A/N: Thank you Daimhin, Lavender and Hay, fancatt, and Lady Andith! I appreciate that you took time to leave a note.

Richard arrived at Isobel's doorstep the next morning. Isobel looked lovely as ever, she was in a cream colored skirt and jacket with a scoop-neck blouse. Richard had to remind himself not to stare at the hollow or her collarbone, he found he was quite fond of Isobel's neck.

They exchanged pleasantries and headed out the door. They spent most of the morning calling on houses just outside the village as they made their pilgrimage to the outskirts of town. Isobel felt refreshed and alive, she was employed with the things she loved most in the world. Being of use as a nurse and taking a pleasant stroll with intelligent and friendly company.

During the moments of quiet she found herself contemplating what her last ten plus years of her life would have been like in Downton if Dr. Clarkson was not a part of it. She found few men in the world that would treat her as an intellectual equal, some men would pretend that they did and she did give them a little credit for trying, but Dr. Clarkson really felt it.

The conversation moved from medicine to baby George and Isobel was so animated in her descriptions of his latest milestone that she missed a step on the path and started to fall when Dr. Clarkson caught her by the waist with his two hands. For a moment, she had trouble finding her legs again, embarrassed about resting her entire body weight on him. "It is okay, I've got you" he said as he tightened his grip on her waist.

It had been a long time since Isobel had a man's hands on her in that intimate a way that she felt her cheeks get warm despite the fact that there wasn't a soul around on the path to see them. As she straightened up he removed his hands and she turned to him saying "thank you Dr. Clarkson."

Richard could sense her embarrassment but he could not resist taking the opportunity to say "after that, perhaps you should call me Richard." That both smiled and laughed at that. "Well Richard, thank you!" she replied as she continued to smile. "You are welcome Isobel" he said. It felt so good to say her name out loud, for years she was always Mrs. Crawley but in his head, she was always Isobel.

Just before lunch they had made it to the Pegg's house, here Isobel was going to break for a visit while Richard walked on to the Watsons. Usually he had his bicycle with him but today it would be about a 20-30 minute walk. That would leave a good hour for Isobel to spend with Mrs. Pegg while he waited on Mrs. Watson.

As Richard walked on his mind was filled with thoughts of Isobel. After that fateful day at the Ripon fair two years ago, he tried very hard not to think of Isobel as anything more than a dear friend. She made sure she was clear on her feelings about remarriage. What he had trouble getting his mind around was why she seemed to allow Lord Merton to continue his advances if she truly was not interested in marrying again. He was left to assume that perhaps she just didn't want to marry him.

For over a decade they have been friends, not always agreeing on matters and neither of them afraid to express that, but at the end of the day, they were always on the best of terms. He was clearly attracted to Isobel, there were times when he had to force himself to think of other things when she was working side-by-side with him. It was hard to stay composed sometimes when she became quite compassionate over one issue or another. As he approached the Watson's house the professional in him switched into Dr. Clarkson and put his thoughts of Isobel aside, for now.

XXXXX

Isobel enjoyed a nice luncheon with Mrs. Pegg but was getting a little concerned about the good Doctor when she noticed outside the window a large black cloud that looked on the verge of erupting. He had been gone about an hour and should be back soon, unless Mrs. Watson had gone into labor.

Just as she was about to say as much to Mrs. Pegg, the heavens erupted and the rain came pouring down "I hope Dr. Clarkson rides out the storm at the Watson's or else he will be a drowned rat in this storm" Mrs. Pegg announced.

They continued with idle chat but Isobel kept checking the window every minute to look out for Dr. Clarkson. After about 10 minutes she spotted him jogging up the path and looking much worse than a drown rat.

"Here he comes" she announced, "Oh my, he looks quite worse than a drowned rat!"

Richard walked in the door and was dripping from all angles. He shook from the cold as Mrs. Pegg scampered off to grab some dry clothes for him. She returned with a pair of her husband's pajamas and escorted him to the spare bedroom in the back to change and lay out his clothes to dry by the fire.

Isobel followed and threw a few more logs on the fire to warm up the room. Richard began to try and undo his tie but his fingers were quite wet and frozen from the cold rain and after the second failed attempt Isobel said "just let me do that, you need to get you out of those clothes before you freeze to death"

Richard was pretty confident he was not on the verge of freezing to death but he also wasn't dumb enough to stop the women he fanaticized about from partially undressing him. As Isobel worked on the tie, Richard gazed at her in the most intimate a fashion that didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Pegg. Mrs. Pegg quietly slipped out and shut the door behind her.

Isobel worked quietly on his tie but she was cognoscente of the intimacy of the act. While it was still daylight, the dark cloud had left the fire as the only light source in the room. They were only inches apart and Isobel could feel his intense stare as she removed his tie.

When he didn't proceed with unbuttoning his shirt, Isobel simply continued in her actions. She justified her behavior immediately to herself, she was a nurse after all and it wasn't healthy for him to stay in his soaking wet clothing.

The buttons required a lot more of her attention and she could hear his heart and his breathing quicken as she made her way through the first two buttons. He had an undershirt on underneath, but that was just as soaked and was sticking to his chest. She tried to stay focused but as she finished the third button she could see the entire impression of his nipples.

She had seen many a half-naked man in her years as a nurse, especially during the war years, but never someone she was this intimately acquainted with. Nor someone whom she knew had feelings for her.

She had made it down to the last button and still she had not looked up into his eyes. She knew he was waiting for her to look at him but she simply couldn't do it. The sexual energy in the room was palpable.

She had been holding on to his shirt tails but eventually she dropped them. When he made no move to shrug off the shirt she slowly lifted her eyes to him. Before she could make complete eye contact with him his lips descended on hers in a chaste kiss. He pulled away quickly, waiting her reaction.

Isobel wasn't sure how to react. One part of her said that this wasn't the path she was supposed to take but yet she felt rooted to the spot. She wanted to be there. She wanted to keep removing his clothes. She wanted to see the man underneath the shirt. And truth be told, she wanted him to kiss her again.

Richard couldn't believe what just happened. He let the moment get the best of him and he gave into his desire to feel her lips on his. He didn't have the courage to take it any further without a clear sign from Isobel. She still hadn't made eye contact with him but instead she grabbed the opening of his shirt and pulled them down his arms to start removing his shirt.

Richard could feel the blood running through his veins and rushing to a particular part of his body. As she removed the shirt past his fingers her arms were essentially encircling him. She finally looked up at him and she had desire written all over her face. Still he waited, he needed her to make the next more.