As Thanksgiving is almost upon us, it seems that it is time to get back to this story. In a fun bit of symmetry, in both this story and the next chapter I am working on for The Attachment Detachment, Elizabeth wakes up to seeing Darcy.

Chapter 10

When Anne woke up in the middle of the night, to go to the bathroom (she had apparently drunk too much milk with her cookies), she carefully slithered off the inflatable bed, not wanting to wake Georgiana or Caro. After she was done, she felt more awake than she should have. She walked over to where her purse sat on the dresser and by feel pulled out her phone.

Anne wanted to see if her mother had left her any more messages since Anne had turned her phone off just before dinner. Anne was not used to disobeying her mother, and going off with Darcy and Gigi for Thanksgiving was the most disobedient thing should could ever recall doing. It bothered her to be at odds with her mother.

Anne well knew that her mother had sacrificed a lot for her. She had been a sickly child, become a sickly adult and sometime it felt like that was all she would ever be. Her mother had always gotten her the best medical care, had read so many scholarly medical articles that she seemed to talk and think like a doctor, whereas Anne had always been more than willing not to know too much.

When Anne pressed the on button on her phone, once it started up the light from the phone screen shone so bright that Anne was immediately scared of waking the others. So pressed the screen to her chest and then grabbed the extra blanket that Jane had left on top of the dresser "just in case" and shut herself inside the small walk-in closet after she made sure it had a knob on the inside, too.

Anne had always been fond of closets. They tended to be quiet and secure, and there was something so soothing about having a private space that shut out the rest of the world. When she was a little girl and her mother said she was too sick to play for long, and had placed her toys inside her closet so as to not tempt her when play-time was over, Anne used to creep into her closet in the middle of the night and play with her Barbies in their Dream House. Her mother never spotted the closet light on, when her room itself was dark.

This closet was less interesting. It just had a couple of winter coats hung up and two pillows on a shelf. Anne grabbed the two pillows down and arranged them to put one under her head and the other under her knees. With the pillows arranged, the carpeted floor was comfortable enough, certainly better than the hard wooden floor in her closet at Rosings. Then Anne threw the thick green blanket on top of herself, tucking it under her feet. Within a couple of minutes Anne was nice and toasty.

Anne spent a few minutes checking her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. She accepted Elizabeth's friend request on Facebook and then looked at Elizabeth's recent posts including, to her delight, pictures that Jane had taken of everyone sitting around the dinner table and another of the cookie decorating. Anne tried to tag herself in the picture, but couldn't because it was Jane's picture. Immediately, Anne sent a friend request to Jane.

Then Anne looked at Elizabeth's friends to find the other dinner guests and was able to send friend requests to Louisa and Caroline. She couldn't find Q. Recalling that Caroline said she had a Twitter account, Anne looked her up and followed Caro Bingley on Twitter. She checked for recent tweets, but there wasn't anything too interesting on there, so soon enough she returned to Facebook.

Anne then spent a few minutes checking to see if her other cousins had posted anything about their Thanksgiving dinners. She liked the picture of the Fitzwilliams. Her aunt had also posted a picture of Richard in his uniform and tagged him. It read "Wishing Richard and all our men and women serving away from their families this Thanksgiving all our love. Thank you for all you do." Richard's tour was due to end in a few months and Anne wondered if he would finally retire like his mother wanted.

Anne pictured a Thanksgiving where Richard was sitting with the rest of the Fitzwilliams around the dinner table and thought to herself, Perhaps we can have a big family reunion Thanksgiving with everyone someday. Anne couldn't picture that dinner at Rosings, but now the idea of traveling elsewhere for Thanksgiving didn't seem nearly so daunting as it had before.

Satisfied that she had thoroughly reviewed all her social media, Anne finally pulled up the messages from her mom. Before reading the latest messages, Anne reviewed all that her mother had texted on Thanksgiving.

Mom: I can't believe you actually left. How could you do this to me? I had such a nice Thanksgiving meal arranged. I am sure Darcy will bring you back here right away if you ask him.

Mom: This isn't funny anymore, Anne. I am starting to get worried.

Mom: I guess you aren't coming back for dinner, but please come home tonight. I didn't feel like having dinner without all of you, so I had it all packed away. We can reheat it tomorrow and have a belated Thanksgiving dinner.

Mom: This really isn't fair. I really don't know what I did to set Darcy off.

