A/N: Hello everyone! Here I am again after a million years... I'm so sorry for the delay but I really couldn't finish this chapter sooner. I hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1-20.

- Sleepless Night -

Anna was so completely happy.

It was in moments like this that her mind took her back in time. Back to a life so different than what it was today. She sat up on their bed, her baby son sleeping peacefully in her arms, ginger hair sprouting on top of his head, her husband right beside her, with his gentle touches and loving gazes and a smile that could never be erased from his lips.

All this made her think of when Johnny was born. The pain she had felt in her heart, the feeling of loneliness she thought would always travel with her. Emptiness when she was supposed to feel the best. But not anymore. She had been able to leave it in the past, and today she knew that those memories were as important, to always be grateful and not to take anything for granted.

The sun shone brightly on this morning in November, brushing away the remains of the storm from the night before. And as unusual as this weather was, no one could complain. Sunlight never lasted too long in this place.

'I always imagined him blond, or even bald.' John's voice came as a whisper, almost too scared to break their peaceful bubble. His eyes although, were eager, admiring every inch of this new life they had created, while his fingers traced the curve of the baby's cheek. 'I never figured on a redhead.'

'Me neither...I didn't think it was possible. And I didn't know I wanted a red haired son until now.' Anna giggled happily, looking over at her husband. 'I've never been so happy. Never felt so… complete. I have everything I ever wanted.'

'You will always have everything, my love.' He assured her with a gentle kiss at her temple. 'If everything depends on me, you will have it.'

'I love you, John. So much.'

'And I love you, Anna.'

His thumb came to her cheek, to clean the trace of a tear, and he couldn't help but kiss her there. To show her that all her tears would always be supported, in good and bad times. That his hands would never show her anything but love and tenderness.

Reade shifted in his mother's arms, and they both looked down at their baby.

'I want Johnny to meet Reade,' Anna cooed.

'Me too.'

'And here he is! Right out of bed, the cheeky monkey.' Mrs Bates came in the room with Johnny by the hand. His eyes were still clouded with sleep, but it didn't take too long for the boy to smile at his mother.

'Come here, my darling.' Anna called. 'Come and meet your brother.'

'A brother?' Johnny said excitedly, rubbing his eyes awake. 'That's what I wanted!'

'Well, I am glad you got him then. Come here.' John chuckled, helping the boy onto the bed and placing him on his lap.

'What do you think?' Anna asked, running a hand through the boy's messy blond hair, tears beginning to gather in her eyes again. She couldn't quite believe in the life she had now. A loving husband, two sons, a woman that was so much more than a mother to her.

'His hair looks like carrots!' Johnny giggled, bringing his hands to cover his mouth.

'It does, indeed.' John nodded.

'What's his name?'

'Reade.' Anna replied. 'Reade John Bates.' She shared a look with her husband.

'I know that name, why?' The boy frowned in deep thought.

'That was my father's name,' John explained. 'It means redhead in Scottish. I reckon it suits him very well, don't you think?'

'I like it!' Johnny smiled.

'Do you want to hold him?' Anna offered, watching as Johnny's eyes widened with anticipation. He could only nod as his mother gently placed the baby in his arms.

'I'll help you.' John guided the boy's hands. 'Here, like this. Isn't it nice?'

'Yes…' Johnny whispered, afraid to move or make a sound that would upset his baby brother. 'We are three boys now. We will teach him loads of stuff, won't we, Dad?'

'We will, son. We will.' John nodded, teary eyed, aware of the meaning of the boy's simple words. He had never been called Dad before, and now he had two sons.

And in that moment, Reade opened his eyes, and the two brothers faced each other for the first time.

xxx

'I don't like this; I don't...why don't you stay in bed instead?' John complained as he adjusted the pillows behind Anna's back, trying to make her seat on the sofa as comfortable as possible.

The fireplace was burning low, warming up the front room and making it so cozy and welcoming. On the floor, Johnny played with his tin soldiers, while Macbeth slept soundly beside him. The clock on the wall marked six in the afternoon, and Mrs Bates came in carrying a tray with biscuits and tea.

'John, please, I want to be here you all of you.' Anna said for what seemed like the millionth time, adjusting the baby against her chest. 'And it's warmer here.'

'Let her be!' Mrs Bates spoke, resting the tray on the side table, before sitting beside the young mother, a roll of yarn now in her hands. 'If she feels good... I was on my feet an hour after you were born and cooked breakfast the next day. Stop it.'

John rolled his eyes.

'It's all right, John, please. I feel fantastic.'

'If you say so…' John sat down in his chair, a little more convinced. But that wouldn't last long, when the dog woke up a moment later and began to sniff the air around him. Suddenly, he rose, eyeing Anna and the baby on the sofa, and slowly he walked to them filled with curiosity.

'Macbeth wants to meet Reade.' Johnny said with a smile and John stood up at once, ready to shoo the dog away.

'Be careful, what if he-.'

'Stop fussing, boy!' the older woman scolded. 'He's a dog, not a beast. Your child is not made of glass.'

Anna laughed at her mother in law's words, while watching the dog's reaction attentively. Macbeth was gentle with his sniffs, and she leaned forward just a bit. 'What do you think, Macbeth?' She asked, and her reply was a lick on the baby's tiny hand. 'Aw look, Reade, you've made a new friend.'

The baby yawned lazily before settling back, and Macbeth rested his big head on her knee where it would stay until Anna moved again.

