[A/N: This story takes place on Will's first day of training to be a Police Constable, almost right after 'The Kiss', but before he had moved out. So Lizzie is still snippy that William hadn't apologized for kissing her.

Will is 20 years old and Lizzie is almost 17. I realized that in "The Duke" they were still calling each other by their nicknames, but in one of the other stories, which took place earlier on the timeline, Lizzie had wanted him to call her Eliza. Please ignore the inconsistencies, it shouldn't affect the story anyway, it's just me losing track of all the threads…

Also the Great Exhibition was in 1851, which obviously doesn't work with their ages, but I'm choosing to ignore that!]

For Better or For Worse

Chapter 1

"Each of you will receive, one staff, one belt, one cape and strap, one pair of leggings, two great coats, two dress coats, five pairs of trousers, two hats, two leather neck stocks, three button brushes, three button sticks, one rattle, one lantern, one pair of handcuffs - No. 124…" The training sergeant droned on.

Will looked over at his fellow trainees. On his left, the young man was listening, almost in rapture, to the sergeant, on his right the man had fallen asleep, his head propped up in his hands. William hid a grin, the man on his right started to sag forward, then suddenly he let out a mighty snore, startling everyone.

The training sergeant calmly approached the snoring man's desk. He raised one of the truncheons he had been holding and brought it down sharply on the desk. There was a loud CRACK but somehow it didn't disturb the man's slumber. Will and his neighbor on the left eyed the man in amazement, then they looked at each other, "How is he doing that?" The man on his left asked Will. "I dunno, that's some talent!" Will replied.

The young man laughed, "I'm David, David Evans." He introduced himself, holding out his hand. "William Wellington." Will said, shaking the proffered hand. The grinned at each other then looked over at the sleeping man. The sergeant had gone back to the front of the room, having decided he didn't get paid enough to care about disinterested trainees.

The sleeping man snorted and woke himself up, yawning. "Oi, did I miss anything important?" He asked looking around. Then he saw Will and David looking at him. "Is it lunchtime yet?" He asked them. "Not quite." Will replied. "What's your name?" Will asked him. "Neil Morton. I need a drink." Neil stood and stretched and walked right out of the training, leaving a baffled classroom behind him.

Later that day…

There was a knock at the door. Lizzie sighed in annoyance and rose from the settee to answer it. She was feeling irritable of late, today had been Will's first day training as a Police Constable. He had left very early that morning, as had been his custom even when he would run messages. But unlike then, today had been the first day in a long time where he hadn't come home in the early afternoon to spend the remainder of the day with her.

She had spent most of the day sitting on the settee, lost in her thoughts, not sure what to do with herself. It had felt as though her heart was in utter turmoil, she knew she should be happy for Will, he had longed for a real job for a while, and he had enjoyed solving mysteries with her, she knew he would be a good Police Constable, and one day, a very good detective.

But, on the other hand, she desperately missed him already. Just knowing that she no longer had him to herself every afternoon made her incredibly sad. A part of her had wondered briefly if she had been taking him for granted.

As soon as she would consider the notion that perhaps there might be more to their friendship, The Kiss would come back to the forefront of her mind, setting off her anger at him again…

She had stopped running and had dropped down to sit under a nearby tree. Will had approached her, and had knelt in front of her. She had flung her arms around his neck and sobbed. She remembered at some point looking up at him, and he had wiped away at her tears with his thumb. His eyes had been so sad, more for her, than for the loss of Skip. He had never truly liked the dog.

She remembered it so clearly, they had been so close… their bodies touching as he had held her in his strong embrace, his warm breath on her mouth, his stubbly beard against her face, his lips, so close to hers. He hadn't even given her a moment to think, he hadn't even asked if it was okay, instead, he had pressed his lips to hers and had kissed her as though he had every right to.

