A/N: I decided to rewrite this little one shot (I'm also considering rewriting some of my other old ones) because I feel as though my writing style has changed and improved somewhat since I wrote them originally and I want them to be better! Happy reading x
When the bedroom door creaked gently as it opened when she was curled up on her side in bed, her hand tucked beneath her cheek as she laid in silence and stared at the wall, Anna refused to turn over and watch her husband enter the room. She had come upstairs the moment they had gotten home from work and slammed the bedroom door behind her, leaving him standing alone at the foot of the staircase with his hat in hand. In all honesty, she didn't care that she had hurt him.
She was still furious with him.
She understood that he had authority as her husband and she respected his right to put her in her place if the need for him to do so arose, but him snapping at her as though she were a child was where she drew the line. What had come over him over the past couple of days, she hadn't the slightest idea, but he needed to snap out of this dark mood he had gone into and the sooner the better. He'd had no patience with her or anyone else lately and he was just so terribly miserable!
As she listened to the sound of rustling while he removed his uniform and changed into his pyjamas, she closed her eyes and attempted to feign slumber before sighing under her breath with relief when he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. She heard him wind up the alarm clock on his nightstand so that it would wake them at quarter-to-six, just like he did every night, and then the room fell completely silent as he turned down the oil lamp before lying down behind her. Not wishing to have another fight with him about how he had treated her earlier on, she settled down beneath the quilt and hoped that slumber would soon take her, but before it had the chance to do so he wrapped his arm around her waist.
The feeling of him moving closer to her beneath the covers prompted her to open her eyes again and she stared into the darkness of the room, her breath hitching in the back of her throat when he brushed a kiss against the back of her neck and sighed against her skin. 'You're still awake, I know you are,' He whispered as his hand found her stomach through her nightgown and he pulled her back against his chest. 'You can't fall asleep on your right side; you never have been able to. There's a chance that you're not going to listen to what I have to say, and I wouldn't blame you, but I'm still going to say it. You were right to say that I was out of line when we were walking home because I was. I treated you terribly tonight.'
She remained silent as she laid there in his arms and waited for him to continue, a lump coming to her throat when he let his nose bury itself in her hair and she felt him breathe in her scent. 'You did nothing wrong. You were enjoying yourself and just having a bit of fun, like you said, and I should never have snapped at you because you weren't to know that Mrs. Patmore had been taken ill. I should never have snapped at you in front of the servants, at any rate. I didn't come to you with the intention of doing so and I certainly didn't come to you with the intention of embarrassing you, but I just wasn't thinking straight, and it slipped out before I had the chance to stop it. That's no excuse though, I know, and I apologise.'
Once she had allowed him to hold her for a little while longer, she laid her hand over his on her stomach and eased it off before sitting up and carding a hand through her hair. She then took the box of matches from her nightstand and struck one before lighting the candle on her nightstand and propping her pillow up against the headboard. Settling back into it, she pulled the covers further over herself once John had done the same and sighed as she forced herself to look at him. 'You say that I've done nothing wrong and that what happened tonight was practically just you being an idiot,' Her hands twisted in her lap while she spoke to him. 'But I must have upset you somehow because you've been off with me for days.'
'No, my darling, this has nothing to do with you.' He soothed, shaking his head.
'Then what is it?' Her voice trembled. 'Because I find it highly unfair that you're taking it out on me.'
'You'll think me stupid for saying so,' He rubbed at the back of his neck as his gaze fell to his lap for a moment before he looked at her again. 'But I have to admit that I'm jealous of Green. I despise him and I can't stand the comments that he makes and the way he teases you, but I can't help being jealous of him because he's getting so much of your attention at the minute. He sits beside you at breakfast and dinner, he lingers around you whenever you're in the kitchen or the boot room, and it just feels as though you spend every spare moment you have during the day with him. I tried three times to have a word with you this afternoon, but you had walked off with him again before I'd had the chance to open my mouth.'
