Loved Like I Should But Lived Like I Shouldn't Chapter 14, a days of our lives fanfic

Will smiled as he stood up from the lawn chair and waved Alex over to their spot in the park.

Spotting Will, Alex headed over and sat in the free seat next to him.

"What'd I miss?" Alex demanded as he immediately saw Johnny running out onto the field.

"He's doing really well," Will answered as he took the warm cup of coffee Alex passed him.

Alex, handing over some hot chocolates to Ari, Allie and Sydney before giving another coffee to Sami, commented, "Has he gotten much playing time?"

"Not really," Will admitted. Leaning over so none of the girls could hear Will said, "Mom and I keep hoping something will happen to that Angel kid and he'll get to play more."

"Fuck that kid," Alex decided before taking a sip of his own coffee. "Johnny is definitely better than that fucker."

Stifling a laugh when the mom beside them glared, Will patted Alex's arm, "That's what I'm saying."

"Did you get her signed up?" Will asked.

"I told you I would. I can be responsible when I feel like it," Alex informed Will. "Two days a week of art lessons starting next week."

"Thank you," Will kissed Alex on the cheek, causing another glare from the same woman, "I hope she likes it."

"Seeing as how she does nothing but drive us crazy with collages and pictures," Alex reminded Will, "Yeah, I'd say she'll enjoy it."

As Johnny ran past everyone stood up and cheered. Will was pretty sure it embarrassed the kid but quite frankly none of them were going to stop.

"That's my brother, woo," Will half yelled, half laughed loudly.

Alex put two fingers in his mouth and whistled as loud as he could.

Once Johnny was back on the sidelines Sami made all the girls scoot down a seat so she could be next to Will and Alex.

"OK," Sami pushed her hair out of her face, "Have you decided on a venue yet? Because I was doing some research and the Hyatt in Newport Beach is so nice."

"Mom," Will tossed his head back in annoyance, "Cool it on the reception crap."

"I can't," Sami was practically vibrating in her seat. "You haven't even picked a date or a guest list or anything."

"Don't invite anyone," Alex said in a dull voice, "And make sure there's lots of booze and I'll be happy."

"Be serious," Sami reached over Will to smack Alex in the arm. "You need to figure these kinds of things out."

"How is it you're more annoying this time around?" Will asked his mother sardonically.

Sami narrowed her eyes, "Do you know how easy it would be to slip and let everyone in our family know about this? One little message on the holiday cards I'm sending out and your peace and quiet is over."

'Huh,' Will thought before turning to look at Alex.

"Sounds good to me," Will told him.

"OK, sure," Alex shrugged.

"What sounds good to you?" Sami demanded as she looked between the two of them suspiciously.

"When you send out those holiday cards you had done up," Alex started explaining, recalling the sample Sami had given him for his birthday, "In some of them you can include our thing."

"Really?" Sami frowned. "That's not very fancy."

"Actually, Mom," Will said, "We've kind of thought things over a bit."

"And?" Sami pulled out her phone to make some notes. She had made herself their self-appointed wedding planner.

'Can I still call myself that if it's not really a wedding?' Sami mused before paying attention again.

"Well," Will put his coffee between his knees and grabbed Alex's hand, "For starters we know who we want to invite."

"Tell me," Sami ordered as her fingers typed quickly on her IPhone.

"My dad," Alex started to list, "Kate. Joey and Vic obviously. Joey would throw a fit if he thought someone was spending time with Ari without him."

"Chad," Will added. Ever since their trip to Salem Chad had regularly called, texted and emailed.

"The kids will like that," Sami declared as she made a note. "Anyone else?"

Will rattled off a list of his friends in California while Alex did the same.

"OK," Sami nodded. Giving them both a pained glance, Sami asked, "What about your father? And Adrienne"

"I don't know," Will admitted. "He didn't exactly invite us to their wedding."

"Then we kind of put a damper on things when Sonny and I got into it," Alex added while making an exaggerated frown.

"What about Sonny?" Sami questioned. "Are you going to invite the twins and not him?"

"I don't know, woman," Alex complained. "Just let us think about it."

"Fine," Sami locked her phone, "We can talk about it later. But actually think about it. This whole thing is about the two of you promising yourselves and Ari that you are in this for real. You should be surrounded by the people that support and love you. If you don't think Lucas, Adrienne and Sonny can do that don't invite them."

"Yeah," Will responded feeling Alex squeezing his hand. "We'll think about it."

A few hours later, Will, Alex and Sami were sitting at a table by themselves inside of Chuck-e-Cheese celebrating Johnny's team winning. The girls were running around the place with the rest of Johnny's team.

"Alex," Ari whined as she wiggled around and stuck out her lower lip, "Please?"

"I just gave you money," Alex grumbled as he pulled out some more bills and handed them over. Before Ari could snatch it out of his hand he said, "Make sure Allie takes it to the machine and not you."

"Yay," Ari cheered before kissing Alex on the cheek and taking off. There was a shiny crown in the prize case with her name on it.

"You are such a softie," Sami commented with a shake of her head.

"I am no such thing," Alex replied completed affronted.

Will laughed loudly, "You're worse than me. No, no, you're worse than Joey."

Alex's mouth dropped open, "You take that back."

"Nope," Will smiled widely as he scooted closer to Alex and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Your my little softie and I wuv you."

"Oh dear god," Alex stated side-eyeing Will dangerously.

Sami, smiling at Will and Alex, finished off a slice of pizza and sat up in her seat when another pitcher of beer was brought to their table.

