Sorry this took so long guys!

Chapter 12

It had meant to be just the five of them originally. Stefano, Kate and the three grandchildren getting away to the beach for a few days. Stefano trying to woo her while she spent as much time as she could with Allie, Syd and Johnny.

Or that had been Kate's understanding.

She was not sure how it had grown to the size that it had or how such a motley crew had been formed.

She guessed it had started with Sami. She had said she was not happy with the kid's going away with their grandfather. She had never trusted him with the children and she was never going to. Seeing as he had told them about it saying they could not go was now not an option.

There had only been one thing for it.

She and EJ were going to have to go with them. That had been enough for Kate to say she was backing out there and then and she would have done if it were not for the fact Allie was so thrilled for them all to be going together.

It was a sentiment her father did not share.

"I get why you have to live in that house and be his wife, I – I at least kinda do. But mum I do not for the life of me get why you have to –" Lucas had said to her when they had met for lunch at the club.

"To go on holiday and act as if I am his wife? Darling, what do you think he was going to except of me when the two of went to that registry office?"

He had looked at her with scepticism which she had to say she had not really cared for but there was nothing she could do about that.

Not when he was right to be so.

And so for a while, that had been the guest list. Kate, Stefano, Johnny, Allie, Sydney, EJ and Sami.

That was when Chad had said he had only just come home and hadn't come back to house sit on his own… Rather than be left behind – he wanted to come. And he had checked with Abe, who was on call that weekend, and Theo could come. He'd watch him. It'd be no bother.

And of course Stefano had been fine with that.

But then Will had made the mistake of saying that he and Sonny were looking to have a weekend away but it looked as if due to the cost of the appeal they were not going to be able to get away.

Kate had said she would pay for the honeymoon when the two of them did get to go and so she would…

But then Sami had begun insisting they come.

So it had been Kate, Stefano, Johnny, Allie, Sydney, Ej, Sami, Chad, Will, Sonny and Ari.

That was when Sami had done her worst in the eyes of her husband to be.

"Oh come on, it is not as if we ever get to just relax together and even if we did we'd be bored. So while I have got everyone in one place I want to talk about the wedding and I cannot plan properly if I do not have my maid honour there with us."

She had asked Abigail to come with them. And in the way that her logic only ever made sense to Samantha, it did then too. After all Will and Sonny were both coming and her little grandchild was Abigail's goddaughter. No doubt she would like a bit of extra time with her.

In her mind it was all very neat and tidy.

But after what the two of them had done and the history his brother had with her, he did not think it could be any further from neat and tidy.

X x x

"Do you not think that that I wanted to get out it? But what was I going to say? 'No, I cannot go with you all on a big family holiday with you to plan your wedding because I slept with the groom'?" said Abigail as she and EJ stood in the Horton living room.

It was a measure of how wound up he was by the whole thing that he had come to see her at home. She did not think he had ever been so reckless as to do that in all the time the two of them had had their…

Fling.

"There must be a way."

"Do you think this is what I want?"

To Abigail, it had been bad enough when Sami had asked her to be her maid of honour. It had been so entirely unexpected that she had not had sufficient time to get out of it. She did not want to be her maid of honour – not after what she had done to her. She knew in her time that Sami had done some pretty questionable things, but she was the one who was wanting this time.

"I do not know. Maybe it is," shrugged EJ.

"Do you think that I am still pining for you?" she asked, her voice going high as she giggled. "You really are full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Oh, I do not know if it is me you are pining for but it could be my younger brother." When he said that, Abigail found she could not meet his eye. Ever since Chad got back he had been on her mind somewhat - what the two of them a shared that have been very special. "You know the two of you can never be as you were once were? Not after the two of us."

Of course she knew that she thought to herself. If Chad ever found out that she had been with his big brother he would not be pleased with her or EJ for that matter. It would destroy any chance at the friendship they hope to build. And she did not want to lose him.

Not when he had just got back.

Besides everything else, she had Ben to consider. He was good and sweet and did not deserve to be brought into her big DiMera mess.

"Of course I know that. But I am coming on this holiday… deal with it."

X X X

And so in the end it was decided that they would all go. Whether it was brilliance or madness or something else altogether, Will had no idea.

"I do not suppose there is much of a way for us to get out of it now….. Unless you want to get sick," he said throwing a teasing look at Sonny.

"I do not think I could stand the look your grandma would give to me," he said as he placed a few of Ari's dresses in their bag.

"Well I guess a weekend away is needed."

"Yup… and the two of can be civil to Stefano for a weekend."

