A/N; Thank you all so much for the reviews and feedback on this. I appreciate it so much. This chapter is a bit of a filler chapter to help steer the story in the direction I'm going to take it, but I hope you'll still enjoy reading. Happy Valentine's Day a tad bit early!

Two weeks, Will thought to himself, as he made his way downstairs in the middle of the night. Two weeks since he'd been with her. It felt like a year. And four more weeks until they would see each other again. Four weeks that already felt like an eternity. He should be used to this – the waiting. Their relationship had always been a game of waiting. But this was different. This time she'd chosen him. She wanted to be with him and there wasn't anything preventing them from being together. Well nothing but three-thousand miles, her government job, and the fact that he'd lived under a new identity for nine years. He heaved a deep sigh. "Nothing but all that," he whispered, to himself as he reached into the cupboard for some pain medication.

Their parting in Seattle had been difficult, hard on both of them. The emotional bonding, and the sheer undeniable pleasure of their physical connection had been like a drug. Something they couldn't get enough of. Knowing it would be weeks before they would see each other again had been hard to swallow

They stood together outside her terminal at the airport. "I'm going to miss you," he said, his arms wrapped around her waist. Their bodies touching.

She swallowed hard the lump in her throat. "I'm going to miss you too. Will, I'm sorry it has to be this way. The burner phones, no email, no facetime…no calling when we want just to say hi…"

He pressed his lips hard and passionate to hers. He didn't know if he could handle the exchange of any more words. He pulled away and she sighed looking down at the sidewalk beneath their feet. "I'm sorry too, Alicia. This is how it has to be right now."

She dared to glance back up at him as he brushed back her dark locks behind her ear. "It is," she agreed, forcing herself to put on a brave face. "I don't want to let go."

He smiled. "Me either. On the count of three we pull apart and go our separate ways." She nodded in agreement.

"One," he said, and she gave him a quick kiss. "Two," she did it again letting the kiss linger a little longer. "Three," he stepped back.

She took in a deep breath, grabbing hold of her carryon and turned walking in the opposite direction. He couldn't see her face, but he knew tears had sprung from her eyes as she reached her free hand to her cheek. –

They had spoken late that night. He'd told her to call when she got home so he'd know she'd made it safely. They made plans to talk a few nights later. She had been right. Not that he didn't already know. One of the most difficult things right now was not being able to talk, send, or respond to a message whenever they wanted. He was already tired of it, and they'd only been doing it for three months.

After washing down the medication he moved to the den and sat on the sofa, burner phone in hand. He'd send her a message. Tell her he was thinking of her. She'd respond the next time she turned her phone on, which could quite possibly not be for a day or two. He sent the message then sat back closing his eyes.

Only a minute later the phone buzzed in his hand.

I was just getting ready to send you a message to tell you to call me tonight. His screen read.

He was unwilling to wait the seventeen hours to hear her voice. He quickly dialed her number.

"It's good to hear your voice," he said.

"It's good to hear yours. It's two in the morning there. Can't sleep?"

"No," he admitted, trying to find a comfortable position that wouldn't irritate his sore shoulder.

She waited for some sort of explanation but got none. "I was just heading out for a run," she said, lacing up her shoes. "It's been…a long few weeks at work."

"Don't let me keep you from your run," he said, his heart sinking a bit.

"You won't. I'll run, we'll talk. I've grown accustomed to it. I can't get people to leave me alone lately. Not even at five in the morning. There's always someone needing something. And I wanted to talk to you anyway."

He shifted on the sofa to lay down. "Okay, you run. I'll lay here comfortably and imagine you in those tight-fitting running clothes,"

She chuckled. "I'll try not to imagine myself laying there with you, getting some more sleep." She headed out the front door and began a slow jog to warm up.

"What did you want to talk me about?" he asked.

"Our case," she said.

"Our case?"

