A/N: This may not be a new chapter in Family Comes First, but I thought of this idea and ran with it. It's a cute one-shot for the holiday season and I hope you all enjoy it. For clarification, Richard is William's father, James is his cousin. I decided to fit Darcy's dad in because he seemed like a good character to have. Reviews welcome. And now I present…
Home for the Holidays
William was dreading the unavoidable confrontation with his wife. He somehow had to explain his inevitable business venture. He knew Elizabeth wouldn't want him leaving two days before the Christmas holiday.
He walked through the door to their apartment and shrugged off his heavy wool coat. As he glanced around the apartment, he noticed Elizabeth had taken the initiative to put up holiday decorations. The tree was lit with bright white lights, ornaments of all sizes, shapes, and colors and a glimmering angel adorned the top. Upon further inspection of the living room, dining room, and kitchen was that she had placed several holiday candles and plants about. The dining table was already set for Christmas Eve; no doubt Elizabeth wanted everything perfect for his family. On the mantle of the fireplace hung both of their stockings, more for tradition than anything else, he supposed.
He proceeded through the rooms on a hunt for his wife who was already on holiday vacation. William smiled when he found Elizabeth snuggled between the lovely silk sheets of their bed. Her serene expression was complimented by her porcelain skin and rosy cheeks. Her dark curled hair framed her face almost as if someone had positioned every tendril perfectly.
William walked over to his beloved and knelt down beside her. He whispered her name lovingly and watched as her eyes opened and soon focused. Elizabeth smiled in recognition of who had awakened her.
She stretched and sat up, smiling lazily all the while, and patiently awaited what she deemed necessary as a proper greeting. William obliged her with a tender kiss before remembering his news, dreading the outcome which he knew would break the calm atmosphere of their bedroom.
"Elizabeth," he started hesitantly, "I have some unfortunate news which may alter our plans for this week."
"Oh?" she commented, lifting her eyebrows in curiosity. William hated it when she looked at his like that; hopeful and innocent with those beautiful dark eyes he fell in love with. It was making him feel guiltier by the minute.
He decided that quickly was less painful, specifically to his person, and came right out with it.
"Darling, I have to make a run to the London office tonight," he stated a little too evenly for the situation.
Elizabeth's mood immediately darkened, a scowl forming on her face. She sat up fully in bed and her posture rigid.
"A 'run' to London? How do you manage to make a 'run' to London when we live in New York? Is a 3,000 mile journey across an ocean a quick errand to you? I'd hate to find out how far an expedition is!" She had stood up by this time and started pacing while ranting about the inconvenience. If she hadn't been completely infuriated with him, he would have kissed her there and then.
"Darling, please, it's not as if I can control all of those imbeciles who work in the office. I'm taking a red-eye flight out tonight, don't be angry."
"I have every right to be upset." William bit back a smile; she was pouting now.
"Yes, you do," he conceded.
"And do you have a flight back to New York already scheduled, or are you 'winging it', forgive the pun."
"This was not planned, you know. I don't enjoy causing you misery; one, because I love you very much and two, because when you are miserable or angry you usually make a point of informing me in some way."
Elizabeth sighed her voice almost inaudible asked, "Will you be home for Christmas?"
He looked down at his hands and grimaced; with that Elizabeth has her answer, no.
"I will try," he said gently, "no promises."
She frowned down at her hands, "It's our first Christmas together and you aren't going to be here? That kind of defeats the purpose of togetherness, don't you think? What am I to tell your father? Or James, and whoever his love interest of the month is?"
William sighed heavily. He was in trouble…big trouble.
"Remember when I decided we wouldn't go back to Minnesota for Christmas?" she continued, "Granted, I don't get along very well with most of my family, but I would have liked to have seen Jane and Charles." By now William had made his way to where Elizabeth was standing.
"Elizabeth, I'm leaving tonight, please don't make this a bad parting." He was desperate to get her back to her previous attitude.
Elizabeth finally conceded that if she didn't see him during the holiday, she wanted their parting to be peaceful and loving.
She took a few calming breaths, counted to ten, and deemed herself ready to continue the conversation. "Fine, you are right. I'm going to call Kevin and tell him exactly what I want him to do."
