is my first attempt at a proper Downton Abbey fanfic and not the Secret Garden. I originally had this long-ass explanation that would've taken half the page so I've decided to make it nice and sweet. Suffice to say I love reading about Matthew being a badass lawyer so I've made him one here. I suggest you read the fics preceding this one if you haven't already, for they're helpful in getting context for this story. But other than that, please enjoy.


CHAPTER 1: A LOST TEDDY BEAR
May 1922

Matthew was surprised at the darkness in the room as his eyes blinked open. Turning to check his bedside clock, he was even more surprised at the time displayed: five thirty-two. He looked to his other side. His heart fluttered at the sight of his slumbering wife, who looked breathtakingly beautiful in her sleep. Though George's birth had been tiring for her (and her stress increased after learning he'd broken his arm driving back to Downton), all was well for now. He doubted Mary would wake if he got up, but nevertheless, he took care to make his movements as soundless as possible as he extracted himself from the bed. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and Mary was roused.

"Matthew?" came Mary's groggy voice. "Why are you up? What time is it?"

Matthew found himself grinning like a fool at how velvety and smooth her tone could be after waking up.

"Well?" Mary asked expectantly.

"It's five thirty-three," Matthew replied, clearing his throat of the thickness in his own voice. "I don't know how or why, but my eyes just…opened."

"Come back to bed, then."

As much as Matthew wanted to, he felt too awake to go back to sleep, accepting that this would be when he'd begin his day. This is exactly what he told Mary, who sighed.

"All right, then. But don't blame me when you fall asleep at luncheon."

"Of course not," Matthew agreed readily. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"And this, my darling, is why I love you so much. Now give me a kiss before you leave."

Matthew happily obliged, leaning in and giving Mary a lingering kiss before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

As Matthew turned on the faucet and wet his toothbrush, he decided that he'd stop by the nursery to check on George. Ever since George's birth, Matthew found that he could never stand to be away from his child, similar to how Tom wouldn't allow himself to be away from Sybbie. It was a ground that had brought the friends and brothers-in-law closer.

After Thomas Barrow, recently promoted to under-butler, had voiced concerns regarding neglect and lack of supervision about the children's nanny to Matthew, the heir had decided to investigate the matter himself. What he'd found later that night sickened him. While Nanny West had cradled George and told him, "Don't let that chauffeur's daughter disturb you," she'd further added, "Go back to sleep, you wicked little cross-breed." Matthew had been incensed when he realized the nanny had been referring to young Sybbie, and he'd immediately rushed in and sacked her on the spot. Although he'd been trained diligently by both his mother and father to never strike a woman, he had felt a great urge to do just that at that moment.

Suffice to say that Matthew thanked Barrow profusely the next morning, not caring whether it was ungentlemanly to do so. Barrow had accepted the thanks with grace, saying that the nanny "wasn't quite all Sir Garnet." After the sacking of Nanny West, the heir had devoted a lot more of his time to the little chap. Matthew saw George any chance he got, for he didn't like having to wait all day just to see his son for an hour during tea. Mary would usually accompany Matthew, for she loved George just as much as he did. Other times, however, he would see George alone. This morning would be one of those times.

Once Matthew got done with washing up, he snuck out of the bathroom, gingerly closing the door behind him. After changing into a simple day suit in silence, he stepped out of the bedroom and made his way through the hall. The corridor was lit with lamps, giving off an eerie glow in the otherwise dark area. The only sound that was heard was the light tap-tap of Matthew's soles against the soft, carpeted floors. After he found the nursery, he opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake anyone up. He was successful, for the only sound heard was a slight creak. Slipping inside, he spied the new nanny fast asleep in her chair. He also noticed, once he got to his son's crib, that he wasn't the only one who had decided waking up before dawn was in order.

George was sitting up with his eyes wide and looking quite bored. It amused Matthew greatly to see how much his son resembled Mary right then, for Mary always had a similar expression when she herself was bored. Smiling in the only way he could when he was around George, he reached down and picked up the small baby.

"Hello, George," cooed Matthew softly, taking his son's teddy bear from the crib. When the six-month-old made a rather loud noise, Matthew quickly said, "Shh. We don't want to wake Sybbie or Nanny."

Knowing he'd get chided by both his mother and Mary later, he looked for something he could write on. Finding some old papers in the desk drawer by the door, he took out a pen from his suit and wrote a note to the nanny, assuring that George would be safe and back before breakfast. After setting the note down, Matthew took his son out of the nursery and continued on his walk down the hall.

