Summary: Everybody comes together for one more big celebration.

Notes: Surprise!

You didn't think I'd end this story with a little something extra, did you?

Two months later...

Saturday, May 9th, 2015

Lydia Bennet is graduating. Lizzie's baby sister is graduating from college. Right now. She's waiting at the edge of the stage for her cue and Lizzie has never been more proud of her. A split second after Lydia moves to cross the stage, the entire extended family jumps up and makes an embarrassing amount of noise. She barely hears her sister's name being announced over the racket they're making but the pure joy on Lydia's face when she glances at her family says it all.

Lydia Bennet is officially a college graduate.

"Hey alumna!" Lizzie shrieks as Lydia practically gallops over to her and William.

"I'm so happy you made it!" Lydia exclaims, running into her arms and giving her a tight hug.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Lizzie says proudly. "And Charlotte sends her congrats too. She's really sorry she couldn't be here."

"I get it! I think Maria's graduation is a tiny bit more important than my own," Lydia says. "It sucks that I don't get to see her eye candy boyfriend in person, though."

Lizzie laughs and William clears his throat, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm happy you're here too, William," Lydia says with a smile, giving him a hug.

"You're essentially my sister," William says, running a hand up and down her back. "It would be a terrible thing to miss seeing you graduate."

"I'm a super big deal," Lydia jokes. "Where'd everybody go?"

"Jane and Bing are still feeling gross from their crappy flight so they hitched a ride with Mary, Gigi and Fitz, who went back to help set up the party. Dad is waiting by the car with Mom, who's sobbing inside," Lizzie says, linking her arm with Lydia's.

"Mom is sobbing?" Lydia asks.

"Did you expect anything else? She kept it together for most of the ceremony," Lizzie says.

"Until right after you exited the stage," William says, unable to hold back an amused smile.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear her. She started wailing 'My last baby is grown! They're all grown! I'm sooo old!' Whatever will I dooooo?'" Lizzie says, impersonating her mother.

"Seriously, you're too good at that," Lydia laughs. "We should probably go. We don't want Mom to get dehydrated."

"We wouldn't want that at all," Lizzie says. She glances over her shoulder to William. "Coming?"

"Ladies first," William says.

"Excuse me, everyone," Mr. Bennet says, clinking his glass with a fork and standing up. There are a few rented tables set up in the Bennets' backyard, along with monogrammed balloons, and a 'Congratulations, Lydia!' banner hanging between two trees. "I believe this is the portion of the evening in which I thoroughly embarrass my youngest child."

"Daaad," Lydia draws out, good-naturedly.

"You're lucky I'm not making you stand up," Mr. Bennet says with a subtle smile.

"Go on then," Lydia concedes, a few people snickering.

"I think I will," Mr. Bennet chuckles. "Firstly, I'd like to thank everybody who made it today. I know the trip wasn't pleasant for some of you. I know Lydia appreciates it—"

"I really really do! Thank you, Jane and Bing!" Lydia exclaims, grinning at them. Jane smiles back at her and Bing nods.

"I've had the honor of raising three fine young women. I have witnessed their first steps, their first words and their first everything. I've watched them grow and learn from life experiences. I've been there to see each of them graduate from high school. I now have the privilege of saying I've been there to see all three of them graduate college," Mr. Bennet says, smiling at his own words. "Lydia, you are my wild child. My youngest and my most rambunctious, ready to run before you could walk. Ready to leap without hesitation. When I look in your eyes, I see nothing but love for life and eagerness for more. I wish you luck on your next adventure, whatever it may be. I am so very proud of you, Lydia Bennet. I love you and congratulations."

"Congratulations, Lydia!" Fitz yells, beating the rest of the crowd to it. Lydia gets up from the table and walks over to her dad, already waiting for her hug.

"Too much, my girl?" Mr. Bennet asks quietly, resting a hand on her neck and looking at her tenderly.

"Just perfect, Daddy," Lydia smiles.

