Epilogue

She saw him stretched out on the couch in his fleece navy pajama bottoms and a white tee shirt, looking over a Greek newspaper in wire-rimmed glasses. He had a countdown on in the background and her heart swelled. My husband. She came over and sat over his legs, gingerly, careful of the papers strewn around. He put down his newspaper and grinned at her, "Mrs. Darcy."

"Mr. Darcy. How are you this morning?"

"Very well, my dear. Very well indeed."

"Anything cool happening in Greece?

"Maybe we should go outside and look."

"You know I want to," but she stretched beside him and layed her head on his chest, counting the beats. He wrapped his arm around her and breathed in deeply. She grabbed a paper off the floor, The Times and started reading, Darcy scanning it over her shoulder. After they had flipped through all the front page stories, Elizabeth put the paper back on the floor and sighed, "So we've been on our honeymoon for how many weeks now?"

He thought. "Three weeks almost"

"Is it okay to act like an old married couple? Or do you think we're headed towards divorce?"

"We don't act like an old married couple. Do you think old married couples spend a month in Greece, sunbathing nude?"

"We haven't sunbathed nude yet. You keep saying we're going to do that, but we never do. All talk, no action."

"You'll see. I have it all planned. And just because we enjoy reading the paper in the morning-"

"Even on our honeymoon in Greece-"

"Doesn't mean we're not a passionate couple."

"You're right, you're right. I totally agree."

"Good." He hugged her closer to him.

"But maybe we should consider the fact that you're in your glasses-"

"I thought you said you liked my glasses-"

"I do. I was being serious when I said 'I love it when you wear your glasses'"

Darcy nodded and she went on, "We're in our pajamas at noon. And not our cute pajamas."

"Well go put on your cute pajamas."

Elizabeth made a noise. "In a real honeymoon we have something sexy on anyway. Not cute." Darcy nodded again in agreement. "And we'd be getting ready to do something sexy, like going sunbathing…instead of reading the paper."

Darcy smiled slightly and rubbed her 'Greece is Where I Want to Bes' tee-shirt clad back affectionately. "So what would we be wearing in this fantasy-honeymoon then?"

"I don't know, like I guess I would have lingerie on." She thought for second and looked around, "Probably that lacy black thing Jane got for me."

Darcy made a face.

"What? I like that. I look good in black."

"You do, you do. But this our fantasy honeymoon and your wearing black lace? That's boring. How about the red thing I got you?"

"The teddy? No way, man, that's ugly-"

"Hey-"

"Okay, okay, it's not ugly…it's just not something I feel comfortable in. It has garters and" she dipped her voice to whisper "-no bottoms."

Darcy laughed loudly, "I know. Easy access."

"You're gross."

"Well, what about that black and pink one…with the velvet bits?

"The sheer black-"

Darcy nodded.

"With the light pick edges?"

Darcy nodded eagerly. Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Okay."

"Great. You look really good in that."

"Thanks." They smiled at each other. And then Elizabeth went on, "And no fleece for you. You have to have something more honeymoonish on too. Like-"

"Well, I would just be naked." It was Elizabeth's turn to make a face.

"What? I thought you liked my body." He looked offended.

Elizabeth reached up and moved her fingers through his hair, making it stick out the all directions of a compass rose. "I do. Just not for lounging around. How about boxer briefs?"

"Whatever"

"Will-" she shook her head. "Darcy," she changed and glanced at his reaction. He only rolled his eyes. She continued, "Come on. I really like your body. It's very nice." He looked at her. "No it really is. It turns me on a lot."

Darcy grumbled good-naturedly, "Okay dark grey boxer briefs."

"Perfect," she gave him a quick kiss on the mouth.

She lounged against the back of the couch and rubbed her hand over his stomach, "Very nice body," she murmured. Darcy closed his eyes and shifted a little. Elizabeth leaned over and whispered, "My old man,"

She started to get up, but Darcy pulled his arms around her, pushing his hand lightly under her tee shirt. He shifted over and she curled up next to him, his chest against her back. He wrapped his hand over hers and was still.

Darcy, she had realized, hadn't undergone such a dramatic transformation at all. He was a little more sociable, yes. And less apt to glower and scowl at everyone in his path. But when she looked back he had always been this gentle. He was confidently gentle, which allowed Elizabeth's defenses to be swayed away and she could follow his lead and be happy because she knew he would follow hers when she asked for it. It was her that had changed the most. The parts of her self that she loved had stayed and grown but the rough patches, she felt, were refined the more she was with him. She loved herself more for it and she loved him even more for that.

"You weren't calling me an old man last night," he said in a low voice with his lips next to her ear, breaking her thoughts.

Elizabeth turned to face him. Their noses almost touching. "I knew it would hurt your feelings,"

Darcy put his fingers through her hair, "Always joking,"

Elizabeth didn't answer, but closed her eyes, feeling content and warm and happy.

"But it doesn't matter because I know what you really called me last night."

Elizabeth's eyes flew open, "I was joking! I mean, I just…it was a joke. Don't repeat that ever and don't expect me to say something like that ever again."

"Wait…I'm a little fuzzy on what exactly was said. Tell me what was it you said, because I'm not sure I remember."

"Darcy- you know- come on." Her whole face was red. "This isn't fair. It was a joke. You know why I said it."

"So it was like I thought. You did call me a young, virile stallion."

"I did not say virile or young."

"But you did call me a stallion."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Lizzy, don't be embarrassed."

"I was just joking. Answering your question at dinner just a little later."

His brow furrowed, "It didn't sound like you were joking. It sounded like-"

"Come on," she whined, pulling away from him, "I don't want to talk about it. I just," she landed on the floor with a thump, the sofa proving too narrow to play around on.

"Lizzy, are you alright?"

She scrambled to get up, rather ungracefully. Darcy stepped off the couch, took her hands and lifted her up to standing, following her wrists to her arms, wrapping them around his neck and stepping to close to her. "I love you. Very, very much."

"Fitz," she said, using the name she was only allowed to use in private, or at least very quietly, when Darcy wasn't the right kind of name for the moment. "I lurve you." She stretched out the lurv and he laughed softly against her. A laugh never ruining their moments, only making them. They would laugh through their lives together, content to be with each other, to keep loving what they found with each other.

……………………………………………………………………

Jane and Bingley remained happily married. Both so content to be with each other, compromise in each argument was inevitable. They had six children and summered in the French countryside amoung lavender fields and grape-filled vineyards.

Lydia graduated high school and moved to New York. She is now Nurse Fern in the long running soap opera, All My Children. She is currently dating her costar, George Wickham. It was fate, what can I say?

Mary became a music teacher and was married young at 21 to her music tutor; much to the happiness of her mother.

And Kitty went to Harvard; much to the surprise of everyone in her family. Who knew Kitty was so smart when Lydia wasn't around?

As for our dear Darcy and Lizzy: Lizzy eventually got her PHd and decided she wanted to write short stories and teach summer school. You can see her published in Zoetrope and The New Yorker today. The Darcy's commuted between Philadelphia and Pemberley. But lived most of their lives in Pemberley with their own trees and grass and crickets and three beautiful children and complete marital bliss, punctuated only by a two week trial separation after a particularly nasty argument about global warming. Happily, however, she never made the comparison between Fidel Castro and Darcy again.

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So, that's it, then. That's everything. Hope you enjoyed it. It was cheesy enough, haha. But I know I like it, I just hope you do. Review, review, review!