Gah! Sorry for the delay. Life popped up and I had half of this ready to go a week ago, but not the other half and the story has been extended a chapter because this got to be a chapter's length (which I'm going with roughly 2000 words per chapter). That takes me from a projected 11 to 12, with possibly more as we go along.

Frances: Naive isn't always so stupid:) And don't worry. Wickham will have his fair competition and not just from Will.

Darcydreamer: Lizzy is still a smart woman and she'll be sure to keep her wits about her. As for Charles and Jane, they really are kind, puppy-sorts and revenge is definitely not on the table. And maybe, just maybe, in this chapter, there'll be some side-switching!

kep: Thank you for the compliment! I definitely like to inject humour where I can.

Lizzy had remained with George Wickham for coffee for a great deal of time, laughing over the state of things as things happened to be in the matters of school, the city at large, and it seemed that they had a common acquaintance in Will. Vaguely, Lizzy recalled Will bringing up George in conversation, but it happened so rarely that when George brought up the fact that he and Will were childhood friends, she had reacted with wide-eyed awe.

She was laughing about a story where Will had apparently been eating worms on a dare when her phone rang and she picked it up, only then realizing that hours had passed when she glanced at the time on her watch. "Lizzy here," she answered, professional as ever.

"Lizzy! Where are you!" It was Jane, sounding forever motherly and concerned. "You were supposed to be home for dinner an hour ago and I have to go out."

That got Lizzy to stop laughing and finally look away from George's chiselled jaw, turning away from her tea and the table and its pleasant conversation. "Go," Elizabeth echoed. "Go where? I have the car."

"I'll ride my bike over," was Jane's kind response. "I left some of my things over at Charlie's and now that I'm feeling better, I want to go pick them up."

Elizabeth's gaze turned towards the glass windows of the coffeeshop as she watched the clouds with trepidation. "Jane, are you sure? It doesn't look so good outside."

"Mama does not think it shall rain," Jane replied and Elizabeth was only glad that her big sister couldn't see her rolling her eyes over the phone. She did love their Mama, but occasionally, she would say absolutely anything in order to put Jane in a position to do exactly her bidding. Elizabeth tried not to let it bother her that she was much the same way, in what she wanted Jane to do.

This all brought her thoughts back to Will and she let out a barely-audible sigh. Maybe she really should call him up.

"Lizzy, you've zoned out on me," Jane interrupted her reverie. "Come back to Earth," she beckoned. "I just want a pillow and some clothes, I ought to be back before midnight, even if I take the bike. Where are you, anyway!"

"I'm having coffee," Elizabeth whispered.

Jane seemed to pick up on the secretive tone. "Is he gorgeous?" was her whispered reply. "Or are you in trouble again?"

"I am not in trouble," Elizabeth reacted defensively. "Why would I be in trouble?"

"You do lash out at some professors sometimes, Lizzy," she advised in that way she had of never actually placing blame on anyone. It was just a random comment from Jane. Elizabeth sighed and switched the phone to her other ear. "I'll be home soon, I just wanted to tell you where I was off to so you don't worry when you get home." It sounded so sweet and Elizabeth bit back her concerned question about whether Jane would be fine going back to see Charles so soon. Her sister, however, was a grown-up.

"Jane, listen," Elizabeth began. "About this silly thing with you and Charlie and me insisting…"

She was about to continue when George reached over and gently tapped her on the shoulder and rose to his feet. She drew the phone away from her. "Are you leaving?" she asked, shocked and worried.

"I've got to run," he confirmed sadly.

"Jane, can I call you back?"

"Of course," Jane spoke, and was off the phone before Elizabeth could even hang up and Elizabeth swiftly pocketed her mobile. George seemed to not even mind that she'd blown him off for a phone call and he even sat back down.

"So, can I get your number, or is that a secret?" George asked, flashing Elizabeth the most charming grin she had seen in a very, very long time. It didn't take much more convincing and Elizabeth grasped a napkin, jotting down her mobile number on the clean portion, handing it over as she sat back in her chair, cradling her tea and offering him a flirtatious smile. "I'll call you," he promised.

"You'd better," she warned. "I'm good at tracking people down."

