A/N: I don't own Pride and Prejudice. But I do love my reviewers.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: For Sentimental Reasons

Will's POV

It was three days after Christmas and we were in Meryton visiting Lizzie's family and our friends. Lizzie and I had spent our first Christmas as a married couple in Chicago with my family. The day after Christmas, we had flown up to Meryton to spend time with the Bennetts and our other friends in the area. On December 28, we were having dinner in the Netherfield's restaurant with Kyle and Jenny Kilpatrick; Steve, Becca, and Mary Logan; Alex, Hannah, and Gabriel Kilpatrick, Charlie and Jane Bingley; and Ethan, Charlotte, and Jackson Collins. Gabriel James Kilpatrick was about three and a half weeks old, having been born on December 3. This was the first time Lizzie and I had seen Gabriel since he was born. Several couples were also expanding their families. Charlie and Jane were expecting their first child at the end of January. Ethan and Charlotte had baby number two coming in March and Mary Logan would be getting a younger sibling in early April. The first addition to our family was due on April 15, tax day. Jenny and Kyle were also expecting a baby, twins actually; theirs were due at the beginning of May. "There are going to be so many babies crawling around this time next year," Kyle said, holding his eighteen-month-old goddaughter on his lap.

"That one knows how to walk," Steve replied.

"The next step is potty-training her," his wife added.

"Oh my God," Ethan said. "I don't even want to think about trying to potty-train Jack."

"We're going to have to do it someday," Charlotte replied. "I'm not changing his diapers when he's fourteen."

Lizzie was holding the chubby sixteen-month-old blond baby boy in her lap. "Speaking of diaper changes, he could use one now."

Charlotte took her son from his godmother and headed off to the bathroom with him. It was still weird to me that we were going to have our own baby in less than four months. We didn't know the baby's gender but I wanted a son. Lizzie said that she just wanted a baby and didn't care about the baby's gender. Jane and Charlie, on the other hand, knew they were having a son. Jane had wanted the baby's sex to be a surprise but Charlie had decided back in August that he couldn't wait five months to find out if he was having a son or a daughter. So, they found out. And now the baby's nursery was all decorated for the impending birth of the child that Lizzie jokingly referred to as Baby Boy Bingley. Jane and Charlie were actually planning on naming the child "Dominic Bennett Bingley." Steve and Becca didn't know if they were having a boy or a girl, but most people had their money on the child being a boy. The Collins family was expecting another son for sure. The upcoming year, 2011, could well end up being the year of the boy.

There was a lull in the conversation when suddenly, Steve looked at Alex and said, "Alex and Jenny, we're going to start a dog and pony show this weekend and the first stop is Grand Rapids."

Most of the table erupted in laughter while Charlie and I looked around in confusion. Realizing that we weren't in on the joke, Alex quickly explained. "My junior year of college, Ben Gobetti and our roommate, David, wanted to go out to Grand Rapids for a weekend. David's brother lives out there and Ben's older sister lives out there. So, since Jenny would want to go visit Lizzie and Becca and I would want to go visit Kyle, they proposed their idea to us at dinner one Wednesday night. The four of us were eating dinner with a few other friends when all of a sudden Ben says 'Alex, David, and Jenny, we're going to start a dog and pony show this weekend and the first stop is Grand Rapids.'"

"The great thing was that Ben said this while I was on my cell phone with Lizzie," Jenny added. "So she heard what Ben said."

"And I couldn't figure out why they were starting a dog and pony show," my gorgeous wife said. Lizzie was the most beautiful pregnant woman I'd ever met. Her skin was glowing and she looked amazing. That night she was wearing a long-sleeved navy blue t-shirt that didn't emphasize her belly but rather just looked simple and comfortable. She was gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

"Why were they starting a dog and pony show?" Charlie asked.

Alex shrugged. "Ben was bored and he'd heard someone say 'dog and pony show' earlier that day. He's just a random guy; he likes to just randomly tell you things."

"Like when he called me just to tell me he was getting a haircut," Jane said. "That just made no sense."

"You'd been telling him to get a haircut for three months," Jenny reminded my sister-in-law. "Why wouldn't he tell you that he'd finally done what you wanted?"

"He needed it," she replied. "He hadn't gotten a haircut in six months."

"What are you talking about?" Lizzie said. "I did that all the time in college.

"Same here," Jenny added.

"In college, I would get my hair cut every two months," Kyle said. "I'm a good kid."

"Go blow it out your ear," his wife replied.

Being married was wonderful. I loved waking up to see Lizzie next to me in bed. I loved coming home at the end of a long day at the office to find my wife in the kitchen making dinner. She was an amazing cook and she was my wife. I loved being able to come home and find her there, waiting for me with a warm meal and glass of wine. We talked about anything and everything. She would tell me about her day at work and I would tell her about mine. We would go to her doctor's appointments together and we spent numerous weekends looking at cribs, strollers, changing tables, and a million other baby accessories. We were looking at baby clothes but we also knew that all of our friends and family members would give us more clothes than the baby would ever be able to wear in ten lifetimes. That, according to Lizzie, was one of many reasons we needed to have many children; we needed to use up all the baby clothes we would acquire.

