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Chapter Twenty-One

Posted on Thursday, 8 January 2004

It seemed to Elizabeth as if her world had stopped, irrevocably altered with Will's three words. He had been right, though. Nothing had changed-he had been no different on their flight home than the flight to Chicago. So it wasn't exactly Will that changed then, but something had. Suddenly every time he looked at her she realized he was silently telling her he loved her. She could feel his presence without seeing him. His slight cologne had become a familiar fragrance for her and she noticed how it lingered when he was not there. Everything he did now-a smile, a squeeze on her shoulder, a wink-seemed to scream out the fact that he cared deeply for her. But it wasn't his actions. Considering he had been doing them for a long time, it had to be her enlightenment. Will Darcy was in love with her.

It was enough to drive her crazy; it was enough to confuse her greatly. She suddenly felt lost by simply sitting next to him. Once the plane had taken off, Will had immediately nodded off to sleep. The poor man had been stuck in early meetings for most of the trip and Elizabeth's All-Star activities had often kept him up late. As she watched his slumbering profile, feelings started traveling up from the pit of her stomach that she had to muscle back down. His hair was in curly disarray and the usual serious frown between his eyebrows was smoothed away. The rising and falling of his chest lulled her thoughts from panic to quiet-but just for a few moments. The trepidation rose again, swiftly and strongly. It was only Will's sudden movement that kept her from bawling.

Reaching out with one arm, he pulled Elizabeth's head onto his shoulder and rested his cheek against the top of her head, not even bothering to open his eyes. She was stiff and resisting, but Will kissed the top of her head and smiled.

"It will be fine, Elizabeth." When she opened her mouth to protest, Will gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I promise you. It will be fine."

Jane Bennet was not necessarily what one would describe as an astute woman. It was not that she was stupid, of course, but she usually let her opinion of the world affect her view of everything and anyone in it. Jane knew that there were extremely bad people in that world-she worked as a child advocate so she could hardly turn a blind eye-but she tended to let her good opinion of people last as long as possible. Usually that was too long.

For all this, when it came to her family and those she loved, Jane was astute as they came. The moment Elizabeth-followed by Will and their luggage-entered the house, Jane knew something important had occurred in Chicago. Glancing quickly at the two, she noticed Will actually looked quite happy while Elizabeth seemed to be in a confused daze. Catching Will's eye she caught his nearly imperceptible nod.

"Elizabeth, Will, it's wonderful to have you back. You had a nice trip?"

Will nodded with a silly grin on his face before kissing Elizabeth on the forehead and grabbing their luggage. As he passed Jane, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Yes, Jane. It was a very nice trip." Nodding his head ever so slightly in her sister's direction, Will turned towards the staircase. "Where's Ana?" The moment he asked, he heard Chopin drifting in from the music room. "Never mind."

"Leah's asleep upstairs in her room. But," Jane checked her watch, "it's about time for her to get up. I'm sure she wouldn't mind seeing her daddy."

At the word "Daddy," Will's face absolutely lit up. Elizabeth sucked in a quick breath at the pure happiness of his countenance before he nodded, turned, and was out of the room. A strange sort of buttery feeling was churning in her stomach as she stared at the spot her husband had just vacated.

"That man is certainly head over heels about my niece," Jane chuckled and then sent a quick glance at Elizabeth. "Not to mention my sister."

Jane didn't think Elizabeth was listening, but the frightened and confused look on her sister's face alerted her that she was indeed. And something was dreadfully wrong. Jane knew exactly what it was.

Taking her sister's hand, Jane dragged her to the kitchen table, sat her down, and filled a mug with warm tea. Once she held the hot ceramic in her hands for a few moments, Elizabeth looked up. She didn't say anything; she didn't need to.

"He told you, didn't he, sweetie?"

Elizabeth managed a nod before she felt tears overpowering her resolve. Immediately shutting her eyes as hard as she could, Elizabeth gripped the cup with all her strength. After a few tense moments where she thought she was actually going to lose it, her tears abated. Opening her eyes slowly, one by one, she was met by Jane's caring and saddened blue ones.

"What did he say?" she asked quietly, reaching across the table to give her hand a squeeze.

"He . . ." Elizabeth stopped to take a deep breath. "He said he loves me-that he doesn't know how long he has, but that . . . he does."

"And?"

"He said nothing was going to change, that he'd-he'd-wait for me," Elizabeth blurted out in a rush and then looked her older sister in the eyes. "He told me I was already in love with him."

The immediate smile that broke across Jane's face startled her. With twinkling eyes, Jane instantly tried to smother her grin. She was not very effective.

"You agree with him?" Elizabeth cried out, suddenly upset.

Jane was silent for a few moments, obviously thinking. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "It doesn't really matter what I think, does it? It matters what you think and feel."

Shrugging, Elizabeth took a sip of the now cool tea. It was peach, her favorite. "What if I have no idea what I think?"

"And what you feel?"

Elizabeth laughed sardonically. "Oh, no. I know exactly how I feel."

"Scared," Jane filled in.

"And confused and frightened and worried and nervous...pick one of the above."

"Will's a wonderful man, Elizabeth. I have no doubt it will happen. And I cannot wait for the day."

One eyebrow lifting in query, Jane went on without Elizabeth voicing her question. "The day when your fear is replaced by love and you can finally grab onto life with all you've got."

"If it ever comes."

Jane smiled slightly and patted Elizabeth's hand twice. "Oh, it will. It will."

Will did not wake up to a pretty sight. Feeling a warm panting on his forehead, he was afraid to open his eyes. Drool and bad breath assaulted him as soon as he did. Elizabeth's stupid dog was standing directly above him, his front paws heavy on Will's chest and his furry head a few inches away from Will's face. "Get off me, you stupid mutt." Mac didn't move an inch, but instead gave him a look that told him to remove himself from the bed. Stupid dog. "You are not quite whom I imagined waking up next to, you monster. Sorry." As if he understood the insult, Mac slobbered all over him, licking his face repeatedly until Will was finally able to push the German shepherd off the bed.

Feeling a bit like Lucy after dealing with Snoopy, Will ran to the bathroom and took a quick shower, carefully scrubbing his face several times. Cats were so much nicer...and cleaner. No licking to worry about. They're a lot lighter, too, Will thought wryly as he rubbed his chest. He wouldn't be surprised if he had two paw-shaped bruises showing by lunchtime.

When he finally made it downstairs, Will stopped in the doorway to the kitchen to sniff the air appreciatively. It smelled suspiciously like cinnamon rolls. He walked over to the coffee maker to turn it on and then noticed it was already made. In fact, a coffee cup was sitting next to the machine, with the small bowl of sugar. A timer went off somewhere in the kitchen and Elizabeth was suddenly in the room, dressed for work with Leah on her hip. Depositing the baby in Will's arms, Elizabeth then removed the rolls from the oven, baked to a golden perfection.

"It will take just a minute for those to cool. Would you put Leah in the high chair? I'll pour your coffee as soon as I get her food. You're lucky I don't mind making it. How can something smell so good but taste so absolutely disgusting?"

It was after Elizabeth had warmed Leah's breakfast and cut up a slice of a peach into tiny pieces when she noticed Will was still standing in the same spot, watching her. Leah didn't seem to mind-she was busy chewing on his tie.

"Is something wrong, Will?"

"Where's my wife and what have you done with her?"

Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow. "What the heck are you talking about?" Grabbing a clean bib and handing it to Will-who was finally moving, Elizabeth poured his coffee.

"You. You're chipper. And efficient. You do know it's only seven, don't you?"

Shaking her head at his question, Elizabeth began the task of feeding Leah. In between the girl's giggling and arm-flinging, Elizabeth answered Will.

"Yes, I know it's seven. Your point being...?"

"My point being that it's seven. In the morning. What happened to sleeping in until eleven?"

Shooting him a look that literally told Will he was crazy, Elizabeth deposited the peach onto Leah's tray. Returning to the table with his coffee, she told him, "Obviously I can't stay in bed like that all the time. When I have to be, I can be energized in the morning."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." She nodded as if to emphasize her point, before dropping the rolls into a basket and bringing them to the table. After twelve ounces of pure caffeinated Dr. Pepper bliss.

"What are you smiling about?" Will asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Here . . .read the paper." Smacking him in the chest with the business section, Elizabeth turned back to Leah. The little girl was sucking on one piece of peach, spitting it out, and then repeating the process. Smiling, Elizabeth grabbed a washcloth and approached her. "You about done there, sweetie?"
Leah smiled up at her aunt and giggled a little before smashing the peach in her hand all over her cheek.

"Oh, now that's attractive." Elizabeth laughed along with her niece as she deftly wiped her face and hands.

"Uh...is there something I can help you with?" Will was enjoying watch the two together, but he felt a little bad sitting at the table reading the paper when Elizabeth was doing all the work.

