A/N: Here's another chapter! I'm sorry if it seems rushed. I'm going to be on a road trip for the next week and a half, so I won't be able to update. But I wanted to give you guys one more chapter before I leave, so I hope you like this! Let me know what you think and how you feel about it!

What happens when Sybil announces her plans to go to Ireland and marry Branson? How do Cora and Robert react? How can they help each other and try to help Sybil see reason? How can they make everything better?

Chapter 28: Make Everything Better

Robert opened the dressing room door without a warning, and walked into Cora's room...or their room as it had come to be over the course of their marriage.

"Hello, darling," came the loveliest voice in greeting. Robert smiled as his eyes landed on the most beautiful creature. She sat at the vanity, dressed in a satiny red evening dress—one his favorite colors on her. Her dark curls were drawn up and pinned in an elegant style. And her bright sapphire eyes met his in the reflection of the mirror.

But then suddenly a grim figure seemed to loom over Cora. Robert frowned as he glanced at Miss O'Brien, who was clasping a necklace around Cora's creamy slender neck.

He nearly let out a frustrated groan. And then a sudden realization hit him. He now understood why he loathed the woman so strongly. She was always there when all he wanted was to be with his wife. He wanted to kiss Cora, but there stood O'Brien. He wanted to tell her of his love for her, but there was O'Brien. He wanted to ravish her with love...but there was O'Brien.

But what could possibly be wrong with a compliment?

"You look ravishing," he said softly, a smile forming on his lips as he turned his gaze to Cora.

At Robert's less than appropriate words, Cora felt her neck and cheeks become warm, not needing to look at herself in the mirror to know she was blushing. Glancing at O'Brien to gauge the lady's maid's reaction, Cora let a small embarrassed smile appear on her full lips. O'Brien merely acted as if she had heard nothing, turning to retrieve the clothes Cora had changed out of.

"Will that be all, M'Lady?" she asked. Cora smiled and nodded, dismissing the poor woman who had to witness such awkward situations when it came to her and Robert.

As O'Brien left the room, closing the door behind her, Robert let out a relieved sigh and immediately walked to stand behind Cora. His hands went to her shoulders and he bent down to kiss her cheek.

Cora tilted her cheek towards him, a pleased smile on her lips. Robert heard her softly hum as his lips met her skin, and he smiled into the kiss. His lips lingered longer than necessary, and Cora giggled softly. She moved away slightly so that she could stand, and only then did Robert pull away from her, a smirk on his lips.

Cora stood from her chair and turned to face him, tilting her head and giving him a crooked smile as he made a show of looking her figure over very appreciatively. He let out a content sigh as his eyes rose to meet hers once again.

"Absolutely ravishing," he repeated, his voice soft and gentle as he reached out to take her hands in his, guiding her around the chair and pulling her closer to him. Cora chuckled softly, looking down at the red material covering her body.

"What do you think of the dress?" she asked innocently, wiggling her hips slightly to showcase the red fabric. Robert smirked and leaned forward to kiss her lips, surprising her slightly but pleasing her greatly. She sighed into the kiss as his lips lingered on hers.

Slowly, Robert broke the kiss and pulled away. Still quite close to her, he smiled down at her, taking in her appearance once again. He hummed appreciatively. Then Cora saw his smile turn into a smirk, making her heart flutter excitedly.

"It looks very beautiful on you, darling," he said, leaning in slightly, his smirk deepening. When he spoke, his voice was low. "But...I can't wait to take it off and see the beauty beneath it."

Cora felt a blush color her cheeks and she looked down embarrassedly, shaking her head as she smiled. Robert chuckled, feeling a glad feeling fill his heart. He was proud and so very happy that he could still affect her so easily in this way. She did the same to him just as easily.

"Let's go down before something prevents us from doing so," Cora chuckled softly, her blush still prevalent. Robert laughed and allowed her to take his hand and lead him to the door.

"Alright, but you must know that it will be extremely difficult to concentrate on anything else this evening, my dear," he said, squeezing her hand gently. Cora turned to look at him as she opened the bedroom door with her free hand. She smiled brightly, her eyes teasingly but appreciatively sweeping over the length of his body, much in the same manner he had done with her. Robert smirked in response to the playful smirk that appeared on Cora's full lips.

"Mmm..." she hummed, her eyes finally returning to his. "Very difficult indeed."

