A/N: As promised, the companion story to Summer in Newport. I do hope you all enjoy!

Little Lady Mary Crawley was on a mission.

She had been most rudely and unceremoniously banned from her mama's room earlier in the morning. Strangely, ever since they had returned from America, it seemed as though her parents no longer wanted her in their bedroom. Gone were the days of them yielding to most of her whims and instead, Miss Russell was back to care for her during the days and evenings. That morning she had tried to sneak off to Mama's room, but was met by Papa's stern expression at the door as he explained that Mama was resting and she could not visit her right now.

Papa said that Mama was resting, but she was far too smart to believe that. She was three now, after all. She knew what was going on; it was that baby's fault. Lately everything seemed to be that baby's fault. It still was stuck inside Mama and all it did was make her sleepy and too big to play. Every time Granny came to visit she brought presents for the baby's room: new toys, blankets, and even books. She was not allowed to touch any of them, Miss Russell said. And Papa only wanted to be near Mama. He was always with her. That baby was becoming quite a problem.

And so, she resolved to fix it herself. That baby was not going to keep her from her mama. Once Miss Russell left her alone in her room for an afternoon nap, Mary waited an appropriate amount of time before hopping out from under the covers and toddling right out and down the hallway with her destination in sight. Once she reached her mama's door, though, she paused. There were voices coming from the inside, one was Mama's and the other sounded deep like Papa's but it wasn't Papa. Curiously, Mary clicked open the door very quietly and peeked around. Mama was lying on her bed again and the doctor was there, too, poking her belly. Mary furrowed her eyebrows in concern and burst into the room with great enthusiasm, frightening both Cora and the doctor.

"Mama, are you sick?" Mary cried, rushing over to the bed.

Bewilderedly, Cora sat up and dismissed the doctor with a sheepish grin before allowing Mary to hop up beside her. "No, Mary darling. The doctor is just checking on the baby," she explained, patting her stomach.

Mary nodded and frowned. Everyone wanted to check on the baby. That was why she had to sneak away just to see Mama. It was rather unfair. And just as she was about to ask Mama to play with her or read to her, once again her plans were thwarted. She watched with a deep frown as her papa entered the room without even knocking.

"Mary, what on earth are you doing in here?" He asked, incredulously.

"—Oh it's all right," Cora interrupted, looking down at Mary with an indulgent grin and pulling her close. "I've barely been able to see my little darling at all."

Mary nodded in agreement, frowning at her papa as she tried to hug Mama, but she was unsuccessful, as her little arms could not quite make it around Mama's very large belly.

"I suppose you've won this battle, Mary," Robert said with a smile, sitting down on the bed beside them. Mary giggled and moved so she was between her parents. Finally, things were back to normal. If only that silly baby wasn't on its way to ruin everything.

"Papa, will you read to me and Mama?" Mary asked softly, after a few moments. She looked up with her best most ladylike smile in the hopes that he could not refuse her.

"Alright, I will read to you but only if you come back to the nursery and we let Mama get some rest," Robert bargained, wholly unable to resist his little daughter's grin.

Mary pouted and looked to her mama for some reinforcement. "But Mama always rests," she whined, clutching Cora's arm more tightly.

"Mary, sweetheart, we talked about this, remember? Until the baby comes, I am going to need to rest more than usual. But do you remember what else we talked about?" Cora looked down at her expectantly and brushed the stray curls away from her little forehead.

"No." Mary said with another pout.

Cora grinned and looked over at Robert. Mary was nothing if not stubborn. "Aunt Rosamund will be here on Friday evening. But tomorrow is a very special day because your grandmamma will finally be here!" Though Cora was incredibly tired, she tried to sound excited and smile as much as she could to get Mary excited as well. She had been a most boring playmate as of recent, she knew, but this late in her pregnancy she was lucky to even be able to waddle around the house a few times a day.

Mary couldn't help but grin at that prospect. She had forgotten that Grandmamma was coming tomorrow, and she would most certainly want to play and she had even written and promised that she was bringing toys from America with her. Wordlessly, Mary stood on the bed and kissed Cora's cheek before turning and holding her arms out to Robert, who happily picked her up. It seemed as though they had all reached a détente.

"I shall be back in a bit," he called over his shoulder to Cora, as he led Mary out and toward her room for a bit of reading.

