[A/N: Thank you for the reviews for Up the Ante! They really made me laugh! (Joyce/Lynny I totally agree with your comments!) Thank you to everyone again!]

For the Better

Will awoke and blinked in confusion. He was lying on something soft, his head supported by a fluffy pillow. He looked around the room. It took him a moment to orient himself, then he remembered where he was, and smiled.

He had been living with the Scarlets for almost a week now, and it still surprised him when he woke up each day that he had a roof over his head, a soft bed under his body, and food! Wow, can that Ivy cook!

He yawned and stretched out long, his toes almost touching the edge of the twin bed. The sunlight cast a soft glow through the thin curtains in the small room. To anyone else, the tiny guest room might have seemed cramped, but to Will it felt as large as a palace.

The room held a bed, a tiny desk, and a wardrobe. All of it empty. Will's few possessions weren't with him. He had hidden his box of belongings, as was his custom, in a different location, every day, before he would go to the Scotland Yard entrance, to relay messages for the police officers and detectives.

He was hoping that, after a week, the box would still be where he had left it, and no one had stolen anything. I should go get it today, I'm feeling much better. When Henry had taken him in, he had had a bad cold, and a bit of a fever. Henry hadn't wanted him going out and getting worse, so Will had followed Henry's wishes and stayed in bed the first few days and hadn't left the house yet.

I'll just grab some breakfast quickly and then head out. He wasn't worried about Henry stopping him from leaving, but what he was worried about was his daughter, Lizzie, wanting to go with him.

He had never met anyone with such an insatiable curiosity. Anything that seemed remotely interesting to her, held her attention, and she would then do everything she possibly could to obtain more knowledge on the subject.

On the other hand, anything she wasn't interested in… well, he had heard the argument between her and Henry regarding her Latin studies. From what Will had gathered from listening at the door, she had hidden a book on crime scene analysis inside her Latin textbook. Henry wouldn't have minded so much if she had done this at home, but her teacher, Mrs. Dawkins, had caught her in the middle of the lesson. She had asked Lizzie to list the four Latin conjugations. Distracted, Lizzie had instead, listed the four types of passive blood stains.

It had given William a good chuckle. He personally had no desire to return to school, he had finished with that the moment he had left Scotland. He gave himself a mental shake, before his childhood memories could return, unbidden, to his mind. He dressed quickly, his one set of clothing had seen better days, but it had been cleaned and pressed for him and was therefore perfectly serviceable.

He tiptoed downstairs, holding his shoes in his hand, and snuck into the dining room. Ivy had laid out some food, but he didn't want to spend the time to sit and eat. Carefully, he opened a napkin and filled it with some rolls, meats, and cheeses. Then he quietly left, locking the door behind him.

Unbeknownst to him, Eliza had been watching him keenly. She had decided, after that first day of meeting him, that he was interesting, if somewhat broody. He had mostly stayed in his room up until now, so when she saw him leave, she figured he was going off to have an adventure.

She hadn't wanted to intercept him just yet, she wasn't sure if he trusted her enough to tell her what he was up to, so she worked out a different plan. Rather than her usual method, of questioning him directly, she decided to follow him.

Henry was at Scotland Yard, Ivy was fussing about in the kitchen, so she wasn't worried about her absence being noticed. She followed Will's lead, packing up some breakfast for herself too, then quietly left, doing her best to see if she could spot him on the street and follow him.

….

Ivy was confused. The dining room table had been set for just Lizzie and Will. Henry had already eaten and gone to work. Neither setting had been touched, but both napkins were missing, along with some of the food. She sighed. She didn't know if the young lad could be trusted, but Henry had told her that he had a good feeling about him.

Ivy had been their housekeeper for years, since Eliza had been five years old. She had been with them through Lizzie's mother's death, and then went beyond her duties, and had become somewhat of a mother-figure for Lizzie.

Lizzie had been bereft after her mother's loss, and Henry's grief had consumed him to such an extent, that he had been in no condition to look after his 7 year old daughter. Ivy therefore, had taken charge, looking after both of them, caring for them, as if they were her own flesh and blood.

She still silently questioned Henry's judgement, adding a teenage boy to the household was most certainly going to change things. She just hoped it was going to be for the better.

…

Will wasn't trying to keep himself hidden. It had never occurred to him that anyone would think of following him, so he walked along, chewing on one of the fresh rolls, enjoying the crisp morning air. Lizzie, meanwhile, was struggling to keep up, Will was quite a bit taller than her, and took long strides when he walked. For every one of his steps, she had to take three.