"Yes, we can…and we can be very civil to each other."

"Now that sounds nice," he said as they carried on packing.

X x x

EJ if anything felt more, not less, stressed when he got on the plane to go away with everyone. If it has just been the family then he would have relaxed but the presence of Abigail had changed that for him. And his father Stefano had not been pleased to hear she was coming either. That was another complication he was sure they had not needed.

In fact, had all of them not been as close as they had ever been to happily ever after as they had ever been, then he would have tried to do something about it. Really have tried… He had made noises about Abi not coming but at the end of the day nothing had come of it which he too was oddly grateful. He did not know how they would have explained Abi not coming to Chad or the children once she had said she was. EJ only hoped that the kids and his wife were going to be able dilute the tension between them and keep his father in good humour. If not…

So far Kate was playing the game he thought as they got on to the plane. She sat by his father as the two of them were engaged in conversation by the twins and he could hear them talking about all the time they were going to spend in the lake…

But as soon as he turned to see Abi with Chad, Will, Sonny and Ari he tensed back up.

"I hope this is not going to be too weird for you," Chad murmured to the Horton's pride and joy as they sat down together.

"Why should it be?" she asked, playing it cool. "This is just a working holiday."

X x x

Waking up in Benton off the edge of the lake, Kate felt as if she could breathe. Salem was such a tight knit community that it was only her regular trips to Chicago that even remaindered her that there was life outside sometimes.

She rolled over, stretched out and sat up on the edge of the bed. Despite the progress, she had insisted when they got to the summer house, she had her own room there too.

This was a marriage in name only…

That was what she had to remember…

The house in Benton however, did not help her recall that fact. Quite the opposite. Stefano had brought this house as a getaway not long before the two of them married before… and they had spent many happy weekends together here.

Her eyes looked upwards to the ceiling.

She had slept up there with Stefano – side by side.

And she was intensely aware after having that stretch how alone she was in her bed… and wondered if he was as aware as she was in his own. What had once been theirs…

And the bed up there was so much more comfortable.

In order to shake those thoughts from her mind, she got up and changed. There was a beautiful beach just three hundred feet from the front of the house.

And by the pitter patter of feet in the kitchen there were a few excited children ready to go too.

X x x

Reaching over to his husband, Sonny wrapped an arm about his waist and pulled him in, placing a kiss to the bottom of his neck. It was Saturday morning – and he had an entire, very lazy weekend with Ari and Will to enjoy. He was not going to allow some of the other less savoury characters be was also going to be spending the few days with wreck it.

"Good morning to you too," said Will with a purr. Sonny was thrilled when he made that sound. The blond lifted his head to the corner where the travel coat stood. "Oh no… look at that, Ari's still asleep…."

"How will we ever going to fill the time?"

Will grinned hungrily and proceeded to show his husband.

It was gone eleven when the two of them got out of their bedroom. Of course Ari did not leave them alone that long but both of them counted their blessings that they got a little alone time.

"Any messages?" Sonny ask as they made their way to the beach, as he carried their daughter and Will took charge of the tent and dipper bag.

"Just one from Gabi asking how Ari was last night."

"Was she ok? With us taking Ari for the weekend?"

"She said she was – but you know, she isn't ok with any of this."

"But she is still convinced that Nick is going to change?"

"Going to? She thinks he has already," he said as he looked at his daughter.

But Nick was never ever going to raise her. They would not allow that.

Reminding himself that the three of them were away for the weekend and that they had custody or Ari, he shook such thoughts out of his mind.

He did not have to dwell on that just then and nor did he want too.

Turning on to the beach, the three of them easily located the rest of the party.

In spite of the fact that it was a beautiful day, it had not drawn a lot of the local families out strangely. In fact, theirs was one of the only parties on the beach.

EJ and Chad were kicking a ball around with the kids running about their feet, Theo giggling as he played with his cousins. As for Abigail, she was sitting with Sami, the two of them engaged in conversation, no doubt about dresses and cake and all the stuff which the two of them had been discussing just a few months ago.

It was only when they got to the make shift camp for the day that Will released his sister was not playing with the others, but curled around her grandmother.

Allie had a book in her hands and her eyes were tracing the pages as Kate ran a hand through her hair. Kate herself looked very relaxed in a swimsuit, kaftan and sun glasses. She was doing nothing but watching the world go by.

"Good afternoon," teased Sami.

"Hello."

"So you made it."

"Eventually." Sonny grinned.

And he was glad that he had. As far as the eye could see all there was the golden beech and the lake. And they were hidden away by the trees.

