First Impressions
Rated: T
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- … He Lied. -

It was a strange, almost surreal experience for Elizabeth when the paramedics arrived. Darcy had started to shiver madly by the time they came, and she'd never realized that he was going into shock. Elizabeth rode in the ambulance with Darcy instead of their abductor, whom she immediately recognized as Bill Collins when she saw him. It was a blur in the hospital. Elizabeth got lost in the flurry of movements directing her to a room, the doctors and cops alike questioning her, and her relatives arriving with Jane and Charles. She answered any and all questions to the best of her ability and was released form the hospital with a clean bill of health by dinner time; Darcy, however, wasn't so lucky. Elizabeth made plans with Jane and Charles to visit him as soon as visiting hours started in the morning; with the knowledge that Darcy was "Angel", Elizabeth was quite eager to finally get to really know her childhood hero.

Growing up, Elizabeth had always used him as an example of who she wanted to be. When asked who her idol was, she always replied with, "Angel." Most assumed she'd meant angels in general, but the few that asked got the story behind the nickname. To Elizabeth, Angel had been her first "movie-star" crush/hero/obsession, and he'd gotten to be a big part of her childhood. Angel had been cooler than even Mr. Rogers or Tommy the Power Ranger that was everywhere. So far was he integrated into her childhood, Elizabeth was positively giddy about seeing Darcy now that he wasn't intoxicated or bleeding profusely.

When she got released to her aunt and uncle, they were overflowing with apologies and guilt. Bonnie and Noelle didn't seem to get what had happened to their older cousin, but the triplets, surprisingly, did to an extent. They were able to keep their sisters at bay while their parents talked with Elizabeth.

"Why can't we see Izzy? I wanna see Izzy!" Noelle whined, trying to escape Connor's lap to no avail. He held on tighter, mindful of how easily the young girl bruised.

"Stop being daft, Snow, ya can't se Izzy while mum and da are talkin' to her. Don't'cha know they're having a grown up talk? Ya can't listen to a grown up talk!" Connor explained, glancing at his identical brothers keeping a keen eye on Bonnie. She was bigger than Noelle and put up a good fight for a girl (their father was forever bragging it was her Irish blood), but she wasn't old enough to comprehend something bad had happened to their cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth's hospital visit wasn't like James'; she actually had a bed and a hospital gown on when they had arrived.

"But I wanna!" Noelle sniffed, growing doe-eyed. Connor balked, looking away; no one could refuse Noelle's puppy dog look. It was probably a law somewhere because their scary, war-hardened, tobacco-spitting grandda Gardiner even gave in to her.

"Snow, ya can't just say ya wanna an' get ta do it." James commented sourly, feeling a bit useless. His cast was weighing down his arm, so he couldn't hold Noelle in his lap. He couldn't play patty-cake like Shane with Bonnie because one of his cast as well. The only thing James knew he could do was sit and watch, just in case one of his brothers was caught off guard and accidentally let one of their sisters "escape."

"Can so!" Noelle declared indignantly, wide eyes replaced by narrowed, sharp splinters of evergreen pride. Everyone in their family had a feeling Noelle was going to be an even better fighter than Bonnie was turning out to be because of her accidental, somewhat-spoilt disposition.

"Can't an' ya know it. Me an' Shane an' Connor would stop ya." James patronized, sneering at her. Noelle promptly replied by sticking her tongue out at him and blowing a raspberry.

"Real mature, Snow." James laughed in spite of himself, tempted to blow one back. Oh how he wished he could tickle her into submission! If only it weren't for his stupid cast…

"Oh, yeah, like nine 's real mature!" Noelle shot back. Connor decided he'd had enough of the squabbling and unconsciously did what James wanted to do; he started to tickle Noelle's sensitive sides and stomach, grinning manically. With a shriek of laughter, Noelle caught the interest of Shane and Bonnie, who hadn't been previously paying attention; they decided to join in on the fun of patronizing a younger sibling. Noelle was dumped into James' lap so their three other kids could tickle her while James held her down as best he could. Mariabella, Eadbard, and Elizabeth found the five children exactly like that, all three looking a bit suspicious.

"Noelle started it." Connor, the first to notice the adults' arrival, explained. At his words, all movement stopped, and Noelle was finally able to breath again.

"Did she now?" Eadbard asked, eyeing all five of his brood with equal amounts of doubt.

"Yeah, she was tryin' ta get ta Izzy an' be annoyin' like usual." James said, ruffling his sister's hair to soften his words.

