A/N: This is very Bishop/Ella heavy. If you don't like them, do not read this. Skip to the next chapter.
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"Okay," Maddie stepped into Harry's office at a quick clip; their relaxed, easy Saturday quickly filling with more and more apprehension. "Have you heard from Bishop?"
"No," Harry shook his head slowly, a chuckle moving from his mouth as Maddie began to pace the length of his office. "Ella?"
"No!" Maddie exclaimed, louder than she intended. "I mean....she landed over three hours ago and I haven't heard a word!"
"Well..." Harry let out a breath and tossed the article he was reading onto his desk. "Bishop was on an overnight flight from Japan. Maybe the flight took longer, maybe it left later. Maybe...maybe they are still talking about this momentous change in their lives."
"Maybe they are," she huffed into one of his large leather chairs. "That has to be a good sign, right?" She turned hopeful eyes to Harry.
"How would I know?"
"He's your best friend!" She waved her hand at him. "If he were going to tell her no, if he didn't want anything to do with her or the baby, it would come out fast...right?"
"Madeline," Harry leaned forward in his chair, his arms resting on his desk. "Bishop is not going to tell her no."
"You don't think so?"
"No. I don't think so. This is his baby, his child..." Harry's features softened as he spoke. "And he loves Ella. I cannot imagine him turning her away. Just give them some time. They have a lot to discuss, a lot to figure out."
"You're right," Maddie sighed, falling back into the chair. "Goodness. When did you become the rational voice in this family?"
"I don't know," Harry laughed, reaching for his article again. "But we need to switch it back. This is starting to weird me out."
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"Harry..." Maddie lifted her eyes from her book, not bothering to move from her spot on the couch.
"Not yet," he called out as he passed by on his way to the kitchen.
"It's been five hours since she landed."
"I know." He kept moving.
"Is he even on the ground yet?"
"Honestly Maddie," Harry laughed. "What do we need to do to get your mind off of Ella and Bishop for bloody sake!"
"I'm sorry," she exhaled and thought for a moment. "Hey. Any chance you want to put on an encore performance from last night?"
"Ha ha ha," she could hear him laughing from the other room.
"You know it would have been better if this had been a work day..." She closed her book and tossed it to the side. "I can't believe this is what I've been reduced to; sitting around waiting for a phone call that actually has nothing to do with..." She could hear Harry's voice in the other room; low and murmured as though he were talking, but not to her. Rising from the couch, she made her way into the room.
"Yes, yes..." Harry was standing tall; arms crossed over his chest with a focused look on his face. He glanced up to Maddie when she stepped into the room and nodded his head. "Absolutely. I'll be right over and...okay. Okay. I'll meet you there." As soon as the call ended, he stuffed his phone in his pocket.
"That was him." Maddie knew it by the look on his face.
"That was him," Harry nodded, moving towards her across the kitchen. "Listen. I have to go."
"Go?" She was surprised. "Is everything okay?"
"I think so," he continued through the door, Maddie following him as he moved. "He just...he needs me to meet him and I'm going to go ahead and do that."
"Of course," Maddie agreed, watching as he pulled on shoes.
"I don't know when I'll be back or..." He reached for a light jacket and turned to face her. "I'll let you know if we're leaving the country..." His lips tugged up in a smile and Maddie laughed.
"Did he say..."
"Nothing," Harry shook his head. "He just said he needed me." Harry's hands moved over her arms, rubbing smoothly over her skin. "I love you." He dipped to kiss her.
"I love you too." She hugged him, tight and quick, before she released her hold and watched him go. As the door closed behind him, she looked down to her own phone; no missed calls, no new texts and all she could think of was her best friend and what could possibly be going on in her life. It was a matter of minutes, seconds really, before her phone buzzed in her hand and she didn't even need to look in order to know who it was. "Hello."
"Maddie it's me..." Ella's voice was tired; teary. "Can you come over?"
"Absolutely," Maddie nodded, her heart already starting to hurt. "Where are you?"
"I'm at Bishop's," she took a shaky breath. "He said...he said he needed to think and..." She sniffed; clearly still unsure and upset. "He said to stay here he just needed to think and..."
