A/N: This is my Holiday Gift to the always kind, MH96! She's been so loyal to Beautiful Collisions and she requested that I do a canon piece involving...well, you'll see what it involves ;]

Enjoy! x

Rose promised she'd watch Madeline, and she honestly planned to. Up until now, she had done well tending to the child. Since breakfast that morning, the two had run through the garden, visited the horses in the stables, and read several of the books Granmamma Martha had sent over from America. Now, they were eating lunch, and after, Rose promised the young girl a game of hide and seek.

"Now?" Madeline asked. "Can we play the game now?" she sing-songed, her voice coming out in a way that turned her mouth wide as her eyebrows peaked, waiting for an answer.

"One moment, Madeline!" Rose made out from behind her napkin.

Before Sybil and Tom arrived into town from Dublin, Rose was the youngest in the house. It was her energy that brightened a room and her laugh that painted the curtains and walls, letting all occupants of the home know exactly when she was coming. When she was told that the Branson family would be visiting, she was wildly excited. Her and Sybil had always gotten along well, and she did wish to meet the man that had won her cousin's heart. Though everyone always made comments about Sybil and her new life, it seemed, and Rose soon discovered, that Madeline was widely cherished both upstairs and down. They could roll their eyes this way and that, or comment on the love shared between Sybil and Tom, a love they displayed quite proudly in public, but the symbol of that love, the curly-haired three year old with the infectious laugh, went undisputed.

"I'm gonna hide!" Madeline said, jumping down from her chair. "Not in here," she added. "Count to ten!"

Rose looked down at her sandwich, then to the child's plate where her bowl of soup was only half-finished. She sighed, but allowed it all the same. After all, she was young once too, and she remembered how bored she used to get, waiting for her parents to take moments out of their day to visit her in the nursery. Sybil insisted that their life in Dublin was different: louder, more exciting, and all set to a much faster pace than that of Yorkshire. Madeline wasn't given the luxury of a governess the way her cousin George was, and her days were spent at her aunt Katherine's house with her cousin Bran, where the two learned from books and the quiet city streets where children gathered, passing balls back and forth to one another or creating games for themselves to play from objects they found lying about.

When her meal was finished, Rose pushed the plate away and thanked Jimmy as he took it out of her sight. She then scooted her chair away from the table and went to stand, walking out of the dining room with no particular haste in her steps.

She turned a corner and checked all of the likely hiding spots: behind curtains and doors or under chairs. Three year olds, she had to remember, were not always the best hiders, as their view of the world was limited. Madeline Branson, however, was not most three year olds.

Rose laughed to herself as she began to ascend the steps. She thought of the prospect of having her own children some day and wondered if she'd be doing the same thing. Surely if Sybil made it work, she could too. But who would watch her children when her and her husband grew tired? By then, there'd be no unmarried women around except for the staff, and like the Bransons, she found she was quite averse to nannies and governesses.

"Madeline?" Rose called out. "Madeline Elizabeth, where are you?" she practically sang.

As was typical for this household, all of the doors in the North corridor were shut. The hall was lined with several plants, and many paintings, but no places for little girls with already scraped knees to hide.

As she turned around and began walking toward the other end of the hall, Rose heard a door open behind her, and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw Madeline's chestnut colored hair, and the lavender dress she wore, whisk by in a flash of light, headed for another room.

"Madeline!" Rose whined now, her foot meeting the floor in a small stomp. "That's unfair! I'm supposed to find you. But I can't find you if you keep moving! This isn't tag!"

There was laughter, and Rose smiled, knowing what room the child was in. Slowly, she approached the study, and gently began to twist the brass doorknob to open the door. The wooden frame unlatched with a small click, and then creaked open. Rose took one step, then several more, peeking her head into the room while her hands remained clasped behind her back.

"Madeline? Are you in here?"

Behind Rose, the quiet opening of the door to the wardrobe, followed by quick footsteps. Spinning to look at the girl, Rose nearly knocked herself over in the process, and by the time she turned around, the door behind her was wide open and Madeline was gone.

