Title: A Love for All Seasons
Rating: T (PG-13) – for implied sexy times and potty mouths. Not premium channel swearing, only network TV.
Disclaimer: Though I write stories based on the novels and characters of Jane Austen, this work belongs to ME and no one else. Unless given express permission, no one besides myself has the right to distribute or profit from my intellectual property. All rights reserved.
Setting: Modern AU
PSA: I hope that you and yours are safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis. Take precautions for yourself and others and please don't hoard any goods that your family doesn't need; we're all in this together, even while we remain physically apart.
Follow Me: Facebook (Mary Smythe; look for the lady in red), Twitter MrsMarySmythe and Pinterest mrsmarysmythe

Summary: In the fall they get off to a rocky start. In the winter they learn to understand each other better. By the time the weather grows hot, so do their feelings...Collection of connected, holiday themed OneShots featuring the evolution of Darcy and Lizzy's relationship. Modern AU.

"The situation of your mother's family, though objectionable, was nothing in comparison of that total want of propriety so frequently, so almost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father.—Pardon me—it pains me to offend you."

– Pride and Prejudice, Vol II, Ch 12

Independence Day
Fireworks

FRIDAY
JULY 2, 2021

"…but why should she listen to me? I'm only her mother."

My head throbbed in time with my thundering heartbeat as I listened to my mother complain loudly to Aunt Phyllis about my lack of cooperation with her outrageous wedding plans. You'd think that Mom would have her hands full with Jenn's upcoming wedding, which is only two months away in September, but apparently not. You'd also think that she'd have had enough of this subject on the loooooooooong car ride between South Carolina and Michigan yesterday, but I'd underestimated her there, too.

The origins of my ongoing headache weren't exactly mysterious, is what I'm saying.

If you're just tuning in now, let me get you up to speed. You're currently observing the Bennet/Gardiner family camping trip, with special guest stars from the Dashwood and Bates clans. Thanks to the lifting of travel restrictions, me, Will, my parents, Jenn and Chad all caravanned up north together to spend a week's vacation with my mom's relatives, few of which we'd seen in person since before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gardiners and Dashwoods had made a special appearance down south for Christmas, of course, but they're just a drop in the bucket of who's on offer.

There's also Aunt Phyllis, my mom's twin sister, who is basically a clone of Mom (no, really, they look exactly alike and seem to share that weird twin thing where they can read each other's minds; according to Uncle Ed, it's always been creepy) and her current husband, Bob. I say "current husband" because she switches them out occasionally.

And then there's Cousin Linda—she's Mom's first cousin, so my second? Once removed? Ugh, I never remember—who never married and now cares for her elderly mother. She's a nice lady, but a lot to take in. You'll see.

I also have myriad cousins in addition to Ellie, Marianne and Maggie, all of whom are younger and apparently stupider than me. I'd thought so occasionally before, but generally accepted their antics as funny. With them playing a noisy game of flashlight tag amongst the trees, however, I'm ready to pitch them all into the lake just for some quiet. Besides, I just know that one of them is going to run into a tree or jab themselves with a marshmallow poker and then it's going to be a thing for all of us. Ugh. At least Aunt Phyllis is a nurse and should be able to stopper up any open wounds.

Across the campfire, Aunt Phyllis nodded along with Mom as if she sympathized with her plight, but I could see her eyes glazing over. It couldn't be easy to pretend interest in the same whiny complaints for over an hour, especially when those complaints revolved around how her pigheaded daughter wasn't letting her plan an outlandish wedding to a wealthy, blue-blooded southern gentleman. First world problems, Mom.

I might have been able to either ignore Mom or laugh at her outrageousness, but honestly I was exhausted. I wasn't feeling well. And, seriously, Dad needs to knock it off with the jokes about me eloping to Vegas; it's like poking an already testy bear in the eye.

As much fun as a family camping trip—a tradition we'd been forced to forego last year during the lockdown—had seemed when I'd agreed to go, I was regretting talking Will into it. And not just because of the annoying wedding stuff, either.

I'd like to think that Will has made himself comfortable around my parents over the past couple of months, especially considering how horrible his own have proven to be lately, but he seems to have regressed since we got here. He's withdrawn. Will barely talk to anyone. Won't leave my side except to go use the bathroom (small favors). And the way he sometimes looks at Cousin Linda…come on, man. She's not that bad.