By the time Elizabeth returned home with her groceries in tow, it was pouring rain outside and thundering violently and all she could do was watch the droplets of rain falling down the windowpane and worry over her sister. She'd been trying to call the Bingley home, but she kept getting a busy signal over and over and with the storm, the lines must have been down.

It was approaching midnight and there was no way that Jane was coming home tonight. Elizabeth wished she could reassure herself that everything was fine, but she worried for her sister and that didn't stop, even when the phone rang and the caller display was 'W. Darcy. Lunatic'.

Maybe, just maybe, she had changed the caller-display after their last fight.

"What?"

"Your sister is here."

Elizabeth managed not to roll her eyes too desperately. "Why, William, you couldn't even inflect cheer into that. And here I thought you liked Jane."

"Well enough. She got caught in the rain and she's soaked. She's fairly miserable, so she's staying the night." It was clear from his tone that he very much didn't approve of this and nearly instantly, everything hit Elizabeth swiftly. Her sister loved Charles and she was most definitely good enough for him. And if Will disapproved, than that definitely meant that she should marry the man.

It was almost amusing how quickly Lizzy saw things in the light.

"I'll be over immediately," Elizabeth assured.

"At this hour?"

"She's my sister!" she insisted, already grabbing her purse. "Tell Janie I'm coming and tell her I'm sorry," she relayed the message through a reliable source, even if she was currently at odds with him.

"Elizabeth, I…" William remarked, before she could hang up the phone and there was just something in his voice that made her pause, something that made her hesitate, because there were times that her painfully and socially awkward ex-boyfriend had honesty shine right through and it made all the other times worth it.

"Will, I'm coming for Jane. You can tell me then," she assured, softening mildly (though if anyone asked, Lizzy Bennet did not soften for any man).

She hung up and stared out the window for a very long moment, to try and compose herself. Her relationship with Will had always been tenuous at best. The passion of the good times unfortunately carried over to the bad and they were so alike that it scared Lizzy sometimes, but unfortunately, they were each so proud and stubborn that fights like this seemed to have no ending and made Lizzy wonder what she ever saw in him to begin with. Usually, they made up and were so blinded and in love that the fights were forgotten, but Lizzy was having difficulty this time.

Maybe because she'd met a man who could admit he wasn't perfect. Maybe because George Wickham had funnelled into her thoughts and refused to leave.

But right then and there, Elizabeth had to go to Jane's side and be a good sister and grovel for her forgiveness.

Elizabeth arrived, soaked in the rain, having not even bothered to grab an umbrella and when the door was opened by Charlie's sister, Elizabeth barely managed a smile. "You're soaked," Caroline observed with disgust, handing her a towel as she walked away.

"Thank you!" Elizabeth called after her, giving her a discreet finger before heading immediately upstairs, knowing the townhouse by heart by now. She bumped into Charles forcibly, who was carrying a handful of towels and a nightgown down the hall. "Oh! Perfect," Lizzy said, happy to find the one person who lived in the home that she actually could talk to. "Where's Jane? Is she okay?"

"She's in the washroom," Charlie admitted, quietly. "She's sick, but I'm taking care of her!" he insisted desperately. "I am!"

Elizabeth just squeezed Charles' shoulder as she passed him, heading towards the bathroom to talk to Jane first about being a completely idiot about insisting that because Will thought something, she had to think the same. It was a brand new bright day, in which the Bennet sisters could unite, Lizzy thought.

The door to the washroom was closed and Elizabeth rapped on the white panelling with her knuckles lightly, hearing the sound of retching from within and the very tiniest of soft, miserable sighs.

"Janie," Elizabeth said gently. "It's me."

"Oh," Jane groaned from within and the door seemed to drift open. Elizabeth stepped inside to find her sister lying on the ground, her feet close to the door. After a second of pitying her poor sister, Elizabeth closed the door and lay down on the floor beside Jane, brushing back a lock of hair from her sweaty forehead. "Lizzy," Jane remarked, sounding numb. "I think I may have been too rash in coming in the rain."

