A/N: Thanks to janashe for posting a request to update. It got me motivated to write this chapter. Sorry I have been neglecting this story. Unfathomable definitely is a time sucker. Remember, this fic is NOT canon and everyone will be OOC to varying degrees. This is just a harmless, fun, travel fic with a little smoochy, smoochy. And angst. Sorry for the angst haters but it will come.

Recap: Ellie Bennet is in Madrid to teach English. She works for a company called Teaching Abroad, Inc. (TAI). Last night the TAI staff went out salsa dancing. She danced with and kissed Charlie Bingley but also had a couple dances (and electric connection) to Will Darcy.

Chapter 6

Ellie hauled herself out of bed as her alarm inconsiderately beeped over and over. It couldn't be time to get up; it just couldn't. She reached over for the small, portable clock her sister had given her and frowned. If she wanted to go to Toledo with the rest of the teachers she would need to get a move on. Why in the world did they plan a day trip for the morning after our club night? Ellie knew that Charlotte wouldn't be making an appearance this early and given Charlie's similar aversion to early mornings she suspected that he'd skip as well. It was better off that way. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see him yet. That last kiss was just plain awkward. Ellie shrugged and pulled on khaki colored cargo shorts and a white t-shirt.

As she brushed her teeth in the communal bathroom she did not see a soul. Nervously she checked her watch. They were supposed to meet downstairs at 7:45 a.m. to make the 9:00 train to Toledo. It was 7:40. Ellie tied her hair in a topknot and rushed out of the bathroom to grab her shoes. She felt tired and not at all in a social mood but she did not want to miss her first excursion for anything in the world. Toledo was a medieval Spanish city about a half an hour outside of Madrid. Her guidebook had told her that it was famous for the varied historical rulers of the city and the intersection of religions their conquests created. The artist El Greco also lived in Toledo and many of his works could be seen in the small city.

Ellie passed the dining room. She'd have to get some coffee at the train station. She was never late for anything and she didn't want to start now. She tried to quietly open the enormous front door and gave a nervous wave to Javier as he peered at her from the window in the door to his office. Ellie skipped down the stairs and looked around. No one was here. Her heart started racing. The trip was today, wasn't it? Her chest tightened and her breathing became short and rapid. I wonder if I should go back up to my room and check the itinerary? She looked down the street in the direction of the metro station. It was about two and half blocks away and so she had no way of knowing if everyone had left without her but she stood on tiptoe to see if she could identify anyone. The street was quiet.

Ellie fumbled in her purse for her phone. There were no texts. Should she call Charlotte? Charlie? Will? She was a dunce and hadn't programmed anyone's number in yet. She felt her toes curl in her shoes. Take a deep breath, Ellie. You are not in danger. You are in front of your building. If everyone has left for the trip, it will not be the end of the world. Don't give in to these feelings.

"Ellie?" she heard a voice call softly to her.

She opened her eyes, not having realized she closed them in her anxiety. "Will," she said brightly, trying to obliterate the adrenaline running through her veins from her near panic attack.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Ellie nodded briskly. "Fine. Just, uh, meditating while I wait for everyone." She tried to give him a reassuring smile. Suddenly, her face fell. "I haven't missed it, have I? The trip to Toledo, I mean. I thought we were meeting out here but then I didn't see anyone. Was Carmen or Christine leading the trip?"

Will smiled at her. "Nope, that would be me again. I think that they've got a trick coin because I keep losing that toss. I can't believe I am leading a tour the morning after going out dancing. Carmen and Christine owe me big time."

Ellie smiled back at him. "I know," she said, stifling a yawn. "I'm going to need coffee. I feel like a zombie this morning."

He stared at her for a second before speaking. Ellie could not help but feel bashful under his gaze. She felt a blush starting. "You don't look like one, if that helps."

Ellie laughed, "Thanks, I guess, but I don't believe you. I think we both look pretty rough this morning."

"Ouch." Will looked around him. "I don't think anyone else is coming," he announced. "Should we get going?" He looked at her expectantly.

Ellie started. No one else coming? "Maybe you should reschedule?" she said nervously. She wanted to go on her first excursion outside of Madrid but she imagined it with a big group of her new friends, not a one-on-one with the boss. Especially a one-on-one with a boss that she had danced with pretty seductively not even a dozen hours before.

