/Author's notes: Some fantastic questions from eyeon that I should've made clearer or forgot to say!

1) When Sybbie went to see Dr Clarkson, they weren't proper bruises at that time. It had been about just under 3 months since the attack, so most of it was healed. It was mostly very faint/outlined bruises... the only injuries that were serious were the ones in between her legs and that was because he'd damaged her so badly and she'd waited so long to get checked out. Also, this is set in 1934. Medicine/treatment has come a long way since then.

2) This is something that I should've made clearer too! But was going to bring it up later on in further chapters, William's family is a very well off family based in London with more money than The Crawley's. Whilst The Crawley's are very well off too, most of their money is attached and embedded with the house. William's family have more money readily available on hand to corrupt the police with and also again, times were different back then especially with rape and stuff.

3) Cora and Robert have retired to Scotland, a couple of years before this fanfiction is based. Around about the time when Tom died! I'm planning a fanfiction to explore his death, let me know if that's something you'd be interested in. I'm thinking of introducing Cora and Robert further into the fanfiction.

4) As for Sybbie's education, she was going to the village school. Although, she probably won't have long left due to her age and the time but I'll be exploring that later on. It didn't seem right to include it at the moment.

I hope this has cleared some of it up, thank you so much for reading and commenting, plus asking questions! It makes me want to continue writing!

Matthew paced around his bedroom angrily, Mary looking on in a panic. Sybbie was tucked up in their bed asleep and Alfie was sat on his makeshift bed in their room, his knees curled up under his chin. Alfie let out a small sob and Mary made a beeline to him, wrapping him up in a motherly embrace. Alfie buried his head into her shoulder, his body shaking with quiet sobs.

"How dare he! That bastard, thinking it's ok to take what he wants by force! Well, he won't be laughing when I'm through with him!" He fumed, blushing when Mary shushed him and pointed to Sybbie who was stirring slightly in the bed, he sent an apologetic glance to Mary who had her arms full of a 6ft tall teenager and decided to fume quietly. He was also rather angry that Constable Holmes had just dumped poor Alfie off without really explaining much. When had this happened? How had he found out? Why had Alfie told him on this specific night? He was so proud of this young man; it was hard enough for a girl to be taken seriously when a rape happened, let alone a man it was almost non existent. Yet here he was, admitting what had happened. He was in absolute awe.

"My dear chap," Matthew said softly and sat on the bed, taking a deep breath. He knew he had to have this talk with him, to find out what had happened and when it had happened. He pat the boys back gently in what he hoped with a soothing gesture, he felt a little out of his depth here. Alfie looked up at Mary and Matthew, his eyes red raw. He felt so ashamed and embarrassed, he was bigger than William damn it! Why couldn't he fight him off!

"I'm sorry for just turning up here Mr and Mrs Crawley... I just didn't know where else to go. Mother and Father are away on holiday and I didn't..." He hiccuped pitifully, taking a deep breath when Mary shushed him and rubbed his hair gently, he just wanted his mother.

"Mary and Matthew darling, you don't need to call us Mr and Mrs Crawley! It's ok, you're always welcome here, all of George's friends are. You know that," She said softly. It was true, she had always told all of George's friends that they were welcome to the home at any time, the same went for Sybbie's friends too. Alfie looked a little brighter, wringing his hands nervously. Matthew looked at the young man and smiled encouragingly.

"Alfie, when did this happen? Can you tell us? We won't be angry, we are just so worried about you. This boy is dangerous!" Matthew said softly, keeping his voice down so as not to wake Sybbie up, she really needed her sleep. Alfie looked down, his hands shaking and his heart racing at a million miles an hour.

"It happened three weeks ago... at school," he admitted, taking a deep breath. Of course! The two went to Eaton together, the poor chap; forced to be around a boy who'd hurt him every day and knowing he'd be stuck there with no way back home. Not without saying anything at least.

Matthew took a deep breath, having been to boarding school himself he knew what these places could be like sometimes. He clenched his hands into fists, looking over at Mary who was extremely upset. What the hell was William's problem? The boy who they had known before all of this mess would never in a million years hurt his friends. It was almost like he'd turned into a monster overnight, someone who they barely recognised. Alfie rubbed his eyes and yawned, this conversation could wait until the morning.

"Come on darling, lay down. Get some sleep and we will talk more about this tomorrow," Mary whispered and sat by him, running a soothing hard through his hair. Watching him as he closed his eyes, drifting to sleep she tucked him up in the bed. He looked so young and fragile, it was breaking her heart all of this was. So many people had been hurt and for what?

Mary and Matthew got into bed, one on either side of their surrogate daughter. Sybbie snuggled into them both in her sleep, Mary kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair down. She looked at Matthew and he lovingly kissed Mary on the mouth, he was so in love with her. She was a wonderful woman, a fantastic mother and a wonderful wife. They soon fell asleep too, full of nerves and anticipation for what tomorrow would hold.

