Suddenly, a sad atmosphere prevailed among the servants. They all sat together in the servants' hall, looking downhearted.

"Poor little thing," Mrs. Hughes broke the silence.

"How is her Ladyship doing?" Anna asked empathetically.

"I'll take a tray up to her shortly, but I'm afraid she won't touch a bite," Mrs. Hughes replied.

"What about you, Miss O'Brien?" William asked gently.

"What do you mean?"

"It must have been a great shock."

"Yes... it was."

"Why the long faces?" Thomas wondered.

"Could you be a little more respectful."

"Oh, come on, Mr. Carson. She'll get over it. At that stage, they're no bigger than a hamster," Thomas chuckled, taking a cookie from the table. His gaze fell on his daughter, who was once again sitting on her knees on the chair to be able to sit at the table. Emma was playing quietly with her stuffed rabbit and nibbling on a cookie.

"Shut your mouth now!" Bates grumbled.

"Yes indeed. What's wrong with you, Thomas!" Mrs. Hughes exclaimed.

"I don't know. I think all of this is getting to me," he explained, "Of course, I'm sorry, but do we have to feel everything? We're just working for them. They're not our flesh and blood."

"Just like your child," Bates noted, now focusing on the little child.

"What do you mean?" Thomas's eyes glared menacingly at the valet. He put his right hand on Emma's narrow shoulder. His protective instincts towards the whirlwind had grown strong in recent weeks, especially when Mister Bates was around.

"Emma is not your flesh and blood either," he repeated his words. Whenever her name was mentioned, the child would look up from her play. She now fixed her gaze on Mister Bates, though she didn't really know how to judge the man. He was quite tall and usually had a grim expression on his face.

"That's different," Thomas replied quickly. "The point is that her Ladyship's child hasn't even been born yet. We can hardly talk about losing a child when it wasn't even there."

"The child was there, even though it did not come into the world," Bates grumbled, "But I would conclude that if someone came tomorrow and took your child away, you wouldn't be sad about the loss, am I right, Thomas?" Bates summarized.

Thomas put on a false, sly smile. "So what?" he shrugged, "Then I have more time and money for myself." More time and money sounded not bad, but Thomas was no longer sure if he could simply give away Emma after 2 years, let alone imagine the loss of the little dwarf. But his little dwarf had obviously been born into the world. They weren't talking about a hamster-sized creature inside the mother's womb.

Meanwhile, Daisy shook her head incredulously. "Thomas, why are you so heartless?"

"Is there nothing in the entire world that you have respect for?" William's voice rang out.

"I see... too bad he's already shedding bitter tears over the unborn child of a woman who barely knows his name. No wonder he gave up when his old mother kicked the bucket," he barely finished his sentence, William jumped up. He grabbed the first servant by the collar and punched Thomas in the face. William managed to push Thomas' upper body onto the dining table and continued to hit him.

It was Mr. Carson who called out William's name and grabbed the toddler to set her down safely away from the fight. She held onto her bunny tightly with both hands.

Thomas began to defend himself as well, grabbing William in the face, rolling straight down to the hard ground. Tom Branson was the first to intervene, pulling William away while Carson took care of Thomas. Thomas pulled himself up, straightened his shirt, grabbed his child, and carried her outside.

"Daddy, ow," Emma stated, gently stroking his temple with her free hand. Thomas didn't comment on Emma's words. When they finally arrived in the backyard, he let Emma sit on one of the higher boxes. So the little dwarf was almost at eye level - well, she was now at the level of his upper body - playing with her stuffed rabbit, pulling its ears long. Now he had his hands free to finally grab a cigarette and lighter. But instead of lighting the cigarette he had already put in his mouth, he put it back into the box. He silently watched the little girl, who was clearly enjoying herself with a stuffed animal. He lightly placed his hand on the back of her head. As a result of the touch, the girl briefly looked up with her blue big eyes. "You are my child," Thomas spoke softly, "No matter what others say, I will always be here for you. I will protect you. Nothing will ever happen to you. No one will ever push you around, understood?"

"Uh-huh," Emma nodded in agreement.

"Did you even understand what I said?" Thomas doubted. Emma looked very thoughtful, before she excitedly raised her arms in the air - of course still holding onto the bunny - "Daddy fly!" she grinned. Thomas lifted her up so that she lay on his forearm with her belly. So he flew his child up through the staircase to their bedroom.

Thomas lay awake in bed, pondering Bates' words: heartless deadbeat father, who would not be affect by the loss of his own child. He glanced over at the opposite bed. Emma was lying on her stomach, sound asleep. Her stuffed animal was firmly in her left hand. The blanket, which had been on her just a few minutes ago, was now on the floor, kicked away by her little feet.

The most impossible scenarios were swirling around in his head, what if Emma wasn't there anymore? What if Emma died in the first few months? After all, there were many illnesses that young children died from. Would he still be able to continue his life? He would probably never want to admit it, but he would never get over the loss of his little dwarf, and after two years he couldn't imagine life without that child who sometimes pushed him to his limits.

