Hi, I'm sorry this took so long to get out. This was by far the hardest chapter to write and edit. I was in that funk, and then I was conflicted about the plan for the story, then writer's block. Hopefully, the inner resistance I was feeling while writing this doesn't come out in the text. It was horrible, so this is the last chapter for this story, but I have some ideas for a one-shot or two set in the future. I hope to write again soon.
I own nothing.
Chapter 10
Will couldn't wait for work to start on Monday morning. Unfortunately for him, being there earlier didn't mean she would, which was why he was currently sitting at his desk, looking over work and glancing at the clock every minute. He really wanted to see her to make sure that she really was okay after yesterday. If he was being honest, he wanted to do more than that, but they were keeping this quiet. As it was, he would already have to watch his reactions around her. The involuntary grin she could elicit was practically a giant neon sign. As a lawyer (and an experienced and successful one at that), he was well practiced in schooling his expressions, but he wasn't sure how much of a help that would be when he finally saw her. Here was his chance to find out- after a hundred glances at the clock, Alicia was walking into his office.
He smiled. Oh well, coworkers could smile at each other. It was called being friendly, and they were friends, so it was completely acceptable.
"Hi." She smiled back.
Will stood and walked around his desk, fighting the impulse to grab her and kiss her. Instead he leant against his desk.
"Hey."
"So this is going to be difficult, isn't it?"
The knowledge that she was struggling with this as much as he, was reassuring. He felt like a teenager, completely and hopelessly in love. At least he wasn't the only one.
"Probably," he shrugged, "It'll be fine. It's not for long."
She nodded.
"Are you alright? After everything yesterday..."
"Yeah. Yeah, no everything is fine. Not waiting for the other shoe to drop feels good."
"Good. But if you want any time off..."
"Are you trying to get rid of me? You keep trying to send me home," she joked.
"Not at all. Though, if you did, I might be mysteriously sick, off work, and coincidently run into you."
"Really?" she smiled wryly, "That sounds tempting, but no, I have work to do."
"I do too, but the offer stands."
"Good to know. By the way, are you free Thursday night?"
He thought.
"I am."
"What do you say to dinner with Zach and Grace?"
Uhhhhh...
"I'd have to say that I haven't been so worried about someone liking me since I met you. Let's do it."
"Great, you'll be fine."
"Ok. Hey, remember last week when you commandeered my office and said you'd pay me back?"
"Yes," she said slowly.
"I need you to prep me." He couldn't go in blind, he would be nervous enough already.
Alicia laughed. "Sure. I would have thought you'd use that for... other things."
"So did I,' he admitted, "but this is probably more important."
She smiled and he could feel the love in her eyes.
"Of course, let me know when you're free." Something caught her eye outside. "I should get back to work, I'll see you later."
- BREAK -
Alicia was walking back to her office when Kalinda caught up to her. She missed her friendship with Kalinda. She missed having friends, someone to share things with, who had her back, and wasn't related to her. Maddie didn't work out, and she really liked Laura but things were bound to be awkward now she was with Will. She wondered what happened with that. It would have to have ended- Will wouldn't do that to either of them.
Kalinda snapped her out of her thoughts.
"So..."
"So?"
"You and Will, huh?"
Alicia's eyes widened in shock. Were they that obvious?
"Are we that obvious?"
Oh god, they were failing miserably at this secret thing. Maybe she should've stayed home, it'd be less obvious. Unless, of course, Will made good on his promise to join her. Actually, that'd be even worse.
"To me? Yes, but I had insider information. Other people probably wouldn't pick up on anything unless you dropped and went at it on the floor-"
"Kalinda!"
They'd reached her office by then and Alicia ran to close the door. Kalinda smirked. So she knew, that was fine. If there was one thing Alicia (or anybody) knew about Kalinda, it was that she could keep a secret.
"Did Will tell you?"
