Previously: Fran explains her scheme to a furious Elise and Carla meets Nicoll.

13

"So, are you going to start ranting and raving or are you just going to keep glaring at me?"

Elise squinted her eyes at her father even more pronouncedly.

"The wind will change, and then your eyes will be stuck like that."

"Are you trying to tell me, Father, that you are entirely unaware of your wife's scheming plans?" Elise demanded.

"I like to ensure that I am never aware of my wife's plans," he replied satirically, "that way, I can make sure I'm never party to them."

"Hardy har har," Elise remarked, snarkily.

"Don't get short with me, Elise. Why is it so unreasonable for me not to have any idea about what my wife is up to? I dare say you spend more time at home with her than me. And if you're only just discovering some elaborate scheme of hers, why is it so inconceivable that I might not know anything about it?"

"Hmph. The discussion about how unreasonable the lack of time you spend at home with the woman you married is can wait until another time. Anyway, I don't stick my nose into your personal life, since I expect you to do the same for me. I extend the same courtesy to Fran, but she seems to have missed the memo about treating others the way you would want to be treated."

"Uh huh. So, what exactly is this scheme you discovered?"

"Fran decided that she needed to marry me off to that awful toad Nicoll Collins so that our marriage could provide the basis for some trashy reality TV show which she would use to publicise a line of wedding dresses she would design," she blurted out angrily, without taking a breath.

David snorted loudly. "She thought she would bring TV cameras into our home? How did she think I would ever agree to that?"

Elise's annoyance mounted considerably as she found her father focusing on what was to her the least outrageous aspect of the whole scheme.

"That's what you're focusing on? How about the fact that she was arranging the marriage of your youngest daughter to an absolute nincompoop?"

He sniggered at the thought. "Actually that part I wouldn't have minded, family meals would suddenly be more worth coming to with additional entertainment in the form of the court jester."

Elise rolled her eyes with annoyance. Her father never took anything seriously, and while that meant they shared a lot of witty banter, it also meant that he never appreciated her concerns nor did he assuage them as any daughter might expect her father to.

"Dad, seriously," she said, trying to convey to him the lack of amusement she was taking in the situation, while also realising it was futile.

"Exactly what do you want me to do, Elise? Send Francissa to the naughty corner? That woman does whatever she wants and leaves me out of it. That's what makes our marriage so beautiful."

"I'm not here to ask you to tell Fran off, I'm here to tell you that I'm moving out. I figured I'd better come inform you since given that you're never home, you're unlikely to notice otherwise.'

"Moving out? And where exactly will you be moving in to?"

"Wherever I find on such short notice."

"Elise, you'll be off after the summer anyway for this whole medical school palaver you've decided to go after. Surely you can survive 3 more months at home?"

"I don't think I can as long as Fran and Alyssa live here. At least, not with a full head of hair. And I am rather attached to these luscious tresses. What's the point in me being at home anyway? Jen's off to the airport tonight… You barely live at home, Carrie, Alyssa and Fran drive me up the wall and Mars spends as much time locked in her room as you spend locked in this office."

"I'm not keen on you moving out alone."

"I'm 23 years old. I lived across an ocean from you for a year. I lived away in college. I only come home for the holidays. Technically I moved out 5 years ago. Once med school starts, I'll start coming back home for holidays again. I just can't actually live in that house anymore. It's going to make me certifiably insane."

"Elise…"

"Dad what do I have to do to prove to you that I can live alone?"

David sighed loudly. "I will concede to this under one condition."

"Pray, do tell."

"The increased media attention is still an issue for the company. And apparently increased media attention is also going to be an issue for you because of Fran. That makes rather a lot of increased media attention. Rather too much for my liking. And so my condition is that you do not actually live alone but rather you live alone with your bodyguard."

"You're telling me to move out of home only to move in with Darcy?"

"Yup."

"That's like telling me to move from a roach infested house into a termite infested apartment."

David raised his eyebrows at her.

"Ok, maybe that was a little harsh, termites aren't actually all that annoying," she said sarcastically.

"Would you rather I fire him and find you a new bodyguard?"

Elise's eyes widened. "What?! No! Don't fire him!"

