April 1914

"Cora! Darling, are you out here?" Robert called, tramping across the yard toward the walled Monks' Garden. Carson had told him she'd gone out, and he knew this was one of her favorite places.

"Cora!" he called as he reached the fence and opened the gate. He did not see her amongst the arched hedges. "Cora?"

"I'm back here!" he heard her voice call distantly. "On the other side of the wall!"

He quickly crossed the garden, finding the pale green door in the old stone of the side wall and pulling it open. Cora was seated in her wheelchair on the other side, in the midst of the two long rows of bushes and flowers known as Downton's secret garden.

"I thought we'd come sit here instead," she told him. "There's more in bloom out here, and William likes the bright colors…don't you, darling?" she cooed, bending down to nuzzle the four-month-old sitting on her lap. William, who was busy stuffing a small plush lamb in his mouth, gurgled happily.

Robert's heart swelled as he watched them. I love you, he wanted to say. I'm so proud of you. Darling, you're amazing. He still could not quite comprehend that his paralyzed wife had carried a baby and given birth, given him a son and an heir.

"You've got a letter," he said instead, passing her the envelope he'd been carrying in his coat pocket. "From Eleanor."

Cora laughed as she took it. "Didn't we just leave the Napiers' two days ago?" They had just returned from another trip to see to their new granddaughter, their second extended visit in her four weeks of life. "Let's see what your big sister has to say," she said to William, tearing open the envelope as he fought to grab hold of it. "I see you're very curious…I bet it's about your favorite niece."

Robert watched as Cora's eyes scanned the letter, her features lighting up with joy the further she read. She was beautiful, and he was not sure he had ever been so aware of it as he had been in the last few months. Perhaps this was because of the abstinence he insisted on—he was happy to touch her and to let her touch him, but there would be no full intercourse for at least two more years, for Robert was determined not to put her through another pregnancy. However, he suspected his new awareness of her beauty had more to do with the surprising strength he'd seen in their son's delivery. He'd known for years that she was stronger than he emotionally, but the sudden physical strength he had seen in her body as she'd labored had stunned him, and he was now more in awe of Cora than ever before.

"Has Eleanor sent news about Cara?" he finally asked her.

"'News' is probably a strong word," she said, laughing again. "She tells me when, and how much, Cara's slept since we've been gone, and how much she's eaten, and which little dress she's wearing today. All those little details."

He had seen Cora keep a careful log of each of their daughters' activities in the weeks after their arrivals, and she had done the same with William. Eleanor appeared to be equally fascinated with her baby's every move.

"She's such a darling baby," Cora went on, beaming as she gazed back down at the letter. "We'll need to go see her again soon—or have them come here when Eleanor is a bit more recovered. William would like that, wouldn't you, sweetheart? Wouldn't you like to see Cara again?" Cora tickled him, and he giggled.

William's interactions with his new niece had been limited to poking her curiously when he'd been held near her, but Robert thought his favorite part of the whole visit had been watching his wife and his daughter sit together with their babies, passing them back and forth and cooing over their own and each other's, sharing the warmth of new motherhood.

And perhaps in the autumn, Charlotte would join them. She had confided in her mother several months ago that Clarkson had told her she could not have children, but she was quite serene about the matter, saying she had always intended to adopt at least one child, anyway. She and Matthew had recently announced that they were thinking of taking their first baby after they had been married a full year. The younger Crawleys were living quite nearby, having bought a grand townhome in York with part of Charlotte's inheritance.

"Cara is even littler than you are," he heard Cora tell William, kissing the top of his fuzz-covered head.

"He's getting to be quite big," Robert observed proudly, stroking his son's cheek with one finger as William stared up at him, his eyes wide. "A strapping little viscount."

"And he's going to be a strong, handsome earl like his father someday," Cora said. "You'll be big and strong, yes?" she said to the baby, cuddling him closer. "Your papa's a very strong man."

"But not as strong as your mama," Robert said, gazing at her and feeling the familiar pride bubbling in his chest.

"Don't be silly, Robert," she said, brushing the compliment off with a smile.

"No, my darling," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I am very, very proud of you."

AN: Thank you all so much for joining me for this story! I know many of you have been on board since the beginning of The Broken Places a year ago, and I'm honored that you've stuck with me for the whole journey. I've loved writing this AU, and I've loved hearing from so many of you.

Several people have asked me if I'll be writing another sequel for Season 2, or any of the later seasons, and at this point I'm not planning to - mostly because I don't have enough of a "different" plot in mind, and I don't want to just rehash canon with the adjustment of Cora being in a wheelchair. However, I am very curious about how Cora would react to Matthew's war injury (and especially to his recovery from his injury), so I may do a one-shot or two of Season 2 set in this universe that explores that situation.

I don't expect to be posting anything until September at the earliest, though. I have a really intense graduate school program over the summer (it's basically meant to be two semesters crammed into one, so it's going to be awful), and I don't think I'll have any spare time at all. However, the autumn semester is supposed to be a bit more normal, and I'm hoping I'll be able to get back into writing then, even if it's just a one-shot or a drabble here or there!