Hello All! If you, like me, love the Lizzie Bennet Diaries and think Episode #78 was their best one yet, hopefully you'll enjoy this short journey into the life of Darcy and my version of what happened before, during, and after.

Update: 1/13 - made a few edits of things I missed the first time around. Thank you all for the great response!

Read, enjoy, and review!

December 26, 2012

"Will-iam!" Gigi whined in his ear as she peered over his shoulder. "You can't work during Christmas! It's the rules!"

"Christmas was yesterday, and therefore, technically over." Darcy answered his sister as he continued to answer emails. "Since I, at your insistence I might add, did not take my laptop with me on our ski trip, there are many items of business that I must oversee personally to ensure things run smoothly when everyone returns from their holiday."

"That's because there's no laptops allowed on the ski trip! And Christmas lasts until New Year's. Everyone knows that." When Darcy's only reply was the clicking of his keyboard, Gigi narrowed her eyes, then grinned.

"William Darcy, if you don't come and play Just Dance with me, I will fill a bucket of water and dump it on your head."

Darcy raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "You wouldn't. The water would damage my laptop and you would have to pay for it."

"Maybe, but I'd still get you to spend some quality time with your favorite baby sister!"

"You're my only baby sister."

"Exactly." Gigi answered, nodding wisely.

Darcy allowed a small grin. "Fine. Give me half an hour."

"Ten minutes."

"Twenty."

"Fifteen?" She bartered with a wide smile.

Sighing in defeat, Darcy nodded. "Alright. Fifteen minutes."

"Sweet! I'll go start it up! And if I don't see you in fifteen minutes, you know what'll happen."

"Yes, yes. Thousands of dollars of liquid damage to my laptop. No worries, I'll be there."

Truth was, he was nearly done sorting through which emails were vital and which were simply for his information.

Like this one, entitled Names of Interns and Shadowers of Pemberly Digital for Jan 2013 that was sent to all the higher-ups in his company.

He skimmed the first paragraph, which summarized the history of their highly successful and sought-after internships and other outreaches to the community of rising young designers and hopeful business students and starting scrolling through so he could send back that he read it and everything looked fine.

Names of participants are as follows:

David Adams

Elanor Baker

Elizabeth Bennet

Timothy Brown

Mark Davis

Emma Fair-

Suddenly Darcy stopped and scrolled back up, sure his brain was just playing tricks on him.

There it was.

Elizabeth Bennet.

Lizzie.

She was coming to Pemberley.

Oh God.

He sat back in his chair and made an effort to breathe.

Maybe it wasn't her. Elizabeth Bennet could be a common name, right? And maybe she spelled it with two 't's or one 'n' or something.

He opened a new tab in his browser, then hesitantly started typing. He only got to 'liz' when Chrome helpfully filled in the rest with 'zie bennet diaries', remembering from the last time he searched for them back in November. Damn Google. Although Google probably didn't remember that the last time he searched for that, it was out of confusion and hurt and the results brought blinding illumination and a variety of insults.

Like 'newsie'. And 'robot'.

And 'robot newsie' – which was an image he had never pictured before.

And the spelling of her name was the same. It was really her.

He hit 'enter' almost unconsciously and her smiling youtube video beamed at him from his screen.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune…" There was a pause as she turned the hideously pink shirt around. "Must be in want of a wife."

She raised her eyebrows at the screen, inviting her audience to join her skepticism.

"My mom gave each of us one of these last Christmas. I have yet to wear it… ever…"

"What you doing?" Gigi popped over his shoulder.

Darcy leapt out of his chair.

"Nothing!" He nearly shouted, then hurriedly closed his laptop.

Gigi stared at him as he fidgeted nervously.

"So, are you coming to play with me or what?"

"I… I can't actually. I just got this horrendous headache, so I'm going to take an aspirin and lie down for a while. Maybe later tonight?" He offered shakily.

Gigi studied him for a moment. He actually did look a little pale. She sighed. "Alright. But you promise to actually play tonight?"

"Yes. Absolutely. I will." And then he walked away as quickly as he possibly could.

She waited until she heard the door to his room close, then climbed into his chair and opened his laptop. If something had shaken her usually immovable brother, she wanted to know about it.

The computer blinked on and asked for a password. Gigi shook her head. William always thought no one knew his 'personal secret password', but he underestimated his little sister yet again.

"RandalLThEInestimablE." She sounded the last word out to herself, and grinned as the computer accepted the password and opened up its secrets.

"That is the weirdest name for a dog ever," She muttered to herself. "But no, Will got to name him that because 'it's a proud name, a good name, worthy of the best of canines'." She rolled her eyes. "Typical big brother."

As the laptop resumed its functions, she saw the email about interns right next to a youtube video. She read through the list of names, then jumped a little as the video declared, "My name is Lizzie Bennet, and this is my life."

Will had mentioned on their ski trip briefly that he had met a girl over the summer named Lizzie, and that she was… surprising.

When she had asked eagerly what had happened, Will had looked down and stated, "I worked up the courage to declare my love and… discovered that her feelings were not… mutual. Quite the opposite in fact."