Cora sighed contentedly and let herself fall back against the pillows. Her hands absentmindedly trailed down to her rather enormous abdomen and she ran her fingers over the soft fabric of her day dress. She was ever so glad her mother would be arriving in the morning. Though they had only been back at Downton for almost four months, it seemed like another lifetime ago that they had been in Newport. Now it was midway through December and life at Downton was back in full swing. Most annoyingly, upon her return and visit to the doctor, she had learned that the doctor in Newport had overestimated just how far along she actually was. And so, now, she would be giving birth sometime before Christmas, which although a nice idea in theory, meant the house was buzzing with a most intense level of activity and stress due to the impending birth, her mother's arrival, and the holidays approaching.

Robert made it back to the nursery with Mary without incident but as soon as he shut the door behind them, Mary hopped out of his arms and looked at him with a grin that she could have only learned from her mother.

"Papa?" She asked in a very gentle voice.

"Yes, Mary?"

"Will you play dollies with me?" She smiled a bit wider and reached up for his hand, dragging him over to the corner with her dolls before he could answer.

Robert blanched. He most certainly did not play dollies. "Mary, perhaps you should wait for Mama to wake up. Or perhaps you could just play quietly in here for a little while; Papa has work he must do." He held his breath and waited for Mary to start arguing with him.

She looked crestfallen as she dropped the doll she had picked up and sat dejectedly on the floor. "Ok, Papa," she murmured, reaching for the discarded dolly and looking at it.

Robert sighed a very long sigh. She was spending far too much time with his mother if she was this adept at manipulating him at age three. "How about you bring your dolly downstairs to the library and you sit with me while I work?"

Mary hopped up with a squeal and nodded. She grabbed her doll off the floor and skipped right out of the room, leaving Robert to follow quickly behind her. They made their way down to the library, rang for some tea, and Mary settled on the floor near the fireplace where it was warmest while Robert began sorting through some paperwork on the desk. He couldn't concentrate very well, though, as Mary chattered endlessly with her dolls and made constant noise from her little play area. Turning to peek over at his daughter, Robert knew he had had been defeated yet again. And so, he abandoned his paperwork and crossed the library to sit beside Mary on the floor.

"Perhaps I could play dolls with you for a bit," he reasoned, frowning slightly at the pile of dolls and frilly dresses Mary had carried down with her.

Grinning widely, Mary handed him one of the frillier dolls. "You may play with Clara, Papa, and I will play with Margaret," she explained. In a matter of moments, they were engrossed in a rather serious skit beside the fire, as Clara and Margaret prepared for a little tea party.

Robert had lost track of time, completely, until he heard the click of the library door, signaling that their actual tea had arrived. "Carson—" He began, but stopped midsentence and blanched as he saw who was actually at the door.

"Mama—"

Violet looked curiously at the scene before her. She wracked her memory quickly and decided that she had never seen Robert on the floor playing with multiple dolls before, thankfully. He was sitting cross-legged beside Mary and they both looked rather involved in some sort of game.

"Robert, what on earth are you doing on the floor?" She inquired, finally, crossing the library to stand beside them.

"Well, I…Mary and I are just having a bit of fun, aren't we, Darling?" He grinned sheepishly at Mary who nodded and smiled up at Violet.

"Granny, you're just in time for tea!" She explained, holding out one of the other dolls.

Violet frowned at Robert, who really should have known better than to allow all this, but only smiled back at Mary. "Mary, dear, one does not take ones tea on the floor of the library. It is most unladylike."

Frowning, Mary looked to her papa for confirmation. "Really, Papa?"

Smiling softly, Robert shook his head and pulled Mary into his lap. "Well, Darling, a lady makes the rules in her house, so I suppose you are quite alright." He stood, with Mary still in his arms, and raised his eyebrows at his mother. "Would you like to stay for tea, Mama?" He asked.

"No, no thank you. I came to see Cora, actually."

"She is upstairs resting, shall I tell her you stopped by?" Robert asked, struggling to hold Mary, who had begun to wiggle around in his arms

"No, I will see myself up," Violet replied, offering a small nod before turning and heading in the direction of Cora's bedroom.

"Cora, you wanted to see me?" Violet knocked once before letting herself in.

Cora struggled to sit up in bed, but smiled and nodded. "Yes, hello Mama. I suppose my note made it to you, then."

Violet smiled at her daughter-in-law and sat in the chair beside her bed. She had to admit that Cora did look rather well, considering she was due to give birth any time now. She looked a bit tired, perhaps, but otherwise well and she could tell both Cora and Robert, though not Mary, were most excited for the impending arrival.

