"I'm a big boy. I don't need to hold your hand," Jake pouted as he shrugged out of his father's grasp.

Feeling slightly irritated, Will quickly took back his son's hand in his own. "When we're crossing the street, you will hold my hand. I don't want you to get run over."

"Unh, let go!" Jake cried, struggling in vain to get free.

Will bent down to face his son eye to eye. The boy had been in a bad mood all day and it was beginning to take its toll even on his father. "Now, listen to me, I am your dad and you will do what I say."

"No. I don't want to!" Jake shouted, kicking his father in the shin.

Will ignored the looks cast at him by people passing by. Scooping his screaming son into his arms, he quickly made his way back to the car. Grocery shopping would have to wait.

Knocking on Will's door, Lizzy was alarmed to hear her son crying inside. Seconds later, a flustered Will opened the door.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"Mama? Mama!" a teary-eyed Jake cried as he ran towards her.

Grasping him into her arms, she soothingly stroked his hair, kissing his forehead. "Mama. I want to go home. Daddy was mean to me. He...he spanked me. I don't love him no more. I never want to see him again!"

Lizzy looked up at Will. "Is this true? Did you spank him?" What on earth could have possessed him to do such a thing?

Will looked at her unblinkingly and unashamed. "I did and he deserved it."

A flush rose across Lizzy's face as her anger heightened. "I know that you're new to the whole parent thing, but I didn't think I would have to tell you this. Spanking is NOT how we discipline our child. Time outs, yes. Making him apologize, yes. Drawing a picture about why he was bad, yes. But he's never been spanked until now. And it's not going to happen again."

"If he chooses to misbehave again, it will," Will replied. "Time outs and pictures might work for you but when my child is being disrespectful to me I will handle it as I see fit."

Lizzy scoffed. "Oh, you know all the answers. That's rich coming from someone who has been a father for all of three months."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Your own," Lizzy shot back.

Lizzy was now not the only one angry. Will looked like he was about to blow a gasket. "Months ago, you said you tried to contact me after you found out you were pregnant. I didn't believe you then, but I let it slide because we had more pressing matters to deal with. But I sure don't believe you now. You never meant for me to know."

Rolling her eyes, Lizzy spat, "Oh, yes, I kept your child from you as part of some big scheme. Didn't you know? All women dream of becoming single mothers. Yes, the past five years have been such a piece of cake. I've loved every minute of worrying and fear and shouldering all the responsibility by myself. Why would I want someone to help me out with the overwhelming task of raising a child when I could struggle and go at it alone? Really, Will? You think I hated you that much that I would do that to my child? To deny him his father?"

"Well, I never got your calls."

"What about the letter I sent you? With the sonogram? Surely a picture of a fetus wouldn't escape your notice?"

"I never got any such thing," Will replied, defensively.

Jake, who had been there for the entire argument, began to look even more distraught at the raised voices of his mother and father. Putting his hands over his ears, Jake began to shed new tears. Seeing her son's distress, Lizzy made herself calm down. This was neither the time nor the place to have this discussion.

"You know what? It doesn't matter any more. You know about Jake now and that's what really counts."

"Yeah, you're right," Will conceded, also having noted his son's discomfort. Crouching down next to his son, he said, "Hey, buddy, you gonna give me a hug before you leave?"

Jake shook his head and clung tightly onto his mom. "No. You mean. I don't like you no more."

A pained expression passed across Will's face. "Alright then," he said, standing upright. "I'll pick him up after school on Tuesday. Bye Jake."

Jake's reply was to stick out his tongue. Lizzy sighed. Maybe Will had reason to spank their son. Jake was being a little toot.

Later than night as she and her son ate dinner, Lizzy set out to find the reason behind Jake's misbehavior.

"So what happened today with you and your dad? Why'd he spank you?"

Jake slurped down his spaghetti and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Cuz he's mean."

Lizzy threw her son her best mom look. "Tell me the truth."

Jake sighed. "We were walking to the store and he wanted me to hold his hand while we crossed the street. He treats me like I'm a baby."

Lizzy put down her fork and squeezed her son's hand. "He wasn't trying to treat you like a baby. He just wants you to be safe. You have to hold my hand when you walk across the street with me."

"I know, but I don't have to listen to him. He's just my dad."

"Honey, it's because he's your dad that you have to listen to him."

"Why? I never had to listen to him before. My friends all got their dads when they were babies, but I got my dad when I was in Kindergarten. Why is that? Where was he?"

Lizzy bit her lip, not knowing how to explain the situation to someone so young. Heck, she didn't even know how to explain it to herself. He'd said that he'd never got her calls or her letter, but she didn't know if she could believe him. I mean how could he miss all her calls and her letter? There was no possible, reasonable explanation for it other than he was lying to her.

"Your dad was...um...he was busy doing lots of things in New York with his job and stuff."

Jake made a dissatisfied face. "How come he's just here now? And how come all of a sudden he boss me around? That's not fair."

"He's your father. It's his job to make sure you behave. Just like it is mine." Not wanting to continue the conversation any longer, Lizzy said, "Hurry and finish your dinner. You need to take a bath."

"Mama?" Jake asked as Lizzy tucked him into bed.

"Yes, sweetheart."

"I get to see daddy again, right? I didn't mean what I said. I still love him."

Lizzy smiled and gently kissed him on the forehead. "Of course, love. You get to see him on Tuesday, remember?"

