Chapter 17

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"Hello?" Jackie called, opening the door to Apartment 1A with her hip.

"We're in here!" William's voice called.

Jackie and Harry walked into the sitting room of Will and Kate's Kensington Palace flat, carryout bags in hand. "How are you feeling?" Jackie asked, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder. Her friend, now three days over due, was sprawled out on the couch, her baby bump, bigger than ever, peeking out from under her loose tank top.

"Huge. Hot. Hungry."

Harry laughed from the kitchen, where he was emptying the carryout bags onto the counter. "Well, we've got food."

"What'd you get?" Kate asked.

William flipped on the overhead lights in the fairly dark flat. "Indian?"

"Jackie says spicy food makes you go into labor," Harry explained.

"Give me lots, then!" Kate said with a smile.

Jackie plopped down onto the couch next to her friend as their husbands plated up the food in the kitchen. "I'm sorry you're so uncomfortable."

"I think it'll be soon," Kate said, sounding as though she was reassuring herself. "Every time the baby kicks I think it's happening."

Jackie laughed. "The waiting is terrible."

"I'm just so excited to meet the baby, and to deflate," Kate giggled.

Harry and William carried plates of food to Jackie and Kate, who thanked their husbands before resting their plates on top of their fairly useful baby bumps. "Do you have your bags packed?" Jackie asked, taking a bite of the spicy curry.

"They're sitting over by the door." Kate sighed. "The drivers have been on call 24/7 for the past couple of weeks. I'm sure they're just as anxious as I am."

Jackie looked at the clock. It was 8 pm on July 21st, 2013. She turned to Kate. "If you eat all that spicy food, I say the baby will be here by this time tomorrow."

---

The sound of a phone ringing caused Jackie to groggily open her eyes. She fumbled around for the phone on her night stand, and she could feel Harry moving in the bed next to her as she answered.

"Hello?"

"Jackie-" It was William. "Her water broke! We're on the way to the hospital and she wanted me to call you to tell you-"

There was a rustling, and then Jackie heard Kate's voice on the other end. "I got up to go to the bathroom and it happened!"

Jackie sat up in bed, her stomach fluttering. "Oh, I'm so happy!"

Kate's voice was excited. "My contractions are still about 7 minutes apart, and they aren't hurting too bad yet, but I wanted to tell you before it's all over the news!"

The clock on Jackie's nightstand read 5:25 am. She smiled. "It's really happening!"

"I'm going to be a mum, really soon," Kate answered with a disbelieving laugh.

Harry sat up next to Jackie, looking at her hopefully. They're on their way to the hospital, she mouthed.

"Harry and I are thinking about you two-" Jackie corrected herself. "You three! Good luck!"

"Thank you Jackie, I'll have William keep you updated!"

Jackie hung up the phone, beaming at Harry. "It's happening."

"I'm so happy for the two of them. I hope William'll be able to handle all that pressure," Harry laughed.

"Kate's usually pretty calm and collected, I think he'll be fine," Jackie said with a smile.

Harry put a hand on Jackie's stomach, where she could feel the baby kicking away. "That's going to be us soon."

Jackie grinned. "I can't wait."

---

"Are we going in the front entrance?" Jackie asked, peering out the car window.

"That's what Gran's people said to do," Harry said with a shrug.

Jackie couldn't hide her excited smile. "I'm going to plug my ears and cover my eyes so iI don't know what it is."

"You really think you'll be able to tell just by looking?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Jackie insisted. "It's been so hard not to just look online, but I really want to be able to guess if it's a boy or a girl by looking at it."

"We'll see," Harry said with a laugh. "Look, the people are backed all the way up here!"

Jackie could see the swarm of well wishers growing thicker and thicker as the car got closer and closer to the entrance of the Lindo Wing. She shielded her eyes so she wouldn't see any "It's a Prince!" or "It's a Princess!" signs as they approached. It was about 7 pm on July 22nd, 2013, and Kate had delivered a healthy baby at 4:24 that afternoon. Jackie was absolutely thrilled for her friends, and couldn't wait to meet her niece or nephew.

The driver pulled the car to a stop outside of the entrance to the Lindo Wing. Harry climbed out first, Jackie following. She was wearing a loose sleeveless dress, her hair pulled back, trying to beat the intense heat. She waved once to the crowds before she and Harry ducked inside, Jackie successful in not seeing any signs on if the baby was a boy or girl.

"Welcome, Your Highnesses," said a member of Kate and Will's security team

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"Welcome, Your Highnesses," said a member of Kate and Will's security team. He escorted Jackie and Harry into a hallway that had been totally emptied for Kate's privacy. At the end, he left Jackie and Harry to enter the delivery suite on their own.

Jackie peeked inside to see Kate, Will, and a small swaddled bundle. She immediately felt tears in her eyes as she clutched Harry's arm. "Oh my god!" she whispered, walking in to congratulate her friends.

Kate and Will were beaming, admiring their new addition. Harry clapped his brother on the back as Jackie immediately examined her new niece or nephew. The baby was sleeping, it's face serene and absolutely perfect. Immediately, Jackie knew the sex. She looked at Kate. "It's a boy!"

Kate and Will laughed, nodding. "You're right!"

"Oh, can I hold him?" Jackie asked, trying to stop the flow of tears on her cheeks.

"Of course," said Kate, holding out her new son to Jackie.

Jackie carefully took the baby into her arms, taking in every little feature. His eyes were shaped like Kate's, his nose 100% Spencer- just like Diana's. "Congratulations, you two, he's absolutely perfect."

Harry leaned over Jackie's shoulder, his eyes warmly admiring his nephew. "It's crazy to think he was just in you a few hours ago."

"Isn't it?" William agreed. "He's a person, with fingers and toes and everything, and he just was formed from basically nothing."

Jackie laughed tearily. "I want another and I haven't even had mine yet."

She handed the baby to Harry, who lightly ran a finger across his sleeping cheek. "Have you named him?"

Kate nodded, grinning at William. "George Alexander Louis."

---

Two updates in one day! Well, George has been born, now it's Baby Windsor's turn!

Royals: Part 4 is now #976 in Fanfiction! Keep up the votes, thank you all!

Thanks Atlantismyhome for putting Jackie's ring on her in my edit!

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