Thomas didn't have to leave his cozy and warm bed for long. A quick stop at Emma's bed was enough to gently lift the sleeping child into his arms and carry her to his bed. So he held his child tightly in his arms, with the blanket thrown over both of them.

"I may not be the best daddy, but I'm certainly not a heartless father. I will always be here for you because you are very important to me. And you can always count on me. I will always have your back." Thomas pressed a kiss on her forehead, "I love you Emma Grace Barrow."

Unable to separate himself from his child, Emma sat on her father's lap during breakfast. Thomas had been pondering Bates's words the whole night. Emma diligently ate the small apple slices prepared by Mrs. Patmore.

"Are you trying to show us what a great father you are?" Bates wondered.

"I know I'm a great father," Thomas smirked smugly, running his hand through her soft hair.

"The biological parents surely envisioned a different life for the child," he countered, "you know, with more love in the upbringing and a mother as a role model."

That hit a sore spot. If the letter was correct, he was the biological father. And he wouldn't want his child to have a different life. He shuddered to think what would have happened to Emma if she had ended up with Bates.

"I would like to ask you all to refrain from making such comments," Thomas spoke a little louder so that even the hallboy at the end of the table could hear him, "Emma is my daughter. And you will all accept this and not mention in front of the child that she was once left at the door steps. After all, His Lordship agreed to the story so that the reputation of this house would not be damaged."

"You're right, Thomas," Hughes said, "I ask you all not to let the truth come out. And now let's talk about the garden bazaar. Its a lot to do."

Accepted for training as an army medic, Thomas packed his bag. Now that the war had begun, he could hardly be happier with the training. Working as a medic in a military hospital was much safer than being sent to the front as a soldier.

"Daddy play?" Emma asked hopefully, holding the memory cards in her hands.

"Of course, but we have to leave soon." She immediately shuffled the cards and spread them out on the floor.

"You're cheating," Thomas noted amusedly as Emma looked under the fourth covered card.

"Me? Never," she said, grinning cheekily, "It`s a Match!" and now placed the next two cards on her pile.

"No daddy play wrong," she scolded when Thomas tried to do the same thing and look under multiple cards until he found a matching pair.

"Little cheeky dwarf," he shook his head, laughing.

"I'm not cheeky!" Emma jumped up from her seat and sprinted into Thomas's arms, pushing the seated man backwards so that Thomas ended up on the floor.

"Yes, you are cheeky," Thomas laughed as he tickled Emma. After a few minutes, he sat back up straight. "Do you want to play another round without cheating?" Emma nodded excitedly. The cards were shuffled again and spread out on the floor, and this time they played a proper round that Emma won without cheating.

Mrs. Hughes knocked on the open door of the room. "We have to go," she explained. The housekeeper agreed to carry Thomas's suitcase while he fulfilled Emma's request and gave her a piggyback ride. The first stop on their journey to the train station was the photographer. Mrs. Hughes insisted that father and daughter have their pictures taken. In the end, three different pictures were taken, and a total of four prints were made. One with just Emma, one with just Thomas, and the third, where Emma laughed while resting in Thomas's arms. Emma kept the photo of Thomas and the one of them together, while Mrs. Hughes wanted to make sure the little girl had a keepsake.

The next and final stop was the train station in Downton.

"I have to go, my little dwarf," Thomas began his farewell, "But Mrs. Hughes and Anna have promised to look after you, and as soon as I can, I will visit you and eventually bring you to me, okay?" The future was more uncertain than ever before. He had no idea where his work as a medic would take him and when he would see his child again.

Emma shook her head, sniffling, "No, Daddy stay!" and pressed against his chest in the hope that the man would change his mind.

"I can't stay, but I will write you letters and visit you whenever possible." He gently lifted Emma's chin, looking into her tear-filled eyes. With his other hand, he wiped the tears from her cheek in vain. Emma cried like a waterfall.

"Come here," Thomas hugged Emma tightly, planting a kiss on her head. "I wish I could stay with you, but I can't," Thomas paused briefly, took a deep breath, "Promise me you'll be good and listen to Mrs. Hughes and Anna, okay?"

Emma shook her head, "No," she said stubbornly. "Daddy, don't go!"

Mrs. Hughes' heart almost broke to see the two-and-a-half-year-old so sad. No matter how much trouble Thomas had caused recently, the fact that Emma was so attached to him showed how close the bond between father and daughter had become. Despite the initial difficulties, despite the fact that Thomas still kept his child at a distance far too often.

"Emma, your daddy will come to visit you soon," Mrs. Hughes spoke softly, placing her hand on Emma's back. By now, the voice of the train conductor had sounded several times, "All aboard."

"Goodbye, my sweet daughter," Thomas said, giving the very last kiss on his child's cheek before grabbing his suitcase and boarding the train.

We've made it through Season 1. Season 1 is also the shortest part. So the next seasons will have longer chapters as well. See you next week in Season 2. Let's see what will happen in Downton. If you have any wishes, feel free to write them in the comments.