There's a link on my profile for a picture of Isabella's nursery if you're interested. Fillery chapter, I know, but after this Lizzie and Darcy finally meet their baby girl. :)

Special thanks to Nillie on AO3.

Kind of a long one; over 4K. Enjoy!

Thursday night, as they got ready for bed, Lizzie reminded Darcy that Caroline was going to come the next day.

"She's coming tomorrow, babe. I have no idea what I want the nursery to look like. Do you have any preferences?", Lizzie asked after brushing her teeth. She sat on the counter as she waited for Darcy to finish up.

With his mouth full of toothpaste Darcy replied, "I will love whatever you decide to go with, my love."

Lizzie laughed at him and then asked more hesitantly, "And what about the cost? How are we going to split the nursery?"

He rinsed his mouth and then turned to face Lizzie. Money conversations were something they tried to avoid. Darcy had been keeping up his end of the bargain by not splurging on Lizzie, but he never agreed to not splurge on his baby girl. "By split, do you mean you want to do fifty-fifty?"

"No. We'd have a very sad nursery if that were the case.", Lizzie joked. "But I don't think you should pay for everything. How about you pay for the big ticket items- you know, the furniture- and I buy whatever else we need."

"However you want to do it is fine by me, Lizzie. You have the credit card and you have full discretion on how it should be used.", he said as he helped her off the counter.

"Could this be a solution to our financial disparity? You pay for big stuff, I pay for little stuff?", Lizzie proposed as they crossed into the bedroom.

"If you feel comfortable with that, then yes, I suppose it could be.", Darcy agreed. Who was he to deny her the sense of fulfillment that contributing to their household gave her?

"Also, how would you like to be surprised for a change? No peeking until the nursery is done. You are prohibited from entering her room.", Lizzie decided as she got comfortable on her side of the bed.

"Alright. But that is going to cost you.", he declared before snuggling up next to Lizzie; or rather, her cock-blocking pillow.

She turned her head to face him. "Oh, really? And what do I owe you?", she asked coquettishly.

"I want one million kisses before our daughter is born.", he said with a serious expression.

"One million kisses in 5 weeks? Is that even possible?"

"I do not know. But if I were you, I would get started right away, Miss Bennet…"

Lizzie smiled to herself and then sighed with fake exasperation.

"I'm not one to back down from a challenge, Mr. Darcy.", she stated before disentangling herself from her body pillow and tossing it aside. She turned around completely, so that she was facing him and then kissed his forehead.

"One."

"Only 999,999 kisses to go.", he said with a chuckle.

She laughed with him and then kissed his cheek. "Two."

"At this rate, Isabella will be graduating college before you get to a million.", he teased while rubbing her belly.

"Oh shut up, William.", she said before grabbing his jaw and kissing his mouth vigorously. "Three."

"Mmm. I am extremely fond of those ardent kisses. I will make those worth five."

"How generous of you, my good sir.", Lizzie said with a smile before going back to Darcy's lips.

They spent a few more minutes making out before Lizzie started yawning.

"And here I thought we were having a good time.", Darcy said in response to Lizzie's yawn.

"Nope. Your lips are absolutely boring.", Lizzie teased. "Hey, how many kisses did I bank tonight?"

"Oh, I lost count. You make it very hard for me to concentrate sometimes, Lizzie. I guess you will have to start over tomorrow."

Lizzie rolled her eyes at him and snuggled into him.

"No pillow tonight?"

"No. Your arms will have to do." She knew she would probably wake up all kinds of uncomfortable, but that was okay. She really missed sleeping in his arms.

Darcy smiled briefly before hugging Lizzie closer to him and resting his hands on her belly. He hated that damn pillow because it kept him from doing this every night, so he was grateful she didn't want to use it that night.

DING DONG.

It was just after lunch on Friday when the doorbell rang, announcing Caroline's arrival. Lizzie and Darcy spent every evening this week emptying out the guest room that was closest to their bedroom to make room for the baby. Lizzie had been getting nursery suggestions from her family and friends but they were all so different, so she gave up and hoped Caroline would have some ideas.

"Hey, Caroline! Come on in.", Lizzie said as she opened the door.

"How are you Lizzie?", Caroline asked as she slid her designer shades up from her eyes and onto the top of her head.

