Author's note: I can't believe I am the worst at updating in the whole history of updating, but I am. However, here's a little Valentine's Day present for those of you who are still reading this, in spite of my lack of consistency in updating this story. I'm terribly sorry for the wait and I hope this chapter makes up for it. Thanks a lot to the people who reviewed my last chapter, thanks to the people who favorite/followed this story, and if any new readers are joining us, welcome to the party. I hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks again for reading! - hannahorgrace

Chapter 6

On Saturday morning, Alicia decides it's useless to dwell on the past.

Before Grace and Zach wake up, she has time to work on a case and clean her entire bedroom. She has breakfast with her children; they tell her stories from school and she discusses some of the cases, avoiding criminal cases, as always, until Grace asks if she's defended any assassins lately.

She decides to go grocery shopping.

Grace goes with her to the store, asks if they can buy powdered sugar for the icing of the cake they've decided to bake when they get back home. She nods as, unexpectedly, her memory flashes back to Will, eating icing off of her lips, leftover from a cake that Grace had baked for her birthday. She stands frozen in the aisle, a shiver running down her back.

"You taste good," he whispered, kissing the sugar off her lips through a smile. "This is a nice breakfast."

She laughed. "Grace wanted to bake a birthday cake for me before she left for the weekend. I think my kids think I get lonely when they're not around."

He moved around the table then, wearing only his underwear, softly sliding a hand on her hip when he reached her. "Do you?" he asked, the hand on her hip pulling her towards him. "Get lonely?"

She looked up and smiled to him, and pressed her lips against his as his hands gently stroke her back.

After a few seconds, he pulled away softly, his eyes looking down in between them.

"I uh," he started, hesitant. "I got you something."

She frowned. "Will."

"Okay, don't," he said softly, running a hand on her arm, "don't give me that look."

He could see she was still frowning, but there was a sparkle in her eyes that told him he had done the right thing.

"I didn't know if you needed anything, I mean—", he continued, walking to her bedroom where his coat was, and coming out carrying a white bag she hadn't noticed was there before. "I wanted to get you something nice, but… yeah."

He handed her the bag, tied with a black silk ribbon on top, and she felt her heart beat faster in her chest, unable to control her excitement. She hoped it didn't show too much.

"You really didn't need to get me anything," she said as she pulled on the silk.

He smiled. "I know."

She pulled out the white wrapping tissue and in it, a black jacket. She took it out, touching the material, the black leather on the pocket flaps and on the collar, noticing the brand on the tag there.

"Will…"

"Don't," he interrupted her. He stepped closer to her, searching for her eyes.

"I wanted to get you something nice, something that I could actually see you wearing. I don't know if this is a good gift, but…"

The truth is, he didn't want to get her jewelry. He didn't want to get her jewelry because he was afraid she would think it meant something if he did. Not that he wanted to give her something meaningless, because that wasn't the case. But he felt like jewelry was too much. And judging by her reaction when she saw the jacket, he assumed correctly.

Alicia looked into his eyes, and he seemed so sincere, and so pleased that he had given her something. She removed her sweater and tried it on.

"If you don't like it, I kept the receipt if you want to—"

"I love it," she interrupted, checking her reflection in the mirror, in the entrance.

"Yeah?" he asked, and his eyes were shining with happiness as he made his way to her. "It suits you."

She was wearing only her underwear, a white t-shirt and well, the jacket, but he thought she looked amazing. Looking at her then, watching her survey her own reflection in the mirror, spinning on her heels to look at it from different angles, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He felt his heart clench in wonder, his eyes following her every move, mesmerized.

She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you," she said, almost a whisper, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to accept his gift because it really was too much, but she did like it, and he seemed so happy.

She looked up to him and smiled, pressing her lips against the corner of his mouth where some icing sugar was left. "You taste good too," she whispered softly.

"Mom?"

Her daughter's voice brings her back to reality so she smiles, walking to where Grace is standing.

"I was just thinking about what else we need," she says.

"I think that's all for the cake! But we're out of olive oil," Grace reminds her.

