Maddie took a deep breath, knowing that if she stood there any longer without knocking she was likely to be hauled away by his protection officers. Every step she had taken to this point had been fueled by Bishop's words, by her newfound resolve but now, as she was about to face the music, the anxiety was beginning to edge out her confidence.

"Pull it together Forrester," she muttered to herself. Taking a deep breath and all of her strength, she reached out and knocked on the door.

Her eyes welled up for the umpteenth time that night as she waited those five aching seconds for somebody to come to the door. She hoped it was Jim; she knew him the best, had seen him the most often and, for some crazy reason, felt a little easier about him seeing her in this state of perpetual breakdown. The opening of the door startled her and her eyes flew up.

It was him. Harry; dressed for bed and stunned to see her.

"Maddie..." He breathed through the spike in his heart rate; glancing around outside his home. "How did you..."

"Kate," she answered. "I asked her to help me get in and..."

"Ah yes," Harry chuckled dryly, despite his headache. "I figured that someday a friendship between the two of you would come around to get me." Maddie nodded and looked to the ground.

"Do you want me to leave?" She hadn't even thought that he wouldn't want her to show up like this. Who knew what had gone through his mind during the time that she was away?

"I don't," he shook his head; his eyes registering the hurt he felt. "I just don't want to fight with you anymore tonight." He let out a long, exhaustive breath. "I hate fighting with you."

"I hate fighting with you too," she blinked at the tears in her eyes.

"I know," he nodded; softening at her tears. "But nothing about what I said earlier has changed. Nothing is going to change. This is how it is and..."

"I know..." Maddie cut in; having known this wasn't going to be easy. "I..." She looked down at her hands; remembering the gift bag she had brought with her. She held it out to him. "I brought a peace offering." Harry stepped out of the doorway, reaching for the bag. Maddie watched as he opened it, a smile spreading across his serious face.

"Are these..."

"Yes," Maddie nodded; breathing a bit easier as his smile stretched.

"You know they're my favorite."

"I do know that," she nodded. "And just so you know, it's a bit more difficult for a commoner to track these down than it might be for you; being a Crown Prince and all..." She tried for levity, tried for a joke, tried for a way to keep this smile on his face. His eyes met hers and held for a moment and she could see the moment he decided to let her in; his jaw loosened and his shoulders relaxed.

"I'm not really a Crown Prince, you know," he arched his eyebrows over his tired eyes.

"Yeah..." Maddie nodded and gulped at the lump in her throat. "Harry..." She wiped at her suddenly teary eyes. "I don't know what to say. I don't have any...I feel like my emotions have just been put into a bag and shaken up and... It's been a long day; with the magazine and the photos and then...I'm sorry. That's what I want to say. I'm sorry. I was upset and frustrated and I was wrong to ask you to...Please let me fix things with you. Please help me fix this?" She felt a new sense of scatter move into her heart as she contemplated rejection. "Or is this...is this the end of the line for you?"

"No," his voice was full of emotion as he shook his head. "Of course it's not the end of the..." Harry moved to the side; feeling bad that he hadn't done so sooner. "Come inside? Please."

"Okay," she breathed; tears of relief coming to the surface. "Thank you." Stepping into his home, she paused in the foyer as Harry shut the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him. "Listen I..."

"Shh..." Harry bypassed words and instead pulled her to him; wrapping his arms around her he squeezed her tight, close. Stunned, it took Maddie a beat before her arms moved around his waist; sinking into him. "I'm so glad you're here," Harry buried his face in her hair; breathing slow; refusing to let her go. He had been sick since he left her place; worried that the other shoe had finally dropped, that this had been enough, that the idea of dealing with this forever had finally settled in. When he opened the door and saw her standing there, he had just about fallen apart; shattered from the relief he felt, from the near miss at losing everything that mattered to him. His arms tightened even more as she nuzzled her face to his chest. She felt so safe, so secure; so taken care of.

"Harry..." Maddie turned her head up, her chin pressing to his chest. He nodded, knowing there were words to be said, things to be discussed. His arms loosened around her, his hands moving up her back to the sides of her head. His fingers twisted in her hair as his thumbs ran across her temples.

"I wasn't sure that you would come back to me."

"I wasn't sure you would be here when I did," she took a shaky breath. Her hand reached up to take his; pulling it from her face but holding it tight. "Harry..."

"We should talk," he smiled.

"We should."

"Do you want to stay?" He was hopeful. "I could put on tea and we could eat these in our pajamas." He lifted the bag up.

"Hmmm," she grinned at the thought. "I didn't bring my pajamas."

"Even better," he smirked. "Maybe you should leave some pajamas here. You know, for moments such as these."

"Maybe I should," she breathed easier. "I can stay."

