A/N: Thank you for the encouraging reviews on the first chapter. Here's number 2, enjoy and let me know what you think!

Press Conference

Tuesday, 4.02 pm

"People have been calling me saint Alicia for years now," Alicia started her speech. "But as we all know from this morning's news reports, I am far from saintly. I am also no super hero. I am merely human. I experience emotions, and I express them. When I heard that the charges against my law partner had been dropped, I was happy. I was relieved. And I expressed that by kissing Mr. Elfman. That is all there was to it. But this is why I hate politics. I hate pretending to be someone I'm not. I hate how everyone suddenly has an opinion on everything about me. So the truth is, I never wanted to run for State's Attorney."

She could feel the excitement level in the room rising. They were wondering if she was dropping out of the race, some may even be counting on it. "I do, however, believe that I will make one hell of a State's Attorney. Because what the office needs is not a politician. Or a super hero. Or a saint. What it needs is a human being, like myself, who knows the laws of our county and how to apply them to get justice done. And that is why I am still running. If my humanity costs me the election, then so be it. But before you hold my kissing Mr. Elfman against me, think about what that would say about the values that Cook County holds dear." She took a deep breath, then looked Patrick Mancini straight in the eye. He was still smirking. "Now, I imagine you have some questions for me," she said.

He didn't waste any time. "What does your daughter have to say about you kissing a man that's not her father?"

"Mr. Mancini, I am surprised that you have such short memory. Didn't I just ask you yesterday to respect the privacy of my family life? Didn't I also just tell you minutes ago that the... incident in the parking garage had nothing to do with my family? How my daughter and I deal with this situation is between us." She held up a hand when he wanted to continue. "And let me save you the trouble of having to ask the same question twice. My husband and I will deal with this situation in private as well."

"How very… discreet of you, Mrs. Florrick," he replied instantly. "Do you believe discretion to be an important quality for an SA?"

Questions are for dopes, John's voice suddenly echoed through Alicia's mind, making her smile. "Yes, Mr. Mancini. Discretion is important in all public functions. But it is not more important than justice being done, which is ultimately what being a State's Attorney is all about. Does anyone else have a question?"

"Will Mr. Elfman stay on as your campaign manager?" a blond woman sitting behind Mancini asked.

"That is a question you should ask Mr. Elfman. He is a valued and trusted member of my campaign staff as well as someone I consider a friend. But he is also an independent consultant. He is free to make his own decisions."

Tuesday, 10.20 am

Alicia sat on her couch and covered her ears with her hands in a futile attempt to shut out the shouting voices. They were giving her a headache. She felt like she was watching a tennis match as she looked back and forth between Eli, standing at the window, and John, standing on the opposite side of her living room. Eli was giving John hell about him 'loving his candidate' for the third or fourth time that morning, while John was telling Eli to shut up and focus on how to handle this.

"You know damn well how you should handle this!" Eli shouted, and Alicia had had enough.

"Shut up! Both of you!" she yelled, jumping up. They both gave her wide eyed looks of shock, their jaws dropping. "Thank you," Alicia said. She raised her hands when John started to speak again. Then she pointed at the couch. "No. I'm talking now. Sit down, both of you." Crossing her arms, she waited for them to follow her command. Once they did, she gave Eli a pointed look. "You are going to arrange a press conference for this afternoon. Then you are going to call Peter and tell him he can't come. Go."

John and Eli exchanged looks. Then both of them started talking at the same time. "Alicia…" "You can't…"

"I can and I will. This is my life, and it's also my campaign," Alicia interjected, putting her hands on her hips. "Eli, get on the phone. And you," she said to John, "In the kitchen. Right now." She turned and led the way, not looking back to see if he was following. She needed a moment to compose herself, so she leaned on the counter and closed her eyes, massaging her temples.

"Alicia? Are you alright?" John gave her a concerned look as he entered the kitchen.

She smiled at him. "I will be," she replied. "Do you want coffee?" He shook his head, so she poured a cup for herself while he stared at his shoes.

"Alicia, listen. About that press conference…"

"No, you listen," she interrupted him. "This is all my fault. I kissed you. You were just… There." Alicia drank from her cup, pretending she didn't notice the flash of hurt in his eyes. And trying to ignore the fluttering of her stomach as she remembered. The news anchor was right, that had been some kiss… She cut off that train of thought before it could go any further. "Just transference," she muttered.

"What's that?"

Alicia shook her head. "Never mind. The thing is, I know what you're thinking. And I'm not gonna let you do it." She drank more coffee, set down her cup and crossed her arms while she waited for his response.

John sighed. "You know it's the only way…"

"I'm not letting you take the fall for this." She crossed to where he stood and held his gaze. "I need you, John—on the campaign," she added quickly when he gave her a shocked look. "Please don't resign."

She really didn't want him gone, she realized. This was the first time in years that she had felt like she really had a chance to win and to step out of Peter's shadow. And John had built his life on winning. She liked him for that winning mentality, and she refused to analyze what else she liked about him right now. That was not important. Holding her breath, she waited.

John licked his lips, stared at the floor and then back at her, his eyes unreadable. He started to say something, but was interrupted by Eli's voice.

"Yes, Peter, don't worry, I'm sure she'll fire him—" Eli came into the kitchen, his phone pressed to his ear. "Oh, there you are, Alicia." He looked at them standing there and started to frown ominously. Alicia stepped back from John, who gave Eli an exasperated look. "Okay, I'll keep you in the loop." Eli ended the call, and looked at them again, practically fuming. "Don't tell me I'm interrupting some kind of tender moment, because I swear…"

"Relax, Eli. We were just discussing strategy." John turned and left the kitchen, leaving Eli to mutter under his breath and Alicia fighting off the urge to run after him and demand an answer.