"He didn't have to. You guys were both 'busy' on Friday night? There was no case, you didn't have the kids. And then you had that conversation just now. I put two and two together." She shrugged. "It wasn't hard."
"You said it wasn't obvious."
"You two keep grinning like idiots and it will be."
Alicia blushed.
"Seriously though, watch yourselves. I saw Diane eyeing you two."
She hadn't seen that. She supposed they were too engrossed in each other to notice the small details of the world around them. That didn't bode too well for their charade.
Kalinda made to leave.
"And congratulations. You two deserve to be happy."
"Thanks Kalinda."
She left and Alicia started on her work.
- BREAK -
The last weeks of the campaign were an interesting lesson in patience and self-control. Will and Alicia worked to kept their secret a secret around others, staying friendly but professionally appropriate like you would expect of coworkers that liked each other (platonically, that is). The only exceptions to this were the rare occasions when they could sneak away somewhere private for romantic interludes. Alicia was, of course, always very careful in ensuring their discretion during these times.
When Thursday night rolled around, nerves were running high in the Florrick household, but probably no higher than those in Will. A lot was riding on this dinner; he could not screw it up. Work had been so time consuming that he and Alicia had only gotten to talk briefly about it, which left him feeling considerably underprepared as he knocked on the door. When it opened, he smiled with relief at seeing Alicia. She returned it, and seeing the nerves in his eyes grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.
She leant in towards him.
"You'll be fine," she said softly into his ear and kissed his cheek. He was grateful for it. It reminded him that he wasn't alone in this.
"Is that for me?" she asked.
What was she talking about? Confused, he followed her eye line down to the bottle of wine he held in his other hand. Oh.
"Yes! God..." he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remove his mental tunnel vision. "Yes, here."
Will handed her the bottle.
"Thanks. Come inside, dinner's five minutes away."
Wow, Will thought, their good timing covers meals too. Which was good, because now that some of the anxiety had subsided, he found he was almost starving.
Alicia held up the bottle.
"Would you like a glass?"
"I could probably go for something stronger than that wine," he joked, though half serious, "but sure."
She laughed and poured them both a glass. It was a good wine, if only the kids could drink, he could win them over with the outstanding quality of this wine.
"Ready?" she asked.
He let out a breath to release his tension.
"Let's do this."
She nodded.
"Zach? Grace?"
Alicia introduced the kids, and they sat down for a pleasant albeit slightly awkward dinner. That was to be expected, Will supposed. It would be weird meeting your mom's boyfriend when the only person you'd known her to be with is your father. This was probably just about the best he could ask for.
Halfway through dinner, Alicia excused herself to check on something in the kitchen, leaving Will alone with Zach and Grace. He continued eating but soon noticed the glances the Grace was giving him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was hesitating. He gave her a quizzical expression as a means of prompting her. She took the invitation.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What do you want here?"
Zach choked on his food. "Grace!"
"No, Zach, it's fine," The question was blunt, but it gave him the opportunity to explain himself and hopefully make them more comfortable with the idea of him being in their lives. "I assume your question regards your mom..."
Grace nodded.
"Well, it's quite simple really. I want to be with your mom. I've loved your mom for a long time, and now that I have the chance, I'd like to be with her, be a part of her life. I want to make her happy, because it's what we want for the ones we love. Also, I'd like to be friends with you two. You mean the world to her, so it would mean the world to me if we could."
Will said this so sincerely that both kids were speechless for a moment before Zach regained his voice.
"You said you've loved her for a long time, since she started working for you?"
"If I was to be honest, since law school."
It was strange for Will to talk about this. For so long, he couldn't say anything, and had to hide any indication of his feelings. Speaking them now, to her kids no less was oddly liberating.
"Your mom's an amazing person. She's smart, funny, caring, and yet still able to kick my ass into gear when needed. It's a rare combination. One no one would give up if they found it. When she met your father I tried to move on-"
"That didn't really work out, I guess," Grace commented.
