The End of The Alternate Journey @theendofthealternatejourney - Tumblr Blog

Nov 9, 2016

The End of the Alternate Journey

A/N: Hi! It’s me, Jo. While leaving Tumblr has been good for me, it didn’t sit well in my stomach that I left the story unfinished. And waiting till the New Year to finish it left a lingering issue in my mind. So. I buckled down and I wrote the last chapter. This will be the last chapter of The Alternate Journey. It skips ahead in time, though not as far as TUJ. I wanted you to have it, to be able to say good-bye to the story as I say good-bye to the story. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it provides you with what you need….a glimpse into the future. And I hope it provides you with some closure. There will be no more updates after this. I’ll leave this here for a while. If you’d like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected] Thank you. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading and responding and encouraging. Thank you for loving these characters as much as I do. Thank you for being a part of this journey. I love you very much.

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This wedding of Maddie’s, this glorious day that had been months in the making (years and years in the making) was going to be as small and as intimate as she could ever hope for it to be--considering she was about to marry a Duke. Things were different this time. The planning, the rules--things had been different this time around. They had both been married before, Charles was King--expectations had changed. This time they were given a bit more leniency, a bit more room to personalize the day, more room to make it theirs. For that she was thankful.

For many, many things--she was thankful.

It had been a long journey, a crazy one. It had been difficult and beautiful and full of life and love and loss. Yet here she was, standing in this unbelievable gown, wearing priceless jewelry, ready to marry Harry. Her face warmed and her smile lifted and tears rose to her eyes--tears of happiness, of victory, of excitement. This last year of their journey had been an absolute whirlwind.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It all started when she left New York. She could still remember her last night there. With nearly everything packed and ready for the movers, she had turned up the music, opened a bottle of Scotch. She had danced and laughed and let herself sink neck-deep into the many memories she had of the place. There was a lot of smiling, a lot of love and even a few moments with reflective sadness.

Like a moment very late into the night, or early into the next morning, when she took what was left of her drink and a large, warm blanket out onto the deck--when she let herself drift all the way back to the beginning of this home.

She could remember the day they had bought this apartment. Bishop had flown in just that afternoon. He had shown up at her office with a bouquet of flowers and they had set out ready to look at the two places she had narrowed it down to. But they never even made it to the second place because they had both known this was the one.

They had both known this was meant to be their home, the place where they would have a family.

Though it had been brewing between them for a while, when the realtor had innocently dropped the information that there were several private schools nearby for children...she had lit a spark. Maddie had grown nervous and Bishop had grown mushy and when the realtor had slipped away to give them a few moments, he had taken Maddie’s hand and hauled her right out to the balcony.

Right where she now stood.

He had kissed her and hugged her and shown her the view. He had asked her if this was the view she wanted. For the next twenty years. With him.

Maddie’s eyes welled up with tears as she remembered. Pressing her eyes closed, she could almost hear his voice, she could almost smell him, could almost feel him there with her.

And God how she wished he were there with her. She had so desperately wanted those twenty years with him; raising his children, building their family, waking up and falling asleep next to him for just as long as she was alive.

But he wasn’t. And she couldn’t.

And she had come to terms with that. She really had. She was ready to move forward, ready to embrace this new part of her life with Harry. She just wanted this one more night to revel in this wonderful, blissful, joyful time of her life.

So she cuddled up on that deck and she let her senses be flooded with memories of him as the sun rose over the city.

And then she had showered and dressed. She had said a final good-bye and she had boarded the Bishop jet for London.

When she finally arrived that evening, tired and slightly hungover, she stepped out of her car, looked up the walk to the front stoop, and there was a Prince waiting for her.

He had a sheepish smile and a light in his eyes that only reaffirmed that this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

She was up the walk and in his arms and everything felt right in the world.

Harry had kissed her--long and slow and easy--and then he had offered her two gifts that warmed her heart.

A painting--the view from the summit in Bendal that he had taken from his library.

And a promise.

With her face held between the palms of his hands and a world of emotion in his eyes, his voice cracked when he spoke.

“I know this is hard for you, that leaving New York, leaving your home must have felt like you were...leaving him. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m the one who’s feeling sad and reminiscent. But I want you to know that...as far as I’m concerned, you don’t ever have to leave him behind. You don’t ever have to be ‘over’ him. He can be a part of this life here too.”

