1.
"Hi."
Will looked up expectantly to see her standing in the doorway. He grinned. "Hey."
She hesitated, not sure whether this was an invitation to enter his office or not. Deciding it was, she stepped a little more confidently towards where he sat, shut the door behind her, and lowered herself onto the chair he indicated, opposite him.
"Um... you okay, Emma?" She loved the way he looked genuinely concerned, then realised she hadn't yet spoken.
"Oh, yes, sorry, I just... just wanted to talk to you about... something..." she trailed off, flustered and embarrassed. Thinking about it, Emma realised there wasn't actually a reason she had left her unfinished paperwork on her desk and wandered down the corridor to see Will. Damn. She needed to think of something quick.
"Oh?" Will asked.
"Yeah, I was just wondering... um... how you are," she finished lamely.
Will looked a little surprised. "Tired, you know – constantly being surrounded by hormonal teenagers and an ex-wife acting like a hormonal teenager is kind of taking its toll."
"Terri still harassing you, then?"
"No not really, she just doesn't really believe that my reason for the divorce was good enough. I think she thinks I'm lying about it." At Emma's questioning look, he continued "she thinks that it wasn't the... you know, the baby thing... that made me ask for a divorce." He looked down at his desk sheepishly, realising he'd probably said too much to go back now...
"What does she think it was if not that?" Emma looked shocked.
"She, err, she thinks I had – have – feelings for someone else," he replied quietly.
"Oh. Oh!" Emma realised where this could be leading. It had to be her that he was talking about, right? He'd kissed her only a couple of weeks ago and persuaded her to rethink her resignation, to Figgins' relief. Surely he hadn't got another girlfriend already? She started panicking. "Is she, um, right?" she asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.
Will's amused look told her that she'd failed. "I kissed you, Emma! You know the answer to that question."
She coloured a little, clashing slightly with her hair. "Well, I was just wondering!" she exclaimed, flustered. "You haven't mentioned it since it happened, and I haven't seen you as much as normal, you're always busy, and I miss talking to you, and I hate this wondering whether you're rethinking and regretting what you did."
Will looked shocked as everything she'd been worrying about came tumbling out of her mouth, before she hung her head in embarrassment. He cleared his throat. "Emma? Em, look at me." She couldn't deprive herself of a little smile at the sound of her nickname. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were that worried, why didn't you tell me?"
She shrugged and mumbled something he couldn't decipher.
"I didn't want to rush you into anything, Emma. I was waiting for you to be ready. I didn't want to scare you off."
"I'm not scared of you, Will! And I am ready," she smiled, a little more confidently now she'd learned he hadn't decided he preferred just being friends. And because she could see from the look in his eyes that his heart was soaring.
The bell rang loudly, making them both jump a little. Emma stood up and smiled as she made her way towards the door, as she knew he had a class now. "Meet you for lunch?" she asked quietly.
Will nodded, gazing after her as she practically skipped with happiness back to her own office. Not that Emma would ever skip.