His lips had felt so tender and delicate, he had hardly applied any pressure to the kiss. She had tentatively kissed him back, because at first, it had felt so right. Feeling her acceptance, he had started to kiss her a bit more. Before she had even realized it, half a million thoughts had started to flash through her mind, "This feels so good… he's so gentle and warm…" but those thoughts slowly changed into, "Why did he pick to kiss me now of all times?… Is he taking advantage of me because I'm sad?"

'WHACK', she had slapped him, hard, across the face. She watched as he had fallen backwards onto the grass, startled. "How DARE you!" She shouted at him and stormed off.

She had run back home, and lay on her bed, sobbing, but by now almost out of fresh tears.

"Why did he have to do that?" She had wondered in anguish. "A part of me had assumed he could be my first kiss but… poor Skip… so much blood… I… I can't even think straight! Our first kiss should have been happy! I'm so sad and hurt… I had just wanted him to comfort me! Why couldn't he just hold me? All I had wanted was for him to hold me…" had been her last thought as she cried herself to sleep.

… and he had never even apologized, she now thought as she made her way slowly to the door. A second knock came from it, slightly more persistent this time.

"I'm coming!" She shouted out, annoyed at having her thoughts so rudely interrupted. She threw the door open and blinked, confused.

"Hello? Can I help you?" Lizzie asked, then her thoughts abruptly changed as she realized it was a constable standing before her. "My father… has something happened to him?" Lizzie asked, panicked, her hands going to her mouth as she gasped in fear.

A young and handsome constable stood at her door. He was tall and broad, with a neatly trimmed beard, his dark blue eyes looked intense. "Lord Lizzie, it's me, it's Will! Henry's fine! Did you truly not recognize me?" He asked in surprise. He reached out with both hands and went to touch her arms. She took a step back, her heartbeat slowly steadying.

"Wi… Will?" She stepped forward again and looked at him closely in shock. He looked like a completely different boy, nay, man. Whereas he usually wore a simple white shirt, waistcoat, and brown or black trousers, he was now in the complete ubiquitous blue uniform. And though she couldn't see it under his helmet, she knew that his hair, that he had once left slightly long and wavy, for her sake, was now slicked back, away from his face. His beard, which had gone through several stages Lizzie had annoyingly coined, scruffy bear and wooly mammoth, was now freshly trimmed from the barber.

He chuckled and brushed a stray curl back from her face, "I'm still me Lizzie." "But, when did you get so old?" She said pulling her arms away from him and stepping back again. She saw the flash of hurt cross his face, she had wanted to wound him, she had thought it would make her feel better, here he was, now a grown up, and leaving her, still feeling like a child, left behind. He was the one who always followed me, the thought flashed unbidden through her mind.

They stood silently, Will on the stoop, Lizzie just inside the door. Why can't she just be proud of me? He thought sadly, I rushed home just to see her, to show her my uniform, and tell her about my first day of training... Lizzie saw Will's shoulders droop. She belatedly felt a pang of guilt from her harsh words, and she knew she only had a split second to prevent a fight between them, she knew his anger would kick in swiftly and an argument would ensue if she didn't do something.

She quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. He was almost a foot taller than her now, it was proving difficult for her to hug him around his neck, the way she had used to. Will stiffened momentarily, then held her back, she knew he had forgiven her for the mean comment.

"I'm sorry Will, you startled me, my imagination had gotten the best of me. And with Father being the way he is lately…" She said, trying not to cry. Henry had started drinking even more, sometimes not even returning home at night. He had spoken of opening his own Private Detective Agency, to have more free time, he had said, but Lizzie knew the truth, that there was a good chance he would be kicked out of Scotland Yard. His drunkenness was starting to affect his work, it could prove costly, both to him and his investigations, if he stayed.

Lizzie felt Will gently stroke her hair, she still hadn't started to wear it up, she knew he had liked it down, golden silk, he would call it. She had liked the compliment, so she had left it. For now.

She pulled back slightly, to look up and meet his gaze, but she hadn't let go of him yet. "You look so different… Even your body feels different…" She said, a part of her amazed, the other part scared that her friend was this strange new man now.

