This is one rather "meaty" chapter. It reveals who the father of the Bates baby is, delves into Bates relationship with his Da and touches a little on his effort to protect and support his Mum. Also discovers his shock at Vera's decision regarding the pregnancy, and a presents a crucial decision of his that will traumatically change his life forever.

Thank you again for the reviews, comments, follows, etc. I almost gave up on this story, thinking I wasn't the right person to write it, but a couple of new reviews have made my day and given me the impetus to carry on. Any input is truly appreciated both positive and negative. Still a rookie fanfic writer, feeling her way through the experience.

John Bates, Vera Bates, Robert Crawley, and Anna Smith are all characters created by Julian Fellowes. Only the plotline is mine.

"Da?"

Bates couldn't believe his eyes. What was his father doing here, and at this time in the morning? John shook his head in an attempt to make the picture before him clearer. He never in a million years would have expected to find his father standing in his kitchen like this.

There was silence as John surveyed his dad and came to grips with his presence in his house. Shawn Bates was a big man… Powerfully built with broad shoulders and forearms that resembled sturdy tree limbs. His once jet black hair was now interspersed with patches of grey. His nose was long and pointed but bore the telltale signs of too much alcohol consumption as tiny blue and red capillaries vined their way around his nostrils. The hazel eyes that John had inherited from his dad were now rheumy looking and lined in red. He could barely reconcile the sight of the man before him with the old picture that hung in the front room of his childhood home. A picture that his mum would often stop and stare at until the tears would start to fall. John hated the fact that he resembled his father so much in that photo. He illogically felt that it was partially his fault his mother would cry whenever she studied it.

He was brought back to reality when his father finally spoke.

"J-Johnny, son…didjn't know you were in town." Shawn sputtered. "Didja get some leave? Don't tell your Da that you're absent without leave, lad? Yer should've let us know you were commin' . Yer Mum will be trilled to see ya…I need to wet me whistle, I'm a bit parched this morning. Bates dad turned and got a glass of water, and took a sip. "Ya look like you could use some water yourself, Johnny." His voice sounded thick as he slurred some of his words. He then faced John and offered him the glass. "

John shook his head. "No thanks. I'm fine." Only John wasn't fine. He was trying to reconcile himself to the fact that he was having this conversation with his dad while standing in his nightshirt in his kitchen at 5am in the morning.

"In answer to your questions, I just arrived yesterday, Da. Didn't tell anyone because I wanted to surprise Vera. I'd planned on visiting both you and mum later this week." John lied to his father as he hadn't any intention of stopping by to see his parents, having planned to spend his entire leave in bed with his wife.

"Aye, well it's good to see ya son. I-I swear it looks like you've grown a couple of inches and you've put on at least a stone since I last saw you. What's it been now, Johnny? A year…two?"

"A year and a half." John felt it was his turn to ask the questions… something about this exchange between him and his father seemed more strained than usual. John couldn't help but notice that his dad was having a hard time looking at him. He blamed it on the obvious intoxicated state his father was in as the reason for his inability to focus.

Shawn was a habitual drunk. That was not to say that he was lazy. Lord knows he worked hard for long hours paving roads and picking up the odd construction job to support his little family of Bates' mother, Elizabeth and John, himself. It didn't happen every month, but usually every other that the man would wind up in a local pub and proceed to drink away a couple of weeks wages, leaving Elizabeth to fret and worry over how the monthly rent and groceries would be paid for. That's why John had felt it his obligation to keep up his skills as a pickpocket in order to supplement the family income with his illegally gotten gains from being an expert cutpurse.

The drinking alone was reason enough for John to dislike his dad, but Shawn Bates had one other particularly nasty character trait that made John ultimately hate his father. He couldn't quite remember when he first was aware of it, but he remembered as a child hearing his parents arguing, their voices getting louder, until his father would change the tone of the disagreement into an opportunity to make it personal towards his wife. He'd call her names, vile ones which as a youngster, John didn't know the meaning of. All he knew was that his mother would start to cry when Shawn used them against her. And then as if in a script, his dad would start screaming at her to stop crying and then he'd hear a slap, and his mom's sobbing gasp, followed by another blow, and her pleading with him to stop, followed by soft whimpering…she was sorry…she'd behave.

