Disclaimer: Jane Austen's works are Public Domain works and no disclaimer is ever needed. I, however, own the copyrights on this derivative work. Also, I'm a HUGE geek. My page breaks are indicated by Bold type.

"What?" Will asked holding his breath.

"I want you," she repeated a bit louder. A smile broke out on his face and he saw hers reflect it back. Without thinking, he charged towards her only to be stopped by the long buffet table laden with finger foods. He looked down in confusion and then back up at her. He couldn't help but notice that she had moved reflexively backwards. Away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he began walking the perimeter of the buffet table.

"Just because I want you doesn't mean I can have you." Was he imagining the quaver in her voice? "I won't have you throw away your career for me," she said as she watched him walking like a prey watches a predator.

"It's too late, Lizzy. I'm already yours." He stopped a few feet away from her attempting to gauge her reaction.

"But – ˮ

"I'll find a different job," he said.

"You'll find a different job?"

He nodded. She stood frozen in thought; he could see the wheels turning in her head. When she looked up at him her perfect, beautiful smile indicated that the tears falling down her cheeks were happy tears.

They both moved at the same time and met each other in an embrace that made the word passionate ashamed of itself. This embrace spoke of need, desire, hunger, and a longing finally and blissfully fulfilled. Will began to worry that he should rein it in before they became indecent right there in the dining room when,

"Fitzwilliam!" The imperious voice of his aunt boomed across the cavernous room, echoing off of the vaulted ceilings.

The two lovers broke apart like shrapnel and Lizzy fixed her gaze on the nearest work of art while Will looked his aunt defiantly in the eye. "Yes Aunt Catherine?"

"You men never think anything is wrong with your behavior, you're all instincts and hormones, but you Ms. Bennet. I expected better of you! As a woman of power, you would throw your career away on an intern? Worst of all! Fitzwilliam Darcy, you are the heir of the Darcy Legacy! You are a man of impeccable breeding and years of careful tutelage and guidance and this is who you have decided to bring into the family? This nobody from a nothing law firm in a backwater like Orlando. Who is her family? What are her qualifications? You were raised better than this!" Mrs. de Bourgh practically spat the last sentence on the floor.

"I'd better go," Lizzy said attempting to slink out of the nearest door, but Will grabbed her hand and pulled her forward to stand with him. He didn't drop her hand.

"This woman is a talented and smart lawyer, who has more natural grace and manners then you, apparently! What does breeding matter these days? And years of tutelage? What did I learn? How to walk around with a giant pole up my ass? I'm the happiest I've been since Mom and Dad died and I found that happiness in a 'backwater' called Orlando, with this woman whose ancestors may not have come to America on the Mayflower! And for your information, Ms. Bennet would not have given in to me if I hadn't assured her that I would seek employment elsewhere because she has impeccable ethics!" He was panting as his words ran out and he looked at Lizzy who was smiling at him.

"Mrs. de Bourgh, I do not have to justify myself to you, but I can assure you that I would never jeopardize my or Will's career. Say what you will about my family, but it is the 21st century. Perhaps you'd like to join us." Will squeezed Lizzy's hand, because he could feel it trembling, though she had kept it out of her voice.

"I am well aware of the century we are in, Ms. Bennet. I would like you and your sister to remove yourselves and you, Fitzwilliam, will go upstairs and think about your actions. And your words!"

"Aunt Catherine, I am, in fact, 28 years of age and completely independent. Since you have so rudely ordered Lizzy and Jane out of your home, I will drive them back to the Collins' house and then return to my own home. Please give my compliments to the chef."

Will tightened his grip on Lizzy's hand and pulled her out of the room to find Jane. They found her deep in conversation with Anne de Bourgh where they had left her and there was a look of confusion on her face when she saw them enter the room holding hands. Lizzy glanced at Charlotte who spied them from her conversation with Bill and another man. The wry smile on Charlotte's face made Lizzy grin back and Will came to a halt in front of Jane and Anne.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we must leave," Will said.

