Will

It had been over a year since she had betrayed him. Over a year since she turned her back on all that he was willing to give her. His life had to change and it was hardly recognisable to him anymore and that was her fault. It will always be her fault. But through all of this, there hasn't been a day where she hasn't crossed his mind. Her smile, how much he hates her, how her laugh turns him on, how red makes her skin glow, how he hates that she laughs with Cary now, how he hasn't had a proper conversation with her in months, how he can almost feel her touch when they're in court.

He still loved her but he didn't like her anymore.

It was his first negotiation with her in a couple of months and also the first time they'd have to say more than "hello" to each other since the diner in New York. To say he was apprehensive was an understatement. He rode the elevator to the eighth floor and told the receptionist he was there for Mrs Florrick.

"Will. You here for Alicia's case?"

If there was one person who aggravated him as much as Alicia it was Cary. And here he is, standing right in front of him looking smug; as usual.

"Yeah" is all he could manage. Cary directed him to the conference room and told him he'd fetch Alicia. It seemed odd to Will that a one on one negotiating session would have to be in such a large conference room; why not Alicia's office? He caught himself looking around the offices, they weren't as grand as the ones at LG, but as much as he hated it, he felt a sense of appreciation for what they had accomplished here. He found his sight rest towards her office. Cary was tapping her on the shoulder. She jumped and seemed lost. She was sleeping? In work? In the middle of the day? Even from a distance he could see the look of exasperation she was wearing. He remembered how the law had been her sense of calm for the last few years, and looking at her now, Will had to conclude that that had changed.

Cary came back to tell him she'd be 5minutes. Will couldn't help looking back at the office. She was still sat in her chair and she had her head resting in her hands. He couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her when he saw her stand slowly and start heading his way.

When she got to the room, she smiled lightly and nodded in his general direction. Once she sat down she got straight to work. There was no small talk, no nothing; just business. As much as Will wanted to be indifferent to her he couldn't help but notice how tired her eyes looked, how she looked so much slimmer and how broken she appeared. He continued nodding where he needed to and arguing his point where he needed to, but he couldn't stop worrying about her and that pissed him off. He wanted to be indifferent to her. More than anything else he wanted her to know she'd hurt him in an irreversible way but she seemed so different. She seemed uncomfortable in her skin and that was very unlike the uber confident woman he had fallen back in love with when she came to work at LG. She was fidgeting, tapping her pen and purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Are you okay?" He mentally kicked himself for asking but it was the first time she'd held eye contact since she sat down. She sighed, closed her eyes and put her head back slightly before answering;

"It's just..." She seemed to spin words through her mind before simply answering "life". She carried on with her part of the negotiation before he had a chance to reply. He just looked at her trying to absorb what she'd said. What did she mean? The answer didn't satisfy him but he knew he wasn't going to get anything else. Half way through negotiations her phone rang. Will watched as she looked at the name, pressed decline and carried on talking. A few minutes later it rang again, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as she did this Will glanced at the phone and saw Peters name on the screen. She picked up the phone and excused herself. Will obviously watched as she paced back and forth outside the conference room. He couldn't make out every word of what she was saying, but he could hear the anger in the tone of her voice, see the exasperation in the way she put her hand up, into her hair, grabbing slightly before letting her hand move down to her face. She hung up and he saw how she took a moment to collect herself.

When she came back she carried on as if nothing had happened and Will couldn't take his eyes off her. He knew he shouldn't care, she isn't part of his life anymore, any problems she has shouldn't concern him. He could stop wondering what was going on in her life to make her look so broken, but he also knew he was lying to himself. He knew this woman made the world turn. Obviously he knew Peter was at the root of her problems, as he always was; but what had he done? More prostitutes? Corruption? The ballot box? The possibilities were endless. His thoughts stayed on this track through the rest of the negotiations.

When they were done she walked with him out to the elevator, on two occasions he noticed how she paused in an attempt to regain balance and then carried on walking without so much as a sideward glance in his direction. It worried him. It worried him even more when she stumbled as they reached the elevator and would have gone down if it hadn't been for him clasping his hand around her left arm.

That was when he noticed the absence of the ring.

Alicia

She woke with a fright and Cary telling her Will had arrived. Will; That was all she needed. Cary gave her some words of encouragement and she truly appreciated it. He was the only one who knew fully what was happening in her life right now and it felt nice that she had someone to confide in. Someone she knew she could trust, even when he was around Kalinda. She took a few moments to compose herself as good as she could. As she looked up, she could see Will glancing her way. He knew her well, and had probably already clocked how awful she looked and he'd use that in their negotiations which is why she had to get her head back on straight.

