A/N: To be honest, I'm not really sure about this chapter. I'm not one hundred percent satisfied with it, but here it is. I promise there will be happier times ahead for all of our characters, but for now things are coming to a head! Thank you, once again, for all of the great reviews, and all the people who have favorited/followed this story. I really do appreciate it, and I hope you're enjoying it. Once again, I don't own Downton Abbey or any of the characters. Please review!
Sybil woke up in the middle of the night, hearing her son crying in the next room. She leaned over, confused at what time it was, and felt for Tom, gathering nothing but sheets in her hands where he should be. She rubbed her bleary eyes, and stepped gingerly onto the cold, wood floor. "Tom?" She whispered, thinking maybe he was still at his desk – the lamp was still on, although dimmed, and she figured she had only been asleep for a few hours at best.
Padding out into the hallway, she crept into Aedan's nursery, her heart warming when she saw Tom, sitting in the rocking chair, trying very hard to get the poor little boy to keep quiet. Sybil didn't say anything, only leaned against the doorframe, watching her boys.
"You've got to quiet down there, lad." Tom whispered, holding Aedan close to him and rocking him gently, "Your mother needs sleep!" Aedan let out another cry in response, "Shh, it's okay… it's going to be okay…" Tom whispered, rocking back and forth and placing a kiss on the top of Aedan's head. Sybil could practically feel her heart bursting with love for Tom at that moment. Watching him with their son was one of the most intimate experiences she ever had, and she cherished every moment. Aedan whimpered, and then let out a cough. "Oh no, you're not getting ill now, are you? Come on buddy, let's grab a blanket." Tom stood, cradling Aedan gently, before grabbing a small blanket out of the baby's crib. He wrapped Aedan in it before settling back down onto the rocking chair. Glancing up, he smiled when he saw Sybil watching him.
"I heard him crying, but I can see you've got it taken care of."
Tom scoffed, "Hardly, he's stubborn. I wonder where he gets it from." He teased, and Sybil rolled her eyes.
"I like watching you with him. It makes me happy."
Tom's eyes softened as he looked at her, before he beckoned her over. "Come here."
Sybil walked slowly across the room, and Tom handed Aedan to her, before pulling her down to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and slowly began to rock back and forth, lulling the baby into a quiet slumber. "He's asleep," Sybil whispered, leaning back so her head rested against Tom's shoulder, "And if you're not careful, I'll be heading that way as well."
Tom chuckled, "You should be, you need to get some sleep."
"I did sleep."
"Not long enough."
"New parents aren't supposed to get any sleep, haven't you heard?"
Tom pressed a kiss to her temple, smiling against her skin, "We're hardly a traditional example for anything."
Sybil smiled, turning her head towards him to capture his lips with hers. She kissed him passionately, which had been lacking for them since Aedan had been born. Tom responded in kind, his hand threading through her hair to pull her more firmly against him. Aedan began to fuss in between them, and they reluctantly pulled apart. "We should all get some sleep."
Tom nodded, "I'll put him down, and you go back to bed. I'll be there in a minute."
Sybil kissed her son, and placed her hand on the side of Tom's face momentarily before heading out of the room and back to their bedroom, where she nearly passed out as soon as she laid down. She had been exhausted for weeks, trying to get everything ready for her mother's visit, which had become more problematic than she imagined it was going to be. She felt the bed shift as Tom climbed in, pulling the duvet up to his chin. She gravitated towards him, and his warmth, and smiled when he pulled her close and wrapped the blanket tight around her as well.
"Warm enough?" He asked, his voice gravelly with exhaustion.
"I am now."
"Cheeky." He teased, and she grinned, her eyes still shut.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Sybil."
They both fell to sleep easily, thinking of a million different things, but mostly how they were going to get through the next few days with Sybil's parents.
The morning came too soon for the both of them, and they were both up early when Aedan awoke, his cries threatening to arouse all of Dublin from their sleep. They had tried everything, but couldn't seem to get him to quiet down. Even Mrs. Daly had come up with some warm milk and a bottle, seeing if she could help. "He's never been like this before; I don't know what to do!" Sybil cried.
Tom had Aedan in his arms and was pacing across the sitting room, trying to get Aedan to quiet down. He looked at his wife, who was close to tears, and wished more than anything that this wasn't so difficult for them. "Maybe he's coming down with something, last night he was coughing a bit."
"No, he's not running a fever, he just won't stop crying! What are we doing wrong?" Sybil burst into tears and Tom's heart clenched.
"This isn't your fault. Maybe we should take him to the doctor." Tom suggested, preparing himself for Sybil's irritation.
"We don't need a doctor, I'm a nurse!" She said shrilly.
"You're not a pediatrician, love." Tom spoke gently, wanting nothing more than to calm her and the baby down.
"I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own baby."
Tom chose not to comment about how they had to talk louder over the baby's cries. "Okay, let's try something else. Do we have milk? We'll warm it up." Tom put a hand on Sybil's back, rubbing it in a soothing motion.
"I'll put the kettle on." She headed to the kitchen.
Tom rocked the baby slowly, hearing his cries subside slightly. A knock on the front door distracted him momentarily, and Tom didn't even think that it could be Sybil's parents. He pulled open the door, regretting it when he saw the look on Robert and Cora's face. "Come in, sorry about the noise, he's having a rough morning." Tom explained, shutting the door behind Lord and Lady Grantham.
