The Other Side
Disclaimer: I still own nothing, and if you consider the fact that I'm currently lusting over a pair of shoes I most definitely should not spend an insane amount of money on, that's a pretty good indication that the characters aren't mine! Title and any lyrics used are from 'The Other Side' by Jason Derulo.
Author's Note: once again, thank you all for your lovely reviews! I know a lot of you are loving the Will and Grace dynamic in this story, so there's a nice dose of them in this chapter for you! I've taken a couple of cases from the show and moulded them into my own little universe – one from season one and one from season two, so I hope you'll forgive me for mixing my seasons up! As always, I'd love to know what you think!
Chapter Six
"We'll be fine, won't we miss?" Will murmurs, bouncing a pyjama-clad Grace on his hip as he faces her. Alicia can only watch as Grace laughs and taps his shoulder with a grin on her little face. "Alicia, I've got this," he adds, voice firm and uncompromising. "Bed by seven," he continues, tapping Grace's head, "eight for Zach. No chocolate and no scary movies. I know you don't want to do this, but please don't worry about us. We will be fine."
Sucking a breath in, she nods, but makes no move to grab her coat. Will crouches down, waiting until Grace is steady on her feet before releasing her.
"Give mommy a hug," he murmurs softly, staying crouched near the floor as Grace darts into Alicia's waiting arms.
"Momma go?" she asks softly, and Alicia closes her eyes, running her fingers through Grace's curls.
"Yeah, baby, Momma has to go," she murmurs, "so you're going to stay here with Will and you'll have so much fun you'll forget all about the fact that I'm not here, and then it'll be morning and I'll be here again." Grace turns her head to look at Will again, her young eyes assessing, and Alicia can't help but laugh. Will is close enough to touch, and he reaches out to tug gently on one of Grace's curls.
"Why don't you go find your brother, miss?" he murmurs softly. "I just need to talk to your mommy for a moment, and then the fun can start."
They both watch as Grace darts through the apartment in search of her brother, and then he stands, holding a hand out to help her up. He doesn't let go of her fingers, and instead uses them to tug her a little closer.
"You can do this," he murmurs softly, thumb rubbing the back of her hand soothingly. "I know you hate that you need to ask Peter's help on this one, but K's right, 'Leesh."
"I know she is," she sighs softly, rubbing a hand over her face. "Is it stupid that I don't want to be alone with him?"
"Not at all," Will tells her softly, "but just remember that the kids will be here when you get back. I'll even make you breakfast," he adds with a grin, and she lifts a finger to touch the corner of his mouth as she smiles back at him. She still hasn't figured out how he does it, but already she feels like maybe she's strong enough to get through the conjugal visit she almost flat-out refused to do.
Anything but a death row appeal, and she would have.
"Go," Will murmurs softly. "Sooner it's over, sooner you're back here with the kids." His and with me goes unsaid.
She walks out of the door with his eyes on her the whole way.
The apartment is dark and quiet when Alicia walks back in at a little after seven the next morning. Her children aren't particularly early risers at the best of times, but if they're both still asleep at seven o'clock on a Saturday, she's taking that as a good sign that they didn't give Will any trouble. More to the point, she's more than inclined to leave them that way until they wake up of their own accord.
Shrugging her coat off and reaching down to unzip her boots, she heads through to her own bedroom first, refusing to acknowledge the fact that her heart might be beating a little faster at the thought of finding Will in her bed, as innocent as it may be.
Cracking the door gently, she eases it open and comes to a halt in the doorway.
Because the sight of Will sleeping on top of her covers in a fitted white tee and a pair of well-worn sweatpants might almost be her undoing. But Grace, angelic in her little pink footed pyjamas as she sleeps tucked in between his stomach and his arm does her in, once and for all.
With her heart stumbling in her chest, she makes her way over to the bed, running light fingers down Grace's back as she sits on the edge of the bed. When she lifts her eyes to Will she finds sleepy brown ones blinking back at her, and she can't help the smile that crosses her face.
"Morning, sleepyhead," she murmurs softly, reaching out to run her fingers through the hair behind his ear before she can remind herself that they don't do things like that.
"Morning," he mumbles, the slight tilt of his head into her fingers the only outward sign of just how much he likes her touch. "Time is it?" he asks, his voice sleep rough and a few shades lower than normal.
It makes her shiver, just a little.
"Just gone seven," she whispers softly, resting a hand gently on Grace's head. "Did she give you some trouble last night?"
