"What did you do?"

Sami played with the end of her ponytail. Twisting it around her finger before smoothing it out. She didn't bother to look sheepish. She wasn't. No need to lie about it.

Will admired it, at least. He appreciated the honesty. He couldn't stand liars or hypocrites. Unfortunate since both were prerequisites to living in Salem.

From their long, complicated history, the honesty appeared new. He hoped it was there to stay. He wasn't sure how much of his mother he could stomach at a time but he was willing to try.

(out of everyone from his past, Sami and Lucas were the only ones he liked. Didn't know if it was a parental thing or a Will thing.)

He understood why he didn't get along with Sami in the past, though. Two strong personalities too alike for their own good. Sami didn't mince words or hold anything back and neither did he.

(the new him, anyway. The old him must have been as dull and lackluster as his husband and their shared boy-toy. He better not have been a boy scout)

Will didn't quite get his own mindset from back in the day. Some things he understood.

(who wouldn't want to shoot their mother's rapist?)

Others he would never understand.

(who blames their mother for getting cheated on?)

With his memories gone, Will had a new opportunity with both of his parents. The air cleared. The past settled. They all could right their wrongs. All while Sami and Lucas could become the type of parent they always wanted to be.

Will enjoyed the type of relationship he developed with Sami. But, he knew she wouldn't let anything happen at his pace. No matter what she said.

(knew she would go from absentee parent to a helicopter mom for her almost 25-year-old)

His only hope was Lucas tightening her reins.

(hahahahahahaha)

"I said it wasn't anything bad," Sami repeated. "I only wanted to spread my joy around."

Even Xavier looked doubtful.

"Oh, shut up, all of you. You do not understand what it's like having to bury your child. The child you dedicated your whole life to. Yes, I'm aware I wasn't perfect and I should have tried harder. But it's irrelevant.

"You were my pride and joy. You were always there and then you were gone. I never thought I'd get this chance again. I know, as a parent, you aren't supposed to favor one child over another but I can't help it. You're it for me, Will. You are my baby and I love you more than anything else in the world."

Will shuffled in his seat. Moving his legs and fiddling with his napkin. Looking at the bottom of an empty coffee cup and sighing.

He needed something to distract him from those words. The overwhelming rush of emotions they inspired and the smile he had to keep under control.

(from no family to having Sami Brady for a mother. If he wasn't in therapy already…)

Will stole a piece of toast off Xavier's plate if only to give him something to do.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not the only one who suffered without you and neither was Lucas. The idiot squad you eviscerated earlier don't count either. No, the only ones that ever loved you close to anything like we do deserve to see you too.

"I won't lie to you and I won't lie to them either. They missed you. They still miss you. I can't let another day go by where you're not in their world."

"Meaning?"

"It's time to meet your bother and sisters."

Will and Xavier sat alone in Sami's hotel suite. A day ago, Will would have avoided the hotel. Worried he'd see the others around. Today, he didn't care. He had some amazing one-liners he would have to try out the next time he ran into them. He assumed they were busy dealing with the truth tea Will served them earlier, though.

(imagined yawn-inducing arguments where he still was the only point of interest)

As it was, Will and Xavier were waiting for Sami and Lucas to come back with the kids. They enjoyed a day at the Memphis Zoo with the nanny.

To be honest, Will was a little jealous. He loved the zoo. Xavier took him there on one of their not-quite-a-date-but-not-only-friends adventures. Will had fond memories. He saw Winnie the baby hippo and got a hell of a blowjob at the end of the night.

(refused to step anywhere near the Cat Country exhibit for some inexplicable reason)

Will needed the time alone with his boyfriend. Needed time to breathe and figure things out. He had no clue what to do with three kids he saw as strangers.

"What do I talk to them about? Do they go to school? They have to go to a school. I should ask them about school. Oh, wait, I don't remember school."

"Talk to them like you talk to my family. Why are you overcomplicating this?"

"Because it's what I do."

"They're kids. They like video games and YouTube. Stop freaking out."

Will recalled an evening he spent with Xavier's younger cousins. They played games and watched annoying videos online. But they were different. Will didn't have to impress them or care what they thought. Not like his siblings. Not like now.

Although it did remind Will of something.

(he needed a distraction before he went to his old standby- sticking his hand down Xavier's pants. Not the impression he wanted to make on his brother and sisters)

"Why do your cousins call you Javi?"

"Why do your parents call you Will?"

Will blinked several times, face scrunched up.

"My nickname makes sense. Your name doesn't sound anything like that."

