A/N: I've just made it with another weekly posting, this week has been a hectic one. Now there's been another time jump of six weeks in this one. No crazy Carrie in this chapter and Twenty-Five will focus on Elizabeth's first Christmas with Will and Mia.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The start of December had certainly come to Meryton. Households were now turning on their heating at set intervals during the day to warm up the cold that kept creeping into homes and ice was now forming on car windscreens. Grass was now covered in frost each day, making it crunching under Elizabeth's feet as she walked Mia to school every morning. With the new season came a new calm for Elizabeth, Will and Mia as they navigated through the weeks within their new roles. Elizabeth had officially stopped working for Will for just over a month now and stayed overnight Monday to Friday to continue taking Mia to school and pick her up at the end of the day. During the day she oversaw the construction and renovation of the business which was near completion, the plans for the upstairs were underway and Elizabeth was busy preparing the permits she needed for the café as well as the other parts she needed to be approved.

Will had been spending a lot more time at home recently, having confided in Elizabeth that he wasn't feeling very fulfilled in his current job. Whilst he still wanted to work in law, he found that his current position wasn't helping people anymore, it was helping businessmen and not the everyday man. So, Will had quit with his firm and was looking at different types of law that he might be interested in. There were several fields that Will was considering but it wasn't until a meal with Charles and Jane in mid-November that Elizabeth saw her boyfriend decide which field he wanted to work in next.

"Jane, how have you been?" Will asked.

The four sat at Will's dining table, eating the curry that Elizabeth had cooked for their dinner while they shared a bottle of wine.

"Stressed. It's been a rough couple of weeks. The unit where Lucy attends isn't suitable for her so we had a meeting to discuss Lucy and her needs and the school have openly admitted that they can't cope with her."

"I'm sorry to heart that." Will sighed.

"The local authority stated that they haven't got any other Special Needs Placements available either." Charles said angrily.

"What are the next steps?" Elizabeth questioned.

"We have a tribunal hearing in about six weeks to discuss why they can't place Lucy at the special needs school forty minutes away. In the meantime, Lucy stays where she is." Jane answered frustratingly.

Elizabeth squeezed her sister's hand supportively just as Will grinned.

"I have some contacts who can help you." Will declared quickly.

Jane frowned.

"Help me how?"

"They specialise in this type of problem that you're having. They work in family and educational law. I can give you their number or I can ask them to take on your case."

"I don't know. Lawyers are expensive and I don't have that kind of money."

"I'll pay the fees." Will offered.

Elizabeth watched as Charles and Jane looked at each other and then looked back at Will.

"I don't know if I can accept that." Jane said quietly.

"She wouldn't even accept my offer to pay for it." Charles added.

"I want to help. It's disgusting that Lucy isn't given the education she deserves or the right placement for her to get that education. If this means that you have an experienced lawyer fighting your case at the tribunal then it will be worth it." Will said passionately.

Jane had thought over the offer for a week before eventually agreeing to it. Now Elizabeth was watching her sister prepare for her tribunal hearing to see if they would overturn the local authority's decision to not give Lucy a place at the special needs school. From what she had been told by Will, the lawyer who would be representing Jane had a good reputation for winning cases and had years of experience behind him. And now Will was starting his training to become a lawyer just like the one who was representing Jane. One day, Will would be taking on the local authority for parents in similar situations as Jane and Elizabeth felt so proud of her boyfriend.

There had been other developments that weren't good news. Firstly, the police had tracked down Caroline and questioned her but due to lack of evidence and there had been no signs of forced entry at the time of Alice's accident, she hadn't been charged. Instead, the unhinged red head had been let off with a caution and Will had instantly requested a restraining order. The paperwork was still going through but Will had opted that they all be cautious. Elizabeth and Will had spent hours on the internet looking through different ways they could make the house more secure and eventually Will had workmen coming to the house to upgrade the window locks, door locks and install a CCTV and alarm system which would be controlled via Will's phone. But the security measures didn't end there either, Will had paid for an alarm system to be installed at the Bennet family home to ensure that Elizabeth would be safe at her parent's house when she wasn't staying with him. She hadn't wanted him to go to that far in his worry and need to protect her from Caroline but Will was insistent and it became apparent to her that no matter what she said to her boyfriend, Will wouldn't be swayed.

