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Chapter 17

When he awoke, his back ached. He twisted slightly and remembered why he was sitting up. Looking down, he found Anna still sleeping against his chest. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Charles glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw it was six in the morning. He groaned slightly, but tried not to wake up his daughter.

He felt helpless. He was her father and he hadn't been able to protect her from the evil of the world. While he didn't know all the details that had happened between Anna and John, he did know that he had judged him rather harshly. In his defense, he knew something wasn't right with Anna and assumed it had to do with John. Now he knew he had read John wrong.

Charles wanted to ask Anna what all had happened, but for now he wasn't going to push her. Just by looking at her, Charles could tell she was fragile. Any pushing and she could break down completely.

Anna shifted and her eyes fluttered opened. For a moment, she looked confused. Then she sat up, wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, and gave her dad a small smile.

"Sorry. How long have I been out?"

"Since last night around 8:30. It's a little after six now."

"Oh, Dad, you should have woken me. Your back," Anna exclaimed.

"Ah now, don't worry about me. You needed the rest."

"I did," Anna agreed. Then her lower lip began to tremble some, as everything flooded back over her. She pushed her lips together to calm them and glanced down at her hands.

"I'm glad you've told us," Charles calmly said to her. "I'm not sure why you felt it had to be a big secret."

Her head shook and tears pooled in her eyes. She hated this. It felt like all she did lately was cry.

"I didn't….I didn't want you to look at me differently. I…I didn't want you to see my shame," Anna quietly responded. She found some dead skin on the side of her thumb and began to focus on peeling it off, so she wouldn't have to look her father in the eyes.

"Anna, there's no shame in this. You did nothing wrong."

Anna's body shuddered. She twisted her lips and slowly pulled herself up from the couch.

"I….I'm going to go shower. Do you need me to help you up?"

Charles shook his head. "No, I think I may need to sit here for a few more minutes."

Anna nodded and walked off to the bathroom. Charles sighed. This was the first time as a parent that he didn't know how to help his daughter.

As he sat on the couch and watched the sun begin to rise, Elsie walked into the room. She had her blue, fluffy robe on and a cup of tea in her hands.

"I told you your back was going to hurt this morning, Charlie," she teased with a wink. "Here's you some tea." Then she pulled some pills out of her side pocket, "And some muscle relaxers."

"Thanks," Charles replied. He took them from Elsie and gratefully put the pills on his tongue, using the tea to wash them down. Elsie sat down next to him, placing her hand on his knee.

"Did Anna say anything to you this morning?"

"No, not really. She's struggling. And I don't know how we can best help."

"Me either."

The two sat in silence for a while, before Elsie got up to start breakfast. She remembered Anna having a dislike for eggs early in her pregnancy and wondered if that was still the case. To be on the safe side, she decided to make waffles with sausage and fruit.

A while later, Charles finally joined her in the kitchen and helped her cut up the fruit for breakfast. The two checked the time and saw it was already close to eight.

"We should probably eat before it gets cold. I'll go check on Anna," Elsie stated. But as she walked over to head down the hallway, Anna stepped out of her bedroom door, dressed up. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she was wearing a blazer.

"Anna, you look lovely," Elsie said, shocked to see her dressed and ready to go somewhere important this early in the morning. "I made breakfast."

"I don't have time to eat," Anna quickly replied. "I texted Mary this morning and told her everything, asking her for advice and the best lawyer. She said she'll represent me, pro bono, and to meet her at her office at 9."

"Well, that gives you time to eat a little something," Elsie stated.

"I'll just grab a bagel on the way."

"Are you sure you should be doing this right now, Anna? It's a Sunday. Can it not wait until Monday?" Elsie carefully stepped on Anna's plans.

"No, it has to happen now. My child has to be protected from him. You don't understand you…." Her breaths began to shorten again. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her chest tightly.

"Alright, alright," Charles cut in. "It's alright. Go and talk to Mary. From what you've told us, she's a very good lawyer."

Anna opened her eyes and nodded. "Thank you. Goodbye."

As Anna left their cottage, both Charles and Elsie met eyes.

"Let's just give her space and hopefully she'll trust to tell us everything that happened between her and John, soon."

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

At nearly 7 in the morning, Mary got a text from Anna. What was strange about that, was the nature of the text. It was something incredibly personal said without any emotion in it. The two were friends, best friends even, and Mary didn't understand why this information had been kept from her or told to her in such a detached way.

It had read, Good morning, Mary. I lied. John is not the father of my baby. Alex Green is. He raped me on the night George was born. Now he's suing for visitation rights of the baby once a paternity test claims it is his child. I need representation. I know you are on leave for a few more months with George. Could you please point me to the best lawyer for this case? Thank you.

To say this text shocked Mary would be an understatement. But knowing her friend and how much she cared for her, all she could reply was that she would take the case. If anyone could win this, it was Mary Crawley. She was known for her stubbornness. It made her a good lawyer.

