The Love of the Game by IntuitiveIntelligence.

A/N: Thanks bunches for the reviews, enjoy the chapter!

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Lizzy was having the most wonderful dream. In it she was receiving a massage from a shirtless David Beckham, eating chocolate ice cream and admiring her award winning editorial piece. Yes, life was good for the Dream Lizzy. That was until of course her mobile rang and Beckham disappeared with a pop taking the ice cream and article with him.

"Hello?…" Lizzy said through a yawn as she glanced at the clock to realize it was 8 am.

"BENNET!"

Lizzy sat straight up at that, holding the receiver as far from her ear as possible. Taking a deep breath, she ventured to bring the phone back towards herself so that she might speak into the mouth piece.

"Yes, Mr. Kirkland?"

"Bennet, it has been almost a week… why haven't I received any preliminary work on your article? You know what? Don't even bother to answer that. In fact Bennet, I'm quite of a mind to fire you. However, I'm a man of my word. So you have until next week to give me something."

"Mr. Kirkland, I am working on the article. I just need more time and I promise you, you'll have it. And it will sell more copies than anything else you could cook up."

"Promises don't sell papers, Bennet. Scandals sell papers. Intrigue sells papers. Violence sells papers. So unless you've got an article about a footballer who has a mistress, dresses like a woman on Thursdays and moonlights as a serial killer, I don't want to hear about your promises!"

Elizabeth's stomach dropped. She'd have to give Kirkland something to make him keep her on. She'd have to name the subject of her article. The only trouble in declaring her subject was that she was then forced to stick with it. And if she failed to deliver, Kirkland would have her head. If she didn't tell him anything, she'd most likely be sacked at the end of next week.

"What about an article on William Darcy? 'England's prodigal son, returned: Exclusive access to the man himself, about where he's been and his triumphant comeback'. Would that sell papers?"

"Bring me an article on William Darcy and you get to keep your job and I may even consider you for international news. But screw this up, and you are out of here. You're a damn fine writer, Bennet, I'd hate to lose you."

That phone call had rattled her, forcing her to jump on the ball. She'd have to seek Darcy out, and get the story out of him. Looking down at her wrinkled pajamas and unruly hair, Elizabeth knew she would have to make more of an effort. Men like Darcy didn't spill their souls to girls like her, she'd need to dress up and bring her A game. Staggering from her bed she moved like a zombie to the bath across the hall. A shower would wake her up, and she could go from there. Yes, nothing like a nice cold shower to jolt her to alertness.

Grabbing the brass door knob, she turned the handle only to walk in on Mr. Collins who had just gotten out of the shower and was stark naked. His beady black eyes locked onto hers, and he yelped before covering his pudgy body in a towel. Vomit rose up in her throat, and as she fled from the scene she was quite convinced that even if she gouged out her eyes with a blunt object that the memory would haunt her till the end of her days.

Hiding in the first room she came to, which happened to be Jane's, she tried to shake the disturbing image from her head. Jane eyed her sister from her position at her vanity, who looked as pale as a sheet and was making gagging noises.

"Lizzy, whatever is the matter?" Jane inquired while fastening the clasp on a horseshoe necklace.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Lizzy groaned as she moved closer to her sister, "Pretty necklace, is it new?"

Jane blushed several shades of red and nodded her head.

"Let me guess, Charlie gave it to you?" Elizabeth taunted Jane with a sing-song voice.

"He's so thoughtful, Lizzy. I think I like him a great deal…"

"Well, I think we all know he likes you. I'm happy you found a good guy this time."

Jane smiled at this and started to comb out her long blonde hair, mentally counting the number of strokes.

"We should find you a man as well…I'm sure Charlie knows—"

"No thank you, I'm quite happy being single and free."

Jane frowned at her sister, but didn't bother to respond. Lizzy was as stubborn as a mule when she wanted to be so there was no use arguing with her.

"I think I'm going to go for a run…Don't forget Mary is coming today."