As John grew older and stronger, he'd try to insert himself between the elder Bates and his mum. Usually all he'd have to show for it would be a black eye or a bloody nose for daring to interfere as he would be easily and roughly pushed aside, forced to watch his mom take another beating. But once he'd been caught full on the face by a roundhouse blow and the ring his dad wore tore into his face and left a scar on his right cheek. That scar would serve as a constant reminder to John of the type of man he would never allow himself to become.

When John turned 17 he had put on enough muscle on his long frame to be able to confront his dad fairly, in a physical, man to man fight. After a particularly long shouting match between his parents John heard the drawer of the sideboard open and realized his dad was about to come after his mom with a knife. Young Bates rushed between them, grabbing the knife by the blade and pulling it out of Shawn's hand. The blade slashed a gash across four of his fingers but he didn't mind the blood. Tossing the knife aside Bates grabbed his father by the collar, slamming him into the kitchen wall and lifting him up off the floor as the man frantically tried to get his footing.

"Don't you ever touch my mother again," John snarled. "If you do, I swear to god I will kill you. Do you understand me, old man?" Shawn nodded quickly, his countenance shrouded in fear. John recalled how satisfied he felt seeing the terror in his father's eyes after that exchange. He wanted to make sure to leave a lasting impression on this poor excuse for a man. He needed to make sure that when he finally left home; his mom would be safe from Shawn's vile temper and physical abuse.

John let his mind drift back to the present, staring warily at his father. What was he doing here at this hour? He was supposed to have been helping out with any repairs to the house Vera might need done and also, along with Elizabeth watch over Vera while John was overseas. But why had he shown up now, before dawn?

"Why did you come here?" John decided to take the direct approach with the old drunk.

"Why, you asked us to come by and check-in on Vera while you were o'erseas, John. You must remember you asked us to do that?"

"Aye, I did. But mum was supposed to be with you and why are you here so early in the morning?"

"Ah, well you see Johnny… one man's early is another man's late." He chuckled at what he thought was a clever reply. "I be just coming back from the Pig's Whistle. Was on a bit of a Guinness feed last night and wound up sleeping it off in one of their rooms upstairs… Now don't be thinking anything bad 'bout me son. I was sleeping alone in that room." Shawn shook his finger at John, as if he was a school boy caught being truant. "I woke up and let meself out. And as I was passing by Vera's thought I'd stop by and see if there was anything I could help her with." Shawn's eyes had been downcast the entire time he told John his tale. He finally looked up after the story ended, but only with his eyes. His head remained down.

John listened carefully to his father's explanation. On its own the story was plausible, but something his father had said earlier... before John had let his presence be known to Shawn, deeply troubled him.

"Before you knew it was me in the room, you said something about 'coming out to meet you', and 'eager to have some fun'?" Was that supposed to be addressed towards Vera?

John watched as the coloring of Shawn's face turned ashen. He bit his lip and Bates could almost see the wheels spinning in his father's head. John could feel an uncontrollable rage start to rise up throughout his body. The tingling started at the tip of his toes and slowly roiled and boiled upwards fueled by the knowledge that his father may have committed an unspeakable act on his wife. The longer the silence between them, the angrier John became. But he held himself in check, hoping against hope that his father had some reasonable explanation for what he'd said.

While waiting for a response, John heard the bedroom door creak open. Vera emerged with her chemise on under a tattered robe which hung loosely open on her body.

"John, who are you talking too? I heard voices." Vera yawned noisily after posing her question. Her eyes were closed as she spread her arms wide open. John wasn't sure if she was trying to embrace him or merely stretching. "Johnny… please tell me you can forgive…" Vera stopped in mid-sentence as she opened her eyes and saw John's dad standing in the kitchen. Her face blanched as she held her hand to her mouth and slowly backed away, towards the bedroom. John noticed a flash of recognition in Vera's eyes as she stared in Shawn's direction.

"Da?" John said that word once again; fully aware that it might be the last time he'd ever address the man. If it turned out his father was responsible for Vera's condition, he knew he had but one choice and that was to make him pay with his life. "DA!" John said it more forcefully. "Can you explain to me why you said what you did? "

"Um… well. Ye must have misunderstood me, Johnny. I'd no reason to say that to Vera… Can't even remember saying anything before I saw 'twas you in the kitchen. Perhaps you heard me reciting some passages from me favorite author. I've taken to reading some lately. I like that fellow Dickens."

