A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long. My hiatus between chapters was much longer than I orginally intended due to a myriad of things, honestly. But I'm so so pleased to be publishing this chapter for you all now. I hope you enjoy! If you have time to leave a review, I welcome any love or constructive feedback you might have for me. Thanks for reading!

Chapter Four

Anna and John had decided to go on another date the evening following their last one. As they had gotten dressed that morning, they decided they couldn't wait days to see each other again, so they made plans to meet at a cozy cafe for dinner.

Once they had settled in the booth, Anna decided to ask her what was on her mind. She hadn't been able to get this particular worry out of her mind all day, so she figured she'd better not beat around the bush and just ask him. "John," she said timidly, catching his eye as he looked up at the concern in her voice and reached across the table for her hand. She took it gladly and continued on, "I..I was wondering. What you said last night, was that genuine?"

"About falling for you?" he asked, wanting to clarify. She nodded, her beautiful blue eyes beginning to tear up slightly due to her worry. "Oh, Anna, yes absolutely. I meant every word I said about how strongly I feel for you. I've never felt this way about anyone else in the whole of my life," he confessed sincerely, looking right into her eyes to give her that reassurance she obviously needed.

"Then how come you're going back to Ireland?" she asked.

"Who says I'm going back to Ireland?"

"Well, no one I guess, but I just figured it would have to happen eventually. Your whole life is there, your band, your friends. And when you do, I don't know if I could cope with the distance between us," she admitted.

"Anna, I..I'm not going back to Ireland," he confessed, rubbing soft circles into the back of her palm to settle her.

"You're not?" she asked, surprised.

"No, I'm not," he said firmly. "Anna, I'm starting my life here. In London. With you close by. You don't have to worry about managing a long-distance relationship because we're not gonna be in a long-distance relationship."

"But I don't understand?"

"You know my old Navy buddy I was visiting in Yorkshire? Well, he owns a vineyard. It's a part of Downton Industries, actually. Anyways, he's asked me to help him with managing his inventory, and it's a job that is done remotely. So, I'm staying in London."

"And where are you staying?"

"Right now, I'm still in the hotel. But I'm looking for a month-to-month lease I could sign onto at the start of next month."

"And you're sure this is what you want? And I still don't understand? What about your band?"

"Oh, our drummer, Tom, has had to relocate to Manchester for the time being. His sister-in-law is real sick, and he has to help his brother care for their two young girls. So, we've disbanded for the time being. And from the texts I've been getting all day, it sounds like our bassist is getting married and moving to Belfast," he said with a slight chuckle, pulling out his phone to show her all the excitable texts from his mate's proposal, making Anna laugh too.

"Well, good for him," she said, still laughing slightly. "So, that's three out of four of you up and gone. I guess you wouldn't be able to play without a bassist and a drummer anyways. Still, are you sure this is what you want? London life is very different from playing music in an Irish pub with your mates. You could always just find new people to play with you in Derry."

"But I don't want new people. I loved playing with Tom, Jack, and William. We made good music, music that helped me find myself again. But I'm confident that now is the time to move forward, and staying in London, staying near you, is exactly the direction I want to be headed."

Anna could feel the sincerity in his voice, and she couldn't help but feel a bit emotional as she realized his level of commitment to her. John truly seemed to want to be with her, and he was willing to give up his band to get there. Granted, she didn't want that for him, but she also understood that he didn't see it that way. His bandmates were moving on with their lives as was he, and it was the right point in their lives for those changes. Perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was luck. Or perhaps it was just life. But either way, Anna knew she was extremely grateful John was taking this step to be nearer to her, and she knew she would never again doubt his intentions or his feelings towards her. He was clearly serious about her, and she was serious about him too.

With that, she allowed herself to think about and plan future date opportunities with him. She let her mind wander to a world of more musical conversations, more intimate moments, more commitments made to each other. She was falling for him, and nothing, not even her own mind, was going to get in the way of that any more.

John settled into his flat in London, hiring movers to help him get some of the things he had brought over from Ireland into his flat. The rest of his things, he had instructed his bandmates who were still in Derry to sell for him. It had taken about a month to find a place, sign the lease, move in, and unpack, and there were still a few finishing touches he needed to complete, such as hanging a few pictures on the wall and purchasing a new coffee table for the living room. However, he couldn't wait any longer to show Anna his new place. He had returned to her flat several times since his first visit, meeting up for a drink before they went out to dinner or returning there afterwards to continue their conversation. Now he felt it was time they began adding his own apartment into the mix, but he had to show it to his girlfriend properly first. It was time for Anna to come over.

