#10 – Polish
''Anna, you know I'd love to come, but I don't know if I can find a babysitter on such short notice,'' Gwen said, sitting on the couch next to her friend in John and Anna's cosy sitting room.
''Are you sure? What about your mother?''
One of their girlfriends was getting married in a few weeks, and both Anna and Gwen had been invited to the hen party on Friday. But because Gwen had been in Ireland for several weeks with her family, she had gotten her invitation a little too late to find an overnight babysitter for her little Emma.
''No, she's still in London. Plus my John had to stay in Dublin for a weekend conference, so I'm on my own until Monday,'' Gwen replied. It had been months since she had gotten together with her friends and, to be honest, she selfishly loved the idea of spending a Friday night with them, just like in the old days.
''How about we…'' Anna began, when they both heard the front door open.
''Honey, I'm home!'' Her husband's cheerful voice echoed though the hall.
''We're in here,'' Anna called, and smiled at Gwen, who grinned back. After the whole mess with Tony and watching Anna pine over John for years, she was happy that the two of them had finally found their happy ending.
''We? Who are we?'' John asked, stepping into the room. ''Gwen! Hello!'' he smiled. ''Anna didn't say you were back.'' He stepped toward her and gave her a quick hug.
''She didn't know until today,'' Gwen replied, placing a kiss on his cheek.
''And who do we have here?'' John shifted his attention to the 4 year-old sitting on the rug, playing with her toys. He picked little Emma up from the floor, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him. Like her mother, Emma absolutely adored him.
''Jooohn!'' she squeaked, making all three adults laugh.
''Hello, sunshine!'' He kissed her cheek and asked, ''How is Miss Harding doing today?'' But the little girl just giggled and buried her head in the crook of his neck.
''She missed you. Both of you,'' Gwen said, knowing that the last few weeks away in Dublin had been hard on her daughter, too.
''Are you staying for dinner?'' John asked, after greeting Anna with a kiss. Regardless of the time or the company, he always made sure Anna knew that he adored coming home to her.
''I'm afraid not.'' Gwen picked up her bag and stood up. ''I still have some unpacking to do, and if I'm going to try to make it to Daisy's hen party, I need to start making some phone calls.''
''What do you mean?'' John frowned and looked at his wife, while lowering Emma down to the floor.
''She's invited to Daisy's party on Friday, but her mother is out of town...and with John still in Dublin, she doesn't have anyone to look after Emma for the night,'' Anna explained, following Gwen into the hall.
''Oh, no worries - if I don't find anyone, we'll just have a quiet girls' night in, won't we, Emma?'' Gwen looked down at her daughter, who just smiled and took her mother's hand.
''I'm sure you will,'' Anna giggled and ran a finger through the little girl's ginger curls. ''Let me know if you find someone, all right?'' she said, following them to the front door.
''I will.'' Gwen hugged Anna.
''What about me?'' John's voice drew the attention of both women.
''What about you?'' Gwen looked at him quizzically.
''Well, Anna won't be home and I don't really have any plans, so what do you say to Emma coming and staying with me for the night?
''John, that's too much! I can't ask you to…'' Gwen protested, but John smiled and made his way to Emma.
''Of course you can.'' Kneeling down to look her in the eye, he asked, ''What do you think, Em? Would you like to stay with Uncle John, while Mummy and Aunt Anna have some fun?''
''YES! Please, Mummy - can I?'' the girl asked, looking up at her mother.
''You really don't mind...?'' Gwen asked again, looking for even a trace of doubt or hesitation in John's eyes, but seeing none.
''How could I mind spending time with this little princess?'' John smiled, standing up and taking Anna's hand in his.
''All right...if you're certain. Thank you!'' Gwen said, and hugged both of them before saying goodbye.
As soon as Gwen and Emma had gone, Anna turned to her husband and surprised him with a slow, sensual kiss. It didn't take him long to wrap his arms around her, so that she was flat against him.
''What was that for?'' he asked breathlessly, when they parted.
''For being the sweetest man in the entire world.'' She smiled and started leading him toward their bedroom. ''And because I know that you actually have a poker night at Robert's on Friday, but you've chosen to spend your time with a 4 year-old instead.''
''Does that turn you on?'' John chuckled, when she started fumbling with his belt buckle.
''You have no idea!'' she giggled, before pulling him into another kiss and tugging him through the door of their room.
xXx
''I'm too old for this.'' Gwen moaned, having woken up with a terrible hangover the morning after the hen party. She and Anna were sharing a room upstairs in the pub where the party had taken place.
