A good one

Just bone-achingly gorgeous, thank you.

Another Winner!

Oh dear, this brought me to tears! So unbelievably emotional, lovely, and moving and so much more!

This is just so true... thanks so much for the understanding xx

sigh. crying and crying..and crying. I still can't believe what happened.I'll never get over it.
I hope you'll write some AU one day 'cause I adore your writing but I'd like to read new stuff without crying my eyes out :P
Still...LOVED this

I don't think I can do this justice because I'm full-on crying now, and to find the right words would mean re-reading it...and I just can't do that again now, at least not for a while anyway. And I mean that in the best possible way. It's so incredibly beautifully heartbreaking but I'm glad we won't see it in S4. I just can't bear the idea of them both without Matthew. It's so sad. :( *Hugs*

I'm not over it either. I had tears running down my cheeks as I read this. The heartbreak of these two women. They are both so strong, but sometimes I think it's because they have to be. With Matthew they both had a chance to be who they truly are, a loving mother, a kind and warm wife. My heart just breaks over and over again for them.

Keep writing, I'll keep reading. These stories help me deal with what the show has dealt us :)

This was so lovely and poignant - I don't even have words. I hope we get to see a moment like this in S4.

Thank you for this touching fic! I was also worried about Isobel and her loss(okay, I am way too into DA, repeats to self: Julian Fellowes will handle this) and hopefully this will be an opportunity for these two strong female characters to bond just as you wrote. Love-Lady M

You made me cry! You evil person!
It was so bittersweet and beautiful :3

Beautifully written, as always, and I love how you captured their characters so perfectly. Yes, I do hope we see more scenes of Mary and Isobel in S4 and I hope JF includes one similar to this story in his script.

Keep the beautiful stories coming! It's helping the M/M shippers accept and move on. :)

I love this, it's heartbreaking and giving hope in the same instance.

One of the scenes I was most thankful for in the CS (and which works, for me, as a kind of companion piece to your fic) was the scene when Isobel goes to see Mary in the hospital. Brief as it was it showed so much of a good relationship - the way Mary reached out for her when Isobel came to her bed, the way she took comfort from her in Matthew's absence, the way she could even confide in her that she wished for him by her side. I can't imagine Mary opening up like that to many people and it speaks of a trust and liking between the two women that I wish we had seen more of during S3.

It was such a lost opportunity that there never seemed to be any interaction between Isobel, Mary, and Matthew and that little scene helped a lot to show that there is a relationship there, and a measure of trust and closeness, even if we never saw it.

In any case, wonderfully and sensitively written, thank you for posting - it soothes my still sore heart!

Aww! :( Considering I very much doubt JF will remember that Isobel is grieving for Matthew as well, it was wonderful to see she hasn't been forgotten. :( Her convo with Mary was just so touching - you really capture her history of grief, and her remembering Matthew as a baby was really poignant. I LOVE the name for the baby. You know I always love when anyone remembers Matthew was from a family of his own before Mary...sigh. :( Loved that Isobel greets Reggie like Matthew did (perfect moment!) and Mary's wonderful line about not asking how she is is SO Mary. Just a lovely tribute to two mothers in mourning...PLEASE keep writing! :D

Oh goodness...I forgot that Isobel had been through this before!

It's all still saddening to accept that he is gone. He and Mary had been-initially-the main reason I watched the show.

Beautifully written. Sometimes the melancholy produces beautiful work, you know.