Per Professor Gilpin's recommendation Lizzy had not gone home over the weekend and had not worked. She used the free time to take two long runs and to catch up on work she had neglected earlier in the week when she was so distraught. She had thought a lot about William and his comments the prior week while running. She still was angry and wished she had said something at the time. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be so uncertain about her family, her life, and where she belonged. It reminded her of when she first came to Harvard and how she felt like she didn't belong with all of her classmates. The next time she saw William Darcy, she needed to confront him. She could not go forward, accepting his help, if she didn't trust him. Trust was paramount to her and her circle of trust was incredibly small right now. Whether he was going to be included in that circle remained open to debate. These thoughts were swirling around in her mind when Professor Gardiner stopped by the Crimson newsroom Saturday afternoon.

"Lizzy, I'm glad I found you here. I thought perhaps you might not have gone home this weekend. Maddy and I were hoping you might join us and the kids for dinner at our house this evening."

The Gardiner's had become like second parents to Lizzy after she had spent her freshman year helping out with their kids during some of the school holidays.

"I would love to. I have a few things to finish up here. What time should I come by?" Lizzy asked.

"Let's say 5:30. Does that work?" Ed asked.

"Sure. That should give me enough time to finish editing this article. I will see you then." Lizzy smiled.

Walking up to the clapboard home north of Harvard Square, Lizzy hadn't even rang the doorbell when the door burst open. "Princess Avery, how lovely to be greeted by such a gracious hostess," Lizzy said to the lovely four-year-old girl dressed head-to-toe in her finest Disney Princess costume. Avery giggled and then wrapped her arms around her favorite babysitter Lizzy. Scooping up the little girl, Lizzy headed into the Gardiner's kitchen where they were finishing up the preparations. Over dinner, Lizzy updated Professor Gardiner and his wife Maddy on what she had discussed with Professor Gilpin and William. After they had all eaten dinner she pushed them out the door to spend an evening out while she watched their adorable children. Elizabeth Benetez was not an idle person and having free time, now that she couldn't work and couldn't afford to go out, was making her a little stir crazy. She needed to do something useful and there was no better way to get her mind off of her troubles than to build forts with the Gardiner boys and transform their two little girls into princesses. After tucking all four children into their sleeping bags under the massive fort/castle they had built in the playroom, Lizzy went downstairs to sit on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a book. She must have nodded off to sleep before the Gardiner's returned home.

Madeline and Edward Gardiner came home to a quiet house. Walking into the family room they found Lizzy curled up on the couch sound asleep. "Ed, why don't you go upstairs and set up the guest room for Lizzy. I'll wake her up and convince her to stay the night." Ed nodded his head and quietly climbed the steps to check in on their sleeping children and prepare the guest room.

"Lizzy?" Madeline gently shook her shoulder trying to wake her.

"What? Oh! I must have fallen asleep reading. I'm so sorry Maddy." Lizzy said as she jumped awake.

Maddy looked down at Lizzy with a smile. "Don't be ridiculous. The house was blissfully quiet and peaceful when we walked in. Ed is upstairs getting the guest room ready. I'm going to grab something for you to sleep in and I will leave it on the bed while you wash up."

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes Lizzy began to protest, "Maddy, you don't need to go to so much trouble. I'm just going to splash some water on my face and then I'll get going."

Lizzy, stop being ridiculous. There is no way that we are letting you walk back at this hour and frankly, Ed and I are too tired to go back out. Please come upstairs. It's really no trouble at all." Maddy insisted.

Realizing that she was likely not going to win this debate, Lizzy agreed to the plan and ten minutes later, gratefully sank into the waiting bed.

In the morning, an exuberant Isabelle woke up Lizzy by attempting to cuddle, although cuddling may have been confused with jumping on the bed if you asked anyone above the age of five. She loved having her big playmate over for a sleepover and her only disappointment was that Lizzy hadn't slept in the castle with them. Dragging herself out of bed, Lizzy was pulled along to the kitchen where Maddy and Edward Gardiner were busy making pancakes and serving up juice. Lizzy begged a cup of coffee which was quickly handed over. After breakfast was served, Maddy asked Lizzy to take a walk with her.

