A/N: A Happy New Years Present! Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
"What do you mean Father is here?" Will asked with a slight growl to his voice as we headed for the couch and Georgina sat down on the couch.
"He arrived yesterday while Louisa and I were out skiing and you and Nathan were using the gym," she said and I sat down next to her. "Mother had no idea he was here until she saw him in the lobby."
"Why didn't she tell him to leave?" I asked.
"She tried, but he wouldn't go. Then the blizzard arrived and he couldn't because the airports are shut down."
"Did he….?" Will asked and I noticed he wasn't trying to ask what was on my mind. "Did he bring her?!"
"Yes, he did. Mother saw her in the lobby," she said.
I noticed that Will had started breathing heavily and Nathan went into his room. He came with some medical equipment as he examined Will and both Georgina and I started worrying.
"Is he alright?" she asked.
"We need to put him to bed," he said and I placed the wheelchair on manual to take Will into our room. Georgina followed us as she watched us place Will in bed and she looked at the plastic elk head over the bed.
"I thought we were the only ones who had one of those," she said and Will looked up. Nathan examined him again after giving Will some medication to calm him down and lower his blood pressure and I sat on the bed next to Will.
"What does Mother want us to do?" Will asked, looking at Georgina.
"She wants us to come see him," Georgina said.
"I don't think so," Nathan said as he picked up the medical equipment and headed for the door.
"Nathan," Will said as Nathan stopped, turned and looked at him.
"Look, I've been taking care of you for a long time. I know what your normal blood pressure is and what it is when you're having an AD attack."
"Is he having an AD attack? I asked.
"No," Nathan said, looking at me then looked at Will again. "But your blood pressure right now is really high…."
"That's because he's upset," Georgina said.
"And I'm not saying he can't get upset. The thing all of you have to understand right now is if he doesn't stay in bed and calm down, and seeing we're stuck here because of this blizzard, we have no way of getting him to the hospital if he has a heart attack or strokes out."
We watched him leave the room when I got up and went after him. Nathan had placed the medial equipment on the coffee table and was standing by the window. I walked to stand next to him as we looked at the snow swirling in large circles outside and he glanced at me.
"Sorry, Lou," Nathan said with a sigh.
"There's no need to be sorry," I said.
"I shouldn't have told him off. It's just that I got scared. I don't normally, but…," he said and we looked at the snow.
"You know what I had planned for the rest of the day?" I asked and he shook his head. "I found out you can take the roaring fire DVD out and play movie. So, I rented some DVDs in the gift shop and was just going to lounge in bed with Will until dinner."
"That sounds really romantic," he said with a small grin.
"Yes, it would have been, but now….," I said and Nathan looked toward our bedroom.
"Hey, Will? Feel like watching some movies? Lou rented a couple!"
"Sure!" Will called out from the bedroom.
"Ok, I'll go get some snacks," Nathan shouted and I smiled, shook my head and went back into the bedroom.
Mr. Traynor sat on the couch as Mrs. Traynor stood near the window and I closed the door behind us. Georgina and I walked to the couch when we sat down and Mr. Traynor frowned.
"Where's Will?" he asked and Mrs. Traynor turned to look at us.
"He's sleeping," I said while Mrs, Traynor walked to the couch and sat next to me.
"Is he alright?" she asked.
"Yes," Georgina said. I knew I was a lousy liar, but they seemed to believe her and Mr. Traynor sighed.
"I take it that he's angry with me," Mr. Traynor said.
"Of course he is!"
"Georgina!" Mrs. Traynor said.
"No, Mother, if he thinks showing up…with her…isn't going to upset us…."
"I just wanted to spend Christmas with my family," Mr. Traynor sighed.
"You don't have one!" she said with a cold tone.
"That will be enough, Young Lady!" Mrs. Traynor said.
"I can't believe you're not upset!" she said as she looked at Mrs. Traynor then looked at Mr. Traynor. Like with Will, I couldn't tell what was going on in Georgina's head, but her face was red with fury. "Do you want to know the real reason Will didn't come with us?! The real reason he isn't here is because he got so angry that he nearly had a stroke!"
"What?!" Mrs. Traynor gasped.
"His blood pressure was so high Nathan had to put him to bed and give him something to calm down!"
"Why didn't you call me?!" Mrs. Traynor demanded as she looked at me.
"Will told us not to!" Georgina said then looked at her father. "Happy now!? You nearly killed him!"
Neither of them said a word as Georgina balled her hands into fists to stop her from crying then stood up.
"Come on, Louisa. Let's get out of here!"
I looked at Mrs. Traynor when she nodded and I got up, following Georgina out of the room. We were half way down the hallway when Mrs. Traynor told us to stop and we turned to look at her. She walked to us when she looked from one to the other and sighed.
