Downton Abbey A Journey to Ireland

A/N: This is my first attempt to write a Sybil x Branson story. On tumblr I divided it in chapters but I prefer it this way. Still, I hope you'll like it.

**A Journey to Ireland:**

Sybil was looking outside the window, trying to memorize every single detail of the Irish landscape that passed by, as the car went further on. She and Tom chose Ireland as the destination for their brief summer holiday because Tom wanted to show Sybil his motherland, and Sybil had never been in Ireland. Never in her entire life. It was a little weird, if one thought about it: the Crawley family had traveled around the world, seen exotic places and yet they never took a ferry or plane to visit the nearby island. She made a mental note to herself to ask her parents the reason of it, it was impossible that they did it because they didn't find the landscape beautiful: from what she saw until now, it was the complete opposite. And although she just arrived, she already fell in love with the spectacular view in front of her. It was a pity that she didn't come sooner but it was due to a lack of time and money. Of course she could have asked her parents but that would have meant to ask them for something, and she was trying to show them (and until now she was doing well) that she could handle life alone, that she could do it without any help.

"Enjoying what you see?" asked Tom.

He was sure that Sybil would have fallen in love with the Irish landscape and that was the reason he decided to take a slightly longer road, that passed through the Irish country side and the little villages along the road. He took the decision after seeing Sybil's enthusiasm and anticipation in seeing it for real, not only in photographs, and didn't bother him: as much as he loved living in a big city, his motherland would have always had a special place in his heart.

"A lot! You know, the idea of spending a week doing trekking and exploring is really great. I'm sure it'll be my best holiday ever" Sybil replied with a smile.

A lot of people would have thought it strange, her saying that walking around would have been her best holiday ever. Especially if they knew how she spent the holidays when she still lived at Downton with her parents. But Tom could understand it easily, after all it was Sybil who was talking and she had always striven for normal things, a normal life.

"I'm happy to hear it"

"You probably think that it sounds rather unlikely. It's just…"

How could she explain it? Seen from the outside her life would have seen tempting: comfort, luxury, money. But for her it was all to suffocating, she didn't see it as a real life, it wasn't satisfactory and of course it depended on people but she just couldn't do it anymore. She developed a profound hate for the life she had lived.

"It's just… I love to keep myself busy, I love to arrive tired at the end of the day because this way I know that I have done something. That I didn't just sit there making presence and nothing more. I'd rather walk around the whole day than and see something new than just going abroad in high luxury hotels and attend dinners."

It felt good explaining everything to Branson. He did know something about her family and her decision to detach herself from them, living in another place and pursuing her dream of independence and fulfillment, but each time she managed to open up a little more she felt better and it was like she gave Tom the chance to understand her better.

Nearly a year and a half, a year and a half since they begun to have a more serious relationship, and Tom felt like there were still so many things they had to find out one from the other, it all came to surface slowly and it was something Branson liked. He could have spent the rest of his life trying to find out everything about Sybil Crawley. And he knew that it may have sound stupid but he just fell head over heels in love with her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"I guess no one expects that. But I couldn't say, I was never lured by high rank society" he replied. Then silence fell between them again and Sybil returned to admire the landscape. Every time she looked at it, she liked it more.

"And here we are!" exclaimed Tom, turning left and entering the small village. He parked the car on the roadside.

"We have to make a plan" he stated. "We can drive to the cottage now and do the shopping later, or we can do the shopping now. You pick"

Sybil thought about it for a moment, she was opting for the second option which would have been the more practical one but she could hardly hold her enthusiasm back. She wanted to see the place where they would have lived for the oncoming weeks, see if it was just as she imagined it, if it was like she expected it.

"Cottage, definitely!"

"Someone's a little eager" joked Tom.

"Oh Tom, if you lived my life you would know how I feel" she sighed.

"Well then…"

He started the car again and drove through the streets he knew well, he entered the driveway and parked the car.

Sybil opened her mouth for wonder, she was literally flabbergasted. The cottage was very small, it had bright flowers on the front porch, decorating the entering.

Tom nearly laughed at Sybil's reaction: the look on her face was priceless.

"What?"

"Nothing. You. Let's get inside" said Tom opening the door.

