Anna sat on the patio of her parents back garden, enjoying the rays of the early summer sun and the gentle breeze. Truth was she was trying to recover after the events of last night, her Mum and Dad's local holding a birthday get together for Anna on her return home. All of her family's friends and people she had known all her life were there, it had been nice to catch up with them all.

However, when her brother, Luke brought out a bottle of Sambuca and two shot glasses, Anna knew she was in trouble. She had never let her baby brother drink her under the table, and she wasn't about to start last night. Today, a civilised birthday roast dinner was planned, Anna's maternal grandparents Nigel and Elizabeth were due to come over, and she was praying the pain killers she had taken that morning would soon start to kick in.

The next script due to be filmed lay on the table beside her, Anna possessing the most sincere intentions to read it however the drumming in her head had other ideas. If Gwen could see me now. Her co star and friend would probably be dragging her out to a beer garden on a beautiful afternoon like this. Hair of the dog and all that.

Just then, in the silence of the garden the ring of her phone sounded louder than it usually did. Anna winced. She moved her hand to the table where her phone rested, lifting it and looking at who was calling. It was Jack and he wanted to FaceTime. Struggling to an upright position, she ran a hand through her hair before accepting the call.

'Did you have to FaceTime? I'm hanging.'

'Hello Baby,' Jack replied cheerfully, 'and yes, I did have to FaceTime. It is your birthday after all. Many happy returns, my angel.'

'Yay, turning a year older. Excellent.'

'Come on, Baby. Thirty four isn't that old.'

'Easy to say when you're only twenty seven,' Anna sighed, hating to remind herself that Jack was indeed her toy boy.

'How were the celebrations last night?'

She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. 'Messy. Luke introduced Sambuca and shot glasses into proceedings and you know me, I'm never one to shirk from a challenge.'

'Oh dear, I bet you showed him what was what.'

'Something like that.' Anna wrapped an arm around her stomach.

'Look Baby, there was a reason I called.'

'Apart from wanting to wish me a happy birthday?' Anna wasn't sure she was going to like what she heard next. 'Don't tell me, you're having to stay away for longer?'

'No, not this time. Your rock star boyfriend has been offered the chance to turn his hand to acting.'

Anna stared blankly at the screen. 'You? Acting?'

'Don't sound too surprised...'

'No, no I'm not but I thought all you believed I did was play dress up for a living.'

'Sure, acting is not as difficult as playing music...' Thanks a lot mate, Anna thought, inwardly cursing him, 'but I've been offered the lead role in a musical play kind of thing. About an orphaned kid who follows his dream of stardom. I'll be playing the kid when he's older, obviously.'

'Obviously.' Anna wasn't sure how she felt about Jack entering into her world. Acting was just for her like his music was for him. 'Where will this play be?'

'In the West End, a twelve week run starting from September with the possibility of an extension if it goes well. So, what do you think? I wanted to ask you before I accepted.'

What did she think? Anna wasn't sure what to think. She was sure Jack would be brilliant at whatever he turned his hand to, he always had been. 'I think it's going to be nice to know you'll be in one place, nearby, for an extended period of time.'

'The other lads think I'd be a fool to turn it down.'

'Who else is going to be in it?'

'I don't know,' Jack answered, Anna lifting her eyebrows in surprise. 'But the producer promises it will be big names.'

'I'm sure it will be a success. Anything you're involved in usually is.'

'Thank you, Baby,' Jack cooed, before Anna could hear someone calling him in the background. 'Look, I've got to go but I'll call you again in a couple of days. I love you, Anna.'

'Love you too,' Anna replied before the screen went blank.

She exhaled a heavy breath as she placed her phone back down on the table. If Jack took this role, that would be another three months where she would hardly see him. In half a year, she would have only seen him a handful of times. Anna loved him, she loved him deeply and more than she had ever loved anyone but was that enough for their relationship to survive?

'Hello Poppet, there you are.'

Anna smiled, looking over her shoulder to see her father, Edward walking towards her in her peripheral vision. He still called her Poppet, even though she had now reached the grand old age of thirty four. He sat beside her, placing his obviously freshly poured beer on the table beside her phone. Anna winced, it was still a little bit too soon for the smell of alcohol.

'I am never going to drink again as long as I live,' she groaned, leaning back in her chair once more and squeezing her eyes shut.

'Yes but you said that at Christmas,' Edward took a sip of his drink before continuing, 'but I saw you knocking them back at New Year.' Anna heard him chuckle as a rather unladylike groan escaped her. 'You'll have to snap out of this before your grandparents arrive.'

