Lizzie leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling, searching her brain for the right word. It was right there, on the tip of her tongue, she had a vague sense of it, felt the meaning and the connotation of it perfectly, just not the actual damn word.

A noise distracted her from the problem at hand, her phone was ringing. She picked it off the desk and smiled as she saw Darcy's face as the caller id.

"hey" she said as she got up from the desk and curled up on her bed, back against the wall.

'Hi Lizzie, what are you up to?' Darcy asked.

She groaned "have a guess, I think you'll get it in one."

Darcy chuckled "I'll take that to mean you're a bit stuck on your thesis then?"

'I just can't get the words to work, can you think of another way to say creates?'

'what is the context?'

"It creates a sense of…something, something in the audience and so on. I have to keep saying the same phrase to get my point across but I've repeated the same words too many times."

Darcy pauses momentarily to think, 'evokes? rouses, summons, establishes…contrives, fabricates?'

'Hmm fabricates could work...I like it. Anyway, I'm assuming you didn't call just to be my thesaurus, as fabulous as you are at it, how was your day?"

"long meetings, difficult investors but nothing out of the ordinary, however there was one great thing, it's the reason, I'm calling actuall-"

"you mean you're not just calling because you like talking to me" Lizzie cuts in, mock offended

'of course not! I love listening to you complain over and over how frustrating it is writing your thesis. It's the high point of my day." He says this half-jokingly, but with and undercurrent of sincerity that sends a thrill through her, accompanied by a pang of longing, she just wishes she could kiss him right now.

There is a slight pause as Lizzie is silent… missing him whilst he is right there on the line. So close, but so far away at once.

Darcy's voice brings her back to reality, 'As I was saying, I wanted to ask you what you are doing not this weekend but the next and also the Thursday and Friday before. I think there might be an opportunity to see each other.'

"hmm I have a meeting with Dr. Gardiner on the Thursday, and some various other things but they can wait, so I'm basically free"

"Is there any chance you can change the meeting to Wednesday or something? Because I'm not actually able to come down and see you, I wanted to take you away for the weekend."

"oh umm, I think I should be able to. Where do you want to go?"

"It's a secret." Lizzie could hear the smirk in his voice and smiled at the prospect of getting to see him soon.

"So, you'll come with me?" his voice now sounding earnest and hopeful.

'Yes of course! I'm on Dr Gardiners' good side at the moment since I've been very up to date with everything of late so she shouldn't mind."

"well then I'll send you the details once I've booked the flights .'

"wait what?, flights? Where are we going?" she hesitated then, sounding unsure 'oh Will, I don't know, I'm a poor grad student remember?"

"Do you really think I'd let you pay for this? It's my treat."

"I don't want you paying for things me all the time, I-"she said sounding

"lizzie I completely respect that you are perfectly capable of looking after yourself and I know that you don't want to feel dependant on me and I love that about you but please just let me do this for you? You're going to have to learn to accept things from me, just think of this as a four and a half week anniversary present.."

She laughed "that's really not a thing"

"don't you want to see me?" He teased,

She laughed again "ok fine, you've got me. Yes I want to see you and I guess I'll let you pay for me, but you have to tell me where we're going!"

"No, it's a surprise"

"please, I want to know, I don't even really like surprises that much"

He chuckled, "lizzie bennet you are lying through your teeth and you know it, I have it on very good authority that you love surprises, you just don't often have the patience to wait for them. Lydia told me about the time you opened all your Christmas presents at 3am one year. Seriously though, I'm not telling you and I won't talk about it anymore or I'll give it away."

"how long is the flight going to be?"

"Stop it" he said sternly

"Is it cold there?" she tried

"I'll hang up." he was bluffing, surely?

"what? I'm asking purely for packing purposes!" lizzie said earnestly

"liar"

She gasped excitedly as an idea occurred to her "oh are we going to-" She stopped abruptly as the phone cut off. "beep…beep…beep"

Lizzie laughed in surprise. He'd actually done it, No you hang up firsts from William Darcy.