A/N:

To the guest reviewer, Having two soloists certainly does please them both :) And I'm personally pleased to say it is becoming increasing important for them to be in agreement. Furthermore, it's always a fun time in the music library for them. And, in regards to that little idea, I think you'll have more of an answer in this chapter ;D :)

General Author's Note: Enjoy some references to (and role reversals for) Series 6, some fluffy teaching moments, and a few more teases for what'll transpire at the concert ;)

_._

She was humming, lost in her thoughts, when she entered 402 for the first rehearsal of the school day. He hadn't even noticed it at first, having been surrounded by a plethora of online correspondences.

But, after a moment, the soft hum reached his ears. And, even though it stopped only seconds later, it reminded him of an idea. A thought that had been put to the side in the midst of an astonishingly lovely moment for one particular reason:

So that it could still remain a pleasant surprise for the woman in mind.

With a glance at the calendar, Charles could confirm that it would indeed be time to start setting that idea in motion.

Or, rather, it was time to start properly considering whether or not he should set this idea into motion.

_._

"I still can't believe that they both got the solo." Sarah may be an alto, but that hardly meant she needed to refrain from commenting about the soprano solo.

"Well, whether you believe it or not, Mary and Anna have the solo." Thomas remarked snidely. But, he wasn't really paying attention to her complaint, as evidenced by his remark lacking any true bite

O'Brien looked up at this, noticing the change in behavior and not approving in the slightest that her friend wasn't even focused on their conversation.

"What's the matter with you?"

_._

Her little a cappella army now felt quite comfortable with their songs, having practically all of their music memorized. Even "Irish Blessing" was close to being sung with looking at the sheet music - though, that could have been Tom's influence. The teen had been running the lyrics and notes repeatedly with any singer he could.

Regardless, any type of music requires much more than memorization. And, since they were at an excellent level of technical proficiency when it came to the songs, it was time to work on stage presence and truly connecting to the pieces.

_._

"Now, you're certainly not servants who have to blend into the background are you?"

"No, Mrs. Hughes."

"That's a relief," Weak smiles appeared at the tease. "But, let's pretend for a moment you were."

Heads tilted inquisitively, eyes moved in various forms of disbelief. They were already fantastic with "Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron", why was there further need to work this much on it?

"Do I really need to remind you of our previous conversation during our 'A Babe Was Born' rehearsal? How, it's just as important to know why you're singing as it is to know what it is you're singing?"

Heads were shaking in response, and a few even murmured equivalents of, "No, that's not necessary, Mrs. Hughes. We remember."

"Good. In that case, I'd like you all to close your eyes for a moment, and breathe in and out." They all were slow on the uptake, so she found herself repeating, "Yes, I'd still like you to close your eyes like so. And breathe in and out, too."

With her eyes closed for a solid ten seconds, she only opened them when she was reasonably sure the students had done as instructed.

"Now then," She was pleased that - even with this unusual exercise - they still followed her lead. "You've all passed by a grand house, say Downton Abbey, for instance?"

They nodded, as she knew they would. After all, anyone who ever came through this neck of the woods inevitably came across Downton Abbey. Whether it was in person or via an advertisement within the town, there was always some encounter with the beautiful place. And, seeing as how the founders of Downton Academy were also charged with taking care of Downton Abbey, it made for a lovely example in this instance.

"Right then. I want you to imagine yourself living within the halls of Downton. In this case, you'd be residing in the servants quarters and working throughout every aspect of the house. Downton Abbey, for the next thirty minutes, is as familiar to you as your own home.

"At Downton there is a special someone you get to work alongside with. Someone who makes the never-ending days far less of a burden, someone who's there by your side when the bells are ringing and there's burdening work that needs doing. Someone you can't always be with at every hour of the day, but someone who makes every hour you see them the most worthwhile hour you can experience."

Elsie paused a moment, almost taken in by her own words. By verbally illustrating this example, she couldn't help the unexpected feelings that began to rise within her. The thoughts of a certain colleague were coming to mind, her imagination now providing a different sort of life - one she never had the chance to experience.

But, if she stops now she will lose them. And so, she puts a stop to those distracting thoughts and continues.

"This someone is your sweetheart. They are your darling. They are the person that makes polishing the silver an enjoyable task. The one who you want to take on errands into town, the person who you will happily remain with for as long you can."

Each student looked absolutely caught up in their own world, eyes still firmly shut while varying degrees of smiles appeared all around.

"I want you to keep thinking of that person, even when I blow the pitch. I want you to keep your eyes closed and your thoughts on that special person when we sing again. Can you do that?"

Silent nods prompted her to take out the pitch pipe once more and let them take it away.

_._

Now, typically, Mr. Carson would have heard her wonderful encouragement to the students - by now, he consistently dropped by two rehearsals every week, if not all three.

