The Royal Scandal | Prince William |

An Heir for an Heir

When she's cleared William immediately takes her to the NICU, pushing her down the halls in the wheelchair she's stuck in until her body recovers.

Amelia's on an IV giving her fluids and antibiotic, a nasal cannula to make breathing easier, and a feeding tube has been inserted.

Now looking at her through the plastic box, under the bright lights that make her skin seem even more red, Jaclyn can finally see what's really going on. Her tiny limbs are spread wide like a starfish as she sleeps peacefully, and Jaclyn has to arch up from the wheelchair to see.

"She refuses to be swaddled," William explains, leaning down to rest on the handles of the wheelchair.

Jaclyn hums again captivated by the little girl who yawns around the wires hooked up to her. Her legs kick and slowly her eyes blink open. Tiny blue eyes staring out into the world, and Jaclyn can't help but wonder how scary it must be for her.

Without warning William is pulling her forward, stretching her arm up to the incubator until her hand rests inside. The muscles in her arm tense, fingers turning to nimble branches as she hovers over Amelia who squints at her hand peculiarly.

William's gripping her shoulders, massaging circles in a futile attempt to make her relax, but still her hand hovers. It's only when tiny hands reach up and lock around her thumb that she relaxes. Amelia's eyes roll back and she snuggles against her hand, yawning with a squished face that makes both parents laugh.

"You told me she cries a lot." She side eyes William giving him a pointed look. He just rolls his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, this is the first time I've been in here and she hasn't cried."

"She takes after you then."

"I don't know what you're insinuating-"

"I was a perfect baby according to my parents, and even your grandmother has told me how wicked you were." He scoffs, but does not deny the statement. It's not what she expected their first moment at a family to be, but it's perfect all the same.

Someone clears their throat, and Jaclyn's head snaps up without tearing her hand away. A nurse, one of the nurses who attended her is on the other side of the incubator. "Would you like to hold her, Your Royal Highness?" She asks with an excited smile, and all Jaclyn can do is nod around the choked surprise caught in her throat.

It seems like a chore lifting Amelia up without disturbing the wires, but the nurse manages with William's help who maneuvers around like a pro. The top flap of her hospital gown is unbuttoned exposing enough of her chest without exposing herself to the other few families in the NICU.

Amelia begins to fuss, kicking her scrawny legs as she's moved from the comfort of her bed. On instinct Jaclyn reaches out, helping the nurse guide her baby down to her chest.

There's a brief second that lingers in the air before she's put down that Jaclyn worries she won't know what to do. That she'll take this precious little girl and do something wrong, hurt her in some way. But then she's there and she so naturally curls up into a ball with her head arching for her mother's heart.

And Jaclyn just holds her, hands gently cupping her just because she has to and there's something so natural about it.

"She knows who you are," William points out once the nurse leaves, "She's done nothing but squirm for everyone else."

Jaclyn shrugs, but her eyes are down despite the awkward angle. "I wonder why." But she knows why, or she can assume why.

For the last seven months they were practically one person. She's holding the only person in the world who knows the unfiltered rhythms of her heart. For both of them it's like a sense of coming home. She fought to make it here, carried through battles no one could see at the betrayal of her own body, but it's all worth it now.