So... Some new characters are being introduced in this chapter and I'm a little unsure about how I feel about this chapter...
The entire day, Alicia was in a panic. Katie was coming to visit and she hadn't seen her since… well she hadn't had a real conversation with her since Danni was born and Katie was only seventeen then. She had seen her at some of Danni's birthday parties when she was younger but other. Still, Katie was gorgeous. She was definitely where Danni got her curls from, and probably her high society taste in handbags. Though her kids were acting civil now (which she could probably thank Danni for) she wasn't sure how long living in such close quarters could go on.
She had been searching for a place, but money was tight already on her junior associate's pay. Will was being a patient saint and Danni was doing everything she could to keep her mother sane, but the fact of the matter was, she needed to get everything out in the open.
"Will and I are seeing each other," Alicia spit out as she sat on Will's coffee table across from Zach and Grace.
Much to her surprise, neither of them reacted. Alicia tossed a glance at Danni who gave nothing away. "I know this is a lot to take in at once, with your dad and me, and the current living arrangements and all-"
"You're happy, right?" Zach asked. He had been surprisingly kind over the last couple days. He was still obviously frustrated, but he seemed to be working through it. He wasn't much into sports, but he would join Danni and Will on the couch to watch the game and did some of his homework in the kitchen instead of being trapped in his room.
Alicia blinked at him. That shouldn't be a difficult question. Was she happy? No, not particularly. She had too much going on to just be happy. After all, is anyone really, truly happy? If there were really, truly happy people in this world, she would like to meet them. Actually no, she takes that back, they would probably just annoy her with their overly happiness.
"With Will, I mean," Zach added, staring at her mother like she was crazy. Obviously she had way too much on her mind at the current moment to even appear sane.
"He makes me happy, yes," Alicia replied carefully.
"And Dad?" Grace asked softly, testing her words. She was the tenderhearted one out of the group. Sometimes things needed to be told to her gently.
"Dad and I both love you very much, but things just weren't working out anymore," Alicia replied. It was enough of the truth. She really didn't need to go into how Peter was a lying cheater and a corrupt politician, or the fact that they couldn't keep pretending that the way he treated her or Danni was okay.
Then she looked at all of her children, her eyes lingering on her oldest daughter for just a moment longer. "But none of you are to blame and it has nothing to do with any of you. Your dad loves you and I won't keep you from him."
"What about the campaign?" Zach asked.
"That's your father's business, not ours," Alicia replied calmly.
There was the sound of the door opening and all four heads turned to see a woman, tall and thin, walk in. It was definitely Katie. She had only gotten more beautiful in time, and she looked as gorgeous as ever in her winter dress with black tights and a long coat. Her eyes were as bright blue as Will's were dark brown and they lit up the moment they landed on Danni.
"Well, hey there pumpkin!" Katie did not hesitate for a second before grabbing her niece and pulling her into a tight hug. "You just keep getting prettier."
He words sounded tired and now that Alicia could get a good look at her face, Katie looked tired.
"Aunt Katie, this is my sister Grace and my brother Zach," Danni introduced with a big smile and no hesitation at all.
By the look on her sibling's faces, they were once again in awe in how little they actually knew about this side of her sister's life. It was like she was everyone's favorite niece or had some superstar pseudo relative that was much too happy to claim her in their wealth. Their life before wasn't exactly modest, but Danni's life was definitely more glamorous.
Katie stepped away from Danni to size up Zach first. "Definitely a strong young man," she said as though he told her everything just by the way he looked. "Smart, protective, and handsome." She tapped his chin with a smirk. "I like you, you should stick around."
Alicia bit her lip to hide the humor at Zach's bewildered expression. It was becoming clear that Katie's habit of marching to her own drummer hadn't changed a bit. When she looked at Grace her expression lit up her face. "You are just a darling!"
Grace looked slightly alarmed when the near stranger pulled her into a hug that about knocked the wind out of her.
"Hello, Katie," Alicia said warmly, already standing up to hug the woman like an old friend. "You've grown up."
"If you want to call it that," Will mumbled from the door, dropping a bag to the floor and hosting a small child higher on his hip. Danni was at his side in an instant, claiming the toddler.
"Rue!" Danni said happily snuggling the baby. "You've gotten so big!"
The toddler grinned and hugged Danni's neck. "I missed wu," Rue told her cousin, looking at her and laying her tiny hands on Danni's cheeks. One hand moved to Danni's mouth and Danni pretended to munch on it.
Alicia felt a warmth wash over her as she watched. "She just turned two," Katie told Alicia as she pulled her into a hug like an old friend. "You look great, Miss Georgetown."
A blush appeared on Alicia's cheeks from the old nickname. She hadn't heard that term since she graduated. It reminded her that she finally ended up where everyone though she would the day people found out about Danni. She was finally where she wanted to be back in those days. As she relaxed into the hug, Alicia realized there was a brittle feeling about her. Like if she hugged her too tight she may break.