"If you don't want him fired and replaced, what exactly do you want? You will have a bodyguard if you move out, that's part of the agreement."

"Since Jen's away, could I not just have Charles instead?"

"I'm afraid not. Mr. Bingley is on another job during the time Jen is away."

"Dangflabbit."

"Basically, I'm giving you an ultimatum here. You either move out on your own with your bodyguard, or you continue living at home."

"Or I could just move out whether you like it or not…?"

"You really couldn't. You don't have the funds. The remains of your research stipend aren't even going to get you a cardboard house in this city, at best you might be able to find a supermarket trolley to live in. And you won't be able to take out a loan; you don't have a good enough credit rating. You're also never going to manage to reach your mother and get her to send you out money fast enough for your liking. I'll restate the offer just for clarity: Either move out on your own with your bodyguard, or you continue living at home."

"And if I live at home, I still have to have a bodyguard anyway?" she asked, frowning deeply.

"That's right. Both roaches and termites," he responded, smirking.

"The choice is easy then. I'll start looking for 2 bedroom places to rent."

"70lbs."

"70?! Oh gosh! How is it so much heavier? On the way here it was half that! How could I have added so much stuff?!"

"Oh, I don't know, Jenine, maybe it was the entire bookshop you have packed into your suitcase for your class of kids that can barely read?"

"Elise, how exactly do you expect them to learn to read without books?"

"I'm not disputing that they need books to learn to read, I'm just wondering if Anne of Green Gables is the right series to start them out on?"

"I know they won't be able to read some of the books I bought yet, but I'll be able to read those books to them in story time. And anyway, just the presence of books creates an atmosphere conducive to learning to read! I want my kids to have encouragement and motivation, and those books will be goals, distant or otherwise, for them to achieve."

"But why didn't you just buy the books over there?"

"Because you don't find all these books over there. And anyway, I have a Barnes and Noble card."

Elise shrugged and gave up arguing with her sister.

"I can't believe you had to sit on my suitcase to get it to close! Gosh, how am I going to lift this behemoth?"

"The trick is not to lift, but to drag. And when you need to get it on and off the conveyor belt, the trick is to pout and bat your eyelashes, so some dude does it for you," Elise explained.

Jenine laughed softly. "I almost wish Charles was going with me - pretty sure he could lift this with no trouble at all."

"Jen… If you want him to go with you I doubt you would have a hard time convincing Dad, who will not budge on me keeping Darcy around if I move out, or even Charles himself! I definitely think he'll be up for following you around some more."

"Ellie, I am so sure that this is the right way to go about things. If Charles doesn't come with me, Dad won't be paying him to basically stand around all day bored and chatting to me since there's nothing to protect me from. It also means I can do my job a whole lot better… a 6'2" man with flaming hair in my classroom would definitely distract my kids from learning to read. And another thing - spending a few months apart will help us put things in perspective. What if he discovers that the only reason he was interested in me was because he was stuck spending so much time with me that he didn't get to meet anyone else?"

"Jenine, it's not me you have to convince…"

"Elise, I am convinced I'm making the right decision. It's just that I'm going to miss him… and he's so cute."

Elise wrapped her arms around her sister tightly. Jenine freed her arms from her sister's grip so she could hug her back.

"I hope he waits…" she whispered almost inaudibly into Elise's hair. Elise just nodded, practically imperceptibly knowing that her sister's confession was just that - she wasn't looking for reassurance, she just needed to say it.

Elise loosened her grip on Jenine and sat herself on the edge of Jen's bed. She let out a sigh and flopped backward, so she lay staring at the ceiling. A few, short seconds passed before Jen joined her.

"Don't let me fall asleep! I'll miss my flight."

"Don't let me fall asleep either! I need to come drop you off at the airport."

"You really don't! It's 2am Elise, there is absolutely no need for you to trek to the airport with me when you could be asleep in your bed."

"I want to say goodbye properly!" Elise whined.

"You can say goodbye properly without leaving the house."

"Jen, you know I have weird issues about saying goodbye to people I love. I need to come to the airport. It will make me feel better."