"Because you say my name wrong."

"Since when?"

"Since always."

"Every one of our friends calls you Xavier, with an X."

"I'm aware. It's a nickname too, in a way. I didn't speak English when I first went to school. Everyone always said it that way. I didn't know any better so it stuck."

"What the hell is your name then?"

"It's Xavier," he said with the type of heavy accent that made Will's knees weak. "My parents spelled it with an X instead of a J."

He looked at Will as if that was a giant revelation.

"Huh?"

"You don't remember any of the Spanish alphabet I taught you, do you?"

"That is not the matter at hand."

"Either way, you say it wrong."

"How do I say it wrong?"

"In English, the X would make a Z sound. In Spanish, it makes an H sound. Either way, you're wrong."

"Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"It's not a big deal. Most of the time you call me X, anyway. You only say my name when we're in bed and then I'm a little too distracted to care what you call me."

"Should I be calling you Javi?"

"God, no. Your accent is atrocious. And why are you pouting?"

"I'm not pouting."

(he was.)

"What? Like you don't know you're whiter than rice?"

"I don't care about that. I've been calling my boyfriend the wrong name for months. I need a moment here."

"You're complaining about a boyfriend with the wrong name? You? My boyfriend mispronounces my name but he can get away with it because he's cute. But me? Oh, no. My boyfriend's last name and everything about him changed overnight. So, don't even try it with the pouty BS."

Will crossed his arms, sucking his lower lip into his mouth.

"I'm not pouting."

"Oh, my God. You're the worst," Xavier said with fond exasperation.

He threw his arms around Will, yanking him close. He nestled his chin against Will's shoulder, nosing behind his ear. The closest he could get to Will's neck before he'd freak out.

Will refused to budge.

"Eres mi gran novio tonto."

Will could never resist the Spanish. Even if he knew Xavier was teasing him. Limited as his Spanish was, even Will knew 'tonto' wasn't a typical term of endearment.

Will relaxed, leaning into Xavier's hold. The two didn't snuggle together often.

(could only go so long before he couldn't breathe and everything was dark and scary and if you touch my neck, I swear to god I'll kill you)

Whenever they did, Xavier liked to do the holding. They weren't a perfect fit but they made it work.

Xavier was a little under six feet and a tad bit taller than Will.

(appreciated the three-quarters of an inch Xavier was bigger in another location more.)

But Xavier was much larger than Will. Not fat but wide and bulky. Will was all corded muscles and taut skin from hours in the gym. Whereas Xavier was large but muscular due to rigorous activity and spending his days on his feet.

(played defensive tackle during high school. His parents liked to play home videos for Will. Never quite realized what part of Will it impressed.)

"I'm not gonna change what I call you."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Ah, shut up. Do you think my daughter speaks Spanish?"

"Your daughter looks as Hispanic as Taco Bell. If her accent is anything like yours…"

"Rude but true."

"Pretty much sums you up, Papi."

Before Will could respond, the door to the suit slammed open. The once serene room burst into life. Two small, dark-haired children and a much taller blonde skipped inside the room.

All three left a trail of zoo souvenirs behind them. Stuffed animals, plastic cups with animal pictures, containers of popcorn, and a red fidget spinner.

Will didn't know what Sami said to them before they came inside but it worked. All three rushed to Will, collapsing in his arms.

He only heard snippets of their indistinguishable cries. He felt their wet tears and sticky hands, though. Felt a warmth he only experienced the few times he allowed Sami or Lucas near.

It was nice.

Xavier backed away, leaving Will in the strangest cuddle pile he's ever been a part of.

(that he knows of, at any rate.)

It took a long time for Will to figure out which kid was which. The blonde girl, Allie, was his full sibling. Whereas the two brunettes were his half-siblings, Johnny and Sydney.

It didn't seem like having different father's made a difference to any of the children, though. It didn't matter to Will, much either.

(happy, protect, love. Give them the childhood he never had. Give them everything he never had.)

Will didn't know how long they sat there. Three little limbs locked onto him. Three sets of hoarse cries overwhelming him. Three sets of teardrops soaking into his favorite shirt.

(of course, he wore his best outfit to throw the truth in Paul's face. Of course, he did.)

He saw Sami and Lucas clasping hands out of his peripheral vision. He even noticed Xavier with a small little smile on his face watching them.

No one would get Will to admit he got a little teary-eyed. He didn't even know why. He didn't remember their faces. Didn't remember any of their time together.

(only knew their names because Sami and Lucas told him three times an hour ago)

It felt nice to have such unadulterated joy at his presence, though. No expectations. No agenda. No misplaced guilt.

