When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.
It all went down when William received an urgent message from one of Pemberley's subsidiary in Miami.
A year after he had taken charge of Pemberley, William had promoted a merger with one small but promising Internet company in Orlando. That had been one of his first big projects and he was quite proud of the outcome, a quite successful one. Or that was what it looked like.
That phone call proved otherwise. It was from one of the lawyers that worked for that company. He had learnt that the company manager had taken money for his own purposes and had fled the country.
William listened to the news in shock; he had never seen that coming. At the time of merger, he had refrained from making any movements in the company, as its personnel had been one of the things that had encouraged him to make the investment.
He hung up with the lawyer after a long conversation and started to think how he could deal with the problem. William knew that he had to inform the board, so he called for an immediate meeting. He also asked Ann to make all the necessary changes in his schedule.
William wanted to see Lizzie, or at least tell her what was happening, but his phone started to ring again and he lost track of time.
As usual, at lunchtime, Lizzie took the elevator to meet William. She had gotten used to receive a smile from Ann Reynolds and an invitation to enter William's office. But that day was different. Ann was busy talking on the phone and typing on her computer.
Lizzie was about to ask if she could go inside, but Ann shook her head and hold her hand in the air, signaling Lizzie to wait. When she finally put the phone down, she spoke to Lizzie.
"Sorry, Lizzie, but we have a situation right now and I don't know if Mr. Darcy can see you now."
"What happened?!," Lizzie asked, concerned.
"Oh, I don't…," Ann started when her intercom buzzed. William called her in and Ann left Lizzie waiting.
Lizzie was getting very anxious. She needed to know what was happening, and how she could help William.
After a couple of minutes, Ann reappeared and told Lizzie she could come inside the office. Lizzie did not wait a second and entered.
"William, what happ…," Lizzie started to say, but William's lips muffled her.
As soon as Ann had told him that Lizzie was waiting outside, William relaxed a little and asked her to find him some time free. Ann knew her boss needed that, so she promised to take care of things while he was with Lizzie.
William waited for Lizzie by the door, needing to hold her. At that moment, her love was the only thing that was true for him.
Lizzie was surprised by his reaction but responded to his kiss with equal passion. He was not violent but Lizzie could feel the urge in his touch. Finally, William pulled apart but did not let go of her.
"What's wrong and how I can help?," she said immediately.
William smiled warmly at her, for her concern. They sat together on his couch and told her everything about Miami.
"That's terrible! How did he get away with that?!," she exclaimed.
"We don't know yet. We are just starting the investigation," he replied.
"I'm so sorry, William," Lizzie said and squeezed his hand.
"I should have paid more attention or been in more constant communication with the company. I feel this is all my fault," William sighed.
"No, William, you cannot take responsibility for this. This wasn't by any means your fault."
"But what would people think of this when it sees the light? It will be such a disappointment. After all the work my family has put into Pemberley…"
"William, stop! You cannot think like this. A lot of people admire for all you have done for Pemberley. As CEO, you have a lot of responsibilities and have to rely and trust in others to get all the work done. This is not your fault."
William sighed again. In a matter of hours, he felt as if he had lost so much of the effort he had put in his family's company after the death of his parents. He was frustrated and beyond angry. But Lizzie's words and love were reassuring, and he started to feel a little better.
"Thank you, Lizzie," he said and kissed her again, "I love you."
"I love you too. Just never doubt of you again, love," she pled.
"I won't, I promise," he replied.
"Now, what can I do to help?," she asked again.
"I'm afraid nothing. Knowing that you are by my side is more than enough," he said, "But you might want to go home without me, I have a very long day ahead of me."
"I'll wait for you," Lizzie stated.
"That's not necessary. I don't know when I'll done."
"William, I'll wait. Now, you need to eat," she said and asked Ann to get some food for him.
They stayed together while he reluctantly ate, as the knot in his stomach had not loosened enough.
With sorrow, Lizzie left William to continue working. When she returned to her office, she still had the image of an angry and defeated William. She had not seen him like that since the "incident". She hoped that her words had helped and was determined to help in any way she could.
She wanted to know more about embezzlement to see how she could help, so she decided to call her father. Since he was an accountant, she thought he might tell her how someone could steal money from a company and go unnoticed.
Her father was surprised to hear the bad news and told Lizzie all he knew of that matter. He asked her to keep him posted and his daughter promised to do so.
Earlier that day, Lizzie had been writing, but after being with William, her head was too busy thinking on other things to continue working. Fortunately for her, one of her new interns asked to meet her, and they chatted about some upcoming projects. That helped her pass the time, and when she looked at the clock again, she realized it was getting late and William had not called her.
She assumed he was still busy, and waited for him a couple of hours more. She organized her desktop and checked some emails before Ann called her and told her that William was done for the day. Lizzie thanked her for her gesture, and before heading to his office, she stopped at the cafeteria.
Lizzie was sitting outside William's office, when the door opened and Catherine de Bourgh exited.
"Catherine!", Lizzie said surprised.
