A/N: So here is 21, I hope to update with 22 sometime next week.

On a side note, you lovelies have until 30th September to get your fill of Autumn Changes as I plan to start the self-publishing process of the story. I will continually post updates regarding this should any of you wish to purchase a copy once it's sorted.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Linds, talk to me." George pleaded.

But Lindsay was not in the mood to talk. She cradled her growing baby bump, with only sixteen weeks left to her due date, she was determined to try and enjoy the rest of her pregnancy because the first twenty-four weeks had been a rollercoaster. After discovering that George hadn't told her of the two children he had already fathered and then abandoned, her boyfriend had disappeared for weeks until he showed up tonight at her flat with a bunch of roses and wearing a regretful expression on his face. Of course, he was yet to find out that she knew all about his previous life.

"Just pack your stuff, George, and get out." Lindsay repeated for the third time since she shoved a handful of binbags at his chest.

The binbags lay in a forgotten heap on the floor. George looked desperate and Lindsay guessed he was going to try and win her round tonight so that he still had a place to stay. But Jane's story had stayed with her since their meeting and she did not want to go through the agony that the kind blonde had gone through with her children. She did not want to be doing all the child raising and have no support from George. And she knew that her child would require extra support.

"Linds, I'm sorry that I disappeared. I just had to clear my head and get some blood work done to see if I have this other condition that our baby has-"

"You mean, the condition you may have passed on to this baby and to the daughter you've already abandoned?" Lindsay corrected.

George looked at her through wide eyes.

"You…you know about Lucy?" he stammered.

"Yes. And Peter. Your son." Lindsay hissed.

George gulped but remained in the spot he stood in. Whether it was because he didn't know what to say or he could see the look of her anger on her face, she didn't know. But what she did know was that she wasn't going to let him worm his way back in with her. During their relationship, he would worm his way back in whenever they argued, or she was angry with him. And she thought it was all part of his charm and love for her. This time, she had had her eyes opened to the truth about him.

"You met Jane, didn't you?" George asked with a sigh.

Lindsay nodded her confirmation.

"I followed you, I saw you arguing with her at that pub and then I followed her back to her house. She let me in, she told me the truth and she even apologised but she felt that I deserved to know the truth about you, about how you are as a father." She sneered.

"Linds, I wasn't ready when Jane had the twins- "

"That is a weak excuse, George. I know you were in those children's lives until they were two. You stuck with them for two years and let Jane do all the work. It's disgusting."

"I couldn't handle it!" George exclaimed, "Lucy would never sleep, Jane would put the twins to bed at the same time and Peter would go all night, but Lucy would be up after four hours of sleep! She would wake us up, she would constantly scream! She wouldn't walk or talk or do anything that Peter could do!"

"And because she struggled you walked out on them."

"Yes! Because I was a coward. I walked away and didn't look back."

"And in three years you haven't even paid child support or bothered to check that they're doing okay?" Lindsay cried.

"It wasn't that simple!"

"It was George! You are obligated to check on those children and for three years, perhaps longer, you have ignored that obligation! You've left your ex-girlfriend to do it all alone!"

"I'm not perfect, I've made mistakes," George cried, tears rolling down his cheeks, "But I love you! I want to change. I want us to be a family."

"Why is it so different with me? Our child has two conditions and may be more complex than Lucy." Lindsay demanded angrily.

"Because I love you! Because I want to take responsibility." George growled!

"And I bet you told Jane the same things." Lindsay shouted.

George let out a frustrated yell and clenched his fists angrily. Lindsay stepped back, her heart beating with fright. She had never seen George so angry before and she had never felt this angry in her entire life. But she had decided that her priority and focus would be on building a life for her and her child.

