Just a fun, silly modern AU oneshot. Enjoy!
Hundredth Time's a Charm
Attempt 1
"Everything alright there, Bates? You look flushed," Robert asked with concern, as John glanced up from his phone and nodded, before sliding it into his back pocket. "I hope you aren't catching whatever bug has been going around. Cora was in bed for over a week with it."
"No," John quickly told him. "I feel just fine."
"Good, because we have a long evening ahead of us, I'm afraid. Our clients want the information a day earlier."
At that, John frowned. Today was supposed to be an early day where he'd be getting home before the sun would set. He did love his job, but the hours could be long. And now that he was married and had a son, he wished he could spend more of his time with his family. Work was not always like this, though. This was just their busy season. Downton Abbey was always busiest in the spring and right at Christmastime.
"I'll go and see what I can do," John offered, making his way to his office.
Once he was alone, he pulled out his phone and reread what had made his cheeks flush earlier. It was a text from his beautiful wife.
Tonight, I plan on having my way with you Mr. Bates. Be ready.
A chuckle left his lips and he lifted his phone to reply.
I look forward to it, my darling. Let me bring home dinner so you don't have to cook.
Anna didn't respond, but John knew that she was likely busy with Johnny, their 18 month old son. As John had known she would be, Anna was a wonderful mother. She was made to be one. The moment their son was born everything just changed in their life, for the better. It had been something they had wanted for a long while and now they finally felt complete. However, having a child had seriously impacted their sex life. They were both more tired than not and they had a little creature that needed their attention almost constantly. John did miss the time before Johnny was born and they didn't have to schedule in this time with one another. But they wouldn't exchange Johnny for anything in the world.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
When John got home that evening with the food he had promised, he stepped into the loft with a baby shoved almost in his face. Anna was holding up Johnny, with her eyes full of desperation.
"Take him, please," she pleaded. "He never napped. It's past his bedtime. I need to bathe or…I just need…"
"Alright," John easily said. He placed the bag of food on the table by the door and then took their son into his arms. Anna smiled, kissing him on the cheek, and then giving him a grateful nod, before disappearing up the stairs.
Every so often, when Anna had a trying day with Johnny, she would need the break as soon as John got home. He knew she had it difficult being home alone all day with their son. She enjoyed it, but it was also draining. Soon after Johnny had been born, the two of them decided that for the time being Anna would stay home with him. It just seemed to be the best solution for their family. And Anna did love it. She told John she didn't want to return to work until Johnny was older.
"Hey there," John murmured to his son, who was staring at him wide eyed. Then he giggled.
"Daddy!"
"Have you eaten?"
Johnny just eyed him. Glancing over at the clock, John realized that it was way past Johnny's dinner time and that by now he should be in bed. Taking charge of what needed to happen, John took his son upstairs to his room. Thankfully, the little boy was easy enough to put down to bed.
"You just missed Daddy, didn't you?" John questioned his son, as he laid down in his bed and blew John a kiss. "I love you."
"'ove you!"
John closed the nursery door and walked back downstairs to grab the food he had gotten for him and Anna. He made them both a plate with their food and took it upstairs for them to eat in bed.
Reaching their bedroom, he sighed. Anna was dressed in her thick, long pajamas, rubbing lotion over her upper arms. Her hair was pulled up into a high bun and he could tell she was tired. He knew this look. This look meant: don't touch me; I'm exhausted.
"Here," he said, offering her the food.
"Thank you," Anna replied. She smiled and sat back against the bed. She lifted up her food and began eating it slowly. Her eyes already heavy with sleep.
"Get some rest," John lovingly stated. He took her half eaten food off her lap and she slid down against the blankets. John lifted the blanket up over her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "I'll try to get home earlier tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Anna barely got out, before snores left her lips.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Attempt 2
It took a couple of days before Anna realized what she had promised and not followed through with, making her insist that she was going to make it up to John the next night.
"You don't have to do that, my darling," John assured her. "You were tired. You work hard keeping everything together. I don't expect anything from you like that, you do know that, right?"
Anna smiled, bending over and kissing him chastely. "I know. You're a wonderful, wonderful man, John Bates. But I miss it too, you know? So tonight it is. No excuses. I'll drink a whole pot of coffee if I have to."
