Immediately he took her into his arms and held her close; the musky scent of his cologne filling her senses. "Hey, come on, don't cry." He said softly as he rubbed her back. "I'm here. Everything's okay."
She clung to him tighter, as though he would vanish if she were to let go and cried into his suede jacket that was unbuttoned to reveal his denim shirt. "I love you, Will. I love you so much!"
She could feel his breath catch in his throat at her words. "Thank you, Alicia. I-I care about you too."
She started to sway, and when she felt herself losing her balance, he was right there, holding her, keeping her steady. "I don't… I don't feel so good." She mumbled into his shoulder. "M-my head hurts… and my stomach…"
"All right. Come on. I'll take you home."
"NO! I can't go home!" She yelled. "Zach and Grace…. They'll hate me!"
"Alicia, no…"
"But they already do hate me! I-I'm a terrible mother, Will!"
"No, you're a great mom."
She drew back in disbelief. "But you've never even met them, so how can you know?"
"I just do. Now come on. Let's get you somewhere safe. We'll get your car later. I think it will be okay here."
He grabbed her coat and slipped it around her shoulders. She watched in a daze as he opened his wallet and handed the bartender some money. "For her tab; and for the woman who was with her." He explained to the bartender. "Thanks for taking such good care of her. They were celebrating. Are you sure the other woman left safely?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. The guy looked okay. Seemed friendly enough. I try to keep an eye out on what goes on around here. I have to. Liability, you know."
Will laughed. "I certainly do. Well, don't spend all of that in one place, Okay?"
The bartender smiled, counting the stack of bills that Will had just handed him. "Believe me, I won't." Alicia was dumbfounded. She didn't even know the bartender was capable of smiling. But she didn't have time to ponder the idea before she found herself leading against Will. His arm was around her and together they walked out of Bar 57. As they made their way to the sidewalk, she had no idea where they were going, but at that moment she really didn't care.