Giving him a bright smile-a smile that nearly knocked Will straight out of his chair-Elizabeth lifted Leah and placed her in his lap. "Think you can manage keeping her occupied while I finish getting ready?"

Laughing as Leah babbled to him, Will said, "Yeah. I think I might be able to do that."

"Good," Elizabeth stated with a smile, kissing Leah's head and then turning to go back upstairs.

There was no way Will was going to let her get away so easily. Quickly reaching out, he managed to grab her hand and gently stop her from moving any farther than two steps. Turning, Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow at his hand and then looked him straight in the eyes.

"Yes?"

"I think you forgot something."

As Elizabeth looked around for anything she might have left behind, Will stood up and pulled her close-or at least as close as he could get her with Leah on his left hip. The baby was babbling and trying to get her hands on his tie.

"You didn't kiss me good morning."

Staring into her dark eyes, he saw hesitation in them for a few seconds before a small, wry smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Didn't I?"

"Nope. I definitely would have remembered."

Snorting a bit at his answer, Elizabeth stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly. Trying to ignore the feelings fluttering around her stomach region, she smiled and then backed away, not realizing that Will had not let go of her arm.

"My meeting starts in forty-five minutes. You don't want me to be late, do you?"

A smile was his only answer. "Don't forget I love you, Elizabeth." Letting go of her arm, he gave her another kiss-this one a bit longer, a bit more lingering-and gently pushed her towards the doorway. "You better move, sweetheart. Like you said, I don't want you to be late."

As Will watched Elizabeth walk to the stairs, glancing behind her shoulder twice to throw him some very confused looks, he couldn't help but grin. Lifting Leah into the air, he gave her a couple of tosses that would have given his wife an apoplexy, and laughed with her.

"Yes, Leah, you're right," he answered her babble with a smile. "I think mommy loves me, too."

"Well, that was one complete waste of a morning," Elizabeth muttered to herself as she threw a few folders that were on her desk into her bag. "Thank goodness I get to go home now."

Elizabeth was hoping she could make it out of the building without anyone asking her what exactly had occurred at the meeting. It had been a rather important one-fixing up the writing schedule for most of the rest of the season, sounding off play-off ideas, and, of course, a heated discussion on which teams would be getting to the post-season. She had attended the whole meeting. But she hadn't exactly been "all there," as her sister Kitty would say.

Most of the staff had questioned Elizabeth about the All-Star week and she had seriously needed to bite her tongue not to announce to everyone that her husband had made a declaration of love. Quickly gathering her wits, she had babbled on about Pujols and Edmonds' injury and the late-inning grand slam-hopefully enough information to dodge some queries. Thankfully she hadn't really had to speak otherwise-although several co-workers had given her odd looks when she remained silent while one brave writer had started talking about the Cubs play-off hopes. Elizabeth hadn't even noticed the dreaded C word, mostly because she had been lost in the world of brown eyes-deep, dark, intense, brown eyes. Darcy eyes. Eyes that looked at her with love in them-love for her.

Suffice to say, the new Elizabeth Darcy had absolutely no idea what had gone on at her meeting. Her thoughts had hit an all-time low when she had looked her boss straight in the eye and imagined Sir Lucas was saying he loved her. She had a problem. A disturbing one.

"Just go home, Elizabeth, play with Leah and stop thinking about..." Elizabeth's muttering drifted off as she remembered how Will's lips had formed the words. I love you. They were such nice, reassuring words. They gave her confidence...and apparently made her crazy, she realized. "Get out of here. Go do something. Make yourself busy." Nodding at her own advice, Elizabeth grabbed her bag and headed to the elevators.

Unfortunately, she discovered that while it was easy to tell herself to forget about it, actually doing it was quite another thing. The blaring horn behind her helped her come to that conclusion; she had been thinking about how nice Will had looked that morning and hadn't even noticed the light change to green.

"Stupid. You're acting completely stupid, Elizabeth," she murmured to herself, sending an apologetic wave to the truck behind her.

In the twenty minutes it took her to get back to the house, Elizabeth could not stop thinking about Will once. And the more she thought about him, the angrier she became. It was unreasonable, she decided as she pulled behind the house to the garage, that she seemed to be practically obsessed with the man.

"He knew exactly what he was doing this morning, too. That...jerk."

Elizabeth should have realized that once she was inside the house, she needed to stop talking to herself. It was quite an embarrassment for her when Ana suddenly spoke up from behind her.

"What'd my brother do this time?"

Jumping nearly four feet in the air, Elizabeth whipped around to stare at the younger girl. Ana was leaning against the doorway and smiling. She was holding the baby monitor in her hand and, checking her watch, Elizabeth realized Leah was probably down for her nap.

"Is she asleep?"

"Yeah." Ana was all smiles. "She is such a good baby. We had a lot of fun this morning."

"I'm glad to hear it," Elizabeth remarked absently, setting her bag on the kitchen counter and giving a welcoming pat to Mac, who had wandered in when he had heard her voice.

"Are you okay, Elizabeth?"

Glancing up at Ana and seeing real concern on her face, Elizabeth nodded and smiled. "Oh, I'm fine, Ana. I've just got a lot on my mind."

Ana set the monitor on the counter next to Elizabeth's bag and smiled at her. "What are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?"

"Good question..." Elizabeth muttered. Drinking Will out of her mind seemed to be the only guaranteed way to keep him away from her thoughts for at least an afternoon. However, that really wasn't quite possible, obviously. Ana was still waiting expectantly for an answer, when Elizabeth's eyes suddenly lighted on her shirt.

"Your shirt!" Elizabeth exclaimed, a comment that made perfect sense in her mind.

Looking down at her Chicago Bears' t-shirt in confusion, Ana shrugged. "Yes? What about it?" The huge grin on her sister-in-law's face startled Ana. "Uh...Elizabeth, I-"

"Are you busy this afternoon?"

"Well, I was going to go shopping with Kitty, but I've still got an hour or so to waste."

Lifting her eyebrow at Elizabeth-an action her brother would claim was purely his wife's influence-Ana silently questioned the sudden mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Good. I'm going to need your help."

He was tired. And late. Checking his watch at the back door, he sighed as he realized he was twenty minutes past the time he had originally told Elizabeth he'd be home. The headache he always got from reading reports all day was already forming behind his eyes. In another twenty minutes, it would be full blown and Will would want nothing except three Tylenol and the couch. Thankfully Ana wasn't home. She had called to tell him she'd be out shopping, so he didn't need to worry about her nagging him. When she had begun bugging him about getting his eyes checked, he of course had refused. Glasses would be a bother and he could read just fine without them, no matter what his little and very bossy sister told him. Ana hadn't particularly liked that excuse at all and her reaction could still bring a smile to his lips. That had been the first sign of recovery post-Wickham that Will had noticed. The steps she had made since then were remarkable and her determination was admirable. Elizabeth's character was equally admirable-although it was obvious that she hadn't worked her problem out in the open like Georgiana had.

Sighing once again, Will realized that in his tired state he had just spent three minutes standing outside of his house contemplating the fact that he was late and exhausted. Feeling a bit ridiculous, he reached for the doorknob, but the door was opened before he could turn it.

Elizabeth was standing in the doorway with a huge smile lighting up her face. If the headache hadn't been threatening he probably would have questioned the look in her eyes, but as it was, he was simply thankful she wasn't angry he was late.

"Honey, I'm home," he remarked and then grinned. "I've always wanted to say that. Sorry I'm late."

"No problem at all, Will. How was your day?" Before he could answer, Elizabeth surprised him by grabbing his head, standing on her tiptoes, and thoroughly kissing him.

"Uh..." Will stuttered when she had let go of his face and smiled up at him. "I'd say it's getting much better." Suddenly, Will didn't really feel that headache. "What's for dinner?"

"Steak."

"Steak?"

Elizabeth nodded and grabbed his briefcase from him, placing it in his office and then coming back into the kitchen. "And potatoes, green beans, and dessert."

Smiling at her listing of all his favorite foods, Will grabbed his wife and pulled her closer. "You cooked all this?"

Pretending to appear affronted, Elizabeth whacked him on the chest. "Of course I did."

"I think I'm in heaven."

"Sorry, buddy," Elizabeth quipped, "my cooking is good but not quite up to those standards."

Will picked Leah out of the playpen and gave her a kiss. Babbling a greeting, Leah clapped her hands and then promptly stuffed his tie in her mouth. Laughing, but carefully removing it, Will took the baby upstairs while Elizabeth was setting the table and quickly changed her diaper.

"Can you say daddy yet, sweetie?" Will asked, pausing for a moment to tickle her belly and listen to her laugh.

Leah refused to humor him by talking, but instead grabbed his finger and pulled herself up into a sitting position. Looking pretty proud of herself, although she had that particular feat mastered for quite some time, Will decided to indulge her and clapped his encouragement. Hearing Elizabeth's yell that dinner was ready and urged on by the mouth-watering scent of the steaks, Will made his way downstairs.