"Yes, you've been helping me with it. It's ours. I haven't been able to find anything else linking the two cases yet, but I managed to follow the money trail a bit further. As far as I can tell the shell companies are all owned by individuals who don't exist. I can't dig further without the help of the FBI. But what if there really is a mole, and that person works for the FBI?"

After discussing the case with him when they were together, she decided she'd look into it further before discussing it with anyone in D.C. But she'd done as much work as she could on her own.

"Is there someone you can trust?"

"Yes, Finn, but I don't know that I want to get him involved in this. I'm going to talk to the AG today. I trust her. Her circle of close acquaintances in D.C. is larger than mine. I'm sure she'll have some suggestions."

"That's a good plan."

"Yeah," she said, with much less enthusiasm.

"You sound hesitant,"

"I'm sure it's just stress. The work load and all."

In all honesty she sounded completely exhausted. "Talk to the AG. Get some more eyes on the case. As for the stress…delegate some of those cases to other attorneys. I know you. You're trying to do it all on your own. But Leesh, you have all the power now. It's good to be stressed. You do some of your best work under pressure. But I'm going to be damn angry if Finn calls me one day and tells me you collapsed in court from some life threatening virus that you left untreated because you tried to save the world all on your own."

She couldn't help but laugh. "You worry too much."

"I have a vested interest in your well-being Ms. Cavanaugh."

"And I in yours. That's really why you're awake in the middle of the night isn't it? You still haven't gone to see a doctor about that shoulder, have you?"

He sighed. He couldn't hide anything from her. "No. It'll be fine," he protested. "The shoulder pain flares up occasionally. A repercussion from the damage done by the bullets nine years ago and hitting too many balls at the cages last weekend."

At the mention of the damage from the bullet she took in some extra air remembering her discovery of his scar that first night they'd made love to each other.

"You told me the pain usually went away after a day or two. It's been over a week, Will. Go see a doctor."

"I'm going to have to get used to someone telling me what to do, aren't I?" he said, half joking.

"Either that, or you can view it as a friendly request from me that you don't lose permanent mobility in that arm. I know what things that arm, particularly that hand, can do. I would miss it," she said, with a hint of seduction.

"So, you're saying you'd dump me if I couldn't…use that hand?"

"Of course not. It would be your loss," she said, playfully.

"My loss?"

"Yes," she responded, as seriously as she could without laughing.

"You know what I think you really need to decrease your stress?"

"What's that?"

"My hands on your hips. My lips trailing kisses down your neck. My,"

"Okay, stop." She was out of breath. And the last thing she needed right now, two miles from home, was for him to drive her crazy with desire just by talking to her. "You're right. I would love nothing more than to go home, take a warm shower and spend the rest of the morning with you in my bed. Unfortunately, that's not on my calendar today."

The thought of her showering, spending the morning in bed together, made his whole body long for her. "Maybe you should call me tonight. After work. Put something on your calendar." Her heavy breathing stopped abruptly. He wished he could see the look in her eyes at this very moment.

She slowed to a walking pace. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Call me tonight and find out. It doesn't even have to be late. Chase won't be home. He and his friend are going to baseball camp for the next five days."

"Okay, but…are we too old to be doing things like that?" she asked, with a hint of hesitancy.

"No. I don't think you ever get too old for that." he assured her.

She quickened her pace again turning for home. She needed to shower for more than one reason now.

A few minutes later they ended the call. Now he'd really be unable to sleep. And how on earth would he be able to concentrate on work all day long thinking about her and what he'd say to her later to make her come apart into a million pieces of pure pleasure? He shifted sending a wave of agonizing pain through his shoulder and down his arm. But it didn't come close to wiping the huge grin off his face.

/

A few days later she and Elizabeth, the Attorney General, held a meeting with the directors of the FBI, and ATF agencies. It was decided they would dig deeper into Alicia's two cases. The idea that the shell companies were funding not only the sex trafficking, but possibly drug and weapons smuggling into the country was a concern for everyone. Since Alicia had presented the idea of a possible mole among one of the agencies, caution would be taken by all departments in putting only a few, but very necessary people on the case. Those people were to only report to her and their respective agency directors.

