First of all thank you for your reviews, I appreciate it:) This chapter is really really long! Like 4 thousand words long :/ but please read:) It doesn't have much Alicia in it but mainly focuses on Will and Alicia's family. There is one more chapter left after this one or maybe 2, I just don't want to drag the story on. Please read and review, I will try an update the next chapter asap! Thank you!
Will and Cary had finally settled their case, both their clients had left and they were now sitting in the conference room of Florrick, Agos and Associates finalising on the rest of their clients details. Both their phones had been turned off before the deposition so there would be no distractions.
"So what made your client change his mind?" Cary asks, his head bowed down, writing the rest of his client's final divorce proceedings.
"He wanted to get it over with, so he just gave her what she wanted." Will says shrugging his shoulders, leaning against the chair.
"Twelve million dollars is a lot of money." Cary says shaking his head."There must have been a reason."
"Yeah, well I don't know, it's none of our business. I'm just glad it's over; we've been working on this case for months now." He replies, relieved."Unless you enjoy working on cases against us?... I wouldn't be surprised" Will says in a smug and annoyed manner. To which Cary laughs at.
"No, trust me." Cary says putting his hands up." I don't like doing this as much as you guys do, but a job's a job" he says shrugging his shoulders.
Will doesn't reply but instead just nods his head and then glances around the unfamiliar offices looking for her face. Her trial should be over now, he thinks to himself glancing at his watch. As much as he would care to admit, he wants to see her so badly, he wants to know the real reason why she left her husband, but most importantly he wants to know why she left Lockhart Gardner, stealing their top clients, he wants to know the truth; wants to hear it from her mouth, he also just wants to talk to her, like old times.
Cary notices Will's curiosity as to where Alicia is, he's caught in the act.
"Alicia's not coming back, she said she was going home straight after her trial." He indicates, getting to the point.
"What...?" Will says, acting dumbstruck. "I wasn't... I wasn't looking for Alicia." He tries to look confused and convincing but fails miserably.
Cary just nods his head, acknowledging that this is something Will doesn't want to admit, and Cary quite frankly doesn't want to talk about it. Will and Alicia's business has nothing to do with him unless it affects their firm, which Alicia would never let happen.
Cary eventually finishes writing his clients final report and slides the paper over to Will across from him. "I think we're done here." He says offering a smile.
Will nods his head and places the papers in his folder but before he can gather the rest of his belongings. Robyn burst into the conference room with a phone next to her ear, her face looking horrified and breathing heavily.
Cary takes in her appearance."Robyn what is it?" he says furrowing his eyebrows curios.
She doesn't say anything; she can barely get the words out. She takes one look at Will who also looks confused and a little worried. She quickly turns on the television that is in front of the conference room. "Robyn what's going on?" Cary asks, but he still doesn't get a response. She flicks the channel over to CBS breaking news, and they all see and take in the words displayed on the screen.
'SHOOTING'S AT CHICAGO COOK COUNTY COURTHOUSE. GOVENORS EX WIFE, ALICIA FLORRICK SHOT AND RUSHED TO HOSPITAL' are the words displayed on the screen.
Both Will and Cary's facial expressions go from confusion to total shock. Alicia's face shows up on TV, an old photo of her when she did an interview with Charlie rose a year ago.
Will feel's like he's going to vomit, he can feel his heart thumping loudly and the world little by little slowing down around him. "What's going on Robyn?" Cary says walking over to her in front of the TV.
"Alicia, she... she was shot.. By our client.. Jeffery Grant. Apparently he lost in court and started shooting people." Robyn says frantically.
"Whahh?... shot?" Cary says in awe and glancing back at Will, whose eyes are locked on the TV screen.
"Who are you talking to?" Cary says noticing the phone in Robyn's hand. "Kalinda" Robyn voice cracks. "Kalinda and Dianne were at the courthouse and they found Alicia, they say she lost a lot of blood" she takes a pause before mumbling. "She... she's dying Cary..." Robyn begins to cry, she's always been sensitive, especially when it comes to situations as sensitive as this one.
Will takes in Robyn's words and he feels like he's going to faint. Instead he steadily walks over to young woman and Cary, using the table for support so his knees don't buckle and fall to the ground.
"Can I talk to Kalinda.." he whispers, his voice cracking. Robyn wipes the tears away from her face and nods passing the phone over to him.
"Kalinda" he says. "What.. happend?"
"Will?" Kalinda says confused, she completely forgot that he was at Florrick Agos for the deposition.