"We?" Jane asked.

"Will is taking and you and I back to Char's house," Lizzy said with a growing smile on her face.

"I don't understand," Jane said.

Charlotte excused herself from her conversation to join them. "What's going on?"

"Mrs. de Bourgh has requested that Jane and I leave the premises and Will has kindly offered to take us back to your house."

"You're kidding!"

"I'll tell you about it when you get home Charlotte," Lizzy whispered to her.

"What did you do?" Jane asked standing up.

"I'll tell you on the way home," Lizzy said from behind clenched teeth.

"She caught you, huh?" Anne grinned at her cousin. Will nodded and Anne's laughter tinkled through the hushed conversation of the room. "Brilliant. Mind if I use this in my next novel?"

"Of course, Annie. What is my life, except fodder for your canon?"

"It was so nice to meet you Ms. de Bourgh," Jane said shaking the woman's hand.

"Please call me Anne. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"I hope we can talk again sometime," Jane said as they left the room. "I feel terrible leaving a party without saying goodbye to the hostess."

"I think Emily Post would agree that it's okay to leave without saying goodbye to the hostess when the hostess has ordered you to leave for no reason at all. Other than being my sister." Lizzy reasoned.

"I can't wait to find out what's going on," Jane said grumpily as they left the house by a back door.

Will walked them down to a garage and they climbed into his little sports coupe that barely seated three comfortably.

"Okay, spill," Jane said as Will began driving.

"First tell me where I'm going," Will said as they approached an intersection.

Lizzy entered the address into his GPS before turning to Jane. "Catherine caught us making out in the dining room."

"You were making out? Does that mean…"

"If Lizzy consents I want her to be my girlfriend," Will said with a goofy grin.

"I'm pretty sure some kind of pin is supposed to be involved when you ask a girl to go steady," Lizzy teased.

"Wait, how long has this been going on?" Jane asked angrily. Lizzy realized that the sister with whom she discussed everything had been in the dark the past month and now she had a lot to let Jane in on.

"I think it started during the hurricane," Will said thoughtfully.

"I knew it!" Jane said triumphant.

"You knew what?" Lizzy asked looking at Will.

"She caught us spooning on the couch that morning in Charlie's living room."

"We were spooning?" It was Lizzy's turn to be confused.

"It was accidental, but I suppose subconsciously…"

"Told you so," Jane sing-songed at them.

"You could have told me so," Lizzy grumbled.

"Anyway, Will has had feelings for you since the Hurricane, but Lizzy, you never gave me any indication that you returned them."

"I didn't know myself until that night I went out with Bill."

"What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?"

Lizzy laughed, "Will came over to my place the next night to help me make Bill go away. He pretended to be my boyfriend."

"Aw!" Jane cooed. Lizzy was happy that she was able to laugh and especially happy that the mention of Charlie hadn't seemed to affect her.

"But," Will interjected.

"But he was my intern, so we couldn't…"

"Oh, but I wanted to," he said grinning at her.

"He was your intern?" Jane asked pointedly.

"Yes, he's agreed to seek employment elsewhere."

"So you celebrated by making out?" Jane was openly laughing at them now.

"Yup!" Lizzy confirmed.

"Well, I'm glad you two could finally be together. Honestly, the sexual tension was beginning to rub off on the rest of us."

Will took Lizzy's hand in his and kissed it. Lizzy glanced back at her sister and saw that the joy had left her eyes and tears were slipping down her face as she stared out of the window. She saw Will glance at his rearview mirror.

"Are you okay Jane?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said as she quickly wiped at her face with the back of her hand.

"Have you spoken to Charlie lately?" Lizzy squeezed his hand and shook her head discreetly when he glanced at her.

"He hasn't called since he left."

"Oh, well, I know he's been really busy since he arrived. Sometimes he doesn't leave the office until midnight."

"Oh," Jane said blandly.

"Where is your house Will?" Lizzy said taking his focus off of Jane.

