"I cannot make speeches Emma," he soon resumed, and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible, tenderness as was tolerably convincing. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more…" – Mr Knightly in Emma, by Jane Austen.

He felt himself bound as much in honour as in affection to Miss Moreland, and believing that heart to be his own which he had been directed to gain, no unworthy retraction of a tacit consent, no reversing decree of unjustifiable anger, could shake his fidelity, or influence the resolution it prompted.- Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen.

They said their goodbyes to Cathy at the train station.

They had to change trains mid-way, Cathy so she could head east to go home, and the rest to continue going south to London. It was an hour's wait for Cathy, and an additional half an hour on top of that for the other girls, so of course they took advantage of that for one last coffee together and before they knew it they had to rush to the platform for Cathy to get on the train in time.

Anne had to admit this past week, no this past year, had probably been the best time in her life, and she was very sad to see Cathy go who had been such an integral part of it.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Cathy wailed as she tightly held onto Emma. In fact she held on so tightly that Anne briefly wondered if they'll need to a crowbar to pry them apart, Cathy really looked like she didn't want to let go. Emma didn't look like she wanted to let go either which might be a problem seeing as Cathy's train was about to leave. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you! It'll be so lonely without you all!"

"Cathy, sweetie," Ellen tried to gently pull Cathy away from Emma. "It's just going to be a month and we'll see each other at graduation."

"And then we're stuck with one another for a year after that," Lizzie pointed out. "You're hardly going to live your life without us."

"I know," Cathy dangerously sounded like she was trying to hold back tears, "but a month is going to feel like an eternity without you all."

"Oh don't be a drama queen," Lizzie rolled her eyes as she hugged Cathy, "it'll go quickly because you'll spend it reading books and having fun with your family. I'm the one to be pitied, I'm stuck with my mother for a month starting tomorrow."

"It's hypocritical for you to call me a drama queen," Cathy mumbled into Lizzie's collarbone, "you were the one that made me sit behind a bookcase for five hours because you saw Darcy."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"I needed the bathroom!" Cathy snapped. "It was five painfully long hours!"

"Let's be honest Lizzie," Emma grinned mischievously, "we're never going to let go to the fact you crawled through Tesco to escape Darcy."

"Or ducked under café tables," Ellen added.

"Or used us as human shields," Fanny smiled.

"You know what?" Lizzie grumbled. "On second thoughts being stuck with my mother is a much better option than you lot."

Everyone laughed until Cathy's eyes widened in alarm as she realised the doors were about to close on her train. "My train!" she wailed in dismay. "I'm going to miss it."

"Hurry then!"

Cathy ran as she waved goodbye to them. She managed to throw both her suitcase and person onto the train just in time and continued to wave back at them as the doors closed.

"Cathy!" Ellen cried out worriedly. "Watch out for the – ouch!" she winced on Cathy's behalf, who, somehow, managed to trip over her own suitcase and fell backwards onto the floor, vanishing from their view as the train began to move.

Cathy jumped back up and waved at them. "I'll see you next month!" she called out.

"What's the chances she won't see us next month due to her untimely death of sheer clumsiness?" Lizzie asked.

No one answered that as they thought it was rather obvious that the chances were rather high.

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By the time they finally arrived at home, they were all exhausted. As Emma dragged her suitcase behind her, she dreamt of crawling into bed and sleeping for a hundred years. "I want my bed," she yawned.

"So do I," Fanny agreed sleepily.

"Mmm….cup of tea," Ellen said dreamily, "and then straight to bed."

"Yeah," Lizzie stopped to a halt, "somehow I don't think that's going to be the case."

They all turned to face their house across the street and immediately Emma's eyes widened, her heart leaped, and her stomach dropped to the floor.

George Knightly was sitting on the stairs.

Without a second thought, Emma crossed the road and went straight towards him. Her eyes wide and solely focused on him, she was most fortunate that a car hadn't come along because she wouldn't have seen it she was so focused on George., and then everyone would have had to deal with her being splattered across the road….yes, she was very lucky that a car was nowhere near them.

