Author's notes: Please be nice to me, not only is this my first ever Downton fanfiction, but this is also the first thing I've written in years.
Anyway, I've wanted to write this because I always wanted to see more or Robert and Cora's reactions and interactions regarding her brief pregnancy in season one. She enjoy this fluffy piece (with a bit of spice for good measure!)

Written on parchment paper

Cora smiled so widely that she was sure her cheeks would split from the sheer force of it all. She could hardly believe how the day had unfolded – how quickly one's circumstances could change – only a matter of hours ago she had received the joyous news that she was pregnant, and now she lay in bed next to her husband of nearly twenty-five years as he caressed her abdomen with his fingertips.

She never thought she'd be here again. When they had decided all those years ago that Sybil would be their last child, she had prepared herself to be the mother of three spirited young girls, and while the experience had been far from the likes of Little Women, spending the last twenty-four years raising such fine women had been a pleasure…exhausting, but a pleasure, nonetheless. She had seen them as her legacy, the three marks that she would leave on this earth, but now, there was going to be one more.

She should have recognised the signs earlier, she chastised herself, she noticed the symptoms well enough, exhaustion, a change in her hormonal state and an irregularity with her monthly cycles, but at forty-five years old, she had assumed it all meant the end of her fertility. But it wasn't until a couple of weeks prior to their discovery, when constant nausea and tenderness in her breasts had begun, that she realised that something else was going on. So, she had had her suspicions when she summoned Doctor Clarkson, but to hear him say the words to her, for her to then say the same words to her husband made it real on an entirely new level.

"I can't believe it" Robert murmured, breaking her out of her reverie.

She turned her head to side to face him and smiled warmly.

"Neither can I"

And she couldn't. Here they both were, in their forties and already planning for Matthew to inherit the estate, they never could have anticipated this miracle of a curveball. But it was not without its doubts. Cora had to consider how much this would change the lives of her family. Since the proclamation of Matthew as the rightful heir to Robert, they had spent so much of their time integrating him into the family, learning to love him like one of their own and making him feel like he truly had a right to what would be left to him when they died. But now, that could all change. She had seen the way Robert had doted on Matthew, she knew that he had begun to love him not just as an heir, but as a son. She knew he would love their child regardless of what impact their birth would have, but she knew that any changes would not be without their emotional fallout.

And then there was the great question: did Robert want to be a father again? If she had accepted the fact that their third child would be their last, she was sure he would have too. How did he feel about bringing a new life into the house when he was at the age that he was? They had been so focused on getting their daughters settled, and now they would be starting all over again. She couldn't blame him, though, it had all been such a shock, so much so that she'd thought he was going to collapse when she told him the news.

"Cora?" he prompted, and she realised that she'd been staring at him.

"Are you truly happy?" she asked.

"What?"

"About the baby, are you truly happy?"

Robert furrowed his brow and propped himself up on his elbow, but he made sure to keep his other hand on her abdomen.

"Please don't tell me that I've been foolish enough to give you any doubts"

"Not doubts per se, but I know it's been quite a shock for you. People like us…we don't have babies in our forties, I know we didn't plan this, but it's happened now, and there is going to be so much to consider. Not only how our lives will change, but there's Matthew to think about too. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't wish things were different"

"My darling Cora" he began as he leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek, "I can't lie to you and say that I wasn't shocked, because I was. I know that I have no right to be considering our extramarital activities, but I cannot tell you how happy this has made me"

"Do you mean it?"

"I do. As soon as you told me I felt so overwhelmed by all the happiness that I thought my chest was going to burst. I know that there may be changes, and I know that it's unheard of for people like us to be having another child at our age, but this, Cora" he punctuated his words by caressing a soft circle across where their child was growing, "this is our little miracle, and I am bursting with so much love for you right now that I can hardly stand it"

Tears welled in Cora's eyes, but she blinked them away so that she could gaze over at her husband. She wasn't sure why she had doubted him, but if there was one thing that Robert could do, it was make her realise just how much she meant to him. She knew how lucky she was to be a woman in her position and have a marriage that was built so firmly upon love; it was a blessing she was grateful for every day.

"Oh Robert," she sighed, "that makes me so happy" she turned onto her side and pressed a solid kiss against his lips.

He surprised her by pulling her flush against him and making sure that their kiss lingered. He felt her lean into him, and he sucked lightly on her lower lip before allowing her to pull away. A slight blush peppered her cheeks, and he couldn't help but grin, after all, it was those sorts of actions that had led to the creation of their fourth child.

He nuzzled his nose against hers.

"I know that this may change a lot, and I will definitely need to have a very serious talk with Matthew at some point, but right now, I don't want to think about heirs and entails, or even potential scandals, right now I just want to appreciate this moment for what it is, and to revel in the glory of it all"

"Do you think there will be a scandal?" Cora asked, not really caring about the answer.

"Maybe. If there is it won't be much of one. All people will really be able to say is that I clearly love you enough to still be intimate with you, and that's hardly something that people can make out to be negative"

"I suppose people of our station rarely have marriages with love in them, and that kind of intimacy is seen as a duty rather than something people do for pleasure"

"Then I pity them" Robert sighed.

"Me too. And I pity anyone who is unhappy enough in their marriage to make them want to spread gossip about ours"

They were no strangers to scandal, but she had hoped talk of her and Robert would be the furthest thing for anyone's mind after this many years of marriage.

