The Other Side

Disclaimer: I still own nothing! Title and any lyrics used are from 'The Other Side' by Jason Derulo.

Author's Note: I so hope you're still all loving this story! There's not a lot of the kids in this chapter I'm afraid, but we're well into some forward movement for Will and Alicia so I hope that will make up for it! I'm shamelessly stealing scenarios and dialogue from the show here, but I hope you'll enjoy my twists on what we saw! As always, I'd absolutely love to hear what you think, every one of your reviews really does make my day!

Chapter Seven

And I know, we aren't friends anymore
If we walk down this road, we'll be lovers for sure…

Pushing open the door to the parking garage, Alicia takes a step out, tucking her blackberry into her purse and keeping her head down. She just wants to get back to her kids. It's been one of those days she told Will about on the way back from the ball game a few weeks ago.

One of those days when she just needs to hug her kids.

Amber Madison, on every chat show you can imagine.

It's humiliating, and she's furious at Peter all over again. Barely over her rage at Jackie, with her kids still struggling with bad dreams involving prisons and locked rooms, now she has to listen to Zach tell her over breakfast that Jessica at school heard her mommy saying something about his mom being cold.

She knows that wasn't what Jessica's mommy had meant.

Add that to the secret she now knows about Stern and can't breathe a word of due to attorney-client privilege, and it's rapidly becoming too much.

"Alicia." She startles badly when Will calls her name, her heart pounding in her chest. He's leaning against a pillar in the parking lot, legs crossed at the ankle, hands in his pockets. "Sorry," he apologises, pushing away from the pillar and taking a step towards her. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Hell of a day," she murmurs softly, doing her best to wave off his concern. He sighs heavily, but she just wants to get home. "I should…" she gestures in the direction of her car, keys in one hand. If she's right, he only wants to ask her more questions about Stern, and she doesn't think she's in the mood to be able to handle that.

She's tried to say what she can, but even that isn't much.

"I don't think you want to do that," he says quickly, hand darting out to curl around her wrist when she moves to step away. "I'm sorry, 'Leesh," he murmurs softly. "I know you've had an awful day and I don't want to make it worse, I really don't, but… there's someone waiting by your car." He runs a hand through his hair, looking frustrated as he sighs again. "I think it's Amber Madison."

"You think…" she breathes, something in her head starting to spin. His grip tightens a little on her arm, and she manages to suck in a breath.

"She can't see us from here," he murmurs softly. "So why don't you come with me? I'll take you home, or we can go grab a drink and swing by for your car later. Whatever you want." He's letting go of her arm as he pushes off the pillar, his fingers settling in the small of her back as he guides her in the opposite direction, towards the partner spaces.

He didn't wait for an answer.

They don't sit at the bar this time. Instead, he slides a tumbler across a secluded table to her, before sinking into the seat next to her.

"Drink," he murmurs softly, reaching over to curl her fingers around the glass. "Then I'll take you home to your kids."

"What is it?" she asks softly, her eyes finally focusing on the amber liquid in front of her.

She must've looked bad if he thought this was necessary.

"Scotch," he murmurs softly, taking a sip from his own glass. "It's good," he adds softly, and she realises his fingers are still wrapped around hers when she goes to lift the glass. "Calm your nerves."

The liquid burns as it slides down her throat, and she sets the glass down, burying her face in her hands.

"My marriage is over," she whispers quietly, rubbing a hand over her face before picking up her glass and taking a bigger swallow. "It's so… over." She looks up soon enough to catch the flash of pain that crosses his face, and finds herself reaching for his hand before she can stop herself. "My marriage has been over since the day that news broke," she says quietly, resolutely. "It's just... now it's real. And humiliating." She pauses for a long moment, trying desperately to blink back the tears in her eyes. "I never wanted to be like my mother."

"You're not like your mother," he objects, animation dancing in his eyes. And he's met her mother, so maybe he can judge? "Alicia, you are the most devoted mom I've ever known. Those kids want for nothing, and they never will. You are never going to be like your mother." She's not crying. She's not.

Except she is.

"Please don't go back to him," he whispers then, his voice raw with all the emotion they don't talk about, and it's too much and all too clear, all at once.

"I've got divorce papers at home," she whispers through her tears, looking up into those soulful brown eyes she's gotten to know so well again and telling him something she hasn't told anyone. "I've had them… for a while." Taking a deep breath, she looks down for a moment because the sheer hope in his eyes is threatening to overwhelm her. "I'm going to visit him in two days and I'm taking them with me. I'd already decided, before this, but I… I want it done, Will. I'm done. It just… took me a while to get there."

