The next three days passed in a blur of holiday merriment and endless baby paraphernalia. The house welcomed an endless line of visitors who had come from all over the county to welcome the newest little Crawley. Martha had settled into the house and Rosamund and Marmaduke arrived early on Christmas Eve. The house was bustling and everyone was in an unusually joyous mood.

Cora had enjoyed the visitors and well wishes, though she did already rather miss a full night's sleep. Christmas Day was no exception, and she woke with a splitting headache to the sounds of a child's cry.

Her eyes cracking open, she realized that something was not quite right. And as she sat up, that fact was confirmed. It was not exactly Christmas Morning quite yet; rather, it was nearing two o'clock in the morning. Still pitch black out, there would be no opening of presents or Christmas morning breakfast for several hours.

But as everything clicked into place, and she remembered her baby, the tiny darling little baby who had taken up residence in their bedroom, she stretched out and reached for the buttons on her nightgown, reflexively readying herself to feed Edith again.

Midway through her sleepy actions she realized that Edith was still fast asleep in the bassinette at the foot of their bed. Creeping down the bed and peering over, she watched Edith's tiny soft breaths and peaceful expression. It was not Edith who had woken her up. More alert now, she strained her ears for a moment before realizing what the distant noise was and why it had woken her.

It was not Edith crying, it was Mary.

Cora gathered up her dressing gown from the vanity chair and kissed her baby's cheek before making her way, albeit slowly, out to the hall. Cora had barely been out of bed, as she was still rather sore, but she was certainly not about to get back into bed and pretend as though she didn't hear her daughter's cries.

Mary had been in a particularly delicate mood ever since her new sister's arrival. Cora saw her a few hours after the big event, when both she and Edith had been cleaned up, fed, and had rested for a while. Robert carried her in and she knew immediately that her sweet Mary was not pleased. The frown on her face was the spitting image of Violet's signature grimace, and her small hands were balled into frustrated fists. She took one look at the baby in Cora's arms before bursting into tears and crying for her mama.

It took nearly an hour of gentle reassurances before Mary calmed down enough to meet her sister properly. She had eyed the baby curiously from the safety of her mama's embrace but had no real interesting in seeing her up close. Edith had been put in the bassinette as soon as Mary's tantrum started, and Mary, for one, thought it a rather good place to keep the little thing! She didn't need a sister. No, she simply needed her mama and papa back. Though she did have to admit that this "Edith" looked just like a little dolly and did have very pretty hair almost the same color as Aunt Rosamund's…

Their interactions had been brief and strained by Mary's obvious reluctance to be ousted as only child. After reluctantly kissing her new sister on the forehead, Mary had been taken out of the room and Cora had barely seen her since. And so now, walking down the long hall toward the nursery, she was rather afraid of the scene she might find.

Clicking the door open, the sound of Mary's wails echoed down the hall and startled her quite a bit. The room was completely dark save for the soft glow of one small oil lamp that had been left on. As soon as Mary saw her mama, her tears only intensified and she stood, toddling over and wrapping her arms around Cora's legs.

Cora reached down to pick up her sobbing child, but felt a sharp pain pulling at her abdomen. Mary looked up at her pitifully and seemed even more distraught when she realized that her mother was unable to lift her. Instead, Cora eased down onto the floor and pulled Mary into her lap.

She rocked her slowly, as she used to each night before settling her into her crib, and hummed the song that would always put her to sleep. Eventually Mary's breathing slowed and her sobs became soft whimpers. "Now my Darling, what is all this about?" She asked quietly, running her fingers through Mary's tangled curls.

Mary's lower lip trembled and she only wrapped her arms more securely around her mother before attempting an explanation. "I told Nanny I wanted to see you and she said no, that only Edith was allowed to see you," Mary replied in one quick breath. "And I want you and Papa but now only Edith is allowed and it isn't fair, Mama!" She added, looking up entreatingly.

