Christmas is here – totally wrong time of the year to write such a chapter. I got so confused that there's no snow outside… It might take a little longer again until I'll post the next chapter since I'm on a hiking trip next week with no wifi and little time to write. But the good news is that I really want to finish this fic before I start university in October – I've another 12 chapters planned… Enjoy this one! :)

23th December 2012

Charles was a little nervous when he turned into Elsie's street. She had forgotten about purchasing a Christmas tree and with Tommy in bed with a heavy cold, she had entrusted him with finding a suitable tree. Charles hoped that the one he was carrying would turn out to be a good choice. He didn't even want to imagine what Christmas would be like with a sad example of a tree. After choosing and carrying the tree to Elsie's house, Charles' next challenge was to unlock the front door and get inside without breaking off any branches. Trying to hold the tree by putting one arm around it, he fished the keys out of his pocket and it slipped out of his fingers, hitting the floor with a metallic pling that sounded both taunting and offended. Charles let out an angry growl, his mind racing to find a way to bent down and pick the key up again without losing his balance and crashing against the door which would inevitably lead to him involuntarily using the tree as a sort of battering ram. With a sigh he surrendered and rang the doorbell. He could hear Elsie coming down the stairs and the door opened. Elsie laughed when she saw the defeated, grumpy expression on his face.

"You know, if it wasn't so visible that you have a tree, I'd think you had none given that admirably happy expression of yours", she remarked sarcastically.

Charles tilted his head slightly to one side and raised his left eyebrow. "I have a tree", he announced and then added quietly: "And I dropped my keys and can't bent down."

Elsie snorted with laughter. "Really, Charles, you can work yourself into a state over the most ridiculous things."

He smiled more at himself than her. "Bad butler habit", he said, sounding a little melancholic.

Elsie studied him, convinced to see a hint of homesickness flicker over his face. "I'd love to hear more about life back then, especially your life. You don't talk about it much."

He rubbed his neck with his free hand. "No, I suppose, I don't. Not sure why really."

"Well, I'd always be happy to listen to your stories whenever you chose to share them", she offered.

"Right now I'd be happy to put that tree down somewhere. It's getting a little heavy", he pointed out.

"Oh god, sorry. Of course, come in. Let me just pick up your keys", she said apologetically, bending down and grabbing the keys. Then she made way for him. Carefully he maneuvered through the hallway and into the living room. Elsie helped him setting up the tree, fumbling with a few stubborn branches. They stepped back simultaneously when they had finished to look at their work properly. "It's a lovely tree", Elsie said.

"I'm glad", Charles replied.

"Would you like some tea?", she asked.

"Yes, please", Charles said gratefully.

Elsie started bustling about in the kitchen. "You know", she said. "While you were away I got the ornaments out of the basement. There on the table. We certainly can't use all of them, so if you would like to choose some?"

"Thank you", Charles said. "But I don't know much of these things."

"Oh? Weren't you in charge of one of the biggest households in Britain?", she asked.

"Downton Abbey is surely a grand house, but there are much bigger households in Britain", he replied. "The ladies picked the ornaments in agreement with the housekeeper. And the maids would hang them on the tree. I merely checked if everything looked presentable afterwards, well, I pretended to check. Mrs. Bute was quite capable of her work."

"Ok, but you surely see something among the ornaments you like, right?", Elsie said with a smile, happy that he had shared something about his old life with her. "That Mrs. Bute, was she a friend too? Or just a colleague?"

Charles put his hands in his pockets, letting his eyes wander over the ornaments on the table thinking that all of them were nice. "She is… was fifteen years older than me and I never really got along with her well enough to be more than just colleagues. We only ever discussed household matters."

"And were you friends with any other member of staff?", she asked, pouring tea into two cups.

"Only with the cook", he said. "As head of staff only Mrs. Bute and Mrs. Patmore – that is Beryl – had a similar authority to mine. I couldn't be friends with any other member of staff. Well, I suppose I could have been, but that wouldn't have been very professional."

Elsie handed him his cup of tea. "That sounds quite lonely", she said softly.

"Life in service is busy. Not much time to be lonely", he pointed out. Elsie wasn't convinced. "And what was Beryl like?"

"Mum, I'm hungry", sounded Tommy's sleepy voice from the door. He was in his dark blue pyjama, woolen socks and had put on a dark red cardigan. His hair was sticking into all directions.

"Is it time already to make dinner?", Elsie asked.