He texted her and asked her if she'd be willing to let him cook for her and come over and see his place for their next date, to which she had enthusiastically agreed. Now it was 5pm, and John had just finished making them a cocktail to sip on when Anna arrived. He heard a knock on his door and eagerly went to answer it.

"Hello, beautiful," he said casually, opening the door, stopping in his tracks for a moment when he realized how gorgeous the woman standing before him truly was. Anna was wearing a gorgeous navy blue dress. It was casual but nonetheless stunning, and it was perfectly accented by her long, wavy blonde hair. "Wow, you look incredible," he breathed.

Anna blushed. "Well, thank you," she said, flashing a sweet, humble smile. "Now, are you going to let me in or just stand there all night?" she teased.

He chuckled at himself and stepped aside. "Here we are, madame," he joked, ushering her inside as if he were a butler in a grand house. She laughed and gave him a playful smack as she took off her shoes and set them on the rack in the entryway and her coat on the hook.

"These are for you," she said, handing him a bouquet of yellow lilies with orange and white chrysanthemums.

"Usually the man gives the woman the flowers," he joked, "But these are lovely, thank you."

"Well since you were hosting and cooking, I guess I just felt obligated to bring a gift for the host," she teased. "Besides, yellow and orange seemed perfectly masculine enough for you."

"It is," John agreed, flashing her a smile and taking a sniff of the flowers before walking into the kitchen to find something to put them in.

He placed them in a cup of water, resolving to buy a vase soon, before opening to the oven to check on the lasagna. Anna got a whiff of his cooking and immediately loved it. "That smells heavenly, John. A man's never cooked for me before, but now I hope you never stop. You're spoiling me, I'm afraid."

John chuckled at her as he pulled the pan out of the oven. "For you, I don't mind the spoiling," he said with a wink. "Besides, my mama raised me right. She taught me how to treat a woman."

"Well I'm pleased to hear that, Mr. Bates," Anna said with a laugh. "I would have loved to have met her."

"And I'm sure she'd have loved to have met you. To know I had someone as amazing as you in my life would have made her very happy," he said, brushing her hair behind her ear tenderly and placing a soft kiss on her temple.

She reached up and ran her fingers delicately along his jawline for a moment before meeting his lips in a soft, loving peck. "I hope we will be in each other's lives for quite a while to come, John," she said once their kiss was done.

"I hope so too," he said with a sweet smile before pressing another quick kiss to her cheek and then ushering her over to get some food.

After dinner, they found themselves in John's music room chatting about their favorite songs and listening to little snippets of them, singing along and even harmonizing together in some parts. It was so lovely for them to have each other. To have someone who understood and connected with them on such a deeply soulful level like this. And that was made abundantly clear by how effortlessly they harmonized with one another.

"You know, I was thinking," Anna started when their singing had come to a bit of a lull. "If you added a harmony on the chorus for 'Misfire,' it could add an interesting level to it. Like, if multiple people were singing it, it would show the universality of grief and how layered the emotions surrounding it can be."

John was immediately intrigued by this proposal, and he found himself agreeing with it. One of the first things he and Anna had bonded over was how tough it was to grieve someone and how music could be a healer in those dark times. How music could be the thing to reach out and touch you on a level nothing else can, especially in times of loss when you want to close yourself off and be numb to the world. But then music comes and grabs you and forces you to grapple with those feelings or it gives you an escape from them or both at different times. And somehow always at the exact right moment when you most need it to.

"Let's try it," he replied, wanting to hear the depth created by the harmony between him and Anna's voices again. Wanting to see if that depth of meaning in the lyrics felt like something that could be translatable to others. Because ultimately that's what music is about to him. Conveying and relaying feelings that are otherwise impossible to describe yet somehow widely relatable on the level that makes us human.

Anna nodded as John picked up his guitar and began strumming away, getting into the song. He sang the first verse solo, setting the mood perfectly and allowing Anna to get her bearings before joining in. She came in towards the end of the second verse on "You can't fight the cycle," feeling those words deep within her bones as she thought about her father's death.

They continued on for the chorus. And I'm sorry for the misfire. In the call that madе you tongue-tied. In the loss that made you realize no one's getting out of here alive.

By the time the song was over, they were both a little teary-eyed at the magic they had just created and the added meaning behind the words. John was so grateful Anna had suggested harmonizing with him on the song because he knew it added a really nice depth to the song vocally and emotionally. He gave her a soft smile, conveying his gratitude in a way words couldn't possibly express, and received a smile in return. Clearly, they had both enjoyed this tonight. Singing together was special, and John hoped it was something they could begin doing much more often in the future. He wanted to feel this magic as often as he could. He was in love.