Walking into Crawley and Crawley, Mary flicked on the lights and began to prepare her desk for her meeting with Anna. She would need to read through the paperwork before giving Anna anything.

Just as she was settling in to her chair, Anna stood at her door. Her face was ashen and she looked as though she was about to cry. Mary got up from her chair and started to walk toward her, but Anna put her hand up to stop her.

"I'm fine," Anna quickly told her. "Here's the paperwork. I'm sure you need to look over it."

Mary nodded. She sat back down in her chair and offered the chair across from her for Anna. Whoever Alex Green had hired knew his stuff. Mary glanced at the lawyer's name and she groaned. It was Richard Carlisle. Of course, just her luck. She quickly covered up her disgust, to not worry Anna, and continued to read over the papers.

"Alright, to start, we're going to say no to the paternity test before the baby is born," Mary stated. "It's unnecessary and carries risks. While the risk is minimal, it's still there. I doubt they will fight that. It could make them look bad. I can also put in place that he's not allowed at the hospital when the baby is born. I will be working up my own papers to send to him. You need to press charges against Alex Green for assault," Mary added.

Anna glanced up and shook her head. "What? Why? I….I don't have any proof. What if….." Anna's words faded.

"We need to establish that he's not a safe person to be around. At minimum, we want him only to be able to see the baby when supervised. If you press charges, we can use that against him. We could also look for patterns. See if anyone else has pressed charges against him."

"O…okay," Anna nervously replied. "I….I don't want him anywhere near the baby. I…."

"Anna, I will do everything in my power to make that happen. Our first steps are postponing the DNA test. I'll contact his lawyer and let him know what we counter with. What's John's address, so I can send you over the next set of paperwork?"

"I…..I'm not living with John anymore. I'm staying with my parents right now," Anna answered.

"And why not?"

"He….he punched Alex Green. Alex is suing him too. Perhaps if John had been able to control himself…"

"Why did he punch him?"

"He was speaking rudely to me," Anna answered. "Pestering us."

"And you are mad at John?"

"Yes." Anna simply answered.

"That seems like a bit of an overreaction, don't you think? Can you blame him for wanting to deck the man that did this?"

Anna pursed her lips together and took in a deep breath, ignoring Mary's questions.

"Thanks for your help, Mary. Truly. I really appreciate it."

Then a beat later, she added, "Could you maybe get Matthew to help John out with his case? He's going to need a good lawyer also."

"Of course."

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

John lifted the sheets up and pulled them off the bed. Throwing them into the laundry basket, he slightly missed and it fell on its side. He sighed.

He was trying to stay in a routine and not focus on the deep ache in his chest as he missed Anna. She couldn't just give up on everything, could she? Tears filled his eyes, once more. He had found himself having to pause and contain his sadness many times all day. He missed her. At least before she had been here, even though she had been angry with him. But now he was alone and worried she wouldn't come back.

His phone rang and his heart skipped a beat. Maybe she was calling him, ready to forgive. But when he glanced at the phone, he saw it was a number he didn't recognize.

"Um, hello?" He curiously asked.

"Hi, John? It's Matthew Crawley," the man said on the other line. Ah, John thought. He knew Matthew of course, but the two were not good friends. They were more like acquaintances.

"Oh yes, hello Matthew."

"Anna had Mary contact me for you. She says you're in need of a lawyer. I've heard all the details. Would you like to come by my office tomorrow, say around noon?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you," Jon quickly said. Hanging up the phone, his heart skipped a little beat. Anna cared enough, at least, to ask for help for him. They weren't completely done yet.

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

A week passed and Anna's parents had walked on egg shells the entire time. It wasn't that Anna would snap at them or anything like that. She was just always on the verge of crying. She tried to pretend she was okay, but they could tell otherwise.

One evening, she sat down across from her parents at the dinner table and picked at her food the entire time.

"Will you tell us how, exactly, John got involved in all of this? Why he pretended to be the baby's father?" Elsie finally asked. Charles shot her a look. But thankfully, Anna just nodded.

"Yes. I….well, when I found out I was pregnant, I originally decided to have an abortion. I asked John to take me. He…he didn't know where he was taking me, but when he got to the office, he figured it out. Then…." Anna continued to give them a rundown of everything that had happened since that day she called John up crying. She explained how he was just going to pretend and play the deadbeat dad so they wouldn't be disappointed in her. Then how they had both had repressed feelings for one another and realized that at the beach. She told them about John offering to be the father and how the two had started officially dating.

"He sounds like a good man, Anna. Why…why are you not with him now? We love having you here, love, but shouldn't you be at home with him?" Elsie questioned.

Anna shifted in her chair, uncomfortably. Then she began to explain what had happened the other night when they both went out to eat. As she explained running back into Alex, a chill ran down her spine. She could feel tears prickling through her eyes.

"So..so you see, if he hadn't punched Alex, he probably would have never done anything. John poked the bear. Don't you understand?" Anna questioned, her lips quivering.

