#chapter30

       “What are we going to do Sammy?” Dean asked, a small tear running down his cheek as he stroked your hair.  Sam came over and stood behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sam was just as upset as Dean, both were on the verge of letting the tears flow.  

       “Give it one more night. If nothing happens by the morning we perform an exorcism and then take her to a hospital. Other than that I don’t know what to do.” Both boys felt lost and broken, they knew that they were out of options and they were starting to believe that they had lost you.  

       They continued with their shifts through the night, switching off every couple hours, one watching and the other getting some sleep if they were able. Around 9 in the morning both of them were sitting at your bedside.  

       “Alright, do it.” Dean said through gritted teeth. At this point he was not concerned with holding back any tears. Reluctantly, Sam began to recite Latin, his tears falling on the bedspread.  He had gotten about half way through the exorcism, when they both saw your eyes flutter and tears streak down your cheeks.  

        Sam stopped and joined his brother in leaning over you and saying your name, trying to coax you awake. Your eyes began to flutter more than the first time. 

       “I think she is waking up!” Sam said excited beyond belief and so hopeful. Before you opened your eyes a thick red smoke came pouring out of your mouth. Crowley had left your body and gone back into his own.Then you opened your eyes and saw the happy crying faces of Sam and Dean starting back at you.  

       “Guys?” You asked weak and confused. Neither of them said anything. Instead they wrapped their arms around you and hugged you like their lives depended on it. As they pulled away, you felt the mattress shift slightly behind you and a cold hand reached out and grabbed yours.

       Turning you saw Crowley laying next to you, slightly ashen in color but alive. Not caring at all that Sam and Dean were in the room, you threw yourself on top of him and cried tears of relief and joy. Instead of giving a snarky or childish comment the boys said nothing. The two of them made eye contact with the King to signal their thanks and then left the room. You had more than earned your alone time.  

        After several minutes of just holding him, his body began to warm up and you had managed to stop sobbing. Propping yourself up on his chest, you both just looked at each other.  Carefully, Crowley reached up and ran his thumb across your split lip that had begun to scab over.  

       “I was worried we lost you.” He said placing a small strand of hair back behind your ear.  

       “You were worried?” You responded with a breathy laugh. “I thought my nightmare came true.” He leaned in and kissed you softly, making sure not to put too much pressure on your lip.  

       “Nothing can kill me remember, I’m the King of Hell.” He said with mock pride, all the while knowing that if it wasn’t for you he would be dead. “However, you may have helped a bit.” You jokingly pinched him in the arm as he lovingly mocked you.   

       “What all happened?” You were still having a hard time recalling events.  The most vivid memory you had was Joshua killing Crowley.  

        “I am going to let the boys take care of that explanation.” The demon sat up, taking you with him and cradling you in his arms for a moment. “I need to go away for a while.” As he spoke you could see the sadness in his eyes and you could tell that he wasn’t completely choosing to leave you. There was a slight amount of panic in your face when he said he was leaving.  

        “Don’t fret, I will always come back to you.” He said lightly tapping your necklace. “I have a little hell to raise after the unfortunate festivities.” He said kissing your forehead. Crowley slid off the bed and stood in front of you. 

       “Ok, after we make a deal.” You said grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. He looked at you with a soft smile and just a hint of suspicion. “If anything goes wrong, you get out and come back to me.” You words were full of love but your eyes still held some fear.  

        “If this is to end in fire, then we shall both burn together.” He said trying to lighten the mood by quoting ‘I See Fire’. The laughter that bubbled out of you was accompanied by small tears. He gave you a deep passionate kiss, a kiss that held love, hope, and a future. Then he disappeared leaving you in your room with the necklace that would always call him back. Taking a deep breath you collected your emotions, then moved so you were facing your bedroom door. 

       “I know you’re out there.” You yelled, seeing the shadows of your brothers boots under the door.  Slowly Dean peeked inside, to make sure he wasn’t interrupting anything.

