AN: This Fanfic was supposed to be a small drabble but it turned out to be a bit more! This is the last chapter. Please let me know what you think. Thank you so much for reading/reviewing!

August 25, 1905

The very second Cora entered the bathtub, she flooded the floor once more but paid little attention. Slowly and very gracefully she lowered her lithe body into the warm water.

O'Brien turned away quick enough and walked over to a nearby chair, draping her mistress' robe over the wood as if it were a rose tendril.

Cora had observed her maid all morning and she knew something was off. Her blue eyes were now glued to O'Brien's back and she silently wondered what on earth her maid was trying to do with that robe of hers – apart from the obvious, of course: Buying herself some time.

But why? Cora wondered. I must have missed something. She barely can look me in the eye.

"O'Brien?"

Sarah froze. "Yes, Milady?" She lifted her head but did not turn to look at her mistress.

Cora frowned and slowly, anger began to pool in the pit of her stomach. But no! She would not ask again! "I forgot the scented oil on my vanity. Can you get it for me, please?"

"Of course, Milady." O'Brien nodded before almost fleeing the room, leaving a frustrated countess behind. Cora was way too naïve to understand what was going on and O'Brien? Well, O'Brien was thanking the stars for it.

-x-

Where's a handsome distraction when you need one? O'Brien silently mused as she made her way over to the vanity.

It was an odd thought, especially for her.

Sarah was not unexperienced – Lord knew she wasn't, but she never had felt it when being with a man. She had felt a certain amount of attraction but it had never knocked her off her feet. She never knew exactly how it was supposed to feel but she somehow knew she hadn't felt it yet.

Until last month.

One month ago Sarah O'Brien had felt it and as fate would have it, it had been on no other day than Her Ladyship's birthday: July 18th.

July 18, 1905

"I really ought to hurry!" Cora exclaimed and almost jumped out of bed. "I didn't mean to sleep in!"

"Isn't this supposed to be your day, Milady?" O'Brien asked and observed her mistress with hawk-like eyes, breakfast tray still in hand.

"I'd like to think of it as my day, O'Brien, but I'm sure it wouldn't absolve me from certain rituals and rules." Cora sighed as she hurried over to her vanity.

O'Brien put the tray down. "Like being on time for a certain someone's arrival? To avoid scolding glances?" She glanced at Cora's reflection in the mirror and as their eyes met, both women were unable to suppress an amused smile.

"We both know how much my mother-in-law would enjoy telling my husband 'I told you so.' Again."

"She sure likes that sentence." O'Brien agreed amusedly as she walked over to help her mistress with putting up her hair for a bath.

Cora fell silent for a while and merely observed O'Brien through the mirror. ... "You're very clever." She stated as she finally spoke again, which earned her a questioning frown from her maid. "You always manage to put the words in my mouth you're not allowed to say."

O'Brien met Cora's gaze. Their blue eyes collided in a silent stare. "I'd hate to overstep and lose my job, Milady." She finally said. "But I am guilty as charged. I do have my opinions and I like to share 'em. Especially when I know we have the same ones."

This made Cora raise her brows. "You've been with us for almost three years now and if you keep this up…"

Those words made Sarah freeze and she even held her breath without realizing it. Had she gone too far?

"…I am sure I will never allow you to leave." Cora finished and she found it amused her greatly to see the relief washing over O'Brien's features. It was not an everyday occurrence after all, to see such stir on O'Brien's face. She liked that side of her maid and it felt good to have an ally.

"I am glad to hear it, Milady!" The answer was honest and Sarah did not only feel sudden relief but also, dare she say, joy! Her Ladyship was not only satisfied with her work but she also valued her opinion. This was not the general case, which Sarah knew all too well, thanks to her previous employer.

"I will not scold you for voicing your opinions, O'Brien." Cora glanced up once more. "Not behind closed doors anyway."

This had been Cora Crawley's way of telling her maid she was allowed to talk more freely when they were alone and yet there were invisible lines to keep. Little did the countess know that in the years to come, O'Brien would manage to dance on those lines without Cora even realizing it. And oh, how those lines would blur…

Skilled maid hands lowered while an observant gaze lifted and blue eyes watched how Lady Grantham ran her fingertips along her cheekbones, dabbing invisible wrinkles. Sarah knew Cora well by now.

"If that is the case," she began, pulling Cora's focus, "I'd like to state my opinion about how fresh and young you still look, Milady. Not like 37 at all. But if you do not hurry now, the certain someone will manage to make you look like a drained poodle before tonight's festivities."

At that statement, Cora's jaw fell slack and she wasn't sure what to do first: Smile, chuckle or scold. "O'Brien!" She obviously chose the latter but then chuckled, shaking her head. "You are right. I better get going. Let's make this a quick bath!" She said and rose to her feet.

"As you wish, Milady."

"Oh and O'Brien?" Cora stopped on the threshold and glanced over her shoulder with a smile.

"Yes, Milady?" O'Brien asked, raising her brows. She, too, stopped walking.

"Thank you."

