It had been a good evening, even though it had gotten off to a late start. Alicia was putting the last of the dinner dishes into the dishwasher. Peter and Grace were sat at the bar filling her in on their road trip from the previous week. Grace seemed just as enthusiastic about the campaign as Peter was. It was still very early in the race to make any real predictions, but Peter had managed to keep up with his popular counterparts in recent poles. With more exposure in the recent weeks, and Peter's well thought out stances on burning issues around the country, the Florrick name was gaining more popularity and support every day.

"What do you think it will be like to live in the White house?" Grace enthusiastically grinned at her parents.

"Don't get a head of yourself Grace! It's a long road to the White House!" Peter chuckled and glanced at Alicia who pursed her lips into a frown.

"Do you think it's like living in a hotel? You can order what ever food you want, when you want. You can sleep in beds with plush duvets and a million pillows every night? I bet Mom will have someone to do her hair and make-up everyday!" She looked at Alicia in envy.

Alicia smiled at her. "That may all sound fun Grace, but there are down sides to having a full time staff at your disposal. I for one am not looking forward to the lack of privacy, and the inability to go where I want, whenever I want before clearing it with the secret service. If your father becomes President it will not be like a luxurious family vacation. He'll be busy nearly every hour of the day. And you'll be away at college anyway." She didn't mean to sound so negative. She knew how much Peter wanted this.

"I know, but it will be like a vacation when Zach and I come home to visit! Don't you think it would be fun to be the "First Lady" of the country? It's like being queen!"

Alicia sighed and smiled placing the dishtowel on the counter. "It would be fun to be able to push an agenda that included issues I'm concerned about. But Grace, I'd have to quit working." She raised a brow. "And I like working!"

"But mom, think of all the opportunities you'll have to wear fancy dresses!"

Alicia rolled her eyes. "You know as well as anyone, how much I dislike all the fancy parties. It's fun to get dressed up sometimes, but after about thirty minutes of talking with people who are at an event just to get you to support their cause… it gets old."

"So you don't want to be First Lady?" Peter asked, with raised brow. Of course he knew the answer, but he wanted to see what she'd say in front of Grace.

"I didn't say that. There are up-sides to having so much power, even if it's just as the President's wife. And I think you would make an excellent President. I'm just trying to keep our daughters expectations in check." The truth was it made her tired even thinking about all that would be expected of her. She could handle it with grace and ease, but she didn't know that she wanted to. There was the other side of the issue as well. She would have to continue to pretend she and Peter were happily married in front of the entire world. They loved each other, but it wasn't an enduring love. When it came right down to it, she really didn't want to be stuck in a marriage and place that wouldn't make her happy, with no way out for at least four years.

Peter wanted to continue the conversation but his plans changed when Chris, a member of his security detail, entered the room.

"This just came for you sir." Chris handed Peter a large envelope, then turned and left the room.

"See," Alicia said, with a hint of sarcasm. "No privacy!"

Grace wanted Alicia to look at new outfit she had. They both headed in the direction of Grace's room. Alicia turned back to Peter as he opened the envelope. "We can continue this discussion later if you want."

Peter only nodded as he removed the contents from the envelope, a note and some scandalous photos of Alicia. A frown formed on his lips as he read the note.

I know what your wife did. Tell the FBI to stop looking for me.

I'm not after her, and she isn't in any danger, even though they think she is. But if you don't put a stop to the investigation I'll send these photos to the press, ruining your marriage and your campaign.

Peter shuffled quickly through the few photos in shock. He hurriedly placed them back in the envelope and called Eli.

A few minutes later Alicia re-entered the kitchen rubbing her neck. "I can't believe how grown up she is!" He didn't acknowledge her having been lost in thought. "Peter what's wrong?" She moved and stood a foot in front of him.

He looked over to her and smiled. "Nothings wrong. I need to go meet with Eli. Something's come up."

She looked at her watch. "It's a bit late for a meeting."

"I know, but we need to do this tonight. I'll be late. Don't wait up. You should get some rest for tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm heading to bed now. I'm not feeling so well all of a sudden. And as for tomorrow, I'm not worried. It will be like a day in court, only the questions will be directed at me."

He was a little concerned. She had turned quite pale in the fifteen minutes she'd been in Grace's room. "Do you need anything before I go? You're not looking to well."

"No, I probably just need some sleep." She headed in the direction of her bedroom.

"Okay, I'll check in on you when I get back, before I go to bed."

Alicia just waved her hand as she rounded the corner to her bedroom and closed the door.