"Elizabeth, good night," William's aunt greeted her, "Such a shame we have to meet in this circumstance."
"I agree," Lizzie replied.
"It's been a rather tiring day, so I'll leave now. I trust that you will take care of William and support him," Catherine added.
"Of course," Lizzie immediately said. She did not need to be told to do so.
"I just wanted to be sure. Good bye Elizabeth," Catherine added and walked to the elevator.
"Bye, Catherine," Lizzie sighed as she watched her go.
"Love...," Lizzie heard her boyfriend's voice and she turned to see him. He was standing in the doorframe of his office, and it was painful to see how tired he was.
"I brought you hot chocolate," she said as she gave him a cup, and wrapped his free hand with hers.
"You read my mind, thanks," he replied, squeezing her hand gently.
"Are you ready to go home?," she asked.
"Yes, let's go," William replied and just re-entered his office to get his jacket and cell phone.
On their way home, he told her about the rest of his day and all his meetings with lawyers, the board and finally with his aunt. Catherine was mad as well, but did not believe that it was William's fault. She offered him her full support and demanded to be in constant communication with him.
"I'll have to go to Florida," William finished.
"I suspected that," Lizzie sighed, "When?"
"The day after tomorrow," he answered.
"For how long?"
"A couple of days."
"I wish I could go with you," Lizzie said.
"Me too," William responded.
Both of them knew that she could not leave town. She had an important meeting with the TV network's director about the miniseries, and some other potential projects.
When they arrived to their house, William offered to make dinner but Lizzie dismissed him. She had called Kate and asked her to cook some of his favorite dishes. He thanked her for her consideration, and went to their bedroom to take a shower. In the meantime, Lizzie heated a portion of some of the dishes and brought it to their bedroom.
"You didn't have to do this, Lizzie," William immediately said when he stepped out of the bathroom and found her in the bed, with a tray of delicious food.
"I know, but I want to take care of you, as you took care of me," she replied and patted the spot next to her so William would join her.
He just smiled and obeyed. When they finished eating, Lizzie returned to the kitchen to put away the dishes.
By the time she returned, she found William soundly sleeping. She did her best not to wake him up as she prepared for the night, and finally cuddled by his side.
As he already knew, the next day was equally tiresome for William. The initial shock had faded but there was need for damage control.
Part of the reason William was traveling to Miami was to assure the employees that their job and benefits were not in danger.
That night, when they returned home, William tried to correspond Lizzie's gestures with love, but once again he was very tired and knew she deserved better from him. Instead, he contented himself by holding her tightly during the night.
The following morning, Lizzie drove William to the airport. They said good-bye with a long kiss, and she promised to be back for him.
In Miami, William started working with the company's accountants and lawyers to make an audit. Things were going to be slow because they were going to be very meticulous.
William had to stay longer that the two days that he had planned, but at least he knew that the problem was not unsolvable.
When he arrived to the airport, Lizzie was already waiting for him, as promised. William wished he did not have to leave again, but knew it was not possible.
He had decided to visit all Pemberley's subsidiaries and have an audit made. He had to show that he was on top of things and in charge. That was why, over the course of the following months, he and his CFO, Logan St. Clair, travelled to Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, Austin and Boston.
Before William went away for the second time, Lizzie told him that she would always be available for him in case he wanted to talk, and that if he was too tired to call, she would understand. But she assured him that he would always get a good morning or good night text from her.
In between his travels, when he was back in San Francisco, William tried to spend time with Lizzie but work was still demanding all his time and energy.
William felt terrible about that, and sometimes, Lizzie's reassurance was not enough to calm him. He remembered Andrea and what had happened to their relationship after the death of his parents, and feared that the past would repeat itself.
But not matter what happened, every time he looked at Lizzie's eyes, he only saw understanding and love. She did even not complain when he missed their one-year anniversary. He sent her flowers from Chicago and was rewarded with a very long and full of love email from Lizzie. He managed to call her really late and she was not annoyed. Instead, she was radiant because she was able to tell him in real time how much she loved him and his flowers had meant for her. Details like those made him keep on going and not give up.
Finally, William's crazy schedule and numerous travels came to an end.
After one last meeting in Boston, everything looked under control and William felt he could breathe again. Logan offered to wrap things up in Boston, so that William could return early to San Francisco.
William did not know if his longing for Lizzie was that obvious, but he did not care. He thanked Logan, and after making a last review of things, took the first flight he could find back home.
He had hardly stepped on the baggage claim area when a body collided against him.
"Elizabeth...," he sighed in her ear as he let go of his suitcase and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"Welcome home," she said and kissed him with all her might. She did not care that they were in public; she just wanted to feel him and kiss him until she was out of breath.
"I missed you so," he replied, when they finally pulled apart.
"Me too, William. Let's get you home, ok?," she said.
"Yes, please," William answered, and let her lead the way to the car. During the drive home, Lizzie listened to his news regarding the embezzlement case and the result of his hard work over the last months.
She was delighted to hear that the damage was being repaired and that the incident had made Pemberley and its CEO even stronger. At some point, William stopped taking, and Lizzie turned around to see him sleeping. She did not disturb him and woke him up until they had arrived to the house.
