A/N: There is absolutely no excuse for this late installment, except for the fact that I have now become a full-time college student. I sincerely apologize.

Chapter Six: Vertigo Extrême

Caroline Bingley dialed her newest amie, or confidante, the horribly atrocious news. Yesterday (a Thursday) was supposed to be a wonderfully beautiful day, just her, and her dear William, and, okay, Louisa and her husband-that-she-divorced-and-got-back-together-with, and Charles would be there. And that overly sappy model, Jane.

It wasn't a wonderfully beautiful day full of romance with dearest Will…and those others that just happened to be on Charles' yacht. The sappy model got damned seasick! And actually hurled all over her brand new Jimmy Choos.

Whipping out her Clementine-studded-swarovski-crystal Sidekick, she furiously punched the keypad.

"What the fuck, Lydia, seriously. F. M. L." ranted the heiress, currently decked out in a tangerine string bikini decorated with ginger seashells and accessorized with a lime-and-carrot-striped sarong.

"I know, right? Jane always gets in the way. Of everything. She's such a bitch for vomiting all over your shoes. I mean, whenever I throw up, I always make it into the toilet or sink."

"I know! If she wants to be thin, she could at least be discrete about it! Poor William had to witness her…"

Lydia laughed internally. She was so above this incessant chatter. For a moment she pitied poor William and Jane, for they were not her victims. When Caroline gave a final, resounding huff, she ended the call on her cell and reclined in Bonnie's gorgeous leather sofa.

~*~*~*~

"Lizzy? Can you hear me?"

It was Friday morning. At six a.m. It sucked.

Lizzy groggily answered the phone, and bean to panic when she heard Jane's voice.

"Janie? What's wrong?" Jane never called earlier than nine unless it was a real emergency.

"I'm sick." Came the slightly pitiful, yet still honey-sweet tone of the ailing model.

"What!?"

"I'm sick," restated the now puking face of The Era.

"Oh shit, Jane. What happened? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"I want to go home. At first, I thought I was seasick, but it turns out that I've got a fever too, and I'm throwing up… a lot."

"Where are you Janie?"

"At Charles' apartment at..."

"I'm coming over now."

"Wait! It's no real prob-" the phone went dead before Jane could finish her sentence, and Lizzy bustled about, gathering items to cure her best friend and business-bringer.

~*~*~*~

"Danny? Dan? Daniel? Daniels? Danielson?"

"What in the world do you want from me?" bellowed the fifteen-year-old to his older sister.

"We've got a predicament on our plate, Danny-boy,"

"Yeah… and?"

"You're not going to Mom's tonight."

"That's not a problem. That's a blessing."

"No. Jane's gotten sick and she has a very important modeling campaign to finish. If she's sick, she will look awful and not exactly regal in her shots. Also, knowing Jane, she's going to be sick for days, and I hate seeing her suffer and…"

"Okay. I'll stay with Ana. I gotcha."

"Oh…"

Daniel shut the door and grinned. Mom and Lydia couldn't get to him today.

~*~*~*~

Lizzy ran. She didn't even bother to take her limo. Or her BMW. Or her favorite turquoise bike. She ran down the street and turned onto Fifth Avenue, and looked for the gorgeous two-story "apartment" that belonged to the Bingleys.

She stumbled up the stairs into the building, and was just about to ring the doorbell when…

"Ms. Bennet – I mean – Elizabeth!" came the shocked baritone of none other than William Darcy.

"Darcy," responded the object of his attentions (and affections).

He was silent and wide-eyed, and attempting to respond. He merely squeaked, unfortunately.

"I am here to see Jane, Darcy. Can you lead me to her?"

Still unable to speak from a strange mix of melancholy and happiness, he led her into the "apartment" and up the stairs to see to Jane. He immediately internally groaned when he noticed that Caroline's countenance grew even more violently bluish-purple (an incredibly sharp contrast to her costume of the day, which was a striped suit concoction of lemon and pumpkin).

