A/N Hello readers! I hope some of you are still our there. I'm sorry for the delay once again in posting. My laptop quit working and that caused some delays in writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review if you have a few minutes and let me know what you think.

Alicia stepped off the elevator at Agos, Lockhart, & Associates. She was in Chicago to help Grace with some of the wedding plans. Grace had to finish up a deposition and then they'd be off to check out a few wedding venues.

She made her way through the halls towards Cary's office stopping a few times to talk with some of her former associates.

She and Cary embraced briefly then she sat in the chair across from his desk. "The office looks good," Alicia observed, taking in the new modern décor of Diane's old office.

Cary smiled. "Yeah, thanks. I'm still getting used to being in here permanently."

Alicia nodded glancing around the space once more. "It was nice of you to keep Diane's name in the firm's title."

"It wouldn't seem right any other way. We would have kept yours but…"

She laughed under her breath. "I know. Government job, breaking all ties to my former firm."

"So, I guess there's no chance I'm going to get you back in December?" he questioned, waving his hand towards hers that sported the ring Will had placed there weeks ago.

She blushed glancing down at the ring. "No. I'm afraid not. I'll be leaving the AG's office in July and starting up a new firm in Portland. From what I've heard, and from the looks of it, you don't need another name partner."

"Oh, I don't know about that. It might be nice to have someone to share the misery with."

She laughed sitting back in her seat some more.

"Congratulations, by the way. I'm really happy for you, Alicia."

"Thanks Cary."

"How have you been?"

She knew from the tone in his voice, and serious look in his eyes, that this was more than just a casual question. He wanted to know how she was recovering after….everything. "I'm…good. There are still bad days. But it helps to have…" She glanced at her left hand again. "Someone to lean on. Someone to help me through."

He nodded in understanding. "I'm glad you've had the support. How is he, anyway? I still can't wrap my head around it."

At the thought of Will her eyes lit up. "I can't either somedays," she replied with a gentle smile. "He's really good. Baseball season started up again. He gets to work in the middle of the sports world. He has a pretty normal work schedule. You should see him. He's a completely different person now."

"I hope to have the chance to see him again. How's your job?"

"It's challenging as always, but I enjoy it. The past few months I've had all kinds of people and organizations contacting me wanting me to take on cases for victims of trafficking. Or to ask for help in pushing legislation through for funding of domestic violence. I don't know. Sometimes people treat me like I'm some kind of hero for surviving ten days of hell, and playing a small part in taking down a few of several trafficking rings. I don't deserve any credit. The women – girls - who've had to live in those awful circumstances for years are the ones who deserve the credit for surviving."

"They do. But they also know you have sway right now where others wouldn't."

"Yes, and that's an upside to my job. I just hope I can keep helping these women once I'm not at the AG's office."

"I'm sure you'll find a way."

"Are you dating anyone?" she asked. "I know work takes up a lot of time, but you still need a social life." She genuinely cared about Cary and hoped he wouldn't make some of the same mistakes she and Will had.

"Yeah, actually I am. She's a doctor at Chicago General. We met at a party one of my buddies held a few months ago."

The grin on his face told her everything she needed to know. "It's going well I take it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm happy for you Cary."

"Thanks."

Late that evening Alicia opened the door of Owen's apartment to let Peter in.

"Hey, thanks for doing this here," Alicia said, letting him into the apartment.
"No problem," Peter said, as they moved into the living room.

"I hope Victoria didn't mind you coming alone," Alicia had requested Peter come without his wife because she had more to discuss with him than Grace's wedding expenses.

"It was fine. She and Lucy are spending the weekend with her parents."

They sat down on opposite ends of the sofa.

"I was surprised you wanted to get together to discuss this. I just figured we'd split the wedding expenses like we did with Zach." Peter said.

"There are more expenses with a bride. And Grace wants to pay for a few things herself."

Peter sat back into the cushions crossing his legs. "I can't believe she's getting married." He smiled, his mind thinking back to when Grace was little.

A gentle smile crossed Alicia's lips. "Our babies are all grown up." There was a brief moment where she too was thinking of old times when the kids were young and they were happily married. A time when seemed simple.

