Will pulls his suitcase inside the apartment and closes the door. Tossing his keys down on the table, he yells, "Ahh…what a day! Traffic in Chicago on Christmas Eve? Insaaaane!" Presenting the first chapters of his book to the publishing company went better than expected, but he has been anxious to get back and see Ari and Sonny.
Getting no response, Will yells, "Sonny!?" as he takes off his coat and drags his luggage to the bedroom. After finding no sign of Sonny in their bedroom, he searches the rest of the apartment with no luck.
Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he tries Sonny on his cell phone. Straight to voicemail.
Beep.
"Hey babe, I just got home. I was really hoping you would be here when I got here. I've missed you so much! So, um, just give me a call when you get a minute. I love you!"
Will hangs up and looks around the empty apartment. He has spent three nights alone in a hotel room, and the loneliness is almost worse now that he is at home without Sonny and Ari. Just as Will feels an aching of sadness and worry in the pit of his stomach, he gets a text.
Sonny: Welcome back, my love! Sorry I couldn't be there when you got home. I am in a training right now. Would you mind going by Uncle Vic's?"
On a typical school day, Will would be home working on his writing, and Sonny would be home from work in time to prepare Ari's after school snack. They would all sit at the kitchen table, Will and Sonny listening to all of the details about Ari's day in Kindergarten. However, with Ari on Christmas break, she was scheduled to spend the day with Adrienne and Maggie at the Kiriakis mansion making Christmas goodies.
Will: I can absolutely do that! Can't wait to see my little sweetheart!
Sonny: I can't wait to see you either! ;)
Will: Funny :P
Will pulls his coat back on and grabs his keys. He pulls up to the mansion and goes inside. He has become so much a part of the family over the last five years, there is no need for the formality of knocking.
"Where's my baby?" Will yells out.
Adrienne steps out of the kitchen, "Oh, Will, honey, Sonny's not here," she says with a chuckle.
Will shakes his head and rolls his eyes, "Now I know where he gets it from!"
Adrienne gives him a hug, "How was your trip?"
"Good…really good, actually! I can't wait to tell Sonny about it! And Ari! She still in the kitchen?"
Adrienne looks off to the side and smiles, "Um, actually, Will, she isn't here."
"What?" Will says, frantically. "Sonny asked me to stop by and…"
"I know," she says, putting a hand on Will's shoulder. "but not to pick up Ari."
Confused, Will opens his mouth, but Adrienne starts talking again before he has a chance. "He wanted you to pick up this," she says, picking up a bag off of the table. She reaches inside and grabs a GPS and hands it to Will.
"A GPS? But I already—"
"He programmed it for you. The destination is labeled 'Christmas Eve,'" she says, closing up the bag and handing it to Will. "This part, you will need later…but DO NOT OPEN IT YET. If he finds out you did, he will kill me!" she says dramatically.
Will smiles, "Ooookay…but where—"
"You'll find out…just follow the directions," she says with a smile.
"And, where's my baby…my little sweetheart, Ari?"
Adrienne smiles and shakes her head.
"Seriously?"
"Can't tell you, Will. You have to follow the directions."
"Why do I feel like I'm tracking down a kidnapper?"
"Oh, Will! Now stop that! He worked hard on this!"
Will sighs, "Okay, okay…wild goose chase, here I come!"
Adrienne gives him another hug, and he heads out to the car.
Will is about a half an hour outside of Salem when he sees the lights of a decent sized downtown area. Where could Sonny be leading him? And where is Ari? He takes another deep breath and concentrates on the directions. According to the GPS, he is about 2.3 miles from his destination. Just when he thinks they may be going out to a nice restaurant or to see a local show, he passes through the downtown hustle and to a more remote area of the city.
He pulls into a parking lot, and is baffled by the fact that this is his destination. It is dark and a bit scary, to be honest. Is Sonny playing a trick on him? For Christmas Eve? That seems more like something for Halloween, or maybe April Fool's Day…not the night before Christmas.
Will reluctantly steps out of the car and shuts his car door. Seconds after the door slams shut, there is another audible snap-bang-click sound. Slowly, the area in front of Will lights up with overhead lights. He squints in the burst of brightness. He puts a hand up above his eyes to shield them, and gradually adjusts to the lights. As he looks ahead of him, he sees a large solid white oval fence, with Sonny standing in front of the gate, holding Ari's hand.
