What a dramatic little title that is.

Hello! This is my first official multi-chapter story I've ever posted on here, and I hope it does Downton Abbey and my favorite characters justice as well as the characters I've gotten to create through writing this. Obviously this is an AU because my baby is alive and well, so just pretend that all that crap from the last thirty seconds of season 3 never happened.

I'm a very big WWII junkie, which makes combining one of my favorite tv shows with the incredible history of that war incredible to write. Right now I already have 6 chapters written, so the only thing that should stand in the way between updates is just going back and editing anything I don't like, and maybe school. Thanks for checking it out and ya know, review or favorite maybe?

Also, I've put all the ages that the characters are at the beginning of this story below because I know when I read a fanfiction and don't know how old the characters are it drives me nuts. (special thanks to the Downton Abbey wikia page for that) I'll probably continue to do that for any main characters that appear as well.

Mary Crawley age 48

Matthew Crawley age 54

George Crawley age 18, born September 3rd, 1921 (yeah it says born between 9th & 30th of September on the wikia page but it's more dramatic this way so bare with me)

Elizabeth Crawley age 17, born 1922

Christopher Crawley age 14, born 1925

Nicholas Crawley age 12, born 1927

Robert Crawley age 73

Cora Crawley age 71

Anna Bates age 53

Chapter 1

3 September, 1939

The acres of lawn were covered in dew as Nicholas treaded through the grass, collecting the beads of water on the bottom of his boots. Sunrise peaked from over the trees, hitting his face with the gentle glow of a new day. He finished off the piece of toast he'd managed to swipe from the kitchens and proceeded towards the stables.

His favorite horse, Maggie, was already waiting for him, sticking her head out of the stall and nibbling on his hat.

"C'mon now, Maggie," he scolded gently, taking the tweed cap from her mouth. Nicholas dropped some hay in the trough and waited for her to finish her breakfast whilst he chatted idly to the horse. Sometimes he swore she understood his meaningless talk. Although if that proved to be true, this horse knew way too much. "It's George's birthday today," Nick began, leaning against the opposite stall. "He turns eighteen. I think he's lucky. I mean, he's almost an adult, and when you're an adult you can do anything you want. Life is a lot easier when you're older. You don't have anybody to discipline you, you're rather self-reliant…you can go to bed when you want," he said with the childlike excitement his parents swore he had, yet he denied. Nicholas shook his head, longing for the days that he could slip out of his home in the early morning without fear of being caught and scolded. Maggie neighed and nodded her head enthusiastically, letting him know that she was ready for their morning route. "Alright, let's go then," he answered her, grabbing the saddle off the wall and opening the stall. Soon they were breezing across the acres of land that promised the beginning of a peaceful day.

After a good five minute sprint to the top of his favorite hill, Nicholas let Maggie rest while he looked over the grounds, watching the sun bathe his home in pale orange light. If he was honest with himself, Nick was jealous of his older brother not just for all the factors that came with adulthood, but because he knew George would one day inherit the estate he so loved to look over every morning.

Nicholas didn't understand much about inheritance except for the basics that his mother and father taught him; that one day in the far future, when their father has died, the eldest son inherits their house and gets to run everything along with it. To him it couldn't sound dismal no matter how hard anyone tried to make it sound serious or difficult. His brother however looked upon it as the sole purpose he'd been put on this planet. Since the day he found out what inheritance was George became his grandfather's shadow, eager to know everything there was to run an estate. Nicholas soon found his older brother to become more and more dull as the years went on as the pressure became more and more evident in his features. He couldn't understand why George worried about it so much, their grandfather was still much alive and their father was only middle-aged, he had decades before it would be his time to step up and take the spot of his father.

"Come on, Maggie," Nick spoke softly. "We should get back before anyone notices we're gone."

Matthew Crawley squinted at the morning light that suddenly filled the room with curtains were drawn back. Beside him, Mary buried her face deeper into the crook of his neck in a feeble attempt to block out the dreadful morning light.

