Author's Note: For the first movie, I wrote a tiny little fic about Anna and Bates spanning the three days of the King and Queen's visit, so I thought it would be super fun to do another one based on the new movie! Until I see the movie on Friday and find out exactly how long Bates is away for, this fic will only be 2-3 chapters long, but it may be longer depending on the duration of the trip. If there are any spoilers in upcoming chapters, I promise to make you aware of them! Happy reading.
"All right. Time for sleep, little man." Smoothing a hand over son's hair as his head rested on his chest, John kissed his crown before closing the book he had been reading and setting it on the bedside table.
"One more?" Johnny pouted as he tilted his head back to look at him.
John shook his head, chuckling, before extracting himself from the boy's arms and rising from the bed so he could lie down and get comfortable. "I love our bedtime stories as much as you do and, usually, I would risk facing your mummy's wrath and read another chapter, but tomorrow is a big day and we all have to be up very early in the morning. Besides, I really don't believe that getting on her bad side the night before I leave for France is going to do me any favours. We want mummy to be happy, don't we?"
Johnny reached for his teddy bear and snuggled beneath the covers, nodding. "Do you have to go?"
"I'm afraid so," John sighed as he perched himself on the edge of the bed once he'd settled down. "You and mummy know that I would never go away without you by choice, but sometimes my work calls for me to do so. Mummy would have to do the same thing if it was Lady Mary going away somewhere too. I promise you though, I am going to be back before you know it and I'll read all the chapters you want. There is, however, a catch. I need you to do something for me while I'm away and it's rather a big job."
"What is it, daddy?" Johnny asked him.
"Until I get home, you're going to be the man of the house and that comes with a lot of responsibility," John explained, pulling the covers further over him when he yawned and his eyes started to grow heavy. "I need you to look after mummy for me and make sure she lets herself rest because I know what she's like. She'll think she can get away with cleaning the cottage from top-to-bottom on her half-day since I'm not here to tell her to sit down, but that's going to be your job. I don't want her to tire herself out."
Johnny thought for a moment. "What if I play trains with mummy? The track takes a long time to build."
"See, I knew I could count on you to have a couple of grand ideas up that sleeve of yours," John smiled, his love for him deepening when he giggled. "I think it really is time for you to get some sleep though."
"Okay," Johnny huffed, his eyes closing when his father leaned down to kiss his temple. "Night-night."
"Night-night, little man. I love you."
"I love you too."
Once he had reassured himself that his son was comfortable and would sleep through 'til the morning, John rose from the bed and reached for his cane before making his way across the room and stepping out onto the landing. He remembered to leave the door open just a crack, something he and Anna had always done for him so some light could get into the room and they could hear him if he woke, before wandering down to their room and smiling when he entered to find her packing his clothes into a case.
"I thought I said that I would do that." He announced his presence as he closed the door behind him.
"You did, but almost nine years of marriage has taught me you always manage to forget something, so I thought it would be safer for me to do it." She replied, folding yet another waistcoat and putting it in.
Making his way up behind her, he propped his cane up against his bedside table and wrapped his arms around her with a kiss to the back of her shoulder. "I know you don't want me to leave." He murmured.
"Don't be silly," She shook her head. "It's not as though it's the first time."
He sighed. "It's the first time since we had Johnny and, forgive me if I'm wrong, I think you're worried."
"I'm not…" She paused what she was doing for a minute, allowing his tie to dangle between her fingers as she stared at the wall. "I'm not worried, exactly, we have a relatively easy little boy and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with him, but I do think some things are going to be more of a challenge with you gone. I'll have to have eyes in the back of my head while I'm making dinner without you here to play with him, he'll get upset because you're not here at bedtime and it…it'll just be hard."
Standing silently with her, he thought about what she said before reaching for the tie in her hand and dropping it onto the bed. He then turned her around, bringing her to face him, before his arms circled her again and his hands roamed over her back when she looked at him. "You know what your problem is, don't you? You don't give yourself enough credit," He told her. "You are a magnificent mother and I have no doubt whatsoever that you are going to be fine without me here over the next couple of days."
"You think so?" She asked while fixing the collar on his nightshirt.
"I have no reason to think anything else," He said. "You need to have as much faith in yourself as I do."
She smiled, resting a hand on his chest. "You know, that isn't the only reason I don't want you to go."
"No?" He smirked with a raise of his brow.
"No," She laughed. "I'm worried I'll be exhausted because I never sleep properly when you're not here."
"Well, that makes two of us," He told her, chuckling. "Let's just hope I don't go to breakfast half-dead."
She looked at him in silence for a moment before the hand on his chest moved to the side of his neck, her thumb brushing lightly against his cheek, and she smiled at him before rising onto her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his. She intended for it to only be a quick kiss, but she couldn't resist slipping her arms around his neck when his hands found her waist and he drew her further into him. Several long, soft kisses later, she pulled back and chewed on her bottom lip, her forehead leaning against his own.
"How about we leave packing that case until the morning and just go to bed?" He suggested gently.
"You know," She hummed, brushing her lips against his again. "I think that's the best idea you've ever had…"
Author's Note: Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I really hope you liked this little piece of Bates family fluff and continue to follow along. Please let me know what you thought with a review and I'll see you all soon!
