A/N: Good evening everyone! It's been so sad to write these last chapters, but also so much fun! It's so good to write how everything plays out and how things will end for every character. I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am :D

Wish you all have a great weekend!

Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1-20

It had been a long night. Sleep had evaded both of them and the only thing that warmed Anna's heart were her husband's words and her baby daughter in her arms.

Many questions had been answered but Anna still had so many more to ask. No wonder Mrs Smith was so bitter, she had told John, her life is a lie.

Her husband didn't love or respect her and she had to raise his illegitimate children. Maybe he even had more. Simon Smith had always been a man of many women, maybe in those dark alleys there were more of his own blood...and truth to be told...that was a real possibility.

Although one can never forget such revelations, time does heal. Time makes it seem less important, less painful, less present, and to those who's heart is big and kind, forgiveness is at a hand's reach, and in this case, at a reach of a visit on deathbed.

Anna would never forget this disappointment, but she would not allow her soul to be poisoned by it, and that would be a lesson she would teach all her children. If the feeling of revenge is all that you have left, then your soul is lost, to never be found again. Oddly enough, her wise and just husband would be the first to learn from her words.

But life does go on, and the next night, Anna, John and the children, gathered together around the big tub of water in the middle of the front room. The steam giving away how hot it was, and after a couple of more cold bowls thrown in, it was at the right temperature.

'Come on then,' John spoke, helping the children to undress while Anna prepared the towels to dry them off afterwards.

'If I recall correctly I took a bath last night.' William said taking off his underpants, his face twisting in disapproval.

'Indeed you did and you will take a bath tonight, and tomorrow and so on...' John replied.

'Why the need if I'll get dirty again tomorrow? Just like doing the bed! If I'll sleep on it again why the need? Why the need…' William shook his head while his father helped him into the tub.

'Listen, we don't have nice clothes and fancy hats and shoes...but we will at least show up at places with a clean face and clean hair. There's nothing worse than finding excuses not to follow the rules just because we live in this place. We shall give the better of ourselves no matter what, and people will look at us with different eyes if we smell of soap instead of sweat.' John explained.

Anna nodded in agreement while she helped Elsa and George join their cousin in the tub.

William had to agree with his father too, although he still didn't understand the need to make a bed. It's not like they have fancy visitors for tea! But children have a way of forgetting the things they hate as soon as they are entertained. That's what happened every night during bath time. William would fuss and tap his foot on the floor and rolled his eyes but in the end, when the water was splashing and everyone was laughing he was the one who loved it the most. Those little moments, that would happen so very often in this poor and old house, were what kept Anna from thinking in the past. She would even say that these people had healed her. That without them she would have grown old, bitter and sad.

And while she played with the children, throwing water at each one of them, her face red and her chest aching from laughter, almost like a child, John's heart settled in his chest. No trace of doubt invaded him in these moments. He was sure she was happy and loved and that she didn't regret being there. In these moments he loved her the most and he would promise to himself that those laughs would follow them until old age. His heart was settled but tight with devotion, and he could see the missing smiles of childhood trying to revive in her lips. Those smiles and laughs she had never felt the need to express when she was a child, would never leave her now. That was one of the things she would always say...that with this humble and difficult life she had learned how to smile and laugh as people should. Never she knew how good it felt to feel her ribs almost break in her chest and her breath almost completely gone, until she met John Bates, and while he watched her he knew, for he had never felt so complete and young and happy as in moments like this.

'Oh no!' Anna giggled. 'I'm afraid we woke up Mary.'

'I'll see to her.' John said, smiling. 'You scrub them, Anna. Scrub them hard.' He stood up winking, running his hand along his nephew's hair.

'Alright, I'll do it just like you do,' Anna told the children and their eyes turned big.

'I can scrub myself!' George said, taking the soap on his hands.

'Not your back and behind your ears, you don't.' Anna smiled. 'It's not that bad...come on...'

In the bedroom, John took Mary in his arms, rocking her back to sleep. He sat in bed, while the girl yawned and he began to feel tears gathering in his eyes. Their baby was growing so fast. Her blueish eyes read her father's face attentively, and her hands tried to grasp the air. He smiled then, placing his index finger between her chubby ones, and she grabbed onto it with extraordinary strength. From the front room, the sounds of complaints and splashing water were heard, and Mary became serious when she heard her mother's voice calling for him.

'You promise me you won't make such a big fuss for a bath when you are older...' John whispered kissing her forehead and the baby made a little sound. 'Yes? You are such a good girl...although, you should try to sleep all night you know...' he stood from bed and walked towards the door. 'Ma and pa would be very grateful to you.'

