A/N: Here it is, the epilogue! Thank you so much for all of the response to this story, it was honestly so lovely to see every single alert and that you all liked it. A big thank you once more to testship who has read through these chapters and given me ideas and pointers, although I'm sure you know how grateful I am. Sorry this update is later than I said, I haven't been feeling great this week which meant having less time to write and edit this. I have purposefully left this story open in terms of a few of story-lines I could come back to in the future (which I'm starting to think I might) but if you also have any ideas/prompts that you'd like to see if I did, please do review or message me with them. So once more, thank you! I hope you enjoy this last addition.

The Long and Winding Road

Epilogue

Anna cradled their five-month-old son in her arms, rocking him gently as his whimpers slowly subsided. She craned her neck to look out of the kitchen window into the back garden where Lizzy and Ella were playing, chasing each other in the last remaining light of day after a fruitful and exciting day at school. Anna smiled as she watched them both, very much like sisters in every aspect. They still shared a room, even though both of them were growing quickly and would probably need more space very soon. Ella had recently celebrated her fifth birthday, and Lizzy would be turning twelve at the end of November. William would also be sharing their bedroom once he was old enough and Anna was ready for him to leave their bedroom. John had been teasing her about it before, but she knew it was time. It had been the same with Ella.

She looked back down at her baby son, almost the spitting image of his mother. William had the same blonde hair, blue eyes and rosebud lips as Anna, although he had certainly taken his structure from John. William was already a big baby, and Anna knew he would grow to be tall like John, whereas Ella was still quite short for her age. William had also taken after his father in his mannerisms. He was a quiet baby, a lot quieter than Ella had been, and he was prone to long periods of silence.

Another brooder on my hands, Anna had told John wistfully as they had placed William down once at night.

Anna and John had joked when William was a month old that he had not yet learned how to cry. He would whimper softly when he needed anything, and John or Anna would soon be at his side to tend to him before those could transcend into full cries.

Anna looked up once more to the window, and watched as her daughter squealed and laughed as Lizzy caught her, her arms going around her waist. Ella had grown to look a lot like her father, and Anna smiled warmly as she thought about how each of their children looked so much like both of their parents. Her smile widened as she watched Lizzy and Ella embrace, and as the former leant down and whispered something in her ear, causing the younger girl to laugh out loud and cover her mouth. Anna frowned suspiciously, and cautiously reminded herself to watch out for them later. The two were prone to pulling certain pranks on Anna – nothing serious, only light-hearted as they were both extremely well-behaved – most of the time those consisting of jumping out at her in the hallway or hiding their hair brush at night so it would take them a little bit longer to go to bed.

Little William gurgled happily, and Anna looked down to see his fist flailing in the air – another attribute from his father, Anna thought happily – and Anna gladly wrapped her own hand gently around it, grasping it gently as she shook it slightly, causing his smile to widen.

"Your daddy should be home soon," Anna cooed at her little boy.

William had been a surprise for all of them. But a good surprise, nonetheless. Anna and John had thought that their time to bear children had passed, especially after the stillbirth seven months into their pregnancy that the two of them had suffered only a year after Ella had been born. It had been a heartbreaking time for both of them, for all of them although Anna and John had partly been glad that Ella had been a little too young to understand. They had lost a little girl, and they had called her Margaret Alice Bates after John's mother. The family had been deeply understanding of their situation, and John had been granted the leave he needed to be with his family. It had taken a long time for them to heal. The lively girls had proven to be difficult at first, and sometimes it had been painful for Anna and John to interact with them as the thought of their baby girl was still engraved in their minds, but eventually their love pulled them past the worst.

Ella was a little livewire. She had been when she was young, and she still was now. She proved to be a saving grace for everyone, including Lizzy. She would laugh, giggle and roll about on the carpet in their sitting room, and she would clap her hands whenever anyone talked to her.

As time passed, the loss became an easier burden to bear. Time and tears were the greatest of cures, and Anna and John would cry plenty as they cocooned themselves beneath their sheets, shrouded by the night sky.