Cora smiled at her incredibly stubborn little girl, both amused and concerned by the sharpness of her tone and the intensity of her gaze. "We talked about this, my Dear. Edith needs me right now, she is very little and little babies need attention from their mamas and papas. You wouldn't want Edith to get sick, would you?"

Mary's brow furrowed in annoyance. Mama always made her feel better but she was talking about Edith again. "Mama, can't she go back in there?" Mary asked, poking a finger into Cora's abdomen.

Cora winced, feeling another sharp pain in her muscles at Mary's touch, and shook her head. "No, Edith is your sister and our daughter. She is going to stay right here with us."

"Forever?" Mary asked softly, looking rather defeated.

"Yes, forever. Our family will always stay together. That means you and Edith and Mama and Papa." Cora leaned down to press a kiss to Mary's forehead, sealing the promise and hoping that Mary would begin to understand.

Mary was silent for a long moment before looking back up and nodding slowly. "Alright," she replied. "But, Mama?"

"Yes, my Darling?"

"Will Santa Clause still bring me presents in the morning or will they be only for Edith?" Mary asked, standing up from her mama's lap and looking very worried.

Cora giggled and stood as well, smiling down at Mary. "Of course there will be presents for you. There will be presents for you both."

Mary nodded again and wiped her face with the back of her hand. Cora reached out to take her hand and began leading her back to bed before having another idea.

"Mary, sweetheart, would you like to come stay in my room tonight?" Cora delighted in Mary's immediate reaction; a brighter face complete with excited squeals at the prospect.

"Yes!" She grinned and shook her head empathetically.

Cora moved to pick her up but felt the familiar twinge of pain and settled for clasping her daughter's hand instead. Mary skipped down the hall beside her and tiptoed quietly into her parent's room.

With a little help from Cora, Mary climbed up onto the bed and curled up right beside her Papa. He was snoring rather loudly and it provoked soft giggles from both Cora and Mary. The two Crawley women only shook their heads and settled into bed, both sighing happily when a still-snoring Robert shifted slightly and draped an arm over them both.

"I love you, Mama," Mary whispered.

Cora leaned down and kissed her daughter once more. "I love you too, Darling."

Only a few hours after Cora's late night escapade in the nursery, she awoke to a much louder cry. This time it was in fact Edith, and her little cries pulled not only Cora, but also Robert and Mary from sleep as well.

Mary, completely ignoring her sister's cries, hopped up from bed and declared that she absolutely had to go wake Aunt Rosamund and then check to see if Santa Clause had come. Her parents waved her away and watched with mirthful expressions as she bounded out of the room in pursuit of her Aunt. Cora reached for Edith and adjusted herself back against the pillows before settling in to feed her.

Robert snuck away to his dressing room as Cora nursed the fussing baby, and returned a few moments later wearing a mischievous grin and holding a small wrapped gift.

Cora was pleased to find that her nursing a baby no longer made Robert uncomfortable. With Mary, he would often leave the room red-faced and muttering something about propriety. He never tried to sway her decision, but she knew it had been an adjustment for him. As Violet had told her countless times, it simply was not done this way at Downton. But Cora was not about to hand her children off to just anyone, and so she nursed them both, relishing in the closeness it offered her and the ability to stare into the tiny content face, the face that already looked a mixture of hers and Robert's.

Robert slid back into bed beside her and held out the package as she laid Edith on the blankets in front of them. Gurgling happily, the baby swung her fists around and looked up at the ceiling.

"For you," he explained, holding out the poorly wrapped box with the enthusiasm of a little boy hoping for praise. He grinned excitedly and leaned over to kiss her as well.

Cora tore off the paper and opened the small box with a curious smile. She half expected some horrid novel about the scenery of England or some sort of odd patterned hat. She knew that Robert had been busy preparing the house for the holidays and Edith's arrival, and she was not expecting any sort of grand gift. So when she opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold ring, with four small pearls, she gasped a most unladylike gasp.

