By the time I got home, my grandmother was waiting for me in the lobby, looking anxious. She paced up and down the marble hallway by the time I approached her. She looked up at me, her face pale. I smiled sadly at her and she embraced me into a hug, hugging me tightly.

"I was getting worried," my grandmother whispered once we let go. "Andrei told me where you were going, and I couldn't stop worrying about you all night."

I sighed shakily.

"He'll be alright, we think. He should be out for a while. But he'll wake up eventually."

Grandmother smiled.

"That's great news, dear. I'm sure that you're tired. Why don't you go ahead upstairs and get some rest?"

I was reluctant, but I knew that my grandmother would want me to get some sleep. So I smiled and nodded, pretending to agree with her. But I knew that my mind would not rest until I knew that Geoffrey would survive the deadly attack.

When I got to my room, I immediately changed into my pajamas, closed the large, embroidered curtains, turned off the lamp, and got cozy underneath the blankets in my bed. But after thirty minutes of trying to sleep, I knew that there was no way that I would be able to get to sleep. Then, I remembered what Princess Marina had told me about the news.

I knew that I must immediately check out. I grabbed the remote that sat on my bedside table and turned on the T.V. At once, the headline caught my eyes: French Dauphine, Vivienne Anjou, Caught Escaping the Tower of London.

I completely sat up, sitting criss-crossed in bed, my attention completely on the screen, wondering what the news reporters had to say. And why it was such a big deal.

"Late last Saturday night, witnesses ran from the Tower of London as a bomb began to explode on the Tower of London steps, near a black Mustang car. It is confirmed that the main target of the attack was the Seventh Crown Prince of England, Geoffrey Windsor, by both paramedics, doctors, and witnesses. The person behind the attack is none other than French Dauphine, Vivienne Anjou. She admitted to the officers while they were questioning her in prison this morning, that she did it out of jealousy, as she's told them that she and the Seventh Crown Prince had dated before he decided to break it off with her for someone else —"

I turned off the T.V. I didn't want to hear any more of it. I've had the sneaking suspicion that it had been somebody that I knew but didn't like. But trying to hurt Geoffrey just to get revenge on me was just the most childish thing someone could do! She should have known better than that!

Drowsiness began to come over me. I laid back down, sighing deeply. The anger still raged in my chest, giving me a heartburn that couldn't be helped. With the tightness still settling in my chest, I managed to drift off into an uncomfortable sleep.

The days dragged by. Life was slow without Geoffrey at my side. He was still unconscious, making life lonelier than ever. At least I had George, Charlotte, and Louis to hang out with. They were happy, at times. But when they came in to visit their unconscious cousin, they were sad and forlorn. Charlotte sat on my lap most of the time, staring at her nearly-lifeless uncle. The only thing that did give us hope, however, was the steady beeping on the heart monitor, that signalled that Geoffrey still had some sort of sense of life in his body.

I refused to leave Geoffrey's side, no matter how many times the royal British family insisted that I should rest.

"At least try and go and take a shower," Princess Kate insisted as I refused to leave his side. My hand gripped his tightly. "It's been days!"

I made a face. I was trying to not get upset or angry. But with Geoffrey unconscious, it was easy for someone to get snappy. But it was no one's fault. We were just worried sick for Geoffrey to make it out of the coma alive.

Disgusting!

I knew that she was right. But, I did not want to leave Geoffrey's side. So I either had to do my hair in the sink, or didn't bother washing it. And to wash my body, I gave myself a spit bath. It wasn't much, but at least I didn't have to stink the entire time. My shoulders tensed. If Geoffrey woke up while I showered, I would be furious that I wasn't at his side when he woke up.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" I said, my voice angry but nearly above a whisper. "Princess Kate, I'm trying to not get upset with you! I just want to be there when Geoffrey wakes up! If I'm not with him when he starts moving, I am going to be mad at myself for not being at his side!"