Her face fell at his revelation, and she was unable to resist the urge to reach up and brush the back of her hand against his cheek as she shuffled closer to him on the bed. 'So, all of this does have something to do with me,' She said in a soft voice while settling down beside him, her hand settling itself upon his chest once it had fallen from his cheek. 'Oh, John, you should have spoken to me about this long before now. I was just trying to be friendly, but if I'd have known that you were feeling as though I was pushing you out and neglecting you then I would have told him that I needed a bit of space. I just assumed that you were all right with it because you never really said anything. I never knew that you felt like this.'
Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him, he waited for her to cuddle against him and start to curl the hairs on his chest around her fingers before turning his head in her direction and kissing her on the hairline. 'I know you didn't and that's why I said that you haven't done anything wrong,' He admitted when her head fell onto his shoulder. 'He knew though, I know he did, and that's what got my goat. I could see it in his eyes whenever we were in the same room. I wanted to kill him because he seemed so pleased with the fact that you had no clue what was going on. He knew that you were oblivious and that I wasn't going to say anything because you were so happy. He has his sights set on you; I can tell.'
'Can you?' She asked. 'I hope you can tell that I'm not interested in him in the slightest, then.'
'You're really not?' The uncertainty was evident in his eyes as he tightened his hold of her.
She shook her head, starting to sit up next to him once again so that the two of them could look at one another properly. 'What possible reason would I have for being interested in him when you already make me the happiest woman on earth? You'll no doubt say that he's younger than you and he doesn't have to walk around with a cane, but neither of those things are an issue for me and you should know that by now. To me, age is nothing but a number, and I don't even have to go into why I don't care about your disability because you already know and you're well aware of how proud of you I am. There is nothing that Mr. Gillingham could ever hope to give me that would make me question my love for you, shall I tell you why?'
'Go on.' He pressed.
'Because, without even knowing it, you've given me the greatest gift that I could ever hope to receive.'
'I don't understand what you mean.'
'Here, perhaps this will help to make things a little clearer for you,' She laughed as she shuffled into his arms once again and settled down, her head finding his shoulder as she looked up into his eyes and took his hand in hers. Taking a breath, she gave herself a moment to calm her nerves before guiding his hand towards her stomach and holding it in place there. 'I'm pregnant. We're finally having a baby; I received a telegram from Doctor Clarkson a few days ago that confirmed it.'
He was silent for a time as he tried to process what she had just said. 'Do you mean it? Are…are we really having a baby?'
'I wouldn't joke about something like this,' She assured him, tears blurring her vision. 'I'm almost three months along.'
'Anna…' His breath trembled as he brushed his thumb against her stomach through her nightgown and looked down at his hand, his heart fit to burst with love for the precious life they had created as he envisioned it growing safely within her body. When he lifted his gaze back to hers, he watched a tear trickle over the curve of her cheek and smiled as he took his hand from her stomach and reached up to warmly brush the tear from her skin. 'Oh, darling, are you feeling all right?'
She nodded. 'I'm more tired than usual and I get little waves of nausea ever now and then, but they're normal symptoms.'
'Is there anything that you need me to do? Because I will, no matter what it is.' He assured her.
'Honestly, the baby and I are absolutely fine for the time being and you have nothing to be worried about,' She soothed, leaning in to brush a kiss against his cheek. 'But, if you really want to do something to help me out, you can hold me while we both try to get a little sleep. Midnight has come and gone, and I'm worn out, so I think it's time for us to settle down.'
'I think you may be right,' He chuckled before allowing her to leave his arms for a moment so that she could blow out the candle on her nightstand. Once the room had been plunged into darkness a second time, he waited for her to snuggle into his side again before putting his arm back around her and kissing her on the hairline. 'I really am sorry for being jealous.'
She sighed against the side of his neck as she draped an arm across his middle. 'No more apologies. Let's leave it behind.'
'Okay,' He murmured, the subtle pull of slumber beginning to take over him. 'You're mine though. I mean that.'
'Always,' She laughed. 'I'll always, always be yours…'
A/N: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this one-shot and I hope you liked it. Please review x
