Beginning, Previous Section, Section III

Chapter Ten

Posted on Thursday, 27 January 2005

Lizzy sat in her chair with her eyes closed and the lights off, and considered calling Jane or Matt to beg off Fratelli's. It wouldn't be that hard to come up with something believable as an excuse. Taking a warm bath and crawling into bed sounded much better than a loud restaurant, but at the same time, she wanted to see Matt and Meegan and give them her congratulations. Matt and Meegan would certainly expect her there. First of all, she had pushed them together, and secondly, they were her family.

She figured she would lie low for twenty or thirty minutes, then change into comfortable clothes and spend an hour at the restaurant before returning. She already had eaten and she certainly wasn't hungry.

That sounded like a workable plan. She moved from her chair to the couch to stretch out and close her eyes again. She was thinking about the ride to the baptism at St. Michael's. She originally thought she might be apprehensive, but talking with Dr. Darcy on the way had relaxed her and kept her from dwelling on it. She had begun to feel much more comfortable with him, talking about tree houses and his mom and even his thoughts on the Bill Collins situation. She really believed that he might be enjoying his day, too. He had even made a joke or two!

But there was no mistaking his behavior as the day wore on. And if there was any doubt, his refusal to go to Fratelli's when his cousin called was proof-positive. There could be no misapprehension about that! He had even lied about working to get out of it.

Lizzy wanted to wallow in unhappiness for a little more, and thought about Dr. Darcy and his opening of car doors for her, and his intelligence and his smile. She thought about how much she would have enjoyed continuing their day into Fratelli's Restaurant. She liked being with him. She liked talking to him and being listened to by him. She liked teasing him. She liked not being alone. She liked not being alone and being with William Darcy.

Lizzy tried to re-live every second of their day together, and she put all of those thoughts into a big, imaginary box labeled, OBLIGATION and closed the lid of the box. She consoled herself with this, "At least Mama didn't know I went to a party today at a mansion with a doctor."

Keeping her eyes closed and taking her mind off of her mother, Lizzy remained on the couch and felt one, warm tear roll down her cheek. It was just a polite invitation issued out of a gentleman's obligation.

She felt tear number two roll down and sat up. She walked to her bedroom. She found a pair of jeans and cream-colored sweater set, and re-did her hair and make-up. Elizabeth transferred her things out of her fancy Prada purse back into her black Coach bag and walked to the kitchen for her BMW keys. They were right where she had left them: sitting on Dr. Darcy's prescription for Darvocet and the paper with his phone numbers on it, near the kitchen phone. She swiftly placed the slips into a drawer and locked the apartment door behind her.

William Darcy had remained in his SUV for fifteen minutes after saying goodbye to Elizabeth. He sat with his car keys in his hand and couldn't make himself put the keys in the ignition. He just wanted to sit.

How he wanted things to be different! He wanted to watch Elizabeth fall out of his truck again and catch her, and he wanted to show her more of the haunts of his youth. He wanted to watch her play with Riley and sit next to her at dinner tables. He wanted to take her to his own home.

Darvocet/CT/Spend The Night Man was a lucky soul. She was probably on the phone with him right now making plans to see him...to be with him.

Enough. Darcy pushed the key into the ignition and made his way home to Barrington Hills.

At Fratelli's, Saturday night was in full swing. The lady at the door recognized Lizzy and asked if she was there for the "party table." Lizzy nodded and the hostess led her to a large table in the back. Meegan and Matt both saw her and jumped up to embrace her.

Matt shouted, "You never answer your phone, do you?

"I certainly answer my phone, but I screen my calls carefully. Sorry." Lizzy sought out Meegan's left hand and whistled, "Good job, Matt. I am proud of you! You get an A+ on ring shopping. Do you like it, Meegan, or should we exchange it for something a bit larger? We can get a sling out of the ER so you won't get a sore shoulder from wearing it!"

"Well," started Meegan, "he is a doctor. I could probably find something a little more twinkly. We could look tomorrow!"

"Well!" Matt scorned in mock-indignation.

Elizabeth crooned, "I am so happy. Are you both more than sufficiently thrilled?" Lizzy wrapped her arms around both of them again, and they squeezed back. This is so good. You guys are both so good. So good together."

"Are you... crying, Lizzy?" Matt said as his eyes opened wide.

"Of course, I am crying! What self-respecting matchmaker wouldn't have tears at her first official, successful engagement? This more than makes up for what I tried to do for poor Debbie.

"After what you did to poor Debbie, we are lucky indeed, Matt!" sparkled Meegan.

"Debbie was just overly picky. Brian was a very attractive man. How was I supposed to know that he was a little...unique? Make one little error and people remember it forever," Lizzie mumbled with an embarrassed look.

"Unique! I'll say unique! You tried to set her up with a priest! A priest!" Matt could barely speak by now.

Elizabeth frowned in mock horror, "He WAS NOT a priest ANY LONGER; he had given up his priesthood years earlier.

"LIZZY, He had been HER priest...he had given her first communion!" Matt was near hyperventilation by now.

"I still think it might have worked." Lizzy was laughing so much it was starting to hurt. She continued, "He was quite a successful attorney! And he was... very good... with people. He...he...he...was very...spiritual. He looked phenomenal in black! He was...bilingual"

Matt choked, "In Latin, Lizzy. In Latin!"

Meegan had to wipe the tears off her face. The three of them wore matching scarlet faces. Matt kissed Meegan's slightly salty face and turned to hug Lizzy again..

"It still wasn't my fault," Lizzy laughed.

They slowed down their laughter and sighed in contentment. Meegan rubbed Lizzy's shoulders, and said, "As far as I am concerned, Lizzy has redeemed herself, and we should overlook some of the damage, I mean, helpful efforts, that were inflicted on her victims...I mean friends."

"That felt good to laugh that hard," Matt sighed happily. "What can we order you, Lizzy."

"I think I'd just like a pop. You can take me someplace some other day... to Morton's steakhouse or better yet, Le Francais."

"Oh, very shee, shee, la, la," murmured Meegan. "I think we should take her, don't you think, Matt."

"Definitely. I'll be happy to drive her, and she can pay if we go to Le Francais. Your ring has me quite penniless at the moment."

Lizzy sat down and absently rubbed her forehead. Matt sat down on her left and Meegan on her right. Elizabeth looked at both of them with a sincere look of satisfaction and pride in her accomplishment.

"Head hurt?" Matt whispered as he leaned over to her.

"Only because I laughed so hard. I think my whole body hurts after laughter like that, but it feels good, too. I think that kind of belly laugh must be good for you."

"I didn't get the CT report yet; I'll look in the computer tomorrow."

Lizzy responded, "I can look it up, too. I'm working 7 to 7. I'm going to run to the bathroom; can you order me a Pepsi with lime if the waitress comes back while I'm gone?"

"Sure, Bennett. Do you want something else?"

"Nope, I'm full. I had...dinner."

Meegan and Matt watched her walk to the ladies room and knew they were lucky to have Lizzy in their lives. They squeezed each other's hand without saying anything.

When Dr. Darcy hit the remote control to open the garage door, he made up an agenda for his evening off. He would change out of his suit, climb into comfortable clothes, and settle on the couch with the latest JAMA and read. If the Journal of the American Medical Association couldn't fill his mind, he could call Dr. Olivera and see if things were quiet at the hospital. He would be so busy that he would squeeze out anything that shouldn't be there. All it required was concentration. Piece of cake. He was known for concentration.

Lizzy finished her drink and managed to mingle with Charlotte and Candace and her soon-to-be husband, Brennan. Their wedding was fast approaching. She sat down near Jane and Dr. Bingley and it took them a full five minutes to notice she was sitting across from them. Before they noticed her, Lizzy rested her head on her left fist and watched them talk like she was watching a tennis game, looking left and right and left and right. All she could do was watch. It was Dr. Bingley that saw her first and he gushed, "Lizzy, it is so nice that you could come!"

"Yes, I'm glad you finally noticed me. I've been here for forty minutes waiting for my dear sister to see me, and I was ready to get up and leave."

Jane sputtered, "You have not been here forty minutes, and you know it.!"

"Alright, alright. I've only been here five minutes." Jane got up and walked around the table. She leaned into Lizzy and wrapped her arms around her. "Okay? How was the funeral, I mean baptism? How was the whole thing?"

"Fine. I'm tired, though. I'm going to stick around here for just a bit and then go home. How is your evening? Looks like things are going swimmingly, on this front."

Jane took Lizzy's hand and they sat down near Dr. Bingley. "Lizzy, Charles and I were talking about going out dancing with Matt and Meegan after while. Candace and Brennan might come; they're tired though. What do you think? I know you've had a long day, but you love to dance. Would you go?"

"I don't think I have ever turned down dancing, but this time I am. I have to work at seven a.m. Where are you going?" Lizzy replied.

"Chad's," Jane and Charles answered simultaneously.

"You picked the best spot. Some of you people lucky enough to have tomorrow off should have fun," Elizabeth teased.

Charles corrected, "Actually, I'm on call, but apparently Jane gets to stay home and read the newspaper and relax."

"Stay home and relax? Never. I have a list a mile long of things to do, starting with running and ending with housecleaning, but then again, I did plan on reading the newspaper, so you are kind of right," Jane interjected.

The three of them talked about food and dancing and Matt and Meegan. Jane looked so relaxed and comfortable with her company. She was normally fairly shy, thought Elizabeth, but she looked completely at ease tonight.

Lizzy looked at her watch, and announced, "I'm going to go, and leave you to the rest of your evening. I just need to say goodbye to Matt and Meegan. It was nice to see you again, Dr. Bingley. Hopefully, you won't be called in tomorrow and you can have a leisurely day off."

He shook his head immediately, and with the clearest, kindest eyes said, "Lizzy, please call me Charles. Please?"

"Absolutely, Charles," grinned Elizabeth, and she made her way to Matt and Meegan who were chatting with Charlotte.

"I'm outta here, guys. Seven will be here before I know it. Have a great time," Lizzy half shouted in the rising din of the restaurant."

Matt rubbed her shoulders and said, "We were hoping you would go to Chad's with us in a bit. Continue the party in a different venue?"

"Sounds like a good idea, but I'm tired and I'm going home. Meegan, you have a good time. Love you. Bye."

They walked her out to her car and repeated their goodbyes. Lizzy turned on her headlights and merged into traffic from her parking spot. As soon as she was out of view, she inhaled and forcefully exhaled. She didn't need to be smiling at a party any longer. The privacy of her own car was comforting..and liberating. She wanted to be alone.

She climbed into bed and held a pillow up against her. She looked at her alarm clock and noted the time. She wanted her friends to be having a good time. As much as she loved them and had wished for their happiness, she wanted to be happy, too. She saw Dr. Darcy in her mind. Obligation.

