The next morning, shortly after Charlotte Lu awoke, she went to her computer and uploaded a new video for Lizzie titled: I graduated!... And other things!
A few minutes after it was posted, the internet went berserk. No, that is an understatement. Lizzie's entire viewership died, resurrected, and then died again. People were elated and completely caught off-guard.
But Caroline already had her suspicions from the day of the charity event; the day she insulted Lizzie and made a fool of herself.
She sighed in defeat. There was no hope for her now. Lizzie and Darcy looked entirely smitten with one another and she saw how Lizzie had changed Darcy for the better.
She sat at her computer for a little while before finally giving in. She tweeted:
Congrats on the baby! williamdarcy and TheLizzieBennet !
She was a little bitter but figured it would fade with time.
"I need some coffee and retail therapy.", she decided as she got ready to go out. She was going to go buy a designer dress and find a gorgeous male model to bunk with for the night.
That fine Sunday morning, Darcy and Lizzie stayed in bed for a long time. At first they just laid there, but then Charlotte texted Lizzie that the video had been uploaded. They got on their phones and saw all the congratulations and were busy reading tweets and comments together. Darcy and Lizzie were surprised to see messages from Pemberley employees and even some business partners. Everyone wanted to know how far along she was and the baby's gender and basically, all the details. They'd address that in a video in the near future.
Lizzie saw Caroline's tweet and showed Darcy. He was still upset about the way Caroline had treated Lizzie, but Lizzie thought this was a good sign.
"She's congratulating us, Will. Maybe she's ready to stop hating me."
"The things she said to you were awful. I don't have it in my heart to forgive her just yet."
"Fine. I will reply for the both of us. I am so over holding grudges."
Lizzie tweeted her back: that_caroline Thank you! williamdarcy and I appreciate it.
She put her phone down and got up from the bed. "I'm gonna go get ready. Jane and Bing should be here soon for brunch. I'm starving. I'm gonna get ready downstairs. You get ready up here."
"Mmhmm.", Darcy nodded in acknowledgement. He was reading work emails again.
When Lizzie returned, she found her bed made and Darcy was still reading emails.
"Thanks for making the bed... Are you gonna be glued to your phone the whole week that we're here?", Lizzie asked annoyed.
"It's work-related, my love. It's super important."
"I see what you did there, William. Very funny. But seriously, leave your phone up here. Let's go downstairs and remind the rest of my family that we're still here."
"Elizabeth, I can't just leave my phone. There are certain things I am responsible for as CEO and since I am not in San Francisco, I cannot do them. I have to delegate tasks to others and then double-check their work. I accompanied you to visit your parents but that does not mean I am exempt from my responsibilities.", Darcy answered while reading. He was still staring at the screen, so he didn't see the icy glare she fixed on him. He didn't mean to be curt, he was just preoccupied.
"Fine.", she said coldly and went downstairs alone.
When Jane and Bing arrived, everyone was downstairs and eagerly awaiting them so that they could begin eating. Darcy automatically sat next to Lizzie and he tried to grab her hand, but she didn't let him. He thought it was weird, but let it slide.
The family talked about different things and one of the topics which came up was the baby, of course.
"When are you supposed to find out if I'm getting a granddaughter or a grandson?", asked Mrs. Bennet.
"Well, we were supposed to find out tomorrow, but since we're not home, we'll just wait until we return.", answered Darcy.
"We would've found out tomorrow if we had left earlier. But we came to visit you guys later because of William's work.", Lizzie mentioned with a slightly accusatory tone.
Darcy had been getting better at picking up on these types of cues, so he deduced that Lizzie was angry at him for making them come later. However, he thought himself mistaken because she had happily agreed to wait.
"Why can't you go to the doctor here? It's the same thing everywhere, I'm sure!", pushed Mrs. Bennet. She couldn't bare to wait another week.
"Hmm… you know what? That's a great idea, mom. You and Lydia can accompany me to find out. I'm sure Will won't mind. He probably has work stuff to do. Sorry, Janie. I'd love for you to be there!"
"It's alright. But you need to call me right away!"
Mrs. Bennet beamed. "It's settled then. After we're done here, I'm gonna call up my old friend Mrs. Bates. Her daughter works at a clinic. I'll ask if she can squeeze us in."
