A/N: Apologies for not posting last week, I was under the weather for a few days and needed to get my energy back. This chapter has a five week time jump to the end of October just to move the story forward. The next chapter will have a time jump to December.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Three

The October half-term was already upon the Darcy family, as if it had happened in the blink of an eye. What should have been a week off to kick the fallen tree leaves, picking out a pumpkin to carve and going shopping for a Halloween costume for Mia, was actually started with Mia descending the stairs on the first weekend looking peaky and complaining of an upset stomach. Elizabeth, who was now in the habit of spending most of her time at the Darcy residence, came out from the living room still dressed in her pyjamas and placed her palm on Mia's forehead.

"You feel a little warm, do you want to go to the bathroom just in case you need to be sick?" Elizabeth suggested.

Mia didn't say anything, just gave a sad nod in reply and headed back upstairs as fast as she could. Elizabeth grimaced as she heard the bathroom door bang open and seconds later, the sound of Mia vomiting filled the silent hallway. Elizabeth placed her cup of tea on the bottom step and hurried up the stairs to check on Mia. As she stood in the bathroom doorway, Mia sat up and reached for the flush, pulling it down hard to wash away the contents of her stomach she had brought up.

"Do you want me to call your dad?" Elizabeth offered, sitting on the floor and reaching over to rub Mia's back.

Mia nodded sadly and wiped away the tears from her eyes before leaning forward over the toilet to vomit again. Elizabeth called down to Alice, asking the housekeeper to call Will as she sat and supportively and affectionately rubbed Mia's back.

It had been a rough couple of weeks for the girl. Mia, who had been seizure free for years, had suffered a violent seizure three weeks ago during a PE lesson at school. It had required a hospital trip and a few days of staying in for Mia with Elizabeth and Will alternating who stayed with her so Will could sort out his absence at work. It had been during one of Elizabeth's turns to stay when she had been rocked by Mia's admission.

I wish you could be my mum, Lizzy.

The little admission made her heart melt. She had instantly hugged the girl tightly and the two napped together on the hospital bed before Will returned an hour later announcing the plans for discharging Mia from hospital. The scans that Mia had come back all clear, there was nothing seriously wrong with her and urged Will to book an urgent appointment with her neurologist to discuss the seizure. They had returned home, allowing Mia to take a few more days off school to recover.

And now, Mia had come down with a seasonal stomach bug and once she had finished vomiting, Elizabeth had helped the girl clean up, change into a fresh pair of pyjamas and tucked her back into bed with a sick bucket at her side. Elizabeth kept an eye on Mia's temperature and gave her some Calpol and kept her comfortable until Will came home.

"Is she alright?" Will said instantly as he opened his front door.

"She's been sick once since Alice called you," Elizabeth reported, "I cleaned her up and changed her bedsheets, the dirty ones are in the washing machine."

"Okay, thank you. I'll go and check on her." Will sighed.

Elizabeth watched as he ran up the stairs to check on his daughter and went back into the living room. As she went into the lounge to carry on with the paperwork for the renovations of the building for her childminding business, Will entered the dining room and sat next to her at the table.

"She's asleep, temperature is normal, but I don't want to wake her." Will announced.

"The Calpol has kicked in then. Hopefully, she'll feel fine later." Elizabeth said.

"I hope so, she was really looking forward to going trick-or-treating with you." Will sighed.

"We'll play it by ear. Halloween isn't until next Saturday." Elizabeth said hopefully.

She smiled as Will squeezed her hand and the two went over the plans together. First Elizabeth spoke through her plans for the first floor of the building where they were four large empty rooms. She planned for each four to be divided into four age groups: one for twos and under, the second for threes to five-year-olds, the third for six to ten-year-olds and the fourth as a room for eleven to twelve-year-olds. Her plan was to provide an all-year-round service for children aged up to twelve and would run school holiday clubs for the older children to attend to fill up some of their days if they were bored. The ground floor of the building would eventually have toilet facilities, a small café area, the staffroom, a nursery where the younger children would nap, the offices, a cloak room and a small hall where the children could play sports games if the outside courtyard was wet.

"You have a lot of plans to make this successful." Will said admirably.

"You don't think I'm expecting too much?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.

Will shook his head, making her smile when she saw the look of belief on his face for her.

"You can do this, Lizzy. Of that I'm sure and I'm here to help you any way that I can. Now, what about colour schemes for the rooms?"

Elizabeth smiled.

"I actually thought I would ask Mia for help on that." Elizabeth said brightly.

"That's a good idea. She would love to be included." Will said softly.

"I thought that having a kid choose the colour schemes for the rooms would make it more relatable."

"I think it would too. I think she'll love to be part of the plans-"

"What plans would those be?" a voice interrupted.

Both adults turned their attention to who was standing in the doorway, obviously missing that the doorbell had rung and Alice had answered it. Elizabeth stared at Richard and didn't return his toothy grin, instead feeling the room fill with awkward tension.