Once they reached the bottom of the main staircase, Matthew squinted at the bright rays of sun that now shone through the windows. George's blue eyes reflected the sunlight in such a way that made them seem like a pair of diamonds. His eyes were so wide and so blue that Matthew was awed by how similar they were to his own. He beamed at the realization, giving George a kiss on his tiny forehead. The little chap was a perfect mix of Mary and himself with his brown hair, and that alone made Matthew's love for his family increase two-fold. However, even though George had been born with dark brown hair, Matthew could tell it was gradually turning blond.

He found himself going down to the servants' hall, not really knowing why he was taking George there. Perhaps it was the simplicity. Perhaps it was the size. Perhaps it was even the unknown factor of the place. Matthew had only been down there once or twice since moving into Downton to live with Mary. Besides, the heir reasoned as he walked with George into the empty kitchen, he needed to know the ins and outs of the estate. It would be ghastly if he became the Earl of Grantham without having the slightest clue about how the servants lived. He understood that the servants were the ones who carried Downton Abbey, and without them, the house would fall into disarray.

Matthew set George's teddy bear on the small table by the kitchen window and set George down on the bigger one.

"This is the kitchen," said Matthew with a wide grin, pointing at the different spice jars and cabinets. "It's where Mrs. Patmore makes all our food. You'll probably come down here more often once you can walk and talk. I know your grandfather did when he was a boy." In response, George babbled something incoherent before smiling angelically.

It was then that Matthew heard a noise. He shot up, looking around wildly before taking George into his arms once more. Just as he was about to walk through the threshold, he bumped into someone and was sent right back against the table. The result was table legs being loudly dragged across the floor and a blooming pain in Matthew's hip. Thankfully, he was instinctive enough to not drop George, instead cradling the baby close to protect him from harm.

"Mr. Crawley?" hissed a feminine voice, sounding filled with mortification. Looking back at the threshold, Matthew saw a brunette girl with a light blue maid's dress. The type of dress the girl was wearing indicated that she was the new kitchen maid.

"I—"

"I am so sorry, sir!" said the girl, but she wasn't nearly as hysterical as Daisy would've been.

Matthew began shaking his head. "There's no need to—"

"Are you all right?" the girl asked cautiously.

"Well…yes, I suppose. I do apologize. I should've been more careful."

Before the girl could say any more, Matthew quickly took his exit through the other threshold and climbed back up the stairs. Looking at his watch, he realized it was six oh-two. He needed to get back to the nursery before he got his head chewed off. Upon arrival, he slipped inside again. The nanny was still fast asleep, and so was Sybbie. Sighing in relief, Matthew took the note he had left and crumpled it up, stuffing it in his trouser pocket to throw away later. After planting a kiss on George's head, he placed his son back in the crib and went out of the nursery, heading to the library to do some reading before breakfast was served.

"I'm so sorry about earlier. I hope you didn't feel we'd abandoned you."

Matthew held in a snicker at Robert's clear discomfort. He hadn't realized (until Mary informed him, of course) that his father-in-law had planned on having Dame Nellie Melba, a world-renowned opera singer who would be performing for houseguests who had come to Downton for a weekend party after dinner, eat in her bedroom. The fact that there even was a weekend party going on with such an esteemed guest gave Matthew a feeling of freshness. There hadn't been an event like this since the war, so it was nice to socialize with other people.

As Dame Nellie appeared to compliment the food, Matthew turned his head towards Mary. She was conversing with Tony Gillingham. From what Mary had told him, Tony was a childhood friend of hers. He seemed to be a nice enough fellow, Matthew reasoned, as Mary laughed at something the other man said.

Before long, the dinner was finished, and Matthew found himself following the other houseguests to the drawing room with Mary by his side.

"I must say, I'm quite excited to hear Dame Nellie sing," said Mary in his ear.

"So am I," Matthew replied. "I don't think I've ever heard live opera before, so it will definitely be a new experience. I know Mother will certainly enjoy it."

"Well, we shall see," was Mary's response, and neither of them said any more as they took their seats on one of the plush sofas. Matthew couldn't help but grin as he felt Mary's thin, dainty fingers intertwine with his own. He'd be forever grateful to God for blessing him with this wonderful woman to share his life and child with.

