Previously: Elise discovers that Alyssa has broken all her snow globes. The day doesn't get any better when she is forced to endure an awkward dinner planned by Fran.

9

"Soo… you and Jenine, huh?" Darcy said to Bingley one evening, as he shuffled a pile of cards in preparation for a fourth round of Snap.

"Uh, not really," Bingley replied hesitantly.

"What do you mean 'not really'?"

"I mean we're not really 'me and Jen', we're not like, a thing."

"But you like her? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you like her. You called her an angel the first time you met her, and if your perpetual blush around her is any indication, you still think of her like that."

Bingley shrugged and looked slightly bashful. "I like her. I'm not sure if she feels the same way, I mean, I think she does, but I just don't know."

"If her perpetual blush around you is any indication, then I would say yes, she likes you too."

"But Darce, even if she does, I don't think anything will happen."

"Why not? Make it happen, Charlie."

"I don't know. We've been on a few dates I guess, if you can call them that. We've had a few meals together, but then again, I'm her bodyguard. I'm supposed to go places with her. I'm not really sure if our outings count as dates."

"That depends. As her bodyguard you're just supposed to follow her around. As a person she's dating you're supposed to take her out- it's more of a together thing. If it's a date, being her bodyguard shouldn't be the only reason you're there."

"Well, yeah, I mean I have asked her out for lunch or coffee or whatever, but the thing is I'm still her bodyguard even if I'm taking her out. The lines are so blurry. And honestly, being her bodyguard is never the only reason I'm there. I really like spending time with her, we have a lot in common, and don't roll your eyes, but she's really an angel." Darcy rolled his eyes even so, and Bingley reached over to lightly punch his arm. "The other thing is," he continued, "she's going back to China to finish up the school year there."

"Yeah, but that's not for very long, just another couple of months. Hey, aren't you going there with her anyway?"

"I don't know. We sort of spoke about itwhen I asked her if she was looking forward to going back, and it sounded as if she didn't think I would be going with her. I've been thinking about asking Mr. Bennet about it. He never told us how long these jobs would be for, he just said we were needed until the increased publicity he was facing died down, right? The thing is, even over here neither of the girls seems to be facing that much attention from the media. Other than when we got ambushed after Jen visited her dad at work and when you guys were followed to the library, the press haven't made much of an appearance. I don't really think Jen's going to face too much trouble way over in China."

"That's true," Darcy agreed, nodding his head. "That said, while Elise was at Carla Lucas's place yesterday, she got a call from some reporter looking to interview her. All this hype is about some high profile merger, you know. I haven't really been keeping up, what with all the shit I have on my plate, but it seems like a really big deal. You've seen all the reporters outside Bennet's office though, haven't you? It's like they're camped out there, ready to pounce as soon as he leaves the building. Thing is, though, he's hardly ever leaves. Those vultures are going to get fed up of waiting around for him real soon. Then they'll be after our girls."

"Our girls?" Bingley questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, you know, Elise and Jenine," he explained as he dealt out the pile of cards.

"I know that, but since when was Elise your girl?"

"Dude, she is so not my girl."

"You just said she was!"

"I did no such thing."

"You implied it!"

"Whatever."

"Darcy, come on! We've known each other, since we were... 15? 16? You laugh with her! Don't try and deny it, I counted it twice for sure. You never laugh with girls! You always glare. You hardly even laugh with me! Don't spout me any bullshit, and just tell me what you actually think of her!"

"Well, she's a nice body to guard, I guess," he responded, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry, what? She has a nice body, did you say?"

"No! She IS a nice body."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"She's a nice body to guard… uh… what I'm trying to say is, she's a good… charge. Yup, charge is the word I'm looking for."

Bingley looked at Darcy as if he had just announced that he was pregnant. "So she doesn't have a nice body then?"

"No, she definitely has a nice body," he said with certainty, "from what I've seen," he mumbled.

"What do you mean 'from what I've seen'?"

"Huh?" Darcy didn't think it was a good idea to disclose what all he'd seen in San Diego. He worried that Elise might be embarrassed about others knowing. He certainly was embarrassed about the sequence of events that evening. "I mean, you know, like when she stands in front of me."

Bingley gave Darcy another 'you are so weird' look.

"SNAP!" shouted Bingley, slamming his hand down on the pile of cards.

"Elise, Honey, Nicoll is on the phone for you!" Fran bellowed up the stairs.

"Crap," she thought to herself. Having successfully avoided two phone calls from him the day before, she had assumed that Nicoll Collins would abandon trying to reach her. It appeared he was more persistent than she had given him due for. Hearing her stepmother's footsteps on the staircase, Elise quickly scrambled into her en suite bathroom, locked the door and collapsed on the floor. She heard her stepmother's footsteps enter her bedroom.

