A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I still don't own Pride and Prejudice although I do have a copy of the book and various movie versions of it.

Chapter Eight: For the Life of Me

Lizzie's POV

Two days after Charlie and Will went back to Chicago, Charlie emailed Jane telling her that he would not be returning to Meryton for a while and he felt that it would be best for all involved parties if they ended their relationship. She replied to him that would be fine and then spent the next week in her bed crying. She wouldn't eat unless you absolutely forced her and Mary and I were both becoming afraid for our older sister's life. I was also developing a strong desire to kill Charlie Bingley. He was such a wimp for refusing to even try to make a long-distance relationship work. And he was destroying my sister. She hadn't gone to work or even left our condo in days. And then came Saturday night.

Saturday night I had gone out for dinner with a few close friends. There were just four of us; we'd gone to high school together and all ended up in the Meryton area after college. We'd been having a great time when Mary called me to tell me that Jane was drunk out of her mind. "I don't know what happened. I just ran out to CVS after you left to pick up something and when I got home, I found her sitting on your bed drinking rum and tequila. You need to get home right now and tell me what to do."

"Call 911," I replied. "We have to get her stomach pumped as soon as possible. But I'm on my way home."

Jane wasn't the type of person who would get drunk. She didn't drink much for starters and she was a little bit of a light weight when she did start drinking. In short, she was the last person who should be sitting around chugging rum or tequila. I also hoped that Charlie never found out about this. His sisters would destroy Jane over this, and he didn't need to know how badly he had hurt my sister emotionally. He was a jerk and I wanted him dead. But I was also praying frantically for my sister. I loved her and I didn't want her to die over some stupid guy who didn't even deserve her.

Jane was calm, cool, and collected. But she took things much more personally than people ever knew. She didn't let you see her emotions and she was always a sweetheart to everyone. But she really does have a darker side. And she really tends to keep things to herself. And I knew she'd really been bottling up things related to Charlie. She had really liked him and I think she was seriously considering having a future with him. And then he just ended things out of the blue. I really wanted to know what his reasoning was. What right did he have to just dump my wonderful, gorgeous sister? Maybe Jane was just too good for him.

I spent my whole night in the emergency room with my sister. She'd had her stomach pumped and then they had to monitor her to make sure she didn't get alcohol poisoning. I was terrified for her. It seemed like she was going crazy or something; she had so much energy and she kept just randomly screaming at me and cussing out nurses. The nurses promised me that was just an effect of the amount of alcohol in her system but I was still scared. I didn't want to tell my parents but I knew I had to let them know; she was their daughter after all. They had a right to know; her insurance would cover most of the costs, but Mom and Dad still needed to know. Oh and telling her bosses was going to be murder too. I had called them every morning this week and told them that she was sick and I hoped she'd be better soon. But I knew that excuse wasn't going to work much longer and I needed to keep her from getting fired. In short, I really needed to protect my big sister. All my life Jane had been protecting me, but now some stupid boy came along and messed up my sister. I felt like her life was in my hands. In my head, I knew it was really in the doctors' hands and in God's hands, but I still felt in my heart that I was the only one responsible for Jane right now. And I really needed my mommy.

Now that was really weird. I love my mom; she's a good person and all, but she and I are not very close. She does much better with Lydia and Katie; they're more like her while Jane and I are more like our dad. Don't ask who Mary is like; we don't really know. Mom and I don't really understand each other; about all I inherited from her is good taste in clothes and even that might just be growing up with four sisters rather than my mother's influence. But even though I'm not very close to her and I don't always like her, I knew I needed my mommy just then. So I called my parents and told them what was happening. And of course my mother immediately promised me that she and Dad were on their way over.

It seemed like forever that I sat there by myself waiting for my parents. In reality it was probably just the twenty or thirty minutes it takes to get from the Longbourn to the hospital. But it seemed like forever, sitting there by Jane's bedside all alone. Time seems to pass much more slowly when you're alone and afraid. Plus I really wanted to call Charlie Bingley and cuss him out, but I knew that wouldn't really help Jane at all. Hurting Charlie might make me feel good but it wasn't going to help my sister get better or even help him cope with what had happened to her. Charlie might not feel bad about what he'd done to my sister but he would feel bad if he knew that she'd try to kill herself because of him.

And then my drama queen of a mother walked into the room practically screaming. "Where is she? What happened? Where's the doctor? Is she going to live?"

If I had been anyone else in the hospital I probably would have burst out laughing at her. But I completely understood how she felt. Yes you read that right; for the first time in my life, I actually understood exactly how my mother, Marybeth Louise Bennett felt. I rarely understand anything about my mother but that night I understood her thoughts and feelings. This was her firstborn child lying there motionless after drinking herself into oblivion. Mom was terrified. And so was Dad.

He was standing there white and motionless, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Unlike Mom, he wasn't overreacting; he was just standing there. "Where's the doctor?" he asked in a firm, cold voice. "I want to talk to him right away. Tell him not to spare any expense; I want my daughter back."