George stood up as Emma made her way up the stairs to front door and she halted to a stop in front of him. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Waiting for you," George said simply.

Emma shifted closer as the other girls squeezed past them so Ellen could unlock the front door. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How did you know we'll be back today?" she demanded to know.

"Darcy told me," George shrugged.

"Oh, I wonder how Darcy knew that," Emma turned her suspicious glare onto Lizzie just as the brunette reached the front door, "huh?"

"It's a mystery," Lizzie smiled innocently, "isn't it?"

No one for one second believes Lizzie's innocence. After all you had to be blind and deaf and stupid to not notice the amount of texting she had been doing these last few months and she no longer ranted about the insufferable arrogance of that snob Darcy anymore.

Emma opened her mouth to point all of this out to Lizzie when George suddenly cut in. "Emma," he said in his usual firm but gentle tone, "we need to talk."

Exhausted, hungry, and in need of a shower; Emma did not want to deal with George Knightly right now. "Can't it wait?" she moaned. "It's waited this last month and a half since we last seen each other."

George winced at that. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I….was in Spain."

"Spain?!"

Emma felt a stab of irritated anger at that. She had been through hell this last month and a half, her own guilt for her rudeness had weighed down on her, her misery for being George-less, her worry for Marianne, her misery for being George-less, the stress of trying to finish her degree, and her misery for being George-less!

"Well," George said sheepishly, "I hadn't seen my parents in over a year. With all my work done, I thought now was the right time to see them…and I admit I was running away from my problems."

"Your problems," Emma repeated numbly, "you had problems?" she asked angrily. "You thought you had problems?!"

"Pub!" Lizzie suddenly shouted as she herded the others out. "We're going to the pub!"

Emma and George stared at her blankly. "….didn't you only just come back from Scotland?" George asked eventually. "Where you spent most of your time in a pub."

"Yes," Lizzie agreed with false cheer, "but we're students, we have a drinking problem," she said as she pushed both George and Emma back into the house. "Now you two can have peace and quiet to talk things over away from where our neighbours can watch you, while we actually enjoy ourselves with a good stiff drink."

Before either George or Emma could argue with Lizzie, or say anything at all, she then slammed the door on them, abandoning them to a darkened hallway as the girls noisily made their way down the steps. Emma could have sworn as they left she heard Ellen complain about how she's not going to have her cup of tea now.

As soon as the girls were definitely gone, deadly silence filled the room with not a single sound coming in from the outside. Emma didn't know what to say. She was so cross, she was upset, she was happy to have George home – Damnit, no! She's cross and upset, not happy!

And now she was irritated with herself more than anything because she never could stay angry with George Knightly. "You said you had problems," she relented, "have you….have you sorted them out now?"

"Never mind about me," George shook his head, "How are you?"

Emma frowned slightly. He was worried about her? What for? She was obviously safe and not been kidnapped or murdered or anything since they last saw each other, and she had stormed off to make her own way to Norfolk. You know looking back she was insanely lucky that she had encountered Darcy's cousin and not some lunatic (though it was slightly debatable whether or not Richard was a lunatic…) and yes, she should probably be furious with George about that one but part of her couldn't help but feel she deserved being told no after her behaviour and it did, honestly, work out okay. "I'm okay…" she said eventually.

"Emma, I'm so sorry," Emma was about to retort that it was a little too late to be sorry, after all it had happened a month ago, when George continued, "If I could I would gladly punch Frank Churchill."

Emma blinked at that. "What?" she said confused. Frank and George had virtually never interacted with one another. Even in Highbury she thinks George might have said only two words to Frank. Why would he want to punch him?! "Erm," she mumbled, "why do you want to do that?"

This time George blinked at her in bewilderment. "Because he broke your heart," he said slowly as if she was an idiot.

"Erm, no," Emma said, "he didn't. It's my heart," Emma snapped slightly as George looked like he was about to argue, and she really didn't want a childish argument over whether or not some guy broke her heart, "I think I would know."

