Thank you all!

Chapter 15

Mary sighed happily as she felt kisses along the side of her neck. Anna's chest came up against her back and her arms went around her middle before a hand snuck down between Mary's legs. Mary widened them as Anna brought her to great heights. When she came down from her high, she turned onto her back and kissed Anna on the lips.

"Well," Mary said, grinning. "That was a lovely way to wake up in the morning."

"I'm glad you thought so," Anna replied. They kissed again. Mary pushed Anna back onto her own back and climbed on top of her. Her hands tugged at the edge of Anna's gown right as she heard a little voice call out.

"Mama! Mama!"

Mary huffed, quickly sliding off of Anna and making sure her gown was pulled all the way down.

"Mama! Mama!"

"Sounds like she wants you," Anna giggled next to her. She reached up, running her fingers through Mary's dark locks.

"But I want you," Mary said in Anna's ear. "I want to devour you, darling."

"I would love that, but I'm afraid our daughter is awake wanting your attention."

Mary grumbled but got out of bed. She grabbed her robe from the chair next to the window and slid it over her shoulders before exiting their bedroom and closing the door behind her. She walked down the long hallway to her daughter's bedroom and peeked inside to find Zoey still sitting in her bed.

"Yes, darling," Mary said, going to sit beside her daughter. "What was all of that fussing about?"

"I had a bad dream," Zoey told her with a frown.

"Oh?"

"Yes! But it's not real is it?"

"I should think not if it was a bad dream. Do you want to tell me about it?" Mary gathered Zoey up into her lap and brushed her hair off her face.

"It can't be real, because you're here. You are here, right?"

Mary furrowed her brows.

"Of course, I'm here, sweetheart. I'm holding you, aren't I?"

Zoey nodded. She rested her head on Mary's chest, hugging her tightly.

"I had a dream you disappeared. Mummy and I searched all over for you, but you were gone. I was so scared."

"Oh darling," Mary murmured, rubbing Zoey's back. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

She held her daughter for several minutes before kissing the top of her head and lifting her off her lap.

"Why don't we go make Mummy something to eat for breakfast?" Mary suggested.

"Do I have to go to school today?"

"Yes, Zoey, of course, you do."

Immediately, Zoey began to cry. She clung to Mary, shaking her head.

"I want to stay with you!"

"Darling, you love school."

Zoey only clung to her mother tighter, begging her to let her go to work with her today.

"All right, all right," Mary finally conceded. "If you really want to, you can stay with me today, but only today, Zo. You need to go school. It's important."

Zoey finally let go of Mary, wiping beneath her eyes and smiling up at her.

"Okay Mama!" Zoey jumped up and took her hand into her own. "Let's go make Mummy breakfast."

Mary took her daughter's hand and they both headed downstairs to find Anna already in the kitchen making pancakes. Zoey bounced up right next to Anna and grinned.

"Mama said I don't have to go to school today!"
Anna shot Mary a look. Mary inhaled sharply.

"She had a nightmare. Just for today," Mary told her. "Back to school tomorrow."

"Right!" Zoey agreed.

Anna still stared at Mary, making her uncomfortable.

"It'll be fine," Mary assured her. Anna didn't respond. Instead, she turned to get back to finishing breakfast.

Once the pancakes were ready, the three of them sat together at the large table. Zoey chatted up a storm, but Anna stayed quiet. Mary was worried she was angry with her for making the final decision about keeping Zoey home. But she couldn't ask her about it here, in front of Zoey.

"Why don't you go wash up," Mary told Zoey. Zoey did as she was asked and left the room, leaving Mary and Anna alone. "I know you're angry," she whispered to her wife.

"I'm not angry," Anna whispered back. "I just know that now she's going to be difficult every morning since you let her not go to school today."

"No, she won't. She promised she wouldn't."

"Mary, she's five."

"But you didn't see her this morning, Anna. She was so upset, not wanting to be apart from me. She said in her dream I had disappeared. She couldn't stop crying. What was I supposed to do?"

Anna's face softened and she let out a low breath.

"I don't know. I guess I can't say I wouldn't have promised the same way."

"Why do you think she's worried about losing me, Anna? Do you think it has to do with the baby? That I'll stop loving her when the baby is born? Have I done something that could have made her think that?"

