"Are you nervous?" John's fingers paused where they stroked over Anna's shoulders when she stiffened. "About the trial, I mean."

"I know what you meant." Anna shifted, pushing herself away from John to look at him. "And yes, I'm terrified."

"About seeing them again?" John scooted up on the pillows, careful of the metal frame of Anna's headboard.

"About the world knowing what happened. What I did." Anna slid sideways, resting on her forearms as she played with the pillowcase in front of her. "It'll implicate Mary, if they ask about Mr. Pamuk's death, and while Henry was kind enough to tell me that they probably won't the worst things usually happen. And since I won't lie on the stand then I'll have to tell the world what happened."

"It's not going to be televised." John let his hand rest over hers, stopping her from picking at a loose thread on the pillow. "And even if there are radio people in that room, this isn't something the world's going to care about."

"It's federal court, John." Anna pushed herself to sit up, crossing her legs so John's hand fell to her knee. "It'll be in newspapers. So even if I managed to get a job that wasn't the one they're offering me in Richmond, this'll haunt me forever. It'll be the talk of the town long after it's all over and anywhere anyone reads a newspaper. I won't be myself anymore."

"We could go somewhere else. Back to England, maybe, where this'll only be news for a few days and then blow over." John sat up fully, his back pressing against the headboard. "Or anywhere else in the world. Maybe somewhere they don't speak enough English to bother translating any newspapers."

Anna gave a half-laugh before bringing her hand up to cup John's face. "And you'd be happy with that? Us escaping this town to run away together?"

"I'd be happy anywhere you are." John turned into her palm to kiss it. "Besides, what's a town or a house when we all still eat at a table, we all still need to sleep in beds, and we're all still trying to earn enough to buy food?"

"You really believe that?"

John nodded, "I do. And we'll go anywhere you want."

Anna sighed, dropping her hands back to her lap. "Part of me wants to go somewhere no one'll know my name. To sink back into anonymity and fade away. Somewhere so far from this little corner of the world I'll forget it even existed."

"But?"

"But it almost seems a betrayal. Especially after how hard you fought to save it." Anna waved her hand toward the window. "The only reason Bricker didn't get exactly what he wanted was because you were standing in his way."

"And to think, he wanted me to paint Germany for him." John smiled and put his hands over Anna's. "There are things I know about this town, things you might not believe when I tell them to you, that make it important to me. But nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important to me than you."

He leaned forward, holding her hands tighter. "So if you want us to go. To sink into oblivion on the open ocean or in the darkest jungles of the Congo, we'll go. Right now and without hesitation. We'll disappear without a second thought."

"I don't know if I've told you lately," Anna leaned into John, her hand returning to his face to hold him steady, and kissed him. "But I love you."

"I should hope so." John grinned, kissing her back and drawing it out longer. "You've gone and married me now."

"That's not a good litmus test." Anna's thumb traced over John's lower lip as she stared at it. "I know many people who married without loving one another."

"As do I. I was one." John kissed at Anna's finger before holding her hand to continue up her arm. "But I married you because I love you too."

"Good." Anna shivered slightly when John reached her shoulder. "Then you'll tell me what I might not believe why you care so much about this town."

John pressed a harder kiss to Anna's shoulder as he drew back to face her. "It'll sound utterly mad."

"Explain it anyway."

Nodding, John took Anna's left hand and held it up to show her the rings there. His finger separated them slightly to draw her attention to the plainer band. "This ring was given to me by the god Osiris. And this one," He let the rings touch again to draw her focus to the more intricately braided one. "And the goddess Aphrodite gave this one to me."

Anna's eyes narrowed but she nodded slowly, "Go on."

"I met them, and their friend Kali, when Iw as driving into town." John gave a little laugh. "I was hopeless lost trying to find Downton on a map, convinced someone lied to me about it existing at all, and then I looked up and three people stood in the middle of the road. All so… So utterly out of place."

"How so?"