Jen knew her sister did in fact have issues saying goodbye to people. Elise needed to have goodbyes that felt momentous and final in order to feel at ease with leaving or sending someone else off. The day Elise had left for England, she had said goodbye to the rest of the family at the house complete with waving from the limo window. She had then asked Hill to stop at the Lucas household on the way to the airport so she could say 'proper' goodbyes to Carla and Jun Wei specifically. When once several years ago, their mother had left town while Elise was in class and had sent her a text to say goodbye, Elise had been extremely anxious the entire time Madeleine was away. She had continually tried to get in touch with her mother the entire duration of her trip, much more frequent calls were placed than on other occasions. Jen knew that the unconventional state of their family was the cause of Elise's need for dramatic goodbyes.

Jen turned her head from staring straight up to face her sister. She smiled gently. "Thanks. I would really love for you to come if you're up for it and really want to."

Just then there was a very soft knock at the door, before it slowly opened and revealed Marissa's head peeking in. Jenine had already said goodbye to her father, Fran, Alyssa and Carissa, all of whom were in bed.

"Hey," whispered Marissa softly, "just thought I'd come hang out with you guys for a little before I go to bed."

Jen waved her hand to beckon the other girl in. Marissa turned and softly closed the door. Jen smirked a little as she caught sight of her stepsister's Sesame St 'The Count' pyjamas. Marissa hopped up onto Jenine's bed and filled the gap between her sisters.

"Sweet PJ's," Jen complimented.

"Thanks, they're my favourite," Marissa acknowledged. "Jenny Jen Jen, I'll miss you! I'm glad you'll be back soon. I know we have a seriously dysfunction family but I like it when we're all together."

"I'll miss you too, Missy," Jen responded.

Elise cleared her throat before beginning to speak somewhat hesitantly. "So, this is kind of an awkward time to break this news what with this being Jen's goodbye time and you just making that pretty touching statement, Mars, but I think I should probably tell you guys this sooner rather than later. Firstly, I just wanted to say that this is totally not a big deal and it's more for the sake of my sanity than anything else - it's not supposed to be a big change and-"

"Just get to the point Elise," Marissa demanded, frowning at the other girl.

"I spoke to Dad today, and well… I'm going to be moving out. I'll still be in LA, I'm not leaving town or anything, I just need my own space. I won't be far off," Elise announced. She held her breath once she finished speaking, hoping not to get any particularly upset reactions.

"Totally saw this coming. I thought it would happen after Alyssa smashed your snow globes, but now with Fran's scheming - Jen told me about the whole thing earlier and oh my gosh I think I ruptured something laughing at the image of you and Nicoll Collins walking down the aisle by the way - but yeah, with Fran's scheming and Jen leaving, you don't really have much to keep you in this house."

"I'm glad you found it funny, the mental image of that makes me nauseous! And, oh, this house has a great many merits that would make me want to stick around for the record - I mean there's the pool, the elevator I can just repeatedly ride up and down in, the tennis court and that's pretty much everything aside from, oh, I don't know, YOU. It's just that I'm going to lose it living in this house any longer. Fran and Lyss made me crazy back when I lived at home, but then I was well adapted and could deal with it. Now, I've been away and I've gotten used to my independence. I don't know how to regress. You genuinely are always welcome to visit me, Mars, I probably won't be at the house all that much in the near future if I ever want to have a vaguely amicable relationship with your mom in the future."

"It's such a shame it's come to this Ellie," Jane said mournfully.

"It is, but I'm genuinely so annoyed with Fran and what is perhaps more annoying for me is the fact that nobody else seems to think that my annoyance is legitimate."

"It's not that, Elise," Marissa explained. "We do think you have a right to be annoyed, it's just that my mom really doesn't get that trying to marry you and Jen off to convenient people is not ok, and she means well with the whole thing, so everybody kind of lets her off a little."

Realising that Marissa was becoming slightly defensive about her mother and recognizing the truth in her explanation, Elise decided the situation was not worth arguing over and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, you're always welcome to visit, Mars."

"Thanks Els," she said, smiling.

"Wait a second Elise, are you going to be living completely alone? Does that mean you won't need Darcy anymore?" Jen said, sounding somewhat worried.