"I'm on my way," Maddie shoved her feet into her shoes and headed for the door. "I'll be there in less than five minutes." With a quick text to Harry to let him know where she was headed, Maddie slipped into the car and was on her way.
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Earlier
Bishop was exhausted when he finally arrived back in London. Having been traveling for over a week, his final flight from Tokyo had been delayed and by the time his car turned up the street to his flat, he had been up for twenty-four hours. He was scruffy and wearing a wrinkled suit and simply ready to crash; in a shower, on his couch...wherever he finally fell flat on his face.
It must have been that sleep deprived state of mind that made him miss her; that made him not see her when the car pulled to a stop. It must have been that sleeplessness that kept his eyes from focusing on anything, much less the petite brunette who sat on the top step to his door. It had to have been that, because nothing else made sense. But he didn't see her. He took his bags from the driver, thanked him with a genuine, albeit wavering, smile and turned up the short walk. Scrubbing a hand over his unshaven face, he forced his eyes open, forced his feet forward.
And then it happened; he saw her.
And he stopped walking. Blinking his heavy, sandy eyelids, he squinted to focus and then the corners of his mouth curled up.
"Ella?" Her name rolled from his tongue as she rose to her feet with a smile; bright and happy and more than a little bit nervous.
"Hi," she waved her fingers, her voice hitting his ears like a song.
"Wow..." He moved a hand to his chest with a shake of his head. "I must really be sleep deprived. My mind is just...taking over and giving me illusions."
"I'm not an illusion," she laughed lightly, taking a step in his direction.
"You sure?" He arched his eyebrows. "Because it would make sense. I haven't slept in days and I think I'm getting a cold and...you know...when men wander the desert too long, they see water; their minds show them what they want to see most in the world."
"Bishop..." Her voice was shaky and, though he wouldn't know that at the time, her knees were even worse.
"Is that what's happening right now?" He grinned. "Is my mind showing me what I want to see most in this world?"
"Is this what you want to see most in this world?" She sniffed at the tears that threatened to spill, held tight to her pounding heart as she looked him over.
"Ella love," he dropped a bag next to him on the walk, his eyes sweeping over her. "Are you really here?"
"I'm really here," she nodded.
"Good," he laughed out into the still air; happy, unbelievably so, because he knew. He knew her better than most, better than he knew himself sometimes and, after their last conversation, he knew she wouldn't be there, sitting on his stoop, if she really didn't mean it. His heart swelled in his chest. "How long have you..."
"A few hours," she admitted, looking down at her shoes.
"A few hours?" His forehead crinkled. "What on Earth have you been doing here for hours? You could have gone to Maddie and...do Maddie and Harry know you're here? I mean...they didn't say you were coming and..." His mind was beginning to catch up with him. "You could have called...Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you're here. Fuck. You can show up on my doorstep anytime, I just..." He sighed. "I would have made sure I was here."
"I know," she smiled and blinked and he saw it; the tears in her eyes, the shake in her breath.
"Hey..." He softened. "Come on. Let's go inside. We can..." He took a step, his hand reaching out to show her inside but she didn't move; didn't budge.
"Wait, Bishop..." Her hand rested on his arm and both of them could feel the heat there. "I just...There's something I need to tell you and if you want to send me away after I do I just...I want that to happen here. I..." Her eyes lifted to meet his and they were dark and swimming with hope and expectation and tears. "I want to come in. I want to come in and never..." She shook her head, trying to control all of the emotions she was feeling there on his sidewalk. "But before you do that, you need to know..."
"Need to know what?" He opened his hands in front of him, unable to imagine what she could possibly say to him that would change the desire he had to take her into his home and never let her go.
"Bishop...I'm pregnant."
"Whoa." Bishop's entire body registered the stun he felt.
"And it's yours," she wanted to be clear.
"God..." He felt a bit dizzy. "I assumed..." He nodded; knowing she wouldn't show up at his place to tell him otherwise. "I....holy shit..." He was having trouble grasping her words. "I just...how?"
"How?" She couldn't help the smile that cracked across her face. "I think you know how..."
"But..." He shook his head, swallowing at his dry, tight throat.
"But we didn't use..." She lowered her voice, realizing for the first time that they were still standing outside. "We didn't use anything."