"Good morning, Anna," Mary groaned.

"Good morning, milady," Anna replied, setting the tray of breakfast at the end of the bed.

"Is Nicholas back from his ride yet?" Matthew asked. Anna linked her hands in front of her and smirked.

"I believe so. One of the kitchen maids said she saw him and Maggie returning about a half hour ago."

"Alright, thank you, Anna," he replied. Anna nodded and made her way towards the door only to stop short.

"Oh, and give Master George our best wishes for his eighteenth birthday."

Mary's heart sank just a little. "Thank you, we will."

Once Anna had gone, Matthew kissed the top of Mary's head, wrapping both arms around her. "I can feel the nostalgia radiating from you."

Mary leaned back to half-heartedly smirk at him then resumed the frown etched in her porcelain features. "He's so grown up, Matthew. Our son is eighteen."

"He is…and he's a very wonderful young man." Matthew sat up, and she followed, silence ringing out a long moment. "We've made a good life, you know," he stated proudly. "We have four children, this home, a fortune, and each other…and we actually like each other…which is more than most married people could say," he tilted his head to look at her, smiling softly. She pondered him for a moment, realizing he was right.

"You're right…we're very lucky. Sometimes I honestly don't know how we got to be so lucky, I feel like I don't deserve a bit of it," Mary replied, exasperated. Matthew grinned, throwing back the covers and padding over to the tray Anna left behind. "You do deserve it, darling," he said, picking up the tray and setting it in front of her. "You deserve every bit of it." With this he leaned over and gave her a loving kiss, stroking her cheek with this thumb. "I'll see you in a little while."

"I'll be down soon, I want to see George before he leaves for the village this morning and mourn that my son is too old for my liking and that I'm getting old as well," Mary said solemnly, beginning to eat the breakfast before her.

Matthew simply chuckled. "My darling, you could never be old to me."

Mary cocked an eyebrow at him and sipped her tea. "Now you're just being flattering."

"And what is wrong with that?" he questioned, crossing his arms with an amused expression.

"Nothing, as long as you're not expecting anything from it," she replied slyly, making Matthew wickedly grin in return. He paused before retaliating.

"Flattery with expectations is below me. I simply wish to remind you of the affections I have, that are as strong as the day I married you. Is that wrong of me?" he stood before her, groggy and grinning, his hair tousled from sleep, as beautiful and good and loving as he'd been all his life, and she could hardly remember loving him more.

"No, I suppose not," Mary answered, returning from her stupor as he headed for the dressing room door. "Although, wanting something out of it now and again isn't so bad."

Together nineteen years and she could still catch him off guard. Fighting the urge to act on impulse and return back to bed with her, he shook his head and made a mental note of it. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

Mornings were not Elizabeth's strong suit. She frankly hated everything about them. Most days she refused to even go down to breakfast due to the fact that she had to wake and be dressed all before the crisp hour of 8 o'clock. But this morning she had actually made an effort to wake when Hannah came in to do so, dressed, and was at the breakfast table before any of her family.

Elizabeth ate her breakfast slowly, waiting patiently for her family to finally come down. The footmen entered then, carrying a variety of trays and setting them on the table against the wall. They seemed startled to see her down here so early and nodded to her. "Milady," Michael stated.

"Good morning, Michael…Andrew," she addressed the other, dark haired, blue-eyed boy. Andrew smiled before continuing with his work. Mr. Clark was the next to be surprised to see her sitting there alone as well.

"Good morning, milady," he said, taking the morning newspaper off the tray he was carrying and setting next to the silverware her grandfather would be using.

"Good morning, Clark. Am I terribly early for breakfast?" Elizabeth asked, earning a small smile from Mr. Clark.

"Only a few minutes, Lady Elizabeth. Lord Grantham and Mr. Crawley are normally down the same time every day." As if on cue, her father appeared behind Clark, smiling when he saw her.

