A/N: Three times in a month is most unlike me! But I've been feeling inspired lately. However I will now have to disappoint you all. I'm taking some time out because my kids are now on summer holidays and have them home for another six weeks after my older two returned to school for a month. Please let me know your thoughts, there will be plenty more to come.
Chapter Nineteen
As the alarm clock buzzed on his bedside table, Will rolled on his back and hit the snooze button. He rubbed the sleep from his brown eyes and smiled to himself as he reminisced about why this day was special. Nine years ago to the day he had become a father and he couldn't believe just how quickly the past nine years had flown by. His daughter was growing into a caring and thoughtful person, he counted himself lucky that he had Mia in his life. And while it had been painful not to watch her grow with her mother, he knew that he was raising Mia exactly how he and Natalie would have raised her if his wife hadn't died.
Kicking back the covers, Will got out of his bed and headed downstairs just in time for the housekeeping agency workers who were still covering for Alice. It had been two weeks since Alice's fall down the stairs and whilst she had been discharged, she was still experiencing headaches and her memory regarding the accident was still fuzzy. All she kept saying was that she remembered seeing something red. As the housekeeping agency set about doing the list of chores that Will had asked the agency to cover, Mia came skipping down the stairs still in her pyjamas and her curly hair flying behind her head and wearing a big smile on her face.
"Happy birthday baby." Will greeted her with a smile.
Mia jumped off her bottom step and hugged him tightly, her arms wrapping around his stomach and squeezing tightly. Today, it was going to be a whole day dedicated to his daughter and who she wanted to celebrate her birthday with.
"Thanks dad." Mia smiled.
Before father and daughter went to go and have breakfast, Will knelt down and looked at his daughter sadly.
"You know that request you made?" Will asked softly.
Mia nodded her head.
"I would give you the world Mia, I really would. And I think it's lovely that you want Elizabeth to adopt you, but those sorts of things take time to arrange." He explained.
Mia looked disappointed.
"She doesn't want to, does she?" his daughter sighed.
"I haven't asked her yet, sweetheart. I just need to look into things first." Will said truthfully.
"You don't want her to do it, do you?" Mia asked sadly.
"Mia, it's not about what I want or what Elizabeth wants. It's about looking into the process and all of us having an honest discussion about our futures. I haven't even taken Elizabeth on a first date yet-"
"But you are together then?"
Will stopped speaking, noticing the smile on his daughter's face, he couldn't help but smile as well.
"I like her very much." He admitted.
"Enough for her to be part of our family?" Mia questioned.
Will placed his hand on his daughter's head and ruffled her hair.
"Yes. But Elizabeth needs some time to sort some things out. Remember, she's not been divorced for long and she wants to take some time to decide what she wants to do with her life." He answered.
"Okay dad, whenever it happens, I still want her to by my mum." Mia stated.
"Okay baby. I promise I will talk to Elizabeth soon." Will promised.
Father and daughter ate pancakes for breakfast that morning and were just about to start opening Mia's birthday presents when the doorbell rang. Mia skipped to the front door, with Will following her to see that Alice was waiting in the doorway.
"Alice!" Mia cried happily, hugging her tightly.
Alice chuckled and gave the little girl a tight squeeze. Will closed the front door and helped Alice inside.
"Happy birthday Mia." Alice said cheerfully, handing over a gift bag.
Mia thanked Alice excitedly as the three walked into the living room. The adults sat down on the sofa as Mia unwrapped her gift whilst sitting on the carpet. As Mia finished unwrapping her present, she held it up to get a good view of the t-shirt and legging outfit that Alice had bought for her.
"You can try it on later," Alice said with a smile, "If it's snug then I'll return it and swap it for the next size up. I still have the receipt."
"Thank you, Alice, I love it." Mia beamed.
Mia then started unwrapping the presents that Will had bought for his daughter which including an art set, some notepads and pens, a bracelet with her name on it, some clothes for the colder months of the year, a new bicycle helmet as hers had gotten too small, a new set of ballet shoes and a new leotard and tickets for a day out at Chessington World of Adventures.
"Thank you, dad, I love them all!" Mia said gratefully.
"Do you want to go and get changed? Grandad and Auntie Georgie will be here soon." Will instructed.
Giving her father a quick hug, Mia ran up the stairs with her arms filled with her presents. Will made Alice a cup of tea before heading upstairs himself to get dressed for the day. As he came back downstairs dressed in casual shorts and a t-shirt, he saw that his dad and Georgiana had arrived.
"Morning dad." Will greeted.
"Morning son, where's the birthday girl?" Reginald asked.
"Upstairs getting dressed. She'll be pleased to see you both."