She watched him curiously as he took a sharp turn, down a narrow alley, a few blocks away from Scotland Yard. He looked like he was searching for something, by some scattered crates. Before she could sneak any closer, another boy, around Will's age, approached him.

"Will! Where have you been mate?" He asked Will, who had jumped at the sound, he had thought himself alone. "Chuck! Good to see you!" They clasped each other in a brief embrace, and then resumed their conversation. "So, where have you been? Last I saw you, was the day of the rainstorm. Why didn't you come hide out with us? We had snuck into a cellar." Will shook his head, "I wanted to, but I had one last message to run. I got caught up in the storm, then I had trouble finding the man I had to deliver it to. By the time I got back to Scotland Yard, I was too weak. I ended up collapsing by the steps."

Chuck looked him up and down, "You look alright to me mate." William chuckled, "It's the strangest thing, I still don't believe it myself but, one of the detectives… he took me in." Chuck's eyes widened in disbelief. "To his home? What's he up to?" Chuck asked him suspiciously. Lizzie bristled at the thought that he would think her father would be up to something nefarious.

Will laughed again, "Believe me, at first I wondered that too. But, the truth is, nothing. I don't know why he took me in, but…" His voice softened, "He's a good man, I… I don't think I've ever met anyone with such a kind heart." Lizzie felt her eyes tear up. It was such an accurate description of her father. It warmed her that Will had seen that in him so quickly.

Chuck laughed derisively, "So you think he just took you in out of the kindness of his heart, and he's going to let you stay in his cozy home, happily ever after? C'mon Will, you know the world doesn't work that way. Dreams don't come true."

Lizzie saw Will's shoulders slump. She was of half a mind to go up to this Chuck character and punch him, right in the nose! Of course dreams come true! They have to! She thought indignantly.

Before she could make a move, Chuck spoke again, "Well, Will, enjoy your fairy tale dream while it lasts, I'm sure I'll see you back here soon enough!" He walked off, still laughing.

She wasn't quite sure, but she thought she heard a sniffle come from Will. Then she heard him continue to rummage around by the crates. "Damn it!" She heard him exclaim. She saw him sit down on the ground, back against one of the crates, head resting on his knees, and arms wrapped around his head.

Lizzie was torn, she wanted to approach him, not just to uncover the reason for his distress, but to comfort him. She wasn't sure how he would react though. But he does live with us now. And he likes Father too. I should go see if I can cheer him up.

She walked quietly towards him. "Will?" She said softly. He turned his head to look up at her. His eyes were red and he was still sniffling. "Lizzie? Why are you here? Did you follow me?" He asked, slightly peeved, but very much admiring her tenacity. She nodded. Noting he wasn't too annoyed, she knelt down next to him and lightly touched his arm. "What's wrong? You can tell me. Only if you want to." She said. He smiled, knowing she was probably bursting to ask him a ton of questions. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, so he decided to tell her the truth.

"I kept a box of my belongings hidden. I usually conceal it pretty well, but I hadn't been able to come back for it since I had taken ill. Now it's not where I had last left it. Which was here." He felt sick inside, wondering who had taken his most prized possessions. None of them held any monetary value. Except for one thing. He wouldn't even allow himself to contemplate the loss of it. Not yet.

"Oh." Lizzie said, sad for him. "That's terrible." He noticed she had begun to play with the simple wedding band that she wore on a chain around her neck. She had mentioned that her mother's dead. I wonder if that belonged to her. But before he could ask, she tucked it away, beneath the collar of her dress.

She came to a decision, "I'll help you!" She said cheerfully. He just looked at her blankly, "Help me to what?" "Find your box of course, silly. You can be my first case! I'm going to be a police detective when I grow up, remember? This will be good practice." He wasn't sure how to react, Should I take her home? Or agree and play along? I don't want to hurt her feelings. She's such an odd girl. How does she think a woman could ever be a detective? William was baffled. Having met quite a few of the officers and detectives, he couldn't imagine this sweet girl working with them.

He was just about to tell her to forget about his missing box, but then he caught her earnest gaze. Her blue eyes were shinning and her smile… that smile… it melted his heart completely, and he heard himself ask, "Okay, so how do we start?" She clapped her hands with glee, "I know exactly what the first steps are! Crime scene analysis!"

