A/N; Thank you all so much for reading and sharing your thoughts with me! I'm very thankful for the support!

The sun had just sunk below the horizon. The welcoming aroma of fresh cooked vegetables, and spices Will had added to the main course filled the air around them. Things had been lighter between them, less guarded, since their conversation on the beach a few hours prior. Simply agreeing, or acknowledging their feelings towards each other, had broken down a portion of the wall that existed between them.

As he continued preparing their meal he watched her concentrate on her work across the room.

Feeling his eyes on her she turned and looked at him. "I'm almost finished."

"Leesh, it's fine. I was just…remembering," he said, glancing back at the pans in front of him.

She couldn't help but smile at him standing there across the room, sleeves rolled up, spoon in one hand, a dishtowel draped over his shoulder. "Remembering…?" she pushed, gently.

Setting the spoon down he moved to the kitchen island to face her. "All the times it was just you and me studying for finals, working in my office or at one of our apartments."

Nodding slowly, she held his gaze. "We made a good team."

Then why did you leave? he thought to himself. He already knew the answer, or at least he thought he did. But he wondered if they'd ever talk about it. They probably should.

"The best," he responded. "Do you work most weekends?" He turned his attention back to the food.

She chuckled, pen in hand, adjusting her glasses. "Yes, most. Usually half days on Saturday, and a few hours at home on Sunday."

"I don't miss spending my weekends buried in work." He moved from the kitchen to fill up the wine glasses he'd set on the table.

"Don't rub it in," she said, making a few notes on one of the documents.

"I'm not. I remember those days. And I still put in some late nights and weekends."

He went back to the kitchen and carried two plates of food to the table. When she sat down across from him she was pleasantly surprised by the plate filled with almond crusted salmon, rice and fresh steamed vegetables that sat in front of her.

"it looks wonderful," she said, spreading a napkin across her lap.

They talked about her case through the meal. After cleaning up, they decided to go sit outside on the balcony, taking the rest of the bottle of wine with them. It was a cool evening. Cooler than either had expected.

"We can go back inside," Will offered, noticing tiny goosebumps forming on her arms.

"No, I'll grab a blanket. I like the fresh air, and the sound of the ocean."

She returned a few moments later. Sitting next to him she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

"How are Zach and Grace?" he asked. "They must be finished with college by now, or close to it."

That he even thought to ask about her children warmed her heart. Unlike all the times years ago when he'd asked about them, this time she wasn't afraid of answering the question because it might pose some invisible connection between him and her children that she didn't want exposed.

"They're good, great actually. Zach finished school and got married a few years ago. He and his wife live in Portland. And, thanks to them, I became a grandmother seven months ago." He looked surprised, and it made her smile. "I know. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I'm old enough to be called grandma."

He chuckled taking a sip of his drink. "I may need some time to process that. You look far too young to be a grandmother."

She blushed. "That may be, but it's a title I quite enjoy. I can spoil him, spend time with him, and when he gets cranky I can give him back to his parents. I don't miss those kinds of late nights."

He thought about that for a few moments. Even though he had Chase, there was a tiny bit of him that wondered what it would have been like to raise a child from birth. And then another thought crossed his mind.

"They live in Portland? You were visiting them last August when we saw each other at the café?"

"Yes. They'd only lived there two months. I flew out after the baby was born to spend some time with them."

They were both thinking the same thing in that moment. What were the chances of them crossing paths like that? One in a million? One in ten-million? Maybe they really were meant to be together. It didn't seem to matter what had gotten in their way over the past thirty-years. Study sessions that dragged on far too long. Finals, marriage, campaigns, children, even being presumed dead and put into a program where no one was ever supposed to be able to find you. And yet, here they were again after several years of separation sitting right next to each other. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was pure luck. Maybe it wasn't anything more than what had always been there. An invisible force pulling them together unwilling to let go until they got it right.

She told him more about Zach, Allison and the baby. It turned out that Zach's office building was only a few blocks from Will's.