It's later in the evening and the older adults have predictably migrated to the opposite side of the yard, away from the more spirited younger crowd. They're all gathered around the newly installed fire pit, with a small fire built to warm them up from the cool Spring night air. Jane and Bing are taking up the porch swing and she has her head in his lap with him delicately running his fingers through her hair. Lizzie and William are sharing an oversized chair and has his arm draped around her shoulder. Mary, Gigi, Fitz, and Lydia are all in their own chairs to complete their little circle in the Bennet's modest backyard.

"So, Lydia, what are you going to do now that you've graduated? Are you thinking about grad school at all?" Fitz asks.

"Ewww like my sister? No way! Three more years of school? My brain isn't all big and nerdy like Lizzie's," Lydia says, throwing her sister a huge smile.

"My sister's being mean to me," Lizzie says, poking William. "Do something about it."

"She's not wrong though," William says, getting a snort from Gigi. "I love that big and nerdy brain of yours."

"I'll take it," Lizzie grins before giving him a little kiss.

"This totally backfired on me," Lydia frowns.

"It really did, Little B.," Fitz laughs.

"Maybe I should say I'm interested in working for both of their companies and pit them against each other," Lydia says.

"That would never work," Bing says.

"William would probably concede," Mary adds.

"I think we're a little bit more professional than that," Lizzie says. "But that's not what Lydia is going to do, is she."

"Right! The theater I'm working at is offering me a full time job! They adore me. I mean, who wouldn't? Anyway, the benefits are really good and I'll have money for fun stuff. I haven't accepted it yet but I'm definitely going to take it," Lydia says.

"Would you start right away once you accepted?" Jane asks sweetly.

"Pretty sure that's how it would work," Lydia says, laughing a bit.

"How are the benefits?" Mary asks.

"Vacation, sick leave and health insurance. The whole shebang," Lydia says before catching the looks being exchanged around the porch. "What are you all up to?"

"We have a graduation gift for you," William says, gesturing to Bing. Jane sits up and Bing gets up, reaching into his jacket to get something.

"Really? I didn't want to pry when I got presents from Mom and Dad and nothing from my sisters," Lydia says and Fitz starts laughing. "I didn't want to be bratty about it!"

"It's fine, Lydia," Lizzie says.

"This is a two part gift," Bing says, handing her an envelope. "This first part is from me and Jane."

"Ooh. I love gifts that come in parts," Lydia bounces in her chair a bit before taking the envelope. She pulls open the flap and looks inside before she raises both eyebrows. She excitedly pulls out an airline ticket. "No. Way. No freaking way! A roundtrip ticket to New York?!"

"It's open-ended too," Jane points out. "You can pick whenever you want to go."

"This is…this is amazeballs!" Lydia squeals, jumping up from her chair and hugging Bing. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome! Jane and I thought it was time you came to visit us now that you're finally done with school," Bing says as Lydia tackles Jane.

"You're going to stay with us, obviously," Jane smiles as Bing sits back down next to her. "And whatever Broadway shows you want to see, we'll take you."

"There's soooo much I want to see. This is going to be totes awesome!" Lydia exclaims before spinning around to Lizzie. "Oh my god. This is just part of the gift?!"

"Do you want to take a moment before you hyperventilate?" Lizzie muses. Lydia inhales and exhales deeply before moving her hand over her face as if trying to gain her composure.

"Okay. I'm good. I swear," Lydia says.

"I don't quite believe you," William jokes as he hands her another envelope. "This is from the rest of us."

"Brandon too. He's really sorry he couldn't make it," Fitz says.

"And Sidney," Gigi says, a little flatly.

Lydia opens up the second envelope and her jaw immediately drops as she reads the details inside. She's speechless for a long time and starts shaking her head as if she doesn't believe it.

"Is this for real?" Lydia asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Airfare and hotel taken care of," William says, smiling.

"Seriously?" Lydia asks, looking at Lizzie.