Will gave his sister a brief hug before taking his seat next to Alice. Reginald and Georgiana sat too, waiting for Mia to come down the stairs.
"So…is Elizabeth joining us today?" Reginald questioned curiously.
"Yes. She'll be here just before midday." Will answered.
He watched his father nod with a concerned expression on his face.
"What?" Will demanded.
"Nothing." His father sighed.
"No. Something is concerning you, spit it out."
"Fine. Are you involved with her yet?"
Will nodded his head stiffly, grinding his teeth as frustration flowed through him. He knew from Charles' barbecue that his father had asked Richard to deter Elizabeth away from him romantically but his father's and lack of Richard's efforts to intervene had failed.
"Who I date is none of your business." Will stated angrily.
"It is when you get yourself into a mess when you're dating an employee." Reginald sighed.
"It isn't a mess. I care about her and she cares about me. And my daughter." Will argued.
"So, you're serious, are you? She is going to commit to you and Mia? Make a family with you? Get married to you?" Reginald growled.
Will felt his jaw tighten and his teeth grind hard together. How dare his father pry on his personal life?
"My love life and who I choose to spend it with are none of your concern. If I want to date Elizabeth and have her as part of my family then that's my choice. Either accept it or don't but if you don't there will be consequences." Will warned his father.
Before Reginald could say any more on the subject, they heard feet walking down the stairs and Mia appeared in the living room, greeting her aunt and grandfather happily. As Mia unwrapped a birthday card, a piece of paper fell out and Mia read it before squealing with excitement. Will took the piece of paper from Mia and read it out aloud.
"Horse riding lessons at Pemberley stables?" Will asked.
"I thought she could spend some weekends with me and your sister and learn to ride." Reginald replied.
"Thank you, grandad!" Mia squealed, hugging Reginald tightly.
Reginald started telling Mia all about the stables and some stories of when Will and Georgiana were younger and had been taught how to ride a horse. Will watched as Mia was engrossed in the stories and how Reginald had already chosen a pony for her to learn with and when she could possibly start bonding with the animal when there was another knock on the front door.
Will got up from his seat and went to answer the front door, smiling and letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Elizabeth standing there.
"Thank god you're here!" Will breathed.
Elizabeth smiled, entering the house, and put her bag down on the floor and took off her shoes. She held a pink envelope in her hand with Mia's name on it and tucked a loose wave of hair behind her ear. She wore her hair down today; her hair had been cut shorter during her week off but still long enough to fall past her shoulders.
"Missing me already? I only saw you two days ago." She teased quietly.
"Long enough." Will admitted in a whisper.
But before he could give her a sneaky kiss, Mia was in the hallway and hugged Elizabeth tightly.
"Happy Birthday Mia." Elizabeth smiled.
Mia opened the birthday card, taking note of the unicorn character on the front with the number nine with specs of glitter falling to the floor.
"Sorry, glitter gets everywhere." Elizabeth laughed.
Will shrugged, a few bits of glitter didn't bother him. As Mia opened up the card, a gold locket fell to the floor. Mia knelt to the floor and picked up the locket, studying it closely. The pendant was heart shaped, not too big but not too little to store a little photograph in there.
"I didn't know what to get you for your birthday because I wanted to give you something that mattered to me, so I decided to give you a locket that my dad bought for me when I was your age." Elizabeth explained.
Mia looked up at Elizabeth with stars in her eyes and Will felt his heart glow at such a moment between his daughter and Elizabeth. Mia had been raised to be grateful for any gift she received, and Will was proud that his daughter had learned that early on in life. She had loved all the gifts that she had been given so far but seeing this moment touched his heart. It was more than thoughtful of Elizabeth to give Mia a gift with meaning and it was such a beautiful moment to witness.
"It used to be yours?" Mia asked with a huge smile.
"It was. I wanted it to be yours because you're special to me." Elizabeth replied quietly.
Mia hugged Elizabeth tightly and for a few moments Will watched as the two hugged. It was evident to Will, by the look on Elizabeth's face, that he had found someone who loved his daughter like she would her own child.
"Thank you, Lizzy. I love it so much." Mia whispered.
"That's okay," Elizabeth smiled, releasing Mia, "Shall I put it on you?"
Mia nodded and Elizabeth wrapped the locket delicately around Mia's neck before closing the clasp on it. Will saw the locket hang perfectly as Mia tucked it under her top and skipped back into the living room. Will took Elizabeth's hand and gave it a tight squeeze, hoping that she could see in his eyes that her gesture hadn't just meant a lot to Mia, it had meant a lot to him too.
"Alright, Fitzwilliam, are we ready to start this barbecue?" Reginald called.
