A/N: Thanks again for the reviews, the favorites and the follows, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who wants John back. Judging by the Peter and Alicia scene in the most recent episode and the promo for the next one, that won't happen anytime soon as far as the Kings are concerned. Fingers crossed they bring him back for season 7...

John was in his hotel room, reading up on the Rhodes Foundation to prepare for the job interview, when Alicia called.

"Hi," he said, trying very hard to sound like seeing her name light up on the screen hadn't just made his heart skip several beats. She didn't say anything in return. "Alicia? Are you alright?"

"Yes. Well, I don't know…" He heard her take a deep breath. "Actually, no. Something's come up. And I—I could use your advice on how to handle it. If that's okay."

Well, he'd figured this wasn't just a social call. But still… John exhaled quietly. "Sure, what's up?"

"Some e-mails are about to come out. E-mails that… call my integrity into question."

He tensed. "Alicia, if you're talking about your e-mail to me…"

"What? Oh—No. No, I don't think he has that one. I'm talking about e-mails from way back. Years ago. Between me and… another lawyer. About a client."

"Okay…" He was pretty sure the other lawyer was Will Gardner. Her pause made that clear. But who was the client? And who was threatening to leak the e-mails? John filed those questions away for later as he went into campaign manager mode. "What's in the e-mails?"

"Well… The client told me he was guilty of committing the crime he was being tried for at the time. I asked the other lawyer what to do. He told me to forget it ever happened. I did—and the client was acquitted." Alicia sighed heavily. "The thing is… My client was joking. I know he was. But…"

"But if you take the e-mails out of context, it sounds very bad. I agree, that could be very damaging."

"Exactly. So… What can I do?"

"Can you stop them from coming out?"

A bitter laugh came over the phone. "Not a chance."

"Okay. Then you need to get ahead. Control the story."

"That's what I figured. But how?"

"You get it out yourself." He could almost hear the wheels in her head spinning, and it made him smile as he remembered how worked up she got about the interviews she gave during her campaign.

"You mean… release a statement or do a press conference? Wouldn't that just call more attention to it?"

He chuckled. "Yes, it would. That's not what I meant. Find a friendly journalist, sit down for an interview. Tell the story your way, downplay it."

"Okay… But I can't just tell them what Swe—my client said. Even if he was joking. The conversations I have with clients are confidential. And I can't tell them that those e-mails are out there either. That would hurt the firm."

Sweeney, huh? John had figured Bishop was the problematic client. He pretended not to have noticed her slip. "Remember what I told you about the greater truth? That it's not about this happened or that happened…"

"…It's about doing good. Yes, I remember. Why?"

"That's how this is. You don't say anything about this conversation in particular. Or this client, or the e-mails. You just talk about the greater picture. How your clients, in general, sometimes joke or say the opposite of what they mean because they are nervous. And about how you learned to separate that from the actual case. That way, you can…"

"…Provide context. For when the e-mails do come out. That's what you're saying, right?"

"Yes."

"That's… actually a great idea. Thanks, John. One more question?"

"Sure."

"Where do I find a friendly journalist?"

"I happen to know one. I'll give him a call, have him call you." He'd call Josh as well, tell him to sit in on the interview and make sure nothing went wrong.

"Oh—no, you don't have to do that. You're probably busy enough as it is. Just give me the number, I'll call him myself."

"Alicia, don't worry about it. It's fine. It's the least I can do for you after…" He took a deep breath, not sure this was really a good idea. "Well, after the shitty way I left on election night." He held his breath, listened to her soft breathing. "I'm sorry for that. I should have at least said goodbye," he offered, when the silence grew unbearable.

"That would have been… nice," she admitted in a soft voice. "Look, John, about… that other night…"

"Alicia—stop. Let's not go there." He closed his eyes, ran a hand through his hair. "It was just a one-night stand. No big deal. Just like you said. It's behind us now." There was no use in letting her know that he hadn't been able to put it behind him yet. She had enough on her plate as it was.

"But…"

"Alicia. It's fine, really. Let's just… leave it there, okay?" He told himself that really was the best thing. He'd cleared his conscience by apologizing for the way he'd left her. That had to be enough, because nothing had really changed since then. She was still very much a married woman, and he still didn't want to play second fiddle.

She was quiet for a couple of heartbeats. Then she sighed. "Okay."

"Okay. I'll call the journalist. His name is Trent Davenport. I'll have him call you tomorrow to set up the interview."

"Okay. And John?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For… everything."

"Sure. Good luck."