"Richard, what are you doing here?" Will said icily.

"Relax cousin. I'm only here to see if you're free for lunch." Richard said defensively.

"Why would I be free for lunch? I would normally be at work." Will pointed out.

"But you're home.." Richard pointed out.

"Because Mia is sick."

"Right. But I was driving by and saw your car on the driveway, so I thought I'd stop by. I'd like to introduce you to my new girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Will laughed in disbelief.

Elizabeth placed a calming hand over Will's wrist, giving it a light squeeze to let him know she was there. It surprised her that Richard mentioned a new girlfriend, from the impression she got from him, Richard wasn't into relationships unless if was a no-strings-attached kind of relationship.

"Yes Darcy, a girlfriend," Richard droned, rolling his eyes, "You know her too."

"Who?"

"Caroline Bingley."

Elizabeth wasn't surprised as Will laughed amusingly but Richard did not look impressed. She instead turned her attention back to the business plans and started gathering up the papers into a neat pile. She could feel Richard staring at her as she did so, his eyes narrowing to the papers that she was holding and placed back in the folder.

"New business venture, Darcy?" Richard said, nodding his head towards the papers.

"Yes. And it's none of your business." Elizabeth answered for him.

Richard sniggered which only made Elizabeth more uncomfortable. The way her boyfriend's cousin looked at her and took an interest in her made her squirm and not in a good way. There was just something about Richard that she did not trust, a gut feeling about his character.

"So…" Richard coughed, clearing his throat, "Can I bring her in or are you going to cause a scene?"

"You can leave. I don't want her anywhere near me or my family." Will growled.

"Come on Fitz, she's made some mistakes but she's moving on with her life." Richard said defiantly.

"She isolated my daughter and messed with her feelings and her fears, that doesn't sit lightly with me, Richard." Will stated firmly.

Elizabeth felt her heart skipping faster as she watched the cousins nervously. She was gripping the edge of the table, waiting to see what happened next. She wasn't surprised that Will reacted this way to the news that Caroline was Richard's girlfriend. After everything that had happened a few months ago at Mia's school, she wasn't going to blame Will for feeling angry and cautious about being around Caroline Bingley. She stood up with Will and followed him out to the hallway as Alice came downstairs holding the laundry basket.

"Oh, are you leaving Richard?" Alice said politely.

"Yes. Apparently, my cousin is too busy to lunch." Richard said icily.

"I'm not too busy to lunch. I just have no interest in lunching with a leach and his parasite." Will growled in a low voice.

Richard tutted but opened the front door and revealed that Caroline was standing in the doorway.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long…" Caroline said brightly.

"Come on babe, we're not wanted here." Richard said grumpily.

Caroline met Elizabeth's eyes and narrowed them into an evil glare.

"Darcy I can assure you…"

But Caroline didn't get to finish her sentence or false promises of reassurances because the four adults had been interrupted by the sound of the laundry basket falling to the floor. As Elizabeth turned her attention to Alice who looked as white as a sheet and was pointing at Caroline, her eyes wild with astonishment.

"I remember…" Alice whispered.

"What?" Caroline asked with a bored tone of voice.

"The red I remember…it was you…" Alice stammered.

Elizabeth looked back to Caroline feeling confused, but Caroline had a panicked expression on her face as the rest of the adults tried to listen to what Alice was trying to say.

"Fitzwilliam, I remember now. It's coming back to me. My accident wasn't an accident." Alice said firmly.

"What happened Alice?" Will asked suspiciously, his eyes on Caroline.

"Caroline Bingley had broken into the house. I had come back from doing the shopping and I was putting things away in the bathroom…your bedroom door was closed…when I opened it to see if you had returned home…I remember being pushed out of it…I remember that Caroline was wearing one of your shirts and she pushed me down the stairs…" Alice explained quickly, struggling to breath as she got her words out.

Elizabeth let out a sharp exhale of breath in shock at Alice's memory. How could someone push an innocent person down the stairs and then leave them for dead? How could someone do something so cruel that they would put not only Alice through a horrible trauma but also leave the poor woman alone to be found by her and Mia? Mia, an innocent child, who had been so distraught that Alice could have been seriously hurt after a fall down the stairs.

As her heart raced faster and faster, she wasn't sure what entirely happened in the next moment. Will had lunged for Caroline, possibly to keep her contained while Alice picked up the landline to call the police, when Caroline had slipped from Will's clutches and darted up the road and disappeared round the corner. Will chased after her without a second thought and left Elizabeth, Alice and Richard alone in the hallway.

After a few moments of silence, Elizabeth felt calm enough to check on Alice and once the housekeeper assured her that she was alright, she picked up her phone and keys and pocketed them and stepped on to the driveway.

"Where are you going?" Richard questioned immediately.

"To look for Will. He'll be upset and angry." Elizabeth answered shortly.

"And you think it's wise to look for him in that state?"