"I live in Annapolis," he said as he maneuvered the car into the Collins' driveway.

"That's hours away, why don't you stay here tonight and go home in the morning?" Lizzy tried to sound casual.

"You don't think the Collins will mind?" he asked with a wicked grin.

"I don't care," she said.

"Could I get out while you two decide this?" Jane asked from the back seat.

"Sorry," Lizzy said as she got out of the car. Will got out too and they watched Jane walk up to the house and open the door with the spare key Charlotte had given them when they arrived.

"What happened to her?" Will asked when they were alone.

"She told Charlie that she loved him at the Ball and he didn't reciprocate. And then he left for DC with no indication of when he would be back or anything."

"Oh man, poor Jane. Look, I wasn't kidding when I said he had a lot on his mind."

"I know," Lizzy said putting her hands on his chest as they leaned against his car. "I saw the article about the DOJ investigation. I wasn't sure whether or not to tell Jane about it because I wasn't sure any longer if Charlie loved her or not. If he didn't, I was getting her hopes up for nothing."

"He does," Will said. "He's been talking about proposing as soon as the antitrust thing blows over."

"Proposing? But why hasn't he even called her since he left?"

"She could call him," he said defensively.

"Will, she thinks he dumped her. That's he not coming back for her."

"Oh. Well, then we need to tell her that he loves her."

Lizzy sighed. "I'm not sure it's going to mean anything coming from us. She needs to see him again."

"He's under a lot of pressure. He's barely slept since he came up here."

"My mom told me to take Jane to the Smithsonian while we're up here. It was always her favorite place when we were kids. Maybe we could arrange an accidental meeting?"

Will smiled at her. "I like the way you think."

"Call Charlie and arrange to have lunch with him tomorrow and we'll talk Jane into going to the Smithsonian with us tomorrow."

"I'll call him right now," he pulled his phone out of his pocket and Lizzy went into the house.

"Jane," Lizzy called as she walked back to the bedrooms. She stopped outside of Jane's door and heard the telltale signs crying. "Can I come in, Janey?"

"Yes," was the muffled reply. No matter how upset she was, Jane would never turn her sister away.

Lizzy opened the door and found her sister lying in bed staring at the ceiling with tears running down into her ears. She went and sat down on the bed with her sister and brushed the tears off of her face. "You'll get an ear infection this way."

"That's an old wives' tale," Jane said mutinously.

"I'm sorry, Jane."

"Don't apologize for being happy. I'm happy for you."

"I know you are, but I'm still sorry." Jane was silent except for a few sniffles, so Lizzy plowed on. "You know what would make you feel better?"

"What?"

"The Natural History museum."

"No," Jane said adamantly.

"It's your favorite place in the whole world."

"Yes, and it's located in my least favorite city in the whole world."

"The Natural History museum is not anywhere near the Department of Justice, there's no chance of running into Charlie," Lizzy felt horrible lying to her sister, but if what Will said was true then it was worth it.

Jane was quiet, thinking. Lizzy knew that pushing her would produce the opposite effect and waiting patiently for her to cave.

"Fine," she said quietly.

"Good. I think it will do you a world of good to look at gross skeletons," Lizzy smiled for her.

"They're not gross, they're awesome," Jane retorted.

"There's my Jane," Lizzy stood up and headed to the door. "We'll leave early tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

She met Will in the living room and smiled for him. He stood up to embrace her.

"We're going to the natural history museum tomorrow."

"Charlie is meeting me for lunch at a nearby restaurant."

"Good," she said before leaning up and kissing him lightly on the lips. "Have you made a decision about tonight?"

"Well, if we're going to DC tomorrow it doesn't make any sense for me to go all the way back to Annapolis just to come all the way back here at the crack of dawn."

"No, the best plan is for you to spend the night," Lizzy smiled shyly.

"It really is," he said as he leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"Lizzy?" Charlotte and Bill came in the front door and, though Charlotte's smile was big and warm, Bill had a strong look of disapproval on his face.

