A/N: So, thank you to the reviews on chapter twenty-four. I would like to address the rating of M. This has been in place since chapter fourteen because of the content that was in place in chapter thirteen. When I began writing this story I knew that the rating would be an M because of the nature of the storyline with Lydia, Georgiana, the relationship between Will and Lizzy and what I have planned further on. I apologise if any of you are offended by the sex scene in the previous chapter but it's what I wanted for my story and in my opinion, it wasn't as smutty as some other pride and prejudice stories I've read. If it wasn't your cup of tea, fair enough. So, I didn't change the rating after twenty-four chapters, it's been in place as an M rated story for the past ten chapters. If you'd prefer not to read, then don't it's your choice. But thank you for addressing your view.

Apologies for the late posting, I've been really under the weather recently with another bout glandular fever and stress related causes which left me bedridden from exhaustion. But this chapter picks up after the last and the next will be a little jump to Feb half-term.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Stabbing the finished cigarette into the ashtray, Harriet Wickham headed back inside her small, three-bedroom house and sighed heavily. Her eldest son lazed on her sofa wearing nothing but his boxer shorts with his eyes glued to the TV and his fingers clicking away on Denny's Xbox controller. She rolled her eyes as she pushed her greying brown locks out of her eyes. The house was a mess. George was such a slob; his dirty work uniform was left to stink the whole house up and his washing basket was never emptied because her eldest never lifted a finger to help her keep the house in good form. Not to mention that whenever George helped himself to the food in the fridge, he would leave dirty plates, dirty cutlery and rubbish all over the place instead of putting it in the bin or washing the things he used.

"Just like your father." Harriet criticised loudly.

"What's that ma?" George shouted.

Picking up the TV remote, Harriet switched off the TV which caused her son to shout at her in protest.

"I was in the middle of an online match!"

"You're nearly twenty-eight and yet you're sitting in on a Saturday morning in nothing but your undies acting like a fucking teenager. Dennis does a lot more than you and he is a teenager!"

"Well we all know how much you prefer my little brother over me." George grumbled.

"Like I said, you're just like your father. He never fucking bothered to do anything either." Harriet sneered.

She ducked her head as George threw a glass, hearing it smash as it made contact with the wall behind her. Harriet would never deny that she loved her sons, but it had been hard. Her sons father was nothing more than a sperm donor, even if he had tried to be a father to George in those first few years until he was sent down on an aggravated robbery charge and when Shane had been released, she had been idiotic to believe her ex had changed. But then Dennis had been conceived and yet again Shane disappeared, always getting into trouble with the old bill and the last she heard, Shane had been sentenced to fifteen years for attempted murder when Dennis had just turned ten. It had been hard raising her boys, she'd had help from an old friend Reginald Darcy who ensured both her boys got a good education and when George had left Rosings she was sure that he wouldn't end up like Shane. For a while, she had never been prouder of her firstborn when he'd graduated with a teaching degree and then he'd worked at Rosings after Reginald put in a good word for him. But George was like his father in many ways and one of those shared traits were the ability to have any woman they wanted.

When she had learned that her son had been trying to get hold of the Darcy fortune for himself, she had been so ashamed that George would do that. She had always tried to raise her boys with morals, with the understanding that crime was wrong and that you treated people the way you wanted to be treated. The Darcy family had been nothing but good to hers and that was how George repaid them? By tricking some poor girl into stringing along his lifelong friend all because of money? Well everything had gone downhill for George after that. He'd quit his teaching job and had moved away for a while until he managed to get a minimum wage paid job at one of the local gyms and moved back into her house. Harriet just wished he would show some initiative to have a career again, to settle down with a woman and be happy rather than be bringing home random girls from a night out down Guildhall Walk.

"You'll clear that up before you do anything else." Harriet commanded.

"All you do is belittle me or nag me!" George complained.

"Well someone bloody has to! You've got so much potential George, you could have been made head of the PE department at Rosings or moved on to a higher paid teaching position at a college or university. You could have married someone and had your own family." Harriet said softly.

"And you think I'm going to waste my life away? I have a plan mum, just be patient."

"What plan is this?"

She'd seen that look before. That look of determination in his eyes. It nerved her.

"There's this woman that I can't stop thinking about, I think I might even be in love with her but I got scared. I screwed things up and now she won't give me the time of day. But I'm going to win her back, she's the one I want for myself and we will be happy together. But first I've got to achieve some things." George explained.

