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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Cecilia Elinor Brandon arrived on a snowy Thursday morning.

The fireplaces in the Brandon estate had roared through the night and Marianne had roared along with them.

Christopher had remained by his darling's side for the birth of their second daughter with unwavering loyalty.

Mrs. Dashwood and Elinor had come to stay at the Brandon estate a month prior, which had allowed them to be with Marianne during her second trip to the birthing bed.

As the midwife finished assisting her patient with the final stages of the onerous process, Christopher stared down at the precious newborn his darling held in her arms.

His expression conveyed the same reverent awe it had after Emma's birth, yet Marianne failed to see that through her own worry.

Her skin glistened with the perspiration that soaked her hair and the thin chemise she had worn for the birth as she frowned at Christopher and asked, "...Are you angry with me?"

He found her question bizarre in that tender moment as his gaze moved from the baby to her face as he asked, "Angry?...Oh, my darling Marianne, how could I possibly be angry with you?"

Marianne groaned while she bore down gently as the midwife continued to help her deliver the afterbirth, "Nnngh….You have two daughters and no heirs…..I…..I didn't bear another girl on purpose, Christopher, I-"

Mrs. Dashwood blotted her daughter's forehead with a dampened cloth as Elinor handed an instrument to the midwife.

"-Marianne." Christopher interrupted as he grasped her free hand.

Marianne sighed tiredly as she looked up into his eyes while he frowned and said, "I care not if you bear sons or daughters…..I view each of our children as a precious gift from you….I swear that I will show the utmost diligence concerning their care until the day I breathe my last."

Christopher raised Marianne's hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles as she laughed weakly.

In her arms, the baby let out a quiet coo.

"Would you like to hold her?" Marianne asked Christopher in an exhausted whisper.

It made her smile to notice that he barely took the time to nod in reply before he leaned forward and eagerly scooped his newest little daughter into his arms.

As Colonel Brandon gazed down at his youngest child in loving wonder, their bedroom door creaked open.

Marianne and Christopher looked over to see Emma peering through the crack before footsteps pounded down the hallway.

"Miss Emma! Miss Emma!" They heard Mrs. Millins cry.

The bedroom door swung wide open once their housekeeper caught up to their curious little girl as she snapped, "Come away from there!" Mrs. Millins glanced over at Marianne and Christopher as she quickly apologized, "Forgive me, Mrs. Brandon, Colonel……She scurried up the steps before I could catch her."

"It's alright, Mrs. Millins." Marianne said as she opened her arms and reached out to her daughter, "The babe has already arrived….Let her come in."

Christopher kept his eyes on their eldest child as she walked towards Marianne.

Elinor helped the midwife begin to clean the room while Mrs. Dashwood struggled not to cry tears of joy.

Once Emma approached the bed, Christopher leaned over and returned their newborn to Marianne's arms.

She turned her head to present him with a quick smile before she beamed at their eldest daughter.

Emma wasn't convinced that her mother's smile was genuine.

She frowned as she asked, "...Are you alright, Mummy?"

"I'm perfectly fine, darling." Marianne nodded as the baby wriggled in her grasp.

Christopher frowned as he realized that he had subconsciously leaned in while he listened to his wife and daughter speak.

"Would you like to meet your new sister?" Marianne asked her little girl with a kind smile.

"I heard screaming, Mummy." Emma pouted as she blinked at her mother.

Christopher's frown deepened.

Marianne's heart fluttered as she realized that Emma already possessed her father's great kindness and empathy.

"It's alright, sweetheart……I'm fine now, don't you see?." Marianne reassured her little girl, "Look at your sister! Isn't she lovely?"

As Marianne moved to show Emma the new baby who lay nestled inside the bundle of blankets, Emma frowned at her small, red-faced sibling.

Mrs. Dashwood and Christopher watched closely.

"...That's my sister?" Emma asked.

"It is indeed." Marianne nodded.

"...But she's so small." Emma pouted, "How are we supposed to play together when she's that little?"

Chritopher held back an amused chuckle as Marianne patiently explained, "She'll grow, my darling, and then you two will become fond friends, as I am with your aunt Margaret and aunt Elinor. You were this small yourself when your father and I first met you."

Emma frowned as she contemplated her mother's words for a moment.

Christopher and Marianne exchanged knowing glances before Emma asked her father, "Daddy, do you think my sister will be grown enough to play with me tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, my darling?" Christopher echoed as his eyes flickered from the baby to his little girl, "Perhaps not tomorrow, but soon…..a bit of patience is all it will take, then you two will soon be best friends."

