The past couple days we got all this news about an awesomesauce Nor'easter that was supposed to come in on Wednesday. All of the schools in Massachusetts cancelled, except mine! Finally at 10:30 we cancelled too, I am not even kidding when I say that we were the last school, it was agony.

But I got to sleep in and it's all snowy and pretty out!

Enjoy!

"Sorry its kinda messy, I wasn't expecting visitors," She threw a glare back over her shoulder, he shrugged unapologetically.

She unlocked her door and flipped a switch, illuminating her apartment. The kitchen opened up to a living room/study area, beyond that was two doors: one that led to the master bedroom, and the other to the guestroom. To the right was the bathroom. The apartment itself was unremarkable, decorated tastefully and artfully, but the view out the balcony on the left was breathtaking. If you stood on the balcony you could look out over the palm trees and towards the beach and the Pacific Ocean.

"Come on in," she said throwing her keys onto the counter and gesturing inside. "Drop your stuff on the couch while I make up the guest bed."

He nodded and dropped his duffle on the small couch. He made his way over tot the balcony door and looked out. The beach was full of people: joggers, walkers, swimmers, and Frisbee players. The sun was just setting, the light shining into his eyes and illuminating the surrounding city in soft orange and pink light. "Its beautiful," he murmured.

"Yeah, I totally lucked out with the view," she called from the guest room. She emerged a moment later, "you're a all set bro. You can go to bed it you want, after all its…" she trailed off and glanced at her watch, doing a quick calculation, "11:30 back in Boston."

He shook his head, still staring out over the water, "I slept on the flight here, so I'm good."

She shrugged and collapsed on the couch, "alright then."

He turned around and surveyed the rest of the apartment, he wasn't sure what his sister's definition of 'messy' was, but it sure was different than his. There were minimal amounts of clutter on the floor, the kitchen was spotless, and not a dirty dish in sight and her shoes were lined up neatly on the mat.

His eyes wandered to her workspace; papers cluttered the desk in organized chaos, knowing her, she probably had some convoluted system for organization no one else would understand. He snorted as his eyes fell to the floor and he spotted a bra lying on the ground.

"What?" she sat up and demanded. She followed his gaze over to the offending article and chuckled slightly. "What?"" she demanded again, this time in a more teasing, less defensive tone of voice. "Haven't you ever worn a bra for long periods of time? They are not very comfortable."

He chuckled and collapsed next to her. "Thanks," he murmured after a few moments silence.

She didn't open her eyes as she responded, "Don't. You've done the same for me." She paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "The military is getting rid of it's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, maybe we should too?"

He chuckled humorlessly, "only you would bring that up in a casual conversation."

"This isn't casual," she snapped.

He sighed, "I know, I'm sorry. I'll tell you about it tomorrow, but not tonight."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," she said, reaching over and grabbing his hand.

He squeezed her hand in recognition. "I love you," He muttered. "I don't tell you often enough, but I do."

"I know, Dub, I know. I love you too."

The next morning Georgie woke up bright and early as usual. She went on her usual morning jog and coffee run and still and it home before her brother woke up.

Will woke up slightly disoriented, not remembering right away where he was. He stumbled into the kitchen, eyes still closed.

Georgie looked up from the paper and grinned, but before she could say anything someone knocked on the door.

"Callie," she greeted her neighbor with a forced smile when she opened the door. "What can I do for you?"

Every Sunday morning Georgie's neighbor came over to try to convince Georgie that her paper had been delivered to Georgie's apartment.

"Georgiana, I believe that you received my Sunday…" She trailed off, staring behind Georgie.

The blonde turned and saw that her brother was stretching, a move that showed off all the muscles that the ladies loved. She rolled her eyes, "Save it for the strip club, buddy."

Will chuckled, both at his sister's comment and the neighbor's wide-eyed stare. "Sorry sweetheart," he drawled in a southern accent he picked up from summers at their cousin's ranch in Texas. He flashed his glaring sister a cocky grin and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Georgiana! Is that a new beau?" Callie asked breathlessly, grinning suggestively.

