Chapter 45

Sunday December 2

'I'm dying, " Lizzie moaned squeezing her eyes shut as she laid in her bed.

"Your not dying," a familiar voice said.

Lizzie 's eyes flew open. "Darcy?" Lizzie said in disbelief. "What are you doing here? When did, owwww."

"Here is some water and some ibuprofen," he told her kneeling down next to her bed and holding them out to her.

Gingerly she took them. After swallowing the pill and drinking some water from the bottle she eyed Darcy silently.

"I arrived yesterday evening. You weren't in a state to remember it. "

Lizzie winced and said softly, "I just wanted to stop feeling for awhile. Slow my mind down."

"I'm sorry Lizzie. I vastly regret what I said about Jane to Bing in September. As I told you before I had no right to interfer. I regret the things I said. They were the words of an arrogant ass. A man I no longer am. I want to be a better man Lizzie. I want to be a man you could love."

Lizzie looked at Darcy searchingly. He stared back at Lizzie, meeting her eyes, hiding nothing from her. He hoped she could see just how much he had changed and how much she meant to him.

"Okay," she said softly. "I wanted to rip your eyes out yesterday. I was so mad."

"So I gathered. Lydia instructed me to give you time to cool down."

"Lydia knows me well. Up until the moment Wickham opened his mouth I never wanted to set eyes on you again. I'm so sorry Will. "

"Lizzie you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I thought such terrible things, it was, Will," she said moving towards him in a rush despite her pounding head. " He wrapped his arms around her and held her close while she clung to him. "If I would have seen you before Wickham I hate to think what I might have said to you."

Darcy let out a low chuckle and said, "Then I guess for once I can be grateful to Wickham."

"Promise me no matter what I say when I'm angry you won't listen, that you won't think I mean it. I have an awful temper. "

"So do I Lizzie. My temper is often considered resentful. I hold grudges, but I could never hold a grudge against you."

Darcy held Lizzie in his arms. Content to have her there.

"I want to go to San Francisco with you," she told him suddenly.

Darcy tightened his arms around Lizzie.

"I have something else to confess," he blurted out. " Bing wants to offer you a free lance oppurtunity and I put together a list of potential investors for you to start your own company and gave it to Dr. Gardiner. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I was overstepping my bounds. I just didn't think you'd take a job from me at Pemberley-"

"Will," Lizzie said drawing back, "that is incredibly sweet. "

"Your not mad? "

"No, your heart was in the right place."

"I used women just for sex in the past. I told you that one last night but figured you might not remember."

"Oh."

"Not Caroline though. Not even at my worst did I sink that low. "

"She truly is a horrible person. "

"I think she may need therapy. She, er, sort of snapped yesterday evening in LA at Bing's. "

"I feel bad for her future therapist."

"I'm sure they will be well paid. I re -modeled all the interns offices becuase Fitz said it would be inappropriate to give you an executive office for your shadowing."

Lizzie raised her eyebrow at him.

"I wanted you to be happy at Pemberley. ," he told her blushing.

"Any other secrets?"

"I um ask Jane to make you a dress. "

"A dress? To wear? For what? "

"Ummm, " Darcy said nervously.

"If Jane's involved it can't be nefarious. You may keep that secret Will. You don't have to explain all your actions to me. Just don't let me get blindsided by people like Caroline about any of the more negative ones. I want to hear it from you, not others. "

"Do you still want to come to San Francisco with me? " Darcy ask nervously.

"Yes."

"When?"

"You need to be at your office working. You can 't blow work off to hang around here with me. I'm sure you have meetings scheduled for this week. "

"They can be rescheduled. I planned on working remotely from here after GiGi finished finals."

"Do you have anything for Monday? "

"Yes. "

"Then today I guess. "

Darcy kissed her. "Thank you Lizzie."

"I'm remoting in anyways to Gracechurch street. There is no reason for us both to work remotely. "

Darcy slipped Lizzie's fingers through his. Lizzie looked around and shook her head and said "Next time, I'm booking our plane tickets."

Darcy had without thinking about it booked them in first class. "Nope. I need the leg room," he told her stretchimg out his legs.

"True, you are much taller then me. When I agreed to let you buy my ticket I didn't picture this though. "

"This was a compromise."

"How is this a compromise? "

"I wanted to charter a private flight so I could have you all to myself. So I could kiss you whenever I wanted. This therefore is a compromise, " he told her kissing her hand.

"Do you often charter private flights Mr. Darcy?" Lizzie ask playfully.

"No. My pilot has been on extended maternity leave. His twins were born early and there was complications. I try to fly commercial as much as possible so he can be with his family. "

"You have a pilot? " Lizzie ask in shock.

"Technically yes. But he has been primarily on leave for the past year."

Lizzie looked at him wide eyed. "Tell me you don't have live in staff at your house."

"I don't, " he assured her.

"Thank God. "

"But various individuals do come at scheduled times and preform their duties. "

"So I have to be well behaved while I visit you. No sock sliding naked down the halls."

"Naked? I could give them all a few days off for that."

"No," she said playfully nudging him with her shoulder.

...

Darcy looked anxiously at Lizzie, who stared at his home with wide eyes. he tried to imagine it from her viewpoint. It was too big, the gate at the bottom of the drive was too much. He knew owning 5 acres in the middle of San Francisco was ridiculous, but he'd always loved the property. His grandparents had bought the former park when the city sold it and built the house on it. They had also bought up some of the surrounding land parcels, then fenced the whole thing in. He remembered visting them often and after they passed moving from his parents house into it with them. GiGi now lived in the brownstone style house his parents had started their married life in.

"You have a park. Literally, a park. Like some sort of English estate. With a mansion sitting in the middle, " Lizzie finally said in disbelief.

"The house," Darcy started to say, but Lizzie cut him off.

"That's not a house."

"The structure, "'he tried again. She nodded, so he continued, "was modeled after the family home in Derbyshire, England. Which is also where Pemberley Digital gets its name. "

"So what do you call this place ?'

"Pemberley, of course," he told her opening the front door and ushering her in.

"You told Lydia she could sock slide here. This place is like a mueseum. She can't sock slide here."

"It's a family home," he said firmly. "My grandparents and my parents both treated it that way. It was never meant to be just a show place. Lydia, you, GiGi, anyone can sockslide here."

Darcy had always known he wanted his house to become a family home again, to have a wife and kids. Now seeing Lizzie in it, it felt right. He'd envisioned showing it to her, imagined her here and now she finally was. He leaned down and kissed her.

Breakinng off the kiss he said, "I should give you the tour I suppose."

"Yes or I might get lost. Even with the tour I think I might get lost. Is there some where I can set my bag down," Lizzie ask eyeing her beat up duffle that looked woefully out of place in the foyer.

"There are plenty of guest rooms that you could have your choice of. Or," he said hesitanty, "you could stay in my room, with me."

"I certianly wouldn't want to stay there without you," Lizzie teased him.

"You don't have to stay there, if you would rather have your own space I can respect that."

"Will, I didn't come all the way to San Fransisco for two weeks to sleep in a different bed then you."

Darcy wrapped his arms around her. "We don't have to have sex just because we are sharring my room. I just want to be clear I have no expectations. "

"I didn't think you did. "