A/N- The last chapter. Lots of fluff and a happy ending. Thanks to anyone who has left a review, and I apologise for my appalling geographical error in the previous chapter. It was never my strong point at school.

Disclaimer- Downton belongs to ITV/Carnival/Lord Fellowes.

Sitting on the beach, Anna looked out over the waves racing to the shore as her two girls played contentedly beside her. Both clutched a brand new rag doll, a gift from their father as today was the twins first birthday. She smiled as they happily conversed in their own little language, words like Mama, Dada and each others names clearly audible every so often. Then the unmistakable cry of 'Dada' left Ella's lips, pointing beyond Anna to the top of the beach, near to their house.

Looking back over her shoulder, Anna's felt her heart skip a beat as she took in the sight before her. John was striding towards them on the soft sand, barefoot, hands in pockets having left his cane at home. He was wearing the light grey suit Anna had almost pleaded with him to buy for his new job, so tired of seeing him wearing black or brown. However, the jacket had been forgotten, as were his collar and tie leaving just the waistcoat and trousers. His sleeves were rolled up, the sight of his strong forearms still affecting Anna in ways she couldn't describe. The sunshine agreed with John, his skin had turned a light shade of brown since they had moved to California. He rarely wore his jacket, and cufflinks were soon obsolete as the heat of the Californian sun made wearing anything more than rolled up shirt sleeves unbearable.

'I thought I'd find you down here,' John said as he reached Anna. He knelt down, Anna meeting his lips in a soft kiss before the pleas of 'Dada' from Ella became to much. He scooped her up with his left arm, then picked Lily up too in his right with practiced ease. 'I see the dolls went down well.'

'They haven't let them out of their sight all morning,' Anna replied as John moved to sit beside Anna, still clasping both the girls in his arms. After placing a kiss on each of their heads, covered in soft blonde curls, Lily wriggled free, she was very much showing the independent streak that had drawn John so magnetically to Anna when they had first met. Ella, however, was much happier to sit on her father's knee, resting her head against his shoulder she fiddled with the hair on her doll between her thumb and index finger.

Lily, even though just a year old, was already starting to attempt to walk, causing a few heart stopping moments for her parents. She had been one step ahead of her sister in terms of physical development, yet it was Ella who had said Mama and Dada first. John had never known pride and a sense of love like it when she heard the word Dada fall from both of his daughters lips, particularly the first time it was said directly to him. They had been in America for a couple of weeks. John was in the garden with Ella, Anna bringing Lily inside to be changed. Ella was babbling happily, John replying to her baby chatter enthusiastically when she suddenly looked up at him. The word escaped her, and it was all John could do to hold himself together. It was a beautiful moment and one John would cherish until his dying day.

'It's lovely for you to join us,' Anna said, watching carefully as Lily adventured a little further away from them both. 'But what are you doing here? I thought you had a busy day at the vineyard?'

'We did, but Jack knew it was the girls birthday and knew how much I would like to spend it with them. So he has given me the rest of the day off.'

'I see.' Anna replied with a smile.

'I can go back if you want...'

'No,' Anna slipped her arm through John's. 'Stay right here.'

'Well, I was hoping we could go back to the house. I've bought a cake for the girls, and Jack has delivered a little surprise for them both.'

'I could go for cake,' Anna remarked, a pang of hunger washing through her. 'I'm feeling a little better this morning.'

'I'm glad,' John pressed his lips against Anna's temple. 'Shall we make a move then?'

Anna hadn't been feeling well for a while, sickness and dizziness plaguing her pretty much since they had arrived in California, just a couple of months previously. At first she thought she might be pregnant, but the doctor soon dismissed that. She was told it was a cause of her difficulty to acclimatise, although after initial reservations she had learnt to make do. California was beautiful, and the fact they were now thousands of miles away from Vera meant for the first time in her life, she felt as if John truly belonged to her. It would be a lie if Anna said she wasn't missing home. She was, and if John said the word she would move back there in a heartbeat. But this was what he wanted to do for them to be together, and she was happy to be by his side.

She hadn't been wearing her wedding ring in America, the lie they had been living although a happy one, was no longer needed. No one batted an eye lid when they said they weren't married. Where they were now situated was the land of movie stars, any scandals Anna and John may create were considered small in comparison to those of Hollywood. John kept the ring safe however, reassuring Anna when she handed it to him that one day it would be hers. Properly. John then joked even if it meant they were both in their dotage and Anna had to push him up the aisle in a wheelchair.

