Disclaimer: I do not own The Good Wife

Author's note: This is going to have really spaced out chapters, so 8 months to a year between each chapter. This is my first Good Wife fic, and the first fix i have written in about 6 months - so it might be a little rusty.

Hope you all enjoy :)

Georgetown University Graduation, 1994

Chatter emulated from the sea of royal purple gowns that surrounded him. Laughter and tears were everywhere as the emotions brought on by graduation were shared among fellow students and friends. Yet despite the fact that everyone wore the same outfit, he was easily able to identify the woman he was looking for. Alicia Cavanaugh was stood away from the 'popular' students who were gathered around taking photos with everyone they deemed attractive enough to warrant remembering. All squealing in excitement at the prospect of the final summer to themselves before the real world was to begin. No, Alicia Cavanaugh was not one of those girls, she never had been. The brunette instead chose to stand just off to the side with a couple of friends. Her hair was curled into wide ringlets and fell half way down her back, swaying ever so slightly as she turned. He caught her eye and she smiled that bright and honest smile that he so loved.

She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, feeling the tassel of her graduation cap tap against her head as she did so. Alicia watched as Will walked over, and laughed a little as one of the leggy blondes stood near him grabbed his robe and forced him to take a picture with her. To most the friendship of Will Gardner;the basket ball player and ladies man, and Alicia Cavanaugh; the quiet brunette who steadily remained top of the class, was a strange one. On that first day of law school three years ago, when he had thrown his basketball in her face (by accident,) no one had thought anything would come of it. Three years later however, they had become almost inseparable. Well, up until three weeks ago they had.

After two years of living on campus, both Alicia and Will had decided to move off campus for their final year, both having scored part time internships at law firms. Living together as friends had seemed like the obvious option, especially considering ninety percent of the time one of them was not even in their own room but in that of the other.

When classes finished both had decided that they would stay in DC for the final three weeks of their lease. Peter, Alicia's boyfriend had come to visit a few times over the course of the year, and stayed for a couple of days in those few weeks. Peter was a man whom Will thought very little of in the grand scheme of things. Peter was a few years older than Alicia and was already working in the States Attorney's office in Chicargo, hence whenever Peter spoke about Alicia's 'little internship' Will felt his blood boil.

Ever since the first time that Peter and Will met the pair had taken an instant dislike to one another. To the extent that the second time Peter stayed with them, Will had forced himself not to punch the man for Alicia's sake. Will knew he didn't deserve Alicia Cavanaugh, he was a ladies man, every week there was a different girl draped over his arm. He would never have forgiven himself if she were to become simply another one of those women. However, he knew for certain he would be able to treat her better than Peter did.

Alicia had always given Will warning for when Peter would be around, and he usually made himself scarce. It hurt the brunette that two people she cared so much about could not stand the sight of one another. Whilst she understood Peter's jealousy and Will's dislike for the way that Peter belittled her, she did not agree with either one enough to get the other out of her life.

It was the night after the end of classes when everything changed between Alicia and Will. Both had decided that they would spend the night in as oppose to going out on the town with everyone else. Working an internship as well as doing a full time law degree meant that both had been forced to considerably reduce the number of hours they worked at their part time jobs, leaving them a little more tight for cash than the rest of their other friends. So instead of crawling around the clubs of DC, they had bough a bottle of their favourite tequila and decided to celebrate on their own.

It was after more of that bottle had been drunk than should have been that the pair ended up kissing on the floor of their apartment, clumsily undressing one another. In fact, if it wasn't for Owen, and his so (in)conveniently timed phone call it may have been Peter whom she pushed out of her life for good. However the moment had been shattered, and even in their intoxicated states they had realised the catastrophic consequences that could have been caused. The next morning neither had mentioned the kiss, despite the fact that both could remember it, and even three weeks later it was left as an elephant in the room.

"Hey." Will said, smiling as he walked towards her, finally free of the blonde whom had attacked him and attempted to persuade him to join them for post-graduation drinks.

"Hey." Alicia said, smiling. Will took in the woman in front of him. Unlike the others her makeup was lighter and more natural, her eyes had been lined with brown, and the smallest hint of shadow filled the crease of her lid, causing her eyes to be the centre of attention. Her lips were coloured by a pink tinged gloss that gave her face an angelic quality.

She was by far the most beautiful woman in their year – in his biased opinion.

Despite the fact that they lived in the same apartment, neither had seen much of the other lately. Alicia had been putting in more and more hours at her internship, and Will had been out playing basketball and sleeping with any girl he had yet to sleep with in their year. Despite his playboy like tendencies Alicia never judged her best friend, because at the end of the day, when it came down to it, he was probably going to be one of the best lawyers that Georgetown law had ever spawned.

"Congratulations Cavanaugh, you survived Georgetown Law." Will said, watching as Alicia laughed at the exaggeration.

"I think I would be more accurate in congratulating you on managing to graduate. How many lecturers was it who thought you were going to fail because you liked women too much?" She replied, a smirk gracing her lips.

"Just the one thank you, and she got fired so I'm pretty sure she was drunk when she said that." They were laughing when he pulled her into a hug. It was in that moment that one of Alicia's friends shouted at her for a picture, and as she leant against Will Gardner's shoulder the flash went off. Two days later when they all gathered in the city centre for the final meal before they went their separate ways, Alicia was given that photo, and so was Will.

Even nineteen years later when Alicia left Lockhart / Gardner, taking some of the firms biggest clients with her, that photo was still sat in Will's apartment, framed and given pride of place over his fireplace. Whilst the same said picture sat in the top draw of Alicia's desk, left there as a reminder that it hadn't always been so hard, as a reminder of what she had dreamt of achieving back then.

Will ended up working for a firm in New York until he was approached by Jonas Stern to start up his own firm. By that time Alicia had left the law, and Crozier, Abrams & Abbott behind her, and was focusing on her children. She had, however, seen the announcement that the legendary Jonas Stern was opening his new law firm in Chicago in the Law Review. Alicia hadn't been able to hide the smile that took over her face when she had seen that one of the named partners was 'eligible bachelor' Will Gardner. Well, until Peter asked why she was smiling as she replied with 'just an article'.

Despite best intentions they never did manage to meet up after graduation. In the October that followed graduation Alicia had married Peter Florrick, and a year later had been pregnant with their first child. Of course the pair had written to one another monthly, but between a baby and a law firm, there never was much free time in either of their lives.

So, it was fifteen years later, in a lift, that they saw each other in person for the first time. Since they had left law school. He had thought she was just as beautiful as the day they had graduated. Alicia had simply thought how well Will had aged, and how seeing him in a suit, actually having his top button fastened and tie straight, must mean that she had been admitted into a mental hospital, because never had she thought that she would see the day Will Gardner finally grew up.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

-Abby