A/N: hope people are going okay! Thanks for the follows and reads and reviews, every little notification on my phone makes me more motivated to keep writing.

This pretty song was featured on The Good Wife! Daydreaming by Groenland.

YouTube - watch?v=aVReq1rYEWw

Spotify - track/6K3pKDfnGSEIUb9E1pOBxI

Chapter 26: Daydreaming

Alicia sighs and looks at herself in the mirror. She never thought she would be doing this again - trying on wedding dresses, sending out invitations. She doesn't want an extravagant affair filled with people she barely tolerates. But the dress, she wants the dress to be right. She's glad that Grace is so excited to help her with everything, she doesn't really have much in the way of the wedding-planning, dress-trying kind of friends.

She sort of wishes Ruby was here.

She really wishes Ruby was here.

Even if she feels the same, as she's said she does, living in another continent makes it quite difficult for Ruby to be here during this process. She's already flying over just for the wedding as it is, but that's months away. Alicia understands, she really does. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't want her here.

Alicia tentatively steps out of the large dressing room. "It's really itchy," she tells her daughter and mother.

"Come up here, turn around, turn around!" Veronica instructs.

Alicia sighs and steps in front of all the mirrors.

Grace frowns. "You don't seem to like it," her daughter says. "I'm not sure it's really you, either."

Alicia tries adjusting the lacy fabric at the bottom, but that only makes the itching worse. It's okay, she reminds herself, this is only the first dress.

After a couple more dresses (too lacy, too puffy), she attempts to extricate herself from the one she still has on. Way, way too puffy. Alicia sighs and stares at herself in the mirror.

In that moment, she hears her phone buzzing under her clothes on the dressing room chair. She sees that it's Ruby FaceTiming her, and smiles.

"Hey! Are you there, trying on dresses?" Ruby asks excitedly. She appears to be walking through a door, maybe her apartment, and flopping down onto a couch.

"Hi, yeah I'm in one now!" Alicia turns the camera of her phone around to the dressing room mirror.

Ruby oohs and ahhs. "Well that one is a definite no-way, Peach. It doesn't have nearly enough frills on it." Her sarcastic comment makes Alicia laugh, almost manically. She fears that if she doesn't, she may cry.

"I have no idea what I want, Roo," the lawyer whines. "I'm only good when I know what I want. But I don't. All I know is this one needs to get off of my body right now."

Ruby is silent on the other end for a moment. "Right. You need something simple, elegant. Fairly modest, you're not 20 years old. Satin. Little bit of lace, maybe. Maybe. You're slim, so something fitting will work. Possibly a mermaid tail. Long sleeve, bateau neckline."

"What..." Alicia stammers and blinks at Ruby through the phone.

"I did some major googling this morning," Ruby grins. "You might not know what kind of dress you want, but I do." She messages a picture to Alicia, which she immediately shows to the shop assistant, Lauren, on her phone. "Now, you'll look gorgeous in anything and it's obviously your choice. But please, I beg of you - try something like this on."

Alicia has a proper look at the photo. The dress beautiful, sleek, simple just as Ruby said and not overstated. Lauren brings out the most similar dress they apparently have, and instantly Alicia loves it. It may not look as amazing when she's wearing it, however. Only one way to find out.

She almost collapsed out of relief when she looks in the mirror. She can't possibly walk down the aisle in anything else. Obviously it needs some fitting, but this is the one.

"How did you do that?" Alicia asks Ruby, later when she's arrived home. "If you hadn't called, we would've been there all day and I still wouldn't have decided on a dress."

"What can I say? I'm a genius," Ruby brags. "I can't wait to be there and see you two get hitched!"

"Me neither, Roo. Me neither."

Alicia strides out of the en-suite after brushing her teeth, and climbs into bed next to Will. "So I found my dress, finally. I love it."

Will smiles and puts down whatever document he's reading. "That's great."

"It's all thanks to Ruby," she tells him.

Will looks up at her in confusion. "She got you a dress? All the way from London?"

Alicia laughs. "She gave me ideas to show at the store." She can tell that Will isn't really listening, though. "What are you thinking about?" She asks, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm just trying to figure out..." Will muses, pulling Alicia into his arms. "How I conned a woman like you into getting engaged to me. I've got tricks up my sleeve that I had no idea about."

