Instead of feeling better after seeing her, he felt ultimately worse, in a way. That day was Lizzy's last in the hospital. The only remnants of her illness were a weighted sound to her breathing and a bandaid on her inner elbow. For someone just now recovering from a dire sickness, she seemed remarkably chipper. On the other hand, her doctor looked like a man possessed.

"You're SURE you don't need a ride?" He asked, for the fourth time.

Lizzy laughed. "I'm SURE! I only live like, 20 minutes away! Really Will, it's fine."

Darcy fidgeted with a smile. He still wasn't used to her calling him Will. He loved how she said it. Like.. like an endearment. Like a prayer.

"Hey, you good?"

He shook himself out of his thoughts. "Huh? Yeah!"

"You sure?" Lizzy asked playfully, a teasing twinkle in her green eyes, "'Cause you looked like this."

She made her face go blank, and her mouth hung open, lips curved in a slight smile that she was desperately fighting against. Her eyes glazed over and her head wobbled back and forth. Darcy laughed.

"My mind's just somewhere else, I guess. Sorry."

"Hey now, don't be sorry! I like your mind," Lizzy said, smiling sweetly up at him.

Darcy had never believed people when they said their 'heart swelled', but right then that organ was pushing at his ribs and working overtime. He beamed down at her.

She laughed again, "Don't look at me like that! I gotta go!"

"Look at you like what?" He asked, baffled.

Lizzy clicked her tongue in a phony sigh. "Ugh, you know what!"

He grinned down at her, and pretended to know why she was blushing.

A car horn sounded from somewhere nearby in the parking lot. A shrill young voice yelled out, "Ay yo Liz-bear! Get your ass over here sis, I don't got all day!"

Lizzy chuckled, looking embarrassed. "My sister."

Darcy recoiled in confusion. "Jane?!"

"No! No, God no," Lizzy laughed. "Lydia."

"Ohh. The youngest?"

"Yup. Baby sis, just starting college."

"Ah, mine too!"

"Really? I didn't know you had a sis—"

Another blast from the horn, followed by a bout of youthful screaming. Lizzy winced. "I really gotta go."

"I know," he said, trying not to sound as disheartened as he felt.

"Hey, I'll see you later tonight!" She said, mustering up her smile.

His eyes crinkled in affection. They had made plans: Darcy had tickets to the opera, and afterwards they would get ice cream and walk in the park. It sounded perfect. Darcy looked away from her beautiful smile, and muttered something like 'not soon enough,' as quietly as he could.

"I know," she said. She had heard him.

They both sighed in unison. Then Lizzy bit her lip, and looked up at him with an uncertain look. He looked back, confused. "Should I… should I carry your bag?" He asked, racking his mind for why Lizzy could be looking at him like that, like she wanted him to do something.

She giggled. "No, no, I got it."

"Ok." Still, it took him a second to let go of the handle. He didn't want her to leave.

"See you around, Will," Lizzy said, a half-smile pushing up against one emerald eye. She started off through the parking lot.

"See ya," Darcy finished lamely, raising his hand in a half-hearted wave before realizing she wouldn't see it. He stood there, watching her go.

She glanced back over her shoulder, and Darcy caught a flicker of indecision in her eyes. She bit her lip again, inclined her head, and seemed to make up her mind. Dropping her suitcase, Lizzy turned and raced back to the bewildered doctor.

Putting her hands on either side of his face and leaping up on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

She laughed as Darcy's confused expression morphed into overwhelming astonishment. She winked, and for a moment, the world was beautiful. Then Lizzy Bennet, without saying a word, ran back to her suitcase, and disappeared into the parking lot.

Darcy stood there, frozen in time, for far too long.

The lights of the city glowed celestial and swirling, the hum of automobiles and hissing of cicadas harmonizing around him. The wind brushed his face where her lips had touched. Her warmth had yet to leave him.

The world seemed brighter, closer, fuller. Rich with possibility and barren of doubt. The sun swelled up inside his chest, filling him with starbursts of charmingly flushed sensations; the warmth roared in his ears and pumped through his face until he could feel nothing but a smile, and the feeling of.. rightness.

Then he saw a car pull out of the parking lot. Saw her wave at him from inside. Saw the bumper retreat, and the taillights fade. Saw his newfound love disappear from sight. The sweetness inside him succumbed to entropy. It decayed, slowly, into abject melancholy.

After a second, Darcy sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. Was it pathetic that he already missed her?

It was still early. Eight, maybe nine in the morning. He didn't have to work until eight, maybe nine in the night. What would he do for the next twelve hours? What had he ever done, before her?

Darcy could feel his face crumble into a scowling sob. There was nothing he wanted more to do than to run after her car and kiss her senseless. There was nothing he wanted less to do than to return to that empty condo that he called home. It was hollow. He was hollow. Without her.

Darcy chuckled humorlessly to himself. How could he have said those awful things about her this morning? Ah well, at least he didn't have to pretend anymore. If Bingley asked, he would tell the truth: That he had been wrong to say those things, that Lizzy Bennet was amazing... and had bewitched him, body and soul. God, when had he become such a sap? Pining for a girl he had just seen three minutes ago? Pathetic. Still, he checked his phone, hoping against hope that her name would appear on the screen, even though he technically didn't have her number (whoops).

Instead, it was a random number. He was about to dismiss the call, when he realized the area code was familiar. It was from the same city where Georgie was staying. He hadn't heard from her in a few days.

He answered the call.

"Hello?"

An unfamiliar voice on the other end. Saying something about.. overdose. Kidnapping. Found in an alleyway. And a name. Wickham. Cold blood rushed through his veins. Oh God...

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

Darcy closed his phone and grabbed his car keys. He barely thought to notify the nurse at the front desk that he would be gone on personal business. He promised to do double shifts soon after. He didn't think about calling anyone else. He just raced home, threw together an overnight bag, and locked his front door behind him. The next thing he knew, he was driving North, to the big city, to where his little sister needed him.