John had taken to his task of Vineyard manager with an ease that surprised them both. It was his job to ensure the demand for Jack's wine was met, and that those employed carried out their tasks correctly. Jack was able to take a step back, often attending meetings held by those protesting in favour of prohibition. The protests were still in their early stages, although if the laws were eventually passed it would mean vineyards would be closed down, throughout America. This would mean Jack's livelihood would be lost. However, John wasn't worried. It was a Bates trait to be shrewd with money, and should the worse happen Jack had enough in reserve to get back on his feet.

Back home, the three ladies of the house quickly devoured half of the cake, the girls both obviously inheriting their mother's sweet tooth. John sat back and watched Anna with the girls. Anna was a natural mother, and it warmed his heart to see how much they both adored her. When it came down to it, if John could see this vision before him every day, his Anna and their girls together, he didn't need anything else. Everything he had ever desired was sitting beside him at his table in the kitchen of the house he shared with the love of his life. He felt very lucky indeed.

A knock at the door brought him out of his silent reverie, Anna rising to answer before John gently encouraged her to sit back down with just a look and a smile on his face. She obliged, and happily sank back into a conversation of sorts with the twins as John walked to the door. Standing there was the postman. He handed John a white envelope.

'A letter came through for you sir. From England.' the man explained. John took the envelope. 'Have a nice day, sir.'

John nodded in acknowledgement, watching the man walk away. Walking back through to the kitchen, Anna looked back at him. 'Who was that?'

'It's a letter,' John replied, joining Anna at the table once more.

'Well, open it,' Anna said. 'No point in staring at it.'

'But it's from England.' John replied. 'What if it's from...'

'Just open it.' Anna reiterated.

Exhaling deeply, John began to work the paper free from it's envelope. With shaky fingers, he unfolded it and began to read. He sat in silence, Anna watching his eyes dart back and forth as he read, hoping to gauge some sort of reaction. When none came, the anticipation was too much.

'What does it say, John?'

'It's Vera,' John said weakly.

'I knew it. I just knew it.' Anna rose from the table, gathering the plates she and the girls had used and walked to the sink. 'She's found us here and she's going to come over here and...'

'No. It's not from Vera, it's about her,' John interrupted, Anna immediately ending her ranting. 'The letter is from His Lordship. Sir Richard Carlisle, Mary's intended, had discovered some news. Vera was killed in a traffic accident in Dublin.'

Anna turned to look at John, she could barely believe what she was hearing. 'I'm sorry?'

'It happened a month or so after we left. Vera's dead.'

With those words, John left the letter on the table, rising to his feet and leaving the kitchen through the back door that lead out into the garden. Anna watched as he paced the lawn, hands in his pockets. He looked in complete shock. She didn't know how to feel. Although it was tragic, wasn't this in a funny way welcome news? She shook the notion from her head immediately, what a dreadful thought. Anna had never wished that on anybody and she wasn't about to start now, no matter how much she detested Vera. Deciding to leave John to his own devices for a while, she lifted the girls and took them upstairs to put them down for their afternoon nap.

Sitting in his office at the vineyard, John stared straight ahead completely lost in thought. It had been a few days since they had received the news about Vera, and John wasn't sure how to take it. He was surprised to be feeling a little guilty about how things had materialised. He would never regret his life with Anna, his guilt lay with how his marriage had turned sour after he had returned from the war. To start with, Vera was supportive but he dismissed her efforts, preferring to find solace at the bottom of a whisky bottle. He said some hurtful things that made him extremely ashamed now. Maybe that was the reason why Vera turned bitter towards him. How he could have ever uttered such dreadful things to a woman was beyond him, especially one that seemed to genuinely care and wanted to help.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Jack bounded in, a case of wine under his arm. 'Alright, Johnny boy. This has got to stop.'

'What has?' John asked, looking up at his cousin with a vacant expression.

'I just saw your lovely Anna pushing the girls in the local promenade. She's worried sick about you.'

'And I've told her not to worry. I'm fine.'

Jack raised his eyebrows at John before pushing the office door closed. 'Don't give me that. You are not. What is it?'

'Nothing...'

'John,' Jack exclaimed in frustration. 'Are you really upset about Vera? She caused you nothing but misery.'

Giving in, John sighed before calculating his response. 'Not upset as such. Guilty, but not upset.'

'What the hell have you got to feel guilty about?'

'I was awful to her when I returned from the Boers,' John replied with a whisper, staring down at his desk. 'A complete bastard.'

Jack moved to sit on the edge of the desk, next to where John sat in his chair. 'From what I can gather John, she was a complete bitch to you for the entirety of your marriage. How long after she became Mrs Bates did she have it away with another man?'