With that, the two went down together.

True to their words, the evening seemed to drag on as thoughts of their future activities filled their minds, even while surrounded by guests.

In the drawing room, Cora sat across from Lavinia, trying to listen to the wonderful girl. But her mind just couldn't focus on anything other than the tall handsome man leaning against the mantle of the fireplace. Being a very wonderful hostess, Cora was usually able to put aside her thoughts of her husband in order to entertain her guests.

But sometimes, it just became too much. Sometimes she slipped up, though rarely her guests were aware of it. This was one of those rare times.

Lavinia watched the beautiful dark haired Countess sitting across from her. Lady Grantham, who had been conversing with her, had suddenly become very distracted. She couldn't keep her attention on Lavinia, and her gaze had often wandered to stare at something behind Lavinia.

Lavinia had a good idea of who Lady Grantham had been glancing at and eventually staring at all evening.

Quietly, a small smile slowly appearing her face, Lavinia watched Lady Grantham. Then, she turned to see the person that held the beautiful woman's attention.

Lord Grantham stood with Matthew near the crackling fire. The Earl leaned on his arm against the mantle while his other hand rested on his hip. He and Matthew seemed deep in conversation, allowing Lady Grantham to secretly admire.

And then, Lord Grantham suddenly did something very un-Earllike.

A smile slowly appeared on Lord Grantham's face, as of he could feel Lady Grantham's gaze on him, and after a moment he turned to look at his wife while Matthew looked into the fire. His blue eyes were alight with mischief and he smirked slightly as he winked at Lady Grantham.

This brought an amused smile to Lavinia's lips and she turned to see Lady Grantham quickly turning away from her husband.

The Countess looked down in slight embarrassment, having been caught staring by her husband. A soft blush colored her cheeks, and when she lifted her eyes to meet Lavinia's once again she wore a pleased but bashful smile.

"I'm sorry, dear," she spoke softly before diving right back into conversation. "I'm so very glad that you're pleased with the decorations..."

Lavinia continued to listen to Lady Grantham, but she couldn't help the amusement that danced in her eyes. She found it so incredibly sweet and exciting that Lord Grantham could still have the effect that he did on his wife. They were obviously in love. She greatly admired their love and affection, despite the seeming impropriety of it all. She hoped that she and Matthew would be that way.

Cora continued to speak with Lavinia, forcing herself to focus on the conversations. She only allowed herself a ew glanced in Robert's direction. He was just too handsome for his own good.

But Cora's attention was fully drawn to him when she heard him loudly ask, "Yes?"

Turning to the doorway, Cora saw Tom Branson in an old and worn suit. Immediately, something didn't seem right and Cora's stomach clenched nervously.

She knew, by the way Robert's posture and demeanor had changed, that tonight would not be going as planned...

The next morning, Cora stood alone at one of the tables in the great hall. The servants had just brought in a wonderful gramophone and set it on the table, where she now stood. Normally, she would be excited to use the contraption, but today her mind was reeling and her heart was heavy.

Her baby girl had released a bomb on the entire family the night before, announcing she was going to leave and marry the chauffeur. How could Cora not be extremely worried and solemn?

As she stood in front of the gramophone, Cora raised her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. She couldn't stifle the action. The news had made it impossible to rest during the night, especially since Cora had spent most of it calming Robert down.

Cora sighed and closed her tired eyes for a moment as her mind returned to the night before. Robert had been so very angry.

But she couldn't think of any of last night without her anxiety and stress level increasing to an overwhelming height. Cora forced her eyes open and mentally shook herself. She needed a distraction, she couldn't handle the thoughts of Sybil and Branson any longer.

With a new purpose, Cora looked at the gramophone in front of her. A small stack of large square covers laid near the contraption, and Cora reached out to take the top one. From the square sleeve, she removed a disk and set it on the gramophone.

As she set the sleeve back on the table, music began playing statically. It was a soft and slow piece, one that she vaguely recognized but couldn't name. Sighing, Cora let the sound of the music envelop and calm her.

Robert could hear the first string of notes as he descended the stairs, interrupting his thoughts plagued with the new dilemma he and his family were now faced with.

