Non-Challenge fic- Lost and (Re)Found
Title: Lost and (Re)Found
Author: northeto
Rating: K
Spoilers: 1.04
Characters: Joe Burns, Elsie Hughes
Word Count: 200
A/N: I thought I was going to write something for the lovesick challenge, but then this happened.
Disclaimer: Downton Abbey is not mine, more’s the pity. This fanwork is made for amusement, not profit.
Joe Burns never expected to lose twice to an English house.
It turned out that it hurt just as much the second time as it had all those years ago. There was the sorrow of a pleasant, long-held daydream set aside for good, the bitter tang of finality.
By the time Peter wrote asking if he was to welcome a new mother, the pain had eased, though the regret and sense of loss remained.
Some months later, Joe took a pen and paper and wrote:
Dear Mrs Hughes,
It was a pleasure to see you again after all these years. I write not to renew the subject of our parting, but to ask if we might be friends once more. I have missed you. I should very much like to renew correspondence with you, if you will have me again as your friend.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Burns
It was with delight that he received a reply, a few weeks later.
Dear Joe,
Of course I still consider you a dear friend. It would give me great pleasure to continue our correspondence. I hope you will feel free once again to use my Christian name.
In friendship I remain,
Elsie Hughes