"I don' see why I couldn' see Izzy. Grown up talk, shmome um talk." Noelle pouted, getting to her feet to dry her mirthful tears. Elizabeth smiled down at her, crouching down so they were eye level.

"Well, Noelle, be thankful for your brothers. You would've encountered a very angry Izzy, and we wouldn't want that. Would we?" Elizabeth fibbed, not wanting to reveal the true nature of the talk she'd had with her relatives. Noelle was too young in her eyes to see the world as it was; it was best, in Elizabeth's opinion, to let her keep the rose colored glasses on as long as possible.

"No." Noelle replied, eyes wide and innocent; she even shook her head in the nugatory.

"Izzy is just a bit tired now, so let's go home, eat, and sleep like a log. I'll carry you, if you want." Elizabeth grinned, holding out her arms. Noelle raced into them, hugging Elizabeth tightly with her little arms.

"You silly, Izzy – logs don't sleep!" Noelle snickered, crowing in delight when Elizabeth lifted her up and swung her about.

"Yes, quite silly of me. Only magical logs sleep!" Elizabeth said, putting a wet, exaggerated kiss on top of Noelle's curly auburn locks. Noelle pulled a face, but she was inwardly pleased.

"Magical logs?" She asked, completely taken aback. None of her fairy tale books mentioned magical logs! It was unheard of!

"Magical logs. Unicorns play with them." Elizabeth confirmed, following her sniggering uncle out of the hospital with Bonnie at her side. The triplets were all gathered around them like a trio of short, tiny, way too young knights in shining armor. It was downright adorable.

"Izzy, you should get me a unicorn for Christmas."

"I'll put in a good word to Santa and we'll see, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

- (Crappy break line) -

Eadbard and Mariabella were reluctant to let Elizabeth go bright and early with Jane and Charles to see Darcy. They didn't believe that the kidnapping had happened solely because of her since her fellow abduct-ee was, quite frankly, filthy stinking rich. Sure, they knew Bill Collins was the kidnapper, but with someone like Darcy also taken, even they had to wonder. Only when Jane and Charles promised not to leave Elizabeth's side in addition to not going anywhere near the room where Bill Collins was being treated in did they let her go.

Elizabeth was silent on the drive over to the hospital, gushing in her mind about Darcy like a tween would about their favorite movie star or pop singer… or like how Cat and Lydia wouldn't shut up about the senior football quarterback at Meryton High. That thought made Elizabeth pull back some, restraining to the more adult like mental swoons about Darcy's manly torso and how he didn't flinch much when he was in pain. When they arrived at the hospital, Jane held Elizabeth back, letting Charles go on ahead of them to forewarn Darcy of their coming.

"Are you okay, Lizzie? You were so quiet coming here; if you want to go back home, Charles and I will completely understand. We won't force you to be here if you don't want to be." Jane inquired quietly, grasping Elizabeth's hands firmly in her own. She had a feeling something was wrong with Elizabeth, but what she didn't know.

"I'm fine, Jane… just really, really excited." Elizabeth replied, grinning widely. It was a grin Jane recognized; the grin was identical to her sister Mary's when someone mentioned Heath Ledger. Jane blinked in confusion, wondering how Elizabeth could have gone from merely talking to Darcy to idolizing him.

"About seeing Darcy? In a hospital?" Jane asked, incredulous, trying to make sense of what was happening. She wasn't one to judge, but Darcy had been recently putting his nose into business where it didn't belong. Other than being Charles' best and oldest friend, Jane couldn't see the man's appeal, personality wise (because, although she was married in addition to being completely in love with Charles, she could still recognize a handsome man when she saw one).

"Well, yes. He's Angel, Jane." Elizabeth enthused, biting her lower lip exultantly. Just saying it aloud made her want to giggle, and Elizabeth did not giggle for a man. That was far too much like Lydia and Cat for her to even think about doing it.

"Angel…?" Jane was completely dumbfounded until the whole story bubbled out of Elizabeth. After the tale was told, Jane couldn't honestly say it sounded or didn't sound like Darcy. He had interrupted something that hadn't concerned him, but it had been purely altruistic, unlike how he was behaving now in Jane's eyes.

"You're sure it's Darcy?" She pressed, not completely sold on the idea that Darcy could think of someone other than himself.

"Well… I'm not 100% positive, more like 99.9%… because he didn't answer… but they look like the same person – if the age difference is taken into consideration." Elizabeth deflated somewhat, scrambling mentally for something solidly connecting Angel to Darcy. There was a large percentage of people that had been curly blonds when they were young; Darcy wasn't the only one.

