A/N: Thank you all for coming back to check out this chapter and I really hope that you enjoy. Happy reading x

Brushing his thumb against the smooth skin at the back of Evelyn's palm as he cradled her in his arms while sitting on the sofa with her in the sitting room, John sighed happily and allowed his head to fall to one side as he watched her sleep against his chest without a care in the world. She was so unbelievably beautiful. When Anna had been pregnant with her he had known that she was going to be perfect when she arrived because she was hers and so she could never have been anything but, but she had truly taken his breath away with her beauty on the night of her birth. He was unsure as to whether part of that had been due to the fact he had never seen a newborn close-up before and so it had all been new to him, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that most of it had been due to the fact that she had looked so beautiful.

And his reason for thinking that had nothing to do with the fact that she was his double.

He could remember how she had looked up at him and Anna for the first time after Doctor Clarkson had eased her into her arms, her deep brown eyes causing him to instantly lose his heart to her. Her eyes, although she hadn't a single feature that he didn't adore, was by far the thing he loved the most about her at the moment. He loved looking into them whenever the two of them shared skin-to-skin or while he fed her a bottle, much like he had been doing a couple of minutes ago, and he adored how they always sparkled whenever she looked up at him. He had thought that he was going to be in for it when Addie was older because he already found it hard to refuse her things when she gave him that smile of hers, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was going to be ten times harder when Evie started pleading with her eyes.

He had no chance.

No chance at all.

He began to sense a presence in the room with them once he had sat in silence with her for a time and so he looked up, his breath hitching at the back of his throat at the sight of his wife standing in the doorway in one of his jumpers. She looked incredible. The jumper was much too big for her and went right past her knees, but she had still succeeded in setting his heart racing and her tussled hair and rosy cheeks did nothing to help him. He watched her lips curl into a tired smile as she brushed a curl out of her face and back behind her ear and when she began to approach the sofa he tightened his hold of their little girl, his gaze remaining fixed on her as she sat down in the space next to him. 'Are you okay?' He asked in a gentle voice when she curled up and slipped her arms around his own, resting her cheek against his shoulder.

'I'm fine, it's just that I can't sleep when you're not with me and I didn't see much point in just lying there until you came back upstairs, so I thought that I would come and sit with you,' She admitted, brushing her fingers against the hairs on his forearm while she looked down at their beautiful baby. 'How much of her bottle did she have in the end? She's been a bit of a nightmare when it comes to her feeds lately, she hasn't been eating much at all and I'm starting to wonder if I should take her to see Doctor Clarkson about it. I'm a little worried about her.'

'She had about three-and-a-half ounces,' He replied. 'I tried to get her to have four but she was having none of it.'

She let out a deep sigh and took one arm from around his so that she could reach out and trace the curve of Evelyn's cheek with the back of her forefinger, her heart fluttering when she smiled in her sleep and cuddled closer to her father. 'You don't think there could be something wrong with my milk and that's why she isn't feeding properly, do you? I know that I eat relatively healthily and whenever I've needed to take medication I've checked with Doctor Clarkson first, but maybe there's something that I've been missing or something I've been doing wrong. I don't know what to do for the best and…and the thought of me being the reason for her not being able to eat well makes me feel so awful.'

'No, I don't think it has anything to do with you or the quality of your milk,' He eased an arm out from beneath their little girl and laid his hand on her knee through his jumper, nothing but love for her in his eyes when she looked at him. 'She was finishing all of her bottles not long ago and as far as I'm aware you haven't changed your diet or done anything out of the ordinary between then and now. One thing that could be to blame for this is the fact that you and I have been a little stressed over the past couple of days and she's been picking up on it. I mean, ever since we decided to come to Scotland we've both been a little busier than usual. You cleaned the cottage from top-to-bottom and we spent so much time packing and trying to arrange care for Bella for the week, so maybe all the stress from that rubbed off on her a little.'

She hummed as she nodded in response. 'You may have a point. Do you mind if I hold her?'

'You're her mummy, I don't mind in the slightest.' He shook his head before allowing her to ease Evelyn out of his arms and into her own.