Dinner was amazing. The steaks were cooked to perfection-medium, just the way he liked them-and the potatoes had some sort of seasoning on them that made them absolutely delicious. He glanced around halfway through his meal, searching for a few boxes.

"What are you looking for?" Elizabeth asked, the look on her face telling him she knew exactly what he was seeking.

Will shrugged, feeling a bit sheepish, but Elizabeth wasn't going to let it go. "Yes, Will, I cooked this all by myself. I did not order from a restaurant. How long have I told you that I can cook and you still refuse to believe me?"

"Well, you never really did before," he defended himself, before taking another savory bite of steak. All conversation then halted as Will ate his meal in undisturbed bliss-unaffected by Leah's squeals and Elizabeth's barely contained laughter. He had been preoccupied when he had first gotten home and now the meal was taking all of his concentration. But it would only be a matter of time before he noticed...her usually observant husband was obviously having an off night.

Will still had not noticed when he had taken Leah into the den while Elizabeth cleared off the table. Grinning impishly, she figured he'd catch on once she started the videos. But it would so much more fun to see him struggle beforehand. She did not have to wait long.

The moment she walked into the den, Will laughed. "She's just about crawling; Jane was right. I can't wait until..." Trailing off, his face went absolutely white as he finally got an eyeful of her shirt.

"Is something the matter, Will?" Glancing down, she saw nothing wrong with the short-sleeved Florida State Seminoles t-shirt she was wearing. No holes, no spills, absolutely nothing wrong.

"Uh..." He was still staring at her shirt, his eyes never moving from his alma mater's logo.

"Honey, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that your staring is quite ungentlemanly," Elizabeth remarked, trying successfully to hide her smile. On her lips, at least. There was no mistaking the sparkle of laughter in her eyes.

"Oh!" Will was blushing. Now wasn't that just adorable? "Sorry, I was just looking at your shirt."

She couldn't help the smile this time. "Yeah, isn't it nice?"

"You must have gotten it from your dad, huh?" If Will noticed the high and rather squeaky tone of his voice, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Hmmm," she stated non-committally, carefully putting her hair up in a well-placed ponytail, and then turning around to walk towards the television.

She had to bite her lip not to burst into laughter when she heard his very audible gasp. Fitzwilliam George Darcy was not a gasping type of man. Beginning to count in her head, Elizabeth had just gotten to seven before she felt Will's hand on her shoulder, whipping her around to face him.

"Seven seconds. Not too bad." Laughing at the fact that her husband still seemed to be speechless, she easily escaped his grip and scooped Leah up into her arms, placing her into the bouncy seat. The baby was raring to go-and began to bounce at once, laughing and clapping her hands. Will didn't even seem to notice. He was too busy trying to formulate words into a sentence.

"Where did you...that shirt...who?" Will stuttered, wanting to smack himself in the head over his inarticulateness, but could only stare at the back of his wife's shirt. Darcy. 7. He no longer had any doubts in his mind that Elizabeth knew about his football career. Oh, she definitely knew. And was flaunting that fact in front of his face.

"Your sister happened to have this shirt clean. Such a delightful girl," Elizabeth said with a smile, sitting on the couch and nodding her head at the spot next to her.

Hesitantly, Will sat-but making sure to put some distance between the two. His wife looked smug, but he knew she could burst at any second. After all, he had sort of-kind of-lied to her from the day he had met her. He could claim it wasn't a lie, but he knew that withholding the truth would be one and the same to Elizabeth.

"Cat got your tongue?" Elizabeth wondered sweetly, brushing imaginary lint off the sleeve of her shirt. "I kind of like this shirt. It fits nicely...and I really like the name on the back."

"Uh..." Will frantically searched his mind to come up with some explanation or excuse, but he couldn't really think of anything.

"Uh..." Elizabeth mimicked with a mocking smile. "I have to say-I kind of like this mute Darcy. Much easier to deal with."

It was at that moment, glaring at the self-righteous-you-think-you're-so-smart-but-I-am-smarter look on Elizabeth's face, when he got his voice back. And his thinking faculties.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah. Mr. Darcy is back."

"Yes, Mrs. Darcy, I am. Well," he paused, looking at her with a new light in his eyes, "you got me on the couch. What exactly do you want with me?"

Caught off guard by the sexy tilt of his lips, Elizabeth felt her upper hand slowly slipping from her grasp. It was falling as Will began to slowly scoot towards her, and it hit the ground with a resounding thud the moment he pulled her onto his lap. Ignoring her muttered protests, Will smiled lazily at her and slowly brought his head toward hers.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked quickly, when his lips were only an inch from hers.

"I thought I already asked that. But I think what I am about to do should be rather obvious."

"But-but," Elizabeth objected as Will began placing kisses on her jaw line, "this isn't fair! You're the one that's supposed to be...supposed to be..."

Will lifted his head from her neck. "Supposed to be what?"

"Discombobulated," she grumbled, feeling defeated.

"Hmm, that is a problem, isn't it?" Will whispered into Elizabeth's ear and then laughed when she tried to swat him away. "I guess that this is actually...the opposite."

By then his lips had found hers and while Elizabeth still had the presence of mind-which she knew would be leaving her very quickly-she aimed the remote towards the television and turned it on. Not even noticing, Will instead wound his hands into her hair and deepened the kiss. Aiming the remote in the general direction of the DVD player, she pushed a button and hoped that it was the right one.

The Florida State fight song rang out clear and loudly in their den and Will immediately sat up, his eyes glued to the television. Left back on the couch, Elizabeth felt a slight victory at his distraction, but was also a bit disgruntled that she was so easily forgotten.

"The Sugar Bowl!" he exclaimed, a huge smile settling on his face.

"How observant," Elizabeth noted dryly, sitting up and attempting to repair her untidy ponytail.

"There's Coach and Smith and Warner..." Will trailed off happily and then turned to acknowledge Elizabeth. "Where did you find this?"

Throwing him a grin, she answered, "Ana helped me find them in your office. It was a little obsessive, you know. There was a tape of every game you ever played in, from your last year in high school all the way to the NFL."

"I liked to be prepared-watching video was vital to any success I had. You obviously found the DVDs."

"I couldn't resist the BCS collection," she told him with a laugh, scooting closer to him. "And I can't wait to watch them, Mr. QB."

Putting his arm around her and then half-turning to look at her, Will raised his eyebrow in question. Elizabeth noticed the action, but decided not to call him on it. Most likely he would deny it anyway.

"You really want to watch?" Disbelief was written all over his face.

Picking up one of his hands, she linked her fingers with his and then smiled. "Of course. This was a big part of your life, Will. I would...I would be honored if you shared it with me."

Smiling largely, Will couldn't resist giving her a kiss, but then sobered. Stroking her knuckles with one finger, he looked very earnest.

"I didn't originally set out to leave you in the dark about football, Elizabeth. At first, I didn't want my successes to color your view of me." After nodding her head to let him know she understood, Will went on. "And then...when I realized it would make no difference to you at all, I just didn't want to talk about it. It was a big part of my life, yes, but I don't really like bringing it up. Sort of depressing and all that."

Elizabeth still had questions, and she knew they were probably evident in her eyes, but she was willing to wait for his explanation. After all, she owed him that. He was doing that and more for her.

"So this is your sophomore year? You didn't play as a freshman?"

"Nope, I red-shirted. I had planned on staying five academic years anyway to get my Masters, so it seemed the logical choice. Anyway, we had a senior quarterback that year who was amazing. I didn't really want to step on his toes."

"But you could have, right?"

Shrugging humbly, Will refused to state an opinion. Elizabeth had a feeling, though, as she watched him string a long pass perfectly to his wide receiver for a first down, that he definitely could have.

They watched the first game in relative silence, with Will explicating a few plays and Elizabeth yelling at various players.

"Settle down!" Will laughed after a tirade against the place kicker who had missed an easy twenty-three yard field goal.

"Will, you should be up by ten now! I think I could have kicked that!"

"Okay, Elizabeth," Will stated, placing a hand on her arm to calm her down. "First of all, this is all in the past. The outcome of the game has been decided now for several years." Seeing her sheepish look, he smiled and went on. "Plus, the person you really should be yelling at is me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you see that pass on third down? I was late; in fact I was very lucky it wasn't picked off. If my throw had been on, Martinez would have been kicking for one point instead of three. It would have been a touchdown. The kicker's got the hardest job out there. They end up taking all the blame when we quarterbacks can't get the job done."

"Well, I'm not sure I totally agree with you. That was twenty-three yards. That's what he gets paid for."

Laughing, Will shook his head before squeezing her close. "No, actually, Elizabeth, you don't get paid in college. Or at least you're not supposed to."

