Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Sense and Sensibility! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates on the second and fourth Saturday of each month!

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Marianne panted for breath in the moments after their baby's arrival as her body worked to stabilize itself while her bleeding ominously continued.

Christopher found himself walking a tightrope between devastating despair and incomprehensible joy as he cradled his ailing wife against him while they both stared down at their new baby.

He watched the midwife huff under her breath and scowl as she worked frantically to stop the flow of blood from Marianne's abused womb.

"...Christopher?" Marianne asked in a dreamy voice as her eyes threatened to close.

Their baby blinked up at them as Christopher quickly replied, "Yes, my darling?"

"...I'm cold." Marianne whispered.

He felt her shiver violently against him as the midwife continued her valiant quest to save her patient.

The baby whined at the unwelcome jolt she received from her mother's sudden motion as Christopher thoughtfully piled the dampened blankets on the bed around Marianne in a desperate attempt to ward off the assaulting chill.

"Thank you……." Marianne breathed gratefully as she closed her eyes.

Between the look on the midwife's face and his darling's clear temptation to enter what he feared would be an eternal sleep, Christopher urged his beloved to remain earthside and speak, "Marianne, my darling……..She is truly flawless….What shall we name her?"

"My cousin was called Emma……on my father's side." Marianne whispered slowly, "My mother's name is Delilah."

"Emma Delilah is a beautiful name." Christopher nodded.

He reached around his wife to clutch their baby as he noticed that her arms relinquished their hold as exhaustion overcame her.

Worry and stress creased his face as he asked quickly, "Marianne?...Marianne? Stay with me, my love……." His eyes softened with the pleading of a desperate man as he begged, "Please don't-"

"-You can let her sleep, Colonel, she'll be alright." The midwife announced as she sat back from her messy task and sighed.

He looked over to see her wipe her forehead with the back of a scarlet hand.

"You were able to stop the bleeding?" He questioned with his brow furrowed.

"I've saved her life, Colonel." The midwife grouched, "Let her rest and when she wakes, we'll see that she has proper food and water. I don't place much importance on doctors' recommendations that new mothers limit their diets….between her ordeal, her loss of blood, and feeding her babe, if she so chooses…..Regardless, she'll need her nutrients. Gruel doesn't replenish a body very well, I can tell you that."

Christopher closed his eyes and sighed in grateful relief as he gently pressed Marianne and their little girl to his chest.

While the midwife cleaned her patients and the bed, he moved his darlings only when absolutely necessary.

As his wife and child slept, Christopher stared down at his loves in absolute enrapturement.

Marianne slumbered peacefully as Christopher bent down and placed a loving kiss of devoted appreciation on her forehead.

Their baby cooed as he pulled away.

The soft smile of fatherly love that manifested on his face in response was touching to see.

Even the stern midwife grinned to herself as she glanced up and caught the look of complete enrapturement on the Colonel's face.

The new family rested together throughout that night, but Christopher didn't sleep for a single moment.

Instead, he vigilantly watched over his wife and daughter, as if he expected some unforeseen peril to emerge from the darkness and steal them away.

Marianne lay with her ear against his heart, soothed by his pulse, his familiar scent, and the welcoming warmth of his body.

As little Emma cuddled against her mother's breasts, Christopher watched his newborn sleep without a care.

Christopher gazed down at his daughter and stroked her chubby cheek with the tip of his finger as he vowed to her in his low drawl, "I'll always protect you, my little one………..and I will always love you…..in this life and the next."

Colonel Brandon was no fool.

He realized an infant could not possibly understand or know what his words meant.

Regardless, he drew in a quiet gasp of repressed wonder as a small smile curled his daughter's lips when she heard his solemn vow.

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While Marianne recovered from Emma's harrowing arrival, she and Christopher began to acquaint themselves with parenthood.

Mrs. Brandon had more than enough help between her servants, mother, and sisters.

Mrs. Dashwood, Elinor, and Margaret had eagerly come for an extended stay at the Brandon family's home as soon as they had received news of the birth.

Caring for a newborn meant exhaustion and sleepless nights, but Marianne approached those trials with admirable resiliency as she chose to look after her daughter herself as much as possible.

Other mothers often consigned their babies to the arms of wet nurses, but the very thought brought sad tears to Marianne's blue eyes.

Christopher's appreciation for his wife only grew as he witnessed how tenderly she cared for their daughter.

