Author's note
Thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited this collection so far! I always love to hear from you.
This S/T ficlet was written to celebrate the birthday of the lovely and talented Piperholmes and it was inspired by a beautiful gifset of hers on Tumblr. Also, special thanks to the Yankee Countess for her inspiration.
It's set in an AU for ep 1.04 - what if Sybil and Tom had met before, when they were children? Once again, I decided I wanted to find a home for it here in this collection - one version of the very first milestone along the way to Sybil and Tom's life together in Ireland...
I'd wait forever
"Sybil, look up there! See that flash of white, by the rock?"
"Where - oh yes! I see - what is it, Tom?"
"It's a lamb - can you hear him calling for us? Let's go and get him."
He stretched out his hand to help her up the slope, and she took it as they clambered up to where the lost lamb was waiting for them. Tom picked him up, handing him to Sybil - "Here, you can carry him if you like."
Her eyes shone with excitement - "I'd love to!" Gently she took the precious bundle - she had never held a real, live creature in her arms before and she instantly fell in love with the wriggling little lamb. "Oh Tom, he's wonderful! Can I name him?"
"Of course."
"Mmmm - he looks like a Snowy - what do you think?"
"Let's carry him back to the farm - Snowy will be hungry, I'm sure."
She walked carefully down the slope, grinning widely - she never had this much fun at home! Ever since her family had arrived for a holiday at the home of Lord and Lady Oughterard in the west of Ireland, Sybil had longed for more than just playing dolls in the nursery. She craved the outdoors and wanted to explore the beautiful, wild landscape of Connemara, so she made a habit of escaping the house and its stifling routine as often as she could.
One day she had come across Tom, rounding up his grandfather's sheep with his dog, Seamus, and after that she managed to find her way to the farm nearly every day to see him. She realised that her family might object to their growing friendship and had tried to keep it a secret.
They approached the farm and he pointed her to a bale of hay - "Why don't you sit there, and I'll get him some milk." The food was quickly ready and as she tentatively pushed the bottle towards the lamb, she was thrilled when he lifted his head with an eager "baaa" and started to suck. She looked up, face alight - "Oh, Tom, look at him! I think he's going to be a big, strong sheep, don't you?"
After the lamb had finished feeding, Tom took him from Sybil to wrap him in a blanket. "He'll need to stay inside for a while, until he's strong again. Let him sleep now - I'll put him in the shed to keep him warm, and when you come tomorrow, you can check on him."
She walked out with him to the farm gate - "Well, see you tomorrow!" - and started running down the road towards the 'big house'. He looked after her - there was something about this girl, something that made him miss her when she was gone….
The next day, Sybil arrived, excited to see the lamb. Tom stopped her at the door of the shed, his eyes cast down. "Don't go in there, Sybil, please…" She wouldn't listen, pushing past him only to see the blanket thrown over the motionless body of the lamb.
"Is he asleep?" She crossed the floor and lifted the blanket. Tears started to flow down her cheeks when she realised the lamb she had helped to rescue was dead. "Oh Tom!" she wailed, and turned her heartbroken face towards him.
He couldn't bear her suffering and came towards her, hesitating a moment before putting his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head while he tried to comfort her. "There, there, Sybil, don't cry! You mustn't cry. The lamb was just too weak to survive but at least his last night was a happy one."
Sybil's sobs wracked her body for several minutes - this was her first encounter with death, let alone the death of a creature she loved, and the pain was overwhelming. She nestled closer into Tom's arms and let her tears flow freely - somehow, she knew that she was safe here, safer than she'd ever been in her life before.
Eventually, she lifted her face to him, her eyes still swimming. He felt her pain as if it were his own, so he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead, murmuring - "It'll be all right, I promise…"
Later that day, Sybil was coming back into the house through the door to the kitchen when her grandmother caught her - "Where have you been, child? You are absolutely filthy - look at your dress!"
Sybil hung her head - she knew that, once she told someone about it, the magical world she shared with Tom would be gone forever, so she tried to find a way to avoid answering the question. In the end, she murmured - "I've been on a farm, Grandmama."