The cousins who had known each other for over thirty five years found it easy to speak this candidly when alone. John would never dream of using such words when in anyone else's company, not even Anna's. The only time his use of language would slightly drift into a manner not befitting a gentleman was in the latter stages of their lovemaking. John had surprised himself the first time, the way Anna was making him feel as she wrapped her legs around his hips rendering him not in control of his own actions. The words escaped him, and despite initially moving Anna into silence, he was urged on when she finally responded in kind, the words emanating from her exciting him more then he had ever been before.

'From what I can garner from what you've said, she had affair after affair even before you went to the Boer's. The marriage was doomed from the start, even before your injury. The way you treated her when you returned was just your way of displaying how her constant betrayal had left you feeling.'

He was right. Vera hadn't been faithful from the start. 'I guess it's just hard to believe she's really gone.'

'Well she has,' Jack replied, standing up. 'What I find hard to believe is that one major fact, something that should be of utmost importance to you on hearing this news, you have completely overlooked.'

'What's that?'

'You and Anna are free to marry.' John stared back at him in silence as he processed Jack's words. 'Look, I have another of these prohibition meetings to attend. I'll see you later. But think on this. Don't waste your time thinking about a woman who nearly destroyed your life, when the one who is the love of it is waiting, deeply concerned for you at home.'

It had been late when Anna had finally taken the girls up to bed. She had been waiting for John to come home, the clock gently moving past eight and he still hadn't arrived. Admitting defeat, she carried them both upstairs and was relieved when they both fell into slumber quickly. Anna hadn't been feeling well again, and decided on having a bath then retiring herself. Now dried, dressed for a night of sleep and feeling a little refreshed, she set about making a cup of tea, deciding to give John another half an hour before she would take herself up to bed. The sound of the door opening was music to Anna's ears as she turned to look at the kitchen doorway. John appeared, a bottle of wine under his arm. His hair was dishevelled, a lock escaping over his right eye. He was smiling, and it took Anna's breath away. She looked away, concentrating on her task or preparing a tea tray once more waiting for John to break the silence.

'Marry me.'

Whatever she had expected him to say, it hadn't been that as she rose her head once more to catch his gaze. 'I'm... I'm sorry?'

'Marry me,' he repeated himself.

She hadn't misheard. 'What's brought this on? You haven't said so much as two words to me since we got that letter.'

'I know,' John said, moving towards Anna and into the kitchen. 'I've been a damned fool. I didn't know how to take the news, and all the time I was thinking about my failed marriage I was forgetting about the most important thing that ever happened to me. You.'

'Look, just because Vera is out of the picture now, you needn't feel like you have to ask me. When we left for Peterhead we were desperate, we needed to do anything to...'

He silenced her by crushing his lips against hers, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Pulling away, both were breathless as they rested their foreheads against one another's. John gently stroked her cheek before beginning to speak.

'I've wanted you to be my wife since the first moment I saw you, and I mean that. It was that instant. I knew I loved you and wanted you by my side for the rest of my life the moment you offered me your hand in the corridor outside the servants hall. Even pretending to be married, knowing you the way a man should know his wife, there was always something missing. Although you had told me with words and showed me with your actions, gave birth to my children, you were never completely mine. I pushed it to the back of my mind, it would have driven me crazy if I didn't.'

'John, I am yours. Please don't think any different.'

'I'm sorry Anna, but I couldn't help it. This afternoon, I realised, or rather Jack made me realise, that we could finally be together. Properly. It's made me physically ache to not see that ring on your finger, lie or not. I can't bear it any longer. Please marry me Anna, be my wife.'

She couldn't speak, the emotion of the moment making formulating words an impossible task. Anna answered with a nod of the head as tears began to fall down her cheeks. John took her into his embrace, kissing her lightly on the top of the head. They had waited the best part of five years for this. And it had finally happened.

Anna and John were free to be together.

The next day at the vineyard, John was surprised to see Jack already hard at work, moving some cases into a larger crate ready for a delivery. He seemed perplexed, John could read that much as he wasn't exactly being gentle with his fragile cargo. As John reached him, Jack stopped and looked up at his cousin.

'Did you get things sorted out with Anna?'

'We're engaged.'

'Fantastic, because I need to speak to you in the office.'

'Sounds ominous.' John replied with a light chuckle.

'Just follow me.'

John did as he was instructed, following Jack to the office with a speed that he wasn't finding entirely comfortable, thanks to his knee. Once inside, John was thankful to be able to sit down behind his desk.

'Everything alright, Jack?'

'Not really,' Jack answered, pacing the floor as John made himself comfortable. 'This meeting, last night.'

