Thank you all! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

With quiet steps, Mary made her way out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. There, Carson stood waiting for her with a tray of food already prepared for her. The tray held a cup of tea, sugar and milk, an apple, and a slice of cheesecake. Every morning for the past few weeks, she had Carson prepare this for Anna in the mornings. Mary smiled.

"Looks perfect, Carson."

"It is an odd breakfast," Carson said, eyeing Mary in a knowing fashion. "I assume I will learn what this is all about soon enough?"

"Soon enough," Mary agreed. She gave Carson a wink. It was easy enough to keep their secret from anyone outside of the house, but much harder with Carson who saw much more of their day to day lives. Surely he'd heard Anna throwing up in the mornings or cries when the hormones wracked her body.

Mary balanced the tray in her hands before heading back upstairs where her wife was still asleep. Like every morning, Mary placed the tray on the table next to her wife. She then leaned forward and kissed her wife's temple. Anna merely stirred. Mary let out a small chuckle.

"Darling, you must get up. It's morning."

Anna tugged her pillow up and over her head, groaning loudly.

"I'm so tired." Her voice was muffled. Mary pulled the pillow off Anna's head, forcing her to turn on her back and open her eyes. "Why did you do that?"

"You have to be at work in less than an hour."

"I feel like I just fell asleep." Anna rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. "I can't seem to get enough rest. Yesterday, John found me asleep in one of the closets where I'd gone to find something we were missing."

Mary's brow creased in concern.

"Maybe you shouldn't be working right now, darling. We don't need the income, and we've already talked about you staying home for a year when the baby is here. Perhaps, now's the time. You can rest and prepare for Baby."

"No," Anna protested. "I like working. I'm just tired, is all." She rested her hand on her belly which made Mary smile. Mary pushed Anna's hand up along with the hem of her top before bending over to kiss below Anna's belly button.

"I still am mesmerized by the fact you're having my baby, Anna," Mary said, kissing her belly once more. She sat up and pulled Anna up to her, running her fingers through Anna's hair. "God, I love you."

"And I love you," Anna murmured. They kissed. Mary felt Anna's hands run down her back and to her bottom, giving it a squeeze. "I wish you weren't already dressed for work."

"Me either, but I do have to leave soon. Papa and I have meetings this morning." She cupped Anna's cheek with her hand, leaning back in for an extra kiss. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving," Anna said.

Mary pulled away from their embrace and placed the tray over Anna's lap.

"Eat up. And do take it easy. You're growing a human, our human. If you need to come home early to take a nap, do it." Mary kissed Anna's temple. "I love you. Have a good day."

"I love you, love. You too."

-X-X-X-

Anna struggled to stay awake as she sat at her desk later in the day. She glanced at her clock, hoping it was nearing time to go home, but it was only one. She stood and walked over to the window, thinking maybe the light from outside would help her wake up more.

"How are you feeling?"

She turned to find John standing not too far behind her. He held a tea out to her as an offering. Gratefully, she took it, bringing the hot liquid up to her lips.

"Tired," she said to him. "I never knew I could be this tired."

Soon after they learned they were pregnant, Mary and Anna decided to tell John right away. Every day since, he'd checked in on Anna to see how the pregnancy was fairing.

"You should rest."

"You sound like my wife," Anna replied with a smile.

"Well, your wife is a wise woman, indeed. I can handle everything else we need to do today. Go on home."

Anna had to admit it did sound tempting to go home and go to sleep in her nice, warm bed. She could already feel her body relaxing at the thought, but then she snapped out of it.

"No. I'll be leaving you for a whole year once the baby is born."

"I'll have help. Mary's already spoken about hiring a temporary replacement."

"Yes, but you won't have me," Anna teased. "Plus, I do enjoy work. I'm just tired."

"Which is why you should rest," John said, raising his brow.

"I agree," Mary stated from the door of Anna and John's office. "Thank you Bates for being the voice of reason with my wife. Anna, go home. Rest."

Anna opened her mouth to protest, but a yawn slipped out.

