Author's note

As always, thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited the story so far! I love to hear from you - please do keep telling me what you think!

After the M-rated fun of the last chapter, back to the plot this time - a bit of angst for our lovely couple to deal with...

Chapter 10 - Bump in the road

Sybil came into the hall, winding her scarf around her neck – "Will I do?"

Tom placed a kiss on her lips, leaning his forehead into hers for a moment before they went out the door and headed towards Upper St, hand in hand. Luckily Sybil lived pretty close to Islington Green and they were only a little late as they went into Browns for an early lunch.

Tom looked around – was she here yet? – then smiled and waved. Sybil followed his gaze... "She is his mother? Why didn't Tom tell me?"

She turned to look at him, but Tom was already heading into the restaurant, making his way towards a table where an elegant blonde woman in her late 30s was already seated. As he approached, she stood up and threw her arms around him – "Tommy, mo buachaill, it's been too long!" She planted a kiss on his cheek, then leaned away from him a bit, smoothing his fringe out of his eyes with a maternal gesture.

Tom smiled, then turned around, looking for Sybil – "Mam, this is my girlfriend, Sybil Crawley. Sybil, meet my mother, Catherine Branson."

Tom's mother looked at Sybil for the first time, and her eyebrows went up as she gave her the once over – clearly, Tom had been as forthcoming with his mother as he had been with his girlfriend!

Sybil took a deep breath and moved forward, hand outstretched, her practiced Crawley charm standing her in good stead as she said brightly – "Mrs Branson, delighted to meet you."

"Call me Kate, dear, everyone does!" was the slightly tart rejoinder as they took their seats. Small talk kicked into gear as Sybil asked what line of work Kate was in – "I run my own company – catering, events, that type of thing. Keeps me pretty busy I must say..."

They chatted some more about their respective jobs and Tom's recent birthday party as the waitress took their orders. Sybil felt Tom's hand slipping into her own under the table, giving hers a squeeze, which made her turn to him. She felt a bit better as she saw his loving look, but she also saw that Kate had intercepted the look too – nothing got past this woman, clearly!

The food arrived and conversation subsided as they started to eat, although Sybil felt a lump in her throat which made it hard to swallow. Tom made short work of his fish pie, seemingly oblivious to the slight but unmistakable tension at the table. He headed off to find the bathroom, and Kate turned to Sybil with a smile that had a definite edge to it.

"Well dear, I have to say I am a bit surprised. Tommy didn't tell me you were older than him!"

Sybil was taken aback by the blunt remark and responded in kind – "Yes, I am a few years older but that doesn't seem to matter to us."

She went on to mention that she was surprised by Kate's age too, and listened while Kate explained that she had become pregnant with Tom when she was only 16, and had to drop out of school and work two jobs while her parents helped her look after him.

"I met Tommy's stepfather when I was 25 - he has two younger stepsisters. Kevin adopted him – that's where he gets the name Branson."

Most of this was news to Sybil – although she realised she had never heard Tom mention his father, which had led her to assume he wasn't a part of his life, she had heard the name Kevin once or twice when he was on the phone to his mother without knowing who Kevin was.

Kate pursed her lips, one finger to her chin – "I can see he loves you dear, and it's nothing personal – you seem charming. It's just that – well, I don't want my boy to lose his youth with you. I am so proud of him - so handsome, so smart and successful – and I want him to have all the things I never had when I was young. He should travel the world, enjoy his social life, date lots of pretty girls, not get tied down too soon as I was. If he is with someone your age, I can't see him having all the things I want for him. Think about it – are you really the right woman for my son? You will want to settle down and have children soon, won't you? Is that really fair on him?"

Sybil couldn't answer as Tom was coming back to the table. She tried to understand Kate's position – she had worked very hard all her life, creating her own success from nothing so she could take care of her children, and she wanted them to have a better life than she had had. But why couldn't that life include her, if that was what Tom wanted? She could feel the lump in her throat growing bigger, almost choking her, as she plastered on a bright smile for him, not wanting him to see how upset she was.