"What's Grace up too?" he asked, propping his stocking feet up on the small outdoor coffee table.

Alicia reached for her glass of wine. "Grace works for Cary and Diane," she said, raising her brow. "She graduated from law school at NYU last spring. Her superiors tell me that her first experience in court a few weeks ago reminded them so much of her mother they weren't convinced I hadn't come to take her place in disguise."

He got quite the chuckle out of her comment. "So, she won?"

"Yes, after she shredded a few witnesses to pieces, and sent Louis Canning scrambling back to his client for a settlement agreement." They both laughed, reminiscing about their days spent fighting Louis Canning.

"Grace couldn't be in better hands with Cary and Diane," he said.

"I know. I didn't know she'd even applied at the firm until after she'd been hired. But it's a relief really knowing she'll learn from some of the best. Cary tells me Diane's taken her under her wing and is having a tough time not showing favoritism towards her among the other first years."

"That sounds like Diane. Do you worry less about them now that they're adults?"

"No. I don't think it's possible once you're a parent. They live their own lives, but you never stop worrying about them."

He nodded in acknowledgement but grew quiet. She sensed immediately something was on his mind. He seemed nervous all of a sudden thumbing his fingers on his glass of liquor.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He eyed her with a sheepish grin. "Nothing's wrong. There's just something I need to tell you." Nervously he set his glass down, drawing in a deep breath of air.

"It sounds serious," she replied, lifting her wine glass to her lips.

"Leesh, I…have a son."

The wine glass pressed hard against her lips, but no liquid came out as her eyes grew wide. She was too stunned to move. He could have told any number of things that had happened to him over the course of the past nine years, but none would have been more shocking than this. Will Gardner was a father?

If it weren't for the crashing of ocean waves in the background he would swear he could hear the wheels spinning around inside her head as his words registered.

Slowly she lowered the glass from her lips, her eyes intent on his. "You're a… You have a… But you said you hadn't been in a serious relationship with… Who's the child's…mother? Does he…live with you?" Where had the oxygen gone? It was nearly impossible to get a coherent sentence out.

Listening, watching her fumble all over her words was absolutely adorable. It was a rare occasion when someone had the ability to render incoherent sentences to spill from Alicia Cavanaugh's mouth. He would have let her continue, but he knew she'd already come to the wrong conclusion about where Chase had come from. He hadn't been that irresponsible, even if he'd had some pretty low moments over the years. Lifting his hand, he pressed a gentle finger to her lips to stop her rambling.

"Listen to me for a minute. It's not what you think. I didn't get drunk one night and end up with a child nine months later."

Relief washed over her every feature, and it almost made him laugh.

"His name is Chase. He'll be thirteen next month. I adopted him five years ago."

She took a moment to try and pull her words together. "He's not yours - yours - then?" She knew it was a ridiculous thing to ask as soon the words came out, but she was still shocked.

He smiled and reached for her hand. "There isn't an ounce of my DNA in him. But other than that, he's mine in every other aspect. I don't know what it's like to raise a kid from birth. But there's no doubt in my mind I'd die before I let anything happen to him."

She could tell from the expression on his face and tone in his voice he meant every word. Some of his comments and behavior over the past day started to make more sense. Buying a home, needing to cook more, were a few. Setting her glass down her gaze moved past him.

"You…adopted a child?" She couldn't help but ask it was such a surprise. She always figured if he ever did have a child it would have been formed from his own DNA.

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

Raising her brow her eyes met his again. "Well…yes." She was only being honest. Pulling her hand out of his grasp she stood and moved to the lean against the railing.

"Alicia," he was surprised at her reaction. His ability to read her had definitely gotten rusty over their years apart. He couldn't tell from the expression on her face what in the world she was thinking. "Does it bother you?"

She spun around to face him. "No, not at all. Will, it's…a surprise. That's all. I think it's wonderful. It just…" Even though it was quite a shock she was in love with the idea that he was a father. Happy that he'd finally gotten his chance. But she understood all too well the complications that having an adolescent child could bring into a relationship when you weren't one of the parents to that child. It hadn't been more than a few hours since they'd talked about trying to have a relationship. This would change the way that came together if they decided it's what they wanted.