"With that scruffy boy, I suppose? Don't think we haven't seen you sneaking away. You should know better, Sybil - you can't mix with your inferiors like that, it just isn't done."
"How can you say that, Grandmama? Tom isn't inferior to anyone - he's wonderful, the best friend I've ever had."
The Dowager Countess knew this spelled trouble, and resolved then and there to keep an eye on Sybil for the rest of the holiday - no more wild outdoor adventures for this rebellious young lady!
A few days later, the Crawleys headed home. Sybil was the last one into the carriage and she looked backwards, tears in her eyes - "I never even had the chance to say goodbye…"
Eight years later
"Sybil, are you ready? The car's waiting for you."
"Yes, Mama - I'm coming." Sybil hurried down the stairs and out the front door, excited to be planning her new frock and knowing what a sensation it would cause. She stopped dead as she caught sight of a face she wasn't expecting to see by the open door of the car. Was it possible? Could it be…?
She felt a light blush rising up her face as their eyes met. His were deep blue, like the high summer sky in Ireland - she hadn't seen those eyes since she was a child, but she hadn't forgotten them, could never have forgotten them as long as she lived.
Dropping her gaze, she took his hand and stepped into the car. The grasp of his strong fingers was warm even through his gloves … It has to be him!
Tom held his breath as their eyes met again in the rear view mirror - Does she remember me? Seeing her again, even more beautiful than she had been as a girl, he felt his heart begin to race in his chest….
"Tom? Is it you?"
"Yes, it's me, milady."
"Oh please, call me Sybil - I hate that silly title. We're friends, aren't we?"
He looked at her again in the rear view mirror, a smile breaking across his face - "The best of friends, Sybil."
Her memories of that summer in Ireland came flooding back to her. The boy she remembered had become a man, and such a man! She felt a strange shiver travel up her spine, watching his strong shoulders move under his dark green jacket as he expertly manoeuvred the car along the road…
"So, Tom - how on earth did you end up at Downton Abbey? It seems like a long way from a Connemara sheep farm."
"Just good luck, I think, Sybil. Lord Oughterard was kind enough to offer me a position as an apprentice chauffeur to bridge the gap between when his man wanted to retire and when the son would be ready to take over. I had the chance to learn all about cars and driving, and I found I had a real aptitude for it."
"I always imagined you on the farm - what made you want to leave?"
She always imagined me… "Well, the farm is a smallholding, which means there really isn't enough of a living there for me and my brother. I was lucky something else came along, which I was good at."
"So that still doesn't tell me how you came here?"
"Good luck again! Your father happened to mention to his Lordship that he was looking for a new chauffeur, just when the new boy was ready to take over at home, so I was offered the position on his Lordship's recommendation."
"That is remarkable, I agree! And you do you find you enjoy being a chauffeur?"
"It's a pretty good way to make a living, for now. I won't always be a chauffeur - I intend to make something of myself."
"I'm sure you will, Tom," she smiled. So he hadn't just turned out to be handsome, but smart and ambitious as well. That doesn't surprise me at all…
"And so how about you, Sybil? Will you have your own way, do you think? With the frock?"
Their conversation flowed easily as Sybil spoke about her interest in women's rights, just as easily as it had in the old days. As they spoke, she remembered how he had comforted her the last time they had met and how safe he had made her feel in his arms then. Looking at him in the rear view mirror, catching his eyes and smiling, she felt that nothing had changed between them, even after all this time apart, and she found herself imagining what it would be like, getting to know him again…
As for Tom, he had known from the moment he saw her again that he loved her, a love that had its roots in their wonderful childhood friendship and which had slowly grown over the years to burst into full bloom now he was a man. As he sneaked a look through the window of Downton Abbey a few days later, watching her smile and pirouette in her wonderful new outfit - never seen anything like it before, but trust her to come up with something like that! - he couldn't help hoping that one day she might feel the same way about him. He was ready and willing to wait for her for as long as it took, working and striving every day to make her happy and prove himself worthy to win her precious woman's heart…