Okay so, this story has literally been emotionally taunting my mind for months, and I guess i now have the time to put it on paper. A friend of mine has been begging me to start it, and it's been a joy so far, though i really don't know how my mind comes up with these things. I don't know what the perception of it will be of it, but again, this so ridiculously AU that it's almost laughable.

P.s, I am absolutely positive that this story will be no less than ten chapters, I don't want to drag it on till next year. And I just thought by mentioning that the scandal in this one doesn't necessarily involve Peter and 'woman' because believe it or not i actually like the guy (not enough to write for him) but you get where I'm coming from. All rights/everything goes to the writers and creators of the show.

"You can leave your bags here honey." Her mother called out from the entry way of the large country house. The ceilings were high, the house had two wings and there were two floors designed for it, excluding the large wine seller in the ground. The ranch stretched across the large green fields and never ending pales of green lavish trees and tracks across the field. Veronica's latest husband, Bill, owned one of the finest horse ranches in Indiana. He was a nice guy, she enjoyed his company, but lately, watching her mother and her partner fall so in love wasn't something she wanted to be around, not after such a heartbreak from her recent divorce.

The humiliation of her daughter's scandal though was far worse, worse in fact that the divorce proceedings of Alicia and Peter's weren't even a spice of interest towards the media. The photos of Grace released from tmz –shortly after the divorce- in which her naked body was displayed to the world brought humiliation upon their family more than the first scandal six years ago. She couldn't fathom the amount of times she held Grace after that, the endless tears, on her part as well, the whispered words, the bullying at school. There came a time where she just decided to drop everything, pack her and her daughter a suitcase and drive on to her mother's place.

That's how she's essentially ended up here, standing in front of the large staircase, stretching up like an oval to the second floor of the house. Grace's voice brought her back to reality. "Mom! Have you seen the view out from the balcony? It's amazing." The smile on her naïve daughter's face had been squandered for the last month, until now, and once she witnesses her sixteen year olds eye light up as Bill mentions that he'd love to take her for a ride on one of the horses, she knows she's made the right decision in coming here.

Her cell phone was loaded with messages from Peter when she reached her room and seated herself on the edge of the bed, she ignores them of course, and only answers to Cary and Zach. She smiled at the thought of her business partner, he had stood by her side through thick and thin in the last couple of months, between shifting office space into their new set of floors, and the stress of the law, he had handled all of it without much of a complaint.

She sat still on the sofa as the television replayed the video footage of Peter walking onto the podium. The tears that rolled down her cheeks weren't full of sorrow or despair but rather disappointment. The marriage that she had fought to keep, had ultimately crumbled in due response of lack of communication. How was she even supposed to react to the trauma of it all?

"My wife is the most beautiful human being I have ever had the privilege of knowing. She raised my children, she taught them to love, she's taught them that everybody deserves to be treated with respect. She's taught me that everyone deserves a second chance. But the time has come to acknowledge our differences within our marriage and establish a conclusion that works best for our family. We appreciate privacy, therefore I wish that you will all respect that. Thank you." As she watched Peter descend off the stage with Eli in toe, she sighed, switched the channel and wrapped herself tighter in her blanket.

The sound of her doorbell ringing disrupted her need to fall asleep, furrowing her brows confused, she sighed once again before making her way towards the door.

The sight of Cary standing on the other side with a bottle of red wine in his hand brought a smile to her features, rolling her eyes, she gestured for him to follow, grasped two wine glasses out of the cupboard and made her way back towards the living room.

"I thought you might need this." He grinned,

"You have no idea." She mumbled.

"So," he started,. "It's real now huh?"

"Yeap."

"How are you doing?"

"Besides from wanting to sink into a hole under the humiliation of what my marriage has become. I'm doing fine." She said, bringing a laugh out of him.

"Sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done."

"You sound like you know what you're talking about?" she smirked

He shrugged, "I've had my fair share of heartbreaks."

"Maybe we should consider burning our new suite of offices in order to make ourselves feel better about life?" She grinned, watched as her friend laughed before shrugging.

"Maybe so, then again, you don't necessarily want to be judged on your own mental state right?"

She laughed, amused at the idea of the public questioning her own psychotic behaviour. The comfortable silence that soon surfaced as she toyed with her glass was enough to send her into another world, Cary's words snapped her back, and she furrowed a brow at his hesitant behaviour.

"So… Apparently Will is in town."

She sighed, shaking her head, she took a sip from her glass. "There's nothing there anymore Cary. So please, let's not have this conversation."

He ignored her, "He asked me how you were. He sounded genuinely worried."

"Right." She said unfazed, "How long is he in town for?"

