"Cessation"

Distribution: CD as always. Anyone else please ask.

Summary: Will and Francie's burgeoning relationship takes a pause.

Rating: PG/PG-13 for language

Classification: Drama/Angst/General.

A/N: Thanks to Robin, as always, for the wonderful beta, and not disowning me. I don't know what I'd do without you.

Feedback: Yes.

Email: jch114@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. I do not get any sort of royalties from this.  Anything Alias related is owned by ABC, Touchstone Television, JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions. If I owned any part of Alias, Francie would have a storyline.

***

Alex stood at the sink in the kitchen and washed the breakfast dishes. After he had heard Will leave, he come out into the living room and had seen Francine holding her head in her hands. He had asked her what was going on. Mumbling that nothing was wrong, she had limped into her bedroom and shut the door.

Drying his hands with the dishtowel, he called out, "Francine? Um, are you okay in there?" There was no response. He placed the towel on the counter and walked down the hallway to the closed bedroom door.

"Francine?" he called out again. Silence answered him. She must be asleep. He cracked the door open.

He caught his breath when he saw her sitting on the bed, dabbing at her eyes. "Francine, you okay?"

"I've been better," she mumbled as she took a deep breath.

"You want to talk about it? If not, I can- "

"Alex, why is my love life such shit?" she asked suddenly.

He stepped back in shock. "Your love life? What are you talking about?"

"First it was Charlie. He cheated on me, and then didn't have the balls to tell me himself. Now, it's someone else." Alex watched as she cursed under her breath. "Francine, what is it?" He had a feeling that his suspicions about how Will had been acting earlier were about to be confirmed.

"It's Will," she said with sadness. Her shoulders sagged.

"What about Will?" he said, walking further into her bedroom. He sat next to her on the bed.

"Will and I are-were dating for about a month," she said quietly. "Now, because I think we can't see eye to eye on something, it's over for good between us."

Alex put his arm around her shoulders and listened to her explain what had gone on between the two of them. After she finished, she looked over at him with tears in her eyes. "Alex, I'm sorry to put this on you. You just came over here to check up on me, and you end up being used as a shoulder to cry on."

"Francine, you don't have to worry about that ever. I thought something was going on between you two, but I didn't want to intrude. Besides, that's what I'm here for." Alex sighed inwardly, cursing himself for not picking up on it when he saw them together last night.

"Thank you, Alex. I appreciate it," she replied, looking up at him with a slight smile.

He felt his cheeks getting hot. Each time Francine smiled at him, he felt like a middle-school student getting his first crush. "Anytime, Francine. Anytime."

****

"So, I told Alan that no matter what, I was going to pay the bill," Maxine was saying. "I mean if I didn't, I'd owe him. I hate owing people. You know what I mean, Will?"

Will mumbled his reply.

"I also dyed my hair school bus yellow and had mad, passionate sex with an alien."

"That's good. Did you have a good time?" Will asked as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Will!" she said, grabbing his arm. "You're not even listening to me."

"Hm? I-I'm sorry. My mind was in a whole different place," Will said, leaning back on the counter.

"I can tell. You've been walking around like a zombie since you got in this morning. Litvack really laid into you for being late this morning, which isn't like you. Are you okay?"

Will frowned at the mention of his editor, or Dragon Lady as she was called around the office. She told him that he had one more time to be late, and he'd be back to working as a freelancer for that online magazine. Which really wasn't fair since he had only been late twice the entire time he had worked for her.

"Yeah, I think so. I need to ask you a question, Maxine. Is that okay?" He had always loved talking to Maxine about anything and everything. She was a trusted friend, and they had always had fun when they hung out.

"Of course it is, Will. What's up?" She asked, placing her cup on the counter and leaning against the counter next to him.

"You date, right?"

The young woman giggled. "I should hope so."

"I'm serious, Max," he said with a slight edge of frustration in his voice.

Maxine frowned at him. "I can tell that you are, Will. Yeah, I date some. What's going on?"

He took another sip of his coffee. "I have a dilemma. I have two friends. Both of these women are gorgeous, intelligent, and just wonderful friends. I've been in love with one of them for years."

"Sydney," she said with a nod.

Will winced. "Well, yeah. You know that I never told her, and you know that she was engaged to a great guy named Danny?"

