A/N: My apologies that I haven't updated this story for a while. If you haven't read my last update to A New Beginning then I want you to know the reason why. For the last eight years I have struggled with depression and things were starting to get bad again that I had to go back on my medication and seek counselling. Things have been tough and it's been a few weeks now and I'm slowly starting to feel better. But please bear with me as I try and get back into a normal routine with my writing.

This chapter has been one that I've been putting off because of everything going on in my personal life but today I'd had enough. I was supposed to be finishing off an assignment I have due for uni in two weeks but seeing as that was making me so wound up to the point my laptop decided to keep freezing me out of the uni website that I couldn't access the online materials, I decided to take a break from all things uni for tonight and finish this instead. Sorry if it's not my best work but I wanted to get this chapter finished and posted after weeks of it being unfinished.

I don't know when Chapter Eleven will come but I hope for it to be posted soon.

Enjoy. And thanks for your support and patience, it really means a lot to me!

Chapter Ten

It had been three weeks since Elizabeth had told her sisters about her miscarriage and her night of passion with Will. In those three weeks, things were slowly changing for her. She was starting to not spend every single night doing overtime and was starting to reconnect with her loved ones. She had dinner with her dad and sisters, went shopping with Charlotte and was due to go to her first Fleet Friday tonight but first she had other things to do.

She'd also had to deal with the unexpected confession from her sister that Jane had experienced a pregnancy scare. While she was still dealing with her own emotions about her own pregnancy and the loss of the baby she could have had, she also found herself trying to support Jane through her own pregnancy scare and then found out that Jane wasn't pregnant at all. So, once that had been dealt with, they were quickly thrown into planning the wedding that would be happening in February.

Leaving the office at five like everyone else was something she hadn't done for a long time, but she'd accepted the fact that now everyone knew about her situation, she needed to get back into a normal routine of leaning on her friends when she felt crushed and hurt, talking to someone about the feelings she had instead of bottling them up and pushing everyone away and most of all, she needed to get her life back together. And tonight, she was looking forward to socialising with her friends again as she left the office with Charles.

"We're meeting Char, Anne and Rich at The Fleet and Will is meeting us at mine. Jane is so excited for you to try your dress on." Charles said happily.

"Does it feel weird? Knowing that you and my sister are getting married in a few months?" Elizabeth asked.

"Kind of. It feels weird that we've finally set a date after being engaged for the last year and a half, so it will take some getting used to. But at the same time, it feels amazing that Jane is going to be my wife, I know that she's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with." Charles replied.

Elizabeth smiled, noting the look of contentedness on Charles' face when he talked about her sister. That was what she wanted. Someone who looked at her like Charles looked at Jane, the way he looked when he thought about her sister. And there was one person who did look at her like that…

As Charles parked his car outside the house that he and Jane rented, Elizabeth unbuckled her seatbelt as her future brother-in-law switched off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. The two got out of the car and were greeted by an enthusiastic Jane at the door.

"Come in! Your dress is hanging on the back of the bathroom door!" Jane squealed.

Letting out a slight laugh, she hurried up the stairs and locked herself in the bathroom. As Jane said, she saw her bridesmaids dress hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She looked at the dress in admiration, touching the fabric and noted how soft it felt under her fingertips. Elizabeth quickly shed herself of her work clothes and pulled the dress on gently before looking at herself in the mirror that was screwed onto the back of the bathroom door. The dress was beautiful, a lovely shade of silver, a fitted bodice with delicate silver beading sewn into the fabric. Two delicate and thick straps went over her shoulders and the skirt fell to her knees and flowed freely around her legs.

Opening the bathroom door, she walked downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs her sister stood talking to Charles, and to her surprise; Will. Instantly her eyes met his and she smiled at him warmly, trying to ignore the sudden increase in her heart rate. He looked speechless as he eyed her in the dress, his expression of wonderment seemingly going unnoticed by Jane and Charles as the other two turned to look at her.

"Lizzy, you look amazing." Charles complimented.

"Amazing? She's beautiful. Do you like the dress, Lizzy?" Jane asked.

Elizabeth smiled and her sister and nodded, she loved the dress. It fitted her well, it was beautifully made and most importantly, she felt comfortable wearing it. With the wedding only five months away, Jane was starting to rush through the organizing and desperate to make sure that everything was perfect.