Alicia laughs into his neck. "You sure knew how to use them on me. But hey, I didn't do so bad myself. I mean, you were Chicago's sixteenth most eligible bachelor."

Will scoffs. "You'll never let me forget that, will you?"

"No, never," she giggles. "Only because I'll never forget it. Those pictures are... something else."

Will is grinning now. "Yeah?"

"Oh, now you're feeling good about yourself, huh?" Alicia teases. Suddenly she finds herself being flipped onto her back in Will's arms, with her neck claimed by his mouth. A squeal is pulled out of her with no permission from her brain. "No, no! I was complimenting you! Please, I surrender!" Alicia cries through her laughter.

"So, what exactly is it we're waiting for again?" Alicia asks a little miffed. This is the final fitting for her dress, after all.

"It'll just take a minute," is all Grace says, checking her phone incessantly.

"We just have a special guest coming, is all," her mother adds.

"Grandma!" Grace hisses.

"What? Guys, I don't want anyone else here, who is it? This is the final fitting, I-"

Alicia does a double-take and jerks her head up. She sees her standing next to her in the mirrors. She looks to her right.

Ruby.

The glowing girl smiles. "Hey, you."

Alicia can do nothing but gasp, and gape. She suddenly doesn't care about trying on the dress, she just pulls Ruby into her arms and tries not to tear up. "I - I can't believe..." Alicia stammers.

"What, you thought you'd be able to do all this without me?" Ruby teases. "I basically take full credit for this union, I absolutely refuse to miss any part of it!"

"I thought you weren't coming for another week!" She cries. "I can't believe you're here," is all Alicia can repeat, shaking her head. That's when she notices it. She looks down at Ruby's figure, her small frame doing very little to hide it.

There, in plain sight, is a baby bump.

Somehow Alicia's jaw drops further. "What?!" She cries. "You're-"

"Pregnant? No, I just had a huge breakfast," Ruby jokes, raising a hand and rubbing it over her prominent belly. Alicia is in shock, she must be at least six months!

"But... you're.. what?! You're... pregnant.. and here, how did you manage to fly over here? Is Luke here? Do you know if it's a boy or girl, how far alo-"

Alicia's rapid questioning is cut off by Ruby. "I'm not that far along, Peach. 22 weeks. It means that my return flight can't really be very much later, though. Luke's with me, he's being all supportive and great. We're keeping the gender a surprise, and I'll be huge by the time we leave. Well, huger," Ruby laughs.

"Oh no, honey you're glowing!"

"That's the most enthusiastic she's been all day," her mother comments. "I'm Veronica, Alicia's mother," she says, holding out a hand to Ruby.

Oh, here we go.

"Hi, Veronica," Ruby greets, accepting the handshake with a smile. "So, now that I'm finally here I'm desperate to see you in this dress!" She says, clapping her hands together.

If Alicia's honest, she's desperate to see herself in this dress, too. Who knows how it's changed since the last fitting.

Everyone collectively gasps when she walks out to the larger mirrors. "That's a good response, right?" She asks shyly. She assumes that it is, and doesn't care if it isn't. She loves how the dress looks, it's sleek and simple but not boring, and works perfectly for her figure.

"You're a vision!" Ruby cries.

Grace smiles. "You look amazing, mom."

"Wow, I really am a genius," Ruby brags.

"I'll give you that," Alicia laughs. "But I hope we can make your bridesmaids dress work. It's very versatile, but I didn't know you were pregnant-"

"Oh, it's okay. We've already got that sorted, haven't we, Lauren? She's already gotten the measurements," Ruby informs Alicia.

She gapes at Lauren. "You knew she was pregnant?" Alicia then swiftly fixes her eyes on Grace and her mother. "And you two knew that she would be here... you all concocted this without me!" She cries.

"Speaking of concocting and planning... is it okay if Luke and I stay at yours for this extra week?" Ruby asks apprehensively. "I know you thought we'd be coming and staying with you next week and I'm sorry, okay, but I wanted to surprise you!"

"Why bother asking, you've probably already schemed it with Will," Alicia retorts like a child. It only makes Ruby grin sheepishly.

