Another fun one-shot for your enjoyment (I hope!). Special thanks to lemacd for the prompt idea and help talking it through and ideas ;).

Honest Mistake

She was angry at him, though he couldn't be sure why. Earlier in the day, the two of them had been laughing and carefree. It was how life was now with them. Everything was as close to perfect as it could possibly be. They were mere weeks away from the arrival of their first child. John found that he was almost always smiling, likely tearing away the term brooder from the description of him.

But now, Anna wouldn't speak with him and he didn't know why. They had been chatting away, having a blast, and then Anna scowled. He tried to ask her what he had said, but then she had just shaken her head saying it was nothing. Stupidly, he had dug himself further in the hole by asking if this change in demeanor was because of her hormones. That had made her leave the room and slam the door.

"My darling," John tried, walking up to her in the narrow hallway. She held a striking dress within her arms, likely off to mend it for Lady Mary. "Please, speak with me."

She only huffed, turning into the hall and not giving him a moment of her time. He frowned.

"You messed up," Thomas cut in. John turned his eyes over to Thomas. How did Thomas know what he had done and he did not?

"What did I say?" John could not believe he was asking Thomas for help, but John had to correct this horrible mistake. He couldn't have Anna angry with him for too long.

Thomas only chuckled. "If you don't know, then I can't help you."

"You aren't that daft are you?" Ms. Patmore said, walking over to John, her eyes narrowing in on him.

"What did I say?" He tried again. Surely one of them could help him. But they both only shook their heads and walked away from him, leaving him in the dark.

"Mr. Bates?"

He turned to find Mrs. Hughes standing in her parlor's doorway. She held her arms across her chest and lifted her chin, letting him know that she expected him to come to her. He did, hopeful that she was going to help him solve this mystery.

"Mr. Bates, I think you ought to choose your words a bit more carefully," Mrs. Hughes suggested. John cocked his head to one side and sighed.

"I don't know what I could have said to upset my wife, Mrs. Hughes. I adore her."

"Yes, I know you do. But Anna is at a delicate time in her life. Perhaps, you don't realize how certain things could upset her," Mrs. Hughes pointedly added.

"Apparently," John agreed. "I never meant…"

"I know you didn't," Mrs. Hughes replied, "But you need to correct this, alright?"

Mrs. Hughes stepped away and John realized she also had not solved the mystery of what atrocity he had committed against his wife.

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

"Bates, are you here with me?" Lord Grantham questioned John. He had been speaking on and on about something and John had been so lost within his thoughts that he missed what was being said to him. John gave an apologetic shake of his head, as he fixed a button on Lord Grantham's sleeve.

"Sorry, my lord. It seems I have made a mess of things with Anna. I am trying to go over our conversation this morning to see what I could have possibly said to upset her," John explained.

"Well, let me lend an ear, perhaps I can be of help," Lord Grantham offered.

"Alright," John agreed. "We had just arrived in for work this morning. I told her that she was glowing and how I couldn't wait for our child's arrival," John began.

"That sounds innocent enough."

"Then I said how adorable it is when she waddles and how she is so…"

"Wait, you said to your pregnant wife that she waddles?"

"Yes, then…"

"Oh Bates," Lord Grantham sighed in resignation, "You've committed the biggest sin a husband of a pregnant woman can commit. You never mention how they have grown. By stating that she waddles, you've indirectly mentioned her weight. You've made her self-conscious."

"I didn't mean…"

"Oh, I know you didn't, Bates, but that is what you did. I suggest you go and purchase some flowers and maybe some jewelry and beg for forgiveness. I'd hate for you to wind up on the settee tonight."

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

When Anna found John at the bottom of the stairs, she crossed her arms over her chest. She had been upstairs for nearly an hour working on getting Lady Mary's hair just right. She was not in the mood for whatever this was. However, when John pulled out a tin of almond cookies, her sour expression momentarily left her lips. Her hands reached out and took it, eyeing John carefully.

"I do hope you can forgive me, my darling. I think you are beautiful. When I said you waddled, I didn't realize what that implied. It was wrong of me to say. You do not waddle. You are perfect."

Anna kept her eyes on John, not immediately responding. Instead, she grabbed a biscuit and took a bite. It was heavenly, making her eyes shut and a low, pleased moan leave her lips.

"These taste fresh."

"I may have pleaded with Ms. Patmore to help me out of this mess," John informed her. At that, Anna's lips curled up. "Do you forgive me, Mrs. Bates?"

Anna nodded. She leaned forward and gave John a quick peck, before happily grabbing another biscuit.

"May I have one?" John questioned. Anna narrowed her eyes. "Oh, wait, no, never mind. Those are all for you." Anna kept her eyes on him. "Have I done it again? Will I have to sleep on the settee?"

A bubble of laughter built up in her throat, before it finally escaped and Anna said, "Silly beggar. No, you will not have to sleep on the settee. I quite prefer you next to me."

"So I am forgiven?"

Anna giggled. "You are forgiven."

"But I can't have any of the biscuits?"

"That's correct; you cannot."

More soon!

If you think of any prompt ideas for these little one-shots, feel free to comment or message me. Thank you for reading!