"Complicates things," he answered, moving next to the railing a few feet from her.

"Yes."

"Leesh, if anyone can understand the situation it's me. I've gained a whole new perspective on you wanting to protect Zach and Grace when we were together. Even when we weren't. I strongly considered not agreeing to meet with you in order to protect Chase. I don't know if there's still a threat to me out there somewhere. By reconnecting myself to a piece of my past there's a chance I put all three of us in danger. That and Chase are the reasons I told you earlier today we can't rush into anything. It's the reason we both need to take some time to consider what a relationship would really look like. It's also the reason I completely understand now why you didn't want to involve Grace and Zach in something until you knew exactly what that something was."

Her hands gripped the railing. "Yes. But I only made things worse by never talking about it. I ended up hurting you, and them in ways. They knew something was going on when we were together. I thought I was protecting them by keeping them in the dark. But I'm not so certain anymore. At first yes, but it went on for nearly nine months."

"Nine good months if you want my honest opinion. Leesh, it's all in the past. And if we decide to make a go at it, we'll work things out."

"What does he know? What did you tell him about this weekend, and where is he?"

"He doesn't know anything. I have some friends, a couple, they have a son Chase's age. He's staying with them this weekend. They all think I'm at a legal conference for a few days."

Running her hands over her face, she exhaled. "Why does it feel like our very existence with one another always has to involve some sort of deception?" Turning around she rested her elbows on the railing staring out at the moonlit horizon.

He exhaled moving next to her. "I didn't feel like I had any other choice under the circumstances."

"I get it Will. I completely understand."

"How do you feel about it? About me adding a child in the mix?"

The cool breeze blew through her hair causing her to shiver. Meeting his gaze, she brushed at the loose strands of hair in her face. "I haven't had much time to think about it. I'm still digesting it. But," the warm smile that crossed her lips eased his anxiety. "I'm really happy for you. It definitely puts a new twist on things, but it doesn't scare me away. In fact, it's quite intriguing. Tell me about him, and how exactly Chicago's sixteenth most eligible bachelor decided to adopt a child and raise him on his own."

Laughing under his breath at the reference, he grabbed the blanket off the sofa, and wrapped it around her shivering body. "You're sure you don't want to go inside?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Sit with me?" She moved to the sofa, opening the blanket up inviting him to join her. And for a brief moment it felt like they were twenty-two again getting ready to watch a movie on his couch together.

He settled next to her joining his end of the soft blanket to hers. Feeling the warmth of his body immediately warmed her, allowing her to give him her full attention.

"I started working for my company six years ago. They sponsor a baseball league for underprivileged kids every year and they needed a few volunteer coaches. After years of working ten to fourteen-hour days I finally found myself in a situation where I had a lot of free evenings. So, I volunteered. I naively thought I'd be dealing with teenage kids. But they set me up with a group of eight and nine-year old's. I was second guessing my decision before I ever me the kids, but I didn't want to back out for fear that it might give my employer the wrong impression. I actually ended up really enjoying the kids, and coaching. They still listen and want to learn at that age."

"Yes. Sometimes I really miss those early stages of life."

"We'd been holding practices at a park not too far from the middle of the city. This scrawny little brown-haired kid would come and watch every single practice from behind the bleachers. He was always writing stuff down in a notebook he had. At first I thought one of our rival teams had sent him to gather information on my strategy and players."

"One day after practice, I decided to go see what he was up to. As soon as he spotted me heading in his direction he took off. But I caught up to him. He looked pretty scared when I grabbed his arm to stop him. I reassured him he wasn't in trouble. I only wanted to know what he was doing every time we practiced. He wouldn't look at me but said, "I like baseball. I'm drawing pictures of the things you and the other coach tell the players, so I'll remember, and I can practice." Then he called me Sir, and I had to swallow down a laugh because I couldn't possibly be old enough to be referred to as sir."