"No comment. Look, you can berate me later but I need to try on my bridesmaid's dress!" Ruby cries.

"Fine," Alicia rolls her eyes, hiding a smile. She stops herself and turns back, however. "Hey. I never said congratulations. I'm so happy for you," she says to Ruby and pulls her in for a hug, trying not to squish her belly too much.

Once Alicia is back in the dressing room, supposed to be changing back into her normal clothes, she hears a knock at the door. "Alicia? You decent?"

"Yeah," she hears in a soft response. The engaged lawyer is still in the dress. She just stands in front of the mirror, peering at her reflection.

"Everything about you makes perfect sense now," Ruby muses, shaking her head. "If only I'd met your mother last year, then we would've gone light-years quicker in your counselling. You okay?" Ruby asks, looking at her through the mirror. She's probably noticed that she's gone quiet.

Alicia's lips quirk slightly. "I never thought I'd be doing this again. Only planned on having one wedding, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But hey, you're wiser now. You know what a real marriage takes."

"But does Will?" Alicia asks, turning to Ruby with tense shoulders.

"I can't tell the future, Peach."

"I know, I know," she sighs. "I love him. I'm just... scared, sometimes."

"Well, look - he loves you enough to propose to you, live with you and plan a wedding with you. And get a dog with you. That counts for something, right?" Ruby jokes.

Alicia laughs. "That's one way to put it. And hey, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you happy?" Alicia asks, holding Ruby's forearms and glancing down at her belly.

"Yeah, I'm really happy," she whispers with an emotional smile. "I mean, I didn't exactly expect this to be the way I became a mother, but... Luke's been great, and I think we're ready. I hope we are, we'll have to be."

Alicia coos and pulls Ruby into her arms. "You are, Roo. You'll be such a wonderful mother."

"Thank you, Peach. Now, let's talk about your hen do. I've been doing a lot of thinking and I have so many different-"

"My what?"

"Your hen do! Oh, I see. American. I mean your Bachelorette party," Ruby drawls in a woeful American accent.

Alicia rolls her eyes. Oh, how she's missed rolling her eyes at Ruby. "Right, my bachelorette party. Nothing shaped like a penis. Please," the lawyer begs.

"Who do you think I am!" Ruby cries indignantly. "Well okay, maybe I personally would stoop to that level. But I am fully aware that this is the bachelorette party of a classy lawyer, former First Lady of Illinois. Mother!" The young mother-to-be then gestures to her belly. "Besides, look at me, I'm not exactly in a state to get rowdy. There will be way too much fun and many shenanigans. But none of them will be tacky or threatening to your pristine reputation in any way, I promise."

Alicia rolls her eyes, again, and smiles. "Perfect. Thank you."

"There is one person I was surprised to see that you invited. I think it's great, don't get me wrong. Very mature of you."

"Who?" Alicia asks. But then she actually thinks about it, and realises it couldn't be anyone else.

Kalinda knocks on Alicia's office door. She still feels like she's intruding on Diane's space, but it's not Diane's office anymore. She's moved on to greater things, Alicia tells herself.

Kalinda pokes her head into the office. "Hey, I have those phone numbers."

"Already?" Alicia smiles. "I forgot how good you were."

"I'm devastated, thought I left more of an impression," Kalinda deadpans, drawing a laugh out of Alicia. "So..." the usually cool investigator seems awkward, like she doesn't know what to say. Understandable, given that Alicia has gone from her colleague to her friend, to enemy, to now her boss. Talk about complicated.

"So..." The lawyer chuckles.

"Congratulations, you and Will," Kalinda finally comes up with.

"You heard? News travels fast," she blushes.

"I saw," Kalinda corrects. "Getting on one knee and everything, it was... sweet." This only inflames Alicia's cheeks further.

"I um... I wanted to ask..." Alicia stammers. "I feel like you were the first person I could talk to, about me and Will. And I, uh... I know it's not your kind of thing, but..."

"Yeah?" Kalinda asks.

"Never mind, it's okay," She shakes her head. Stupid, Alicia.

