John finished tucking his tie into his waistcoat and grabbed his cane and jacket. He headed for the door and opened it in time to hear Anna's voice on the other side of the hall, separated by that wooden barrier between the men and women's sides. It was all he could do not to plaster a ridiculous grin all over his face.

"You look very cheerful this morning Mr. Bates." William hurried past, tying his tie as quickly as he could before heading for the stairs, "Did you enjoy your concert last night?"

"I did, thank you." John almost waved at Aphrodite as she smirked at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. "And I'll hear nothing from you."

"It would only be congratulations Mr. Bates." She brushed at his shoulder, "Ms. Smith went to sleep quite satisfied last night. I've no one else to thank but you."

"It was the intention." John pulled his shoulders back, pleased with himself.

"However you had a rough go of it." Aphrodite tilted on the bannister and kept pace with him, sliding without moving her feet along. "Couldn't you've found a way to get her to take care of that for you?"

"I wouldn't presume to imply it was expected of her."

"And if she wanted the moment of reciprocity?" Aphrodite shrugged, "Who knows, some women like giving the way they like getting. Tit for tat and all that."

"Anna is a lady."

"Anna is a woman who very much wants to get to know you better in a physical sense since she already knows you in a spiritual and mental sense."

"It's not necessary."

"John," Aphrodite stepped in front of him, stopping him on the stairs where the men and women's sides met. "This isn't about forcing her to go down south. This is about giving her the chance to do something she wants to do for you. Don't be selfish and think it's all about her. Love is a shared emotion that only works if you actually share."

John heard Anna's voice and saw her speaking to the newer housemaid. She looked up and when their eyes met she blushed a little and hurried down the stairs, stuttering a second in her explanation. John returned his gaze to the woman with rainbow hair before him.

"What do you suggest?"

"If you're nervous that she might be scared or lose her nerve or that you'll lose control or whatever ugly scenario you already devised, and don't deny it because I know you," Aphrodite pointed an accusing finger at him, "Then take the time to teach her. She'll enjoy it and so will you. Learn about each other together and then it gets better. Or just sit back and see what she does. Relinquishing that kind of control can be very liberating."

"Is this what you suggest to all those you help?"

"Some more than others. It's a little harder to get Mr. Matthew down for it because he's all buttoned up and proper but once Lady Mary gets going-"

"Stop," John raised a hand, "I'd rather you not say something I'm going to have trouble scrubbing from my mind."

"Fine," Aphrodite raised her hands, "But don't begrudge Anna her desires. You wouldn't skimp on her would you?"

"Of course not."

"Then don't deny her. You spent enough time doing that already."

John continued down the stairs as Aphrodite disappeared, his mind carefully examining her words. He looked up as he turned to go down the next set of stairs and saw Anna waiting there. She beamed at him and he could not help but smile back.

"I thought you already went down?"

"I wanted to walk with you. We don't get enough time to do that." Anna held his left arm as they took the first step. "I wanted to thank you again for last night. The concert was lovely."

"Just the concert?"

"Well," Anna ducked her head, "Lovely doesn't seem an adequate enough word for what happened afterward."

"And what words would you use?"

"Mind-blowing or earth-shattering might be a bit hyperbolic but they are as close to describing what I felt in words as I could dredge up this morning." Anna rubbed his arm, "And I'm serious about what I said. I do wish to return the favor."

"It's not necessary."

"And if I wanted to?" She raised an eyebrow and John could almost hear Aphrodite telling him to let go. He even thought he saw her standing nearby and waving him onward.

"What did you have in mind, Ms. Smith?" John kept his voice low and watched the shiver run over her body.

"We'd need somewhere quiet and alone. There's a little place by the stream I know of that no one ever visits. On our next half-day we could take a picnic there and just enjoy one another's company."

"Just that?" John stopped them before the final set of stairs, facing her as he pulled his arm from her grip so he could better run his fingers up her arm to her shoulder. Anna's breathing grew shallower and her eyes dilated.

"I'd offer more but in our current circumstance I best keep the details to myself. Being wary of-" She almost sighed as his finger stroked her cheek, "Listening ears."

"Then I leave the plans in your capable hands, Ms. Smith." He took her hand again, kissing it, "And put myself entirely at your mercy."

"You may've made a very dangerous bargain there Mr. Bates." Anna warned, collecting herself and accompanying him the remainder of the way down the stairs.

"I've got it on good authority I made the right decision." John winked toward the corner where Aphrodite leaned against the wall, arms folded smugly over her chest.

John lifted his head back, breathing deeply as they walked in the quiet of the early afternoon. Anna carried a small basket in her hands and he held the blanket she wrestled from the depths of the attic the day before as they dug out the winter wear for Lady Mary and Lord Grantham.

"Will you go to the regimental dinners as well?" Anna pulled closer to him, pushing him gently with her body to guide him where she needed him to go.

"If he'll have me. He's the lieutenant colonel and so it's his decision." John offered her a hand as they took a small set of inlaid wooden steps across a tiny bridge to a little brush of grass in the oxbow of the stream. "But I doubt it. I'm his valet now, not his batman."