Sybil run inside, she wanted to explore every corner of the small space. She admired the small kitchen, the even smaller living room, the bathroom and the bedroom. Everything twice. This was how she always dreamed to spend her holidays, this was all she ever wanted but never had the opportunity. The space was small, comfy and cozy.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love it!" she screamed as she run to him, to kiss him.

This was really going the best holiday of her life.

* * *

The sun was shining through the window, creating a golden pattern all around. Sybil slowly opened her eyes and wiped the last traces of sleep from them, she smiled and turned around towards Branson, who was still fast asleep. She giggled a moment and thought to let him sleep for a little while longer. There would have been many things she could have done waiting for him to wake up, but the truth was she was too excited to start her first normal holiday. She wanted to go out and see everything as soon as possible, and she could have done it only with Tom. So she had to wake him.

"Tom" she whispered in his ear. But he didn't give any reaction away, except turning to the other side and putting a pillow on his ear.

Sybil sighed and gently took one side of the pillow and pushed it away.

"Tom! Tom, wake up!" she said again, this time using her normal tone of voice.

"What?" replied Tom to Sybil with his eyes still close, it was too early and he couldn't understand her eagerness to get out of bed.

"You have to get up! It's seven and we have an intense schedule for today"

"But can't we start later?"

"No! There are things to do, we have to get exploring as soon as possible"

Sybil stood up and pulled away the blankets from the bed, leaving Tom no other chance to give her his full attention.

"I got it. I'm getting up" he mumbled.

"Excellent!" added Sybil before heading to the small kitchen.

She just settled the kettle on when Tom entered, he sneaked up from behind her and embraced her "Good morning my darling"

Sybil turned around and kissed him. "Good morning. Now we have a quick breakfast, we make our lunch and get ready."

Tom looked at Sybil raising his eyebrows. He liked to do things with all the calm needed and never in a hurry especially if he was on holiday, and right now he would have really liked to do things slowly. After all the walking paths, nor the nature would have disappeared if they didn't go out now. But it was also funny for him to see Sybil's enthusiasm, and he couldn't blame her, not really. He was sure that if it was him who was mollycoddled he would have probably acted the same way.

"You think me upsetting, don't you?"

"Never. And trust me I'll tell you when you start getting on my nerves"

"I should hope so. Now if you make breakfast I'll prepare the sandwiches"

"Deal"

Within the hour they had done breakfast, prepared lunch and got ready. The just closed the house door when Sybil remembered that she had forgotten the camera inside, of course better now than later. Her intention was to make as many photos as possible, she would have added them to one of her many photo albums, and when she would have seen her sisters again she would have shown them. Of course to her parents too and to her grandmother, but she doubted they would have been interested. She started to laugh imagining what her grandmother would have said seeing her now.

"What's so funny?"

"I just imagined granny's reaction to this. She would say something like 'Sybil dear, it's a little unbecoming to go out trekking for a girl of your status. A short walk would certainly be good for your health but an entire day under the sun. It's not good'"

Tom laughed, he never met the dowager countess but from what Sybil told him she was a very peculiar person, just -as he was sure- were the entire Crawly family. But most of the families were peculiar so, who was he to judge. Sybil once offered him to go to Downton to meet her family but he was uncomfortable at the only thought of it: grand families weren't really his thing. He was sure he would have not fitted in the picture, and he would have never changed himself to be accepted so…

"I'm sorry if we are making fun of her" he said.

"Oh don't worry, granny will never know. Can we go now?"

"Darling, you are the one who stopped on the front porch to make fun of her relatives" he pointed out.

Sybil stuck her tongue out and begun to walk away leaving Branson behind, and she would have continued this way were it not for the fact that she didn't know the path to take once she arrived at the end of the road.

_Damn it! _It was all a joke but she loved saying the last word, and right now she missed the chance entirely.

Tom shook his head as he saw Sybil walking away. She did that often, but he knew it wasn't real anger. besides she wouldn't have gone far: she was unfamiliar with the place, she hadn't the map and, even if she did, she had absolutely no sense of orientation. Once they decided to visit a museum that just opened and Sybil offered to drive, she just had to follow his instructions but somehow they managed to get lost anyway.

"It seems you have to stick around me, unless of course you want to get lost" he said with a smile as he reached her.

"I could take a map" she replied surly.

"We both know you don't have much sense of orientation. Remember the time we got lost because of you?"