~!~

Naked, and still trying to catch his breath, Tom laid on his stomach, his nose currently nuzzling Sybil's ear, whispering to her all the things he still had planned for their "afternoon nap".

"My god, I forget how much better it somehow gets when it's been awhile."

Sybil smirked and kissed the tip of Tom's nose in quiet adoration. "And you were complaining."

"As were you," Tom reminded. "A week's a long time for us. You know that's one of the reasons I hate coming back here."

Sybil raised an eyebrow as if to dispute his claim. "Oh, really? Is that the reason?"

Tom chuckled. "I said one of them, but yes, this week it has certainly topped the list."

Sybil smirked and leaned in again. "Are you ready for another go?" she asked, her voice husky, and still full of so much want. Then, she reached down, her tiny hand gripping the base of Tom's length, causing his body to jerk, then soften in anticipation of what she was offering.

"Always," he promised before seizing her lips.

All too quickly, he had grabbed her weight, turning himself over and bringing her with him, allowing Sybil to land perfectly in his lap, right atop the heat of his erection. Knowing what he liked, she slid atop him, mimicking the action her palm had only just provided.

"Easy, love," Tom hissed. He reached up to still her hips and Sybil smiled, suddenly thinking back to the first time they had made love in this bed and how even then, several years ago and married for only a few months, she was shy and still had so much to learn. Admittedly, so did Tom, and they vowed to learn together, teaching one another what they favored, and being bold enough to try new things with the understanding that they'd be vocal about what they didn't like.

"Go slow," Sybil whispered, leaning down to nibble at his ear. "We have time, alright? Rian won't wake up for another half hour and Madeline should be eating lunch with Rose soon."

Tom smirked. "I can't believe you're telling me to relax. You're the one that wouldn't let go earlier. I told you, these walls are more soundproof than you'd like to think."

"I'm not worried about the walls, Tom," Sybil said curtly. "The maids have to clean these sheets and do our laundry. I don't need them talking more than they already do."

"I like when they talk," Tom stated confidently. "It reminds me this isn't all a dream and that I actually am married to a perfect, beautiful, minx of a woman…"

Sybil smiled and leaned down to kiss her husband. When they detached, she nipped at his lips again, but was pulled out of the moment by him moving the tip of his cockhead to tease at her center.

"Well don't be timid," Sybil remarked causing Tom to let out a light chuckle. "I said to go slow, darling, not take all day. We are parents. We are visiting my family."

Sybil braced her weight on Tom's shoulder, squatting above his lower half. Just as he had before, he teased her lower lips with the tip of his cock, before slowly pushing inside, Sybil's weight devouring every inch of him as her bottom came back into contact with his hips.

"Oh, goddddd!" she moaned. A small laugh escaped her lips, one that was cut off by Tom was again asking for a kiss — one she gave all too willingly as she began to ride him.

His hands were everywhere, first at her hips, guiding her into a rhythm they had long ago perfected. Languid and calculated, then syncopated and hurried. Sometimes, Sybil's hands were flat atop Tom's chest, others they found solace, scraping at his scalp as she ran them through his hair. One of her favorite parts of their lovemaking was listening to him breathe. It was so clear what she did to certain parts of his anatomy that Sybil often liked to search for the less obvious signs of his arousal: his quickened breath, ragged and hot as it landed on her neck, coating the way he groaned and grunted, filling her to the hilt.

Tom wished he could give her more, but it was harder when he was the one not in control. Like this, one of Sybil's favorite positions, she made no qualms about taking all of him, and Tom wished the pressure wasn't so intense, for he enjoyed being able to look up at her, all of her, exposed and needing as she worked to bring them both to an electric climax.

They were close, and Sybil reached down, toying with Tom's testicles, applying just the right amount of pressure, adding to the contact her body was already making with that part of him.

"Fuck," Tom breathed out. "I love you, you know that?"

Sybil laughed. "I know…you're...close," she let out between unsteady exhalations. "Wait for me?" she begged.

