A/N: I still don't own Pride and Prejudice. I am very grateful for all the reviews I've been getting. It's really encouraging for me.

Chapter Eleven: Once in Every Lifetime

Lizzie's POV

The more I thought about it the more I couldn't believe what I'd said to Will Darcy that afternoon. He may have been money obsessed like Damien said, but he wasn't as much a part of "the man" as I was making him out to be. He did do good things on occasion. He was great with his cousins' kids. The other thing that was starting to bother me was that I was starting to notice how good-looking Will really was. For months I'd been focusing on the fact that his ears stuck out and that he had a large nose, but now I was starting to realize that those imperfections only added to his perfection. His long nose fit his long face and his fluffy hair that was always threatening to curl covered his ears pretty well. He was a scumbag, but he was a good-looking scumbag.

Part of the reason I was thinking about all of this was two emails I'd found in my inbox that afternoon when we got back from the park. One was from Lydia informing me that Damien Wickham was back in town and he was the hottest thing on earth. I never really thought of Damien as Lydia's type, but she seemed very interested in him, especially since he had found his way into the favors of Mr. Forrester, the father of Lydia's closest friend, Kristi Forrester. Kristi was quite possibly one of most ridiculous girls I've ever met and her father was undoubtedly the most indulgent father I'd ever met, but Lydia seemed to adore their family. And now Damien was in their inner circle; I'd probably never have a chance with the guy again.

The second email was from Damien himself who wanted to tell me that he was back in Meryton and he was hoping to see me in the near future. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I was still attracted to him, but after the way he dumped me on New Year's Eve and I was pretty certain his reasoning was entirely based on the fact that I wouldn't put out for him, I wasn't sure I wanted to date him anymore. In his email he mentioned that he felt sorry for me to be spending so much time with Will and his family, stating that he knew I must be suffering but now I could understand why Will was such a horrible person. Apparently, it was genetic.

The thing of it was that not everyone in Will's family was evil; Will himself wasn't even Satan come to earth. He could be an okay guy when he wanted to. I wasn't really sure I understood Damien at all anymore. Actually, I'm not sure I ever understood him to begin with. I think I just liked him because he was willing to tell me horrible things about Will. And while those horrible things might be true, I really didn't need to hear all of them constantly. Jane and Lydia both mentioned things about Will that only Damien would have known in their most recent emails to me, so I knew he was spreading his anti-Will Darcy propaganda again. I didn't really mind that except it's unlikely that Will is going to return to Meryton anytime soon, so why would people there care about his personality?

That night after dinner, I wandered into a quiet room looking for a place to read. I was tired and I really was looking forward to reading The Princess Bride; I've read the book a million times and I never tire of it. So I settled myself down in a seemingly empty room in the back of the house and curled up with my book. I'd been there for a few minute when I realize that I actually wasn't alone. Will Darcy was sitting in the other corner of the room with his laptop. I stood up to leave and he smiled. "You don't have to go; I don't mind. I'm just reading an email from my younger sister."

I nodded and sat back down again. Then something occurred to me, so I asked him a question. "Will, how old is your sister?"

"She'll be twenty in about two weeks," he replied without looking up. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering. I'd always heard that you had a younger sister, but then someone was talking about your niece. Do you have two sisters?"

He shook his head. "Nope, Georgie is the only sister I've got, but she did have a baby in the middle of February. Do remember that night when I had to leave dinner at your condo to rush home because my sister was in the hospital?"

"I think so," I replied with a nod.

"That was the night she went into labor and then Emily was born the next day; she was about three or four weeks early, but she's doing pretty well now." He looked at his laptop and then up at me. "Do you want to see a picture of Emily?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess so."

I walked over to him and he showed me a picture of a little baby girl with light brown hair sleeping in her crib. She was clutching a pink blanket and wearing pink pajamas. "She's going to be a girly girl the way Georgie's going with her," Will said with a smile.

"She's gorgeous," was all I could say. "Why isn't she up here this week?"