That was the first night Mary Bates slept and allowed her parents to rest as well. They were laying in bed, almost waiting for their child to start crying, as it was now tradition, but she never did, and their waiting turned into embraces and low moans of pleasure.

Urgent hands on flushed skin, fierce kisses and silent gasps. Rediscovering each other again after months of awful abstinence. There's nothing better than making love after sometime apart, and even though they had always been together, this was a sort of reunion for them. John had never been with the mother of his child before. Vera had died in childbirth, there were changes he wasn't expecting. Swollen breasts that would respond to his touches in a very impressive way, and even more impressive when he ran his lips along her nipples before taking one in his mouth. They chuckled then, cheeks turning red in almost embarrassment, but they were too comfortable with each other to take much time with awkwardness.

'I forgot,' he chuckled. 'I'll be careful.'

'Doesn't hurt...' Anna whispered biting her lower lip. 'It feels good.'

That was all it took for him to continued his ministrations. His wife would often surprise him, and he was already used to it happening in their marital bed. She had proven herself the lover he thought would never exist in a wife. He had heard so many tales throughout his younger years. Wives were naive and innocent and prude. But all these tales had been proven wrong to him, and although he would be content with whatever Anna was willing to do, he couldn't be happier for her wonderfully racy mind. Maybe that's where love played its bigger part...the want and need to pleasure one another in every possible ways.

Soon their bodies were moving together. His thrusts gentle and slow at first, giving her the time to feel comfortable as before. But Anna was always as eager as he was, and she wrapped her legs around his middle to persuade him. Her hands around his neck, caressing the hair she found there while he held her at her hips, as his lips ran along her jaw and neck, kissing every bit of her skin.

They had missed each other terribly in this way, and even though the possibility of a crying baby interrupting them was very much present in their mind at first, soon it was forgotten. Their passion and desire stronger than any uncomfortable feeling. That was the first time Mary Bates slept through the night, but they remained the night awake, loving each other until dawn.

XXXXXX

Six months later, there was a loud knock on the door in the evening. They were all having dinner. Elsie was there too, with her granddaughter in her arms, babbling nonsense to the little girl.

'Who is it?' John asked, rising from the chair after cleaning his lips with a napkin.

'It's Charles,' was the reply and by the sound of the lawyer's voice he wasn't bringing good news.

'What brings you here so late?' Anna asked him as he came in, her eyes wide in worry.

'Your father...he's dying.'

'I...' Anna brought one hand to her mouth. 'I never thought it would really happen, so fast.'

'He wants to see you, and your girl...Mr Bates too,' he looked up at John.

'Me?' John was surprised.

'He won't make it through the week.'

Anna shook her head. 'I'm not sure I want to go...What about Mrs Smith?'

'She's not in town. She's visiting her sister.'

'Aunty Helen...' Anna smiled. She was always fond of old aunty Helen. A spinster with a gift for gossip, but with a good heart.

'I think you should come.' Charles looked at the girl on Elsie's arms. 'He wants to see her...he doesn't want to die without meeting his grandchild.'

'He should have thought about it before,' John told him, and Charles nodded understanding.

XXXXXX

'Elsa? Can you hang these clothes for me, please?' Anna handed the girl a basket of wet clothing. 'On the second rope, these are from Mrs Hall.'

The girl nodded obediently with a smile on her face. Elsa had always been eager to help whenever she could and now that she had a sister she tried to be even more useful than ever.

'And you my darling?!' Anna lifted Mary from the ground where the girl had been seated, playing with soap and the water spilling from the fountain. 'Are you helping mama as well?!' The baby laughed happily and Anna kissed her chubby cheek.

Mary was now turning blonde, with blueish eyes, and her father's features. She was energetic and happy, always with a smile on her face. Her cries were rarely heard these days, but her eyes continued ever so focused on the world around her. Mary would turn serious sometimes though, taking in sounds and movements and watching attentively while the children play, and Anna was sure that that brooding personality of hers had been taken after her father.

As she cooed to the baby, admiring the way she was growing up so fast, she thought of her father. He was dying in his bed, alone, while he actually had a family. A daughter and a granddaughter. A family he himself drove away with ridiculous cruelty. Asking a loving mother to abandon her child...how could she ever forgive him?

'You should visit him...' her mother's voice pulled her from her thoughts. 'He is your father.'

'How can you say that after everything-'

'After everything he did to me?' Elsie continued. 'I forgive him of everything because in the end...he gave me the best thing I could possibly ask for.'