"Right," Alicia answers. "That's what I was thinking about," she smiles.

Grace smiles back and without a word, pulls her mother in for a quick hug.

"What was that for?" Alicia chuckles.

"I don't know," Grace starts, walking away. "You just looked happy. It's nice."

When they get back home, Zach helps them with the baking of the cake, and they end up ordering pizza while it's in the oven. After lunch, she sits on the couch with her children, Grace curled up against her shoulder, and she thinks of Will, she thinks of her with Will, and with her children sitting next to her, she thinks of what they could have been.

But she can't change who she is, and she can't change her life. She needs to leave the past in the past, so she decides to speak to Will, so they can both do just that.

The beginning of the week is as agitated as can be. Still, she finds time to make her way to Will's office sometime during the afternoon.

"Hey," she says as his eyes meet hers.

"Hey," he answers, his voice low.

Hesitantly, she walks into his office. "Can we talk?"

He frowns, barely noticeable. "Now?"

Alicia closes the door behind her, not giving him a choice. "Will…"

She walks until she reaches his desk, but doesn't sit.

"I'm…" she starts, sitting down. "Are you mad at me?"

She senses his eyes on her and before he even speaks, she feels the sorrow in them. He doesn't answer right away so she goes on.

"You're… avoiding me, aren't you?" she says, straightening her skirt.

His lips curl up into an unsure smile, but he's frowning. "I'm not mad."

Alicia nods, going along with him. "Okay, but… you're not avoiding me?" she asks again, and her voice is soft, and she knows it's shaky but she can't control her nerves.

"No, no, not at all, it's just been busy around here," he answers, gaze shifting.

She nods.

"Will?" she asks, almost in a whisper.

"Yeah," he answers, focusing on the pile of files in between them on his desk.

"You're not even looking at me," she breathes.

He swallows, his hand covering his mouth, as if to prevent the words from coming out. "I'm doing the best I can, Alicia."

Her heart tightens in her chest.

"I never wanted it to be this way," she whispers.

He nods, "I know."

He waits for her to speak again but she doesn't. They stay like this for a minute or two, the silence filling in the space around and in between them. She wants to move, she wants to say something, but the weight of their exchange is preventing her from speaking.

"Look," he says, getting up from his chair, and she hates the way he sounds all business-like; he's treating her like he would a client. "It'll all… fade away, sooner or later. So, until then, we just try to make it work, okay?"

The words come to her before she can wrap her mind around the idea. "Maybe I should leave."

His eyes shoot up to meet hers.

She sighs. "This is not sane, Will. For either of us."

His voice rises. "What are you talking about?"

"It's not sane and it's not fair," she continues, but stops talking when he walks around the desk.

"Alicia," he starts, his voice so low it makes a shiver go down her spine. "Don't."

"You say it'll fade away but Will—"

"It'll be fine," he interrupts. "This has nothing to do with work."

She looks into his eyes and he stares right back.

"It'll be fine," he repeats. "We just have to go back to the way it was before."

She frowns.

"I mean, back to the way it was before."

Before she can say anything else, her phone rings, bringing her back to reality.

She sighs. It's Peter.

"I should take this," she says, not mentioning the identity of the caller.

He nods, walking back behind his desk as she steps out of his office.

"Hey," Peter says when she answers. "Are we still on for tonight?"

Dammit, she thinks.

"Yes," she sighs, remembering he'd asked her to come to dinner with him and whoever else he needs to impress tonight. "I'm coming straight from the office though, I still have some work to do."

"Alright," he says. "I made reservations for 8 pm. Can you be there on time?"

"Yes," she answers. "I'll see you there."

Author's note: First of all, thank you for still being here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know in a review, I would really like to read your thoughts on this! Your reviews help me a lot because they help me figure out what you want to read next. This chapter was quite short BUT, I am actually almost done with the next chapter, so it will be up soon, and this is a promise. By the way, for those of you who were wondering, I do plan on getting these two their deserved happy ending at some point (this also is a promise). Might be sooner than you think! Again, thank you for following this story, and thanks again for reading! - hannahorgrace