"Aren't you a good-looking couple?" Ramona welcomed Grace and Connor to her apartment. They were all dressed up for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Winter Gala.

"Thank you." Grace said. "And thank you for babysitting Debbie."

"No problem, she's an angel."

"She was running around the house for an hour." Connor told her. "Hopefully, she'd be out in about 30 minutes."

Ramona took the baby in her arms. "I can see she has sleepy eyes already. Are you sleepy, Debbie?"

"No." The baby shook her head.

"Oh wow, that's a beautiful dress." Angie came out of her room to greet the couple. "And you look good too, Connor. Nice tux."

"What are you wearing?" The architect pointed out.

"You like it?" The teenager spread her arms and modeled her new winter coat. "Mom got it for our trip to Norway. She says its beautiful in winter."

"You'll see."

"Okay, we got to go." Grace looked at the time. "Goodnight Debbie. See you tomorrow morning. Be a good girl."

At the event, the hostess gave the Florricks a program and lead them to the salon. Grace and Connor found their table, to her surprise Diane Lockhart and Kurt McVeigh were in the same table.

"Ms. Lockhart." Grace said first. "Hello."

"Good evening, Grace." Diane said with a neutral tone.

"Madam State Attorney." Kurt stood up to greet her.

"Mr. McVeigh; this is my husband Connor Florrick."

"How do you do?" Keith shook his hand. The Florricks took their place at the table next to other couple.

"I didn't know you were a patron of the Museum." Diane started the conversation.

"My grandma Jackie was a patron, I inherited the honor, Ms. Lockhart."

"You can call me Diane. You're an adult now."

"Okay, Diane." Grace smiled and nodded. "When did you became a donor?"

"Ever since I retired I've been looking for ways to keep myself busy. We only started coming to these events recently, supporting the arts." Diane explained.

"I'm excited to see the new collection, the artist QDictus has amazing pieces" Connor said. "Of all the events Grace has made me go to, this is the highlight."

"Made you go?" Grace frowned.

"I understand the feeling." Kurt raised his glass.

"Well, let's go see the QDictus paintings." Grace stood up. "Excuse us."

Diane observed the younger couple walked away from the table.

"It's always weird when you meet a kid all grown up." Kurt commented, getting Diane's attention.

"Do you feel old?" Diane asked him with a smirk.

"A little bit." Kurt ran his hand through his silver beard. "How are you feeling?"

"About seeing Grace? We've seen her before in the news, at Peter's funeral."

"I know but she still is Alicia's daughter, considering you didn't end in the best terms with her."

"I don't hold any ill will to Alicia, much less to her daughter for events that happened more than 15 years ago." The lawyer said.

"Did you vote for her?"

Diane smirked, she had voted for Grace. It felt so weird, voting for a Florrick again. After everything that had happen, but there is always a Florrick in the ballot. The lawyer recalled hearing about the Florricks for the first time; it was when she was fresh out of law school and her dad mentioned Judge Florrick. Although, there were days she suspected it was a false memory, something her mind planted there years later. Like when you see a photo of yourself in high school and suddenly you can remember that green sweeter you wear once. A very real memory was when Will asked her a favor.

"I need a favor." Will Gardner walked into Diane's office, he put his hands on the chair.

Diane lowered her glasses. "I'm listening."

"The new associate we're hiring. I have a friend who needs the job."

"We already picked the new associate, he starts tomorrow. His name is Cary Agos. His very capable, he's a Harvard graduate, he..."

"Diane, please, stop trying to hire the new you." Will interrupted her. Back then they weren't as close. "How about something outside the box? Someone who needs a break and you know they're going to try extra hard."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Alicia Florrick." Will said very seriously, Diane on the other hand, laughed out loud.

"Come on, we went to Georgetown together, she was top of her class. She might be a little bit rusty."

"I'm not concern with the rust, I'm concern with her husband." Diane said. "She's not going to focus on her job, she'll be thinking about her husband in prison, her kids in school and I bet she'll quit the minute he's out."

"You think Peter's getting out?"

"The point is, Cary Agos has no distractions in his life, he's going to thrive here."

"I see. You exclusively want single, childless lawyers with only work in their mind." Will smirked. "So someone who is like you."

"You fit the bill too, Will." Diane told her partner.

"No, I have football in my mind too, not just work. Jay Cutler looks good this year, he is a gunslinger." Will replied. "Come on, Diane. You're a feminist, help a sister out."

"Sure, a sister." Diane drummed her fingers on the desk. "Okay, we test them. And by the end of the year we pick the best one."

"Deal." Will nodded.

Then the Florricks were in her life for a long time.

