The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 54

Maddie took a deep breath, knowing that if she stood there any longer without knocking she was likely to be hauled away by his protection officers. Every step she had taken to this point had been fueled by Bishop's words, by her newfound resolve but now, as she was about to face the music, the anxiety was beginning to edge out her confidence.

"Pull it together Forrester," she muttered to herself. Taking a deep breath and all of her strength, she reached out and knocked on the door.

Her eyes welled up for the umpteenth time that night as she waited those five aching seconds for somebody to come to the door. She hoped it was Jim; she knew him the best, had seen him the most often and, for some crazy reason, felt a little easier about him seeing her in this state of perpetual breakdown. The opening of the door startled her and her eyes flew up.

It was him. Harry; dressed for bed and stunned to see her.

"Maddie..." He breathed through the spike in his heart rate; glancing around outside his home. "How did you..."

"Kate," she answered. "I asked her to help me get in and..."

"Ah yes," Harry chuckled dryly, despite his headache. "I figured that someday a friendship between the two of you would come around to get me." Maddie nodded and looked to the ground.

"Do you want me to leave?" She hadn't even thought that he wouldn't want her to show up like this. Who knew what had gone through his mind during the time that she was away?

"I don't," he shook his head; his eyes registering the hurt he felt. "I just don't want to fight with you anymore tonight." He let out a long, exhaustive breath. "I hate fighting with you."

"I hate fighting with you too," she blinked at the tears in her eyes.

"I know," he nodded; softening at her tears. "But nothing about what I said earlier has changed. Nothing is going to change. This is how it is and..."

"I know..." Maddie cut in; having known this wasn't going to be easy. "I..." She looked down at her hands; remembering the gift bag she had brought with her. She held it out to him. "I brought a peace offering." Harry stepped out of the doorway, reaching for the bag. Maddie watched as he opened it, a smile spreading across his serious face.

"Are these..."

"Yes," Maddie nodded; breathing a bit easier as his smile stretched.

"You know they're my favorite."

"I do know that," she nodded. "And just so you know, it's a bit more difficult for a commoner to track these down than it might be for you; being a Crown Prince and all..." She tried for levity, tried for a joke, tried for a way to keep this smile on his face. His eyes met hers and held for a moment and she could see the moment he decided to let her in; his jaw loosened and his shoulders relaxed.

"I'm not really a Crown Prince, you know," he arched his eyebrows over his tired eyes.

"Yeah..." Maddie nodded and gulped at the lump in her throat. "Harry..." She wiped at her suddenly teary eyes. "I don't know what to say. I don't have any...I feel like my emotions have just been put into a bag and shaken up and... It's been a long day; with the magazine and the photos and then...I'm sorry. That's what I want to say. I'm sorry. I was upset and frustrated and I was wrong to ask you to...Please let me fix things with you. Please help me fix this?" She felt a new sense of scatter move into her heart as she contemplated rejection. "Or is this...is this the end of the line for you?"

"No," his voice was full of emotion as he shook his head. "Of course it's not the end of the..." Harry moved to the side; feeling bad that he hadn't done so sooner. "Come inside? Please."