"Fine, fine, I'll go home if it'll make you both happy."

Mary crossed her arms over her chest.

"It will."

Anna turned to face John. "Are you sure you're fine with me leaving."

"Absolutely," John assured her.

With John's permission, Anna finally gave in to the request for her to go home. She told John goodbye before walking over to Mary and kissing her cheek.

"I'll see you later?"

"Of course, darling, now go. Let Carson know if you need anything."

"I will."

-X-X-X-X-X-

The next day was a big day for Anna and Mary. It was their first prenatal appointment. Today, they would find out if they were correct about how far along Anna was and would get to see their baby for the first time. Anna was a ball of anxiousness. What if the doctor couldn't find anything? What if they'd lost the baby?

"Darling," Mary said, rubbing her hand over Anna's upper arm. "Everything is going to be fine. You've been exhausted and throwing up all the time. These are good signs. Stop getting in your head."

"I know. It's just we want this baby so much."

"We do," Mary agreed, "but you can't make yourself sick with worry. It's not good for the baby."

There came a knock at the door and it opened with Dr. Baxter on the otherside. She gave both women a smile.

"How are you feeling, Anna?"

"She's been exhausted all of the time," Mary answered for her. "But that's normal, right?"

"Yes," Dr. Baxter said, "very normal."

They went over a few more questions before Dr. Baxter had Anna move to the bed for the ultrasound. Her heart hammered in her chest. Mary seemed to sense her unease, so she kissed Anna's cheek and held her hand tightly. It took only a moment for Anna's body to relax at the sound of a nice, strong heartbeat.

"There's your baby," Dr. Baxter told them. She pointed to a small blob on the screen. "You're measuring at 8 weeks and 2 days."

"And everything looks alright?" Anna asked.

"Everything looks perfect."

Anna felt Mary squeeze her hand. She glanced up at her wife, who beamed down at her.

"That's our baby," Mary whispered.

"Our baby," Anna repeated.

-X-X-X-X-X-

For their weekly family night, Anna and Mary decided they would tell the family about the baby. They took the ultrasound with them, unable to contain their grins. The moment they stepped inside the study, Edith commented on Mary's happiness.

"Mary, are you alright? I don't think I've ever seen you so….joyful before."

"Yes, I'm happy. Does that bother you?"

Anna nudged against her shoulder, reminding her not to get into it with her sister. Mary watched Edith frown before turning back to hear what her husband was saying to her. Anna brought her arm around Mary and tugged her over to where the appetizers were.

"Come on. I'm starving."

The table was full of all of their favorite foods. Mary grabbed a plate and was excited to see the crab rolls. She grabbed one, making Anna gag.

"Anna?"

"Don't eat that," she said. Her face grayed at the sight of the crab rolls. She turned away, covering her mouth with her hands.

Reluctantly, Mary put her plate down on the table. She glanced around them to see if anyone had noticed her wife's sudden disgust at the food. Thankfully, everyone chatted among themselves.

"Why don't we sit you down and I'll ask Mrs. Hughes to grab you some peppermint tea?"

"I'm fine." Though she stated it strongly, her face blanched at the mere sight of the food.

"Go. Sit," Mary commanded. She eyed her wife until Anna finally gave in and went to take a seat over by Sybil, Tom, and Sybbie. Mary didn't miss how her wife's face lit up towards the little girl.

Once she finished making a new plate, Mary started another one for Anna. Then she went to sit down by Anna and gave her the small plate of appetizers. Anna took it, placing it down on the table beside her.

"I got all your favorites," Mary said, furrowing her brow.

"I'm not hungry," Anna simply answered, though the grayness on her face told another story. Feeling guilty her wife wasn't able to eat, Mary placed her own plate down.

The family chatted for a while, as they waited for the meal to be served. They would be telling everyone the good news right as they sat down for dinner. It was the plan, or had been. Mary was growing more concerned about Anna. Her body was curled forward slightly and her jaw tight.

"Why don't we go home?" Mary whispered.

"I'm fine," Anna protested.

"You look awful."

