The royal family and their friends waited eagerly, watching the television in their 'state room'. In a matter of a few minutes the results of the referendum would be announced.

Eleanor tried to sit still, but she felt so jumpy and nervous.

And it was all Jasper's fault- he'd been the one to finally talk her into this. Then the stupid politicians had agreed it and decided to make one big referendum instead of two.

Earlier that day the people had voted to keep or abolish the monarchy and, at the same time, for the monarch they wanted if they decided to keep the royal family.

The people were voting between Liam and Eleanor. Everyone had decided that Henry should be spared from being made king when just a baby.

Perhaps things are finally working out well, Eleanor thought to herself, this isn't like before with Liam. Not like when Robert came back and Liam had become resentful because all of the #KingLiam stuff had faded away. No, Liam wants to be King, but he won't resent me if I become Queen.

Eleanor sighed, she had to believe that she would be a good Queen. Jasper was right, her father had always seen the strength in her when she failed to recognise it.

Eleanor glanced at her watch- which had once been her father's watch. She knew the message off by heart, knew that this was her father's way of making their final conversation right. He had always been proud of her no matter what.

'The qualities you say make me great, I see them in you every day.'

Eleanor blinked away tears at the thought. Thinking of her father always made her emotional. If she could be even half of what he was to the people then she'd feel happy. She'd feel happy knowing that she was making him proud by carrying on his legacy.

Eleanor smiled at her mother as she let her emotional mask slip for a moment to show that she too was nervous about the results. It had taken a lot from Liam and Eleanor to convince her that they were ok with competing against each other. Helena had worried that it would destroy their relationship. Liam had reminded her, although it was so obvious that it was easy to overlook, that whoever was made the next monarch would chose the other to be their right hand man or woman. They wouldn't be ruling alone but rather together.

Helena had finally been comfortable with that. She had decided to stay with them all week at Sandringham, since she couldn't bare to have Henry separated from his parents, and had no obligations at the London palace. Spencer had joined her and it was clear to everyone that they were more than just friends, and perhaps best of all, there was no reason for Helena to hide it anymore- because there was no Robert.

Robert, Eleanor thought with a sigh, he'd just been sentenced to twenty years in prison. He'd been stripped of his titles too. A part of her thought it was little harsh considering he couldn't really help herself- but that part was smaller and smaller now, because James reminded her whenever she had doubts that Robert knew about his diagnosis and could have chosen to get help rather than hurt the people around him, and because whenever she looked at Jasper or Henry she was reminded of the ways they had been hurt and that made any pity she felt for Robert fade away. Yes, he was her brother, but he was no Liam, and he could have been if he genuinely wanted to.

Eleanor had grown from her past, she hadn't just sat around getting high and wasted all day- she didn't allow herself to do that in front of Sarah Alice or Henry, and never ever would, because she loved them dearly. She never wanted them to follow her down that path.

Eleanor sighed, the whole situation was messy. Worst of all she feared that Robert would get hurt or killed in prison, and wondered whether the guilt would eat her up the same way it had consumed Liam.

They had all had their assessments. None of them were perfect, of course, no one could expect someone who had lived a royal life to have it all together. Her mother had passed, and so had she surprisingly enough. James and Sarah Alice were in the clear too- in fact the report said that Sarah Alice was advanced for her age, probably due to spend so much time around people at least three times her age. As for Cyrus- well Cyrus was Cyrus- you accepted that he was cynical and not always the most caring person alive, and that he had his issues- but he was a dying man and no one was going to kick him when he was already down.

Perhaps what surprised Eleanor most was that Jasper had failed, but only marginally. She'd thought he would pass, given the way he was with Sarah Alice, and the way he seemed to be so comfortable around everyone. The report had said that he had low self-esteem. Which Eleanor realised was pretty much inevitable given the way his parents treated him, but that he was also paranoid- mostly about losing her and losing Henry. It reminded Eleanor of the time when Beck had turned up for the royal balcony, and Jasper had suddenly became so insecure- not jealous, not needy really- but just so worried that he was going to lose her. He'd agreed to talk to someone about his problems.

As for Liam, things were much harder, Eleanor thought, and she wished he'd just been honest with her about the way he was feeling. He'd been on a downward spiral since their father's death. First seeking vengeance, which wasn't at all something Eleanor would have expected for him, then blaming himself for Ted's death, and allowing himself to get beaten up- and imagining Robert beating him during all of that, then Robert actually hurting him, losing the #King Liam movement only a day before he was going to be declared king, And then there was Kathryn too. Eleanor sighed, it was no surprise he'd been diagnosed as depressed. She just wished she'd seen the signs earlier so she could have helped him, rather than let it become something that led him to believe that he was a bad person.

Liam hadn't believed it was sever enough to warrant help, but a good amount of yelling from his sister and mother had quickly made him change his mind.

