This chapter is dedicated to my amazing reviewers who remind me that there are people waiting for the next installment. I hope this satisfies...

Cold. She felt very, very cold. This same thought kept running through her mind.

"Miss, Can you hear me? Can you talk to me?" She heard the strangest voice in her mind. She didn't recognize it at all. All she just wanted to go to sleep. The pain in her head, all over really, was so much, she just needed to sleep.

"I can't get her to respond to me. We'll have to get her on a back board and neck brace to be safe."

"Well she definitely did somethin' to her right knee. It's way too loose."

"Ok, let's strap that down. Do you think her femur's broke? Do we need to traction her?"

"Nope. Likely ACL tear, maybe more, but not her femur."

"Well that's good news."

"Jimmy, can you get on the other side of her to help pull the board through?"

"Sure thing."

"Hopefully by the time we get her secure the reinforcements will arrive to help us carry her outta here."

The three men worked efficiently, each doing their part to secure her to the back board and applying pressure to the fresh cut along her jawline. Once secure, they began checking her pockets for id. "This one's a Harvard kid. Elizabeth Benetez. Better get that name up on a board. I'll call it in." Pulling out his radio he telegraphed his report down to the first aid station, informing them of her identity, that she was stable, and they were awaiting assistance to get her out of the small ridge she'd fallen into.

Georgie had gotten increasingly quiet as they rode up the lift. A growing feeling of unease was beginning to overtake her. But why did she feel guilty? The defiance she'd drawn upon so easily earlier in the day didn't feel so convincing now. And she knew why. There was a good chance that the injured skier was Lizzy. She hadn't meant for Lizzy to get hurt, but she hadn't ensured she was safe either. She'd left Lizzy at the top of a very steep and risky mountain and assumed she'd figure out a safe way down. But Georgie knew that on all of the other runs, Lizzy had simply followed her down. She'd given Lizzy no real reason to think otherwise as they got off this lift either. Looking over at her brother she found him staring straight ahead at the ski patrol guys a few chairs up, his eyes were not moving.

Hopping off the lift, they scanned the top, checking to see if there were any notes left on the chalkboard for him. He spied a lift operator and decided to ask. "Excuse me. I've separated from one in my group. Has there been anyone looking for assistance up here?" William's calm and authoritarian demeanor belied the panic resting in the bottom of his belly.

"Let me check."

William and Georgie stood there, waiting for the lift operator to return. "Nope. No one up here asking for help but there's an injured skier off of Shock Wave. Her name just came in, Elizabeth Benetez."

In less than a moment, William was barreling towards the trail, the lift operator staring after him. Georgie thought she might faint as he said the name. She realized she needed to do something but had no idea what that might be.

He first spotted her skis crossed in the snow, marking the spot where she left the trail. Popping out of his skis, he set them next to hers and looked down towards the ravine his wife was being carried out of. The three men in the ravine were passing her up to two men above it. Once they had her on the other side it wouldn't be too much work to get her up to him and he appreciated how carefully they seemed to be moving. It took everything in him to hold himself back. He was desperate to see her but he didn't want to slow their progress. The next five minutes seemed like five hours as he whispered prayers over and over that she'd be ok. He didn't even notice when Georgie arrived a few minutes later. They'd encouraged her to go down to help calm her brother but once she got there she just couldn't approach him. She watched from twenty feet away, as they brought Lizzy out of the woods, William rushing over to her, tears falling from his face.

"Oh Lizzy, Lizzy. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." The words rushed out as he took in her bruised face, and her body strapped onto the stiff board.

"We're just bein' cautious son. She took a nasty fall and we're bein' extra careful but she's breathin' fine. You can ride down with her. Ok?"

He couldn't speak so he simply shook his head in agreement. One of the EMS workers noticed Georgiana and hiked up to her. "Is she going to be ok?" Georgie asked tentatively.

"Fingers crossed, we hope so. Are you related?"

"She's my sister-in-law. That's my brother over there with her."

"Well go on over then. I'm sure he's going to need your support."

With this encouragement she went over to her brother and gave him a hug. "Lizzy's going to be fine. She has to be. I'm going to ride down and call Mrs. Reynolds and the Fitzwilliams ok? You can call me when you know something." William nodded his head in agreement, still unable to speak and unwilling to look away from Lizzy. He'd taken over the job of keeping pressure on her cut and was taking in each and every bruise across her beautiful face.