"Good. I went for a check-up the other day because I started having these fake contractions. Will and I were freaking out but the doctor said they're normal. Then we felt really foolish because we'd read about the Braxton Hicks contractions in our pregnancy books.", Lizzie informed Caroline as they walked up the stairs and towards the room . "This room is where we decided to put the nursery. It's the closest room to our bedroom."

"Hmm, yes. Lots of space. We could definitely work with this. So, since this is a consultation, tell me what you're thinking, Lizzie. Any ideas about how you want her nursery to look?", Caroline inquired.

"Well, I really don't know. I know I don't want to go the traditional 'everything pink because she's a girl' route. And I'd like it to be simple but not so simple that it looks plain. And it can't be so decorative that it's not functional, ya know? I shouldn't have to worry about her ruining anything in here or her not being able to play."

"You're keeping the carpet, then?"

"Yes."

"Okay…", Caroline replied making notes. "Any specific colors in mind?"

"I definitely want this to be a relaxing place for us… so soft colors. I'm leaning towards soft yellow for the walls."

"Okay… and what pieces of furniture do you already have? I know Fitz and Brandon gifted you a crib?"

"Yes. They gave us a lovely white crib that transitions to a bed. But we don't have anything else. We need a changing table, a chair for me, shelves, a chest of drawers…"

"Mmhmm… alright. And one last question: silver or gold?"

"What? Umm… gold?"

"Perfect. So this is what I'm picturing…", Caroline said showing Lizzie a quick sketch she made in the notebook. She explained to Lizzie that she wanted to stray from yellow and more into a very light brown instead. And she wanted to have light pink and gold accents.

"The crib will be the focal point. And we'll put the changing table here. A bookcase here because I know you two like reading and your kid will be a total bookworm. Your chair can be over by this corner or perhaps a couch? Yes, there's space enough for a small loveseat as well. The drawers over here. We can also get an organizer for the closet so that it can double your storage. And very simple decorations and curtains because we'll have gold accents on all the walls and on the wall behind the crib we'll have her name monogrammed. You can have 'Isabella' or 'Isabella Darcy', 'Izzy', whatever. And I don't do wallpaper or stickers, so we'll have a professional come and paint it to your liking. Here, have a look at this list of fonts."

Lizzie was impressed with Caroline's professionalism and her talent. Lizzie gave very vague ideas and Caroline took them and morphed them into something real.

"Wow, Caroline this sounds great."

"I'm glad you like it. Do you and Darcy have a budget or do I have unlimited access?"

"No budget but I'd like to keep the numbers as low as possible."

"Okay. I can work with that. Just because I have a great fashion sense doesn't mean I'm not economical, Lizzie. It's just that a lot of the things I own and surround myself with are great quality, so to the untrained eye it may seem like I don't look at price tags, but I do. It just so happens that great quality things tend to last longer and I think the extra cost is worth it. But I am always on the lookout for a cheaper alternative, if available. You already have a nice crib, so that saves us a few hundred dollars. If you're willing, we can go find some furniture to match the crib now. You can also select the accent pieces while we're out. Is that okay? If you prefer, I could just go out and look at everything myself and take pictures or-"

"No, it's fine. It'd be nice to get out of the house."

"Perfect. Do you need to grab anything before we head out?"

"Just my bag.", Lizzie said.

"Alright. I'll be in my car out front. I'll call the store and let them know we're coming so they can have someone ready to help us.", Caroline said with a smile and left the soon-to-be nursery.

Lizzie looked around the empty room. Pretty soon it would be full of all of Isabella's things. She felt a strong urge to cry as she walked over to the closet and saw the tiny baby clothes hanging there. She sniffled as she tiptoed to reach the designer diaper bag Caroline had given her at the baby shower.

"I might as well start using it now… pretty soon it'll be filled with diapers and bottles and…", Lizzie let the tears flow freely as she walked to her bedroom and got her wallet and keys from her old purse and put them into her new bag. She wiped her face, touched up her mascara, and went down to meet Caroline.

"Oh! I see you're already breaking in your diaper bag! Isn't it fabulous? You can't even tell it's a diaper bag! And I didn't even pay full price."

"Really? That makes me feel a lot better, to be honest.", Lizzie laughed. They drove off toward the furniture store.

