Author's Note: So, most of you will know that I never post two chapters at the same time but I was just far too excited to post this birth chapter. Plus, I wanted to post the last chapter last night and this one this morning, but I didn't finish the last chapter until the early hours and so I thought that I would just post both of them now. I hope that you all like this chapter and I hope you love the newest addition to the Bates family!

'How is she?' Mrs. Hughes asked with concern in her eyes as John handed over a half-asleep Adelaide.

'She's petrified,' He told her. 'She's putting on a brave face, of course, but her waters breaking came as quite a surprise since both of us were told that she had another two weeks at least. I settled her and made her a cup of tea before walking up here with Addie, but things seem to be progressing quite fast and so I think I should start heading back. She shouldn't be alone.'

Mrs. Hughes nodded in agreement. 'Give her our love and tell her that we're thinking of her, would you?'

'Of course,' He replied before taking a step closer to her and running his gloved hand over Adelaide's curls as she looked up at him from where her head laid on the housekeeper's shoulder. 'I expect you to be on your best behaviour for Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson, sweetheart, all right? I need to go home and help your mummy, but I promise that I'll be back as soon as I can and then we can go home and you can meet your little brother or sister. Can I have a kiss before I leave?' He asked her.

Adelaide smiled and lifted her head off of Mrs. Hughes' shoulder before taking his face in her hands and pressing her lips to his. She then settled down again in the arms of the elder woman and laid her head in the crook of her neck before her father ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek. 'I apologise again for getting you out of bed at such an hour, but it means a lot to Anna and I that you and Mr. Carson agreed to watch her for us.' He straightened his coat while looking at Mrs. Hughes.

'You can't time these things, Mr. Bates,' She reminded him. 'You get off home and we'll see you when we see you.'

He smiled before turning back to Adelaide. 'I love you.'

'I love you too, daddy.' She reassured him.

Once he had offered his little girl and Mrs. Hughes one more smile, he turned on his heel and began to walk in the opposite direction to the cottage. He felt his heart pound when he stepped onto the long lane that would lead him through the estate and home to Anna. In just a matter of hours he was going to be a father for the second time and he was going to be hearing his child's first cries. He was going to be watching doctor Clarkson lower his son or daughter into his wife's arms and their family of three would become a family of four. Just thinking about that beautiful moment made him want to run back home.

He didn't do that, of course, but in no time at all he made it back and walked down the stone path that led to his front door. Once he was on the doorstep he fished around in his coat pocket for the key before unlocking the door and walking into the house. He took the silence as a good sign. There were no screams or agonized groans from the bedroom above his head and that reassured him that not too much had changed since he had left. He took off both his hat and coat after closing the door before walking up the staircase. The sight of his wife made him sigh deeply when he stepped inside their dimmed bedroom.

She was sitting in the middle of their bed, where he had left her, with her eyes closed and one hand clutching at the quilt as she had another contraction. She was clutching it so tight that her knuckles had turned white. 'John…' He heard her groan under her breath and he walked right over to the bed before sitting down beside her and taking the hand that was grasping their quilt. She curled her fingers around his in an instant and her nails dug painfully into the back of his hand, but it didn't bother him. Her pain was far greater than his and if she had to endure hours of it then he could endure mere moments of it.

'Shh…' He used his free hand to move her hair out of her face when she opened and closed her mouth as she tried and failed to speak. 'Don't talk, darling, just breathe for now and get through this contraction,' He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb when she nodded in response before she began to take several deep breaths. She was doing so well. There wasn't a single word to describe just how proud of her he was. She was in terrible pain – pain so awful that she couldn't even talk – and yet she somehow made it seem as though it was the simplest thing in the world to get through. 'You're being so brave.'

It was seconds later when her vice-like grip on his hand relented and she sighed in relief as her contraction reached its end. 'That was awful,' She let her head fall onto his shoulder before he brushed kisses against her forehead and she laid her hand on her stomach. 'I remember reading that it can take between eight and twelve hours to give birth the first time. Mum told me once that she was in labour for sixteen hours with me, though, and fourteen with Alice. I've just started and I'm finding it difficult to get through these contractions. What if it takes me the same amount of time? I don't think I'd be able to do it.'

