It had been a particularly trying day at the hospital. There had been a new front a few days ago and now the hospital was receiving the casualties of that effort. Sybil had been on duty for over 15 hours, most of it on her feet, and was utterly exhausted. When she was finally relieved of duty, all she wanted was to soak in a hot bath and then sleep for hours.

The entrance to the nurses' quarters was a large room with several seating areas furnished with three couches and a few arm chairs. The "waiting room" as it was called by the residents, was the only place where visitors could meet with the nurses. The nurses' quarters were only for the nurses and that rule was stringently enforced by several aides that rotated as "gatekeepers" as they were called by the nurses. At any time of day, there were two "gatekeepers" who manned a desk that was positioned in front of the only stairway leading up to the actual living quarters. Besides ensuring that no guests, especially of the male variety, went up the stairs, the gatekeepers took messages and sorted the mail. In the event of the hospital needing more nurses than were scheduled to work, it was one of the gatekeepers that went to each floor trying to find the required number of nurses.

Sybil was surprised when she walked past the desk and Maude, the friendliest of the gatekeepers, called her name. "You have a letter Nurse Crawley."

Other than the letters from Tom which she received every two weeks, Sybil received very little mail. Cousin Isobel generally wrote once a month and she only occasionally received letters from her mother or sisters. It hadn't been quite a week since she had last heard from Tom so she wasn't expecting anything from him till next week.

However, to her surprise, the letter was from Tom. Since the letter was unexpected, Sybil's first thought was that something terrible had happened. She barely had the energy to walk up the two flights of stairs to her room so she took the letter and sat down in one of the armchairs in the waiting room. With shaking hands she tore open the envelope.

Sybil could hardly believe what she was reading. Her heart was pounding so fast, she totally forgot how tired she was.

"I'm now a contributing columnist for the Manchester Guardian"

"weekly column"

"possibility of writing more articles"

"there may be a full time position in the future"

After finishing the letter, Sybil sat still for several minutes then reread it again. Tom finally had his chance to be a journalist. He had wanted this for so long. Sybil beamed with the pride she felt. She knew Tom was an excellent writer, he had shared some of his writings with her while they were still at Downton.

Her tiredness all but forgotten, Sybil practically ran up the stairs to her room. She wanted to write back to Tom right away. She wanted him to know how happy she was for him, how proud she was that he had done it, he had become a journalist and with a well-known and respected paper!

If Sybil was excited by this news, she was over the moon two months later when she received a letter from Tom telling her he had to come to Manchester to meet with the editors and that, if it suited her, he could come to London after that for two or three days to see her.

It had been eight months since Tom had left Downton. Neither he nor Sybil could imagine then what their lives would be like now. Neither would have ever guessed that when they met again it would be in London.

The meetings with his editors had gone better than Tom expected. They were so pleased with his weekly column that they now wanted him to write some special articles. He had already submitted several topics such as "the invisible life of the servant", "how the war was changing the role of women in society", and his personal favorite "the contributions of the Irish in the war effort." All of these would be in-depth stories that would run for several days.

Unlike his now weekly column, these stories would have his name on the by-line. It had been decided at their first meeting that it was too dangerous for him to have his name on his weekly column. He didn't want to put himself or his family in danger of any retaliation and he didn't want to lose his job at the Shelbourne. The money he earned from the newspaper was a good supplement to his Shelbourne salary but it wasn't enough to live on and provide for his family. However, with the increased salary from the new work, he might soon be able to quit the job as chauffeur or at least only do it part time. But his job as chauffeur for the Shelbourne was a window onto a world he would otherwise be forbidden to enter and it did provide insights used in his writings as well as information for Michael.

He was financially secure that he could spend two or three days in London. For the first time ever, he would be able to take Sybil out to dinner. At Downton it was forbidden for the two to be together and the idea of dining together in a restaurant was beyond belief. In coming to London, Tom felt he could actually begin to court Sybil, something he would have done years ago if their circumstances had been different, if she really had been just Nurse Crawley and he a chauffeur.

Sybil adjusted her schedule so that she would have the time to spend with Tom. She hadn't requested any leave since she had started working at St. Georges so it was no problem for her to get the time off. She worked an early shift on the day Tom was due to arrive so that they could have the whole evening together.

"Calm down" she told herself as she repinned her hair for the third time. She was so eager to see Tom and wanted to look her best for him. Through their letters, she knew that Tom's love for her hadn't waned, but she was a bit fearful that in her absence he might have imagined her as better than she really was.

"Sybil, I've never seen you so nervous" giggled Margaret. "This fellow must be really special."

"Oh Margaret, I've been in love with Tom for years but was always afraid to let him know. I haven't seen him since he went back to Ireland months ago." Sybil opened up to Margaret giving her more information about Tom than she had to anyone else other than cousin Isobel.

"Why did he leave?" inquired Margaret. Although Margaret and a few of the other nurses knew Sybil regularly received letters from a man, Sybil had never shared much about him with them. They knew he was Irish and had returned to Ireland just before Sybil came to London. Although she had never said anything, all assumed he and Sybil had an understanding because Sybil never displayed any interest in the men in London though not for their lack of trying.

