A/N: Not entirely happy with this chapter, mostly because of Finn. He's just not that interesting, and I find him hard to write because of that. But he does have a part to play in this story, so I had to try (sorry!).

As always, thanks for the reviews, this is now officially my most-reviewed Good Wife fic so far. I love reading your thoughts!

"Alicia? Hello?"

"Oh—I'm sorry, Finn, I was just…" Alicia shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Never mind. What did you say?"

"Is something wrong?" He pointed at her plate with his fork. "We can still go for pancakes, you know, if you don't like the food."

"God, I'm so sorry. The food is delicious, really." To demonstrate, she took a bite and savored it. It really was great, as was the restaurant he'd chosen. He'd really done his best to make sure the evening would be perfect, and she was ruining it.

"Then what's wrong?" He persisted.

"Nothing…" He didn't look convinced, and she sighed. "Well, Peter."

"Ah. Let me guess. The interview."

"You saw it? I thought you were in court this morning."

"I may, or may not, have watched it online before I picked you up." He actually blushed, which she found kind of… cute. "Peter wasn't happy?"

"That's one way to put it…" But it wasn't Peter's reaction to the interview that was really bothering her. It was his response to her demanding a divorce. Which he actually hadn't responded to. Unless the way he'd marched out of her office without saying another word counted as a response, leaving her wondering what he would do next. She had no illusion whatsoever that he would just kindly agree to a divorce. She sighed and shook her head again. "Look, Finn, let's not talk about that now, okay? I don't want to ruin the evening."

"You sure? I'm a very good listener."

"I know. And thank you. But I've been thinking about this too much already, so I could really use a change of subject, okay?"

"Sure. But if you do want to talk, you know where to find me."

"I do. Well, when you're not on some hot date, that is…"

A sour grin crossed his face and he sighed. "Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about that. I think I'll be playing a lot of Halo for the foreseeable future."

"Oh, that doesn't sound good. What happened?"

"Turns out she wasn't interested in anything long-term." He took another bite of his food and shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"And you were?"

"I don't know… I hadn't even thought about it yet. It all happened kind of fast."

"Really?"

Finn chuckled. "Yeah, I was surprised too. Usually, I like to get to know a woman a little better before I…" He was blushing again. "But with Nancy, it was like… there was a spark. You know?"

Her brain helpfully supplied her with imagery of her night with John, but she pushed it aside. That was different. She had known beforehand that it would just be for one night. That had been the whole point, actually… She reached for her wineglass when the name suddenly registered. "Wait. Did you say Nancy?"

"Um—yes. Nancy Crozier."

"How did that happen?"

"I ran into her at a bar after the 3D gun case, and we had a few drinks together. And then… Well, let's just say one thing led to another."

"Wow." Alicia really didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Funny thing is, I didn't see it coming. You see…" He looked at her intently, "I thought I was in love with… someone else."

Alicia felt a tiny flutter in her stomach and quickly focused on her food again. When she looked back up, Finn was doing the same, his face now redder than she'd ever seen it before.

§§§

"Hey, dirtbag!"

John frowned as he looked at his phone before putting it back to his ear. Caller ID read 'Unknown', but that cheerful voice could only belong to… "Marissa?"

"So you do remember the names of those you left behind? I'm flattered."

"Where did you get my number?" He didn't remember ever giving it to her, and he couldn't imagine Josh giving it to her either.

"Alicia's contact list."

"Alicia's contact…" Out of nowhere, worry kicked him in the gut. "Is… is she alright?" He hoped she wouldn't pick up on his anxiety. Because as soon as he asked, he knew nothing was wrong. Marissa wouldn't have greeted him the way she had if something was wrong. Would she?

Marissa chuckled. "Don't worry, she's fine… Should I tell her you asked about her?"

"No. No. So why are you calling me?"

"Because Alicia said not to text you. She didn't say anything about calling you, so…"

"Why would you… Never mind." John sighed. "I don't have time for this. Could you please cut the crap and tell me what you want?"

"Sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all. "I was just wondering if you've seen it."

"Seen what?" But he knew. It had been hovering on the edge of his mind since this morning. And ever since he'd gotten back to his hotel after bailing out his candidate an hour ago, he'd been trying to ignore the urge to go online and look it up. He'd been watching some stupid movie in hopes of distracting himself, but didn't have even the faintest idea of what the plot was about. His eyes kept wandering to his laptop. And now this.

"Good Morning Chicago. It was good, you know. You should watch it."

"I'm not interested."

"Of course you're not. So—do you have the link, or do you need me to email it to you? Alicia didn't say anything about email either…"

"Bye, Marissa." John hung up on her, but not quick enough to miss her delighted giggle. He tossed the phone onto the bed. Do you need me to email it… His mind went back to the email Alicia had sent him only days ago.

Relax. It was just a one night stand, albeit a great one.

From there, the thoughts that had been plaguing him ever since that night began repeating again. Yes, it had been great. And he'd felt like they had really connected, on more than just a physical level. Clearly, she disagreed. He'd probably been just a means to scratch an itch. She would never divorce Peter to be with him. He should just get over it already, forget about her and move on. He definitely should not be watching videos that made him dwell on her…

"Whatever!" he heard himself mutter.

He grabbed his laptop and opened his browser. Then he braced himself and clicked on the video link.