'If there's one thing I've learned about you,' He tucked a blonde curl back behind her ear when she looked into his eyes. 'It's that you're capable of doing anything you put your mind to. You are the strongest, most incredible woman I have ever met and I have every confidence that you're going to be able to get through this. I don't know how long this is going to take. It might take until tonight or it might take until lunchtime. One thing I'm sure of, though, is that I won't be moving until our child is in your arms.' He watched a warm smile grace her features before he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her lips.

She lifted her hand to his chest as their kiss lingered and curled her fingers into the material when she brought their kiss to an end. 'I love you.' She whispered with her eyes closed when he placed a kiss on her forehead and ran a hand over her hair.

'I love you too,' He reassured her as he looked into her eyes before moving his gaze to her stomach and smoothing his hand over it. 'You can come out whenever you're ready, you know,' He spoke to their unborn child while she watched him with a loving smile. 'I think your mummy, big sister and I have waited quite long enough to hold you and give you kisses and find out what you look like,' The baby moved under his hand and it was then that he realised he was going to miss having those perfect moments. 'I think we should have another one at some point, my love, so we can have times like this all over again.'

She giggled. 'Can I at least get through giving birth to this little one before we talk about another?'

He smirked.

'It would be nice though,' She said after a time. 'Let's give it a year-or-so and then…maybe…we can think about one more.'

There was a smile on his lips as he shook his head and looked into her eyes. 'You mean the world to me, Anna Bates.'

'And you mean just as much to me,' She kissed him on the cheek. 'Did doctor Clarkson tell you what time he would arrive?'

'One of the night nurses answered,' He replied. 'He's out at another birth at the moment, but she said that she'll inform him about you when he returns to the hospital. I think you should use the waiting time to get some rest, darling. It might help.'

She nodded. 'Will you hold me, please?'

'Of course.' He reassured her.

The two of them laid themselves down then and he waited for her to turn onto her side before wrapping an arm around her waist and cradling her stomach in his hand. 'We're having a baby.' She breathed while staring over at the far bedroom wall.

'We are having a baby…' He kissed her shoulder. 'And I'm so excited.'

She laid her hand over his on her bump. 'I can't wait to see Addie's reaction. Did she say anything before you left her?'

'She smiled when I told her that the baby was coming, but I don't think she realised that I meant it was coming as I put her coat on because she was so tired. I think she'll be far more excited when Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson remind her later on,' He heard her sigh with happiness at the thought of their little girl before he turned his head and kissed the side of her own. 'Close your eyes and get some sleep. You'll be grateful of it later on when doctor Clarkson's here, you can trust me on that.'

'I'll always trust you.' She told him as she closed her eyes and settled in his arms.

Once he was certain that she was content and beginning to drift into slumber, John settled behind her and moulded himself to her back before sighing and nuzzling his nose against the side of her neck. She wouldn't sleep for too long. Either doctor Clarkson would come knocking on the door or a contraction would wake her up, but for now she could forget about all that she would have to do later and relax. For the time being, she was comfortable and that made him happier than he could say.

'You're ten centimetres dilated now, Mrs. Bates, so I'm going to ask you to push through your contractions from this point on.' Doctor Clarkson said from where he was sat at the foot of the bed after examining Anna almost four hours later. It was clear to anyone with eyes that she was exhausted and tired of being in pain. She was all but slumped against the pillow that was behind her back, her long hair hanging over her shoulders as she held onto her husband's hand and her eyes were shut.

The previous contraction she'd had had been quite a difficult one. It had been the first one that had caused her to call out in pain. He could tell that the last thing she wanted to think about was pushing when she was so worn out and uncomfortable, but he had delivered enough babies to know that the sooner she started pushing the sooner she would have her child in her arms. 'It won't be much longer,' He smiled when her eyes flickered open. 'Another half-an-hour at most, I would think.'

She turned her head in her husband's direction and looked up at him before he used the back of his other hand to stroke her cheek. 'Can I have some water, please?' She asked before he turned in place and took her glass of water from his nightstand. He then held the glass to her lips and watched her take several long sips before she settled and he put the glass back on the nightstand. 'I don't want to push,' She said to him when he turned back to her and stroked her hand. 'I'm exhausted as it is.'