"Oh Mary, absolutely not!" Anna said, reaching out to Mary's hands. "You love our daughter with every fiber of your being. I know that and she knows that. Maybe the baby does have something to do with it, or perhaps it was only a bad dream."

"I don't want her to ever think I don't love her."

Anna caressed Mary's cheek with her thumb.

"She won't," she promised.

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

Zoey thrived being with Mary all morning. She listened intently to all of Mary's instructions and made sure to remain quiet if her mother had an important phone call.

"Why don't we go to Mummy's office and see if she'd like to eat lunch with us?" Mary suggested to their daughter.

"Yes!" Zoey agreed.

They walked the long path from Mary's office to Anna's at Downton. When they finally reached her office, they found it was empty.

"She must be in a meeting," Mary said.

"She went to lunch," John said, walking up from the opposite direction.

"Lunch?" Mary asked.

"Yes, um," John began awkwardly. "With her mum."

"Oh," Mary murmured. With all the upset that morning, Mary had completely forgotten today was the day Anna was meeting with her mother for lunch. She hated she hadn't come earlier to see how Anna was feeling about it all."

"Zoey, shouldn't you be at school?" John asked Zoey with a twinkle in his eye. Zoey swung Mary's arm with her own and smiled brightly.

"Mama let me stay with her today! Special Zoey and Mama Day, Uncle John!"

"Ah, how special. Be good for your mum. I have to get to your father's office. Have a good lunch."

They waved goodbye to John, and Mary remained in the doorway to Anna's office. She felt a heaviness grow in her chest, wondering how it was going. To be honest, she wasn't thrilled about any of it. She knew about Anna's past and what that woman had put her through. It was hard for her to play the supportive wife in this situation when she wanted to say absolutely do not let this woman back into her life. But she kept her thoughts to herself, for now anyway.

"Can we go eat now?" Zoey asked, interrupting her thoughts. Mary smiled down at her.

"Absolutely."

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

Her mother was fifteen minutes late which made Anna's stomach have plenty of time to tie itself into knots. She had about given up on her mother showing up when she saw her stepping in through the front door of the pub. Anna inhaled sharply before standing and waving her over.

Her mother came over and stood in front of her. They both stood there not sure of how to act with one another. Her mother brought her arms out, as though she might hug her, but Anna slid back into her seat. A small look of disappointment went over her features before she sat down across from Anna.

"I'm so glad you agreed to lunch," her mother said.

"I do hope I'm making the right choice here," Anna replied. Her mother frowned.

"You are. I live just about ten minutes away from Downton Abbey, where I know you work."

Anna furrowed her brows. Ten minutes.

"How long have you lived here?"

"Oh, just a little while. I had been trying to figure out how to contact you when I spotted you in the shop the other day."

"Hum," Anna murmured. She glanced down at her hands, not knowing what else to say.

"Your daughter is so beautiful, Anna. She looks so much like you," her mother said.

Anna smiled at that.

"Yes, she is beautiful. Zoey is my world," she brightly told her. "I nearly died having her."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It was a high-risk pregnancy all around, but worth it, because now we have Zoey."

"Will you have more children with that…oh, what is the father's name?"

"Zoey doesn't have a father. She has a sperm donor, John. He's been a part of Zoey's life as an Uncle, but he is not her parent. I am her mother and so is Mary," Anna said pointedly.

"Right, of course."

Anna sighed.

"Why did you move here?" she asked her mother.

"I told you I moved here to be closer to you and Zoey."

Anna picked at the edge of her thumb and took in a deep breath.

"But why? I haven't spoken to you in years. You aren't a part of my life."

"Well, I wasn't, but now I would like to," her mother said. She reached across the table toward Anna's hands, but Anna pulled her arms back.

"I don't know," she whispered. "You took his side."

"Anna," her mother breathed. "It wasn't like that. I didn't have any options. I was trapped. Can't we put that all in the past and start over? I want to get to know you again, know my granddaughter."

"Every day I look at Zoey and think about how I would choose her. There is absolutely no question in my mind that I would," Anna said. "So, I will never get it, Mum. Never."

"I'm sorry, Anna. Truly, I am. Please, give me another chance. We can do it slowly, just lunch here and there. But I would love to get to know Zoey too. She is my granddaughter."

