Sfa1982- Yes, one of the main reasons Lizzy hasn't been recognized is because no one really expects her to be out skating around, but I'll get more into that in this chapter- thanks for you question:)

Forgotten-kiss, I don't think Lizzy knows if she wants to forgive Darcy yet but yes, there is more of that in chapters to come (including this one) ;) And Wickham- unfortunately I don't think we've seen the last of him yet, either.

check6- :grin: Yes- Yes I DO think Charles needs to work harder (if even just a little bit. ) than he did in the original story if he wants Jane back…

Dolphin Dreamer, Yes, I was hoping the football thing wouldn't be confusing. I was considering specifying it as American football but I figured you'd get the idea when I explained what was going on. :)

Terbear, Hawkeye Chuui, Farola, Mara look-a-like, riotgirllina, Rxc, MorganisM-Lve, Peran, Randomisation, Gentileschi, Jenna, lina, GerryPhan, Shadowsndust, Ariadne Oliver, Iago96, and Iago96,

Thanks so much you guys! I'm so happy for all the great feedback I got for this chapter. It's really helped a lot. Specifically since a lot of you are wondering what Jane and Charles said to each other, I added it in this chapter. To tell the truth I was just going to leave it, but I'm glad I wrote it, it gave me a better handle on the story, I think.

And I think more of you're questions will be answer in this chapter so I hope you enjoy…

PS- The linebreak thingy still isnt working, so I had to get creative ;)

Chapter Ten
Dinner and a Drama

Jane and Elizabeth walked through the hotel in silence. Though neither knew it, both were
thinking of the day's events- specifically those involving Charles and Will, respectively.

Lizzy wondered at her and Will's vacillating relationship. On the one hand, she always had
a great time with him. He was the first guy in a long time that she had any real interest in.
On the other, his cavalier decision caused Jane, the dearest and sweetest person Lizzy
knew, unnecessary pain.

Though, Lizzy grudgingly admitted, it wasn't like he was thinking about hurting Jane. He
was only thinking of protecting his friend. Of course, if he had at least taken the time to get
to know Jane, maybe none of this would have happened.

Unconsciously, Lizzy shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was a never-ending circle. It
seems whatever redeeming qualities Will had were undone by his bad ones. To think of
something else, she glanced at Jane.

Lizzy wondered what she had said to Charles, and where they now stood with each other.
Jane was a private person though, even with her sister, and Lizzy didn't want to force her
to share something she didn't want to. So she opted for a question that Jane could give a
one-word answer to, if she liked.

"How did your talk with Charles go?" she asked as they reached their room.

"I wondered how long you'd be able to wait until you asked me that." Jane smiled, letting
her know it was okay. "It went…. As well as can be expected, I think."

The sisters busied themselves with unloading their beach things and arguing good-naturedly
about who got the shower first. In the end Lizzy won, since she would be quicker.

While Lizzy hurried into the bathroom, Jane sank gratefully into a chair. It was no joke, their
little workout today at the beach. She was just glad Lizzy hadn't dismissed Charles' offer for
a ride again. She did not look forward to skating home, however short the trip.

Thinking about the beach brought her to thought of Charles, which reminded her of the
question Lizzy just asked. How did the 'talk with Charles' go?

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

They were silent for a few minutes. It was the first time Jane and Charles been alone together
since their break-up and both became acutely aware of this fact as soon as they left the group.

"So… How've you been?" Charles asked, breaking the silence. Jane could tell from the gravity
in his voice that it wasn't a general question.

"Okay. Lizzy's helped a lot." Jane answered truthful, ignoring the wince from Charles.

They fell silent again and Jane almost regretted her frankness. She didn't want it to be awkward
between them. He'd been a great help after… Wickham, and she didn't regret what they'd had
together. She just wished it hadn't had to end, especially so abruptly. It literally fell apart in a
day- the day after they'd had their first date.

Jane found herself, naturally, replaying that day over and over in her head. Had she done
something to upset him? He'd seemed fine when they parted, more than fine- he seemed happy.
So what had changed so drastically that he made the decision to break-up with her?

Was it really, as Caroline had implied, that an old flame had come back to town? Jane didn't
want to think so, Charles certainly didn't seem the type, but maybe she didn't know him as
well as she believed.

"I never meant to hurt you, Jane." Charles stopped walking and turned to face her.

Jane looked in his face and saw that he meant it- he felt awful. Her natural instinct was to put
him at ease- tell him it was fine, she understood and don't worry about it; but a voice inside
her, one that sounded suspiciously like Lizzy, argued that it wasn't fine, she didn't understand
and he damn well better worry about it. Jane picked a middle ground between the two.

"Well, you did." She said simply and continued walking.

Charles was so stunned that he it took him a minute to catch up. He caught her arm before she
walked into the small café. "Jane…" he started, but faltered.