Will had been telecommuting between New York and Chicago, responsible for the offices there, he had been spending most time in New York though. The last she heard from him was at least a month ago, and even then, he had hardly said a word to her –other than legal procedures- nor did he mention anything referring to moving halfway across the country.

Cary shrugged, "Kalinda said he's back for good. Their businesses here and in New York are doing well apparently."

"Well, good for them."

Cary smiled at her faintly, before gazing down. Allowing the silence to fall, she watched as he gazed back up to meet her eyes, and whispered only for her ears. "Did he cheat on you?"

She grinned at his mildness, "I have a feeling we're not talking about Will anymore?"-he laughed as a response.

"No." she answered, "Peter and I just…. We drifted apart. There came a time where I'd just prefer to work, and most of the time he was working in Springfield." She sighed as she felt the tears spring in her eyes. "I feel like I've wasted twenty years of my life holding onto a marriage that was ultimately set to fail Cary. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

He shook his head, glumly. "No, and I wouldn't want to."

"You still have your children Alicia. I'm sure they aren't something that was set to fail."

She smiled at the thought of them, before shaking her head. "No, I guess not. The funny thing is, I'd do it all over again. Just to see them happy, just to let them have the childhood that I never had." The stray tear that escaped and cascaded down her cheek fell on the tip of her nose, wiping it away, she avoided his eyes, she refused to be vulnerable in front of him, even though he had seen her at her worst, her emotions were always carefully hidden, rarely did she ever breakdown. She figured that this occasion was one of those rare moments, and she trusted Cary enough to know that this would stay hidden and buried in the depth of these walls.

"My parents divorced when I was a child too." He recalled, "I was ten. And then they got back together when I was eighteen. It really messed me up at the time."

She laughed, "You were lucky. My parents divorced, and then never got back together. The next thing I knew, my mother had remarried. I graduated college, and then fell pregnant, a year later, I received a call from Owen. My father died from a heart attack." She sighed, "He was the only man in my life, that regardless, never broke my heart, he never lied to me, he never took advantage of me, he was always there."

"Will is sorry." Cary whispered, grasping her arm softly, he ran soft circles along it. "I know he is. He asks Kalinda about you all the time." He paused. "It was just a client Alicia."

Her eyes shot up to his and she shook her head, anger filling in her features. "He took advantage of me Cary!"

-"I know." he said softly, sighing, he allowed the silence to fill the area as his eyes landed on the television. From the corner of her eye, she caught his face slowly turn pale, and his eyes widen in shock. She furrowed her brow confused, following his gaze towards the screen, her heart immediately stopped.

Calm Alicia was gone, she was long gone, and so was the broken woman just before, her emotions flailed, and she felt her entire body grumble at the sight that sat before her.

Her breathing hitched, her body turned pale cold, and the empty glass of wine from her hand instantly fell from her grip, hitting the coffee table, it smashed into pieces.

Images.

Images of Grace exploded through the screen, images of her undressing for the shower, standing naked in her room as she dressed for the day. Her body was blurred out of course, but her face was clearly visible. The breaking news title had 'Florrick daughter following in her father's footsteps' printed all over it.

The sound of her mother's voice interrupted her as she walked into the room. "Hey" Veronica said softly as she stood beside the door. "You okay? You looked as though you were in a completely different world."

She chuckled lightly and shook her head, "I'm fine, just tired. It's been a long day."

Her mother sat next to her on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through Alicia's silky hair. "Grace seems to be doing okay for a girl whose face has been on every talk show and plastid on television for the last three weeks."

Three weeks.

Had it really been that little since the conversation she had with Cary that night on her sofa? In reality, it was as though years of pain, living in somebody else's body had passed within the course of three simple weeks.

She smiled and nodded as a response, "She's strong. I think she's just happy to get away from Chicago for the weekend."

"You're welcome anytime. Bill loves having family here, It's a good distraction from maintaining those stupid horses out there." Veronica laughed, causing a grin to form on her features, though the smile didn't seem to last.

Instead, she took the chance to gaze around the room, the ceilings were high, the canopy bed had long bright white curtains draped around it, the entire half side of the room was covered in glass, with a view that stretched out towards the fields below, the room nestled in the back space of the house, hidden from all the chaos and noise in the front. She knew there was a reason to why her mother placed her in this room.

"So" Veronica began, hesitantly.

"So?"

"That voicemail was something…"

Alicia laughed, "I sent you that weeks ago mom."

"I know. I know. It was just good to hear you let it all out for once."

"I don't want to talk about him anymore, I don't wanna cry over it."

"I know. But, sometimes it's good to hear yourself say all those words. I still have it in my phone if you want to…."

