Chapter 37

Late on Monday night, Mr. Bennett arrived home with Katie and Detective Ryan. Darcy wasn't with them, and Lizzie's father couldn't give her a reason why, only saying that Darcy had promised to be there soon. To top things off, he still wasn't answering his phone. Katie was, luckily, relatively unharmed, at least physically. She was exhausted, dehydrated and hungry but George hadn't done any serious harm to her, which was surprising to them all, but they were glad at the miraculous turn of events.

Katie admitted that at first, when he had realised that she was not her sister, Wickham had gone a little crazy and shoved her around a bit, and that she had some bruises. It wasn't anything to warrant a hospital visit, but it was enough to press assault charges on top of the kidnapping. Katie was bearing the ordeal incredibly well, and she'd agreed to attend some therapy sessions to help her overcome the situation, but she was determined not to let it ruin her life. There would be a trial in a few months, but there was no doubt that Wickham was going away for a long time, at last.

It wasn't until the following evening, just after sunset that Darcy finally showed up. Lizzie was sitting on the bed in her and Jane's old room, while everyone else was downstairs.

Lizzie wanted some time alone to cry. Even though she felt like she'd been crying for days, now that everything was okay again, she couldn't hold back tears of relief. The weight of the last few days had lifted, Katie was home safe and sound, and Wickham was finally getting his comeuppance.

There was a soft tapping on the door and Lizzie lifted her head to see Will standing in the shadowy door way, a solemn smile on his face and his eyes softly seeking her.
"You're back," she whispered,
"Hey," he replied, speaking just as quietly. He crossed the room quickly and sat beside her on her old bed.
She looked up at him, and now that he was in the light emanating from her beside lamp, she could see his face properly.
"Will! What happened to you?" She cried, he had a big black eye.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," he assured her,
"It's not nothing! What happened?" She asked, smoothing his hair back so she could get a better look.
"Wickham wasn't happy to see me there when the police arrested him," Darcy answered, shrugging it off.
"How did he even get near you? You weren't supposed to do anything without the police!"
"I didn't!" He defended himself, "The police were there, they'd arrested him already, I was just standing nearby and he saw me as they were walking him to the van. They weren't expecting him to do anything, but he saw me and somehow managed to duck out of their grip. He charged at me. He was handcuffed, so he couldn't hit me. But I wasn't expecting it when he head-butted me."
Lizzie stared at him for a moment, and that's when she remembered that she was supposed to be angry at him. So she shoved him.

"What the hell?" Will exclaimed, righting his position. She started hitting him on his arms and chest, not very hard, but enough to sting a little.
"Why. The. Hell. Didn't. You. Call. Me?" She said punctuating each word with a slap, until he eventually managed to grab her wrists and stop her assault.
"It wasn't a big deal, he didn't even break my nose!" Will exclaimed, confused at why she was attacking him for not mentioning his black eye.
"No! Not about that you idiot! All week!" She cried, pulling her wrists out of his grasp and jumping up to pace the floor in front of the bed.

"You didn't call me once after you left! I was worried sick about you and dad. I didn't know where you were or what you were doing. You were chasing down a madman! You could have been lying dead in a ditch somewhere! You should have called, or at least returned my messages!"

"Oh Lizzie, I'm so sorry! I didn't think..."
"That is clearly obvious! Geeze Will, we're supposed to be in a relationship now! It's not like I need to know where you are at every single moment of the day, but when you're out looking for a crazy kidnapper, you could at least let me know that you're alive!"
"I know, you're right, I'm sorry. I didn't think... I was just focused on helping Katie... I..."
"Damn it Will," she sighed, sitting down next to him again, "Why do you have to be such a good guy?" She asked, hugging him, she was still angry but she was also relieved that he was finally back.

"You drive me crazy, and make me mad," she mumbled into his shoulder, "But then you go and do something wonderful and then I feel guilty for being angry with you. You were helping my sister. You didn't have to do anything at all, but you did, and it worked and you brought her home. We're just, so grateful Will, my family, we can't thank you enough..."

"Shhh, Lizzie just stop," he shushed her, stroking her hair as her head was resting on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't feel guilty. You're allowed to be angry at me, especially when I do something stupid. You're right. I should have called. I'm not used to having someone else in my life, it might take me a while to get it right."

Then he sighed, and took her hands in his urging her to look at him.

"And as for your sister, you must know Lizzie, everything I did, I did for you. As much as I like your family..."

Lizzie scoffed at him saying that, "No seriously, I've always liked Jane, and Katie is such a character, it's a pleasure having her around the office, and this week I got to know your father too... Anyway, the point is Lizzie. I did it all for you. Because I love you and I'd do anything to make you happy."

She stared at him for a long minute, just observing him in the semi darkness.