But there was a mark on his horizon he guessed, not that Stefano had done anything to him specifically exactly. He was sitting near Allie and Kate, reading a newspaper, but his eyes ever straying to his wife.

What was truly unsettling was that Kate eyes he noted, returned the gaze from time to time.

He could only imagine what his uncle victor was going to say about that.

X x x

"What does 'subsequent' mean, Nono?"

"It is another word for second, my dear – it comes after the first," said Stefano as he answered Allie.

The little one returned to her book before looking back up.

"And 'redemption'?"

Kate looked at her husband. She fancied that was a word neither of them knew the real definition of.

X x x

Abi escaped Sami not long after lunch.

It had been a long morning in which the two of them spoke of cakes and dresses and her guilty had trembled by the hour.

Thankfully, it was broken up by Arianna Grace – the one distraction which seemed to pull her grandmothers attention away from the job in hand, though Will and Sonny were on hand to do so as well.

Abi smiled as she watch the two of them together, rubbing sun screen to each other's backs, teasing and laughing, never straying out the others reach.

And she could not help but feel a little lonely as well. Try as she may to deny it, she wanted what the two of them had. Who wouldn't?

They were so in tune with one another she thought as she watched them sit in the shade of the tent with Ari between them, who they had rescued from her grandma's. she was smothered in sun lotion and wearing a sun hat as she dug her little hand in the sand just outside the tent, showing it to her dads.

They cooed and chatted and smiled as she wore herself out. No doubt the two of them were looking forward to when she went down to her nap so the two of them could cuddle up together too.

She wondered what it was like to have such an guiltless free, loving relationship with someone… something which was just so right…

In order to get such thoughts out of her head she strolled down the beach, excusing her self from discussing whether or not Sami was too old (and quite frankly too married) to wear a veil this time around.

Dipping her toe in the sea, she shivered but soon released what a balm it was going to be too her too hot skin to be in the cool water.

For a while she had no company – and that – was blissful.

Surprisingly, considering the fact she had been dreading this when they had all got on the plane she was enjoying the trip.

Mainly, that was because of the kids. The four of them were so sweet and easy to get along with, a stark contrast to the adults, with the exception of Sonny and Will. But then… it was not that Sami had even being that trying. She just seemed so happy to be getting married to EJ. To at last be settling down.

Which made Abigail feel worse than ever. Honestly she did not know what she had been thinking when she and EJ had done… what they did.

If it ever came out then so many people were going to be so hurt.

That just couldn't happen. It simple couldn't, she thought as she became aware that she was no longer alone.

"I'll give you a dime for them," she heard a playful voice say in her ear. It had not startled her – she had heard him coming and somehow she had known just who it was going to be, before she had so much as turned around.

"Believe me, you would pay a lot more not to know."

He gave her a look which said that only made him want to know more.

But she shook her head.

"How it is all back up at base camp?" she asked.

"Well I think Ari and Sydney have gone down for their naps."

"I did not know Sydney still napped," Abi commented.

"I don't think she does at home but the heat and all the running about and building sandcastles knocked her right out."

"Bless her." She said as a smile came on to her face. No matter what she thought of their father and their uncle when it came to it, she did love those kids.

There was a pause between the two of them.

Chad found his voice first just as the silence was beginning to drag…

"I do not know if this is a good idea or not but Sonny and Will were talking about going out for a meal and leaving the baby with Sami… and they asked if we wanted to join them. You know… a little time away from the… em… adults and the kids… what do you think?"

She did not want to give him the wrong impression about the two of them.

But nor did she think she could really resist a night off from EJ and Sami.

She took a sharp breathe.

"Listen, I know if the two of do got then there is nothing in it. Just as friends."

"In that case… ok."

A night out with the boys could be just what she needed.

X x x

The day was that most pleasant chad had spent in a long time.

After he had had a swim with Abigail, the two of them had headed back up the beach to find that while Ari doze on in the shade of the tent, Sydney was very much up and about. After Kate had shooed Sonny and Will away so that they could have some fun, it was not very long until a game of soccer had got going.

All four of the kids had soon been running in between himself, Sonny, Will and EJ in mainly futile attempts to steal the ball away.

They had only packed up after ice cream had been eaten, sandcastles had been built and the tide begun coming up the beach.

Only then, with the sun on his back and the sound of his family chattering happily about him, did Chad make his way back to the house with the rest of them, suddenly sure he could get used to being back with them full time.

In fact, as his eyes landed on Abby, he knew he could be.

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