"No." Alicia shook her head, sternly. "The last thing I want to do is listen to myself cry hysterically on a voice mail over someone…. who….. no longer has anything to do with my life. Delete the voice mail mom."

"But…"

"Just delete it."

There was a small sign or regret within her voice, sorrow laced in there, but she managed to hide it within that perfected poker face. She made her way downstairs with Veronica in tow, giving a tour of the house. It was large and antique, it was obvious, that before Veronica's arrival, the house hadn't received much maintenance. The exterior was large and white, brick walls, large patio that wrapped around the entire house and led out to gardens followed by the ranch. The horses were hidden within the farm house, they were trained horses, made for championship races. That was Bill's occupation, he trained horses from when they were young onwards, and sold them to the highest bidder once they were fully trained and old enough to participate in races.

She had always disliked farms, since she was a child, the scent of animals and manure disturbed her senses, but there was something about Bill's ranch that gave her a sense of comfort. It was tidy, it was extravagant, and it was large.

As they entered the farm house, she could distinctively see Grace and Bill in the far end towards the open doors. Another man, stood beside Bill as he held the leach to the horse Grace was currently patting with extreme delicacy. She passed many different types of horses, none of which captured her eye. The maternal instinct within her told her to keep focus on the rather large horse that stood over her daughter.

"Oh, Alicia! There you are. This is Michael" Bill gestured to the man standing beside him, "He's the ranch manager; takes care of all the horses throughout the ranch."

"Nice to meet you." She smiled, shaking his hand, the firmness in it took her off guard. That's when she was able to take full advantage of his appearance, his biceps were huge, and his broad chest stood out, he was at least six feet tall, and the cockiness within his features lowered her expectations of the stranger. She distinctively wrapped an arm around Grace's shoulder and took in the view of the horse before them.

It was stunning. She couldn't deny it. Her eyes gazed over it, she never had much interest towards them, nor any other animals for that fact, but she couldn't contradict the fact that this solid beauty standing before her was undeniably magnificent.

Its colour was dark black, so much so that it explained why it stood out the most. It radiated, it shined, its fur was coated back perfectly, and it was obvious that it's current occupant handled it with extra care. It's muscles and biceps curving along it's legs were almost fictional, the need to touch the large content was outweighing her thoughts. It's strong, masculine build outstood her, so much so that she had to reach her hand up and tiptoe in order to touch it's head, not that she attempted to do so, instead, she remained still and allowed her eyes to examine it fully.

"She's beautiful right mom?" Grace's voice interrupted her, turning to face her daughter's eyes. She swallowed.

"It's a she?"

"Her names Sapphire." Bill explained, "She's a full bread, won seven medals including three gold. She can't race anymore though."

"Why not?"

"She fractured one of her lower joints in the right leg a few years ago. She can still run but placing her in competitive races is too much of a risk, so for now, she's off limits to any buyers." He explained. She was reluctant to touch, but slowly led her hand up to the a side of the horses large frame, she patted softly, and immediately felt within the palm of her hand the horses strong biceps flinch before relaxing and brushing up against her touch. She nudged Alicia's shoulder in comfort, though it felt as though she were pushing forcefully, until Alicia ran her hand along her thin fur in a soft manner. She immediately felt herself falling for it than anything else.

"That's a first" she heard Michael mumble. "She's never reacted so calmly to a stranger before."

"Maybe she likes you mom?" Grace said, bringing a grin to her features.

"She can sense your demeanour," Veronica cut in. "All horses can sense when a human is sad or content. She can probably sense the pain you've been experiencing in the last month."

Alicia felt her entire face heat up with embarrassment and her eyes full with shock. "Mom!"

Veronica shook her off, "I know, I know, don't talk about it."

Her gaze fell back on the large beast standing before her, glancing up, she made eye contact with her and smiled faintly into the dark, deep, contrasted eyes of the hoarse balling into hers.

"She really does like you Alicia." Bill noted,

"Do you think you could teach me how to ride one someday?" she asked, making eye contact with her mother's husband, she watched as shock surfaced through the features of the three adults. Although, Michael seemed to be the one that stiffened and interfered, even under her robust glare. "It takes a while for someone to get used to riding horses, especially large ones. You can't just jump on one and expect them to take to you so easily…"

-"I've stood in front of thousands of people on live television in humiliation. I think I'd be able to handle it." She smiled dryly, managing to throw in the sternness of her voice and an icy glare.

Bill smiled at her determination, "How about tomorrow morning? Bright and early, we'll all take a ride, including your mother." She noted Veronica roll her eyes.

Alicia smiled over at Grace and pecked her forehead. "Can't wait."