A/N: Hey everyone, this is my first Pride and Prejudice fanfiction. Please let me know what you think. I own nothing. Rated T for language.

December 31st 8:10pm

What she hadn't expected that weekend was to end up alone at the bars. Sure, she knew going out with her very single friend usually led to her sitting at the bar by herself, but it was New Year's Eve! What best friend would leave her all alone at the bar? Especially when she had gone through all the effort to dress up.

The worst part of it all was the fact that her best friend was no more than twenty feet away from her having the time of her life with the weirdest guy known to human kind. We're not talking in generalities; we're being honest here. He's the kind of guy that every mother warns their daughter about. Okay, so maybe it's just weird because he was hitting on her for like an hour before he switched his attention to her friend.

Instead of flirting with the middle aged man to her right, she shot back the rest of her drink and stood to leave. Just as she was about to stand, someone swooped in and took the chair to her left. Great, just another fuck boy or middle-aged man that's going to try to sleep with me tonight. I don't think so.

He had seen her as soon as he had walked into the bar. She seemed like she was the only one who did not want to be there. He wondered why that was. He followed her gaze to the couple that was dancing together. Could she be jealous? No. She's annoyed. Maybe she got ditched? It was New Year's Eve, most people got ditched on New Year's Eve. Heck, Charlie probably ditched him already. He turned to see, and sure enough Charlie was gone. He looked around checking for Charlie, and found him speaking with a blond just ten feet away. They looked engrossed in the conversation and he really didn't want to deal with Charlie's love-dovey crap tonight.

Instead he looked to the bar again. She had dressed up, at least that's what he assumed. Maybe she wore dresses like that every day, he didn't know. She looked amazing, though, in her red dress and lacy black tights. Her hair was also done so that it had a natural wave to it. The light caught her eyes in that moment, and he saw they were a striking green. She was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Yet, there was something that was so recognizable about her. He couldn't figure it out, but he felt like he had seen her before. Then again, Seattle was a big city. It's possible he saw her on the streets when he was walking to work.

He noticed that she crossed her arms, giving a glare to the blond that was talking with Charlie. Maybe she's a pessimist? It seems that maybe she shouldn't have come out tonight if that's how feels. He thought for a few seconds longer before deciding to go talk with her. It was only one night, what was the worst that could happen? He found the chair to her left open, but before he could even begin she snapped at him.

Lizzie was sick and tired of being hit on by men tonight. She'd had enough middle-aged men hitting on her as it was. So instead of just walking away, she blew up, "Listen, I don't care that you're a middle-aged man who's probably just horny and I'm a lone female out on New Year's Eve! Just leave me-" Finally she turned to look at the slime ball that was now occupying the seat to her left, "Oh." 'Oh,' really? That's all you could come up with right now?

"Sorry, it's just I've been ditched by my best friend and my sister for the evening; I was just heading out." She finished. To be honest, she was slightly intrigued as to why a man that looked like he did chose to sit next to her. Even better, why was a man like this out on New Year's Eve; didn't people like him host parties with all those socialites who wore long red dresses and all that other bull shit?

She grabbed for her purse, but she realized he was saying something before she could just grab for it, "I got ditched too. My best friend decided to ditch me for that blond in the corner."

Her eyes snapped up. Well that sounded a little rude. Jane's not just some blond in the corner. "My sister is that blond, excuse you." She snapped. So she was having a shit night, she could take it out on whoever she wanted. Until then she had been perfectly content not to look at him, but her defiant nature kicked in. She met his brown eyes and felt slightly disarmed.

"I meant that my friend has a tendency to like any girl, I didn't mean to offend." He huffed, "Anyway, you looked like you were having a shit night. From what I could tell you had been abandoned by at least one friend." He looked over to where Charlotte was dancing with Billy Collins.

How did he even know that? Was he watching her?

"It wasn't that hard to tell. I saw you as soon as I walked in and you were glaring at them." He shrugged in a nonchalant way, "I wanted to buy you a drink. I mean, if you'd like one." He blushed a little and looked away from her. Was he nervous? Why on God's Green Earth would this man be nervous to ask her for a drink? I'm sure girls just faun over him.