Tom could only nod as he returned his attention to where their bodies were still meeting, his own hips rising to meet Sybil's, thrust for thrust.

Sybil was right: Tom was close, and their actions were about to send them both over the edge, had the laughter and footsteps of their daughter entering the room not killed the mood completely.

"Mummy!" Madeline let out, her eyes feasting onto the sight of Sybil's naked back just moments before she was able to duck down, taking all of the soft golden duvet with her.

"Oh my god," Sybil quickly whispered, her eyes catching upon Tom's as she laid flat upon him with him still inside of her. Together, their eyes widened at the realization of what had just occurred.

"Madel—" Rose began, scurrying into the room them coming to a halt as she saw the back of the child's head, staring up at the bed where a heap of limbs remained hidden beneath the covers. "Oh goodness, Madeline!" Rose tried. Her attempts to get the child out of the room were feeble, as she too had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Mummy?" Madeline tried again, clearly so ignorant to all that was occurring around her. "Are you sleeping?"

Sybil looked to Tom. "Oh god, our poor daughter…"

Tom laughed and Sybil swatted at his chest. "This is not funny, Tom!" she whispered again, her voice clearly wishing it could yell. This only limited her breathing even more.

"It's kind of funny," he shrugged. "C'mon, love, she doesn't even know what's going on. Just be calm. She'll never remember this."

"And Rose?"

"Oh yeah, uh, we can't do anything about her," he said quickly causing his wife to roll her eyes.

"Madeline!" Rose tried again. "Please come here! Your mother and father are...napping," she tried.

"Napping?" Madeline asked. "Nakey?" But then: "I want to nap nakey! That sounds wonnnnnderrrrfullll!" the little girl sang, causing Rose and Tom to laugh.

"Rose?" Sybil called out. "I need you to do me a favor. First, you shut the door. Then, you go to the chair by the window and grab me my robe." Though this instruction was given to her cousin, all of the adults watched as Madeline took it for herself, moving her tiny legs now to grab for the item her mother asked for. When she returned, Sybil was giving Rose her third instruction, that being to keep her mouth shut about all of this. By then, Tom had already slipped out of Sybil, the two meeting the action with closed, regretful eyes.

"Here, mummy!" Madeline declared, handing over the robe. Sybil took it, and somehow managed to wrap the garment around her without exposing herself to her daughter or her youngest cousin, the latter of whom was turned to face the door, no longer finding this amusing as she realized how embarrassed both Sybil and Tom must be. In fact, a pang of jealousy had hit Rose as she watched Madeline act so lovingly toward her parents, who themselves had only just participated in something equally as lovely. Rose wanted that, even going as far as to crave the chaos of this moment in particular.

"I can go…" Rose began. "Sybil and Tom, I am so so sorry...to have woken you," she finished, smiling at Madeline who was standing by, watching the adults interact. "You see, we were playing hide and seek."

"Yes," Sybil smiled sweetly.

"And you've found us!" Tom let out with another small laugh.

Sybil turned back to her cousin. "It's no problem, Rose. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry," she repeated, now lowering her eyes.

"Don't be!" Rose assured. "Our fault, right Madeline?"

"But I want to play with mummy and daddy! They can play hide and seek too!" she whined.

"Rose," Tom began rather sternly, "Can you do daddy a favor and go out into the hall with Cousin Rose? Mum and I will be right out."

"Are we going back to Ireland?" the toddler asked. It was normal for her to move to a new topic so quickly, they were all discovering. "I like Downton. I like Rose," she said proudly. "But I like Ireland too," the child assured.

Tom smiled. "How about you go wait in the hall and then when mum and I are out, we can talk about it?"

"Alright," she shrugged. As the child headed for the door, she extended her hand, the action nearly moving Rose to tears as she took it and led the little girl out.

"I thought you shut the door!" Sybil gave immediately in their absence.

"I thought you had," Tom said in return. "But either way, love. We had one good go, right?"

"Tom," Sybil pouted. "My heart has never dropped so far into my chest. I thought the wind had been knocked out of me. Did you see her face? Are we awful to lie to our daughter like this?"

