Continues from the previous chapter. For anyone who read chapter 11 and/or 12 prior to the time of this update, I took the first part of the original chapter 12 and added it to the end of chapter 11. The last part of that chapter 12 is being saved for the epilogue. So I am continuing, at least for a few more chapters.

They continued kissing, and the temperature was rising. Neither one had expected the evening was going to go in this direction. Alicia knew that on the one hand, being newly divorced to a public figure, when that divorce wasn't even public knowledge yet, and having two teenage children, it was best to take any new potential relationship slowly. And on the other hand, she hadn't been intimate with a man for two years, and her attraction to Will was fierce.

Will had dreamt of this moment in many reincarnations for twenty years, but now that it was a reality, he didn't want to screw it up, a potential relationship, by jumping into bed too soon. And now that he was a father, he didn't want to take his daughter, who had been through so much in the past few years, on an emotional rollercoaster of bringing women in and out of her life. They hadn't even discussed what they were looking for, what a relationship would look like, and at this point, it seemed like they might not even make it to the bedroom before…

"I think we slow down."

"Hum?" She responded, but she wasn't slowing down, at least not yet.

"I think we should take things slow. Your divorce isn't public. We both have teenage kids who will be affected by...this."

She sighed. "I know."

"But?" He sensed a but.

"We're both parents to teenage children, who all happen to be sleeping elsewhere tonight. It doesn't happen often." By this point she had started kissing him again. "It's a shame to pass up the opportunity."

"Alicia, are you sure okay with this? It's not too soon?"

She looks him in the eye. "Twenty years, Will. I've known you twenty years. And even recently, the past year and a half, we've spent a lot of time together. It's not like we're drunk and just met at a bar."

He rested his forehead against hers. "I just don't want to mess anything up. I'm not looking to add another notch to my bedpost. I want something real. And we're representing opposing clients."

She let out a deflated sigh. "Conflict of interest."

"Exactly. We'll have to hammer out a settlement this weekend, or one of us will have to get switched off the case. And don't think I'll hand it over to anyone other Diane, if I'm the one backing out. I'm not letting just anyone take over against you."

She smiled. "Well, it looks like you won this argument, counselor."

The reconvened the next day. Alicia picked up Grace and Julia from the sleepover and took them both with her to Will's. After a pancake breakfast, which Will made, the girls headed off to Julia's room, and Alicia and Will headed to the living room to work on the settlement, confident that their added personal reasons for not wanting to go to trial would help motivate them to work towards a settlement both of their client's would be happy with. If not, Will would discuss with Diane and Alicia with Canning, a reassignment. If they were going to be in a relationship, then neither of them would have any direct involvement in a case involving the other's firm. At least as far as Will was concerned, that would be the case. As a partner, he could make those decisions. As for Alicia, Canning could still chose to put her on cases involving Lockhart/Gardner. Hopefully not, but it was not completely in Alicia's control what cases she got handed and which she could refuse.

The tension between them was think, but with the girls in the other room, they found the added self-control to remain professional...but there were hushed comments and looks and smiles and blushes.

After a few hours of working, they had reached an agreement then both felt confident their clients would approve of. They'd have to talk to their respective clients on Monday and hope that all would be agreed upon by the time they met with the judge on Tuesday.

They ordered pizza for themselves and the girls, after which, Grace and Alicia left.

Once they were gone, "What's up with you and Alicia?" Julia was smirking at him.

"What do you mean?"

Julia rolled her eyes in that way that only teenagers can do when their parents seem to be sooo clueless, "I mean when Grace and I went to get some snacks from the kitchen while you and Alicia were working and you had those puppy dog eyes and she was smiling and blushing."

Will was taking a moment to formulate his response.

"You like her don't you? I mean, it's been pretty obvious since the first time I met you at the Florricks', but something seems different now."

He was constantly amazed at how perceptive Julia was. He was convinced she'd make a great lawyer or PI. He wasn't so sure how he felt about those skills being used on him. He was still somewhat insecure with his parenting, and it made him feel a bit exposed that his daughter could read him so well.

"I think you're too smart for a fourteen-year-old."

"And I think you're stalling."

"Yes, I "like" Alicia. I have ever since law school. And yes, something has changed. I told her last night how I feel about her."

"So are you guys a thing now?"

"Well, we both admitted having feelings for each other, but she and Peter haven't yet publicly announced their divorce, so it's" -

"So it's official, they're getting a divorce?"

