The Royal Scandal | Prince William |

Double Trouble

March 12, 2018

"Mummy?"

Both Jaclyn and William glance up towards Mia. They're probing eyes don't prompt her to continue, instead she grows shy, long legs kicking against the underside of the table while she pushes around her fruit.

It's a rare peaceful morning where none of them have to rush. No engagements, no meetings, and no school; and if there is a meeting then neither Harry nor his father have bothered him about it. Perhaps, this will be the end of it. Perhaps, it was only premarital nerves causing Harry to freak out over every little thing.

William hopes so if only to relish more mornings like this. With both of the kids giggling and sharing tales from their week, Jaclyn's joy spills from her eyes lighting up her sheet-like complexion. It's the happiest she's looked in weeks. She almost resembles her old self, as Mia rattles on and on about dance, and she sits there and aptly listens.

"Is the baby going to be a girl or boy-"

"Boy?"

PJ asks rather hopeful, syrup stuck to his cheeks with a shiny sheen. With the utmost care she wipes the syrup from PJ's face holding his cheeks longer than she needs to. For a moment William thinks she's committing every part of him to memory. His still platinum hair has grown longer, and somehow his face seems older like he's already lived a hundred life times and knows everything he needs to.

"We don't know, sweetheart," Jaclyn says to Mia finally releasing PJ to return to his food.

Mia purses her lips, pushing her long wavy curls away from her plate, but they only seem to fall back. "I cannot live with another brother. I want a sister to play dress up with."

"Are you saying PJ and I are not good at playing dress up?" He asks with a dramatic drop of his jaw and a hand to his chest. She laughs, her smile so much like Jaclyn's as her whole body ricochettes from the action. There's a slight stab in his heart watching her, watching Jaclyn mirror her, but he fights to keep it off his face.

If he loses her he's not sure how he'll manage to look at Mia. His daughter is perfect and she deserves more than to be viewed as her dead mother come again, he knows how horrible that can feel. But their eyes, their hair, their smiles, their faces. He sees Jaclyn in Mia when she dances, when she talks about something she's passionate about.

"Do you have names?" Mia asks, snapping him from his thoughts, and once again she's too preoccupied with her food to notice his haunted staring.

Jaclyn sputters, a flash of hurt returning, and William jumps to fix it. "Do you have any ideas, sweetheart?"

"Pretty," Mia says with a casual shrug as if she knows she's dropped the best name ever. "Because she will be my sister, and be very pretty like Mummy." He turns to Jaclyn, and for the first time in a long time he grips her hand not to find her pulse, but to fight off his laughter. She appears to be doing much the same.

"That's such a great name!" She exclaims through watery eyes and gasping chuckles, "And what about you PJ?"

"King Bob."

This time they all laugh, even the kids.

-----

Jaclyn's not scared of the hospital, but her appointments always turn her into a ball of nerves even hours before she has to leave. Normal tasks seem impossibly daunting and all she can do is stare into the abyss until it's time to go. She clings to their family breakfast, the happiness that swelled in her watching the kids laugh and joke with William. She clings to the feeling of William's warm hand.