A.N: So Although I have written two fics for NCIS this is most definetely different. I absolutely love Pride and Prejudice, it is my favourite story of all times! :D Why wouldn't it be when it includes Mr Darcy! Anyway this is not modern day but it is not as old as the original. I have set this in the late 1800s in Australia! I live in Australia and I love the country so I decided to set it there to be different. I am not sure if I will continue and if I do It may not be very consistent but I will try! depends on Uni etc. Please tell me what you think and if you like it I would love to continue it.

Enjoy!

Elizabeth Bennet stood in the rain on top of a remote hill overlooking the ranch. Salty tears welled in her eyes and she backhanded them viciously. Kneeling in the wet grass she ran a shaky hand across the granite engraved with 'John Bennett, 1829 – 1875' and she felt sobs come out through ragged breaths. Next to it laid another tombstone bearing the name of her mother, she too lost in the same stage holdup. Looking up to the heavens Elizabeth just wanted to scream but she knew she had to be strong, she was now the rock of the family that was left behind. It had barely been a week since herself as well as her three sisters buried their parents on their ranch in outback Australia. Now with their ranch 'longbourne' (named after their home town in England) they are left to fend for themselves and survive. Elizabeth at age twenty moved with her family to Australia only ten years earlier to start their cattle ranch and have a fresh start. Australia's economy although very new, had boomed with the recent gold rush giving the Bennett's a great opportunity to shift. Although little did they know that the harsh, dry climate of Australia would work against them and the economy plummet at the end of the gold rush.

Elizabeth sent a kiss skyward before mounting her horse and galloping off towards the ranch house, her family's tough situation plaguing her mind. Now there was only her older sister Jane at barely twenty three and her two younger sisters Mary, seventeen and Lydia, fifteen to run an entire ranch on their own. Without the ranch they had no income and with that almost no chance of a successful marriage for her sisters and herself. Dismounting her horse she ran into the house leaving her mud caked boots at the door. Walking into the kitchen she saw Jane pouring over files that lay on the table; noticing her presence Jane looked up and gave a weak smile before going back to her depressed disposition.

"What are you doing Jane?" The eldest girl sighed before gesturing to the papers.

"I do not know what we are going to do." Frowning again she rose and put the pot on the stove. "Tea?"

"That would be lovely." She paused and watched on as her sister arranged mugs and sugar before continuing. "I will run the ranch." Jane stopped abruptly and glanced at her sister wide eyed.

"Surely you don't mean…"

"I am going to take over fathers work."

"But you cannot!"

"Jane, what else can I do! We need this ranch and we can't afford to hire another hand. I will have to do it myself."

"But you will be shunned by every lady in society! That is a job for a man, not a woman!" Her eyes were full of disapproval towards her sister but Lizzy shook it off.

"If I don't do this we will all be shunned from society because we will be so poor that we can barely put food on the table! I will not let that happen!" She stood up and walked towards her distressed sister taking her hands. "It's either me or all of us. I will be fine, you just go find yourself a rich husband and I will look after your twenty children." She smiled reassuringly as she stroked her sister's cheek. "Besides, I have never been the one for dressing up and parading around men; and you know that! I am most at home in a saddle rounding up cows then I will ever be with a ring on my finger and a household to run." Finally she got a smile out of her sister who shook her head slowly.

"You never where like the others. I never understood your love for the land; for gallivanting around all day on that horse of yours with mud on your boots." A stray tear trailed down her cheek as she spoke, "Papa would be so proud, you are just like him. How can we ever thankyou enough for this." Lizzy gave her sister a tight squeeze before helping her with the tea.

"But you must come Lizzy! There is some knew people arriving and they have also come all the way from London!" Lydia ran circles around her sister as she played with her dress dreaming of the handsome Mr Bingley and party who had just arrived and were expected in church that morning.

"And they are terribly rich" added Mary in monotone. She only looked up for a second before returning to the pages of her philosophy book.

"I have work to do Lydia." Lydia pouted at her older sister before continuing her rant.

"But Lizzy not even Papa worked on Sunday's! Plus I do not understand why YOU are working, it is a job for a man. You will be ridiculed and you will never get yourself a husband like that!"

