A/N: Calm down, my lovelies. Nothing about Georgiana's tragic past will be mentioned again. I just needed to provide her with a worse backstory than the original. Also, no slight against great universities or their graduates is intended by anything in this chapter, I am from a great university (of my country of course) after all, but is needed for the story arc. This is AU, remember. And have I told you all that my beta is the best? Really, she rocks!
Chapter 7
The couple walked in companionable silence towards Lizzy's cottage, contemplating their previous quarrel. Darcy looked askance at her and could see the bruises left by his own hand. He reached for her discoloured arm and touched it gently. "God, what have I done? Please forgive me, Miss Bennet."
Lizzy turned her eyes to where Mr. Darcy was caressing her arm. "Oh! It seems I will have to use long sleeves for the next few days," she said surprised at the bruising already in evidence. "You can get very brutal when angered, Mr. Darcy. You should learn to control your temper; it will do you no good," Lizzy added with a sad smile.
Darcy was heavy hearted. How can I seek her favour now? Why would she ever forgive me? "What I did was inexcusable, Miss Bennet. I know that I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, but I am a selfish person and I must do so."
Lizzy was opening the door to her house and turned around to look Mr. Darcy in the eyes. "Of course, you can ask my forgiveness, Mr. Darcy. It surprises me that you would be willing to ask such thing of, as you said, a nobody."
The gentleman froze in his place. He was mortified at not only having said such a thing, but in hearing his callous words repeated back to him. He could not recall being this embarrassed. His face burned red from shame and regret.
Lizzy laughed heartily. "I was sporting with you, Mr. Darcy. I guess this is not a good time for my teasing. . . I tend to joke when I get nervous to lighten the mood, but you are not used to such thing, I should not have done that."
Darcy let out a deep breath. "I am not used to it indeed, but if you allow me to continue our acquaintance, I hope that I will learn how to discern your teasing from a serious declaration. I certainly have not the talent which some people possess to immediately catch the tone of conversation with new acquaintances."
"Why would I not allow you to continue? Maybe this episode was a necessary one; I do believe in fate. And I hope that I can call you a friend, Mr. Darcy," Lizzy entered the cottage and extended her hand, inviting Mr. Darcy to follow her. "Come inside, I think we both could use a cup of tea or at least a glass of water." Sensing Darcy's hesitation on being in a room alone with her, she let out an exasperated breath. "After all that happened, you will still hold on some convention of propriety that I am clearly not attached to?"
Darcy thought about her words, "It is true, with everything that has passed between us this week I must reconsider the rules of gentlemanly behaviour when interacting with her." A newly resolved Darcy walked through the door "I am sorry, Miss Bennet, 'tis hard to let go of old habits which have been the product of a lifetime on such short notice. I will do my best, be patient with me. And nothing would bring me more pleasure then being considered your friends."
Lizzy looked back and smiled; it was amazing how she had gone from wanting to crawl into her bed and cry until she fell asleep to feeling at peace again in so short of a time. "Take a seat, Mr. Darcy. What can I get you?"
"A cup of tea would be nice thank you."
"Tea it is then!" Lizzy disappeared trough the kitchen's door.
Darcy took a good look around her parlour one more time. It contained some rather odd items he had never seen before. "I must ask about those things, they seem so interesting." A movement caught his attention; it was Fass entering the room. "Good morning, Mr. Fass."
"Good morning, Mr. Darcy. Lizzy asked me to come in here for a while." Fass took a seat, not because he desired or needed to, but because he had been programmed to do so while waiting for orders.
Lizzy came back with the cups and served their tea. "I trust you, Mr. Darcy. I do not know why, but I do." Lizzy took a seat beside Darcy. "I see in you a good partner who will be able to help me here. As you may imagine, it is very difficult to deal within a society I do not understand well."
"I would be honoured to be able to help you. I feel that I have a lot that I can learn from your experiences."
"So do I," Lizzy smiled and touched his hand. "I still have a lot to learn, and your support would mean the world to me. I had known you for only two days when you made my wish to meet the scientific community here come true."
"The credit is not mine; everyone there was already looking for you."
Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I assumed that you might like to know more about me, about my world. . ."
"Yes, I would like nothing better."
"I supposed it to be so. I will have Fass help with your learning process. He has a lot of information stored within him, and he can show you all that you would like to know. I just need to change Fass's permissions to allow you to give orders to him. He just obeys me now."
"I suppose that I will need to ask for this permission."
"Answer, not ask. Fass will ask you some questions, you only have to provide the answers, and it is done."
"It sounds simple enough."
"It is." Lizzy got up and walked to Fass. "Fass, set up a new user account." Lizzy turned to Darcy "When he begins asking you a question, answer it."
"Your full name, please?"
"Fitzwilliam David Michael Darcy"
"Where do you live?"
"Pemberley, Derbyshire"
"Who is your favourite person?"
"Georgiana."
"New user complete."