"It's not too early for dinner", Charles offered with a lopsided grin.

"Shepherd's Pie?", Elsie suggested.

"Sounds great to me", Charles said, turning to Tommy who nodded his approval. "How are you feeling, Tom?", Charles inquired.

"Better", Tommy said, followed by three sneezes. "Sorry", he mumbled, then blinked a few times. He walked towards the tree, tilting his head to one side, folding his arms in front of his chest and eyeing it closely. "When did that get here?", he asked.

"Charles brought it just now", Elsie explained.

"Cool, it's great", Tommy announced and held his hand up for a high five. Charles raised his eyebrows in confusion, but then understood and high fived Tommy awkwardly, but successfully.

"How about you two decorate the tree while I make dinner?", Elsie suggested.

"Ok", Tommy said. He started to fumble with the fairy lights. A few knots had sneaked into the long cable over the past year, but Tommy soon had gotten rid of them. Charles held onto the end while Tommy walked around the tree, placing it over and under the branches. Charles took over the upper parts of the tree where Tommy couldn't reach properly. Next, Tommy walked over to the table, grabbing the box filled with red baubles. On some golden stars had been added, on others silver comets, few had white reindeers or snowflakes on them. To Charles it seemed like no model existed more than three times. Charles watched how Tommy laid the box in front of the tree and started to decorate it, evenly spreading the baubles to avoid a shiny red spot in-between the deep green. "You can take the blue ones", he said. "They are my second favourite."

Charles nodded and took the box, following Tommy's lead. Again the baubles differed. Some were light blue, others dark blue, some had snowflakes on them or were sprinkled with tiny stars. It was obvious to Charles that Tommy decorated the Christmas tree every year for when it came to the next box filled with purple, green, golden, silver and orange baubles he picked only very few and that very carefully. Next were the ornaments. Tommy's favourites were quite possibly the stars, snowflakes and miniature presents. Charles had the honour of placing the huge golden star at the very top. When they had finished, the tree looked extremely festive and the smell of Shepherd's Pie filled the air.

"Dinner is nearly ready", Elsie announced, smiling at the sight of the tree. "Well done you two. Would you bring the things you didn't use back to the basement?"

"Sure", Charles said.

"I help you", Tommy told him, but Charles shook his head. "You are still ill. How about you make yourself comfortable on the settee?"

Tommy sighed and sneezed heavily. "Ok."

Charles chuckled and began freeing the table of the boxes. The basement was huge and cold, but to Charles' relief the shelfs were labelled. When he returned to the sitting room, Elsie was just laying the table.

After dinner Tommy was allowed to watch TV for a little while. Charles chose to help Elsie cleaning up which they did in comfortable silence. She just wanted to restart their conversation from earlier when the doorbell rang. "I'll go", Charles said. Opening the door, he found himself face to face with Coach Barrow.

"Hello, Mr. Carson", the young man greeted him.

"Good day, Mr. Barrow. How can I help?", Charles asked.

"I was around and thought I'd take the chance to drop by and see how Tommy is doing", Coach Barrow explained.

"Of course, come in", Charles said and stepped aside to let him in. "He's in the sitting room."

"Thank you", Coach Barrow replied, walking through.

"Coach!", Tommy exclaimed, switching of the TV and getting up.

"Hi there, Tommy. Elsie", Coach Barrow greeted them. "How are you?"

"Better. I won't have to stay in bed on Christmas", Tommy announced happily.

"That's good", Coach Barrow said. "You're looking forward to it then?"

"Of course", Tommy answered. "I've put a lot of cricket things on my list and hope to get some of it."

Coach Barrow laughed. "Why am I not surprised? I'm sure you'll get some of it." He turned to Charles. "Will you be here over Christmas?"

Charles nodded. "I'm staying in the guest room."

"So you're not joining Phyllis in Manchester?"

"No, I won't. We agreed on, well, I'm not sure what we agreed on really, but we won't see each other until January", Charles explained.

"A time-out then?", Coach Barrow asked.

"For the moment, yes", Charles said. "What about you? Will you and Mr. Kent be with your families for Christmas?"

Coach Barrows face fell. "No, we won't. Both our mothers are dead and our fathers wouldn't want us near them."

Charles gave the man a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Elsie had followed the conversation and made a decision. "How about you and Jimmy join us on Christmas Day? Gwen and Becky are also coming. The turkey I bought is enormous and surely feeds all of us."

