Hello all, this is a revision to my earlier uploaded fan fic with the same title, sorry I took so long just to put almost the same thing back up. To be honest I wasn't totally happy with that one and made a few minor revisions, I also took Lady Indis Dress's suggestion on the lunch bit. Hope you like this one, comments and suggestions are appreciated, whether praise, flames or anything else.

Disclaimer: I neither created or own Mr Darcy, Lizzy, Jane, Mr.&Mrs.Bennet, Catherine Bennet, Mary Bennet, Georgiana Darcy, Caroline Bingley ,Mrs. Reynolds or Pemberley & Lambton, these characters and places were purely Jane Austen's, God rest her soul. However some characters as well as Eterwood are mine and mine alone...no stealing please

A/N: This was supposedly for the longbourn loungers december challenge, but seing as i had a bit of technical difficulty with some stuff there I, sought to put it up someplace else...hope you like/d it

The Ever Punctual Mr. Darcy, Late

She waited, and waited, and waited.

The clock, with its steady tocks, ticked away the hours.

She refused to leave her post, the stairs nearest the main entrance to the grandest of Derbyshire's estates. He had been gone three months, and twenty letters she had received since he arrived in town. She had been at the exact same spot since noon and left only for short periods of time for lunch, dinner and to change. She played with the ribbon on her nightgown for a while then stared at the front door.

Three months, that is the longest you have been away since before we were married; had I not been ill at the time, I would have gone with you. If Mary, Kitty and my parents had not been here I would have followed... she sighed to herself.

I wonder what could be keeping you? One of your stewards arrived this morning saying that you were to leave three hours and a half after he had left. And yet you are nowhere in sight. "'The master will arrive at 1 o'clock this afternoon thereabouts' one o'clock indeed!" Lizzy muttered sleepily under her breath.

It is nearly one in the morning darling, and it is not like you to be late. Perhaps this is some cruel irony, I, after all, did make you wait to see whether or not I had forgiven you or thought differently about you after that whole fiasco of my rejection. Only, why is it that you should suffer along with me? Did you not mention in all your letters that you would trade your entire fortune and everything you have ever worked for to be back home? Where the devil can you be? Surely you have not gotten yourself into an accident, have you? I do hope you are all right, but what could be taking you so long?

Why are you so late Fitzwilliam? You are, according to your own sister and my own observation, you are NEVER late, quite the contrary in fact, you are usually early. What could be the matter?

Glancing at the grandfather clock, which, as usual, moved its arms about rhythmically, told her that she should stop this waiting and go to bed.

It is getting late. Maybe I should just retire and see him in the morning. No! No, I refuse not to be here to see him when he comes.

Ever since he had to go to London or anywhere else for business, Lizzy was there on the day he was to return, on the staircase, dutifully awaiting his carriage to pull up in front of their home. She would run to greet him and before he even reached the door, she would have charged at him and given him a loving embrace, followed by a kiss and they passed though the front door together, his arm around her all smiles and laughter, even the usual playful teasing would find its way into their small conversations.

She waited, and waited some more, until, after fighting a losing battle against the power of the Sandman and his magic dust, she fell softly onto one of the steps and drifted off to sleep."

He glanced at his pocket watch, "Eleven in the evening." he said to himself

"Mr. Andersen, is there anything else we need to do?" Mr. Darcy said with his brows furrowed.

"No, sir. Me an' Bill o'er here 'ave patched up the wheel an' we jus' need to get 'em horses rigged together an' we can get on with our journey."

"Good, we have spent too much time here and I think my wife is probably wondering why I am running late and getting fretful." Darcy did not think his wife was wondering at his tardiness. He knew she was. He hated having her worry, the look on her face and how frustrated she got, made him uneasy. He was never late, not for anything, "On all the days for a wheel to be broken, why today?! Oh, well at least we are moving and Pemberley is close, I would have ridden on ahead of my coach, but it would be unwise to leave my carriage, horses, footmen and driver to weather the blow of this unlucky event." After a good two hours on the road, Lambton was a stone's throw away.

Elizabeth, do pardon my late arrival. He thought to himself. I promise never to stay more than a fortnight away from you and home and Georgiana. I suppose this is punishment for agreeing to take on five deals and negotiations all at once, two of them being rotten deals to begin with.

He stared out into the dark abyss that was the night sky dotted with diamonds. "I hope you are not asleep yet, I long for your smile, Mrs. Darcy. That grin, accompanied with a mischievous glint of your rapturous brown eyes. That delight which, Misters Spycker, Johansen, Spounge, Monteque and Astra have so mercilessly kept me from for three whole months."

His carriage rocked as it drove over the roads heading home; he was over ten hours late. First, his trunk and its contents goes missing, only to be found near the stables; then at nine o' clock, right before he is about to leave, Caroline Bingley forced invitation to luncheon on him, three more hours off his time. Then another few hours when he had to find a replacement for his driver who, after eating some bad fish could not very well make the trip back to Derbyshire. And the cherry to his misfortune, his carriage's wheel breaks in half!

