A/N: Thanks for the lovely feedback on the last chapter from those of you who are sticking with this story. I really appreciate the support. I'm glad to have chapter nine for you now, and I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading!

Chapter Nine

May 15, 1892

Elsie had entered the fourth month of her pregnancy, and she was starting to show a little. Because of her more noticeable physical changes and since she had made it through the first trimester, she felt like they were past the danger zone and could start letting others know of their circumstances. And the first person they were going to tell was Lily of course.

The past few months had been full of some close calls. It had almost slipped out a few times, and there had been several occasions where Elsie had to remove Charles's hand from her waist in order to avoid giving them away. But now the time had come where they could begin to open up and rejoice a little more publicly with Lily, their co-workers, and the family they served. They would tell Lady Grantham tomorrow once the most important person had been informed.

As they entered Lily's room, they saw her sitting up in bed stroking Gilbert's fur with one hand and holding her book in the other. She had gotten in the habit of going up to read after dinner, and they certainly were not going to discourage her from that. "Lily, sweetheart, can we come in?" Elsie asked as she and Charles stood just inside the doorway.

Looking up from her book upon hearing her stepmother's Scottish brogue, Lily smiled. "Sure," she said, placing the book down on her nightstand and scooting over so her parents could come sit on the edge of the bed.

"We have some news for you, my love," Elsie said, taking hold of Lily's hand softly. "You're going to be a big sister soon."

"Really?" Lily asked excitedly, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yes, really," Elsie confirmed happily. She was glad to see Lily's excitement, and she was glad to finally be telling Lily this news she knew the young girl had been waiting for.

"How long will it take? How many sleeps?" Lily asked.

Elsie chuckled, "Well, I don't know how many sleeps exactly, but I can tell you I'm in month four right now, which means I should have about five months to go before I can give birth to your baby brother or sister."

"Five months?!" Lily exclaimed exasperatedly.

"I know it seems like a long time, but it will go by quickly. You can help me and your dad get the nursery ready, and you can help me pick out a few clothes and teddies for them from the shops too. Would you like that?"

"Oh, yes please!"

Seeing the excitement on Lily's face made Elsie so thrilled. She couldn't wait for her baby to be here so she could watch Lily bond with her sibling. She knew Lily would be the best big sister, and she wanted her to have that as soon as possible. Unfortunately, as soon as possible meant five months from now, but she knew it would go by quicker than she would realize just as she had told Lily.

"Will you be patient and gentle with them? She will be quite small and not able to do much at first, remember. Like how Miss Lily and Miss Edith were as babies," Charles reminded her.

"I know, Dad," Lily said in pretend exasperation. She knew her father had good intentions, but she also felt she was ready for this. She knew how to hold a baby, and she didn't feel like she needed a reminder to be gentle with them. "I will be gentle with her, and when she is bigger, I can teach her to bake with mum. And we can play outside together."

"Absolutely," Charles confirmed, pressing a kiss to his daughter's forehead. "You are going to be an excellent big sister, my love."

"You certainly are," Elsie echoed, wrapping her arms around Lily in a hug which Charles joined in on. They stayed like that for a while, cherishing one of the last times they would have a group hug as a family of three. Soon, they would be a family of four. And they couldn't wait.

May 16, 1892

As Cora and Robert were getting ready for bed, they began debriefing about their day as they typically did. One thought was all they could focus on though: the news their housekeeper and butler had shared with them earlier in the day. "I should think we'll keep the baby in the nursery like we did with Lily when she was younger. Oh, it will be so nice to have a baby in the house again," Cora commented as she rubbed the last of her lotion in her hands.

"That is will," Robert agreed, taking a step forward and pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead. "I miss when our girls were that little," he admitted.

"Yes, but they're such fun at this age too," Cora noted happily. "And they look up to you so much," she noted, proudly looking at her husband with great love. She loved the way he was with their girls. He was the best daddy to their children she could have ever asked for.

"I don't know if they'll keep feeling that way when they're teenagers, but for now, it's certainly nice to be seen as all-knowing," Robert admitted, pulling back the covers and climbing in bed alongside his wife.

Cora chuckled. "Well, you may not be all-knowing, but you're a good role model, and that's what I love about watching you with them," she said, leaning over to press a kiss to her husband's cheek. "Remember though, Mister Role Model, you have to keep it a secret till the end of the month," she teased.

