PART ONE

On the days Jasper works the morning shift, his alarm rings at five forty on the dot.

He likes to set it five minutes before he actually has to get up. It used to piss Eleanor off, because she doesn't do alarms, thank you, she has the luxury of people waiting on her if she is late. But Jasper likes the early quietness, and she got so used to it she started sleeping through it most days anyway. (She sometimes wakes up with him to kiss him good morning, then turns her back to him and goes back to slumber.)

The barely-rising sun can't be seen through the windows but the light starts warming up the room. Even on regular mornings, he almost always wakes up before Eleanor does so he just lays in bed, enjoys its warmth, mentally prepare himself for the day ahead, maybe watches her sleep a little, before he gets up and dressed, kisses her forehead and gets to work.

He would have never suspected bodyguards had shifts, he simply thought they followed their boss around from dawn to dusk, but the palace is very strict about time and rest, especially when it comes to security. Tired bodyguards are next to useless, and Jasper is more than willing to admit that even he is useless once his body starts shutting down, no matter how bad he wants to keep the royal family safe.

(As a matter of fact, he was tired the day he got shot. His eyes felt heavier than usual, his mood was off, he wasn't getting enough rest because Robert required him to be on the move with him 24/7. Jasper wonders how the asshole himself was not driven to exhaustion.)

Morning shifts are usually the quietest, unless Robert has to make an appearance on the countryside to reaffirm his close-to-the-people politics, but since he and Willow have gone on honeymoon halfway around the world, that is all of James Hill's problem and none of Jasper's right now. Not that he doesn't wish he too was getting lost in India's small towns with no worries on his mind but his wife's happiness, though. As hard as he pretends to be fine on the job, lying to the doctors was not an option when they asked how he was truly feeling, and if he was healing, which was taking more time than he would have liked. No sudden moves, don't forget to stretch, take it slow.

People trying to harm royals don't take it slow, doctor.

So he is stuck with morning shifts in a quiet palace. Robert and Willow are on honeymoon, Liam has gone to spend some time away from London with Kathryn (it's basically a honeymoon, Jasper figures), and no royal is ever up before at least seven.

He checks up with the lord chamberlain at two past six. The queen has a brunch at eleven. Eleanor has nothing planned.

He sits in James Hill's chair in his office and takes a sip of a hot coffee as he starts going through the night's security cameras' footage. The pile of paperworks Hill left him on the side of the desk tells him it's going to be a long day.

"Hi Jasper," the high-pitched voice chants at exactly thirty four past eight.

"Sarah Alice," Jasper, quite surprised, acknowledges her. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," she states, shrugging but obviously understanding Jasper had forgotten that.

Which, she is right, he had, for a moment. With Hill gone he hadn't questioned where his daughter would be ; the thought had not even crossed his mind.

"Sarah Alice?" calls a woman's voice down the hall, as footsteps match the hurried-up tone. "There you are, honey."

Right, Marianne. Thirty seven, twenty years working with children, ten of those in London's top ten schools. Three kids of her own, Louis, Judith, Henry. Divorced. Best palace's staff's kids nanny. (Back when he just started working at the palace, Pryce had him run background checks on all twenty candidates to babysit the staff's children. Ophelia came home as Pryce explained the thorough process. She had mentioned to Jasper to make sure they weren't ice-cold bitches, for what her father had scolded her, but she had proclaimed she was speaking from experience.)

"Can I stay with Jasper, Miss Marianne? He is my boyfriend."

"Mr Frost is working, and you need to eat breakfast before you start your day," calmly explains Marianne to a frowning Sarah Alice.

"Yeah, I'm busy for now, but I'm sure Eleanor would love to see you. She's in her room," Jasper suggests.

"Can I go see Princess Eleanor after breakfast?" Sarah Alice turns to Marianne again, who, knowing full well Jasper is not only in charge of security for the whole palace but also Eleanor's boyfriend, gives in without a fight.

"Sure, but for now, breakfast it is for you, young lady," she reiterates as she motions to Sarah Alice to get in the elevator leading out of the office.

"Bye Jasper!" The little girl joyfully chants again as she waves to him.

He waves back and notices Marianne's fond smile as she watches Sarah Alice, so he guesses she isn't the ice-cold bitch type Ophelia warned him about.

The sun is well up when Eleanor wakes up, alone. It must be a nice day out, she figures, since she can feel the morning sun hit her uncovered legs. She stretches and lets out a long sigh. She could definitely go back to sleep for a short while, but her sixth sense tells her someone is watching.

No one is watching, but she isn't alone indeed. Eleanor has a flashback from a year ago, when the same scene happened to her; waking up to Sarah Alice staring at her.

But Sarah Alice doesn't ask her if she is a princess, this time. She is not even staring, actually, she is simply sat on the couch, roaming her small hands through the papers from Eleanor's charity, a pen in her hand and oh no no no did sh- she didn't draw on them, did she?