'And what's that?' Anna asked, tears gathering at her eyes while Mary looked from one to the other. The answer she already knew.

'You. He gave me you. And without him, our little Mary wouldn't be here. Anna...life is a string of happenings. If something happens or doesn't happen it will affect what is yet to come. All those lies, all those tears, they've brought you here.'

Anna looked at her baby and tighten her grip around her rounded frame.

'No matter how badly he behaved, and he did, he certainly did, he loves you, he just...he doesn't know any better. Take your child and your husband, and go say goodbye to him. You won't see him ever again.'

The young mother nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks. She had already forgiven her father, she just didn't know it yet. That was Anna. She always forgave, long before she even realised it. Only because for some people hatred never pierces their heart deep enough. Some people just know how to love.

XXXXXX

The two gifts Mr Smith had sent Anna and Mary had been two dresses. One for the mother and one for the child. For the mother, the dress was too fancy to wear around the house and she had saved it for a special occasion. Maybe to a walk in the park or to church, although they rarely had the time for that now. For the child, the dress had been too big when offered but now it fit perfectly.

Little Anna knew when she unwrapped these gifts that the special occasion for such attire would be visiting her father on his deathbed. It was almost like he already knew back then that he was going to die now. That Mary would be big enough to wear this dress and that Anna would want to appear presentable to see him.

'It fits wonderfully on her, John. Look!' Anna clapped her hands together, smiling down at the girl who was seated on their bed.

'She looks like a little lady,' John replied, sitting beside his daughter and caressing her cheek. 'Let's put on the bonnet, my sweet?'

The baby flailed her hands and giggled at her father as he tied the bonnet string under her chin. 'Perfect!'

'Why aren't you dressed yet?' Anna asked looking at him with confused eyes.

'I am dressed,' he said, running his hands over his shirt.

'John...' she rolled her eyes. 'I told you to wear your suit.'

'Anna...this is who I am, this is how I dress.'

'I just want you to look presenta-'

'Presentable?' He stood from bed facing her. 'I was in these clothes when you met me...'

'John, that's not what I meant.' She shot him a look and he took a deep breath, rather annoyed. 'I just want people to see that you can be a gentleman too. That you are as noble as they are.'

'I've always been a gentleman to you wearing these.'

'Alright, alright...' she walked towards him wrapping her arms around his neck. 'You can wear whatever you want.' she kissed his cheek. 'But please...don't say anything that... you know.'

'I won't say a word, I promise.' He kissed her back.

It had been a difficult task to convince John to visit Mr Smith. At first he had almost been offended by the idea, but Anna knew too well how to persuade him. It had taken a whole week for him to say yes. He didn't know what Mr Smith wanted from him or why he should humiliate himself like this, but for Anna he would do it. If it meant so much to her then, he would go. She had told him. 'If all you feel is revenge and anger, then they win. All those who tried to separate us, they win. Were they able to poison your soul to the point of no return?'

John had shook his head and sighed. His hand on his brow and a weight on his shoulders. 'I am not as good as you, love.'

'John...'

'No, it's alright. You are kind and good and forgiving for both of us.' he had smiled. 'And with all that you manage to make me as forgiving as yourself. I will go with you.'

His wife impressed him, indeed, every single day, and he knew that if they were to live all their lives in the rookery, she would turn into someone like Mrs Oliver or his own father. Someone people would turn to in times of need and for advice. That was never to happen though...their lives there were just coming to an end.

XXXXXX

William looked out over the rooftop, that late summer's day, admiring the sights before him. Very often, he would see Anna and his father going up here but he never questioned it. The curiosity for this place never really bothered just until a few nights ago. Elsie had stayed with Mary while they came up here and William followed them in silence, like a thief in the night. There, the couple talked in whispers before kissing each other passionately and for the first time in the boy's life, he didn't twist his nose disgusted. He watched them only for a moment before leaving quietly. William had smiled himself to sleep that night, happy for the happiness of his father and mother. Happy that they were able to find each other, and happy for having Anna in his own life.

Now, he looked ahead and took in the city's rooftops. Indeed this was a great spot...the smoke from the chimneys, the weak sun that tried the shine his last rays of the day between dirty clouds. William knew every corner of that city, every alley and street, he had walked them since he knew how to walk himself. There, he felt almost as powerful as a king, with his kingdom before him.