        “He is gone.” You said, absently fiddling with your necklace. Sam gave you the puppy eyes, waiting for you to cry again.

       “You ok?” He asked almost too gently. You smiled at him knowing he was just concerned.

       “Yeah, I know he will be back.” Of that you were confident not even death could keep that from happening. Dean came over and sat next to you on the bed wrapping his arms around you and squeezing you tightly.

      “What appended?” You asked when Dean would finally let you breath.

        “What do you remember?” Sam was extremely curious. He had his learning face on, you were half expecting him to whip out a paper and pen and start taking notes.

        “I remember seeing Joshua go after Crowley with the angel blade, feeling his blood spurt on me, screaming, and incredible anger and fear. After that I don’t remember much.” Both boys looked at you in surprise that you remember so little about what you had done.

       “Wow, well, as far as we could guess you hulked out.” Dean spoke with hints of pride and admiration. You looked at Sam questioningly for more clarification.

       “I think your body went into defense mode and your magic took over.” Sam said clearing his throat, waiting for you to freak out a bit. You just nodded your head slowly taking in what he had told you. Then you had a memory flash of flinging a demon against the wall.

       “I remember magic punching a demon.” You said softly, trying to recall more. Dean chuckled and you as you scrunched your face, trying to force memories to manifest.

       “Don’t hurt yourself, sweetheart.” He smiled at you and squeezing your shoulder. “Basically, you used your powers and flung the one douche bag against the wall, then you turned invisible, which is bad ass by the way.” You shook your head and smiled at Dean. As he spoke you began to remember what had happened.

       “And then I went after the dragon.” You said, your eyes going from one brother to the other.

       “Yeah and the fact that he couldn’t see you freaked him out.” Sam’s voice was beginning to sound almost as proud as Dean’s. “Do you remember going after Joshua?” Sam asked carefully.

       “Not really.” You said wanting him to fill in the banks.

       “Long story short, you made him release all of us, then you took my knife, carved a demon trap in it and nailed him to the wall.” Dean, was staring into space as he remembered what happened.

       “Then what?” You were beginning to get nervous about what they were telling you, the magic taking you over was more than a little overwhelming.

     “Then you saved Crowley’s life.” Sam looked at you and smiled. “Even in your wacked out state you remembered him.” You could tell the boys still weren’t keen on you loving a demon, however, you knew that they would deal for a bit longer after everything that happened.

      “Was that all?” You raised a question brow, waiting for an answer. It felt like your world was spinning at all of this new information.

      “Yeah and then you passed out.” Sam shrugged and leaned back in the chair you’re your desk. “Healing him probably drained you.”

       “There was one more thing.” Dean was reluctant to tell you the last thing that he remembered.

       “Spit it out…” You said flinging yourself back on the bed, preparing for whatever he was about to tell you.

          “Your eyes glowed a bright green.” He looked at you with nervousness. You didn’t say anything. You just took a couple of deep breaths and let them out. Then you remembered that you were in the bunker and not the motel.

          “Did Crowley zap us back?” You said propping yourself up and looking at the boys.

          “You have been out for two days. We were going to take you to the hospital today, if it wasn’t for Crowley.” Your brothers looked at you lovingly. Then you remembered your memory and the smoke.

         “He…” You tried to think of the least perverse way to say what you were about to. “He went looking for me.” You said looking at both of them waiting for confirmation.

          “In a manner of speaking, yeah” Dean, was still harboring some irritation. “I’m assuming that he went back?” Dean asked, referring to Crowley going back to hell.

            “I imagine he has some skulls to crack.” Sam said lifting himself from the chair and stretching. You slid off the bed and did the same.

            “So who is cooking?” You asked with a big grin, happy to be home, in love, and alive. Both laughed at you and were relieved that you were keeping it together.

          “You’re probably starving.” Dean laughed moving you towards the door. Truth was you were starving, beyond starving.