They said goodbye. John put the phone back on the nightstand and looked at his laptop. The web site for the Rhodes Foundation was still open in his browser. He'd told himself he really wanted that job. But he wasn't so sure anymore.

§§§

Alicia poured herself another glass of wine, wondering why she didn't feel much better than before she'd called John. After all, she had a plan now. She'd do the interview first. Once the context for the e-mails was out there, she'd talk to David Lee and file for divorce. Peter would fight it tooth and nail, but at least his file couldn't harm her anymore. Could it? Well, that really depends on what else he has in there, she thought.

Maybe that was why she didn't feel as relieved as she should. There was still the information about Will… She quickly put her glass to her lips in an attempt to wash away the memory of Peter's sneer when he'd mentioned the presidential suite and her 'magical night'.

"Don't think about that," she told the empty room, suddenly wishing that Grace was here so she had someone to talk to. Not about Peter, of course, or about the e-mails. Just about… well, everything else. School, religion, TV shows… Anything that would take her mind off the other stuff.

Feeling guilty for thinking about her daughter as a distraction, Alicia reached for the remote control. The TV would probably do just as good a job in taking her mind off things. Aimlessly flipping through channels, her mind wandered to John and she smiled. It had been good to hear his voice again, even if the end of the conversation had felt a bit… awkward. His apology had caught her off guard, to say the least. But she was glad they'd talked things out. Well, sort of. He had done most of the talking, while she had stuttered and stammered her way through it.

Alicia smiled when it occurred to her how completely reversed their roles had been when he'd come to see her after the Black Business Leaders speech. Back then, he'd been the one to stutter and stammer, seemingly unsure of how to respond to her invitation to come inside. But when he had come in, all signs of insecurity had vanished rapidly…

She stopped herself before she could think too much about the night that had followed. That was in the past now. The important thing was, they now both seemed to agree that it had been just a one-night stand. And they were both okay with that. That was a good thing… Wasn't it?

Her thumb stopped pressing the remote control buttons, but she didn't even glance at the news channel that came on, her mind completely occupied with the realization that had just hit her out of nowhere.

It didn't feel like a good thing. Because she wasn't okay with it.

Why was that, she wondered. She wasn't… No. She couldn't be. It didn't mean anything. It had been one night of fun with a hot guy who was set to leave soon. A guy she didn't have feelings for. To satisfy their physical needs. No strings attached, and therefore… safe.

Of course you don't have feelings for him, a voice that sounded suspiciously like her brother's whispered in her head. So, explain to me again why you were wishing it was him the whole time you were kissing the man you do have feelings for?

"Shut up, Owen," she muttered, but it was too late. She couldn't deny her feelings for John any longer. Alicia buried her head in her hands, trying to figure out when, exactly, she had started to fall in love with him.

§§§

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Elfman." Trevor Rhodes, who bore a striking resemblance to Robert de Niro, offered John his hand. "I hope we'll meet again very soon."

"Thank you, Mr. Rhodes. The pleasure was all mine." John shook the billionaire's hand. "I'll let you know what I decide."

"Don't take too long. My jet leaves for Chicago tonight. You're welcome to join me. It would save you a plane ticket and it would give us the chance to get to know each other a little better." Rhodes smiled and motioned for John to walk with him.

"I'll keep that in mind." John said as they exited the building and walked onto the parking lot, where a limo was waiting.

Rhodes waved and got in the limo. John walked over to his rental car feeling better than he had in days. Turned out Rhodes' granddaughter was married to one of John's old college friends, and that the man had been following John's career closely ever since the Obama campaign in 2012. He'd made it very clear from the moment they'd met that the job was John's if he wanted it.

The job seemed like a great opportunity, and Rhodes seemed to really care about the underprivileged kids his foundation provided with the means to pursue a proper education. He certainly didn't come across as some entitled billionaire that only played the part of the wealthy philanthrope for the sake of keeping up appearances. He was, in short, a guy John could believe in.

When he drove back to his hotel, he couldn't help but grin as he remembered what he'd told Marissa right before he left. I've never been a man to stay in one place. Looked like that was about to change. And he really had come to like the city in the time he'd spent there, so what better place was there to finally settle down after years of moving around the country, from one campaign to another?

As for Alicia… He wouldn't let his personal feelings dictate another career decision. Chicago was big enough to not run into her on every street corner. And he'd kept his feelings for her locked away successfully before, hadn't he? He could do it again. They would fade with time.

John parked the car on the hotel parking lot, took his phone from his pocket and dialed the number Rhodes had given him. "Mr. Rhodes, it's Johnny Elfman. What time should I be at the airport tonight?"