It was with a heavy heart that Alicia returned to work. She'd always taken pride in her accomplishments and winning the State's Attorney position was no exception. She'd worked hard to win the position and it paid off in a big way. With the exception of the birth of her two children, it was the proudest moment of her life. But soon thereafter, she'd taken a fall in a big way. Luckily, Cary and Diane were there to catch her before she hit rock bottom.
On this particular day, Alicia sat in her office staring out of the window. She was thinking about Will, as she often did. God how she missed him. Some days were better than others, but today was worse; much worse. And on top of the ache of simply missing him, was the guilt that cut through her like a knife. She was not a religious person at all, but she knew that he was out there, somewhere, waiting for her and watching over her. But what must he think of her now? She wanted nothing more than to have him there in the flesh, holding her, telling her that despite all that she'd gone through, everything was going to be all right.
But the truth was, even now as she sat in her chair, alone in her office, she really didn't know if things would be all right. Or, in fact, if they'd ever be all right again.
Thankfully it was close to quitting time, although in truth, everyone knew that lawyers never actually had set working hours. But still it was nice to know that come five o'clock, barring any major cases or distractions, she and Cary and Diane could comfortably lock the doors and go home for the day.
She was so deep in thought that she was startled by the sound of his voice;
"Hey."
Her heart took a moment to return to its steady beat and she turned in her chair. "Cary..."
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't." She lied. "I was just… thinking."
"Well, I've done way too much of that today and I'm tired of thinking. Hey, ca I come in?"
She laughed softly. As if he needed an invitation to enter her office. "Yes, of course. You don't have to ask."
He walked inside and plopped down in the chair in front of her. As he did so, the leather made a whooshing sound from the weight of his body. "God, what a day. I thought it would never end! All I want to do is go home and have a beer."
"That actually sounds like a good idea." Alicia said. She rarely drank (beer, anyway), but it seemed that Cary had the right idea.
"I agree with that." Diane said, smiling as she entered Alicia's office. She took the seat next to Cary. "I say we go get a beer. Who's with me?"
"Me, definitely." Cary said. "How about it, Alicia?"
Suddenly she had a change of heart. Perhaps it would be best if she went home. Grace and Zach might need her. "Oh, I don't know, I'd have to-."
A knock on the door startled her and the three of them looked at each other.
"Damn it." Cary muttered, rising from his chair. "Just when I thought we were in the clear. "Don't worry; I'll get rid of them."
Diane laughed. "Cary, you know we can't do that, especially if they need representation! We need all the cases that we can get."
"Like hell we do. I'm beat and I'm getting that beer even if it means that the person out there has to sit on death row for something they didn't do!"
Alicia's eyes widened and she gasped. "Cary, that's a horrible thing to say!"
"Trust me, Alicia; I'm going to get rid of this person if it's the last thing I do!"
"Cary-."
But he was already out of his seat, ready to face the would- be 'intruder'. Alicia smiled, watching him. She knew he would make good on his word. The person would be gone within minutes and they could all go home for the evening.
God bless him.