How could she forgot it? They drove around for hours and then decided to stop in the nearest town and spend their day there. Which resulted to be fun, once the events took a rather unexpected twist.

"It was your fault! I was just following your instructions, you had to be more precise when you gave me them. And you didn't really complain afterwards"

"How could I? And it was not my fault we got lost! You were not listening to me"

"I have many talents, orientation isn't one of them. Unfortunately" she admitted, in order to cut the argument short. She would have never won it anyway: the truth was clear to both of them.

"Let's just go" she added flatly.

Tom was worried because of Sybil's tone of voice: until now it had always been entranced and at the moment it seemed more annoyed. He didn't want to be this holiday to be a flop, since they both had been looking forward for it

"Have I ruined your enthusiasm?"

Sybil looked at Tom's concerned face, and gave him a bright and reassuring smile before she answered him "No. Nothing could ruin it, my excitement is that much that it has become unbreakable. I crave for this experience, now guide me to discover all the wonders of Ireland's landscape!" She said, before taking his hand and entwining her fingers in his.

* * *

"I can't believe that it's actually happening!" said Sybil enthusiastically.

Tom gave her a perplexed look, they had walked for five minutes. Five. They practically hadn't left the village yet! How could Sybil be so active early in the morning he could have never understood, and she never lacked of enthusiasm, which was a good thing if he thought about it. Always interested, always full of enthusiast and always sympathetic that was the Sybil he loved, and those were the reasons - part of the reasons - he fell in love with her.

"Sybil we have done what? Crossed a couple of streets?"

"Branson!"

"Don't Branson me or I will call you Lady Sybil, and I'll do my best to talk like posh people"

"You couldn't do it. It takes practice"

"Practice your ladyship?"

"It's Milady, actually"

"Well then, practice Milady?"

Sybil burst out laughing. Tom's imitations of the upper class was always funny, partly because that was really how they talked.

"Stop it! Just let's go" she added as she dragged him behind her, forcing him to walk faster.

It didn't take much time for them to exit the village and arrive at the beginning of the path they decided to take. It was a round walk, mostly on flat territory and it wasn't long. Not that the distance was a problem, but the weather forecast announced it would have rained in the afternoon and it would have been best not to get completely soaked before returning to the cottage. It didn't really matter if that afternoon it would have really rained, they had an entire week in front of them. A lot of time to explore every single place around them, even if they missed a couple of hours.

"So… You chose: we can go either left or right, it's the same in the end. But left or right?"

"If it's the same why are you asking me?"

"Because we have to start from somewhere! So do tell me, left or right?"

"Left" chose Sybil.

They walked for a couple of kilometers before they stopped because Sybil had to make some photos of the landscape and of Tom. She always made photos of her journeys and that included also the people who travelled with her. It was a way to capture the happiest moments of her life, and since she left Downton they had become more and more. She literally had photo albums, real photo albums, in which she was used to put all the best photographs she took. She loved looking back and think about the best moments of her life, laugh at something funny that maybe she didn't remember much anymore, wonder about things that she saw that faded in her memories but that kept the bright colors on paper. She had done it since childhood, even if back then there was very little to take a picture of, and had no intention to stop. The very first time she really took a lot of pictures was when she finally met her pen friend Gwen, and had gone to live at her house for two months and when Gwen later came to Downton for the exact same time.

She made herself a mental note to write to Gwen later, ages passed since they last heard from each other. She would have done it later.

"I have a friend who lives in the countryside. In Surrey that is, well she used to live near Downton but she moved when she was little. Once I spent the summer with her and we took every days long walks, pretending we were scouts"

Tom could imagine the picture easily, if Sybil back then was as she was now that would have probably her best summer.

"And tell me darling, did you drive this Gwen mad?" he asked with a smirk, trying to tease her.

"No she was just as eager as me, even though it was something she did every summer. You should meet her, you two would get along pretty well"

Of Tom and Gwen becoming friends she was sure of. She really had to invite Gwen to spend a couple of days with her, then she would have presented her Tom. For Sybil Gwen's opinion mattered a lot, she was like a sister for her and maybe, just a little, she preferred her to Mary and Edith, partly because they were of the same age.

