Clearly, technology is not my strong suit and I have been battling to post this correctly for the past 30 minutes! Hopefully I got it right this time :)

It had been a very long day. Thank God he had been responsible for the immigration case at study group today. It was pure dumb luck that on the day he had been cold called to open the case he had been the one to present it to his study group. He thought he had done a reasonably good job articulating the main issues of the case but Professor Gilpin was a tough one and he wasn't sure what he thought. One final year of school and he could get on with his life - not that life was any easier.

The past four years had been tough. He had been so glad to finish undergrad and take some time to explore the world. That was the last gift his father had given to him - one year to travel before starting grad school. He had been in Jordan exploring Petra when he had gotten the call that his father had been taken to the hospital following a massive seizure. 24 hours later and Will was sitting beside George Darcy in the Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering. He could still clearly remember the crisp white sheets, and the smell of ammonia that permeated every element of the forty-eight hours he spent sitting in the hospital room praying his father would awaken. But the doctors had told him it was hopeless. His father had apparently been battling a glioblastoma for the past four months – without a word about it to his son. The tumor was apparently the worst kind of brain tumor, very aggressive, and there was no cure. It had not responded to treatment and now, he was too late. He was always too late. There were no final words of wisdom or guidance from his father. Two days later George Darcy passed away. At least he had been there for the end.

Fitzwilliam Darcy knew his responsibilities - his father had always made his expectations very clear. Will hadn't needed the legal documents to spell out the next steps. The rest of the trip cancelled, he spent the next seven months dealing with lawyers, boards and relatives, sorting out his father's affairs wasn't easy and he had wished he had already completed his JD-MBA when he was dealing with it all. His uncle and cousins had been incredibly helpful and his aunt Sophia was essential to making sure his baby sister had some manner of support. Issues still arose from time to time but his father's will demanded that he complete his JD-MBA before he took over the company and now he was so close to fulfilling that final condition for him to inherit. It really wasn't an option to not complete the degree. Simply, the will said it must be done and thus, it must be done.

He needed to get back to his apartment. His phone had completely died and he never felt comfortable when he couldn't check in or when people couldn't reach him. The last time that had happened well, it wasn't good to let his thoughts drift back to that time. Placing his phone on the charging doc he grabbed a Guinness and started to flip through his mail. His phone buzzed back to life and sure enough, seven messages. His phone had been dead for 3 hours and already he was behind.

"Hey William, its me, Georgie. I, um, um, I got a, a call from Aunt Catherine about Thanksgiving. She was, um, rather insistent and I am hoping that we could talk about the um, the holidays. I am not sure I am up for Thanksgiving at her house. Can you call me? Love you."

William shook his head as he listened to the meek little voice coming out of his phone. Would his sister ever return to the vibrant, happy girl she had been. So much had happened in her young life and she was a shadow of the girl she had been. He felt helpless when it came to Georgie.

"Darce, it's Charlie. Hey, my sister Caroline has it in her head that she is coming to your house tonight for dinner. Don't worry, I told her we would meet her at a restaurant. I'll swing by at 7 to grab you."

"Darcy, its your favorite cousin Richard. Not sure if you have heard from dad or Aunt Cathy but I want to prepare you. It's not good. Call me."

"Fitzwilliam, I have checked your school calendar and see that classes end on the 21st. I expect to see you and Georgiana at my home no later than the 22nd. We have much to discuss." Of course, his Aunt Catherine didn't seem to need to give her name. It was simply expected that everyone knew who she was.

"Darcy, Rich again, seriously call me."

"Hi William, It's your Uncle Henry. It seems as though something has arisen and we need to chat. I will be coming in from DC to speak with you prior to the holidays. I will be at home Saturday evening and your Aunt Sophia and I will see you for dinner at 7."

And the final message from Richard, "Darce, did you lose your phone? You NEED to call me."

Maybe instead of beer he should have grabbed something stronger. Richard was generally persistent but this was a bit extreme - even for him. So he decided to call him first.

"Hey Rich, is everything ok? What's up?"

"Finally, the man returns my phone calls! I am trying to look out for you and you don't bother to pick up the phone." Rich admonished.

"My apologies. What is going on? My phone was off for three hours and I had 7 messages."

"Have you spoken to Aunt Cathy or my dad? I heard dad arguing with her earlier today. She has something up her sleeve for Thanksgiving about you and it didn't sound good."

"Your dad has invited me to dinner at his house Saturday night. He said he was flying in from DC to meet with me so I can only imagine that it is something big. Do you have any idea what this is about?"

"I think it has to do with your dad's will. Something about a codicil that comes into effect on your birthday. That's coming up right?" Richard asked.

"A codicil? I don't remember anything from the reading of the will about another clause." Will slumped into his desk chair and started thumbing through his files. He had a copy of his dad's will but thankfully hadn't looked at it in almost three years. He wasn't sure what Rich was so worked up about but he was bound and determined to re-read the will before dinner with his aunt and uncle on Saturday.

"Hey Will, do you want me to try and get leave to come in on Saturday?" Richard offered.

"Thanks Rich, I really appreciate it, but no. I can handle it. I'll call you after I talk with your folks." Will answered.

"Ok, just know that I am here for you." Rich responded.

"I know you are." Will responded quietly, wondering when he could be the one supporting his cousin. "Look, I should go. I'll call you on Sunday. Have a good week."

"Alright, talk to you then." Rich couldn't believe there was another thing thrown on Will's shoulders and wondered when he would crack. He would be there when it happened, because the reality is, there is only so much one man can take.

Will decided to jump into a shower and wash away some of the day. He couldn't worry about this new condition until Saturday and was determined to put it out of his mind until then. Besides, he needed to prepare himself for dinner with Charles and Caroline. He remembered at some point agreeing to dinner while Caroline was renovating her apartment. He guessed this was the night. Stepping out of the shower he walked towards his closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt. He slipped a grey cashmere sweater over his shirt just as the buzzer rang.

"Yes."

"Hey Will. Its Charlie, can I come up?"

"I'll buzz you in." Will answered. Slipping on socks and the UGG's his sister had given him last Christmas. Charlie let himself in.

"So I am glad you got my message." Charlie said as he entered the condo. "I was a little worried when I didn't hear back and you know how difficult Caroline can be when she isn't satisfied. By the way, she had in her mind that you invited her here but I told her that Mrs. Reynolds was away and so we needed to meet at a restaurant. I figured that would be your preference."

"Thanks Charlie. You know that is my preference. Where are we going by the way? I assume I am buying since I had somehow agreed to have her for dinner. " William answered as he finished tying up his boots.

"I heard some guys talking about this restaurant called Fire & Ice in the Square. I thought we might go there since the weather is gross and apparently you can pick out every ingredient yourself. Given how picky Caroline is, I thought it might be easy." Charles suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Let's head out." Will grabbed his coat, wallet and fully-charged phone and they headed out the door.