'Yes, with the prohibition protesters.' John shrugged his shoulders as he organised some papers on the top of his desk. 'It's not really going to come to anything, is it?'

Jack's silence spoke volumes, causing John to look up. He met his cousins gaze, one filled with worry although a slight resignation. 'It's going to happen one day. And then this place will be pointless. I'm not prepared to stick around whilst they ruin me. I want to sell up, and move back home.'

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'But what about everything else? The workforce, the customers. Myself and Anna moved out here for you.'

'Hold your horses, Johnny.' Jack raised a hand to John, indicating for him to be quiet. 'You did always jump the gun. I wouldn't even be contemplating this if it meant you and Anna would have to return to living in the manner in which you were before I asked you over here. There is nothing stopping you returning home now. And I want you to. To manage the vineyard I shall be opening in Northumberland.'

'I'm sorry? Leave California when the girls have just got settled...'

'They're young,' Jack dismissed John's argument. 'This will seem like an extended holiday to them, they probably won't remember.'

'It's not just that, we'll need somewhere to live. To start all over again...'

'The job will come with a home, I have enough money to see to that. I just want to leave before I lose everything I have ever earned. It may be harsh on those lads working out there, but I am a businessman. And I am a family man. I would make sure you and Anna were set. Unless you both wanted to stay here.'

John thought for a moment. He knew Anna missed home. And Jack was right, nothing was stopping them from returning now. A slight smile spread over his lips.

'This vineyard in Northumberland...'

'George is overseeing the construction and setting up, it will be ready in three weeks.'

'I'll have to talk to Anna.'

'Have the rest of the day to do so. I insist.'

Two short weeks later, John and his family were on the move back to England. Anna had fallen into John's arms when he had revealed Jack's news. John felt guilty as Anna admitted she had longed for John to utter the words they were to return home. She had been finding life lonely, with no one to talk to but the girls the entire day. As he voiced his apologies, Anna said with complete sincerity she would do it all over again. So long as she could be with him. Anna did however have one request of John. That before they moved to Northumberland, they married near Downton, so those they loved could be present. It wasn't too far for George, Agnes and Emily to travel down either. How could he refuse her?

Once in Yorkshire, Jack returned to Peterhead to make arrangements for the Scottish guests to meet with John and Anna for the wedding. After taking out a special licence, the date had been set for a week after they had arrived home. Jack had paid for the two of them and the twins to stay at the Grantham Arms, until after they were married.

It was Mrs Hughes who spotted them in the village. She couldn't believe her eyes, approaching them with open arms. After some coaxing, they were persuaded to come back to the house, to see some old friends. Anna's illness was still prominent, she needing to be tended to by Mrs Hughes in her sitting room whilst they were visiting. As John showed off his girls to the other's in the servants hall, Anna was confiding in Mrs Hughes. She admitted to an old confidante that the only other time she had been feeling this way was when she was pregnant with the twins. Mrs Hughes convinced Anna to see Doctor Clarkson, she would be visiting him this afternoon for a routine check up as it was.

Back in the servants hall, Daisy was bouncing Ella on her knee as Anna appeared. She announced she was walking into the village with Mrs Hughes. Just as she had informed John of her intentions, His Lordship appeared at the door.

'Bates, my dear fellow.'

'My Lord,' John immediately stood, following suit of those around him, Lily clutching tightly to h.

'I believe congratulations are in order. It's wonderful news that you and Anna will finally be married. Would it be agreeable for the four of you to join myself and Her Ladyship?'

'I would be very honoured my lord, but Anna accompanying Mrs Hughes into the village.'

'Well, how about this? You, me and your beautiful daughters go for a stroll in the garden, then when Anna returns you can both join myself and Lady Grantham for afternoon tea.'

John looked to Anna, who was nodding. 'That would be very kind, my Lord.'

'We shall be honoured to host a reception in your honour after the wedding,' Lady Cora insisted as she and her husband bid farewell to John, Anna and the girls at the front of the house. Anna and John were touched as the staff were present to say goodbye as well.

'Then we shall be honoured to accept,' John replied, smiling down at Anna. 'Wouldn't we, my darling.'

'Yes,' Anna smiled at Lady Cora, before looking to Lady Mary. 'We would.'

After saying their farewells, John and Anna continued on their way to the Grantham Arms. They walked in silence, Anna pushing the pushchair. John could tell something was on Anna's mind. He would look down at her intermittently, he could tell by her eyes she was deep in thought.

'How was the trip into the village?' John said finally. 'See any old faces?'