When she got to the room she got straight to work. There was no room for pleasantries or playing nice. She Just wanted this over with. Sitting opposite Will was her worst fear because she knew that even though they're not in a good place right now, he's the one person who can see through her facade. He always has been. And she doesn't have time for his questions or his pity, she just wanted him gone. So his question takes her by surprise. She runs through multiple scenarios in her head. Should she confide in him, even though he hates her? Should she lie to him and push them even further apart than they already are?

Instead of the truth, she just blames life and carries on with work before he can work his magic and get to her, like he always does.

The ringing in her ears is sporadic. She drowns it out by tapping her pen on the table or tilting her head to either side; discreetly of course. When her phone rings, she knows immediately who it is. Without glancing at the name, she presses decline and tried to carry on but when it rings again, she knew she had to answer it. She felt Wills gaze follow her out of the room and knew that he would probably be trying to work out what was going on, but she also knew he wouldn't ask. That wasn't his place anymore. He is neither friend, nor boyfriend; in fact, she doesn't know if he ever really was her boyfriend, and of course if she asked now, the answer would be no.

"Peter, I'm busy you can't just ring me in the middle of the day expect me to make time for you", he threw more excuses her way, as he always did, and she felt herself sigh. "Look, I don't want to hear it anymore, you can phone me tonight, I'm busy". Before waiting for his reply she hung up. It took all she had not to cry. Not to breakdown, grab her stuff and flee from the building, from Wills Knowing glares, from Cary's pity. But she didn't. She was stronger than that. She pulled herself together, walked back in to the conference room, took her seat opposite Will, and carried on as if nothing had happened.

She couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when they finished for the day. Her balance faltered more than once as she walked Will to the elevator and she prayed he hadn't noticed. She was pretty sure he hadn't but that was a moot point when he literally had to catch her when she fell. She was mortified. That was when she noticed that his gaze lingered a little too long on her bare ring finger. She took her arm from his grasp and tried to regain composure.

Will

An hour later he's sat in his office trying to work but his mind is full of Alicia. He remembers the last time her and Peter were separated, she still wore the ring. It used to drive him crazy every time he saw her. So does the absence of the ring mean it's more official this time? Maybe she forgot to put it on after a shower? Maybe it doesn't fit because she's lost weight? It annoys him that he cares so much but she looked so bad. He wasn't expecting to see her like that. He doesn't like her when she's weak, but this was different, she wasn't just weak ... she was broken.

"Hey baby!" Will was shook from his thoughts by Tammy.

"Tammy, I didn't expect to see you till tonight. Is everything ok?"

"Of course. Just wanted to drop in on my fiancé while I had 5 minutes spare".

He hadn't given Tammy a second thought since he'd seen Alicia today. They'd rekindled their relationship 7 months ago and when Tammy found out that Will and Alicia were no longer friends, she was more than happy to jump into a relationship with him. He'd proposed on a whim about a month ago. He doesn't know why he did it. He just wanted to forget her; to have a life that didn't revolve around whatever she was doing. Alicia was a drug. And he had to give it up. So why now, is he unable to think about anything but her?

Alicia

She had her feet up on the coffee table, a glass of wine in her left hand and divorce papers lying on her lap. The kids were with Peter and it was the first time in what felt like weeks that she'd had a moment to herself. It had all gone smoothly with the divorce proceedings, as she knew it would. Peter didn't have a leg to stand on and he knew it, which meant Alicia got everything she asked for, not that she'd asked for anything she didn't deserve. It felt like she was in someone else's body. Even when Peter slept with Amber Maddison, she never thought she would leave him. She loved him and she would always love him, but this was the final straw. She took a deep breath, picked up the pen and signed the papers. That was it. As soon as these papers were processed, she would be a single woman. It had been 20 years since she'd been single. She didn't even know how to be single anymore. She sighed and leaned her head back against the back of the sofa and took a large sip of her wine. She started to feel herself drifting to sleep so she decided to take her wine and climb into bed. Slipping into an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts she settled down.

She was pulled out of her sleep by a knock at the door at around 11pm. It couldn't be the kids or Peter they all had keys. She expected it was probably Owen. So she climbed out of bed without putting on a robe and sighed as she made her way to the door.