Mia had also been through a lot in the weeks since her stomach bug during the October half-term. She had attended an appointment with her father to see her neurologist who had started her on a new drug to control her epilepsy. The new drug was taking a while for Mia's body to get used to, it caused the poor girl to feel drowsy and agitated – common side effects. Luckily, the neurologist wanted to keep a close eye on Mia over the next year to see how she was coping on the new drug.

It was a Saturday when Elizabeth woke up to the light rays of December sun peeking through the gap in the curtains. She rolled on to her side and saw that Will was still sleeping. She had been staying regularly with Will for months and she still loved waking up next to him each morning she stayed. But before she could enjoy the sight, she felt a sudden wave of nausea hit her. She scurried out of the bed as quickly as she could and pulled on her pyjama bottoms that had been discarded the night before and pulled on one of Will's t-shirts.

She heard Will groan and turned around to see that he was opening his eyes.

"Morning." Will yawned.

Elizabeth muttered a good morning and hurried out of the bedroom, heading downstairs to get herself a glass of water. She pulled out a glass and placed it under the tap, turning it and watched the water pour slowly into the glass. Behind her, she felt Will wrap his arms around her and place a kiss on her cheek.

"You alright?" he whispered, "You rushed out of the room quickly."

Elizabeth shook her head, turning off the tap.

"I feel sick." She muttered.

"Might be the Chinese takeaway we had last night." Will said sympathetically, rubbing her shoulders gently.

"Maybe." Elizabeth sighed, taking a sip of water from her glass.

She closed her eyes as she braced herself against the sink, the nauseous feeling still lingering. She heard Will rummaging through the cupboards and seconds later he placed a biscuit in her hand as she opened her eyes.

"Ginger biscuits, Alice buys them for when Mia feels poorly. It'll help with the nausea." Will said softly, placing a quick peck to her cheek.

Elizabeth turned around to face him and took a small nibble out of the biscuit. She gave him a grateful smile as her stomach growled. Continuing to eat the biscuit, she hugged Mia as the little girl came walking into the kitchen, stretching her arms out wide.

"Morning." Mia yawned.

"Morning sweetheart, did you sleep well?" Will asked.

Mia nodded, giving Elizabeth a cuddle. Smiling down at the little girl, Elizabeth squeezed her lightly as she finished the last of her biscuit. She felt a little less nauseous than she did when she had woken but the feeling was lingering.

"What's for breakfast?" Mia asked.

"I was thinking of making some bacon sandwiches?"

"Yay! I love your bacon sarnies dad."

Elizabeth sat at the dining table with Mia as they both watched Will as he went about cooking the bacon. The smell filled the air, taking over the space throughout the kitchen and the dining room until it reached Elizabeth's nose. The smell filled her nostrils and aggravated the nausea she had been feeling. Standing up, Elizabeth pushed her chair back and ran out of the room, heading up the stairs to vomit into the toilet.

She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had darted out of the dining room, but Will was knocking on the bathroom door as she pushed the flush down on the toilet.

"Lizzy, can I come in?" Will called through the door.

"Yeah…" Elizabeth coughed, sitting on the edge of the bath.

The door opened just as Elizabeth reached for a fresh flannel and turned on the taps at the sink. She placed a corner of the flannel under the cold water and then pressed the wet cloth to her mouth to wash. Will knelt down before her, tucking her hair behind her ear as she wiped away the tears that poured down her face.

"Are you alright?" her boyfriend asked quietly.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders.

"The smell…it made me sick…" Elizabeth muttered.

"Shall I make you something else for breakfast? Do you feel like you could eat?" Will asked.

"Maybe some toast but not a lot of butter and some water. I'll see how that agrees with my stomach before I eat anything else." Elizabeth sighed.

"I think we'll avoid that Chinese takeaway for a while." Will said.

