A/N: I'm glad to see that some of you are still interested in this story and that you all liked Anna's brother so much. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. The reviews mean so much and I've loved them all. Thanks so much.

Part XX

Anna made her way down the stairs of the home she had grown up in. In some ways it was like the cottage she and John shared back at Downton. It was a little older to be sure, but still served its purpose. Judging by the position of the sun she had slept in longer than she intended to. She only hoped no one else had noticed with the busy day that lay ahead of them. Anna pushed in on the door that led to the kitchen and was immediately met by the smiling faces of her mother, David, Ingrid, and John.

"It's a wonder you get anything done at Downton sleeping the day away," David teased.

"Leave her be," Helen scolded him as she came through with a skillet full of eggs. "It's her first morning back. It takes a while to get used to sleeping in a bed that isn't your own."

John smiled at his mother in law over the newspaper he was reading. It was a few days old but he hadn't had much time to read the current events at Downton in the servants hall. He and Anna were used to showing up just as the servants were finishing up their breakfast and if he were honest, he much prefered a good book to the bleak news of what was going on in the world since the end of the war. Anything that was worth mentioning or hearing about usually filtered through the halls faster than he could ever read it.

"From the sound of her snoring, falling asleep isn't Anna's problem," David added with a chuckle.

Anna wiped the last of the sleep from her eyes and took her seat beside John. She eyed him from the side, chiding him without words for allowing her to have a lie in so late into the morning. She had clearly let go of life as a country girl where waking up long before the sun came up was mandatory and not an option.

"You should have woken me before you came down," Anna muttered under her breath towards John. Her mother set down a pitcher of water on the table and some fresh fruit in a bowl.

John waited for Helen to turn her attentions back to the stove. "I wanted to. But you haven't slept that peacefully in a long time. I thought you could use a good night's rest with the day we have ahead of us," he whispered back to her.

She couldn't fault him for that.

John gave her hand a gentle squeeze under the table and was moved by the small smile that crept up the corners of her mouth.

"Eat up," Helen instructed them as she set down enough eggs to feed the small group twice over. "It's going to be a long day and lunch won't be until one in the afternoon."

"That sounds just fine," John chimed in. The rest of the group nodded their heads diligently in agreement, already well aware of how the harvest schedule worked.

"Anna you'll work with Ingrid for the day," Helen doled out the responsibilities.

Ingrid shot a cheerful smile towards Anna, "It will give us a chance to catch up."

Anna smile back at the younger woman. Ingrid had to be at least ten years younger than herself, but she seemed sweet. Her innocence reminded her of Daisy. And suddenly there was a longing for home that swept over her. But the feeling didn't last long as Helen continued to speak.

"You'll both be helping with collecting the harvest after the men have sheared it. David has already selected a couple lads from the village to help with this. He's in charge of their lot."

John couldn't help but notice he wasn't included in the tasks that were being assigned. Perhaps she'd forgotten about him or didn't want him to participate, feeling that he was too feeble to handle the labor of a farmer. He could manage shearing, for a while atleast. The terrain of the fields was a little different than he was used to walking the hallways of Downton. It would wear on his knee much faster and there was a chance that he could twist a muscle with his balance being off. But he wanted to be of use and not just watch from the porch all day.

"John?" Helen said as she tried to get his attention.

He had been brooding so hard, he hadn't heard her voice the first time.

"You'll be working with me. I think I have use for you in other matters," Helen said.

John gulped at the thought as he tried to force his bite of eggs down. What on earth did she have in mind?

Helen drove John around the property, stopping here and there to ask him his opinion on this and that. John still wasn't sure why they weren't helping the others but she assured him this is where they needed to be. She had brought a pad of paper for him and asked him to jot things down: repair this, install that, remove these. As he mulled over the list John noticed none of the things she mentioned had anything to do with the harvest.

After a while Helen pulled over on the top of a hill that overlooked the property. They sat in comfortable silence until she let out a deep sigh. "Forty years. Forty years is how long I've been working these fields."

"It's quite an accomplishment," John remarked.

"Is it though?" Helen pondered out loud.

John tilted his head and stared at her oddly.

"My life's work is embedded in the soil; in the very roots running beneath our feet. I outlived my husband and my youngest son. This is all I have now," Helen said. The older woman stared off into the distance like she was looking back on days gone by. "Well, it was all I had..."

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"I went to the bank the other day. We are looking at another low yield year. Things just haven't been the same since before the war. Even with the harvest coming in we'll still be short and behind on payments to the bank for the land."

