This is my reply to MistressDickens' Downton Canon Prompt Challenge on tumblr

I chose that post courtroom scene between Molesley and Baxter because I've never read about that one before and because I always enjoyed the small moment when he makes her smile even though the actual trial was so very different from what Miss Baxter had imagined it to be.

„People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

That quote inspired me to give this challenge a try. With that Coyle business around, there was always some subtle darkness about Miss Baxter and if anybody would be able to see that sparkle, still, it would be Molesley.

Of course, I don't own Downton Abbey or any characters.

The trial had ended only minutes ago and now, Mr. Molesley was sitting on one of the benches just outside the courtroom. It would take a few minutes for Miss Baxter and Sergeant Willis to join him, but Molesley didn't mind. Not after the trial had taken such an unexpected turn in the last minute.

They were probably telling Miss Baxter just right now, that she wouldn't have to make an official statement, Molesley thought. He was glad that she wouldn't have to face Coyle, after all. Even though he was still convinced that agreeing to be a character witness had been the right thing for her to do, Molesley was happy that Miss Baxter would now be spared the trouble.

He still remembered her words as if she had said them yesterday and not a few weeks earlier.

„But he has changed me."

Miss Baxter didn't have to tell him that seeing Coyle across the courtroom, speaking about her past in front of so many people, would be terribly difficult for her. Molesley suspected as much. It would have hurt him, too, to know that such a kind and decent person like her had to go though such troubles.

He had noticed, how quiet and downcast she had been in the days leading to the trial. This whole business seemed to cast a shadow over her that hadn't been visible since her early days at Downton Abbey. Again, she had distanced herself from the others downstairs as if even so much as the thought of that despicable man was enough to surround her with darkness.

Molesley was the only one she had confided in. He was glad that she seemed to trust him when she kept everybody else at bay, giving even the Bates's only as little information as possible about her role as a witness in a trial.

Mrs. Hughes must know more, as well, he thought when he remembered something she had told the Sergeant earlier, when he had come to the Abbey to pick them up. „She's in a frail frame of mind", the housekeeper had said.

Frail, yes, that had been the word he had been looking for lately when thinking about Miss Baxter. Her emotional state had been so frail, almost like fine glass you were afraid to touch in case it might break.

Looking up, Mr. Molesley's musings were interrupted when he saw Miss Baxter walking towards him. He stood up to greet her, but she addressed him first.

„Did you hear?", she asked without hesitation when they met in the middle of the room.

That he changed his plea, yes?", He nodded, then babbled on, „I was in court, I've only just come out", pausing, he sighed, „I expect, when he heard that you turned up, he must have known it was pointless."

„So, I've been spared", she reflected, still a bit unsure about the turn of events. Her face had turned into a look that didn't give away whether she was relieved or more disappointed.

Molesley didn't quite know what to make of her statement. He didn't like it when things were unsure, it made him nervous and he had to chuckle when he wanted to know, „How do you feel?"

„In one way, I feel relieved, 'cause the newspapers won't find me and there'll be no repercussions." Miss Baxter started to explain, leaving Molesley with the feeling that there was more to it.

Encouraging her to move on, he asked, „But?" tilting his head a little to one side.

She frowned slightly when she elaborated, „I suppose I'd worked myself up to facing him across the courtroom. This man ruined my life and now it feels a bit – anticlimatic."

Molesley watched her, a little taken aback by her words. Then, after a short moment of contemplating his voice turned into a joking tone when he suggested, pointing to the courtroom, „Should I go back in, ask him to plea 'not guilty', after all?"

„No, thank you", Miss Baxter assured him with a hint of a smile. A truly honest and thankful smile that made him so nervous, he automatically had to giggle at his own joke.

Molesley could hit himself for his awkward personality. He wouldn't be surprised if someday soon, he would fall over his own two feet in another fit of nervousness. But in this moment, he didn't care too much. Miss Baxter had smiled on a day that had been until now so exhausting for her. It felt as if the whole room had lightened up a little and a part of that shadow had been lifted from her soul. He knew that she could not see it yet, herself. It would take a lot more for her to grasp that she could leave the darkness behind. But that tiny sparkle that made her beautiful eyes shine had been there.

„We should leave, Sergeant Willis is fetching the car", Miss Baxter told him after a moment. Molesley helped her into her coat and together they made their way outside. He left the building with a spring in his step that hadn't been there before.