"Yes. Since the shower was spur-of-the-moment, I had limited places to look for a gift. So I went to the closest mall and there was an outlet there. I went in just to look around for myself, but then I saw the baby bag and thought it'd be perfect for you! I know you're not really into labels but the bag is cute and functional."

"How'd you get the discount?"

Caroline chuckled. "Oh, Lizzie. It was easy. Batting my eyelashes, flipping my hair, and leaning forward never fails. Not that I wouldn't have paid full price- you're definitely worth it- but I just wanted to see if it would work. I've been out of the game for a few months, ya know, dating Aaron and all.

"What did he have to say about your tactics?"

"He wasn't there; we split up to buy your gifts. I left him and his brothers in a baby store at the mall. But I'm sure he would've been impressed. He does the same thing when he goes out. He says he can't remember the last time he paid for Starbucks because the baristas always give him free drinks.", Caroline boasted.

"Clearly those two are perfect for each other.", Lizzie thought. "So… I hear Lydia and Charlotte are very interested in the other two Fields brothers… Care to tell me a little more about these guys? They seemed nice at the wedding but I didn't really talk to them much. I'd like to know who my sister and bestie are falling for."

The ladies chatted the whole ride and all throughout their shopping excursion. They spent practically the whole day out shopping and managed to find everything they needed. They bought paint, and found all the furniture they wanted, Lizzie picked out all the accent pieces and Caroline hired some people to come over the next day to paint and do the monogramming. Lizzie wasn't sure, but she could swear Caroline was trying extra hard to please her as a continued apology for how she treated her all those months ago.

"All the stuff we didn't bring with us today is going to be delivered tomorrow morning. I'll be here early so we can get started. If all goes well, this nursery could be ready by the end of this weekend.", Caroline said with a smile.

"Wow! Really? That'd be great. One less thing to worry about. Alright, Caroline. I'll see you tomorrow.", Lizzie said before giving Caroline a quick hug through the car's window.

Darcy was already home by the time they got back so Lizzie went and hid her shopping bags in the nursery and then went looking for him. He was in his office, as expected. Lizzie told him about her day and that the nursery might be done soon.

"Excellent. Did you eat already?"

"Caroline and I got a quick bite but that was a few hours ago."

"I was waiting so we could have dinner together. I feel ravenous."

At dinner, Darcy asked about Isabella and how she behaved today.

"She was actually really good, babe. She moved around a lot but she wasn't kung-fu kicking me, which is what really makes me uncomfortable. I guess all the walking tired her out. I'm gonna start walking more. Maybe around the neighborhood."

"It is safe around here, but I would prefer for you to avoid walking around alone. We have a lot of land on our property, though. Maybe you could just walk around here?"

"Maybe. But maybe I wouldn't have to walk alone if we knew some of our neighbors."

"Everyone keeps to themselves around here. The Darcy family has always sent 'Happy Holidays' cards in the mail before Thanksgiving and we always receive some in return, but that's about it."

"So you don't know if any of them have little kids?"

"I haven't a clue."

"I'm going to take it upon myself to find out, then.", Lizzie decided as she added 'visit neighbors' to her mental to-do list.

The next day was a sunny Saturday. Lizzie ordered Darcy to avoid the nursery at all costs, so he was more or less imprisoned in his office when the furniture started arriving.

"Just stay in here. No peeking. Call me if you need anything but don't go outside. Okay?", she commanded.

Darcy nodded his head yes and Lizzie gave him a quick peck on the lips before leaving him to go show the movers where to put the furniture.

Caroline arrived and everything went smoothly. The walls were painted and dried, the furniture was put together and placed, and Lizzie and Caroline decided that tomorrow they would put all the finishing touches. They didn't want anyone in there breathing in the fresh paint.

Sunday brought them the completion of the nursery. The room was aired out and it looked great already, it just needed little items here and there to make the room look complete.

Lizzie bought baby books to put in the bookcase, so she was organizing those while Caroline hung the curtains. Then, Lizzie set up the crib bedding set while Caroline hung up the wall accessories.

"I see you purchased some picture frames. Are those for your maternity photos?"

"No. I was going to save those for pictures of Isabella after she's born. I haven't taken any maternity photos and I don't think I will. Will and I have plenty of pictures of on our phones."

"Unacceptable, Lizzie Bennet! Where is Darcy? We're going to fix this right now."