"Seriously," Lizzie nods, grinning at her. "Blame William for this. He wanted to go big for you."

"I took Gigi to Europe after her high school graduation," William says. "Lizzie kept saying how much you would enjoy London while we were on our honeymoon. Bing was talking about their plans to send you to New York so I thought…you're halfway there. You might as well make it the rest of the way. That's why the tickets are New York to London and back. They're open ended as well."

"This is blowing my mind. My mind is blown," Lydia says, shaking with excitement. "You're all seriously sending me to New York and London for my graduation present?"

"We are!" Jane says.

"This is the best day ever!" Lydia squeals, hugging and thanking everyone. As the initial excitement calms down, she runs over to the older adults to tell them.

"I have never seen her so excited," Lizzie says, sliding her arms around William's waist. "You did a good job, Mr. Darcy."

"I can't take all the credit for it, Mrs. Darcy," William says, kissing her forehead. "You did a lot of the work too."

"I suppose I did," Lizzie laughs. William bends down to kiss her and Lizzie stands on her toes to get closer to him. Bing walks over to Fitz and lightly hits him on the arm.

"Are you subjected to this a lot?" Bing asks, gesturing to the newlyweds, who are immersed in their own world.

"Yea. Pretty much," Fitz grins at him. "Just throw a piece of candy or something at them and they'll stop for a couple minutes. They're magnets, Bing. How are you two doing? You seem pretty cozy."

"We have a lot of reasons to be happy," Bing says, his voice a little wistful.

"I heard about Jane's design from the Met Ball last week. That's amazing, dude," Fitz says, patting his shoulder.

"Yea. Her work is getting swamped with other design offers and a lot of people want a dress made by her," Bing says, smiling at Jane when he catches her sweet look. "We'll see where it goes."

"Hey!" Lydia returns, jabbing Lizzie in the shoulder. "Quit the tonsil hockey. Dad wants to talk to the dudes."

"What about?" William asks.

"Something financial. Investing in properties. I don't know. It's money related and sounds kinda boring," Lydia says before shoving Fitz in the right direction. "I declare sister time! Now gooo!"

"So bossy!" Fitz jokes.

"Be back soon," William says to Lizzie, giving her another quick kiss.

"Apparently not too soon. Lydia has declared sister time," Lizzie says. "So you know…"

"I'll see what I can do," William says, squeezing her hand before catching up with Fitz and Bing.

Lydia flings herself onto the porch swing with Jane and Lizzie, looking around to see someone missing.

"Where'd Gigi and Mary go?" Lydia asks.

"Mary had to go pick up Eddie from…something," Jane says. "She'll be back later."

"Gigi had a phone call. She went inside and said it might take a while," Lizzie says. "I think it was Sidney."

"Ah," Lydia says simply.

"Soooo, speaking of boys," Lizzie says, nudging Lydia. "What happened with Adam? It seemed promising before William and I went off on our honeymoon."

"Don't you see him at work?" Lydia asks, frowning at her.

"I'm his boss. I hired him for a job," Lizzie says. "Which is coincidentally ending in two months."

"I didn't want to do a long distance thing," Lydia shrugs.

"Oh nooo! Sometimes it's worth it," Jane coos softly.

"We had a few meals together. I think we're better off as friends for now. He sent me a congrats text this morning," Lydia says.

"That's something," Jane says.

"Friends," Lydia says, looking pointedly back at her.

'Okaaaay," Jane says, holding up her hands to show she's backing off. "Lizzie, you said you're getting close to the end for Romeo and Juliet?"

"We still have two more blocks of filming but we're getting to the heavy drama now," Lizzie says. "My creative team is really stepping it up a notch with the modern version of it. I'm so thrilled with how it's ending up."

"Have you decided what the next adaptation is going to be?" Lydia asks.

"Twelfth Night! We're not officially announcing until Romeo and Juliet ends so you're getting insider information. If the brainstorming sessions are any indication of how it might turn out, the viewers will love it," Lizzie grins. "We have to make sure to cast the right people though. This one will be tricky."

