A/N: The Bransons spend their last hours at Downton. This fic will be updated in quick succession since it is a birthday fic for the amazing PiperHolmes and it is at least eight chapters long.
Thanks to Tripp3235 for a quick beta. Same universe as The Journey to Happiness and Branson and Crawley and one where Sybil and Matthew live and Edith marries Sir Anthony in 3x03 (which is a slight change from an earlier chapter of Branson and Crawley). It's AU after all, why not!
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Downton Abbey characters belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV. I'm just playing with them.
Chapter 4 - Last Hours at Downton
Thankfully, Sybil and Tom were able to return to their room at Downton with time to spare. The baby had awoken on the walk to the main house and so sharing a bath was out of the question. After feeding her one last time, they handed the baby over to Anna for the duration of the meal. Dinner with the Dowager Countess went as well as was expected. She asked some pointed questions about the cottage and their domesticity. Lord Grantham only spoke of the cricket match on Saturday and Lady Grantham announced that a telephone would be installed at the cottage in the next several weeks and invited them for dinner after the cricket match.
When they returned to their room and relieved Anna of baby duty, Tom grumbled about having to play cricket in two days time. Opening the door to their room, Tom said, "I don't see why I have to play. I never played before when I was the chauffeur."
"We've already discussed that it would mean a great deal to Papa," said Sybil, following her husband into their room. Looking at Anna who was rocking a slightly fussy baby, she added, "Don't you think Tom should play in the cricket match since they are a man short?"
Turning her gaze to Sybil and Tom, Anna smiled. "I know that Mr. Bates would play if he was able. I'm certain that Mr. Branson would be a fine addition to the team."
"See, Anna thinks you'll do fine." Sybil gave her husband a look. Seeing her daughter turn fussier, she added, "Let me have her, Anna. She's probably getting hungry. How was she otherwise?"
"Little Miss Branson was a darling." said Anna, smiling. "She had wet and dirtied herself soon after you left and I changed her. She only started to fuss about a minute or two ago. I was waiting to see if I could settle her before I came for you. Did you need help with undressing to feed Little Miss Branson?"
"No, thank you, Anna. Tom and I can manage." Sybil smiled at the lady's maid.
"Have a good night then, Lady Sybil, Mr. Branson." Anna then left the family to themselves.
Once the door closed, Sybil handed Tom the baby while she took off the pregnancy dress she had worn to dinner and opened the flap in her nursing chemise. Sitting on the bed leaning against the headboard, she pulled one of the pillows from behind her and placed it on her lap before Tom handed her the baby and she laid the baby there to nurse. Smelling the milk, the baby immediately latched on when Sybil brought her to the breast and soon she could feel herself relax and let down
Turning back to the conversation about cricket, Sybil asked, "Haven't you been practicing with Matthew?"
Tom was undressing while Sybil fed the baby. "I have, but I'm still not very good at the game. Would your father appreciate it if I played poorly, especially since all he's been talking about is how we lost to the village last year?"
"So long as you do your best, I don't think Papa would mind," said Sybil, caressing the baby's head. "It's better than if he were a man short because then we'd then lose by forfeiture. With you playing, at least the house would have a fighting chance."
"I suppose you have a point," said Tom, smiling at his wife, who always knew what best motivated him. Folding his trousers, he carefully hung them up in the wardrobe.
"Did you order your cricket whites?" asked Sybil, playing with her precious daughter's toes absentmindedly.
"Matthew had Mr. Moseley alter one of his trousers from last year and I ordered the slipover last week though it still has not arrived," Tom admitted. He felt ridiculous in some of the various costumes the English peerage wore, but he knew how it would please his wife since they were stuck in England near her family for the foreseeable future.
"So you wouldn't want to waste the money we spent on the slipover or the effort Moseley spent on altering Matthew's clothes for you, would you?" asked Sybil sweetly.
"No, I wouldn't." Tom was always surprised how often Sybil managed to change his mind without raising her voice. He then pulled his pajama trousers on.
"It's settled then." Sybil looked at her handsome husband lovingly.
"I guess it is," Tom answered reluctantly while he hung up his jacket and waistcoat and placed them into the wardrobe.
"Would you mind stoking the fire?" asked Sybil. "The nights are getting colder and it's a little chilly just in this chemise."
"Of course," said Tom, walking to the fireplace. "Why didn't you say so before? Is Nora warm enough?"
Touching the baby's cheeks, Sybil said, "She's fine. She's always warm, especially with the blankets Anna used to wrap her." Sybil then reached over to the glass of water Tom had poured and drank all of it to help with her supply.
Tom walked from the fireplace, where a fire was now roaring, and poured Sybil a new glass of water. He knew from Dr. Byrne that to keep her supply flowing, Sybil needed to drink several glasses especially during the last feeding of the night. Picking up the dress Sybil had discarded in her rush to feed the baby, he hung it up in the wardrobe for her and brought out her nightgown and laid it by the foot of the bed. Once he was done, Tom went to his side of the bed and sat down beside his wife and daughter. "So this is our last night here?"
"I can't wait until we're in the cottage tomorrow night," said Sybil, who just burped the baby and switched her to the other breast.
"Then we can live as we choose." Tom smiled at the thought. Their antics that afternoon had thoroughly relaxed him. "What are the plans for tomorrow?"
"I'll pack up our things in the morning and head over to the cottage with Beth to unpack the rest of the items that arrived yesterday, while we wait for our things to be brought over. Mama offered to send dinner over and I graciously accepted since it will likely take me until then to finish putting away all the items. I'm still not sure what to do with the crates. Seems a waste to dispose of them since we paid a premium."