Doctor Clarkson had never outwardly said that the possibility of having more children would be slight, but he had reminded them that their ages, and the complications after the stillbirth would make it all the more unlikely.

Therefore, when Anna had gone to visit Doctor Clarkson just over a year ago after she had been suffering from sickness for the past week or so, she had been surprised when he had given her the news. It seemed she had waved away the other symptoms, perhaps dismissing them because she thought there was no possibility. Nevertheless, Doctor Clarkson had informed Anna that she was just over four months pregnant.

William kicked out his legs, bringing his mother from her poignant, and happy, memories.

"Oh I'm sorry, my darling," Anna cooed as William presented her with a gummy smile. He really was their little miracle. Lizzy and Ella doted upon him, as did John. "What were you saying?"

William cooed and kicked his legs out again as Anna laughed and used one hand to tickle his stomach, bringing his head towards her lips as she kissed his forehead lovingly.

William moved his head closer to Anna, settling his face in the crook of her neck as he cooed once more.

"Are you waiting for daddy?" Anna asked, lifting their son into the air, causing him to squeal and laugh, kicking his legs out enthusiastically as he hung in the air.

Lord Grantham and Mr Carson had been granting John earlier nights a couple of times a week. Lord Grantham had insisted that he give them to his valet and old comrade because he was a father, and he should be spending more time with his young family, and John had accepted this reason, despite the fact that he knew it was not the only one.

Lately, John had been becoming more and more tired after working a day at the Abbey. His knee had troubled him a lot – it had not been the same since his imprisonment, having not been able to use his cane there, and it was getting worse with age – and Anna had begun to notice that he was not sleeping. With the new addition to their family, John used William as his excuse for being awake, although Anna knew he was not being completely honest with her. His tiredness had reached a peak a while ago when William had been three months old and he was hardly able to walk out of their bedroom, never mind up to the Abbey and completing his work for the day. Anna knew he hated for her to see him this weak, and for the children to see, but she had nevertheless insisted that he take the day off work.

He obliged, but only when he insisted that he would be all right to go tomorrow. Anna had gone up to the Abbey and asked to speak with Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes in private, and then Lord Grantham. She had explained the situation, and all three of them had been kind and understanding of the situation. Lord Grantham had insisted Bates take as much time as he needed.

And, without the knowledge of Anna, Lord Grantham had asked Doctor Clarkson to call on Bates.

It had been an innocent, friendly gesture but John had immediately blamed Anna. It had turned into one of their worst rows – others being a result of tiredness after Ella had been born, and none of those lasted long or were even half as bad as this – as he accused her of thinking him weak and unable to support their family. Anna knew it had been the pain talking, but she was upset nonetheless.

She had burst into tears, which had simultaneously led to William starting to cry. Anna had taken him into her arms quickly and gone downstairs to leave John alone for a little while. She had assuaged a lot of the comfort she needed from her young son, who would still heavily rely on her for the months and years to come. When he had calmed down, Anna had gone through to the kitchen and placed him in a baby basket as she started to prepare some tea for her and John.

She had gone back upstairs with the tray and their son, and John had burst into tears himself. He had apologised profusely for his behaviour – he had sworn never to behave in that way to her ever – and he had beckoned her to join him on the bed.

"I am sorry," John kissed her temple, his arms still wrapped around her as she shook ever so gently in his arms, evidence of her tears. "I should never have said those things."

Anna sighed shakily, moving her hand to rub his chest through the thin fabric of his night shirt. William wriggled in between them, kicking out his legs every so often, attempting to gain the attention of his parents.

"I know my knee won't get any better now," John admitted quietly, so quiet Anna strained to hear. It was a big admission though, and Anna felt her heart tighten as she recognised the pain in his voice. "But not working isn't an option."

"We have money," Anna spoke quietly against his shirt. It was true, they did. Not as much as before they had started a family. But they had enough. Since Anna had left service their savings had drained, but as Anna always seemed to remind him, they had the rent from the house in London and, when they felt ready to sell it, the proceeds. "You could talk to His Lordship about lesser hours."

Anna heard John sigh, and she knew he was taking an instant dislike to the idea.