'I can tell, darling, but just like doctor Clarkson said – it's almost over,' He reminded her. 'The one thing you have left to do is a couple of pushes and then we'll have our baby. I don't pretend to know what labour feels like, but I know you're in pain and if there was something that I could do to take that from you then I would.' He watched her smile as she held back her tears.

'I know.' She whispered.

He leaned down to give her a number of kisses on the temple, not caring in the slightest that doctor Clarkson was sat right in front of them. 'I can tell that you're terrified, but I'm right here and I'll be holding your hand the whole time. I want you to squeeze my hand when you're pushing. I'm going to be fine. I don't want you to think about me or anything else but you and the baby until all of this is over, all right?' She nodded in response before sliding her thumb gently across his knuckles.

Moments later, she felt an all-too-familiar tightening in her abdomen and doctor Clarkson brought his hand to her swollen stomach. 'Here comes another one,' He announced as he could feel the contraction coming. 'When the urge to push arrives, I want you to hold your breath and press your chin into your chest. For the time being, so that we can get the baby moving down, I need you to push for as long as possible between each break.' He explained before smiling when she nodded at him.

The urge to push arrived in just a couple of seconds and so she did as she was told. She took a deep breath, pressed her chin into her chest and clutched her husband's hand as she pushed through the contraction. The effort of pushing helped to take her mind off of the pain for a while, but soon enough she just had to breathe and so she released the breath she was holding and gave up pushing. 'You're doing incredibly, Mrs. Bates, and I'm glad to report that Baby is travelling downwards nicely.'

She sighed with relief before she felt her husband's lips on the side of her head through her hair and her heart began racing. 'I told you that you could do this,' He murmured quietly. 'I can't remember the last time I felt this proud of you, you know.' She turned her head towards him and tightened her hold of his hand when their eyes met and he offered her a tender smile.

'I don't deserve you.' She shook her head.

'Nonsense,' He replied without missing a beat. 'You deserve to have everything you could ever want.'

She giggled. 'I do have that.'

'Good.' He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

She leaned back against her pillow and both of them fell into a comfortable silence then, but far sooner than she would have liked another contraction began to build up. 'This next push should bring the head right down,' Doctor Clarkson explained to her. 'Just do exactly what you did last time, Mrs. Bates, but try and push for a little longer if you feel as though you can.' She hummed and adjusted her hold of her husband's hand before taking a deep breath in the hope that it'd settle her nerves.

The urge to push again soon followed the contraction and she sank her nails into the back of her husband's hand, sucked in another deep breath and pushed while pressing her chin into her chest. She was somewhat aware of John's thumb caressing the back of her palm and she didn't believe that it was possible to love him more than she did then. Not all men would sit at their wife's side while she gave birth to their child. He wasn't like other men, though. He was different and she adored that.

She pushed for several long seconds until the pain of doing so and the need to breathe started to overpower her once again. Reluctantly, she stopped pushing and leaned back against her pillow with a whine of exhaustion before a smile appeared on doctor Clarkson's face. 'I can see the top of the head,' He said in a gentle voice. 'I think this baby is going to crown if you're able to do a little push. I only need you to push to get things moving and then I need you to breathe while the head comes.'

She breathed a sigh of relief.

'This might not be what you want to hear, but I feel as though I must warn you that crowning can be the most painful part of labour. The skin stretches so that the baby's head can pass through and that's when most women tear during childbirth.' The doctor explained while pulling the pile of clean towels closer so that they would be in reach once the baby had arrived.

'How long does the pain last?' She asked.

'Moments at the most,' He reassured her. 'Once the baby's crowned the burning stops and the hardest part of birth is over.'

From where he was sitting next to her, John could see the nervousness that was in his wife's eyes and pushed her hair back beneath her ear before she turned her head in his direction. 'As soon as this part is over, it's going to be minutes before you get to hold our baby. It might hurt, darling, but you've managed so well thus far and I don't doubt that you're going to get through this next part as easily as you got through everything else. You're going to be absolutely fine, I swear that to you.'

'I'm scared…' She admitted for the first time.

