A/N: FAILURE is the only word I can use to describe this. When did I say this would be up?

Innocent reader : July.

Me: What is today? (Meaning the day I'm typing this up)

Innocent reader : August 1st.

Me: See? Fail.

Sorry guys that I didn't get it up. I wrote it forever ago while I was at the beach but it was long and on paper and I just didn't want to copy it. Sorry!

Chapter 14

Darcy POV

Darcy lay in bed, unwilling to arise when he knew that he had to stay at Netherfield and far away from Longbourn. He supposed that he could take a walk with Georgiana and... No, there was nothing else he could think of. And it was quite possible that they would encounter Mr. Wickham on such a walk, so it was unlikely that they would do even that. Perhaps he could eat breakfast, and then listen to Georgiana play. Then he would wait for dinner. And he supposed he could read till supper time, but his day was not looking terribly exciting. There was, of course, always the possibility of spending the afternoon with Bingley and his sisters, but that was hardly an interesting day and he had no intention of listening to Caroline Bingley and her harsh comments toward the Bennet family.

It was fortunate for Mr. Darcy that a note arrived for him at this time and he was not forced to live such a day out. He was not pleased with the note's contents, though, so the thought never occurred to him. Upon scanning the paper, he immediately called for a servant to help him dress and to bring him breakfast, so that he might be out of the great house as quickly as possible. After dressing and speaking quickly to his sister, he bid them goodbye and set off to Longbourn, anxious to make sure his fiancée was well.

Unfortunately, upon his arrival, Elizabeth was thrashing and delirious with fever. Her mother had charged the maid and housekeeper to watch over her while the family was dining and sleeping. Mrs. Bennet blankly refused to allow Jane to eat while she sat with Elizabeth and when he was announced to the family, they were just finishing their breakfast.

Though he immediately demanded to be taken to his bride, he was, naturally, detained by the lady of the house. So, when at last he escaped to her bed chamber, he found her burning hot and calling his name along with Jane's and Mrs. Bennet's.

Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, he sat with her, trying to bring her out of her fever. He was distressed by her burning forehead and face. He immediately ordered cool clothes placed on her face, as the maid and housekeeper had not been with her since his arrival and thus had no way of knowing how feverish Elizabeth was. He could not help but recall his mother's death and how very similar it had been to Elizabeth's illness. It terrified him that her delirium had come upon her so quickly and that she would not wake. For as long as she slept, she could not eat and he did not think he could survive if she should become anymore ill.

The doctor had come Tuesday after they had eaten dinner and had declared that too much stress had brought her into her coma-like state, and that only her mind could bring her out. Darcy remembered his mother calling out for himself and his father and often even his sister, Georgiana, though she was still and infant. What distressed him then was that she called for her own mother who had died when he was only a toddler. At thirteen, it had been too much for him to handle and he had never been able to tolerate sick rooms. This fever was bringing back too many memories and regrets for him and he was unable to consider an alternative to Elizabeth waking up and gaining her strength again. Anything else was too painful. As Wednesday fell away and Darcy himself became weaker from not sleeping, Elizabeth began to call different names. She called for her father and Jane and Mr. Darcy and even her maid, Sarah, who incidentally, had been very confused and run into the room, thinking that Elizabeth was awake. Soon, Darcy himself was losing consciousness and all he knew was that he could not stop murmuring her name.

Elizabeth POV

Elizabeth sat, watching Sarah fix her hair in the mirror, and unwilling to think of the life she was about to leave. She had resisted dressing until the last possible moment, hoping to delay the wedding to a later date. Her mother had finally demanded she dress and Elizabeth had. She was fearful that Mrs. Bennet would go to Mr. Darcy who would, in turn, threaten to take away her sister's dowries unless she readied herself. Or worse; he may try to use force to prepare her. After all, following the ceremony, she would be his and he would be allowed to do whatever he liked with her. Perhaps her father would turn a blind eye to anything Mr. Darcy did, considering he had agreed to the marriage without Elizabeth's consent. He may not care what Mr. Darcy did, so long as he may have Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia married well.