Lizzy clapped her hands. "We are ready, Mr. Darcy. Now you can ask Fass anything. He will show you anything that you would wish to see, and he will also be able to suggest some new topics that you may be interested in."
"What should I do now?" Darcy was curious about what he would be able to learn.
"You can ask him anything that you wish to know about my world, the science I use, our history, and our culture. The possibilities are endless," Lizzy happily replied.
"I will begin with something I have wondered about since the last time I was here." Darcy turned to Fass "Can you explain about music in your world, Mr. Fass?"
"Certainly, Mr. Darcy. Would you not like to hear some first?"
Darcy looked at Lizzy; she nodded and he answered, "Yes, I heard a song the last time I visited. The lyrics spoke of kissing girls. . ."
"Oh! You heard that! That is a very suggestive song, Mr. Darcy. It may offend your sensibilities," Lizzy teased.
"Hardly, Miss Bennet," Darcy scoffed. I have visited brothels after all. I doubt a song can offend me.
"As you wish, Mr. Darcy" replied Fass in his usual cold, emotionless tone. "The song you refer to is named 'I Kissed a Girl'; the singer is named Katy Perry. She is Lizzy's favourite singer."
Fass played the song, the music and singer's voice were as Darcy had remembered them, but there was no instrument nor were Fass's lips moving. Darcy's eyes widen. Where is this sound coming from? How is that possible?
Sensing the unspoken question, Lizzy said, "In my world we can capture artists performing songs, they are called a recordings, so that you can hear them anywhere and anytime you might wish. Some of them are by extremely famous, important, influential people who are very rich."
"This is too fantastic! Imagine being able to keep for life a beautiful piece of music whose performance you had heard which moved you, and to be able to listen to it whenever you would like!"
Lizzy was impressed by his consideration. He indeed had a fine mind; she was sure that she had done the right thing by giving him access to Fass. "I like the way you think, Mr. Darcy. You have an agile intellect."
Darcy kept asking questions and learning what Fass was able to do; he was beginning to appreciate all the novelties as Fass and Miss Bennet presented them to him. The ability to do this moving painting is brilliant. She comes from a special place indeed.
Lizzy began preparing lunch; Darcy was so immersed in his discoveries that he did not give it a second thought when she invited him to join her, quickly accepting.
Yes, she reassured herself once again, I made the right decision.
It was late in the afternoon when Darcy realised how long he had been at her cottage. "I am sorry for imposing on your generosity, Miss Bennet. I lost all sense of time; 'tis too interesting."
"Do not worry, Mr. Darcy. I can arrange for you to spend some time with Fass in the future; I am sure you have a lot to understand yet."
"As you said, Miss Bennet, the possibilities are indeed endless." Preparing to depart, he took her hand raised it his lips, and kissed it gently.
Lizzy blushed, but collected herself when she recalled something of importance she wished to ask him. "Mr. Darcy, may I ask you when could we arrange the visit to the Royal Society? I am a bit anxious for that. . ."
"Of course, Miss Bennet. Would next Monday afternoon be acceptable? We could leave after Sunday service. And as you are my guest; you must stay at Darcy House."
"I would not wish to impose, Mr. Darcy. I could go and come back on the same day."
"Nonsense! I will have none of this. We will travel as I explained to you," he said in a voice that would brook no opposition, "and I must escort you to the Society."
"That would be most agreeable, Mr. Darcy, for I do not know how to one is to behave among these scientists. I may need your assistance; after all, they are your friends."
"I will do anything to help you, Miss Bennet. You can be assured of that."
Lizzy could not stop herself; she closed the short distance between them and held him close to her. "Thank you so much, Mr. Darcy."
Still being hugged by Lizzy, he replied, "Please, do not thank me, Miss Bennet. I cannot bear it! You need never thank me for anything. It will take a lifetime to make amends for my ungentleman like actions earlier. I will do anything for you to make it up to you."
Darcy marvelled at the sensation of having her so close. She smelt of spring and something else, something wonderful, and her soft flesh was pressed against him. His arms moved around her of their own volition; she was in his arms now and he felt an overwhelming desire to kiss her. Stop it, Darcy! Pull yourself together.
Instead of acting upon his impulses, he commented, "So this is the said 'hug'. . ." Darcy tightened his arms in the 'hug'.
Lizzy let her head rest on his shoulder. "Yes, it is." Mr. Bingley must have told him about this, she mused.
Darcy had long since returned to Netherfield and Lizzy was feeling exhausted. The happiness she had felt earlier slipped away and his angry outburst from that morning when he first came upon her came rushing back. It was too much emotional upheaval for just one day. All she wanted now was her bed and sleep, but sleep would not come; her mind was in too much turmoil.
'You are a nobody!' Of the entire occurrence, these words had hurt the most. She had worked her entire life to be somebody. Lizzy understood anger and the reactions it could evoke in people; once upon a time, she had been exactly like that.