"That was miles away – downstairs and along the corridor – I think it was in Highbury!" joked Tom, his eyes moving from his mother to Sybil. What had been going on while he was away? Since he and Sybil had been together, he had become very sensitive to her moods, and he could tell something was wrong, but for once she hid her eyes from him, smiling just with her lips as she sipped an Earl Grey tea while he demolished the chocolate tart.

The rest of the lunch passed quickly, and it wasn't long before they were outside the restaurant, saying their goodbyes. Tom hugged his mother, promising to call her more often, and then Kate leaned in to kiss Sybil on the cheek.

"Think about what I said, dear..." she whispered while Tom was looking away, trying to find a taxi. He ushered his mother inside, closing the door and giving it a thump on the roof as it drove away.

Tom turned to Sybil, concern showing clearly in his eyes, and reached out for her. "Is something wrong, love?"

For the first time since they met, she felt as if she couldn't be honest with him – she could never forgive herself if she came between him and his mother. So she shrugged her shoulders – "I'm fine, just tired, that's all."

He didn't believe her, but dropped it for now – it wouldn't be easy to have the kind of conversation he wanted to have with her in the middle of the street. He tried a different tack, talking about some plans he and Matthew had made that week to go shopping for his wedding suit, and telling a funny story about the way that Mary was trying to decide what Matthew should wear, and how Matthew was resisting her.

Sybil couldn't help smiling at that – her sister, the control freak! – and Tom was relieved to see he had broken through. He looked into her eyes – "Want to see a movie? The Great Gatsby is on at the Screen on the Green in half an hour, and I know you wanted to see that didn't you, you Leo fan!"

"Don't pretend there isn't any eye candy for you in that one too, mister!" Sybil felt her mood lifting a little, tucking her arm into Tom's as they walked towards the cinema.

Sybil found herself wishing they hadn't seen that particular movie that day. Carey Mulligan looked particularly stunning as Daisy, and she couldn't help remembering that girl Edna from Tom's work who looked so much like her, and who was so clearly angling to win him over. Even though she had seen no evidence at all that Tom had any interest in her apart from as a colleague, coming on top of Kate's remarks she was feeling extra sensitive just now, thinking how Edna would be bound to win Kate's approval as she had failed to do.

She found herself picking a stupid fight over nothing, which led her to walk off in a huff, thinking - "Snap out of it Sybil, for crying out loud! He's done nothing wrong – it's all you!"

She heard Tom coming after her, and turned towards him as he grabbed her hand. "Sybil, what is wrong? For Christ's sake, tell me!"

"Nothing, really – like I said, I'm just tired."

Seeing she was close to tears, he pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her, whispering in her ear – "Sybil, love, please, tell me. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Sybil leaned her head on his shoulder and realised – "Who am I kidding? I can't keep this a secret from him – he knows me too well."

"Let's sit down for a minute, Tom." Sybil pulled him towards the nearby bus stop and they sat down on the bench. Hesitantly, and trying to be as diplomatic as she could, she told him about the conversation she had had with his mother while he had been away from the table. She held both his hands in hers, looking straight into his eyes, and not trying to hide the tear that fell down her cheek as she talked. As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a bit better – how insane was she, to think of keeping this from him!

Tom's first emotion on hearing this was compassion and care for the woman he loved so much, who was sitting opposite him looking so sad. He folded her into his arms, stroking her hair and murmuring – "A stór, I am so glad you told me about this. You know, don't you, that I'd pick you every time as the only one for me? I didn't mention your ages to each other as it just isn't something I ever think about - she is my mother, and you are the woman I love. Whatever Mam said, just try to forget about it – I promise you, it makes no difference at all to me."

Then, he flipped into anger at his mother – how could she DARE to say something like that? He had to admit this wasn't the first time she had tried to control his life but – hell! – he was an adult capable of making his own decisions! As far as Sybil was concerned, he had decided he wanted to be with her almost the moment he met her and his mother just had to accept that.

In fact, there was another decision involving Sybil that he had come to in the last few weeks and he had been trying to find the right time to speak with her about it, but he had fallen into the trap of waiting for the "perfect" moment and somehow it never came. In the end he had decided to create his own perfect moment and, as it turned out, he had planned it for that day. Now seemed like the right time to plant the seed.