Will rubbed his chin. "Nah, Christine would have a fit if we tried to change her schedule. If you don't feel like going we can skip it but TAI's paying. You might as well take advantage of it. I'm game if you are."

Ellie looked up and down the street again and back to the front door of the Residencia Santa Maria de Europa. "Okay," she said. "Let's go."

They walked in companionable silence to the Moncloa station where they took the yellow line to Callao. The metro station was nearly empty this Saturday morning and the low fluorescent lights cast an unfriendly glow in the underground platform. Ellie was glad for Will's company as they entered a car.

She studied him as they were seated in the hard gray seats. Will looked exhausted but unlike her his clothing was immaculate. He had dressed in a chambray button down shirt and tan cargo shorts. Instead of wrinkled cargos which she so cavalierly put on without a second thought, his appeared ironed and starched. His hair was neatly combed and though he had some stubble it too appeared well groomed. She couldn't get over that he just looked clean and fresh, though his eyes betrayed his lack of sleep. They must be such a contrasting pair.

At the Callao station they switched to the blue line and Ellie appreciated Will leading her from one metro car to the next. "Oh," he said in her ear as he shepherded her onto the car. "We're going to have a show."

She looked over at an older woman with a toothless grin and a young, dirty boy. Will went over and took his seat and she followed, confusion etched on her face. She looked up at him and he leaned in, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. "They're gypsies," he said quietly. "Spain has a rich gitano culture but there is a small subset which are known for their street performances and sadly their attempts to swindle."

Ellie watched fascinated as the little boy began playing a tambourine and the old woman began speaking in a high pitched voice. "Señoras y Señores. Perdonen la molestia..." She was speaking painstakingly slowly but Ellie still could not understand her. She looked back at Will expectantly.

He leaned in again. "She is saying, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to bother you but I am just a humble woman. I have seven children and fifteen grandchildren. My grandson Nicolas is playing a tune for you wonderful listeners. Please find it in your heart to give to us so that we may eat." He paused and Elizabeth turned back to the woman only to find her standing expectantly before her. She felt Will lean in and he whispered, "It's most likely fake."

Ellie looked into the wizened face and determined that even if fake, this woman held her pity and perhaps some respect. She certainly wouldn't board a train car full of people and beg for money unless she was in the most dire of circumstances. If this was the case, the woman needed the money. If this woman was a fake, she had earned the money in Ellie's mind for being so bold. She pulled out her purse and extracted some coins which she placed in the woman's outstretched hands. "Te bendigo," the woman said as she walked on.

Will burst out laughing. "What?" Ellie asked defensively.

"She told you that she blesses you." Will shook his head and stood up, indicating it was time to disembark. "You paid for a gypsy's blessings."

"I gave her that money for fact she had the guts to ask for it. I fail to understand why that is funny."

He stopped and turned to her. "Can I have five euros?" She smacked his arm and kept walking, even though she didn't know where she was going. "What? I have guts, too. I'm delighted to know they could get me some money." Ellie stuck her tongue out at him. Will laughed. "We've been reduced to five-year old antics? Fine." He reached out and poked her in the shoulder before speeding up ahead of her.

Ellie hurried after him. Will's long legs were leaving more distance but a few seconds of sprinting allowed her to catch up to him. She poked him in his ribs. "Tag," she called out.

He quickly poked her back and there was a furious exchange of pokes and jabs as they climbed the stairs to exit the metro station and enter the train station. Ellie grabbed his left hand to hold it hostage. "Aha," she crowed triumphantly.

He grabbed her left hand. "Now, what are you going to do Miss Smartypants?" She gave him an angry pout as she contemplated her next move. They stood at the top of the stairs holding each other's hands, getting jostled by the travelers who were making their way into the train station. She hadn't had silly, stupid fun like this in so long. If she really thought about it she figured that her life would now be filled with more serious moments. Sure, she would have fun but in a more dignified way; a way which befitted her age. Ellie was glad for this reprieve from adult life. Will was looking down at her with a self-satisfied smirk and she turned away, trying to figure out what to do next.

"Wow," she said. She had just realized that they were actually in the Atocha train station. The ceiling was curved and the station was flooded in light from the multitude of windows and skylights. Palm trees and other tropical greenery made an island in the middle. "What a beautiful train station." She dropped his hand and he dropped hers as she wandered forward a few steps, admiring the building. "I've never been anywhere like this."