"About that," she croaked, biting her lip, "Before all this happened, you and I were in the middle of something…"

He nodded his agreement,

"I should probably tell you what my reply was going to be,"

"Okay…" he breathed,

"I was going to say, probably not as eloquently as you, that I love you too, Will,"

The smile that beamed on his face at her words warmed her heart and she smiled back.

"Even when you are being an idiot," she added, and he swept in to kiss her.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that," he murmured against her lips as he pulled away. She stared into his warm brown eyes and chuckled.

"To think, if we hadn't both been so stubborn, we might have had a very different relationship these past three years," she whispered,

"Better late than never," he replied, and kissed her again, guiding her down onto the mattress. After being parted for a week, all Darcy wanted to do was be close to her.

The next day, after the family had sat down to breakfast together, everyone knew it was time to get back to their lives. Now that Wickham was in custody, the threat to their family was gone, and it was time to get back to reality. Will and Charlie had to get back to work, before their neglect of the place became a real problem. Jane had to get back to her students as well, before her relief teacher ran out of lesson plans, and Mary just wanted to go home. Georgiana had to go to her doctor's appointments, and Lizzie had to take her. So it was that after breakfast, everyone went back to their rooms to pack their things to go home. Katie was going to stay at home with their parents for the rest of the week, but wanted to return to London, and get back to work and school after brunch on Sunday.

Will dropped Lizzie off at her and Jane's apartment a little after lunch time that afternoon, after they'd had a heated discussion about it of course. Lizzie wanted to be with Jane so that she wasn't alone in their apartment, Will of course, didn't want Lizzie to leave his townhouse, and knowing that Georgiana could no longer be used as an excuse, and not able to get up the nerves to just ask her to move in with him, relented to taking her 'home'.

So, when they pulled up to the curb behind Charlie's BMW, Will handed Lizzie her bags from the trunk and kissed her goodbye, leaving her and Jane to return home together. It wasn't until they had entered the apartment, put down their bags and locked the door behind them, was that neither of them felt like they were at home anymore.

"I don't think I want to live here anymore Lizzie," Jane said, so quietly that she could just make out the words. Lizzie was silent for a moment, as she made her way across the room, trailing her fingers along the back of their second hand couch. She stood in the doorway to her bedroom, the scene of the crime, and took a deep breath.

"I don't think I want to live here anymore either," she said, taking in the room. It had been so long since she'd actually stayed here, that everything seemed different. A lot of her belongings were still at Will's, and the things she used most often, still packed in her duffle bag in the living room. What she had left behind had been pushed to the back of shelves and dressers to make room for Katie's things. Then, there was the cardboard duct taped to the broken window reminding her that Wickham had been here, breathed this air and touched her things… and taken her sister.

"Charlie asked me to move in with him," Jane said, interrupting her thoughts.

"That's great Jane,"

"I haven't answered him yet," she admitted, "I mean, I know I'll be living with him after the wedding anyway, but I didn't want to leave you here on your own yet…"

She trailed off, and Lizzie didn't speak, her own thoughts dwelling on the Darcy townhouse, and how she'd rather be there right now than in her crime scene bedroom.

"You want to live with Will, don't you?" Jane asked, always so perceptive of her sister's thoughts.

"He hasn't asked me to live with him," was her response.

"He will," Jane replied, "He'd ask you in a heartbeat if her thought you were open to the idea, if he thought you wanted it,"

Lizzie smiled to herself, knowing that Jane was probably right. So what if they'd only been an official couple for two weeks? They'd pretty much been living together for the past two months, and sleeping together. Not to mention all the time they'd spent working together… even if they had hated each other… sort of.

"Say yes to Charlie," Lizzie said, stepping back into the hall and closing her bedroom door.

"Are you sure?" Jane asked

"Yep, positive," Lizzie replied, walking back towards the living room and picking up the phone on the bench between the couch and the kitchen, "The timing couldn't be better, Jane, I can't spend one more night in that room after what happened, and frankly, I don't want to. I love Will. I want to be with him, and I like living with him. Our lease is up at the end of the month anyway, and with you and Charles getting married, there's no point in prolonging the inevitable. I'm calling the realtor and giving her our notice, and then I'm dropping you off at Charlie's,"

Jane stared at her for a moment, her mouth hanging open a little. Lizzie had always been a very determined person, and Jane had always known her little sister to go after the things she wanted with no abandon… in every aspect except her personal life. She had to smile at the transformation Will had inspired in her sister. She just hoped Lizzie had the guts to follow through. Lizzie hung up the phone and Jane was still standing in the same place.

"And what are you going to do, Lizzie?" Jane asked, eyebrow arched, Lizzie grinned.

"I'm going to let Will know that I'm open to the idea," she answered, then grabbed her duffle bag and lead her sister out of their apartment, neither of the sister's intending to stay there again.