A/N: Hi everyone! This is an AU Season 6 story, where both Alicia and Diane remain at Lockhart/Gardner and Will doesn't, you know, die. I've had this idea floating around in my head for a little while but decided to give it a shot on paper and see where it goes. There will be some flashbacks involved that should resolve any unanswered questions. As always, your reads and reviews are appreciated :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nothing recognizable belongs to me.


Alicia stirs, the late September sunlight filtering in through the window. It's far past the time she should have been awake and getting dressed for work, but her bed is warm and the outside world is growing colder, in more ways than just the weather.

She can run her left hand through her hair now without it getting tangled in the metal of the diamond ring she used to wear every day. Her hand is bare. No more ring.

No more Peter.

Eli had practically begged her not to divorce him. Alicia thought for a moment that he was actually going to get on his hands and knees. He said it wasn't good for either of them, that there was no reason they couldn't keep doing what they were doing-stay married in name only, make appearances together, but, you know, screw other people.

Alicia had just laughed at Eli's words. He sat across from her, taken aback at her newfound attitude. The old Alicia never would have divorced Peter, much less laughed at Eli's insistence that she not, but this was not the old Alicia.

This was the new Alicia. And the new Alicia was tired. Tired of Peter. Tired of pretending.

So she pushed past Eli and his objections, past Peter's protests and his hurtful words, past the heartache of a twenty-year marriage crumbling to pieces in a matter of weeks.

She pushed past all of it, and now she's here. Alone.

Well, not really alone. There's Grace and Owen and Veronica, and there's work. Cary's gone off to start Agos and Associates, which leaves her with one less friendly face each morning. There's Diane, with whom she's still trying to forge a healthy and professional friendship. There's Kalinda, but they're not really friends anymore, at least not like they used to be.

And then there's Will.

Alicia saw the look in his eyes when she told him about the divorce. He looked sad and hopeful at the same time. Sad because she was hurting, but hopeful because he thought maybe, just maybe, they could finally be together. This would be their good timing.

But it wasn't good timing. And it's still not good timing. Not yet, anyway. Not days after she signed a piece of paper that dissolved her lifelong promises into something completely insignificant. Will understands that, because he's been her friend for nearly twenty years and wants to continue being her friend. Except he doesn't know how to do that, not when he knows he could be more.

Not when he's no longer her boss; she's a partner, his equal. Not when it wouldn't be an affair. Not when they wouldn't have to keep it a secret. Not when he could theoretically hold her hand in public or sit next to her at dinner and no one would be able to say a goddamn thing because she's not the governor's wife anymore.

So Will avoids Alicia like the plague, and it's killing her.

Every conversation they have is awkward and strained. He's trying not to ask her how she's doing or anything too personal, which only makes it worse, because he knows exactly how she's doing. She's tired. She's hurt. She needs her friends.

Alicia's doing an impressive job of hiding it all, though, just like five years ago. She puts on crisp suits, shiny stillettos, and bold lipstick, straightens her hair, and stands tall. She ignores the stares she gets when she walks down the street, the way the assistants and the associates and the other partners whisper things about her when they think she isn't near. Alicia should have divorced Peter a long time ago, when everyone would have supported her for ditching that scumbag cheater of a husband. But people just stare at her now, accusing her of things like not being loyal and supportive or some other bullshit about which she couldn't really give a damn.

It's all well and good, because she can keep it up for most of the day, but when she's alone at night, she can feel it in her bones.

The world is growing colder, and it's not just the weather.


"We have some new business to discuss."

Diane and Will sit in front of the partners. He's leaning back in his chair, a little casually, while Diane sits upright with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Let me guess, it's some decision the two of you made without consulting the rest of us?" David Lee scoffs.

"Sit down," Diane replies angrily. "You are no more important than any other partner in this room."

He sighs and sits back in his chair as Will rolls his eyes.

"It's about the new branches of the firm," Diane continues. "You all know about and have approved acquiring offices in Los Angeles and New York."

The partners nod in affirmation.

"We will need at least one partner to go to each of the new branches to help it get on its feet. Maybe six months, maybe a year. Scout out office space. Get a feel for the area and its clients. Hire some associates. Get the Lockhart/Gardner name out there and make us look good," she adds, smiling. "Do we have anyone who's willing to temporarily relocate to Los Angeles?"

Her hand shoots up in the air faster than she can fully comprehend what she's doing, and the words leave her lips faster than her brain can stop them from doing so.

"I'll go."

Diane and Will's heads snap quickly to their left.

Alicia's hand is in the air.