"Do you two really think Nathan wouldn't have called me if Will was that ill!? He would have! And the management assured me the helicopter is placed in a hanger during a blizzard and would be able to fly. They also have a highly trained medical staff if it can't," she said while glaring at us and we looked down at our feet. "Now, I understand all of you are upset, but that doesn't mean you can hurt your father like this."
"Aren't you angry, Mother?" Georgina asked as we looked up.
"Yes, I am," she said then looked at me. I felt like it was the first day we met when her face softened and she sighed. "Now, tell me the truth. Is Will alright?"
"His blood pressure's still a little high, but Nathan said he'll be fine." I said.
"Thank you," she said then walked down the hallway and went back in the room. I looked at Georgina as she sighed and we headed down the hallway.
"How is he?" Georgina asked while Nathan looked at the screen and removed the blood pressure cup from Will's bicep.
"He's back to normal," Nathan said, placing the medical equipment in the night table drawer.
"Does that mean I can get up?" Will asked.
"Not right now."
"But I want to go have Christmas dinner."
"I had it brought to the room," I said then went to get the cart. A few minutes later I was sitting on the bed while I fed Will and Nathan and Georgina sat on the floor at the foot of the bed.
"I got to admit this is much more fun than having to dine with…," Georgina said then grew silent and looked at the movie we were watching.
"It would be even more fun if Louisa and I were alone," Will said. Nathan and Georgina turned to look at him while I held the fork half way to his mouth and he smiled.
"Yeah, Mate, it would," Nathan said with a grin and Georgina lightly slapped his arm as they turned to watch the movie. Will noticed I was blushing as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down and I fed him some more roasted chicken.
"Did I ruin Christmas?" Will asked as we laid under the covers and I had my head against his shoulder.
"No," I said.
"I feel like I have."
"Will, you had all right to get angry about…." I said then stopped.
"But not to the point where I could have had a heart attack or stroked out and...," he said, but didn't finish. He became quiet as I tried to figure out what he was thinking and he looked up at the plastic elk head. "Neither you or Georgie said what happened when you went to see my father."
I wasn't sure if I wanted to upset him again and he glanced at me. I felt his eyes on me as I tried to figure out what to say and sighed.
"Clark, tell me what happened."
"If I do, you are going to get upset again."
"I take it wasn't a friendly conversation, was it?"
"No, it wasn't," I said and he tried his best to sigh.
"Did you call your parents?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, I forgot!" I said as I sat up and picked up my phone. I pushed the buttons then held the phone to my ear and Will smiled up at me. "Hey, Mom. Merry Christmas. Yes, I know it's late, but… No, Will's fine."
"Merry Christmas, Josie!" Will shouted and I laughed.
"See, he's fine. What? Ok, hold on," I said then placed the phone on speaker.
"Are you sure you're alright, Love?" Mom asked. "When Lou didn't call…"
"Yes, well, that was my fault. I had a little family drama and I'm afraid she got in the middle of it," Will said as he looked up at me.
"Isn't that always the case," Mom said with the sigh. "Why do these things always happen on Christmas?"
"I have no idea."
"Well, I'm just glad that you're alright,": she said and I saw in Will's eyes that he felt guilty not telling her what had happened. "Did Lou give you the jumper I sent?"
"Yes."
"Good. I wasn't sure if you'd like it."
"No," he said and I could see he was trying to not hurt her feelings. "I like frogs."
"Hold on," Mom said as we heard muffled voices and I shrugged.
"I'm mad at you," Thomas said with a slight sleepy voice.
"Why are you mad at me?" Will asked.
"You and Auntie Lou weren't here to see me open presents."
"Oh," Will said as he smiled up at me. "Well, there's always next year."
My stomach did a flip at the idea of him planning for the future and he gave me a wink.
"But that will take forever!" Thomas moaned.
"How about this," I said. "You keep everything down by the tree and you can show us what you got when we get home."
"Ok," Thomas said as we heard the phone drop and Will grinned.
"Sorry about that," Treena said. "Mom had to take him up to bed."
"Sorry we weren't there," Will said.
"Do you think you'll make it home for New Years?"
"I don't think so. We had a blizzard and the roads and airports are closed," I said.
"Oh great," she sighed.
"Like I told Thomas, there's always next year," Will said.
"Yeah," she said. "Well, I better hang up and go help her put him to bed."
"What about Dad?" I asked.
"He and Granddad went to bed hours ago. Tommy wanted to stay up in case you called."
"Oh. Ok. Bye," I said and she ended the call. I placed the phone back on the night table when I noticed the look on Will's face and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said. "I just realized I don't have to wear that ugly jumper."
"No, you, Nathan and I are still going to wear them."
"Why?!"
"Because it's a family tradition!" I said and he made a soft hum while I went to snuggle down next to him. I know I had just called the three of us a family as he softly laughed and I placed my hand on his chest. Will's breathing slowly evened out, telling me he had gone to sleep, and I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep a few minutes later.