Having my wife in Chicago was amazing. I didn't seen people in Meryton as much as I had before the wedding, but most of the time, I was fine with that. The primary reason for my trips to Meryton had been to see Lizzie; now, I lived in the same house as my beautiful wife. It was hard not seeing Charlie as much but he still came to Chicago at least once a month to oversee things with Bingley Publishing. It was weird not seeing Kyle and Steve and their families every few weeks but I saw them every couple months. It was different and it was hard at times, but I had friends in Chicago. I had family and I was starting my own family. Lizzie was working at a small Catholic high school near our house. The principal loved my wife and was more than willing to consider allowing her to cut back to part-time if she wanted after the baby was born. She also had the option of quitting entirely if she wanted, but Lizzie wasn't completely sure whether or not she would want to be a stay-at-home mother. "I'll figure it out when the baby comes," she told me that night when we were all talking about it. "I'm going to take maternity leave until the end of the school year after the baby comes and then we'll see how the summer goes."

"If you take that approach, you're going to end up staying at home with the baby," Becca told her. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back or not after Mary was born but then I was home with her for a couple weeks and that was it. I was hooked on her."

"And then she decided she wanted more babies," Steve added. "One wasn't enough but we had to have more."

"I suppose you don't want to have another baby?" his wife asked, resting her hands on her belly. "You seemed pretty eager at the time."

He smiled and rubbed his wife's belly. "Oh, I was. And I'm very eager to meet this baby."

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Ethan asked him from further down the table.

"Whichever," Steve replied. "Mary has been an amazing blessing but I'm sure a son would also be marvelous."

"Sons are the best things on earth. I'm so glad we're having another son; it makes life so much easier."

Just then, we all heard delighted squeals of "More, more!" coming from little Mary Logan who was being bounced up and down on her godfather's lap. "I don't know," Steve said slowly. "Mary is an amazing little girl and she's brought so much joy to our lives. I think we did pretty well with having a girl."

"But boys are so much better," Ethan persisted.

"Your wife was once a baby girl," Jane remarked firmly.

"Well, women are necessary for the survival of the species but in general, males are preferable to females."

I glanced at his wife out of the corner of my eye. Charlotte Lucas-Collins pursed her lips firmly and bounced little Jackson in her lap; when she was younger, Char had fancied herself something of a feminist. Now here she was married to a man who didn't want any daughters and said that males were preferable to females. I knew that Lizzy would welcome a son or a daughter but she did want both sons and daughters. And I wanted sons and daughters as well. The idea of only wanting children of one gender was ridiculous to me. I wanted a well-rounded family with sons and daughters. Sure Jackson is a cute kid but I'm sure that Ethan and Char would also have adorable daughters. As Lizzie would say, I'm not about to go start the Ethan Collins Fan Club. Ethan drove me nuts. He was obnoxious and pretentious and self-centered. I couldn't see what Char saw in him. I've heard Lizzie mumble something once or twice about Char just marrying to avoid being single and alone for the rest of her life. I wouldn't have taken it seriously except for the fact that the morning of Kyle and Jenny's wedding I'd been walking around the church with Jackson while his father dithered over something and his mother helped the bridesmaids get ready for the wedding. I'd come across Charlotte's youngest brother, Nicholas, who was eight at the time. Nick and I had gotten talking as I walked with his little nephew. And he'd told me something that shocked me.

"Did you know that Charlotte used to have a crush on Steve Logan?" the little boy said, swinging his stick at some nearby rosebushes.

"No, I didn't," I replied, adjusting Jackson on my hip. The eleven-month-old boy was getting heavy after walking around the church four or five times.

"Yeah, when they were younger; I'm not supposed to know about it but I've heard Maria and Emma talk about it sometimes. They were talking about it before Char and Ethan's wedding. Emma doesn't like Ethan at all and Maria doesn't like him much either. They think he's annoying and obnoxious, even if he is Lizzie's cousin. But they also think that Char still likes Steve Logan."

"Nick, Steve married Becca almost two years ago and they have a baby now," I said, thinking of little Mary Logan who was somewhere with one of her aunts or uncles. Both Becca and Steve were in the wedding.

"I know, but back when they were in high school, Char had a big crush on Steve. But he went to prom with Lizzie, so my sister went to prom with Ethan. And then later, Steve started dating Becca. And shortly after that, Char started dating Ethan. And I'm pretty sure that Char wanted to marry Steve. But she can't. So she settled for Ethan. But Emma and Maria don't like Ethan."