Slightly curious, Robert looked towards the source of the melody, and he saw his beautiful wife standing silently in front of a large gramophone. She leaned against the table, slightly slouched in a defeated and exhausted posture. Robert sighed sadly. He knew that Sybil running away to marry the chauffeur had hit her hard, and he knew that his reaction probably hadn't helped any. He had been uncontrollably angry when they went to their room together. And she had been the one to calm him, as she always was.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Robert quietly walked towards Cora, frowning in concern at her tired figure. As he reached her, he didn't announce his arrival. Instead, he put his large warm hands on her shoulders, causing her to tense in surprise. But as he slowly moved his hands down her arms, she relaxed.

Cora knew that touch anywhere, and she sighed at the comfort and warmth it brought her. Turning to look over her shoulder at her loving husband, Cora gave him a small, weak smile. She still leaned against the table, both of her arms supporting her tired body.

"Lavinia's cousins have sent this for the wedding," she explained softly, lazily gesturing to the gramophone. Robert smiled and continued to run his hands up and down her arms.

"What a wonderful gift," he commented, though he really wished to talk about her and her wellbeing. With a small smile in agreement to his words, Cora turned back to face the contraption playing such gentle, relaxing music.

Robert frowned in concern and moved in a little closer, his front nearly touching her back. He continued to run his hands up and down her arms comfortingly. He felt Cora relaxing beneath him, but he also heard her sigh of discontent and sadness.

With an inward sigh, Robert realized he wasn't going to get anything out of Cora. She really didn't seem to feel like talking. But she needed his help, he could see that. He needed to make everything better for her.

As he thought of other ways to comfort Cora, the slow music slipped into his mind. He knew what to do.

Slowly, as gently as the music, Robert moved his hands up her arms to grip her shoulders. He turned Cora to face him, ignoring the questioning look she gave him. Without a word, Robert took her left hand in his right and he placed it on his shoulder, holding it there securely. He then reached down to take her right hand, lacing their fingers around one another. His right hand finally slipped to her waist, pulling her closer to his body.

And then, fitting together perfectly, Robert began leading them in a slow, very informal dance. But he could feel Cora relaxing in his arms.

Cora sighed, a small smile finally appearing on her lips as she relaxed against Robert, moving with him in the slow dance. They were standing too close together for propriety, but she didn't care. In fact, she relished the proximity. With another content sigh, Cora closed her eyes and leaned into Robert, resting her head against his chest.

Robert smiled, resting his chin on top of her head affectionately. When he heard another soft sigh escape Cora's lips, he knew she was ready to talk.

"Robert..." she began, his name sounding heavenly in her sweet and American accent. "We have to talk to Sybil this morning. She can't avoid us forever, and we can't do the same to her."

Robert sighed, nodding gently against her head. As if acting on a second thought, he nuzzled her dark curls, inhaling the comforting scent of his Cora.

"I know, but I fear there isn't much we can say that will change that stubborn girl's mind," he answered, withholding his frustration from his tone. At these words, Cora lifted her head, causing him to life his with a disappointed frown. She looked up at him very seriously.

"Robert, you must talk to her. You are her father," she said insistently and almost pleadingly. Robert sighed, shaking her head at her and raising his brows.

"She won't listen," he warned her. But Cora wouldn't have it.

"But we must try," she replied immediately, her eyes full of concern for her daughter. Looking down into those sad blue eyes that should be bright with happiness, Robert knew he had to try. For Cora and for Sybil.

"Alright, darling," he whispered, nodding slightly. Cora let out a relieved sigh.

"Will you do it now?" she asked almost immediately, very eager to set things straight. Robert patiently shook his head.

"No. I will do it after this dance," he replied. Cora furrowed her brows confusedly, her lips parting slightly. She really was adorable and this made Robert smile softly down at her. "I just want a quiet, relaxing moment with my wife in my arms."

At these words, Cora smiled lovingly up at him. He really was such a loving, devoted man. And she loved him so very much.

Welcoming the comfortable silence between them, Cora leaned forward and placed her head against his chest once again. Robert happily resumed his position as well, resting his chin atop her dark curls.

Neither wanted the moment to end, not when everything in that one moment felt better.

Mary and Lavinia walked down the grand staircase, and immediately the sounds of soft music reached their ears. They stopped their quiet conversation and looked up curiously. What they saw brought them both to a slow stop.