By the next morning, Sybbie woke up somewhat refreshed. She had a really peaceful night sleep considering the circumstances and having to relive the trauma over and over again. She sat up in bed and glanced to her left, seeing her surrogate father sleeping peacefully next to her she smiled softly. He had been so good to her, especially over the last few months he deserved to be called her father. That's exactly what he was. She craned her neck more and to her shock, she saw Alfie in the bedroom asleep. What was he doing there?! Seeing him stir awake, she approached him and sat on the bed with him.

"Alf... what happened? When did you get here? Why are you here? Not that I'm unhappy to see you..." She said softly, and she meant it. Alfie was one of her friends, having grown up with him they'd been close and he was jolly good fun. Alfie blinked away his tears and hugged Sybbie tight, relief washing over him seeing one of his good friends.

"Syb... oh god, it's so good to see you! I went to the police last night, it's about William... he hurt me too. I only got the courage to come forward when George wrote to me explaining what he'd done to you. George doesn't know that he's done it to me so please don't tell him, it's just I wrote to him asking why he was being so distant and then he told me everything that had happened back home, I thought I was the only one he hurt. I am so sorry Syb," He muttered, keeping her tight in his arms. Sybbie hugged him back, her eyes filled with tears. That monster had hurt another one of her friends! She hated him so much.

"Oh Alf, what a mess this all is. Where's your mother and father? They must be worried sick about you, I'm so glad you came forward. I am so proud of you," Sybbie whispered and she meant every word of it. Her friend had shown so much courage by coming forward and had helped her by proving that William had a track record of doing this. Alfie pulled away, he wrung his hands nervously.

"They are in France and don't get back until next week. They have no idea that this has happened, they think I'm still at school. I told them I was staying to revise for some exams. I was frightened and didn't want to go back to school after I'd been to the police so I begged him to drop me here, your Aunt and Uncle have always been so kind to me," he admitted and blushed furiously at how weak he sounded. Sybbie clung to his hand tightly, a weird feeling spreading through her stomach.

An hour or so later, Matthew and Mary awoke. A small smile on Mary's face as she saw Sybbie and Alfie curled up into one another, offering a comfort only those two could understand. She thought they looked quite sweet together, she nudged Matthew and giggled when he rolled his eyes at her. A small smile etched on his face.

"Stop meddling will you, I think we will have enough to occupy us over the next however long." He said, fondly. He got up and went into the bathroom, getting washed and dressed for the day. He knew that they still had a lot to discuss with Alfie, especially. Mary went in after him, watching fondly as the two teenagers dozed in each others arms. Offering a comfort that neither Mary or Matthew really could. She soon came out well put together and chatted to Matthew in a low voice, not wanting to disrupt the peacefulness that was existing at this point in time.

Sybbie and Alfie lay there in each others arms, soaking up the comfort that each person was offering. Alfie felt the most comfortable he had in weeks, finally he had someone who understood him and understood what he was going through. He felt a warmth going through his body, he didn't know what it was but all he knew was that he liked this feeling and didn't want it to go away.

Mary approached the two teenagers and smiled fondly, she bent down to their level.

"Good morning, darlings. Are you ready for some breakfast?" She said softly, watching as they both sat up and untangled themselves from each others arms. She smiled as they both nodded and got themselves out of the bed.

"Ok, well Alfie you know where George's room is. You're more than welcome to borrow some clothes from him, they might be a little big but they will have to do. The gong will go off in half an hour, that will be plenty of time to get dressed." She smiled warmly as the boy opened the door, making his way to George's room. She was happy that he felt comfortable in their house to just do whatever he wanted and go wherever he needed to. She looked at Sybbie, her heart full of love. She was so proud of her.

"You have been amazing darling, I'm so proud of you. Alfie is so lucky to have a friend like you," her eyes twinkled. Sybbie knew there was a hidden meaning, but didn't know what that hidden meaning was yet.

Half an hour later, they made their way down to the dining room. Sitting down, they all helped themselves to the array of breakfast foods. Alfie buttered a slice of toast and munched on the corner and Sybbie cracked open a boiled egg, somehow managing to get runny yolk all over the table. The two children giggled and so did Matthew, the sound of laughter was music to his ears.

"What are we going to do with you, you clumsy girl." He said affectionately, wiping up the spilled yolk with a grin. Sybbie blushed and wiped her mouth, smiling a big grin at Matthew. She was so happy this morning, it was the most normal she had felt in ages.

"Sorry Daddy, you know how clumsy I am. You shouldn't be surprised," She said, snuggling into him when he kissed her forehead, love and adoration shining in his eyes. Mary smiled, she loved this. This was the best breakfast that they'd had in so long, it felt so normal. She wished that it could stay like this forever. Alfie put his toast down and took a gulp of orange juice, he suddenly looked a little pale.

"I don't want to go back to school," He whispered his hand clenching and then unclenching. Mary and Matthew understood immediately, Mary reached out and rubbed his back. She got more protective when he leaned into her, his fear was palpable and could be felt throughout the whole room, the poor lad. She didn't want to push him but they needed to know, so that they could tell Constable Holmes everything and hope that they would arrest William.

