You see in the description where it says this story will deviate from the LBD episodes? Yeah, it starts here lol. Lizzie's outing with the Darcys (that happens off-camera between episodes 82 and 83) doesn't happen on the weekend here. It happens in the middle of the week. Meh. Lol. So basically, don't count on the dates being accurate (you guys probably weren't paying attention to that anyway :P).

Gigi woke up determined today. She was ready to share with the world what George Wickham had done to her. "I'll go to Lizzie's office today before lunch when I know she'll be recording. I need to get this off my chest and reveal to everyone what that horrible man did to me… It'll be therapeutic. I should have done this a long time ago…", Gigi thought to herself as she got ready for the day.

When Gigi got to the kitchen, she found Darcy serving himself breakfast whilst smiling. He seemed to be in his own little world. "He's been smiling since he got home last night… Now that I think about it, I haven't seen William smile so much in a really long time…", Gigi noticed.

Gigi wanted to keep up these good vibes, so she decided to ask Lizzie out to see the city with them on Wednesday. When she got to Pemberley she was going to walk into Lizzie's office before work began and personally invite her out with them. She couldn't say no to her face, right?

Lizzie woke up excited to go to work and not just because of the chance that she might see Darcy. Working at Pemberley Digital was a delight and she was always learning something new. She was just about to film a video about how Pemberley has a whole floor dedicated to wardrobe and costume, when Gigi interrupted her.

"I just saw Gigi a couple hours ago and agreed to go out with them. What could it be now?", Lizzie thought to herself before Gigi sat down.

When Gigi finished saying everything she had to say, Lizzie felt proud of Gigi for sharing her story. But she was also freaking out because she thought Darcy would be mad at her for posting such a personal video. "Guess I'll find out on Wednesday when we go out.", Lizzie thought to herself worriedly.

Lizzie hadn't run into Darcy at Pemberley like she hoped she would after he left on Sunday. It was partly her fault for kind of avoiding him due to nervousness over Gigi's video; and then partly Darcy's fault because he had a lot of work to do before the day off on Wednesday, so he didn't have time to see Lizzie. Darcy liked to reward his employees when he saw good results, and this quarter's profit increased from the last. So he gave everyone a paid day off as an incentive to keep up the good work.

Wednesday came, and Lizzie found herself all knotted up inside. She got ready and was consciously aware of how she looked. She was no fool, and admitted to herself she cared about what Darcy thought, so she wanted to look good. She decided on some dark wash skinny jeans, a plain shirt underneath her favorite tweed jacket, and her most comfortable boots. Not to mention a scarf. She laughed to herself and thought, "This is kind of like the scarf Darcy had on when he picked me up on Saturday."

She finished blow drying her hair and prayed it wouldn't frizz up, just as Gigi texted her that they were outside. She looked at her watch: 11 am. "Damn, the Darcys are punctual.", she said to herself as she grabbed her sunglasses and stuck them in her purse.

Their trip was so much fun; Lizzie had a great time. At first, it felt a little awkward and overly formal between Lizzie and Darcy but eventually, they loosened up and it was just like when they were hanging out last weekend. Gigi was snapping pictures for 'the memories' but it was really to update Fitz and the Dizzie fans. Gigi wandered off often, leaving Darcy to explain to Lizzie where they were.

At one point, Gigi had abandoned them and Darcy and Lizzie were standing, alone, at the bottom of a steep hill. Gigi had raced over the hill to give them some alone time, of course. She knew Darcy wouldn't be rude and leave Lizzie behind, so they walked over the hill together.

Lizzie and Darcy began arguing about something trivial, like what degree angle they thought the hill had, when Lizzie almost tripped. Darcy caught her, though, and Lizzie held on to him as if her life depended on it. It was the closest they'd ever gotten to a hug. They kind of stayed like that for a little while, each extremely aware of the fact that they were touching each other, until Darcy broke the moment.

He knew she was embarrassed because she began blushing instantly, but he couldn't resist saying, "I guess the hills truly aren't forgiving after all.", as he set her up straight. Lizzie reddened further, punched him on the arm, and walked away. Darcy laughed aloud and then caught up with her, ready to apologize, when he noticed she was holding back a laugh of her own.

"Good one.", was all she said in reply but then she giggled, and her laughter made Darcy feel all bubbly inside.

They stopped at a random little bistro with tables out front and decided it was time for a late lunch. Lizzie was famished because she hadn't eaten that morning due to her 'poor nerves' she inherited from her mother. They sat down and after a waiter took their orders, Gigi claimed she had some phone calls to return and left them, yet again.

Lizzie shook her head and said, "Your sister isn't fooling anyone. She's left us alone practically the whole trip."

