Title: Nice
Rating: K+ (PG) – sweeter than those sugarplums dancing through your head.
Disclaimer: Though I write stories based on the novels and characters of Jane Austen, this work belongs to ME and no one else. Unless given express permission, no one besides myself has the right to distribute or profit from my intellectual property. All rights reserved.
Setting: Modern AU

Summary: The "nice" half of my "Naughty and Nice" anthology series. Unconnected OneShots with a sweet holiday theme, alternating between Regency and Modern AU. For ALL readers.

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me

Santa, Baby
2019

"Want some eggnog?" Darcy glanced up from where he was pouring himself a glass of frothy, milky liquid and across the surface of their kitchen island to where his wife was seated in the living room. She was curled up in the corner of their sectional sofa, casually festive in a baggy green sweater and her candy cane striped leggings and looking so adorable that he was tempted to eat her up. In the corner just behind her, their Christmas tree twinkled merrily with multi-colored bubble lights and glittered ornaments while a soft, jazzy rendition of "Santa Baby" played from the iPod docking station on the mantle. A gas-lit fire burned in the hearth underneath. Darcy took a moment to bask in the warm holiday tableau set out before him as he awaited Liz's answer.

Liz lifted a steaming mug Darcy hadn't noticed in a salute and smiled at him. "No, thanks. Got some cocoa while you were upstairs."

"'kay," he replied, taking the two steps required to reach the refrigerator and put the dairy-based Christmas beverage back inside where it belonged between servings. Once he had shut it up inside its preservation unit and snagged his cup from where he'd left it on the granite counter top, he made an immediate beeline to where his wife of five blissful years was waiting for him.

"What took you so long?" Liz playfully complained as he sank into the sofa cushions and draped an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled up against his side, careful to keep her cocoa level lest it splash all over them and the furniture, and molded them together.

Darcy snorted and kissed her temple. "Sorry, Aunt Cathy called right after I got out of the shower and started berating me about not making it up to Rosings for Christmas this year. I tried to tell her that we'd drive up for New Years, but I guess that's not good enough for her Ladyship."

"Why did you even answer? You know how she is." Liz's eyes were twinkling with humor just like the lights on their tree and Darcy could tell by the way she bit her lower lip that she was quelling a laugh at his expense. He appreciated the gesture of restraint.

"She called from Rick's phone."

"Ah. Sneaky."

Their conversation faded into comfortable silence as they sipped their drinks and enjoyed the coziness of the moment. After about half an hour, Darcy felt Liz stir next to him and her head incline upward to look at him. He reciprocated by tipping his face downward to meet her searching gaze. "Will?"

"Mmm?"

Strangely, Liz seemed to hesitate. "I want you to open your gift."

Darcy arched a single eyebrow in a fashion copied from his wife and lifted a corner of his lips into a smirk. "It's not Christmas morning yet, Liz. Do I have to tattle on you to Santa?"

"No, I...just trust me on this; you don't want to open it in front of my mother." Both of Liz's brows were raised high upon her forehead and her mouth was pulled taut into a meaningful warning.

Darcy imitated her expression, though his was laced with surprise, as the possibilities of why Liz didn't want him to open his gift in front of his mother-in-law began to occur to him. The one foremost in his mind was pleasantly tantalizing and evoked images of spiriting his lovely impish wife upstairs for a bit more unwrapping.

"Oh, yeah?" His tone was suggestive as a grin inched across his cheeks.

"You have a naughty one-track mind." Liz swatted at his chest and rolled her eyes before levying herself upwards onto her feet. As she scampered past the coffee table, she deposited her empty mug upon it and then proceeded toward the Christmas tree. She bent down to gather up his gift, presenting him with a sweet view of her candy-striped bottom, and then turned to come back.

"Here," she said, presenting him with a small square box a little bigger than his fist. It was pastel blue and topped with a matching ribbon, but was otherwise absent of decoration. The label affixed to the bow read "To my husband, Love your wife." Very cute.

Didn't frilly things generally come in hot pink bags with lots of sparkly tissue paper? Darcy turned the box around to inspect it further, weighing it in his palm, and puzzled over it's surprising heft. "What is it?"

"Open it and find out." Liz sat down beside him again, though instead of curling up under the crook of his arm she perched on the edge of the cushion and turned toward him. She then began plucking at a loose string on the cuff of her sweater, something she rarely did unless she was nervous.

Darcy thought about questioning her further, but ultimately decided that it would be easier to simply open his present and solve the mystery directly. The box wasn't sealed in any way, so he lifted the top and peeked inside. It was…

...an ornament. It was made from what he assumed was a semi-precious metal, probably sterling silver or white gold, and spherical with little knots of filigree raised across its surface. There was a red ribbon tied to the top where a hook was meant to be attached so that it could be hung on their tree.