"Well, you have to tell me now," Kalinda says with a slight smirk. "If it's not my kind of thing, then I'll say no."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to, uh, come to my bachelorette party." Her face doesn't turn up at the suggestion, so Alicia continues. "Maybe even, be a bridesmaid. It's okay, I know it's not really your thing-" stupid, Alicia, stupid stupid stupid -

"I'd love to," Kalinda responds without skipping a beat.

"Really?" Alicia breathes.

"Yeah," the investigator nods. "If you want me to."

"Great, yes of course. I feel like... you were there to help me during everything with Will last year, too, and... I partially have you to thank for us being together." Kalinda shakes her head and goes to disagree, but Alicia quickly speaks again. "Even if you won't take credit for it."

Alicia was sure that she would say no as soon as the words came out of her mouth. But Kalinda looks happier about the invitation than she could've even hoped for, at least from the subtle qeues that she's picked up over the years. Maybe this can work, after all.

Alicia arrives home with Ruby to find Luke and Will laughing together in the kitchen, and the smell of food cooking.

"This is a sight I could get used to," Ruby comments, while they watch their men in the kitchen.

"Same here," Alicia agrees with a laugh.

"Alicia! Hey," Luke greets, walking around the counter.

The lawyer smiles. "Hi, great to see you Luke."

"So, we've pulled a surprise invasion of your home. Sorry!" He jokes, bringing her in for a hug.

"I'm not," Ruby interjects, lowering herself onto the couch and collapsing. "These two owe me. I'm practically the reason they're getting married," she jokes.

"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself there," Luke snorts, taking a next to Ruby. Alicia laughs and joins Will in the kitchen. They watch Luke pull Ruby's feet onto his lap, making sure she is okay and comfortable after a very long day. Alicia shakes her head, she must be exhausted between dress-fittings and flying from London.

"He's good for her, isn't he?" Alicia says quietly to Will with a smile.

"Yeah, he is," Will agrees, sliding his arms around her waist from behind. They don't stay like that for long, however. Will takes her hand and leads her to their bedroom. "So... surprise?" He says sheepishly. Alicia chuckles and rolls her eyes. She's pulled into his arms again, this time she figures to calm her. "How was the dress-fitting?"

"Good, great. Full of surprises," Alicia notes pointedly.

"I'll say! I mean, yeah I was part of the first one, but I didn't know Ruby was pregnant until Luke told me just before." They sit down on the edge of their bed, and she rests her head on Will's shoulder. He slides an arm around her side.

"I'm just... taking everything as it comes," Alicia chuckles. "Luckily, everything with the wedding seems to be going as planned."

Will's arm around her tightens. "Don't jinx it!" He laughs.

Ruby finds herself with Alicia's small bridal party at a swanky bar that she picked out, just for the swanky bachelorette party occasion. She feels as though she is sticking out like a sore thumb. The self-consciousness eases every time she looks over at Alicia wearing the tiara that Ruby has forced on her, though. That's until Kalinda pipes in.

"That's some baby bump," the investigator notes, nodding at Ruby's belly. Alicia raises her eyebrows at her, a comment like this must mean that Kalinda is quite drunk.

"Thanks..." Ruby replies. It's not exactly very enthusiastic, no matter how much she attempts to muster up a smile.

"You know," is all Kalinda says.

"What do I know?" Ruby asks, pretending not to know. Of course she knows, she knows about her sleeping with Peter. Kalinda sees right through it. She's not one for BS, Ruby can tell that immediately. So she fesses up.

"Yeah, I know. Alicia and I have talked about a lot of things, basically everything. But hey, you and I are fine as long as you don't hurt her again. Otherwise, I will come after you."

Kalinda is probably thinking that Ruby has no more claim over her than she does. But the investigator still responds with, "I won't," and a bowed head.

"Good. Now that that's sorted, let's drink! Beverages! With or without alcohol!" She cries, clinking her glass of lemonade against Kalinda's tequila.

Coming back from her bachelorette party - imagine having a bachelorette party at this age! - Alicia's head is spinning slightly, but she can tell she's feeling buzzed from something other than alcohol, too. Just knowing that soon she'll be married to Will and they'll be off on their honeymoon fills her with excitement. Will seems only half asleep when she enters their bedroom. He stirs when she sneaks in, she thought she was being quiet!

