Chapter 2

4 years earlier

"Come on, Lizzy! Please, I'm begging you here. Will you go with me tonight, I need a date and I can't stomach another of these functions with Anne" cajoled Darcy.

"Oh, so it's so boring you want to drag me into your misery as well. No! That was not how I was planning on spending my evening and besides Darce, when you ask a girl to one of your functions you have to give her time to prepare. First of all, I don't have a dress. Second my polish is chipped on my nails. Normally that wouldn't matter but I would be eaten alive by your so-called society friends" Lizzy replied.

"Those are your reasons, no dress and a bad paint job. Psh, you're such a girl."

"No you're the girl"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Dang it Lizzy! How do you always win those? Never mind, what if I told you I had taken care of the dress; so now you have time to paint your nails."

"Now I'm impressed and a little pissed off at you assumption that I would go with you tonight. What if I would have had a date? Would you expect me to cancel on him?"

"Seriously, I would know if you had a date and besides your manicure wouldn't be chipped if you did."

"God, you are a girl. Ok what about this, how did you know what size of dress to buy me and what if it's totally hideous and I can't wear it?"

"You wear a four; you've worn a four since I've known you. That wasn't the hard part. The hard part was fleeing the over eager shop assistants while I was trying to buy you a dress. And it won't be hideous because if it was it would reflect badly on me." Darcy replied while trying to mask his smirk.

"Fine, what time is the function?" conceded Lizzy.

"At seven sharp."

"Well I better go attempt to salvage whatever you bought me."

And with that she left the room, all the while Darcy was barely hiding the grin on his face. He was finally getting what he wanted his Lizzy was going with him on a date.

Present Day

It was the whimpering that woke him up first. Disoriented his mind flailed to comprehend what was going on. Then he remembered, Lizzy was here with him once again, his beautiful precious Lizzy here in his home. Then he realized she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Lizzy, darling what is it?" whispered Darcy as he pulled her closer.

"Do not touch me, get away now!" Shouted Lizzy in the quiet of the apartment.

Darcy instantly pulled back, fears of what happened to her ringing in his mind. That was when he realized he had been utterly stupid. So stupid in fact he couldn't believe his ignorance. Lizzy was badly hurt not only physically but emotionally as well. His first course of action should have been to take pictures of her injuries so the law could screw the bastard that did this to a wall. His second step should have been to call the police or to take her to them. What had he done instead? He rejoiced that she had come here, had paid little attention to her behavior, and now looking back she wasn't acting in a way that the old Lizzy would have.

Turning back to the present he set about trying to rectify the situation. Not knowing the extent that her husband had abused her, he felt he should be fully clothed rather than just the boxers he was wearing. Moving slowly so as not to disturb Lizzy as she had calmed down and returned to a relative peaceful sleep he slid out of the king bed.

Gingerly he approached his closet and pulled out a pair of jeans, and a long-sleeved sweatshirt from college as well as a white t-shirt, and slipped into his cross-trainers. As he stepped out of the closet, he saw Lizzy sitting up in his bed the sheet pulled to her chest. She was trembling.

"William what's going on?" Lizzy timidly asked

Darcy was thrown back in time that was the same question Giana asked him when he had to go into her room late the night their parents died. He wondered if Lizzy remembered that. She was there when he got the call from the police. She had been his only solace, and rock when he was trying to comfort his sister. Trying to put on the brave and courageous face when he felt his world was coming apart. She was there and pulled him through that time, so he would be here for her no matter what she asked.

"I've been an idiot, we need to photograph your injuries, and we need to see the police. I can't believe how stupid I was when I saw you. It had been such a long time, and to see you at my door my heart about burst. But if we are going to get your husband for this we need to act." Declared Darcy decidedly.

"You were happy to see me?" questioned Lizzy.

"God, yes, Elizabeth. I'd never thought I'd see you again. He took you away and I felt that my life wasn't worth living. I'd kept living just so I could see if you were happy, because that's all I ever wanted."

"Do you have any clothes for me to wear; I want to get this over with. I want to be happy again too."

A/N: Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I'd never realized that this story would receive such a tremendous response! For all those who review you brought some good questions. I know Elizabeth seems a bit OOC. And I truly never meant to offend anybody with the way I wrote her abuse, I was going from the standpoint that she was at once a very strong-willed and independent woman and she would have eventually broken through the mental block of abuse. Also, thank you for the advice of photographing her injuries, and going to the police. As a writer, I'd never thought about that and this chapter would have gone differently if I hadn't read your suggestions. So once again THANK YOU!

TrippandFall