"Oh no, he's part of the deal I have with Dad. I get to move out, as long as I keep Darcy."

"Oh, good," Jen said, sounding relieved.

"So were you worried about you little sister's safety or were you worried that you might be losing yet another connection to lover boy?" Elise asked, smirking. Marissa sniggered and turned to see Jenine's blushing face.

"I don't know what you mean, Elise. Of course I was worried about your safety and anyway I have Charlie's number," Jen responded, a tenacious expression on her face.

"Of course you do," Elise said, her smirk growing more pronounced.

"I love that you're finally admitting he's your 'lover boy'," Marissa announced, chuckling.

"I said no such thing," Jen responded stubbornly.

"Maybe, but you didn't dispute it when Els said it."

"That's because I was busy disputing her other point."

Elise and Marissa glanced at each other and broke out in giggles. Jenine playfully smacked Marissa, as she was the nearest, before joining in on the giggles herself.

Several giggle fits later, Elise turned to look at the clock on Jen's nightstand. Jen, noticing Elise's movement asked what time it was.

"It's just turning 2," Elise replied solemnly.

"We better get going then. I don't want to cut it too fine, what if the airport is really crowded?" Jenine said, with her forehead creased.

Marissa sat up, and patted down her hair, which was looking something akin to a haystack. She pouted at Jenine theatrically. "I'm going to head to bed, Jenny Jen Jen. Have a safe flight, go enlighten developing minds and I'll see you in not too long, hopefully," she said, moving towards her stepsister to give her a very brief hug. She waved fervently and then tiptoed from the room.

Jen quickly disappeared into the bathroom saying that she needed to freshen up for the flight, an announcement that Elise rolled her eyes at. In her sister's absence, Elise tried to be of use and attempted to extricate Jen's ginormous suitcase from her room noiselessly, a task that proved almost impossible. She loaded the monster of a bag into the elevator along with herself, and prayed that the elevator would handle their combined weight, before recalling the numerous that Fran and Alyssa's none too light luggage had successfully been transported in the lift.

Elise managed to make it down to the ground floor and out the front door with Jen's suitcase before Charlie obtained it from her and loaded it into the car boot. Hill, who looked as pristine as ever, opened the limo door for her. She climbed in and found herself seated beside a rather grumpy looking Darcy. It was not too long before Charlie and Jen joined the pair in the back of the limo. It was at that point that Elise felt slightly guilty for perhaps ruining Charles and Jenine's goodbyes, but she knew that what she needed for peace of mind was to say goodbye to Jen 'properly'.

When they arrived at the airport, Elise dragged Darcy along with her in search of coffees as Bingley accompanied Jenine to the check-in counter, such that the pair could say their goodbyes.

Jenine looked at her bodyguard mournfully. "I almost wish you were coming too…" she said, her blue eyes wide and her expression downcast. Bingley noticeably perked up at this comment was just about to interject when Jenine continued, "But I know this is the best thing to do. These next few weeks will fly by and hopefully it won't be too long 'til I'm back in town. Hopefully… hopefully you'll still be around…?" she added, hesitantly.

Although once more looking forlorn, Bingley nodded his head with zeal, not wanting his 'angel' to doubt for a moment the delight he took from her company.

"I know you'll be far away, and that there will be a huge time difference and everything, but you'll be in touch, right?" Charles questioned uncertainly.

The middle-aged man in the queue behind them who, bored out of his mind, had been listening for the entire duration of their conversation, snorted rather loudly at that very moment due to the ridiculous uncertainty of these two people, when he was quite certain (and they, in his opinion, should have known for certain) that they both had feelings for each other.

Charles glanced around at the man briefly, wondering if he was alright, before turning back to his charge and looking at her questioningly.

"Of course I will, Charlie. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on what I have each meal of the day and on any funny little stories about my kids," she replied, smiling at him.

He returned her smile warmly and quickly wrapped his arms around her. She returned his hug and looked up at him contentedly. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before releasing her so that they could advance in the moving queue.