However, in this instance, he had some encouragement of his own to receive.

"Mrs. Patmore," He really would much rather ask someone else his little question, but the person in mind was currently busy. And he was currently incredibly cowardly to ask even when she wasn't busy. "I wondered if I might have a word,"

Beryl looked up from her desk, having not expected Charles Carson to appear in her office since the last time he did - when he was showing her the place for the first time all those years ago.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Carson?" She gestured to one of the chairs in the office, watching him take the seat without question.

"The thing is, it's a question about Mrs. Hughes,"

"Oh?"

"You see, I was wondering about -" He cut himself off for once, still searching for the appropriate words.

I have been questioning my feel- thoughts on any matter regarding Els- Mrs. Hughes, and had wanted to inquire into her marital status - namely, is she in fact still married?

Too tacky and far too long-winded.

I was wondering as to where Mr. Hughes is? Moreover, I was wondering why I have these occasional thoughts, thoughts that are also intolerably risqué, about a colleague who is married?

Too melodramatic and, overall, a ghastly way to approach the subject.

"Mr. Carson?"

Her voice certainly shook him out of his thoughts, but it definitely didn't help matters.

"Well, what I mean to ask is, well," Well, this is just going swimmingly.

"Mrs. Patmore?" Ivy poked her head through the door, oblivious to the mortifying conversation she just interrupted. "Did you see my cell phone here after class?"

"Do I look like I have your phone, Ivy?" Came the borderline-sarcastic response, unintentionally giving Mr. Carson an excuse to get out of his chair.

"Would you like me to ring it?" The girl looked crossed between wanting to say yes and wanting to avoid having the choir director anywhere near her phone.

"No, thank you." Ivy decided on that for a response after a minute of painstakingly hesitation in the form of biting her lip and looking at the floor.

"In that case, I wish you good luck with the matter." He turned back towards his colleague.

"Mr. Carson," Beryl wanted to return back to the unspoken question at hand, which was understandable. However, there was one problem.

See, even though Mr. Carson would normally acknowledge what she wanted, and even though he might ask his little question if she prompted him, a student did just barge in on them.

And a student overhearing this conversation was one of the last things he ever wanted to deal with.

Therefore, it was time to make a retreat that had enough decorum it could not be classified as "hasty".

"Well, this has been very nice, having a little chat. Thank you for listening, Mrs. Patmore. "

"But, Mr.-"

"I'll leave you to it now." He briskly walked past a now-distressed Ivy, bade them both a good rest to their day, and promptly headed out the door.

Beryl scoffed at this behavior before heaving out a great sigh, remembering why Elsie wanted to throttle the man from time to time.

Just don't come back here in, twenty years from now, deciding that that's when you'll finally ask your question.

It was a simple request Beryl had, one she silently made as she stood up and began to help Ivy in the search for the missing phone.

And, somehow, she highly doubted it was going to be acknowledged.

_._

Even though he should have left the building after that failure of what was already an awkward mission with Mrs. Patmore, Charles found himself once more drawn back to the second fourth floor.

And upon seeing that Journey songs were still nowhere in sight, Charles even allowed himself his ten minutes of "Let's go listen in on the choir and pretend I'm not be staring at Mrs. Hughes the entire time."

It wasn't that Mr. Carson actually categorized this time as such; it was merely that it just so happened to end that way.

See, the voice director truly enjoyed watching the students transform as performers - something that his colleague seemed to bring forth over and over again. He loved watching faces that were always so stiff and so scared slowly melt into expressions of wonder and captivating intensity. He enjoyed watching spines straighten from slouching "zombies" to energized singers.

And, it also just so happens that Charles Carson found himself equally enamored with watching his colleague conduct. Watching her hands swing back and forth between tempos, observing her movement steady their voices and guide them through the hurdles that came with singing with no instruments, it was all so captivating.

So much so, that he almost gave himself away with the amount of times he would fixate his gaze on her.

Fortunately, as far he knew, everyone loved to avoid the gaze of their choir director. Therefore it only made sense that none of the students would have even cared to look in his general direction. Moreover, since she automatically had to have her back to him, there would be no teases or remarks to take his gaze away from the enthralling sight.

And, on a day like today, he intended to take full advantage of that.

"O,"

It was a powerful and soft sound, one that grew from piano to mezzo-piano in the span of a few heartbeats, before fading back into piano once more. The chord progressed when they repeated the vowel once more, rising and falling with just a bit more intensity. But what was more powerful was watching her breathe in the sound, absorbing every note with a grace he had never quite witnessed.

"Magnum."

She leaned further into the soul of the piece, gently guiding the sustaining of notes with a marvelous ease - allowing her own emotions to ripple into her conducting.

"Mysterium,"

He had been looking forward to seeing how she worked with "O Magnum Mysterium" for weeks. And though they had debated on whether to work with Lauridsen's or Gjeilo's arrangement, it appeared she had decided to go with the latter.