Will released Elizabeth's hand and led her into the living room and all the family retreated to the back garden to start Mia's birthday barbecue.
ooOoo
The barbecue was heating up to get ready to cook the food as Elizabeth was in the kitchen helping Will to prep the salad and other food for the guests to eat. Mia was busy kicking a football about on the grass with Georgiana as Reginald and Alice sat chatting in the garden chairs.
"Okay the salad is done." Will said, placing some clingfilm over the top of the salad bowl.
"I've prepped all the meat for the barbecue and put it on the table when you're ready for it to go on outside.
"Thank you. I've cut the rolls and I might prepare some fruit. You can head outside if you like-"
Will was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Elizabeth went to answer the door as Will headed outside with the food. Charles and Jane arrived, with Lydia looking after the twins for the day. Mia excitedly hugged her godfather and shook Jane's hand before Jane hugged Elizabeth tightly.
"Do you know Uncle Charlie's girlfriend, Lizzy?" Mia asked curiously.
"I do," Elizabeth confirmed, "She's my big sister."
"Oh yeah…Lizzy told me about you…" Mia mused, looking up at Jane.
"And your Uncle Charlie and Lizzy have told me lots about you." Jane smiled.
Charles handed over another birthday card, this one containing a ten-pound note and Mia rushed inside to place them money in her moneybox. Charles made the introductions to Reginald, Georgiana and Alice before the two of them took to their seats.
"So…how long have you been dating Charles, Jane?" Reginald asked curiously.
"A few weeks." Jane replied.
"Early days?" Reginald mused.
Jane nodded, giving the older Darcy a little frown.
"Yes. But we're both committed to each other." Jane said bluntly.
Elizabeth had to bite her lip from laughing. One thing she had observed about her older sister when she moved back home was that Jane could be blunt at times, she supposed it was part of the territory when it came to answering a lot of questions about Lucy.
"That's lovely," Alice smiled, "How did the two of you meet?"
So, Elizabeth listened as Charles and Jane recalled how they had met and how they had decided to give a relationship a try.
"It's been slow but we're really excited for when Charles meets the twins at the weekend." Jane said happily.
"Oh…you have children?" Reginald asked.
"Yes. Twins." Jane replied.
"How old are your children?" Alice asked softly.
"They'll be five in October; they start school for the first time in September." Jane replied with a smile to Alice.
"It's a big moment as a parent," Alice mused, "I still remember when my son James started school for the first time. The little sod mashed up a can of beans and pretended he had vomited in the toilet."
Everyone laughed loudly.
"I doubt that my two will get up to that kind of mischief, but knowing my luck, there will be an issue with Lucy's support at school that won't make her transition easier." Jane chuckled.
Charles gave Jane's hand a little squeeze. Elizabeth watched the exchange between the couple, as if Charles was silently saying that he would support her if any battles were to arise.
"Oh…your little girl has extra support?" Reginald asked curiously.
Jane frowned again.
"Yeah she has a rare chromosome deletion which has caused her to have a few struggles in life." Her sister explained.
"I'm sure that it can be very challenging. I know that we as a family have had struggles with Mia's epilepsy. Have you had any experience with Mia having a seizure, Elizabeth?" Reginald asked.
Elizabeth shook her head.
"No. But I ensure that she takes her medication every day and I'm first aid trained to help her should she have one." She replied.
"That's good. Have you had experience with your niece and her problems?"
Elizabeth noticed that Jane was growing a little uncomfortable, knowing that even though Jane had been doing this for nearly five years, her sister still found it difficult being around people who had no awareness or little understanding.
"I wouldn't exactly define Lucy's struggles as problems because they can't be fixed. She has autism and will for the rest of her life. But with early intervention and an adapted curriculum, Lucy can learn and thrive at her ability. With help, her struggles can be managed but it's not something that she can just get over." Jane explained calmly.
"My apologies, I used the wrong term." Reginald apologised.
"It's fine," Jane said politely, "But I think it's quite easy to label it as a problem when there is a much bigger fight going on. I've had to fight to secure Lucy a place in a special needs education setting which is attached to my son's school. However, they can only offer her twenty hours of support a week when she requires a lot more. The local authority could send her to the specialist school forty minutes away, but they won't."
"Well then. I guess that she is lucky to have an advocate in her mother." Reginald complimented.
"I'm taking it all at the children's pace," said Charles brightly, "I can't wait to get to know them both."
"That's so good to hear." Elizabeth smiled.
