Thank you all for reading and for the reviews! I plan on working on updating my other stories over the weekend. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
It was still and quiet. The only sound John could hear was the ocean's waves against the shore. He had been outside on the porch for over an hour holding a sleeping Anna against his chest. She had her hand wrapped around his upper arm and was clutching onto his sleeve. John brought his hand up to rest on her shoulder and he gently nudged it to try to wake her. She didn't stir.
"Anna," John whispered. At the sound of her name, Anna shifted, but remained asleep. She tightened her hold on his sleeve and curled her body up into a smaller ball against him. John sighed. He hated to wake her, but they couldn't sit outside all night and get a decent night's sleep. He had a long drive to drive them back home tomorrow. He needed his rest.
Realizing she wasn't going to wake up, John shifted her into his arms so he could pick Anna up and carry her to her room. As he stood, he felt his right knee protest against the weight. Many years ago he had been in the army and during that time, he had injured his knee. While medical interventions and therapy had helped him not need a cane, he still struggled when it came to certain tasks. He held on to the side of the condo to keep his balance and worked hard not to drop Anna. Despite all of his movements, Anna didn't seem to notice. He mused that she must be sleeping hard.
As he entered her bedroom, he gently unclenched her fingers from his sleeve and attempted to set her gently onto the bed. Hitting her pillows, Anna's eyes shot open. John chuckled.
"You waited until I got you into bed to wake up, I see," John quietly teased. Anna brought her hand up to her eyes and rubbed them and glanced around the room confused.
"What…what time is it?"
"Nearly midnight," John explained. He went down to her feet and pulled her sandals off, before lifting the covers up and covering her frame. Then he bent down and kissed her cheek. "Now, get some sleep."
He turned and Anna's hand reached out to grab at his wrist. He looked back at her and saw she was sitting up slightly.
"Stay," she asked, her lip coming up between her teeth. John turned his hand so that he could take hers into his own. His finger ran along her knuckles, but he shook his head.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Anna. Your parents are right down the hall," he explained.
"They know how babies are made. It's a little late for that," Anna said, tugging him toward her. "Please lay with me. Hold me."
"Just for a little while," he conceded. Anna's lips curled into a small smile and she scooted over to allow him to climb in next to her. John felt odd getting into her bed. He wasn't sure what they were, what their official label was. He had offered to raise her baby as his own and she had kissed him. But he didn't know what that made the two of them. He knew he loved her. He always had. John's thoughts were interrupted when Anna pulled his arm around her, so that he could spoon her against his chest.
And as soon as he was holding her tightly, she fell right back into her deep sleep. John tried to keep himself awake so he could try to escape in a little while, but he was also taken over by sleep a few moments later.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
When John woke up, the sun was shining brightly in through the window. A low moan left Anna's lips and he turned to see she had rolled away from him at some point in the night. She was lying on her belly with her head tucked slightly under the pillow.
As quietly as possible, John slid out of the bed and grabbed his shoes from the side of the bed. He inched the bedroom door open and left the bedroom on his tip toes. Anna didn't seem to notice him leaving, thankfully. However, as he turned into the hallway, Charles was standing on the other end with a coffee cup in his hand.
John paused. He straightened his back and met Charles' eyes, before swallowing hard. Charles' eyes narrowed and he clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in disapproval. But then he turned toward the main living area and walked away, allowing John to let out the breath he hadn't known he had been holding in.
He rushed to the other hallway and into his own bedroom to pack up his bags for the trip back home. He had to admit that he was going to miss this condo and the beach. The week away had done him some good. Anna was right. Holidays were important to take.
Zipping up his bag, John placed it on the bed. He then did a sweep of the room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, before heading back into the kitchen for breakfast.
Entering the kitchen, he found Anna sitting on the barstool and joking around with her father. A bright grin was on her lips and it made John smile. He was glad to see her happy with her parents and no longer holding the weight of the pregnancy on her shoulders.
With quick steps, he walked up beside her and placed his hand on the small of her back. She leaned back against him and Charles only made a small noise to voice his feelings on the matter. But Anna didn't move from John. She, instead, placed her hand against his hip, pulling him closer to her.
"Good morning," Elsie happily said, emerging down the short hallway. "Final breakfast today. Any requests?"
"No eggs, please," Anna said, finally being able to let them know that the smell made her sick.