Will smiled. "It's pretty spectacular," he agreed. "I'll go buy us tickets. Can you find us coffee?" He handed her a ten euro note which she tried to refuse. "TAI is buying, remember? I was planning on funding train tickets, food and sightseeing for a dozen. Coffee is fine." He looked around. There is a pond at the far end with some turtles in it. Meet there?" Ellie saw where he was pointing and nodded.

About ten minutes later she met back up with Will, two cafes con leche in her hands and a bag of donuts. "Will, she called as she approached. He took one of the cups from her. "I found a Dunkin Donuts. How cool is that?"

"I do enjoy the occasional Dunkin Donuts stop but it feels like sacrilege to be enjoying American donuts in Spain."

"I don't care," she said airily, taking a bite of her chocolate frosted donut. "I need some reminder of home about now."

He gestured towards their platform and they walked over drinking their coffee and eating donuts. "Are you homesick?" he asked.

"Some," she admitted. "Not as much as I thought I would be. Or rather," she said, trying to put her finger on it, "not as much as I feared I would be. I'm kind of proud of that." She smiled up at him and because he didn't look completely bored she continued on. "I miss my older sister, Jane terribly. She's married and I haven't seen her regularly for a few years but we talk a lot."

"What does she think about you being here?"

"She's proud of me. I think I shocked her at first. I used to be more outgoing but for the last several years I... I don't know. I haven't really been me. The me I think I am, at least." Ellie blushed at her admission. "Well, anyways, Jane is fantastic and she's really supportive of me being here. So is my younger sister, actually. Even though we don't have that much in common and I question her choices in men, Lydia was the only one to wholeheartedly endorse my plan to move to Spain. I'm grateful for that."

Ellie was silent for a few minutes as the train boarded. She followed Will to their seats and looked out the window. Soak in this moment, Ellie Bennet. She was on a train, in an ridiculously gorgeous train station, in Spain. She took in a deep yoga breath and let it out. She snuck a look at Will. He was looking at his ticket and typing something into his phone. A smile came to her face. Not that long ago she was tiptoeing around her house so she wouldn't wake Lydia and Wicks. She was moaning about getting laid off, not knowing what was in store for her. Now she was sitting on a train with a handsome man on her way to Toledo. Her eyebrow twitched. Did she just think of Will as handsome? She looked at him again. Ok, yes, he is handsome. She thought of Charlie. Sweet, adorable Charlie who had just last night kissed her. Her first kiss in five long years. Her smile grew. Life was funny.

"Do you have any nieces or nephews?" Will asked, breaking into her thoughts.

Ellie's thoughts flitted to Jane's miscarriage. "No, I don't. Jane hasn't been able to have children. I can't say I'm sorry. Don't get me wrong, she would be a fantastic mother, but she is married to this horrible guy."

Will raised an eyebrow. "You don't like your brother-in-law?"

"Not at all," she said. She felt an urge to tell Will more but then realized that her dislike of her brother-in-law and the messy story of how he became married to Jane may push the boundaries of polite getting-to-know-you conversation. "Do you have any nieces or nephews?"

Will smiled but Ellie thought the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I do. I have a nephew named Billy. Though he's eight now and so maybe he'll ask me to call him Bill soon."

"You're both Williams?" Ellie asked.

Will cleared his throat. "Yes, we are. It's a family name. My father and grandfather were both Williams."

Ellie grinned. "So you've got some incredibly pompous name like William Bernard Darcy the third?"

"Bernard?" he quizzed. "No, definitely not. But yes to the suffix. I am actually the fourth."

"I like that. It gives you a sense of history and it's a deeper connection to your family." She noticed him flinch. "It's a pity because I rather liked the name Bernard. I could call you Bernie. What is your middle name?"

"What's yours?"

She scowled at him. "I asked you first."

"Well, I asked you second."

"That has to be the stupidest argument of all time, Bernie."

He laughed. "It's Andrew."

"Andrew," she repeated, elongating the end of it. "Still very proper but Andy really does not hold a candle to Bernie."

He looked expectantly at her. "And yours," he prompted.

She tilted her head and smiled. "I don't want to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll make fun of me."

Will straightened in his seat. "I promise I will not make fun of you." His face was so serious that though Ellie thought he might be making fun of her right then, she took him seriously.

"My first name is Elizabeth," she started.

"A very regal moniker," he said.

"And my middle name is Mae," she explained. She waited for his laughter.

His face screwed up in confusion. "I don't get it. Why is that funny? Elizabeth Mae Bennet. It sounds fine to me."

