Author's note: This chapter will be the last one. Please check the author's note below for more information about a possible sequel. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who followed this story, I'm infinitely grateful. - hannahorgrace

Chapter 10

"You don't know how many times I've imagined doing this," he says, out of nowhere. "Back in Georgetown."

Will is lying on the bed, head up against the headboard, hands on Alicia's hips. She's leaning against him, lips softly pressed against his as he kisses her delicately.

He's never told her before, how he imagined their first time would be. He had about 68 different scenarios for it, evolving from slow and caring to fast and passionate.

"Yeah?" she asks, eyes searching for his, curious.

"Oh yeah," he says, between kisses. "You kept me up at night and you didn't even know," he murmurs against her skin.

Because the truth is, she did keep him up at night. He'd spend hours thinking about her, thinking about what it would be like to hold her, to kiss her, to touch her, to—

"I did too," she whispers, almost as if she's speaking to herself.

"What?" he asks, not sure what she's referring to.

"Think about what it would be like", she says, staring right into his eyes, waiting for his reaction. When none comes, she adds, "You and me."

He's taken aback. He had always imagined them being together, kissing, holding each other, making love all night and again in the morning, struggling to leave the bed, failing to arrive on time for Tax Law. But he'd never thought of her thinking of them.

That was a whole new level of turn on for him.

"Yeah?" he asks, eyes shining with lust and a newfound passion for her imagination. "Like what?"

She stares into his eyes and he looks back, all warm and tender and chocolate, it's enough to get her to confess.

"I always imagined us sitting in the back of an empty classroom, I don't know why. For some reason, it always started like that."

"Always?" he repeats, and after considering it for a second, he grasps the fact that this little fantasy of hers is not a single occurrence but rather something she thought of several times. He pictures a young Alicia, lying in bed, eyes closed, one hand clutching the covers, images of them together running through her mind, and he has to take a deep breath in order to stay focused.

"Yeah," she confirms, and she sees the effect her story has on him. Her lips slowly move into a soft smile as she goes on.

"You'd be talking about some test we'd just had, explaining to me how you did so well on the essay, an analysis of some Supreme Court case, but I wouldn't really be paying attention. I'd just be looking at you and thinking of what you would do if I kissed you, right there and then. It was a curiosity thing, you know? I just wanted to take you by surprise, I guess."

He sighs, letting his fingers travel from her neck to the small of her back. "God, baby, I wish you had."

She laughs. He lets his other hand run through her hair, brushing a strand behind her ear.

"I did", she adds softly. "Well, in my head. There was this time when we were studying at night, I think it was before Criminal Procedure or something? I was so nervous, I don't know why, I had this feeling that I kept reading, learning, trying to memorize and yet, I felt like I remembered nothing, you know?"

Will laughs, because he knows exactly what she means. Alicia had always been a good student, but every night before an exam, she would go crazy, pacing in her apartment, sometimes his, worrying about not being able to remember anything she'd learned.

"Right, I know," he says, pressing kisses to her clavicle, as if he was back there, trying to calm her down.

"Anyway, after you left, I couldn't stop thinking about…

Putting words on it isn't so easy, the memory being decades away, and she doesn't feel as comfortable, sharing the intimacy of her private musings with him.

"I just thought of how it made me feel, when you were sitting next to me. I thought of what it would feel like if we kissed. I imagined you'd wrap your arms around me and pull me onto your lap and we would just… kiss." Her voice drops down a little, not yet a whisper but quiet enough that he realizes how intimate it feels for her, sharing this with him.

"And then?" he asks softly.

"And then, you'd lift me in your arms, I think." Will closes his eyes as she shares her memory of a fantasy she once had. Again, he thinks of a young Alicia, barely over twenty, in his arms, arms and legs wrapped tightly around him, lips pressed against his, demanding.

Slowly, he pulls himself into a sitting position and, dragging her with him, pulls her onto his lap. She's wearing nothing but her underwear and a t-shirt she uses for sleeping, and he's in his boxers which, in regard to his current state, leave little to the imagination. Her arms naturally wrap around him and he touches his forehead to hers.

"And then?" he murmurs, her face so close to his he can feel her warm breath as she exhales.

"Then," she whispers, dropping her voice as much as she can, "that's it, that's all I have for you, Mr. Gardner."

He chuckles against her mouth, then slides his arm around the small of her back and gently lays her down on the bed, his body following so he's hovering above her.

"Liar," he breathes, before capturing her bottom lip and nibbling gently. She laughs, so he moves away.

"This story is unacceptable," he starts, pretending to move away from her. "I didn't come all the way to Canada to hear that."

"Will, where are we going?"

They'd been in the car for over twenty minutes and he still had given her absolutely no indication on where he was taking her.

"Just trust me," he says, taking her hand in his.

"I do trust you," she answers, "but we just passed the sign for O'Hare and I've been told that that's where the airport is," she adds, attempting humor. "I have to be back on Sunday, Will."

"I know," he smiles. "And you will."