"Well, that sounds pretty positive to me, but, sweetie, please don't go rushing in only to get hurt. Darcy isn't… not only his looks could have changed over the years." Jane said, finally, giving Elizabeth's hands a squeeze. She didn't want to crush Elizabeth's fantasy, but she also didn't want Darcy to inadvertently do it, either. From what she knew of Darcy, Jane could sadly admit she wouldn't put it past him, and that was really saying something. Jane's words brought Elizabeth a little bit more down from her high, conveying forth the memories of the night before when Darcy had been sporting an ego that was as big as his bank account most likely was. While Jane could be right, Darcy had also saved her again from his own volition. Perhaps he hadn't changed so much? Holding on tightly to her childhood ideals about Darcy, Elizabeth let Jane lead her to his hospital room on the fifth floor, holding her breath as they approached the open doorway.

"No, Charles, why in the bloody hell would I bleeding fancy a little girl like her?"

Darcy's irate voice stopped Jane and Elizabeth in their tracks not two feet from the room. Elizabeth's heart seemed to stop when she realized Darcy was talking about her.

"I dunno, I just thought maybe… I mean, she's a pretty gi- young woman. Lizzie is twenty-one, you know; I don't know why Carrie thought she was nineteen. She is your type, and you went back into a burning building for her, too…" Charles voice sounded meek and feeble compared to Darcy's, akin to a boy being scolded by his parents.

"Well, you thought wrong. It doesn't matter if she's twenty-one or nineteen; she'll not be anything more than an acquaintance to me and is definitely not 'my type.' Charles, you do realize I took that other bloke, the one who bloody shot me, out of the cabin, too?"

Elizabeth blinked rapidly, ignoring Jane's pained expression. Darcy's words were like a falcon punch to the childhood. The situation, to her, was like telling a toddler Santa didn't exist or telling a kid that their favorite TV star from a show was actually a pedophile. It actually hurt, hearing words like that; for the first time in her life, Elizabeth finally felt the smarting wounds words could create. She had not been exempted form bullying as a child, but Elizabeth had always been able to let the words float off her like water off a duck's back because she knew she was better than them. Their words didn't matter to her because she knew that they were jealous, striking out because they were in pain, or just liked making others hurt. Eventually, Elizabeth wasn't bullied to her face but behind her back, but even then it still didn't matter as none of them really knew her.

But Darcy… Darcy was her childhood hero. He wasn't the random bully in school; he was the person she'd always gone to once her father had become an alcoholic. Sure, he'd been Angel, a figment of her imagination after she'd been told he was dead, but she'd grown up thinking he'd be exactly the way she imagined. It had never occurred to Elizabeth that Angel could be different because she thought he'd died, so she had the free will to shape him as she wanted, making the perfect childhood companion and idol to get through tough times.

In the irony of it all, Elizabeth started laughing; she couldn't stand Jane's expression. Jane looked about ready to cry herself even though she wasn't the one insulted; Elizabeth didn't like pity or sympathy, especially not in such a public place with Darcy near by. Had Jane known Elizabeth longer, she would have realized the defenses Elizabeth was drawing up in preparation of seeing the man who'd just shattered her childhood dreams.

Her uncontrolled laughter alerted the men inside the room that the young women had arrived, probably in time to hear Darcy's spiel. The man in question scowled at the knowledge, torn between feeling ashamed of himself or proud. It wasn't like Elizabeth actually mattered to him, was it? No. Even still, Darcy didn't even look at the doorway when Elizabeth and Jane entered with the former proclaiming Jane's joke was just so funny; instead, he suddenly found the view he had of the hospital parking lot much, much more interesting.

Elizabeth scrutinized the men with cool eyes. Darcy didn't even have the gall to face her; she wanted to laugh again. His face was clean, but the limp, lifelessness of his hair that was shining unnaturally in the room lighting told her he hadn't showered. Darcy also had a beard growing, it seemed, as he also hadn't shaved. His face wasn't the only thing hairy; beneath the bandages trapping his right arm to his chest, wiry black hair danced up his toned stomach to his clavicle, standing out as a dark contrast against the milky whiteness of his skin. Even with the Texas tan (1) and obvious lack of bathing, Darcy was still criminally striking.

"All the pretty ones are jerks, after all…" Elizabeth muttered to herself, all traces of mirth gone from her face. Her softly spoken words caught Darcy's attention.