"Anna…"

They had both stopped as they heard the door open and close downstairs. Lizzy and Ella had returned home from school, it would seem.

John sighed.

Anna lifted herself out of his embrace, shooting him a tired glance and a soft smile.

"We can talk later."

They had talked later, Anna thought as she settled William in her arms, the little boy who at five months was starting to become a lot livelier. Anna assumed this was to make up for the quiet months she and John had been fortunate enough to experience, and that his newfound abilities to crawl and walk over the next six months would mean the end of their quiet life.

Anna walked across to the kitchen table where a newspaper lay open, one that she had been searching through earlier. John and she had decided together over the past month that they would start looking for hotels. Anna sat down at the table, William still in her arms, and peered closely at some of the advertisements. Most of the adverts were for hotels in the Midlands, or the southern coast. Both had decided that they wanted to stay in Yorkshire. There was one in Leeds, but Anna decided that city life would never be for her. Another of them was in Scarborough.

Anna smiled as she remembered a little weekend away she and John had taken one year for their anniversary in Scarborough. It had taken a lot of persuading from Mrs Hughes who had insisted that she would care for Lizzy and Ella for the two nights and that Her Ladyship had agreed whole-heartedly. It had been a lovely seaside town seemingly brimming with life and people enjoying their own holidays. It would certainly have reached its busiest in the summer months.

She made a mental note to suggest it to John later.

Anna was interrupted from her thoughts as the back door swung open and her two girls came running in, breathless and laughing with each other.

"Now, what do we have here?" Anna asked them, laughing along with them.

Lizzy approached Anna and began to smile at William, making him squeal at the funny faces she was making. Anna handed him over to the twelve-year-old, who instantly went and sat down at one of the spare seats.

Ella bounced up to her mother, so full of life. "Guess what, mummy?"

Anna smiled at her eagerness and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "What?"

"Lizzy was pushing me on the swing, and I went really, really high!"

Anna raised her eyebrow.

"I thought we told you both to be careful on that?"

Ella smiled shyly at her mother. Anna just rolled her eyes and pulled her daughter up to sit on her lap. She was probably getting too big for Anna to be doing this, but she could hardly resist. Anna rested her chin on her daughter's shoulder and started to stroke her hair as she glanced across at the newspaper once more.

"What are these, mummy?" Ella asked, pointing to the newspaper.

"Those are advertisements, sweetheart," Anna kissed her cheek affectionately. "For hotels."

Anna could tell Ella was about to open her mouth and respond, however she was interrupted by a familiar tapping upon the stone, kitchen floor. Her eyes flew to the door, and there he was, her husband. Her stomach fluttered. She doubted she would ever stop feeling like this.

"What's this about hotels?"

"Daddy!"

Ella screeched and jumped off Anna's lap, causing her to grunt.

Anna watched as Ella flung herself into his arms, and her smile widened even further as she noticed that William had recognised the voice of his father, and was now trying to turn in the arms of Lizzy and look at John.

John noticed too, it would seem, because he gasped dramatically at his son, who provided his father with a gummy smile, before John ruffled Lizzy's hair affectionately and kissed the top and then carefully took William from the arms of his oldest sister and swung him in the air. William squealed in delight.

"And how are my four favourite people in the world?" John asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked across in her direction.

He moved to sit down at the kitchen table whilst Ella recounted the tales of her day at school, Lizzy occasionally being able to get a word in edge ways as Ella spilled her words out with excitement. Anna smiled as she watched the interactions and rolled her eyes at her daughter, ever the bundle of energy. She was surprised she and John managed to stay awake past ten o'clock given the amount of times Ella would have them embroiled in her tales or running after her for whatever reason.

Anna shuffled around them during this time, preparing John a cup of tea lovingly and setting to work making a hot drink for the two girls. When she placed them all down on the table in front of them all, she noticed William and his drooping eyes and held her arms out to John.

"Drink your tea. He seems ready for bed any minute."

John smiled at his wife and, after kissing his son's forehead tenderly, passed him over to his mother before sipping at his cup of tea.