Sybil was somewhat stumped by Margaret's question. She had never told anyone about who she really was and so much of her and Tom's relationship revolved around that. So other than telling them he was handsome, intelligent, and political, she hadn't shared any details of their relationship. She had evaded questions as to what Tom did for a living.

"Tom doesn't believe in this war. He doesn't wish anyone harm, but being Irish he cannot envision fighting in the British army. He returned home before he was conscripted" Sybil finally replied. After all, most of this was true.

"He's wanted to be a journalist for so long. Since I've known him he's always been writing. We've spent so many hours discussing politics and books and history." Sybil continued.

"What does he think of you working as a nurse in London?"

"He's very proud of me. He has always encouraged me in my nursing. When I was working in Yorkshire, I could always count on him to listen to me talk about what I had seen and done that day." Sybil stated with obvious pride in her voice.

"Well he certainly sounds interesting. We will get to meet him?"

"He's only here for two days and I'm not sure what he has planned. He's interested in my work and where I live so I think we might have some time to meet you and everyone." But not before we've spend some time alone thought Sybil.

"How do I look?" Sybil turned around to show her outfit to Margaret. She was dressed simply in a navy blue skirt and pale blue flowered blouse. She wore no jewelry except a pair of sapphire earrings that Tom had once commented he loved because they matched her eyes. Because she wore a uniform, Sybil hadn't brought that many clothes with her to London. She had two evening dresses for when she had to go to Aunt Rosamund's but otherwise her London wardrobe was rather limited. Although that was in relation to Downton, for here Sybil's wardrobe held more clothes, and much finer ones at that, that her fellow nurses.

"Oh Sybil you look beautiful. Honestly, you could wear a burlap sack and still be the most beautiful woman in the room" Margaret answered with no malice or envy in her voice. "I love that blouse. All of your clothes are such fine fabrics. Did you work at a dressmakers before the war?"

"Sybil you have a visitor downstairs" one of the other nurses knocked on Sybil's door before she had a chance to answer Margaret.

"Oh Margaret, I can't believe he's finally here" Sybil beamed looking at her friend.

Sybil wasn't the only one nervous. Tom had a million thoughts as he walked to Sybil's hospital from his hotel. He had dreamed of this moment for months and couldn't believe it was finally going to be a reality. Actually, he had dreamed of this for years, that he could take Sybil out, that he could be with her openly, that he could hold her hand, that he could kiss her, that he could ...

The "guard" at the desk certainly looked Tom over when he stated he was there to meet Nurse Crawley. In all the time Sybil had been at St. Georges she had never had a visitor before.

"I'll ring for her. Visitors are not allowed in the nurses' quarters. You can have a seat while you wait for Nurse Crawley" the woman finally announced while pointing to one of the seating areas. Hearing "Nurse Crawley" two nurses that had just passed him turned around and intently looked at Tom, so much so that he felt he was being appraised. The taller one grinned at him as if pleased to see him.

Tom was too nervous to sit. There were several other men and women sitting in the room with a couple of the women in nursing uniforms. He finally walked to a side of the room where he could see the stairs without being observed. Tom wanted to see Sybil first without her being aware of him watching her.

"Oh Sybil your very handsome fella is waiting for you" Louise grinned as she walked into Sybil's room. "I wouldn't keep him waiting for too long … someone might try to snatch him" she laughed.

"How do I look, Louise?"

"Beautiful. He'll wonder why he's not living in London." Louise playfully answered.

"Do you really think he's handsome?"

"I'd hurry downstairs if I was you. I wouldn't keep a man like that waiting"

Sybil blushed as she thought "if only you knew how long I've kept him waiting." With one final glance at her small vanity mirror, Sybil started to walk out of the room.

"Sybil" called Margaret before Sybil could get out the door. "You're forgetting your sweater and purse." Yes she was nervous.

Tom had waited for what seemed an eternity although in reality it had only been about five or ten minutes. Finally he spotted her and as always she took his breath away. Although he had seen her at Downton in the finest of gowns, she looked even more beautiful than he had imagined. The simplicity of her clothes became her. He loved her in blue since it brought out the beauty of her eyes. But Tom also noticed there was a maturity about her that he hadn't seen before.

Not seeing Tom at first, Sybil glanced apprehensively around the room. Finally he stepped from behind the pillars grinning from ear to ear.

Although she felt like running into his arms, Sybil took the time to walk to Tom drinking in the sight of him with every step. He was, as Louise had commented, so handsome. He was wearing a suit far finer than any she had seen on him before. But it was the smile on his face, the gleam in his lovely blue eyes, that once again captured her hear. When she was finally within arm's reach, she stopped, her eyes misted with the tears of happiness.

"Sybil" Tom called softly. He too stood still with his eyes focused solely on her. "Sybil"

After a moment's hesitation, both forgetting where they were, they were wrapped in each other's arms, not caring if anyone else noticed them. Time stood still for both of them as they let the past months of longing and separation disappear in the warmth and comfort of each other.