Kate flipped through the baby-name book and casually snacked on sliced apples while the television Will was watching played softly in the background. It had been a month since Will's return home from Afghanistan, and the couple had settled back into their comfortable, normal lifestyle. Will's boss had told him to take two months off of his RAF work because of Afghanistan, which meant he got to spend every waking minute with his pregnant wife, never missing a moment. After all, he had three months of time away from Kate and the baby to make up for.

"Oooh, I like this one. Aiden."

Will looked at Kate from the couch he was on about ten meters away.

"I like it," he smiled, returning his attention to the TV. Kate nodded.

"Me too. What are you watching?"

Will clicked the pause button on the remote. "Castaway. Come join me on the couch," Will twisted his head and patted the empty spot beside him. Kate smiled and rolled off the bed, making her way over to the couch. She plopped herself down in Will's open arms and closed her eyes.

"Hey, no sleeping. I want you to watch the movie with me," Will played with Kate's hair as her eyes fluttered back open. She yawned and peered up at him for a brief moment.

"Looking up boy baby names is hard work," she said, twisting in Will's arms so she could fully face him. "Will, tell me why you're watching this movie."

Will scrunched his face. "Tom Hanks is one of the best actors of our generation."

Kate rubbed Will's hand and stared at him, her eyes deep with concern. She knew Will inside and out; she knew that he found watching Hollywood movies a waste of time. Will looked away from Kate's intense gaze and focused on playing with her fingers.

"Will," Kate whispered. She looked at the calendar across the room and instantly knew what was wrong. It was the 30th of August, and tomorrow would be the 31st. They went through this process each year. Kat was never aggressive or impatient with Will around this time. She knew all he needed was to know he was loved and to have a pair of open ears, ready to listen to whatever he had to say.

"I just…I miss her so much," Will shut off the movie and looked at Kate, his eyes glistening. "Fourteen years and each year it still feels like it happened yesterday."

Kate frowned and continued rubbing his hand. "I know."

Grimacing, Will stood up, pulling Kate with him. He walked with determination, towing Kate through their palace, into the study. Will dug through a few boxes until he seemingly found what he was looking for. He handed Kate a small box, who stared incredulously at it.

"What is this?" Kate asked, gripping the box. Will gestured.

"It's from my mother to you. Open it."

Tears formed in Kate's eyes as she clicked open the box, revealing a beautiful pure gold heart pendant.

"Oh my-" Kate gasped, smiling up at William. "It's stunning."

"It was my mother's. And before that, it was her mother's. Since my mother didn't have any girls, she gave this to me when I was fourteen," Will wrapped his arms around Kate's waist. "She told me to give it to the most important woman in my life," He pressed his lips together. "I've waited this long to give it to you because even though I was certain you were the most important woman in my life while we were dating, I was being cautious, you know?"

Kate nodded.

"But now that we're married, I know we're going to be together forever." Will took the pendant out from the box, clicked it open, and secured it around Kate's neck. "I love you," he whispered, his words truthful and honest. "Thank you for putting up with me during this difficult time. I know I can be hard to deal with during all the other eleven months of the year, so this must be the hardest on you." Will ducked his head, but Kate placed both her hands on his cheeks and brought his face back up to eye level.

"Hey. This is not about me. You do whatever you need to do, okay?" Kate caressed his cheek. "I'll be here."

A small smile tugged up on Will's lips. "Thank you. I know I say this a lot, but my mother would have loved you."

Kate bit her bottom lip. "Thank you. I would have loved her as well."

Will nodded and kissed Kate softly. "Okay, let's go to bed," he mumbled as their lips parted. "We can read the baby name book together."

Will bent down and picked Kate up, bridal style, and carried her back to their bedroom and placed her carefully on the bed. She toyed with pendant as he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed beside her. The couple sat in content silence, browsing through baby names. They both knew tomorrow would be a hard day for William and the Royal Family, but Kate was prepared to be there for whoever needed a friendly shoulder.


