A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. I am so sorry for such a long delay but it's summer vacation and even the girl who usually sits in her room and does nothing was busy. But I won't bore you with my summer (which, by the way, was totally awesome). Anyway, the last few days have been kinda...weird. Long story short, Agatha Christie is my new obsession.

But don't think I have forgotten about you at all. In fact, I felt extremely guilty all summer while I was trying to enjoy my vacation. So, thanks guys, you subconsciously made me feel guilty for having left you. It's okay, I forgive you.

This is not my best chapter, and I didn't edit because it's 1 am. So, uh, sorry. But I would love your feedback, please?

Ch. 18

When the movie was over they all sat in the usual post-movie awkward silence until Mrs. Reynolds broke it. "I hope you all enjoyed the movie as much as I did. It's one of my favorites."

Liz nodded her head. "It really is a great movie. I like the message it sends. The same isn't always better, sometimes when you are forced to move out of your comfort zone you can experience new things, better things."

Georgie agreed. "Well said, Liz." Georgie then threw a pointed glance at her brother, as if trying to tell him something.

"What time is it?" Liz asked, pulling out her phone. "Shoot, I have ten missed calls from Jane and a couple others from Mary and Cate. I wonder why they're all calling. Excuse me." Liz got up from her spot on the couch and moved into another room to listen to the voicemails that Jane left for her over an hour ago.

When Liz heard the panic in Jane's voice, she froze.

"Oh, Liz, I know you are working and I don't mean to be a bother but when you get this message can you call back. Something happened and I just wanted to let you know. I hope by the time you call back everything will be alright." Liz then heard the dial tone and the computerized voice that said "End of message." She quickly moved on to the next one, hoping that whatever the problem was, it had already been taken care of.

"Liz, I am so sorry to bother you again, but umm..." The phone was quiet on the other end for a few seconds, but Liz could hear the faint noise of Jane sobbing. Her heart started beating faster. What happened? Did Charlie break up with Jane? Did someone die? "Liz, Lydia is missing." A more audible cry came from the phone, Liz was sure that her heart had stopped. How could Lydia have gone missing? Liz had just seen her two days ago.

"Lydia didn't come home last night, and when I tried her phone it didn't work. Charlie told me not to panic, but a day had passed and I still hadn't heard from her so we decided to call the police. Mom, Dad, Mary and Cate are flying out to help look for her. But I'm scared, Liz. She doesn't know Los Angeles well and I'm afraid she's lost forever." The message ended. Liz felt tears well up in her eyes, but she pressed the next one, hoping that it brought the good news that Lydia had been found. It was Charlie's voice on Jane's cell phone.

"Hey, uh, Liz I know you are working now but when you get this can you call back. Jane is a wreck right now and I think she needs you. The rest of your family is flying out right now, but I think she really needs you home. I know that you're doing that interview with Will and if you haven't finished it yet I can talk to your boss. As Will's agent, I could just tell your boss that an interview isn't needed. We could just make a public statement. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Forget about the interview and come back to L.A." Charlie pleaded on the other end of the line. Liz could hear the desperate panic in his voice.

She couldn't help herself anymore, she started sobbing violently. What was she going to do? Well, first thing I'm going to do is get on the next plane back to LAX. I can't wait until tonight to fly back Liz thought to herself.

Just then, Will came around the corner. He was smiling until he noticed Liz's tear stained face and puffy eyes. "Oh my gosh, Elizabeth. Is everything okay?" His features showed genuine concern. He hated to see her sad.

Liz shook her head. "No, nothing is okay. Jane called and said that my sister, Lydia, is missing. She does't know where she is or who she is with. My little baby sister is lost in Los Angeles and I'm scared I'll never see her again." The statement brought more tears to Liz's eyes as the realization that she might never see Lydia again fully hit her.

Will was by her side in a matter of seconds, with his warm arm wrapped around her. Liz leaned into his chest and cried, a bitter laugh escaping from her mouth when she remembered that the same thing had happened only hours ago, except the roles were switched.

"I think we've both seen each other at our most vulnerable." Liz said into Will's chest.

He pulled away slightly so he could look at her. Then, he carefully wiped the tears form her cheeks with his thumb. "Well, at least we trust each other enough to let our guards down around each other. Now, when was the last time you saw your sister. Do you know where she was going at the time?" Will asked, attempting to be a little helpful.