"Aphrodite, or Aph as they call her, has multicolored hair, a leather jacket, more bracelets and bangles and jewelry than I ever thought possible for one person to wear, and she's black. One of the blackest woman I think I've seen in my entire life." John shook his head, "And she's… She's uninhibited. Completely open and vibrant and… It surprised me, meeting her. She's so forward and almost aggressive but compassionate and empathetic and friendly. It's a little unnerving at times."

"And the others?"

"Osiris, or Os, is the most immaculately dressed man I've ever seen. He's dark but more North African dark. Egyptian, obviously, but his clothing isn't nearly as gaudy and anti-establishment as Aph's. He wears these suits," John tried to pantomime it, as if gesturing with his hands could draw the suit on his body in the air. "That are black, the darkest black you've ever seen, but embroidered with thread that glows jade or scarlet when the light hits it. And he's always well kempt. He tailored the suit I wore on our first date."

"He's got remarkably good taste."

"He's…" John let out a breath. "He puts most men to shame, I think. The effort he puts into his appearance is more than admirable. It's enviable."

"And they're both Gods?"

"They repeatedly emphasize that they're 'gods' with lower case 'g' but yes. They are the personification of those mythological beings who pop up in stories and history books." John gave a little shiver. "Os isn't the most feeling of types but he's honest and he does, in his way, care."

"What about their friend? Kali, you said?"

John nodded, "Kali's Indian. Southern Indian, I'd say, but she's lighter than some of the Indians that served with me in Singapore. She's… She's arguably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Timeless, ageless, untouchable." He paused, "I'm not trying to say that-"

"You're married to me. It doesn't mean you don't have eyes." Anna put a hand to his shoulder, her fingers stroking there a second. "But that only applies as long as I'm the one you come home to at the end of the day."

"Absolutely." John kissed the back of her hand, realizing he still held it. "She's the goddess of Time. She sees it all around her and… And there are other things about them all. About how they act and move. It's like I'm the only one who sees them sometimes but other times they'll interact with people."

"So you're seeing and speaking to gods?" Anna whistled softly. "Little 'g' or otherwise, that's incredible."

"It's been more annoying than incredible, to be honest." John ground his teeth a second. "Aph's the one who told me to pursue you. Said it would save the town if I did."

"Ambitious."

"And it annoys the other two. They're more concerned about the fourth god mucking everything up here."

Anna blinked, "Fourth god?"

John nodded, "Tohil. He's a Mayan god. Specifically, here and to the others, he's a god of war."

"But he's not?" Anna's brow furrowed, "I'm confused."

"While I was away I did a little research on him, hard as it was to find." John shrugged, "He was the patron god of the K'iche' Mayan people. He was a sun and a rain god, don't ask me how that works, and sustenance, sacrifice, and war."

"Sounds busy."

"He reveled in blood sacrifice, specifically human." John paused, "And he's targeted me. He was the reason I left before."

Anna took her turn to pause, "He forced you to leave?"

"He's the one who brought Bricker, Green, and Vera here. He promised that if I left he would too. That the town would be a no-man's-land for us. So I did. And I was in Belfast, trying to help from afar, when Aph found me." John let his thumb slide over the braided ring on Anna's finger. "She's the reason I called you."

"Goddess of Love indeed."

"Yes." John kissed Anna's hand again. "And she wants my help to fight Tohil. To force him out once and for all."

"What happens if you do?"

"I don't know." John shrugged, "I've no idea what comes once he's gone. I'd assumed that getting Bricker and his lot behind bars would help but… When I was on the way back here with Henry… He attacked me."

"Henry Talbot?"

"No, Tohil." John tapped his temple with his free finger. "He got in my head and tortured me with… With images. From the war mixed with now. Had me helpless and abandoned as I watched the people I love suffer."

"Sounds like a right asshole."

"True enough." John stroked over Anna's hand. "It's part of the reason I was so afraid of coming back. I feared what he might do to you."

"You think a Mayan god of war and rain and whatever the hell else gives two shits about me?"

