A/N: Hi, y'all! I'm here with a fluffy Banna one shot. Jo's baby shower got me thinking about what a modern Anna Bates baby shower would look like, so I wanted to write something about that. Congratulations to Jo on her baby news and best wishes for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

Summer 2024

"Anna, look at you, you're glowing," Rose marveled, watching from the sidelines as Anna and John had their picture taken in front of the "oh baby" backdrop.

Anna was 32 weeks pregnant. Today was the day her baby would be celebrated, and her and John would be showered with well wishes. They had rented out a hotel dining room for their baby shower and invited their family and friends, most of which happened to be their co-workers.

Downton Abbey used to be a grand home for the aristocratic Crawleys, but it had been converted into a historical site popular with tourists. People loved to have their weddings there, and filming crews enjoyed using it as a location for period pieces. Mary and Robert Crawley were descendants of the original family that lived there, and they still owned and operated the house and estate. Robert had hired his best friend, John, to manage the finances for the estate, and Anna had been brought on by Mary to help organize the parties and weddings they hosted. After several years of working together with love blossoming under the surface, John had finally worked up the courage to ask Anna on a date. Three years later, they were married and were now expecting their first child.

Soon enough, other attendees were echoing Rose's sentiments and joining in with the couple for more photos. "Oh, Anna, congratulations," Mary said, giving her friend a huge hug as the photographer took a few candids. Everyone was happy for Anna, especially Mary who knew how much Anna had wanted to have a child for many years.

"Thank you so much, Mary," Anna said, smiling big for the photo with her best friend. "We're thrilled."

"I'm so happy for you. I know how much you've wanted this, and you deserve it. You are going to be an amazing mummy."

"Thank you, Mary," Anna said, hugging her friend, "Your support means the world to me."

"Of course," Mary replied. "Now, I'm going to get some food, and I'll see you later. Take your time, but I expect to see you at my table later once you've had your fill of pictures and mingling."

"You'll see me," Anna promised before her friend walked away to get her fill from the exquisite buffet.

Mrs. Patmore had made all the food. She ran the visitor cafe at Downton and had her own catering company on the side. Anna and John had hired her to make the food for today's event. There were platters of fruits, savory hand pies, pastries, and other nibbly bits. Along with that was a vanilla cake decorated with the words "Welcome Baby Bates" in blue lettering.

Beryl was honored to have been commissioned for the task. She saw Anna as the daughter she never had, as did Elsie Hughes, head of Downton's housekeeping services. The pair had taken a picture with the expectant mother earlier in the day, one on each side of Anna looking proud and joyous. Anna felt so blessed to have so many older women guiding her through this process. Between Beryl, Elsie, and Cora, Anna knew her baby would be spoiled and she would have plenty of help with meals and childcare once her baby was here.

Their baby would have so many surrogate grandparents, aunts, and uncles thanks to the large number of friends Anna and John had made from work. Gwen was to be the baby's godmother. She had gifted Anna a baby swing, and Mary had secured all the diapers they would need for the newborn stage, which were overflowing underneath the present table. Daisy, William, and Albert were also excited for the Bateses, and Thomas had the honor of being selected as the baby's godfather.

When Anna approached the buffet table to get some food for herself, she saw Thomas piling up his plate with goodies. "I do hope some of those are for George," she teased, seeing how much food was on her friend's plate.

"I've got his favorites as well as mine," Thomas assured her, nodding over to a table where George sat on his mother's lap chattering away.

"He's quite taken with you," Anna noted, "always has been."

"He's my four-year-old buddy," Thomas concurred. "And I hope your little one will enjoy our time together too."

"I'm sure he will," Anna said, giving her friend's arm a squeeze. "Thanks for being here and for being the godfather."

"Since I'm the godfather, do I get to know the name you've chosen?"

"Nope," she teased, playfully sticking her tongue out.

"Well fine," he proclaimed in pretend exasperation, "in that case, I think I'll go spend some time with my other godson."

Anna chuckled. "Alright, have fun," she said, turning to fill up her plate as her friend walked away.

Once she had sat down at the table with her food, she was approached by Phyllis and her husband. Phyllis was in charge of scheduling for Downton, and she was married to Joe, John and Robert's friend from college. Joe stayed close to those who worked at Downton through his friendship with John and Robert, and eventually met and married Phyllis because of it.

"Congratulations, we are so happy for you both" Phyllis said, smiling sincerely at Anna and John.

"Thank you," John replied. "We couldn't be more elated, and we thank you both for coming and sharing in our joy."

"We wanted to give you this," Joe said, placing a bag in front of Anna.

"Oh, thank you," Anna said, placing the bag in her lap and opening it. She couldn't stop her surprised expression when she pulled out a bottle of wine from the bag.

Phyllis looked mortified, and Anna didn't want her to feel bad so she said, "This will be a nice treat for after the baby is born."

Joseph seemed confused. "You brought a pregnant woman alcohol," she muttered to him, explaining the problem.

Joe's face clearly conveyed his embarrassment as he began a bumbling acknowledgement of his mistake. "I'm sorry, Anna. I just knew we were going to a celebration, and I figured this was a good thing to bring. I didn't think. I.. Are you sure it's not non-alcoholic? Surely, I couldn't have been that stupid. Although maybe I could have. I–"

"It says 15 percent alcohol," Anna stated, "But honestly, Joe, it's fine." She didn't want him or Phyllis to feel bad for his fumble, although she knew Phyllis would never let him choose the presents in the future.

"Yes, I know Anna has missed her wine during this pregnancy, so it will be a nice treat for us once the baby is settled," John added, trying to make his friend feel better.

"Well, we hope you enjoy it," Phyllis said, maneuvering the conversion to a close. Joe's massively red cheeks were an indicator he was still too embarrassed to speak, but he nodded in agreement with his wife.

"Thank you again," Anna said kindly before the pair walked away. Once they were out of earshot, she turned to her husband and they both broke out into a fit of giggles. "That was… something," she said, placing the bottle back into the bag and putting it under her chair.

"Well at least you tried to spare his feelings," John said, still chuckling lightly.

"I did. Otherwise, his poor wife would eat him alive," she joked.

"I expect he won't hear the end of it for quite some time," John agreed with a laugh.

"And he'll never be allowed to do the shopping again."

"At least I won't have to go shopping whenever you're ready for some wine once our little Johnny is here."

"Shh, I don't want the others to know the name," Anna whispered.

"I mean I think it's pretty easy to guess," John countered with a smirk.

"Maybe so. But it's our little secret for now. I just want it to be something special between the two of us."

"Then our little secret it shall stay," John said, placing a soft kiss to his wife's nose and wrapping his arms around her gently.

"I can't wait to meet him," Anna said, placing her hand on her bump and John's on top of it.

"Me either. I love him already," he said, sealing a promise to always love and cherish his beautiful wife and child with a kiss to Anna's crown. "I love you both immensely."

"We love you, too," she said, leaning up to look him lovingly in the eyes for a moment before locking her lips with his and kissing him. She knew she would always love and treasure this man, and she knew their baby was lucky to have him as a dad and role model. Her kiss conveyed all that. It conveyed the trust that she had in their relationship and this next step.

And it was a step she was more than ready for.

They were going to be parents, and she couldn't have possibly felt more blessed or been more joyous. She was having a baby, and that baby was incredibly loved, which was all she could ever ask for.