"We're going to name him… Benjamin Henry Darcy. A mouthful, we know.", Lizzie tells the room and smiles. She looks up at Darcy holding little Benjamin, and feels as if nothing will ever top this moment Darcy adds, "Yes. Benjamin Henry Darcy. My father's middle name was Benjamin, Thomas's middle name is Henry… it just feels right." The nurse smiles at them, writes his name down, and says she'll give them a little more time with the baby before they take him.
"A beautiful name for my beautiful grandbaby! Ohh… Darcy, dear, can I hold little Benji? You get to take him home and keep him for the next 18 years! I'll only get to see him every once in a while.", whined Mrs. Bennet, who was currently holding her eldest grandchild. "Sure thing, Mrs. Bennet.", Darcy replied, reluctance in his voice undetected by everyone but Lizzie. She giggled and said, "Good point, mom. Here, let me hold my nephew. I haven't seen him in a couple months. He's grown so much!".
Darcy looked at his son, who was now residing in his grandmother's arms. Mr. Bennet went over to his wife's side and both were making googley eyes at their new grandson. "My parents would have been just as proud as the Bennets… I can't believe they're not here…", Darcy thought to himself. He tried not to think about his parents often, but who could avoid thinking about their parents when they have just given them a grandchild they would never meet?
He snapped out of his thoughts when Bing slapped him on the back and said "Welcome to Fatherhood, Darce! How does it feel?", with a grin from ear to ear.
Darcy couldn't help but smile a little. "Ah, yes, it feels good so far. I can't wait to get him home… Oh wait! The nursery. It's not complete…", Darcy replied. He turned to Lizzie, who was giggling with Jane and little Charles, and told her about the incomplete nursery.
"It's okay, babe. He can sleep with us! I'd feel bad leaving him alone so soon, ya know?", Lizzie replied, staring longingly at her baby. "Mom's held him a little too long…", she thought to herself. Darcy noticed this and agreed with Lizzie, "Yes, Lizzie, I think you are right. He can stay with us… Do you want me to fetch him for you?". Lizzie beamed at him and said, "Please?". Darcy went to tear his son away from Mrs. Bennet and company, and cherished the couple of seconds he got to hold Benjamin in his arms before he handed him to Lizzie, who had just given little Charles back to Jane.
"OH! I almost forgot! I brought gifts!", shrieked Mrs. Bennet. Darcy winced at the sound. He had grown comfortable around the Bennet clan after all these years, Mr. Bennet being one of his best friends now, but Mrs. Bennet still had some 'antics' that bugged him. A lot. Her unnecessarily loud voice being one of them. Mr. Bennet got out his camcorder and began recording.
"This is going to be good.", he chuckled internally. Mrs. Bennet went to the table where everyone's bags were, and pulled out presents of various shapes and sizes. She gave one to Darcy, Bing, Jane, and Lizzie. "Open them up, now, no need to save the wrapping paper!", she rushed them. Darcy opened Lizzie's for her, then his. Bing did the same for himself and Jane, as she was holding Charles. They all looked at each other simultaneously and then at Mrs. Bennet, and burst out laughing. Tears and all.
Lizzie and Jane received light pink T-shirts that said "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Bennet daughter in possession of a handsome husband… -flip the shirt over- … must create beautiful babies." The boys received light blue T-shirts that said "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a handsome, rich man in possession of a Bennet daughter… -flip the shirt over- … must be a very happy man, indeed!"
Mrs. Bennet took the laughter as a sign that they loved their gifts and was smiling smugly at Mr. Bennet, who told teased her about how ridiculous they were. "Now, for my grandbabies!", and she pulled out onesies that said "I LOVE MY GRANDMAMA". Charles' onesie had a big '01' on the back and above it, it said Grandbaby, coming together to say 'Grandbaby 01'. Benjamin's onesie said 'Grandbaby 02' on the back.
Everyone laughed at these. Even Mr. Bennet. She made those without his knowledge. Then she pulled out something and handed it to Gigi. Gigi's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She hadn't been expecting anything. She opened it up and it was a lavender colored shirt that said 'World's Best Auntie' on the front in Comic Sans font. Lydia laughed and patted Gigi's back and said, "It's okay. I got one, too, when Charles was born."
