"Well it sounds like you were able to calm her down nicely," the therapist said over the phone to Will.
"I'm just worried about what we're going to do now," Will confessed. He didn't like having to call her every time Ari got upset but Will really was at a loss now. He was so afraid he was going to do or say something that would undo all the progress they had made.
The first thing Will did after he woke up that morning was call Ari's therapist. Ari, thankfully, was still fast asleep. She wore herself out messing around with Joey and Vic the night before especially once they came back and Alex chased all three around the apartment.
After giving a few hugs goodbye, a quick shower and a story Ari was out like a light. For the first time in a long time Ari had slept through the whole night and way into the morning.
'And I could not be more grateful,' Will decided watching as Alex tried to find a restaurant that would deliver them breakfast.
"What do you mean?" the woman asked over the line.
"We're probably going to see a lot of people and I don't know if Ari is going to be comfortable with them. If she isn't I don't really know how to control her emotions. She gets so angry so quickly," Will told her. "I don't want anything or anyone to set her off and have her throwing a tantrum or having a breakdown again."
"I want you to explain to her when you go out today that you might be seeing some people and to remind her of different strategies she needs to be using when she gets upset," the woman informed Will. A lot of the time the woman was aware that in cases like this one it was just as much training the parent as it was the child. 'Definitely in this case,' the woman thought knowing that Will was a pushover most of the time when it came to his daughter.
'But Will is getting better,' the woman conceded, 'Now if I could just get Alex to stop encouraging both of their bad behaviors they'd be golden.'
"OK, I will," Will nodded anxiously fiddling with the strings of his sweatpants.
"Have you thought about using the reset rule we talked about?" the woman wondered already knowing what the answer would be.
"…I thought about it," Will told her. "I just haven't really done it yet."
"Well you should," the woman resisted rolling her eyes. "It's just a way to get her to think about what she's doing in that moment and how to fix it."
"I will do my best," Will promised. Sometimes he didn't like talking to the therapist. He always felt like she was judging his every move. 'I'd like to think I'm doing pretty good with this parenting thing all things considered.'
"I know you will," the woman said. "Let me know how everything goes when you get back."
"I will," Will assured her. "Thanks for letting me call again."
"That's what I'm here for," she laughed before saying, "Goodbye, Will."
Will hung up his phone and wandered over to where Alex was sitting on the couch.
Curling up next to Alex, Will said, "Did you get breakfast figured out?"
"Yes," Alex snorted. "As soon as I said my last name they were ready to jump through hoops for me. How about you?"
"Guess what she told me?" Will pulled an annoyed face.
"That you need to be firm and stop giving the kid whatever she wants?" Alex pretty much figured. He knew the two of them were suckers for the kid. While Alex liked to pretend it was all Will he knew he was just as bad about giving into her as well.
'Ugh, when did this become my life?' Alex wondered only slightly annoyed.
"Pretty much," Will confirmed. "I don't think I'm that bad although one does have to think about how healthy their kid is when she runs around a strange office building trying to fire people."
"That was funny," Alex defended. "And she was right about that chick at the club yesterday. She did take too long on simple drinks. She should have been fired."
"Uh huh," Will rolled his eyes. "She still doesn't need to say it to people's faces."
"It's character building," Alex shrugged. "If they can't handle criticism from a four year old than they've got bigger problems."
"If you say so," Will shook his head before standing up.
Looking around the apartment Will was amazed at how messy it was considering they had only been there for a short while. Grabbing all of Ari's toys and tossing them in her bag Will started gathering her drawings. As he started stacking them together Will looked them over.
A few of them were Ari in various dresses and crowns. Some pictures were of the toys she had said she wanted. Some pictures had various family members. Will's favorite one had to be the picture of Ari, Alex and Will together. He wasn't entirely sure what they were doing but Ari was in a fancy dress and Will and Alex were in matching outfits.
'That's so cute,' Will happily thought before shoving the pictures into Ari's bag as well. Cleaning up the rest of the apartment, not wanting to scramble to pack when it was time to leave later, Will was glad that Ari wasn't strong enough to cause any damage when she threw all those things during her fit yesterday.
Remembering the time Chad and Sonny had to hold him back after Gabi broke up with him Will frowned, 'Damn, Ari really is just like me.'
"So," Alex said, admiring Will as he kept bending over to pick up toys, books and papers, "What the hell are we even going to do today?"
"Our flight leaves pretty late," Will reminded Alex. "We should probably see Chad again and thank him for letting us stay here and whatnot."
"I'm sure my dad and your grandma want to see us again but I don't know how the kid is going to handle that," Alex pointed out.
"We'll have to ask her once she wakes up," Will nodded before flashing Alex a wide grin. "How crazy is it that she's still asleep?"
"It's about damn time she start getting back to normal," Alex reached out to snatch Will's hand and yank him onto the couch. "One of these days she'll stay in her own room and we can get back to having some early morning fun."
"Is that all you think about?" Will teased, crawling over Alex's lap and settling down.
"You're the one bending over all over the place," Alex insisted. "What am I supposed to think about?"
"Besides," Alex added, "You got me all worked up last night on the roof."
"Oh I'm so sorry," Will laughed, leaning his forehead against Alex's, "Next time you shouldn't get so turned on after sucking me off."
"Just with you, pet," Alex told Will in a mock serious tone.
"Oh I know it's just me," Will grinned, "Everything is just me."
Alex slapped at Will's ass, "You're getting cocky."
"Aw," Will pouted his lower lip, "I thought you liked me cocky."
"I like your cock," Alex amended. "Although you are pretty sexy when you're confident."
"It's hard not to be when I know how easy it is to work you over," Will smiled when he saw the rare blush tinting Alex's skin.
"Stop talking," Alex ordered before pulling Will into a kiss.
"It's cold," Ari complained, swinging Will and Alex's hands as they walked around the park, "You should get me another hot chocolate."
"Uh huh," Will said, "Well your hot chocolate friend is going to bring you something in a little bit."
"Good," Ari nodded seriously. "Why are we in the park?"
"There's not that many places to go in town," Will commented. "Plus, I thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy some sunshine. Now, how are you feeling after yesterday?"
"Mmm," Ari hummed as she thought about it, "My eyes hurt."
"That's from crying too much," Alex informed her. "So knock it off."
Seeing something out of the corner of his eye Alex frowned when he saw a man in black skulking about.
Ari stuck her tongue out at Alex.
"Seriously," Will nudged her in the side, "How are you feeling? Are you mad? Sad? Is there anyone you don't want to see before we go back home?"
"I don't know," Ari said in a small voice. "I don't know what I feel until I feel it. Like when I get mad I don't know that's what I'm feeling until I'm already mad."
"OK," Alex thought that over. "But you need to try to tell us how you feel before you start throwing things, kid."
"I just throw things," Ari shrugged, "I don't think about it."
"You are definitely working on that," Will informed her.
"That's what you said yesterday," Ari said, "That I wasn't allowed to throw things or yell at people anymore."
"That's because you're not," Will told her firmly. "Not anymore. You can get mad all you want but none of the other stuff."
"I'll try," Ari offered, "But it's probably going to be hard."
"I'm sure it will, baby girl," Will teased, "But I bet you can do it."
"You better do it," Alex ordered. "I can only deal with so much whining."
"I don't whine," Ari argued, "That's you."
"Psh," Alex reached over with his free hand and poked her in the arm through her thick sweater. "We've always known you're the real trouble maker in this family."
"Ow," Ari let go of Alex's hand and put it over where Alex poked her. Even though it didn't hurt she still liked to play it up.
"That didn't hurt," Alex rolled his eyes.
"It did," Ari insisted with an over exaggerated frown. "But," Ari batted her lashes at Alex, "If you want to make it up to me I know what you can do."
Alex refrained from rolling his eyes again, "Oh, and what is that?"
'Like I don't know,' Alex thought with a sigh.
"Well," Ari gave Alex a sneaky smile, "It's what I want you and daddy to do."