Will put a stop to all the conversation when he announced that the food was ready. With everyone rising from their seats, they all helped themselves to burgers, hot dogs, potato wedges, salad and some fruit that had been cut up. They all ate and chatted, discussing various things, nothing that would be particularly remembered. The sound of the doorbell ringing once more made Will silently wish he could stop it from working. As far as he knew, everyone who had been invited to celebrate his daughter's birthday was already here with him. He wasn't expecting anyone else.
"I'll be back in a minute." Will announced as he finished his hotdog.
Rising from his chair, he left his guests to finish eating their food. Strolling through the house, he reached his front door and opened it, feeling his heart nearly stop when he saw who was on the other side.
On the other side of the front door were an ageing couple, the woman with more streaks of grey in her auburn hair and more wrinkles upon her face but underneath it all he still saw the image of his deceased wife who had been her mother's double before her death. Anthony and Irene Lewis had returned to the UK after living in Australia for the past seven years.
"Hello Fitzwilliam," Irene greeted with a smile, "It's been a long time."
ooOoo
"There you are!" Georgiana greeted, "I was wondering where you had taken yourself off to."
Will sat back lazily in his chair as Georgiana sat on the chair opposite his desk. Mia was outside in the garden with Elizabeth, chatting to her other set of grandparents whilst he had retreated to his study for some quiet time to think. He hadn't known that Natalie's parents were planning on visiting, they lived in Australia and had not even emailed to say they had any intention of visiting their granddaughter. He also needed to think more on what Mia had requested of him.
"I just needed some quiet time, there are a few things I need to think through." Will said quietly.
"Understandable. It was a surprise to see Anthony and Irene after so long." Georgiana mused.
Will looked at his little sister and sighed, sitting forwards as he turned his computer screen towards her. He watched as Georgiana was reading the information on the screen and saw her eyes widen in surprise.
"Adoption? What's all this about?" Georgiana questioned.
"Mia requested one more birthday present from me, she wants Elizabeth to adopt her and become her mother." Will answered quietly.
"Oh…is that something you want?"
"I've been looking into it for the past two weeks since Mia mentioned it and I can't say it doesn't appeal to me. I really like Elizabeth; I want to commit to her and be in a relationship but there are so many complications involved."
"Like what?" Georgiana asked curiously.
"We've been…with each other…for about six weeks but we haven't put a label on anything. She's just been granted a divorce and she says that she's content with us being in her life but I haven't even taken her out on a date yet-"
"So, take her on a date. Take her on some more. I know she's pretty crazy about you too." Georgiana interrupted.
"I don't doubt that she has feelings for me, I love being with her and when she leaves, I find myself wanting her to come back. She always puts what's best for others ahead of herself and said that she wants to put herself first since her marriage ended which Is understandable. But what if the moment I mention that Mia wants her to adopt her it suddenly gets too serious?" Will asked worriedly.
"I get that. You don't want to pull her into another serious relationship if it's not what she is looking for." Georgiana summarised.
"She wants to start up her own business and get her own place to live. If I told her what I'm considering, she might get scared and realise that I want her forever." Will sighed.
Georgiana raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You want her forever. I haven't heard you speak like that about anyone since Natalie died."
Will felt a pang of guilt that he was considering letting someone else become a mother to his child, the child his wife had birthed and raised for two years alongside him.
"And that's another thing, would I be betraying Natalie's memory if I allowed Elizabeth to adopt my daughter?" Will voiced.
Georgiana shook her head.
"Will…what you had with Natalie was a beautiful thing. You loved her and she loved you, you were married, and you had a child together. And then she went on a ski trip and got into a terrible accident. I've watched you grieve for the life you had with Natalie when she died, I watched you raise Mia singlehandedly and now I'm watching you move on. You can't be alone forever; you have to let yourself love again." His sister said softly.
"I just have so many what ifs in my head. What am I supposed to do, Georgie?" Will groaned.
Georgiana smiled sympathetically, leaning across the table and squeezed her brother's hand supportively.
"When today is done and Mia is in bed, arrange to take Elizabeth out on that first date. Put all this research into adoption on to the back burner for now, it will still be there in a few months' time when things are more comfortable and you both have a clearer picture about where the future lies." She advised.
Will sat back and studied his sister. It didn't seem that long ago that he was the one giving her advice and now, here she was, giving him advice when he felt so conflicted.
ooOoo
Elizabeth sat in the garden watching as Irene taught her granddaughter how to use a pogo stick when Anthony cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked to her right and smiled as she met his curious stare from wrinkled blue eyes.
"I think there's a lot more to your relationship with my granddaughter then you're letting on." Anthony smiled.
Elizabeth found herself returning his smile but didn't say anything.
"Now I can't know for sure and of course, Fitzwilliam is upstairs somewhere for whatever reason, but I suspect that you're not just a childminder, are you?" Anthony asked curiously.