His words, the meaning and emotion behind them, had silenced her. So instead, she had tipped up on her toes and kissed him.

Then she hauled him inside her new home and they christened it theirs.

As this new phase of their journey began, Harry was there every step of the way.

He helped her adjust, he helped her move in. And one night, he helped her with some well-meaning destruction.

“Hey Maddie?” Harry had called to her as he looked down at stack of supplies piled in the living room; gallons of paint, brushes, drop clothes.

“Yeah?” She called back from the kitchen.

“What’s all of this for?”

“I told you!” She had laughed as she came back into view, their dinner dropped off on the counter. “We’re painting.”

“Sure, sure,” Harry nodded, leaning over a gallon of paint to reach for something. “But why...the sledgehammer?”

“Easy,” with her hands on her hips, she shrugged her shoulders. “We’re tearing down a wall.”

“We’re tearing down a wall?” Harry’s eyebrows shot straight up, his laughter mixing with disbelief. “What do you mean we’re tearing down a wall?”

“I mean…” Maddie had stepped over the stack of drop clothes and took the hammer from Harry’s hands. “The night we ended, I came here to Bishop’s…” She began to explain as she walked away from him, pointing the hammer towards a guest room. “And I spent days in that room a sobbing, aching, wreck of a mess.” She stopped, cocked her head to the side and then spun around to look at Harry. “I thought that instead of risking the chance that I might remember that every time we’re here….that I would just tear it down.”

And so they had. The tore down a wall and demolished any lingering remnants of that darker time in their relationship.

As Maddie settled into her new home, into her new routines, her relationship with Harry only strengthened. On her first day in the London Offices of Bishop Industries, he showed up on her doorstep with coffee and a pastry. They developed a standing Friday night Date Night and a Saturday Morning sleep-in. Occasionally she would have lunch with him at his office and occasionally he would go with her to Sunday Night Dinner with Ian and Michael.

She was there in the audience beaming with pride when he opened the first Invictus Games and he was standing tall by her side when she went to Paris for a weekend getaway--ready to face Collins. Ready to reconcile more of their past.

And he had. They had.

Eventually people began to come around; her family, his fans. The press and the people. Eventually the story of the two of them became old news, it was accepted.

And eventually their private romance came to a head--eventually the inevitable ‘what’s next?’ popped up--and when it did, it was beautiful.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Winter had come and the snow had settled and, as was tradition, the Royal Family made their way to Sandringham for Christmas. As Charles had made many slight adjustments to the way he ran his Monarchy and his family, an invitation was extended for Maddie to join them. Though she wouldn’t be walking with the family to church, she would be there for the private celebrations, for the familial frivolity. Harry couldn’t have been more excited to invite her out--though he had tried to hide his hopefulness on the chance that she might decline.

But she hadn’t. Though she had been invited on a Tropical tour with Ian and Michael, though she had an open invitation at her family celebrations, she decided to go with her gut. She decided to go with her heart.

She decided to go to Sandringham with Harry.

And it was beautiful.

On the chilly, snowy Eve of Christmas, after the candlelight dinner and the after-dinner drinks and the after-after dinner festivities, Harry had convinced her to bundle up and go for a walk. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the smile on his face, maybe it was the fact that they could take their own private walk in the early morning hours of Christmas throughout the regal grounds of what had become a Winter Wonderland. Whatever it was, whatever the draw, Maddie had tugged on her boats and pulled on her coat and she had set out on this journey with Harry.

With her mittened hand held in his, he drew her from the house. They walked through freshly fallen powder, they walked through tall majestic trees and eventually they ended up--rosy cheeked and red-nosed--standing outside the Parish Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. Maddie had seen it before--on tv and print--and she had even seen it in person when they had visited during warmer months. But standing there with him in the stillness of this night, with the snow glistening and the promise of Christmas--it felt magical.

And in some ways it really was.

Cozying up to Harry, she tucked into his warm arms and she listened as he told her tales of his time here as a child. He told her of games they used to play as children, of hunts they had gone on as young adults. He told her of times there with his cousins, times there with friends.

And then he took a breath and told her a confession that brought the whole, quiet night to a pause.

