OMG I'm finally back. What a crazy crazy semester. Y'all have been so amazing for sticking around.
Now for those who don't remember who Diana Allen is and have commented about it - go back to Chapter 13. There's an entire explanation there.
Um, so those of you who have commented that they've stopped studying or doing schoolwork to read a new chapter - I'm totally flattered but do your work! I know what it's like to have to juggle the schoolwork (hence the massive delay in new chapters) and if you can bear with me in between my updates, I think I can bear with you waiting to read the chapter. Don't worry, it will still be here when you're done.
Stef, I must profess, I know very very little about the medical field - so if it seemed too short for Ryan to be stitching Lizzie, I'm sorry!
I'm glad that you guys like the competition and the jealousy that Darcy is having (and no I wasn't inspired by twilight), and I'm sorry about the green button thing. Leave it to the site to change it to a non-colored, non-button, right around the time that I said that.
Anyway, here's the next chapter.
Chapter 27:
I stretched and let out a small sigh as I awoke. Warm and cozy in my bed, I decided to just snuggle for a little while. Nuzzling against my pillow, I took a deep breath. Odd. It smells like men's cologne. Did Josh stay over with Jen last night? I couldn't remember.
"Will?" a voice whispered. "Is she still sleeping?"
I recognized the voice as being Julie. Wait, what are they doing here? The previous night's events came flooding back to me.
"Yes, Jules, she'll probably sleep for awhile longer. It will give her body a chance to heal a bit and restore all the energy she had to use last night"
"What happened last night?"
I decided to keep my eyes shut and lay still. Hey, it isn't eavesdropping if the people talking know that you're there.
"I'm not sure Jules, but I fully intend to ask her when she wakes up."
"I didn't mean when she got hurt Will."
"Then what are you referring to?"
"I meant after the visit to the ER. After Liz was treated, when you came out, your expression was cold. And in the car, you snapped at Liz. That's not like you Will, so what happened?"
"What if I told you it was none of your business?"
"I would tell you that you're my brother and I love you and I'm concerned, therefore it is my business. Not to mention that it involves Liz, who has been a wonderful friend to me and I won't let you do something stupid when it involves her."
"Jules." I heard Darcy sigh. "I'm afraid it might be too late for preventing me from doing something stupid."
"What happened last night?" she repeated.
Darcy sighed again.
"The doctor who treated Liz happened to have been a friend and colleague of her sister Jane. Liz had met him before."
"And?"
"And he asked Liz out while he was treating her."
The last part came out in a rush.
"What did Liz do?"
"I think she gave him her number."
"You think?"
"I wasn't exactly at her bedside when he asked her out – I was on my way back to her and I overheard it."
"Does it bother you because Liz's doctor asked her out while he was treating her?"
"No, Damn it!" Darcy exclaimed, raising his voice.
"No" he said in a lower voice after Julie shushed him.
"So what is it about the situation that bothers you?"
Another sigh.
"It bothers me that another guy asked her out. It bothers me that she said yes. It bothers me that she gave him her phone number."
"So, in essence, you're jealous"
Darcy mumbled something.
"I beg your pardon? I didn't quite catch that."
"I suppose"
Julie groaned
"Will, if you feel that way, why don't you do something about it?"
"You think I don't want to? That it isn't my greatest desire to be with Liz? But I screwed that up months ago, long before you even met Liz."
"Can't you fix it?"
"I don't think so Jules. And the two of us are friends now. I'd rather have that than risk not having her in my life at all."
"I think you're making a mistake Will."
"Well, it's my mistake to make. Just like all the other ones I have made in my life."
Julie then sighed.
"Call me when she wakes up?"
"I will."
I then heard the door gently click shut.
Now was the right time for me to 'wake up' and I groaned and stretched appropriately. I then opened my eyes. I originally thought they had taken me back to my place and spent the night there but apparently I was wrong since I opened my eyes to see a room that I didn't recognize.
