Another one of my Baxley one-shots, inspired by this incorrect downton quote from the tumblr person with the same name.

Molesley: *trying on a new suit* How do I look?

Baxter: Well, speaking as a single woman, who is available, I have to say you look really good.

Takes place the summer after season 6 ended.

It was the day before the summer break from school and Mr. Molesley had invited them to come and see the children getting their grades. It was a right ceremony, he had said when he had come up to the Abbey a week before, and he would speak there, so Anna, Mr. Bates and Ms. Baxter had agreed to come. Or, Anna and Ms. Baxter had gladly agreed to go and Mr. Bates had only come because he didn't want to get on the wrong side of his wife.

Now, a week later, he almost regretted his good intentions towards Anna as it was now him who was stuck with a nervous Mr. Molesley only minutes before the whole ordeal would begin. The teacher was to say some opening words and had made a big fuzz out of it, preparing a speech and everything. It was no wonder he was on the verge of a breakdown. And there was nothing that would help the man to calm down, not even Bates' reassurance that his friends would be in the audience. Instead, he preferred to go on and on and on about his new suit that he had solely aquired for this occasion. If he was not being careful, at least the jacket would be ruined soon, with all the fumbling Molesley did.

The women were no great help, either. They had taken their seats already, getting their way out of the useless task to try and calm Molesley by telling him they would save him a seat for later. However, he noticed them glancing in his general direction, whispering animatedly. It was time for him to go back there, he supposed.

„Poor Mr. Molesley", Anna said sympathetically, „He looks rather nervous, don't you think?"

Baxter nodded in agreement, frowning a little. „Yes, I suppose he is. It's a great deal for him to speak in front of the parents and teachers. But he will be alright." She wasn't quite sure if she said that to assure Anna or rather to assure herself that Molesley would be indeed alright.

„Probably. At least he looks smart enough. Is that a new suit he's wearing?"

„Must be", Baxter nodded her head in neutral agreement, then she intensified her watch towards Molesley and said, in an equally unreadable tone, „Yes, it is new, or at least he has never worn it before. I must say he looks good in it."

Anna shared a suspicious look with her husband who had only just joined them and was about to take a seat before the ceremony started. In a hushed tone, so that Ms. Baxter wouldn't hear her, she whispered, „Do you think it strange, too, that she knows Molesley's wardrobe so well or is that only me?"

But Mr. Bates, being the quiet, unfathomable person that he often was, gave only so much as a hint of a grin and chose not to comment on that. Anna turned back to the woman on her other side, who was now busy watching Molesley with a sympathetic expression, frowning and biting her lip which made her look as if she was feeling the man's tension herself. Most likely, Baxter wouldn't have heard Anna's words even if she had shouted them through the room, so engulfed was she in staring at the teacher.

„If he only wasn't so insecure. I know he can do this, He just can't see it himself", Baxter continued. It physically hurt her to see Mr. Molesley doubting himself and his abilities once again. She had hoped, that with his new job as a teacher, he would get more confident about his profession. She knew that it was what he wanted and how much he loved it, all the more it made her wonder why he was so anxious today, when it was no different to his usual day-to-day job.

„Maybe you should tell him that. Some words of reassurance might help", Anna suggested, but Mr. Bates interfered.

„They won't. I've tried to calm the man down for the last 5 minutes but he wouldn't listen. Chatted away about that new suit of his instead, as if I'm interested in the latest tweet fashion", he grumbled.

„I bet he would listen to Miss Baxter more than to whatever odd advice you've had for him", Anna snapped, giving her husband a meaningful look which was supposed to keep him quiet. If she wanted Ms. Baxter to go over to where Molesley stood and talk to him, her own husband objecting her was less than useful.

„Please don't fight because of this", Baxter now joined in to the conversation again, „it's about to begin, now."

Around them, many of the voices had died down already. As most of the audience consisted of parents of the students, there was a great interest in what was about to go on in the front. The three stopped talking, too. Mr. Bates looked unimpressed and a tad bored, he was only there because Anna had urged him to and he never wanted to disagree with his wife.

Anna next to him had her fingers crossed in her lap, silently hoping that all would go well for Mr. Molesley. Bates smiled at the superstition but let her be – she was as kind as always and this was her way of trying to support the man from afar.

Baxter next to her had leaned forward in her seat when Molesley was walking up the stage. She looked as if she was eagerly awaiting his words and simultaneously wishing herself up there to literally lead him through that welcoming speech. But something else had mixed with the concern about her friend and if Baxter had known how evident the adoration in her eyes was for Anna, she presumably would have tried to restrain her emotions better.

While Molesley was walking up the few stairs that led to the podium of the school hall he was thinking of the people in the audience. Or, one person in particular. And while he wondered why she hadn't approached him before the ceremony started, the walk up to the middle of the stage seemed to be unusually long. He must have been a rather funny sight, tripping awkwardly over his own feet, but he just couldn't concentrate on walking much when he could feel that concerned, yet hopeful gaze on his person.