After many conflicting thoughts of her day, she reached over to her nightstand and inserted a CD into her little stereo. She pressed the advance button until she reached Track 11 of her new "Phantom of the Opera" soundtrack. With sleepy eyes and a heavy heart, she listened to Track 11 over and over. She dubbed it her theme song: "Learn to be Lonely."

At seven a.m., Lizzy listened to report at the nurses station and made notes of all the orders that needed to be done. She was glad it was a busy day in the ER. Lizzy didn't stop running from room to room for most of the morning, and finally took two minutes to down a cup of tea. She was hoping it would be a busy day. She needed to be occupied.

She liked the group she was working with. She thought the best of all of them, and she liked harassing them with her particular brand of humor. Walking into one room, she found Matt trying to control himself and not laugh. She saw him biting his lip and she made a mental note to ask him later what was so funny.

As he walked out of the room, she asked, "What? What on earth is so funny?"

"This guy came in and he had this bloody mouth, and I looked and his tongue was almost bitten half off!

"Matt that isn't really funny."

"That's not why I was losing it. He said he had bitten his tongue."

Lizzy nodded her head, "And...."

He insisted that he had bitten his tongue, but the teeth marks are facing the wrong way!"

Lizzy covered her mouth to keep her laughing under control. "You mean that someone else bit his tongue half-off!"

"Yes, and he won't tell me who, and since his wife is outside, I think he will have a big problem if his wife comes to the same conclusion I did."

Lizzy didn't like to laugh at anyone in pain, but she did think this was one of those times when the ER was a fun place to spend time. She started laughing again, and put her hand up to her temple for an instant and then swiftly brought it back down.

Matt said, "Come on. Let's go check the computer for the CT report."

"I'll be there in a second. Hey, go to my office to get it. I don't want anyone reading over your shoulder at the other computers."

"Cool," Matt agreed.

In Lizzy's office, Matt entered his user name and password. He saw the screen he wanted and typed:

There were two Elizabeth Bennetts. One of them was eighty-one, and one was twenty-eight. The CT report had been dictated the day before and had the typical sections. The first described the technique used in the imaging. The second described the architecture of the brain, landmarks visualized, etc. The third was labeled "impressions." Matt scanned the top two and concentrated on this part:

...2.0 cm slightly ovoid mass with smooth borders in right temporal area...consistent with convexity meningioma....recommend further investigation with MRI and referral to neurosurgeon, otherwise unremarkable.

Lizzy walked in and read over Matt's shoulder as he was reading. She remained quiet.

Matt started talking, "Well, now I know why you are having headaches. I am glad that if you have something growing in your head it is a meningioma, a neurosurgeon's best friend!"

Elizabeth continued her silence. Matt continued, "Meningiomas are almost always benign. Lots of people don't even know they have them. They are pretty slow growing. Most just involve the meninges and not the brain at all. Let me make some phone calls."

Noticing that Lizzy still wasn't talking, Matt found her hand and together they kept scrolling through the computer screens. "This will be okay. Promise you, Bennett. It's going to be okay. We'll just take care of it, and then we'll all buy you expensive gifts you don't deserve, okay? Please don't worry."

Anyone walking into Lizzy's office would have wondered why Matt was sitting at her desk holding her hand with one hand, and dialing the phone with the other.

Even though he didn't need to be at the hospital, Darcy pulled into a physician's parking space and made his way up to L and D. He went through each patient's chart and seemed satisfied with what he saw. "Great," he thought. "That took all of fifteen minutes."

He rose from the charting desk to visit all six women and check on them. Dr. Darcy spent much longer in each room than he usually did. His patients were thrilled with his expanded visits. He just wanted to keep busy. "A busy mind is what I need," he thought.

Even after spending extra time with his patients, he still found he needed something to fill his day. He didn't know if Charles was working or not. He tried his cell phone to see if he wanted to have lunch. Darcy punched in the number and the call went directly to voice mail. Charles, turn on your phone!

Failing at getting Charles on his cell, Darcy tried his pager. After four minutes, Dr. Darcy's phone rang. He was agitated and picked up. He heard Charles' relaxed voice.

"Charles, let's have lunch. Are you free?"

Bingley laughed, "William, I can't believe you are paging me for lunch. Not that I mind, I am just used to being the one to suggest it. Give me five minutes, and I'll meet you in the cafeteria. I have to finish up."

"Fine," Dr. Darcy quickly responded.

Dr. Bingley was much more than five minutes and Darcy was frustrated. "What took you so long? I've been waiting."

"I had to take a patient to recovery and I stayed to watch him. Sorry."

"What has gotten into you, anyway? You are so antsy and cranky," Bingley muttered.

"I just have a lot on my mind. Humor me. Entertain me. What did you do yesterday?" Darcy demanded.

"Um, I worked for about five hours on L and D and did about four epidurals and three spinals and then I got called to the OR by some orthopedist that was a jerk. Luckily, I got pulled back to L and D and another guy got stuck with the jerk. Other than that, I went to see Jane Bennett at her office to see if she wanted tickets to the Aztec Art opening at the University of Chicago. And then at night, I went to Fratelli's with Jane and then we went dancing. Anything else you want to know Darcy...what I ordered...what I drank...?

Darcy wasn't listening.

He was watching Elizabeth Bennett walk in the cafeteria with a man in dark green scrubs, fanny pack and stethoscope. Bingley realized he had been talking to himself, and tried to see what had mesmerized Darcy.

Bingley saw that his cousin was staring at Matt and Elizabeth. Matt was carrying a tray of food, and Lizzy was choosing a table far away, in a deserted corner of the cafeteria.

Darcy was trying to see more of this person walking with Elizabeth. He seemed very quiet and serious. Lizzy, too, seemed subdued and not at all as she had been yesterday when playing with Sharon's baby...or when they drove over to the church...or when she shared about falling out of trees.

"Darcy. Darcy? DARCY!" Charles was almost shouting to get his cousin's attention. "What is wrong with you? You are in odd sorts this morning, my friend. You should have come to Fratelli's with us last night. You would have enjoyed it."

"I told you that I didn't want to go," Darcy almost snarled.

Darcy and Bingley sat in silence for a few moments. Bingley asked, "Are we going to eat anything for lunch, or are we just going to sit here and watch you be weird?"

Darcy answered by standing up and Bingley followed. What was I thinking? I came to work, where she works, to get my mind off of her! That made a lot of sense. Maybe I did it on purpose?

Both cousins made a salad at the salad bar and went back to their table. Just as Darcy was picking up his fork, he set it down. Elizabeth was talking to the coffee cart lady at the opposite side of the room.

The man that walked in with her was coming over...to them!

Charles got up and slapped Matt on the back, "Hey, Matt! It doesn't seem like it's been very long since we were out last night, does it? You must be exhausted, too. I'd like you to meet my cousin, William Darcy. William is an OB/GYN, but mostly does high risk OB upstairs. Matt, here, works with Elizabeth in the ER."

Matt smiled and said, "Nice to meet you."

Darcy looked at Matt and managed a tight, "Nice to meet you," in return.

Matt went on, "I am tired after last night, but it was fun. I just wanted to thank you for helping us celebrate. I saw you sitting over here and I thought I'd say hello," added Matt.

Darcy turned his eyes to look at Elizabeth. She looks stressed. Bingley was talking about something. Darcy didn't know what.

"Well, Lizzy and I have some stuff to sort out, so I'll let you continue your lunch. It was nice meeting you, Dr. Darcy."

"Yes, it was all my...pleasure."

When Matt was out of hearing distance, Darcy prepared to assault his cousin with questions. "This Matt, he was at Fratelli's last night? Fratelli's is that place you called me about?"

"Yes, I was talking to Jane in her office about the art exhibit and Matt came by to invite her to Fratelli's. He was desperate to find Elizabeth, but he couldn't. He asked Jane to keep trying her cell for him. Matt and I were introduced and he ended up inviting me, too."

"And this is the place you called me about...this Fratelli's place?"

"Yes, I wanted you to come us to dinner. Matt was throwing a little party...rushing to put something together. It sounded like fun. I didn't know what you were doing, and I thought you might want to come. Jane and I both thought you might want to come." Bingley looked in Darcy's face and couldn't understand Darcy's insistent manner.

"What was the party for? A birthday, what?" questioned Darcy rapidly.

"It was an engagement party," replied Bingley, who for the life of him didn't understand his cousin at all.

Darcy was trying to sort this all out and his frustration was growing. "Who is engaged? This party...Matt was throwing the party for an engagement. Who was the party for? Who is engaged?"

"Matt is engaged."

"Matt is engaged to whom?"

Bingley was flabbergasted by this interrogation and spoke slowly, avoiding multi-syllabic words, "William, Matt is engaged to Meegan. Matt threw a party. Matt invited Jane and me to the party. Jane and I went to the party. Jane and I wanted you to come to the party. You wouldn't come to the party. Jane and I went to the party."

"But...I was told that Matt loved Elizabeth. I don't understand," Darcy whispered. He had so many different emotions coursing through him; he was feeling dizzy.

"He does. I think Matt does love Elizabeth very much and I think it is mutual. Jane told me that Matt is closer than a brother to Lizzy and they are absolutely best friends. The reason Matt was so insistent on inviting Lizzy is that she fixed Matt and Meegan up. She played matchmaker and they really wanted her there."

Darcy's mind was racing. He still had many questions, but he needed to think. Matt loves someone else. Matt is marrying someone else. Matt loves Lizzy, too, but they are just friends. Lizzy fixed Matt up with this other person.

"Charles, did Elizabeth come to Fratelli's?"

"Yes, she did, but she didn't stay long."

They are friends, not lovers!

"Charles, think very hard. When did Jane finally get through on the phone to invite her to Fratelli's?"

"No idea. I can't tell you when."

Darcy was feeling better and worse at the same time.

He remembered Elizabeth's laugh as Mr. Bagley brought her her purse. Excuse me, Miss Bennett, but your purse is ringing.

Shortly after that that, Charles had called, inviting him to the party.

"I'm sorry. I do not want to go. I don't feel like Italian. Goodbye, Charles."

Darcy became nauseous as he conjectured and connected the fragments together. Did Elizabeth know that Charles was inviting him to Fratelli's. Did Elizabeth hear or understand any of this? She may not have heard anything of Charles' call. Even if she did, would she have known from his words that he was being invited to Fratelli's? If she did, what must she think?

"I can't go...I have to...work."

Darcy looked around to see if Elizabeth was still in the cafeteria. Both Matt and Elizabeth were both gone. Darcy choked out, "Charles, I think I really blew it. Tell me, what was Elizabeth like at the party?"

"She only stayed for a few minutes. She arrived late and was one of the first to leave. She seemed really happy for Matt and Meegan. She seemed okay. Jane thought she looked pre-occupied. We tried to talk her into going dancing with us afterwards, and she didn't want to. She told Jane she just wanted to go home because she had to work today."

"Oh, Charles, why didn't you make me go to Fratelli's?"

"William, I really don't know what's going on," Charles said as he shook his head.