"No, I have no idea where she was going. She was dressed up, well, dressed up for Lydia. She looked like she was going out to a party or something. But she doesn't know anyone in L.A besides me and Jane." Liz sniffled. "I have to get home. I have to look for the next flight back, Charlie said he would take care of my boss."

"Charlie?" Will asked. "Does he know about your sister going missing?"

Liz wiped her eyes again. "Yea, he was with Jane when she decided to call the police."

Will nodded. "Okay, I'll look for another flight and you go pack your bags. We can be at the airport in as little as one hour."

"Will, you don't have to help me. This is my problem. I can handle it." Liz insisted. Part of her wanted his help, but another, more stubborn part, said she didn't need his help.

"I insist. It is no trouble. Now go pack your bags, we don't want to waste any time."

Liz looked at him for a minute, about to protest. But then she realized that arguing would be futile...and it would just waste the little time she had. She quickly nodded and raced up the steps two at a time to pack her bag.

In the guest room, she haphazardly threw items into her bag, not caring how she packed or if she forgot anything. Five minutes later she came down the steps with her bag in hand and Will already had a plane ticket printed off his computer.

He handed her the ticket. "I booked a non-stop flight that leaves in two hours. It was the soonest one. Let me just tell Martha and Georgie we're leaving and I'll drive you to the airport."

Will started moving toward the family room, but Liz grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Will, thanks for the ticket. I'll pay you back."

"No need." Will waved her off. Before she could protest more, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the living room.

"Where have you guys been?" Georgie asked playfully, unaware of the current situation.

"A...situation...has come up and Liz has to go home. I'm taking her to the airport right now." Will answered, concealing why she needed to leave.

"Oh no!" Georgie exclaimed. "We were having so much fun."

"I know." Liz and Georgie embraced each other. "I'm really glad I met you, you're such a wonderful person, Georgie." Liz whispered to Georgie, her eyes stinging. Although she had just met Georgie, she was sad to be leaving her so soon. Georgie was just the kind of girl she would have loved to have for a sister, not that she would trade any of her silly sisters.

"I'll really miss you, Liz." Georgie responded, equally as sad to see her new friend have to go so soon. "Now, listen, I stole your phone last night and put my number in it. It's under 'Georgie is the cat's pajamas,' don't ask why, I didn't really think it through. Promise to call when you get back to L.A?" Georgie asked hopefully.

"Oh course I will." Liz forced a smile. She was feeling anything but happy right now.

"Great, I'll be waiting." Georgie said as she moved out of the way so that Mrs. Reynolds could say goodbye.

"Goodbye, dear." Mrs. Reynolds hugged Liz.

"Bye, Mrs. Reynolds. It was so nice to meet you."

"You as well." Mrs. Reynolds said.

Will looked at his watch and, realizing the time, started to usher Liz out of the room. "Okay, so we're off to the airport now. I'll be back in a couple of hours. I just want to see to it that Elizabeth gets on the plane safe."

Both Mrs. Reynolds and Georgie then waved to Will, feeling as though he was in too much of a rush for a hug goodbye. He took Liz's bag from her hands and threw it into the trunk before opening the car door for Liz.

As they pulled out of the driveway, Liz took out her phone again. "I'm just going to call Jane and tell her I'm on my way home" she explained to Will before searching her contacts and pressing send.

Someone picked up the phone. "Liz? Where are you? We've been trying to get in touch with you forever." Mary, Liz's sister, explained. "We don't need another member of this family going M.I.A."

"Sorry, Mary. I'm on my way home right now. I'm taking the next flight from Rochester to LAX." Liz momentarily looked at the plane ticket in her hand and informed her sister of her flight number.

"Great." Mary replied, a little distracted. "Listen, mom is lying on the couch in hysterics right now. When Jane called to tell us Lydia was missing, she flipped a shit. She was wailing the entire plane ride. I swear she was worse than a crying baby on an airplane. Anyway, Jane was trying to calm her, but she just came into the kitchen cursing, which is very un-Jane. So now it's my turn to soothe the momster. Gotta go, see you when you get here Liz."

The phone went quiet for a moment. Mary probably had put the phone onto the table without hanging it up.

"Hello?" Liz asked the phone, wondering if anyone was at the other end of the line.

There was some crackling, and then breathing before Jane spoke. "Hey, Liz" Jane said wearily.

"Hey Janie, I'm on my way home." Liz matched her tone. "Has mom worn you out yet?"