When they reach the check-in lines at the airport and Will pulls out both his and her passport out of his pocket, she gasps.

"Will, seriously—"

"Please trust me?" he asks. "You'll know soon enough."

"Yes, but I want to know now. If something happens to the kids while I'm gone, and—"

"Nothing will happen while you're gone, Alicia," he says, stepping closer to her. He doesn't grab her hand though, doesn't put a reassuring arm around her, because he doesn't know who might be watching.

"Will you please just tell me?" she asks, voice low, eyes pleading.

She looks at him like that and his willpower dissolves instantly.

"Fine," he sighs. "I got us tickets to Montreal. It's only a two-hour flight from Chicago, I already got us the return tickets for Sunday morning, and I checked, there's a flight from Montreal to Chicago tomorrow at 4 pm, and another one that leaves Quebec to Chicago tomorrow night at 8.30, in case you need to be back earlier."

Alicia stands there, mouth slightly open, eyes searching his.

"We're going to Canada?" she asks.

"Yes," Will answers. "I believe that's where Montreal is."

She doesn't say anything, just keeps looking at him, a hint of a smile drawing itself on her lips.

"Is that okay?" he asks, a bit concerned.

"Yes," she nods, smiling softly. "It's good," she says, grabbing her suitcase and walking towards the check-in line.

She had missed waking up all wrapped up in a warm tangle of covers and Will's arms around her. He was still sleeping when she opened her eyes, so she took the time to check her phone. She considered writing a message to Zach, to make sure everything was going well, but she decided against it. No matter what had happened between them, she trusted Peter with their children, and even with his busy schedule, he enjoyed spending weekends with Zach and Grace and always made time for them.

"Hey…"

Her thoughts were interrupted by Will's raspy, morning voice.

"Hey," she says, putting her phone down and turning to him. "So, what are we doing today, Mr. Gardner?" she asks as he moves closer to her under the covers.

"Hmm," he mumbles, lips soft against the skin of her shoulder. "Hopefully nothing," he suggests, finding her lips with his.

After arriving at the hotel the previous night, they had only taken the time to shower before going to bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

So when Will moves his still sleepy form to hover over her body and captures her lips with his, she doesn't hesitate long before hooking her leg around him to bring him closer.

"I missed you," she whispers, the morning daze leaving her a little less careful than she usually is.

He slides a hand under her shirt, feeling her silky skin, gaining a soft sigh from her. "I missed you too," he says, lips on her neck.

It's all slow and lazy at first, until she starts tugging at his lower lip with her teeth and her sighs softly turn into low moans.

He lets his fingers caress the back of her thigh and then pulls her leg up gently. In return, she answers by getting rid of both their underwear and then she breathes out, long and heavy, as he pushes into her.

"You okay?" he asks, lips traveling from her ear to her clavicle.

"Mmh," she murmurs, eyes closed, and he makes a mental picture of the scene. "You feel good," she adds.

He kisses her lips and moves until she cries out, hands clutching at his back, leg hooked around his waist, taking him with her.

After, she holds him still above her, even when he tries to move because he doesn't want to crush her. She asks him not to move, says she likes to feel his weight on her.

He kisses her shoulder, laces their fingers together.

Closing his eyes, he prays she doesn't change her mind again.

They spend most of the morning in the bedroom, and most of the afternoon sightseeing. They walk throughout Old Montreal, visit the Notre-Dame Basilica, where he watches her watch the stained glass and for a second, he forgets they're in a church, so he stands behind her, wraps his arms around her and plants a lingering kiss in the crook of her neck. She reprimands him by frowning at him, almost like she's silently scolding him, so he lets her go and just grabs her hand instead, smiling.

When they walk outside the basilica, he cleans his sunglasses with the bottom of his t-shirt before putting them on, and she surprises him with a deep, lingering kiss that has him fighting for air in a matter of seconds.

They walk up to Mount Royal to see the landscape, and when she gives her phone to a stranger and asks the man to take a picture of her and Will, he feels his heart tighten at the idea that this impromptu trip with her is ending tomorrow. So he slides his arm behind her back and she leans closer to him, her arm sliding behind him as well.

In the park, they sit on the grass and enjoy the sun. She pulls out a magazine she picked up at the airport so he decides to take a nap and turns to lay on his stomach. As she sits next to him, he feels her caressing his back ever so softly with the tips on her fingers, and he thinks he's never been so relaxed in his entire life. He falls asleep almost immediately.

Later, when she's woken him up from his afternoon nap by delicately running her fingers through his hair, they decide to go back to the hotel and change before dinner.

They make love in the shower, and they spend such a long time in the bathroom they wonder how it's still not dark when they come out.

"Will?" she calls his name, as he comes out of the bathroom.

"Yes?"

He looks up to her, and she's smiling, but there's something in her eyes that he doesn't quite like.

"I think we should talk," she says. She's wearing a simple black dress that hugs her waist but is flared at the bottom, and she's sitting on the bed, legs crossed under her, hair rolled up in a towel to dry.

Will moves to sit on the bed next to her. "I know."