Princess Kate went silent as she stared at her unconscious nephew with tears in his eyes. His chest still rose and fell softly, as if he was asleep. But we knew better. The heart monitor that was beeping nearby did give us some sense of comfort. But not by much. Any day now, that heart monitor could be slowing down until it stopped. And Geoffrey would be dead.

"I know you're not mad at me, Stacey," she finally answered, her voice nearly a whisper. "You're not mad at anyone in this family. Only the ex-girlfriend of Geoffrey that tried to kill him while he was mourning his grandmother's death and coming home from that funeral! And I know you don't mean to get snappy at anyone. But don't you want a proper bath at some point? It doesn't look like he's waking up any time soon, Stace."

As much as her last words stabbed me in the heart, I knew that she was right. Geoffrey did not look like he would wake up anytime soon. And it was heartbreaking. I glanced up at Princess Kate, who gave me a pleading look with her eyes, and I finally gave in.

"Okay. I'll take a quick shower, though."

I got to my feet, grabbed some fresh clothes, and made my way to the bathroom to take a shower. I stripped down and immediately stepped into the shower, turning the faucet to halfway hot and cold. I sighed with relief when I felt that water running down my hair and body. I quickly washed my hair and face before changing into pajamas again. Outside in the hospital room, I washed my face with my face care and immediately slumped back down into the chair that I had occupied since I first arrived at the Royal London Hospital.

At around dinner time, the rest of the royal family would leave, as they'd always done for the past several days. And I'd always stay with Geoffrey during the night in case he woke up and needed anything.

For the next few days, I found myself resting my head next to his shoulder, holding his hand in my own, speaking softly to him. And ccasionally singing to him, even though I knew that my voice was not the greatest, especially when I was about to break down in tears. It wasn't until a few days later that I had refused to leave his side, did I finally see his fingers beginning to move.

Then two fingers.

Then, three.

And so on.

I gasped and sat up, putting all of my attention on Geoffrey. Slowly, he began to move his legs, and then the rest of his body. Finally, his eyes slowly opened before he winced in pain, moaning softly in a raspy voice. His eyes blinked open again before he could squint more properly.

I got a bit closer to his face and reached my hand out to caress his cheek. He nuzzled into my hand, smiling slightly. I continued to hold my other hand in mine. He winced and groaned again.

"Hey, love," I whispered softly, to not startle him. Loud noises would probably affect him, if we weren't careful. He moaned in response, still staring at me with bleary eyes. "Do you need anything?"

He was silent for a moment before wincing again.

"Pain relief medicine," he finally answered in a raspy voice.

I nodded hastily before pressing the 'call' button on the monitor.

"Yes?" a voice answered after a moment of silence.

"Hi, this is Anastasia Romanova II, from Geoffrey's room, Room 110," I answered, still trying to keep my voice soft, but not too soft. "The patient, Geoffrey Windsor, has finally woken up from his coma, but he's really hurting. Is there any pain relief medicine around for him?"

"Of course. A nurse should be with you shortly," the nurse answered gently.

"Okay. Thank you so much."

The red light turned off, signalling that the nurse had left the conversation. Geoffrey moaned again, telling me that he was in pain from his injuries. I knelt at his bedside, concern glazing over my eyes as I examined him. His breathing became heavier, and his grip around my hand tightened. I noticed a thin sheen of sweat beginning to coat his face. With a shaking hand, I gently brushed some of the hair that fell from his face away from his forehead.

Finally, there was a light knock on the door. I glanced over and saw the nurse entering. She carried a bag of I.V. fluids that contained the medicine that he needed. I watched as the nurse took off the empty bag of fluids with the new medicine. At once, the liquid flowed from the bag to the I.V. A few moments later, Geoffrey sighed and began to relax. I smiled with relief, now that I saw that he was no longer in any pain. I bent down and kissed his forehead lightly. I turned to face the nurse, who was now starting to tidy up the room a bit.

"Thank you, nurse," I said with relief flowing in my voice.

She turned and faced me, smiling slightly.

