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Diane was sitting at her desk, staring outside the office window at the night lights of Chicago. She would have normally found the view enchanting, but tonight, she just found it lonely.
She spun her chair around when she heard a knock at the door. Will was standing there with a bottle of scotch in his hands.
"Want some company?"
Diane motioned for him to come inside. As he entered the office, she turned the chair around and got two glasses out of the cabinet behind her desk. When she put them down, Will poured a small amount of the liquid into each glass and put the bottle to the side.
He picked his up and took a small mouthful. Instead of picking up hers, Diane stared down at the glass in front of her and ran her right index finger in circles around the rim.
"So he's gone?"
Without looking up from the glass, Diane slowly nodded her head.
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?"
"I know he was… special to you."
Will was careful with his choice of words.
"He was." Diane nodded in agreement.
A few seconds of silence passed.
"You saw then?"
Will knew straight away that she was referring to the goodbye kiss in her office before Diane had joined him and Derrick in the conference room.
Diane looked up from the glass and Will nodded, not completely sure of what to say.
Diane sighed and looked down again.
They sat in silence for a while before she finally looked back up at Will. The sadness she was feeling inside was evident in the wateriness of her eyes. Usually she would've never let anyone see her like this. She hated feeling vulnerable. But she couldn't deny the fact that she was upset. Kurt really was someone special to her. He made her laugh a lot and she was always happier when he was around.
"He wanted me to go away to Costa Rica with him, but I turned it down."
Will looked confused.
"Why? A holiday would've done you good once all of this mess with Bond is over."
"He didn't mean a holiday."
Suddenly it made sense to him.
"Oh."
"I thought about it a lot, and a part of me wanted to go with him, but this firm is my life. Deep in my heart, leaving was never really an option. So I told him I couldn't leave and…"
She couldn't finish the rest of the sentence. It hurt too much.
It also felt odd telling Will all of that. She never opened up to him like that. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, because she would trust him with her life, she just wasn't the type to talk about her feelings or her personal life.
They sat in silence again. This time Will was the first one to speak.
"You look tired."
"I'm exhausted."
"Let me drive you home."
"No, it's okay. I'll leave soon."
"Diane, you're tired and upset. Don't try and hide it, I know you are. Pack your things, and I'll take you home."
His tone was firm but gentle.
"But my car –"
"Leave it here overnight. Nothing will happen to it, there are security guards and cameras everywhere. I'll pick you up on my way to work in the morning."
She really was in no mind to get into an argument or to try and defend herself. She decided it was best to let him do this for her, just this once.
"Okay."
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The car ride to Diane's house was silent. It wasn't an awkward silence though. Diane was too tired to think of anything to talk about and Will was concentrating on driving.
As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Will opened the trunk of the car and took out her bag and the paperwork she had taken from her office.
"Here, let me take that."
"No, it's okay, I've got it. Just go and unlock the front door."
She opened her mouth to argue but Will had already started walking towards the house. She walked quickly to get in front of him and unlocked the door. He handed her the bag and the paperwork and she put it down on the floor in the house next to the door.
She turned around and smiled at Will.
"That's what I like to see."
She chuckled as he pulled her into his arms.
"Thank you, Will. You didn't have to do this."
"I know, but it felt like the right thing to do."
He kissed her cheek and pulled away.
"Go inside, take a warm bubble bath, get into your pyjamas, eat as much as you can, put on a movie and fall asleep on the sofa."
He noticed her eyes were starting to water. He had never seen her this way before. He hated it.
"It'll get easier, you know that."
"I know. He was just…"
She couldn't find the words to describe Kurt.
He gave her a soft smile.
"I know. Goodnight Diane."
She tried to return his smile, but she couldn't quite manage it.
"Goodnight."
She made sure he was safely back in his car and waved to him as he backed out of the driveway and started driving away.
She shut the front door, leaned against it and shut her eyes.
Immediately, memories of Kurt came rushing into her head.
The first time he had left, there was no official goodbye. He had just disappeared. This time was different though. She knew he wasn't coming back. It was over, and she had no idea what to do. She felt like slumping down onto the floor and crying. It would've been the easiest thing to do, but she knew that she was stronger than that.
But she was constantly reminded of Kurt. The Sarah Palin book he had given her sat on the bookshelf. The beautiful vase that he'd bought her for her birthday was on the coffee table in front of the couch where they'd spent many hours snuggled up together. She could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes, so she decided it was best to go upstairs, change into her pyjamas and get into bed.
She could think of what she was going to do next tomorrow, because for now, she was going to grieve for the loss of a man she loved.
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