A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and follows! Sorry it took so long to update, I have been really busy as life and work interfered meaning I didn't have time for writing. This is just a short chapter to get the story going again.

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Chicago, Fall 2009

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The following morning Will woke early; Jenny was asleep beside him and he couldn't hear anything from the kids. Will had slept well, better than he had done in a long time. He was surprised that he managed to sleep at all given the images and immoral thoughts that ran through his head. It had been a long time since his dreams were filled with Jenny. He tried to think of when he last thought of his wife in a romantic, sensual way. He wasn't even sure if it was after he'd become aware of her affair; maybe it was before. Having faced so much heartbreak during the proceeding eighteen months he had blocked out a lot of the happy memories as remembering happier times caused him so much pain.

As he lay in the dim morning light, waiting for the sun to fully rise and flood the bedroom with an amber glow, he only had thoughts of Alicia. She was as beautiful to him as she was at Law School. He could visualise her lips drawn wide in a contagious smile as she shook her head slightly, causing her light curls to bounce on her shoulders. He felt his face break into a small smile as he thought of his old friend and new colleague.

"Damn!" he thought to himself. He shouldn't have such thoughts about her. After all, she was his new colleague and he was a married man. Not a happily married man, but a married one nonetheless.

He smiled to himself and enjoyed the few minutes of peace he managed to grab each morning. Before they moved to Chicago, he would be up and starting his morning ablutions as soon as he woke, but now he needed time to consider the day before the chaos of children, school, cooking and job-hunting begun. He now had an appreciation and understanding of what stay-at-home moms did all day – and it wasn't sitting on their couches watching The Barefoot Contessa! He never had a moment to himself. Despite his complaints to the contrary, he had secretly enjoyed the past few months being home and available for his kids. They had faced a lot of changes and having their dad there to guide them helped the difficult transition into Chicago. Nevertheless, he was itching to get back to work. The kids were settled and he needed something more challenging than the school run.

Eventually, he threw back the blankets and swung his legs round so that his feet touched the cool wood floor. He sighed as he placed his palms on his thighs and pushed himself up. Rubbing his hand across his face he padded out of the bedroom and down the hall to his kids' rooms.

….

After dropping the kids at school and running errands, he returned to the apartment laden down with groceries and carrying two suits that he had collected from the dry cleaners. He felt like he was sleepwalking as he went through the motions of putting the groceries away, finishing up the breakfast dishes and making himself a pot of coffee.

His mind drifted towards Alicia. Again. He furrowed his brow as he considered what to do. They had been friends at Georgetown and, apart from the odd acquaintance, she was the only person he actually knew in Chicago. Last night had been fun, almost too much fun, but it gave him hope of resurrecting their friendship, but also fear of reigniting the spark that existed between them. They would be working together so nothing could happen. He clung to that thought, as he knew if he kept it at the forefront of his mind he could quash any other long-held, potentially sexual, feelings. But, he did want to be her friend and he looked forward to seeing her again. He could conjure up her face in his mind in a second, just as he could all those years ago.

He reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone. He tapped it gently against his chin as he considered if sending Alicia a message was a good idea. Whether it was part boredom, loneliness or a basic need to have her as his friend, he decided he would reach out. Hell, he thought to himself, he should have reached out years ago and not let the post-graduation euphoria and 'we'll stay in touch' promises be broken. On the other hand, Alicia could have contacted him; he had not strayed far from Georgetown and stayed in Baltimore so didn't exactly hide behind a white picket fence. Although, they did have a white picket fence in Herndon!

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, still unconvinced if he was taking a leap into a murky pool, after all, in some circles texting was very close to flirting; they didn't call it sexting for nothing! "No," he reassured himself, his contact and future relationship with Alicia would be platonic. They had been good friends in school and they could re-establish that friendship without taking it further. As his left hand kept reminding him, he was married and his children deserved a father that was faithful to their mother, despite his longing for love and intimacy – two elements that were now missing from his marriage. He typed a cheerful message asking if she had time for coffee. When there wasn't an immediate response, he thrust the cell back into his pocket and set about doing laundry.

…..

After lunch Will lay on the couch absentmindedly listening to the radio as he flipped his cell phone through his fingers. He laughed when The Who song A Legal Matter came through the speakers. He sat up and pushed himself off the couch. Picking up his acoustic guitar from its stand in the corner of the room, he started to strum along to the song. He loved the song. It had been popular with his friends at Law School and he saw it as part of the soundtrack to his friendship with Alicia. He smiled as he recalled their late-night study sessions,

He heard his phone buzz, alerting him to an incoming text message. Will whipped his head towards the couch and stared at the phone. Of course, the message could be from anyone, but he hoped it was a reply from Alicia. He walked over to the couch, rested his guitar against the arm and picked up the device. He took a short intake of breath as he tapped the screen into life to read the message. He smiled and bobbed his head as the display confirmed the message was from Alicia.

Good Afternoon Mr Gardner. Yes, coffee would be good. I am just out of court. When are you free?

The message was a bit more formal than his original text to her, but he realised that she probably wasn't thinking of him I quite the same way he was considering her. But, then again, maybe she was flirting a little, in a 'Happy Birthday Mr President' kind of way. He let out a short breath and shook his head, no, probably not. He was reading too much into a few words. Again. He sighed and considered how to respond. He typed a reply, then deleted it, then began again. Eventually he hit send.

I'm free now if you have time. Bet you killed it in court.

He wasn't happy with his response. God! He wiped his palm across his mouth, he felt like a pre-pubescent boy again, wondering what to say to girls! Since his late teens he hadn't really had a problem engaging with the opposite sex so it showed how easily, even after all these years, that Alicia could get inside his head and upset his usual balance. He shook his head, placed the cell phone on the couch next to him and stretched backwards, resting his head on the back cushion.

Alicia quickly replied to suggest the coffee shop across from the courthouse in half an hour. Will felt his heart quicken with anticipation as he typed a short, "OK," to confirm his attendance and the perspiration on his hands made his cell fall onto the wooden floor. He chuckled as he bent to scoop it back up on his way to fresh up.

Sitting on a bench in the cool courthouse building in downtown Chicago, Alicia Florrick bit her bottom lip as she wondered if meeting Will so soon was a good idea. She ran her finger across the screen and texted her assistant to say she wouldn't be back in the office that afternoon. Coffee couldn't take that long, could it?