Elizabeth nodded her agreement and asked Will to give her a few minutes to clean herself up. He closed the bathroom door behind him as Elizabeth took herself to the bathroom sink and washed her face and brushed her teeth to get rid of the horrible aftertaste in her mouth. Her stomach growled with hunger, but the nausea remained which only made Elizabeth groan in annoyance and silently wished that the nausea would leave when she ate breakfast – if she could keep breakfast down that is.

Once she was finished in the bathroom, she headed back downstairs to see that Reginald and Will were in the hallway.

"Good morning Reginald." Elizabeth greeted quietly.

"Good morning." Reginald said stiffly in reply.

She frowned at the cold response but when she met Will's gaze she smiled. Will asked her to wait with Mia in the dining room, stating that her breakfast was waiting for her with a glass of water and she walked off into the house.

ooOoo

"Fitzwilliam, we need to talk."

Will inhaled deeply as he waited for his father to get to the point of why he had shown up at his house uninvited. He gestured to his father to follow him upstairs and once the two men reached the landing, he led his father into his office and closed the door behind them.

"Why are you here dad?" Will asked impatiently.

"I'm concerned." Reginald replied vaguely.

"About what?"

"Your relationship with your childminder."

Will exhaled heavily and frowned at his father, feeling absolutely fed-up of his father feeling the need to question his decisions.

"Not this again." Will sighed.

"No Fitzwilliam, we need to discuss my concerns." Reginald stated.

Will sat down in his office chair and gestured for his father to take a seat. He watched as his father did so, sitting up straight in the chair.

"Okay, let's get this over with. I have plans with Anthony and Irene today."

Reginald frowned.

"I wasn't aware you were on friendly terms with them." His father muttered.

"They're settled back in the UK now; they live just outside the Meryton border." Will informed his father.

"And they see Mia? They have a relationship with her?"

Will nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Dad, you aren't her only grandparent. Mia can know Natalie's parents and they can know their only grandchild."

"I wasn't saying they shouldn't. I'm pleased that they are making more effort."

"They were grieving, dad. Have some bloody compassion for them! They lost their daughter, their only child!" Will scolded.

"So, they moved to the other side of the world instead of supporting their son-in-law and grandchild after Natalie died?" Reginald growled.

"How about we have that discussion if you lose a child?" Will shot back.

His father froze and exhaled heavily, the air thick with tension between father and son. Will took a deep breath to try and pace his raging heartbeat. He didn't want to argue with his father when he had a lovely day planned out with Elizabeth, Mia and Natalie's parents.

"Can we get to your concerns?" Will asked.

Reginald cleared his throat.

"I'm concerned that your childminder is scamming you out of your money. That she's going to make a mess for you that will be hard to get out of." His father replied.

"Well I can assure you that Elizabeth is not my childminder anymore but my girlfriend and she's not after my money." Will said curtly.

"Richard informed me that you are funding her business venture?" Reginald questioned.

Will groaned, realising that his father and his cousin were working together, and Richard was reporting on Elizabeth to his father.

"You know you could have just spoken to me rather than spy on me, like adults do." Will growled.

"End this now, Fitzwilliam. Before she cons you and Mia for every penny you have." Reginald warned.

Will banged his fist on the table, standing from his chair with his eyes staring down his father with flames of anger rising inside them.

"Elizabeth isn't a con artist. I trust her with my life and Mia's. She didn't even want to accept my offer to be her business partner, but she did because she knows that I just want her to be happy. She makes me happy, dad. This is the happiest I have felt in years." Will hissed in a low voice.

"I don't have a good feeling about her, Fitzwilliam."

"I don't give a shit about your feelings about Lizzy. I care about mine and my daughter's."

"What if this is all an act? You've only known her since May." Reginald shouted.

"It isn't an act! I love her! She's brought me out of a dark world that I've been in for seven years, dad. If she was just pretending, then why did she console me when Alice was pushed down the stairs? Why did she sit at Mia's bedside when she was in hospital back in October? Why did she cry with relief when the doctors told us that Mia's test results were fine? Why does she smile and look at me with so genuinely? She's my family, dad." Will declared.

