A/N: This one is heavy on the emotions, strong on the T, lacks a lot of the fluff I guess, but it'll be back, don't worry! Thanks for the wonderful, amazing reviews!

The sound of birds singing in the trees awoke her from her deep sleep. She opened her eyes with a smile on her face that was full of complete bliss, she felt like she was in heaven, ecstasy, paradise.

She could not recall the last time she had felt so blissfully happy.

Her body was wrapped around in a sheet and she was laying on her stomach, the suns strong rays radiating on her skin. Turning over, her arm met thin air and cold sheets. Her eyes immediately fell on the flower sitting above Will's pillow, and the note placed next to it. She brought the flower up to her nose, inhaled its sensational scent and smiled before grasping the note.

-You looked so peaceful, I thought you might be hungry. Heading downtown to grab some breakfast, be back in an hour. Follow the pedals…

Confused by his last sentence, she propped herself up to see a trail of small red pedals leading outside of the room. Increasing the smile on her lips ten times greater.

Wrapping herself securely in his blue quilt, she patted quickly through the hall and down the stairs, following the pedals her gaze fell upon the sight that led her to the piano.

She shook her head in defeat and grinned as she realized what Will's intention for her was. He knew she hadn't touched one in years, he knew she never had much interest towards it, but he also knew how much it calmed her, and how amazing she was at it. Just like everything else.

Walking slowly towards it, she settled herself onto the stool and opened the lid. It was still the same, the grand piano hadn't changed one bit over the last ten years, except for maybe a few scratches and flat keys, his respect and clear love for it reflected back in its appearance and she smiled as she realised what this meant.

He kept it for her.

She began with a slow pace, her fingers a little loose on some keys which was understandable. She hadn't played in over a decade, but still, that didn't decrease her ability to make it sound as beautiful in contrast to the ten year old that attended her first lesson, twenty or so years ago.

She felt like time had just simply stilled, she played the same song she had shared with Will her first time, and once she was finished, she played again and again.

When the doorbell rung at the front entrance of the house, she paused and furrowed her brow confused.

She contemplated on dressing, considering she was still wrapped up in a blanket, naked underneath but as the doorbell rang again, impatiently, she wrapped herself tighter and patted towards the front area.

Swinging the door open, her eyes widened in shock and the smile immediately fell off her features as she met the features of her mother standing before her.

She watched as Veronica smiled faintly to her until her eyes lingered along her attire and something as disappointment filled in her eyes. Since Alicia was a child, she hated disappointing her parents, it was one of the main reasons she worked so hard in school, the desire to make her parents proud was large, and even though the scenario had changed, and she really didn't care what her parents opinions were upon her now, the sight of Veronica's face dropping still managed to register through her.

"Mom" she gaped in surprise.

"We need to talk."

She suddenly felt like she was back in high school again, arriving home late because she was making out with Will all afternoon. It was obvious by the expression on her mother face, that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, Alicia led the way and moved to the side of the porch, a porch that wrapped around the entire house, enfolding herself tighter in the blanket, she sat on the wooden chair and watched as her mother folded her arms and lent against the rail.

"Where's Will?"

"He's out. What are you doing here mom?" she sighed, defeated.

Veronica grasped one stare at her daughter and sighed, before letting her gaze fall to the side, facing the lake. It was then she realized that her little girl was no longer the one that needed comfort when she had nightmares at night. She wasn't little anymore. She was an adult, a real one in fact, someone who made grave decisions and hardly thought about the repercussions. Veronica considered it to be a journey, but this, this was just plainly stupid.

"Finn's in town." The admission took Alicia completely, and utterly off guard.

She cleared her throat. "If this is some type of joke mom, it's not…"

"I'm not joking Alicia. He's been trying to reach you through your phone but you weren't answering so I guess he got worried. He flew in last night and visited your father. That's when your father phoned me. You have to see him."

"Who? Dad?"

"No! Finn! Your fiance!"

The tone of her mother's voice, and frustration that was beginning to rise was evident. Alicia sunk back into her seat in guilt, feeling the sudden need to bury herself into a hole. The recognition of what she had just done, surfaced through her, and the hurt that she had most likely caused her loved ones was going to be devastating.

Now was probably a good time to begin making decisions.