"Hello, what are you doing down here so early?" Matthew asked, seating himself across from her.

"Can't I wake up early and join my family for breakfast?" she replied nearly sarcastically, smirking.

Matthew chuckled. "Not since you were Christopher's age you haven't."

She could not deny that, both her younger brothers seemed to be early risers - earlier than most of the servants. "Yes, that is true." Elizabeth paused a long while whilst she took a bite of egg. "Truth be told I wanted to see George before he went off to the village this morning and wish him a happy birthday."

Matthew smiled. Like mother like daughter.

"That's nice of you. He should be down soon. He normally follows not too far behind me," he replied, beginning to eat as well.

Elizabeth noticed her father freeze his actions, staring at the newspaper beside him. Matthew put down his fork and knife and reached for the paper.

"Papa? What is it?" she stopped her actions as well, heart sinking from the concern in her father's features. His eyes quickly scanned pages, face laced with anxiety. He pondered the information a moment before putting on a smile and replacing the paper to its spot on the table.

"Nothing, darling. Nothing to concern you with."

Elizabeth could easily tell that whatever her father had just read was not "nothing," but decided it wise not to pry. She knew from experience if it was very serious her parents would discuss it and even sometimes her grandparents, and with time she would find out. It was how she found out about both of her little brothers.

He felt nervous for some reason. It's not like turning eighteen would change anything. He would still be living at Downton, still live his life in the same day-to-day fashion, still practice the piano, ride with his brothers, tease his sister…but for some reason today felt different. Something about this day made him uneasy, placing a rather large knot in his stomach. George looked in the mirror, straightening his tie, fixing his hair. He dismissed his feeling of uneasiness as just the pressure of growing older and went down to breakfast.

"We must hope and pray it won't happen, Matthew." George froze on the stairs, hearing his grandfather and father around the corner at the bottom. He slowly eased down the stairs further, listening intently.

"But what if it does? What if it happens all over again? I don't think I could bear it. It was bad enough last time, but this time –"

"You cannot dwell right now, my boy. We'll know well enough in a few hours."

"George?" his mother's voice startled him out of the stone his body had become. She hurried down the stairs and met him on the platform, placing both hands to his cheeks with the proud smile George knew she reserved for only her children. "Happy birthday, darling. How grown up you are."

"Thank you, mother. Although, I don't feel very grown up yet," he joked as she kissed his cheek. They both turned and continued down the stairs, greeted at the bottom by Lord Grantham and Matthew; both pale with fear and worry lining every part of them and both putting on bright smiles for their sake.

"Good morning, and happy birthday, George," Robert spoke up to them, pursing his lips a moment.

"Thank you, grandfather," he answered with a courteous smile, trying so desperately to decipher what was going on.

"I do believe breakfast is being served, should we join?" The flustered Lord Grantham suggested.

"Of course," Mary replied hesitantly. George glanced towards his mother next to him on the platform and could immediately tell she was in the same position he was, her eyes flickering from one man to the other in attempt to figure out what was the matter. With no further evidence, they both descended the rest of the wooden stairs and proceeded towards the dining room.

"Might I speak to you?" Matthew tried near her ear quietly, causing her to stop dead in her tracks and follow him into the library.

"Matthew, what is it?" she pleaded, truly frightened by the fear of the brave man before her. Matthew paced between wall and couch a few times before halting, taking a deep breath, and focusing on Mary.

"You know that things have been quite tense overseas for awhile now...but they're getting much worse," he began carefully. "And it's only a matter of time before it reaches Englan-"

"Matthew, what are you trying to tell me?" Mary interrupted, his suspense driving her mad.

He let out a shaky breath, feeling his whole body tremble. "By 11 o'clock this morning war could be declared on Germany."

Mary gaped at him, stomach lurching as a lump in her throat formed. "What do you mean "could be declared?"" Her voice was low but panicked, staring at a button on his jacket.