George frowned at her. "But weren't you two dating?!" he asked.

"No!" Emma squawked. "God no! Why would you think that?!"

"You've been…..well….very attached," George said carefully, "and very affectionate."

"I don't know if you noticed this," Emma said dryly, "but I've always been very attached and very affectionate to all of my friends. Which is all what Frank is to me."

George looked weirdly upset and pleased about this. "So you're completely fine with Frank and Jane dating?" he pressed.

"Mildly disturbed," Emma admitted, "it doesn't matter how young and close they are to you, no one wants to see their professor in that sort of position." George blinked in confusion but before he could ask exactly what Emma meant by that (Emma really didn't want to relive it any more than she had done so), Emma immediately dived in on what was bothering her. "Was that why you went to Spain?" she asked incredulously. "You thought I was dating Frank?"

She flushed at the implications of what she had just said but…..he didn't deny them. "You called for him, Emma," George snapped, "when you needed a friend to do you a favour, when you were most upset about something, you called Frank."

"Well yeah…" Emma said awkwardly, "you were angry with me, remember? I didn't think you wanted to see me."

"I was angry with you," George admitted, "you were incredibly rude to Miss Bates-"

"I know! I know!" Emma interrupted. "I was horrid, and you were right to tell me off, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to see you."

"– but you hadn't meant to be so rude," George continued as if Emma hadn't spoken, "you were under a great deal of stress and worry for Marianne, and I understand. Emma," he looked at her mournfully, "I was also ashamed of my behaviour towards you. I should not have let my indignation, anger, and jealousy get in the way of your safety. My refusal to help you get to Norfolk could have led to your death…. I had denied you when you needed me the most, and when you called Frank instead of me it confirmed what I thought….that you didn't want to see me."

"I always want to see you," Emma confessed, "not matter how angry I am at you."

"And I," George said, "will always want to see you."

Emma couldn't help but feel everything was restored back to normal. George was back, neither of them were angry with the other, and there was no misunderstandings over Frank Churchill.

Should she still be angry and hurt and make George work for his forgiveness? Maybe (Lizzie would probably say 'Yes, definitely,' Emma could hear it loud and clear in the back of her head, and maybe some of the other girls were agreeing with her, but Fanny won out in Emma's head, forgiveness should be given, not deliberately held back in order to make people suffer and work for it. And then she started rambling on how God and Jesus were very forgiving, and Emma had to switch her brain off before her own subconscious bored her), but Emma didn't want to be angry and hurt anymore. She hated fighting with George, and she suspected he hated fighting with her just as much.

They both suffered this last month and a half, they were both sorry for their behaviour, and they were both incapable of staying cross and keeping apart.

So she smiled, and he smiled back, lovely as ever, and they were the best of friends again.

Emma flung her arms round him and hugged him tightly as possible and she grinned against his arms around her and squeezed her tight as he breathed against her hair. Content silence fell and she would have happily stayed in his arms, listening to his steady heartbeat, all evening, when he suddenly pulled her away at arms' length and looked at her right in the eye with a deadly serious and solemn expression.

"You did not ask," he said quietly, "why I was jealous." Emma stared at him in disbelieve and uncertainty. They had literally only just pieced their friendship back together and he wanted to reopen the wounds again? What was there left to say? "Very well," he sighed, "I do not blame you for not asking for it would change everything."

"Then tell me," Emma said irritably, "we can't get through it if you say nothing."

George laughed humourlessly. It felt hollow and wrong, he never laughed without mirth, he was meant to be happy and cheerful. "You make it sound so easy to say," He shook his head, "Emma I…..I….blast it!" he snapped as he suddenly let her go. She stumbled back slightly. "I am an English Literature PhD student!" he said crossly. "I studied so many words before. Plenty about romance, and I still can't find the right ones to tell you about how I feel. They don't compare to how I actually feel, perhaps if I loved you less this wouldn't be so damn difficult."

