InsaneJournal

Who: Will Gorski and Kala Dandekar
What: Kala visits Will in Chicago
Where: Will's dad's place. Kala's place. Around Chicago.
When: Recently
Rating/Warning: Low
Status: Complete


It had been a long few days of Will visiting his father in the hospital, a lot of which was spent cleaning up the house. It was amazing how Will’s dad had managed to turn the place into a sty with Will’s absence, and he wondered, not for the first time, if moving across the country had really been a good call. Will was happier in California, there was no doubt about that, but his dad… Well, Will had been taking care of him since Will had been a child, and it was hard to remember that that wasn’t his job.

His father, once Will had gotten him home, had complained non-stop about how Will had moved things around, and how was he ever supposed to find anything now that the place was actually clean, but Will just nodded and helped lead him up to his bed where he could rest.

Now, he was sitting downstairs, a cold beer in hand, watching Jeopardy. At least, sort of watching Jeopardy. It was playing on the television, but Will was too busy thinking about whether he should ask to transfer back to the CPD or not. He didn’t even notice it when Kala appeared in the living room.

Kala’s life was really starting to come together. She was making new friends, she had an apartment, a job. Orange County was becoming her home. Perhaps even more so than Mumbai.

There was one person who was big part of that. Will. The man was after all practically her family. So when he left Orange County to go visit his father for a few weeks? It was hard on Kala. Even though she could still feel him. Still talk to him whenever she wanted. Which was precisely why she chose to visit him.

All Kala had to do was think about Will and suddenly she was in what she assumed was his father’s living room. She could hear the sounds of Jeopardy in the background. “Will?” she said softly trying to get his attention without startling him too much.

Somehow, Will was never startled when Kala showed up in front of him, even when he wasn’t expecting it. It always just felt like she should be there, and he looked up, managing a bit of a smile when she spoke.

“Hey,” Will said, getting up. “I don’t know why I’m not more surprised that this still works even when I’m not in the county.” Somehow, he just assumed that the strangeness of the county stayed only in the county, but given that they could talk to others in their cluster across the world, maybe that had been a silly assumption to make.

“I wonder if it would work if we were both out of the county,” Kala commented. Because she was still there after all. Though she didn’t like the idea of it though. Of not being able to reach Will whenever she wanted or needed. He was part of her now.

“How’s your dad?”

“Oh, it looks like he’ll be making a full recovery,” Will said, a touch of exasperation in his voice though he was mostly good-natured about it. “I’m going to stay here a little bit longer to make sure everything’s alright.”

“Willy?” his dad bellowed from upstairs. “Who are you talking to?”

“No one, Dad,” Will called, and shot Kala a bit of a wry smile. Then he turned to Kala. “How’d you like to see Chicago?” he asked.

Will couldn’t hide his feelings from Kala. She could tell how annoyed he seemed to be. But it didn’t feel like the right time to push it. Especially with Will’s question after his dad spoke. She was going to just assume he needed a break from being with just his dad for a bit, That was probably where the irritation was coming from.

“Really?” Kala asks lighting up. “I would love to,” she paused for a moment considering it a bit more. “You sure your dad will be okay?”

“Yeah, he’s been recovering pretty good,” Will said. “And he should just be staying in bed for the rest of the night.” Of course, one of the reasons Will was here was to make sure that he actually followed those doctor’s orders, but he doubted his dad could get into much trouble even still.

“Come on,” Will said, going to grab a light jacket to throw on over his t-shirt. “Dad, I’m going to head out for a bit!” he called up the stairs. “Just give me a call if you need anything, and I’ll come right home.”

“If you’re sure…” Kala started. She definitely wasn’t going to argue with him. She had never seen Chicago before. Honestly she didn’t know too much about it other than the pizza was supposed to be great. But really she just wanted to see Will’s home. She would have been just as excited if he was showing her around some small town in the middle of nowhere. “So where to first?”

“Have you ever had a deep dish pizza?” Will asked, grinning. “You haven’t lived until you’ve had one, and I know a shop not too far from Millenium Park. It’s a bit of a hole in the wall, but it’s the best pizza in town.”

“Never,” Kala replied honestly. She hadn’t had regular pizza all that much either if she was being honest. But the times she ate it she had thoroughly enjoyed it. “Can we try it?” Kala asked her eyes shining with excitement the same way they had at the boardwalk.

“Oh, you bet we can,” Will said, stepping out his front door, and making his way down the porch. “You know, a good deep dish is one of the things I miss most about home when I’m in California.”

The drive to the pizzaria wasn’t too long. He stepped in front of the menu, and glanced at it, and then, appearing in California at Kala’s side, he asked “so, what kind do you want to try? You can’t go wrong with the spicy Italian sausage and pepperoni, but it’s all pretty good.”

Kala was alone in her apartment, so there was no issue with her talking to Will right there, no one would assume she was talking to herself. She didn’t have to switch back to the pizzeria. “Well,” Kala replied. “Since you’re the one that’s going to be buying it.” And actually eating it. “I’ll take your recommendation.” Not to mention Will would know better what to order than she did.

Will ordered his pizza, and ordered just an Italian sausage and bacon pizza, a sudden feeling in his gut reminding him that Hindus didn’t typically eat beef. Maybe Kala wouldn’t be physically eating the pizza, but she’d still be tasting it and it seemed only right to make sure that he wouldn’t be making her eat something that she normally wouldn’t.