He then realized it was just last night that he found out about the divorce and that Julia didn't know. Alicia had told him only their immediate family, Eli, the lawyer knew.

"They kept it very quiet, but yes, they filed for divorce, it's finalized, and tomorrow night there's going to be a press conference where Peter's going to announce it."

"I thought something was going on with Grace lately, but she hasn't said anything."

"I'm sure Grace is having some difficulty, and she was told not to speak about it outside of the family, even with you, until it was announced publicly."

"Then how come you know about it?"

"I was with Alicia when she got a call from Eli about the press conference. I only heard her side of the conversation, but for whatever reason, she went ahead and told me what it was about. Otherwise, I probably still wouldn't know either."

"So you're waiting for the press conference, and then…"

"Well, yeah, and we're currently opposing counsel on a case that hopefully will wrap up on Tuesday. And there's you, Zach, and Grace, how each of you feel about it and not wanting to dump too much on any of you too soon. All three of you need stability after all the ups and downs you've had over the past few years. We want to take into consideration how us getting involved in a relationship will affect each of you."

"I think you and Alicia would make a great couple, Dad."

"And if it got serious, and I don't know what will or won't happen, but I want to talk this out, the various scenarios. If Alicia became a permanent figure in your life, not just because she's Grace's mother or has any legal connection to your until you're eighteen, but because she's my girlfriend, how would you feel about that?"

"Alicia's great. I really like her. She's already sort of like my second mom, even before I met you."

"And if things didn't work out with me and Alicia, and if our relationship would become contentious, which sometimes happens after break ups, what about that? It could, potentially, affect your relationship with Grace and/or with Alicia."

Julia got quiet. She withdrew into herself, which wasn't so in line with her generally personality, but Will had noticed it happened from time to time. She was looking down when she began speaking, "Is that what happened with you my mom, things became contentious after you broke up?" She now had lifted her had to look him in the eye.

They never spoke that much about Will and Katie's relationship. There had been a bond between them from the first time they met, even before they knew they were father and child, and since then, they had built on that, getting to know each other. Once they had, their relationship had been very natural, they connected with each other instinctively. Katie had filled in many details about her childhood. Will had, naturally, told her many things about his life. But that was one area that had just never been addressed in any great detail.

"No, there was never any contention. We never really broke up because we were never officially a couple."

"Did you love her?"

Will thought how to answer that question. He'd been with a lot of women in his life, many of whom he hadn't had been more than a notch on his bedpost, but there had been some he had genuinely cared about. Katie had been one of those. They had been friends for a few years before that brief period where benefits were added to the relationship.

"I cared about her very much. We were good friends, and for a brief period, more than just friends."

"But you weren't serious about her, about starting a family or anything?"

He noticed she went back into that reserved space. Julia was usually so charismatic and happy-go-lucky, it was easy to forget how much she'd been through. It was these rare moments when her vulnerability and fragility took center stage.

"Julia Marie Dixon Gardner, you listen to me," he put his finger under her chin to turn her head so their eyes met, "You may not have been planned, but you were not a mistake or an accident. I doubt your mother ever felt that way, and I certainly don't. Finding you has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I wish I could get back all of the lost years that I wasn't a part of your life. I don't know if I would have tried to convince your mother to stay in Baltimore, or if I would have followed her to Phoenix, if we would have tried at a more serious relationship or not, but one thing I can promise you is that if I had known about you, I would have been a part of your life, a consistent, regular part of your life.

"I don't know about any of the men that were in your mother's life from the time she moved to Phoenix until she died, how they treated her or how they felt about her, but I treated her right. I cared about her. If she would have wanted more from me, I would have given it to her."

Julia never having known Will or much about him throughout her years living with her mother was relieved to know that he clearly cared about her more than the many boyfriends she had had throughout Julia's life. From the very beginning, she'd liked Will more than any of the string of Katie's boyfriends that had been in out of her life, some taking more of a father-figure role than others. Really, for the most part, none of them had. Her Uncle Danny had been her one real father figure. Her parents may not have ever really been in love with each other and been planning to start a family, but they had cared about each other, and they both loved her. Her mother had never left room for doubt that she was wanted, even if she hadn't been planned.

A few tears began to pool in her eyes and her bottom lip started to quiver, "I miss Mom."

Will wrapped his arms around her, "I miss your mom too," and held her while she cried.