The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 86

After a ten hour flight and close to two hours of driving, Maddie and her crew finally made it to her childhood home in the middle of the night. And her mother was waiting. Clad in a bathrobe and sleepy eyes, she greeted them at the door. She hugged Maddie tight before meeting Arthur and Sampson and inviting them in to look around and get settled in their space. Maddie loved that her mother seemed to just roll with the idea that she now traveled with an armed officer at all hours of the day and night. Hannah hugged Maddie again, kissed her cheeks and promised they could catch up in the morning. And then she watched as her mother slipped back downstairs, already half asleep.

After a short phone call to a sleepy and half-awake Harry, Maddie cuddled under a blanket on the couch; the tree twinkling in the dark room next to the fireplace and she settled into her home. She wasn't tired, not in the least. After her own personal, red-haired, sleep-aid, Maddie had slept through the entire flight. She laid there on the couch, enjoying the peaceful stillness of it all until just before the sun came up and then she drifted off to sleep. She was still there, snug on the couch, when her mother finally re-emerged from her room; refreshed and dressed. Hannah sat down next to her, watching her for a moment before she began to gently nudge her awake.

"Madeline..." Hannah sang.

"Mmm..." Maddie moaned softly, turning a bit towards her mother.

"You probably shouldn't have slept on the couch..."

"No," Maddie groaned, her eyes pulling open. "It was really only a nap."

"Gary and Jenna are on their way over for breakfast," Hannah relaxed back. "They've been dying to see you. I hope you don't mind..."

"I don't mind," Maddie shook her head as she sat up, her eyes opening wide. She was happy they were coming. One of the best things about coming home was the abundance of family, the family she missed. "Okay. I'll wake up." She ran her hand back and through her hair.

"Well, well. Would you look at this..." Hannah took Maddie's left hand in hers, smiling down at the glistening ring on her finger. "And I thought it looked beautiful in the box..."

"You saw it in the box?" Maddie smiled up at her mother.

"Harry brought it with him when he flew out before..."

"Of course he did," Maddie sighed as she thought of him, as she thought of him traveling to Colorado with the ring to see her mother. "That must have been quite the meeting, no?"

"Hmm..." Hannah grinned as she thought of it.

"Was he terribly nervous?" Maddie raised her eyebrows.

"If he was, he didn't show it," Hannah shook her head.

"He is pretty smooth."

"I would say confident," Hannah laughed lightly.

"That he is."

"Yes."

"Okay." Maddie clapped her hands together. "I'm going to go shower and change before they get here." She tossed her blanket aside and rose to her feet, walking to the tree. "You only put on the lights."

"Of course," Hannah nodded, rising to join her daughter. "We'll string the popcorn and cranberries tonight and finish decorating tomorrow on..."

"Christmas Eve," Maddie finished. It was tradition—had been since she was young. Maddie allowed both the lump in her throat and the wide smile. Her eyes drifted from the tree up to the mantel. Passing over the photos, her eyes went directly to a new addition. "Look at this..." Her hand reached for the framed photo of her and Harry, from their engagement announcement at Buckingham Palace.