"I'm so sorry," he murmurs softly, fingers curling round hers again, and she can hear everything he isn't saying. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through this."

"Me too," she whispers. His fingers are on her cheek then, wiping her tears and curling in her hair, and she leans into the strength he's offering, laughing even as her tears fall. "Are you sure you want to take on all of this?" she asks quietly, shivering a little as his thumb runs along her jaw and she realises exactly what she's just asked him. Exactly what she's just taken for certain. He laughs, and she lifts her eyes to his. "Still time to run a mile in the opposite direction," she adds.

"Never been more sure," he whispers, his fingers sliding around to the back of her neck as she drops her forehead on his shoulder. "I'm all in," he whispers softly, fingers kneading her taut muscles. "Whenever and whatever, Alicia."

"Can you just… can you hold me, for a bit?" she finds herself asking, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "I just… I could really do with a hug," she continues, even as his arms are sliding around her body and drawing her into his embrace.

He's always given the most amazing hugs.

"As long as you want, 'Leesh," he's murmuring softly against her hair. "As long as you want."

Her hands are shaking too badly to open the door by the time he walks her up to her apartment, exhaustion and her horrible, horrible day and the promise of them a lethal combination, so he takes the keys from her hand and slides them into the lock before guiding her inside with his fingers on her back. She hears Jackie's voice berating her for the lateness of the hour at the same moment that she realises Will has stayed on the wrong side of the threshold. She's still too angry with Jackie to put into words, can barely bring herself to be civil to the woman especially when she shows no remorse for what she did, but she needs her to look after the kids. She can't work without her.

It's the worst kind of catch 22, and she doesn't have the strength to deal with her tonight.

Pushing down the panic that starts to resurface, she turns to Will quickly.

"Don't go," she whispers, her eyes widening slightly as she hears her words. "Not… yet. Please."

"Okay," he murmurs softly, and he already has the door closed behind them and is sliding her coat off her shoulders by the time her mother-in-law comes to a condescending halt in the entranceway.

"You're here," Jackie almost spits disparagingly in his direction, tutting as she turns to Alicia. "Really, Alicia, what will the children think? You have to remember how impressionable they are at that age."

"Go see your kids," Will whispers in her ear, even as Jackie continues to berate her. "Let them make your day a little better, and leave me to deal with the witch." She almost can't help the shaky laugh that wants out, but she does as he says and makes her way quietly towards her kids' rooms without sparing Jackie a second glance. Will's next words reach her just before she eases open Zach's door. "I think it's time for you to go home, Mrs Florrick. Alicia's got it from here."

Allowing a smile to finally cross her lips, she steps into the room, the dim glow of Zach's nightlight soothing on her tired eyes. Wide brown eyes blink up at her from the bed, and her smile only grows.

"I'm sorry I'm so late, sweetheart," she tells him quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed and opening her arms as he scrambles sleepily into them. Taking a deep breath of the sleepy smell of her son, her heart finally starts to calm. "I'm so glad to see you," she whispers, even as she feels his body start to grow heavy against her.

"Love you, momma," he murmurs softly, and she presses her lips to his forehead, easing him back down into bed.

"Go to sleep, my man," she murmurs softly. "I love you too." His long eyelashes flutter shut and she strokes a hand across his head for a few moments, until his breathing evens out. It sounds quiet outside the safety of his door, but she still steps through the bathroom that adjoins the children's rooms, dropping to her knees in front of Grace's bed. She's out cold, just as she expected, but she loses track of the amount of time she spends watching the steady rise and fall of her little chest.

It settles the last pounding of her heart, and finally she finds that her children have put her back together enough that she can stand up and walk out into the living room.

The sound of a spoon clinking against ceramic leads her to the kitchen, and she toes her heels off in the living room, padding through quietly and giving herself a moment to observe him unnoticed. Lean but broad shouldered, he stands with his back to her, suit jacket discarded as he focuses on the mugs in front of him.

He fits in her kitchen. Fits in this apartment that is just hers and the kids'.

The realisation is startling.

"I made you tea," he murmurs, startling her out of her daydreams without even turning to face her. "You're not as quiet as you think," he tells her, laughing softly, "but feel free to stare all you want." She's sure he turns around in time to see the fierce blush that crosses her cheeks, but his eyes are soft and tender as he holds out a steaming mug. "Two sugars, lots of milk," he murmurs, setting it on the counter in front of her and turning back for his own. "Jackie hates me, by the way," he adds wryly, dropping a kiss to her forehead like it's the most natural thing in the world as he walks past her on his way to the living room. "Your mother-in-law really is a piece of work."

