A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! There will be one more chapter after this and then possibly an epilogue if there is interest. Oh, and I did create a middle name for Little Lady Edith...so, that's that!
Another scream echoed down the hallway.
For over four hours Robert had waited outside the door to Cora's room, alternating between pacing and standing still, hoping to overhear some of the goings on. After the doctor arrived he had been shut out of the room, left out in the hall to stare blankly at the wall as Cora's screams and cries pierced through him.
Martha had gone in the room as well, soon followed by his mother who had been summoned from the Dower House.
Not five minutes after her arrival, Violet exited the bedroom, looked at Robert, and declared she would be waiting in the library—away from Martha.
So Robert was left in the hallway. Every so often he could hear the unintelligible sounds of Cora's voice, speaking rather than crying out, and he could even make out the doctor's and Martha's voices as well. But it had been several hours and he couldn't help but worry just a bit.
Mary's birth had gone rather quickly. They were at Lockson for a party when the labor began, and by the time they returned to Downton and had the doctor summoned, it was only about an hour before the entire process was finished and their daughter in front of them. This time was different. Minutes had turned to hours and the inhabitants of the house, staff included, flitted about as if their shoes were on fire. No one could sit still and the anticipation was reaching alarmingly high levels.
Robert had been able to sneak back into the room once. Spotting a maid coming down the hallway with a fresh pitcher of water, he quickly commandeered the task and let himself in, only to be met with a perplexed look from the doctor and a horrified look from Cora. She screamed at him to get out, something about her not wanting him to see her like that, and Martha quickly guided him back to the hallway with an indulgent smile. She promised to let him know how things were progressing, but she hadn't been out for over an hour now.
So he sat, waiting and waiting, hoping the baby would soon arrive.
Another scream pulled him from his thoughts. This scream was louder than the once before, he was quite sure of it. A second loud noise that followed confirmed it, and he felt his heart begin to beat faster, suddenly rather nervous about the whole situation.
He weighed his options as Cora let out another low moan from behind the door. Going down to the library to have a drink would perhaps calm his nerves, but then again that would leave him alone with Mama—who no doubt would talk endlessly about how she hoped for a grandson. A walk would be nice, well the fresh air would be, but it was very cold and nearing dark. His gaze wandering to his dressing room door and he sat up excitedly, knowing exactly what to do.
He crept into the room quietly, like a small child on the verge of doing something naughty, and approached the connecting door between his and Cora's room. Reaching it, he kneeled down ever so slightly and peered through the keyhole, unable to contain his curiosity or excitement for a moment longer.
The hole was rather small and ineffective for what he intended, but it was better than nothing. He could see Cora reflected in the mirror directly across from the keyhole. She was sitting up in bed, clutching the sheets very tightly as the doctor stood before her, saying something Robert couldn't really hear. Martha was in the corner, looking on with a slight frown, and when Cora cried out again, Martha stood, looking as though she wanted to hold her daughter and ease the pain in some way. He felt his hand creeping up toward the knob, a strong urge to burst into the room and help, but just as his fingers met the cool metal, a light tapping on his shoulder caused him to jump right up, nearly out of his skin.
Whipping around, a very guilty look on his face, he was met with the curious eyes of Mary, who was already in her nightdress and carrying her favorite dolly.
"Papa what were you looking at?" She frowned slightly, pointing at the doorknob.
Robert let out a deep breath, thankful he had only been discovered by Mary, and quickly picked up his daughter, carrying her away from the door and over to the dressing room bed.
"I was just checking to see if the knob was in good working order," he explained, smiling and leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Mary looked unconvinced, but accepted his explanation and brushed the hair out of her face before looking up at him once more. "Papa, is Mama hurt?" She murmured, reaching for his hand and squeezing it with her own. "I heard her shouting all the way from my room," she explained, frowning more deeply.
He smiled, a very soft smile at his worried daughter, and held tightly to her little hand. "No, Mama is not hurt. But very soon the baby will be here, and so it takes a while. We must be very quiet and wait and in a bit the doctor will come to get us."
Mary's frown was unwavering and Robert watched as her dark eyes began to fill with tears, and her face more perceptible lines of upset. "I want to see Mama now," she whined, cuddling into her papa's arms and looking up at him rather pitifully.
Robert shook his head. "Not just yet, Mary. How about we take a walk down to the kitchen and get you a biscuit?"
She nodded happily at this suggestion, and Robert muttered a near silent thank you for her easy assent. Cora's groans were only getting louder and he did not want Mary any more upset than she already was. By the time he carried her out of the room and made it to the staircase, he heard another scream and bounded down the stairs and away from the room as quickly as possible.
A short while later, Mary and her papa were seated in the kitchen, munching on biscuits and giggling as Mrs. Warren made her way around the kitchen, banging various pots and pans and bringing plate after plate of cookies for them. Robert was glad to have Mary there, as she was a most welcome distraction from the activities upstairs, and she seemed blissfully unaware of how their family was about to expand.