        The rest of the day was simple and relaxing. The boys cooked you Philly cheesesteaks and mac and cheese. You ate more than a person your size should have been able to. After eating you each went your own way for a while before reconvening back in the kitchen for more food, this time spicy chicken wings and fries, and beer. The three of you decide it was movie night and took your food and the snacks you always had on hand and decided on watching Sherlock on Netflix.

       “We are watching in your room.” Dean yelled from down the hall before you could catch him.

         “Why do we have to use my room?” You asked chasing after him, Sam trailing behind with the beer.

          “Thanks to your boyfriend, you have the biggest bed.” As she spoke he used his hip to open your door. You couldn’t argue with him there. Crowley was a go big or go home kind of man, your bed was huge. The three of you got comfy and settled in for a relaxing night of fun, full bellies, and laughs

        The rest of the week was uneventful in comparison to the last. You had managed to start fixing another bike, deep clean your room, and did so much data entry that you didn’t want to ever see a computer again. Taking a break from your tasks, you were in the library with the boys watching a mindless action/comedy, The A Team. The boredom had finally gotten to you and sleep became more appealing than laying on the couch watching a movie.

        After telling the boys to finish the movie without you, you lazily shuffled to your room. The oversized bed beckoned you to fall into it’s embrace, though it wasn’t as appealing now that you saw all of the empty space; too much for one person. You missed your demon. The clothes that you were wearing were cozy enough that you didn’t bother changing; maroon leggings, an oversized black band tee, thick socks, and a cozy cardigan. Reading your book didn’t have the same appeal. Every time you opened it, you thought of Crowley.

     Back in Hell things were getting back into place, not like Crowley gave anyone a choice. Apart from him making his presence as King known he also had to fix the ranks of the cross road demons. As it turns out, Joshua was the one killing of fellow demons in the hopes that Crowley would show up on his own to fix the “problem”, ultimately ending in Joshua killing him in a surprise attack. Your budding relationship had kept Crowley distracted enough that Joshua had to go to plan B and make a deal with the dragons.

       Drifting off, you dreamt about the mansion in Ireland, the smell of the fireplace, and the sound of the waves. You enjoyed reliving the special moments that you had with Crowley, though the memory of him was not cutting it. Your dream began to fade as you started to wake up. It was in the middle of the night, so you were unaware of your surroundings. Stretching, you shuffled out of bed and headed out the door to go get some water. About the time that you reached the door, you realized that you were most defiantly not in your own room.

      You reached out and grabbed the glass diamond doorknob and then it hit you where you were. After being stuck in your own head, you were concerned that you were having a very vivid dream. You quietly opened the door and shuffled out to the landing. Though it was in the middle of the night there were a select few dim lights on through the house. Soft piano music bounced off the marble walls and made its way up the stair case to you.

      Following the faint glow of the lamps and the melodic tune, you made your way to the library. It was your favorite place in the whole house. Sitting in front of the roaring fire with a glass of whiskey was Crowley humming Ed Sheeran’s Kiss Me while he read.

      “You’re awake.” He commented softly as you entered the room. Crowley put down his book, Grimm fairytales. You mentally chuckled at his choice, he would enjoy the gruesome stories.

      “Are you sure? This seems really similar to most of my dreams lately.” You responded with a smile.

      “You dream about me?” As he spoke, he lifted himself off the cushions on the floor, the same ones where your first date took place. Crowley took your hand and lead you to the fireplace. Instead of sitting down, you lightly pushed him onto the floor and crawled in his lap facing him. You could feel the heat of the flames on your face as you leaned down and kissed him.

       Breaking the kiss and looking at him, you were grinning from ear to ear, your cheeks flushed. “I don’t think I can be around a fire place without wanting to make love to you in front of it.” Crowley threw back his head and laughed a full hearty laugh. Resting your head on his shoulder, you reveled in his happiness and yours.

       “I am so thankful that, despite the horrible things you have face, that you have not lost your sense of humor and your spark.” Taking his finger, he placed it under your chin and lifted your lips towards him and gently pressed his to yours.

