Darkness kept them covered as they snuck up to Anna's borrowed room. They ducked into an alcove to avoid being spotted but forced themselves to cover laughter at the sight of two shadows snogging each other. A distraction that gave them time to slip through the ajar door, but not before John recognized the stern planes of Mary Crawley's face and the softer tones of one he thought might be Matthew Crawley's. But Anna's tug on his shirt sleeve had him through the door before he dared risk confirmation.

The moment the door closed the sounds of the party below muffled. Unlike the stifling sanctuary of his car, this space offered a more profound silence. A muted atmosphere that allowed John to close the distance between them just to caress Anna's skin.

In the times they came together before it was a desperate meeting. A furious combination of excitement, an override of better judgement, and the brush of the unknown. Swift, not as sure, and certainly not as solemn.

But this was not solemn either. This was smooth and calculated. Moves and touches, teasing touches that hitched breaths, quickened heartbeats, and forced them closer as if personal gravity would not allow them to stand so far apart any longer. Even if that space was less than a hand length, it was too much.

They obeyed the pull. Neither of them in a state not to, as it happened, but both more fully aware of where they stood now than before. In a borrowed room, on potentially barrowed time, and with borrowed accouterments they moved with caution as their fingers flitted and lingered where they might have missed in previous adventures. Closing the distance, brushing closer, and finally too close to do anything but face one another.

"Do you want the light?" John could not force his voice louder than a whisper, as if to do so would break the binding of the Universe keeping them there… Or let anyone known they snuck up to Anna's room.

"No." Her voice, no louder than his own, brushed against slightly exposed skin he only just managed to realize she exposed with deft fingers pulling his shirt his buttons loose. "I don't want to share this with anyone."

"Nervous they'll care?"

"I don't want to give anyone anything to talk about." Anna turned her head up and in the low light John almost did not make out the details of her face. "I want this to be ours and no one else's. Something only we know."

"I think I can manage that." John's voice sighed at the end of his statement as Anna's fingers spread over his chest, the tips of her nails barely scoring his skin but leaving enough of a presence to tantalize him with more. "I don't want to share it with anyone else either."

"Good." Anna's finger stopped, barely tugging the tails of his shirt from his trousers. "Do you want me to continue?"

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

Anna's tongue ran over the tips of her teeth, leaving John shivering under her fingers as they moved farther and farther up his chest to leave him more and more exposed until his shirt hung under his jacket. "You're at my mercy then?"

"Whatever you want."

"I think I want you to tear this dress from me." Anna's hand flattened on John's chest, stopping his forward momentum only a second after what he took to be her invitation was issued. "But not yet."

"You've got a plan in mind?"

"Several I'm already playing as scenarios before I discard them for better options." Anna's eyes moved over John, her chest rising and falling so as to push her already damaged bodice more askew and give John a hint of the black lingerie beneath her dark blue dress. "The first one being having you strip for me."

"You're sure you could handle that?"

"I think we'd be better off taking things a bit more slowly than we have in the past." Anna teethed her lower lip and John bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself making a sound. It was too early to give up whatever tiny patch of ground he still held in the game she played. He would surrender it later. "And that means I have to satisfy myself with watching."

"Why?'

"Because if I touch you, I'll just have you take me against the wall again and I'm not in the mood for that just yet." Anna grinned at him before stepping back to sit on the edge of her bed. She crossed her legs, letting the silky material of her dress drape down her legs. "At your leisure, Mr. Bates."

It took all the years of John's training to try and keep his composure. Not that Anna seemed to mind when he fumbled on buttons or buckles, thoroughly enjoying watching him literally squirm under her appraising eye, but each shift she made had John almost beside himself to end what he considered cruel and unusual punishment. Especially when Anna spread her legs just enough to slip her hand under the slit of her dress and place it where John knew she no longer wore knickers. Knickers he knew were still on the floor of his car.

But he left his trepidation behind him with the last divestment of clothing- a rather inelegant flick of his sock- that had Anna eyeing him almost desperately. John closed the distance and bent down before risking going on his knees in front of her. "What else do you want?"