Before Jane could reply, Lizzy was out the door. She let her shoulders sag as she shook her head. Lizzy would never change.

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Will Darcy had arisen with the dawn so that he could complete a few files for his estate before he went on his run. He'd gradually been building himself back up, testing the limits of his injury until he was confident that he could jog a few miles without ending up in serious pain.

Wearing the shorts from and old soccer kit and a white singlet, Darcy set off down the road running at a leisurely pace. His ipod was strapped to his arm and was currently blasting Muse into his ears. Georgiana had programmed his ipod and Will found that his sister knew him well enough to put music on he'd truly enjoy.

As the tempo of the song increased, so did Will's speed. His quadriceps flexed with every jolting step he took and sweat began to bead at his hairline. This was one of the things that he missed most about when he played football, the speed. Darcy had been one of the fastest strikers in his day, outmaneuvering even the most skilled of players till it was only him and the keeper. His mouth turned up into a smirk at the remembrance of it.

He was half-way around the park when he caught sight of a lithe female with dark hair running toward him dribbling a beat up football between her feet. Her shorts displayed her long legs and the sports bra she wore allowed him to see a toned stomach. It was only when she was within a few meters of him did Darcy realize he had been ogling Elizabeth Bennet.

When she was near him, she slowed her pace to a walk and offered him a small smile. One of her small hands reached up to wipe the sweaty strands of hair that had escaped from the white cloth band tied around her head.

"Darcy…" Lizzy said breathlessly due to being winded from her run.

"Elizabeth."

Without thinking Darcy's tongue darted out and ran across his lips searching for the taste of vanilla and merlot. Taking his earbuds out, he nervously clenched and unclenched his hand trying to search himself for anything to say.

"I wasn't aware that you ran." He smacked himself mentally for not thinking of something more eloquent and charming.

"I do. I also walk, skip and jump as well if the fancy strikes me."

Awkward silence settled over them again and Darcy began to feel like a cornered gazelle wanting to flee from a lioness. His throat had gone dry, he was sure of it. And all the while, Elizabeth stood there looking up at him expectantly with her fine bright eyes.

She must have taken pity on him for she broke the silence, "How is Charlie?"

"He's fine."

"That's good to hear…" Lizzy noticed that her trainer had become untied and bent down to remedy it.

When she was no longer staring at him, Darcy took a deep breath. Damn enchanting, witch of a woman! His heart was pounding out of his chest and it wasn't cause of the workout he just had. By and by his attention was drawn to the football resting near Lizzy's body. Without thinking he drew it back towards him with his right foot and flicked the ball up into the air, so that it came to rest on his forehead and it balanced there. Then arching is neck, the ball was sent up into the air where he headed it and it went sailing into the trunk of a nearby tree. Darcy smiled, he still had it.

His reverie was broken at the sound of hands clapping half-heartedly.

"Impressive."

"I haven't done that in ages…" Darcy explained.

"What else haven't you done in ages?" Lizzy asked as she fetched the ball stepping up alongside him.

'Was that meant to sound sexual?' He thought to himself.

"I've never played for Man United, but I consider myself a fair footballer if you ever want to have a go."

'That really sounded sexual!' His face flushed slightly and he had to shift his weight to get the idea out of his head. He would more than love to have a go that was the problem.

"Umm…maybe."

"Very noncommittal of you, Darcy. Are you a commitment phobe?"

"I am not." He said hastily.

What was with everyone and claiming that he had a commitment phobia. He didn't have any trouble committing whatsoever. Coming out of his thoughts he noticed that Elizabeth was barely a hairsbreadth away from him. And why all of a sudden was Lizzy standing so close to him? If he bent forward slightly he could kiss her. 'No! There will be no more kissing Elizabeth Bennet!' He firmly reminded himself. It really wasn't fair how he was a pool of jello in her presence and she looked as confident as ever.