He seemed so down that she hadn't really pressed about it, even though she would have loved to meet the girl that caused Will to say the l-word. She looked back at the screen, where the title "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" floated into view.

Not wanting to get caught with Will's laptop, she closed the lid and rushed to her own room to start watching these videos. Maybe she'd learn how this Lizzie Bennet had snuck into her brother's affections.

January 9, 2013

Darcy sighed. He hated planes.

He loved the idea of superior transportation and the ability to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a little less than an hour and a half, but still. Being trapped in a flying metal tube hurtling through the sky at several hundred miles an hour was rather trying.

He redeemed the time by doing some work, and texting Gigi. He hadn't seen her since the holidays, and wanted to spend what time he could with her.

Flying into SF for a board meeting. Do you have time for dinner tonight?

OMG, YESS! Fleur de lys?

Darcy smiled. Gigi loved Fleur De Lys, although she invariably got the mac and cheese, despite the fact it was a French restaurant with many more authentic dishes.

Sounds good. I will see you at the office then.

It was a few hours later, after his phone had informed him several times that Gigi and Fitz were tweeting about something involving animals, that Gigi texted him again.

So, when does your board mtg get out?

Around 5:30 or so.

There was a small pause.

So… when exactly does it end?

Darcy stifled a sigh and texted surreptitiously while the accountant presented on their monthly earnings report.

It means that it will end when all the speakers have finished going over their allotted amount of time.

He nodded along and asked a few questions before they moved on to the next item on the agenda.

That doesn't help me at all!

Nor me.

As he reminded himself that have a boring meeting was good because it meant things were going well, his phone kept buzzing as if it was a vicarious method of Gigi poking him as she did when they were children.

Are you done yet?

Seriously, how long do board meetings last?

Okay, let me know as soon as you're done.

It's 5:45! You have to be done soon!

The second you're done you have to come down to the 3rd floor.

Promise me!

He sighed and quickly replied: I promise. We should be finishing up momentarily.

GREAT! BUT HURRY!

When they finally adjourned, Darcy took a moment to greet a few of the execs from the other offices, and then excused himself and headed for the elevators, wondering what in the world Gigi was so desperate about.

Finally done. On my way down.

He could have sworn he heard a shouted 'YES!' through the air ducts.

HURRY HURRY HURRY! Was her immediate response.

Actually concerned now, he pressed 'level 3' a few times in the elevator, even though he knew it didn't help. As soon as the doors opened, he could hear footsteps running down the hall.

"Great! You're here! Quick, follow me!" Gigi shouted, grabbing his hand and dragging him down towards the end of the hallway.

They were so rushed that he could barely ask Gigi, "Why do we have to hurry? I don't understand-" before he was shoved into a room and suddenly realized that there was someone else in there.

Lizzie Bennet.

The girl he hadn't seen in two months.

The girl he had been in love with.

The girl who had rejected him so completely in front of hundreds of thousands of virtual strangers.

The girl who had told him he was proud and selfish and arrogant and that he was the last man in the whole world she could ever fall in love with.

The girl he had been so valiantly trying not to think about since he found out she'd be shadowing his company.

Lizzie stood up with a look of absolute shock on her face, which Darcy could only take as a sign that she didn't know about what Gigi was planning either.

As they stood there in total silence, his eyes were drinking her in like a man dying of thirst. Her face. Her hair. Her eyes. Her lips…

Stop it! He tried to tell his brain to no avail. All the feelings he had carefully packed up and put away in a far corner of his mind had at once exploded and reminded him that he was ever so much still in love with her.

"Darcy!" She finally uttered in a high voice.

He swallowed. "Lizzie." He nodded, keeping a very tight rein on the loose thoughts wreaking havoc in his mind.

"I thought you were in LA!" She said, still in that voice that proclaimed her unpreparedness for the current situation.

"Oh, no, I'm… uh, not." He mentally winced. It seemed he wasn't prepared either.

"Clearly." She answered with a tight irony.

Just as he was sure it couldn't get more awkward, Gigi burst back into the room and sat him down on the small bench, then moved over and sat Lizzie down next to him. Satisfied, she then left again, unaware that Darcy was trying very, very hard not to focus on the fact that their arms were touching. And that her shoulder had leaned against his for a moment. And that she smelled like lavender.

Stop it!

While he was trying to imagine what multitude of punishments he could enact on Gigi in revenge for this, Lizzie spoke in a slightly strangled voice.

"Your sister is crazy."

And he could not help but agree. "Yes."

His eyes flicked up to notice her seemingly ever-present camera, the red recording light alerting him that this portion of his life was also going to be captured for posterity.

He wondered if he should apologize. He glanced at her, then the ground, then back at her again.

"I didn't mean to surprise you…" They said together, and this time he held his gaze a little longer.

God, she was beautiful.

"I'm here for a board meeting." He explained as she said that she was here shadowing his company. He didn't want her thinking that he was trying to stalk her or anything.

Smiling a little at their in unison explanations, he said, "I was, uh, aware that you were shadowing Pemberley."

It nearly gave me a heart attack, so I should remember it.

Say something nice! His inner voice commanded.