"Do you want some coffee?" Elise asked Darcy as she waited in line. When he didn't reply, she turned to find him mid-yawn, one hand over his mouth and the other stretched up above his head, such that she could see a sliver of tanned skin just above his jeans. She quickly checked herself, and looked back up to his face, relieved when she noticed his eyes were scrunched closed.

Darcy finished his rather theatrical yawn and then shook his head at Elise, who was looking at him expectantly.

She registered his answer and turned back around. Darcy, who was standing a short distance behind her, decided to close the gap and moved closer. Unfortunately for him, another question occurred to Elise at that very moment and she spun around quickly, in the process, smacking him in the face with her ponytail. He grunted and then rubbed the side of his face where he had been hit.

"Oops, sorry! Um, do you think Charlie wants coffee?"

"Uh, I doubt it. He's not really a huge coffee fan…" Darcy responded.

"Well, I don't want coffee right now… I want to get to sleep as soon as I get home. And Jen doesn't really drink anything other than tea…" Elise continued, ignoring the unimpressed look on Darcy's face. "You know what, I'll just get her some tea."

"She's going to have to drink that tea pretty quickly because she'll have to get rid of it before she goes through security," Darcy advised.

"Oh damn, I didn't think of that. You're right…"

"What'll it be?" the barista asked as Elise found herself at the front of the queue.

"Oh…uh… I think we're ok here actually!" Elise said, giving the barista a perfunctory nod before trying to extricate herself from the line as rapidly as possible. Darcy followed suite, annoyed with the strange looks he was being given by the people in the line behind him and the barista.

"Well, that was sufficiently embarrassing," Darcy stated sardonically.

"Yeah, whatever. It's not like coffee was the point of that excursion anyway," Elise retorted.

"If coffee wasn't the point of your trip to the coffee shop then please, enlighten me, what was?" her bodyguard asked.

"The whole point was to give Jen and Charlie some Jingley time," she announced.

"Jingley time?"

"Jen and Bingley time. Jingley time."

Darcy blinked at her. "Did you just come up with that right now?"

"I did, actually!" Elise replied, grinning at him, such that Darcy couldn't help but laugh.

They found their way to Jen and Bingley, who were standing a few feet from the entrance to the security, with Jen's head rested on Bingley's shoulder.

"I should probably head in," Jenine announced. She moved towards Darcy and reached out to shake his hand. "It's been really nice getting to know you, and hopefully I'll see some more of you with Charles when I get back."

"Yup, take care Jenine," he replied smiling almost warmly at her.

Jen turned and gave Charlie a hug, and Elise and Darcy stared off into the distance at nothing in particular as he gave her a quick peck. The two men then hung back as Elise walked her sister right up to the barrier.

Darcy looked and saw hugs exchanged, and Elise imparting some serious-looking advice to Jen, who was nodding warmly.

He turned to his sad-looking friend. "So, how long until you head off after her?"

Charles snapped his head away from his 'angel' to respond. "My flight's tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Bennet seemed to think she'd be fine for the flight and I think whoever's picking her up at the other end has been asked by him to watch over Jen until I get there."

"So, you'll be seeing her in not too long?"

"Yeah," Bingley responded glumly.

Uncertain of what to say when he thought Bingley was, in fact, making the wrong decision but also felt it was too late for his friend to now back out and simultaneously not wanting to interfere, Darcy settled for a manly pat on the back, which Bingley acknowledged with an appreciative nod.

They watched as Elise gave her sister one final hug, before Jen disappeared off, following the queue of people behind the barrier, turning every so often as she went to see Elise waving at her from afar. When they lost sight of Jenine, Elise stood there for a few minutes extra before re-approaching the two men. Charlie and Elise exchanged sad looks, and Darcy gave his friend another sympathetic manly back pat. He then wrapped one arm around Elise's shoulder to give her a semi-hug when he noticed her eyes looking a tad too watery for his liking.

They all climbed into the backseat of the limo once more and Darcy soon realised his companions weren't actually going to be much company. Charlie was staring out the window vacantly and Elise was very rapidly fast asleep and drooling on his shoulder.

A/N:

Merry Christmas from me and my potato/beta/angel (she truly is an angel!) :) I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter and I also hope you enjoyed some D/E time!