Elizabeth Bennet cursed in frustration as she banged on the door with her foot. "Jane!" she panted between racing breaths, the mass of grocery bags in her hands weighing her down. Everything that could go wrong had; a car had almost run her over, the store had been out of chocolate ice cream – how does that even happen? - one of her bags had been ripped open by the gallon of milk, and the creepy guy from downstairs lurking by the elevator had prompted her to run up the four flights of stairs to their apartment. And all she had to look forward to for her troubles was a visit from the self-appointed dating expert she was forced to call her mother. God, but this was turning out to be a fantastic day.

"Jane! I'm back!" she yelled, her foot connecting with open air this time as her sister's wide-eyed face appeared in the doorway.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you the first time because the vacuum was running and then the water for the spaghetti was boiling over and-" her apology cut off as Lizzy shoved bags of groceries into her arms.

"It's okay, it's not something you need to be sorry about. You really need to learn to stop apologizing at everything…Mom'll be here any minute now though, so you might want to change out of your sweatpants," Lizzy called over her shoulder as she started the mad dash into the kitchen to start unloading the bags.

Their apartment on Netherfield Lane wasn't big, but it was home now, and, more important than either of those things, it was affordable. It They had spent months turning it from a cold and dark cell to a place they could love. Sure, the furniture in the house was all mismatched, purchased from a variety of secondhand stores and even a select few flea markets. Sure, some of Jane's paintings on the wall hid patches of mold or dirt or other unmentionables Lizzy would rather not think about. (They had tried every cleaner they could think of when they first bought the apartment, but it had not taken them long at all to realize that whatever it was was not coming off anytime soon.) Sure, the view from the window was of a dark alley that bordered a parking garage. But at the end of the day, this was the place she would always come home to, and she couldn't imagine leaving to go anywhere else. It had its quirks, but the imperfections only served to give it a story. Lizzy loved the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that had already been installed when they had bought the house; Jane loved the collection of hanging flower pots and other assorted plants that had started to amass, and their third roommate, Charlotte, loved the freedom and rustic feel of the fire escape outside of their window.

And besides, its location was perfect. Lizzy may have had to walk a couple of miles to work every day, but she enjoyed the exercise, and besides, it gave her a perfect excuse to watch the people going by. New York City wasn't too far either, and the city shone like a crown of jewels in the distance, blinking lights glimmering like stars in the sky. It was captivating and dangerous, and though they didn't go often, the power of the city gave her the same rush as a good book. It was like something out of a fairy tale with its hum of energy and call to adventure, and she was a sucker for it (not that she would ever admit to it).

However, her mother coming to town wasn't exactly the sort of adventure Lizzy had in mind. Fannie Bennet didn't come often, but when she did, Lizzy was worried about it for weeks beforehand and angry about it for weeks afterwards. She hoped this time would be relatively less painless considering her mother was only coming to take Jane home for her spring break, but somehow she doubted it.

Mrs. Bennet seemed to find fault with everything Lizzy did, and she knew deep down that today wouldn't be any different. Her curly brown hair was too plain, her figure (or rather, lack of one) too unattractive. She preferred basketballs to dolls, the sounds of nature to sewing and cleaning, and reading in the comfort of her home to going clubbing.

She knew too that her mother would see only the clutter of the apartment and not the charm, and that the state of it was a bad reflection on her ability to keep a home – and therefore, probably a husband too. The meals she cooked were, according to her mother, too dry, or too soggy, or over-seasoned, or not elaborate enough. Once, Mrs. Bennet had even proclaimed to the world that Lizzy buttered her toast the wrong way, citing that the way she held her knife was an insult to their family. Lizzy still wasn't quite sure what exactly it was that she had done wrong.

But more than anything else, what Fannie disapproved of was Lizzy's complete and utter inability to find a steady boyfriend. To her, that was more important than anything else; Fannie had even tried to convince Lizzy to major in engineering instead of English because the male to female ratio was better. From the time she was a child, her mother encouraged her to believe that the world was full of Prince Charmings, of handsome gentlemen with perfect manners who were placed on this earth for the sole purpose of sweeping her off her feet. Now, she was left a hopeless romantic with the emphasis on the "hopeless" when it came to actually finding what she was looking for in a guy. But she at least recognized that perfect men didn't exist; she not only accepted her singleness but embraced it.