"Right, no eggs. Anything else?" John shook his head.
"That's my only request," Anna added.
"Alright, then you both go outside. Enjoy the last bit of the beach, before you have to leave. You have a longer ride today."
Anna and John did as they were told. The two walked back down the path to the beach and they stood at the edge, glancing over the waves.
"Thank you," Anna said, reaching out and taking John's hand into her own. "Thank you for this. For coming with me. For playing the part. For….for telling me the truth about your feelings. All of it."
John folded his hand around Anna's and gave it a slight squeeze. Then he tugged her closer to him, so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. His lips pressed against her temple.
"Thank you for having me come with you," he said into her hair. He felt Anna's body rise as she took in a deep breath and fall as she let it out.
"My….the baby will be lucky to have you as its father," Anna told him. She turned her head so that she could meet his eyes. "Are you sure this is what you want? Everything's happened so quickly. I…"
"I'm sure," John cut in. His hand ran up her arm and rested on her shoulder. "But I don't want to do anything you aren't comfortable with, Anna. It's your child."
"We can iron out the details later," Anna said with a quick shake of her head. "I just want the baby to be loved and safe. Having a named father will help keep it safe," she said. "But….having you is a bonus," she added. "I know things are up in the air right now. By that I mean, what we are or what this is…I just…..I need to take things slowly."
"I understand," John replied. "The last thing I want to do is make you feel pressure of any sort."
"I know," Anna said, her lips turning upwards and into a smile. "I feel safe with you, John. I know that may be a weird thing to hear, but it means an awful lot to me right now to feel safe. You, this place, my parents….well, you are the few things that make me feel that way. I'm frightened, all the time. And I worry about the baby. About him finding out…" Her words trailed away and her lips had fallen into a worried, straight line.
"It's not a weird thing to hear," he assured her. "And I will love that baby as my own. That's a promise. I have no plans of stepping away from that role. I love you. We don't have to define what this is right now. Let's just take it one day at a time and see where it takes us."
"Okay, that sounds perfect."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The final breakfast was bittersweet. Anna kept glancing around the table and at the people she loved and was sad she was going to have to leave today. Once she was back in Downton, she would have to face reality again. While the demons hadn't completely left her alone here, she had felt sheltered from their wrath. But back home, the memories would be everywhere.
She really wanted to put it all behind her. After it had happened, that's what she had tried to do. She had torn the sheets off her guest bed and threw them in the trash bin. Then she closed the bedroom door and refused to go back in there. But she hadn't been able to forget. Fear constantly overwhelmed her that he would return. And when she realized she was pregnant, the fear had only grown.
"Anna?" Elsie's voice broke her from her thoughts. It was then that Anna realized she was staring at her plate and not eating. She glanced up and shook her head.
"I guess I am not ready to leave here," she told her parents.
"Yes, it's always the toughest part of the week," Charles agreed.
"But, your father and I have some news. It's something we have been discussing for a long time."
"News?" Anna asked, her head shifting to the side. "What news is that?"
"We're moving to Downton!" Elsie exclaimed. Anna's lips parted and her eyes widened.
"Wh…what?"
"As you know, your father retired a few months ago. We have talked about moving closer to you. Now that we're about to be grandparents, we want to be nearby!"
Anna shot a look over to John and then back to her parents. Had she heard them correctly? Moving to Downton?"
"But….you've never come to visit me before. What if you don't like it?" Anna asked.
"We've visited you," Elsie disagreed.
"Okay, once, six years ago," Anna replied.
"Your father has always been busy with his job. It's been hard for us to get away, but that no longer holds us back. Don't you want us closer to you? We could help with the baby."
Anna took in a deep breath. "Of course, I do," she said with a forced smile. Any other time and this wouldn't be a lie. She loved her parents. Having them closer would always make her happy. But she worried with them being closer and around more that they would find out the truth.
"It's settled then," Elsie said.
"When would you move?"
"In a few months," Charles added to the conversation. "We have some things to settle at home, but we want to be there before the holidays and before the baby is born."
"Right," Anna awkwardly replied. John brought his hand under the table to rest on Anna's knee. She placed her hand on top of his and gave it a grateful squeeze.
"Right," Elsie repeated, with a bright smile. "Now eat up. You both have a long drive ahead of you."
To be continued...