"And having babies of their own," he responded. "I need to go for a visit and get to know that grandson of ours better. Video chat isn't really the same as being there in person."

"I'm sure Zach would enjoy seeing all of you."

They stared at each other. She hadn't seen Peter since Zach's wedding. He looked good. The years had been kind to him. He was completely gray now and had grown a beard. She'd never pictured him with facial hair, but she had to admit it worked on him.

"Speaking of young children, how's Lucy?" Alicia had long since gotten over the fact that Peter had cheated on her years before and gotten his current wife pregnant. The whole situation had changed him. After the divorce he'd gotten out of politics, something she never thought he'd do, and was now a partner at a local corporate law firm. From what little bits she'd heard from Grace and Zach, he was genuinely happy these days.

A smile appeared on his lips. "She's great. Eight going on twenty. She already tells us she's going to be lawyer like her big sister."

They laughed. "Not like her father?" Alicia questioned, jokingly.

"No. I'm not cool like Grace. My job is boring."

She nodded. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure. Where's Owen tonight?" he asked, as he followed her to the kitchen.

"Out with his boyfriend," she mused. "This one might be a keeper. They've been pretty serious for about six months now."

"Good." Peter responded, sitting on a bar stool.

Alicia poured the wine into two glasses and handed him one. They chatted about the kids and their jobs. It had taken some years, but now when they saw each other they got along quite well. It was a relief really to be able to talk to each other as civilized adults, even friends.

They were back on the sofa and had just finished figuring out who would cover what for the wedding.

"I guess that takes care of everything for now," he said. "I hear congratulations are in order for you," he continued, with raised brow.

"Yes, thank you," she said, with a nervous smile. "Actually, that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you alone tonight. I need to tell you about the person I'm marrying."

"I've gathered it's quite the secret, this mystery man." He leaned forward clasping his hands, resting his arms on his legs. "I assumed you'd gotten engaged to Finn. You've been friends for so long, and after everything that happened with the abduction, it made sense to me. But Grace told me it wasn't him, and that she couldn't elaborate. What have you gotten yourself into, Alicia? Is this guy some government spy?" He looked genuinely concerned. "Is this guy the reason you got mixed up in all of the mess last year?"

She was touched by his obvious concern. "No, Peter, he's not. In fact, he tried to tell me to stay out of it." She sighed. "Listen, I want to tell you who he is so that our children don't have to keep his identity a secret around you. But I need to know that I can trust you to keep this quiet. Will you do that for me?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to keep secrets from Victoria. She is their step-mother. I can't just leave her out of conversations between me and the kids."

She nodded, then took in a long sip of wine. "I know. I'm glad they have a good relationship with her." She was nervous. Her palms were getting all sweaty. She still hadn't figured out how exactly to tell Peter about Will.

A long silence filled the room. "So…" Peter prodded. "Who is this guy?"

"It's Will," she finally blurted out. She could tell Peter was trying to place the name, but having a difficult time because he thought the Will she knew was dead.

"Will Gardner," she specified.

He looked shocked and confused.

"He's alive, Peter."

"What?" He was clearly still trying to wrap his head around this. "Will Gardner is alive?"

"Yes. Ten years ago, the feds talked him into being a CI to feed them information on Lemond Bishop. Bishop found out and put a hit out on him. The feds faked his death and put him into Witness Protection."

Peter stood up and paced a few times trying to process all of this. "Have you known all these years?"

"No. I found out my first year at the AG's office. A few months after I discovered Finn was an FBI agent."

Peter brought his hand to his chin. "I can't believe this, Alicia."

"I know it's hard to believe. But it's the truth."

He sat back down as she told him more of the story. He listened in near silence taking it all in, askin0g an occasional question.

"You always loved him." Peter said, after she'd finished.

"Peter, this isn't about the past," she responded defensively.

"No, Alicia, I don't mean to sound condescending or to bring up old wounds. I just…I could always tell. At the time it made me furious. We've both moved on now. I'm happy for you."

"You are?" She was skeptical.

"I am. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone who obviously loves and cares about you. If you two can still rekindle something after all this time…then that's something you should hold onto."

