2 Years Later

Sybil sat in her seat, waiting to get off the plane. It was ten in the morning here and she was anxious- anxious to get back home, anxious to go to the dinner party, anxious to see a certain person. She still didn't look eighteen, and could never remember that the drinking age in the U.S. was twenty-one, so she had gotten in trouble once already for it. They had brushed it off since she was living in the U.S. on a green card and still had her Yorkshire accent, but Sybil had a feeling there was something to do with the fact that her I.D. said Lady on it.

She liked her friends there dearly and wished she didn't have to leave them, but Robert had set something up so Sybil would be able to work at the hospital in Ripon under Dr. Clarkson while working on getting a higher degree. Of course, she could tell her parents (at least Robert) thought she'd get bored with nursing, though Sybil was determined to prove them wrong. Over the course of the program she had found that she enjoyed nursing much more than she thought she would.

There was also him. Tom. Sybil hadn't really done anything with any other boys, because she always compared them to him. She only liked boys with blue eyes, and he had to have a real conversation with her. Whenever Sybil snuck into bars with her friends, the guys she talked to just stared down her shirt the whole time. She wanted to have a relationship with someone she could talk to. They had kept in touch, more than Sybil had with either of her friends, but his confession before she left was still replaying in her head: "I feel it's out of place to say, but I- I fancy you." They had both put it behind for two years… but she hadn't seen him for two years. The only people from Downton Sybil had seen in person were Cora, Edith, Mary, and Mary's horrible boyfriend Richard Carlisle. Robert disliked the States almost as much as Violet and always claimed he was 'too busy' to be visiting. Sybil could see through his lies, but didn't question it. Mary was his favorite daughter and all three knew it.

After departing the plane and walking through the terminals to the escalator, she found herself in baggage claim, waiting for her plaid suitcases to come around. Gwen had loved the suitcases and ordered one herself, saying she'd use it when she came back to visit. Once Sybil picked the two of them up, she turned around and groaned, wondering how she would be able to find Tom in the mass of people. It's like one of those mosh pits, she thought. Oh, how different Sybil in Cincinnati was from Lady Sybil in Yorkshire. If worst came to worst, she could always call a cab.

Then the sign caught her eye- WELCOME BACK SYBIL! it said, and she grinned. Briskly walking over to the holder of it, she found herself standing in from of Tom- and Edith. Sybil hugged Edith tightly, smiling at Tom over her shoulder.

"Sybil, your hair! It's all gone!" Edith said, pulling away to inspect Sybil's bob. It was cropped to just above her chin, with a small side fringe.

"Like it?"

"Like it? I love it! Now Mary's the only one with long hair!"

"How come you're the only one who came?" Sybil asked, glancing around to make sure nobody was hiding. She didn't want to make Edith feel bad, she just felt a little unappreciated.

"Everyone else is so busy because the garden party is today and apparently Matthew is making some sort of announcement. Mary already knows what it is and she was all sour about it yesterday,"

"I'm glad you came though!"

"Well, we should get going, shouldn't we? I've got a surprise for you- wait here with Branson," Edith rushed off out the doors to the parking lot and Sybil turned to Tom.

"Welcome back!" he said, and Sybil stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him for a tight hug. Tom smiled and hugged her back, squeezing his arms around her tighter until she was laughing, telling him to stop.

"Were they all idiots like I said they would be?" Tom asked, and Sybil rolled her eyes.

"Some of them, yes, but not the people I associated with. However, they like to get as drunk as they can on Saint Patrick's Day,"

"It's a disgrace to a holy day, I'm telling you!"

"Where is Edith? She was the one wanting to leave, yet she's disappeared,"

"Let's go outside and I'll show you!" Tom took Sybil's suitcases before she could notice, and despite her protesting, continued to carry them.

Sybil saw the family car. Then she saw Edith in the driver's seat.

"Is that Edith driving?" she asked, shielding her eyes with her hand. The sun was unusually bright, especially for the time of day. Tom noticed that as well, thinking that the sun had come out just for her arrival home.

He hadn't done anything with any other women. A new maid, Edna, had tried to start a relationship with him, but Tom didn't like her at all. The only woman he could think of was Sybil, and as soon as she had stepped into the baggage claim area he knew why. Tom's fondness- no, it was more than that- for her was renewed. Plus she was eighteen now, old enough to decide what she was going to do. Tom wasn't about to get his hopes up, though. She probably hadn't thought about what he said over the two years, he assumed.