Will's peaceful slumber had been short-lived as he was shaken awake by a pair of strong hands. The fifteen year old boy rubbed his tired eyes and blinked the sleep away, wondering why the heck someone would be waking him up at one am. He was a teenage boy for goodness sakes – he needed his sleep.

"What's going on-" Will opened his eyes fully to meet his father's despaired ones. "Dad?"

Prince Charles flicked on Will's beside table light and had his son in a bone-crushing hug before Will had the chance to understand what was going on. "Dad, what's wrong?"

Charles pulled back and stared at his wide-eyed innocent son. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bear to break his fragile son with the few words that he had just been told a few minutes earlier. But he had to.

"Will, you should sit down."

Will narrowed his eyes. "I'm lying in my bed."

Charles shook his head, his mind reeling. "Oh yeah. Will, I have to tell you something."

Will was a little shocked by the look of complete desolation on his father's face. "Okay…"

"It has to do with your mother."

Will's breath caught short. Anything could happen to him and he could stand it, except something happening to his mother. "Is mum okay?"

Charles swallowed a threatening lump in his throat. "No, Will. She's not."

Will furrowed his brow. "What's wrong with her?"

Unable to reply, Charles buried his face in his hands.

"Dad," Will's voice was stern. "What's wrong?"

Charles looked back up at William. He took a deep breath and stood up. He walked out of the room, leaving Will confused and frightened.

"What the…"

Charles returned, Harry in his arms, asleep. He couldn't bear the news twice. He would have to tell his sons the terrible news at the same time. He whispered Harry's name until his thirteen year old son awoke. Harry rubbed his small, credulous eyes.

"Dad?" his naïve voice crushed Charles' heart. Harry looked to his right to see his brother. "Will? What's going on?"

Charles sat across from his sons, his back hunched in anguish.

"Sons," he drew in a breath. "Something has happened to your mother."

Harry's fiery eyebrows popped. "What, daddy? Is she okay?"

Charles' guard suddenly dropped as the complete innocence of his two sons dug under his skin. They had never had to face anything this horrible in their lives
before, and they would probably never witness anything as heartbreaking again. Tears streamed down his face as he pulled his sons onto his lap. He hugged them
closely, speaking the words that would ultimately change their lives forever.

"Will, Harry, your mother has died."

At first, the room was silent. Charles gauged Will and Harry's faces, but their expressions were unchanging. It was as if Charles hadn't muttered anything.

And then, suddenly and angrily, Will reacted. He jumped off his father's lap and shook his head.

"No, she didn't," Will shook his head prominently, his voice shaking. "I-I saw her yesterday. She told me she would see me tomorrow," Will ran out of the room, down the stairs, and grabbed the phone.

"Oh no," Charles picked Harry up and chased after his eldest son. Will clutched the phone desperately, dialing his mother's number.

"Please answer, mum," he whispered, his heart racing as the ringing over the phone gave him a pint o hope. "Please mummy."

And then the dial tone hit him. Charles and Harry appeared behind Will as he listened to the dull, truthful buzz. Will turned to his father, his bottom lip quivering. Charles put Harry down so he could fully wrap his arms around his other son as reality hit him. Will sobbed into his father's chest.

"NO!" he screeched, his face turning red as the tears poured. Charles' emotions got the best of him once again. He broke down, weeping as he kissed the top of Will's head. Harry stood beside his father and brother, very confused. He started to wander around the house, his eyes watering.

"Mum?" He called out. "Mummy?"

Harry ran back over to his father and brother, ducking under his father's arm so he could bawl with them.

"We're never going to see her again, are we?" Harry choked out between sobs. Charles shook his head.

"N-no."

Will ripped himself away from his father's embrace. "THIS ISN'T FAIR!" He screamed, his face beet red. "I WANT TO SEE MUM!" He bolted up to his room, slamming the door behind him. Harry and Charles stared at each other, unable to speak. Harry buried his face in his hands, weeping softly. Charles bent down to his level and held his son close, rubbing his back in condolence.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over to his young son. "I'm so sorry."


"Will?" Harry closed the door to Will and Kate's house behind him. "Will? Kate?"

Will came descending down the stairs, smiling warmly at his brother. When he got to the bottom, he hugged his little brother tightly.

