Au where Tom is an injured solider that's being treated at the Downton hospital, and that is where he meets nurse Crawley, She heals his wounds but he steals her heart. Written for rock the WWI AU.
"Nurse Crawley, get everything ready, the soldiers will arrive at any minute." The superior nurse said and Sybil rushed to prepare all the beds, and gather all the medicine they could need to help these soldiers, they fought bravely and now they need medical help, and she will do this the best she can.
This is the first time Sybil actually felt like she was helping someone and doing something with her life, something that wasn't just look pretty and find a wealthy husband that had a tittle.
"Nurse Dawson, nurse Robinson and nurse Crawley, you two are in charge of the soldiers that arrive on the west wing." The superior nurse said, nearly screaming, she was usually a nice woman but not when the injured solders arrive, when they do she gets nervous, mostly for their well-being, she wants to take care of them as best she can. And so does Sybil.
When she and Gwen arrive on the west wing Daisy is already there helping as many soldiers as she can, they see mens, with lots of injuries from broken bones, to completely harmed, with bandages all over them.
"I never get used to this." Said Gwen Dawson, Gwen became a really good friend of Sybil when they trained together, they were really happy to find out they were working together. Gwen didn't treat Sybil any differently during her training even tough most people just either treated her badly because of her social status or treated her like she was above everyone else.
"I don't think we can ever get used to it." Sybil replied and with a nod of their heads they walked closer to the soldiers, one soldier caught her attention, he was siting on the bed, with bandages over his eyes and what seemed a broken arm. Even with the bandages she could tell he was really handsome.
Sybil decided to take care of him first, since Gwen had already went to help the others and something about this man had made her want to get closer and know what had happen.
"Hello, I am nurse Crawley, I am here to help you." She said calmly, she knew how the soldiers didn't like loud noises, especially the ones, who were unable to see, she wouldn't want to startle them.
"I am Tom, private Tom Branson, do you know where am I?" He asked with an unmistakable irish accent, wincing in pain as she removed his eye bandages. She looked briefly on the small file that was near his bed. It said that due to a poisoned gas he would be blind for a few weeks. She had seen cases like this, the gas they used on the soldiers was powerful and could kill easy and painfully, he was lucky that he was alive, she hoped he knew that.
"You are in the Downton Abbey hospital, do you feel any pain?" She said while finishing to clean the are arround his eyes and grabbed some bandages.
"In my head and my arm hurts too."
"I will take care of it and give you something for the pain." Sybil replied and took his arms bandages off, hopefully it was better than it looked, she could see a part of his bone and there was some coagulated blood and she wondered how he could stand all that pain the wound must have caused him.
She gasped and he turned at the sound "No worry, it will be okay, sorry about that.''
"It is that bad?" He asked.
"It hopefully looks worse than it is." She said, what was the point of lying to him and saying it wasn't bad? She took care of the wound, cleaning it and bandaging again.
"I will just go over there and get you your medicine."
"Alright." He said nodding his head, he was in a lot of pain, but he was finally safe after all, he could hopefully go home in no time, he could go back to being the quiet yet political journalist, that was fighting for Ireland. After all he saw and felt, he didn't think he could.
Sybil comes back after a while and gives him his medicine, along with a bowl of hot soup.
"Can you eat this on your own? I mean with your arm, and the bandages on you face." She asks him softly.
"I think I can manage it." He said placing the bowl on the small table near him a running his hands on the table looking for a spoon, as soon as he found it, he stated to eat. She just stood there, siting on the bed.
"Do you know anything? about my friends? I don't know if they are safe." Tom spoke and Sybil stood up.
"I don't know. Any names? that might be helpful." She said.
"William Mason? I think he is still alive, I hope he is alive, but I am not sure.'' He answered.
"I will try to see if he is here on the hospital.''
"Thank you, nurse Crawley."
"Just please call me Sybil."
"Alright, I think I can do that." He answered her with a smile, a smile that showed sadness, and she noticed it.
"Superior, have you heard of any one named William Mason? a patient asked me about him." Sybil asked as she walked into the superior nurse office.
"I think we may have a Mason here." She replied "Try to see if Daisy knows where we can find him. What is the state of you patient?"