Her nerves eased some and a faint smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you. That means a lot to me, Peter."

"You're welcome."

"I don't expect you to keep it a secret from Victoria. Just use your discretion."

"I will. Is he coming to Grace's wedding?"

"No. It's best if he stays away from Chicago. And there will be a lot of people there that would know who he is." This did sadden her a little. She knew this was how it had to be, but she'd like to have him at the wedding to support her and Grace.

He smiled reaching for her hand and squeezed it. "Situations like that must be tricky."

She laughed lightly. "To say the least."

"I should probably go," he said.

"Yeah, it's getting late."

They made it to the door. "Peter, thank you." She opened the door he leaned over and softly kissed her cheek before leaving.

The next morning Alicia and Grace sat at a small table in a coffeehouse before going to look for dresses. Alicia wanted to spend some time with her alone before they met up with Veronica.

"You've been quiet this morning. Is everything all right?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's just that all of this is seeming more real now. I'm excited. But I guess I'm also a little nervous," Grace admitted.

"It's perfectly normal to be nervous. This is a big step. It takes a lot of faith to commit to someone for the rest of your life."

Grace raised her eyebrows. "Faith?" she questioned. She couldn't believe her mother had even uttered the word.

"Yes, not like religious faith. That was the wrong word."

Grace chuckled. "I think you're getting soft in your old age, Mom," she teased.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Let's just say my views on religion haven't changed, but everything that's happened the past year has made me look at things differently. Trust is a better word for what I meant. You have to be able to really trust someone to make this kind of commitment. Do you both feel like you're ready to take this step?"

"I think so. I trust Ben more than I've trusted any other guy. And we haven't rushed this. I feel like we've taken time to get to know each other. The good and bad. There are still a lot of details about the wedding that have to be worked out, but we've basically planned out every other detail of our lives together. We've even discussed worst case scenarios. Like what we'd do if something happened to one of us."

Alicia looked at her surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. There's a lot to think about. Possible car crashes, natural disasters, divorce settlements, custody arrangements."

"Those must have been difficult conversations," Alicia said.

Grace smiled slightly. "Yeah, I can be a bit paranoid sometimes. But Ben seemed to understand and it's easier to have those kinds of conversations when you're on good terms instead of right in the middle of one of those situations."

"I guess that's true." Alicia wondered if she was one of the reasons Grace was so cautious.

"You look worried," Grace said.

"I'm not worried. I just want you to be happy. You can't plan for everything that will happen in your life. Good or bad. I just don't want you to live life holding your breath, waiting for the next bad thing to happen."

"It's not like that. Actually, having those discussions made me feel a lot better about things. Like we'll both be all right no matter what happens."

Alicia nodded. "I'm glad you've found someone you can talk to about everything that's on your mind."

"Me too." She took a sip of her coffee. "Do you talk to Will about things like that?"

"Sometimes," she hesitated.

"Do you trust him? I mean with everything that's happened in your past. Are you able to tell him everything that's on your mind?"

The simple answer was yes. But Alicia knew there was more to her asking than wondering if her mother had someone to tell her deepest, darkest secrets too. Grace seemed to like Will, but Alicia knew she still didn't fully trust him when it came to her mother. She really needed Grace and Will to spend more time together. Get to know each other better.

Alicia smiled gently. "It's taken a long time for us to trust each other in ways we've discussed. We've had long discussions about our past and we've forgiven each other for a lot of it. But it would be a lie if I told you he and I have figured everything out. No relationship is easy or perfect. It takes constant work and care. But that's what makes those relationships beautiful." Out of nowhere a lump formed in her throat. "Grace, I've loved Will for a very long time. He's loved me for even longer. Despite everything he and I have gone through I can honestly say that I trust him with my life. I don't want to be with anyone else. He's the one who makes me happy. He's the one who makes me feel safe and loved."

Grace nodded. "I feel that way about Ben,"

Alicia smiled. "I'm glad."

"If you feel that way then why haven't you set a date for your wedding?" Grace was only half teasing.

Alicia sighed. She'd been the hang up on the issue. Will had certainly tried to get her to commit to a date. She loved and hated how blunt Grace could be sometimes.

