It had been a week since the incident with William's father and both Mary and Matthew were growing increasingly worried about Sybbie. She had not said a single word since that night. She had shut down completely, staying in her room and refusing to come out for meals or to talk to her family. Matthew and Mary for that matter could've killed William's father for what he had done to their little girl, how dare he after everything his son had put her through. Just as they were making progress with her, he had to come along and ruin it.

True to his word, the day after the incident Matthew had rung the police and requested that they come out and deal with the entire situation. He had been less than impressed with the way they had handled it, or not handled it as it turned out. Anger boiled through his veins as he remembered the interaction.

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?!" Matthew slammed his hand down on the desk, making Mary jump in the process. He sent an apologetic glance her way, silently fuming as he processed what the police were saying. Nothing they could do? What! After everything that family had done to his children! To his wife, to him! He was getting angrier and angrier as the police spoke.

"Well there's not really enough evidence to do anything about it," the police officer said as he glanced at his colleague who was clearly in full agreement with him. Matthew glared daggers at both men, getting more and more irate about the situation. How could they not believe his little girl! His little Sybbie who was completely and utterly traumatised. They had seen the way she had flinched and refused to speak, crying out when they even mentioned William's name and the name of William's father.

"All you have to do is look at my little girl and see that something isn't right! That bastard raped her, he took her innocence and her virtue! That monster was supposed to be her friend, he has been in my children's life since they were born! Then his father had the nerve to come to OUR home and terrorise her. She now won't let anyone touch her, she won't talk! You saw that, so how can you say that you can't do anything?!" Matthew growled, his paternal instinct coming out in full force before he could reign it in. Mary smiled slightly when Matthew called Sybbie his little girl, because for all intents and purposes she was. He'd stepped up after Tom died, always loved and protected her as one of his own from the start. She was so proud of him.

"Well, she's hardly a little girl is she and you're only her uncle and not her father so you jolly well need to calm down. Just because she regrets an intimate encounter, doesn't mean that she needs to ruin a young boy's life," The police officer who spoke first said, no empathy no compassion in his voice at all. Matthew nearly lunged over the table, only stopping himself when he felt Mary's hand grip his arm.

"That girl is the closest thing that I will ever have to a daughter, she's 14 years old! She was still playing with dolls before that monster hurt her! Her father died two years ago, I am the closest thing she has to a father and my wife, her aunt is the closest thing to a mother after her sister died giving birth to her. Look at her, you only have to look at her to see that this wasn't a consensual liaison! She's broken, this is 1934... you need to stop living in the past and arrest that bastard for raping her and his father for intimidation!" Matthew was shaking with anger, how dare they say that Sybbie wasn't his little girl!

The second police officer looked on uncomfortably, if it was solely up to him then he would at least talk to the young man in question. It was clear that something had happened to the girl, but it wasn't up to him. The boy and his family were too well off for the police to even visit, their commanders would take both of their jobs without question. In all honesty, he felt sorry for the family and he wished that there was something he could do.

"We're sorry Mr Crawley but there is nothing we can do about it," he said and stood up, quickly grabbing his colleague before he could say something else offensive. Matthew nodded his head firmly, still silently fuming but knowing that he wasn't getting anywhere. He got up and showed the policemen out, turning to Mary with a sigh.

"They keep letting her down, time and time again" he buried his face into Mary's shoulder and they both wept.

It had been a mess since the police had gone, Sybbie was even more of a shell than she was before. She hadn't said a word to the pair of them, not even to George! He in the end had decided to go back to Radley because he couldn't cope with Sybbie's silence and the way she was isolating herself off from the whole family. Whilst Mary and Matthew had been upset by George's decision, they ultimately understood... he was only 15 after all and if they were struggling then he must be struggling even more. He'd been gone for 3 days now and they missed him terribly.

Sybbie felt completely and utterly numb, she couldn't process anything that was going on around her. She didn't want to be touched, she didn't want to eat or be alive if she was being honest with herself. She just spent her days up in her room, laying on her bed all day and sobbing quietly to herself so that they wouldn't hear her. She'd already screwed up their lives, all she did was ruin everyone else's lives. She would never forgive herself, she just wanted her mama and papa back. Everything would be ok if they were here, she missed them so much and it hurt.

An idea struck her, she got up out of bed and put on her coat. She was going to visit her mama and papa's grave right now, she didn't care that it was now the middle of the night or that her aunt and uncle would probably be wondering where she was. She just wanted to talk to her mama and papa and nothing was going to stop her.

She opened the door to her bedroom quietly and shut the door, slowly walking down the staircase and opening the door. She stepped out, shutting the door behind her and she ran. She ran as fast as she could down the driveway and through the gate, running along down the street and to the church yard. She stopped for a minute to get her breath back, hot tears slid down her face and her heart ached. She wanted it to stop, she couldn't bare to feel like this anymore... a disappointment and a failure. She walked to where her parents were both buried, taking a seat in front of the stone. She burst into sobs, heart wrenching sobs.

"I need you mama! He hurt me so badly! In between my legs.. it still hurts now! Aunt Mary and Uncle Matthew say that it's something called rape, that it wasn't my fault but why do I feel like it is my fault? I'm damaged goods now... I'm so sorry mama and papa, I'm sorry! I never meant for this to happen! For any of it... speaking of Aunt Mary and Uncle Matthew, they've been so good to me and they look after me so well. I have started to call them Mummy and Daddy, you don't mind do you? It just seemed so natural... I'll never replace you, it's just..." She heard footsteps and turned around, seeing Mary and Matthew standing there clearly having heard every word she said.