The waiter's eyes lingered over Sami a bit too long before leaving.

Will and Alex turned to look at each other before looking at Sami.

"What?" Sami wondered when she saw them staring at her.

"Oh nothing," Will replied as he watched her pouring him a drink.

"Nothing except that dude trying to eye-fuck you," Alex remarked not entirely sure how to feel about that.

On one hand Alex knew it would be good for Sami to actually go on dates but another part of him wanted to smack that idiots eyeballs right out of his head. Feeling disturbingly protective Alex chugged some of his beer.

"Excuse me?" Sami looked at the two of them like they were crazy. "Who was doing what now?"

"The waiter," Will shook his head at his mom. "Come on there is no way you didn't notice that."

Sami honestly had no idea.

"Well good," Alex informed her, "He was not hot enough for you."

"True," Will agreed. "If my mama's dating anybody he better look like a model."

"I've seen pictures of all the men you've been with," Alex nodded his head seriously.

"EJ was really hot," Will said easily, "Rafe too."

Alex agreed, "Oh yeah. That Brandon guy," Alex wolf whistled.

"So you see mom," Will looked back over at her, "You have a standard that you must live up to."

"Do I get a choice in this?" Sami asked rolling her eyes fondly at the two.

"Actually," Alex said ignoring Sami, "The waiter at lunch the other day was being a little too friendly with you too."

"No he wasn't," Sami argued. "He's never been anything but polite."

Alex gave her a pointed look, "Oh really?"

"Should I get you two your usual?" the waiter asked while holding his pen and pad of paper.

Every Wednesday at noon he always waited on these two. He thought the blonde was extraordinarily pretty but assumed she had to be dating the man she was with. 'Even if he is quite a bit younger than her,' the waiter thought.

"Actually," Sami smiled widely, "You should bring us some champagne."

Alex stared up at the ceiling feigning annoyance.

"Celebrating?" the waiter wondered as he briefly looked at her left hand suspiciously.

"Yes," Sami put her hands on the table and said excitedly, "He is finally going to marry my son."

"Stop saying it like that," Alex ordered.

"It's easier," Sami dismissed. "So, champagne?"

"Coming right up," the waiter gave Sami a lascivious smile before walking away with an extra pep in his step.

"He was just being nice," Sami argued with Alex. "He was not hitting on me."

"He was," Alex confirmed.

"Well why didn't he ever do it before then?" Sami looked at Alex smugly.

"He probably thought you were a couple," Will said knowledgably.

Sami and Alex both gave him matching looks of disgust.

"That's just wrong," Alex grimaced.

"It's like someone thinking we're a couple," Sami indicated between herself and Will.

"Oh come on," Will chuckled, "It's funny."

"It is not," Alex contended. "I mean, you're good looking and all," Alex told Sami, "But that's just not right."

"Agreed," Sami said before shivering slightly.

"You two are dumb," Will declared. "Besides it's not that hard to mistake you for a couple. Mom's not that much older."

"Thank you," Sami beamed.

At the same time Alex frowned, "Fuck you."

"She was 16 when she had me," Will laughed, "You're seven years older than me. Do the math."

Alex, having never considered this before, stared at Will with his mouth open.

"Oh my god," Sami crowed in delight. "This is the best reminder ever."

"OK, OK," Will put his hand on Alex's thigh and moved it up and down soothingly. "But seriously," Will caught his mom's eye, "You should think about going out again."

"It's not like I've never been offered," Sami admitted, playing with the condensation on the beer pitcher, "I just never felt like it."

"Why not?" Will asked gently.

"Because," Sami answered softly.

"EJ wouldn't want you to be alone forever," Will explained in a light tone. "He wouldn't expect you to either."

"I know that," Sami said defensively. "I just, I haven't."

"Why not?" Alex wondered. He didn't particularly care for the vulnerable expression on Sami's face.

Alex never really took the time to think about it but Sami was as close to a real mother as he's ever had. 'And she deserves to be with someone that loves and accepts her the way Will and I do.'

"I don't know," Sami didn't want to answer. Looking up and seeing two intense pairs of blue eyes staring at her Sami sighed, "Practically my entire life I've gone from guy to guy to guy and from one disaster after another."

"This is the longest in so long I've gone without anything bad happening," Sami confessed. "Your life was a mess," Sami told Will, "But I was so happy when you and Ari moved in with me. We're closer now than we've ever been. And you," Sami waved her hand at Alex, "You're exactly what my son and granddaughter needed."

"My life right now," Sami explained, "Is as close to perfect as it's ever been. I don't want to ruin that."

"I get that," Will extended his hand across the table and took his mom's, "But you're also the one that wouldn't let me sit at home alone and mope when I moved here. You forced me to go out one night and I'm glad I did."

"Yeah," Alex put his arm around Will's shoulders, "Without your nagging I wouldn't be in the picture and then where would you be?"

"We'd probably all be miserable," Sami gave a small smile. "Is this where you two start nagging me about going out?"

"Of course," Alex said, "You made Will go out and get laid. Now we're making you."

"But without the getting laid part," Alex added now that he was thinking it over, "We might have to kill whoever it is if they touch you."

Sami rolled her eyes, "Uh huh, sure."

"If you ever get serious about someone they'd have to get past the Johnny test though," Will grinned widely at Alex.

"That shit's no joke," Alex insisted. "I barely passed and he actually likes me."

"But," Alex conceded, "At least we can go through with our commitment ceremony without having to worry about him ruining it."

"I did hear him practice a speech about putting an end to your wedding once," Sami pointed out. "It was pretty funny."