"There is a pearl for each of us," Robert explained quietly, helping her slip the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly and made her lower lip tremble with emotion, her hormones and her husband's incredibly sweet gift conspiring to make her weep for the thousandth time since Edith's arrival.

She settled for a kiss instead, and brushed away the stray tears as she settled into her husband's arms. "It's perfect, Darling."

A mountain of gifts had been unwrapped and the adults were lounging in the library around the fireplace, sipping tea and nibbling on the biscuits the servants had left out. Mary had long abandoned them all in favor of playing with her new dollhouse and so Cora was left only to care for Edith who was sleeping in her arms.

Violet had looked on with a disapproving raise of her brow and insisted that a baby that small should be left upstairs in the nursery. Robert and Cora both laughed and explained that there was simply no way Edith would be missing out on her very first Christmas. And besides, her arrival had been the most wonderful gift of all. It seemed a pity to keep her from everyone else when her presence brought so many smiles. Every so often she would gurgle and the room would fill with coos and gentle laughter, all the adults complete besotted with the tiny girl.

Eventually the party disbanded for the afternoon and Cora headed upstairs to spend some time with Mary and her mother. Martha had wandered off midway through their luncheon, explaining that she promised Mary a game of dress up. God only knew what the two of them were getting up to, and if their games of dress up in Newport were any indication, it was perhaps better off that they kept it contained to the nursery.

The only two who remained in the library were Robert and Rosamund, who were both relaxing on the settee in quite contentment. Robert, after a bit of persuading, had even convinced Cora to leave Edith with him. And now finally awake, she lay in his arms staring up at him. He felt his heart clench tightly in response each time her long eyelashes fluttered open and closed, or her tiny fingers wrapped around his own. Her pale skin was a mirror image of Cora's and her light hair matched his mother's and Rosamund's almost exactly. He stared at her intently for untold minutes, not realizing that Rosamund had been staring at him waiting for an opportunity to speak.

It was Rosamund who broke the silence, finally, with a sideways glace at her brother and a slight frown.

"I have some gossip you might be interested in," she interjected, reaching over to stroke the baby's soft cheek.

"Oh?" He replied, only vaguely aware of Rosamund's words. He was too busy staring down into Edith's dark eyes, making silly faces at her and running his fingers over her hands and feet. She mesmerized him and he had trouble focusing on much else besides the new life he and Cora had created.

"It's about Benjamin Webster."

There was little that could pull Robert's attention from his daughter, but Rosamund's words had an immediate effect. Robert felt his body tense and his head turned from his daughter's face to Rosamund's. He wanted Cora to be there, so that she could take Edith out of his arms, for fear of accidently jostling her in a fit of anger. But Cora was upstairs and Edith still situated in his lap. So he took a breath and placed a hand over Edith's chest, feeling a great deal of comfort from the rhythm of her tiny heartbeat.

"What is it?" He asked, in a voice lower than he expected. He didn't want to hear anything about that horrible man—ever. He still had a burning desire to kill him, or at least punch him again, and knew that he would never be able to control himself if they were ever in the same room. He had put his hands on Cora, on his wife, and the memory of the bruises, of the sounds she made as she sobbed, would never be erased from his memory.

The anger was more distant now, and with Edith's arrival it made the unpleasantness fade to the haze of the past. But the sound of his name still grated on him like broken glass and he had no desire to speak of it around his wife or children.

Rosamund edged closer and put a hand on his shoulder. She looked down at the baby and sighed softly before speaking. "Apparently his wife left him. Took the children and moved back to her family home in London. Word is that he was caught at some bar in France, trying to assault a woman whose husband turned out to be some diplomat. It was splashed all over the papers there and so Laurel left—" She paused, allowing him a moment to digest to sordid details.

Robert's jaw was still clenched tightly and he had a rather tenuous grasp on his anger. Looking down at Edith, he saw before him all that he nearly lost. All that was nearly taken by that man. "It could have been Cora," he murmured, more to himself than Rosamund. Overcome with emotion, he felt his own eyes well with tears and he tried to turn from his sister.