Coach Barrow smiled broadly. "I'll have to ask Jimmy, but I'm almost certain we'd both be very happy to join you."

"Great", Tommy exclaimed. "This Christmas will be awesome."

Elsie laughed. "You'll text me then, Thomas?"

"Of course. Thank you for the invitation", Coach Barrow said. "I'll be off then. And no more catching colds, Tommy. You want to be fit when training starts again, right?"

"Yes, coach", Tommy agreed.

…

24th December 2012

Charles had mixed feelings when he stomped through the snow towards the Abbey. He felt like a visit to his original home would only reawaken feelings he had successfully buried deep down, but at the same time he didn't have the heart to not follow Simon's invitation. Who knew when he would see the historian again?

The front door wasn't locked and Charles was too used to walk in this way when he was on duty and greeting guests to bother knocking. The light in the entrance hall was rather dim, but therefore the gigantic Christmas tree was shining brightly. Charles smiled at the sight of the hall being all cozy and festive. He stopped next to one of the pillars where he had always used to stand during the celebrations, hidden in the shadows, but having a good view on things. The smell of Beryl's Christmas dinner crawled into his nose and he breathed in. In the distance he could hear singing and now he was sure to recognise the soft voices of the young ladies. He blinked and rubbed his face. His mind was playing tricks on him and he didn't like it.

"Charles? Is that you down there?", Simon's voice echoed through the hall.

Charles stepped out of the shadow and into the warm, soft light of the tree.

"Ah, there you are!", Simon exclaimed. "I'm up here, on the gallery."

"I'm coming up", Charles said, walking over to the stairs and taking a deep breath when he reached the top. Being at the Abbey made him feel all topsy-turvy.

"Good to see you", Simon greeted him and shook his hand.

"You disappeared quite suddenly after that day on the beach", Charles pointed out.

"Yes, I did. Sorry about that, but I couldn't stay", Simon said. "I was falling in love with Elsie and the only way saving me from getting hurt further was leaving."

"I understand that", Charles said. "I'm sorry she rejected you."

"It's all right. I'm ok now", Simon assured him.

"Why did you want to see me?", Charles asked.

"I wanted to give you that", Simon said, handing him a book. Life as a servant by Simon Bricker

"It's been published?", Charles asked.

"No, not yet. On the 29th, but I wanted you to have one of the first copies", Simon said.

"Thank you, really", Charles replied, touched.

"You're welcome. I couldn't have written it like that without you."

"And what are you going to do now?", Charles inquired.

"I have a sort of world tour planned for next year, presenting the way of life of British servants in grand houses of other countries where servants had different lifes. Maybe I'll write a book on that then", Simon told him.

"Sounds like a rather big adventure", Charles said.

"It is", Simon agreed. "And what about you? I mean no disrespect, but you're not planning on working in a pub forever?"

"I know what you mean, but I'm a butler. Where do they need a butler these days except in Buckingham Palace? I don't even have a proper school education", Charles said, sounding a little frustrated.

"Sounds a bit like you wouldn't mind returning home", Simon said carefully.

Charles let out a deep sigh. "In some ways I believe that would be better, but I don't want to lose the people I've met here."

"A bit of a vicious circle, isn't it?"

Charles shrugged. "I probably should head back. It's getting late and Christmas Day will be quite eventful."

Simon nodded. "I'll have to catch my train back to London."

Charles felt how his hands started shaking on his way down the stairs. His eyes seemed to get confused entirely now. He could see Pharaoh running past him and jumping around the Christmas tree. The dog seemed real except for the fact that the image flickered like a candle in the wind. He turned his head to look at Simon, but instead saw Lord Grantham in evening attire, smiling at someone at the bottom of the stairs. Charles felt rather dizzy, looking back into the hall, now seeing Lady Grantham smiling up at her husband. For a moment he could even see William serving drinks and Lady Edith playing the piano, before he grabbed the banister tightly and let out a painful groan at the extreme dizziness that had gotten hold of him.

"Carson?", a voice asked from somewhere. "Carson? Can you hear me?" It sounded like Dr. Clarkson. "Carson, you need to wake up. Wake up!" It definitely was Dr. Clarkson.

"Charles?" That was Simon. The world turned upside down. "Charles, what's wrong?"

He opened his eyes in shock, sinking onto the stairs. "I'm not well", he breathed, afraid that he might throw up. "I'm not well at all."

"What's wrong?", Simon asked concerned.

"I'm not sure", Charles admitted. "I just need to rest for a moment, I think."

