Once again, an extremely belated update. It's short, but seemed like a good breaking point, unless it were to be who knows how much longer before updating. To anyone still following, sorry for the gaps in updating. I know it makes it harder to follow when it's so long in between updates. I started this chapter in May, but then life has been really, really busy, but then this week, I felt the need to get this chapter written. I make no promises how long it will be before the next chapter, and I hope you'll still be around to read it.

As always, let me know what you think. :)

The following week. Late Winter 2011.

He walked through the halls of Canning & Associates with purpose in his stride, right past the receptionist, who almost attempted to stop him but realized she probably didn't stand a chance, and straight to Alicia's office, where she was seated at her desk with case folders open busily reading when a folder slammed down on to her desk accompanied by a "What the hell is this?"

She continued with her files, barely acknowledging his presence, which likely only added fuel to his fire, "They're divorce papers." She stated the obvious, which he clearly already knew. She closed one file and went to the file cabinet to return it to its place and retrieve a different folder.

"You really didn't have to come all the way down her. Your lawyer can deal directly with my lawyer." She looked at him as she turned from the filing cabinet, then sat back down at her desk and resumed working.

Realizing he was still there. "If there are any details you want to negotiate, have your lawyer contact my lawyer. Otherwise, you could just sign it, if you haven't already done so, and go."

"Alicia, I thought we had an agreement...the election."

She put down the pen she was holding in her left hand, took off her reading glasses and put both on top of the stack of folders covering her desk and looked at him. "You're doing well in the polls, Peter. I'm sure Eli can spin this to your advantage."

"When we first discussed this, you were more than willing to wait until after the election. What changed? Why now?"

Alicia weighed her response. She was at work, and this was already likely causing speculation among her coworkers. She didn't want to create a scene, and if Peter wanted to do well in the polls, it didn't behove him to make a scene, particularly regarding the divorce, either.

Her response was too slow in coming, so he continued on in the meantime. "This is about Will Gardner isn't it?"

"This again? Really, Peter, you really believe I'm cheating? That's the only possible reason I could possibly want a divorce?" She kept the decibel down, but her tone and body language conveyed she was fuming.

"Or maybe you haven't done anything yet, but after a divorce, you'd have a clear conscious to act on what you've been thinking about every day since the two of you became reacquainted," he hissed.

"Or maybe this has to do with your not being able to keep your pants zipped, ever since we were at Georgetown. The hookers, the office assistants, the assistant state's attorneys, the investigators, and does it even stop there, Peter? What about the cleaning lady, the babysitters? I'm sure there some over the years that were over 18, or does that even matter to you?

"I'm done Peter. I'm done with the lies and the secrets. I'm done being Chicago's biggest fool. How many of your female colleagues that I've met over the years at banquets, at galas, at the office, had you screwed? And I got to play the part of the dimwit housewife, who hadn't a clue.

"Well, guess what Peter, now, I have a clue, and it's over. And if you want to continue to do well in the polls, I suggest you keep this amicable, and not just for your image, but for the sake of our children. You can sign it as is, or if there's anything in there you don't agree with, your lawyer can speak to my lawyer to negotiate any points you feel necessary to change."

In the meantime, Louis Canning was across the hall and noticed Peter in Alicia's office. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but their body language conveyed this wasn't the standard, husband drops by to wish his wife good morning. He liked Alicia. He didn't particularly like Peter. He didn't like Peter for a lot of reasons. One, Louis Canning couldn't understand how a man could cheat on his wife. Not that Louis didn't cheat, in the general sense of the word. There were so many varied ways to find loopholes. He didn't do anything that wasn't legal, even if it wasn't always nice. But Peter, he bent the rules a little too far, stretched the lines a little too thin, and he crossed what Louis Canning considered an unpassable red line when cheated on his wife.

He admired Alicia, and maybe even had a crush to a certain extent. But there were lines one just doesn't cross. He loved his wife. He loved his kids. He couldn't ever imagine causing them the shame and embarrassment, let alone public shame and embarrassment, Peter had caused his family. And now that he'd met Alicia and gotten to know her, as far as a professional relationship, his general dislike for Peter became more personal.

Knock, knock. "Alicia - oh, hi, Mr. Florrick."

'Mr. Canning."

The tension was palpable. Louis wasn't sure if Alicia needed an out, but he decided to provide her with one nonetheless. If they wanted or needed to continue their conversation, they could do it outside of the office.

