Kate: Good morning, pearl.
Kate woke her niece up with a smile in her face, seated on her bed.
Amy: Morning.
Kate: How did you sleep?
Amy: Not that bad, taking into account what happened yesterday.
Kate: We'll talk about that later. There are two little citizens who are dying to see you. Come on in, kids!
Amy: George, Lottie!
Amy put a big grin on her face, as soon as she saw her little cousins entering the bedroom.
George: We missed you, Amy.
Little George said as his big cousin was hugging him and his sister.
Amy: I missed you, too. Look at you, Lottie, you're so grown up!
Charlotte: Mummy said I'm big for a 2-year-old girl.
Amy: And so talkative! I've never met a smarter girl, Lottie. Why don't we have some breakfast?
George: That would be great. I'm starving.
Kate: Georgie, take your sister to the breakfast room. Amy and I are going in a minute.
George: Okay. Let's go, Lottie.
Kate: So, how are you feeling, pearl? We couldn't talk to each other that much yesterday.
Amy: I really don't wanna talk about mum now, Aunty.
Kate: I get it. Let's go, then.
[...]
William: Good morning, mon trésor.
Amy: Morning, Uncle. I thought I wouldn't find you here today.
She whispered while sitting and using her mobile phone at the same time.
William: Why would you think so?
Amy: Because of, you know, Ma...
She gestured, trying not to use words her cousins would understand, as she presumed they didn't know about their aunt's death yet.
Amy: By the way, why can't I find anything about her on Google?
Kate: Pearl, what are you talking about? No one knows she's sick yet.
Amy: Wait, sick?! So she didn't die?!
William: No, Amy! Of course, not... Not yet.
He whispered the last two words, as he didn't want the kids to hear it.
Amy: All this time I was dreaming? Thank, God! This is the best news I've ever heard! Can I see her? Can you take me to the hospital?
Kate: I don't know if they will allow your visit... But, explain that to us first.
[...]
William: Oh, I'm so sorry for that nightmare, mon trésor.
Amy: I was so scared. When you said she was alive, I had hope for a minute. But I still know the doctors think she won't last till the end of the week. That's why I need to see her now.
Kate: Your father doesn't want you there, but I promise we'll be taking you to see her soon, okay?
Amy: Thanks. Where's Meghan?
William: She's at the hotel.
Amy: Great.
Kate: We've got a surprise for you. George and Charlotte don't know about that yet.
Amy: What is it?
— Hey there, brat!
Amy: Oh, my God!
Amy was completely shocked as she felt a back hug and heard one of her favorite voices in the world.
Amy: Aunt Sam! I cannot believe you're here!
Samantha smiled at her niece and kissed her cheeks.
Sam: I missed you so much, little brat.
Amy: I'm so glad you're here.
Sam: You know, given the circumstances of your stubborn mum, I had to come back home and slam her in the face myself.
Amy: So you didn't know about cancer?
Sam: Actually, I knew. She told me some months ago, when we were, you know, taking care of that family stuff. But she got worse and didn't tell me. She just said she needed to deal with a problem here in London and I believed. Now, I'm here, trying to clean up the mess. And I've got some great news, Amelia Elizabeth Alexandra Victoria.
Amy: Don't you dare be suspicious now, Aunt Samantha.
Sam: I've called a friend, who happens to be one of the greatest neurosurgeons in the world, and he is willing to operate your mother. It's a very delicate operation, but I believe we might have some chances.
William: Wow, Sam, that's amazing.
Sam: Yeah, it is. I'm very hopeful.
Kate: Oh, my God!
She screamed and ran away from the room.
Sam: What the hell was that?
William: I"ll go check on her. I think she's just too thrilled.
[...]
Two hours later...
William: Your aunt's got a bad headache. She's sleeping now.
Sam: Oh, poor Kate... Maybe I could take Amy to the hospital myself. You know, I'm a grown up successful adult.
William: Harry will hate this idea, and that's exactly why we're doing that. Is that okay for you, Amy?
Amy: Of course. I'll see my mum, and as a bonus, we get to drive my father insane. Isn't that awesome?
William: You're definitely not driving, Samantha. My life flashed before my eyes the last time I had you as a driver. You're going with the driver and our security team. Be careful not to be seen by other people.
Sam: I got it, stubborn Will.
William: You're the stubborn here.
Sam: I love you, too, mate.
Amy: You two are such children.
Sam: I'm going to say goodbye to the kids, then we can go, brat.
Amy: Don't call me brat anymore, Aunt.
Sam: What should I call you then? Daddy's girl? Spoiled girl? Lady? You're so spoiled, babe.
Amy: No, I'm not!
William: You say that as if you weren't spoiled since you were born, Sam. By the way, don't you wanna say anything to your beautiful niece?
Sam: I got it, Will.
Amy: What are you talking about?
Sam: You're going to know soon, brat. Just go get ready now.
Amy: OK. But you two are really annoying me, guys.
[...]
— She's asleep now. Her chemo's been draining all her energy lately.
One of Ava's nurses said when they entered the bedroom.
Sam: What a pity! We were really hoping to talk to her. I know she'll be heading to surgery in a few hours. Can I talk to her surgeon?
— Of course. Follow me.
Sam: Brat, would you like to stay with your mum?
Amy: Of course.
Sam: OK. I'll be back soon, baby.
Amy nodded as her aunt left the room. She then got closer to her mother's bed and took a good look of her appearance. She must be in so much pain.
