A/N: I hope some of you still remember my multi-chapter fic 'Choosing You', where I had Diane and Will married with two kids. Back then when I finished posting it, I mentioned a possible sequel and finally here it comes.

I don't think I ever had so many ongoing projects at a time, I can only hope I'll be able to deal with them all and won't have to keep you waiting for updates for too long.

For those who haven't read CY or just want to refresh your memory, here's a short summary:

Diane and Will were working for the law firm Stern&Holt while raising their two kids Emma (6-7) and Nathan (4-5). But it had always been their dream to start their own firm. Timing wasn't on their side, because when Diane showed Will the office space she thought they could rent, Will was offered managing partnership at their firm. Will decided to accept the offer for the family's sake, he thought it was the best way to support them, while Diane started to work on their dream. She hired her former lover, Christopher Wilson, which caused some tension in the marriage, and she and Will also ended up on the opposite sides of a case. The story included Sarah, Will sister, who got pregnant with her first child, Aunt Diane, Diane's aunt, who has been my OC in a few stories and Elsbeth Tascioni who Diane hired and they became friends. In the end Chris betrayed Diane's trust and left the firm and Will quit S&H and joined Diane, so Lockhart/Gardner was born.

The sequel picks up 10 years later.

I don't own TGW, or Diane and Will might have ended up together at some point. The original characters are mine.

I'd like to remind everyone that this is an AU, Diane is only about 5-7 years older than Will and in CY she was around 43-45 years old.

As always, I love getting feedback, so please let me know what you think. Your reviews are the best motivation to continue. :)

Special thanks to Sab and Ally for all the help and patience! 333

Chapter One

"Mom, I'm leaving. Eric is here."

Diane saw her daughter rushing down the stairs and she reached out her arm with her palm facing Emma to make her stop when she arrived next to her.

"I don't think he wants to be a part of this, Eli, he has his hands full with our firm as it is," she told her campaign manager, who'd just informed her that the press wanted an interview with her husband as well.

"It's just one interview, it won't take more than a half an hour, I'm sure he can find the time," Eli insisted, his voice giving away his frustration.

"You know I don't want my family involved, Eli, not even Will. Who is the reporter?"

"Mandy Post."

The mention of the name almost made Diane's stomach turn. Mandy was usually out to get gossip and even though they had nothing to hide, having her sit down with Will could have gone wrong in a million ways.

"Do you really think it's a good idea?" She inquired, trying to trust Eli's judgment, even when she disagreed with him sometimes.

"I know you don't like it, but whether you want it or not, your family is involved in this. We may be able to shield your kids from the press, but I don't think your husband needs any protection. He could help you win this, you are the perfect couple, a happy family, voters love candidates like you."

While listening to Eli's pep talk, Diane glanced at Emma who was now typing on her phone, probably telling her boyfriend she's held up. She'd grown up so fast and she certainly wasn't a kid anymore, still she wanted to protect her as long as she could. But she had to realize that Eli was right and Will probably wouldn't mind doing this favor for the campaign.

"Can I at least be there with him for the interview?" She thought it was a reasonable compromise.

"I'll talk to Mandy," Eli promised in a soft voice.

"Thank you, I'm sorry, but I need to go now. I'll talk to you on Monday," she added hopeful that she might be able to have a peaceful weekend, before they enter the last phase of the race heading up to the primary elections.

"Monday," Eli promised silently, probably hoping just as much as Diane that he'd be able to keep it.

"'bout time," the teenager rolled her eyes as soon as she hung up, in a way that she could only have learnt from her mother and it always amused Diane.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" she turned her full attention to her daughter, not liking her antsy tone, "Can't your date wait a few minutes?"

"The movie starts in half an hour," Emma said rather impatiently.

"You'll still be there in time. But I hope you haven't forgotten that you have to stay home tomorrow. No party." Diane used her mothering voice, hoping Emma knew better than to argue with it.

"I'm sure Aunt Sarah wouldn't mind me missing dinner," the girl groaned, proving Diane wrong, but the attempt had no effect on her.

They didn't keep her locked up, even Will had gotten used to the idea of his daughter going out, no matter how much he had protested at first. She was allowed to go to parties to her friends' houses, but she had to accept that family came first. She could go to parties any other weekend, surely missing one wasn't as big of a deal as she'd made her believe with all the begging and bargaining, but it had been pointless.

"But I would," she reminded her that she still had the last word, "Eric will be there next week too, but your aunt is only staying for the weekend."

"I know," Emma sighed, realizing she had no chance but to accept her mother's terms, "But I hope our deal is still on, that you or dad will look after Mimi in the evenings next week while she is staying here."

Will's sister, Sarah would leave her nine-year-old daughter Naomi there for a week and Emma had promised to look after her, like she had the last two summers. But this year Eric came into the picture, and suddenly spending time with her cousin, Mimi, wasn't her top priority anymore.

"It is, but I don't suppose you want to go out each night?" Diane inquired with a half-smile.

Emma and Eric had been in the same class for the last three years, but they had only started dating a few weeks ago. Before they had let him take her out for the first time, Diane and Will had had a talk with the boy to make him aware of the rules, and since they had known his parents as well, they hoped their daughter had chosen her first real boyfriend right.

