A/N: Hi guys. It's been a month since I last posted and I can only apologise for the lack of frequent updates that I promised. Life has been a struggle in the last month or so and my eldest son has been finding life difficult at school and home because we can't give him a stable and consistent routine due to this bloody pandemic! For now, my updates will be on an as and when basis so I can pour my focus into supporting my son and his three siblings as best I can. Thank you all for the support.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

For the last five years Elizabeth had not been too bothered to celebrate Christmas properly. Her five Christmases when she was married to David had seen him working and leaving her alone to cook a turkey dinner by herself. It hadn't been much fun, especially when she had tried to talk to him about her celebrating with her family back in Meryton. Christmas with her ex-husband had always been a lonely affair but this year was going to be different. This year she was celebrating with Will and Mia who she loved so much. Will had decorated his house the previous weekend and it looked so magical. A large eight-foot Christmas tree dominated the living room window, wrapped up in red and gold tinsel and coloured fairy lights. Different shaped baubles and tree decorations hung from the different branches. All around the house, tinsel and garlands hung delicately on the walls, around the bannister on the stairs and around the doorframes. By Christmas eve, Elizabeth had begun to feel a glow of happiness at watching the Darcy traditions unfold before her. She awoke that morning to the smell of mince pies baking in the oven and Alice was wearing a blue knitted jumper with a reindeer stitched on the front of it.

"Morning Lizzy, would you like a cup of tea?" Alice asked brightly.

"Please." Elizabeth replied.

The kettle switched was clicked on to boil as Alice perched against the counter with a smile on her face. Mia entered the kitchen wearing her own Christmas jumper, a red one with a snowman on the front.

"Morning Alice, Morning Lizzy. Can I have a mince pie for breakfast?" Mia greeted.

Elizabeth chuckled, running a hand through Mia's unruly curls.

"Cereal or toast and maybe after you've had a piece of fruit you can have a mince pie." She stated.

"Have you tried one of Alice's mince pies yet? They're amazing!" Mia reviewed.

"I'll try one when they're ready." Elizabeth said softly.

Elizabeth felt the nausea forming powerfully in her stomach, so she released Mia and walked across the kitchen, pulling out the ginger biscuits from one of the cupboards.

"Are you still feeling iffy?" Alice asked worriedly.

"A little," Elizabeth replied quietly, taking a nibble out of the biscuit, "I'll book a doctor's appointment next week if the nausea doesn't shift."

"You've definitely got something going on with you. You've thrown up a few times in the past two weeks if something you smell or eat doesn't agree with you, you feel nauseous each morning and you've been getting some naps in during the day. Take it easy, Lizzy. All this running around the worksite and trying to get the business up and running is bound to take a toll." Alice expressed with concern.

"I know and I promise to take some more time out from running around. I'll book the doctor's appointment once Christmas is finished." Elizabeth promised.

They started eating their breakfast as Will came downstairs dressed in his own Christmas jumper; a black one with a penguin on the front.

"Good morning all." Will greeted cheerfully, giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"Dad, can we give Lizzy her surprise?" Mia asked excitedly.

"Go on sweetheart, you run and grab the bag." Will instructed with a smile.

Elizabeth eyed her boyfriend suspiciously as Mia ran quickly out of the room and seconds later came back into the room holding a brown paper bag. The little girl handed it over to her and she thanked Mia in a soft tone before looking into the bag and pulling out the gift. Inside the bag had been a green jumper which, once unfolded, had a large green Christmas tree patterned on the front.

"A family tradition that we wear a Christmas jumper on Christmas eve." Mia giggled.

"And you got me one?" Elizabeth asked, tears filling her eyes.

Mia nodded, hugging Elizabeth tightly. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Mia's shoulders and felt the tears fall down her cheek. She considered Will and Mia family but to hear her boyfriend's daughter say out loud that they felt the same way that she did made her so happy. She thanked Will and Mia for the gift and pulled it on over her head, feeling cosy in her new jumper.

"Okay, who wants breakfast?" Alice asked brightly.

"Yes, please Alice." Will replied.

The three were ushered out of the kitchen by the housekeeper and took their seats at the dining table.

"So…are there any other traditions?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Alice's homemade mince pies…We always watch The Grinch in the afternoon...we have a hot chocolate before bed and hang our stockings up…" Mia replied excitedly.

"Those all sound lovely." Elizabeth said softly.

"We bought you a stocking too Lizzy."

"Thank you both."

Elizabeth leaned across the table to squeeze Will and Mia's hands and gave them both a wide smile. She was so happy that she was right where she needed to be and felt that this Christmas was going to be the best one that she'd ever had. Moments later, Alice entered the dining room with a large plate filled with toast and a large bowl of fruit for them to help themselves to. As Alice sat with the three of them, they discussed the plans for Christmas day in more detail.

