A/N: I had planned to have this chapter ready last weekend, but I haven't had much time to write lately. So, a week later, here it is! This is more of a filler chapter, really, and shorter than usual, but next chapter should be longer. Hope you'll like it! Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for reading!

Chapter Seven

John couldn't recall exactly what had happened, but he knew it happened very fast. One second he was walking her to her front door and she was kissing him in the next, and he was completely lost; he had been trying not to stare at her perfect lips and not to feel the soft smell of her hair all night, but now he knew he was completely at her mercy. When she invited him in he could merely nod, and she guided him through stairs and a corridor, whilst most of their clothes were lost on the way.

They had had an enjoyable evening. Anna looked absolutely gorgeous when she answered the door and they left for the restaurant – one he found just slightly outside of town, and he was pleased when she announced she had never been there. The food was great, but the company was just perfect. It had been Anna who suggested he take her home – not very subtly, now that he thought of it, not with her hand on his thigh and her lips perilously close to his ear. He acquiesced, of course, weak man that he was, but he didn't mind being weak for her at all.

If he thought she had teased him enough at the restaurant and on the way back to her place, he was entirely wrong; the way her hands roamed over his body was driving him crazy. She was certainly taking control of the situation today, and he found that he rather liked it. She pushed him onto the bed, no layers separating them at all, and he was desperate for her. He couldn't help the groan that left his mouth as Anna stroked him and bit his bottom lip slightly.

"God, Anna," he managed to say as she left kisses on his neck.

She laced their fingers together and moved to his chest, smiling up at him. "Am I going too fast for you, Mr Bates?"

That naughty girl. He merely shook his head, unable to say or do anything else; her position above him didn't let him do much and her hands were still holding his – he was a mere viewer of her actions, but he certainly didn't mind it. She slowly worked her way down his body, leaving open mouthed kisses over his thighs before releasing his hands and he couldn't help but groan when she stroked him again – she glanced up through her eyelashes at him, and his heart was thumping loudly in his chest. He watched as she pressed her lips to his tip and a groan escaped him. He took shallow breaths, trying to control himself, not wanting to hurt her. Anna continued her ministrations, and it was clear she was a very fast learner; she felt so good on him and her hands touched all the right spots. In a brief moment of clarity, he managed to reach for her, and she pulled away from him.

"Come back here," John pleaded, and she did so, with a smile on her face as he captured her lips in a kiss.

Her hair fell onto their faces and he just loved the feel of it against his fingers. Anna's hips moved slowly against him, and just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, she sat up straight, aligning their bodies and he was soon wrapped around her. She let out a loud moan when they were joined, and it was the best sound he had ever heard; her fingers ran through the hairs of his chest as she supported herself and slowly increased her rhythm. He tipped his head back, his hands roaming over her body before reaching for her breasts. For a few minutes, nothing could be heard but their moans and groans and the slightly creak of the bed. Feeling that he would not last much longer, John reached between their bodies and stroked her – and Anna cried out, throwing her head back as her movements became more and more erratic and her walls contracted around him – and then he was undone, too.

She collapsed on top of him a moment later, and now the silence was filled with their laboured breathing. Her head rested on his chest, her hair clinging to the sweat over their bodies, and he stroked her back leisurely, his eyes already feeling heavy. Her face was one of pure bliss when she looked up at him, and they shared one more kiss before she moved off him, and the connection was lost again.

He was buttoning his shirt when Anna left the bathroom, already dressed in a black skirt and a white blouse, very professional looking indeed. He let out a smile at that, as she put earrings on and walked around the bedroom, her feet bare. They had woken up in time, thankfully, but were otherwise distracted, which led to Anna being slightly late to work. John stood up and reached for his trousers, which lay in the middle of the room, and heard Anna's quiet laughter.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at him through the mirror as she combed her hair. "I just don't remember how they got there. I don't want to say it again, but I never do these things."

John chuckled as he put his trousers on. "You did say that before the wedding, and again on Saturday night, and again last night."

She turned around and pouted. "You make me sound like a broken record."

He closed the distance between them. "Maybe, but you're my favourite record."

Anna made a face but accepted his kiss willingly and ran her hands over his arms. "It's your fault, really. I only seem to lose control around you."

"Well, the feeling is mutual, I assure you," John said with conviction, his hands resting on her waist. "And I hope I can convince you to go out with me again."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I might need a little convincing."