"What were you thinking Alicia?"

She perked her head up, and furrowed her brows. "What?"

"When you came here. Did it at any point surface through your mind that you have a fiance waiting for you at home?"

"Are you referring to me as some kind of tramp!?"

"No. I'm just trying to understand how you can do this" she pointed towards her choice of clothing, or better yet, non-choice. "And not think about the consequences."

"Why the hell do you care!"

"I care because you're my daughter, nobody else has the guts to tell you that your mistakes reap consequences!"

"Mistakes?" she gaped in shock. "Are you saying that Will and I… are a mistake?" she raised her brow questionably, and stood up, ready to fight for a battle.

Veronica sighed, shaking her head in defeat, she shrugged. "No, heavens forbid I were to say something even remotely similar to that, you'd probably never talk to me again." The silenced that filled the area restored the anger within Alicia, but she still seemed to be in a haze, until Veronica interrupted once again.

"Com on, gets some clothes on, let's take a drive"

Alicia stared up at her in awe. "A drive? And what on earth makes you think I would I want to go anywhere with you?!"

"Because I might know you a little better than you think I do. And I don't want you making decisions without thinking of the repercussions."

The drive was short enough that Alicia fortunately didn't have to experience much of an awkward silence, but she did sit in the passenger's seat, head leaning to the side and her legs tucked under her like a sullen teenager.

Veronica drove towards a hill that faced out to the countryside, business buildings and tons of cars below the surface. Alicia wasn't naïve enough to know that this conversation was heading to a heated turn, or an awkward one, whichever one it was. She couldn't wait for it to be over.

"Have you seen him?" Alicia spoke for the first time. She turned to face her mother. "Finn, have you seen him yet?"

The concern etched through her voice couldn't have been a clear enough answer; even though her heart belonged to Will, she still cared deeply for her fiancé, and regardless, she couldn't just discard him out of her life altogether, he didn't deserve that, no one deserved that.

"No. But when I was looking for you, Liz mentioned that Finn had called several times. There's only so much times she can cover for you before he comes looking Alicia."

There was no judgement in her voice, or irony, just a sense of overthrow. She couldn't help but feel awkward in the situation though, she wasn't privy to personal conversations belonging to Veronica, she had always wanted them when she was a kid, but that desire was thrown out when she realized it was just never going to happen. She found it ironic that it was happening now.

"When your father and I first married.."

"Mom.."

"No, You have to hear this."

Settling back into her seat, she folded her arms and sighed, giving her full attention. "When we married, I was pregnant with you, that's why it happened. Your grandparents weren't going to let us have a child together without doing everything in the proper way, so even though we didn't want to, we married. And lived seventeen long miserable years together…"

"Well that's nice. Way to reduce my sensitivities mom.."

"What I'm tryna say is that I don't want you making the same decisions I did when I was your age. I love your father, we just weren't happy together, I don't want you waking up one morning and having regrets."

"What am I supposed to do mom? I can't just hurt Will, or Finn, and no matter what I do, somebody is going to be heartbroken in the process."

"Stop thinking about what everyone else wants, What do you want?"

"I want the guilt to go away. I want to stop feeling like this."

"Well then, you better start making some decisions."

The sternness in her voice was clear, and no matter how awkward or ironic the situation was to Alicia, she knew it was true.

There was a long pause that surfaced, Alicia's gaze shifted outside the window into the view as her thoughts took over.

"Which one do you love more?"

"Excuse me?"

"Which one do you think make's you the happiest. Which one can you be your absolute self around without having to worry about the other's opinion. Which one is it that even the thought of living without them isn't possible. There's gotta be one of them that you love more than breathing."

She had an idea that her mother knew the answer, but still, in order to confess it, she had to admit it and admitting it would mean that she would be hurting the other's feelings.

"I have to talk to him"

"Who?"

"Finn."

Will

Sitting on the porch, mug in his hand, the strong coffee filled the void of curiosity to where she could possibly be. Her car was still in its same place, and her coat was still draped along his bed, claiming his territory pretty well, but she was nowhere to be seen. He naively wondered if she had just woken up, realised her situation and took off, without an explanation towards anything.

But his curiosity was filled as he saw a black car driving through the long driveway towards him. As it approached, he could easily see Alicia and what looked like Veronica.