"I've…I don't have a good answer for that. I guess I've been avoiding it because I'm a little nervous."

"Because of what happened with Dad?"

"Yes, and for other reasons."

"You should choose a date. If you love Will like you say you do, it shouldn't be an issue."

"It's more complicated than that. I'm still working in D.C. He's got work, and a baseball schedule like you wouldn't believe. And your wedding is at the end August. I don't want it to interfere with your plans."

Grace rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. Placing it on the table Alicia could see she had her calendar pulled up. "None of those are good excuses. Choose a few dates right now, and then call Will."

Alicia didn't know whether to be irritated or relieved. She knew she and Will really did need to pick a date. She decided to give in. After a few minutes of discussion Alicia had a few dates in mind.

"Now, call Will and commit to a date while I get the car." She stood up and pulled her purse over her shoulder.

"Grace, not now. I'll call him later."

"Mom, just do it. Stop avoiding it. You'll be glad you did."

Alicia sighed heavily standing up. "Okay, but not in here. It's too noisy."

A few hours later they were at the third bridal shop of the day. Grace had found a few dresses she liked but nothing she loved. They were perusing the selection one more time when she went and stood next to Alicia.

"You should try it on, Mom," she urged quietly. "You've come back to that one four times now, and you know it's not my style."

A gentle smile formed on Alicia's lips. She'd been caught. When they'd first started out on this adventure Alicia hadn't even thought about finding a dress for herself. But as she'd looked through dozens of dresses for Grace, she'd thought about the type of dress she'd want to wear for her own wedding. She had to admit that planning her own wedding, as small and intimate as an occasion it would be, made her excited. She'd thought about trying on some dresses, but she didn't want to take away from Grace's fun.

"I don't know, Grace. I haven't even decided if I'll go with a traditional dress. It's my second marriage. Will and I are older than your typical engaged couple. I don't know if it's appropriate at my age."

Grace laughed softly.

"Alicia, why don't you try on some dresses?" Veronica asked, stepping closer to them.

"She thinks she's too old for a traditional dress," Grace replied.

"You're never too old. And this is Will's first marriage. Don't you think he deserves all the pomp and circumstance?" Veronica added, pulling two more dresses from the rack handing one to Grace and the other to Alicia.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "He does, but we haven't really discussed what our wedding plans are. We just picked a date a few hours ago. For all I know Will is going to wear rolled up khakis and a white dress shirt. I'll wear a simple dress, and we'll get married barefoot on a beach somewhere." The thought made her laugh a little. She could almost see Will wanting this exact thing.

Grace and Veronica both laughed. "Mom, just try on the dress," Grace encouraged, as she turned towards the dressing room.

"I'll think about it."

Later they sat on the plush cushioned chairs as Grace came out in another dress.

"I think this might be the one. What do you guys think?" she beamed, as she stood in front of the large mirrors.

Alicia smiled. This was one of the best ones Grace had tried on all day. It looked beautiful and made Alicia a little teary eyed. She was glad she could be here and that Grace had wanted to involve her in so many of the wedding plans.

"It's beautiful, Grace," Alicia commented. "Turn around so we can see the back better."

"Do you want to try the veil on with it?" Alicia asked a few moments later.

"Yeah. Should I wear my hair up or down?" Grace asked, pulling her hair up so they could try the veil a few different ways.

"I'll take you to see Claude, my hairdresser, and you can try out all sorts of hairstyles," Veronica said.

"That would be great, grandma," Grace responded.

Alicia had been worried when Grace said Veronica was going to join them. She knew how Veronica might be, overbearing, insisting that a certain style was best for Grace, or trying to get her to try on every single dress in all the shops they went to, but it hadn't been that way at all. Veronica had been very helpful, and she'd enjoyed spending the time with her.

While Grace was being fitted for the dress, Alicia decided she would try on a few. She grabbed the ones she'd had her eye on and slipped into the dressing room.

After trying on the first three, she'd almost convinced herself she'd been right. She was too old for this. None of them fit right, and while she liked the styles, once she had them on it seemed like they'd all been made for women twenty years younger than she was.