"A little convincing? I'll see what I can do," he said, kissing her fully this time, and bringing her closer to him.

She pulled away from him. "I'm afraid we don't have much time for that, Mr Bates. But I had a great time. Last night and this morning."

He smiled and turned, allowing her to finish getting ready as he sat back on the bed to put his shoes on. Her words stuck on him, and he realised something he had not thought of until now – and he froze. Anna was putting on her shoes across the room, apparently at ease with everything, and he frowned.

"Anna," he breathed, and she looked questioningly at him. "Last night, I forgot, and this morning, we didn't use anything. I'm sorry, I completely forgot."

"Oh," Anna said. She had reminded him of protection the other night, and he was sure they had been safe when they slept together before the wedding. Everything happened so fast last night, though, and she had settled the pace then. It had felt amazing to be so close to her, to feel his skin against hers, and he had not given it any thought until now. Anna, however, did not appear surprised. "I figured that, since we're both healthy, that wouldn't be a problem. And I assure you, we are safe regarding any other risks."

He frowned at her words. "Okay."

"Unless you prefer we stick to protection from now on," she offered, slightly embarrassed, walking over to him. "I assure you, we won't have any surprise in the next few months. I've been on hormonal treatment for a few weeks so we would not be risking anything, really."

"No, no," he stood up again. "I could never complain, really. Last night was amazing. And I'll take your offer as a yes to my invitation to another date."

She giggled, and the tension was suddenly gone. He kissed her cheek and reached for her hand.

"Do we have time for a quick breakfast?" he asked.

Anna nodded. "We do."

As she led him downstairs, he took notice of her house for the first time properly. It was almost meticulously organized, and it did not surprise him one bit. The walls held a few paintings here and there and he saw a few photographs on the way to the kitchen – and he came to the unsurprised conclusion that Anna had been adorable at any age, just as she was astoundingly beautiful now. Though he couldn't help but feel there was something she wasn't telling him now, he knew she was trusting him immensely with this and the only thing he could do was to trust her too.

And when she kissed him after he teased her about her chocolate cereal, he was sure that was enough. For he was in great danger of falling for Anna Smith.

Anna read the content of the email with disappointment as her request was denied by the administration of the library once again. In times like these she questioned her chosen career path, where bureaucracy seemed too far off her reach. Thankfully it was nearly time to leave for the weekend. The phone rang, startling her, and she took a deep breath before answering.

"Anna Smith."

"Anna!" Sam's voice rang loud against her ear, as she had expected to hear the secretary's voice. "What's up?"

"Sam, hi," Anna frowned. "I didn't realise you had this number."

"Mum gave it to me," Sam said. "Listen, I'm in London right now, do you mind if I stop by and stay with you tonight? That way we can go home together tomorrow."

"Uhm, sure," Anna said slowly. "I have plans tonight, though, so I won't be around much. Do you mind?"

"No problem," Sam said quickly. "Can I use the key you gave me? I know you said only emergencies."

"Sure," Anna chuckled at her sister's tone. "I'll try not to get home too late though."

"Don't worry, have fun," Sam shrugged her off. "I better go now, we'll talk later!"

"Okay," Anna managed to say before the line went mute. She shook her head at her sister but a quick look at the clock cheered her up; time to leave this endless week behind.

Despite the fact that work wasn't going so well, she had promised her mother that she would go to Yorkshire for the summer fair, and she couldn't very well say she wasn't going now, even if she wanted the weekend for herself. She hadn't been to Yorkshire since Mary's wedding and her mother could be very annoying about that. On top of everything, John had been nearly unreachable all week, working on his lectures, and she had even wondered if perhaps they weren't to be, after all. She wasn't sure where their relationship was at and she knew it was entirely too early to question him about it, so she tried to be cool with it. Thankfully they had arranged to meet tonight, as she would be gone all weekend and he would go to London – and she would be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to it.

She took her things and tidied her desk quickly before making a quick exit; it had been a slow day for the library by all accounts, as it usually is after the semester ends. As she looked out the window it seemed fairly quiet for a Friday afternoon. The corridors were quiet and empty, and she absentmindedly looked for her phone inside her handbag, as she told John she would call him once she was done. A quick look at the screen told her Mary had called – twice. Anna frowned. Just as she turned a corner, however, she saw a lone figure sitting on a bench right in front of the lift. A slow smile crossed her features as John stood up to greet her.