Will, beginning to see where this is going, stopped the three of them from walking and told Ari, "I think we need to talk about that actually."
"Yay," Ari clapped her hands. "I already know what kind of dress I want to get and I think you should dress like princes."
"What the f-" Alex cut himself off, "No, just no."
"Ari," Will grabbed her hand again and pulled her over to a bench, "Getting married is a big deal and Alex and I are not going to go through with it just because you want us to."
"Why not?" Ari's smile slipped off her face. "You love him and I love him. Now you get married."
"It's a huge decision," Alex offered, sitting down on Ari's other side. "We aren't just jumping into anything."
"And I don't want you getting your hopes up, sweetie," Will told her kindly. "Alex and I may not get married and I don't want that to hurt you."
"But why?" Ari didn't understand. "You married that guy that left us. Why won't you marry Alex?"
"That's kind of connected, kid," Alex pointed out. "Daddy and I both have pretty bad ideas associated with marriage."
"But you could make new ideas," Ari debated. "I heard you say once that you didn't want kids but you want me now."
"I do, yes," Alex admitted, "But it took us a long time to like each other."
"So?" Ari complained.
"So," Alex shook his head, "We can't exactly get married and try to decide if we like it afterwards."
"All we're saying," Will jumped in, "Is that we're thinking about it but I don't want you getting your heart set on this."
Ari thought it over for a few moments, "OK but just so you know I always get what I want in the end. I'm gonna convince you."
And with that Ari hopped off the bench and jogged over to the playground that was on the opposite side of the sidewalk.
"That could have been worse," Alex decided.
"Yeah," Will agreed. "Unfortunately now she's determined."
"We're pretty much doomed," Alex figured.
Putting his arm around Will and watching Ari try to use the monkey bars, Alex frowned when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
'What the hell?' Alex thought seeing the same large man in all black pulling out his phone and creeping back behind some trees.
"This place creeps me out," Alex casually commented. "I don't like it."
"We just have to stay until Chad gets here," Will assured him. "Then we can go somewhere else."
"Here you go," Chad handed each Will and Alex a cup of coffee before pushing Will against Alex to make room for him to sit down on the bench with them.
Will, practically in Alex's lap, said, "Thanks for this."
"As I said before," Chad handed Ari's hot chocolate over to Will, "I can't have you going to the competition now can I."
"What are you three up to today, anyway?" Chad wondered seeing Ari trying to climb up a slide on the playground.
"Nothing, really," Will told him. "We'll probably see Justin and my grandma again and the twins but beyond that I don't know."
"Makes sense," Chad nodded. Not being able to help himself Chad asked, "What was up with Sonny and Paul yesterday?"
"What do you mean?" Will wondered, laying his arm on Alex's thigh.
"Like you didn't notice the entirely uncomfortable situation you left me to deal with at the club," Chad laughed awkwardly, "Thanks for that, by the way."
"What did you expect?" Alex shrugged disinterestedly. "Like we really want to hang around either of them."
"I didn't either," Chad argued. "But I'm stuck with them."
"Sounds like a personal problem to me," Alex said to Chad with a wide smirk. "But speaking of, what's it like working with my brother?"
"Before it was fine," Chad responded. "But since he found out about the two of you," Chad looked at them accusingly, "He's been a nightmare. I have to say I'm not too excited he's back if yesterday was any indication."
"What was yesterday?" Will felt mildly curious.
It was a strange feeling talking about Sonny like this. Will didn't think he would ever get to a point where he would even feel comfortable discussing Sonny but he surprisingly was. A part of Will would always care about Sonny. He didn't wish him any ill will but he no longer felt a tug in his stomach hearing Sonny's name. He didn't get a nervous fluttering in his chest. He also didn't feel a deep, aching sadness either.
It was different but Will was getting used to it. Really putting Sonny behind him, being in Salem, and no longer having to worry made Will feel better. 'If I can get to this point so can Ari,' Will knew.
"I was supposed to be going over the books and things like that with Sonny," Chad explained, putting his arm over the back of the bench, "Paul always insists on butting into these things. Who knows why really he just gets in the way. Yesterday, the two of them would not stop harping on each other about you three."
"What about the three of us?" Alex demanded protectively.
It wasn't that Alex hated his youngest brother or didn't care about him but it was hard for Alex to separate his feelings about Will and Ari and how he felt about Sonny. Especially with the way Ari cried and screamed yesterday so fresh in his mind Alex wanted to do everything he could to keep those parts of his life separate.
"Look," Chad started clarifying, "When Sonny left you for Paul," Chad nodded his head at Will carefully, not sure if that was still a sore subject or not, "He was basically his normal self, right? Even when you left it wasn't like he really changed at all."
"But," Chad took a deep breath, "When he found out about you being with Alex he started getting weird. It was like everything finally dawned on him. I really think he never processed anything about you leaving or anything like that up until he had, you know, officially lost you. I don't know for sure, it's just what I think."
"Sonny had a long time to figure that out though," Will stated, "Besides, what would he need to figure out? He left me to be with Paul. He was happy. I don't really get how all of that changed just because he found out I wasn't pining over him."
"Who knows?" Chad shrugged. "I'm just saying what I saw. Besides, it's like when Paul came to town. Sonny was all loved up with you and the second he saw Paul it was like the past was all he could think about. I think that's what's pissing Paul off anyway."
Alex, not really caring at all about Paul, asked, "So that's what they were arguing about?"
"I think so," Chad said, "Again, I don't know. But it seemed to me that Paul was upset that Sonny was finally coming back from his finding himself trip and you guys were here."
"Paul shouldn't have anything to worry about," Will offered, "At least not from our end of things." Glancing over at Ari happily playing Will offered, "Well, maybe not all of us."
Ari, thirsty from her hard playing, skipped over to her daddy and Alex.
"Hot chocolate man," Ari cheered as soon as she recognized Chad.
Will offered the still warm cup to Ari and chuckled as she practically chugged it. "Don't drink it all at once," Will warned. "You're only getting one."
"Fine," Ari stopped her drinking. Licking her lips sloppily, Ari shoved the cup at her daddy and offered her hand to Chad, "You're playing with me now."
Chad, letting Ari yank him off the bench, put his cup down and started following after Ari, "Duty calls, gentlemen. Oh and by the way? You do know you're being followed right."
"What?" Will turned to look behind him but didn't see anything.
"Gee," Alex rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "I wonder who could be behind that."
Will and Alex were sitting on the swings side-by-side, heels digging into the sand and moving gently back and forth.
"What's the deal with that?" Alex nodded towards Chad who was crawling after Ari in a tunnel.
"Chad's always liked Ari," Will admitted. "It's sweet seeing them together."
"It's alright," Alex didn't want to agree that it was kind of nice seeing Ari trusting and playing with someone easily. Fingers itching slightly Alex tucked his hands into fists before giving up and pulling out the small digital camera from Ari's backpack.
Snapping away at Ari's smiling, bright face Alex wished he would have brought a better camera.
Chad, pulling Ari into his lap and sliding down the twisting slide, lifted them both up and said, "I need a break."
"You're old," Ari teased with a smile on her face.
She might have been indifferent to Chad when she first saw him the other day but he was growing on her. He followed all of Ari's instructions while they played, he was nice to her daddy and Alex and he brought her hot chocolate.
'He had that picture of me too,' Ari recalled. 'And I don't remember him ever leaving me.'
Chad smiled at Ari. 'God she is so different from the last time I saw her,' Chad decided. 'It's so strange to think about the life she had before. The life her and Will had.'
Ari, grabbing Chad's hand and pulling him towards the tunnel again, sat the two of them down, laughing when Chad had to hunch over slightly to fit.
Hearing Ari's giggle Chad felt a tiny pang in his chest. As much as he adored Ari, Chad couldn't help but be reminded of his own daughter he had lost. He tried not to think about her too often but every now and again she clouded his thoughts. 'And seeing Ari is definitely one of those things,' Chad knew.
"What's your whole name?" Chad questioned Ari wanting to see if she knew.
"Arianna Grace Horton," Ari instantly replied.
