Summary: He could not keep his hands off of her. Spoilers for S5CS.

Disclaimer: I do not own Downton Abbey.

A/N: Just my take on the aftermath of the S5CS. Reviews are appreciated.

He couldn't keep his hands off of her. It was as though though he were making up for all the weeks they'd been denied the ability to touch while she was in prison. He held her hand or let his palm graze her cheek. And finally when the restraint was just too much, he led her out of the public eye and kissed her lips. Even that was not enough and he put his arms full around her, hugging her body to his own as he lifted her well off of her feet.

Anna held onto him tightly, and she suppressed a giggle. While her weight was slight, he could surely feel the pressure on his bad knee. She knew he would ignore the burning pain in favor of holding her in such a manner, but Anna always worried about him overdoing things.

"Put me down," she requested softly after several seconds passed, her voice full of laughter. He complied with her request without argument, but he could not let her go. His arms stayed around her as he sheltered her in his embrace.

"I was so worried," Anna said, her own grip on him tightening. "They said you confessed and ran away to Ireland, and I worried the police would find you..."

Bates shushed her. "I'm sorry I had to leave you. But I could not let you go to trial. There was no way I could risk it."

"But to confess..." Her voice hitched and he could see tears beginning to fill her eyes.

"They wouldn't have found me. And if they did, at least you'd be free."

His life for hers. She could tell that he believed the sacrifice well worth it to free her, and that knowledge pained her greatly. He rarely spoke about his feelings any more, but Anna knew her husband still counted himself unworthy of her. He still valued her so far above himself that she knew he'd let himself hang before watching her spend her life in prison.

"But they know you're innocent now," Anna said, reassuring herself as much as him. "They won't take you away again."

"No, I don't believe they will."

Bates looked down at her, his gaze so full of love that she feared he might burst with it. "Oh, my darling," he breathed, exhaling with exquisite relief. Leaning down to kiss her again, his hand cradled the back of her neck, sliding through the wisps of hair which fell below her intricate bun. She's so longed for his touch while she was behind bars, and it made her shiver as the anticipation was realized.

Anna knew they should go back into the hall, that she was selfish for wanting to keep Mr. Bates all to herself. But she could not conceive of letting him go, not now, not for even a few moments. She needed him alone, needed to show him how much she'd missed him.

"Can we go?" she asked, her voice low and gravely after so many weeks of restrained tears.

He agreed immediately, "Of course."

Putting his arm around her, he moved to retrieve his cane and escorted her down the stairs to where her coat was hanging by the back door.

"Should we tell someone?" Anna wondered, thinking of Lady Mary and the others who would want to know of Mr. Bates' return.

"Mrs. Patmore saw me upstairs earlier. I trust she'll let everyone know. It won't be hard for them to realize where we've gone."

The walk back to the cottage was slow. Bates said nothing, but she could tell that he'd strained his leg in picking her up earlier. But Anna took each pause on the path as an opportunity to kiss her husband, to snake her arms around his waist and place her head against his chest so she could hear his heart beating, strong and true.

When they finally arrived home, she was shivering from the cold and Mr. Bates barely helped her off with her coat before wrapping her up in his arms again.

"Should I build a fire?" he asked.

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "Take me upstairs."

He complied with her request, walking her backwards step by step as his hand shifted from her back to her waist and his lips reclaimed hers. Anna steered them as best as she could, but they bumped into the wall and then a side table before she found the stairs and they had to separate to negotiate them. She giggled at each misstep, taking care to keep them both upright despite their haste.

But as she went up one step and turned back to him, Anna noticed they were finally at an equal height. "I missed you, Mister Bates," she told him, placing her palms on his shoulders as she leaned in for another kiss. Their lips met in a dance fueled by both desire and longing, much less chaste than they might allow at the Abbey where onlookers could see them.

When she finally pulled away from him, breathless and warm, Anna was smiling with unmistakable joy.

"You best get me upstairs soon, Mrs. Bates," her husband warned in an amused, passionate growl.

They reached the top with a few more pauses and laughs and bumps into the wall, and the door shut loudly behind them as they finally made it to the bedroom. Anna did not want to bother trying to light a lamp but her husband insisted that he wished to see her.

Anna let down her hair, allowing it to flow free over her shoulders. They undressed each other swiftly, with practiced and eager hands. But each inch of bare flesh revealed was like a gift, something new and exciting to be explored and relished. For the first time in a long time, Anna felt self conscious in front of her husband as she fretted over the weight she'd lost in prison. He always worried about the way her rips showed under her skin, insisting that she did not eat enough.

But Bates made no criticisms. Rather, he sighed in obvious pleasure at the sight of her as they laid together on the bed. As she shivered in the cold night air, he pulled the blanket over the top of them. His lips found hers, kissing her without hesitation, without a hint of reserve. His weight pressed her into the mattress and Anna wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders.

