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.

I wrote this S/T ficlet to mark the birthday of the lovely scarletcourt, fellow S/T shipper and author. Happy birthday to you, my friend - I hope you enjoy this anniversary story (which also fits in with this month's Rock the Pregnancy AU.)

He wishes for the cloths of heaven

"Nurse Branson? Over here, please."

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Can you just help me with rounds, and then you can go - you look all in."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Sybil straightened up, trying to ease the ache in her back. As she entered her ninth month of pregnancy, she could feel her body starting to slow down, conserving any extra energy she may have had for the growth of the baby in her womb.

Once her shift ended, she left the Rotunda and boarded a tram, back to their little flat. She climbed the first flight of stairs and stopped to take a breath before tackling the second. Key in hand, she opened the door…

Their flat was looking beautiful - the windows were all open, welcoming in the early summer evening light, and a fresh breeze was lifting the drawn back curtains. The little dining table was pulled over near the window, set with plates and cutlery, and a single candle rested in a holder on the white cloth, waiting to be lit. Fresh flowers sat in a glass vase on the counter, and food was ready on the stove. But - where was Tom?

She felt arms sliding around her waist from behind - "Hello, my darling. I was beginning to wonder where you were."

She turned around to face him, putting one hand up to his cheek as their eyes met and held - "How did you find the time to do all this? I thought I'd be home earlier than you today."

He winked at her - "Little surprise for you. Do you like it?"

She moved towards him and their lips met in a kiss - "Tom, it's wonderful - thank you."

"Come and sit down, Sybil. Everything's ready for us. Here, need a hand with these?"

He knelt down in front of her and began to unlace her shoes. Looking down on his dark blond head, bent to his task, Sybil couldn't help but smile. In the year since they had been married, Tom really had kept his promise of devoting every waking minute to her happiness, taking the time to show how much he loved her in these little moments every day, like making sure her feet, tired and swollen, were comfortable.

"All right, just sit there and relax - I intend to wait on you hand and foot tonight."

He lit the candle and started to dish up their dinner, pouring them each a glass of cold beer from the bottle on the windowsill to mark the occasion. Before long, she was enjoying a plate of his "famous" lamb stew and dumplings, laughing as they swapped stories about their day.

She told him that she was thinking of stopping work sooner than they had planned - "I'm just more tired than I thought, love. I think I can keep going for a couple more weeks, but then I'll need a bit of time to rest before…."

He reached across the table to take her left hand - "Sybil, you know best what's right for you and our baby. I'll do whatever I need to do to take care of you both, you know that."

He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles and turning the slim gold band on her ring finger as they exchanged a loving glance…

"A toast, Sybil - to us. One year wed today! The happiest year of my life."

They clinked their glasses of beer. "Mine too, Tom - I never knew how happy I could be, until I was your wife."

He cleared away the table, rinsing the dishes and leaving them in the sink before heading to a big armchair by the empty fireplace. They often joked to each other that buying the second one had been a waste of money, since Sybil spent most evenings sitting in Tom's lap, leaving her own chair vacant. This evening was no different - she came over to her husband and he pulled her down to him, nuzzling into her neck and finding a spot just below her ear that he knew she loved him to touch.

She put her finger under his chin, tilting his face up her to hers, and they kissed again, this time more deeply. She felt herself relaxing into his arms, letting go of all the tension she had been holding onto all day, without even realising it, as his hands slowly caressed her back and shoulders. He could always do that for her - help her let go of the striving and struggles of the day and just "be". She had never known what it was like to have this kind of closeness with anyone before, and she loved it as one of the many blessings their marriage had given her.

He broke their kiss and reached over to the little table nearby, picking up a small parcel wrapped in brown paper - "I know we agreed not to do anniversary presents, but when I saw this I just couldn't resist getting it for you, darling."

"Tom - you really shouldn't have! We should be saving all our money for the baby right now," she chided gently, unwrapping the parcel to find a small, leather bound book, tooled in gold.

"The collected poems of WB Yeats. Oh sweetheart, you remembered!"

"Of course I remembered! I used to see that book in the library ledger, checked out by you so many times, so I knew it was your favourite poetry before you even told me about it." He took her finger and slid it under the front cover of the book, taking her to the flyleaf where he'd written an inscription …

"Mo ghile,

On our first wedding anniversary, with all the love in the world. Ever since you agreed to marry me, I've been happier than I ever dreamed I could be. I am looking forward with joy to our future together - whatever comes our way, I want you to remember that I am yours, completely, forever.

Your loving husband, Tom"

She felt a tear trembling on her lashes as she looked at him, putting her hands behind his neck and leaning in to kiss him again - "Me too, Tom, oh, so much…."

She settled back into his arms and looked again at his gift. The book had a place already marked by a velvet ribbon, so she turned to that page first -

"Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

The beautiful, well loved words moved her deeply, and she murmured - "They're our dreams, darling - never forget that. Your dreams are my dreams now."

"Oh, my love…."

They were silent for a few minutes as he tightened his arms around her and rested one hand on her swollen belly so he could feel their child move around beneath her skin.

She laid her head on his shoulder - "One year down, the rest of our lives to go."

A/N -

"Mo ghile" = my darling in Irish Gaelic, per Google translate.

As you may know, tradition has it that the first wedding anniversary is the paper anniversary, so I loved the idea of Tom giving Sybil a treasured book as a gift. The title of this story came, of course, from the poem by WB Yeats that I quoted.