"I want you to finish what I started." Anna moved back onto the bed and John maneuvered forward to take his place between her open legs.

The skirt of her dress slid through his fingers as he shifted it over her legs and up to her waist. His hands smoothed over her legs, drawing one over his shoulder as he urged Anna to the edge of the bed. When she complied John set a single kiss just above where her skin already swelled and glistened with the evidence of the efforts of her fingers. Then it was the scrape of her nails in his hair that guided John in finishing her as Anna requested.

And he proved an obedient servant to her desires. The dig of her heel in the middle of his back had John digging his tongue deeper inside her. When Anna's nails sunk into his scalp, John sucked hard at her clit as his fingers scissored inside her. And as Anna's voice rose higher in her struggle to fully fill her lungs, John ran his tongue through her folds before nipping just above her sensitive bundle of nerves. That was all it took for Anna's body to tighten and tense about him until her muscles quivered with the effort before releasing with a gasping sigh.

John drew back, dragging his tongue and fingers slowly from her, and waited for Anna's leg to ease from his shoulder before he rose on his own shaking legs. Anna's hand grabbed for his and dragged him over her as she sagged back into the mattress. He only smiled to herself as Anna tried to form words before satisfying herself with kissing him.

It took her a moment to break the kiss and finally speak. "I'd like you to tear this dress from me now."

"Happy to oblige." John's fingers ran over the bodice and traced the stitching to the zipper at the back to yank it down and strip Anna to her lingerie… Or what was left of it. "I do feel bad."

"Why?"

"The effect of this," John ran his finger over the cups of Anna's bra as he kissed the valley between her breasts. "Would've been better if I hadn't torn your knickers away in the car."

"They served their purpose." Anna's knee notched over John's hip to drag him closer to her. "Now please serve yours."

John took Anna's mouth in a kiss as his hand went to her thigh. They adjusted together, determined not to cease their kiss to worry about the mechanics of angles, and came together. It broke their kiss as they both gasped for breath but John groaned first. And when Anna's nails dug into his arm, her neck arching back as John reseated himself inside her, John took her in another kiss.

It took them time, shifting over the bed to ensure they did not tumble over the edge or hit the headboard, but they found a rhythm. One that had the bed squeaking slightly but they ignored it. Ignored it as they tried to claw closer to one another and finally released together.

John sagged back, catching himself before he fell off the side of the bed, and shifted to put himself on his side next to Anna. Her chest rose and fell, still encased in her bra, and finally anna turned to him. "You're rather impressive you know."

"I'll take that lovely compliment and raise you a rather impressive display yourself." John moved, noting the dress on the floor. "Although I didn't quite tear your dress off you."

"You fulfilled my demands." Anna rolled onto her stomach and lifted herself to her knees to unhook her bra and toss it away. "That's all I required."

"Then I'm grateful I could satisfy your needs." John adjusted on the bed again, stopping himself as it squeaked. "I hope they kept the music up loud."

"Worried someone heard?"

"If they did and they come looking for the source this isn't ours anymore." John leaned over, tracing a finger down Anna's arm. "That'd spoil it a bit for me, being honest."

"Me too." Anna relaxed back into the bed. "But it'd be a little worth it."

"How so?"

"Because I'm sure the person who'd come to find us would be Mary and then I'd get to mention her snogging Matthew's brains out in the corridor."

"You noticed that?"

"I notice a great many things." Anna lifted herself up slightly, her smiling widening as she looked at John. "Like how I don't think you're finished."

"I am lying next to a dramatically beautiful woman who is, tragically, missing all of her clothes." John shrugged, "I couldn't be less enticed if you tried."

"Good thing I don't feel like trying." John watched Anna slide off the bed and move to the French doors, opening them as she slipped a sheet from the end of the bed to wrap around herself before going through them.

John waited a few moments before getting off the bed and pulling a blanket around himself. He shivered as he followed Anna to the balcony and stared down over the side at the parked cars below. "I do hope you're not thinking about jumping from a great height."

"Never." Anna leaned over the railing. "I just admire the view. It's something I never really got at my hotel and I definitely don't have at home."

"You've got a home?"

