The following evening…

"Catch!" William said tossing a soft package to Eliza, who was sitting on the settee waiting for him. She caught it and studied it. The package was wrapped in brown paper and held shut with twine. Eliza looked up at him curiously and pulled on the string. The paper opened slowly so she helped it a long with a couple of tears. She looked inside confused.

There was a soft linen shirt and brown trousers inside. "Will? What is this?" She asked pulling it out curiously. "The size is obviously too small to be for you..." He sat down next to her on the settee. "They're for you." He said smiling. She looked shocked. "Trousers? Have you lost your mind?"

William chuckled, "No, I thought I would train you in defensive fighting." "Defensive fight..." Eliza's face lit up, "Really?" He grinned, "No matter how much I'd like to, I can't be there all the time and you've saved me more times than I've come to your aid so..." He shrugged and grinned, "You won't always have a bouquet of flowers around to use as a weapon!"

Eliza laughed and ran her fingers over the fabric. "Thank you. Truly, this means a lot to me. Why trousers? And where will we train?" She looked around her drawing room wondering if she'd have to move the furniture. He saw her gaze wander the room and he shook his head, "I have the key to the Police Training Center, the manager owes me a favor. We can go late at night after everyone is gone. And as for the clothing, it'll be easier to learn the basics if you can move around easier. Eventually you can practice in your gowns, since that is what you wear daily." "When do we start?" She asked grinning.

The changing room was quiet. William had left on his lighter brown trousers and Henley shirt to workout in, he was waiting outside the changing room door for Eliza. Eliza meanwhile pulled out the trousers and shirt William had given her. She ran her hands over the fabric, it was soft under her touch. She smiled, she could never have imagined in a thousand years that William would have been the one to give her men's clothing to wear. And to offer to teach her defensive fighting! She grinned as she undressed, placing her gown in a large bag.

Eliza kept on her chemise and drawers and pulled the trousers and shirt over them. She giggled as she tried to button the shirt. Then she moved around, This feels great! I can move about so easily, and I feel lighter! She gave a little twirl and crashed into the bench.

"Lizzie? Are you alright?" William called out to her wondering how hard it could be for her to put on trousers. "Yes, fine! I'll be right there!" She called back, hurrying out to meet him.

"William, I think you underestimated my height slightly..." Eliza came out of the changing room with the sleeves of the shirt hanging a good 20 centimeters past her fingertips. William chuckled. "Sorry about that, I wasn't sure what to tell my tailor. At least it looks like I got the trouser length alright. Come 'ere." She stood across from him with her arms held out. He rolled up the sleeves to just past her forearms. "There!" He said pleased with himself.

Eliza looked up at him with a strange expression on her face. "Is something wrong? We don't have to do this if you don't want to." William said. She shook her head, "No, I do, it's just, standing across from you... you're much larger than I am, I can't imagine fighting you and winning." She was feeling slightly nervous, she had never paid attention to their difference in height or size. William was close to a foot taller than her, broader, and heavier. When he held her in his embrace his size had always made her feel safe and warm. Now though, the prospect of fighting him had started to seem daunting.

He smiled, "You do have a couple of advantages, surprise, being underestimated, and you only have to hurt your attacker enough to get away, don't stay there and keep fighting, run if you can. You are also incredibly clever, most men don't fight with their brains, you'll give them a run for their money. Come, let's practice in the ring, the floor is springier, it's a bit less painful if one of us falls."

William jumped up and held one of the guard ropes up and held his other hand out to Eliza. She took it and he pulled her up and they climbed inside. "Okay, I can do this." She said holding up her fists with a scrunched up expression on her face. William burst out laughing. "What?" She asked crossing her arms. "Nothing, you look so cute, like a little girl playing dress up." She slapped him lightly on the arm, "Ow, okay okay, I'm sorry. It's just an unlikely scenario, boxing someone like that. I was thinking more along these lines..."

William slid to the side and turned his body, quickly coming up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pinning down her arms to the side of her body. "If someone comes up behind you like this and grabs you, your arms are immediately out of the fight. But you do have options." He said this close to her ear, his breath tickling her neck. She was fighting her instinct to struggle, He's so warm and strong. She could feel the muscles in his arms rippling. That gave her an idea...

"Oh!" She said breathily, "William..." He loosened his grip slightly, "Lizzie? Am I hurting you? Ooof!" His loosened grip gave her just enough room to elbow him in the ribs and turn to kick him in the groin. He danced backwards away from her. "That's not fair!" He said holding his ribs. She grinned broadly, "You didn't say it had to be a fair fight. I believe I win this match." He smiled back at her, "Ah, so that's how this is going to go. Okay, okay."

William walked towards her, Eliza raised her fists again. "Lizzie, wait, time out, LIZZIE! I'm not trying to trick you, seriously, TIME OUT!" He shouted at her as she tried to punch him in the face. He dodged to the side just in time to avoid a bloody nose. She eyed him suspiciously. William sighed, he had planned on showing her how to make a solid fist, now he was wondering if he even had to bother.

