2.01: Fix You
Saturday, January 28th, 2012

Looking out the front passenger window of the car, Will watched as the scenery around him rushed in and out of his view. He believed he had cried every single tear in his body and tried to remain calm so he did not embarrass himself on his way home. Feeling a tad light-headed, Will sat back in the seat with his face forward and closed his eyes. He tried to call Sonny earlier to come pick him up, but Sonny didn't answer. At that point, Will had decided rather quickly that his parents weren't an option because he feared he would hear I told you so from them about Chad. Everything was so messed up. Chad was gone, and he had no idea how to feel about what happened just a couple of hours earlier.

Will tried to make sense of everything Chad said to him out by the gas station. The quick turnaround from Chad made him wonder if there was something he missed. Did he fight hard enough? Did he accept Chad's rejection too easily? Why did Chad decide to tell him this now? Was he too difficult for Chad to fully love? Was this somehow all his fault? Did he cause Chad to turn on him because he didn't allow them to talk about Mia? Was his blowup in the car about Mia the reason Chad turned on him? These were only but a small portion of questions running through Will's mind, but the answers were not there.

EJ, who was driving, turned to Will and knew his step-son was torturing himself with questions and thoughts about Chad abandoning him. Attempting to help him not dwell on his thoughts, he offered, "I can help you, William. I will help you find Chad and bring him home."

"Chad is gone," Will said coldly. Even with all the questions in his mind, he knew Chad was gone for good and was not coming back. "Chad and I no longer have a home together."

EJ wanted to say something else, but he noted how Will closed himself off by turning his gaze out the window again. He questioned what his brother was thinking and wondered how he could do something like this to Will. EJ knew his brother, and even though Chad made some mistakes, he understood that Chad truly loved Will. His brother must not have been in his right mind.

Will, who was watching the scenery once again, continued to think about his now ex-boyfriend. He questioned if Chad was ever his, but then his thoughts went to all the things they had been through over the last six to nine months. Chad had to love him because of everything they went through. He was coming out of his shell and proved he was unafraid of what others thought about him being gay. Why would he quickly reject all the progress they had made over all this time?

Even with this proof to deny Chad's last statements to Will before he drove off without him, Will couldn't forget the words that came out of Chad's mouth at that gas station. Chad claimed he didn't love Will and only came out publicly to help him out of his coma. Chad had kept Mia away from him and met with her in secret. There was no telling what really happened between them when they met secretly. There was no telling if when he caught them kissing at Chez Rouge, if that was the first time it happened, or if that was the worst of it. Chad had actually told him that being with him was too much work and he'd rather be alone. Chad had confirmed his biggest fears in their relationship, and it only made Will feel worse.

When Will and EJ arrived at the DiMera mansion, Will was left with the thought that he had truly fooled himself into thinking he could have love and be happy. He looked at the mansion and memories of Chad wanted to flood through his mind, but Will would not allow it. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't pretend that things could work out on their own. Will knew he had fault in everything that happened and wished he had fought harder. He wished he hadn't closed himself off in talking about his attack on the pier. Maybe he and Chad would be in a different place if he actually faced everything that went horribly wrong.

EJ remained in the car and looked ahead as he spoke to Will again. "There is a lot of chaos going on in there because of what happened to Stefano. I can get you a room at the Salem Inn or somewhere else if you want to be alone for the night."

Will almost lost it when he heard the word alone. He felt so alone, and he didn't want it to last. "I don't want to be alone," he admitted with a crack in his voice. "I can stay at the mansion for now."

EJ nodded his head before both got out of the car. Will grabbed one of his bags to take in with him and decided to leave the other bags in EJ's car. Walking in, they found Lexie and Sami talking.

"I don't understand what happened tonight," Lexie shared with Sami.

Sami wanted to know more about what happened to Stefano but spotting her son with EJ caught her off guard. She knew her husband went out, but he didn't tell her where he was going. "What's going on?"

Lexie looked over to Will and wondered the same thing. "Where's Chad? He was with you when you left the scene."

Sami gave EJ and Lexie a concerned look. "Chad and Will were there when you found Stefano dead?"

EJ simply nodded his head and wasn't sure what to say about Chad because he didn't want to put Will in a more uncomfortable position.

Will had lowered his head to avoid eye contact with his mother or anyone else in the room. Adjusting his bag, he tried to remain focused on something else so he wouldn't break down. He wasn't ready for his mom to rant and rave about what Chad did to him.

"Will?" Sami let out softly with great love and concern as Lexie gave EJ a questioning look.

Will couldn't help but look up when he heard his mom say his name. As soon as he locked eyes with Sami, tears began to stream down his face due to the shame, disappointment, and hurt he felt. Each feeling seemed to magnify now that he was in a familiar context.

Seeing the painful tears in her son's eyes, Sami began to tear up as well. Rushing over to Will, she wrapped her arms around him. "Will, what's going on? Why are you so sad? Where is Chad?"

Will immediately melted into his mother as his sobs continued to strengthen its hold on him. "H… i… g…" No matter how hard Will tried to speak, complete words weren't coming out.

As Lexie remained curiously quiet, Sami continued to hold Will and looked to EJ for answers. "EJ, tell me what happened."

EJ swallowed hard because of how Will could no longer say anything coherent. It didn't help he was still dealing with his own emotions on finding Stefano on the pier. He gave Sami a deafening look as he answered, "Chad has left Salem."

Lexie moved over to EJ and placed her hand on his arm. "Maybe we should let Sami and Will have some space. We can talk about father in his office."

"Where's Kate?" EJ asked quickly.

