It's done. The end of a journey. And I say good bye to a story that I loved to hate sometimes ;)
This chapter is dedicated to Mary! And I know you will say that you didn't do anything, but you kicked my butt and helped me tons with it :) THANK YOU!
The parts of the closings are borrowed from Boston Legal as homage to one of my fave series :)
I neither own The Good Wife nor Boston Legal. I just like to play ;)
Thanks for your patience with this and for your reviews. They keep me going. :)
Enjoy :D
Alicia rushed through the courthouse, slowing when she finally reached the door to the courtroom. She was late because her deposition had run longer than anticipated. She took a deep breath and straightened her clothes before she quietly opened the door and snuck in to sit down in the last row of the audience.
She glanced towards the front area and her gaze stopped at Will's back who was just getting up from the defendants table. It seemed she had made it in time for closing arguments. She watched him face the jury and starting to talk.
"Ned Hayden killed his wife. He's serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Justice has been served..."
It had been five months since she had last seen him. The day she handed him her resignation. She closed her eyes when her mind wandered back to the days that had followed. Their announcement had caused quite a stir but it had not been as bad as Alicia had feared. The newspapers had been full of it, of course and even some of the pictures of Will and her had found their way into the tabloids but thanks to Eli it had not been the worst of them. She silently thanked him once more for the support he had given her and all of her family during that time. He had also come up with the idea for all of them to leave the city for some days after the announcement. She was glad they had followed that advice and had spent a few days far away from the prying eyes of the Chicago journalists in a mountain cabin in Canada that belonged to a friend of Eli. And though they had the kids with them, she and Peter had managed to do some talking and even made a few decisions regarding their future together. One of the biggest decisions they came up with was that they agreed to move in back together. They also settled on that they would sell their old house and look for a new one as soon as everything had gone back to normal. Their new beginning, as they called it. And Alicia was looking forward to it as they finally had charged a real estate agent with finding some places for them to look at next week.
Once they were back from the cabin the press attention hit them again but most of it was concentrated on Peter as he continued the campaign and she busied herself with planning the new firm with Cary. She knew that during that time Peter and Eli shielded a lot from her what was going on in the press and with the campaign. So Peter's defeat at election night had come as a surprise to her. It had been close, but Kresteva walked away the winner. At first she was upset about Peter keeping the fact from her that he had been behind in the polls, but then she realized that she had preferred it to be left alone from all the campaign stuff. She participated in the necessary events, but the rest of the time she put all her energy into the new firm. After the results came in she felt bad and felt the need to apologize to Peter for not being more involved.
She found him on the balcony of the suite watching the illuminated skyline, deeply immersed in his thoughts as it seemed to her. She lightly touched his shoulder to draw his attention. His head turned and he smiled at her.
"Hey, babe!" he pulled her into an embrace so her back was resting at his chest while his arms encircled her waist.
"I am sorry." she whispered while searching for his hand that rested on her stomach, interlacing their fingers.
"Why didn't you tell me you were behind in the polls?" she turned her head to look at him. He just smiled at her and placed a kiss on her temple. She felt him shake his head slightly.
"It's okay. It really is." he placed another kiss on her hair and she leaned further back into his embrace.
"You had enough on your plate with the new firm and all. I really didn't want to burden you with bad news on top of that. You forfeited enough already. So I tried to shield you from all that." he squeezed her hand softly.
"Thank you for letting me concentrate on the new firm." she let go of his hands and turned within his arms to place a tender kiss on his lips.
"But you know that I'd been there if you told me about it, right?" she looked up into his eyes.
"Yes, and that's all that matters to me." he leaned in to brush her lips gently before pulling her close to his chest.
They stood like this for a while before Peter spoke again.
"I decided something before you came out here." he loosened his arms around her so she could look at him, a curious glimmer in her eyes.
"I will resign as State's Attorney. I need to do something else with my life." he answered her unspoken question.
She nodded briefly, staring at her hands resting on Peter's chest.
"Join us, me and Cary, at the new firm." she looked up at him again not really sure if she really meant what she had just proposed.
"What?!" Peter watched her surprised.
She thought about it for a couple of seconds and this idea made more and more sense to her.
"Yes, we could need you. We can only profit from your experience." she smiled at him convincingly.
"But this is your firm, your idea. I wouldn't want to interfere with that. And I doubt Cary and the others would be okay with that." he shook his had lightly. "I appreciate the offer but you certainly don't need me, Alicia. You're better than I ever was."
"Well, that might be right." she teased him and earned a small chuckle from him.
"But think about it, Peter. It could be like we thought back before we got married and dreamed of having our own firm one day."
"Yes, I remember. That dream we had before our life happened." he smiled at her sadly and she could still see the regret in his eyes for the mess he had turned their life into.
"Just think about it." she cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled at him.
"Okay, I will think about it." he flashed her a half-smile and pulled her closer again.
They didn't come to a decision that night but Peter really thought about it and after Alicia had talked with Cary and the other associates they agreed Peter would join them at the new firm.
"... And you're opening a Pandora's box of lawsuits. Not just against HMO's, but against all internet businesses. And who will ultimately end up paying for that? You know. It's you."
Wills last words of his closing brought her back to the present. She watched him walk back to his seat and their eyes met for a brief moment before Will turned and sat down.
She glanced over to the plaintiff's table and saw Peter rise from his chair. It was his first trial since he had stepped down as SA and he had been quite nervous the days before. She had promised him to be there yesterday when the trial started but her own trial had gone way longer than she had thought and she had missed his first day back in court. So she was glad she at least had made it in time for the closings. Peter walked over to the jury, glanced over the gallery and locked eyes with her. She smiled at him encouraging and he smiled briefly back at her before focusing on the jury and beginning with his closing.
