Royals: Part 3

Chapter 14

"Harry- wait-"

Harry turned, looking at Jackie curiously. "What is it?"

Jackie stood in the doorway of Nottingham Cottage, pulling a light tan day coat over her red dress. She and Harry were about to head off for their first public engagement not only as a couple, but since the nude photos of Harry had been released a few days before.

"I wanted to ask you about something you said in that interview you gave in Afghanistan."

Jackie had developed a sort of addiction to reading the tabloid articles written about her, though her better judgement had told her not to. She had kept her dirty secret a secret from everyone, except her old friend and coworker, Emily, who had ironically betrayed Jackie by selling information about her and Harry's relationship to the tabloids about a year before. She had been careful to hide her habit from Kate, Will, and even Harry because she had the preconceived idea that they would strongly disagree with what she did. But, recently, in Harry's interview in Afghanistan, she had discovered that Harry actually shared her obsession, admitting that he read the articles written about Jackie and himself. She hadn't had the opportunity to talk to him about it since then.

"What about it?" Harry asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Well, you said that you read the tabloid articles."

"I thought you knew that," he said, looking surprised.

She shook her head. "I always thought you were totally against reading all that."

"Well my family is, but I always have, and probably always will. It's hard to resist, knowing they are writing things about me." Harry shrugged. "I try to take it as a grain of salt, it doesn't matter what they think, really, but what I think of myself."

Jackie let out a little laugh. "I've been reading them ever since they started writing about me- but I always thought you would be angry with me."

"You read them?" Harry asked with a grin. "I've never seen you."

"I've always hidden it," she admitted. "I clear my browser history more than a 15-year old boy."

Harry laughed loudly, giving Jackie a squeeze. "You don't have to hide anything from me."

"I know, I know. I've always felt so guilty, sneaking around. I don't let it bother me, like you said, it doesn't matter anyway."

"Well, I'm glad. I used to worry about you, you know, because of how they treated my mother and all." Harry beamed. "But you're a lot stronger than I realized."

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"Welcome, Your Highnesses," the Executive Director of Royal London Hospital greeted as Jackie and Harry approached the front door.

Harry and Jackie shook his hand, thanking him for having them. The paparazzi pressed against a metal barricade called for the royal couple, snapping hundreds of photos. The turn out was quite a bit larger than usual, obviously because of the photo scandal that was still making front pages.

Jackie had read a few articles the night before, seeing countless stories with all sorts of view points on the whole situation. To her relief, most news outlets blew the photo scandal off, saying it simply showed a young couple having fun, wrapped up in a sick invasion of their privacy. And of course, there were a few websites that called Harry a plague to the monarchy, questioning both his and Jackie's judgement. Luckily, it seemed that the majority of the world liked Harry and Jackie even more, as the photos were humanizing.

A few select members of the hospital staff had been brought out to greet the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in front of the press, including Jackie's old boss, Jessica, A&E department nurse manager. Jackie greeted her old friend with a warm hug, she loved Jessica dearly- she was the only personal guest she had invited to her wedding.

"It's been too long," said Jackie, still embracing her friend.

"I hope you've brought your scrubs, I may need to put you to work."

Jackie laughed, moving along to greet the other familiar faces. After some small talk, Jackie and Harry were escorted inside, along with a few select members of the press who were being allowed to photograph the event.

Jackie and Harry were given a brief tour of the hospital, Jackie pointing out places where she had a particular fond memory to her husband. Harry seemed to loosen up a bit- he had been a bit on edge for his first appearance after the photos- joking with the staff and taking genuine interest in learning about Jackie's life as a nurse in the hospital in her years before they met.

To Jackie's delight, she and Harry were taken to the Accident and Emergency department, where she had spent nearly 9 years of her life. Jackie felt at home, hugging her old coworkers and posing for a group photo. She was delighted to see that an old photo of her hung on a wall in the heart of the department. Jackie looked young, probably about 23, wearing her white scrubs, her blonde hair much longer and pulled back in a messy ponytail, her arms stacked full of charts.

Jackie could remember when the photo was taken, a random day when a photographer had come through, taking photos of some of the staff members to be added to the hospital's website. It was wonderful to see that the department had cared about her enough to find the photo, blowing it up and hanging it in a frame, inscribed with the caption: "Jacqueline Baker, Duchess of Windsor, Nurse."

As Jackie and Harry were being shown some new equipment that had recently been added to A&E, a familiar woman rounded the corner. Jackie nearly froze at the sight of her old friend, Emily. She hadn't spoken to Emily in nearly a year- since she had discovered that she had been selling all of her secrets to the tabloids. Jackie had confronted Emily over the phone, ending their almost 10 year friendship. It was very hard for Jackie to do, but had signified the first sacrifice she had made to become a member of the royal family.

Emily looked terrified, probably wondering if Jackie would attack her in front of the press. As she had probably been instructed to do, Emily approached Jackie and Harry, curtsying. "Hello, Your Highnesses."

Harry shook Emily's hand, unaware of who she was. Emily turned to Jackie, who forced a smile, not saying a word as she held out her hand for Emily to shake. Emily put a bad taste in Jackie's mouth, but she couldn't show it, not with all the cameras around.

Luckily, Jackie and Harry were soon escorted to the new AIDS ward, which was the main purpose of their visit. They posed for some photos, looking patriotic, per Elizabeth's suggestion, Harry wearing blue suit and Jackie wearing a red dress. They listened to some speeches along with mass of people whose donations had built the huge addition to the hospital. Speakers spoke about the importance of the new ward, the great work Princess Diana did for the cause, and the appreciation of the hospital for Jackie and Harry's support. 

Then, it was time for Harry's speech. He took to the podium, Jackie noticing how nervous he was. The pressure was on.

"First off, I would like to thank all the donors who made this wonderful addition possible, and the staff of Royal London Hospital for making my wife and I feel so welcomed." Harry made brief eye contact with Jackie, who smiled reassuringly from the audience. "I would also like to publicly apologize for my actions over the weekend. It was a classic case of me being too much army and not enough prince. I've let a lot of people down, including my family, my wife, Jacqueline, and myself. Most importantly, I've let down the charities that I represent, and for that, I am sincerely sorry."

There was a round of applause before Harry continued. "As Jacqueline said in a speech she made yesterday, she feels responsible for my actions, and unfortunately, some members of the press are saying she shares my lack of judgement. However, as you can see in the photos, she's actually got wonderful judgement, as she was the one wearing clothes."

There was an outburst of laughter from the entire audience, which appeared to encourage Harry, the muscles in his face relaxing. "So, I would also like to thank my wonderful wife, Jacqueline, for the incredible work she's done while I was deployed. She handled the transition into her public role with grace and dignity, which is a lot more than I can say for myself."

Jackie beamed as Harry's speech went off without a hitch, the crowd's laughter clearly showing that it would take quite a bit more than a few naked photos for the world to stop loving Prince Harry.

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Thanks for reading! As usual, please leave any comments or plot suggestions! :)