Tom was wrong. It was the thing Sybil thought about the most, besides her classes. She just didn't know how she felt about him, even now. It was like a best friend had returned, to her.

"Yes, yes it is," he replied. Sybil smiled and ran over to the car, opening the door, and sliding into the back seat. Tom noticed this and sat beside her.

"Be the chauffeur, Edith! Take us home!" Sybil said, and Edith laughed.

"I'm glad there's a GPS," she joked, tapping the option to give her directions to Downton. They pulled out of the parking lot with a start and Sybil grabbed the seatbelt, pulling it on and making a face. Tom laughed, shaking his head.

"Not the best start there," he said.

"Oh, come on! I had to move before someone honked at me," Edith said, pushing her hair back and turning a corner just as fast. Sybil held onto her seatbelt tightly, turning to Tom as Edith turned the radio up, blasting some pop song.

"She doesn't always drive like this, right?" she whispered.

"No, she's actually quite good unless she's under pressure," he whispered back, and Sybil nodded.

"You should see the roads in America. They're all so different and many of them are horrible drivers," Sybil said loud enough that Edith could hear.

"They're Americans," Tom said, snorting, "and all they care about is freedom and fried chicken."

"And beer. Don't forget beer," Sybil said. Edith just laughed, unable to stop, as the two continued making up American stereotypes.


Sybil was with her new best friend Michelle Kline, cleaning the bathrooms for a volunteering project, when she got an idea.

"Michelle, could you take a picture of me cleaning a toilet?" Sybil asked, pulling her mobile out and handing it to Michelle.

"I'm not even going to ask why," she replied, finding the camera. Sybil posed in front of the toilet with a bottle of Clorox and a scrubber brush, making a disgusted face. Michelle took the picture and handed the mobile back to Sybil.

"Who are you sending it to?" she asked, and Sybil grinned.

"A guy from home,"

"Come on, details!"

"Uh, he's Irish,"

"Like Niall Horan?" Michelle asked, rushing over and looking at the mobile screen.

"Now that I think about it, they look alike, but no, he's very different from Niall,"

"Why? They're both Irish!"

"That's one of the things he would hate. He thinks Americans are idiots,"

"I'm offended but intrigued. Now I want to meet him!"


"Lady Sybil, what are you doing down here?" Mrs. Patmore asked as Sybil moved past her to the pantry.

"Didn't Anna tell you?" she asked back, looking for the ingredients.

"No."

"I'm baking something for Ma-ma to surprise her!" Sybil took all the ingredients and set them on the table, then started searching the cupboards and drawers for the tools needed.

"Do you need any help?"

"If you could set the oven to three hundred and seventy-five degrees that would be wonderful," Sybil said, and Mrs. Patmore did so. She then crossed her arms and leaned against the counter to watch what would happen as Sybil tied an apron on.


Her mobile rang and Sybil reached for it, looking at the caller. Tom. It was ten at night, which meant it was… two in the morning there? She quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Sybil, heyy," Tom slurred, and she just knew he was drunk.

"Tom, where are you?" she asked, hearing the din of what was probably a bar in the background.

"Mai-den Molly's,"

"Why are you there at two in the morning still? What about closing time?"

"It's a lock-in," a loud roar from the background, "and we're watching a movie," Sybil sighed.

"Tom, I should be getting to bed,"

"With me."

"Excuse me?"

"What?" Sybil shook her head and almost laughed. He was probably hilarious drunk.

"I've got to go. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Love 'ou," the line went dead and Sybil stared at the phone.


Sybil came downstairs after changing quickly and opened the oven, poking a toothpick into her cake. It came out clean and she opened the oven all the way, taking the cake out and setting the pan on the table. The top quickly deflated, but Sybil looked extremely proud of herself, putting her hands on her hips and raising her eyebrows.

"Is that supposed to be a soufflé?" Mrs. Patmore asked, peering around Sybil at the 'cake.'

"It's a cake!" Sybil reached across the table for the frosting she had made and took a spreader, dipping it in the bowl and spreading the pink frosting on the uneven cake.

