Chapter Two:

Will couldn't believe the words he was hearing. Dead? Peter Florrick? "What the fuck happened?" He finally managed to get out, "What was he even doing there? Alicia…" he paused as all of the different possibilities came to his head, "is Alicia alright?"

Kalinda nodded, "She is fine. He was in town to visit her, meeting at the courthouse. He had sent his security so that they could chat before her hearing started."

Will swallowed the lump appearing in his throat. He and Alicia were certainly not as close as they had once been. He didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to react? For years Will had seen Peter as a roadblock for him, first at Georgetown, he somehow managed to swoop in and sweep Alicia off her feet, right out from under him, after he was released from jail, Alicia and Peter had gone back and forth more times than Will could count. One week hate, the next indifference, tolerance, love, and then they would rinse and repeat. He loved Alicia, he had always loved her, but he had been so angry at her for months now, ever since she left. He wasn't sure what his place was in all of this, did he call? Should he visit? Was he a friend? A former colleague? An ex-lover? An adulterer? "Where is she?"

"She is at the hospital." Kalinda told him, "You shouldn't."

Will nodded quickly, "I know. I just…make sure she's ok?"

Xxx

"Sis," Owen wrapped his arms around Alicia, "you…do you really want to do this? Do you want to see him this way?" He asked her. Owen had arrived at the hospital a couple of hours earlier, by his estimation, Alicia hadn't left. Jackie and the kids had gone back to the apartment, but Alicia had stayed, she told them there were things she needed to do, arrangements that needed to be tended to. Jackie had offered to stay, but Alicia couldn't do it with her mother in law breathing down her neck, and more than anything, Alicia needed to talk to him, she needed to say her peace to Peter, alone.

"I need to do this Owen." Alicia nodded, she was still in the suit that Eli had brought for her earlier in the day, before everything changed. Alicia had always understood the concept of how things could change in an instant. One moment she had been a mother, a wife, she had been happy living in her big house, playing the role of doting wife and mother…and the next there were members of the press, flashbulbs, hookers, investigators, jail…one moment her life was her own, and the next it was not. This morning she and Peter had been getting along, it felt comfortable, at the very least natural, certainly not perfect, but she had known for the last 5 years that nothing with Peter would ever seem perfect again. But now there was a new moment where it had all changed. There was the life they shared together, messy and imperfect, and there was the after. The life she was going to embark on without him. "Just wait for me out here, then we can go home together? I need to see the kids."

Owen gave her a tense smile, "Of course. Is there anyone else I can call? Anything I can do. I booked Mom a room at a hotel, I don't think she needs to be too close."

"Thank you." Alicia began walking towards the door of the morgue, they had been standing in front of it for about an hour, she was weighing her options, deciding if she should go in, what she should say. The Chief of Staff at the hospital had told her that whenever she was ready, Peter would be ready for her, they had cleaned him up from their attempts to save his life. Alicia exhaled deeply before she stepped inside. The room was brighter than she expected, after all, it was nearing midnight, but from the fluorescent lighting inside, you would never know, it was also warmer than she expected. His body was on a table in the middle of the room, and if you looked at him quickly enough, he almost looked as though he was sleeping. She knew better. Alicia knew that Peter never slept on his back, Peter slept on his side, one arm under his pillow, and the other hooked around her waist. She smiled at the memory, how when they had first married, being that close to him made her feel safe, secure. As they had gotten older and things had changed between them, hookers, prison, campaigns, affairs, lovers…his arm hooked around her waist stopped feeling as comforting and felt more suffocating, like he was trying to hold on to her even though she wasn't his to hold anymore. "Peter," she breathed, her fingers delicately stroking his cheek, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry this happened to you.", she was willing herself not to cry, not to become the hysterical woman that all of Chicago and Illinois had been waiting for for the past 5 years. "I know…you were…complicated, we were complicated," she told him softly, "but I know you loved me, and I know that you never meant for things to spin so far out of control. I'm sorry I held onto it for so long…you weren't the only one who failed in our marriage…" she paused. She wasn't trying to give him a free pass, but this is not how she had wanted their story to end. In a perfect world, she and Peter would have figured out how to coparent, they would have been friends. The kind of exes who could celebrate holidays together, not people who stayed married just for the sake of appearances and only got along 60% of the time. "I promise I will take care of them." Alicia knelt down and kissed his forehead, wiping his hair out of his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time in their relationship, but now was the last. "Thank you." Alicia Florrick sucked in her breath and stood up straight, the show must go on she thought to herself, it was actually something Peter had said to her when he had been in prison and they were discussing the kids, how their lives seemed to be continuing at warp speed even though Peter was missing so much, and now here they were…he would be missing everything.

Xxx

"Zach, Grace…" Alicia called as she walked into the apartment, Owen trailing behind her trying to chat with her idly. "Jackie?"

"Mom?" Grace immediately stood up from her spot on the couch and ran to her, wrapping her arms tightly around Alicia, "Mom what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Alicia admitted. It was a difficult admission for her, but its was the truth. Her adult life, all she had ever known was to exist with Peter, beside Peter, for Peter, but now, he was gone. That was the before, and they were in the after. "I expect that for the next few days there will be a lot of people here. We will have to make arrangements," she told her daughter, rubbing her cheek gently, "and then…then we will have a funeral."

