A/N: Yay! Lizzie knows! Today's episode was awesome. But now we only have 6 more. (I'm crying already). Read and review! It makes my day!

Lydia's counselor had helped her prepare what she was going to say to Lizzie when she revealed Darcy's involvement in taking down the site. Lydia really was getting better. Counseling was helping a lot. It was getting easier to communicate openly with her family. She was grateful.

-/-

Lizzie turned off the video camera, gaping at her sister. Lydia had just dropped the bomb. "How did you find out about this?" she demanded of her sister.

Lydia grinned. "Darcy told me."

"What?"

"He text messaged me and told me the day the site got taken down."

"So you've known about this for weeks?"

Lydia nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner."

"Darcy made me promise not to. I don't know if you're aware of this, but your boyfriend can be pretty intimidating."

Lizzie laughed despite herself. "What made you change your mind about telling me?"

"Well I want us to have an open and honest relationship, unlike before. Keeping this from you felt wrong. Plus, now that you and Darcy are dating, his reasons for not wanting you to find out about his involvement are invalid."

"What do you mean?" asked Lizzie.

"I think you should go talk to Darcy. He's got some explaining to do."

Lizzie pulled her baby sister in a tight embrace. "Thank you, Lydia. I love you."

"Love you too, sis," said Lydia, "Now go see Darcy. I won't judge you if you come back with a love bite."

"Lydia," scolded Lizzie.

"What?" asked Lydia, smiling innocently. "Now go!"

-/-

When Darcy answered the door he looked genuinely surprised to see her. After speaking to Lydia, Lizzie had gone straight to Netherfield, not even bothering to call or text Darcy ahead of time.

"Lizzie," he began.

Lizzie cut him off. "Can I come in? We need to talk about something."

Darcy suddenly looked nervous. "Of course," he said, stepping aside so she could enter. He shut the door behind her. "Would you like anything to drink or eat? I was just taking a break from filing reports."

"No, thank you. I just need to talk to you."

Darcy took a seat on one of the sofas and patted the space beside him. Instead, Lizzie sat in the chair across from the sofa. Darcy's heart sunk. He was definitely in trouble, and he did not know what to expect. They sat there in silence for a few long moments until Darcy finally said, "So, you wanted to talk."

"Lydia told me what you did," said Lizzie succinctly.

Darcy's eyes widened. "Ah, I see. You're angry, I take it."

"No. I'm not. How could I be?"

"You didn't ask for my help. In fact, you pushed me away and told me explicitly not to get involved."

Lizzie frowned.

"I apologize. That sounded harsh."

"No. It's fine. You shouldn't be apologizing. What you said is true. I asked you not to get involved. I was trying to spare you the pain of having to see him again. I didn't want you or Gigi to get hurt, so I pushed you away. Despite all of that you did get involved. And you fixed everything because you are a wonderful, kind, and generous person." Here Lizzie moved to sit beside him, and took his hand in hers. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. If the rest of my family knew they would be thanking you as well. In fact, Lydia told me about it on video, which will be posted tomorrow, so I expect you'll be getting a call from Jane, and my dad too. They'll want to thank you."

"If you must thank me, Lizzie, do it for yourself alone. As much as I respect your family, they owe me nothing. Everything I did was for you. When you care about someone, you will do anything you can to protect them from pain. I knew that if the tape was released it would not only affect Lydia and the rest of your family but that you would be hurt. I never want to see you hurt, Lizzie. I will do anything in my power to shield you from pain."

By the time he finished his speech Lizzie's eyes were brimming with tears. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest as she began to cry in earnest. Tears of gratitude.

Darcy tightened his arms around her, running one hand through her hair soothingly. "Please, Lizzie," he whispered, "do not cry."

Lizzie looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears and without another word she pressed her lips against his and kissed him passionately. Her fingers curled into his dark hair, binging them closer together as she deepened the kiss. It went on for what seemed like hours, their breath co-mingling, hands roaming, and bodies pressed tightly together. When Lizzie finally broke the kiss she felt as though her heart would burst from her chest. "William," she panted. "I love you."

Darcy's eyes widened. "Do you mean it?" he asked, barely breathing.

Lizzie gazed up at him with an expression so replete with love and longing that he could hardly deny the evidence in front of him. His lips twisted into a wide smile as he pulled Lizzie back into his arms and began to scatter kisses along the contours of her jaw and the lines of her neck and collarbone.

A soft moan escaped Lizzie has she arched herself into his touch. Darcy continued his attentions, muttering in between kisses that he loved her most ardently. Finally their mouths met in a ferocious kiss. Lizzie felt as if he was poring his soul into her body. It was deeply moving. She clutched his shoulders and leaned further into him, matching his passion with her own. It was the most blissful sensation she had ever experienced.

Darcy broke their contact shortly thereafter. "Lizzie," he gasped, "please tell me this isn't a dream."

"It's not. William Darcy, I am in love with you." It was such a relief to make that confession. Perhaps it was discovering what Darcy had done for her family, and for her that had given her the courage to finally make the confession. Whatever the reason, she was glad that he knew how she felt. He looked happier than she had ever seen him, and it made Lizzie's heart soar to know that she was the reason for this happiness. After all the pain she had caused him it would be her mission in life to bring him as much joy as possible.

"Lizzie," said Darcy, after a long moment, despite the fact that they had been dating for the past three weeks and she had just confessed her love for him, Darcy had to ask one question to fully believe that this was all real. "You're not just saying this because of what I did, are you?"

Lizzie looked dumbstruck. "William Darcy, I ought to slap you for thinking something so ridiculous. But I won't. Lydia told me why you didn't want me to know, or at least, she alluded to it."

"I don't want you to feel indebted to me," he said.

"I don't or at least not in the way you're thinking. I know that my family will probably not be able to pay you back, and I know that you don't want us to, but as for me, I feel as if the only way I can pay you back is to give you as much joy as humanly possible."

"You already do that, Lizzie," said Darcy, kissing her temple. "Neither you nor your family owe me anything."

"You really will do anything to help the people you care about," said Lizzie, repeating Fitz's and Bing's words.

"I do," he confirmed. "I love you, Lizzie Bennet."

"I love you, William Darcy."

-/-

Lydia ambushed Lizzie when she got back home. "So what happened?" she asked eagerly.

"Nothing really," said Lizzie, smiling like an idiot. She was in love and it was the best feeling ever.

"Your look says otherwise," observed Lydia.

"Nothing. He's coming over to dinner tonight, but nothing really happened. We talked mostly."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Nerd love is ridiculous. At least tell me that you got to second base."

Lizzie didn't say anything, which Lydia took as confirmation. "Mom is going to freak out! She's going to start treating you two like Bing and Jane! Fear not, nerdy older sister," she said, when she noticed how pale Lizzie had gotten. "I'll run interference whenever I can. I've got your back. "

"Thanks, Lydia."

"It's no problem. I owe Darcy a lot. The least I can do is try and spare him some of our mother's unique brand of crazy. But just be prepared. Mom sent one of the t-shirts to New York. She wanted Bing to have one. I suspect she'll be giving Darcy one too."

Lizzie groaned. "Oh god. When did she do that?"

"This morning while you were at Netherfield."

"Jane and Bing haven't even gotten back together officially."

"Nothing can stop our mother when she puts her mind to something. I think we get our stubbornness from her." Lizzie laughed at the face that her older sister made. "Want to go grab lunch? I want a play by play of this morning."

"Okay," said Lizzie with a smile. She was really enjoying spending more time with Lydia. Their bond was getting stronger and Lizzie was grateful for that.