Will smiled indulgently at her, "I'm 20 years old Lizzie, I'm not the gangly boy you had met three years ago anymore." He knew he had been growing, taller and stronger, and she had been oblivious to the change. Eating nutritious food and running around with Lizzie had kept him in good shape.

He had noticed changes in her too, though he doubted she had even realized it. Her face had lost the roundness of childhood, and had become more angular, yet also more feminine. Her hair was even glossier and thicker, and her body… it drove Will crazy, when she would throw herself at him for a hug and he would hold her back, just for an instant, before she would run off. It was just enough of an embrace for him to notice the new curves to her that had seemingly appeared overnight. A part of him was frightened by his growing desire for her. He knew deep down in his heart things were going to have to change soon. He just wasn't sure if it would be for better or for worse.

Lizzie released Will and did her best to put a smile on her face, even though her heart wasn't completely into it. "I'll have Ivy make us some tea and you can tell me all about your first day!" She said feigning enthusiasm. Will grinned, his whole face lighting up, happy that she was now interested in hearing about his training.

Lizzie burst out laughing, "Seriously?" She asked, her eyes wide. Will grinned and nodded, "Aye, seriously. I cannae understand how he didn't get kicked out!" Will chuckled and took another bite of his biscuit.

They were sitting on the settee, Will had changed out of his uniform and he had noticed, when he had come back downstairs in his street clothes, that Lizzie had been more at ease. The tension from earlier had dissipated.

Lizzie's petulance had also faded pretty quickly, Will was a very good storyteller and she had ended up enjoying immensely hearing about his day. There was still a slight twinge of jealousy that she would feel occasionally, but his enthusiasm was catching. "Tell me more!" She said, leaning forward, eyes bright.

Will turned his body to face her, he had been concerned about how she would handle his becoming an officer, knowing it was her dream, and his worry had escalated when she hadn't recognized him at the door, but now, it seemed as though they would be alright.

"Then Neil comes back in, eating a massive meat pie, the juices dripping down the front of his uniform, and the training sergeant sticks his hand out, Neil takes a huge bite then puts the rest, by now there's hardly any left anyway, right into his hand, and, Lizzie you wouldn't believe it, the sergeant ate the rest of it!" Will said grinning.

"No!" Lizzie said, giggling. Will nodded, "I don't think I'll ever forget that for the rest of my life! I cannae even imagine what tomorrow will bring!" He said happily. Lizzie nodded, a fake smile plastered on her face, He'll be having adventures, I'll be in school, trying not to fall asleep during Latin.

Will hadn't noticed her expression change, he had leaned back into the settee, smiling up at the ceiling. Then he turned to face her again and cleared his throat nervously. "Eh, Lizzie, I was wondering… I collect my wages next week, my first… could I… er… would you perhaps like to go to dinner with me?"

Lizzie blinked at him confused, "We always go for pastries together." "Aye, I know, I mean a proper dinner, an entire meal." He explained, taking her hand in his. "Why?" She asked. "To celebrate?" Will asked, wondering why she was stalling on answering. He lightly ran his thumb over the back of her hand, "Say yes Lizzie, please…"

Lizzie looked at him, suddenly he didn't look like the confident 20 year old who had been standing in uniform on her stoop just a short while ago. He looked like a young boy, nervously talking to a girl he fancies.

Before she could respond, Henry burst into the room, "Ah! There you are! William, how was your first day?" He asked cheerfully coming over to them. Will dropped Lizzie's hand and tried not to scream in frustration, Lizzie hid a smile, secretly relieved for the interruption.

"Wonderful Sir! I learned quite a bit about human nature." Will said, Lizzie snorted and Henry looked confused but smiled, "Glad to hear it! You can tell me all about it over dinner. I believe Ivy has made a meat pie." That just set off both Will and Lizzie into a fit of laughter. Henry shrugged internally, either they argue or laugh at nothing, I profess to not understanding either of them, but as long as they're happy… he thought, watching them fondly.

To be continued…