"Do you know who you're named after?" Chad asked in a soft voice.
"Mommy's sister," Ari told her new friend easily. "And daddy's sister. They told me."
"That's right," Chad nodded thinking about a similar conversation he had with Ari when she was a toddler. "And you wanna know a secret?"
"Yes," Ari nodded enthusiastically. She loved secrets.
"It's kind of complicated," Chad told her, "But Grace was my baby too."
"Oh," Ari wasn't sure she got it but decided to pretend she did. "Where did she go?"
"She's not around anymore," Chad confessed carefully having no idea how to explain this to a four year old. "She was really sick and she's not here with us now."
"Oh she's like my grandpa," Ari said knowledgably.
"Grandpa?" Chad blinked at Ari curiously.
"Yeah," Ari nodded. "Grandma tells me he loved me and Johnny and Allie and Sydney. And whenever I say something mean she says he would be proud of me. But he had to leave and he can't be with us anymore either."
"Oh, oh," Chad finally realized who she was talking about. "I'm sure he did love you. And guess what?"
"What?" Ari wondered twirling her hair around her fingers.
"Your grandpa," Chad whispered dramatically. "He was my brother."
Ari gasped slightly, "Does that make you my uncle too?"
"I think so," Chad decided teasingly.
"I have a lot of uncles," Ari told him seriously. "Joey and Vic are fighting about who gets to be my favorite. Do you want to join them?"
"I'll pass," Chad said, shaking his head at Ari feeling extremely amused, "But secretly we know we've got each other's backs, right?"
"Yeah," Ari giggled happily. She really did love having secrets.
"So what kind of plans do you have for Joey and Vic?" Chad asked slyly. He liked both guys well enough but he couldn't deny the idea of Ari pitting them against each other was pretty damn funny.
"Well," Ari put her hands together and gave a deceptively innocent smile.
"Do you think we should leave?" Will asked as he twisted himself around on the swing. "Before anything or anyone comes here?"
"No," Alex replied, turning the camera on Will and snapped away. "If anyone has a problem with us they can go ahead and say it."
Flipping the camera setting to video Alex gave a small smile watching Will let go of the swing and spin around and around with a wide grin.
Will, laughing, saw something strange while he was spinning around. Finally stationary again Will turned behind him and groaned, "Well looks like we've got our chance."
Alex turned off the camera and turned on his swing. "Well fuck," Alex complained. "Looks like a god damn Kiriakis family reunion."
"I think we'll have to kill Joey and Vic when they get here," Will announced, "For not warning us."
"Dad's not here either," Alex noticed suspiciously.
"Doesn't look like it's only Kiriakis family members either," Will pointed out seeing some of his aunts, uncles and cousins. "Apparently it's a Salem-wide thing."
"Oh goodie," Alex declared. "I'm so fucking excited."
Watching as their extended family members started unloading baskets of food on the scattered picnic tables Will winced when they looked over and noticed him. Seeing the various looks of shock and surprise on their face Will figured they didn't realize he was in town.
'Which probably means they don't know I'm with Alex either,' Will thought.
Seeing Victor Kiriakis slowly making his way toward a picnic bench glaring in his direction Will pretty much knew what this ambush was about.
'I'm so fucking excited too,' Will thought groaning slightly, knowing he was going to have to explain all of this to Ari.
Ari sat on Will's lap with his arms around her tummy, "Who are these people?"
"Um," Will swung them back and forth slowly, "Just a few relatives of ours and Alex's."
"Why are they here?" Ari questioned not liking so many people invading her playground.
"From the looks of all the food they brought," Will commented, "They want a picnic."
"Can't Alex make them go away?" Ari asked hopefully.
"I don't think so, babe," Will told her.
"What if I don't want to see them?" Ari decided. "Or grandpa and Grandma Kate," she clarified.
"You just need to think about it like you did with me," Will suggested. "You know that I love you and you love me. You decided to forgive me even though I did something bad. Now you have to figure out the same thing with everyone else."
"But everyone else didn't leave me," Ari pointed out sadly.
"Where the hell are you?" Alex hissed into his phone.
"I'm getting coffee," Vic said in a confused tone. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the park," Alex explained, "Where coincidentally everyone in our entire fucking family and Will's decided to show up."
"What are you talking about?" Vic questioned.
"You better find out," Alex ordered, "Or I'm not gonna be happy."
Vic groaned when Alex hung up without a word. Dialing his father Vic waited a few seconds before he answered, "Dad, find out whatever the hell Uncle Vic is up to and then get to the park."
"What?" Justin questioned having a hard time keeping up with what Vic was saying.
"Just do it," Vic demanded.
'How did Victor know where the three of them were?' Vic wondered unhappily.
When his coffee was handed over to him Vic nodded his thanks before heading out of Club TBD. Again, Vic was unaware that Sonny had been standing behind him for both phone calls.
"Oh my goodness," Julie reached out to pinch at Ari's cheeks, "She is so cute I could just eat her up."
"She's so tall," Maggie agreed happily.
"I can't believe she looks so much like Will," Jennifer pointed out.
"Will, she is just precious," Kayla gushed. "I can't believe we all missed so much while you were away."
"That's right," Hope nodded. "Now, are you here to visit or are you moving back? It would be so nice to see you again."
"Uh," Will blinked several times, hands reaching out to protectively pull Ari into his lap and away from any pinching fingers. "We're just visiting."
"And what about that tall drink of water," Julie raised her eyebrows up and down, "You came here with? What is the story there?"
Ari gazed at each woman in distaste.
"Oh," Jennifer jumped in with, "That's Alex Kiriakis, my nephew. Well," Jennifer tucked her hair behind her ears, "I guess not technically anymore but still. We saw them at Adrienne and Lucas' wedding."
"Looks like more happened at that wedding than you told us, Cuz," Hope gave Jennifer a pointed stare.
"Why didn't Marlena or John say anything to us? Or Adrienne and Lucas for that matter?" Kayla wondered.
"That does explain why Sonny came back with his face busted in though," Julie said blunt as ever. "So," giving Will a wide grin Julie grinned, "Having brothers fighting over you must be fun."
"Julie," Will complained making a disgusted face, "That's not what this is about."
"Oh we all saw how handsome he is," Maggie tried to ease the tension, "I'm sure there's plenty more than just whatever it is Julie is suggesting."
"Speaking of," Kayla looked at Maggie, "Why didn't you tell us this was why Victor was throwing this town picnic?"
"Well," Maggie nervously flicked her hair, "I wasn't entirely certain what Victor was up to."
"Whatever the reason," Hope reached out and put her hand on Will's over the picnic table, "We're all just glad to see how good you look and how beautiful Ari is."
"Thank you," Will replied sincerely giving a metaphoric sigh of relief.
A part of Will was still anxious about seeing his extended family again. He wasn't sure what they would have heard or what they thought of him. But he was pleasantly surprised they were their typical, gossipy selves.
Will didn't notice when Sonny and Paul wandered into the park except for the tightening of Ari's arms around his neck. He was attempting to listen to Julie's rambling but Will found it difficult.
When Ari's grip constricted almost painfully, Will patted her on the back, "What is it?"
Ari didn't say anything. She just stared across the small clearing watching the man she remembered leaving her standing near the man she automatically didn't like.
Will turned to look in the direction Ari was and frowned. Glancing back at Ari's blank face Will stood up and excused himself from the picnic table.
"Excuse us," Will said quickly. He put Ari's feet on the ground but frowned when she didn't make any moves to stand on her own. Hefting her into his arms Will wandered over to a secluded section of the park.
Sitting the two of them down in the grass, Will put both hands on Ari's face, "Tell me what you're thinking."
Ari, finally blinking, stared at Will sadly, "I don't feel good."
"Because of who you saw?" Will pressed wanting to make sure he knew what was going through her head.
"Uh huh," Ari nodded with Will's hands still cupping her face gently. "He makes me feel bad," Ari confessed in a strangled voice.
"He's not going to hurt you," Will promised. "I'm not going to let him or anyone ever hurt you."
