A reviewer for my story Little Wonders asked for the story to remain light, because of all that's going on right now. I can't keep that request because of the plot I have already worked through in my head. However, that request ended up inspiring this story. We could all use a little happiness right now, so here is a happy John/Anna one shot to hopefully make you smile today. I know that Johnny was the name of their child, but Jack is his name in a series of stories I wrote. This story is a companion piece for those. You do not have to have read those, to enjoy this story. But if you have read those, you'll see some nods to them. Enjoy!
Jack
John William Bates (Jack)
There had been a lot of pain and a lot of sadness. At one point, Anna had been sure that they were cursed. She had been prepared to settle for a life without children, but it broke her heart. John appeared to handle that news better than she did. However, she knew that deep down he wanted children, too.
But now all of that pain and sadness had disappeared. Dr. Clarkson wrapped the small, sweet bundle into a blanket and handed the baby boy to Anna. Her eyes welled with joyful tears. He was here. Her son was here.
A moment later, John was brought into the room. He looked expectantly between the doctor and Anna, making sure all had gone well, before his eyes landed on the baby in Anna's hands. His lips parted and then curled in to the biggest, brightest smile.
"A son," Anna choked between her happy tears. "We have a son, John." He rushed to Anna's side, taking a seat next to her and placing his hand over Anna's.
"And he's alright? You're alright?" John asked. Despite the fact Mary and Dr. Clarkson were in the room, all had faded away and it was just the two of them. Anna met his eyes and smiled.
"We're perfect." John chuckled and bent over, kissing her, not caring about social expectations of them.
"What's his name?" John asked. When Anna brought up names earlier in her pregnancy, John would always listen, but he said the choice was up to her.
"I want to name him after you, John William," she answered.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, silly beggar," Anna replied. "But we could call him Jack, if you'd like."
"Oh, I love it." He bent his head down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
"Happy birthday, Jack."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
At two, Jack was an active child who brought so much joy into their lives. He enjoyed their walks up to the Abbey with them in the mornings and would sing songs with Anna on the way. John would just watch, enamored by the love he had for his little family. Soon, Jack would have a sibling and his family would grow even more. John wasn't sure how he had gotten so lucky.
One morning, Jack began to pick flowers along their journey. At first, Anna thought he was picking them for her or Mrs. Hughes, but when they asked, his answer shocked them.
"Sybbie!" He happily said, holding out the few flowers.
"Miss Sybbie?" Anna asked. The little boy nodded his head.
"Love Sybbie!" He replied.
"Well, Jack, Miss Sybbie is a little too old for you," John informed his son with a chuckle.
They arrived at the Abbey later in the day than they normally would, so they had to run Jack right up to the nursery to start their day. Generally, the three ate breakfast together downstairs and then one of them would drop him off. But today, out of curiosity, the two walked him up together.
Jack climbed down from John's strong arms and rushed his handful of flowers to Sybbie. He held the out, proudly, and waited for Sybbie to take them. The eight year old giggled, but took them. She brought them up to her nose and sniffed the flowers.
"Thank you," Sybbie replied, before running off to follow Marigold over by the blocks. Anna and John both waited for him to be disappointed she went away from him, but the small boy just smiled.
They turned and closed the door to head back off to their jobs.
"Looks like our boy has a crush," John teased. Anna shook her head and laughed.
"I'm not ready," Anna replied, still chuckling.
"He's a romantic like his father," John stated.
"Yes, he is, Mr. Bates."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"I'm six today!"
Both John and Anna were woken up by the small boy jumping into their bed.
"It's my birthday! And it snowed!" He exclaimed. Anna turned onto her back and sat up, brushing her hand against Jack's cheek.
"Happy birthday," she murmured with a smile, as she thought about how much their lives had changed in the past six years.
"Yes, Happy birthday Jackie!" John said. He lifted his son up into the air and the boy squealed with delight.
"Can we wake up the girls and go play outside?"
"Not yet," Anna replied. "Charlotte had a rough night. Let's let her sleep, please." The eighteen month old had been up all night, fussing. Anna worried she was coming down with a cold.
"But what about Madeline? Papa could take us two out!" Jack, who never gave up easily, suggested.
"Listen to your mother, Jack," John told his son. "Plus, I think there might be some presents that need to be opened."