Jane didn't help him, just stood and waited.

"I'm sorry." He said simply and again Jane could tell he meant it.

The two voices warred again. The Jane voice thought 'it's okay', but new voice, the Lizzy
voice thought 'You should be.' Again Jane found a balance.

"I know." She replied truthfully. She could tell he was truly sorry. But Jane wanted to know if
he was sorry for breaking up with her, or sorry that, in breaking up with her, he'd hurt her.

She could tell this was not going at all how Charles had planned, and although he wanted to
say more, he either didn't know what to say or just couldn't find the words. He released her
arm and she preceded him into the café.

They fell back into silence once in the café, only talking when they had to order the food. After
the got everything, the pair once again found themselves alone, or as alone as they could be
on a crowded sidewalk.

"Jane…" Charles tried again. Jane turned her head to let him know she was listening. "I… I
know it's gotten… complicated between us, but…"

"Charles." Jane sighed and stopped so she could fully face him. "Just tell me what happened."

"What happened?" Charles questioned, looking slightly nervous.

"Yes. What happened to make you up and leave with barely a word to me." Jane clarified.

"I… I was having a lot of pressure from work. They felt I was taking too much time off." Charles
explained.

"Why couldn't you just tell me that?" Jane asked gently.

"Because…that… wasn't the only reason." Charles sighed in frustration. "Okay, I know this is
probably going to sound crazy, but I thought that you didn't… like me as much as I liked you."

"That does sound crazy." Jane said after a few minutes of silence. "And even if that were true,
you should have said something."

"I know. I know there's no excuse for what I did, and nothing I can say that will make it right,
but... but I am sorry." He said, reaching up to cup her cheek. "More sorry than I can say."

"Charles." Jane sighed and reached up to hold his hand to her.

"And I know that I don't even deserve to be speaking with you right now, but… maybe we
can start over… start as friends?" he asked, sounding almost desperate.

Jane didn't answer, but she held his hand and started to pull him along with her. "Come on.
I promised Lizzy we'd be back soon."

Charles was disappointed by her non-answer, but his spirits lifted when she held onto his
hand as they walked back to the beach.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jane still didn't know what she wanted to do about Charles. His apology was sincere, she could
tell, but how was she going to know that he wouldn't just do something like that again?

The best thing to do, seeing as how Charles planned on spending time with her as much as he
could before they went their separate ways, was to take it one day at time. See how things went.
She wouldn't jump right back into their old relationship, but she didn't want to cut him off completely.

"Showers yours sis." Lizzy's cheerful voice pulled Jane out of her thoughts and she looked up,
smiling.

"Let me at it." She replied with a laugh, grabbing a towel and heading for it.

"Hey, what do you think? This is semi-casual, right?" Lizzy asked, going through the small
closet.

"I think so. What did you have in mind?" Jane asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Short skirt and a long sleeve top?" Lizzy questioned, holding the items up to her. Jane raised
her eyebrows in surprise.

"A skirt? You?" she questioned teasingly.

"Ha, ha. Yes, a skirt, me. What do you think?" Lizzy wanted to know.

"I think black would go better with your coloring. I have an outfit on my side of the closet
you're welcome to." Jane replied. Lizzy immediately searched it out.

"Maybe you're right. Thanks, Jane." She said, holding the outfit up to her and looking in
the floor mirror.

"Welcome." Jane replied before finally going into the shower.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The girls were ready early and they chatted about nothing in particular until there was a knock
on the door.

Both sisters rose to answer it, grabbing their purses on the way.

"Ready?" Lizzy whispered with mock trepidation.

Jane just elbowed her with a small smile on her face before swinging the door open.

Will and Charles were on the other side, both dressed in dark slacks and dress shirts- Wills
black and Charles a light blue.

"Hey, we match." Will said with a small.

"Yeah, look at that." Lizzy couldn't help but smile back.

"You look great Jane- you both do." Charles said, but his eyes never left Jane.

"Thank you." The sisters replied simultaneously.

"Are you girls ready to go?" Will asked.

"Yes, I think so. Jane?" Lizzy looked to her sister.

"Ready." Jane nodded, stepping out.

"Oh- it looks like rain. You may want to bring a jacket." Will warned.

"I'll get them." Lizzy offered, stepping back into the room and pulling two jackets that matched
each of their outfits. While she was thinking of it, she turned on the bathroom light so they
didn't walk back into a dark room, then rejoined Jane, Will and Charles at the door.

"Okay, I think we're all set now. Here, Jane." Lizzy began to hand her the jacket she brought,
but Charles took it from me.

"Allow me." He said with a smile, then helped her into it.

"May I?" Will asked holding his hand out for Lizzy's as well. Lizzy hesitated, but handed it over.

"Sure, knock yourself out." She said with a smile.