"I know," Ari sighed. "It just feels weird here," Ari put her hand on her chest. "It hurts right here."
Brushing his thumbs under Ari's eyes, Will tried to sound positive, "Daddy, used to hurt there too, you know?"
"Yeah?" Ari questioned, eyes locked on Will's, completely trusting.
Will licked his lips and nodded, "Thinking about him," Will nodded his head in Sonny's direction, "Used to make me sad all the time. And it hurt me there too," Will let go of one of Ari's cheeks and placed his hand on her chest.
"Does it hurt now?" Ari asked lips wobbling slightly.
"No," Will admitted. "It still feels strange but not the way it used to. Now," Will gave Ari a wide smile, "It's like when you get a booboo and it goes away. You know it used to be there and it used to hurt but now it's just a scar."
Ari nodded once before biting on her bottom lip, "Who is that other boy? The one that we saw at grandma's work and at the hot chocolate place?"
Will took a deep breath. The one thing they really didn't talk about yesterday was Paul. Will wasn't entirely sure that it would have been helpful for Ari to know that Sonny had left Will for someone else. That he traded in his life as a husband and a father for another man.
'I probably should have,' Will knew but he wasn't certain it was going to explain the immediate issue. 'Besides,' Will knew, 'I've never even known the entirety of that story, why Sonny stayed away. How can I explain it to Ari when I don't understand it myself?'
"Well," Will tried to explain everything in the simplest way that he could, "That man is named Paul. And he's friends," Will wasn't entirely sure the status of Sonny and Paul's relationship, "With the other boy, Sonny."
"I remember him too," Ari admitted, "A little bit."
"What do you remember?" Will wondered nervously.
"He made you frown a lot," Ari scrunched up her forehead while she was thinking. "You didn't like it when he was around. But he," Ari pointed at the one that left her, "He kept him around anyway."
"Yes, he did," Will nodded in agreement. "Do you think that we should find Alex and leave?" Will asked. "Or should we try to stay?"
Ari glanced over at Alex. She saw Joey and Vic rushing over to him as well as her grandma and grandpa.
"No," Ari decided, sniffling slightly, "I want to talk to them."
"OK," Will noticed who she was talking about, "Let's go say hi."
'And hope she doesn't react too negatively,' Will thought as she squeezed his hand with all of her might. 'She did such a good job explaining how she felt without getting mad. I don't want anything else to set her off.'
"You don't need to stick around you know," Alex reminded Chad. "You can be free to escape these people."
"I could," Chad nodded. "But it might be a little fun to watch the fireworks. Besides I have it on good authority that there's going to be a pretty fierce competition between Joey and Vic later on."
Alex grunted, "Probably. She's pretty good at getting whatever she wants."
"So I've heard," Chad acknowledged. Seizing up Alex, Chad commented, "Like you for instance."
"Excuse me?" Alex gave Chad a harsh look.
Chad, staring right back, said, "I did my research, you know. I already told you I kept tabs on Will and Ari. When I found out Will was seeing you I did a little digging."
"Oh really?" Alex held Chad's gaze.
"And for the longest time you really had me wondering," Chad admitted conversationally. "I mean, here you were a guy that jumped from one relationship to another without ever committing and suddenly you were with Will. You were dating Will and living with Will. It just didn't add up."
"And I wondered for a while," Chad disclosed, "If this was some sort of revenge plot but that didn't really make sense. What with how estranged you were with Sonny. And I thought it over," Chad nodded seriously, "It wasn't just that you fell for Will, was it?"
Alex didn't move, didn't blink.
"Ari got to you too," Chad smiled. "You fell for her just as hard as you did Will." Chad adjusted on the picnic bench he was sitting, leaning across the table to be closer to Alex, "Which is why I left everything well enough alone."
"If you think," Alex started saying, "That there was anything you could have said or done that would have come between us you are sadly fucking mistaken."
"I know," Chad grinned. "And I'm glad. That's what they deserve," Chad nodded towards Will and Ari being hounded. "I'm just saying Ari must be pretty fantastic at negotiating to have you here, with them, as devoted as you are."
"Besides," Chad pointed out, "I'm also staying because I like to piss off your uncle."
"That I can get behind," Alex said before noticing Joey, Vic, his father and Kate heading their way.
"So," Alex demanded when they finally reached him. "Why the hell didn't you know about this?"
"I don't know," Justin tried to explain. "Victor didn't tell any of us about this."
"Because he knew we would tell you," Kate decided shaking her head just thinking about Victor Kiriakis.
"But why?" Joey questioned. "I don't get it. What does he think is going to come of this? If he wanted to see you guys why wouldn't he just invite you over?"
"Who knows what goes through his head," Justin didn't even want to try thinking about it. "I'm sure it's a scary place."
"Hey," Kate beamed as she saw Will and Ari walking over to them. She had no idea why Victor would call practically the entire town to have this impromptu picnic, although she was certain she could guess. She was just glad that Will and Ari both seemed to be doing well.
"Hi," Will greeted before Ari let go of his hand and sat next to Alex on the picnic bench.
Ari, sitting closely to Alex, ignored everyone. She didn't exactly feel mad but she felt something unpleasant.
'Why did everyone leave me?' Ari wanted to know. 'How do I know they won't do it again?'
Justin, frowning in the direction of his uncle, wanted to get to the bottom of this set up. 'But first,' Justin looked over Ari leaning against Alex.
'She certainly doesn't look happy,' Justin noted.
"Hi, Ari," Justin told her as he sat down across from her. "Are you OK?" Justin asked.
Ari glared at Justin for a moment before tearing her eyes away.
"She's had a rough weekend," Alex declared. Pulling out his camera Alex handed it over knowing that Ari knew how to look through the pictures by herself.
"Oh?" Kate asked sitting down next to Justin. "What happened?"
"The truth happened," Alex stated. "We had to have a talk about what led up to her and Will leaving."
"I see," Justin sighed. "So the silent treatment would be because…?"
"Because you left me," Ari finally said, looking up from the camera. "You left me and I'm mad at you."
Justin and Kate both swallowed carefully. They knew this day would come eventually. Justin just didn't think it would be so soon.
Justin knew he had more to be afraid of than Kate did. Kate had actually searched for Will and Ari whereas Justin didn't try at all. He had spent the first two years of Ari's life thinking of her as his grandchild and he didn't even look. Some days he had no idea how he could have let her go.
'And they were with Sami the whole time,' Justin shook his head, 'Of course they were. If anyone had ever bothered to look we would have found them instantly. Why didn't any of us look?'
"Ari," Justin said in a low voice. "I'm very sorry that I left you."
"I love you and you left me," Ari informed him in a scratchy voice. "I probably loved you then," Ari figured, "And you didn't care."
"Of course I cared," Justin maintained trying not to sound defensive.
"Then why didn't you see me?" Ari demanded, "Or talk to me? Why were you so mean to my daddy?"
Justin opened his mouth but no sounds came out. It was hard remembering coming home to Salem and discovering what had happened. At the time all he could do was think, 'Of course it's Will's fault. Everything must be Will's fault.'
'But now I know that isn't true. It wasn't just Will at fault,' Justin learned. 'Will might have done wrong but so did Sonny. And so did everyone else once they were divorced. But we were all too happy to stay away from Will. I was happy to see Sonny happy. And never once did any of us think about what our actions were doing to Ari.'
Justin knew everyone liked to blame Will for being just like his mother but Justin knew Sonny was just like his parents too. 'The long forgotten truth of the matter is Sonny has all of mine and Adrienne's worst traits. And absolutely no one seems to care.'
Over the past few months Justin had become closer to Will and Ari than he had when they were living in Salem. He spent plenty of time around them before but there was always something there holding each side back. It was always lawsuits and arrests and courtroom drama and when everything would be settled something new would happen to turn everything around again.
'Of course, I've never been closer to Alex than I am right now either,' Justin knew. Whenever he called now Alex would always call him back when he didn't answer. Alex was more forthcoming with details from his life. He actually shared things with Justin now.