"Well, don't do that. I will be home early. We've finally finished with these clients," John promised, kissing her nose. Then he tickled Johnny's stomach, which caused him to giggle uncontrollably. "Be good for your mummy."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
At work, John couldn't stop thinking about this coming evening. He had already begun planning ways to ensure that Anna's afternoon and evening went smoothly so that she wouldn't be tired by the time they got Johnny to bed. First, he was going to pick up dinner. Secondly, he would take over all of caring for Johnny once he got home. That way she could relax and be in good spirits by the time their bedtime arrived.
Ring! Ring!
The sound of his phone ringing brought John from his thoughts. As he saw it was Anna calling, his lips curled up into a bright smile.
"Hello?" He happily asked.
"Hi," Anna sounded out of breath. John frowned.
"Is everything alright?"
"I….Well, Gwen just called. She's in town for the evening and she's invited me out to dinner. She'll only be in town tonight, so I was wondering…."
"You go," John insisted, trying to quell the disappointment. "You hardly ever get to see her."
"But I know that I promised…"
"Oh, Anna, there's plenty of time for that later. You deserve a fun girls' night out. Johnny and I will have a boys' night in, watch some zombie movies."
"No, you will not," Anna stated, making John laugh.
"No," he agreed. "I'm sure he'll insist we watch Peppa Pig or something."
"You're really not angry with me?"
"Absolutely not, my darling," John said. He couldn't even imagine being angry with his wife and when it came to her wants and needs, they always came first to him. All he ever wanted was to make her happy. "I'll try to leave a bit earlier so you can have more time with Gwen. I love you."
"I love you too. Oh Johnny-!" The phone cut off then and John could only imagine what Johnny had gotten himself into in the few moments he and wife had been on the phone. He laughed and sat back in his chair. He could survive a little while longer.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Attempt 3
Tonight, Anna was not going to let anything get in the way. She closed Johnny's nursery door and tiptoed to their room to find John laying on their bed and reading a book. She began to crawl up from the end of the bed, until she was straddling her husband. John glanced up from the top of her book and narrowed his eyes.
"What's this, Mrs. Bates?"
Anna grabbed his book and set it on the bedside table. "I'm seducing you, Mr. Bates," she seductively told him, bringing her hands to rest on his chest. "But you are wearing way too many clothes."
At that, John sat up. He tugged on his shirt and felt electricity flow through him, as Anna's hands brushed against his sides, helping him pull the shirt over his head. Her lips attacked his and he moaned happily into her lips.
His own hands searched for the bottom of her dress, finally finding the hem so that he could draw it up and over her head. It was then that he saw she was not wearing a bra, which only made him grow more impatient.
Greedily, he flipped her onto her back and Anna happily giggled, bringing her arms around his neck, as his lips caressed down the side of her jaw and down to her neck. Right as his head dipped down to her breast, they heard a loud cry. They stilled.
"Give him a moment," Anna panted. "He'll settle himself back down." Her eyes searched his and John fell to the side, keeping his arm over her bare stomach.
But Johnny did not settle. Soon, he was screaming, pleading for Anna. Defeated, Anna stood, grabbing her dress from the floor and throwing it over her head.
"I'll be back shortly," Anna promised, before rushing out of their room toward their son. She found Johnny standing in his cot, crying unhappily. Anna lifted him from his bed and he immediately settled against her chest.
Anna rocked Johnny until he went to sleep in her arms. However, whenever she tried to put him back into his bed, he would start to scream again. It took nearly an hour to get him into his bed.
By the time Anna was back to her bedroom, she found John asleep. Her lips curled up and she went over to him, bending down to kiss his cheek. Apparently, tonight was not their night either.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Attempt 4
"I know tonight is my night to put Johnny to bed, but if you do it, I promise I'll make it worth your while," Anna said, winking. John twisted his lips to the side.
"I'll happily take you up on that offer, my darling," he agreed. He lifted Johnny from his spot at the table. He did miss when Anna rubbed her eyes, before picking up the messy dishes. He did not miss, however, the way she swayed her hips and gave him a saucy grin, before he could make it upstairs.
"Be quick," Anna called out.
"Oh don't worry, I plan on it," John replied.
He took Johnny to his bedroom, preparing him for bed.
"You're going to help Daddy out tonight, right? Go right to sleep? No waking up after you're down?"
"Yep!" Johnny promised, wriggling his nose and climbing down to pick out a book for John to read to him.