She had begun to feel sick and stood from her chair to find a place to lie down for a moment when her mother entered her room, dragging Mr. Darcy behind her.

"Lizzie," she shrieked. "Mr. Darcy demands that you finish quickly and come downstairs and then to the church. He says if you do not, he will never let dear Jane visit you at Pemberley and that he will see to it that Mr. Bingley never marries her. Do you see? You are ruining everyone's chance of happiness by being stubborn. Go now!" sometime during this speech, Mr. Darcy had warped and shrunk down into the form of her sister, Jane.

"Yes, Lizzie," Jane spat out. "Do not ruin my chances again. For everyone knows that had you had not been 'round last time, Miss Bingley never would have taken Charles from here." The thought that it was odd for Jane to have called Mr. Bingley 'Charles' had barely entered her head before she was grabbed up and made to sit again while Sarah, who now muttered unkind things under her breath began tearing and pulling at Elizabeth's hair.

She began to shake and sweat and beg for Sarah to stop. All the girl would do was say, 'Elizabeth, Elizabeth!' and pull and pat at Elizabeth's hair again. Lizzie looked into the mirror, once again begging Sarah to stop and be gentler. She cried and watched in horror as Sarah too began to morph and change into a very tall man. She looked around, waiting for her mother to burst in and find her alone in her bedroom with Mr. Darcy and punish her for such an offense.

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth? Lizzie!" more horrible tearing at her hair, but she felt numb now and the voice was too low to overcome the feeling. She was terrified by the new version of her sister and maid. She looked around her once more only to find Mr. Wickham grinning wickedly from the far corner of her room.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth?" the words sounded jumbled, as if someone below water was shouting desperately to her as she stood above the water, or perhaps she was below them because they seemed so much higher than she was.

"Lizzie! Elizabeth," she was struggling to hear or see anything. Everything was dark. She felt around, conscience that now, she was in her bed. She needed a candle; anything to help her to see! She moved her hands around; over the bed, the night table. At last, something caught her fingers. Soon after her other was also trapped.

Elizabeth panicked. This thing would not release her. Struggling she fought to escape and then suddenly, miraculously, she could hear again as someone shouted anxiously.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth?" she stopped, only half-recognizing the voice in her drowsy state. She still could not see though, and it took several worried 'Elizabeth's' for her to pull open her eyelids enough to see a pair of masculine hands holding her own. Indeed a very masculine man sat, murmuring her name in astonishment. She blinked up at him for a few minutes as he stared at her and, occasionally, smoothed her hair or wiped her forehead with a handkerchief. She squeezed her eyes shut again.

"Elizabeth? Oh thank God! Dearest, are you awake?" he shook her lightly, placing a kiss upon her cheek. Surprised, her eyes flew open. "There, my sleeping beauty awakens. I did not know that would be all it took. I should have tried that yesterday if I days ago if I had."

"Days, sir?" Elizabeth choked out, still rattled by her dream. It nearly escaped her notice that Mr. Darcy looked exhausted and weak to her own weak eyes.

"Yes, well only two since we realized that you were feverish and would not waken. I—" he paused, looking at her door as if he would like to flee. Remembering her dream, her eyes flickered to the corner that Wickham had occupied. To her relief, he was not there. A voice intruded upon her respite. "I had fully intended to obey your wishes as to my visiting you Tuesday, but the very morning in which your command ordered me away, I was summoned here. They told me you had taken ill and had a severe fever. I am glad I returned, for quite often, you called for me, and I was pleased to be her for you. I suppose your subconscious mind disagreed with your spontaneous plan considering the frequency of your shouts for 'Darcy' and 'Fitzwilliam.' I shall endeavor to ignore similar plots in the future for the sake of your health at least." Elizabeth stared at her fiancé for a moment. She did not know what 'plot' she had apparently devised. However, she did know that she did not appreciate whatever it was being made of light of.

"Mr. Darcy, I am afraid I do not understand you. What plot do you speak of? I know not of any." She could only assume she had done or said something out of the ordinary. Of course, he had not taken her seriously though, he had admitted it so himself when he said he had intended to obey her wishes and that he would ignore such requests in the future. Elizabeth grew angry as she realized that whatever she had asked of him had not been carried out.