"How was work?" Anna asked, bouncing William slightly in her arms as she got herself comfortable. He had woken after being transferred from his father's arms and was now gathering the material of her dress into his chubby, little hands.

"The same," John sighed, resting back in the chair as he watched his family. He smiled as he watched Lizzy and Ella once more in deep conversation, and then his eyes turned to Anna and their baby son. Their eyes met and his smile widened, enough that the wrinkles around his eyes appeared, even despite his evident fatigue. "They have no one staying, and Lady Mary is in London with Mr Blake and Master George at the moment so no children to speak of either."

"Oh for the quiet life," Anna joked, and they both smiled and turned to the two girls, seeing if either of them had noticed and whether they had been able to gauge a reaction. It seemed not, and Anna turned back around to look at her husband. "Has there been any more news of Lady Edith?"

Lady Edith had gone to America not two years ago, claiming it to be a fresh start after the whole debacle with Michael Gregson. She had done well for herself there, and because of her reputation with the old editing house had secured herself a newspaper column at a magazine in New York. Not six months ago she had also written to say that she was to be married and expecting a child.

"Nothing yet," John answered with a smile. He knew his wife had always had a soft spot for Lady Edith, despite her loyalties to her closest rival. "His Lordship wants them to come and visit once the baby is born."

"That would be nice," Anna commented, and was about to continue when William let out a rather loud yawn for someone so small. Anna giggled, "I think someone is tired."

"I can take him if you like?"

"No, you stay and finish your cup. It won't take me long."

John watched as Anna disappeared upstairs with their son before turning to their two girls.

"So, how was school?"

Ella looked up with bright eyes as soon as school was mentioned and quickly scrambled from her chair across to sit with her father. John gladly took her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame as she snuggled against him.

"I counted all the way to ten!"

"Did you?" John gasped, tickling her sides and causing Ella to thrash around laughing. He smiled, and then looked across at Lizzy who had just finished studying one of her books. "What about you? Do I need to be having words with Timothy Turner yet?"

John smiled amusedly as Lizzy flushed bright red. Anna had noticed one day in the village that Lizzy had been speaking to the boy and when her attempt at questioning her about it had led to a flush of red cheeks and a stammering response, Anna had tried to hide a smirk. She had told John about it later, and the two of them had chosen to start trying to ask her about it, sometimes subtly and sometimes not so.

"No…" Lizzy trailed off, her eyes trained down on the book once more.

"Really?" John teased her.

He knew a 'romance' between two twelve-year-olds was hardly likely to go anywhere at all, but it was fun to do this while it lasted. It also gave him a little bit of practice for later in life. Tim would probably soon prefer to play with his friends instead and subsequently break her heart in the process. John remembered a similar thing happening to him when he was that age.

"Yes!"

"Lizzy looooooooves Timothy," Ella giggled, hiding in her father's shirt when Lizzy frowned at her and scowled menacingly.

John simply smirked from above his daughter's head and winked at Lizzy, watching as her expression eased if only slightly.

As John listened to the unmistakable sounds of Anna putting their son down to sleep upstairs, and as he watched their two girls with him in the kitchen, John smiled to himself in satisfaction. They were his family, and he really couldn't have asked for a better one.

John sat in bed, the duvet covers up to his waist as he watched Anna bend over the small cot in the corner to ensure their son was all right. It was a little past eleven and William had woken up just a few moments ago and started to whimper softly. Anna had just been finishing applying some cream to his leg that Doctor Clarkson had given him a few months ago, so she had insisted that she could go and see to him while her husband rested.

"Everything all right?" John asked, watching her closely as she lifted their little son out of his cot.

Anna bounced their son up and down a few times as his cries gently subsided, and that seemed to be the root of the problem. However, just as she was about to place him back down again William let out a disgruntled cry.

"Oh dear," Anna cooed, bringing him back up to his chest. "Whatever is the matter with William?"

"He wants a cuddle from his mother," John supplied. "Who would blame him?"

Anna turned around to look at her husband, and John winked at her, smirking.

"Maybe he can sit with us a little while, just until he settles."