"When I was eleven years old there came a time when the temptation to explore the more secretive recesses of my older sister's life became more than I could resist. I started by poking around in her room. I ended by reading her diary. My defense, she kept it right out in the open, under her mattress. And the little metal clasp on it was simply no match for the paperclip and the screwdriver. I was eventually caught, prompting my sister to have a lock installed on her door. The only consequence of the invasion of my sister's privacy was the temporary loss of her confidence and trust. The invasion of Jane Hayden's privacy led to her being stabbed and left to bleed to death in the street..."
She watched the jury react to Peter's words which she knew by heart. And with each word she saw him relax more and enjoy it. She observed how the jury nodded at his words and how he seemed to bring them over to his clients side. It reminded her how she had first laid eyes on him. Back in her first year at law school when her class had attended a real trial for observation. Peter had been the defendant's attorney back then. It had only been a robbery that his client was accused of but she was excited to watch him give his best for his client though it was obvious from the prosecutions evidence he had committed this crime. She had been so impressed by his appearance that she stayed behind after the trial was finished to talk to him. They chatted for a short while and he even gave her his card if she ever needed help with anything. She thanked him and said good bye not sure if he really meant it. So the card went into her desk drawer and she totally forgot about it until she ran into him at a coffee shop downtown. They started talking and found that beside the law they had other things in common as well. He had walked her home to her dorm and asked if he could see her again. Alicia smiled at the memory as it had lead her to this very point and she couldn't imagine wanting to be someplace else.
"...And now she's dead. Well Benefits made it easy for Ned Hayden to find his wife. As easy as looking under a mattress."
Peter had finished his closing and walked back to his seat, winking at her. She remained in her seat until the trial was over and walked slowly towards the front of the room. Will just nodded at her in passing. She hadn't expected otherwise. She knew he was still hurt about her leaving and surely pissed that Cary and her had taken some of the biggest clients with them, including Eli.
"Hey!" Peter greeted her while he packed his files.
"So, how was I?" Peter asked her while they were walking outside together.
"Well, how should I put it? There is always room for improvement, Mr. Florrick." she said in a severe tone.
Peter came to a halt outside the courtroom.
"But you said the closing was good when I showed it to you." he looked at her concerned.
Alicia would have loved to play this little game for a while longer but she simply burst out in laughter with the disturbed look he gave her.
"You were great, Peter." she managed to say while trying to compose herself but the doubt on his face made it difficult for her to stop laughing.
"Alicia, please! Calm down. Was it so bad?" he asked her insecure.
She had finally managed to still the laughter and smiled at him.
"No, Peter. As I said you were great. I loved the closing and you had the jury eating out of your hand during it. It was just like back then when we first met. You have not forgotten a thing." she leaned in and kissed him briefly on the lips.
"Ok, I'll believe you for now. But I will surely get a second opinion." he teased her already a mischievous twinkle in his eyes again.
"You can get your second opinion when your jury comes back. I have no doubt they will be in favor of your client." she smirked at him while they walked towards the exit.
"Are you done for today or do you need to get back to the office?" he asked her while they stepped outside.
"No, I'm done. Meet you at home?" she told him as her phone started ringing.
"Florrick." she answered and gestured Peter to wait.
"Already?...But we thought...No, I am at the courthouse...Ok, see you in a bit!" she finished the phone call and sighed.
"That was Cary. Our jury is already back. The judge wants to have the verdict read by today. So he summoned us in an hour. You don't have to wait, Peter."
Peter nodded before he leaned in to kiss her good bye and walked to his car while Alicia headed inside the court house again.
It was several hours later when she finally walked in the door. The first floor was bathed in darkness aside from a small table lamp in the hallway next to the stairs. She checked her watch and inhaled sharply when she saw it was nearly midnight. They had lost their case and went back to the office after the verdict to prepare the first steps for the appeal. And so once again she had not seen her kids aside from the few minutes at breakfast before Peter and her hurried out the door. The kids were on vacation at the moment and Alicia wondered for a while now if they could spend some days together before Zach left for college in a few weeks. Her heart clenched at the thought that Zach would not be here every day in a short time when she walked up the stairs. She still saw light under the bedroom door and was happy that Peter was still awake. But when she opened the door the room was deserted, just both bedside lamps were on. Then she heard the water running in the adjacent bathroom. She got rid of her heels and opened the door while unzipping her skirt. She had guessed right and Peter was in the shower. She undressed, slid the shower partition open and stepped inside.
"Hey, you! Nice surprise." Peter turned towards her and pulled her close to him under the warm jet of water.
"I saw you in court today." she whispered while she laced her fingers behind his neck and pulled him in to a kiss.
"You were amazing." she added after they broke the kiss. She loosened her hands from his neck and started trailing kisses down his throat. She peered up to his face and saw the confused look in his eyes while she slid her arms around his waist and continued to kiss her way down his chest. Suddenly she felt his hand under her chin, pulling her up gently.
"Do I need to tell you now that I have to study?" he asked her in a low voice and she could see a glimmer in his dark eyes.
"You could if you think it will stop me." she whispered while running a hand upwards over his arm and through the hair at his neck.
"Only if you'll help me." he teased her and placed a tender kiss on her lips.
"Sure, my pleasure." she smiled at him seductively before she resumed to trail kisses down his body.
The next morning Alicia woke in Peter's arms. She sighed content and snuggled herself deeper in to his embrace. Her mind wandered back to her thoughts from the previous day in the court room of how she first met Peter and when they started dating. In the last years she had often thought about if she had been better off never meeting him but looking back now she was glad she had. And though being and staying by his side had cost many sacrifices she regretted nothing and was exactly where she wanted to be.