Before she could think too much about it, Katie released her and looked around the apartment. "You weren't kidding about the close living quarters. I'm starting to be thankful that I got a hotel."
Will rolled his eyes good naturedly at his sister before awkwardly clapping his hands together. "I really don't mean to drop you off and go but Diane's been up my ass about the current… um… situation." He looked at Alicia and noticed she too was exhausted from trying to find a middle ground. "I promised her I would meet with her tonight."
Danni looked alarmed as she turned around and looked at him. "Are you coming to dinner with us?"
He let out a sigh and shrugged. "As of right now, I don't know," he said honestly.
"But Travis was coming to dinner," she said quickly.
Both Will and Alicia looked at their daughter in shock who blushed a little. "He sorta asked, and I didn't want to mention it… yet."
Katie let out a small laugh as Alicia shook her head. "And when were you going to mention it?"
"When we were getting ready for dinner," she replied honestly. "I really didn't want to be harped on about it. Plus, it seemed like a good night; Katie would make sure you don't embarrass me too much."
Will ran his hand over his face. Okay, sometimes it sucked to have daughter that was a little too damn smart. "Okay, then Diane is coming to dinner too. All we need is Owen it's basically the entire extended family," Will muttered dryly. "I'll rent a room at Le Gourmet."
"It's already five o'clock," Alicia reminded him mentally running through the contents of his kitchen on what she could make in a short time that would measure up to her daughter's boyfriend and her boss.
"It's okay, Lulu will take care of it," Danni said with a wave of her hand.
Okay, obviously, Alicia really needed to get used to this other life. Peter had friends to this for him, he didn't personally know the restaurant workers and he rarely treated them to such opportunities. Grace looked mildly excited while Zach was unable to hide his own curiosity. Katie put her arm around Danni's shoulders and smiled.
"Please tell me whoever Travis is, he's cute and your dad will hate him," Katie whispered as Rue slid out of Danni's arms and walked curiously up to Alicia.
Alicia had always loved children, but as she looked down at Rue tugging lightly on her skirt she was surprised by how much she looked like a young Danni. Same curly hair, big brown eyes, but her skin was darker. She had her mother's full lips even at a young age and seemed a little less social than Danni was at her age.
"Hi," she said softly as Alicia kneeled down to her level.
"Hi," Alicia repeated with a smile, pushing some of the curls out of her face. Katie's face lit up.
"She doesn't normally speak to new people," Katie told her, obviously impressed.
Rue looked at Alicia gently questioning. "Danni's momma?"
Alicia nodded and the girl seemed to take that as enough information to wrap her arms around her neck and make it obvious she wanted to be held. Katie shoulders relaxed as her daughter rested against Alicia. Whatever the reason, she seemed happy to see her daughter accept Alicia. After a moment, she looked back at Danni.
"Can I borrow your bed for a couple hours, kiddo? It's been a long day," Katie asked looking every bit as tired as she sounded. "Alicia?" The older woman looked over at her. "Will you watch Rue for a little while? I'm afraid I'm just not used to traveling with a toddler."
There was a weak laugh and Alicia couldn't say no. The child had already taken to her and it was a little too nice to have a small child in her arms again. She hated that her hormones started working as Grace leaned in to look at Rue too.
"Sure. She acts like she may fall asleep too," Alicia replied pulling back to get a look at the little girl's face.
"No, no!" Rue said shaking her head against Alicia's shoulder, apparently it was too heavy to lift. "No sweepy…" she mumbled.
"Oh, okay," Alicia said offering a smile to Katie as she numbly dragged her feet toward Danni's bedroom. Something didn't seem right and Alicia couldn't quite put her finger on it. She may have not known Katie all that well, but what she remembered of her was an overly energetic girl who couldn't be held down.
Will leaned closer to Alicia, resting his hand on her lower back and looking at his niece. He cared very much about Rue and there was just something about Alicia holding a little girl that made him move protectively closer. He almost kissed her cheek, but he knew the other kids were not comfortable with their affections yet.
Danni wouldn't mind, but Grace would probably blush while Zach would avert his eyes. Danni had suggested them to be supportive, reminding them how much their mother had sacrificed over the last year and she honestly seemed happy now that she had Will.
Katie actually slept right up until Danni got ready for dinner and she even had to wake her up. Katie was sluggish and seemed a little on edge. She even asked if Danni could get Rue ready for dinner.
As they arrived at the restaurant, Diane was already waiting for them at the hostess stand along with a young man. Immediately Will and Alicia exchanged looks as Danni smiled at him. He didn't look like a teenage boy, he looked like a young man. A little too old for their little girl.
Diane even raised an eyebrow as Danni moved next to the boy and smiled almost pointedly at her parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Travis. Travis, Alicia Florrick and Will Gardner."
Without hesitation, Travis stepped up and offered his hand to Will first. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Gardner, Mrs. Florrick."
"You're… older than I thought you would be," Will stated bluntly as he shook his hand.
