A/N: I know I haven't updated this story in forever, but 5x15 happened and I'm sure you understand that I haven't really been in the mood to write much ever since. This chapter had been written before the episode and all I can promise is that I will try to continue this fic at some point. Hope you'll be patient and stick around. (:

Chapter Five

When Diane noticed her husband approaching from the entrance she flashed him a smile.

"Your dad has just arrived," she told her daughter who was on the other end of the line.

"Tell him I said hi. Enjoy your lunch," Emma replied.

"Thank you. Bye," Diane hung up as Will stepped next to her and kissed her on the lips before taking the seat opposite from her.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he apologized for what had only been a few minutes, so she'd barely noticed. She had called Emma to check up on the kids at home while waiting.

"I haven't been here for long," she reassured him. "Emma says hi. Everything is okay at home," she added.

"Good. The week is almost over," he sighed and she noticed not for the first time during the week how tired he looked.

He had come home late the last few nights and left early in the mornings. That's why she'd suggested this lunch date, so they could spend some quality time together. It was needed even more because of the interview he was supposed to give the next day.

"Yes, almost," she smiled at him. "Is everything all right at the firm?" she asked concerned. She hadn't gotten any calls since the day before yesterday and she'd found herself missing them.

"It is. Elsbeth is handling the Grey depos and Gillian is my second chair at the Reed trial. Both are going well so far," he said confidently, reaching for the menu on the table.

"How is Gillian doing?" she inquired.

"She got up to speed quickly, so I might promote her to first chair," he answered flipping through the pages of the menu.

"Looks like you got everything under control," she smiled to herself and reached for her menu, even though she already knew what she was going to order.

"I do, so all you have to do is focus on the campaign," he looked up and their eyes met for a brief second, so he was able to see her smile as well.

"I will," she replied, feeling a little left out, but she knew it shouldn't have bothered her.

She had given him this chance to do things on his own and wanted to trust him fully.

"Lunch was a nice idea, reminds me of our date nights. We should make it a regular thing," he suggested, turning the focus of the conversation to them, which Diane didn't mind.

"Yeah, we really should," she returned the smile holding his gaze.

They hadn't had a date night in years, but they had spent most of their time together at work and at home anyway. It would have felt good to get away sometimes, just the two of them, but it rarely happened unless it was a work related trip or their anniversary that they still celebrated each year.

"What do we know about this interview?" Will brought up the subject after the waiter had taken their orders.

Diane had mentioned the interview to him Monday evening and as expected he'd said yes. He hadn't even seemed hesitant and Diane was glad he'd proven her right. But he obviously needed to know more details.

"She will surely ask how you feel about my decision, if you are supportive, if you are okay with my ambitions, how it all affects our marriage. She might want to talk about you running our firm alone, that sort of things. She is known for digging deeper, but I don't see how she could find anything she could corner us with," she finished and Will seemingly agreed with everything she said.

"I think we'll be fine," he reached out over the table to take her hand and squeezed it gently. "So tell me how the campaign's going." he pulled back his hand, but his eyes stayed on her.

"It's going very well actually," she replied confidently. "According to the polling's my family profile appeals to the voters, we're doing well with endorsements. Eli is satisfied."

"I like the sound of that," he said with a supportive smile on his face. "And how are you and Eli getting along?"

"With a few bumps, but we haven't had any major disagreement, yet," she pointed out with a grin, thinking of the day she'd introduced Eli to Will. The two men had only talked for a few minutes but she could still clearly recall Will's words, who wasn't exactly fond of her choice, but agreed that Diane needed Eli to win.

"I hope it stays that way," he responded playfully.

"He is coming over tonight, to talk to the kids," she reminded him in case he forgot.

"I'll try to be home earlier," he promised.

"Speak of the devil," Diane joked, realizing her phone was buzzing on the table with Eli's name flashing on the screen. "I'm afraid I need to get that," she reached for the device.

"I thought you are entitled to a lunch hour," Will said in a teasing tone.

"I'll remind him right now," she smiled, lifting the phone to her ear. "Hallo."

"We have a problem," Eli's agitated voice sounded intense even through the line, so Diane decided it would be best to swallow her playful complaint about his call.

"What problem?" she inquired and saw the concern on Will's face right away.

"Victoria Adler has just announced her candidacy."

"What? Vicky?" Diane was quite stunned to hear the news.

"Vicky?" Eli asked suspiciously. "I sense there's a backstory to this," he guessed and Diane couldn't deny it.

"We used to be friends," she replied, knowing she'd have to share the details with him anyway.

"We need to talk as soon as possible." Diane didn't like Eli's commanding tone, but she considered it justified. This piece of news definitely affected their campaign a great deal.

"I'll be back in thirty minutes," she promised, figuring that would give her enough time to eat her lunch that had arrived while she'd been on the phone.

"You have to leave?" Will seemed slightly disappointed. He hadn't touched his plate yet, he'd been waiting for Diane to finish the call.

"Right after lunch. I'm sorry," she added, grabbing her knife and fork to start her lunch quickly.

"What happened?" he inquired in a worried voice, following her lead.

"Looks like I'm not the only female candidate anymore," she declared with a sigh.

"Is it Vicky Adler?" he guessed right.

"Yeah, looks like she wants to try something new," she shook her head, not pleased with this turn of events. Victoria Adler was the chief judge of the county, Diane didn't know why she decided to run for a different office, but she'd listen to her announcement as soon as she got back to her campaign headquarters anyhow.

"Didn't her husband just die?" Will reminded Diane of something that might have affected Vicky's decision.

"Yes and she will probably use it to her advantage," she noted, she knew her former friend well after all. If anyone could spin and sell a story to their advantage regardless of the facts, it was Vicky.

"But you have a good campaign strategy and the best campaign manager," he offered, pep talks obviously not being his strong suit.

"Eli sounded concerned too," she pointed out.

"I'm sure you two will figure out how to handle Vicky," he tried to calm her and she appreciated the gesture, but it wasn't too helpful.

"We will do our best," she wanted to sound positive, even though she felt uneasy about this development.

She had never really felt threatened by her other two opponents. Neither of them had been endorsed by Illinois' most prominent voices and their families looked dysfunctional at best in comparison to Diane's. Campbell had three divorces under his belt and a son who had gotten kicked out of Northwestern. Walker couldn't pride himself running on family values either. Just last month, news broke that his daughter had been involved with a married NBA player. Victoria Adler, however, was a different matter. With her squeaky clean reputation and the advantage of being an elected official already, she was a serious challenger.

Having her as an opponent unsettled Diane. They knew each other quite well and their friendship hadn't ended on the best note. And while Diane would have been reluctant to use her knowledge of the other woman against her, she wasn't sure Vicky would show her the same courtesy.

She had a feeling this campaign might turn into more of a challenge than she'd anticipated and not even the thought that she had Eli Gold on her side was able to make her feel better.