S4 AU (spoilers). Bates barely made it to the bottom of the steps when the first scream reached his ears.
London -1905. It was as though she'd flipped to a page in a book too soon and read a few lines out of order in the story.
He didn't need to say the words.
No lights burned in the cottage as he neared, not even a solitary candle in the window. Warning: character death.
S4 spoilers. When a new housemaid shows an interest in Mr. Bates, Anna is forced to confront both her own jealousy and the divide which has grown between her and her husband.
Bates finds something Anna did not intend for him to see and misunderstands why she has it. SPOILERS for S5E2
Bates takes care of Anna when she and half the household come down with the flu.
Walking like a man already condemned to the gallows, Bates felt his emotions shift from anguish into a dull rage. He hated himself. He hated Anna, just a little. S5E6 post episode. SPOILERS
They took her away from him, and Bates struggles in the aftermath. S5E8 SPOILERS
"Remind me why I thought going to a pub was a good idea?" she asked. John smiled at her indulgently. "You said you'd never been drunk before."
"And what other words have you read in these novels of yours?"
"No man can regret loving... as I have loved you." He'd spoken the words before he knew the true meaning of regret.
Mr. Molesley could never be sure how the subject of tattoos came up in the servant's hall one evening after dinner, but he did notice the interest that Miss Baxter showed in the subject.
Modern AU. He always left her chocolate candies on her desk. They were a secret, of course. And on Valentine's day, she expected another. After working for the man for ten months, she knew it would be forthcoming. Mister Bates was sweet like that, to think of her.
The Bateses and Carsons often visited each other as they continued their lives out of service.
They'd made attempts. But resuming the intimacy of married life was difficult for Anna and Bates, and each time they failed made it even more difficult to try again. Spoilers through S5E1
He could not keep his hands off of her. Spoilers for S5CS.
Struggling with guilt and the thought that Anna would have been better off if they'd never met, Bates must face his doubts by witnessing the world as it would have been had he died years before. *Spoilers through S5.*
Lord Grantham gets a puppy, and Bates learns to adjust to the new addition. Spoilers through S5E8.
Bates writes to Anna and then visits her in jail. Spoilers for S5E8, speculation for S5CS