He held his hands up, "Your fist is pretty good but place your thumb over your pointer and middle fingers, yes, like that, keep your wrist completely straight. Perfect, now aim to hit with your two biggest knuckles, on your pointer and middle fingers… STOP TRYING TO HIT MY FACE!" William shouted, jumping backwards. "What am I supposed to hit then?" Eliza asked.

"For now hit my chest, but lightly, just to practice, I'll try to find something soft in a moment." William said, wondering if this was a bad idea. Eliza jabbed her arm out and tapped his chest. William nodded, "Good, but try to use your entire body, rotate from your hip, you'll get more power out of the punch." Eliza tried again. "Better, but you can rotate more. Hold on." William said moving behind her. She tensed immediately.

"I'm not attacking you, I just want to show you how to move. Here." William placed his hands on her hips and turned her body, "Now pick up your arm again and jab." Eliza nodded, her face full of concentration, and as William moved her hips she jabbed the air in front of her. "Perfect!" He said, happy with her quick progress. "Really?" She asked, leaning back into him to look up at his face. He looked down at her, smiling and nodding, "Yes, that's perfect." Without realizing it, he had started to wrap his arms around her waist.

"Will? Will you look for padding to practice with?" She asked. He cleared his throat, "Yes, of course." He said releasing her and hurrying off to find something they could use. Eliza took a deep breath, she knew her face was flushed, she just hoped William thought it was from the exertion, and not due to his nearness from holding her.

Eliza waved a hand in front of her face, trying to cool down before he returned. She heard a bit of a racket then saw him return with a large cushion. "I think this will work! Remember, aim for this, not my face." He said, really not wanting to end the night with an accidental black eye or broken nose. She nodded and took up the stance he had shown her and threw some punches. He nodded encouragingly, "You're very good at this Lizzie! Keep going!"

Eliza kept throwing punches, enjoying herself. As she moved forwards William would take a step back, but then he stopped, and she found herself too close to him to punch well. She looked up at him confused, "I ran out of room." He nodded, "Yes, if your attacker is in close range you can use your elbows instead of your fists. Try to stabilize yourself and strike the neck, jaw, or chin." He took a deep breath and dropped the cushion, "Try it, just don't hit me too hard, please." He closed his eyes and tried not to flinch as he felt her move. To his relief she lightly used her elbow to tap his chin. When he heard her laugh he opened one eye cautiously. She had to resort to standing on her toes to try to reach up to him. "I'm not sure how successful I'll be with that move if my opponent is tall!" She said with a grin.

William chuckled, "Fair enough. Let's practice kicking. The groin is a very sensitive area… For God's sake Eliza, I swear if you kick me there and I end up not being able to have children I will make sure to be as annoying and aggravating as possible for the rest of our lives!" William said as he saw Eliza raise her leg and aim for his crotch.

She grinned evilly and made to chase him. "Lizzie… Eliza, stop. STOP!" William said running from her. She teased him only for a few seconds before doubling over with laughter, "Will, stop worrying, I won't kick you there, I promise!" He eyed her askance, "Will! I promise, I swear, of course I want us to be able to have children… I mean you, you to be able to have children." Her face turned bright red as William's face in turn lit up joy. He decided to not respond to her comment, he didn't want her to regret having said it, and instead gestured that she should come at him again.

An hour later both of them were sweaty, but still having fun. William's assessment of Eliza had been correct, she was clever and cunning and had found ways out of William's attacks that he hadn't even thought possible. She had just pulled his arm back, having figured out that, despite him being very muscular, he was lacking in flexibility, and was now calling for mercy. She swung a leg out and hooked it behind his, sending him crashing to the floor. But he had a grip on her waist and she went tumbling down on top of him.

They both gasped in surprise and lost their breath. Eliza put a hand on his bare chest, where the V of his shirt was open. She lifted herself up slightly to look at him. He was breathing deeply, she felt his the rise and fall of his chest under her palm, his heart was pounding. She had a feeling hers was too.

Eliza's hair had begun to come undone, stray ringlets framing her flushed face. William could hardly breath. He reached a hand up and gently placed one of the curls behind her ear. "I think you win." He said with a grin. "What's my prize?" She asked in all seriousness. "Ah, so you want a prize, hmmm... what would you like? Dinner? Flowers? Chocolates?" She stroked his cheek with the back of her free hand. He closed his eyes briefly and smiled. "Something else." She said, almost shyly. "Oh? You know I'd give you anything." William told her. She smiled back at him, "You really would, wouldn't you?" He nodded, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

After a momentary pause, Eliza timidly said, "I... I'd like a kiss." William's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed with suspicion, "You're not going to slap me after, are you?" She gave a laugh and shook her head. "How about," he said still moving random strands of hair off of her face, "the kiss and I take you to dinner." She laughed, "Giving yourself more work?" He shook his head, "No, I think I won the prize in this case."

