Before the male nurse left Will in Sonny's care, he wheeled his charge towards where Sonny had been sitting, nodded to Sonny and left. He did go to the lab and identified Will as the hot blond in the wheelchair, just in case…but he did it discreetly without Sonny knowing; he didn't want to take away Sonny's sense of responsibility, but he also didn't want to take any chances that Will Horton would be lost in the shuffle, so to speak; and unfortunately, since he would have liked to stick around, he had loads to do.

Adrienne was a little confused. Confused because the good-looking young blond looked slightly familiar; also she was wondering what Sonny was doing being so close to someone who might make Sonny sick, by spreading germs. She knew that she could be a little overprotective at times. And in this she had every right to be protective. She decided that she wouldn't say anything for now; she would wait till they got home.

Sonny sat down, now in between Will and his mother, and introduced Will to Adrienne:

"Mom, this is Will, I think he just had his first bone marrow biopsy…"

Sonny's unspoken words to his mother were for her to go easy on the guy because he was going through enough already. Adrienne understood this from the stern look Sonny had given her. It was very clear, even though Sonny no longer had any eyebrows to deepen the expression.

Adrienne tried to engage Will in conversation by initiating a little small talk. She asked him if he was from Salem originally. She asked him where he was going to school. And in a last-ditch effort to get an answer, she asked him how he was feeling. The last question simply got her a look which said that he had definitely had better days. All the other questions simply got grunts or a silence with a far-away look.

Sonny looked at his mother and smiled. He knew she was trying. He suspected that Will wasn't answering her because he was either still foggy from the anesthetic, or he was in pain, and possibly both. Another possibility was that he was simply tired. Based on what Sonny remembered of Will from staring at him just a relatively short time ago, Sonny knew that Will would have answered, at the very least in a polite tone, if he were in any shape to do so. And he obviously wasn't.

So Sonny took it upon himself to continue the conversation: "So Will, I have a feeling that you just experienced your first bone marrow biopsy…Am I right?"

Sonny saw that Will grimaced and then nodded. Sonny then went on to say that he understood why Will wasn't talking much; biopsies can take a lot out of you especially those that have to delve deeply, like the bone marrow kind; doesn't exactly hurt, but really very uncomfortable. Again Sonny saw that Will nodded.

Sonny began to explain that he himself suffered from a somewhat aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and that he was undergoing chemo, Chop-R to be exact; and that his next session was on Thursday. This elicited a positive reaction from Will, in the form of a smile, and a grab and a squeeze of Sonny's hand which had mysteriously regained its place on Will's knee for some reason.

Adrienne saw how easily her son was talking to this rather good looking young man. She wasn't sure she approved of him flirting with anyone, because he was clearly flirting, although not too energetically, and also rather subtly, but there was obviously an attraction there; at least on Sonny's part. She wasn't too sure how Will perceived all this. Adrienne wanted her son to be happy. She just didn't think he should be wasting his energy. She wanted him to get better.

Sonny was about to expound on what Will could expect from his body's reaction to chemo, but his name was called to have his blood word done at the lab. He turned to his mom and said: "Will might get called before I get back, so please take care of Will for me. Okay Mom?" Adrienne simply nodded.


Will, for his part, was sorry to see this Sonny person go. Sonny seemed really nice, and caring, and Will was glad to experience some of that; he wasn't sure how much more he was going to get when he got home and started to tell his family some of his truths. He was still debating what he should tell them.

He knew he should tell them everything; that he was gay and that he had cancer. But what if they rejected him for being gay? What was he going to do? How would he cope? But he also knew that it wouldn't be fair not to tell them. His family had a right to know who he was, and if he were going to be rejected because he was gay he'd rather know now than later.

He wished he had someone to confide in before he needed to tell his family, especially his parents, about himself. He had a feeling that if he got to know Sonny, that Sonny could be that someone. He needed a friend right now. But with Sonny it could get…complicated. He would tell his grandmother Marlena. She had always been someone he could confide in, well mostly.


Blood work doesn't usually take that long, especially when you have professional technicians who do this every day. It can get complicated when dealing with patients, like Sonny, who have to give blood frequently; veins have a tendency to shrink. But it wasn't long before Sonny was out of the lab offices and back to where his mother was sitting.

Adrienne rose to leave, but Sonny just gave her a look and sat down next to Will. He was looking much better, well at least less groggy. In fact when Sonny came up to him he said: "Hey…Sonny...It is Sonny, right?"

Sonny smiled and asked if Will had a phone. Will nodded and said that it was in his bag that was attached somewhere to the wheelchair. Sonny found it; he also found a card that indicated Will's chemo appointment was Thursday at 10:00; same as his. Good..

Sonny put his info in Will's phone and told him to call him. As soon as that was done Will's name was announced. Sonny indicated Will by pointing at him and a nurse came and got him and wheeled him away.

Sonny looked at his mother who did not seem happy at all. He asked her what was wrong and she replied:

"That is Willian Horton…I knew I recognized him, although it's been a while. That's Sami Brady's son. I don't want you to have anything to do with him. That family is bad news."

Sonny looked at his mother, disappointment in his eyes:

"Mom…Will isn't Sami Brady. He's Will. And something tells me that he is going to be needing support. He was here all alone. I couldn't do this alone…"

Sonny looked at his mother with love and tenderness as he handed her his arm. He was feeling tired now and he needed the support.

Adrienne looked at her son and knew he was right, but she still had misgivings. She decided however, to take this up with her son later. She simply took his arm and said: "Come on Sonny, let me take you home."