They continued watching for a few moments until she felt Will visibly flinch. It was a tense game-with Nebraska up by three points, the ball in Will's hands, and twenty seconds left on the clock. Elizabeth had no idea of the outcome, but she felt fairly confident that the twenty-year-old Darcy could get it done. He radiated self-assurance, with a poise that was unmatched.

"What's the matter?" she asked, when Will suddenly had her hand in a death grip.

He never answered her, but kept his eyes glued to the game. He took a breath and held it at the snap before turning his eyes away. There was no time for Elizabeth to question him as she watched the ball sail thirty-five yards down field. Will's man was open and for one second she thought the desperation pass was going to be caught-until she saw the red and white jersey come from nowhere to pick the ball. Quieting down, she watched in silence as the safety raced towards his end zone, sidestepping tackles and slow linemen. As Nebraska celebrated, rushing onto the field, Elizabeth felt her heart breaking as they showed Will's reaction. He looked devastated, his shoulders slumping as if the weight was suddenly too heavy to bear.

Sending a cautious glance towards her husband, she was surprised to see nearly the same exact desolation etched onto his features. In fact, he looked like he was about to cry. He hadn't watched the play, but he had obviously relived every excruciating moment in his mind.

"Oh, please don't look so sad, honey. It makes me feel bad," Elizabeth stated, laying her head on his chest and giving him a bear hug. "Remember...it's all in the past. It doesn't really matter anymore."

Will was silent for a few moments before he smiled at his wife, kissed her temple, and agreed. "That's true. But it's still ugly to watch."

"I wouldn't say that. It was actually a nice pass-beautiful spiral. The wrong guy just happened to catch it."

Pausing to digest her words, Will burst into laughter and grabbed the remote. "Thank you for describing it in those terms. You've made me feel much better. Now...may we fast-forward to my last year? That will make me feel even better."

Nodding her agreement, Elizabeth stopped him. "First, why don't you go put Leah to bed? I've got something else up my sleeve that I think you might like."

"Is that so?" Will drawled, running her up and down with his eyes.

"Don't even think about it, buddy." Leaning over to give the baby a kiss goodnight, Elizabeth pointed at the stairs with a smile. "Go to it, captain."

Waiting until he and Leah were upstairs, Elizabeth went into the kitchen and opened up the oven. Taking a deep breath, she smiled as a warm cinnamon smell assaulted her. "Apple pie a la mode," she said with a smile, taking the warming pie out of the oven. "My specialty." She was dishing a scoop of ice cream onto Will's plate when he called out to her. Grabbing both plates, she made her way into the den.

Will was sniffing the air before she had even entered. "Is that...?" Turning and seeing his wife entering with his favorite dessert, he broke into a huge smile. He practically ran, jumping over the couch, to grab one plate from her. "You remembered!"

"Of course I did. Now sit down. I don't want you spilling anything on the carpet."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied before sitting and taking his first bite.

He was silent for exactly seventy-seven seconds. He had practically inhaled it.

"Was it good...or did you even taste it? I think you might have swallowed without even chewing."

"Oh no, it was good all right, Elizabeth." Will turned his appreciative look at her. "When I married you I didn't realize I was getting a cordon bleu chef."

She was only halfway through her piece. "Well, when I married you, I didn't realize I was marrying Mr. Heisman Trophy winner. If you want more, go in the kitchen and get some."

He didn't need to be asked twice. She was telling his back the second half of her statement. He came back with two pieces and at least three scoops of ice cream. It was amazing the man could stay fit. And he certainly had not been lying. William Darcy did like his apple pie.

To her amazement, he had polished off both pieces by the time they were settling back in the couch to watch his final Bowl Championship game. It was the National Championship Rose Bowl, played in Pasadena, California. Elizabeth remembered the outcome of the game and she felt herself relax by knowing that Will would be happy.

She enjoyed hearing the pre-game discussion on her husband's attributes.

"He's got an arm like none I've seen in the last ten years. His accuracy is astounding. His confidence is overwhelming and he can read an entire field with one glance. Sure, he has the athletic ability, but Darcy's got brains and he certainly uses them."

"You're exactly right, Jim. Possibly even more important is his leadership. This team relies and looks up to Will. They expect him to pull them out of murky situations and they're unwavering in their trust of his judgment."

"And there is a reason for that. Darcy is a team player-he's not looking for the glory. He's just as happy tossing screens or letting his back run the ball. He is the epitome of an unselfish quarterback. Still, no one can deny that when this kid passes, his team is just that much better."

"His teammates don't call him Will the Kill for no reason. He has that uncanny ability to make impossible passes look incredibly easy. And that ability absolutely takes the confidence right out of his opponents."

"Exactly right. Just one reason why he won the Heisman."

"Along with many, many others. Will Darcy is going to make one heck of an NFL quarterback."

Elizabeth was impressed. It was as if she was seeing her husband in a completely different light-not necessarily a better one, but certainly a special one. "This is so exciting! They're talking about you, honey." Glancing over at Will, he didn't look quite so enthused. In fact, he looked quite embarrassed.

"Aw, Elizabeth, I hated when they did that. Everyone knows you win football games with defense and an established running game. I had the number two defense in the country behind me at that time and one of the top running backs in the NFL now. It was so...so ludicrous for the media to pretend that I was responsible for everything."

His modesty was not going to fool her. It fit in perfectly with the man she had gotten to know; she didn't think he could honestly be boastful about any accomplishments in his life. "Just let me watch and I'll decide for myself. By the way, have I told you how handsome you look out there?"

To her amusement, Will blushed again. "Cut it out, Elizabeth."

"No, I'm serious. Those pants are quite sexy, if I may say so myself."

"They were too tight," he grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh no." Elizabeth patted his knee and grinned angelically. "I would say they are absolutely perfect. I'm going to have to watch myself; I might start drooling on you." For all her teasing-mostly to see that red tint on Will's cheeks get brighter-Elizabeth couldn't help admiring his physique as he tossed a few for warm-ups. He looked fit and solid...and incredibly composed. "You've got nice legs."

"Men don't have nice legs, Elizabeth. That's an insult."

Shrugging, Elizabeth went back to admiring them, until the camera closed in on a sign a young, female fan was holding. "Marry me, Will?" she read slowly and actually felt jealous rising up. Stupid, ditzy, only after him for his looks...the girl probably didn't even know what a first down was.

"I didn't answer her, you know," Will said in an amused voice. Looking up at him quickly, she saw the laughter on his face and had to stop herself from sticking her tongue out at him. Before she could think of a retort, Will grabbed her shoulders and held her still, a very serious intent about him. "I want to prepare you, Elizabeth. I get hit a lot in this game. A lot. But I was okay, all right? I didn't get hurt."

Elizabeth stared into his earnest eyes for a few moments before she shook her head and smiled. "I'll be fine, Will. I can take it."

Obviously she had completely forgotten her words just five minutes later as she watched her husband get laid out on the forty-five yard line. It had been a brutal hit and Will was a bit slow in getting up.

"Who is number 54? He completely missed that block! He just watched that linebacker waltz right through! Where's your protection? What kind of offensive line did you have?"

Just when Will had gotten her settled down, adamantly refusing to give her Walt Pickett's current phone number, she stood up and yelled again when he was forced to carry the ball himself for a first down. Not willing to just slide down past the marker, he actually muscled his way through a couple defenders to pick up a few extra yards.

"Why did you put your shoulder down, Will? What do you think you are doing? You are not a running back! You could have gotten creamed!"

As she yelled and poked her finger into his chest accusatorily, he figured it wouldn't make much of a difference if he had told her that his career rushing stats were actually quite high for a quarterback.

"It's the big game, Elizabeth. You sacrifice your body."

The game was intense and by the second half, with Florida State up by a touchdown, Will had long ceased to try and calm his wife. It seemed she wanted the head of any man who dared touch him-even if he had still gotten the throw out for a completion. Watching her watch the game was actually quite exhilarating. He knew that his parents had always been proud of his talent, his dad coaching him along through most of his younger years, but actually sitting back and viewing the game through Elizabeth's eyes was amazing.

"Personal foul! Come on, ref, that was a late hit!" Will wondered if Elizabeth realized she was stroking his chest, the exact spot where Miami's tackle had knocked him. He also wondered if she realized that the referee could not hear her.

Watching the game was agonizing for Elizabeth and she thanked God that she hadn't known Will during his playing years. Anytime a player got close to him she felt an apoplexy coming on, even though she knew that obviously he wasn't seriously hurt in the game. Every single blitz was torture, watching four or five giants rushing straight at the love of her life, looking like they wanted to rip his head off.

If Will noticed his wife freeze or the color drain from her face, he didn't acknowledge it. The game was tied, within the last minute of play and he was waiting for his defense's interception at the Miami goal line. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had no idea what down it was or who had possession of the ball. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heart.