Anne: That's between you and him. Not that you asked, but I am having a great time. Road trips are fun.

Mom: Where are you Anne? Where are you headed?

Anne: We are having dinner at one of Darcy's friend's houses in Indiana. Don't worry.

Mom: How can I not worry when my baby is going two states away! Your doctors and your hospital are here. What if something should happen? You'll come back tomorrow, won't you?

Mom: Answer me! Can you at least tell me when you get there, so that I know that you are safe?

Anne: We arrived. I'm fine. I heard about what you and Darcy argued about. That really wasn't nice to call someone Darcy likes a hick, a hussy and a gold digger.

Mom: If you had seen that woman you would know that I was right. Darcy shouldn't be involved with someone like her.

Anne: Whatever you think, you shouldn't be mean. I'm shutting off my phone now.

Mom: Do not shut off your phone. What if I need to reach you?

Mom: You are acting like a child!

Mom: Okay, I shouldn't have texted that you are acting like a child. Maybe you have a point that I could have been nicer, but still I don't see why Darcy took it so personally. It is not like I was insulting that girl to her face and I really don't understand why you left with them.

Mom: I miss you, baby. I hope you had a nice dinner. Who are these people that you are staying with? Can you give me an address or a phone number just in case? It would make me feel a whole lot better.

Anne: We are staying with Elizabeth's sister and husband for the weekend, Charlie and Jane. They are really nice, and Elizabeth is, too. We had a nice dinner. I made the rolls and decorated cookies. It was a lot less fancy than your dinners, but Gigi says it was a more traditional dinner. One of the guests had to go to the ER because she accidentally ate some nuts, but she is fine now. She says she knows you; her name is Caro Bingley. We are having a sleep over, the three of us girls, me, Gigi and Caro. We stayed up until almost midnight. It was so much fun.

Anne read through her mother's messages again to see if she'd missed answering anything her mother had asked.

Anne: You don't need Jane's address or phone number. I don't know it myself. I don't want you bothering them like you kept bothering Darcy and Gigi. I'm going to shut off my phone and go to bed again. I'll turn it back on when I wake up. I plan to sleep in if I can.

Although Anne had said she was shutting off her phone, she didn't for a while, curious as to whether her mother was still up at 4 am and might text her back. While she waited, Anne played Candy Crush. After she ran out of lives, she just bought some more, like she usually did. She played until her phone was running low on batteries and she ended up falling asleep in the closet.

A couple of hours after Anne went to sleep, Elizabeth slowly came awake. She was curled tight on one side, her back pressed against the back of the loveseat, with her legs drawn up in the fetal position. As she awoke, she became aware of the fact that she was stiff and sore. With a yawn, she began to stretch out her legs a little, but couldn't get them straight because they were constrained by the dimensions of the loveseat. Turning onto her back, she pushed the heels of her sock-clad feet against the curve of the armrest and then as she straightened her legs, swept her arms back over the other side of the loveseat, arching her upper back. The tips of the fingers of her right hand brushed against something soft.

In her drowsy state, Elizabeth's mind tried to make sense of what she was feeling. Fur? She tried to remember whether the Bingleys had a cat. Bringing her fingers together, she rubbed the strands between her fingers. Hair?

"Uh, Elizabeth?" Darcy's sleepy voice sounded very close. With a start, rather than releasing what she held, Elizabeth's grabbed tighter and gave the hair a little tug. "Ow! What are you doing?" he asked.

Elizabeth let go and sat up, suddenly alert, even as she was still blinking and trying to make sense of shapes in the still dim light. She looked at Darcy, who was laying down with his head upon a pillow against the arm of the couch. One lock of wavy hair was separated from the others; likely that was the one she had pulled.

Mortified, she felt her cheeks grow hot. Elizabeth leaned toward Darcy, "Are you alright? I didn't mean to pull your hair."

Elizabeth felt a temptation to touch Darcy's hair again; Is it really as soft as I remember it being? But more than just touch it, she longed to sink her fingers into it, to tug him close, to . . . . She tried to explain, "I . . . I was confused when I woke up. I thought you were a cat."

Darcy sat up, too, rubbing at his scalp where it hurt. "Cat?" He felt confused, but at the same time was drawn to looking at Elizabeth. There was a sort of intimacy, he realized, to waking up near her.