I'm sure I'm being too hard on him, but I'm feeling crabby and have no patience for anybody right now. Just bear with me here.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up and the expression of concern on Will's face made me instantly feel more charitable. It's not his fault that he's uncomfortable around strangers and weirdos and that most of my extended family, God love them, fall into both categories.

I forced a smile for his sake and nodded, a motion which I regretted instantly. "I'm fine. Just a headache."

Will's brow folded down at a sharper angle. "Still?"

"Mhmm…I think I must be allergic to something in the woods."

"Maybe I should have rented that cabin after all…"

I tipped over sideways and rested my aching head against Will's shoulder. Instantly, I felt his arm reach around behind my back and pull me closer, tucking me up against his side like two matching jigsaw pieces. I couldn't help sighing in relief.

"Wouldn't have helped. The thing I'm allergic to is my own mother."

Will chuckled into the hair at the crown of my head and pressed a kiss there. "I don't suppose she would have stayed in the camper."

"Not likely."

"Maybe you should go lay down. Some extra sleep will probably make you feel better."

Solid advice. Unfortunately, before I could take it, Linda dropped down into the folding chair on my other side and broke our sweet moment into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Poor Lizzy! Do you still have a headache? You know, I always say that fresh air will cure all that ails you, though I guess it's not helping you much right now. Have you taken anything? Do you need something? I can always run up to the canteen—it's just up the road, you know, not even off site—and get you some Tylenol if you want. Or maybe a heating pad, if they sell them. You know, I think I have—"

Linda, sweet soul that she is, is very chatty. So much so that you can hardly get in a word edgewise, which I think bugs the hell out of Will. Not that he's generally bursting to talk, or anything, but the constant noise seems to irritate him.

"I was just suggesting that Lizzy go to bed, Miss Bates," Will said loudly enough to interrupt Linda. "But thank you."

"Oh, call me Linda, everyone does." Linda waved an unconcerned hand at Will and laughed in that honking way that always reminded me of a goose. I could see Will wincing at the sound and, though I couldn't completely blame him, I felt my ire igniting against him again. "You're so right, though, rest is the best thing for a headache—or any illness, really. I'm sure if Lizzy goes to bed now, she'll sleep it off and be right as rain in the morning! But are you sure you don't want to take something before you go? Did you eat enough? Sometimes it's low blood sugar, too. That happens to me all the time! I just forget to eat until my head is throbbing and then it's all too late."

I stood up, disengaging myself from Will. He started to rise with me, but I waved him back down, in no mood to have his company. "No thanks, I'm good. But I am going to bed early, so I'll see you both in the morning. Night everybody."

There was a chorus of "Night, Lizzy" round the campfire as I turned my back on everyone and tromped toward the tent I'd set up with Will.

o0o

SATURDAY
JULY 3, 2021

The next morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn—my body rhythms don't just turn off because I'm on vacation, you know—and left Will asleep in our tent. After brushing my teeth, I walked down to the edge of the lake and plopped down onto the beach in my pajamas to watch the water while it was still quiet and still. I'd woken up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag and wanted some time to myself before everyone else got up and ruined this picturesque scene.

Sigh.

My headache was mostly gone, thank God, but I could still feel some lingering tenderness at the back of my eyeballs. Ever had that? A headache bad enough that your eyes hurt? Yeah, that. My neck was pretty stiff, too, and the rest of me just felt like…ugh. Bloaty, irritable, sore boobs; the whole PMS works.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aunt Maddy walk up to me in her bare feet and sit next to me. She's always been an early riser like me and we've had plenty of talks over coffee in the past. "How are you feeling?"

I gritted my teeth and forced my irritation deep down. When I said "Fine," though, I probably still sounded testy.

Aunt Maddy, to her credit, just patted me on the shoulder and ignored my tone. "Still got a headache, I see."

I sighed. "Not really, I pretty much slept that off. I just feel…ick in general today, you know? Like I'm coming down with something."

Aunt Maddy placed a palm to my forehead as if checking for a fever and then withdrew it a few seconds later, apparently satisfied that I wasn't burning up. "Well, you feel normal."

"I think it's just PMS, honestly."