"In Yorkshire." Anna nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm almost never there though, since I'm usually working."

"I didn't realize there were that many serial killers to hunt down."

"There are more than you think but less than you fear." Anna sagged a little, a shudder running through her. "It's what makes this case so difficult."

"Because it's personal?"

"Because we haven't caught him yet. The longer it takes to get him the more chance there is he'll kill more people. That kind of situation usually only escalates until they disappear or he ends up dead."

"Is that so bad?" Both John and Anna jumped as they turned together toward a corner of the balcony where Talbot stood. He mocked a salute with two fingers before tucking his hands into his pockets. "He's better off dead and we're all better for it too."

"Did you just…" Anna checked over the side of the balcony, leaning over with one hand on the railing and the other holding the sheet to her. "Did you just climb over the balcony?"

"Not just."

"Oh my gods." Anna straightened and put a hand to her face, dragging it down before facing Talbot. "Why couldn't you just be normal and use a door? Or maybe give me a call ahead of time?"

"If I used the door then people would know I'm here and I don't have an invitation to this party. More to the point," Talbot raised a finger. "I don't want anyone to know I'm here. So I scaled up to your balcony."

"How do did you know which room was hers?" John stepped forward and Talbot turned to him.

"Because I'm observant." He smiled, winking at John. "Good to see you again."

"Good to see me again?"

"I think."

"You think?"

Talbot only shrugged before flinching as Anna punched him in the shoulder. "What the hell?"

"How could you be so stupid?"

"There are a number of reasons for that." Talbot massaged his shoulder. "But what are you talking about right now?"

"I'm talking about what you're doing here, on my balcony, right now."

"If you're worried that I heard or saw anything I didn't. And even if I did, it wouldn't be anything I've never seen before."

"Charming." Anna folded her arms over her chest and John tugged his blanket tighter about himself. "What do you want Henry?"

"I need your help."

"You're shitting me."

"Not at all." Talbot paced a moment before pointing at Anna. "We've worked together in the past."

"Not like this we haven't." Anna shook her head. "And especially not since I'm here on official business. Contracted business and you're here on…"

"A kind of official business."

"I'm sure there are some violations in the business you have going on." John muttered but Talbot only offered another shrug.

"Protocols are made to be broken sometimes."

"I'm not hearing this." Anna put a hand to her forehead for a moment before looking at Talbot. "There are times I wish I relate to your situation but only a dumbass like you could do this."

"Do what?" Talbot looked to John but he only shook his head in confusion.

"Be this big of an idiot."

"That's a little harsh." Talbot studied them both, "But you have a lead I need to track down Green."

"We're not helping you." John went to stand in front of Talbot.

"It wasn't really a request." Talbot put a hand to John's chest as the other flicked out a knife. "This is going in Alex Green's body somewhere and you're going to help me do that."

"No, I won't."

"Then I guess-"

"No knives." Anna knocked it out of Talbot's hand, sending it skittering across the tiles of the balcony. "Remember what happened last time?"

"My knee still twinges in the rain so yes, I do."

John looked at Anna but she waved it off. "Henry, we can't help you."

"What if it meant saving more people? What if it meant that people wouldn't die because some psycho decided he liked exercising power over people?" Talbot eyed them both. "What if we could stop this before the legal process mucked it all up, doing what they always do when they let people like this off on cases because they've got money or connections or something a doctor wants to diagnose and study so no one gets real justice?"

"That's not up to us." John swallowed as Talbot scoffed at him.

"Maybe it should be. Because then, maybe, the world would be a better place and fewer horrible people would live in it."

"Still not our decision to make mate."

"Suit yourselves." Talbot eyed them both before shaking his head. "But I think you're making a big mistake."

"I think the same about you." John watched Talbot jump over the balcony railing before shaking his head. "Show off."

"He's just invested."

"And a little psychotic."

"That's a bit of a requirement for the job he has to do but he's a good person."

"You just knocked that," John kicked the knife away with his foot. "Out of his hand. And I'm pretty sure he was threatening me with it."

"He was certainly threatening you with that." Anna took a breath. "But he wasn't wrong. Not totally."