"You're welcome, Miss. And my name is Dr. Cecilia James. Please let me know if he needs anything."

I nodded.

"I will. Thank you again, Dr. James."

She smiled and nodded respectfully before closing the door softly behind her, leaving us in silence again. The only sounds that could be heard was the heart monitor that beeped steadily, and Geoffrey's soft, slow, gentle breathing.

Since he'd been holding my hand the entire time, I could not let go, as his grip was still a bit tight. I smiled to myself, knowing that Geoffrey would not want me to leave. I looked down and saw that there was a bit of room left on the hospital cot. I managed to squeeze my way in and did not wake up Geoffrey, as he was under a heavy sedation of painkillers.

I pulled my phone out, putting it on low light, before texting the royal adults, letting them know that Geoffrey had woken up, but had gone back to sleep due to the extreme pain he was feeling. They sounded thrilled, to say the least. I put my phone down after reading most of the messages the royal family had sent me in return, and turned to face Geoffrey, cuddling into his side. This was the most relief that I'd felt since I heard about his attack.

A few days later, after being carefully monitored by the nurses to make sure that there weren't any more problems, and eating properly without any refluxes, he was allowed to return home. Grandmother allowed me to stay with the Windsors until his next appointment.

But I knew the real reason for me and the rest of the Windsors was to protect him. And to get him things if he needed anything in the middle of the night. I always stayed in Geoffrey's bedroom, next to him. He barely woke up — unless it came to night terrors. And boy, were they bad.

Tonight was like every other night. Geoffrey had gone to bed early, due to the lack of sleep he'd been getting. But I stayed awake, reading or browsing around on my phone, listening to music through my Apple AirPods. I'd occasionally glance up at Geoffrey, watching him sleep.

As creepy as it sounded.

But at the same time, it relieved me, knowing that I could see his chest and shoulders rising and falling. I didn't need the use of a monitor, although that was useful for me and everyone else that did watch over him during those long, painful weeks.

Finally, I put my phone away, and gently pulled Geoffrey closer to me, letting him be the little spoon. His light, little snores were cute, making me smile. I found myself putting my hand under his shirt, tracing gentle, random patterns on his stomach. Slowly, Geoffrey's light snores lulled me to sleep.

Unfortunately, my dreaming did not last. A scream in the middle of the night jolted me awake, and I sat up right away. I rubbed my eyes, feeling bitter that someone had disturbed me from my sleep. But when I glanced over at Geoffrey and saw his body writhing his arms thrashing about (almost smacking me in the face at one point), I immediately felt bad for feeling annoyed for something that couldn't be helped.

In an instant, I immediately straddled him, frantically trying to pin his flailing arms to the bed to keep him from moving. Actual tears began to stream down his cheeks, and I found myself doing my best to comfort him.

"Shhh," I whispered softly.

He still tossed and turned, but his arms no longer flailed in the air. Nor did they try to slap me across the face. I put both of my hands on his cheeks, wiping a stray tear that slid down his face.

"Geoffrey. Geoffrey!" I tried. I spoke calmly before speaking a bit more firmly without trying to startle him.

Finally, after several intense minutes of trying to wake him up, he finally jolted awake, panting heavily, as though he'd just run a marathon. Sweat thinly coated his face, but a large stain of sweat drenched his nightshirt and made his hair all damp. But once his eyes settled down on mine, he relaxed, but quickly winced in pain, whimpering slightly from the pain in his body.

"Nightmare?" I asked softly, running my fingers through his sweat-drenched hair.

He whimpered, nodding his head, closing his eyes again. He breathed heavily, chest stuttering slightly. I stayed by his side, still holding his hand and running my fingers through his sweat-drenched hair.

He finally opened his eyes again, staring blearily and hopefully at me. A slight smile quirked up his lips, a dreamy expression on his face. And I wondered what he wanted.

"Can you please sing for me?" he asked raspily, tugging on my hand.