"My aunt doesn't like the fact that Georgie had a baby out of wedlock," he replied frankly. "Never mind the fact that her own daughter has two children out of wedlock or that the circumstances surrounding Emily's birth are a little more complicated than my sister went out and got herself knocked up; my aunt doesn't want to be reminded that Emily exists."

"That's so stupid," I told him. Will's niece was adorable; he showed me other pictures of her, including a couple with her mother and I had to admit she looked just like Georgie must have looked at that age. She had big brown eyes and wavy brown hair. She was also really small but Will told me she was born three or four weeks early so that explained a lot. "I want nieces and nephews," I found myself admitting. "But I don't see Jane getting married anytime soon."

"You've got three younger sisters," he remarked. "Maybe one of them will help you."

"Ha!" I snorted. "Mary doesn't know guys exist and while Katie and Lydia are all too aware of the existence of men, I don't want nieces and nephews from them anytime in the near future."

"Do you not like your sisters?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

I sighed; I couldn't believe I was admitting all of this to Will Darcy of all people. "I love them dearly, but I don't understand them at all. The whole concept of throwing yourself at men in every area of your life is ridiculous to me. There's more to life than dressing to please the hottest guy in class. I mean when I got dressed this morning, I didn't pick out my darkest pair of blue jeans, my lacy hunter green camisole, and my black hooded cable-knit sweater because I was trying to impress you or George."

He smiled. "But at the same time you did put effort into your appearance. You showered, washed your hair, and then styled your hair. You chose to put that green ribbon headband-thing in your hair. You chose to put on earrings, some eye shadow, mascara, and lip gloss. You may not have been thinking about George or me when you got dressed this morning, but you did put effort into your appearance. You're not wearing sackcloth, so you dressed to impress society at large."

I stared at him; I'd never thought about life like that before. I just liked to look nice and appear like a nice, normal human being. "I guess I do dress to please society but don't most people? I mean you're sitting there wearing khakis and a navy blue zip-up pullover sweater; isn't that conforming to societal norms?"

"Yeah it is, but I accept that. I shave and keep my hair neat and clean-cut because people expect a lawyer to look a certain way. People probably wouldn't want me to represent them in court if I looked like a hairy Neanderthal all the time."

I smiled at the idea of Will looking like Evan Baxter in Evan Almighty. "You win," I conceded. Then I looked at him. "Where do you get ideas like that from?"

He shrugged. "I studied a lot of philosophy in college; I actually minored in it. I like questioning things and actually thinking about why people do things and why things are they way they are."

"But you seem so conservative, so restrained."

"You think I have a stick up my ass, don't you? Oh you can admit it, Lizzie. I know you think I'm a tight-wad. But I've actually explored my beliefs and I know why I believe what I believe. I chose to be Catholic because I explored the faith and I realized I really did believe the teachings. I'm a Republican because I agree with most of the party's ideologies. I'm against the death penalty but I do agree with a lot of other Republican beliefs."

I just looked at him. Okay so I'm pretty conservative politically and I definitely am Catholic but I'm not sure I've ever put as much thought into all that as Will seems to have done. Yeah I'm against the death penalty and abortion, but beyond that I'm not as politically aware as Will. Why is it that every time I talk to this guy I end up feeling like an idiot? That day he made me realize how little time I spend thinking about issues and just making snap judgments or doing things because they're simple and they're what other people want me to me to do. Will Darcy confuses me on so many levels; he's incredibly attractive, he makes me think about really deep ideas, but Damien said he was an asshole and a cocky jerk. And I'm pretty sure he's the one who made Charlie dump Jane; Charlie never would have dumped my sister unless someone made him.

Later that evening, Rick Fitzwilliam was walking me back to the house where Char, Maria, and I were staying. Maria had gone home earlier in the evening and Char was on a date with Ethan. Somehow we ended up talking about Will. "He's one of the best guys I know," Rick told me. "He takes good care of the people he cares about. You've never met a more devoted older brother. He cares more about Georgie than I do about Alicia. Maybe it's because it's only the two of them or something but she is his highest priority, the most important person in his life."