He watched as Alicia pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek before stepping out and watched as Veronica drove off. Standing up, he set the cup on the rail before slipping his hands into his pockets and staring down at her curiously.

"Productive morning?" he grinned.

She smiled "Something like that."

As she began to walk closer towards him, he recognised the anxiety that was filled in her features. Even more so when she gestured to sit, and he recognised the tenseness in her body as she sat down, as if they were back to two days ago where she played the stranger.

"Finn's here in town." She said, hesitantly.

It all clicked into place, her anxiety, the look in her mother's eye from a far, the way she was currently playing with her fingers. If it weren't so obvious, he wouldn't have recognised the unease in her body.

He didn't care of the fact that Finn was here, it didn't affect him in any way possible, but the question as what this could mean to them played over and over in his mind.

"Here? In Chicago?"

She nodded her head. "Yea, he flew in last night."

The silence that filled was weighing them down, as if their minds were both screaming to say something, anything, but their mouths wouldn't move, or better yet, hers just stayed silent. He made eye contact with her for the briefest moment. "What are you gonna do Leesh?" he whispered.

She took a while to answer, but physically, she just shook her head and he witnessed the tears well up in her eyes. "I don't know." she whispered back.

He felt his heart drop and his defence's crash as he knew what this meant. Setting his elbows on his knees, he leant forward, ran his hands along his face frustratingly before leading them to his hair and looking down.

Hitting his hand into his fist, letting the frustration finally get to him, he gazed up at her to see that her eyes were mirroring his. Full of plead and sorrow.

"So we're back to that?" she didn't answer him.

"Are we back there Alicia?"

Still, she didn't answer, but instead gazed down to the ground in disappointment. He continued. "What about the last couple of days Alicia? They happened"

"I know that they happened, and they were amazing, but they were also very irresponsible."

Her last words were the end of the straw, standing up, he kicked the stool away, walked to the side, his back facing Alicia, he ran his hands through his hair in utter frustration. He couldn't believe this was happening, after everything they had been through, she was letting the timing interfere once again.

"I have a fiancé whose waiting for me at a hotel, and is going to be crushed when he finds out what I did!" he heard Alicia yell out at him, most liking defending her actions but he discarded it and pointed a finger to her.

"So you make love to me, and then you go back to your husband!" he threw his hands up in the air. "Is that how it was meant to be Alicia? You leave for ten years, come back with a ring on your finger, and tell me how much you love me before leaving, again! Was that a part of your trip back home?!"

She stood up and faced him, head on. "Don't twist my words around Will! I made a promise to a man, he gave me a ring, and I gave him my word!"

"Bullshit!" he yelled. "You wouldn't be here if there wasn't something missing Alicia! You're bored with him! I can see it, I saw it the minute you arrived here a week ago. This isn't about vows, or getting married, this is about the fact that you're unhappy with your own fiancé. Don't deny it either!"

As she took in his words, he watched her face go from frustration to shock, anger surfacing through her perfect face. "Son of a bitch!" she shouted. "You think you know everything about me Will, you don't!"

He scoffed into laughter, he didn't mean to, but her words had brought amusement as well as mockery to him. He moved closer to her and looked her dead in the eye. "I know things about you that he can't even begin to address. I know you more than I know who I am. I know you more than your own goddam parents know you. I know that you don't like raisins mixed with nuts because it ruins the flavour. I know how disappointed you get when you fail a test. I know that the only person you love on this earth more than anything is your brother. I know your entire families past, I know that you cried yourself to sleep for months after your parents' divorce and fifty present of that time, was in my arms. I know that ever since I found you sniffing cocaine at that party ten years ago, you vowed to never touch any of it again. I know that the first time I realised I had fallen in love with you was when you fell asleep on me, drunk, -after you had broken up with your first boyfriend. There's complete opposites to my knowledge of who you are to what your fiancé knows and, if I had to guess, I'm estimating that he probably doesn't know anything about what I've just said, not a single clue, which means he doesn't know who you are. So congratulations Alicia, you're marrying a total stranger!"