"Like what? You chucked your paid education out the window-"

"Quit comparing me to my little brother. We all know how well Dennis is doing at school and we all know that old man Darcy ensured that his two years of Rosings Park sixth form were paid for before he croaked it. We all know that Dennis is going to go on and achieve great things." George snapped.

"I didn't mention your little brother." Harriet replied defensively.

"Yeah but we all know he's your favourite."

"I don't have favourites George."

"Really? Because it's bloody obvious to me."

There was a moment of angry silence between the two before Harriet took a few deep breaths to calm herself before speaking again.

"If there is a girl who you're crazy about, that's great. I just hope you do things correctly instead of scheming and cocking things up." Harriet said softly.

George smiled, his eyes twinkling as he gave his mother a quick hug.

"Don't worry ma, everything will go smoothly." He replied confidently.

As her son exited the room and headed up the stairs, Harriet sat on the sofa full of worry. The way he had assured her with such confidence that his plans for the future would go smoothly made her worry that it would blow up in his face. After all, she had heard the same tone of assurance and confidence every time Shane had tried to put her fears to rest whenever he was trying to hide that he was going to be involved in something dodgy. George was so much like Shane in so many ways, minus the life of crime. Could her son be planning something dodgy? Harriet had never suspected anything at the time five years ago when George had been planning to sabotage Fitzwilliam Darcy. But thinking back on it now, she remembered the secretive planning that George had been up to with a raven-haired woman, a woman she had always assumed had been a serious girlfriend.

Before she had more time to contemplate on what her eldest might be up to, she saw her youngest appear in front of her.

"I've put my dirty clothes in the wash basket and left it in the kitchen. Do you want me to load the machine?" Denny asked.

Harriet smiled and shook her head.

"No love, it's fine. What are your plans for today?" she asked.

"Down the skatepark on the common with Zac, Harrison and David and then out for lunch. I should be back here by three. Can I ask if everything is alright with you and George? I heard something smash." Denny said, concern present in his voice.

"I can handle your brother." Harriet assured him.

"Still doesn't give him the right to treat you like crap mum."

"Let me worry about your older brother. Besides, you have exams soon and I want you to focus on them, not worrying about me."

"You're my mum, I'll always worry about you." Denny pointed out.

Harriet got up from her seat and hugged her youngest, briefly but tightly before giving him a warm smile. Sometimes it baffled her how different her two boys were, Dennis had never once shown any interest in making trouble and she feared that George was heading down a troublesome path.

"You're a good boy Dennis, so thoughtful and caring. Never lose that, do you hear me?" Harriet said proudly.

Denny nodded and headed out into the kitchen with his mother, both unaware that George was sitting at the top of the stairs; seething with anger that he would never be good enough when his little brother was everything his mother ever wanted.

ooOoo

Elizabeth woke up on Saturday morning to find the other side of her double bed empty, the covers messed up and her bedroom door opened by a tiny gap with the hallway light shining through. Rolling on to her back, she smiled to herself as she thought back on the previous night's event. After spending a little time lazed in her bed after their first time together, she had dragged him downstairs and ordered in a pizza and the two had flicked through the TV channels until they settled on some romantic comedy film to watch as they ate their pizza. When the pizza had been eaten and Elizabeth had gotten back from taking Trip on his evening walk to the common and back again, the two had kissed heatedly on the sofa before Elizabeth chased him back upstairs for their second round of sex and the two had fallen asleep together.

She stretched her arms out wide and slipped out of bed, pulling on Will's discarded shirt and buttoned it up before opening her drawers and pulled on a fresh pair of knickers and headed downstairs, bending down to give Trip a brief scratch behind the ears before she walked through the living room, dining room and stood in the kitchen doorway to smell the scrambled egg that was cooking on the hob and the man dressed in jeans from the day before, concentrating on cooking. His curly hair was an unruly mess and he yawned rather deeply but Elizabeth smiled to herself as she admired the sight before her. She loved that she had finally had the chance to spend the night with him and see what he was like when he first woke up in the morning.

Tiptoeing across the cold kitchen floor, she stood behind him and slipped her hands around his waist, squeezing tightly before her hands travelled lower and settled underneath the waistband of his jeans. Will jolted and shivered at the cold touch of her fingers on his skin and turned off the hob as he turned to face her.

"Good morning." Elizabeth grinned.

"Morning. Your fingers are icy by the way." Will pointed out.

"It is February."

"Not quite Spring but not harsh winter."