"William, we are here," Lizzie said, and William instantly opened his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he mumbled and got out of the car.
"Don't be," Lizzie added and opened the door of the house.
When they entered the kitchen, William was pleasantly surprised by the smell.
"I know you must be hungry, so I made your favorite," Lizzie said.
"You made me chicken wings?," William asked.
"Yes, Kate taught me how to make them. I hope you'll like them," she replied.
William instantly walked to her and kissed fervently.
"I'll love them because you made them. Thank you, Lizzie," he said.
Lizzie smiled and kissed him again before she heated the food and he set up the table in the kitchen.
They ate in silence, mainly because William was indeed very hungry and his mouth was busy eating the tasty wings Lizzie had cooked. She did not say anything, she was just happy to see him eat and know that he would not leave again. When they finished, William helped to Lizzie to clean and thanked her for the wonderful wings.
"I feel like taking a nap," he said and yawned after that.
"Why don't you? You deserved it," Lizzie said.
"Mmm, but I came home early so I could be with you."
"That's okay, William, but you still look tired. You should sleep."
"Okay," he grunted and yawned again, "Would you come up with me?"
"Yes, just give me second, I'll be right there," she replied, so he went upstairs.
He changed clothes and brushed his teeth, and by the time, Lizzie arrived, he was already dozing off.
"Do you want something else?," she asked quietly as she sat on the bed.
"I want you," he replied, sleepily, and reached for her, making her land next to him on the mattress.
"William..." she sighed.
"I want, no, I need to be with you," he said and put his arms around her.
"I want you too, but you have to rest first," she responded. She was not rejecting him, she had missed him a lot while he was gone. But she knew he was beyond tired and need to rest in order to regain his energy.
"At least stay with me until I fall asleep," he asked.
"Of course," she replied.
"I love you," he said and kissed her forehead.
"I love you too, William. Now sleep," she replied and stayed there until his breathing was even and he was deeply asleep.
Since she was not tired or feeling sleepy, Lizzie decided to answer some emails and call Lydia about the musical. Lydia had gotten a second call for it, and she knew that was a good sign. They chatted a little more, until they both were ready to go to bed.
With care, Lizzie changed and brushed her teeth, before cuddling next to William, with a smile in her face because he was finally there with her.
She did not know how long she had been sleeping when she felt something moving over her stomach and her neck. She opened her eyes quickly, only to find William kissing her neck and sliding his hand under her top.
"Will...," she started to say but stopped when she felt his hand on her breast. Instead a soft moan escaped her mouth.
"How I missed that sound," he murmured as he hovered over her. His lips left her neck and moved towards her mouth.
Lizzie tried to talk again, but William quieted her with a kiss.
"Don't say anything. Just let me love you," he asked. So, Lizzie did not reply with words but with actions that kept them awake for the next hours.
The next morning, when William had finally woken up, he had left the urge to love Lizzie again. However, she had surprised him by taking the initiative this time.
Some time later, having sated their desires, Lizzie ended up on top of him, with his arms around her body.
"Lizzie, about what happened last night, and this morning...", William said as he caressed Lizzie's back.
"Yeah…," she said lazily.
"I was little… rough," he said. He had noticed two hickeys on her neck, and he was sure he could see his finger marks on her hips.
"So?," she replied. She remembered perfectly everything that they had done, and yes, he had been rough. But she had responded in the same way, his shoulder blades had suffered the attack of her nails.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you. I just needed you so badly and I…"
Lizzie lifted her head so she could look at his eyes.
"William. If you were hurting me, I would have told you to stop. Did I do that?," she said.
"No, but…"
"We both needed that, and it was amazing. More than amazing. So don't regret what happened."
"I don't regret it," he said.
"Good. End of the discussion," Lizzie stated and kissed him fully on the lips. William smiled against her lips, feeling relieved.
"Now, I have something to ask you," she added.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if now, given that the situation is controlled, you can take some time off. Go somewhere with me."
"Oh, I'd love to, but I am not sure," he answered. He knew he had worked overtime and needed time to relax and to be with her, but did not know if the board would allow it. He was the boss, but given the circumstances, he needed to ask.
"Just think about it, and let me know, okay?," Lizzie finished. She wanted to spend time alone with him, away from work and the city, so he could really relax and recharge.
William nodded in agreement. He knew she had also been under a lot of stress lately with the new season of the miniseries, and also worrying about him and supporting him. If he had been able to do all he had done, it had been in great part because of her. Being away, just the two of them, was just what they needed after that ordeal.
His mind started to imagine all the things they could do, and realized that he could do some of them already. His lips looked for hers, and his hands moved on her skin.
"Again?," Lizzie asked as he turned her on her back and was on top of her.
"Oh, yes. Sometimes, three times are not enough," he answered, with a grin on his face.
"I agree," she said playfully and those were last coherent words that were heard for a while.
You raise me up - Josh Groban
conijito dot tumblr dot com/post/77504582295
Thanks for reading!