A\N: Hi Angels, I'm back with yet another Will and Alicia oneshot! This is season four AU.
What if Alicia took the named partner position Will offered? What if she accepted it with some conditions? What if she followed her heart for once and did what she wanted and not what was expected of her after Peter hurt her again? What if Will helped her again after Peter once again destroyed her and the kids?
This is not related to my AW lovers oneshot collection, this is a separate oneshot based on when Will asks Alicia to be named partner! This will be short and in first person seeing as my muse has started to run away again I hope you enjoy, Angels.
TGWTGWTGWTGWTGWTGW
Alicia
Will offered me the one thing I've wanted since Georgetown and he knew it. He knew how much I wanted to be a managing partner of a law firm. He's the only one I've mentioned it to and that was a few days after I met him, and he remembered, all these years, he remembered that I wanted to run a law firm.
One part of me wanted to accept his offer and jump up and down like a little girl on Christmas morning and hug him for giving me what I really wanted and pick out the font for my name and design my office which would be Diane's current office.
A part of me, the mean part of me, wanted to pick up the phone and call Peter and tell him that Will had offered me managing partner, just to hear the disgust in his voice when he heard Will's name come from my mouth.
A part of me wanted to call Cary and tell him I'm out, that I've changed my mind about leaving with him and the others, they'd all understand, Cary would even if everyone else doesn't.
A part of me wanted to decline the offer because I knew what people would say, especially the associates, that our history would make it hard for us to work together, that working together in such close proximity would do more harm than good, that we would slip up and sleep together again, that Peter and Eli wouldn't agree to me being managing partner because of who my partner would be.
But then everything changed: none of it mattered, my life was catapulted into the spotlight once more, my life was splashed onto every magazine and news cycle.
All because my husband couldn't resist a blonde with long legs.
He cheated on me again and I find out the same way I did four years ago, but unlike four years ago, I was surrounded by people who literally kept me uptight as the air left my lungs and my legs felt like jello and I went crashing to the floor, held up only by Will, Diane and Cary.
I remembered the day I found out that my husband had yet another affair.
FLASHBACK:
I'm laughing with Will as we share stories about Georgetown in the conference room surrounded by Diane, Cary, David, Robyn and Kalinda, empty pizza boxes and beer bottles litter the table, while shoes are thrown across the room.
"You threw me into the pool then felt so guilty you jumped in and started a whole splash fight with everyone." I told the room, Will pouted, not being able to respond just as the newscast came on, it halted the laughter as we all turned to the tv, all eager to see what was happening and if it was one of our clients that was in trouble again.
I stood up as I saw Peter on screen and saw that he was kissing a blonde woman who was pinned up against a car outside a hotel in the Loop. I stared at the TV as a news anchor started to talk as it cut away from the picture and into the newsroom.
"Oh uh, it looks like Governor of Illinois candidate, Peter Flolrrick has been up to his old habits: cheating on his wife, how-"
The TV was switched off before any more could be said.
The air left my lungs as the tears started to fall down my face and I felt my legs give way underneath me. I would've crashed to the floor but arms kept me upright.
"Leesh?" A voice said my name, well my nickname.
Will, he's the only one who called me Leesh. No one else did, it was just his name.
"W… Will?" I gasped out through my tears. It's then I realised that I was being held up by Will, Cary and Diane with David and Kalinda looking at me with pity, sympathy and concern.
"It's me, Leesh. Are you okay?" His voice was soft and gentle as he asked me, I shook my head.
"No, what the hell am I meant to do? He's done it again, he promised me!" Tears had blurred my vision so much that I couldn't see anything but I could feel the three sets of hands on my arms. I blinked away the tears all of a sudden when I realised that crying wouldn't do anything except give me a headache for the rest of the night.
I needed to start forming a plan.
"You guys can let me go now, I'll be fine." I said to them, while Cary and Diane let me go immediately, Will hesitated until I said "Will" quietly.
His hands fell away from my arms but he didn't move from behind me. I turned to David and Kalinda who were still sitting at the table.
"Kalinda, I want to find out everything about the blonde woman and I want you to tell me everything you find out, no leaving anything out, understood?" I asked my former friend who nodded and slipped out of the room while I looked at David.
"Are you alright to draw up divorce papers?" I asked, David gave me a smile before he too left the room.
Now alone with Diane, Cary and Will, I grabbed my phone and dialed Zach who answered on the first ring.
Phone call:
Zach: Mom, have you seen it? It's a lie right, it's an old photo from when he was with Amber Madison that wasn't released the first time? It's the other campaign, right?
