A/N: A note to those of you who have been kind enough to review my previous "Good Wife" stories, either as a registered writer or as a guest. I sincerely appreciate your comments as they mean a lot to me. Reviews are a wonderful motivator to keep writing!

Alicia tried to keep the smile from her face as she looked at her concerned children, but the feat proved to be impossible. It had been a long time since she'd felt this happy. But that happiness brought confusion on the faces of her children, Grace and Zach.

She couldn't really blame them, though. She'd given them enough to be anxious about in recent months that it was understandable. And she was so touched by their worry that she almost laughed.

She loved them so.

Always playing the coveted role of elder brother, Zach spoke right up. "Mom, you wanted to talk to us?"

"Yeah, what is it, Mom?" Grace asked, making her presence known yet again.

Alicia sighed deeply. This was it. There was no turning back now. "I-I haven't been a very good mom."

To her delight, Grace and Zach began to protest her confession;

"Mom, that's not true at all!"

"No way! You're a great mom!"

She smiled and took their hands in hers, squeezing gently. "Well, thank you for the confidence, even though you're just being nice. I haven't been a very good mom, but thank you anyway. I promise that I'm going to try to live up to your overzealous expectations and be the kind of mom that you deserve."

"It's fine, Mom." Grace said, squeezing Alicia's hand.

Alicia's heart warmed and she hugged her daughter and son warmly. "Thank you, Grace. You too, Zach. I love you both."

"We love you." Grace replied.

She hugged them both tighter. "Thank you."

When the hug ended, the three of them drew back from one another and for a moment the room fell silent.

"So now what?" Grace asked, breaking that silence at last.

Alicia grinned. "Um, actually I need to go back to work."

Her son and daughter's eyebrows rose. And Alicia smiled at Zach. "Yes, that was Kalinda on the phone. They're having a party at the office…. Um… for Will."

Ever the celebratory type, Grace's face registered excitement. "Oh, is it his birthday?"

The question made her laugh, for she wouldn't dare tell her children what the party was really celebrating; the fact that Will had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Grand Jury. It was too complicated to explain and they didn't really need to know about it. And actually, she liked the idea of a birthday party much better.

"Something like that." She replied.

"What did you get him?" Grace asked.

Alicia's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"For his birthday." She replied. "A present."

"Oh… I didn't even think about that. But don't worry. I'll find something." Alicia said, playing along. "Are you two going to be all right? I'm just going to go for a little while; make an appearance. I won't be long."

Suddenly anxious to leave, she grabbed her purse and quickly began searching for her keys until she found them sitting by the stack of bills that still needed to be paid. She picked up the envelopes and began searching through them, trying to decide which was the most important to pay first.

"Why not?"

Alicia put down the envelopes and looked at her daughter. "Excuse me?"

"Take all the time you want, Mom. Zach and I will be fine. Have fun."

She touched her children's cheeks, surprised when they didn't pull away in embarrassment. "When did you two become so grown-up?"

"Mo-oom..." Zach said in that voice that told her he wasn't comfortable with the sentiment.

"Mom, go on." Grace urged with a smile. "You'll be late for your party."

That was all the coaxing Alicia needed.