"He doesn't want to lose this town and he doesn't play by any rules." John swallowed, "He'll burn it all to the ground if he thinks he can't have it."

"That's extreme."

"I'm serious." John gripped Anna's hand tighter. "I've seen it. In a vision that Os showed me, I watched this town engulfed in flames."

"Well," Anna brought their joined hands to her lips to kiss at his knuckles. "If it does come, then I trust you'll do whatever you can to stop him."

"Me?"

"Of course." She smiled at him, "You've been chosen by the gods and endowed with powers right?"

"They gave me gifts."

"What gifts?"

"Perspective, Forgiveness, and Release."

"Hm." Anna hummed, shifting closer to John and dropping her hand from his grip to rest it on his thigh. It slid up as she moved even closer to whisper in John's ear. "I'd like to test the gift of release now, if you're interested."

"I'm sure you're aware of how very interested I am." John shifted just out of Anna's reach, encouraging her to lay back on the bed. "But you've had your way with me of late, Mrs. Bates, and I feel that I should return the favor."

"Should you?" Anna reclined back, making a show of getting herself comfortable. "I'm not sure I could stand to be adored in such a fashion."

"What happened to the rather shy and timid chemist who worked in the town's historical archives?" John leaned over Anna, pressing gentle kisses to her forehead and face as he spoke. "Because the woman before me is not quite the same person I met outside Mrs. Patmore's diner in the boiling heat of summer."

"She met a man," Anna's arms looped around John's neck to hold him still a moment as she raised up to kiss him. "And he helped set her free."

"Was it Talbot? Because he's got a way about him and-"

Anna kissed John harder, urging his lips open with her tongue, and drew back only when John's arms shook slightly from lack of air. "No. It was a wonderfully gorgeous artist who, while unsure of himself, was absolutely besotted with a woman who long-since lost her sense of self-worth."

"Did she find it again?"

"She very much did. Now," Anna lay back, "I do believe I was promised considerable adoration as you had your way with me."

"I intend to."

Starting with her hands, that he positions to hold the headboard behind her, John kissed the length of Anna's body. He maneuvered around her on the bed, wincing every time it squeaked. Anna urged him to ignore it with her fingers running through his hair but when it squeaked again as John moved to kiss at her breasts, he stopped.

"If the bed breaks-"

"Then you'd best finish up because if it breaks before you've finished then we'll both just have to die in the aftermath." Anna brought John's lips to his, drowning him in a kiss until the potential for complaints left him. "Now, please continue Mr. Bates."

John rededicated himself to the task at hand, losing himself in lavishing affection on Anna's breasts, and only shifted lower when Anna's hips bucked toward him. The bulge of her abdomen received gentle care before he continued lower and carefully manipulated her legs over his shoulders. Pressing himself to the mattress as much as possible, ignoring the squeak of the springs again, John directed the focus on his kisses between her legs.

The squeeze of her thighs around his ears almost shut out all other sounds but John focused on Anna's whimpers and keens. On the way she moaned when he ran the flat of his tongue over her. Or how her voice took on a high pitched squeak of its own as he slipped two fingers inside her while sucking ardently at her bundle of nerves. Each noise guiding him until her body clenched around him and all the muscles in her tiny frame threatened to strangle him in the throes of her own pleasure. A death John was sure he would gladly die is not for the need to finish what he started.

As her body calmed, the quiver in her muscles proving a little difficult to work around as he extricated himself from her uncompromising grip, John positioned himself over Anna. One of his hands caressed her abdomen for a moment before he leaned down to kiss her gently. Anna's eyes fluttered and her fingers eased their death-clutch of his scalp to run soothingly through his hair.

"Is this alright?" She blinked at him, forcing herself to focus as John ran the length of his erection between her legs. "This position. Will it hurt the baby?"

"No." Anna shook her head. "You'll be fine."

"Because I don't want-"

"Shh." Anna put her finger over John's mouth. "I'll tell you when it does. For now, it's fine."

