Hey everyone! Thank you for your patience! This story is back with Part 2. I finally finished it today. It is longer than Part 1. Good news is that Part 3 (the final installment) will likely be the shortest part and so it will most likely be finished before I finish posting part 2. Therefore you may not have to wait nearly as long between parts 2 and 3 as you did parts 1 and 2. Anna has been found! Here's what happens next! A lot happens in part 2, so get ready!

Enjoy!

Part Two

Chapter 10

April 2019

"She's alive!" John called out behind him. He turned back toward Anna to find her eyes closing again and her head lulling back against the ground. Cautiously, his fingers came up to her neck to check her pulse, relieved to find it beating. "Call for an ambulance right away!"

Behind him, he could hear Willis saying he had them on standby already and they should be here momentarily.

John lifted his light up to survey Anna's condition. Her breaths we labored, her skin nearly translucent beneath the dirt and grime that covered her from head to toe. He furrowed his brows, as he noted how blue her lips were. A chill ran down his spine. The days had been warm enough, but the nights were cold.

He pulled his light jumper over his head and tried to place it over her, knowing it wouldn't do much to keep her warm. As he draped the thin cotton over her, he noticed the tight restraints on her wrists that were pulled together with a rope. Tears filled his eyes for this woman who he hadn't met.

His eyes moved back up to her face, which was covered in blood and grime. Her lip was busted. He was sure there was a lot more damage that he couldn't see in this dim and dark cave. He wanted to remove the restraints from her hands and attempt to make her more comfortable, but he worried that moving her in anyway might hurt her more. It was best to wait for the ambulance to arrive.

While he waited, John just gently ran his fingers through her hair. He didn't know if it was bringing her any comfort; she was likely too far gone. But he hoped she knew she was no longer alone.

"They're here!" Willis called from the cave. "Help shine a light for them."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

A loud jarring sound of the phone made both Mary and Matthew jolt up in their beds. Matthew brought his arm around Mary's middle and groaned.

"What time is it?" He grumbled half-asleep.

Mary's eyes went to the bedside table clock and she made a sound.

"It's nearly 3 in the morning."

The phone rang again. Slowly, Mary sat herself up, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. Her eyes grew when she saw it was John calling. Her heart began to tighten and she inhaled sharply.

"Matthew…it's…it's….John Bates," she finally got out. Matthew quickly sat up behind her, kissing the spot between her shoulder blades. Then his hand slipped in with hers and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. Tears built up within her eyes. She knew she had asked for this and she knew that she needed to know, but now she was terrified to answer the phone. She couldn't hear the words that her friend's body had been found and that she was really gone.

"Do you want me to answer it?" Matthew offered, as the loud ringing continued.

Mary just shook her head. She closed her eyes, hit answer, and brought it up to her ear.

"H..hello?" She hated how small and weak her voice sounded. She was supposed to be Lady Mary Crawley. She didn't want anyone to ever see this side of her.

"Lady Mary," John's voice was breathless on the other end. "We found her. We found Anna."

The heaviness grew on Mary's chest and a soft sob left her lips. Matthew's hand tightened around her hand and he kissed the top of her shoulder, before pulling her close.

"Where….what…." Despite needing to know, Mary couldn't ask those questions. It hurt too much. "Wh…."

Before she could attempt to ask anything else, John quickly blurted out. "She's alive, Lady Mary. Anna is alive."

Mary's body nearly collapsed and a jagged sound left her lips. She could feel Matthew pulling her closer, in an attempt to comfort her, but she just took in several sharp breaths. She was alive. Anna was alive.

"You…she's…." Her words were a jumbled mess, but she was finally able to get out the most important question. "Where is she?"

"At the hospital. We just arrived. She's very weak and badly hurt, but she is alive." A smile crept over Mary's lips and a happy sob escaped. "Mary, she's alive." Mary was sure she would never get tired of hearing that.

"I…I'll be right there," Mary promised into the phone. She collapsed back against Matthew, her head spinning.