It was after some time into the performance that Matthew realized he had left George's teddy bear in the servants' hall while on his short, unplanned walk in the morning. He held in a groan, knowing that he'd miss the rest of the performance because of it.

"Mary," Matthew whispered.

"Yes, darling?"

"I just remembered that I left one of George's toys in the kitchen. I need to go down and fetch it."

Mary turned her head fully towards Matthew with a quizzical look on her face.

"Why were you in the kitchen with George?"

"Oh, you know. Wanted to give him a little tour of the servants' hall and all that."

Mary barely held back her chuckle. "He's only six months old!" she whispered laughingly. "Why on Earth would you think he'd remember that?"

"George certainly seemed to enjoy it. And besides, I wanted to spend a little time with him before the nanny woke up."

"If you say so," said Mary with a smirk, knowing how much Matthew adored their son. "But do try to be back before the performance ends."

"Of course, my darling," replied Matthew, giving his wife a kiss on her cheek. He stood from his seat and soundlessly left the room.

As he walked out, he noticed Green, Tony Gillingham's valet, sitting down with a slightly disheveled look. Odd, thought Matthew as he passed by him. I thought he was here the whole time.

Shaking his head, he focused on the task at hand. Now wasn't the time to wonder about Tony's valet's absence.

Once Matthew had traveled down the stairs, he peeked into the kitchen to see if the teddy bear was still on the small table where he had left it. Upon seeing the table bare, he sighed. Perhaps Mrs. Hughes or Carson had found it and taken it back to her sitting room or his office. It was a perfectly plausible theory and the most likely thing that had happened. With that thought in mind, Matthew stepped out of the kitchen and headed down the hall. He thought he'd look in Mrs. Hughes's sitting room first since it was a smaller area. As he passed by the room that servants used to shoeshine and mend clothes, he stopped in his tracks.

The entire room was upended as though a hurricane passed through. Taking a closer look inside, Matthew saw boxes and papers strewn everywhere across the floor. There was even a broken shelf. What on Earth? he thought as he assessed the state of the room. Looking at the damaged items, he surmised that there had most definitely been a violent altercation, meaning that one or more of the servants were in trouble. Matthew made a mental note of the mess as he stepped back out into the brightly-lit hallway. He'd need to inform Carson of his findings once the performance was over. After closing the door, Matthew continued on his way to Mrs. Hughes's sitting room, now feeling a sense of foreboding due to his discovery. Little did he know that he'd get the answer to his many swirling questions much sooner than he'd expect.

As Matthew passed through the large hall, stress began to build within him. He deeply regretted not walking through the halls more often, for he reached dead ends every time he thought he'd finally found Mrs. Hughes's sitting room. After turning the knob of a fourth locked door, he faintly heard the telltale footsteps of servants coming down; the performance was over. The heir found himself picking up his pace to a jog, wanting to avoid the embarrassment of running into any of the servants. He threw open the first door that was unlocked and went inside, quickly locking the door and turning to see which room he had randomly picked. Before he could register that he had somehow found Mrs. Hughes's sitting room, he froze as he heard a horrified voice shriek, "Mr. Crawley?"

Whipping around, the first name that flew from Matthew's lips was, "Anna?"

The heir was rooted to his spot as he saw the normally neat and tidy Anna Bates shaking, cut up, and wracking with sobs. Her hair was a right mess, and telling from the stricken look on her face, Matthew knew something horrible had happened to her.

Forgetting completely about their respective positions, Matthew rushed over to the lady's maid only for her to flinch away from him.

"Please, sir," she said with a quiver in her tone. "Don't come any closer."

"All right, all right," Matthew agreed easily, holding his hands up and taking a few steps back. "What happened?"

But Anna didn't speak, instead choosing to turn away and back into the corner she had been hiding in.

Knowing he had to do something, Matthew brainstormed different ways to approach the situation. He knew his mother would be able to handle something like this, but the real question was how he'd coax the lady's maid into coming with him.

"Anna," said Matthew as soothingly as he could, but he didn't get a chance to say anything more as the lady's maid quickly shook her head.

"Please, Mr. Crawley, could you get Mrs. Hughes?" It broke Matthew's heart to hear the usually cheerful woman so upset and broken. But he also knew that Mrs. Hughes, no matter how capable she was at most things, wouldn't be able to help Anna in this case. The maid was clearly injured, and the only two people who could help her would either be Dr. Clarkson or his mother.