"Can I apologize again for not being caught up? I love what I've seen but I'm barely past the balcony episodes," Jane says.

"You do not need to apologize! You've been working crazy hard on the clothing line for your boss and that stunner of a dress," Lizzie says, taking her hand. "Which, might I add, was definitely one of the most beautiful of the night! I seriously didn't get some of the dresses. What the heck was Sarah Jessica Parker wearing? And Solange Knowles?"

"I hated the see through dresses. Less is not more," Lydia says, making Jane snort.

"I love you, guys," Jane smiles, resting her head on Lizzie's shoulder. "I'm really glad we made it out for this."

"On the worst flight known to man," Lizzie says. "Turbulence the whole way and the food that made you sick? No thank you. I would probably be curled up in bed right now."

"You should have gotten a refund," Lydia says, scoffing.

"It's not a big deal," Jane says, waving her hand around.

"Come on. That's awful," Lizzie says, not noticing Jane chewing on her lip and picking at her skirt hem.

Jane is deep in thought for a moment, watching the remaining embers glow from the dying fire before looking at her two sisters. "Can I tell you guys something? It's kind of a big deal and I've been dying to tell someone," Jane says. "But you have to promise to keep it to yourselves for now and not overreact."

"Ooh. Juicy! Is it about work? Are you going to be designing a dress for a celebrity? Something for the Emmys? One of the girls from Game of Thrones?" Lizzie asks.

"Whoa, sis. You took the words out of my mouth," Lydia says and the two of them laugh. "Seriously, are you designing a dress for someone cool?"

"Promise, please," Jane says, turning to stare at them seriously. "Promise!"

"We promise! Cross our hearts," Lizzie says, both of them drawing an x on their chests.

"And hope to die," Lydia finishes.

"Just no screaming," Jane says, nudging Lizzie's shoulder. When she doesn't say anything for a few moments, Lizzie and Lydia exchange looks.

"Jane?" Lizzie asks and Jane finally leans in to tell them.

"I'm pregnant," Jane nearly whispers. Lydia claps a hand over her mouth to mute her squeal and Lizzie's eyes go wide.

"Are you…are you serious?" Lizzie asks, successfully keeping her voice down but just barely.

"Yea," Jane nods quickly. "It wasn't quite planned but we're really happy about it. Bing made up the whole story about the terrible flight because I was having morning sickness and we didn't want Mom to be suspicious. Plus, I don't want to steal your graduation thunder, Lydia."

"But this is awesome news!" Lydia says in a whisper, practically vibrating.

"You promised!" Jane says emphatically.

"Oh no, I get it! I'm just saying this is amazing!" Lydia says. "Bing is genius for that story."

"I know! I love him for that. I'm terrified Mom has a radar for this and she'll figure it out any second now," Jane says.

"Don't worry. We've got you covered for the weekend," Lizzie says. "She's probably too much of an emotional wreck over Lydia graduating to pick up on it."

"I'll step it up a notch," Lydia grins. "Just in case."

"How far along are you?" Lizzie asks.

"Nine weeks. We found out a couple weeks ago. I was tired and was really nauseous so I went to the doctor. We're getting an ultrasound a week from Tuesday," Jane says.

"When are you going to tell Mom and Dad?" Lydia asks.

"After the ultrasound, I think. We wanted something physical to show them," Jane says, starting to tear up.

"So…a December baby," Lizzie says, doing the math in her head.

"Yea," Jane says, wiping away a rogue tear. "December 14th."

"That close to my birthday?" Lydia asks softly. "I get to share my birthday week with my niece or nephew?"

"Perhaps," Jane says with a smile.

"That means I really should go on this trip sooner than later!" Lydia says. "Or time it just right to when you start showing."

"Oh Lydia…You guys are supposed to try and make me not cry," Jane says, waving her hand to dry her eyes.

"What about your job, though?" Lizzie asks.

