Chapter Four

Anna looked around the flat distractedly; it was a rather warm day, sunny outside, and it was probably a good day to spend outside. Instead, however, she was stuck inside her own flat, with her companion talking on the phone every five minutes.

"Sorry about that," David told her when he finally hung up. Anna had already finished eating by then, "We're having this huge business transaction in the office and one of the companies just offered less than we had stipulated. It'll be a tough one."

"I'm sure," Anna said, "Can't you turn your phone off so that you can at least have lunch without interruptions?"

David shook his head, "Are you kidding? One phone call might change everything, Anna," he rolled his eyes as he ate, "Now, what were we talking about?"

"Last night's presentation," Anna answered him, "It's a shame you couldn't come. Nearly all the choreographies were mine."

"I'm sure they were all great, honey," David said, and Anna smiled, "I'll try to make it to the next one, but we had this important meeting yesterday and I couldn't miss it. You understand, right?"

Anna fidgeted slightly on her seat, "Yeah, I do, but," she stopped herself for a moment, "David, I feel like we need to talk about..."

She was interrupted by his phone ringing again, and Anna cursed inwardly when he answered it – again. Her patience was slowly coming to an end and Anna looked at the clock on the opposite wall. David had arrived later in the morning and picked Anna up at work for them to have lunch together – and yet, she hadn't been able to hold a conversation for more than ten minutes. And if there was something she needed to do, it was to talk with David.

Even though Anna told Mary and everyone else that she understood David's job and how he was away all the time, she was aware that their relationship was not only physically distant, but emotionally as well. They had to make a decision about it, and it needed to be done soon.

David arched his eyebrows as he hung up again, and looked straight into Anna's eyes, somewhat anxiously. "What did you want to talk about?"

Anna took a deep breath. "I think we might need to... re-evaluate our relationship."

David frowned, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that... maybe we should think about the last months and see if we still have a future together," his face was emotionless when she spoke, but Anna knew he was surprised. "We've been together for almost four years, David. We barely see each other. We live in different cities. And I'm, well, I'm almost thirty-one, and we're still in the same step we were four years ago."

"You don't think we can have a future together?" David repeated, visibly upset.

"That's not what I said," Anna retorted quickly, "What I'm saying is that I'm in a good place right now. The studio is going great, I love teaching, my life is very comfortable and I make my own schedules. And I want more. Personally speaking," she added, "I want marriage, and I want children in the future. But I've been having difficulty in seeing how this can work out for the both of us."

David sat, without moving, in front of her. Anna shifted uncomfortably on her seat, but did not regret her words; they should have had this conversation a long time ago. After what seemed like eternity, David spoke again.

"So you just want us to get married?" he said hurriedly, "Because I'm fine with that, Anna. We can get engaged soon, and then we can start planning the wedding. I know you women care a lot about these things..."

"I don't just want us to get married," she told him quietly, but firmly, "I want us to think if we can be together in the future, with our lives being so different right now. Because if we can't, then we should just..."

Anna was once again interrupted by the noise of David's phone ringing, and sighed impatiently when he picked it up again. Anna stood up and took her dirty dishes from the table, not in the mood of listening to whatever big business transaction was happening at the moment. It was moments like this that made Anna question how they've managed to be together for four years already – probably because six months into their relationship David had gone to live in York and they spent less time together.

She was in the kitchen when David called her name from the doorway; she looked up and saw him staring at her rather nervously.

"They want me in York," he told her simply.

Anna let out a bitter laugh; of course he needed to go. He finally managed to visit her, and then he had to leave two hours later.

"Alright," Anna said at last, "Go, then."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm trying to make a big career for myself, Anna," he told her quietly, "You should know this by now."

"I do," she said, "and that's exactly why I'm asking you to think about us."

He nodded silently, and left without any more words.

"She wants the car?" John repeated, "She already asked for the flat. Can she even ask for the car?"

He heard his lawyer's explanation through the phone, and sighed. Of course Vera couldn't get the car, or even the flat, at least not according to their prenuptial agreement. Still, she could ask for it – and giving in would make the divorce process go faster. John, however, had no hurry, and didn't particularly wanted to lose so much for someone he didn't even spend much time with.

"Alright. Let me know if anything changes," John said, observing as Amelia came into the living room and sat beside him on the couch.

He hung up the phone, watching as Amelia remained silent. She had been awfully quiet today, and he knew the reason behind it; Kate had called earlier – she hadn't called Amelia in the day following their previous conversation, but remembered to call on Saturday morning – and she had news for them.

Months ago, she had told them she'd come to visit in October, what made Amelia very excited. She rarely saw her mother more than a couple of days a year, so any day Kate visited was a happy day for Amelia. Unfortunately, as he had come to know this morning, Kate hadn't managed to get some days off work to come to England and would only see Amelia on Christmas. The little girl was obviously sad at the news.

