A/N This little bit takes place somewhere around Chapter 73. I wrote it from a prompt on Tumblr quite awhile ago but somehow it never got included. Hope you enjoy it now.

I don't own….

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

John sighed and silently rolled his eyes at Anna's words. He put down the script that wasn't holding his attention anyway, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "What's the matter love?"

"I have done this bloody problem five times and it's still wrong. How am I ever going to pass this final?"

John chuckled to himself, this must be true love, he thought. Although Anna had been stressed out and irritable for the entire time John had been in St Andrews on hiatus, he still couldn't think of anywhere he would rather be right now.

He rose from his place on the settee and went to where she was sitting, giving her shoulders a rub and kissing her neck, "What can I do to help?" he whispered in a sultry manner in her ear.

"John," Anna scolded, "Please stop distracting me. I really need to get this done."

"I thought you liked to be 'distracted'," he said, trying not to let his disappointment show through.

"You've done quite enough distracting lately," she was clearly not in the mood to be teased, "I was distracted by a trip to California for your movie premier and I was distracted by your friends movie opening in Berlin. I missed two weeks of school for your distractions, which is why I'm behind in the first place, so it doesn't really help with you up here trying to cuddle and kiss me every two minutes."

"Should I go back to London then and let you study?" John tried to sound neutral, but couldn't hide the bit of hurt from his voice.

"No," Anna said, still sounding more gruff than John would like, "but you can get me another cup of tea." She handed him her cup without looking at him.

John stood in the kitchen while the kettle boiled and fixed Anna her tea just the way she liked it. He kept reminding himself that Anna hadn't slept in two days and had probably been studying too hard. It didn't have anything to do with him, but it still hurt, just a little.

He took the tea into the other room and set it on the table, "Here you go love. I'll just take my stack of scripts upstairs and leave you to it then."

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Anna called out to him, "John...wait… I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that. I loved our trip to California and of course I wanted to be in Berlin to see Robert's movie. I'm just being horrible." She took a trembling sip of her tea, trying not to cry.

John went to her and gently took the teacup from her lips. He placed it on the table and said, "You're just tired. You haven't slept in about 48 hours and you need a break. Let's go." He took her hand and tried to get her to leave the table.

"John," she complained, "I have to study."

John folded her into his arms, "What you need love, is a break. I can't imagine studying in this state is doing you any good at all." He brushed his hand over her hair as she cried a bit into his chest. "Let's take the dogs for a walk down to the village and I'll buy you a cup of coffee. It's rather breezy today and the wind will do you good."

Anna nodded her head against his chest. It felt so good to have his arms wrapped around her. It would be so easy to just close her eyes and stay here all afternoon. Instead, John broke away and brought Anna her jacket, helping her to put it on. As soon as the dogs saw John's actions, they went to their leads hanging on the wall and began dancing around.

John left Anna standing in somewhat of a daze while he sorted the dogs. The two of them walked to the village with Anna apologizing over and over again. When they got to the shop, Anna went in to get them their coffees while John stayed outside with the dogs. There was a short line and as Anna made her purchase and turned she bumped into the man standing behind her only to drop her coffee to the floor of the shop.

She stood frozen to the spot for a moment just staring at the coffee. 'Poor thing,' John thought, 'she's beside herself with fatigue.' He was chuckling but his demeanor quickly changed when Anna burst into a fit of sobbing right in the middle of the shop. John quickly commanded the dogs to sit and stay and then went into the shop to gather Anna and guide her out the door.

"Come on love it's not that bad," he sympathized.

"But my coffee, John! My coffee. Everything is going wrong. I'm short tempered, I can't do my homework, I dropped my coffee. It's an omen. I can't do this John."

"Yes, it is an omen. It's an omen telling you that you don't need caffeine. You need sleep." Anna began to speak but John took charge, "No, Anna, I'm right and you know it. I'm going to go back inside, buy you an herbal tea and then I'm going to take you home and tuck you in."

"John…" she tried to protest.

John took her face in both his hands, looking into her eyes, "I won't take no for an answer. You're not fit for man nor beast and you need some sleep. Just a bit. I promise I won't let you sleep too long. Your mind isn't even functioning right now - let's get you a power nap and get some food in your stomach for your final stretch. I know you can do this."

Anna nodded her head like a little girl.

John went in and got her tea and a croissant for good measure. Anna leaned her head on his shoulder as she sipped from her cup and munched on her snack on the way home. As they entered the house John demanded that Anna sit on the sofa while he got the dogs settled in the yard. By the time he returned, Anna was almost asleep where she sat. He gently helped her to lie down and covered her with the blanket they kept on the back of the couch. She was asleep by the time he had finished tucking her in. He kissed her forehead and whispered an 'I love you' before making his way into the kitchen.

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A few hours later, Anna awoke to the smell of something delicious. She yawned and stretched, then looked around to see John seated in the easy chair reading yet another script.

"Anything good?" she asked, sounding sleepy but much more like herself.

"A couple that deserve a closer look. How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," Anna smiled, "and something smells delicious. What have you been up to John Bates?"

"Not much, I made a stew, with absolutely no starches or any wine to lull you back to sleep. Just lots of protein and veg. And I've also brewed a strong pot of coffee, which you don't even like. I figured you could eat a nice dinner and then hit the books. I will do the washing up and then be a good boy and go upstairs. At precisely 2:00 a.m. I will come downstairs and take you to bed for at least a half nights sleep and then tomorrow you'll be all ready for your study session here with the others."

"You must really love me."

"I really, really do. Now let's go eat."