"Are you upset ma'am?" the boy looked at the older woman with curiosity.

"No!" exclaimed Isobel, not wanting to trouble the child with her stupid love life "why would you say that darling?"

"It's just that your eyes seem red…were you cryin'?" he tilted his head inquisitively, putting his slender upper arm on top of the box so as to avoid water getting in.

"Of course not darling, it's just something that I got while walking. I must go wash my face when I arrive home." She gave him the best smile she could muster and she could swear she almost convinced the little man.

The two walked in silence until they heard stomping, running footsteps behind them. Before, they even had a chance to look and see who it was, a man had Isobel by the arm.

"RUN BILLY!" she screamed before the aggressor had her on the ground with one single strike.

His heart pounding with the pelting of the rain on the street, Billy ran to the nearest place he knew he could find help, kitten box still in his hands as tears ran down his face, mixing with the rain water he was now drenched in.

George was drying some of the newly washed glasses as he chatted and poured drinks for his clientele. The doctor seemed to have calmed down a bit but he still looked like he wanted to be left alone at the edge of the bar. He looked out the small window at the side and thunder struck 'Ah to be cosy and at home…' he thought, sighing. The last thing he expected was for his youngest son running in his pub, completely drenched, white as a sheet looking like he'd seen a creature from the last world with a wooden box in his hand.

"Billy just what the hell are you doing here?!" he yelled and the trembling and sobbing boy, opening the small wooden gate at the edge of the bar.

Everyone in the pub turned to gather around the boy to see if he was okay, everyone knew Billy as a good, sweet boy with a talent for trouble and nobody wanted to see him like this.

Billy saw everyone coming at him, asking questions and his stomach dropped until an authoritative voice spoke out from the corner of the pub.

"Don't huddle around him like that, it will only make it worse." Everyone turned to see Richard Clarkson making his way over and a couple of men made way for the doctor to pass before kneeling in front of the boy in a way that he was at eye-level with him. He was quite clearly, in shock.

"Get him a blanket." He told the father who nodded and headed to the back of the pub, up the stairs where his wife was.

The doctor turned to his young patient. "Okay Billy, I know you're scared…I know something bad happened. But you need to tell me…what was it?" He broke eye contact with the boy for a split second to nod at officer Higgins who was taking out his notebook and was now standing behind the boy. He took the box gently from the boy whose knuckles were white from holding it like it like a lifeline.

"I just went to take some kittens from Jimmy's cause his ma wouldn't let him keep 'em all ." he started shaking in earnest and the next words he uttered made the doctor's blood run cold and the whole place break into a frenzy.

"I met Mrs. Crawley. She was real nice like always and she was walking me home – a man attacked her she was on the floor…she told me to run! I didn't mean to leave her there but... but..." he was sobbing too much to speak properly now.

Richard watched, almost in a trance as the boy was bundled up and taken upstairs. Men around him checked their weapons and went searching for any lamps close by as officer Higgins came down after having gotten the directions to the area where the attack took place. This brought Richard back to Earth from the utterly horrifying world his mind had temporarily created where Isobel Crawley no longer existed. He made his way through the chaotic room to the door just in time to catch him and telling him he was going too - his doctoring skills might be needed and that someone should call for an ambulance.

AN: Other Downton characters will make an appearance in the next chapter but poor Billy! So what do you think about this chapter?