John nodded his head along in silent understanding, giving her time to finish her thought process.

"I've kept them at bay for as long as I could but, sometimes you have to know when you're licked."

"Anna never let on..."

"Anna doesn't know," she quickly replied. "Neither does David." Helen took a deep breath to compose herself. "I'm not one to give up my secrets unless I have to."

Though her words broke his heart, John smiled. He had said those exact words before to himself. A saying he had inherited from his own mother.

Her lower lip warbled like she might start crying and seeing her in that light, reminded John so much of Anna.

"My poor boy puts as much of himself as he can into keeping this place going but he's only one man. I made a deal...with the bank. Asked them if they could hold off until after the harvest and allow me to make some improvements so they could sell the place for more. Then hopefully I could at least keep the house or walk away with enough to start over somewhere else."

"Why are you telling me this?" John asked.

"My girl always said you were a good listener. And after seeing how far she's come since...well you know. I know I can trust you with this, John."

He shifted nervously in his seat. Not because he didn't like the idea, but he could feel like the weight of the world was settling on his shoulders. He didn't want to fail Helen in this aspect or Anna's for that matter.

"You have a fresh set of eyes and attention to detail from years of being a valet. I thought maybe you could give some points for improvement and help me to manage the repairs while I keep an eye on the harvest. It's a lot to ask, but I can't do both at the same time and I'm at my wits end," she confided.

John let his hand rest on top of hers, "It's going to be alright. A farmer, I'm not. But I'll help in any way I can."

"That's all I ask," she said with a gentle smile.

They waited a little while before she started the car up again and they drove back down to the house. Anna looked at John curiously for any indication of what they were up to that whole time they were gone. "Is everything alright?" she whispered to him as they headed inside to prepare lunch.

"Perfectly fine," he answered back.

"She didn't give you a hard time did she?" Anna asked defensively.

"No. Your mother and I are getting along very well this go around," he said with a hint of enthusiasm.

Even though it wasn't necessary, John helped the men to unload the wagons of all that they were able to collect that day. Anna shook her head in disapproval as she watched him cautiously, but she didn't voice her concerns aloud; not wanting to risk embarrassing her husband. Just one look at him and the way his body moved as he went about his work was enough to make her forget what she was upset about in the first place. He still moved with grace as the muscles is his arms and back flexed with each load he hauled over to the barn. She had become so accustomed to seeing him in a suit that she often forgot what it was like to see him in work clothes. Especially work clothes that left little to the imagination. Anna bit down on her lower lip in silent anticipation as she observed him from afar; imagining what she'd like to be doing with him at that exact moment.

"Anna?" Ingrid's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Hmmm...oh I'm sorry Ingrid. I just got lost in my thoughts," Anna excused herself.

Ingrid looked in the direction of Anna's eyeline to see what she had been staring at so intently and stifled a giggle. "I see. Well I won't interrupt you."

"No it's quite alright," Anna assured her. It wasn't as if she and John could find a place to be alone anyway.

"Your Ma needs our help getting the food assembled for the workers."

"I'll be right there," Anna said as she cast one last longing look towards John. He turned as she did and smiled back at her sheepishly.

John made his way up onto the porch and pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket to dab at his brow. While it wasn't particularly hot outside the summer months are certainly warmer and John was not accustomed to performing outdoor work that was this rigorous; not since his army days anyway. He leaned on a banister to take some weight off his knee and stretch it. There was a rocking chair on the porch that looked far too tempting but John knew if he took one seat he might never get up for the rest of the evening.

"John, there you are," David said as he approached him with the cups in his hands. He extended one out towards John.

"What's this?" John asked as he took it.

"Beer. Nice way to cap off a hard day's work," David said.

"I better not. I gave it up a long time ago, but thank you," John added hoping he hadn't offended the younger man.

David quickly shook off the comment and took the glass back. He chuckled easily and sat in the rocking chair. "You are an odd one, John. Full of surprises," David said as he took a full swig from his glass. "But I like you."

John smiled back at the young man sitting across from him. David almost reminded him of another young lad he had taken a liking to. William. If he squinted hard enough he could almost see him instead of David. They were both such kind natured and easy going souls. John could see how Anna would have become homesick in her early years at Downton having left this place and these people.

David drank in silence for awhile before seeing the glasses on the small table beside him. "I need to thank you John."

"Whatever for?"