Looking through the window to the kitchen, slightly hidden by a potted plant, was Cora. Carson stood next to her, silently disapproving of a Lady cooking instead of the cook, but he would not tell anybody but Robert this.

"She's really making that cake for me?" Cora asked.

"It seems so, m'lady,"

Cora smiled, her eyes showing how proud she was.

"Don't let her know that I know about this. Just have her bring it out or whatever she was going to do and I will act very surprised," she said. Then Cora turned on her heel to go welcome the first guests.


"I'm not going on a date with that guy," Sybil said, finishing putting her hair up. Lizzy sighed.

"Come on, Syb, it's just a date. You're not committing or anything,"

"Syb has a boy back home she likes. He's Irish," Michelle said.

"Like Niall?" Lizzy yelled.

"He's nothing like Niall!" Sybil said.

"Suit yourself. It's not like this guy would know," Lizzy said.

"It just doesn't feel right," Sybil said. The other two shrugged and went to the bathroom to finish their makeup, leaving Sybil to think if she really did like Tom or not.


Sybil found herself sitting in between Larry and Francine. Of course, she thought, taking a gulp instead of a sip of her wine, letting it burn on the way down. Seems like my new friends have rubbed off on me a bit too much, she thought.

"How was America?" Larry asked, glancing around at the grounds of Downton.

"Wonderful. I really enjoyed being there,"

"We could go sometime, you know,"

"What?"

"You and I. We could go visit the States,"

"What makes you think I would enjoy that?"

"You enjoyed being there, you said! So I suggest we go there together. Maybe after Christmas this year," he said, leaning back and taking a sip of wine. Sybil made a face as if she had been insulted and turned to Francine and Isabelle.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us you and Larry were dating!" Isabelle said.

"We aren't."

"Larry told us earlier you've been dating since March."

"No, we haven't. I only spoke to him a few times while I was away," Sybil insisted, but Francine rolled her eyes.

"You're shy about it, that's fine. I was the same with Frank," she said. As soon as the first course was served, Sybil turned to Larry, who had just taken a large bit of chicken.

"Why exactly are you telling them we're dating?"

"Because we are," Larry said, placing his hand on Sybil's thigh. She swatted it away and discreetly pointed her knife at him.

"We're talking about this later."

Trying to forget about the incident with Larry, Sybil brought the cake out shortly after dessert was served, placing it on the plate in front of Cora.

"What is this?" Cora asked, feigning surprise. Robert had heard about the cake-baking from Carson and thought she should have been an actress with that reaction.

"I baked you a cake! Surprise!" Sybil said, grinning. Everyone at the table smiled appreciatively and hoped Cora wouldn't offer to share.

"Thank you, darling. This is a wonderful cake," Cora reached over and hugged her daughter, a few tears of happiness in her eyes. She was glad to have all three back again.

"Excuse me, I have an announcement!" Matthew called out. This was followed by a few people clinking their glasses with their forks. Sybil sat down on an empty seat by Edith, who was quietly talking to Anthony Strallan. The large group went silent and gave their attention to Matthew.

"Lavinia and I are engaged, and we are hoping to get married next year," he said, and many people clapped. Sybil saw Mary excuse herself from where she was sitting by Sir Richard and walk out towards the woods, probably to the place where the three played as children.

"Edith, we need to go," Sybil said.

"I'm afraid she won't want me to comfort her. I've always caused trouble,"

"It's worth a try. She may want anyone."

"Alright, I'll go," Edith got up and the two followed Mary into the woods. Indeed, she was there, sitting by the now mossy playhouse the three had played house in years ago. Her head was in her hands and the two could hear her crying. Edith sat on Mary's right, Sybil on her left.

"Go away," Mary said half-heartedly.

"We won't," Edith said. Mary lifted her head and turned to her, then burying her face in her sister's shoulder. Unsure of what to do, Edith put her arm around Mary.

"He loves her; he's forgotten everything we've had! And I've tried to accept Lavinia, but I just can't help being jealous of everything she does with him,"

"It's fine to be jealous," Sybil said.

"But he acts as if we're perfectly fine! Matthew has just put the past behind and doesn't realize that I may still feel the same for him,"

"Do you?" Edith asked.

"I wouldn't be crying if I didn't!"

"Then why date Sir Richard?" Sybil asked.

