A/N: I didn't get many reactions to the last chapter. Maybe everyone is away on vacation and can't write? Maybe? Or else you guys didn't like it. If that's the case I am not sure if this one is any better although there is a little interaction between the principal characters in this one. It can't all be fireworks...

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On Wednesday evening, Richard and William accompanied their cousin Anne to her club. As chair of the Social committee, Anne had organized some kind of dance and had determined her cousins should join her to meet all of her friends. It was a surprise to see how popular Anne was at the club.

"Any guesses as to how Anne has become such a favorite here at the club?" Richard asked William. "She certainly seems to have a significant number of male companions tonight."

"Get your mind out of the gutter Richard. There are more men than women here right now at any rate." William retorted.

"You're the one who jumped into the gutter. I was just making an observation." Richard smirked.

William made his way to the bar, ordering a scotch and water and taking in the scene. A group of college kids, likely home for the break, were crowded into a corner doing shots. Another group, likely in their mid-to-late 20's and with a strong NYC-attitude, were sitting at some of the tables having drinks and relaxing. Anne was flitting from group to group checking in as the hostess of the evening. As the organizer she felt it incumbent upon her to welcome each group personally. She'd tried to drag William along with her as she made her rounds but he couldn't be bothered. He was scrolling through his text messages and saw his last exchange with Lizzy. After hesitating a few minutes, he began to type.

WD: Hope UR having more fun in Cambridge then I'm having here with my cousins and aunt. Happy Thanksgiving.

A few moments later his phone buzzed. Looking down he spotted her reply.

EB: Exhausted from cooking and baking. Simply thankful I won't be up at 7am tmrw to put the turkey in the oven.

EB: Don't worry. I'll recover by Sunday :)

William smiled at the text and was trying to think of a response when Richard walked over and grabbed his phone from his hands. "What are you reading to put that smile on your face?" Richard looked down at the phone. "Oooh, who's EB?"

"None of your business. Now if you'd please hand me back my phone I'd greatly appreciate it." William demanded.

"Come now. I think I'd like to text with EB as well." Richard answered as he walked off and began typing.

William decided to let Richard have his fun. Lizzy wouldn't take his cousin's jokes seriously anyway.

WD: Ive found my cousin looking at his phone in a most unusual way and must know who EB is. Who is this person who causes his face to crack?

EB: Apply Vaseline. It tends to smooth cracks in the skin.

WD: Is that all Vaseline is good for?

EB: Ewwww. Give William his phone back and ask him to wipe it down with antiseptic.

Richard barked out a laugh. Whoever EB was, she had a sense of humor.

WD: I promise I'm a lot more fun then my cousin.

EB: doubtful. u just seem out to ruin his fun

WD: ur sadly mistaken. I AM his fun altho maybe he's branching out? Whats Sunday?

EB: stop fishing. g'nite

Richard was shaking his head laughing. He thought he might have some insight into his cousin's plan and had to admit, she seemed promising, at least judging by her texts. He searched through the photos on the phone but only found ones of Georgie. No selfies with a girl or of a girl for that matter. He'd have to figure that out. Handing back the phone to William he greeted his cousin with a broad grin.

"Satisfied?" William asked.

"Most definitely. She's got quite a quick wit. I look forward to meeting her." Richard answered.

William scrolled through the messages and laughed out loud. 'Yes, she's an original and could easily stand up to his annoying older cousin.' Darcy thought.

The evening dragged on and William watched as his two cousins each drank far more than their fill. Anne was indeed a favorite at the club and spent most of the evening on the dance floor. Richard found a blonde to hang out with leaving William on the sidelines observing the room. Walking up to people he had never met before to dance and make small talk was about as much fun as has having his teeth cleaned as far as he was concerned. Of course, staying back at his aunt's home was no better, so here he was, at a country club mixer of all things. A few women approached him trying to get him to dance but he begged off. Ever since the encounter with his aunt on Monday, William had managed to avoid her for most of each day, save meals. He'd need to try and have another conversation with her but knew he was unlikely to be successful.

The last three days had felt like three weeks and he was in a terrible mood. His conversations with Georgie had been stilted at best. She had agreed to start taking the medicine her psychiatrist had recommended. With each passing day with her aunt and uncle, she had become more talkative with each passing day at least. They made plans for her to fly up to Maine the weekend after Thanksgiving break and they also began to make plans for their Christmas holidays. Christmas would be at the Fitzwilliam's home in Boston this year so they'd be staying in Cambridge until New Years.