"Nightmare," he murmurs softly, his own eyes dropping to her daughter. "About… two?" he asks tiredly, shaking his head a little as he tries to wake up. "Two thirty maybe. Think she came looking for you, but she was a little star and made do with me instead."
"I'm glad," she says softly, starting to gently untangle Grace's hair. "Thank you. I couldn't… I just couldn't face leaving them with Jackie, not for a whole night."
"No problem," he murmurs, rubbing a fist at his eyes and bringing a smile to her face again. She'd forgotten he's even less of a morning person than she is. Apparently some things haven't changed since Georgetown. "I had a blast, actually," he tells her eventually, his brain catching up with her words. "They're fun kids."
"Fun kids who wore you out?" she murmurs with a grin, letting her fingers graze his cheek for a second. "While you wake up, I'll go make you a cup of coffee," she suggests, trying not to laugh as she eases her other hand out of Grace's hair.
"I owe you breakfast," he points out, looking like he's nowhere near awake enough to tackle that particular task.
"There's no rush," she murmurs, smiling. "The kids will sleep for as long as I let them, and I think I could stretch to a cup of coffee first." He flashes her a sleepy grin at that, and she bites back her smile as she watches him close his eyes again.
Leaving him to wake up, she tries to control the racing of her heart as she immerses herself in the routine of coffee making. And somehow, even after the night she's had, five minutes with him seems to be enough to turn the day around.
Because now he's all she can think about.
His hair sticks up at slightly odd angles when he pads into the kitchen five minutes later, and she can't help herself from grinning again as she slides a mug across the kitchen counter to him.
"I kind of expected you to have grown into a morning person," she murmurs, sliding onto the stool next to him and bumping his shoulder with hers. He glares at her, and she laughs softly, curling her fingers round her mug.
"Your expectations are far too high," he offers eventually, taking a long sip of his own coffee. "Can't make a leopard change his spots. This is good," he murmurs, lifting it to his nose to take a deep breath in .
"Vanilla," she murmurs softly, taking a sip of her own.
"You can make coffee for me again," he tells her, flashing her the little boy smile that always used to get her in Georgetown. "I left Grace in your room, is that okay?" he asks, resting an elbow on the counter and his head on his hand. She nods, and he smiles back at her. "This is nice," he murmurs, his eyes brown and affectionate as they study her.
He was always at his most dangerous first thing in the morning. That's another thing she remembers.
Bed head and sleepy eyes on Will Gardner? Definitely a force to be reckoned with.
"It is," she whispers softly, feeling like she's watching in slow motion as his hand covers hers on her knee. His fingers are warm, and she feels herself flip her hand so their palms kiss. That feels even nicer.
She can't remember someone wanting to hold her hand.
"I'm going to kiss you good morning now." His voice is a lot closer when he speaks again, and she lifts her eyes to find his inches from hers. "Fair warning," he murmurs, before his lips descend on hers, warm and wet and tasting like the barest hint of vanilla from his coffee.
As good morning kisses go it's pretty spectacular, and she finds herself chasing his lips for a second kiss when he pulls away. His laughter rumbles against her lips but then he's kissing her with a little more intent, his other hand sliding up to cup the back of her head and angle her gently against his mouth.
When she breaks away to catch her breath he gentles his kisses completely, brushing a series of light butterfly kisses against her lips before pulling away completely. She can't help touching a finger to her gently swollen lips, and catches the laughter in his eyes as he watches her.
He's kind of intoxicating, in her kitchen at seven in the morning.
A comfortable silence falls over them as they both turn their attention back to the steaming mugs of coffee in front of them, and by the time that she can breathe steadily again, she finds herself marvelling at the fact that it's not awkward between them, not even a little bit.
She feels like it should be, after where she's been all night, but… it isn't.
When she risks a glance over at him, he's watching her quietly, and she can't help the smile that crosses her face. When he answers her with a smile of his own, she feels like it should be ridiculous that they're sitting in her kitchen at seven in the morning, grinning at one another like teenagers.
But it isn't.
"How are you doing?" he asks eventually, breaking the silence.
"Glad to be back," she tells him honestly, resting her hands flat against the counter. "It showed…" sighing softly, she shakes her head. "It showed me how uncomfortable I am with him now." They haven't discussed her marriage to Peter in so many words, and she's not naïve enough to not realise that there are some wounds that run far deeper for Will than the fact that she's technically still married to Peter while they're… whatever they are right now.
She has divorce papers, hidden away in her room. They've been there for months.
She hasn't even told Owen she's got them yet. It's one of the biggest decisions she's ever had to make in her life though, one that involves Will yet again, and she's finding it harder than she expected.