They both laugh. "Kind of like me getting called mam all the time."

"Yes. Then he apologized and told me he wouldn't do it again. He was pretty surprised when I lead him back to the bleachers and sat down next to him to look over his work."

"He was drawing pictures, not taking notes?"

"Yeah, he was only seven, and it was easier to draw pictures than to try and figure out how spell some of the terms we were using. Although talking to him you would have guessed he was at least three years older."

"He was only seven? Where were his parent's? Why was he at a park all by himself?"

Will's expression changed, it reminded her of the look he'd had on his face after their trial the first time they'd kissed at Lockhart, Gardner. "His mother was an alcoholic and drug addict, and his father left the picture when he was four."

She pulled the blanket more tightly around them. She'd become all too familiar with the state of impoverished children over the years. "So, what did you do?"

"I didn't realize his circumstances that night. We talked for a while. He was a really sharp kid. Which considering how he'd been raised was a miracle. He was too young to be an official member on our team. But after we talked, I took him out onto the field and let him swing the bat a few times, toss the ball back and forth. He was better at it than I expected. He really had been practicing everything I'd been coaching. He's a natural and was determined to play. It was clear he was motivated, so I told him if he got permission from his mother I'd let him help out with the team and practice with us so that in the fall when he started third grade he would be able to play at games."

"And his mother agreed?"

"I wouldn't say agreed. I doubt she ever read the note. For the next few months he practiced with us and came to the games. I grew quite fond of him. He was polite, enthusiastic, I don't know, we seemed to speak the same language at least when it came to baseball. Then one afternoon in the middle of summer we're having practice and a thunderstorm rolls in. It's raining sheets of water, and I cancel the rest of practice. I offered to give Chase a ride home. He was hesitant, told me a half dozen times I don't need to, that he'd walk. He always walked, I thought he lived in the neighborhood behind the park. It turned out he lived over a mile away in one of the worst neighborhoods in Portland. I insisted on walking him into the apartment when we got there. It made me nervous being in the neighborhood, I couldn't imagine anyone thought it was safe for their seven-year-old son to be walking around alone."

He leaned forward clasping his hands in his lap, shaking his head. "We walked into this apartment, and I can't describe to you the awful conditions. That's when I finally start piecing everything together. The place is a mess, all but the little corner in the living room behind the beat-up couch where there's a mattress, a blanket neatly folded at the end, a few of Chase's drawings taped to the wall. The only clean surface in the whole place is the small two drawer night stand with a lamp on top of it next to his mattress. I learned later that practically every single thing that belonged to him was in those two drawers."

"I sensed he was nervous having me there. I asked him where his mother was. He said she was working." He looked Alicia in the eye. "At this point I'm still trying to have some sympathy for the woman. The place is a mess, she leaves him alone at night, but I think she's probably working for minimum wage at a diner somewhere, and it's the best she can do."

"I take it that wasn't the case?" Alicia picked her drink back up.

"No. Chase didn't know what she did. I found out later that she was a prostitute, and not the kind that goes around meeting senators, and company CEO's at high end hotels either. She was rarely around, and when Chase did see her it was in the middle of the day for a few hours after she'd slept the previous night off, and before she went to do it all over again."

Alicia was shocked. "That poor child. Where was family services in all of this?"

"I wondered the same thing. I called them later that night after I took him to get some dinner and a few groceries, so he'd have something to eat the next day if his mother didn't come home with something."

Her hand went to her heart. "I don't understand how anyone can not at least try to provide food for their child."

This had long been one of the sore points in the whole situation for Will, and even thinking about it made him emotional. "I don't think she was hardly ever in a state where she realized the affects her behavior was having on him. He just learned to survive, to adapt to the roller coaster that his life was. He knew he had a severe peanut allergy and had me make sure the food he ordered at the restaurant that night was safe for him to eat because he'd had to use his only epi pen a few months prior when he had a bad reaction at school. His mother hadn't gotten around to replacing it." He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "He keeps two epi pens with him all the time now, because if he even touches something like peanut butter he breaks out in a rash and his throat starts to swell shut. The poor kid was probably always hungry. After he'd been with me for a week, I was going through his backpack on a Friday evening and I found some food. A few apples, a banana some packages of crackers, anything they had served at lunch during the week that wasn't perishable. I asked him about it and he told me he never ate all of his lunch. He always saved some of it in case there wasn't anything else to eat on the weekend."