Mary and Matthew had awoken with a start, something seemed off. They couldn't pinpoint it, it was just a gut feeling that they had. Mary was out of bed in a moment, throwing on some clothes with Matthew quickly speeding behind her. They got to Sybbie's room, Mary pounding on the door gently.

"Sybbie, are you awake?" She said softly, not expecting a response exactly but she didn't feel right just barging into her room without knocking first. She waited a few minutes for some acknowledgement or even a bit of movement. Having received none of that, Mary opened the door with Matthew barging in behind her. She gasped, looking at the empty bed and seeing her coat gone, she freaked out.

"Matthew! She's gone! Where could she have gone? Oh God, not our little girl!" Mary was clutching Matthew's dressing gown, clinging to him tightly. He soothingly rubbed her back, kissing her forehead and shushing her gently. He was trying to think in his mind all the places she would go, places that she wouldn't be scared of given her mindset at the moment. He could only come up with one place.

"Sybil and Tom's grave..." Matthew said softly, looking at Mary and stroking her face. Of course! It was the only logical place, especially at this time of night. Mary ran down the stairs quickly, Matthew only having a second to grab his coat from the rack and throw it on his body and dart out of the door after his wife. The cold night air felt nice against his face, running fast to try and catch up to his wife's pace, he quickly stopped her and hushed her quietly. She looked indignant, why had he stopped her? It was only when he pointed that she saw Sybbie sitting there cross legged on the floor, sobbing her heart out.

They moved closer to the little girl, quietly so as not to startle her. A lump formed in Matthew's throat as he heard what the poor child was saying, 'he hurt me in between my legs... they say it's not my fault' and the one that hurt him the most, 'I've started to call them Mummy and Daddy, you don't mind do you?' The heartbreak in her voice, the uncertainty, wanting the approval of her dead parents was making his heart ache and by the look on Mary's face hers as well. They approached her, watching as she turned around and backed away from them, hiding herself in her coat.

"Sybbie... we aren't angry with you sweetheart, please don't hide away," Mary said softly and got on her knees, slowly edging closer to her and stroking her cheek with her hand. Sybbie just sat there unmoving, blinking up at her aunt with tears dripping down her face. This was too much, she couldn't do this. She couldn't be a disappointment, not anymore. She let out a wail.

"I want mama! I just want my mama, I want papa! Please..." She sobbed, crying like she had done after those nightmares. Matthew couldn't take it anymore, he slowly picked the girl up and hugged her tight. She was absolutely freezing cold he opened up his coat and wrapped it around her, gaining in confidence when she nuzzled into his chest instead of pulling away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed pitifully, clutching on for dear life.

"I just want to die! I want to die... I'm a burden don't you see that!" Sybbie sobbed pitifully, screaming about how she was better off dead instead of burdening them. Matthew almost dropped her in shock and Mary nearly fell over, Matthew glanced at Mary and shook his head. He could tell that his wife was ready to give their surrogate daughter a good shake, this could wait. First they needed to get home and into the warm. All conversations could wait.

After around an hour, they had got home and were in Matthew and Mary's bedroom by the fireplace. Matthew had Sybbie cradled on his lap like a child and Mary grabbed a throw blanket and wrapped it around the three of them, her heart breaking as she heard Sybbie's whimpers, sobs and hiccups. She smoothed the little girl's hair from her face, smothering her with kisses and soothing words. She looked down at the little girl, she looked so sad and so frightened.

"Sybbie... did you mean it? When you said you wanted to die?" Mary said softly, stroking her cheek with the back of her hand. Sybbie nodded and sobbed slightly, burying her face into Matthew's chest. They both gasped looking down at her, not their little girl. She didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve to feel this broken.

"I just feel sad and in pain all the time... I feel..." She hid her face as though she was ashamed, Matthew tilted her chin up so that she was looking into his eyes. All she saw was love and concern in his eyes, she hiccuped pitifully as he rocked her in his arms. Keeping her safe from harm.

"It's ok sweetheart, Mummy and Daddy are listening" He soothed and wiped her tears away with his thumb. She hugged him tight, feeling even safer when she felt her Aunt's arms wrapped around her too. She sighed happily, not wanting to leave their embrace now that she was in it.

"I feel empty like everyone would be better off if I was dead.. I'm sorry! Please don't hate me!" She was so embarrassed and she looked down all over again, Matthew shushed her softly and kept rocking her within his arms. Feeling her beginning to warm up, he moved over to the bed and placed her in between them both.

"Shhh.. Shhh... there is nothing you could do that would make us hate you, do you hear me? We love you so much, you will always be our little girl. No matter what ok? Daddy's listening..." Matthew said softly and hugged her tight.

"Daddy..." She hiccuped and snuggled in between them both, feeling safe and secure in their arms.

"Daddy's here, Daddy's got you" he soothed, watching her close her eyes and fall asleep safe in their arms. They felt so much better, their little girl was home and safe. Right where she needed to be.

Not long after they got her to sleep, the phone rang. Mary quickly covered Sybbie's ears as Matthew answered it, perplexed at who it could be at this time of night.

"Mr Crawley? It's Constable Holmes... yes, the nicer policeman. I've been thinking about everything you said and well I want to help, I want to get this boy!" He bit his lip, nervously waiting for the future earl to answer him. Matthew stared at Mary in shock and a small smile spread across his face.

"Ok yes, that would be great! Can you come to Downton tomorrow afternoon? Ok, thank you. We will see you then," Matthew put the phone down, shock spread across his face.

"That was Constable Holmes, he wants to help us put William away!"