"I'm not in a position to confirm or deny that. But what I can tell you is that I love your granddaughter and feel fortunate enough to be in her life." Elizabeth replied politely.
Anthony let out a little chuckle of amusement.
"I'm pleased that Mia has a female figure in her life who can be there for her in ways a mother should. She's so grown up now and, in a few years, she'll be going through a lot of changes." He mused.
"It's the cycle of life and I hope to be lucky enough to be there for Mia in those years, I can relate to teenage girls, I have a younger sister who is four years younger than me so it's safe to say we clashed a bit growing up." Elizabeth explained.
Anthony looked at her sadly.
"It's such a cruel thing losing a parent so young, Mia should still have her mother."
"I can't imagine how painful it must have been for you to lose your daughter."
Anthony nodded stiffly, a tear in his eye.
"They say that time is a healer. They're liars. With each year that passes, the pain intensifies even more." He said sadly.
"I'm sorry." Elizabeth mumbled.
Anthony looked at her with a sad smile.
"My wife and I moved to Australia to live with my sister-in-law because it was too painful to live at our house because everywhere, we just saw Natalie. But we realised that we had a granddaughter that we were missing out on so we're moving back in a few months to reconnect with Mia."
"I'm sure it will be lovely for you all to spend some time together."
"She's not much like her mother. In looks, Mia is definitely a Darcy."
Elizabeth nodded her agreement.
"The Darcy curls and the brown eyes. Will's eyes. Georgiana's eyes." Elizabeth smiled.
Anthony studied her closely, making Elizabeth feel a little on edge. She found it awkward sitting beside the man whose daughter had been married to the man she was now involved with.
"I can see that you are fond of Mia and Will, I just want the two of them to be happy." Anthony muttered.
Elizabeth blushed slightly. She still wasn't going to confirm or deny her relationship with Will, but she didn't want to discuss it with Will's father-in-law at Mia's birthday celebration.
"I am fond of them," Elizabeth replied quietly, "They helped me find a purpose after a rough time."
"Then I hope to get to know you better in the future." Anthony said softly.
Elizabeth looked at the man and returned his smile. Nothing more needed to said, Elizabeth took the man's kind words as his approval of Will moving on with his life. After all, Will couldn't live his life in the past. At some point, he had to move on, and Elizabeth was happy that he had chosen to be with her.
ooOoo
When all the guests were gone, Elizabeth decided to remain behind to help Will clean up. Mia had celebrated a brilliant birthday and was going to celebrate over the bank holiday weekend with her and Will at Chessington before they had one final week of the summer holidays and then Mia would be back at school starting year five. Having took herself up to bed, Will tucked his little girl in and kissed her forehead before meeting Elizabeth on the landing.
"Thank you for letting me celebrate with you all." Elizabeth said softly.
"We both wanted you here, you are part of our family now." Will replied.
Elizabeth smiled, feeling as if her heart was going to burst from her chest. Four months ago, she never would have thought that she would have been accepted into a family unit the way that Will and Mia had accepted her.
"I can't tell you how much it means to me."
She watched as he bent his head down to hers, meeting her lips and pecking them lightly. She looked up at him through hazy eyes as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I think it's about time I took you on a first date." Will whispered.
"A first date?" Elizabeth breathed.
Will nodded, pressing his lips to hers once more.
"Where would you like to go? What would you like to do?" he whispered in her ear.
She felt a shiver run down her spine as she felt him kiss at her jaw and down to her collarbone. As he continued to press soft but teasing kisses to her neck, Elizabeth felt her ability to think straight fade. Her fingers tightened on his back as her arms went loose around his neck.
"You're…ahh…" she giggled, "making…me…lose my thoughts…"
Will found a sensitive spot on her neck and nipped lightly, making her gasp at the pleasure that travelled through her body.
"I was thinking maybe a nice dinner or something…" Will murmured.
"And what about after?" Elizabeth muttered teasingly.
He stopped kissing her neck, looking down at her as his forehead bumped lightly against her own.
"I don't want to pressure you…"
Elizabeth smiled, her fingers tracing his face delicately.
"You aren't. You never have. I just want to be with you, Will."
And with the understanding that they would be moving their relationship forward by going on a first date, Will held her tightly as the two retreated downstairs to sit together for a while. If Elizabeth had anticipated that she was going to find a new relationship after her marriage ended, she knew now that she wouldn't have done anything differently. Will was what she needed, he was taking this at her pace, and she had made the decision to have Will and Mia in her life no matter what.
If only she knew that the cracks that were beginning to show in her family would become bigger over the coming weeks.