Now it was O'Brien's turn to share a warm smile. "Happy Birthday, Milday."

August 25, 1905

"O'Brien! For the love of god, what is it with you today!" The frustration in Cora's voice was more than audible and it was all it took to pull Sarah out of her memory. Again.

"Pardon me, M'lady…" She quickly murmured, knowing Cora wasn't usually one to voice her thoughts louder than moderate volume.

"Since you are so reluctant to tell me what is going on," the Countess began as O'Brien came back into the bathroom, handing her the oil she had requested minutes ago, "I will give you until tomorrow."

Even more color drained from already pale cheeks. "And then what, Milady?"

"And then you will either be the old O'Brien or you will tell me what is going on."

Sarah stared at her mistress in disbelief. Cora's beautiful face was adorned with an angry frown. Her sparkling blue eyes suddenly seemed to harbor a different shimmer. She had never seen this expression before but, in the years yet to come, she'd learn that it always meant her mistress was jolly well fed up.

"Do you understand?" Cora asked, lowering her chin to underline her questioning stare.

O'Brien merely nodded. What was she supposed to say anyway? "Is that all, Milady?"

"Yes. You are dismissed for today. Send Martindle up. She can do the rest."

"Yes, Milady." O'Brien nodded once more and was just about to turn when…

"Hand me the soap before you leave, please."

The soap.

"Yes, Milady." O'Brien swallowed before reaching out and the very second her fingertips grazed the creamy surface, she couldn't keep her memories at bay any longer.

July 18, 1905

"Would that be all, Milady?" O'Brien asked, looking at her mistress who was busy soaping herself rather hectically. Oh, such an amusing sight.

"Yes, yes. Now go, fetch my birthday dress! I'll be squeaky clean before you're back." Cora's lips curled into a bright grin as she looked up at O'Brien.

"Oh, I have no doubt!" The maid replied and pressed her lips into a thin line but the amused grin shimmered through nonetheless. "I will be right back then."

She turned on her heel, left the bathroom and headed towards the bedroom door when she suddenly heard a thump before sweet, barely audible curses reached her ear. She hurried back immediately.

"Are you alright, Milady?" She asked and quickly reentered the bathroom, finding a dripping Cora Crawley standing with one feet already on the ground while the other was still in the bathtub.

"Yes, yes. I dropped the soap. But it's fine." Cora waved a hand dismissively and stepped out of the bathtub completely. "I can get it."

O'Brien looked around and frowned upon not seeing the object in question. "Are you sure, Milady? I don't—"

But then it happened.

Cora was about to shoo her maid away when she tried to take yet another step but failed miserably. In all her hectic she had knocked over the small oil bottle earlier.

She stepped right into the small puddle.

Her foot slipped. She gasped as she lost her balance.

Oh no!

Like a lightning, O'Brien rushed towards her mistress, instinctively reaching out.

It all went down in less than a second: With one foot already in the air, Cora's heart skipped a beat as she felt her second foot slip as well. Her hands desperately tried to grasp something, but all they found was thin air.

But then, suddenly, someone was at her side.

Without thinking twice, O'Brien wrapped her arms around Lady Grantham's exposed and wet middle to keep her from falling. She could feel how her Ladyship's hands quickly found her shoulders— they grasped for life. Their hammering hearts briefly met as chests collided.

One slippery misstep later, Cora found herself securely wrapped into her maid's arms. Her hands were still grasping O'Brien's collar, so that her lower arms rested against the woman's front.

O'Brien suddenly realized that their cheeks were pressed against each other and she found a shiver running down her spine as her Ladyship's panting breath tickled her ear. Her body reacted in yet undiscovered ways.

Oh God.

"Oh God." Cora's whisper was barely audible as she started to disengage from O'Brien.

Sarah could feel that soft skin slipping from hers and yet she was still holding Cora, bare hands pressed upon bare flesh. She could feel her Ladyship's rips expand beneath her fingertips. Their mouths were so close at one point that O'Brien held her own breath.

When their eyes finally met, O'Brien could swear the world stopped spinning for a second. Everything seemed to stop, including her hammering heart and she found herself staring into Lady Grantham's crystal blue eyes. Her stomach flipped and the atmosphere around them seemed to shift. A sudden, overwhelming urge to lean in and allow her lips to melt with Cora's overcame, surprised and also startled her. She suddenly felt it.

She wanted to touch her.

Here. Now. … Everywhere.

What the…

"Are you alright, Milady?!" She quickly asked to distract herself, stepping back a bit. Her hands lost contact with her mistress' back and instead gently wrapped around the woman's upper arms, steadying her - just in case.

"I- I am," Cora nodded and slowly brought a hand to her chest as if to breathe into it. "Just a little shaken."

O'Brien could feel her cheeks burn. She felt rather shaken herself and the urge to get away from her Ladyship was unbearable. And Lord, the woman really needed to put on some clothes.

I need to leave. Now.

