Ok, so I accidentally came across some spoilers about the season finale of season 2, and can genuinely say it gives no indication about whether Bates and Anna's relationship is going to progress, or end, or whatever. So I'm going to be writing some intense, fluffy, smoochy, sexual, cheesy Anna/Bates stories until my dreams hopefully come true in the season finale. If they don't…I dread to think. Anyway, this story is based around Anna and Bates' 'upcoming wedding', (plz happen I beg you Fellowes).

The whole of Downton Abbey was abuzz with excitement.

Upstairs, they were all undeniably looking forward to the marriage of the footman and the maid. Lady Sybil found it all extremely romantic, how such an unlikely match had decided to come together. Lady Edith shared Sybil's views, plus she adored weddings, if not slightly dreaded them, due to the fact she longed for her own wedding to happen as soon as possible, to a man she loved. Lady Mary found it all adorable. She had always had a very soft spot for Anna, she trusted her with many things throughout their time shared together. Anna was one of the closest things Mary had to a female friend who could be called on upon any hour of the day without complaint, who would listen to her and reassure her and confide in her no matter what the circumstance. Indeed, she had become very fond of Anna, so was naturally also excited that Anna was finally getting what she wanted.

Cora, in a typical 'American' fashion, recited the story to her diary once she had been informed of the romance fully by her husband – she was absolutely endeared by the tale of the two. She had always liked Anna very much, and regarded her as almost saint-like, and after Robert had revealed to her the full extent of his and Bates' past, not long after Mr Bates had properly settled in after what nearly became his dismissal, Cora grew to respect Bates very much. He had always seemed like a silent hero, someone who carried many scars but never openly suggested them. She was happy for them both, and one night, when she had surprised herself when she realised she was evaluating their compatibility in her head, she concluded that they didn't make a bad match at all.

Robert of course, was very happy. So happy, he was bordering on proud. His friend, his comrade, had finally found solace in a woman. Nothing like the one he often whined about in South Africa. He had always known Anna as a decent, compassionate girl. He knew Bates well, and they had become more like brothers than friends when fighting. He knew Bates used to hate the idea of love, romance, anything soppy like that. He suspected it was because he hadn't experienced it properly at that time. Now it seemed, he had faith again. And he knew how much of that Bates lost after his injury, the injury he received saving him when an explosion took them both back, but Bates threw himself in front of Robert…no, Robert would never forget Bates' gallant actions that had undoubtedly caused him many setbacks…he was eternally grateful.

Even the Dowager Countess had become caught up in the wedding fever. She had heard about Bates' actions in the Boers that resulted in her son returning back to Downton completely unharmed, and she had never quite forgotten it. She wouldn't dream of ever making it public, but she had once summoned him to speak to her, and made up a topic in which to request to Bates – something about telling Carson to order some different wine, as the Italian Rose he had imported didn't bode well with her – just so she could hear his light Irish burr…it almost sent her half to sleep. And she had always liked Anna. She had never really got to know her as such, but she could tell a decent, hardworking girl when she saw one. She had the sort of angelic features that would suggest she was one maid's apron away from sainthood. She just seemed like an average, intelligent girl who knew what she wanted out of life – and that was something Violet Crawley valued highly with anybody.

Downstairs, the news was much more expected, but still the kitchens were rife with excitement.

All had been happy when Anna and Mr Bates finally announced they were to be wed, after all they had all watched the couple trudge onwards after so many setbacks, watched them dream for years of their future, and watched them push for their relationship to by verified by vows. They had all celebrated the night that Anna and Bates walked proudly into the servants quarters one lunchtime, hand in hand, and said they were to be married. That night, Carson allowed some wine to be poured, music to be played and speeches to be made (Mrs Hughes had always rooted for the pair and had a talent for arranging words). All the servants reflected sadly when Mrs Patmore declared morosely 'if only William was here to hear the news.'

Even O'Brien and Thomas kept their opinions to themselves about the situation. In honesty, Thomas had become tired of scheming about ruining other people's lives when he had discovered he could scheme to benefit himself instead. O'Brien had simply tired of doing anything other than her job. It seemed that their days of plotting ended after the war did, with neither of them producing any energy or motivation to continue their double-act.

The date was set as the 29th of January, a winter wedding. It was both Bates and Anna's favourite season, and what was better than to make a new start in the New Year?