"Hey, have fun? I hope you didn't get too friendly with any strippers." Will drawls with a yawn.

"Oh yeah, so many strippers. We got real frisky," Alicia laughs sarcastically. She crawls over to Will who is laying on his back, and she can't help but straddle him.

"And even after all that, you're still feeling frisky?" Will teases, gliding his hands along her body.

"They just didn't do it for me," she whispers, leaning down to claim his lips.

"You mean they didn't do this?" Will growls, flipping her over and sending her to delirium with every touch, every graze of his fingers, every kiss.

"I can't wait to marry you," Alicia whispers into the skin of Will's bare chest, once they've come down from their high and are laying together.

Alicia can't sleep. Her mind is running a million miles an hour, and she's tossing and turning. She tries to just stay still for as long as possible, closing her eyes. Her breathing does slow, but it's no use. Without Will beside her tonight, with the wedding tomorrow, she hasn't got a hope of a good night's sleep. Stupid tradition. It's not like this is her first marriage. Well, she supposes that it is Will's first marriage.

She fights the urge to pick up her phone and text him, see if he's awake. Just as she's about to give in, her screen lights up.

Will, 1:16 AM ~ Can't sleep. I miss you, baby.

Will, 1:16 AM ~ Is that pathetic?

Will, 1:17 AM ~ I don't care, I miss you.

Alicia grins like a maniac at her phone.

Alicia, 1:18 AM ~ I can't sleep without you here next to me, either. It's only for a night, though. After that I won't let you out of my reach!

Alicia, 1:19 AM ~ I love you x

After texting Will for a little while longer, she hears the creak of her bedroom door. "Peach?" Ruby whispers.

Alicia looks up. The girl stands there with ruffled hair and a long pillow, probably to keep her from sleeping on her stomach. "Hey, I'm awake. You okay?" Alicia asks.

"Can't sleep either?" Ruby mumbles.

"No," she chuckles humourlessly. "What's keeping you up?"

"This," is all Ruby says, leaning back and rubbing her hands over her pregnant belly.

"Luke's not being any help in there?" Alicia smirks, nodding to the guest room.

"Oh he would, if I'd let him. I love him and all, but honestly right now the thought of him touching me makes me want to throw up."

Alicia guffaws. "I was the opposite when I was pregnant."

"Oh I am too, some days. Today is not one of them."

"Well, wanna cuddle with me instead?" Alicia asks in a light tone.

Ruby giggles and climbs into bed next to her. Alicia shuffles closer and puts an arm around her, resting her hand on Ruby's stomach.

Suddenly, Ruby cuts her off with a gasp. She grabs Alicia's hand and pulls it further around to a specific spot on her belly. Now it's Alicia's turn to gasp.

"Has the baby been kicking?" She asks exitedly.

"I've felt little movements, flutters. Sort of more like gas than anything. But they've been getting stronger, and that was- oh, did you feel that?!"

"Yeah!" Alicia squeals quietly. Her expressions stays in a wide smile, but then Ruby notices the tears forming at the corners of Alicia's glistening eyes.

"Oh, Peach," Ruby coos. "Please tell me those are happy tears. I'm so sorry if they're not. I try not to be obnoxious about the whole baby thing and shove it in your face, but-"

"No, no," Alicia sniffles. "They're definitely happy tears. I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy," she cries, holding onto Ruby even tighter.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, Ruby. Don't be ridiculous. I'm nothing but happy for you. Anyway, I've had my fair share. I'm personally glad I won't have to push another one out, or get up in the middle of the night for a screaming baby. You've got a lot to look forward to," Alicia quips.

Ruby groans. "Please, don't remind me."

"There are beautiful moments, too. They make it all worthwhile," Alicia whispers.

"Yeah? Like what?" Ruby encourages, shuffling slight to get more comfortable.

"Their first smile... their first steps, everything. All the laughing and the mess. You'll love it, Roo." Alicia is now yawning in between every second sentence.

"You're getting married tomorrow," Ruby reminds her in a whisper.

"Yeah, I am," Alicia says through a breath of laughter. That's the last thing she remembers before falling asleep.