Emma was numb with disbelief. Her heart sped up to ridiculous speeds and she suddenly found it incredibly difficult to breath. "Can this be?" she whispered.

George hesitatingly placed his hands on her shoulders again and stared down at her with a solemn expression. "Emma, I know I'm not always the greatest friend," he said seriously, "I have lectured you, sometimes too harshly, and definitely when you have needed my help instead…..but you borne it better than anyone else would, and I….is there a chance? Even the tiniest of hope, that you could ever return my feelings?"

"You idiot," Emma shook her head, and his face fell into pure misery, and then quickly switched to confusion as she stepped closer to him, her hands on his cheeks, "I've been in love with you for years," she admitted.

He laughed, delightedly, and Emma felt her heart leap as he pulled her closer by the waist and leaned in slightly, she tilted her head up slightly, and with a slowness that pained her greatly, their lips finally met in a tender and gentle kiss.

It was so different from their last kiss. Softer, more meaningful, and painful with all the feelings they had both stupidly bottled up slowly seeping through.

It was utterly perfect.

They pulled apart and stared at one another dazed, and then the most gorgeous, elated, grin appeared on George's face and whatever was left of Emma's restraint snapped as she threw herself at him.

Poor George stumbled, tripped over a suitcase, and went flying back on the floor. Emma found out instantly that straddling her newfound boyfriend in the middle of the hallway while she snogged him was probably one of the hottest things ever….

It was a very good thing the girls went out to the pub, otherwise it would have been very awkward.

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Cathy was exhausted when she got home.

It had been a very long journey, made even longer by the fact she was carrying a very heavy suitcase, and all she wanted was a cuddle with her mother, a cup of tea, and then a comfortable place to sleep. It didn't even have to be her bed, the bean bag on the floor would do. Instead the moment she came in her mother herded her into the kitchen giddily.

"You would never guess what a week I've had darling!" her mother trilled. "You may be jetting off to have adventures now but we're having adventures come right to our front door."

Cathy was going to ask what her mother was on about (and perhaps make a sulky comment about how her mother could give her a hug hello and ask how she's been first before dragging her off into the kitchen) when she caught sight of the impossible in her garden.

There stood, right bang in the middle, surrounded by her younger siblings – Harry Tilney!

Cathy went straight down on her knees at the sight of him, taking a page out of Lizzie's book on how to avoid men, as she clutched her head and moaned. This couldn't be happening! What was he doing here? Did she accidentally insult a cousin of his in Scotland?

"What on earth are you doing, Catherine?" her mother asked in amused exasperation. "Don't you spend enough time on the floor with you clumsy antics? Do you need to now throw yourself onto the floor?"

"Tha-tha-that boy!" Cathy stuttered. "Why is he here?"

"Harry?" her mother said in a dreamy fondness. "Such a sweetheart!" she trilled. "Do you know he came here desperate to apologise to you and when I told him you wouldn't be back for another week, he asked if he could wait for you. He has been here all week waiting for you. Isn't that romantic?"

"Mum," Cathy moaned in embarrassment. "Why did you let him stay?"

"He is such a good boy!" her mother defended him. "He hasn't imposed on us at all. He helps around the house, he plays with your brothers and sisters, and he has shown nothing but an earnest desire to apologise to you. Why should I turn him out? What sort of rude and inconsiderate person do you think I am?"

"It's not that Mum," Cathy murmured, "It's not him that should apologise. It's me. I was so awful. So very rude."

"I cannot see you be that rude. I have raised you to be better than that, Catherine Laura Moreland," her mother said sternly, "but if you believe you should apologise to him then you ought to go out and apologise to him!"

"But Mum, I-"

"Now!"

And then before she knew it, Cathy was pushed out of the kitchen door into the garden by her own mother of all people! So much for blood being thicker than water, she thought grumpily as she staggered down the steps onto the patio. Her youngest sister caught sight of her and beamed ecstatically.

"CATHY'S HOME!"