She was in love with him.

She was in love with the kind, intelligent, and talented man sitting next to her. She was absolutely head over heels in love with William Darcy. And it scared the living daylights out of her. Sensing her whole body shaking, Elizabeth quickly reached out and grabbed a pillow, hugging it tightly to her chest. Who knew that it would take an old football game, a glimpse into his previous life, and the constant anxiousness for his health that would have caught her so off guard that she could admit her love for him to herself?

"Here it is! Here it is!" Will's childlike shout suddenly broke through her reflections and she lifted her eyes to the television.

It was a desperate throw. A tied ball game with mere seconds on the clock, Will had nothing to lose. As the blitz came on, she watched as he hurled it towards the opposite end of the field, a tight spiral the entire way. It seemed to sail through the air in slow motion and the vertical leap by his receiver in the endzone was amazing to watch. Elizabeth was surprised to feel tears prick her eyes as she watched her husband jump up and down with the excitement of a little kid, hugging his offensive linemen one by one. Half his team tackled him while the other half attacked the wide receiver in the end zone.

"The Florida State Seminoles are the new BCS National Champions, thanks to that valiant effort by quarterback Will Darcy and receiver Isaac Jones!" The announcement over the television made Will smile even wider.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Will almost shouted at her in his excitement.

It was a wonderful thing that Will was so preoccupied taking a trip down memory lane. He didn't notice the way his wife bit her lip or the way her shoulders shook in her effort to control her emotions.

All Elizabeth felt like doing was crying.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Posted on Monday, 12 April 2004

The next morning, Elizabeth overslept. It really was no surprise, considering the fact that she had been up most of the night tossing and turning. She slept a little-but that sleep had certainly not been restful. Her dreams alternated between playing a game of catch with Will, completely dressed out in his entire uniform, and near nightmares of Wickham. It left her so upset in the morning.

She had thought in Chicago that a breakthrough had been made. She could get close to Will and not have images of George pop into her head as warning flares. It was highly disappointing, therefore, for George to invade her dreams. All they did was remind her that she wasn't right for Will, that he would very likely be ashamed of her if-no, when-he discovered just how weak she really was.

Around three in the morning, she had uncovered some important information. A part of her had always been afraid to fall in love because of how poor her first choice had been. Obviously her judgment of men had not been very good, considering that she really had let herself love Wickham. Worse, she had let him twist and abuse that love. There were so many reasons why she didn't want to love, but Elizabeth had to acknowledge that this one point was completely invalid. It seemed that her judgment had taken a big swing upwards. She was in love with Will, yes, it was true; she also knew that he would never do anything intentionally to hurt her. Will was a wonderful and safe person to love-he had proven that many times since she had met him.

Heaving a sigh, Elizabeth sat up in her bed and checked her clock. She had overslept by an hour, not exactly a big deal since she was flying to Cincinnati later that day to cover the series. It was probably good that she had slept longer, considering she hadn't truly fallen asleep until four or five in the morning. Dealing with fifty baseball players, plus coaches and other journalists, was not something she would relish on a day with no sleep.

It was kind of nice she realized, as she made her way down to the kitchen in her pajamas, that Will was here. Not that she ever minded caring for Leah, but she knew that he had already done that task without waking her. Sniffing the air appreciatively, she also realized she didn't mind his try at the culinary arts, either. He was standing in front of the stove, in a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt, flipping pancakes. Leah was nowhere in sight, but she heard her giggle in the music room. Ana had taken quite a liking to the little girl.

Immediately, a warm feeling-she assumed that it was love-filled her as she watched her husband cook, occasionally using the flipper as a microphone. He was singing something about the morning, but she was a little confused as he then began adding references to corn and cows in his description. A smile playing on her lips, Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed over the love and discomfort warring within her.

Hearing her sigh, Will turned around and gave her a huge smile. Elizabeth instantly wanted to run up to her room and hide. Goodness, if every time he smiled at her she was going to feel as if she was about to faint, this love thing just wasn't going to work.

"Good morning, sleepy head!"

"Uh...good morning, Will," she muttered, without looking him in the eye. Quickly moving over to the table, she sat down to steady her shaking hands. What in the world was wrong with her?

"How many pancakes do you want? I've made quite a few."

"I didn't know you could cook," Elizabeth stated, almost meeting him eye to eye. Almost.

Laughing, Will shrugged. "My mom made the best pancakes in the world and when I was fourteen, she got sick of making them every morning. I had just started football in high school and...well, I ate a lot. She would make twenty pancakes for the whole family and I would eat them all myself. I had to learn to make them when she told me she was quitting."

Smiling slightly over his explanation, Elizabeth turned her eyes away from his figure. Like she had told him the night before, he had had nice legs. He still did. She had always had a thing for well-muscled, athletic legs. She was forced to remember with some embarrassment that she had gone out with the captain of the soccer team her junior year based solely on what he looked like in his shorts...She had certainly had her shallow moments, but didn't everyone? After all, it wasn't her fault that she happened to marry a superior athlete in great shape-with nice legs. Grimacing a little at the way her thoughts were turning, Elizabeth shook her head. It was just better not to look at him at all. Instead, she looked at the magazine sitting in front of her. Great. Will on the cover. Must I be surrounded by the man? Ready to turn it over, the date and title caught her eye. Glancing again at the twenty-three year old Darcy, trying to look intimidating but not being able to hide the friendly sparkle in his eyes, Elizabeth realized exactly what magazine this was. She looked up at Will, but he was already staring right at her, a funny smile on his face.

"Couldn't find this with all my tapes yesterday?"

"I wasn't looking for it. I didn't think you would have a copy!"

Will shrugged. "Ana started a collection of magazines and newspapers that mentioned me. It's all stuffed in a box in my office. It didn't take me too long to find."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, for a moment forgetting her discomfort. "When did you realize that we'd met before?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he grinned. "I don't know...Three days after I got to St. Louis, I think."

"Are you serious? And you never reminded me that entire time? That's just low, Darcy."

He grinned wider. "Your dad knew if that makes you feel better."

"My dad-He-?" Elizabeth stopped and shook her head. "He always did love his Seminole sports. I remember now that he did get pretty excited when he found out I was going to interview you."

"I got pretty excited when I found out you were going to interview me, too." Will laughed when his statement prompted the eyebrow. "Well, I found out when you walked into my college apartment. I was expecting some guy named Dave, you know." Walking towards her, he sat down on the table in front of her. "And let me tell you something, sweetheart, I was pretty darn attracted to you." With quite an arrogant smile, he leaned into her. Elizabeth knew exactly what his intention was and she couldn't help but flinch away. It wasn't that she wanted to-but it was a reaction, a reaction to keep her safe.

Will noticed her action and frowned slightly, his eyes searching her face. He looked worried. Thankfully, just as he was about to speak, he caught a whiff of something burning. "The pancakes!"

Chuckling as she watched him hurry back over to the stove, Elizabeth opened the magazine. As soon as she began reading, she started to smile. Elizabeth had one of those minds that could remember everything she had written-nearly word for word. It wasn't a bad article; certainly not written with the same finesse she hoped she possessed now, but her style was distinguishable even then. As she scowled at Dave Madison's name, Will put a plate of pancakes down in front of her.

"I'm assuming you load on the syrup?" he asked with a smile, placing the butter and syrup within her reach.

"No, of course not. That would be disgusting." Elizabeth gave him a look and then grabbed the bottle. She covered each pancake entirely, leaving enough extra syrup on the plate so that they each had a puddle to soak in. Will watched, smirking the whole time, but wisely remained silent.

"That's a pretty well-written article, if I may say so myself. I reread it this morning."

"You better go tell Dave Madison that, then." Elizabeth flipped through the article, trying hard not to look at the pictures too closely. "Why did you really go to Florida State?"

Will was taken aback by the random question. "Didn't you already ask me that back then?"

"Yeah. You said you liked the warm weather and wanted a change. That's a pretty weak answer. Anyway, I would have expected you to go somewhere like Michigan, or maybe even stay in Illinois."

"I..." Will started, stopped, then shrugged and sat down. "It was cowardly."

Seeing the hurt written on his face, Elizabeth closed the magazine and put it out of reach. "I highly doubt it."

Will toyed with a napkin and she could see the hesitation in his countenance. Just when she thought he was going to close up, he began to speak. "My mom died when I was a senior in high school, a couple of months after the season ended. At that point I had many different offers from a lot of schools, but I hadn't signed my letter of intent yet." Looking up and seeing the confusion in his wife's eyes, he continued. "I needed to get away. I found a school that was farthest from home and signed up." He was swallowing hard and the napkin he was holding had been crushed in his fist. It was hard to even look Elizabeth in the eyes. "It was complete selfishness on my part."

"Selfishness?"

"Yes, selfishness. Ana was young-only nine years old-and my dad was the head of a major corporation. I'm sure they both could have used my support-could have needed me."