They no longer lived or worked at Downton Abbey. No, now they had a small hotel right within the small town. It was small, quaint, but it was theirs. With the hotel, they were able to have more time with their children. They lived in the back of hotel and it was the perfect set up for them. Jack helped around the hotel with small little chores. Madeline, who was three, would often follow behind her mother's skirts and then sit quietly while she worked. Charlotte was the one that gave them the most trouble at their job. She didn't sit still and she didn't know how to be quiet, but that was their Charlotte and they wouldn't have her any other way.
"Presents!?" Jack asked, his eyes widening.
"Yes, you can open your presents and then we'll see about going outside for a little bit."
"Alright."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"I don't care what the teacher said or did, Jack. You don't speak back to an adult, is that understood?" Anna reprimanded her son. Then ten year old crossed his arms indignantly across his chest and pursed his lips.
"But Mum, she was wrong about Made…."
"Jack that will be settled between your father and I. It is not your job," Anna told him. Although deep down she was proud of her son for standing up for his younger sister with the horrible substitute that day.
"Pa will agree with me when he gets home," Jack replied, lifting his head up.
"I'll agree with what?" John asked, walking in at just that moment. He bent down and kissed Anna's cheek. It was then he noticed that Jack was sitting at the kitchen table and that the girls were not around. That was a sign of a child in trouble.
"Pa, the new teacher yelled at Madeline, called her a liar, and I stood up for her," Jack quickly explained, before his mother could speak. "And you always tell me it's my job to look after my sisters."
"It is," John agreed. "So what happened, again?" John questioned, turning his attention to Anna. Anna sighed and pressed her fingers against her forehead.
"What Jack said," Anna replied. "Mrs. Hughes saw Madeline outside of the school room crying. She walked in to find Jack in the corner. The teacher called Madeline a liar for saying Lady Mary was her friend and wouldn't let her back into class until she said she was lying."
John's hand curled angrily around his hat. He was very protective of his children, but especially Madeline. Madeline was shy, small, and almost breakable. She was also sweet and kind. He wasn't sure the child knew how to lie.
"What does Jack have to do with this?"
"I told you, Pa. I yelled back at the teacher, told her Madeline isn't a liar. I was just standing up for her," Jack explained.
"Right. Good job," John stated. "Now go upstairs and do your homework."
Jack bounced up from his chair and rushed upstairs, before his mother had a chance to call him back down.
"John," Anna chastised, "I was getting onto Jack for yelling at an adult."
"Oh," John sheepishly replied. "I thought….well, he was right." Anna chuckled slightly.
"He was, but he's ten. He's not supposed to argue with an adult."
"I know, but I think in this case we allow it. I'll talk to him later about coming to us in the future, but our little boy is growing up, Anna. Soon, he'll have to be able to navigate this world on his own."
"I want him to be our little boy forever, John," Anna confessed, biting down on her lower lip. "The world can be a scary place."
"I know, my darling, but aren't you excited to see who he becomes?"
"I am."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Things were tight and the hotel was full. With the evacuations taking place during World War II, John and Anna had offered to take in children who needed a safe place to stay. It was always something in their small hotel. The children they had taken in were all girls over the age of ten. Madeline and Charlotte were thrilled. Jack, was not.
The fifteen year old boy was a big help, however. He had taken a few extra jobs to help his parents make the payments for their hotel. It was important to him that they not lose it during this hard time.
Thankfully with Tom Branson's insights early on, Downton was able to survive during this period. Mary and Tom had been more prepared than the others. Jack would work at Downton most of his time. When he had gone to Downton for a job, Mary had offered Jack the money they would need to keep the hotel afloat. However, Jack had his parents' pride and insisted he would work for the money.
That evening, he came home for a treat for his siblings and parents. After all of their boarders were in bed, Jack snuck it out and gave each of them a small square of foil.
"What's this?"
"Mrs. Patmore sent it to us," Jack replied. The five of them unraveled their small squares and Charlotte squealed.
"Chocolate!"
"What a nice surprise!" Anna added to the excitement. None of them had had such a treat in long time. They slowly savored the sweet morsel together.
"Thank you, Jack," Madeline exclaimed.