'That's fine,' He replied. 'It's normal to be scared of the unknown, but I think you're strong enough to do this.'

The corner of her lips curled up into a smile. 'You do?'

'Of course.' He said.

She looked down at her bump for a moment and felt her heart flutter as she realised that she was about to hold the little life that she had been carrying around for the past nine months. She would be able to tickle the little feet that had been kicking her for as long as she could recall and kiss the perfect hands that had pushed against her. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was going to miss being pregnant, but she knew for a fact that she was going to love cuddling her baby even more.

'All right,' She looked at the doctor and then at her husband. 'I…I think I'm ready.'

There was nothing but pride in John's eyes and she felt a surge of warmth course through her veins when he nuzzled a kiss onto her brow. 'Let's meet our baby.' She heard him mumble softly before he pulled back from her and looked into her eyes.

As if on cue, her abdomen tightened again and she let her husband put an arm around her shoulders and rub her upper arm. 'I just need the smallest push, Mrs. Bates, and then all I want you to do is breathe while your body delivers the baby's head. You might feel the urge to push while the head is being born, but it's important that you suppress that urge because I don't want the baby's head to come too fast.' Doctor Clarkson said to her while her contraction continued to increase in intensity.

When the urge to push arose at last, she pushed a little before an intense burning sensation overtook her and her nails sank into her husband's hand as she stiffened and sucked in a breath. 'The head's coming,' The doctor announced. 'Just take deep breaths for me because it'll help you to control the pain.' She clung to her husband's hand and tried to think about anything but the pain she was experiencing while their child crowned. Finally, however, doctor Clarkson said: 'And the head is born!'

She whimpered in response as she fell limp in her husband's arms and tears blurred her vision when her eyes flickered open at last. 'The hardest part is over,' She snuggled up to John as he whispered into her ear. 'You did it, sweetheart. You did it.'

'I did, didn't I?' She breathed in slight disbelief.

'Goodness me, this little one has quite the head of hair,' Doctor Clarkson chuckled which made her smile up at her husband. 'You've done so well, Mrs. Bates, and now all that's left to do is wait for the neck and shoulders to be born which will occur with your last contraction. Once the baby has arrived, I'll give you a small injection of syntocinon to speed up the placenta.'

Anna offered him a smile before resting her head on her husband's shoulder and sighing into his neck as he started to comb his fingers through her hair. She was unsure of whether or not their embrace was appropriate since the doctor was present, but she was so exhausted and uncomfortable that she didn't care. All she wanted was for John to hold her close and she was going to have that. 'I'm so worn out,' She admitted to him when he moved his hand to her waist. 'I just want to go to sleep.'

'You can once everything's over, I promise,' He replied. 'I'll wait for an hour or two before going to fetch Addie so that you and I can have some time with the baby and then the two of you can get some rest. I doubt either of you will get much once she's home.' The two of them chuckled together before she tilted her head back on his shoulder and looked up into his eyes.

'I miss my little girl.' She sighed.

'I have a feeling she's missing you just as much,' He traced her jawline with his fingertips. 'But she'll be home soon enough.'

For the next couple of minutes after that, nothing much happened and Anna felt herself beginning to nod off in the arms of her husband. Just before slumber could pull her under, however, another contraction came along and a quiet groan escaped her as she lifted her head off of John's shoulder. 'You don't have to wait for this contraction to reach its peak before you can start pushing, Mrs. Bates, just start pushing whenever you feel you're ready.' Doctor Clarkson said when she looked at him.

She looked at her husband next and he took her hand in his once more before whispering: 'Ready?'

'As I'll ever be,' She slid her fingers through the gaps in his and he caressed her waist through her nightgown as she took a deep breath. Moments later, she held her breath and pressed her chin into her chest while holding John's hand in a vice-like grip. She felt as though she had been pushing for several minutes when she fell against her husband's chest, but she knew it hadn't been more than three minutes at the least and she felt as though she would be asked to push again. That was until…

'Congratulations, both of you!' Doctor Clarkson beamed at her and John.