"So…Maggie and James are coming here tomorrow evening, they're celebrating with different people tomorrow…Reginald is spending the day with Catherine-"

"Such a shame for him." Will added amusingly.

"Is this the aunt I haven't met yet?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Yep. And you don't want to meet her either." Mia replied cheekily.

"Is she really that bad?" Elizabeth laughed.

Will nodded, taking a bite of his toast.

"She's annoying, she says I'll turn out…"

"She said that Mia will turn out disadvantaged because of my decision to send her to a public school rather than pay privately for education." Will explained.

Elizabeth huffed in disbelief that Will's aunt would say something like that in front of Mia.

"Yeah and dad told her to get stuffed." Mia giggled.

Elizabeth laughed alongside Mia and grinned towards her boyfriend who had finished eating his slice of toast.

"So, Maggie and James are coming in the evening to spend some time with us all. Charles and Jane are coming in the morning with the twins. Georgiana is coming for dinner. Anthony and Irene will be here tomorrow morning around nine-thirty." Will recalled.

"Lydia and Denny are coming for dinner too, as well as my parents." Elizabeth added quietly.

Elizabeth felt Will squeeze her hand. Ever since her mother had returned from a prolonged stay at Uncle Ed's, things at home had been tense between her parents. Her father was avoiding spending most of his time in the house. From what she could tell her father was down the pub with his friends, at the bakery helping Charlotte and Jane out, going on long walks by himself. She had even noticed on the rare occasions that she slept at home that her father was sleeping in Jane's old bedroom instead of the bedroom her parents usually shared. From what she could tell from Lydia's concerned reports, Thomas was often seen having at least one cigarette in the garden when Lydia came home from work. Luckily, Will was there to listen to her talk about her worries regarding her father.

After breakfast, Elizabeth changed her pyjamas and continued to wear the Christmas jumper that she had been gifted and snuggled up on the sofa with Mia and Will whilst Alice finished up with her Christmas eve baking traditions. Aside from homemade mince pies, Alice had made a Christmas chocolate cake that they all enjoyed after lunch. The afternoon consisted of the four of them watching The Grinch with boxes of popcorn whilst the lights of the Christmas tree glowed beautifully.

As the film rolled the credits at the end, Will got up from his seat and headed out to the local fish and chip shop to buy their dinner - they were all too tired to cook and wanted an easy dinner so they could spend the rest of the evening in the relaxed state they were all in. When Will had returned with the food, they all sat at the dining table together, discussing more about their plans for the following day. Elizabeth sat quietly as she listened to the others talking and loved the excitement in Mia's eyes. This year had already made her happy by being able to celebrate Christmas with the man she loved and the little girl she loved like her own child.

After dinner Mia had a bath and changed into a pair of fluffy pyjamas and then curled up on the sofa into a cuddle with Elizabeth whilst the four of them drank hot chocolate. Elizabeth, who wasn't a fan of marshmallows, opted to just have squirty cream on top of hers whilst Alice, Will and Mia had both. They watched another Christmas film called the Santa Clause together to which Mia fell asleep halfway through and the remnants of her hot chocolate grew cold. Will lifted her from Elizabeth and slowly carried his daughter up the stairs whilst Elizabeth and Alice continued to watch the film.

Will came back downstairs minutes later and sighed.

"It won't be for much longer that she stops believing in Father Christmas."

Elizabeth noted how sad he seemed that he wouldn't be able to keep up the charade of the magic of Christmas. Of course, it would be magical in different ways as Mia grew older but eventually all children stopped believing in Father Christmas as they grew up so Elizabeth understood why Will might be sad about how many more Christmases he could get with Mia still believing.

"That's the thing with children, Fitzwilliam," Alice smiled, "They grow too quickly. It seems like yesterday that you were Mia's age."

"I suppose we'll make the most of her innocent years," Will sighed, "It won't be long before she's a teenager and I 'won't understand'."

Alice chuckled and the three adults set to work quietly bringing wrapped presents out of their hidden storage spots around the house and placed them underneath the tree. The presents piled out underneath, various labelled for all four spending Christmas at the Darcy residence. The bigger ones were piled underneath the tree whilst the smaller wrapped presents were placed in everyone's stockings. Elizabeth held hers up, a red velvet one with white trimming to match Will's, Mia's and Alice's; each marked with their names. She watched as Will placed the stockings in front of the tree whilst Alice bade them goodnight and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

Elizabeth smiled as Will closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her.

"How do you feel?" he asked quietly.

"Still nauseous. Tired. Achy. But at the same time…I have had the best day…" she replied with a grin.

"I'm glad you're happy…but do you need to see a doctor? You've not felt right for the past few weeks." Will noted with concern.

"I'll see a doctor once we get Christmas and Boxing Day out of the way. I promise." Elizabeth said reassuringly.

