The Other Side

Summary: What if the events of The Good Wife happened nine years earlier than they did? Chicago's youngest State's Attorney, Peter Florrick, finds himself in prison after his sex scandal breaks, while Alicia finds herself starting over at Stern, Lockhart and Gardner along being a good mother to Grace and Zach, who are just four and five. Support comes from the unlikeliest of corners. Alicia/Will, AU.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I will be bringing in dialogue and cases from the show, and guess what? I don't own those either! Title and Lyrics are from 'The Other Side' by Jason Derulo.

Author's Note: So, this just wouldn't leave me alone. I started wondering what it would be like if Zach and Grace were much, much younger. And this is the response. I've got about ten chapters planned and a good chunk written, so I'd really love to know what you think – it's a little different, but I really hope you'll like it. We're starting right around the beginning of season one, when Alicia's been at the firm for just a short while.

Chapter One


In the beginning, I never thought it would be you…


"Momma!"

Alicia is stepping out of the conference room, engaged in a conversation with Diane about their latest case, when a happy little voice sounds from their right, accompanied seconds later by a warm, familiar weight slamming into her legs. Wearing four inch heels, she has to shoot an arm out against the wall to catch her balance before she can lean down and pick up her daughter.

"Momma," Grace repeats happily, throwing her arms around Alicia's neck. She hasn't heard such enthusiasm from her daughter in months.

"Hi, baby, listen to those words," she murmurs distractedly, turning to Diane. "Diane I'm so sorry, I have no idea…" she trails off, only able to watch as her nanny rounds the corner with a hand resting on Zach's shoulder.

"Mrs Florrick, I'm so sorry," Samantha rushes to explain. "I couldn't get hold of Jackie, or your brother and your neighbours weren't in, I tried everything I could, but I can't… I need to go, I'm so sorry, I got a call from the hospital and my dad-"

"Samantha, go," Alicia cuts in quickly, shifting Grace in her arms to squeeze the younger woman's arm gently. "I understand. Give me a call when you get a chance, let me know how your dad is."

"Thank you Mrs Florrick, thank you…" Samantha's running back towards the elevator before she can finish her own sentence, leaving Alicia surrounded by her children and gaining the attention of the majority of people on the floor. She feels Zach's fingers sliding into hers as she turns back to Diane, all of that five going on thirteen bravado leaving him as he stares up at the room full of lawyers.

"Take care of your children, Alicia," Diane says on a sigh. "We won't get to a judge before morning on this anyway." There's something soft in her eyes in the moment before she turns to stride down the hall that tells Alicia not to argue on this one.

"Mom, why is everyone staring?" Zach asks quietly, tugging on her fingers gently as she stays frozen to the spot. "Is it because of dad?" Her heart breaks at the earnest look on her son's face, wise beyond his years. And she doesn't have a clue what to say.

Because at the moment, it's always about dad.

"Alicia." Her head snaps up at the voice she doesn't think she ever forgot, particularly when it's soft and concerned and levelled just for her. She doesn't think she's ever been happier to see Will, standing in the doorway to his office and gesturing for them to come inside. Nudging Zach forward with a hand at the back of his neck, she crosses the hall to the partners' offices, guiding her children into the relative sanctuary of his office.

They've had enough media attention for a lifetime, they don't need to be the entertainment of the day at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner too.

Will's hand curls at her elbow for little more than a second as he closes the door, and she watches dumbly as he turns to close some blinds, affording them what little privacy he can.

"Hi," he says softly, and she's about to respond when she realises that this time, the softness in his voice isn't intended for her. "You must be Grace," he continues, and she can't help her smile when Grace hides her face in her neck.

"She's a little shy," she murmurs softly, shifting Grace on her hip a little. "Guys, this is Will," she says softly. "We work together." It's the simplest description. It really is. Her kids don't need to know the feelings that he stirs up in her every time she so much as sees him. "Will, this is Zach," she introduces, smiling a little when Zach gives him a shy wave, prompted by Alicia's gentle squeeze of the back of his neck. "And you're right, this is Grace. Can you say hi to Will for me, honey?" she murmurs, sweeping the wild curly hair off Grace's face to get a look in her daughter's eyes.

"Hi," Grace whispers. Her voice has none of the delighted spark Alicia heard in the corridor minutes earlier, but her daughter has been almost painfully shy and never says hi to strangers these days, no matter who prompts her.

"Thank you baby," she murmurs softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, "that was so good." She gets a brilliant smile from her daughter in response, and she can't help the grin that crosses her own face as she looks up to find Will watching them with warmth in his eyes. "You should be honoured," she tells him softly, "Grace doesn't say hi to just anyone."