"Liz" Darcy said calmly. "How do you feel?"
"A little groggy" I lied
"Are you in any pain?"
"No" I replied, this time telling the truth
"Still . . ." he trailed off "maybe you should take one of the Vicodins the doctor prescribed."
"It's only going to put me back to sleep, which I don't want to do. Um, where are we?" I asked as I took in my surroundings of a large room with several windows and the pieces of tasteful and obviously upper-class mahogany furniture.
"Um, this is my bedroom." He began fidgeting with his hands "The doctor said we should keep an eye on you overnight and you also fell asleep in the car. Julie and I thought it would be best to bring you here so we could make sure you were ok."
"Oh" was all I could respond.
"Liz, we need to talk."
"Ok"
"What happened last night?"
I knew this was coming. And, yet, for some reason I couldn't identify, I didn't really want to tell him.
"I told you, I tripped and fell, knocking over your vase. I told you that I would pay for it –"
"Liz, I'm not worried about the price of the vase. A vase can be replaced easily. And I don't believe you."
"What do you mean?"
"The more I replay the scene I found when I rushed into my study last night, the more I'm convinced that you aren't telling the full story. The fact that you fell backward, rather than stumbled forward. Not to mention Diana's immediate denial of having done anything wrong as soon as I entered the room."
I sighed.
"Are you going to tell me what really happened?" Darcy inquired
"Yes. Diana asked me to come into the back with her to talk. When we went into your study, she began to tell me to back off from my friendship with you because the two of you were an item. When I told her that I didn't believe her, she called me a bitch and slapped me. I stumbled a few steps backward, knocking into the table with the vase, causing the vase to fall. I think I then jumped away from the shards of crystal, but slipped on a large piece, which caused me to fall. You know the rest."
Darcy let out a stream of curses and began pacing.
"The nerve of that woman! I invite her into my home and this is what she does?" He then turned to me. "Liz, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over her. She had no right to treat you like that."
"It's ok."
Darcy sat down on the side of the bed next to me.
"No, it's not ok. I don't know where she got it into her mind that we were together, but we aren't. We never have, and never will be. I need you to know that and know that I'm going to take care of it."
"I do know that. I told her as much. There is nothing for you to take care of. But Will . . ." I trailed off.
"What? What is it? Are you in pain?"
I shook my head.
"No. It's not that." I took a deep breath. "Will, please don't be jealous that I'm going to go on a date with Ryan."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I heard you talking with Julie before. I need you to not be jealous that I'm going out with someone else."
"How do you say such a thing? I can't just flip a switch and turn off whatever feelings I have for you. And you know how I feel about you."
"Yes I do know, and perhaps if the situation was different then we might be acting on those feelings. But we both know we can't and we won't."
"Why can't we? Why aren't we?"
Oh, damn it, he's pulling out puppy dog eyes.
"Because like it or not, you're still my boss. And I'm still the law student who works for you."
"That doesn't matter! Ok, it did matter to me before, but that was me being hasty and jumping to conclusions."
I gave him a look.
"I already apologized for that! Several times in fact. Now that I know you, I don't care about that anymore. I've told you that."
I sighed again.
"I can't Darcy. As much as I wish I could, and boy do I wish I could, I can't. We don't know if it would work out. We are both fairly volatile and any semblance of 'us' could implode in six months. I can't risk my entire professional reputation on a maybe."
"But what if we don't implode? What if we're amazing together? Wouldn't that be worth the risk?"
My cell phone, which was on the table, started to ring. I took a quick glance at my caller id and saw it was my dad.
"I'm sorry Will, it's my dad."
He motioned to me to take the call.
"Daddy?"
"Lizard, I need you to come home."
"Daddy we've had this conversation."
"No, Elizabeth, you need to come home right now."
"What? Daddy, why?"
"Logan has gone missing."
Um, uh oh. For those who don't remember who Logan is, go back to Chapter 14. Let me know what you think (I have a feeling many of you will be a bit upset) and review!