"So," she starts, her voice a little higher than usual, in an attempt to lighten the mood. She doesn't even know where to start. The fact that he's her boss and she's an employee in his firm, and she doesn't want anyone at work to know about the two of them, because then any promotion she gets might be considered a benefit from sleeping with the boss, instead of something she worked hard for and deserved? The fact that she's married and that, even if she intends to make it clear with Peter that they're separated, and probably talk about divorcing him at some point, it doesn't change that she's still married and that she's breaking her marriage vows just by being here with Will? The fact that she has two children, who probably look up to her to some extent, who depend on her, and what if they find out that their mother is having an extramarital affair with her boss?

"We're good together," Will says suddenly. "I don't want to feel like this with anyone else. I don't think I could, even if I wanted to."

She smiles softly, eyes a little sad, so he takes her hand in his. "We're good together," he repeats.

"I know," she whispers. "I'm going to talk to Peter when we get back, but… I don't like this. The situation I mean, it's not… "

He sighs. "I know," he says, playing with the hem of the bed sheets. "What does he know?"

"Peter?" she asks. He nods but stays quiet. "I'm not sure," she continues. "I think he suspects something, but I never told him anything. Not before, and not now," she sighs. "But I told him it was over between us. Him and I, I mean."

Will nods. He wonders if she's going to ask for a divorce, but she doesn't mention it, and he's not sure he wants to be the one to bring it up.

"What about your children?" he asks.

"Well," she starts, uncrossing her legs from under her. "I don't know what to tell them. I hate all the lying, but I can't say anything until I've figured things out with Peter," she says, moving the towel around her hair, unwrapping it. Her hair is damp and falls above her shoulders, wavy from being wrapped in the towel. She fixes her bangs with her fingers.

"What about work?" she asks. "What did Diane say?"

He looks down. "Nothing."

Alicia frowns. "Nothing?"

"No," he answers.

Alicia moves closer towards him, leaning so she can find his gaze. "Will?" she murmurs.

He sighs. "She already knew," he says, looking into her eyes. "Well, she knew from before, and then it was over, and now…"

"Is she upset?" she asks, her tone concerned.

"Well," he starts, "she's not overcome with joy," he says, making Alicia breathe out with worry, "but she'll come around."

She shakes her head from side to side, breathing out heavily. "This is—"

"No, hey," he interrupts her, taking both her hands in his. "Alicia, don't," he says softly. "It's fine."

"It's not fine, Will—"

"Okay," he cuts her off again. "It's not fine," he pauses. "But it will be."

She looks into his brown, caring eyes, and she wants to trust him, all she wants is to believe it will be fine, because when he looks at her like that, it feels as if everything in her turns inside out and yet it feels as if everything really is going to be fine. Better than fine.

She puts her arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around her chest, pulling her closer. Her head rests against his shoulder and his hand brushes her hair softly.

"I don't want this to end," she says softly, looking out the window.

"Me neither," he confirms, pressing his lips against the top of her head. "I can't believe we have to go back tomorrow already."

She pulls away from him, straightening her hair. "I didn't mean just the weekend," she says, hesitant at first, but then, "I meant, I don't want…"

She doesn't want to be anyway from him anymore. She wants to be with him. Every day of her life, she wants to wake up next to him and fall asleep in his arms, she wants him to look at her when he smiles because she wants to make him happy just like he does for her.

She wants him to be there when she comes home at night, or she wants him to sneak under the covers and wrap his arms around her when he comes home late at night and she's already sleeping. She wants him to wake her up then, just so she can see his face and let it warm her heart before sleep finds her again.

Words are hard, because she knows they don't always carry the truth. They make promises but people break promises, they create trust but what's left of trust when it's impossible to know what is the truth and what is a lie? How can she look at Will and not know when, or if, she'll ever be able to trust again?

"You know I'm always going to want to be with you, right?" he asks, pulling her out of her reverie.

She smiles at him.

Love.

That's what will make her trust again.

Author's note: I hope this last chapter lived up to your expectations. I am so grateful to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited this story, whether you were here from the first chapter or you are just joining us now. Thank you all so much. Reading your reviews is what made me keep going, so a special thank you to the readers who reviewed frequently and gave me detailed insight into what you thought. A big thank you as well to my friends Grazi and Irene for helping me write this story.

As mentioned in the author's note above, I am actually writing a sequel to this. However, it won't be posted right away as I want to work more on it and write a few chapters before I start uploading it, so that you won't have to wait so long in between updates like you did for this one (sorry again for the insanely long wait in between some chapters). I am also writing another Will/Alicia story that takes place during the Georgetown era, kind of like my Bliss story (check it out if you haven't yet!). If you are interested in either of these stories, the sequel or the Georgetown era one, please let me know which one you'd be more interested in reading first. Also, make sure to follow me so that you know when I start uploading. And if anyone is interested in being a beta reader, please let me know!

Also, let me know what you thought about this chapter, and/or the story as a whole. Again, thank you so much for reading and for your continued support! (and sorry for the crazy long note) - hannahorgrace