Darcy snickered in agreement. After a beat, he added, "You know, I've been meaning to speak with you about Gigi… I saw your latest video…"

Lizzie's eyebrows shot up and her face paled. "You did?", she asked, her voice sounding sort of mousy.

He nodded his head yes and continued, "I'm proud of her for talking about it. That was a rough time in our lives and I'm glad she's finally getting over that bastard-please excuse my language. I wanted to thank you for letting her tell you her story, Lizzie. In my letter I didn't reveal much because I wanted to protect her, but she seems to have opened up to you and that- well, it means a lot to me."

Lizzie was relieved that he wasn't angry with her, and replied, "It was no problem. I'm proud of her, too. It must have been really hard for her to talk about that… Actually, I was afraid you were going to kill me for posting it."

In response, Darcy laughed as if it was the most preposterous thing in the world, which it was. "That's impossible, Lizzie. I would never dream of hurting you.", he confessed, surprising himself and Lizzie. Lizzie felt flustered all of a sudden and didn't know how to reply.

"Does he mean that like I think he means that, or am I reading too much into this?", she contemplated, but her thoughts were interrupted by Gigi, as she returned to the table.

Gigi told Lizzie, "Guess who's taking you out to lunch tomorrow? Fitz! My, my Lizzie you are very busy girl!"

Lizzie chuckled and said, "Apparently."

Their food was served quickly and they ate hungrily. Lizzie tried to pay for her food but Darcy wouldn't hear of it.

When they were done sight-seeing, they went to a flea market of sorts that was nearby. Lizzie was buying all sorts of little knick-knacks and Darcy really wanted to just take out his credit card and pay for her, but he knew she would get mad. "If she were mine, she'd have anything and everything that pleased her…", he thought while watching her inspect a vintage-looking teacup that she thought would be perfect for Jane.

Since she wouldn't let him pay, he'd insisted that she at least let him carry her bags, which she begrudgingly accepted. Anybody who didn't know them would've thought that they were together. The way he stood beside her, holding her bags and commenting on things she picked up was very couple-like.

When it was time to drop Lizzie off, both Gigi and Darcy got out of the car and walked her to her door. Lizzie unlocked the door and let Darcy, who was carrying her bags, enter the house to put them down. While he was inside, Gigi apologized to Lizzie about abandoning her again and promised a girl's night tomorrow night.

"No way, Gigi. Your idea of a girl's night last time was not exactly a girl's night.", Lizzie replied warily.

"No, but this time it's forreal! Look, I know a karaoke place that's super fun! It'll be just me and you- no William. Not like he'd ever want to go, anyway. Come onnnn. I'm sure you were bored out of your mind today seeing all the historical landmarks- that was William's idea, by the way. I've been such a terrible hostess and I know I can make it up to you with Karaoke! ", Gigi pleaded.

Lizzie sighed and said, "Alright, I'll go. But I get to pick your first song! And as for today, I wasn't bored at all. I had a great time, actually."

Darcy overheard the last part of the conversation and he felt a burst of joy within him. Lizzie had a great time today, 70% of which she spent with him alone. "So she likes my company… Maybe she would agree to go out without Gigi as a pretext…", he considered.

The Darcys said their goodbyes but this time, Darcy and Lizzie ended up awkwardly shaking hands. "It's a step up from just waving, right?", both thought as they went their separate ways.

Thursday's lunch with Fitz was more like an interrogation. He asked her for everything that went down on her trip with the Darcys, as if he hadn't already spoken to Gigi. He was also trying to get Lizzie to reveal how she felt about Darcy, but Lizzie cleverly evaded his questions.

That night, was Karaoke time with Gigi. They had lots of fun and Lizzie accidentally let it slip to Gigi that she may like her brother.

Lizzie was perusing the drinks menu, when she recognized one of the wines from the gift basket that the Darcys gave her. "Hey, Gigi! This is one of the wines that you guys gave me! I've opened up the bottle and it is very tasty indeed. Can we order some of that?", Lizzie asked.

Gigi was confused, and then it hit her. "Ohhhh you mean the gift basket William gave you with the wine and cheese? Yeah, that was all him. He made a special order for them while I was showing you the house. They must have delivered them while we were playing our first round of tennis. He told me about it when he got home after dropping you off. ", she explained.

"Aha! So it was Darcy's gift. I knew it! How sweet of him… but then why would he say it was from the both of them?", she wondered, and Gigi answered her question.

"He said it was from both of us, huh? My brother is too modest.", Gigi said absent-mindedly.

Lizzie smiled. She had suspicions that the basket was from him only but now that she was certain, she felt even more appreciative. The fact that he would give her such a thoughtful present got her thinking about him again.

