A bit of an introduction - this is going to be a collection of oneshots based on various themes connected with Sybil/Tom ship. Each oneshot will show our favourite couple in at least two different time planes. The tone will be varied - angst, fluff, humour. Please bear in mind that I'm not a native English speaker, so the style or grammar may be far from perfect.

Dedication

This collection of oneshots is dedicated to all my fellow S/T shippers on fanforum. I would like to thank you here for putting up with me, my ramblings, and sometimes even my walls of text. Thank you also for many lovely discussions. Most importanly, thank you for all the comments to these oneshots, which helped me to improve them.

Patano

Love and War

August, 1914

My lords, ladies and gentlemen. Can I ask for silence? Because I very much regret to announce...that we are at war with Germany.

Sybil Crawley did not understand what these words really meant at the beginning; she just knew that they meant drastic change, and definitely not for the better. At first glance, it seemed that nothing had changed – the sun was still intense, providing a light, cheerful background for a pretty picture of white-clad people among the grass. But the frame surrounding this picture was dark and was only getting darker. Slowly, even the picture was no longer proportional and ordered, but it became chaotic and blurry; people started to move quickly, talking and gesturing. She, on the other hand, did not make even the slightest move. Neither did her older sister. Mary Crawley was not considered to be a very expressive person, but now her face resembled more that of a mask than of a living human being. The only trace of emotions could be found in her eyes, which shone with anxiety, pain and regret.

Sybil Crawley, then, was not known for being passive; she had to do something even when the atmosphere was far from sunny. She took a few, tentative steps at first, which were however soon followed by many firm ones. There's nothing like solitude when you feel that you need to truly reflect on something.

The world had not ended, the wind was still blowing, and the grass had not lost its colour, but her inexperienced soul did become darker. Questions, doubts and anxieties were raging within her young body.

What will happen to them now? Will Matthew go to war? And if he's killed, who will be the heir to Downton? Will Papa go, too? And… him? And where's her place in all this? What if something happens to Papa, and she will have to marry someone and move into her own home? Is she ready for this? She has nothing against marriage, but she does not want to be forced into anything against her will. Yes, it may be sappy and naïve, but she intends to marry for love, and if she does not find the right man, not at all. She's young and lacks experience, but she knows that she cannot do anything that would be at odds with her views and beliefs. What about the duties towards her family, then? If she could help them in such a way… Would she be able to refuse them, or even to defy them?

The subject of men and marriage reminded Sybil of another important event that had happened today. Today, for the first time in her life, she had held hands with a man. With… him. She had never had a male friend before, a true friend who had understood her. She had met some nice men, of course, but she did not treat them as friends. Talking to them during a party or a dinner was pleasant and enjoyable, but there was no mutual understanding or connection similar to the one she shared with Branson.

After today day, though, she had doubts whether this was only friendship. When he had taken her hand, she had felt butterflies in her stomach, an odd warmth had spread around her body and had rested near her heart, and the world had become hotter. She had never felt such sensations before. Her interest in men had never been considerable; she had not been participating in the race to the altar in which Mary and Edith took part. So, her time has come, and now she has a crush on the family chauffeur. She will grow out of it one day, of course, but she still must admit that it is pleasant.

Deep in her thoughts, Sybil didn't notice that it was getting darker. She should go home now and see her family's worried faces. War wasn't the only reason for their sadness – Mary and Edith also suffered from heartbreak and rejection. War and love… no wonder that these two themes had always served as an inspiration for countless writers and artists. Sybil had a sinking suspicion that they would govern her life for the years to come… though she didn't know exactly why.

January, 1919

Lavinia and I will get married. Just as soon as I'm well enough to walk down the aisle… Doctor Clarkson can help us with when. And… she feels we ought to marry here, at Downton, to bury forever the memories of what, I hope, has been the darkest period of my life.

It was those words that had finalized Lady Sybil Crawley's, or rather Nurse Crawley's (as she preferred to be called now) decision.

The sky was pitch black, with stars blinking weakly under the cover of clouds. It was a perfect night for someone who did not want to be noticed, especially if that person was too elated to think rationally. The manner of Sybil's walk was careful, but quick and impatient; she longed to see him as soon as possible. She was imagining what he would be like after hearing her final decision, and couldn't do anything but smile broadly. Then their lips would finally meet and she would finally find herself in his arms. Sybil knew that she should be elated because of Matthew's recovery, but at that moment Tom stole all of her thoughts (to be completely honest - like he very often did.). Matthew and Lavinia's announcement had made her realize that it was time to move forward with life, that the war was truly over, not only formally but in people's minds too. Yes, she felt sorry for Mary, but some things were irreversible, and it was good that her older sister would get a chance to move forward with her life as well. She could only be glad that Mary's fate should not befall her; she was going to accept Tom's proposal before he gave up on her. Though she had to admit that she owed this more to this dear man's patience than to anything she'd done. Keeping the man, whom she had known for years that she loved, waiting was hardly a thing to be proud of; but at least there wasn't even a shade of doubt in her heart, and she felt completely ready to rise to the challenge awaiting her.

There was no more confusion in her soul, only warm light radiating from her heart and spreading throughout her whole body. Her mind slowly wondered to all the sufferings she had endured in the last few years. She recalled the painful longing, anxiety, indecisiveness, worries about the future. When the war started, she had been just a young girl who'd never thought seriously about her future, a novice in love who had not known yet what she had really wanted from life, perhaps only what she hadn't wanted. War and love had turned her into a mature woman who was ready to pursue her heart's desire and to start a new, adult life. War and nursing had freed her from the gilded cage and had introduced her to the real world outside the aristocratic "fairytale". Love, then, had opened her eyes to new possibilities for the future, a future which was not dictated by social expectations, but based on her sweetest dreams.

A beam of light coming from the garage turned her mind away from all her thoughts and forced her to concentrate on the real world in front of her eyes. The light coming from the garage was spreading and gently illuminating the otherwise dark picture. Sybil knew that she wouldn't mind if this scene would always be the portrait of her soul.