"Will why haven't you been answering your phone? I've been trying to get a hold of you." She says a tad frustrated.
"What happend Kalinda?" Will repeats, determined to get something out of the younger woman.
"Is Cary with you?" she says first of all.
"Yes he is" he replies glancing back at Cary who's comforting a hysterical Robyn and looking at the television screen.
"Put me on speaker, and I will try and explain everything." Kalinda instructs.
Will nods his head, still not sure of what he's doing, he feels lost. He pushes the speaker button and places the phone on the conference table in front of him and Cary. He's trying to act tough and get it together but inside, he thinks he's going to explode if he doesn't get any information from Kalinda any time soon.
"Kalinda? What's going on" Cary says, looking at the phone.
"Listen the both of you" Kalinda instructs. "Alicia's been shot.." She pauses because she knows her voice is going to crack.
"We know" Cary says frustrated "We just saw it on TV. Is she going to be alright? What happend?"
"I don't know if she's going to be alright" Kalinda says defeated. "We heard Gunshots and screaming, I knew immediately that it came from Alicia's trial. I eventually managed to get pass the police and when I got inside..." Her voice cracks.
"I found her, she was lying on the prosecutors lap, he got shot as well... But not as bad as her... There was blood everywhere..." she whispers.
"It was her client Jeffery Grant, he just lost it and gunshots went everywhere. He's with the police now but..." Kalinda trails off. "Everything happend so fast.."
She continues "Dianne rung the ambulance, they were rushed to hospital. We're at Chicago general hospital waiting for some news, she's in surgery at the moment." She pauses before instructing "Will, you need to come to the hospital" she says as if his life depends on it, and it does, it really does.
He doesn't know what to do or say, he's in total shock from Kalinda's words. The words keep running over and over again in his mind. 'She was lying on the prosecutors lap' ' There was blood everywhere'.
"Okay, Okay" Will mumbles barely able to say anything more.
"Who's all there with you?" Cary asks
"Dianne just left. Alicia's kids are here with Alicia's mom and Alicia's brother Owen."
"Where's Peter?" Will says confused and a little frustrated at having to say that man's name.
"He's in Springfield, and can't come at the moment but Owen is keeping him updated... Are you coming?" Kalinda says to him, in an expected tone.
"Yes, yes" he murmurs, still in state of shock. "I'm coming now" he says, picking up his belongings.
"I'm coming too, I'll drive behind you" Cary says standing up. Will only nods his head, his mind is in a haze.
"Will see you in a bit Kalinda" Cary says, reassuring her that they won't be long. "Okay" she replies before hanging up.
Cary also begins to gather his things, "Robyn, let the associates know what's going on. I will call you later on when we get some news." He says, about to walk out the door. The young investigator nods her head, wiping away the remaining tears left on her face. "Okay" she says "Give my love to Zach and Grace..." To which he nods offering her a smile reassuring that everything is going to be fine, even though deep down he has no idea if that's true.
When Will arrives at the hospital he feels himself in a haze. He sees nurses, doctors, patients but he can't hear anything. It's like he's deaf, unable to talk. Cary taps him on the shoulder, his phone in his hand.
"Kalinda says they're on the eighth floor" he says pointing towards the elevators. Will nods his head and follows the young shaken friend and work partner of Alicia's who also plays an important role in her life at the moment.
While in the elevator, Will can't help but think of all the people who will be affected by this, if she dies. Zach, Grace, Owen, Veronica, Cary, Peter, god the whole of Illinois would be talking about this, the first lady of Illinois murdered in court. Kalinda and Dianne would probably be shaken by the whole ordeal. And not to mention Will himself. 'What am I going to do?' he thinks to himself. 'I was supposed to be on the Jeffery Grant case'.
He wishes that he never let go of the fricken case, he should never have let Jeffery Grant run off to Florrick Agos and hire Alicia as his lawyer because if the roles were reversed. He would be that one laying in surgery fighting for this cherished thing we call, life and existence. And if things had ended that way, Alicia would have the chance to watch her children grow, live the rest of her life knowing that she never experienced something as a near death experience.
But things haven't ended that way and instead she is the one currently loosing probably most of her bodies percentage of blood. And because of this outcome, Will hates himself for it, hates himself for not being by her side like Kalinda and Dianne were when they found her. Hates himself for ignoring and treating her like shit in the last five months, yes, she may have left his law firm and stolen his top clients, stabbed him in the back but nevertheless. Will Gardner always thought that she would be around, and deep down, even if he never admitted it, he always thought that eventually they would make up, get the truth out, especially because she and Peter are no longer an item. He took that as a one more chance of good timing for the both of them. But now, when he thinks about it, the woman that he loves and cares deeply about, laying in a hospital fighting for her life is far from good timing, after all he could lose her and then, his whole world could come crashing down on him
"Are you alright?" Cary asks in the elevator, noticing that the man next to him is in deep thought while his face is slowly turning pale.