"Can you tell us what happened, darling?" She said softly, looking on as Sybbie held his hand. She was so proud of her and how much she was helping Alfie, it was something that neither of them could really understand. Mary had been a lot older when she'd been attacked and it had been in different circumstances.

Alfie sat there for ages, looking pale like he was going to throw up. He looked at Mary, Matthew and Sybbie and trembled a little, trying to find the words to tell them what happened. He was ashamed and embarrassed, angry too for not being able to defend himself and most of all, he felt hurt. He was his friend and he'd hurt him badly.

"It was late at night, really late at night. Everyone else had gone to bed except for myself and William. He asked me if I wanted to go and smoke some cigarettes with him... I'd never done it before and I was curious, William's older brother had packed him some in his suitcase, I wish to God that I had said no, I knew no good would come of it," His eyes filled with tears, Mary was angry. She hated the way he was blaming himself for what happened when none of this was his fault, no matter what he had done he didn't deserve this.

"I said yes, we left the dormitory and snuck down to this cellar that's not too far. It's where all the older boys smoke, drink and gamble so we knew the chances are we wouldn't be caught smoking as the boys wouldn't want their secret room found out. We started smoking, I didn't like it much, it made me cough. It was normal at first I guess, until I turned away from him. How stupid could I have been to do that..." He let out a small sob and Sybbie wiped his face, she wished that he hadn't gone through this too, he didn't deserve it.

'I felt someone hit me across my face and I fell down.. I felt this weight on top of me, pulling down my trousers and holding my face into the ground. My nose was bleeding and I told him to get off of me and asked why was he doing that... he said that he'd tried it with a girl and wanted to see what it was like with a boy, I know now that it was Sybbie he'd done it to," he sniffled and so did Sybbie, her heart went funny in her chest and her breath hitched.

"I couldn't get my body to cooperate, I'm bigger than he is! But yet, I was paralysed by fear and all I did was cry like a coward and beg him to stop. He wouldn't of course, he just laughed at me and told me to just enjoy it." He said bitterly and hearing that final part, Sybbie burst into tears her memories coming back in full force. Matthew scooped her up in a hug and rocked her back and forth whilst Mary urged the young boy to continue, he was now in floods of tears.

"He got me naked and said that if I screamed then everyone would think that I like boys... but I don't! I swear I don't! He put his hand on my private area and touched me... my body it betrayed me! It went you know..." He said angrily, Matthew rubbed the young boy's shoulder. He did know what he meant, and he got straight to work to reassure him.

"My dear boy... it was your body's reaction to something natural... it didn't mean that you liked it or wanted it to happen, ok? This wasn't your fault, I'm going to tell you what I told Sybbie. You said no, it was rape ok? He was wrong, so very wrong to do that to you against your will," Matthew said softly with so much understanding whilst also comforting Sybbie who was now incredibly upset.

"He then... oh god, he then put his private parts inside of... well inside of me! I didn't know anything could hurt so much! I screamed, I begged him and no one heard me... well except from one older boy but he walked out, William told him that I was being punished for stealing his cigarettes so he just left me there," Alfie sobbed and Matthew and Mary both growled. How dare they! How dare that boy just walk out and leave him there like that! He was completely and utterly disgusted.

"He kept moving inside me and then he just finished... he left me there. There was blood everywhere and I had to sneak to the showers and wash it away, it hurt so much." He sobbed pitifully and Mary couldn't help it, she hugged him tight. Her eyes filled with tears, so much of it was similar to Sybbie's story. Both of them betrayed by their friend, both hurt by someone who should've cared about them. She looked at Matthew and saw his normally pale face turn beetroot red, he had Sybbie on his knee and was covering her ears. She was now in the midst of a flashback and so was Alfie, he wished they could've been spared this, they were so happy earlier and now it had been taken away.

"Oh my darlings..." Mary muttered, rubbing Alfie's head whilst he sobbed. Apologising profusely for everything that was going on and for dragging them into this mess, Matthew kissed Sybbie's forehead and shushed her. He was trying to keep calm and to keep them calm too, this was nothing short of disgusting. He was again lost for words, so he just stayed quiet. Offering silent comfort to both children until they were calm again.

Later in the evening after a day spent in the library writing letters to George, Mama, Papa and Alfie's parents, Mary heard a loud knock on the door. She got up to answer it and after everything that had happened, Matthew got up with her. He wasn't going to let her answer the door, not on her own. They got there and opened the door, seeing Constable Holmes standing there, they let him in. He rushed in, looking giddy. With what emotion, they couldn't tell but when he opened his mouth, they almost passed out in shock.

"William's been arrested! He... he got caught in the act! He assaulted a first year at Eaton... earlier this morning, he has been transferred to our custody after I explained the situation with Sybbie and Alfie," Constable Holmes took a deep breath, the words rushing out at once.

"I don't think any amount of money will save him now..." he said quietly, not wanting the children to overhear just yet. He couldn't believe their luck, now that animal couldn't say that Sybbie was lying, not with two other victims coming forward.

"Just wait, he will get what's coming to him!" Matthew said, with a growl. It was finally a step in the right direction.