Author's note: This has been hiding in my purse for years! It still makes me sad remembering how great the show was at the beginning. Obviously, this one is pre-series, but just barely.
I only borrowed the characters to fill in the story gaps in my head!
She materialized in the doorway of his office one night, long after everyone else had left. Her hard edges, high-heeled boots, and unreadable expression expected him to listen when she said simply, "Let's go."
Will looked at Kalinda, glanced at the news story about the cheating politician one last time, and turned off the television. "Okay." He followed her to the elevator without another word.
They walked down the block together, to a bar he frequented, in silence. She wasn't much of a talker and he was beyond preoccupied with other matters. After grabbing seats at the bar, they ordered drinks before Kalinda turned to him and said, "I didn't think you were a fan of Peter Florrick's."
Years of practice, in court and elsewhere, made his, "And?" sound curious rather than cautious, but inside, Will wondered where Kalinda was headed with this.
"You've spent a lot of time watching news coverage on the scandal."
What was taking those drinks so long? "His issues are relevant to the firm, Kalinda. Of course I want to keep up with the coverage." Liar. The coverage of Peter Florrick made him angry, but the clips with Alicia made him downright ill. However, in true trainwreck fashion, he couldn't stop watching, even though seeing her was painful.
"Will." Kalinda's dark eyes made it clear she knew his interest in the scandal wasn't solely work-related. He wasn't surprised. She was the best investigator Stern, Lockhart & Gardner had ever had.
He pulled out his wallet to pay for the drinks – thank God, the drinks had finally arrived – and something fell to the floor at Kalinda's feet. Kalinda picked up what she thought was a slip of paper and found that it was actually an old, folded photo. Opening it up, she was greeted by two smiling faces, one a much-younger Will, and the other a pretty girl whose dark curls blew around her face. At first, she thought it might be one of his sisters, but after a moment, she realized the woman looked familiar. She folded the picture up and offered it back to Will with a raised eyebrow.
Recognizing what Kalinda held in her hand, Will swallowed hard, took the photo, and tucked it back into his wallet. He hadn't looked at it in ages, but he still remembered how happy they had been that day. "Thanks." While lifting his glass of whiskey, he was happy to see that his hand remained steady.
"So it's about her, not him." As expected, Kalinda cut to the heart of the matter. Her words were tinged in something - irony, perhaps – but Will was too self-absorbed at the moment to notice.
Will's facial expression and closed body language telegraphed his intent to remain silent on the matter. He drained his drink, then turned to his companion. "It's a long story, Kalinda, and one I don't plan to discuss."
Knowing she could learn the truth if she wanted to, Kalinda let the matter drop. She wasn't going to dig into Will's background for something so personal, and she didn't want to get any closer to the Florricks than she already had, so as far as she was concerned, the matter was closed.
As they drank in brooding silence, keeping any would-be suitors at bay, neither one realized just how much one scandalized politician's wife would soon impact both their lives.