Anna took in a deep breath.

"She has grandparents," she answered back, intentionally wanting to hurt her mother. She glanced up. The moment she saw the hurt on her mother's face she felt guilty. "But I guess there could be room for one more." Her mother's face brightened. "I still am not sure about it. If I let you near Zoey, it will be in public places. You will not be allowed to be alone with her and you will not be allowed to bring anyone with you."

"Of course, but eventually, maybe she can come over to…."

"No," Anna strongly stated. "She will never stay alone with you. Ever. Even if there was an emergency, she has other grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so many other people who could take care of her. If you want to be in our lives, you have to accept my boundaries."

"Right, yes, I…I understand."

"I'll speak with Mary about it tonight," Anna added. "Zoey is her daughter too."

Her mother twisted her lips.

"All right," she said.

"But this will be slow. I don't know if I'll ever completely trust you, Mum. I'm only doing this because you are my mother and I am also a mother. I'd like to believe you when you say you're sorry."

"I am, Anna, truly, I am."

"I guess we'll see."

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

Her lunch with her mother lasted over an hour. By the time it was over, she was too burnt out to return to work. With a quick text, she told Mary she was heading home early and that she had a headache.

As she walked back to her car, she stopped outside of a boutique with a baby pram in the window. After Zoey grew out of her pram, they'd given it away, as well as all of the other baby items they didn't keep for keepsakes. She walked inside the boutique and looked around at the different baby items. This pregnancy was so different than the one she had with Zoey. It was so different being the parent on the other side, but still just as exciting. She lifted a small packet of dummies.

"Are you having another baby?"

Anna turned and saw her mother was there. She quickly set the package down on the table.

"Mum, were you following me?"

"No, no," she quickly said. "I was walking around to do some shopping and saw you through the window again."

"Oh."

"So are you?"

Anna ran her finger over a soft blanket.

"Yes, Mary and I are having another baby."

"Oh, well you look amazing."

"Mary is having this one," Anna said, not missing the look that went over her mother's face. "Mum, if you can't accept who my wife is and who my family is then you shouldn't be here around me."

"What? Of course, I do. That's lovely, exciting, really."

"Well, I should go," Anna said, ready to be home. She hadn't expected two meetings with her mother today, especially not one after the other. "Goodbye, Mum. I'll message you later."

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

"I'm guessing it went poorly?" Mary asked when she got home and Zoey ran up the stairs. She sat down next to Anna at the island in the kitchen.

"Why do you say that?" Anna asked, turning her spoon around in her tea.

"You didn't come back to work, said you had a headache, and then I haven't heard from you the rest of the day," Mary said. She scooted closer to Anna, rubbing her back. "You know you can tell me anything."

Anna nodded.

"I know. I honestly don't know how it went. It was difficult," Anna said, "just seeing her." Anna rubbed her temples. "But she is my mum and I don't know…"

"What did she say?"

"She said she was sorry. She said she wanted another chance."

"And what did you say?"

"Maybe," Anna answered. "She wants to have a relationship with us, but I do think you should have some say, at least when it comes to Zoey."

"I'm not sure," Mary said. "Do you really trust her to be around our daughter?"

Anna's head fell into her hands.

"I don't know. I think if we did let her near Zoey, it would have to be somewhere out in a public space. I don't want her to let Zoey down, but if she really has changed then are we hurting Zoey by not letting her have her grandmother in her life?"

Mary sat back and pondered what her wife said as she continued to rub her back. There was a lot she wanted say, but knew she couldn't. Anna was already struggling with all of these new emotions being stirred up and it wouldn't be right of Mary to tell her how she should feel about it or react to it.

"What if we all went together for coffee or something? I would like to be there too, if Zoey is there."

Anna didn't respond. Instead, she leaned her head on Mary's shoulder. Mary combed her fingers through her wife's hair.

"And you don't have to do anything yet, either," Mary added. "You don't owe her anything. It should all be done on your terms."

"Thank you," Anna whispered. "Thank you for being there and understanding."

"Of course, darling."

Anna sat up then, looking Mary in the eyes. Her brow rose.

"Now, what was that this morning about devouring me?"

Mary grinned.

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I? As soon as Zoey is in bed tonight, I plan on doing just that."

To be continued...