'See.' Mrs Bates lifted her brow at her son.

'I know, but,' John sighed, sitting back in his chair, 'Reade's so small and fragile.'

'He's not that small.' Anna said. 'Johnny was so much smaller.'

'He's a big lad! Almost as big as you were.' Mrs Bates added.

'He has long legs…' Anna smiled, running her fingertips along Reade's forehead. 'And your brow.'

'Do you think so?' John dragged his chair toward the sofa and leaned down to take a better look at his son, a proud blush staining his cheeks. Anna couldn't help but giggle.

'When he started crying it was as if John was being born all over again. That same frown. Bless him. But don't worry, babies change a lot, I'm sure he will have some of your features too,' the older woman reassured her daughter in law.

'I'm not worried about it. I want him to look like John.'

'Well, I always imagined him looking like you,' John stated, but deep inside he couldn't be happier with the course of this conversation.

'I look like mummy already; Reade can look like daddy,' Johnny concluded, his tin soldiers lined up and ready for yet another war.

'Exactly.' John laughed heartily, and the two women joined, and between hungry cries and dirty nappies, Reade's first day would come to an end in a blink of an eye.

That's why happy days seem to never last long. People are too busy being joyful and carefree to notice anything else. The clock is there, ticking away but no one really cares, no one bothers to lose their precious time to look at it. And only when night has fallen, and the eyes begin to weigh, one realises that time, indeed, is always moving.

And that's what happened when John looked over at the clock on Johnny's nightstand, and he couldn't quite believe this day was almost over. He closed the book he had been reading to the boy and sighed deeply to himself, a wave of emotions rushing through him. It seemed unreal, his life, today, everything. He felt almost numb. A good kind of numb mixed with excitement and an energetic tiredness.

The young boy was finally sound asleep, and John brought the sheets up to his neck, tucking him in and running a gentle hand through his hair. The candle was out with a blow and in the darkness of the child's room, he let himself sink into his own skin. It was the first time that day John had actually thought. Actually let himself listen to his own mind, and what yesterday was only a dream, today was his reality, and for that he was thankful. For that he was the happiest man alive.

'He was almost too excited to sleep,' He whispered, walking in their bedroom and closing the door behind him. The sight he met silenced him at once. Anna was sitting up against the headboard feeding Reade. Her hair was neatly done in a simple braid and their son was nursing eagerly. John approached them then, and sat down beside her, watching. The little boy had his eyes open. Clear eyes, almost like water. They would fade into green one day.

'That's why you took so long?'

'Yes. And what about you two? How are you feeling?'

'Wonderful. He's a hungry little man.' Anna smiled down at the boy for a moment, and when she looked up at her husband he was smiling tenderly at her with that beautiful grin spreading across his lips. 'What?'

'You have never looked so lovely and full of grace.' John said. 'My father once told me that...I was no more than a boy; he said…'the woman you love will never look as beautiful as when she's the mother of your child.' He was right.'

Anna shook her head with a giggle. 'I reckon Mr Reade Bates was a sweet talker just like you are.'

'You ought to ask my mother that.'

'No need to. She told me all about it.'

John nodded. 'Oh! I have something for you.'

'For me?'

'Well…' He stood from the bed and walked toward the desk, opening one of the drawers. 'Not exactly I think…for you but not for you.'

'What are you talking about?' she asked him, confused.

'I wrote it down. The Prince's tale.' He showed her a small book as he sat beside her again. The cover was light brown with drawings and the title; 'The Tale Of A Conqueror Prince.'. 'I wrote it all down. I thought I should, so we can read it to our son. Johnny helped with the drawings. There's one in every three pages, and he made me promise he could read it to the baby too.'

'It's beautiful, John!' Anna smiled teary as he flipped the pages of the book for her. 'I thought you had been working on your book? Was it this?'

'I worked on this now and then; it's not that long. My book...it will take some time still, to be ready. But don't worry. You'll be the first one to read it once I'm finished.'

'I very much hope so...Oh, he fell asleep,' she said softly, looking down at the baby on her breast.

'It was a big day for him, I suppose,' John said grinning down at their son. 'And aren't you tired as well?'

'I am a little, yes. I slept until lunch and I did fall asleep on the sofa too.'

'Well, you didn't sleep at all last night.'

'You didn't either.' She shot him a look.

'But I don't love to sleep as much as you do.'

Anna chuckled. 'That's true... I don't want to put him in the cot yet; I don't want to be away from him. Look at his pout. He's so sweet.'

'I may be a little biased, but he's beautiful,' John sighed contently. 'I can't believe we've made this...it's unbelievable.'

Anna nodded as he spoke, her finger gently caressing the baby's chin. 'Go change for bed,' she told John as she placed Reade in the middle of their bed. 'We'll be waiting for you.'

John nodded with a smile, kissing the crown of her head before leaving the room. He washed quickly, and changed into his pyjamas, but when he walked back into the room again, both mother and child were sound asleep. His space in bed almost too small for him to fit, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

As carefully as he could, he got into bed, pulling the sheets over the three and settled in as best as he could, watching over Reade and Anna as they slept. Yes, that's how he wanted this night to be, and although he was tired, he chose to enjoy this moment, to admire his son and his wife. For moments like these, for a man like him, were as satiating as water in the desert. He had walked in the sun and pain and rocky paths all his life and now, that he finally had all of this, he would hold it to himself.

The best sleepless night he had ever had.

Next Chapter: An unexpected visitor.