"A thousand times over. I needed a break so Mary went to distract her with The Real Housewives."

"Ugh, you guys really shouldn't be letting her watch those kinds of shows. It just fuels her drama queen fire." Will looked over to Liz with a questioning look but she just shrugged and returned to her conversation with Jane. "So, what's the situation with Lydia. What has happened on that front since your last message?"

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. When the police questioned Cate, she said that the last communication she had from Lydia was a...oh what do you call them...a Snapchat from the day she went missing. She said the photo was of her and a guy at a party, drinking and whatnot. Cate described the man as blonde, blue eyes, good looking, and several inches taller than Lydia, from the picture. When the police recovered the photo, would you believe who it was? George Wickham! I mean, it makes sense how they could have met, but I can't believe that he would hang around Lydia, from what Charlie said, he's at least ten years older than her!"

"Oh, I can believe he would do that, preying on young girls. He's a sick person, Jane." Liz sighed. "I should have told you before I left about him, I should have warned Lydie."

Liz's eyes stung once again as she felt tears coming on.

"What are you talking about, Liz? Do you know something I don't?" Jane questioned her sister.

"I'll tell you about it when I get home. Now's not the time." She glanced at Will, who had his eyes on the road, gripping the steering wheel tight, pretending not to listen. "I'm going to hang up now, Jane. I'll call when I land to see if there is any new developments."

Jane said goodbye and Liz pressed the "end call" button. She wanted to scream, she was so mad at George Wickham for taking advantage of her little sister. She was mad at her sister for being stupid enough to even go somewhere with Wickham. She was mad at herself for being to busy dealing with her own problems the last time she saw her sister that she hadn't even spent more than a minute talking to her. But most of all, she was sad. Sad that she would never see her sister again.

Liz's tears had run out. Her eyes were puffy and red and she probably looked like hell. But that didn't matter because all that she cared about in that moment was getting back to her family. They needed her right now just as much as she needed them. For a couple of minutes after she ended the call, she just stared out the window. It was getting late out. The sun was starting to set. It would have been romantic in...different circumstances.

Will startled her when he spoke. "I couldn't help but hear your conversation with Jane. George Wickham is behind this?" His voice was cold and detached, almost as if he had reverted back to the Will she first met.

Liz was a little surprised at the tone in his voice. "Yes" she said quietly. What must he think of my family? Did he hear everything? Even when I was talking to Mary?

Will didn't say anything more. Luckily, they had nearly reached the Airport.

He dropped Liz off on the curb, retrieving her bag for her without a word. "Thanks. For everything. I had a really great time with...your sister." Liz mumbled. She felt really lame in that moment. She was about to say that she had a good time with him, but she caught herself. His cold demeanor, seeming to start after the mention of Wickham, signaled to Liz that he wasn't interested.

"You're welcome." Will put his hands in his pocket and looked down. "Well, I hope everything turns out well with your family. Goodbye Elizabeth." He made a move to hug her, but decided not to, fearing that it wasn't appropriate considering the situation. Instead, he settled on a handshake, which Liz returned with some reluctance after staring at his hand for a few seconds.

"Goodbye, Will." Liz said before she turned toward the sliding doors of the airport entrance.

Once she was out of view, Will slammed his hand against his car while cursing Wickham. Of course he would swoop in again and ruin things for him. Last time it was his family, this time his chances with Elizabeth.

He also felt a strong sense of guilt. None of this would have happened if he hadn't done something about Wickham the last time around. He hated to see Elizabeth cry, it tore him to pieces. And to think that he could have prevented those tears made him feel sick.

Will had to do something. He couldn't let George Wickham harm another family. Especially not Elizabeth's. Without giving much thought to what he was going to do, Will rushed over to a valet at one of the curbside stations. Quickly he handed the valet his keys and searched for a few large bills from his wallet, more than enough to cover a few days parking. "Here, take this. I need you to park my car." Will pointed to a sleek black car.

The stunned valet finally spoke. "But, sir. You have to fill out a card first. First of all, we need your name."

By this time, Will was starting to back away towards the same entrance Liz had gone in. "You know who I am." Then, he disappeared through the door, leaving the valet with his mouth hanging open and the oddest encounter of his career.

A passerby who had seen the exchange told the valet, "Dude, that's Will Darcy, the famous actor!"

A/N: Sorry for bringing Snapchat into this...Akkkk.