Coupled Isolation
Rating: T
Pairing: Will Horton/Chad DiMera

Chapter S E V E N

"Here you go," Chad says, handing Will and Sami both a glass of water. Sami thanks him and then asks Chad to sit down. "I wanted to talk to the both of you. I want you both to know that I am accepting and supportive of both of you. Now, we are going to have to set up some ground rules."

"Rules? What kind of rules?" Sami smiles, "First off, no more getting abducted or jumping in front of bullets. I am fine with the two of you being together, but I want you both to be careful. If you two are going to be intimate..."

"God, mom," Will groans. Despite his annoyance, Chad finds it a little bit humorous. "We have both agreed to take things slow." Sami smiles, "I think that is a great idea. Chad, would you like to join the family for dinner? Will's father is flying out tomorrow and he will be coming tonight."

"That would be great," he says, "but I should probably check with my father first." Sami nods and leaves the room. Chad holds Will's hand and smiles at him as he calls his father to ask permission, but the smile fades when he finds out some horrible news. "Mom," Will calls. Sami rushes into the other room as Chad hangs up.

"Kate was in a car accident leaving the hospital. She's in critical condition!" Sami is unsure whether to be happy or upset. She eventually comes to her senses, "Okay, I will drive us there. Will, call your father on the way. Chad, do we need to pick up your father?" He shakes his head, "He is already on the way."

Kate rolls her eyes at Chad, Stefano, Lucas and Will standing in her room. Lexi continues taking her blood pressure. "She was hit on the passenger's side. She is going to be perfectly fine as long as she gets some rest." "Well, you said I was going to be fine and then there was a bullet fragment close to my heart. Are you certain," Will asks.

Lexi sighs and does her best to remain calm. "As much as I can be. If you would like I can show you the test results," she says with a smile, looking directly at well. Chad puts a hand on his shoulder which causes Kate to get annoyed. "No, I don't think that would be necessary," he says, smiling back at Lexi, as she writes down final information.

"We are just glad that you're alright," Chad says. Kate smiles. "I am sorry to the both of you for my reaction earlier. I am just having a lot of trouble dealing with this. So much that I didn't notice that I ran a red light. I was thinking that maybe the three of us could try some type of therapy?"

Will and Chad both share the same worried look. "I think it will help me understand where you are both coming from and strengthen our relationship. It will also help your relationship with each other...if you decide that is what you want to do." "Well," Will says, "at least she is trying."

"Okay, I will do it," Chad says. "I will too, as soon as you are feeling better," Will says. "Excellent. When can I go home?" Lexi smiles at her tenacity. "You should be cleared to leave in a couple of hours. I'm just waiting for one final test. Dad, I'll give you some instructions to check on her through the night to be sure there aren't any complications from the concussion."

"I will do whatever is necessary. Kate, you must be more careful." Stefano kisses her gently on the forehead. "We're going to go ahead and go home. Sami is going to make us dinner tonight, but I will be home after." Stefano shakes his head, "I think we should be together as a family, Chad." Kate puts a hand on his, "No, let them go. I won't be much fun with this concussion and it will be good for them to spend time together."

Stefano nods at her approval, "Very well. Please be home by 9:30, alright?" Chad nods his agreement as he and Will head to the elevator. Once inside they find that they are alone and Chad pushes the emergency stop button. Will stares at him, wondering what he is up to.

"We can't reach the parking lot unless we go a few more floors." Chad smiles and turns, putting his hands on Will's shoulders. "I just thought it would be nice for us to have a little time to ourselves before we have to be well behaved. I never got to properly thank you for saving my life."

"Oh, yeah?" Chad nods and kisses Will on the lips. "Yeah," Chad says slowly and seductively, opening his mouth so that Will's tongue can slip into his mouth. They quickly start a rhythm but are suddenly interrupted by the elevator alarm sounding. "Crap, we must have been statuary too long." Will quickly reaches past Chad and presses the button which immediately resumes the elevator and cancels the alarm.

They share one final kiss before the doors open. A security guard meets them as soon as the doors open. "Is everything okay in here? The elevator alarm sounded." "Yeah, it was strange," Chad begins, "the elevator stopped and it started again just as quickly. I didn't even expect that alarm to sound." The guard smiles at their efficiency. "Well, couples used to lock themselves in the elevator and have sex, so we installed it as a deterrent."

He watched their smiles carefully and shook his head as they exited past him and left the building. They laughed all the way to the car and even on the way as Chad drove them back to Sami's apartment.

"Something smells delicious," Chad says, as Sami lays the spread on the table. "She's been trying her hand at Indian cuisine," Rafe says. "I have never been the best cook. I'm trying to expand myself," she says, taking a vegetable samosa and putting it on her plate. When she cuts into it chunked chickpeas and potatoes pour out along wit a stream of cheese.