"You know what? I did love Jane a long time ago and I admit that I made a lot of mistakes there. But I wasn't cut out to be a father. I couldn't hold down a job, I couldn't make the sacrifices for the twins that Jane made without a moment's hesitation. I wanted to sleep through the night, I didn't want to sit in a hospital worrying over my child's epilepsy and I didn't want to focus on all the therapies, reviews and treatments that she needed to live her life. I was selfish and I still am. But I love you, Lindsay. I want to change, and I want to have a second chance at a family." George stated.

Lindsay took a deep breath and sighed heavily. His declaration seemed heartfelt – to him at least. However, she was not sure if she could trust him.

"George, you're barely holding down a job now. You have never had a stable home environment; you have been living with me most of our relationship. You do not and never have paid child support to the two children you currently have. You couldn't handle Lucy, so what makes you think that I can believe you when you say that you can handle this baby?" she questioned.

"Because I was never willing to change for Jane." George answered.

Lindsay laughed harshly.

"I'm sorry but I don't believe a word you say. A real man pays for his children no matter what the circumstances." She said bitterly.

"Then what the fuck do you want me to do, Linds?" George growled through gritted teeth.

"Pack your stuff." Lindsay said simply.

George huffed as he picked up the binbags and stormed into her bedroom, grumbling under his breath as he started to pack up his belongings. Lindsay could feel the stress flowing through her body, her temperature rising. She felt hot. As she sat down on her sofa and waited impatiently for George to finish packing his belongings, she felt her stomach contract tightly.

She winced as she took a breath slowly and the uncomfortable tightness stopped. As she felt the tightness stop, she sat back on the sofa with her feet propped up on the coffee table as her hands cradled her bump. Lindsay wasn't sure how many minutes had passed, but she guessed it couldn't have been more than five or six, when the tightness returned, this time accompanied by a sharp shooting pain on her right side. She let out a pained gasp and leaned forward, her feet touching the ground. Her stomach felt even tighter as she tried to breathe through it.

George came out of the bedroom holding an overflowing binbag which dropped to the floor as he rushed to Lindsay's side.

"Linds, are you okay?" he whispered.

Lindsay couldn't manage to get out any words but shook her head as she clutched her stomach.

"It's okay, where are your notes? I'll call the hospital."

She pointed to under the coffee table and heard George rifling through the folder before pulling out his mobile phone to dial a number. Lindsay continued to wince in pain, barely registering what George was saying on the phone to the midwife when he finally ended the call. She looked up at him with a worried expression.

"The midwife said that she wants us to go in just to get you and the baby checked over." George said reassuringly.

Lindsay nodded, accepting his hand to help her stand to her feet. She still felt the tightness and the shooting pain as she waddled through to the bathroom to use the toilet. Once she had finished and washed her hands, she came out of the bathroom and found that George had packed her an overnight bag.

"What's that for?" Lindsay questioned, gesturing to the bag.

"Just in case they want you to stay. I've called the taxi, it's on the way." George answered.

Acknowledging silently that their fight would have to resume later, Lindsay followed George out of the flat, locking the door behind them.

ooOoo

It was a day that Jane had been dreading for the past week. A day where she would be meeting Charles' family for the first time. And along with that, the twins would be meeting Charles' father and sister as well. She knew that it was what people did in relationships and her relationship with Charles was starting to get serious. She had already spent the night at his place, Lydia had offered to stay at her house overnight with the twins on a night when Lucy had her night nurse do the caring. Charles had met the twins and was happy to go at their pace when it came to building a bond with both, granted, Lucy was taking it a lot slower but that was to be expected.

It had been a big week of changes for her family. Firstly, the twins had started their first year at primary school. Their first week had only been on a part-time basis to familiarise themselves with the school routine and get to know their new teachers and teaching assistants. Lucy hadn't adapted well to the change and already the Special Educational Unit attached to the school where Lucy was attending, had failed to change Lucy's nappy for most of the school day. Lucy had come running out of the classroom at the end of lunch with her skirt and tights soaked through. Jane had filed a complaint, stating that it was a requirement in Lucy's EHCP that she wasn't toilet trained and needed help with her care needs.