"What did you need, my dear?" Violet inquired curiously. She was not particularly interested in mysteries nor was she one to ponder things excessively, but she was most curious when she received a note from Cora earlier that day, asking her to come visit.

Cora struggled once more, reaching over into her bedside table. She pulled out a slip of paper and double-checked the writing on it before handing it over to Violet. "Could you have one of your footmen go down to the village and pick this up tomorrow? I planned to do it myself, but the doctor has suggested I not leave the house anymore, and Robert will surely find out if I send one of our servants to do it." She explained.

"Violet eyed the paper and folded it up, slipping it into her pocket. "What needs to be picked up?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. Just something I ordered in London," Cora explained vaguely, as she settled back against her pillows and rested her hands on her abdomen.

"Alright. I will send Meade in the morning. Shall I have it sent up here tomorrow afternoon?" Violet replied, even more curiously now.

Cora shook her head quickly. "No, could you perhaps keep it at the Dower House for a few days? I'll just have my mother bring it back with her when she comes to visit you for tea."

Violet nodded in agreement and stood, both intrigued by her daughter-in-law's request and annoyed that she would soon be having tea with that woman. Nevertheless, Cora had asked her, and she supposed one did these sorts of things for family. After all, Cora would likely be giving birth to the next heir of Downton in a matter of days.

"Thank you," Cora called as Violet moved to leave. She only nodded once more and smiled, having had quite enough odd interactions at Downton today.

Later that evening, after reading three stories to Mary before bed, double checking that everything was ready for Martha's arrival come morning, and having a lengthy conversation with Carson about the Christmas Day plans, Robert was finally settled into bed. He had just closed his eyes and relaxed into his pillow, when he felt Cora's hand on his shoulder, shaking quite vigorously.

"Robert—"

Sitting up as quickly as he had settled in, he flipped the lamp beside the bed on and looked at his wife. She was smiling brightly and looked as though she had been awake for hours, though he had been quite sure she was asleep when he entered the room not ten minutes earlier.

"Cora, what is it—" He asked, pausing slightly as he realized what must be happening. "Is it…is it time?" He asked, more frantically, hopping up and fishing his dressing gown up from off the floor.

Cora raised her eyebrows in confusion but began to giggle as she realized what Robert was doing. "Darling, no, it isn't time yet," she replied, rubbing her hand over her abdomen. "I was wondering if you could get something for me?"

Sighing in relief, as all he really wanted to do was get some rest, Robert sat back down on the edge of the bed and dropped the dressing gown back to the floor. "Yes, of course, what is it that you want? Another blanket? Some water?"

Cora grinned sweetly at him and shook her head. "No…could you get me some biscuits, the ones from this afternoon?" She asked.

"Cora, everyone has gone to bed. I doubt the hall boys will know where to find them," he replied gently.

"Oh, yes, I know. That's why I woke you. Could you go down to the kitchen for them?"

"You want me to go down to the kitchen for biscuits?" Robert asked, standing up once more.

"Well I suppose not, if you don't want to," Cora replied, her face falling slightly.

Robert held up his hand to keep her from continuing. "Alright, I'll go." He conceded rather quickly. Throwing his dressing gown once again, he trudged out of the room, lamp in hand toward the kitchen. Nearly twenty minutes later, as he had gotten a bit confused by all the cabinets and closets in the kitchen, he returned wit a plate piled full of biscuits.

Cora ate them happily as Robert looked on, willing himself not to fall asleep as he knew it would upset her. By the time she made it through the entire plate, he could feel his eyes drooping. Cora handed him the empty plate and grinned, brushing the crumbs from her nightdress.

"Thank you, Darling." She murmured, patting the empty space beside her.

"May I go to bed now?" Robert chuckled, discarding the plate on the bedside table before settling into bed and getting under the covers.

Cora nodded and curled up against him. "Could you do one more thing for me?" She whispered.

"Oh, what now?" He groaned softly, moving to sit back up.

Cora stopped him, though, and pressed herself more deliberately against him this time. He could see her mischievous smile with the moonlight filtering into the room and he realized rather quickly what she wanted this time. It had seemed, most strangely, that Cora was more interested in their intimate activities than before. It was as though their roles had reversed, in a way, as now he woke many a night to her roaming hands on his body. And this night was apparently no different. She said nothing else and simply let her lips find his neck, quickly trailing kisses down to his chest as she made quick work of his pajama buttons. He turned her onto her side, throwing his nightclothes off excitedly before slipping back beneath the blankets and into Cora's embrace.

It appeared that he would not be getting much sleep.