She sighed heavily inwardly critiquing the image that stared back at her in the mirror. She was fit and toned, but it seemed like every little wrinkle had shown up today making her feel much older than she was. She slipped off the dress and contemplated whether she'd even try on the last one. The one Grace had encouraged her to try on. This one was much simpler than the others. Strapless, fitted at the waist with a small lace trim, and fitted the length of the dress with a slight slit at the side. Simple but elegant, and the fabric was soft, not a stiff satin. She'd been drawn to it from the moment she'd seen it.

She removed it from the hanger and slipped it over her head. She could only reach a few of the small pearl buttons at the back to do it up, but when she glanced at herself in the mirror it was like a completely different person was staring back at her than had been two minutes earlier. This dress fit her like a glove accentuating all her good qualities. Her hair sat loosely over her shoulders. Suddenly she didn't feel old anymore as her mind wandered to Will, and weddings, and…"

"Come on, Mom," Grace called, interrupting her thoughts. "At least let us see one of them."

Alicia stepped out of the dressing room and the other women gasped.

"Wow!" Grace said. "Mom, you look amazing."

"You think so?" she asked. "Do up the rest of the buttons."

Alicia turned to look at herself in the large mirrors and her heart fluttered as Grace stepped behind her to help with the buttons.

"Mom, what do you think?" Alicia asked, glancing at Veronica.

"It's perfect, Alicia," she said, trying to hide the misty eyes that had sprung up on her. "Will won't be able to keep his eyes off you," she added.

"She's right, Mom," Grace agreed.

"Here, turn around, both of you. Let me take a picture of you. Mother and daughter brides," Veronica mused.

Alicia and Grace both sighed, but they knew they couldn't get out of this one.

Veronica took a dozen pictures.

"Mom, that's enough. We have to get to the appointment with the florist soon." Alicia and Grace both went back into the dressing rooms to get changed.

Later that night Alicia sat comfortably in bed and called Will. Things had been rushed earlier in the day when she'd called him to set a wedding date. She was looking forward to having more time to talk to him.

"I spoke to Peter last night," she said. She'd told Will earlier in the week that she planned to tell Peter about him this weekend.

"How did it go?"

"Good. He was understandably surprised, but he'll respect our privacy."

"That must have been a bit of an awkward conversation considering our past." From what Will could tell things were good between Peter and Alicia. But talking to him about Will, someone she'd had an affair with during their marriage, could have brought up old feelings and arguments.

"It was, but we've both moved on. He said he was happy for us."

"I'm glad."

"What are you doing right now?" Alicia asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I'm in the den pretending not to spy on the teenagers watching a movie in the other room. Chase and Brian invited the girls over."

The week prior had been Chase's birthday. He'd invited a group of friends to join him in celebrating, including Maddie who he'd had interest in for a few months now. It had been the first time Will and Alicia had met her. Will was having a difficult time wrapping his head around having a son old enough to show real interest in girls.

"Is Maddie one of them?" She laughed lightly, thinking back to the birthday party when she'd had to stop Will from intervening in some perfectly normal teenage behavior.

"Yes," he answered. Peeking through the French door to the family room for the hundredth time that evening.

"Will, they'll be fine. But it isn't a bad idea to keep an eye on them."

"I know, but Chase rolls his eyes at me every time I go into the kitchen. And I remember being a teenager and having my parents eves dropping on me when I had girls over. I swore I wouldn't be that parent, but I feel completely out of my element here. I wish you were here to help me navigate or at least keep me distracted."

She smiled. "I'm sure you're doing just fine. Partway through the movie go in there and see if they need refills on snacks. One things for certain, teenagers won't turn down food. I'll be there next weekend to keep you distracted."

"I'm looking forward to it," he mused. "Leesh, thank you again for making Chase the cake last week. He portioned out the leftovers to make it last all week. A few people have asked him how his birthday was this week, and the first thing he tells them is how great the cake was."

"Really? I'm surprised. It wasn't anything special. And the decorating definitely left something to be desired. Baking is not something I'm very good at."

"Well, it was made from scratch, which is far better than what I can do."