"Thanks, honey," Darcy said after a few long seconds of looking at it. He glanced up at Liz, who was staring at him intently, and added, "I admit it wasn't exactly what I was expecting when you said we shouldn't open it in front of your mother, but it's nice. I like it."

Liz huffed at him with aggravated impatience. "Take it out of the box, Will."

Darcy did as he was bidden and carefully extricated the silver ball from its wrappings. A few scraps of blue tissue paper escaped and fluttered to the floor as it came over the lip of the box. "Pretty."

"Turn it around and read the inscription."

Darcy twirled it around to face him and read aloud, "'Baby's First Christmas, 2020.'"

Baby's First Christmas.

Darcy very nearly dropped the ornament as the words gained meaning. His head snapped up and he stared at Liz whose uncharacteristically nervous demeanor now also made sense. She was still sitting there at the precipice of her seat, nibbling her bottom lip and winding that loose string around her index finger, as she waited for his reaction.

"Liz...you're…?"

Liz emitted a tremulous giggle. "You understand why I wanted you to open this privately now, don't you? Can you imagine what Mom would – eek!"

There was a loud thump as the metal orb fell to the hardwood floor beneath them and a light crush of paper as its wrappings were thrown unceremoniously to the side so that Darcy could reach out and drag Liz into his arms. When he had her within range, he began kissing her, first on her lips and then across every bit of her face that he could reach. "Lizzy," he said between swift pecks, "Is it true? Are you pregnant?"

Liz was apparently now recovered from the surprise of his sudden affectionate attack and wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing with natural, open joy. He could hear tears clotting her voice as she struggled to respond to his question between the rapid fire of his kisses. "Yes, it's true. I took at least a dozen tests and they were all positive. The doctor says it's still early, only about ten weeks, but we're having a baby."

"Dearest, sweetest Lizzy!"

"So you're happy, I take it?" Liz teased when Darcy finally slowed his feverish expression of affection for the woman carrying his child.

He dragged her into the fold of his arms, pressed her against the heartbeat pounding rapidly in his chest, and buried his nose in the soft cloud of her chocolate brown curls. "Was it so obvious?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd feel about this," Liz admitted, tightening her grip around his neck. "It's not like we planned this..."

"No, but I didn't plan to fall in love with you, either, and look at how well that turned out."

"Ha, tell me about it. I'll never forget what you said to me when you first asked me out – "

Darcy pulled back, shaking his head and rasping a laugh at her before interrupting, "Don't bring that up right now, I'm begging you. Let's just enjoy this moment without remembering what an ass I used to be."

Liz's eyes were now twinkling with a sheen of unshed tears as she teased, "Used to be?"

"Just kiss me, Lizzy."

Author's Note: I know, you're thinking that I'm crazy to be starting another project, but honestly my Naughty/Nice Anthologies are just a place to dump all the small holiday-themed ideas that I can't chase away. Plus, I'll only update it whenever I have one to share, so there's no pressure to come up with chapters.

In any event, the concept here is pretty simple: a mixture of Modern AU and Regency JAFF holiday OneShots which will be occasionally connected to one another (or even possibly one of my other stories), but usually not. Unless specified otherwise, each installment stands alone within its own little self contained universe. As I said above, I'm going to alternate between MAU and Regency settings, not necessarily in a discernible pattern, though I'm going to aim for an even spread. I've also separated my anthology into separate "Naughty" and "Nice" categories since I know that most JAFF readers have strong preferences one way or the other and this will enable everyone to choose their level of "holiday spice." In the "Nice" category, the rating will not rise above T/PG-13.

Not all of these stories are going to be long, obviously, they're just a way to get ideas out of my head and cleanse my palette when I get bogged down writing/correcting the longer stuff. THIS one was a randomly adorable idea that I came up with out of nowhere and then sat down instantly to write it. I did a cute "we're having a baby" reveal for my husband before the birth of our daughter (later for our son I just blurted it out, whoops), though that was in the middle of July on our anniversary. Still, the concept was extrapolated here. In case you're wondering how I did it, I set it up for the dessert portion of our anniversary dinner. When his cake came out, the words "Guess What?" were written on the plate and, as he was puzzling over that, I laid it on him while I filmed his reaction. He was happy :)

Anyway, I love cute moments like that. How would Mama Bennet have reacted if Liz had allowed him to open it in front of family, I wonder? Lolz.

If you think of a theme/idea that sounds fun (for either MAU or Regency), feel free to drop it into your review. Can't promise that I'll do anything with it, but I love prompts and feel generous around the holidays.

Happy Holidays!

– MrsMarySmythe