Georgie growled and snapped, "no! And I don't have your goddamned paper either!" With that she slammed the door and rounded on her brother, hands on her hips and glare firmly in place.

"What was that for?" She demanded angrily. "I was perfectly happy with the people in my building not knowing anything about me! Now they'll all either think I've got a new boy toy or I'll have to explain about my dumbass brother!"

"Whoa!" Will said, throwing his hands up in a feeble defense. "I'm sorry Gee," he said earnestly.

She shook her head, "its okay, after all I've been living here for a year and a half, it's probably time for me to open up."

"Why hide?" Will asked, sitting back down and drinking his coffee.

"Its nice not having people give me sympathetic looks all the time. They're not all thinking 'that poor girl who was abducted and almost raped'. I'm just me, not a victim of George Wickham.

Will scowled at the mention of his former friend, "He's back in Boston." He muttered, staring ferociously into his mug.

"Is that why you're out here?"

Will shook his head, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"You promised! And besides talking about it helps."

Will nodded, "Yeah, can I go for a run first?"

"I'll go with you, we can talk on the way."

Fifteen minutes later the siblings were jogging through the quiet neighborhoods of Santa Monica.

Most of the houses they passed were deserted for the day, the inhabitants working, but occasionally someone was outside watering a garden or weeding.

While passing one house where the owner was outside feeding the goldfish in a small pond on his front lawn, Georgie called out a greeting to the elderly man.

"Morning Miss Georgiana!" He greeted, smiling and waving. "You're out late! Late night?" he winked.

Georgie laughed and slowed to a stop in front of him, Will following. "I've already been out, earlier, Earl. My brother wanted to go for a run, he was the one who slept in!" She pulled Will forward, "Will this is Earl, Earl this is my big brother Will." The two men smiled and shook hands. After a few moments of chatting Earl invited the duo inside, reminding them that they had a run and a talk to finish.

"Sorry Earl, we can't," Georgie said regretfully, standing up from where she had been lounging on the grass. "We really gotta go, Will here needs his exercise." She pinched her brother's stomach and grinned.

With a growl Will reached down and flicked his sister's nose.

Earl smiled, gazing fondly at the young woman who had come to be like a granddaughter to him. "How about dinner then? I'll make my famous, family secret hamburgers," he coaxed.

The siblings shared a look, "We'd love to," Will answered. "Gee's cooking is atrocious," he added in a whisper to the older man.

Chuckling Earl sent the young people off and continued tending his garden. Georgiana had been running past Earl's house every morning, rain or shine, at 6:45 for the past year and a half. One day they started talking and that led to daily discussions about everything from politics (Earl was a staunch conservative, catholic republican, Georgie a liberal democrat) to the latest book they had read. But, Earl mused; he knew almost nothing about the girl's life before she moved to California. He knew she was born in Boston and had spent summers in Texas, and that her birthday was in October. But he didn't know how old she was, where she went to school, if she even did. Until today Earl didn't even know she had a brother. He shook his head; maybe her brother would help Georgiana open up.

"Race you to the park!" Georgie called as soon as it was in sight.

She began sprinting, Will hot on her heels.

Will, with his long legs soon passed his little sister to win. "Ha!"

Georgie collapsed on the grass, "I'm getting faster, I almost beat you that time."

Will rolled his eyes, "You wish."

They both lay on the grass for a moment, catching their breath.

"I screwed up," Will said quietly. "Big time."

"With what?"

"Elizabeth."

"She's that girl who's sister Charlie's going out with, yeah?"

Will nodded, "I am totally in love with her," he confessed.

Georgie looked at her brother carefully, "You are," she said in amazement, her eyes widening. "Richie said you were but I didn't believe him…" She trailed off. Suddenly she sat up straight. "Richie said you guys had a fight." Will nodded slowly, surprised that his cousin had been able to pick up on all that. "What did you say to her?" Georgie moaned.