"Are you craving chocolate?"

"No, but then I just woke up. It usually takes me awhile before I want to eat anything." And, honestly, eating something at that moment sounded like an awful idea. "Really, I'm okay. Just hormonal and cranky."

Aunt Maddy looked me up and down as if assessing me. You know, like moms do when one of their kids is sick—or faking being sick—and they need to take note of their condition. To me, it always felt like one of those body scan things from Star Trek where the doctor waves a special gadget over the patient and gets an instant readout of their condition.

"Alright," Aunt Maddy said once my results had apparently come in. "But let me know if you need anything. With three girls, I've always got supplies."

"I might take you up on that. I don't think I packed anything." Honestly, I'd been so busy lately that I'd completely forgotten to stock up. Even right then I was just waiting to spring a leak before waddling up to the store for tampons.

"Whatever you need. So, I heard round camp yesterday that your dad's finally retiring and leaving you the farm. You must be so excited!"

God, yes. A Change of subject. "I am. And so is Will, believe it or not. He's not much of a farm boy himself, but Longbourn Acres has turned into something of a project for him in the last few months and I think he's looking forward to doing more stuff."

"With Pemberley Markets?"

"Some, but mostly he wants to put his big ol' business brain into it and revamp some things. Like, he thinks we could be a really nice event venue if we put up a new building for it. Or maybe just got a stockpile of marquee tents, or something. Weddings, birthdays…yadda, yadda."

Aunt Maddy winked at me, which was adorable. "I assume he's been inspired lately?"

I chuckled and leaned back, propping myself up by my arms. It felt nice to dig my fingers into the cool grass behind me. "I said something about wanting to get married on the farm and he kinda took off running with the idea."

"Sounds like he wants to make you happy. You're a lucky girl." Aunt Maddy's smile was fond and my hormone-addled emotions responded with tears.

I looked away toward the lake so I could more discreetly blink the moisture out of my eyes. I doubt I fooled her, but sometimes you just gotta front. "He does. And I am." All the more reason I should cut him a break, even if I'm feeling crappy.

"Have you moved in together yet? I assume it's only a matter of time at this point."

I laughed because, yeah, living with my future husband was pretty inevitable. "Not yet, but we're working on it. It's not a super easy thing for us to coordinate since his work is in Charlotte and mine is obviously on the farm, but we think we have a plan."

"Oh?"

"The biggest problem is that I have to wake up at the crack of dawn," I waved my hand toward the horizon where the sun was slowly creeping up over the water, "and get to work. This isn't such a big deal when you live on site, but to drag myself out of bed at four AM just to get over to Longbourn on time…ugh, no thanks. And my teeny tiny loft obviously won't accommodate the both of us long term. So, Will thinks we should hire somebody to take the early shift so I can come in at a more reasonable hour. We could even include the loft, rent free, as part of the deal. What do you think?"

Aunt Maddy nodded along throughout my explanation. "I think it sounds like a plan. What do you think?"

"Well, I'll need to hire someone anyway once Dad's officially retired, because the farm can't be run by a single person. It would be insane to try. I think it'll feel weird to me to change my role so much, but it's going to anyway, so…I'm on board. Will even thinks we might need to hire multiple people down the line if business continues to increase like it is now."

Ever since the world opened back up, we've had droves of visitors to the farm. They picked our strawberry plants clean every weekend until the end of the season and we usually had to put up the "SOLD OUT" sign before noon on Sundays. Even now, without the strawberries, people still drop by the gift shop all the time and bring their kids to play. I'm thinking about maybe starting up a blueberry or peach orchard next year, to expand the summer season. We'd have to buy more land, but Will thinks it's a sound investment. Of course, I want to see how the transition goes before I decide on anything. In the meantime, we'll have the usual pumpkins and Christmas trees to coordinate and a new farmhand to train.

"Sounds like you have a lot to look forward to. A wedding, taking over the farm, moving away from home…anything else?"

In attempting to suppress my laugh, I snorted a bit. "Isn't that enough?"

"For now. Just wait until the kids come along." Aunt Maddy waggled her eyebrows at me.

"Oh, God, no. Not yet."

Not that I don't love kids, or want to have them—because I do, I really, really do one day—but just the thought of one more big life change right now makes me a bit queasy.