"No," he laughed, "but I wouldn't change it. I'm happier now than I've ever been."
Zach and Grace were once again silenced by the honest emotion, and seemed to smile slightly.
By the time Alicia rejoined the table, the atmosphere had changed. The nervous tension was replaced by an easy flow. She sensed it almost immediately.
"So Will, you got any stories from law school?" Zach asked, trying to hide the mischievous grin that had formed on his face.
Will laughed. "Many. So there was this one time..."
"Oh god. No. No stories," Alicia protested, but it sounded half-hearted, so Will continued.
"What have I gotten myself into?" she muttered under her breath.
Will just squeezed her hand under the table.
- BREAK -
The final week of the campaign passed quickly, and before she knew it, Alicia was standing by Peter through election night. The air was filled with cautious optimism as everyone awaited the results. It looked like it would go Peter's way, but Eli was adamant that no one say so, for fear of jinxing it.
A loud cheer rang through the air when the tv commentators announced Peter as the winner. Alicia turned to congratulate Peter, giving him a kiss on the cheek and a long hug, and then released him to the mass of campaigners and other supporters waiting to congratulate him. She had enough time for a drink before they had to go for Peter's victory speech, so she grabbed one of the glasses of champagne floating around and spent the time quietly, reflecting while watching the others celebrate.
Fifteen minutes later, she joined Peter, smiling, on the platform as he thanked all his supporters and promised to serve the great state of Illinois. When he finished his speech, she held his hand proudly, not as his wife perhaps, but as a strong supporter of him and his political career. Now he was elected though, she found no reason to keep up the pretence that they were a happily married couple, so as they left the platform Alicia turned to him.
"Peter?"
"You're leaving?"
The question didn't convey resignation, just acceptance of the situation.
"Yes."
"Ok."
She was glad for the lack of resistance.
"You did well, Peter."
"Thanks," he said. "Go. We'll talk later."
She nodded and left.
- BREAK -
Ring... Ring...
Will picked up his phone and saw it was Alicia.
"Hey."
"Hi-"
"So Peter won, huh? Congratulations."
"Thanks-"
"Are you at the party? It sounds dead."
"No. Will? Are you at home?"
"Yeah," he answered, confused, "I am. Why?"
"Go outside."
He followed what she said and went outside onto the landing, looking down the hall in both directions until he found a dog.
"Did you send me a puppy?" he asked, doubtful that she would. But it was the only thing there.
"I meant outside your building."
Ah. He felt slightly embarrassed. For a second there, he thought she actually had sent him a puppy, and was excited about it. Shaking his head, he walked past the pup and took the elevator down. When he stepped out, he saw her. Smiling, he hung up his phone and joined her out on the street.
"Why don't you come inside? It's kind of cold out here."
It was. Why didn't he bring a jacket?
"Not yet," she said, stepping toward him.
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him full on the mouth. Will responded with enthusiasm, hugging her body to his and tilting his head to deepen the kiss.
"We're free," she said, happily.
Will realized that this was the first time they've kissed in public. Sure, it was a quiet street in the middle of the night, but they weren't hiding anymore! And it felt amazing. It felt real and honest. So he kissed her again.
"Well, you know, you still have your divorce, and there's the firm, and the press, and I know the kids loved me the other night, but-"
"Will?" she interrupted.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"Ok then. Let's celebrate. You could stay, and we could go out for breakfast in the morning, take advantage of this 'being free' thing?"
He held out his hand and she took it as they walked inside together.
"Sounds perfect."
The End
Thanks for reading my story, and special thanks to all those who supported me while writing it:
Guategal, ALENKA123, Ella, Dani, L'ange Demoniaque, Emilie, Allie, Kate, sleep is good-books are better, Lu250, becca, Phrasay, redlollypoplips, bc mist, michellegoodall, jule7434, PeachfacedLovebird, and bookworm1837. (Sorry if I missed anyone).
Until next time guys!