Shushing her when she stirred at the movement, she held her close to her chest and lifted one hand to stroke her dark wisps of hair before a smile crossed her lips and she leaned back against the cushion when she settled in her arms and curled her fingers into the jumper she wore. 'I don't know how, but being here in the Highlands seems to be doing both her and Addie the world of good,' She kept her voice down, not wanting to wake Evelyn as she turned her head in John's direction and allowed him to put an arm around her shoulders. 'Addie seems to be much more relaxed and she fell asleep so easily tonight and it's the same with Evie. It's usually impossible to put her down for a nap unless she falls asleep on me during skin-to-skin because she just lies there and forces herself to keep awake, but she's been an absolute star all day.'

'It's more peaceful here than it is back in Downton in my opinion and I think the air is better because cars don't come down this way often, so there are fewer fumes and I think that both of those things could have something to do with that,' He admitted while caressing her arm with his thumb. 'It's not just the girls who have been more relaxed since we arrived the other day either, I've been watching you and you seem to be much more settled. Like them, your sleep has definitely improved and that pleases me because I hate seeing you so exhausted all the time. You definitely had the right idea about coming out here, it's helped the three of you more than I thought it would and I think taking Addie to look around Urquhart Castle this afternoon has been my favourite thing about being here so far. She genuinely enjoyed it and I love that.'

Anna laughed. 'On the way home, she told me that she wants to become a princess and live there when she's older.'

'And what did you tell her?' He inquired with amusement in his eyes.

'I told her that it was a lovely idea, but you and I would miss her because she would be living so far away from us and it would be hard for us to find the time to visit,' She revealed while bouncing Evelyn in her arms when she whimpered in her sleep. 'She soon changed her mind.'

He was unable to keep himself from chuckling. 'Never mind. She knows she's still our princess.'

'She does,' She nodded, breathing a sigh of happiness. 'I don't want her to head off to school in September because it proves she's grown up.'

'She has to grow up at some point, sweetheart.' He reminded her.

'I know that, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it.' She pouted.

He kissed her temple before pulling her close and allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. 'Molesley told me that he'll look out for her.'

'He did?' She asked.

'Mmm…' He murmured in response as he buried his lips in her hair. 'He said that he isn't placed on schoolyard supervision often, but when he is he'll keep as close an eye on her as possible to make sure she's settling in and making some friends. He won't allow her to be left out.'

'Oh, that helps to put my mind at rest a little,' She smiled, her attention fixed on Evelyn as she watched her cuddle up to her. 'He's so kind.'

The next couple of minutes passed in silence as the two of them sat with their baby girl and watched her sleep peacefully, but when John felt Anna nuzzle her cheek against his shoulder he could tell that she was becoming tired again and so he pressed a warm kiss onto her forehead. 'I think it might be time for us to head back to bed because we promised Addie that we would take her to Loch Ness for a picnic tomorrow and we both know that she'll be asking if we can leave the moment she realizes that the sun is up. I doubt we'll cope if we're both half-dead.'

Tilting her head back on his shoulder so that she was looking up at him, she allowed him to brush his lips against her own before she lifted her hand to her mouth and yawned into her palm. 'You know; you might have a point. It's been such a long day and I'm beyond exhausted.'

'Come on then,' He took his arm from around her and rose from the sofa before waiting for her to do the same. 'Let's get you to bed.'

Once she had pressed her lips to Evelyn's hairline and readjusted her hold of her, she allowed her husband to wrap an arm around her waist and leaned against him before the two of them wandered out of the sitting room and back up the stairs to bed.

It was late the following afternoon when Anna was sitting at the top of the bank that led down to Loch Ness with Evelyn sound asleep beside her on the picnic blanket, her attention focused on her husband and eldest daughter as she watched them sit by the water and sipped at her lemonade. She knew that she was going to have to go down there in a short while and tell them that it was time to head back to the cottage because they had been out for hours now and she needed to make a start on dinner, but she felt that giving them ten more minutes wouldn't do much harm. When she had finished eating her lunch, Adelaide had asked John if he would take her to sit near the water because she had wanted to look out for the Loch Ness Monster and he had agreed, but as far as she could tell they had stopped looking out for her ages ago.

Adelaide was now curled up in his lap with her head on his chest as she spoke to him and held Winnie the Pooh close to her – it seemed as though that bear came everywhere with them these days – and while he listened to her, John ran his fingers absentmindedly through her red curls. It was such a natural moment between the two of them and it made her heart swell in her chest to see them both having some quality time. He had been ill for so long and that had meant that Adelaide had been unable to spend time with him or even cuddle him and she had underestimated how hard that would be for her to come to terms with. There had been tears and several tantrums and she was positive that there hadn't been one morning when she had woken up to find Adelaide sleeping in her own bed. She had always ended up in bed with her.