'How long have I got?'

'Darling, Nan and Pops are here.'

Edward found it highly amusing as Anna slumped her arm across her face, her mother, Pippa's announcement that her grandparents had arrived most unwelcome. 'Come on, Poppet. The sooner it's over, the sooner you can escape to your room and sleep this off.'

Dinner actually proved to be a wonderful way to bring Anna out of her stupor. As always, Anna loved to hear about how her grandparents lives were going and what they had been up to. Her life may have seemed exciting to those on the outside, and it was, Anna loved her life, but it was still refreshing to remember she was just a normal girl from Yorkshire.

'So, how is filming of your show going?' Elizabeth asked, the conversation having not yet been turned to Anna's professional life. 'I have great pride in telling the girls at bingo it had the highest ratings last year.'

'It's going well, Nan. Really well.' Anna thought about work for a moment. 'I'm loving it, to be honest but it's nice to come home.'

'Here mum, you'll never guess who her new love interest is in the show,' Pippa placed a hand on her mother's wrist. 'Do you remember that army drama, in the late nineties, with that Robert Crawley.'

'They're putting your character together with Mr Gallagher?' Elizabeth grimaced, looking at Anna. 'Ooh no, they aren't suited at all.'

'No no, the guy who used to be in the army show with Robert,' Pippa continued, flailing a hand as she tried to remember his name, 'Bates. You know, something Bates.'

'John Bates,' Anna filled in the blanks. 'He's joined the cast.'

'Ooh, I like him,' Elizabeth smiled, turning her attentions to her granddaughter once again. 'You lucky girl, having him as your on screen boyfriend.'

'Isn't she,' Pippa agreed, Edward and Nigel sharing a roll of the eyes as the elder women lusted over Anna's fictional love interest.

'He's not my on screen boyfriend yet,' Anna was quick to point out.

'So, what's he like to work with?' Elizabeth questioned her granddaughter.

Anna shrugged. She hadn't thought about John for a few days. Not to talk about anyway. The truth was, the main reason she was looking forward to going back to work was because she would be able to work with him again. Acting on Downton Grange had an added spark now John was a member of the cast.

'He's nice, an excellent actor. Tells great stories.' Smiles at me in such a way that makes me feel like the only woman in the room. 'Lovely, lovely guy.'

The conversation changed soon after that, to Nigel explaining about his adventures with the dog that lived next door to himself and Elizabeth. Anna tried to keep pace with the conversation, laugh in the right places but now the seed of John had been sown in her mind, she couldn't get rid of it.

She felt so confused, she didn't feel able to categorise her feelings for him. She didn't know how. They were playing two characters who were falling for one another, but Anna was struggling to differentiate how she felt for John, and how Charlotte felt for Peter. This had never happened between herself and a co-star before. John was sweet, he listened to her and when he did, it made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered. But she was in love with Jack, she couldn't deny that.

At least, she thought she was.

John squeezed one hand in the other, stretching his legs out in front of him. He hated this waiting room, in the office of his agent. Thankfully, the receptionist was on a call, so he needn't make small talk with her. Richard was in a meeting with another client, someone younger and more marketable, John supposed. However his last visit here was the catalyst for him being offered the role in Downton Grange. It wasn't all bad.

He would be returning to the set of Downton Grange in a couple of days. John was looking forward to it, it was such a professional production and he was very proud to be a part of it. However, if he was honest to himself, part of the anticipation of resuming his role of Peter was that he would be seeing Anna again. Working with her was an entirely different experience than he had ever known on any other show. It was exciting, the prospect of what they could create together. She brought out the best in him, like no one else ever had.

His thoughts were lost when the door to Richard's office opened, someone John vaguely recognised walking out, waving at the receptionist as he left but not giving John a second glance. Obviously another one of this new wave of young actors who believed in their own hype.

'John,' Richard exclaimed, approaching him with his hand outstretched. 'So lovely to see you.'

'Hi Richard,' John replied sceptically, wrapping his hand around Richard's and shaking it. He followed the man into his office, looking to the photograph of himself and Robert on the wall like he always did. He smirked slightly, before sitting opposite Richard at his desk.

'So, how is the new show going?'

'Very well, thank you,' John shifted in his chair as he got comfortable.

'Excellent news. So you will finish filming late July.'

John nodded, 'I believe so.'

'Great, because have I got the role for you.' Richard leant forward on his elbows, grasping his hands together. John had to admit he was intrigued, the last time Richard said that he had got him the audition for Downton Grange. 'A musical.'

