A/N: Alicia and Will have not slept together in this. Also, this session is somewhat of a very long one, hence I broke it up for you guys. Hope you enjoy! ;)

Week Two

Alicia walked into the fiftieth-floor sprawling corner office she had convinced herself she would never visit again. The last time she was here stripped her in ways she didn't intend, and she had no plans on making herself subject to that emotional exploitation again.

Once was enough.

She didn't like lack of control over her emotions, and didn't appreciate the poignant way in which she and Peter didn't hesitate to hit each other where it hurt the most. Positive that the decision had been drilled into her mind to never return, needless to say, she was beyond perplexed that she was here, committing to another session. For reasons that she could not explain, she now found herself closing the door to the room which held the power to break down every wall she had carefully built.

It was her intent to keep an open mind for this session and to calm her nerves, which were now signaling to her brain to flee once she noticed she was the first to arrive, much to her dismay.

"Alicia." Adam's eyes widened once they rested on her by the door. "Nice to see you again. You are a little early." Rising from his desk, he removed his glasses and treaded down the short steps.

Smiling faintly at his gleeful face, she walked towards the couch.

"I know. A hearing ended early."

Sitting on the sofa in the same spot she sat last, ensuring to tuck herself deep into that same plush cushion as if she was attempting to hide, she distractedly began digging for her phone in her purse.

Adam slipped his hands into his pockets as he watched her self-made occupied form, still completely stunned that she had returned. He was even more shocked that she was the first to get here. Their last explosive session led him to be under the impression they would require this one to be rescheduled, with her choosing to discontinue. He was nothing short of astonished when Peter called earlier this morning to say they both planned to be in attendance.

Staring at the screen of her phone, she quickly speed dialed her husband. Bringing the phone to her ear, she glanced at Adam briefly before closing her eyes and sighing once she got his voicemail.

"I thought Peter would beat me here. He phoned me at work this morning to remind me of the appointment."

"Did you have other plans?" he asked.

Resting the phone in her lap, she tucked her hair behind her ears and crossed her legs.

"No. He wanted to make sure I was coming back."

"Ahh." Adam nodded knowingly as he gripped the armrests and eased himself down in the chair across from her. "Your last session did end on a highly charged note."

She avoided his gaze as she picked up her phone and tried calling him again.

Adam surveilled her scatty actions.

She was terribly anxious and agitated to be sitting here alone in the room with him. The fear of of them possibly having a short one-on-one session was surely on the forefront of her mind. He could tell. From the moment she walked into the room and saw it was just the two of them, her posture changed. Her once relaxed slender shoulders beneath her flattering dress, and delicate chin that was held high as the arch of her spine straightened, exuding that her confidence had been restored and she was ready for this soul searching journey, reverted in a heart beat. That weak and vulnerable woman that he met for the first time last week had returned.

Regardless that she was early—even though it wasn't a joint agreement—she expected her other-half to be here. It became partially clear to Adam why she had not divorced her husband. She couldn't see herself without him. She didn't know herself without him.

Yet.

If Peter didn't show within the next minute, he was persuaded to believe—from her current demeanor—that she may possibly have an anxiety attack.

"Still no answer?" he asked, watching as she tried for the third time.

"No," she said, resorting to sending him a text message.

Readjusting himself atop the cushion, he hooked his thumb under his chin as his index finger rubbed his upper lip, continuing to study her.

"Alicia, I am not going to psychoanalyze you without your husband here," he joked.

She looked up at him with all seriousness. "Excuse me?"

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He had to be extremely careful with his wording. For she might misinterpret his words and dash from the room like she had the last time. This woman had lost her sense of humor and would take everything he said as a three-dimensional interpretation of how she had failed and was still fighting to overcome the difficult struggle that was her life.

He spoke softly, "You just seem very on edge being here alone, without Peter."

She instantly became defensive. "I'm not on edge. The sooner we start, the better. I have to be back in court in two hours, which I told him earlier. I need him to be here on time."

Adam glanced at the clock. "Well, we have another ten minutes before your scheduled appointment is to begin. I am sure he will be here right on time."

His words did nothing to reassure her. About to try calling her missing spouse again, the distress seeped from her body as she slightly relaxed once her eyes rested on her husband at the door.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, Dr. Lewis," said Peter, his large frame filling the doorway before he crossed the threshold and closed the door. "There was an accident on the expressway."