"It smells good...," Will says, hesitant to take the first bite. Chad takes a bite and smiles a second later. "It is delicious." Will laughs and when Sami and Rafe seems confused, Will puts his hand on Chad's. "He always smiles like that when he is lying through his teeth. Mom, next time let me help you." He turns to Chad, "I got a "B" in home economics my senior year of high school.

"That is pretty impressive. I got an "A" because of my banana pudding," Chad says. Rafe laughs and takes a bite of the samosa. He chews for a few extremely long seconds and then swallows. "I think you made a great effort, honey," he says. Sami smiles, but it is obvious to everyone in the room that their relationship isn't all smiles.

"You all are in for a treat," Sami says. "After dinner I have a delicious chocolate cream pie and this time I didn't try to make it myself. I got it at the store." Will and Rafe applaud and do their best to be kind while tasting the food. "Mom, the naan turned out amazingly."

"It was all delicious. Thank you so much for inviting me," Chad says. "Mom, if its cool with you I am going to drop Chad off at the mansion and check on Grandma." Sami nods, "That would be nice. I'm sure she would be happy to see you. Just remember our previous conversation about being careful." Rafe suddenly coughs, causing rice to fly out of his mouth onto his plate.

"Don't worry mom, we aren't having sex yet. Thanks for bringing that up," Will says, annoyed. Chad blushes and turns his attention back to his plate. A series of beeps goes off and Rafe checks his cell phone. He takes a minute to read the text message. "I'm sorry to cut out so early. I have to head to the docks to inspect a shipment which is probably full of drugs or people being sold into slavery." He stands and turns to Sami, "I will be back as soon as I can."

A brief look in her eye has him questioning whether or not he wants to return. He waves to the two guys and then leaves as quickly as possible. "So, we've had a crazy week, haven't we?" Chad nods, "I think year would be more correct. Salem definitely seems a little...off recently."

"Agreed. Would either of you like more?" Will and Chad both shake their head, trying not to be rude while not receiving any more of the food. Sami relents, "Okay. Let me get rid of this stuff and then I'll get us some delicious pie." "Would you like any help," Chad asks? Sami shakes her head, "I can manage. Thank you, though."

"Can I get you anything, my darling?" Kate shakes her head, sipping on her bottled water from a straw. "I just received a text message from Chad. Will is driving him home so that he can check on you." "That Grandson of mine is a very sweet boy, but I'm sure it has more to do with him wanting to be with his boyfriend." She cringed at the word.

Stefano stares at her, surprised by her response. "You are not handling this well, are you?" Kate shrugs her shoulders, "I don't accept this lifestyle for either of them. Hopefully our therapy sessions will show them the error of this type of lifestyle." Stefano sits back on the couch away from her. "You know, I am surprised by this reaction from you. I thought out of everyone you would be one of the most accepting women, especially where your Grandson is concerned."

"I don't know what to say. I just do not condone their relationship." "I'm sorry you feel that way," Will says, as Kate and Stefano turn to find he and Chad standing in the room's entryway. "Will...," she begins. "No," WIll responds, "I don't need to hear anymore. I'm going to go." He kisses Chad on the lips and then waves at Stefano. He stops and turns back to her, "I'm glad to see you're still you, but maybe a little bit of compassion wouldn't have been such a bad side effect of your car accident." He leaves without another word.

Chad walks into the room and sits across from them. "That didn't go very well. I should have known you were trying to con us. I'll bet you were going to try to set us up with a reparative therapist, too." Kate sighs, "Doctor Reynolds has a high success rate of helping people remove themselves from the homosexual lifestyle."

"You don't understand Kate, we are happy being who we are. I feel something for Will that is much stronger than your inability to accept us. Will loves me so much that he was willing to jump in front of a bullet and risk his own life so that I would be able to survive. I can tell you right now that I doubt either of us would be willing to do the same thing for you. Feel better," he says, rising to his feet and heading to his room.

"I will speak with him in the morning. He should not have said that," Stefano says, walking over to the bar so that he can fix himself a drink. Every time something comes to mind he starts to say it, but he stops. Finally he takes a drink and then turns to her after finishing every last drop of the scotch.

"Kate, if you want to keep Will and Chad in your lives you will have to change your opinion, just as you had to do with Lucas and Sami not that long ago. You are domineering and controlling and unwilling to bend." Kate laughs, "You're one to talk! When people don't do what you want you implant microchips in their brains or have clones or prisons created!"

"I am not a perfect man, I acknowledge this. But I know how important your family is to you and if you continue on this path you will lose all of them. Maybe you don't begin with acceptance...maybe you begin with respect as one human being to another." He kisses her gently on the forehead and heads for the stairs. "I will be in bed waiting for you. Remember I have to wake you every two hours."

She is furious at the thought that she must change her opinion, but the thought of losing her family scares the death out of her. She was extremely upset when Will was in danger. If Sami and Lucas could accept them, she thought, maybe I can at least attempt to do so. Conflicted, she closes her eyes, hoping her dreams will provide her with the answers.