His father looked shocked and Will resisted the urge to kick himself. He had just declared to the wrong person how he truly felt about Elizabeth and it hadn't been his intention to do so. But it was the way he felt. It didn't matter if they had only been together since July, Elizabeth had brought a light back into his life and a desire to fall in love and share a life with her. Since Natalie had died, it had just been him and Mia but since Elizabeth had come into his life, he knew that she was part of his family. And the realisation and his declaration of his love for Elizabeth made him feel determined to grant Mia her request.

"Fitzwilliam-"

Will shook his head, he didn't want to hear anything else that his father had to say.

"I want you to leave and not contact me or Mia for a while, I need some space from you. I don't want you to send Richard here to spy on me, I don't want you asking Alice to give you reports on us either. Complete silence. Do you understand?" Will stated.

Reginald nodded stiffly, rising from his seat as he made his way out of the study and down the stairs. Will followed his father a step behind him, slamming the door shut as his father exited the house and on to the street where he had parked his car. As Will turned around, he saw Elizabeth standing in the doorway to the living room.

"Is everything okay?" she asked quietly.

Will smiled and nodded, studying her closely whilst his heart skipped a beat.

I love her.

Closing the gap between them, he cupped her face in his hands and placed his lips lightly on hers to kiss her. It was brief but she wrapped her arms around his torso as she hugged closer into him.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" Will asked quietly.

"A slice of toast but I still feel nauseous." Elizabeth sighed.

"Do you still feel up to doing the Christmas markets today?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"We've made plans and I would really like to get to know Anthony and Irene properly. They've been so lovely about our relationship so far."

"They have." Will agreed.

He smiled against her lips as she gave him a quick peck before heading up the stairs to get changed. As Will headed back into the dining room to ask Mia to get ready for the day, he smiled to himself that something good would come out of today despite his father trying to ruin everything.

ooOoo

Thomas sat back in his garden chair, placing his feet up on the table lazily as he lit his fourth cigarette that morning. The house was quiet. Lydia had finally found a postgraduate position at the bank where Charles worked and was thoroughly enjoying her time in her new job. Elizabeth hardly spent any time at home these days, she was always at the worksite to oversee the renovations to the old community centre for her new business venture or spending time with Will and Mia. And he was happy that his children seemed happy. All three of his girls seemed to be in stable relationships, Jane with Charles who came to dinner once a week with Jane and the twins. Elizabeth with Will, although his middle daughter had yet to introduce him to the family properly, and Lydia with Denny. But he agonised over his marriage and a secret that he was not sure was his place to share or how to share it if he should. His wife had moved in with her brother Ed because he was furious with her and he did not know how he could move past it. He had always known that his wife was nosey and a gossip and he had thought that after thirty-one years of marriage she would listen to him when he told her not to interfere in their daughter's lives, but she hadn't. And it wasn't because she was trying to protect Elizabeth, it was because she was trying to protect herself.

After their argument weeks ago, he had stormed out to try and calm down before returning to the house and asking her to leave for a while. Fran had obeyed his request and had tearfully phoned her brother and packed her suitcases. They had barely spoken since because every time she called, and he answered the phone the conversation ended in an argument. But now he was left with this huge secret about the true reason why Elizabeth's marriage had ended, and he wasn't sure he was supposed to be the one to tell her why David filed for divorce.

"When I went to see David…" Fran said shakily, "H-he told me…that Elizabeth couldn't have his child…"

"Yes, we know that. Elizabeth told us that." Thomas said impatiently.

"His child, Thomas. Just his." Fran whispered.

Thomas felt his eyes widen as he realised what his wife was saying and he felt his rage bubble, like a pan of boiling water on a hob as his wife continued to explain.

"Please Thomas…she can't know that I went to see David…she can't know the shame I suffered…she can't know what I've done to make her life happy…Please don't tell Lizzy…" Fran pleaded.

Thomas felt overloaded as the thoughts shifted through his mind rapidly. His wife had kept a secret of bribing David to propose to Elizabeth and then kept it a secret that she went to see David to see if she could change his mind about the divorce and then kept it a secret that it was actually David who was infertile. Keeping that information to herself was dangerous and it made him angry. Elizabeth had suffered months of pain at the thought of being infertile and her marriage had ended. He let out a scream of anger, too disgusted to look back on his wife as he turned on his heel and left.