"I just wanted to be sure."

"I know." Anna kissed him. "Please continue."

John let his hand slide over Anna's leg, bringing it over his hip and thrust forward slowly. Any desire for speed vanished the second Anna arched up and moaned with his motions. So he kept his movements measured and deep, moving as deeply as he could to leave Anna shivering around him. And when he adjusted, his fingers and pubic bone pressing against her nerves, she clawed at his arms to keep in place as she came around him again.

The cling of her fluttering vaginal muscles dragged at him and John surrendered. His movements lost their finesse and he tried to stop himself thrusting mindlessly forward but each attempt to ignore the slick sounds of Anna moving around him and the noises she made as he continued driving into her only left him mindless in his pursuit of release. One that came on the heels of a third, though less pithy, climax of Anna's.

They sagged together, the bed sagging with them, and John could only groan into the sheets. "We need to replace this bed."

"That's all you've got to say for yourself?" Anna's fingers continued carding through John's hair as his forehead pressed to her sweaty shoulder. "That we need to replace our bed?"

"I did say I wanted to replace our house but," John kissed at her shoulder as he shifted up to see her better. "I'll be happy to replace the bed in the meantime."

"One thing at a time." Anna dragged him down to her side. "First thing's first and all that."

"And all that." John settled next to her, spooning himself around Anna's side so his hand rested on her abdomen. "And whatever comes next."

"Will the defendants please rise?"

John held to Anna as she almost squeezed all of the blood out of his hand. Her other hand drew nonsense patterns over her abdomen, obvious as her coat hung open in the chill courtroom. Everyone else shivered in their coats, John included, but Anna shifted between clutching his hand tightly and waving her fan to beat away the heat in her face. But when the looks about the fan drew attention, John quietly lowered it to their place on the bench. She opened her coat in protest.

His almost numb fingers squeezed hers back as they watched the backs of three heads standing behind the table for the defendants. The gray head of Bricker next to the auburn of Green and accompanied by the almost black of Vera's occupied John's vision until they were bid sit. He shook himself, realizing he missed the recitation of their crimes but satisfied himself holding Anna as close as she allowed in the heat only she experienced from the bun literally baking in her oven.

The morning rang almost boring in the austere and chill courtroom. John's positions altered every few minutes as the drone of the combating lawyers fought their points before the jurors. But when he received stares similar to the ones Ana earned for her fan, John settled. Settled right into his ass going almost numb on the wooden and unforgiving bench.

When the judge finally called a recess, after the opening arguments closed, John led Anna out of the room on stiff legs. "That was interminable."

"It'll be that for awhile." John looked up as Talbot approached them, nodding at Anna as he held his hat in his hand. "They're all trying to point fingers at one another because if they can slough off enough blame they can walk away with slaps on their wrists."

"But everyone'll know what they've done?" Anna asked, holding the fan with fidgeting fingers. "What they did to Downton?"

Talbot nodded, "It'll be in the papers and since the investigation into Bricker's sundry holdings is ongoing he'll not get out of this unscathed. At the very least it'll ruin his reputation in government and no one'll touch someone who's practically radioactive, no matter how much money he'd offer a campaign."

"And the other two?"

Talbot grimaced, "If they go down they'll hang on the ropes of Bricker's making. His lawyer'll try to tie it around their necks like millstones but if they get off then they're small potatoes."

"But they'll not hurt anyone?"

Talbot faced Anna, "I know you're not a naïve person, Ms. Smi… Sorry, Mrs. Bates," Talbot corrected himself. "But they'll be away long enough to not be your worry anymore. And since the prosecution's not planning on calling you as a witness and the defense won't touch what you know, I doubt they'll come after you."

"Do they know what I did?"

Talbot shrugged, "I've no idea. Personally I think they're far too worried with their fates to mull over any real thoughts of retribution."

"You think?"