"Another year," Harry said as he pulled back from the hug. He snapped his fingers, his expression solemn. "Another year."

Will nodded. "Yup."

"So you said you found something. What?" Harry asked as Will and they walked into the living room. Will picked up a small book and handed it to him. Harry looked at the cover, his expression confused.

"A book."

Will opened the cover for his brother. He pointed to the words scribbled on the first page. Harry gasped.

"Mum's diary."

"Yeah," Will shrugged. "Dad brought it over this morning. He said he hadn't read it. He wanted me and you to read it together," Will cocked an eyebrow. "Do you want to?"

Harry chewed his upper lip in deliberation. "I don't know. Today is already hard enough, you know?"

Will nodded. "I know, that's what I was thinking. Maybe another day. Besides, we've got the party soon."

Harry handed his brother the diary. "Yeah. Who's coming again?"

"Just the immediately family and some of mum's greatest friends. It's no concert for Diana, but it's not a small gathering either. I invited people that meant the most to mum."

Nodding, Harry walked over to the front door. "Okay. Well, I should get going."

"Yup. See you tonight."

As Harry left, Will toyed with the diary in his hands. He opened the first page, and then closed it again. He knew he should read it with his brother, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. He sat down at the kitchen table and opened the book.


Kate didn't have much patience. She had patience with people, especially children, but that was pretty much where Kate's endurance to wait for things ended. She was the child who peeked at their Christmas presents weeks in advance, pestered their teacher for mark updates in class every day, and who hated waiting in lines for basically anything. She just simply had no patience for those things. So the fact that she would have to wait nine months to find out the sex of her baby was basically torture, and Kate was going to do something about it.

She walked with excitement into the doctor's office, sitting down at the nearest chair. She had tried to disguise herself with a large coat and a ridiculous hat so she wouldn't be caught by paparazzi, and it worked. She hadn't seen a flash of a single camera as she bolted into the building. Her legs tapped impatiently as she waited to be called in to see her doctor, Dr. Kamera.

"Kate? Dr. Kamera will see you now." The receptionist called. Kate smiled and walked into the office. Dr. Kamera greeted her warmly.

"Hello, Kate! Nice to see you. No William today?"

Kate shook her head as she sat down on the crunchy paper on the small bed. "Nope, I didn't tell him I was coming…"

Dr. Kamera giggled. "Why not?"

Kate sighed dramatically. "Well, I want to find out the sex of our baby, but I've asked him before and he want to wait. But I just can't!"

Dr. Kamera smiled. "I understand. Well, let's get you lying down on your stomach, and we'll see what we can discover with an ultrasound, okay?"

Kate squealed with happiness. "Okay!"


Will stood in his bedroom, about to get in the shower and start preparing himself for the party honoring his mother. He looked at the clock and decided he should call Kate first. She said she was going to visit her sister and parents and then go grocery shopping, but she had been gone for four hours now. Will dialed Kate's number and waited as it rang.

"Hello, it's Kate Middleton. I guess I'm not with my phone right now, so please leave a message!"

Will sighed at Kate's answering machine and pressed the end button. Dialing Pippa's number, he pressed the phone back to his ear.

"Hello?"
Pippa voice appeared on the line.

"Hi, Pippa, it's Will. Is Kate still there?"

"Still here?"

Will furrowed his eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. She said she was going to visit you today."

Pippa shook her head. "Well this is news to me. She never told me she was visiting me."

"Okay, maybe she's at her parents."

"Yeah, try them. She's probably there. Is she answering her phone?"

Will sighed. "No."

Pippa cocked an eyebrow and couldn't help but feel a little worried. "That's weird."

Will chewed his bottom lip. "I know. Okay, I'll try them."

"Okay."

Will dialed her parents' phone number. No answer. He left a message before trying her parents' individual cell phones. Carole picked up when Will called her.

"Hello, William!"
She greeted.

"Hi, Carole. Is Kate with you?"

"No…why?"

Will cursed under his breath. "Is she with Mike?"