"For taking such good care of my sister. On behalf of my father and brother who couldn't be here to say it themselves. Mama told me what you were like when she came to visit last time. I know we don't live close and hardly see each other any more but...I don't think I could have bared to lose her."

"Neither could I," John responded with a heavy heart.

"I know my father probably wouldn't agree with what I'm about to day but I don't care about your past. I see how happy you make her. That's enough for me," he said as he extended his hand to shake John's.

"Thank you, David."

"Also this is for you," David said as he gestured over to the hat sitting on the side table that looked like his own. "If you're going to farm with us you have to look the part."

John took the hat from him and stared down in awe. He hadn't felt so at home and welcome before in his life.

"Well go on try it on," David encouraged.

John slipped the hat on and adjusted it a little. It was a perfect fit.

Anna came out to call them in for lunch but stopped in her tracks when she saw John.

"What do you think?" John asked her.

"I think..." she tried to regain control of her body and hoped she wasn't blushing in front of her brother. "I think the farm life suits you," she said with a glowing smile. "Now you both come in, lunch is ready."

She had said she was going to check in on the animals' feed before supper was ready. John was sure the young lads that had been helping to bring in the harvest had already done it when they placed the animals back in their stalls and pens. But when she repeated once more that she still wanted to go he didn't fight her on the matter. Instead he offered to go with her, but Anna had insisted she could manage on her own. She reasoned that she didn't want him overworking his knee more than he had to.

If John thought work was physically taxing on him at Downton, the farm had quickly pushed those thoughts away. As much as he appreciated her concern for him, he was still able to walk the farm. Even if him staying meant he got a well deserved break for his knee, John had bit back the urge to join her.

But when supper was nearly complete and Helen came in to the sitting room to announce it was time to wash up John quickly surveyed the room and realized Anna hadn't come back yet. He was sure it was nothing, but he didn't like the idea of her wandering around on the property so late into the evening on her own. John excused himself and said he'd fetch Anna. He made his way to the barn first and poked his head in to see that the animals were all winding down for the evening, munching on the feed that had been left in their troughs. A nagging feeling in the back of his head made John wonder where Anna could be until he heard a sound he couldn't quite place. It moved with a predictable rhythm and then it was accompanied by a sound he hadn't heard in sometime but could distinctly place even in the most crowded of rooms. His wife was laughing.

John shut the door to the barn all the way and walked around the side of the structure. There was still a bit of light being cast off by the setting sun, like a spotlight on a stage was shining upon her. Anna was sitting on an old tire swing, swaying back and forth. Her shoes occasionally scraping against the ground, tracing random circular patterns below her. She stopped to wind the rope up as tightly as she could in one direction, then closed her eyes and let her head fall back as it spun in the opposite direction; allowing the speed and the sensation of letting go take hold of her. As the swing picked up speed with the momentum of her body she'd let out a series of giggles that left John awestruck. The sunset illuminated her body perfectly so, outlining her silhouette. The first hints of lightning bugs had begun to form around her and John found himself falling in love with her all over again. When the rope found it's center it snapped quickly, bringing her back to reality.

John hadn't meant to intrude on her private moment, only wanting to get a closer glimpse of her. The flyaway hairs that framed her face were even more disheveled than they had been after toiling in the fields all day. And her cheeks were flushed from laughing. But as John approached her he stepped on a small twig that cracked in the evening air and gave him away. Anna's head shot up to look at him and her laughs came to a halt as her fists clenched tightly to the rope. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," John quickly apologized.

Anna's head drooped a bit. She hated that she made him feel like he was always having to say sorry for something. "It's fine," she replied, but Anna didn't go back to swinging anymore.

"I only meant to fetch you. Your Mum says dinner is ready and we should wash up," John explained as he stepped forward, closing the gap.

Anna nodded her head in understand and began to rise from the swing to head inside.

"I heard you laughing. I hadn't heard it in so long I almost thought my mind must be playing tricks on me," he commented.

She looked ashamed, like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have been doing.

John reached out for her hand to help her up and assure her, "It's not wrong to laugh or enjoy yourself my darling. It's doesn't make his memory any less special and it won't make him disappear."

Anna let out a sigh. She was so tired of her heart being at odds with her ability to reason. And then John would come along and somehow make it better. "Thank you," Anna said softly.

"For what?" John asked with a quirk of the head.

"For loving me the way you do and being what I needed through all of this," Anna said.

"Of course," John replied swiftly. He placed a kiss on her cheek and led her back inside.