"Of course. Do you want me to call someone? A doctor? Or Elsie to pick you up?", Simon offered.

"No, I'll walk back. The fresh air will do me good", he said and pulled himself up, taking a steadying breath. "I'm fine."

Simon was not convinced. "I want you to go straight home. If you haven't texted me in fifteen minutes that you have arrived, I'll call an ambulance and alert everyone to go looking for you."

"Thank you, but I'm sure that won't be necessary", Charles assured him. "I doubt we'll meet again in the near future. I wish you well for now", he said, offering his hand. Simon shook it. "Thank you, Charles. And don't get yourself in trouble."

…

Charles approached the house from behind. The squeaking of the garden gate was already familiar. With slumped shoulders and his hands deep in the pockets of his coat he stumped over the snow covered grass to the terrace. The cold air caused his hatless head to ache, but he welcomed it for his mind froze and its dark thoughts with it. With a deep sigh he sank on the top step that led up to the terrace.

"You'll catch your death out here, Charles. Why don't you come inside?" Elsie's voice was kind and welcoming while she walked up to him. When she reached him and saw the pained expression on his face she felt her heart sink. "Whatever's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing really", he mumbled.

She studied him. He seemed to be deeply upset and she was sure there were tears in his eyes. "You were at the Abbey, weren't you?", she concluded and sat down beside him, taking a sharp intake of breath when she met the cold stone floor.

"I met Simon there. He gave me his book", he told her.

"Oh, that's nice. You must let me read it when you've finished", she said, biting her lip when he simply looked into the distance, still that pained expression on his face. "You didn't like going there, did you?"

"No, it was a bad idea", he admitted.

"There's no shame in being homesick", she tried to comfort him.

"I'm not sure I am homesick."

"What do you mean?", she asked confused.

"I don't know", he said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "This will sound strange, but I could see ghosts."

"Ghosts? You mean you saw the Crawleys?"

"I did. Maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me and what I saw was a memory, but it felt different", he tried to explain. "I mean, it couldn't have been ghosts, not really."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore. If travelling in time is possible, why shouldn't ghosts exist?", Elsie pointed out.

"Thanks, that makes me feel better", Charles replied dryly.

"Sorry", Elsie said. "It probably was a memory. The Abbey was your home for so long, it's not surprising that being there has an effect on you."

Charles smiled. "That sounds better."

"I'm glad. And now stop this brooding and enjoy Christmas", she ordered.

He nodded. "Could I be alone for a few more minutes?", he asked politely.

"Of course, but don't get grumpy when you get a cold", she warned him. "But before I leave you to your brooding, I'd like to do something you'll probably find risqué."

He looked at her with concern and confusion written over his face. She shook her head at him, then leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. The light stubble felt good against her lips and she breathed in his scent. She had trouble not to linger too long.

When her soft lips touched his cheek, he felt better at once, all dark thoughts leaving him. There was a sudden urge to hold her close, but he stopped himself. His heart was beating faster. He could hear the blood rushing through his ears. Elsie gave him a soft smile and he stared at her until she had disappeared inside. And he decided to forget his worries for her sake and because it was Christmas.

…

25th December 2012

Charles woke at eight, not of his own accord, but because Tommy excitingly jumped into his room and next to him on the bed. "Wake up, Charles! It's Christmas!", Tommy shouted.

Charles groaned, grabbing the pillow and pressing it on his head to shield himself form the boy.

"Come on, Charles. We'll have pancakes for breakfast and then open the presents before church", Tommy said, shaking Charles at his shoulder.

Charles sighed and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I'm coming", he mumbled.

"Hurry up!", Tommy told him and jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. Charles raised his eyebrows when he heard Tommy clattering down the stairs. He put on a pair of warm socks and put his dressing gown on before he went downstairs. Elsie was also wrapped up in her dressing gown, balancing a plate of pancakes.

Tommy started eating hungrily. Charles had never seen anyone eat so many pancakes in so little time. Given that Tommy hadn't eaten much in the past days and was overly excited to rip open his presents, Charles decided to smile at it and sip his tea. Still chewing, Tommy cleaned his hands with a napkin. "Can I open my presents now?", he mumbled.

Elsie shook her head at him. "All right, but don't forget that two bites of pancake you're still chewing on."

Charles chuckled. "Is he always like that on Christmas?"

Elsie sighed. "Afraid so. I'm always worried he'll choke on the food or fall down the stairs."