"Hello Mr. Darcy," Charlotte said.

"Mrs. Collins," he replied. "Mr. Collins."

Bill appeared too deranged to speak at the moment so Lizzy did what she did best and plowed ahead.

"Would it be all right if Will spent the night here, Char? We're going to the Smithsonian in the morning and it's an awful lot of trouble to go all the way back to Annapolis," Lizzy said in one quick breath.

"Absolutely," Charlotte said with a warm smile over her husband's attempts to talk. "Would anyone like coffee?"

"I'd love a cup," Will said.

"Lizzie, would you mind helping me?" Charlotte asked her friend pointedly. Lizzy smiled at Will and followed Charlotte into the kitchen.

Will looked at Bill Collins silently. The man appeared to be too confused for words. "How long have you worked with my aunt?" he asked attempting to break the silence.

"Er, a couple of years. I met her the year I was writing my dissertation and she hired me the next summer."

"So you've got a Ph.D.?"

"Yes, from Brown."

"Excellent," he said.

"Your aunt informs me that you're attending a fourth tier law school in Orlando?" The sneer in Bill's voice was audible and Will attempted to control a surge of rage that had risen in him suddenly.

"Yes, well, certain sacrifices had to be made for family," he said cryptically.

"Oh, that's right, you allowed Ms. Georgiana to attend a state school down there."

"I didn't 'allow' her anything. She chose to go there and I fully supported her."

"Interesting," Bill Collins yawned comically and stood up. "Tell Charlotte that I'm tired and won't partake of any coffee."

"I will," he said as he watched the man wander back to his bedroom.

Charlotte and Lizzy walked back into the living room just then, with no coffee. Charlotte had a goofy grin on her face and Will could only smile.

"We're out of coffee, I totally forgot," Charlotte said as she and Lizzy sat down. "Where's Bill?"

"He's tired and won't partake of any coffee," Will announced.

"Oh, well, I guess I'd better go to bed. Good night you two."

Will and Lizzy watched Charlotte head to her room and then grinned stupidly at each other.

"It's awfully late," Lizzy said as she genuinely yawned.

"It's not even 10 o'clock," he said checking his watch.

"I'm not sure if you're aware, but it is exhausting dealing with your aunt."

"Ah yes, that is true."

"Look, I think we should figure out how to handle this," Lizzy said sitting down next to Will. He automatically put his arm around her and she leaned into him.

"Handle us?"

"Yes, at work, I mean. I think we should come clean to Mr. Gardiner so he can write you a letter of recommendation."

"I'll do it," he said.

"If we do it together it won't seem so seedy," she said yawning again.

"Okay, we'll go see Mr. Gardiner the moment we're back in Orlando. Except that I wasn't supposed to be there for several weeks."

"Right, you're away for a whole month," she pouted.

"I'm trying to tie up strings with my father's business before I hand it over to new management."

"What do you mean?" Lizzy sat up and looked at him.

"I'm saying that I'm selling my shares and becoming a lawyer. It's what I've always wanted."

"Good for you," she said.

"Unfortunately, there's a lot more to it, because it's my family's name and all that, so there are a lot of contracts to go over and licensing agreements."

"Do you need help?"

"No," he said laughing. "You're not helping me with contracts on your vacation."

"Pretty please?" she laughed.

"Absolutely not. Come on, let's get to bed. It's going to be an early start in the morning."

"Oh yes, let's do that," Lizzy laughed wickedly and Will rolled his eyes at her before following her to her room.

Waking up with Will and knowing he wasn't about to rush off on her had been a very pleasant experience. She had stretched and rolled into his arms as though she had been doing it her entire life. When they finally managed to drag themselves out of bed, they had to pretend like they weren't the happiest people on earth so that Jane wouldn't be upset. Jane had sat quietly in the backseat for the entire drive to the capitol city and Lizzy and Will had attempted to make small talk for two and a half hours.