~*~*~*~

"JANE!"

"Shhh, Lizzy, my head hurts," exclaimed a whimpering Jane.

"Oh. Sorry Janie. How are you feeling? I brought you a bag of your clothes, vitamins, medicines, toiletries…" Lizzy stopped whispering after Jane gratefully beamed up at her.

"Thank you for looking out for me. I'm so sorry, I'll probably have to stop modeling for a month you know, the way I get sick…"

"It's all okay, Janie. I'll find another model to have as a companion…maybe I'll edit her into some of the photo campaigns…and then when you're better…that way it will be ready within the time allotted…"

"Lizzy."

"Yes, Janie?"

"You know that I just suffered a cold last week, right?"

"Yeah, and we had to edit your nose 'cause it was red from those crap tissues you used. Why?"

"Well, last night, Charles drove me to the hospital because I had a really high fever and-"

"Oh man, Janie, why didn't you call me earlier?"

"I didn't want to bother you. Anyway, the doctor said-"

"Janie, what did he say!?" Lizzy was now squeezing Jane's hand to the point where Jane winced. Lizzy let go as Jane resumed speaking.

"You know, it'd be much easier if you stopped interrupting me."

"Sorry girlie, go on."

"The doctor says that I've got pneumonia. But I'll be okay really soon, he said, because I'm really healthy and I don't starve myself like the other models do."

"You serious?"

"Totally. Charles said he'd take care of me 'til I get better though, so it's okay."

Jane's tanned cheeks, pale from illness, grew rosy at the mention of Bingley. Lizzy smiled to herself at witnessing the color change, and quickly resumed her concerned demeanor and her tending to Jane, as it was more pressing to tend to Jane's physical health rather than her emotional one.

~*~*~*~

When Lizzy descended the staircase, and turned the corner to find Bingley and thank him for his hospitality, she bumped into the strangest wall she'd ever felt.

Only it wasn't a wall, but an extremely lean and well-muscled William Darcy. As she was about to fall backwards from the impact, she was instantly snatched around her waist by two toned, strong arms and brought back to rest upon the wall – sorry – chest of that same William Darcy. Lost in the spirals of vertigo and his spicy scent, she finally came to her senses and tore herself away from a very reluctant grip.

"So sorry, Elizabeth,"

"No harm done," breathed the object of his affections. Her hair was incredibly disheveled from her run to the apartment and the collision, her eyes were still wide from surprise, and her face and neck were tinged a becoming pink. She was wearing a violet tee-shirt with The Era's crystallizedlogo, Bermuda jean shorts, and silver-and-black sequined Converse. To William, she was the picture of loveliness. His Violet Goddess was with him, and the ache from his beloved sister's loss eased a bit. William sighed, wishing she could have stayed in his arms forever, making his world a more beautiful place.

While Darcy was daydreaming about marrying his Violet Goddess, the occupants of the household, save the infirm Jane, gathered around him in the living room. Caroline stalked in, still ranting on her Sidekick, and abruptly stopped her incessant, piercing chatter when she noticed Lizzy with her desired beau. Charlie meandered in, beaming, which was a result from the presence of the love of his life on the premises. The Hursts, he told Lizzy, were napping upstairs because of their "headaches" from the night before.

All was boring and blasé until the doorbell rang. Caroline sauntered to the door with a face that resembled the cliché cat that just ate the canary.

~*~*~*~

A woman in her mid-fifties entered the room, wearing a hot pink Juicy Couture sweat-suit, accessorized with: a pair of tacky Ed Hardy sneakers, chunky enamel bangles, a large Tiffany chain necklace, overly enormous diamond stud earrings, a yellow leather oversize bag, bleach-blonde hair, copious amounts of eye-liner, and enough face lifts, Botox injections, and collagen implants to make a person look for the nearest exits.

"Lizzy!!!!" shrieked that…woman. And Lizzy cringed.

A/N: I would adore you ever so much if you reviewed….:)