It had killed her to know how much their separation had impacted her.

Thankfully though, John was right as rain again now and it seemed as though they had been spending every waking minute together in order to make up for lost time. She didn't mind that though, not when it meant that she was able to sit and watch them share moments like this. She leaned back against the tree behind her and smiled as she watched John lean down so that he could kiss Adelaide on the forehead, a soft sigh escaping her when she heard Evelyn whine beside her and turned her attention to her. 'Hello, sweet-pea…' She whispered when she saw that she had woken up and was staring up at her while she sucked on a pacifier, the love she had for her deepening when she gurgled as she lifted her into the cradle of her arms after putting her glass down. 'I think it might be time for us to head home, my darling, it's getting late.'

When she looked over at John and Adelaide again she couldn't help but think that the two of them had somehow read her thoughts because they were slowly making their way back towards their little picnic set-up. It took them both a couple of minutes to reach her since they had been taking their time so that they could continue talking, but once they were back at the picnic blanket they sat down opposite her and she smiled at them both. 'We need to think about heading back to the cottage soon,' She told John as she watched him pour himself and Addie some iced tea. 'Addie and Evie both need a bath, it's almost time for Evie to have a feed and I need to make a start on dinner if we want to eat something tonight. It's starting to get a little chilly now as well and I don't want either of these two being out any longer than necessary.'

'We'll start packing up as soon as we've drunk these,' He reassured her. 'I'm sorry we left you on your own for so long, we shouldn't have.'

'Oh, don't be so daft,' She tutted at him. 'I was fine here and it was lovely to see the two of you having some alone time.'

'I didn't see Nessie, mummy,' Adelaide told her with a hint of sadness in her voice. 'Pooh didn't either and we really, really wanted to.'

'I'm sorry, sweetheart, would you like to come back for another picnic another day and try again?' Anna asked her with a raise of her brow.

Adelaide looked up at her father as she cuddled up to him. 'May we, daddy? Please?'

'Of course, princess,' He nodded, brushing a curl back behind her ear. 'How about we come back for the afternoon on our last day here?'

'Can Piglet come with us next time? He doesn't like it when Pooh is allowed to come and he isn't.' She told him.

John couldn't help but chuckle. 'Don't you think Nessie might be a little too scary for Piglet? He's scared of a lot of things isn't he?'

'He doesn't get scared when I give him cuddles, daddy, I think he'll be okay.' She patted his knee through his trousers.

'Ah, then I suppose it'll be fine if he comes with us next time.' He told her, caressing her freckled cheek with the back of his free hand.

He felt his love for her deepen when she slid her hand into his and nuzzled her cheek against the back of his palm, the two of them sharing a smile when she looked at him again before she released his hand and crawled into his lap so that she could sit with him. Burying a kiss in the untameable red curls atop her head, he breathed in her natural scent before resting his chin there and looking over at his wife once again. 'I love you…' She told him with her eyes as she cradled Evelyn a little closer to her chest and patted the small of her back through her dress.

'I love you too,' He replied silently. 'So much.'

'This afternoon was perfect…' John whispered into Anna's hair when the two of them were tucked up in bed together that night.

'You had to tell her that the Loch Ness Monster is real, didn't you?' She laughed as she ran her fingers through the coarse hairs on his chest.

'You and I have already had this debate,' He reminded her. 'Nessie is real, you just haven't seen her and so your opinion is invalid.'

Moving into a slightly more comfortable position in his arms, she tilted her head back on his shoulder and looked up at him in silence for a time while he brushed her hair out of her face and caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. 'Have you ever seen her?' She asked him.

'Not with my own eyes, no, but—'

'Ha,' She poked him in the chest, her beautiful blue eyes dancing. 'You don't actually know that she exists, you just want to believe she does.'

'I'll have you know that there's evidence out there that she exists,' He tickled her ribs which caused her to squirm in his arms as she laughed. 'Besides, I've believed in Nessie for four decades now and there is nothing that you can say to me that's going to make me change my mind.'

'Adelaide is determined to catch a glimpse of her before we head home at the end of the week and if she doesn't then she'll be heartbroken,' She pointed out. 'You had better pray that she sees something and believes it to be Nessie because I refuse to sit on a train for hours with a devastated child. I swear, if she comes to me in tears because she still hasn't seen her then I'll make you wish you had never brought her up.'

