Lizzie waited for William while he retrieved the DVDs and together they arrived to the TV room. Fitz and Brandon were sitting together in one couch, while Kate and Gigi were in the larger one. Lizzie supposed that they wanted William to seat with them, and so she sat alone on the sofa.

William turned on the projector and the DVD player and then introduced the first disk.

Lizzie was a little nervous because only the Pemberley team had seen the mini series and they already knew what was it about. This was the first time that other people would watch it.

She kept glancing at the others and realized that they were very interested in the story, and she felt happy. And then when Lydia appeared on the screen, she felt again proud of her sister.

When the first episode finished, after an hour, everyone turned around and complimented Lizzie and William for their work. Lizzie blushed and looked down at her hands.

"Can we watch the next one?," Gigi asked, almost impatiently.

"Sure," William replied and went to change the disk.

They watched another episode together, and then Kate excused herself.

"I'm sorry to go, but I need to finish working on dinner. Very nice job, Lizzie," she said.

"I'll help you," Gigi offered.

"No, stay and enjoy," Kate said and walked to the door.

Lizzie decided to take a break and followed her.

"I'll be glad to help you," she said to Kate.

"You don't have to, you are guest."

"Please, you have been very kind to me, this is the least I can do," Lizzie responded.

"Okay," Kate said.

Lizzie followed her to the kitchen.

"So, what can I help you with?", Lizzie asked.

"Well, the cake is ready. I was just going to cut some carrots and celery, and make William's favorite, chicken wings."

"Excuse me, what?," Lizzie exclaimed, stupefied.

"Chicken wings."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh, mmm… I never thought William liked wings. It's not very CEO-like," Lizzie said.

"Well, he is a CEO but that does not define who he is," Kate replied.

"You're totally right. It was just surprising," Lizzie commented.

Kate wanted to say that there were a lot of things about William that would surprise her, but she kept her mouth shut.

"So, I will do the wings and you can help with the veggies, what do you think?," Kate asked.

"All right," Lizzie said.

Kate gave everything she needed and Lizzie started to work.

"William told me that you started working for his parents after he was born," she casually said.

"Yes, I was twenty-two years old, and William was six months old," Kate responded.

"Oh, and how did you meet them?"

"Well, my mom worked as a receptionist in Pemberley and I was finishing my Bachelor in Child and Youth Care when she died because of cancer."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, Lizzie," Kate said softly.

"Anyway, my older sister was already married at the time and had moved to Maryland, so I was alone here. When Mr. Darcy, William Sr. learned about my mother, he paid for the rest of my studies. When I finished school, Ann Darcy asked me if I want to work for them, taking care of William while I found another job."

"I obviously accepted and I fell in love with their little baby as soon as I met him. I realized that they needed help running this big house, because they worked a lot and I decided to stay here. That was probably one of the best decision of my life."

"Wow, they were really good people."

"They truly were; their death was a great loss, for us all."

"And you never thought of marrying and having your own family?," Lizzie said without thinking. When she realized that, she immediately apologized, "Please, excuse me, Kate! I did not mean to ask that…"

"Don't worry, Lizzie, I get that question a lot. I did date but I just never met the right man; I mean, until now. And after the death of their parents, I could not leave William and Georgiana. The Darcys are the family that I chose to have. But now that they are both adults, they don't need me as they used to and things will change."

"But I can tell how much you mean to them, it's pretty obvious," Lizzie stated.

"Yes, I know, and they are very important to me too, they are like my children. And as such, I can't stay with them forever, they have to make their own lives and I have to continue with my mine."

Kate finished with the preparation of the wings and she put them in the oven.

"It will take an hour or so. Do you want to help with the table?," she asked Lizzie.

"Of course."

Working together, their task was finished quickly.

"Great, let's take a break. I made some lemonade," Kate offered.

They returned to the kitchen and sat on the bench, in silence. Lizzie had enjoyed talking with Kate, but she felt she needed to address the elephant in the room.

"Kate, I want to talk about..."

"George," Kate sighed, "I understand."

Lizzie nodded.

"Well, I obviously met him when he was a child, before his father passed away. I think he was five at the time. He was very sweet but I could tell he was missing something. After his father died, my suspicions became certain. He was very neglected by his mother."

"I did not know that, he never spoke of her," Lizzie said.

"As I told you, their relationship was not the greatest, and she went away when George finished high school. I really don't know if anyone try to look for her, but she never came back."

"I tried to help him while he was in this house, which was pretty much of the time. I thought I helped because he seemed happier."

"However, when he and William reached puberty, something changed. I thought it was that phase and the hormones, the girls. I tried to reach for him again. But he did not let me and I respected his decision. Pushing him would have not made things better."

"Then, they went to college. I only know what William has told me but it seems that his behavior did not change. When he returned to San Francisco, he was so different form the little boy I used to know. He was so full of himself, very proud. It was as if he felt that he did not have to work to get the things he wanted out of life."

"And you know what happened later. With William and Georgiana," Kate murmured.

"When I confronted him, his words made me think that he was jealous of them," Lizzie said to her.

"Maybe, he is. The Darcys never made a distinction with him. But I think it was pretty obvious to him how much they loved their children, and he resented that he did not have that. Or the money. William Sr. was going to help him, but William and Georgiana were going to get the company. My best guess is that the combination of all these made him change and behave the way he did."

"It enrages me to know what he did to Gigi. And you don't know how much I wish I never encountered him again. How I wish I never loved him," Lizzie uttered.