"Lydia!" cried Jane from the door way as she tightened her bonnet. "Leave Lizzy alone it is her decision not yours…" Lizzy looked at her older sister with thankfulness as she ushered the younger girls out the door. "Have a good morning Lizzy, we will be back around noon." With the first genuine smile Lizzy has seen in days she shut the door and entered the carriage. Elizabeth watched from the window and waved as the three girls left for town before turning around and staring at the empty house.

"Forgive me god for not coming to church this morning, but I just can't do it." Walking down the hallway she came to a closed door. She hesitated before pushing it open slowly to reveal her father's study. In truth there was no work that she needed to do urgently this morning but church for Lizzy symbolised a family ritual and she hasn't been able to push herself to get there since the accident. Running a finger along her father's bookshelf she remembered the day an officer came to tell her that her parents were in a stage coach holdup that went terribly wrong. She imagined how the scene would have unfolded with her mother screaming and her father's face filled with terror as their coach went off the road and over the cliff. Tears welled in her eyes both from sadness and red hot anger as she thought of the robbers who were at fault for this. If they hadn't tried to run them off the road and scare the horses then their coach would not be at the bottom of that cliff.

Lizzy felt her breath hitch in her throat and quickly left the room as well as the memories behind a closed oak door before walking down the hallway and grabbing her broad brimmed hat. Sitting outside she pulled on her riding boots over her pants opposed to the expected attire of a riding skirt. Looking out over the hills she could see faint smoke rise from the neighbouring house of 'Netherfield', a stud farm that has just been taken over. She smiled inwardly as she realised the smoke meant the house was now occupied by her new neighbours and decided to ride over and meet them.

Grabbing her chestnut mount from the stables she saddled her up and galloped off towards the scrub on the north side of the property for a shady and scenic ride. Although a longer route to her neighbour's property it was her favourite trail that her father used to take her on as a child. When she grew older and her father became busier she rode the trail by herself and now knows its many routes and secrets. She knows every tree and every bump on the trail like she knows the letters in the alphabet. Tucking up her hair and pulling her hat further down her forehead she nudged the side of her horse and let loose. Although the trail was closed in and bendy she knew it like the back of her hand; and where those found it hard to navigate a horse through it so fast, she found it second nature and loved the adventure. It wasn't until the next bend where she almost collided with another horse and on top of it a very handsome rider. Her horse reared up and the man shot from his saddle onto the ground. Standing up he grunted and dusted his clean cut pants which looked way too expensive and, well clean, to go riding in. She was shocked and rode over to see if the man was okay but before she spoke his abrupt voice filled the still air.

"Are you mad riding that fast through here? You could have killed me!"

"I am sorry… I…"

"You must be an incompetent rider sir! For everyone knows not to ride so fast in this terrain!"

"Excuse me!" Incompetent! SIR! Her blood boiled and the colour drained from her face. Sitting up straighter she was about to correct him and give a piece of her mind but he simply kicked his horse and left without a backwards glance.

It was almost exactly on noon when the girls had arrived home and they had found their sister in a foul mood indeed! She prepared lunch of cold meat sandwiches and had placed them on the table but she was now cooking pie. The girls entered the kitchen and watched for a moment as she bashed the dough with the rolling pin over and over, kneading the pastry until it was almost hard then throwing it back on the bench and again attacking it with the rolling pin. Jane knew the best thing to do was to let her cool off before trying to approach what had happened but Mary being her straight forward self, made an observation that had Lydia rolling her eyes.

"You seem to be in a bit of a mood Elizabeth, may we assume something has happened?" Jane scowled at her from the doorway but Mary seemed to not take any notice.

"Arrogant, conceited man! Did not even see if I was okay just called me INCOMPETANT! Oh if anyone is incompetent it would be that…"

"Lizzy! Are you going to tell us what happened or just keep calling him names." Lizzy sighed and put down the rolling pin before turning around.

"I almost collided with a man out riding this morning and he told me I was an incompetent rider because I was going to fast! And not only, he called me sir!" Lydia let out a giggle and earned three glares before she stopped and apologised.

"Do not take any notice of him Lizzy, you most likely will never see this man again." Jane, the voice of reason, concluded reassuringly and Lizzy just looked at her flatly.