"I need to find Elizabeth and talk to her right now."

Chapter Eleven

Posted on Wednesday, 2 February 2005

After eating a few bites of tasteless food in the cafeteria and drinking in Matt's wordless support, Lizzy walked back to the emergency department with Matt. She felt as if everything was surreal. She couldn't concentrate on conversation with Matt, and luckily, he didn't demand any.

On returning to the ER, she wanted to see how the tracking board looked. The morning had been a blur of activity, but they weren't busy at all now. Most of the patients triaged had been sent to Minor Care, and the remaining were either being seen, waiting for a room, or on their way to the chest pain unit for observation and telemetry. Lizzy didn't feel so guilty, knowing that they weren't swamped. Checking the order box, she made sure that there weren't any outstanding orders. Matt had done the same, and they both went back to Lizzy's office.

Matt was more than aware that Lizzy was alarmed and had decided what he would tell her in the calm privacy of her office.

"Lizzy, I know that you didn't want to find anything unusual in the CT report, but you know that we have people come through all the time with benign masses and good outcomes. Anyone would be worried, but everything is going to be fine. You have lots of people around this place that know what they're doing. No one is going to let anything bad happen to you. Plus, we're all too afraid of you to mess up. We wouldn't do anything that would get us on your bad side." He smiled at her and waited for her reciprocal grin. It appeared after a few seconds, small as it was.

He continued, "People get weirded out and panic when their CT comes back differently than they expected." He paused for a few seconds and went on, "Do you trust me? Do you trust me to help you get through this?"

"Yes, I trust you." Elizabeth gathered her thoughts for a few moments. "I know that meningiomas are almost never malignant. Benign or not, surgery is still surgery, if that happens. I'm working on the next steps. I didn't want to do the stupid CT in the first place, and now I'm sure there will be further testing. MRI and probably a tap?"

"I'd count on that at some point."

Matt gave her some more time to talk in case she wanted it. She did. "I'm a pretty private person and I'm not comfortable with my privacy being invaded, especially in a huge place like this. I know people mean well, and I don't want to sound ungrateful. I just like to process and trudge ahead without all the fuss, and keep things pretty close. People fussing around...that whole thing makes me nervous. You know what I mean?"

Matt nodded. "I understand." He then asked her some questions about family history and he asked if the headaches had changed at all.

After answering his questions, Lizzy looked at her office door and wondered, "Do you think we should go check and see if we're busy? I feel guilty sitting in my office on a patient care day."

"Don't feel guilty at all. We are simply discussing the health of an employee, an important employee at that. Don't administrators have to look out for their employees? Don't they have to conference with physicians?" Matt asked innocently.

"I don't think they get to discuss themselves. There's probably a rule about that. Let me just go out and check. If we're clear, than I'll be able to talk some more. Deal?"

"Deal."

Everything was still pretty calm at the desk and Lizzy allowed herself to return to her office and shut the door. Matt had moved over to Lizzy's desk chair and was typing at her computer. Lizzy sat in the guest chair across from him, watching him make himself at home.

Matt looked up and explained, "I'm just answering an email I got from a buddy at UIC, and he's worked on a lot of meningiomas. His name's Michael Glenn. He's done hundreds there, and he ran the neurosurgery clinic at Stanford before coming back home. He agreed with me that we need to get you into MRI, especially if you're symptomatic. He read the CT report and he's seen the films. He also thought you should probably get a tap just for the fun of it. If he's the guy we use, then he'll require it. I feel very comfortable with him. People send him patients from all over. He's a good guy." He let Lizzy absorb that. She nodded her head.

"Jacobs upstairs is excellent, also. I'd let you use him, too. I've seen his work, and he is obsessive-compulsive, always a nice trait in his specialty. Until he gets back to me, I think we should look at who's going to be the Indian chief in this? Both of those guys know me and would probably let me run pit crew for them. Usually a primary would hand this off to the neurologist, who would hand it off to a neurosurgeon. Since I don't think you have a primary right now, much as I told you to get one years ago, I can arrange what they tell me to, and make sure they get what they need report wise. They're still in charge; I'm just running around to make sure things get done."

Elizabeth looked at him intently, "Are you okay with that? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Shaking his head, he said, "I wouldn't have offered if I felt strange about it. I'm not doing any treatment. That's their department. I'd just be acting as a primary. Once you are admitted, if you are admitted, their word goes, but I would still be in the loop."

"Then I'm fine with that, too. Here's a question about minutiae. Do the neurosurgeons do their own taps? I don't think they've sent many over to us. The reason I ask is that if they want a tap, I'd prefer that you or maybe Singh do it, not a new resident from the neuro clinic"

"Thanks, Bennett. I'm much better than Singh, but at least I'm in the top two."

"Don't get conceited. It's not becoming," she scolded.

"I don't think it would be a problem to have the tap done here, it is just a matter of getting them a report. I will add it to the list of questions."

Matt started again, "We will have to get things on the books, insurance wise, kiddo."

Elizabeth sighed, "If we went through the University of Chicago, I would have more privacy."

"You're right, but it would be much harder for me to wield my power over there!" he quipped. "Seriously though, Lizzy, we are going to have to talk about your mom and sister and stuff."

Lizzy stared at a spot on her bulletin board behind Matt. "Jane will have to be brought up to speed slowly. She's smart, and when we tell her that these are almost always benign, she'll still freak out, but then she'll rise to the occasion. As far as my mom, you know her. Let's fill her in as little as possible. If we don't, she'll buy my plot and order my headstone. She'll drive me crazy and I don't want to deal with her hysterics at this point. That's probably mean, but I just don't want that. If the opportunity presents itself, we could just tell her I'm having some treatment for migraines."

"What about anyone else? Charlotte?"

"Charlotte is fine, plus she is calm and discrete. A bonus. I'll let her know. And Meegan, too."

"Anyone else?"

She thought about William Darcy and the night he came to the apartment, after the Collins' mess. He was caring and kind when he looked at her arms, and wrote her a prescription for pain. His hands were tender and warm. She fast-forwarded through yesterday's baptism and the reception and his distance at end of it."

Matt watched her and asked again, "Is there anyone else that you're okay with knowing for now?

She smiled at him and swallowed. "There's no one else I can think of." Both of them remained lost in thought.

"What's running around in that Bennett mind of yours?" he sighed and tilted his head.

"Oh, I'm just trying to remember my neuro rotation. It's been a long time. Meningiomas usually arise when?" she wondered.

"Usually around the forties to the sixties. Why?"

Elizabeth thought for a bit and said, "I wonder if one at my age would indicate malignancy?"

Matt met her stare and considered. He admitted, "I don't know, Lizzy. Jacobs or Glenn would probably be able to answer, but I'd be really surprised if it was. You are going to be fine. You're in good hands."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You okay for now?" Matt questioned.

"Yes," she sighed. "I, I... just didn't want to have an -oma."

"I'll wait for Glenn and Jacobs to email me back and see what they have to say about your -oma. They're both pretty good about getting back to me, Chickie."

"OK. And, please don't treat me differently, Matt. That will mess me up. No humming Wind Beneath My Wings when I enter a room."

"Lizzy, you have a relatively small, 2 centimeter meningioma with uniform borders. You are the same person that walked in here this morning. I'm not going to treat you any differently. I promise. Now, let me just carry you out to the nurses' station so you can work."

Elizabeth couldn't help but start laughing, and he gave her arm a hard pinch as he walked out of her office. She kicked his rear end when she knew no one was looking. She was going to leave the office shortly, but she gifted herself with ten minutes to be alone. She shut the door so she could think and process. Lizzy also wanted to spend some quality time with her computer and its excellent, high speed internet connection.

Darcy had exited the elevator and proceeded through the double doors to the emergency room. He wasn't sure of what he would say to her, but he knew that he wanted to speak to her, to see her right now. He glanced around the nurses' station and didn't see her immediately, but the department was large. She could be anywhere. He approached the desk and began, "Excuse me, please, but I was looking for Elizabeth Bennett. Could you help me find her?"

Candace and another nurse looked at each other briefly, and they both instantly remembered this man. He was the God-doctor Lizzy had dealt with a few weeks ago! They both noticed that he seemed much quieter and more reserved than the last time he had visited them. Lizzy must have set him straight! Each nurse could guess what the other was thinking, and they remained controlled, despite their urge to smirk.

Candace spoke up, "Lizzy is here, but I'm not sure where. Let me look around for you. It may take me a minute to find her, Doctor..?

"William Darcy."

"Thank you, Dr. Darcy. I'll be right back," Candace spoke graciously and professionally. Inside, she was cheering her beloved boss for teaching this man some manners. Snobby doctors were uniformly disliked, and when they met their match, as this one had obviously done with Lizzy, people cheered.

Candace noticed Matt dropping a chart off at the end of the opposite hallway, and asked him, "Matt, do you know where Lizzy is?

"She's still in her office, I think. She's...working on something. Is there a problem?" He knew Lizzy hadn't immediately followed him out of her office. Knowing her the way he did, he figured she was drinking something hot and searching the internet for information. That was just her way to "trudge through." He wanted her to have a chance to sort out her thoughts for a bit in solitude.

Candace answered, "I don't think it's a problem. Someone was looking for her. Do you think I should just take a message for her? If it was something major, trust me, this guy would let us all know it. I've seen him in action."

Matt rubbed his hands together quickly and said, "Why don't you take a message. She'll be done in a few minutes and she can take care of it then. She's got a lot on her plate right now."

"Alrighty, then," Candace replied and returned to the desk.

"Doctor Darcy, I didn't see Lizzy, but if you want to leave a message, I can put it on her desk. She's around here somewhere; she'll get the message soon."

Darcy inhaled slowly. He wanted to see her with all of his heart. Surely she must still be here. He thought quickly. "Um, yes, if you don't mind, I'd like to leave a message. May I borrow a piece of paper?"

"Certainly," Candace responded. She handed him a blank charting sheet with a smile and left him to compose his message.

He didn't want to write her a note; he wanted to see her and speak with her. If only they were back at Sharon's or in his car. IF only he could have yesterday back again, knowing what he knew today, knowing the truth about Matt.

Darcy started to write, but all he could muster was the first word, "Elizabeth." Closing his eyes in concentration, he tried again and again to shape his note. This was not going to work! He needed to see her and experience her again, and then he would have no shortage of words. They would come naturally. She wouldn't have to read them to know his heart or his mind. He could imagine her smiling at him, holding Riley and giving her little kisses.

Darcy had frustrated himself in his attempt at a message, and he carefully folded the paper into fourths and put it in his pocket. Candace made eye contact with him, and she said, "All finished, Dr. Darcy?"

"No, actually." He cleared his throat and nodded slowly." Thank you, though."

"You're welcome," signaled Candace as she leaned over to answer an incoming call.

