Chapter 2 - Broken People

Justin walks into the room reluctantly but with a determination born of years as a lawyer and a father. The room smells like antiseptic but he ignores it; there were bigger things happening here. He moves further into the room and stands at the bedside. He gets no recognition until he clears his throat and slams the briefcase down on the small bedside stand.

"Hello Gabi." She looks exhausted and frail. The ordeal of the last two days, aiding Nick in his vengeful plans and giving birth, has taken its toll. He almost feels bad for coming to her room but there isn't a choice. It had to be done now before she leaves the hospital.

"Mr. Kiriakis, what are you doing here?" Gabi sits up straighter in the bed and makes a wasted attempt at smoothing her hair. Justin releases a breath; sad for the little girl before him. It breaks his heart to think about how she has messed up her life and the life of the people around her, including his son.

He knew all about regrets; after all he worked for Victor Kiriakis. There have been many things in his life that he wished he could have done differently. How many times did he mess up with Adrianne? Too many to count. Now he couldn't help but wonder about Gabi. Could he have prevented all of this? He remembers clearly drafting that contract between Nick and Chad. He'd been clear in his purpose; protecting Chad from making his life more difficult with an assault charge. He was protecting Chad - but he also protected Gabi, and now look at the trouble they were in. If he had left it alone Chad would have been charged with assault and Gabi would have faced the consequences of hiring Andrew.

It was his fault. So many people were hurting because he interfered. Will, oh God. Sonny, how will he ever make it up to him? "I need to talk to you Gabi."

"Ho..w..is Will, is he…ok?" She looked so innocent and lost in that hospital bed. Someone so young should not be in the position she was in. She could have been his daughter and he can't help but feel sorry for everything she was going through and what she was about to face.

"He wants one last favour from you." At those words she starts crying. His instinct is to offer comfort but he holds back, not sure his words would make a difference. Justin removes the paper work from his case. After he explains Will's request Gabi tearfully signs the papers. He's handled many difficult cases in his career as a lawyer but nothing compares to this. There were no winners in this situation, just broken people left with shattered lives.

"Did Will…ahm say anything else?" The tears running down her cheeks makes her look so vulnerable.

"No Gabi, he didn't." Like a bobble head she nods vigorously while holding back sobs. He knows she is sorry for what happened. He decides to offer an olive branch. "Your daughter is doing great."

She continues to nod, fighting the guilt and sadness that is tearing her apart. "He'll do a good job right?"

"I'll make sure of it."

Suddenly she grabs his hand, desperation oozing from her. "Please tell Will I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." He is quiet, unsure of what to do or how to tell her that the message was coming too late.

Everyone was there. Eyes pointed his way, watching the slow progression down the hallway and into the main waiting area. It was like walking the green mile but instead of the mercy of death he was headed towards a fight for his life. The desire to run had never been stronger but that's not a good idea, not with the precious cargo in his arms. Sonny looks towards eyes that love him. They offer reassurance yet anchor him to his sad reality. His dad smiles at him. It's a difficulty smile and Sonny is grateful for the effort. It gives him strength to keep moving his legs forward.

Around them everything continues as normal. Patients are brought in through the double doors, doctors and nurses rushing to their aid. Families stroll in, joining the already sizable crowd waiting to hear the status of their loved ones. All were oblivious to the scene unfolding, too busy with their own tragedies. It's a reminder that the world doesn't stop spinning because you are hurt. In this world there is no superman to turn it all back around.

They gather around, needing a glimpse of the sleeping baby that he hopes to God he is holding correctly. There is no sound coming from the group. They stand in awe at the miracle before them. Broken people becoming whole for a second. It doesn't last. Like everything else it disappears with a blink.

"Can I hold her?" Eyes filled with tears, Sami stretches forth her arms before he has the chance to think about it. Arianna is gone from him. Even though she felt like barely anything his arms already miss the weight. "She looks just like Will doesn't she?" the question is directed at EJ who whispers his agreement.

As Sami, EJ, Lucas, Kate, Abby and Chad fawn over Arianna she continues to sleep peacefully through. Adrianne pulls Sonny aside and into a hug she knows we needs. Justin wraps his arms around his family and hopes for a way to heal his son. "How are you holding up?" Adrianne looks at her baby boy and wonders when he got so big. At what point did his shoulders become broad enough the carry the world?

"I'm ok mom." Sonny gives a half smile to reassure her. She is worried about him and he doesn't want to admit how worried he was about himself.

"Sonny, are you sure about this?" Adrianne looks right into his brown eyes and thinks back to the time when he was ten years old. He'd broken his arm falling out of a tree then walked the six blocks to the hospital without telling anyone, pleading with the nurses to fix his arm without calling his parents because he didn't want them to worry and wanted to prove to his older brothers that he was tough.