Molesley straightened himself behind the speaker's desk and took a few breaths to calm himself down. He'd better get this over with, it wasn't about him, anyway, but about the students who were left into the summer break afterward. Once more, he fuddled on his jacket and realized with a fright that he didn't have his notes with him. There was not much time for him to panick any further because when he was frantically scanning the room for something, anything to help him out of this situation, he found his eyes locked with Ms. Baxter's calm, expectant expression. She had a soft smile on her lips and her eyes showed something he couldn't quite name. Could it be that she was proud of him? But Molesley only shook his head slightly to get rid of that thought. It wouldn't do to get lost in wishful thinking, especially not since it tended to make him even more fidgety than he already was.

He would simply have to manage without his notes. But as it was only a short welcoming speech, he supposed he would have to get through it making the words up as he spoke. Bracing himself for the usual stutter that would most likely accompany the spontaneous speech soon, he took a deep breath.

„Welcome", he said, his voice steadier than he feels, „I would like to welcome you all to Downton School, parents and visitors, but most of all my greetings go to the students. We are here for all of you today, because we would like to celebrate your achievements in the school … "

Much to his own surprise, Molesley had made his way through the short speech without so much as an awkward pause. He had left the stage as soon as he was finished, leaving Mr. Dawes, the head teacher, to hand each child their grade papers. Now, he was standing in the back of the room watching everything from the side. He was proud of those children, even though he'd only been a part of their way through school for a short time he knew he had made an impression on some of them. He wouldn't boast about it, that just wasn't him, but but it still gave him confidence to know that it had been the right decision to become a teacher, at it made him proud to know that the students liked and respected him – it wasn't something he had been used to experience in his life as a servant. True, people had accepted him wherever he had been, but it had been different and in the end, most of them had thought him more or less a fool. That was, until she had come to Downton. Miss Baxter. She had been the first person since his parents who gave him the feeling that he was something special. Phyllis. In his mind, he preferred to call her Phyllis because that was the only time he could acknowledge that he felt so closely connected to her that Ms. Baxter simply sounded too distant.

He searched the room for the person who occupied his thoughts so often, only to find the space in the audience next to Anna and Mr. Bates suddenly empty. For the second time that day, Molesley was on the edge of panicking. Because, for the second time that day he was missing something he desperately wanted to cling to in order to get through the morning. Had he disappointed her in some way? Had she left because of him? In his head, all kinds of scenarios went running, none of which showed him in a very positive light.

„I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this, Mr. Molesley", a gentle and so familiar female voice next to him spoke up, „but I am proud of you. You did so very well up there."

There she was, standing next to him and smiling brighty as if … well, as if she was truly happy, Molesley concluded the thought. It took him a moment to find back his voice before he could say, „Of course, you might. I'm glad you think I didn't make a fool of myself. I forgot my speech, you know? I've had it all planned and written down and then, I forgot it."

He looked suddenly so crestfallen, so disappointed in himself, and Baxter knew that for some reason he must have thought that she would be disappointed in him, too. „I know", she told him, „I saw you having troubles to find a start. I felt bad for not having been able to help you somehow."

Molesley realized her feeling guilty about that by the way how she quickly turned away from him. „Oh, please don't", he quickly replied, shaking his head, „This is just the way I usually am, nervous, forgetful, anxious."

Baxter mimicked his movement when she answered, shaking hear head, although not as vigorously, „That might be the way you want to see yourself, but it's not how you are. You're kind and brave and intelligent and since you've become a teacher, your confidence has grown so much. I wish you could see that."

„It seems I'm only ever confident when it's not important. Like in the classroom", Molesley returned.

„It always matters", Baxter tried to assure him, elaborating, „Especially in the classroom, it matters. Those children look up to you and it gives them confidence, too, to know that you with your background have made it to become a teacher."

„That's not quite what I meant", he said, turning his face into a grimace when he thought about what he was going to say next, „It's just … unfamiliar situations tend to get to me. Like today – it made me nervous."

„Oh Mr. Molesley, but that's just normal. We can't always be perfect. What matters is how we deal with our insecurities. Instead of walking away you faced the situation, and I've never seen anything as brave as that."

In an attempt to hide his own slight discomfort about being so openly complimented, Molesley giggled until something crossed his mind. „I've brought this new suit for today, to impress people and probably to distract them from … well, I don't know what from. I guess I thought this would help me catch someone's attention, which is silly because really, it would still be me hiding behind the new clothes and what woman would go looking for a man at a school celebration, anyway? It's even sillier now that I'm talking about it because obviously, every woman who is here today is a mother to one of the school kids, which means they're definitely not searching for potential husbands and if they were, they would most likely not look among their children's teachers. And now I'm embarrassed because I'm rambling and -"

Molesley stopped dead in his tracks when he was interrupted by Ms. Baxter's hearty laughter. She stood next to him, clapping her hands over her mouth, a futile try to stop the sound, and couldn't keep herself from laughing out loud. Tears had already formed in her eyes which made Molesley wonder whether she was laughing at or about him. He was sure it was the latter and when he noticed that many people had turned around to face them at the giggling sounds emerging from Ms. Baxter, he went even redder around the ears in embarrassment.