"I don't know but if I were them I'd worry more about not going to prison than whether or not I was hunting down the chemist who made my product." Talbot sighed, "We've had a time of it at the Bureau even getting these charges to stick."

"He's slippery?"

"Bricker's got deep pockets and he's not afraid of emptying them to stop himself making his home in a cell with a number on it." Talbot rubbed at his forehead. "We've had at least three agents taken for questioning in regard to missing evidence and possible case tampering because they're on the take. It's like the bloody New York City Police Department in the days of Roosevelt."

"You've gone native Henry." John chided before groaning. "Guess it's back inside for us."

"Good luck. And, Mrs. Bates," Talbot put out a hand to shake Anna's. "You've nothing to worry about. I'll make sure you're safe."

"As a friend or as the linchpin in your case?"

"Wouldn't change the level of care I'd give you." Talbot gave a nod to both of them before replacing his hat. "Good day."

They reentered the courtroom, enduring more of the opening arguments and the first few investigators on the case being questioned about their involvement and the evidence against the three defendants. But at the end of the day, or even the end of the week, almost no headway appeared and no light at the end of the tunnel. A tunnel that lengthened with each extension in the case.

Spring sprung when Anna and John finally received an official summons. He pulled the letter from their brand-new post box, sitting pretty on top of one of the surrounding hills that gave them an unfettered view of the valley where the town of Downton nestled and a direct line of sight to the church. Opening it sank John's heart and he tried to push away the urgency of it when he heard Anna singing to herself from the dining room as she painted the walls their base shades.

But they read over the summons together, eating a simple dinner of sandwiches among the half-unpacked boxes in their kitchen, and did not speak of it again until they readied for bed. With each room being completed one step at a time, as Anna insisted that the wall colors were only base coats for him to paint over with masterpiece murals, their bedroom felt like it did not belong in the house. With the bed fully constructed, the walls painted a deep red with gold stenciled decorations covering all the walls, and their wardrobes fully stocked with their clothes it was like an insert on an unfinished project.

However, it allowed John to sit behind Anna as she sat cross-legged on the bed. With her brush in his hand, and her hair in his other, John slowly stroked through her golden locks. "You're nervous."

"Was that a question?"

"I know you well enough by now to read the tension in your shoulders." John leaned forward, kissing the back of her neck before continuing to brush out her hair. "You don't want to go."

"We've been summoned."

"But not subpoenaed. And, if I remember a piece of advice I received once, we don't have to answer a subpoena that hasn't been handed directly to us. They have to serve it." John finished and set the brush aside to run his fingers through Anna's hair before she turned to sit on the edge of the bed. "We don't have to go."

"From what Henry's told us, if we don't go then the whole case could fall apart. What they've worked for, for months, would be ruined."

"I would've thought that buying the town out from under Bricker would've ruined him in this area." John shrugged, "But money doesn't get you everything."

"I'm sure the town's grateful that they're not under Bricker's thumb anymore, but that doesn't mean he's gone." Anna reached for John's hands. "If he goes free then he'll come after us. They're not the type to just forget we exist."

John blinked for a moment, an image of the town aflame coming back to him, but shook it away. "I know. And I'm not saying we just hide away and forget about it. It's not that simple."

"Because they're being helped by a god?"

"We've got some on our side too, remember?" John kissed her hands before nodding. "But you're not wrong. We've… We've got to see this through."

"Where are those gods, anyway?"

"Busy elsewhere I'd expect." John shivered, "Which is both terrifying and comforting… Each in their own way."

"Because they trust you?"

"Or else they've abandoned all hope."

"I don't think that." Anna let out a breath, "Sometimes we're left to our own devices to help us learn a bit. That's what I learned in Sunday School."

"If I'd paid attention I might've learned the same thing." John moved off the chair, carefully maneuvering himself to kneel in front of Anna. "But I do know that you'll not be doing this alone. Whatever comes, we'll handle it together."

"Yes." Anna slipped her hands from his grip and held his face, kissing him softly. "For better or worse."