As the wedding date drew close, the excitement increased. Bates in particular was amused to find that whenever he and Anna took their usual seats next to each other on the bench in the servant's quarters, all eyes would fall on them. It seemed to cause as much stir as did the time many years ago when the Prince of Wales, now the King of England visited Downton many years ago, Carson found himself reflecting one night.

Two nights before the wedding, and action happened.

It was late. Around one in the morning. The servants corridors were nearly silent, all lights extinguished, all curtains drawn apart from the huge window that was only partially covered at the end of the male corridor. A streak of moonlight bathed the corridor in a silvery carpet. Snores could be heard sneaking from Mr Carson's room, and a distant scratching of a floorboard confirmed that there was a mouse somewhere underneath it.

Suddenly, silence was interrupted by the creaking of a door. It was the door that separated the male and female corridors. Opening it was Anna, a look of calculation on her face. She was examining every inch of the corridor before she decided to tenderly place her feet onto the moon-bathed carpet and quietly close the door behind her. Her heart was pumping. It was terribly unlike her to sneak around at night, never mind to use Mrs Hughes' keys to access the male corridor. However, she had been absolutely desperate to confront an issue with Mr Bates, and she couldn't even let the chains of guilt bind her down to the bed she had lost sleep in because of the issue. Mind over matter, that's what her Mum was always saying.

Slowly, she crept down the corridor. Mr Bates' room was right in the middle of the hallway, and she stopped abruptly when she arrived to it. She took a short time to compose herself – she needed to steady her breath as her heart was beating rapidly due to her current rule breaking. Then, she knocked gently upon his door.

It didn't take him long at all to answer the door, it must have only been about five seconds. It was almost as if he was expecting her. However, his look of surprise denied this.

'I'm sorry for the late hour, I truly am, but I really need to speak to you,' Anna whispered. Bates nodded and ushered her into his room before sticking his head out of the door, scanning the hallway twice on each side, and then closing the door quietly, satisfied no one had seen Anna enter his room. He turned around and she was already sat on his bed.

'You only have to wait another two days before you can sit on our bed,' he joked, smiling at her. She didn't however, return the smile. She sat rigidly on the end of the bed, staring sadly at the ground. Bates became worried.

'Anna?' he asked. 'What's wrong?'

She sighed before looking up at him, her cards close to her chest, her expression unreadable.

'I'm going to sound completely awful when I say this...' she began, before hesitating.

'No, tell me what's wrong, Anna Smith. There's clearly something the matter with you. You're scaring me.'

'Alright, but please promise me you're not going to judge me for what I'm about to say,' she begged. Bates limped forward and sat himself next to her.

'I promise,' he said grandly.

Anna breathed in. 'Alright then. I've been feeling this way for weeks now, no, months, in fact, years, when I come to think of it. But I just can't help longing for you, Mr Bates, I can't help wanting to…you know…wanting to be more intimate with you. I know I only have to wait two more days, but I've loved you for almost seven years, and it's just…' she began to well up, 'it's just that I don't think I can take it anymore.'

Bates sat there in stunned silence. Basically, Anna had come to tell him…how sexually frustrated she was? Not that she didn't want to marry him? Not that she'd changed her mind about everything?

'Anna,' he started. 'My darling. I don't actually think you know how many times I've dreamed of holding you in my arms whilst I sleep, how many times I have lusted over you. But you know that we have to do this properly, to try and wait that little bit longer before everything can fall into place,' he declared softly.

'I'm not asking for everything,' Anna finally said. I just want to feel you, lie with you, get my pulse racing a bit, as awfully floozy as that sounds,' she blushed.

Bates considered. He'd waited years too, waited to do exactly what she had just suggested.

'I'm not going to deny, I'm tempted,' he admitted. 'But what if we get caught? I know we're going to be moving into the cottage in a few days, but still…talk about leaving on a low and potentially very awkward note.'

They sat in silence for a few seconds, staring at eachother, until the atmosphere became unbearable. Seemingly, they both pounced at the same time and began to kiss passionately.

Anna held the back of Bates' head whilst he moved his hands towards her waist. As their kisses became deeper, so did their lust. Suddenly, Anna pushed her way forwards so that she was pushing Bates into his bed. He did nothing to stop her. The kisses became faster and more frequent, until they both paused. Bates was lying flat on his back on the bed, whilst Anna was sat suggestively on top of him, leaning over him and holding his face. Neither of them wanted to stop.