And now, he was in on the secret and it was stressing him out. Fran had kept so many secrets about her meddling and kept a secret which Elizabeth deserved to know the truth about. But how was he supposed to break the news that she wasn't infertile? It was a sensitive subject and one that he didn't want to force Elizabeth to talk about. But at the same time, he suspected that his daughter was now in a relationship with Will Darcy and, without wanting to think about it, there was a risk of Elizabeth falling pregnant unexpectedly.

Of course, he had once faced the possibility of not having children with Fran after her operation. He blamed himself for it. They had gone to far before their wedding and he should have stopped it. Thirty-one years ago, it had been a different time, even it was a little more relaxed about casual sex. But their families had been old fashioned and expressed their opinions about pre-marital sex. Of course, Fran had fallen pregnant and it had turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy. Emergency surgery had removed his wife-to-be's ovary and fallopian tube due to the seriousness of the situation and they had made the decision to spend their savings on one round of IVF in the hope of having a child quickly. He had been so happy when Jane had been born healthy and with no complications, IVF was expensive and rare in those days. They didn't talk much about their previous loss and the girls didn't know about the ectopic pregnancy either. After Jane had been born, he and Fran had been content with their miracle baby and Elizabeth and Lydia had been natural surprises. Their experiences prior to Jane being born were rarely discussed in their long marriage. But he imagined that his wife grieved deeply for their lost baby so he couldn't understand why his wife would be so selfish to keep the truth from Elizabeth.

He had watched his daughter struggle with the belief that she would never have a biological child, even if Elizabeth hadn't openly discussed it with him. He saw the look on her face all that time ago when he had overheard her yell about it to her mother. He had ensured that she knew that he didn't see her as damaged and that he supported her. That's all he could do as a father until she was ready to open up to him about it. But now, he knew the truth. Elizabeth could have a biological child to carry in her own womb without the need of fertility treatments and David was the one who was infertile. And Thomas knew he felt so angry. Angry at his wife for being so selfish that she would rather keep a secret or two then tell her daughter the truth. Angry with David for not putting Elizabeth and her needs first, and for allowing her to believe she couldn't have a baby. And he was angry at himself for not telling her straight away because she finally seemed happy.

All this stress was getting to him and the only thing that seemed to help relieve the stress was going to the pub and smoking again. As he inhaled the cigarette and breathed out, his phone rang. Seeing that his wife was calling, he rolled his eyes and pressed the answer button on the screen.

"Francine." Thomas greeted sternly.

"Thomas, I want to come home." Fran said pleadingly.

"Well…that's your choice…but don't expect a welcoming party." Thomas stated bitterly.

"Thomas…I know I've made some mistakes…"

"A mistake is getting involved in something you had no right to get involved with. What you have kept from Lizzy is terrible because she has been struggling to deal with it for months and now you've put me in that position."

"So, you haven't told her yet?" Fran asked quietly.

Thomas sighed.

"No. I don't know how I'm supposed to tell her what you've done and what you know." He replied.

"She can't ever know Thomas." Fran pleaded.

"But she must know! Keeping it a secret that she can conceive a child naturally is a betrayal. She's in a relationship now and this is the information that she needs to know." Thomas reminded her.

"Can I come home? Maybe we can talk about finding a way to tell Lizzy without me losing her?"

He sighed again, knowing that his wife was desperate but his anger towards Fran wasn't just going to disappear. He had always known that she was a meddler but after everything that she had done behind Elizabeth's back was too far, even for her.

"Come home. We'll discuss it when you get back."

"Thank you, Thomas. I've missed you."

Ending the phone call, Thomas discarded the burning cigarette he hadn't had the chance to smoke and pulled another one out of the packet, placing the tip to his mouth as he clicked the lighter and lit the other end.

ooOoo

The Christmas markets in Meryton always opened up in mid-November. Long rows of wooden huts were assembled along the high street in the town centre each selling different items. One for personalised stockings, another for personalised tree decorations, personalised toys, bags, a hut selling perfumes, a hut selling hot food, a hut that sold sweets and many more. The town centre had been decorated to celebrate the Christmas season. Different coloured twinkling lights hung around the streetlights and through the trees and Christmas music played on speakers through the huts, projected to sound throughout the high street.