Peter and Eli sat in the dim light of the Governor's office. The photos had been quickly returned to the envelope after Eli had a glance at them. He was just as appalled as Peter had been, if not more. This was certainly a discussion he never wanted to have with Peter.

"Do you think she did have an affair with Pierson?" Eli asked, reading through the note again.

Peter sat back and rubbed his chin. "Well, it's not me with her in those photos. Pierson had dark brown hair, and you catch a glimpse of that in one photo. But I don't think she did. Everyone's asked her about an affair, and she's denied it whole-heartedly. There's no reason for her to keep something like that a secret at this point."

"There is only one head shot of Alicia. The photos could have doctored. How do we know the rest are even her?"

"We don't know. It looks like her, but there are probably a thousand other women out there with bodies as… well defined." The awkwardness of discussing something so personal with Eli was hard to get past. "There's no way to know for sure unless we ask her."

Eli looked backed up to him. "You probably shouldn't do that."

"I don't want to, especially if it isn't her. This will kill her."

"At least the photos aren't… too explicit." Eli looked away sighing.

"At least she's still covered up in all the appropriate places," Peter added.

"Yes" This was not how Eli had ever wanted to spend an evening with Peter, discussing partially nude photos of Alicia with another man.

"I had a thought. Alicia and I never… took photos." Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "But maybe she and Will…"

"Will does have dark brown hair, but he certainly wouldn't leak these!"

"No, but Pierson, or his accomplice, obviously found them, and are now using them as blackmail"

"Found them, or was the one who took them. Remember Peter they may not be Alicia," Eli cautioned. "You should call Will."

Peter put his face in his hands. "Yeah, that will be a fun conversation."

"But if he denies it, at least we'll know it's not the two of them."

In this moment Peter felt a slight sense of guilt. He had to admit that it was hard seeing intimate photos of his wife with another man. It was one thing to know about it, but to see it was different. He'd always been so angry at Will for sleeping with Alicia, his wife, that he'd never looked at it from her perspective. He suddenly realized just how difficult it must have been for Alicia to see her husbands prostitute all over the news media. He pulled out his phone and dialed Will.

They met at a bar, and sat in a tucked away booth. Will scanned the note, and accompanying photos. He turned them face down on the table, and sat back taking sip of his drink.

Peter had been polite, but if the conversation with Eli had been awkward, this was definitely the definition of awkward situations.

"Alicia and I never…" Will said, glancing at Peter.

"You're positive?" They may be on the same side now, but there certainly wasn't a mutual sense of trust between the two men.

"Look Peter, I don't know what you Alicia did in bed. But I'm guessing if you ever brought it up you would have gotten the same response I did. Once I proposed it as a joke. It's not my thing, but I wanted to see what she'd say because I figured she would shoot it down immediately." As uncomfortable as this was, Will was done beating around the bush.

"And she did?"

A slight chuckle escaped Wills lips. "She was so appalled I'd even brought it up, she left my apartment!"

"Sounds about right!" Peter sat back taking a sip of his drink. "The problem is, if it wasn't you and Alicia, and it's not me and Alicia, then we have to assume it's Pierson and Alicia."

Will took a drink and removed his suit coat. "It may not even be Alicia, even though there is a… strong resemblance."

Peter nodded in acknowledgement. "The problem I have now is if it gets leaked, the press won't care if it's Alicia or not. How can we be sure without asking her?"

"We can't, and neither one of us wants to be the one to ask her. We give her the benefit of the doubt, and assume it's not." Will sat back, glass in hand.

"But if it is,"

"Then Alicia's holding back on a lot more than her emotions right now." Will didn't think there was any chance that Alicia had slept with Pierson. Not after the discussion he'd had with her the previous week.

"So the best thing to do is to get the FBI to back down?"

"If you do that, how do we know Alicia won't be in any danger? This person says she isn't. That she won't be. But what if it's a rouse to leave her in a more vulnerable position? Can we, in good conscience, leave her exposed to another possible attack?"

"We wouldn't have to tell her." Peter was onto his third drink. Will began to wonder if he was thinking clearly. It was a death sentence to keep things from Alicia, especially of that magnitude. And what did he mean by not telling her? That was ludicrous.

"If you tell the FBI to back away, and don't tell her the reason why, she'll be furious if she finds out."

"It would be a small price to pay in comparison to having her come up missing again."

Will nodded.

"If I don't call the investigation off, and I resign from the campaign, when this gets leaked, maybe it wouldn't spread across the country. It would save her some grief."

"Not enough, and what are you going to give her as your reason for resigning? I saw the pole numbers a few days ago. Don't you think she'll just blame herself for the resignation? She can't handle the guilt right now, even if it's not her fault. She already blames herself for what happened with Pierson."