William moved his hand behind her head to lower her face down to his. He felt her resist slightly and he looked at her in confusion, "What's wrong?" He asked concerned. "I'm just nervous." She said as she swallowed and blushed furiously, "This would be my second kiss. Ever." She explained. "Oh. Oh! Would you like to kiss me when you're ready?" He asked. "Yes. Close your eyes." Eliza told him, feeling more comfortable with his idea. He chuckled, "Okay." He closed his eyes and placed his arms at his sides.

Eliza didn't make any moves right away, but then William felt her fingertips softly trail across his lips. She felt him smile under her touch. She lowered her head and very lightly brushed her lips over his. He didn't kiss her back, he hadn't wanted to scare her.

"Can that not count as the kiss?" She asked, "I want to try again." He burst out laughing, still keeping his eyes closed, "Eliza, you can kiss me however you'd like, as many times as you'd like, you'll receive no complaints from me." "Okay." She kissed him again, her lips lingering longer this time. "Is it alright if I kiss you back?" He asked. "Yes." This time when their lips met he kissed her back and she gasped in surprise but didn't pull away.

It was nothing close to their chaste kiss as children. Eliza's initial nerves began to fade away and she slowly relaxed, letting herself melt into William's body. His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her tightly against him. He took his time, kissing her top lip, her lower lip, then taking a bit of a risk and deepening the kiss, tasting her, and after hearing William moan with pleasure, she in turn hesitantly began to return his kiss.

They lay there for for several moments, kissing and generally enjoying the feel of each other. William was incredibly gladdened by the fact that Eliza wasn't wearing a corset, he liked holding her petite body against his, feeling her curves through the thin men's shirt. Regretfully they finally broke apart.

"I think you also deserve flowers and chocolates for that." He said smiling. "Was it truly okay?" She asked nervously. He nodded, "Yea, absolutely perfect." He was stroking her hair, most of it having come undone by this point, "Lord, Eliza, you are so beautiful." She laughed, "I'm wearing men's clothing, am sweaty, and exhausted." "And you're still beautiful." He said in awe.

Eliza lay her head down on his chest and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and held her back. "I wish we could stay like this forever." William murmured in her ear. Eliza blushed and pressed her cheek into his. "We can." She said softly. "No, we can't, I think I heard the back door open." William said, chuckling. Then Eliza heard it too, the sound of approaching footsteps.

"William!" She said, trying to push herself up onto her forearms. William didn't loosen his grip on her though. He grinned, "I suppose we should go." He sat up, his arms around Eliza's waist, hers around his neck. In a flash, he stood up, and instinctively Eliza wrapped her legs around his waist. "You should wear these trousers more often." He whispered in her ear, and kissed her neck quickly before releasing her. He took her hand and they ran to the changing room to grab their things and sneak out through the changing room exit.

Laughing, like children who had almost gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar, they ran from the gym and headed home, not even bothering to flag down a carriage.

They entered the house, laughing and shushing each other, trying to avoid waking Ivy. William grabbed Eliza's hand and they ran up the stairs. They stopped, facing each other, their respective bedroom doors behind them.

William took Eliza's other hand in his and took a step closer to her. "Thank you Lizzie, truly." He said softly. Eliza took a step closer to him and stood on tiptoe, "No, thank you William. So much for being so kind and patient." She whispered in his ear, "You mean the world to me."

Eliza quickly kissed William on the cheek, squeezed his hands, and opened the door to her room. She then gave a little wave and mouthed good night. He waved back, knowing he had a silly grin on his face, and she lightly closed her door.

William, not even bothering to change his clothing, flopped onto his bed feeling like the happiest man in the world. He quickly fell asleep, still smiling, dreaming of tomorrow and the chance of holding Eliza in his arms again.

The End

[A/N: I might write one more story in this timeline. I have an idea to wrap it up…

Also, I feel like I rushed through Tilly and Rupert's wedding, I actually hadn't planned on writing about it here originally, it sort of just happened. I think it would be funnier to have their wedding day (if they go through with it) told from their point of views. I might do that for the main timeline of my stories. I also wanted to add more of Rupert's friends into the story.]

[A/N: Next on the Kally Network…

So I'm actually not sure, haha. I have 4 stories in progress. I really want to continue on my main timeline, I have about 3 completed chapters. I might start to post those and write and post as I go along. Here's a snippet from it…]

You Can't Go Home Again

PART ONE

"Will, I need the file on..." Eliza barged into William's office but stopped short when she saw him. He was sitting at his desk holding a letter in one hand and looking out the window with an incredibly melancholic expression on his face.

"William? Are you alright? Has something happened?" Eliza asked him, her voice full of concern. William held up the letter and Eliza stepped closer to his desk to take it from him. Her eyes skimmed over the letter quickly and she gasped as she read the final sentence, "Your uncle died? The one who..." William nodded, "Yes, the one who despised me. Apparently he left me 'everything'." He scoffed.