A/N: Thanks again for all the follows and reviews.

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Chicago, Fall 2009

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Will chuckled and smiled to himself as he leant against his apartment door, pushing it closed. He held a cardboard box tied with a gold ribbon in his hands. The sound of the door closing filtered through the apartment and he heard the eager footsteps of his son running towards the entryway. "Dad!" he yelled in greeting with the excited fervour of a boy who had scored a homerun. "Hey, Sam," Will replied trying to keep the box horizontal, "how was school?" The small boy's face dropped, "It was OK," he said sadly, "football practice was cancelled 'cos the coach is sick, so I had to go to the library with Cathy," he added. "Sorry about that champ," Will said as he ran his hand through Sam's hair, messing it up and causing the boy to frown further and try to pat it back down, "maybe we can go to the park tomorrow and toss a football ourselves?"

"Yeah!" Sam brightened, "that would be cool, just you and me," he said proudly, leading Will to the kitchen. "What's in the box?"

"Treats for after dinner, but no peaking," Will said as he placed the box on the counter. "Where's Cath?"

"In her room," Sam replied, licking his lips in anticipation of the treats to come.

"Thanks," Will added, "go finish up your homework while I talk to her," he said as he headed towards his daughter's bedroom. Knocking on the door, he waited for a response that didn't come. He pushed the door open to find Cathy lying on her bed, headphones on listening to her iPod while studying a Biology textbook. She looked up as he walked in and nodded as she pressed pause on the large white device. "I'm back. I'm gonna get changed then start dinner. Do you fancy tacos? Sam suggested them this morning and we have all the ingredients," Will said.

Cathy nodded in agreement, "Yeah, sounds good. Can you make potato wedges too? The crispy ones you make?"

"Sure kiddo," Will smiled as he turned to leave.

"Where did you go? I thought you didn't start at work until Monday?" Cathy suddenly asked.

"Yeah, I don't officially start until then, but Alicia who I will be working with asked to meet up and I actually got to meet a client I'll probably be representing, so it was a useful afternoon."

"Okay," she nodded as she pressed play before hitting pause again, "Dad," she said in a more serious tone, causing Will's blood to run a little cold, "I'm pleased you are going back to work, you seem happier," she smiled. "Thanks," Will nodded as he left her to her schoolwork, pleased that their conversation ended there. He had flashes of Cathy asking who Alicia was and even though their relationship is innocent friendship, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt. He walked down to the master bedroom and closed the door.

After a quick change back into his jeans, Will was back in the kitchen, chopping onions and peppers, frying minced beef and seasoning everything to meet the exacting specifications of his kids. He prepped some salad and put guacamole and sour cream into dishes so they could help themselves. Sam helped by grating some cheddar cheese into a bowl to sprinkle onto the tacos, although Will laughed as he managed to get most of it on the table. He was in a good mood tonight and enjoyed pleasing his kids, so giving them their favourite dinner got the weekend off to a positive start.

When the food was ready, the happy threesome ate together, sharing stories of their day and plans for the weekend. Cathy had cheerleading practice and was going to the cinema with some friends on Saturday, while Will and Sam would play some football and watch sports on TV. It was at times like these that Will really loved being a parent. However, it was also at times like these that he could see himself as a single parent, especially as for the past eighteen months he had practically been one. Sometimes he thought it would have been for the best if he was single, divorced or, God-forgive him, widowed. But then, he thought about the real reason he hadn't divorced Jenny. It was to keep their family together, to provide stability and love for their kids. He realised he had zoned out of the conversation and rejoined as Sam teased his big sister over a boy from school.

…...

Alicia returned to her apartment, dropping her purse by the door as she closed it behind herself. Kicking off her heels she sighed a little, before a broad smile crossed her face at the thought of Will Gardner. Since he had walked into the office only a few days ago he had filled her thoughts, just as he had when they were students at Georgetown. She chuckled as she realised that although they clearly had unresolved feelings for each other, nothing would happen, at least not at the moment. Will had made it clear that his children came first and he was only interested in friendship.

Later that evening she found herself struggling to ignore her handsome new colleague. Sipping her wine as she flicked through the TV channels looking for something to watch, she toyed with the idea of sending Will a message. Her heart willed her to send a quick text saying it had been good to meet up that afternoon, but her head told her that it would be a foolish move, an action of a teenage spirit rather than a sensible, adult lawyer. She folded her legs up onto the couch and made herself more comfortable, pulling her wool cardigan closer around her body and holding her wine to her chest. Sighing, she pouted a little as she contemplated what to do. Taking a large gulp of wine she finally selected a police drama to watch.

…..

Across town, Will spent the evening making polite conversation with Jenny as she ate a late dinner while their kids watched TV in the adjacent room. At times he found it difficult to talk to her, to think of something new to say. She was busy with work and didn't seem particularly interested in his news. He wondered how interested she really was in him. He knew from recent experience that there was at least one woman in Chicago who was interested in him. Will cursed himself for even thinking that about Alicia and smiled at Jenny, "Want some wine?" as he got up from the table.

…..

Switching off the TV, Alicia moved from the sofa to take her empty glass into the kitchen. She put it down on the bench and contemplated whether to have another drink or simply go to sleep. She wasn't especially tired and it was Friday night so she didn't have to go into the office tomorrow. She smiled to herself as she poured another large glass of Malbec and placed the empty bottle into the recycling. Switching off the kitchen light, she took her refilled glass into the bedroom and sat it down on her nightstand. Her eyes fell on the pencil sketch of Healy Hall at Georgetown on the wall. She chuckled as she remembered late nights and early mornings on campus with Will. He was everywhere in her life at the moment, so why had he been absent for the past twenty years?

Alicia quickly undressed and put on silk pyjamas and a matching ruby robe. Sitting on the bed, she crossed her legs beneath her silky robe and fished her cell phone from her purse. She held the phone in her hand for a moment before throwing it down on the duvet, "Stupid!" she scolded herself as she reached for her wine.

….

Will sat back on the couch in the family room, his head resting on the back cushion as he listened half-heartedly to the late-night news. His mind was a mess of Alicia, Jenny and Colin Sweeney. He was excited about working with Alicia and even a little excited about the alleged wife-murderer! Jenny was a different issue. His thoughts this evening fell on how they had ended up in Chicago and her actions that led to the hospital investigation and subsequent trial. It was through the trial that he found out about her long-term affair. He let out a long breath and slowly closed his eyes. At that moment he heard the familiar beep of his cell phone to signify an incoming text message. He stretched out as he lunged his left hand into the front pocket of his jeans to retrieve the phone. Turning the device over in his hand, he chuckled at the ID of the sender: Alicia. Shaking his head, he read the message, "Do you want to meet over the weekend to discuss Sweeney? A." Will ran his tongue across his bottom lip as he contemplated a response.

A/N: So this is a quick update. In chapters to come we find out exactly why Will moved to Chicago as their burgeoning friendship draws him closer to Alicia.