And finally, Charles' family wanted to meet her, and the twins and Jane was nervous. She had heard stories about Charles' family which consisted of his dad, his sister, and his nan. The one thing that had calmed her was that Charles had made a social story which he read each time he came over to Lucy to help her understand what would be happening at the weekend. That same night once she had put the twins to bed, Charles had pulled her down to the sofa and held her tightly, stating that he had already told his family a lot about her and the twins. And while she appreciated her boyfriend's attempts to soothe her doubts and nerves, she knew that many people were not accepting of Lucy and her needs.

So here she was, sat around the rectangular dining table in the house that Charles had grown up in. The walls were covered in photographs of Charles and his sister as they had grown up from small infants to young adults. The changes in the photographs depicted Wesley Bingley, Charles' father, aging throughout the years, going from having bright red hair like his children to now a balding head of silver. The family only consisted of four people. Anita Bingley had died many years ago leaving behind a husband and two grown children.

Wesley Bingley sat next to Charles at the table, wearing a casual t-shirt and jeans. He shared Charles' blue eyes and facial features, father and son even stood at the same height. And even Caroline looked like her father and brother, sharing the same shade of red hair as Charles and the same blue eyes but something in her eyes unsettled her. As they sat at the table awkwardly, Charles' grandmother Iris Bingley started placing plates in front of them one at a time. The old woman wouldn't accept help when she had prepared and cooked them all a Sunday roast and she chastised Peter for picking up a pea with his fingers before the rest of the plates had been brought out.

"Learn to wait." The old woman hissed, wiggling a finger in Peter's direction.

"Nan, he's four." Charles reminded her.

"So? I had you and Caroline waiting for the rest of us at that age." Iris said sharply.

Jane bit her tongue.

As Iris brought out the last two plates and put one down in front of Lucy, Jane watched as her daughter sniffed her plate and pushed it away lightly. Of course, Jane had told Charles that her daughter would not touch a roast dinner and he had assured her that his family had been informed. But this had not stopped her from preparing a lunchbox of food that she knew Lucy would eat. She got up from her seat, heading out into the living room and then returned with Lucy's bag. As she pulled out the lunchbox, she placed the sandwiches in front of Lucy and gave her daughter her water bottle.

"I've slaved over a hot dinner for that girl." Iris sneered.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Iris. But Lucy won't eat a roast dinner because it's too much for her senses to handle." She explained calmly.

"Surely it's just being picky?" Caroline questioned with a sneer.

"No, it's not." Jane said matter-of-factly.

"I don't understand this whole autism stuff," Iris moaned, "In my day it was eat or go hungry."

"Well times change, nan." Charles said through gritted teeth.

"They do," Wesley agreed, "Jane, feel free to make Lucy as comfortable as possible."

"Wesley!" Iris said scornfully.

"Mother, we're having this meal to get to know Charles' new girlfriend and her children. They are as welcome in my home as you are." Wesley stated firmly.

"Thank you." Jane said gratefully.

So, they ate the dinner. Lucy was perfectly happy munching away on crackers, a banana, some yoghurt covered strawberry bites and cookies whilst the rest ate the roast. Jane was asked about the bakery, what she liked to do in her free time. The usual stuff. In turn, Jane asked about Charles' childhood and things their family had done over the years. Wesley was more than happy to report that Charles and Caroline had fought often during their childhood and had a 'healthy' sibling rivalry. Caroline, however, did not have much to say to Jane or her children but occasionally gave Lucy the evils when Jane pulled out Lucy's tablet for her to watch Peppa Pig.

"Did you have any sibling rivalries, Jane?" Wesley asked.

"Just over the usual stuff. I'm the eldest of three children with four years between each of us. So, when I was eighteen, Lizzy was fourteen and Lydia was ten. They would always sneak into my room and steal my clothes and my make-up. But we were quite close overall. When I went away to live in student dorms at university, Lydia would sometimes sleep in my bedroom if she missed me and when I was home, we would do a lot of girly things." Jane reminisced.