And then suddenly Cathy was mobbed by siblings. They hugged her waist, they clung to her arms, and even to her legs, and they babbled on and on about how much they missed her, what they were had been doing since she had left, how cool Harry is, and is he your boyfriend? Cathy felt flustered and flushed as she tried to peel her siblings off of her.

Harry's eyes were on her, and if she was still that girl who applied fantasies to real life, she would they were staring at her in awe. The very idea made her blush more and she ducked her head down to avoid looking at him.

"Cathy…." Harry breathed. "Cathy I need to talk to you. I…"

He trailed off and Cathy was suddenly aware her siblings were watching them intently. And they weren't the only ones because her mother had chosen then to stick her head out of the window and shout; "I SWEAR TO GOD, CATHERINE LAURA MORELAND, IF YOU DON'T MAKE THAT BOY MY SON IN LAW YOU ARE DISOWNED!"

"Oh dear God!" Cathy moaned in embarrassment as her brothers and sisters giggled. She was going to die. Her head was going to explode out of sheer humiliation and her siblings will dig her grave next to their old cat's grave right here in the garden. "Shut up Mum!" she hissed into her hands. Harry smiled at her sheepishly and she tried to smile back but it was definitely a grimace instead. "Let's talk privately," she suggested quietly. "Without my Mum giving her input."

"Oh I don't know," Harry's smile transformed into a rare cheeky grin, "I quite like your mother's input."

She dragged him away before her family could poison him even more with their embarrassing ideas. They went out of the garden's back gate and into the alleyway between streets. Hopefully the high walls would prevent her brothers and sisters eavesdropping to a certain extent and definitely her mother's. Once they shut the gate behind them, Cathy found herself examining her nails, unable to speak or look at Harry.

"Cathy," Harry said finally, "I wanted to say-"

"Look, I'm sorry!" she blurted out instantly. "I should have never have thought of those things about your Dad. Let alone say them out loud to you and other people. I was rude, mean, and inconsiderate, you are right to be angry with me but I hope one day that you could find it in yourself to forgive me. I'm so, so, so, so sorry!"

"Cathy, Cathy," Harry said as he reached out to silence her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It is an easy conclusion to make with a man like my father. I suppose that's why I was so cross. We had watched him drain the life out of Mum with his coldness and cruelty. He married her for her money and it destroyed her." Harry looked mournful as he was clearly remembering his mother and how miserable she must have been. "Your accusations hit quite close to home even if they weren't true."

"But it was so stupid and thoughtless of me to jump to such conclusions," Cathy shook her head and continued with her apologies. "I let my imagination run away and I hurt everyone, your father is quite right to-"

"He had no right to do that!" Harry jumped in. "Nothing in the world could excuse that sort of behaviour. It didn't matter if you threw scalding hot coffee in his face and called him a murderer to his face, he still shouldn't have thrown you out in the middle of the night." Cathy disagreed but she had no chance to voice that as Harry sighed heavily and looked remorsefully into her eyes. "But he didn't throw you out because of your words. He doesn't know that you had said them." He doesn't?! Cathy felt her eyes widen, then why…? "He had thrown you out because….Oh God, Cathy," Harry choked out shame-faced, "he threw you out because you weren't as rich as he thought you were."

Cathy frowned at that. "He thought I was rich?" What on earth would make him think that? All her clothes were from Primark for Christ sake! She hardly screamed rich girl.

"Yes," Harry said, "A John Thorp had told him all about you. I think he was hoping to get an in with my father in order to improve his career choices once he graduated." Cathy blinked in confusion, how would she have helped that sleazy pervert's career? She didn't have to ask this out loud fortunately, Harry continued with his explanation without prompting. "He told my father that your godfather was insanely rich and you would inherit it all. My father thought you were Mr Allen's heir, a girl with connections in the world of politics and wealthy enough to support him in his pursuits as a dutiful daughter in law," Harry blushed a little at that, "You were only guilty for not being as rich as he thought you were."