It takes a while for Will to answer but when he does, he replies with "I don't know" his voice quiet and his mind lost in thought.
"She will be alright" Cary says reassuring. But deep down, he has an idea that she is far from alright at the moment.
"She's got to be. She's strong... One of the strongest people I know... and she will get through this." Cary says looking towards the elevator doors and avoiding eye contact with the man next to him because he's not so sure of his words. She's definitely one of the strongest people he knows but is she strong enough?
Just then the elevator doors open and Cary is the first to step out, followed by Will.
"Cary, Will!" Kalinda yells out to them, gesturing for them to come forward. Cary is the first to walk up to her.
"Hey... Are you alright?" he says in a worried tone, noticing the strain and anxiety stretched across her face. She sighs loudly before nodding her head.
"Yeah I'm fine, compared to how Alicia was a few hours ago, I should be more than fine..." she trails off frustrated with herself.
"Is she alright?" Will jumps in, walking towards her, his face pale with worry.
"We don't know, we haven't heard anything, she's still in surgery" she replies, exhausted.
"Was it bad?" Cary asks, nervous and uneasy.
Kalinda nods her head slowly and rubbing her forehead with exhaustion.
"Yes" she says. "The blood just kept coming... It wouldn't stop..." her voice begins to shake, remembering the scene just a few hours ago. "I was just with her yesterday" she admits. "We went out for drinks and talked for hours... and now, shes... shes...I just can't believe it" she finishes, glancing towards Will who's staring at her, taking in her words with a horrified look.
"Will!" someone yells out behind the three of them.
"Veronica..." Will says, hesitantly walking towards her. She throws her arms around him and he's a little taken back but then returns the support, hugging her as well. "I'm so sorry" he says because he doesn't know what else to say. She nods her head, whimpers a little but doesn't go too extreme. She eventually lets go and gestures for the three of them to follow her back to the private waiting room. Veronica gently opens the doors; the room is rather small and quite for a waiting room but then Will remembers it's a private room. It immediately has a sense of comfort and calmness. The lights are dim and there are a few lamps radiating around the room. There's a coffee table in the middle with comfortable couches surrounded.
The sight that Will and Cary see is almost heartbreaking, Zach's head is bowed down to the ground, eyes closed and the top of his head and hair in his hands. Owen is sitting next to him, his hand gently patting Zach's back. And then there's Grace whose head is nestled into someone's shoulder, who Will can only assume is her boyfriend. The young boy's arm is rapped protectively around Grace, his face also looking terrified and worried for his mother in law.
"Will!" Owen says, quietly not wanting to disturb the peace. Owen stands up and takes a few steps towards Will and hugs him for only a few seconds before pulling back. "Kalinda said you were coming" Owen says in a relieved tone. He glances at the back of Will and sees Cary standing next to Kalinda.
"Cary, Hi" Owen says while shaking his hand "I don't know if you remember me, I'm Owen, Alicia's brother."
"No I remember, Hi Owen, How are you?" Cary replies calmly, shaking the other man's hand.
Owen shrugs his shoulders, "I've had way better days but you know..." he exhales with a short laugh. To which Cary nods. Owen turns his attention back to Zach and Grace, Veronica has seemed to disappear somewhere, getting coffee. Zach and Grace recognise Cary and give him a short wave but are still unsure of the man standing next to him who looks as pale and terrified as they do.
"Zach, Grace, this is Will... One of your Mom's... friends.." Owen says hesitantly because he has no idea on how to address this situation. Ex friend? Working nemesis? Ex lover?...
"Hello" Zach says with a smile, stretching a hand out to shake his which Will returns with a firm shake even though he's trembling inside. "It's nice to see you again Zach" Will says, he remembers the last time they saw each other. The night of the election voting's and also the night where he and Alicia shared that intimate passionate kiss in his car.
Zach nods his head, smiling. He glances at his sister, "Hi" Grace waves at him managing to form a genuine smile, her voice a little horse from the stress and her face is flushed.