Lizzy was strapped into the toboggan quickly and William popped on his skis so he could ski down next to her. A Suburban was waiting at the bottom of the hill to take her to First Aid. He worried the bouncing of the sled was doing more damage but they assured him she was doing well. Fortunately, the team she was brought to seemed to understand they should not attempt to separate William from his wife. He wouldn't have left her if they'd tried. Their work was efficient, one team evaluating her while another person patiently asked William pertinent questions to understand her prior medical history and background. William supplied all of the details he could.

A tall, wiry man with a full white beard stood closely to William. His gentle voice in stark contrast to his towering presence. "Mr. Darcy, we wanted to give you a quick update. Can you step over here while we make your wife a bit more comfortable?"

Glancing up at the doctor he quickly agreed. His throat had gone completely dry so the words rasped out. He placed a kiss on her lips, the lone area that seemed to have escaped from cuts and bruises. Walking over to a more private area he was given a bottle of water and was directed to sit in a yellow plastic chair. He nodded his head attempting to signal he was ready to hear the worst.

Taking in the young man's demeanor, the doctor had a good idea about how to deal with the spouse of this patient. "I think I've got some relatively good news for you Mr. Darcy. Your wife got a good knock on her head so she's got a concussion. Thank goodness for her helmet. The concussion doesn't appear too serious but it's a bit concerning she's still out so we'll want to watch her for a bit. Her back and neck are fine so we'll be removing her from the backboard. Looks like she tore her right ACL and sprained her right wrist. An MRI will confirm the injuries to her knee and wrist but either way, rest, ice, compression and elevation are the treatment for now. She's pretty bruised and scratched up, her right side and her ribs look like they took the brunt of it but overall she's in good shape given what I've heard of her fall. No breaks are obvious from the films we took. We've got a plastic surgeon on vacation up here this week and she's taking calls for us. She's on her way in to stitch up the cut on your wife's face. For as serious as her accident, Mrs. Darcy should be well on the road to recovery in a week or two, save the knee and wrist. ACL tears are pretty common though and she'll be able to recover from that pending possible surgery. You should plan to consult an orthopedic surgeon once you're back home. Do you have any questions?"

"She's going to be ok?" William couldn't believe that it could be that simple.

"Let's wait for her to wake up but there's nothing in her films to suggest she won't be much recovered after a week or two of rest. The wrist and knee will take longer of course but considering the fall, I'd count her among the lucky ones."

William thanked the doctor for the excellent news and excused himself to check on Lizzy. She was still resting quietly and he took a moment to step back and really look at her. They'd cut off much of her clothing to examine her and it occurred to him she'd probably be more comfortable in her own things, or at a minimum in some appropriate clothing. He was about to call Georgie when he heard Lizzy start to moan.

"Lizzy, it's me William. I'm here babe and I'm not going anywhere." She tried to open her eyes to look up at him turning her head in the process. That wasn't a good idea as it was just enough to prompt a wave of nausea to overcome her senses. She quickly emptied her stomach onto his boots. A nurse rushed over to wipe her mouth and get a bed pan next to her.

"I see you're waking up dear. Don't worry about the mess. I think your husband here would gladly take your sick over having you asleep. Let's try to sit you up a bit."

"She's right you know. I'm so glad you're awake. I was so scared Lizzy." William was still holding her hand despite the need to rinse off his boots.

"No offense but I think I preferred being asleep. Oh I'm so nauseous and I hurt so much," she whined. Lizzy was not a good patient, she never had been, and it would become quickly evident to all just how unpleasant she could be.

The nurse began pushing him away. "You go and make your calls while we examine the patient now that she's awake. We'll call you back over in a few minutes. I'm sure we can find a sink or a hose to wash off your boots too."

Checking to make sure Lizzy was really ok for him to leave he decided it would likely be appreciated by everyone if he removed himself and his ski boots from the area. "I'm going to place a quick call to Georgie to let her know you're awake and to see if she can bring over a change of clothes for you." Lizzy was too worried about moving her head to really think about her clothing situation or lack thereof and moaned in response.

Extracting himself from her bedside, William made his way towards a quiet part of the first aid station. The phone was answered in one ring, an anxious voice on the other side. "Hey Georgie, Lizzy's awake and they say she's going to be ok."

"Oh thank G-d!" Georgie said, the weight of a world lifting slightly off her shoulders. "What did the doctors say?"

He quickly filled her in on the rough details and then asked for her to bring him his boots, a pair of jeans, and a dry pair of socks. "Can you head down to the ski shop and pick up a pair of large sweatpants and some kind of zip-up or button-up top for Lizzy? They had to cut off her ski clothes and I can't imagine she has anything loose enough to fit over her splints or soft enough given the bruising."