Will was immediately on the defensive, "Me? How do you know it was me? It could have been her!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized how stupid they were.

Georgie agreed. "You're an idiot, of course it was you!" She glared at him, "Did you make that poor girl cry?"

Will sighed, how like Georgie to defend Elizabeth, even when she didn't know her. "Just hear me out, I'll start from the beginning. But you have to promise not to say anything."

Georgie nodded, miming locking her lips and throwing away the key.

For the next half hour Will talked: he told his sister about the dance, what Elizabeth overheard his saying, about Jane getting sick, about Wickham, about seeing her at Rosings, about Charlie and Jane, all about his botched confession of love and the subsequent insults and fight and about the letter.

"Holy shit," Georgie breathed when he was finally done. Will nodded dejectedly. Georgiana wrapped her arm around her brother's shoulders and hugged him close, "you know this is mostly your own fault?" She murmured in a soft voice.

Will pulled back from the hug and glared at her, "I know. But aren't you supposed to defend me as my little sister?"

"Not when you're a royal screw-up," she teased.

They sat in silence for a moment, watching the jogger and walkers pass them by.

"Tell me how to fix it."

Georgiana regarded her brother thoughtfully. He was handsome; she knew that even though she was his sister, she also knew that he was sweet, funny, and a great person to have as a friend. But she also knew he could be painfully shy, and when he got uncomfortable he was rude and snappy. From his story, Georgiana knew that Will had given Elizabeth Bennet every reason to dislike him and react the way she did.

She sighed, "Dub, do you really think you'll even see her again?" Will looked stricken; the thought obviously hadn't crossed his mind. "I mean Charlie and Jane broke up and you really don't have mutual friends beside that, you don't hang out at the same places, hell, you don't even live in the same state!"

"I can fix that!" He said, panicked. "I mean I know Charlie loved Jane, and moving to New York wouldn't be that hard, its been suggested before…"

Georgie shook her head, cutting Will off. "Dub you can't just go in with some scotch tape and make everything right again. 'All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again'." Will glared at her, Georgie winced, "Sorry, bad time for nursery rhymes. But do you get what I'm saying?"

"You're saying that I screw it up beyond repair," Will said harshly.

"No, no. I'm not saying that. I am saying that you can't make a few phone calls and expect it to be all better. Will, we grew up so lucky. I mean Dad loved us, a lot, and he was home every night for dinner and on weekends. And we had a lot of money. I mean how many people grow up with a flat in Boston and New York and a ranch in Texas? Not a lot," she answered her own question. "There was never a problem Daddy couldn't fix with either his position of CEO or all his money. Will, Dad's not here to clean up our messes anymore." Her voice was gentle as she finished.

"You think I don't know that Georgiana?" Will retorted angrily, standing up. "You think I don't miss him too? Well I do. I didn't know how to raise a kid! Sixteen is still a kid, no matter what you say! I was twenty when he died! You were sixteen. And sure I didn't have to give up college to raise you, but I still made sacrifices!"

"Are you saying that you regret taking care of me?" Georgie yelled, standing up and glaring at her brother.

"Of course not! But I sure as hell didn't like it!" Will turned so that his sister couldn't see the expression on his face. "How the hell is a twenty five year old supposed to react to his eighteen year old sister being abducted and almost raped by his former best friend?"

Georgiana gasped, "stop it William," she demanded, her voice tightly controlled even as tears welled up in her eyes.

Will turned and saw his little sister's big blue eyes filled with tears, the angry expression slid off his face, replaced with one of regret. "Damnit Gee, I'm sorry," he reached out to touch her.

"No," she choked out, pulling away. Glancing up she noticed that a few people had stopped to stare.

Will bit his lip, "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." He whispered.

Georgie shook her head, "I'll meet you back at home," she muttered before taking off in the opposite direction.

Will stood in silence for a moment, staring after his sister before making his way towards the beach.