He didn't know whether to be grateful or laugh out loud. A snort of derisive laughter left him. 'A musical? Me? You know I can hardly sing a note.'

'Don't be so modest, John,' Richard replied, 'you can hold a tune. Your karaoke scene in Camouflage shows that.'

It was true, his scene at a party in the show singing with a number of cast mates had been well received by critics and fans, although John had never taken the praise to mean he should throw away his acting career and begin a singing one.

'Yes, but that was one scene in one show. Apart from that I have never sung in public again, let alone live every night in front of a live audience.' That was an entirely different proposition. 'I don't know, Richard.'

'You haven't even heard what it's all about yet,' Richard continued in spite of John's reservations. 'A boy is orphaned, yet follows his father's dreams of being a professional musician. The dream he could not fulfil, his son does. Isn't that dramatic?'

'I suppose,' John shurgged. 'And what part would I play? The Dad whom he loses?'

'No, you play the orphaned kid's foster dad and manager.'

John looked to the picture of himself and Robert again as he considered Richard's proposition. 'And who would play this kid?'

'They haven't finalised that yet. The man they've asked is still thinking about it, but I am reliably informed he is a talented musician who has recently had a top three album in the charts and whose career is going from strength to strength.' Richard sat back in his chair. 'I know it's a big departure from what you're used to, but I think you'd be foolish to turn it down, John.'

'But I don't sing,' John reiterated.

Richard cocked his head and smirked. 'Doesn't mean you can't. There will be a singing teacher present every day, you can do this.'

'When do they need to know by?'

'Rehearsals start in August,' Richard explained, 'so I was hoping for a decision today.'

Pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, John closed his eyes. It was a huge change from what he was used to, but his new job had reminded him how much he had always relished a new challenge. This was exactly the kind of role John had chided Richard about for only securing them for his younger clients.

'Okay, I'll do it.'

Today's filming had been extremely slow going. They were filming the wedding of two of the show's principal characters. Rachel Hart, played by Daisy Robinson and the character that belonged to Andy Parker, Alex Walker. There was a lot of hanging around, the majority of the cast just required to sit in the congregation and watch the goings on of the couple getting married. The crew had secured the use of a beautiful church that was local to the school, the reception being filmed in a purpose built marquee that had been erected on the school's field.

Robert had tried to keep everyone occupied making up silly games they could play, but the truth was John's thoughts were mainly on the kiss he and Anna would be filming that evening. In the show, after Charlotte and Peter's almost kiss, the romantic tension between them had been building. Peter felt it was too soon to get into another relationship particularly considering the reasons for him arriving at Downton, yet the pull he felt towards Charlotte couldn't be denied and it came to a head at Alex and Rachel's reception.

The episode was due to pass without much event, the big moment being Peter and Charlotte finally sharing a kiss. This scene occurred in the fifth episode of the series, their relationship building since the very first episode. Another break in filming had John sitting alone in the marquee as the crew organised around him, thinking about the fact he would be kissing Anna this evening.

She seemed pretty laid back about it, on screen romance and kisses were not an entirely foreign prospect to her. However, John hadn't done anything like this in years. Added to this were the ever growing feelings he held for Anna. They made everything inherently more complicated. John needed to be professional, and not let them affect him. Easier said than done.

'Penny for them, Bates.'

Robert sat next to him, John smiling as he felt him nudge him gently in the ribs with his elbow. 'Oh, it's nothing really.'

'Is this about your scene with Anna?'

'Possibly.'

'Plenty of mints, that's the trick to an on screen kiss,' Robert advised him, John turning his head to look at him. 'Everyone finds them awkward. Just present yourself well, do what you got to do then get the hell out of there.'

'You make it sound so routine.'

'Well it is, it's part of your job. Like a doctor popping a boil or a cleaner shoving bleach down a toilet. It has to be done.'

'Thanks for the advice.'

Robert patted him on the back. 'Any time.'

The time soon came for the shooting of the scene to take place. It was late now, around half past nine in the evening and the principal characters had been on set for well over twelve hours. However, John would never complain. He could be in a proper job working long hours, here he was doing something he loved. It could be a lot worse.

Anna had looked amazing today, playing one of the bridesmaids as she was. She was wearing a knee length red dress with laced sleeves and silver heels. It made a change from her professional looking trouser suits, although John appreciated her no matter her costume. Their direction today had simply been to make eye contact whenever they could, slight smiles towards each other, the crew would make sure these little things were captured.