Ironic, that her daughter should have the same reaction to the man that she does.

"I'll remember that," he murmurs softly. "Go have a seat," he adds, nodding his head towards the leather couch. Alicia sits gratefully, settling Grace in her lap and undoing the zipper on her thick winter coat, letting her daughter wriggle out of it until she's looking pretty in the pink sweater she helped Alicia pick out that morning. She nods when Zach reaches for the buttons on his own coat, smiling as he tugs it off at light speed. It's a new skill. Grace lets out a heavy sigh as she settles against Alicia, and she tangles her fingers absently in her little girl's hair as she watches Will reach for something on his desk.

"Hey Zach," he's saying softly, leaning against the back of his chair. "You like baseball?"

"Yeah!" Zach exclaims, his face lighting up as Will tosses him a ball.

"Careful of all the glass, Zach," she murmurs automatically, watching him toss the ball in the air a few times with a grin. His answer is little more than a monotone, causing Will to stifle a laugh, at her son or her parenting, she's not sure. "We'll get out of your hair in a second," she tells him softly, closing her eyes for a moment to try and pull herself together.

"Take your time." His voice is closer when he responds, and she opens her eyes to watch him sink into the leather chair opposite her. "In fact, help me finish that brief," he continues, nodding towards the conference room, "and then you can take them home."

"Thank you, Will," she says softly, stroking her fingers soothingly through Grace's hair as she feels her little body start to go slack with sleep. Glancing at the clock, she realises it's already way past her naptime. "She'll be out for the count in a few," she murmurs, pressing her lips against her hair gently. "Zach, come sit down for a moment," she calls softly, watching him clamber up onto the couch next to her, baseball clutched in both hands. "Have you got a book to read in that bag, buddy?"


Thirty minutes later, both children are out for the count. Grace is huddled in a ball at one end of the couch, her hair a mass of curls that almost obscures her face. Zach is sprawled across the rest of the couch, limbs flung every which way. His book lays open over his chest, and as Alicia glances over at them from her seat at Will's desk, she can't help a smile.

She's not sure she's ever seen them embody their different personalities quite like that before.

"How old are they now?" Will asks quietly from the seat next to her, and she turns back to him with a flush on her cheeks.

"Zach's five, and Grace just turned four," she murmurs softly.

"They seem like pretty great kids, Alicia," he tells her, and her skin tingles as he rests a hesitant hand on her arm. "You've done an amazing job."

"It's… the last seven months," she sighs, and the words are out before she can even consider whether or not to say them. "It's not been easy on them. Grace doesn't understand why daddy's not around anymore, and Zach… he's wise beyond his years."

"Gets that from his mom, obviously," Will murmurs, a slightly crooked smile on his face that brings her right back to the present.

"God, I'm sorry," she murmurs, "you don't want to hear all of this."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know," he assures her softly, leaning back in his chair as his eyes stray over to the children. "It's actually… kind of nice, having a bit of life to the place," he adds with a wry grin. "Things get a little too serious around here sometimes."

"They're the best cure for a bad day," she murmurs softly, turning around when she hears Zach's book fall to the floor with a dull thud. He struggles up to a seated position, rubbing his eyes as he blinks rapidly. "Course, sometimes they drive you mad, too," she murmurs under her breath, giving Will a quick grin before turning back to her son, who's watching her expectantly. "Come on, buddy," she murmurs, holding a hand out to him.

She doesn't realise Will's hand is still on her arm until she's reaching for Zach and lifting the sleepy boy up to her lap as his fingers fall away.

"I fell asleep, mom," he tells her quietly, little legs kicking away even as he settles against her.

"You did," she murmurs, smoothing a hand through his sleep rumpled hair. "Naps really don't agree with you my man, do they?" Zach shakes his head emphatically, rubbing his eyes again. She smiles, stroking her thumb gently behind his ear, reaching with her other hand for the brief sitting on the edge of Will's desk. She's halfway done proofing their next argument, when Zach speaks up.

"You work with my mom?" he asks quietly, and she gives Will a quick shake of her head to say that he doesn't have to answer. They've already imposed on his office, that's enough.

"That's right, Zach." He answers anyway, and she's struck all of a sudden by the fact that Will doesn't talk to her children like they're children. Living such a public life, it's more than a little refreshing, and she almost feels Zach respond to it even as she does.

"Are you a lawyer too?" he asks, his eyes eager as he wriggles in her lap.

