A/N: I was going to wait until I had finished this story to start uploading, but I'm finding I'm lacking in motivation, so I thought, maybe if I had people commenting on it and waiting for it, I'd get it done faster! So, here' hoping!

Summary: A what-if story, starting from Elizabeth's first visit to Pemberley. Regency.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Pride and Prejudice. That honor still rests with Jane Austen.

Chapter 1

Elizabeth walked awkwardly beside Mr. Darcy, her aunt and uncle following behind, taking their time. Mr. Darcy's small talk seemed stilted, and Elizabeth could barely focus through her embarrassment. The path ran close to the edge of the small ravine in which the stream ran, and as Elizabeth stepped right on the edge, the ground collapsed underneath her. She cried out in surprise as she tumbled to the ground below. There was a sickening crack, and Elizabeth let out a cry of pain, rolling off her left side and into the stream.

"Miss Bennet!" Mr. Darcy cried, and was instantly beside her, pulling her gently out of the water. "Are you all right?"

"My wrist!" she gasped, fighting back tears.

"May I?" Mr. Darcy asked, reaching for Elizabeth's wrist. She nodded, and Darcy gently felt the bones. Elizabeth whimpered in pain as Darcy's fingers moved across the injured area. "I think it's broken," he said softly.

"Is she all right?" Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner stood at the top of the ravine, looking worriedly down on their niece and Mr. Darcy.

"I believe her wrist is broken," Mr. Darcy called up. "If it's all right with you, I would like to bring her back to Pemberly and call our family physician to take a look at her."

Elizabeth looked about to protest, but Darcy spoke again before she could. "Please. I would feel so much better if you let me do this."

Elizabeth looked up at her aunt and uncle for a moment, then conceded. Mr. Darcy scooped her up, one arm supporting her shoulders, the other behind her knees, her left arm draped across her body, her stomach supporting her broken wrist. He sent the man who had been showing her and the Gardiners the paths ahead to summon the physician.

Darcy walked carefully until the stream and the path leveled out, then turned to the Gardiners. "I'm going to walk ahead so Miss Bennet can be gotten out of these wet things as quickly as possible. I will leave word with Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, to show you up to the room."

"Thank you, Mr. Darcy," Mr. Gardiner said. Mr. Darcy nodded, then walked off as quickly and smoothly as possible, so as not to jar Elizabeth's wrist.

As they left the Gardiners' hearing range, Elizabeth was about to ask to be put down, about to insist that, though her wrist was broken, she could still walk, when a dizzying wave of pain washed over her.

"Are you all right?" Mr. Darcy's question made her think that she must have made some small noise.

"I—I—" Elizabeth started, trying to protest that she was fine, but let the truth tumble out anyway. "It hurts. Mr. Darcy, I can't—"

"Hush," Mr. Darcy said gently. "It's all right."

Darcy took his eyes of their path for a moment to meet her gaze. His dark brown eyes were so full of tenderness and something else, Elizabeth almost stopped breathing. Was that love in his eyes? Was it at all possible that he still loved her? For some reason, the thought warmed her right through, despite her sopping attire.

It took them over half an hour to get back to the house, and by that time Elizabeth was sneezing violently. Darcy shouldered the front door open and called for Mrs. Reynolds.

"Miss Bennet took a bad fall," he said when the housekeeper responded, "and landed in the stream. I sent someone to the physician already, and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner couldn't keep up and will be along shortly, if you would be so kind as to bring them to the room in which I put Miss Bennet." The entire time he had been talking, he had been moving towards the staircase and the guest chambers.

"Yes, sir," Mrs. Reynolds said, following him to the room he was taking Elizabeth to. Once they got there, Mrs. Reynolds left to await the Gardiners and Mr. Darcy summoned two maids to help Elizabeth out of her wet things.

"Be very careful of her left wrist," Darcy warned before leaving. The maids nodded, and Darcy stepped outside the room.

A moment later, one of the maids peered out. "Sir," she said, "we can't get her jacket off. It's hurting her too much."

Darcy stepped back into the room and ran his eyes over the soaked woman sitting on the chair he where he had placed her. "Miss Bennet," he said, "I'm afraid that, for the sake of your health, we are going to need to cut you out of you jacket."

The color rose in Elizabeth's face, but she nodded, and Darcy sent one of the maids to get a knife. When the girl returned, Darcy carefully inserted the blade of the knife into Elizabeth's collar. She tensed slightly, but Darcy's gentle, soothing words calmed her in seconds. He split the coat from shoulder to wrist, going as carefully as possible the whole way down.

Darcy finished removing the ruined jacket from Elizabeth's frame, and smiled softly at her. The two stayed there, motionless, for a moment, staring into each others' eyes. Then Darcy blinked and moved away, leaving Elizabeth with a strange sense of loss.

"I'll leave you to it, then," he said, exiting the room once more.

Elizabeth let the two maids help her out of her dress, feeling slightly bewitched by Mr. Darcy's beautiful stare, even after the man had been gone for minutes. The maids, after getting her soaked clothing off, dressed her in a nightgown, and had her get into the large bed that dominated the room. Tired and in pain, Elizabeth slipped between the sheets.

A moment later, Mr. Darcy peered in. "The physician is here, Miss Bennet."

Elizabeth nodded, then sneezed violently, wincing as her arm moved. Again, Darcy was at her side in seconds. "Are you all right?" he asked for the third time that day.

"I think I spent a little too much time in the wet clothes," she said with a small smile.

"How long was it?" asked the physician, who had followed Darcy into the room.