The sound of her child's piercing first cries filled the silence of the room and it took all the willpower she had not to sit bolt upright in bed. She was just about able to see doctor Clarkson cleaning her baby up with a towel from where she was sat in her husband's arms. It didn't feel real. She could hear her baby's cries and she could remember the pain that she had been in just moments ago, but she couldn't quite believe that this was happening. She felt as though she was in some kind of dream.

The feeling of John running his hand along the length of her arm managed to snap her out of her thoughts after a time and she could have wept at the pride she saw in his eyes when she looked at him. 'You clever, clever girl…' His voice held tears as he spoke to her and she let out the gentlest giggle when a tear fell from the corner of his eye and danced down his cheek.

'You big softie…' She shook her head while reaching up to catch the tear on her finger.

He took her face in his hands seconds later and – even though it wasn't all that appropriate – she let him catch her in a kiss that was long and soft. The two of them parted from their kiss several seconds later and after settling in his hold again, she watched doctor Clarkson swaddle their newborn in a blanket. 'I think this little one is after a nice cuddle with her mummy.' He said while cradling the little girl in his arms and standing from the bed so that he could walk around to Anna and John.

'She's a girl?' Anna asked after her daughter had been eased into her arms.

'She is,' Doctor Clarkson confirmed while walking over to his bag. 'You both have a beautiful daughter.'

Even though she was beside herself with happiness and wanted to discuss names and everything, Anna decided to take just a couple of silent seconds to look at her little girl for the first time. She moved the blanket out of her daughter's face so that she could see her easier and felt her heart pound. She was her father's double. John had passed his dark hair, dark eyes, ears, nose and complexion on to their baby. The one thing that she'd gained from her was her thin top lip and the fuller bottom one.

'She looks just like you…' She said with tears in her eyes when she turned her head towards him and looked into his eyes.

'What a shame.' He teased.

'Shut up,' She scoffed before kissing him on the cheek and looking at their daughter again. 'She's as beautiful as I imagined.'

The two of them watched their little girl move within the confines of her blanket for a time before she settled and stared up at her mother. 'So,' John brought the hand that wasn't resting on his wife's side to their little girl's face and grazed her soft cheek with the back of his forefinger. 'You're the little rascal who kept moving around and keeping mummy up all night for the last couple of weeks, are you?' He heard Anna giggle as she cradled their daughter in her arms and looked down at her.

He might have jested about their little girl looking more like him than she did her mother, but he had to agree that she was one of the most perfect things he had ever seen. She was smaller than other babies, but he didn't feel too concerned about it since she'd been born a fortnight earlier than she should have been. 'Your big sister isn't at home at the moment – she's out at nanny Hughes' house – but she'll be home soon and she's going to be so thrilled to see you.' Anna said to their little girl.

'We had better get our cuddles in now,' John gave his wife a squeeze. 'We're not going to get a look in when Addie's home.'

The two of them laughed together before she looked up from their newborn when doctor Clarkson sat himself down on the end of the bed again. 'I'm going to administer the injection of syntocinon, Mrs. Bates, and then once the placenta is out and I've made sure that it's intact, I can leave the two of you to have some time alone with the baby.' He said before she nodded at him in response and went back to gazing down at the quiet little girl in her arms while he began to prepare the injection.

It took seconds for him to give her the injection in her thigh and, if she was honest, she didn't even notice it since her focus was on her daughter. 'She needs a name,' She realised after looking up at her husband again. 'It was a nice pet-name when I was pregnant with her, but I think you and I both know that we can't go on calling her "Baby Bates" much longer, darling.'

'You have a point,' He chuckled before falling quiet for a second while he thought. 'You liked the name Evelyn, didn't you?'

She nodded. 'It's beautiful and it means "wished-for child".'

'Well,' He gave her a loving squeeze. 'She's beautiful and a wished-for child, so I don't believe there's a better name for her.'

'Evelyn Bates…' She tested the name on her tongue and smiled when her daughter's eyes sparkled. 'It's absolutely perfect.'

It was quite late that afternoon when Anna was propped up in bed with Evelyn in her arms, her gaze fixed on her daughter as she held her near and hummed to her to help her sleep. She looked so beautiful. Once John had left the cottage to go and collect Adelaide from Mrs. Hughes and Mr Carson's cottage, she had dressed her in the little white dress that she had sewn for her and the cream cardigan that Mrs. Hughes had knitted for her. Even with those layers on, however, she had shivered a little and so she had wrapped her in her blanket again for added warmth. She had never seen such a calm newborn before.