"But you were his batman and, being technical," Anna set down the basket and took the end of the blanket, "He's not in the service any longer either so why would he go when you wouldn't?"

"Because they need him to lead the county. They don't need me." John settled down, stretching out and leaving his cane to the side, "Old cripple that I am."

Anna stopped digging in the basket to face him. She crawled on her hands and knees so her face was right next to his, appearing very stern. "I need you, John Bates, and I'll hear no more of you belittling yourself. Those days are over."

"Are they?" John could lose himself in her eyes if he was not careful but it would be worth it to be lost there. "Am I not old, crippled, and trudging along?"

"No." Anna put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back so he was laying out fully. "You are experienced, changed, and striding proudly."

"You're being kind."

"And you're being foolish." Anna took his face in her hands, "Do you think I'd spend time with you if I thought it was a waste?"

"I still don't know why you spend time with me at all."

"Because, John Bates," Anna smiled but it was not a pleasant, sweet smile. This was the smile of someone with a plan they knew all the details to and their victim did not, "I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you."

She took her hands from his cheeks and slid them down his neck, into the collar of his coat and pushed it back so she could run her hands down his shirt and waistcoat. John closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of her hands on him even through his layers. His eyes opened almost of their own accord as she popped the buttons of his waistcoat and pushed it back before starting on the buttons of his shirt.

"Anna?"

"Don't speak," She put one slender finger on his mouth, "I wasn't finished."

John didn't dare interrupt her as she pushed his shirt open as far as she could before working her nails in a scraping glide up to his collar. She popped the button there and pulled it way, setting it carefully on the blanket before pulling his tie oh-so-slowly off his neck.

"You see, before you came to Downton I was all prepared to live the rest of my life like Ms. O'Brien. Hopefully much nicer than she is but along those lines. Become a lady's maid or take over for Mrs. Hughes when she retired. I'd live my life in service and that would be that."

John could hardly concentrate on her words as her mouth rested near his ear, breathing down his neck. "And now?"

"Well, the day you arrived and I saw you-" Anna kissed just below his ear and punctuated her words with soft kisses down to his collarbone. "I wondered if perhaps there was a new possibility somewhere. A future I never thought I'd have."

"With me?"

Anna paused, lifting her head from her angelically tantalizing touches, "Certainly not with anyone else in the house."

"But why?"

Anna leaned her head forward, "Because of how you looked at me."

John felt the passive participant as she kissed his lips, moving slowly but softly over his skin. Just as he reached his hands up she broke away, shaking her head. His brow furrowed and she went back to his chest, "I'm going to show you what I think of you, Mr. Bates, and I do hope you pay attention so you realize I'm nothing but genuine."

It was all John could do not to reach for her as she continued kissing down his chest. Her nails scratched into his skin, caressing when he hissed, and slipping over all his curves. He worked himself free of his jacket and waistcoat as his body heated under her attention. She came toward his mouth again but refused to kiss him, instead determined to tease with almost-there movements.

He wanted to react, to kiss her with all the fervor now boiling inside him but she moved away from him when he tried. Instead she forced him to wait, shifting more and more under her patient examinations in at attempt to dispel the pressure in his trousers. John almost cried out when she just brushed past it with a hand working its way down his leg as she ran her tongue under the line of his trousers.

"Anna?" He tried to breathe normally and put a fist to his head, hoping to clear his thoughts as her hands mapped up his side and then back down toward his legs and she worked her way between them.

"Yes, Mr. Bates?" The way her accent drew on his name had him moving his hips in her direction and her hand slipped, massaging by him. He groaned, "If you don't stop I can't control myself."

"Who said I wanted that?" Anna's fingers unclipped his suspenders and worked his belt free as John almost came off the ground in surprise. His eyes found hers and she licked her lips, "I may not have the practice I need but I know the basics."

"What?"

"Maids talk and so do young ladies who aren't supposed to know anything about this." Anna popped the button on John's trousers open and worked the next one. "I think I know what happens but everyone's different."

"Yes they are and some are… not like others." John could not tear his eyes away if he tried at this moment. Anna pulled his trousers apart enough to expose his undergarments to the air and John felt almost embarrassed at the sight of an uncontrolled twitch.

"Size differences?" Anna crawled up, sitting herself just below his hips and leaning toward him with her hands on either side so the material of her skirt brushed against his thin underwear.

"Something like that." He managed through gritted teeth as Anna placed her hands on his sides and slid down to the waistband. "I don't want to… what I mean is…"

"I'm not scared John." Anna worked the material down and John clung to the little sliver of sanity he had left after she used his name.

"It's not that."

"What then?"

"I don't want you to feel obligated-"

"Is one obligated to open gifts as Christmas?" Anna maneuvered so John's trousers and undergarments were now out of the way. "Are we obligated to sate our curiosity? Or do we do it because we want it? Because we enjoy it?"