Her mother, on the other hand, was still enthusiastic about her daughter's prospects (though perhaps less enthusiastic than she had once been). "I don't know what you're talking about," their mother would tell her. "There are hundreds of single young men out there, and if you would bother to set foot outside every once in a while, I'm sure you could find one who wouldn't mind putting up with you."

Sometimes the way she phrased it would change, but the underlying message was always the same. She wanted weddings to plan and sons-in-law to abuse and grandchildren to look after, and she was willing to do whatever it took to get them. Even though she knew – they all did, really – that Jane was the one who would be most likely to give her these things, she could never seem to let Lizzy live in her world of make-believe.

Lizzy was pretty sure her mother would have been fine seeing her in prison if there was any chance of it ending in a wedding with the guy in the cell next to her.

But this time, Lizzy was prepared for anything. They had spent the better part of the last week cleaning and dusting the apartment, making sure to hit every single nook and cranny and straighten out what was typically an organized chaos. The room was still dimly lit and even she wouldn't refer to the furniture or décor as being fashionable, but damn it to hell if her mother could find even a speck of dust anywhere inside. And if she was asked about her romantic prospects…well, Lizzy was ready for that too. She hid a smile as her mind drifted to thoughts of the cute new volunteer who had joined the library staff last month. Even though he had a reputation of being a huge flirt and she knew nothing would come of it, her mother would eat it all up. Plus, he was really cute.

Jane's appearance startled her out of her daydreams as she rolled out the last of her suitcases into what functioned as their living room. Lizzy didn't envy her the three hour car ride home alone with their mother or the week at home that would follow, but she knew it would be good for her sister. Jane had been practically a zombie these past couple of weeks between her teaching position at Fordham and doing research for her dissertation that was quickly approaching. Lizzy had tried her best to keep her sister sane in the face of so much work and stress, but it was no use. Jane was obsessed.

Jane had been working toward the goal of a Ph.D. for years now, and now that it was finally within her grasp, she had drawn even deeper within herself. She barely slept anymore, she seemed out of it more often than not, and it was getting to the point where Jane wouldn't even go out to dinner because she claimed to be too busy to leave the apartment. If she was being completely honest with herself, Lizzy was worried about her sister. Lizzy had tried everything she could think of to no avail, and though the thought of dealing with her mother and sisters alone for an entire week sounded like more of a nightmare than anything, she hoped it would be good for Jane. In any case, it'd be a nice break from the relatively quiet routine the girls had fallen into here.

Lizzy just wished that sending her sister home for a week didn't mean a visit from Mrs. Bennet.

"Why, Jane dear! You look lovely, as always….that shade of blue suits you just fine, my darling, I knew you could not be so beautiful for nothing…but Lizzy, are there no mirrors in this godforsaken city? Your makeup is smudged, your shirt is wrinkled, and for the love of God, how many times do I have to tell you that you ought to at least try to make your hair look presentable?"

And so it had begun. Not with a bang, but with a nosy mother who cared far too much.

Lizzy was surprised at how few complaints there had been; normally once her mother really got going, she was like a car without the brakes. Her mother hadn't even addressed the state of the house, their lack of boyfriends, or how little they had come home lately.

"But I love this apartment building," her mother finished with a flourish.

Lizzy's mouth dropped open. Jane stopped in her tracks.

"What?" they exclaimed loudly in unison, four letters not nearly enough to express their complete and utter shock.

She didn't even know how to respond beyond that. There was no way…the last time her mother had come to visit, Fannie had spent hours rearranging the same set of table and chairs, moving them one inch in every direction and slightly tilting them before announcing that nothing could make them look any more appealing. She had criticized the lighting, the location, the designs they had picked for the curtains, the size of the rooms…nothing had been safe.

Mrs. Bennet's lips began to slowly curl upward, the first hints of a smile beginning to form.

Lizzy watched with horror at the sly look on her mother's face. Something was wrong.

"I just ran into the nicest young man in the elevator," Fannie told them, her body positively thrumming with excitement. "He held the door open, such wonderful manners, and he's not too bad of a looker either," she continued with a wink. "And the best part? He's moving in to the apartment next to the two of you!"

Lizzy resisted the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the wall, settling for a dramatic eye roll instead.

Of course this would happen. She had never even seen another person, male or female, in the building who was similar to Jane's and her ages. Most of the people in this area were old and retired, making for a comfortable place to come back to but one with very few prospects of marriage.

But of course, the one day when her mother came to town, a man who fit her bill for marriageability would just happen to waltz through the elevator door and appear out of thin air.

The universe officially hated her.