Lizzy was trembling on the inside, but on the outside she hoped she didn't betray her nerves. She was not a brazen woman by any means, and acting this way now to get to Darcy was taking a lot out of her. Sure, she had no trouble flirting with a man who was attractive and could offer humorous banter back to her. But flirting with Darcy was excruciatingly hard. Every time that she'd smile, he'd seem to withdraw. Every comment she made was ended with a one word reply. He was so frustrating, and she wanted nothing more than to tell him so then smack him upside the head for good measure.

However, he was the story. So mustering her courage she stepped closer to him, so close that she could smell what remained of his aftershave mingled with his sweat. Lizzy kept telling herself to think like Lydia, and following this line of thought she managed to bring herself to touch his arm.

"I'd really like us to get to know each other better, Darcy. If not for ourselves then at least to put Charlie and Jane at ease…We can't always run away when one of us makes the other uncomfortable."

Darcy coloured at this statement, without a doubt recalling the kiss that they shared the other day. Lizzy feared that she had overdone the act for a moment when he didn't respond but shifted and looked slightly annoyed.

"Listen Elizabeth, about the other day…"

"Yes?" Lizzy asked tilting her head to the side.

"When we kissed—"

"You mean when you kissed me, and then proceeded to drop me and run away?"

Darcy coughed slightly but found his courage to continue.

"Erm, yes that. Well I hope you realize that it was rather spur of the moment and I—"

"And it was a mistake made in the heat of the moment. I get it Darcy."

"I just didn't want you to worry yourself over what it meant…" He began again in an almost whisper.

"Contrary to what you may believe about me, I'm not some airheaded girl who is going to swoon after one of the most strange kisses of my existence just because it was the great William Darcy who kissed me."

"I didn't mean it like that, honestly. I just—" He tried to explain that it had been a spur of the moment event but he didn't regret it, but she cut him off yet again.

"You just didn't want to give me the wrong impression. Don't worry, you haven't. It takes more than a kiss to make me see stars. Unfortunately I've got to dash, my father wanted me at the stadium to check out the new recruits. Goodbye Darcy."

Lizzy started to jog away from him, then stopped an called over her shoulder, "I'm serious about a game of one on one if you are interested."

Will watched her run off till she was but a blur in the distance. He knew that he had once again lost all sense of reason and higher brain functions when Elizabeth was near him. All he knew is that when he looked at her, he wanted to look into those eyes forever. And forever was a very long time, especially for someone who was a commitment phobe in denial. Replacing his earbuds in his ears, he began to run again pushing himself harder than he dared to before.

But Will wasn't alone in beating himself up. On the other side of the park Lizzy was kicking herself over and over again. 'Why couldn't you for once hold your tongue and get the story out of the man?'

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Lizzy had run home and showered, after securely checking that Mr. Collins was not in the bathroom. And no sooner had she dressed than she was being summoned by her mother downstairs to lunch. She was surprised to find out that they were eating at the dining room table, considering on most days they all ate in the kitchen but she was sure that her mother had done this for Mr. Collins' benefit.

After being in the room for a moment, Lizzy recognized that there was a brunette sitting at the table in an immaculately pressed, if not boring, pair of grey trousers and matching blazer with a legal pad before her.

"Mary!" Lizzy said with a smile before taking the seat next to her younger sister.

"Hello Lizzy, I heard that you were home. But shouldn't you be at work? You really can't afford to be slacking off like this."

"What? No. I swear no one thinks I should be home. I'm actually working on an article right now, so my boss gave me a bit of a holiday from the office to accomplish the task. But how is Oxford treating you?"

"Very well. I cannot wait to graduate and begin to actual practice law, however everything must run its due course. I'm swamped with work right now to tell you the truth, but when I heard about the financial situation I knew I had to come home. Father is not necessarily the most knowledgeable man about the law, and something about this Mr. Collins fellow doesn't sit right with me."

Mary didn't get a chance to say more because her mother filed into the room with Mr. Collins in toe, who couldn't look Lizzy in the eye, no doubt due to the experience from earlier that morning. He was seated to the right of Mr. Bennet, who had Lizzy on his left. Lizzy sat next to Jane, who was next to Lydia and then Mrs. Bennet. Kitty sat to Mrs. Bennet's left, followed by Mary. The crowded table made for awkward maneuvering to get to the meal that had been laid out for them.