Having others on this case would ease some of her stress related to it and allow her to focus on some of her other work. Returning from her meeting, she stopped just outside her office to ask her assistant if she had any messages.

"No, Mam, but…" the woman hesitated.

Alicia had a good relationship with her assistant, Angie. She'd been at Alicia's side since her move to New York. When Alicia had been offered her position in D.C. she'd insisted Angie continue on as her assistant.

Alicia smiled, and gave Angie her full attention. "But what?"

"Are you seeing someone again?" she asked, discretely. She and Alicia were close enough that Angie knew things had ended with James. The two women did occasionally go out for drinks together.

"Why are you asking?" Alicia looked around the open reception area to make sure there weren't any prying ears or eyes.

Angie stood. "Because," she stepped the few feet to Alicia's office and opened the door. Alicia stepped into the room, and immediately understood why Angie was asking.

Angie continued as they moved into the room. "I've never seen such a beautiful arrangement. Not in person anyway. Anyone who would send a bouquet like that…I guess I just assumed it had to be from someone you were dating. But maybe it's just a thank you from a client. The AG gets arrangements from clients all the time, but not like that…" her voice trailed off as Alicia made her way to the flowers sitting on the table in the middle of her office.

They were beautiful. Immediately she knew they were from Will. The striking arrangement in a tall glass vase filled with pale yellow tulips, lavender orchids, light pink calla lilies, and white roses set among some green foliage, was a mix of all the flowers she'd admired while they were in Seattle. The sight of it sent a rush of flutters through her body, momentarily rendering her speechless. She reached her hand to gently touch some of the delicate pedals, as she leaned over to take in the sweet scent that was quickly filling her office.

Angie stepped closer to her. "So… Do you know who they're from? There's no card which led me to believe that you would."

Alicia sighed happily, a gentle smile on her lips. "Yes, I know who they're from," she said, quietly. "A friend."

"I need to get myself that kind of friend," the younger woman stated. She didn't push further knowing Alicia would give her more details when she was ready and turned to go back to her desk.

"Angie," Alicia called after her. "If anyone asks, I arranged for the flowers. I wanted to replace the fake ones." Angie nodded, understanding this was to be kept discrete. There was a slim chance any of the staff would ask, but just in case, Alicia wanted to keep the narrative under her control.

She sat on the sofa in front of the flowers for the next few minutes just staring at them. It was a wonderful surprise. Her thoughts turned to Will and his thoughtfulness. It brightened her day, which had probably been his intent. Even after their phone conversation, two nights ago, she knew he could tell she was still feeling very stressed. She just wished she could thank him in person. For a few minutes the thought of him being so far away made her sad. The unknown path to their future together was something she tried to not dwell on. It was easier that way.

That night she called him. With Chase gone for a few days, he told her he'd keep his phone with him and on at night. When he answered he asked if he could call her back in an hour. He was stuck at work late working on a multi-million-dollar athletic endorsement contract that he needed to finalize before the signing the next day.

She was settled on her couch, wine glass in hand, when he called.

"Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful!" she said.

"You're welcome. I'm glad they got there in one piece."

"They did. Even after going through an extensive security search," she mused.

"I thought you could use a little surprise after talking to you the other night. Hopefully you didn't mind me sending them to your office. I realized I don't have your home address."

"It was a wonderful surprise. I didn't mind getting them at work. I spend more time there than home lately. Maybe if you're lucky I'll give you my address someday," she smirked.

"Maybe?"

"Yes, you have to earn the privilege," she continued, teasingly.

"How does one earn the privilege? I thought after the other night I would have earned more than a few measly points towards privileges." He had her there. He could tell from the long pause that ensued.