"Fair enough, love. You give him a ring and make sure any necessary arrangements are made."
Kevin had been Darcy's assistant for the past four years, two of which Elizabeth had known him. From experience he seemed able to get them out of more tight situations than seemed possible.
Unfortunately for William, Elizabeth's mood had gone from cheerful, to livid, to melancholy. He noticed her intense interest on her feet and he felt like the worst husband in the world.
William was about to mutter some words of comfort to her when she hastily pulled him down far enough to kiss him on the cheek then vacated the room.
He went along packing about five days worth of clothes, one never knows when traveling, and about a half an hour later Elizabeth re-entered their bedroom.
"Kevin said he booked a flight back to New York for Christmas Eve. He also said that leaving your wife alone for the holidays is completely unacceptable and if he wasn't working for you he would sit you down and straighten you out," she stated.
"Well, it is a very good thing I am his employer then, eh?" He was encouraged when he saw a hint of a smile on her face, her lips curved upward ever so slightly. "I really am sorry about this, love. Al least I will be home late Christmas Eve by the looks of it."
"Weather permitted," Elizabeth interjected. He nodded his agreement and casually began inching closer to her.
His subtle movements were not lost on Elizabeth, and she decided that William was here now, and she should enjoy having him with her.
The next morning Elizabeth had woken up alone, as William had said his good byes the previous night. Elizabeth planned out the rest of the festivities for when her guests arrived the next day. She knew that even though her husband's immediate family was limited, what relatives he had were very close to him, save one.
She had originally wanted their first Christmas as husband and wife to be special and romantic, which was part of the reason she agreed not to travel home for Christmas. The entire day seemed absent of fun and life, spending the majority of it grading her students' philosophy papers and cleaning house. Tomorrow will be better she convinced herself.
William situated himself in his business class seat, pulling out his laptop to try and finish his work as fast as possible. The marketing plan for their next project had fallen apart conveniently close to Christmas and it was his job, as CEO, to fix it. He bitterly thought of his father as president and how easy he must have it, taking off all of the time he needed.
As the flight attendant came by, the leggy blonde who batted her eyes at him, he treated her with a hint of disdain. He rolled his eyes at her; she still hadn't gotten him his brandy. He promptly ignored her shameless flirting and made his wedding band visible. He then proceeded to tap away on his keyboard, attempting to fix others' mistakes.
Christmas Eve
Elizabeth was finished finding a seasonal outfit to wear, deciding on an emerald green blouse with a pair of dress slacks.
She walked over to her jewelry box on her vanity and pulled out a pair of diamond earrings she had received for her birthday from William.
As she was getting ready she glanced at a picture of William and herself on their honeymoon in Italy. My, he was a handsome man, and the worst part was he knew it. He was a full head and shoulders above her with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. And she adored his voice, the deep baritone so full with his British accent as a bonus. A shiver went down her spine just thinking about it.
She heard the door bell chime and swiftly made her way to the front entrance. As soon as she opened the door she was bombarded by two men, both of whom were wearing ear-to-ear grins.
She was promptly picked up off the ground by Darcy's cousin for a hug, then set back on the ground so Richard could greet her. Richard kissed her cheek and informed her that Georgiana was doing well and she apologizes for not being able to attend Christmas dinner.
"Now where is that son of mine?" he asked cheerfully, "it seems I haven't seen him in years.
"When in actuality you saw him three weeks ago," James added dryly.
Elizabeth took their coats and hung them up in the closet while James and Richard both made themselves more comfortable. Richard on the sofa; James by the bar.
As Elizabeth looked about the room at her husband's relations, she noticed certain attributes that struck her as fascinating. William was Richard's almost exact likeness in stature and features; tall, broad, and imposing.
James, on the other hand, had a different feel to his appearance altogether. While both Darcy men held a very regal presence, Fitzwilliam's felt much more playful. He had bright eyes that lit in amusement, usually at someone else's expense. His reddish brown hair seemed to compliment his features and with his smaller height he seemed less imposing.
"Regrettably William was called to business in London two days ago. He is expected home late tonight, but made no promises," she said, answering his question from earlier. With this news Richard only seemed mildly surprised while James could have almost been shocked.
