A/N: Hi so I'm literally just running with this and haven't thought out where I'll actually go with this story, just got BORED ahaha. Please pipe in with any suggestions/things you wanna see happen and enjoy!

Chapter 1: Desperate

Alicia chokes back sobs into her hand. Is this a panic attack? She can't breathe. The elevator moving, her stomach dropping as it descends to the ground floor, is what drags her back to reality.

No one can see her like this.

She frantically wipes away her tears with shaking hands. The elevator dings before opening to the lobby as she walks out, avoiding everyone's eyes.

Back in the new apartment that she now suddenly can't afford, she tries to come up with a plan. She needs money, fast, she needs a job. She's done interview after interview. No one will take her because of this scandal. She's being pushed back again and again.

No one wants her.

Peter will be able to find work in a fraction of the time, once he gets out of prison. He's already planning his rehabilitation. Yet Alicia is nothing more than her husband's scandal. The wife of a cheating sleaze.

Well, if that isn't a commentary on the way women are still viewed in society...

She sits up abruptly. That's it. She needs somewhere that will be sympathetic to her plight as a woman, a woman needing to support her family. Someone she knows.

Diane Lockhart.

She remembers working with her, her involvement in Emily's list before she had her kids, how much she looked up to Diane. That's who she'd wanted to be before... well, before everything. She frantically grabs for her phone and dials.

Her heart races as it rings - she should've planned and thought about what she was going to say. Too late now.

You have to do this immediately, Alicia, you have to fight.

In the elevator up to the 28th floor, Alicia is nervously fidgeting and trying to take steadying breaths. This interview needs to go well, it really needs to go well.

The elevator doors open. She instantly spots Diane, thankfully, who perks up once she notices her arrival. Alicia doesn't take the time to register anything, however. She's too shell-shocked by who she sees standing next to the elegant lawyer.

Will Gardner.

Of course. Why had she not thought of this before? She knew that Diane's partner's surname was Gardner, she just didn't think it was that Gardner. Holy hell, she hopes that Will has forgotten and moved on from everything at Georgetown.

"Ah, perfect timing," Diane announces. "Will, this is Alicia Florrick. Alicia, Will Gardner, name partner here also."

"Actually-" Alicia is about to explain that they already know each other, but Will reaches out a hand.

"Nice to meet you," he offers politely. There's a slight quirk of his lips, but it doesn't fool Alicia. His eyes are stormy.

What on earth? He must remember her. Why is he pretending that he doesn't? Maybe he really hasn't moved on...

In a daze, Alicia simply holds out her hand as a reflex and he shakes it. She'll have to ask him about this later. He can't possibly have forgotten. She remembers like it was yesterday. She remembers them.

Alicia isn't stupid, she knows the looks that Will has been giving her. She's still with Peter, but it still makes her feel wanted. She doesn't shy away from it. She's leaned into every pointed comment, every lingering gaze at her. And now, tonight, after having probably the worst fight in history with Peter, she doesn't even think about it before going to Will.

He opens the door to his dorm room in sweatpants and his Georgetown T-shirt. His hair is a little muffled. She likes it that way. She had planned to do nothing more but vent to Will, he's always such a good listener. But seeing him standing in front of her, as he reaches out to put a hand on her arm, she's losing her better judgment.

"You okay?" He asks after a moment of Alicia just staring at him.

She doesn't think, she just does. Her body takes over as she steps forward, slides her arms around him. Will is still motionless, except for the slight lean into her body as they make contact. His breath is warm and it practically calls for her to get to know his lips better. So she does.

His lips are a lot softer than anyone else she's ever kissed. Most guys instantly just try and shove their tongue down her throat. It kind of ruins the whole experience. But Will, oh Will is different. His mouth teases her and she's practically the one who shoves her tongue down his throat. He responds in kind though, pulling her in, grabbing her ass and trailing his lips down her neck. Everything is on fire, her heart is racing. She's never felt like this with Peter.

Why has she never felt like this with Peter?

He takes her hand and leads her inside. After unceremoniously kicking the door shut, he stops in front of her and pulls her in to kiss her again. He's taking off his shirt, unbuttoning hers. They're actually doing this.

Until they aren't. Until there's a knock at the door. Until Peter's voice is heard through the wall.

"Alicia! I know you're in here, talk to me, please. Open up, Alicia!"

Her and Will freeze. His face falls. What should she do? She frantically glances between him and the door, buttoning up her shirt. The door knocks again.

Will sighs, frowns at the door. "It's me or him, Alicia."

She begins to think that such an ultimatum, asking her to choose so quickly, is unfair - but she knows that stringing Will along is even worse. She closes her eyes, thinks for a moment. She's still reeling from this moment between them. Something about her and Will together is... electric. But should she give up everything with Peter just for that? A spark? He's been talking about getting serious with her, really serious. And Will... well, she doesn't even have a label for that.

"I..." her words die out before she says anything. All she can do is kiss him again - a kiss goodbye. "I'm sorry," she whispers. She walks to the door, straightens up her shirt and clears her throat. She doesn't look back to see the hurt that she fears is on Will's face.

"No," Will dismisses firmly. He lets the papers with references and CV fall onto his desk with a thwack.

Diane blanches. "Can I ask why?"

"You know exactly why. This whole thing with her husband and the scandal is too damaging. She hasn't worked in... how many years? No. We're going with Cary."

"Now, hang on," Diane snaps. "That's not how we make decisions here. How many times have I stood by you with decisions that I don't always agree with?"

"Do you owe her something, does she have something on you?" Will asks tauntingly.

"Do you have something personally against her?" She fires back. After a moment she continues in a more even tone. "She's a friend. And one of the smartest people I knew over at Crozier, Abrams, and Abbot. Give her a chance, Will. For me."

Will is silent for a moment, a contemplative frown. "We'll take them both on. For 6 months. Then decide who to keep."

"Now I'll be honest, Will is going to need some convincing that you're valuable here," Diane admits later in her office, warning Alicia who is sitting nervously across from her at her desk. "Do your best to prove that to him. I want you to think of me as a mentor - women helping women, it's the closest thing we have to an old boys network here, okay?"

"Okay," Alicia responds shakily. She wonders if Will has said anything at all about them at Georgetown. He probably hasn't, he's too prideful - that is if he's still anything like he was back at law school.

Things were never the same with them after that night. It was the beginning of a downward spiral, from that point everything completely deteriorated. Looking over towards Will in his office, however, he seems so much more grown-up. It makes her realize that they really were still kids back then. Time to be adults now. She takes a steadying breath and knocks at Will's open office door. Her heart is pounding. "Do you have a minute?" She asks. Will frowns and nods. "I just- I hope you don't have a problem, with my being here. Diane and I are old friends, she offered me an interview, I didn't know you were here- and with everything back at Georgetown..." she didn't know how to get the next part out. What was she supposed to say? 'Why the hell are you pretending like you don't know me?'

"It's fine," Will answers lowly. "I just... that part of my life is over. I'm a different person now. I just hope you'll be able to keep up here at the firm, with a family and being in the public eye-"

"I can do it," she assures him with every ounce of confidence she has. Which isn't very much at all, but hey - fake it till you make it.

As soon as she leaves, she lets out a large breath of air that she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. She can actually do this, right?

Alicia shakes her head. She has to do this.