       At first the kiss was soft and slow, you pulled back just enough to whisper “I missed you” on his warm lips. The soft tickle of your words lit a fire within him. Roughly he wrapped both of his arms around you, both hands tangled in your hair. The feeling of his beard scratching at your cheeks and chin felt uncomfortable and incredible simultaneously. Both of you began to breath heavier as the kisses grew more passionate, fueled by your love for one another.

        Crowley’s tongue demanded entrance into your mouth, and there was no way you were going to deny him. At feeling him, you let out a moan, resulting in him pulling lightly on your hair. You ground your hips into him, feeling him growing hard against your movements. You played this small game of sexual cat and mouse until neither of you could take it anymore.

         Though Crowley could remove both of your clothes with just the snap of his fingers, he never did. Instead he, almost painfully slow, pulled your cardigan off, his eyes roaming you hungrily. Then he placed both of his hands firmly at your sides and began removing your shirt. Once the fabric was over your head, you could feel the warmth of the fire on your bare chest. Crowley took you. The first time you had made love to him was nothing like this. This was different, there was no desperation to forget the dangers that surrounded either of you. In this moment you were safe and unequivocally each other’s. The first time you made love that night it was in the presence of the one true King of Hell. 

         Six months ago you would have never guessed                                 that the darkest  soul of Hell would                                                       actually be the light of your life.

“Ready for round three?” Harry’s voice brought her back from the memories of the paparazzi invading her space trying to snap a picture of her to make the front page of the news.

Her head lifted with a mischievous smile seeing the dark lust circling in his blue eyes. The moment she made it into his Kensington apartment, Harry devoured her in an endless attack of kisses that eventually led them to have sex in a series of rooms. It had been a few days since they had seen each other and needed their minds to be elsewhere then the media storm that had surrounded their lives.

Adalyn’s hand traced the contours of his abdomen, following down to his member. Biting her bottom lip she kept her eyes on him watching as his famous smirk appeared on his lips.

Her heart skipped a beat causing a cascade of pent up emotions to flood into her being.

Staring intently into the depths of those sparkling eyes made her nearly break, as she could not hide anything from them. She felt vulnerable, exposed, like everything she had been feeling was on display for him to see. Addy had begun to build the wall back up entirely for her own sanity in handling the whole situation, putting her emotions aside to exist only as a physical being.

With the flick of a switch she turned her emotions off the day she had returned to work. Knowing that her emotions would make the situation that much worse, she buried them in an attempt to make it through each day. Addy did what she needed to to cope with being tossed in the whirlwind. It was until now that she had realized how holding it all inside had affected her, changed her in the mere few days. All of her emotions were now bubbling at the surface screaming and begging to be released.

Addy thought if Harry was able to see how well she was handling things, he would not worry about her as it was the last thing she wanted him to do.  Harry had an enormous amount on his plate with his upcoming tour, the press themselves as well as his PTSD. She could no bear to add another burden on his shoulders, the main reason why she had kept quiet about the revelation she had about Jake.

Jake still was taking up space in the back of her mind, but she did not have the heart to tell Harry as of yet. Once things had calmed down she promised herself that she would, it was only fair to him to know the truth.

His trailblazing touch, the way he held her body in a gentle manner, the way he smothered and explored every inch of her being with his soft lips caused each brick to crumble until there was nothing left. The simplicity of it all puzzled her. How could someone affect her so profoundly.

They were one. Encapsulated in a state of intimacy. A state that was private to them where they could be themselves a feeling Addy had longed for for days. But in being close with her prince, she could not help notice the little voice inside of her head warning her heart not to fall for him.

“You frighten me…” she whispered against the water beating down their bodies.

His eyebrows furrowed in worry at her spoken words, unsure of what she exactly meant. Was she scared of him because of his PTSD? Lately, the dreams and flashbacks had become worse in time, despite all the therapy sessions. He knew he had scared her one night when his mind truly believed she was the enemy. Harry was able to stop himself from acting out, but in truth, it frightened him more than he could have imagined. Her green orbs staring at him in a state of calmed fear had brought him back safely to stable ground. He promised himself that he would never hurt her, a thought that stayed stagnant in his mind.

