Us against the world
A/N: A big, big thank you to my beta "The Yankee Countess". This is my first AU fanfic ever, so please let me know what you think. Reviews are always welcome!
Summary: Modern day AU! Lady Sybil Crawley inherits everything from her father, Including his business in Dublin. When she takes over the position of CEO, with no experience whatsoever, she gets some unexpected help in the form of Tom Branson, who has been working in the mailroom since he was sixteen. The unlikely pair has to face threats, stalkers and their love for each other.
This story includes all the familiar characters in one way or another and yes, Larry Grey will definitely make an appearance.
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine!
Prologue. The day she died
Sybil Crawley ran.
She ran as if her life depended on it.
It didn't. Her happiness however, did, and so she ran, almost faster than humanly possible.
She weaved her way through crowds, crossed busy streets, and passed alleyways that spent more time under the guise 'crime scene' then anything else. When she was nearly two blocks away from her destination, her body decided enough was enough. A tiny black spot danced in front of her eyes as if it were at a disco. It was soon followed by some of its larger friends. Sybil felt a painful stab in her side and started to feel light headed. Cursing her low blood pressure and the fact that she had never really cared about sports (because who needs sports when you can watch TV?) she slowly came to a halt.
What she failed to notice however was how inconvenient the location where she had stopped really was.
David had had too much to drink. He knew it, but after his wife had left him for a younger man just over a month ago, he just didn't care as much as he used to.
This was the third day in a row he had left Bill's truck stop drunk and under protest of his colleagues who insisted he shouldn't drive in this sorry state. The truth was he had to. If he didn't deliver his load, he would get fired. If he didn't drink, he'd think too much about the things he'd rather forget. So with a lot of effort, he lifted his heavy body back into the cabin of his American truck and hit the road.
Less than an hour later he made his way through a small town; the main road was blocked due to an accident. Something about a drunk driver, but David wasn't the least bit concerned. When his radio suddenly started to give out, he bent forward to take a look at the old piece of useless equipment. David had once been aware of the fact that men aren't very good at multitasking. He had also once been aware of the fact that no one can properly drive a moving vehicle without looking where they're going. In his drunken haze he had forgotten about all of this and only cared about fixing his radio.
Due to the rain that hadn't stopped falling all day, and the curb his front left tire suddenly collided with, his truck started to swerve. It moved dangerously towards the opposite lane, which at this hour wasn't occupied by any other cars, thank god. It was occupied however by something that would later prove to be much less shock resistant than a car or truck.
Sybil Crawley.
She was standing on the street, close to the curb and as David sat up straight and tried with all his might to avoid her, even he could tell it was already too late.
Sybil had heard people say your life flashes in front of your eyes just before you die…
And so it did.
TBC