Adam smiled in acknowledgment. "You are not late. Actually, you are a few minutes early as well."

"Oh."

Walking towards the couch, Peter was amazed to find his wife already here. After their brief, but very tense, one-minute phone call this morning, he was certain she wouldn't make it today. Telling her that he didn't want to waste his time to show up, only for her not to, or for her to storm out again, weren't the best of words to convince her to come back, he knew. But her careless attitude both irritated and provoked him.

"I tried calling you three times," she said without looking up from her phone.

"I know. I didn't see your calls until I was in the elevator on my way up here." He sat on the other side of the sofa, in the same spot he sat the last time as well, placing that galaxy distance between them once again. "What's the matter?" he asked, watching her frantically press buttons on her cell.

Peter untucked the edge of his blazer from beneath his thigh as he silenced his own cell phone and settled comfortably on the couch.

"Your daughter. She just texted me saying she was going to a jamboree with Shannon and a couple of other kids after she's done with her homework."

"What?"

Alicia held up a finger, signaling for him to give her a moment once she heard Grace pick up on the other end.

"Grace, you are not going somewhere with Shannon that we haven't discussed…because I said so…No! Dad is picking you and your brother up from home then you're going to his place for the weekend…Gra—"

Alicia slowly pulled the phone from her ear, staring at it in disbelief. "She hung up on me," she whispered.

Adam quietly watched them while dissecting their minuscule interaction. They both seemed flustered and a little tense today.

"Perhaps we should reschedule when it is a better time?" he suggested.

Alicia hit redial, trying to call her again, her temper flaring when she didn't answer.

"No. We're keeping the slot," said Peter. "But I'll be right back. I'm going to step outside and call her."

He rose from the couch, quickly bringing his own phone to his ear as he opened the door but didn't close it.

Alicia and Adam sat in silence as they listened to Peter speak in a low hushed tone outside, both deciphering the controlled sternness they heard each time his voice rose.

"Is he usually the disciplinarian?" Adam asked.

"No." Silencing her cell, she slipped it back into her purse and looked back at him. "I would say we share that role equally."

He slowly nodded. "I know that Peter mentioned your children have accepted your separation quite well, and I am also aware that they live with you primarily. But are there any changes you have noticed in their behavior since your separation?"

She thought for a moment. "No. They still behave the same. Nothing unusual."

"Okay," Adam and Alicia peered up at Peter striding back towards the couch, "she's not going. I told her if she tries anything, she'll be on punishment for one month."

Settling back on the couch, he turned off his device and slipped it into his breast pocket.

Adam stared at them, wondering how to begin the session with his newest discovery. Although they seemed to no longer be partners in their marriage, there was one thing that became clear to him. They were definitely a united front when it came to their children.

"Peter, while you were on the phone, I asked Alicia if she had noticed any change in your children since the separation. I understand they are splitting their time between the two of you. Do you feel that has been difficult for either Zach or Grace? For instance, the phone call just now. Do you feel your children are behaving uncharacteristically because of yours and Alicia's separation?"

Peter reclined into the cushion and laid an arm on the back of the chair. "No, they're not misbehaving, but I think it might be a little challenging for them. Well," he took a second to gather his thoughts, "Zach not so much, but I think Grace is struggling with it."

Alicia looked at him, flabbergasted. "Really? How?"

He rocked his head from side-to-side, thinking of the various indications. "Sometimes she'll talk to me about how she doesn't understand marriages and adults, about how she doesn't necessarily agree with our arrangement but that she hopes and prays we work it out."

Alicia mouthed a silent 'Oh' before resting her elbow on the arm of the chair and propping her head within the palm of her hand.

This was a tidbit of new information for her, a crumb that should not have rubbed her wrong, but did. When she informed the kids she and Peter planned to enlist in counseling, they had a very nonchalant conduct about it. Furthermore, they never asked her anything more regarding the matter. But Grace, their sensitive and relentlessly curious daughter, was openly talking with him about it?

"That is a natural response for teenagers who are accustomed to seeing their parents' relationship in only one fashion. And in your situation, when the father has rocked the boat, daughter's often find it more difficult to cope," said Adam.

