A/N: Thank you all for your encouraging and kind reviews! I'm glad you liked the premise. I lived in D.C. for a few years and loved every bit of it, so writing this is nostalgic for me, too. :)
Alicia gazes out the window as they make their descent into Washington. Her seat on the left side of the plane offers her a view of some of the city's most iconic landmarks: the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and-most importantly to her-Georgetown University.
She disembarks, a small carryon suitcase rolling behind her. As she walks through the main hall toward the Metro, she is immediately overwhelmed by everything she sees.
The high, curved ceilings, with the yellow metal archways and the shiny tile floor below, feel so familiar to her. Familiar as if it was yesterday she stood here for the last time.
Alicia walked by his side, one hand squeezing the handle of her suitcase, the other wrapped tightly in his. When they reached her gate, the corners of her lips turned up in a nervous smile. "This is me," she said, removing her hand from the suitcase and pulling the neatly folded ticket out of her hoodie's front pocket.
"Yeah," Will said, looking down at his feet.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without you," she whispered shakily, the tears finally rising to the surface.
"Leesh," he said, his own voice cracking. He pulled her close, his hand on the back of her head, his fingertips resting gently in her wavy hair. "You are going to do amazing things in Chicago. Amazing. You didn't graduate at the top of our class for nothing."
She laughed through her tears, pulling back just slightly to see his face. "And you're going to do big things in Baltimore. You're going to be the greatest lawyer in America someday, and I'm going to get to say 'Hey! I knew that guy at Georgetown!' Maybe I should get your autograph before I go."
"Only the best lawyer in America? Not in the world?"
Alicia smiled. "Just America. You'd need me for world domination."
"Yeah. I would," he admitted. "I couldn't have picked a better friend to spend the last three years of my life with."
"Stop it!" she protested, wiping the tears with the back of her sleeve. "You're going to make me cry again."
"It's true! I never would've made it without you. All our study sessions, coffee runs, Chinese food binges...law school wouldn't have been the same sharing those things with someone else."
"No. It wouldn't have," she agreed, reaching out for another hug. The gate agent came over the intercom to announce boarding for her flight, and she squeezed him even tighter.
"Okay," Will said, letting go and smiling at her. "You go kick ass in Chicago."
"You go kick ass in Baltimore."
"I will. Call me when you get there."
She nodded, moving toward the line of people boarding the plane. He stood there, hands in his pockets, maintaining a brave face for her. She waved, and he waved back, before she separated from the line, abandoning her suitcase and running back to him for one last hug.
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Leesh," he said, kissing the top of her head.
After riding the blue line to Foggy Bottom, she makes the ten minute walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Four Seasons. She stares at the brick sidewalk beneath her feet, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, small step by small step.
Will pointed it out on one of their first walks through the city. "I want to be rich enough to stay there someday," he said.
Alicia agreed. "It looks lovely."
Each time they walked by, it was the same conversation, but it grew more elaborate as the months passed.
And by the end of their 2L year, their whole future was planned out.
"We're going to be rich enough to stay there someday," he would say. "We'll stay in the Royal Suite, the one that has its own rooftop terrace and dining room. We'll order room service and sit around in those white fluffy robes for the entire weekend drinking champagne and not letting anyone bother us."
"That room has to cost thousands of dollars," she said wistfully. "It's going to take us a while to get that rich."
"It'll be worth it," he said, smiling as he intertwined his fingers with hers.
"I bet they have the best french toast, with strawberries and whipped cream," Alicia mused.
"Yeah. And bacon. As much bacon as they'll let us have."
"I bet if you can afford to stay in the Royal Suite, you'll get as much bacon as you want."
"That would be the life," he said, grinning at her.
"Our life," she corrected him, nudging him with her elbow. "Since we're going to be that rich someday."
She enters the lobby and looks around. Several staff members have already asked if she needs help with her bags, but considering she only has a small carryon suitcase and her purse, she politely declines.
When she reaches the desk, the man behind it greets her warmly. Alicia tries not to start laughing when she sees that his shiny name tag reads Paul. It's clearly some kind of sign from the universe, although she's not sure she trusts that kind of thing.
"Good afternoon. Checking in?"
"Yes. Alicia Florrick."
"It's a pleasure to have you here, Ms. Florrick. Is the purpose of your travel personal or business?" he asks.
"Personal."
"I hope you enjoy your stay in Washington," Paul says as he returns her credit card. "You requested a west wing room with a view of Georgetown, is that correct?"
"Yes, if possible."
"Absolutely," he tells her. "Can I have room service send anything up for you?"
"A bottle of champagne, please? And an order of french toast, if you serve breakfast so late in the day."
"I'll put that right in," he replies with a smile. "Celebrating anything special?"
"Just toasting an old friend," she explains.
He nods, passing over her room key. "Please let us know if there's anything else we can do to make your stay better, Ms. Florrick. Enjoy your evening."
Alicia smiles at him, her best I'm-standing-next-to-Peter-and-there-are-people-looking smile, before turning to the elevators behind her and riding to the fifth floor, the smile fading almost immediately.
The truth is, he can't do the one thing that would make her stay better: bring back the man who should be here with her.
When she arrives at her room, she inserts the key card only to find that it doesn't work on the first try. Alicia smiles to herself, clutching the plastic rectangle tightly in her hand. She flips it over and tries again; the green light flashes, allowing her to enter.
Not just one sign from the universe, but two.
"Hey, Will," she whispers.