Chapter 2

"You can't be serious."

"Would I really joke about Will being shot, Cary?"

"Sorry, Alicia," Cary replied apologetically. "Is he going to be okay?"

"They put him in a medically induced coma to try and minimize the damage to his brain," Alicia said as she put her free hand on her forehead with her elbow against her kitchen table. She had just gotten Zach and Grace to bed 20 minutes ago, and Peter was still here. In fact, he had just walked back into the kitchen and was looking at her with a questioning look on his face.

Alicia saw Peter's look, and said to Cary, "Look, I've gotta go. I'll be in tomorrow morning. Let me know if Kalinda or Diane call the office, okay?"

"Alright, Alicia," Cary said, "Good night." He put his office phone down on his desk at Florrick/Agos and Associates.

Alicia put her cell phone down on the table and rubbed her face with her hands. It had been a very long day.

"Who was that?" Peter asked as he leaned against the stove on the opposite side of the kitchen.

"Cary," Alicia replied as she looked up at her husband. "He wanted to know why I hadn't showed up after the luncheon this afternoon."

"Ah," Peter responded. "So, you're going into work tomorrow?"

"Yes, Peter, I'm going to work tomorrow," Alicia replied with a small amount of bitterness. "What else would I do?"

"Wait by Will Gardner's bedside?"

Alicia was surprised by Peter's annoyance. "Peter, I know you haven't always liked Will. He is one of my closest friends, and I was with him for a while. But don't joke with me. Will almost died for God's sake!"

"That's not what I meant!" Peter grew more angry. "You cheated on me with him!"

"And you didn't cheat on me?" Alicia felt no guilt in saying that. She intended to make a point – they had both cheated. But she decided that she didn't want to get in a fight tonight. She didn't want to wake the kids (even though they were teenagers), and she was tired and worried sick about Will. "Peter, I think it's time you left." She got up and opened the front door and stood inside the open doorway, and motioned him out.

Peter almost protested, but then decided against it. Alicia had made a point. He said goodnight, and no sooner had his feet stepped over the doormat was the door shut and locked behind him.

Inside the apartment, Alicia leaned against the door and sighed again. For the first time in a while, she wondered, Why am I still married to this guy? And then she answered her own question. Of course. He's the governor and I'm supposed to be the model wife.

"Mom?" Zach voice preceded his arrival from the hallway. "Is dad gone?"

"Oh, Zach, he just left. You ok?"

"Yeah," Zach shrugged like a typical teenager. "Are you?"

Alicia wondered what she should say to her eighteen year-old son, but then she settled on the best possible option: being honest. "No, Zach. I'm not ok. I'm worried sick about Will and…"

Zach embraced his mom in a hug. "Mom, you said yourself the doctors told you that he's going to live. He's going to be okay."

Alicia pulled out of the hug. "Thank you Zach, I appreciate that. Now if could go back to bed, I'll be going to bed soon too."

"Okay, Mom," Zach replied. "Good night."

"Good night." Alicia stood in the hallway and watched Zach walk down the hall and into his room. She then reached into the wine fridge, opened a bottle of red wine, and poured herself a glass before sitting down again at the kitchen table. After she took a sip, she gazed at the label on the wine – she hadn't even looked at it before pulling the cork out. The label read: Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2012. She wasn't sure why she had bought that particular wine, but then she realized why she still did.

It was Will's favorite wine.