"I'm going to change back, where do you want me to put the dress?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hang it back on the bathroom door, I'll put it away later." Jane instructed.

Nodding her head, Elizabeth headed back up the stairs and locked herself in the bathroom to change back into her original clothes. As she unzipped the dress, her phone buzzed against the side of the bath. Picking it up, she couldn't help the grin that formed on her face.

I know you're supposed to watch the bride at weddings, but I know who I'll be looking at. You looked amazing in that dress. W x

ooOoo

"So, how are we supposed to act around them?" Anne questioned curiously.

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she handed over the cash to pay for her drink. It had been a week since the rest of the group had found out about Elizabeth and Will and the whole messy situation surrounding them. It had been a bit of a surprise when Jane had shared the news with the group and the truth was they were still trying to process the fact that two of their best friends had slept together a year ago. But here they were at The Fleet awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group and not sure if Elizabeth and Will were a couple or not.

Having finally been told that Will had fathered a baby with Elizabeth and then her best friend had suffered a miscarriage, Charlotte had been surprised. All those weeks ago when she and Lizzy had had dinner together and they had spoken about how Lizzy was avoiding everyone and when Lizzy had been in pieces because something had happened to her…Charlotte never would have guessed it was because her friend had lost Will's baby. But, that's what had happened. A whole, crazy situation but she could understand why Elizabeth hadn't told anyone. She, herself, was hiding her own secret for the time being.

"I suppose we just try and act normally. Lizzy has been through a lot, she lost Will's baby and was threatened by a nutjob, so I think she needs us to be a friend right now rather than quiz her about her relationship with Will." Charlotte replied.

"It's just kind of depressing. Charles and Jane are getting married, Will and Lizzy are a will-they-won't-they couple, there's only three of us left that aren't hooking up with each other and it's not like I can get together with Richard. He's my cousin, how wrong would that be?" Anne ranted, shivering in disgust at the thought.

Charlotte bit her lip as she thanked the waiter for handing over her drink. As Anne paid and ordered hers, Charlotte thought about what her friend had said. The truth was, Anne was the only single one left in the group. After their drunken kiss weeks ago, she and Richard had agreed to explore more than friendship between the two of them when it was established that they felt more than friendship for each other. And because her relationship with Richard was still quite new, they were keeping it quiet from the rest of the group until they both felt the time was right to announce their relationship to their friends.

"I think if you got together with your cousin it would be gross and from a genetic point of view, if you and a cousin had a child together it might have a gene mutation or something. Besides, it's not like you can get with Richard anyway."

Anne raised an eyebrow as she took her drink from the bartender and the two of them walked over to the booth were Richard had placed his coat to reserve the table. They sat down and took of their own coats as they waited for Richard to finish having his cigarette outside. As Anne took a sip of her wine, Charlotte waved at the four friends they were for. Hugs were exchanged before Elizabeth, Will and Jane sat down, and Charles went up to the bar to order the rest of them some drinks.

Richard returned from finishing his cigarette and sat at the table, but before they could all catch each other up, the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.

"So…are you two an item now?" Anne questioned.

Everyone went quiet and their faces fell, everyone looking from Anne to Will and then to Elizabeth who seemed very uncomfortable with Anne's question.

"Not now, Anne." Will said determinedly.

"It's a valid question." Anne replied defensively.

Charlotte kicked Anne from under the table. From the look on Elizabeth's face, it was clear that their friend was feeling uncomfortable in being at The Fleet. And Charlotte wished she could have prevented Anne from asking her question, it wasn't any of their business if Will and Elizabeth were together or not. But Anne being Anne, she didn't always think of the consequences before speaking.

"And one we're not answering right now." Will stated firmly.

"And we're just supposed to pretend that the two of you are just friends?" Anne quizzed, "The two of you slept together-"

"And the last time I checked we didn't need your permission to do so." Will argued.

"I'm just curious-"

"Anne. I love you to death but please, shut up." Richard said quietly.

Charlotte watched as Anne muttered a meek apology and hid behind her wine glass. As Richard told Will and Lizzy that he understood it would take some time to figure things out, a lot had happened and they both needed time to adjust, she found herself backing up Richard by offering her support and ear if they needed to talk to someone about it. As Will and Elizabeth gave them a quiet 'thank you', Charles changed the subject just as one of the bar staff announced they were holding a quiz that night.

"Fancy taking part in the quiz?" Jane asked.

