A/N A very tiny bit of angst in this chapter but this is as bad as it gets.

As soon as John got in the cab that would take him from the train station to his hotel in Glasgow, he shot off a text to Anna as she insisted.

Here safe and sound. Hope you have a great day at work. - J

It only took about 15 minutes for him to get a reply back.

It's been ok but I miss you already. :( - A

Shall I text you later? - J

Yes please. - A

He just had enough time to freshen up and change into his suit before he was picked up by his hosts. First, they took him to a fairly posh restaurant for lunch, then a tour of their facilities, followed by a series of meetings with various company employees. They insisted on taking him to dinner as well.

During a break from one of the meetings he got another text from Anna.

How's it going? Still miss you. - A

Meeting after meeting. Yawn. - J

What time are you done? - A

? I'll call you when I get back to the hotel. - J

I'll call you. Mary and Sybil arranged a ladies night out. - A

OK. Have fun. Think of me freezing my arse off up here. - J

Oh no! But I like your arse. Too bad I have your hoodie. - A

Cheeky. Gotta go. They're ready to start again. - J

XOXOXO - A

John was exhausted by the time he got back to his room. Wine and dines were not his thing and the absolutely frigid weather was playing a bit of havoc with his knee. He texted Anna to say he was in and waited a few minutes for a reply. When he got none, he decided to take a shower to loosen his knee and then do some reading before he went to sleep. By the time he was out of the shower, there was a message from Anna saying she was still out with the girls and would call him when she got in. His phone rang at about 12:30.

"Hello," John answered with a smile.

"It's not too late is it?" Anna asked apologetically.

"Of course not. You know what an insomniac I am. I was just reading."

"Let me guess," she teased, "you're in Scotland, it must be Burns."

"Rereading Animal Farm actually."

"Ugg, that doesn't sound very fun," she commented, "How was your day?"

"Oh, you know how these things are. They toured me around and tried to convince me that they were a good fit for us . Took me to lunch, took me to dinner. Tried to buy me drinks. I felt a bit sorry for them actually. It's not really the type of thing I fall for. They'd have a much easier time with Robert."

"Which is exactly why he sent you," Anna noted proudly, "He knows you're much more discerning than he is."

"I don't know about that," John chuckled at the way Anna always gave him credit for everything, whether he deserved it or not.

Anna changed the subject before John had the opportunity to be more self deprecating, "I checked the temperatures for Glasgow today. It looks to be freezing up there. I hope your knee's alright."

"It's fine," he flexed it back and forth as he spoke, " A little stiff from all the walking and the cold but I took a shower when I got back to the room and it feels looser now. It'll be fine by tomorrow."

"And what do they have in store for tomorrow?"

"More meetings I'm sure. But you don't want to hear all about my boring trip," he insisted, "I'd much rather talk about you. How was your time with the ladies? Did you have fun?"

"I did, but I wish you were here. We went dancing and my feet are killing me. I could use another one of your foot rubs."

"I'll bet you didn't miss a single dance," John guessed.

It rankled him that they had just been talking about his dodgy knee and now they were talking about Anna dancing the night away. It made him feel the difference in their ages more keenly and reinforced his belief that she was settling for less than she should by going out to him.

"I danced a fair few, that's for sure," Anna went on cheerfully. As if she had read his mind, she added, "But I would have much rather been with you."

"Oh, come now, Anna. I'm sure there were no shortage of young, handsome men lining up for a dance with you," his voice changed tone when he continued, "You're absolutely marvelous when you dance."

"Are you jealous, Mr. Bates?" Anna continued to tease.

"A little. Yes," John admitted shyly but without hesitation.

"That's very flattering. But what about you? You haven't fallen in love with any Scottish lassies have you?"

"Hardly. The only lass I've even been around is the CFO and she looks like the love child of Margaret Thatcher and Bill Bailey."

Anna barked out a laugh, "You've got to be joking!"

"I only wish I were," John deadpanned, "Much as I hate to say it, you'd better get some sleep, Miss Smith. It will be 1:00 soon and we both know you're not a morning person."

Anna sighed, "I know you're right but I miss you."

John closed his eyes, speaking softly, "I miss you too. You have no idea how much."

"At least I have your hoodie to keep me company. I slept in it last night and I'm going to tonight too."

"Good lord," he groaned, "What are you trying to do to me?"

"I'm trying to make you miss me."

John's voice was decidedly husky as he replied, "You don't have to try. Now hang up you minx."

"Ok," she laughed, pleased that she had flustered him, "I love you." The words had flown from her mouth before she had time to consider them.

John froze for a moment. He knew he should say it back, he wanted to say it back, but he couldn't. In his mind it just wasn't fair. At the same time, he knew he was disappointing her. Realizing the pause in the conversation had stretched on for far too long he finally replied.

"Goodnight, Anna. I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow."

"Oh," Anna stammered, trying to sound as normal as possible, "you too."

"I'll call you tomorrow night," he added. He wanted to reassure her that everything was fine, but he was pretty sure he hadn't succeeded.