"I'm just glad that nightmare's over," Alex shook his head. "Talk about awful."

"What did you even do?" Will wondered. "You still won't tell us."

"Nope, I have to take it to the grave," Alex insisted. "Or else he'll take back his approval."

"Not even a hint?" Sami pressed.

"My lips are forever sealed," Alex maintained.

"Alright, kid," Alex clapped his hands together as he walked out the door with Johnny, "Let's do this."

Johnny followed towards Alex's car silently.

"So exactly what am I going to have to do to prove that I'm good enough for your brother?" Alex wondered as he started the car. "Because I'm thinking I've got some good karma coming my way."

Johnny pulled out a water gun he painted black and pressed it against Alex's ribs, "Just drive."

"Uh," Alex looked down at the obvious toy gun, "OK."

'Might as well play along,' Alex thought to himself.

"This gun is filled with ketchup," Johnny proclaimed, "And I'm not afraid to use it."

"Right," Alex nodded trying not to laugh.

'Take it seriously,' Alex reminded himself.

"Where am I driving?" Alex asked.

"Get on the freeway and drive," Johnny declared.

Alex backed out of the driveway and tried not to fidget.

"Do you love my brother?" Johnny demanded digging the gun into Alex.

Wincing at the surprisingly sharp toy, Alex replied, "Yes, of course I do."

"Do you love my niece?" Johnny asked pressing the toy even harder.

"Yes," Alex nodded.

"Good," Johnny pulled back slightly.

"Are you going to go through with this ceremony only to treat him like crap, not support him and abandon him for the first baseball player that comes your way?" Johnny asked lifting his eyebrows in the air.

"I'm not my brother," Alex argued. "I'm not going to do anything to hurt Will and I'm not leaving him for anyone else."

"I'm not stupid," Alex added, "I know he's better than I deserve."

"That's right," Johnny agreed. "My brother deserves the best and that's going to be what you give him."

Alex nodded starting to get a tiny bit nervous.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Johnny ordered, "Get off on this exit."

Alex followed the direction and the only noise in the car was when Johnny would give Alex further instructions.

Finally pulling into the parking lot of a large hiking trail, Johnny demanded, "Get out."

The two walked for several minutes in complete silence.

"Stop," Johnny said when they were halfway through the trail, completely alone.

"Let's get to the point," Johnny began, "If you ever hurt my brother I will shove you over the edge of that cliff and not even care."

Looking over the side of the cliff, noting the steep drop, Alex took a step back, "I see."

"My mom and Will might think I have no idea what my father was really like but that isn't true," Johnny tossed his toy gun from hand to hand. "I know exactly what he was like. And whenever they say I remind them of him you and I are going to remember this moment. Got it?"

"Got it," Alex repeated.

"Now," Johnny indicated with his head, "Keep walking."

'What in god's name is happening here?' Alex wondered.

"Will and I have always been close," Johnny started talking as they walked. "He and Gabi were the ones who noticed there was something wrong with my eye," Johnny said, "He was there for me."

"Yeah," Alex wasn't sure if he was allowed to talk or not. "Will told me. He tells me everything."

"Will is important to me," Johnny continued, "And Ari. I was miserable when they went back to Salem and when they came back they were miserable."

"The very first time," Johnny explained, "I saw Will really, really happy was after he started seeing you."

"So I've been told," Alex replied.

"I know that you make them happy," Johnny sighed. "And even my sisters and my mom too." Ruefully rolling his eyes, Johnny added, "Even me too. But I thought Sonny was a nice guy and look how that changed."

"I'm not my brother," Alex responded. "I don't know what's going to happen in the future but I can tell you what I want to happen."

"What do you want to happen?" Johnny asked sounding much less tough than he had a few minutes before.

"I want to prove to Ari that I'm serious about her and Will," Alex started saying. "I want Will to write a book. I want Ari to grow up and be happy. I want Gabi to get out of jail. I want your mom to be happy. I want you and your sisters to skip the whole curse of having a kid too young."

"What about you?" Johnny wondered. "You didn't say what you want for you."

Alex shrugged, "If I'm with Will and the kid and I can take a few pictures I'll be fine. Just as long as they're happy."

"Good," Johnny finally nodded. "Now ask me the question again."

"Uh," Alex had to wrack his brain for what question he was supposed to be asking. 'Oh, right,' he recalled when Johnny was offended about not being asked permission.

"Johnny, can I please have your permission to commit myself to Will?" Alex repeated exactly the same way he did the other week.

"I've thought long and hard about it," Johnny said dramatically before saying, "But my answer is yes."

"Good," Alex nodded. "I was a little worried there."

"Now there's just one more thing," Johnny said brandishing his toy gun again.

"Which would be what?" Alex asked as he realized they were finally off the trail and near the parking lot.

"One last test," Johnny teased as he started squirting the ketchup at Alex.

"Hey," Alex backed away. "You get that thing away from me."

"Nope," Johnny teased as he started getting closer and closer.

"You little shit," Alex complained as he started running away.

"Aw," Johnny laughed, surprisingly able to keep up, "But I thought you loved me?"

"I take it back," Alex grunted as he tried to steer clear of the ketchup spray, "I hope you have twins from two different daddies too."

"You're really never going to tell me?" Will pouted as he cuddled up next to Alex. "Did he defend my honor?"

"I was good and properly challenged," Alex revealed. "But that is all you get to be privy to."

"Privy," Sami repeated. "I do love how you can call someone a motherfucker one second and then use a word like that."