"Don't thank me, thank Mrs. Patmore. I was just the delivery man." John reached over and ruffled Jack's locks and laughed.
"Well, you did a great job with the delivery, son."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Times became more solemn. When he turned eighteen, Jack enlisted into the military to join the war. He had been gone for nearly a year and a half. Letters were sparse and they rarely heard from him. Daily, they worried they would get the dreaded news that he had been killed. It seemed to be the real reality for many of their neighbors.
The war had now been over for a few weeks, but they still hadn't heard from Jack. Anna found herself checking the mail daily and picking up the phone to make sure it was still working.
"He's going to contact us," John soothed, as he placed his hand over Anna's and made her hang up the phone.
"But we haven't heard from him in months, John. What if….." But before she could finish her question, the phone began to ring. Anna snatched it up and nearly cried when she heard Jack's voice on the other end.
"Hi Mum," he sounded far away.
"Oh Jack!" Anna cried. She turned the phone so John could hear him as well. "Where are you? Are you alright?"
"Yes, Mum. I'm coming home." Anna met John's eyes and that was when the tears began to fall.
"When? When will you be home?" John asked for Anna, who had become too overcome to speak. Jack let them know the station and time he would be arriving on in a few days.
"Bring Godmama and Godpapa too."
"Of course! They will be so thrilled," Anna said, finally able to speak again.
"And Mum? Pa? Um…Sybil will be there too."
"Sybil?" Anna asked, confused. Certainly not Sybil Branson, they hadn't seen her in years. She had become a doctor and used her skills to travel and help others.
"Sybil Branson. Okay, I have to go. There's a long line. I love you!" And just like that the line was severed.
Anna stood in shock. Her boy was finally coming home. John made her jump when he started laughing. Anna narrowed her eyes at him.
"And what, exactly, are you laughing about Mr. Bates?"
John shook his head, before his laugh grew even heartier.
"I mean it. What's all this about?"
"Sybil. It's always been Sybil. Our boy is coming home and he has Sybil meeting him there."
"It doesn't mean anything, John. They could just be friends," Anna said. John bent over and kissed the top of her head.
"I don't think so, my darling."
"You don't really think that our Jack and Sybil Branson are courting?" John shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
A father. Anna had a hard time wrapping her head around it, but her son was going to be a father. He was now 25, married to Sybil Branson-a fact that sometimes Anna still didn't believe, and was going to be a father.
They received the call in the middle of the night that Sybil was in labor. She had asked Anna to be in the room with her and Anna had been honored. So Anna rushed to Downton, leaving John behind. He would visit them the next day to meet his new grandchild.
The baby girl came into the world with a loud, strong cry.
"A girl," Anna happily said, watching as the small babe was placed into her daughter-in-law's arms. It was always surreal to Anna looking at young Sybil. She looked so much like her mother. Anna thought about how proud she would be of her daughter.
Jack was allowed into the room and Anna glanced up. While he looked more like Anna than John, at this moment, she was thrown back to when Jack was born. The look on his face reminded her of how John looked that day.
Anna stood and moved out of the way so that her son and Sybil could have this moment together. She wanted them to be able to melt away together and forget everyone else in the room.
Moments later, Jack brought the baby over to Anna and allowed her to hold her. The baby was tiny, but fit perfectly in her arms.
"A granddaughter," Anna mused. "I can't believe I have a granddaughter."
"Her name is Anna May Bates," Jack said. Anna glanced up and met Jack's eyes.
"What?"
"We named her after you, Mum. You're the strongest person I know," Jack replied. "Don't tell Pa," he jokingly added with a wink.
"But…are you sure?"
"Yes, we're going to call her Annie."
"Oh Jack, I….I don't know what to say," Anna said, honored.
"You don't have to say anything."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
That evening, as John and Anna made their way back to the hotel, their hearts were full. They had their first grandchild.
"She looks like you," John told Anna, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"It's too early to tell that," Anna replied, but she smiled. "I still can't believe they named her after me."
"I can."
"Annie. Can you believe it, Mr. Bates? After everything, we have our three children, Sybil, and now our sweet Annie."
"I can believe it. And who knows what the future holds. More grandchildren, I gather."
Anna chuckled. "Well for now, I'll enjoy the one."
"Me too, my darling. Me too."
The End