"I don't know, maybe," Emma shrugged.

It was summer holiday, so there was no reason why she couldn't have gone out each night if she wanted to and Diane didn't really feel the need to hold her back.

"We'll talk about it, now go, I don't want you to miss the movie," she smiled at her, "Do you have enough cash?"

"Yes, dad gave me some. Bye. Love you," she kissed her mother's cheek, "Bye dad," she yelled in the direction of the study.

"Have fun," Will replied.

"You will be home by ten, right?" Diane raised her voice as Emma was already opening the front door.

"I will," she looked back and nodded, then rushed out.

Diane went after her and observed as she got into the car. The cinema was only a ten minutes' drive away, so she tried not to worry about them getting there in one piece. She had to accept the fact that her seventeen-years-old daughter was old enough to take care of herself.

"I'm back, sorry, no more phone calls for tonight, I hope," she entered Will's study, where they had been dealing with some work stuff they hadn't had time to discuss at the firm during the week, due to her regular absence. And it would become permanent from next week, because she wanted to focus all her energy on the campaign from then on.

"We will see about that," he smiled and she knew she'd been playing with his patience too often lately, but he still tried to be supportive of his wife and she loved him for giving her this chance.

"So where were we?"

Since he didn't inquire what the phone call was about, she decided not to mention the interview yet. The campaign had interfered with their week more than enough, they deserved a break at least for the next two days.

"The new associate."

"Right. So who is this Gillian Howard?" Diane took the folder in her hand to have another look at the photo of the blonde woman.

"An old friend, we went to Georgetown together," he explained, while she skimmed through the bio once more, "She is an experienced trial lawyer, I could assign some of your cases to her right away."

"Well, we need someone like yesterday, so if you and Elsbeth think she is the right choice, I won't object."

Elsbeth Tascioni had been with them the longest and she had been the first associate to become partner at Lockhart/Gardner. She had been filling in a lot for Diane lately, even in managerial decisions when necessary, and Diane trusted her judgment just as much as Will's.

"Don't you want to talk to her first?" he seemed surprised at her reaction, which made her reconsider the previous statement.

"Of course. First thing on Monday," she promised. He was right, just because her mind was elsewhere, it still mattered to her who they hired at their firm, so she needed to take part in the decision making process.

"I'll call her."

"Thank you. I know you've been covering a lot for me lately, we should have hired someone new much sooner."

She had known she wouldn't be able to juggle the campaign and her job together on the long run, but she had kept putting off the decision to leave the firm, until the last minute. Maybe it was her subconscious telling her she shouldn't have been leaving and after ten years it was hard to imagine not going with Will to their firm every morning.

But she had been meaning to try this for some time, to challenge herself with something new. She was proud of the firm they had built from nothing together and now Lockhart/Gardner was one of Chicago's top firms. One day she hoped their daughter, who was planning to go to law school after college, would take over the business.

But working together side by side had an effect on their marriage neither of them could deny. They had often brought their work-disagreements home and even though they had always put the children first, the firm had been second, like a third child and the marriage could only come third.

"At least you were still around, even if just part time," he said, with some melancholy in his voice.

She knew it was hard for him to accept her leaving, he obviously needed her at the firm and she often felt guilty, selfish even, because she wanted more for herself, while she knew he was content where he was and didn't have further ambitions.

"I'll try to make time for the firm in the next weeks too, I promise."

She couldn't deny it was just as hard for her, but she was also excited about this new challenge and what the future had in store. She didn't want to abandon him completely though. She would still be there for their firm, if he needed her help. And there was no guarantee she'd even win the primary, her two Democratic opponents were just as capable to become Illinois's next Attorney General, not to mention the Republican candidates. But at least until the campaign lasted she felt she was doing something for herself, following the political ambitions she had pushed aside for all these years.

"It's okay, your campaign needs you. We will be fine," he reassured her and she smiled at him in return.

She wanted to believe he was capable of doing it on his own, even though they both agreed that in case of her winning the election, he'd have to find someone to replace her permanently. That would be the hardest part and they didn't like talking about at all until it was absolutely necessary.

"I am tired," she declared, closing the folder in her lap. It was time to forget about the firm, the campaign and just be a mother and a wife for the rest of the weekend.

"I know," he stood behind her and put his hands on her neck, to massage it softy.

"Can we order lunch tomorrow, so we can sleep in, instead of cooking? Would your sister mind?" she looked up at him.

"Of course not, I like the idea."

"Me too, I need lots of sleep," she closed her eyes and with the thought of a long and peaceful night ahead she tried to ban everything else from her mind. "Mmm," she hummed, enjoying the pleasant sensation of his hands on her skin.

"I'll stay up and wait for Em, you should take a shower and start catching up with that sleep," he suggested, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"You know Nat is in his room with the music so loud he doesn't hear anything."

"I know."

"So I was thinking that … maybe we want to … take that shower together," she turned towards him with a devilish grin on her face and it was easy to tell that he fully supported the idea.