The group all murmured their agreement and fiddled around in their pockets and purses to get some change together to take part in the quiz.

ooOoo

The evening had gone pleasantly, despite Anne's questioning, having their usual catch-up as a full group for the first time in ages. They had come second in the quiz and talked more about Charles and Jane's wedding plans before Will had offered to walk Elizabeth home after seeing her trying to hold off a yawn.

As Will and Elizabeth made the walk back to her flat, he couldn't help but feel that the night could have gone better. With Anne's questioning about their uncertain relationship, he knew that Elizabeth must have felt just as awkward and uncomfortable as he did. After Anne's apology and sulking, Richard and Charlotte had offered some supportive promises to be there if they needed to talk and then Charles steered the conversation to how Will's new job was going. It had been three weeks since Louis had offered him a position with the BBC in Southampton and two weeks since he had officially started his job there and so far, he loved it. The office was busy, he was kept occupied and the people he worked with seemed friendly but not overly friendly as Caroline had been in the earlier days of him working with her. It was a forty-minute drive there each morning and the same every evening when he left the office at five to get back home. But he didn't mind the drive. At least he had a job that was closer to home this time around.

The two walked into the lobby of her building and up the stairs until they stood outside her front door together. He looked down at her, keys in hand twiddling with the rough edges as her eyes met his.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Elizabeth exhaled but nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah. I just…I knew that the others would be surprised by…everything…but I wasn't expecting Anne's questioning. Jane said that she told them not to ask twenty questions."

"It wasn't that many." Will teased.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Figure of speech smart arse."

Will laughed, his hand cupping her left cheek as he stepped closer to her. Over the past few weeks, they had gotten closer. Moments were shared. Hands were held. Smiles and lasting glances were exchanged. And he was sure that she felt the same way as he did. As she kept his gaze, it was as if a magnet was drawing the two of them closer together. His forehead bumped against her own as he leaned down, his hand still cupping her cheek and his other reaching out and intertwining his fingers with hers. His heart was beating faster in his chest, his nose touching hers and his lips merely centimetres away from hers. This was what he wanted. It was what she wanted and neither of them wanted to stop it…

But before his lips could meet hers, they were interrupted by the sound of a loud ringtone coming from Will's coat pocket. Letting out a frustrated but longing sigh, they pulled apart from each other and Will looked at her apologetically. Elizabeth gave him a reassuring smile and gestured for him to answer his phone as he pulled it out of his pocket and rolled his eyes, pressing the answer button.

"Georgie, this had better be a good time!" Will said, his tone full of annoyance.

"Will, can you meet me from work? There's some creeps that were hanging around pestering me for my phone number earlier in my shift and they're still hanging around outside." Georgiana pleaded on the other end.

"Hanging around? Have they done anything?" Will asked.

"They kept making lewd remarks to me and Lydia, but she already left with Denny when she finished her shift. I'm closing tonight, and these creeps won't take no for an answer. Please Will, I don't feel safe walking home by myself." Georgiana replied.

"Okay. Finish up and wait for me. I'll text you when I'm outside your work."

"Thanks, Will, you're the best!"

Ending the phone call, he looked back at Elizabeth apologetically.

"I'm sorry, that was Georgie. She doesn't feel safe walking home by herself because there's some creeps hanging around outside her workplace." Will explained.

Elizabeth nodded her understanding, giving him a small smile.

"You don't need to apologise or explain. Go and be the good big brother that you are and keep your sister safe. I'll see you later." She replied.

"Text me if you need anything." Will offered.

"I'll be fine, but I'll keep you in mind if I do." Elizabeth said confidently.

Giving her a nod, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to her cheek and kissed it lightly before pulling away.

"Goodnight Lizzy."

"Goodnight Will."

As she turned to unlock her front door and he started to walk back down the hallway, he turned back to her and called her name.

"Lizzy?"

She turned to look back at him, their eyes meeting warmly as they gazed at each other.

"Yeah?"

"I meant what I said earlier. You looked amazing in that dress." Will said softly.

She didn't say anything in reply, but he noticed how she couldn't hide the happy smile and the blush in her cheeks at his compliment. Giving him a wave goodbye, Elizabeth unlocked her front door and disappeared behind it as Will walked out of her building, feeling pleased that although it was going slowly, it definitely appeared that the two of them knew just what direction they were heading in.