"Sorry to interrupt. Alicia, I need to meet with you about the Dollings case." It wasn't a total lie. He did have something to discuss with her, but it could have waited until later.

"Sure." Louis walked fully into the room making it clear the meeting would be in Alicia's office.

Peter wasn't finished yet, but Alicia was at work, and Louis was her boss. If this had been Peter's turf, he could have blown off the interruption, but it wasn't. He started to walk out the door "Peter", he turned, "Your forgot this." The divorce papers were held in her outstretched arm. He took a step back and took them from her.

Louis shut the door behind Peter as Alicia walked back around to the other side of her desk. She sat in her chair, while Louis sat in the chair opposite her.

"Everything all right, Alicia?"

"Yeah", she straightened her files, "fine." The-fake-it-for-the-cameras smile made its appearance on her face. She looked for the Dollings folder in the stack on her desk.

Louis didn't want to pry, but he didn't buy her response.

Alicia didn't want to share, but she had a hunch that Louis hadn't really needed to talk to her about the Dollings case right at that moment. Either way, she was glad Peter was gone, there hadn't been too much of a scene, and that she could just get back to work. And more than that, she hoped he'd just sign the papers so that she could move on with her life.

The following week Will had a deposition at Canning's firm. He hadn't seen Alicia since the night of the gala dinner. It wasn't unusual that their paths didn't cross. There were a lot of lawyers and a lot of courthouses in Chicago. Whereas they had been seeing each other almost daily prior to Peter's release, now that he was out, it could easily be weeks at a time in between meetings.

When he got to the conference room, he was surprised to see Alicia.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile.

"Hi," curt, she looked up from her notes and then back down.

He was 10 minutes early, "I've got a depo at 3."

"I know. Brian asked me to fill in for him. He got held up at court."

She continued to review her associate's notes. On the one hand, it seemed natural that having just been asked to step in, she'd be catching up on the case. On the other hand, she seemed more distant towards him than normal. Considering he'd been prepared for Brian as opposing counsel and not Alicia, he decided if she wasn't talkative, it was to his advantage to go over his notes as well.

After the depo, he attempted to initiate conversation, and again felt like he was being rebuffed, and his earlier excuse for her behavior was no longer relevant. She headed back to her office and he to the elevator. He waited, it came, he got in, and then just as the doors were closing, he opened them, got out, and strode over to her office.

She didn't look happy to see him. He wasn't imagining it. He didn't understand it. And he didn't like it.

"Is everything okay?"

She continued to be curt. "Yeah, fine."

He came in the office and closed the door behind him.

She felt like she was living a rerun of last week, but Will was nowhere near as angry as Peter had been.

He was firm, not angry, not begging, just to the point. "No, something is not fine."

She didn't want to be having this conversation. She really wasn't fine, at least where it concerned Will. They worked at different firms, he usually didn't come up to get Julia, so she hadn't needed to specifically avoid him in order to avoid him, and now he was in her office and was unavoidable. She was going to keep it together. They were at the office, and she really, really, really did not want anyone to see how vulnerable she felt, not even Will.

She continued to sit. It was easier to keep her composure.

"You knew." She looked him in the eye without a trace weakness.

His puzzlement was clear on his expression.

"You knew he was cheating, and you never told me."

Realization of what she was talking about began to sink in. "Alicia…

"Don't." She stood, walked around her desk to the side he was on. She wasn't sure how it was that she was keeping it together when she felt like she was shattering into a million pieces. She had practiced over and over how to keep her pain hidden.

"I heard you and Peter at the gala. Over 15 years, Will. For over 15 years, he was screwing around behind my back, and you knew. You knew, and you didn't tell me." She couldn't keep it up any longer. She left her office and headed for the restroom. She could only stay in there but so long and hoped he'd be gone by the time she got back to her office.

She couldn't afford herself the luxury of crying, anyone - well, any of the female staff, could walk in any minute. She shut herself in a stall and took a few minutes to compose herself before returning to her office. He was gone. There was a paper, from the stack of stationary she had on her desk, folded in half with her name on the side facing up. She picked it up and read, "I'm sorry. I never knew if it was true. Back at Georgetown, you seemed so happy with him. I didn't want to ruin that for you. By the time I moved to Chicago and began hearing rumors, I hoped that they weren't true, and honestly didn't know what was the "right" thing to do. It wasn't just the two of you anymore, there was Zack and Grace who would be affected as well. Knowing what we know now, maybe I would have or should have said something. I'm sorry."