"I'm going to keep working for as long as I can! I design all the time at home and my boss loves my work. We'll figure it out," Jane says.

"Okay, subject change!" Lizzie says quickly, wiping away another tear on Jane's face. Mrs. Bennet is looking curiously at her daughters from across the yard, cuddled on the porch swing. "Do you want to hear more about my honeymoon?"

"Any excuse to brag," Lydia teases.

"Oh, hush up," Lizzie chuckles, pushing her shoulder.

"That's perfect actually. Please, tell me. I haven't heard nearly enough about it," Jane says before a smile works at the corners of her mouth. "I'm sure you were an avid television watcher."

"You don't know the half of it," Lizzie laughs.

"What? When did you have time to watch TV?" Lydia asks, looking at her like she's crazy.

"Should we tell her?" Lizzie asks Jane.

"I think we should," Jane says.

"Lydia, we're going to let you in on a little secret. Well, more of a code really," Lizzie says while Jane grins.

"Ladies! Have you had enough sister time?" Fitz asks, returning to them.

"There's no such thing as enough sister time, Fitz," Lizzie says. "Did William and Bing get lost?"

"They went inside for something. I actually came by to say good night. I'm taking Gigi with me back to Netherfield," Fitz says as the sisters get up to hug him good night. "Breakfast tomorrow?"

"You know it," Lizzie says.

"Should we bring anything?" Fitz asks.

"Knowing Mom, she'll have eight different kinds of orange juice so don't worry about it," Lizzie says with a look.

"Sounds good," Fitz says before glancing at the barely glowing fire pit. "No more fire?"

"My preferred heater will be back soon," Lizzie says, a tiny smirk playing on her lips.

"Okay, Lizzie D. I see how it is," Fitz chuckles.

"Have a good night!" Lizzie says, nudging his shoulder.

"You too! Congrats again, Little B! Always a pleasure to see you, Jane," Fitz says before he heads back into the house.

"Lydiaaaaaa, darlin'! Come over here for a moment!" Mrs. Bennet calls from across the yard.

"Never a dull moment," Lydia says to her sisters, leaping out of her seat.

Lizzie and Jane stay where they are and Jane rests her head on Lizzie's shoulder as they look up at the night sky. The party is starting to wind down and Lydia is enjoying her moments as the woman of the hour. William and Bing come out of the house after a while and head straight for their wives.

"Heey you," Lizzie says, lighting up as she sees them approaching.

"Hey, yourself," William says, smiling at her.

"Do you mind if I steal my wife? It's been a long day and I know she's struggling to stay awake," Bing says, getting a sleepy smile from his wife.

"By all means," Lizzie says as Jane gets up. Bing takes her hand and Jane turns back, waving goodnight to Lizzie. Lizzie pats the spot next to her and William happily takes the seat. She pulls up her legs and lays them over William's lap, humming when he pulls her close to him and drops a kiss to the top of her head. "Did you have a good talk with Dad?"

"We did," William says simply.

"And?" Lizzie asks pointedly.

"It's mostly financial," William says but quickly continuing. "I swear, it's nothing to worry about. He was asking about property value. I think you should let him talk to you about it, when he's ready."

"All right," Lizzie says. "I'll let it slide. For now."

"That would be best," William says, giving her knee a gentle squeeze. "How did you enjoying your sibling bonding?"

"It was very enlightening!" Lizzie says. "Did you and Bing catch up?"

"We did," William says.

"Did you talk about anything interesting?" Lizzie asks, rather obviously fishing around.

William pauses, scoping out the backyard for eavesdroppers, before whispering into her ear. "I think you know."

"Can you believe it?" Lizzie asks.

"We've joked about them being the first ones but it's still surprising," William says.

"Everything's going to change for them," Lizzie says, wistfully.

"That's putting it mildly," William says, resting his cheek against her head. "Bing is thrilled. He practically blurted it out as soon as we got inside. It's a good thing your parents weren't around."

