"Role Reversal"

John slowly opened his eyes and let them adjust to the brightness of the room. It seemed to be far past the dawn he was used to awakening to. He smiled as he realized he had a whole day off to spend with Anna and their twin daughters, Elizabeth and Ruth. The girls had been born a little over two years ago and while it was quite the surprise when they welcomed two girls into the world instead of the one they had been expecting, both Anna and Bates agreed they were very blessed to have two such beautiful and lovely daughters. He looked over at Anna who was sleeping facing him, her hand tucked under her cheek. He thought about letting her sleep, but the temptation to kiss her was overwhelming. He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. He felt her lips twitch under his, and pulled away to see her eyes slowly open. It took her a moment to focus on him but once she did she smiled and reached up to kiss him again.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, love." John leaned down to place another kiss on her lips when she suddenly sneezed. John started, and then started laughing.

Anna smiled and went to speak before another sneeze overtook her followed by three more.

John frowned slightly and reached a hand to her forehead, frowning at the heat he felt there. "Anna you are burning up!"

Anna frowned slightly; she swallowed then cleared her throat. "My throat does feel a bit scratchy."

"You must have caught something when you went into town a few days ago"

Just then a cry sounded from the next room. Anna went to get up, but stopped when John placed a hand on her arm. "No Anna, you need to rest. I can look after the girls today."

Anna shook her head. "John this is your first whole day off in months. You are supposed to relax today, not spend it chasing around two two-year olds. "

John smiled. "I don't know, spending the day with my daughters' seems like a wonderful way to relax." John got up and put on his robe and headed next door to go check on the girls.

Anna smiled softly and shook her head. She had a feeling John had no idea what he was in store for.

John gently opened the door and walked in the room smiling at the sight before him. Both girls were standing up in the cribs. The girls were smiling and reaching out their arms. John first went to Elizabeth, the oldest by six minutes. She had his dark hair and Anna's blue eyes. She wrapped her arms around him as John placed a kiss on her curly hair. He placed her on the floor and reached for Ruth, with her blonde hair and green eyes. He placed a kiss on her cheek and then set her next to her sister, before reaching for both of their hands. He smiled at how small they looked in his big ones.

"Would you girls like some breakfast? Eggs?"

Ruth looked up at him. "Cake!" John smiled.

"We can't have cake for breakfast. What would your mother say?"

Elizabeth looked up at him, "Mama?"

John led them down the hallway, "Mama isn't feeling well this morning, so you get to spend the day with Papa. How does that sound?"

He laughed as both girls squealed their delight at the thought. John felt his heart swell with love. When he came to Downton all those years ago he never imagined he would be where he was now, with a beautiful wife and two beautiful little girls. He didn't think he could be any happier.

He led them to the kitchen and set them at the table. "You girls sit here while Papa makes you some eggs, okay?"

He turned back to the counter and began getting the things he would need to make scrambled eggs and toast. He had just picked up the bowl of eggs when he heard a crash. He quickly turned to towards the table to see the sugar bowl in pieces on the floor, and little Ruth with tears in her eyes. He quickly walked over to the table and ran a hand over her hair. "Sshhh, darling it's okay. Papa will clean it up."

He placed the bowl of eggs next to Elizabeth and bet down to pick up the mess. He was picking up the last shard when he felt coldness on his head. He frowned and reached up to his hair and groaned when he felt shell and yolk run through his fingers. He looked up to see Elizabeth reaching for a second egg. He jumped up as quickly as his knee would allow and quickly grabbed the bowl, turning to put it on the cook stove behind him.

"Elizabeth that was not a very nice thing to do! You don't break eggs over people's head, do you understand?" John tried not to speak too sternly but Elizabeth still started crying, which got Ruth started as well. John sighed softly. He didn't want their cries to wake up Anna. He turned quickly looking at the counter for something to distract them when he laid his eyes on it. The chocolate cake Anna had made yesterday. He said a silent prayer that Anna would forgive him and reached for the cake.

"Okay Papa was wrong, cake sounds great for breakfast. Would you like some cake?" This quieted both girls as they clapped their hands together in excitement. John got two plates down and busied himself with cutting two small pieces. As the girls turned to eating, John set to cleaning up the mess they had made.

After breakfast John had set them up in the living room with some toys and then set about taking care of some things in the house that he had wanted to get done on his day off. Every few minutes he would look in on the girls and they were always fine sitting on the floor playing with their dolls and other toys. John had been in the hallway fixing a crack when he realized that it was very quiet in the room next door. He frowned and walked into the room, shocked at the scene before him. The girls had gotten into his desk by climbing in the chair and spread ink everywhere. It was on the desk, on the floor and on the settee and he closed his eyes as he noticed the girls dresses were also covered in ink. He walked over the desk and gingerly plucked the ink bottles out of the girls' small hands and placed them on the desk.