"But what about the nursery? We're almost done."

"The nursery won't be complete without a good maternity photo! Let's go find Darcy so you two can take a proper picture."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously.", Caroline insisted.

Lizzie scavenged through the drawers in her room looking for white t-shirts for her and Darcy so they could kind of match in their picture. She found a white v-neck for him and she borrowed one of his tank tops, which fit almost perfectly with her big boobs and belly stretching it out. Darcy and Lizzie posed by a really pretty flower garden they had on the property. Darcy felt awkward in front of the camera at first, but eventually loosened up and Caroline was able to get some really great shots. They selected two for framing: a formal one where Lizzie and Darcy have their hands on the belly and a less formal one with them hugging and Darcy giving Lizzie a kiss on the cheek while she smiled.

Caroline was content with her photo shoot. "They're not from a professional camera, but they'll have to do. You're lucky your phone's camera is insanely good quality, Darcy. You print those two out as 4"x6" and bring them to us in the nursery."

"I'm allowed up there now?", he asked with his eyebrows arching in surprise.

Lizzie smiled. "Yes. We're practically done."

Lizzie and Caroline finished fixing up everything while Darcy printed the two pictures out in his office.

Darcy knocked on the nursery and Lizzie said, "Come in!"

[Now would be a great time to look at a picture of the nursery. :P]

"Wow.", was all Darcy said as he looked around. The room looked so warm and inviting. The crib looked perfect for his little princess and he thought the monogrammed 'Isabella A. Darcy' behind the crib was a nice touch. He wasn't sure how much Lizzie had spent, and he was definitely not going to ask, but the room looked like she had put their card to good use and he was glad.

"It's beautiful, Lizzie. Isabella is going to love it."

Lizzie grinned and asked, "Where are the pictures?"

Lizzie framed one and Darcy framed another while Caroline framed Lizzie's first ultrasound printout.

They all hung the pictures above the small loveseat that was near Lizzie's chair, and the room was finally complete.

"And now, my work here is done!", Caroline exclaimed triumphantly, with her hands on her hips.

"Thank you so much, Caroline! Everything turned out wonderful! I really appreciate your help!", Lizzie said earnestly.

"Yes, Caroline. You are a great interior decorator. Very efficient. I would definitely recommend your services if I ever hear that someone needs assistance."

"It was my pleasure.", she said with a big smile. She didn't have feelings for Darcy anymore, but his opinion still held a lot of clout for her.

She hugged Lizzie, shook Darcy's hand, and then said, "Well, I'll leave you to enjoy your new nursery. I'd recommend having one of cleaning employees come and give the room a good scrubbing tomorrow since there were lots of people up here. Á tout á l'heure, Darcy family. I'll see myself out."

Lizzie and Darcy watched Caroline leave and when she closed the door behind her, Lizzie squealed and said, "This is our daughter's room, Will! She's going to be here soon and she finally has a place that's just for her!"

"You did a great job, Lizzie."

"It was mostly Caroline. She's really talented. But I did help."

"Mmhmm.", Darcy replied as he went in for a hug.

Lizzie hugged him back really hard and then just stood there in his embrace.

"I'm ecstatic, Will, I am. But I am also terrified.", she confessed into his chest.

"There is no doubt in my mind that you will be an amazing mother, Elizabeth, and I mean that. Being scared is normal. I'm scared, too.", he said, trying to mollify her.

Darcy let Lizzie go and pulled her chin up so he could look into her eyes and let her know he was feeling everything she was feeling; that she wasn't alone in her simultaneous fear and excitement. A tear managed to free itself from her eye, and he wiped it off her cheek with his thumb.

"No tears, my darling. It causes me great discomfort to see you upset."

Lizzie sniffled and smiled. "No tears."

Darcy bent down to kiss Lizzie and she tip-toed, as was custom for them. She put her arms around his neck and he placed his hands on her belly as their kiss intensified.

"I love you, Elizabeth Bennet.", Darcy professed while he stared into her eyes with his penetrating gaze.

"And I love you, William Darcy.", replied Lizzie with a smile and an equally intense look in her eyes.

Darcy was the one to break their little staring contest by giving Lizzie a kiss on her forehead.

"The day is still young. Would you like to go out? You deserve a treat after all your hard work."