"I don't want you to do it if you're not sure."

"John," She waited until he was staring right at her, "I'm very sure."

John was lost. Her small hands, always dwarfed in his larger ones, perfect for mending and small repairs, held firm. Her petite frame, so much stronger than it looked, was barely a weight on his legs. And her eyes, comforting and mysterious, now captivated him as she slid her hand up and down his rigid shaft.

He could not keep still. He tried, not wanting to throw her off or hurt her, but with the strength in those hands and their soft touch he was almost undone. She tickled up, caressed the tip, and then used her full hand to stroke downward with authority. There was no hesitation, no fear, and nothing but unbridled joy as she discovered what tore at his sanity the way he had hers the other night.

When her other hand moved to cup his sack he moaned uncontrollably, forgetting that anyone could hear them. Anna laughed, the way he imagined a fairy in someone's summer fantasy might, and she spoke in her airy voice, "I think you best take care Mr. Bates, anyone could walk by and hear us."

"How can I help it when-?" John lost his train of thought as she twisted and pulled, sending him clutching at the blanket and ground beneath him.

"Imagine if Lord Grantham were to come by?" Anna taunted, kissing at his neck while her pace refused to slow. "What would he say?"

"He'd wonder how I got so lucky." John caught Anna's face and brought a hand to her cheek, "And I wouldn't know what to tell him."

He kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth as her hand paused a moment. But when she moaned and returned his energy, her hand pumped him faster. John pushed them to a sitting position and shifted just enough so Anna was to his side but he could still kiss her. Within a moment he climaxed, hiding the grunt to satisfaction in their deep kiss as Anna's hand stilled.

When they broke the kiss Anna was grinning at him, "I enjoyed that."

John took the napkin she dug from the picnic basket and cleaned himself as she inspected her hand. He almost lost all reason when she licked at it and grinned, "I definitely enjoyed that."

"You will be the death of me if you continue that Ms. Smith."

"Then I won't continue here." She wiped her hand on her on napkin, "But I do want to continue it elsewhere."

John tucked his shirt over his underwear and fastened his trousers before pulling up on his suspenders. "What?"

"Mr. Bates," Anna got on her knees, using her hands to keep herself upright, "I think you and I have spent enough time getting to know one another."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to say something and you might not like it," She seemed to look over his shoulder but when John turned to see what caught her attention he saw nothing. "I think we should get married?"

"Now?" John had his waistcoat over his shoulders but hanging open. "We can't."

"Obviously not this moment but we should."

"There's a war and we have duties and-"

Anna put her hand over his mouth, "You're not listening. We're going to get married because there's no reason why we shouldn't. You're a free man and I'm a free woman. We owe it to ourselves to take this happiness in hand now."

"Anna," John took her hand and moved it, "We don't have anywhere to live. I can't provide for you."

"I don't care about that. We'll both keep our jobs and move forward like before only this time I can have you to myself without dragging you to the middle of nowhere so no one knows that I rather enjoy watching you at my mercy."

John tried to control his reaction at her words but it was no good. Anna took another breath, "I don't need a ring or a house or money. I only need you. So on your next half day you're going to Ripon and taking out a license and picking a day for us to marry."

"Why now?"

"Because after what you did to me the other night and what I just did to you I know that I can't stop there next time." Anna scooted closer to him, "I want to see that look on your face when I can do that as your wife, when I'm the only one who can do that for you and you for me. I don't want to risk sharing you or this with anyone else. I don't want something to take you from me again because I don't want to lose you."

"Anna, you won't lose me." John pulled her into his embrace, "Why would you think that?"

"Because I've not had many good things in my life and the few I do have are always a hairsbreadth from vanishing. I won't let that happen with you, not when I love you like I do." Anna pulled back enough that John could see the tears in her eyes. She wiped them away, "I will be your wife, your next of kin, your friend, your confidant, and whatever else you need as you are for me but I will be this for you."

"Anna," John stroked hair away from her face, "You're already everything to me."

"Then marry me, John Bates, and let everyone else know too. Let me share your pains, your troubles, your sorrows, your joys, your house, and your children."

"Are you sure?"

"The only thing I'm more sure of is that when I first met you I knew my life changed for the better in an instant."

John pulled Anna to him again, kissing her gently at first but when she took the lead John was back against the ground, Anna almost on top of his chest. With reluctance he broke the kiss and moved her so they were on their sides, laying on the blanket and staring at one another. "Kiss me like that again here and we may not need to wait for a wedding to make a child."

"I might not mind."

"But I would." John smiled, "I want all of our children to have no doubt they are the result of love but more than that I want them to have parents married to one another first. It may be old fashioned but I believe in that."

"As do I." Anna moved to put her head on John's shoulder. "But what a story that would be?"

John laughed, "That wouldn't be a story I'd ever tell our children."

"I should hope not."

"But I'd relive it with you as often as possible." John held Anna to him and looked up to see Aphrodite wave at him from the other end of the small clearing. He nodded at her in return and she disappeared.