"That sounds lovely. I bet your parents are quite proud of you. Running the family business and raising two children, one with complex needs. It's admirable." Wesley complimented.

"Thank you. I like to think my dad is proud of me." Jane smiled.

"But not your mother?"

Jane shrugged; she was not about to go into details about her strained relationship with her mother.

"We've had our differences over the years." Jane summarised.

Wesley chuckled but let the matter be. Iris was studying Jane closely as she chewed on a bit of broccoli.

"So…is my grandson going to be replacing your husband?" Iris asked bluntly.

Jane frowned.

"I'm not married." She replied.

"Widowed? Divorced?"

Jane shook her head.

"Ah. So, the children sat at this table are bastards." Iris hissed.

Charles dropped his knife and fork and rose from the table, taking his plate over to the kitchen bin and poured the rest of his dinner into it.

"Jane, do you want to get the children ready to go?" Charles asked calmly.

"Charles-" Wesley began.

"No, dad. I asked nan to be on her best behaviour today. I let her cook the meal after she made a big song and dance about how Sunday dinners are her thing when we get together. But I told her that I would not tolerate any insults about Jane or her children." Charles growled.

"Insolent boy!" Iris exclaimed loudly, banging her hands down on the table.

The loud bang caused Lucy to look up from her tablet and cover her ears. The tablet fell off the table and on to the floor with a thud. Jane quickly picked it up and tucked it into the bag before lifting Lucy out of her seat and carried her out of the room, calling at Peter to follow quickly.

As she placed all belongings back into Lucy's bag, she could hear the arguing in the other room and hurried her children out of the house to try and prevent Lucy falling into a meltdown over the noise of the argument. She strapped her children into their car seats, handing Lucy over her tablet and turning up the volume.

"Mummy, what does that word mean?" Peter asked curiously.

Jane froze as she climbed into the driver's seat of her car. She met the blue eyes filled with wonder at what Iris had meant.

"It's a nasty word, my love. It means a child born to parents who weren't married." Jane explained quietly.

"Is it a bad thing?" Peter asked.

Jane shook her head and smiled.

"No darling. It's not."

She buckled her seatbelt and waited patiently for Charles. As the front door opened and Charles stepped outside, she could hear the shouts from inside the house for a second before they stopped when Charles shut the door with a slam behind him. Jane took a deep breath as Charles climbed into the seat next to hers and buckled his seatbelt.

"Are you okay?" Jane whispered, reaching over to take his hand in hers.

Charles didn't look at her but nodded stiffly. Giving his hand a light squeeze, Jane drove back to her house. On the drive, nobody spoke. The silence made Jane fretful about her relationship with Charles. Sure, she had been pre-warned by her boyfriend that his nan was old-fashioned and prejudiced against people who were different. She had joked that maybe his nan and her mother had something in common. She had even been warned that his sister was a snob and liked to play mind games at times. The dinner had been a disaster, the only person in Charles' family to make them feel welcome had been Wesley.

When they pulled up outside the house, Jane parked the car and switched off the engine. Between the two adults, they got the twins out of the car and into the house. Once inside, Lucy was happy to give Charles her tablet and sat at the coffee table with some crayons and paper with Peter. Charles had gone into the kitchen to put the kettle on and Jane followed.

"So…dinner was…." Jane mumbled.

Charles grunted in agreement as he filled the kettle with fresh water. She watched as he put the kettle back on the stand and clicked the boil button before he turned to face her. It caused a pang in her chest to see the angry and hurt expression on his face.

"What is it?" she asked, moving from the doorway to stand in front of him.

Charles let out a heavy sigh and cupped her face in his hands.

"Jane…I'm sorry about today. My nan and my sister said some horrible things when you took the twins to the car and…I'm worried about what it means for us…" he said sadly.