"Hi Grace" he replies taking a seat across from where they are sitting. Owen sits across from him, Kalinda and Cary have already taken a seat next to the door, Cary's head bowed down with exhaustion and Kalinda seems to be staring into space. The room rapidly fall into a comfortable silence until Veronica opens the doors with two trays of what looks like cups of coffee.
"I got coffees for the adults and hot chocolates for the kids" she says, passing one each to Cary and Kalinda and then placing the tray in front of Will and Owen which they gladly accept. "Thank you Veronica" Will replies with a gratified smile. "Your welcome Will" she says quickly touching his shoulder before moving over to the kids.
"Thank you Mrs Loyd" Grace's boyfriend replies.
"Please Conner, call me Veronica. When you say Mrs Loy you remind me of my ex mother in-law." She pleads, to which he nods, giggling while drinking the warm sweet liquid.
"Thanks Grandma" Both Zach and Grace say grabbing their cup of hot chocolate.
Veronica sits next to Will, all of them falling into a silence. About a half an hour later Cary and Kalinda leave and Will promises to call them when the surgery is over.
"How long is this supposed to take again?" Zach asks Conner, worried even more now because his mother was rushed into surgery at least two and half hours ago.
"Well, it depends on where the bullet is set. Some surgeons decide to leave the bullet in where it is, and don't remove it because it could cause more harm to the wound, bullets are, once they stop moving, largely harmless, and trauma surgeons frequently leave them in place whilst repairing the damage inflicted by their ingress but I think because it hit her shoulder they're going to have to try and remove the bullet otherwise it could cause further damage in the future and be very painful for her. But I'm not sure on what's happening with your Mom... I don't know if it should have taken this long.." He trails off uncertain because he knows that if they weren't removing the bullet then it shouldn't have taken this long but because it's been well over 2 hours, he's pretty sure, they're trying to remove it or something else has happend.
Everyone in the room is now staring at him with extreme interest. It's the first time the boy has spoken aloud and everyone seems to be impressed. Will couldn't be more puzzled; he never expected such a pretty face to be intelligent. Zach doesn't seem to be impressed, unless he's putting up an act, trying to be the tough brother who doesn't seem to like his sister's boyfriend. "Oh okay..." Zach replies impassive.
"So you're into medicine Conner?" Veronica asks, moving closer to Grace so she can get a clear answer.
"Yesss" Conner replies quietly. "I want to study medicine after school..."
Veronica nods her head with approval. "That makes sense... You know, my ex husband, Owen and Alicia's father was a Doctor..." she trails off, changing the subject around to her, to which Owen rolls his eyes and Will grins seeing the eye roll.
"I guess that's where Alicia and Owen got the brains from" Veronica continues. "I've always wanted the opposite, I wanted my children to be into the arts" she rolls her eyes and Grace giggles a little, imagining her mother into such a thing. "It's true!" Veronica replies.
"I wanted Alicia to be a ballet dancer when she was younger. I made her go to all the classes from when she was seven right up to twelve. She hated it though... She was good at it, really good at it, but she hated it." she shrugs and then giggles, remembering the arguments she had with her daughter over her career choice.
"She was very stubborn, your mother Grace" Veronica directs her attention to both her grandchildren. "She never listened to me, and now when I think of it she still doesn't listen to me and she's still stubborn" She says, which makes everyone in the room giggle, even Will. He's finds Alicia's family interesting and funny, especially her children who don't seem to care that a total stranger who happens to be in love with their mother is waiting with them.
"She stopped listening to you at the age of ten Mom" Owen recalls.
"I know" Veronica replies in an annoyed manner but chuckling at the same time.
"Mom never listened to you?" Grace asks surprised, she always thought her mother was a well behaved child because of the person her mother is today, wonderful, well mannered and beautiful. These are the things Zach and Grace have also inherited into their nature.
"Well..." Veronica starts off "She never really needed to listen to us." Veronica trails off.
"She was a good kid, I still don't know where she got her nature from. She definitely didn't get it from me or her father... And then there's your uncle Owen, who was the complete opposite.."
"Hey!" Owen objects, "I wasn't that bad!..." Everyone once again begins to chuckle until there is a disturbance at the door. Their eyes immediately move towards the doors and there, they see two surgeons open the door. Still dressed in their uniform, Will is the first to stand up, his face once again slightly turning pale with anxiety. The two medical surgeons walk over to the small group of people and gesture for everyone to sit. Grace and Zach are now holding hands, and Will is sitting on the edge of his seat, his heart suddenly pounding very fast.
