"Yes, the fluid is almost gone."

...

"Thank you, mum, I am happy with that too."

...

"No, I will still need treatment to make sure it disappears fully."

...

"I do not know, it can take months before the headaches will be fully gone, Dr. Clarkson even warned me that I may never get fully rid of them."

...

"I can deal with that. As long as I am healthy, I am happy.

...

"Oh. Uhm yes of course I will send you a copy."

...

"I do not think I will do a book tour outside of England this time."

...

"I will think about it and let you know."

...

"I love you to mama."

Robert put his hand on Cora's leg, they were driving back home after the fantastic dinner. "Darling, you did not tell your mother about the pregnancy."

Cora took Robert's hand in hers and turned towards him. "I want to keep it between us for a little longer if that is alright with you?"

"If that is what you want, of course I am alright with that. I just figured we would share this happy news."

"It is very happy news, but I prefer waiting a little bit longer. What if something goes wrong?"

Rob squeezed her hand. "Nothing will go wrong, this little one will stick, it has to. But you are right we should wait to tell everybody."

"Once we are through the first trimester we can share. But we have the good news about the brain fluid that we can share."

"I am afraid papa en mama will be asleep when we arrive back at Downton."

"That is alright. I am tired anyway, so I would love to go directly upstairs."

Robert walked into the bedroom; he loved how Cora had made it her own with slight changes in the decoration. He looked at her figure in the bed, she was reading a book. He was expecting her to be asleep, she had been dozing off in the car. Quickly he took his housecoat off and put his slippers next to the bed. He pulled the covers back and slipped under them, while turning on his right side so he could see Cora.

She also laid down after putting her book on the nightstand. Robert scooted closer to her, normally it was Cora who came close to him at night. He kissed her neck. The fireplace was crackling in the background. He loved the sound of it, but the room also got a nice glow at night. He was getting used to falling asleep with the fire burning.

Cora loved the way Robert scooted closer, his big hand came to a rest on her abdomen, and she immediately covered his hand with hers. His warm and soft lips touched the skin on her neck. He had not been this relaxed in weeks. It filled her heart with love and relief.

"I still cannot believe you have a little one in there."

Cora sighed. "It feels like a miracle." She brushed over his hand.

Robert came even closer to Cora and kissed her on the lips now. "Our amazing miracle." He felt her hand moving to his chest, playing with his chest hair. The kiss intensified, hands roaming over their bodies, trying to find bare skin.

A knock on the door made them freeze. Robert lifted himself half up. "Who is there."

"O'Brien, Milord. Can I come in?"

Cora pulled down her nightshirt and fixed her hair as best as she could. She saw that Robert did the same. "Come in." She answered O'Brien.

"I am sorry if I woke you, Milady." O'Brien had a look on her face as if she knew they had not been asleep. "Milord, Carson has sent me to tell you that there is a fire in the village."

"A fire? Where?"

"The pub Milord."

Robert jumped out of bed. "Tell Carson that I am on my way."

"Robert?" Cora was sitting on her knees on the matrass. "Where are you going?"

Robert was unbuttoning his nightshirt. "To the village of course."

"Why?" Cora did not understand why they were informed about the fire in the middle of the night.

"Cora, you do understand that we are responsible for the village. It is part of our estate. The people count on us for support. I need to know how bad this is and how many people are affected by it. My father would normally be the one going, but I think you understand why he will not be woken tonight?"

Cora felt guilty for questioning him. This village was important to him and his family. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Robert leaned on the bed, stretched his neck, and kissed her softly on the lips. "I prefer that you and our little bean stay safely in bed. You also need your rest."

Cora touched his cheek. "I do not think I will get much sleep, knowing you will be out there."

Robert smirked. "You make it sound as if I am going into the wilderness."

"But you are going towards a fire."

Robert had changed into his clothes in the meantime. He walked around the bed and sat down on it. He took Cora's hand in his. "I promise that I will be careful. Please try and sleep." Gently kissing her forehead.

"What a relief everybody got out safely." Robert shook the hand of the pub owner."

"We did not have any guest for this night. My wife woke up from the fire and rushed us out."

"Milord, thank you for coming. How is your father doing?"

The pub owners wife shook Robert's hand."

"Mrs. Watson." Robert greeted her. "He is doing well, thank you for asking."

"I have to admit, when I saw you instead of your father, I assumed the worst."

Robert smiled at her. "Since I was at Downton it seemed better for me to come. He needs to be mindful of what he does."

Mrs. Watson looked around. "And Mrs. Crawley?"

This question confused him. Did she ask about his mother or Cora? Probably, Cora, Mrs. Watson would have said Lady Grantham if she meant Violet. But it also confused him why either of them would be here. "Back at the house." He answered shortly.

"I hope she is doing well, Milord." Mrs Watson put her hand briefly on Robert's arm and gave him a sympathetic look. At the same time his attention was drawn by the head of the fire department.

"We got everything under control, only the house has fire damage, the pub itself will have some smoke damage."

"Thank you Drewe. That is good to hear. Now let us find a place for the Watson's to sleep tonight."

"We can sleep in one of the rooms in the pub, Milord." Mr. Watson said. "I prefer to stay at the pub."

"Give our well wishes to Mrs Crawley." Mrs Watson said, while taking her husband's arm and walking away.

Robert was relieved that the damage was not enormous. Tomorrow he would discuss with his father if and how they could help them rebuild their house. Now he just wanted to go home and crawl against Cora. He got the feeling Mrs Watson knew something was wrong with Cora. They had not told anybody outside the family, but villagers had probably seen them going in and out of the hospital and Dr Clarkson's office. Even though Cora was getting better, he was scared this pregnancy would mess things up again. He had hoped for her to be fully healthy again before a pregnancy.

Quietly he opened the door to her bedroom. The fire was barely burning, he saw Cora's figure under the duvet. It seemed that she was sleeping. Quickly he changed into his night clothes and got under the covers. While he tried to get comfortable, he felt the bed move. Cora turned around, wrapped her arm over his body and pulled him closer. He turned fully on his side and felt her hand brushing over his back. Her face was close to his and she kissed the tip of his nose.

"Was it very bad?"

Robert sighed and took her hand that she moved from his back to his chest. He kissed her knuckles. "One house burned down, but no casualties."

"Good." Cora got even closer. "Now get some sleep, you can tell me everything in the morning."