Mrs. Millins frowned in the doorway while Emma grew tired of standing.

She walked around Marianne's bedside and climbed into her father's lap but she never took her eyes off the baby.

"What's my sister's name?" She asked her parents.

Christopher bent forward and gazed at the baby as he whispered in his eldest child's ear, "Cecilia Elinor Brandon. Isn't that a pretty name for a sister?"

"It'd be prettier still if she could play with me." Emma pouted.

Marianne laughed with Mrs. Dashwood.

Christopher's eyes followed his wife's movements as she pulled down her thin chemise once their newborn began to snuffle hungrily at her full breasts.

He watched his youngest child take her first meal as he promised his eldest daughter, "You have my word, Emma…..Tomorrow, we shall spend the entire day together at whatever pursuit you deem suitable."

Emma gasped as her large eyes widened.

She turned and looked up at her father in happy disbelief as she gasped, "Really, Daddy?!?! Do you promise?!"

"I swear it on pain of death." Christopher nodded as he solemnly vowed. Cecilia giggled as he kissed her cheek before he sat her down on her feet, gave her a gentle push, and nodded, "For now, I need to tend your mother and sister. Does that sound fair? They've had quite a day, my dear. Why don't you run along with Mrs. Millins and wait for me at the table? I'll be down for dinner shortly."

"Yes, Daddy!" Emma laughed as she raced over to the housekeeper and happily took her by the hand.

Mrs. Millins closed the door behind them as she turned to take Emma back down the stairs.

"You shouldn't have sent her away, Christopher." Marianne sighed as the quiet sounds of Cecilia's greedy suckling filled the room.

"You need your rest, my love." He whispered as he leaned over and gave her a delicate kiss on the lips.

Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood chatted with the midwife while she finished packing up her supplies, but Christopher was too enraptured with his wife to pay attention to the particulars of their conversations.

Cecilia was beautiful, with a perfectly round face, large eyes, and the most adorable coo.

Christopher gazed at her for a long moment in silent amazement before he leaned in and gave his wife a meaningful kiss that spoke of quiet loving and immeasurable devotion.

Marianne chuckled quietly as she returned her husband's kiss until he pulled away once Cecilia released her nipple and whined impatiently for her mother's other breast.

"I am quite sorry I didn't bear a son this time." She said with a bittersweet laugh as she gazed up at her lover.

"You've given me two flawless daughters, my love." Christopher whispered as he gazed down at Marianne in tender sentiment, "How could I ever ask for anything else?"

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In the storm of emotions that tormented a woman during the hours after childbirth, Marianne foolishly allowed herself to doubt the truth in her husband's kind words.

The next morning, however, after a night of caring for Cecilia in any way possible, including bringing her to and from her mother for feedings, Christopher rose at dawn and waited downstairs for Emma to find him as soon as she woke and dressed.

Father and daughter spent the rest of the day exactly as Christopher had promised they would, together.

While little Cecilia slept against the soft cushions of her mother's breasts, Marianne looked out the large window of her bedroom with her mother and elder sister at her bedside.

All three women wore pleasant smiles on their faces as they watched the Colonel spend time with little Emma.

"How touching to see him so affectionate with the child." Elinor said with a quiet smile.

"He's a good man, Marianne." Mrs. Dashwood declared, "He truly is, you should be proud to call him your husband."

"I'm prouder than I can express, Mother." Marianne sighed happily as she watched her lover and their little girl.

"Can you imagine Willoughby being this attentive?" Elinor scoffed.

"Elinor!" Mrs. Dashwood scowled.

"No, I can't." Marianne shrugged, "I must say, I am rather grateful to him though."

"Grateful?!" Elinor exclaimed.

"Whatever do you mean, my darling?" Mrs. Dashwood asked as she frowned.

Marianne's eyes moved from Emma and Christopher out in the yard to little Cecilia who cuddled at her breast.

She sighed as she said, "Without Willoughby's betrayal, I'd…..I'd never have known true love. I'd never have met my daughters……My life would have most likely become a tragedy."

Her mother and sister blinked as Marianne smiled, "I never would have seen what a wonderful man Christopher really is…..and I can't imagine my days without him."

Outside, as Christopher enjoyed the afternoon with his little girl, he couldn't remove the jovial smile from his face.

Whenever he looked at Emma, his heart warmed.

In her bright, blue eyes, he saw Marianne staring back at him.