I nodded; this all contradicted what Damien had said about Will, but who knew? Rick was Will's cousin and bound to know more about his cousin than Damien. "He seems to love her a lot," I commented.

"Oh he does," Rick replied. "Will is very careful about who he lets into his heart, especially after his parents both died so close together. But the people he does let in, he guards and protects as fiercely as humanly possible. A few months ago, one of his very close friends became involved with a woman whom Will felt wasn't right for him and he did everything in his power to end their relationship."

"But what was wrong with the woman?"

"Her family was well-off but very crass and made things very awkward, from what I understood. Will liked her and her sister, but he felt that it just wouldn't be appropriate for his friend to marry this woman. Also he felt that this woman was not nearly as fond of his friend as his friend was of the woman."

I gasped. "How could he be sure of what the woman felt for this friend?"

He shrugged. "I don't know all the details; Will generally plays his cards very close to his chest."

"I've noticed; he seems like a pretty private person."

"He is, but he wasn't always like that. Before his parents died, he was one of the most open people you'd ever met. He would talk about his thoughts and stuff like that if you asked him. But then his mom died about eight years ago and his dad died like three years later; that destroyed him for a long time. He has a really hard time trusting people and opening up because of everything that happened."

"Why?"

"His mom died of breast cancer really suddenly; she was diagnosed with a really advanced case of breast cancer that spread really quickly to other parts of her body. Her death was slow and painful. It was really hard on Will and Georgie."

I nodded. "What happened to his dad?"

"He was killed by a drunk driver," Rick said slowly. "It was a huge shock to Will and he became his little sister's guardian when that happened. It was really hard for him. He was twenty-five years old and suddenly he was responsible for his fifteen-year-old sister." We were drawing close to the door of my house and he turned to look me in the eye. "People think they know Will Darcy but they don't. He's a very deep person; he has a lot of layers."

"Like an onion?" I asked.

He smiled. "Yes, exactly; Will is like an onion. He's a great guy, Lizzie; don't judge him based on first impressions."

Will's POV

Lizzie Bennett is an extremely complex woman. Sometimes she is open and friendly and other times she treats me like I'm the scum of the earth. I don't understand her at all. But then I rarely understand women at all. I think I understand my sister but behind that, nope; I'm lost when it comes to women. They're emotional and confusing. I was sitting on the couch in my aunt's living room listening to her argue with Ethan Collins about the morality of female priests. She was opposed; he was in favor. For all of the feminist beliefs I had heard her espouse over the past several months, I was surprised to hear her defend the Roman Catholic Church's position on the role of women in the Church. And it was moments like this that confused me; some days I thought she was really liberal and other days she seemed really conservative. I didn't get it at all. But I was still attracted to her. I wanted to ask her out; I knew she'd probably say no but I couldn't let this chance pass by me. I liked the girl and I wanted to date her.

It rained all day on Wednesday. Lizzie, Charlotte, and Maria had come over before the rain started and then they found themselves stuck at our house for the rest of the day. I think my aunt was giving Lizzie a very strong desire to kill herself with all her questions about her life. My aunt couldn't seem to understand why on earth Lizzie had become a teacher. "There's no money in teaching," she told Lizzie over lunch. "And you have to put up with emotional brats all day long. How on earth can you do it?"

"I don't know," Lizzie replied. "Maybe it's because I love those emotional brats and I want what's best for them."

"But there's no money in teaching. With a degree in Spanish and in English literature there are so many more productive things you could be doing with yourself. Surely you're bright enough to do something besides teaching. Look at Charlotte; she has a degree in graphic design and she's able to work in New York City. Wouldn't you rather live in New York City than in some small Podunk town in the middle of nowhere?"

Lizzie looked extremely affronted. "Meryton might be a small town in the middle of nowhere but it's my hometown and I love it. It might not seem that important to some people, but it's a big part of my heart. I love Lake Michigan and I can't imagine living without being able to walk along the lakeshore or go swimming in freezing cold water with my sisters." Her eyes grew bright with passion as she talked about her hometown. "I love living near three hotels that serve people who want to visit the lake or go skiing. I'm not sure I could explain it to someone who isn't from Meryton. But it's my hometown and I'm happier there than I am anywhere else."