"This is out of character for my cousin, I think. His is a workaholic of sorts, but you always are his first priority, Lizzie. Sometimes I swear you two are joined at the lips…pardon me hip." James smiled slyly as Elizabeth's cheeks reddened in embarrassment to the 'slip of his tongue'.
"Come now, there is no need to make the poor girl blush, James, she already has to put up with your cousin, it isn't fair to make her put up with you, too." Richard gave him a look that said 'you may be my nephew, but I can tape your mouth shut'. In response to the threatening glance, James just smiled cheekily and continued on with small talk.
The dinner that evening was delicious, being turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, rice pudding, the whole nine-yards. After they had filled their stomachs to the limit, Elizabeth brought out a chocolate cake for dessert…well; maybe they could make room for that.
Too soon, it seemed, it was past 10 o'clock. James and Richard couldn't impose any longer on Elizabeth's hospitality.
After they had left, Elizabeth sighed dejectedly, and decided to keep herself busy. She opted for cleaning the wood floors; she was meaning to do that anyway. Once she had gathered the proper equipment she began her task. Alright, it is 10:23, he could still get here. Elizabeth was tempted to call Kevin, but decided against it. It was Christmas Eve, after all.
"Look, I'm sorry, sir. There is nothing we can do, the runway needs to be cleared and the plane de-iced. You will just have to wait," came the irritating answer from the lady at the front desk. It was a simple question, really, when could he get the hell out of here? William was on a private jet in business class, for Christ's sake, was it that hard to accommodate him?
He sat down begrudgingly by an older man who looked to be in vastly better spirits them himself.
"Young man, what has you so upset?" he asked kindly.
William huffed and said bitterly, "Why does life never work the way you want it to? All I wanted was to be home with my wife; instead I'm sitting in the airport with an old man as my company," he finished, but then immediately realized what he had said and amended, "I apologize, that was uncalled for. I hold nothing against you, I would prefer my wife's company, is all."
"I can sympathize, I would gladly spend Christmas with my wife, god rest her, but alas, I am attempting to see my daughter and her family. It's the times together you learn to appreciate. Why are you so far from home on Christmas?"
William looked down, ashamed," I had to fix a business dealing at the company, where the headquarters are here in London."
"Ahh," was all he said in return, turning back to his newspaper. When William saw him flip a page he assumed the man was done talking to him.
A good two and a half hours later they finally boarded the plane and took off. If his calculations were correct, he would make it back to New York with about a half an hour to find his way to their apartment before midnight.
After rushing through the airport and traffic William finally walked in the door to their apartment at 11:54 p.m. wondering where his little wife was. First, he snuck into their room to find the bed made up and untouched. He gave a confused look before starting toward a different part of their home. Eventually he found her asleep in the kitchen on the floor, leaning against the cupboards. He smiled and gently lifted her off the floor to carry her to their bed. She instinctively curled against him as he transported her, and William was loathe to put her down, out of his arms, but he needed to dress for bed.
While he was pre-occupied undressing in the closet, Elizabeth opened her heavy lidded eyes. William popped back out of the closet, clad in his flannel pajama bottoms and a T- Shirt; Elizabeth always commented he looked in casual clothing, especially jeans.
He noticed with a glimpse towards her form that she was awake, if only just. He walked to her and bent over to kiss her forehead. She smiled on response, closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep. He was home. William observed her still form for a moment before turning to her dresser drawer. He opened the wooden cabinet and rifled around a bit before pulling out a black velvet box. He quietly shut the drawer and gazed at the box for a moment. William opened it to find a beautiful diamond necklace that had a cut suspiciously similar to the earrings he had gifted to Elizabeth. Part of the matching set; he had already purchased all of the pieces. Now he was looking for excuses to give them to her. After Christmas his response to why will be 'just because'. He had a feeling she wouldn't mind. William closed the box and slipped it tenderly into her tranquil hand. She would notice it when she awoke, which William then hoped to receive his Christmas present in return.
He slipped into his side of the bed, enfolded Elizabeth in his embrace and thought about how the events of the past few days. So their holiday didn't go exactly as planned, but as he held his wife in his arms and remembered how lucky he was, William could only think of one way to describe this Christmas…perfect.