Anna began to undo the buttons on Bates' pyjamas, slowly but surley, tracing his body with her small, delicate fingers. They shifted position so that it was now Bates who was leaning over Anna, completely topless. He kissed her face, her ears, her neck so gently, it was almost like he was barley touching her at all. He traced her delicate figure longingly, before he found his fingers were sliding down her thigh. He saw the look of approval she gave him, and he began to peel off her nightdress.

She was naked, he was topless, and they both caressed each other as they passionately kissed. He decided to do it; he dared himself, mostly because his brain was screaming for it to happen. He moved his fingers from her breast, down her stomach, down her thigh…he was there. He massaged his destination with experienced fingers, and she writhed with pleasure on his bed. Pleased with his good work, he decided to explore more. He slid in one finger, and she drew breath so sharply it sent shivers down his spine. She grabbed hold of his neck and held it tightly. This was becoming too much to bear, he was getting closer to his climax just by her hardened grasp on his neck.

He felt one of her hands leave his neck, and he stopped everything to make sure she was alright. However, although she looked slightly flustered to say the least, the mischievous glimmer in her eye made Bates even more aroused. She brushed her fingers down, down, down until…she had only gone and removed his pyjama trousers. She was greeted with his readied weapon, and she stroked it up and down repetitively. His breathing increased and became shallow, and he grunted every few seconds with pleasure. He was getting closer to release, he knew it, and he wanted nothing more than to get it done with and slip inside of her, but he stopped himself. Just as she was about to manoeuvre herself into the position he yearned for, he stopped her.

'We need to wait,' he gasped, still completely breathless from her touch. 'Trust me, I want to do things properly, I want to make you mine on the day we are wed,' he said definitively.

She nodded after a pause. 'I know what you mean. I think that that was definitely enough for one night…I still can't quite believe what I've just done,' Anna said with awe.

'Do you regret it?' Bates panicked, his breathing now returning to normal as he moved to lie next to her rather than over her, his bedsheets engulfing them both.

'No, not at all. In fact, I think that coming here tonight had to has to be the second-best decision of my life,' she smiled.

'What was the first?' he asked inquisitively.

'Never giving up on you,' she replied honestly. Their hands intertwined at their chests, and they shared a brief but loving kiss.

Anna glimpsed at the clock beside her.

It was almost three in the morning.

'I'd better go,' she said sadly, as she peeled away covers she had become laced in and picked up her nightgown that had been thrust onto the floor.

'Do you have to?' replied Bates sulkily.

'Why, Mr Bates!' Anna exclaimed. 'It was you who only an hour ago said we only have to wait a mere two days before we shall be wed,' she teased.

'Ah, but I said that before our little…exploration. Now…I want you even more,' he sighed.

'Oh, be quiet you soft thing,' Anna grinned affectionately as she fixed her nightgown back into place. She looked down at him. He'd put his pants back on, and was buttoning his pin-striped pyjama top back up.

'Mr Bates?' she said finally, after watching him conquer the last of his buttons.

'What?' he smiled.

'This might seem a little out of the blue, but I much prefer your hair as it is now as to when you have it sleeked back for work,' she purred.

Bates laughed. 'I'm glad you like it so much, you'd better get used to it, because in a few days' time you'll be waking up to these luscious locks every morning,' he winked.

'Let me ruffle it before I leave?' she requested cheekily.

'Of course, anything for my future wife,' he gushed. She knelt on the bed, ruffled his hair and then planted a soft, quick kiss on his lips.

As she headed for the door, he watched her move. He thought it was almost unnatural the way she shimmied with such delicacy, such womanliness…he was looking forward to married life beyond words.

She opened the door, but turned her head.

'I love you,' she whispered, smiling. He grinned back.

'I love you too, you perfect woman. Now get a move on before I have to drag you back into my bed,' he warned mockingly. She scanned the hallway carefully, stepped cautiously outside and then blew Bates a kiss through the small gap in the door before it closed.

Chuckling, he settled down into his mattress. That had certainly been an eventful night.

Well guys, I was feeling pretty desperate for some serious Anna/Bates action after the depressing lack of it in series 2, so I suppose this just had to be done. Won't be writing too many 'M' rated fanfics, I think this may be a one off. However I hope you all enjoyed this slightly long-winded account of Bates and Anna's build up towards their wedding. Maybe a wedding fic next?