At the gala, The Florricks were ordering drinks at the open bar.

"So what's the deal with the foxy lady?" Connor asked Grace.

"Diane? Yeah, I guess she's a foxy lady." Grace laughed. "Look, Diane Lockhart is a lawyer's lawyer."

"Right…and she used to work with your parents?"

"Yeah, they screwed over her several times."

"Got it."

"Oh Gosh, Gracie? Is that you?" A man's voice called her name. She turned around and to her dislike she saw Evan Van Ray Jr and his wife Susie. "I knew I recognized you, hi."

"Hi Evan, Susie." Grace said politely. "This is my husband Connor Florrick. Honey, these are the Van Rays."

"Nice to meet you." Connor nodded.

"We met before, but you probably don't remember me." Evan said loudly. "I know Grace from back in the day, when we were both part of a Christian Youth Group in…uh…what was the name…?

"Did you go to Capstone too?" Connor tried to place him.

"No, he didn't. We were in a Youth Group at St. Mary" Grace clarified.

"But I did see you there buddy; a couple of times, waiting for her on the parking lot, smoking a cigarette, leaning against the wall with your bike." Evan patted Connor on the back. "I was driving my dad's escalade then."

The rest of the group felt uncomfortable the way Evan was leading the conversation, Susie was mortified.

"Okay, sure." Connor said.

"We should go back to our table, honey." Susie Van Ray took her husband's hand. "Let's go."

"Ugh, I love my wife so much. We have 5 kids together." Evan put his arm around his wife. "Love you so much, so much."

"Me too." The wife said very dry. "Come on. Nice seeing you Grace."

The Florricks waited for the Van Ray to be out of reach.

"What the fuck is wrong with that guy?" Connor said. "Is he drunk already?"

"I dunno." Grace didn't care for Evan.

"Who else from your past is here?" Connor said. "Maybe your first-grade teacher is around here? Maybe your first boyfriend, wait that's me!"

"Come here." Grace gave him a quick kiss. "Let's go see the painting you've been talking about."

The painting was a big piece, it was imposing, green and red with black lines. Connor stood still as he took in the painting, Grace wasn't so sure about it.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"I don't know." Grace said. "Hmm...art is about feeling something, right?"

"What makes you feel?"

Grace stared at the painting again. "Uh... Wait, I'm getting a call...It's Zach."

"Isn't like 3 in the morning in France?"

"Hey, Zach."

"Natalie is in labor!" Zach yelled. "She woke up with contractions, we ran to the hospital, her water broke and now she's waiting and I'm...I'm...my heart is racing, Grace. I'm freaking out!"

"It's okay, it's normal to feel this nervous." Grace reassured him. "Everything will be okay, just breath."

She heard Zach taking a big breath.

"Have you called mom?"

"Shit, I got call mom." Zach said and abruptly ended the call. Grace chuckled.

"Everything okay?" The husband asked.

"Natalie is in labor."

"Congrats, you're going to be a tante." Connor told her with difficulty.

"Your French is impeccable."

"Merci."

Grace's phone vibrated again, this time was Alicia.

"I got a call from Zach." Alicia said. "He talked very fast, but I think I understood, Natalie is in labor, right?"

"Yes. He also called me. I think he's nervous."

"Like any first-time dad."

"I'm sure he'll call us later. You weren't sleeping, were you?" Grace could hear laughter on the other side of the line.

"No, we're at the firm's holiday party. It's still going."

"The city that never sleeps." Grace commented. After Thanksgiving she and Alicia were communicating a little bit more. A text here, an email there. "I'm at the MCA Winter Gala. One of the duties attached to Jackie's inheritance."

"You mentioned that, yes, it's a good cause." Alicia commented.

"Hmmm..."

"What?"

"Diane Lockhart is sitting at the same table as me." Grace told her mom.

"Oh."

"She and Kurt."

"Oh."

"She hasn't sent you her regards."

"I didn't expect her to." Alicia said.

"Do you want me to send your regards?"

"Not really." Alicia's memory of the slap was still very fresh on her mind, she hasn't spoken to her since. She knew she saw Diane at Peter's funeral but the whole day is blurry on her mind.

"I just thought to ask."

"Sure." Alicia said. "Anyway, honey. I'll let you know when I leave for Paris, it would be lovely if you can make the trip too."

"Okay. Thanks."

"And Merry Christmas, Grace."

"Merry Christmas, mom."

The event continued with a presentation of the museum achievements during the year and all the programs they have thanks to the patrons' contributions. Diane and Grace continued the small talk.

"So how do you like being the State's Attorney, Grace?" Diane asked the younger lawyer.

