Disclaimer: The Good Wife is not mine

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming, and more

August, 2017, Chicago

Alicia was no quite certain just how her brother had managed to loose the hound of press on their journey from the airport to his apartment, however she was extremely pleased that he had. Standing in the living room of his small but homely apartment in the city she peered outside, and smiled when she saw the pavement clear of photographers. It had been her hope that by leaving DC for a month she would manage to not only get her head in order but escape the press. It seemed that had been the wrong thing to think.

Turning around she smiled once more at the sight of to her brother walking over to the sofa with a bottle of wine and two glasses. It was his birthday in a couple of days and she had used that as her excuse to come and visit him. However when she informed him she would like to stay for a month if he would have her, Owen was more than acutely aware that she was not leaving DC simply for his birthday. "Sit down and have some wine sis. God knows you deserve it. The press are like rats, scuttling after you..." Her younger brother commented, and Alicia smirked at the look of absolute distaste which was splayed across his face at the thought.

"I'm so sorry they badgered you-"

"Hey, what am I here for. To them I am a strong manly man who is protecting you!" Owen replied, after Alicia had apologised. He puffed out his chest and attempted to look like one of the hunks from tv. That made Alicia laugh once more, something she had done so rarely as of late. Being with Owen was just what she had needed. He had a way of making her feel like a child again. And whilst he nagged at her and got one her nerves more often than not, she loved him none the less.

"Well don't be surprised if they think that I'm having an affair with you!" Alicia half joked. It never ceased to amaze her the stories that the tabloids would create just to have a front cover and gain a reaction.

"Now that would be a story!" Owen commented as he took a long drink of his wine, before he had even poured his sister a glass. She just laughed and did it herself before curling up into the soft fabric of the squishy sofa and letting out a deep breath. Her head rested against the cushion and the fatigue inflicted by travel began o set in. Her eyelids were heavy, and the weight of the world on her shoulders made her body ache. Mentally she decided to book herself a massage at some point in the very near future.

"When are the munchkins arriving?" Owen questioned. Zach and Grace were to come down for the weekend. It would be the first time that they would see Owen since the scandal had broken. Grace would then stay with her mother in Chicago until they both returned home. Florrick & Associates was stable enough to cope without her for a month. In actual fact she was confident it would survive without her all together. That was why she was currently considering opening up another set of offices in Chicago. The city had always been home to her, especially now. Owen was there and so was her mother – well for the part of the year that she wasn't off on holiday anyway. Leaving Washington DC felt like the best thing she could do. Especially considering Zach had already moved out and Grace would be doing the same come September.

Then there was Peter.

Escaping DC was so tempting, but what about her marriage. Alicia was hesitant to admit that she had stopped even considering him in her decisions. Their marriage seemed like just a piece of paper, and she was blindingly aware of the fact that all it would take to dissolve it would be another piece of paper.

"Friday."

"So they miss my birthday?! How dare they. I hope they are not wanting to stay here after such outrageous behaviour!" Her brother joked. Zach had an internship and was staying near university for the summer. Grace had been volunteering at a children's club for her church and had wanted to stay for the remainder of the week because it was activities week and they were going to go to a theme park.

Alicia smiled at the thought of her children, she honestly was so proud of them. Zach had not let the scandal phase his school work and if anything he had worked even harder. Getting a first in every assignment he did. Grace had simply let herself realise that she was lucky in the grand scheme of things and worked with those less fortunate to remind herself that whilst she was hurting, there were people who needed help. That was why she had become even deeper into her religion. Something that Alicia had been concerned by at first. Now though, seeing how much strength it had given her daughter, the lawyer no longer commented.

The sun was slowly beginning to set over the city of Chicago, and from the sofa in his living room both Alicia and Owen watched as the sky turned from blue to orange and red. Her eyes were fixated on the sky, and silence had filled the room for the last twenty minutes. A rare thing when you were with Owen. He leant forward and grabbed the second bottle of red of the night and filled up their glasses before settling back. "Please God tell me that you are going to divorce him." Owen's words broke the silence, and Alicia sighed, looking at her brother. It was a subject she had been waiting to be brought up ever since they had escaped the cameras in his car.

Taking a sip of her wine she looked down. "I don't know." Was her honest answer. That caused her brother to groan. "I don't...I can't go through it again, you know? The pain and the betrayal. We were finally good again, or at least I thought we were. Then I find out that-" She stopped herself.

"He doesn't deserve you, he never has." Owen scoffed.

"I don't deserve what he put me through." She commented. "At the same time though, he is the father of my children. There are other people to consider. I just...I don't know anymore."