"She is upstairs," Lexie informed him. "She doesn't know what's going on."

EJ turned to his wife before heading to the office. "Samantha…"

As Sami tried to comfort Will, she gave EJ a nod. "We will be fine," she stated.

After Lexie and EJ walked into Stefano's office, Sami led her son to the living room to rest on the couch. She pulled Will close to her and wasn't sure what to say to him at first because she wasn't sure if Will wanted to hear her say anything. Deciding to hold off on speaking, she allowed her hand to scratch up and down Will's back hoping that would help him feel better.

Will experienced warmth and love from his mother's comfort. He was surprised that his mother showed restraint and hadn't said I told you so. He allowed himself to let out the pain for a while longer before deciding he had cried enough. Even so, he wanted to remain connected to Sami because it helped him so much in shutting off the crying for now.

When Sami realized Will had calmed down, she figured now would be the right time to say something. Wiping her eyes with her free hand, she stated, "I hope you know you did nothing wrong."

"Huh?"

Continuing to scratch Will's back, Sami clarified, "I guess I am reflecting on my own experience with men leaving me behind or walking away. Things exploded because I did something wrong, but I want you to know you did nothing wrong in case you are thinking it."

Will thought about what Sami was trying to say to him, but knew a big part of him blamed himself for his relationship with Chad and the way it ended. How could he allow himself to get comfortable with Chad in the first place? He guarded himself somewhat after his attack on the pier, but he allowed himself to forgive Chad and let him back in. "I was so stupid," Will said. "I only have myself to blame for what happened tonight. I loved Chad, but it was all for nothing."

Sami stopped scratching Will's back as she related to what Will was going through. "It's the worst, Will, but I hope you know this is not the end – not for you or for love."

Will didn't want to think about that. Resting his head on his mother's shoulder, he said, "I can't do that. I can't just move past this because the truth is I still love Chad, and I hate myself for that. He claims he never loved me in that way, but I don't know – a small part of me thinks it was or could have been the real thing. Maybe he will come back."

Sami ran her fingers through Will's hair as she questioned if Will was in denial. She had been there many times before, but she didn't say anything because she didn't want to project her own experiences onto her son. "Keep an open mind, Will. If you never try, you'll never know. You're worth so much, and I hope you know that. You deserve a great love and you deserve to be happy because you are such a wonderful person."

Sami began to tear up again because she wanted Will to know how fantastic he truly was. "I know it's hard to believe that anything great could come from me and your dad, but you really are amazing, Will. You are resilient, compassionate, and devoted. Please don't lose that."

Will separated himself from Sami a bit because hearing his mother praise him bothered him in some ways. Looking into his mother's eyes, he gave her a warm yet sad look. "Mom, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but… I… I just can't. This is the worst day of my life, and I can't handle all this. It's too much."

Sami gave Will a defeated look because seeing her son so heartbroken broke her heart. She wanted to fix him, but she realized there was nothing she could really say at this point that would make things better. Placing her hand on Will's cheek, she commented, "You look tired. Maybe you should sleep."

Will looked around the room and blew out some air because he really was worn out. "I don't know if I can. Where would I sleep?"

Sami pulled Will close to her again and rested Will's head on her lap. "Just close your eyes, Will. I'm not going anywhere, and I'll take care of you tonight. I can do that." Sami watched as Will closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep. Reflecting on everything Will had been through over the last week, she couldn't believe how strong he was trying to be. She hoped he knew how much she loved him and that she wanted to help.

Later that Saturday night, Will arrived to his apartment for the first time since leaving it with Chad. He knew he would have to face it eventually and figured he couldn't let his mother put him to sleep again. Unlocking the door and walking in, he remembered how distraught Chad was when they found Stefano on the pier. It was all coming back to him and as much as he wanted to push forward, he felt as though he was going in reverse.

Hearing the front door open from his bedroom, Sonny walked out and found Will just standing there. Surprised to see him, Sonny stated, "I thought you and Chad were gone for the weekend." He wrapped his arms across his chest thankful he wouldn't be alone in the apartment tonight.

Will looked up to acknowledge Sonny but didn't say anything.

Sonny scratched the side of his head sensing a deep sadness in Will. He related to it somehow and reflected on how he no longer had any part in Dario's life. With some fear, he asked, "Where's Chad?"

Will dropped most of his things on the floor and adjusted one bag over his shoulder. "I'm going to sleep. I'll talk to you later."

Sonny watched as Will disappeared into the other room. Even though he was confused, he decided to ask Will about it the next day because Will really did seem out of it. He hoped something horrible didn't happen to Chad. "Okay," he said quietly before returning to his bedroom for sleep.

Will walked into his bedroom and headed straight for his desk without turning on the lights. He wanted to avoid the memories of Chad that seemed to haunt him everywhere he went and began to undress. Closing his eyes as he took off his shirt and pants, Will wanted to focus on getting good sleep and nothing else. Once he was done, he walked over to his radio and turned it on thinking music could help him turn off his brain. Request night was ending, but Will couldn't bear to hear any of it because it only reminded him of the song he dedicated to Chad last summer. The song he dedicated was actually about running away together, and Will felt his disappointment begin to grow.

After turning off the radio, he headed for the bed and threw himself onto it. It was so big alone. He wasn't ready for this.

Grabbing a pillow and his blanket, Will made his way into the living room. He looked the couch over and figured this was the best place he could go in his apartment and actually sleep. Throwing his pillow at one end, he laid down and pulled his blanket over him. He looked up to the ceiling for a moment praying he could stop hurting. He prayed he could live normally again. Closing his eyes, he decided that was impossible.