"She does?" Peter was being reminded of how strained his relationship with Alicia had become, and how little he'd been able to pry out of her.

"Yes" Will took another drink of his scotch.

Peter sighed. "So she's talked to you about it?" He couldn't hide his slight disappointment in this revelation.

"I went to her and insisted she tell me how I was involved."

Peter just nodded his head.

"Peter look…"

"No" Peter put up his hand to stop Will from continuing. "It's all right. I'm the one who asked you to get involved. And I meant it. I had hoped that things would change between Alicia and I after all of this, but they haven't. I'm just glad she's confiding in someone."

"Well I wouldn't say she's confiding in me. I'm the one that went to her and insisted we talk. I get the feeling there is a lot we still don't know about the whole situation. I don't think she would have come to me on her own."

Both men sat in silence thinking about the only thing on either of their minds, Alicia. Will finished his drink. Peter ordered another.

"Peter I need to go. Here's what I think is best for Alicia." Peter looked at him again. "Tell the FBI to back away from the investigation, but continue to keep the heavy security with her. I know she hates it, but there will be less chance of someone harming her if she's protected. That way you can hold onto the campaign, and no one has to tell her about these photos. Maybe the investigation can be re-opened in six months if nothing happens."

Peter sighed and nodded in agreement. Will grabbed his jacket and got ready to leave. "Will"

"Yeah"

"I've asked Eli to look into what a campaign without Alicia would look like." He looked right into Will's eyes. "She doesn't want to be First Lady, and I don't have the heart to force her into something I know will make her miserable."

"Alicia would be a great First Lady."

"Yes, she would. But it's time I stopped trying to decide her future for her."

"So you're going to divorce her?" He was surprised at Peter's candidness. He blamed that on the alcohol. He didn't know whether to be enthusiastic, or worried about how Alicia would handle the news.

"I'm leaning heavily in that direction. But I don't want her to have to deal with a divorce right now. So when things calm down I'll probably propose it as an option for her."

"Peter, I'm sorry."

"No you're not!" Peter scoffed.

"I am" Will said, sincerely.

"The biggest mistake I ever made was cheating on her seven years ago. But I can't go back and fix it now."

Will nodded his head in understanding. "I think she might like to hear that from you."

"No, she's past the point of caring anymore." He took another drink.

"I think she'd still like to hear it. Knowing someone is sorry for hurting you could go a long way." His words weren't only meant for Peter's benefit. He was truly sorry for the way he had treated Alicia. He hoped that when the time was right, and she would finally allow him to apologize, she'd accept. He was hoping for the same in return.

"It's time I did what's best for Alicia. We both need to do what's best for Alicia. Take that however you want." Peter's eyes remained on him as he lifted his glass to his lips again.

Will stood to leave, but turned to face him as one last thought crossed his mind. "Alicia needs stability. Don't throw a wrench in her stability right now."

A small smile crossed Peter's lips. He drummed his fingers on his glass, peering across the bar past Will. "I won't, but I'm not Alicia's stability anymore."

Will nodded. He knew Peter was implying that he was Alicia's stability now. But he certainly didn't feel like it. And he had no idea how she viewed it. If anyone was her stability it was her own self. Somehow he could sense her confidence in her own stability was on shaky ground these days. He stood there another moment pondering the whole discussion the two men had just had.

"Peter, that was… weird earlier."

Peter chuckled. "You mean you and me coming close to discussing Alicia in bed? Yeah!" He lifted his drink to his lips.

"Let's not do that again!" Will slipped his suit coat back on. Peter nodded, Will turned and left.

When Peter entered the quiet apartment, he noticed the light still on in Alicia's room. He knocked quietly and opened the door. She looked miserable in the dim lamp light.

"Did you get everything worked out with Eli?" she questioned, pulling the covers up closer to her chin.

"Yeah, I think so. You okay?"

She shook her head. "I feel miserable. If I have to make one more trip to the bathroom tonight I may just sleep on the floor in there."

He moved and sat on the edge of the bed. "Stomach flu?"

"Probably. Just what I needed tonight." She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Some ginger-ale, and some sleep!"

"I can take care of the ginger-ale. Holler if you need anything later okay?"

"Okay"

He remained there for a few moments looking at her. A deep sadness filled his heart. He knew things could never be the same. But he would miss the small things they used to share, like bringing her ginger-ale when her stomach was upset.

A/N; A big thank you for the reviews of the last chapter! Get prepared, the next few chapters of this are a real roller-coaster of emotions!