"It's a lot of hard work, but it's very gratifying."

It was a generic answer that Diane didn't care for, so she brought a case that Grace's office had unsuccessfully trialed. "Like the resolution of the Zalapa case?"

"Oh no, that was horse crap from the start." Grace admitted. "The botched evidence, the jurisdiction issues with Skokie, my team couldn't handle the defense's strategy, I got city hall breathing on my neck."

"I couldn't be part of the government, too many interests involve." Diane said. As much as it hurt her, she didn't wanna be a judge. She had accepted that as fact.

"Your dad wanted you to become a senator, right?" Kurt told her.

"Well, my dad wanted many things." Diane replied to her husband. "He had high hopes for me."

"Did your dad wanted you to be in politics?" The gun expert asked Grace.

"My dad…I think he just wanted me to be happy."

After the dinner was served, Grace received another call from her brother. She excused herself from the table to answered the call.

"It's a boy!" Zack said emphatically.

"Congratulations! How's Natalie?"

"Mom and baby are fine, they're great, they're sleeping." Zach informed her. "We picked a name: Henri Florrick."

"Henry? That's a lovely name."

"No Henry, Henri." Zach clarified for his sister. "It's french."

"Yeah, didn't I say Henry?"

"Henri."

"Okay...Hen...ri." Grace tried again, she didn't hear the difference.

"You'll get there." Zach told her. "Any tips for a newborn?"

"Just love him."

"Yeah. I don't think I'll sleep tonight." Zach said. "I think I'll write."

"Good luck, Zach. And text mom, I'm sure she's waiting to hear from you."

"Sure do, little sister."

"Bye big brother."

Grace realized she had walked over to the painting again while she was on the phone, she looked at it again. Those harsh line on the canvas were telling her something.

"Excuse me, Grace?" Susan Van Ray timidly approached her. "May I have a word with you?"

"Susan, yes of course."

"I want to apologize for Evan. "

"Don't worry about it."

"I know you and him...you know, you dated or whatever, it doesn't matter." Susan shook her head. "He's not right, he doesn't like going to church anymore, he's angry all the time."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Susan."

"We're going through a rough path right now on our marriage. And I'm sorry he was rude."

"Again, don't worry about it." The lawyer smiled to the wife.

"Thank you." Susan responded with a smile too. "Is this the new piece?"

"Yes, what do you think?"

The woman looked at the painting. "Doubt. An incredible feeling of doubt."

"I think you're right."

Meanwhile at the restrooms, Connor was washing his hands when he was ambush by Evan Van Ray Jr.

"Grace has you around her finger, doesn't she?" His words were lagging, he was intoxicated. "You took her name."

"Alright man." Connor went around him, but Evan stopped him.

"Hey, where are you going? Don't you wanna talk?"

"My days of talking to drunk guys are long over." Connor patted him on the back.

"I took Grace's virginity." Evan blurted out. "I fucked her on the back seat of my black escalade. For years, Grace would called me and begged me to fuck her."

The drunk man waited for Connor to react, he wanted a fight, he wanted to punch someone and get punched back. Connor didn't choose violence, instead he smiled to Evan.

"What do you think you are? A soap opera villain?" He told him. "Dude, I don't care."

"Pussy!" Evan said.

"Please, go back to your wife or divorce her and set her free."

Connor patted him on the back again and walked away from him. He came back to his table and made sure to kiss his wife. He tried to forget what Evan told him but it wasn't going away, not that night anyway.

Around midnight the gala was over and the Florricks were waiting for the valet parking to bring their car. Grace saw Diane waiting too, she wearing a wonderful golden coat. Grace's mind went back to when she first met Diane, when the lawyer visited the apartment and asked to see Alicia. It was a small encounter but impactful. Diane had defined style, a perfect dress and accessories. She seemed powerful. "Mom has cool friends." the teen said to herself. If she couldn't be like her mom, maybe she could be like her boss.

The younger lawyer approached Diane one last time.

"Diane, I know it doesn't really matter now but would you have hired me?" Grace asked with curiosity. "If I had showed up at your law firm, right after law school, looking for a job."

Diane looked at Grace for a while then she replied. "No."

"Ok." Grace was a little disappointed. "It makes sense. It would've been awkward because of my parents."

"It's not what you think." Diane explained. "I absolutely would've treated you differently, I would've tried to make you someone else, mold you into something else. That would've been very unfair to you and a not the right path for me."

"I understand." Grace said.

"Goodnight, Grace. Happy Holidays"

"Goodnight, Ms. Lockhart." Grace said. "And Happy New year."