'From London's rooftops...' he whispered. He knew all about its streets and what they looked like from there, so he took his notebook from his pocket and began to write. 'If there's something as unbelievably great as London's streets, that has to be its rooftops. How can something be so different in the same place but from another view? I've known these streets for long enough now and I know every chimney as well. I may have named some when boredom took the better of me, and I know to which house they belong to, once I'm walking around, but what amazes me the most is that, whenever I am down there or up here, I travel to a different place and time. Down there I am no more than a boy who sells papers for a living, up here, I feel like a mighty wingless bird with the propose of watching...'

'Where were you?' Elsa asked when William came down to the front of their house.

'I was up in the skies,' the boy said gesturing, his book in one hand, his pencil in the other.

'All that writin' has been turning your brain into wee.'

'You know what, my dear cousin, I will be the good old William Bates I always am and I'll allow you to read a few words of my book.'

Else nodded excitedly and took the book in her hands. 'You are too sure of yourself!'

XXXXXX

Anna stood on the pavement facing the house where she had been raised. Her breathing was heavy and her body trembled on the inside. This house was almost strange to her now. It was grey and imposing, like a monument in the middle of a great garden. It seemed like one of those haunted houses where nature had taken the better of the brick walls. When she lived there, she thought she was happy...she knew nothing about life. She didn't know happiness at all, and now, she felt sick.

'Anna?' John called her with Mary in his arms. 'Are you alright?'

'Yes...' Anna swallowed her tears and put on a smile. 'Let's go in,' and she took one final deep breath before ringing the bell. 'Take off your cap,' she whispered to John while they waited for someone to open the door.

'I know,' he remarked. Mary was happily trying to grab the button of his shirt, unaware of the tension they felt.

'Miss Smith!' the butler answered the door, his eyes wide and his mouth half opened in shock.

'It's Mrs Bates now, Travis.' Anna smiled looking over at her husband. 'Mr Smith called us here.'

Travis looked at John from head to toe and to the girl in his arms before nodding. 'Come in, Mrs Bates, I'll let him know you are here.'

'I don't think he likes me,' John whispered to Anna and she shook her head lovingly.

They waited in the hall, a big room with a beautiful wooden floor partially covered by a rouge carpet, and a huge chandelier hanging from the painted ceiling. The light emanating from it almost too bright for John's eyes. There was also a fireplace, right in the centre.

'Are you alright?' John asked her again, as he saw his wife closing her eyes.

'Yes...' she opened them to look at him. 'It's just feel odd to be here now...' she managed a small smile before taking Mary's chubby hand to kiss it. 'I'm alright though, with my husband and daughter with me.'

'Please,' Travis interrupt. 'Follow me...Miss...I mean, Mrs Bates.'

They followed the butler up the grand stairs, and John took in every detail of the house where Anna had grown up. Every bit of wood was carved. The ceilings painted and walls covered with velvet wallpaper. Art hanging on the walls, and big windows.

He realised then the true immensity of what Anna had given up for him, and all he could do was to kiss his daughter's cheek. He was thankful his Anna had been so humble and brave. If she was more like her father, she would have never looked at him twice.

The butler nodded then and gestured them to enter in the bedroom. 'Mr Smith is waiting.'

Charles was at one corner of the room, and he smiled when he saw them. John nodded at him before looking around. The bedroom was so big it was almost overwhelming. It was bigger than their whole house. It had dark brown furniture in every corner, and heavy curtains that were now slightly opened. The air smelled of perfume and fire mixed with the scent of old clothes.

'Anna...' Simon whispered with difficulty, trying to sit up in bed. 'You came.'

'No, Father, lay still.' Anna ran to the bed, kneeling on the floor and facing her father, his hand immediately begging for hers.

'My darling girl.' He smiled at her, caressing her cheek with his free hand, his limbs almost too weak to do so. 'My beautiful darling girl. If only you could forgive me for everything I've ever done.'

Anna began to cry. 'I forgive you, Father...I forgive you.'

'You are so much better than I could ever been...you don't take after me on that...'

'I've brought Mary, Father,' she smiled. 'Do you want to see her?'

'Oh yes...I want to see your little girl.'

John walked towards them, and slowly he put Mary in Anna's arms.

'Oh goodness,' the weak man tried to sit up again. 'Bates help me, will you?'

John hesitated for a few seconds, looking at his wife with unsure eyes but soon he was helping his father in law to sit up in bed, holding him under his armpits and lifting him to rest his back against the headboard.

'Thank you,' Simon whispered and John nodded, trying his best to smile. He really didn't know what to do. 'Now, let me see her.'

Anna sat the girl on the bed beside her grandfather. 'She is seven months tomorrow,' she said.