"It's part of my charm," Alex smiled before taking a sip of his beer.

Later that night after Ari was fast asleep in her bed, Will and Alex sat down on their couch ready to make some decisions about the guest list on their reception.

"What do you think?" Will asked as he pushed his feet under Alex's thigh.

Alex, playing with the bottom hem of Will's pants, replied, "I really don't know."

Will bit his lip before saying, "It's our day and I don't want anyone there that doesn't understand us."

"Me too," Alex thought everything over before sighing dramatically, "But I think you would probably regret it if your dad wasn't there." Making an unhappy face Alex added, "And probably me with Adrienne and Sonny."

"I don't want them at the actual ceremony though," Will explained. "I don't know if I want anyone else there but us."

"How about the three of us and your mom and siblings do the ceremony by ourselves and then everyone else can do the celebrating?" Alex suggested. "We just tell them to come a few hours later. I just want everyone who supported us in the beginning there."

"I like that," Will smiled. He honestly loved how Alex felt about Will's family, their family now.

"But," Will thought it over, "Your dad and brothers might be pretty pissed."

"That's their problem," Alex shrugged. "It's what we want. Hell, if it was up to me we wouldn't even tell them why they were coming."

Will quirked one eyebrow, "Huh."

"What?" Alex looked over at Will's face. "What's with that look?"

Will pulled his legs out from under Alex and moved onto his knees, "What if we didn't tell them? What if we just invite them for a party or something? When they get here we can see if they figure out what we did."

"That's kind of evil," Alex nodded approvingly.

"I know," Will grinned. "That's why we should do it."

"In that case," Alex pulled Will against his chest, "When exactly should we do this? And where?"

"Hmm," Will hummed as he saw Alex's workbag on the other side of the couch. Reaching over Alex for it, Will pulled out Alex's work planner to look at dates.

"I don't know," Will thumbed through the pages trying to see a weekend Alex was free.

Will had taken Alex's advice and quit his job at the newspaper. He still did his online contribution to The Advocate and a few freelance articles now and again. But for the most part Will had started writing what he wanted. It was freeing in a way he hadn't experienced with his writing in a long time.

Alex, looking over his schedule with Will, said, "I don't really want to wait forever to do this."

"Me either," Will agreed. "Now that we decided I want it to be as soon as possible."

"Plus, if I have to deal with the girls for much longer someone is going to die," Alex threatened.

"So," Will turned the pages back, "Maybe we should pick a date and stick with it."

"Fine with me," Alex pointed to a spot on the calendar. "Here we go. And there's plenty of time for us to go on a honeymoon or trip or whatever the fuck we call it afterwards."

"I'm pretty sure everyone has the day after Thanksgiving off anyway," Will nodded. "It still gives us a few weeks to plan everything out."

"Is that going to be weird for you?" Alex wanted to double check. "The last time you did something like this it was all put together real quick, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Will answered, "But it's different this time around."

Alex gave Will a doubtful look.

"I'm not going to lie and say I didn't want to get married," Will said honestly, "But my reasons behind this ceremony are different than they were before. What I feel for you is different as well. I can tell you with one hundred percent honesty that in no way am I comparing this to what happened with me and Sonny."

"It's OK if you do," Alex shrugged. He didn't particularly enjoy being reminded of that but he knew it was an important part of Will's past. "I know it happened and it's not going away. But you're with me now."

"Yes, I am," Will smiled taking Alex's hand. "And soon enough the two of us are going to declare that in front of Ari."

"Yeah, yeah," Alex smiled slightly. "I'm not wearing a tux though. That isn't happening."

"You could wear whatever you want," Will laughed. "As long as you don't stand me up."

"I'd get pushed off a cliff if that happened," Alex mumbled before saying loudly, "Like I'd do that to you. I want this just as much as you do."

Will kissed Alex sweetly on the lips.

"So," Alex said after a few comfortable moments of silence, "Think we really should include some kind of party invitation in with those holiday cards?"

"Yes, I do," Will giggled. "If someone doesn't show up it will be their own fault they missed out."

"Now," Will said, "We have a date and we have a guest list. I guess it's finally time to figure everything else out."

"We should hold a competition with all our girls for whose idea we use," Alex jokingly suggested.

"Oh god," Will laughed, "It would be like the hunger games with all of them going at it."

"Still might be fun," Alex decided. "I think Ari would win in the end though."

Will agreed while he found a pen in Alex's workbag and made a big heart in Alex's planner over the day after Thanksgiving.

"Daddy, Alex," Ari said seriously. "I think this meeting is crap."

"Ari," Will frowned, "What have I told you about talking like that?"

"To only do it when you're not around?" Ari tried before seeing her father's face harden. "OK, sorry. I'll try better."

"But still," Ari whined. "Why do you have to listen to their ideas? It's my party!"

"Excuse you?" Alex gave her a look.

Ari, who had been slowly trying to work on her attitude, sighed dramatically, "Please can it be my party?"

"We'll take your ideas into consideration," Will informed her. "But we're listening to Sydney and Allie too. Plus grandma has a lot of ideas too. They've been helping you this whole time. It's only fair to listen to all of your ideas."

Ari gave Will a look clearly indicating that she didn't care.

"Deal with it, kid," Alex patted her on the back. "You can't always get your way."

'We'll see about that,' Ari pouted as they opened the door to grandma's house.

As soon as they were inside Ari shouted, "Allie, Sydney, come here. There's something we need to talk about."

Smiling innocently Ari lured the girls upstairs into her old bedroom and closed the door.