Since Connor had a few drinks at the party, Grace drove back home. Her husband didn't speak at all during the drive, Grace assumed Connor was tired and not in the mood to talk, she was wrong, he had plenty he wanted to talk. Grace parked the car inside the garage.

"Did you fuck that guy?" Connor asked when Grace turned off the car's engine.

"What are you talking about? What did Evan tell you?"

"You did." Connor got out the car. "Goddamn."

"Wait, wait." Grace got out of the car too. "So what if I did? It was before we were together."

"No, it was between us being together." Connor entered the house. "You were my girlfriend then I left for college and you slept with him."

"Okay, again, so what?" Grace followed him to the kitchen. It was a good thing Debbie was with Ramona. They were getting loud. "We both had sexual partners before our marriage."

"He's a jerk!" Connor replied. "I only met him for 5 minutes and I can tell he's a piece of shit, why would you be with someone like him?"

"What?!" Grace laughed at Connor's argument. "And you only had sex with good people? Did you ask for references?"

"I don't know Grace, you're the one who ordered a vetting on me." Connor said. "Didn't you do that with everyone you dated?"

"Come on." Grace rolled her eyes. "You said you were over the vetting report."

"Did I say that? I don't remember saying that."

"We were past it."

"Sure, whatever." The man shrugged.

"Are you mad about the report or about Evan?" She crossed her arms.

"What do you think?" He turned his back to her, and poured a glass of water from the kitchen sink.

"I think you're being the jerk." Grace replied. "All that 'I'm a feminist, I grew up with sisters, I'm more sensitive than a straight guy', goes away when you found out Evan fingered me first."

"AAARGHH!" Connor yelled in frustration, he almost threw away the glass he had in his hand, he startled Grace, who stepped back.

"Wanna hit me?" She said "You wouldn't be the first at that neither."

"What? Jesus Fucking Christ, I'm not..." Connor put down the glass, sat down on a kitchen stool, leaned back, intertwined his fingers and rested his hands on the top of his head. Grace rest her arms on the kitchen island. They stayed there in silence for a while.

"Is this a good moment to tell you I'm pregnant?" the lawyer said after a moment of silence.

Connor chuckled "You are?"

"Yeah, I mean, I think so. I'm going to the doctor next week. Wanna go with me?"

"Sure." Connor lower his arms. "I wanna quit my job."

"Excuse me?"

"If we're having another baby, I want to quit my job at the firm. Because I am angry and I think it's because I feel useless."

"Your job is not useless."

"Is it? I'm the 'husband' and I have an idea of what that means, right? Of what I'm supposed to do. I'm a protector, I support you, but I'm not the provider. You're the provider."

"So this is about money?"

"No, I'm tired of dropping Debbie early in the morning with my mom or with your stepmom, and not seeing her all day, not seeing you. I feel like I'm wasting my life stuck in traffic."

"That's just a routine."

"The routine sucks!"

"I would like to quit my job too." Grace said. "I would love to spend more time with Debbie."

"But you can't, because you're a star. And I could try to match you, I could become a big shot architect, have my own firm, work my ass off and we would never see each other and we'd get divorce."

"And if you become Mr. Mom you'd resent me and we'd get divorce." Grace told him. "You need to have a job. You need money."

"I have savings, I'm not broke."

"They won't last forever."

"Well, by that time we'll be on the White House and everything will be free for 8 years."

Grace snorted. "I'm not...no one is going to the White House."

"We're not paying rent or mortgage, we'll save money on gas." Connor insisted. "Grace, think about it. Are we really going to drop 2 babies with Ramona on a daily bases?"

"Babies grow up, they go to school. What are you going to do then?"

"The First Husband role will keep me busy."

"I'm serious, Connor. You're going to lose your mind if you don't have something else to do. Something to get you out of the house at least once a week, where you talk to other adults."

"I'll volunteer in the city." Connor said. "I'll take courses in college. I'll find something."

Grace took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, we can try this. You can quit your job."

"We'll find a balance." Connor got closer to Grace and held her hands. "We're a team...and I already forgot about Evan finger banging you."

"Oh God." Grace hid her face on Connor's chest. "I don't know why I said that. It's so crass."

"It doesn't matter. I know in my heart, I'll be the last one to finger bang you. Like Diane and her husband, I bet they still go at it."

"Stop it!" Grace looked up at her husband. "Sorry Evan almost ruined our evening."

"Nah. He didn't ruin anything." Connor kissed the top of Grace's head. "Sorry someone hurt you. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not tonight. Let's just be in our world alone."

Next chapter: A gimmick chapter! Because I'm sure you love those.