"He is temporally blind and has a big injury on his arm, other than that he is fine, just a bit sad.'' She answered "Which I understand, it isn't easy to stay out there fighting, is it?"
"No, it is not, that is why we must do our very best to make sure they are all healthy and stay as comfortable as they can."
"I will check if Daisy knows." Sybil said, and with that she was out of the room, always keeping her words in mind we must do our very best.
"Daisy, may I speak with you for a moment?" Sybil asked, as she saw Daisy on the storage room.
"Of course, is everything okay?"
"Have you heard of any Mason? my patient says he was on the field with him, he wants to know if he is alive or not." Sybil asked the young nurse.
"I think I saw it, but if it is who I am thinking it is." She didn't have to finish her sentence, Sybil knew what she meant.
"Can you check anyway?"
"Alright, but don't get your hopes high." Daisy replied with a sigh.
"Thank you." Sybil smiled hugging her.
They walked along the hospital looking on every soldier file, but they didn't find him, not even a signal that he was once there.
"We can look on the ones that didn't make it." Sybil said looking at the ground.
"We can." Daisy replied and surely the name William Mason was there, on the list of the ones that died while they came here. Sybil knew she had to tell Tom, and that he already expected this, but it didn't make it ant easier.
"Mr. Branson?" Sybil called as she approached him. He was siting on the bed, as if he was waiting for something to happen. "I have news on your friend."
"He is gone, isn't he?" He asked sadly.
"How do you know that was what I was going to say?"
"You sounded sad." He replied his voice also sad.
''He sadly didn't make it alive to the hospital." Sybil answers him honestly.
"When will all this madness be over? Why does it keep happening?" He sighed.
"I wish I knew, but they say it will be over soon, all we can do is wait and pray for the best." she said "What do you used to work with before the war? What do you used to do?"
"I'm a journalist, I work at the York Daily Report. I hope to get back to that after all this is over. That is if they take on a man with a bad arm and a bad vision."
"Your vision will get better, isn't it better than the day you lost it?" She asked and he nodded "And your arm will be fine, it will take a long time but it will."
"Thank you for your help Sybil." He said with so much honesty in his voice that she thought she never heard anyone speak like that before "It means a lot to me."
That was it, after a long time, it was finally over, the war, all those deaths, people would finally be able to move on with their lives. But Sybil decided to stay working, they were still wounded soldiers that would need help but most of them had already gone home. Along with the ones that stayed was Tom, his vision was slowly returning but his arm was still useless.
He and Sybil had formed a strong bond, during the months he stayed, and now he would finally be able to go home. Sybil was feeling a mixture of joy and sadness, she was happy he would go home, but sad that he would leave. She was aware he had developed feelings for her, and she had develop some feelings for him as well, she just wasn't sure of what they meant yet.
"Good morning." She smiled as she saw him on that sunny morning that she was dreading.
"Hello Lady sybil." He said with a teasing tone, he loved to make fun of her tittle since he found out she was the daughter of an Earl.
"Private Branson." She replied. "Have you decided where you will go?" She asked, he was still unsure if he would live in Ireland again or return to his job at the York Daily Report, either way he said he would wait for her.
"I told you I'd wait for you." He replied, turning his head at the sound of her voice, ever since he had removed his bandages, she couldn't help but notice how gorgeous his eyes are. ''So I will wait. Forever if I have to. I plan on visiting my family for a few weeks though."
"I didn't ask for forever." She said and his face light up almost immediately even tough it took him by surprise.
"So there is a chance for us after all?" He spoke "There could be an us?"
"Maybe one day we could have an us." She said and that was all he needed a glimpse of hope that they could be happy. That he could be happy.
They say war changed everything, so why not? why not have an english rose marrying a journalist from Dublin?
''I wish you could see things on the way I do."
"And what way is that?" She asked, siting on the bed near him.
"That it is what it is, love and that all the rest is just a detail."
"You really have your way with words don't you?" She said, not even bothering to deny that his words did had an effect on her.
"Hope words are enough to change you mind, cause I am ready to travel."
"So am I, and you are my ticket." She said looking him in the eye with so much love that made him blush in such an adorable way.
"Really?''
"Really." She answered and he leaned closer, but stopped mid-way.
"Yes, you can kiss me."
"God knows how long I've wanted to do that."