"…and he's studying to be a doctor, Janie, isn't that wonderful? You girls simply must go over and introduce yourselves once he's gotten himself settled in, I do believe you'll get along wonderfully. He seems to have been raised right and like attracts like and, my goodness, I do believe I could see one of my daughters married by the end of next year…"

So he enjoyed cutting up pig guts and looking at dead bodies for a grade, big whoop. Lizzy couldn't think of higher praise than that.

Though really, when she thought about it, this one sounded better than some of the other guys her mom had tried to set them up with. There was the tattoo artist with the "beautiful eyes" who had ended up being an escaped convict, the "he's-so-rich" businessman who only talked about himself and refused to look up from his phone, and "the incredibly sweet" boy who worked at the flower shop who, as they later discovered, already had a girlfriend ("though honey, just because there's a goalie doesn't mean you can't score!").

"…it is a shame you'll be coming home though, Jane, but I suppose it can't be helped. Your sisters are far too excited see you, and I won't be disappointing them now…But I know! I'll bake a pie for you girls to take next door when I bring you back next week, that's a safe bet and a surefire sign of interest…and wouldn't it be a great opportunity to invite him over in a couple of weeks? It's perfect. Oh my Janie! My Lizzy! Finally you're getting some luck, all it takes is a little push in his direction and…"

He's yours, Lizzy and Jane mouthed at each other behind their mother's back. Though the speech had come in many different forms, the ending was always the same. Riding off into the sunset with Mr. Right, sparkling diamond rings on their fingers.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Lizzy asked abruptly, mentally crossing her fingers that her mother would catch on to the sudden change of subject.

"Ah, if only I had the time," she responded with a deep sigh. "But I left a casserole in the oven at home, and you know how your father is…."

Aaaand here it comes.

"...oh, but I do wish I could stay long enough to try and welcome your new neighbor. Lizzy, you've got to make him feel right at home, it's such a pity that Jane will be gone, she's so good at that sort of thing, aren't you, dear? But I suppose you'll do," she said as an expectant look arose on her face, pointed directly at Lizzy. "I guess there's a good reason after all for you to stay out here, more so than whatever nonsense you were spouting last week."

Lizzy wrestled with her anger at that one. Nonsense? She was single-handedly running a camp for hundreds of local children out of the library this week. Even if she had wanted to come home – and truth be told, she did miss her dad – she couldn't just abandon them like that. She'd been working on getting this program going for months now, and if her mother thought she would drop it that quickly, she was sorely mistake.

"We'll miss you though!" her mother's cheery tone was no match for the emptiness in the words.

"Pity," Lizzy responded drily. Mrs. Bennet didn't catch on to the sarcasm lacing her daughter's words, but if the kick to her foot was any indication, it hadn't gone over Jane's head. "Tell Dad and the girls I say hi and I'll see them in May for Lydia's birthday."

"We will," Jane promised before Mrs. Bennet could respond. "We should probably get this show on the road pretty soon here, Mom." As Lizzy suspected, her sister's eyes met her own as if to warn her off acting out. It wasn't anything new; Jane's even temper and hatred of conflict had helped keep Lizzy's attitude in check countless times over the years. Anything she could do to keep the peace in their family or in their friendships, she would.

Jane started to herd their mother toward the door, sensing that Lizzy was at the end of her rope and that every passing minute was another chance for her to go over the edge. The girls embraced first, and then Mrs. Bennet began reaching out to her middle daughter for a quick hug.

As the two turned to walk out the door, Mrs. Bennet glanced back over her shoulder and gave a quick wink.

"I expect results, darling."

It had taken all of ten minutes for Jane to realize that she had forgotten her stack of research books. She had apologized profusely to her mother the whole ride back; she still had some last-minute stuff to look over for her thesis, and she couldn't believe that of everything she had been packing, she had forgotten the only thing she truly needed to bring. She had told her mom to wait in the car since it wouldn't be long, but she felt absolutely horrible about the inconvenience she had caused.

The elevator opened at their floor, and she burst through the doors…

And ran right into one of the most attractive men she had ever seen.

She looked up, startled, into bright blue eyes and golden brown hair that perfectly framed his face. She was struck speechless for what seemed like an eternity before she was finally able to utter a chorus of sorry's and I didn't see you there's, blushing brightly as she sunk deeper into his gaze.

"That's completely all right," he responded as a brilliant smile came over his face. Jane swore she could have swooned if she had let herself. "I'm Charles Bingley, but my friends call me Charlie. It's a real pleasure to meet you."