Noticing the look of pure pain on his face and realizing that he had probably kept these doubts bottled inside him for a long time-possibly forever-Elizabeth decided not to go for a full denial of his statement. He would only end up getting angry and probably start defending his thoughts.

Instead, she nodded. "That's true, Will. They probably could have leaned on you. But I don't think that means you deserted them. You needed your time to mourn as well."

"I could have mourned with them. I didn't have to leave."

Elizabeth put her hand on top of his and smiled at him. "Maybe you did. You're an incredibly emotionally strong man, but I can hardly believe you were then. Did you ever think that you needed that time to yourself-to sort out your emotions and feelings-so that you could be the stronghold you are now?"

"I don't..." Will trailed off and looked up at his wife in wonderment. "I guess I've never thought about it like that."

"Did your dad ever begrudge the fact that you went to FSU?"

He didn't even hesitate. "No. He was always proud of me. He never questioned me except-" Will stopped and chuckled, a cheerful sparkle suddenly lighting in his eyes, "except a few bad play calls. That was the only time."

"Has your sister ever complained that you weren't there for her?"

"I...well-no."

Smiling, Elizabeth squeezed his hand and then let go, the hungry rumbling of her stomach telling her to eat. "Don't blame yourself, Will. You've handled things remarkably well. I'm sure your dad would be very proud of you."

Will stared straight at her, but he wasn't really looking. A sad smile rested on his lips and the sudden sorrow reflecting in his eyes overwhelmed her. She stayed silent, chewing thoughtfully, knowing that her husband needed a shoulder to lean on, not a sermon.

"He died. Two months and thirteen days after you interviewed me. Right before my first NFL training camp began."

He wasn't looking at her, but she could sense the grief in his words. His voice cracked and overflowed with emotion, leaving Will's body tense and ramrod straight. Elizabeth put her fork down and waited for him to look at her. It didn't take long. There were tears in his eyes when he finally did and she immediately felt something stir in her heart. Love, apparently, was a strange thing. Never before had she felt so connected to a person-so linked together that his pain became hers this strongly.

"That must have been hard, Will."

He took a long shuddering breath before closing his eyes tight. "He always wanted what was best for me. He always gave of himself so freely. It didn't feel right that he was taken away."

"And it never will. Even now-now that I've come to terms with Lydia's death-it will never feel right to me that she's gone. She had her life in front of her; she was so incredibly young." Elizabeth smiled slightly and then grabbed his hand again. "All we can do is remember their love and their life...and realize they are in a much better place than we are. A much better place."

Will paused for a moment, thought written over his features, before standing up and pulling Elizabeth into his arms. He felt warm and safe...She felt protected, as if she could finally let down the guard she had been keeping up for two years. It was a dangerous thing. Stroking down her hair with one hand, Will pulled her closer with the other.

"You are a remarkable person, Elizabeth Darcy. My life has changed so much since you came into it, and I'm not ever going to let you go."

Humbled by his words and feeling her resolve swiftly dropping, Elizabeth recovered the best way she knew how. "You better not, Darcy. We've got a baby to raise," she quipped.

The smile never left his lips-and it was a beautiful smile. The kind that reached a person's eyes as well as their mouth, a smile that came from the heart. And it was obvious that all of Will's feelings came directly from that particular organ. Sighing, Elizabeth grabbed two handfuls of his loose t-shirt and squeezed. In light of that smile she was practically writing poetry in her head...if she wasn't careful she was going to end up professing her love.

"And I can't wait for her to grow, sweetheart." Will paused, planting a gentle kiss on Elizabeth's forehead. "I love you."

It was impossible to stay silent with his brown eyes melting in front of her, the beam from his face practically lighting hers. She felt cherished-and that was something she had not felt in a long time. The words began forming in her mind without her permission and she was telling herself no as her lips began to move. It was only the sudden and shrill ringing of the telephone that saved her. A relieved sigh made its way out her throat and she blushed at the look Will gave her.

"You were going to say something to me, I think?"

"Uh...was I?" Elizabeth returned nonchalantly, breaking his embrace under the guise of clearing the dishes. Will was going to have none of it.

"Don't try to get out of this one, Ace. You can't fool me."

"You can't call me that. It's reserved only for my father."

"I think I can call you whatever I want. Including liar."

Dumping her plate and silverware in the sink, Elizabeth feigned outrage. "How dare you?"

"Oh, quite easily. Your shorts are practically smoking. Still can't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Sighing, and knowing she was being obtuse on purpose, Will turned his glare onto his wife. It was a glare that had stared gigantic linebackers and business leaders worth millions of dollars into submission. If the sudden smug grin on Elizabeth's face told him anything, it was that he had failed. She had been about to tell him something, however, and he had a good feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew why she was now so spooked.

"Elizabeth," he stated, drawing out her name as if was a note, "I think that you-"

Whatever his sentence was, he was not given a chance to finish. A blonde blur came racing into the room. All but tossing Leah into Elizabeth's arms, Ana threw herself into her brother's chest and hugged him with all her might, her small body racked with sobs. Instead of the tall and graceful teenager, Ana now seemed much younger, a little sister crying on her big brother's shoulder-or to be specific, on his Bears logo.

Over her head, Elizabeth and Will exchanged concerned glances. Ana was really crying and Will could even feel her shaking. Something had obviously upset her; instantly he felt anger curling around his fingers when he realized what one thing-what one person-could get her this way.

"Ana, sweetie, are you all right?" Elizabeth asked gently, trying to soothe Leah at the same time. The baby had picked up on Ana's mood and was beginning to whimper.

Her answer was a muffled snivel in Will's shirt. Speaking through his eyes, Will told Elizabeth not to worry. Leaning down, he kissed the top of his sister's head and tenderly pulled her away from his chest. The crying had subsided and now Ana was left hiccupping.

"What happened, Georgie?" In his concerned state he didn't notice the slip and his sister was much too preoccupied to process the nickname.

Taking short and shaky breaths, Ana wiped the trails of tears off her face and then tried to answer. "I'm so sorry, Will. I-I promised myself that I wouldn't..." She trailed as her eyes began to fill with tears again. It was too much for the protective elder brother and he wrapped her in another tight hug.

"Did something happen with Leah?" Elizabeth questioned quietly, trying to make sense of what would have caused the normally composed Georgiana to break down. It really should have been obvious to her.

Ana stole a quick glance at Elizabeth and shook her head. Will was stroking her hair when she looked up at him. "It was the phone."

"The phone?" Will repeated, giving Elizabeth a quizzical look. Both had forgotten about the ringing telephone during their playful bantering. Only one guess was needed. "Wickham?"

Ana nodded slowly, looking straight into her brother's eyes. That anger she knew so well was slowly seeping into the brown depths and it turned her stomach. She was so sick of making Will so worried...so tired of reacting this way after dealing with that man. Ana was ready to be done with him-she thought she had been.

"Oh, Georgie. I'm sorry. He should never have gotten this number." This time it was Will that was shaking as his sister held him close. "I'm so sorry."

"No. No, Will." Ana stepped abruptly out of Will's embrace and crossed her arms determinedly. "It's not your fault. It's not mine. It's his. We can't forget that...please don't let me forget that." Her last words were said in a whisper, nearly a prayer. "I've got to stop blaming myself, remember-and that goes for you, too."

Smiling slightly at the change in his sister, in awe at how far she had come, Will nodded his head. Her breakdown had been unexpected, but it had not lasted. In years past any contact or mention of Wickham would have affected her for an entire day, not ten minutes. Pride burst through him as he saw the young woman in front of him who had once been a small, lost girl.

"You're right. There's no reason for me to apologize." Will paused, grabbing Ana's arm and pulling her into his side. "I love you, kid. I love you and I am so proud of you."

"I love you, too, Will." Ana squeezed her brother's middle, but then gave him a soft punch on the arm. "But I'm not a kid."

Laughing, Will chucked her under the chin. "I know. I just realized how much of a young woman you are." Visions of boyfriends, graduations, weddings, and babies flew suddenly through his head and he couldn't help but frown. "Emphasis on the young part, though...please."

"Uh...Will? Where's Elizabeth?"

Looking up suddenly, having been completely unaware of his wife the last few moments, Will glanced around him as if she would suddenly appear. "I don't know. She was just here."

The two gave each other a meaningful glance before Ana let out a deep breath. "Let me go, Will. I think it's about time she knew about this mess."

His sister was halfway across the room when Will stopped her. "You know why she ran out, don't you?"

Ana grimaced. "I think I have an idea."

Will nodded, glad that she had gotten his message, and watched her climb the stairs. "Get through to her, Ana. Please."

The tears were overpowering. Never since right after Lydia had died did Elizabeth feel more helpless. She had sat at midnight that first night with a screaming baby in her lap and the tears had been rolling down her face.