Fran knocked on the bathroom door. "Nicoll is on the phone for you, Honey," she called.

Elise scrunched up her eyes tightly and did her very best to sound constipated. "Ugh, I'm on the toilet, Fran," she groaned.

"Will you be out soon?" Fran persisted.

Elise groaned once more. "Uhh, I don't think so, ugh, I'm going to be in here a while."

She heard Fran sigh. "Well, I'll just tell him to call again later, then." Elise slapped her forehead and she heard Fran's steps retreating from her room. It seemed she wasn't going to get away from Nicoll that easily. Since the awkward dinner five days ago, Elise had already seen him twice. On Monday afternoon, Nicoll had arrived for lunch and another awkward meal ensued. Her 3 stepsisters had been at school, Jen at another job interview and her father at work, leaving her in the company of Nicoll and Fran. Aside from an initial ten minutes of small talk between herself and Nicoll, Elise couldn't honestly say what the conversation had been about. She had been somewhat aware of Fran asking Nicoll about his show, Nicoll singing the praises of Coach Cathy and the pair discussing fitness. She tried to nod at the appropriate places without actually paying attention. It was as such, that she found herself in a predicament when as she said goodbye, Nicoll responded with a 'see you on Wednesday, bright and early!'"

So it was, that on Wednesday at 7am, Hilary woke Elise at Fran's behest. Elise managed to pour herself a glass of orange juice before Nicoll made an appearance. She had not managed to drink it, and was quickly forced to cast it aside in favour of the spinach smoothie Nicoll has bought 'especially for her'. She dutifully drank it, trying to guzzle it down so that it missed her taste buds and went straight down the back of her throat. The drink wasn't nearly as foul as she had expected, but she would have much preferred her juice. Elise was then forced to endure an hour in the Bennet gym with a huffing and puffing Collins. Worst of all, at the end of the session, which she seemed to have survived much better than him, he insisted on hugging her goodbye. She had to clench her fists to stop herself reaching up to hold her nose in order to survive the smell. She had spent almost an hour in the shower after he left.

It wasn't just that she was facing numerous encounters with Nicoll, on top of that, Fran took every opportunity she could get to bring the man up in conversation with her youngest stepdaughter. She was behaving similarly with Jen, continuously mentioning J.W. to her. Furthermore, Jen had been sent to the Lucas house three times since the weekend, on various unnecessary and ridiculous errands. As if Angelica Lucas urgently needed to borrow a candlestand from Fran. Unless of course, she too wanted to kill Nicoll. Even if Jen seemed rather unfazed by Fran's behaviour, Elise was definitely growing annoyed with her stepmother, on both her own and her sister's behalf. It was apparent that Fran was up to something, and Elise had no doubt that whatever it was, she wouldn't be happy about it.

As a result continuous unwanted presence of Nicoll in her life, Elise felt entirely justified about pretending to be constipated to avoid him. After what she deemed an appropriate time, Elise emerged from the bathroom and went off in search of Jen.

She found her older sister sitting in her room with an empty suitcase on her floor and a pile of laundry at her side.

"What are you up to?" she asked as she stood in the doorframe.

Jen smiled up at her and Elise took this as an invitation to enter the room and sit on the bed. "Just sorting through clothes I need to take back."

"Already?" Elise ask, her tone coloured with surprise.

"Well, there's only another four days," Jenine replied, looking downcast.

Elise slid onto the floor and wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'll miss you," she said, frowning slightly.

"I'll miss you too, bubs. I always miss you when you're not around," she responded. Her voice suddenly descended into a whisper. "I know it's wrong of me, but I think you're the person I miss the most."

Elise giggled at her sister. "Of course you miss me the most, you should do,. I'm your most loved, most favouritest little sister. That, and I'm awesome." Jen rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "But maybe this time, it will be different," Elise continued. "Maybe this time there will be somebody else you'll miss more…" she added, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Who?"

"Oh I don't know, a certain redhead, perhaps? Answers to the name Charlie?" Elise gave her sister her best creepy smile. She suddenly sobered up, "That is, assuming he's not going with you?"

"Stop being silly, Ellie," Jen admonished. She turned her face away slightly in an attempt to hide her blush. "I'm not sure if Charlie's coming with me to China. I definitely don't think he needs to. The press hasn't been that much of an issue here, why would it be all the way over there?"

"Yeah, that is true. I thought you might want to keep him around though, you know, so you can continue stealing secret glances at each other and blushing."

"Shut up. We both blush a lot, don't we? Our kids-" Jen quickly stopped what she was saying and covered her mouth with her hand, the pink on her cheeks brightening.

