Boy, am I on a roll now or what? This one's got some Alicia/Kalinda in it!

I do not own any of them, I do not own them on a boat, I do not own them on a goat, I do not own them here or there, I do not own them anywhere. . .

Alicia sighed as she pulled out her day planner and a blank sheet of paper. This felt like a ridiculous task, but she knew she had to do it. She started jotting down notes and piecing together what she could of their past. She carefully dissected her memory of their time together. Sometimes she smiled before she could remember that this wasn't a happy moment. This was serious.

Alicia laid down her pen—there was no way she was putting this in an electronic form. She stared at her list and tried to remember what she was missing. She knew that she didn't have everything on her list. She flipped back through her cell phone for old text messages and phone calls, trying to jog her memory of the events.

An hour later, frustrated and exhausted, Alicia gave up. She knew the list wasn't complete, but it was close. The only other person that could help her now was. . . no, she wasn't going to go there.

She stood up from her desk and stretched and decided to go off in search of Kalinda. Roaming around the 28th floor, she asked around. Kalinda had headed to the 27th floor, so Alicia followed. From there, she was told Kalinda went up to the 29th floor. After searching there, she was told that Kalinda had gone back downstairs.

The elevator was full of people heading home. A glance at her phone told her that it really was that late in the day, and she'd hardly accomplished any work today. Alicia stepped out onto the 28th floor, ready to give up on Kalinda. Instead, she nearly walked right into her.

"Oh, there you are!" Alicia exclaimed. "Can we grab a drink tonight?"

"Sure," Kalinda said. "When are you heading out?"

"Whenever," Alicia replied with a shrug.

"Ok, can I come find you when I'm done? It should only be about a half hour or so."

Alicia agreed and they parted ways. Alicia wasn't looking forward to any of this, but she was going to grin and bear it. She had made the decisions that lead her here, and now she had to deal with the consequences.

She walked back toward her office, and came across Will coming out of his. He didn't look like he was heading home yet. She made a split second decision to ask for his help. He had said he would help with anything she needed, right?

"Hi Alicia," he started. "You made it through the day." He grinned at her, knowing she would catch his meaning.

"I did," she returned with a grin of her own. "Will, if you have a minute, there's something in my office that I'd like you to take a look at."

"Sure," he agreed and followed her. They walked in an awkward silence towards her office. They really had nothing to discuss that could be said in a public hallway.

Alicia closed the door behind them, and grabbed her list from the file on her desk. Will remained standing and Alicia followed suit.

"So Eli wants to eliminate any of the evidence that could be used as proof of an affair," Alicia stated.

Will was startled by her use of the word "affair", but did his best to hide it behind a straight face. Was that how she thought of it? Was that how she referred to it? He had many other characterizations that he would choose over "affair", but he didn't know what she thought. He snapped out of his own thoughts to listen to Alicia's next words.

"He asked me to make a list of dates and places we met. He's going to have Kalinda determine if there is any evidence and do what she can to get rid of it," Alicia explained. "I put together a list, but I think there are some things missing. Would you mind taking a look?"

Will nodded and took a seat in a chair in front of her desk. Instead of stepping behind her desk, Alicia sat in the chair accompanying Will's. Will pulled out his phone and began checking dates. He grabbed a pen from her desk and jotted in some of his own notes. While she was waiting, Alicia noticed that Eli's office was dark, and she hoped that he had gone home for the day.

Will couldn't explain the panic that was rising in his chest as he stared at the dates. This was just so cold, and yet their meetings had been anything but cold. It made his memories into just another investigation, another day at work. His affections for Alicia were completely isolated from work, he'd tried his best to always keep the two separate. Looking at it all so clinically was taking its toll on him. He needed to get it under control soon, or finish the list soon, before he exploded here in Alicia's office chair.

Taking a breath to reign in his emotions, he handed the pen and paper back to Alicia. "I added these," he pointed out. "Does that look right to you?"

Alicia nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry to have to ask you for this. Thank you. I think we've got everything now."

Will wanted to laugh. He knew what she meant, but he was nowhere close to having everything. He knew he needed to leave, but he couldn't. His feet seemed glued to her floor, preventing him from standing. Instead he turned in his chair to face her and said, "It is kind of weird, isn't it? Thinking of all that?"