"So, Elizabeth, your mother tells me you that you enjoy football?" Mr. Collins said flatly.

Having just bitten into a bit of bruschetta, Lizzy didn't find herself in a position to speak lest she expel the contents of her mouth, so she merely nodded.

"Then perhaps you will appreciate that Catherine DeBourgh has recently given me season passes for Manchester United… in the top box."

Swallowing the large mouthful of food, Lizzy tried to ignore him and reached for the wine glass.

"Perhaps, you might accompany me to one of these games?"

"I'm sure Lizzy would love to. Even though it is a bit like cheering for the enemy, I suppose its alright."

The sound of chewing was then punctuated by Lydia and Kitty whispering together then laughing before Lydia tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"Mum, Uncle told me that the new players are arriving today for practice…. Can I go watch?"

"Lizzy, you were going to go weren't you? Why don't you take your sisters along with you in your car? Mr. Collins, you are of course also invited to watch the practice if it doesn't interfere of course…"

"I'm a firm believer that if it does not detract from the matter at hand it can cause no harm. Besides I'm intrigued to see the team that is causing all of this trouble."

Lizzy started to panic, she really had no desire to be alone with her two silly sisters and one fully grown silly man. Jane wasn't available this afternoon, this she knew. She had a riding lesson and then dinner plans with Charlie. Looking across the table she locked eyes with Mary, and pleaded with her silently to come. But Mary merely shook her head and gestured to the folder of work sitting next to her.

Finally she turned to her father who was her last resort.

"Dad, are you coming along then?"

"I hadn't really planned on it, Lizzy."

"But, Dad, Watford is still your club. Shouldn't you take an interest in the new players?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Elizabeth on this matter, Thomas. It seems that this may have been one of the problems that caused this situation in the first place, a lack of dedication to the club. Now, I know that Catherine DeBourgh personally oversees the selection of every player and is constantly visiting the practices, and look where Manchester United is today… the very top. You are a smart woman, Elizabeth." Mr. Collins stated feeling very proud of himself.

Lizzy wanted to hurl because the smarmy git just defended her. And furthermore because said smarmy git was right.

"Very well, it seems I am overruled. I shall attend the practice. Collins you can ride with me, and the girls will go with Lizzy. We can discuss business practices and tact on the way there."

"Oh that will just leave Jane and Mary here with me then. But I suppose we can gossip now can't we. Now that the men are out of the house. And Mary, we really should take you shopping."

Lizzy drained the rest of her wine in one gulp. She was going to need to be drunk to survive the afternoon.

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"Good afternoon, Gentleman. Just because you are new here, doesn't mean we are going to coddle you and change your diapers. This is the real thing; we're playing for the FA cup. You left all of that silly nonsense behind you in junior leagues. Now you were picked because you had potential, my job here is to make sure you reach that potential. And you are going to start on that journey right now," Watford's manager, Andrew Gardiner blew his whistle several times.

The men then lined up along the side of the pitch with the Captain of the Hornets Gavin Mahon at the head. They all began to run around the outside of the pitch, causing Lydia and Kitty to sigh and smile stupidly at the footballers as they ran past.

Lizzy simply shook her head and waved quickly at Donolley. Who gave her a bit of a wink but couldn't spare much more before he went back to running. Lizzy could see her father talking with Mr. Collins who was overly gesticulating with his hands as he went on about something or another a ways up in the stands.

Hopping over the fence, Lizzy strolled across the outside track toward Andrew Gardiner and he came over toward her.

"Aww, Lizzy. You did come now afterall…"

"Course I did. It's my favorite thing to watch you yell the new recruits into submission. Little do they know that you are harmless as a kitten…"

"Hah! You are beginning to sound like my wife."

"How is Aunt? I've meant to visit, but its been insane here."