"Enough!" John barely recognized his voice. It sounded like thunder to his ears and there was something primal and unforgiving in its tone and timbre. John slowly looked from his father to his wife… The answer he was dreading shone on both their faces.

Bloodlust coursed through John's veins now. His father was a dead man, and his wife… she'd never have to worry about that animal ever touching her again. Slowly he turned away from Vera and towards his father. His hands unconsciously clenching and opening, as though he were pumping up his arms so they would be strong… strong enough to tear his father apart.

"N-n-now J-J-John. Don't be jumping to conclusions. I only come here to help out Vera when she was having difficulties. Nothing more, I…"

"Shut it!" John spat at his father… He was slowly approaching the man. Shawn shrank in terror from the predatory look in his son's eyes. The senior Bates knew John was capable of killing him with his bare hands, so he'd best arm himself or die for sure. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the glass he had been drinking from earlier and smashed it against the water basin leaving him with a dozen or so large, sharp shards of glass. He grabbed a flannel by the sink and used it as a handle as he wrapped it around the bottom of a couple of glassy spikes.

"Son, don't do it. I'm sorry." the wreck of a man pleaded for his life. But his entreaties fell on deaf ears.

All John could hear now was the rush of his blood being pumped through to his brain. He was vaguely aware of a female voice, asking him to stop… But the direction it was coming from was unclear. He couldn't even tell if it came from within the same room.

"She's pregnant… did you know that?" John sneered in Shawn's direction, his eyes unable to focus directly on the man. "Do you realize she's carrying my sibling? What kind of sick twisted bastard are you? You deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth, and I'm the one that will be pleased and happy to be responsible for your demise."

"Wha..What? N-no… I didn't know that. She said she was using protection…same as she used when you two are together," Shawn stammered.

Hearing that immediately stopped John's forward progress as his father's words sunk into his head. Wait… Vera was purposely keeping herself from getting pregnant with him? John was pretty forward thinking for his time, and had long ago accepted the concept of a woman's body being her own and no man should dictate whether she bare children or not. No, that wasn't the problem. What he had difficulty accepting is why she hadn't told him of her scheme. If she didn't want to have kids, fine. He believed he could live with that. But to not have at least discussed it with him or inform him of her decision to put off being pregnant was contrary to the basic notion of trust between two married people.

"Is this true, Vera?"

"Is what true?" her voice trembled slightly in reply.

"That you didn't want to have children with me? Why not? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because, I was afraid, Johnny!" Her words tumbled out of her mouth, unedited, the honest truth, but perhaps too late. "You are in the Army and I knew you could be called away to fight in the war, and I knew I just couldn't do it…Do it alone… have a baby. Take care of it without your help. You know me Johnny, I shouldn't have had to tell you. You should have known."

"Yet, you're fine with it now?" John's head was spinning. Vera was carrying his half brother or sister and she's appeared fine, even happy with that. But she didn't want to have a child with him?

"It wasn't planned, obviously. I found out I was pregnant and I was scared and wanted to see about getting rid of it at first. But it was costly and I hadn't the money, and was too scared to try one of them back alley docs. As the time went by, I-I came to like the idea of having a baby. Someone who would be here always for me to love. You don't know how lonely it is, John. It's not like when we first started out and lived on the base. I've no one to talk to my own age here. "

"At first your da was nice. He'd come over during the day to check up on me and stay for a chat. Your mum would never come by. You know how she hated me for taking her Johnny boy away? She never thought me good enough for you."

"Your father would always make me laugh and one night, around six months ago, he appeared on his way from the pub and he had a bottle of whiskey. So we drank a few and I don't remember much more beyond that… other than the next morning wondering what the empty whiskey bottle was doing in my bed. He came by the next week with another bottle, and a sort of routine set in… I'm sorry, John. I never meant for it to continue…and when I fully realized what was going on after I'd had some drink, I told him I wanted no part of him. But he threatened me and said he'd tell you and the neighbors, not that he was responsible, but rather that I entertained men for money. My reputation and yours would have been destroyed."