'And it's because of Will and Ari,' Justin looked between the two. 'As much as Alex helped them they helped him right back.'
Now, sitting here and looking into Ari's wide, tear laced eyes Justin couldn't think of a single excuse as to how he could have let even a single day go by without seeing her. He knew how extremely lucky he was that Will was allowing him to be in his daughter's life again. Will easily could have set boundaries and made sure Ari didn't get too close.
'But she considers me her grandfather,' Justin pressed his lips together, 'She let me and Kate go with her without Will or Alex the other night. She trusts us and she just found out I didn't care at all that she was gone.'
"Hmm?" Ari stared at Justin accusingly.
"I," Justin started to say, "I left you and was mean to your daddy because it was easier than doing anything about it."
"Huh?" Ari gave Justin a curious, confused look.
"It's easier, sometimes, isn't it to do nothing?" Justin attempted to explain.
Will wasn't sure if he should jump in and help or not. A part of him wanted to see Justin having to explain his actions both to Ari and himself. However, Will could see how sincere Justin looked. Will noticed the series of expressions crossing Justin's face and voice.
'At one point in time Justin got along with me,' Will reminded himself. 'He helped my mom and he helped me. I don't know how that changed but at least he's trying now. He's trying with Alex and with Ari and with me. I can at least help him out here.'
Will took Ari's hand and told her, "Remember when you and Johnny kicked that ball through grandma's window?"
"Yeah," Ari said not entirely sure where this was going.
"You let Johnny take the blame," Will reminded her, "Even though you knew it was wrong and you didn't say anything until after grandma screamed at him."
"So?" Ari thought it over.
"It was easier to let Johnny get in trouble, wasn't it?" Will asked. "And it was hard to tell grandma the truth later on."
"I guess," Ari admitted reluctantly. Turning back to Justin, Ari told him, "I'm still mad though."
"That's completely understandable," Justin gave her a weak smile before nodding in thanks towards Will.
"You'll have to buy me lots of presents," Ari declared. "Whenever I want."
Justin's lips quirked upwards, "Is that so?"
"Yep," Ari made her lips pop, "I need toys," Ari started counting on her fingers, "Dresses, shoes, a new tiara."
"Oh my god," Alex rolled his eyes dramatically. "No one is buying her those things."
"Excuse you," Kate interjected, "No one is stopping me from buying my grandbaby a tiara."
"And," Ari loudly interrupted, "I think you," Ari pointed at Justin, "Should have to pay for daddy and Alex to get married."
"What did we just talk about?" Alex questioned in an exasperated tone.
"What was that?" Chad asked. He had tried to stay out of everything for the most part but this was almost too good to ignore.
"Nothing," Will said quickly. "Just something we've been talking about."
"It's gonna happen," Ari declared. Finally spotting Joey and Vic, who had been hovering near the table, not quite sure if they should jump in or not, Ari clambered off the bench and informed them, "Hello, Uncles. Do you want to play with me?"
Vic, not trusting that angelic little face one bit, reluctantly replied, "I guess."
Refusing to let Vic win, Joey eagerly responded, "Let's do this."
"I need to watch this," Chad declared. Pointing at Will he said, "But this conversation is not over."
Seeing his daughter bossily ordering Vic and Joey into various tasks Will smiled.
"That went better than expected," Justin said. "Honestly, I was waiting for her to yell and scream at me."
"She did plenty of that yesterday," Alex informed his father. "And throwing actually with a little bit of puking thrown in for fun."
"Did she really take finding out about everything that hard?" Kate wondered.
"Well," Will nodded, "Everything but mostly one person in particular."
"I see," Justin sighed. Glancing over his shoulder Justin saw Sonny and Paul sitting at a separate table with Adrienne and Lucas.
While Justin loved being closer to Alex and reuniting with Ari once again he had to admit he hated that Sonny felt ostracized. He had always attempted to be fair to all of his children and while he might have failed along the way with Alex Justin wanted to do better.
'How are holidays going to work if I have all of my children except Sonny around? I can't keep everyone separated. I just wish there was a way to make things slightly less awkward,' Justin thought.
Justin, catching Sonny's eye, waved him over to their table.
'No time like the present to work things out,' Justin figured.
Vic watched on as Ari came back from the drinking fountain with a soccer ball under her arm.
"Where did you get that?" he asked knowing it wasn't hers.
"I found it," Ari evasively answered. "Now, you have to practice with me."
Chad was amused to see both Vic and Joey instantly following Ari's instructions.
"So," Joey lightly kicked the ball to Ari, "How do you feel today, kiddo?"
"I don't know," Ari kicked the ball in Vic's direction, "Weird."
"You didn't seem that upset with your grandpa over there," Joey pointed out. "Or are you saving it for later?"
Ari shrugged, "I talked about it with daddy. I know that grandpa is nice to me now. But he still needs to make it up to me."
"Sounds reasonable," Vic said, "Which is kind of shocking for you."
"Hey," Ari complained kicking the ball extra hard and smashing it into Vic's shin.
"Ow," Vic rubbed his leg.
"And that is why I am your favorite uncle," Joey reminded Ari, moving closer to put his arm around her, "I don't insult you. Now, if you want we can kick more balls at him."
"OK," Ari answered moving out of the way as Joey and Vic both started fighting over the ball. Standing next to Chad, Ari said, "This is fun."
Watching as the ball bounced off of the side of Joey's head Chad agreed, "Yes, yes it is."
After a few minutes Chad commented, "You know what? I'm getting hungry. How about we go get some of that food over there?"
Ari, looking at the picnic tables covered in food, decided giving him a deviously sweet smile, "OK, let's go Uncle Chad."
Joey and Vic both paused their wrestling over the ball when they heard Ari.
"Sure thing, princess," Chad offered catching on to what Ari was up to.
Joey and Vic both gasped at the same time.
"You," Joey pointed dramatically at Chad from where he was sitting on the grass. "You, you usurper!"
"What can I say?" Chad shrugged, laughing as Ari eagerly jumped into his arms, "DiMera's always win out over Kiriakis'."
"You aren't even her uncle," Vic pointed out standing up and brushing off some dirt.
"Sure I am," Chad said over Ari's loud giggles as they started walking away.
"This is war," Joey declared loudly. In a quieter voice Joey asked his brother, "We need to get more condom water balloons."
Just then a group of kids came running over.
"That's our ball," one of them angrily said before snatching the ball away from Joey and running off.
"I knew she didn't just find that," Vic sighed.
Chad, nodding at Will while he passed by with Ari in his arms, took them to the table with food.
"Now," Chad picked up a plate, "What does little miss Arianna want?"
Ari began pointing out all the foods she wanted and which ones she absolutely didn't want.
"You are super picky," Chad realized.
"I am," Ari confirmed. Glancing around the park Ari noticed a mean looking old guy staring at them. "Who's that guy?" she asked Chad.
Chad looked where Ari was pointing and said, "That would be Victor Kiriakis."
"Is he related to Alex?" Ari wondered.
"Yep," Chad confirmed smirking and waving when he caught Victor's disapproving glare. "Something tells me he doesn't get along too well with Alex though."
"That probably means I won't like him," Ari frowned before shrugging it off, "Oh well. I want my food now."
Sonny and Paul carefully sat down at the same picnic table as Will and Alex. Both weren't entirely sure if they would be welcome or if they even wanted to be there.
The two had spent the entire day yesterday arguing. Sonny had been gone for so long and thought that he had finally had everything figured out. However, he was not prepared to see Will, Ari and Alex in Salem. Paul had attempted to be understanding throughout all these months but it was hard. And seeing the way Sonny had reacted the day before to Ari once again didn't exactly please Paul. He thought that when Sonny came back he would be ready to put everything behind him once and for all.
Alex clamped his hand on Will's knee the second Sonny and Paul sat down at the picnic table. It wasn't like he felt threatened but he certainly felt protective.
Kate, never too pleased to be around Sonny or Paul, rolled her eyes and shared a knowing look with Alex.