This was a little eight-year-old boy. How did he pick up on all of this? Granted, he was the youngest of eight children; he probably heard and saw more than anyone ever realized. He had probably heard things that he was never intended to hear and he probably understood things much better than anyone ever expected of a little eight-year-old boy who had swordfights with rosebushes.

"Do you love Miss Lizzie?" he asked abruptly.

I smiled. "More than you can imagine," I replied.

"Good, because I used to want to marry her, so I have to make sure that she marries the right man."

"I married her two weeks ago, Nick."

"I know, but I have to check up on you now. I'm also worried about Miss Jenny and Mr. Kyle. I wanted to marry her too. I think Mr. Kyle is a good guy but I'm just not quite sure about him. He seems nice and he's good with babies but I'm just not sure that he deserves the love of my life."

Looking at Kyle and Jenny now, I was pretty sure that Kyle did deserve her. They were a great couple. He loved her and he really made her happy. I was pretty sure that Nick would approve of the man the love of his life was married to. I also loved how Nick had called Jenny the love of his life. His childish love of his oldest sister's friends was both endearing and slightly scary. But then Nick was twenty years younger than Charlotte and his relationships with her friends were bound to be a little more complicated than most sibling relationships.

Lizzie's POV

Our first child was due on April 15. On Valentine's Day, I realized just how close that day was. My nephew, Dominic Bennett Bingley, had been born on January 20, 2011. He was a healthy 22 inches long, 8lb, 9oz baby boy with light brown hair and blue eyes. Will and I had gone up to Meryton to meet the new baby the weekend after his birth; he was an adorable little baby boy. He looked so much like Charlie but with Jane's eyes. Watching Will with the little baby was wonderful. He was going to be an amazing father to our little baby. I was looking forward to the baby's birth. For one thing, I would be lovely to see my feet again. And not feeling like a whale would be another plus. And being able to hold my baby in my arms would be wonderful. I've wanted to be a mother since I was five years old and now I was pregnant with my first baby. I was eagerly awaiting the baby's birth. And that wasn't just because I was sick of going to the bathroom every fifteen minutes… Although when I told Jane that, she cheerfully reassured me that as my due date approached that would increase to needing to pee every five minutes. Then she had readjusted Dominic in her arms and kissed his cheek. "But in the end, it's all worth it. This little guy was completely worth twenty-two hours of labor."

Will and I were celebrating Valentine's Day with dinner and a movie at home. We'd discussed going out but I was afraid that I'd fall asleep if we went to the movies or the theatre. So my husband was making me dinner and then we were going to watch Strictly Ballroom. While it wasn't the most romantic story of all time, it was a movie that we both loved especially for the comedic value. I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with my husband. The following Saturday, we were going to be babysitting Emily while Gianna and Connor went celebrated Valentine's Day. Connor was in law school at the University of Michigan and Will was so proud of him. Gianna was finishing up her last year at Loyola and then she was planning on going to medical school at the University of Michigan. I'm really not sure why I know so many doctors, or people who want to be doctors, but I love all of them and they're great people.

After dinner, Will gave me my present. He made me a photo album filled with pictures of my friends and family over the years. The cover of the photo album had a picture of the two of us laughing and hugging at our wedding. The first picture inside the album was a candid shot of my sisters and me at Lake Michigan a few summers earlier. We were sitting on the beach talking and the picture just froze an amazing moment in time. We were all laughing and smiling and we looked so peaceful. It was before Lydia's life became a downward spiral. Jane had an arm around Katie's shoulders and I was leaning my head against Jane's shoulder. Mary's head was in my lap and Lydia was leaning against Katie. We had been talking about something and we were all laughing and smiling. We looked so happy. Another page had a picture of baby Dominic and pictures of Maddie and Hayley.

And there were dozens of pictures of my friends that he'd gotten from Jenny and Hannah and Becca and Jane. One of my favorites was a picture of a bunch of us sitting on the couch at Alex and Ben's house during my junior of college. Cecilia was leaning against Ben Gobetti's shoulder and he had his arm slung around his girlfriend. I was leaning against Jenny who was curled up with her back propped up against Alex's shoulder. And then Kyle was sitting in front of us with his head in my lap. We were so peaceful and we looked really content. "Where did you get this one?" I asked him.

"I asked Jenny for pictures and she talked to Cecilia about getting it for me."

"I thought I saw something from her in the mail the other day but then I didn't see it again when I checked back later so I didn't know if it was just something from pregnancy brain or if I'd actually seen it."

He kissed the top of my head. "You didn't have pregnancy brain then, darling."

"Are you implying that I've had pregnancy brain at other times?"

He smiled at me. "I'm not saying that you're always forgetting things or getting confused. All I'm saying is that you didn't have pregnancy brain the day you saw the envelope from Cecilia."