"Why don't we store them in one of the empty rooms upstairs until we have use for them?" Tom looked at his wife. "We'll likely need them in a year's time since we agreed that I'd only stay in the job long enough to build our nest egg. It won't matter if they collect dust in that time."
"I'm certain Beth and I won't be able to get them upstairs." Sybil stroked the baby's cheek to wake her up to finish her meal.
"Why don't you ask whomever is moving our things to help with the crates?" Tom stared at the baby's tiny toes. "It's unlikely that they'd refuse a request from a daughter of the house."
"You're right. I could ask them." Sybil looked at Tom with admiration. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Probably because you've been managing both our move and our daughter at the same time." Tom looked at his wife with love. "When she's done, let me change her and put her to bed, and you sleep. I know you've not been napping at all this week and she was up twice on Tuesday night."
"But you have to work tomorrow." Sybil looked as if she was about to fall asleep any second.
"Leave that to me." Tom smiled. Seeing that the baby was done with her meal, Tom took her from Sybil, who quickly changed into her nightgown and snuggled down under the covers and was asleep before Tom managed to unwrap the sleeping baby.
Before long, Tom succeeded in changing his daughter without waking her. After swaddling her tightly, he placed her in the bassinet by the bed and moved it to his side of the bed so it would be easier to retrieve the baby when she woke up during the night. This way would give Sybil some extra time to sleep.
He then went to bed, turned off the lights and spooned his wife before falling blissfully asleep.
The following morning Sybil was refreshed from a good night's rest. Tom had brought the baby to her when she woke up around half past five wanting a meal. Sybil managed to sleep nurse the baby once she latched and Tom was able to return Nora to the bassinet after she was done.
When she woke from the baby crying again, Tom was just dressing for the day. He brought Nora to her and she nursed her on the side that the baby didn't take on the overnight. "If you can wait a little, I'll come with you to breakfast. I'll bring the basket for the baby."
"Don't you want to have breakfast in bed one last time?" asked Tom while he finished the knot for his tie.
"Not today." Sybil looked at her dashing husband. "There are so many things I must accomplish before Beth and I head to the cottage this morning, besides I enjoy eating with you. I have no time to leisurely eat breakfast and if we're early we can eat and run before Papa arrives. When I'm done nursing her, can you change her while I get dressed?"
"Of course." Tom smiled at his wife. "Can I help with anything while you nurse her?"
"Could you please pack up the necessities bag with nappies, cloths and a couple of changes of clothes for the baby and place it in the baby basket. Can you also ready a fresh gown for her? She's been in this since the bath with me last night and it smells soiled. We should be done by then."
Tom proceeded to do as Sybil asked while their daughter nursed. Just when he laid out the fresh gown for the baby, Sybil handed her to him. Not entirely surprising, Nora had soiled herself and managed to dirty the gown in the process. After carefully cleaning the mess, he placed the nappy in the bucket and the dirtied gown in the laundry. By the time he had her clean and dressed, Sybil had changed and was ready for the new day.
Carson was surprised to see Sybil and the baby down for breakfast that morning. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Lady Sybil?"
"Too many things to accomplish today, Carson." Sybil smiled at the butler. "Who will be bringing our things to the cottage?"
"A couple of the hall boys," said Carson. "Though I haven't decided whether it will be James or Alfred who will be supervising."
"Excellent," said Sybil. "Please let them know that I'll require help with moving some crates upstairs."
"Of course, my lady," said Carson, who had been eying the baby. "How is little Miss Branson this morning?"
"She's in a fine mood." Sybil smiled at Carson. "Just fed and changed. Would you care to hold her?"
"May I?" asked Carson. It was the first time he had been asked to hold the precious granddaughter, though he had been yearning to since the day she was born.
"Here you are," Sybil gently handed the baby over to Carson. "You look like a natural. Have you managed babies before?"
"I held you at various times, my lady," said Carson, admiring the bundle in his arms. "You were the sweetest baby."
Sybil blushed. She knew that Mary was Carson's favorite, so for him to tell her she was the sweetest baby was indeed a compliment. "You can place her in the basket, if you need to do something else or when you tire of holding her."
"I could never tire of holding little Miss Branson, my lady." Carson smiled at Nora who was looking intently at the stranger who held her.
Sybil then filled her plate and joined her husband at the table.
Tom looked over at Carson who was walking and rocking the infant girl. "I never expected Mr. Carson to be so comfortable with babies or that he would want to hold Nora."
"Neither did I." Sybil grinned. "But he was staring at her the whole time I was speaking to him that I couldn't graciously deprive him of the opportunity to hold her."
"Perhaps we have someone else interested in watching her should the occasion arise." Tom grinned at the thought.
"Perhaps." Sybil reached over to squeeze Tom's hand. "Let's eat quickly before Papa and the others come down. I need the time to pack up our belongings before Beth and I head out to the cottage. What are your plans for today?"
"I have to look at some of the farms at the other end of the estate." Tom returned the hand squeeze. "I might arrive home later than usual. Will you be all right?"
"It'll just provide me more time to have the cottage in order," said Sybil. "Do you have an idea when that will be? I might as well ask that they bring our dinner later so that it's not cold when you arrive home."
"I should be home by seven o'clock." said Tom, who kept a surreptitious eye on Carson and the baby. "Isn't it lovely we now have a place to call home again?"
"It is," said Sybil, smiling at her husband.
They then ate the rest of their breakfast in companionable silence.
A/N2: I'm sure that the Bransons were ready to start living in their new home. Thanks for reading! I hope you had a lovely birthday, Piper!