It's a long moment before she can follow him.

He makes her laugh. Even on a day like this he makes her laugh, mug cradled between her hands as she sits in the opposite corner of the couch to him and feels the tension of the day all but seep out of her.

If only this was it. If only it could always be this simple.

"Let me take that," he murmurs, and suddenly he's leaning over her, into her personal space as he eases the now empty mug from her hands. When he sits back down he's a lot closer than he was, and the subtle, lingering scent of his cologne invades her senses. He's always smelt good. It's not the same cologne he used to wear at Georgetown - it's a little spicier, a little more mature, but over the last few months it's a scent she's come to know as 'him'.

He's starting to overwhelm her, and as his big palm comes to settle at the back of her neck, she sucks in a shaky breath. Because it feels like he's going to kiss her.

"'Leesh," he murmurs softly, his fingers pressing lightly into her neck. "Hey," he murmurs softly, pressing gently against her neck muscles. "You okay?"

She can only nod her head, closing her eyes for a long moment as his forehead comes to rest against hers. And now she knows he's going to kiss her.

"I need a plan," she breathes out, before she even realises what she's saying. When she opens her eyes, he's looking at her in confusion. "I get the romance," she whispers, "I like the romance. But I need you to show me a plan."

"Not everything needs a plan," he murmurs softly, his other hand coming to settle over hers.

"Everything that matters does," she whispers, forcing herself to move away from the intoxicating proximity of him. "I have two kids who mean the world to me," she continues, drawing her knees up to her chest but keeping a hold of his fingers. "I have the press waiting for any whiff of a new scandal. And I have a husband, for the time being anyway." She pauses, her thumb stroking lightly against his in what she hopes is apology. "Poetry is easy. Parent-teacher conferences are hard. If you really… if you're really in this, you're taking on a four and a five-year-old as part of the deal, Will."

"I know that," he breathes, reaching out to brush his fingers down her cheek. She reaches up on sheer instinct, holding his fingers there even as he leans awkwardly over her drawn up knees.

"So cut through that noise. Show me a plan," she whispers, and it almost feels like she's challenging him. If she could, she'd cross her fingers. Because she really wants him to step up.

He looks almost hesitant for a moment, and she holds her breath.

She doesn't have to hold it for long.

"You want to know my plan?" he asks, and she actually shivers a little at the sheer force in his voice. "My plan is I love you, Alicia. I've probably loved you…" his voice falters, just as her heart stutters a little, "ever since Georgetown." His forehead drops against her again, and she can't tear her eyes away from his. "And I think, if you let me, I can love your children too. Your kids… they're fantastic, Alicia. So yes, I'm in this, parent-teacher conferences and all. Maybe I don't have it all figured out, and maybe I don't have a plan," he sucks in a breath, and suddenly she sees it through the tears that blur her vision and the noise that rushes through her ears. Sees how absolutely terrified he is that she might say no. She's about to jump in and reassure him, when he finds his words. "Maybe I've never done any of this before. But they're your children, so I want to make a plan with you. With them, if you think that's important. I want to do it with you Alicia, not without you."

She kisses him, then. They don't come up for air for a while.

Half an hour later, he's shrugging into his jacket as she leans against the wall in the hallway. Her lips are warm and kiss swollen, but that doesn't stop him from drawing her in for one more, gentle kiss before he wraps his arms around her.

There will be no plan made tonight, but she has no doubt now that there will be one. And they'll make it together. Because she trusts him in a way that she can't trust anyone else at the moment.

"Get a good night's sleep," he murmurs softly, pressing his lips against her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

She realises the next morning that she gets a better night's sleep when he's the last person she sees at night.

Eleven days later, Will is sitting in Diane's office toasting the end of a case with her when the news headlines catch both their attention.

"It was revealed in court today that disgraced State's Attorney Peter Florrick has been served with divorce papers. The prosecution brought the papers into evidence, no doubt in a further attempt to prove that Mr Florrick should not be released on electronic monitoring for the duration of the trial. It will be of no surprise to anyone watching that adultery is the main ground cited in the papers, which were filed by the State's Attorney's soon to be former wife, Chicago lawyer Alicia Florrick…"

Diane sets her glass down on her desk, and turns to her partner. Her question is simple.

"Did this just become a problem?"

Two hours later, she watches Will hug a tearful Alicia in his office. She feels sympathy for the younger woman, can see it written all over her face how she didn't want her private life splashed all over the news like this.

She also knows from that one hug, from the look on Will's face as he holds the woman she's starting to suspect has always been the love of his life, that things might have just officially got complicated, but for her partner any complication would be worth it.

tbc.