Crushing her fingers into fists, squeezing so hard her fingernails began to indent her skin, Elizabeth willed her tears away. That was then. She had been weak-so very weak.

"Not anymore," Elizabeth whispered harshly. "You're not weak anymore."

The knock on the door jarred her from her depressing memories. Before she could call out an answer, it opened. Elizabeth expected Will, but was surprised and-truthfully-relieved when her sister-in-law entered the room.

"Hey, Ana," she stated softly, slowly letting her fingers relax.

"Hey, Elizabeth. You ran out on us." The younger girl had not a trace of her recent tears, except that the end of her nose was red. Her poise had returned and once her gaze fell upon Elizabeth, she felt Ana's compassion.

"Oh, you know, I'm getting picked up any minute now. Just had to make sure my bag was packed and...and all that." She bit her lip when she realized how poor her excuse sounded. The suitcase had been packed since the afternoon before and lacked only her toothbrush. If she had been thinking, she could have easily stated that Leah needed a diaper change, but at the moment the baby was happily chewing on one of her plastic books in the playpen set up in Elizabeth's room. There was no way Elizabeth could even pretend that she was upset. When Leah had her books, she was enthralled. No matter what Will thought, Elizabeth did not believe it was a first sign of her superior intelligence.

"Mind if I sit down here?" Ana asked the question with a bit of hesitation but then sat down before Elizabeth could tell her yes or no. "I hope we didn't make you want to leave down there. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Uh...no. It just seemed like a family thing-none of my business."

Smiling at how rigid the usually enlivened Elizabeth was, Ana gingerly put her arm around her shoulders and felt her stiffen even more. Unbidden, tears came to Ana's eyes once more, this time brought on by the pain she read all over the woman that had become so special to her.

"Elizabeth, you are my family now. You, Will, and Leah are all I've got." Seeing no response, Ana forged ahead. "Can I explain?"

There was no need to clarify; Elizabeth knew exactly to what she was referring. Unease settled in her stomach. Yes, she did want to hear Georgiana's story. She looked strong now, as if she had had a happy ending. Elizabeth desperately wanted-needed-to hear a happy ending, just one. But then that unease rumbled around in her stomach once more, actually making her a bit queasy. She did want to listen, but was absolutely terrified of the pain the explanation would force her to relive.

"Oh, Ana-you really don't have to. I'm sure it's very personal." Fear laced her words and hovered in the silence between them. After a few moments, Ana took a deep breath. She looked into Elizabeth's eyes and saw the truth; her eyes were begging Ana to explain.

"No, Elizabeth, you're wrong. You need to know. And I must tell you." Ana glanced at Elizabeth out of the corner of her and saw that she was unresisting, clutching a pillow to her chest and staring in front of her with a blank look on her face. For all she knew, Elizabeth might not even hear what she had to say-but she was going to say it anyway.

"When I was younger, a few years ago, a man came back into my life. I had known him when I was a little girl and all I had of him were a few memories of a tall, smiling boy who took the time to play with me. He was still tall, but seemed so nice and generous. His smile looked sincere." Ana paused to catch her thoughts when she felt Elizabeth grasp her hand. Surprised, Ana looked over to see that her sister-in-law was still staring straight forward and not looking at her, but giving silent support.

"Will was getting ready to go to training camp. I remember he was so excited. They had lost in the NFC Championships the year before and he was determined to get to the Super Bowl. He had been weight training like crazy during the whole spring-and running up to three times a day." Georgiana stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. There was really no reason to tell Elizabeth Will's exercise schedule. She was simply putting off the inevitable.

"My dad had died about a year before, a couple months after Will was drafted. Right then and there Will almost gave up his career to take over the business, but Mrs. R, Pete, and I convinced him that it would be fine."

"Pete?" Elizabeth's strained voice broke in.

"Pete Wickham, George's dad. He had been daddy's right hand man for years. I think dad knew he would be going soon and he didn't want Will to give up on football. He set Pete up to be the interim President until Will was ready to take over. Pete was a good, kind man. His only problem was his trust in his son."

Elizabeth snorted, but otherwise remained silent. Her body language accepting of Ana's words, but she still held herself stiff. She still clasped Georgiana's hand in her own.

"It was right after Will had left for camp that I met George again. Pete had given him a position in the Chicago offices and I met him briefly when he came to dinner at the Reynolds, whom I was staying with. He didn't say much to me that night at all, just smiled and complimented me on my piano playing.

"I remember feeling flattered. It wasn't usual that I played for anyone, but Mrs. R had begged me that night. George was-is-so handsome and made me feel so...so..."

"Special." Elizabeth whispered the word, but didn't look at her sister-in-law.

"Exactly. He made me feel incredibly special." Ana was silent for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders and continued. "It wasn't like I was ignored growing up. I was pretty young when my mother died, but I had daddy and Will. I had Mr. and Mrs. R. I had my piano teacher, Mrs. Ainsley. George's attention was different, though...and even though I didn't see him for awhile, I never forgot him.

"That summer, around the end of August, Will was suddenly back home."

Looking up abruptly with confusion all over her face, Elizabeth asked, "In the middle of training camp?"

Ana grimaced, but nodded. "At the time I was told that he had been injured. I didn't see him for two entire weeks, if you can believe that. He called me once a night so that I wasn't upset, but he never told me what the real problem was. He tried for so long to keep pain from me."

Standing up slowly, Elizabeth walked towards her window, hugging her arms around her body. "What did he do?" It was obvious now that Wickham had hurt Ana and although she was dreading the explanation, Elizabeth had to try and understand. If only to see that there might be hope for her.

"George? What did he do?"

Elizabeth nodded slightly, letting out a deep sigh of air and tensing her shoulders.

"Pete had given George charge of a high department, hoping that he would be able to handle the responsibility. George had gone to college to get a business degree, but only made it halfway through. I'm sure Pete thought this was the chance for him to prove himself."

"But he didn't."

"No. No, he didn't." Ana sighed. "In the normal monthly budget, Will noticed a huge loss in funds. He was at camp, but still requested copies of all the information. Apparently he was pretty angry that no one had contacted him with the discrepancy and when he tried to contact Pete, he could never get in touch with him."

Ana looked up to see Elizabeth shaking her head, as if she knew there was only one answer to the story. And that was because she did. While Elizabeth didn't completely understand Georgiana's situation-and what George had done to her-she understood the man himself. He was essentially greedy and power-hungry, and so incredibly dangerous when both money and power were within his grasp.

"Good ole George went for the inside job, huh? His dad tried to cover for him?"

"Yeah. Pete wanted to cover it up at first, so he could try and convince George to stop. It was just too late. Too much money had been taken. Rumors were flowing throughout the entire business world that dad's business was going under, so of course sales went down, deals were scrapped, we got bad press...it was really bad. I'll never forget watching the news and hearing them run the business through the fire."

"And he...and Will gave up football?" It was hard for Elizabeth to imagine Will giving up what he loved so much, especially after watching his talent and excitement for it last night, but now understood why it was such a painful subject for him.

"He did. Will left in August and never looked back."

"Because it's too painful for him," Elizabeth murmured softly, absolutely amazed at the sacrifice her husband made for his family. Yet it really didn't surprise her.

"Yes. There was a period of time when Will wouldn't even watch football. He hated when anybody brought up his career. I know he felt like he had betrayed his team. But family has always been most important for him-and I have to say, I'm pretty thankful for that."

Elizabeth turned to face Ana with a smile on her face. "He is one honorable guy, isn't he?"

"Oh yes. You know, he didn't even press charges." Seeing the look on Elizabeth's face, Ana hurried on. "I know, I know, it sounds ludicrous. But Will didn't want Pete's name dragged through the mud. Will had grown up with George and knew what kind of a manipulating jerk he could be-so he didn't really blame George's dad. Honestly, I think he felt sorry for Pete."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth looked as if she was in disbelief. "That might be a little too honorable. He kicked out George, though, right?"

Ana laughed dryly. "You bet he did. George knew if he came back into our lives he would be in for some serious trouble-the next time Will wasn't going to play nice." Stopping, a sober look coming onto her face, Ana said, "And he didn't."

Elizabeth paused, a little confused at her last sentence. Of course there had to be more, but she had been hoping for Georgiana's sake that the betrayal only went that far. "He didn't what?"

"He...he didn't play nice the next time George came back into our lives."

"Oh no..." Elizabeth couldn't help but mutter, bracing herself for the rest of Ana's story. The worst scenarios were flying through her head, and perhaps if she hadn't been so preoccupied she would have recognized the same hurt hovering outside of Ana that she herself still felt inside.

"Of course, all that I just told you about-well, I really had no clue what had happened. Will told me that he had a condition that prevented him from playing ball professionally, and for some reason I believed him." Instantly, Ana went into defense mode, even though Elizabeth had given her no look or word to prompt. "Don't blame Will, though. I was fragile then and Pete was like a second father to me. Knowing about his betrayal then would have been...it would have been a huge blow."