Elizabeth nodded. She knew that it was perfectly natural for Will to react the way he had. Alice was like a second mother to him and he had been so devastated when she had suffered the fall. So for him to now find out that it hadn't been an accident at all but the result of someone as unhinged as Caroline to break into his home, wear his clothes and harm someone close to him and not come clean; of course it was natural for Will to be angry.

As she walked up the driveway, she felt Richard's hand on her upper arm, pulling her back and spinning her around to face him.

"Look, I know Fitz. When he loses his cool, he gets volcanic with his temper. Don't go looking for him." Richard warned.

"He wouldn't hurt me." Elizabeth said with surety.

"Take it from someone who doesn't want you to get hurt, someone who knows his cousin better than you do." Richard said in a low voice.

Elizabeth frowned, stepping backwards and moving her arm out of his grip. The way that Richard was looking at her, a look that she associated with wanting something that someone else had. She knew that look well, she had felt it numerous times during her marriage with David; craving a life she desperately wanted, a baby, a career which she had supressed for David's desires. But within Richard, it unsettled her.

"Why are you trying to stop me from looking for my boyfriend?" she asked suspiciously.

"Darcy isn't the one for you. He's already had his epic love and she's lying six feet under. I don't want you to get hurt sticking in a relationship with a man who is never going to get over his dead wife." Richard sighed.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Elizabeth said quietly.

Richard nodded.

She stepped a little closer, bringing her hands to touch his wrists gently and looked up into his eyes with a little smirk.

"I think you're a jealous womaniser who wants something he can't have. You think that I'm going to get hurt? I've been hurt and I know Will is nothing like the man who hurt me before. Will respects what I want and he loves having me around just as much as I love being around for him and for Mia. As for his wife? Yes, what they had was special and meant so much to him and his child. But he doesn't compare me to Natalie and he never will. So, for your sake, please stop trying to get me away from him. Because I'm not interested in you." Elizabeth whispered.

Letting go of his wrists, Elizabeth turned and carried on up the driveway to continue her search for Will, feeling annoyed with Richard's attempts to come between her and her boyfriend. As she continued walking up the street her annoyance turned to worry for Will, she worried how he was feeling, and she hoped that he wouldn't get into any trouble if he found Caroline.

ooOoo

After finishing up at the police station, Will pulled into his driveway and switched off the engine, he exhaled heavily as he felt the stress of the day trying to leave his body. His search for Caroline had failed, she was evidently long gone by the time Elizabeth had caught up to him. He had never felt so angry before when he learned from Alice what Caroline had done. The mixture of different emotions made it hard for him to separate them presently. Will could feel the mixture of violation that the safety of his home had been violated by his best friend's sister, he felt angry that Caroline had left Alice on the floor whilst she fled from her crime, he felt enraged that Richard would date Caroline despite knowing how horrible the woman was in her past misdemeanours. He felt worried that Caroline was unhinged enough to break into his home and wear his shirts and hurt Alice, what would it mean for the future? What if Caroline attempted to get to Mia again? What if she went after Elizabeth?

After walking back to the house with Elizabeth, Alice had asked him to take her to the police station to make a statement about Caroline's crime. Now it was out of their hands and in the hands of the police to find and question Caroline.

"Fitzwilliam, you've done all you can." Alice reassured him softly.

"What if they can't charge her with assault or trespassing? I wish there was more that I could do, this doesn't feel enough." Will sighed.

"I'm fine, I'm recovering. But do what the police officer suggested, discuss with Elizabeth about a restraining order against Caroline and improve the security on the house." Alice said quietly.

The two adults exited the car and locked up, entering the house they found Elizabeth walking down the stairs.

"How's Mia?" Alice asked.

"She's been sick again and I've just given her some more Calpol." Elizabeth replied sadly.

"Poor dear, I'll make her a glass of water and take it up to her." Alice said worriedly.

As Alice strode through the house, Will closed the front door behind him. He rubbed his temple as Elizabeth stepped off the stairs and stood in front of him.

"What did they say at the police station?" she asked quietly.

"They took Alice's statement and spoke to me about seeking a restraining order. They told Alice that they would look for her and bring her in for questioning. If they feel they have enough evidence they'll charge her and then it's up to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine if they have enough to go to trial."

"Okay. Do you think a restraining order will be enough?"

Will shrugged, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger. He wished that he had all the answers. He wished that he knew if a restraining order would be enough to deter Caroline from future attempts to harm his family.

"I'm going to answer some emails and then check on Mia and Alice. Are you staying tonight?" Will asked.

"I could…I have to run home and check on my dad and get some clean clothes." Elizabeth replied.

Will nodded, kissing her briefly before insisting that he drive her home to do her errands, he didn't feel certain that the police would have Caroline at the station. After announcing to Alice that they were going, Will locked the front door behind him and climbed into Elizabeth's car with her and the pair drove into the night, with hope that Caroline would soon be punished for her assault on Alice and the dread of her hurting anyone else would fade.