"Around this time I started feeling nauseous. I prayed that the reason would be some sort of sickness…anything other than being with child. But that is what I am. And now, knowing that you'll be shipping off to South Africa and may not come back to me… I want to keep this child. With or without you, I'll raise it."

John thought he was going to get sick as a wave of nausea swept over him trying to process what Vera was telling him. He let his guard down in that instant and Shawn decided to run for it and attempted to escape out the front door of the house. As he started to sprint for the door, John caught the flash of movement coming from his father's direction and leaped to block his egress.

"No! You bloody, bloody bastard!" John launched his body through the air in an attempt to grab his father as he bolted for the front door. "You'll not get away with what you've done that easily." He roared. He was just able to catch his dad by his back collar and with one strong jerk managed to throw him across the kitchen floor. "You're going to pay and pay dearly for what you've done to Vera and to me and… to my mum."

With those final words, John let out a low, guttural roar and crossed the kitchen with one long stride to where his father laid, gasping for air.

"Stay away John.. I'm warning you." Shawn gasped as tried to catch his breath. He waved a long shard of the glass he'd broken earlier, grasping it by the flannel end. "I'll cut you if you come any closer!"

The threat made John even angrier, if that was possible… "Don't threaten me… don't ever threaten me," he growled. By now his head was pounding as he literally saw red. He hesitated before getting any closer to Shawn… Looking for a clear shot at him while avoiding being slashed by the broken glass shiv his father had created and was now waving wildly.

Hearing Vera shout, "John, please no…don't", he stopped for a moment and that's when Shawn decided to take another try at escape. He had absolutely no compunction stabbing his son, if that was what was required to save his skin. Leaping to his feet quickly, in a surprisingly agile move for a man his size and age, John's dad thrust the broken glass towards John's belly. John managed to step aside, so that the makeshift knife missed its intended mark but did nick him in the side. He felt a sharp pain and then the slow trickle of blood drip down his torso, down his right leg and onto the floor.

Shawn stopped motionless, as if mesmerized that he'd been unable to disable John enough for him to escape. The younger Bates stared at his father then swiftly grabbed his left wrist, smartly twisted it and heard the clattering of the glass shards as they hit the floor.

John grabbed his father by the throat with his left hand as his right smashed Shawn over and over again in the face. Breaking his nose and splitting his lip before he took a breather. He released his hand from around his father's throat and watched him groan and then drop like a sack of potatoes onto the ground. Still seething with hate for his dad and everything he stood for; John sank to his knees and began reining blow after blow on to his father's upper body and face. Mentally, he was counting off as each blow was struck… this is for Vera…this is for the baby…this is for mum…this is for the beatings…

Physically, John was exhausted… his arms ached and his knuckles were bloodied once again…He didn't remember when, but sometime while he was punishing his dad, he had managed to straddle his chest, and now found his hands around the man's throat. He felt them close tighter… the sight of his dad's face turning purple as he clenched them tighter and tighter seemed unreal. It was like a dream… he was almost watching himself do it… Felt his father's legs flailing and kneeing him in the back as he struggled to get free.

"I can do this." John thought out loud. "This bloody animal deserves to die." An internal dialogue then flooded John's brain as he realized that he would most certainly hang for what he intended to do. But, he took solace in that no one would ever be hurt again by this vile, wicked person. The two people he cared most about in the whole world would be safe… Vera and his Mum.

He felt someone tugging on his shoulders, trying to pull him off his now unconscious father… Just a minute more and he'd be finished, John thought. "Let go of me!" he bellowed as the hands were now in his face, fingers grasping at his mouth and nostrils… trying to get him to release the death grip he had locked around his father's throat.

"Stop.. please stop!. No, don't kill him!" a voice called out.

"I said, Get off me!" John yelled once more at his attacker and with that he released one hand from Shawn's throat and violently swiped his arm in the direction he was being pulled towards.

His arm hit something soft and then John heard a thud followed by a piercing scream, another thud and then silence. He released Shawn immediately and turned while still on his knees.

What he saw took his breath away. His body frozen in place as time stopped and the remnants of his life came crashing down around him. It was Vera, crumpled at the base of the sideboard, unconscious… a crimson stain starting to spread and seep onto the ground beneath her…