"What?" Darcy finally faced Elizabeth, a bit startled. The hair he remembered as pitch black was now an inviting myriad of browns and reds, somehow making her amber eyes even more enigmatic and alluring. Devoid of all the dark make-up and dressed casually in jeans and a faded, "T-Rex hates push-ups" tee, Elizabeth looked every inch her age (and his type). A chill passed down his spine at the intensity of the look she was giving him; Darcy couldn't tell if it was a bad or a good sign.

"I said—"

"Your hair – wasn't it black yesterday? Or is that a memory made by the Rohypnol?" Darcy interrupted, a new puzzle set forth. The words Elizabeth had murmured didn't matter with the mystery of her hair in the way. Elizabeth hadn't looked like a black-haired person to Darcy, anyways, from what little he remembered of her.

"Yes, I washed the dye out. What's Rohypnol?" Elizabeth sighed, exasperated. How boorish was he going to get? Was he going to start answering for her or something?

"Oh. I thought…" … your hair looks so much better this way.

"Never mind. Rohypnol is a sleeping drug, tasteless and colorless; it knocks you out and wipes your memory clean. It's the preferred drug used by rapists looking for a shag." Darcy explained, scowling deeply at his thoughts. Elizabeth had to want something from him if she was staying even though she'd heard him slight her; he couldn't – he wouldn't do anything about her and her subtle attractiveness. The opinion of Elizabeth wanting something from him made Darcy's skin crawl. Everyone was the same once they realized who he was, everyone – women especially.

"You may be pretty, Elizabeth, but you're not pretty enough to tempt me." Darcy thought, glaring at the young woman in his thoughts. His glower remained on Elizabeth for her entire visit, but he didn't speak anymore, loosing himself in his own mind. When Jane wanted to leave, Charles held back while the girls left.

"You don't have to be such an ass, you know. The Darce I know wouldn't insult people he doesn't know out loud – might think it, yeah, but not voice it in public. Whatever has got your panties in a bunch shouldn't be let out on innocent people like Lizzie. Without her, you very well could have bled to death." Charles said, matching his friend's countenance. He'd never seen Darcy so riled up except when Georgiana, Darcy's sister, was being put down.

"Without Lizzie, Charles, I wouldn't bloody be here." Darcy growled, gazing out the window in place of seeing Charles' hurt and accusing look. It unsettled him that he didn't want to call Elizabeth "Lizzie;" to him, she still looked like a kitten he wanted placed in his lap, purring, sans cat costume or not.

- (Crappy break line) -

Darcy glared contemptuously at his reflection in the semi-foggy mirror. It stared right back just as fiercely, making him want to break the glass. Everything looked identical like it had been before Halloween, before that Bill Collins fellow, before Elizabeth Bennet and Bill Collins' fixation on her. Darcy could see his reflection's muscles tense in ire before he called, not very calmly, to Richard, "Would you turn the telly down? It's distracting!"

Darcy was trying to shave, but with his right hand shaking too violently to do anything but cut his face to ribbons, he had to use his left. His left side wasn't weaker than his right, but it was extremely awkward for someone who was right-handed, like Darcy, to do things with his left hand. The television wasn't exactly distracting, but Darcy wanted to blame something other than his meddlesome thoughts. The flesh that was puckered on the entry and exit wounds, whiter than his natural skin tone, was all he had left externally of the bullet injury he'd received, but with a broken clavicle and nicked scapula, there was still internal damage. Even after the bones mended themselves, the doctors told him there would be permanent injury to his muscles up to a 10% deficiency.

And for what? Some girl that had captured the attention of an obsessive-compulsive man who would do anything to have her? The girl that he was told he'd got along with, sort of, but had no recollection of it, again because of said obsessive-compulsive man? Elizabeth Bennet wasn't even pretty! At that errant thought, the image of Elizabeth dressed smartly in a neat pantsuit for the court case was pressed forth into Darcy's mind. When she gave a decent enough effort, Elizabeth was actually very nice looking, beautiful even. Every time Darcy had seen her since the time she overheard him in the hospital, she'd eyed him with distaste; he could tell from the minimal scrunching of her nose and the way her eyebrows quirked downwards over her soulful eyes for a few seconds before she went apathetic.

… It was utterly adorable.

"Mooning over Lizzie again, eh?" Richard sniggered, leaning in the doorway. He'd watched his cousin stare at Elizabeth every time they saw the young woman, and Richard couldn't blame him. Elizabeth was a challenging little imp, always rearing to contradict Darcy of prove him wrong; it only helped her that she looked becoming in her formal wear.

"I don't fancy her, Dickie." Darcy sneered, flinging a bit of shaving cream at Richard; it landed on the floor before reaching its intended target.