"I understand you Lizzie, but you should not hate him. You know what a powerful feeling like that can do. We can't stop bad things from happening but we can learn from them. Besides, sometimes they bring good things. Maybe this experience will show you what have you been missing and what you need now."

Lizzie's mind briefly drifted to William, but was distracted by the sound of steps. It was Brandon.

"Oh, hi. I just came to get water," he said, assuming that he had interrupting something.

"There's lemonade if you want," Lizzie offered.

"Great, thank you," he answered.

Lizzie took that opportunity to talk with him.

"Brandon, I have a question, a legal question."

"Excuse me," Kate said and disappeared.

Lizzie proceeded to explain her situation with George and the apartment.

"Mmm, this is outside my area of expertise, but this what I know. Even though his name is not on the lease, he has lived there for months and contributed to the rent and that complicates things."

"Okay," Lizzie breathed.

"You will have to give him a notice to vacate the place. If he does not obey, which we know might be the case, then you will have to involve your landlord and go through an eviction process. And that's going to take some time."

"How long?," she asked.

"At least a month."

Lizzie grew exasperated and put her head between her hands.

"A month? I can't stay in a hotel for a month! I'm homeless..."

"I'm sorry, Lizzie. But if you need a place to stay, you can count on Fitz and me. We have a spare room. Or you could stay here. I'm sure Kate and William would not mind."

"He's right," Kate suddenly said. Both Lizzie and Brandon turned to see her.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to hear your conversation," Kate apologized. She was coming back to the kitchen and happened to overhear the last part of their talk.

"You know you can stay here, Lizzie, as long as you need."

"But I don't know how long this whole thing will take, I can't ask this of you or William. Besides, I already told him that I was leaving tomorrow."

"He would not mind the chance of plans. Remember that we are here to help you," Kate said.

Lizzie sighed. She did not have another choice. She did not want to bother Charlotte's family, and being in a hotel for a month was too much. She reconsidered Kate's offer.

"Thank you, Kate. I'll repay your kindness somehow," Lizzie said.

"You don't have to do that. I'm glad you are staying," Kate replied.

"If that's okay with you, Lizzie, I can talk with Samantha, one of my colleagues at the firm. She has more experience dealing with this sort of cases."

"Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you Brandon."

"No problem," Brandon smiled and returned to the TV room.

Soon after that, the oven made a sound, indicating that the wings were done. And that sound seemed to have alerted the others because Lizzie heard their voices.

Gigi appeared in the kitchen and asked if they needed help to get the food. Kate handed her the plate with the vegetables and the dressing.

"I can't wait to see the rest of the mini series. It's very good, Lizzie," she said.

"Thanks, Gigi. It'll be probably be finished in a month."

"Great," Georgiana replied and walked to the dining room.

"No, William, stay here and sit down," Lizzie heard her say.

"He must be asking if he can help," Kate laughed. She finished putting some of the wings in the sauce. She gave one tray to Lizzie and they went to the dining room.

In there, they found Gigi next to William at the table. Kate put her tray on the table and sat next to him. Lizzie did the same thing and took the seat at Kate's left. Fitz and Brandon appeared together and joined them.

William looked around the table and felt very happy. It had been a long time since he had since his house full of people. Especially, full of people that he loved and cared about.

"Well, I won't make a speech, but I'll just say: Happy birthday, William!," Kate exclaimed.

They all laughed and thanked her for cooking.

Kate's wings were probably some of the best Lizzie had ever had. But the best part was seeing William trying to eat them with as much propriety as possible. She wondered how that could be his favorite food if he had so much trouble eating it.

Most of the wings were gone by the time Kate reminded them of dessert. Then everyone stopped eating and went to wash their hands.

Kate got up and came back with a cake, covered with white frosting and with two candles shaped as the number 2 and 7 on top. Fitz started to sing Happy Birthday and Lizzie joined them, as well as the rest of the party.

"Now, make a wish," Georgiana said.

William smiled at her, closed his eyes for a second and blew off the candles.

"This is his favorite too," Kate said to Lizzie and pointed to the cake. When she started cutting the pieces, Lizzie realized it was red velvet. It was her favorite too.

They were enjoying a nice conversation while eating the cake.

It was getting late and Fitz and Brandon said goodbye to everyone. Lizzie noticed when William pulled his friend apart and talked with him. He was probably informing him of their plan for the next day.

Gigi hugged his brother one last time and went to her room to finish packing. Kate offered to help her and left William alone with Lizzie.

"I hope you enjoyed your day," Lizzie said.

"Yes, I did. And I hope you're feeling better," he answered.

"Yes, all of you helped a lot."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"I have to tell you something, William. I talked with Brandon and apparently getting George out of my apartment is not going to be easy," Lizzie said and explained what Brandon had said to her.

"I know I told you that I was leaving tomorrow, but with this new information, it seems I am homeless. So…"

"Stay here," William said quickly, interrupting her. Lizzie smiled faintly at his response.

"I mean… I already told that you're very welcome in this house and I am happy to help in any way I can."

Lizzie lifted her hand and touched him on the arm.

"You're a great man, you know?," she said, looking directly at his eyes.

He did not know what to say.

"Thank you for your hospitality and friendship."

Lizzie stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

"Happy birthday, William," she added and left to her room.

William stayed in his place, flushed and dumbstruck.

Could he dare to hope? She looked happy, at ease when she was with him. he knew it was too soon to think about that, but it was difficult to repress his thoughts about a future with her.

She just had told him that she was getting better, but he feared that as long as George was in her present, she would not be ready to entertain thoughts of a new relationship.

He just needed to wait and be patient and be there for her. And do not give up this time.