"I don't think he is totally wrong either." John shrugged, "But that only makes it harder to say no to him."

"Or not let him do what he wants."

"It is a shame." John shivered under the blanket. "And so's the cold. How are you not freezing? You're in a sheet!"

"I guess I'm built stronger than you." Anna winked at him. "But that's beside the point and I want to forget that he was waiting out here on the balcony for us."

"Hence the idea that he's psychotic." John took Anna's hand, spinning her in a momentary twirl. "But, if he didn't completely kill the mood, I'd like to take you up on the offer you posed before our evening took a turn for the very odd."

"Would you now?"

"Yes." John took both of Anna's hands. "Before we get too frozen for me to consider it as a possibility."

"Do you have a location in mind?"

"Right here." John opened his blanket to wrap it around Anna, holding her close. "It may not be very romantic but-"

"It's romantic enough." Anna tugged John closer to her, backing up to the railing. "Given we're both freezing our asses off I don't mind if it's not as glorious as your earlier display."

"No?"

Anna shook her head, "I don't plan on dying of hypothermia out here so I'd prefer if you could make this as pleasurable as you can in the few minutes we have before neither of us can feel our toes."

John tucked the edges of the blanket around his fingers to keep it in place as he pulled Anna closer to him. They even managed to tuck most of her sheet under her as he lifted her onto the railing. It did not shift or complain as Anna's weight rested there and allowed John to step into the cradle of her legs.

Because he held the blanket around them both, that left Anna's fingers occupied between them as John tried to steer their kisses. Kisses that grew more desperate as his feet shifted on the cold tile and Anna moved closer to him. And despite the shift of the blanket, the chill of the air around them, the heat between them provided more than enough incentive to continue until they wrapped around one another again.

They shifted and struggled, losing their rhythm a few times as they tried to keep their voices down when noises below them signaled cars driving away. Anna's deft fingers, almost immune to the cold, continued to work as John moved his kisses to her neck and breasts. And he barely covered the grunt of his finish there before trying to mask Anna's with a kiss. They paused, caught together in the aftermath as they waited for sounds below them to continue, and sighed together.

"Shall we go back inside now?"

"Please, before we both freeze." John lifted Anna, her legs tightening around his waist, and carried them back to the bed. He even managed to close the French doors before they curled closer to one another on the just large enough bed. "I'll add that to my list of firsts with you."

"What's life without a little risk?" Anna tucked herself next to John. "I always feel a little… more myself with you."

"Really?" John tipped his head toward her but Anna only nodded against his chest, not looking up at him. "Why's that?"

"I don't know." Anna hugged tighter to him for a moment before reclining back on the bed. "I'm not sure I recognize who that person is anymore. Sometimes it frightens me."

"Why?"

"Because I worry it's a façade. That I'm only doing what I think I would if I wasn't who I am." Anna faced him. "The person who hunts down killers for a living is always close to being the one who does the killing in the end."

"I don't think you're that person." John shifted back against the pillows. "And I don't think you're entirely the person you are with me either."

"No?"

"No. I think you're… You're somewhere in between all that. How much of one or the other I've no idea but maybe you'll figure that out. And if I can help you then…" John shrugged. "I'm happy to be of service."

"You almost make it sound like a mission."

"I've not got much else going." John laughed and urged Anna closer. "Besides, I can't leave your room until morning anyway so I might as well offer whatever services I can in the here and now."

"Your services thus far have been greatly appreciated." Anna tucked herself closer to him again. "Even in dealing with a slightly…"

"Obsessed?"

"Passionate former colleague." Anna sighed. "I hope he doesn't find Green."

"Why not?"

"Because if he does, he'll kill him. We'll never given the families the closure they think they'll find."

"They think they'll find?"

"No one finds the closure they think they will facing the person who killed someone they loved." Anna let out another breath. "But we owe them the chance."

"I agree." John took Anna's hand. "We'll find him. And we won't put a bullet in his brain if we can help it."

"That's what I'm afraid of. That someone won't help it and it'll be over in a second. Just… Done."

"Isn't that for the best?"

"I don't know." Anna's voice grew softer, "I honestly don't know."