A/N: Hello again! Winter break is finally upon us (yay!) so I've decided to update because it honestly just made me happy. Thank you once again for reading, it always means a lot and I enjoy updating. This whole writing fanfiction thing is quite fun. Oh, once again anything you may recognize from Downton Abbey I do not own. Enjoy!

Lady Edith Crawley wasn't in the mood hear about Mary's problems, actually, she's never in the mood. However ever since her wicked sister drove Sir Anthony Strallen away from proposing to her, Mary has become even more suffocating to her. And of course the whole situation concerning Mr. Pamuk kept the focus on Mary. She was honestly quite fed up, yet the Pamuk scandal gave her something against her sister, and for Edith it meant that she had the upper hand. Her mother wasn't quite as involved in Mary's situation as Granny was, though her mother was rarely involved in much conversation these days. Her mother seemed to be quite out of sorts more than usual these past few weeks, and Edith couldn't help but worry. Though in the end she passed it over as none of her business.

"Ah Edith, I was just looking for you." Mary came darting into the library looking like a woman with a mission, which never pleased Edith.

"Why on earth would you be looking for me." Edith snarled back at her sister, not quite realizing her tone of voice. Mary seemed slightly taken back by the aggressiveness but got over it quite quickly.

"I was wondering if you give this to one of the servants and post it. " Mary handed her a pristine letter, which she desperately wanted to open.

"Why don't you do it yourself."

"Because I'm in a hurry."

"Well tough luck because I'm not your personal servant, you can take your time to complete your own tasks. Edith placed the letter back in Mary's hands and quickly left the conversation. Defying her older sister made her feel quite powerful, something she didn't experience often. And frankly, she took full pleasure out of it. I think Matthew deserves to know about Pamuk, that should push him away from her. Her attempts to get him back will be futile. Edith soon began to write the horrid letter she felt so compelled to write.

"I think Her Ladyship is quite a powerful woman, taking on all of this work."

"Yes but Mrs. Hughes I do worry that it may be too much for her."

"Mr. Carson, you and I have both known Her Ladyship for quite a long time, we both know she is a capable lady."

"Yes, yes she is." Charles Carson has known Her Ladyship for many years, and he knows her and His Lordship very well. He remembers Her Ladyship being the young, vibrant american whom His Lordship had been absolutely taken with. Though he also remembers when her husband was in Africa, and she was gloomy and depressed. The current situation was quite reminiscent of that one, and her couldn't help but notice that it seemed worse this time. Something wasn't right at Downton Abbey, and Carson could sense it. The quiet chime of the clock released him from his deep though and he quickly noted what time it was.

"Well, would you look at the time." Mrs. Hughes spoke up. "I think we must be heading up. It was nice chatting Mr. Carson. We're so busy these days, we sometimes forget to say goodnight to each other."

"I couldn't agree more." And with that, they headed upstairs to gain plenty of rest for the days to come.

Sarah O'Brien almost overjoyed when Her Ladyships bell had rung. The servants hall was bustling with talk of the war and O'Brien really didn't want to hear it. Did they expect good news? If they did they would be let down, for this war is anything but good news. In the first three months of this war, it was taking a devastating toll on Europe. The fall season was in it's peak and everyone's hope of the war being over by Christmas were quickly fading away. Which meant the depressing feeling that clouded the world wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

O'Brien made her way to Her Ladyship's door and knocked softly, before opening the ornate door in front of her. She hoped that Her Ladyship wouldn't be frustrated with her since it took her slightly longer than usual to arrive. Though when she opened the door she was surprised to see that the room was empty. She closed the door behind her and stood in the middle of the room. There was a coughing noise coming from the washroom, and the door was slightly ajar. O'Brien entered and saw Lady Grantham leaning against her sink with one of her hands covering her mouth. She was awfully pale and thin, with dark circles under her red rimmed eyes, she looked quite ghoulish. And O'Brien felt a pang of sorrow for her.

"Would you like me to get the basin for you milady?" Lady Grantham didn't remove her hand from her mouth and simply nodded. O'Brien made her way to a cabinet where she pulled out a small basin. "Let's take you back to bed milady, lying down should help a bit." O'Brien grabbed Her Ladyship's other arm and led her back to bed. As soon as she lay down and removed her hand, she began be sick. All Sarah could do was hold her hair and the basin as Her Ladyship suffered.

Lady Grantham's sickness seemed to be slowing down and O'Brien went to fetch a cold cloth for her forehead. She carefully placed it on Her Ladyship's perspiring brow as her head became buried in the feather pillows.
She had a suspicion on what was wrong with Her Ladyship, but she didn't want to sound too forward if she asked. All Sarah could do was look at her with kind eyes, hoping she will have the weight lifted off her chest.

"O'Brien..." Her voice was hoarse from constantly being ill, and it was filled with an eerie sadness. "I'm pregnant..." The words seemed to disappear into thin air right off her tongue. They were the words O'Brien expected to hear, but they still took her by surprise.

"I suspected so milady. I assume you've seen the Dr. Clarkson then?"

"Yes." Lady Grantham buried her face further into her pillows, soaking them with her tears. Sarah was at a loss of words, Lady Grantham hadn't been pregnant in eighteen years, and now she was. At a time like this, it's not at all ideal. "I'm pregnant, and I feel so lost. I'm terrified of the future, that I may find a horrid telegram waiting for me. I'm sorry O'Brien, I don't mean to be so emotional right now. I'm embarrassing you."

"I don't mind milady. Though I think some rest would help, now that you aren't feeling so ill." O'Brien pulled the covers up over Her Ladyship's small frame and began to clean up the basin and the cloths. It didn't take long for Lady Grantham to relax and for her breathing to become more steady. She was still awfully pale and thin. Sarah knew that she didn't eat or sleep, and she was always so tense. However, those things will hopefully resolve soon. Now that Sarah thought about it, if she wasn't pregnant she would be way thinner and looking way more unwell.

"O'Brien." Her voice still hoarse and now quite groggy as she was slipping away into sleep. "This conversation stays between these four walls."

"Of course milady." And with that, Her Ladyship fell into a much needed nap.

Quick un-related note: If you haven't seen the new Star Wars movie yet, go see it. :)