A/N: I've been thinking about the conversations that I imagine happened after the press conference was over! Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts and reviews, I'm really grateful for your time!
"In my experience, these things have a way of working themselves out," Jasper says, looking over his shoulder towards the King he'd just said he was honored to have taken a bullet for.
On the opposite side of the makeshift hospital press platform, James Hill bites the inside of his lip to keep from smiling and thinks, 'Point, Princess and Bodyguard!'
"I think that's enough questions for now." Robert steps forward and takes the microphone. "Mr. Frost still needs his rest." The King appears entirely unruffled by the scrum of reporters below, who continue calling up questions.
Jasper waves off the wheel chair and walks, very slowly, back inside, two steps behind Robert, just the way protocol dictates. Only a very few people in the know recognize that Jasper has just torn up the existing protocols and is making things up as he goes.
Eleanor meets them inside the hospital corridor. She's beaming and bouncing on her toes. "That was brilliant!" She squeals, kissing her brother on the cheek. She flashes a smile at Jasper, and another to James. She's cognizant of the medical people milling around them, and she's trying to maintain some kind of royal decorum because she knows it's important to Robert, but James thinks she might just float right up off the ground. He clears his throat in an effort to be simultaneously supportive and cautionary. He is confident that 'brilliant' is the last word King Robert is thinking right now.
Robert looks at this sister, and then back at his security team. "That," he waves his hand towards the door, "that was not at all what we'd discussed." He turns to his sister, "Mum said she'd spoken to you…to both of you… this morning."
"She did." Jasper says. His face is grey, and he's holding onto a handrail on the wall for balance, but he meets Robert's eye all the same.
"She did," Eleanor confirms. "But this was a much, much, better solution." Her tone is cooling by the second, and she adopts what Sarah Alice has been known to call her 'princess voice.' She makes sure that the 'princess voice' carries to every doctor, nurse and lab tech still within ear. "Robert, I need to speak to you a moment." She looks at James, "Mr. Hill, Dr. Walsh is not pleased at all that his patient was taking press questions this morning. Can you look after Mr. Frost for us? We will just be down the hall. Try to make him eat something."
"Of course, Princess." James and Jasper share a look, and Jasper, very reluctantly turns into his room.
Jasper is grateful to sit down on the edge of the bed. He's loaded up on pain-killers, but his whole body still hurts like hell. James shuts the door behind them.
"I'm sorry." Jasper says quickly, before James can start.
"Sorry for what?" James asks.
Jasper laughs, weakly, and moves to talk before James cuts him off.
"Sorry for what?" He asks again. "How far back are we going?" He's conversational, "You're sorry for taking the King into South London, even though I specifically said not to? Sorry for getting shot and scaring the life out of everyone? Or sorry for calling an audible out there and not sticking with that ridiculous CIA story?"
Jasper blinks. "Well, not that last one. But yeah, the rest was maybe, kinda dumb."
"I wouldn't call it smart," James agrees, reaching into a cupboard for a cup. "Boone's convinced King Robert set the whole thing up," he continues, setting some crackers on the counter. "Has a whole theory actually. He beat me to the hospital by a good 15 minutes."
"Yeah," Jasper gingerly moves into bed. "We thought something was weird. He was in the crowd…. It's not like I didn't think you had good reason to say no to South London."
"You just didn't have a good reason to let me in on it."
"No!" Jasper contradicts, sitting back up and making James wince a little. "I just didn't want you to have to lie about it!"
"What?" James asks.
"Come on," Jasper says, working to support his weight on his hands and sit up straighter. "Robert was going to ask you, eventually… if something happened. If you get caught in a lie, you get fired. You can't lie about something if you don't know anything about it." Jasper takes a deep breath and wonders how long the stupid British pain pills are supposed to work. "If you're not at the Palace, then who's there to watch after Eleanor… or Liam…or hell, even Helena, she obviously can't do it on her own. And… Sarah Alice, what happens to her if you can't work anywhere?" Whatever medicine they'd given him to get through the press conference has plainly worn off, because literally everything hurts.
James can see that Jasper has reached the end of his tether. He exhales very slowly. "Later," he says carefully, "when you are out of here, and things are … calmer… we are going to work on your trust issues." James hits the button on his earpiece and talks into it, "Find Walsh. And a nurse. Right now." James puts his hands on Jasper's shoulders and pushes him gently, back into the bed. He shakes his head, and silently curses a man in Nevada who he hopes to never lay eyes on. "You have people who will actually help you. You do not have to do everything all by yourself… or with Brandon Boone."
Dr. Walsh slams the door open, with a small cadre of residents and nurses who look edgy. Walsh curses audibly and starts issuing curt instructions to his underlings.
"I'm fine…" Jasper mumbles from his pillow.
"Like Hell!" James says, half a second before Walsh says, "Bullshit!" The Doctor and the erstwhile member of Scotland Yard share a look before the former gets to work. IV lines are reconnected, orders are followed and medicine is administered.
Dr. Walsh turns to James. "He needs more rest if you're serious about taking him out of here."
"I know he does," James concedes. "I think we're done with public spectacle for the day."
"You should talk to Boone," Walsh adds. "And the Princess… they are making homecoming plans."
"Boone is a lunatic." James says.
"He's had a rough go…" Walsh is immediately defensive. It's one thing if he speaks against Boone, it's a whole different story if someone else does.
James recognizes the loyalty. "He has." He says, "and we owe him more than he probably knows"… which doesn't mean he's not insane, James thinks.