"I'm sure mom." Sonny looks up at his dad. "Dad, could you take me home?"

"Of course son."

He pulls out of his parents embrace and turn to Sami who is still holding baby Arianna. She looks up at him and knows its time. "Sonny, I know you mean well, but Wills daughter belongs with us." He sighs, fully aware of where Sami stood on the issue of custody. "We're her family; she should be with her family." The words cut deeper than he cared to show. The thought that Will wasn't his family hurt almost as much as losing him. "Besides how are you going to take care of a baby? You don't know the first thing about raising children. The sleepless night, the…"

"Samantha." The sound of her name gives her pause but it doesn't shut her up.

"Look, Sonny, you're young, you should focus on school and the coffee shop not raising a baby." She was right, about all of it. He was a fool to think he could raise this baby on his own, but Will believed in him and fool or not he would at least give it a try.

He takes a deep breath. "Sami, I know you think…"

"I am not letting you take this baby." She pulled Arianna even closer to her body.

"Come on Sonny, Sami is right. You can't possibly manage a baby on top of everything you got going on." Lucas moved closer as he shared his thoughts. "I know you loved Will but it was crazy of him to ask you to take on this responsibility. No one will blame you if you walk away. Besides you could still see her anytime you want. Right Sami?"

"Of course. You could baby sit and spend time with her if that's what you want. I won't keep you out of her life." Sonny's heart is pounding as he takes in their words and they wrestle with the promises made to Will, and Gabi – he had made her a promise too.

"Just stop, both of you." The annoyance shows clearly on Kate's face. "Will made his decision. Now hand that baby back to Sonny so he can go home. She walks over to Sonny and gives him a hug. "Take care of my Grandbaby and if there is anything you need just ask."

"Thank you Kate." Sonny has never been so thankful to have Kate on his side.

"Kate is right. Will made his choice and by law Sonny is the legal guardian of this baby." Justin gets into the action, tired of the jabs aimed at his son. Sonny already looked so weary he was afraid he would give in without a fight.

"Samantha, we can deal with this later. For now you need to hand over Arianna." At EJ's words Sami reluctantly hands over her grandchild and wonders why this was happening to her.

Sonny takes her in hand, making sure he was giving her all the support she needed. They say goodbye to everyone and he follows his dad to the car. With no car seat he cradles Arianna in his arms on the ride home. He is more scared than ever as they get closer to the apartment. It's all the same; the building, passage way, his apartment, nothing had changed in the days he was gone. Everything awaited him in its place.

Adrianne spreads a blanket on the bed and Sonny carefully places the baby on it, his mom close by giving tips on correct positioning. He stands at the edge and watches her quietly slumbering on a bed that he shared with Will. He is afraid to move so he stands there watching her chest go up and down confirming that she is breathing.

"Sonny?" he is startled by the sound of his name and turns to find his parents watching him. "Why don't you come over to the kitchen I'll teach you how to make a bottle."

"But what if…"

"She'll be fine. Trust me." She is patient with him as he learns to take care of this new person in his life and when Arianna finally steers from hunger she is there to guide on how to feed her then place her on his shoulder to burp. It's all overwhelming and he keeps thinking how much he wishes Will was here to do this. Will was already a pro at all this baby stuff, having helped his mom with his younger siblings.

It's almost midnight before Justin and Adrianne finally depart Sonny's apartment with reassurances that he was going to be fine. They had never known their son to back down from a challenge and this was no exception. Sonny's heart is heavy as he watches them leave, knowing that he was on his own with a baby. How did he get here?

Arianna is sleeping on the blanket and he gives in to the temptation to lie down beside her. He laughs when he realizes he had placed her on Will's side of the bed. Sonny knows that sleep will not be greeting him tonight but her stays there beside her, taking in everything; fingers and toes, that nose that he was already in love with, a head with barely any hair on it and rosy cheeks like she was dreaming about something that made her blush.

Sonny traces her eyebrows, smoothes his hand over her head before linking his finger to her palm. Small fingers curl around his and he thinks how strong she was already because she was holding him.

"I wish I had my camera." Sonny smiles seeing Will lying on the bed beside his daughter, head resting on his arm and a playful grin on his face.

"What took you so long?" He wants to caress Will's cheek but Arianna's fingers are still holding on.

"I was waiting for your parents to leave and then I figured you two needed some bonding time. It was so cute the way you were watching her." They are looking into each other's eyes and saying so much that words cannot express. Will reaches across Arianna to run his hand along Sonny's eyebrow, then his cheek and his lips. Sonny's eye lids start to feel heavy, the lack of sleep finally catching up with him. "Why don't you close your eyes and sleep. I'll watch her for you.

To be continued….