Amy: I'm so scared of the idea of losing you again... That dream was so terrifying. You gotta be okay, Mama. Please, don't die. I'll never forgive you.
[...]
Amy: Aunty?
She called Sam in the car as both used their cell phones.
Sam: Yes, baby?
She put her cell phone aside for a while.
Amy: I have some questions.
Sam: Ask it.
Amy: Why did you let that nurse see me? Who knows if she's gonna say anything to other people. Granny and Papa will freak out if the rest of the world find out about me that way.
Sam: She's been a friend of our family for the past decades, Amy. She's someone we can trust. Anyways, you'll be announced to the world in the next few days.
Amy: Next question. How dangerous is this surgery?
Sam: It's a very difficult one. But Dave, the man who's operating your mother right now, is one of the best in this area. I'm really confident she'll be fine, Amy. Otherwise, I'd have stayed at the hospital while she's operated.
Amy: So, who's paying for all this? I believe all this treatment is very expensive, and you and mum must not have this amount of money.
Sam blushed.
Sam: Your mother has her pension. The pension she earns since she divorced your father. You don't have to worry about anything.
[...]
William: How was there?
Amy: Awkward.
Sam: Painful. Ava's so weak. We couldn't even see her awaken. She's already on surgery.
William: I've heard. I really hope everything will go well.
Sam: They are sending me updates every 15 minutes. They'll call me as soon as it's over.
William: Let's keep our fingers crossed. Your luggage's already on your old bedroom, Sam.
Sam: Thank you, Will.
William: Are you two hungry? The kids and I were just going to have lunch, even though I don't fell like eating now.
Sam: I don't think we'll be able to eat until we know Ava will be okay. Let's just sit with them.
Amy: Where's Aunt Kate?
William: She's still in the bedroom.
Amy: I'll go check on her. Excuse me.
William: Of course.
[...]
As she entered the bedroom, Amy noticed Kate was still asleep, so she just layed down by her side. But as soon as the duchess felt her niece's weight on the bed, she opened her eyes and, still layed down, hugged Amy.
Kate: Hey, love. I'm so sorry I couldn't go to the hospital with you.
Amy: That's okay. Mum's in surgery.
Kate: Oh, God. Is everything going okay? I'm so worried about that.
Amy: Aunt Sam says it's going well. But you know, I don't trust any adults during a crisis. Aunt, you okay? You look so pale and tired.
Kate: I...
Amy: Don't lie to me, please. I can't remember the last time I saw you feeling completely fine. What's happening? You don't have cancer too, right?
Kate: No, Amy, of course not.
They both laughed.
Kate: Your uncle and I have something to tell.
Amy: So just tell me! It isn't like we haven't kept our secrets from him since before you two married.
Kate: Amy...
Amy: Oh, my! I can't believe it! How could I not see that coming? You're pregnant! You're pregnant!
Amy, excited, looked at Kate in the eyes, as if waiting for a confirmation. The duchess smiled at her.
Kate: Yeah, pearl, I'm pregnant.
Amy: Oh, Jesus! That's so freaking amazing! I'm so, so happy. How could you not tell me before?! When did you find out?
Kate: Calm down, pearl. I'm almost 20 weeks.
Amy: 20 weeks? You kept that from me all this time? And you have no belly!
Kate: We found out in mid August. I was feeling so sick already. You know, hyperemesis never gets sick of me. As we did when pregnant with George and Charlotte, we should've announced as soon as I couldn't attend events. But I didn't wanna tell you, Amy. So we just cancelled all my engagements.
Amy: Why?
Kate: I didn't want you to worry, babe. You were so busy with school, and you had all that Meghan problem. It wouldn't be fair to you, Amy.
Amy: Of course it would be! It's a baby! A baby! My cousin. You know how much you suffered the last pregnancies, and it was so difficult for me seeing you throwing up when you ate and even when you didn't, but I was there for you. And I would've liked to have done the same again.
Kate: You see? You were just a kid the last two times. And you're still a kid, my little girl. You shouldn't be stuck in a bedroom with your sick aunt at the age of 12.
Amy: Aunt Kate... Now I really get why we spent so much time apart between August and September. You even skipped Papa's birthday. I was so stupid for not figuring that out. How did we manage to hide that from me?
Kate: I avoided you the first weeks. The worst ones. And by late September, I wasn't feeling any better, but then Meghan fell out of a horse, you and your father weren't talking to each other, so I felt like you needed me. I wouldn't eat when you were around, and when I really needed to throw out and get some rest, I just kept finding excuses.
Amy: You didn't get the flu, did you?
Kate: Not at all. I'm so sorry for that, pearl.
Amy: That's why you were so in favor of me going to the US with Meghan. You wanted to see yourself rid of me.
She said laughing.
Kate: Yeah, you know, you're such a bad company.
Kate joked.
Amy: Where were you yesterday?
Kate: I wasn't feeling okay, so I just locked myself in one of the bedrooms and, you know, throwed up and tried to sleep.
Amy: I'm sorry I didn't notice before.
Kate: Now that you know, I can't hide anything else from you, so I'm gonna tell you something now, okay? Something bad.
Amy: Oh, no...
[...]
Notes:
Hey, guys! Just decided I'm going to do a different version here! Which means the story in Portuguese will be so different from this one.
The portuguese version has way more chapter than this, so I really encourage you to try to read that! I'm sure you will love it. If you want to, I could send you the chapter by email and you'd just put it into the translator. I'm being serious, you really want to read that version :)