The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 51

When Harry returned to London, he and Maddie were solid—stronger than they had ever been. Their time in Greece had added to the already durable glue that held them together. She had allowed herself to slip further into his world of wealth and privilege and she had found a way to stay grounded there. And Harry, touched beyond words at her gift, was so certain of her place in his life, in his future that he walked with a new air of confidence, a new feeling of peacefulness in his place in the world.

In those weeks following Harry's birthday, life was incredibly busy. Harry was gone at training and Maddie had her hands full with an influx of clients at Veteran's Services and her steady load at the hospital. It was busy, but the good kind of busy. She enjoyed this kind of busy; it gave her purpose and drive. And, as the icing on the cake, it helped the time without Harry pass by much quicker. Her weekends were devoted to catching up with Ella; shopping, lunching, staying up late and drinking wine while going on and on about their wonderful boyfriends. Maddie felt young and silly and she loved Ella for it.

That's why on that cool October night, Harry's third night back from training, when Ella stopped by as Maddie was getting dressed to go meet Harry, Maddie smiled wide and invited her friend inside; without a care in the world.

"You know, I'm getting ready to go meet Harry, but we can have some wine before I go..." Maddie started towards the kitchen. "Or hey! If you want to call Matt, the four of us can go out."

"No," Ella shook her head; watching her friend closely. "I actually came here for a reason."

"Oh?" Maddie mouth drew to the side as she looked Ella over; there was a magazine clutched to her chest and a look in her eyes that made Maddie nervous.

"You know how you asked me to be your filter, to read through things and only bring you the important stuff?"

"Yes," Maddie smiled tentatively. "And you've been doing a smashingly good job."

"Thank you," Ella allowed a tiny smile.

"Is that why you're here?" Maddie's eyes rested on the magazine that Ella held; the cover pressing against her chest. "Is that important stuff?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I don't think so. It's...I think it's nothing."

"But..." Maddie crossed her arms.

"People are most definitely going to be talking about it and I would be remiss as a filter and a friend if I didn't tell you about it before you heard about it."

"Okay," Maddie nodded; finding a bit of humor in the whole situation. If the last year had taught her anything, it was to not get worked up about something until there was reason to get worked up about something. "Go ahead."

"Okay," Ella nodded and took a breath. "But before I show you, I just want to remind you of a few things..." Ella seemed serious as she held the magazine close to her chest.

"Shoot."

"First, Harry adores you. You know that, right?"

"Yes," Maddie nodded; absolute. "Is this about Harry?" Ella ignored her question and continued.

"Second, I have been reading everything about you for the last...I don't know, six months and the press generally only has it right about...forty percent of the time, probably less if I took the time to make a chart and..."

"Ella..." She snapped back into focus.

"Third," she moved closer to her friend. "When that website said they had nude photos of you, Harry never believed it, not for one second."

"Nude photos?" Maddie's eyes went wide. "Are there nude photos of Harry in that magazine?"

"Right, as if I'm really that lucky." Ella allowed a burst of laughter and Maddie narrowed her eyes. "Sorry. I forget sometimes that I need to alter my celebrity crush list because your boyfriend is off limits, even if he's been on my free pass list for years."