When Will's blood work was done a nurse came to get him. She took him back to the cancer clinic and Will was allowed to put his clothes back on. He was given prescriptions and some pamphlets and was again asked if he had anyone to take him home. He said that his grandmother didn't live far and that he would take a taxi home. Before he did that, he went to the hospital pharmacy to get all the drugs he was going to need, at least so far. Will, thankfully, was on a Student medical plan and on his grandmother's insurance plan.

When Will arrived at his grandmother's apartment, he had a big surprise waiting for him. Okay, the surprise itself wasn't that big. She was actually quite thin and demure, rather tall.

Will's Grandma Marlena was waiting for him; sitting on her couch, legs crossed; waiting patiently for her grandson to get home. She was rather angry at her grandson at the moment, actually she knew that it was mostly fear manifesting as anger. She breathed deeply, calming herself. She would allow her grandson to explain himself. If Will were a patient it would be at his own pace, and she would try to allow him that, but it would be very hard to do.

Will walled through the door and saw his Grandma Marlena sitting on the couch. She simply gestured for him to sit near her. Oh Oh. Will knew his grandmother enough that he could guess that she had information that he probably didn't want her to have. He could be evasive, but that wouldn't be fair to her or to him. And so, he simply sat down and before his grandmother could say anything Will began to speak:

"Okay Grandma…somebody from the hospital saw me and called you. You probably called the hospital and were told that I specifically gave instructions that no one was allowed to know why I went to the hospital today…no matter who they were…unless I gave specific permission…"

Will could see that his Grandmother was remaining calm; that was good. He also knew that he owed her the truth, the whole truth. He felt that if he led with the cancer thing first ,his other revelation would be lost or disregarded and so he led with that one first: "Grandma, I'm gay."

Marlena, was taken aback. She certainly wasn't expecting Will to come out with that little revelation. She had suspected her grandson to be gay for some time now. His last Facebook post had a picture, and in the background was the University LGBT Centre. Will had sent an e-mail a few months ago stating that he had something he wanted to tell her in person, when he got back; but then the correspondence suddenly stopped.

Marlena started to laugh: "Sweetheart. I know. I've known for some time but what does that have to do with you being in the hospital…Oh God…"

Will could see his grandmother thinking and then it occurred to him that it might occur to her that hospital and gay might mean only one thing: "Grandma I'm HIV negative. It isn't that. I have cancer, a lymphoma of some kind. It has nothing to do with my being gay. I went to the hospital today to undergo a bone marrow biopsy procedure…"

Will was cut off in mid-explanation by Marlena lunging forward to give her grandson a huge hug. Will could feel Marlena's tears, even though he couldn't see them. His eyes became misty as well. He let himself feel his own emotions, just a little. But he couldn't let them free, not quite yet. Will heard his grandmother speak through her tears: "Oh sweetie, why did you even think you could do this alone?!"

Will straightened and got loose from his grandmother's grip so he could look at her in the eyes:

"Denial, well false hope really…" Will took a breath to calm himself and then continued: "I was hoping that maybe the doctors at School made a mistake, as if they would have…"

He told his grandmother that he didn't want his family have to deal with his cancer without them knowing exactly who he was first:

"I've tried telling you, and mom and dad, so many times in the past nine months, but I couldn't. "

Marlena listened as her grandson basically said that letting his family help him, with them not knowing the truth about him, would be like committing fraud:

"I wanted to have all the cards on the table. I just didn't know how to do it. I'm so sorry Grandma."

Marlena looked at her grandson who seemed genuinely sorry. She knew that he had nothing to be sorry for and she expressed that to him:

"Honey, you have nothing for which to be sorry…Nothing…Certainly not for being gay. I love you Will, just the way you are. You are going to allow me to help you through your cancer. I'm not going to take a no for an answer on that topic…"

Will could only let the tears flow and say: "I'm scared Grandma…" He heard his grandmother say, before the sobs took a hold of him: "We'll get through this…"


Sonny was lying in bed listening to music on his IPhone, and resting, when he received a call. It wasn't a number he recognized and he normally would just let the call go, but he had given out his number recently and so he answered it. Sure enough it was Will:

"Hello Sonny, this is Will Horton. Not sure if you remember me. But you gave me your number. I just thought I'd call to thank you for today."

Sonny was glad to hear from Will. He had hoped, but wasn't expecting that Will would call him, especially not this soon. He accepted Will's thanks but expressed to Will that he really didn't know why he needed to be thanked: "All I did was stay with you until you were called for your blood work."

Sonny could hear Will sigh and the say: "Sonny you did much more than that. You helped me find the courage to come out to my family today…"

Sonny wasn't sure what he did that would have enabled Will to have the courage to tell his family that he had cancer and he started to express that. Will interrupted him: "Sonny. I told my grandmother I was gay. She's the first one in my family to know. Then I told her I had cancer."

Sonny gulped in a breath: "She thought you were HIV positive didn't she… my mother did the same thing…although she's known I was gay for years now. Wait…are you? HIV positive I mean…not that that matters to me"

Will laughed, more out of surprise than anything else: "No Sonny. I'm not. And you did help me. I saw you with your mom. How she was there for you even though you were gay…You are gay right? You had a Rainbow Flag bandanna on your head…if you aren't…sorry…"

This time it was Sonny's turn to laugh: "Yes Will I'm gay…" Sonny thought that the whole hand-on-thigh thing should have given Will a big clue. Will must really have been out of it.

Sonny then asked Will if he had any questions and Will said that he did. Questions were asked and answered. They talked for a long while; until they both were too tired to talk any longer, especially Sonny. They said their goodbyes and that they would talk again soon and Sonny finished the conversation by saying: "Bye Will. See you on Thursday."