A/N: This was meant to be a one-shot but it turned into a chapter story. Just a little something I dreamed up while watching The Season 2 episode "Getting Off"; an episode I didn't really care for at all, but the scene of Will silently asking Alicia if she was okay sparked something inside. Very AU of course.
Alicia stared at the woman she'd been hired to defend, unable to think straight. It wasn't the trial that was getting to her, but the words that tore into her soul. This woman had no idea of the affect her words were having on Alicia; no idea at all. But now Alicia wasn't sure how much more she could take.
Her life was insane enough without this Stephanie Engler adding to the mix.
Jackie had the nerve to come over to the house without Alicia's consent. It was wrong to keep Jackie from her grandchildren, Alicia knew that but having her over at the house was asking for trouble. Jackie had a history of… well, the things she'd done and said in the past weren't good and there was no telling what influence she would have on Zack and Grace. But there was nothing she could do about it now.
A smile crept onto Stephanie's face and Alicia was suddenly aware of the conversation once again. "Aren't there men you look at, just watching them in a Starbucks line, tying their shoe or fidgeting in their pocket?"
Alicia's eyes moved around the room. Across the hall through the large glass window she could see Will sitting at the table, conversing with another client. She could feel her heart constrict inside of her chest but then pushed the feeling away. And yet it still came; the feeling that was becoming harder and harder to quell.
"Don't you long to feel the touch of a man's hand on the small of your back?" Stephanie was asking. "Or the sensation of another man's lips on your skin? Don't you want that?"
Please, stop. I beg of you. Alicia pleaded silently.
But the woman kept on, taunting her with images that brought nothing but thoughts that Alicia simply shouldn't be having. It wasn't right; especially after-
In one fluid motion, Alicia rose from her chair and stared at Stephanie. The firm wasn't convinced that Stephanie was innocent; they simply didn't have enough evidence.
But Alicia wasn't thinking about that now. How could she be thinking about it, when the only person she could think about was-
"Where are you going?"
Alicia looked around blankly, having no idea how she'd gotten from the table to the door, where her hand was poised on the handle ready to pull it open. "I-I just remembered. There's something I need to do." she lied. "Excuse me."
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Stephanie yelled. "You can't leave! I'm paying you to defend-."
Stephanie was still talking when Alicia walked out of the conference room, grateful for the silence. At least there she could get some peace and quiet; have time to think.
But thinking wasn't in the cards.
