AN: so, we're finally to Chapter 20! I know I said I'd be wrapping up in a few chapters, but really I don't know how many more chapters' it'll be. As many as it takes to wrap up the story properly.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Downton Abbey.
A month has passed; Mary would now be six month's pregnant. It's now autumn.
"I'm positively huge!" Mary complained as she observed herself in the mirror. "You are not darling; you're pregnant, and beautiful." Matthew corrected. "Oh darling, you don't have to lie, I know that I'm huge." Mary sighed as she adjusted her string of pearls. "I wouldn't lie to you Mary." Matthew rolled his eyes. "I suppose it doesn't really matter how I look, I'm only having tea with Edith and Sybil." Mary said, mostly to herself.
"While you're doing that, I'm going to visit my mother." Matthew informed his wife. "Oh? That's wonderful darling. Do tell your mother not to be such a stranger, I know she and my mother don't always get along well, but I do miss her, and it's terribly difficult to get out of the house, with my condition and what not." Mary said excitedly. "Of course I will." Matthew nodded. Mary's eyes flickered to the clock. "I really should make sure everything is in order. You're sure you don't need my help?' Mary asked her husband. "No, darling, I'm quite alright." Matthew insisted, for what may have been the hundredth time that afternoon. "Alright." Mary said warily, and leaned down to kiss her husband gently. "I'll see you this evening then?" Matthew asked before she left. "Of course darling." Mary said. "I love you." Matthew called as she turned to go. "As I love you." Mary responded and left the room.
She looked down at herself as she walked, and sighed. Her soft blue dress was draped very comfortably, and it was a lovely color, yet she hated wearing it, as she felt gigantic. She could no longer see her feet when she was standing, though it was no loss to her, as the shoes she wore now where not dainty and pretty as the one's she'd always worn before.
"Mary, you look wonderful!" Sybil exclaimed cheerfully as Mary entered the sitting room. "Thank you." Mary said warmly, having learned there was no point in arguing. "Do you know when Mrs. Lowe will arrive?" Sybil asked excitedly. "Edith Will be arriving quite soon I'm sure. She doesn't live far from here." Mary laughed as she carefully lowered herself into an arm chair.
"I can't believe we've not seen her for a month! Though I do hope they enjoyed themselves!" Sybil giggled. "I'm sure that they did, or else Edith would have had time to write." Mary said with a smirk, causing Sybil to laugh again. The door opened, and Carson Stepped in. "Mrs. Lowe, has arrived." He announced as Edith stepped in, her face alight with a grin.
"Edith!" Sybil jumped up to hug her sister, who returned the affection happily. "I'd greet you in the same way, though I find it rather difficult to jump up with such vigor." Mary laughed. "Mary, you're positively glowing!" Edith exclaimed as she leaned down to hug her sister, before settling properly into a chair. Carson watched the scene briefly with a smile, glad to see all three sisters finally getting along, before he silently backed out of the room.
Sybil poured each of them a cup of tea as light chatter began to fill the room. "Now Edith, we're dying to know how your honeymoon was." Mary smiled at her sister who blushed, and stared at her tea. "Oh Edith, are we back to this now?" Sybil laughed at her sister's shy outlook. "No, no, it was… Wonderful." Edith managed to get out.
"We assumed it must have been." Mary smiled as she took a nibble of a small seed cake. "Why is that?" Edith asked curiously. "If it hadn't, you would have had much more time on your hands, and we would have received several letters." Mary said simply, causing Edith to turn a bright crimson. "You know, you're right." Edith laughed quietly.
"Was it as wonderful as Mary made it sound?" Sybil asked her sister curiously. Edith nodded "It was that and it was more." "I see you took the advice I gave you before your wedding to heart." Mary teased, making Edith's already pink face turn a bright crimson "I suppose I did, and you were very right." Edith agreed. "I'm so glad everything is going so wonderfully for you!" Sybil smiled warmly at her sister, though she felt a pang of jealousy in her heart. Both of her sisters were allowed to marry who they loved, and were ever so happy… And God knew how long she'd have to wait-
"Yes, very glad! Enjoy it while it lasts darling, because I'll tell you, this" Mary gestured to her stomach "Is not fun." Edith's face paled, just a little "Is it really terrible Mary?" Edith asked curiously. She'd never seen herself as the maternal type- had never wanted to have a baby, but now that she had married Gregory, well that had changed. "It isn't terrible… most of the time. It's unpleasant, a bit of the time, and dreadfully uncomfortable, but it's also, I don't know… Magical." Mary sighed wistfully. "What does it feel like?" Sybil, who'd, had very few encounters with pregnant women before her sister, asked curiously. "Like nothing I can think of. Obviously, you swell to the size of a whale, you feel ill in the mornings, you're sore all over, and sometimes it feels as if you're being kicked apart- You know, it is funny, the dreadful parts are so easy to describe, but the good parts aren't. It's simply like magic. One day you're thin as a rail, and the next you're round with child. One day you hardly feel different, and then you feel this little flutter, almost like bubbles, and then another day you feel it kicking against your hand, and it's amazing, because you've got a life growing inside of you." Mary explained.
"Wow." Edith sighed. "It's kicking now." Mary laughed and then winced as the child kicked her side. "Do you mind if I felt it?" Edith asked timidly. "Heavens no, give me your hand." Mary said, and Edith reached out warily. Mary grabbed her hand, and pressed it to the spot that the baby was kicking. Edith's eyes widened, and she smiled "It's… Amazing!" She gasped. "This could be you in just a few months dear." Mary smiled warmly at her fair haired sister. "I do hope so." Edith decided.
"Just imagine if our children grew up so close in age- why they could be the closest friends." Mary smiled at the thought. "Oh that would be wonderful! If only Sybil could also know the joys of marriage." Edith turned to her younger sister and took her hand. "I'm certain she will marry soon, she's a Crawley after all, and Men cannot resist us!" Mary laughed, and Edith joined in, followed by a halfhearted chuckle from Sybil.
"I'm sure I'll be settled within the next two years." Sybil said determinedly. "Oh? Is there some young beau we should know about?" Edith asked excitedly. Mary leaned forward just the slightest bit. Sybil's face turned pink as she panicked "No, no, and no no. No one yet. But I'm sure the war can't go on forever, and then all of the men will return, and it'll be quite easy to find a husband." She covered. "I'm sure there will be many men after you, dear sister. You'll just have to be careful to choose the one who is right." Mary advised subtly, and Sybil nodded in response.
After a moment of silence Sybil looked up at her sisters with a smile. "Now, Edith do tell us everything about your trip!" She insisted and both turned in towards the middles sister, who laughed and turned pink again "Well, honestly we barely spent any time out of the room." Edith admitted causing her sisters to laugh. "I thought as much." Mary laughed. "But it was lovely- oh the gardens, you'd have loved them Sybil…"
AN: The end of another Chapter! Sorry it's a little awkward, but this is the price we must pay for two updates in one day! I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review!