"Alright," Ari leaned against the closed door. "Daddy and Alex are going to let us all tell them what we want for their ceremony."

"Awesome," Sydney cheered.

"This is great, Ari," Allie smiled widely. "All of our ideas are finally going to be put to good use."

"About that," Ari batted her lashes, "I think it would be best if we tell each other our ideas and decide which ones we like better before we tell them."

"Sure," Allie shrugged.

"Excellent," Ari said as she walked over to her bed and pulled out a binder full of her wedding ideas.

"I'll go first," Ari decided looking determinedly at her aunts.

"Of all the dates to pick it had to be on my favorite shopping day," Sami complained as she poured herself a glass of wine. "You're lucky I love you both."

"You can just buy it all online anyway," Will said.

"It's not the same," Sami argued sadly. "It's the one day of the year where it's socially acceptable for me to rip things out of people's hands and publically berate them."

Alex stared at Sami admiringly, "This is why I like you."

"Anyway," Will chuckled, "We still aren't sure about a venue yet."

"Stay right here," Sami urged as she got up out of her chair at the kitchen table. "I've got loads of ideas."

A few minutes later, Sami, Ari, Allie and Sydney all came into the kitchen. Ari was holding a large Hello Kitty binder in her arms stuffed full.

"Oh goodie," Alex mockingly cheered, "Everyone has an opinion."

"Zip it," Allie said as she sat down at her spot at the table. "We all have great ideas."

"But," Ari cleared her throat and tossed her hair over her shoulder, "Mine are the best."

"Uh huh, sure," Sami rolled her eyes. "Alright, ladies, they need help picking a location for everything."

"OK," Sydney said as she looked at Ari out of the corner of her eye.

Ari, tossing her giant binder on the table, pulled out several pictures while Sami started talking.

"I told you I liked the Regency at Newport," Sami explained as she pulled up a few pictures on her phone.

Will and Alex looked at the pictures showing a surprisingly nice outdoor set up.

"Looks really big," Alex commented. "We only have around twenty people coming."

"They can do smaller," Sami informed them as she took her phone back and gave another option. "I also thought of the Heritage Square Museum."

Will, intrigued by the idea, nodded. "Maybe."

"Or," Sami practically beamed, "We could splurge and have it at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu."

Alex looked over the pictures. He could see how esthetically appealing it was but he wasn't quite sure it was him or Will.

"It's really nice, Mom," Will told her, "But I don't think so."

"Why don't we save it for the next time you get married?" Alex suggested.

"Oh, shut up," Sami ordered. 'Don't mind if I do.'

"Ahem," Ari cleared her throat as she had all of her papers in order.

"Allie, Sydney and I have been working on this project very hard," Ari explained as she stood up and began pacing with her hands behind her back.

"We know you have," Will smiled at all three girls.

"Our first option for you is this," Ari gestured with her hand while Allie handed over the first paper.

"The beach," Allie excitedly told them.

Will, Alex and Sami all looked at the brightly painted portrait Ari had drawn. In between two large sandcastles Alex and Will stood holding hands while Ari was seen wearing the biggest, fluffiest dress anyone had ever seen.

"It's not just any beach," Ari explained. "It's the one we stayed at when we went on our trip to Lego Land!"

Will nodded remembering the time his mom rented a beach house near San Diego for a weekend. They all had a great time and the beach was private.

'But,' Will thought looking over at Alex, 'It's not really us.'

"This is really good," Alex told Ari admiring her painting. He was definitely glad they signed her up for private art lessons now.

"What other options do you have?" Sami asked feeling highly impressed even though she was around for most of Ari's artwork.

"We all like this one," Sydney said trying not to beam as she presented another painting.

"Disneyland," all three girls said together.

"No," Will and Alex said instantly.

They enjoyed taking the girls there but there was no way in hell they were getting married there.

Ari pouted slightly but moved on.

"OK, one last idea," Ari said as she pulled out the last painting, the one that she liked the best.

She carefully placed the painting on the table and stepped back.

Everyone leaned forward and examined the picture.

Will looked over at Ari's wide, hopeful eyes and smiled gently, "You want us to get married at home?"

Ari nodded as she picked up her picture and touched it slightly. She had done her best to depict their backyard and her pool plus her favorite trees.

"You said you wanted it to be small," Ari shrugged. "And it's my favorite place in the whole world."

"It is?" Alex asked as he put his arm around her and dragged her onto his lap.

"Mmm hmm," Ari nodded as she got comfortable. "It's where we live and where I'm happiest. If you're going to say you'll be together forever then I want it to be there."

"I think that's a good idea," Will agreed readily.

"Well that's settled then," Sami said with a smile. "It sounds much more like the two of you anyway."

"Now," Sami rubbed her hands together, "We get to plan the fun stuff."

"Oh boy," Will replied.

Allie pulled open the binder and started pulling out more paintings, drawings and magazine clippings, "Don't worry. We've got plenty of ideas."

Will and Alex both looked over the size of the binder and knew they were in for a long night.

The next morning, despite the brisk air, Will found himself doing his morning yoga routine outside. Will loved how yoga both relaxed him while also firing up his muscles.

Just as he was calming down, leveling out his breathing, Will opened his eyes and looked around the backyard. He could clearly remember Ari's picture. They hadn't gotten very far on planning yesterday other than eliminating the excessively extravagant ideas the girls had.

Will and Alex wanted something nice but simple. They didn't want to have the focus on the party. They wanted the focus on their commitment to themselves and Ari. The party was for everyone else.

