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Chapter 19

Four Years Ago

Elsie put new sheets on the bedroom in the downstairs, finished basement. Anna and John had just renovated this space a year ago. It was made for when they visited so they could have their own space. But now it would be their home for a while.

"We should just move Anna to the beach house," Charlie grumbled. He glanced around the space downstairs. It was cozy. There was more than enough space for them. Everything was new and fresh, but it wasn't his home.

"She won't leave here, Charlie," Elsie reminded him. "And I don't want to leave her alone, again. I don't think I could stomach…" Her words faded and Elsie's fist clutched over her middle as she thought about the state her daughter was in.

When they had gotten to the hospital, Mary had pulled them aside to gently prepare them for Anna's state. Mary hadn't looked like the Mary Crawley they were used to seeing. The usually prim and proper, put together Lady was a mess. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and her eyes were rimmed with lack of sleep and redness from worry and tears. However, she had still been very proper with her words.

"Anna's in a right state," Mary had begun. "They say she'll have to stay for twenty-four hours, at least. They have put her on suicide watch. Although, I do believe her that she didn't mean to cut herself that deeply. I don't think she meant to hurt herself this badly. However, she has been harming herself. It's bad. I've sent the cleaning staff from Downton over to her home to have it cleaned from top to bottom before you bring her home. I suggest you stay at a room at Downton or a hotel before then. The house is not suitable for living right now."

To say it had all been a shock, would have been an understatement. They ended up staying at the hospital all night, unable to leave their daughter again. Mary was able to secure them a bed and a pull out chair to sleep in. Anna had been beside herself, apologizing over and over for causing them such distress. It broke their hearts.

And now, they were moving in with her. It only made sense.

"That…..that husband of hers," Charlie growled. "How dare he leave her like this!?"

"Now, Charlie," Elsie tried.

"We didn't even know he had left her. I can't believe….."

"Charlie," Elsie now interrupted, stronger. "John lost a daughter too. We can't know what went down."

"I don't need to know how it went down, Elsie. He left our daughter and now look at her. She could have killed herself, Elsie! She still could."

Elsie felt a lump form in the base of her throat.

"I know, Charlie. I know. But we'll, well, we'll be watching her closely to keep that from happening and hopefully pull her from that shell she's in."

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

Now

There were giggles, as Elsie and Charlie made their way up the stairs to the main floor. When they went into the kitchen, they saw Anna, John, and Emmy making cupcakes to celebrate John's upcoming birthday.

Elsie looked to Charlie and gave him a wink, before pointing to the back door. They would need to let Butler out anyway and it was best they leave the three to what they were doing. It had been nearly two weeks since Casey had stopped by. She had disappeared just as quickly as she came. And then it became very clear that John and Anna had become, well, John and Anna again. There was a brightness in all three of their faces that hadn't been in them for a long time. It made Elsie's shoulders feel less heavy, almost as though the world was right again.

They stepped onto the back porch, letting Butler go. Then they both sat.

"I think it's time," Elsie began, watching their dog run around the yard. Charlie glanced at her.

"Time?"

"For us to head back to Skegness," Elsie clarified. "Anna doesn't need us anymore. We need to let them be a family now."

Charlie made a displeased sound.

"Perhaps we should stay a little longer, Elsie. It's only been a little while, what if…"

"No," Elsie said. "They've come to the other side. We can't continue to intrude in their lives. We'll only be a few hours away. Christmas is just around the corner. We'll see them then."

Charlie mulled over her words. He wasn't sure he was ready to leave. Yes, his daughter seemed more like herself than she had in a really long time, but he was still afraid to lose her. Plus, they had just gotten Emmy back. It would be hard not to see her every day.

"It's not like we'll never see them again, Charlie. They are our family."

"I know," Charlie quietly answered. "It'll just be hard to leave them."

"It will," Elsie agreed. "But we have our life to live too. We can tell them tomorrow night, after John's birthday dinner."

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

John felt an arm slide over his chest and then a kiss on his cheek. While his eyes remained closed, his lips curled up into a content smile. It had been five years, but they had slid right back into their old roles as man and wife. Everything just fit perfectly again, like the missing puzzle piece to his life.

"Happy birthday," Anna whispered into his ear. Her hand ran up and under his undershirt, causing him to jump slightly, before she began to nibble on his ear. "Would you like a birthday present early?"

John was about to nod and catch Anna's lips with his own, when their door quickly opened. Anna jerked her arm from under his shirt and turned toward the door. As Anna did that, John sat up slightly. There, in the doorway, was Emmy with a picture in her hand.

"Happy birthday, Daddy!" She yelled. Then she ran into the bed, jumping between them. She crawled all the way up and handed John the photo. "Daddy, how old are you today?"

"I'm fifty," he answered her.

"Wow! You're old!"

Anna giggled.

"Hey!" John said, gently nudging Anna. "Be nice to me."

"Mummy, how old are you?"

"I'm 39. I'll be forty in the spring, around when you turn 9."

"So, you're a lot younger than Daddy, huh?"