After a moment, she realized that her sudden outburst had interrupted the ongoings on the podium and immediately stopped her laughing, silently mouthing an excuse to the general audience. Molesley who had patted her arm, trying to calm her down, grabbed it now and pulled her out of the room behind him.

Outside in the corridor, he whispered, „What in heaven's name was that about?"

The snapping tone sobered her up instantly, and with a sheepish smile she apologetically answered, „I'm sorry Mr. Molesley, I don't know what has gotten into me."

„You were laughing at me. When I had already made a complete fool of myself you were laughing at me", he sadly said.

„No, I wasn't. I would never laugh at you", Baxter replied honestly, „It was about what you said, I realized something … funny, I guess."

„Funny? Other than me being as hopeless as ever?", Molesley inquired, not being able to make something out of the strange situation.

„But you're not hopeless. In fact, you're everything but because your plan worked. You did manage to catch one woman's attention at least."

„Really? You think that?" he interrupted, not quite believing the words.

„I think a lot of things. For example, I think you don't need a fancy suit to catch a woman's attention. And I think you're not hiding behind your new clothes but rather that they compliment your personality perfectly. You do look rather dapper in that suit, it's high quality but not too obvious. Just like you. And I think it's quite ironic that in a room full of school children's mothers, whose attention you for some reason tried to get, there is one single woman whose attention you'll always have."

When she had finished, Baxter only kept staring at the man in front of her. After they had left the school hall, Molesley had in the spur of the moment pushed her against the corridor wall where she was standing now, looking up into his eyes and trying to read his thought in them. But he neither showed a reaction nor did he say anything and she was beginning to wish she was somewhere else when she realzied that, in his typical clueless way, Molesley had probably not quite grasped what she told him.

Smiling skittish, she reached up to hold his collar at which he was starting to fumble again. It was making her nervous to see that he was nervous enough to do this. So, he did have an idea what she was talking about and not even his half-questioning look could confound her. There was really only one way to find out for sure if he was thinking what she was thinking. „I always want to be there, if you have me, that is", and then, upon seeing that it still hadn't clicked, „I love you."

Molesley's confusion turned to disbelief and theninto something that could only be described as utter adoration for the woman in front of him. „I – I don't know w-what to say", he stuttered, „except, I love you, too."

They were standing so close together already that all it would take was for her to pull him down a little or for him to lean in just a bit more and their lips would touch. Both of them were painfully aware of that but jumped away from each other as soon as they heard clatter from inside. The ceremony was over and soon the corridor was filled with people. It was even more awkward to be the only silent people in a room full of chatter than it had been to be the only ones laughing in a silent environment.

While they had been snapped out of their own world by the sudden noise, Molesley's hand still lingered on Baxter's upper arm and if Mr. Dawes, who approached them a moment later, had noticed it he chose not to mention it.

„Ah, there you are, Mr. Molesley", the head teacher said, „and Ms. Baxter, are you quite alright?"

She supposed that he was referring to her unusual behaviour from before and was about to nod when the man continued, „You do look a bit flushed if I might say so. Maybe a bit of fresh air would do you good?"

Baxter found herself agreeing before she could think about it. This was embarrassing. She had felt her cheeks burn but hoped that it wouldn't show. „You are right, I do feel a bit dizzy. Would you mind … could you spare Mr. Molesley for a minute, because I'd -"

„Yes, yes, of course. He will keep an eye on you. Will you, Molesley? Make sure the lady's feeling better", Dawes told them, shushing them outside.

Once they were out of view of the headmaster, Baxter turned to make sure they weren't watched and pulled Molesley behind her into a deserted hallway. It was him who was pushed against the stone wall this time which left him looking typically confused.

„I thought you weren't feeling well, outside it the other direction" he stated.

„I'm not dizzy, silly", Baxter explained her actions, „I just wanted us to get out of there, because I do believe there is some unfinished business we'd both rather attend to."

Her slightly sly smile was all it took for Molesley to realize what exactly she meant and so it took him only a moment to put his hands around her waist an pull her a little closer to him. Baxter was still smiling but had turned her face downwards, unexpectedly shy all of a sudden.

He lifted one hand to rest on her chin and pull her face up a little so that their eyes locked for a moment. Baxter saw her own love reflected in Molesley's eyes and it was all that kept her from restraining herself any further. She wrapped her arms around Molesley's neck before she gave in to the sensation of his lips on hers. As he pulled her even closer to his body, deepening the kiss, Baxter knew that she had never felt so loved as in that moment.

„I love you", Molesley said after they pulled apart reluctantly.

It was strange how those three simply words could mean the world.

I'd love to know your thoughts if you made it this far down.

- lizzie