Darcy's face fell a little. Nobody caught it but Mr. Bennet.
They continued their brunch and then hung out a little with Bing and Jane before it was time for them to go.
"It was a fun weekend! It was so good to see you all again! I'll miss you terribly!", Jane said as she went around saying goodbye to her mother and her sisters.
Mr. Bennet and Darcy left to drop Bing and Jane off at the airport. On their way back, they were alone, and Mr. Bennet decided to address what had occurred during brunch.
"So Darcy, you don't want to be there when they announce if you're gonna have a son or a daughter?"
Darcy wasn't expecting that particular question and looked up from his phone to see Mr. Bennet watching him intently.
"Umm. Yes. I would like to be there. But perhaps Lizzie wanted to share that with her mother. She has missed you all quite a lot."
"So you do want to be there?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Well, they had already made plans and-"
"Son, I don't know what you and Lizzie are arguing about, but you deserve to be there. You're the father. And I'm sure you'll regret not being there the moment they tell Lizzie. I've had 3 children and let me tell you: the first thing Franny did when they broke the news was look to me. Every single time. You all need to make up, and quick."
"I haven't done anything to her. We haven't argued about anything. Why, just last night, we-", then he stopped abruptly, ears reddening a little, and cleared his throat. "She has no reason to be bothered with me, Mr. Ben-"
"Thomas.", Mr. Bennet corrected.
"Thomas."
"Well then, it looks to me like you two need to have a little chat. I know my daughter. And she's miffed about something."
When they got home, Lizzie was sitting at the kitchen table, eating pretzels dipped in vanilla ice cream. She was craving both salty and sweet and put these two together. Darcy searched for her and when he finally found her, he got down in front of her, as if begging, and grabbed her hand. She tried to remove it from his grasp but he didn't let her.
"What do you want? Don't you have some work to do? Responsibilities to carry out, Mr. C-E-O?"
"Lizzie, are you angry with me?"
She shoved another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
"Okay. I am going to assume you are and that it has to do with work? Is it because I was reading emails this morning?"
"You made it seem like you didn't wanna be here! Like you're here against your own will and you'd rather be at Pemberley!", she whispered harshly.
"What? No! That's ridiculous!"
Lizzie's eyes teared up a little.
"Don't cry, Lizzie. Look at me... I'm here because I want to be here. This is my family too now, right? I'm sorry if I have to check my phone often, but it's not because I'd rather be anywhere else. It's just part of the job. I'm sorry.", he said regretfully.
"Fine."
"So are we okay?"
"Yes."
"And I can come tomorrow to find if our baby is going to be a boy or a girl?"
Lizzie smiled at the thought of finally knowing. "Yes."
"And can I have a kiss from my beautiful girlfriend that I wouldn't trade for all the emails in the world?"
She tried to fight it, but ended up smiling anyway. "Yes."
She leaned down and kissed him softly. Her mouth tasted like the ice cream-pretzels and he thought it was pretty tasty. He got up and joined her at the table, dipping a pretzel into her bowl of ice cream, and eating it.
Mr. Bennet walked by the kitchen and saw that they had made up. "Oh, young love.", he reminisced. He smiled to himself and kept on moving. His wife was on her way to the kitchen and he intercepted her with a kiss of his own, just because. That was always the best way to get her to shut up or stop what she was doing. He was pretty sure Lydia was the result of one particular night when she just wouldn't stop complaining about their neighbor's cat.
Charlotte stopped by later that evening to say her goodbyes.
"You better let me know my godkid's gender! I better not have to find out by video again.", Charlotte warned.
"Yes. I will call right away! I promise."
The girls shared a long hug and then parted.
"See you around, Darcy. Take care of Lizzie for me.", Charlotte said before finally leaving.
When they were in bed, ready to go to sleep, Lizzie decided to apologize for earlier.
"I'm sorry I got mad at you, babe. It was the hormones, I swear."
"It's okay, Lizzie. Let's just forget about it. Let's think about something more pleasant. Our baby's gender, for example. What would you like to see?"
"You first."
"I don't have a preference. I would be happy with a healthy baby of either sex."
"I would like a boy first, actually. I grew up with too many girls.", Lizzie laughed.
"First? As in there will be more children?"
"Yeah, eventually, right? Maybe one more?