Oh boy… Will thought, This is going to turn out to be an interesting day…

…

Lizzie was poking around the crates, investigating. Will had leaned against a wall and watched her, bemused. I wonder what she thinks she'll find? He was just about to tell her that he didn't think anything would be there, when she exclaimed, "AHA! I have found a clue!"

Will blinked. How…? He went over to see what was in her hand. "Do you recognize this? Is it yours?" She asked holding out a tiny cloth doll, wearing a red dress. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Do you really think I would play with a doll?" He asked, trying not to sound too sarcastic. "Hmmmph… Well, I don't know you very well, maybe it belonged to someone in your family." She grumbled. Boys… so annoying. Not that she had much of a frame of reference, she went to an all girls' school, but she thought it safe to assume they would all be annoying, especially if Will was any indication to go by.

He sighed, "Fair enough. But no, it's not mine. I do know who it belongs to though." "Really? Who?" She asked, glad that the clue might prove useful. Otherwise, she hadn't been sure how to proceed, that's why she had been stalling by the crates.

"Aggie. A sweet little girl, around 6 years old." Will said. "Perfect! Maybe she took your box, or saw who did!" "Ugh," Will groaned, "Aggie is sweet, her brother Milo though… If he took it it's going to be hard to get back." "Why?" Eliza asked. "He doesn't really like me. Actually, he doesn't really like anybody. He's a bully." Will said. "We still have to try Will. Do you know where they might be?" Will nodded, "I used to hang out with them sometimes, there was a group of us. They're probably at the back of a restaurant that sometimes gave us leftovers. We can try there first." "Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him. "Wrong way Lizzie." He exclaimed. "Oops!" She said, and pulled him around in an about-face to head the other way.

….

Henry stretched in his office chair and headed over to the window. I think I'll take a quick break. I hope Lizzie and William are getting along! He wasn't overly concerned though, he had had a good feeling about William. He wasn't completely sure what had made him take William home that night, just a sensation in his gut telling him not to leave the boy there. Lizzie seems to have taken to him, and Lord knows the poor girl could use a friend. We'll take it day by day and see how things work out. That's interesting…

Henry saw something that gave him pause. He pushed his spectacles further up his nose, and wiped the window pane. A young girl was pulling a teenage boy by the hand, practically dragging him up the street. It looked like the boy had said something to her, for then she made a wide half-circle turn, and they hurried off, in the opposite direction.

Henry blinked. It looked suspiciously like Lizzie and William. He didn't mind if Lizzie ventured out when with an escort, but it was usually Ivy. If indeed she had gone out with William… Henry was desperately hoping his gut sensation had been a good thing, and not heartburn.

…

Lizzie and Will approached the restaurant's back entrance, but didn't go to it yet. "It looks like no one is here." Will said, trying to hide his disappointment. He had gotten caught up in Lizzie's enthusiasm, and had actually begun to think that perhaps he'd get his box back.

"That's fine! It's almost the end of lunch time, maybe they'll come soon for the leftovers." She said, looking around. Then she nudged him with her shoulder, "Look, Will, that tree has a good view of the back door, why don't we climb up and wait for them?" "Okay." He agreed.

Lizzie nimbly climbed up the tree, and Will followed behind her. They sat side by side on one of the thicker branches. The leaves hid them well, but they still had a clear view of the door. "See, now when they come, we can sneak up on them and grab your box!" Lizzie said. Will smiled at her indulgently, "Whatever you say Lizzie."

"Will, the box is really important to you, isn't it?" She asked curiously. He nodded slowly, "Yes, it contains everything I own." He said softly. He could tell she wanted to know more, "Lizzie, I truly can't thank you enough for your help, and I know you want to know what's inside my box, but would you understand if I told you I'm not ready to talk about it yet?" He was looking down at his dangling legs. He felt her hand cover his, and he turned his head to look at her. "Yes, I do understand. And perhaps one day I'll be ready to tell you about my mother." She said giving him a sad smile.

I've known her less than a week and I already feel like we've been friends for a lifetime. He smiled back at her, "Thank you." She nodded, then perked up, "Will, look, over there! I think they're coming!"

Lizzie had leaned too far forward to get a better look, the motion had set her off balance. Will saw her start to tip over. His arm snapped out, and he grabbed the back of her dress before she could fall. Unthinkingly, he wrapped an arm around her waist so she could regain her balance. She was breathing heavily and looked a little frightened. "Thank you, that was a little scary!" she said. He nodded, his panic slowly fading.