"I thought Janie had made his birthday cakes before. She's a great cook. I guess I'm surprised that my mediocre attempt could live up to his expectations after having hers for years."

"Leesh, I don't think it was the cake itself that made him so happy. I think it was more the idea that someone who's become a mother figure to him, someone that will become his mother, made the effort. It made him feel loved and special. It means a lot to him to have someone in his life who wants to be a real mother figure to him. It means a lot to me."

She was really touched by this. "Thank you. That means a lot to me too. I guess I hadn't thought about it that way. It was just the natural thing to do for him."

"That's exactly why you make a great mother," he said, softly.

"If you were here, I'd kiss you right now," she said.

"I'd like that," he said, sitting back in his chair. "How did it go today with the wedding plans?"

"Good. We've accomplished a lot. They've chosen a venue. We knocked out food and flowers. Grace found a dress she likes. I'm glad I could be here."

"I'm sure Grace is glad you're there."

"Speaking of weddings. I'm sorry things were so rushed this morning. Grace has a way of getting me to do things without taking much time to think first."

He laughed. "I didn't mind. I'm glad someone could convince you to commit to a date. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about not being that person."

"You've been the one in my head pushing me to decide the past month. I guess I just needed a little extra nudge."

"You're still committed to October first?" He wanted to make certain she hadn't changed her mind in the past twelve hours.

"Yes. It's set in stone now. It'll give us enough time to involve your family. It won't interfere with Grace and Ben's plans. Have you thought about any of the details? Like where we should get married for instance."

"Actually, I have."

She was only a little surprised. This new version of Will was much better at planning than the old one.

"Okay, what have you come up with?"

"I was thinking we should get married on that pier in Monterey where we first saw each other again. It's where we started over."

She got all choked up. It was actually the perfect spot. She'd thought of various places over the past few weeks, but that one hadn't ever crossed her mind. "That's…a really great idea." A few tears sprang from her eyes.

"Are you sure, because it's not supposed to make you cry," he said, softly.

She smiled wiping at the tears. "They're happy tears. That's a place that holds a lot of meaning for us now. I love the idea of getting married there."

"I'm glad you like the idea."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"You know we'll probably have to keep the honeymoon a bit short. We'll only be a few months in with the new firm. I don't think we can leave things for very long," she said.

"If your last day at the AG's office is July first and we have things set up and ready to go by then, we might be okay to take more time by October."

"Maybe. I just think we should plan something small for now and then take a longer trip next year once things are really up and running. I'd hate to have a big trip planned and then have to cancel."

"Probably a good idea."

"Where are we with the office space?" she asked.

Will had found some available space downtown that wasn't cheap but wouldn't cost top dollar either. They'd gone to look at it the previous weekend and decided to get going on the paperwork for a lease. Will liked it because it was very functional. Alicia liked it for the same reason, but the views of the river just across the street were definitely a plus in her mind.

"They're still going over all the financing. We should hear something mid-week."

"Great. We're really doing this," she said. It was more a statement than a question.

"We're really doing this. You just have to decide what name you want printed on the firm letterhead."

"I'm still thinking on it, but leaning towards Johnson and Cavanaugh."

Will smiled. The firm they'd talked about running together thirty years ago at Georgetown was finally in the works. Alicia was going to be his wife. Chase would have a mother. He'd be reunited with his family. He couldn't be happier.

"Okay. You still have some time to decide. Is Angie going to move out here and continue to be your assistant?"

"I think so. After everything that's happened, she's ready to move on and get out of D.C."

"I've set up a meeting to meet with Finn while I'm out there next month to finalize the plans to see my family."

Alicia was being honored at a high-profile event in the middle of May. Will wouldn't be able to attend with her because of the press, but he was going to go to D.C. to support her that weekend anyway. And he'd be able to attend the private party with her afterwards.

"That will be great. I still feel guilty that you're waiting to do that until I resign."

"Leesh, don't. We've talked about this. It's fine. July second will come soon enough."

"Okay. If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

"I've missed you today," she said, quietly.

"Just today?" he lightly teased.

She laughed. "No, everyday since I saw you last, but if feels like more today."

"I miss you too."