"But you said that the timing was wrong for you to..." He fought to pull that night to the front of his mind without dipping into the amazing sex they had shared. "You said that the timing was off and that it wasn't possible..."
"I didn't say it wasn't possible," she corrected. "I said it wasn't likely and..."
"And you said trust me," he loosened the tie around his neck. "You said trust me, I'm a nurse. Ella...what happened..."
"I..." She blinked rapidly. "I was a nurse and I was in love and I was leaving and you were there taking off your clothes and seducing me and..."
"Seducing?!" He yelled out with a bit of a laugh.
"Bishop..." Her voice dropped low. "It happened. I...Obviously I didn't intend for this to happen and I know you didn't but..." She took a slow breath; trying for calm. "But it did. I can't take it back, I can't make it go away and...and I don't want to. I..." She shook her head as the tears won out; slipping from her eyes. "I'm going to have this baby. Our baby. I'm going to and...I wanted you to know. I...I don't expect anything from you but..."
"What the hell are you talking about?! You don't expect anything from..." His jaw grew tight and his eyes grew dark and Ella was sure that, even in all of their confusion and back and forth, she had never seen him quite like this. She had told him once that if she ever arrived at a place in her life when she wanted all those things, it would be with him.
"I don't expect anything from you," she repeated her words, holding strong against his glare; needing to say it. "But I want it." She watched him blink, watched him absorb the surprise he felt at that. "I want it all. I want you and I want this baby and I want to be with you and...I want to be parents...together. That's what I want...a family. With you. And I know I have no claim to you, no right to stand here and say this after all that's..." Her tears increased. "After all I've done and said and after how many times I've left you and...but...I love you." She wiped at her eyes, unable to see his features clearly at this point. "You know that I've always loved you and...I love this baby and...I wanted you to know. I wanted you to have all of that before you...before you invited me inside."
It was a full minute before Bishop's mouth opened wide, as though he were going to say something; but it clamped shut again. Everything inside of him was reeling. He had been so tired when he pulled up to his place; ready to crash and sleep till Tuesday. But here she was, Ella; his Ella. And she was pregnant with his child and with one, long, emotion filled speech, she was offering him everything; everything he had always secretly desired but never ever put words to.
"That is..." He squeaked, swallowed and continued. "That's a lot of information."
"I know," Ella softened instantly. "And I'm sorry to just...dump this on you, here on the sidewalk but...I've waited long enough. I couldn't wait any longer. I just..."
"A baby..." He lifted his eyebrows; his voice hoarse.
"Mmm Hmm," she nodded with teary eyes.
"How far along?"
"I just passed my first trimester," she managed a small smile. "Twelve weeks."
"Wow..." He took a step back, stumbled really. He ran two hands over his face, into his hair and he looked her over; his eyes sweeping to her tiny stomach, up to her sad, tear-streaked face and his instincts kicked into gear; his affection for her taking over. "Come on." He held a hand towards his door. "We...God..." He blew out a breath. "We have a lot to talk about. I have...a lot to think about but..." He cleared his throat. "But you should come inside. You've sat out here long enough. Come in?" He raised his eyebrows and she nodded; thrilled he wasn't sending her away in the car that had just left him.
"Okay," her voice was tiny, as though she were scared if she spoke to loudly, it would startle him.
"Okay," he nodded and took a step forward.
"Bishop," her hand fell on his arm and again, they were both aware of the heat that was there. His eyes flashed to hers, eyebrows lifted. "Your bags." She pointed to the bags he had been carrying when she had dropped the news.
"Ah yes," he chuckled lightly, moving back to snatch them from the walk. "Thank you."
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"And when we came inside," Ella took a breath as she told Maddie what had happened. "He...ha! He played the generous host for a minute; bringing me something to drink, offering me something to eat and then he told me he needed some air. He needed to think and get some air. He asked me to stay here while he went and then..."
"He called Harry," Maddie supplied.
"Yes," Ella let out a sigh, her head tipping back on the couch she had been sitting on since Bishop had left her there hours ago.
"Well..." Maddie looked around the living room. "I think it's a good sign."
"Yeah?" Ella's eyebrows lifted sleepily.