Me: Zach, it's true. I'm sorry, but it's not a lie.
Zach: Son of a bitch. He promised us that he'd never hurt you again. He fucking promised!
Me: Zach, language. And I'm so sorry that he's done this again. Is Grace with you?
Zach: Yeah, she's here, she's with me.
Me: I want both of you to come to Lockhart/Gardner right, don't talk to anyone until you come here now, come up to the 28th floor, no wait in the lobby, I'll have Cary meet you ad he'll bring you up, okay?
Zach: Yeah, okay, we'll be there as soon as we can. We love you, Mom.
Me: I love you guys too.
Phone call.
I hung up with my son and looked at Cary who instantly nodded before he gave me a smile and left the room.
Then it was just me, Diane and Will in the conference room.
We were silent as I took in the fact that my marriage had crumbled again but unlike last time, I wouldn't let it break me, I had people around me that would help me and my children through it. Me and my children would be okay.
I'd make sure of it.
I came out of the flashback and stared at my hand that was bare of the rings put there so long ago by the man I thought loved me. I stood up from my office, I had made up my mind about the offer Will had given me months ago.
He hadn't pushed me into making a decision, in fact he acted as it he hadn't even made it me while I was going through the divorce, he simply helped me with the divorce and helped the kids in dealing with the fact that their father had cheated on me again and breaking our hearts again when he swore not to. Will had been a godsend to me and the kids those last few months and so had Diane, Cary, Kalinda, Robyn and David Lee.
He only brought the offer back up that morning after the staff meeting and I had thought about it all day. I had weighed all the pros and cons of managing partner until I concluded that I didn't care what it looked like or what was said behind my back anymore. I no longer cared what people thought or said about me.
TGWTGWTGWTGWTGWTGW
I left my office and walked towards Will's office where I knew he'd still be working. He was sitting at his desk, leant back in his chair, his feet up on his desk and he threw his reliable old baseball up in one hand and caught it with the other. It made her smile. It reminded me of when he did it at Georgetown when they were studying.
"Why am I not surprised that you're here working at 11 on a Monday night?" I asked him from the doorway, he stopped throwing the ball and looked at me, a smile instantly came to his face as he straightened up.
"Why are you still here? I thought you had the kids?" He asked me as I walked deeper into his office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"I'm working on my new case and the kids are at Owen's, he bribed them with movies and popcorn." I told him, Will just rolled his eyes. "I made a decision about the managing partner." I said, Will looked at me.
"You didn't have to decide right now, Leesh. You can take all the time you need." He said, I shook my head. I had decided already.
"I've already decided, Will." He leant forward, setting aside his baseball. He tilted his head. "Oh yeah?" He asked, he looked hopeful. He wanted me to be his partner, he wanted me to run the firm by his side, regardless of what people said.
"I'd be honoured to be your partner, Will." I told him, the smile he wore made me smile. He stood up, walked to where I was sitting, gently tugged me up and crushed me into a hug.
I hugged him back and relaxed. The only places I felt relaxed after I found out that Peter had cheated on me for a third time was with Zach and Grace, in a courtroom and with Will.
"You are going to be an amazing managing partner, Leesh." He said, my smile widened as we pulled back. Our eyes locked and I suddenly found myself kissing him. And I didn't regret it.
Will
I couldn't believe that Leesh had agreed to be managing partner, I would've thought after Peter, the divorce and the kids, she would have said no and thanked me for the offer.
That woman never failed to surprise me.
Suddenly she kissed me and I kissed her back. I wrapped my hands around her hips and deepened the kiss. I pulled away when air was needed and leant my forehead against hers.
"I'll be managing partner but with a few conditions." She said, I nodded. I had expected her to have a few conditions.
"Name them." I said as I moved away from her and sat on my couch, she followed me, throwing her heels off with a contented sigh.
"Number 1: we decide on things together. If we decide against something then that's it. Number 2: if I have a problem with a client or if you have a problem, we give them one warning, if they continue to cause problems we tell them we can't represent them anymore. Number 3: if we pursue another relationship, no hiding it, no hotel rooms or 'lunches', I want to be public with you in the office and outside of the office as well, no matter what is said about me." She said with a smile.
"Those conditions sound good to me. So we'll tell the partners tomorrow and make it official on Wednesday." I agreed with all of her conditions, especially the third one. I pulled her sideways onto my lap and kissed her again.
"I want to thank you for being there for me and the kids." She told me before she kissed me again.
I could kiss her forever and never get bored.
"I'll always be there for you and the kids, Leesh. I'm not going anywhere." I said with finality in my voice as we pulled away.
