"Look at that," Jackie whispered, pointing out of the small plane window.
Harry leaned across Jackie to get a better look at the snow-dusted New York City skyline.
"Your Highness, we will be landing in approximately 20 minutes," the captain announced over the speaker of the Royal private jet that had flown Harry and Jackie across the Atlantic.
Harry settled back in his seat, closing his laptop and stretching his arms above his head. "What date are you at now?"
Jackie had to squint to decipher the somewhat messy cursive handwriting. "Let's see, November 1984."
"How old were you then?" Harry asked.
"I was born October 23rd, 1983, so I was a bit over a year old." Jackie closed the leather bound diary in her hands and held it to her chest. "I can't believe I've waited so long to read these."
Jackie had a trunk full of her mother and father's belongings under her bed ever since they passed away in 2006. She never had the heart to look through the photos and mementos, but something had told her to open the chest just a few days before she and Harry left for New York City. Buried under pictures and tickets and apparently significant little scraps of paper, were about 20 leather bound journals that her mother had kept from the early 1970s through the end of her life. Jackie had decided to start reading from the beginning, and she had just passed her own first birthday. It was interesting seeing history through her mother's eyes, and reading little stories that her mother had most likely forgotten with time, forever preserved on the yellowing pages.
"I wish you could have met her, she would have loved you," said Jackie, her chest tightening.
Harry put his hand on her knee. "So do I. I'm sure we all would have had such a good time, you, me, your mother, and my mother."
Jackie smiled softly. "I've read so much about your mother, I felt as if I did know her. But now I realize that you can't believe anything you read."
"Well, I do know she would have loved you. She had your humor, and you are just as kind-hearted as she was," Harry said, giving her leg a squeeze.
Jackie leaned over and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek before she continued to read her mother's words as they descended from the sky into the city.
---
"It's as if no one notices us," Jackie said in a whisper, not wanting to jinx it.
Harry looked around with a satisfied smile. "We may just have to move here."
The couple were walking hand in hand down 5th Avenue, Central Park to their left, endless beautiful apartment buildings to their right. Christmas music and snow hung weightlessly in the air, an atmosphere of love and cheer all around. It seemed the New Yorkers were too busy to notice Harry and Jackie as they passed, and by the time they realized who they had just seen and turned back to look, the duo had already disappeared into the flow of people in the sidewalk.
"Here we are," Harry said, motioning for Jackie to go first through the revolving door into one of the more magnificent buildings on 5th Avenue.
"Wow," Jackie breathed, taking in the luxurious lobby of the Carlyle Hotel. Harry had booked a room in the hotel Jackie had admired so greatly as a child. They served strictly french cuisine in the five star restaurant on the main floor, and stunning arrangements of fresh flowers were delivered every morning.
Harry took Jackie's hand, and they walked towards the elevators, as Harry's PPO, James, had already checked them in to the penthouse. Jackie stopped in her tracks at the sight of a black and white photo hanging on the wall, her lips turning up into a smile, her finger reaching up and gently tracing the face behind the glass. "Look who it is."
"Jackie B and Jackie O," Harry said with a smile, admiring the photo of Jackie Kennedy Onassis walking through the door of the Carlyle Hotel about 50 years before.
"Can you believe she walked through this hall before?" Jackie asked in awe. Jacqueline Kennedy and her husband, President Kennedy, owned a suite at the Carlyle Hotel back in their day.
"You know, people are going to say the same about you some day," Harry said, leading Jackie to the elevator and pressing the button marked 'PH'.
A chill ran down Jackie's spine. "I'd never thought about that."
Harry put his arm around Jackie's waist. "It's true. Maybe they'll add your photo to the wall."
Jackie put a hand under Harry's chin, giving it a light squeeze. "I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you how much this means to me."
Harry's blue eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think the same when I look at you."
---
Jackie let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes. Just finish this one up, then you can go to sleep.
It was after midnight, and Jackie was sitting in the massive bed of the Carlyle Hotel's penthouse. Harry had fallen asleep next to her about an hour before, but she was about to finish one of her mother's journals, this one in particular ending in May of 1985. Nothing stuck out to her, just the same old same old, thoughts on current events and a brief summary of her day. But then, Jackie sat straight up in bed. The final entry, labeled May 6th, 1985, began with:
'I took Jackie to London today, where Princess Diana was opening a Children's Hospital.'
"Harry!" Jackie hissed, shaking her boyfriend's sleeping form on the bed next to her. "Wake up!"
"What is it?" Harry asked groggily.
Jackie continued reading the entry, this time aloud. "'We waited outside the hospital for nearly an hour, and finally, Princess Di came out to greet all those waiting. She was so beautiful, even more so than she appears in photos. Diana came over to Jackie and I, and I handed the baby to her.'"
Jackie felt tears welling in her eyes and Harry sat up, scooting closer to read Jackie's mother's words for himself. Still, Jackie read aloud. "'Princess Diana held Jackie and commented on how beautiful Jackie is and how much Jackie reminds her of her own son, Prince Harry. Jackie's about a year older than the Prince. She gave Jackie a kiss on the cheek and handed her back to me, before moving along to the next person. The woman next to me was kind enough to give me the Polaroid she took of the moment. Since Jackie is only one and a half, she doesn't understand the significance of what just happened. I will have to explain it to her one day, when she's older.'"
Jackie's heart skipped a beat as she gave the diary a gentle shake, a small square photo falling from the pages and onto the white comforter. She picked it up with shaking hands, flipping it over to see a close-up photo of Princess Diana holing a familiar little girl, about 1 and a half, smiling at the camera.
"Oh my god," Jackie whispered, letting out a little sob. She wasn't sad, just so overwhelmed with emotion she could barely speak.
She felt Harry hug her so tightly she thought her ribs would crack before the pair examined the photo together. Jackie had met Harry's mother. Not only had Princess Diana held her and given her a kiss, but she had said how much baby Jackie had reminded her of baby Harry.
"I can't believe I didn't know- she never told me- I can't believe it!" Jackie cried, kissing Harry a few times before hugging the journal. "This is so amazing."
"She met you," Harry whispered in disbelief. "And she did like you."
Jackie laughed, admiring the sweet photo. "I just- I don't know, I feel relieved for some reason."
"So do I," Harry admitted. "But I don't know why."
Jackie carefully put the photo back between the pages of the journal, feeling as though she had just found a hidden treasure after years of searching. Then, she crawled between the silky sheets and snuggled close to Harry.
"I love you, so much," Harry whispered.
Jackie was the most sure about the next four words that she said than she had ever been about any words she had ever spoken in her entire life. "And I love you."