As he began to walk away, he realised then, that he had enough. Tired of these silly little games that they tend to play, tired of her inability to make up her mind on what she really wants, and tired of their unfortunate timing. She had come to him, only a week ago, for what reason exactly? And then watched him confess his love for her, which led to carrying her upstairs towards the bedroom. It was inevitable that they would end up there, of course it was, she wouldn't have shown up otherwise, and the realisation dawned on him. .

He heard Alicia's footsteps marching behind him, followed by her voice. "You think you know who I am Will, but you don't, not now. I've changed, ten years is a long time. And you don't know Finn, so stop being so stubborn and arrogant! I can't take anymore of it!"

He laughed, mockingly and defeated before turning around to face her. It was obvious she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, and she never really liked to think that someone else knew her more than she knew herself. It was a part of the sense of being in control, which she most likely held within her for so many years. Just like every other human being, but the difference was that Alicia was persistent, and she never liked anyone showing her up, so she tended to focus on a key point, and whether it was true or not, didn't necessarily matter, as long as she felt in-control of her own mind.

Will found it ironic, that she wanted control, when one dazzling smile from her lips could bring a man down to his knees.

"You know what, you're right, I don't know who Finn is, and if I had to be perfectly honest with you. I really don't give a damn. He isn't my concern, he's yours. So, let's plan this out. If you go back to him, and let him whisk you back to Washington, don't bother showing up here again. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I were to let you break my heart over and over again. Whether you decide to or not, that's your decision, I'm not going to pressure you into anything, this is your decision. But don't you dare choose the easy way out!"

"If there was an easy way out Will, I would have chosen it years ago, but there is no easy way out with you and I, there never was."

"Nothing is ever going to be easy Alicia. There is nothing in this world, that will ever be regarded as easy. The point is, we make it work, because that's what you do when you love someone. You make it work."

He was defeated, he was tired, and he was crushed, even more so when he witnessed her just sigh before glancing down almost in disappointment of what was about to come. Her eyes were pleading, and full with sorrow, he recognised what she was about to say, and so he shook his head firmly and moved towards her, placed his hands on her shoulders, he pleaded. "Don't go Alicia. Please. I know what you're about to say. Don't leave me."

It wasn't an intent to sound so vulnerable or hurt, but there really was no other way to accentuate the situation. She looked hesitant to reply, nervous, but she did manage to stutter her way through it all. "I… I just, I need some time Will… I… I need to talk to him, he… he doesn't deserve to just be crushed without an explanation. I need space to clear my head."

As he gazed down at her, he knew she was right, but that didn't make it any better. Sighing in defeat, he pulled back, ran a hand through his hair and turned around, his eyes landed on the lake from a far for the hundredth time, and he felt everything just suddenly begin to slip out of his hands. Everything he had worked hard for, all the time, and energy spent on something that was ultimately, without fail, always meant for her, suddenly became dust in a matter of seconds.

His mind zoned out as he realised she had left, the ends of her car leaving trails of dust along the long driveway, disappearing and leaving everything in a place as if she hadn't even been there to begin with.

He shook his head defeated, grabbed the guilt that ironical elongated her scent, climbed into bed and fell into unconsciousness amongst the departed scent of Alicia.

Alicia

The look on his face only minutes before had shattered her to her very core, it wasn't her intention to hurt him, she didn't want to cause more pain to his heart, and definitely was not her intention for him to assume that she didn't love him, but things were complicated. And among those things were decisions. Decisions that she had to make in order for her own happiness. She knew it was wrong, she assumed it was probably the most selfish anyone could be, but her mother was right. She didn't want to wake up one morning and own regrets.

Her mind still wasn't in full gear, she still felt like she was in somebody else's body, but structure and morals seemed to be irrelevant in this case, she had to make a decision, regardless of the ethics of it, the consequences and expectations of others, she had to do something.

She covered the tears, straightened her attire, pinned her hair back and stared at herself through the mirror, managing to exchange looks. Within minutes –she noticed- herself change back into the girl who lived in Georgetown, the forged character that she had become accustomed to. The girl she wasn't fond of, nor did she ever want to be again.

It was amazing to see the transformation within a week, and the sudden realisation that for ten years of her life she had been living in the body of a girl she didn't know. The recognition dawned on her, and the impact of it was large, life changing.

The expression Finn wore as he opened the door to her know was understandable, full of concern, misery, and frustration.

She inhaled deeply. "Hi."