Cathy almost slumped to the ground in relief. A weight on her shoulders had definitely been lifted and she knew could sleep easier tonight without so much guilt weighing on her. "I thought you were so angry with me you had told him what I did and that was why…." She trailed off, nibbled her lip nervously before she took a deep breath for courage, "It was justified if that was the case."

"Nothing could have justified throwing a young girl out in the middle of the night!" Harry snapped. "Anything could have happened to you Cathy! Anything!"

"Now who is letting their imagination run away with them?" Cathy smiled. "I was fine, nothing happened to me and I got home safe. There were no rapists or murderers lurking in your back garden, I can assure you."

"You are teasing me," he accused her. Though he was smiling and seemed rather pleased that she was teasing him.

"You tease me all the time," she shot back.

"I hope that means you forgive me for my father's behaviour," Harry said a little shyly, "When I found out I became very angry with him. We…well we have never argued before, but we did then. I told him I wouldn't stand for it. That I wouldn't abandon you. I am quite bound to you, by honour, by affection, and by a love so strong that there is nothing that will stop me from-"

"From what?" Cathy asked. Her heart was beating wildly, she felt hope rise up within her, and she was so desperate to hear the rest of the sentence. Could he….? Did he….? Oh please!

"Before I go on I must tell you I have nothing now," Harry warned her, "I think my father will most certainly disinherit me and whatever position he had secured for me is gone. I will have to start life like any other graduate and it won't be easy."

"Doesn't matter," Cathy shook her head, "This isn't some nineteenth century novel, there is always help to find a job, there is always a way, and even if it was some nineteenth century novel it wouldn't matter anyway because I too am bound to you by a love so strong that there is nothing that will stop me from being with you."

"I hope…." He trailed off, took a deep breath, and spoke again, his voice cracking slightly. "This means you have no problem with me pursuing a relationships with you."

"Yes," she breathed happily, "oh yes, please."

Her hands shook as she grabbed his shoulders and he pulled her gently to him as they leaned in. it took what felt like an eternity as they were slow, shaky, and definitely terrified the pair of them. It was good to know she wasn't the only one scared of what could happen…..but when it did happen, when their lips did meet, by God it was the most perfect, gentle, and wonderful thing she had ever experienced.

So surely she was quite forgiven for deepening it and slamming him against the wall.

JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA

"When do you think it's safe to go back?"

It was on their fourth drink, when Ellen asked this, after she caught Fanny trying to smother another yawn, and Anne looked like she was going to fall out of her seat she was so exhausted, and Ellen personally felt like she was going to fall asleep right there and then.

"No idea," Lizzie shrugged, "I assumed Emma would call us when they're done and then we could go back."

"Do you think they're still talking?" Anne asked. "It's been three hours. I'd quite like to go home and go to bed."

"So would I," Fanny agreed, "It's been an exhausting day."

"Try exhausting week," Ellen said, "you'd think a holiday would energise you not drain you. Urgh," she groaned to herself, "I have work first thing in the morning, let's just go home and risk walking in on an argument."

"After three hours?" Lizzie snorted. "It won't be an argument we'll walk in on, it'll either be the pair of them ripping each other's clothes off or George's bloody corpse in the living room which we'll have to help hide, and we'll never get the smell out of the carpet. Ever."

"Thank you for that, Lizzie."

The girls all jumped and turned at the sound of George's dry, sarcastic, voice. They were instantly greeted at the sight of Emma and George standing there, hand in hand, with the most ridiculously pleased looks on their faces.

"Hey," Ellen greeted them warmly, "have you sorted everything out?"

"Yeah," Emma said in a dopey voice, "we're all good now."

"Perfect," George added in a dreamy tone.

Lizzie raised an eyebrow at the others. George had never sounded dreamy before, he was usually too sensible for that nonsense. Ellen shrugged in reply while Anne and Fanny stared at Emma and George with wide-eyed fascination which caused Lizzie to turn back at them just in time to catch them staring at one another in sheer, unnatural, adoration.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the fact that Emma's hair looked rather wind-swept while George's stuck up unnaturally, that both of their lips looked a little swollen, and they were both rather flushed and a bit too happy with themselves…..