"Thank you, Franny! I'm definitely the best aunt! Aside from Lydia! Ha ha…", Gigi said to Mrs. Bennet.. "She was really sweet to think of me!", Gigi thought to herself.
Lydia decided to stop her mom, who looked like a magician about to take another rabbit out of her hat. "Pause the lame-o gifts for a sec, mom! It's my turn!" Lydia pulled out a little red bowtie. Everyone except for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet howled and hooted at this. They wouldn't understand because they never found out about Lizzie's vlogs.
Darcy hadn't been wearing many bowties lately. The more pregnant Lizzie got, the more casual Darcy became. So it was a very refreshing moment. "Told you my gift was going to be amazing! The Ly-Dee-yah does not disappoint!", Lydia said smugly. She remembers when Charles was born, she gave him a little doctor headband, like Lizzie used in her old videos.
"Well, my gift is 'awesome' too, in my opinion.", said Mr. Bennet as he pulled out two trains. "One for each of my boys. I wasn't blessed with any sons but I have been provided with two healthy grandsons, so I can't complain." Lizzie and Jane teared up and both thanked their father at the same time. You could barely understand what each was saying, but Mr. Bennet knew they were grateful. Everyone knew how much those trains meant to him, so the fact that he was giving them away was a huge deal.
"Enough, enough, girls. Now, let's give the stage to the next present. Who's up?", said Mr. Bennet. Gigi stepped up and pulled out a calendar. "This is for you, William.", she said, handing him the calendar. He looked at it, confused. "And this," Gigi said, pulling out a little gold chain-link bracelet, "…this is for my nephew." The little bracelet had a little gold plate in the middle that said 'Darcy'. "Wow, thank you so much, Gigi!", said Lizzie. Darcy smiled and thanked Gigi, "Thank you, Gigi. It's beautiful." Nobody knew, but Darcy had a bracelet just like that when he was a kid.
"You're very welcome! And now, I've got to go. I've met little Benji and gave my presents. My job here is done.", she says heading towards the door. "Goodbye, Darcys! And goodbye, Bennets. Oh, and goodbye, Lees!".
Darcy stepped toward Gigi, and asked, "Wait, Gigi. Before you go, I have to ask. Why did you give me a calendar?"
Gigi was half-way out the door, and replied, "Turn to May, 25. Bye!", and ran out. Darcy, curious, flipped to May and his face turn bright red. Lizzie said, "What is it, Will?" and he handed her the calendar. On May 25th, 2017, in big red letters it says 'The 6 weeks are up! Good luck ;)' Lizzie burst out laughing, almost waking little Benji who was lying on her chest. Mr. Bennet stopped filming here figuring there were no more presents.
Before anyone could ask what was up with the calendar, the nurse walked in and said, "Okay, everyone it's time to take little-", she looks down at her chart, "-Benjamin Darcy to get his labs done. I'll bring him back as soon as possible." Lizzie reluctantly gave him to Darcy, who put him in the hospital basket. The nurse rolled him away. Lizzie started crying. Darcy was trying to console her, "It's okay, my love. He'll be back before you know it."
Mrs. Bennet did an exaggerated sigh and said "I'm exhaussssssted! Now that the baby isn't in here, I can relax! You don't know how nerve-racking our trip was. Tell 'em Thomas! We almost missed our flight and we couldn't find our luggage, and no offense to your employees, Darcy, dear, but that man was driving slower than I thought was even possible! I swear, I thought we were never gonna get here!"
Mr. Bennet added, "We were late because you took too long getting ready, Franny, darling. And that poor driver. William, I believe that man is in need of some heavy compensation." Darcy made a mental note of it. He's experienced being behind the wheel with Mrs. Bennet, and it was not a pleasant experience.