"Ana, I'm not blaming your brother. Goodness, I know how protective he is! Will would do anything for you, even something so against his principles as lying."

Sighing loudly, Ana nodded her head. "Yes. I know he hated having to do it...especially when...well, when..." She stopped and changed directions. "Nothing was his fault, of course, but boy, did he blame himself anyway. Everything kind of went back to normal after Will returned. I'll admit, I was selfish; I was so happy that he was back. We made it through one school year with no major problems-Will had gotten the business back in hand, in fact had made it stronger. With Will around I became...more confident. I joined the choir at school and my grades went up again. I think-I think because I was doing so well, Will let me go to the Julliard summer camp." A smile paused her words, as Ana obviously recalled an amusing memory. "That and the fact that I begged Will at least twenty times a day until I think he finally got sick of hearing the words and agreed."

An unbidden smile came to her face, through the pain of Ana's confession, as she pictured in her head the young Ana pestering Will to no end. What an ideal older brother he was.

"I had been in New York for a couple of weeks and it was great-I was learning so much and surrounded by amazing musicians. But...I got homesick. I'm sure George took one look at me and knew I'd be easy to manipulate." The bitterness was evident in Georgiana's voice and it pained Elizabeth. She was such a lovely and kind young woman-bitterness did not suit her.

Sitting down next to Ana again and taking her hand, Elizabeth explained, "You know that's what he does, don't you? It says nothing about you...it says everything about him. He's not a man. He's a boy. And he can only prey on people in their weak moments. That doesn't mean that you were weak."

Ana, who had been looking down at her feet, suddenly searched Elizabeth's face. Her features were sincere and there was only a slight pinching around her jaw to betray her anxiety. But then she looked into her eyes. Elizabeth didn't believe a single thing she was saying. Ana knew it absolutely. She hadn't spoken in the first person. And her eyes betrayed skepticism.

"I know, Elizabeth. I know that I'm not weak." Again came the bitterness, in the form of a dry laugh. "Oh, believe me, there was a long time there when I blamed everything on myself. I still do sometimes..." Gently shaking her head a few times, Ana continued. "When I saw George, he was sitting in the auditorium of one of my classes. That smile...when he smiled at me, I felt like I was back at home. He took me out to lunch that day. Nothing happened, just a meal and general talk. But I made him promise to come back the next day and see me. He was so handsome and so old...all the girls were so jealous of me. It made me feel good to not be that shy, pitied girl anymore.

"George won me with kindness. He told me that I had enormous talent and that he saw great potential in me. He wanted to be my manager, to help me get a career. He...he said he loved me, that he hadn't been able to forget since seeing me at the Reynolds. I-I...I'm ashamed to say that I believed every word."

Elizabeth was biting on her lower lip so hard, she drew blood. The metallic taste was completely ignored as her heart wrenched at Ana's pain and her own. It just didn't seem fair that George had been able to do this to both of them...to place these fears into their lives...to change the way they lived their lives. It just wasn't fair.

"I would have done anything for him. He asked for money; I gave it to him. I gave him a lot. He wanted me to keep our relationship a secret; I listened. He wanted me to play for certain parties-keeping all the money for himself; I did. I was so stupid to think that he cared for me-a sixteen year old girl.

"And then...then at the end of the summer, I almost did something I am so humiliated at, Elizabeth. George told me I would have a great opportunity in California, that he had a record deal for me and I could live with him in his mansion in LA. I knew if I didn't, he'd be out of my life for good and I just-I just couldn't stand having someone else who loved me leave. So I said yes. He made me promise that I wouldn't tell my brother, that it would be a surprise to call Will once I was in Los Angeles. I didn't feel comfortable about that, but George was so much more important to me than Will at that moment. Still...I did call him. Not to tell him about our plans, but just to hear his voice. And something must not have seemed right."

The grip on her hand was actually beginning to hurt and she glanced up at Elizabeth in surprise. Her sister-in-law looked absolutely ill.

"Did he stop you? Oh, please tell me that Will got there in time." She was gulping for air as she worked hard to hold her tears back.

"Yes, Elizabeth. Yes, he did," Ana stated quickly, almost soothingly. "He made a surprise visit to camp and caught me with my bags packed. I couldn't lie to him like that...no matter what kind of a hold George had over me. Will was absolutely silent and still when I told him, but grabbed my arm, picked up my suitcases, and took me away."

The sigh of relief was audible. A tear freed itself from Elizabeth's blinking eyes and trailed down her cheek. "Thank God."

Ana nodded her agreement. "It wasn't until later, when I was safe at home, that Will told me everything. It hurt-it changed me-to understand that George pretended he loved me for revenge and my trust fund. I was devastated. And so ashamed. I knew I would probably never trust anyone ever again."

"How old were you?" Elizabeth whispered, staring over Ana's shoulder.

"Sixteen."

The tremor that went through Elizabeth startled Georgiana. The older woman was huddled on the bed, her arms crossed over her stomach, as if she was in physical pain.

"Elizabeth?" Ana questioned tentatively. "Are you all right?"

Taking a few shuddering breaths to calm the rage that had suddenly filled her, she nodded. Ana was then surprised when Elizabeth unexpectedly reached out and embraced her-holding her tightly within her arms, but gently as if she was trying to comfort. The tears came for both of them, although Elizabeth successfully kept them in check-blinking her eyes and biting her lip. Then the question came. Elizabeth tried to think of something else-anything else-but it kept repeating inside her head. Letting go of Georgiana slowly, Elizabeth knew she had to ask it.

"And..." her voice came out as a croak and she had to try again. "And Will...did he-"

"Will took care of Wickham. There was nothing legal he could really catch him on. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what happened. All I know is that this time, if he understands what is good for him, Wickham will never bother me again." Glancing carefully at Elizabeth, Ana saw that she was absently nodding her head, her question obviously not answered. Oh, Elizabeth. If you only understood how much Will loves you. Nothing George could have done would ever change that.

"But did Will...did he think any-any less of you?"

Ana nearly laughed. Just thinking of her brother's reaction-the complete opposite of Elizabeth's fear-was enough to bring a smile to her face. "No, Elizabeth. No, he didn't. Let me be frank with you here, if Will hadn't been there, I'm not sure I would have made it. He was kind when I needed compassion, funny when I needed a laugh, serious when I needed a cry. He hugged me, he told me he loved me seventy times a day, he held me when I sobbed. It was not my fault, it was George's-and there was no way Will was going to blame me, or let me blame myself."

"But he's your brother! You're his little sister...he would have to..." Elizabeth's words trailed off as she suddenly stood up, shaking her head almost viciously. "There is no possible way he would be able to accept my weakness." Turning abruptly to face Georgiana, Elizabeth changed her mind. On a whisper she murmured, "I wouldn't let him accept my weakness. I can't accept it myself."

"It wouldn't be like that, Elizabeth! You know that my brother is an incredibly caring man. He loves you." She knew her words sounded like a plea, but she couldn't help herself. Elizabeth didn't believe one word of the comfort she had given. "It doesn't work in a different way for you than it did for me! If I'm not to blame, then you're not to blame."

But Elizabeth's back was to Ana. A strong, hard back that was not going to turn, was not going to accept the wisdom in her words. In a way, Ana understood. She had been there. The only difference was Will. She had had someone to bully it out of her-to make her see no other possibilities except her victimization. Elizabeth had obviously turned to no one, but kept all her pain bottled up inside for so long. The urge to hug her, to cry with her, to shake her was strong...but staring at Elizabeth's back, Ana understood it would be useless to try. She just wasn't ready.

"Elizabeth, I-"

"If you would excuse me," Elizabeth interrupted quickly, "I've got to change. My taxi will be here in any moment. I don't want to be late."

Nodding with sadness, Ana stood up and made her way to the door-unable to say anything that would help. Pausing in the doorway, she bit her lip and turned back. She had to at least try one last time. "I know you don't want to hear anything more...that you have a lot to think about...but please, Elizabeth. Just remember that my brother loves you. He loves you so much."

Stepping into the hallway and closing the door softly behind her, Ana leaned back and sighed slowly. There was no way anything that George might have done would make her brother feel less about his wife. She knew Will could get Elizabeth through her past. She just hoped Elizabeth would let him.

It wasn't until later, after Elizabeth had slipped out the door with only a few words and hug and kiss for Leah, that Will questioned his sister. He was holding onto Leah's fingers and helping her walk along the tiled kitchen floor when he suddenly looked up at her, as if the query had just come upon him.

"Sweetie, what did George say? What did he want?"

Ana was silent for a few moments, her lips a grim, hard-pressed line. "He asked for Elizabeth, Will. He wanted her, not me."

Continued in Next Section