By her third treat, Mary's face was entirely covered in chocolate and she managed to get it all over her nightdress as well. Looking down at her hands, she huffed and tried to wipe them on her pajamas once more. "Papa, this is very messy," she complained, while ineffectually wiping.
Robert grinned and scooped her up from the counter, brushing the crumbs from her face with the back of his hand and nodding his thanks to the kitchen staff. "I think we should get you washed up, Darling."
Mary nodded in agreement, as she wanted to be nice and clean so she could stop in and visit Mama, but as soon as Papa made it up the servant's staircase and back to the main hall, they were met by Carson, who had just come from upstairs.
"Papa, upstairs," Mary insisted, as Carson approached. She didn't know why but suddenly she felt rather upset and like something was not at all right. She clung to her papa but she felt him holding her less tightly than before.
He started murmuring something to placate her, but was interrupted by Carson once he crossed the distance and stood before them.
Carson's uncharacteristically wide grin revealed the news before he spoke a word.
"Milord, her Ladyship has delivered the baby. The doctor is still with her, but you may go up."
Mary looked up at her father's expression, a mixture of excitement and shock, and looked to Carson who wore a similar face. She watched as he reached out to shake Carson's hand, and she watched as Granny emerged from the library with a smile too. Before she knew it, Papa had rushed across the room and set her down beside Granny, saying something about coming back to get her in a while.
He ran up the stairs, leaving her in her rumpled nightdress. She heard a strange noise that sounded like a cry, but this time it wasn't Mama's voice. When Granny picked her up and handed her off to Nanny, muttering something about cleaning up the mess of chocolate, Mary felt rather slighted. Granny disappeared up the stairs as well, and instead of being brought to see Mama, she was whisked off to the nursery, wondering what on earth that baby needed with her mama and papa already.
Robert entered the room and everything around him was a haze of abstract emotion. His eyes were unable to decide what to focus on first as they tried to take in the frenzied scene before him. The doctor was writing something on a large official looking piece of stationary as the nurse stood beside and dictated. Martha was sitting on the chaise by the washroom and he became aware of her soft tears as he approached.
Then his eyes found Cora.
Her face was flushed a bright red and her eyes, though tired, were lit up and fixed on the small bundle of blankets cradled in her arms. She turned at the sound of his steps, and grinned widely, nodding her head to the place beside her.
"Robert," she breathed quietly. "This is our daughter." She turned to look up, her eyes wet with the emotion of delivery and new life, searching his face for a response.
"A daughter…Edith," he murmured their chosen name in response, still staring at his wife. Cora, his beautiful Cora, was smiling and reached to clutch his arm—a gesture that finally snapped him from the cloud of utter happiness he was shrouded in. "A daughter!" This time his voice was louder, filled with mirth, as he leaned in to kiss his wife.
It was only after several seconds passed that her words and the reality of it all finally sunk in. Robert became aware of the mewling baby in her arms and felt his heart could burst with the sound of the tiny baby, his daughter, lying in his wife's arms. Leaning forward slightly, Robert's eyes met the curious stare of his daughter, whose light blonde hair and dark hazel eyes made her uniquely new and separated her from her sister almost immediately. Her tiny fists balled up and waved around and when his fingers traced over her hand, her own little fingers curled around him, her eyes still fixed intently on her parents.
"You can hold her now," Cora finally whispered, willing to release her baby for a little while. Robert nodded without ever moving his gaze from Edith, holding his arms out in the way he had been taught years earlier, and sighing softly when Cora settled her into his grasp.
He had forgotten the slight, delicate weight of a newborn, and felt his arms freeze up slightly as Cora fussed with the blankets around the baby. After making sure her newest little darling was wrapped securely, she leaned back and hummed contentedly, resting her head on her husband's shoulder.
"Lady Edith Margaret Crawley, I'm so very glad you're here," Robert said softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek and rocking her very slowly.
Cora looked on indulgently and willed herself not to fall asleep. Not just yet, at least. She wanted to enjoy it all for a while longer before sleep. The room had cleared soon after Robert's arrival, though neither of the new parents seemed to notice, and they were left alone with only the crackling fire and whimpering baby.
"What a marvelous Christmas gift," Cora noted, her finger stroking back and forth the baby's cheek in lazy circles. Robert nodded, still watching Edith intently and pressed another kiss to Cora's forehead in reply.
When Edith's eyes drooped shut a moment later, Robert finally looked back at his wife, who was nearly asleep as well. "You've made me the happiest man in all of England, Darling." He kissed her again, feeling the words and small touches did not adequately convey just how very happy he was.
Their daughter lay before them, and once again he thought his heart might burst with the excitement of it all.
What began as the two of them, both unsure and fragile, had turned to three and made them a family. And now, rounded to a perfect four, Robert felt his world come together in a way it was always meant to be.
And with the overwhelming pride of a new father, Robert watched his wife and baby sleep, his eyes guarding them as he recited silent promises to keep them safe from harm and as happy as they could possibly be.
His darling girls.
His family.
