Author's note

As always, thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited this story so far, or liked/reblogged it on Tumblr! It means so much to get your feedback. Please do keep telling me what you think, it really inspires me! :)

I'm sorry it took me longer to post this update than I had planned – my muse took a bit of a holiday recently – but here it is, Tom's explanation of what happened. No time has passed since the end of the last chapter.

Dedicating this update to two lovely people whose encouragement of me and of this story means so much – Yankee Countess and shana-rosee. Thank you both for your wonderful support!

Chapter 19 – The truth will set you free

"We'd better leave them to it," whispered Mary, ushering Matthew and Gwen into the kitchen and closing the door behind them.

Tom walked into the living room, one hand raking through his hair as he came towards Sybil. All he wanted to do was run to her, take her in his arms, kiss her lips, swear his love over and over and beg her to come back to him, but he knew he couldn't do that, not yet. There was a story to tell – he just had to find the right way to begin.

He propped himself on the coffee table in front of the couch where she was sitting. With a wrench, he saw that her face was as pale as his was, and swollen with tears.

He began to speak, his voice rough and strained.

"Thanks for letting me talk to you – I've got a story, it won't take long. Remember when we were at Downton Abbey, and you told me about the first guy you ever dated? Well, I want to do the same thing for you now.

"In my last couple of years of school, I started seeing a girl called Bridie, Bridie Quinlan. She lived two streets away from us, I'd known her since I was a kid. In some ways we were like you and your other Tom – we held hands, we went to school dances together, kissed behind the bicycle sheds, that kind of thing.

"Just before we did our Leaving Cert, she left our school, left Dublin altogether. She didn't even say goodbye, she just went without a word, and I had no idea where she was. I was gutted for a while after that – she was my first love, I guess. It's one of the reasons I came to university in England, to get away from the memories of her. Gradually she faded away from my mind and that was it, or so I thought – after a while, I hardly thought of her any more, I got on with my life."

"Why are you telling me this now? What's this girl got to do with you and... what happened? Edna said, the mother of your child..."

"Edna? What are you talking about?" He took her hand. "What you saw on the stairs that night wasn't what you thought, it was all a big misunderstanding."

"What do you mean? How could I misunderstand that?"

"Because Bridie and I didn't just hold hands. For our last couple of months together, we were having sex. I never knew it, but when she left Dublin years ago she was pregnant, with my child. She came to London after all this time, to tell me. It was her on the stairs that night!"

"Whaaa... but how, why didn't you ever tell me about this?"

"My mother hid the whole thing from me! Bridie left a letter for me when she moved away which Mam never gave me, and she tried to call me a couple of times but I never got the messages. Mam thought it best for me not to know anything about it, you know how she likes to try and control my life. Bridie gave up after a while, figured I didn't want to know." Tom frowned, thinking about what his mother had done.

Sybil looked up, not yet meeting his eyes, staring across the room, but not taking her hand from his.

"So you and Bridie have... a child?"

"We have a child together, yes, a boy I never knew existed. He's five, his name is Oliver."

"Why did she come to tell you about him now, after all this time?"

"Because she's getting married and she wanted me to know, so she thought she'd have one last try at finding me and telling me. This time, thank God, my mother told her where I am – I guess she's finally realised I need to live my own life, after the last time we fought when she tried to warn you away from me.

"Mam gave Bridie our address and she came to London to tell me about Oliver, and that's when you saw her, that night. After I chased you down the street, I came upstairs and found her waiting outside our door. She came in for a cup of tea and told me everything. That gave me an idea what happened, although I didn't know you thought she was Edna, that never crossed my mind. Anyway, since then I've done nothing but try to see you, to explain."

He took her other hand. "Sybil, look at me, please, look at me. That's the whole story. Please come back to me... I love you so much!"

Tom's voice broke a little on the last words. Sybil looked at him fully for the first time, and he saw her accepting what he had said - she knew he was telling her the truth, he could see it. Holding his hands tightly, tears falling down her cheeks, she spoke.