"Mary, what did he say?" Matthew gently prodded. Mary turned to face him and she brought her shaky hand up to his face.

"She…she's alive, Matthew. They found her alive." Her entire body was now trembling from the news. It seemed almost too good to be true. Matthew's hand wrapped around her hand on his cheek and he brought it down to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"Oh my god, Mary. That's…that's amazing. Where is she?" Matthew's lips had curled up.

"The hospital. I…I need to go. Should we wake up Zachary? Take him with us."

"Shh," Matthew soothed, thankfully helping to keep her in check. "You go right now. See what state she's in. I'll stay here with Zachary."

"Right, of course, right," Mary said, her body overrun with emotions. Matthew cupped her cheek and made her eyes meet his.

"Everything's going to be alright," he promised her. "Go on and get dressed and go see Anna. Call me once you know more." He bent forward and caught her lips with his own.

"Thank you."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John paced the waiting area. Anna had been taken back a while ago and he was just waiting to see what the doctors said about Anna's condition. He knew it was going to take a while for her to heal from both the physical and emotional scars that Alex Green had given her.

The automatic doors opened and John saw Mary stepping inside. At first, he almost didn't recognize her. Her dark hair was pulled into a loose ponytail and she was in leggings and a long shirt, with a light jacket over her shoulders. She was not the put together Mary he was used to seeing.

She met his eyes and then rushed up to him, her hands clasped in front of her chest.

"She…she's here? She's alive?" Mary asked, her eyes searching his face to make sure that she had heard him correctly on the phone and her mind wasn't playing tricks on her.

"Yes," he assured her. "I don't know how…." Before he could finish speaking, Mary's arms were around his neck, holding him tightly.

"Thank you," she cried against him. "Thank you for saving her. I don't know what I could ever do to repay you."

Taking in a deep breath, John slowly wrapped his arms around Mary's back and gently patted her. Then he stepped back and Mary also stepped away wiping below her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I…I don't know what came over me."

"It's alright," John told her.

"Where…where did you find her?"

John pointed over to where the chairs were and motioned for them to sit down. The two of them walked over to the chairs and sat.

"She was in a cave, tied up. It's bad, Lady Mary…"

"Please, call me, Mary, Mr. Bates. You've saved my best friend's life," Mary sincerely stated.

"Then call me, John," he added, a small smile on his lips. But his smile then fell, as he thought back to how he found Anna just less than an hour ago. He met Mary's eyes again and sighed.

"She was beaten up pretty badly. I can only tell you what I was able to assess from viewing her: busted lip, tied wrists and ankles, shallow breathing. She was pale and cold."

Mary brought her hands up to under her chin and began to rub one hand over the other, taking in all of the information. Her eyes, once more, welled with tears.

"That bastard," she muttered harshly under her breath. "What I wouldn't give to spend ten minutes with him alone."

"You and me both," John agreed, though he didn't tell her he already had and took his opportunity to clock him right in the jaw. He would love to have even more time to truly torture him. There was an anger that had taken over John. He had never felt this connected to one of his clients, but he wanted to avenge her honor.

The two of them fell into a silence and waited for information on Anna's condition. The wait was long and torturous. John had been up for close to twenty-four hours at this point, but he couldn't leave now. He didn't know if he would ever be able to leave. God, what was wrong with him? He didn't even know this woman.

His hand ran through his hair and he sat back within his chair. As he did, he saw that Mary was half asleep next to him, keeping herself awake by scrolling through her phone and looking on social media.

"There's nothing new in the middle of the night," Mary muttered, throwing her phone into her purse.

"It's morning now," John reminded her, pointing to the window to show the first sights of dawn.

"I hope they'll tell us something soon. I just need to see her." There was a slight anxiousness within her voice, but John could tell she was trying to control it.

"You will. I'm sure they'll be out soon."

It was still another hour before the doctor came out. Mary was allowed to get medical information from the doctor, but John was not. So he had to wait by the chairs while Dr. Clarkson spoke to Mary in hushed tones. From afar, he noticed how Mary's face paled multiple times and her hand came up over her lips.