I nodded as the doctor came in the room and started talking to my parents. As he explained what they had already done to Jane and what they still needed to do, I slipped out of the room to call Char. I walked past Mary who was talking to our Aunt Grace on the phone. Aunt Grace was probably prying into our business, which was one of my least favorite things about that particular aunt. I'd much rather talk to Aunt Sophie but it was two in the morning and I didn't want to wake her up. She had a bunch of little kids relying on her and she needed her sleep. I'd talk to her in the morning. I guess the only reason I'd call Char at this hour of the night was that she didn't have to work the next morning and I knew she'd want to hear about Jane. Char and Jane were good friends and I knew she'd be worried about my sister.

The night was long and awful. I talked to an extremely groggy Char for a few minutes and filled her in the situation. She promised me that she'd be praying for Jane and she expected me to keep her posted on the situation. I promised her that I would and went back to join my parents in our vigil at Jane's bedside. The doctors were doing everything they could and they assured us that she was going to be fine. "We are almost one-hundred percent certain we will be able to release Ms. Bennett in the morning," her doctor told us. "She's very lucky her sisters got her in so quickly. They probably saved her life."

Most parents probably would have thanked their daughters for saving their sister's life, which is what my dad did. But my mother had to yell at me for "abandoning your poor suffering sister in her hour of need. Jane needed you and where were you? You were out partying like some bimbo."

I decided to completely ignore the charge of partying like a bimbo and just point out the truth to her. "Mom, I left her at home with Mary. I was out at dinner with Jenny, Hannah, and Becca. I came home as soon as Mary called me. Do you realize that I've been with Jane as much as has been humanly possible the past week? You've barely given her a minute of your attention despite the fact that Charlie broke her heart. She's been desolate and you've been ignoring her while gossiping to everyone you know about how your poor darling daughter had her heart broken by that rich bastard, Charlie Bingley."

Mom sighed at me and said, "Don't you go trying to tell me how to live my life. I'm an adult, Miss Elizabeth and I can talk about my daughters to whomever I please."

I probably would have retorted then but my father silenced both of us by stating "That right now is not the best time for this sort of debate. Jane needs all our support and love, not ridiculous bickering over nonsense. Please try to keep calm and away from each other's throats."

Mom glared at him. "Fine, Christopher, we'll let you have your way. But, just remember, Elizabeth; I'm not done with you. I'm going to make you more responsible for your sister if it kills me."

All I could wonder was why on earth my mother was blaming me for all of this when Mary was the one who had actually been supposed to stay home with Jane. Mary had been home when I left for dinner but then she must have left for a little while after I left. She'd told me she'd run to CVS to pick something up, but why she had done that was beyond me. She knew that someone had to be with Jane as much as possible; she was crushed over the way Charlie had dumped her. Mary had always seemed to be oblivious when it came to emotions but surely even she could understand the misery Jane was enduring. I just wanted to shove a knife through Charlie Bingley's heart.

Darcy's POV

Charlie was absolutely miserable after we made him dump Jane. First we made him dump her via email because his sisters and I knew that if we let him talk to her, he would never be able to go through with it. He really did care about Jane, but I didn't think she cared for him very much. Also, her family was horrible. Lizzie was a lovely girl, very much so, but the rest of the family was a little off. Her two youngest sisters were sluts and always trying to make themselves the center of attention. Then there was her middle sister, Mary, who I suspected of being mentally disturbed, a least slightly. And then there were her parents. Her mother was always announcing how her daughter was commanding the attentions of such a wealthy man and wouldn't it be wonderful for their family? Even Mr. Bennett had his quirks that worried me. I had seen him publicly humiliate Mary at a party because she was playing the piano, rather badly, and people were starting to comment. I just didn't want to see my friend associated with a family like that. The Longbourn was an excellent hotel and the attached condominiums are also great, but the owner's family is a bit odd.

I hated causing my best, closest, oldest friend pain, but I had to. (And man, I sounded like a woman just then. I really need to go punch something or watch Myth Busters or shoot some hoops; I need to do something manly.)

Anyway, I really didn't like interfering in other people's relationships, but by God, this was for Charlie's good. He needed to get away from that girl. She wasn't good enough for him and she didn't care for him very much. Personally, I think love is like shooting fish in a barrel and the sooner we give it up, the better off we'll all be. Why the rest of the world disagrees with me, I don't know, but I know I'm right. Hollywood is completely off the mark with "love at first sight" and "there is a perfect someone for you out there." Dude, get real. Love is something that happens once in a lifetime-if you're lucky. And I was not one of the lucky few. I was one of those idiot men doomed to be alone forever, because I just wasn't willing to play all the ridiculous games that women today want men to play.

I'm not going to lie; Lizzie Bennett was a great girl. But her family made any sort of relationship with her completely out of the question. My reasons why I can't be in a relationship with her are almost the exact same as my reasons why Charlie couldn't be with Jane. It was just not appropriate for someone like me to be involved with someone from a family like that. Plus my aunt would throw a fit and my publicist would be forever doing damage control because of Lizzie's family. Yeah, I needed to stick to women from good families. Or I could just be bachelor for life; that was starting to look really good.

