Royals: Part 4

Chapter 18

"Harry?" Jackie whispered. Her husband had only fallen asleep a few minutes before but he was already snoring. "Harry!"

Harry awoke with a start. "What? What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep," Jackie complained, fanning her face with her hand. The air conditioning at Nottingham Cottage had broken down that evening due to excessive use, so Jackie and Harry had stuffed all the open windows with fans to keep the air moving. However, the night air was still sweltering hot. Jackie couldn't get comfortable on her side, on her back, and laying on her stomach was out of the question. She had been feeling a strange tightening across the front of her stomach since she had visited little George, but wrote it off as the excitement of becoming an aunt.

"What can I do?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"Want to go sit in the car for a bit? We can turn on the air and listen to music," Jackie suggested.

Harry nodded, his voice still sleepy. "Sure. Let's go."

Jackie slid her swollen feet into some sandals and Harry put a shirt on, leading the way to their car, which was parked in the gravel drive next to Nottingham Cottage. One of the guards on duty jogged over. "Is everything all right, Your Highnesses?"

"Yeah, we're fine. We're just going to sit in the car for a bit to use the air conditioning," Harry explained.

"Of course, Your Highness." The guard turned to Jackie and smiled. "Stay cool."

"Thanks, you too," Jackie answered before climbing into the passengers seat of the Range Rover.

Harry put the keys in the ignition and started the car, immediately putting the cool air on full blast. "Ah," Jackie breathed, putting her face right up to the vent.

"That feels good," Harry mumbled, reclining his seat, obviously wanting to fall back asleep.

Jackie turned up the volume on the radio. "It's 1:30 am on July 23rd here in London, and the world is still celebrating the birth of His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge less than 12 hours ago. Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Capitol Building are all lit up in blue to celebrate the future monarch's birth," said the late night radio show host. "Buckingham Palace has reported that both Princess Kate and Prince George are doing well, and they even received some visitors just a few hours after George was born. Prince Harry and Jackie Baker were spotted heading into the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's to meet their new nephew. They stayed for less than an hour, but left looking very happy. It's expected that Jackie Baker will be giving birth to her own baby very soon, so the press are going to stay camped outside of the Lindo Wing even after Will, Kate, and George leave at some point today."

Jackie let out a sigh, turning the radio down and leaning back in her seat. She closed her eyes, praying that she could fall asleep. After 15 minutes, Harry had already started snoring again, but she still wasn't sleeping. She arched her back as her stomach tightened once again, trying to stretch out the muscle that was cramping up. Jackie felt guilty as she nudged Harry. "Could we take a drive?"

Harry rubbed at his face, trying to perk up. "Sure. Just around?"

Jackie nodded. "Maybe we could drive by Buckingham Palace and look at the birth announcement."

Harry smiled at Jackie sympathetically. "I'm sorry you're so uncomfortable."

"Thank you," Jackie said, giving him a peck. "Just drive around until I fall asleep and then carry me back to bed."

Harry let out a laugh. "I'm not sure about that."

Jackie pretended to be hurt. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" Harry laughed as Jackie continued, "I can't be much heavier than those packs you had to carry around when you were in the military."