"S-Sing?!" I squeaked, unsure of how I felt about singing to anyone.

"C'mon! I've heard you singing while I was unconscious, Stace. Believe me. I might have been unconscious, but I could still hear my surroundings, even though I might not have been able to respond verbally. And Princess Kate has told me that you would sing Charlotte to sleep while I was still in the hospital and you were the one who calmed her down while she was crying. You would sing to her outside the room in the hallway, wouldn't you?"

I went quiet, trying to ignore the blush that crept up my cheeks. I kept my gaze to the ground, embarrassed that Geoffrey had heard so much about how I'd helped the royal children to recover from the trauma of their uncle nearly being killed.

"I — I guess so," I whispered, immediately regretting speaking.

"So, please?" Geoffrey insisted, gripping my hand more tightly. He gave me his infamous puppy eyes that would always make me smile. And in the end, I knew that I had to give up. I didn't want to argue with Geoffrey, and it was too late at night to argue, anyways.

I sighed.

"I guess," I reluctantly agreed.

It took me a moment to find the right song to sing to him. Finally, I opened my mouth and began to sing Just Like the River Does in a quiet voice, in order to keep him calm and to not startle him. A few moments later, he was fast asleep.

I smiled softly at him once I realized that he was fast asleep once again. I tried to leave, but his grip around my hand would not let go. So I shrugged and went back to crawl in the bed, my body right next to his. 

 I began to drift off to sleep until the bedroom door creaked open. I sat up slightly, thinking that it was someone coming in to hurt Geoff just as Vivienne had done. But I relaxed when I saw Charlotte creeping into the room.

She tiptoed over towards my side of the bed. She was exactly the same height as the bed. She folded her arms on the mattress, staring at her beloved uncle with a peaceful look in her eyes. I knew that she was happy to not worry about him too much.

I reached my hand over and gently brushed my fingers through her hair. She smiled and leaned into my touch, staring at me with slightly tired-filled eyes.

"Is Uncle Geoff going to be okay?" she finally whispered, her eyes still on her uncle.

I glanced back over at Geoffrey, who still slept soundly. Light snores still continued to come out of his mouth. I tried hard to not giggle, as I thought that Geoffrey's light, gentle snores were adorable.

"Yeah. I think he's going to be okay," I whispered back. "It's Geoffrey. He's a strong young man, Charlotte. Stronger than you probably would ever know."

She continued to stare at her sleeping uncle with a slight smile on her face before turning to face me.

"Can I please stay by your side tonight? I know that Uncle Geoff is recovering well. But after that incident, I still worry about his health, Stacey."

I smiled knowingly at her. Even though it's been a few weeks since Geoffrey had returned to Windsor, we were still cautious of his health. He couldn't do anything strenuous yet, knowing that he could very well pass out if too much weight stressed him out.

"You may, Charlie," I answered.

I patted the bed softly, signalling that she was allowed to climb into the bed. She struggled to get onto the bed for a couple of seconds before finally managing to scramble onto the mattress.

Once she did, she collapsed. She panted slightly but smiled up at me. Once she had settled down and her breathing was no longer harsh, she wiggled her way towards me, finally collapsing at my side. She had her head resting gently on my free shoulder, snuggling into my body.

I couldn't help but smile.

Charlotte was just too pure, sweet, and innocent. Almost like a flower — unless you make her upset and angry. Then you do not want to mess with her. Because she can have quite the attitude.

We laid there in silence. Finally —

"Good night, Stacey," Charlotte murmured softly.

I glanced down at her to see that her body was nearly limp, except for the occasional movement of her fingers. Her eyes were more than halfway closed. She was probably exhausted from the stress and worry about her uncle.

I managed to give the top of her head a kiss.

"Good night, Charlie," I answered.

I managed to lay awake for a little bit. All I could feel were the sheets on top and below me, and the gentle pressure of Geoffrey's and Charlotte's body weight. With those comforting things surrounding me, I managed to nod off to sleep, as well.