"I know – how about a glass of champagne, somewhere nice?"

Sybil's heart lifted - as usual with Tom, all his thoughts were for her happiness, which she appreciated so much at a moment like this. She lifted her head and grinned at him – "Darling, that sounds lovely! Let me just go home first so I can put on something glam."

He stood up, pulling on their linked hands to bring her with him – the bus that went past her door was just approaching the stop. They flashed their Oyster cards and found a seat. Tom then put his arm around Sybil, turning her face to his for a kiss and whispering to her all the way home, those sweet little nothings between lovers that mean so much.

The cab turned off London Wall and headed towards one of the tallest buildings in the City. Sybil looked up – were they going where she thought they were going? They pulled up at the curb and Tom jumped out first, leaning back in to give Sybil his hand and help her out. She stepped onto the footpath, tossing her hair back out of her eyes as they headed towards a location Sybil had always wanted to visit – Vertigo, the bar on top of what used to be known as the Natwest Tower and which was now called simply Tower 42.

The express lift whisked them up to the bar. The concierge welcomed them in and ushered them to a long leather couch by the window, where champagne on ice and a china bowl of Sybil's favourite strawberries were already waiting on the table. Sybil marvelled at the incredible views of the City of London below, street lights just starting to wink through the early evening like fireflies.

She sank back into the couch as Tom poured them two glasses of champagne and, as he turned back to her, she took his hand. Lifting it to her lips as their fingers linked, she kissed the back of it. Then, she turned his hand over, putting a lingering kiss into his palm and briefly sliding the tip of his forefinger into her mouth as she quirked an eyebrow at him. "I wonder if we could join the mile high club here – it feels high enough, doesn't it!" she joked.

They clinked glasses, looking into each others' eyes, and as Sybil bit into a strawberry Tom reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a long velvet box. Sybil opened it to find a beautiful vintage bracelet, turquoise and silver, which she had admired in the window of a shop in Camden Passage a few weeks ago - Tom had sneaked back there a few days later to buy it for her.

"Tom, you remembered! It's just gorgeous, thank you darling!"

Putting it on, she leaned in to kiss him and he could taste the sweet fruit on her lips - "Mmm, you taste so good".

He tightened his arm around her with conflicting feelings as they sipped their second glasses of champagne - really happy she liked her present so much, but also really nervous about what he was about to say. It was so big, so important, and it was something he hadn't ever said before.

He raked his hand back through his hair - "Sybil – do you know how much I love you? These last few months since I met you have been the happiest of my life and I realised a while ago that I want to be even closer to you. I want to wake up with you every day and go to sleep with you every night. I don't want to keep running back and forth between our places any more - I think we should have our own place. How would you feel about us living together?" He held his breath, waiting for her answer – swapping keys was one thing, but how would she feel about this?

Sybil's first thought on hearing Tom's words was how perfect they were after what had happened with his mother today. She realised that there was nothing she wanted more than to live with him, and to deepen still further the sharing of their lives and hearts which were already so closely entwined.

By way of answer, she lifted herself up, sitting on his lap - "Tom, darling, I would love that! I would love for us to live together."

Hearing her words, a huge grin broke out across Tom's face. All his dreams for his future happiness were bound up in Sybil now, and he couldn't wait to take this next step with her. He tightened his arms around her to bring her in for a kiss, which quickly deepened.

It didn't take long before they started to exchange the kinds of caresses that were usually best kept for a location away from prying eyes. Eventually, a waiter came up to them and tapped on Tom's shoulder – "Congratulations on whatever it is, but if you two cherubs want to keep doing that, I suggest you take it somewhere else!"

They broke the kiss and grinned at each other - Tom's eyes were sparkling as he leaned into Sybil's ear, his suggestion making her blush. Somehow, at that moment, this lovely place didn't offer them quite the ambience they were after..."Can we have the bill, please?"

A/N -

"mo buachaill" = my boy, "a stór" = my darling in Irish Gaelic, per Google translate.