Author's note: I just found several old pieces and decided to start posting them. I miss the early days of The Good Wife; hopefully, you'll enjoy the trip back in time (here, to season 2, episode 2 - Double Jeopardy), too.
I don't own any of these characters: I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.
He stared out the window, unwilling to dwell on her rejection of him, unable to forget it. The mattress shifted beneath him and he turned to the woman beside him. For a minute, he couldn't remember her name - he hadn't paid all that much attention in the first place - and he silently cursed himself for being in this situation, again.
"Hi." She smiled at him, big eyes sparkling, and a lock of hair fell over her cheek.
God, she was young, probably only twenty-two or -three. Suddenly, he felt old. His gaze broke from hers and rested on the empty wall beyond the bed.
"Will?" The girl levered herself up and reached for him, hoping to tease him into another round, but soon enough, she realized she'd lost his attention. Will pulled away and climbed from the bed.
He stood alone in his living room, looking out at the city and beginning to understand how much he'd changed in the past year. At a time in his not-too-distant past, girls like the one in his room had been perfectly lovely company - flighty, unattached, and easy to leave.
But Will had matured over the last year. He was tired of the transient nature of his relationships and the young, endlessly available girls no longer held the same appeal they once had. Unconsciously, he smirked at the notion that he had "grown up" but at the same time, he acknowledged the accuracy of the statement. Like it or not, he was ready for an adult relationship, with promises and commitments, with someone he considered an equal - a woman who understood his affinity for his job, who appreciated his skills and pushed him to be not only a better lawyer but also a better person.
Unbidden, but not unexpected, her face sprang to mind and Will promptly tried to push it away. When he heard soft footsteps behind him, he turned, fully intending to give Madeleine - that was her name! - his full attention until he saw his phone in her hand.
"Your phone's been going crazy since you came out here." Her voice was light but he could see the accusation in her eyes. Damn that bachelor article! It seemed every woman he met thought his appearance on that list was an invitation to try to tame him. Too bad none of the applicants had been fit for the job.
Ignoring Madeleine completely, he took the phone and turned back to the window. Two missed calls, a voicemail, and a text, all from the woman he'd spent all night trying to forget. After reading the text and listening to the voicemail, he turned back to Madeleine.
"We need to go."
"What?"
"I have to work." The case Alicia was working had taken an unexpected twist and since she went to court in the morning, she needed help. And after everything, she still called him. The gap between her calls and her reference to being unable to reach Diane and Derrick in her text, the last message he'd received, told him he'd also been her first choice.
The pout forming on Madeleine's face simply disgusted Will. He stalked past her and hurried into his clothes. Sulking, she followed.
Once Madeleine was dressed and she had found her purse, Will walked her downstairs and put her in one of the two cabs he'd called. He wasted no time on niceties. "Goodbye, Madeleine." Stone-faced, the woman ignored him and the cab drove away. Will hopped into the other cab, glad to be free of the hook-up, and thrilled to be on his way to Alicia, even if she didn't need him the way he needed her. For the first time all evening, he was able to relax, and the cab sped away in the pre-dawn light.