"Owen you asshole. If you keep coming here at this time I'm going to m..."

She opened the door to find herself face to face with Will.

"Hey, um, I'm, um sorry I rang a few times but you didn't answer so I, um"

Will tried to explain his presence but Alicia was still dumbstruck by the fact that he was there at all. She felt his gaze linger for too long on her bare legs and exposed shoulders from the open necked t-shirt she had opted for and felt herself getting uncomfortable. They hadn't shared a look like that in a long time. When she first left and he looked at her, all she felt was hate. Now his eyes always looked so empty and she almost disliked that more than when he hated her. At least then she knew there was feeling there, but in the last few months, there had been nothing. But right now, he was looking at her like he used to.

"Look I'll go I just needed to speak to you about the case..."

"well you're here now, so you might as well come in." She heard herself say it even though she knew she didn't want him there not now, not when she felt so low and she knew she didn't sound convincing. "Go make yourself comfy in the living room, I'll fetch the wine".

Will

He stood in the familiar elevator mumbling to himself, "What am I doing. This is wrong. I shouldn't be here". He had tried to get hold of Alicia 8 times on her cell with no answer. After seeing the state she was in earlier that day he assumed the worst and panicked. He hated himself for it. He's engaged, why should he care about Alicia? He knows it's because he still loves her and as irrational as it may be, he knows he always will.

When he hears her coming to the door cursing out Owen, not only does he laugh to himself, but he feels a weight being lifted off his shoulders ... she's okay.

And then she opens the door and he's reminded again of how beautiful she is. Of course she still looks exhausted; slightly thinner and not as strong as she used to be, but she's still breath taking. She's only wearing shorts and a t-shirt and he mentally chastises himself for letting his eyes linger on her endlessly long legs, her porcelain skin and bare shoulders, especially when he realises that she's noticed where his attention is aimed.

Then he reminds himself of why he's there and starts to explain himself. She seems to take this in and then invites him to come in. She doesn't sound at all sincere in her invitation and he understands that. Why would she want him at her doorstep never mind in her living room?

He watched her walk into the kitchen as he made his way to the sofa. As he sat down his gaze landed on the papers on the coffee table ... divorce papers. His mind was spinning. "Are they hers?" "They're probably for a case" "If they're for a case there would be more papers" ... his thoughts are interrupted by Alicia returning and handing him a glass of wine.

"Sorry for showing up like this, did I interrupt you working?" He says as he nods his head slightly to the papers on the table.

She looks uncomfortable as she forms her answer "Um actually no, I was in bed". She stands and gathers the papers, moving them to a drawer in a cabinet. Will couldn't stop his mind from working; if they were clients surely she would have put them in a folder not a home drawer? This was when he concluded with himself, that the woman he had wanted and loved for 20 years was going to be single again at the most inopportune time. He nearly laughed to himself.

Bad timing.

"So why are you here Mr Gardner? What couldn't have waited until tomorrow?"

He could hear the hostility in her tone. She really didn't want him there. "Well it could have waited, but when you didn't answer your phone, I guess I was a bit concerned since you looked a bit tired today". Why? Why did he just admit that he was concerned about her? "Idiot" he thought to himself.

"Well yes. I was tired, which is why I was asleep in bed when you called Will and I wouldn't mind getting back to that at some point. So what's up? I can hazard a guess that your client is refusing to settle and we'll be going to court. Am I right?"

She sounded completely fed up and deflated. He couldn't help but feel sad. Not so long ago she was fearless and passionate and he had to admit, she was tough to beat but this Alicia sitting in front of him now? She didn't seem to care. Not about her client, not about the law, definitely not about him.

"You're right; we're due in court next week. So um, that's it. I should probably go. Let you get back to sleep... "

"Well since I'm looking tired, I probably should do just that" She lifted an eyebrow at him in a way that he knew. When she did this she was usually teasing but he wasn't so sure this time. He pulled an apprehensive face and she laughed.

"It's fine Will, no need to look like I've just killed your cat. I am tired and I know I look it. I've had a lot going on that's all." She offered him a small smile which he gladly accepted.

"Well as long as you're okay. See you next week I guess Alicia"

She just smiled at him as she opened the door and watched him walk to the elevator. Will looked back at her before stepping in, committing her image to memory. She's still beautiful.

Who was he kidding? He would never not love this woman.