In spite of all of that, the Privy Council had made the decision to allow Eleanor and Jasper to look after Henry and get their parental rights back. There was no risk to Henry, they concluded. Of course anyone could tell that, but it made Eleanor and Jasper feel happier- hearing it from a professional, that they were doing a good job. It made Eleanor stop worrying so much about whether or not Henry was being fed too much or too little, if he needed to be on a schedule, if he should be sleeping through the night, if he was happy with his nursery being painted blue…

Her mother had been amazing, of course, always giving her good advice, and James had helped out- mostly by telling her again and again that no, Henry was not going to get pneumonia if he went outside in the summer to get some fresh air- but everyone had told her that she and Jasper were naturals at parenting.

Henry was fast asleep in his cot despite the noise of the TV. Then again, so was Sarah Alice, she'd insisted on staying up to find out the results, even though they weren't being released until two in the morning. James 'agreed' knowing full well she'd fall asleep at nine or so and then he'd wake her up, tell her, she'd be excited for a while before sleep set in again- and of course, she didn't have school the following day so it was fine.

As for Eleanor and Jasper, their routine with Henry meant that getting up at around two was normal anyway.

We are able to now announce the results of the referendum for the abolishment of the monarchy. The votes have been counted. The votes show that 64% voted in favour of keeping the monarchy, whilst 36% voted against the monarchy. This result is important as it shows that Britain and its overseas territories still strongly value its monarchy….

Eleanor grinned at her family as they all gave an excited cheer- which Henry slept through, but made Sarah Alice wake up. Helena hugged her son and daughter excitedly as James explained as best as he could to the little girl what had just happened.

Sarah Alice hugged Eleanor, "Yay! You still get to be the Princess, or maybe the Queen even. No offence Liam."

Liam grinned, ruffling the little girl's hair, "None taken, little elf. Now, a toast, to our family."

"To family," Eleanor echoed, as everyone raised their glasses.

"When will the other announcement happen?" Jasper asked nervously and Eleanor hugged him tightly. She knew this was worried him most. If she became Queen then what would happen to him or Henry? She'd reassured him plenty of times, but it was only natural for him to worry.

And welcome back, now we are going to announce the results of the vote following tonight's vote to maintain the British monarchy. Just to remind you the vote was between His Royal Highness Prince Liam and Her Royal Highness Princess Eleanor to decide which one should become the next King or Queen of England. Of course, this has been tense- both are good candidates, and very much loved by the people. In fact, polling stations had a few issues with some voters ticking both boxes- something I can completely understand. And can we just take a minute to appreciate that this is the first time in the whole of British history that a vote like this has taken place…

Well here the results are and yes, they are very close.

The British public has voted 52.5% in favour of Her Royal Highness Princess Eleanor becoming the next ruling monarch, with 47.5% in favour of His Royal Highness Prince Liam. Congratulations to her Her Royal Highness! Wow- that was a tight vote- but of course, we all know that these two are exceptionally close, so many people are right to think that they'll be ruling as a team…

"Eleanor," she heard a voice say but it was far away from where she was.

"Len? Leni?"

"Eleanor, your majesty?"

"Leni, are you ok?"

Then everything went dark.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Eleanor was aware of sunlight spilling through the curtains and blinked a few times before realising she was in her room, covered pulled up to under her chin and tons of pillows piled up around her. Had she really slept so long?

Henry…

Eleanor sprung up quickly, noticing Jasper sitting beside her, looking worried, "Henry? Is he ok? I didn't feed him before I feel asleep, Jasper, he's going to be starving hungry and miserable, I should…"

"Eleanor, no," Jasper told her firmly, pushing her back onto the pillows, "Henry will be fine on formula milk. You need your rest. I won't have you getting sick."

Eleanor nodded grumpily, still not happy with having to give in, "What happened? I know the people voted to keep the monarchy, and then… oh God! Was that actually real?"

Jasper moved so that he was cradling Eleanor in his arm and smoothed her hair away from her face, "Yes, your majesty, it is."

Eleanor felt terrified, tears spilled out of her eyes and before she knew she was crying, Jasper hugging her and telling her that everything was going to be ok.

"You passed out from shock," Jasper told her, "You've been out for about five odd hours. Len, Dr Cohen, we called him to make sure there wasn't anything serious, he told us you must have been sleep deprived? I know you get up in the night to feed Henry, but please tell me you don't stay up all night."

Eleanor sighed, "Since we got him back, Jasper, I've been afraid to let him out of my sight for even a moment."

Jasper nodded, "So have I. But you can't let yourself get sick. Henry had nannies to help, he has your mum and Liam and James. You don't need to do everything for him. And I'm not going to let you, not if it's going to make you sick. He'll be on formula for the next few nights, until you catch up on your sleep."

Eleanor grimaced, "I'll have to just put up with it."

"Yeah, you will," Jasper replied, "You scared me."

Eleanor gave Jasper a heartbroken look, "I didn't mean to."

Jasper sighed, "Len, we don't just have Henry to think about now, we have a country too."

"We?" Eleanor asked.

"Yes, we," Jasper reassured her, "Of course, we'll do this together. I mean, we're a team, we're… Jaspenor."

Eleanor laughed, "Yes, we are Jaspenor, and we're a team. Now come on, we have a country to rule."

THE END

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