NOTES: Lizzy's POV. Somewhere between angst and fluff— I'm not sure how to label it tbh. I'll try and post again very soon, I have some time on my hands :)

Next one is going to make y'all veeeery happy. But also, don't get TOO too excited; it's nowhere near over yet 😉

Anyway, please leave a comment if you like it, and stay safe out there! ~Vinny

Lizzy would never trust her little sister again. She had done the worst, most despicable, lowest, dirtiest, most horrible—

Lydia had gotten hold of the hose, and done it again.

"ACK!" Lizzy spluttered, trying to shield herself from the lukewarm spray. "STOP IT LYDIA!"

"YOU ASKED FOR IT," her sister screamed back, waving the hose around and completely soaking Lizzy, who laughed and then choked on the water.

She tackled the shrieking Lydia, and tried to wrestle the hose away from her sister. They both ended up muddy and soaked through, laughing and cursing in the backyard, which now resembled a swamp of weeds and dead grass.

"Girls! GIRLS! STOP IT!" Their mother yelled, bustling out of the door, a hand to her chest. "Oh what did you DO, Elizabeth?! I thought you had grown out of this!"

"Lydia started it!" Lizzy called out jovially, smacking her little sister with a muddy palm right in the back of her too-tight ponytail.

"I did NOT!" Lydia laughed back, shoving her away. "All I did was accidentally spray your shoes! It's not my fault you went ballistic on me!"

"GIRLS, PUH-LEASE," Mrs Bennet cried, nearly hyperventilating.

"Sorry mom," they said in unison.

Lizzy bit her lip and wiped her eyes as Mrs Bennet continued to scold them harshly for getting their clothes dirty and nearly drowning Sir Bumblesprout (her favorite gnome). Lydia looked similarly amused, shooting Lizzy daring glancing whenever their mother stepped too near a mud patch.

She had missed this side of herself. She and Lydia rarely saw eye-to-eye, but.. once they had grown up, and got some time apart, they had found a commonality in not wanting to lose their childlike spirit.

This, when Lizzy visited home, often resulted in something getting broken, or wet, or muddy, or being set on fire.

Or some combination of the four. Those were the really fun days.

"Alright mom, we won't do it again!" Lizzy chirped, brushing past her mother and walking up to the porch.

She hadn't come home to be yelled at, especially when the only thing getting damaged was her. Lizzy had just come home to say hi to Lydia, and check on her father before setting up her hotel room.

Speaking of which…

Lizzy slid off her grimy shoes and slipped inside. She padded across the floor to find her father closing the door, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and the other covering his mouth.

She shot him a questioning look. "Who was at the door, dad?"

"Oh, no one," he said, his eyes alight with an enigmatic smile, "Just some do-gooder Boy Scout."

Lizzy laughed, just at the amusement in his eyes, but it died inside her throat when she caught sight of the bouquet.

It was composed of green leaves, sunflowers, and… and.. herbs. Parsley, specifically.

"Let me see that?" Her voice asked, sounding as though it was very far away.

Her father's hand extended towards her, and she took the bouquet gingerly, her hands shaking and crinkling the tissue paper with a sound like sparks. And indeed, Lizzy was tempted to drop it as if she had been burned.

But she didn't. She turned the flowers over in her hands, fingers tracing the lines of the petals.

Parsley.

Was it a coincidence? How many bouquets had herbs in them? And… if it was brought by the one person (outside her family) who knew about her love of herbs, what did that mean?

Did she… Was she want to… Was she ready to see him again?

YES, her heart screamed.

Maybe, her mind whispered.

And that was enough for her.

"Excuse me," she murmured to her father. Pushing past him to the door, Lizzy ran out, and stood in the yard, bouquet in hand.

The driveway was empty. No one was there.

Mr. Bennet called to her, saying something in his tired gravelly voice, but Lizzy didn't hear it. She was in a bubble. In a dream. He.. hadn't come. It was just a coincidence that the bouquet contained herbs.

Lizzy looked down at the sidewalk, biting her lip. I mean, the whole neighborhood knew about Mr. Bennet's cancer. Half the town did! They had received 'get well' flowers before… so maybe…

But she couldn't accept that it was all a mistake just yet. She— she had to try. She had to.

With trembling hands, Lizzy pulled her phone out of her pocket (an inner one, protected from the mud fight with Lydia) and said a quick prayer.

She called Fitzwilliam.

It rang once. Twice. Three, four, then five times, and then…

'You've reached Mr Darcy, CEO of Pemberley Studios. If this is a business call, please contact my secretary, whose number is listed on the company webpage. Please leave a— Oh! And if this call.. is… uh, personal—'

Through her blurry-eyed disappointment, Lizzy almost smiled. He sounded so sweet and unsure at this part. She liked to think he added it just for her.

'Well, uhm, I- I'll get back to you..very soon. Until then, please leave a message after the tone. BEEP'

"Uhm, hi, Fitzwilliam." Lizzy licked her lips, suddenly very conscious that he would actually HEAR whatever she said. "I… I think…. I'm ready. Or, at least, ready to talk again. I'm still going to stay with my dad— he's… really sick. He needs me. And… th- the more I'm.. on my own… I realize that I need you. I- I'm sorry if that sounds clingy. But.. P-please just call me back. Okay? We can… we can talk it all out. Okay. Bye. I lo—"

She stopped herself. She couldn't say that. That would… No. Why was…? The air in her lungs felt stale, and stagnant. Unmoving. This was going to change everything.

"...call me," Lizzy ended faintly.

Lizzy then dropped her phone into the grass. She fell to her knees. Heavy footsteps stumbled down the porch, a voice she couldn't place asked if she was alright. She couldn't hear them. She couldn't breathe. She was hyperventilating, and her thoughts wouldn't budge.

She couldn't tell if this was the calm or if it was the storm.

Whatever this haze was, this overloading of her senses, it was over just as soon as it came. Even after she assured her father, she was alright, everything was okay, her heart would not stop its incessant hummingbird beating.

He was going to hear her message.

This.. was going to change everything. And… as scared as she was, Lizzy felt like.. maybe… she was ready for it. She was ready to try again.

All she had to do was wait for his answer, and hope for the best.