Danni gawked at him. "Dad!"
But Travis just smiled. "I'm twenty, sir."
"And my daughter is seventeen." Danni could see her father pulling the overprotective dad card and she was inwardly begging him to put it back in his pocket. "It's consider statutory-"
"Dad!" Danni cried covering her face with her hands as her face turned red with embarrassment. Even Alicia sent him warning look as Diane tried to hide how funny she found it all. Little did he know, he was gaining points with Zach and Grace.
They hadn't been around a father figure in nearly a year and it was reassuring to see someone protective over one of them. Even it was embarrassing Danni, it was still oddly reassuring. Katie on the other hand came to Danni's aid.
"I'm Katie," she said quickly. "And I'm sure you've heard about Zach and Grace."
"And I'm Diane," the older woman stepped up, also willing to save the poor girls dignity before her father tossed her into the well.
"Oh God, please just stop. We should just eat," Danni groaned grabbing Travis's arms and flashing the hostess a weak smile. "Reservations for Gardner."
Travis laughed good-naturedly as Danni nearly dragged him toward the room they would be having dinner in. Travis put his hand on Danni's arm calming her and kissing her cheek in a way that made her blush.
Alicia watched. Danni was very private. She compartmentalized her life, much in the same way Alicia did. That's why it was no surprise to her when Danni put a little more space between her and her boyfriend. She proved herself very much her mother's daughter. Though she had no serious boyfriends when she was Danni's age, she didn't like showing affection to Peter when they were dating, in front of his mother or her parents. She was… proper.
For some reason she had a feeling that her daughter wouldn't quite take that as a compliment.
As soon as they all entered the room, the group seemed to split up. Danni and Travis talking in one corner while Will and Diane talked in another. Katie nudged Alicia lightly, offering her a smile.
"He's cute," she commented nodding at Travis who was obviously trying to convince Danni that everything was fine. "He seems to really care about her."
"She's young for that," Alicia replied with a bit of a sigh. Danni was young for that look. It was concerning that Travis seemed so obviously in love with her. There was nothing wrong with the boy, in fact he seemed like a polite young man.
"She's a teenager. Love happens," Katie said almost nonchalantly.
Diane scoffed at Will. "Love happens? You realize that you currently have the ex-States Attorney's wife is living in your apartment with her kids. One of those kids just happens to be yours." She took a deep breath. "Look, she's a great lawyer, but when I okayed you bringing her on it was because you said you had a good relationship. It was healthy and distant."
Will let out a breath as he looked over at Alicia talking with her sister. He loved her. He couldn't help it. What they were doing finally felt right even if it wasn't ideal timing. "She's proved herself and Cary-"
"Cary loses his job because Alicia is sleeping with her boss?" Diane challenged being sure to keep her voice low.
"And if we weren't together would you be willing to lay off your favorite niece's mother?" Will challenged. "We both know Alicia was never actually in competition. Cary fought well, but Alicia's still a hell of a lawyer and she deserves to be a part of our team."
Diane thought over his words. Of course he was right. He proved his case. He would, he was a damn good lawyer. "We have to do some damage control. This could blow up in our faces." She then pointed at Will and looked over at Alicia. "She better be worth it."
Will smiled. "They all are."
"They all are," Danni said with seriousness. "They're all crazy. I swear. I'm the only sane one in this room. Please ignore everything my father said, says, thinks, almost thinks… And my mother! Listen, she's a saint. I love her. But she gets very mother bear-"
Travis shushed her and grinned at her. "Dan, families are crazy. You've experienced my crazy. I can handle yours."
She relaxed a little and gave him a weak smile. "You are way too good for me."
He laughed and put his arm around her waist as he led her to the table. Travis was way too good. They had been seeing each other for over six months and he had dealt with her distance and making time on her schedule. He was great. If she was honest with herself, she loved him. The fact was she didn't want to be that honest.
"So, Travis," Will began shortly after their food had arrived. "Are you in school?"
The boy nodded. "Yes. I'm a chemical engineer major."
"And his father is a doctor and his mother is a republican," Danni said quickly, looking pointedly at her dad.
"Dan, it's okay," Travis told her softly, noticing how she tensed at his questioning. "I'm not afraid of interrogation."
"You should be, they're lawyers," Danni muttered, making almost everyone at the table smirk.
Will wanted to do his part to intimidate his daughter's boyfriend but Alicia was keeping him in line and Zach seemed to be talking to him about computers and videogames. The rest of the table was rooting for him and Will needed to jump on the bandwagon.
Katie didn't seem to have much of an appetite while Rue munched on bread. She tapped Alicia's hand. "Can you look after her for just a moment, I need to run to the restroom."
Alicia nodded, noticing the lack of color in Katie's features. "Would you like me to come with you?"
"No-no," Katie said quickly already pushing her chair back. "Just… Rue, okay?"
Alicia nodded, but was quickly putting together that something was wrong, very wrong, with Will's baby sister.
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