The wine loosened Lizzie up, and she and Gigi sang embarrassingly to every song. After they were done singing for the night, Gigi replied to Darcy's text and said they were leaving soon.

"Sorry, Lizzie. I was texting my brother back telling him we're leaving. He was afraid I'd drunk too much and couldn't drive… what were you saying?", Gigi said as they headed toward the parking lot.

Lizzie answered, "Nevermind. It was nothing… You're brother is really good to you, huh? Checking up on you like that and making sure you're safe. That's so considerate… I want something like that one day."

"My brother is very considerate and caring. He's just a little rough on the outside.", Gigi replied, liking where this conversation was headed.

Lizzie laughed and said, "He's not so rough on the outside. He's rather pleasing to look at if you ask me… I think I may like him."

Gigi's jaw dropped and she turned to look at Lizzie. Just then, Lizzie hiccupped and almost tripped. She was tipsy. But Gigi wasn't and she heard Lizzie loud and clear.

Friday morning Lizzie was beating herself for drinking so much. She also vaguely remembered telling Gigi that she liked her brother. Lizzie felt mortified and thought, "Oh no! What if she told him?! It's going to be so awkward at work now, just when we were getting along so well...". She covered her face with her pillow and yelled, "UGH!" into it. "Maybe she didn't tell him. Maybe Gigi respected the girl code... I hope so because I'm planning on interviewing him for my thesis today...", she reasoned.

Gigi stopped by Lizzie's office shortly after the work day had begun, to see how she was doing. Lizzie had been lucky and avoided a hangover. She was trying to figure out if Gigi had told Darcy what she said last night, but didn't want to ask about it directly.

"Is your brother here today?", she asked Gigi.

"Yup. He's here all day. Pretty busy day for him, too. Why do you ask?", Gigi said sweetly. She knew what Lizzie wanted to know but she was enjoying herself way too much.

Lizzie replied, "Oh, okay. I just need to interview him for my project… Can you let him know if you see him around?"

Gigi smiled and said "Of course.", and walked out.

She went directly to Darcy's office and announced, "William. Lizzie wants you. Whenever you get a chance, head over to her office so she can interview you for her independent study." Her choice of words was meticulously thought out.

Hours later, when Darcy finally decided to take his lunch break, he showed up to Lizzie's office for his interview.

"Gigi said you wanted me…", he said and Lizzie freaked out for a second before he elaborated.

"She told him!", she thought but was quickly relieved that Gigi kept her little secret.

She went to close the door and it was without thinking that she put her hand on Darcy's shoulder. She was just making her way to the door and back, and needed a little balance on the way. They both felt a little shock but neither party said a word about it.

When she turned off the camera, she couldn't stop laughing. "Darcy is just full of surprises. He's kind, considerate, handsome, and every once in a while I see that he's funny… I was so wrong about him.", she thought as she looked at him with the afro wig.

Darcy would endure the weird looks he had received in the hall any day, if it meant he could make Lizzie laugh like that. There she was wiping tears from the sides of her eyes, looking so amused, and he was the cause of it. He took pride in that.

All of a sudden, Lizzie's stomach growled really loudly and her face grew pink out of embarrassment. He got up and put his arm out. "Since neither of us has eaten lunch yet, would you like to accompany me to the cafeteria?", he asked. He felt suddenly audacious and hoped she would agree.

Lizzie smiled and nodded yes. "Sure thing, my good sir.", she answered as she took his hand and helped herself up.

They ate lunch at Pemberley's cafeteria, which serves amazing food, by the way. It was mostly empty because they were eating kind of late. Darcy left the wig on, just to make Lizzie laugh, and their lunch ended up lasting over an hour. And if he wasn't mistaken, his meager attempts at flirting were working.

He knew he was probably driving his poor secretary crazy because he was late for his meeting, but he didn't care. He dropped Lizzie off at her office and after closing the door behind him, decided he would ask her out on a date. He received a reminder in the mail the other day, that the theater he and Gigi have year-round box seats to is hosting a performance of one of Shakespeare's plays. If he recalled correctly from their Netherfield arguments, Lizzie was a fan of Shakespeare.

"I'll ask her on Monday…", he resolved on the way to his meeting, giving his seriously pissed off secretary a penitent look as he passed her desk.

That wraps up this chapter. Next chapter brings Episode 84, where Darcy asks Lizzie on a date and heads up: she says yes!

What will happen when Lizzie's phone doesn't interrupt Darcy's question? Hmmmm. I'm so excited for the next chapter you guys! ;)

Also check out FF user SOLYAHU 's new fic about Darcy and Wickham's relationship if you're interested. It's titled Archenemies. It's in my favorites.