"Elizabeth Anne and Ruth Margaret, you do not play with the things on Papa's desk. Look at this mess you have made." He frowned as tears filled the girls' eyes. He wasn't going to fall for that again. He picked them both up one in each arm and realized too late that he would now be covered in ink. "The tears will not work this time young ladies. Now we have to give you both a bath and then you are going to be taking a nap so Papa can clean up the mess you made."

John led them into the bathroom and had them stand in the corner of the room as he drew the water for a bath. Making sure the water wasn't too hot he turned and began removing their dresses.

"Your mama is not going to be happy to see the mess you made of your dresses. "

John got them undressed and placed them gently into the tub one at a time. He set to scrubbing them from head to toe. It took a while but finally they were clean and ink-free. And John was soaking wet. He didn't know how Anna gave the girls bathes all the time and never managed to be soaked. He pulled them out and placed them on the rug in front of the bath, running a big towel over both of them to dry them off. A few minutes later they were dry and into new dresses. He combed their hair, and did his best to fix it the way Anna always did. He frowned at his work, as he noticed their pigtails were a bit uneven. They weren't going anywhere though so no one would see them.

He stood up and his knee groaned in protest. He stretched it out as he stood. "Okay girls, nap time."

He led them down the hallway into their bedroom and placed them both in their cribs. He placed a kiss on each little head. "Now you both lie down and be good little girls and when you wake up, if it is still nice out Papa will let you play outside." He watched as they settled down and turned to leave the room. Ruth's voice stopped him.

"Love papa." He smiled at Ruth then again towards Elizabeth as she mimed her twin. "I love you both too. Papa loves you very much." He closed the door softly behind him and smiled. He was a lucky man indeed. The smile slowly left his face as he remembered the mess that faced him the sitting room. He turned to the closet to look for Anna's cleaning supplies.

John looked at his daughters playing in the yard. After checking on Anna to make sure she was till resting comfortably and bringing her some soup, he had taken the children into the yard to play. Anna had still had a fever and the start of a cough. She had eaten a bit of the soup before falling asleep again. John had brought several of their toys outside and the girls were playing in the front lawn while John sat in a chair reading the newspaper. It was a lovely day, warm but comfortable. He felt his eyes close and forced them back open. He looked back down at the paper as the words ran together. His eyes slipped closed again. He quickly fell into a slumber.

Ruth and Elizabeth both looked up to see their Papa sleeping. They looked at each other speaking words they only seemed to understand. Ruth toddled over to the garden and Elizabeth followed. The slowly began picking flowers and carrying them over to where their papa was sleeping.

John eyes popped open in panic as he realized he had been sleeping. He quickly looked over to the front lawn and sighed in relief to notice that his daughters were still in the same spot playing with their dolls. He quickly stood up, frowning as his feet hit something soft. He looked down and closed his eyes in resignation. There were piles of flowers all around him. He looked back at the garden; it was half destroyed. The girls had picked what they could mostly ripping the buds off the stems and placing them all around him. A closer look at his daughters revealed that they must have crawled through the garden as well. Their dresses were covered in dirt and pollen. He sighed and walked over to them.

"Girls you have destroyed your mama's garden."

Elizabeth looked up at him. "Papa like flower?" Her eyes were so innocent that John just didn't have the heart to scold either of them.

"Papa loved flower. Now about we go in the house. I think you need another bath. I will say this; you will be the cleanest children in England today!"

John closed the girls' bedroom and slowly walked down the hallway to the room he shared with Anna. It was only 7, but he put the girls down for the night. He was exhausted. He had no idea how Anna did this every day while he worked at the big house. He had a new appreciation for his wife. He slowly opened their door and smiled when he saw her sleeping. The flush seemed to be gone from her cheeks. He walked to the bureau and removed his pajamas from the bottom drawer, sitting on the chair to remove his shoes and socks. He then stood and removed his trousers and dress shirt, quickly changing into his pajamas. He walked over to the bed drawing back the blanket on his side. He got in as gently as possible, wincing as he felt Anna stir. He looked over as she opened her eyes. He smiled gently.

"Sorry love. I tried not to wake you."

Anna smiled and looked at the clock, frowning as she saw the time. "John it is only 7 o'clock. Why are you getting into bed? Where are the girls?"

"Anna darling, I had to put them to bed early. I don't know how you do it every day. They exhausted me."

Anna chuckled, "They can be a handful. What mischief did they cause today?"

John winced as he thought of the broken sugar bowl, the ink-stained settee and the torn up garden. "Darling you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Anna reached for his hand, pulling him towards her. She placed a kiss on his lips. "I bet you will think twice before you volunteer to take care of them for the day."

John went to agree, and then thought twice about it. Yes the girls had been a handful, but he had to admit he loved spending the day with them. He kissed Anna gently before lying down. Anna slid over and placed her head on his chest. John wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

"Actually I would do it all over tomorrow if could."