Cora opened the door slowly; she was not sure if Robert would be awake. She needed to ask Carson to do something about the squeaking of the door. The curtains were open, and the sun brightened up her room. She had loved this room from the start and over the course of the years she had made it her own.

"Well, look who we have here." Robert said when he saw Cora coming in.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"The same as about two hours ago." He said a bit grumpy.

"I thought so, that's why I brought cards with me. We could play a game."

Robert raised his eyebrows. "And you have time for that?"

Cora pulled the chair that was placed close to Robert's bedside closer and sat down. "I make time for that. Now let us see what can we play? Bezique?"

Robert agreed, but not before he had asked her to pour him a new cup of tea. Carson had put some alcohol in his cup, and when he had smelled it, he put the cup down. He had asked Carson, and he admitted giving him the alcohol. He did not want to drink it; he promised Cora to stay off the liqueur for the coming months. He would be even more bored, than before his ulcer had burst, but he knew he had no other option left.

Cora glanced at him, three days ago he had come home after two days in the hospital. That first night had been one of the scariest of her life. At the same time, it had been a moment to cherish.

When Dr Clarkson had checked on Robert once he had woken up, she called the girls in. Dr. Clarkson had allowed them to go in together. The way Robert had reassured their girls that he would be alright had melted her heart. Mary and Edith had gone back to the house, but she stayed at the hospital. At first, Robert insisted on her getting into the room they prepared for her. But Cora argued that it did not make sense to be sleeping in a different room, that way she could as well sleep at Downton. She asked one of the nurses to put an extra bed in his room and with some reluctance they agreed.

She stayed both days with him. Baxter had tried to make her as representative as possible. She brought easy dresses for her, in which she would be comfortable. She was amazed at how Baxter made her look. As if she always dressed her in a hospital setting. She loved how she brought her night dresses that were a bit more covered then she usually used at home.

"A penny for you thoughts." Robert said.

Cora looked up at him and smiled. "The night you got admitted to the hospital went through my mind."

Robert reached for her hand. His mobility was still not much, but at least he could move again. The first two days had been horrible, pain-wise. "Let us not think about the scary things. I loved it when you, against all protocol got in my bed." He took her hand firmly in his.

Cora chuckled. "Which of the two moments do you mean?"

Now Robert chuckled too, he held his belly while he tried not to laugh. "I think you know. The one in the middle of the night, when you finally gave up trying to get to sleep in the bed they gave you. That you forced the nurses to put in my room"

"I did not force them." Cora said innocently, she knew that she had insisted on that bed in the room. "It was so uncomfortable and knowing you were close but not being able to touch you was torture."

"The shocked sound the nurse made when she came in, in the morning was priceless." Robert was fully laughing.

Cora looked at him worried, laughing did hurt him, and that was visible. "We should better start playing that game, it will give you less discomfort." She hoped this would calm him down.

"Remembering that special moment with you also helps with feeling better." He smiled at her.

"Good."

They played and talked for quite a while until the door to her room was opened again, it was Edith.

"Mama, the nurse says that Papa's bandages need to be changed, but she was not sure she could enter."

This comment made Robert laugh again. "Oh my, we have made a reputation." He snickered.

Cora glanced at him, but her cheeks coloured slightly. Which made Robert know she knew what he meant.

"She can enter." Cora answered. "You want me to leave?" This was directed at Robert. Until now, Robert had refused having her in the room during the changing.

"I do not want you to be uncomfortable or scared or anything. It is not a pretty sight."

"She can tell me how it must be done. That way I can take over in the evening, which will give us a bit more privacy." She saw that this comment changed his view on it somewhat. She hated that Robert did not let her in the room, as if she needed protection after being splattered with his blood. Although she would not tell him how it made her feel that he did not want her in the room, she tried to gently come up with reasons to be in the room. "And you being covered in blood was also not a pretty sight, this cannot be worse."

"When you really insist, you can stay."

The nurse explained step by step what needed to be done, and they agreed that this afternoon Cora would do the changing, and the nurse would watch if she did everything that was needed. Robert had been right; the wound was still a real wound. She could see that it was healing, but very slowly. At the same time, she had no idea how long it would normally take for a wound like this to heal.

"Are you sure you are up for it?" Robert asked, unsure when Cora unbuttoned his nightshirt.

"Are you up for it?" Cora teased. "It feels as if you have a harder time, excepting me changing your bandages than I have with doing it. Now please tell me when it hurts." She tried warming up her fingers. Her always freezing hands would not be nice on his warm skin. Still, when she touched him, he winched. "Are they still too cold? I am sorry, next time I will warm them in water before touching you."

"You would think I am used to your cold hands, since you try to warm them up with my body every night." He chuckled.

Cora bent down and kissed his lips. "I will never get used to this colder climate."

"Please never do, I love having you close to me at night."

"Now, here we go." Cora pulled gently at the bandage. She quickly cleaned his skin and put the ointment around the wound. Very softly, she brushed over his skin. She felt him tremble. "Does that hurt?"

"No, it is not that."

Cora stopped her movement and looked at him, she was not sure what he meant.

"It is the first time you are touching the wound and it is a weird sensation."

Cora did not move her fingers, but she was making sure her skin kept touching his. "I am surprised by how good it looks compared to this afternoon.

"I think it is pretty ugly, and it has ruined my body for you."

Cora put a clean bandage over the cleaned area and sat down on the matrass. She buttoned his nightshirt close, took his hand and rested it in her lap. "Nothing can ever ruin you for me."

Robert squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "You are only saying that to comfort me."

Making sure she was not putting weight on him, she leaned over him, placing her hand just above his shoulder against the headboard. Her other hand came to a rest against his cheek. "You covered me in your blood, do you think that a scar on your belly will put me off?"

Robert shrugged.

"You have seen my belly over and over and you are still fancying me." Cora brushed with her nose over his.

"What are you talking about?" Robert put his hand on her knee.

"I have stretchmarks and wrinkles, and you still look at me as if I am the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Because you are. Those marks are made by our three wonderful girls and..." he could not finish his sentence.

Cora saw how he hesitated when he said three and knew he referred to their baby boy who never got the chance. She felt a lump in her throat herself. "Sybil left the most marks." She said quietly.

"Oh, Cora." Robert's voice was a sob.

Cora shook her head, in an attempt to get rid of the tears. "But she left us with a beautiful granddaughter, darling Sybbie."

"She did. All our grandchildren are a blessing to have. Seeing you with our own little ones and now with the grandbabies is more than I could have ever wished for."

"Let us make sure you are healthy again; I want to spend so much more time together with you and our growing family." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him tenderly.

A knock on the door made her sit up straight. Baxter opened the door and stepped inside. "Do you need my help preparing for the night?"

Cora brushed over Robert's cheek and got up. "I am sorry, I forgot about the time. Thank you for coming." Together with Baxter, she disappeared into Robert's dressing room. Since he came home, she changed there, it had been easier this way. He could go to sleep when he wanted to, and it would not be embarrassing for Baxter when she helped Cora undress. The staff knew about their relationship, but it was still quite common for couples in their class to sleep in different bedrooms.