As if John needed asking. His lips curved into a grin as his wife brought their son over to the bed, placing him down onto his back between them as Anna shuffled herself beneath the duvet covers.

William seemed to be full of life now, kicking out his legs as he so often liked to do, providing his mother and father with a gummy smile as John caught one of his flailing fists. John felt his heart squeeze with complete love and adoration for his little son, who he knew would grow older and less accustomed to wanting such displays of affection from his father. He had vowed not long after he was born, when he had been awake because of his knee and holding William downstairs, that he would cherish every moment with his son – with all of his children. Even Lizzy was starting to become a lot more independent now.

John smiled as he thought about Lizzy, and then looked across at Anna. September was always a difficult time of year for them, but none of them had failed to visit the grave every single year on the anniversary. It had been a simple request to Lord Grantham, and then Mrs Hughes who would often organise the rota, but having that same day off each year afforded him the time to travel to Claxton with his family and to pay their respects.

As she grew older, Lizzy had preferred to spend more time alone at the grave when they got there, and Anna and John were only too happy to oblige her wishes. Since Ella had entered their lives, the two girls would draw pictures to leave at the grave stone, and Anna knew that Lizzy had loved to do this, especially with the person she saw as a younger sister. They would also buy some flowers from a local shop on their way there – always Rose's favourites – and they would pass them to Lizzy to leave in the churchyard.

Lizzy had flourished at school. Anna and John could not have been prouder. She was an avid reader, and was often caught looking at her uncle's book collection. Mr Carson had even snuck her upstairs into the library on a couple of occasions when Anna had been visiting the house with Ella as a newborn. She had never stopped talking about the collection, and she had vowed that should she ever be rich like that, a library would be the first room in her house.

John chuckled at the memory.

"What has you so chirpy?"

John looked across William, still lying between them, at his wife who was wearing a delicious smirk, propped up on her elbow watching him whilst her spare hand tickled William's stomach.

"Just thinking," he smiled. "About us. About the children."

Anna smiled warmly.

"I was looking at hotels earlier," Anna began, now stroking William's stomach through the soft fabric of his night clothes.

"Any worth looking at?" John asked absently, turning his attentions to his son, copying Anna's actions.

"There was one in Leeds, but I don't fancy the city."

"Not for a country girl like you." John smirked, winking and causing a familiar feeling to arise in her stomach. Anna pushed it aside though, intent on having this conversation.

They had both agreed that looking for a hotel now would be the best option for them. It all made perfect sense to. They needed the space, three children in one spare bedroom would not last forever, and John needed the opportunity to be off his feet for longer periods during the day. Having a hotel would mean being able to manage their own time and own more flexible hours. It would be just the solution for John's worsening knee, and it would still ensure a steady wage was coming in.

"No, but there was one in Scarborough." Their eyes met. "Not too big, so manageable. On the seafront too, with a nice view and it's across from the beach."

"Can we afford it?"

"If the house in London sells at the price Mr Murray thought, then yes."

John felt his eyes widen and then giddy anticipation took over. He thought it all over in his head first, his hand still resting on William's stomach, calculating the amount still left in their savings that they had been thoughtfully putting aside for some time. He would have to contact Mr Murray, and the current renters of the house. Hopefully they would be up for buying the house, that way it would be a quicker process. No, he would have to contact the hotel first. They would need to see the hotel first.

Anna watched as her husband was evidently deep in thought, and laughed out loud when his expression began to change as quickly as the wind.

Her laughter seemed to pull John from his calculations, and he looked across at his wife and then down at his son. This might really happen, John thought happily. A dream he had always had for his future with Anna might finally be coming true.

"Shall I assume a trip to Scarborough is in order?" Anna laughed, reaching across to take his hand in hers, running her thumb across his knuckles softly.

John looked down at their entwined hands, a mark of how far they had come, evidence that they had passed every test and every obstacle thrown their way. He could hear the soft breaths of his sleeping son, and as he looked from William to Anna, he knew she already knew his answer.

He leaned across their sleeping son and captured her lips in a deep, lasting kiss, answering her question silently.

THE END