The boardwalk was busy, everyone seemed to be enjoying the gorgeous Sunday. Will made his way to the water and walked towards his sister's apartment with his feet in the water.

Twenty minutes later he had showered and was sitting at the counter when his phone rang.

"Hello?" Will picked it up before the first ring was finished, hoping it was his sister.

"Will, hey. Its Charlie." The voice on the other end greeted. Will immediately felt a rush of guilt, his friend's usually chipper voice was subdued.

"Charlie! How are ya, my man!" Will returned, falsely cheerful, hoping to in turn cheer up his friend.

"I'm okay." Charlie answered in the same tone. He paused a minute before asking, "Are you busy?"

"Nope," Will answered, staring around the empty apartment.

"Can we skype?" Charlie asked.

"What are you a teenage girl?" Will teased.

Charlie snorted, "kind of, I have something to tell you, and I want to see your face when I do.

Will shook his head, "Whatever man, give me five minutes," he said before hanging up.

Will went into his temporary room and dug his laptop out of his bag. He brought it back to the kitchen and turned it on.

A few moments later Will was staring at his friend's face with a scowl, "So what is this news that you had to tell me 'in person'?"

Charlie grinned, "good to see you too mate." Will continued to glare and Charlie chuckled, "okay! Okay! I just wanted to tell you that it would probably be in your best interest to change the locks to your apartment." By the end of the cryptic sentence Charlie was visibly trying not to burst into laughter.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Will demanded, his frown slipping from his face and replaced by a look of confusion.

"It's a long story," Charlie replied innocently.

"I've got time," Will retorted, his glare back on his face.

"Okay, so a few weeks ago Louisa and Ed kicked Caroline out of their house so I've been letting her stay with me-"

Will snorted, interrupting his friend, "How that going? He asked derisively.

"Horrible! Has Caro always been this spoiled?" Charlie asked sincerely.

"Honestly?" Will asked, his smile dropping as he hoped his friend would say no. But Charlie nodded his head and Will couldn't not answer, "Yes."

Charlie sighed, "I thought so, she hides it well."

Will nodded in agreement.

"Anyways," Charlie continued, "I gave her my keys so she could have her own house set. A few days later I was listening to the messages and apparently Caro forgot to erase the message from the hardware store saying that both her key copies were ready."

Charlie stopped talking and waited for Will to get it. Will's face went from confused to astonishment to angry in an alarmingly short amount of time.

"She didn't?" Will practically roared.

Charlie nodded, barely containing his laughter.

"Oh my god!" Will was stunned, he couldn't believe Caroline had stooped so low as to making a copy of his house key. "I'm pretty sure that's illegal," he mused.

Charlie lost it at that point, laughing so loudly that his secretary came into his office to make sure that he was okay.

After she left and Charlie had stopped Will asked, "Why are you at work on a Sunday?"

Charlie shrugged, "nothing better to do." He paused for a moment then went on the defensive, "aren't you at work? You always work weekends."

"Haven't worked weekends since April." Will admitted.

Charlie's eyes widened, "it's the end of May!"

Will nodded, "listen Charlie, I have something to confess." He signed heavily.

"Sure, what's up?" Charlie asked.

Will took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I am so sorry." The words left Will's mouth before he could stop them. He glanced up to his computer screen and saw his friend's confused face. "I am such a horrible friend." He rubbed his hand over his eyes and back through his hair. "I am a selfish bastard." He took a deep breath, "I'm in love with Elizabeth Bennet."

Charlie looked shocked, "I always teased you about that, but I never actually thought…" he trailed off for a moment. Suddenly his face got very red, "You told me Jane was a gold-digger while you were in love with her sister!"

Will nodded dejectedly.

"Talk." Charlie demanded in a hard voice. "I need to know what your reasoning was."