Darcy capped his pen and was turning to leave when Matt returned to the desk. Curiosity caused him to linger nonchalantly. Knowing that this man had earned Elizabeth's deepest friendship made him much more interesting to Darcy. Knowing that he was marrying someone else made him delightfully and instantly more acceptable.

"Matt, doctor on the line," Candace said as she passed him the phone.

Darcy delayed his departure from the desk. He wanted to give Matt a slightly warmer greeting than he had bestowed earlier in the cafeteria, but realizing that Matt's attention was focused on the phone call, Darcy started down the hallway. He was trying to think where Elizabeth's office might be. He wasn't about to leave without checking there.

Matt was happy that Dr. Glenn was calling him. "Thanks for getting back to me. You mentioned you had already seen the report and the films. Uh, huh. Yes. Twenty-eight. No deficits, but severe headaches that are becoming more frequent. Okay, great. Tuesday at nine. Thanks, Mike. Yes, very special. Very special to me. See you Tuesday. Bye."

Darcy passed by dozens of treatment rooms and a number of trauma suites that looked more like operating rooms than anything else. Adjacent to those were clean linen supply rooms and a large break room. At the very end of the corridor, he spotted a door with "Elizabeth Bennett, RN,BSN,MSN" posted on it. The sliver of light pouring under the door let him know the office was occupied. He straightened his tie and knocked softly. He could hear a chair scraping against the vinyl tile floor. His heart jumped when she opened the door.

"Dr. Darcy! This is...certainly...a surprise. I thought this was your weekend off," Elizabeth stuttered. She wondered if she had left something in his SUV. Why on earth was he standing outside her office door.

"Elizabeth, I...I...was hoping that perhaps, if you didn't mind, if you weren't busy, that maybe we could...."

Blaring over Darcy's floundering voice was the intercom, "CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE 214, 214. CODE BLUE. CODE BLUE 214, 214."

Lizzy looked at him and said, "I've gotta go. I'm on the team." She literally ran down the hall alongside four or five others to the double doors that linked the ER to the cardiac observation unit, also known as the Chest Pain Unit. Matt was running the code and others were following his orders. Lizzie was recording everything on a chart as it was happening.

These resuscitations moved so fast that it was occasionally difficult to write with the same speed as the staff worked. Luckily all of Matt's verbal commands were repeated by the nurses and the respiratory therapist. There were seven people working feverishly in a small space. Matt called out, "I need two lines and I see one. Can someone get line two in right now?"

Someone responded, "Line two in."

Matt asked, "Who's recording, and who's called CCU?"

Lizzy immediately called out, "Bennett's recording and I paged CCU five minutes again. They're coming now."

"Thanks, Lizzy."

The resuscitation team worked for forty minutes to get a good rhythm on the patient, and finally, things looked stable enough to transfer her to CCU. Matt was coming down off the adrenaline rush and made sure to thank each staff person for their contributions. "That was a good code. Thank you for your great work."

Matt made a point of thanking people after each code, successful or not. He understood the pressures that fell on everyone's shoulders when their actions, or inactions, might mean the difference between a happy ending or tragic ending. When the patient did die after their best efforts, he found it even more important to thank the staff. He wanted them to go home knowing they had done all they could.

Lizzy was still transferring the code recording to the CCU charge nurse when Matt whispered, "When you are done, meet me in your office. I have some info for you."

She nodded her head and said, "Be there in a few minutes. Thanks." Matt walked down to Lizzy's door and saw Bingley's cousin standing against the wall. "Dr. Darcy? It is Darcy, isn't it?" Matt smiled as he attempted to jog his memory.

"Yes, you are right, William Darcy. Pleased to meet you again. I'm sorry, but I only remember your first name," Darcy said.

"Matt Myers. Were you looking for someone?" Matt thought he looked exactly like someone who was looking for someone.

"Yes, I was waiting for Elizabeth Bennett. She ran off to a code, and I didn't want to take the chance of missing her return, so I just thought I'd wait."

"She should be here any second. Why don't you have a seat in her office? I'm sure she'd rather you do that than stand up and wait," Matt offered while holding her office door open for him and ushering him to the guest chair. "It's small but cozy."

Darcy thought her office was very small but extremely organized. There were the obligatory policy manuals and training binders, but they shared space with striking picture frames filled with lovely photos of Elizabeth and those she loved. He was touched by the casual shots at a campground and those that showed her in elegant evening clothes at extravagant hospital fundraisers and soirees. His favorite was one of Jane and Elizabeth in front of a Christmas Tree with a banner that said, Cook County Hospital-Rush Medical College Staff Christmas Party 2003. Both sisters looked stunning in glittery evening gowns, but Elizabeth's piercing eyes leapt out at Darcy from the photo.

Matt stepped over the threshold to look for Lizzy when he saw her hurrying towards him. She was sure that Dr. Darcy had left and was surprised, again, so see him sitting in her office. "Hello, Dr. Darcy. I apologize for running away earlier. I'm on the code team. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, of course," Darcy said while trying very hard not to stare at her.

Matt said, "Lizzy, I've got to tap a kid. The peds resident still hasn't shown up. But I wanted to tell you that I heard from my buddy, and we're on for Tuesday at nine. Can you do that?"

Lizzy initially looked panicked, but she covered up well. Even though Matt hadn't said anything directly about her situation, she was very sensitive about any remote reference to it. "Tuesday is good. Leave me a message with the particulars, okay," she said briskly.

Matt excused himself to Elizabeth and Darcy, and he returned to his patient. Dr. Darcy thought Elizabeth looked a bit strained. "How has your day been, Elizabeth?"

She was totally confused with his appearance in her department, to say nothing of her office, and she smiled tightly, "It has been one of those days. You know how it is. Never a dull moment."

"My cousin Bingley and I had lunch today. He said he had a great time at Fratelli's last night," began Darcy.

Elizabeth visibly blanched at his mention of Fratelli's. She winced inside when her heart was reminded of just how much she had wanted him to go. Yesterday had felt so good with him, and then at the end of the day, the realization that he was just being polite was an anguishing surprise. It felt like a physical pain in her chest, but it always did, when you wanted something so much and it wasn't to be.

Remembering that choking feeling, she sat down behind her desk as a defense against any more nights holding her pillow thinking about Dr. Darcy. She would be strong behind her desk. She looked at Dr. Darcy and found her strength in words, "I'm glad that he and Jane had a good time. They appeared to be enjoying themselves. They went dancing afterwards, and my sister can dance. I hope your cousin wasn't exhausted!"

Darcy didn't want to talk about Charles, but maybe that was the way to steer the conversation the way he wanted. "He was tired, but he looked very refreshed at the same time."

"Well, that's good. Jane at least got to sleep in this morning. Did your cousin get called in?

"Yes, he did. I met him for lunch in the cafeteria."

Well, that certainly explains why Dr. Darcy was in the hospital on his day off.

She casually covered up her yellow legal pad with all of her questions she had written about her meningioma.

Darcy knew from her reaction to her word "Fratelli's" that his worst fears were confirmed. She had, indeed, known of Charles' attempt to get him to the restaurant last night. Smart woman.

"Elizabeth, I, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. I really want to talk to you about yesterday. I feel horrible about ..."

Lizzy interrupted with an invented smile, "Dr. Darcy, I don't know what you could possibly feel horrible about. It was a lovely baptism, Riley is precious beyond belief, and dinner was a delight. I hope that Sharon remembers it as the day she wanted it to be. My one hope was that Sharon was...comforted and happy."

He could sense that she was hurt, and he knew he must speak from his heart to fix it. "Elizabeth, I feel horrible because I made a mistake based on..."

She purposely cut him off again, this time her calm edifice starting to crumble, "Dr. Darcy, please don't feel horrible. I can't imagine why on earth you would feel horrible. It was such a lovely day, and I am so grateful that I had a nice person to drive me and I think it was a great day, and..." Her voice faltered as she felt a throbbing sensation in her temple. Without even realizing she was doing it, her hand went up and pressed against her that spot in her head that was pulsing. "It was a great day. Truly"

Dr. Darcy reached across the desk and placed his hand softly on her free hand and spoke deliberately and slowly, "Elizabeth." Now that he had her attention, he continued in a voice not much more than a whisper, "Elizabeth, I want you to listen to me for just a moment. I want to talk to you. I want you to listen to me." He waited to make sure she was listening. "First of all, are you having another cluster headache?"

She took her hand down and said, "It felt a little like the beginning of a cluster headache, but it is fading. It's fine now."

"Do you want some water? Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said with a softened and more honest voice.

"Elizabeth, I want you to let me finish what I want to say to you. Please let me finish. Do you agree?" He kept his hand on hers.

She nodded her head, knowing that she risked lowering her defenses, and that would be painful. She would pay a dear price for doing so, she knew, but being with him was too enticing. The ten minutes of not being lonely was worth the tears later.

"Okay, thank you for listening to what I want to say. The reason I feel horrible about yesterday is that I had a wonderful time, and I was under the impression, that is, I had overheard, that you were involved with someone named Matt, and because of that, I felt like I had to pull away from you at the end of the baptism. I was trying to...be a gentleman. I thought you were with someone else. I enjoyed the day very much, and if I had known that you and Matt were just friends, I would have gone to Fratelli's in a heartbeat."

Elizabeth was stone quiet. Even her heart had stopped beating. He looked at her with wide, honest eyes. She didn't know what to say. She stared back at him. They looked at each other like this for over a minute. Neither one flinching. Neither one attempting to talk.

"You thought I was in love with Matt?" She wrinkled her nose in amazement, trying not to giggle.

"Yes," he admitted, continuing to stare at her.

"You didn't go to Fratelli's because you thought I was in love with Matt?" Quiet laughter hugged all her words.

"Yes."

Lizzy pushed herself back in her office chair. "I had just assumed that you didn't want to go."

Darcy looked at Elizabeth intently, and then smiled. "I would like to suggest a do-over."

Raising her eyebrows, Lizzy said, "A do-over?"

"Yes, a do-over. I would like to pick you up tomorrow and have a do-over. Would that be possible?"

"Well, I suppose that a do-over might be nice," she said as she tried with all her might to hide the immense warmth spreading through her.

"I should be finished around 5:30. May I plan to pick you up around six?"

"Well, let me look at my calendar. Hmmm. Matt and I had planned to be in the hot tub at six, making out, but I imagine that six would be fine," Lizzie teased. She knew she probably shouldn't say that, but she couldn't resist.

Darcy cleared his throat, and said, "Well, try to be dried off in time, and I will come for you at six."

This time it was Lizzy's turn to be teased, and she appreciated the idea of mutual repartee. They both started at the sound of someone knocking on Lizzy's door. Lizzy stood to open the door, and Candace appeared. "Lizzy, Matt needs you to hold a kid for a tap. This girl is so strong, he wants you to do it."

"Tell him I'll be right there, Candace." She turned to Dr. Darcy and said, "I had better go. I have to go wrestle somebody. I guess I will see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, Elizabeth. Good luck with the kid."