He knew that driving at this hour was incredibly foolish and beyond precarious, what with all the highwaymen about, but of course, he was always careful and always had a pair of pistols under the seat; no one was all too safe anymore. But now that Lambton and Pemberley grounds were in view he safely assumed his carriage was out of harm's way.

"It will not be long now," he said to himself as he held back a bit of curtain to stare out, again into the night. "Mr. Andersen, quicken the horses' pace if you please," he said to the driver.

"Aye, sir. I imagine you're in a great 'urry to git 'ome, if I ain't to bold to say."

"Indeed I am eager to get home."

The very moment the carriage reached Pemberley's façade, Darcy opened the door and got off before his footman could open it for him. He stood in front of the door a good one minute before chortling, How asinine for me to expect you to wait for me to arrive up to the earlier hours of the day. Oh well, I hope you are not too disappointed at my being late. he thought.

His sleepy housekeeper then slowly opened the door for him. As he stepped into the main hall of his house, he saw a figure on the staircase.

"Good evening Mr. Darcy. Oh," Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, said, noticing that her mistress was on the stairs still. "She has been there since noon sir. Sir, she refused to leave unless to eat and do her necessities. The Bennets arrived last week sir, if you weren't informed. Mr. Bennet spent the more of the time at the lake and in the library, his wife, Mrs. Bennet has been, erm… exploring the house with miss Catherine, and miss Mary spent the greater part of her stay in the library or in the music room with miss Georgiana." Mrs. Reynolds said as she took his hat and gloves, informing him of the on goings at his house since he was away "Oh and yes, Miss Darcy, miss Catherine and Mrs. Bennet, went to Eterwood just this morning to visit Mrs. Bingley and her family; since Madam wouldn't accompany them, they left her to wait for you sir."

"Thank you Mrs. Reynolds." Mr. Darcy said before Mrs. Reynolds curtsied and made her way out of the main hall, "Well Lizzy, you have proven me wrong, you did wait for me. Now, I cannot very well leave you here. And besides," he whispered in her ear, "I would not want you to roll down the stairs now would I?"

He then began picking her up and in the attempt to carry her to her suite. He lifted her and wrapped his cloak around both of them; she nuzzled the part of his chest closest to her head without waking. Fitzwilliam smiled and laid a kiss on the top of her head. But for some strange reason, he just stood there on the stairs, watching her sleep and he smiled again when he felt her breath on him. He then came out of his reverie and then he cautiously moved up the steps and made sure he did not hit her with any of the furniture or the doors. He had some trouble with the doorways at first, and the darkness.

"If you had been awake I would have been apologising continuously for my long absence and lateness; oh my love how I have missed you." said he to her, "I have learned my lesson Lizzy, I will never in my entire life spend too much time working and only an hour or two in correspondence with you; on that note, I do not think I will ever be away from home for more than a fortnight or a se'night even." he halted near a window and looked at her moonlit silhouette, "If only I could explain why I was late. Oh well now I must wait until I see you in the morning, fair enough punishment I believe, for a man so caught up in business that he looses sight of the more worthy subjects of his time and attention. I have been ignoring you haven't I? Oh, well I shall wait until morning, then you will receive my full attention." Lizzy slept on, leaving Mr. Darcy to talk to her sleeping form.

They both soon got to the small sitting room between their respective bedrooms. Mr. Darcy scuffled with the door handle and let himself and Lizzy in. He walked to the four-poster bed and laid his slumbering wife and tucked her in. He then went into the water closet to wash off the dust from traveling

Lizzy sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Oh, I can't believe I fell asleep, and on the stair-" she cut herself off; she realized that she was not on the staircase, but in her room. Oh, bother! He is already at home, she thought to herself and yawned "He, almost certainly, is already sound asleep in his room." She said before plopping back onto her pillow and closed her eyes. She woke up again, momentarily after a quick nap, which was meant to be a continuous slumber. She kept her eyes closed in an attempt to fall back to sleep, she rolled over and rested her hand on the pillow her husband usually placed beside her if they slept in separate rooms, which they did not do too often. The reason Lizzy had a pillow next to her was that, she had gotten used to having something next to her as she slept. At Longbourn, it was Jane, now at Pemberley when her husband was off on business; a pillow had to suffice.

Lizzy was, again, about to drift off to sleep, that is before she become conscious of the fact that her 'pillow' had a heart beat and was taking in deep even breaths. "Fitzwilliam?"

"Ah, so you are awake." he groaned in response.

"How are you this evening ?" she said poking his ribs and making him chuckle and awaken fully.

"As happy as can be expected, considering the time spent away three months to be exact. Which reminds me," He sat up and gave her a loving stare, "belated happy anniversary dearest loveliest Elizabeth." he said giving her a kiss, "I'm sorry I missed it yesterday, but at least I have not forgotten." she sat up and took his hand.

"Oh, yes you have forgotten. Silly Fitz, our anniversary is today. I expected more from you my love after all-" he cut her off with a kiss and they broke apart, both in need of air,

"I have missed you Mrs. Darcy."

This Fic is dedicated to:

-- the whole king kong clan especially my little sister

who helped proof read and change the originally mediocre title

-- Rae,

who is never annoyed at my pride and prejudice prattle...no matter how ridiculus i get

Thank you all!