Sadness flirted across her face. "Yeah, I remember when he died. You were pretty upset about it."

"I thought I was still in love with her and was just waiting to tell her, until I—"

"Until you what, Will?" she asked urging him to continue.

"Until I went out with Francie," he finished.

"Oh," she said. She rolled her coffee cup between her hands and stared down at it. "So, what's the problem? Do you like her now?"

Will's eyes widened. "I'm crazy about her. Completely crazy about her," he replied with a slight smile on his face.

"So explain to me what your dilemma is again. You have someone that you're crazy about. You should be singing and dancing," she told him. "But you look like you've just lost your best friend, Will."

"Here's the thing: She wants me to tell Sydney about us." Which I should have done a month ago, B.A.- Before Alex. " Francie thinks my hesitation to tell our other friend is because I'm still in love with her."

"Well, is it?" Maxine's voice told him that she thought it was the problem. Will couldn't blame her; she had heard him talk about Sydney before.

"No! I already told you that, Max. I don't have feelings like that for her any more. I don't," he insisted.

"How long have you two been seeing each other anyway? You never even gave me a hint!"

"A month," he replied, ashamed.

"Wait a minute, Will" she said, her eyes getting wide. "I thought you had just started to see her, like a few days ago."

"Nope. We have—had been seeing each other for a month," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He missed her already.

"And she's pissed because you haven't told Sydney about you two?" Maxine asked matter-of-factly

"Yeah, that's it."

She pursed her lips and looked at him. "And you don't get why she's upset?"

"Oh, I do, but I don't know how to fix the problem," he said, exasperated.

"It's simple. Tell Sydney about you two and problem solved," she concluded, gathering files in her arms and turning to leave the break room.

"I wish I could, and it's not like I haven't had a chance to tell her. It's—it's just that I don't want to share."

"What are you? Four years old?" she asked, turning back to face him.

Will shook his head. "No, it's not that. When I'm with Francie, I'm myself. There aren't any pretensions, no awkwardness. It's just us. If I tell Syd about us, I'm worried that it could change how we are around each other."

Maxine stared at him and he shifted around, feeling like a school boy caught acting stupid by his teacher. "I can't explain it, Max. I'm just worried that everything will change if Sydney knows about us. Right now, we can meet and not worry about her. We aren't being Sydney's friends; we are being Will and Francie."

"That's a crock of shit, Will. Why would things change? If you care about this woman enough, it shouldn't matter who knows about you two. All that matters is that you care about her, and she cares about you."

"I know you're right, Maxine. I just needed someone to tell me that," he concluded, dropping his hand to his side.

"Of course, I'm right, Will. Now, let's get back to work," she said as she studied him. She stopped as he frowned again. "Now what?"

"There's another guy," he said. He could hear the pain in his voice.

"Who is this other guy? An ex-boyfriend?" she asked, obviously intrigued by the story.

"She says that he's just her friend, but I know that he's interested in her. He's told me that he wants her himself," he replied. I should have told him then about us, but I've messed that up.

"And you think she'd go for him? In light of what's going on with you two?" she asked, her voice showing concern.

"My mind is telling me that there's no way that she'd go for him, but I can't help feeling as if I've already lost her," he answered, feeling defeated. He winced as he remembered what she had told him. I'm starting to regret it.

"Tell her how you feel, Will. It'll work itself out. What's this guys name anyway?"

"Does it really matter, Max?" Will almost groaned. Trust a reported to ask a question like that.

"Not really, but since I'm naturally nosy, I want to know," she retorted, winking her eye.

He let out a big sigh. "Alex Cooper. He works for a public relations firm here in L.A."

"What did you say his name was?" she asked. She began shuffling through the papers in her arms, almost causing some of them to fall.

"Alex Cooper," he said, looking at her. "Why?"

She pulled out a press release and handed it to him. "Is this the same guy?" She pointed at a picture on the form.

Will's eyes widened as he read over the release over. "Yeah, this is him. Who's covering this reception?" An idea was forming in his mind. If this works, I can get her back.

"Weatherspoon, I think."

"His wife just had their first baby. I bet he'd like time off to spend time with them," Will said, rubbing his chin.

"Will! What are you thinking?" Maxine said, snatching the memo from his hands.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just thinking that he'd like a day off," he said as he walked out of the break room.