A/N: I'm happy to say I'm back on the 20s now, though a little bit later than the show. :P This is probably an AU story, really, but might as well not be, if I have my way. Hope you'll like it - feedback is always very much appreciated, especially for a first chapter! Special thanks to my editor Terrie who suggested the title too. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Downton Abbey.

Chapter One

June 1927

It was a cloudy day; it looked like it would rain soon. No soft breeze, but peaceful all the same. A bit warm maybe, but not too much. It was getting darker by the minute. Children played outside their houses, but it wouldn't be long before they were all safely inside. For anyone watching the scene, it would be perfect.

Still, life inside those neat, well-maintained cottages was a completely different thing. Mothers taking care of the house, calling their children, working in the garden and, if one would just listen carefully to it, the distinct sound of a baby crying could be heard. Inside one of those cottages, one with a particularly pretty garden, the day was as busy as many others, and it didn't matter how peaceful it was outside.

Anna sighed patiently, balancing a teary-eyed two-year-old girl on her hip; the girl sobbed quietly, her pretty little face smeared with tears. Her dress was covered in ink, as well as her hands and, by consequence, there was ink on Anna's dress as well.

"Now, Lucy, it was only a scare," Anna said in a soothing tone, "You know you cannot play with that. But it's gone now. See?"

Lucy's bright blue eyes examined her now clean hands and she sniffed; Anna pondered, not for the first time, if Lucy had been crying because of the sudden splash of ink on her or because she had been discovered. Anna stared at her daughter with a firm look, and Lucy looked down.

"Lucy sowwy," the girl said in a small voice, her speech still not quite right, but making Anna smile all the same.

"It's all right, darling. Just don't do that again," Anna said, and Lucy nodded. With a reassuring smile, Anna took in her daughter's dress, and pursed her lips. "Now, what will Papa say when he comes home and sees you like this, young lady? Should we go change your dress?"

Lucy presented her a bright smile, throwing her hands up, "Yes!"

Anna let out a laugh at Lucy's excited tone, trying not to think about how she'd be able to get off all that ink from the little girl's dress; picking her up again, Anna suddenly felt so tired. With her husband away and three young children to take care of, sudden rushes of tiredness were getting difficult to overcome. It was still impossible to not smile though, especially when her baby girl presented her with that sweet smile of hers. She smoothed the little girls' dark curls as she walked them upstairs, to the small nursery room

She couldn't wait for John to be home. With Lord Grantham's business in London, John had to go with him five days ago, and was set to return later in the afternoon. Anna missed him, very much, and she knew the children missed him too. They were always very vocal about it, frequently asking her when he would be home and what they would do once their Papa arrived. Still, sometimes their impatience resulted in bad moodiness, not just for Anna, but for the children as well.

It didn't help that, merely a day after John had been gone, Jack and Beatrice fell ill with a flu. It was one thing to look after the children, but illness left them cranky and sad, which didn't help Anna at all. They were very well-behaved – they always did listen to her and rarely disobeyed her or John – and she really couldn't complain about them; seeing them sick only added to her natural concern over them, and made her miss her husband's presence even more. Luckily, Lucy remained as healthy as ever, but with her oldest children ill Anna was left with little time to give her youngest some very deserved attention – thus the ink disaster happening twice in a single week.

Responding correctly to Lucy's babbling – apparently they had many plans for when Papa arrived – Anna sighed and marched downstairs, holding Lucy's small hand as they descended the steps – as the little girl insisted she would walk down all the stairs. Anna knew better than to argue today; she knew her children well and they were all way too stubborn for their own good. She would normally tease John them getting that trait from him, but Anna was sure her own genes could be there as well.

She sighed, patiently descending the stairs slowly with a two-year-old holding her hand. If she was this tired even before John got here, she didn't even want to think about how she'd be at the end of the day.

"Mummy, Jack don't want me playin' with him and Timmy and I want to play with 'em!" Beatrice said loudly, slamming the front door open. Anna cringed at the sight of her, wearing her best Sunday dress, with her clothes covered in dirt.