"Aha! You're thinking of having his ginger blushing babies! You really like him!"

"I do," Jen nodded her head, sounding somewhat forlorn.

"Then why don't you want him to go with you to China?"

"It's unnecessary. It's a waste of Dad's money and his time. I like him, I mean, I like him a lot, but I don't want him to get in the way of my teaching either."

Elise smiled inwardly at the way her sister dismissed her desire for Charlie's company in favour of doing what she felt was better for everyone. Jenine was always trying to avoid being a burden to anyone, often at the expense of what she wanted.

"What did Dad say to that, though?"

"Nothing. I mean I haven't had a chance to speak to him about it yet. I tried to talk to him after dinner on Sunday, but he told me he had to rush back to work. Poor Daddy, he works so hard. I don't think many people are so committed to their jobs that they would go into work late on a Sunday night."

"Trust Jen to see Dad escaping his family as commitment to his job," Elise thought to herself.

"If he's been at home since then, I haven't seen him. I tried calling him at work, but his secretary answered and said he was in a meeting. I also tried dropping by his office in his lunch break, but he had a meeting that time too," Jen said, sounding a little sad.

Elise too had attempted to reach her father several times in the fast few days, without success. It was clear that he was expecting confrontation of some sort and was avoiding both girls.

Elise knew her father loved his two daughters, he showed it in how he was always buying things of them and in how protective he was of them. David had been genuinely upset when both his daughters had decided to spend the last year away from home. Even if he wasn't around to spend time with them at home much, he hadn't really reconciled himself to the girls leaving home, becoming upset and even irritated as a result.

"I stopped by his office too actually," Elise told her sister. "I've been needing to talk to him about San Diego and med school plans in general, but he hasn't been around. Did you see the press outside his building though? That was intense! A few of them tried to ask me questions when I went inside."

"Yeah I did! I was caught off-guard, actually. I'm so glad Charlie was there."

"I had a phone call as well, asking for an interview."

"Yes! I've had a couple like that! I've just been telling them I have nothing to say when I get asked questions."

"It's not that bad," Elise stated.

"No, it really isn't," Jen agreed, "but it's quite nice to have a bodyguard looking out for me all the same."

"I'm sure it is,." Elise gave her sister a knowing smirk and Jen smiled back shyly.

"Ok, I think I'm all done with this for now," Jen announced, gesturing at her packing. "I was going to bake some cookies. Want to help me?"

"Ooh cookies!" Elise jumped up gleefully. "I'd love to help!"

The two women made their way to the kitchen. As Elise was removing the brown sugar from one of the cabinets she heard the doorbell ring. Jenine started to move to leave the kitchen and answer the front door, but soon, they heardthe sound of the door opening.

"Good afternoon. May I help you?" They heard the sound of Hilary's voice resonating in the hallway outside the kitchen.

"I'm here to see the younger Miss Bennet," Elise heard a smarmy voice she recognized as Nicoll's announce.

"Shit!" She unceremoniously dumped the bag of sugar on the table. "Jennie, you have to tell him I'm not home!" she pleaded.

"Ellie, but you are home. And I know he tried to call a few times yesterday. I don't want to lie to him," Jen said, sounding pained.

Elise thought quickly. "Ok, you don't have to lie to him," she said, making her way to leave the house out of the back door from the kitchen. "I'm going out, I'm actually not at home!" she said, sounding pleased with herself. Elise waved at her sister as she left out the back.

After a total of 6 rounds of Snap, Bingley's phone had rung. Darcy had picked it up from beside him, glanced at self-shot pouting photo of Carrie on the screen and tossed the device to his friend.

"Caroline, hi," Bingley answered calmly. He was sitting slightly hunched over, with his forearms rested on his thighs, his gaze on the floor. Darcy heard the muffled sounds of her response.

"Oh, yes, Willie… uh, I mean Darcy is fine." Charlie looked up at his friend as he listened to his cousin's rambles on the other end of the phone line.

"You want to talk to him? Oh. Uh, let me just see…" Bingley trailed off as he threw the other man a questioning look. Darcy wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"He uh… he actually…um…" Darcy watched as Charlie floundered looking for an excuse. "He can't come to the phone right now, Carrie, I'm sorry." Charlie stood up and made his way from the living room into his own room, hmm-ing and ah-ing as Carrie continued her monologue.

Darcy sat there for a moment and then began tidying away the playing cards. Shortly, he heard a knock at the front door of the guesthouse. He was surprised to see Elise at his doorstep. He looked at her slightly puzzled for a moment, his body blocking the doorway so she couldn't enter.

"I'm really sorry," he started to apologise, "Did you call the guesthouse? I didn't hear the phone ring." He looked down at his bare feet, "Just give me a second, I'll grab my shoes and we can go."

