Thank you all so much for the reviews on my last two stories! I'm new to both reading and writing fanfic, so I don't know if it's common courtesy to reply to reviews, but please know I really appreciate them!

Anyway, I was asked to write a fic about what I think happens after the season 4 finale, so here goes nothing...

Cary's smile was infectious, and Alicia suddenly found herself giddy with excitement.

"Do I even want to know what changed your mind?" Cary asked, not intending to get a reply.

But that was a tough question, one that significantly diminished her cheerful state. There was no right way to say, "Well, I changed my mind for a lot of reasons, one of which was that I want to distance myself, personally, from Will, who, as you know, I had an affair with." And Alicia owed it to Cary to be upfront about this potential issue. There would be tension between Florrick/Agos (she still couldn't believe it) and Lockhart/Gardner already, but this was an extremely intimate complication.

"Alicia?"

She was going to do things right. If she and Cary were going to manage a law firm together, she was not going to start the firm off by withholding something from him, as much as she wanted to.

"Alicia, really, you don't have to explain."

Oh, but she did.

"Cary, I... I'm not going to get into details. You know that I have a... history with Will..." Damn. Not quite the word she wanted to use. Moving on. "Will's not the reason why. But he's connected. You should know that."

"Okay," Cary replied, "Are you saying this is going to cause problems?"

"I'm saying I don't want you to be caught off guard if it does." She considered adding "partner" to the end of that sentence, giving it a playful spin. She was thankful she hadn't.

"Thanks."

There was not much else he could say, she supposed. Now she felt obligated to change the subject and get back to business. They were starting a firm in less than two weeks, and that was what mattered. Not Will. He mattered tangentially, and she'd already explained that to Cary.

"So it's all the fourth-years?" She asked.

"Yup."

"Kalinda, too?" It seemed like a no-brainer. Kalinda would be wherever Alicia was, that was a fact. When Alicia had no intention of leaving, Kalinda had no intention of leaving, and now that Alicia was leaving, Kalinda had been planning to leave all along. That made no sense, but Alicia couldn't imagine it any other way. It wasn't that Kalinda would follow Alicia—though, come to think of it, she might—but rather that Kalinda working with Alicia was the natural order of things.

"Long story. Robyn."

"Definitely no Kalinda?" Surprise, not disappointment. Probably for the better, anyway. Everyone knew there was something between Cary and Kalinda. Alicia didn't want to make any assumptions—God, it had been awful when everyone assumed she was sleeping with Will, back before she actually was sleeping with Will, and then after she stopped sleeping with Will—,but there was. And now, that wouldn't be lingering over her office (and neither would the fact that Kalinda slept with Peter, but that no longer impacted Kalinda and Alicia's working relationship). And Robyn would be a lot easier to manage, since Alicia never viewed her as a peer. Kalinda had helped Alicia get back in the game. Robyn had been the first employee Alicia, as an equity partner, hired. Actually, that would work quite nicely.

"Not unless you want to give it a shot," Cary joked, "Money."

He and Alicia instantly realized what he had said, and exchanged a startled look. Neither of them had meant to put that option on the table. Alicia did have that kind of power; would be able to get Kalinda. Alicia couldn't offer Kalinda more money, no, but the only non-financial bonus Kalinda would consider was working alongside Alicia. Alicia couldn't exploit that. Wouldn't exploit that. Kalinda hurt her deeply, but Alicia was long past the point of contemplating revenge or manipulating her.

"You win some, you lose some. Robyn's good."

"Good," Cary affirmed, "Good."

Wait—something just clicked. Cary had said the only thing preventing Kalinda from jumping firms was money. And that it was a long story. So he'd gone to her first. Did she know he was taking Robyn?

"Cary, does Kalinda know?"

"Oh yeah."

That was not a reassuring "oh yeah." That was a, "Major shit I don't want to relive went down" type of "oh yeah." Now she needed Cary to be the forthcoming one. Their first exercise in partnership. She paused, and raised her eyebrows. Please, continue.

"I didn't handle it well. She found out second-hand. She's not happy. Learned my lesson."

"I see."

An awkward pause.

"We're launching in less than two weeks; I should probably get you caught up."

Eventually there'd come a time when the novelty of being name partner would wear off and reality would set in. But until then... Ah! Alicia had finally found the place to work in her cheesy remark: "Let's get started. Would you like a glass of wine, partner?"