Rosamund smiled softly and only moved closer, rubbing his back reassuringly and shaking her head in disagreement. "No, you would never have let that happened. You mustn't think like that. Cora is safe, and Edith—look how perfect the little darling is." You're all terribly blessed. "And I only bring this up because I heard something else…" she explained.

"Well you may as well tell me, now that you've gotten me all agitated," Robert teased, unsure of quite how he felt at the moment.

"Well, after Laurel left and scandal ensued, the horrid man was assigned a new posting…in Australia," Rosamund chuckled lowly, relishing in the horrible fate of the man who had tried to bring such pain to her brother and Cora.

Robert couldn't bring himself to smile, but his face did relax considerably, pleased that the man was in fact going to be kept far, far away from them. He fixed his attention back on Edith, who had begun to mewl in his arms, and resolved to never speak of it to Cora. There was no sense in upsetting her, not now anyway. It was enough to know that he was oceans away, and that he would remain out of their lives forever. Edith whined more insistently and pulled him from his musings once more. "I think she is hungry. I best go find Cora."

"Alright, brother dear. I will see you at dinner." Rosamund stood and watched Robert get up carefully from the couch, clutching the baby against his chest as if she was the most delicate thing he had ever been entrusted with.

She bit her lip, trying to remain emotionless as she watched her brother leave the room with the little girl. She knew how much he loved his family and she was ever so proud of him.

Hours later, Robert happened on the familiar scene of Cora feeing Edith. It was far past their usual bedtime, but the festivities had gone well into the night (likely due to Martha's presence). Countless bottles of champagne had been opened and there was even a spontaneous dance or two. It wasn't until Martha had an unfortunate run in with Violet, a run in that included a kiss on the cheek and a drink spilled down the front of her dress, that the party did finally break up.

Cora couldn't take part in most of the raucous event, still sore and incredibly tired from the events of the last days, but she had watched with an amused smile as it all unfolded.

And now Robert was exhausted, slightly inebriated, and quite ready for bed. He took Edith from Cora, kissing her gently before settling her into her bassinette and then slipped into bed beside his wife.

Cora hummed happily at his closeness, and burrowed close beside him, wrapping her arms around him and running her hand up and down his chest. "It was a lovely day," she whispered against his nightshirt, leaning up slightly to press a kiss to his neck.

Robert murmured in agreement and held his wife closer. It had indeed been a most wonderful day. He had always loved Christmas, especially as a young boy, and this by far had been the most wonderful one yet. Cora had given him lovely gifts: a new snuffbox, several novels he was eager to read, and a very…romantic…letter that detailed precisely what she wanted to do with him as soon as she had healed from the labor. But nothing, not even that last gift, could compare to the joy of Edith, of making Mary an older sister, and he and Cora parents again.

Cora nestled against his chest, shifting slightly in his arms, and breathed out a soft content sigh. She was asleep already and Robert knew it would only be a few hours before she was woken by Edith again.

As if on cue, Edith whimpered before settling down a moment later; simply making her presence known, she had a habit of making tiny noises that never ceased to delight him.

Robert closed his eyes and kissed Cora's forehead once more.

Thinking about it all before sleep claimed him, he nearly chuckled with the utter absurdity of it all. What had been bourn out of obligation and unsteady promises had grown into his life, his utterly beautiful life. Life, he decided, was absurdly wonderful and had blessed him infinitely.

Somehow he had found Cora, and Cora had given him a life. She had given him someone to protect and someone to care about. And then she gave him children and everything he once thought important seemed so insignificant. His world was complete now, and his once unsure heart was a faded memory he no longer cared to ponder.

It didn't matter what forces had brought them together.

They were together, and he would thank God for his wife and his family every day.

A/N: This is the last outlined chapter of this little companion story! I hope you all enjoyed it. I do plan on revisiting the world of "Summer in Newport" again, eventually, so it's not really goodbye...just see you later! :)