The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter Nine

If Maddie was honest with herself, she would have to admit that there was a tiny part of her that thought, even though Harry had asked for her phone number, had taken the time to verify it and promised to call, that he would arrive home in London and never call. She had thought that his life would take over and he would simply forget. But she quickly learned she could not have been further from the truth.

And that was not the only thing she learned over the course of the next few months.

They both learned a lot about the other. She learned that he actually stayed up much later than she could even imagine. He laughed and told her it was because he was not nearly as busy as she. She groaned and told him it was probably because she was older. He would point out that they were merely a month apart. And then she would sigh and end the conversation because, as he would learn, she valued her sleep above most other things.

And they became close; becoming much better friends than either of them would have guessed.
He was the first one she called, even before her mother, to tell him that she had decided to extend her contract another six months. He congratulated her on the announcement and helped her walk through how exactly she was going to break the news to her mother. Though he offered to make the phone call for her, she declined. Her mother would find no humor in what she would mostly likely assume was a prank phone call.

She was one of the three people outside of the family that knew of the opportunity he had to head back to the frontlines in Afghanistan; flying the Apache helicopter. And she was the one he called in the apex of frustration when they cancelled it a month later. She listened as he yelled, she agreed while he ranted and, when he had calmed down, she sat in silence for two minutes before he sighed and moved the conversation elsewhere.

He told her about the trips he was taking, the events he was attending and he listened endlessly whenever she talked about The Community Garden, the newest endeavor in Bendal. It was a wonderful project they had been working on with the children who lived in the home for parentless children just a short distance away. When the Director of the home had approached her to help out, she had jumped at the opportunity; knowing the confidence and ownership it would give to the kids. But even she hadn't foreseen the enormous amount of pride it would bring about to everyone involved. They had all worked together as a community to build a green house, till the ground and plant the seeds. They had developed a schedule to help with the upkeep. It had been a fantastic idea; something she would remember forever

There were moments where they came close to talking about what was happening between them. Maddie would have a long night, watching people lose those closest to them and she would call him, her intentions to live in the moment, to put words to the excitement that would bubble up when she would see his number on her phone.

There were nights when Harry would have a little too much to drink and he would sit at home, turning the phone over and over in his hands; debating his next move with great intensity. Call her and face the wrath that came with waking her or put the phone down and sober up. The phone would go down and the dance would continue.

Harry would continue on with his duties, with his family and Maddie would dismiss the feelings and move forward. Being a friend of Harry's was proving to be much more fulfilling than she would have imagined and, based on his almost daily phone calls, he was enjoying it too. There was no need to mess with a good thing.

Ella had almost exhausted her reservoir of innuendo and jokes. Khenda remained supportive and hopeful that someday the two of them might figure it out. And Collins remained silent. Though his eyes spoke volumes when they met and held Maddie's; as if he knew something he wished she would see. And in London, Harry's brother and sister in law had heard extensive tales from Bendal; every one of them laced with Maddie.