"It would be nice to meet her"

"We'll arrange something"

They continued their path in silence until it was time for lunch. The original plan included looking after a bench, but they didn't find one. Not in the immediate vicinity, so they sat down in the grass on a rain coat spread open in order not to ruin their clothes with grass' stains. Sybil opened the rucksack and pulled out the water bottles and the sandwiches, giving to Tom his part of the lunch.

"These are good"

"If you must know, it's the first thing I ever learned to cook. Not that there was much to cook in them"

"If you want to know It is one of the few things I can cook"

"Don't look at me Tom, I am not much better"

"We really make a good couple, do we?"

"I suppose we do"

"Oh darling, I do love you so much" sighed Branson. And it was really like that, every time he spent time with Sybil he loved her more, it was incredible for him that it could actually happen. But it was like that.

"Then Tom, I am happy to announce that it's your lucky day because I love you as much" replied Sybil with a smile, and then she got closer to him in order to give him a kiss.

They sat there chatting, eating lunch and looking at the beautiful surrounding. They only continued their walk when dark clouds thickened at the horizon. And they were lucky, it started to rain when they had been back at the cottage for some hours.

"I loved the day" said Sybil as she collected some clean clothes to wear from the suitcase.

* * *

The storm that started the day before continued all night long, and Tom woke up next morning because of the shatters clattering. He looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table and was surprised to notice that it was already nine o'clock. He got up to open the window shutters and was immediately invested by a lash of cold air and rain. He opened the shatters and closed the window, returning to bed. It would have been a long and rainy day and he and Sybil would have needed to find something to do, luckily they had taken some brochures about expositions and museums just in case they found bad weather. He returned to bed, trying to catch some more sleep but now he was wide awake. He just lied there and looked at Sybil, sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. Her dark hair, with red strains in it, spread on the pillow. For a moment he thought about waking her but changed his mind, even though it would have only been fair considering that she always woke him when she got up. Instead he left her there and walked to the kitchen.

He took advantage of the opportunity to prepare breakfast. It was something that happened rarely, there were not really lazy days back home, since both him and Sybil had a job and also attended university. But today was a lazy day, they could have done everything with calm since all the museums would have opened only at ten ish and would have stayed open all day.

He filled the kettle with water, prepared the tea filters for the cups and defrosted the croissants. then placed everything on the kitchen table. Once breakfast was ready he walked to the bedroom on tiptoe in order to wake up Sybil.

Tom shook her shoulder gently. "Sybil, wake up"

She mumbled something that Tom thought was "Don't want to. Bad weather"

"Come on Syb, breakfast is ready"

She opened her eyes and stretched her arm, letting out a loud yawn. The she got up and followed Branson to the kitchen.

"Since when I am the one that gets up first?"

"Want to know the truth?"

"Do tell me"

"I woke up at six, ready to get out for a walk even earlier than yesterday. But as I saw the tempest outside I decided to go back to sleep, and most of all to let you sleep"

"How thoughtful of you" replied Tom with irony.

"I know" said Sybil full of pride, in order to make a joke.

"What are we going to do?" she then asked.

"Well we took those brochures and I was giving them a look earlier. There are a few interesting things, one of them is an exposition about Irish civil wars and the uprising against England. It sounds interesting"

An exposition about both history and politics? Sybil knew that Tom probably didn't want to miss it, since those were his main interests. And it didn't bother her, she was interested in it too. Besides there weren't really many things to do in a rainy day and it was better to go and see a temporary exposition rather than an art museum for example, because that was something they could have done back home too.

"It really sounds interesting, I vote for this one! Time to finish breakfast and we can make our way. Do you know where it is?"

"Kind of. I know how to reach the town but once we are there I'm afraid we have to look on the road map to see how to reach the place"

"Can I drive? And I'm just asking because you may be tired of being my chauffeur "

"I don't mind. It sounds like a period drama: the lady and the chauffeur"

"One of those cheesy things?"

"No a classy one!"

They started to laugh at idea of it, there were a lot of cheesy soap operas in TV, mostly about doomed love stories between different social classes. They sometimes watched it and made fun of them.

"So can I drive?" asked Sybil again.

