A/N So I am posting the next two chapters together because so many people are excited to have Anna meet Rob and Cora that I felt it would be heartless to make you wait another four days. As always, thanks for the faves, follows and especially the reviews. They are fun to read and respond to.

I don't own ...

Anna arrived at John's building a little before 5:00. She tipped the cabbie as he handed her the luggage but then she hesitated at the curb, looking up at the impossibly tall and posh building before entering and making her way to the reception desk. She couldn't quite believe John lived here. It was so much more grand than their house in St. Andrews, but then again, she knew very little of John's life in London.

As she got to the desk, the immaculately dressed young woman asked politely, "May I help you?"

"Yes," Anna tried to sound confident, "I'm supposed to ask for William Mason? I'm visiting John Bates."

"Yes, of course. I'll ring Mason right away. It should only be a moment."

Anna waited patiently, looking around the lobby. It was an absolutely gorgeous space, full of shiny marble, sparkling glass, and large flower arrangements. Anna couldn't help thinking that the flowers alone probably cost as much as a quarter of her tuition.

Before long a uniformed young man approached her and spoke quietly, "Miss Smith? I'm Mason. Mr. Bates told me to expect you." Anna shook his hand and smiled. "If you'll just give me your luggage we can go right up," he continued, reaching for her bags.

As they entered the elevator, Anna smiled brightly, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Mason. John speaks very highly of you."

"Thank you, Miss Smith. That's nice to know."

"Please, call me Anna."

"Oh no ma'am, it must be 'Miss Smith' I'm afraid, and I'm just 'Mason', no 'mister'" he shrugged, "We have rules here at the 'Downton Arms'."

"Forgive me Mason," Anna replied, "I'm an American, you see. It's hard for me to remember how much you English love propriety." She smiled easily at him.

"You'll get the hang of it." The elevator bell sounded and he continued, "Here we are."

He lead her a short way down the hall and opened the door to John's flat for her. He stood aside for her to enter and then followed with the luggage. Anna looked around and was surprised they had not been greeted by the dog yet. "Where's Beauty?" she asked.

"Oh, Mr. Bates usually takes her with him to the theatre. She's a good girl and stays quite happily in his dressing room. I'm to go fetch her after the show and have her spend the night in my flat tonight since he's not sure when you'll be home." He put the bags down by the couch and continued, "Mr. Bates wanted me to make sure you knew there was a note for you in the kitchen. He says he's sorry he couldn't be the one to greet you himself, but if you need anything just ring me and I'll be here in a flash." He waited a moment before going on, "I'm sorry to ask, but I don't know whether to put your bags in Mr. Bates' room or the guest room. He didn't leave me instructions."

Anna blushed at the question, but when she looked at Mason's face it was completely impassive. She could read neither judgment nor curiosity in his countenance.

"The guest room, thank you." She tried to match his tone, but she wasn't very confident she had succeeded.

"If you'll follow me, I'll just show you around." He retrieved the bags and walked further into the flat, opening the first door in the hallway. "This is to be your room then," he waited for her to enter and then brought in her bags, asking where she wanted them.

"Anywhere is fine," she was feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole experience.

Mason efficiently placed the bags by the small desk and returned to the hallway, Anna following after. "This is the guest bath," he continued, "there are fresh towels and any toiletries you might need, but again, if you find anything lacking, don't hesitate to call me. I'm number 3 on the intercom. This room here," he kept on, "is Mr. Bates' room." He didn't open the door to show her the inside, respecting John's privacy, "and that's it really. If you'll follow me back to the sitting room I'll show you how to use the tv remotes and the stereo."

When he had finished with the tour, he went to the front door and asked one final time, "Will there be anything else?"

"No Mason, thank you. You've made me feel very welcome."

"I hope so, Miss Smith." He went to open the door.

"Mason," Anna stopped him, "I'm sorry...I don't know whether I'm supposed to tip you or not," she apologized.

"Oh no, ma'am. My salary is covered by the owner's fees here. I assure you, I'm quite well compensated." He smiled at her to minimize her discomfort.

"Thank you again."

"No problem, I hope you enjoy the play, Miss Smith. I get to see it myself next week. Mr. Bates gave me a pair of tickets for my wife, Daisy and I. He even paid for our dinner and babysitter. He's giving us a real night out! He's one of the nicest owner's we have," a genuine smile crossed Mason's face as he spoke of John, and Anna felt her heart swell with pride. "Well, enjoy your stay," he added, "I know Mr. Bates is very excited you've come."

"Is he?" Anna was thrilled to hear it.

"Yes, Ma'am. He's been counting the days." Mason graced her with a smile again and made his exit, "Don't forget to read your note, or I'll be in trouble."

When Anna closed the door she went directly to the kitchen to read John's message, which she found tucked under a small vase of flowers and a plate of biscuits, reminiscent of the things she used to leave for him on his first night in town. It made her smile.