I must have looked completely horrified, because Aunt Maddy burst into giggles. "Life happens, Lizzy. Usually when you least expect it."

"Noted."

It wasn't terribly long after that when the family started to stir—mainly the adults and smaller children, the teenagers remained MIA for a few more hours—and we got breakfast started. I skipped it since the goopy, runny scrambled eggs didn't appeal to me at all, but it was nice to sit around catching up with the cousins.

Ellie, for instance, is happily married to Eddie now. Did you know? They had a civil ceremony last March and livestreamed it on Facebook so that we could all "be there." It was a bummer to miss out on being physically present, but Ellie's satisfied with her courthouse wedding otherwise and there's no point in complaining about what might have been.

And Marianne is apparently dating someone new, or…old, I'm not really sure how to describe it. She's known Brandon for awhile, I guess, but didn't consider him "boyfriend material" right away. To be fair, he is several years older than she is—seven? Eight? I forget, exactly—and Marianne is only just getting out of her "girls just want to have fun" phase, so I suppose the timing just wasn't right before. In any event, now they're officially "together" and it seems like it's working out for them. Certainly better than that John guy she dated before him, hmph. Cheating dickhead.

Maggie is excited to graduate high school this year and move on to college. She's already been accepted to Central Michigan and decided that she wants to be a teacher, like her mom. Isn't that the sweetest damned thing you've ever heard of?

Anyway, that's what I was doing when Will emerged from our tent and came to find me. He was still in his PJs (so was I, come to think of it) and looked adorably rumpled with his shadow of a beard and his hair all rumpled. As he approached, Marianne elbowed me in the side and mouthed, "Oh my God!" Because, yeah, my fiancé is super hot. I'd never denied it.

He plopped down next to me on the log I was sitting on and leaned in for a kiss. I leaned back, knowing from experience that his morning breath wasn't nearly as attractive as the rest of him. "Woah there, Tex. You gotta brush them teeth first if you want any lovin'."

Will just rolled his eyes and grumbled at me, his standard response immediately after waking up.

I gave him a peck on the cheek because I'm not a cold-hearted monster. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you sleep alright?"

Will shrugged and mumbled something unintelligible that I assumed meant "not really." My poor city boy hasn't taken very well to camping, what with being used to soft mattresses, Starbucks coffee and temperature control. Here, out in the wilderness (okay, it's a campground), all he's got is a sleeping bag on the lumpy ground, a cuppa joe from the campfire and fluctuating temperatures between night and day. Not to mention the bugs.

Will leaned into me and rested his head on my shoulder, obviously overcome by his suffering. Ellie, Marianne, Maggie and I all snickered at him as I patronizingly patted Will on the knee.

"There, there, my little hothouse flower," I crooned, sarcastically. "It's not so bad."

He ignored my teasing admirably and kissed my shoulder. "How are you feeling? Your headache any better?"

"Yeah, much," I answered honestly, though I wasn't about to expound upon everything else that ailed me. My monthly visitor seems to squick Will out and so we have a don't ask, don't tell policy about it. It sounds unsupportive, but it's really not; he can usually tell by my mood swings and sudden chocolate urges that something's afoot and wordlessly brings home treats from work for me. And he'll still stay over (or have me over, whichever is the case at the time) and cuddle even though he knows that's all he'll get.

Oh, but you should have seen his face that time I asked him to bring home tampons. You'd have thought I'd asked him to go out and find me a virgin to sacrifice so that I could appease Aunt Flo with a blood offering (as if she doesn't already get one). I really thought I'd burst something, I'd laughed so hard.

"Good."

Will fell back into sleepy silence and left me to my cousins.

Unfortunately, it was about that time Linda spotted Will sitting next to me and bustled over to offer him breakfast. A nice, thoughtful gesture, but one accompanied by a lot of talking.

"Will! You're up. Did you want some eggs? Sausages? Or we've got toast and fruit, I think some cereal, too. We've got a pot of coffee on the fire, or there's orange juice and milk in Tom and Barb's camper. We'll probably have pancakes tomorrow, Phyllis makes the absolute best campfire cakes ever. What'll you have, hon?"

"I'm good, thanks," was all Will said before standing up and walking away, leaving poor Linda standing there like a jilted diner waitress.