Will began telling Charlie about how he had begun to fall in love with Elizabeth and it scared him, and how he realized that Charlie was actually in love with Jane, not just infatuated. And he was okay with that until he realized that if Jane and Charlie got married or something that he would have to spend a lot of time with Elizabeth. And how around that time Caroline approached him with this idea that Jane was a gold digger out to get the family money and how Will believed her because he wanted to, not because it made any sense. And how the duo managed to convince Charlie of the same thing.

As he finished, Will felt like an even more horrible person that he already had, especially when he looked up and saw his best friend's face wet with tears.

Charlie was silent for a moment. "I was planning on proposing to her," he said quietly. With that he disconnected the video and left Will all alone.

"That was brave," a voice from the doorway commented softly.

Will looked up and saw his sister leaning against the door with her arms crossed. "I didn't hear you come in," he blurted.

She shrugged and made her way over to the coffee pot.

"I'm sorry, Gee." Will blurted out. "I didn't mean it. I love you, so much, and I could never ever regret you, or not sending you away when dad died."

Georgie nodded, "I know, and I love you too."

"I don't blame you, you know. For anything."

"I know, you're my big brother." Georgie wrapped her arms around her brother's torso, and he hugged her back.

The siblings spent the rest of the day just catching up, Georgie talked about her job and her life and Will updated his sister on Caroline's latest escapades.

At seven they made their way over Earl's house, where they found him grilling out back.

"Smells delicious," Will announced, grinning and walking up behind the older man to watch him. Georgie rolled her eyes and helped herself to one of the water bottles, resigning herself to be excluded until the burgers were done.

The Darcy siblings and Earl spent an enjoyable evening full of good food and lively debate. Earl and Will argued over football and politics while Georgie tried to keep them from yelling.

As on their way home Will slung him arm over his sister's shoulder and hugged her. "I reserved a flight for tomorrow morning. Drive me to the airport?"

"You're leaving so soon?"

Will nodded, "You and I both know that I'm hiding out here. I need to man up and deal with it all."

"I don't mind you crashing here longer, Its almost fun having you here," she teased.

"Almost?" he repeated, sounding offended, before giving her a playful noogie.

They were silent for another moment before Will spoke again, "you should consider moving back east."

"Why?"

"Here, you're doing the same thing I am: hiding."

"What? I am not-"

Will cut off Georgie's indignant spluttering, "just listen. No one from home ever has come to visit you here, hell, this is the first time in almost two years I've visited you. You don't confide in anyone out here either. Even Earl knows nothing about you, and you guys talk every day." He paused, "think about it"

Georgie sighed, "I guess you're right. I never thought of it that way."

Will made a weird face, "I'm just that deep. I can see things you can't."

"Shut up before I take you to the airport now and leave you there all night," Georgie teased, shoving him away from her.

The siblings were silent for a moment, "Thanks for visiting." Georgie said softly.

Will wrapped his arm around her in a one-armed hug, "thanks for letting me crash on your couch."

The next morning at the airport Will and Georgie were waiting in the line for security. Georgie had spent the last few minutes making up life stories for the people in line with them, but had gone silent. Suddenly she gasped, "You know, I'm experiencing the strangest emotion." She said, theatrically placing her hand over her heart.

"Maybe you're having a heart attack?" Will suggested seriously.

"No, no I think its love. I love you!"

"Funny, kid." Will drawled. "But ya know, I may love you too."

"I should probably go, unlike some people I have a real job that required me to show up to the office."

He smiled, "yeah yeah, you color for a living."

"I'm an illustrator, there's a difference!"

"Whatever," he leaned down and lifter his sister off her feet. "Bye Gee, I love you."

She hugged him tightly, "Love you too Dub," she whispered

It seems that I only publish stories when it's snowing, I guess that just means I'll have to leave Boston and move to New York or Canada or something.

If you want you can see this as a continuation of my previous P&P stories ("Are You Planning A Party" "Can You Imagine The Nerve" "Curiosity Killed The Cat" and "How Are We Even Related"). Or it can be a random stand-alone

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!