"My dear, surely you remember. You— you asked me—" he hesitated, unsure of weather or not he should inform her.

"What did I ask you Mr. Darcy? Do finish." Elizabeth asked, but from her expression, Mr. Darcy knew he had no choice.

"You asked me not to visit or send for you on Tuesday. Believe me, I had planned—"

"Clearly you wish to tell me that you ignored my request and came to me anyway." Elizabeth struggled to sit up, but she was not strong enough on her own and Mr. Darcy immediately pushed her back down onto the bed.

"I was summoned," he replied. "you cannot fault me that." He stood and moved to her window. The room was silent for several minutes "Your mother informed me that you need plenty of rest and your sister told me not to excite you. Therefore, I think we can delay this and any other conversations until you are feeling better. Sleep Elizabeth. I will be here when you next wake." She looked rightfully angry at this demand, but knew he would not brook disobedience after he had stayed at her side and cared for her throughout the day and perhaps the night. She felt only a little regret for being so angry with him. She was sure it was not the reaction he had expected. After all, he probably thought he had done her a kindness, but she could scarcely bear the thought of living the rest of her life with a man who did not respect her wishes and opinions. Elizabeth turned over, pulling her blankets up high over her arms and neck. She heard him walk closer and soon the bed sank behind her. She closed her eyes tightly, unwilling for this to be reality. He began to sing softly.

"Lavenders blue, dilly, dilly.

Lavenders green.

When I am King, dilly, dilly.

You shall be queen.

Darcy could not tell if she was awake or asleep anymore, only that she had been so very angry. It hurt him that she was still so uncomfortable with him and the idea of marrying him.

Lavenders green, dilly, dilly.

Lavenders blue.

You must love me, dilly, dilly.

'Cause I love you.

Elizabeth was, of course, very much awake and she felt incredibly embarrassed and guilty once again, for asking Mr. Darcy to sing that first time so that she might laugh at him.

Who told you so? dilly, dilly.

Who told you so?

Twas my own heart, dilly dilly.

That told me so."

He stopped singing and stared at her form. She was shaking now and he allowed one hand to rest upon her back and smooth over it, hoping to calm her. She turned to him and he could see tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. His brow furrowed in confusion. Why should she be sad at this? It was his very favorite memory of her. Of course, it had been tainted by her reaction toward him the following morning. But when he just thought of that night, his heart swelled and he found himself fighting back tears as well. He was glad that a song that had been a part of his childhood was now a part of his life again.

Instinctively, he pulled her face up to his and met her lips with his own. Elizabeth became distinctly aware of her clothes and blankets and the hand that Mr. Darcy held her face with. She felt everything in that instant, and consequently, she did not pull away from him. Delighted, Darcy leaned even closer and pulled her to him for a moment longer. He had felt that he was in heaven for the brief moments that Elizabeth had allowed him to kiss her.

When at last he pulled away, he stared deep into her eyes and he knew. He knew her, he could tell. Her eyes so clearly displayed her wishes and thoughts and stories and mind that he simply knew that everything would come together in the end; that they would be well together.

A/N: Though it wasn't exactly up when I said it would be, I'm pleased that it wasn't several months after I said it would be. Just half of one month. Tomorrow, I have my orientation day at school and then my dad wants to get in a quick vacation since he really hasn't had one, and then next Wednesday, I'll be back in school, so I don't know when I'll update next. As always, thanks for reading.

This is just a schedule of events and chapters in the story. I'll try to start putting one of these in every chapter so that you guys can know where we are.

Saturday—9 days till wedding

Chapter 7—Sunday— 8 days till wedding

Chapter 11–Sunday/Monday— 7 days until the wedding

Chapter 12—Monday—7 days '...'

Chapter 13— Monday—7 days '...'

Chapter 14—Basically Tuesday-Thursday—4 days '...'

(I know, I skipped. But it WAS getting boring reading about their every day of their lives and I'll try to hurry things along. I know FYInichole will be glad that I got it moved along a bit, and a feverish illness certainly helps that.)