"Thanks," I said, with what must have been a thin smile. He kissed me again and I leaned my head against his chest. "It must be hard living with me when I'm pregnant like this. I'm fat and I forget everything. And you don't get as much space in the bed. This whole thing just isn't fair to you."

"Elizabeth, darling, you're having my child. I love you and I love our baby. I don't think you're fat or that you forget everything." He kissed me. "I love you and I think you're amazing. I'm so glad I married you and I can't wait until our baby is born."

His hands moved over my belly and I could feel his fingers massaging it. The baby kicked and I smiled. "You feel that?" I asked. "That's our baby."

He smiled and kissed me. "And I love him or her."

Three weeks later, on March 2, 2011, Griffin Andrew Lucas-Collins was born in New York City. I'm not quite sure where Char and Ethan were pulling their baby names from but that's their business not mine. They posted a picture of baby Griffin with his older brother, Jackson, on their blog a few days later. The two little boys were adorable little chubby blonde cherubs, according to the caption Ethan had put under the blog post. There was a cute picture of Char holding newborn Griffin in her arms and another one of Char holding Griffin while Jackson sat next to his mother looking eagerly at his baby brother. Char looked so peaceful and happy. And Ethan wrote on their blog "Lucas-Collins Updates" that the whole family was doing well, "Mommy is gorgeous even with jiggle in her belly and the two little guys are just the cutest things ever."

"Will," I said while we were reading that post. "Please don't ever say something like that and then just let it float out into cyberspace. You can think I'm a little chubby post-baby, but you don't have to tell people."

He smiled. "I hope I'm not that stupid."

I looked at the pictures of Char. Sure, she was a little heavier from being pregnant, but she wasn't fat. She just looked like a woman who had just had a baby and had been eating a little more than usual during her pregnancy. Ethan really didn't have to say anything about the extra weight she was carrying around. She'd just had a baby for crying out loud. My cousin sure knew how to make a woman feel good about how she looked. I knew I'd gained weight since getting pregnant but it wasn't like Will sat around telling me about it.

I wanted to go to New York and visit Char and Ethan and meet baby Griffin but that wasn't a good idea being that I was about eight months pregnant. So we decided to wait until summer when the baby would here and I would be more interested in traveling. The only things I was interested in were sleeping and lying on the couch watching movies while feeling like a whale. Unfortunately, I also had to go to work every day. And that meant that when I got home at night I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep. But I couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in and everything was just so complicated. I couldn't wait for the baby to be born.

Almost a week after Griffin's birth, Becca Logan went into preterm labor and gave birth to a baby girl, Abigail Rose Logan. She was about a month early. Her due date had been April 8 and instead, she was born on March 7. "Thirty-two days early," Steve had told me on the phone when he called to tell me about his new daughter. "But she's a strong one; she's a fighter."

She had a cardiac arrhythmia, but the doctors said she would be fine. They were keeping her in the hospital for a week, probably. But they were sure she would be fine. When I talked to Becca two days after Abigail was born, she said that while Abby was smaller than a full-term baby, she was a fighter and she was healthy aside from the arrhythmia. The night after she was born, Steve emailed me a picture of his newborn daughter. She was beautiful. She had a fluffy smattering of dark brown hair and what looked to be dark brown eyes. "They won't let us bring Mary in to see Abby yet," Steve had written. "But I brought her in to see her sister behind the nursery glass. I'm not completely sure that she understands that Abby isn't a new doll for her to play with, but we'll see how things go when we bring Abby home, hopefully within the next week. All I can say is that I really hope Mary reacts better to Abby than El Greco reacted to Mary."

El Greco is Steve and Becca's dog who wasn't exactly happy when they brought the then-newborn Mary home and he didn't get as much attention from his "parents" as he had before Mary's arrival. He'd taken to chewing shoes and shredding random household objects until he got attention. Unfortunately, this had landed him living with Steve's grandparents. In fact, El Greco is still living with his grandparents and his younger brothers, Nick and Jack. Steve and his younger brothers, Josh, Nick, and Jack, moved in with their grandparents when their dad walked out shortly after Jack was born. Nick is twenty-one and Jack is nineteen, so they're away at school most of the year. But regardless, the dog lives with Steve's grandparents because he can't handle competition from kids.

Abigail Rose Logan came home from the hospital on March 18, eleven days after she was born and twenty-eight days before my due date. That night at dinner, I told Will that I was nervous about having the baby early, like Becca had. He smiled and hugged me. "We'll be fine. You're three days closer to your due date than Becca was when she went into labor and you haven't gone into labor yet. And if the baby comes early, we'll be fine. Abby is fine."

He was right. Abby Logan was a very healthy baby despite having been born a month early. And at this point in the pregnancy, every day, every week counted. The baby would be fine whenever he or she was born.

A/N: The baby will come in the next chapter. Please review!