''You and me both,'' Anna replied shakily from the toilet. Just like Gwen, she was feeling the effects of countless tequila shots from the previous night.
''I think I'm going to be sick,'' Gwen said, and lay back down on the mattress as the whole room spun.
''Here.'' Anna walked out of the bathroom with a glass of water in one hand and two aspirin in the other.
''Thank you,'' her friend replied, sitting up so she could take the pills. ''What time is it?''
''Just past nine.'' Anna sat down next to her.
''Nine? The last time I woke up that late was…I don't even remember when...'' Gwen chuckled. ''I think it must have been sometime before we had Emma.''
''But it is worth it, isn't it? I mean…'' Anna began. Gwen turned to look at her.
''Are you…?''
''No, no!'' Anna giggled, shaking her head. ''I mean, don't get me wrong...we both want children, and believe me, we have definitely been practicing…'' she added, making Gwen laugh.
''Look…'' Gwen turned onto her side and covered Anna's hand with hers. ''It might sound a little cliché, but it will happen when it's meant to happen. Believe me.''
''I know, it's just...sometimes…I can't wait to see John with our own little bundle of joy safely tucked in his arms.'' Anna glowed, just thinking about it. John was going to be a wonderful dad!
''Oh, you two are so in love - it's almost sickening,'' Gwen teased, and started to laugh. The truth was that she was absolutely thrilled that Anna and John had found each other. They were perfect together, and she knew a baby would only add to their happiness.
''Oh, shut up, you!'' Anna laughed, and threw a pillow in her direction, making Gwen laugh even louder.
''And in case you were wondering, John sent me a text saying that they both successfully survived the night.'' Anna stood up and started packing.
''He's an angel. I do hope you know you've got one of the good ones, Anna.''
''Oh, believe me, I do. I really do.''
xXx
''We're back!'' Anna called, stepping through the front door with Gwen behind her.
''Mummy!'' A joyful shriek came from the sitting room, and immediately Emma was running down the hall in their direction.
''Hello, little one!'' Gwen scooped her up, gave her a big hug, and kissed her daughter's cheek. ''How are you? Have you been good for Uncle John?''
''She was an angel,'' John said, appearing in the hall.
''What happened to you?'' Gwen asked, and both she and Anna burst into laughter.
''What do you mean?'' he frowned.
''Did you and Uncle John have a little party, hmm?'' Gwen asked Emma, who just nodded her head. ''I made Uncle John pretty!''
''You certainly did,'' Gwen chuckled, walking toward John. ''Thank you so much. I'll just get her stuff and we'll be off.'' She kissed his cheek and disappeared upstairs.
''What's so funny?'' John turned to his wife, puzzled.
''You have two pink hair clips in your hair,'' Anna smiled, walking toward him.
''Oh, that.'' John chuckled. ''Well, Emma insisted on having a tea party and we had to make ourselves presentable, didn't we?''
''Mhm, I can see that.'' As John started to remove the clips from his hair, her giggles turned into chortles.
''What is that?'' She took his hand in hers, and peered at his nails, which were badly painted with her own red nail polish.
''Oh, good god.'' John chuckled in embarrassment, trying to pull his hand out of Anna's grasp. When Emma had barged into their bedroom early that morning, she had spotted a bottle of bright red nail polish on Anna's nightstand. And when she had asked him if she could use it for the party, John hadn't had the heart to say no. He knew that Anna wouldn't mind, and he had assumed that Emma wanted to use it for her own nails. But he quickly discovered that he had been wrong when the little girl had started painting his nails, too. He had meant to remove it before Anna and Gwen returned, but had been having so much fun playing with Em that he had forgotten all about it.
''This colour would go perfectly with your glittery red heels, Miss Juliet,'' Anna said seriously, but he knew she was only teasing.
''Yes, yes...very funny,'' he replied and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer. ''Whatever you do, don't tell Robert about this - I'd never hear the end of it, all right?''
''Or else?'' She grinned, locking her arms around his neck.
''Or I'll just have to show you how spending time with Emma made me realize just how much I want children of our own,'' he whispered into her ear, making the hair on Anna's neck stand on end.
''How many are you planning on, Mr. Bates?'' she managed to ask with a smile.
''As many you wish,'' he mumbled before closing the gap between them, giving her one of the sweetest kisses she had ever received.
''Are you wearing my strawberry lip gloss, too?'' she giggled when they pulled apart, but he just covered her smile with his lips again, ignoring her question completely.
my wonderful beta: annambates! :D thank you ***
hello! thank you for reading! let us know what you think of this chapter! :D