He watched the diligence Marianne showed as she gave little Emma each of her meals, regardless of the hour or the frequency.

Christopher helped where he could and assisted with cleaning and changing his child, although he greatly enjoyed seeing Marianne feed their little one.

Each morning, as soon as he woke, he went to the nursery to watch Marianne gently rock in the wooden chair by their daughter's bassinet with Emma at her breast.

Christopher would gaze at the sublime sight of his wife bonding with their baby as a gentle expression of silent awe drifted across his face.

In the stillness of those early mornings, Marianne would sing quiet songs to their small daughter.

Her beautiful voice kept their baby soothed while she lay at her breast, but it completely captivated Christopher.

There were times on those mornings, as he gazed at Marianne and Emma, that it frightened him to think he may have imagined it all.

As Emma slowly moved out of the early stages of infancy and began to grow, a part of Christopher remained frightened that one day he would wake up to an empty, lonely estate, only to be told that his beautiful family and his darling Marianne had been nothing but a fleeting fantasy.

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Colonel Brandon delighted in family life.

Marianne and Emma were truly his reality, his world, and his reason for existence.

As the seasons changed, little Emma continued to grow, learn, and thrive.

Her hair proved to be the same shade of auburn as her mother's, which made Christopher smile.

Everytime she smiled, Emma's blue eyes sparkled like Marianne's.

On many occasions, Beth visited the family with her own daughter, who had celebrated her second birthday a few months after Emma's entry into the world.

The girls were too young to play together yet, but Marianne did enjoy speaking with Eliza while they held their little ones on their laps.

Christopher sat beside them in the parlor one afternoon and smiled while two of the most important women in his life enjoyed each other's company.

"You should visit us more often, Beth!" Marianne cordially exclaimed to their guest, "Perhaps as the girls age, they'll become good friends!"

Christopher nodded in agreement with his wife, which earned a polite reply from Beth as she grinned, "Perhaps I shall, it would be lovely to see them as amiable playmates! There are so few children where we stay in the countryside!"

"And on this estate as well." Marianne smiled, "A single detriment to seeking a more peaceful life, I suppose."

"Yes, I agree." Beth nodded.

As the two women began to exchange anecdotes about motherhood, Christopher allowed his mind to relax into daydreams.

He hadn't remembered a time when he had been happier.

His ward, her daughter, his wife, and his own little one were all there, in his home, happily visiting with one another.

Together, they enjoyed a blissful afternoon and several delicious cups of tea served with fresh biscuits.

What greater bliss could he ever possibly know?

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Christopher had never imagined that he would find happiness after Eliza's death, but Marianne had surprised him.

He had never imagined a more pleasant scene than the one he had experienced in the parlor that day, but his wife had other ideas that evening as he lay in bed while she washed her face in the basin next to the dresser.

"My darling, did you mean what you said today?...While you spoke with Beth?" He frowned.

"...About her visiting more often?" Marianne replied as she dried her face and blinked at him, "Of course, Christopher. I enjoy talking with Beth very much! I'd love to see her more frequently, I think we could become the best of friends."

"Of course….." Christopher smiled for a moment before he asked, "...My love? I listened to you mention your concern about Emma's lack of playmates." He frowned, "If the matter worries you, we will arrange to go into London more often so that she may endeavor to meet other children."

Marianne shrugged as she stood, walked over, and crawled into bed to rest on her husband's shoulder, "...Perhaps we can, but I'm not particularly bothered about it, Christopher. If Beth visits more, Emma will have someone nearby who's close to her age. Not to mention, she'll have a younger playmate soon enough."

A moment of silence ushered in staggering realization.

Christopher's eyes widened as Marianne grinned up at him.

"Marianne……?" He asked in a breathless whisper as he sat up urgently, "Do you mean to tell me that you're…….?"

"I shall do my best to bear you a son this time, my love!" Marianne laughed.

The gender of their unborn child mattered little as a torrent of emotions swept over Christopher.

He clutched her tightly to him as he gasped, "Oh, my darling Marianne!"

She laughed as her husband gave her a loving kiss.

Marianne cupped Christopher's face in her hands while their passion ignited in the darkness of their bedchamber.

Colonel Brandon did his best to nurture the love he shared with his wife and to shower her in decadent gestures of appreciative affection.

Marianne had become his world, had given him a new one, and continued to be his love, his wife, his life……entirely.