It didn't make anything less awkward between them. Didn't prevent Will from pushing them away the moment it all felt too much. Didn't mean everything slid into place and they all frolicked into the sunset.

It was a start, though.

"You can have my fluffy," Sydney told Will, wiping tears off her chubby cheeks.

"You don't have to do that," Will insisted but watched her shimmy to the door.

"But I missed you."

Will's smile fell off his face when she returned with a stuffed animal. A medium-sized, soft, plushy tiger.

(nope, nope, nope, nope)

It took Will three seconds to shove Johnny and Allie off, jump over the back of the couch, and slam the bathroom door shut.

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a few moments until Xavier cleared his throat.

"He's got a thing about tigers."

Sami burst into loud, noisy tears.

After luring Will out of the bathroom,

(Xavier had to send a snap of Sydney zipping the tiger inside her suitcase)

everyone sat around, chitchatting. The conversation didn't flow easily. The kids made up for the slacking adults. Filling Will in on the mundane details of their life. They either didn't care or didn't remember he had no memory of pretty much anything they talked about.

It was nice. Felt normal, even. But, something seemed a little off. Almost as if something were missing.

Or someone.

(someone who fit right in the crook of Will's arm. An extension of his heart and soul, every good part of himself in a small, blonde little body.)

Shaking the feeling off, Will glanced around him. He sat on a couch with Allie on his left, Johnny on his right, and Sydney on his lap. Xavier pulled up a chair from a desk nearby to sit near them.

Sami and Lucas shared the other sofa, sitting a little bit closer than necessary.

Johnny rubbed the palm of his hand against his eye, hard. He kept his head down and angled away from Sami.

Will noticed. He grabbed Johnny's hand and frowned.

"Stop it. You're gonna hurt yourself."

Sami and Lucas turned to stare at the two of them.

"Shouldn't you take it out if it's bothering you? Clean it with a solution or whatever?"

"Yeah," Johnny mumbled, scrambling off the couch. He disappeared into the bathroom; the sound of water reverberating off the sink.

"Will?"

"What?"

Both Sami and Lucas were looking at him with a curious mix of expressions. Equal parts hope, amazement, and confusion.

"We didn't tell you about Johnny's eye."

"Huh?"

"The other day, when we told you our family history, I never mentioned Johnny's eye. We stuck to everything related to you. Not that it wasn't related to you. I mean, it was because of you and Gabi we even found out. Not the point, though. The point is we didn't tell you, at all. So, how did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

(this out of the loop thing was getting old)

"That Johnny needed to clean his prosthetic?"

Will, face blank, blinked once

Twice

Three times

"Huh?"

Sami jumped from her seat, rushing to Will's side, vibrating with excitement. She grabbed Will's hand and squeezed.

"You knew how to take care of him. You knew what he needed, instinctively."

"Uh, sure."

"You know what this must mean?"

"I'm pretty sure you're gonna tell me anyway."

"Your memories are still in there."

"Well, duh."

Will ripped his hand away from her and plopped Sydney back on the couch so he could stand up. He paced back and forth a few times to give him something to do.

Sami stood up as well, keeping up with Will's pacing.

"If you know how to take care of Johnny subconsciously, imagine how you'll be with your daughter."

Will groaned, hands running through his hair. He couldn't shake Sami off his tail even when he changed directions and headed toward another part of the suite.

He knew from the moment he met everyone at the bar this was where it was all heading.

(less than a week ago but it felt so much longer. Pretty sure he aged a good ten years in the past six days.)

Will knew no matter how hard he tried to fight it, it was all going to end up in one place. Might as well get it over and done with on his terms.

Will paused mid-step; Sami collided into his back.

"Fine, okay, whatever."

"Wait, what? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I guess. I can ask for a few days off work, only a few."

Will grimaced at Xavier when Sami hugged him from behind, squeezing him tight.

(this is gonna suck so hard)

Author's note:

I lied. I couldn't fit everything in two chapters. Expect three more and an epilogue instead.

Thanks for reading

PS

Fellow FF writer Joel Underwood asked about pronouncing Xavier's name. Since I had a complicated headcanon about it, I decided to add it to the story. I know several Xavier's and they all pronounce it differently or allow others to pronounce it incorrectly. Also, I based it on my Tata's experience starting school in America. He couldn't speak English and his teachers decided to call him Jesse instead of Jesus. By the time he learned English, everyone already knew him as Jesse so he went with it. That's America for ya.