She had always been the different one; she was fifteen years old when she applyed for early acceptance to MIT [1], her classmates had been vicious. The truth was they were jealous because she was gifted and jealousy brings out the very worst in people, especially teenagers. She was bullied constantly, she tried to ignore them, but her temper finally got the best of her. She would pick fights, returned their bitter epithets with voracity and so never had a single friend in school. Nothing seemed right; she felt out of place, as if she didn't belong there. It was torture every day she was there. The happiest day of her life was when she received her acceptance letter to MIT. Everything will be better now! she thought. But Lizzy was both naive and wrong; if jealousy was a problem in high school; at university it was a million times worse.
Her classmates despised her; all MIT students thought that they were special, thus she was too young to be one of them. Even some professors treated her with disdain. But there was a sign of hope; his name was Paul. Paul was a sweet guy that took her under his wing on her first day. Lizzy was so young and seemed so lost. He knew that, without assistance, she would be swallowed by the enormity of the university machine she was entering. He became her guide and her first friend. In return, what he discovered from being around Lizzy, realising her abilities, awed him. If only they would give her a chance! We have so much we could learn with her wonderful mind. Paul always felt blessed for knowing Lizzy.
Besides Paul, the rest of Lizzy's support group was her family. Her parents, Jolene and John, and younger sister, Nathalie, meant the world to her. They knew how truly remarkable Lizzy was and were always supportive and immensely proud of her. Her mother was always there for her when she needed her, which was often since she was always in trouble, or suffered from hurt feelings or both when she was young. Nathalie was four years younger than she was and held Lizzy up as a role model; Lizzy was her hero.
At university, Lizzy had to prove herself over and over again. Nothing she did or conjectured was easily accepted. In the beginning, she would lock herself in her dorm room and cry for it was all so unfair. Unlike in school, she quickly developed a thick skin and was able to deflect all the jealous, vicious comments and attempts to sabotage her work. As she approached graduation, things began to really look up; she could not be loved or even liked for herself, but she was indeed respected for her abilities. Lizzy was invited to participate in several master programs from top universities around the world; she even considered studying in Japan.
Her love life had never been a priority, but she was still young. Boys were intimidated by her; she was a powerful, witty woman, who would not take any nonsense from any man. When she was eighteen, she started dating an older classmate but it did not last. As he said when they broke up, he 'felt emasculated by her.' Lizzy had only short, meaningless, physical relationships after that. She was not willing to deal with that kind of drama again, but she certainly enjoyed the sex.
Just when she thought her personal life had become somewhat normal, the sisters of Fate [2] intervened and Clotho [2] spun a different thread for her life. Her worst fear came true. Her family was driving up to attend her graduation ceremony; her father loved to drive and would always take them on road trips. But this road trip ended in a cruel twist of fate that almost destroyed Lizzy; a truck drifted across the center lane of the road and crashed into their car. Jolene and John were killed instantly. Nathalie was life-flighted to a hospital were Atropos [2] ensured that an incompetent physician was on duty that shift; his lack of knowledge about basic first aid procedures killed Lizzy's sweet baby sister as surely as the truck driver had caused her to be sent there in the first place.
Lizzy was inconsolable. Why is life so cruel to me? What have I done to deserve so much punishment? was all she could think. As he had since the beginning of their friendship, Paul supported her through it all; let her mourn in the way she felt was the best. The fact that her sister might still be with her if not for some unqualified doctor drove her to choose medical school for her postgraduate studies. She shut herself off from the world; immersed her mind in the coursework, and simultaneously decided to build a system that could be used to support medical diagnoses. But she built something even greater than her original intent; she built Fass.
In the end, she returned to her old self, returning to the world of the living, but there was something still missing; she had a hole in her heart. Nothing could hold her attention anymore; studying just bored her to death. When she was invited to participate in the mission through the wormhole, there was not a moment's hesitation on her part that she would go. Lizzy was aware that by accepting she was probably facing certain death, but she felt like she was facing a slow death if she stayed.
When disaster had once again struck those close to her and she arrived on this other Earth, Lizzy could have seen it as the fates once more intervening to destroy her life. The new Lizzy was made of stronger stuff and understood this was her chance to start over; to help people, to improve their lives; to make a difference and leave all of her past far, far behind. Mr. Darcy's vile words had brought back all her feelings of inadequacy. She had not come as far as she thought. She was all by herself, no loving family, no Paul, just her. I do not belong here; I will never belong. I will never belong anywhere. Lizzy didn't cry; she was proud of being strong, and found crying showed a weakness of character. But she decided to be weak just for today. Tears flowed from her eyes until sleep took their place.
A/N:
[1] MIT is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the foremost and respected research and education universities in the world for the physical sciences and engineering.
[2] The Moirai or Fates were three sister deities in Greek mythology, incarnations of destiny and life. Their names were Clotho, the one who spins the thread of life; Lachesis, she who draws the lots and determines how long one lives, by measuring the thread of life; and Atropos, the inevitable, she who chose how someone dies by cutting the thread of life with her shears.