Alex nodded at Kate appreciatively. He enjoyed being around someone that didn't think the sun rose and set on his brother.
Will, he just wanted to get everything over with. The entire point of going on this trip was to leave his past in the past. He would never be able to do that if Sonny was always going to be someone he couldn't face. Will was ready to move on from everything. He sincerely hoped that Sonny was ready to as well.
"So," Justin said, wanting to break the awkward silence, "Alex, Will when is your flight leaving?"
"Around 6," Will told Justin. "I didn't want to make it too late of a flight since Ari has school in the morning."
"How is that going, by the way?" Kate questioned. "I know she was having a tough time after your surgery."
"Better now, thank god," Alex shook his head. "If I have to deal with one more phone call from her dumbass teacher I'm gonna lose it."
"She doesn't call that often," Will defended.
"She doesn't call you," Alex argued. "She always calls me. God knows why. I don't want to talk to her."
"Because you always answer," Will offered giving Alex a quick smile. Looking at Justin Will said, "He's a total sucker. Every time he sees the schools number on his phone he freaks out."
"No I don't," Alex insisted shooting Will a stern expression.
"Sure you don't," Will patted Alex's stomach.
"Give it up, son," Justin laughed, "We all know you've turned soft on us."
Alex, opening his mouth, started to say, "I'll have you know I-"
"Just quit while you're ahead," Will encouraged knowing Alex was going to say something horrifically embarrassing.
"I'm glad to see Ari isn't having any problems with Joey or Vic," Justin stated wanting to change the topic.
"She's pitting them against each other actually," Will chuckled watching as Ari slyly moved out of the way as the twins started arguing.
"I was wondering about that," Kate smiled. "I thought it was just Joey she had wrapped around her finger."
"Um," Paul, completely lost in the conversation, asked, "What's happening with Joey and Vic?"
"Oh," Justin chuckled, "Well a while back Joey vowed that he was going to become Ari's favorite uncle."
"Then yesterday," Will added, "Joey insisted that he could watch her by himself."
"Which anyone could have told him he would be dreadful at," Kate inputted.
"So," Justin continued, "He had to call Vic for help and basically Ari has now convinced them both to vie for her affection."
"Looks like she's got a new contender too," Alex nodded to where Chad picked up Ari and the two walked away.
"She's having entirely too much fun with this," Will decided.
"How did the trip to see Gabi go?" Kate asked curiously.
"Lots of crying," Alex confessed with a shudder. "So much crying."
"It was good," Will ignored Alex. "Gabi was extremely surprised. It was hard to get Ari to leave though."
"Did you see her before you came to the club?" Sonny quietly questioned.
"Yeah," Will responded. "She had been crying a lot and wanted a drink."
"Oh, right," Sonny nodded. He was still having a hard time reconciling the Ari that was here with the one that had left. 'The one that used to be mine.'
Ari and skipped over to her daddy and Alex with Chad carrying her food behind her.
"Daddy," Ari automatically climbed into his lap, "If I eat all my food can I have some pie?"
"Not all of them," Will told her, knowing she would try to convince him she needed a slice from each. "You get one slice of pie."
Ari stuck out her lower lip and gave her daddy her puppy eyes, "Please?"
Normally Will would give in but, recalling his conversation with her therapist this morning, he shook his head.
"Oh fine," Ari sighed before snatching a fork out of Chad's hand and beginning to eat.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for the moment Ari noticed Sonny and Paul were sitting at her table.
Joey and Vic limped over with their own plates of food.
"You know," Joey informed Ari, "I think you like watching me get hurt."
"I do," Ari easily agreed. "It's funny. Like yesterday when Alex hit you in the face."
"Made me laugh too," Alex confirmed before stealing some of Ari's food.
"That was uncalled for," Joey pouted.
"You threw a condom balloon at Will's face," Alex defended. Gesturing with his hands Alex said, "You don't mess with this region. I look at that."
Will, unimpressed, glared at Alex before saying, "Someone is going to get smacked in the face and it isn't going to be Joey."
"If I can't throw things any more than you can't hit people," Ari remarked authoritatively. "Just do what I do and get someone else to do it."
Will snorted, "I was joking, baby girl. But you and I are having several serious conversations when we get home."
"I don't like it when we do that though," Ari said, "Can't we just do whatever I want?"
"Nice try but no," Will replied.
Ari, going to shove a carrot stick in her mouth, paused when she looked down the table and noticed who was sitting there. Ari stared between Sonny and Paul for a few moments before taking a bite of her carrot and chewing loudly.
Crossing her arms Ari attempted to calm herself down on her own. 'No throwing things. No throwing things. No throwing things.'
Will squeezed his arm around Ari's waist in support. He didn't know if he should move her to a different table or go back to the apartment. Catching Alex's eye, Will tried to figure out what to do next.
Alex, seeing Will's expression, shrugged. Personally he was hoping Ari would go off on Sonny. The way he figured Sonny needed to see exactly what staying away from her did. But Alex also knew that probably wasn't the healthiest thing for the kid.
'I guess we'll just wait and see what she does,' Alex thought seeing Ari concentrating very hard.
'I don't need him,' Ari reminded herself. 'I have daddy and Alex and they love me and they'll never ever leave me. Ever. He doesn't matter anymore.'
Sonny sat frozen in his spot barely remembering to breathe. He had never seen such a scathing look from someone so small before. While he was away on his backpacking trip he had done his best to do some soul searching.
Sonny knew it was incredibly unfair of him to stay away from Ari once he had left Will. Even with Paul encouraging him to give Will and Ari space Sonny should have maintained his role as Ari's second father. 'I left Will. I shouldn't have left Ari.'
'But I made my choices and I can't take them back now. I need to just try to work everything out now.'
Sonny realized on his trip that while a part of him will always regret that his relationship with Will didn't work out it was time to let that go.
'Will told me in California and in Vegas that we were never getting back together and that he had moved on. And he's right. It was unfair of me to expect him to sit around waiting for me forever.'
Sonny wasn't even sure what he would have done if Will did want to be with him again. 'And that's why I had to leave for a while to get my head on straight. I couldn't do that to Paul anymore.'
Sonny never thought about it in all the time since he had left Will but a part of him did think that one day Will would come back into his life. A part of him held onto the idea of Will and Ari and the family he once thought was everything he ever wanted. Seeing Will again really hit Sonny in the face that that idea was never going to happen.
'And I couldn't handle that,' Sonny knew. 'I couldn't handle the idea of Will being someone else's especially if that someone was Alex.'
'Not only was that unfair to Will to put that type of pressure on him when he didn't want it or know about it but it was an awful thing to do to Paul. I technically did to Paul what I had done to Will before. I created a life and let him to believe everything was fine when in the back of my mind I kept the thought of someone else.'
'So, I had to leave,' Sonny knew. 'I had to leave and figure out exactly what and who I wanted and how to completely commit to it.'
When Sonny came back to Salem yesterday he never once imagined he would run into his brother, Will and Ari. 'It seemed like a colossal joke. Just as I had decided I was ready to completely give up on that part of my life and commit to Paul, Will and Ari were there.'
But seeing the easy way Will and Alex interacted, the way Ari fit with them so perfectly reinforced Sonny's decision. 'Not to mention Ari looks at me like she wants to reach across the table and strangle me. But I deserve that.'
'I just don't want things to be like this forever,' Sonny knew. 'I don't want to have to sit with mom and Lucas watching on as the rest of our family gets closer and closer to together.'
There would always be a part of Sonny that wished things were different. A part of Sonny would wonder what would have happened if he had stayed with Will. Sonny would just take solace in the fact that for a time Will was his husband and Ari was his daughter.
'And that is probably something Alex is never going to get.'
Paul nervously took Sonny's hand in his. He too felt unsettled under Ari's fierce gaze. Paul vaguely wondered if she knew his role in all of this, if she blamed him. When Sonny finally came back home with his decision Paul was optimistically thrilled. He thought maybe now they would be able to settle things between them.
'Hopefully,' Paul thought anxiously.