Robert did have a tendency to let things slip out, and it was important he didn't do that with this. Elsie had asked them to keep it between the four of them until she and Charles were ready to inform the staff. They had decided to wait and tell the staff all at once at the staff garden luncheon at the end of the month, and it was important to Cora that she and Robert honored their request.

"It's only two weeks away. I can keep my mouth shut for that long," Robert said confidently.

"Are you sure about that?" Cora teased.

"Yes, I am," Robert said, rolling his eyes in playful annoyance at his wife's teasing. "I'll have you know I've kept plenty of secrets from you in the past."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Like, where we were going on honeymoon. You didn't find out till we got on the ship."

"Oh, sweetheart, you gave it away weeks before with that 'bright sun, warm water' comment you made. I just let you think I didn't know," she teased, kissing his cheek in a playful apology.

"Oh really? You seemed fairly surprised to me," he said, tickling her side lightly.

"I'm a good actress," Cora said through her giggles.

"We'll see about that. I seem to recall you nearly vomiting just before you went on stage in the Christmas pageant," he teased, still tickling her.

"I was pregnant, you daft man," she responded, recalling her first ever pregnancy.

Robert was quiet for a time, and his eyes twinkled as he remembered how magical he had felt the first time he knew he was going to be a father. While that hadn't panned out the way he and Cora had wanted it to, they were still ever grateful for the magical moments that had occurred before the tragedy. He leaned over and kissed his wife's belly. "I miss kissing our babies in this way," he whispered.

"I do too," Cora admitted with a tad bit of longing in her voice. It faded though by her next statement, "But, Robert, I'd love for you to kiss me there some more."

Robert could feel how much love Cora held for him in that moment, and he wanted to do all he could to keep that love going strong. As much as their teasing had been a sign of their love for one another, so was what they were about to do. "Your wish is my command, m'lady," Robert said obligingly with a saucy gleam in his eye.

"I love you," Cora said, sighing as her husband lifted up her nightgown and began ravishing her body with little soft kisses.

Robert paused and looked up at her with immense love. "I love you, too," he said softly, before resuming his focus on the way in which he was showing her that love. Love was certainly in the air that night, and it always would be.

June 11, 1892

They were at the tea shop together, having a snack after Elsie's checkup with the doctor. All was well with their little one, who they were expecting to arrive in late October or early November. Elsie had had the idea of grabbing a bite so that they could extend their alone time before going back home to serve tea and get on with their evening routine at work. Even though Charles had teased her that they were really doing it because their little one always made her want sweets, he gladly went along with it because he loved any and all time he got to spend with his wife.

"You know, we never did talk middle names for her," Elsie pointed out, rubbing her bump gently with one hand as she picked up her fork with the other and savored her bite of strawberry cake.

"No, we never did," Charles agreed, reaching across the table to wipe the small bit of cream from the corner of her mouth while he teased her, "Though we also refuse to call her anything other than 'her' so I suppose we better choose one if we're so confident we're having a girl."

"I know we've no way of knowing for sure, but I do think she's a girl if I'm honest," Elsie said.

"Well, you know I have no problem with another little princess to spoil," Charles admitted.

"I'm well aware of it Mister 'I never say no'" Elsie teased.

"Hey! You don't say 'no' much either, missy," Charles teased back, well aware they were acting silly, but enjoying teasing his wife.

"I know," Elsie admitted, "I suppose we both spoil her a great deal. And we will do with this one too, won't we?" she said, rubbing her bump affectionately once more.

"We certainly will," Charles agreed, reaching under the table to interlock his fingers with hers, sending their shared protection and love to the baby beneath their hands.

In the silence, promises passed unspoken between them about the love they will show to their baby and the remainder of Elsie's tea was consumed. As they walked back to Downton afterwards, Elsie spoke again, breaking the comfortable silence they had been in.

"You know we still didn't talk about her name," she said.

"We didn't, did we? Well, shall we now?"

"I think we shall. You go first."

"I remember you liked how Lily's middle name was after her aunt," Charles said, "Well, I had thought Rebecca could be nice to honor your sister, our babe's aunt, if you want."

Elsie froze a little upon hearing his words. She was still walking, but her upper body was stiff from emotion.

"I've upset you. I'm sorry." Charles said.

"No, love, please don't be sorry," Elsie said, turning to face her husband and running her hands along his shoulders. "It was a really beautiful and special idea. I just..I just don't know if I'm ready for that. To have a constant reminder of her when I miss her so much would just be..hard."