The lodge had planned a huge New Year's Eve gala, but Will didn't feel like going. He told Georgina, who decided she wanted to stay with us instead of Mrs. Traynor, and Nathan, who had given her his room and was sleeping on the couch, to go and I would take care of him.
I had gone to check to see if the special late supper I had order had arrived when I walked to the bedroom as I pushed the cart in front of me and could see Georgina sitting on the bed. She was facing Will as he sat against the pillows and she was holding his hand. I had planned for us to have another dinner in bed and had given him a shave as well as a little trim so he looked a little more like himself.
"For the last time, stop acting all gloomy," she said and Will lowered his eyes. He had been quiet and I was wondering if he was getting depressed.
"I'm trying," he said.
"Then you'll do it?" she asked and my heart sped up.
"What was he going to do?" I thought.
"Georgie…."
"No," she said, glaring at him. "I know as well as you do, as well as she does, you're never going to get better, but it doesn't mean you have to alone."
"I'm not alone."
"You are. You want to keep these walls between us up because it will make it easier when you do die. What you don't see is maybe Louisa wants to spend whatever time you do have with you. Not just taking care of you, but as your wife.".
"As his what?!" I thought and felt the butterflies in my stomach fluttering in a whirlwind.
"None of us really know how long we have, Will. But you have been given a second… No. Make that a third chance at happiness. You should have died when…," she said and gently rubbed the scar on his left wrist. "But you're still here and I want a sister."
"Uh….," I said as she turned to look at me and I didn't even remember coming in the room.
"It's alright," Will said and Georgina got up. "Georgie, could you go get the small box out of my suitcase?"
"What's going on?" Nathan asked as he came in and Georgina removed the small black velvet box out of Will's suitcase.
"You'll see in a minute," Will said as he looked at me. "Come here."
My heart was pounding so hard as I walked to the bed and sat down next to Will. He smiled when Georgina placed the small black velvet box on his chest and Nathan stood next to her.
"I need to know something," Will said as I took his hand and saw the seriousness in his eyes. "Do you love me?"
"You know I do," I said.
"And I love you," he said. "But what I want to know is… What I need to know… Could you see yourself being with me for however long I have left?"
"Yes, I can," I said and tears filled my eyes. I watched as he swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed.
"Even knowing that it could be years, months, weeks or days from now?"
"I would take whatever time I have and love every second of it."
"Then, on this New Year's Eve, will you, Louisa Clark, agree to be my wife?" he asked and I slowly picked up then opened the small black velvet box. Inside was a gold band with a small diamond set in small prongs and he looked at the ring. "It was my grandmother's. If it doesn't fit…"
Taking his hand, I helped him slide the ring onto my left ring finger and we were surprised that it fit. Carefully crawling onto the bed, I leaned over Will as I kissed his lips and he returned the kiss. Moving back, I placed my forehead against his and his eyes were a sharp blue.
"I'll take that as a "yes"," Will said in a soft voice and I smiled.
"See, that wasn't so hard. Was it?" Georgina asked as I sat next to Will and we laughed.
"It looks good on you," Will said as I looked at the ring and had my head against his chest.
"I still can't believe it really happened," I said. "I always thought I wouldn't ever get married."
"Is that…? Would you never have married after I had died?" he asked and his heart sped up a bit.
"No," I said as I sat up and looked at him. The head of the bed was raised so he was sitting up and he gave me slightly hurt look. "It's because most of the guys at home thought I was…"
"They thought you were just someone they could fuck then leave in the morning?" he asked and I nodded.
"I also knew Patrick would never have asked me."
"Patrick was an idiot!" he said with slightly wide eyes.
"Then…"
"Then I came along and you knew there was no hope in thinking I would ever ask you."
"But you did," I said, leaning closer to kiss him. "And I don't know what would have happened after you had died. The thing I do know is I am not that Louisa Clark. I'm this Louisa Clark and this Louisa Clark is so happy that you asked her to marry you."
He had some tears rolling down his cheeks as I brushed the tears away with the pads of my thumbs and he blinked.
"I'm glad," he said with a smile. "Now we have to figure out three things. One, whose parents do we tell first?"
"I think we should tell mine first."
"Fine. Second, when should we tell them?"
"Tomorrow."
"Alright. Finally, when do we get married? I mean I would marry you tomorrow if that's what you want."
"Ah, I think our mothers would disown us if we got married that fast," I said and he laughed. He became silent as I looked at him, but couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"How about getting married on the twelfth of August?"
"Why?" I asked and he gave me a look like I had just asked him if he could get up and run around the room. "Oh. Right."
"So you like the idea?"
"Yes," I said with a nod when I looked at the clock, leaned over and kissed his lips.
"What was that for?" he asked, looking confused.
"It's midnight," I said. "Happy New Years, Mr. Traynor."
"Happy New Years, Mrs. Traynor-to-be," he said as I went to snuggle next to him and placed my head against his shoulder.
