I can't believe this is the 10th chapter! Enjoy

Chapter 10

Will was surprised by Alicia's offer, but he couldn't refuse. "Sounds good," he said. "Come on in."

"Thank you," Alicia said as she entered Will's apartment. She looked around at his furniture, and commented, "I can see why Josephine wanted to clean up your apartment."

"You aren't seriously a cleaning addict too, are you?" Will asked, hoping her answer was no. "No," Alicia replied as she removed her coat. "But things don't always look the best when they're untidy."

"Well, I'm totally fine with it," Will said. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, two forks, and two plates. Alicia set the cake on the counter and Will split it in half and served it up. They sat down on two of the chairs next to the kitchen table, and Will grunted in satisfaction after he took the first bite. "This is really good. Why don't Zach and Grace get to eat it?"

"They're with Peter tonight. Learning more about the State Dinner," Alicia replied, followed by a sigh. "It's in a few weeks, and there's a lot of hype around it because Peter has to give a big speech that is most likely going to be televised. And Zach and Grace are being allowed to go, so they're excited about that."

"That sounds like fun," Will said, smiling between two mouthfuls of cake. "Do I get to come?" he asked, jokingly.

"I don't know," Alicia said. "Last time I checked, you and Peter didn't really get along."

"I was only joking," Will said. He put his fork down and realized that he had finished his slice. "Thank you, Alicia, that was delicious," he said.

"You're most welcome," Alicia said, smiling. She still had a small amount of cake left, and when she saw Will eyeing it, she said, motioning with her hand, "Oh, go on, finish it. I've had enough."

"Thanks," Will replied happily as he finished Alicia's half of the cake slice. The cake was delicious; three layers of light, yummy chocolate cake joined together by a rich, thick chocolate ganache. It was topped off with light, creamy chocolate frosting. This is really good, Will thought to himself.

"Can I ask you something?" Will said after putting his fork down a second time.

"Sure."

"Why did you want to split this slice of cake with me? Did you just want to hang out, or is something else going on?"

Alicia hesitated, sighed, and then realized that she had to come clean with her motives. "Look, Peter and I are distancing from each other. Especially since you got shot and I went into a phase of constant worry. He wasn't super supportive of me being worried about you, especially since you two aren't exactly on super friendly terms.

"I also feared the worst when you were in emergency surgery. And when I saw you the day you woke up," Alicia continued, tears coming to her eyes, "I realized that I wouldn't be able to carry on without you." She paused, then said. "I can't believe I just said that."

"I heard you."

"What?" Alicia asked, confused.

"Back in the hospital. Remember the day I woke up?" Alicia nodded in reply, and Will continued, "I heard you say that you needed me.

"And that's why I wouldn't let go. Because I need you, Alicia."

Alicia wanted to lean in and kiss Will, but their tender moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. Alicia looked at Will as if to say, What? Who's there? He got up to answer the door. Will looked through the peephole, saw who was on the other side, and banged his head against the door. He was tempted to just walk away, but he knew he couldn't, so he opened the door.

"Josephine," he said slyly, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Will, we need to talk. I saw Alicia walk into your apartment building twenty minutes go and-" she stopped talking as she pushed past Will and saw Alicia sitting at the kitchen table, with a fake smile-type look on her face. "…She's still here." Josephine finished.

Will leaned against the door and said, "Josephine, I didn't say that you could come in. Would you mind leaving us alone?"

"No please from my little brother?"

"We're both grown-ups. Now get out." Will was getting angrier by the second. Alicia noticed that Will was an explosion waiting to happen, so she said, "Josephine, why don't you and I have a chat while Will goes and calms himself down. How does that sound?"

Josephine, smiled, and said. "Sounds good, Mrs. Florrick." Will gave Alicia a look as he stormed through the kitchen and into the back hallway. A few seconds later, Alicia heard a door slam. By the time Alicia had refocused her attention, Josephine was already standing right next to Alicia with her arms crossed.

"Mrs. Florrick, if I may say that-"

"Oh please, call me Alicia, if we are going to talk in this manner," Alicia said, attempting to prepare herself.

"Okay then, Alicia, I need to make something clear. You are unavailable. You and Will can't be hanging out like this and potentially pursuing a relationship! You're married!"

"Yes, I am married. But that doesn't mean that I can't have male friends."

"Sounds like you two are more than friends."

"If you must know, we have history. We've been through a lot together."

"Then why don't you move on? Be happy as the First Lady of Illinois," Josephine snapped.

"I have moved on. And I wouldn't interfere with me, if I were you. You're walking into personal territory right now, and you are crossing the line."

"Why can't you just leave him alone? Huh? Didn't you leave his firm? Aren't you two supposed to hate each other?"

"Hah, oh he hated me for a while, I can tell you that," Alicia replied.

"You didn't answer my question!"

"I don't have to answer your questions if I don't want to. I'm the First Lady of Illinois."

"Political stature shouldn't matter here!"

"Well, I'm sorry that you can't see that it does. I can have you sued, you know. With the snap of a finger."

"I don't care. I'm just looking out for my little brother!"

Alicia stood up, now at eye level with Josephine. "Look here, Mrs. Brown. Will told me that you two haven't been in touch for fifteen years! And when do you decide to show up? Only when he gets shot and nearly dies! If you cared about your brother you would respect his space and leave him alone!"

In his bedroom, Will could hear the conversation between Alicia and Josephine escalating. He wanted to help Alicia, but wasn't sure when to intervene.

And then he heard Josephine say, "Why can't you leave him alone, Alicia?"

He flung his door open and stormed down the hallway as he heard Josephine continue to yell questions at Alicia. And then, just as he rounded the corner into the kitchen, Alicia lost it.

"Because I love him!" she yelled.