Peter thought about what he said for a moment. "So, are you saying you think my daughter blames me for the current state of our marriage?"

Adam laughed nervously, wondering how he would get his patient to stop feeling as if he had a permanent target on his back.

"No, Peter. Not at all."

He rested his folded hands at his waist as he took a deep breath, thinking of how to clarify the explanation on the tip of his tongue.

"I am simply saying that young girls, especially teenage girls, are at the point in life where they will begin to experience their own personal relationships. Naturally, they often observe their parents relationship for guidance on how they should tackle these situations, and more often than not, their conscious and unconscious opinion of their fathers heavily influence their chosen companion. It is what we marriage psychologists refer to as the Imago Theory."

Peter and Alicia's ears peaked and curiosity salivated as they patiently waited for the forthcoming exegesis.

Adam continued, "Offspring normally have a tendency to subconsciously involve themselves romantically with individuals who indirectly matches the composite of their parents, while their unconscious enters this new relationship with the sole purpose to heal from repressed emotional desolation. Whether or not your daughter's thoughts of you will shadow who she dates, I cannot say. But I am not saying you are to blame for her thoughts or choices, and neither should you feel blame."

Both parents greedily digested this food for thought.

Alicia glanced to Peter, whom still seemed to be intellectually flummoxed from Adam's description. Of course their children's emotional well-being was always a priority when making decisions about their marriage, but perhaps they didn't realize just how much their actions were affecting them.

"Do you think we made a mistake by separating?" she asked Peter.

He slowly lolled his head in her direction. "You wanted a separation from me, remember?"

She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Peter, let's not point fingers in each other's faces today, alright? I'm sure Dr. Lewis got enough of that last time."

Adam smiled as he rose from his seat. "Oh, by all means. Don't hold back on my account." Greeted with stony faces, he cleared his throat, pointing behind him. "Uh, I'm just going to grab my notepad then we can continue."

Watching him go to his desk, Peter took advantage of this short recess to ogle her.

He really looked at her for the first time since they had begun the session.

She wore a figure-hugging, black, quarter-sleeved pencil dress today, one that had a very low-cut square neckline, teasing at a hint of cleavage and showed off her swan-like creamy neck. He was sure when she rose from the couch, he would get a better view of just how perfectly the dress fit her body. When she flipped her hair over her shoulder, allowing him an unshielded peek, his eyes narrowed, not remembering her ever wear something like this to work before.

"I'm surprised you got here before me."

She didn't look at him, but continued to stare straight ahead, watching as Adam resumed his seated position.

"Yep. A hearing ended early," she stated matter-of-factly.

"And Will let you come here to be with me?"

He knew it was immature and uncalled for, but he couldn't help it. Seeing her dressed like this, their curt phone call this morning after not speaking since the last time they were here, and then how she stormed out during their last session, fueled the jealousy to roll off the tip of his tongue like ice-cream melting down a cone on a hot summer day.

Balling her fists together, she closed her eyes and spoke through clenched teeth. "Oh, do not start with that today, Peter. Do not!"

Adam flipped open his leather bound notepad, eyeing them over the bridge of his glasses. When the Florrick's argued, their verbal strikes had the ability to destroy and rebuild their foundation at the same time. They reminded him of a saying his wife often coined: as cold as fire and as hot as ice. There was rarely a smoldering medium during their heated disputes.

"Alicia," Adam began, "Although it is quite clear to me you do not want to discuss, Will, I would like to understand why this person has such an impact over the current state of your marriage. Especially given how our last meeting ended."

She looked at him, displaying an expression of incredulity, not believing he really was going to push her there.

Her eyes pleaded no.

"Who's Will?" he asked, regardless of her obvious reluctance.

She nervously licked her lips and blinked rapidly. "My boss."

Adam glanced to Peter, who was staring at his wife like a shark who had smelled blood. Whatever responses came from her mouth, the moment she said something he didn't agree with, he was confident that the short-tempered man would resemble a pit-bull breaking free from a metal chain.

"Given the outburst from Peter last time, I am pressed to think that the relationship you have with Will is more than professional. Is that not true?"

She glared at her husband whom matched her gaze with a look of vehemence.

"No. We know each other from college and had…a thing. But that was it."

"Can you explain this thing?