"Daddy!" Ari screams, and runs toward Will.
He scoops her up in his arms, picks her up and swings her around. "I missed you sooooo much!" Will says, hugging her tightly.
"I missed you too, daddy," she says breathlessly in his ear.
"And I missed you too," Sonny says, walking up to join them. He puts his arms around both of them, and gives Will a peck on the cheek.
As they release from the hug, Will asks, "So…what are we doing out here?"
"Do you have the bag my mom gave you?" Sonny asks, with a smile.
"Oh!" he says, standing Ari back down on the ground, "yes, I do!"
He gets it out of the car, and turns back to Sonny and Ari.
"Well, before Ari was born, you said you were thinking of all of the things that you wanted to do together with her," he says, taking Will's hand. He slowly leads will over to the gate.
"Yeah?"
"Well…Merry Christmas, Will!" he says, opening up the gate.
Inside, Will sees a perfectly smooth sheet of ice.
He looks at Sonny, then at Ari, who are both beaming.
Will smiles, then asks, "So, in the bag…"
"Open it," Sonny and Ari simultatiously respond, excitedly.
"Okay…okay…" Will opens up the bag and reaches inside. He pulls out a brand new pair of ice skates and a thick pair of socks. Will holds up the socks, looking confused.
"Well, I would suggest you put those on, at least for tonight. I couldn't exactly have you break the skates in and it still be a surprise. Still, we'd better make tonight a short lesson, otherwise, you probably won't be able to even walk tomorrow."
"Lesson?" Will asks, sitting down on the wooden bench at the edge of the ice to take off his shoes. He sits them under the bench. "Who's giving me a lesson?"
He looks at Sonny, who shakes his head, then to Ari, who smiles and wiggles her eyebrows.
"Me!" Ari yells.
"You?!" Will says, surprised.
"Yep, me!"
"But, where did you learn to ice skate?"
Ari looks up at Sonny, who looks down at her and smiles.
"You…" Will says, voice cracking, "you taught her to ice skate?"
"Well, I thought that she would be an easier student than you," Sonny chuckles.
Will narrows his eyes at Sonny as he slips on the socks and the skates.
"Actually, we've spent the last 3 days out here, learning a few moves to surprise you…it's part of Ari's Christmas present for you."
"I wanted to teach you daddy," Ari says, "You have taught me so many things…now I thought it was my turn."
"Oh, sweetie," Will says, pulling Ari into a hug, "I would absolutely love for you to teach me!"
"Good! And besides, you can't fall if you're holding my hand," she says, looking at Will, and then at Sonny.
Will looks at Sonny with a knowing smile.
Once Ari gets her skates on, she and Will head for the ice, facing each other, holding both of each other's hands. Sonny sits on the bench and watches, proud of Ari for all she has learned over the last three days, and so happy for Will to finally have this dream become a reality. He laughs as Will slips around a few times, and Ari struggles but pulls his arms back up to help him regain his balance. Will and Ari have made it around the edge of the ice two or three times when they finally stop and take a seat on the bench.
"Whew!" Will says, "You are one great teacher!"
"Thank you!" Sonny and Ari say at the same time. They all chuckle. "Both of you, obviously," Will clarifies.
"So…where is everyone?" Will asks. "I mean, I know it's Christmas Eve, but…surely other people had this idea on such a nice night."
Sonny smiles, "I'm sure they did. Unfortunately for them, the rink was rented out for tonight."
Will swallows a lump in his throat, chokes back a tear, and puts his hand on the back of Sonny's neck. He puts his forehead against Sonny's and whispers, "I love you so much."
"I love you so much too."
"And I love you both," Ari says, putting her arms around both of them. They both give her a kiss on the head.
"Ari? Why don't you show off some of the skills you learned while your dad was gone?"
"Okay!" she says, skating out onto the ice on her own.
Will and Sonny sit hand in hand watching her do wobbly spins and slowly skate backwards.
"Yeah, she still has some work too…you two can polish up your skills together," Sonny tells Will.
Will stares at Sonny and smiles. "What?" Sonny asks, self-consciously.