….George reached out and tucked a stand of Emma's hair behind her ear while Emma leaned into his touch with a love-struck look on her face.

"Oh my God! You two are a couple now!" Lizzie cried out. "Oh, Ew, you really were tearing each other clothes off!"

"We were not!" George flushed. "We just talked things over."

"I wanted to," Emma said with a cheeky glint in her eyes, "but George said he wanted to wait."

"Emma!"

Emma laughed and instantly reassured everyone, but mostly George, that she was only joking. Still flustered, and obviously didn't want to get teased any further, George offered to get the next round of drinks. He left the girls with a quick chaste kiss on Emma's lips which Emma responded by nuzzling her nose against his and the goofiest grin ever.

"God," Lizzie groaned as Emma sat down, "you're disgustingly cute together."

"I can't help it!" Emma confessed, the goofy grin still fixed on her face. "You have no idea how insanely happy I am right now."

"I think we can guess," Ellen grinned. "In fact I know."

"So do I," Anne added.

Before Lizzie could make a comment about how she, Cathy, and Fanny wouldn't know, her phone beeped with a text. Hoping it was Darcy, simply so she could tell him about Emma and George before they could and embarrass them somehow (she hadn't thought this one through yet) she rushed to open it and her mouth dropped open at the sight of her new text.

"Hey guys," she said as she held up her phone, "look at this."

"OH MY GOD!"

Lizzie winced as the poor old man that sat at the table next to them jumped as all four of her friends screamed excitedly. George had peered back from the bar with worry as Lizzie's phone was snatched away from her so the girls could examine the text and picture more carefully.

Cathy had sent them one sentence and a cute, though rather awkward, selfie. Her head had been at an odd angle with her chin pointed upwards, though you could definitely see the ridiculously happy grin that Emma had worn mere seconds ago spread across Cathy's face, the top of her head rested on Harry Tilney's shoulder as he pressed a kiss on her temple.

Her text had read; me and my new boyfriend.

"We're seriously going to have to re-examine our rules," Lizzie said as she put her phone away, "I do not want to walk in on you and your boyfriends making out on our sofa or something. Be considerate to the two single people you share a home with, please."

"Don't you mean one?"

Lizzie thought her neck had snapped she moved her head so quickly to stare at Fanny in disbelieve. "When did you get a boyfriend?!" she yelped. "Am I seriously the only single one left in the house?!"

"What?!" Fanny cried out suddenly flustered. "No! I just meant….I was trying to tease you," she mumbled awkwardly. "About Darcy."

"Darcy and I are just friends!"

Everyone snorted at that. "Please," Ellen said, "pull the other one, it has bells on it."

"But we are!"

"Considering this time last year," Anne said quietly, "you said that you hated Darcy with every fibre of your being and would never be friends with him let alone stick your tongue down his throat. Don't be surprised that we don't believe the whole 'we're just friends' thing."

"Yeah," Emma giggled, "we all know you loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove him."

"So the only one that can protest about all the couples in the house," Fanny added, "is me…..please don't make out in the living room. We all sit on that sofa."

"Don't worry," Ellen reassured Fanny, "I would never."

"Hmmm…." Lizzie eyed the bright red faces of both Emma and Anne, "it might be too late for Emma and Anne to make that promise."

"Oh boy," Emma said as she turned away from them, "What is taking George so long with those drinks?"

As if he sensed his girlfriend's distress, George chose that moment to make Emma help him carry the drinks back to the table, and instantly the conversation changed to other subjects (….well okay, they mostly teased each other the whole night) as they celebrated George and Emma's newfound happiness.

…they didn't get home till after midnight, much to Ellen's irritation the next morning.

Author's Note: I'm sorry, really sorry, that this chapter took so long to come out. I kept hitting blocks over it. Many thanks to Witty Eagle Proud Ravenclaw who gave me a kick up the bum and made me promise to update by the end of this month.