Once they had their coats on, the foursome made their way out to the parked car. When Charles
held the passenger door of a four-door sedan open for Jane, a warning bell went off in Lizzy head.

"Where's Georgiana? And Caroline?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh. Hope you don't mind, but Caroline already had a dinner date, and Georgiana said she was
too tired from the traveling and the beach today to go out so… it's just going to be us four."
Will explaining cheerfully as he held the back door open for Lizzy.

"Oh." Lizzy said, slipping into the back seat. "Hear that Jane? It's just going to be us four." She
asked when Will and Charles had closed the doors and walked around to get in themselves.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Lizzy." Jane said placidly.

"Easy for you to say." She mumbled just before Will opened the door and slipped in beside her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

But it was fine, Lizzy had to admit. Despite the fact that it felt a lot like a date, Jane and Lizzy
had relaxed and dinner with just Will and Charles was turning out to be more than fine- it was
fun. The four friends laughed and joked throughout the night and, everything was going
great until an unexpected visitor broke into their happy group.

"Excuse me." All eyes turned to see a man who'd approached their table but his eyes were
only for Lizzy. "It is you, isn't it?"

Lizzy felt panic rise through her, but she immediately pushed it down and put on a puzzled
face. "Excuse me?"

The man just laughed. Lizzy realized he was slightly drunk, but that didn't hide the glee in
his eyes. "By god but you look different."

"I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong person." Lizzy said, managing to sound almost friendly.

"I thought so too, at first. Actually, I didn't even recognize you. I recognized her." The man
pointed at Jane and now Lizzy was really worried. "Of course, I still don't recognize either of
you." He gestured to the boys.

"Look- your obviously mistaken-" Lizzy tried again, this time with more annoyance in her
voice but the man wasn't to be put off.

"No, it's you alright. The great Liz herself. You know, you've been hard to find, lately." He
said, and then pulled a camera out of nowhere. "You don't mind if I get a quick picture, do you?"

Lizzy stood in a flash, pushing the camera away before he had a chance to try. "Actually, I
do." She said through clenched teeth. The man just grinned, as if he hoped for this reaction.

"Then how about an interview instead. You know," storing the camera, he pulled a pencil
and pad out of his pocket. "A lot of people are wondering what you've been up to."

"Get lost." Lizzy dropped all pretenses and glared him.

"I see your anger management classes have paid off." He laughed, writing something down.

Lizzy clenched her teeth and was about to give a non-verbal reply to how well her anger
management classes were going, most likely to his face, but Jane also stood, catching her
attention. "Lizzy, don't." she warned.

Against her instincts, Lizzy unclenched her fist and took a step back. "Get. Lost." She repeated,
but his attention was now focused on Jane.

"Ah, Jane Bennet. How are you holding up these days? Holding any grudge against you
sister? Have you talked to George Wic-" He fired the questions off fast, but Lizzy moved
until she stood between them.

"Don't you dare talk to my sister." Lizzy said vehemently.

"Still defending your dear older sister, are you?" he asked amused as he wrote something
down again.

"Maybe you'd better leave." A hard voice said, grabbing onto the man's shoulder and pulling
him away from Lizzy. She was surprised to see it was Will- she'd never heard him sound so…
intimidating.

The man didn't seem to mind the hand clutching his shoulder. "And who are you? A love
interest perhaps?" he asked, still writing.

Unexpectedly, Will pulled the pad and pencil out of his hand and looked at him forebodingly.
"I said, maybe you'd better leave." He repeated coldly.

For the first time, then man seemed to think twice about speaking. He looked at Will, trying
to decide if it was worth the consequences.

"Is there a problem?" a man in a suit had walked up. Lizzy assumed someone had informed
the manager about their little performance.

"This person," Will said the word as if it was the last thing he would call the man. "Is
bothering my guests and I. See that he is removed at once."

The manager took one look at Will's haughty manner and began escorting the unknown
man out of the restaurant.

"You'll regret this, Liz." The man said angrily before they made it two steps away.

Lizzy opened her mouth to reply, but Will beat her to it. "Are you threatening her?" he asked
heatedly. He took at step forward and grabbed the man again.

"Sir, shall I call the police?" The manager asked Will.

"No." All eyes turned to Lizzy. "It's okay. Just get him out of here." She replied to the
manager, but she was looking at Will.

Will nodded slightly and let him go. The manager wasted no time in escorting the man out
before anything more could be said.

Lizzy turned to see how Jane was only to find Charles already conversing with her in low
tones. She seemed fine, and Lizzy let out a breath of air.

"Are you alright?" Will's soft voice in her ear made her jump and he put a comforting hand
on her shoulder. "Sorry."

"I'm fine. Thanks for…" she glanced at the retreating men, but Will shrugged it off.

"Who was that?" he asked, his intense gaze locking her eyes with his.