"Yeah. I just thought maybe he wouldn't want to see me no more. I was kind of bad today. I kicked him in the leg."

"Jacob Fitzwilliam Bennet," Lizzy gasped. "That was very wrong of you. You know better."

"I know, mommy. I'm sorry," Jake said with a yawn, closing his eyes. "I'll do better tomorrow."

"Make sure you do," Lizzy whispered as she closed the door.

"Uh, Lizzy, what are you doing here?" Will asked. He was surprised to see her at his office. He was still trying to set up the place. It would be another month or two before he would be officially ready to take clients. "I'm surprised you're not at work."

"I took a half day off to run some errands. I thought I would stop by so we could talk some things out without Jake around."

Will's fingers combed through his hair. "Yeah, sure. Have a seat. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good." Lizzy answered as she sat in the chair across from his desk. "So I talked to Jake and I found out what happened the other day. Honestly, I don't know what got into him. He's never acted like that before."

Will leaned back in his chair. "I've done some reading and apparently this is pretty common when kids have somebody new come into their lives. The honeymoon phase is over with us. It's not just all fun and games. I have to actually parent and it's natural that he's going to rebel against that a bit."

Nodding her head, Lizzy replied, "I agree. He's having a hard time adjusting to having a dad. He's only used to having to mind me. Plus he's starting to ask questions."

"What kind of questions?"

"Like where was his father for most of his life. You know we're going to have to explain it to him one day."

"I don't know how to explain it now," he admitted.

"Me either."

"You really tried to contact me, didn't you?" Will asked. He was actually starting to believe her story.

"I did, but you never got the calls or the letter?"

"I don't know. Maybe I did. Truth be told I was pretty wasted for a while after we broke things off. I didn't really pay attention to my mail or who was trying to call me."

"Oh." Lizzy said, looking uncomfortable at that bit of news.

"But the past is the past. We can't undo it. I say we move forward from now on. We'll explain things to Jake when he gets older. Deal?"

"Of course, deal."

Will walked around to the front of his desk, stopping right in front of Lizzy. "I guess the next thing we should talk about is discipline."

"I thought we had already discussed this..."

"No, you dictated to me." As Lizzy was about to interrupt, Will put his hand up. "What I was going to say is that we need to be on the same page with discipline. He shouldn't be able to get away with one thing at your house and not at my house. He's young and this change in his life is challenging for him. He needs as much consistency as possible."

"Let me guess that was something else you had read about?" Sighing, Lizzy admitted, "You're right. We need to be on the same page. But I still think you shouldn't have spanked him."

Will looked down, feeling guilt squeeze his heart. He knew she was right. "Is he still mad at me?"

"No. He was actually scared you wouldn't want to see him anymore."

"Silly kid."

"You know he loves you, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, I better go," Lizzy said as she got up to leave. Reaching the door, she turned around. "Will," she began.

He looked up from the spot on the carpet that had been so mesmerizing seconds before. Lizzy was biting her lip. She looked nervous. She also looked beautiful, but what else was new?

"I was just wondering. Why were you drunk after that summer?"

"Don't act like you don't know. I poured my freaking heart out to you that night and you just left like what happened didn't even matter at all."

"It did."

"What?"

"It mattered. It mattered a lot. Did you ever think that maybe I was scared? That becoming part of your world was a little daunting to a 20 year old who had spent most of her life in rural Maine? How would I have looked by your side? I knew nothing of your world in Manhattan. I didn't know how to host a party, fund raise, dress for social events, or any of that fancy stuff you rich people do."

"You would have learned. I would have helped you. Your wit and charm make you a natural hostess. No one would have been able to keep their eyes off of you," Will replied softly. Will felt the reserve that he had held on to for the past three months start to crack. After he'd found out about his son, he'd been so upset with her that most of their conversations had been like business transactions. They talked only about their son. They had gotten to a point where they were somewhat friendly with each other, but he felt, and he knew she did too, betrayed. This was the first time that he hadn't let his pain rule his actions. This was the first time that he'd let hope in.

Walking over to the door where she stood, he stopped mere inches from her, hovering in her space. Longing to touch her, he fisted his hands to keep himself from doing that very thing.

"Well, it's no use rehashing the past like you said," replied Lizzy, somewhat shakily. "You have Caroline now. I'm sure she leaves nothing wanting when it comes to social events."

"She is a wonderful hostess," Will remarked. His eyes were fixed upon Lizzy's lips. He didn't know how in the space of a few minutes he had gone from having a normal conversation with her to wanting to kiss her. But here he was, doing his best to train his brain not to want her. You are engaged, he told himself. You are engaged.

"Yes, I'm sure she is," Lizzy whispered softly, leaning in closer.

She smelled so good. She looked so soft, so delectable. One taste, just one taste wouldn't hurt.

Integrity. Will heard his father say in the back of his mind. The Darcy name is synonymous with integrity. We do what's right even when no one is holding us accountable. That's what being a real man is all about.

Sighing, Will closed his eyes and took a step back. "You should go. Finish your errands."

At this point, Lizzy had turned beet red with embarrassment. "Yes, you're right. I should be going. B...Bye," she stammered before quickly fleeing out the door.

Groaning, Will propped himself up against the wall. This couldn't be happening again. But it was. Lizzy had wanted to kiss him and he had most certainly wanted to kiss her.