Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: I seem to be recruiting more fans. I'm so glad! I was worried there for a little while. Anyway, per request, Kalinda will appear in this chapter, and possibly later as well. I'm not sure yet. I don't really have things defined out long term. I'm more of a write by the seat of my pants type person. That being said, I hope all of my loyal followers continue to enjoy the story.

Aisha – Don't worry about it. I was a posting fiend the other day. I barely got any real work done. And done worry about your grammar, I think you're doing fine. I can understand what you're saying. I'm glad I have a diverse following for this story, so don't worry about still being in school. I'm working on my Bachelor's Degree myself, so I'm in school too. Also don't worry about the reviews you leave me, I really don't care if they're constructive or not, so long as I'm not receiving flames, I'm a happy camper. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you said I made the kids relatable. I was trying so hard, but I have nothing base it off of, as my parents were happily married until my Dad passed away a few years ago. I just tried to imagine what I would feel like and go from there, so I'm glad I got something right. I liked the part about Alicia snapping at the elder Mrs. Florrick too. In watching the show, I keep wishing she'd just say something instead of allowing herself to be treated like that. Ok, now, on with the chapter.

We'll See

Chapter 8

Alicia didn't go back to work, despite the fact that her drive to Eli's office and the subsequent conversation hadn't taken more than an hour. She hadn't wanted to return to work. While things had been mostly settled between her and Peter, there was still some tension in the office, and gossip was at an all-time high. Kalinda, who had been very supportive, and surprisingly forthcoming, had told her multiple times to ignore the ridiculous idiots and do what she needed to do. She took her advice for the most part. It was still difficult at times to ignore the whispers that seemed to follow her down every hall, and past every office door.

She settled at the bar in the kitchen. It had become her favorite place to work when no one was around. She knew that Peter would be picking the kids up after school and taking them to his mothers, where they would spend the next day, as well as the weekend. She had the entire apartment to herself for the weekend, and after her conversation with Eli, that was perhaps for the best. She didn't need any more drama than she was already facing.

Her thoughts turned to Kalinda for a moment. They had become better friends since she had divorced Peter. Alicia knew that the other woman had worked for Peter when he was in office, and she had been forthcoming with information when Alicia asked about various things. She had never seen Kalinda be emotional, or handle emotional people well, but she had been there when Alicia needed another woman to talk to.

She turned her thoughts back to her work. She was going to be productive while she had the time and the silence at her disposal, to get ahead in her work. She was so absorbed in her files and various papers, that the sound of the doorbell startled her enough that she almost fell off her barstool. She checked the time and noted that several hours had passed and she was starting to get hungry. She opened the door to find Kalinda on her doorstep, holding bags of takeout.

"Kalinda. This is a surprise. Did something come up? I've been so absorbed I didn't hear my phone."

"No, nothing came up. I came by to see how you were. You left in a rush earlier. I wanted to make sure that everything was ok." Alicia stepped back to allow her in.

"I'm fine. I had a minor issue to take care of with Mr. Gold, and decided to work the rest of the day here."

"That's good. I was worried for you. I brought Thai from that place you love." Alicia smiled fondly at the younger woman and started to clear away the bar. She hated to eat at the table. It reminded her of too many nights of silence between her, Peter, and the kids. She didn't want that feeling to pervade other dinners. She was glad she had Kalinda for a friend, even if she did suspect the woman's motivations were not always friendly. She was not as oblivious as some seemed to think she was. She was well aware that the young woman she was sharing dinner with, hit for both teams. It was what made her so interesting. She wasn't attracted to a gender, but a person.

The evening passed quickly in the face of good companionship. The women talked about everything from the people they worked with, to mundane things, all the subjects that women covered in their discussion with other women. It was nearing midnight when Kalinda took her leave. Once the door was shut and locked behind her, the true emptiness of the apartment seemed to close in on her. She didn't really want to be alone and was half tempted to call the younger woman and ask her to stay the night just so she wouldn't have to deal with her silent home. She shook her head to clear that thought away. She knew that she would have to get used to it at some point and that it might as well be sooner rather than later.

As she lay in her empty bed, in the dark, she briefly wondered what it would be like to have Eli lying next to her. Since he'd been released to come home, she'd never let Peter into her bed with her. He'd stayed in his room and when they'd been intimate those few times, they were never in her bed. It was like she didn't want to taint her bed with memories of his indiscretions, or anything relating to Peter in anyway. Her thoughts turned again to Eli, as they had been more and more in recent months, ever since their first real conversation in her office. She was willing to trust him again, knew that she already was, when she had walked out of his office earlier. She could even go so far as to see them together at some point in the distant future, if she squinted really hard, but she wasn't ready to embark on that particular journey so soon after getting burned. She had to admit that she'd been getting over Peter for more than a year, despite the fact that she'd stayed married to him for that amount of time after everything came to light.

Alicia conjured an image of Eli. It was hard to picture him in anything other than the suit she always saw him in, but there he was, tie loosened, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, like he'd been the night she'd made him dinner. He was relaxed and smiling, and she felt herself smiling in return. It was with that image fixed in her mind that she fell into sleep.

The next morning Alicia was up bright and early. Without the kids to see off to school she was at a slight loss as to what to do with her early morning. Knowing that she could always work, she went earlier than normal to get a jump on the day. She had court that afternoon so she spent plenty of time going over her case files and notes to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. Kalinda stopped in on her way to her office and said good morning. Will waved as he walked past, and Diane nodded in her polite way. The usual chatter started to gain momentum as more and more staff entered the office. Their voices became a gentle hum in the background until it ceased abruptly, causing Alicia to look up and see what had caused the silence.

The elevator doors were just closing behind the biggest bouquet of flowers she'd ever seen. At the center, a large grouping of purple hyacinths caught her attention. The rest of the flowers were roses, ringing out in a wave of color. Around the centered purple blossoms were a ring of perfect ruby red roses followed by a ring of white roses, and lastly a mix of dark and light pink, with fern leaves for decoration. The entire thing was massive, obscuring the person carrying the flowers, except for their hands, gently gripping the vase which was a beautiful swirl of amethyst, ruby, and cobalt. She'd never seen such a wonderful array in her life. All the ladies seemed to be in awe, herself included. Even Kalinda stopped to study the scene. The young man behind the flowers politely asked for her, and she was in sudden shock. All eyes turned to her, and she had to slide her court mask into place to avoid showing her shock, and intense pleasure that such a wonderful arrangement could be for her. One of the assistants pointed her out, and the young man started toward her office. He was obviously used to walking with large arrangements because he avoided running into anything or anyone. She shook herself free of her internal shock and cleared a spot for the bouquet to reside. She thanked the young man and gave him a tip, waiting until he was gone to search for a card. She could tell the whole office was waiting with baited breath to see who would send such a beautiful thing to her. Alicia opened the card and started to read.

Alicia,

Purple hyacinths symbolize an apology, and even though I apologized before, allow me to do so again. I'm sure being the well versed person you are, you can guess what the rest are for. Thank you again for giving me a second chance.

E

Alicia read it again before allowing herself to sit slowly in her chair. She was in shock. It was so unlike him, at least what she knew of him. He had completely surprised her. She'd never suspected anything so romantic to come from Eli Gold.