Her eyes catch a butterfly in the corner of whatever file there is to complete and yeah, that's probably what Sarah Alice pictures Jasper the caterpillar turning into. (That joke doesn't seem to be going away.) Her innocence reminds her of her own, no matter how long ago it was lost. She remembers the days she would play with Liam for hours on end; time seemed to stop as they laughed but hours were going by and before they knew it they were back in bed.

She misses that innocence and decides Sarah Alice has every right to enjoy her own, so that little girl is going to spend a damn good day with her, she is ready for that.

"Morning," she manages to say as she sits, her voice still low from sleep.

"Good morning, princess!" Sarah Alice's voice pierces through the silence. "I drew me and Jasper, this is what we look like," she adds as she holds some charity paperwork with long, long streaks of pencil on them.

Actually, she'll be ready for a full day of fun with Sarah Alice after a large cup of coffee.

(So, she was right about the butterfly she spotted being Jasper. That joke is never going away.)

Did she just fall asleep again?

Eleanor figures she did, because the ground is nowhere near as comfortable as her bed, and Sarah Alice never screams to wake her- Hold on, why is Sarah Alice screaming? She is supposed to take care of that kid!

She suddenly sits up and the sun hurts her eyes; she can't see anything for a hot second, but she does keep hearing Sarah Alice's voice, which is not so screaming as much as it is laughing. She is okay then, Eleanor hasn't fucked up that bad. She can't imagine what would have happened if the little girl had been harmed or had disappeared.

Eleanor has always been the one being taken care of, being fourth in line for the throne of England and the youngest child in the family. (Liam was born exactly two minutes before she was, so by his rules, she is his to protect and care for.) She never had to, has barely ever wanted to, be the one person someone would depend on to take care of them instead, until Imogen and her drug addiction and violent boyfriend came along. At the moment she realized the poor girl relied on her, the weight of a life downed on her to crush her with unknown responsibility, because she had never done, had never saved a life, didn't know if she could do that but knew she had to. And so it clicked with her; that was what she was meant to do, that was what she wanted to do, not for the rewards or the image but selflessly, because it brought some good into the world and it could definitely use it. (It doesn't hurt that she knows for a fact that her father would have been proud of her.)

"Jasper you have to try!" Sarah Alice shouts out as she stops mid-course, breathless, a few steps away from Eleanor, whisking away her train of thoughts.

"I'm trying my best right now, I promise!" He answers as he finishes what Eleanor guesses to be a race; obviously not the first one if she knows Jasper's current cardio abilities, and she does very well. (Getting shot did take its toll on him.)

"Ahh," he deeply exhales as he finally slows down and stops. "Good morning, sleepy head," he teases Eleanor.

"What time is it?"

"A bit after five, I just got off."

"Are you ready to go again, Jasper?" Sarah Alice interrupts.

"I think our boyfriend needs some time off, honey."

"Yeah, definitely," Jasper confirms, still short-breathed. "But, go for another tour, we're watching. I'll give the start, okay? Fastest possible."

Sarah Alice readies herself.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

"You're a natural with her, you know that?" Eleanor notes as they watch her sprint around a mount of flowers.

"Yeah, well," Jasper breathes heavily as he smooths his jacket, "I've never had a thing for kids. Kids have always had a thing for me, though."

"That's your charm operating on them."

Jasper chuckles. After all, Sarah Alice does joke about him being her boyfriend.

"C'mon, join me," Eleanor makes some room on the cover she has spread on the ground.

"What have you been up to?"

"A little bird told Sarah Alice she should wake me up," Eleanor teases. "I was gonna spend the day with her anyway. Hill asked if we could spend some time with her while he's in India."

Royalty might have a hard time trusting bodyguards, but she trusts James Hill with her life.

Not that he would say it out loud, but he has been looking after the royal family like his own since the day he accepted the Queen's offer to become head of security. But Eleanor had been the first family member he was assigned to, so she is nothing short of a daughter, and since she had tragically lost her father the year before, the lack of a stable father figure didn't weigh as much when Hill was around.

And in return, James Hill trusts her with his daughter's life.

The night before he went to India to watch over the newly-weds, he had knocked on her door with a request Eleanor could have never refused.

"Would you spend some time with her, distract her while I am away? It'd help make time go faster for her, she doesn't do well with me being away."

Eleanor's response had taken his breath away for a second, she could tell even though he tried to hide it.

"Of course. It's what family does."

He had stayed still, sitting next to her in silence.

"Thank you very much," he had whispered before he excused himself and closed the door discreetly behind him.

"Must be hard for her to see him leave for such a long time," Jasper brings her back out of her memories.

"Mmh, I can't imagine what's going through her head right now. He said she had never been away from her for more than a couple of days at a time."