Elizabeth nodded, leaning up to kiss him before pulling away. Letting go of him, she got out two plates just as the toaster popped out two slices of toast. She buttered the toast as Will served them both up an equal sized portion of scrambled egg each as Elizabeth then reached out two sets of knives and forks and the two headed into the dining room to sit at the table for breakfast.

"I had planned on bringing it up to you in bed." Will admitted.

"You don't need to do that." Elizabeth pointed out.

"I know I don't."

The two ate their breakfast, discussing what plans were for the rest of the weekend. With neither having nothing terribly exciting planned, Elizabeth decided to invite Will to spend the rest of the weekend with her.

"The whole weekend shacked up with you? I can't think of anything better." Will remarked.

"Well you'll have to go home first and get a bag of clothes together and I have to take Trip on his morning walk." Elizabeth replied.

"And then can we spend the rest of the day lazed in bed?" Will asked, almost pleadingly.

His eyes reminded her of the times when Trip would look at her as if silently asking her for more of something. The way his eyes softened with a low warmth and looked a tiny bit sad in case she denied his request which made Elizabeth laugh softly.

"What's so funny?"

"You," Elizabeth replied, "You look like Trip when he wants something."

"Did you just compare me to your aunt and uncle's dog?" William questioned, feigning offence.

"What of it?" Elizabeth grinned.

He glared at her playfully as he picked up their plates and took them out to the kitchen. As he came back into the dining room, she stood up from her seat and bit her lip as he slowly walked towards her. Will's face remained expressionless until he reached her, grabbing at her hips and pulling her towards him.

"So, what time shall we meet back here?" Will asked.

"How about ten-thirty?" Elizabeth suggested.

"And we won't be interrupted?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"No, Lydi is at yours until tomorrow night and my aunt and uncle aren't home until late evening tomorrow. We'll have to take Trip for an afternoon and evening walk though." She explained.

"And I'm taking you out for dinner tonight." Will affirmed.

"You already made breakfast, let dinner be my treat."

"No, I won't."

"You know it's the twenty-first century, right? Women are perfectly capable of providing and paying for dates." Elizabeth pointed out.

Will rolled his eyes.

"I don't need a lecture on gender equality, Elizabeth." He muttered.

"Just making a point." Elizabeth smiled.

"If I'm going home I need my shirt back." Will said, changing the subject.

His hands moved to feel the edges of the bottom of the shirt she wore. Sharing a moment of understandable silence, Elizabeth playfully tapped him on the arm and backed to the living room door.

"Well if you want it so badly, you'll have to come and get it." She teased.

Running out of the room and up the stairs, Elizabeth squealed as her boyfriend ran after her; grabbing her around the waist halfway up the stairs and hushing her squeals and giggles with a passionate kiss when they reached the top. Kicking her bedroom door to a close, they spent the next hour rather occupied.

ooOoo

Four teenage girls dressed in their pyjamas sat in the Darcy living room munching on bowls of fruit in their laps as they lazily watched the Hollyoaks omnibus. The only sounds came from the TV, the sound of the washing machine on a wash cycle and Alice was busy cleaning in the kitchen; until the sound of the front door slamming added to the noise.

"Will, is that you?" Georgiana called.

"Who else would it be? It's my house." Will shouted back.

"Technically it's half mine." Georgiana said amusingly.

"Alright smart arse," Will said with a grin, "What are you four up to today?"

"Plans haven't been established yet," Kit informed him, "Mary wants to finish her RE coursework so we'll be heading home."

"My only plan is spending the rest of the weekend here." Lydia replied.

"Never mind us. What time do you call this? Dirty stop-out!" Georgiana teased.

Will rolled his eyes.

"Never you mind. Are you going to be alright if I stay over Elizabeth's tonight and tomorrow day time?" he asked his sister.

Georgiana sat up a little straighter.

"Yeah…but it'll cost you."

Will chuckled, admiring his sister's confidence; something which he credited to Lydia who had helped Georgiana a lot over the past few months.

"Name your price but in return you don't tease me." He stated.

"Fifty quid and pizza money for tonight."

"Twenty quid and pizza money for tonight."

"Forty-five quid and pizza money for tonight."

"Thirty quid, pizza money for tonight and a game of bowling for the two of us one night after school next week." Will offered.

"Alright we have a deal." Georgiana said brightly.

Turning around, Will left the room and headed upstairs to have a shower while the girls continued to watch their show.

"I assume the making up went well." Georgiana giggled.

