Disclaimer: All recognizable The Good Wife characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners including, but not limited to CBS. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fan fiction story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No financial gain is associated with the publishing of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: This is an extension of the scene in "What Went Wrong" (3x11) when Alicia gets Kalinda out of jail and Alicia confronts Kalinda in the car about Kalinda's having found Grace. Very short one-shot. Thank you all for your reviews of my last Kalinda/Alicia piece. As I've said before, I'm smitten with Kalinda. –dkc

Grace

They sat in silence in Alicia's car until Kalinda thanked her. The last thing Kalinda expected was for Alicia to be thanking her. She had told Grace not to tell her mother. She truly didn't believe Alicia would want to know. Not after the truth of Kalinda's past had come between them.

"Thanks."

"You found Grace?"

Kalinda hesitated.

"You found my daughter?" a hint of an edge in Alicia's voice.

"She wasn't lost," Kalinda said.

"You brought her home," Alicia losing patience with Kalinda's skirting the seriousness of that day.

"She would have come home on her own," Kalinda was attempting to downplay what she had done.

"You told my kids not to tell me. Why?"

They finally looked directly at one another.

"I don't want mess," Kalinda replied honestly.

"What mess?" Alicia wondered.

"Alicia, I haven't changed. I'm the same person. I knew I could help so I helped. That's all.

"Thank you,"

"You don't have to."

"No, you didn't have to. That's why I'm thanking you," Alicia explained.

"You're welcome" Kalinda didn't know what else to say.

Alicia whispered that Kalinda didn't have to find Grace. The pain the investigator felt, pain at her own hand, was crushing. How had she ruined the only friendship she'd had in years?

"Alicia..." Kalinda's voice quietly pleaded.

Hearing the way only Kalinda made her name sound, Alicia's intake of breath was audible. It told Kalinda that her next action would not be rebuffed. She reached a hand out to cover the lawyer's.

"Kalinda," Alicia's voice broke.

Giving the woman's hand a gentle squeeze, Kalinda expected to be shrugged off. Instead, she was surprised when the fingers beneath hers spread, inviting Kalinda to interweave her own between them. She did exactly that, astonished by how something so simple could make her feel so alive. Neither woman attempted to make eye contact. They sat in silence, fingers laced, until the lawyer's phone shattered the moment.

Alicia looked around for her phone, realizing it was in her bag in the backseat.

"Here," Kalinda reached for the bag and handed it over.

Grabbing the phone out of the bag and putting it to her ear, Alicia was all business until she looked over and saw the dejected look on Kalinda's face. Their eyes met. The lawyer offered a slight smile.

Maybe they were going to be okay after all.

-finis-