Will stretched his arms over his head, 'I'm just glad that everything is calming down. Ari is perfectly fine staying at Mom's last night. She's getting back to where she used to be. Everything is working out the way it should.'

Jumping out of the shower, Will waltzed into his bedroom and laughed when he saw Alex still sleeping in bed.

Will tried to be as quiet as possible when he grabbed his clothes and started getting dressed but he managed to accidentally bump into the dresser and knock over a picture of Ari.

"Sorry," Will whispered when Alex opened his eyes and woke up.

Alex rubbed his eyes open and said, "It's a good thing you're naked or I'd be pissed."

Will dropped the clothes he was holding and crawled on the bed and into Alex's waiting arms.

Gliding his hands up and down Will's side Alex said, voice still laced with sleep, "I was thinking about something."

"What's that?" Will wondered as he relaxed.

"We need to talk to a lawyer about legal shit," Alex explained. "About financial crap and medical crap."

"You're right," Will replied. "There's a lot to do to make sure we're protected legally if we aren't married. I can call the lawyer I used when I made you Ari's guardian. He might know someone that specializes in it."

"Good," Alex snorted. "I don't want any bullshit happening at the hospital like it did when you had your surgery."

"Me either," Will agreed. "We need to look into something for Ari too. If she gets hurt while I'm not with you two I want you able to make decisions for her."

Alex gave a small smile at that.

"I don't think there's a lot you can do about that in this state," Alex revealed, "But I appreciate the thought."

"Your dad would probably be helpful," Will admitted. "But I doubt he's up to date on California law."

"Yeah, probably not," Alex shrugged. "We can just have your guy help us out."

"Well, whatever we have to do," Will kissed Alex on the cheek, "We're gonna do."

"Don't be so sappy when you're naked," Alex ordered as he rolled Will onto his back.

"My apologies," Will laughed as he pulled Alex into a kiss.

Later that night, once Ari, Allie, Sydney and Johnny were over to stay the night, back into their routine from before the accident, the girls were arguing with the guys over what to have for dinner.

"I'm sorry," Alex shook his head, "But there is no way you're winning this."

All three girls stuck out their lower lips and tried the puppy dog eyes.

"Nope," Alex covered his eyes with one hand while he grabbed Johnny's shoulder and used him as a shield to the door, "We're getting pizza and that's final."

Allie waited until Alex and Johnny left before turning to Will, "OK, now that the losers are gone let's talk about something important."

"Such as?" Will tried not to smile, "And don't call them that."

"We want to get Alex a present," Sydney explained. "To show him how much he means to us."

"Aw," Will couldn't resist saying. "That's so sweet. What did you all have in mind?"

"That's what we don't know," Allie said. "And why we're going to you."

"Well," Will sat down on the couch near them. "Do you want it to be something big or something small?"

"Something good," Ari supplied.

"We asked mom and she wasn't helpful in the slightest," Allie explained. Leaning in close to Will she added, "Mom suggested a family burial plot."

"Oh god," Will rolled his eyes. "Not that. Although in her own twisted way that's kind of sweet."

"What's a burial plot?" Ari asked.

"Never mind," Will said quickly. "Well, I can tell you one thing that Alex always wanted when he was young and he never got."

Will linked his arm with Alex's cautiously.

'I can't believe he actually wants to see me outside of a bed,' Will thought. He had been casually meeting with Alex at the same bar for a few weeks now. Not every night but some nights, after Ari went to sleep, Will would go out and have fun.

Tonight was the first night Alex had suggested they meet earlier. The two had met for something to eat, Alex claiming he was hungry and Will might as well tag along. Now, the two were walking around a street downtown.

"Oh, hey," Will paused as he saw a bookstore on the other side of the street, "Can we go in there?"

"Sure," Alex shrugged.

Oddly enough it felt kind of good to have Will holding onto his arm as they walked. Normally he didn't do well with anyone clinging onto him but with Will it was different. It didn't feel like Will was suffocating him with his touch. It felt comforting instead.

"Why are we going in here?" Alex questioned as they walked into the store.

"My sister," Will explained, revealing a tiny bit of his personal life for the first time. "Her birthday is in a few days. I wanna find something for her."

As they wandered into the children's section, Alex was a bit surprised Will had a sibling that young.

Will smiled when he saw Alex's bewilderment, "My mom had me when she was really young. When I was in high school she started over again."

"She had another kid?" Alex wondered as Will started looking through some titles.

"Actually she had three, a set of twins, a boy and a girl, and then another girl," Will explained. "One with my dad and two with her husband before he died."

"Huh," Alex nodded, "Sounds dramatic."

"You have no idea," Will laughed.

"I really don't," Alex said. "Why don't you tell me?"

"The twins have two different dads," Will told Alex before bursting into laughter seeing his face.

"That's not true," Alex insisted.

"Oh but it is," Will insisted before pulling out his phone and searching for a picture of Johnny and Allie. "See?"

Alex looked over the boy and the girl. 'Cute,' he thought before handing the phone back to Will.

"It's still weird as fuck," Alex argued.

"Trust me," Will smiled, "I know."

Going back to looking through some books Will stated, "I'm looking for my youngest sister though. I want to give her something she'll read over and over. Maybe something that has longer stories, classics."

Reluctantly Alex broke away from Will to search for a book. Coming back with what he wanted Alex handed it over to Will.

"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh?" Will asked looking at Alex curiously.

"I grew up with my dad and my step-mom," Alex said not entirely sure why he was being so forthcoming. "But for the first two years or so I lived with my mom. I had a stuffed Pooh Bear and she'd read this to me every night. That's all I remember about her really."

