I was wrong. This story only had one more installment. I thought it had two, but as I wrote the story wrapped itself up into a neat little bow almost, lol. Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey! Enjoy!

Chapter 19

Anna's fingers ran along the top of John's chest and they twiddled with the buttons at the top of his nightgown. Her head was pressed right below his jaw and she thought about how safe and secure she felt within his arms.

The two were still in London and it had been nearly a week since the death of Green. Upon seeing his body on the road, Anna felt a sense of relief fill her body. There had been a fear deep down that he would come back and hurt her again. Even though John had promised to protect her, she knew what evils Green could do. She knew he would know how to find her unprotected. He had done it before and she feared he would do it again. But that fear was no longer there, because Alex Green was now gone.

"I…." Anna started, she maneuvered her head so that she could see John's face. "I'd like to go see Katie when we go back home."

"If you'd like," he replied.

"I would," Anna said with a nod. "And I….I'm sorry for snapping at you when you said you made a place for her. I was…"

"Shhh," John soothed, cupping her chin with hand. "You don't need to apologize for anything, my darling."

"But I was so awful to you. I….."

"Shh," John repeated. His thumb caressed her cheek and he brought their foreheads to touch. Anna's eyes closed and she allowed a few tears to escape her lids. "You had just lost your daughter…."

"Our daughter," Anna corrected, her lower lip trembling slightly at the weight of everything around them. John's lips twitched up into a smile.

"Our daughter," he agreed. Anna inched her head up slightly and took John's lips within her own. Her arms snaked around his neck and she pulled him into a deeper kiss. When she parted her lips to dip her tongue into his mouth, John moaned in appreciation.

Anna crept up. As their tongues came together, Anna positioned herself on top of John's lap. His hands ran down her sides and rested on her hips. Breathlessly, he sat himself back and met her eyes.

"What…what…." He muttered. Anna's head shook and she rolled her hips against his, making him make a low growl.

"I want this," she told him, her fingers beginning to unbutton his gown. John's hands rested upon hers to pause her momentarily.

"Are you sure? I don't want you doing anything unless you want to."

"You have been here with me every step of the way, John. You were going to raise a child that wasn't your own, because you love me. Now, I want to take back something that was stolen from us. I want to reconnect with you. Please, John." Her cheeks were flushed and lips parted slightly. John dropped his hands from hers and placed them back onto her hips, allowing her to begin to undress him.

John ran one of his hands up her side and paused it on her shoulder. His finger hooked into her sleeve and he began to tug it off her shoulder. For a brief moment, he paused.

"If at any time you want to stop, we will," John strongly stated. "Promise me you will let me know if it becomes too much."

"I will," Anna said, her breaths sharpening. Her hand came over his and brought his hand to her lips. "These hands are loving hands. These hands bring me comfort and joy. You would never hurt me." Then she dropped his hand back to her sleeve and gave him a nod to finish what he had started.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

In the glow of the moonlight, John contently sighed. Anna had just given him the highest level of trust. His finger drew lazy circles against her hip and his lips lingered against her hairline.

"Did….did I feel different?" Anna quietly asked, her voice just below a whisper. It was so quiet that John had to take a moment to process what he had heard. His finger hooked under her chin and lifted her head up, while shaking his head sharply.

"You felt like Anna," he answered. His lips curled up into a soft smile and he ran his fingers over her lips. "It was wonderful. I couldn't be happier."

"Truly?" There was a hint of worry within Anna's voice and John sighed. He hated this for her. It didn't matter that he was dead; the snake was still messing with his wife's head.

"Truly," came another strong answer. "It was better than ever before, Anna, because of the trust you allowed me. Did you enjoy it?" Now it was his time to worry. The last thing he wanted to do was push her into something uncomfortable for her, but thankfully Anna smiled and nodded.

"I did," she ran her fingers through the hair on his chest. "I missed this; being with you at an intimate level."

"Me too, my darling," John agreed.

"Thank you," Anna murmured, as her lips opened wide with a yawn.

"For what?"

"For everything," she replied, before resting her head back on his chest. John allowed his hand to fall to her shoulder and he pressed kisses upon the top of her head.

"However, whatever, whenever, my love."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Before heading to the church bazaar at Downton Abbey, John took Anna to the cemetery. They had arrived back into town only a few hours before and had forgotten all about the bazaar the family held outside of their grounds. Neither of them were expected to be there, so they didn't feel the need to rush back.

When they reached the small marker for Katie, Anna brought herself down to her knees. Her fingers ran over the letters and fresh tears began to fall down her pale cheeks.

"You gave her Anne as a middle name?"

"After her mother," John explained.

"And the name Bates?"

"Of course," John easily replied. "She's a Bates."

Anna's lip quivered slightly and she brought her hand up to her cheek to wipe away some of the tears.

"Katie Anne Bates," she murmured. "I….I love it, truly." She told John, though her eyes remained on the small marker in the grass.

"Here," John said, handing Anna a small package. Anna's brows furrowed in confusion, but she took the package from John's hand. There was yellow ribbon tied around the black box. Gingerly, she untied the ribbon, before pulling off the lid. Her breath caught in her throat and more tears began to fall. Inside was a small stone lamb. She lifted the lamb up and held it tightly in her hands.

"I thought that perhaps, if you wanted, you could set it by her grave since you already have the stuffed one to remember her by at home."

Anna brought the small lamb to her lips and closed her eyes. "I love you, Katie," she whispered, before setting the lamb on top of the marker. She allowed her hand to linger over Katie's name for a few moments, before she stood. Her hand folded over John's and she squeezed it lovingly.

"Thank you," she told him. "It was perfect for her."

"Whenever we see lambs from here on out, we will be able to remember our Katie," John said. Anna nodded, her tears beginning to quell.

"I love you, Mr. Bates," Anna said, lifting herself upon her toes to press a kiss against his cheek.

"I love you, too, Mrs. Bates," he replied. "Shall we go to the bazaar now?"

"Yes," Anna agreed, her lips curling into a smile. She locked her arm with his and the two began their walk back to Downton Abbey.

For a brief moment, Anna turned her head back to the small marker in the grass. A flash of auburn hair passed by and she could have sworn she saw a small girl playing in a field of lambs. For the first time in a long time, the sight of the small girl made her heart leap with joy. Her memories of the girl no longer held a darkness of him over her, because she was theirs and not his. And they were going to find happiness and begin to dream again.

The End

In the future, this story may carry on into season 5 and 6. However, in case I don't get back to it with all my other stories I'm working on, I'd like to put an end here. But maybe one day in the future it will return with a part 2. Thank you all for reading and the support!