"Well, in our defense, I really thought we were going to nap," Tom tried in an attempt to cheer his wife up. When no change in expression came, he reached out and touched a caring hand to her shoulder, moving it up to cup her neck, causing Sybil to soften into his touch. "Love, I told you, she's none the wiser. We're not avoiding her. We need a break too, sometimes."

"But she's a child, Tom…"

"And Rose was watching her! I'm serious, Syb, I won't allow you to beat yourself up over this."

Tom was out of bed now, paying no mind to the open window as he walked past it, completely naked, and bent over to retrieve his underwear. As he stepped into the item and pulled them up over his hips, he sighed, feeling Sybil come up behind him, her cheek pressed to his back as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Do you think she'll be upset when we finally tell her? About the new baby, I mean..."

"She wasn't upset with Rian…"

"Yes, but this is another one very soon. Maybe we should have been more careful..."

"Sybil, she'll love this new baby just as she loves Rian. Just as Madeline loves anything with a pulse." This had Sybil chuckling as Tom turned around. "Now get dressed so we can go play hide and seek with her, alright?"

Sybil nodded, and Tom kissed her lips, knowing that little else was needed in the form of reassurance. "I love you. And there's always tonight."

"Are you okay?" Sybil asked, thinking quickly. "Maybe I can...oh, I don't know...we could...no..." Then again: "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Tom said confidently. "Nothing to cure a stiffy like your daughter walking in on you."

Sybil laughed. "I'll keep that in mind," she sassed, before moving to get changed.

When they were both finished, they quietly entered the hallway, latching their door tightly as they walked to Madeline who was waiting with Rose on a nearby bench. The child beamed and raised her hands, wishing for her father to pick her up and smatter her face with kisses as he soon did. Sybil smoothed back the child's hair before asking her how her morning was. This acted as an invitation to Rose, who was surprised by how normal her cousin and her husband were acting; Madeline was certainly the cure to many ails in this house.

As they went for the stairs, Rian let out a loud wail, interrupting the otherwise calm energy evident amongst the group.

"I'll get him," Sybil sighed. She grabbed Madeline's cheeks and pressed a loud, sloppy kiss to her soft skin. "Go downstairs with Da, alright? I'll be down soon."

Madeline nodded and they left. Rose, however, tagged along, suddenly feeling as if she should accompany Sybil to the nursery.

Inside, she watched as her cousin paced toward the crib, immediately supporting the crying child as she began to lift him up onto her shoulder. "Shhh," she sang. "Shh, mummy's here, darling." Sybil rocked her son, shifting her weight back and forth from one foot to the next. Eventually, he cooed, before letting out a small smile up at his mother. "Yeah?" Sybil asked with a laugh. "Did you have a good nap, my sweet?" Already Rian was curling into his mother, signaling that if she kept moving in the way she was, that he might fall back asleep.

"Rose, if you're here to apologize again, please don't bother. Really, Tom and I are very, very sorry. We thought we had locked the door and apparently we hadn't. And we did mean to nap, but we haven't had a moment to ourselves since we got here, and we're still tired from the trip over but—"

"Sybil," Rose said, a smile on her face as she reached out to touch a reassuring hand to her cousin's hand. "It's fine," she promised. "Really, please don't apologize. I can't imagine making these trips each summer. And with the two children. I know you must be exhausted and you two deserve to have some time to yourselves. Madeline and I had a truly exquisite morning. She's full of energy, that one…"

"Yes, she certainly is." Sybil admitted. "I hope she didn't give you too much trouble."

"Until the door, no, she didn't—"

"What's this?" Mary asked, entering the room with George in her arms.

"Nothing," Sybil dismissed, looking to the floor. "A misunderstanding, s'all."

"Did you walk in on Sybil and Tom?" Mary asked plainly, looking her cousin straight in the face, her own expression asking for no favors other than the truth. Rose said nothing and Mary laughed, now walking to George's crib to grab for the child's blanket. "Sybil, how many times have I told you to lock your door?"

Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!

x. Elle