Walsh backs off. "He's smarter than you'd think, Boone… I'll talk to him too, but honestly, you all are going to be here for a while. Just look at him." He turns to Jasper, who is fighting drug induced sleep behind them. "He cannot heal like this."
"We can't keep him safe here, " James is concerned.
Walsh shakes his head. "We can… you have people you trust, my team is good, Boone is lurking around…. We need another 24, maybe 48 hours. We can do another two days."
"I'm fine," Jasper says again from his perch in the pillows. His eyes are lidded, he's losing the fight against the medicine in his bloodstream.
James re-evaluates, sharing an exasperated look with the doctor and wondering how, exactly he is going to pull this off. "You'll do," he says to Jasper, watching him give into sleep. "We'll make it work."
Robert has an air about him of long suffering patience. "We had an agreement Lenny, what is wrong with being a CIA oppertaive?"
"Nothing's wrong with it, except that he's not one, so it's one more thing we'd have to lie about. Now the whole world knows Jasper's past, we don't have to hide anything."
"Eleanor," Robert looks at her sideways, "Jasper Frost is no more an appropriate match for you as an admitted conman than he was as a secret one."
"Appropriate? He saved your life, he's perfectly appropriate."
"He is not."
Eleanor tosses her head, she is not having this conversation. Instead she says, "Order of the Garter."
Robert raises one eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?"
Eleanor sighs in exasperation. "Order of the Garter, Robbie… For Jasper! You are going to appoint him, today, and Liam, as he hasn't been added yet."
"That's the most prestigious order of chivalry we have Lenny…. We don't go tossing those appointments out like chocolate buttons," Robert laughs.
"Jasper saved your life, Robbie!" Eleanor's tone is icy. "And, much as it apparently pisses you off, Liam moved heaven and earth to avenge your death… you know, before… when we thought you were actually dead…."
"Yes, and….that's Jasper's actual job… and Liam's for that matter. The Order of the Garter is not a participation trophy!"
Eleanor glares at her oldest brother. "You don't actually believe that!"
Robert glares right back, because he does, apparently, believe just that.
"You are going to do this," Eleanor says.
"And why would I do this?" Robert's tone is just short of taunting.
Eleanor goes for conciliatory. "Because I am your sister, and I'm asking you to… for me, if you won't do it for them."
Robert shakes his head, smiling, "Ask me something else."
Eleanor is finished playing. "I don't want anything else." She shakes her head in annoyance, "I'm asking you to appoint Jasper and Liam to the Order of the Garter. Today. Right now…. And if you don't, I promise, the press, and soon the rest of the country, will be asking why you haven't, probably before breakfast tomorrow."
"And why is that?" Robert seems genuinely curious.
"Because, dear brother, right now, Jasper Frost is the biggest hero this country has seen since you came back from the dead. And… he's a mystery. Your people have known you since the moment you were born…They met Jasper a quarter of an hour ago… Your people have a lot of questions…. And if the Royal family can't answer those questions, they will get answers somewhere else."
"That sounds a little bit like a threat, Lenny."
Eleanor crosses her arms, and faces Robert head on. "Do you know how many people know about the hollowed out book in the Library?" She asks.
Robert is wary, "Which book?"
"In the family Library… there is a hollowed out book, and there are four people on this planet who know about it." Robert takes half a step back as Eleanor keeps talking. She is counting on her fingers, "Dutchy knows, and she told you and me, that's three, and I told Jasper…. So a total of four… And at Christmas, I wrote Jasper a letter, and I put it inside of the book" She pauses, and looks appraisingly at her brother, and her King…. "But here's the thing… Jasper never saw that letter, and Dutchy wasn't at the Palace over Christmas, which begs the question….. " Eleanor cocks one eyebrow, "Did you burn the letter before or after you read it?"
If Robert is surprised, he gives nothing away. "You've had a terrible few days, Lenny. You're upset."
She laughs and shakes her head. "You have no idea." She takes another step backward. "You are going to write a proclamation, appointing Jasper and Liam to the Order of the Garter. Today… Tomorrow morning, when Parliament opens, your buddy Beck is going to read it into the record. It will be the first order of business. We can work out investiture details later. "
Robert looks at his sister like he hasn't seen her before. "And if I decide not to write any such proclamation?"
"Do you know Harper Day?" Eleanor asks. "She was down in the gallery earlier… she and Jasper have met," Eleanor raises one eyebrow, "at Christmastime, I think…. She's been super sweet about publicity for the Hoteleanor Project, I'd love to pay her back with a Jasper Frost exclusive."
"Lenny," Robert starts… "Dad would have…."
Eleanor cuts him off. "I talked to Dad… and I've talked to Mum, and Liam is all in on Jasper. I am choosing love, Robbie. And I really hope you can support that, since love literally took a bullet for you this week, but either way… it is what it is…. I forgive you for the letter, Jasper will too… write the Proclamation, make him a Knight, and let's move forward…. We are a family… we can do this."
Robert is staring at her, slightly gobsmacked. Eleanor relaxes her shoulders. She has a plan forward, regardless of what her brother decides. She doesn't want to talk about it anymore. She walks towards Robert, and kisses him lightly on the cheek. "Let me know what you decide," she says.
Without a backward glance, Eleanor walks out of the conference room they've adopted as their own, and heads back down the hospital corridor. She nods to Rosie, and to a nurse in the hallway, before she turns and walks into Jasper's room.
Robert watches, frowning, as his sister walks down the corridor. He takes his phone out of his pocket, wanting to look busy, and he calculates his next step.