The Date
Author Witch0000
Fandom The Good Wife
Pairing Alicia/Kalinda
Disclaimer: The Good Wife is the property of CBS. I own nothing and make no profit from this story.
Well, I've found two women to inspire me again. Not sure how obsessed I will be with this pair, since of course, I'm still writing Otalia fanfic as well as other writing projects. Enjoy. This will likely be longer. Thanks to sillyme for setting up The Good Wife forum. I'm honored to be the first to submit a story here and it is my I hope that others will join me and contribute stories here.
Chapter 1
"Do you have time for a drink?" Alicia asked, trying hard—too hard—to make her voice sound casual and light.
"Sorry. I have a date tonight," Kalinda replied, her eyes refusing to move from her computer screen.
Alicia's heart clutched for a moment, as she tried to keep her face expressionless. "Anyone special?" she asked softly—so softly she hoped Kalinda didn't hear her.
That softness in her voice—the hesitation—the fear—made Kalinda move her eyes slowly away from the screen, up towards Alicia, until she locked eyes with her.
"No," Kalinda said gently, and she saw Alicia's body relax just a bit, and she heard a long-held breath leave her friend's body. "No one special at all. My mother is always trying to fix me up with eligible rich Indian men. I have to go out with at least one per quarter, or else she'll get herself to here from Bombay faster than a speeding bullet. And yes, she is more powerful than a locomotive too."
Kalinda smiled as she watched her friend laugh—a little too hard, but no matter. It broke the spell for the time being.
"Well, ok then. Good luck, I guess. I mean, if you are looking for a husband," Alicia said, moving towards the door, anxious to extricate herself from this strangely uncomfortable conversation. Jesus I just wanted to have a drink with her! Why on earth did I almost pass out when she said she had a date? Alicia shook her head slightly, as if to clear it of all unwelcome thoughts. She wasn't one who liked to examine her own motivations too closely. She tried to stay in the moment. To do the next right thing. Often, she did things she didn't understand. Like stay married to Peter after what he had done to her—to their marriage—to their children. But it felt comfortable and familiar, and Alicia preferred that over the unknown.
Like Kalinda.
Alicia's hand grasped the door handle as she tried to make her exit.
"Alicia. I am NOT looking for a husband," Kalinda said.
Alicia felt her face flush with heat as she froze. She continued to stare at the back of the door, her hand still clutching the handle.
"Alicia." Kalinda said softly, a plea barely discernable in her tone.
Gathering her wits, Alicia quickly turned her head in the other woman's direction and said casually, "Oh. Well, I hope the date isn't too awful for you. Have a good night," Alicia said smiling too brightly as she finally made her exit.
As the door clicked shut, Kalinda sighed. How long are we going to dance to this song? How long is Alicia going to deny her feelings for me? How long am I going to pretend I'm oblivious to how she feels? And how long will I keep obsessing about what it would be like to kiss her?
A knock on the door broke the spell. Diane, a partner in the firm of Stern, Lockhart and Gardner where both Kalinda and Alicia worked, popped her head in quickly and reminded Kalinda that she needed more dirt on the Ellsworth case.
"This one should be interesting for you, Kalinda," Diane said smiling. "It's usually the men that are the dogs. This time, it's the wife who stepped out on the husband."
"Step out? Are you kidding? This woman was having orgies with teenage boys three nights a week! If you call that "stepping out" I'd hate to think what you would classify as whoring around," Kalinda said in mock horror.
"Nothing shocks me anymore, Kalinda. Just as I'm sure nothing shocks you. That's why we're both very good at what we do. We don't get rattled easily," Diane said as excused herself and left Kalinda's office.
Kalinda heard the door click shut again, and she was once again left to her thoughts—thoughts of kissing Alicia.