He had wanted to say more, but there wasn't really much to say. If she'd overheard him and Peter, then she already heard him say that he never had any proof, just rumors. As much as she's upset he didn't tell her, she wouldn't have necessarily wanted to hear it at the time. There's no going back and no way to know that any alternative would have turned out any better. He hoped that with time, she'd accept that.

Canning decided to keep Alicia on that case, so not long after, she found herself in court opposite Will. It was awkward. It was uncomfortable, but they were both professional.

After several court dates, the judge set some parameters and gave them a week to attempt to work out a settlement.

Friday evening Will went to pick up Julia as usual, well, a little later than usual. It was well after seven by the time he pulled up in front of Alicia's building. Julia didn't answer his text. He tried calling, and the call went straight to voicemail. He could have texted Alicia or Grace, but he decided he'd just go up and knock.

Alicia answers. It's been a few weeks since the gala. She's had a lot of time to think. She's come to the conclusion that she's been overly unfair to Will. He wasn't the one who cheated. She's concluded that she honestly doesn't know how she would have reacted to the news, whether he would have said something at Georgetown or after he moved to Chicago. He hadn't been trying to cover for Peter. He honestly just did what he thought was best. If only she had had more time after the gala before running into him. That day of the depo, she just wasn't ready yet. She hadn't had enough time to sort out her feelings and move past the initial feelings of hurt and betrayal.

"Will"...

"I'm just here to get Julia. Her phone went straight to voicemail."

"They're not here." He looked confused. "They're at Kelly's. Julia said she called you about the birthday sleepover party." After a few seconds, he recalled the rushed conversation from a few hours earlier. He'd been extremely busy at the time and hadn't fully paid attention. She probably could have asked for a million dollars or a sports car, and he would have said yes.
"Yes, she did. Sorry for disturbing you."

He turned towards the elevator. She hated to see him leave. She missed...what they had...whatever it was that they had, she missed it. She missed him.

"Well, now, that you're already here, do you want to come in; we could work on the settlement."

He thought he recognized the friendly tone in her voice that he hadn't heard in weeks. He didn't want to push, but he'd follow her lead.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"I'm sure. You're not imposing."

"I'll go down to my car and get my briefcase."

"You can let yourself in when you come back up."

He came in. She was in the kitchen, large glass of red wine in hand. "Will, I'm sorry about that day in my office."

"Alicia, you don't owe me any apology. If anything, I owe you one."

"No, you don't. I realize it was a very difficult position for you to be in. I honestly, can't even say it was wrong not to tell me. I don't know how I would have reacted, or if it would have changed anything."

He started to say something.

"No, Will, please, don't say anything. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for the way I've treated you recently, and I hope that you'll forgive me."

"I do."

"Good. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

They stood there, facing each other across the island, the tension growing, when Alicia broke the silence. Putting her glass down, she headed for the other room, "So, the settlement."

"Yeah, the settlement." He followed her to the family room, where they began negotiations.

It was around nine o'clock when Alicia realized she hadn't eaten dinner. She'd been debating what to order, pizza or Chinese, when Will had knocked. She was guessing Will hadn't eaten either. "Did you eat dinner before you came here?"

"No. I figured after I got Julia, we'd pick up some sort of take out on the way home."

"You must be starving by now." He was, but he so wrapped up being with her that he hadn't noticed until she mentioned something.

"Yeah, I guess, I am. You?"

"Pizza or Chinese? I've got numbers for both on the fridge."

"Neither. Let's go out."

"We haven't come to an agreement yet on this settlement, and we've only got until Tuesday."

"Alicia, when was the last time you went out? Not to some Bar Association gala or took your kids ice skating. The last time you took off from being a lawyer, took off from being a parent? Grace is at a sleepover, Zach is with Peter, it's Friday night, and I've decided, we're going out."

Admittedly, she hadn't been out, taken a vacation, or done anything for herself since before Peter's scandal broke. It was tempting.

"I've got court all day Monday. When are we going to work on this settlement, or do you really prefer a trial?"

"We'll make time tomorrow or Sunday. I'm sure Grace and Julia will hate that they'll have to spend a few hours together, while we work on this, but they'll just have to suffer through it. Oh, wait a second. When they're busy with their What'sApp and Snapchat and Facebook, they don't even remember their parents exist, so they probably won't even notice if we spent the whole weekend on this."

She suppressed a laugh, but the corners of her mouth turned up as she agreed their teenagers probably were too busy with their respective social lives to care if their parents worked through the entire weekend, and that going out sounded like a good idea.