And just like that, I was pissed at him again.

o0o

SUNDAY
JULY 4, 2021
INDEPENDENCE DAY

I'd spent most of Saturday avoiding Will after he'd (semi-unintentionally) insulted Cousin Linda. Linda played it off as if it were nothing, but I could tell her feelings were hurt after his abrupt dismissal.

Now, I know that Linda can be a pain, we all think so, but she's also the nicest, sweetest lady there ever was and it really ticks me off when someone's mean to her. It's one of my triggers. So, in an elegant display of maturity, I all but gave Will the silent treatment straight through bedtime.

Don't look at me like that, I know that I was being ridiculous. My only excuse is that I really did—and still do—feel crappy and that my hormones are taking everything personally right now. Is it fair? No. Is it mature? Not even slightly. Do I feel bad about it? Probably not as much as I should but, again, hormones. I know I'll feel like I've been hit by the guilt truck once they've ebbed a bit.

Will, naturally, realized that he'd misstepped pretty quickly after he'd come back with fresh breath and clean clothes (sexily, he'd kept the stubble like the great outdoorsman that he is) to find me giving him the cold shoulder. After that, he'd spent much of the day trying to corner me, but I'd dodged and weaved successfully to avoid him. By dinner he'd just given up and let me go back to the tent all by my cranky lonesome.

But I was ready to talk to him. Well, "ready" might be too strong a word, but I knew that I had to and that giving him the run around wasn't productive. Sure, he'd been kind of a bitch to Linda, but he was probably sorry for it (or at least sorry for upsetting me, I could make him sorry for the other thing) and it was time to make up.

So, while everyone else separated to do their own thing after breakfast (which I'd skipped again; those campfire cakes didn't smell right to me), I tugged on Will's hand and told him I wanted a walk. I swear he deflated with relief.

I waited until we were on the walking trail and properly alone before launching into what I wanted to talk about. I began with an apology because I owed him one. "I'm sorry for avoiding you. It wasn't the right way to handle my anger."

We held hands and Will squeezed mine. "Can I ask what you were angry about?"

"You seriously don't know?"

"I seriously don't."

I huffed out an aggravated breath and turned my head to gaze out over the lake. The trail we were on was a little over two miles long and circumnavigated it and would eventually bring us full circle back to camp. We had plenty of time to clear the air, so I didn't need to rush.

"When you were rude to Linda at breakfast yesterday, it really bothered me. I know she's annoying, Will, but she's also the nicest, friendliest lady who ever lived, except maybe for Jenn. I think they might be neck-in-neck in that race. Anyway, when you snapped at her and then walked away, I know you hurt her feelings."

"She didn't act like I had."

I bristled at the defensive tone in Will's voice. "Because, as I said, she's the nicest person ever. She didn't want you to feel bad, even though you should."

Will's responding sigh was heavy. "Then I'll apologize to her. But, honestly, she drives me up the wall. Constantly talking about nothing, never sitting still…it's a sensory overload."

"She can't help it!"

"You say that about a lot of your family."

I dropped Will's hand like it was a poisonous snake. Was he seriously going to pick a fight about this? "Did you actually just insult my family? Really?"

Will raked his fingers through his hair and huffed, as if I were the one being unreasonable. "You have to admit that they're…a lot. I mean, your mom took over my proposal and I'm surprised none of your younger cousins drowned in the lake yesterday. I'm not saying they're bad people, they're just, y'know…a lot."

"So you already said."

"I'm not trying to fight with you, Lizzy. I really do want to make up, and I'll apologize to Linda because I was out of line, but I'm not ashamed of my feelings. They're completely natural, considering. I mean, c'mon, you can't expect me to be all kumbaya with people who are all so…odd. We're just from different spheres."

I stopped right there in the middle of the path and he took a couple more steps before doing the same and turning back to me. I swear, my glare could have started up the campfire, no problem. "Yeah, because your family is so much better."

"That's a low blow." Will sounded more hurt than angry right then and I felt my stomach clench in guilt, but he'd started all this. I wasn't about to back down.

"And what you said isn't?"

Will tunneled his fingers through his hair again, his frustration clearly mounting. "Look, I'm sorry. That all came out wrong."