She couldn't stop thinking about what it was going to be like when John returned home with Adelaide and the girls met for the first time. Just the thought of Adelaide climbing onto the bed, sitting next to her and wanting to look at her little sister brought a lump to her throat. She hoped that the two of them became best friends as well as sisters. She wanted them to be able to confide in one another if there was a problem and she wanted them to look out for each other. In a nutshell, she just wanted them to have the same kind of relationship that she and Alice had had before she had left home and entered service.

It was clear to her and John that Adelaide was going to be the protective older sister, though, so neither of them had to fret about that. From the moment her bump had been visible through her dresses, Adelaide had spent most of the time giving it kisses and if she hadn't been doing that then she had been sitting beside her and stroking it. She had adored her little sister from the beginning and she doubted that that would change as the two of them got older. The sound of Evelyn grizzling in her arms brought her out of her thoughts sometime later and she shushed her before lowering her head to kiss her hairline.

She was exhausted. She had napped for an hour earlier on like John had told her to, but it hadn't done much and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. It was the thought of Adelaide coming home that managed to keep her from doing that. The last thing she wanted was to fall asleep and make her little girl wait longer to see her and give her a cuddle. She hadn't seen her since bedtime the night before and if she knew her daughter – and she did – then she knew that she'd be itching to see her. 'Your sister is quite the little whirlwind, Evie, but I promise you that you're going to love her.' She told her gently.

The next several minutes passed in silence as she watched her little girl fall asleep in her arms, but then she heard the front door open and close and smiled to herself as she settled back against the headboard. Even though she was a floor above the two of them, she could hear the excitement in Adelaide's voice while she spoke to her father at the bottom of their staircase. Her daughter fell quiet after a moment-or-two, however, and she knew that John would be reminding her to keep her voice soft when she came upstairs. She loved her husband for caring so much, but she didn't mind if Adelaide was quite excitable.

She was just excited to see her and meet her little sister and neither of them could begrudge her that.

It didn't take long for them to ascend the stairs and when the bedroom door opened she turned her head and beamed as her little girl entered the room. 'There she is…' She sighed before watching John lead Adelaide over to the bed. Her green eyes sparkled with happiness and the sight was enough to melt her heart. 'This little one has been so excited to cuddle with you, princess, but because she's so little all of that excitement ended up tiring her out!' Her little girl giggled gently in response.

'Can I come and sit with you, mummy? I want to see what she looks like.' Adelaide admitted.

'You don't have to ask!' Anna reminded her.

Adelaide then let go of her father's hand and climbed up onto the bed before sitting down beside her mother and snuggling into her side. Once she had made herself comfortable, Anna moved her arms in order for her to be able to have a look at her little sister. 'She looks just like a doll, mummy,' Adelaide breathed while reaching out to brush her fingers against Evelyn's dark hair. 'Like one of the dollies that sleep at the bottom of the bed in my room and wear the clothes that you made them.'

Anna and John laughed together. 'She does look like a doll, sweet-pea,' She admitted. 'But she's far more fragile than a doll.'

'What's…fragile?' Adelaide inquired.

John sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed a red ringlet out of his little girl's face before tucking it back beneath her ear. 'It means that something is precious and can be damaged or broken if you aren't careful with it. Mummy said that your sister is fragile because she's a baby, she's very small and she means a lot to us. She could get hurt if we aren't careful when we hold her and we don't want that, do we?' He watched his eldest daughter's eyes widen a little before she shook her head.

'Am I allowed to hold her, mummy?' She asked after turning her head in her mother's direction. 'I promise to be careful.'

'You can hold her if I can help,' Anna said to her. 'It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that she likes to move in her sleep.'

Adelaide nodded with a smile before her mother aided her in positioning her arms and settled Evelyn in the cradle of them. Once she was positive that Adelaide was holding her right and Evelyn wasn't at risk, Anna laced one arm around her waist and eased the other underneath her arms to help support her in holding her sister near. 'What's her name?' Adelaide asked.