"I think so," Lydia commented, "It looks like our little nudge of encouragement worked."

"Let's hope they won't always need a nudge though, we might have to start charging." Georgiana laughed.

Nodding in agreement, their attention turned back to the TV.

ooOoo

The rest of Saturday was spent playing card games, taking Trip for his walks and going out to dinner with Will that night. They had eaten at a family pub in the Copnor district of Portsmouth for a carvery, it was somewhere that nor Elizabeth or Will had been before and was the recommendation of Alice before Will had joined her back at her aunt and uncle's house. After a large and delicious meal, they returned to the house and watched Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on BBC one and curled up on the sofa.

"Today has been nice," Will uttered softly as he played with her loose waves, "I wish we could do this all the time."

"Mmmm." Elizabeth hummed in agreement.

"I don't suppose you fancy calling in sick on Monday?" Will joked.

Raising her head from his chest, she gave a light laugh.

"As much as I want to pull a sickie on Monday, I can't really. However, I may call in sick one day during the week, maybe Thursday or Friday, so I can pop in to Citizen's Advice to talk about going to the work tribunal for unfair dismissal." Elizabeth informed him.

"Would you like me to come with you? I am the one who got you into this mess." Will offered.

"We've covered this already. It's your aunt that has the problem and she's landed herself in it by not renewing my work contract. She's completely unprofessional because she can't separate her personal feelings on our private relationship with each other."

"But still…if you want me to come with you, I'll come."

Elizabeth smiled, leaning up to kiss him. His hands wove into her hair to hold her close to him until she pulled away to catch her breath. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, feeling it pound away in her chest, feeling those butterflies in her stomach. Will groaned as she rested her head back on his chest and turned her attention back to the TV.

"What are you doing in half-term? Can we make plans to do more of this?" Will whispered.

She looked up at him with a look of regret.

"Lydia and I are spending the week at Longbourn with Jane and Charles." She replied.

"Oh…that's…I'm sure Jane's missed you a lot."

"Yeah, she's planning on making me a birthday dinner-"

"It's your birthday?" Will interrupted.

"Yeah, the twenty-first of February. Why?"

"I don't think we've discussed birthdays yet. I have no idea what to get you."

"You don't have to get me anything."

"Well if you're going to be away for your birthday, I'm giving you something when you come back." Will informed her.

"If you really must, I don't expect anything," Elizabeth replied, "When's your birthday?"

"Thirty-first of March." Will said.

"So, we've discussed when our birthdays are."

A slight pause occurred before a thought popped into Elizabeth's head. A whole week without seeing Will was an unpleasant thought, she knew that she would miss him too much. He had come to mean so much to her and she saw him nearly every day or every other day; but they were constantly texting or calling when they weren't face to face. Wouldn't it be great if Will and Georgiana could come with them to Longbourn for the week? She wouldn't just invite Will because she couldn't expect him to leave Georgiana alone in Portsmouth with Alice when he would want to spend some quality time with his sister. But if they both came to Longbourn, Lydia would have a friend with her and she would be able to spend some time with Will on her birthday. It was a win all around in her opinion.

"Why don't you and Georgiana come with us?" Elizabeth suggested.

Will frowned.

"Come with you where?" he asked.

"To Longbourn, stupid!"

Raising an eyebrow, Will pulled her up in a sitting position with him.

"You didn't just call me stupid, did you?"

Elizabeth grinned and nodded.

"Not the sharpest tool in the box are you Fitzwilliam?" she teased.

His face turned stern and for a few seconds, she thought that she had hurt his feelings. But before she could apologise, he was tickling her ribs, causing her to squeal with laughter and plead through fast breaths for him to let up. They both fell to the floor, with Will pinning her beneath him as he placed his knees on either side of her hips. One hand held hers above her head whilst the other continued the torturous tickling of her ribcage as she wriggled beneath him; trying to get free.

"Say you're sorry." Will commanded.

"Stop…tickling…me!" Elizabeth squealed, continuing to wriggle.

Letting up his tickling as he noticed she was trying to catch her breath, he looked down at her. Her chest was heaving as she tried to regulate her breathing, but her green eyes were warm with adoration for him; something which made his thoughts stop. She really did care about him. That look was genuine. The way Elizabeth looked at him was different to how Sarah used to look at him when he had been with her.

"Will you come with us?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"I'd love to, I'm sure Georgie would as well." Will replied happily.

Leaning up to kiss him, Will rolled on to his side and the two spent the rest of the weekend in total bliss.