Royals: Part 7

Chapter 15

"Jackie." 

Jackie was submerged in darkness. The voice pulled her like a tether, out of the blackness and into the light. 

Jackie's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she was was Harry's face, deep lines of worry relaxing into a smile. It took a moment for Jackie to orient herself. She'd just gotten her ovaries removed -- it was a laparoscopic procedure, meaning the surgeons worked through two tiny holes in her skin, using a camera to guide them. The only reminder of the whole ordeal would be two microscopic scars. The red irritated patches from the radiation therapy, which had ended just four days earlier, were almost gone. Dr. Brown had ordered a scan of Jackie's abdomen, done while she was still under anesthesia, just after her surgery. It would reveal if the combination of radiation therapy and surgery had been successful in removing the cancer from her body. 

Harry leaned in to give her a kiss. There was a chemical taste on his lips, hanging on him like a fog. Jackie pulled back. "Were you smoking?" 

Harry tried to look shocked, but there was no fooling Jackie. "I- smoking- I think you're still a bit delirious," he answered quickly.

Jackie grabbed Harry's right hand, inhaling deeply. "I can smell it. And you tried to cover it up with the hand lotion in my purse." 

Harry's eyes darted to Jackie's purse, which sat open on the end table of her post-opeative suite. "Shh, just rest." 

Jackie laughed disbelievingly. "Have you lost your mind? You haven't smoked in-" she thought back, counting the years in her mind. "Four years? Five?" Back in the early years of their friendship, when Jackie was with Will and Kate at St. Andrews and he was at Sandhurst, Harry smoked about a pack a day. He'd quit just before they got together at Will and Kate's wedding. To Jackie's knowledge, he hadn't smoked since -- until then.

Harry sighed, knowing the jig was up. "Okay, I smoked one cigarette." Jackie raised an eyebrow. Harry rolled his eyes. "One half of a pack of cigarettes."  

"Do you want to get cancer, too?" Jackie asked. Harry's expression told her he didn't think she was funny. "Why are you smoking?" 

"I was feeling stressed while you were in surgery, and I found them in my coat pocket. I guess I haven't worn that coat in a while. When I found them I couldn't help myself." Harry motioned towards the bathroom. "Don't go in there for a while, it needs to air out." 

Jackie shook her head. "You smoked 5 year old cigarettes in a hospital, none the less." She held his hand. "I just want you to take care of yourself." 

Harry was quiet. 

Jackie sighed. "I know going to Syria is dangerous, and it's hypocritical for me to tell you to take care of yourself when I'm going into a war zone, but-" 

Harry shook his head. "I wasn't going to say that. You are taking care of yourself by going there. It's what you need to do. The security is going to take care of you, you'll be fine. I think when you come back, you'll really be coming back to the girls and me. It hasn't been the same since Patrick and the cancer." 

Jackie's heart swelled. She would forever be grateful for her husband. "Thank you." Jackie gave Harry a kiss and said, "But that doesn't mean you can start smoking again." 

There was a knock on the door, announcing the arrival of Dr. Brown with Jackie's results. Harry gripped Jackie's hand as Dr. Brown sat on the edge of her bed, manilla folder in hand. "How are you feeling?" Dr. Brown asked.