She shouldn't have let them choose their own clothes today.

"Darling, what did I tell you and Jack about playing outside after you've taken your bath?" Anna told her as she finally stopped at the bottom step of the stairs, with Lucy running towards the parlour almost immediately. "Lucy, careful there!"

"That we shouldn't, 'cause it's getting dark and we want to be pretty and clean for when Papa arrives," Beatrice said in a well-practiced speech.

Anna smiled, "Good. I'll call Jack back and the three of you can play inside together. Can you stay inside with Lucy while Mummy does that?"

Beatrice nodded and went on running around the house as soon as Anna stopped speaking; her reprimand on her running did nothing to stop her. Anna took a quick look at the parlour and felt her energies draining slowly. Jack and Bea had recovered well from the flu and left the room in quite a state when she went out to the backyard to do the washing. Anna sighed once more – and to think that she had it all cleaned up after luncheon.

Jack was in an even worse state than Beatrice when Anna found him a few feet from their cottage, and she immediately asked him to come inside; it was getting dark outside and Anna knew John would be arriving soon. His dark hair, so much like his father's, was not tidy like when Anna had gotten him ready, and his smart clothes were dirty and creased.

"Jack, come inside, now!" Anna said, getting her little boy's attention. His eyes grew alert at her voice, and he cringed. "Look at yourself!"

Her tone was disapproving enough to get the boy to run towards his mother, knowing better than to disobey her. She caught his hand and tugged him back to the house.

"I'm sorry, Mummy, but Timmy was playing and I wanted to go too!"

She kneeled in front of him and tried to get his hair to the right side, though it was difficult to do so without the right amount of promenade, and Anna wasn't keen on using it on him when he was so young, even though Jack more than once requested it, wanting to look like his father. The boy was quiet under her gaze.

"Just because Timmy is playing, doesn't mean you can too," she sighed, and squeezed her son's shoulders softly. "Can you behave now? You all wanted to make a surprise for Papa, and now you are all so dirty."

"Papa won't mind, Mummy!" Beatrice interrupted. "He always says he loves us anyway."

Anna had to smile at this. "That he does," she reached to smooth Beatrice's hair as well, getting it out of her face. She smiled tenderly at her middle child. "Well, can you all stay here and don't get into any trouble? Mama needs to make dinner."

Beatrice nodded solemnly, never averting her eyes from Anna, who was now staring at Jack. Her little boy, older by barely a year than Bea, was quick to nod too, already eyeing the small train he had been playing with in the middle of the room. Their father's impending arrival made them more excited than usual, and she couldn't really blame them; she was excited as well.

Anna took a quick look at the three of them, and smiled; Lucy was busy drawing, this time, thankfully, with a pencil, and as Jack and Bea parted ways to play with other toys, she was almost sure they could be distracted enough to let her work quietly and fast enough to have them ready before John's arrival.

Anna turned and started to make her way towards the kitchen. She still needed to finish John's favourite pie. She had just got there when the voices from the parlour grew louder.

"No, Jack! This is my doll!"

"But Lucy wants to play with it!"

Anna rolled her eyes and started to walk back to the parlour. She knew her children well enough to know where this was going.

Putting her hands on her waist, she looked at the three of them, who stopped talking the moment their mother entered the room. Anna let out a tired sigh.

"All right," Anna started, "Who wants to help me cook?"

Three loud voices reached her ears immediately, and suddenly her three children were surrounding her.

This was going to be a long evening.

Anna had been brushing Beatrice's hair when Jack announced their father's arrival, from his place by the window. Beatrice took Anna by surprise when she stood up and ran towards the door along with Jack. Lucy was already sleepy, something for her, who generally slept earlier than her siblings but not this earlier. Anna picked her up as the girl stood up rather groggily, still eager to see her papa though not as much as before. She leaned against Anna's shoulder, and she briefly hoped her baby girl would be spared from the illness that had taken her brother and sister a few days ago.

