A/N: Last chapter! Big shout out to my reviewers for this story. Your feedback has been great and I hope you enjoy the conclusion.

While Anna did not know he would be arriving, she had been informed to wait for Lady Mary's car at the front of the house. She smiled brightly at the sight of Bates emerging from the front passenger's seat, her body nearly trembling at the barely restrained joy. He wished he could kiss her then and there, but decorum forced him to stop several feet away from her as the chauffer helped Lady Mary out of the car.

"You should have said you were coming," she chided him, the censure having no bite as she forced the words out through an unrestrained grin.

"I didn't know until yesterday," he answered, glancing as Lady Mary approached them.

Looking from her father's valet to her maid and back to the valet again, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Now this is a sad reunion. If I go inside will you promise to make it a little more exciting for her, Bates?"

Not waiting for a reply, Lady Mary flashed them both a knowing smirk and headed into the house. The moment she was out of sight, his hands were on Anna's cheeks, bringing her lips to his. His fingers slid back to touch her hair, careful not to muss it as she kissed him back just as firmly. Neither of them paid any attention to the chauffer as he drove the car around the house to the garage.

Finally, sensing the kiss was becoming too intimate for others to accidentally witness, Bates pulled away.

"I'm so happy to see you," she told him, beaming so much that tears had begun to form in her eyes. "I didn't realize a person could be this happy."

"I know what you mean," He agreed. "I'm grateful to be back here, with you."

She walked him around the house to the servants' hall. His arrival caused a bit of a fuss as both Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes greeted him back warmly. Some of the newer servants who didn't know Bates seemed confused as to their exuberance over the appearance of the crippled valet, but even Mrs. Patmore and Daisy came out to say their hello's. Thomas glowered at him but offered no insult, which was as welcoming of a greeting from the man as he'd ever received.

By that evening, Bates was installed in a room upstairs, his lone bag unpacked and safely stored away until he would need it again. And with any luck, the plans he'd begun with Lord Grantham would come to fruition soon and he would be moving back out of the house and into a cottage with Anna in short order. But first, there was something very important he needed to do.

Bates met Anna out in the courtyard that evening after everyone else had gone to bed. With all the bustle of his return, they'd barely gotten a moment alone together since he'd first seen her standing outside the house. He noticed that she looked very smart in her simple black dress, although he missed the maid's uniforms he used to see her wear.

"Hello," he said as she approached.

"Good evening, Mr. Bates," Anna responded, grinning at him in delight as she moved very close to him, so close they almost touched.

"I think we've reached the point where you may call me by my first name," he remarked softly.

"John."

She breathed the syllable like a prayer to heaven and the sensuality in her voice sent chills down his spine. A moment later, she moved as if to kiss him, but he intercepted her hands in mid-air as they went to his wrap around his neck. Holding them gently, he entwined her fingers with his own.

"There's something I have to ask you, something I regret not doing properly before," he said. She watched him with curious, questioning eyes. "You'll forgive me for not getting down on one knee, but... Anna May Smith, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Her smile could not have been wider nor her countenance more beautiful as she answered a few seconds later, "I don't know, John. This is so sudden. I'll have to think about it." He chuckled at the joke when he realized she was teasing him, and she giggled despite herself before following quickly, "Yes, of course I'll marry you, you silly beggar."

This time, he did not halt her kiss. Their lips touched chastely and while he wanted more, John knew that he would have trouble stopping himself if they let things get too far. Anna inspired in him a passion he had trouble controlling despite decades of experience.

"We can have the ceremony whenever you're ready," he said. "We could go to the registrar's office in Ripon, or... Lord Grantham offered us use of the garden here at Downton. He said he could arrange the registrar to come."

Anna looked up at him in bemusement. "You already started planning our wedding with His Lordship?" she asked.

Chagrined, Bates lowered his head. "I suppose I should have talked to you first. But he made the offer. I know we can't be married in a church, and I regret you can't have that. But I thought you might like something more special than just going to the registrar's office."

"As long as I'm marrying you, it will be special," she declared. "No matter where it is."

"And then, once we're married... His Lordship has a cottage waiting for us. Actually, I'm going down there tomorrow afternoon to see what needs to be done."

"I'll go with you," Anna offered. "I'm sure Mrs. Hughes will let me switch my half day."

"He said it might take a little work to make it comfortable."

She smiled at him. "You know I don't mind work."

"I know."

"But before we go down there... I think you should go into Ripon and take out a special license so we can get married as soon as possible. I don't care how much it costs. I'm not sure how much longer I can go without being your wife, Mister Bates."

He beamed at her, also somewhat amused by her inability to use his first name. "Whatever you wish," he stated.

The cottage was not filthy, but the sight of the dirty walls and grungy floors brought Bates up short. The space would definitely need a great deal of work to be ready so quickly. And Bates wanted it to be ready for Anna by the day they wed. She'd been forced to wait for so long already, and any further delay was untenable.