At the mere mention of the other night her whole body tingled. "You definitely…earned points the other night."

Neither one said anything for a few moments. As much as she enjoyed the other night over the phone, it was not anywhere near the same as having him with her in person. And while it had been adventurous, and fun, she didn't want phone sex to become a regular thing.

"How was work? You're closing a deal tomorrow?" Best to change the subject she thought.

"Yeah, we're signing a young rookie basketball player. He was just drafted by the Trailblazers. He's supposedly the next wonder athlete."

They talked about work for a while. He did seem to enjoy the sports aspect of his job. And the following week he was going to help a local firm on some jury consulting. She told him about her meeting with the department heads earlier in the day, and gave him some more details regarding the case.

Eventually the conversation began to die down and they fell into comfortable silence. She didn't want to end the call. It was nice simply knowing he was on the other end of the line.

"I should probably let you go," he said, a few minutes later.

"Yeah, I should probably get to bed. You'll call Sunday?" Sunday nights had become their regularly scheduled time to talk. Any other time they got during the weeks was a just a bonus.

"I wouldn't miss it."

They hung up and she leaned back into the couch. Ending their calls the past few weeks had been awkward. The natural thing to say to each other would be, I love you, but neither one had voiced those words since they were first reunited three months ago. Now that she thought about it she wasn't certain why. She loved him. She knew he loved her. It was almost like they were afraid to say it to each other now.

/

Three weeks later she was in Portland to spend the Fourth of July holiday with the kids. Grace had even flown in from Chicago. Alicia was thoroughly enjoying the time spent with both of them and her grandson in the same city. What she hadn't and wouldn't tell the kids was that she planned on staying in Portland a day longer than she'd told them, so she could spend time with Will.

The weather was gorgeous on the evening of the Fourth. The small shaded yard that Zach and Allison had was perfect for a summer barbeque. After eating their evening meal, they continued to sit outside and talk while Alex, who was almost one now, crawled around on the grass playing with his toys.

"Grace, are you dating anyone?" Allison asked. Alicia and Zach both exchanged a look. Allison was the only one of the three of them who could get away with such a blunt question. Grace liked to keep her dating life to herself. When Grace answered with a blunt and honest, "Yes, I am", she had Zach and Alicia's full attention.

"His name is Ben. He works at the firm. We've been seeing each other for about four months now."

"Four months, and you didn't tell me?" Alicia said, taking a sip of the drink in her hand.

"I didn't want to tell anyone unless things got more serious."

"And is it serious?" Alicia pushed.

Grace flushed a bit, looking down at her hands. "Yeah, I think it might be." There was caution in her tone. Alicia picked up on it right away.

Of her two children Grace had been the one to admit to her two years ago that she was afraid of getting into a serious relationship with anyone. She didn't want to end up like her parents. She dated, but she always seemed to question the guys' motives and commitment. Alicia told her more than once that she didn't need to be in any hurry to find someone to marry, or even be in a serious relationship with. Grace knew this was all true. She was just waiting for the right guy to come along. Right now, that person might be Ben. Alicia was actually thrilled to hear she'd found someone she thought she could trust even if they weren't together six months from now.

"That's wonderful, sweetie. Tell us about him," Alicia encouraged.

Later that night, after the fireworks, Grace and Alicia sat on the back porch alone talking. Sometimes Alicia missed living close to the kids for this exact reason. Spending time with them, talking to them in person. Ironic, she thought, just like her current relationship with Will.

"Mom, how do you know if you're in love? How do you know if all those feelings you have for someone are real, and won't just go away in a few years? How do you know if you've met the person you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with?"

Alicia stared out into the darkness pondering these questions. There was no easy answer. She wasn't even certain if there was a wrong or right answer to any of them.

"Do you think you're in love with Ben?"

Grace continued. "That's the thing. I like being with him. I like the way he looks at me. I like feeling all the butterflies in my stomach when he's around. Yes, I think I might love him. But how do I know if he's the one?"