"He didn't ask you to leave," Maddie pointed out. "As a matter of fact, he asked you to stay. He left you in his home while he went out. That's...that has to be a good thing."
"I suppose," her lips turned up in a small smile. "Maddie..." Her eyes welled with tears and she looked so young and vulnerable and Maddie's heart ached for her. "I just...I want this so much. So much. I don't...what if he doesn't?" Her breathing was jagged as she thought of that. "What if he just wants to co-parent and he doesn't want to be with me and..." She shook her head. "I would deserve that after everything that I've..."
"Shhh," Maddie reached for her hand. "This isn't about deserving, Ella. And even if it were, you deserve to be happy and have a family...just like the rest of us."
"Thanks," she wiped at her eyes and held onto Maddie's hand. "And thank you for coming over. Waiting here alone would just do me in."
"No problem," Maddie leaned closer to her friend. "And you know...even if it doesn't go quite like you hope it will, this baby will have lots of people who love it; including me...and Harry."
"I know."
"Speaking of Harry, you should know that the fact that he's with Harry is incredibly promising."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Nobody wants a family more than him. Nobody wants babies more than him. If he's getting advice from Harry right now then..." But before Maddie could finish her sentence, they heard noise at the door and their heads snapped towards it.
And in walked Harry and Bishop; both of them visibly tipsy. Maddie felt Ella tense next to her, her wide eyes focusing on Bishop who stood tall, though still wrinkled and scruffy, in the middle of the living room.
"Hey Blondie," Harry's voice called out as he pointed to Maddie; a smug, half grin pulling at his lips. "You're going with me." He turned his finger towards the door and nodded his head. And Maddie bit her tongue; he was so fucking cute she could slap him. But instead she squeezed Ella's hand, leaned in to kiss her cheek, and she rose to her feet. Following Harry to the door, she patted Bishop on the back as she passed, and they left the two soon-to-be parents to discuss their future.
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Maddie giggled as she watched Harry slide into the car, following after him in amusement. "You are...wasted."
"I am," Harry sighed; his eyes hazy as he sloughed back in the car seat; his hand moving immediately to Maddie's knee. "But that's what you do when you're best friend is going to be a father."
"It is," Maddie nodded. "Is he excited?"
"He is..." Harry's lips curled up in a grin. "He is ecstatic."
"He is?!" Maddie clapped her hands together happily. "Oh God! He just seemed so...flat when he came home and you know he left her there with no hint or anything."
"I know," Harry squeezed her leg. "He just needed to take a minute; figure stuff out."
"And he figured it out?"
"He did," Harry nodded; his grin stretching higher.
"And..." Maddie nudged him, dying to know.
"You can't tell. Madeline. Look at me," he commanded her eyes to his. "You can't tell."
"I swear." She held up her hand in oath, biting at her lip.
Harry's eyes flashed the same sort of excitement Maddie knew she felt. "He's going to marry her."
"Ah!!!!" Maddie lit up; her hands clapping together, her entire face smiling because she knew, at that exact moment, Bishop was telling Ella the same thing; handing her everything she wanted. "Oh my God..." She leaned in then, capturing Harry's face between her hands. "I knew when he went out with you that he would end up wanting to..."
"No, no," Harry shook his head in her hands. "I had nothing to do with this. He got there all on his own."
"You're telling me that can't-wait-to-be-a-daddy Harry had nothing to say about Bishop becoming a daddy?" Maddie's eyes danced as she looked at him.
"I'm telling you..." He leaned in to kiss her. "That can't-wait-to-be-a-daddy Harry has a lot to say..." He kissed her again; slower and deeper. "To you..." He moved closer, his hands sliding around her. "About becoming a daddy." And before Maddie could say anything, before she could toss back with banter, Harry's mouth was closing over hers in a heated, feverish way that drew her thought process to a close. Sighing into his mouth, she surrendered to his tongue, to his hands; to him. She could taste the whiskey on his tongue, she could feel the heat from his hands that were now sliding up her shirt, against her skin. And she knew. They were going to be lucky if they made it in the front door before they were taking each other with all they had.
