Okay, last old one, promise. I wanted them all in the same place. This is just another lockner fic, again.

Still Awake

Buckets of rain fell onto the empty, dark streets of Chicago. As the wind swirled around trees and buildings, only one lonely black Cadillac crept down the street.

This wasn't a good idea, driving this late with no one around. Anything could happen. But she continued driving, determined to make it to her house for a few hours of sleep before the start of a busy day. Almost nothing remained intact, except for buildings, trees, and cars. Trash cans were sideways on the ground and mailboxes were open, some even knocked over. Kids' toys were scattered in their yards, and any car windows left down belonged to owners that would hate themselves when they woke up. The streetlights were still there, but not at all working, and power lines had been knocked out.

Suddenly, there was a weird noise. The car stopped moving, and everything inside it died. Except for Diane, she was still alive. At least for a few more minutes.

Reluctantly, she stepped out of the car and lifted the hood. Nothing looked wrong. But the car refused to start. Finally, she gave up. She climbed into the back seat and decided to just try and sleep. But wait- she was in the middle f the road, and nobody was here to help her. She couldn't stay like this until the morning's rush hour. She should just call a mechanic. She took out her phone book and dialed the number. No ring. No answer. No service. This couldn't be happening.

She did know of one house about a mile away from here, but it was risky trying to walk all that way. She got out of her car, leaving her purse and shoes, and pushed it. About... A foot.

This wasn't going to work.

After about fifteen minutes of pushing her car in the pouring down rain, she managed to get it on the side of the road. Grabbing her belongings, she began to walk down the sidewalk towards her destination.

•••

"Yes?" He asked in a groggy voice as he opened the door, rubbing his eyes. Those eyes got wider, though, as the realization hit him. "Diane? What are you doing here? What time is it? Oh my god, you look horrible... Get inside, now." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her inside, closing the door behind him.

"Thanks for saying I look horrible." After all that she'd been through that night, she managed to keep her sarcastic tone. "My car broke down..." She shivered, "o-on the way home."

"I'm so sorry, you should've called me."

"The phone lines are down."

He sighed. "That's what you get for staying at work so late.", he said, handing her a blanket. "Now get out of those wet clothes, i'll be right back.

He returned a minute later with a big t-shirt and a pair of his gym shorts. "Here, put these on."

She went into the bathroom to change and he went into the kitchen to make her some hot cocoa.

"Here, drink this." He said when she came back out. He couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked in his too-big clothes. She graciously took the mug and drank the hot chocolate like it was wine.

"Thanks, will. And I'm sorry I woke you up." She smiled at him.

"It was no trouble at all, and j was still awake." He looked at her. "I'm so sorry you had to walk through all that, I'd do anything for you right now."

She chucked. "I appreciate it."

"So, we should sleep, long day tomorrow."

"Today actually, it's almost 1am." She pointed at the clock.

"Then we really should sleep." He picked her up in his arms, surprising her. She just laughed and let him, not sure if she would even make it up the stairs on her own.

"So, you can have the bed." He began when they got to the third story of his house.

"Oh, no, I'll just sleep on the floor or the couch."

"You get the bed."

"No, you get your bed."

"YOU get my bed."

"YOU get YOUR bed."

"You know what?" He asked, pushing her backward onto the bed. You get the bed. Go to sleep." He grabbed a blanket and a pillow and lay down on the carpet beside her.

After a few more minutes of silent arguing (which would've happened in any situation), he ended up on the floor with her beside him, her head on his shoulder.

"Goodnight Will."

"Goodnight Diane."

•••

After what seemed like too short of a sleep, she woke him up, surprisingly cheerful. "Time to wake up." She smiled, handing him a cup of coffee. "We have to leave in an hour, staff meeting at 8, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." He mumbled. "Oh, hi Diane."

She laughed. "Hi."

"What are you doing he- oh yeah, I remember. Lets go eat.

He was a surprisingly good cook, and made crepes for both of them. "Thanks for breakfast." She says when she finishes her third one. Although she must've been hungry, after all that work she did last night.

A few minutes later, he finds her with an extra robe he'd given her on, hair up in a towel, rummaging through his bathroom drawers. "Will, you have no makeup."

"Oh, I'm sorry", he replies, smirking. "I forgot to visit Lancôme last weekend."

"Just give me my purse." She rolls her eyes as he drops the heavy bag on the floor.

As they're heading our of his house, him locking the door and her already starting the car, she and help but think that she'd like to do this again sometime. Sure, she felt almost dead last night after pushing her car and walking that far with no shoes in the rain and the wind, but she enjoyed staying with enjoyed arguing with him. She enjoyed laughing with him, working with him, just being with him was fun. She didn't know if it was friendship or maybe something more, but she liked it This way.

As they arrived at the firm, they were bombarded with problems and questions. They went their separate ways to prepare for the meeting.

•••

"Our client is being sued for thirty million dollars." Will begins, getting the whole room's attention. "This is an important case. Alicia, I want you to take this one-"

"No." Diane butts in.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. Put Cary on this one."

"Okay..." He sounds confused. "Sorry Alicia. Anyway, as I was saying, we need to win this. Kalinda, I need you to look for information about Joshua Robins."

"I'm on it." Kalinda jots something down on her notepad.

"Next order of business, the Newman case." Diane says to the staff. "I'm sorry, but I'm putting Alicia on this one."

"What?" Will says, raising his eyebrows with a challenging smile. "Don't want Cary on this one too?"

Diane just laughs.

"Whoa." Kalinda says to Alicia. "Something's going on between them, normally she would've bitten his head off for that one."

Diane blushes and pretends to ignore the comment. She smiles at Will, knowing that he wants to spend more time with her now too. They both need someone they can call a real friend- or maybe...even more?

His only reply is a wink.