Thank you so much to everyone for all your support and kind words (in your reviews)! I love reading each and every one of them.

Since this is the third to last chapter…I'd like to receive 6 reviews before I post Chapter 27! Enjoy!

Chapter 26

Less than ten minutes after Zach and Grace had left for a graduation party for Zach's girlfriend, Alicia heard a loud knock on her door. Uh oh, she thought, I wonder who that is.

Whoever was on the other side knocked again, but louder this time. When she looked through the peephole, she swore to herself before opening the door to find a fuming Peter on the other side. As he held the now opened envelope next to his face, he said, "Seriously?"

"Good afternoon to you too, Peter," Alicia said in a mocking tone, walking back towards the kitchen. Since she had left the door open, Peter stormed in after her and slammed the door shut. "How can you do this to me? To us? To the kids?" he yelled.

Alicia, who was now standing behind the kitchen island, replied in a quieter tone, "I've decided that I've had enough with you and your ways. And I'm tired of being the First Lady of Illinois when I'm married to someone I don't fully trust!"

"Are you kidding me? You came back to me!"

"Because I thought I was happy with you," Alicia retorted, "But since the election and Will being shot…I realized that I wasn't happy with you and after the past five years I never would be again. This is my way of starting to move on."

"Do you realize what kind of reputation you're going to get with the press? I bet they'd love to hear all about how you've been cheating on me!"

"And you haven't cheated on me before?!" Alicia shouted, knowing that she had Peter in a stalemate. "I stood by you when I didn't know what else to do. After you slept with prostitutes and got sent to jail for corruption. I helped you get reelected to State's Attorney and the governorship. And what did you do when I cheated? You iced me out."

"I did not ice you out," Peter replied, trying to defend himself.

"Really, Peter? Really?" Alicia said, "Eli caught wind of it and threatened me to stop for the sake of you and your silly campaign! I broke it off, indirectly, for you. And what did you do to me before that? Get yourself put in jail and leave me to go back to work and try to pay the bills all on my own. I can't stand any of it anymore, Peter. I'm done."

"Why, Alicia?" Peter asked. "Why didn't you talk to me about this before you sent me these damn divorce papers?" As he finished talking, he slammed the package down on the table between them.

Alicia looked quickly down at the envelope and then stared straight into Peter's eyes. "I have realized that I need to make the most of my life. And that does not include staying married to you. Now I would really appreciate it if you would just agree to what's written and sign it so we can both move on with our lives."

Peter sighed, then panicked, and asked, "What am I going to do about the State Dinner on Friday? The mayor of Chicago just called me this morning to say he would be coming!"

"I don't care. You'll think of something. Oh, wait, Eli will think of something. He does all your crisis control so you can maintain a good public image."

"Stop, Alicia! Just stop!" Peter yelled at the top of his lungs. "I need you there. Please, just come."

"She doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to," a new voice interjected. Peter turned to his right and, to his utter surprise, there was Will, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, his hair wet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Peter asked Will, his patience diminishing quickly.

"He asked if he could take a shower here," Alicia said affirmatively, "Because his plumbing is broken." She finished the last sentence with a bitter smirk on her face.

"Couldn't he shower somewhere else?" Peter asked.

Alicia suddenly couldn't take it anymore. Peter had crossed the line. She moved between her and Will and said, almost at a whisper, "This is my apartment, and since I'm the only one who lives here permanently, I can choose who comes here and who showers here."

"Of course he can come here. You're happier with him, aren't you? Couldn't you have waited for a divorce to launch into another relationship with him?" Peter said, staring straight at Alicia.

Will decided to butt in and said, "Seriously, Peter? Zach and Grace told me that Alicia was a train wreck after I got shot and what did you do? You accused her of still having feelings for me."

"Which was true! And still is!" Peter shouted.

"But that was all you did," Will continued bitterly. "You didn't bother to stand by her side and support her. Which is what a good husband would have done. And now that I think about it, I would also like it if you just signed the damn papers."

Peter sighed, pausing to take a deep breath for the first time since entering Alicia's apartment, and finally replied, "God damn it. I'll see you in court." And with that, Peter picked up the envelope and stormed out, slamming the front door shut behind him.

Will smiled as Peter left, but then became concerned as Alicia leaned against the counter and began to cry. He turned her around to face him and embraced her. "It's okay," he said quietly.

"It's not okay!" Alicia said, pulling away. "Peter now basically hates me. He'll never divorce me because he knows that I want to be with you."

As she continued to sob, Will said, "Things will work out. I know it." And Alicia didn't reply until a few minutes later when she collected herself and gave Will a kiss. "Thanks for that…and I'm sorry that you had to witness part of that. I'm just glad Zach and Grace weren't here. That was nasty."

"Did you expect it though?" Will asked curiously.

"I knew he would be mad," Alicia admitted, "But I didn't think he would be on that level of mad."

"Understood," Will replied, "I'm going to go finish combing my hair now that the tornado has left the building."

Alicia chuckled, but then responded, "He's not really a tornado. More like a fierce hurricane that will keep circling around me again and again."

"Hurricanes eventually die out though," Will reminded her. "They can't keep up their strength forever. Peter will come round, and then things will work out for us. I know it."

"I sure hope so," Alicia said hopefully. As she was about to kiss Will and suggest that they have some private time, someone knocked on the door. Will, having had enough and suspecting that Peter was back, threw open the front door without looking through the peephole first. He was about to give Peter the finger when he realized who was actually at the door.

"Hi Will," said a very confused Cary. As soon as Alicia heard Cary's voice, she sprinted to the doorway and when Will left to return to drying his hair, Cary turned to Alicia and asked. "What was that about? And why does Will look like he could have broken down this door?"

"Did you see Peter on your way out?"

"Um, yeah, he stepped out of the elevator before I got in. What happened? He looked like a bomb waiting to blow up." Cary realized what he had just said, and continued, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Not my place."

"Don't mention it," Alicia said, groaning, allowing Cary to finally enter the apartment. Once the door was shut, Alicia filled Cary in on what had just happened, but only in a few sentences. Once she was done, Cary did a double take and said, "Alright then."

"Did I tell you could come over to talk strategies for a case and I forgot?" Alicia asked, desperately trying to figure out why Cary was now standing in her kitchen.

Cary cleared his throat and said, "No. Eli called the office in a panic after he saw Peter sprint out his office headed for here. He literally begged and begged for me to get ahold of you since you weren't picking up your phone. So, I decided to just drive over here."

Alicia sighed, leaning against the table. "I'm sorry that you had to get involved in this, Cary. I didn't mean for you to."

"Like you said, don't mention it," Cary echoed, "And you're my friend and managing partner, so we'll work through this together. Have a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Cary turned towards the door, but then whirled around again and asked, "Do I have to call Eli back? Because I don't really want to be the messenger that says that the governor and his wife are getting a divorce."

Alicia chuckled, and said, "You do not have to call Eli back by any means. I'll leave Peter to fill him in."

"Okay, Alicia. See you tomorrow."

"See ya," Alicia said as she watched Cary leave the apartment. Alicia sighed loudly after the door shut, and Will magically chose that moment to return. "A little partner talk happening?"

"More like explaining," Alicia admitted. She turned and passionately kissed Will, and when they both needed to breathe, Will asked, "Now?"

"Now."