"No, Will. Mike and I are leaving town this weekend."
Carole's voice was concerned. "Will, where is she?"

Will ran his hand through his fine hair. "Shit, I don't know. Listen, Carole, I've got to go. I'll call you later. I'm sure she's fine, she's just not answering her phone and no one has seen her all day."

"Oh for heaven's sake,"
Carole mused, her heart beating a little faster. "I'm sure she'll show up somewhere. Right?"

Will clicked his tongue. He was worried, but he couldn't show it with Carole, he didn't want her to worry as well. "Yeah, I'm sure she's with her bodyguard somewhere."

Will hung up and grabbed his keys. He tried Kate's cell one more time. No answer.

"Shit, Kate. Really?" He muttered as he climbed into his car. Before he sped off and jumped to conclusions, he called Harry and her personal body guard.
Neither of them had seen her either.

"God," Will said as he drove away from the house. Memories from fourteen years ago came rushing into his memory, clouding his vision. What if something happened to Kate today? His heart raced as the possibility that Kate was in serious danger came to his mind. What if he lost Kate and his mother on the same day?

No, he couldn't think like that. Kate was fine. She would turn up. Will kept his eye on the road, and on his phone, praying for a phone call.


"Thank you so much, Dr. Kamera," Kate said before she left the office. Dr. Kamera grinned.

"No problem, Kate. I'm glad you know the gender now."

Kate sighed. "Me too," her hands patted her stomach. "My curiosity has been killing me!"

Dr. Kamera chuckled. "Remember to take your vitamins."

Kate nodded and put her coat and hat on. "Yup, I will. Anyways, I've gotta run. I've got to get ready for a party in Diana's memory tonight. Also, Will is probably wondering where I am."


Will leaned his head against his steering wheel in a deserted parking lot. He tried to shut out the hypothetical pictures in his mind of Kate lying motionless in her car after it had been smashed by some paparazzi idiots. He had been searching for an hour now, called her fifteen times, and no luck. This wasn't happening again. Will couldn't handle this happening again, on the same day as his mother's death.

"Kate, for the love of God, where are you?" His eyes filled to the brim with tears of worry and frustration.

And then his phone rang.

"Kate?" Will didn't even bother to look at the name.

"No, it's Harry. I was on guard in my car across your house like you told me to be, and I just saw Kate's car drive in the driveway, but someone else got out. Someone in a large coat and some weird hat,"
Harry's voice hitched with concern. "I'm going in," He grabbed a baseball bat he kept in the back of his car and walked across the road, his phone between his cheek and shoulder.

"Oh my God!" Will jammed the keys in the ignition and bolted away, exceeding the speed limit by a large gap. He didn't care, he needed to see what the hell was going on.

"Whoever you are, I'm going to kill you!" Harry yelled, holding the baseball bat high in the air, swinging it in a circle. Kate was upstairs, about to change and get in the shower when she heard the menacing, deep voice. She froze, her heart skipping a beat.

"Oh my goodness," she tentatively walked out of the room and peered down the stairs. Once she saw the bright ginger hair, her fright quickly faded. She giggled at Harry, who looked absolutely humorous holding a baseball bat, his legs bent in a sumo-position.

"Harry, it's just me."

Harry's head whipped up in the direction of Kate's voice.

"Kate?" He set down the bat and sighed as Kate chuckled and waved. "Laugh now, Kate, but Will is going to kill you."

Kate walked down the stairs. "Why?"

Harry gestured towards her phone she was holding in her hand. "Check your phone."

Kate clicked the touch screen of her phone, her expression dropping. "Oh. Seventeen missed calls from Will," she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Oops."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, oops," he looked out the window that showed the driveway. Will was running up to the door. "Nice knowing you, sis," Harry patted Kate's arm and exited out the back door, giving his brother and sister in law some privacy. Will opened the front door, his eyes instantly meeting Kate's. He let out an audible breath, but didn't say anything. Instead, he walked forcefully over to Kate, his dark eyes giving her chills. He connected their lips in a heated, brief kiss. He placed both hands on her face as they parted. Kate was panting as he leaned his forehead against hers, the darkness in his eyes still evident.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly. Will grimaced.