Ari wanted to take the orange slice in her hand and heave it across the table. When the boys down the table started to hold hands Ari felt something click inside her head. 'They're friends the way daddy and Alex were friends.'
If it wasn't for her daddy's strong arm holding her tightly Ari might have given into the urge to jump onto the table and scream.
'He left me for a boy,' Ari understood. 'He left me and daddy to be with someone else and he didn't even care at all.'
Will, feeling Ari tensing in his lap, kissed the back of her head and whisper, "It's OK."
Alex slowly placed his hand on Ari's little leg and squeezed it gently. If it was up to him he'd let her go wild but he knew he couldn't. 'I guess being supportive or whatever will have to work.'
Ari nodded carefully. 'I don't need anyone but daddy and Alex. They aren't going to leave me. They love me. They aren't going to leave me. They love me. They aren't going to leave me. They love me.'
Remembering the tight searing pain in her chest when her daddy told her the day before that he used to be married to that guy, Alex's brother, Sonny, Ari took a deep breath.
'If I'm not allowed to throw things or yell I know what else I can do,' Ari thought a bit cruelly wanting to make him hurt as much as she hurt.
Ari turned on Will's lap so she was facing Alex. Keeping Alex's hand on her knee, Ari said, "When you marry daddy I think you should have cupcakes instead of a cake."
"Uh," Alex glanced at Will not entirely sure what he was supposed to say to that.
"Ari," Will started to say.
"I like cupcakes," Ari defended. "It's a little cake. I have loads more ideas though. I've changed my mind and don't want you to dress like princes. Now I want you to-"
Alex picked up an orange slice from Ari's plate and shoved it in her mouth, "Yum, yum, don't forget to eat."
"I thought she was joking when she mentioned that the other day and earlier," Kate said carefully.
Justin, concerned over the shocked look on Sonny's face, nodded, "I did not expect this at all."
"Dad," Alex tried to explain the misunderstanding.
Ari spat the orange out of her mouth before happily saying, "I told you. They're going to get married and live happily ever after because they're in love."
Will gave Ari a disapproving look. "Excuse us," he said as he lifted Ari and her plate of food and started to walk away.
"Well," Chad commented as Alex took off with Will and Ari, "Maybe Will is going to change his name this time."
Justin glared at Chad before turning to a shell-shocked Sonny.
Will found an empty picnic bench and put Ari on top of it.
"What was that all about?" Will questioned.
"What?" Ari shrugged starting to eat her food again. "I didn't yell and I didn't throw anything. I thought about what you said."
"What did I say?" Will demanded feeling Alex's hand on his lower back.
"You said to think about how everyone made me feel now," Ari said. "And I decided he made me feel upset so I wanted him to be upset."
"And the best way to do that," Alex tried to follow her logic, "Was to tell everyone we were getting married, again."
"Duh," Ari replied. "I saw the way your brother was looking at you two. And he used to be married to daddy. I knew he would feel sad if I told him about your wedding."
Alex, impressed Ari figured that out on her own, nodded approvingly.
Will lightly smacked Alex's arm, "Don't encourage her. Ari," Will looked at her again, "We told you just a few hours ago that we were thinking about it not that we had decided."
"So," Ari stared him in the eyes.
"So," Will shook his head, "You can't go around lying to everyone especially to make someone feel bad."
"Why?" Ari wondered. "It made me feel better."
"Because it's mean," Will explained. "You wouldn't want anyone to lie to you or to purposely feel bad."
"That's different," Ari said.
"No it's not," Alex responded.
"Well I can either be mean or I can throw things," Ari sniffed with her nose in the air, "You'll have to pick."
Will lifted an eyebrow at her, "Excuse me?"
Ari, not wanting to give in, turned her head away from her daddy.
"Look at me right now," Will ordered.
Ari put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes.
Sharing a look with Alex, Will finally decided to do what Ari's therapist had been bugging him to do for weeks.
"Arianna," Will demanded, "You have a reset."
When Ari didn't move Will urged her, "Your reset begins when you are still and quiet and looking at me."
Ari, disliking that tone of voice, sighed before putting her hands in her lap and looking at her daddy.
"I see that you are ready to listen," Will said in an upbeat tone. "Your reset is over."
Alex, shocked that actually worked, told the kid, "You aren't going to go around telling everyone we're getting married. You aren't going to lie to people. And you aren't going to purposely try to make anyone sad. Got it?"
Ari pressed her lips together before finally saying, "Fine."
"Thank you," Will stated before relaxing his shoulders slightly.
"Can I have my pie now?" Ari questioned looking at her mostly empty plate.
"Yes, you can have your pie," Will smiled glad that Ari was able to bounce back after that.
Will, Ari and Alex headed over to the table with the desserts on them. As Ari excitedly picked out which one she was going to eat no one noticed when someone walked over to them.
"That was quite the display," Victor Kiriakis huffed as he stood on the opposite side of the table from the three.
"No it wasn't," Alex responded. "But if you want to see a dramatic scene I would be more than happy to help."
"Charming as always, Alexander," Victor gave him a dismissive wave of his hand. "However, I was talking to Will."
Will finished putting the slice of pie Ari selected on her plate before saying, "Go sit down with grandma and eat this."
"OK," Ari looked at the old man suspiciously.
Once Ari was out of earshot Will looked expectantly at Victor, "Can I help you?"
"Did you really think you could come to town and I wouldn't find out about it?" Victor asked sardonically. "I know everything."
Alex crossed his arms and said, "Brady told you, didn't he?"
Victor narrowed his eyes and said, "Of all the people in the world you had to end up with this one."
Alex blinked a few times before saying, "Which one of us are you talking to?"
Ignoring his nephew Victor leaned on the table for support and told Will, "I should have kept eyes and ears on you when you skipped town. I should have guessed you wouldn't give up."
"Give up what?" Will rolled his eyes.
"This vendetta against Sonny," Victor tried to explain.
"What?" Will spat out not able to contain his laughter. "I'm sorry but that's ridiculous. Sonny can do whatever he wants. I really don't care."
"Sure you don't," Victor shook his head.
"Before you open your mouth and spew whatever bullshit you've got running through that brain," Alex interjected, "I'm afraid you're about six months too late for this conversation. If you actually did know anything, ever, you would already know everyone is past this. So, how about you go run off back to your retirement village and leave us the hell alone."
"You ungrateful-" Victor started to say before getting cut off.
"Ungrateful?" Alex spat. "Ungrateful of what? You sending someone to stalk us? You planning for practically the entire town to be here when you knew we wanted to keep this visit private? You standing around making accusations about two people you know absolutely nothing about? You being a giant fucking hypocrite? What?"
"And just so you know," Alex snidely added, "Apart from you absolutely everyone has been decent this entire picnic so whatever your little plan was didn't work."
Will, realizing half the people here were staring at them, tried to get a handle on the situation.
"Victor, I don't know what you think is happening here and I don't care. But you do not get to treat us like misbehaving children," Will informed Victor calmly.
"Don't get me started on you," Victor hissed. "If you've seen one desperate slut you've seen them all."
"Hey," Will gasped. "You do not get to talk to me like that."
Alex, fists clenched so hard his nails were digging painfully into his palms, was torn between jumping across the table and dragging Will bodily away from this stupid town and all of its stupid citizens.
"And you," Victor turned to Alex, "I thought you would have had a little bit more loyalty to this family," Victor gruffly responded. "That is assuming you even understand the meaning of the word."
Alex, fed up, was prevented from doing or saying anything when he heard a tiny, angry voice.
"Shut up," Ari, who had snuck closer to the three of them, screamed as she ran over. "You are mean and nasty and old!"
Victor, visibly startled to be talked to in such a manner, frowned heavily at the loud mouthed child.
"Don't talk to my daddy or my Alex that way," Ari ordered chest heaving with exertion.
Justin, Kate, Joey, Vic, Sonny, Paul and Chad all hurried after Ari and watched on, completely enthralled.
Maggie, Brady, Marlena and John who were sitting at a table nearby hurried over when they saw how upset Ari was.