Placing a hand quickly on his chest she smiled wider making his fears dissipate. Shaking her head she stood as tall as she could to place a gentle kiss on his smiling lips.

“Not like that…in a good way Harry.”

Cupping her cheek he made sure she was not going to look away from him. He wanted to get caught up in the depths of her green eyes, they told him everything about her. They were her truth speakers when she tried to hide her thoughts from him.

“Talk to me…” he insisted seeing her eyes glaze over in immediate tears at his permission. Harry had known that Addy had been handling things ‘too well’ despite the situation. No one ever did, he knew that but he also wanted to allow her the time to handle it as best as she could. Putting up a fight to even come to Kensington Palace today, Harry had thankfully convinced her to spend a few hours with him before going over to her fathers place for the Monday evening family dinners where she would have to finally face everyone. Addy had been ducking her families calls and messages ever since the news broke not being able to handle them as well as everything else… the press….the leak.

“I checked myself out emotionally…” she started wanting to look away from Harry ashamed, but he would not allow it. “I thought if I didn’t feel anything that it would be easier to deal with… but now… when I am with you like this.” Addy paused feeling her heart swell at the memories of merely an hour ago when the prince had her pressed up against the wall making love to her.

Her cheeks became flushed causing the prince to release a light laugh knowing precisely what she had been thinking about. “It’s like you were breaking down my walls again… I needed you and I hate to admit it…. And that is why you frighten me.”

Holding his blue-eyed gaze hostage she fell silent waiting for him to respond.

“I need you too Addy…” Harry confessed with a wide smile before leaning down to kiss her.

Melting beneath him Addy struggled to stay standing, feeling weak in the knees at his confession. Hearing those words further confirmed what she was feeling for the ginger haired prince.

Addy was falling hard for Harry.

A thought that frightened her to no end, but that thought was quickly ignored feeling the way her heart was effortlessly beating. It no longer was broken into shards of a million pieces caused by the pain of a lover’s betrayal. Harry had put it back the puzzle pieces of her heart piece by piece.

“Adalyn!” Rosalyn engulfed her frame into a warm welcoming hug slowly rocking her back and forth. Patting the back of her step mother she eyed her father widely waiting for Rosalyn to release her.

“How are you holding up?” Rosalyn gripped Addy’s arms with a comforting squeeze. Sighing deeply she nodded her head forming a smile.

“I am doing ok.” Adalyn did not want to make this night about her though she was prepared for the endless questions her family was sure to bombard her with, but all she wanted was a normal family dinner.

“Hi daddy.” Stepping forward into her father’s open arms she welcomed his hug. Leaning her head down on his shoulder she closed her eyes needing this hug to last longer than usual.

Her father had been at the other end of the line numerous times throughout the week preventing Addy’s near breakdowns after the long days. He knew that his daughter had put aside her emotion, which was what she always had done when she needed to get a job done. Carlson felt helpless, seeing his daughter’s face plastered on every news paper stand he had to walk by to get to his office building in downtown London. All he could do was helplessly sit back and be there for his youngest child as she weathered through this media storm.

“Why don’t you stay here for a while?” Carlson broke off the hug staring into Addy’s speckled green eyes. “I can drive you to work and walk you in everyday until things settle down… pick you up.” His mind going off in any thought of how he could protect his daughter.

“Dad….” She dragged out slowly knowing he was only trying to help. Addy could not bring her father into this. The press could harass her, but her family was off limits. They never chose to be in a relationship with Harry, only her.

“Addy please consider it… for me ok?” Carlson narrowed his eyes at her with concern.

“Alright… I will think about it dad.” Addy followed him around the corner. “But I am not making any promises!” She hollered after him before becoming distracted by the aroma of food baking in the oven.