"Nope, I don't want to get lost again"

After they were ready, it didn't take them much to reach the exposition considering the really bad weather. The exposition was held in the same building as the history museum although it wasn't organized by the museum itself. It was a hall entirely free except large panels, placed to recreate a timeline of all the events that lead to Ireland's independence. The single historical events were detailed analyzed and accompanied by photographs. There was also a panel with all the names of the fallen on both parts.

Branson knew a lot of things about Ireland's war for independence and he explained everything to Sybil, who listened carefully and captured. Branson had a real passion for history but the most astonishing thing was his ability to talk about historical events and make such a vivid painting of them that it was really easy to imagine it all. He didn't only talk about the general events, the thing that surprised Sybil the most, was his ability to relate to the events, as if he imagine how it would have been if he actually was there, taking part of the Easter rising for example. That was what made it all interesting: every one could learn the dates and the basic events but talking of history as Tom did wasn't something everyone managed to do. Where it not that he wanted to become a journalist, he should have thought about the idea of becoming a history teacher, no doubt his students would have appreciated his lessons.

"I have a couple of family members who took part in the movements, you know?"

"Really?"

"Yes, quite the pride of the family. But I have a cousin of my grandfather who was shot on the street because they thought he was a rebel"

"We haven't been exactly at our best in Ireland" whispered Sybil, thinking about what Branson just told her. There were things she felt uncomfortable talking about, things for which she felt sorry even if she had nothing to do with them.

"No, you didn't. But darling, it's not your fault"

"I know, it's just…. Thinking about it makes me feel a little uncomfortable"

"Don't, please. Now let's finish the tour shall we?"

* * *

Sybil was finishing to pack all her clothes when she sat down on the bed, to look herself around. She still couldn't believe it that the week was already over. It seemed so short, and it felt like yesterday when she first arrived to the cottage with Branson. But seven days passed, in what seemed a flesh, but they passed. She was sad and only partly because she had to leave, she would have missed living under the same roof with Tom, back home they lived in two different places even though they spent much time together. But liked the intimacy, the thought of seeing Branson each time they were at home, it was something steady and she had always been afraid of it. Her relationship, she always thought it had been a little rushed and always tried to slow down, to control her feelings and her desires. The point was, after a year and a half of a stabile relationship and the double of time with a beautiful friendship, she wanted more. She wanted to reach the next level, she wanted to share the same living space with Tom. A house for starters and who knows later on, in a few years time maybe even a family. It had been a while since she thought about it, and sometimes the question 'do you want to move in together?' had been on the tip of her tongue but she thought herself stupid and never asked. But now, that she actually experienced what it meant living with the man she loved, she was sure that this was what she wanted.

Sybil sighed and let herself fall down on the bed and started to stare at the ceiling .

"You are just being stupid Sybil Crawley" she said out loud.

Tom heard Sybil saying something as he walked down the corridor, so he looked in the bedroom and saw her lying on the bed motionless.

"Is everything all right?"he said from the doorstep.

Sybil raised her head to look at Tom. "Sure" she said.

But by the look of it seemed the complete opposite. Sybil had always been a bad liar, if something upset her, even though she denied it, it was obvious. Her face expression always gave away how she was feeling. She was an open book for everyone except for herself, when she lied to herself she always managed to convince herself. So Tom entered the room and took place on the bed beside her, taking her hand.

"So what is bothering you?"

"Nothing, it's something really stupid"

"It doesn't matter, you can tell me anyway and when you feel ready to do so"

Sybil turned around to look at him.

_When you are ready to do so._

He was always so patient, she envied it: he waited three years for her to admit her feelings. He never pushed her to give him an answer, what did he say _I'd wait forever._ Even though it hadn't been necessary, a couple of weeks later she finally gave him an answer. And the same was happening now.

Tom knew Sybil well, he knew that she was that kind of person who makes long lists of the pros and cons of a situation before taking any decision. She had to be one hundred percent sure of what she was about to do otherwise she would have just renounced to it. It was like if in Sybil's mind she was evaluating if she was ready to open up with him, to tell him what was bothering her, as if there would have been consequences because of what she would have said.

_Of course there will be consequences!_ she couldn't just ask him the big great question. What if they were not ready? What if this would have changed what was going on between them?

"Tom, can we go out for a walk?"

A walk was exactly what she needed, fresh air and a distraction to clear her mind.