Dressed in their thick winter coats and heavy clothing to protect from the winter chill, Elizabeth smiled as she watched Mia walk ahead with her grandparents, holding both their hands as Irene paused to stop at the tree decoration hut with Anthony and Mia. Elizabeth and Will walked behind them a little bit.

"I think she's enjoying getting to know her grandparents." Elizabeth mused.

Will nodded his agreement, smiling down at her.

"They've asked me if they can start having her to stay at their house on some weekends." He said quietly.

"That'll be nice for them all. They have enjoyed taking her to her ballet classes."

Since their return to the UK, Anthony and Irene had a lot more involvement with Mia. Every week Mia attended a ballet class which Elizabeth took her to and a few weeks ago, Irene had requested if she and Anthony could accompany them to a class. Will had agreed and Elizabeth had walked with them to the class with all three sitting to observe the children warm up and learn a new routine for the Christmas recital.

The music played softly throughout the room as the girls in the class completed their warmup and went back to their waiting parents for a quick drink before they began learning a new part of the routine. Mia padded over to them, taking her water bottle from Irene and took a mouthful.

"Are you watching me Gran?" Mia asked happily.

Irene nodded her head.

"I can't wait to see what you learn." The older woman replied.

The teacher called all the class back to the centre of the room and started off showing them the new section of the routine. Elizabeth watched with pride as Mia poured all of her focus and energy into copying what the teacher was doing. As she turned her head, she saw Irene crying silently.

"Irene, are you okay?" she whispered.

The older woman sniffed but smiled widely, bringing a finger to her eyes to wipe the tears away.

"I'm fine, I just-" Irene chuckled.

"She looks like Natalie," Anthony breathed happily, his eyes on Mia dancing around the room, "Look at her face Irene. That concentration, that happiness etched on her face…those expressions are Natalie…"

Elizabeth recalled that first time the older couple had accompanied her and Mia to the class and felt happy that they could witness it. She found herself hoping that in those moments where they could watch their granddaughter dance, they could be reminded of the times they had with Natalie. Anthony had once told her that Mia was all Darcy in looks, and whilst that was true, Elizabeth was happy that they could see the part Mia had inherited from her mother when they watched her dance. Seeing Mia happy to know her grandparents made Elizabeth smile with joy and she hoped that Irene and Anthony could find some peace by getting to know Mia.

She watched Mia look at the different coloured glass baubles and tree decorations with Irene and Anthony, carefully choosing one out. It was a lovely moment to watch that she hadn't noticed that Will was looking at a garland that hung over one of the huts. She squeaked when she felt Will tug on her arm and pull her to the hut, standing underneath the garland.

"Careful, my stomach is delicate." Elizabeth giggled.

"Sorry, are you alright?" Will apologised, concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, just a bit queasy. Are you alright?"

Will nodded, moving a stray hair out of her face so he could look at her more clearly. He was looking at her so lovingly that it made her heart skip a beat. Elizabeth smiled up at him, giving his hands a squeeze.

"Look up." Will whispered.

She looked up at the garland, letting out a tiny giggle when she saw mistletoe woven into the decoration. But before she could even ask Will about it, his mouth covered her own and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she gave into the kiss willingly. She sighed happily into his mouth as he held her close to him. When the kiss broke, she smiled widely up at her boyfriend.

"I love you, Lizzy." Will whispered softly.

Looking up at him, she felt her eyes well up with happy tears. With a gloved hand, she cupped his face as she processed what he had just said to her.

He loved her.

Loved her.

But she knew that. Deep down, she knew how he felt. Because she felt the same way. How often had he told her over the past five months that he just wanted her to be happy? How often had he looked at her the way he always did that told her she was safe with him? How often had she found herself missing him when they were apart, even if the time was only a short period they had been apart?

"You…you don't have to say it back…but I wanted you to know-"

She stopped him talking by pressing her lips back to his in a quick kiss. Her heart hammered in her chest when she pulled away from him, her green eyes filled with happiness.

"I love you too." Elizabeth declared quietly.