Alicia's heart ached for both of them. "What did child services do?"

"They showed up two days later and caught his mother on a good day. She wasn't high on the drugs, and she was sober. When they interviewed Chase, he said he was fine, that his mom had bought him some books so he wouldn't be behind when school started, and that she had been to the store to buy some food. They can't legally remove a child from their home unless they're in danger. Being poor isn't a crime."

"So, she did care? She did try?" she asked.

He sighed heavily. "No. She neglected him for the most part. There were good days in there. Chase loved her, despite everything. She was all he had. But he practically had to raise himself. He lied to child services because he didn't know any better. He was afraid of what would happen if he told the truth. His father physically and emotionally abused both he and his mother from the day he was born. Once he was out of the picture his mother used her boyfriends as a threat to keep him in line. She didn't really want to be a mother, but she liked the extra amount in welfare money she got because she had him."

"Which she clearly hardly ever used for him," Alicia commented, in disgust.

"Yes. And despite what child services thought, I was concerned. So, I always took him out to eat after practices and games. We formed a good relationship over the months. He knew he could trust me."

He let out a deep breath of air. "And then things got worse. About mid-September his mother started dating a real piece of work. We held practices on Tuesdays. Games on Saturdays. In the middle of October, Chase called me one Friday night. He was crying so hard I couldn't understand what he was telling me. I managed to figure out he was close to home, so I went over to the apartment."

"When I got there…" he paused grasping onto her hand, so he can get his emotions under control. She scooted a little closer sensing his need for the support.

This was a side of him she'd never seen. Will near tears. She almost felt like an intruder sitting next to him witnessing such an intimate moment. And she would have felt guilty for it if she hadn't known deep down this was the type of thing he would only share with someone he completely trusted.

He meets her gaze, and the anguish he must have gone through was obvious. "Chase has these big bright eyes. You fall in love them the minute you look at him. They're…" he manages a smile, "They're about the same color as yours. Anyway, I got there and…one of his eyes is nearly swollen shut. It's all black and blue, and he's clearly nursing his left arm. A few tears still running down his cheeks he told me his mother left with her boyfriend a few nights ago and hasn't come back. He hasn't been crying because the guy she was dating hit him in the face and broke his arm. He's worried that something's happened to her. It never occurred to him that she'd abandon him."

"She left him? She wasn't coming back? That's awful!"

"We'll never know her reasons for leaving. I called child services on the way to the hospital. They and the police met us there. After Chase is checked out, and his arm is in a cast they were going to take him to an emergency shelter and put him into the foster care system until they could find his mother and sort things out. He was scared to death to go with people he didn't know. So he wraps his good arm around me as tight as he can, won't let go, and started crying again."

Alicia's face brightens. "So, they let you take him home?"

A gentle smile crossed his lips. "No. I asked. They have to vet first time foster care parents before a child is allowed to stay with you. It's a good practice in theory. I almost pulled out my old bag of defense attorney tricks, but decided it was in Chase's best interest to stay on their good side."

She laughed lightly because she could clearly imagine Will putting on his attorney hat in the situation.

"They let me go with him to the temporary shelter. It broke my heart to leave him there. That's when I realized I'd grown pretty attached to him over the past six months. We were both loners needing something to fill the empty space in our lives. Luckily, two days later after I made a few phone calls, one to Finn to see if he could pull any strings, Chase came home with me. We've been together ever since."

"Did they ever find his mother?"

A grim expression filled his features. "The following February I got a call. They found her body in a run-down neighborhood in Chicago. She died from an overdose." It was awful, all of it. And he'd only scratched the surface of the trauma Chase had been through.