“This is going to sound…” He shook his head with a small laugh, his eyes casting down and away from her like he might be a little embarrassed, like he might be a little nervous. “But there was this period of time...after Peter’s wedding, before Will’s that I thought, that I hoped that I might be able to get married here. You know, instead of the Abbey or…” He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at her, his smile sweet and sheepish. “Ridiculous right? It’s just...I’ve attended service here more than I have at any of the others and it’s a beautiful church and so much more private, more intimate…” He shrugged again and looked up at the top of the steeple as his words trailed off, his mind drifted.

Maddie’s eyes followed his for a moment, looking up at the church but the they drifted back to him. His fiery red hair sticking out from under his stocking cap, his beard trimmed but mussed from the fun they had been having. She looked at the strength in his jaw, the humor in his smile, the kindness in his eyes. Tightening her hold on him, she leaned in closer and before her mind had time to catch up with her heart, she opened her mouth and sighed.

“I don’t know Captain...maybe you still can.”

Instantly his eyes shifted, drawing away from the tall steeple and right down to her. They were wide with surprise, his mouth opening as though he had something he wanted to say, something he needed to stay. He couldn’t seem to speak, couldn’t seem to remember how to.

But Maddie could. So she moved a little closer and she shrugged her shoulders and with a smile that he thought could maybe melt snow, she asked. “Do you think your father would let you? He’s obviously become more lenient and you’ve been married before. Maybe next time he would be open to it…”

The smile that crossed Harry’s face felt larger than the church, larger than the grounds. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest and that hint of hope and expectation that he always worked to control began to bubble up. Without moving his eyes from hers, he answered as honestly as he could. “Maybe.”

When Maddie’s face light up, Harry wanted to kiss her. When her smile stretched further, he wanted to burn that image into his brain. But when her lip pulled in between her teeth and the look of resolution settled in her eyes, he thought he just might fall over. “It would be beautiful, wouldn’t it?” She looked up at the church, taking a step away from him, a step towards the beautiful building. “In the summer with the flowers. The colors would be amazing. And the chapel...it would be small and intimate and…” She looked back to him then, the realization that she was rambling, that she was putting voice to thoughts she had so far been able to keep quiet--it brought a new flush to her cheeks. And just as she was about to reach out and take it back, to pull away from the moment, Harry took a step towards her and edged closer to it.

“Maddie are you...ha…” He laughed lightly, his eyes full of love as he looked at her. “Are you saying that you might…” It was almost as if he couldn’t say it, as if he couldn’t put voice to it for fear that it would shatter and slip away from him.

“I don’t know,” her head tipping to the side as her voice, her smile, exuded nothing but warmth. “Are you asking?”

And there it was. This moment, this thing they both desperately wanted. This thing they were both so careful about addressing. Right there, out in the open. Unavoidable against the backdrop of the crystal white snow and this still, silent night.

“I...I…” Harry stammered, took a breath and pulled it together. A hint of sadness flickered into his eyes. “How do I do that Maddie? How do I ask you, again, to spend your life with me? After….all of it?” His eyebrows lifted and his eyes widened and she could see it--the fear, the regret.

And she would have none of it. Not anymore. Stepping through the puffs of snow, she moved right to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, she snuggled in closer and she turned her smile up to him. “I thought that you and I had worked through...all of it.”

“We have. But…”

“And I thought you wanted to get married again, to have children and…”

“I do! I just…”

“Because I do too Harry,” she stopped his words, nearly stopping his heart. “I really, really do. And this church! This church is so beautiful and IF you were asking….”

“I am.” At first it came out in a whisper. But when his eyes welled up with tears, his voice found strength. “My God Maddie...I am.”

The fire and spunk and boldness Maddie had just had seemed to waver as her emotions filled up her heart, her stomach, her throat. “You are?”

His arms tightened around her, his certainty multiplying as he nodded. “Very, very poorly…”

“What do you mean?” She shook her head, confused.

“I mean…” His laugh was nervous. “I don’t have a ring or…”

“I don’t need a ring.”

His laugh echoed around them as he shook his head at her. “And I’m not on my knees…” Though he tried to pull back, tried to change that fact, Maddie held him tighter, wanting him right there with her when it happened.

“I don’t want you on your knees.”