"I hoped you've enjoyed your stay."

"Yes. This place is amazing, and everyone has been incredibly kind."

"Even my sister?" He asked, knowing that Lizzie would be completely justified in never wanting to speak to Gigi again. He was certainly considering it.

"Yes…" she answered, "In her own special way."

He allowed a real smile to appear on his face. "I'm glad." And he was. He really wanted her to like Pemberley. And his sister.

And him.

Did she still hate him? From her reaction, he couldn't tell. As he stared at her, he thought that maybe she didn't. At least, she hadn't tried to run away yet.

"Anyways, I have to go," she told him, the high, uncomfortable voice back again.

Never mind.

"So soon?" He asked, unable to keep a trace of longing out of his voice.

"Well, I'm having dinner down by the marina," she explained, nodding a little.

He glanced down and tried to show that he had changed from who she thought he was. That he could be kind, and gentlemanly.

"May I offer you a ride?" He said, and had to stop himself from adding a 'please' on the end.

"Oh, that's… that's alright. I can walk." She smiled nervously at him.

"Ah." He breathed a ghost of a chuckle as he remembered his first experience with the San Francisco slopes.

Making a very conscious effort to not sound snobbish or condescending or douchey or any of the other adjectives Lizzie had used to describe him, he tried to offer her some advice.

"The hills in this city can be quite unforgiving." He told her, unconsciously leaning in closer to her.

She gave him a strange look. "I've heard." Her blue eyes met his gray ones for a long moment, then she looked back towards the camera. "But, I'd like to see the city."

This gentle rejection only reminding him of his earlier, harsher one, he shifted his gaze back to the ground. "Understood."

Perhaps it was time for him to depart.

"Well, I should…" He started vaguely, while getting up. Lizzie rose with him.

"Have a…" She paused, then collected herself. "Have a good day, Darcy." Her voice was uncertain, but friendly.

"See you around." He answered, just to watch her reaction. He was gratified to see that she did not show disgust at the suggestion.

"If there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable…" Darcy offered completely sincerely.

She smiled nervously, then did something that literally shocked him.

She touched his arm and said, "Thank you."

She had touched him. Willingly. Out of thanks. And friendliness. Maybe something more?

Her actions seemed to surprise herself, as Lizzie quickly turned and shut off the camera.

She looked back at him, then bit her lip in a nervous, adorable way. He belatedly realized that she was probably trying to find a polite way to leave.

Since he couldn't move if his life depended on it, he simply reached for the door and opened it.

"After you," he offered with a slight bow.

Lizzie smiled tightly at him, then grabbed her purse and fled at the most normal pace she could manage.

He stood there and watched her go until she opened the door to the stairs, glanced back, saw him watching her, then dashed into the stairwell.

As soon as she left his sight, he let out a very long breath. Finally able to move, he walked out of the office and saw Gigi hiding out by a plant, furiously texting. He walked past her without saying a word, and she had to run a little to catch up with him.

He called the elevator and waited for it to arrive, Gigi peering at him from every angle.

"So… how mad are you?"

He waited until the elevator chimed and the doors opened, and then stepped in.

"Okaaayyy, so the 'not talking to me' kind of mad. I can work with that."

Her phone buzzed and she texted back in reply. Glancing at her screen out of the corner of his eye, he saw the name and set his jaw.

"You can tell Fitz that since she did not murder me and I, in turn, did not murder you, things went… well. Considering."

Gigi winced.

"Okay, so maybe I should warn you next time."

"Next time?"

"Oh, come on! You're both at the same company! You'll have to run into each other sometime!"

"She seemed perfectly content with us at different offices of the same company."

"Were you?"

He didn't answer that.

They reached the ground floor and as the valet brought their car around, Gigi looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You're not really mad, are you?"

Darcy sighed. "I suppose not."

"Good! After all, I did just re-introduce you to the love of your life."

He glared.

"Which went well, apparently!"

Darcy now gave her a harrowing big brother look, which she ignored.

"Anyway, seeing as how this is the first night with my brother in the city in like, forever, can we get a picture to commemorate the moment?" She beamed at him hopefully.

He slumped in resignation. "Fine."

"Okay, smile!"

He didn't.

Gigi studied the picture, then gave him a look for ignoring her direction. As they both got into the car, Darcy buckled his seatbelt and started the ignition. He was about to put it into gear when he saw a certain redhead poke her head out of the doors, look both ways, then sigh in relief and start walking down the sidewalk.

Darcy watched her stride down the sidewalk, gaze pensive, looking around at the beautiful city, every now and then a thought wrinkling her forehead. He let out an audible sigh that startled even him, and then glanced over at Gigi, who was staring at her phone with a poorly concealed smile.

She looked up at him and asked innocently, "We could always offer her a ride."

He realized that he was unconsciously rubbing his arm where she had touched him. Tearing his gaze from the girl walking away from him, Darcy put the car in drive. "She already said no."

Gigi seemed surprised, then, as they passed Lizzie Bennet by, said, "Well, maybe next time she won't."

As they drove toward the marina, Darcy could only think to himself;

One can only hope.