"She's stable..." Is the first thing the surgeon says but there's something in his voice that suggest that something's not right. Everyone in the room exhales a deep breath of relief except for Will who is still staring at the specialist, waiting for him to explain further.
The surgeon takes a deep sigh before continuing. "There were a few complications... We weren't going to remove the bullet but then we found that the bullet was nestled in between her bone and rotator cuff which is the bit that allows your arm to move more freely. If we had left the bullet in its place, then in the near future, if that bullet was to be disturbed, let's say if she was to fall over on her left side landing on her shoulder than that could potentially immediately cause damage to the nearby blood vessel that is only metres away from where the bullet was set. So we had no choice but to remove it." he pauses, giving the family time to process what he's just said.
"In doing so, while in surgery, we, luckily got the bullet out a safe as possible but then, it started bleeding again, and this time it wouldn't stop. It took a while for us to locate where the bleeding was coming from in the wound but we eventually found it and managed to secure it..." the surgeon stops once again, giving the family time to take in what he has just said.
"That's why it took so long" Conner is the first to reply, it's not really a question but a guess.
The two me nod their heads. "Yes" this time the other surgeon replies. "She lost a substantial amount of blood when she was shot. And then while in surgery she lost twice as much" he pauses before continuing. "Alicia has lost at least 50 percent of blood in her body..." he finishes, in a calm and cautious tone. Everyone in the room, mainly Zach and Grace gasp at his last words.
"Don't worry" he replies reassuringly "She is stable and we are pumping as much blood into her body but we are going to have to keep her in here for at least two more weeks, just to monitor her heart rate and blood pressure." Owen and Veronica both nod their heads understandably.
For the first time in the last five minutes, Will speaks for the first time, anxiously "But she will be alright?" he says with anxiety and hope in his voice.
"For now yes" the doctor replies. "Like I said, we as in her doctors have to monitor her heart rate very closely because it could drop any minute but other than that, I'm sure she will be find." He says with a light smile, convinced of his words.
"Can we see her?" Owen asks desperately.
Both the specialist hesitate for a moment before answering. "Yes but two at a time please. And only for a short while, we don't want to disturb her. She needs as much sleep as possible."
Owen glances at Zach and Grace, his facial expression conveying his question. They both lightly shake their heads. "You and Grandma can go in first uncle Owen and then Will can go in after Zach and I and stay in there, only If you want to Will?" Grace asks. Out of her and Zach, she is the only one who knows the extent of Will and Alicia's relationship; she knows they shared something a few years ago, when her mother seemed extremely happy. She can feel the anxiety stretched across the man's body, who is sitting next to her, she can only assume that he probably wants to stick around for a while.
Will is taken aback from Grace's gesture and feels extremely thankful for her thoughtfulness. "I would like that Grace... Thank you" he replies, a smile forming on his lips. Owen and Veronica are already out the door heading into Alicia's room that is just next door, and the two surgeons have already left as well.
Grace replies with a simple smile and a nod to her head, Zach does the same, reassuring Will that it's fine with him.
When Veronica and Owen have left as well as the rest, Will is the only one left. He opens the door to her private room. The lights in the room are dim, with a few night lights switched on.
Sleeping peacefully, her face pale as a rock but has a slight tone of color towards it. The comfy exquisite room is very quiet except for the hospital heart monitor machine that is constantly beeping, in forming that her breathing is stable.
The first thing he notices other than her beautiful face is a ventilator tube against her mouth, assisting her to breathe properly. Looking further down her body, there is a bandage wrapped around her left shoulder, supporting the wound. Further down her arm, one more small tube is injected into her wrist, pumping blood into her support system. He tentatively walks towards her bedside, unable to take his eyes off of her beautiful porcelain face. He gently touches her forearm, gradually moving his hand up to her face and lightly brushes her cheek. He sits down in the rather big comfy chair next to her bedside and takes her left hand in with his own, brushing his thumb gently over her fingers.
Will Gardner doesn't usually pray, he can't even remember the last time he said a prayer to god. Like Alicia, he's never really had much thought towards it, until now. He prays that she will be safe, that her heart rate won't drop and cause her to fall in unconsciousness forever, that she will never experience this type of trauma ever again. He prays that she will forgive him for how cruel he has been treating her in the last 5 months. But most importantly he prays that she feels the same way about him, because by now, if there is one thing that Will Gardner has learnt, is that he is never going to let her go.
Please review me your thoughts :) I look forward to writing the next chapter which is probably going to include some Alicia/Finn, Will/Alicia and of course Will/Alicia and the rest of the cast, I will update asap!