The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 167

A/N:  This Chapter follows the first Invictus Games (The Inaugural, the Original) that was held in London.  It follows the order of events, etc.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Invictus Games

"Harry..." Maddie moved through the quiet house, not bothering to turn on lights; knowing exactly where to find him. "Harry, Harry, Harry..." She whispered his name with a smile as she went down the stairs, the hallway, finally stopping at the door to his office. She could see the lights on through the cracked door and she didn't even bother knocking before she stepped inside.

He was at his desk, the small worn ball clenched in his hands as he read over what she could only guess was his speech for the next evening. Hearing her, he looked up from his notes and smiled; sheepish and tired. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't be sorry Captain," she shook her head, her hand rubbing over her stomach, having grown larger and tighter over the last few weeks. "I'm not sleeping much these days anyway," she moved over to him, her hands rubbing his shoulders. "Though I wish you would. Today was a big day; meeting the teams, driving through all that mud..."

"I know," his head hung as she massaged at the tension in his neck, a chuckle pushing through his lips as he remembered their day.

"It was really nice of all of the teams to give me mini team shirts for our baby," Maddie couldn't help the slight tug of emotion she had had every single time she had been presented with one.

"It was," he agreed, his face resting in the pillow of his arms as she continued to rub at his neck.

"Are you reading your speech again?" She leaned in to get a closer look.

"The opening ceremonies are tomorrow," he grumbled into a sigh. "I want to make sure it's absolutely right."

"Well I thought your speech tonight at the Welcome Reception was wonderful," she tweaked his ear, drawing a chuckle from him. "Even the shot you took at the noisy Americans."

"I thanked them too," he lifted his head up, turning a smile to her; pulling her hand from his neck around to his lips for a kiss. "You caught that part, no?"

"I did," she smoother her thumb over his lips. "I'm sure that tomorrow night will go just as well as tonight did."

"There will be more people watching tomorrow night," he reminded her as a flash of worry crossed his face.

"It's true," she agreed with a nod.

"Including your mother and my family and...our friends..." He bit at his bottom lip, his nerves taking hold for just a moment.

"All of that is true..." She pulled his lip from his teeth. "But I'll be there with you," she cupped his chin in her hand. "I'll be right behind you, right next to your father, willing you all of my strength."

"That's a lot of strength," he shook his head, leaning in to kiss her stomach. "You should be sleeping love."

"I can't," she sighed, her hands moving into his hair, pulled messy from his stressed fingers. "My back is aching and my stomach is all...huge and I just feel...hot." Her nose crinkled up as she said it.

"Well," he took a deep breath, straightening up in his chair. "If you would like, I could come up and give you a back rub..." He thought for a second and shrugged. "And we can open the windows...let in some cold air."

"What about the huge stomach?" Maddie lifted her eyebrows, loving how quick he was to try to rid her of her ailments.

"Well, there's only one way out of that my darling...and that's still weeks away," he rubbed her belly. "She's not quite done cooking yet."