Tommy handed Charles a present. "That has your name on it", he explained.

Charles smiled. "Thanks." He opened it carefully and smiled when he held the book in his hands: A Guide to Modern Technology

"I thought it might help preventing a heart attack if you understood how your phone worked", Elsie joked.

"Thank you", Charles said. "I'm sure it will help."

Tommy let out a happy shriek, holding an England cricket shirt with his name on it in the air. He carefully laid it aside before hugging Charles tightly. "Thanks, Charles. You're the best."

"You're very welcome, Tom", Charles said, watching the boy running back to the remaining presents under the tree. "Mum, that's for you", he announced, bringing Elsie a small box.

She looked at Charles while opening it who nervously licked his lips. "My god, Charles. That must have cost a fortune", she breathed when she held the bracelet in her hands. It was silver and every small pendant was a Celtic sign.

"I stumbled upon it in York and immediately thought of you", he offered.

"It's beautiful, thank you", Elsie said quietly, touched by the sentiment behind the gift.

"That's also for you, mum", Tommy said, handing her another box. It was a new pencil case. "Thank you, Tommy. Now I can finally get rid of that old thing with all its holes", she said happily.

"I've also got a present for you, Charles", Tommy announced. It was a tie in the red and blue colours of Downton Cricket Club with the clubs emblem on it. A gift much appreciated by Charles who wore it only an hour later to church.

…

Although the vicar was much younger than Mr. Travis had been, he managed to make Christmas service comparatively boring. To Charles' surprise Tommy's excited expression didn't crumble once during service anyway. Quite an achievement in Charles' eyes for he who was used to keeping a straight face at all times had difficulty not to roll his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. In parts he thought the reason for Tommy's stamina was the fact that he was wearing his new cricket shirt and was very proud of it. He had insisted to wear it with the rest of his suit instead of the stiff shirt. Elsie hadn't even tried to talk him out of it. Charles felt rather proud that she had decided to wear the bracelet on her left wrist. A reassurance to him that she really liked it.

He hadn't paid much attention to the vicar's speech. Charles had lived through so many Christmas services that he was sure to have heard enough of them for one life. What he had always liked about service though was the singing. And he was grateful that the songs sung hadn't changed. O come all ye faithful* was one of his favourites. The tune made him happy and feel lucky to just be there.

Elsie liked singing alongside Charles' deep rumble. It was soothing her somehow and waking her up after the vicar had almost lulled her to sleep with his speech. The only good thing about being stuck in church for so long was that the five to six hours for the turkey were reduced a little without her having to constantly check the watch.

Elsie was forced into a huge amount of conversations after church. Almost everyone knew her, because she was the headmistress of Downton's biggest school. She politely talked to everyone who wanted to wish her a happy Christmas.

Charles was waiting for her together with Tommy a few feet away. When Becky joined them accompanied by a rather bored to death looking Gwen, Elsie managed to excuse herself and they left as a group.

…

The air already smelled heavily like turkey when the doorbell rang. Tommy was the one who first jumped off the settee, almost knocking over Charles' wine glass. "It's the Coach and Jimmy", he shouted, leading them into the sitting room moments later.

"Is that monopoly? Not the best time of the year to play the relationship destroying game", Jimmy joked.

"Quite the contrary. Christmas is the only time of the year we all don't have the heart to cheat or be mean", Becky replied. "Besides we wouldn't manage not to fall asleep during the Queen's speech without the game."

"Fair enough", Jimmy laughed.

"The turkey is almost ready now", Elsie announced, looking rather stressed.

"We brought some wine", Thomas said, holding up two bottles.

"Margaux?", Charles asked in disbelief.

"Oh, so they are expensive?", Thomas asked unknowingly.

"They are, quite so", Charles chuckled. "One of the finest red wines France can offer."

"Well, at least I know now that I wasn't worthless to my father before he knew I was gay after all", Thomas said with a shrug.

"Your father gave you these?", Becky asked. "I never knew he could actually be nice."

"You're not alone with that, believe me", Jimmy said.

"He would hate to see us drinking these together", Thomas said.

"All the more reason to drink them", Elsie replied.

Thomas laughed. "I agree." He turned to Charles. "So you know a thing or two about wines?"

"I do", Charles answered. "It was part of my job."

"What job was that?", Jimmy asked.

Charles nearly replied truthfully, but Elsie interrupted him. "His grandfather had a vineyard", she said. "And Charles helped out in his teenage years."