"Fantastic," Harry looked visibly relieved. "I'm going to go put on tea..."

"You know how to put on tea?" She arched an eyebrow playfully.

"And you..." He ignored her. "You can go up to my room and put on anything you like."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He nodded. Maddie watched him for a moment; letting her hand run down his arm, stopping to squeeze his hand before she turned to head up the stairs.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maddie wasn't sure to what exactly to credit her more relaxed and comfortable feeling; the procurement of Harry's sweatpants and a t-shirt or the fact that he had invited her in, asked her to stay. Either way, when she rejoined him in the kitchen, she already felt much better than she had knocking on the door; more hopeful. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, she watched as he stood over the tea kettle; cups already out on the informal table.

"He cooks..." She spoke softly as she stepped into the room. He looked up to her; his face brightening.

"He boils water," he corrected, looking her over. "Those look enormous on you."

"They are. But they have a drawstring," she smiled. "I strongly considered your polo socks and a button down, but I thought that might distract us both from the talk we need to have."

"It most definitely would," he nodded with a smirk. "Smart thinking. Maybe later?"

"Absolutely later." Their eyes held for a moment, bringing them back to each other before the kettle whistled out into the room.

"Tea?"

"Please." Maddie followed Harry to the table where he poured two glasses. Sitting down in a chair, she took the glass from him and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Harry sat in the chair opposite of her and reached for one of his treats; pushing the plate to her.

"Not yet, thank you." She shook her head and took a breath. Here goes nothing, she thought. "I ran into Bishop tonight."

"Oh?" Harry's brow furrowed. "Where?"

"I was having coffee and he...I don't know; something about twitter." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. He said something though, quite a few things, but something that really hit me."

"What was that?"

"He said..." Maddie took a deep breath. "He said that you would walk away from me in a second if you thought this was going to break me." Harry was stunned speechless for the briefest of moments as she launched them right into the discussion. Leaning forward, he rested his arms on the table; his eyes growing serious.

"Sometimes Bishop thinks he's helping when he really isn't," she could see the anger rising with the red in his cheeks.

"He is," her hand reached across the table to rest on his. "He did. He helped me...understand things a little bit better. He helped me see it in the right perspective. I just," she swallowed a sip of tea and focused on him. "Would you? Walk away?"

"Maddie..." He breathed.

"Even when it hurts..." She reminded him; her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"If I thought my life was going to destroy yours?" Harry blinked. "Yes. It wouldn't be easy and it would most definitely not be what I wanted but...if I thought that in ten years you were going to be a fragment of who you are today, because of this? Yes. I would."

"This isn't going to break me, Harry."

"I know that."

"I don't know that you do. I think that when I left you to go for a walk, you left thinking that I wasn't going to make it, that I was going to realize I couldn't do this, that I couldn't handle this and...I think you've been sitting here contemplating walking away."

"I..."

"And maybe that's what I get for walking away without explanation," she hurried on before he could argue with her, before he could agree with her. "When I said earlier that I wasn't sure you would be here when I came back," she took a breath. "What I really should have said was...I wasn't sure I deserved to have you be here when I did."

"Hey..."

"I really dropped the ball on this one Harry. I told you I could take it and then when it hits, I walked out the door without explanation or..."

"No. Stop for just... Maddie you...you've uprooted your entire life. You've moved to London; you're living in a new place, you have a new job, you've had to buy new clothes because God knows it's colder here than it ever was in Bendal. You've jumped into this fish bowl where people follow you around with cameras, write stories about you, and show up at the worst possible moments..." He took a breath. "When I said I couldn't do this forever, I meant it. I can't watch you fall apart every time..." He took a moment. "But I didn't mean that I was walking out the door. I wasn't contemplating walking away. I think the least I can do is allow you a few moments of..."

"Craziness?"

"Your words, not mine," he smiled. Maddie's smile matched his as she nodded.

"The thing is, when I was walking around I wasn't falling apart. I was...I was pulling it together. When I said I can't do this forever, I meant it. But my walk wasn't about deciding if I was staying or going. I decided a long time ago that I was staying. My walk was about what I needed to do, how things needed to change so that I could...walk in this world a little easier."

"Really?" Harry breathed; tears springing to his eyes as his fears from earlier surfaced.

"Really," she nodded. "You know, I think maybe you and I could be a little better with the communication."

"Ha!" Harry laughed; leaning back in his chair. "I suppose you're right."

"I need to stop letting stuff like this get to me. But you need to stop thinking that every time I'm processing, I'm thinking of leaving. Because I'm not. I'm not thinking about leaving."

"Okay."

"I'm not thinking about leaving."

"Okay."

"Harry..."

"I get it."