"I just wanted to check on you," Chad says, speaking to will on his cell from his bedroom. "You ran out of here pretty quickly." He hears the sound of Will's breathing and finds himself matching it. "I was just so angry at what she said." "I understand. She admitted to me that she was going to have us see a reparative therapist to make us straight. I guess she wouldn't do it if she didn't love you."

"She cares about you too," Will says, "I can tell that she does." He shrugs his shoulders and gets into bed. "I wish you were here with me." Will sighs, "We will get there eventually. Maybe we'll even get our own apartment. Do you have any classes tomorrow?" Chad nods even though he knows that Will isn't able to see him. "Yeah, I have a business management class in the morning."

"That sucks. Maybe we can hook up for lunch." "Yeah, that sounds nice," Chad says, chuckling at the innuendo. Will laughs back, "You know that isn't what I meant. Punk." "Slut." "Bitch." "You know how I love it when you demean me, baby." "First you call me a slut and then you call me baby. Sounds like you have some issues to work out."

"Nothing a little time with you wouldn't solve." Will laughs again, "You really do have the gift of the blarney, don't you?" "Guilty, I suppose. I'll call you when I get out of class and see where you are. Okay?" Will agrees and he hangs up the phone and closes his eyes to fall asleep, the first time that he feels on top of the world.

Will woke from a series of sounds coming from his mother's room. He looked at the clock, seeing that it was just after 2 A.M. and yawned, hoping he could easily fall back to sleep. The sound of a gunshot from her room caused him to get to his feet. The first thing he did was dial 911 on his cell phone. "911. What is your emergency?

"I just heard a gunshot from my mother's room. We are at 2213 Lakeview in Salem. I am going to check on her. You should probably send an ambulance." He hung up and tossed the phone on his bed, reaching for a baseball bat just outside of the closet. He crept slowly out of his room and into his mother's room, where he saw Rafe with a gunshot to the head, and his mother nowhere in sight.

He walked closer into the room, calling out for her as quietly as he could. He saw something move under the bed, but in the darkness he couldn't see exactly what it was. The adrenaline was pumping through his system now; enhancing his eyesight and making him wonder where the shooter was. He hoped Rafe would be okay, but his concern right now was making sure his mother was safe.

He spun and walked into the hallway and swung the bat at the shadow that moved towards him. The voice screamed, but he recognized the sound. "Joe? What the hell are you doing in our house?" He raised the bat in an attempt to make a second blow but Joe tackled him, causing him to hit his head and lose consciousness.

Chad woke up as soon as the light in his room was turned on. He sat up, groggily, and wiped the sleep from his eyes to no avail. Drowsiness quickly returned, but the look on Kate's face sent chills down his spine. "What's going on," he asked, getting out of the bed wearing only a pair of pajama pants. Stefano followed her in wearing a robe a minute later.

"Okay, you're both up? What happened?"

"We just got a call from Roman Brady. Apparently someone broke into Sami's apartment. She is in critical condition from a gunshot to her abdomen. Rafe is dead." "What about Will?" Kate took a deep breath, knowing this was going to be difficult. She put her arms around him and held him close as she broke the news. "Will is missing. Whoever shot Rafe and Sami took him."

"What about the other children?" Kate turned to Stefano, "They weren't there. They were staying the night at Roman's for some reason. Chad, the police are out looking for them right now." "Do they know who did it?" "Roman thought it was suspicious that Joe Bridgewell posted bail a few hours before the attack. He is the prime suspect and missing."

Chad pulled away from Kate and immediately began to pick out clothes. He quickly got dressed. "Where are you going?" "I have to do something. Help look for Will, or something. This is my fault...he went after Will because he's trying to get back at us."

Stefano put his arms around Kate and held her, "They will find William and I am certain that he will be in perfect health." Chad stopped suddenly and turned to Stefano. "You must have tons of connections with Underworld authorities. You have to have them help find WIll."

Stefano was shocked by the idea, leading Chad to believe he either wasn't able or wasn't willing. Annoyed, Chad quickly walked past them both. Kate sighed, "The only good thing is that Rafe was killed before he could tell Sami the truth about your abducting the real Rafe and keeping him captive."

"That is an unfortunate circumstance. I do not have the connections that Will thinks, but I do have my own security team. Excuse me while I make a few calls." Kate nods as an idea comes to mind. "I'm going to go to that secret room through the pantry and use that monitor with cameras all over the city. Hopefully they will show up somewhere."

"Please be careful. If Chad is correct then this man, and possibly the others, is trying to get back at the DiMera's. If anything happens to you...," he warns, not even fully knowing how Kate's death would effect him. For the first time since their marriage Kate finally felt like Stefano actually did care for her instead of just using his knowledge of her schemes to keep her married to him.

-
Please post reviews and leave comments.