A few moments later, Mary walked back over to him.

"What did the doctor say?"

"I…She's been through a lot. She'll likely sleep for days," Mary answered. "I'm allowed to go back and see her."

John stood and grabbed his coat, putting it on.

"Well, it's been a pleasure, Mary. I'm glad your friend is going to be alright."

"Would you like to come with me to see her?" His heart skipped a beat and he tried to hide the happiness from his features. Yes, he needed to see her, to look at her, to know she was going to be alright.

"Yes, thank you."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The anticipation while walking to Anna's hospital room bubbled up in Mary's belly. She couldn't believe how nervous she was to see her best friend. She was still struggling to wrap her mind around how the last several days had gone. It felt like a nightmare that she had finally woken up from.

Dr. Clarkson walked them to Anna's bedroom and opened the door.

"She's sleeping and will be for a while," he reminded her and John.

The door widened and Mary caught sight of her best friend. All the nervousness left her body and she walked right to her side, her lower lip quivering. She was here; Anna was really here.

Mary could tell they had bathed Anna somehow, because she was clean. But her lip was busted and her skin was still very pale. Mary slipped her fingers through Anna's and sat down in the chair next to her, before her other hand carefully touched the bandages on her wrists.

"Oh Anna, what has he done to you?" She murmured. "He's going to pay," she then promised. "He's going to rot."

Mary then remembered that John was in the room with her. She turned her head to see him. His eyes were on Anna and he was looking at her in a way that she couldn't describe. Was it love? No, Mary thought. He didn't even know Anna. She guessed it was just relief that the woman he was searching for was alive.

"Thank you," Mary sincerely told him again, drawing his eyes to her. "Thank you. I…I'll never be able to repay you."

"Just send in a check," John playfully said with a wink. At that, Mary let out a small laugh. It was nice to be able to really smile again.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna had been in the hospital for three days now. John came by to visit her every day. He couldn't stay away. He had to know that she was going to be alright.

This particular day, he was sitting over in the corner of the room reading a magazine when Mary walked in. She was also here every day. Once, her husband, Matthew had stopped by with her, but mainly he stayed home with Zachary. Mary told John that they were trying to keep his life as normal as possible, but how she couldn't wait until Anna and Zachary were reunited.

Mary stayed at the hospital for long chunks of time. When she came in this time, she eyed him carefully.

"Do you always do these types of checkups on your clients, Bates?" She asked him. He found that she hadn't decided to call him John, but instead Bates. He didn't mind it. It was almost endearing.

"No," John honestly answered. Mary gave him a small, knowing smile and then walked back over to her friend.

Like always, Mary began to chat with Anna about random things. It was never anything too important, just words. She also always was trying to do something with Anna's appearance, whether it was braiding her hair or discussing how they should be able to put her in a more flattering gown. Today, it seemed, she had come with an entire arsenal in hand. There was a large bag and she sat it down, before taking the seat next to Anna.

"They cleaned her up well, but you'd think they could have done more about her hands," Mary said, bringing Anna's hands up to her. "These nails are atrocious."

Mary pulled out a kit of some sort and John watched as Mary began to trim Anna's nails and do other things, he wasn't sure about. But when she pulled out a dark red color, he twisted his lips uncomfortably. It did not seem like a color Anna would like.

"There," Mary said when she finished. "Doesn't that look much better?"

"Much," John lied through his teeth.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Everything felt heavy. She struggled to take in a deep breath. Slowly, she fluttered open her eyes, only to shut them back sharply. Why was it so bright?

She felt a hand hold on to hers. It felt strong, but safe. Again, she attempted to open her eyes. Everything was slightly blurred, but those same dark, beautiful eyes were there again. They bore into her soul. She felt secure.

"Am…" her throat was raw. The hand within hers gently ran a finger over her knuckles. She heard speaking, but her ears were ringing. "Am…am I dead? Are…are you my guardian angel?"

To be continued...

Thank you for reading! More soon!