"Oh, yeah, you're just ogling her every waking moment because you loathe her, right?" Richard grinned broadly, rolling his eyes.

"I know, it must be hard, hating that fine bum of hers, but—"

"I do not stare at her bum!" Darcy snapped, accidentally cutting himself for maybe the fifteenth time. He'd only stared once. Once! And that was only because of Richard's nagging. It wasn't like staring at a woman's appealing anatomy meant anything! Unless you were a sad, sick, perverted person, which Darcy was most assuredly not.

"Okay, then, her legs. I know you're a leg man." Richard's grin couldn't possibly get bigger when he spoke. How he loved taunting Darcy to the point that Darcy practically foamed at the mouth.

"You're a leg man… and a breast man… and an arse man. You stare at every woman that fits your impeccably low standards. Does that mean you want to shag every one of them?" Darcy grumbled, a hint of pink forming on his face. He was a leg man, and Elizabeth's legs were most definitely… no! This was all Richard's fault, it really was. Darcy was going to maintain his denial as long as he could.

"Well, n—you want to shag little Lizzie? Oh, this is rich! What about Leslie, eh?" Richard howled, tears of mirth forming in his crow's feet as he laughed heartily at his fuming cousin. Darcy whirled around, brandishing his razor threateningly at Richard; he looked hilarious with half his face covered in shaving cream, the other poorly shaved and covered with nicks, cheeks and ears reddening by the second.

"One, I do not want to shag Elizabeth Bennet. That's absurd. Two, Leslie has got nothing to do with this. Three, get out before I beat you to your senses with this." Darcy growled, knowing Richard could probably fry an egg on his face if he tried. To add to Darcy's embarrassment, Richard only laughed harder, grabbing the doorframe for support.

"Four, I do not like Elizabeth Bennet. At all." Darcy added for finality, turning back to the mirror to proceed in his abysmal attempt at shaving left-handed.

"Right, of course you don't. An old bloke like you can't possibly fancy a chipper young bird like little Lizzie." Richard commented once his laughter had abated, watching Darcy gamely.

"She's more cat-like than bird, Dick." Darcy avoided replying in earnest, trying to concentrate, but with Richard's wide smile and knowing look, he couldn't help but feel like his cousin was up to something.

"I'd say more lady-like, if you know what I mean." Richard replied, waggling his eyebrows; Darcy just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Dick."

"It's not like you haven't noticed, either, Crispy. Anyways, I've got Gee and Leslie on Skype… you 'distracted' me." Richard gave Darcy a cat-ate-the-canary grin before leaving. It hadn't been the TV making all the noise Darcy had found 'distracting'.

"What? Richard!" Darcy cried, forgetting his was in the middle of shaving with only a towel on, exiting the bathroom of their hotel room, finding Richard's laptop open on a bed with Georgiana and Leslie's smiling faces.

"Put some clothes on and finish shaving, Crispy!"

"Hey, brother!"

Darcy blanched, glaring daggers at Richard.

"I'm going to get you back, Dickie. Better sleep with one eye open from now on." He threatened, heading back into the bathroom to quickly finish shaving and get dressed. Darcy should have really expected it, he thought, putting his right arm in the sling after pulling on a shirt; Richard was the type to make a Skype call while he was showering and then lure him out afterwards when he wasn't clothed. Upon leaving the bathroom for the second time, Darcy found Richard relaying who Elizabeth was to Georgiana and Leslie. It was the latter that noticed Darcy's arrival.

"Oh, look, Crispy is out! Hey, Crispy!"

Darcy gave a dull wave to his former babysitter, Leslie Annesley. She was a smart woman just shy of thirty-six, barely seven years older than Darcy. Leslie was Emma Reynolds', the housekeeper at the Darcy home of Pemberley, daughter; she had married Parker Annesley when she was twenty-five and he thirty. Parker had died not three years later thanks to a shooting while he was on call in the Middle East for the British armed forces. Leslie had also been Darcy's first crush, kiss, and partner.

"Hi, Leslie, Gee. How's Miss Em treating you?" Darcy inquired, sitting down on the floor next to Richard. Because the both of them were quite tall, their heads were eye-level with the computer screen.

"How do you think, brother?" Georgiana teased, rolling her nearly sightless bright blue eyes. She was every inch the high-maintenance girl any sixteen-year-old was, and yet Georgiana was the sweetest thing one could meet. It took her over an hour getting ready in the mornings to primp and make her honey colored wavy locks look "perfect," but it took her about a minute to charm anyone she met.