"Tell you what…" O'Brien began and reached for the countess' hand while holding on to her arm with the other, slowly guiding her away from the bathtub, over to the chair with the towels. "You are squeaky clean already. Towel down, put on your favorite lotion and once you're done, ring for me. I hope I can change in time. If not, I will send someone to do your hair."

I hope I can't manage in time. Let me go already.

Cora accepted the towel and wrapped herself into it, still in slight shock. It was not until then that her gaze fell to O'Brien's uniform. Wet soap stains everywhere. "Oh, of course. I'm so sorry, O'Brien."

It was almost impossible to hold her Ladyship's gaze.

Those eyes. Those lips. "It's nothin', really. I will hurry. Unless you are not well?"

"No, no. I am fine, really. Go!"

Oh, thank heavens.

O'Brien merely nodded and turned on her heel.

"And thank you!" Cora said and the sincerity weighed heavily in the air.

It made O'Brien swallow hard. She knew she had to at least glance at her Ladyship and so she did. Again, she nodded but after that she left the room as fast as she could, leaving a blissfully unaware birthday girl behind.

August 25, 1905

"Thank you." Cora said as she took the soap and didn't even bother to look at O'Brien. She really was angry with her maid. Was she that terrible of a person that O'Brien wouldn't tell her what's wrong? Had they not bonded at least somewhat over the past three years? Ugh.

"That will be all for today."

"Yes, Milady." Sarah said quickly and turned.

"O'Brien." Cora voice suddenly filled the room once more but it no longer sounded angry.

Sarah frowned. "Yes?"

"Please tell me you are not seriously ill?"

…. How?! Sarah thought. How could a person be this kind and caring?! She knew her Ladyship had every right to be mad and yet she was looking for the fault in herself, again. She always seemed to do that. Even with his Lordship.

"Sarah O'Brien!" Cora's voice was now filled with thick worry.

Sarah had not realized she'd been silently staring. It did not happen every day that her Ladyship would call her by her full name. "No, Milady. I am not sick. I am just not myself today, is all." But O'Brien's eyes were silently screaming a different story.

I am not myself today. I wasn't myself yesterday. Or the day before. I am not myself anymore ever since the day I held you in my arms, touched your skin and smelled you on my own skin. I am not myself anymore ever since our hearts collided and I wished for our lips to do the same. You made me overstep a line I never would have dared to cross. A line I never thought I'd cross. You made me do it. And you don't even know! Undo it! Oh, please.

"Very well." Cora sighed, obviously relieved. "I will see you tomorrow then."

Undo it.

-x-

"You're down early." Thomas observed, wearing such a smug smirk that O'Brien felt the sudden need to wipe it off his face…. With the back of her hand. Or a chair. "Did she send you down to knit some fancy party hats for Lady Sybil's 10th birthday next week?"

"Choke on your tongue." She muttered and wanted to walk past him but he was faster. His hand jolted forward, taking her upper arm prisoner.

"What is it with you today, O'Brien?" He whispered into her ear while pulling her closer than she wanted to be. Well, not to him anyway.

Sarah gritted her teeth. Her fingers balled into a fist. "Her Ladyship's soap." She whispered aloud, with a locked jaw, but still. Thomas had heard it.

"What?" He frowned. Obviously, he did not understand.

"Nothin'!" She quickly corrected and pulled her arm away. Why had she opened her mouth in the first place?!

"O'Brien!" Thomas called after her but she was already around the corner.

"Go to hell."

"… What was that all about?" Mrs. Patmore peeked around the corner.

"She's just extra sour today." Thomas shrugged.

"Ah." Beryl murmured. "With that hairdo I'd be extra sour every day."

Thomas chuckled silently, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. His chin lifted in thought. Her Ladyship's soap, he inwardly repeated until it was burned into his brain. After all, it might come in handy at some point …

Her Ladyship's soap.

-x-

She took a deep, long drag of her cigarette and shook her head as if to get rid of that mental picture.

Lady Grantham and her worried look. Those eyes…

"Bloody soap!" Sarah cursed under her breath, shaking her head once more.

She had gone too far. This had gone for. It had gone too far, whatever it was. But Sarah knew she had to bury it. Make it go away. Hide it. Forever. What she was feeling and what she was thinking was wrong. She was not allowed to think those things. She was not allowed to stare or blush because of her Ladyship's presence. This had never been her. And this could never be her!

And it never will be. O'Brien silently swore to herself and when she finally stepped onto her cigarette to kill the embers, it felt like stepping onto her very own embers, killing a certain part inside of her, killing those dangerous thoughts. They needed to die. Tonight.

And so, on August 25th, Sarah O'Brien buried something deep inside her. Something that would form an underlying bitterness in the years to come. Later on, people would describe her as 'never particularly happy' or 'a prickly woman with a sharp tongue'. Later on, people would ask why she was so bitter. Yet, no one would ever receive an answer. They all would silently wonder why Miss Sarah O'Brien seemed determined to keep people out.

Only one man knew the answer, without even knowing it.

Little did Sarah O'Brien know that her Ladyship's soap would come back to haunt her almost 15 years later.

Her Ladyship's soap.