"I was trying to make him jealous so he would realize that he liked me better, and break up with Lavinia. Instead I'm stuck with Sir Richard and I'll probably have to marry him,"

"Why not tell him how you feel? He might still feel the same, like you,"

"It's hopeless! I'm hopeless. It's over."

"Give it a try, Mary. We may have bad blood from the past, but I don't like seeing you like this. We are sisters," Edith said. Mary sighed and nodded.

"Not today. But I will tell him."


"When you come back, we should go see a concert or do something fun," Tom said. Sybil was glad that this time he had called her he wasn't drunk. Of course, he had profusely apologized for the incident and assured her it wouldn't happen again. Hopefully.

"Definitely! Just spending time in the garage was getting a bit boring. Not to mention stuffy,"

"Well, the garage is getting pretty lonely. I've been spending more time writing for my extra job, though. Hopefully they'll ask me to be full-time so I'll be a real journalist,"

"That would be wonderful! Political, I'm assuming?"

"Of course. That was what I studied: philosophy, political science, economics, and sociology,"

"Where did you go? You've never told me,"

"Trinity College. Prestigious. First in my family to go there, only because I got a scholarship,"

"That's quite the accompli-"

"Your father's coming, I have to go!" the line clicked and Sybil sighed, rolling over on her bed. Only two months until she went back to Yorkshire.


After leaving Mary and Edith, Sybil began walking along the path through the woods to clear her head. She really needed to talk to Larry, and-

"Sybil!" she turned and saw the devil himself, walking at a brisk pace towards her. So close to the garage, she thought.

"So, what was all this about us being a couple?"

"I ran into your Aunt Rosamund in London a while ago. She mentioned your fancying me and I figured I would tell everyone since if you fancy me, you'd want to date me," Sybil could see Tom in the garage out of the corner of her eye, but had to turn so her back was to the garage to face Larry, who had been moving around. She laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me! Aunt Rosamund just likes to meddle. She knows you fancy me so she probably just said it to set us up. That's all,"

"Stop lying, Sybil," Larry said, forcing a grin onto his face. Sybil got an uneasy feeling and wished she hadn't strayed so far from her sisters, and that she was closer to the garage.

"I'm not, so you can go tell them you were kidding and that we aren't seeing each other,"

"No, we're going to see each other now, because I've told them all and I'd look like a fool telling them it was a joke,"

"Fine then. I'll tell them myself," Sybil turned, but Larry grabbed her wrist and jerked her back.

"Let go, Larry," she said, trying to pry his fingers off with her other hand.

"You're being unreasonable," he said, and Sybil pushed him away.

"Go away."

"I'm not going until we settle this!"

"She said go away." Sybil jumped at hearing Tom's voice and took a step back as Larry was distracted, Tom walking through the trees towards them.

"Oh, now you've got the staff involved. Wonderful,"

"Just leave it, Larry!" Sybil said.

"No, we are going to settle this, and you are going to be my girlfriend!" Larry stepped toward Sybil, and she took another back.

"I'd back off if I were you," Tom said.

"Shut it, tosser," Larry said.

"That crossed the line." Tom punched Larry in the face, sending him back into a tree. Larry shoved him off and tried to swing back, but Tom ducked and punched him in the gut. Leaning over, Larry gripped a tree for support and glanced up.

"You're a bloody chauffeur; you aren't going to get anywhere!" Larry said before taking off where he came from.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked, walking over to Sybil.

"I'm fine. Thanks, actually. A bit dramatic but should do the trick."

"Do you think he'll tell?"

"I should hope not, but if he does I'll stick up for you like I did earlier. Besides, it's his word against mine, and we were alone. At least at the start of the conversation,"

"I'm glad I thought of coming out to see what was going on. Stepped in at the right moment,"

"I could have handled it myself, you know. I took a self-defense class,"

"Oh, I'm sure you could have. I just got a kick out of punching the bastard in the face." Sybil laughed and the two started towards the garage, Sybil forgetting the garden party altogether.


A/N: Okay, there was some American bashing involved here... but from what I read online it seems that Brits dislike us and our patriotism ;) Also, I in no way/shape/form am promoting One Direction. Actually, I'm not really a fan, but it seems like every time the word 'Irish' is mentioned girls at school go crazy about Niall. Hope you enjoyed!