Halting her feet she internally smiled. Her father was making Addy her favourite meal, lasagna and Caesar salad with garlic toast. Covering her growling stomach she sat down remembering that the rest of her family would be walking through the front door in minutes. People she had been ignoring as of late.

“So Addy…” Lila piped up stabbing her lasagna with a fork.

“Lila.” Carlson scolded his eldest daughter reminding her of their agreement. No talking about Addy’s relationship or situation until dinner was done. Carlson knew that Addy needed her family not to also be the ones harassing her. If he could provide her with that sense of being home again with everyone, there was a possibility that she would stay for a while.

“Sorry father…” Lila hung her head down avoiding his hard gaze.

Addy had asked her father to do this. To make it clear that all she wanted was to have a normal family dinner. A sense of normalcy was what she was craving the past few days. Addy wanted this to be a regular Monday night dinner; to laugh and smile without a care, not fearing what thoughts they were surely ready to verbalize about her relationship.

“Reid and I have picked a date for the wedding.” Elena changed the conversation wanting to distract everyone from the obvious elephant in the room. Glancing at Reid Addy watched his face scrunch up not thrilled at the idea of having a big wedding. All he wanted to do was elope and get it over with.

“May 5th.” Elena proudly beamed nudging her elbow into Reid’s side making him fake a smile. “Right honey?”

“Can’t wait.” Reid shoved a mouthful of food into his mouth chewing on it obnoxiously making his fiancé roll his eyes at him.

“Still planning to have it at granddad’s farm?” Addy asked, finally contributing to the conversation after remaining silent throughout the whole dinner. Everyone’s eyes darted towards her as if she had said something appalling.

“That’s the plan!” Elena once again broke through the awkwardness. She was used to being the one to break things up or distract everyone from the obvious tension in the room.

Handing Addy a glass of wine her father joined the rest of the family in the living room. The tension was palpable, as everyone remained quiet, not wanting to be the first to break the silence.

Shifting uncomfortably in her seat Addy kept her head down avoiding any potential gaze from her family members. Taking a few sips of her wine she felt the liquid courage coat her throat. Knowing that she would have to be the first one to start the conversation about Harry she swallowed the lump in her throat hard and parted her lips to speak.

“I don’t know where to start so I am just going to sit here and answer any questions you have. I am sure you have all read what was in the papers so have at it already….” Addy opened the interrogation reluctantly.

“Why didn’t you tell any of us before we found out through the press?” Lila was of course the first to make a snide question. Gritting her teeth at her lawyer sister she knew would have the most questions out of anyone.

“I did not mean for that to happen….” Addy sighed closing her eyes briefly. “It was the last thing that I wanted was for all of you to find out that way. We had been very careful and a friend leaked it to the press without any warning so there was no way I had any control over it.”

Lila seemed to be satisfied with the answer. Crossing her arms she sat beside her boyfriend ready to ask another question. “How long have you been together? I am assuming that this is the same man you were seeing months ago?”

Nodding her head in silence Addy confirmed Lila’s suspicions. “Since May… officially. We decided to see where it was going a week before he left for Afghanistan and we kept in contact.” Biting her bottom lip she glanced towards her uncharacteristically silent brother Reid.

“And how-”

“LILA!” Reid yelled out angrily. “Let others have a chance.” His eyes turned towards Addy, locking in her gaze while the room fell to a deafening silence. Addy could feel Reid’s quiet palpable anger laced in his voice.

“I don’t understand how you two are together Addy. He is a playboy party prince who was handed a silver spoon because of his birth right.” Reid started to lay into Addy about her relationship. “He is clearly using you for his image. A smart middle class woman with an animal rescue like come on Addy!!!” Tossing his arms up in the air, his voice grew louder. “Are you daft?”

“I cannot believe that you were so dull to fall for it? And now look at where that got you. Being hounded and followed around by a pack of picture snapping apes because you are Prince Harry’s new girlfriend, because that is what you are known as not Adalyn Mackenzie! Do you not think that Harry had a say in the leak, open your eyes Addy?”