Charles raised his eyebrows at her, only getting an apologetic shrug. She really could have come up with a smaller lie. "Yes, I helped my grandfather", he said.

"What happened to the place?", Jimmy asked.

"Unfortunately my father sold it after my grandfather passed away", Charles lied.

"That's a shame", Thomas said.

Charles was afraid to be asked further questions about his past, but luckily Elsie placed the turkey just then on the table. "Now", she said, a little out of breath. "Who's hungry?"

…

One bottle Margaux was gone by the time they had finished Christmas dinner. Charles was on first name terms with both Thomas and Jimmy and having a good time. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket once and got it out with a frown.

Phyllis 6:32: Merry Christmas! x

Unbeknownst to Charles, Phyllis had fought all day long with herself whether or not she should send a text. Very slowly he typed his reply:

Charles 6:37: Merry Christmas to you too!

He turned off his phone then, not wanting to find himself in some deep conversation via text messages.

…

The guests left at around nine after too much wine, turkey, mince pies, singing and playing cards. Tommy was having a bit of a setback with his cold and went to bed. Charles helped Elsie to clean up which kept them busy until nearly ten. Exhausted they flopped themselves onto the settee, leaning back and closing their eyes.

"You know, I might fall asleep here", he mumbled.

"Same, but our backs and necks wouldn't thank us", she mumbled back.

"I never thought I'd say this, but family Christmas is much more stressful than butler Christmas", he said, the smile crossing his lips evident in his voice.

"Is it? I wouldn't know", she laughed.

"It is, believe me", he replied. "But it's also much more fun."

"At least we don't have to visit anyone tomorrow", she pointed out.

"Right", he groaned, sitting up. "What will we do tomorrow?"

"When there's enough snow we might take Tommy sleighing. If not we can go for a walk along the Swale and start planning the New Year party", she said.

"New Year party?", he asked.

"Yes, just a fun evening. Watching dinner for one – you will love that one -, watching the fireworks, every one opens a fortune cookie and traditionally we also eat a lot of pizza", she told him. "You will join us, won't you? It will just be Becky, Gwen and the two Burns here."

"Well, no point getting drunk alone in my flat", he said.

"I can't imagine you drunk", she said, sounding a little too curious.

"Oh, just let me have too much whisky and I'll be bawling all over the place", he chuckled.

"Such as?"

"God save the King or Queen would be my first choice, usually. And then I'd burst into some random lyrics, singing parts of one song and mixing it with parts of another", he explained.

"A medley then", she laughed. "I'd love to see that."

"Are you thinking about getting me drunk?", he asked, making it sound as if he were shocked.

"Could proof fun", she said with a shrug.

He laughed. "And what about you? What happens to you when you get drunk?"

"I start singing too. Neil Diamond mostly. It's embarrassing, really. The singing would be followed by hysterical laughter and horrible flirting", she told him.

"Now that could proof fun", he countered.

"Oh, shut up, you!", she laughed and got up. He frowned when she walked up to the nearest window and craned her neck to look up at the sky. "What are you doing?", he asked.

"I'm checking if the sky is clear", she said.

"And why?", he inquired.

"Because I'd like to show you something", she stated mysteriously. "Come on!"

Shaking his head, he got to his feet and followed her up the stairs. When she opened the hatch to the attic and pulled the ladder out, Charles eyebrows nearly met his hairline. A little confused he watched, how she climbed up, disappearing into the darkness. He could hear her moving around until a lit candle appeared at the hatch and she looked down. "Come up here", she told him and was gone again.

With a sigh, he climbed up, keeping his head down, afraid he might bump into the ceiling if he didn't. Elsie was sitting on a rocking chair, the candle standing on a small table next to her. There was a second rocking chair to which she pointed when she said: "Sit down."

Charles did as he was told, a little worried at the cracking noise the chair made when he sat down.

"Now lean back and look through that window", she ordered him and he obeyed. There was a window almost above them. The house had a roof slope which allowed this window to give them a perfect view at the sky in their current position leaning back in the rocking chairs. Charles eyes widened at the sight of the night sky filled with thousands of stars. He would have never expected such a clear view. It was extraordinary.

"That's great, isn't it?", Elsie whispered. "It feels like you could reach up and just touch them."

"It's beautiful", Charles breathed.

*Since Elsie and Charles came back upstairs while that song was sung during the CS, I thought I would make it a sort of "makes me feel good song" for Charles :)

Next: New Year