"You are already here?" she questioned, though her tone betrayed the happy feeling inside of her.

"I didn't want to bother you so I didn't call," he said as she came to a stop in front of him. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the valise he was holding complimented his professor look quite well. It seemed quite heavy and worn, but it fit him somehow. The fact that he had his glasses on made Anna feel suddenly warm.

He pressed the button to go downstairs and the doors opened just a few seconds later; she reached for his hands and laced their fingers together.

"Have you been waiting long?" They entered the empty lift.

"Not at all. I must have sat down two minutes ago," he smiled. "I spent the afternoon in the main library so I just came here when-"

Anna kissed him fully on the mouth, not even registering his words – they hadn't seen each other in a few days and she had missed him so much. He was quite surprised at first, but soon deepened the kiss and brought his hands to her waist, though there was still a respectable distance between them. Anna briefly wondered how she would make it through a movie and dinner with him beside her like this. They barely registered the doors opening again, on the first floor, when a voice interrupted them.

"Well, this is a surprise," Mary said, and Anna and John pulled away from each other. Mary was holding her phone and Anna guiltily remembered the missed calls.

They quickly stepped out of the lift, and she adjust her bag against her shoulder, looking at John to see him blushing. She took a deep breath and faced Mary, who apparently found the situation very interesting.

"Please, don't stop on my account," she said with a smirk, though Anna nearly burst out laughing when John glared at her. "I suppose I shouldn't be this surprised. You seemed very cosy during dinner last week."

"I just saw your calls," Anna quickly changed the subject. "I was about to call you back, actually."

"Were you?" Mary still smirked, then sobered up, apparently remembering what she was here for. "Well, I wanted to see if you could spare some time for a quick coffee and we could talk. I know this was impromptu but I guess I didn't think you might have other plans so soon after work."

Anna frowned. It was not common to see Mary around the library, especially looking for her without talking first. Anna studied her friend for a bit, knowing something must be bothering her to come here.

"Well, we did have plans but-" She felt John's hand against hers and looked up at him.

"It can wait," he interrupted her with a smile. "We can skip the film and just have dinner later, if there's some time."

"Perfect," Mary said. "Really, it won't be long."

John squeezed her hand softly and Anna smiled.

"I'll call you later," she promised.

"I'll be waiting," John said, then looked at Mary. "Always good to see you, Mary."

"Right," Mary said sceptically, but smiled at John as they watched him walk away. Anna let out a sigh, disappointed about the sudden change of plans, and caught Mary looking at her. "So? Do you have anything to tell me?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Let's go to the café and you can hear all about it."

"Sybil's pregnant," Mary blurted as soon as the waiter left them after taking their orders.

Anna blinked. "What?"

"And that's not all of it. It's Tom Branson's baby. You know, Matthew's Irish friend?" Mary shook her head. "I knew they hooked up at the wedding but I never thought things had gone that far. She told us all last week."

"How did everyone take it?" Anna asked worriedly.

"Papa wants to kill Tom, as if that will make a difference," Mary rolled her eyes. "Mama was shocked but honestly, Sybil seemed happy about it. I'm sure it wasn't on purpose but I don't think she's aware of the gravity of the situation. I mean, she's only 24. She doesn't even know Tom."

Mary's words made sense, of course, but Anna thought there was more to it than that. She supposed it was natural for her to be the one who got pregnant first, and not the youngest of three sisters, but then that wasn't always what happened. Anna, on the other hand, couldn't help but remember that for a few days she had been in a not so different situation than Sybil's.

"It won't be easy, I'm sure, but she is probably thinking of the baby, and that's the right thing to do," Anna said and pursed her lips. "Does she have a plan? Are they still together?"

"Apparently, yes," Mary sighed. "He wants her to move to Dublin and live with him. It doesn't get better than this."

They were silent for a moment when the waiter brought their tea. Anna took a sip of hers and added a bit of extra sugar, whilst Mary seemed quite bothered by the situation. Anna frowned, and tried her best to bring the subject up lightly.

"Sybil will be fine, Mary," she said slowly. "You underestimate her. I'm sure she'll be a good mum," she added, but Mary barely blinked at her words. "Unless that's not what you wanted to talk about."

Mary arched her eyebrows, but her eyes softened when she met Anna's. "You are right, of course. I wouldn't interrupt your date over some gossip," she rolled her eyes. "Matthew wants us to try for a baby."