"Zach is 19, and Grace is 18 Alicia. He is at college and she won't be far behind him. Have they even seen him since it all came out?"

"Grace has, she din't say anything though. He called Zach, I don't know what they said but Peter looked like he had been punched in the stomach when he hung up."

"They are sick of it Alicia, they're sick of what he is doing for you. You're kids are old enough to deal with you two splitting up. All they want is for you to be happy."

"The press, my firm-"

"Oh my god!" Will groaned as he leant back against the sofa. "Are you kidding me? The press?! Oh heaven forbid if we were to upset the press!"

"I can't forgive him, not again, I don't trust him Owen."

To anyone watching it would be a strange sight, simply because she was sat there with tears pouring down her face and he was sat next to her grinning like a cheshire cat. Owen reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small business card. "Then get rid of him sis. Move on, live your life. Have steamy sex with a hunk!" His sister just laughed at him, and Owen winked before handing over the card. "Rumour has it he is the best there is, and you will need the best. God knows Peter is not going to want to let you go!"

Alicia just looked down at the thick ,high quality, white card that her brother had handed to her and read the name in black, italic, times new roman font.

David Lee

Family Lawyer

Below was his number. Alicia sighed. "You have an appointment with him tomorrow at 11am." Owen informed her, a smug and satisfied look on his face.

"Owen, I think I want a divorce." She said, a smile on her lips after a few minutes silence. She watched as her brother jumped up from his seat and began to dance around the apartment shouting that he needed to go out and get champagne. Alicia just smirked at him. Maybe she was giving up, maybe she should stick with Peter. But once had been hard enough. Twice. She couldn't forgive him.

"Is he free?" Will Gardner asked the assistant of David Lee, the family lawyer, as he stood outside of the other man's office.

"He is in with a client. They should just be finishing up though-" Before the young brunette, with large glasses and short pixie cut hair had chance to finish the door opened.

"I will have my assistant drop the papers off in a couple of days Alicia. Have a read through them and let me know what you think. If there are any changes then just write them on." David said, that smug grin he always wore on his face. Alicia Florrick just nodded and placed her black leather handbag over her shoulder.

"Thank you David. I appreciate you help." She smiled and turned around, about to leave. Only to stop. When she had walked into the firm about an hour ago, the fact that it was Lockhart & Gardner she was walking into had not even struck her. However now she wondered how exactly she hadn't realised. Gardner. Will Gardner. Mr Georgetown. Him.

"Alicia, hey." He said, eyes wide with surprise. It had been twenty years, yet he would recognise that voice and those eyes for the rest of his life. Even after two decades apart he still felt his heart hurt at the sight of her. He still had to push the thought of what if I hadn't ended it? From his head. He still had to remind himself that she was most likely a different person now. He was surprised to see that she was dressed casually, not in the suit that he was used to seeing her wear on tv. The dark brown hair that had bee longer back in Georgetown was now pulled back into a pony tale, and she wore a pair of skinny dark blue jeans, a white over sized t-shirt that fell off of one shoulder and black ankle boots.

"Hey." She replied, despite the heart ache that he had caused her all those years ago, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. Dressed in a pale blue shirt, tie, and black suit he looked smart. Will Gardner, the one who always refused to grow up looked like an adult. He had filled out with muscle, and let his hair grow a little longer that it had been years ago. No wonder he is Chicago's 16th most eligible bachelor Alicia thought to herself. "How are you?" She questioned, still with a small smile on her face.

"Okay, good, actually. How about you?" He questioned before he even thought. "Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say-"

"It's okay." She said, before being cut off by her phone. "Sorry, I have to get this it is my son, Zach. It was good to see you Will, and thanks David." Alicia said, addressing both men before walking away and answering her phone. Head spinning from a mixture of her meeting with David Lee, the prospect of her divorce and her encounter with Mr Georgetown as Owen had nicknamed him all those years ago. "Hey Zach, what's up?"

David Lee turned away from the figure of Alicia Florrick and towards Will Gardner. "So, you know the wife of the Vice President?" Will internally groaned at the look of smugness on the face of David Lee.

"Knew her." Will corrected. "A lifetime ago." The named partner added as he eyes returned to the figure of Alicia who was stood talking on her phone as she waited for the lift to arrive. As she got on, he realised much to his own displeasure that it really was a lifetime ago that he had known her. A lifetime ago when they were young, ambitious and completely head over heels in love with one another. Before they knew the pain and hardship of the real world.

Reviews please!

Abby