'She's beautiful, so grown up,' the older man caressed the girl's head through her bonnet. 'You are both wearing the dresses I gave you.'

Anna nodded.

'She looks like a proper princess... Sit down, Bates,' he gestured and John sat on the edge of the bed. 'Life has taught me many lessons, too many...I hope you all can learn from them. Don't take anything for granted. Not even your children.'

'We won't...I assure you,' John said.

'You have every right to hate me but...' Simon coughed before continuing. 'In the end, I am glad my daughter found you. You make her happy. I would have accept you as a son if you happen to live in a big house...' he smiled tearily. 'I would have married Elsie if she was born in a rich family, but I was blinded by statues and appearance. I was raised believing that people like you were not people like me. I didn't follow my heart because I was blind with self importance...my daughter was so much braver than me... she did what I wanted to do but didn't have the courage to, and until this day,' he looked at Anna, 'I envy you...I envy your courage. You took after your mother, and... I'm glad for that. I am going to die in ignorance, but you my child...when you die... and I hope that will be in a very distant future, you will die wise and loved and happy.'

'Father...' Anna pleaded, tears running down her face.

'I should rest, I'm...too tired.' Simon closed his eyes leaning his head on the pillow. 'Maybe...you can visit me again soon...'

'We will father, we will visit you again.' Anna kissed his cheek and he whispered how dearly he loved her since the first moment he saw her in her mother's arms, and she answered back just the same. 'I love you, Father.'

XXXXXX

'It was very nice of you to come.' Charles accompanied them to the door. 'He hasn't signed the will yet.'

'I am not here for that. I'm happy with the life I have...' Anna told him, Mary now in her arms.

Charles sighed. 'I know you are not but these are important matters. He knows about the strike and he's sure Mr Bates was behind that.'

John walked ahead then, opening the front door himself. 'He's right...and as long as I live I'll fight for justice.'

Anna watched as her husband left. 'That's John Bates...and I agree with him.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'Have a good day. Tell me if...something happens.' She finally smiled before leaving, joining her husband outside the gates.

They arrived home just in time for dinner. Elsie was warming up the soup and was frying some corn on the stove.

William sat on his top bunk focused on his book, Elsa was at the table mending some socks Elsie had given her, and George was trying his best to control his appetite, whining how hungry he was after racing some friends and winning.

'Oh there you are!' Elsie greeted them. 'How was it?'

Anna smiled sadly and placed Mary in John's arms. 'I'll help you with dinner...he is really bad...'

While the women talked John sat at the table with the baby on his lap.

'Look, what's Elsa's doing? Mending William's stinky socks?' John teased the girl.

'Anna's washed them!' Elsa laughed. 'I'm practicing.'

'Are you really? Whatever for?'

'One day, I will make Mary a beautiful dress,' the older girl smiled over at her cousin, caressing her arm.

'Oh really?' John asked, quite impressed.

'Yes, I will be a seamstress. Elsie is teaching me.'

'That's very good...maybe when that day comes you can make me a proper suit.'

'Yes...' Elsa nodded focusing back in her task. 'I certainly will.'

As John watched her, he could see so much of her mother. His darling sister. He missed her so much but this little reminder of her helped him overcome his feelings. When Elsa became a woman, she would be the spitting image of her mother. Tall, slender and pale, dark eyes and hair. She would be beautiful, a young woman every boy would easily fancy, but most importantly, all her dreams would come true.

XXXXXX

'Mr Smith, you have to sign it...please...just sign it,' Charles begged as Simon gave his last breaths.

'Charles...I trust you.'

And just like that, Simon Smith body turned cold on his bed. The young lawyer froze as he saw the moment Simon's soul left his body. He had never seen anyone dying before him...he felt almost sick to his stomach.

In his hands, he held the will in John Bates' name. A will that would have no meaning without Smith's signature. A will that was nothing now. In rage he tore the paper into smithereens. Why didn't the old man signed the papers when he told him to?! Standing up, he told the butler about the death of his employee and told him to send a letter to Mrs Smith as soon as possible. Tomorrow he would go to Anna and tell her, and after that...he would have to find the new heir to the Smith's fortune.

'Charles...I trust you.' Simon had told him. 'I trust you.'

It didn't matter now.

Next Chapter: In the mourning of Anna's father, they learn about the death of a dear friend from the rockery. Charles finds out that the heir to the Smith's fortune lives in America; a distant cousin who makes a life out of frauds and heavy drinking...not the ideal candidate to such a great responsibility. Will the Smith's fortune be lost in the hands of a drunken?