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Ella sat pensively on the edge of his couch, watching him as he moved further into the living room. His hair was a mess; tufts of hair sticking every which direction as a result of his night, of his fingers stretching through it over and over again. She watched, her breath held in her lungs, as he pulled off his suit coat and tugged at his tie. And she waited; waited for him to speak, for him to let her in on what was in his mind. With every step he took towards her, she could hear her heart pounding and then, with a ragged breath, he sat on the table in front of her.
"Ella, love..." He reached out to take her hands. "You know that I love you, don't you? I mean...you know that I've loved you more than anyone..."
"I do," she couldn't help the smile on her lips, the way her heart uplifted at that.
"I just..." He shook his head with a shaky smile; his breath pushing from his lungs in a long, drawn out sound. "I never expected something like this to happen."
"I didn't either," she moved to hold his hands in hers; her eyes wide and innocent. "You know that I would never have planned this or done this or..."
"Stop," he went soft then. "I know that. You don't have to...Ella..." He moved in a bit closer. "You don't have to say those things to me. I know that. I knew that this whole time..." He smiled and took a deep breath. "I would imagine this was quite a shock."
"It was," she chuckled softly. "I was...terrified. For a long time I was afraid and then I just...I knew what I wanted, I knew exactly what I wanted and that made it easier. All I had to do was convince you..."
"Ha..." Bishop ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"Is that what I need to do now? Convince you?" She lifted her eyebrows and tugged his hands closer. "Do you want to hear the reasons I want this? The reasons I want to be with you? Why I want to have your baby and a family and why I'm so incredibly happy that this happened even if wasn't planned and..."
"No," Bishop shook his head. "No. Ella. You don't need to tell me any of those things."
"Bishop..." Her voice cracked and her eyes teared and, for the first time that night, it sank in that maybe he just might tell her no. "Please..." She brought her hands together, still holding onto his. "Please just listen and..."
"Let's get married," he blurt out; his eyes were on hers and caught the flash of surprise.
"What?" She breathed.
"I said..." He blinked at the tears in his own eyes. "I said...that this is absolutely the craziest shit I've ever..." He shook his head. "This is the craziest thing that's ever happened to me, for sure but...damn it Ella. I've loved you for a long time and you think you're going to fly here from New York, tell me you're having my....my baby..." He choked up, his eyes moving to her belly—his hands aching to follow. "You think you're going to sit here and tell me you want to marry me and I'm not going to jump at the chance?" He laughed and shook his head. "I'm not an idiot."
"I..." Her heart was racing and her mind spiraling and she thought she was just going to burst from all of it.
"I would like for the record to show that, had I more time, and slightly less alcohol and...I would like it to be noted that this would have gone down much more romantic and grandiose."
"This?" Ella's eyes were wide; waiting.
"Ella, my darling..." He slid to his knees on the floor in front of her, moving so that his body was pressed to her knees, his head dipping to kiss her hands. "Let's make a family for this baby...let's...let's just do this. We've been dancing around each other for much too long and I'm tired of dancing...Let's get married. I don't have a ring but I promise tomorrow we can go and you can pick out whatever you want just...what do you say?" He turned his sexy smile and sweet eyes up to her. "Be my wife?"
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Waiting around the next day for word from Ella was almost as hard as waiting the day before, though this time Maddie was a bit more relaxed and at ease. At least she knew that Bishop had gone home with good intentions.
It was well into the afternoon when her phone finally rang. Not bothering to move from where she laid with her head in Harry's lap, napping while he watched TV, she slipped her phone to her ear.
"Hello?" She grinned wide; warm with expectation.
"Maddie!" It was Ella; giddily happy and excited and Maddie's heart swelled.
"What's going on?" Maddie turned to look at Harry who was watching her instead of the TV. "Are you okay?"
"I'm...I'm perfect," she sighed.
"Yeah?" Maddie grinned into the phone. "What's going on? You want to fill me in or..."
"Yes," Ella exclaimed. "After you left last night, we talked and...Bishop...well. He proposed."
"Oh my God!" Maddie squealed, her excitement genuine, despite knowing his intentions. She could hear Harry laugh at her. "You're engaged?"
"No," Ella answered.
"Wait. What?" Maddie's face fell slightly and then, with a giggle, Ella dropped a bomb.
"I'm married."
YOU ARE READING
The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic
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