Thank you all for your kind reviews and follows! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Here is just a super short chapter to hopefully hold you over until I return in January! Enjoy!

Chapter 16

John tucked Anna safely into his arms. Her small frame fit perfectly onto his lap. He wasn't sure how long the two of them had been in the church, but her sobs had just begun to subside. The aftershocks of her cries made her body shake harshly within his embrace. He tightened his grip of her and pulled her closer to his chest.

Anna's hand came up to rest upon his chest and she dug her fingers into his shirt, pressing her face against his neck. His jaw tightened, as fresh tears wet his skin. He knew she needed this release of sadness to allow herself to let it all out. But he hadn't expected the amount of despair he felt in her against him. It only made his hatred for Alex Green to grow even stronger. He was the one who had done this to his wife; he had taken everything from her.

Moments later, Anna had gone quiet. Every few seconds a broken sob would escape her lips, but she would then go silent again. John began to run his hand up and down her back and sighed.

"I…..I want to go home," Anna shuddered. John's hand rested on her lower back and he nodded.

"Okay," he said, his voice hoarse. Anna slowly lifted her head and met John's eyes. If his heart was broken before, it was shattered now. All the light was gone from her eyes; they were dark and full of despair. John felt his lip quiver slightly and he bit down on his lower lip to still it. He reached his hand up to her face to gently wipe some of the tears away.

"Let's go home," he murmured.

Anna climbed out of his lap and used the bench in front of her to keep herself steady. Standing up beside her, John gave Anna his arm and helped to lead her out of the church. He hoped they weren't met with nosy stares when they stepped out of the building. Thankfully, no one was outside.

The walk home was a quiet one. The aftershocks had finally subsided and Anna wasn't speaking. She did, however, hold on tightly to his arm. Her fingers were wrapped firmly around his upper arm, as if he was her life support. He guessed in many ways he was.

When they finally reached the cottage, they found a small basket sitting at the front of the door. Anna's lips twitched at the sight of it, but she didn't bend down to pick it up. John unlocked the front door and led Anna in before grabbing the basket with his free hand. Lifting it up, John saw a quick note scribbled by Mrs. Patmore.

Just a little something for dinner.

John glanced into the basket and saw some sandwiches and biscuits for them to have for dinner. Mrs. Hughes must have informed Mrs. Patmore that Anna was having a hard time. He did hope, however, that just how bad things had gone hadn't spread all throughout the Abbey. That was the absolute last thing Anna needed.

"Mrs. Patmore made us some sandwiches," John informed Anna. Her head bobbed up and down, but her eyes were focused back on the hole in her sleeve. John placed the basket onto the table and took a few steps closer to Anna.

"Would you like me to make you a plate of food?" John offered. Anna's fingers dug deeply into the hole and she tugged it wider. Gently, John wrapped his hand around her wrist to stop her. Anna's eyes slowly moved up and met his. "Are you hungry?" He tried again.

"No," Anna whispered, her eyes quickly dropping back down to the hole. Her body shook slightly, as a shiver ran down her spine. John's hands came up to her shoulders and he rubbed his hands against her to warm her up.

"I'll start a fire," he said. Anna's head shook.

"I….I'm fine."

"You're shivering," John countered. "Why don't you sit down and I'll start a fire? I can grab you a blanket. Come, sit on the settee."

Anna was too emotionally exhausted to disagree, so she allowed John to set her up by the fire. He placed a blanket over her lap and put pillows behind her back, before starting up a fire in the fireplace. Once he was done with that, he went into the kitchen and plated the sandwiches for them to eat by the fire.

By the time he was back into the sitting room, it was filled with the warmth from the fire. Anna was curled up under the blanket and staring into the flames. When John handed her the plate, she sat up slightly and placed it in her lap.

"Thank you," she muttered. As John settled down into the settee next to her, Anna rested her head back down onto her hands. John sighed.

"We can go to bed if you'd like," he told her. Anna's head shook.

"The fire's just started," she quietly replied. She sat up, moving the plate off her lap and onto the chair next to the settee. Then she maneuvered herself so that her head was resting against John's arm. "I'd like to just sit here with you for a little while, if that's alright."

"My darling, that is always alright with me."

With the way Anna was laying on him, John was unable to eat his food. He didn't mind. He was glad that Anna was willing to lean on him again. While he knew she was heartbroken, at least she was letting him in. His arm lifted, allowing Anna to rest her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It wasn't long until Anna had fallen asleep. The day had taken a lot out of her. John sighed. With his leg, he was unable to lift her and take her up the stairs to the bed.

Knowing she needed the sleep, he decided to just sit there with her until the fire burned out. Only then would he wake her and have her go upstairs. For now, he would just enjoy being able to hold her within his arms.

To be continued...

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! May whatever you celebrate, if you celebrate, be a fun and magical time for you! From this point on my stories will be on hiatus until early January. (I may sneak in a one shot between that time...but we will see, no promises.) Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this update even though it was super short. See you again next year ;)!