Lizzie eyed the bar stool that she had just vacated skeptically before resuming the seat she had been previously subjected to one hour of Billy Collins and Charlotte dancing. "One drink," she told him firmly. She noticed that when he smiled he had dimples. That's something that I didn't expect from him. He seems so serious.

He waved for the bartender in such a calm and sophisticated way. How can you even wave a bartender down in a sophisticated way? She took this chance to finally look at him. He had black hair that was slightly curled. He was wearing a light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. On his wrist was a nice watch that she'd seen many medical school students running around with before they realized how impractical they were for medicine. She had to admit, he was extremely attractive.

For himself he ordered a whiskey on the rocks; she had been expecting him to choose something for her such as making the assumption that she enjoyed those fruity drinks that Jane and Charlotte tended to like. Instead he looked at her and it took her a few seconds to realize that she was supposed to order as well. "Make that two."

"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself, I'm Will."

"Elizabeth." She paused trying to think of something to talk about. "So, Will, what do you do?"

"I'm a manager at an accounting firm." Impressive. "What do you do?" He asked her after taking a sip of his drink.

"I'm a nurse."

There was an awkward pause, and she debated just thanking him for the drink and leaving. She was just about to say it, when he said, "What hospital do you work at?"

"None of your business, creep." She snapped.

"Sorry, I'm stuffing this all up. Will you tell me what floor or unit you work on?" He seemed desperate, but not the crazy desperate, just desperate. "I work in the Hematology-Oncology unit at the hospital just up the street."

Then he had to continue to probe her, "St. Joe's?"

"How did you know that?" Her face was shocked.

"You took care of my dad. He died about a year ago." Lizzie was attempting to dig into her memory. Many of the patients she had cared for in the Hematology-Oncology unit she repressed because the grieving process was easier when you just forgot about it.

Will continued, "I was in that crazy family with that overly obsessive aunt that demanded everything and I was a 'rude piece of shit' to you."

"Oh, Mr. Darcy!" She smiled a bit, "Don't worry, I've gotten used to your type in the hospital." She turned away from him before staring down at her tumbler.

"I wanted to say I apologize for having acted in such a manner to insult you last year. By way of explanation, not excuse, I want to tell you that I was grieving the loss of a father and I felt the need to lash out on someone, that being you. In fact, why I ever called you 'just a nurse,' and that you were 'barely tolerable,' is beyond me. I believe you are quite beautiful and you dealt very well with my Aunt Catherine when she was complaining about everything you did." She noticed he was rambling so and recognized it as him being nervous about such an apology.

To be completely honest, she would have to admit that she debated getting up from her chair as soon as she remembered him. She had hated that man for about one and a half years. He was the man that drove her into Wickham's waiting and charming arms. Lizzie had believed every word that Wickham had said because Will had been such a piece of shit to her. I mean, who called me barely tolerable then asked that I be moved off of their father's care because I was 'just a nurse' and 'barely competent enough to have graduated college.'

When Will had told her that she had helped care for his father, Mr. Darcy, she began to see the familial resemblance. Prior to chemotherapy, Mr. Darcy had had curly gray hair; although he would have given you that look if you said it was gray. He made sure to tell everyone that it was black. Just like Will's.

They also had the same look in their eyes. Exhausted and pained. You have the next two days off, why are you assessing him for interventions? The only difference was the color; his father had hazel eyes with green thrown in for good measure. Will's were completely brown.

"So you still find me barely competent, then?" She challenged. Lizzie wanted to hear from him that he didn't mean it.

"I find you exceptionally competent. More so than most women and men that I know. My father told me to treat you with the respect that you deserve and I learned just how competent of a person you are, Elizabeth. Your care of my father and our family was exceptional, with nothing lacking at all."

"Alright, I accept your apology." She paused to take a sip of her drink, "So, what do you like to do that isn't accounting, which is boring!"

"Hey, I find accounting very interesting. You never know what kind of crack pot doctor is going to turn up with their finances out of control. I'm the one that keeps your hospitals in working order."

"Then what else do you like to do?"

"Well," She noticed he paused, "I like to read, play guitar, some times I dance, but very rarely. I prefer to stand and watch others dancing because I never sure of my feet."