"It's just….the smell." Anna rocked gently on the edge of her chair before bouncing up and rushing off in the direction of the closest bathroom.

"Is Anna all right?" Robert asked, his eyes wide.

"Yes, she's fine," Mary said. She got up and headed toward the direction of her wife, aware of all the eyes on her.

When she reached the door, she could hear Anna retching on the other side. Mary lifted her hand up to knock, getting no response from Anna.

"Darling?"

A moment later, the door swung opened. Anna wiped a tissue over her lips before throwing it into a bin and starting to wash her hands.

"I feel better."

"Are you sure? We can go home. We don't have to tell them tonight."

"No, we do. We had it all planned!"

"All right, as long as you're sure."

"I am."

They walked back into the large study where everyone had been waiting. Cora went over to Anna, placing her hand on her arm.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes." Anna looked to Mary, who nodded in understanding.

"Yes, Anna is great, actually. She's pregnant. We're pregnant."

Joyful gasped filled the room. Cora clapped, bringing her hands around both of their hands.

"Truly?"

"Truly."

"How did that work?" Edith asked from her seat.

"IVF?" Sybil guessed. "It's amazing what science can do."

"Actually, they used ICI. It's a marvelous thing. They could do it at home using a special syringe. For it to work best, the woman needs to –"

"Mama!" Mary gasped. "I don't believe they need all the details."

"No," Robert agreed, "we do not." He came closer to them. "Congratulations! What a wonderful surprise!"

"Yes," Edith said, standing with Bertie. "Congratulations."

"How exciting! Do tell us more about this ICI," Sybil added.

"I'll tell you all about it." Cora winked to her youngest. "I've been researching."

"How far along are you?" Sybil asked.

"A little over 8 weeks."

"So Sybbie and Marigold will have a cousin come spring!"

"Yes, come spring," Mary beamed. She placed her hand on the small of Anna's back. "Come spring, we'll have a new little Smith-Crawley."

-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna couldn't help but smile as her wife kissed along her lower stomach. Ever since she'd received the positive pregnancy test, it seemed Mary couldn't get enough of it. She slowly began to kiss up Anna's stomach, between her breasts, on her neck, and then her lips.

"He's amazing already," Mary said.

Anna ran her thumb over Mary's lips, making her sigh in content.

"And what if it's a girl?"

"Then she's amazing already."

"I'm hungry," Anna said, wrinkling her nose. "I couldn't eat anything for dinner."

"What do you want?"

"Cheesecake?" At her request, Mary laughed

"Okay, darling." Mary kissed Anna before getting up to go downstairs to get the cheesecake.

-X-X-X-

Mary opened the refrigerator, surprised to find the cheesecake all gone. She panicked.

"Do you need help Lady Mary?" Carson asked, walking around the corner.

"I didn't know you were still here," Mary said as she closed the refrigerator door. "I had come down because Anna is craving cheesecake, but it seems we're all out."

"Oh, we're not out," Carson told her. "Follow me."

Mary did as Carson asked, following behind him to the closet at the end of the hallway where their back-up refrigerator and freezer were. Carson opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a fresh, new cheesecake.

"Put that out earlier today to defrost."

"Defrost?"

As if on cue, Carson opened the freezer. There were stacked three more cheesecakes.

"I asked Ms. Patmore to make a few more than you originally requested. It seemed Anna was going through it faster than expected."

"Oh Carson, you're a godsend. Thank you!"

"I remember your mother craved peppermint ice cream when she was expecting you," Carson said, knowingly.

Mary smiled. "You've figured it out, then?"

"I've had my suspicions. I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you, Carson. We're thrilled."

The cheesecake had been pre-sliced, so Mary just had to put a piece onto a plate to take upstairs to Anna. She bid Carson goodnight and told him to go home to his wife. Then she went back to the bedroom, finding Anna fast asleep. Mary chuckled under her breath. She climbed into the bed, trying a bite of the cheesecake, but she'd never been much of a fan. Mary put the plate down before cuddling next to Anna.

"Goodnight, darling. Sleep tight."

To be continued...