Disclaimers: Most of the dialogue is from the episode. I don't own The Ghost Squad or Downton Abbey. I don't own the characters either. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Anna had just finished her shift late in the afternoon. She got rid of her uniform as soon as she could and let her blond hair loose. This day couldn't have been slower. All she wanted was to wrap herself in a plaid watch her comfort series and eat chocolate. But she knew if she did that, she would begin to crumble and cry and she wouldn't be able to stop. She wouldn't have the strength to go back to work and face O'Brien or Carson.

So instead, she decided to head to a pub, a little bit more animated than the one John used to frequent. She needed the noise to not think too much about him and what they had said to each other.

Anna was in her thoughts and didn't see the clock ticking. It was now getting dark out there, she would need to go back to her place. It felt so lonely… But during this long reflection, she decided she would hand her resignation to O'Brien. She felt she didn't understand nor agree with their special unit. She didn't know if she still wanted to be a copper after all. She would have to think about it, but right now, she needed to get out of this dreadful job.

As she finished her drink, someone called her out.

"Anna? Is that you?"

She turned around and saw a tall brunette accompanied by a blond man.

"Mary? Oh my god!"

She got up from her chair and they hugged. Mary Crawley had been her best friend since high school before she enrolled in the police force and Mary went abroad to study. She end her family had been there for her when her parents had tragically died when she was a teenager and they had taken her in and cared for her as if she was one of their own. She had been dying to get back in contact with her best friend, but her work had gotten busier and busier each day. She had no idea Mary was back home.

"I didn't know you were back home!" she told the brunette.

"I just came back a week ago. I've missed you so much," she told her, squeezing her hand.

The blond man who had stood a little behind to let them reunite cleared his throat.

"Oh, Anna, this is Matthew, my fiance."

He extended her his hand and she shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Matthew. I'm Anna Smith."

"The Anna Smith? Mary has told me so much about you! I'm honoured to finally meet you."

"I feel it's been ages since the last time we saw each other, but you haven't changed at all Anna," Mary said, looking at her.

"About five years, I think? I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner…"

"Nonsense! You're not alone in this. We have so much to catch up on!" Mary then turned to Matthew, holding his arm and a smile grew on her face. She turned back to Anna, with a glint in her eye.

"You could come to the Abbey tonight for dinner! Papa has invited us over and I'm sure he'd be delighted if you could join us, like in the good old time!"

Anna hesitated a little at her proposal.

"I wouldn't want to intrude, I'm sure you're here to have a lovely time with Matthew and show him around where you grow up."

"You wouldn't, on the contrary," Matthew spoke up. "I would love to learn to know you. You are such a big part of Mary's life."

"That's settled then," said Mary. She took Anna's arm and they went all three together.

Anna didn't know what to expect at first, but when she saw Robert and Cora, she felt welcomed and at home once more. Even if years had passed without seeing one another, it was as if their relationship had stayed the same. They had talked and laughed at dinner, reminiscing about Mary's and Anna's teenage years. Anna learned that Mary was now a lawyer and it was how she had met Matthew. They wanted to open a new law firm here in Downton. Anna told them a bit about her time in the force here and the atrocities she had witnessed. They all agreed that the system was broken.

Later on, Robert and Matthew went to the living room. Mary and Anna stayed in the kitchen to talk a bit more privately together.

"So, I didn't want to say it in front of everyone, but I can sense something is wrong Anna. What is it?" Mary asked, making them some tea.

"I just had a rough time at the station… One of our colleagues was attacked by a gang of youngsters and is now in a coma at the hospital." Tears formed in her eyes. Mary reached out to her and squeezed her arm.

"I'm so sorry, Anna, it must have been horrible." Silence fell between them for a few seconds.

"Are you still in this "secret" special unit?" Mary whispered to her. Mary was the only one who knew about that.