"Yeah, that will be great. Goodnight John." Anna cursed herself as she hung up the phone. This was the second time she had told John she loved him and he hadn't said it back. She was fairly certain that he felt the same but he had told her he wanted to take things slowly. Why did she have to ask for what he wasn't ready to give? Sometimes she felt she could wait for him forever and be perfectly happy and sometimes she felt like she would die if she didn't have everything she wanted right now.

She fell asleep worrying about whether or not John was upset with what she had said. Little did she know that he had already fallen asleep and was dreaming of being in bed with a woman wearing an oversized hoodie and nothing else.

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Anna was worried all the next day. She only texted John once saying she hoped he was having a good day. She was afraid her slip of the tongue the night before would cause him to step back in their relationship, which was definitely not what she wanted. She decided she would give him space and wait for his call.

A few hundred kilometers away, John was having the same type of thoughts. It worried him that Anna had only texted once. He was sure that his weak ending to their phone call the night before had caused Anna to have second thoughts about this relationship. He couldn't expect her to wait around for him forever, whether he was married or not. Especially when he was stuck up here in Scotland and she was out dancing with handsome young men.

By that evening, John was thoroughly fed up with fancy restaurants, company dog and pony shows, and the freezing weather. And all for a company that, by this point, he was pretty sure wasn't going to be a fit with Grantham Industries. Their finances looked good, but John was concerned with the quality of their product. In addition, there seemed to be serious questions with their customer service. Thomas might have thought the bottom line was the only thing that mattered, but John didn't feel that way and he was damn sure Robert Crawley didn't.

He managed to escape another fancy dinner by saying he had to get back to the hotel and take a conference call with Robert. He grabbed some carry away and was sitting on his bed with a hot towel wrapped on his knee, eating Chinese straight from the box by 7:30. He couldn't decide if he wanted to eat quickly so that he could call Anna, or slowly so he wouldn't have to.

His phone buzzed and he was surprised to see that it was Matthew and not Anna.

"Hey, Matthew," John mumbled around his last bite, "What's up?"

"Hello, John," the younger man responded amicably, "Do you have a minute?"

"For the man who's going to free me from Vera? Absolutely."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I've cleared everything with Murray, so I an now officially your solicitor."

"That's great news. Listen, Matthew, I really appreciate this. I really do."

"Enough Bates. You're family and I won't hear any more about it."

"Alright, alright," John laughed, "you're starting to sound like the rest of them now."

Matthew chuckled and continued, "I've had an idea and I want to see what you think of it."

"Alright," John answered with interest, "I'm ready…"

"Are you, Bates? You've said you're willing to give her anything. Is that true?"

"It's true, Matthew. I'll tell you again, I need to move on with my life. Believe me, I'll do anything."

"Mary told me you'd say as much. So here's what I've come up with. I think we should put in an offer that we know Vera won't like. Something low, but not so low as to be outrageous. As your new attorney, the timing of a new offer makes sense. Then, from what you've told me about Vera, they'll probably counter with an offer that includes the house," John could hear him flipping through some papers, "which I believe you've said has been the sticking point until now?"

"Yes."

"And you're willing to let it go?"

"Yes," John answered stoically.

"When we get their offer, the ball will be in our court. If you sign the agreement, she'll have no choice but to sign as well. Otherwise we can go straight to the judge and tell them that we agreed to their terms but they refused. By the time she sees her mistake, it will be too late."

Matthew finished speaking and the line went silent.

"John? Are you still there?"

John shook his head to clear it enough so he could speak, "Yes, yes. I'm here."

"Well? What do you think?"

"I think you're brilliant. I think I should have hired you a long time ago," John answered with excitement.

"Do you think Vera will go for it?"

"I think there's a good chance. Vera makes a habit of going for the next shiny thing she sees, and she'll never suspect that I would be willing to let her have the house. Not after all this time."

"That's the one point that worries me, Bates. You don't think she'll suspect anything?"

"Not a chance. Vera is stubborn and vindictive, but so was I while we were married. She refuses to change herself, and it will be hard for her to believe that I have."

"So I have your permission to try this then?"

"My permission? Matthew, you're lucky I'm in Scotland or I'd drive over and kiss you."

Matthew laughed, "Hang on there, Bates. Save the gratitude until it works."

John grinned at his own silliness. He didn't even think as the next words flew from his lips, "Of course, you're right. But if this works, when this works, Anna and I owe you and Mary a dinner wherever you want."

"Is there a you and Anna, John?" Matthew asked quietly.

John realized his mistake but was reassured that Mary had kept the news to herself. Even from her husband.

"Are you asking as my lawyer, or my friend?" John asked.

"A bit of both I suppose," Matthew answered honestly, "As your lawyer, I should definitely have all the information. Not that it's all that uncommon nowadays for separated couples to be seeing other people. I just don't want to be surprised by anything they may know and I don't."

"That's the problem, Matthew. Vera absolutely can not find out I've been seeing Anna. She would put things on indefinite hold just for spite. And I wouldn't put it past her to make things as difficult for Anna as she possibly could."

"Duly noted. But remember, you and I are guarded under attorney client privilege so I can't say anything about what you say to me as your solicitor. Even to Mary."