"Thanks, I think I'll need it. Goodbye, Dr. Darcy."

"Goodbye, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth pulled the screaming child into position for Matt to do his lumbar puncture. He was right: this kid was strong. While she held the little girl tight, she thought to herself, "So, I go to sleep last night with a hopeless social life and no tumor in my head. Tonight, I'll go to sleep with a bit of a social life and a tumor. Only me. This could only happen to me.

Chapter Twelve

Posted on Sunday, 6 February 2005

Elizabeth was almost worn out after holding Matt's patient during her spinal tap. For a lethargic and febrile five year old , she was one strong adversary. It was challenging to hold her completely still, but Lizzy knew that Matt, actually all doctors, wanted a completely still patient during a tap.

While she subdued the child's arms and legs, she thought about the prospect of her own tap. She had acknowledged that she would be sent to have one, if just to measure the central spinal fluid pressure alone. Lizzy was happy that Matt thought he could do it; all the nurses marveled at his remarkable job of clean taps. Most of the doctors were skilled at them, but they had their fair share of bloody taps. The bloody ones were usually quite harrowing experiences for both patient and physician. Matt's were almost always clear.

Lizzy remembered telling him years ago that if she ever needed one, she would insist he do it. He had responded with, "If you ever need a tap, I'm running away from you immediately. Your backseat driving is bad enough, Lizzy, but I can just imagine what I would have to endure if I was tapping you."

She had laughed wholeheartedly, because she knew it was true at the time. She probably would have been that way, but now, after all their time together, she really did trust him.

Lizzy was back in the present and chuckled as she took off her gloves, gown and mask. Matt pulled his off and asked her what was so funny. She laughed and said, "I was just thinking about something you once said to me."

"What did I say?" Matt wondered.

"I was thinking back years ago when I told you that I would want you to do my LP in the event I ever needed one. I was remembering your reaction to my vote of confidence in your skill," Elizabeth answered.

"Ah, I remember that. I think I told you that I would run in the other direction rather than do a tap on you. I said there wasn't enough money in the world to make me do that," he smiled.

Lizzy looked at him with vast, genuine warmth and said, "But after all these years, you have no problem now, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course. You have proven your confidence in me. I imagine that I can get through the whole thing with only ten or twelve unsolicited comments or reminders from you!" Matt smirked.

They walked out the treatment room door together. He wanted to assure her again, and in her ear he said, "If you need one, I will do the best tap I've ever done. Just don't make me nervous!"

"Well, I was feeling pretty good about this whole concept until you added the "nervous" part," she added.

Lizzy and Matt continued to walk down the corridor together. Matt shook his head and groaned at Lizzy. She whispered to him, "Don't blow it. That's all I ask. Don't blow it."

"By the way, don't forget, Lizzy, we have an appointment at 9:00 am on Tuesday. I'll pick you up at your house."

Lizzy looked at him with a mixture of resolve and apprehension. She whispered, "And so it begins, Leonard Nimoy. And so it begins."

Darcy drove home from the hospital with his mind swirling happily. He drove much more contentedly than he had in the morning. How his outlook on life had changed in a few hours! Seeing her again had been a delicious treat, but even better than that, was speaking with her in her office. She had tried to deflect him so many times. He was glad that he had overcome her efforts and finally been able to speak to her, to shed some light on his motivations and actions yesterday.

He was sad, of course, that she had been upset about Fratelli's, but he was also cheered by it. Tomorrow's "do-over" would be his opportunity to share more time and more of himself, without the burdens he had carried yesterday. He had hidden so much of himself for so long. He had been alone so long, but Elizabeth Bennett had somehow challenged him, had sharpened him, had made him want to reach out...to share everything he had with her. No one had ever made him want that.

Darcy remembered his cousin Bingley tease him a few times about his loneliness. Bingley couldn't believe that a man like Darcy would ever be lonely. Clearly, he was surrounded by women every day. Many of them made it plenty obvious that they desired him. They would be more than happy to apply for the vacant position of "Mrs. Dr. Darcy." Darcy told him that it was like being a thirsty man on the open ocean in a life raft. Surrounded by what was missing, but nothing that felt right. Nothing that felt as right as she did.

Lizzy drove home and was grateful that Jane was still at work for two or three more hours. She loved her sister immeasurably, but there were still things she wanted to investigate on the internet in peace. Lizzy knew that she couldn't make Jane feel better about this new little glitch until she answered her own questions first.

She also wanted to think about William Darcy's visit. She almost fell over when she found him sitting in her office! Had he really thought that Matt was more than just her best friend? That would certainly explain why he seemed to pull away from her yesterday.

When Dr. Darcy had tried to talk about it, she had tried as hard as she could to prevent him. She didn't want to talk about it! Most people would have backed down, but he plowed through, not with confrontation in his tone, but with a soft, resolved, believable voice. His hand that he placed on hers was equally as believable and soft as his voice had been.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and remembered how his hand had felt. She had felt his touch before, but briefly. Each time had made her shudder inside, today's included.

She admitted to herself as honestly as she could: his touch and his voice, his eyes that looked straight into her soul, together with his commitment to being a gentleman, brought her an overwhelming sense of connection to him.

Elizabeth lightly rubbed her hand to recreate the sensation of his hand while she walked over to her laptop to study more meningioma/brain tumor websites.

With her heart and her head filling up with William Darcy, she wanted to read anything that would tell her that her smallish meningioma was nothing but an inconvenience...easily fixed and easily forgotten. She wanted it to be a temporary inconvenience: the common cold of neurosurgery or the root canal of endodontics. She contemplated tomorrow's "do-over" with him. She was growing more excited as she imagined what it would be like.

Life couldn't be that cruel; a person couldn't feel their life finally beginning, only to have it ruined by some disease process.

She thought of that for some time. She knew the answer. Of course that could happen. It did everyday. It happened to millions of people, just like her, everyday. Sharon and Riley came to mind.

Darcy poured himself a glass of wine after his long shower and sat in his study, with the lights down low. She wasn't in love with Matt! Would he be able to pass the time until tomorrow night? What would he plan for his "do-over?" This was important. What to do? Where to go? Think, man, think! He ran through a few ideas. Perfect! That would be perfect!

Setting his glass down, he reached for his phone. He knew what he could do. This might be good.

Elizabeth scribbled on her yellow legal pad. Her list of questions was growing by the minute. Some people believed ignorance was bliss, but for Lizzy, she craved information. Information equaled power. This Dr. Michael Glenn may not know what hit him by the time she was done with the questions she had for him.

From what Lizzy could tell, meningiomas were treated by a variety of means, mainly surgical resection and radio-therapy. Some were just carefully watched without any treatment at all!

Many more women were diagnosed than men, with researchers believing that hormonal receptor sites within the tumor being responsible for that. Lizzy was disappointed to learn that pregnancy could be very difficult for a woman if the tumor was found to be stimulated by progesterone or estrogen. Any type of medication that would cause the meningioma to enlarge would have to be avoided. If her tumor was receptive to those hormones, having a child could be very complicated. She tried to find more information on that. For every positive article about successful pregnancies and this type of tumor, there seemed to be a negative one.

She wrote on her pad, "If surgery, will meningioma be tested for tumor receptors? If yes, is childbearing out of the question? She circled this question two times, and put a star by it.

Elizabeth clicked off her computer when she heard Jane's key in the door. Her yellow legal pad was hurriedly tossed upside down on her bed with the door shut.

Lizzy skipped to the front door and hugged her sister. She wanted to embrace her with all the love she had. Since she was a child, her sister's arms had brought her peace. She squeezed Jane more than once with an unusual ferocity.

In the middle of this clinging hug, Lizzy's black sense of humor reared its ugly head when Jane asked, "Hey, my darling, what's new with you?"

Oh, Jane. This is going to be a long couple of weeks.

Lizzy wasn't going to answer at that point, "Jane, its not a matter of what's new. It's a matter of what's old; and what is very, very old to me is my love for you."

Darcy still wasn't exactly sure how his idea for the evening was going to pull together, but he left for his office early in the morning with a smile on his face. What could be better than a "do-over?"

He checked the appointment program at his receptionist's computer and saw today's schedule. Even if there were five or six patients that needed to be added onto the schedule, he could work through lunch and still be out of the office by 5:15 or so. He did remind himself that it was Monday. Mondays were somewhat of a wildcard, schedule-wise. Predicting the number of unscheduled "add-on" patients was difficult. He retreated to his private office and used this early morning time to clear off his desk as much as possible. He initialed lab results before they were put in charts, and read through sonogram reports so they could be filed as well. He flagged charts with notes for the front office and back office. Darcy wanted to be out at 5:15, and he was going to be.

Lizzy woke up and found she had quite a bit of energy for 5:45 in the morning, in spite of going to sleep very late. Settling down to sleep was difficult; her mind kept switching gears from questions on her yellow pad to what to wear for the "do-over."

It had been a long time since she had counted hours before this kind of meeting. Was it a date? It had all the markings of a date. He had told her he wanted to see her again after straightening things out about the Matt thing. He said he had had a wonderful time. It certainly seemed like a date. Yes, she decided. It was a date, not a social obligation from a gentleman. Her heart beamed. It was a date!

When she arrived at work later, she found an email from Matt reminding her of their appointment at 9:00 am at UIC. As if I'm going to forget, Matt. There were a few others from Human Resources to which she needed to reply. There was a silly one from a friend that wanted her to join her Bunko group. The last email was from KE Beard and the subject line caught her attention. It said, "William Collins." She didn't want to read it, but she knew she had to. It read:

Elizabeth, I have learned that W. Collins will be returning to his position effective next Wednesday. If you have any questions, please contact my administrative assistant at your convenience so we can talk.

Warmest regards,
Ken Beard

PS: I'm so sorry. I tried, Lizzy

Elizabeth didn't like reading about that jerk, but it was wonderful that she had such a great distraction at the end of the day. She would fill Matt in about Collins tomorrow and work out some strategy for handling him, but for the time being, she was excited about tonight. Lizzy knew she was 28, but she felt seventeen. She didn't mind that feeling a bit!

Darcy had another phone call to make regarding his outing with Elizabeth, and it took him a few tries to talk to an actual human instead of voice mail, but persistence paid off.

He did have to work through lunch to assure himself he would be finished in time to pick her up. That was perfectly fine with him. Three hours left! Magnificent!

Once Lizzy had finished all her responsibilities, she looked at the schedule to see who wasn't working tomorrow. She had good luck finding someone to take her shift on the first try. She tapped out a brief email notifying Human Resources that she would be using a sick day for tomorrow. Ordinarily, Lizzy would have just traded days with another nurse, but she didn't know if she could re-pay that day back in the near future. She didn't want to be unfair. "After all," Lizzy said to herself, "that's why there's sick leave. And I certainly have saved enough of that."

