Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Spoilers: None
A/N: I'm just trying to give it an ending. I lost interest in the show and never even finished watching the 3rd season. I have no clue what has been happening, so hopefully this will be enough of an ending.
We'll See
Chapter 17
For some reason, Alicia expected the weekend to be more dramatic. It had passed with a quiet certainty that her children were happy that she was happy. The following week and month proceeded in much the same fashion. She had half expected to be vilified in the news for moving on so suddenly, or be accused of having an affair behind Peter's back with Eli. However nothing ever appeared in the news. She and Eli weren't secretive about their relationship, nor did they advertise. They simply went about their lives as though they had never been in the public's eye. It seemed to be working.
Things at the firm were good. Every day she was doing something that proved not only to herself but to her colleagues that she was more than just Peter's wife. She had earned her own law degree right alongside Peter and Will, and was just as competent, if not as experienced as the men. She loved her job. She was happy to be doing it. That feeling was why she wanted to be a lawyer in the first place.
At home her children seemed to be coping well. Jacqui had back off for the time being, but Alicia knew it was only a matter of time before she resumed her old habits. She seemed to want to stalk to children when they weren't with her. It was creepy but Jacqui had become accustomed to having the kids around. Peter was trying to find work, possibly out of state, which meant that Jacqui would see even less of the children. She was sure that the older woman would have a complete fit at some point in the future.
Eli had been wonderful. He had taken the time to get to know each of the children, what the liked and what they hated. He had brought his own daughter over for dinner to meet the kids and her. She was very opinionated and out spoken. Alicia guessed it came from Eli's ex-wife, as he was one to measure his words carefully. She truly enjoyed spending time with him. Their conversations always went beyond just what they were currently working on. They could talk about anything and everything.
Owen had come for a short visit to inform her he was taking a teaching position at a university in town. She was pleased that he would be around. Once he realized that Eli had shown his loyalty to Alicia, and had seen how happy she was with him, he didn't have a word to say about their relationship. He became supportive especially when she began humming while cooking dinner.
It was another six months of things progressing quietly before Alicia felt uneasy about anything. It had nothing to do with Eli, but more to do with Jacqui. She had become increasingly demanding about seeing the children. Peter had been picked up as a consultant within the city so she had been seeing the kids as much as she had previously but Alicia felt very uncomfortable about the way she was starting to show up at the kids school and at random times during the evening, sometimes after the kids had gone to bed for the night. Alicia had brought it up with Peter but he never seemed to be able to tell his mother no.
It came to a head when Eli was over one evening. He was planning the stay the night and the kids had bid them both goodnight and were currently getting ready for bed. Jacqui showed up on the doorstep, knocking very loudly and yelling through the door. Alicia had gone to answer it when she barged in acting erratically.
"I need to see the children. You can't keep them from me! They are mine grandchildren! I deserve to see them anytime I want!" Jacqui ranted.
"Eli, call Peter. He needs to come over right now. Tell him Jacqui is here and very upset." Alicia ordered quietly as the older woman continued to rant. Eli nodded and moved to get his phone in the bedroom. This set Jacqui off again.
"How could you! You whore! Sleeping with another man, when my son waits at home for you! How could you do such a thing with your children in the house! You are a vicious slut!" Alicia knew she wasn't in her right mind and didn't know what she was saying but at the same time, those were uncalled for accusations.
"Jacqui, you need to calm down for a minute. You are scaring the kids. They don't understand why you are yelling at me, and this is not a conversation they need to hear right now." Alicia gestured to Grace and Zach standing in the doorway looking shell shocked. "We can talk about things but we need to so quietly and rationally, ok?"
Eli edged back into the room. Peter was already on his way. He had called his mother when he was on way home and was worried about some of the things she had been mumbling about. He would be there in a few minutes if not sooner. Alicia was trying to appeal to Jacqui's sense of propriety. He hoped it worked.
"Grace, Zach, you guys need to go to bed. You have school tomorrow. Your grandmother and I need to talk about some things so we will try to keep our voices down. Go to bed now." The kids nodded in acceptance. They knew that something wasn't right with their grandmother. Peter walked in a minute later to find Jacqui still looking slightly wild, and Alicia and Eli sitting calmly on the couch trying to wait things out.
"Mom, what's going on?" Peter asked.
"I just wanted to see the children. She's keeping them from me. Now she's sleeping around behind your back." She gestured to Eli.
"Mom, Alicia and I got a divorce. We haven't been together for nearly a year. She has moved on and so have I. We are both seeing other people. I explained that to you a while ago. As for the children, she isn't keeping them from you. I know it seems like you don't see them as much anymore, but they are growing up. They are old enough to go do things without being supervised. They have after school activities and sports, as well as friends that they want to hang out with. You can't control everything that they do. They have to be able to live and grow, just like I did. I know you don't like it, but that's how things are. It will be fine. I promise. Let's get you home now though. The kids need to be asleep soon so that they can be ready for school in the morning." Peter shuffled a confused looking Jacqui out of the door, closing it softly behind him. He didn't want to intrude on any more of their evening than his mother already had.
"I hope she's ok" Eli said quietly wrapping an arm around Alicia's shoulders.
"I'm worried. I'll check in with Peter in a few days, but that was almost like Alzheimer's or dementia. I hope it's nothing that serious."
"I hope not either. I don't like her just coming over here though. I'm going to worry about your safety and the kids as well." Eli paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I don't suppose I could convince you to move in with me? I was thinking we could find a place that would keep the kids in their same school but would be big enough for all of us to live. My place isn't big enough for all of us for more than a few weeks, and I don't feel good about you staying here…" Alicia silenced him with a kiss.
"That would be perfect Eli."
"Oh, well, good." He watched her for another moment. "I love you Alicia." She smiled up at him with one of her rare true smiles and proceeded to answer him with another, more in depth kiss.