"So soon?" Anna frowned. "I didn't think you-"

"I don't. Not yet, anyway," Mary shook her head, then looked at Anna with pleading eyes. "I don't know what to do. He approached the subject last weekend, but then we had Sybil's news and I spent the week in London. I want to enjoy married life, I want to travel… I've always thought we would both want to wait."

"I suppose you're right," Anna sighed. "But then, if you think about it, you have been together for a long time. It's not like you've just met."

"Seven years," Mary nodded. "But still. I'm not sure about what I should do. I'm not exactly maternal."

"Well, you should think about it, and be very honest with Matthew," Anna took a sip of her tea. Mary still looked quite desperate. Anna laughed. "Come on, this isn't such a big deal. I don't think anyone really thinks they are ready to have children. But I'm sure that when you see the positive sign in the test, you'll feel different. Your whole life changes and you'll think of the baby and your maternal instincts will just kick in. Because men, they come and go, but children are for life. And you'll love them even before you know them."

Her breath caught in her throat and she stopped speaking – this was enough. She suddenly realised that even though she had never been pregnant, she had wanted that baby. Even without knowing John as well as she does now. Could she even blame Sybil? She had been in such a similar situation just a few weeks ago. And what a coincidence it was, that just as suddenly she learned that she was unable to have children – and was still at risk of not being able to conceive in the future. Anna took a shaky breath, suddenly aware of how the last weeks had been life changing in their own way.

"This is why you'll be an amazing mother one day," Mary's voice brought her back to reality. "You always know what to say. You're right. This isn't such a big deal," she took a deep breath. "I'll go home tonight and see my husband after days without seeing each other. And we'll talk about it."

Anna feigned a smile. "See? Problem solved."

"I'm so silly, I know, but I just freaked out," Mary rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Anna, really. Oh, and I got the wedding photos today. I haven't had a chance to properly see everything but I will tonight. You looked gorgeous, of course. I suppose I should keep my eyes open for a photo of you and John."

Anna pursed her lips. "I don't think you'll find much. We just shared a table."

"Right. Just like you shared a lift today?" Mary arched her eyebrows.

At that, Anna couldn't suppress a laugh. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, you aren't," Mary smiled. "Come on, we haven't talked about that yet. How did that happen? I know you arrived together at the dinner party last week, but I thought it was just a coincidence."

Anna pondered her question for a moment before answering.

"Well, we hadn't started anything until that night," she sighed. "There isn't much to tell, really. We're just… enjoying the moment, I suppose. It's not something that I've done very often," she admitted with a chuckle.

Mary laughed. "I'll second that. As long as you're both happy, I'll support you. I didn't think John would want anything serious after his divorce. Maybe that's what surprised me the most."

"Yeah, he isn't much of a fan of the institution of marriage," Anna snickered. "I have no plans of proposing anytime soon, so I'm okay about that."

"Who can blame him, when his ex-wife was a witch?" Mary cringed, but sobered up soon enough. "I mean it, though. If you're both happy, I'm happy. But be careful, Anna. John had a bit of a traumatizing marriage and divorce, and I would hate to see your heart broken again. I hope you two are on the same page here."

Anna took a deep breath. "It's too early too tell. But I'll be careful, I promise. And thank you."

"Don't thank me, I got you out of a hot date," Mary arched her eyebrows. "Though it's a bit hard for me to envision John being your hot date. This will take some adjusting time."

Anna sighed softly, sitting up in bed but keeping the sheets around her. She needed to go soon, but something kept her still in John's bed. She peeked through the curtains, showing the small round window, and smiled when she saw a single firefly in the midst of the dark night. The boat swayed softly, but she was used to it by now. John's quiet voice echoed from outside – they had been so focused on each other that neither had hear John's phone ringing, which made him miss a phone call from Robert. Anna hugged her knees and leaned her head against the wall, her body aching slightly but she couldn't complain.

It seemed that only she was able to think through her chat with Mary from earlier. She had gone straight to John's after the meeting, where she finally experimented his culinary skills – and they were better than she anticipated – and they ended up in bed again. It was almost natural, really, and she didn't fight it – how could she, when he sported his glasses so well, and they hadn't seen each other for days?