"Tom... oh, I feel awful now! I jumped to conclusions, she looked just like Edna that night, it was dark, and the way she said 'mother of your child' – I honestly didn't hear much more after that, I went into shock."

"I can understand why you would have been so shocked, not knowing the truth – how could you, I didn't even know it! I'm so sorry for all the pain and suffering you went through, I'd do anything to have spared you that."

He knelt down on the floor in front of her, still holding her hands, running his thumbs over her knuckles, and staring up into her face.

"Let me spell it out for you. There was never anything between me and Edna, or anyone else, since we met, and there never will be. You're the love of my life, Sybil – I only want to be with you, forever. I'd do anything if we could just go back to the way we were – I've never been so happy as I have these last months with you. Please, my love, please – come home to me, live with me again."

He cleared his throat. There was one more thing he had to ask, to understand.

"I wish I knew why you thought there was even a possibility of me cheating on you, with Edna or with anyone. I would never do that, not in a million years! I've done everything I can to show you how much I love you. Could I have done more to convince you?"

"It's my issue, Tom. I worry sometimes about being a few years older than you, how you might want to find a girl your own age one day. My sisters will say something, or one of your friends, and there was that awful lunch with your mother... I let it get to me more than I should and it made me feel insecure sometimes, I don't know why. And then when Edna... well, the girl I thought was Edna said she was the mother of your child – I just assumed the worst."

"Sybil, listen to me." He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed the back of each one before he went on, wanting to get this right.

"Don't you understand, darling, don't you see? You're the one I love, I don't care if you are 18 or 80, I'd still love you and I always will. You're the one for me, I've known it since the minute I met you. I don't even think about the difference in our ages, I never have, because it doesn't matter to me. Truly, it doesn't. Please believe me."

Tears were pouring down Sybil's cheeks now. She fell forward onto the floor where Tom was still kneeling before her and moved into his arms, putting her head on his shoulder. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, comforting her as her tears flowed freely and shedding a few of his own, tears to wash away the pain of their separation.

Then, she lifted her head and looked at him. He gently traced the path of a tear down her cheek with his thumb while his other arm tightened around her waist.

"Sweetheart, will you come home? My life has been absolute hell without you. Will you come back with me now, and be with me again, the way we were, please? I've missed you so fucking much."

She didn't speak – she just nodded. Then, she moved slowly to kiss his eyes, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, lingering in each tender place.

"I believe you, I promise I'll never doubt you again," she murmured between kisses.

Last of all, she kissed his mouth. It was a gentle kiss at first, but soon her tongue was pushing past his lips to find his as the passion rose up between them, stronger than ever. A moan escaped her as he ran his hand up under her shirt, touching the smooth skin of her back and making her tremble.

God, she feels so good...

The door to the sitting room opened, and Mary put her head around it.

"Darling, is everything all right? It went all quiet in here... oh, I see, sorry! I might have known."

"Mary! It's all OK, it was a big mistake, everything's OK now. I'll tell you the story tomorrow, but right now I just want to go home, home to Tom." Sybil was in Tom's lap on the floor by now, his arms tightly around her.

"I'm so happy for you, darling." Mary turned back towards the other two to tell them the good news.

Matthew took Mary's place at the door, and Sybil smiled at him.

"Matthew, thank you, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, we may never have talked. Thanks for believing in us!"

"I'd have been mad not to, quite frankly. I mean, look at the pair of you. You're so obviously in love! I'm just glad you were able to sort things out." He looked at Mary, who nodded. "Why don't I run you home? You both look shattered."

"Thanks, that would be great," she smiled.

At those words, Mary came into the room, with a little bag of the things she had collected for Sybil. Sybil stood up and Matthew and Mary pulled her into a hug.

Gwen came into the room behind Mary, a tear shining in her eye, and Tom rose to hug her too.

"I can never thank you enough for convincing Sybil to talk to me. I owe you so much for that!"