Alicia smiled, and Will saw a sign of relief that someone else knew how she felt. "Yes, it is weird. I'm really sorry about all of this. I just hope that we can prevent any damage from being done."

"Me too," Will replied as he was finally able to stand up to leave. "Have a good night, Alicia," he spoke as he turned away from her. He knew that she had no idea what damage had already been done.

Alicia sat at her desk to recopy their haphazard notes into something more comprehensible. She organized the list chronologically, and all in her own handwriting as she hoped to avoid any allusion to Will's involvement. When she reached the end of her new list, she went back to the beginning and counted up each line.

28.

28 occasions.

28 meetings.

She couldn't help but think that was more than Peter's. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as Kalinda walked into her office.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

Alicia nodded and grabbed her things, being sure to tuck the list away in her locked drawer before leaving.

When they entered the bar, Kalinda headed for a familiar bar stool. Alicia, not being able to get her attention any other way in the loud environment, gently grasped her elbow, and pointed to a table towards the back. Kalinda couldn't hide her surprised expression, but Alicia was going to risk being overheard.

They took their seats and waited awkwardly for someone to take their order. Alicia searched around before she stood and said, "I'll head to the bar and grab some shots."

Alicia returned a few moments later with two shots of tequila and two beers. She set them on the table, and they both took their shots quickly. Sucking on her lime, Kalinda asked, "So what's up? You're weird today."

Alicia nodded, "I know." She pushed the empty shot glass and leftover lime wedge toward the edge of the table and leaned forward. "There's something I have to tell you. I had an affair with Will." Alicia studied Kalinda's face but found no reaction to her news.

"I know," Kalinda stated.

"What?" Alicia asked in shock, "Who told you?"

"No one had to tell me. I know you, I know Will. It wasn't a difficult puzzle to piece together. Look, I did have a few conversations with Will, but he never told me anything about the two of you. I could just tell by his tone when you were together and when it ended. I'm perceptive." Her last sentence was uttered in her typical flirty Kalinda tone, with a tip of her beer glass as she raised it to her lips.

"Ok," Alicia's mind was still reeling from the revelation Kalinda had dropped on her. Were others in the office so perceptive? Did everyone already know? Eli hadn't known. Alicia guessed that was a good sign. "So, I was questioned about Will during my grand jury testimony, and it seems that someone may be leaking information. There's a reporter working on an article about Peter that's sniffing around Will. Eli is working on damage control, and he's going to ask for your help."

"Ok," said Kalinda. "Thanks for the heads up." She took another sip of her beer, then stood up. "We need another round of tequila."

When Kalinda returned, there were 4 shot glasses in her hands. After they'd both finished their second round, Kalinda said, "For the sake of being honest, if you hadn't brought this up, this thing with Eli, I would have refused to help when he asked. I've told him I won't work on anything for Peter Florrick."

Alicia looked at her in surprise, and she continued, "Alicia, there's nothing between us and I would never want you to think I was doing him any favors. I'd just as soon never see him again."

Alicia nodded and swallowed her third shot. By this time, the world was becoming a bit hazy. "Thanks," she said to her empty shot glass.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Kalinda kept up with Alicia and finished off her third shot. She normally would only drink this much alone, not trusting anyone else with herself in such a condition, but she felt that the circumstances tonight required it.

"So as long as we're being honest," Alicia started," have you ever slept with Will?"

Kalinda's head jerked up in surprise. "No, Alicia I haven't. I wouldn't."

She didn't miss Alicia's smile of relief. "Ok, because we just can't keep sharing men," Alicia joked. Kalinda returned the smile and sipped from her glass of beer.

"Well, I'm not Will's type and you wouldn't get along with my husband anyway," Kalinda carried on the joke.

Alicia opened her mouth to make a comment, but Kalinda cut her off. "No, no, don't ask. It'll take more tequila and a whole lot more time for that story to come out."

Alicia nodded her head in understanding. "Ok then, well if you defer on that question, you'll have to answer the next one." Alicia took a big gulp of her beer. "Well, we're getting along. We're a little tipsy. I think it's time to hear what happened with you and Peter." She tilted her head down and peered up at Kalinda to ensure her that she was serious.

Kalinda shook her head. "Alicia, I don't think. . ." she started.