"It can't be easy," Will murmurs then, his fingers nudging against hers for a second. There's no edge to his voice, no resentment in his comment despite how hard it must be for him, and she doesn't think she's ever been more grateful to have this amazing man back in her life again. Shaking her head, she curls her fingers around the edge of the counter.
"I got what we needed," she murmurs, returning to safer territory through an intense desire not to ruin the beautiful morning they're sharing with talk of her husband as she starts to fill him in on what Peter told her. By the time they've discussed what it might mean for the case, her bedroom door is creaking open again and Grace comes padding out, the stuffed rabbit Alicia hadn't noticed clutched in one hand, close to her chest. Her face lights up when she spots her mother, and Alicia leans down to pick her up before her arms are even outstretched.
"Hi, baby girl," she murmurs, giving her a kiss. "I missed you last night."
"I had bad dream, momma," Grace tells her seriously, her little fingers settling at Alicia's chest.
"Mm, I heard that sweetheart," she murmurs softly, running a hand through her hair. "Did Will give you good cuddles?" Grace nods, wriggling on Alicia's lap to flash Will a shy smile.
"She was very brave," Will murmurs, tapping her nose lightly with a finger and giving her a smile. "Now, do you like pancakes as much as your mom does?" he asks, laughing softly as Grace bounces a little. "I'll take that as a yes," he murmurs, lifting himself out of his seat.
Grace kicks her legs happily as she snuggles back into her mother, and Alicia can only laugh, picking up her mug for a long sip. When she stands it down, Will's grinning at her. His voice is soft when he murmurs what she could already tell he was thinking.
"Like mother, like daughter."
A little under two weeks later, Alicia finds herself trapped in her apartment with Kalinda and three children, waiting for phone calls from an appeals court clerk and trying desperately to figure out what they missed.
She and Kalinda have formed a firm friendship, one that feels a lot more honest than any of the friendships she thought she had in Highland Park. Kalinda's honesty is refreshing as much as her reticence to talk about her own life is frustrating, but there's something about the other woman that she trusts.
As such, she's let her in where others have failed.
"So, Will babysits your kids?" Kalinda asks, right on cue as she reclines back against the pillows, trademark smirk on her face as she raises an eyebrow. "I'd pay to see that."
"He looked after them a couple weeks ago, while I was at the prison," Alicia confirms, turning to face her. "But you already know that don't you?" A short nod is all the response she gets. "Zach and Grace like him, and after everything with Jackie," she sighs, "he offered and I couldn't say no."
"He's pretty taken with them," Kalinda adds astutely, flicking through some of the paperwork in her lap as she speaks. "Although not just them if we're being honest."
"I didn't realise we were being honest," Alicia counters, trying to stave off the flush that threatens to take over her cheeks.
"So he… stayed the night?" Kalinda asks, the look in her eyes far too knowing.
"It was a conjugal visit, Kalinda. You know they don't let you out until 6.30 the following morning."
"Did he make you breakfast the next morning?"
She's never been happier for her daughter than when a little face peers around the door, and she smiles encouragingly. "You can come in, sweetheart," she murmurs, leaning over to pick up Grace as she dances over to her mother, her little pink skirt flying around her legs. "Are Zach and Nisa still playing?" she asks, catching Grace's wandering hands before she can make a grab for the paperwork covering the bed. Grace nods, shooting a slightly suspicious look in Kalinda's direction.
"Hi," Kalinda offers, slightly awkwardly, and Alicia does her best not to laugh. Apparently, she's found someone Kalinda Sharma is not an expert at reading.
"This is Kalinda, sweetheart," she murmurs, "she works with mommy and Will, remember?"
"Will," Grace murmurs happily, her little eyes darting around the room as if she expects to see him. The look in Kalinda's eyes only gets more knowing as she seems to slip right back into her comfort zone, and Alicia buries her face in her daughter's curls.
"Will's not here, sweetheart," she murmurs, "he's at work."
"Work," Grace sighs, snuggling into Alicia's arms.
"Spend a lot of time in here, does he?" Kalinda murmurs, amused. Alicia hopes that the glare she sends her way conveys exactly how much she doesn't want to have this conversation. "You've seemed different lately," she muses, marking a piece of paper. "Happier."
"Do you remember what my life was like when you met me?" Alicia asks sarcastically, trying not to jostle Grace as she starts to fall asleep.
"Not what I meant. What happened to the you who shared everything, anyway?"
"She wised up to your sneaky investigative ways."
tbc