"What type of guitar? Acoustic or electric?"

"I prefer acoustic, but if I'm borrowing at my aunt's house, I'll take whichever she decides for me." Lizzie couldn't help letting out a soft laugh. She remembered his Aunt Catherine. The woman was absolutely crazy. Not only did she have extremely outdated ideas of what an accomplished nurse and woman should be able to do, but she actually demanded that Lizzie meet her expectations. His aunt demanded that she wear the cap and only wear white in Mr. Darcy's room because that was proper for her to do. She demanded to speak with the doctor before Lizzie was able to do anything for Mr. Darcy. Many times the woman refused the treatment because Mr. Darcy was asleep and was not to be awaken for his chemotherapy. Lizzie gave the woman a piece of her mind one time, but Will had been watching her closely. She had suspected he was judging her rash behavior.

"And just how is your delightful aunt doing?"

Will rolled his eyes, "She's just as crazy as ever. I've never seen her so angry as when you called her out on her antiquated views of nursing. That was a highlight of my year. It gave me the courage to stand up to my aunt about what I wanted."

"Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"She was trying to have my father give her custody over my little sister. I put my foot down, and my father agreed that I would have custody over Gigi if he were to die. Catherine also demanded that I be more sensible and merge my father's company with her company even though hers was going bankrupt."

Lizzie was shocked. When she had first met William Darcy he was anything except personable. He acted like he had a stick up his ass. To have him explaining so much about his personal life was confusing to Lizzie because he was so private about himself.

"That must have been so difficult for you to deal with."

Just then, just as she was getting to know him, Charlotte just had to come interrupt. "Hey, Lizzie, I'm going to head out with Billy. Have a good night!" Charlotte just grabbed her purse and jacket before Lizzie could even get a word out to her. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at her desperate best friend. The urge won. She heard Will snort next to her.

Not ten minutes later, they were joined by Jane and Will's best friend. "Lizzie, I didn't even know you were still here!" Jane smiled at her genuinely, "I'm so glad you haven't left yet. You really needed a chance to get out. Anyway, I'm rambling. I'd like to introduce you to Charles Bingley. He's one of the new surgical residents at St. Joe's." Lizzie pushed her hand out to Dr. Bingley. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Bingley. I'm Lizzie, I'm a nurse on the Hem-Onc unit at St. Joe's."

"Nice to meet you, Lizzie. You can call me Charlie. I see you've met Will. I hope he wasn't too cynical for you." Cynical? He most definitely does not act cynical.

"Nope. He's been very cordial this whole time. He even bought me a drink."

"Will Darcy bought a girl a drink? The woman, the myth, the legend!" Charlie said dramatically. Lizzie was slightly confused by this. To her Will Darcy was a man that many women could not turn down; no he was surely a great guy with a chance with ladies better than herself. Then she looked at him and noticed the blush that had spread to his face and the tips of his ears. This is what made her start to blush. Gosh, I haven't blushed this much since George.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The door to the bar opened and as was his wont, George Wickham strolled in. His hair looked like it always had: perfect, but not to be messed with. He gave a girl to his left a charming smile before making his way to the bar.

Lizzie looked away from the impending doom. She met Jane's worried eyes, "I was actually just heading out. I really should be getting some sleep." She turned to shake Will's hand, but refused to meet his eyes. She called out goodbyes and turned to leave.

As soon as she had made her way out of the door, somehow unseen by Wickham, she leant up against the brick of the building and began sobbing uncontrollably. Sure she was glad for him to be out of her life, but seeing him again after she gave him her heart and he brutally crushed it, that haunted her.

She wasn't even aware that the door opened a second time, emitting another to her breakdown, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Lizzie Bennet." Lizzie's head snapped up.

"What do you want from me?"

"We ended our relationship on such a bad note, I want another chance. Let me woo you again." Lizzie snorted and turned to walk away, but he caught her wrist and jerked her back to face him. She was staring up at the stubble on his chin as he heatedly started abusing her senses with all of her mistakes. Just one more second and she would have spit in his face.

Luckily, she didn't have to because Will Darcy came out of the bar. As soon as he saw her predicament, he came and shoved Wickham away, "What the fuck are you doing?" Wickham demanded.