"Come on, what better time is there? I'm not mad anymore. I'm not really with Peter anymore. I think I was always more mad at him than I was at you anyway. Yes, it's stupid to sleep with someone else's husband, but what happened with Will and I gave me some perspective in that department."

"But Alicia," Kalinda started again.

"Look, I was pissed at you because I needed to be. Peter and I were just getting back to normal when I found out. Peter had told me that there was no one but Amber Madison, and so when I found out about you, I think I was more mad at his lying to me again than anything. We had moved on and were doing really well when this just blew up in our faces. I'm not so angry about it anymore. Besides, I'm a big girl and I'm the one asking the question. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to hear the answers. So what happened?"

Kalinda knew she was in a delicate position. If she refused to answer, it would break some of the trust she and Alicia had built back up. She'd have to choose her words carefully. "Ok, but don't you think we need more alcohol to have this conversation?" she asked with a smile.

"I guess a little more wouldn't hurt," she smiled back and stood to take her turn heading to the bar.

She returned with two more shots and they downed them quickly. "Ok," she turned to Kalinda, "Spill it!"

"Ok, so you know he was my boss?"

"Yes, it's a familiar concept for me," Alicia said as she nodded and smiled again.

"So just after I was hired, I explained my problems with my husband. He was looking for me and I needed a new name. It was a big risk to take, but I didn't know where else to go. I asked for his help in establishing a new identity. He asked for one night in exchange for his help." Kalinda looked down at the table, awaiting Alicia's answer.

"Ok, that makes sense." Alicia paused as she considered whether she should ask the question that was burning on her lips. "But, did you go all 'Kalinda' on him?"

"What does THAT mean?" Kalinda asked with surprise in her expression.

"I mean, 'these are better than subpoenas'" she gestured to Kalinda's chest, quoting Kalinda from one of their first cases together. "Did you use your charms to elicit attention from him, or was that all his idea?"

Kalinda stared down at the table again. "I don't know. I don't remember. I try not to think about it."

"Then you probably did, right?"

"Alicia. . ." Kalinda said with a pained expression.

"No, really, it's not a big deal," Alicia waved her hand across the space above the table to illustrate her point. "It just helps to know what the circumstances were, you know?"

They were both quiet for a few minutes. After Kalinda had thoroughly examined the wood grain on the table, she glanced back up at Alicia. She looked up just in time to see Alicia wipe her cheek, as if she were crying. Kalinda felt a knife go through her heart at the thought of hurting Alicia this way.

Alicia glanced up at the same time and realized that Kalinda had seen her. She rolled her eyes and gave a light smile, trying to play it off. "I'm married to a schmuck. He's the father of my children and we've shared our lives together, but he's still a schmuck!"

Kalinda tried to share her odd mix of humor and melancholy. "You know, they have this new thing now. It's called divorce."

Alicia nodded with a somewhat sarcastic smile, wiping away another tear before it fell. "It's just not that easy," she said, quickly meeting Kalinda's eyes and the averting them away again. "Ok, well now that that's all out on the table, I'm going to go," she said with a slight chuckle. She stood up quickly and realized how much alcohol she'd had in such a short time. She could feel the effects of it now that she was on her feet.

"Alicia, I don't want. . ." Kalinda started before Alicia cut her off again.

"No, Kalinda, I'm fine, really. This is nothing new. It just is what it is," she said with a shrug. The she offered a slight smile as she said, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Kalinda nodded and Alicia turned to walk away. Kalinda was considering moving up to the bar to continue to drown her messed up self in tequila. Alicia turned back to face her again, laying a hand on the table to steady herself.

"Kalinda, I thought if I blamed you it would make me feel better. I thought if it were entirely your fault, I would somehow figure out how to put my marriage back together again. But I don't feel better and anger hasn't fixed my marriage. You don't deserve that kind of blame, and I'm sorry." One look at Alicia's face told Kalinda that she was sincere, alcohol or no alcohol.

"No, Alicia, I'm the one that's sorry," Kalinda argued

"Ok then," Alicia smiled again, still with tears glistening in her eyes. "We're both pretty sorry!" They shared a quick laugh at her double meaning and then Alicia said, "Good night Kalinda," and walked away in search of a cab.