“But yes…” He gulped as his eyes searched hers, as he laid it all out there. “I’m asking. Marry me?” His eyebrows lifted in question. “Here, in this chapel? Be my wife?”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Even now as Maddie stood in her room at Sandringham dressed in her gown and ready to go become his wife, she still felt her adrenaline race, she still felt the same jolt of excitement and unabashed happiness as she had felt that night in the snow.

That night they had gone back to their room where they tucked away in bed, laughing and planning and making love into the wee hours of the morning. He had left her side only to walk with his family to church. Maddie had stayed curled up in bed, warm and cozy as she watched the tv, grinning from ear to ear as her fiance made the walk he made every year.

Though this year there was something different. This year he was overjoyed. And though everyone could see it, though observers commented on it--only Maddie knew the reason behind that beaming grin.

They would end up telling her family later that afternoon, telling his just after that. And so began a crazy, hazy, beautiful time.

A ring was selected. Interviews were given. Plans were made. And the blissfulness that had started in that snow packed, star filled night--it had carried with them throughout it all.

And here they were, on the cusp of getting married.

Soon she would leave her suite and she would meet him at the bottom of the grand staircase. They would pause for a few photos, they would have a few minutes alone to reflect and connect. Together they would step into the car, together they would drive to the church, and together they would walk into the beautiful, glorious St. Mary’s--now surrounded by flowers instead of snow. Now drenched in sunlight and warmth instead of starlight and chill.

They would wed in front of a small, close congregation and only a handful of cameras. Following the ceremony, they would take the same walk back that the Royal Family took on Christmas Day. They would greet wellwishers, accept congratulations and make their first appearance as husband and wife. Harry already had plans of kissing her there, just before the gates, just before they would wave their good-byes and slip back into Sandringham. There they would enjoy a dinner and a reception and celebrate their union with their loved ones before embarking on this new part of their journey where they were husband and wife.

But first. She had a gift.

For her life, she would never forget the look on Harry’s face when he looked up at her from the bottom of the stairs. She could feel his love for her beaming from his wide smile, from his bright eyes. He watched her walk down the stairs for as long as he could before he started up after her. Meeting her about midway, they came to a stop together.

“My God…” He shook his head slowly, his eyes sweeping lovingly down over before finding home in her eyes. “You look unbelievable.”

“Yeah?” She flushed only slightly as he took her hands, as they drew together. “You clean up quite spectacularly yourself.” Her fingers, only slightly shaky, moved to the lapels of his morning suit, smoothing over his tie.

“Thank you,” he reached up to stroke her cheek, to tap her nose. “And you’re not at all worried that we’re breaking tradition right now? Seeing each other, I mean?”

“No,” she shook her head, her smile full of certainty. “I’m fine with breaking tradition.”

“Good,” his voice lowered as his eyes glanced down towards the small handful of people waiting at the bottom of the stairs ready to photograph them and move them along. “How would you feel about breaking another?”

Her smile pulled higher and, with light in her eyes, she nodded. She had her very own plans to do just that.

As Harry’s grin slipped cheeky, he took a step forward, closed the distance between them and he kissed her.

It was hot and slow and not at all the sort of kiss he should be giving her before they were both being called to be professional and appropriate.

But he couldn’t help it and she didn’t care.

When the kiss ended they were both breathless, they were both flushed, and they were both beyond ready to become man and wife.

“Shall we?” Harry whispered against her lips as he kissed her once more.

“Mmmm,” she nodded. They should go; they had to take photos, they had to get in the car. They had to get to the Church. “Wait…” Her hands lifted, her fingers circling his wrists, pulling his hands from her cheeks down into hers. Holding onto him, she turned to the small handful of people waiting, their eyes discreetly averted. “Excuse me?” She called to them. “Would you all mind giving us the room for a moment please?”

“What?” Harry’s eyes narrowed in curiosity. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” she nodded, turning back to him with a reassuring smile. “Yes. I promise.” She looked back down at the group. “It will just be a moment.” As Harry nodded his agreement, the handful of people disappeared, slipping from the room and closing doors behind them.

There they stood in the middle of the staircase, primped and pressed and dressed for their wedding. Harry waited until he felt certain the room was clear and then, with her hands in his, he turned to face her. “What is it love? What’s going on?”

Maddie looked up to him with wide eyes, giving away her nervousness, and when she smiled, it was shaky. But it was wide and happy. “I think we should sit down.”