She walked towards the door, stopping by the entrance, and saw her husband for the first time after five days. He made her heart skip a beat, as usual, and she really thought she would be used to it by now, after being in love with him for fifteen years, eight years of marriage and three children. Jack and Bea had reached him by now, and he had dropped his suitcase to the ground, along with his cane, to hug them both, his face full of love and joy. Lucy clapped her tiny chubby hands together when she saw her papa, and instantly demanded to get down, something Anna did gratefully. As John spotted their youngest, Anna thought she saw his eyes glisten just a bit. Of course he missed them. He kneeled down again, this time to greet his baby girl, and settled her in his arms. He'd complain about his knees later on, she knew, before they would go to bed. But she was sure he'd say it was all worth it.

Jack and Beatrice were already dragging his suitcase in unison back to the house, babbling and laughing, and Anna consciously smoothed her hair, thinking she should have taken a look at herself five minutes ago when she went upstairs to get the hairbrush. John stood up then, leaning on his cane and holding Lucy with his free arm, and only then looked at her. He smiled brighter. She couldn't help but do the same.

God, she missed him.

His steps were firm and quick, never taking his eyes off her as Lucy hugged him tight and Jack and Beatrice dragged his suitcase into the cottage in a rather dangerous motion.

"Jack, Bea, careful with that," Anna warned them softly, turning to find John right in front of her.

Before she could say anything, he pulled her into a soft, quick kiss, something that took Anna by surprise – she wouldn't ever complain, of course. She ran her hand through his arm and squeezed his elbow softly, smiling into the kiss, aware that the children were chatting a few feet from them and Lucy was still in his arms.

"I've missed you," Anna whispered.

"I've missed you too," John said, moving closer to kiss her once again, this time full of promise. A loud thump interrupted them, and Anna pulled away from John to look immediately at Bea and Jack, who were now in the middle of the parlour, Jack's hand holding one of the straps of John's battered suitcase, that had got free somehow, probably from all the dragging, while Beatrice had lost her balance and was now standing up.

"John and Beatrice!" Anna said exasperatedly, making both children's heads snap up alarmingly at the sound of their names. "What did I tell you about that? I hope we'll get that fixed because that suitcase belonged to your grandfather!"

"Sorry, Mama," Bea's tiny voice was the first she heard.

"I'm sorry, Mummy," Jack was quick to say, his eyes wide. "It wasn't on purpose."

Before Anna could say anything, John stepped in.

"It's all right, leave it there and we'll see what we can do later," he said softly, though his voice was tired.

As much as Anna wanted to say more, she refrained herself. She knew how much the suitcase meant to John, but they would find a way. She also knew how the children had been eager to see their papa, and she couldn't take their happiness away. So instead, she smiled at their eldest children, touched that John wouldn't mind about that now.

"Can we show Papa our surprise, Mama?" Bea asked excitedly, and Anna had to let out a laugh.

"Only after supper, darling," Anna told them, turning to John and Lucy, prompting to try to coax her youngest back into her arms again. "Come with Mama, Lucy. Let Papa have some rest."

Lucy refused, shaking her head rather vigorously for someone who looked like she'd be asleep soon just five minutes before. After much reluctance, she went to the floor willingly, running after her siblings into the kitchen. Anna let out a frustrated sigh, but smiled at her husband, so glad that he was finally home. He was chuckling as he took off his jacket and tie, and Anna couldn't help but feel the peace and calmness she only felt when her husband was there, by her side. When she turned to him, after hanging his jacket, he caught her in his arms, kissing her deeply, and Anna melted into the kiss quickly, her eyelids closing and savouring the taste of her husband, for the first time in days.

A loud bang interrupted them once again, the distinct sound of perhaps a chair falling onto the ground, and they stopped to hear silence and then whispering. John sighed dramatically and Anna giggled.

"Later," he promised, giving a quick peck on her lips before pulling away. "We better stop them from ruining the kitchen. God, I missed this."

A content laugh escaped Anna's lips as she followed her husband's steps. Everything was back to normal now.