"How about we go out to a frozen yogurt shop? I want something sweet. Izzy's taking a nap and I'm sure that will wake her right up."

"Alright. Frozen yogurt it is."

"And after that… we could take a stroll around the neighborhood… and ring some doorbells…"

"Why are you so insistent on meeting our neighbors?"

"Because I come from a place where everybody knows everybody and it's weird that I've been living here for months and I haven't seen another person around here. Not even when I used to take the bus!"

"The properties around here are all extremely large, Lizzie. We wouldn't be able to walk around and meet everyone all in one day. Some people might not even answer the door."

"That's fine with me. We can at least say we tried. Come on, Will! Where's your sense of community?"

"Fine."

After eating some froyo, the couple returned home. Lizzie and Darcy walked around ringing doorbells and introducing themselves to their neighbors. The few houses they hit had old couples or widows but they finally got lucky with one house.

DING DONG.

"Hello?", said a little speaker next to the doorbell.

"Hello! I'm your neighbor! I live a few houses down and I've never introduced myself. A little late, I know, but I would like to get to know everyone around here."

"Did you just move in?", said a voice that sounded like an old woman.

"Not really. I've been officially living at the Darcy estate for about four months now."

"The Darcy estate had been sold?!"

"No! I'm living there with my boyfriend, William Darcy."

"Oh! I see! Well, sure, why not? They always send a lovely holiday card. I'll be down shortly."

When the woman opened the door, she was surprised to see Lizzie's belly.

"Oh my! Look at you!... I'm Mrs. Harrison.", she said cheerfully.

Lizzie laughed and said, "Hello! I am Elizabeth. Nice to meet you. This is William Darcy."

Darcy smiled and shook the old woman's hand. He wanted to just hurry up and go home.

"Grandma! Grandma! Look what I made!", yelled a little girl from inside the house.

"Oh excuse her. That is my granddaughter.", she said to them before turning to the little girl and saying, "Sshh! You'll wake your little sister!"

That peaked Lizzie's interest.

"Sorry about that. I have a five year-old granddaughter and my daughter just gave birth to another a few months ago. They've moved in with me so I wouldn't be alone. My husband passed before my daughter gave birth again."

Lizzie and Darcy expressed their condolences and were invited in. Lizzie could tell Darcy didn't want to stay so she told him to go home and to come pick her up later. He happily agreed and left Lizzie at the Harrison estate to make friends with Mrs. Harrison and her daughter. The daughter was in her thirties, but she and Lizzie were still able to talk and get along despite the slight age difference. When Lizzie left the Harrisons a couple of hours later, she was certain that little Bella would have many play dates with baby Nicole.

"I've secured our daughter's first friend!", Lizzie said excitedly on the short drive back home. "They also recommended this child birthing class that I could take to learn more and to meet other moms, which is just what I needed because I am desperately lacking friends in this town!"

September ended, bringing in the month of October. Her last full month of pregnancy was a busy one for Lizzie. Between the doctor's appointments every week; the birthing classes; shopping for more baby-related things; the rearranging of their closets and just about anything else that could be organized; hanging out with the Harrisons and some of the ladies from the birthing class; the monitoring of Lizzie Bennet Enterprises (basically her two YouTube channels and her employees); and making sure to spend as much alone time with Darcy as possible before the baby came, Lizzie still managed to vlog.

She made a wedding weekend vlog where she dished on Ricky's awesome wedding and nice new wife. She also told everyone about her surprise baby shower and -with Jane's permission, of course- Jane's engagement. She filmed a nursery room vlog where she sat down on the loveseat and talked about Caroline's mad skills. She didn't really want people to see where her baby would be sleeping (she kind of wanted to keep that private) so she confined herself to that corner of the room. The last-minute maternity photos were in the frame and she got a lot of compliments on them. She also reminded everyone who kept asking about the name that, "Little Bowtie's name will be revealed after she's born. No, I'm not going to vlog the birth, but after she's here, Will and I will definitely make a video. I promise."

So next chapter the family comes to Lizzie and Darcy's house to await the baby. I haven't finished the next chapter yet, but I just decided to split up what I had written to give you guys something to chew on while I finish it.

If you're caught up on the story, I just want to say thanks again. The fact that some people have stuck around for this long amazes me :P

xoxoxo