Edith

Now she has to go onto another bloody ship. She isn't scared that it will sink; she thinks that no one can be on two ships that sink within the space of less than five weeks. But it makes everything more real to her. Matthew has booked first class cabins. Of course he has. The splendor isn't as great as it was on the Titanic but she is glad about that. She has her own room but Mary has offered to share with her again. She hates her sister for getting everything she wanted but she is very thankful for her staying in the same room at night. She'd have even more nightmares if she had to sleep by herself. Mary's presence comforts her, but she has already decided to ask Sybil to share a room with her once they are back at Downton because she doesn't hate Sybil. She supposes that Mary will be glad about that as well because it will make taking care of George easier for her. She's seen George only twice. Once at night when she woke up while Mary was feeding him - why Mary would do such a thing herself is beyond her because it doesn't seem like Mary – and now on the way to the harbor. He looks like any other baby but Mary and Matthew coo over him as if he was the first baby boy to have ever been born on earth. If she is honest with herself, she knows that she doesn't really hate the child and she doesn't really hate her sister but she can't be happy for them either.

When they get of the ship in Liverpool she is surprised to see her parents there. She only realizes how much she wanted them to be there when her mother hugs her and her father strokes her head. Neither of them says a thing but they let her cry. And she just can't stop crying. She thought there weren't any tears left inside her but there are. She knows she is ruining her mother's dress but also knows that her mother doesn't care about that. Once she stops crying her parents tell her that Sybil is here too and waiting at the hotel they've booked for the night. But she wants to go home. Maybe sleeping in her old room at the Abbey will give her some closure. Her mother says "Whatever you wish to do my darling girl."

Cora

"Robert, what are we going to do?"

"There is nothing we can do." She knew he would say this but she had hoped that he would have a solution. "Cora, she will have to deal with it. It is horrible for her and maybe we can ease the pain a little by being kind to her and protecting her from the world, but we can't make the pain go away. Or the picture's and sounds in her head. They will lessen over time, but they will stay with her."

"You still dream about the war sometimes, don't you?"

"Yes." She feels so sorry for him. Because they are alone in their room she wraps her arms around him and puts her head on his chest. "I wish I could make them go away."

"I know. And I love you for it."

"Edith wants to go home today."

"Yes. We will take her home then. Her and Sybil. But I think we should offer Mary and Matthew to stay here for a night with George. They need to sleep."

Edith

She is in the car with her parents and younger sister. They've all been kind to her and it helps to not to have to see Mary, to not have to see her parents fuss over George, the heir. Sybil has agreed to sharing a room for a time which is better than having to share with Mary. She would prefer to sleep alone but she knows she can't. If she woke up alone in the dark, she'd think she was drowning.

When she enters the Abbey her heart sinks. This should have been hers. Eventually. She should have been queen of this castle. But she won't be because she bullied her husband to go onto that stupid ship with her.

Mary

Matthew has asked the driver to let them out of the car at the beginning of the drive way. He told her that he wants to walk to the Abbey and asked her to walk with him. So she agreed. He carries their son and the image of Matthew carrying George makes her love both of them even more. George is still so small that Matthew needs only one arm to hold him and she feels her husband take her hand when the car has left. They walk up to the Abbey in silence and stop in the middle of the driveway as if they were thinking the same.

Matthew

He carries his son home to a house he never thought would be his home, to a future he didn't think would be his. Mary hasn't wanted this in over a year and he never wanted it at all. But they have to face it. When they stop in the middle of the driveway he lets go of his wife's hand and strokes her cheek. "I know this is not what we wanted." "No," she says. "But we have to face what is ahead. And we'll face it together."

He uses his free arm to pull her close and she gives him a kiss on the lips and George a kiss on the head before she moves away from him again. He takes her by the hand again and they walk the rest of the way in silence towards that imposing house that will be their future.

AN: This is basically the end of the story. I will post the epilogue tomorrow. Thank you so much for your many reviews and your support!

I will most likely write the story about Mary and Matthew in New York and the story will also focus on Edith and Patrick back at Downton. The main stylistic device of that story will of course be the contrast between the M/M and E/P marriages and as the E/P marriage in this story was obviously not a very happy one, I am a little concerned about the flames I will get from Edith fans. But I guess I will just have to live with that :) Should I write that story, it will be called Playing With Fire: The New York Year but I don't think that I'll be able to start publishing it before next weekend because I haven't written it yet and I don't publish stories I haven't finished writing. I have another story finished that I will start to publish on Tuesday which is called "That American Girl", so I suppose that it is rather obvious that it won't be an M/M story :)

Thanks again for your your support!

Kat