"It took us a bit under an hour to get back here," Darcy said, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Hmm," the physician said, then turned his attention to Elizabeth and her wrist. Taking it in his hand, he felt the bone. His grip was somewhat firmer than Darcy's had been, and made Elizabeth gasp in pain.. Darcy hovered worriedly to the side, unable to do much more than that. "I'm afraid," the physician said, "Miss—"

"Bennet," Mr. Darcy supplied.

"Miss Bennet," the physician continued. "I'm afraid that your wrist is, in fact, broken. I'm going to have to splint and wrap it, and you won't be able to use it for at least a month."

Elizabeth nodded, and the man set about setting the bone. It was easy to do, and the physician assured Elizabeth that it would heal well. He place the splint against her hand and wrapped a bandage tightly around the injured area, making Elizabeth grit her teeth against the pain. The physician tied it off a bit sharply, and Elizabeth gave an involuntary cry of pain and suddenly Darcy's hand was in her good one and he was smoothing her hair away from her face and hushing her gently, telling her that it would be all right.

Elizabeth fought back tears of pain as the physician apologized, focusing on the warmth of one of Darcy's hands in hers, the pleasure of the other on her face, the soothing sound of his voice. She relaxed a moment later, the pain in her wrist easing slightly. She glanced up, her gaze meeting those deep pools of warmth that were Darcy's eyes. He was smiling softly at her, making his already pleasing features more handsome than ever.

The sound of physician's voice pulled Elizabeth out of the trance she had been put in by Darcy's eyes. "I think you may have caught a cold," he was saying, "but it doesn't seem like anything a few days' bed rest won't cure. If it gets worse, or if it lasts more than four days, send for me and I'll mix up a drought for you." He prescribed a low dose of opium a few times a day for the pain and left, the thanks of both Elizabeth and Darcy ringing in his ears.

A moment later, Mrs. Reynolds showed Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner into the room. Darcy informed Mr. Gardiner about what happened while Mrs. Gardiner inquired after how Elizabeth felt. Once both of Elizabeth's relations were satisfied with what they knew, Mr. Darcy spoke.

"I would like to extend an invitation to all of you to stay here at Pemberly, at least until Miss Bennet is well."

Elizabeth couldn't help the flush that crossed her cheeks, and the Gardiners looked at each other, then their niece, before gratefully accepting.

Mr. Darcy smiled. "I can have a man sent to fetch your things immediately."

"Thank you, Mr. Darcy," Mr. Gardiner said.

Mr. Darcy bowed and excused himself.

Mrs. Gardiner looked over at Elizabeth and raised one of her eyebrows. "This does not at all," she remarked, a small smile playing about her lips, "seem like the Mr. Darcy we have heard about. Are you sure he is the same man?"

"Believe me, Aunt, I'm as surprised as you are," Elizabeth replied. "I cannot imagine what caused this change."

"Can't you?" Mrs. Gardiner asked, a good amount of skepticism in her voice, causing Elizabeth to blush again.

Mr. Gardiner expressed a wish to see the library, so the remaining maid, whom everyone had quite forgotten about, took him there. Mrs. Gardiner sat down beside the bed and took Elizabeth's good hand in both of hers. "Lizzy, I want you to be completely honest with me. Can you think of any reason Mr. Darcy might be acting differently?"

Elizabeth was about to shake her head, but knew her aunt wouldn't believe it, so sighed and said, "Yes, there's one reason he might." At her aunt's invitation, she continued. "When I was in Kent earlier this year, Mr. Darcy came with a cousin to visit his aunt, Lady Catherine. About a week before Maria and I left, and the day before the gentlemen took their leave, Mr. Darcy came to me while I was alone, and he…he proposed to me."

Mrs. Gardiner looked shocked for a moment. "I take it that you turned him down?" Elizabeth nodded. "I see."

"We—we had an argument," Elizabeth said, "and I think—I think he may have taken some of the things I said to heart, if his actions are anything to go by. But, could he possibly still be in love with me?"

Mrs. Gardiner smiled. "Love is a hard thing to kill, dearest. I dare to think that he does still love you, especially if he's gone this far to make changes to his character." Mrs. Gardiner kissed her niece's forehead. "You should rest. I'm going to join your uncle in the library." Elizabeth nodded, and her aunt was gone.

Elizabeth did go to sleep, only waking up when a maid brought up dinner for her, and going back to sleep shortly after that.

When Elizabeth woke up again, it was completely dark out. She lay there for a moment, until the door swung open slowly. She watched through her lashes as Mr. Darcy stepped cautiously into the room, surprising her so much that her eyes flew open.

"Miss Bennet!" Darcy exclaimed quietly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I was already awake," Elizabeth said, just as quietly. "Is—is there anything I can do for you?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were well," he replied, still almost whispering. "After you fell into the water earlier…" He trailed off, seemingly unable to continue.

Elizabeth thought back to that moment. After rolling to get off her wrist, she had found herself in the water and in too much pain to move anymore; she had been frightened beyond anything she had ever felt before.

Mr. Darcy moved to the side of her bed, his hand reaching towards her, moving itself across her face, stroking her cheekbone. Elizabeth closed her eyes, unconsciously leaning into his touch.

"I will see you in the morning, Miss Bennet," Mr. Darcy said abruptly, pulling his hand away and absenting himself from the side of her bed.

Her breathing slightly labored, Elizabeth watched him go, realizing something as he left. She was falling fast for Mr. Darcy. She just hoped the landing would be soft.