“SHUT UP REID!” Addy could only handle being belittled for so long. Balling her fists in rage she breathed hard trying to not start a fight with her brother that was so in the wrong. Addy knew Reid would be her toughest critic, but what he was saying was uncalled for.

“Reid….” Addy spat his name calmly. “Do you honestly think that I would put myself through all of this harassment if I thought for even a second that Harry was using me? You have no idea what he is like. You cannot say that about him… especially when I know it’s not true…” trailing off she stared him down.

“He could have done something to stop them hounding you Addy. He is a bloody prince!” Reid shook his head at his sister still not understanding how she could not see the clear picture.

“He can’t!” Addy tossed her arms up in the air. “You don’t think that it is killing him to see me like this?” Tears started to form in her eyes threatening to over pour. “I locked myself in his bathroom cause all I wanted to do was hide from it all and he never left… he sat on the other side of the fucking door and when I broke down he was there. I can’t exactly say the same thing about you now can I Reid?”

“I don’t care. I don’t support this at all. He’s a player Addy, he will break you just like Jake did.” Reid finally shared his true feelings. This really wasn’t about who she dated, it was the fact that he did not want to see her hurt again but the way he was going about it was uncalled for. “Why doesn’t he walk you into work? Why can’t he release a statement warning them to leave you alone huh? He isn’t protecting you the way a boyfriend should.”

Brushing a stray tear away she knew he would not like her answer. “I told him not too. He wanted too… it was me ok Reid I don’t want to be seen as that woman who can’t handle it…. Dad can vouch for him… he’s met Harry.” Addy needed someone on her side to tell Reid that he was indeed wrong.

Reid’s eyes grew wide, his mouth opening in shock as he stared at his father. “Dad? Is this true?”

Carlson looked to his daughter brushing away tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She did not deserve this attack from Reid, but Reid was her older brother and had voiced some of the same concerns Carlson had previously had about Harry too. After meeting the prince and seeing them together, his mind started to change and hopefully Reid’s mind would too.

“Yes Reid….” Rosalyn gasped in shock giving her husband a surprised expression. “I had the same reservations about Harry…” Reid smugly smiled at Adalyn glad that his father agreed with him. “But, after seeing him with Addy and talking alone with him I was completely wrong.” Carlson admitted in front of everyone causing Addy to force out a relaxing breath.

“I have even talked to him a lot this week…” He continued knowing that Addy had no knowledge of this. “Harry has done everything he can to protect Adalyn from all of this and even asked me to convince her to stay here for a while until things have died down.” Carlson lifted his head to look at Addy seeing that now she understood why he was asking that of her.

“But dad…” Reid continued his argument, his words fading into the background as Addy tuned him out.

Harry had been talking to her father all week, giving him updates on how she was doing as she refused to fully tell her father. He wanted her to stay with her father for a while knowing that the media had yet to find out where he lived. Addy did not know whether to be angry or grateful to Harry for talking to her father behind her back.

“Reid he can’t do that without putting her in more jeopardy. You think if he is there every single day that this will eventually blow over? No it won’t!” Her father’s rarely raised voice brought her back from her thoughts. “He hired a private security in her museum as a security guard to protect her Reid!”

Adalyn’s head snapped up towards her father. Feeling her eyes on him Carlson turned his attention towards Addy. Harry had told him this in confidence not wanting Adalyn to know that Harry had done this for her own safety. Now he had let Addy in on that vital piece of information.

“Addy... he didn’t want you to know. He knew you would not approve of it.” He tried his best to give Harry’s explanation in his absence.

“Wait… she didn’t know that? He did that on his own?” Elena pointed out making it clear to everyone in the room.

“No… I didn’t know.” Addy quietly confessed not sure how to think about all this new information she was receiving. Harry could not always be there to protect her, but he was still protecting her in his own way.

“That’s so sweet!” Elena placed her hand over her heart smiling widely at Addy. “Stop being an asshole Reid!” His fiancé quickly scolded him for his comments.