"Of course. I'll be there as quickly as I can. By the way, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are on their way up just in case there's anything they can do. Richard's going to drive up tonight as well." Georgie had spent the last hour pacing, cleaning the hotel room and trying to think about what she could do to make William's life easier. Calls to the Reynolds and Richard were easy ways to help but most of it had been spent pacing however and she was glad for new tasks. She'd also spent the past hour vowing to do all she could to make this up to Lizzy and William. The look on her brother's face when he looked down at Elizabeth strapped onto that board would haunt her for a very, very long time. How had she become this selfish person?

By the time Georgie had arrived Lizzy's jaw had been stitched and she was attempting to rest on a gurney in a corner of the First Aid center. Georgie realized that Elizabeth might be really angry with her and was hesitant to go over and greet Lizzy despite William's encouragement. "Georgie, I need to change and I'd appreciate having someone with Lizzy while I find a changing room. I also want to call everyone to give them a status update but haven't wanted to leave."

Nervously, she agreed and tentatively made her way over to Lizzy's side. As she approached she decided she'd just go ahead with her apology and if Lizzy yelled or screamed, it would be best to just get it over with. "Elizabeth, I'm so, so sorry you got hurt. I feel just terrible and I'll do everything I can to make it up to you." There was silence and Georgie was afraid that Lizzy had decided to never speak to her again. She deserved it but had hoped for a chance to make things right. Sitting quietly she wasn't sure what to do when she realized that buzzing sound was a soft snore from Lizzy. Looking carefully at her sister-in-law she could see the angry bruises and cuts on her face likely from the tree branches that slowed her fall. Her wrist was in a splint and she could tell her leg was as well. A nurse came over and noticed Georgiana standing by Lizzy's bed. "She's fallen asleep has she. Well we can't have that. She needs to stay awake given her concussion. Not that she'll be happy about it." Gently shaking her the nurse called out, "Mrs. Darcy, Lizzy, you've got a visitor and you can't be asleep. Time to wake up."

Lizzy groaned, unhappy to be awake and doing everything she could to keep her head still. "William?"

"No. It's Georgie. I've brought some clothes for you. Do you want to see?"

"I don't care. Can you help me put them on so we can leave?" Lizzy grunted with a frown.

"Do you think we should get a nurse?" Georgie asked nervously.

"Probably." Lizzy couldn't even imagine moving but knew getting clothes on was her ticket away from this place where they kept waking her up. She slowly turned her head and noticed Georgiana standing at her bedside chewing her lip and looking down at her shoes. Damn it. Lizzy knew she was being bitchy but it took so much energy to think let alone be nice to someone who'd never been nice to her. She didn't feel like being nice to anyone right now let alone Georgie. She attempted to take a deep breath to clear her head but even breathing seemed to hurt her bruised ribs. Quietly, in the kindest voice she could muster, Lizzy asked, "Can you help me? I'd like to get dressed."

"Oh sure. I'll do anything I can. Let me grab a nurse and we'll get you ready." Georgie moved nervously away, unused to a gruff Lizzy.

Georgiana chatted nervously, filling in Lizzy on all the details of her phone calls and how she'd made the selections of the clothes she'd purchased. Lizzy was grateful for the soft fleece as it did seem to soothe her aching skin. The sweatpants were a bit of a chore but the problem was resolved when Georgie decided to cut most of the pant leg off so they only needed to get a small bit of fabric over the leg brace.

William had decided that it would be better if they stayed at the resort for two more nights so that Lizzy could recover a bit before they travelled home. He'd been very persuasive in getting the mountain to find him a handicapped accessible room for the two of them and another room close by for Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. Georgie and Richard could stay in the other room they'd be leaving behind. If everything went smoothly he hoped to send Georgiana and Richard back to Boston the following day so he'd have one less person to worry about. He returned to find Lizzy in some semblance of clothes. The sight of her dressed rather than wrapped in a hospital gown seemed to reinforce the notion that she was going to be ok. "They're going to review the discharge instructions one more time and then we'll get out of here. It's almost 8:00 and I'd like to get settled into our new rooms. Mr. Reynolds is waiting outside and will drive us over to the hotel. Then we can let you relax in our room." William told her in the hopes she'd be happy to leave the first aid center.

"Good. I just really want to get out of here. I hate trying to be pleasant to all of these people when I feel so lousy." Lizzy grumbled.

William had to bite back a laugh. The sight of Lizzy pouting, looking and sounding like a petulant four-year old was not what he'd expected from his new wife. She was always so happy and kind to everyone. To see this side of her helped remind him she was as imperfect as the rest of them.