"Sure"

They took a round walk around the village and stood silent. Sybil then stopped at a bench and sat down, inviting Branson to do the same. She looked herself around, admiring for what would have been probably the last time, the scenario in front of her eyes. The sky with all the shades of yellow, orange and red, the vast expanses of grass that seemed never to stop, the few cars that reached the village and the small cluster of houses. It was such a beautiful scenario, so different from the one she was used to. She loved every small detail of it, and she wasn't ready to let it go.

"I shall miss this" she said after a while.

This: the location, living with Tom under the same roof…

"We can come back next time we have a holiday. It's not a problem, I won't get tired of it"

Sybil bit her lower lip and returned to stare at the distance.

"Darling if there is something else, you can tell me. Whenever you want today, tomorrow, next month, just tell me"

"I was thinking…"

Was she doing the right thing? She wasn't sure.

"I wasn't talking only about this, Ireland I mean. Yes, I shall miss it with all my heart but there is also something else… I was talking about us"

"Is there something wrong with us?"

"No, no. I" she took a deep breath "I will miss the way we lived here" she admitted.

"You mean sharing a house?"

Sybil nodded in agreement.

"I got used to it, I like it and I just realized now what it means, and how it would be. It's silly, I know that, but it made me wonder about future and about us. What will happen next"

Tom sighed because he was thinking about the same thing. It didn't start during this week, for in fact he had thought about it for a while. It was a relief that Sybil was thinking about it too, because it meant that he was not hurrying again, that they were both willingly to do the next move.

"We could do it: move in together. Just give it a try to see how it goes" added Sybil, eventually finding the courage and the right words to use.

"You mean it?" He still was flabbergasted.

"Yes!"

"Oh darling. Let's do it! And you are really sure about it?"

"Yes, oh yes. I'm looking forward to"

* * *

"Do we have everything?" asked Sybil as she dragged out the suitcase and placed it in the car.

"I think so. We checked everything twice, so I guess that yes, we have everything"

"Ready to go?"

Tom nodded and closed the hood of the car. Sybil made him give her the keys and sat down at the driver's place. She finally managed to convince Tom to let her drive, with the promise that she would have listened carefully to his directions. Not that there were many directions to follow for the first part of the way. Besides, in Sybil's opinion, Branson earned some rest it wasn't fair for him that it was always his turn to drive.

"Is it hard for you to always leave Ireland behind?"

"A little. I like England too but Ireland will always have a special place in my mind. I don't know, I'm bound to it because of the memories and everything"

Sybil couldn't understand him completely, because she never felt particularly attached to Downton. She never felt it like home, like it was for her sister Mary. She always longed for new adventures and deep down, ever since she was a little girl, she imagined the word home related to a small and familiar place. A place like Gwen's house: little, comfy and familiar. Downton wasn't like that and it made her feel a little weird that there were still rooms in the family home where she never had been. Downton Abbey was impressive and put her in awe. And a home, as she imagined it, shouldn't have been like that.

"Well I didn't see much, and I have no bonds with it, but I recognize its charm. I like it here"

"Next time I'll show you Dublin. You will love it"

"I'm sure of it, but if you take me to Dublin I have to show you Downton"

"Me? At Downton?"

Sybil giggled imagining for a moment Tom dining with her parents. No, not only with her parents but taking part at a real and proper dinner party. Tom in a suit. Although now that she was thinking about it, Tom in a suit must have been really attractive.

"Is it so funny?"

"Trust me it is. And I am sure that the day you will come to Downton is right across the corner, for in fact I know from trusted sources that Mary is going to engage soon, which means that a marriage will soon follow. Which means I will have to get back and then you will come with me"

"And why should I be invited?"

"You will be my plus one! I'll invite you and it will be the perfect way to meet my family"

The thought of meeting the Crawley, the owners of Downton Abbey, made Tom feel worried. He wasn't sure he would have survived it, it was not his social circle and he didn't know how he should have acted. he was afraid, that was the simple truth.

"I'm not sure…"

"A part from the fact that we don't have to worry about it for now, they will like you. But first will come a series of comments that you just have to ignore, especially if they come from granny"

"Let's not think about it now. So was this really the best holiday of your life?"

"Yes. This was definitely the best holiday in my life, alongside with the months I spent with Gwen"

"I'm glad. So we will do this again?"

"No doubt!"


End file.