"Well if I do hear anything said about us, I shall make it my duty to tell the world that I do in fact love my wife very much, that we are happy in our marriage and that such happiness has led to the miracle creation of another child" he teased, although he knew deep down that he would defend the honour of his wife until he was blue in the face.

"Would you really?" she chuckled.

"Even if I have to have the announcement written on parchment paper in bold letters and have it sent to everyone we know within a five-hundred mile radius"

"You are ridiculous sometimes" she smiled.

"I'm glad it's only some of the time"

There was a moment of content silence before Cora spoke the other question that had been eating away at her all day.

"Do you think it will be a boy?"

Robert studied her for a moment. She had passed it off as a simple question, but he could see the way her forehead puckered. It was a strange thing, really, to be so happy with so many children and yet have no heir. He had never minded, they had both wanted an heir when they were younger, but Robert had always found his life with their daughters to be perfect. He knew that Cora did too, but he also knew that she had always felt like she had been a disappointment by not having a son. When they were younger, he had done everything in his power to let her know that that was not the case, but with the judgemental eyes of his mother always on her, he couldn't blame her for her insecurities.

"I don't know. I almost feel like we'll continue with our streak and have another girl. That seems to be our way anyway" he replied light-heartedly.

"Do you want it to be a boy?"

"Cora, I will be happy no matter our child is. The most important thing to me is that my wife and all of my children and happy and healthy"

She said nothing.

"Do you want it to be a boy?" he probed.

"I'll be happy regardless too, but you know that I have always wanted to give you a son"

He reached out to stroke her cheek.

"I know you have, darling. But you know that I love our girls more than words can say, and I know you feel as though you've let me down somehow, but I promise that is not the case. You gave me three beautiful girls and I am so proud of all of you" his words managed to coax another smile out of her, "Of course I will be overjoyed to have a son and heir, but another beautiful little girl will give me just as much happiness"

"I am glad to hear you say that" she beamed, "what are you going to say to Matthew?"

Robert sighed.

"I don't know. It's not going to be an easy conversation. It's a bit unfair really, we bring him here, integrate him into our lives and set him up to be the new master of this estate, and now his entire future is in limbo"

"I know he means a lot to you"

"He does, loath as I am to express my emotions so openly, but he really does mean a great deal to me. I know that he'll be understanding about it all, but it'll be a difficult thing for him to digest. Hopefully I'll be able to make it up to him somehow, let them keep Crawley house perhaps"

"I think he'd appreciate your concern for him, because he'll know that you don't have to give him a scrap if it is a boy"

"I wouldn't want us to part like that. Anyway, I don't want to think about the politics of it all. Right now, the only thing I want to think about is that my darling wife has given me the wonderful news that she is pregnant with our fourth child – something that I never thought would happen. I just want to revel in how truly blessed we are"

He flashed her a beaming smile, one so infectious that she couldn't help but do the same. They'd only discovered that she was pregnant a few hours ago, and here he was ready to proclaim his joy from the rooftops.

He leaned in to kiss her again, as it seemed to be the only way he could express the joy that was bursting in his chest. The kiss was languid, but he poured every ounce of his passion into it, drawing them both into an abyss of pleasure. He skated his tongue across her lower lip and was immediately granted access, and as their tongues danced, he found himself falling deeper and deeper into frenzy. Cora responded with equal hunger, and she shuffled her body against his in an attempt to be as close as possible. Kissing her was deliciously addicting, and he was convinced that he'd sooner pass out from the lack of oxygen than break the contact. All he could think about was how much he adored her, and the blessing she was about to give him. He moaned beside himself, a moan that rippled through his chest, as he spread his hand in star-like patterns through her hair, caressing it in the way he always loved to when they were intimate. But before he could get too carried away, Cora pulled away and smiled at him.

"Careful" she warned, her chest heaving slightly, "it's ministrations such as that caused all of this"

He chuckled lowly.

"I know, I know"

"Well, you didn't see to know when I broke the news to you this afternoon"

"It was just a shock; we've gone this long without our intimacy leading to anything and now this"

She tapped him on the nose playfully.

"All I'm saying is that you need to control yourself" she teased.

"Oh, is that so? I suppose this pregnancy was all my doing, was it?"

"That's right" she smirked.

"If I remember correctly, Lady Grantham, it wasn't only my romantic advances that have been taking place recently. I can recall many a night when you have barely given me time to think before trying to absolutely ravish me" he teased, his voice now carrying his words in a deep baritone.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she remarked as the blush grew on her cheeks.

"Oh-ho, I think you do. Sometimes I'd walk in here and I could tell just from the look in your eyes how desperate you were for me"

"Nonsense" she sniffed.

"And even if I am telling some little white lies, I don't recall any protests when I've tried to have my wicked way with you"

"Robert!" she practically squealed, and Robert couldn't help but laugh at her reaction to his teasing.

"Well, if you makes you feel better, darling, I shan't touch you anymore" he joked.

"Never? Wouldn't you miss me?"

"Incredibly so" he replied, his voice now serious.

"How much?"

With that, he pinned he to the mattress and hovered over her.

"Let me show you how much"

Author's notes: Oh, how I love them. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed that!