“Sit down?” He laughed, his eyes narrowing even further--more than a little confused.

“Yes,” Maddie nodded, her hand dropping from his as she moved to do just that.

“Oh-kay.” Though he didn’t quite understand, he followed her down to sit on the step next to her. “Maddie, I…”

“I love you,” she said it so loud, so clear, that the sound of it surprised him. His confusion cracked and his smile returned.

“I love you too.”

“And I can’t wait to be your wife,” she pulled his hands into her lap. “I hope you know how much I want to be your wife, how excited I am to start this life together.”

“I do,” he softened even further as he leaned closer. “And I hope you know that there is no way I could possibly be happier on this day, in this moment, than I am right now.” Harry saw a look flash in her eyes at his words, he saw her smile twitch, he felt her fingers flex in his. As she took in a shaky breath, she tightened her hold on him and fought back what appeared to be tears. “Maddie?” He searched her eyes for answers.

“Maybe…” Her voice was whisper quiet, cracking as she spoke. “Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe there is a way you could be happier?”

“What are you talking about?” A confused laugh pushed through his lips. “Maybe I could be happier?! No...” He shook his head quickly, his hands dropping hers so he could pull her closer, draw her in. “I’ve waited a long time for this, this chance to be with you, to finally be with you. And here we are, in just under an hour I’m going to be standing in St. Mary’s marrying the most amazing woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to love and you think there’s something else that would make me happier? Maddie, darling, I love you but…”

“I’m pregnant.” It was soft and quiet--so much so that he barely heard her. But he had. She saw the color rush to his face and she swore she could see his mind spiral in his wide, deep blue eyes. Her hands moved quickly to him, sliding up his shoulders to his face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know it’s probably horrible for me to drop this on you right now, right before the wedding but I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. I couldn’t be the only one who knew…” She swallowed the lump in her throat, licked her lips and moved in closer. “It had to have been the night of our stag and hen parties, when we got together at Kiki’s and we couldn’t wait till we got home.” She watched as he blinked, remembering that night. “And then I...I wasn’t feeling well these last few days and then Amy made a joke about being pregnant so yesterday I…”

“Yesterday?” Harry’s eyebrows lifted over his dazed eyes. “You found out yesterday?”

“Yes,” she nodded, her lips pressing together in effort to keep from crying. “I found out yesterday and I was going to wait to tell you when we were on our honeymoon but I couldn’t, I just….I couldn’t.” She took a deep breath and stroked her fingers over his cheeks. “Harry...Harry...I’m pregnant.”

Maddie sat in silence, waiting on the edge of her seat, on the edge of the step, watching him process it, watching him comprehend what she was saying.

When it settled, when it really settled, Harry’s face brightened, lit up the entire room and ignited her heart. As the tears rose to his eyes, he pulled her to him and she went. Right into his strong, warm, protective arms.

“Oh my God,” he whispered into her hair, holding her so tight, she worried they were crushing the flowers on his lapel. “Oh my God Maddie. I was wrong.”

“Wrong?” She asked through a teary voice.

“Yes,” he pulled back from her, immediately gathering her face into the palms of his hands. “Happier. I…” He swallowed at the lump of emotion in his throat. “I just...I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy. Oh my God. Maddie. You’re really pregnant?!” When he pulled back this time, he looked her over--amazement and joy written all over his face.

“Yes Captain,” she leaned in to kiss him once more. “I’m really pregnant.”

Harry let out a breath of relief and gratitude, his forehead pressing against hers. He had to take a minute, had to thank all of the Gods and all of the fates for allowing him to have this moment. This moment where he was marrying Maddie, where she was making him a husband and a father.

And he knew that according to no set of rules did he deserve this. There was nothing in his life he had ever done that warranted such happiness, such joy. But he wanted it, he wanted it more than anything in the world. And instead of questioning it, instead of even bothering with whether or not he deserved it, he was going to a take a page from his soon-to-be wife, from his best friend who he knew was smiling down on the both of them.

He was going to reach out with both hands and he was going to take it like it was his.

Because it was. This was his life, his glorious, beautiful, complete life. And even though this journey had taken longer, even though it had included great loss and great pain, this journey had brought him here.

To Maddie, to their baby, to this beautiful future and this glorious now.

#phff #tajp2 #the alternate journey #maddie x harry #royalfanficcollection

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