Anna labored with him that afternoon, spending every minute of her half day scrubbing and painting. Bates took the time to effect some repairs in places on the floor and baseboards, sweeping out the cupboard and cleaning the old stove. They did not work in silence. Rather, Bates listened as Anna told him stories from their three years apart, her quick wit and sweet manner highlighting the funnier tales and bringing solemnness to the sad ones.

"I told Lady Mary about your proposal," she mentioned after a time.

"What did she say?"

"She approved."

"That's good to hear."

Anna nodded. "She also said everything went through with Sir Richard and Vera. She's now gagged from selling the story to anyone else. Of course, she should be happy, getting paid twice to keep her mouth shut over something she had no business sticking her nose in."

Bates shook his head. "Vera is never happy."

"Well she can't hurt us any more now."

While not a particularly superstitious man, Bates found himself touching wood just in case. But he was quickly distracted from such thoughts by Anna's teasing about his painting skills. She refused to let him get on the ladder, relegating him instead to the work on the lower portion of the walls.

"I think it's coming along nicely," she pronounced, surveying their work.

"The chimney will need some repairs by next year," he responded, "and the windows frames upstairs need to be replaced. But yes, it is coming along."

Anna smiled at him. "I don't think the chimney or window frames need to be fixed before we can move in, do you?" she asked.

"No, but I want this to be a nice home for you," Bates said. He left unspoken his next thought, which was how much she was giving up to be his wife. The least he could offer her was this solid, well repaired cottage.

"Any home with you would be lovely, Mister Bates." He raised an eyebrow at her slip, and she quickly amended herself. "John." Giggling, she admitted, "It sounds so odd to say your first name. You've always been Mister Bates to me."

"You just need more practice," he suggested.

Blushing slightly, she attempted it again. "John."

"I like the way you say it," Bates observed.

"What about... my husband?" Anna tried.

With a sigh slowly released, he admitted, "I do like the sound of that."

"You try it."

"Anna..."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, the paint brush in her hand all but forgotten. Her eyes flashing with humor, she insisted, "Just try it. I know it will be different since I won't be your first. But I want to hear how it sounds from you."

Humoring her, Bates voiced, "My wife, Anna."

Somehow, the inflection did sound different, as though he pronounced the word an entirely unique way for Anna than he had with Vera. Of course, he had always loved her first name, the simple syllables rolling off his tongue so easily.

"Back to work for us," she said, turning to the unpainted portion of the wall she was at. With a knowing smirk at him, she added, "John."

Lady Mary gifted her a simple white dress for the wedding and Mrs. Hughes helped her put together a bouquet. The service was small, just the servants and the family standing together in the garden. Surprisingly, even the Dowager Countess attended, sitting in a chair off to one side. When questioned on her presence by Lady Grantham, the older woman said archly, "And why shouldn't I be here? I've always liked Anna."

As they repeated their vows, neither Bates or Anna took their eyes off of the other. The garden and the witnesses and the rest of the world faded away, leaving only the two of them as they made their commitments.

Afterwards, each of the family members congratulated them before Bates, Anna, and the rest of the servants went downstairs to a special luncheon prepared by Mrs. Patmore and Daisy. Jimmy played the piano while a couple of the hall boys threw confetti across the table. Anna sat next to her husband, her hand on his arm, laughing at the merriment. Beside her, Bates could barely stop smiling for ten seconds at a time, nor could he take his eyes off his lovely new wife.

At the end of the luncheon, Mr. Carson banished them from the house and they made their way down to the cottage that Bates had managed to finish fixing up the day before.

"I regret that I cannot carry you across the threshold," he lamented to Anna as he opened the door for her.

"Don't be silly," she responded, stepping past him into their new space. She looked around, taking stock. While Anna had helped him with most of the painting and hanging of curtains, Bates had finished the final touches of arranging furnishings and shelving books the day before. With a contented sigh, Anna said, "I love it."

But he had eyes only for the woman in front of him. "I love you," he countered, taking a step towards her.

For once, nothing stood between them. Not his past or his ex-wife or even the dictates of society. They both held the blessings of everyone they cared about, and not only did they finally belong to each other, but they had a place to call their own. And Bates was free - not only to love her with all his heart and soul, but to give her everything he had.

In an instant, his arms were around her, his lips claiming hers with unmuted ferocity. His fingers touched her hair, no longer afraid of ruining the neat bun, as he stepped close to her. Bates no longer hid his desire for her, nor did he fight against it.

Anna returned his kiss with enthusiasm. She did not pull away from him, but rather molded her body to his, smiling against his lips as she heard him gasp in surprise at her confidence.

When Bates finally pulled away from his temptress of a wife, she was grinning at him almost as widely as she'd done while they exchanged their vows that morning. "Well, Mister John Bates, my new husband," she told him, stretching out each word as she pulled him towards the stairs that would lead to their marital bed, "I think it is finally time for me to have my way with you."

fin