"Jane couldn't hold it in either," Lizzie says. "We need to keep the attention off of them. She's worried Mom will just figure it out by looking at her. Honestly? I am too. Mom has freaky abilities sometimes."

"Can we distract her with more honeymoon pictures?" William asks before sliding a hand up her leg and stopping at the bottom hem of her shorts. "I'm sure she'd love it if I started being really handsy with you."

"Will!" Lizzie laughs. "I think the honeymoon pictures will suffice. I wouldn't mind the handsiness though."

"Oh really? I never would have guessed," William grins, bringing two fingers to her chin and lifting her head to look at him. They share a tender look and he slides his hand to her cheek, brushing his thumb across her warm skin. Lizzie leans into his touch before kissing his palm.

"I love you," Lizzie says softly.

"I love you too," William murmurs. He leans in and kisses her, slowly and languidly. Lizzie lifts her arms and wraps them lazily around his neck as they immerse themselves in their own world again, letting everything else fade away. It's some time before they finally pull back and they're both flushed but smiling.

"That's going to be us someday," Lizzie says.

"And I will be over the moon," William hums, pressing his forehead to hers.

"And we'll keep it a secret for way longer than they did," Lizzie says and he chuckles. "Because that's the ultimate bubble of us together."

"You do love your bubbles," William says.

"You love them too," Lizzie smiles.

"I really do," William says smugly. "I wonder why that is."

"Maybe because our relationship started that way," Lizzie says. "Those first few days were so blissful because it was pretty much just the two of us. Now we have this compulsion to celebrate all the big events the same way because it's like we reliving how we felt in the very beginning."

"Is that your theoretical hypothesis?" William teases.

"Shut up," Lizzie laughs, swatting at his chest. "You said you liked my big brain."

"I love it, along with every other part of you," William says, kissing her temple. He sees the mischief in her eyes and raises one eyebrow. "Are you going to challenge me on that?"

"Maaaaybe," Lizzie says, smirking a bit. "Does that mean you love my…lips?"

"If I could kiss them every moment of every day, it still wouldn't be enough," William hums, leaning in and kissing her tenderly. She hums when he pulls back and her eyes twinkle as she continues the game.

"And my cheeks?" Lizzie asks quietly.

"Can't get enough of that rosiness," William hums, pressing his lips to her cheeks.

"What about my nose?" Lizzie asks.

"Cute as a button. I hope our tiny humans inherit it," William smiles, kissing the tip.

"I'm rather fond of yours," Lizzie murmurs, running a finger along the bridge of his nose. He snaps his teeth at her finger and she laughs in surprise. "If you love them, you shouldn't damage them."

"I do," William says, taking her hand and kissing the tips of all her fingers. "Do you want to know one of my favorite parts of you?"

"We're outside in public, Will. It's very much not appropriate," Lizzie says cheekily.

"I said one of my favorites," William says, giving her a look. "We'll get to those other favorites soon enough."

"I'm holding you to that promise," Lizzie says, leaning in closer to him. "What's one of your favorite parts of me?"

"Your eyes," William says, gazing straight into them. "They're the finest I've ever seen."

"You! You are completely ridiculous, sir," Lizzie says, chuckling a bit.

"Only for you," William says with a dazzling smile that shows off his dimples. "Honestly? When I look into them, I see all of your love for me, all of your support for me and all that happiness we've brought each other. They're filled with everything we've learned in this relationship and everything we hope to learn. It's endless."

"Because we'll never stop learning about each other," Lizzie adds, resting a hand on his face and rubbing her thumb along his cheek.

"Isn't that the beauty of you and me?"

Notes:

Soooo...this has been planned for months. It's been in my outline and everything. The only two people who knew about it and everything that would happen within it was Sarah and Teresa.

I happen to be that evil person who chose not to tell you!

This is really, truly the end of The Learning Curve! There are no other surprise chapters in the works. I would LOVE to hear from you guys now that it's finally over. Tell me what you think!

Stay tuned for the sequel!