If something happens to her because of me… I would never forgive myself. And I know Henry wouldn't either. This was a bad idea, I'm older than her, I should've known better. I should just take her home.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't realized that Lizzie was calling out his name, until she pinched his thigh. "Ow! Lizzie, what'd'ya do that for?" He yelped. "C'mon, we got to get down there to them!" "Alright, alright! Hold on, I'll go first, then help you down." He said.

She was about to argue, that she was perfectly capable of getting out of the tree by herself, but after almost falling, she decided perhaps it was best if Will went first. This way, if I do fall, I'll land on him! She thought.

It was a moot point though, as there was no need for her to jump down. He reached his arms up, and as she slid off the branch, he grabbed her by the waist and let her down gently. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, "You're pretty strong." She said, impressed. "Thanks." He said, feeling pleased with himself. "It'll come in handy if you have to fight Milo!" She added.

She's going to drive me crazy… I just know it. I'm going to spend the rest of my life worrying about her getting into trouble. Or getting me into trouble… Little did he know at the time how accurate his thoughts would prove to be.

They made their way cautiously over to the group of children that had accumulated by the restaurant's back door. But no one had come out with the leftovers yet. Milo saw Will. "Oh ho ho! Look who we have here, mister high and mighty, I have a home to go to now!" The children turned to look at him. Chuck must've told him, Will thought, feeling a bit embarrassed. "How'd you pull that off Will? No one wants a teenage boy, we're just trouble making, endless eating machines." Will knew that Milo was quoting one of the orphanage workers. "Just lucky I suppose." He said trying to keep his cool.

"And who's this beauty? You end up getting a girl too?" Milo said, leering at Lizzie. Will took a step forward, but he felt Lizzie's hand on his arm, holding him back. "I'm Eliza, Will's new friend." She said, trying to sound brave.

Before anything could happen, a young girl of 5 or 6, came up to Milo and tugged on his sleeve, "Milo, she has my dolly." Tears were streaming down her face. Lizzie realized the doll's head had poked out of her pocket. She took it out and held it up. She was just about to hand it back, when she had an idea.

"We're looking for something." Lizzie said. "Oh, yeah? Any chance it's this?" Milo turned and picked up a box from the ground. It was about the size of a shoebox, and it looked very light. "Will's precious things?" He shook it roughly. Will balled his fists up.

"Give that back!" Will shouted, "It doesn't belong to you!" Milo shrugged, "Finders keepers! I think it does belong to me now. I wonder what's inside…" He made a move to open the lid.

"Wait! How about a trade? What's it worth to you?" Lizzie asked feigning a confidence that wasn't really there.

Milo chuckled, "This is great, Will Wellington, letting a little girl speak for him! Ha!" The others in the group laughed, egging on their ringleader.

Willam was truly ready by this point to punch Milo in the nose to get the box back. His main concern though, was making sure his actions didn't end up causing any harm to come to Lizzie.

Instead, Lizzie held up the doll. Aggie began to cry, "Give the box back and Aggie gets her dolly back." She said. "Bitch!" Milo shouted at her.

No one speaks to my Lizzie that way! Will thought angrily. A surge of protectiveness overcame him, and he knew, without a doubt, that he would never, ever, let anyone hurt his new friend.

Now, Will did take a step forward, and he and Milo were nose to nose. Aggie was still sobbing, "MILO, I just want my dolly! Please! And I'm hungry!"

Will was just about to hit Milo, when Eliza shouted. "I HAVE FOOD!" Everyone went quiet. "What?" Milo said. "I have food, I'll give you back Aggie's doll, and give you my breakfast, if you give back Will's box, undamaged, with everything still in it."

Milo looked at her as she pulled out the bundle of rolls, cheeses, and hams from her pocket. Everyone's eyes lit up. Will was more afraid they'd be attacked for the food, he knew what it was like to go hungry. The gnawing stomach pains that felt like nothing could ever appease them.

"There is nothing in that box that will help you. This though, will feed you and your sister. I think that makes it a fair trade." Eliza said.

Milo narrowed his eyes at her. He was not at all happy about the situation but he loved his sister and didn't like seeing her cry. And they were both hungry. "Fine. But this isn't over Wellington. Give me the food first." He said to Lizzie, hand out.