"I didn't catch his name." Lizzy replied, dodging the question and looking back at Jane.
"Maybe we should go."

Jane heard her and broke away from Charles. "That's probably a good idea."

"I'll get the car." Charles offered, grabbing his overcoat from the back of his chair.

"No." Lizzy said unexpectedly. Jane gave her a look, but she ignored it. "No, finish dinner.
We can find our own way home."

"Lizzy…" Jane started.

"I really think it's for the best." Lizzy said significantly, looking at Jane.

Charles and Will looked from one sister to another, trying to catch the meaning behind her
words.

"We don't know how many more there are." Lizzy said pointedly, eyes still on her sister.

"Exactly why we're not letting you two go off alone." Will interrupted, and then grabbed a
passing waiter. "Check, please, and make it quick."

"Will, really, we'll just call a cab. There's no reason for you guys to cut dinner short just
for us." Lizzy said, exasperated.

"You may want to pretend some drunk guy didn't just come up and threaten you and
Jane, but I won't. I'm not asking for a reason or an explanation; I am just asking for you
to let Charles and I take you home. Okay?" Will asked, squaring his shoulders.

Lizzy could tell he was going to put up a fight until she gave in, but her ire rose at his
imposing manner.

"Look Will… thank you for your help and thank you for dinner but I can take care of
myself." She told him matter-of-factly.

The waiter came with the bill, Will threw a card into it and handed it back without even
looking at it.

"Oh really? And what about Jane, can you take care of her too?" Will, frustrated with
her obstinacy, had just said the first thing he could think of but he saw instantly that
he'd hit a nerve.

"Fitz…" Charles, who knew more of the girl's history, tried to warn him off the topic.

"How dare you throw that in my face." Lizzy said, deathly quiet.

"Lizzy this is ridiculous." Jane said catching her attention. "Will doesn't even know
about... anything."

"The hell he doesn't." Lizzy snapped back, glaring at Will who was looking from Lizzy
to Jane to Charles trying to figure out what was going on.

"I don't know anything about what?" He asked, sighing in frustration as the waiter
interrupted again with the check. Will signed it and hand it back.

"I've told the valet to pull around your car, sir." The waiter said nervously, and then
took off.

"There. The car is here, why don't we all just calm down and go home." Charles suggested,
trying to placate Will and Lizzy.

"Jane, let Charles take you home, okay?" Lizzy said, then walked out without waiting
for an answer.

"Why is she being so stubborn about this?" Will asked no one in particular.

"It's just how she is. You won't be able to change her mind once it's made up." Jane
sighed, sounding tired.

Will didn't answer for a minute as he stared at the closing restaurant doors. Then,
tossing Charles the keys, he took off after her. "Watch me."

"Will!" Charles exclaimed, bewildered.

"Go on ahead, I'll make sure she gets home okay." He answered, storming out.

As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted her making her way up the road, looking
like she planned on walking the whole way home.

"Elizabeth!" He called, the jogged to catch up to her.

"God you just don't give up, do you?" she asked, sounding pissed.

"What is the matter with you? You're going to walk home this late at night through
neighborhoods you don't know for what? Just to prove you can?" Will asked, incredulous.

"Whatever my reasons, they are none of your business." She told him.

"The hell they aren't! We were having a perfectly normal evening until that guy comes
in, who somehow obviously knows you and then you bite my head off and go running
off into the night." Will, who just noticed he'd raised his voice, made an effect to speak
more calmly. "Elizabeth, what happened?"

Lizzy was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "What happened was that guy just
ruined my vacation. Now I have to go back to the hotel, pack and get out of here before
all hell breaks loose."

"What? I don't understand." Will said, shaking his head.

"Okay, you know what? The innocent act is getting a little old." Lizzy said, irritated.

"What innocent act? I honestly don't know." Will said sincerely.

"Right. So it's just a big coincidence that you made a reference to me not being able to
protect Jane." Lizzy said. She tried to sound angry, but Will could hear the hurt in her
voice.

"Look, I don't know what made me say that. I could tell I hurt you and I'm sorry for
that, but I really have no idea why it did hurt you." Will said softly to her. Lizzy sighed
and turned away from him.

Will frowned and put a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "Do you really think I would
intentionally say something that I thought would upset you as much as that did?" he
whispered to her.

"I don't know. We only met a few weeks ago, Will. I don't even know you, not really."
She said, still refusing to face him.

"Look at me, Elizabeth." He turned her towards him, then raised her chin so she met
his eyes. "Do you really think I would hurt you?" he asked tenderly.

She looked into his eyes and sighed. Leaning into the hand cupping her cheek and
closing her eyes, she whispered "No."

Unfortunately no Caroline or Georgiana in this Chapt, but they'll be back, don't worry ;)
I'm still popping them out longer than usual though, huh? What do you think?