"Anna, don't you think…" Elsie began, but Charles shook his head to stop her. He knew that right this moment, Anna wasn't ready to listen to reason.

"Thank you for dinner. I'm going to go for a walk," Anna said. She stood and placed her plate next to the sink and headed out for her walk.

The area where her parents lived had a small walking path near their home. It walked through the small village of cottages and she always felt safe on this path. She would go outside every evening after supper and clear her head. It was one of the few ways she could ground herself. Every day she felt herself slipping more and more away.

She walked for over an hour. In many ways, she never wanted to return to the cottage. She didn't feel like she belonged anywhere anymore.

But she finally headed back to the cottage as the lights around her flickered and it grew darker and darker outside. As she stepped inside, Anna found her father sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. Her mother was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Mum?"

"In the bath," Charles replied. "Come," he said, patting the couch, "Sit down."

With small steps, Anna did as her father asked. She sat down next to Charles and waited to see what he had to say.

"Anna, when we became your parents, our love for you came very quickly. We felt this fierce need to protect you. At first, we worried we wouldn't be good enough, but…."

"No, you're the best," Anna replied, sincerely.

"Thank you," Charles answered. "You know we love you."

"Yes."

"And you know that John loves you," Charles added. Anna inhaled sharply.

"Dad….you weren't there….he…."

"No, I wasn't there," Charles agreed. "And it's probably a good thing, Anna. I'm not sure I would have been able to hold myself back like John did."

Anna looked away, new tears filling her eyes. Charles reached over and took her hand into his own.

"You've been through more than anyone should, Anna. And I know you are in a lot of pain and are very angry. You have every right to be angry, my dear girl. But I think you are placing your anger on the wrong person, Anna. It wasn't John's fault that Alex Green came after you and the baby."

"I know," Anna cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. She looked back at her father and her breath hitched in her throat. "It…it's my fault. I….I told the girl about him and that….that's what made him mad. It….it's all my fault. I'm going to lose my baby because I….."

"Shh, now, Anna. You did the right thing. It was not your fault," Charles quickly told her. "You aren't going to lose your baby. Your mother and I, John, and Mary won't let that happen. Do you know whose fault this is? Who you really are angry at?"

Anna's head shook, more tears falling.

"Alex Green. He is the only one who is at fault. He is the catalyst of all of this and deep down, you know that."

Anna wrapped her arms around Charles' neck and began to cry against him.

"I feel so lost, Dad. So confused. I….I was so awful to him," Anna sobbed.

"It's okay, Anna. It's alright," he soothed. "If John is the man you say he is, that I believe he is, he won't hold it against you."

Anna sat back and wiped the tears off her face.

"I don't even know what to say to him," Anna honestly told her father.

"Why don't you call him tomorrow? It's already getting late, but call him first thing in the morning."

Anna nodded. She hugged her father once more and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, Anna."

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

Holding her phone tightly in her hands, Anna kept wondering what to say to John. She didn't want to call him right now. He was likely getting ready for bed. But she did want to text him. Say something. Everything she typed felt wrong.

Finally she landed on a simple, I'm sorry, John. I'll call you tomorrow. Text.

Then she went to shower before bed.

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

John climbed into his bed when the phone dinged. He lifted the phone and saw there was a text from Anna.

I'm sorry, John. I'll call you tomorrow.

John sat up. What did that mean? What was she apologizing for? Leaving him? Or was this her way of saying it was over. He wanted to call her, but decided against it. If she was going to call tomorrow, it meant she was likely already in bed.

He sighed.

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

As Anna lifted her nightshirt to come over her shoulders, she winced. Her stomach had cramped. She placed her hand against her belly and the baby kicked. Once again, it cramped. Then suddenly, she began to feel lightheaded and nauseous. Anna went to the toilet and sat down. Going to wipe, she found blood on the toilet paper. Her heart stopped and the cramping began again.

Tears filled her eyes.

She quickly stood and rushed out of her bathroom, into the hallway, and in front of her parents' door. Knocking, she started to feel worse.

"Anna?" Elsie worriedly asked, seeing Anna's cheeks paler than usual.

"I….I don't feel well, Mum. I…..and there was blood. I….I think there's something wrong with the baby," Anna cried. Elsie reached out and placed her hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Alright, dear, let's….let's not panic, okay? We'll get you right to the hospital." Elsie turned her head and called over her shoulder, "Charlie, get dressed. We need to take Anna to the hospital right now."

The three rushed to the car and when they reached the hospital, Anna was so grateful to see Sybil was on call. As the nurse began to rush her back, Anna handed her phone to her mother.

"Call John, please. Please, call John," Anna begged.

"I will. We'll be back there as soon as we're allowed, sweetheart."

The two watched, helpless, as their daughter was taken away. Then, as Anna requested, Elsie called John.

"Hello?" John answered, with slight excitement in his voice.

"John, this is Elsie, Anna's mother. Anna started having some cramping and bleeding; we had to rush her to the hospital. She asked that you would please come."

"I'll be right there."

To be continued...

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