"That's just Crispy being socially retarded, Gee, and you know that. Plus, he's embarrassed 'cause Leslie is there with you hearing about his little Kitten. Do you know he doesn't call her 'Lizzie' or 'Elizabeth'? No, he calls her—"

"Shut up, Dickie. I can tell Leslie and Gee all about your fawning over her friend, Charlotte—"

"Like that's anything compared to you over little Lizzie—"

"Boys will be boys…" Leslie sighed, making Georgiana giggle. They were forced to wait out the little scuffle that was customary when Richard and Darcy were together until Darcy turned abruptly to them, ears bright red.

"How is your playing coming along, Gee?" He asked, pinching Richard when his cousin made a move to speak.

"Spectacularly! Julliard has contacted me recently. They want me to attend when I go to university." Georgiana enthused, wearing a bright grin. Darcy smiled back softly, pride filling his chest; his sister was blossoming into a beautiful young woman.

"That's great, Gee." He said, wanting to give her a hug or a pat on the head since both annoyed her greatly.

"Gee is just being modest, Crispy. She's gotten so many letters recently; it's so hard to keep track of them all! Mum and I have kept them in a box. You're going to have to check them out when you get back." Leslie chipped in, ruffling Georgiana's hair to the girl's exasperation.

"That won't be the only thing he'll be checking ou—oof!"

Darcy interrupted Richard by punching him in the arm. Leslie chuckled, shaking her head.

"Gee, Dick, can I talk to William alone, please?" She asked, causing Darcy to stiffen. He didn't like where the conversation was going already.

"Sure. I'll call you later, brother!" Georgiana giggled, knowing exactly what was going on.

"I love you, Gee." Darcy said before his sister disappeared. Richard gave Darcy's good shoulder a pat before departing from their hotel room.

"I did the researching you asked me to do, about that Bill Collins bloke." Leslie stated grimly. Darcy nodded for her to go on.

"It turns out Catherine was his tutor for some remedial history and English courses over the summer between his high school and college years. For some reason, he venerated her – it's quite probable because his mother died when he was young and he had no aunts or grandmothers. She was the first leading female figure he'd met other than his teachers." She said, licking her lips. Bill had also gotten close to Catherine's daughter, Anne, but Leslie didn't see it fit to tell Darcy that when he was already at his wits end with the man. It would be like adding gasoline to the fire.

"That's it? I never met him, did I?" Darcy questioned, eyebrows drawing together. Bill Collins had known exactly who he was, even how he was related to Catherine.

"I don't think so. I bet the only reason why he knows you is through Catherine; you know how she loves to brag about you. It's a rare day she doesn't mention you." Leslie laughed, thinking back to when she'd met the "illustrious" Catherine de Bourgh. The old woman never seemed to shut up about how proud she was of Darcy.

"Yeah… that's true. Thank you for doing that for me." Darcy laughed softly, also thinking of his aunt.

"Hey, William, do you really like this girl, Elizabeth?" Leslie asked after she was done reminiscing.

"That doesn't matter, does it?" Darcy mumbled, hanging up the Skype call before Leslie had a change to reply; he shut down the laptop as well, just in case she tried calling back. Whether Darcy liked Elizabeth Bennet or not was irrelevant; he wasn't staying long in America. That is, if he even liked her… which he didn't.

- (Crappy break line) -

Elizabeth was slowly getting back into the rhythm of her new life. The Halloween episode and its affects were finally going away as the end of November neared. Newspaper, magazine, and News stations alike had stopped popping up randomly for interviews, the court case was coming to a close, and Elizabeth was finally going to stop seeing Darcy so frequently. After the revelation at the hospital, all she felt towards him was disappointment and resentment. Even though she had no right to feel let down because of him not turning out like her childhood fantasy, Elizabeth couldn't help it.

"Want to have a girl's night out soon to celebrate the end of all this crap? Just me, you, and Charlotte?"

Elizabeth turned from the bookshelf she was tidying to her coworker, Amelia Younge. Amelia was also a college student, albeit a bit older than Elizabeth at twenty-four, and had grown considerably on Elizabeth from their first day working together when Amelia had been almost two hours late. Elizabeth wasn't going to hold it against her much since, if Amelia hadn't been late, she wouldn't have bonded with Jane over the wild goose chase they'd had. Amelia was also a bisexual who stated Elizabeth was "too cute for words," hitting on Elizabeth every chance she got. Elizabeth wasn't homophobic or adverse to homosexuals, but she had her limits to what she'd tolerate from Amelia. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of having a "girl's night out" while Amelia was still making passes at her.