"I'm trying to save a lovely lady from an asshole like you." Who knew Darcy could cuss? I wouldn't have guessed it. That's when George Wickham started laughing, "Oh. Oh! You like her don't you, Darcy?" He carried on laughing like the maniac that he is. Lizzie felt herself starting to blush again. Not here, not now, Wickham. Don't destroy any possibility I have with this guy. Be a decent person for once in your life!

"Too bad she's already been mine. Too bad she gave everything to me. She's just a bunch of baggage now, don't waste your time on her." Wickham spat at her and Lizzie lost it. All she could feel was rage at this man who ruined her life every chance he got.

Wickham never had a chance against a furious Lizzie, let alone a furious William Darcy. Will shoved Wickham's shoulder and he stumbled away from her, "Leave her alone, George. She deserves better than you."

"How much will it cost for you to keep her to yourself, Darcy?"

Lizzie had stormed off during this interaction; the last thing she wanted to listen to was William Darcy beating up George Wickham for her. She was attempting to get as far away from George Wickham as possible before she caught her cab. Lizzie was absolutely floored that George Wickham would show up out of the blue and ruin her night. She was charmed, though, by Darcy. She felt her cheeks heat with the thought of Will Darcy. He's so different than what I remember. He was so proud and vain last year, now he's an amazing person that cares for so many people.

Lizzie noted a man approaching her from her peripheral vision. She reached for her purse and held it tightly so it would be easier to run. The man easily caught her hand before she could run. She stopped for a second and noticed the black hair and brown eyes staring at her in concern.

He stood with her for a few more seconds. She could tell he was analyzing her posture and facial expressions, so she removed all of the emotion from her face. She looked at him blankly, as if she hadn't almost just fought George Wickham outside of a bar on New Year's Eve. He looked at her in that disarming way of his and asked, "Are you okay?"

Suddenly Lizzie could feel the tears that always accompanied any interaction with George Wickham; she pushed the tears back and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Her voice was emotionless, but somehow she knew that if he kept looking at her with that look, she was going to breakdown again, "I'm fine." She repeated, more to herself than to him. "Okay, so I'm not fine, happy?" He smiled just a bit at that. He opened his arms for her and she lost it.

Here she was on New Year's Eve, with an amazing guy who was quite possibly the most amazing person she had ever met and she was crying over her absolutely awful ex-boyfriend. What kind of girl was she? Not a normal one, obviously.

Will Darcy just stood there and let her cry to him for way too long, but she needed it. She really needed it. He just said every once in a while, "It's all going to be okay." After what seemed like hours, she pulled away from him and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I've ruined your shirt. If you need me to, I can buy-"

"It's okay. George Wickham is an absolute asshole. I totally understand." After a few more seconds he continued, "Do you want to maybe get some food? Or maybe go for a walk? I know it's kind of late, but I don't really want this to end." She nodded.

"A walk sounds good." After another few moments she ventured to ask him about Wickham, "So how do you know him?"

Darcy straightened up and was stiff in his speech, "We went to high school together," She nodded, her nursing instincts telling her there was more to it, "He wasn't the best in high school, but my dad still loved him. He felt like he was the second son to him." Will continued bitterly, "Dad never knew what he was really like. I didn't even know what he was like until a six months ago!"

"What happened six months ago?" She asked quietly. He looked back down at her. It seemed as if he had forgotten that she was even there. "I found him in bed with my sister. He was a substitute teacher at her school for about three months. They'd been 'seeing each other,' for two months. I wrote him a check for $15,000 and he left. I hadn't seen him since."

"I'm so sorry. Is she okay? Has she had anyone to talk to?"

"She's been seeing a psychologist for it since then. What about you? If you don't mind me asking."

"We'd dated from last January until late February. He wasn't the kind of person I wanted to keep around. He was always telling me I'd done something wrong and that I was stupid. I finally broke it off when I found out he was using my credit cards to rack up a bunch of gambling debts. I just got finished paying off those debts last week. Thus, the big girl's night out because I've been working five days per week, every week with twelve hour shifts. I've been picking up shifts all over downtown, just trying to get these debts paid back and then I get to go out and he ruins it! I never knew how much could ruin my life, but look at me now." She laughed bitterly.