It was a few hours later when Richard and William finally were able to steel away a few minutes by themselves. Sitting in the hotel lounge eating a late dinner, William was grateful for a few minutes where he could simply relax knowing that Lizzy was settled with Mrs. Reynolds and Georgiana watching over her. Watching William slouched in a chair across from him, Richard asked, "So do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I'm still not entirely sure. Lizzy's been pretty quiet about the whole thing only stating, 'I'm an idiot and wasn't paying attention to my route.' Apparently she realized she was on a double black a little too late and was working her way back up the mountain when a snowboarder almost ran into her causing her to lose her balance. She never regained control and the next thing she saw were trees. After that she only remembered being cold and her head hurting. I wish I knew who that boarder was. I'd give him a toss into the trees." William was finally allowing the stress and strain from the afternoon to pour out of him as he vented to his cousin. He took another sip of the whiskey his cousin had ordered for him and relaxed into the arm chair.

They were quiet for a few moments when Richard asked the question he'd been delaying, "What about Georgie? Weren't they supposed to be together?" William sighed, "Georgiana claims they got separated and she thought Lizzy knew where to go. She said she has no idea why Lizzy would go on the same double-black diamond that she rode down. For that matter, I'm trying to figure out what she was doing on White Cap to begin with. It's an expert mountain and while Lizzy wouldn't know that Georgiana certainly does!"

Richard suspected that Georgiana might know more than she was letting on but for his little cousin's sake he hoped his instincts were wrong. "Well, let's be thankful that she'll soon recover from her injuries. I'll work on Georgie a bit and watch her closely in the coming days. She's certainly been very attentive since I've arrived. There might be something in that." Richard suggested. It was as much as he would say right now. William had been overwrought when Lizzy was first brought off the mountain and knew it had been an emotional day. They had time.

William insisted on taking the night watch, sitting in bed next to Lizzy and supporting her when she was overtaken by periodic bouts of nausea when she inadvertently moved. She really couldn't keep any food down as a result of the concussion and he suspected, the untreated pain from her knee, wrist and various bruises. It had been a rough night and he'd fallen into a deep sleep around six when Mrs. Reynolds came in to take over for him. Lizzy had fallen asleep as well and it seemed to be a more restful sleep then she'd had earlier in the night. Mr. Reynolds had gone back to the Maine house to get it set up to accommodate having Lizzy in a first floor room while she recovered. Richard and Georgiana had come in around 9 to check on them and he called his parents to update them on Lizzy and William's condition. He was actually worried for both of them and knew his parents would want to be briefed.

Lizzy woke around 11 and let Mrs. Reynolds know she wanted to try for tea and toast. Hopefully she could try some pain meds if she could keep some food down hence her motivation. Much of the dizziness had subsided which seemed like a good sign. Looking around the room it was clear there had been several visitors. Much to her chagrin she realized they'd all probably seen her with curls in every direction and not a spot of make up. She had to laugh at herself when she realized that if the pain was any indication of the state of her face make-up would be irrelevant.

William was sound asleep in bed beside her. Lizzy reflected on the last eighteen hours. 'He must be exhausted. Every time I was up last night he was right there with me, rubbing my back and holding back my hair. I really don't deserve him.' These thoughts flooded her mind as Mrs. Reynolds came in with the requested tea and toast. She tried to smile but the stitches on her jaw made the attempt feel awkward so she whispered thank you as the tray was set down. Eating was challenging with her right wrist fairly immobilized. I'm not going to be very good at anything for a while, Lizzy realized. Despite the effort the warm tea and crunchy toast were soothing and she was glad to be doing something as normal as eating.

William began to stir and was relieved to see Lizzy up and eating. "Are you feeling better?"

"That's a relative question right?"

"Yes, that's fair." William assured her.

"Then yes. I'm much improved."

William ached to hold her close but was cognizant of how bruised and sore she likely was so he held her with his eyes instead. "I'm so relieved. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life as I was when I saw you on that back board yesterday. I love you so very much. I need you to know how much you mean to me."

Lizzy was still feeling very tenuous about everything and couldn't restrain the tears which quickly formed on hearing his confession. "William, I'm so fortunate to have you. I love you too. When I was heading for the trees I only thought of you and how I had to be ok for you. Thank you for caring for me, even when I'm sick. I've been miserable for the last day and I can't imagine anyone taking care of me like you have. You may have noticed that I'm not exactly the best patient."

This evinced a laugh from her staid husband. "You can say that again!" Turning serious, he continued, "But I'll be thrilled to have you be grumpy and demanding rather than silent like you were yesterday when they pulled you from that ravine. Lizzy I don't think I could ever survive something like that again."

Lizzy couldn't restrain her laughter, "me either."

So my flight from Boston to Cali made this possible...that and some good material. The reviews seriously motivate me so please keep em coming :)