After tomorrow's absence was taken care of, she thought about going upstairs to confide in Charlotte about "her little glitch." Lizzy chuckled, "That's what I'll call it - my little glitch. That sounds so much better than mass or tumor or meningioma."

Unfortunately, Charlotte was in an accreditation meeting. The hospital was preparing for its accreditation review, and that was an immense stress to all of them. Federal and state reviewers would scour every detail of every department to see if all regulations and rules were followed. All hospitals underwent this review, and it was time for Cook County's. The review wasn't for months, but obviously the work had already begun.

Finally, finally, finally, it was five o'clock and Lizzy locked her office door to leave. When she returned home, she practically ran to the shower to start getting ready. She didn't exactly know what one wears to a "do-over," so she tried to wear something that would transition to just about any setting. And for that, she wore her little skirt and a plum colored little silk blouse with a square neckline. "Well, she thought, unless we are going bowling, I should be fine."

Darcy almost jogged to his car when he realized it was 5:30 already and he hadn't left the office yet. After driving a little bit too quickly, he was home but decided that he didn't have time to shower, but he did shave, and and confirm a plan or two with a conspirator. The last thing he needed to do was switch cars.

When he knocked on Elizabeth's door, he looked at his watch on one side of the door, and she looked at her watch on her side of the door. Six o'clock sharp!

Lizzy opened the door, and smiled with wide laughing eyes, and said, "Dr. Darcy, you are certainly prompt! When you say six o'clock, you mean six o'clock, don't you?"

Both of them realized this was the same, or nearly the same, way she had greeted him on Saturday. He held out his hand and asked if she was ready to leave.

"I'm ready to leave, but I have no idea where you are taking me. I hope you do."

"Elizabeth, I already told you. We are having a do-over."

They stood silently in the elevator. Elizabeth was wondering what he had in store, and William was trying to remember if this blouse was the same color of purple she had worn before. It had suddenly become his favorite, but only on her. Very few people could wear it with the same results.

The elevator's door to the parking garage opened, and parked directly in front of them, was Darcy's white SUV. To Lizzy, who was wearing a skirt this time, instead of slacks, it looked even taller and larger than ever. She had, for some reason, thought that tall Dr. Darcy would have brought a short Mercedes for a short Lizzy. "He must have forgotten how I fell out of it last time. I certainly haven't forgotten how I fell out of it."

Lizzy sized up that massive door as Dr. Darcy opened it for her, and she patted the side of it as a peace offering. "This truck is the enemy," she said to herself. She could almost imagine that haughty, new white truck laughing at her.

"Uh, well, up we go," she started.

"Hold on a minute, please," said Dr. Darcy as he produced a small step from the backseat and placed it on the concrete.

"Thank you, Dr. Dar...William. I was a bit perplexed about how to do this in a skirt. This will surely help."

In her mind, Lizzy didn't think the step would help at all if you were wearing a skirt. Perhaps in pants it would be better, but this was an exercise in amused absurdity. She noticed he had the faintest of grins in the corners of his mouth. The grin was barely there, but if she looked hard enough, it was there.

Now that he knew that Lizzy was not Matt's love, he took great, guiltless pleasure in placing his right hand on her small waist and wrapping the other hand around her palm and almost "inserting" her into the passenger side. When he saw her move her legs out of the way, he carefully shut the door and walked to the driver's side.

He helped her adjust the seat belt and proceeded to exit the parking structure. Lizzy didn't say anything immediately, but the thought occurred to her that perhaps he had brought the SUV on purpose! This "do-over" was turning into déjà vu-over.

Elizabeth asked, "How was your Monday, Dr. Dar..William? I'm sorry about the "Dr. Darcy" thing. I know you asked me to call you William. I just get so used to being at the hospital."

"I understand. I answer to almost anything. Depending on how their labors are proceeding, I assure you that I have been called many, many different things. I will try very hard to not address you as Nurse Bennett, though."

"Oh please, do not call me 'Nurse Bennett.' I have an aunt that really was called "Nurse Bennett" and she was the meanest creature in the world. I'm still afraid of her. There are whole generations of former patients that are still afraid of her," Lizzy grinned.

"Then it appears that if you remember to call me William, I will remember not to call you Nurse Bennett. Is that agreeable?" He turned to look at her at a red traffic light, and she held up her right hand as if she was in a courtroom and vowed, "I shall remember your name is William." The light turned green and he continued to smile as he pressed the accelerator.

"So, William, I would predict that you have little to no intention of telling me where we are going. Is that correct?" Lizzy asked.

"Well, you will know exactly where we are going when we have arrived," he said with a straight face.

"Thank you for your clarification. I appreciate it," Elizabeth clucked as they pulled off the expressway.

"We will, however be stopping shortly, Elizabeth," William announced.

"Really...then I will have to put on my thinking cap and watch and wait," she replied. Lizzy had already guessed where they were going. She recognized the exit he had taken immediately.

After a moment, he looked at her and asked, " Have you figured it out yet?"

She straightened the fabric on her black skirt with her hand and said, "Oh, yes. I know exactly where you are driving. You are taking me to St. Michael's Church, are you not?"

"Yes, you are right. I imagined you probably had figured it out." He looked satisfied and glanced at her quickly. How smart you are, Elizabeth.

He rolled into a parking space at St. Michael's and purposely didn't park near the area where any Collins memories were made. He was sensitive to her unease regarding that. Instead he parked where he had for the baptism. He quickly walked to the passenger side, and opened the door. She waited for him to produce the step, but he didn't. She had a look of light concern on her face.

He held out his arm and said, "Elizabeth, slide towards me. If you fall out, I will catch you, so please don't worry." As soon as he had said it, he placed his hand again on her waist and felt her through the silk. The fabric was very warm. He used his other hand to do the same and gently lowered her to the ground. He offered his arm and she took it. "For authenticity, we should be here for a baptism, but they weren't able to accommodate me on short notice. This shall have to suffice."

Entering the church, she saw a choir of about forty children about eight years old. Judging by what they were singing, she thought they were rehearsing for Christmas services. She had no idea what angels might sing like, but she guessed they would sound like these children. Darcy led her to the pew they had shared during Riley's baptism.

There were a few parents scattered throughout the church, but Elizabeth felt like it was just Dr. Dar...William and her in the church. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, and he did the same. "This is so wonderful. How did you know about this children's choir?" she whispered.

"Many years ago, I used to sing here on Monday nights. My mom was the director for awhile, and now my sister is the accompanist. She enjoys it. She is studying for her doctorate in musical theory and conducting. She is very talented."

"You are a proud big brother!"

"Very proud. She has worked so hard. She used to have such bad stage fright, but she's worked her way through it. I don't know how, but she did. I used to think I'd have to medicate her if she wanted to continue to perform, but we didn't have to do that."

"She plays beautifully. I wish I could play like that," Elizabeth whispered. "Oh, my favorite, Carol of the Bells."

After listening to the choir rehearse three more songs, the children took a break, and Darcy asked if Lizzy would like to meet his sister.

"I would be delighted, Dr. Dar..William."

"Oh, Elizabeth, you just missed being introduced as Nurse Bennett."

Georgiana met her brother halfway down the aisle and reached up to hug him. Elizabeth thought she must be twenty-three or twenty-four. William introduced Elizabeth, and Georgiana looked very pleased. For her part, Elizabeth thought William's sister was stunningly beautiful, very polite, and very shy.

Lizzy jumped when William almost shouted, "Good Lord, Georgiana, what is on your neck?" Georgiana's hand instantly went to her neck and she cringed.

He continued, "I'm sorry I scared you, but I saw this, this thing on your neck, and you have such fair skin, and I... was just concerned. Let me see it."

"William, Elizabeth will run out of this church if you overreact to such things. I simply burned myself with my curling iron. I'm sure it will heal very well. Now, Elizabeth, what do you think of our little choir?"

"This was such a wonderful surprise for me. I haven't heard such a nice choir in my life. Do they rehearse every Monday?"

"Unless it is a holiday, we are here Mondays at six. You are welcome to listen to us anytime you would like," Georgiana offered with a kind smile.

"Thank you so much. My sister would love it as well. We may end up being your groupies," Elizabeth said with twinkling eyes.

The children began to fill the church again after their break and Elizabeth excused herself to go back to her pew. William lingered for a moment with his sister. While he was hugging her, he whispered into her ear, "Regarding your curling iron burn, it wasn't a musician that gave you that massive hickey on your neck was it?"

Georgiana whispered back, "Yes, big brother, it was a musician. But you may approve. He was a violinist, after all. Now go back to your date."

Darcy realized that his little sister was indeed a woman now. He didn't know if he would ever grow used to that.

He joined Elizabeth and whispered, "We need to leave now. Is that okay?"

She smirked, "Lead me on."

He had to assist her again at the truck, but he had known that when he made sure to take it instead of the Mercedes. He had become very fond of helping her.

Elizabeth's stomach made a loud growling noise, and she turned red. "Excuse my stomach growling. I'm not as hungry as it makes me sound."

William's eyes shined like a little kids' and he looked at his watch. "Luckily for us, it's dinner time."

"Oohh, a cryptic reply. Where are we going? I know! I'll know when I'll know."

"Yes, that is my cryptic reply. You'll know where we are when we are there."

Darcy drove on as Elizabeth asked how long Georgiana had studied piano and asked if he played piano as well. He joked as he answered, "Georgiana has studied since age five, and I cannot play despite taking lessons for a few years. I can, however, do a beautiful c-section, whilst my sister cannot. So the familial talent is equal in intensity, but differs in distribution."

Elizabeth thought that that was a wonderful way to say that he, like herself, couldn't play piano, either. She giggled quietly and looked out the SUV's windows.

She gasped as she realized he was driving to Sharon Morgan's house!

"I hope you don't mind, Elizabeth. We are dining with another couple." She looked over at him and saw his look of satisfaction, and met it with her own look of happiness.

He led her up to the enormous front door, and it was opened by Sharon herself. Sharon held her arms out to Elizabeth, and said, "Welcome back, my friend. I'm so glad to see you again. Come in, come in."

The house was very quiet and she explained, "Everyone is gone on Mondays, and it's turning into my favorite day of the week. Riley and I love the quiet and the sense of having the whole place to ourselves." Sharon turned to Darcy and went on, "and welcome back to you, William. This is a double treat for me. Dinner is almost ready. I thought I had forgotten most of my cooking skills, but I can still do steaks. Hope you enjoy a good steak, Elizabeth?"

She quickly answered, "I love steak, and I hope you didn't go to any trouble, especially on your favorite day of the week?"

"No, I didn't, and it was fun. I think I'm going to start cooking more. Riley even helped me. I set up her swing and she sang a new song for me. It went like this, 'Gooohgo, gooda, goohama.' It had a good rhythm. We'll have to get her at the piano very soon."

Lizzy asked, "Is Miss Riley asleep?" She truly wanted her to be awake.