"My sister," Elizabeth said lovingly, with a wry smile. "Nothing is too difficult for you to face." Her cheek touched the cool linoleum and she sat up only to get a cloth and dampen it, setting it against Jane's forehead.

Her sister gave a small sigh of relief at the coolness. "Lizzy, there's something I need to tell you."

"No," Elizabeth said immediately, and stubbornly at that. "Not before I apologize."

"For what!" Jane sounded so surprised, like she honestly thought that Lizzy could never do anything wrong. Oh, Jane, Elizabeth thought, You really are the last of the good people in this family. "Lizzy, don't be silly. If you mean this squabble and insisting that Charlie isn't right for me, it just made me realize that he is!"

"Exactly!" Elizabeth agreed with firmness. "Jane, I realized the same thing and I am so sorry that I said anything otherwise. You love him and you should marry him."

Something flickered over Jane's face, something that Elizabeth couldn't place and that was odd in itself, because Jane was her best friend and best sister and she could place all her moods. So why not this one?

"Janie, what is it?"

"Charles is such a good man," Jane insisted. "Sensible…funny, and he's so handsome."

"Janie, what's going on?" Elizabeth asked again, firmer this time, because she still had no idea what was going on and she didn't like that. Was this Jane's way of telling her that it was too late and she'd broken up with him? She moved the cloth when Jane sat up with a start, heaving into the toilet bowl with no result. "Jane, don't make rash decisions while you're sick," Elizabeth advised. "We'll wait until you're better and then we'll talk!"

"Elizabeth, Lizzy," Jane murmured, sitting back against the wall. "Charles and I are still together."

"Good," Elizabeth immediately said, eager to show her sister her support. "That's great news!"

"Because," Jane murmured lowly, "I'm pregnant."

That was the biggest news that Elizabeth had ever heard in the history of news being told to her and Jane? Jane, her responsible big sister who would never do something wrong in her life was pregnant.

"Oh my God," Elizabeth said, staring at her. "Jane, how?"

The mischievous look on Jane's face at the question definitely wasn't missed.

"Oh, I get how," Elizabeth said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I didn't know you two were trying. And before the wedding?" she added, in her best stern-mother voice. It wasn't that she disapproved, it was just so much more of a Kitty or a Lydia thing to do.

"With the wedding so close, we went to see some doctors," Jane admitted, shifting the cloth against her neck and giving a pleased sound of relief. "We've both wanted kids for so long and we wanted them soon after the marriage. Better to start young. So I was taken off my birth control to let my hormones regulate and we stopped using protection since the wedding was coming up so quickly and…"

"And it stuck," Elizabeth realized. "And now with all this turbulence before the wedding…"

"Yeah," Jane finished that sentence, smiling wanly and peering up when the door was opened and Charles joined their little girl group, crouching down beside Jane to offer her a cup of tea. "Thank you, sweetheart," Jane murmured. "I'd kiss you if I weren't so disgusting."

"You could be the most disgusting in all the continents and I'd still be glad to have you kiss me," Charles announced proudly, kissing her on the lips as he eased back and sat with them. "Not to say that you are," he stumbled. "You're beautiful. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And of course, Lizzy is the second!"

"Flatterer," Elizabeth teased as she closed the door and got comfortable, staring at her sister and her boyfriend. "I can't believe it," she said, honest in that. "I mean. I'm going to be an Auntie."

"And a godmother," Jane insisted, sipping at her tea as Charles rubbed her back. "So, you see, Lizzy. We have to speed up the wedding."

"And I have a best man who doesn't approve of me marrying into your family," Charles said, like this was the world's most daunting task. "We're trying to keep this quiet. We've been thinking about making it small. Your family, me, and Jane."

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. "Not Caroline or Louisa?"

"As much as I love my family, they would be the first to tell Will," Charles said in a dry, bemused tone. "He's their knight in shining armour."

Without another word, Elizabeth leaned over and kissed her sister's forehead gently. "Janie, I am so sorry I tried to talk you out of this," she said simply, stroking her messy hair back. "We're going to make this right. I'm going to help you fix things."

It would have helped, of course, if Elizabeth had known the turn towards the chaotic that her own life was about to take, but sitting there in that bathroom, she meant those words through and through.

tbc