John raised his brow at her. 'And how do you intend to do that?'

'Well, I could refuse to kiss you.'

'You wouldn't last a day.'

'Fine, I could refuse to let you hold me.'

'You wouldn't last five minutes.'

She huffed in response, but that huff was followed by a quiet squeal as he took hold of her waist beneath the covers and pushed her onto her back so that he could cover her body with his own. 'Let's just face it…' He murmured, his lips mere inches from hers as he used his forearms to lever himself up while she looked into his eyes and tried to catch her breath. 'You're just incapable of resisting me, you always have been.'

'That is not true.' She laughed. 'I'll have you know that I have the power to resist you whenever I choose to do so.'

'Oh, is that right?' He was unable to hide his smirk as he laid his hand on her cheek beneath the curtain of her hair.

He looked at her in silence for a second then before leaning down and ghosting a kiss against her lips, satisfied that his point had been made when her lips parted on instinct and she lifted her hand to the side of his neck. 'That doesn't count…' She panted when he drew back a little.

'No? And why not?' He inquired.

'I said I'm capable of resisting you whenever I choose to do so,' She reminded him. 'And…and I choose not to at the minute.'

'You are a quirky little thing; you do know that?' He brushed his nose against the tip of her own.

'Mmm, but you love that about me and so I don't mind too much.' She beamed, the hand that was on the side of his neck moving around to the nape of it so that she could brush her thumb against the short hairs there and draw him down into a tender kiss. She felt him relax then and she smiled against his lips when he let his thumb dance across her cheek, her love for him deepening when he allowed her to take some of his weight but remained mindful. He was always so cautious around her and even though she hadn't been too fond of his brooding in the earlier days of their marriage she now found it endearing. Even in some of their most intimate moments, he would still be thinking about her comfort more than anything else and she treasured that about him. He was, as far as she was concerned at least, the epitome of a gentleman.

The two of them allowed their slow and tender kisses to continue for quite some time, but just as she was about to trace his bottom lip with her tongue she felt a yawn build up within her and so she broke the kiss so that she could lift a hand to her mouth and yawn into her palm. 'Come on, I think it's time for us to get some sleep,' John eased a fair curl out of her face and tucked it back behind her ear, kissing her on the forehead before he moved from over her and laid back down. Once she had moved closer to him beneath the quilt he encircled her in his arms and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder as he turned the oil lamp down, his heart sinking when she sighed and draped an arm across his stomach to anchor herself to him. 'I know that sigh and I want you to stop thinking like that because you haven't ruined anything.'

'But it's been a month and I know how much we both want this. I…I'm just so tired all the time.' She said into the darkness of the room.

'You're a mother,' He soothed. 'Our girls are beautiful and I love both of them more than I can explain, but they are a handful and all they do is demand your attention from dawn 'til dusk which is why it comes as no surprise to me that you're so exhausted all the time. You never have to apologise to me or feel as though you're ruining things just because you're tired, especially not when it comes to something like this. Your health is so much more important to me than our lovemaking and it would be terrible of me to demand that you let me have my way with you when you aren't feeling up to it. I know that you think that I'm going to get bored the longer I have to wait, but that isn't true at all. I am more than prepared to wait until you feel ready for that and I don't want you to rush into it. I want you to take your time, darling.'

She moved her hand from his waist to his chest and curled the coarse hairs there around her fingers as she looked up at him, her lips curling up into a smile when his hand found her hip through the quilt and he pressed his forehead against hers. 'I don't deserve you.' She hummed.

'Rubbish…' He whispered, dropping a kiss to the tip of her nose. 'You deserve to have all that you desire.'

'Well, that's exactly what I have with you and our girls,' She reassured him. 'The three of you are all that I could ever want or need.'

'And the three of us feel the exact same about you,' He admitted. 'Now, enough talking. Evie will be up again soon and you need your sleep.'

She nodded against his shoulder in silence before cuddling up to him and draping her arm across his stomach again, her nose nuzzling itself into the dip between his neck and shoulder as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to focus on the feeling of him smoothing his hand over her hair. With each stroke, she felt herself becoming more and more settled and it wasn't long until their closeness and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek succeeded in lulling her into a peaceful slumber.

A/N: Thank you all for taking the time out of your day/night to read this chapter, it honestly does mean the world to me. I would be grateful if you left a review if you have the time! I really hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all soon :)