"I dunno. I'll have to see if Charlotte has got a night off soon." Elizabeth said, facing the bookshelf again. Having a girl's night out with Charlotte, and maybe Jane, however, sounded very appealing; she was just waiting for an opportune moment to really introduce the two. Charlotte was Elizabeth's best friend from her younger days when she'd visited her aunt and uncle. The Lucas household had been the Gardiner's next door neighbors, and during the summer, Charlotte played with Elizabeth when she visited even though Charlotte was almost six years Elizabeth's senior. With both girls lacking friends but making up for that with an abundance of imagination, it didn't take long for them to become inseparable.

"Hey, who was that guy in the case with you, again?" Amelia asked, going behind the nearby customer service desk. It was a slow day near closing, so the girls had ample enough time to talk.

"Eh, Bill Collins?" Elizabeth guessed, pulling out a book from the shelf that didn't belong there; she walked to the kid's section where it did belong and put it with the other copies.

"No, the smokin' one." Amelia corrected when Elizabeth came back and joined her behind the customer service counter.

"Will Darcy?" Elizabeth said, nonplussed as to what Amelia would want with Darcy. Amelia was unable to answer because of a customer coming up to the desk with a book to return.

"Yeah, Will Darcy. His name sounds familiar for some reason." Amelia shrugged once the return had been handled. His name was bugging her, but she couldn't remember why, exactly. Darcy was definitely nota past boyfriend of hers, but something told her he was possibly related to one.

"Well, he owns a publishing company… and we do work in a Barnes and Noble…" Elizabeth hazarded, checking the time on her cell phone. They had a half hour before closing, and she'd promised to have dinner with Jane and Charles not shortly afterwards.

"Maybe that's it." Amelia sighed, although she didn't believe it. It was rare for her to notice anything but the pictures on covers, let alone a publishing company that would be on the inside of the book a few pages in.

"Hey, d'you mind if I head out now? I've got—"

"Plans with a new boyfriend? I wouldn't be surprised with all the media attention you've been getting lately." Amelia laughed, winking.

"Yeah, I've got plans with a boy friend… and his wife. They wanted to take me out." Elizabeth joshed, rolling her eyes. Sometimes Amelia was subtle, sometimes she wasn't; this was a prime example of when she wasn't.

"Sure, Lizzie, go ahead. I'll cover for you. Jane and Charles, right?"

"Right. Thanks a bunch!" Elizabeth said, ducking out of the customer service desk and waving good-bye. Forty-five minutes later she was waiting for her friends to pick her up in one of their snazzy 2012 model cars. Elizabeth was unsurprised when a shiny, bright red Mercedes Benz stopped right in front of her aunt and uncle's.

"Aunt Mari, Uncle Eddie, I'm off!" Elizabeth yelled before quickly leaving their small abode, dashing down to the street where the car purred audibly. Because of the tinted windows, Elizabeth didn't see Darcy until she opened the back door.

"I'll go to the other si—"

"No, I'll move." Darcy interrupted sullenly, unbuckling and scooting over to the other side of the car behind Jane in the passenger's seat. Elizabeth said nothing, slipping into the warm seat, eyeing him with confusion. He had to draw his legs up some to keep his knees from jabbing into the seat in front of him, but by sitting behind Jane, he had a bit more legroom than behind Charles as his friend was also tall. Elizabeth wasn't sure why Darcy would have sat behind Charles in the first place if he would have been a bit more comfortable behind Jane, and why he had to sit in the back at all was beside her. She knew Jane enough to know Jane would've traded seats with him so he could sit normally in the small car.

"Darce thinks he can fit in the back of cars still. Silly, silly man." Charles chortled, noticing Elizabeth's gaze as he looked in the rearview mirror to see if the road was clear.

"If you're uncomfortable at all, Darcy, I'd be more than happy to—"

"I know. I'm fine, Jane." Darcy intercepted, growing uncomfortable. He was well aware Jane didn't particularly enjoy his company and didn't want to sit in the front with Charles only to receive what Charles assumed were sneaky glances when Elizabeth arrived. It would all be too much of a bother, and, besides, he could rest his arm on his legs with out hunching over this way. To Darcy, it was a win-win situation.

"Where are we going? Y'all never told me." Or that Darcy was coming, too. Elizabeth thought, taking a quick glance at the man in question. If anything, he looked just as uncomfortable as she.