Mary frowned slightly at the sight of her mama and papa dancing closely together, practically hugging each other. Lavinia blushed at the intimate and affectionate scene, but she couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. It really was sweet. Lord Grantham held his wife closely to him, and Lady Grantham laid her head comfortably on his chest. They held each other lovingly and swayed slowly to the gentle, romantic tune coming from the gramophone.

With tears pricking at her eyes from the tender scene, Lavinia turned to look at Mary, who gave her a small smile though she seemed embarrassed.

Taking the lead, Mary continued down the stairs, preparing to confront her parents as the last measures of the song filled the great hall. Both Lavinia and Mary reaches the bottom of the stairs and walked towards Cora and Robert as the last note rang out.

"Mama," Mary chose to say, announcing their presence. Both Cora and Robert looked up in surprise, as if they had forgotten where they were. They were lucky they hadn't been interrupted sooner.

As Mary and Lavinia stopped in front of them, the couple reluctantly stepped apart. Lavinia could see the clear disappointment on Lord Grantham's face, and Lady Grantham could only smile embarrassedly but endearingly.

This made Lavinia smile. She really respected and admired this beautiful couple.

Seeing Mary's irritation written clearly on her face, Cora turned to Robert, raising a hand to his chest and patting him gently.

"You should go," she said softly, her eyes giving him a meaningful look. Robert sighed and nodded grimly, knowing where she wanted him to go and what she wanted him to do. But he would do it for her.

Glancing at Mary and Lavinia, Robert realizes he couldn't leave his wife the way he wanted to, with a kiss. Having already displayed far too much emotion and affection, he couldn't possibly kiss his wife in front of their audience. Instead, Robert took Cora's small hand in his larger one, and he brought it to his lips. Looking into Cora's blue eyes, pressed a lingering kiss to her knuckles.

Cora smiled at him, her eyes holding so many loving messages for him. She thanked him. She complimented him. She told him of her love for him.

Although the kiss on her hand was much longer than appropriate, both Robert and Cora felt that it ended far too soon. As Robert dropped their hands from his lips, he stared into her eyes and gave her a small smile. Then, very reluctantly, he released her hand from his and turned away, heading towards the stairs. Cora didn't realize it, but she sighed as she watched him leave.

"Really, Mama?" came Mary's disapproving voice. Suddenly remembering the other two women in the room, Cora turned to them and smiled. Chuckling, she shook her head at her daughter and Lavinia, who both had moved to stand next to the gramophone.

"I'm sorry affection makes you uncomfortable, dear, but I can't say that I'm sorry for my behavior," Cora laughed, the giddy feeling of being in love filling her chest. Mary rolled her eyes. Lavinia could only smile, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"What an American thing to say..." Mary muttered, beginning to go through the stack of records.

Lavinia, expecting Lady Grantham to be offended by this, turned to look at the Countess. But the woman only smiled lovingly at her daughter.

Lady Grantham walked towards them, but then suddenly stopped, inconspicuously gripping the table for support. Had Lavinia not been watching carefully, she wouldn't have noticed.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly, concern in her voice and expression.

At the sound of Lavinia's sweet voice, Cora looked up and forced a smile. The force of reality and the exhaustion from the night before had suddenly hit her once again.

"I'm perfectly fine, just a little tired," Cora explained airily, waving her hand to signal that it was nothing. "I think I'll go lie down."

"Alright," Mary said, looking up with a hint of concern. Cora smiled reassuringly first at her daughter and then Lavinia before turning and walking towards the stairs.

Holding the wooden railing, she ascended the stairs. Her thoughts were becoming muddled again. She felt tiredness and exhaustion overcoming her. And anxiety and stress slowly began to seep back into her mind.

Cora sighed, shaking her head. She needed Robert. He always helped when she felt this way.

But she would have to wait. She would go to her room and wait for him to find her and tell her how things with Sybil went.

She could see it now, bringing a small smile to her face and a growing feeling of peace. She would be laying in bed, her eyes closed. Robert would slip into the room and quietly walk to the bed. She would feel the mattress dip beneath her as he crawled onto the bed to lie beside her. Robert would kiss her softly before taking her into his arms, needing to comfort her and also needing the comfort himself.

Cora sighed, her imagination making her even more tired as she entered her bedroom.

Already, though, the thought of Robert made her anxiety decrease. Now all she had to do was wait for him to come.

As always, he would make everything better.

A/N: Can anyone guess why Cora isn't feeling well? I'm sure you know what is coming next. What do you think will happen?