A/N 1: Thank you all for sticking with this story. To the anonymous reviewer who brought a timeline error to my attention, thanks for paying attention, it's been fixed! Enjoy the final chapter, in which Peter decides to drop by...

A Winning Team

Tuesday, 1.25 pm

Eli and John had both left an hour ago, and Alicia had been on the phone ever since then. First, she had cancelled her lunch with Owen. Then she had rescheduled the partners meeting for tomorrow. And then she'd taken phone call after phone call of people who were concerned about her. Her mother. Finn. Robyn. And just now, Diane had called her back to tell her that Colin Sweeney was suing some TV show or something, and Alicia had actually found an upside to being in politics in that call. Her run for SA meant she couldn't represent Sweeney anymore, and she was glad.

She turned her phone off and had just made a sandwich for herself when the doorbell rang. She considered ignoring whoever it was, because it was probably just Eli again. She had a speech to write for the press conference, and Eli would just try to talk her out of the whole thing...

"Alicia, would you open up? Eli told me you were still at home!"

Peter. Alicia groaned, but she knew she'd have to face her husband sooner or later. "Let's just get it over with," she muttered.

"We need to talk," he said, as soon as she opened the door for him. "About Elfman."

As if she needed him to clarify. Alicia resisted rolling her eyes and stepped aside to let him in. He strode right to the kitchen, leaving her no choice but to follow him. "Peter…"

"Stop banging the help," he interrupted her, a stony look on his face. "Wasn't that what you said to me about Ramona? And then you go and do… Elfman." Folding his arms, he waited.

"I did not 'do' John, Peter. It was just a kiss. Not that it's any of your business."

"Not my business? Last time I checked, we were still married. I think that makes it my business. Don't you?"

"Really, Peter? You're playing the marriage card?" Alicia put her hands on her hips. "Tell me, how's Ramona doing?"

"I fired her. I suggest you do the same with Elfman."

"I will do no such thing."

His mouth became a thin line, his eyes were cold. "You will if you want me on your side. And you do. Because you need me to get elected."

"See, that's where you're wrong, Peter." Alicia gave him a cool smile. "I don't need you. I can win this. All by myself. Shocking, I know. But true. And you know it. I just wish I'd realized it sooner myself."

"Well, we'll just see about that." Peter invaded her personal space, forcing her to back into the counter. His voice low he continued, "If you don't fire Elfman, I will file for divorce." Stepping back, he gave her a satisfied look. He really thought she was going to just give in to his demand, like the good, obedient wife he still seemed to take her for.

Alicia stepped forward, getting right in his face. "Listen carefully, Peter. You can do whatever the hell you want. Because I. Don't. Care." A shocked expression came on his face as he let that sink in. She just kept staring at him, making sure he saw the truth in her eyes.

They stared at each other until Peter's phone started ringing. Alicia stepped back to give him some room and watched as he put the device to his ear. "Hello... Elfman's there? Good. Keep him there," He turned and marched back to the front door. "I'm on my way now." Ending the call, he opened the door and turned around to give her a menacing look. "You don't want to fire his ass? Fine. I'll make sure he resigns on his own." And with that he left, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Alicia didn't waste any time. She turned her own phone back on and called John, who didn't answer. So she called Eli instead. "Did you just call Peter?" she asked, before he had a chance to say anything.

"Alicia…"

"Did you?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"Did you know he just threatened to divorce me if I don't fire John?"

He muttered something unintelligible. "No. But, Alicia," Eli lowered his voice. "You should fire him! Peter fired Ramona for you. If you want to save your marriage, you should do him the same courtesy."

"Well, I've got news for you, Eli. I'm not going to. You might as well start doing some damage control."

"Alicia, please listen to me. The way you are handling this is political suicide. You need Peter. At least until you get elected..."

"Actually, that's crap, and you know it. Tell him to stay away from John. And from the press conference." Alicia broke the connection, cutting off Eli's pleas to reconsider. She tried to call John once more, but again he didn't answer. So she left a voicemail and texted him, to warn him that Peter was on his way. Then she looked at her sandwich and sighed. She wasn't very hungry anymore.

Wednesday, 8.02 am

Alicia poured herself a cup of coffee while listening to the choir music coming from Graces room. No morning news. Even though she didn't particularly like choir music, she considered that a big improvement. She sighed when she remembered the conversation she'd had with Grace last night. Her daughter had been understandably upset about the whole situation, but there had been relief too. The past years had been hard on all of them, but maybe yesterday's events had been necessary for them to finally really move on from all that.

When she heard the doorbell ring, an unexpected flutter went through her stomach. She opened the door and the flutter became more pronounced. Okay, so maybe she felt... something. Maybe it was just transference. Maybe it was a crush. It didn't matter, because if she didn't act on it, it would fade sooner or later. "Hi," she said to John.

"Hey," he replied. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know, you tell me..." Alicia crossed her arms. "Do I still have a campaign manager?" She held her breath as she waited.

Before the press conference there had been no time to talk. And he'd been gone when she finally made it off the podium. She hadn't been able to reach him since. Then, an hour ago, he'd sent her a text that he was coming over to talk to her.

"I'm here, aren't I?" John shrugged. "Although that's just because you've left me no other choice…" He looked at the floor.

What? Alicia gasped. "John, I don't want you to feel forced to—"

"Alicia. Relax." Smiling, he looked back up. "Like I've told you before, I built my life on winning. You're gonna win this, so how could I not stay?"

"I… What?"

"Let me in and I'll show you the results of the poll we did last night." A teasing twinkle in his eyes, John held up a manilla folder she hadn't noticed till now. "Voters seem to like the way you handle things. You're way ahead of Prady. We need to keep that momentum going."

"So… We're good, then?" She wasn't just talking about her campaign, or their professional relationship. And judging by his face, he knew it too.

John smiled, but the twinkle left his eyes. Holding her gaze with his, he nodded slowly. "Yeah. We're good," he said quietly, but in a decisive tone.

Alicia returned his smile, but apparently she couldn't completely hide the sudden pang of loss she felt. She watched his smile fade as he swallowed and saw his eyes widen a bit in surprise.

"I'm leaving now, mom—Oh." Grace, coming from her room, halted abruptly when she saw them standing there. "Hello, Mr. Elfman." Her tone was carefully bland.

"Hi, Grace…" John cleared his throat. "How are you?"

"Fine. Gotta go. Bye," Grace said, brushing past them. They stared after her as she almost ran towards the elevator.

"Is she okay?" John asked when the elevator doors closed.

"She will be," Alicia said, silently hoping it was true. "Now, show me those polling results."

The end

A/N 2: Yes, that's really the end, at least for this story. Maybe there'll be a sequel in the future. I'm also working on another story for John and Alicia, but I want to see which way the show is going with these two first, before I decide if I will post that one. Plus, there's only so much I can do with the backstory they have given us on John so far.