Darcy's hair was wild and it reminded Elizabeth of a lion's mane, if a lion could have a chocolate mane. Chunks of hair were falling into his face. Elizabeth had a desire to comb them back with her fingers.

"I didn't see you," Elizabeth hastened to explain. "I was just stretching as I was waking up and felt something against my hand. Your hair is really soft. Softer than I would have expected. I thought it was fur at first. Really, I wasn't thinking about anything."

When Elizabeth heard her own explanation, issuing from her lips, she felt it was definitely lacking. As Elizabeth spoke, she twined one of her corkscrew curls around and around her finger. After Elizabeth finished speaking, she gently bit her lip.

Seeing her tousled and embarrassed, Darcy thought, Does Elizabeth have any idea of how enticing and lovely she is?

Darcy said the next thought that entered his head, "I always thought that your hair looked soft. May I?" He extended his hand towards her, though halting several inches from her head, wishing so much to touch the very curl Elizabeth had been fiddling with.

Elizabeth was not unwilling to receive his touch, but before she could consent, Darcy (who was mortified at his own forwardness), drew his hand back and Elizabeth's "yes" died before it reached her lips.

"I don't know what I was thinking, I guess it is because I am just waking up too," Darcy said, using the same hand he had extended to now comb through his own hair. Elizabeth's eyes watched his fingers' movement with envy, I'd like to be the one running my fingers through his hair.

Darcy checked his Apple watch and noted for her benefit, "It is early yet, only six twenty-three. Perhaps you can still get more sleep."

"No," Elizabeth shook her head, her curls bouncing this way and that, like a mop being swirled through a bucket of water. "I have this darned internal clock that thinks I must always wake up at six thirty or so. Even though it is vacation-time, my body doesn't know that. But if you can get back to sleep, you should try."

"Oh, I already slept in," Darcy said with aplomb, "made it a whole twenty-three minutes later than my normal wake up time."

"I think we are the only ones up," Elizabeth noted. She self-consciously adjusted the blanket to better cover her lap. "Knowing my sister, she will stay in bed as long as she can."

"That will be what Gigi does, too," Darcy noted. "Anne isn't an early riser, either, as far as I know. Do you have any plans for today? Will you go shopping?"

"No way! I know it is part of many people's tradition to try to knock out their shopping in one hectic day, but I'd rather mostly laze about, watch Christmas movies, eat cookies and drink cocoa. I might do a little online shopping later, but that's about it."

"Huh," Darcy said. "It just so happens that I like those things, too." With a sort of studied casualness, while decidedly not looking in her direction he noted, "It might be fun to hang out, and do those things together."

"Sure!" Elizabeth responded, thinking, Did Darcy just basically ask about spending the day with me?

"Your plan is almost perfect, but I would add in a hot breakfast, plenty of Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch and dinner. If we were at my place, I would also toss in a board game or two, but I think you said yesterday that your sister doesn't have any. With a paper, pen, and some coins, we could probably play checkers, but I think that's about the extent of my talent for improvising board games."

"Yeah, games are not really Jane's thing." Elizabeth thought for a minute, "Do you think Charlie has any?"

Darcy thought, "Maybe a deck of cards? We can ask him later, but assuming the answer is 'no.'"

"I guess we just have to watch more movies and have more munchies instead. Speaking of food, "Elizabeth considered, "if we are going to eat so much, a long walk later might be in order."

"Would you want company for such a walk, or prefer to go alone?" Darcy asked, half hopeful, half scared by what her reaction might be. He hated his lack of courage for adding, before she could even reply, "You know, someone like my sister or yours might want to come along."

"Company is all well and good if the person is willing to go for a truly long walk, say for a couple of hours," Elizabeth responded. "Not a lot of people are willing to commit to that kind of walk. Many just simply don't have the stamina and for others, it is just too much time, or too boring, but I like to get out."

Elizabeth gave him a long look, an appraising look, that seemed to ask, "Could you keep up with me?"

"Well," Darcy responded, "then Anne for sure would be out and I don't know that Gigi would want to walk that long, but as for me, I think I could keep up with you. Normally I run," he gestured to his shirt and shorts, "but Thanksgiving weekend might be a better time to enjoy a walk, as there is more time. When you were visiting the city with your aunt and uncle, if there had been more time I would have invited you to accompany me on my favorite walk, it's one that gives me time to think and unwind."