Jane frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…if my family disgusted you today then I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to end it right here." Charles sighed.

Jane shook her head furiously and pressed her lips to his fiercely. Charles was taken by surprise as he stumbled against the kitchen counter until he was pressed up against it firmly as Jane wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes. As Jane kissed him passionately, she felt his arms snake around her waist and held her tightly. When she broke the kiss, Charles groaned.

"I've dealt with idiots before, two more won't make any differences." Jane whispered reassuringly.

Charles smiled happily down at her as they both heard the kettle click.

"Do you want a cuppa?" Charles offered.

Jane nodded, giving him one last kiss before stepping away. As she watched him move about her kitchen, she felt her heart skip a beat that he had become so familiar with her setup and knew where she kept every item in her kitchen. But it wasn't just that. It had only been a few weeks since he first met the twins and he was already forging bonds with both. Whether it was playing Lego with Peter or kicking a ball about in the garden with her son. Or reading The Gruffalo a million times in one day to Lucy or letting her daughter sit on his lap and play with his hair. For the past few weeks, he had accompanied her on last minute shopping trips to get the twins their school shoes and he slept over even on the nights when Lucy had her night nurse. He slept over on the nights when she didn't have Jenny caring for Lucy. Charles had even let her sleep in the previous weekend and made her breakfast in bed whilst also looking after the twins. Their relationship was still new and in those early days but in the little time she realised that Charles had already imprinted himself into her life and those of her children.

"Charles?" Jane said quietly.

He turned around, about to put the teabags into the cups.

"Yeah?"

Jane smiled, "I l-"

But her declaration would have to wait. As she was about to tell Charles how she felt about him, Peter came running into the kitchen to show them the picture he drew of a car. Charles bent down and took the picture from Peter and pinned it up on the fridge. As Charles lifted Peter up to place the last fridge magnet on to his picture, she felt another skip in her heartbeat as she watched Charles take interest in Peter talking about his picture.

Jane took over making the tea, smiling to herself that, despite the afternoon, this was the best part of the day.

ooOoo

Another week had flown by for Elizabeth, but this week had been the first week that she and Will had committed to their personal relationship. After taking a few days to think about Will's business proposal, and after seeking advice from her sisters, she had gone back to Will and given him her amended offer.

"I can't accept without giving you something in return, something more than my happiness." Elizabeth had said.

Will had sighed heavily but smiled amusingly at her.

"I'm listening." He had replied.

"I want to split the profits with you." Elizabeth had offered.

"I don't want the money from your business. Just your happiness." Will had argued.

"But surely giving me a building that you own will put you out of pocket?" Elizabeth had asked.

"Elizabeth, I bought it for you, It won't be putting me out of pocket by giving it to you." Will had stated.

In the end, Will had put his foot down by offering to accept a portion of the profits from Elizabeth for the first six months when the business was open. And after asking him several times if he didn't want to extend it to a year, or longer than a year, Elizabeth and Will had come to an agreement and would be signing paperwork to make them partners. They had also agreed that Elizabeth would work for another two months to give Will enough notice to find another childminder for Mia.

They had started to show a little more affection to each other in front of Mia. They would hold hands, cuddle up together on the sofa if all three were watching a movie and sometimes they would kiss but not too often, they still wanted Mia to be comfortable with their newfound relationship. They had even got Alice's approval when the housekeeper moved back in.

"I'm ready to come back to work," Alice had announced at dinner during her first night back, "I'm no good to anyone just sitting around."

"Only if you're sure." Will had argued.

"I am. Besides, it'll be nice to see you and Elizabeth doing ordinary things that couples do rather than you both do my job." Alice had smiled.

It had been entertaining to watch Will flush a light pink. Elizabeth had supposed that it was because Alice had known Will since he was a small child. She had smirked at him as he diverted his attention back to his dinner and the rest of the conversation moved on to how everyone's days had been.