And then in mid-March, my Aunt Catherine dropped a bomb on me. "We're having the family Easter celebration at my estate in New York this year. I know we usually do it here, but I so rarely get the opportunity to share the New York house with my family, so I'm inviting you, Rick, George, and their families to spend Easter with me in New York. It will give us a great opportunity to spend time as a family and afterwards you can go check up on the Pemberley resort in the Hamptons."

"What about Georgie and Emily? Are you inviting them?"

"I don't want her traveling so soon after Emily's birth. It isn't good for either one of them. Also, I've invited Ethan Collins, his fiancé, her sister, and a friend of theirs to spend Easter with us and it just wouldn't be seemly for me to be showing off my niece who happens to be an unwed mother to important employees such as Ethan."

"Will Anne be having her children at the Easter celebration?"

"Why yes of course, but that's different. Anne used a sperm donor; your sister was acting like a loose whore and got herself raped. The situations are completely different and Anne's is far more respectable."

I sighed. "All right, well, I think I'd rather stay in Chicago with Georgie and Emily but if you really need me to go to New York with you, I can."

"I need you in New York; someone has to talk to Rick and George and Ethan."

"Fine," I replied. "I'll go." That was my aunt for you. She expected the world to revolve around her. You had to drop everything to suit her fancy. She didn't want anyone to know that Georgie was her niece now that my sister was an unwed mother. Apparently if you had your children with a sperm donor it was one thing, but having them with a real live man or being raped was just not allowed. My aunt needed serious psychiatric help.

That evening, I broke the news to my sister. She actually seemed pretty calm about the fact that she wasn't invited to our family's Easter dinner. "I can stay here and take care of Emily; it's better for her to be with me than to have to put up with all the strangers she'd run into at Aunt Catherine's house. Plus she wouldn't be welcome there and I don't want to have to deal with that. She's only five weeks old and I'm not ready to be dragging her around the country for ridiculous family functions."

"But who will you spend Easter with?" I asked. "Rick and Evelyn are taking Connor and Logan to New York."

She shrugged. "I can spend it with some of my friends. I've been dying to see Meghan and Teresa and I'm sure they'd love to spend some time with Emily. They think she's such a darling."

I looked at my niece who was happily snuggled up in her mother's arms. "Of course they think she's darling. It's only because she is. She's the cutest, sweetest baby ever born."

"You're biased," she said. "You only think that because she's your niece."

"I have a right to be biased. She's gorgeous and she looked just like her lovely mother."

Georgie blushed but smiled. "Will, you're a good brother. You're the very best kind of brother. You actually care about the people around you and you'd do anything and everything in your power to make sure they're happy. It's like what you did for Charlie, protecting him from that gold-digger. That was so sweet of you. I know he's sad about it now but someday I'm sure he'll thank you for it."

I smiled at her half-heartedly. I was starting to regret making Charlie dump Jane. He was eating, sleeping, working, and in all other ways functioning as a normal person but he wasn't as happy as he had been. Once I'd wondered if a day would ever pass when I wouldn't see his broad smile, but now I was starting to wonder if a day would come when I would see that smile. Sure it was toothy and a little white, but it was a charming smile and I was starting to miss it. Jane had made him so happy and I had completely missed that. But I was standing by my decision, purely based on the fact that she just wasn't right for him. He needed someone from a better family. He needed someone solid who actually cared about him.

I was confused and frustrated and really hoping that Charlotte's friend was Elizabeth. After all, she was a teacher, so she wouldn't be working the week after Easter, so of course she'd probably go up to visit Charlotte if she had the chance. I was really hoping I would see Lizzie again. Oh I knew all the reasons why a relationship between the two of us was dangerous but I didn't care; I really liked her and admired her. She was a strong, independent woman and she reminded me of my mother. She was the sort of woman I hoped Georgie would become someday. I didn't want Georgie to some sort of militant feminist or man-hater like Anne or my Aunt Catherine. I wanted her to think for herself and be an independent woman, but at the same time be open to other people's ideas and I guess, be open to the possibility of marrying a good man at some point in the future. But that good man has to meet with my approval and be willing to love Emily as if she were his own daughter.

Lizzie's POV

By mid-March, Jane was starting to perk up. Her night in the hospital had been a real wake-up call for her. She had actually started seeing a therapist to help her figure out why she'd chugged rum and tequila that fateful night. She also wanted to know why breaking up with Charlie had hurt her so badly. She wanted to make sure she wasn't going to become dependent on men. "I don't want to be one of those girls who need to have a guy in their life at all times. I want to be independent and not need men; Lizzie, I want to be like you."

Okay, so I guess I've never really needed men. In some ways I guess I've really never needed anyone. Damien taught me that. He kind of screwed me over, but it never really bothered me. Am I cold-hearted? Or am I just really resilient?

A/N: Please review. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up by Labor Day.