"I dunno, it sounded like exactly what you meant. I think maybe you agree with your mother more than you let on."

Will shuffled back as if I'd slapped him. "That is not true."

"No? Then you're not looking down on my mom's family from your elitist high horse?"

"Lizzy—"

"Don't you 'Lizzy' me like I'm being crazy and unreasonable!" I said that, but my voice was fairly shrill right then, making me sound unhinged. "You look down your nose at them and expect no one to notice. Then, when I call you out on it, you defend yourself by blaming them for being beneath you. Sure sounds like Annette, don't you think?"

When Will just stood there, gaping at me in horror, I continued on, fully caught up in my rage. "You know what I think? I think you're having second thoughts about marrying me. I think you're looking for an out."

Will's eyes bulged and he hurried forward, reaching out for my hands. I moved away so he couldn't touch me. "That's not true! Not at all! Lizzy, I love you, I want to marry you. All I meant was that I don't have anything in common with your family and it's hard for me to get along with them. That's it, I swear it."

I scoffed at him as I wiped away the tears trailing down my face with the heels of both palms. "You do get that we come as a package deal, right? That I'm not going to just live in a bubble with you and never see my family again after we're married?"

"Of course I don't expect that. It's just—"

"It's just you don't like them and, since they live so far away, you don't have to even try. You do understand that these are the people I grew up with, right? I'm one of them. If you don't like them, you don't like me, either."

"That's not true! I love you! I want to marry you and if I have to put up with them—"

"Like you 'put up' with me and my shenanigans?"

"Don't put words in my mouth."

"Like I need to! The ones you make up yourself are bad enough."

So saying, I turned around and began marching back to camp from the way we'd come. I was seconds from completely crumbling and I wanted to do so with some semblance of privacy.

I felt Will grab my arm and pull me to a halt. "Lizzy, wait!"

Jerking my arm away, I kept stomping up the trail. "Don't follow me. I mean it."

o0o

I played on my "illness" to hide away in my tent for the rest of the day, wanting to avoid Will and everyone else. To be fair, I wasn't faking anything; I truly did feel horrible. Not only had my tears renewed the pounding in my head, but my stomach was churning and I was weighed down by the most profound fatigue I'd ever experienced. Once I'd cried myself out, I fell right into a restless sleep which was only occasionally interrupted by a well meaning person coming to check on me. Or a nightmare.

I did eventually come out of my despair-induced coma somewhere around dusk. I could hear everyone splashing around in the lake, talking, laughing and generally enjoying themselves just out of sight beyond the thin fabric of my hideaway. I loved them all, but I did kinda wish they'd all just go away and let me be miserable by my lonesome. Their happiness only made me more depressed.

Had I really just broken off my engagement to Will? Or was I just giving him an opening to do it for me? Was it all just some horrible moment of insanity which could be fixed? Me and my throbbing head didn't know.

But my bladder was insistently telling me that I needed to use the facilities. Since we were staying at a campground, that thankfully meant something more modern and convenient than a tree (though not by much). I unzipped my tent, tentatively peeked out and determined that the coast was clear enough for me to sneak away to the bathhouse up the road.

I meandered slowly on my way back, thinking, feeling, regretting. I still felt like I was right to be offended by Will's snobby attitude toward my nearest and dearest, but I knew that my response to that had been completely off the chain. I could have said "Hey, man, not cool to diss someone's peeps" and then tried to include him more in the family activities, but instead I'd blow up at him. Not just blown up, but gone nuclear. That had been too much.

I approached our campsite but kept walking, entering the lakeside trailhead I'd abandoned Will on earlier. I wasn't intending to go very far since it was getting dark, but with everyone settling in to watch the fireworks elsewhere it was a great place to continue my solitude a bit longer. I knew I needed to make an appearance soon lest someone think I'd died…or Will really gave up on me. I just needed a bit longer to collect my thoughts together, let my headache ebb a bit (I was waiting for the Tylenol to kick in) and then go find Will.

"Lizzy! There you are. Are you feeling better?"

I looked up to see Aunt Maddy coming toward me further up the trail. She was wearing a workout tank, shorts and her running shoes and glistening with a light sheen of sweat. My guess, she'd either walked or run the trail and was headed back to camp.

I shrugged. "A little, I guess. Not really."