"I have an idea," he said, and she looked up at him, "Let's go to the park."

Amelia's eyes immediately widened. "But you said you were tired and wanted to stay home today, Daddy."

She was right, of course; Amelia constantly asked him to go to the park and play but after working the entire week, plus Saturday morning, he had told her he'd take her there tomorrow. He didn't mind changing his plans; going to the park would probably cheer Amelia's spirits up.

"Well, I'm not tired anymore," he said, and smiled, "Unless you're tired and don't want to go."

"I'm not tired!" she said quickly and stood up, "Can I have an ice cream when we're there?"

"Alright," John told her, "Let's get you ready, then."

After David left and the kitchen was cleaned, Anna had felt the day was too beautiful to be wasted inside; she was on her way out of her flat when her brother called – having just moved to a new place, he apparently had no idea which couch to choose for his new living room, and wanted Anna's help. Anna had been happy with the distraction, feeling that her relationship with David had no real future for the first time in years.

She declined Chris' offer to drive her home afterwards, since her flat wasn't so far, and instead decided to walk through the Valley Gardens to spare time and enjoy the nice weather. Obviously other people had the same idea she had, as several people were there too, but it was far from crowded; she spotted several children too, some riding their bikes, some at the play area, and smiled, remembering she used to love coming here as a child.

Anna frowned as she spotted one person, standing a few feet away from the play area, arms crossed in front of him and wearing sunglasses; John Bates? She wasn't completely sure it was him, so she looked at the play area, spotting Amelia playing on the swing. Anna smiled but stopped walking, unsure of what to do. Should she go and say hello? They didn't know each other very well, after all.

Before she could think any further, however, John saw her and smiled. Anna replied with a smile of her own and walked over to where he was standing.

"Hi," Anna said tentatively, stopping right beside him.

"Hello," he said, "What a surprise to see you here, Anna."

"I wasn't sure it was you from the distance," she told him, "but then I saw Amelia."

He arched his eyebrows, "Thanks for reminding me of how remarkable I am."

Anna laughed at his tone, and shook her head. "You know what I mean," she rolled her eyes and turned to look at the play area, "Well, today seems too fine of a day to waste it inside, don't you think?"

John let out a chuckle, "That was actually my plan, but Amelia loves coming here, and I thought she needed some cheering up."

Anna frowned, "Why? Has anything happened?"

"Oh, no," he said quickly, "Her mother had promised to visit next month, but she won't be able to come anymore. Amelia was looking forward to the visit, so she was a little sad about it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Anna said sympathetically, looking at the giggling girl playing with other children.

"Yeah, it happens. She's still young and she'll let this one go," John said distractedly, then turned to look at Anna, "So, what brings you here?"

"I was at my brother's. He lives nearby," she told him, "So I thought I'd walk through the park on my way home. It's been a while since I came here."

"No ballet classes today, then?"

Anna smiled, "No, no. Well, actually, I do have two groups in the morning, but I like to have a free weekend."

"Don't we all?" he smirked, "Oh, here she comes."

Amelia was running towards them and, Anna noticed, the bunches on her hair were a little misaligned – probably from the work of a father who didn't know a thing about hair. She smiled, feeling sympathy for the little girl; she had presumed John was divorcing Amelia's mother, from what she heard of Mary, but if the woman didn't live here, then she was probably wrong and the divorce wasn't recent.

"Did you see how high I swung, Daddy?" Amelia asked him excitedly.

"I did, but remember what I told you about that?" John said with a narrow smile.

"But I was careful, Daddy!" the little girl told him immediately, and Anna laughed.

"I sure hope so. Look who I found here," her father told her, and Amelia looked at Anna with shy eyes, "Your ballet teacher."

"Hi, Amelia," Anna greeted her with a smile.

"Hi, Ms. Smith," the little girl said eagerly, "I'm practicing real hard at home so I can be a ballerina like you."

John chuckled, "You're her new idol."

"I'm not sure how well that can go," Anna made a face.

"Can we get my ice cream now, Daddy?" Amelia asked John, her small hand encircling his.

"Only if you choose something other than chocolate," John asked her, and winked at Anna, "Anna, will you join us?"

The invitation took Anna by surprise, and her first instinct was to decline it; she really didn't want to be an outsider.

"What? Oh, no, John, I don't want to bother your afternoon..."

"Bother? No, it'd be nice to have some company. Right, Amelia?" the little girl nodded quickly, "Unless, of course, you have other things to do. But really, we'd love to have some company."

Anna smiled, considering it. Why not?

"Have ice cream with us, Ms. Smith!" Amelia said excitedly.

"Come on, Anna. I'm paying," John insisted.

Anna looked at the pair of them and couldn't resist. Why not, indeed?

"Alright, then. Let's go."

A/N: A little spoiler on Chapter 5 - you can expects lots of Anna/Bates interaction. I mean it. :) Hope you've enjoyed this one - let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!