John had had one scene with Thomas's character about the secret he had brought to Downton Grange with him. It was coming to light that Adam, Thomas's character had been holding a torch for Charlotte, and he had been jealous of her blossoming relationship with Peter. It was another challenging dimension to that of playing Peter, and John was loving it. Anna had had a few scenes with Gwen's character, and of course Daisy's being her bridesmaid but they had had nothing directly with one another. Until now.

The scene would begin with Anna joining him at his table, watching as the final stragglers at the reception remained on the dance floor. The newly weds had left the party and the venue was being tidied around them. It was difficult to imagine in these scenes, as the music was very quiet and usually dubbed over in the final edit, so the characters dialogue could be heard. A lot of them time, the actors were dancing to nothing which could prove awkward and hilarious in equal measure.

They has rehearsed their lines, but not the kiss, both agreeing from past experience the final take was usually better if it was spontaneous. It was the last scene of filming today, so the sooner they got it right, the sooner everybody could go home. The director called action, and finally the moment was here.

'I never had you down as the sort of man to enjoy weddings.' Anna began the scene, taking her seat beside him.

'I'm a brooder, and what better place to brood but at a wedding.' They looked at each other then, a beat of silence passing by before Anna carried on.

'Alex and Rachel were so happy today, so in love. I hope to find that one day.'

'There's nothing like it,' John's character agreed, again holding Anna's gaze. He swallowed hard. She was looking at him again, really looking. His sub conscious took over. 'Sharing that kind of connection with somebody.'

Her lips upturned into a weak smile as they both let their facial expressions do the talking for them. 'What I was wondering Mr Henderson, was whether you fancied a dance.'

He looked out over the dance floor. Amongst a sea of extras, Robert's character was dancing with that of Phyllis's and Gwen and Tom were attempting a jive of some sorts, their characters not being in a relationship and seemingly mocking the situation. He was remembering the direction they had been given earlier. The song that would be playing would be a slow one. He nodded at Anna. She rose to her feet and John followed her to the edge of the dance floor.

Forgetting about this part before the kiss, actually holding Anna in his arms John let his instinct take over. He placed a shaking hand on her hip, hers coming to rest on his shoulder. Their free hands came to be entwined with one another's and John began to slowly move them in time to the music that they couldn't actually hear, although with Anna finally in his arms it felt like a symphony was playing around them. It felt so right. Amazing. He had to focus on the task in hand however, despite how hard that was proving to be as Anna placed her head on his shoulder.

'You looked beautiful today,' John whispered as Peter, although he could have been speaking in real life. The two seemed to merge into one. 'Perfect.'

Anna lifted her head then, her eyes focused on his. He bent his knees a little so he could rest his forehead against hers. She made the move first, slowly edging her lips closer to his. Both their eyes were closed as Anna suddenly stopped moving towards him. John could feel her warm breath upon his face. He moved his head just so, their lips barely a millimetre apart. Both his arms were around her waist now, she had hers wrapped around his shoulders. Their bodies were aligned just so, it felt amazing.

And then, he felt it. The soft press of her lips against his. Every nerve ending John possessed was alive, a shiver careened down his spine. She pressed harder until he found it within himself to respond, their lips moving against the other as if they had done this a million times before. The cameras may as well not have been there when John felt the unmistakable sweep of Anna's tongue along his bottom lip. He had been afraid to take it further, not wanting to offend Anna but if that was what she wanted and was comfortable with, he wouldn't stand in the way.

Their tongues met briefly, although John knew in that moment he would never forget that feeling for as long as he lived. He pushed his lips against Anna's one more time before the director was bringing proceedings to an end with his shrill of the word, cut. They finished the kiss with a slight brush of the lips before pulling away, the applause of the crew meaning that they had got it in one take.

John didn't know where to look. Anna was staring down at the floor, but what he had neglected to realise was his hand was still on her hip. He moved it abruptly, not wanting her to feel awkward.

'You guys are amazing.' Trevor praised them, 'lovely stuff. Well done.' He looked around the crew. 'And that's a wrap for today. Lets get cleared up around here and go to bed.'

They were left alone then, Anna finally looking at him and releasing a small, breathy laugh. 'I hope that was okay.'

Was she kidding? 'Absolutely, I had no idea what I was doing so I followed your lead,' John flailed his hands as he spoke, 'it was fine. Nice in fact, if such things can be.'

'Our first on screen kiss,' Anna squeezed his hand. 'And going by the scripts, the first of many more.'

Was she trying to kill him? John wasn't sure but the glint in her eye made him question her intentions. He grinned. 'So it would seem.'