"But didn't you go away to college?" my aunt inquired.

"Yeah, I went to Grand Valley State University, which is near Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids is the second-biggest city in Michigan and it was great. It was like a manageable Chicago for me; I love visiting my aunt who lives in Chicago but I couldn't imagine living there long-term. But I was very happy in Grand Rapids, but as happy as I was there and as comfortable as I was there, it wasn't home."

Having visited Meryton, I could understand how she felt. I loved Chicago but there was something sweet and homey about Meryton that appealed to the part of me that loved family life. It was a very peaceful, quiet town. Yes there were three large hotels that catered to tourists but somehow the town managed to maintain a small-town feel. There were town festivals and a park with an ice-skating rink. I could see why Lizzie loved it. I felt that she could grow to love Chicago; Chicago was my hometown and I was in love with the city. I loved the feeling of it being a hub of constant activity. I loved the liveliness of Chicago. Meryton had its own sort of liveliness but it wasn't the same thing.

My aunt looked like Lizzie like she was an alien or some newly discovered species. "Chicago is one of the greatest cities on earth. New York City and Paris are more wonderful, but how can any person not consider Chicago to be one of the greatest cities on earth?"

Lizzie shrugged. "I suppose we merely have different taste. You enjoy a large city full of bustle and noise while I prefer a small place where everyone knows my name. It's merely a matter of taste."

The Grand Inquisitor decided to switch to a new topic. "Do you play any musical instruments?"

"I play the piano and a bit of the mandolin. I'm not great musical talent but I enjoy playing. I find music a good outlet for stress and good way to entertain myself."

"You play the piano? You must play for us after lunch. I am a great lover of music and have superb taste in music. My nephews can tell you that I have the best ear for music in Chicago; I have season tickets to the Chicago Symphony and can always tell you whether or not music is worthwhile."

Lizzie sighed and smiled. "I'm not very good at the piano but I'll play for you. Just remember that it's been several years since I last played, but I will make an effort for you."

"Thank you. Now you play the mandolin? That is an interesting talent. I did not know the many people were interested in that skill."

"I don't believe it's a commonly acquired skill," Lizzie replied. "I became interested in it because it is a beautiful interest both in the sound it makes and in its appearance. My aunt and uncle bought me one for my sixteenth birthday and I taught myself to play it. It helps that I have several family members and friends who play the guitar."

My aunt nodded stiffly. I could tell she was perplexed by Lizzie's demeanor towards her. Aunt Catherine depends upon people being afraid of her, but Lizzie wasn't afraid of her and my aunt didn't know what to do with her. Sometimes I think my aunt literally feeds off of other people's fear of her. I'm not afraid of her and I don't think Rick or George is but I know that Evelyn and Georgie are both afraid of her. I think people like Lizzie are good for Aunt Catherine but she'd probably disagree with me about that from here to eternity.

After lunch, Lizzie obliged my aunt and played the piano for a bit. She really is better than she says she is, but I won't press that with her. She'd either get mad at me or be embarrassed and neither of those sounds very pleasant to me. I love the fact that Lizzie has a fiery temper but at times that really works against me. She loses her temper when she's stressed and considering the way my aunt's been pestering her, I think leaving her alone might be the best idea. She was playing a song called Ashokan Farewell on the piano and it was beautiful. My aunt thought it was a weird piece, but I liked it. Lizzie told us it was from the Ken Burns documentary about the Civil War. Then she started playing another piece that she really likes, The Kiss from the movie The Last of the Mohicans. I actually happen to really like that movie myself and I was stunned to meet a girl who liked it. She told me that it was mostly because of "that one scene under the waterfall with Hawkeye and Cora. I mean I love the whole movie but that scene is my favorite part. I love it when he tells her, 'I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you.' When I was in college, Becca and I were watching the movie together and I just looked at her and told her that I wanted to be 'finded' by Hawkeye. Unfortunately, that was almost seven years ago and no one has found me yet. But Becca got lucky; Steve found her. Maybe I'm Alice to her Cora."