"I hope your right Jane, because if I do I will make sure he is sorry he ever spoke a word." Jane just sighed before putting down her bonnet and getting out plates for lunch. When the table was all set and the four girls sat down to eat they said a quick prayer before Lydia burst into conversation about the new arrivals.

"Charles Bingley is adorable! And he is apparently very rich, for they have almost rebuilt the whole stud farm over the hill and it will be the biggest one in the whole district! But I did not see the rest of the party for they stayed at home. It was meant to be just himself as well as his good friend Darcy to help set things up. But then his sister Caroline Bingley came also, voluntarily! I would have no clue why such a woman of the Ton would come all the way to live out here in the bush!" Lydia turned up her nose at this because she has been complaining about moving out here for the past ten years! "Anyway I hear that Darcy is twice as rich as Bingley, if not more!" Lydia beamed at the prospect receiving an eye roll from Lizzy.

"Lydia do you do anything but gossip!" Lizzy proclaimed earning her a glare.

"I heard it all from Mariah Lucas! Her father is the mayor so he knows all about it. Plus they are to hold a dance at the end of this week!" Lydia squealed before standing up and dancing around the table. They all laughed at this before finishing their lunch and clearing the table.

After lunch Elizabeth went for another ride to check the fencing along the west paddocks and the heat again forced her to tuck her hair under her hat to cool her neck. Satisfied with what she saw she gave orders to the farm hands to move the cattle and headed back towards the ranch house. From a distance she could see her sisters standing outside as they spoke to two men on horses. Curious and not wanting to miss them she nudged her horse to go faster and when she arrived she almost fell of the horse in shock. He was yet to look at her but she recognised his face instantly. Forgetting about her appearance she jumped off her mount and stood beside Jane who had the full attention of one of the riders. The man from this morning seemed bored and out of place next to the cheerful man and Lizzy found her attention fully drawn to him. Her face felt hot as anger again rose within her. It took a while but he finally shifted his gaze and when he saw her his eyes widened in surprise before narrowing slightly and she too returned the gesture.

"And may I introduce my sister Elizabeth; this is mainly her ranch for she runs it." Lizzy could see that surprise registered in the man's face as he gave her a once over before locking in on her face and then her hat. She tried not to laugh as he realised he had mistaken her gender earlier on. Pulling off her hat she let the brown curls cascade down her neck and around her face and to her humour his eyes only got wider.

"I am Charles Bingley, nice to make your acquaintance." Her eyes shifted to the man on the horse near Lydia and she saw the warm smile he gave her, giving him instant approval unlike his friend.

"It's a pleasure" She gave a very small curtsy which felt weird without a skirt tangled around her legs and although he seemed quite shocked at her appearance it didn't seem to bother him. Her eyes again shifted back to the more handsome yet overall less appealing man to his left.

"Oh and this is my good friend Darcy" His gaze was direct and not even a small smile touched his lips.

"Am I correct in hearing you run this ranch?" Darcy said accusingly.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Defensive

"I guess not." She hid her hands behind her back as they curled into fists and the astonishment on Charles face was noticeable to everyone as he stared at his friend in embarrassment and disbelief.

"No it is no problem at all, I am glad to have such wonderful neighbours." Lizzy smiled at him for this and he returned an apologetic look before his eyes were drawn back to her elder sister. "Well I guess we better be off, I hope to see you all at the dance this coming Friday."

"Oh yes Mr Bingley!" Cried Lydia with glee.

"And will you all be going?" Lizzy smiled as she noticed his direct gaze on Jane and his true intentions by posing the question.

"Yes, I am sure of it." Jane said with a shy smile. Bingley smiled and followed his friend who had already started trotting down the road. When the men were out of ear shot Lydia let out a giggle and danced around Jane.

"So Jane, will you dance with Mr Bingley!" Again she let out a giggle before turning serious. "But my god! His friend is barely tolerable, he hardly spoke a word and when he did!"

"Jane you were wrong. I saw him again, the man from this morning." Janes eyes widened and looked after the men down the track.

"You do not mean…"

"Yes Jane, that's exactly what I mean."

A.N: Anyway if I get enough people who would like to follow this story I will continue :) Please review and tell me what you think, I would love to know if I am to continue :)

Thanks for reading,

Keely :o)