"Really? I've always wanted a large family since Georgiana and I were so alone. I was thinking maybe five."
"Five?! Wow. That's a lot."
"We have sufficient funds to raise five kids. I don't see any reason why we should limit ourselves."
"Uhh… how about I might not wanna be pregnant five times?"
"After we have this baby, you'll see. You'll want more."
"Hmm. We'll see about that."
Darcy just laughed.
They were all off bright and early to the clinic. Lizzie was lying on the cot getting her ultrasound in a matter of minutes after arriving. Mrs. Bennet's call proved to be very helpful.
"Everything is looking fine. The baby is at an average weight and size. The heartbeat is normal. That baby is in perfect condition. You said you were 16 weeks today?... Well, you don't have to visit your doctor again until you enter your third trimester. You can- if you want- but it's not necessary. You can save a few bucks that way.", said the nurse.
"Money isn't a problem, darlin'. My son-in-law is a CEO!", Mrs. Bennet boasted.
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Really, mom?", she thought. Darcy noticed that whenever his money was brought up Lizzie always seemed bothered and made a mental note to address it.
"Oh okay then… Well, would you like to hear the gender? I'm pretty certain I can tell already."
"YES!", Lizzie and Darcy answered at the same time. They laughed and then got ready to hear the big news. Darcy held Lizzie's hand and stared at the monitor.
"Well, you see this area right here? This is where the baby's reproductive organs are located. If it was a boy, we'd see some sign of the penis around right here.", she pointed out with the mouse. "But instead, you can see the formation of the labia and clitoris right here."
"So that's my granddaughter in there?", asked Mrs. Bennet excitedly.
"Yes. Your baby is a female."
Lizzie looked over at Darcy and both of their eyes had begun to water. Darcy hugged Lizzie tightly and she began crying.
"We're gonna have a baby girl, Will.", she whispered incredulously as the tears poured from her eyes.
"A little princess to rule my heart alongside her mother."
She wanted a boy but instead was given a girl. She should've known, since nothing ever goes the way she plans. But she didn't care anymore.
"Oh, William!", Lizzie exclaimed, and began showering him with lots of kisses all over his face.
Lydia and Mrs. Bennet were also shedding tears and Lydia was already dialing Jane to tell her that there would be yet another girl in the Bennet family.
On the car ride back, after Darcy and Lizzie had spoken to Jane and Bing, Charlotte, Gigi, Fitz, and Aunt Catherine, Mrs. Bennet started asking about names.
"You're gonna name her after her grandmama, right, dear?
"Actually... yes. Her middle name will be... Anne."
Darcy looked at Lizzie, and said, "Really?"
"My name isn't Anne, sweetie."
"No, but Will's mother's name was Anne. She's her grandmother, too.", Lizzie said determinedly.
Darcy was touched. "Thank you, my love.", he said as he placed a kiss on her hand.
"How sweet... but what about her first name? Francine is a lovely name!"
"I really like Isabella.", Lizzie proposed. She didn't know where it came from, since she never really researched any girl names, but that name felt right to her.
"Isabella Anne Darcy Bennet… that sounds perfect.", Darcy agreed.
Mrs. Bennet felt cheated.
"If I have another girl, I will name her Francine, mom! I swear."
"Hmmm! I bet Janie will name her first born after me."
When Mr. Bennet was told, he was happy for them. He gave Darcy a pat on the back and said, "Welcome to the daughter's club, son."
When they got to bed, Lizzie and Darcy couldn't go to sleep right away. They kept talking to Isabella. And Darcy kept kissing Lizzie's belly. Eventually, though, the excitement of the day's events took their toll.
"Good night, Lizzie.", Darcy said sleepily.
"Good night, Will.", she said stifling a yawn.
"Good night, Isabella.", Darcy whispered.
And in a funny little kid voice, Lizzie whispered back, "Good night, daddy!"
Darcy chuckled, "I love you two."
"We love you, too."
FINALLY GUYS! THERE YOU HAVE IT. LIZZIE AND DARCY ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY GIRL! :D
Isabella Darcy. How did you like the name? I thought it was super cute and sounded like it went well with the surname Darcy.
Next chapter Lizzie enjoys the last bit of her visit back home and officially moves to San Fran with Darcy.
Thanks for reading! :)