"It's a miracle he survived," Alicia said, pondering the whole situation.

"It really is. Six months later I was finally able to adopt him. It took months of therapy to get him through some of the emotional turmoil. And a good tutor to get him caught up at school. I wouldn't do it differently. I love him like he was my own flesh and blood, but it hasn't been easy. It's pretty difficult to erase years of trauma and upheaval. He and I don't always see eye to eye on everything. He's a good kid, but he's also almost a teenager, and growing like a weed. He's probably only an inch shorter than you right now. Quite frankly I'm scared to death for the next few years. I still feel like I know hardly anything about being a father even though I've been one for five years."

"I don't think you ever feel like you know everything when raising a child. No matter their age. It's not easy raising teens. In ways it's nice because they're more independent than they've ever been, but that independence comes with its own set of challenges."

"Maybe you can give me a few pointers? Your kids turned out great."

She laughed under her breath. "Yes, but there were plenty of challenges along the way. Especially when they were teens."

"How did you do it all those years? I know what your work life was like during that time, and I can't imagine trying to wrangle two kids at the same time."

Her features softened. Their hands were still tangled together. "I didn't do it alone. I had Jackie while Peter was in prison. And once he was out no matter the differences or issues that existed between us, he always helped out with the kids."

Her face was suddenly inches from his. "It's a real honorable thing you've done. I bet you're a wonderful father. I always thought you would be," she whispered, resting her head against his. "Will, I'm sorry," she continued in a soft tone.

"Sorry for what?" he asked, reaching his free hand to pull her closer to him.

"For everything. For never allowing you to tell me exactly how you felt. For pushing you away. For making you question my motives, my loyalty, my actions. For making you think I never loved you even though I did. For never putting you first. For never giving you the chance you deserved. For…" A few tears silently fell down her cheeks.

He turned so their foreheads were touching. "Shhh," he whispered, reaching his hand to her cheek. "Leesh, it's okay. I forgave you a long time ago."

"No," she said, reaching her hand to his. "I never understood how deep your feelings were for me until I read through everything you'd written about us during those years. I thought I'd go to my grave with some of the guilt. So just this once don't argue with me. I hurt you over and over again. You were a complete idiot to keep coming back for more. Now that I have the chance I never thought I'd get, know that I'm truly sorry for everything from the very depths of my soul."

"Thank you. I accept your apology. And I'm sorry for being so awful those last few months. I was really hurt."

"You don't need to explain. I ran because I was scared to admit to myself how I really felt. The only way to fight that fear was by trying to hate you," she said.

"That strategy didn't work for either of us."

"It did for a while," she admitted, honestly.

"Yeah, but it was more like a defense mechanism than anything."

Her lips curved upwards. They remained that way foreheads pressed together, fingers tangled, in comfortable silence.

"I want to kiss you now," he admitted. The temperature beneath the blanket was significantly warmer than the outside breeze that swirled around them. "My defenses are down with you so close to me."

"I want the same thing, Will. But I can't live another lie. You were right earlier. We have to do this right."

"I know."

They remained that way, foreheads pressed together, gazing into one another's eyes. Once again realizing the sheer magnitude of being together again.

Not trusting his ability to keep from getting closer to her if they stayed like this, he squeezed her hand and stood up.

"Let's go do something," he said, pulling her up of the sofa after him.

"Like what?" She glanced at her watch noticing the late hour, but with less than twenty-four hours left to spend with him, she wasn't ready to say goodnight.

He looked out at the vast area that surrounded them forming a plan. "Grab your jacket. I have an idea," he said, folding the blanket and heading back into her condo.

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" She followed him inside and went to the bedroom to retrieve her jacket, meeting him again in the entryway.

Reaching his hand out to take hers, a mischievous grin formed on his lips. "Something we did thirty years ago at Georgetown. We'll need a few supplies first." He pulled her out the door and headed for his car.

"That's all you're going to tell me?" she protests, as they near the car.

"I think you'll figure it out once we grab the things we need."