Prepared

September 1930

Two of them. Two of them at the same time.

Mary had learned it four months ago, and she still was in shock. But they were there, battling each other for any more space in her womb, one set of legs lodged in the left side of her ribs, and the other's head lodged in the right for ages. She had never been more uncomfortable in her life, she thought during the endless nights she spent tossing around in bed, hardly ever finding a decent position to fall asleep in.

She and Matthew hadn't really been trying for another, but on the other hand, they certainly weren't stopping it from happening. After the loss of their last child, everyone was happy to hear they were expecting again (Cora especially, the more grandchildren she had to coddle, the better), but she could see the tiniest hint of fear behind their eyes. She didn't want them to think that these two would replace him, because they wouldn't. He was so, so tiny in her arms, and even though she only held him for a few moments, he was still real.

She still thought of him every day.

Exactly two weeks after Robbie had left for prep school, her pains began. Mary insisted that Matthew be in the room with her. Dr Clarkson obviously protested, but after a lingering glare from the Countess, he relented. She didn't want to be alone if something terrible happened, because honestly, she didn't think she could handle it again.

But she didn't have to worry. Both of them, both of her sweet little girls, had come into the world screaming like they had been set on fire. Nothing could have prepared her for the relief that came washing over her body when they were both perfectly fine.

George and Alice came bounding into the room once they had returned home from school, excitedly asking their parents what sort of siblings they had now.

"I knew you had them, Mama, because Carson was there after school and Papa had promised to take us home so I knew something had happened! But he wouldn't tell us anything, Mama! He's very good at keeping secrets," her daughter said, speaking at a million miles an hour.

Mary laughed, watching as Alice anxiously stood on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse at the bundle in her arms. "This one is Eleanor," she said, reaching forward to stroke a finger down her little cheek, "and she looks very much like you."

She watched as her children leaned far into the bed, looking at her with a bit of trepidation.

"And the one your Papa has, her name is Matilda."

"Matilda?" Her son piped up, his confusion of the name choice obvious.

"Well, it's your Aunt Sybil's middle name," Matthew said. He didn't like it either, she knew, but she had to honour at least one of her sisters somehow.

"Darling, it was either that or Eugenia, and I let you have your pick," she retorted, wondering how on earth her parents had decided that those were acceptable second names for their children.

Noticing the tension between her own parents, Alice broke in. "Can we call her Tilly? There's a girl in my class named that, and she's very nice."

Matthew smiled at his seven-year-old daughter. "If you'd like, yes."

Soon after, Mary shooed them away, as their schoolwork still needed to be done no matter how many new relatives they had gained that day.

Matthew sighed, settling into a chair beside the bed, Tilly becoming fussy in his arms. "This is one of the many days I wished your father were still here," he murmured.

"How so?"

"Well, he raised three daughters perfectly well, without the need to go into some sort of, I don't know... mental breakdown. Some advice would be lovely."

Mary grinned, trying to restrain any laughter as much as possible for fear of waking Eleanor. "First of all, you are incorrect in presuming that he managed to raise us perfectly well. Austen and Alcott may present sisters as the best of friends, but we were constantly at each other's throats in one way or another until very, very recently. Sybil included. And second of all," his wife continued, eyebrows raised, "if you haven't already had some sort of mental breakdown about Alice, then I daresay you've been doing it wrong all along."

Her husband laughed, and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Well, this will be an even bigger challenge than her, won't it?"

"Unfortunately, I do believe so!"

A/N: YAY THEY'RE FINALLY HAPPY AGAIN. After watching Team USA freaking dominate the women's gymnastics finals I was in a very, very good mood (including the twenty minutes or so of happy tears), so obviously I was in the mood to write something really sickeningly fluffy. So let's all blame Aly Raisman's triumphant face at the end of her floor routine for that!

Anyways, thank you so much for all of the reviews and hits and such! They brighten my day always! Please leave a review if you can :)

Bailey xx