A/N: This takes place after season 1 and goes AU.

It was 2 am and Will McAvoy was once again standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open. Nothing really looked like something he's want to eat in the middle of the night, but after another night of consuming scotch for dinner, he thought that maybe a little actual sustenance would be enough to help him sleep. Still perusing, he heard his Blackberry go off on the other side of the room.

Rushing to see who it was, who he was hoping it was, he stubbed his toe and nearly tripped over the area rug in the living room. This night just wasn't getting any better. He quickly glanced at the caller id and pushed the button.

"Hey Charlie, what's up?" he said casually. This wouldn't be the first time he'd gotten a call in the middle of the night from the director of ACN's news division, especially when he knew Charlie was worried about him.

"You at home?" the older man said gruffly.

"Yeah, Charlie, it's two in the morning," Will replied, leaning on the arm of the couch and looking at the fridge with an overwhelming craving for a cheese sandwich.

"You alone?" Charlie asked. Ok, maybe something was up, Will thought.

"Nope, got the whole New York Jets cheerleading squad over and we're just starting a new game of Twister," Will said, flippantly.

"Stop fucking around," Charlie grumbled.

Will reached for the pack of cigarettes on the end table and waited. There was a long pause on Charlie's end. "Out with it Charlie," Will finally said, taking a long drag.

"I just got a call from a friend at the Post and there's going to be a story tomorrow," he began.

"Oh Charlie, those fucking morons at Page Six can print whatever the hell they want about me," Will ranted. "Can't be any worse than Brenner and Nina Howard."

"It's not Page Six. It's front page," Charlie said, his voice becoming more emotional. "Above the fold."

"What the hell, I haven't done anything, that is since that last time I did something. I mean, even they didn't even put it on the front page when I called the Tea Party the American Taliban," Will said, snuffing out the first cigarette and lighting another one. "And we all know how much everyone loved that."

"It's not about you."

There was another pause on the end of the line. Will took a long drag from his cigarette before asking. "Who?"

"Mac."

Will closed his eyes. Didn't the media fuck-offs know that he was fair game but that his staff was not, especially Mac.

"How much do you know about when she was embedded?" Charlie asked.

Will thought for a moment. They hadn't really talked about it all that much. He knew that she'd seen a lot of combat and that she'd been stabbed during a protest, but not a lot of details. She didn't offer and he didn't ask.

"Not much."

Charlie continued, "Apparently there was a high ranking military surgeon performing abortions in a state-run clinic in Iraq to both military personnel and Iraqi citizens, both of which is illegal. And the religious zealots are calling for his head. "

"Charlie, what does this have to do with Mac, was this one of her stories?" Will asked curiously.

"The doctor is being held in Baghdad for war crimes. He kept detailed records and Mac's name is in them. My source has seen the records and they say she was a patient at that clinic in '07," Charlie said matter of factly.

"Jesus Christ, Charlie, no way in hell. This is Mac we're talking about," Will replied, his stomach churning. "Have you talked to her?"

"As soon as I got off the phone with my guy at the Post I tried calling her, but I can't get ahold of her. I wanted to tell her first, let her tell you, but the paper drops in less than an hour and the other media outlets are going to pick it up by morning. Just getting her into the ACN building without a mob will be difficult," Charlie said sadly. "You ok?"

This time it was Will's turn to pause. He ran his hand over his face. "Let me get this straight because there is no possible way in hell you are telling me what I think you are telling me. Mac…got an abortion while she was embedded…right after she left and we broke up?"

"Will, we don't know what happened, I'm just giving you a head's up for what's about to happen. The details are fairly graphic. Everyone else is going to put two and two together. It's going to be news and you are going to have to deal with it. I'm sorry."

"Thanks for letting me know, Charlie," Will said and hung up the phone before Charlie could say anything else.

Will sat there on the arm of the couch staring into space. He was sick at his stomach and his heart didn't feel so great either. He was still trying to digest what Charlie just told him. He tried to think it through logically; 2007, they broke up, Mac went to the Middle East, she was a patient at a clinic where they performed illegal abortions, her name is in the record, graphic…Brian Brenner, she slept with him for four months…

Will's heart felt a though it would explode. It was a replay of the night she'd told him of the affair and he'd told her to get out and that he never wanted to see her again. He'd loved her more than he'd ever thought he was capable. She was the smartest and most beautiful woman he'd ever known and she had been his…she'd wanted to be with him and that had always surprised the hell out of him. That was until the night she'd ripped his heart out and told him that she'd been fucking her ex-boyfriend. Now to find out she was pregnant and she'd had an….he couldn't even say the word. He didn't think it should be anyone's right to terminate another life and if this child was his, he would never be able to forgive her, or work with her, or even look at her. If it was his…it could just as easily have been the other man she was fucking at the time.

Growing angrier by the second, Will reached for his Blackberry and hit the speed dial, the bile rose in his throat with each ring. Finally, she picked up.

"Hey," she answered cheerfully. "You can't sleep again?"

"You haven't been answering your phone," Will said, a sudden feeling of cold enveloping him.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep either, so I took a long, hot shower," she answered. The normalcy of her voice pissed him off even more.

"Charlie tried calling," he began. "And when he couldn't reach you, he called me…I thought maybe you were with…"

Now she was starting to worry. "Will, there's no one here, I just wanted a shower. What's wrong?"

"…There's a story tomorrow in the Post. A high ranking military doctor is being accused of performing abortions in Iraq. Apparently in between appointments, he used his time to keep some pretty detailed records. Your name is in them."

Mac felt her heart leap into her throat. No, no, no, this could not be happening. This was private, he'd assured her.

"Will, I…"

"Just tell me, did you go to this doctor?"

"Yes, but…"

"Was it mine?"

"What, Billy, just listen…"

"Was it mine?"

"Yes, but, let me…"

"Mackenzie, under no circumstances do I ever want to see you again. I still have control over your contract and you are fired. I will have one of the interns send your things. This is not like before, don't call me, email me, write me a letter or anything else…find someone else's life to ruin."