"What's going on here?" Maggie wondered looking at Victor in concern.
"He's being mean to me," Ari started fake crying, putting her hands over her face and loudly wailing.
"Victor," Maggie scolded.
"I did no such thing," Victor tried to defend.
"Grandfather," Brady crossed his arms. "Look at the poor thing."
"That precious angel, how could you Victor?" Marlena reprimanded.
"He said that my daddy was a bad word," Ari sobbed. "And that my Alex wasn't my family. He hates me!"
Will, uncertain if he should go along with this or not, picked up Ari and tried to calm her down. 'I should not be encouraging this.'
"Why is he so mean?" Ari lifted her head off of Will's shoulder and tried to look as sad as possible. "What did we do? I just wanted to see my family."
"Oh, sweetheart, it's OK," Maggie gave Ari a sweet smile. "Victor is just a little rough around the edges. But I promise he's very sweet."
"He sent a scary man to follow us," Ari revealed in a frightened voice.
"Wow," John shook his head. "You've really done it now, Victor."
"I didn't," Victor looked around for help.
"Victor Kiriakis you should be ashamed of yourself," Maggie shook her head in disappointment. "The first time they've been to town and this is what you do."
"But I," Victor tried one more time to explain.
"Uncle Vic," Sonny said, "Leave them alone."
Everyone practically froze once Sonny started talking.
"Seriously," Sonny ignored the fact that all eyes were on him. "They're happy and together and there's nothing wrong with that. So, just, leave them alone."
Victor frowned with disapproval. He had no idea how things had gotten so far out of his control.
"There's no getting out of it this time," Maggie declared before putting her hand on Victor's arm and dragging him away.
Victor looked over at Alex, Will and Ari one last time. Victor was startled when Ari gave him a vicious smile and a victorious wave, face suspiciously free of tears.
"Wow," Alex tried not to laugh when everyone walked away. "That was impressive."
"Impressive," Will agreed, "And yet so, so wrong."
"I was using my powers for good, not for evil," Ari declared proudly.
"That was the greatest thing I've ever seen," Joey praised. "Oh my god, my desire to be your favorite has now increased even more."
"There is something extremely satisfying about seeing Victor Kiriakis falling to his knees because of a four year old with crocodile tears," Kate remarked extremely impressed. "That's my grandchild."
"I don't even know whose influence that came from," Justin chuckled, "Will or Alex."
"Definitely a combination," Chad observed.
Ari, clapping excitedly that everyone was proud of her, grabbed Vic and Joey's hands again and pulled them both towards the playground again.
Once everyone had filtered off Will and Alex found themselves alone with Sonny and Paul.
"Thanks for helping," Will told Sonny.
"It was the least I could do," Sonny nodded. "You definitely didn't deserve to hear that especially with Ari nearby."
"I could think of less you could be doing," Alex grunted slipping his hand into Will's back pocket.
Paul laughed. He didn't really want to admit it but Alex was actually fun to have around.
"Did you see how scared Victor looked when Maggie grabbed his arm?" Will chuckled.
"When the kid started yelling I thought he was going to have a stroke," Alex stated. "Or she was going to tackle him. Both of which would have worked for me."
"Alex," Sonny said, "You shouldn't be happy seeing an old man having a stroke."
"I'm gonna be happy when you have a stroke," Alex grumbled.
Will stared up at the sky in annoyance before finding Paul's eyes and smiling.
With Alex and Sonny good-naturedly bickering and Will and Paul rolling their eyes in exasperation, Will had to admit this was pretty nice.
'Who would have guessed this would be my life?'
"Thanks for letting us stay in the apartment," Will told Chad once again. "It was definitely better than the Salem Inn."
"It was no problem," Chad amiably said pulling Will into a big hug. "Maybe now though I don't have to be so covert about keeping up with you."
"I think the word you are looking for is stalking," Alex remarked.
"Stalking, shmalking," Chad waved his hand around before letting go of Will and yanking Alex into a hug.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks," Alex patted Chad on the back. Sadly, Alex thought Chad was growing on him.
"Move," Ari ordered before hugging Chad tightly.
"If anyone asks," Chad told her conspiratorially, "I'm totally your favorite."
Ari nodded enthusiastically.
Joey, hipchecking Chad out of his way, took Ari from him and said, "You just said that to make him happy, right? I'm totally the favorite."
"OK," Ari said sweetly before kissing Joey on the cheek.
Vic taking Ari next knocked their foreheads together, "Favorite?"
Ari nodded with a grin.
"Awesome," Vic said before giving Ari to his dad.
"I'm still extremely sorry about everything that happened before," Justin promised Ari. "And I promise I'm going to do everything I can to prove that."
"You better, Grandpa," Ari informed him.
"Will do, princess," Justin told her with a big hug.
Kate, sneaking up on Ari from behind, said, "That goes for me too."
"Of course it does," Ari nodded. "Love you, grandma, and grandpa."
Justin and Kate each kissed one of Ari's cheeks at the same time.
Finally down on the ground Ari walked over to her daddy and Alex who were talking with Sonny and Paul. Giving them each a cool once over Ari sighed loudly before sticking out her hand for a shake.
Sonny, smiling slightly, shook Ari's hand and said, "Bye, sweetheart. Maybe next time things won't be so weird between us."
"Maybe," Ari conceded shaking Paul's hand quickly.
Once all the goodbyes were over and they were walking away from the park Ari said, "I still don't like those last two very much."
"It'll take time, baby girl," Will replied. "But I know what you mean."
Alex pulled out his phone once he heard it ring. Seeing the name across the screen he frowned before answering reluctantly, "Hello?"
"Hi," Adrienne said over the line. She felt a bit ridiculous calling Alex when she could see him from the other side of the park but she had to.
Adrienne and Lucas wanted to visit with Alex, Will and Ari the entire time they were at the picnic but knew they would be unwelcome. They both saw how easily Alex, Will and Ari interacted with everyone else. An ease they never had when it came to Adrienne and Lucas.
Adrienne knew it was going to take more than a few uninvited visits for her and Lucas to get closer to their children. But seeing Alex and Will in Salem really hit them both hard.
'Whenever we're with them everything is awkward and tense in a way it never is with anyone else,' Adrienne thought. She knew it was because her and Lucas didn't take the time or effort to get to know them.
'But not anymore,' Adrienne vowed. 'Step by step we are going to get back into Alex, Will and Ari's lives.'
"Uh, hi," Alex responded with a weird expression on his face. "Why are you calling?"
"I knew you wouldn't want to see me or Lucas," Adrienne answered honestly. "But we just wanted to let you and Will know that things are going to be different on our end. We're going to try from now on."
"Right," Alex wasn't sure what to make of this phone call.
"Have a safe flight back to California," Adrienne said, "I love you."
Hearing the call disconnect Alex put his phone away and said, "Well, that was weird."
"What was?" Will questioned.
"Adrienne and Lucas are apparently going to make an effort with us now," Alex told Will with a disbelieving look on his face.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Will commented lightly.
As Alex put the last of the bags in the trunk of the rental car Alex pulled something out of his pocket and shook it in front of Will's face.
Hearing the rattling Will rolled his eyes, "I don't want to."
"It's for our own good," Alex urged, "Now take the damn pill or I'll sneak it in your drink."
Sighing, Will opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.
Alex smiled happily, "Good boy," he praised as he put the melatonin on Will's tongue.
All three were safely buckled into their car and on their way to the airport. Watching as Salem passed him by, Will said, "That wasn't too horrible in the end."
"Could have been worse," Alex agreed.
"Now it's behind us," Will commented, "And everyone can really move on."
Author's note:
And now they are back off to California.
What does everyone think is going to happen about the possibility of Will and Alex getting married? Will they? Won't they?
Please let me know what you thought.
Thank you for reading! Also, thank you to all of the guest reviewers. I very much appreciate your opinion.
And as always a very big thank you goes to iluvh0rs3s. I sincerely treasure your advice, suggestions and moral support.