Kalinda sat up straight in her chair, and tried to focus on her latest case, but it was hopeless. It had gotten like this lately. Her legendary ability to focus on a case—leaving no stone unturned to catch her prey—had been compromised of late by her obsession with Alicia. This was not the first time she'd had her heart captured by someone so colossally inappropriate and emotionally unavailable. I swear, it's my fucking type, these days. I should probably go see a shrink about that. Kalinda's job was to delve into the psyche's of those unfortunates who unwittingly found themselves under her microscope. And she was good at it—one of the best. Too bad I can't seem to do a very good job in examining my own motivations.
Like why I lied to Alicia. Why I told her I had a date with a man. When I most certainly do not—not tonight anyway.
Kalinda packed up her laptop and gathered the files she would need to work on the Ellsworth case this weekend. As she zipped the case shut, she pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out her Prada bag—a splurge, but one that she made her smile every day. Locking her desk, she gathered her bags, flicked off the light switch and locked her office door. Only the Partners of the firm and Kalinda were allowed to lock their doors—Associates had to have access to files at all times, as they frequently worked through the night on important cases. But Kalinda almost always had enough information in her office to take down a city's political infrastructure and burn it down in shame and scandal—so Will and Diane wisely amended their policy to allow Kalinda more privacy for her work than the rest of the firm. It worked out well all around.
Kalinda's phone vibrated in her pocket, and she reached for it automatically. "This is Kalinda. All right. I'll meet you at 9. But I need to make it an early night. I have to be up in the morning. See you then. Yeah…me too." Ending the call, Kalinda picked up her stride a bit and hurried to her car. It was already 7, and she needed time to bait the trap. She had a live fish on the hook.
"Kalinda! So nice to see you! Is that a new bag? I love it—it matches your eyes." Lana Delaney, FBI agent and frequent source of information for Kalinda, rose to great her guest. Kalinda offered her cheek in greeting, and was rewarded when Lana deposited a soft, gentle kiss on her face that made Kalinda smile—just a little—in spite of her purpose this evening. And her purpose this evening was the same as it was every time Lana called her and invited her somewhere. Find out what she wanted from her, extract as much information from the agent as possible, and give back little in return. It's a dance Lana and Kalinda had been playing for several years—back when Kalinda was working for Peter Florrick's office. Working for Peter, she learned just how ugly politics and law enforcement can be. How depraved and power hungry people could get. And she learned from it—studied it—so she could use it for her benefit and the benefit of her employer.
"The bag is fairly new—I suppose I didn't have it the last time we met," Kalinda said. "But I'm pretty sure you didn't invite me here to compliment me on my ability to accessorize. What's this about Lana?"
"Can't I invite a pretty woman out to dinner on a Friday night and not be accused of trying to pump her for information," Lana said with a sly smile.
"Well, you could, however if one has honorable intentions, one never invites a woman out on a Friday night with less than 24 hours notice," Kalinda said. "And, to be fair, one never accepts said invitation on such short notice unless one thinks the evening will yield something worthwhile."
"And what would you consider to be 'worthwhile' Kalinda?" Lana asked, while her fingertip played with the rim of her wine glass.
"Worthwhile would be that you give me information that I need, or that might be helpful to me in the future," Kalinda said.
"Is that the only thing that might be worth your while, Kalinda?" Lana asked. "It's entirely possible that I invited you tonight because I enjoy your company. And the invitation did arrive this morning, delivered on your doorstep with a very attractive bouquet of exotic blossoms attached. I would say, if I were investigating this case, that my intentions might indeed be more than 'work-related'.
"Yes, that is highly possible. However, with you FBI agents, everything is work to you—there's no dividing line between the two, because your work is so all important. But somehow, I don't think at this point in your life that you take much time for social visits. So I'm going to stick with my gut on this one and say that you've got something on your mind. So spill. What is it that you want Lana?"
"Well first, I want you to have a glass of this wine. It's fantastic. Then I want you to order something for dinner. Once that's done, I'll let you know why you're here."
Kalinda sighed. It had been a long week and she was tired. But tonight might yield some profitable information, and, if the stars were properly aligned, she might get laid. And Lana was a very thorough, enthusiastic lover. And it might help me take my mind off of Alicia for a little while.