As Lizzie sat curled up in one of the many huge armchairs around the fire in the Darcy penthouse, she thought about the crazy series events that had led to her spending Christmas in the huge flat on the top of the Pemberley complex in the centre of LA.

She remembered how utterly blindsided she had felt when it turned out that FD Communications, the third company she was shadowing for her independent study, was the company Darcy ran. I mean, who could've known that he had a great grandfather called Fitzwilliam who had set up a postal service in the 1800s?

Then when Jane's colleague had had to move in with Jane, and Lizzie was unable to stay there, how thankful she had been that Darcy had offered to have her to stay.

It had been weird, being away for New Years, but Darcy and Gigi had been incredibly welcoming. She had even seen Bing, briefly on New Year's Eve, and although she hadn't been able to talk to him properly, she had noticed that he looked considerably sadder than he had been the last time she saw him. This had given her an inordinate amount of pleasure. No-one hurt her second bestest friend ever and got away with it.

And now she was here, sipping mulled wine from a silver cup, an actual silver cup - and reading Anna Karenina.

She looked up and noticed that the cup she had been trying to drink from was empty, and decided to refill it.

She called out to Gigi, who didn't reply; her headphones were in and she seemed lost in a world of music and Tolstoy - one of the many reasons why, like Fitz had said, she like Gigi.

She got up and walked over to her, "Gigi - do you want me to get you a refill?"

Gigi looked up sleepily, "Can I have wine as well?"

"No!" she replied, "You know your brother would kill me! Coke or orange juice?"

"Fine," huffed Gigi. "Coke. But I think we both know that my brother wouldn't dare kill you."

Lizzie blushed and hurried towards the door, where she tried to juggle two cups, the door handle, and trying to look at the text she had just received. Once she made it into the hallway, she promptly bumped into something tall that wasn't usually there.

Great.

She had managed to crash straight into Darcy.

Luckily, she still had hold of everything. She hastily stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

Darcy looked at the cups she was holding, and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you corrupting my little sister with alcohol?"

"No!" Lizzie replied indignantly. "As you should know, I take big sister responsibilities very seriously. Even when it's not my sister. I'm getting her more coke."

"But wine for you? We wouldn't want you getting drunk and doing anything rash." He paused for a second, then, "I think I recognise that cardigan... you wore it at the Gibson wedding, did you not? Where we were first... acquainted."

"Er, yes, I think I did. You have an excellent memory."

"My memory is no better than yours, Lizzie, but I can tell you that you look just as be-beautiful as you did that night."

Lizzie looked down. She could feel another blush rising up to her cheeks, "I thought you only found me 'decent enough'".

"Maybe that's what I said then," he stopped at Lizzie's disapproving look. "OK, so that's what I said, but maybe that's not what I thought." He sighed, then continued, so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "I think I fell in love with you a little bit that night."

Lizzie was suddenly aware of how little space was between them.

The light flickered above them, and Lizzie looked up, where she noticed the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the light fitting.

And then it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to stand up on her tiptoes and kiss him.

Her lips had barely touched his when he pulled away and sighed.

"Are you drunk, Lizzie?" he asked, looking pointedly at the cups she's holding.

She pursed her lips, "No, William, I'm not."

Looking into the beautiful eyes that he first fell in love with, William Darcy realised there was only one thing he could do.

Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, he tilted her chin up towards him, and gently touched his lips to hers.

The second kiss was sweeter than the first.

He felt her relax against him, and her eyelashes fluttered over his skin as she closed her eyes.

His hands cupped the back of her head, and hers tangled in his hair. As his lips became more urgent on hers, she could felt her heart racing, and she realised that no matter what her feelings had been when she first met him, even a few months ago, that they were the complete opposite.

Somehow, she had fallen in love with William Darcy.

Lizzie's phone went off again, but neither of them noticed.

Gigi came through the door, wondering where Lizzie had got to, opened her mouth, closed it again, and then slowly tiptoed out again.

Suddenly Lizzie's ringtone blasted out, breaking them apart.

Lizzie blushed - again - and pulled out her phone.

"Jane! Hi!"

"Lizzie! Did you not get my texts?"

"No, sorry, I was... busy", she smiled sheepishly at Darcy, who seemed pretty shell-shocked.

"Lizzie, you have to come home. It's Lydia."

The coloured drained out of Lizzie's face, and Darcy looked at her, alarmed.

"What about Lydia?" Lizzie felt faint. She had never heard Jane this anxious before.

"Lizzie, she's, she's in hospital!"

Darcy looked in alarm at her ashen face, which only minutes before had been flushed and happy.

"What did she do, Jane?" Lizzie whispered.

"They think she mixed prescription drugs with alcohol!"

"Was anyone with her?" Lizzie could almost see Jane wincing. "Jane?"

"She was just dropped off at A&E no one saw who she was with, but…"

"But what?"

"She had George Wickham's phone number in her coat pocket."

Lizzie drew in a breath, and then replied, "Jane? I'm coming home," before ending the call.

He looked at her in dismay, "You're leaving? What happened? Is it anything I can help you with?"

She blinked back tears, and shook her head, before rushing past him down the hallway, back to the relative sanctuary of her room.

A little while later, there was a knock on her door.

"May I come in, Lizzie?" he said.

A tear-stained Lizzie looked up. "Sure," she replied, before putting her phone to her ear.

"Jane? I have to go now. I'll come home as soon as possible, ok?" she ended the call, and gestured to the chair next to her.

"What happened Lizzie? There must be something we can do to help?"

"I don't think so, Darcy. My 'energetic'," she saw him look away guiltily at his description. "Went to Las Vegas for New Years. She's in hospital now. They think she met up with George Wickham. And I just can't believe that I didn't tell her what he did. I just- I didn't want to hurt Gigi, I guess."

A hint of anger passed across his face before he spoke. "And it's certain that he was involved?"

"She hasn't woken up yet, but she had his name in her pocket."

"Have your family gone to get her yet?"

"My father has gone to meet her, but my mother is at home with Jane. I should've done more to stop her from going to Las Vegas. And now he has hurt her. I wish I had done more when my eyes were opened to his real character. It was a stupid, stupid mistake."

She burst into tears, and Darcy, not knowing what to do, called in Gigi.

The next morning, Lizzie left for home.

Darcy watched as she drove away, and then pulled out his phone.

"Hello? Is that the Parker Hospital in Las Vegas? I'm calling to enquire about your patient Lydia Bennet? I paid for a private room for her last night."

He paused as he listened to the speaker.

"Wonderful. Could you inform her family that she has changed rooms, and perhaps keep me updated on her health? Oh, and I would prefer if you kept my input in this private."