'Evelyn,' Anna informed her before kissing the side of her head through her curls. 'Evelyn Rose Bates.'

Adelaide leaned against her mother before looking up at her and sharing a smile with her. 'That's a perfect name, mummy.'

'It is, isn't it, darling?' Anna agreed.

The two of them fell quiet for some time after that and Adelaide watched Evelyn sleep in her arms while her mother kept a watchful eye on them both. Eventually, however, Anna felt her husband's gaze burning into her and she looked at him for a moment before smiling at the expression on his face. 'What on earth did I do to deserve such beautiful girls?' He asked her.

'You came to Downton and stole my heart,' She replied before reaching for his hand. 'And I'm still so grateful that you did.'

'It's been a long road, sweetheart.' He kissed the back of her hand.

'It has, but we haven't reached the end of it yet,' She said before drawing their daughters closer to her. 'Not by a long shot.'

John frowned as he got into bed that night and watched his wife rub at her eyes with the back of her hands after lying their little girl down in her Moses basket. She blinked several times once she had stopped rubbing them and settled back against the headboard and when a relieved expression crossed her face it fuelled his concern. 'Anna, is there something the matter?'

She sighed and turned her head to look at him after moving her pillow down a little and snuggling down beneath the quilt. 'For the last hour or so, I've been having…blurred vision. One minute I'll be fine and then the next I can't see all that well.'

'When were you going to tell me?' His frown deepened.

'I don't have to come running to you each time I start feeling a little off, John, I'm not a child,' She snapped before lowering her gaze to the space between them on the bed. Moments later, she felt her irritableness subside and a sense of guilt started to replace it. He hadn't deserved that. He was just concerned about her – as a husband should be concerned about his wife – and he hadn't deserved to have his head bitten off. 'I'm sorry…' She slid her hand into his and looked up at him again. 'You didn't deserve that. It's just that I…I'm so exhausted and over the past couple of hours I've started to feel a little awkward.'

He reached out to run a hand over her loose hair. 'Awkward?'

'I've been having some strong headaches and I feel disoriented if I sit up for too long,' She revealed while lacing her fingers with his. 'I didn't tell you about it because I didn't see the point. It's just tiredness and I'm going to be fine in the morning.'

John nodded and brushed her hair back behind her ear, but in his heart he wasn't as convinced that this was mere tiredness. He hadn't noticed it before, but as he laid beside her he noticed that she looked rather pale and some of the colour had gone from her face. 'I think I should give doctor Clarkson a call in the morning, darling, just to be on the safe side.' He admitted.

'You're going to ask him to come here just so he can take one look at me and tell us what I've just told you?' She asked him.

'It would put my mind at rest to have an expert opinion, that's all.' He laid down beside her.

She huffed. 'Fine. I'm too tired to have an argument about this. If I'm no better in the morning – which I doubt – ring him.'

The air between them was tense for a time before he stroked her face and said a soft: 'I love you.'

She laid in silence as he stroked her face a couple of times before she turned her head and brushed her lips against his palm. Her hand sought out his then and she shuffled closer to him before he shifted onto his back and encircled her in his arms. 'I love you too…' She looked up at him from where her head rested on his shoulder and her eyes fell shut when he kissed her.

'Let's get some sleep,' He whispered once their kiss had broken before reaching to kill the flame in the oil lamp that was sat on his nightstand. 'I've said this a hundred times, I realise that but you did so well this morning and I feel so proud of you.'

She hummed and smiled into the darkness of their bedroom. 'I love making you proud of me.'

'That's all I ever am,' He ran his hand along her back through her nightgown. 'Close your eyes and try and get some sleep.'

'I am,' She reassured him. 'Goodnight, John.'

'Goodnight, Anna,' He closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair. 'Pleasant dreams, sweetheart.'

Author's Note: So, welcome to the world, Evelyn Rose Bates! Thank you all so much for reading this chapter and I hope that it was all right - I've never been the best at writing birth scenes! I also hope it was all right because it's been such a long time coming and I know a lot of you were excited to meet the baby. Please review if you have the time and I'll see you all soon x