""Could be", as in, if Germany does not agree to withdraw their invasions of Poland by 11 o'clock this morning…Britain will be declaring war on Germany." Matthew remained quiet, watching as Mary placed a shaking hand to her mouth with widened eyes. She stepped back, reaching out to the sofa for support.

After a long moment Mary lifted her head to look properly at him. "They'll take him, Matthew," she whispered.

She didn't need to say a name for him to understand who they would be taking. George was of age now.

"He won't be enlisted unless it is absolutely necessary, darling," Matthew attempted to comfort her. "Right now we must hope to God it doesn't begin at all, and we will take it as it comes." His words did little to comfort as she remained gripping the sofa, feeling numb and dizzy. "Should we tell the children?"

Mary thought for a moment before releasing her hold on the upholstery and coming back to stand by him. "No, we mustn't. Not until it's official. I don't want to worry them. I'm assuming papa and mama know?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes…I spoke to your father already and he agrees we mustn't worry until it's been confirmed."

"Are you worried?" she asked him, her eyes piercing into his. She knew the answer before he could give it.

"Of course I am. You and I know what war can bring…which terrifies me immensely."

Mary tried to take a deep breath and think positively about the potential destruction that war brought - Matthew was past the age expectancy and George would hopefully think himself too young to go off to war, he was just a boy after all. After all, George was looking forward to running the estate one day, not dying in battle. These thoughts managed to calm her, as untrue as she knew them to probably be.

10:39…10:40…10:41

Mary glanced around at the library. How many times had she sat in this room? How much family history did these walls hold? How many more years did this home have before it came collapsing down around them? If war was declared, what did the future hold for these walls or for the people she loved inside them?

"Mama?" Christopher's voice startled her back to reality. "Are you alright?" He asked from the settee across from her, book in hand and laying on it in a rather un-gentlemanly fashion, but Mary didn't have the heart to scold him right now.

"Yes, darling, I'm alright," she smiled at him, seeing the similar worry in Christopher's eyes as Matthew normally gave her. "You know, the Governess will be coming around soon. I know you and Nicholas hate being cooped up inside for hours upon hours so before you are why don't you go find him and go out for a, sort of, last ride of the season."

Christopher sat up, his face one of utter joy. "Do you mean it?"

Mary couldn't help but grin at him. "Of course I mean it."

"Oh thank you, Mama!" he exclaimed, jumping from the couch to kiss her cheek. "We'll be careful I promise! And we won't be back too late either!"

"I know you will. Now go on and find Nicholas."

Christopher left in a rush, leaving Mary in silence.

10:43…10:44…10:45

The door opened, Matthew stepping in slowly and coming to sit beside her in the quiet for a moment.

"Where is Elizabeth?" Mary asked as he took her hand firmly in his own.

"Her room, I believe. George is still in the village. Nick and Chris?"

"I told them they could go riding for a while," she could hear the optimism slipping fast from her voice.

"Good…that's good," his optimism was breaking as well. "Mary, no matter what happens, we'll be alright. Even if the walls around us crumble…everything will be alright in the end."

"Will it?" she challenged, seeking so many more words to bring comfort.

"It was last time. Things seemed so awful last time…now look at us," Matthew stated a bit shakily, eyes shining into hers. Mary could only nod in agreement when the door opened once again, Lord and Lady, arm in arm.

"Oh my darlings, I'm afraid this is too great a weight. Will the world ever meet peace?" Cora said, sitting down across from them.

Robert moved to the mantle, switching the wireless on and taking the spot beside his wife. No one had the words to answer Cora's question, mostly because they knew the answer.

They waited for endless minutes, the adverts and music on the wireless breaking the silence between them.

10:57…10:58…10:59

It was odd. At this moment in time, everyone was healthy, happy, and alive. The country was safe, their future set and hopeful. But in the moment after the good one, everything could change.

Chamberlain was on the wireless then, speaking clearly through the crackling wireless. The room seemed to still, all of them holding their breaths as the world moved in slow motion.

"This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final Note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us.

I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany."