A/N: Like seriously a thousand pardons. I'm deeply sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the story. Post college is not easy and work is super draining that I immediately fall to sleep right afterward. Though I've been writing, it's been original stories and not fanfiction, but I plan to continue...I just may be really slow to do so. Thank you for being patient.

They rode on in silence, Lizzie glaring holes into Darcy's back.

Since they had started out just as the sun was setting, they would soon be searching for a place to camp for the night before setting out in the morning.

The flat area they found had the shelter of trees around them, just in case, it began to rain. Wickham asked Elijah if he wanted to go collect some firewood with him.

Darcy wasn't pleased with the easy willingness of her confirmation to go with him. The look she gave him as she followed George made it obvious she was doing it to get back at him. Though he found it childish, he didn't allow himself to react, falling into the trap she laid. Instead, he unsaddled the horses and fed them before getting out his bedroll.

The two came back with Lizzie carrying the majority of the sticks.

"I'm glad you're doing your share of helping to set up camp, Wickham," Darcy said as he watched the two set down the wood.

"I was picking them up and Elijah offered to carry them. It's called teamwork," George feined offense as he arranged the wood and ignited them.

"George and I were seeing how many I could hold before they began to spill over. He can make any task more entertaining," Lizzie gave the other man a smile which only made Darcy frown before calling her attention.

"Elijah, set up your bedroll."

She looked put out and lifted her chin slightly in defiance, "Why would I set it up so early? That's just asking for bugs to find their way inside before I go to sleep later on."

"You're going to bed right now," Darcy ordered.

"I'm not some child you can order about and tell me when I am to go to bed!"

"But you are under my protection, and if you wish to be considered NOT a child, then you will do as you're told. George will get you up and you'll be allowed to keep watch over camp for a couple of hours between our shifts. That is if you can handle that."

George watched his young friend glare at Darcy before wordlessly stomping over to grab his bedroll. He began to set it up at the farthest part of camp from Darcy as possible.

"No," Darcy called out, making Elijah stop his progress. The older man pointed to the area next to his own bedroll, "Over here where I can keep an eye on you."

"Like I'd agree to something as stupid as that, you pervert!"

George choked back a chuckle at his young friend's boldness in calling Darcy a pervert. Elijah truly was a wonder.

Lizzie sulked under her covers, her back to Darcy as she laid there, not yet tired. She felt like she was five again and sent to bed early by her parents.

Thinking about it though, it offered everyone the chance to sleep several hours before they had to set out again. It was just the way Darcy said it that annoyed her.

Darcy was at a loss as to how he was to deal with Miss Elizabeth. George and probably even Bingley would know a better way to communicate with her. Wickham didn't have any difficulty in getting her to laugh or talk with him. He only earned her ire. If he was the worse bad guy she had to face, then he was keeping her safe. That was all that mattered in the end.

During the changing of keeping watch over the camp, Darcy decided to not rely on Ms. Elizabeth to wake him up. Instead, he would keep an ear open and check his watch every ten minutes until it was his turn to be up. She didn't speak to him, only laid back down, her back to him. Darcy fed the fire and pulled out one of his books to read a little.

He woke up with a start, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Looking over to the spot, he only confirmed what he had feared.

She was gone.

Darcy had been so tired last night that he had fallen asleep during his turn on watch.

Served him right for staying up during her watch as well.

Throwing back his covers, he got to his feet and quickly surveyed the campsite.

Her horse was gone.

Shit!

Darcy quickly grabbed his saddle and began prepping his horse.

Looking across the campfire, he saw that George wasn't where he was sleeping at yesterday either.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

He was going to have several words with her when he caught up to them, and he was going to wring George's neck for going along with her.

"Are you sure you don't want to turn around to meet up with Darce? I know you think he's just has it in for you, but I promise he's only treating you like he would any younger sibling," George asked, swaying lazily in his saddle, yawning once or twice from still not getting enough sleep.

"We don't need him. We were fine before he came along, we'll be okay without him.

George arched an eyebrow, "Need I remind you that he saved us from the robbers on the trail."

"Please don't go all Darcy on me," Lizzie groaned, "Yeah things started off bad, but once I get a gun and we are off bounty hunting, I'm sure it won't be as bad."

"And once you've gotten better at shooting. It won't do for you to go after a criminal if you can't draw and shoot fast enough. You'll die on your first day."

Lizzie sighed and slouched a little in her saddle.

Maybe it was too much to hope to be a bounty hunter so quickly.

"Perhaps you should do what I do and become an adventurer. Travel the countryside and see new places."

"But how would we eat with no money?"

"Poker."

Lizzie frowned, "Gambling is against the law...isn't it?"

Wickham laughed, "Some might think so, but it's not really. A lot of uptight people just disapprove of it."

"Oh." Lizzie tried to act nonchalant, but her naivete was apparent. Her mother was strongly against it, and so were many of the mothers in the town she lived in. Then again, her mother believed women should only wear dresses and be married by the time they were fifteen and give their husbands children. It was her mother's continued "shame" that none of her daughters were married yet.

"I'll teach you how to play." Wickham offered, drawing her attention back to the present.

"Alright."

They rode in silence, both still tired from lack of real sleep. The path they were on to Brighton had a drop off that fell about twenty yards with jagged rocks waiting at the bottom.

George rode ahead of Lizzie, letting her follow his path. It was narrow and Lizzie found herself growing tense. Her eyes drifted constantly to the cliff just to her left and she tightened her grip on the reins. Sal felt his mistress go agitated and he grew nervous in turn.

"And there's no other way to Brighton?" asked Lizzie, her mind screaming for her to go back to the safe trails.

"None that wouldn't take us at least ten days out of our way with no towns in between. Unless you know how to hunt food with your bare hands, we'd starve before we make it there."

The loose rocks under Sal's hooves made Lizzie shudder every time they moved too much in her opinion.

"We're almost to the other side," George called back to her.

Lizzie tore her eyes away from the progress of Sal's hooves and the cliff to look ahead. She relaxed slightly, ready to be back on solid ground once more.

That was when it happened.

Wickham's horse must've scared up the beast, but it was Sal who saw it and freaked.

Lizzie didn't have time to react fast enough to the sudden shift. The weight of her body slid completely to the left, her right foot out of its stirrup. Her left hand holding onto the horn was the only thing keeping her from falling off and over the cliff.

Her scream was enough to alert George and he pulled his horse to a stop and carefully dismounted.

"Elijah! Hold on, I'm coming!"

Her sweaty palms were slipping though and she looked down. Her left hand, which hung beside her head uselessly, was about a foot from touching the ledge. If she was able to fall safely from the saddle and catch the ledge, she could keep Sal safe and save her own life in the process.

Heart pounding in her chest and drowning out every other sound, Lizzie prayed she'd catch the ledge as her horse spooked once more.

Darcy picked up the trail of the two horses as quickly as he had before. Lucky for him, it didn't appear as if they were trying that hard to lose him. When he turned onto the more dangerous path to Brighton that went through the gorge, Darcy inwardly cursed Wickham.

Of course, George would choose the shorter path without thought of how dangerous it would be for someone who had never gone through it before.

Quickening the pace of his horse, he rode faster to catch them.

On reaching the beginning part fo where it drew narrow, Darcy dismounted and led his horse along the path, which is what travelers were advised to do. Voices up ahead made him grow alert.

Clicking his tongue, he encouraged his horse to move a little faster.

What he saw nearly made his heart stop. George was peering over the edge of the cliff talking to someone.

Elizabeth.

Darcy let the reins of his horse go and quickly dug the rope he carried in his saddle. He moved as quickly as he could on the loose rocks to where George was kneeling.

"Oh God Darcy. It happened so fast. I couldn't get to him in time." George spoke rapidly as soon as he saw him.

Darcy tasted bile on his tongue.

She...she hadn't fallen and...dear God help him. She wasn't dead was she? That, he would never be able to forgive himself for.

Swallowing the bile back down, Darcy looked over the edge to see Lizzie clinging onto the side of the rocks. He could tell she was trembling and was barely able to keep herself up.

"Tie this around your horse's horn and tie the reins to a secure bolder. I'll go down and get her." Darcy ordered, taking control of the situation.

He pulled off his duster, his gunbelt and rolled up his sleeves as he tied one end of the rope around himself.

George looked dumbfounded for a second before moving into action.

Once George confirmed that the rope was secured and so was the horse's reins, Darcy began to lower himself over the side of the cliff.

He heard her trembling sobs as he drew closer. Repelling down to the side of her to keep any rocks from falling on her, he saw her white knuckles trembling from where they held a tiny ledge.

"Elizabeth, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay, I promise," he spoke in a soothing voice to calm her down.

"I can't hold on much longer," Lizzie sniffed. Face still looking forward, not daring to move.

Darcy felt himself run out of rope and he looked up to see George holding his part ready to start pulling them up. Looking back down, he was still a foot above reaching down and grabbing her.

"I need you to work with me here. I need for you to reach up and grab my hand."

Apparently, she felt secure enough to shake her head slightly.

"I don't have enough rope to go down further so you have to climb," Darcy tried again.

"I can't."

Darcy tried to think of a way to motivate her. He thought of his sister and how he'd use examples to coerce her to feel motivated.

"You can." Darcy said confidently, "You climb your favorite tree all the time, don't you? It's just like climbing your tree."

He watched with bated breath as she slowly moved into a position to support her lower half better to push herself up. His hand itched to finally be able to grab her as she slowly sought out finger holds and crawled up, inch by inch.

The moment he saw her shaky fingers give, he twisted his body around and caught her by the back of her collar.

She had let out a scream that was cut off by the sudden stop to her fall.

Darcy grunted softly as he used all of his strength to pull her up while righting himself in the process. He felt her hands find his legs as she clawed at his pant legs to get higher. Once he felt her wrap her arms around his waist he was able to relax a little better. Adjusting his hold on her, Darcy lifted her from under her armpits and had her reposition her hold to be around his neck. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist now and he looked up to George to confirm he was ready to be pulled up.

Darcy pushed Lizzie over the edge to safety before pulling himself up. Breathing hard, he looked over to see George kneeling beside Lizzie and asking if she was alright. She just nodded numbly not saying a word.

Wiping the sweat that accumulated on his brow away, Darcy untied the roped from around his waist and began to wrap it back together.

"D-Darcy," came a shaky voice from behind him.

Looking behind him, he saw Lizzie standing there, arms wrapped around her protectively.

"Thank you." Her eyes were slightly pink from tears but she looked him in the eye nonetheless. "If you hadn't bothered to come after me. If you hadn't talked me into moving. I would've... I would've..." She shuddered and tightened her arms around her middle.

Darcy was an idiot. Here he was worrying about coiling his rope back up when he should've been seeing to her.

George was useless, just patting her on the back and saying "That was a close one, wasn't it" was not what she needed. She wasn't Elijah. She was Elizabeth. A young woman who nearly died.

Dropping his rope, Darcy crossed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. She didn't protest at all but leaned into his embrace. Her head fitted perfectly under his chin as he rested it on top of her disheveled hair. Her arms uncoiled from around her waist and snaked around his middle. For a minute in a half, he just held her.

Moving slightly away, Darcy cupped her face with his big hands and rested his forehead on hers.

"Please don't scare me like that ever again. I thought I lost you," he whispered so only she heard him.

"I'm sorry."

The kiss was something none of them had expected. Darcy, not thinking about where he was at the moment, kissed the top of Lizzie's forehead before one last squeeze and let go. Lizzie was shocked but didn't say anything, not wishing to think too much on what just happened.

George was the most confused out of all of them.

"I'm sorry, but am I missing something?"

Darcy looked over at his childhood friend. It was time he was told the truth, though he wasn't sure how it would affect the future.

"Elijah is actually a woman. Miss Elizabeth is her real name. I knew for some time now. That is why I've taken responsibility of her during the trip."

Wickham shook his head, "Well duh she's a woman. I'm not dense, Darcy! I'm talking about that kiss. Since when were you two that close? Did something happen in town that night that I wasn't aware of in your room?"

"Nothing happened, Wickham. You should know me better than that." Darcy growled.

"I do know you Darcy, which is why your sudden behavior is...well not you."

"Can we just not talk about it," Lizzie asked hurriedly, putting distance between herself and Darcy now. "Instead I want to know how long you knew I was a woman."

"Well, you have a woman's figure- your hips I mean. Though to others, it might not be so obvious. Figured you had a reason for dressing up like a man so I just played along from the beginning."

"George is a little not right in the head when it comes to understanding queues." Darcy explained, "He isn't good with women."

"And you clearly are," Lizzie scoffed.

George chuckled rubbing the back of his neck, "Can't say that he's wrong on that count. Don't pick up on those social queues and all. Been called a 'heartless bastard' while playing a few games of poker. Usually, that label is after I clean every one of their money. And hey, it ain't my fault they played till they were broke. It ain't on me that they have families to go home to and feed."

Lizzie was glad she never played poker now against George. Though he seemed friendly at times, he apparently had one person's life he cared about; his own.

The man only shrugged and walked over to gather his horse's reins. Darcy gathered Sal's and tied his own horse's reins to the other horse's saddle.

Lizzie walked ahead of him, keeping far away from the edge.

"How exactly did you end up over the side of the cliff anyway?" Darcy asked after they were back on the normal trail with solid ground. They mounted their horses and set out once more.

"Something I think startled Sal. I'm not sure what it was though." Lizzie said, holding her reins tightly as if she was afraid to be thrown off again at any moment.

"A lizard!" George pronounced suddenly. He held something up that dangled in his grasp. "Figured you should be the one to eat it since it almost killed you. Call it a victory."

Lizzie rose an eyebrow and glanced over at Darcy who only shook his head.

"Thanks?"

George only gave a grin, "Ain't no thing. Least I could do since Darcy went down and saved you."