"Umm, Lizzie," I commented from my seat next to the piano. "Alice falls in love with a great guy; unfortunately he is killed and she is forced to marry the man who killed her father and wants to kill her, so then she kills herself. I really don't think you're Alice."

"You're right; I don't know of anyone who wants to kill my father," she replied dryly.

I smiled at her and for some reason her face lit up when I smiled. "Lizzie, you're a great girl," I told her. "Some day this perfect guy will come along and sweep you off your feet and in the end it'll be better than all of your wildest dreams and every relationship you've ever watched longingly."

She looked at me and shook her head. "I don't understand you," she said. "Actually I don't understand guys in general, but I really feel like I don't understand you. I can't understand a single thing you do or say; I feel like you're completely contradictory."

I shrugged. "I'm sorry about that. Maybe as we get to know each other more that will change."

The next day I knew I had to bite the bullet and ask her if she would go on a date with me. I was falling in love with her and I had the opportunity to do it. Somehow we'd ended up going to the beach together. She'd wanted to go and I was the only one willing to go with her. So we were walking along the shoreline when the words burst out of my mouth. "Elizabeth, would you ever consider a more serious relationship with me?"

She stopped walked, spun around and just stared at me. "What did you just say?" she asked.

"I was…I want to…I've been meaning to ask you out for a while now. I have this sense like I'm falling in love with you and I know it doesn't make sense and it's not something I'd normally do and I'm sure my aunt would kill me if she knew I was doing this and it's completely irrational, but would you consider me?"

She smacked me across the face. "Why would I ever consider going out with you, William Darcy? You're a louse and the scum of the earth; you make me sick by your actions. The only reason I'm here with you now was that I had no other option if I wanted to go the beach. My God, you are so egotistical. You tell me that loving me doesn't make sense and it's not something you'd do. Well isn't that the compliment every girl dreams of? You are so arrogant that I would never consider going out with you even if you hadn't done all that shit to Wickham and then broken up Jane and Charlie for your own jollies. Your stupid prejudice against anyone who isn't exactly like you almost killed my sister. She ended up in the hospital BECAUSE YOU MADE CHARLIE DUMP HER. And don't try to lie to me about that. George told me the truth about how you made Charlie dump Jane because you don't think she's good enough for your stupid society friends. You don't think that my family and our one measly hotel in some stupid hick-town in Northern Michigan is good enough for you and your resort chain and law firm and ridiculous obsession with money. Get over yourself, asshole."

Now I was the one staring at her. "I don't know what shit Wickham has been telling you, but he's a liar. I'll explain it all to you when I have a chance and you'll actually listen to me logically. And as for Jane and Charlie, I thought I was doing what was best. I'm sorry if I hurt Jane; I'm truly sorry."

"You'd better be," she screamed. The wind was picking up and it looked like a storm was coming, but there was a storm coming out of her mouth at that point. "Will, Jane ended up in the hospital after she tried to drink herself to death. She lived, but she'll never be the same. She spent a week in her room moping, not eating, crying, and just doing all the normal things heart-broken girls do. And then one night when she was home alone, she tried to drink herself to death. Thank God we found her and were able to get her to the hospital and they pumped her stomach. I'm going to blame you for that for the rest of my natural life. And don't worry about driving me home; I'll find my own way home."

And with that she stormed away from me. I stood there for what seemed like an eternity with my mouth just hanging open. I couldn't believe everything she'd just thrown at me. What the heck had Wickham told her about me? I was horribly sorry about everything that had happened to Jane, but at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. When I'd finally pulled myself together, I drove back to my aunt's house and started composing an email to Lizzie; I figured I need to explain a few things to her.

A/N: I know he didn't propose but I figured this was almost as good. She'd probably have killed him if he proposed. Please review and I'll try to have his "explanation" email up soon.