"Do you? I really want you to. If we both worry incessantly about the other then when things happen, I'm not going to want to tell you how I feel about it because I won't want you to think I'm breaking and..."

"I get it," he reached across the table for her hand.

"Maybe it's time for the kid gloves to come off?" Maddie held his hand in hers.

"What do you mean?"

"This is whole thing, the press, the way you handle the press...it's a part of my life now, part of who I am. I just don't quite know how to negotiate it. This, today...it wasn't my finest moment. I know that. But this isn't something that comes naturally to me and I find that...terribly frustrating." She let out a deep breath. "I need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes," she grinned. "When we were in Colorado, I taught you how to be a farmer. Now, you can teach me how to..."

"Be my girlfriend?" Harry laughed.

"No," she shook her head. "I know how to do that. I need to know how to be...a royal girlfriend." Even Maddie couldn't help but roll her eyes at her choice of words.

"Ah."

"There is a difference between the two roles, you know."

"I suppose you're right," he agreed. She had a point. He had always felt that he had multiple roles in his life. "So you want me to teach you...to be a farmer."

"Yes," she chuckled. "And we can think of today like...your trip into the hen house."

"Had to bring that up did you?" He shook his head with a wide grin.

"Well, it wasn't the most graceful and it wasn't your favorite part. But it didn't send you running away, refusing to try. It didn't make you not want to do it," she shrugged and held his eyes. "I want to do it. I want to handle stuff like this better. I want to get my strength back and I want to not worry about the hits you take on a daily basis. I want to let this stuff roll off my back...I just need help. I need you. What do you say? Will you help me?"

"How could I say no to that? To you?" His hand reached up to stroke her cheek.

"I might not always get it right, but I want to," she leaned into his hand. They sat there for a moment, just like that; connected to each other in a literal and metaphorical sense. "Just don't forget, you've had years to develop through this craziness into the man you are today. Years and years; and a whole lot of family and staff. I have only you. And Bishop."

"Just me," he shook his head. "I'm going to kill Bishop."

"Don't. He's been so good to me."

"I'm sure he has."

"He has. If it weren't for him, I would probably still be walking around London and not sitting here with you now."

"Yeah..." He was smiling as he asked her, "why is it again that you're still sitting here again?"

"Because...because fuck them; that's why." Maddie threw her hands in the air; shocking Harry.

He opened his mouth and nothing came out but an amused laugh.

"Because I'm not going to let this get to me. Because I'm not going to let them control me. Because...because tomorrow when they run the story about me seeking solace with your best friend, I want to be able to laugh at it. Because I don't want to hide. Because I can't take them down..." She grew a little sad. "I can't control what they write about you. I can't control what they've taken from you. But I can make damn sure that I am not one of those things." She took a deep breath. "I can't promise I'll be perfect at it or that it won't get to me time and again but..."

"But fuck them?" Harry smirked.

"Exactly." She pushed her tea cup across the table towards him. "Do you have anything stronger than tea Your Royal Highness?"

"Ha..." He shook his head at her and rose to his feet. "Beer or wine?"

"Beer."

"Coming right up." It was only moments before Harry returned with two opened bottles.

"Thank you," she took a long drink and sighed.

"I think we're getting better at this communication thing."

"It's a process," Maddie sighed; a moment of silence settling over them before Harry's head cocked to the side contemplatively.

"Also what did you say before about seeking solace with my best friend?" Maddie laughed at the look on his face.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," she reached out for his hand. "How are you doing right now?"

"Better. Much better."

"Do you forgive me?" Her eyes flashed vulnerable for a moment.

"There is absolutely nothing to forgive here."

"I'm sorry anyway."

"I'm sorry too."

"I promise I won't ever ask you to go to the press for me again," Maddie met his eyes.

"I promise that I will lead with the important details first," Harry offered with a light chuckle.

"I promise that I will always come back to you after I'm done processing," she let him kiss the tips of her fingers.

"And I promise that I will do my best to help you navigate this new role of yours."

"It's a lot of promises we're making tonight..." Maddie finished her beer and smiled sleepily at him across the table.

"Can I make one more?" Harry arched one eyebrow.

"Sure," Maddie nodded.

Settling his empty beer bottle on the table next to him, he stood up; his chair pushing out behind him.

With his hands resting on the table, he leaned across to her; his lips seeking and finding hers. It was the first time they had kissed since the fight, the first time that day, and it held so much in it; emotion, passion, forgiveness. Maddie felt tears draw to her eyes just as he pulled back. Opening his eyes, he didn't blink once before he said, "as long as you want me, you will be the only person I kiss, Madeline. You never, ever have to doubt that. As long as you want me..." And then, because she was always going to want him, because she just might break into tears otherwise, she moved her head slightly; bringing their lips back together.