After the Wedding, at the reception

Kate sat down next to Will. She carried a plate, nearly empty, except for some apple pie and a banana. "Aren't you eating?" she asked, looking at the gap between the row of plates where Will was sitting. "No," he said quietly, "I don't feel that well."

"Probably just adrenaline," she replied, and Will looked up, smiling.

"Yeah. I love you, you know that?"

"Of course. Oh, God. Andrew's about to make a speech."

Will turned grey. "He said he'd arrive drunk, to 'stir things up'."

Andrew tapped his glass loudly. "Good afternoon, ladiesh and gentle...gentlemen," he slurred, "It'sh a pleasure...a pleasure to shee theshe two," he motioned vaguely in Kate and Will's direction, "Theshe two married. And I have been reliably informed," he winked slowly, "That Catherine ish very good in-"

"Thank you Andrew!" cut in Philip, standing up to clap.

The Queen stood up and walked over to where Kate was sitting. "Well done, dear. You did very well. Much better than I did with Philip. At least mine wasn't broadcast! Now, I think it's just about time to go onto the balcony. You two can go first." The Queen nodded to a butler standing by the doors. They opened onto a screaming crowd, and immediately, William was by her side. "Stay calm," he murmured into her ear.

After the balcony appearance, Kate was happy to be driven back to Clarence House. All the way, Will held her hand. "I love you, you know that?" he whispered, and kissed her tenderly.

The car stopped abruptly. "There you are, sir," said the driver. They thanked him and exited the car. Outside the House was the usual crowd of guards, but Charles was also there, waiting patiently with a box under his arm. When he saw them, he stood to attention. "Your Royal Highnesses," he half-joked, and held the box out. It was blue with pastel pink ribbon and was stamped with a monogram Kate didn't recognise. She glanced to William, and she was surprised to see him look at it strangely. "This is for you, Catherine," said Charles.

She took the box and tenderly opened it. It was a necklace, of pearls and a small pendant of ruby. It was beautiful. She glanced again to Will. His eyes were now filled with tears and he was quivering. "It's..." he began.

"I gave it to your mother, William. On our wedding day."

Kate just looked at it. Was she to keep it? Would Will let her wear it? "Charles, sir," she choked, "Thank you, but...William? Should...can I..."

Will blinked the tears away. "My mother would have loved you, Kate," he said quietly, "Please take it. Wear it to dinner. I want mama to be here," he gestured to Kate's heart, "As well as here," he pointed to his own.

Kate suddenly remembered the day Diana died. The newsreaders' faces. The tone of the reports. How Mother Teresa was nobody, for that day. She remembered Diana's funeral, watching from the common room in her college. Will's face. That was what stuck in her mind. The look of sheer loss, harrowing loss, a look on his face that would be horrific to see on a grown man's face, but completely heartbreaking on a teenagers'. She remembered the picture of Will's shaking back as they passed under Horseguard's Arch, and he gave way to tears. "Will, are you sure?"

Will just smiled sadly, took it from the box, and gently pulled it around her neck, clasping it effortlessly. "Mama would have loved you," he repeated.

Will placed his hand on the small of Kate's back. She felt odd, still in her wedding dress, and was glad of his steadying touch. It was very lucky, however, that she stayed standing when Harry burst out of a room, yelling "Many happy returns of the day!"

"Harry!" laughed Will.

"Hey, Wombat! And, of course, Mrs William Arthur Philip Louis," he bowed melodramatically, "I've got a surprise to show you!"

Will's face fell. "Oh, sorry, Gingerman. I was...well, you know. Planning on taking Kate back to my room," he winked at Kate.

Harry frowned. "No, Kate's got to keep her dress on. And her hair like that. I've got a surprise, you see."

Will looked apologetically at Kate. "Maybe after the party, huh?" he whispered, and Kate giggled inwardly.

"Well, actually..." Harry smiled slyly. "I guess it could wait. More of a surprise. I'll show it to you when you leave for the par-tay, organised by yours truly, DJ His-Royal-Highness. But don't take off the dress," he warned Kate, and, turning to Will he said, "And you, change into your RAF costume-"

"Uniform."

"Yeah, yeah. Cos you actually work there, yeah."

Will joined Kate on the bed. "How are you feeling?" asked Will.

"Happy. Just happy. Nothing could make me sad."

There was a very happy silence. Then, "Will, if you don't mind...could you tell me what happened when...when your...mother..." she trailed off. Will sighed.

"OK. OK. Well, I'll start from the beginning. Well, by '97, dad and mama were divorced. I'd spend my weeks at Clarence House and my weekends with mama wherever she was staying. Dad gave her a house when they divorced, which mama was very happy about. But that Sunday, mama was away in Paris, and Harry and I went up to Balmoral with dad. We were really excited because we were going to follow his hunt. We'd been fishing that day, and we went to bed, knowing that mama would be home soon. The next morning, Harry came into my room, really early. He sat down and said, 'Wombat, tell me a story and tell me mama will be OK,' because apparently he had a sense or something that something had happened. So he climbed in next to me, and I told him a story. We were getting to the bit when King William and Harry, Duke of Everywhere were about to save the world with their constitutional powers, when dad came in and sat on the end of the bed. Harry started to cry, because dad looked like a ghost. He said 'Boys...just...it's...it's going to be...OK.' 'Why wouldn't it be?' I asked him. He took a deep breath and said, 'Your mother's car crashed. She...died. In hospital.' And we didn't say anything. Harry stopped crying, and I just...didn't breath. It was horrific. After dad left, all I could do was hug Harry. He was limp in my arms, and in my brain, something...clicked. Harry was now my responsibility, I held him like mama did, and sung him the same songs that mama did," Will stopped. Kate was crying.

"Oh, Will," she said, "Oh, God,".

"Right, I better get my uniform on," but he didn't move. He just cried.