Wandering around the room he found a table of guys playing poker and decided to join in. He didn't really relish gambling but it was an acceptable way to pass the time until they could safely return to his aunt's home with her sound asleep. He began to understand why his cousin spent so much time here at the club.

It was 1am when he was finally able to drag his two drunken cousins back to his aunt's house. Fortunately, Anne appeared to have a lot of experience slipping into the house late at night and avoiding Aunt Cathy's notice. Darcy made sure that Richard actually made it into his bed, with four ibuprofen and a large glass of water consumed before he fell asleep. As he lay in his own bed, he scrolled through the text messages Richard and Lizzy had exchanged on his phone. He was looking forward to Sunday.

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Lizzy awoke to find a four year-old little girl curled up next to her. She smiled down at Avery and carefully removed herself from the bed in order to avoid waking her up. She was amazed to see it was 8:30am. Yesterday really had been an exhausting day. Making her way down the stairs she saw Maddy and Edward working together in the kitchen. They were her ideal for a married couple. They were truly a team and seemed to continually back each other up whether it was cooking, the kids, managing the house or supporting their careers.

"Morning," Lizzy called out. The husband and wife looked up to see Lizzy approaching them still in her pajamas. "Sorry I slept so late. What can I do to help?"

"Have a seat and some coffee. The turkey is stuffed and in the oven. We were just pulling together a light breakfast to keep us going until the main event. I saw that Avery made her way into your room at some point in the night," Maddy said with a smile.

"Yup, I had my own little heater to keep me warm. No wonder I slept so late." Lizzy said as she gratefully accepted the coffee.

"Avery is going to be impossible to deal with when this week ends. She is so attached to you." Edward sighed.

"Do you think they'll let me keep her in Pfhorzheimer House? She's small and doesn't take up a lot of space." Lizzy joked.

"Sure, she's cute now but just you wait until she is hungry and tired. The residents of Pho-ho would kick her out faster than she can scream ice cream." Edward returned.

"So tell me about this benefactor of yours we are to visit tomorrow. Anything I need to know?" Lizzy asked.

"Well she's kind of hard to describe. I think you need to experience her in order to understand what she's really like. I remind you to keep your sense of humor as she does have a rather inflated view of herself and her opinions. Louis, her husband was a very thoughtful man and I really did enjoy my meetings with him. She has continued to support my work in his memory, but Maddy and I often struggle to bite our tongues with some of the outrageous statements she makes. This annual visit is a requirement. I figure its only once a year and she is exceedingly generous in her support." Edward said.

They brought breakfast into the family room where the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was playing on the big screen television. Avery had made her way downstairs and was cuddled up with one of her older brothers watching the floats move across the screen. They were having dinner around 2:00 and Edward's sisters would be arriving with their families at 1:00. After finishing her coffee, Lizzy excused herself to get showered and changed. She still had some reading to do for several classes and she used the downtime to sequester herself in her room to complete some of her work.

Lizzy heard several loud voices coming from the living room and decided she should probably see what was happening. "Oh Edward, thank you so much for having us this year for Thanksgiving. You know how my nerves are and I just can not handle young boys in my home. I guess it's a blessing that I was never able to have boys. You and Maddy have the patience of saints with your dear ones." The shrill voice of a woman, who must be one of Edward's sisters, came up the stairs.

Noticing Lizzy standing near by Edward turned towards her, "Ah Lizzy, allow me to introduce you to my sister Fanny and her husband Tom. Tom and I did undergrad together and he works as a research librarian at Boston College. Lizzy is one of my all time favorite students and kindly offered to help us out with the children this week. Her family is far away and she couldn't easily get to them." Lizzy appreciated the neat explanation Edward had offered to explain her presence. She had wondered how he would explain it to his relatives and to his benefactor.