"Stop exaggerating, mom.", Lydia said and sat down on the couch. She patted the seat so her mother would come over and sit. Bing, who was now sitting on another couch with little Charles sleeping in his arms and Jane leaning on his shoulder, sighed and said, "You guys aren't the only ones who had a tough time. A six-hour flight with this little guy is no joke. Jane was a great sport. He wouldn't sleep if he wasn't in her arms." He smiled at his wife and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Everyone was having a good rest. Darcy made arrangements for dinner to be brought to their room and everyone was having a great time bonding. Darcy noticed how much Lizzie ate and chuckled. She was famished from the birth. He quite liked the new curves pregnancy had given her, and he hoped she'd keep some of it. "If she keeps eating like that, she just might…" he thought to himself.
Then, the door opened and the baby was rolled back into the room. Lizzie sat up in bed and eagerly awaited the return of Benjamin Henry Darcy in her arms. She was missing him the entire time he was gone. While everyone conversed, she was picturing his big, fat cheeks; his dark blond hair; his pointy little nose, and his eyes! Oh, he had his father's eyes; that was no mistake. He also had the signature Darcy family nose and eyebrows. Benji's brows weren't really visible but you could tell they were going to be thick.
He weighed 9.5 lbs and was 22 inches long. A very big baby. No wonder why Lizzie felt she was going to pass out. She thought back to just hours ago, when they gave Benji to her and she finally was able to stop crying and really look at her son. She was surprised at the blond hair. She thought for sure he would have dark hair like the Darcys. He came out with Mrs. Bennet's hair color. She frowned a little and complained internally about how he didn't have any of her physical characteristics.
Just she was snuggling her baby, and babbling at him, the door opened and you'll never guess who walked through the door…
It was Catherine DeBourgh! The Lees and the Darcys looked at each each other, each thinking the same thing, 'What is she doing here?!'. The Bennets had actually never met Aunt Catherine but had heard that she did not approve of their daughter. She walked in like she owned the place and went straight to the child.
She greeted everyone collectively, "Good evening, everyone.", with cold civility. You could tell she was annoyed that there were so many people present. She was just expecting Darcy and Lizzie. Darcy was the first to speak.
"Aunt Catherine… Hello. It's good to see you're doing well…", Darcy told her.
She replied coldly, "Hmmph. If that were true, I wouldn't have to find out from Richard Collins that your lover had given birth to the heir of the Darcy empire."
Darcy cleared his throat. He had many things he wanted to say but he would never disrespect his aunt. Lizzie spoke up and said, "If you would accept my family and I, then we would gladly invite you into our lives and the lives of our children. Until that day, I don't want you near my child."
Aunt Catherine's face was one of disbelief and disgust. Lizzie and Darcy have been married for two years, and in all that time Catherine hadn't congratulated them or paid them a kind word as a couple.
"I'll have you know, Elizabeth Bennet, that that child has my family's blood running through its veins and I have just as much right as these people to be in the child's life!", she retorted.
Darcy was not going to let her speak to his wife that way. "Aunt Catherine, please! You are upsetting Lizzie. She is exhausted from giving birth to my son and I would appreciate it you didn't speak to the mother of my child like that. And her name is Elizabeth Darcy now. You wouldn't have forgotten had you attended our wedding two years ago.", Darcy stated sharply, barely containing his anger. Darcy was angry with Catherine for Lizzie and everything, but mainly because she was his sole living relative, besides Gigi, and this is how she was behaving.
"Ohhh, lemme get you some ice for that BURN!", Lydia joked, trying to cut down the tension at least a little. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet stayed quiet, figuring it was not their place to get into a discussion that is clearly between Darcy and his aunt. Catherine was babbling incoherently and just stormed out. "That child will recognize me and come to respect me, you'll see!", she said before turned around to eye the other people in the room with disgust.
"Whoa.", Bing said after she exited. "Thanks, babe.", Lizzie said. Darcy unconsciously smiled back at her, calming down instantly. He went over to her kissed her softly on the lips, then her forehead, and then kissed little Benjamin who was fast asleep on Lizzie's chest.
How did you like this chapter, guys? Benjamin was mentioned multiple times to me and I really liked the name Henry. So Benjamin Henry Darcy was born!
Next chapter: The Darcys are ready to go home! But not before some more drama goes down.