John read the book and sang the songs, before placing Johnny down into his bed. However, the little boy vehemently shook his head, clinging onto John's arms.
"Stay Daddy!" He pleaded. John sighed, patting his head.
"It's time for bed, little one," he whispered. "You need your sleep." And I need your mother, he thought to himself.
"Daddy!" Johnny cried more impatiently.
"What if we read two more books and then we'll go to bed, alright?"
"Right!" Johnny exclaimed.
But it took more than two more books to finally get Johnny settled and happily into his bed.
He entered their bedroom and Anna was flipping through the channels on the television. John crawled into the bed next to her, slowly kissing up her arm and up to the special spot behind her ear. Anna turned onto her back and met his eyes with an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, but I'm positively knackered. I really thought…'
"Shh," John reassured her. "It's fine. I'm tired too."
"We could just push through it," Anna suggested, turning slightly.
"No, I don't want that. It'll happen. You rest up."
Anna's hand came up to rest on John's cheek. "How did I get so lucky?"
"Oh, my darling, I assure you that I am the lucky one."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The Surprise
When John arrived home this particular Friday afternoon, he was surprised to hear complete silence. Usually, there was the television playing some children's cartoon and the sounds of toys being zoomed all over the floor. But there was none of that.
John quickly searched downstairs, only to find everything spotless. He then made his way up the stairs to find Anna in their bathroom dressed up in his favorite black dress of hers. His throat went dry.
"What's all this?"
Anna turned to face him, smiling. She was putting on an earring and then walked over to John, grasping at his lapels and meeting his eyes.
"I sent Johnny to Mary's for the weekend and hired a housecleaner to clean up the house today. And," she slyly added, "I made us reservations at a nice hotel nearby. You and I are going on a special get away. No interruptions. Just time for you and me to reacquaint ourselves with one another."
John thought he might fall over from the anticipation of it all.
"I've already packed for us. That is if you want to go."
"Oh, I want to go."
As she had said, everything was packed and ready already in their car. John didn't even question any of it. He only got into the driver's seat and drove to where Anna told them they were going. The entire ride, Anna's hands were daring and she kept bending over to nip at his earlobe and kiss along his neck.
By the time they arrived at the hotel, John was sure he was going to burst.
"I'm sorry. There has been a mistake in the system," the receptionist said. "We don't have a room for Mr. and Mrs. Bates."
John nearly groaned. But Anna was not perturbed. She stepped up to the woman and gave her a tight smile.
"Surely there is something you can do. This is my husband and my first time away in over a year. We really need this to get worked out."
The woman looked sympathetically between Anna and John, before starting to type on the keyboard. Within a minute, she was looking back up at them with a smile.
"I found you a room. I actually booked you the honeymoon suite. It has a hot tub and garden views."
"Thank you."
Anna grabbed the key and then John tugged her hand. They entered the room and Anna stepped forward, smiling.
"This is beautiful." But John's eyes were only on his wife. He came forward and began kissing her neck, his hands coming around her back to pull on her zipper. "Do you think we should try out the hot tub first?"
"No," John grumbled. "Get naked, now."
Anna laughed, shaking her head. She continued to tease, "Oh, but we could go to the balcony and check out the view."
John lifted her then, taking her straight to the bed. As Anna landed on the soft mattress, she giggled and pulled John along with her. Eager hands tugged and pulled on one another's clothing until they were finally undressed.
But when the time came to make love, they did just that. Despite how much they needed one another, they took it slowly, enjoying each and every moment, not wanting it to be over as quickly as it started.
When they were both sated and laying in one another's arms, Anna happily sighed into John's chest, her fingers splayed against him.
"We should do this more often," Anna said, meeting his eyes.
"That is what I have been saying," John winked.
"Silly beggar." Anna adjusted herself against John and closed her eyes, enjoying as his fingers ran lazy circles on her arm.
"What if we did this once a month?"
"Hum?"
"Had someone watch Johnny for a night or two and just got away?"
"Yes," Anna agreed, glancing up at him. "I quite like that idea. Then we will know that we have at least that time each month with one another."
"But until then, we could go and enjoy the hot tub and maybe partake in some grown up activities in there," John said, bending over to kiss his wife.
"Oh?"
"Unless, you don't want to."
"Oh, Mr. Bates, you have no idea how much I want to."
THE END