Hello love,

Sorry I wasn't able to greet you myself, but I'm sure Mason has taken good care of you. If you need anything, just give him a call (Although I'm sure he's already told you that 3 or 4 times).

Welcome to your 'first night in town'. I've tried to keep the traditions alive. The fridge is fully stocked, help yourself. There are plates of posh snacks for when Rob and Cora arrive for drinks. Alas, I didn't make them for you myself as you always leave me something homemade, but I did my best. In the meantime sit back, relax, and try to miss me. I can't wait to see you tonight. It means the world that you've come. I hope I can remember my lines knowing you're out there in the audience somewhere.

Love,

John

Anna couldn't help but smile at John's note. She went to the refrigerator and peeked inside. She wasn't hungry but she was dying to see these 'posh' snacks John had somehow caused to happen. Inside she found three beautiful trays filled with delicious and gourmet looking food. She briefly worried about what type of people Rob and Cora might be if this was the type of food John ordered for them. It was a far cry from the soup, pizza, or pub food that she and John usually had at home.

She made her way back out to the sitting room and began to explore John's flat in earnest. She was immediately drawn to the photos he had displayed on his mantel. You could tell a lot about what a person valued by the pictures they had hanging at home. The first picture she saw was one of John and Rob, which she recognized from the internet. They were seated on a bench with silly grins on their faces and their arms around each other. The next two pictures she examined were of John and the same two people. Anna assumed that the other man, who looked similar to John, although not as tall or as handsome in her opinion, was his younger brother David, and that the elderly woman was their mother. One of the pictures seemed to be a random vacation photo while Anna guessed the other was David's wedding picture. Both John and David were in tuxedos and Mrs. Bates wore a lovely lavendar dress that could easily be appropriate for the mother of the groom. In addition there was a third picture of David with a woman his own age and two children, one girl and one boy. These must be John's sister-in-law, niece and nephew.

Next there was a picture of a slightly younger John holding an adorable lab puppy, one of Beauty's first photos no doubt. Anna loved the look of excitement and joy on John's face as he held the dog near his cheek. Finally, there was a picture of a much younger John standing with his arm around an older gentleman. Anna couldn't possibly guess the relationship here. She knew it couldn't be his father as John was clearly older than 17 in the picture. Whoever it was was important enough to John to make it onto the mantle though. Anna noticed that there was a conspicuous lack of pictures of Vera, which she was ashamed to admit made her happy, but there were also no pictures of her, which disappointed her more than she cared to admit. She scolded herself, thinking that these were all family pictures and she and John had only known each other for a few months, but it still hurt.

Anna went down the hall intending to unpack some of her things and let the wrinkles hang out of her dress before tonight, but on the way she was distracted by the sight of the closed door to John's bedroom. She had not really spent any time in his room in St. Andrews, only a brief conversation here or there while standing in the doorway, or once in awhile to put away some of John's laundry or towels, and of course there was the night she had helped him into bed after the pub episode. She was fascinated by the apparent differences between his life here in London and the one she was so familiar with in the north. She decided to take just a peek, what harm could it do?

She hesitated for a moment with her hand on the doorknob but then she turned it and went in. What she saw didn't surprise her at all. His room was immaculate and looked much like the one in St. Andrews. The bed linens were different of course, but they were still in the earthy tones John seemed to favor. Anna found them very masculine looking. Beauty's bed was in the exact spot it would occupy in their own home and there were books piled on every flat surface, just like in St. Andrews. The room even smelled like John, which made her smile.

She took a few more tentative steps into the room and stopped in her tracks. There was one picture displayed prominently on John's dresser and it was of her. It was taken from quite close up, almost like a headshot, and Anna could remember John taking it one afternoon when they were sitting in the back yard. There were more pictures on each of John's nightstands and the one closest to the side she was sure he slept on was of her and Beauty and Angus. They were at the beach and she was dressed in casual clothes, her hair blown by the wind. She wasn't facing the camera and she couldn't even think when John had taken this. Did she even know he had?

On the other side of the bed were two more pictures of Beauty and a black and white photo she thought must be a copy of John's parent's wedding picture, but she couldn't even bother to look at them. He had no pictures of her in the sitting room, but two in his own bedroom. One on his very own side of the bed, closest to the spot where he fell asleep every night. What would Gwen say about that if she knew? Anna tried not to make too much of it, but it made her feel wonderful none the less. Suddenly she couldn't wait to see John tonight. It was a longing that came from deep inside her and she couldn't imagine how she would keep from throwing her arms around him and kissing him the moment she saw him. She would have to work hard to keep her feelings in check. She wasn't exactly sure where their relationship was at this point but she was quite sure John wasn't ready to advertise it to the world. She would just have to control herself.