A/N: Happy quarantining, my dudes. Thank you for your reviews and reading, it honestly makes me more motivated to actually get chapters done. Have a listen to this wonderful song from the show, Dogs Got a Bone by The Beta Band - it makes my heart hurt and I cannot explain why.
YouTube - watch?v=NuuZ-1Nb-fI
Spotify - track/5BSowbsLE5aFla0Gykgfm8
Chapter 24: Dogs Got a Bone
Alicia stirs from her sleep. After a stretch, she rolls over and relaxes into the warm pillow again. It's the first time in a week or so that she hasn't woken up feeling dreadful, so that's a good sign. She thought by now that she wouldn't still be so hung up on all these issues. Her self-esteem, her relationship with Will, her fertility, or her lack thereof. She knows she's not a spring chicken anymore, but she still feels this anxiety, like she's defective and can't give Will what he wants. She would usually talk to Ruby about all this, but she's not around anymore. Alicia knows that even with her in London she's only a Skype call away, but she doesn't want to burden her. Ruby would already have her plate full with moving back and sorting out a job. The last thing she would need is Alicia and her ridiculous menopause crisis. Because that's all this is, menopause.
These worries float around in her head, like there's nothing to keep Will from growing bored and unsatisfied with Alicia and going off to somebody else. She stares over at the empty side of the bed.
What would Ruby say if she were here? What has she recommended in similar circumstances?
Ah yes. The three questions.
Is it a thought or fact?
Well, she supposed it's a thought that she's defective. Many people can't have kids.
Is it helpful?
No, her anxiety about this could potentially be harmful to their relationship. So really, it's the opposite of helpful.
What can I do about it?
Alicia is stumped on that one. Adopt? Surrogate? But what about Zach and Grace? What if Will doesn't even want more kids? They haven't talked any more about it since their trip. That's what she should do. Talk to him.
She can practically hear Ruby mocking her. "Congratulations, you've figured it out! Before we panic that he'll leave us for not being able to have kids, let's see if he even WANTS them! Or at least make sure he doesn't despise the very idea of children!"
Then, she hears footsteps approaching the door. Will enters carrying a whole tray of breakfast - pancakes, orange juice. She gazes up at him in shock. Stupid Alicia, always worrying before there's anything to even worry about. He smiles proudly and places the tray on her lap.
"My birthday isn't until next month," she comments with a giggle.
"I know, just thought you'd like to start your weekend off the right way," he says.
Alicia looks between Will and the food. She carefully picks it up, places it on the bedside table.
Will looks at her curiously, before she grabs him by his t-shirt. He goes easily, falling onto the bed on his back before Alicia instantly straddles him and claims his lips. Once she's given them up to press kisses to his jaw and then lift his shirt off, Will grins. "I've got to make you breakfast more often," Will comments. "Feels like it's my birthday now."
Will and Alicia have the house to themselves for the morning, so they spend it rolling around in bed together for as long as they damn well please, thank you very much. After a late breakfast courtesy of the one thing Will can cook well, pancakes, he whisks Alicia off to a surprise location. She has way too much fun imagining where he could possibly be taking her. She only gets more curious now that they've picked Grace up from her friends place. Well that takes out anything too romantic from the equation. Maybe something more wholesome and light?
Any of those fantasies are tossed out of the car window as soon as they arrive.
Her blood pressure instantly rises when she sees the building they've pulled up to, the sign on the front.
Adoption Centre.
Will and Grace are looking at her with expectant smiles. Alicia stammers. "What... Will? What are we doing here?" She asks lowly. "What are we doing here... with Grace?" She hisses. "You don't think maybe we should've discussed this first?!"
"We knew what you'd say," Will shakes his head with a smile. "But Grace and I both think we should get one. I know Zach is off at college now so he won't be able to h-"
"Get one?!" Alicia cries. She blows a breath out and rests her head on the dashboard. "I'm- I think I'm having an out-of-body experience..."
"Hey, hey... it's alright, we don't have to. But Alicia, it's just a pet."
She freezes. Sits back up. Looks over at Will. "A pet?" She asks. That's when she sees it.
The huge logo of a dog's paw next to the sign.
"You guys want a pet." Alicia exclaims, followed immediately by cackles of laughter.
"Yes, what did you think we- oh, oh my..." Will stammers. "You thought we were at an adoption centre... for babies. Human babies." This only causes Alicia to cackle even more.
"Mom, please can we get a dog?" Grace begs from the backseat.
Alicia looks to Will for some back-up, before remembering that he was the one who drove them here.