"I am," Anna giggled again.

"It's my birthday," John playfully reminded them. "Why am I being made fun of?"

"You're not, Daddy!" Emmy assured him. "I'm just learning more about you. I didn't know you were fifty. Now I know! You're very handsome," she added.

"Well, thank you, my little darling," he sweetly replied. "You're very beautiful."

Emmy's little cheeks reddened slightly and she brought her fists up to her cheeks, as she smiled.

"You look like your mummy," John added. Emmy glanced at Anna and then her smile grew.

"Then I'll be very pretty when I get older, if I continue to look like her," Emmy said. John watched as Anna's eyes filled with tears. Emmy slid right into Anna's lap, resting her head against Anna's chest. It was she had always been there. Anna tried not to show just how excited she was about this moment. It made John's own eyes feel with tears. Everything was falling into place.

"You already are," Anna murmured into her daughter's ear, while she combed her fingers lazily through Emmy's hair. Anna then met John's eyes and he nodded. Yes, this was how it was supposed to be.

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

They went to a nice restaurant for John's birthday. Anna had a room already prepared with balloons and a cake. Even though John was not generally a fan of such a big deal being made out of his birthday, Anna felt this one needed to be special. It was the first time they would be celebrating together in a really long time.

She invited the Crawleys: Robert and Cora to come along. The Crawley sisters and their counterparts had all been invited too, but only Mary and Matthew were able to join with their two children. Emmy had been excited to see Letty and George again.

When they walked into the room, John said hello to his good friend and his wife. He kissed Cora on the cheek, telling her how great it was to see her. Then they all found their spots at the large table.

Anna slid into her seat and her eyes followed over to the smaller table where the three kids were speaking. She saw that Emmy had an animated look on her face and was having fun. Satisfied, she turned to look at John while he spoke to Robert. Her eyes scanned the large table. She couldn't believe that this was her life again.

John's right hand slid into her left hand and he immediately turned toward her. Slowly, he lifted up her hand and smiled.

"What?" Anna quietly asked him, as everyone around them chatted.

"You're wearing your wedding ring," he said, with watery eyes. Anna's lips curled up. Many years ago, Anna had taken the ring off. She had angrily hid it and for the past couple of weeks, she had been on a frantic search to find it again.

"I am," Anna simply answered, giving him a wink. John's finger ran over the ring and he then kissed her knuckles.

"I like it. I hope it never comes off again."

"Me too," Anna answered.

They were then brought back to their guests. They all chatted and had fun. Then they sang as the cake was lit. Emmy sang the loudest. She was happily clutching the present for her father in her hands. It was in her arms awkwardly, since it was a little bigger than an average gift. The moment John blew out his candles, Emmy rushed to him and placed it in his lap.

"Open it! Open it! It's from me and Mummy!" John laughed and nodded. He tore at the paper, revealing a large frame with a photo of the three of them inside of it. It was a candid photo of them outside. They were all sitting on the edge of the back porch with their legs dangling below them, eating cookies.

"Oh, I love this."

"Mum took the photo last week," Anna explained, "When she showed it to me, I knew I needed to have it printed out and framed."

John turned to her and brightly smiled, before bending over and kissing her.

"It's perfect." Then he turned to Elsie and turned the photo around so everyone could see it. "This is great," he told Elsie. Elsie just smiled and nodded. "What a perfect evening."

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

"Emmy's going to be devastated they're leaving," Anna murmured, as she climbed into the bed that night.

"She will," John agreed, bringing his arm around her to pull her closer to him. She happily sighed, resting her head on his chest. "But she'll adjust. And your parents need to go back to their retirement home. They deserve it."

"I agree," Anna said, she fanned her hand out over his chest. John spotted the ring on her hand again and his face it up. He brought her hand back up to him and happily sighed. "Oh!" Anna then said, tearing her finger away from John and turning to the bedside table. She opened up the drawer and pulled out a small box. "I had almost forgotten," Anna told him. She handed him the box.

Slowly, John opened it and he was shocked when he saw inside of the box was his wedding band.

"I thought I had lost this," he said.

"You did," Anna answered. "I found it about a week after you left under the sink. I placed it in a box and hid it with my rings."

Taking the box from John, she lifted the ring off and slid it back on his ring finger. She kept their eyes locked as it was placed back into its rightful spot.

"With this ring," Anna began, "we start anew."

"With this ring," John repeated, "we start anew. You, me, and Emmy, my darling. Us against the world."

"Us against the world," Anna replied. John's hand brushed against her cheek and he pushed her hair behind her ear. Then he bent forward and caught her lips with his own.

"We should probably make this official," John added with a wink.

"Yes," Anna agreed. "We should."

To be continued...

Random fun fact about my stories where Matthew didn't die after George was born, I always have it in my head that they would have had a girl next and named her after Violet and called her Letty. So you'll see that name pop up in several of my stories. And the name Letty was because of Michelle Dockery's character in Good Behavior. Totally random, but just FYI for my stories that you'll read sometimes. haha.

Thank you again!