"How much debt did he rack up on your cards?"

"About $50,000; I don't really like to talk about it much. I'm just glad that he's gone." She sighed, "Anyway, tell me about your sister."

"Georgiana- sorry, Gigi- is seven years younger than me. She'll finish her first year of college in May. She's actually interested in nursing, believe it or not."

"I'm sure you're thrilled with the stories she tells you about when she's home." She laughed a bit remembering all the stories she used to tell Jane. Jane would just get disgusted and demand Lizzie stop before she vomited.

"She's actually not one to talk much. She's pretty quiet. I guess it's a family trait. Anyway, she hasn't said much about anything for the past six months really." Lizzie knew how that felt. She knew exactly what it was like trying to bottle up your mistakes, especially when those mistakes were because of George Wickham. She hadn't been able to see, do, or feel anything for that year it took her to pay off her debts.

"This may be the weirdest request I've ever asked, but I'm going to do it anyway. Could I possibly meet her? I understand a lot of what she's going through right now with Wickham and nursing school."

Darcy was a little taken aback by her request, but he was happy to introduce his sister to Lizzie. He was sure that one day he would have to. "Of course. If you have nothing to do for the rest of the night… Sorry, what am I thinking it's New Year's Eve, of course you don't want to be stuck talking with my sister. I'm sorry-"

"There's nothing I'd rather do tonight than help a girl who is going through a lot of shit right now. George Wickham is a dangerous man for a girl's self-esteem. The sooner I can meet her, the better. If now works, now it will be." Lizzie told him in a strong voice. She saw his dimples reappear, then noticed his eyes had moved to her lips. Lizzie looked away from his gaze. She didn't want to kiss him in this situation. She had literally just cried to him over her awful ex-boyfriend. What kind of girl would that make her if she was kissing him after complaining about her ex?

Instead, she turned to the street and hailed the taxi. Once they had gotten inside and Will had told the cabbie the address, he pulled out his phone and placed it on speaker. "Gigi, are you awake?"

"Yes, darling brother. What ever could you want? Isn't it past your bedtime?" She saw him blush even in the darkness of the cab. He cleared his throat, "Well, I'm bringing someone home for you to meet-"

"You're bringing a girl home? You never bring girls home! Oh my gosh! Tell me everything! What does she look like? What's her favorite color? What's her name? Just tell me her name and I'll look her up on every social media platform! Will!" Gigi whined on the other end of the phone. Now it was Lizzie's turn to blush.

"Gigi, calm down. We'll be there in like 3 minutes. You'll meet her then."

"I cannot believe you're bringing a girl home! William Darcy, I am so proud of you. I give her my seal of approval already."

"Gigi-" She wasn't listening. She was rambling on about this girl, "Oh just please tell me her name! You have to tell me; I need to know now!" Gigi whined over the phone. Lizzie started laughing aloud just then, and Gigi suddenly went silent. "Will, why didn't you tell me you were on speaker phone?" Gigi demanded. "Hello, mystery girl. My name is Georgiana Darcy. What's your name?"

"Hello, Georgiana- Gigi- my name is Elizabeth Bennet."

"Oh my God, she's real?" She demanded of Will, "How much longer until you're back?"

"Maybe like another minute or so."

The taxi pulled up to a large apartment complex that overlooked the entire skyline of Seattle. Lizzie was in amazement as she walked through the lobby. The elevator ride was very comfortable, especially when Will Darcy nervously put his hand in hers. She turned and looked at him as if she was uncomfortable and he dropped her hand quickly.

Just then the elevator doors clicked open directly onto the top floor. "Will!" She heard a girl screech. She was about the same height as Lizzie, but she looked exactly like Jane: blue eyes and blond hair that reached her waist. She looked a little too excited to be meeting her brother's friend, but Lizzie couldn't judge her.

"Hi, you must be Elizabeth Bennet. I'm Gigi Darcy." It was Gigi's turn to survey her, and a few seconds later Gigi told her, "Come with me, you must want to get out of that right now. I can't imagine even wearing heels that cute for such a long time." Gigi grabbed her hand and towed her towards the right.