She cringed. To explain it to him was even worse. "My name is Elizabeth but everyone calls me..." she trailed off.

"Ellie," he replied. And then she could see it dawning on him. "Ellie Mae." He chuckled. "You must feel right uncomfortable in this gee-normous city Ellie Mae. Have you gone in the cement pond at the rezzy-den-see-uh?"

Ellie shook her head. "Hardy-har-har, Bernie," she said sarcastically. "You've made your point."

Will leaned back into the seat and put his arms behind his head. "Ellie Mae. I actually really like the combination the more I think about it."

Will and Ellie spent the first half of their day exploring the castle, or alcazar, one of the most well-known landmarks in Toledo. The city charmed Ellie. There were cobblestoned, narrow streets everywhere. Ellie felt like most of the time they were walking uphill with no chance of going back down.

"Where are we going again?" Ellie asked grumpily. She was tired of walking uphill and very hungry. Hangry, rather.

Will smiled at her and tapped her on the nose which elicited a growl (from her mouth, though her stomach seriously thought about letting its feelings known as well). "We're almost there. It will be worth it, I promise."

Ellie frowned. "And she's buying a stairway to heaven."

Will burst out laughing. "Autobiographical singing?"

"Feels like it," Ellie groused. She wiped sweat off of her brow and took a long drink from the water bottle that Will offered.

"We're here," Will announced. They had reached the summit of Travesia del Angel, a long winding road and could see over most of the city. On the other side of them the River Tagus flowed peacefully by.

"Wow," Elizabeth breathed. The river and surrounding countryside was just like a fairytale. The view over the city was so picturesque. She could see the alcazar and the catedral. She turned to her companion, full of gratitude. "Thanks, Will. This view is amazing. You were totally right. This is worth it."

Will blushed slightly and gestured to a doorway. "There's a restaurant we can stop in. Want some food? Maybe a beer or some wine?"

Twenty minutes later Ellie felt much more like herself. She was filled with delicious food and lightly buzzed from Spanish beer. She and Will had jabbered on about inane topics and Ellie was enjoying herself immensely. She felt her phone vibrate and heard the gentle tinkle of her ringtone. "Sorry, Will," she apologized. She pulled out her phone. "Oh! It's Jane. Do you mind if I take this?" Will nodded his approval and Ellie hurried outside.

"Hi Janey," she answered. "I am so happy you're calling me." Ellie walked over to a short wall and took a seat.

"Ellie," Jane replied. "I am so glad I got a hold of you. I know I haven't seen you for a few months but somehow I miss you even more since I can't come see you."

Ellie could hear the sadness in her sister's voice. "Jane, you need to come out here. I'm in this small city called Toledo today and it is absolutely beautiful. I just walked about a thousand miles and then gorged myself on chicken and bread and beer."

Jane laughed. "Well, I may just have to come out at Christmas and see if for myself because..." There was a short pause. "Ellie, I've left him."

"What?" Ellie called out. "You've left him?"

"Yes," Jane's voice came out strongly. "He was cheating on me. Not for the first time. I finally realized that I didn't love him and I didn't need the heartache. So, I told him I was leaving. I am staying with Aunt Mercy in Robinsonville and then will go home to Mom and Dad in a few days or a week."

Ellie couldn't believe it. Jane had left him. The him she hated. "I am so proud of you, Janey. You are so incredibly brave." The sisters exchanged some more words and then Jane apologized but she had to go into work to clean out her locker. "It's 7:00 a.m. here, Ellie. Isn't that funny?"

Ellie wandered back into the restaurant, her head filled with thoughts of her sister. She noticed Will thumbing through a paperback he must have been carrying in his backpack. She sat down and took a large swig of her beer.

"Everything okay?" Will asked.

Ellie looked at him, her eyes large. "My sister Jane has left her husband. That fucking piece of shit husband that I hate." She looked over at Will, whose eyebrows had raised. "Sorry," she said. "I really hated him."

Will smiled. "It's really okay. Sometimes four-letter words make everything better."

Suddenly Ellie frowned. "She's going home," she whispered. "She's finally going home and I am thousands of miles away." She stared into her empty glass for a awhile until she felt Will cover one of her hands with his.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. You still made the right decision to come here. I'm glad you're here."

"Thanks, Will." Ellie smiled back at him, trying to believe that she really did make the right decision.