"Did Robert say anything about the time they'll be back?"

"Not that I know of, but these two need to be away from the palace for now, they need their time alone. I wouldn't expect them to be back before a couple of weeks."

Jasper sighs.

"You don't mind spending time with her, do you?"

"Not at all. Do you?"

"No. I took some time getting used to a four-year-old dating my boyfriend and running around that palace like she owns it, but it's been good for all of us I think."

"Some innocence she brings, yeah."

"She's got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Eleanor teases him.

"She might, yeah," Jasper quietly admits. "Just don't tell her I said that," he adds as the little girl runs back full force towards them and stops abruptly.

"I've beat you three times now Jasper, but I never beat my daddy. That's not normal."

"Ah, that's uh, that's embarrassing, please don't tell him."

Sarah Alice sleeps with her mouth open. It is both weirdly cute and slightly funny to Jasper and Eleanor watching her, as she rests in the princess' arms.

They thought she'd never tired herself out, but she was out like a light the minute she reached for Eleanor after complaining her shoes were hurting her feet. It had been her idea to go back to the garden after dinner, because she wanted to run some more around the fountains and get her hands wet to shake them at Jasper and Eleanor who, each time, pretended to not see or hear her coming and be surprised.

They're getting back to the palace at a lazy pace, enjoying the warm night and the first stars shining in the sky.

"I never would have thought kids were so exhausting," Eleanor admits. She had been around Sarah Alice for almost a year now, since James Hill became head of security, but being around a kid and taking care of one all day were very different things, it turns out.

"Who would have thought such a small body could have so much energy?"

"I didn't suspect it, for sure. I can't imagine how people do this all day, every day, and have several of them. They've got to be so tired," Eleanor keeps going. "She's a delight but God, does she run fast."

Jasper barely contains a laugh as he opens and holds the door to the palace for Eleanor.

"Do you think you should bring her back to Marianne and have her sleep at Hill's place?" Jasper asks, doubtful. "She probably shouldn't stay there alone."

"I don't know, but I'd feel better knowing she's with us. I can't imagine her waking up alone in there."

Jasper doesn't say anything but can't help but remember how it felt to wake up alone as a kid, and understand no one would kiss him good morning or fix him breakfast or remind him not to forget his school lunch.

"Hill definitely never said anything about her going to school right?" He suddenly asks, both worried he was losing his earring and feeling like kids were a whole lot of concerns he knew nothing about. "She's the age kids are supposed to go to school, right?"

Eleanor looks at him with upturned brows and seemingly having the same concerns he has.

"Holy shit, I, huh, I have no idea."

"Is she even supposed to go to school? Aren't kids on holidays right now or something? I don't even know what day it is tomorrow." Jasper keeps going, his speech speeding up.

"Woah woah calm down, I'm sure Hill would have said something if she was supposed to go to school. We'll call him tomorrow to check with him," Eleanor tries to calm him down, even though he can see she hadn't thought about Sarah Alice going to school either.

They make the worst babysitters, Jasper thinks as they walk back to their room.

"I'll get her one of my shirts to sleep in tonight," Eleanor suggests as they take the last turn in the long corridor. "I'll change her while you get the couch ready."

He nods as he opens the doors to their room. (Their room, he still can't believe it's their room.)

He has slept on the couch himself, numerous times, and while he would much rather sleep in their truly gigantic bed, he knows it is far from being uncomfortable. Eleanor keeps a spare cover on her bed, which he suspects being more comforting and less decorative; he gets that and arranges the couch so that Sarah Alice would feel safe. Her plushy is on the table and oh, right, that's another thing parents have to think about constantly.

He is so not used to taking care of a child, he notes as he sits on the edge of the bed and kicks his shoes off his feet.

Eleanor gets out of the bathroom a second later, her makeup off and holding a still asleep Sarah Alice wearing a shirt way too big for her. Her bed has been made, so she tucks the little girl into the covers, makes sure her plushy is near her. (Sarah Alice wraps her arms around it the second Eleanor puts it next to her.)

She gently puts a strand of hair out of the little girl's face as she smiles and finally, turns to Jasper looking at her fondly, but she can tell it's been a long day for him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tired," Jasper admits.

Eleanor walks over to him, but grabs the box of prescription care products the doctors gave Jasper on his nightstand before she sits next to him

"It wasn't your brightest idea to try to outrun a four-year-old on a sugar rush," Eleanor whispers as she carefully takes off every button of his dress shirt. "How's your wound feeling?" She asks as she opens his shirt, to reveal his bandage stained with blood.

"Tight, itchy. Not exactly comfortable."

Eleanor takes off the bandage in a swift motion as Jasper clenches his teeth. The bright red surgery scar has closed but blood has dried around it, so she cleans it gently with a cotton pad. She has done this dozens of times since Jasper got home, so much it has become a part of their night routine; get back to their room, shower, change bandage, get to bed. Maybe have sex. More often than not, actually.