Leesh sighed before she buried her face in my neck. "I have to get going." She said reluctantly. I nodded as she kissed my neck and stood up. She kept her eyes on me as she slipped her heels on.
Once her heels were on, she walked toward me, bent down and kissed me gently. "I'll be in by 8 tomorrow morning and we can call a partner meeting at 9." She said into the kiss. I smiled.
By tomorrow, the entire firm would know that Alicia Cavanaugh was my partner, both in law and life.
Alicia
I caught Will by the elevator when I stepped off it at 7:50 this morning. I held a travel mug full of coffee and smiled at him. "Hey." I greeted before lifting the cup to my mouth. He returned the smile. "We need to talk about us at some point today because I really want to kiss you." He said with a pout. I lowered my coffee as what I said to him last night about being in a relationship with him came flooding back to me: I want to be public with you in the office and outside of the office as well, no matter what is said about me.
"Kiss me in front of people tomorrow after the new letterhead is revealed." I told him. He just smiled at me before he walked away. I stared at him until he was out of my line of sight.
At 9, I sat in the conference room surrounded by my partners. David sent me a smile just as Will entered the room.
"Okay, I'm just going to get right to it: we need a second named partner now that Diane has left us. I have already decided who my partner will be, this is just a formality. Our newest name partner is Alicia Cavanaugh." Will said, I stood up as polite claps filled the room, only David's clap was sincere.
"Congratulations, Alicia, you deserve to be named partner." David said before he hugged me. I smiled as I pulled away and Will hugged me tightly.
"I love you." He whispered in my ear, my heart started to beat wildly in my chest. I had known I had loved Will Gardner. I had been prepared to tell him so many times during our 'affair' but Peter's words of 'I need you, come on don't give up on me' and the fear of what would happen to Zach and Grace if I had let myself give into the love I felt had always stopped me.
Not anymore: Peter and I were divorced and Zach and Grace were old enough to not need me as much.
I loved Will and I wanted the whole world to know.
Will
I had just said the three most important words I had ever said, and I said them to Alicia Cavanaugh. I heard her breath catch.
"I love you too, Will so much." She whispered back in my ear just as she pulled away and plastered on a smile and started shaking the partner's hands and accepting their congratulations.
I was so proud of Leesh.
She had overcome a lot in the last three years that would have made any other woman break and curl up into a ball. But not Alicia, she was a woman who kept on fighting, she channeled her heartbreak into fire and unleashed it in the courtroom.
TGWTGWTGWTGWTGWTGW
Me and Leesh were side by side in front of the new letterhead, she was smiling at me, her eyes leaving me to look at Zach and Grace who I had called last night and asked them to be here for their mothers big day, they had said yes before the question was halfway out of my mouth. They had missed their first two classes to be here for Leesh.
"Ready, Leesh?" I asked her, she nodded and the unveiling of the firm's new name was revealed. The cheers and claps were loud, Zach and Grace's were the loudest but I didn't mind: they were proud of their mother.
I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her gently, she kissed me back, smiling into the kiss before she pulled away. It was a short kiss which I had expected considering that we were in front of our employees and, more importantly, her children.
Alicia was tackled into a joint hug by Zach and Grace and would've been knocked to the ground if I hadn't shot my arms around her waist at the last minute.
"We're so proud of you, Mom." Zach told his mother as he pulled out of the hug. Grace still hugged Alicia like a monkey. "Thank you guys." Leesh said, Grace released Leesh from the hug. Flutes of champagne were being passed around.
Once me and Leesh both had a glass of champagne, we raised them. "So are we really doing this?" She asked me, and I nodded "Too late to turn back now, Cavanaugh." I teased. She threw back her head and laughed.
"What should we toast to?" I asked her, Leesh thought for a moment.
"Here's to us." She answered.
"Here's to us." I replied.
Hours later, when the 'party' had died down and work had been completed and everyone had gone home for the night, me and Leesh were walking past the new letterhead that now bore down both our names, hand in hand when she suddenly stopped and turned towards me.
In front of Cavanaugh/Gardner, I was kissed by Alicia Cavanaugh.
Her lips tasted like champagne and new beginnings.
For both of us.
TGWTGWTGWTGWTGWTGW
A\N: This Willicia oneshot is FINALLY completed and it feels so good to finish it. It's 10:30 right now and I am sooo tired so this is my only update for today. I have tried to catch all the mistakes but I will double check tomorrow after I had coffee. I've still not The Good Wife Dramatics, Your Honour, (5x15), I keep watching Pretty Little Liars instead but I will watch it (eventually)
Have a good night, Angels.