A Crown Between Us

The Girl with the Teddy Bear

Rain had a way of changing London.

The city never truly stopped—not for traffic, not for tourists, and certainly not for the thousands of people rushing through its streets each morning—but rain softened it. It blurred the sharp edges of buildings, muted the endless chorus of horns, and wrapped everything in a quiet grey that somehow made the world feel smaller.

Leah Williamson stood beneath the canopy outside Great Ormond Street Hospital, shaking droplets from her umbrella before folding it closed.

She smiled as she looked up at the familiar brick building.

No matter how many times she visited, the feeling never changed.

Football stadiums were loud.

Training grounds were demanding.

Interviews were exhausting.

But here...

Here, none of that mattered.

Inside these walls, she wasn't England's captain.

She was simply Leah.

The volunteer receptionist looked up from her desk the moment the automatic doors slid open.

"Morning, Leah."

"Morning, Sandra."

"They've been asking if you're here since half past eight."

Leah laughed, slipping her visitor's pass over her head.

"I hope they haven't built me up too much."

Sandra grinned.

"Oh, I think they'll forgive you."

Leah thanked her before making her way through the familiar corridors.

She knew them almost by heart now.

The walls were covered with bright murals painted by local artists. Jungle animals climbed across one corridor while astronauts floated through another. Tiny handprints decorated notice boards beside photographs of smiling children who had long since gone home.

It was impossible to forget why she came.

Not because a sponsor expected it.

Not because cameras followed her.

In fact, she had politely asked the hospital not to announce her visits anymore.

She wanted the children to remember the day—not the headlines.

As she reached Ward Four, she paused outside the playroom.

Laughter drifted through the partly open door.

Real laughter.

The kind that made adults stop whatever they were doing just to listen.

Leah pushed the door open.

"I've heard rumours there's a football team in here."

Twenty heads turned.

For a heartbeat, the room fell silent.

Then—

"LEAH!"

The sound practically lifted the roof.

A small boy in an oversized England shirt abandoned the puzzle he'd been attempting and sprinted towards her with absolutely no regard for the cannula taped to his hand.

"Easy there!"

Leah caught him before he could crash into her.

"I knew you'd come," he declared proudly.