"I totally understand, my love. I know you miss her so, and I hope we can go and see her once the baby is here. I would love to meet her."

"She would love to meet you," Elsie said, thinking of how Becky's letters her nurse helped her write went on and on about wanting to meet 'your Charlie' as she called him. Charles pressed a kiss to her forehead and they resumed their walk.

"Julia Rebecca doesn't really flow anyway," Elsie said, "What about a flowery name to match Lily? Iris or Daisy, perhaps?"

"Those are beautiful, but I was thinking more along the lines of sharing her middle name with you. What could be better than that?"

"I don't know. It seems rather vain to name a child after myself," Elsie reasoned.

"Well, I think it's not vain at all," Charles protested. "I think it's beautiful, and besides, I was suggesting your middle name, which you also share with your auntie Faye, do you not?"

"I suppose that's true," Elsie conceded. "Julia May Carson," she tested the name aloud, smiling when it rolled right off her tongue. "It certainly has a nice ring to it," she admitted.

"It certainly does," Charles agreed, "and I can't wait to meet her."

"Me either," Elsie agreed. "Thank you for her,Charlie," Elsie said, turning to him with tears of joy in her eyes.

He stopped in the gateway of the courtyard and looked at her with tears of his own beginning to form. "No, thank you, Els. You are carrying her, and I couldn't be more grateful to you for that. I love you so much," he said, his voice breaking slightly.

"And I you," she said, leaning up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

Taking his hand in hers and giving her a final glance to indicate his immense joy at their magical circumstances, he turned and walked with her through the gate. "I suppose we best get on, my love. But I will return your kiss when we get home tonight," he promised with a playful smirk.

"I shall hold you to that," Elsie said with a saucy wink to her husband. "I really shall."

July 28, 1892

Lily was excited about becoming a big sister, but she also knew it was a big responsibility. She was growing a little nervous about it as the days went by and Elsie began to show more, making her realize her future role as a big sister was inching closer and closer and she felt unprepared.

She needed to talk to someone else who was a big sister, but she only knew of two people who were the oldest in their family. Elsie was off the table because she didn't want to worry her stepmother with her fears, so that only left Mary. She knew the 4-year old might not have much to say, but she thought she'd give it a shot anyway. Besides, at least she would get to spend time with her in the process.

They had finished their game of checkers, and Mary had finished bragging about her win, when Lily decided it was time to bring up the subject she had been thinking about. As she sat beside Mary on the edge of her bed, setting up a game of cat's cradle in her fingers, she voiced what was on her mind, "Mary, what's it like being a big sister?" she asked.

"Mama says it's a big sponsability," the younger girl responded, "But I think it's fun. As long as Edith isn't crying anyway," she said, making a face at the idea of listening to her sister cry.

Lily chuckled. "Well, your Mama is right," she said. "And now that I am going to have that responsibility, I don't know how I'll be at it."

"Just do what you do with me and Edie," Mary said, shrugging as though it was an easy answer.

"How do you mean?" Lily asked.

Mary seems confused as to why something which made perfect sense to her couldn't be grasped by a girl much older than her, but she elaborated anyway. "Well, we always have so much fun together. I love when you come home from school, and we get to play. You make me feel better when I get hurt in the garden, and you play with me when Nanny is busy with Edith. If you do all that with your new baby, you will make them very happy."

"Yes, but I won't be able to do that for a while when she is first born. I remember when you were a baby, and I couldn't play with you yet. I just held you from time to time. Oh, and sometimes I talked to you when you were in your crib, and you would look at me and listen until you fell asleep."

"Well, why can't you do all that with your sister too?" Mary asked simply.

"You're right," Lily said excitedly, realizing she was more prepared than she had thought. Mary shrugged like it was no big deal and made her first move with the yarn Lily had set up around her fingers, transferring it to her own hands. It looked much different in Mary's smaller hands, but Lily still managed to make her play and keep the yarn from getting tangled in the process.

"If you have a sister, you should teach her this too. If it's a brother, maybe not." Mary said happily as they kept on playing.

"I think it will be a sister," Lily confessed, "So, this is good practice. Thanks for the fun, Mary."

"You're welcome for the es-perience," she said nonchalantly in her little voice, and Lily couldn't help but smile. She couldn't wait to have a younger sibling and do fun things just like she was doing now. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how Mary was already her little sister in a way. It wasn't the same, but it was close enough. And it was just as special.