Lizzie shook her head, "No. I'll give you the doll first. Then you give Will the box, he'll check that everything is inside, then you'll get your food. I won't cheat you. You have my word." "Fine, fine." Milo grumbled.

Lizzie crouched down and handed Aggie the doll. She grabbed it from her, "Thank you." She mumbled and went to hide behind her brother. Milo handed Will the box. He opened the lid from one corner and Lizzie thought she saw a flash of gold, I wonder what that is…

Will quickly scanned the contents of the box, Looks like Milo didn't have a chance to open it. Thank goodness. He let out a sigh of relief, then glanced over at Lizzie and nodded.

She handed Milo the bundle of food. He opened it and his eyes widened, there was enough food in there for everyone in the group to get a small portion. Milo looked up at Eliza and gave her a slight nod of respect. She nodded back at him.

I don't understand, Will thought, one moment Milo wants to practically kill her, now they're on good terms? She really is amazing. He looked over at Lizzie and smiled at her. She smiled back at him, and then addressed the group. "We have to go now, but I'll come back tomorrow with some more food, I promise." Lizzie told them. "C'mon Will, Father will be home soon, I want to get back before he does!"

They left the group, which was now busy distributing the food amongst themselves, and started to head home. Lizzie was chatting about how exciting the day was, and how much more interesting it had ended up being, compared to studying.

Will, on the other hand was silent, and lost in his thoughts. I shouldn't stay with them any longer, she could've gotten badly hurt because of me. It was only because of my trying to get the box back that she almost fell out of a tree. And Milo could've really hurt her.

Will felt terrible. He knew what he had to do now.

Later that day…

Lizzie and Will made it home before Henry. Exhausted from their day, Lizzie went to take a nap, and Will went to his room. He had found a bag and put his box in it. He looked around his room sadly, It was a nice dream while it lasted, but I really can't stay here. I can't risk putting Lizzie in danger because of me.

He then began to quietly make his way downstairs, thinking Lizzie was still asleep. He was just about to tiptoe past Henry's study door, when he heard Lizzie run into the room from the other entrance. He paused, afraid she would hear him.

"Father! You're home!" Lizzie exclaimed. Henry turned around in his desk chair. Lizzie threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He let out a roar like bear and scooped her up onto his lap. She laughed, "I think I'm getting too big for your lap!" "Never! You'll always be my clever little girl! Did you have a nice day?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "Will and I were very busy today." Henry was about to ask, what precisely had they gotten up to, but she went on to say, "So can we keep him?" "Keep who?" Henry asked confused. "Will!" She answered, as if it should have been obvious. He laughed at her choice of words. "If he would like to be kept, then of course, he may stay as long as he would like." "Yay! He's even more interesting than I had thought! I'll go tell him the good news!" She was rushing out the door before Henry could even blink.

Will, upon realizing the conversation was ending, had snuck back upstairs to his room. His back was to the door, he was taking in the space, with a smile on his face. Lizzie ran in, and not having expected him to have been standing so close to the doorway, bumped into his back.

"Ow!" She said rubbing her nose, "That hurt!" Will turned around, "Oi, Lizzie, sorry, I didn't know you were going to run into me." He said trying not to laugh. "Ish fine." She said nasally, wrinkling her nose. Then she took stock of the bag in Will's hand.

He was going to leave! She thought panicking, But Father said he could stay, why would he want to leave and live on the street again when he can stay here with us? Will noticed her looking at his bag, he saw her face quickly become distressed. He had planned on putting his things away, but she had come up to his room so quickly, he hadn't had a chance. He hadn't wanted her knowing that he had contemplated leaving.

She looked up at him and saw that he didn't look like he was sad, instead he was giving her a very soft smile. Tentatively, she smiled back. She reached out to touch the hand he had clenched around the bag strap. Gently, she covered his hand with hers. "This belongs here now." She said firmly. Will nodded, and softly replied, "I know."

The End

[A/N: I think I might have their ages a bit messed up. I hadn't realized, until I read some other fanfic, that they might be younger than I had thought (as adults). For some reason, in my mind, I was basing William off of Stuart Martin's age of 35.

In some of my stories I've mentioned that they've known each other 17 years but based on their possible character ages it would be perhaps closer to 12 years (I had them meet when she was 14 and he was 17). Oops. And here I was thinking I had been doing so well keeping track of everything!

I also think Lizzie sounds younger than 14 in the childhood stories I had written but, it seems to work and I don't know if it really matters.]