"Honey, dogs are so much work," she tries to reason. "Will, what is going on? You suddenly want a dog to look after?"
He goes to explain, opening his mouth, but decides against it as he looks back at Grace. "Come out here, we'll go for a walk."
Alicia sighs. "Gladly. After that fiasco I need some damn air."
Will is still chuckling to himself as he takes her hand and they walk towards the building. Alicia tries to slow them down. "Ruby said that you might react like this."
"Like what?" This time, it's Will giving her a look that needs no verbal caption. Alicia sighs. "What has Ruby got to do with this?"
"She suggested that we..."
"That we what, get a pet? Because I can't have a child with you, she thinks we should replace that image with a dog instead?"
"It's not because you can't have children. It's because you're upset about it."
"Will, really. I'm fine."
"Yeah, well you're gonna have to do a better job convincing me of that."
After a long pause, she mumbles. "I clearly didn't convince Ruby, either."
"No."
"Well, I am fine. It's not me- I can certainly survive without another child. But you..."
"This is about me?" Will asks. "Alicia. You have two great kids and we both have demanding careers. I know I'm not their Dad - I don't think I've even earned the title of father figure. But watching them, being with you while they grow up - even having a small role in your family. It's enough, Alicia. You and I, we're enough."
Alicia nearly buckles under the weight of words like that - in a good way, now that she knows he'll catch her. It doesn't stop her from lightening the conversation, however.
"We're enough... but only with a dog?" She questions dubiously. Will smiles.
"Mom!" Grace calls, climbing out of the car. "So are we getting one?"
"No," Alicia insists at lightning speed. After looking between Will and her daughter, she turns to the building. "We're... we're going inside. That's all we're doing."
Grace and Will share a not-so-secret grin with each other. Alicia would be more irked if she wasn't so pleased that they're getting along. It's also okay because they won't be getting their way at the end of this. There's no way they are walking out of here with an animal.
That's what she tells herself, and she honestly believes it. She's doing fine seeing all the dogs in the shelter as they walk through. There's so much barking, but she has no sudden urge to adopt one. That is until Maisey is brought out. Maisey the cuddly, cream-colored, curly-haired, whoodle. Alicia had never even heard of such a dog breed before, but this dog is anything but shy, trotting over and brushing against her legs.
"She likes you," Grace says.
"She can probably smell food on me or something," Alicia dismisses. The dog doesn't help her case by simply brushing against her legs some more, rather than sniffing.
Grace looks between her and Will, who simply raises his eyebrows expectantly.
Alicia lets out an exasperated sigh. "Where would we keep it?"
"Her," Grace corrects.
"Fine! Her, then, where would we keep her?"
"Our apartment allows pets now," Grace says.
"What?" Alicia questions her daughter "How do you know?"
"I may have helped her figure that one out..." Will admits with a grimace.
Alicia death stares him. She feels completely ganged up on. By Grace, by Will.
By Maisey.
"No," Alicia says. "No," she repeats, looking right at the canine. Maisey starts to whine as Alicia begins to walk away.
Unbelievable! She turns back to see Will staring at her. She can't take much more his puppy eyes. Of Grace's puppy eyes. Of Maisey's puppy eyes.
"I will not be the only one cleaning up after her-" Alicia begins firmly. Before she can even finish speaking, Grace squeals and wraps her in a hug. How on earth did she get roped into this?
"Happens all the time," The volunteer that's with them claims smugly.
Alicia sighs and turns over in bed to face Will's sleeping figure. In her shuffling, Will reaches out to put an arm around her torso. She smiles at his half-conscious gesture and moves closer to him, so that her head is pressed to his chest. She looks up after a few moments. Her nose brushes against the skin of his neck. She decides to press some light kisses on the area, trailing down to as much of his chest that is exposed by his t shirt.
Will stirs some more, taking in a deep breath. Before they can get any further, she hears gentle pattering and then feels Maisey jumping on to the bed.
"Hi!" Alicia coos, as she lies back and Maisey starts sniffing at her neck. She tries a lick or two but Alicia manages to pull her in to cuddle instead.
Will watches the scene shaking his head. "I've officially been replaced," he laments in his husky morning voice.
Alicia giggles. "Well, you still have a fighting chance. Your breath does smell significantly better than hers."
"Oh, does it? Even in the morning?" He asks, leaning over with a grin. Kissing Will, however; proves to be quite difficult with a jealous dog breaking them up and making Alicia laugh uncontrollably.
Later, she messages a picture of Maisey to Ruby.
Thank you, is all that the caption reads.