§§§

Alicia pressed the elevator button and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as the elevator carried her up to her floor. She had really enjoyed her dinner with Finn. And now that he wasn't seeing Nancy anymore… Who knew?

Before she decided to run for office, she'd thought he was in love with her. And she even thought that she might feel the same way. She'd been on the verge of kissing him that one time, in his office. She'd backed out at the last minute, because she hadn't been ready yet.

But she was ready now. After all, she'd let go of Will. Her night with John was proof of that.

The elevator reached her floor and Alicia stepped into the hallway, searching her purse for her keys. They weren't there. Checking her pockets and finding them empty, she groaned. She must have left them in the apartment, or lost them somewhere. And Grace was staying over at a friend's house, so there was no one home to let her in. She wasn't friendly enough with her neighbors to have provided them with a spare key just in case. Now what? Call Grace, have her come back in the middle of the night to let her in? Or…

The elevator door opened behind her and she turned around to find Finn standing there, a grin on his handsome face. He held up his hand—with her keys. "Looking for these?"

"Yes! Where did you find them?"

"Seat of my car. They must have fallen from your pocket when you got out." He tossed her the keys and she caught them.

"Thanks, Finn." Alicia smiled at him.

"Sure, no problem." He cleared his throat. "Good night, Alicia."

"Finn…" She looked at him standing there by the elevator. It was almost like deja vu. Almost. Because the last time it hadn't been Finn standing there.

"Yes?"

Finn looked at her expectantly, and Alicia realized she had no idea what she had wanted to say to him. So she decided to throw caution to the wind.

She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

§§§

The talkshow host was a gorgeous redhead, but John only had eyes for Alicia. She looked more beautiful than ever, her eyes and smile positively radiant as the host introduced her and they exchanged pleasantries. Realizing he couldn't do this without some fortification, he got up and went to the minibar to pour himself a bourbon. He'd just taken a sip when he heard the host ask the first question that interested him.

"You will be working with your husband, governor Peter Florrick, a lot when you're in office. Do you think that will change the dynamics of your marriage?"

"Well…" Alicia's smile dimmed a little as she seemed to consider her reply. But John saw the truth in her eyes and his heart rate went up as he realized she was about to go after Peter. "…It hasn't been an easy marriage over the past years, to say the least. Peter and I have our differences. We've found ways to make things work in the past. But we're in uncharted territory now, and the differences seem to stand out more with both of us in politics. I guess we'll see how things work out."

The host seemed taken aback, but recovered quickly. She tried to worm a statement about a possible end of the Florrick marriage from her guest, but Alicia easily sidestepped the personal questions by talking about her professional relationship with her husband instead.

That's my girl, John thought. He told himself he meant that in a professional way. Apparently, she hadn't forgotten about his lesson in message discipline. Good for her.

Then the host asked Alicia something about calling Peter a racist at the Black Business Leaders Lunch, and John forgot all about professionalism as he remembered the eager smile on her face when he'd told her to have no mercy for Peter. The smile that had made him want to kiss her right there and then.

"I never called my husband a racist. All I meant to say at that lunch was that I intend to take the sa's office in a new direction," Alicia said calmly.

"And what direction is that?" the host asked.

"To get the best people for the job I possibly can, instead of hiring people based on who they know, or what they believe or look like. I will only hire people who have the credentials that are needed for this job, and then some. People who know the law and how to apply it in a fair and objective way. People who understand that being a prosecutor isn't about winning as many cases as you can, by all means possible. It's about seeing justice done."

"So you are saying that your husband's hiring practices were… Questionable?"

"No. I'm talking about a trend I see in the system. My husband, being part of that system, may have made some… unfortunate choices back when he was in office. But he did what he could and I'm not saying he made those choices deliberately. Just that I intend to make different ones."

"Well, thank you for your frank answers, Mrs. Florrick. I'm afraid our time is almost up. We do have time for one more question, though—what do your clients think of you leaving them to fight on the other side from now on?"

"They know I'm not the kind of person to walk out on them just like that." Alicia paused for a heartbeat to look right into the camera when she said that, and John sat up a little straighter as he processed her words. She looked back at the host when she continued, "They also know that I believe all my clients deserve a vigorous defense, and that's what they'll get. I will either personally wrap up their cases or refer them to my law partners."

The host smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but Alicia held up her hand to stop her from talking.

"Some of them have been with me for a long time. After what we've shared…" Again, Alicia turned to the camera, and John got the feeling she was looking straight at him. "…I think the least I can do is tell them goodbye in person."

What the hell?

The video ended and John absent-mindedly closed the laptop. He poured himself another bourbon and went to stand by the window, looking at the city lights while trying to figure out if Alicia had really just told him what a coward he was for walking out on her without saying goodbye.

§§§

Alicia stared at Finn and all but cringed when she saw the tenderness in his eyes. What had she done? She stepped back, trying to think of something, anything to say.

"That was… unexpected," he said, before she could come up with something. "But very pleasant," he added quickly.

"I—Finn, I…" Alicia faltered. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Then she tried again. "I'm sorry, I really am. I thought I could do… this. With you. But… I can't. I'm sorry." She turned around and opened her apartment door, her shaking hands fumbling with the key.

"Alicia…"

"Sorry, Finn," she said again, without looking at him. She stepped inside, closed the door and sagged against it as she tried to process what just happened. She'd kissed Finn. Because she wanted to. She had wanted to for months.

So why was it that she couldn't stop thinking about John?