"Oh, honey, you look awful."

"Thanks."

"You know what I mean." Aunt Maddy felt my forehead again, frowned and dropped her hand. "Are you having cramps?"

"No, just the headache again. Kinda achy. Mostly just tired as all get out."

"Hmm…okay, but you look like something else is bothering you. Does this have anything to do with Will?"

I snapped my wandering gaze away from the lake and refocused it on Aunt Maddy. What did she know? "What makes you say that?"

"Because he's been moping around camp all day, constantly pestering Jenn or your mom to check on you."

"Has he been rude to anyone?"

"No, just quiet." Aunt Maddy paused, surveying my face as if running her Mom Diagnostics again.

"We…had a fight."

"What kind of fight?"

And just like that, the dam burst and I hysterically explained to Aunt Maddy everything we'd said to one another, all the hurtful things we'd thrown in each other's faces, and how the whole thing had culminated in what I feared was now a broken engagement. Aunt Maddy held me and rubbed my back like I was a toddler and I cuddled as close as I could, needing the comfort.

When I was finished, Aunt Maddy pushed me gently away from her and looked me dead in the eye. "You just need to talk to him. I'm sure you can work this out."

"But what if he really is looking for a way out? What if he doesn't want to marry me anymore?" I was blubbering, but I was all out of shame for the day.

"Nonsense, of course he still wants to marry you! A man who would drive fourteen hours north to go camping with his crazy future mother-in-law's family for a week isn't the kind to throw in the towel just because of a fight. And, really Lizzy, you should have seen him today. He was pitiful, like someone had kicked him."

"I guess that would have been me." At Aunt Maddy's raised eyebrows, I added, "But not literally."

We both giggled and it broke the tension somewhat. Then Aunt Maddy brought us back around to the subject by saying, "I think we both know that you need to talk to him again."

"Because that worked so well earlier."

"Maybe not, but that was the hormones talking more than anything. Just apologize, explain to him what you're feeling and, if you feel like you're losing control again, take a deep breath before you say anything you might regret. I doubt it'll get to that point, though."

"I hope not."

As we walked back together, the sun officially sank behind the horizon and the real fireworks began in earnest all across the campground. There had been all kinds of poppers, sparklers and miscellaneous noisemakers all day, but people generally saved the best stuff (illegally purchased over the border in Indiana in years past, but now more conveniently available in Michigan) for after dark. Bright bursts of color exploded above the lake with rapid fire pops.

"Would you do me a favor?" I asked Aunt Maddy as we drew up alongside our site.

"Sure."

"Will you please tell Will to meet me here? I don't want to do this in front of everyone."

"Of course."

I watched as Aunt Maddy strolled deeper into the camp and head straight for the fire where most of the Bennets, Gardiners, Dashwoods, etc were gathered, roasting marshmallows. She stopped next to Will, whose back was to me, and touched him on the shoulder. After a brief conversation in which she pointed at me and presumably explained that I wanted to talk to him, Will sprung to his feet and all but jogged toward me.

My heart beat hard in my chest as Will approached at a fast clip, clearly anxious to get to me. I inhaled a deep breath to steady myself as he finally stopped a couple feet away.

"Are you alright?" was the first thing he asked, which nearly made me burst into tears again. Good thing I was already dried out. Will really was incredibly sweet, even when he had every right to be mad at me.

I choked on the words, but managed to reply, "I'm okay. Just tired. I wanted to…to apologize to you for earlier. I was out of line, at least with how I yelled at you, and…I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

I was wrapped up in Will's arms long before I'd finished my babbling speech and said the last of it into his chest. He kissed me on the crown of my head and breathed in deeply, as if smelling my hair. "It's okay. I know I was being a jerk; I'm sorry, too."

"So…we're okay?" I had to ask.

"Of course we are. It was just a fight and neither of us really meant half the things we said. 'Angry people are not always wise,' and all that."

"And all that," I agreed, wrapping my arms around his waist and dragging him closer. "Honestly, I think our fight was more about me feeling crappy than anything you did. Sure, you set me off, but I was already a ticking time bomb."

"I did apologize to Linda, by the way. She tried to wave it off and say it was nothing, but I made sure she heard the whole thing. She really is a nice lady, if a little…chatty."