Will took the book from Alex and looked it over. "Did you have your own copy after that?" Will wondered.

"No," Alex shook his head. "I asked a few times but never got it. Same with the bear."

"Well," Will handed the book back to Alex and took his arm again, "I guess Sydney isn't going to have that problem."

When Alex and Johnny came back with a few boxes of pizza the girls all knew exactly what gift they were getting Alex to show him how much they cared.

"Hey," Johnny said as he followed Alex into the car to get the pizza, "Who are you going to get to take pictures at the party, reception thing?"

"Hmm," Alex frowned, "I guess we haven't thought about it."

"Well, it won't be you," Johnny pointed out.

"Wedding photos aren't exactly my forte anyway," Alex joked.

"Do you have any friends that would do it?" Johnny wondered.

"Hmm," Alex thought it over. "I know some that would do it but I'm not sure if I'd want them there or would trust them to do it."

"You gonna pick a stranger?" Johnny doubt Alex would do that.

"No thanks," Alex said. "Maybe I'll teach you and let you do it."

"Really?" Johnny wasn't sure if he was excited or terrified. "What if they suck?"

"Then I'll blame you forever and let your mom punish you," Alex shrugged.

"That's just cruel and unusual," Johnny complained.

"Deal with it, bud," Alex said as he pulled into the parking lot of the pizza place. "Although how exactly do you know what kind of photos I take?"

"Uh," Johnny unbuckled quickly and opened the door, "Eavesdropping."

"Sure you little perv," Alex teased. "If you asked I would just give you a CD with some of the photos on them."

Johnny, cheeks blazing, mumbled, "Just the girls please."

"Your wish is my command," Alex put his arm over Johnny's shoulder and laughed.

Sunday, at their usual family dinner at Sami's house, Sami asked, "Have you thought about what we should eat at the reception?"

"Something easy, I guess," Will shrugged.

"You're so helpful," Sami complained. "OK, how about the type of vibe you want? You want it to be casual, right?"

"I'm thinking maybe like a classy house party or something," Alex decided. "Nothing too formal."

"Right," Will nodded, "I want everyone to feel welcomed I guess."

"OK," Sami nodded. "So maybe a lot of finger foods and we can find somewhere to order a big spread."

"Maybe barbeque or something?" Will suggested. "That's easy enough."

"That little place down the street from Ari's school does catering," Alex recalled. "It was pretty good when we tried it out."

Sami made a note in her phone to make a call.

"Now," Sami questioned, "Booze?"

"Yes," Alex said enthusiastically.

Sami looked at Will expectantly.

"Yeah," Will chuckled. "Maybe we could get a few different types of beer and some wine."

"Good," Sami nodded. "I'll look into finding a way to display it so it's not so tacky."

"Mom," Will told her honestly, "I'm really glad you're helping us."

"I'm just glad you're willing to let me help," Sami smiled sincerely. "And, um, I was actually thinking about something."

"That's dangerous," Alex quipped.

Ignoring him, Sami said, "We all know I've planned several weddings. The marriage part never really works out but I do think I have a knack for the planning part."

"You do," Will confirmed.

"I was a little inspired by you suddenly deciding to go after your own dream with your writing," Sami acknowledged. "So," Sami smiled a bit shyly, "I'm thinking of actually opening up my own wedding planning business."

"That's great," Will praised. "That is one-hundred percent what you should do."

"Exactly," Alex nodded. "You'd be pretty good at it too."

"I know I would," Sami replied. "But I was hoping you'd maybe let me claim this one as my first."

Ari, wandering into the kitchen to get a drink, put her hands on her hips, "Excuse you? I do believe I'm the one planning this wedding."

Sami gave Alex and Will a wide-eyed look, "With my consulting partner, of course."

"Alright, kid," Alex waved her over, "Wanna talk with us about the invitations?"

"Thanks for meeting with us," Will said to the lawyer he and Alex were meeting with.

"It's no problem," the woman replied as she sat down across from Will and Alex in the Starbucks they were meeting in.

"So," the woman said, pulling out her laptop to make notes, "You're looking to get some protection for living together."

"Yep," Alex answered. "What do you suggest?"

"Well," the woman listed everything off, "We need to get you set up for Power of Attorney for healthcare. A domestic partnership agreement to cover your basis. We need to put together a will. Probably Power of Attorney for financial arrangements."

"What exactly is all of that?" Will wondered curiously. He wanted to make sure he knew what they were getting into.

"The Power of Attorney for healthcare means you'll be able to make medical decisions for your partner," the woman explained. "The domestic partnership agreement is basically just a contract that says how you'll handle property, assets, what you'll do if the relationship ends. It's actually pretty important to protect both of you just in case."

"The will," the woman continued, "Is important because a lot of times inheritance laws penalize unmarried couples. So, unless you want the other to inherit nothing if something should happen you really need to get it all figured out."

"Lastly," the lawyer informed them, "The Power of Attorney for financial management lets your partner handle your finances and property if you aren't able to for some reason."

"Right," Alex said once she was done. "OK, let's do that then."

"What about anything for guardianship?" Will asked before they started anything.

"Well," the lawyer asked, "Do you have a custody agreement with the other parent?"

"It's complicated," Will told the lawyer. "I have full custody now since her mother is in jail."

The lawyer, not reacting at all, said, "I'm sorry but stepparents have no legal rights to their kids unless they adopt them."

"There's nothing?" Will demanded. "Not even something basic in case of an emergency."