"Lizzy, thank you again for watching the kids last night. They love having you over so we never feel guilty leaving them when you stay. Are you sure we can't pay you in something more than dinner and breakfast this morning?" Maddy asked.

"I had a wonderful time Maddy. I love your children and it was certainly much better than anything else I had planned for last night. Thanks for inviting me over. And, please call anytime. I have a feeling I will have a lot of free time coming up." She sighed. They walked in silence for a few moments when Lizzy started to speak again, "Actually, now that I think about it, why don't you email me. I am going to be shutting off my phone as I can't afford it any longer. I'm glad I have some money saved up but I will need to be extremely cautious with it from now on." Each day the implications of what she had learned from her father just one week ago seemed to only expand. She started to lose herself in her thoughts again when Maddy's voice broke through her haze.

"Lizzy, please do not despair. You are not in this alone. Edward and I will do everything we can to help you. It's not your fault you are in this bind. If you need help, a loan, a place to stay, please call on us. You've become like another daughter to us and we will stand by you." Maddy encouraged.

"Thanks Maddy." Lizzy said. "The past week has been overwhelming. I still haven't spoken to my family since I stormed out of my house last Saturday night. Professor Gilpin has suggested I stay away but I feel as though I need to have another conversation with them. A more rational one than I was capable of last week."

"What do you want to say or do when you see them?" Maddy asked gently.

"I have so many questions. I want to know if we have family in Mexico. If so, do they know about our life in Massachusetts? Why did they let me believe in a lie all these years? What is their plan if they get caught? What plans have they put in place for my sisters, who are US citizens? Do I have any valid identification that could be useful in this process? The list goes on and on." Lizzy sighed again. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Those are all good questions and you should speak with Professor Gilpin about all of these things. He may have other questions for you to ask. When do you go to the law clinic again?" Maddy asked.

"Tuesday morning. It can't come soon enough." Lizzy responded.

"Alright. Well, please keep us posted." Maddy requested.

" I will. I promise." Lizzy answered.

"So, can we give you a lift back to Pfo-Ho?" Maddy asked as they headed back towards the house.

"That would be great. I should probably do some homework and then possibly squeeze in a run. At least I can still afford that." Lizzy joked.

"Let me grab my keys while you grab your things. We can meet at my car." Maddy said and they parted ways on entering the house.

Lizzy found herself waiting by the car for a few minutes while Maddy was chatting with Edward. "Everything ok?" Lizzy asked as Maddy finally approached.

"Yes. I just wanted to check with Ed on something. Actually, it was about something you said earlier. We'd like you to keep your cell phone. It's not safe for a young woman on campus to be without a phone and, with everything you have going on, we'd feel better if you could reach us or we could reach you in an emergency. I understand you are trying to cut corners but like I said, we will help you out and it would make us feel better if we knew we could reach you." Maddy urged.

"I appreciate your concern but I'm not confident when or if I will be in a position to pay you back if you were to loan me any money." Lizzy answered.

"Lizzy, I appreciate how stubborn you are and I'd say we would just give you the money if we didn't already know you reject our gift. Let's call it a loan and we can work out the details later. Ok?" Maddy pressed.

Lizzy sighed. She knew she'd need to rely on people like Maddy and Ed, she just didn't like it. "Alright, IF I find that I need a loan I'll let you know. Thank you. I know you want to help. I'm just not very good at accepting it."

Madeline laughed. "Well that's a true statement if I have ever heard one. I consider my mission accomplished at any rate. And just in time as we are pulling up to the quad." Maddy watched as Lizzy grabbed her backpack and headed towards her house. She was so strong and independent and Maddy was beginning to understand how very hard this must be on her. She hoped for a solution soon.

Comments Please...They make me so very happy and actually do influence the writing of the story as this is a WIP. I've actually changed things based on your comments!