I sniffled into Will's shirt. "Yeah, that's Linda. Nice, a little chatty." I tipped my head up so I could kiss him properly. "Thank you."

"I owed it to her. And to you to give her, and everyone else you care about, more of a chance. I guess I've been extra grumpy lately, too. I don't really enjoy camping—"

My snort interrupted Will and he raised an eyebrow at me, a playful scold. "Sorry, Captain Understatement. Do continue."

"Anyway," he chuckled and tucked my head back underneath his bristly chin, "camping isn't really my thing and it was a long ride with…"

"My crazy parents and a cranky fiancée?"

"Your words, not mine."

"I don't hear you denying it."

"I plead the fifth."

"Even if you're a coward, I love you."

Will dipped his head down and engulfed my lips with his, suckling gently. Behind us, I could hear literal fireworks exploding and saw the sear of their light behind my closed eyelids. It could have been a movie scene, honestly.

"I love you, too," Will whispered against my mouth after a long while of creating our own sparks. Had we actually rented that cabin Will had been lobbying for, I would have dragged him inside and had my wicked way with him. Previous experience has told me that make up sex is the best.

Alas, we were outside and only a few yards away from my extended family and so even the fireworks wouldn't have covered the noise we would have made inside our tent. Instead, we made our way, hand in hand, back toward the lake where everyone was gathered watching the show.

o0o

THURSDAY
JULY 9, 2021

Over the course of the rest of the week, family members slowly wandered away and back to their real lives. Cousin Linda, who had to get back to her mother, was the first to leave on Monday and then the various other aunts, uncles and cousins had to get back to work or whatever after that. Us Bennets and our entourage, having traveled the farthest, were slated to stay until the campsite reverted to new lessees and so we closed it out. Aunt Maddy and Maggie, neither of whom needed to be anywhere until school started back up in September, stayed as well.

Early Thursday morning—well, early for most people, but normal for me—we were loading up the last of the stuff into Chad's SUV and my parents' motor home and saying our final goodbyes to Aunt Maddy and Maggie. It was back to the farm for us and I was anxious to be home; it's hard to leave your business in the hands of someone else, even if it was someone trustworthy like Hank.

As I hugged Aunt Maddy, she asked after how everything was with Will. I answered honestly; I was still extra touchy, but we hadn't fought again. Instead, Will had taken to babying me and I'd taken to letting him, figuring it was better to pick my battles. Besides that, it felt kinda nice.

"That's good," said Aunt Maddy, drawing back. We both glanced at where Will was helping Chad pack all of our camping equipment into the SUV, shifting and tucking various items where necessary. "He's a good man. I'm glad you didn't let your spat get out of hand."

"Me, too."

"Oh, speaking of, do you have enough supplies for the ride home?"

Distracted by Will's butt as he bent over to pick up our cooler, I replied, "Huh? Supplies?"

"Tampons, Lizzy, tampons." I could tell Aunt Maddy knew I'd been ogling my fiancé and was silently laughing at me. Oh, well. I'd been caught before and I'd likely be caught again.

"Oh, those supplies. No, I'm good."

"You got some at the canteen?"

"No, the party just hasn't started yet."

Aunt Maddy's eyebrows spiked high on her forehead. "Really? Even though you've been expecting it since last Friday?"

My cycle is fairly regular, as close to clockwork as a human body ever gets, and so I never expect my period until at least…"Oh shit."

Author's Notes: Oh shit, right? Btw, please forgive any mistakes in this chapter. I put it off to edit some other stuff for my publishers and wrote all but the very first scene this morning. I might go back and fix said first scene later (along with anything else), but be kind with my minimal editing efforts. Tell me if you spot anything that needs fixing, though.

For those of you unfamiliar with US geography, Michigan is over 800 miles north of the Carolinas, or a 14+ hour car drive. My own in-laws all live up there so just the thought of it makes my backside ache, lolz. I REALLY don't recommend it when you're pregnant.

Since August is bereft of good holidays, I decided that we'll celebrate Will's birthday then. Think he likes surprises? Can you believe it? Only three chapters left!

To my fellow Americans…HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! To everyone else…HAPPY SUMMER!

Next Update: August 20, 2021
Expected Completion Date: September 2021

– MrsMarySmythe