"Yes, follow me to the kitchen and we can pull her out of her swing." The three of them walked into the single largest kitchen Lizzy had ever experienced, and her senses were suddenly barraged by wonderful smells, huge expanses of stainless steel countertops and the largest refrigerator door Elizabeth had ever seen. Near the table, was a battery operated swing, and Riley was very happy holding a wooden spoon and gliding back and forth.

Overwhelmed with her fondness for Riley, Elizabeth begged, "Can I take her out?"

"Oh yes, I told her that you were coming and I promised her that she could play with you if she tried to remember her manners. And oh, yes, your suit is back from the cleaners. Bagley picked up the cleaning this morning."

"And I will return yours to you as soon as possible. I didn't know I would be seeing you this evening, or I would have made sure to bring it with me."

Sharon smiled warmly, "Please don't worry about it, Elizabeth. I know that this dinner was somewhat of a surprise, so I understand completely." Sharon looked at William with a look of complicity.

Lizzy smiled back at both of them and freed Riley from the swing and held her close. "Oh, Miss Riley, I think I am going to start using baby bath instead of shampoo. That way I can smell like you. I could eat you up. You know that, baby?"

Sharon walked over to kiss Riley's cheek and she asked if William could retrieve the salad from the walk-in refrigerator. They both knowingly allowed Elizabeth to be in charge of Riley while they put the finishing touches on the table.

Instead of eating in the main dining salon, which had the table for twenty, they sat in the breakfast room. It was much smaller than the dining room, but still three times as big as Lizzy's dining area at the apartment.

Lizzy sat down at the table with Riley on her shoulder. "William, you mentioned dining with another couple for dinner. I am to assume that Riley is one of our foursome?

"Yes, Elizabeth, our dinner company is none other than Sharon, our talented cook, and her assistant and holder of the wooden spoon, Riley."

There was no place else she would rather be than having dinner with William, Sharon, and Riley. Sharon offered to put Riley in her bouncer or her swing so Elizabeth could eat, but Lizzy would have none of it.

Holding the baby and eating was a bit tricky, but she thought it was much easier than getting in and out of the Big White Monster, as she had dubbed Darcy's truck. Sharon's meal had been delicious and everything, from salad to potatoes to steak to vegetables to dessert was perfect. It wasn't showy or fancy, but just delicious and homemade. Elizabeth thought it was perfect.

Riley was such a good-natured little one that she wanted to play all through dinner, and afterwards, when they adjourned to a small family room, she began to "coo" on Lizzy's lap.

Sharon looked more relaxed in this type of social gathering, and chose a soft club chair and ottoman on which to sit. Lizzy sat on the sofa with the baby, and Darcy sat next to her.

Riley suddenly was very interested in Lizzy's hair and wrapped her little fist around a large chunk of it. Lizzy tried to untangle her tiny fingers but Riley increased her hold the more that Lizzy tried to free herself. Of course, Riley thought this was a game, but Lizzy was happy when Darcy ended the game. He reached over and manipulated the baby's hands and freed Elizabeth's dark curls.

"Thank you very much. For a while, I was afraid I was going to lose that fistful of hair," she said in a grateful voice.

"Well, I can't have Riley giving you a bald spot, can I?" he answered.

Elizabeth thought of bald spots and her head with no hair, and her heart started to wither for a few moments. She wanted those thoughts to vanish, so she started tickling and kissing Riley again.

The chimes of the family room clock announced that it was eight p.m. Sharon rose and said, "I'm sorry to have to break this to you, Lizzy, but I should probably feed this baby and get her upstairs and ready for bed. But I promise, you two will have another visit, soon. Won't you, Riley?" Sharon started for the stairs and said, "This usually takes me a long time. I'll try to be back as soon as possible.

Lizzy gave Sharon a hug and her baby a sweet kiss and wished her goodnight. Darcy patted her little diapered bottom and blew her a kiss and said, "Goodnight, baby."

Sinking back into the couch, Elizabeth mentioned, "Dinner was delicious, didn't you think?"

William nodded his head and sought her eyes, "Yes, it was. I originally offered to have dinner sent over, but she insisted on cooking. I think she welcomed having something to do. And Riley didn't do her job, even though she promised me."

"What? What do you mean Riley didn't do her job?" Lizzy was puzzled.

"She was part of the 'do-over.' I paid her five dollars to spit up all over you, and we shook hands on it, and she didn't do it. When she wakes up tomorrow, I'm coming over and getting my money back. Little thief!"

In mock anger, she started, "Don't you dare call my baby a little thief! I will defend her against such vile accusations."

At that moment, Darcy's cell phone was ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Dr. Darcy. Hello, Charles. Yes. Uh huh. I understand. Italian sounds wonderful. Let me ask, just a moment." Covering the receiver with his hand, Darcy looked at an incredulous but beaming Elizabeth, "Charles is on the phone, there's a little party at Fratelli's and he was wondering if we could come for a bit. Would you like to do that?"

She was laughing so hard that speech was difficult, but she said, "Very funny and almost convincing, Dr. Darcy. There's no one on that phone and you know it. Hand it to me."

Dr. Darcy had a bemused expression of his own and gladly handed her the phone. She began, "Hello, I know that this isn't Charles, so...hello? Charles. I, oh my. Yes. Here's William."

Elizabeth turned very red and handed a pleased William Darcy his phone. "We'll be there in twenty minutes, Charles. Very well, thanks. Yes, right on time. Bye."

Remaining silent, Lizzy covered her mouth with her hand and continued to turn crimson. He patted her knee and said, "You needn't turn that red. I think it's hysterically funny that you...confirmed...that it was indeed who I said it was, Nurse Bennett. She continued to blush and he laughed in a contented, deep tone. Sharon poked her head around the corner, "Did I hear a phone ring?"

Darcy answered, "Charles called right on time, Sharon. We are going to be leaving, but thank you so much for a wonderful time. Can we do it again soon?"

"Yes, William, I would love it. Riley is growing to love our Elizabeth, and I think it's mutual."

Lizzy spoke up, "I certainly do love her. I am totally smitten."

After one more round of hugs, Sharon shooed them out of the foyer and onto their next destination. It had grown very chilly and Elizabeth noticed that her thin silk blouse was doing nothing to keep her warm. She was glad his SUV was near. When Darcy placed his hand on the now-familiar place on her side to help her up, he felt her lack of body heat. His other hand touched her freezing arm. "You're like ice," he murmured. He rushed to the driver's side and turned the heater to maximum. "You'll be toasty in no time."

"So, we are now going to Fratelli's?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"And who's going to be there?" she asked again.

"People," he answered.

"And, let me guess, I'll know who's there when I see who's there?"

"Correct."

She inhaled as deeply as she could, and exhaled with a smiley smirk on her face. This is crazy. This is crazy but wonderful. He really is giving me a "do-over."

When they arrived at Fratelli's, Dr. Darcy pulled off his suit jacket and handed it to her after he assisted her out of the truck. She politely declined, but he insisted, and after having worn it for a few seconds, she was glad he did. The lining was warm and satiny, and it smelled like him. It didn't really smell like cologne. It was more a mixture of soap, fabric softener sheets, betadine and alcohol. It was a clean fragrance. She trusted it.

Once they were in Fratelli's, Elizabeth handed him back his jacket and smiled her thanks. The hostess approached and he asked for the Bingley table. She told them to follow her.

The Bingley table included a much larger party than Lizzy expected. She saw Bingley and Jane right off, but then she saw Matt and Meegan, Charlotte, Candace and Brennan. She didn't know how he had arranged this, but she would find out. She'd find out once she could figure out something to say besides, "Hi."

Elizabeth whispered to William, "How on Earth did you arrange this? Do you even know all of these people?"

He returned her whisper, "I know the one I needed to, and that was Charles. He and Jane called around when I asked them to help me with this."

Soon, Matt approached and hugged her tightly. She said loudly, "I think you should be careful, this is how rumors start, sir."

He laughed and said, "Thanks for celebrating our engagement again, Miss Elizabeth. Are you going to eat something this time?"

"Actually, just like last time, I have already eaten, but I will have a glass of Chardonnay." Darcy asked the waitress to bring a glass of Cutrer-Sonoma Chardonnay if they had it and pulled out Elizabeth's chair for her. He sat down near her. Meegan walked behind Lizzy and rubbed her shoulders, kissed her cheek and whispered very quietly in her ear, "Love you, Lizzy. Everything's going to be okay. Matt filled me in, and we are going to get you all taken care of. Just wanted you to know that."

Lizzy couldn't look at her because she felt a little overwhelmed by all of this, but she said, "Thank you so much. I needed to hear that. You're the best."

Meegan squeezed her shoulders once more and went to sit by Matt. Lizzy noticed that Matt appeared to be sizing up this Dr. Darcy. Lizzy winked at Matt conspicuously. It wasn't meant for anyone else to see, and luckily no one did.

Matt knew how lonely Lizzy had been for years, and in spite of attempts to hide it, she couldn't conceal it him. He said a quick prayer that this Dr. Darcy wouldn't hurt her or disappoint her, not like that other snake had when she was new at the hospital.

Matt went through that whole Wickham experience with her. He had been a slick, vile person that wanted one thing from her. When she wasn't ready, he attempted to spread terrible lies about her to anyone who would listen. Luckily, anyone who knew her laughed at his accusations. She could do with some exceptionally wonderful things in her life right about now. Please.

Lizzy looked around the table and saw Matt, Darcy and Bingley talking shop. Meegan and Charlotte were discussing accreditation meetings and Elizabeth rose to talk to Brennan, who was sitting by himself. Elizabeth knew what that felt like.

This was the first time she had ever been to Fratelli's with a man that was her...her...date. She had spent years going alone with other couples. Tonight, she was there as part of a couple. Maybe it was just for a few hours, but the truth remained: for those two or three hours, she had been part of a pair. What a nice feeling!

Brennan and Lizzy had a nice talk about the Air Force academy and what the next few years looked like in his career plan. While he was telling her of the horrors of MRE's, she felt someone standing behind her. She glanced and saw William smiling. He said, "Excuse me, please, for interrupting, but a number of people here are expecting a trip to someplace called "Chad's" for dancing. Does that sound agreeable, Elizabeth? Do you have to work early tomorrow?

"I don't have to work tomorrow. I, um, took the day off. What about you? You must be tired after working and all of this do-overing. I'm fine with dancing, and I'm fine with not dancing. I will let you decide."

"Well, to be honest, I think we should go dancing. I'm a little tired, but maybe we should go for a bit and then play it by ear. What do you think?

"That sounds fine with me. Thank you," she smiled.

The rest of the party was already putting sweaters on and grabbing their purses. Matt motioned for Lizzy to come to him. He said under his breath, "So, this Dr. Darcy was waiting for you in your office for this, huh? I had no idea. Are you happy about this, Lizzy?"

Elizabeth's face was bright, "I'm happy to be with him. I've had a weird and wonderful night. He is a... gentleman.," she confided. "I guess I will see you tomorrow, my friend?"