"Is your relationship with Ben that serious?"

"No, not yet. I don't think so anyway. But if it gets more serious, how would I know if he's the one I should choose? You thought you loved Dad. That he loved you, and look what happened."

Alicia took in a deep breath of air. "Grace, love is complicated. Relationships are complicated. You know that. You've dated enough over the years. I can't guarantee you won't end up falling in and out of love several times during your life. I can't tell you what love is supposed to be. It's different for every person, and that's the beauty of it. I loved your father. I was very happy with him for several years."

"But you loved Will too."

She inhaled at the mention of Will. It was no secret. The kids had seen her, been there after Will died, and later on when she'd started therapy after the divorce. They both knew, Grace probably more than Zach, how she'd felt about Will and some of why his death had affected her so deeply.

"I know you don't regret marrying Dad. We've talked about it before. But why did you choose him over Will?"

Alicia turned her head and looked her daughter in the eye. Grace wondered if she should have left Will out of the discussion. "You don't have to say. I just…I like Ben, but…"

"No, honey, it's fine. Will and I could never make it work in college. We were friends and we couldn't get past that. Your father came in and swept me off my feet. He seemed like, felt like, the best match for me. The right choice. Will was the best friend a girl could ever ask for. Fun, caring, knew how to cheer me up. Could turn a stressful situation into a moment of humor in a matter of seconds. Your father on the other hand was the kind of man you marry. Still caring, still fun, but more mature. When I thought about a future with your father I imagined stability, a large house, kids. Exactly what we had. When I imagined a future with Will…it was different."

Grace nodded. "So, you chose Dad…for stability?" It was more a statement than a question.

Alicia cleared her throat and smiled. "Yes, and the life I thought I wanted. A life I loved until…things changed. Then I changed. I had too. Grace, I don't have all the answers. But I can tell you this. Follow your heart. Do what feels right to you. Do what makes you happy, and things will work out. Even if it takes a long time. Falling in love is a process. I don't want you to worry about your relationships turning into what happened to your father and me. You aren't us. You're wondering if you're in love with Ben? You already said you like spending time with him. How do you feel when he walks into the room? Are you missing him right now? Does spending a few days apart feel like an eternity, or is it a relief?" She put her arm around her pulling her closer. "You'll figure it out. Just be honest with him. It's better to lay all of it out on the table, be honest, and risk getting hurt, than to hide your feelings for him."

Grace snuggled closer. A fresh breeze blew all around them. "Mom, if you'd had another chance with Will, if he hadn't died, would you have taken it? Been honest, risked getting hurt?"

Alicia's gaze moved back to the darkened sky, thoughts of Will, and how only a few mere miles separated them in that moment. "Yes, Grace. I would have taken the risk."

"You still love him? Even after all these years?"

She tilted her head to place a soft kiss to Graces head. "Yes. I still do." They sat in silence for a few long moments.

"Are you dating anyone right now?" Grace asked.

"I am," Alicia admitted.

Grace pulled away and turned to look at Alicia. "I wondered. You've seemed happy the past few times I talked to you on the phone. So, who is he?"

"A friend. We haven't been dating very long. I'll tell you more about him if things get serious, okay?"

Grace nodded. "Okay, I'm glad you're happy Mom."

"I'm glad you are too, sweetheart."

That night she lay awake in bed. Everything between she and Will was so undefined. Her conversation with Grace only seemed to magnify the situation. Technically they were dating. She hadn't lied to Grace. But in so many ways this felt like their affair, having to keep everything secret. Not being completely honest with the people they loved. And what would happen with her job when a new president was elected? Would she just fall off the grid, move here to be with Will? What about her career? A career she had worked so hard for. What about her kids, his child, their families and friends? What was the plan? There wasn't one. Not one that existed more than a few weeks into the future. She felt stuck and unsettled. How would they ever make this work?