Jane continued to remain quiet as they wandered through the museum, but Lizzy saw that the place had the appropriate effect. Lizzy could see the smile on her face, even if no one else could. Jane had always loved this place and their father had brought them nearly twice a month when they were little. Eventually, they had known what every exhibit said by heart, but it did the three of them good just to be there.

Today was no different. She had felt Will relax as well and even she was able to breathe a little easier. When lunch time rolled around they proposed heading to a little place Will knew and then going to the Air and Space Museum after. Jane agreed, silently, and the three of them headed out to a nearby restaurant. They were walking along in silence, Will and Lizzy had long ago tired of trying to fill it, when Jane suddenly stopped walking.

Lizzy looked up and saw Charlie standing in front of the restaurant.

"Jane?" he asked as a huge smile broke out on his face.

Jane looked from Lizzy's anxious face to Will's not at all surprised face and her face crumpled as she turned and fled back the way they had come.

"Jane!" Lizzy called out as she ran after her.

Will looked at Charlie's shocked face and shook his head. Charlie looked at Will and asked, "What's wrong? Why is she upset?"

"She thought you dumped her. She didn't think you were ever going back to Florida."

"What? I told her I had business and I didn't know how long it would take. She loves me, Will, I know she does."

"Yes, because she told you."

"Yes," Charlie said.

"And you…" Will prompted.

"Didn't," Charlie sighed. "Shit."

"Yup."

"I was so preoccupied that I didn't think…I didn't say it out loud! Dammit! I haven't even called her once in a week!"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"I was beginning to worry that I hadn't heard from her, but if she thought… I have to go talk to her."

"Let's go," Will said as they began walking.

"You lied to me!" Jane cried as Lizzy came upon her sitting on a bench on the National Mall.

"I know I did," Lizzy said sitting down. "Can I explain myself?"

"Whatever." It was least kind thing Jane had ever said to anyone, let alone her favorite sister.

"Charlie's company is under investigation by the Department of Justice for an anti-trust issue because of his most recent acquisition attempt. When he found out, he had to leave as soon as possible to oversee things, because you know how conscientious he is about this kind of stuff." Jane nodded and Lizzy continued. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you how preoccupied he was on the night of the ball because I wasn't sure if you should have hope or not."

"That wasn't your decision to make," Jane said angrily.

"I know, but you were in so much pain, I just…I wanted to protect you the way you always protect me," Lizzy was crying now, upset by how angry her best friend was at her. "When Will saw how sad you were he told me that Charlie was under the illusion that things were great and he was talking about taking things to the next level, except you didn't look like someone who was in a great relationship, so he told me what was going on last night and we decided the only way you would believe that Charlie was still in love with you was to hear it from him yourself."

"You two have a lot of nerve making decisions for other people," Jane said wiping her eyes. "Besides, if Charlie loves me he should have said so!"

"I do love you," he said as he and Will approached. Lizzy got up and walked over to join Will while Charlie took her place. "I'm such an idiot, I knew I loved you a long time ago and I was going to tell you at the Ball, but this stupid investigation – ˮ

"You didn't call! For a whole week!"

"I know, it's inexcusable. I know you deserve so much better and I can't apologize enough, but if it's any consolation I'm a wreck."

"Maybe," she said softly.

"I work all hours of the day and when I finally have a chance to sleep all I can think about is you. I missed you so much."

"But why didn't you call?"

Charlie had a look of agony on his face. "I was working from 6am to midnight, I didn't have a good time to call."

"Fine," Jane said in a tone that said it was not at all fine.

"Jane, I've been thinking about you a lot lately, and not being with you has made me realize how much I want and need you in my life. I'd made up my mind recently and I suppose I'll go ahead and ask." Charlie slid off of the bench and onto one knee. Lizzy gasped despite herself and Will took her hand. Charlie pulled a robin's egg blue velvet box out of his coat pocket and opened it up. The largest diamond Lizzy had ever seen in person winked at them in the sunlight. "Jane, will you marry me?"

**Author's Note** I may be addicted to cliffhangers. Sorry. =D