ARRGH once again my computer restarted itself and lost everything. It must be a once-a-year thing. Anyway, I hope my reviewers haven't gone anywhere. Happy New Year! Just a quick read before 2015. Have some cynical Will with an added mix of sass and sarcasm like we used to sometimes get in TGW.

It must have been a dream.

The week passed, and then two weeks. There were never any orders from the Cavanaugh family or even the Florrick family.

September passed and then October (Halloween was an awful time at work). Will hardly noticed November until Sara came in for Thanksgiving. Then came December and it was cold.

It a freezing and snowy Saturday a week before Christmas and Will had time off of work. He had been putting off any Christmas shopping but he wouldn't have much time for it next week. The only problem was that he didn't know what his sisters wanted.

Will refused to drive into the city that day and took public transportation instead and then walk around. Ten minutes after, he duck inside a cafe and ordered a hot chocolate. He started to wonder if he preferred this to sitting in his apartment. That was his own fault- he'd only opted for a sweatshirt and beanie to keep him warm.

But anything was better than staying at work where lately everything was "COME ON GARDNER MOVE YOUR ASS!" It was also hot everywhere. His work put on the heat and it went everywhere. Extra heat in an already hot kitchen was a bi*ch in Will's opinion.

Someone ran into him the minute he stepped outside.

Will looked down. She only came to his waist.

"Sorry," she smiled shyly at him. Will noticed she was trying to race her older brother, while their mother dragged her feet behind them, carrying a dozen shopping bags. The woman looked exhausted.

"No problem," he smiled back at the little girl. Will was never sure what to do with little kids.

She walked past him. Will took a few steps before getting hit again, this time by somebody strong enough to knock him to the ground. The little girl's brother had not learned from his sister apparently.

Will stayed on the ground after the boy ran off.

What was his life?

If he wasn't cold before, he was now.

Here he was lying on the ground, knocked down by a child of all people. He had no idea what gifts to get for either of his sisters, he was freezing and now he was wet from the ground, and he was going to spend his whole Christmas break working. Will started laughing to himself.

He didn't know how long he spent walking, not even looking for anything in particular. After a long while, he needed to go inside again to warm up. He stopped in front of a crowded bookstore.

Audra had spent long hours reading novels that Will guessed were Romance novels. He didn't know, he never listened long enough to hear the plot. That was one area where he differed from his little sister. He hadn't taken school book reading as seriously as he should have. At least, not until his sophomore year of High School when he decided not to read or look at sparknotes (his usual habit had been skimming chapters and then depending on sparknotes to explain chapter summaries) and he saw the 5% grade on his test. Thankfully, the only one who knew of this was Audra. Heaven help him if Sara or his father had found out. After that day, Will made it a goal to study hard every day. It paid off after he kept to his goal.

"Thirty dollars for one book," a girl was muttering.

"It would have been worth it. You really wanted it," a boy replied.

"Peter, just because you want something, doesn't mean you always have to get it right away or at all. Money is not meant to be spent carelessly."

Will moved to the side as people came out of the bookstore. Two of the people were the ones who had been speaking. The girl was in a purple peacoat with a black hat covering her dark hair. She looked familiar.

Her eyes met with Will. Neither of them said anything.

Was that?...

He shook his head. He was just cold, just imagining things.

"Hi," a girl went up to him. Will read her tag- Isabel. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"No," he was being honest. Any other day, he would have said no just to avoid having someone follow him around the store as if he were a thief. "No, nothing."

"If you need anything, let me know. My name's Isabel," she gave him a look that he couldn't decipher. "Remember that."

"Thanks," Will gave her a weak smile and walked to the back.

Once in the Young Adult section, Will checked three things: the price, the last few pages, and the summary on the back. Will read one where it ended with one of the two "soulmates" dying. It made him smile. He was cynical during this time of year but it was something he had felt for years. Audra and Sara called him a Grinch.

"8.99," Will frowned and looked at the book again. It was a hardcover with a release date of 2010. Was this book total crap?

Will skimmed through. Not his cup of tea, but it seemed decent enough for Audra. And it was in good condition.

He went to the front. "I'll buy this," he told Isabel, who gave him a smile and walked him to the cash register. She might have made a pass at him but it went over his head.

Will walked home.

His life became uneventful after that. He went to work on Monday, after waking up cold in his bed. It was such a chore to wake up when all he wanted were some more blankets.

"Gardner!" all he heard was Mr. Childs when he first walked in.

"Hi, Mr. Childs," Will grumbled.

"You're late!"

Will glanced at the clock on the wall. "By two minutes," he protested.

"Get working, we've had a lot of people ordering in."

Will was sweating within five minutes. The cooks were cooking up a storm in the kitchen and the thermostat up front was set to 75 degrees. Will was sure he was going to die of a heatstroke and he would never make it to law school.

"Will!" Kalinda's voice broke him out of his trance. "Start driving."

He was never so happy to oblige to anything in his life.

"Where am I going?" he looked at the address. Kalinda was heading out the back door. "Um, Kalinda?"

She turned around. "What is it?"

"This is your side."

"And?"

"Why are you giving me your side?"

"I thought we could change it up."

"Change it up?"

"Yes."

Kalinda was never one to talk very much, but she was being rather vague today. The whole time Will had been working with her, she never once asked to switch with him.

"Kalinda, there's something you're not telling me."

"There's someone I would rather not see."

"This," Will looked at the paper. "Anthony Burton guy?"

"That's him."

They stared at each other in silence until Will shrugged it off. "All right."

Right before Kalinda walked out the door, Will called to her again. "Who do you have? Or who did I have?"

Kalinda looked at the paper. "Cav something," she replied.

Will stared after her. "Cav something?" he repeated, bewildered. He walked out of the door and climbed into the other car. "Cav. Cav, Cav" then it hit him. "Oh, come on!"

Thanks a lot, Kalinda.

He almost forgave her when he reached the house that she was eager to dodge. Will could almost see what beef Kalinda had with this Anthony Burton. He gave off a vibe that Will didn't like very much, bur at least he tipped well. Will dropped another delivery at a house before going back to the restaurant.

When Kalinda came back and started talked about "the Cavanaugh girl," Will started thinking about how he had been after he had met her. There was something about her that captured his attention but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Of course, that laugh of her would make any guy smitten...

"COME ON GARDNER, MOVE YOUR ASS!"

Will sighed. That had to come at some point in the day.

Will walked back into his apartment after his shift, rubbing his hands together. His apartment didn't feel as warm as he had hoped.

What was the damn temperature anyway?

Will looked at the thermostat. 61 degrees.

He turned on the heater and went into his kitchen to make himself a drink. Will got suspicious when he didn't hear anything. After making himself a grilled cheese sandwich and still feeling cold, he grew worried. Checking the vent, he groaned. His suspicions were confirmed.

His heat wasn't working.

This was was going to turn him into a grinch this Christmas.

Do you remember that "girlfriend" of Will's we all hated in season 5? She wasn't even his girlfriend, more like a friend with benefit. Her name was Isabel if I'm not mistaken. And yes, that was Alicia who Will almost walked into =)

Sorry for any mistakes. Let me know what you think!