"It's not that I don't trust you Matthew. It's just… I'm reluctant to even have a relationship with Anna until this whole mess is cleared up, but at the same time, I know I can't ask her to wait forever."

"But you have begun dating?"

"We have. She asked me to a concert and we went on our first date last Thursday."

Matthew chuckled again, "We have a thing for determined women, you and I."

"That we do," John laughed along with him.

Matthew hesitated a moment, then added, "Well for what it's worth, Bates, as your friend, I'm thrilled. Not least because Anna and Mary are best friends and it's a relief to know that I like the bloke she'll end up with."

"Now who's putting the cart before the horse?" John asked. "I may not end up with Anna after all. I think my hesitance has disappointed her a bit so far. She may decide it's not worth it."

"I hardly think so, Bates. It's not much of a secret that she's cared for you for years now. Even I can see that."

"Well, let's get this marriage over with so I can offer her the man she deserves me to be."

"Yes, let's do that," Matthew agreed, "I'll draw up the papers in the morning and send them off in the afternoon. Who knows, you may have some good news for Anna by next week."

When John hung up the phone, his head was in a whirl. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the past week. He had been out with the love of his life three times, gotten a new solicitor, and might just be on his way to finally seeing the end of his disastrous marriage. As soon as the smile spread across his face however, it melted again. Suddenly, he remembered that things between he and Anna were strained at the moment. It would be wonderful to tell her about Matthew's plan but he couldn't risk it until he knew the plan had worked. He wouldn't set her up for such a disappointment. He'd done enough of that already.

He looked at the time and grimaced. It was getting on to 9:00 and she still hadn't called him or sent him a text. This wasn't like Anna at all. It was true, they had agreed he would call her when he got in, but she could usually be counted on to check in with him several times a day no matter what the circumstances.

John brought up her number and smiled at the picture for a moment. God how he loved this woman, even if he couldn't tell her just yet. He had to fix things and he had to do it immediately. He pressed dial and sent out a wish that all would go well. He almost wished he were a praying man; he could use a prayer right about now.

The phone only rang once before Anna answered tentatively, "Hello John."

"Hello," John's hesitant tone of voice matched Anna's at the other end of the line, "How was your day today? You didn't text me to let me know."

"I wasn't sure you wanted to talk to me."

"Anna, I always want to talk to you."

"Even after what I said last night? I'm so sorry John," she rushed on, "I don't know what got into me. It just slipped out. I didn't mean to put any pressure on you. I never mean to put pressure on you."

"Anna, stop right there. I won't listen to you apologize to me. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"It's not your fault. I've said I'll be patient and then I go babbling on about how much I love you. You didn't even want to start dating until I practically forced you into it. I have no right to push you to say things you don't want to say."

John sighed and rubbed his forehead, "You're wrong, Anna. You have every right. And I don't blame you. I question your taste, but I don't blame you. I can't for the life of me think why you'd be willing to get involved with my mess of a life but you haven't forced me into anything. I knew what I was doing when I accepted that the concert was a date. I probably shouldn't have agreed, but I did and I don't regret it. Not one second of the last week do I regret."

"Not even last night?" Anna implored.

John could practically feel his heart breaking, "The only thing I regret about last night is that I didn't handle the situation better. I know what you want me to say Anna, and god knows I want to say it. Believe me, I want to say everything you want to hear. But it wouldn't be right. But I swear, Anna, the minute I can give myself to you 100% I'm going to start telling you and I'm never going to stop. I just hope you're still there when it happens."

Anna's eyes misted over and she was so choked up she could barely speak, "I'll be here, John. I'll always be here."

"Don't say that," he pleaded with her, "don't shut yourself off from opportunities because of me. It's not right. If you find someone who can make you happy…"

"The only one who can make me happy is you. I'll wait John. I'll wait forever if I have to."

"I've hired Matthew as my new solicitor," John blurted out.

"What?" Anna asked, a bit confused by the sudden turn in the conversation.

"I've arranged for Matthew to take over my divorce proceedings from Murray. I'm trying to get things moving. I've told him to give Vera whatever she wants."

"But John…"

"It's what I want, Anna, I swear. I want to move on with my life."

"Oh, John."

He could hear the hopeful tone in Anna's voice and decided he couldn't let things go any further. He had probably overstepped already. If Anna was guilty of bouts of impatience, which John didn't blame her for at all, then he was equally guilty of giving her hope and then pulling it away. They were quite a pair.

"Will you meet me at the train station tomorrow?" he asked her, "I should get in around 7:00. I'd like to take you to dinner."

"Would you?" Anna teased, "I can't imagine why. I've been a mess the last 24 hours haven't I?"

"With good reason," he reassured her, "Please meet me. I don't want to wait to see you one minute longer than I have to."

"So we're good?" she asked again.

"We're good."

"You know that thing I said last night?"

"Yes?"

"Well I'm not going to say it, but that doesn't mean I don't feel it."

He chuckled softly, "Sweet dreams, my darling."

"I'll be waiting on the platform."

"I hope so."

They hung up and both were happy in the assurance that in less than 24 hours, they would be together again.