A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've had the story planned out in my mind for months. I just have little to no time to write it out.

This chapter jumps ahead a few months of where the last chapter left off. It's short, but I don't when I'll next have the time, so I thought a short update sooner would be better than a longer update who-knows-when.

Spring 2010

Will and Alicia were sitting together in her living room, notes and files spread out over the sofa and coffee table. Their respective firms were on a case together representing co-plaintiffs. It had been a strategic decision that by combining the two law suits into one, they had a stronger case and better chance of winning. It was only natural that Diane and Canning would decide to put Will and Alicia on the case together, since they were the only two lawyers from the opposing firms that had any connection with each other that would allow for them to be able to work together as an effective team.

When they didn't have cases against each other, they rarely spoke except for the occasional passing each other in the halls of the courthouse or by chance one had a deposition at the other's firm for a case represented by a different lawyer. Between work, the kids, and Peter's appeal, Alicia didn't really have much free time for socializing. And Will, he crammed in the billable hours as always. He had his Wednesday night basketball games and had dated a bit, but his heart hadn't been in that.

They had each greatly appreciated the opportunity to work together as opposed to being on opposite sides, a situation they hadn't been in since law school.

Between their different schedules and the fact they worked out of different firms, it had been hard to get together during regular work hours to compare notes and go over strategy. Late night meetings, which would have been the norm weren't an option for Alicia, so that's how they found themselves the Sunday before they were to go to court sitting in her living room preparing for Monday. They had both put in significant hours over the previous weeks and had had many phone calls and email exchanges, but that hadn't quite been sufficient or the same as actually sitting together.

"Is your mom dating that guy?"

"What?"

Grace and her friend Julia were in her room, supposedly studying for a U.S. history test that was the next day, but spending more time listening to music, surfing social media, and gossiping than studying.

Grace shifted her attention from the Facebook post she was reading to her friend who had just returned from the kitchen, having passed by Will and Alicia on her way back to Grace's room.

"Is you mom dating that guy out there?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"They just seem like more than just coworkers."

"They're not really coworkers. They work at different firms, but they went to law school together and were friends back then."

"Well, I think you're mom looked like she was flirting with him."

Grace started to look uncomfortable.

"What's wrong? You don't like the guy? He seems nice, and he's pretty good looking for a guy his age."

"No - I mean, he is a nice guy, from the little I know him, but my mom's married."

"Oh, right." Julia felt like such an idiot. "How could I forget. I'm really sorry, Grace. He's never here; I never met him; and I'm so used to seeing just your mom and my mom being a single mother that I think I just sort of think of your mom as being single."

The girls were both quiet for the next few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Was it weird for you watching your mom date men other than your father?"

"Well, I never knew my dad, and as long as I could remember, my mother was dating one guy or another. I guess it just seemed normal to me."

"Sometimes I'm so surprised that my mom didn't divorce my dad after everything he did, and at the same time, it's really weird for me to think about my parents not being together."

"You think if your dad wins his appeal, everything will just go back to how it was?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if I would want that. I guess I just wish my dad hadn't messed up."

"Do you think your mom wants a divorce?"

"I think she wants to not think about it. As long as my dad's in jail, she can just put it off. At least that's what my Uncle Owen thinks."

"Your mom reminds me a lot of my mom, but I guess, in some ways, they're so different. My mom wouldn't think twice about breaking things off with a guy that cheated." Julia also thought a bit more. "Then again, she also probably wouldn't have ever gotten married either. Commitment wasn't really her thing."

Late afternoon/evening

Grace wanders over to where Will and Alicia are working. "Hey Mom, are you two ready for court yet?"

"Not yet." She looks up from her papers to smile at Grace. "Are you two ready for your history test?"

Grace rolls her eyes as she smiles back at her mother, "Not yet."

"You are studying in there, aren't you?" Alicia's feeling twinges of guilt that her being busy with her own work keeps her too busy to keep up and properly supervise/be available for her kids like she used to before…

"Of course we are."

"Good." She smiles once more at Grace and turns her head back to her papers.

"Can Julia stay for dinner?"

Alicia looks at her watch. "Wow, I didn't realize the time." She shifts her focus to Grace. "Sure, as long as it's all right with her uncle."

"Thanks, Mom." Grace disappeared back into her room.

"Will, I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to take a break."

In terms of where they were holding in their prep, it wasn't a great time for a break, but Will didn't want her to feel any guilt about taking care of her kids. He started to collect his things. "You can call later, whenever's good for you, to finish." He figured he'd just spend the rest of the night working at home and when she was available, he'd catch her up on what he'd done.

"You don't have to go. You can stay for dinner."

"I don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding. I have a lasagna in the freezer, so it really won't take long to make dinner. Then we can get back to work."

It had been several months since the movie night that Will had joined in on. After his initial nervousness that night, he had felt very comfortable around Alicia's kids, and that's how it was again tonight. Plus, with Julia there, Will wasn't the only non-family member; although, from the looks of things, Julia had seemingly become like a part of the family. Zack voiced his appreciation for Will staying for dinner as that meant that he wouldn't, once again, be the only male at a table full of women. Julia was around a lot, which he didn't mind per se, but Zack was usually significantly out numbered. He liked having another male around.

Knowing Will and Alicia still had a lot of prep work left to do, the girls offered to clean up after dinner.

"Did you two finish studying?"

They looked at each other and then back at Alicia a bit sheepishly. "No."

"You two study."

Zack didn't have any school work for the evening, so he volunteered to do the dishes.

As Will and Alicia sat back down among their piles of notes.

"You have really great kids."

She took a moment to reflect and appreciate, smiling as she replied, "I do, don't I?"

Will couldn't help but smile back at her, her smile being infectious. Sometimes when he crossed paths with her, she seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, but just hanging around the dinner table with her kids, she was relaxed and seemingly happy. He liked her like this. Their eyes had found one another's, and for a moment, they were both lost in each other's gaze an awkwardness starting to seep through the air. He was painfully aware of the fact that she was married and her kids were just in the other room. He knew if not for those two factors, there would be little keeping him from closing the distance between them.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking or feeling what she was right at this moment, but it was hard to not when staring into his eyes. How many times had they been in this situation? How many times had she had to find the self-restraint to refrain from kissing him? But they were friends, and she'd always been afraid to cross that line with him. She had longed for him in law school, but her head had always told her it was a bad idea. Will Gardner wasn't a man of commitment, and she had known that if she'd given in to her feelings, it would have only resulted in hurt. If it wasn't for her pulse racing at the moment, she might have laughed at the irony of her fears about Will and her ultimate reality with Peter.

Thanks for reading.