"Oh, we didn't? Well, we're going to this new Italian place called Benito's. Carrie told me what you said about our names, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to have a laugh. Carrie is meeting us there, by the way; Dick said to tell you he was sorry he couldn't make it." Charles replied pleasantly as he drove, filling the car with a cheerful atmosphere. Elizabeth wore a smile, but inwardly she was wondering if she could make up something to get out of the dinner she was no longer looking forward to. From the sounds of it and the way her companions were dressed, she'd underestimated Charles and Jane. Darcy and Charles were both wearing slacks and a nice button-down shirt under their jackets while Jane was wearing a long skirt and a sweater; from what Elizabeth knew of Caroline, the woman would be dressed to the nines an then some, just for Darcy. Elizabeth felt horribly under-dressed in her jeans and turtleneck.

"So, tell us, how did you meet Bill Collins? If you don't mind my asking, of course." Charles asked after a few minutes of silence had befallen the quartet.

"Oh, it's nothing, really! Well, I met him…" Elizabeth told her story of encountering Bill, all too aware of Darcy's incessant gaze. She wished he'd stop since the car felt stifling while he watched her. When they finally arrived at Benito's, Elizabeth had rehashed all of what she knew of Bill and had told a few stories about her younger cousins that made Jane and Charles laugh heartily; Darcy had snickered as well, surprising Elizabeth. Ever since hearing his nasty words in the hospital about her, she'd forgotten he had the ability to smile and laugh; on top of that, Darcy had never seemed to like her afterwards, always disagreeing with what she said.

Like Charles had said, Caroline was waiting for them, already sipping on a cup of rich red wine, meticulously made up in a stunning, although a bit gaudy, royal blue dress. As soon as she set eyes on Darcy, Caroline was all smiles, patting the seat next to her invitingly; once more, Darcy astonished Elizabeth by ignoring Caroline and sitting between her and Charles instead, leaving Jane to sit next to Caroline. At their round table, an empty seat rested between Elizabeth and Caroline, presumably the chair Richard would have taken had he been able to come.

Their waiter, seeing the rest of the party had come, promptly came over to the table and offered to get them all wine. All but Darcy declined, preferring a Coke to alcohol for dinner; after he returned with their refreshments, the quintet ordered their meals. Charles filled the table with talking and laughter until their food arrived, a companionable calm falling onto their table. Elizabeth was unable to eat when she noticed Darcy struggling to cut his fried eggplant efficiently with his trembling right arm.

"Give it here." Elizabeth sighed, putting down her silverware and pushing her bowl of fettuccini alfredo away.

"Excuse me?" Darcy asked, sounding affronted; Elizabeth just rolled her eyes, wondering how obtuse he could get.

"I'm tired of seeing you fail epically at cutting eggplant. Put your arm back in that sling and ask for help next time." She said, pulling his plate in front of her and taking the silverware from his hands. Darcy's ears burned red as he did what he was told, pouting slightly; he ignored Charles' poorly hidden sniggers. Caroline, however, wasn't pleased like her brother; instead, she stared daggers at Elizabeth, willing the girl to take heed. She wanted to help Darcy, not watch and let some random friend of Jane's do it!

"Oh, Lizzie, are you free on Black Friday?" Jane inquired, elbowing her husband in the ribs to try and get him to stop laughing even though it was funny that Darcy had followed Elizabeth's orders.

"Yeah, why?" Elizabeth replied, giving Darcy his dinner and utensils back once she was done slicing the eggplant into bite-sized pieces.

"Charles and I are going shopping and were wondering if you want to come along. It's just for fun – maybe getting a head start on buying Christmas presents. What do you say?"

Seeing Jane's shining, earnest face, Elizabeth couldn't say no. Darcy and Caroline were also invited, but they both declined.

"I have to work on finishing my latest novel. Books don't write themselves, you know!" Caroline tittered, looking meaningfully at Darcy.

"I'm sure I'll be tied up at the office with Dick, so don't count on me being able to go." Darcy mumbled to his dinner, morosely spearing a bit of eggplant with his fork. Elizabeth restrained herself to a smile. Finally, she was going to be able to hang out with Jane and Charles with out Darcy or Caroline present!

A/N: (1) The tan line you get from wearing a tank top. (I did not make this up, lol.) And in case anyone was wondering, people with bad eyesight/blindness can put on make-up, etc. Also, I made up the restaurant – just in case anyone was wondering. xD

Sorry for the long wait, y'all… I had quite a few projects dumped on me, ell behind in math because of tennis, and was sick for an entire week (it was torture). Plus, I had all those cyber cookies to make! ;P Until next time!

~ Tobi