The pizza didn’t take too long to cook, and Will spent that time pointing out buildings and landmarks that they could see from the window to Kala. He paid, and took the pizza box out to find a place in Millenium park to eat it.

At this time of night, the park was relatively quiet, with only a few couples walking hand-in-hand around the park. Somewhere on the other side of the square, a couple of teenagers laughed. He sat down on a bench facing the bean, and handed Kala a slice of pizza.

Chicago was very pretty. All the architecture was incredible. Kala could see why Will liked it here. Well other than growing up here of course. She was fairly certain most people enjoyed their hometown. She certainly did at least.

Kala walked with Will to the park, taking in more sites as they went. Once on the bench she accepted the pizza picking the sausage off before taking a bite. “You were right,” Kala said after she had swallowed. “This is delicious.”

“Don’t you like sausage?” Will asked, feeling a little guilty about it. There was no real way for him to have known that, except that he felt he just should have. Then again, he couldn’t really figure out why some things carried through their connection and other things didn’t.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said. “I’d offer to make you one for real when I get home, but, well, I’d probably burn down my apartment.” Not that Will was necessarily a bad cook. It was just better if he kept things simple.

“Not a huge fan of beef,” Kala replied. She didn’t want to make him feel bad for it though. She had told him to order whatever he wanted. He was the one actually eating it and paying after all.

“That’s okay,” Kala said giving him a soft smile before taking another bite. “We can find something Orange Country is known for to eat.”

“Oh,” Will said, with a bit of a relieved smile. “The sausage at that shop is all pork, so you don’t need to worry.” He might have been the one actually eating it, and paying for it, but he had ordered it for Kala and he wanted her to be able to enjoy it too.

“You think Orange County has something like that?”

“I don’t know,” Kala replied taking another bite of the pizza with the sausage this time. “We’ll have to go exploring.” Kala certainly wouldn’t mind trying out different places to eat in Orange County with Will. There had to be something that it had that no one else did. Other than all the insanity. “When you’re back.”

Will gave Kala a bit of a strained smile, and then looked forward again at the Bean, leaning forward so his elbow was on his knees. “I was wondering if I should come back,” he said after a moment. “My dad needs me. Not just because of his fall. He got shot a few years ago and has had a lot of health problems since because of it. He’s not always the best at taking care of himself when I’m not here.” Will didn’t think he could work as a police officer again in Chicago. With the state of the Chicago PD, he’d only do more harm than good if he was on the force. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something else.

Kala should have been expecting that. With everything going on with Will’s father she should have seen it coming. However it caught her totally off guard, and she was more upset than she should have been at the statement. “Oh,” Kala finally replied swallowing a small lump in her throat. “If you think that’s what’s best you should stay.” Orange County wouldn’t be the same without him, but Kala could still see him whenever she wanted. She just had to remind herself of that.

Will could feel the disappointment through their connection, though it was hard to tell it from his own. He hadn’t expected to be disappointed that she didn’t argue with him, but he was. He shouldn’t have been surprised by it though. Out of everyone in their cluster, Kala was probably the least likely to try to talk him out of it. Maybe Capheus too. Wolfgang would have told Will to fuck his dad, that Will had his own life to live, and Nomi would have found a gentler way to say it. Riley, well, she would have wanted Will to do whatever would make him happiest.

“I don’t know if that’s what I think,” Will said after a moment. “I feel like I should, but…” Well, he’d never really been happy in Chicago. He loved the city, but he hadn’t loved his life in it.

“But what?” Kala asked taking another bite of her pizza. Despite their connection Kala couldn’t tell what Will was thinking. Though she could tell he wasn’t happy with her response. But if it was her father? Kala probably would return to Mumbai. Even if that meant dealing with the mess she left behind with Rajan.

“But,” Will started, and then took a moment to try to get his thoughts in order. “I don’t know. Orange County feels like home, in a way that Chicago never really did.” He frowned, leaning back on the bench. “I know I should stay here with Dad, but I don’t want to leave California.”

Kala chewed on her lower lip, thinking about everything Will was saying. “I think you should do whatever is best for you,” Kala finally said. “If you want to stay in Orange County you should. You could get help for your dad out here or move him back with you?” It was selfish of her but Kala was trying to think of reasons to help keep Will in Orange County. Close to her.

“I don’t think Dad would ever leave Chicago willingly,” Will said, with a bit of a sardonic half-smile. Truth be told, he didn’t especially want his Dad in California. He loved him, but his dad could be a bit much at times. Being able to move away from him had played a small part in Will’s decision to leave.

“I could try to hire some sort of in-home nurse to come check up on him once in a while though,” he said after a moment though. “I don’t know how he’d take that, but I might be able to talk him into it.”

“It would give you some peace of mind?” Kala offered almost as a question.”But honestly Will, you have to do what’s best for you,” she paused briefly choosing not to be selfish any longer. “And if that’s staying here… well we can still see each other.” Anytime they wanted to.

Will smiled at Kala, grateful and wan. “Thanks,” he said. “For listening to me.” Will still wasn’t sure what he should, or what he would do. But Kala had given him stuff to think about, and for now, that was probably what he needed. “I’m lucky to have you.”

Kala switched them back to her apartment so she could give Will a hug without him getting looks from strangers for hugging himself. “I’m lucky to have you too,” she replied. “And no matter what we will always have each other.”