Well, now that he was standing in the room, he could understand why.

"There's only one problem, Mr. Carson." She had confessed in a bit of a hesitant manner, over one of their many lunches spent together.

"What's that, Mrs. Hughes?"

She had paused and bit her lip at the time, as though contemplating just how to phrase it. Then she shook her head and dove into the heart of the matter.

"It wouldn't be true a cappella sound, seeing as Gjeilo's arrangement also requires a cellist."

He couldn't help but outright chuckle at this, unusually tickled by the fact that she was obviously perturbed by that fact.

And now that he was surrounded by the sound of such beautiful singing he almost wanted to demand that no cellist be involved - just so that they could stay true to a cappella form.

But, that was an irrational demand. Furthermore, the choir director could already hear her argument. After all, it would be quite similar to what his own would have been, if he were in this situation.

For all of Elsie's willingness to step out of the box, she wanted to make sure the selections were still properly done with the justice they deserved. Her students could explore all the types of music they wanted to, they could seek out unique renditions of classic pieces, but she wanted to adhere to what the composer or arranger had marked as vital.

Unless, that is, she found their arrangement to simply be ridiculous.

"Mr. Carson,"

In that case, it was-

"Mr. Carson, did you even hear what I was saying?"

When had she decided to look right at him?

"Hmm?" Not the best action on his part, but he had been caught off guard.

She sighed, clearly frustrated.

"I was asking for your opinion on the piece. But, seeing as how you were lost in your thoughts for the last minute, I think I have it." He must've really been ignoring her if her words were that sharp.

Luckily, the students knew better than to utter a single word during this little "banter" of theirs. But, in case they didn't quite understand the gravity of the situation, he felt more than justified in sternly glaring at them to emphasize the necessity of staying quiet.

"I do apologize, Mrs. Hughes, I was just caught up in-" The director paused, but it seemed he was determined to speak without thinking. "Well, I just had a thought about the song."

"Oh?" Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

Fortunately for Charles Carson, even though he hadn't really had any ideas about this song, he could certainly come up with something.

Especially when it gave him yet another chance to pleasantly surprise Elsie Hughes.

_._

It was with six weeks before the concert that Mr. Carson finally felt he could moved forth with an idea. An idea that had greeted him in a soothing space. An idea that had come to life at a rather unexpected time. And an idea he would have never approved nor even though of three months ago.

It was audacious, impulsive, and absolutely something he should not encourage to turn into reality for propriety's sake.

And yet, here he was.

_._

"Well, gentlemen," For even though most of them were still only rambunctious teenagers, he felt that there was no need to lower standards. "Since we've been managing the music far better than before, there is one last piece I would like you to work on in your own time."

He could foresee the groans and the frustration within the men's ensemble and knew just what to say to put a stop to all of that:

"I was thinking we could whip up a little surprise as a thank you for everything Mrs. Hughes has done for us this semester."

As he anticipated, that shut them all up immediately.

_._

"Daisy, how's everything with the choirs now?"

Mrs. Patmore was still curious about what it was Mr. Carson wanted to ask her, but she knew better than to approach him in his office or inviting him back to hers. There was too high a chance of another student dropping by and spooking him once more. Worse still, Elsie could overhear whatever it is he wanted to know if they spoke in his office.

And then he wouldn't speak to Beryl about anything for years.

So, in order to avoid scaring the choir director to death with less than six weeks before the concert, it was best to go to a reliable second-hand source instead.

"It's alright, I suppose." Beryl was fantastic with allowing silence to do her work for her, especially with students. "I mean, we're doing well now with most of the music, Mrs. Hughes has helped us to express more, and it's really becoming something more than what it's been."

"But?"

"But, something seems a little different about Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson. Nothing bad, I think. I can't really explain it, really."

"Why don't you give it a try?"

_._

Elsie had stumbled across the photo album quite by mistake. But, curiosity guided her in looking at the photos of previous choir concerts - concerts performed longed before even Mr. Carson was a member of the faculty at Downton.

And, by perusing this particular photo album, she came across an endearingly sweet choir tradition.

_._

"Mr. Carson," Elsie approached him, carefully carrying the photo album as she did so. "I have a question about the concert."

"What is it, Mrs. Hughes?"

She opened the album to the appropriate page, pointing out some particular photos.

"Do you know anything about this tradition?"

He glanced away from his computer, curious. But, upon seeing the photo in question, he nearly scowled - returning back to the emails at hand.

"That tradition is one that the previous voice directors chose to indulge in. It is not one that I have ever planned on continuing."

She sighed a little louder than she'd normally, looking down at the picture herself.

"Well, if you're sure." But, in lieu of putting the photo album back where she found it, Elsie decided to leave it on her colleague's desk instead.

A little reminder of tradition never hurt, after all.