The morning after the night before, written as usual with the invaluable help of my friend. Thanks for the reviews so far.

Anna's POV

I am awoken from peaceful slumber, who is that knocking incessantly on the door? Whoever it is, I wish they'd stop. Suddenly, thoughts came flooding back of the night before and I realise this must be Jane knocking. God, it's infuriating.

'Anna,' I hear a familiar voice whisper. It's John and he is also gently tapping my shoulder.

'Hmmm..' is all I can muster, still under the effects of sleep. The knocking continues.

'Shouldn't you go and tell her we're awake?' John suggests.

'What?' I reply, still drowsy before the penny drops. 'Oh right.' He smiles the most beautiful smile at me as I climb out of bed. Putting my dressing gown on, I partially open the door and see Jane, already dressed and obviously wanting to make a low key exit.

'Morning,' she beams. 'It's five. Thought I'd wake you a little earlier as you have to get downstairs and everything. Good night?'

I smile, as events from last night come to the forefront of my mind.

'Wonderful,' I yawn, which must be an attractive sight for the woman standing before me. 'Thanks so much for everything. We really appreciate it.'

'It was the least I could do, Anna. You've been a great friend to me since I've been here.' She replied. 'You and Mr Bates.' Squeezing her arm, she places her hand over mine.

'Take care of yourself.'

'And you Anna. And send my best wishes to Mr Bates.'

'Bye Jane.' John calls from behind me. Myself and Jane share a chuckle before she backs away and disappears down the corridor. I sigh as I shut the door.

Although I am going to miss her, the thought which surpasses all others at this precise moment is getting back into bed with my husband. Pulling back the covers for me, it seems we are of one mind. Before I am even settled his arms are around my waist, pulling me in tightly against him. It's a chilly morning and I am glad for the close contact.

'So Mrs Bates, how are you feeling this morning?' he whispers. The feel of his breath against my ear sends shivers down my spine.

'Fine,' I gasp, snuggling in closer to him if that was possible. This moment has been seven years in the making and I intend to savour every moment. 'How long have you been awake?'

'I don't think I've actually slept,' is his reply. Not slept? I find it hard to survive on less than six hours of sleep which is what I am going to have to do today after the events of last night, but to not sleep at all? 'Sleeping would have wasted time I could have spent watching you. Which is what I did for most of the night.' A perfect reply.

'Won't you be tired?' a concerned part of me asks, totally amazed at how indifferent he is at not sleeping, I do love my sleep and as with Jane earlier, do get agitated when it is interrupted.

'I'm sure I'll survive,' he chuckles, kissing my forehead. 'It's a shame we didn't get married on a Saturday, I could have slept in church at the Sunday morning service.'

He really knows how to make me laugh as I begin giggling. 'Comments like that make me think you deserve O' Brien's harsh tongue.'

'Well, if that's the standard of pillow talk we are going to be engaging in, maybe I should have married her instead.' he says in reply through his laughter, before screwing his face up. Shaking his head, he closes his eyes. 'Maybe not.'

Finding his discomfort amusing, I resume laughing, resulting in him tickling me in the way in which he did in the courtyard the other night. Begging him to stop, he shows no mercy as he continues until I can take no more and pull the covers off him.

'Anna!' he cries out, rolling over onto my side of the bed. He is just wearing his shorts and as the cool air hits his skin, he wastes no time in finding his way back under the covers. Taking him by surprise, it is now my turn to tickle him and I am delighted to find out his ribs are almost as sensitive as mine. This 'play fight' has resulted in him lying on top of me and flashbacks from last night fill my mind.

'Mr Bates,' I say breathlessly.

'Miss O' Brien,' comes his mischievous reply. His wicked smile is enough to make me go weak at the knees and all resistance has evaporated as I press my lips to his. He responds eagerly as I feel his hand move down to my hip. A new yet familiar feeling starts to build within me and I am transported back a few hours. Pulling away, he is now leaning above me.

'I hope last night was alright for you.' he whispers, almost out of the blue. How could he think anything else? I am a changed woman. Yes, I was a little nervous at first but I trust him inexplicably. Last night was the most amazing experience of my life. So far.

