Hi readers! Here is chapter 3. As promised, it's my take on Cora and Robert. Keep forgetting to say this, but everything belongs to Julian Fellowes. Otherwise, things may have ended differently. I'm dedicating this to all of the lovely people that have reviewed, followed or favourited so far. Every time it happens, it makes me so happy. Anyway enjoy!

Listening to the gravel crunch beneath him as he walked, Robert gazed around the grounds of Downton, breathing in the fresh Yorkshire air. He spotted Cora sitting on a bench by herself, in the shade of a large oak tree. Hesitating, he stood still, debating on whether or not to approach her. This morning when they awoke, he had murmured a "good morning", squeezed her hand and left the room to get dressed. Doubt began to fill him, keeping him rooted to the spot. When they had finally managed to get past Sybil's death and Cora had stopped pushing him away, they had grown stronger than ever. But surely a one year anniversary of the horrible event was bound to make old memories surface?

In the end he made his way over to her, Isis bounding along at his side. He sat on the edge of the bench silently. She didn't say anything, so he stared ahead at the oak tree. He recollected how, in her youth, Sybil had attempted to scale the trunk, clinging to the twisted gnarled bark and reaching for the lower branches in the hope of pulling herself higher. Even as a child she was a rebel, he thought fondly. And when she became a woman she took it too a new level. He couldn't help but remember the her spirited arguments about women's rights and the vote. He also recalled when she had gone to Ripon for the count. Those were the old days. Then the war had come and she'd become a nurse. After that, all had changed and she had left them behind for a new life in Dublin.

He was startled when Cora suddenly broke the silence, pulling him out of his reverie. "How old was she when she tried to climb the tree?" she asked.

"Eight, if memory serves correctly," he replied.

She smiled slightly and extended her arm towards him, holding out her hand. He took it hesitantly, stroking her fingers encased in the leather. Her deep blue eyes looked into his. "I know what you're thinking Robert. But you should know that I don't blame you."

"Really darling?" he asked. "I could certainly understand why you would if you did feel that that I was to blame."

She was looking down now, but he saw a tear fall from between her lashes. "You know what Dr. Clarkson told us. You know how I feel," she said fiercely.

He could only nod at her. The tear had slid down her face, gliding freely across every contour of her skin. But her voice was steady, and he marvelled at the strength of his wife. "I'm done pushing you away Robert. In fact I rather need someone to sit and recount my memories of her with."

Her voice was thick with emotion now and he could see more tears falling down her face. Without hesitation he shifted along the bench and swept her into his arms, holding her close. "Just stay here then," he breathed into her hair. "Because I've got as many memories as you."

I know this was different from previous chapters, but I felt that it had to be this way, so we could focus on their relationship and how they would have felt. Please, please, please review. That's all I ask. Next chapter, at the suggestion of Rosie80, I'm going to take on Thomas remembering Sybil.