"Alicia," Jackie appeared from the kitchen, "must we talk about those things right now?"

Alicia didn't let her mother in law see her rolling her eyes, but she did, "Yes Jackie, we must." She told her calmly, "I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you, as it is all of us…but there are arrangements that need to be made."

"Do you even care?" Jackie challenged her. "Do you even care that he is dead? Your husband, the father of your children, my son? Do you care that he is dead? Or are you glad. Relieved of your obligation to your marriage."

"Grandma," Grace gasped as she looked at her, "Grandma, stop."

"Grace go to your room." Alicia gave her a half smile and guided Grace to move, "Owen, go with Grace and Zach to their rooms." She watched as her children and brother retreated into Zach's room and then she turned to face her mother in law. "Jackie, please do not speak to me that way. Not now, not here, not in my home, not in front of my children."

"You don't deny it though, do you?" Jackie asked her coldly, "How are you so calm? Peter….Peter is dead. He was a great man and he, he is dead!" She coughed as the words came from her lips, the coughs eventually turning into sobs as she gasped for air. "Alicia, he is d-d- he is dead"

Alicia understood the pain, she knew that Jackie was digesting this in her own way, lashing out because she didn't know how else to face this tremendous loss, "I know Jackie." And for a tentative moment, Alicia stepped forward and embraced her, "Peter was an amazing father, he was a good husband."

Jackie held on for a moment before straightening up and leaving Alicia's embrace, it wasn't natural for them to be so…open with each other but their mutual loss had made it a moment that was necessary. "I should go."

"Jackie, you can stay here, you can stay in the guest room, or in my room…I don't…" Alicia's voice trailed off, she looked into her own bedroom and noticed that Peter had left a pile of clothes on the bed.

"I can't sleep there." Jackie shook her head, "I need to go home…I need some…normalcy, my things. I will be back in the morning."

Alicia nodded, "Of course."

"Tell Grace, tell her I am sorry."

Xxxx

"Mom," Grace mumbled as she accepted yet another flower delivery, "mom, these ones are from your old firm." She handed the card to her Mother as she placed the tasteful floral display amongst a sea of flowers on the dining room table. "They're pretty."

"Are you guys judging the flowers?" Zach asked, he had been mostly quiet through all of this, stoic. He would speak when he had something to say, but he wasn't interested in trying to keep busy, not like Grace was. Grace needed a task to keep going, to push through the moments that were hard, to keep from falling apart, Zach on the other hand…he was absorbing it all, noticing the dance that was occurring in his home. Eli was there buzzing around on his phone, Cary Agos was in and out, both offering support to Alicia and also trying to keep things calm at their still-new firm. Jackie, Owen and Veronica were all milling around snapping at each other, trying to keep Alicia from hearing any of their commentary.

"We're not judging." Grace shot back, "But you notice who called the supermarket and who didn't." She nodded to the ever growing selection in their home.

"Guys," Alicia warned, "just relax. I know this is…complicated." She opened the card, the envelope marked with ever familiar L/G letterhead.

Alicia, Grace & Zach,

Please accept our deepest sympathies for the loss of Peter. Peter was not only a client, but a friend, a respected politician and a worthy opponent in court. He will be deeply missed. Please, do not hesitate to call if you need anything.

Diane Lockhart, William Gardner & Associates.

Alicia quickly tucked the note back into the envelope and tossed it into another pile, she would be writing thank you cards for the rest of her life it felt. Eli was arranging things, making plans, the appropriate…arrangements given a man in Peter's position, it all felt surreal. She had slept on the couch and her back was killing her, but she couldn't bring herself to go into her bedroom, their bedroom. Although things hadn't been perfect lately, it hadn't been all bad either. "Sis?" Owen's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Zach asked me if I could take him to get some…things from Springfield."

"Things?" Alicia repeated.

"Things." Owen nodded, enunciating as he went, "Grace too."

Alicia's brow creased as she thought about it, "No." She shook her head, "Not today. Maybe…maybe after the service. That is a six hour drive total? You can't just….you can't just take them!"

"Ok," Owen nodded, "I'm sorry. I will take Zach next week…sorry."

Alicia exhaled, "No, it's fine, I'm sorry…I was just…I just want them to be close to me right now."

"Alicia," Eli came into the room from the maids quarters, "do you have a moment to review…the…the guest list?"

"The guest list?" Owen raised an eyebrow.

"He was a politician." Alicia shrugged, "His funeral has an invite list."

"Sorry, I just…I want you to have the final say, I think we're got it narrowed down though."

"One thousand of my closest friends and family?" Alicia rolled her eyes as she followed behind Eli, sitting down and scrolling on the iPad to review the names. She recognized many of them from his time in Chicago, old friends from Highland Park, political friends, adversaries, clients all seemed to make the list. Gardner, William. Lee, David. Lockhart, Diane - Alicia's eyes stopped at the names, unsure of what to make of it - would they even want to come? Sure they had sent flowers, but it was clearly that Diane had sent those flowers, her loopy scrawl on the card and envelope.

"Is that…ok?" Eli saw where she had paused, hovering over the names of some of her old colleagues.

Alicia nodded her head, "It is. They knew Peter, they are…here. It is fine. Make sure they aren't seated too close to Cary or anyone else from Florrick-Agos."