"Well, about that…" Anna started. "I think I'm gonna hand in my notice. O'Brien is just a cruel, greedy bitch. I've had enough of her. I don't think I believe in it anymore. I've been here to investigate a Sergeant Officer. There was suspicion of him being abusive. I did my job and got to know him. By the time I had solved the mystery and realised he was the only person fighting for everyone, sacrificing himself for others, I had pushed him to his limits. The pressure the gang put on us was too much and because of me, he did something that Jimmy photographed." Anna stopped to take a shaky breath, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I had a brave, innocent man be fired."

Anna told more details to Mary about the girls and how everything started. She listened to her, without interrupting her or pushing her and Anna was very grateful to her for that.

"Where is the justice?" Mary then said, shaking her head, once anna was finished with her tale. "That's why Matthew and I wanted to come back here. Maybe we could help with that."

Anna gave her a small smile.

"So, did you kiss him?" Mary asked.

Anna's cheeks turned pink and looked at her with shock.

"Who?" she tried to fool her.

"Don't try that with me, Anna May Smith. I know you too well. The way you've been talking about him, I know you feel something for him, whoever he is."

"Once…" she grumbled.

"Woohoo!" Mary exclaiimed. But then she saw Anna's face. "Why are you so gloom about it?"

"He says he doesn't want to hurt me, and if he stayed with me he would. So it's over before it even started."

"Men!" Mary scoffed. "All the same. They think they always know better than us. Matthew was the same at first, but I made him see what was right in front of him. Don't give up hope, Anna."

In the other room, the phone rang.

"WHAT?" Robert yelled on the phone. "I'm coming right away!"

He entered the kitchen to inform Mary.

"I need to go to the hospital, it's Bates, he had an accident."

"Bates?" asked Anna in shock.

"Yes, John Bates, Papa's best friend. He saved his life a long time ago. Why?" Mary informed her, confused.

Anna's world collapsed around her.

"It's him, Mary. He's the Sergeant I told you about."

Mary's face blanched.

"Can I come with you?" Anna asked Robert, adrenaline taking over after the shock.

"Sure, let's go."

Robert, Mary, Matthew and Anna were in a waiting room at the hospital, waiting to hear from a doctor. It turned out that Robert was John's legal next of kin since he had no other family left except for his mother who was in Glasgow, too old to travel.

Matthew proposed to go fetch them so coffee at the machine. Robert was so anxious he kept walking in the hall, incapable of staying still. Mary was sitting next to her, holding her hand.

Then a doctor came up towards them, wearing a surgical blouse.

"How is he?" said Robert, jumping to his feet.

"Are you Mr Crawley?" she asked him.

"Yes, I am! How is Bates?

"He just went out of surgery, he's stable now." Anna and Robert both escaped a sigh of relief. "His right lung has been lacerated, that is why we had to operate on him urgently. Mr Bates also suffers from a mild concussion on the head. He has also a couple of broken ribs, but it should resolve on its own. His knee, on the other hand, will have to be operated on once we're sure his lung is doing alright. We don't know yet the full extent of the damage. We will have to wait till he wakes up to be sure Mr Bates's concussion isn't more serious than it appears to be."

"But, what happened?" asked Anna, confused.

"Mr Bates was riding his bike on the A59 towards the North-West exit of the city when a bus cut his road. They collided and he was ejected from his motorbike. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, otherwise, he might be dead."

Anna contained a sob and a tear ran down her cheek at the thought of it. Mary came beside her and took her in her arms to support her.

"I'm afraid his blood alcohol level was higher than the drink-drive limit."

Anna clenched her jaw.

"Thank you, doctor," said Robert, not surprised. "When will we be able to see him?"

"He's in post-surgery right now. We'll come to get you when he'll be back in his room."

"Thank you," the three of them said together.

Anna sat down on her chair, looking into nothing. What was he doing on the A59 at this time of night? Where was he going?

She felt anger rising in her. Why did he have to drink so much? He had almost killed himself tonight! Hot tears streamed down her face. Everything in her needed to see him. She had to know he would be alright.

Oh no! John is in the hospital! How will he react when he wakes up?