Title: Assistance
Author: Bepatientimadoc AKA justlovebt
Fandom: The Good Wife
Pairing: Alicia/Kalinda
Word Count: ~
Disclaimer: I don`t own any of the characters of the lovely show `The Good Wife`.
Genre: Romance, hurt, drama.
Prompt: Courtney, Alicia/Kalinda - Courtney tries to clue Alicia that Kalinda is clearly doing more than just favoring her
Summary: Courtney knows all and sees all (with a little help…) but can she use subtlety to make clear to Alicia that Kalinda is more than just a friend, and doesn't deserve to be treated like an enemy?

Authors note: My last contribution to the ficathon, so sorry I couldn`t finish it on time, but I promise I will ;) Special thanks to sweetjamielee for hosting the ficathon, to demoka for leaving this prompt and to Piatot for successfully kicking some writers block ass! (and give me some bright and shiny new ideas!) I really owe you!

Assistance.

Prologue:

Courtney Wells had always made it her business to know everything about everyone. One could not work for Patti Nyholm without understanding the power of knowledge. And the ebony-skinned assistant had always had a keen eye for detail.

Therefore it should not have surprised her that she seemed to be one of the only ones to notice how Kalinda`s eyes focused on and tracked her boss as would a hawk its prey. It shouldn't, but it had, because once it had become visible to her, it seemed so clear.

It had not bothered her, when, many times, the investigator would leave a file or a note at her desk, for her to forward to Alicia. She had always, warmly, smiled back as Kalinda, in a bolder mood, had smoothed past her, to hand the lawyer the papers personally. She had stored the piece of information in a safe place of her multifunctional brain and had not thought to ever need it.

But then… IT… had happened.

And now, the eyes still tracked and followed, but they did not smile anymore. The files were ALL left at Courtney`s desk, but little post-it notes were sticking out any more. Ever. The only ones she ever saw now, were directed at her.

And still, maybe, Courtney could have kept her peace, knowing at times how silence was worth more than a thousand words. Had it been about anybody else... Had she not known so much… But it wasn`t and she did.

And, Courtney had to reluctantly admit, she cared. She sighed.

Sometimes knowledge was a curse.

She had thought it to be Alicia, her being the more likely candidate for such a gesture, who had put in a good word for her brother. The fact the boy had a record – some silly thing he had gotten himself into when he had just turned 18- had left him jobless for most of his young years and Courtney had been worried that, frustration and boredom combined, the young man would be seduced to follow a darker path. Later Courtney had had to acknowledge she had been wrong. Although Alicia seemed warm, and would never turn her back on a good deed if it was asked of her or if it was right in front of her face, she had not known anything about her brother. When Courtney had, shyly, tried to thank her for her actions, the lawyer had looked at her with such wide and confused eyes, she quite quickly recognized her mistake.

Nevertheless it had been a great surprise when she had overheard some guys on the 23th floor talk about it. She even remembered their exact words:

`And his record?`

`Listen, if Kalinda says it's ok, it`s ok.`

With that, the first man had heartily agreed and the deal had been done.

Courtney had waited for the longest time for Kalinda to reveal herself. To finally find out what she would want in return of the favor. She had listened to people talk and had always heard that Kalinda always wanted something for something and, many of times, something for nothing. But the smiles and the small non-interactions they shared, had never changed.

It had peaked Courtney`s interest in the in-house investigator though, and she had laid her ear to rest to see if she could find out more. And had she…

If she had thought the fact that she was ALICIA`S assistant that had earned her the good deed, the stories she collected proofed her otherwise. From the mailroom (an ex-con) to security (an ex-cop) to the surveillance room (her brother) there were people who owed their job to Kalinda`s good word. Although she was sure some of them knew, she also had a hunch most of them didn`t. It was fascinating, the way Kalinda worked, but no one was as much the subject of her silent good deeds as Alicia Florrick, and it did not take a psychology degree to figure out why. It DID take one, however, why the woman was trying so hard to keep her selfish, bad-ass image. Most of the stories she had heard were warnings about Kalinda`s always hidden agenda. How she was dangerous and cold. How she didn't have a heart. But that was not the Kalinda she knew, behind the scenes.

Courtney blushed, grateful for the darkness of her skin to conceal it. She had more than once suspected she herself had a little crush on the in-house investigator, which of course shouldn`t have surprised her, because REALLY who didn't?

Even Diane, sometimes, amused, followed the soft sway of the sexy Indian woman`s hips as she passed by. She had heard Cary say, more than once, a lot of girls had been straight until they met Kalinda. In her mind, Courtney sometimes called it being `Kalinda-sexual'. But she also knew Kalinda only had eyes for one woman. Her body may be free game, to men and women alike, but her heart, the one people claimed she didn`t possess, belonged only to Alicia. This knowledge, despite her own little crush, did not make Courtney jealous. It simply saddened her.

Since Alicia had broken the friendship, both woman walked around their glass offices like zombies. And it was not until Courtney saw Kalinda, flinching, drink a cup of coffee instead of her usual milk, immediately followed by a sip of pepto-bismol that she noticed the dark circles under Kalinda`s eyes, although expertly concealed by make-up.

It was the end of April when she decided to do something about it, a plan slowly starting to form itself in her mind. Hoping that, maybe, all this called for was a little female subtlety?

To Be Continued