"Sybil?" Cora called, and Sybil came out of the kitchen with a bottle, her eyes red.
"Mama, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot you were coming, I'm not even dressed properly." She turned towards her husband, "Here, take this."
He did as she asked, coaxing Aedan to take his bottle. "Come on lad, drink up."
"Whatever's the matter with him?" Concerned lines creased Cora's forehead. Robert just stared as though he hadn't been around a baby before, and Tom could feel the stress radiating off Sybil in waves.
"He's fussy for some reason," Sybil huffed, "I can't figure it out."
"Why don't you go get dressed, I'll take care of him for awhile." Tom suggested.
"I'm perfectly fine to take care of him," Sybil said indignantly, and Tom took a deep breath before replying.
"I know you are, I just thought - "
"I'm fine." Sybil said firmly, and Robert glanced at her, concern on his face as well as on his wife's face.
"Sybil, take a deep breath. Don't take it out on him." Cora said, and Sybil plopped down on the sofa next to her mother.
"I'm so tired," She said, and Tom felt frustrated that Sybil had been ignoring his attempts to take the reins from her so she could rest. He was doing everything he could to make this better, but with Aedan squirming and screaming in his arms and Sybil getting angry with him, there wasn't a lot he could do.
"May I?" Cora gestured to Aedan, and took the baby from Tom. The room grew quiet as Cora started to hum softly, and Robert even looked at her with awe as Aedan immediately stopped crying and fussing. "I used to hum this song to my girls when they got this way," Cora explained, softly smiling at her grandson, "Babies love singing."
"I didn't even think of that." Sybil said, and her voice sounded detached, and distant. Tom looked at her intently, willing her to look at him so he could read her better. She didn't, and she excused herself quietly, walking to the bedroom in the back, and shutting the door.
Tom never took his eyes off her, and stood immediately, intending to follow her, when the last person he thought would speak up, did. "I'll go." Robert said, and Tom raised an eyebrow. "I know I haven't been welcoming of this situation, but I don't like seeing her like this."
"You realize she's not like this all the time. She's happy, very happy." Tom said, and Robert sent a hard gaze his way.
"I know that she's capable of happiness, I just find it hard to believe that this is where she's finding it."
Tom opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Cora. "Robert, honestly. She's happy. This happens all the time with new mothers. I want the both of you to relax, straight away."
"I understand that you're worried about her, but honestly, we never expected you to come. If you came here just to insult me further and try to make Sybil regret her decision, I'd rather you not be here at all."
"We'll let Sybil decide that." Robert said, before walking quickly to the bedroom, where Sybil was still inside, sitting on the bed. The door shut hard behind him, and Tom sighed, shutting his eyes before sinking into his seat in the armchair.
"I do apologize," Cora said, "It was wrong of me to invite him here."
Tom didn't look up; he just rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm tiredly. "I don't blame you. I never thought he'd accept me all of a sudden, I just hoped that seeing Sybil again and seeing Aedan would convince him that she's made the right decision."
"I want you to know, Branson, that I…" Cora trailed off, looking at the doorway where Sybil had just appeared, tears streaming down her face.
Tom was on his feet and across the room in an instant, and grasped Sybil's shoulders, bending down to meet her eyes. "Sybil… what happened?"
"I'm such a mess," She sobbed, "And I've been so terrible to you when all you've been trying to do is help…"
"You have not been terrible to me, love." Tom let the term of endearment slip past his lips without thinking, not realizing that Robert and Cora were watching the scene play out.
"And then he tells me that he wants me to come back to Downton, and I just can't handle all of this at once!" Sybil cried, and Tom tensed. The entire room seemed to shift, and Tom was barely able to contain his anger.
"You don't have to go anywhere that you don't want to," He said slowly, "No one is making you do anything." He glanced at Robert, but the man didn't even look apologetic in the slightest.
"I just… If you think I'm an awful wife and a bad mother, then maybe I should go back to Downton!"
Tom's heart clenched painfully at the thought of her leaving him, and he cupped her cheek with his left hand. "Look at me." He said firmly, his Irish brogue coming out as well as anger. "I love you. I love you more than my life, and I can't stand the thought that you think you're not a wonderful wife, and an even better mother."
"I couldn't even get him to stop crying," She protested, but she was silenced by Tom once more, as he tilted her chin up so she was meeting his eyes again.
"Things will get better. It's all an adjustment that we have to make and we'll figure things out soon enough. I promise you."
"He's right, you know." Cora said, a small smile on her face, "Things will get better. Now, why don't you and I go and get you dressed, because we're going to have a proper luncheon."
Tom leaned in and kissed Sybil's forehead, wiping the last of her tears away with his thumb. "Go on," He said, taking the baby from Cora as Sybil gazed at him for a second before pulling away slightly.
"I don't deserve you." She said quietly, before following her mother back to the bedroom.
Tom turned to face Robert, but checked himself from speaking his mind. "I expect you'll come to luncheon with us then?" He asked, and Robert stiffened.
"Of course I will. Just because I believe that Downton can offer a better life for her doesn't mean I won't spend time with her while we're here."
"Could have fooled me," Tom said harshly, taking Aedan into the nursery to put him down.