Any other day, Eleanor would have changed his bandage, then sat on his lap to grab his hair to pull his head back and kiss his neck, or he would have laid her down the bed to climb on her and take off whatever she'd be wearing.

That's not the mood for tonight though.

"This one is almost empty," Eleanor notes as she presses scar special gel out of the tube, bringing Jasper back to the moment.

It's comforting to hear her talk about it, no matter how dark the cause had been. She is caring for him and he lets himself be cared for; they have come a long way since the days they'd have sex every once in a while and Eleanor got high on LSD or crack or whatever pill she could get her hands on.

She looks peaceful. Her skin glows, her cheeks slightly pink, her eyes focused on the task, her fingers gently applying gel the way she's learned from the nurses at the hospital. She's healthy, and beautiful, and peaceful, and he is so, so in love with her his heart could burst.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Jasper breaks the comfortable silence that has set in the room.

It certainly surprises Eleanor, who lifts her head up to stare at him, confused as to what he is talking about. Her hands stop dead in applying his new bandage.

"These last few weeks have been a lot about me with the gunshot and all that, but I want you to know that I see you've come a long way since Robert disappeared, and I'm proud of you."

Not expecting any of it, Eleanor gives out a shy turnup of her lips, because the subject is touchy but she knows she has left behind the shell of a messed up girl and grown into a confident woman.

She gets her legs over one of his, sitting closer to him, and leans into him to seal their lips in a chaste kiss, before she rests her forehead against his.

"Thank you," she whispers.

Jasper opens his eyes to his girlfriend smiling but trying to hold back tears. It's been a long, eventful year, he thinks, but they've made it out stronger than ever.

"Come on, let's get you to bed too," he tells her as he puts one of his arm under her legs, and another one behind her back to lift her up, which he probably shouldn't do considering his wound just closed and his bandage is clean, but can't help. He lifts her up swiftly, as if his wound didn't just start hurting again, and she doesn't have the time to protest before he lets her down on their bed and joins her, arranging the covers over them.

They have what Jasper considers an enormous bed, but after shutting the lights down, Eleanor comes back right where she first was besides him, her back to him. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her nape as she laces their fingers, and before they know it, sleep takes over them

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Small steps, not so quiet.

Jasper is fully awake.

A light weight comes to rest next to Jasper's arm. He figures Sarah Alice is awake, although the sun is barely up.

"Jasper?" The little girl's voice breaks the silence of the night as she shakes his arm with her empty hand.

He pretends all his senses weren't just on high alert and fake-wakes up, turning his head and opening an eye to stare at a very much awake Sarah Alice holding her plushy.

No danger, then.

"Hey, why are you awake so early?"

The little girl shrugs and pouts, looking at Jasper like he holds every answer to every problem she could have.

"Come here," Jasper whispers as he sits and motions to Sarah Alice to join him and Eleanor, who is still sleeping deeply next to him.

She climbs over him to rest in the small space in between them. She's lucky there is even space to begin with, because Eleanor likes to sleep as close as possible to him. (She used to sleep away from him, each of them on separate sides. That changed over the years; now she has trouble even falling asleep if he's not there.)

"What's on your mind?" he asks as his arm goes over the little girl's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Do you think my dad is okay?"

She breaks his heart with her tone and obvious anxiety. She is too young and innocent to be worried about people around her dying, but Jasper remembers she has gone through losing her parents once already, and he has put her through similar anxiety when he was in the hospital, so he takes the matter at heart.

"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because his job is dangerous. Your job is dangerous, you got hurt."

Obviously, that was going to come up.

"Yes, it is." He is not going to lie to her. "But these things happen very rarely, and your dad is very good at his job."

"Dad says you are very good at your job."

Ah fuck.

(On one hand, Jasper wonders how and when James could have said that to his daughter; on the other, he's desperate to make her shaky voice disappear and put her back to sleep for a few more hours.)

"I'll tell you what. How about we call your dad in the morning and make sure he is safe, okay?"

She seems to hesitate.

"It is very early, he's probably sleeping. So should you. I promise we'll call him first thing in the morning and you can tell him all about the day we had yesterday and he can tell you all about India." Jasper does his best to keep a light tone and his voice down but reassuring, the way he liked his mother's voice when he was a child.

"Okay?"

"Okay," Sarah Alice nods after a long, deep sigh. " Can I stay with you?"

"Yes, of course," Jasper smiles, hoping it might cheer up the little girl a little, which it does, at his utmost surprise.

She settles in the bed sheets quietly, still holding her plushy in her arms.

He never thought he could deal with a kid, but he could get used to this sort of thing, he thinks, as his eyes close and sleep takes over him again.