"Redecorating the living room, last I heard. And planning our next great vacation, are you going to join us this time?"

"We'll see…So who stands out amongst the pack so far?"

"Number 54, his name is Denny. He's a good defender… I'm thinking about putting him in as sweeper. Then number 66, George Wickham. He's fast and we need that kind of speed."

Lizzy's eyes found number 66 in the mass of men running round the pitch. Wickham was fair haired and his mane was tied back into a small ponytail. He was tall and lithe, and Lizzy could see him joking with the one called Denny from here. Unconsciously, she smiled.

"Women… the whole lot of them go gaga eyed over footballers." Gardiner muttered under his breath before moving back toward his assistant coaches.

When practice ended nearly two hours later, Lydia and Kitty were bored out of their minds. But Lizzy was intrigued by Andrew's new training regime. She could hear her sisters whining about leaving, but when Donolley came over accompanied by several of the new players their complaints ceased.

"Lizzy!" He said hopping the fence as he gave her a very sweaty hug.

"Thanks Brian, I've always wanted to be bathed in your sweat."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Brian retorted only to get smacked by Lizzy rather hard.

Lydia and Kitty were simpering and drooling over Wickham and Denny. The men were polite and chatted with them rather amiably but Lizzy did not fail to notice that Wickham looked in her direction more than once.

"So, want to tell me what that frantic phone call was about the other night?" Donolley said gently as he wrapped his arm around Lizzy's shoulders.

"My boss is coming down hard on me, I need to get an article in and if I don't I'll be sacked faster than you can snap your fingers."

"What are you writing on?"

"I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you."

"Very well then. I won't pry, but if you don't have it sorted soon, you let me know, eh? Now, come on lets introduce you to the new boys."

When Lizzy walked over to where her sisters and the footballers were standing, the first thing she noticed was that Wickham had lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face and revealed a perfect six pack. Now, Lizzy did not consider herself to be a shallow person, but that did not mean she was blind.

"Ah, well then, George and Denny, meet the most gorgeous woman in all the land of football, Lizzy Bennet."

"Thanks for that modest introduction, Brian."

"He is only stating the obvious." Wickham said with a flirtatious wink.

Lydia, put off by the direction Wickham's attention, turned to Denny and began laying it on rather heavily. Lizzy wanted nothing more than to take her sister and shake some sense into her, but Lydia was in fact a most determined flirt.

"And how do you find Watford?"

"Its charming… and the views are infinitely better than what I'm used to."

"Watch out mate, she bites."

Lizzy punctuated Brian's comment by snapping her jaws together and baring her teeth.

"Ferocious… I like that. How about we do dinner?"

She could have sworn she heard Brian cough out 'weak' before he left for the showers. Flirting with Wickham came easily; he made her want to smile even as he used some of the most blatant pick-up lines of all time.

"Dinner would be lovely…"

"Brilliant, so I'll swing by your place then yeah? Or should we just meet at a restaurant?"

Lizzy paused for a moment thinking about all of her family crowding around the door as George showed up to collect her for the date. Her mother would be going on and on and laughing her ridiculous laugh. Her father would stare George down. Jane would smile. Kitty and Lydia would hang all over him. Collins would tell him about how the sun shines out of Catherine DeBourgh's ass and Mary would drill him on law. Yes, perhaps it was better if he didn't arrive at her house.

"Lets meet at Magnolia's Bistro. Say 8 o'clock?"

"Aces…I'll see you then fair lady." George picked up her hand giving her a kiss on the knuckles with the mock gallantry of a knight of yore.

Lizzy wanted to squeal. Finally a man deserving of her time, a footballer with charm and a sense of humor with an Adonis like face. It didn't matter that she didn't know if he liked literature or knew anything about world politics. No, Lizzy was blinded by George Wickham's light.

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A/N: And I'm going to leave it there for now. Next chapter see Lizzy and George's date. See more Mr. Collins. See Mr. Darcy find out about Lizzy and George's date. And some Jane and Charlie cuteness as well.

Do review!