A/N: I don't own what you recognize.


Summer 2011


Will Darcy would never forget the first time he saw Eliza Bennet. It was a Sunday evening in the middle a ten-game home stand. He had gone over to Eric Wentworth's house after an afternoon game for dinner. When he let himself into the house, he found a petite brunette sitting in the curve of Eric's l-shaped couch with Eric's fiancée, Anne, who immediately greeted him by bounding off the couch and hugging him.

"Will, it's great to see you," she enthused. "Eric is grilling on the patio. Feel free to head out there and help if you like. Can I get you anything to drink?"

He smiled. "A beer would be great, but can you introduce me to your friend first?"

"Oh, of course, yeah," Anne said. "Sorry, Will, this is my friend, Eliza Bennet. Eliza, this is Eric's teammate, Will Darcy. He's another one of the starting pitchers. Eliza works at St. Benedict's with me."

Eliza smiled a cool smile and held out a small hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," he replied before heading out to the patio. Eliza was adorable, and he had to know more about her.


"She's out of your league," was Eric's first response to Will's query. "You date supermodels. She's a high school teacher."

"So Anne knows her from work?"

"From high school, actually," Eric replied. "So yes, before you ask, I have also known her forever. And she's out of your league."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Which one of us has an ex-girlfriend who was on the cover the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition?"

Will rolled his eyes. "That was stupid. It's over. It's been over for a long time. You don't need to keep dragging it up."

"I'm just telling you that's the guy that Eliza sees you as."

"Eric, I want to be more than the baseball player who dated Amanda Ferguson."

Eric smiled. "I know. But sometimes, you have to prove yourself to others. You can't just get by on your reputation."


Eric was right. Eliza just saw Will as the baseball player who dated Amanda Ferguson. If he was being honest, he didn't blame her. His relationship with Amanda had been very public. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt when Eliza would talk to George Knightley (who was engaged, thank you very much) for twenty minutes and wouldn't give him two seconds. "All I ever did was date a supermodel," Will muttered to Edmundo Benoit at a barbecue Rick hosted to celebrate Anne's birthday a few weeks after Will first encountered Eliza. "What was so wrong about that?"

"Don't ask me," Ed replied. "I've only ever dated two girls in my life, and while the first time was a disaster, I have to say that I got pretty darn lucky the second time around."

"Dude, your entire story is that you got lucky. You met The Girl when you were fourteen, and once you got your act together, everything fell together perfectly."

"Some men just walk in the sun," George remarked as he joined the conversation. "And as far as his personal life goes, that is Ed."

"But as far as our baseball careers go, that's Will," Ed replied.

Will smiled. "So I'm good at baseball. That'll make me rich and it'll make me happy from time to time. But it won't give me the family that I want

"You want a family?" Ed asked.

"Is that a surprise?"

"Well, yeah, it is," George said. "Natalie broke up with you because you didn't want to settle down and have a family. You said that the best thing about dating Amanda was the fact that she didn't want to settle down; she just wanted to have fun."

"And then we broke up because that wasn't what I wanted anymore. I want something more."

George smiled. "When did that happen?"

Will shook his head. "It's just life the past few years. Your brother died, and then you and Emma got engaged. Eric found Anne again. Ed's been married for a year and a half now. I want more than what I have. I want the happiness I see in my friends. And I'm starting to think that I really want to be a dad."

"Do you want to have kids or to get married?" Ed asked.

Will's southern twang edged into his voice. "I think I want both."

"Well, you grew up," Ed replied.

Will shrugged and smiled. "I'm working on it, but I don't think that Eliza believes it."

"Give her time," George said. "She has to see you in your natural habitat."


While Will Darcy wanted to win Eliza Bennet's heart, Eric Wentworth and George Knightley were both planning weddings. Eric's was the second weekend of November, and George's was two weeks later. Ed Benoit had married his high school sweetheart a year and a half earlier. And Will was starting to feel left out.

For Eric and Anne's wedding, Eliza would be the maid of honor, and Will would be the best man. "Perfect opportunity to get to know her better," George said of the plans. "You'll have to talk to her about toasts and stuff like that."

"Do I really need to?"

"Yes," Emma, George's fiancée, said flatly. "Do it. Don't step on her toes. She will not like that. But she will like it if you show her that you can be a responsible best man who is concerned about making sure that everything goes smoothly."

"I'm not folding name-cards or stuffing favors," Will replied flatly.

"You will if you want to impress Eliza," George told him firmly.

Will sighed. "Why aren't women as easily impressed as men?"

"You were impressed by Eliza's self-confidence and poise," Emma said. "Now you need to show her that you can be compassionate and giving."

"I am plenty giving! I gave thousands of dollars of my own money to charity this past year!"

Emma sighed. "Will, it takes more than writing big checks to impress a girl like Eliza."

"That's easy for you to say. George impressed you in the sandbox."

Emma rolled her eyes. "George impressed me with his intelligence, his kindness, and his ability to laugh at himself."

"It's easy to laugh at yourself when your eyes are mismatched and your nose is cartoonish," George remarked, referencing his heterochromatic eyes and his dislike for his nose.

"Are you saying that I can't laugh at myself?" Will asked.

His friend shrugged. "I'm just saying that I impressed Emma with my ability to laugh at myself, and I suspect that Eliza isn't too different from Emma in that regard."

Emma nodded. "She and I are different but we aren't THAT different. She loves to laugh. And she hates roses."

"I'll remember that-if she ever decides to talk to me."


Just when Will was really starting to feel left out, the Tigers traded the Mariners for Edward Ferrars. Ferrars would be the fifth man on the pitching rotation that included George, Eric, and Will. Will was delighted to learn that Edward was single. "Finally, someone else who can sit awkwardly around while you three make out with your significant others," Will remarked when discussing the new trade with his teammates.

Eric rolled his eyes. "We've all sat through all of your relationships without complaining. Now it's your turn to be the odd man out."

"I'm just looking for someone who will go out with me without dragging his fiancée along."

"Will, I will gladly grab a beer with you if you want, but I'm not interested in being your wingman anymore."

"Then convince Eliza to go out with me. Do me a favor. I've done you plenty of favors."

Eric shook his head. "If she isn't interested, I can't help you. I'm sorry."

"I'm Will Darcy, Eric. I'm not used to women not being interested in me."

"Then this is probably good for you, Will."


A/N: Please review!