"Any time, my friend – you two are so clearly meant for each other."

Matthew went to get his keys and Tom stood next to Sybil, his hand in hers. The three of them headed downstairs and got into Matthew's sleek black BMW. The journey was quiet – Sybil and Tom spent it in each other's arms, silent, faces buried in each other's shoulders, clinging on for dear life.

Before long, the car was pulling up outside their Islington flat. Tom got out, reaching in to take Sybil's hand and pick up her bag. Sybil leaned in the window to kiss Matthew goodbye, while Tom waved to him before opening the front door.

They came into the hallway of their flat and turned on the light. Tom turned to Sybil, smiling and touching her cheek with his hand, as if to be sure she was really there.

"What do you want to do now?"

She looked at him – "Do you know what I'd really love? A warm bubble bath."

"No problem – on the way." He went into the bathroom to turn on the taps, pouring in some of her favourite bath foam, then to the kitchen to make her some tea.

When he returned with the steaming cup, she was already in the bath, head resting on the end, eyes already half closed, cheeks flushed from the heat. To him, she looked like Venus rising from the waves, and he caught his breath at her beauty.

At his entry into the room, she opened her eyes and reached out her hand. "Aren't you going to join me?"

In one minute flat, his clothes were on the floor and he was climbing into the tub with her, settling down behind her and holding her close.

For a while, they just rested in the water, Tom relearning the curves of Sybil's body with his fingers, his lips finding each pleasure point on her shoulders and throat. She stretched and sighed –"Oh God, I missed this. I missed you so much."

"Me too, sweetheart. I'm so happy you're home with me, where you belong."

She leaned forward to get the shampoo bottle and he took it from her hands – "Let me do it for you."

He pulled her back towards him, massaging the shampoo through her hair, gently running his fingernails across her scalp and feeling her shiver at his touch. She lifted her face to the ceiling, tilting her head back as he poured a jug of fresh water from the tap over her head, then another. Then, he ran his fingers through the long strands, roughly coming her hair out, and twisted it into a tousled knot on top of her head.

She turned around in his arms when he was done, splashing some water over the side, and their lips met. The kiss was gentle at first but it didn't take long for things to heat up between them. Soon, she was pushing her way into his lap and wrapping her legs around his waist. Their eyes locked and, for a moment, they held their breaths. Then, he eased her up and down, feeling his cock slide into her and letting out a ragged groan as she settled onto him and began to move.

He couldn't stop touching her – his lips teasing her nipples, his fingers stroking her clit, his other hand grabbing her arse. She closed her eyes as her head fell backwards, tightening her grip on him, drawing him even more deeply into her.

They pushed each other higher and higher, drawing out the joy of their reunion for as long as they could. Then, she shifted her hips a little, raising her hands above her head, ready to abandon herself to him completely. He held her tightly as she came, her core contracting around him again and again, pushing him over the edge as well. Crying out her name – I love you, I love you, I love you – his head sank down on her shoulder. His arms stayed around her, holding on as hard as he could, never wanting to let go.

By this time, the water was almost cold. Tom moved Sybil out of his lap so he could stand and got out of the bath. He leaned over to pick her up, wrapping her in a towel and carrying her to their bed. He dried them both off quickly then pulled the duvet up to cover them.

She curled up in his arms, turning over one shoulder to kiss him as she snuggled down. "I'm so glad to be home, I love you so much, darling," she murmured, yawning widely before she fell asleep.

He held her close all through the night as they slept, legs twined together, one hand resting on her stomach, his lips pressed to the nape of her neck. When before dawn she woke him, rolling him onto his back, letting her hair cloak them as they shared long, lazy kisses, he let himself believe he hadn't been dreaming – Sybil was really back in his arms, and the flat was home again.

A/N –

Well there you go – I hope you enjoyed Sybil and Tom's reconciliation. The next chapter will have a STEAMM theme so look out for it on or about 14 September! Nothing like a deadline to concentrate the mind. :)