And now, it was Sunday evening and she had spent the weekend with the Darcys. The experience of staying over with Mia in the house made Elizabeth a little nervous. The previous weekend when it had just been her and Will they hadn't worried about people interrupting their time together or having to keep things appropriate between them. She worried that her relationship with Mia might change if she stayed over but as it turned out, she needn't have. If anything, Mia was the most excited of everyone about Elizabeth staying over for the weekend. Elizabeth had let Mia practice French plaiting on her hair, they had painted each other's nails and watched Moana together. On Saturday, Will had taken them all to Brighton for the day and Sunday had been a day of watching Disney movies back to back whilst Alice had decided to cook them a roast dinner. The dinner had been delicious, as were most of the meals that she had eaten which had been prepared and cooked by Alice. Once the plates had been cleared away and the dining room tidied, Alice decided to head to bed early as Mia headed upstairs for her bath, leaving Will and Elizabeth alone in the living room.

"Have you enjoyed the weekend?" Will asked softly.

The couple were cuddled together on the sofa, enjoying the silence of the living room.

"I have, it's been lovely. I wish it didn't have to end." Elizabeth hummed happily.

Will kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through the soft brown waves. Elizabeth lifted her head from his chest and placed a soft peck to his lips.

"I should hear back from a friend of mine from the planning office in two weeks." Will informed her.

Elizabeth smiled, her fingers tracing his face.

"So quickly?" she asked.

"Well he owes me a favour." Will replied.

"And that's why you're confident it can happen so fast?"

Will nodded.

"It's all going to go ahead. Once we get the planning permission, we can hire the contractors to renovate the building to your specifications and then we can decorate, have the inspection and get the next phase started."

"I can't wait." Elizabeth whispered.

"Neither can I." Will sighed happily.

The two snuggled closer on the sofa, softly kissing until they heard footsteps on the stairs. The couple pulled apart and sat up a little as Mia came skipping into the living room dressed in a nightie and her long brown curls falling down her back.

"Dad, would you mind if Lizzy tucked me in tonight?" Mia asked.

Will shook his head, giving his little girl a cuddle as Elizabeth rose from the sofa to her feet. She watched as Will gave his daughter a kiss and a tight squeeze before bidding her goodnight and Elizabeth climbed the stairs and headed into Mia's bedroom.

"Lizzy, are you now my dad's girlfriend?" Mia asked curiously, climbing into the bed.

Elizabeth pulled back the covers and helped the little girl climb into the bed, soothing Mia's hair out on to the pillow as the little girl laid down. She looked at the little girl affectionately as she placed the covers over Mia.

"I think so," Elizabeth replied softly, sitting on the edge of the bed, "If that's okay with you."

"I told my dad it was okay." Mia informed her.

Elizabeth smiled, tucking Mia's hair behind her ear with her hand.

"Do you want me to read to you tonight?" Elizabeth offered.

Mia yawned deeply and shook her head.

"Another time." The girl said sleepily.

Elizabeth leaned down and gave Mia a little squeeze before she felt her charge wrap her small arms around her neck and hug her tightly.

"Goodnight Lizzy." Mia whispered.

Releasing her and standing up, Elizabeth switched on the lamp on Mia's bedside table and watched as the little girl closed her eyes.

"Goodnight Mia." Elizabeth said softly, a smile etched on her face.

As Elizabeth left the room and quietly closed the bedroom door behind her, she was surprised to find Will on the landing.

"I wanted to witness the first time you tucked her in, it was a sight I'll cherish forever." He admitted quietly.

"Thank you, for letting me tuck her in." Elizabeth said softly.

Will wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead sweetly. No words were needed between the couple as Will gently held her hand and pulled her towards his bedroom. For Elizabeth, she felt as each week passed she was slotting into the Darcy family so naturally that a small thing such as putting her boyfriend's daughter to bed was actually something big and meant much more to her than any grand gesture she had ever received in her life.