"Oh goodness. Far away from family and home. Isn't my brother wonderful for hosting you. Although I'm sure Maddy is grateful for the help with the children." Fanny said. Edward's other sister arrived with her son and husband shortly thereafter. If Lizzy had thought Edward's sister Fanny was loud, there was no comparison to Mrs. Phillips. The two women reminded her strongly of her own mother. She began to wonder where her parents were and how they were celebrating this Thanksgiving. It wasn't going to do her any good to continue thinking in this vein so Lizzy pulled her attention back towards the children in an effort to distract herself. She rounded up the girls and got them to help set the table for dinner. Once ready she sat herself between the Gardiner's two sons. There is nothing like keeping busy to keep unwelcome thoughts at bay.

They were almost through Thanksgiving dinner when Theo Gardiner, Maddy and Ed's 7-year-old son, got up and bolted from the table. Lizzy observed his hasty retreat and followed. She found him doubled over in the bathroom eliminating the contents of his stomach. Lizzy rubbed his back and helped him to wash out his mouth before walking him upstairs to his room. Feeling his head, Lizzy could tell he was burning up and pulled out his pj's. "Hey buddy, you seem pretty sick. Why didn't you say anything?" Lizzy asked.

"I really wanted some pumpkin pie. I know my older cousins will eat it all if I'm not there to take a piece," Theo said with a slight whine.

"I'll make sure to save you two slices ok? You get into bed and I'll go get your parents." Lizzy said as she tucked him. She was just coming down the stairs when she met up with Maddy. "What happened to you and Theo? Is everything ok?"

"Unfortunately, Theo is feeling pretty sick. It think he has a fever and isn't keeping his food down. I spotted him dashing out of the dining room and found him in the bathroom giving up his Thanksgiving dinner. He was kind of embarrassed so I brought him straight to his room and got him settled into bed. I was just coming to get you and put aside some pumpkin pie for when he's feeling better. I promised to save him some." Lizzy informed Maddy.

"Oh my poor baby. Thank you for looking after him Lizzy. Can you let Ed know to proceed with dessert without me? I'll be down once Theo's asleep."

Lizzy managed to get Ed's attention and he met her in the kitchen. She updated him on Theo and they began pulling dessert together. True to her word, Lizzy sliced a decent chunk of pumpkin pie placing it into a separate container. Using a technique she 'd perfected after growing up with three siblings, Lizzy grabbed some masking tape and placed a long piece around the container. With a permanent marker, Lizzy wrote in big black letters, 'Theo's - Do Not Eat!' She slipped the container into the refrigerator and carried the remaining pie into the dining room. Upon learning Theo was ill, it didn't take long for Edward's sisters and their families to clear out. Edward focused on getting the other three kids to bed while Lizzy attempted to tackle the leftovers. At least after staying in their home, she knew where everything was so she could make a decent attempt at packing up. It was well past 11 when Maddy, Ed and Lizzy each fell into their beds exhausted.

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Lizzy woke with a start the next morning. Spying the clock on her phone she saw it was close to 9:00. The house was strangely quiet. She made her way down the stairs and found Ed leaning over the breakfast bar nursing a cup of coffee. "Morning Ed, where is everyone?" Lizzy asked.

"Morning Lizzy. I'm glad to see you up and about. Maddy and the kids are all asleep thankfully. Turns out that Theo was just the beginning. Whatever he has, the other three have as well. Maddy and I were up a good portion of the night with all four of them. I'm glad you haven't caught it." Edward said.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry. Poor kiddos. I guess Maine is out then." Lizzy lamented.

"Unfortunately no. I still have to go. Maddy and I discussed it around 3 in the morning and I was hoping you'd still join me," Edward said.

"Are you sure Maddy doesn't want me to stick around and help out? Four kids with a stomach bug is not something anyone should have to deal with on their own." Lizzy sympathized.

"No doubt but we think the worst has passed. Theo hasn't been sick since 11:30 last night so it seems to be a fast moving bug. Maddy wants to sterilize the house while we're gone and the kids will likely watch endless hours of Disney and Nickelodeon as I doubt they'll have the energy for much else." Edward stated.

"Alright, let me jump through a shower then. I'll be ready to go in about 40 minutes. Is that ok?" Lizzy asked.

"Perfect. Once you're out I will jump in and we should be ready about the same time. Meet you down here at 9:45." Edward agreed.

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ok they are off to Maine... ;-) Comments, thoughts, ideas? I love to hear from you. Your thoughts and questions impact this story as I am actively writing. I have two plausible ways for the story to move and so I can be influenced...