Elizabeth looked intrigued. "What's the route? I did quite a bit of walking around, but I can't say that much of it was relaxing. Of course probably that is just because I was afraid of getting mugged or getting lost. We explored Central Park, but in some ways it was just too big. I know that might seem kind of strange to say that."

"Not at all. I really love Hudson River Park. There is a great walking trail (but you need to keep alert for bikes) but it is also like a whole series of littler, connected parks. It is four and a half miles long and there is no getting lost as if you are going north the river is to your left, south and the river is to your right, if you've hit a street you've gone too far east and the water is the barrier to the west. It is a great place for people watching, but also a great place to be alone with your thoughts. Lots of people just visit a little slice of it, say a playground, or a pier, but I like to walk or run the whole thing. While the view across the Hudson to Jersey may not be the best, it puts everything in perspective, and there is a great view of the Freedom Tower if you are walking south."

"I never made it over there," Elizabeth said a bit wistfully, remembering how her trip had been cut short when Lydia had run off. "Well, I guess I'll have to check it out, when I'm next in the city."

"Any plans for when that will be?" Darcy asked, hoping that might be soon. "I'd love to talk you on that walk, or do some other touristy things with you. It's been a long time since I climbed the Statue of Liberty." After this weekend he'd be back to New York City and work.

"Well, it depends." Elizabeth considered what she wanted to tell him, but then decided to just say it. "My trip to New York with the Gardiners wasn't strictly for fun. You see, part of the trip was to check out NYU and Columbia and see if I felt I could be happy living in Manhattan. I'm applying for doctoral programs in neuroscience. I'm most interested in Columbia's Neurobiology and Behavior program, but I also applied to NYU's program. I submitted my applications for them earlier this month. Between my grades and GRE scores and the fact that apparently they want geographic diversity too, I might have a chance of getting in there.

"I'd planned to just apply to U.K. and Vandy, it seemed easier to stick to Kentucky and Tennessee, but my aunt and uncle live in New Jersey and they thought I should consider a more metropolitan setting on the east coast. They said it would be good for me, would broaden my horizon, even if I don't want to live there permanently."

"Oh wow, so you might end up in New York? That'd be great!" Darcy was very happy to hear about the possibility that by the fall Elizabeth might be living in his city. Having to fly out every time you wanted to take some one on a date wasn't really all that workable. It was at least part of the reason he had hesitated so long about asking Elizabeth for a date in the first place. Living in a city of 8 million, he'd always thought he should be able to find someone to date.

"It'd be nice to think that I'd have a friend already there," Elizabeth told him, leaning a little closer to him.

Darcy tried to reconcile her actions with her words, even as he said, "Sure." He wondered, Was I just friend-zoned? But she is leaning in towards me. What does it all mean?

Even without thinking about it, he leaned forward a little more toward her. Wow, I'd really like to kiss her!

As the moment grew more intense, Darcy chickened out. He looked away and asked, "Do you think your sister would mind if later I whipped something up in her kitchen?"

"Not at all. She is the most agreeable sort. Just don't leave her a big mess."

"I wouldn't do that."

"No, I suppose not." As their conversation petered out, Elizabeth started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "I'll just turn on the TV and look for a movie. Do you think any are on this early?"

"Only one way to find out." Darcy cast his blanket aside and walked over to get the remote that was beside the TV. Elizabeth found herself staring at Darcy's muscular legs and well built physique.

Darcy returned and handed the remote to Elizabeth. She turned on the TV and began flipping through the cable guide. Darcy watched as she paged down again and again. There didn't seem to be much chance of finding a Christmas movie on yet. But then he spotted an option. "Go back."

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

Darcy suddenly felt embarrassed. "On the PBS channel, do you see it? There's the Curious George Christmas Movie, A Very Monkey Christmas. It is coming on at 8:00. I know it is a kid's show, but I've watched it a bunch of time with Gigi and it's sweet."

"Okay, we'll watch it!" Elizabeth declared. "Any chance you can make me some more of that yummy cocoa?"

"Sure, I'll make it now."

Darcy was a little relieved to retreat into the kitchen as he turned over the mystery of who Elizabeth Bennet really was and what she really wanted from him. He wanted to make some kind of a move, but was worried about being rejected. He was also wondering when the rest of the household would be up. He hoped that later they would take a long walk together. Maybe by then he would know what to do.