"Yes," he whispered, "I'll pick you up around 8:15." He kissed her cheek and said, "Time for you to go dancing! I'll see you there."

William and Elizabeth were amazed at how many people went dancing on a Monday evening. The dance floor was crowded, but they made their way out with Meegan and Matt and Jane and Bingley and Brennan and Candace. The music was predictable "wedding reception classics" as Elizabeth called them, and they were the songs that made you automatically have to be out on the dance floor.

After dancing for twenty minutes, William led Lizzy off the dance floor to a small table and asked what she would like to drink. "Actually, I'd like some water. I'm parched."

Darcy asked the waiter to bring a glass of water and a glass of Cutrer-Sonoma chardonnay.

"You must like this chardonnay quite a bit. I had never heard of it, but it is wonderful."

He grinned, "I went to a conference in Sonoma last year, and I visited some wineries in my free time. I'm not a wine fanatic, but I did like this wine. I bought a few bottles and now I try to order it if I can find it. It's getting more popular."

She sipped her water, and he enjoyed his glass of wine. They both turned to the dance floor and watched their friends.

Lizzy sighed, "I am beginning to feel quite old. They certainly have a lot of energy, don't they?"

"I think we could both go out there, if we had to. But it is nice to sit and relax, too."

She smiled from her soul, "Yes, it is. It is very nice to sit and relax."

"I propose, Elizabeth, that when you finish your water and I finish my wine, we drive you home. Your day was as long as mine, I'm sure," William suggested.

"That would be fine," she answered.

"And we can spend more time dancing next time. Is that alright, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth didn't answer. And we can spend more time dancing next time. The next time! He wanted there to be a next time!

"Elizabeth? Is that alright?"

"Oh yes, I'm so sorry. That would be wonderful."

They were just leaving the parking lot when she leaned her head back in the headrest to relax and she abruptly winced. Her hand flew to the spot in her head that was burning, and she hoped against hope that he didn't notice. He immediately pulled over and turned off the ignition.

"I'm fine. Just give me half a minute."

William remained totally silent, watching her and waiting for her signal that the cluster headache had passed. She rubbed her hands together and apologized, "Sorry about that. I shouldn't wince so much. I know it is distracting. We can go now."

"Elizabeth, who are you seeing for these headaches?"

"I'm seeing someone tomorrow, as a matter of fact."

His keys remained in his hands. He made no attempt to start the ignition. "Your appointment is when?"

"Um, it's at 9:00," her voice was starting to tremble. The pain roared back, even stronger this time, and she couldn't conceal her reaction to it. The pain was excruciating and she had to force herself to focus on what she knew. She undid her seatbelt and both hands covered her face. The tears began, and she hardly ever cried anymore during these. This will pass. You are okay. Breathe. Relax. Only another minute. Almost over. Breathe. You're not having a stroke or anything like that. Only a little bit left. You are okay."

When the pain evaporated, she wiped her eyes and brushed some hair behind one ear and straightened up in the seat. In a barely audible voice, she said, "I'm sorry. I try really hard not to frighten people with those stupid headaches. I don't mean to react so strongly."

William put his hand on her shoulder and said, "I need you to tell me everything about your headaches and your appointment tomorrow. I know that you are seeing someone tomorrow at 9:00. Whom are you seeing?"

Elizabeth's throat became tighter and tighter, and the more she tried to prevent her tears, the more they built up. They finally overflowed and she wept again, "I'm seeing someone named Michael Glenn at UIC."

Darcy pulled a box of Kleenex out of the glove box and handed her some. His voice was soft but definite. He leaned closer, "Are you in pain right now?"

"No."

"Are you being honest with me?"

"Yes."

"So, your tears are not from pain?"

"Yes."

"Yes, they are from pain, or 'yes' they are not from pain."

"The pain is gone," she managed.

"If you have more pain, please tell me. Right now, we're going to drive straight to the hospital and I'll call Michael. We can go to Cook County or UIC. He'll meet us either place."

Elizabeth shook her head. "My appointment is in a few hours."

He continued, his voice was kind, but firm, "I can have you seen now. These headaches need to be worked up. I want you to be seen now."

Elizabeth reached for another tissue and wiped her eyes with her Kleenex. She knew that she had to tell him about her CT.

Wrapping his arm around her, Darcy pulled himself to her. He was side to side with her and he asked again, "Any more pain, anything?"

She shook her head and said, "No more pain."

Darcy whispered, "You must promise me that you will tell me everything. Agreed?" She nodded.

"Okay. Elizabeth, who referred you to Michael Glenn?

"Matt is a friend of his. He set it up."

"Okay, and Matt wants you to see a surgeon because...?"

Elizabeth enclosed her face with her hands again. Darcy tenderly pulled them away and turned her face towards him and repeated, "Matt wants you to see a surgeon because...?"

"He ordered a CT because of my headaches."

Darvocet/CT/Spend the night man...

"Alright. And what did the report say?" Darcy felt true terror as he asked this question. Elizabeth sniffed and wiped her face.

"The CT report said that there appeared to be a 2 cm. meningioma."

Darcy breathed out and spoke carefully, hoping she would listen to his words, "Elizabeth, I know that you are upset, but meningiomas are almost always benign and I've had many, many patients that have been treated and done really well.

"I know."

Darcy moved his hand from her shoulder to her back and pulled her close to him again, "Tell me what you are thinking, Elizabeth."

Since reading the report yesterday, she hadn't shed tears, and now, they were plentiful.

"Tell me what you are thinking."

"I'm thinking that I'm going to meet this doctor tomorrow and he's going to say that it's got to come out, and then he's going to tell me that I can't have children, and he's going to tell me the risks involved with surgery. And I'm not supposed to let any of this bother me, because everything's going to be okay, but...it scares me to death. And here I am crying about this and falling apart and I never fall apart."

Darcy took her hands and held them in his. "Are you listening? Good. Here's what I want you to think about. To begin, I've known Michael for a long time, and he is very good. If you were my patient, he is exactly the person I would call. If you were my sister, he is the person I would call. He may or may not want to resect it, and if he does, he's talented and experienced. Next, as far as having children, you must have read that some meningiomas are hormonally receptive and occasionally cause problems for the mother during pregnancy. That can be true, but I've had many patients referred to me because of this very reason. They are watched closely and I work with people like Glenn and we make our decisions together. If the mass grows to interfere with vision or pressure increases or anything else, then we know what to do. We're prepared to deal with it. I've had patients who've had their masses removed during pregnancy. Their babies were delivered later at term and did just fine."

William realized that she had stopped sobbing. He hoped that his words had calmed her for the time being .

"Thanks," she muttered as she rubbed her temple.

"It's almost midnight now, and I can take you to UIC and admit you or I can admit you to Cook County and you would be seen earlier than nine o'clock. Pick your hospital. It is totally your choice."

"I don't have to get admitted, because by the time they would get a room and everything ready paperwork wise, it would probably be early morning anyway, especially if I'm non-emergent."

"They'd do what I told them to do," he responded quickly.

Lizzy managed a sarcastic half-smile, "Somehow, I think you might be right about that, but these headaches are not a new symptom. I have no other symptoms that are new. Pain is under control. I can wait until my appointment."

He thought about her argument. "Has the pain stopped completely?"

She nodded her head.

"I'm going to take you back to your apartment, and because I'm not entirely convinced that I shouldn't admit you right now, I'm going to stay on your couch and see that you make it to your appointment in the morning. I'm also going to call Michael on his cell and speak with him.

Elizabeth listened to his voice and didn't hear anything that sounded as if he was going to change his mind. She took another Kleenex and wiped smeared eyeliner and mascara off her face as best she could.

He started the truck and held onto the steering wheel with his left hand, and reached for her fingers with his other. He gave them a squeeze and she felt less silly about crying.

When they arrived, she brought blankets and a pillow to the couch and produced a washcloth, a brand new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. "I thought you might appreciate these." She joined him on the couch and looked at him, thinking about their hours together.

She spoke softly, "William, thank you for such a wonderful night. The children's choir, visiting Sharon, Fratelli's with the crew, the dancing...arranging all of that. I knew that I would have a good time, but it was just fabulous, over the top. I'm really sorry that it had to end with me crying in your truck. I'm so sorry about that."

He studied her with patient eyes, and grinned, "Now, I don't think it ended badly at all. I am, after all, spending the night with you at your apartment. Many men would consider that quite a great finish." He raised his eyebrows up and down.

She found her sarcasm and said, "Sure, you're spending the night, but only because you are afraid I'm going to stroke out or die by morning."

He leaned closer and said, "Well, I guess whatever it takes." She laughed and she saw him edge closer to her on the couch. He put his large hand on her back and another on her face. He saw her smile and whispered, "Thank you for a wonderful night, Elizabeth. I hope that you enjoyed it."

He had wanted to kiss her all evening. He wanted to leave her with so many kisses that she couldn't mistake his feelings again. He used his arms to move her even closer and wrapped them around her waist. Not knowing if she was feeling well, he made his first kiss small and fleeting. When it felt so good and when he saw she responded to it, he followed it with another that lasted longer. She ran her hand up to his collar and lightly caressed his neck.

They had both enjoyed each other's accidental touches all evening. Purposeful touches felt even more heavenly. Her fingers on the back of his neck encouraged him to kiss her more deeply. His attentions he was paying with his lips felt as delightful to her as the headache had been excruciating.

William thought that Elizabeth's kisses were the best he had ever had. Elizabeth thought that he was masterful. His lips had alternated from soft and light to deep and searching at the same time. She had never enjoyed any as much. William moved to her creamy neck and pressed light kisses up and down before returning to her mouth. He pulled away for a moment and placed a kiss on her forehead and another on her cheek before whispering a bit breathlessly, "I want to know everything that happens tomorrow. I would accompany you, but I have a 10:00 section and I don't think I can get the OR earlier or later. Do you have someone to go with you?"

She leaned back on the couch and held both of his hands on her lap. "Matt is picking me up."

"That's good. Do you still have all of my phone numbers? I want you to call me as soon as you're done. If I can't answer, leave a voice message and I'll call you as soon as I can."

Elizabeth squeezed his hands, "I will call you."

"Take a pad of paper with you and write down all your questions and concerns. That's a good idea."

She laughed, "I think I'm ready for my second legal pad already. I've almost filled up the first one."

He chuckled and bent down to bestow another lingering kiss on her lips. "And now, I think it's time to get some rest. I want you to leave your door open, Elizabeth, and if you need anything, call for me. Residency made me a light sleeper. Just call if you need me."

She gave him the closest hug she could imagine, and kissed his neck, "Thank you for tonight. It was incredible."

"You're welcome, Elizabeth. Go to sleep."

When he saw her vanish into her bedroom, he set the alarm clock function on his cell phone. After that, he walked quietly into the kitchen and called Michael Glenn at home. Darcy knew it was late, but Michael would just have to get over it.