"Anna, please listen," implored Matthew. "You don't need to tell me what happened, but you're injured. Let me take you—"

"NO!" screamed Anna, her head shaking even faster and harder than before. "Please, I'm begging you. I…I couldn't bear it."

Matthew breathed deeply.

"Would there be anything I could say to convince you—?" However, he cut himself off as Anna crumpled to the ground and began to wail. "Here," said Matthew, slowly making his way over to Anna's side and kneeling down next to her. This time, she didn't flinch. He tried recalling anything that his mother or father might have told him that would help him help Anna. They had always been better with handling emotionally distressed patients than he was, and as of now, Anna was a patient who needed to be treated.

"Come on," he said in his best coaxing voice, hoping that would do the trick. "Let's get you up." Matthew slowly stood, offering a hand to Anna since he didn't wish to provoke her by touching her. Thankfully, Anna took his proffered hand. He pulled her up gently, finally noticing that her dress was torn. Matthew instinctively removed his tailcoat and draped it over Anna's shoulders. The lady's maid looked up at him, her eyes wide with worry.

"I'm going to be taking you to my mother's house," whispered Matthew as an answer. "You know she's a nurse, so she'll be able to treat you properly." He felt a twinge of guilt as Anna's shoulders slumped in defeat, but he also knew that he'd never forgive himself if he just left one of Mary's dearest companions and confidants to suffer.

Taking Anna to the threshold, Matthew peeked his head outside to check if the coast was clear. Seeing that it was, he put a protective arm around the lady's maid's shoulder and carefully escorted her through the hall to the back door.

Once they were outside, Matthew said, "We're going to wait for my mother to come out through the front. When she does, I will tell her the current situation and have you taken back to her house. Would that be all right?"

In response, Anna nodded meekly. From her expression, she was uncomfortable, so Matthew drew his arm back to his side. He remained close to her, though, in case something else happened. The heir led Anna to the corner of the house, telling her to wait by it as he searched for his mother. As soon as Matthew spotted her, he beckoned Anna to follow him. He led them close enough so that his mother could be able to spot them but far enough so that no one else—namely Robert and Violet—could. They waited for Matthew's cousins to finally go back inside the house before making their move.

"Mother!" Matthew called out, running over to catch Isobel before she got in the car.

"Matthew?" said Isobel in shock. "What—?" But she stopped speaking as she saw who came up from behind him.

"Mother, you know Anna," said Matthew, not waiting a second longer to launch into his explanation of the situation. "I was looking for something in Mrs. Hughes's sitting room, and I found her like this."

Fortunately, there was enough light coming from inside the house to help Isobel see Anna's facial abrasions clearly.

"Oh dear," said Isobel, her face suggesting that she was doing some quick thinking. "Come on, then. We'll ride back together."

"Mr. Crawley, if I may speak out of turn?" asked Anna, her voice light-years different from what it had been before. It was calmer, closer to her normal self.

"Of course you can," said Matthew. "You don't need to ask."

"You're truly very kind, but I can't accept this—"

"I'm afraid I must disagree with you," interjected Isobel. She was no longer the mother of a future earl; now, she was the nurse who had volunteered in two wars. "Come. It's getting late, so we shouldn't keep the poor chauffeur waiting."

"Actually, Mother," Matthew said, "I think I'll stay here. Mary currently thinks I'm in the kitchen, looking for George's teddy bear. I mustn't worry her."

"Mary will have to wait a little longer, then," said Isobel, her tone matter-of-fact. "How else will Anna get home?"

"I can get back on my own," countered Anna. "Lady Mary is probably worried sick about Mr. Crawley."

"At this time of night?" questioned Isobel. "I won't allow it. Come, both of you. And hurry."

Seeing that there was no winning this battle, Matthew and Anna followed the older woman to the car. Before Anna could get a chance to sit in the front, Matthew hopped in there first.

"You should sit with my mother. It has more room," said Matthew as an explanation. Though Anna hadn't given him any verbal indication, he could tell that she had been through some sort of ordeal. Therefore, he figured that she'd be much more comfortable in the back. He was relieved when Anna gave him a quick nod and went to the backseat without further protest. As the chauffeur began driving, Matthew found himself dearly hoping that he had done the right thing by taking Anna with him and his mother rather than getting Mrs. Hughes like he had initially been asked to.


I hope you enjoyed this. If you did and would want me to continue this story, tell me. I'll then plan it out and probably start posting more chapters in around six to seven months (due to school).

Thank you so much!