The Royals and The Baby

Wedding Bells (published after completing)

I have to force a wriggling one year old Rose into a white frock with tiny embroidered red roses bordering the neckline. Once it's on and I've fastened the buttons at the back, I let her sit up and place a few of her stuffed toys in front of her.

While she's distracted I take a shower. I'm drying my hair with a towel when I hear the bedroom door open and then William's voice reaches my ears as he talks to Rose.

I put on my clothes and go out to meet him.

"When do we have to leave?" He asks, kissing me.

"The church is booked for 5 o'clock. If we don't leave in another hour then we'll be late." I reply, sighing at the kiss.

"Okay. I'm going to take a quick shower and then get changed." He kisses my forehead and then goes into the bathroom. I go into the wardrobe and change into my dress. By the time I come back out holding my heels, Rose is slumped over, fast asleep.

I lift her from the bed and put her in the crib. Once she's comfortable, I do my make-up and am finishing my hair when William comes out of the washroom, dressed in a white shirt. He goes into the wardrobe and comes back out holding his suit coat and a tie the exact same shade of pink as my dress.

"You're looking beautiful." He comments, coming to stand behind me in front of the mirror.

I turn around to face him but his lips mine half way. He wraps his arms around me as I lean into him. We pull away, gasping for air.

"We should get going." I say.

"Yes." He agrees, knotting his tie and then lifts the sleeping Rose from her crib before carrying her out the door and I follow them. We descend down the stairs and out of the main entrance. Our car along with several escort cars wait, ready to leave.

While William buckles Rose into her car seat, I have a quick conversation with Helen about a conference scheduled for tomorrow. Then we get into the car and set off.

We reach the church. It's nothing big but elegant enough for the occasion. Ella chose it and mom agreed to it, so we had it booked. Rose is awake by now so I carry her up the steps then step her down so that she can walk in herself.

William takes his daughter's hand to help keep her steady and we walk in together. Ella is already there with Leo and Jessica, her one month old daughter. The other family isn't here yet.

"Hi!" Ella greets us, coming over to embrace me.

While she kneels down and hugs Rose, I do the same with my nephew.

"Hey Jess." I coo, kissing her cheek.

Leo and Rose run around while we wait for Liam and his family to arrive.

"Is mom here yet?" I ask Ella.

"Mhmm." She points towards a door on the side.

"Let's go check on her." I say, getting up from the chair I'm sitting on.

"Jess..." She starts but before she can continue I take the baby from her and thrust her into William's arms, who is talking on the phone to Harrison.

"Cassy!" She exclaims.

"He's used to handling Rose. Come on!" I tug on her arm just like I used to when we were little. But back then it used to be because I wanted her to play with me or buy me some candy. Now it's because I'm eager to see my mother before she marries Liam.

I push open the door and it opens into a cozy little room. Mom is sitting on a couch opposite the door. She looks stunning in her white dress. We tried getting her to buy something fancier given the occasion but she insisted on the plain white silk dress she's wearing.