“I still don’t like the guy…”

“You have made your point Reid.” Carlson’s word as final, telling his son to let it be.

“Addy darling, why don’t you bring him next week for dinner so we can all meet him for ourselves… I am sure we have just as many questions for him as we do you…” Rosalyn voiced out loud.

“We all want to Addy!” Elena was quick to express. “You seem happy with him for the most part and I think we all owe it to you to see what you see in him… right Reid?” Placing her hand on Reid’s thigh she squeezed it hard making him agree.

“Yes love. Let’s see how he can handle a Mackenzie Monday night!” Reid winked at his little sister seeing her dread the thought of it.

There was no way she could back out of this now, but at least things were clear in the air. Reid and Lila remained suspicious of Harry’s true intentions while Elena and Rosalyn only wanted to meet a prince face to face.

The night came to an end, leaving only Addy, her father and Rosalyn in the Mackenzie home.

“Are you going to stay then Addy?” Rosalyn handed her a handful of plates to put away in the cupboard. “I need to make a phone call quick before I decide. Do you mind if I?” Addy pointed to the patio outside knowing it was the best place for privacy in the home.

“Go sweetheart. Your father and I will finish up here.” Rosalyn offered her a quick wink knowing it would be Harry she would be calling.

Pulling out her phone she dialed Harry waiting for him to answer.

“Hey babe. How was dinner?”

Addy was going to skip the small talk. “Fine. You have been talking to my dad all week?”

Dead silence greeted her on the other line.

“Ummm… yes I have Addy. Though he was not supposed to tell you that…” Harry laughed nervously.

“Then you really won’t like hearing that I know you asked him to convince me to stay home here…” Addy paused for a brief moment letting in sink in before slamming him with another piece of information. “As well as hiring a security person to work as a guard at my work?”

“Addy before you get mad at me I only – ”

“Did it to protect me…” she interrupted him, ending his sentence. “I know Harry… but you cannot do that.”

“Addy I need you to be ok because I can’t be there… and if doing that makes me know you are I don’t give a shit if you get mad at me for this.” Harry proceeded to defend his case.

“Henry….” Addy smiled as she spoke his name. “Thank you for all you are doing for me. I don’t say it enough.” She had to admit, she was livid at first after finding everything out, but now she had understood why he had done it in the first place.

“But, please take the security away. I don’t need it and if the press even got wind of that…” Addy paused, imaging her face plastered on the front page again.  “Please don’t do it Henry…” she begged him.

Hearing her begging him not to protect her in the only way he knew how nearly shattered him. He fully understood her reasons why, but he couldn’t fathom the idea of something happening to her the way it did to his mother. Knowing she would never have agreed to it, Harry put the calls in place anyway. Even Luther disapproved of it knowing the potential backlash.

“On one condition Addy…” Harry reluctantly agreed. “Stay at your fathers for a while, it’s much safer there.” Now it was his turn to beg. “Just until things blow over…” he added reassuringly.

“Or until they find out where my parents live…” tossing her head back in laughter, humor was the only thing getting her through this.

“Well… ya or that.” Harry joined in on her infectious laugh.

Taking a minute to decide she thought it was best for her to stay only for a few days to get a break of the press constantly camped outside her building. Needing to make arrangements with Chance she knew Ainsley would have no problem looking after him.

“I will… but only for a few days. Just for a break.” Addy ensured that Harry knew it was up to her to decide when to go back home. “Good.”

“God I already miss you…” Addy wished for nothing more than for Harry to be here with her. “Maybe my dad will let you come one night and stay over!”

“Yeah if we promised to sleep in different rooms I bet.”

Hearing his laughter ring out through the phone brought a wide smile to her lips. No matter what her family thought of Harry she knew who he really was, the true person behind closed doors and the princely charm. It was only a matter of time that they too would see what she saw in Harry.

“Miss you babe… sleep well.” Harry softly spoke.

“Don’t go yet…” Addy grew quiet not wanting to end the call.

“I’m here as long as you want.”