"Okay. I just worry that you're doing too much…and if this illness is indicating that there is something else going on with you…"

Elizabeth leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, kissing him quickly. Will pulled her against him and held her tightly as the kiss turned more urgent. When she broke the kiss to catch her breath, she felt him press his forehead to hers, his breathing ragged.

"I'll be fine, Will," she promised softly, "Right now, I just want you to take me to bed so I can continue to be happy."

Will grinned and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and took her upstairs. Elizabeth pressed her lips to his neck and held back the giggles as Will tried to prevent himself from stumbling up the stairs with her. When the couple entered Will's bedroom, the door closed quietly behind them and Elizabeth felt herself placed down on the bed before Will kissed her with a pace so gently but expressed his passion for her all the same.

ooOoo

"Will…." Elizabeth moaned softly in his ear.

Looking down at his girlfriend, her eyes glazed over with need as he moved inside her slowly and gently. He pressed his lips lightly to hers, kissing her teasingly as she wrapped her arms around his back to pull herself closer to him. The warmth of their bodies radiated throughout their skin on skin contact, their legs entwined. Will caressed her cheek, running his fingers through her hair. The whole day they had spent together had been bliss and only added to his desire to make her a permanent member of his family, even if he felt like she was. He wanted to tell her so desperately how much he loved her, that he wanted her to be his wife and adopt his daughter. He wanted to make her as happy as she made him after living in a dark hole for seven years with the only light being his child. Mia had always been a light for him, a bright spark in a dark sky but Elizabeth had made Mia shine even brighter and ignited a spark within him and brought it to life. Will was one hundred percent certain that Elizabeth was his future and he hoped that tomorrow would tell her exactly how much he loved her.

"I love you, Lizzy," Will whispered in her ear, his lips moving down to her neck.

"Oh…Will…I love you…" Elizabeth gasped happily.

They came together, bodies clashing like a stormy sea meeting the calm aftermath of a storm. Both were breathing fast and hard, laying in each other's arms as sweat rolled down their backs and heads. Will rolled on to his side, facing his girlfriend and pulled out of her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the alarm clock sitting on Elizabeth's bedside table moved to one-minute past midnight. It was Christmas day.

"Merry Christmas Will." Elizabeth laughed with a yawn.

"Merry Christmas Lizzy."

Together the couple drifted off to sleep, wrapped in each other's embrace to warm them against the night chill.

ooOoo

They all woke up at seven o'clock that morning and walked downstairs to the sight of the tree overflowing with presents underneath it. As predicted, Mia's eyes lit up brightly as she rushed to sit near the tree, announcing that she could wait for breakfast until after they had opened their presents. Elizabeth chuckled as she watched her boyfriend give in to his daughter's desire to open presents before anything else and so, they sat around the Christmas tree and took turns to open a gift each. With each gift that she watched Mia open, Elizabeth felt as if her heart was glowing at being able to spend this special day with her. When Mia opened up her final present, a three-day trip to Disneyland for February for her, Will and Elizabeth, the little girl's eyes sparkled.

"Thank you, dad. Thank you, Lizzy." Mia squealed; her arms thrown around Elizabeth's shoulders in a tight hug.

Elizabeth held Mia tightly and smiled, letting go as Will pulled out the last gift and handed it to Mia.

"Lizzy, this present is for you…" Mia announced, handing over a brown envelope.

Elizabeth thanked the girl and gently tore at the corner before ripping the paper back, pulling out a stack of paperwork which caused her to look down at it in confusion. Paperwork as a Christmas present? She remained silent as her eyes scanned the documents before she felt the tears leak freely as she met Will and Mia's gaze.

"Is…is this…what is this..." Elizabeth stammered.

"I want you to be my mum." Mia replied quietly.

Tears leaked out of Elizabeth's eyes as she processed what Mia had just said to her. Her hand covered her mouth as she felt the shock run through her. This had to be a dream. It felt like a dream.

"Lizzy?" Will asked, visibly concerned.

Her puffy green eyes met his brown ones and she sniffed, wiping her eyes quickly.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to make you sad…" Mia apologised quickly.

Elizabeth dropped the paperwork to the floor and held Mia's face in her hands, her fingers tucking the curly brown locks behind the little girl's ear.

"You didn't make me sad," Elizabeth sniffed, giving the girl a reassuring smile, "I love you so much Mia."

Mia grinned widely.

"I love you too." The little girl replied softly.

Elizabeth held the little girl in another tight hug and felt her heart beating faster in her chest. Her eyes met Will's and she smiled at him, more tears falling freely down her cheeks. This was the happiest she had ever felt in her life. The best present she could have ever been given was the miracle of becoming a mother to the little girl who had given her a purpose all those months ago. It didn't feel like it was a rushed decision. It didn't feel like it was too quick for her relationship with Will and Mia. It felt like she was whole. That she had found her home.

Alice quietly congratulated them and headed into the kitchen to make them some breakfast and tea. Together the three of them shared a tight hug at the beginning of their new chapter as an official family of three.