A/N: Sorry for not updating – work became very busy then it was the holidays. It is only a short chapter, but more to come soon. This is just a little filler for now.

Whatever It Is (Zac Brown Band)

Chicago, December 2009

The cold weather and occasional snowfalls meant it was coming to the end of the year, the end of Alicia's first few months at Stern Lockhart Gardner. It was that crazy time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the world seemed to go mad. Will was not a big fan of the holidays. He enjoyed Thanksgiving – that was his idea of a holiday: he loved to relax in front of the football. Christmas was not his friend. He felt obligated to visit his sisters even though he would much rather stay home, drink beer and maybe even do a little work. He hated the fact that Angela always worked the holidays, but understood her reason – she was one of the few staff without family, so didn't need the vacation time. He thought of when they'd spent time around the holidays together and smiled to himself. Millennium Eve in Baltimore ranked up there with the pool party in law school. He chuckled then looked out of his office window, feeling a cold shiver. He hated the snow.

He picked up his Blackberry and spun it round in his fingers. Walking across his office, he let his mind drift back to his newest junior associate. He laid down on his couch and tapped the cell against his chin.

Will was conflicted. He wanted to tell Alicia how he really felt about her, but he was her boss and she was married. Married. It was a role Alicia took seriously and a role that meant there was a line between them that wouldn't, or shouldn't, be crossed.

He wondered if he should buy her a Christmas gift. It was not something he would normally do, but she was his friend. They had known each other since law school and he wanted to make her happy. Perhaps he also wanted to throw his hat into the ring with a romantic gesture. He was good at that. He was good with women. But he knew it was probably a step too far with Alicia, at least at the moment. She was married. She was with Peter. She was a good wife, even if Peter wasn't a good husband.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Why was everything so complicated now? Five months ago life was simple. He searched for a familiar number in his cell and hit 'call.'

"Sorry darling, didn't catch that, was opening a beer, what?" Angela said as she struggled to hold on to her phone, juggling the now open bottle and loose crown cap.

"K met with Frank last night," Will offered. When Angela didn't respond he added, "About the case, she was asking questions about Henry Baxter."

"Henry," she paused, "how is Henry?"

"Not sure, he could be in some trouble, we're trying to figure it out," Will sighed, tossing a baseball in the air and catching it in one hand.

"Oh," she paused, "do I want to know?"

"Probably not. Alicia thinks there is something behind a sentence he gave one of her clients in juvenile court, trying to drag Henry into a racism suit, it," he paused, lost in his words, "it's not that, Henry isn't racist – she's gone off on a mission and won't listen to reason, she won't listen to me," he added, a bit exasperated.

"What does Diane think?"

"She told her to look into it. She thinks it's prima facie based on the evidence, which I can see, but it can't be that simple. Nothing ever is."

"Tread carefully, with both Alicia and Diane. If there is something to find, it will come out. Just be prepared not to like it."

"Yeah. Anyway lady, what's going on with you and Frank?" Will asked, hoping to change the subject and find out a little more about his friend's long-distance romance.

Angela sat down on her couch, put her head against the back of it and groaned, sucking air in across her teeth, "Dunno, haven't seen him for a while. I don't know how long it will last; it is so hard being in different places, especially with our schedules. I guess I'll see him when I'm visiting in the new year. To be honest Will, I can't be bothered at the moment."

He chuckled, "I get it Ange. Timing. Bad timing. Always our problem."

"Amen to that," she said, taking a sip of her beer.

"But don't give up too easily, he wakes you up, makes you smile. Not a lot of men have managed to do that, excluding my charming self," he chuckled and she could sense the twinkly look in his eyes.

Angela laughed and a broad grin covered her face, "So full of yourself, Hotshot!"

"All in the name," he replied, a sense of fun in his voice.

"Have to see what happens. I do miss him, but right now I could just do with some meaningless sex," she paused, "good sex."

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am," he mocked before adding, "that's something I miss." Angela laughed before taking a drink of her beer. "Me too."

Will smiled to himself and thought of the times he had got all hot and heavy with his friend and how he would very much like to do that to Alicia Florrick.

"What about the holidays? Is Prof. Dave making the trip across the pond?"

"Yeah," she replied, "his term finishes early so he's coming on the 22nd and staying a week then he's going to celebrate the New Year with friends in Chicago. Maybe with Diane and some of their circle? He doesn't go back to Cambridge until after I've been home in January."

"OK," he said thoughtfully, "so apart from hundreds of screaming patients you'll be alone on New Year?" He asked inquisitively with a small smile crossing his face. He realised that in the time they had been talking, it had got dark in his office as others had departed for home and security had turned off all major lights.

Angela chuckled, "Yeah, you know me so well!"

"Wanna friend?"

"Is that a come-on or an honest enquiry Mr. Gardner?"

"It's an honest... come-on."

They both laughed quietly, each lying on their respective couch, almost mirror images of each other.

"Hon, should I buy Alicia a gift?"

…..

Alicia sat at her dining table. She was surrounded by boxes of Christmas cards, envelopes, postage stamps and had a glass of her favourite red within arm's length. She was later than usual writing out her cards, having put off the inevitable chore until it was absolutely necessary.

Jackie had complained that she hadn't posted cards and that people would talk; Jackie was more interested in being respectable and seen to be keeping up with, or competing with the Jones' than in how Alicia really felt about signing a card with Peter's name.

There were people she had once shared coffee, laughs and her life in Highland Park with, but who were now strangers. Others that filled places on the list were acquaintances, people from the State's Attorney's Office who had worked with Peter, colleagues and clients from the office and Will. Will Gardner. The one that got away. The one that walked back into her life through an elevator door. She closed her eyes and a smile crossed her lips. She wondered what to write in a card to Will. What was appropriate given their working relationship? But their friendship surely superseded the partner-associate connection?

She gave a small sigh and picked up her pen in her left hand, tapping it from side to side against the table. Reaching out with her free hand, she took a mouthful of wine. Laying down her glass she picked up a card and began to write.