"I'm not the only one who gets a Christmas surprise tonight."
"Oh yeah?" Sonny says, "You didn't have to get me anything. I know you've been busy with your book and stuff—"
"Not too busy to remember you, and how much you mean to me," Will says.
"Will, I know…I wasn't saying that."
"I know you weren't. I just really want you to know how much I love you and appreciate you. You could've walked away when you found out about Ari, but you didn't. You know, she says I have taught her so much, but what she doesn't know is that I learned it all from you."
"Will—" Sonny says, shaking his head.
"Yes, yes I did. You taught me about acceptance…self-acceptance. You taught me about forgiveness. But most importantly, you taught me about love. How to love with all of your heart, like you never thought you could."
Sonny swallows and wipes a tear just as it is about to fall.
"You have no idea how much you have taught me," Will says, digging in his pocket, and pulling out a glove.
"Oh, you ready to go? Let me get Ari," Sonny says, standing up.
"No…no, I'm not…" Will says, shoving the glove back in his pocket. He bends down, putting his knee down on the ice. He lets out a slight yelp.
"Did you need help getting your shoes? I can get them."
"Sonny," Will says, putting his hand on Sonny's knee, "no…I'm not ready to leave, and I'm not getting anything."
Sonny settles back on the bench.
"I'm giving something."
Sonny gives Will a confused look.
Will opens up his hand, revealing the small box he has taken from inside his glove. He opens it, and turns it so that Sonny can see the silver band. "I'm giving you my heart…which, truth be told, you have had for a very long time now. Even before we started dating, in fact. I'm giving you the promise that I will always always be in love with you. There is no one else for me, Sonny. And I guarantee you there never will be. You are it. I'm giving you my good days and my bad. I'm sorry to say…there will be bad ones. But I know that, together, we can make it through anything. I'm giving you my future…every second of it…to spend with you, if you want it. Jackson Kiriakis…will you marry me?"
Sonny doesn't even try to keep up with the tears as they flow now. He bends down and takes Will's face in his hands, and gently pulls him closer. He stops for just a second to look him in the eyes, then gives him a tender kiss.
Slowly pulling back from the kiss, Will asks, "Um, so…is that a yes?"
"That's a hell yes," Sonny says calmly.
Will jumps up from kneeling, and Sonny stands. Will slips the ring on Sonny's finger, and they share a tight hug.
Ari comes skating up and asks, "Sonny, are you okay?"
Sonny bends down to look at her face to face. "Yes, sweetie, I am okay…I am better than okay…I am great!"
"Then why are you crying," she asks, wiping the tears from his face.
"Well, Ari, sometimes people cry when they're happy," Sonny explains.
"Oh, I know, like I did when daddy told me that you—" she stops suddenly, looking at Will.
"That I what?" Sonny says, looking back and forth between Will and Ari.
"It's okay, Ari…you can tell him…or, ask him, I guess…" Will says, this time reaching into a deeper, inner pocket of his coat.
"Well, daddy told me he was going to ask you to marry him, and, well, it made me kinda sad," Ari says, with a slightly pouty lip.
"Sad?" Sonny says, a bit hurt.
"Well, yeah…I guess I thought that maybe…someday…"
Your parents would get back together, Sonny thinks, sadly.
"That, well, um, that I would marry you," she says, staring at the ground.
"Oh, sweetie," Sonny says, giving her a hug.
"But daddy said that you're kinda old for me," she explains.
Sonny and Will bite their lips trying not to laugh at her serious statement.
"That is true," Sonny agrees.
"So…I was wondering…" she says.
"We were wondering," Will says, opening up the papers in his hand, and turning them so Sonny can see that they are adoption papers.
Ari continues, "If you would be my daddy. My other daddy. My Sonny."
"Oh, honey," he says, still looking her in the eyes, "don't you know?"
"What?" she asks, fear in her eyes.
"I have always been your Sonny. From the moment I first saw you. When I held you for the first time. I have always been your Sonny…and I will always will be. And, yes, I would love to be your daddy."
Ari throws her arms around Sonny's neck, and starts to cry.
"You okay?" Sonny asks her.
"Yes, daddy, sometimes people cry when they're happy."