She'd worried about telling him about her history, about the abuse by her step-father. After the attack, Bates had treated her like finely spun glass, barely touching her unless she initiated it. He worried so about upsetting her, about frightening her, and it was all she could do to convince him that he only ever made her feel safe.

"I missed you so," he murmured tenderly, shifting his weight off of her. But Anna would have no such gentleness. Not on this night. She held him in place, sighing as his body settled back comfortably partially atop of her.

"I thought I might have lost you forever," Anna confessed. She'd been glad to be released from gaol, but not at the cost of her husband's freedom. And if the police found him, it could mean his life. With a confession to Green's murder, they would hang him for sure.

"You don't blame me, I hope." She shuddered in pleasure as his fingers played along her body, touching and caressing the places he knew she liked best. Anna arched into him, feeling him growing ready and firm.

"How could I blame you?" she asked. "But I would blame myself if they-"

"Shh," he cut her off, silencing her worry with a kiss. She groaned as his hand moved further down, exactly where she needed him. Gasping at the delicious pleasure, Anna's breath caught in her chest at the marvelous sensations she'd missed in the months they had been separated. Part of her had wondered if she would ever be with her husband in this way again.

The pressure was building within her, and Anna knew he would insist on bringing her to completion before seeking his own. But she was anxious for that feeling of fullness he brought her, and she encouraged him to move to the next step in their intimate dance. For a moment, he hesitated, not wanting her to leave her unfulfilled, but she whispered quiet words of pleading that he was helpless to deny. Bates shifted slightly into the cradle of her legs and a moment later, they were joined.

It seemed like a small thing when compared to her freedom, or his, but Anna genuinely enjoyed their married life. As a young woman, she'd wondered if she would ever feel that way about a man, especially after what happened with her step-father. For so many years, she'd learned to associate such feelings with waves of guilt and shame. But Mr. Bates had awakened in her a quiet passion, the sort of need which was both unlady-like but not improper for a wedded couple like them.

As he moved inside of her, Anna lost hold of all her thoughts and fears. Nothing mattered but the pleasure building between them, the warmth of his skin burning into hers, the sound of their gasping breath in the otherwise quiet cottage. She bit her lip to contain a moan and it came out as a whimper.

Bates paused in his lovemaking, gazing down at her with concern.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, bringing his hand to a cheek.

With a smile, she assured him, "I'm wonderful. You always make me feel so wonderful."

He took her words as encouragement to continue, and she watched as he closed his eyes in concentration, desperate to prolong their time together. But the slow march of their love making was not something to be denied, and the passion between them soon built to a crescendo. His regular movements became more frenzied and desperate until suddenly Anna felt that familiar sensation reach up and seize her from within. It surprised her with its intensity and Anna clung to her husband's shoulders for dear life as she rode through the pleasure so intense it verged on pain.

He shuddered into her as her body clenched around him, bringing him over the precipice in her wake. Her legs wrapped around him, holding him in place as he finally finished and collapsed, spent by their exertions. The weight of her husband's body was a special delight for Anna. Such moments when fatigue and the hazy aftermath of pleasure caused him to forget himself and not roll away immediately were some of Anna's favorite times. Even though drawing breath was a little more difficult, she delighted in the closeness.

Only a few seconds ticked by before Bates moved, shifting them both so that he lay on his side facing her. Anna sighed at the broken contact as her husband resumed his normal reserved self.

"I love you," he told her simply as he focused on regaining his breath.

"I love you, too," she said with a smile, leaning forward to kiss him once more. But with a sad sigh, she added, "I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again."

Bates grimaced as he thought of their earlier separation, of why he'd run away to Ireland. "I'm so sorry I left you, my darling..."

"No, don't be sorry," Anna whispered. "I know why you went."

"I couldn't leave you in that place." He reached out a hand to touch her face, letting his finger tips trail along her cheek to her jaw line. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, not when I promised you..."

She turned her head and captured her hand with her own, placing her lips to his palm. "Don't be sorry," she told him. "None of this was your fault. None of it."

Bates did not answer her, not for several seconds. Instead he just looked at her in the dim light of their bedroom, his eyes sweeping over her face as though he were attempting to memorize all of her features in that moment.

"You never fail to amaze me," he said finally. "You were so very strong-"

Anna shook her head and looked away. "Not very strong. I was so afraid." Smiling slightly, she turned her eyes back to her husband. "I know you understand better than anyone else can."

He chuckled despite himself. "I do understand. A couple of jail birds, the pair of us."

"Makes me wonder what else the future can have in store for us," she sighed.

There was darkness in her voice, and Bates regretted that she might have lost some of her sunny optimism through their bad fortune. "Only good things," he assured her.

"I hope you're right."

"I'll do everything I can to give you as much happiness as you can stand, Anna."

Fatigue was beginning to set in after such a long day, after the emotions of him surprising her in the great hall and their exertions at home. Anna snuggled into the crook of his arm and let her eyes begin to close for longer and longer periods. "I'm as happy as I've ever been, right here and now."

"Happy Christmas, my love."

fin