Looking up at him, John was surprised to see a smile spread across Anna's lips. 'I did, as it happens. Doctor Clarkson for one.'

'Oh right.' John said, looking straight ahead again as they continued to walk. 'Talk about anything worthy of note?'

'Something that might peak your interest, yes.' Anna responded with a slight lilt to her tone. John's eyes were on her in a heartbeat. 'You know how I've been poorly recently.'

'Yes, the doctor in America said it was due to the climate.'

'Well, it wasn't. And he was wrong. Very wrong.' They stopped walking for a moment, John's eyes never leaving Anna as she almost couldn't contain her excitement. 'I'm pregnant, John.'

'Pregnant? But the doctor in America was adamant...'

'And the doctor in America was mistaken. I could feel he was but didn't want to question him. In a funny way I wanted to believe him, the timing is all wrong. It's only since we've been home, in familiar surroundings that I have forced myself to accept it.'

'So you must be quite far along...'

'Four months,' Anna interrupted before adding with a small laugh, 'it must only be one this time. I am hardly showing.'

'Thank goodness for that,' John replied with a laugh of his own. 'And when you say about the timing, you couldn't be more wrong. Any time you tell me we are bringing another child into the world is the perfect time.'

'Are you sure? You're happy?'

John took Anna's hands in his. 'My darling, I am thrilled. I love you so much.'

'I love you too.'

John ran his finger over the band that now sat on Anna's ring finger, this time placed there as they exchanged their vows in front of everyone they loved and cherished. It had taken John's breath away to see her approach him outside the registry office, resplendent in a simple white dress and flowers in her hair. Agnes and Emily looked after the girls as John and Anna promised their lives to each other, this time for real. Now, standing together back at the big house, John had been encouraged to say a few words. He and Anna had decided to reveal their news as he recited his speech, and she stood with him as he began to speak. Carson tried to gain the attention of those gathered.

'Ladies and Gentleman, please be upstanding, for a word from the groom.'

A round of applause rippled through the grand ballroom at Downton. John squeezed Anna's hand before beginning his speech.

'It's wonderful to see so many of our friends and family here today. People who have been supportive to me and Anna, especially in the past couple of years.'

Anna raised her eyebrows as she spied Thomas at the back of the room, smirking. She then turned her attentions to Agnes, Emily and George who were, between them, battling to keep Ella and Lily content with the help of Mrs Hughes.

'It feels wonderful to be standing here, holding Anna's hand safe in the knowledge that she is my wife. It hasn't been ideal, but I don't have a single regret in the way in which things progressed. I was with the woman I loved and that was all that mattered to me. And, how could I regret it when, in the time we spent in Scotland we brought those two beautiful little girls into the world? ' John looked at his daughters, both staring at him intently. 'The circumstances in which they were born may have been frowned upon, but how could something so perfect be wrong?'

'It wasn't wrong,' Jack interrupted from the side of the room, drawing attention from others. 'Anyone who looks at the two of you can see you are made for each other. Any child with parents who share a bond as strong as yours are fortunate indeed.'

John nodded in acknowledgement to his cousins words, before looking down at Anna. 'Which leads me on to a small piece of news that myself and Anna would like to share. My wife and I are expecting our third child.'

'Blimey, they have been living in sin,' Thomas said under his breath to an impressionable footman, within ear shot of Mr Carson.

'Thomas,' he said sternly under his breath.

John raised a glass. 'I'd like you join me in a toast. To my wife, and our new life together.'

As everyone applauded, John and Anna shared a brief kiss before John whispered in her ear. 'Thank you.'

'For what?'

'Everything. Agreeing to be my wife, Ella and Lily, the new little one.'

'Well, it was a pleasure,' Anna replied, tongue firmly in cheek. 'But I believe I am the one who should be thanking you, Mr Bates.'

'What on earth for, Mrs Bates?'

Anna giggled at his manner of address before continuing. 'Well, if you hadn't stayed when I begged you in the courtyard, none of this would have happened. It just doesn't bear thinking about, my life without you.'

'Well in that case, it was my pleasure.' John placed a strong arm around Anna's waist. 'Although we've exchanged vows, I don't want you to forget what I said to you that first night in Scotland.'

'And what was that?'

'You can't have forgotten,' John said with a roll of his eyes. 'Surely?'

'Maybe not, but I'd love you to remind me.'

In the next moment, John had pulled Anna tightly into his embrace, present company and their eyes on the newlyweds be damned. He moved to whisper in her ear once again.

'My heart has been yours since the first time I saw you. Nothing in this world will ever seem that terrible again, because I shall be safe in the knowledge that you are , by my side till death do us part.'