"I am," Will answers, giving Alicia what she can only describe as a wicked grin, which shoots straight through her body in ways she does not want to admit to. Particularly not when her son is sitting in her lap, giving the man in question his rapt attention. "In fact, you want to know something cool?" Zach sits up a little straighter in her lap, nodding eagerly. "Your mom and I used to go to school together," Will reveals, settling back in his chair with a grin.

"You used to go to school, mom?" Zach asks, twisting to look at her with an incredulous look in his wide, dark eyes.

"I did, buddy," she murmurs with a laugh, looking up to find Will laughing along with her.

"How do you think your mom got so smart?" he asks Zach, and she can only watch as Zach actually considers the question.

"My mom is really smart," he tells Will proudly, little chest puffing out as much as it can. "She's smarter than all the other mom's," he adds, and Alicia feels her heart melt just a little. She really does have the best kids. "Momma, if I keep going to school will I get as smart as you?" he asks earnestly, twisting back around to look up at her. She can't help planting a kiss on his cheek, even as he wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"If you keep going to school you'll get even smarter than me," she murmurs, laughing as he throws his arms around her neck. "Careful, buddy," she murmurs, laughing as she settles him back down.

"I let Grace play with me at recess," he tells her earnestly, switching subjects like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't like the mean little girls in her class, so I told her she could come play with me any time, even though it's totally not cool to play with the little kids, mom." Alicia has to close her eyes at that, squeezing Zach to her as tight as she can. Because Zach took to their new school like a fish to water, but her beautiful little girl is so guarded, she struggles to make new friends, and Alicia's been worried about it ever since the first morning she dropped her off. "Mom!" Zach gasps, pretending to choke, "you're crushing me!"

"Sorry," she murmurs softly, easing her grip on him and opening her eyes, only to find Will's concerned gaze on her. Shaking her head a little, she rests her chin against Zach's head, nodding reluctantly when Will mouths later to her.

It's not something she really wants to share with anyone, but she knows Will, and she knows that when it comes to her, he won't just let it go.

He's never been able to.


Zach climbs back onto the couch with his book soon after that, and she and Will have almost finished the changes to the brief when a whimpered "Momma," from the corner of the couch catches her attention. Before she can move, Will covers her hand with his.

Her skin doesn't tingle.

It doesn't.

"Take them home," he murmurs softly, "I got this." She can only nod her gratitude, watching his thumb as it strokes against hers before moving to take the brief from her other hand.

"I'll take the rest of the prep home, work through it once they're in bed," she promises, leaning over to gather up the rest of her work. "Will… thank you," she murmurs softly, at a loss for anything else to say.

"No need to thank me," he whispers back, grinning softly. "I actually kind of enjoyed it, your kids are charming."

"That they are," she grins back, walking over to scoop Grace into her arms. "How was your nap, sweetheart?" she murmurs softly, giving her a big squeeze as sleepy eyes blink up at her. "Zach, get your coat on buddy," she adds, brushing the hair off Grace's face.

"Good, momma," Grace answers softly, stretching her little arms above her head. "Can we have pizza for dinner?"

"Yay, pizza!" Zach yells, jumping excitedly as he tries to button his coat.

"I guess we're having pizza for dinner," Alicia murmurs to Will, finding herself laughing as both kids chorus their happiness. "Quiet down guys, people are working," she murmurs, dropping Grace back down on the couch with a bounce to wrestle her back into her coat. Leaning forward to kiss her daughter's cheek, she whispers in her ear. "Can you say thank you to Will for me, baby?" Grace nods seriously, her arms winding tight around Alicia's neck as she lifts her up. "Zach, give Will his baseball back now," she murmurs, hooking a finger in his backpack to halt his progress the door.

"He can keep it," Will murmurs, shooting her a grin. "I've got plenty."

"Really, mom?" Zach exclaims, eyes full of hope as he looks up at her. Alicia nods eventually, smiling at Will. "Cool, thanks Will!" Zach adds happily, bouncing on his heels as Alicia presses a hand against his head.

"Inside voices please," she murmurs, guiding them towards the door. It's only when they're about to cross the threshold, that Grace speaks up.

"Thank you, Will."

Her voice is barely a whisper again, but the look on his face as they leave is more than worth it.


"Heard you brought your kids to work yesterday," Kalinda offers from Alicia's office doorway the next day, a smirk firmly in place on her face.

"Something like that," Alicia answers, not even looking up from the documents she's reviewing.

"Heard they made quite an impression on Will," Kalinda continues, tapping her pen against her notebook. Finally, Alicia lifts her head from the paperwork on her desk.

"You hear a lot of things, don't you?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. Kalinda just smiles.

"I do."

tbc.