"However, whatever, whenever." John punctuated each word with a longer kiss until Anna inhaled sharply on the last one. "What's wrong?"

"I'd very much like you to continue."

"Is that so?" John traced his fingers up Anna's legs to push her nightgown to her waist before running his fingers under the line of her knickers. "How far would you like me to continue?"

"To the end, please."

John obeyed her. Removing her knickers as she lifted her nightgown over her head, John lifted one of Anna's legs over his shoulder to leave her open to the work of his mouth and his fingers. Complete dedication to his task, thoroughly enjoying her taste and feel over his tongue, John finished her with his lips wrapped around her nerves to soulfully suck while her nails dug into his scalp.

Drawing back, John removed his nightwear as Anna calmed and used the chair behind him to stand. When she reached for him, her fingers flailing as they tried to grip him with any residual strength, John only kissed Anna and tipped her back slowly. But he shuffled to the edge of the bed, grateful again that they went for a height that would allow him little bending to get in and out of it for his knee, and dragged Anna's legs around his hips.

The angle allowed him to penetrate deeply so each thrust, as he clung to her hips, left Anna's vaginal walls clutching at him. Her fingers dug into the sheets until her knuckles went white when John bent over to kiss her breasts while also inadvertently rubbing his pubic bone persistently against her swollen nerves. And when he happened to look up to watch her expression as she came around him before gazing at the sight of their bodies joining, John lost himself to the process until his orgasm followed hers.

They settled together, John using his former nightshirt to clean over them both before tucking them under the covers to avoid the spring chill that snaked into the room, and John held Anna close. His finger returned to her hair, stroking it until her breathing eased. Stroking it until he eased alongside her.

But their little moment of peace was not to last.

When they appeared at the courthouse the next day, their hands intertwined to hide the tremor in their fingers, Talbot met them. His hands gripped their shoulders and hustled them back out the doors and down the steps. "Leave, now."

"What?" John shuffled sideways, trying not to put pressure on his knee as he moved to shield Anna on instinct. "Why?"

"Because some kind of deal got struck last night and they're all walking free." Talbot hurried them to their car, shutting the door on Anna so John could start the engine. "Get back to your house and bar the doors. Don't leave until I get there. I'm still trying to sort out what happened but…"

He waved them on, "Just go. Now."

John's foot hit the pedal and they were off like a shot, driving the hour back much faster than they had on the way there. Neither of the spoke, not even to comment on the sudden deluge of rain that engulfed them to the point John had to slow the car to ensure he could still see the road. Or on the sight of the rising river and the swelling behind one of the many dams stopping the rivers in the little valley. All else was mist to them.

Parking the car in their drive, John hurried to Anna's side of the car and went to help her out when a hand landed on the door to keep it shut. He pivoted, ignoring the wrench in his knee, and only half sighed in relief at the sight of Aph. Even her obvious imperviousness to the elements was nothing compared to the look on her face as she stared him down.

"They're here for you John. For you and Anna."

"Who?"

"Tohil's agents." Aph nodded toward the house. "You need to get them away from here. Somewhere else."

"What about Anna?"

"We've got her." Aph nodded at John, "Now's your time to shine."

"I'm not ready." John shook his head, "I don't even know what to do."

"You'll figure it out. Remember," Aph tapped John's forehead. "You're blessed by the gods and that counts for something."

She left John standing there, befuddled and confused, as she took the driver's seat and addressed Anna. "Good to meet you Mrs. Bates. I'm Aph. I'm sure your husband's talked about me all the time."

John could only watch in surprise as Aph carefully steered the car away with all the skill of an expert driver and gunned the engine to get her away from the house. It left him only the option of turning back to see Os and Kali standing in the drive. Just like Aph, neither of them was affected by the rain while it drenched him to the bone with its spring ice chill.

"Are you ready?" Os waved his hand toward John's house. "Because this is the moment John."

He squared his shoulders. "I'm ready."

"Then let's end this." Kali joined him and they walked to the front door.

"Let's."