"Go where?" Elise asked sounding confused.

"You're not here to ask me to get ready because you want to go out?"

"Oh!" she said, understanding dawning on her. "No, I just wondered if I could hide out here for a little while."

"Hide out? The press is at the house?" Darcy sounded worried. He straightened up and squared his shoulders, as if preparing to scare away hypothetical reporters.

"What? No, no. I just…" She debated telling him about Nicoll, but firstly she wasn't entirely sure how to go about explaining who he was and secondly she had not in the past known Darcy to be one for long conversations. "I just wanted to get away for a bit, you know, away from the bustle and all."

"Oh. Ok." Darcy realised he was obstructing her entry and awkwardly retreated. "Do you want to come in?" She shrugged nonchalantly and followed him inside. They both sat themselves on the couch. He turned to his left and eyed her warily. "So…" he began, "are you having a good day?"

Elise looked at him with a strange expression. "It's been… alright. You?" she responded awkwardly.

"Yeah, same."

"Soo… where's Charlie?" she asked, coming up with something they had in common. She was surprised that she was a having such a hard time talking to him. They weren't exactly close, but they had managed to have a few cordial conversations in the duration of their acquaintanceship. Somehow every time she spoke to Darcy, she felt as though they were starting again from scratch.

"He's on the phone with his cousin Carrie," Darcy explained, smirking.

Elise giggled and just like that, the ice was broken.

"What would you say to a game of Snap?" Darcy asked, picking up the pile of cards beside him.

"Snap? Seriously? I think the last time I played that was back in the days of Jen's braces and my puppy fat. Oh, what the hell, let's do it," Elise gave her assent.

Swiftly, Darcy dealt out the pack between them. Their competitive natures meant that the game, no matter how juvenile, was rather intense. Darcy won and Elise stuck out her tongue at him.

"It's a silly game anyway," she huffed.

"You're just a sore loser," he smirked.

"You're a bodyguard, if you didn't have faster reflexes than me we'd have a problem."

"I guess that's true, but you're going to be a doctor. You better speed up those reflexes, you're going to need them for life-saving. And anyway, I wasn't always a bodyguard."

"What were you before?" she inquired, genuinely curious, especially as she recalled Bingley's previous reluctance to discuss the two men's previous occupation.

"Um, I used to be an athlete," Darcy answered hesitantly. Under normal circumstances, this was not something he liked to talk about. Somehow though, he felt secure enough with Elise to tell her a little about his past. Ironically, the security he felt with her made him nervous.

"An athlete?" Elise asked. "Oh jeez, what is going on with everyone these days? I don't think I can deal with another person pushing me to go to the gym." She tried to keep the grimace threatening to appear off her face.

"Yeah. I used to compete professionally in swimming." Her face looked slightly contorted and he bristled a little. Sure an athlete was nowhere near as 'noble' and 'prestigious' and whatever as being a doctor, but a) she wasn't even a doctor yet and b) at least he wasn't a socialite. "What's the matter?" Darcy asked slightly curtly.

"Nothing, I'm just not… athletic."

"Oh." He eyed her suspiciously.

"So, why did you stop being a …" she paused to think of the right word and when she didn't find one, she went ahead and used her own term, "…swim person?"

"Why did I stop being a swimmer?" he corrected, smirking momentarily before he broke out into a scowl, unwilling to dredge up old memories. "I got injured." His reply was short and Elise decided to let the topic go.

Elise scowled as well, thinking back to Nicoll's critique of her athleticism. She knew perfectly well that it was illogical. Nicoll was no sporting expert nor was he in prime condition, but she wondered about how justified his censure was. "Hey, Darcy?" He turned to look at her, creases still present on his forehead, "do you think I'm unfit?"

He startled. "Oh shit. Is this like when a girl asks you if she's fat? You're supposed to say no immediately, right? Crap, I've spent so long thinking about this, my response isn't going to be immediate anymore. What is she talking about anyway? She said 'unfit' not 'fat'. Is it the same thing? What should I say?" He tried to be authentic by running his eyes over her physique quickly. "Noo…" he said slowly.

"He doesn't sound too sure. Hmph. Since when do I care what Fran or Nicoll think of me anyway? Why am I letting this bother me? I'm healthy, I don't need or want to be athletic." She decided her inner voice was right and plastered a perky smile on her face. "Oh good, I just thought I should check with a real athlete."

Darcy nodded seriously, although he had no idea what she was on about.

A/N:

Hello readers! This is dedicated to those of you, who, like me, are lamenting the abscence of a hot olympian (preferably swimmer) Darcy from your lives. Much love. -N