Now, however, a frown appeared on her features as she thought of everything. In truth, Mary's words made a lot of sense, and now Anna could see things a bit differently – she had no idea what she and John were doing, in reality – technically they had only shared one date, though they shared the bed a few more times than that. It was all quite complicated, really, but she was sure this wasn't the time to discuss such things. It was far too early, and she shouldn't over think it.

It was silent outside. Anna rested her chin on her knees and fought back a yawn. Her thoughts drifted to Sybil, dealing with an unexpected pregnancy, and Mary, who seemed to find a problem in planning to have a baby. Anna found herself worrying that she might never have a chance to live both cases, though she knew she was being overdramatic. The doctor had assured her it was still early and there were plenty of methods for them to try. Still, she couldn't help but worry – and she couldn't help but wonder how would it be if she were, indeed, in a situation similar to Sybil's.

"You look like you're miles away from here," John's quiet voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up immediately, seeing him leaning against the wall. A lazy smile crossed her features. He had put on his boxer shorts and his shirt before ringing Robert, and she didn't mind the fact that he had only buttoned up half of the shirt. "What were you thinking?"

"Oh, just about my conversation with Mary, before," she shrugged as he sat back on the bed beside her.

"Right," he nodded thoughtfully. "I take it that she told you about Sybil?"

His words surprised her, considering he hadn't even asked about Mary before – he probably didn't want to intrude, really. Anna nodded, and noticed he appeared lost in his thoughts for a moment.

"Yeah. I'm sure it was a shock to all of them," she said slowly. "Did Robert tell you?"

"Yeah, earlier in the week. He wasn't aware Sybil and Tom were seeing each other and asked me if I knew about them," he gave her a smile and reached for her; she rested her head against his shoulder. "You did say at the wedding that the blame might be on us."

Anna chuckled. "I did say that, but I didn't have this in mind."

He laughed, his arm around her shoulders and his hand stroking her arm slightly. Anna needed to go, but she really didn't find it in herself to leave just yet. John grew quiet, and she was quite content to lay there and listen to his breathing and feel his fingertips on her skin.

"It could have been us," his voice was quiet and it surprised her.

She looked up at him. "I know."

"I know we were careful, but you never know," he said, not looking at her. "I'm not saying that I wanted it to happen, I definitely don't, but it makes you think."

He looked at her then, a soft smile on her face, and this time it was her who couldn't look at him. She grew interested in the pooling sheets around her and traced the material slowly.

"I thought I was pregnant. About a month after the wedding," the words left her in a hurry, before she could contain them. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "I hadn't seen you after that, and I took some tests and they were all positive. But it was just a false alarm."

To say that he was surprised was an understatement. She turned her attention to the sheets again – she wasn't sure why she was telling him this. Their relationship was so new, and they had yet to talk about it. And even though there had never been a baby, she felt that he should have known, somehow – that somehow this wasn't only hers.

"Anna?"

"I went to the doctor a few days later and it turned out I have endometriosis and a few other issues," she took a deep breath. "I wouldn't have been able to get pregnant anyway – still won't, for that matter. That's why we're safe to do whatever we want."

"I'm sorry," John said quietly. Anna blinked heavily, letting out a shaky breath.

"It's nothing. It's still early, so I've got a pretty good shot. Everything should be normal soon, or so I've been told," she rolled her eyes and attempted to lift the mood. "This has to be the worst pillow talk ever."

He let out a laugh at this, his hand moving to her bare waist and squeezing her slightly. "Don't worry about it. I'm just sorry you had to go through that alone," he sighed. "Would you… If it wasn't a false alarm, would you have told me?"

Anna looked at him with wide eyes. "Of course. The thought of not telling you never crossed my mind. But I'm glad I waited for a proper confirmation."

"Next time, then," he joked. Anna playfully glared at him.

"You are impossible," she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Sybil and Tom will be fine, I'm sure."

"Yeah. And so will you," he said with a smile, both his hands now holding her in place. The sheets had long stopped covering her body.

She welcomed his kiss but kept him at bay. "You do know I have to go soon."

"Must you, really?" he nuzzled her neck, and she let out a giggle.

"Yes!" she managed to say as he peppered her jaw with kisses, before looking at her with puppy eyes. "Fine, just a few more minutes then. Don't you try any funny business."

They both knew her voice lacked seriousness and that a few minutes could turn out to be a lot more than that.

Next chapter: Anna and John have a hard time understanding the dynamics of their new relationship, and someone from John's life meets Anna.