A/N: Just a quick vignette based on a Anna and Mr. Bates Reading Room challenge over on Tumblr: "Picture Anna standing at this window—either looking in or on the inside looking out. It's a window in their new hotel. What does she see?". Slight spoilers for series six/speculation for the Christmas special.

Disclaimer: I don't own Downton Abbey.

A Room with a View

The sky was the clearest blue that it had been in a long time, spring well and truly arriving. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and from her vantage point in their bedroom, Anna had difficulty discerning where the sky ended and the sea began on the horizon. The gulls were like tiny dots, but she could hear them squawking from here. They weren't close enough to the sea front to hear the lull of the waves breaking on the shore, but if she closed her eyes, she could well imagine it. Wild flowers had just started to bloom outside of the window, filling the air with their sweet scent. It was a peaceful scene.

The sun beat down on them, accentuating the fine figure of her husband, hunkered over in the tiny garden that was really no more than a patch of grass. His shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows, waistcoat, collar, and tie discarded and a couple of buttons on his shirt scandalously opened to reveal the neck of his undershirt beneath. Dirt was smudged across his cheek. He was planting the first of her spring flowers.

Anna sighed wistfully. She wished that she could be out there with him, but he had taken to fussing somewhat fiercely over these last few days, and she wasn't in the mood for another argument about the amount of work she should be doing at seven months pregnant. He had been surprisingly subdued about it at Downton but, as he'd argued yesterday, he had had very little choice in the matter when she was insistent upon working for Lady Mary for as long as possible. Now that they were running their own establishment, he had much more to say.

And, as frustrating as it was to be mollycoddled sometimes, she couldn't deny that it was lovely to take a break.

Or as much as a break as she could take with an eighteen-month-old tugging at her skirts.

"Up!" their little daughter demanded now, giving a particularly determined yank. "Up, Mummy!"

"All right, baby," she said, conceding defeat and hoisting her up with a little huff. Their daughter wriggled closer to the glass at once, pressing her nose to it.

"Daddy!" she squealed, catching sight of him immediately. One chubby fist was raised and smacked weakly against the windowpane.

Even though the noise was hardly loud enough to carry, John jerked around at once. Wincing, he pushed himself back to his feet—she would have to have a word with him later about putting unnecessary strain on his knee—but his smile was wide enough to dim his obvious discomfort. He waved up at them, which only made their daughter bang even more enthusiastically in return.

Life had been wonderful since they had made the move from Downton not long after their little girl's birth. Bit by bit they had started to build their empire, first with a tiny trickle of customers visiting the north, then with a steadier, if slow, stream once news of their business started to spread. They had poured all of their efforts into making their dream as viable as possible, though neither of them had accounted for the sudden surprise that was sprung upon them not even a year after their first baby.

"You work fast, Mr. Bates," she'd said in a mix of amusement, anxiety, and anticipation after the local doctor had confirmed that she was indeed expecting again.

They had had a little spare money left over from the sale of the house, and although they had wanted to save it for a rainy day in case they hit a dry patch in their little industry, John had asserted that they use the funds to get Doctor Ryder to their Yorkshire base, even though Anna was sure that kindly old Doctor Williams could perform the surgery now that the local hospital had been absorbed. Although they had not been installed at their hotel long, John had insisted that she follow the recommendation of complete bed rest for a few days, leaving him to juggle the demands of a small child and the hotel along with her own needs. He had coped admirably, and Anna hadn't had the heart to scold him for doing too much himself. He had missed out on so much at the beginning of the last pregnancy, and she didn't want him to miss out again. They were in this together. Truly.

And so far the pregnancy had been like sailing on smooth waters. Having been through the horror and fear before, Anna knew how to handle things this time, and was able to enjoy each stage much more than she had done the first time around.

Their daughter's loud cry brought her back to the present moment, and she shook her head to clear it of her musings. John was still gazing up at them, and her heart soared all over again at the concrete evidence of her surroundings, proof that they had conquered everything that life had thrown at them. Proof that they had overcome the darkness and had been rewarded with everything that their hearts had always desired.

At one time, she'd thought the views at Downton breathtaking. But nothing on earth could compare with the view that she had right now, with the joyful gleam of her husband's eyes, the sweet, innocent eagerness of their darling daughter as she clamoured for a better look at her father, all framed in the most beautiful palette of colours from the late afternoon sun, like the master strokes of an artist's paintbrush.

Anna knew that she was finally home.