'Yes, it was wonderful. Although, I feel different this morning.' I admit. This causes his face to drop and I sense I may have said something wrong. I work quickly to alleviate his fears. 'Until last night I felt like a piece of me was missing, then we were together and now I feel complete.'

'I will never understand what it is you see in me.' he replies modestly.

'Then I shall tell you, Mr Bates.' I begin as he smiles at my impish tone. 'Nowadays, after the war and everything, I only feel safe when I am with you. Granted, you are the limit of my experience with men but I can honestly say I don't care. No one could ever make me feel the way that you do.'

He responds to these words by kissing me, a beautiful kiss that leaves me in no doubt as to his intentions. A part of me wants to, yet another questions if we have time. We'll have to sneak back through the house as it is.

'My love, do we have time for this?' I sigh, cringing inside at my frankness before weakening as he turns his attentions to my neck.

'Hmmm?' he mumbles, lifting himself up. Sighing, he comes to his senses, his gaze never leaving mine.

'Don't we have to make our way to our rooms soon?' I reiterate. It is as hard for me as it is for him to admit our night together may be coming to an end.

'I suppose so.' Reluctantly, I release my arms from his back as he rolls back to his side of the bed.

We move on our sides to face each other, his right hand entwined in my left, neither wanting to be the first to move. I feel him fiddling with my wedding band, deep in thought.

'We should get up.' I say. We still don't move.

'I don't know when we'll be able to do this again.' he says sadly, staring into the distance behind me.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, I know the police aren't done with me. It just all seems a bit too good to be true.' he admits, moving his hand from mine before he gently begins caressing my shoulder. What he has said has brought us both crashing down to earth. This night in our own little world has given us a taste of what our married life could be like, but the reality of the situation he could find himself in makes that life together seem so far away. Still, nothing has happened yet and there is no reason to think that it will.

'Look at me, John.' Still staring into space, I put a hand on his chin and move him so he is looking at me. 'John, that is not a request, it is an order.' This causes a smile to spread across his face.

'Is this what being married to you is going to be like?'

'Yes.' is my forthright reply. 'Now listen. Nothing has happened yet. There is no indication that anything will indeed happen. So enough of that.'

'Yes dear.' he smirks.

We get out of bed and catch each other smiling at the other intermittently as we get dressed. The stroll to our rooms is in silence but the early hour makes us confident enough to hold hands as we walk.

Upon reaching the corridor of the servants quarters, it dawns on us both that we are going to have to say goodbye to each other. It may only be until breakfast but even to be that long without him seems unbearable. Standing opposite me, he leans his cane against the wall and takes both my hands in his.

'Well Mrs Bates,' he says in almost a whisper, although I think any other tone wouldn't have made it sound as perfect as it did. 'This is where we must say our farewells.'

'Last night was wonderful. Thank you.' I realise how incredibly weak this sounds, but the fact I am having to say goodbye to this man at all leaves me lost for words. All I want is to be with him every minute of every day.

'I should be thanking you.' He looks beyond me then and tilts his head to the side. I know when he does this he is about to reveal something about himself. Like he has in the past. 'When I came here I was on the brink. My life was in tatters. I came to Downton to find a better life and I found you. You are my life now and I would die before you came to any harm.'

No words would come close to describing how he has made me feel by saying what he just has, so the only way I can respond is with a kiss.

'I love you.' I say as the kiss is broken, our lips still nearly touching. 'Not being able to say I love you is nearly as bad as not being able to touch each other.' I wonder if I am sounding like a whining child as he begins to express his amusement.

'We need a code.' he suggests. 'We know we are saying I love you, but no one else will.' I smile at yet another secret between us.

'Okay John, how will I know you love me then?'

'I'll cough.' he replies simply. 'And you?'

It's too early in the morning for this I think to myself before scratching my forehead.

'Perfect, scratch your head.' He smiles.

I laugh at the absurdity of it all but find myself agreeing. 'I've married a mad man.' I tease.

'Yes, but a mad man who...' he stopped before coughing. This sets me off into a fit of laughter again.

We say our goodbyes then. Walking a few steps backwards, he smiles at me before turning and making his way to the opposite end of the corridor. I watch until he is out of view and sigh before turning on my heel and walking towards my room.