"I wanted to kiss you before I kill you," he bit his tongue in attempts to contain his anger as he walked away from her and put his hands over top of his head. "Kate, where the hell were you? I was worried sick. No one you said you were going to see today actually saw you," Will pinched the bridge of his nose. "You'd better have a damn good explanation. You know how worried I was? You know how many scenarios ran through my head of something happening to you on the exact same day my mother died?" Will realized his voice was booming, so he stopped talking and sat down on the staircase, rubbing his face with his hands. "You'd better have a damn good explanation."

Kate's heart was racing. She touched the gold heart that hung around her neck and sat down beside Will. "I, uh, I went to the doctors."

Will's head snapped up. "Are you okay?"

Kate closed her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine. I actually…I found something out."

"What?"

Kate opened her eyes and looked at her husband. He was already ragingly angry at her. After she said what she was about to say, he would most definitely not speak with her. Maybe she could try to distract him…

"Well, before we talk about me, let's talk about you. What did you do today?" she asked sheepishly. Will rolled his eyes.

"Nice try. Kate, what did you find out?"

Kate's legs shook as she spoke. "The sex of our baby."

Will inhaled with a squeak. "What?"

Kate frowned, her eyes filling up with tears of fright. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I just couldn't wait!"

Will shook his head. "I thought we agreed to wait!"

"I know, but-"

"You know what I did today, while you were off discovering this piece of very important information we were going to leave until you actually had the baby? I was planning on reading my mother's diary."

Kate's jaw dropped. "Your…your mother had a diary?"

Will shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, my father brought it over this morning. He said that Harry and I should read it together. So I invited Harry over to read it with me, but he said we should wait," Will stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets. "After Harry left, I sat down at the kitchen table, prepared to read it anyways, because I couldn't wait. But then I thought," Will tapped his temple, "of how Harry would feel if I read it without him. Angry. Hurt."

Kate saw where Will was going with this story. "Will, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you where I was going, and that I found out the gender of our baby. But you can't blame me for wanting to know, can you?"

Will sighed and walked in a circle. "I'm not angry, Kate. I'm disappointed. You should have told me."

Kate sighed and ducked her head. "I know," she whispered. "I promise I won't tell you what gender she is."

Will stopped in his tracks. "She?" Suddenly, the anger, frustration, and disappointment left Will, and a new form of happiness Will had never felt before coursed through his veins.

Kate brought her hands up to her mouth. "Oh my God, that just slipped out," the tears in her eyes fell over her lids. "I'm sorry, Will," She stood and ran up the stairs, her hands clutching her stomach. Will blinked, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. He ran up the stairs after her and into their bedroom where Kate was sitting on their bed, her weeps gentle and controlled. Will's thumping heart felt as if it was going to pound right through his chest.

"Kate, come here," he pulled Kate up and into his embrace. She rested her head in his shoulder and kept crying. "Shhh, it's okay."

"No, you're mad," she whispered, sniffling. Will pulled back and stared at Kate.

"Mad?" he blinked incredulously. "How could I be mad?" he inhaled shakily, his own eyes watering slightly. "We're having a little girl!" He broke out in a grin as realization struck him. He would be having a little princess!

"Yeah," Kate smiled as Will wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. "A little girl."

Will leaned down and kissed Kate in a completely different way than their last kiss. This kiss said more than any words could. As they pulled back, Will kissed Kate's forehead sweetly.

"I want to name her Diana," Kate said bluntly, her eyes hopeful. Will's mouth opened as he grinned even wider than before. A warm feeling spread through his chest, a familiar feeling. The feeling brought him back all the way to when he first met Kate. The same fuzzy feeling had come to him that night, except it was a foreign feeling back then. After ten years though, Will had felt that warm feeling spread across his heart every single time he fell in love with Kate a little bit more. It was happening again. The way she looked at him, the news she delivered…and Will fell in complete, hopeless love more with Kate. He smiled as he kissed her excitedly. As they parted, he muttered against her lips, a smile on his face.

"It's perfect."