A/N: I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of this story. Thank you once again to adama-roslinlove for giving me these prompts! This chapter has not been edited, so I hope that I was able to catch all of my mistakes. My apologies for any that I missed!

Chapter 3

Robert stirred as the first rays of sunshine made their way through the curtains of the bedroom the next morning. Opening his eyes, he smiled as he found his wife still curled up beside him with her head resting on his chest. He loved these moments in the early morning when he could stare contentedly at her, memorizing her delicate features all over again. She really was so beautiful.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Cora's forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment before he looked down at her, his brow creased with concern. He lay his cheek against hers and closed his eyes with a sigh as his suspicions were confirmed. She felt as if she had a slight fever. He had known better than to indulge her impulses the night before, but he had always been utterly useless when it came to resisting his wife. He began to remove his arm from around her shoulders, intent on dressing for the day so that he could attend to her. She was not often sick, but thirty-three years of married life had taught Robert that his beautiful, darling wife was not the best of patients.

Despite his best efforts, his movements woke Cora from her sleep. She opened her eyes briefly before closing them again with a groan. "Too bright," she muttered, shielding her eyes with her hands before she was interrupted by a fit of coughing.

"Shh, darling," Robert soothed, leaning over to brush Cora's hair out of her face. He gently touched his palm to her forehead, his face taking on a tender expression. "I think you may have a bit of a temperature. How do you feel?"

"Wretched," was her grumbled answer. "I have a headache, and my throat hurts." Remembering his words from the previous evening, Cora shot her husband a meaningful look. "And, if you even think about saying I told you so…"

Robert cleared his throat to deter the chuckle that threatened to erupt from him. He had told her so, but he knew better than you remind her of that. "I wasn't going to say that, love," he responded. "I only want to help you to feel better." Rising from his place on the bed, he walked toward Cora's armoire. "Where do you keep your nightgowns?"

"In the bottom drawer," she answered, endeavoring to sit up so that she could make herself a bit more presentable.

Robert rummaged through the bottom drawer until he found a nightgown and dressing gown. Bringing them over to the bed, he took Cora by the hand, kissing the back of it before helping her to her feet. As he picked up the night dress and held it out to her, he began to laugh. Cora's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"What's so funny?" she questioned.

"I was just thinking that in the thirty plus years we've been married, I've never actually helped you into one of these."

His eyes twinkled with mirth; his wife was less than impressed. Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Incorrigible."

"Darling, I was only teasing," he said, slipping the garment over her head. After she had taken the care to straighten it out, he helped her into her dressing gown and tied securely around her waist before helping her back into bed.

"Robert, it's just a cold; I don't need to be coddled," she scolded, gently. Even if she did feel awful, and even if she did enjoy being waited upon by her husband, there was no sense in him making such a fuss.

"I know that, dearest," he responded as he fluffed the pillows behind her back and brought the covers up around her. "But, I want to make sure that you're well taken care of. Now, I'm going to ring for Baxter to bring you your breakfast before I go ring for Bates." Here he placed a light kiss to her forehead.

Cora shook her head. "I'm not hungry, Robert."

"You still need to eat something. It'll help you feel better." He reached over and pulled the bell cord. Kissing her forehead once more, he said, "I'll be back as soon as I've had breakfast, alright?"

"Alright," she sighed, settling back against her pillows.

After finishing his breakfast, Robert made his way up the stairs and back to the bedroom. As he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he noticed that Cora's breakfast tray sat untouched on the bed beside her, and she lay back on her pillows with her eyes closed; however, he could tell by the way the thumb of her left hand played with her wedding rings that she was not asleep. Shaking his head, he made his way to her side of the bed, pulled up a chair and sat down. "Cora?" he said, softly.

"Mmm?" she murmured.

"Darling, you haven't touched your breakfast. You need to eat to keep your strength up," he pleaded, his voice filled with concern.

Opening her eyes, Cora fixed her husband with a slightly annoyed glare. "I told you. I'm not hungry."

"I know what you told me, my dear, but you need to at least try." Before she could argue with him, he reached across her and sat the tray across her lap. She folded her arms across her chest. Robert once again fought the urge to laugh. In that moment, he was reminded of their three daughters. They had made the very same face his wife was making whenever one of them had tried to feed them something that they didn't want.

He fixed a piece of toast with butter and jam, and held it out to her. She looked at it for a long moment before sighing in exasperation. "I really don't want it, Robert. I do wish you would stop insisting upon me eating."

Robert realized that he was going to have to go about this the hard way. His mouth twitching into a teasing smirk, he placed his hand on her arm and held the toast close to her mouth. "Please be a good girl and just take one bite for me. Please?"

Cora rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Robert," she scoffed. "I'm not a child." Seeing that he was not going to give up, she took the piece of toast and took a small bite. After she had managed to swallow it, wincing a bit as it made its way down her irritated esophagus, she looked at her husband with raised eyebrows. "Satisfied?" she questioned.

"It's a start," was Robert's answer. With a bit more coaxing, he managed to get her to eat a few bites of porridge, and take a few sips of tea. Knowing that his luck was likely to run out at any moment, he removed the tray from her bed and sat it on the floor outside of the bedroom. Once again closing the door behind him, he removed his shoes and jacket and slipped into bed beside his wife.

"Don't you have estate business to attend to?" Cora questioned.

"Nothing is more important to me than you," Robert replied, putting his arm around Cora's shoulder and drawing her close. "Besides, Mary and Tom can handle it."

Cora smiled as she kissed her husband on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "Aren't you afraid you'll get sick, too?"

"Not in the least. Besides, it would be a small price to pay."

Laughing softly, Cora nuzzled her head into Robert's neck. "Darling, will you read to me?"

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, my love," he said, reaching over to his bedside table and retrieving the novel he had been reading for the past couple of days. Before turning to the page where he had left off, he couldn't help but place his left hand under Cora's chin and lift her face gently, placing a soft kiss to her lips. Cora's smile lit up the room, and becoming ill was the furthest thing from Robert's mind when he heard her whisper, "Kiss me again."