"So when did you and my brother meet? How did you two meet?" Gigi was going through her closet then pointed for Lizzie to sit down on her bed.

"Actually I met him about a year ago. Tonight I was at a bar and I got ditched by some friends and he just asked if I wanted a drink. He kind of saved me from my jerk ass ex-boyfriend."

"I know all about those… Will's the best when it comes to saving you from jerk-ass ex's."

"Yeah, Wickham did a real number on me."

"How do you know that name?" Gigi suddenly blanched. Lizzie tried to recover from her mistake.

"I dated him about a year ago and he racked up some pretty heavy debts on my credit cards. How do you-"

"I know Will already told you everything." Gigi said quietly as she handed Lizzie a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie. Gigi pointed her to the bathroom that was connected to her room. Lizzie went to change and when she came back out, Gigi was sitting on her bed looking lost.

"Hey, I know Will told me what happened, but you're the one who went through the experience. You can always talk to me about it. It doesn't have to be today; I'll even give you my number." Gigi looked down and tears began rolling down her cheeks. "It's okay, Wickham is a huge asshole. No one understands how much he can trick you than I do. I get what you went through. It sucks. But never, ever let him do as much damage as he has done to you. He's not good enough to cry over. He's not man enough to love you, so don't love him because he doesn't deserve it."

"Thanks, Lizzie."

"And promise me that if you ever feel like crap because of anything, you'll give me a call. I don't care what time of the day it is, I'll probably be awake regardless. Give me a call. Promise me, Gigi." Lizzie said looking into Gigi Darcy's eyes. Gigi nodded firmly swapping phones with Lizzie.

After another twenty minutes, Lizzie and Gigi exited Gigi's room. Gigi had broken down to Lizzie and confessed all. Lizzie encourage the girl to explain all of her feelings, regardless of how silly she felt they were. Gigi wouldn't stop giving her hugs, not that Lizzie minded.

"Will, did you make popcorn? And hot chocolate? You're the best!" Gigi cried sitting on the opposite side away from Will, so Lizzie would have to sit next Will. That Gigi has some ideas that should probably be fixed, but who was she to fix Gigi's ideas. That's her brother's job. Lizzie sat down next to Will and he offered some hot chocolate, which she gratefully accepted just so she could put something in her hands to distract her.

"Everything is alright then?" Will asked looking at his sister.

"All I can say, William Henry Darcy, is that if you screw this relationship up, I will never speak to you ever again. Understand?" Lizzie felt her ears turn red and looked at Will and noticed that he was bright red and was not interested in looking away from the popcorn bowl. "And I expect to know about things in the future. You can't just spring a girlfriend on me without even broaching the topic with me."

"Um, Gigi, I don't really know how to explain this to you, but your brother and I are just friends." Gigi snorted in laughter.

"Oh, I know. Will knows what he wants though." Gigi let out a long, drawn out yawn, "Anyway, it's definitely way past my bedtime, so I must bid you both goodnight." They both sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry for Gigi, she can be a bit much sometimes. She means well, but sometimes she gets a bit carried away."

"You don't have to apologize for your sister. She's wonderful. I'm really glad I could help her. Anyway, what were you watching?"

"Just Grey's Anatomy." She stared at him in disbelief. "Grey's Anatomy? You're freaking kidding me right?" When he shook his head, "God, you're freaking perfect!" Lizzie put her head in her hands, "You are the sweetest, kindest person I have ever met, you absolutely adore your younger sister, you helped me get over George Wickham, you never even really questioned me about him, and you watch Grey's Anatomy!"

"Elizabeth, are you alright?"

Lizzie straightened up immediately, "I really think I should be going. I'm so sorry again for intruding on your kindness. I'll call a cab downstairs, please don't worry about me. I'll let myself out. Again, it was great to meet you and you're an amazing person. Thank you again, for everything. Please just forget about me."

"Lizzie, what's wrong? Did I say something? Did I do something wrong?" Will grabbed for her hand.

"No, you did everything right, I just messed up. I'm sorry, I don't deserve to even be here. I'll see you around. Thank you again for everything, Will. You deserve the very best in life." With that she turned and entered the elevator and was gone.