"Some states can have some rights given to stepparents through Power of Attorney for specific instances and for a limited amount of time," she said sympathetically. "But that's the best you can get. And it's not even a guarantee that the state will recognize it."

"OK, I want to try that," Will told her.

Alex, flattered but not exactly as gung-ho as Will, said, "It's OK."

"I don't want anything to happen and you not able to make any decisions," Will informed him.

"You do know," the lawyer pointed out, "It would just be easier for the both of you to get married, right?"

Will and Alex both looked at her curiously.

"I'm just saying," she told them, "Minus the guardianship issue all your other problems would be solved."

"If we got married it wouldn't be for the right reasons," Alex said, "It would just be to get away from this," Alex gestured with his hand towards her.

"Plenty of people have gotten married for far worse reasons," she said. "Should we get started?"

"What?" Alex greeted into the phone on the way to meet everyone at a store downtown.

"You're having a party?" Justin asked dubiously.

"What?" Alex smirked, "You don't trust me to have a good time?"

"I'm just saying it's highly suspicious that you'd be throwing one," Justin replied.

"Technically," Alex informed his father, "It was Ari's idea."

"That I believe," Justin nodded. "But you going along with it? Not so much."

"Hey," Alex laughed openly, "Maybe I just want to spend time with my family, all of my family."

"Now I know you're lying," Justin stated.

"I spend time with my family every week," Alex insisted. "Just not you."

"Ouch," Justin said.

"Are you coming or what?" Alex demanded.

"Oh, we'll all be there," Justin informed him. "As far as I know."

"Really?" Alex mused.

"Of course," Justin answered. "Kate talked to Lucas and he and Adrienne are planning on going. Vic and Joey would never let the other see Ari without them."

"Sonny?" Alex wondered.

"We talked about it," Justin revealed. "But I think he's coming." Waiting a beat Justin said, "With Paul."

"Whatever," Alex decided.

"Hey," Justin remembered something, "Speaking of Paul," Justin tried not to laugh, "We're looking for a new photographer for our latest ad campa-"

"No," Alex practically shouted.

"What?" Justin finally started laughing, "Don't want to take pictures of Paul? He's usually shirtless. That's right up your alley."

"I can't think of anything I'd like to do less," Alex guaranteed.

"Well," Justin continued chortling, "Will slept with him and Sonny slept with him maybe-"

"I'm hanging up now," Alex said before pushing the end button, his father's laughter still ringing in his ear.

Alex stepped into the dress shop and immediately frowned in distaste.

"Can I help you?" an attractive female brunette asked Alex as soon as she spotted him.

Hearing several familiar, demanding tones, Alex shook his head, "Nope."

"Is that your future bride?" the woman asked in a flirtatious tone.

"No," Alex replied unable to shake the woman off his tail.

"I'm his future mother-in-law," Sami growled at the woman threateningly, "And he's marrying my son, so beat it."

Alex didn't even bother trying to hide his laughter.

"Will's in a dressing room with Ari," Sami explained. "She went a little crazy picking out dresses."

"How are the other girls going?" Alex questioned knowing Sydney and Allie weren't as obsessed.

"Good," Sami nodded. "Ari is all about the white and fluffy. The other girls are just picking normal dresses, thank god."

Will stuck his head out of the dressing room. His face lit up when he saw Alex, "Mom, switch me spots."

"What's up?" Alex wondered as Will came over and kissed him.

"She found one she wants," Will explained, "But she doesn't want you or me to see."

"I'm pretty sure you saw it," Alex pointed out,

"No," Will smiled, "She kicked me out as soon as I zipped it up."

"Guess we're going to have to wait a few more days for that," Alex slipped his hand into Will's back pocket.

"We've got just about everything figured out," Will said. "Except for one pretty important thing," Will put one hand on Alex's chest and wiggled his fingers.

"Well," Alex took Will's hand in his, "I'd say that we probably know a few someone's with some strong opinions about that."

"Just as long as we don't end up with ring pops," Will joked.

Later that night Will, Alex and Ari were all sitting on the couch looking over Ari's Hello Kitty binder again. As suspected she had a lot of ideas on rings.

"This one is pretty," Ari told them as she showed them a magazine clipping.

"Yes," Will agreed, "But let's remember these are for me and Alex not you."

"Fine," Ari sighed before tossing the picture to the floor. Grabbing another one Ari said, "These are the ugly boy rings."

"Why did you pick these ones?" Alex looked over a few she had picked out.

"These ones are the least ugly," Ari admitted. "Oh," she found another picture, "Allie explained this one to me."

"It has an explanation?" Will asked.

"Yeah," Ari nodded enthusiastically. "It's got a story. The leafy, vine-y things stand for something."

"You don't remember?" Alex smiled lightly, "Does it have a name?"

Will took the picture out of Ari's hands and looked closer. "It says Flores ring," Will told Alex.

Alex typed it into his phone and found an explanation, "It says a favorite in Celtic jewelry is the Flores ring. It contains a single vine representing one love, one life path and one shared destiny."

"See," Ari hopped up and down excitedly in her spot between them on the couch, "I like this one."

"It is pretty nice," Will agreed.

"Unique," Alex commented.

"So," Ari beamed, "That means you're gonna pick it, right?"

"I don't know," Alex said, "What if we don't want a ring at all?"

"You do," Ari informed them, "Because I said so. And," Ari pulled out a few more pictures from her binder, "If you wanted to get your favorite person in the entire world one of these," Ari smiled innocently, "She wouldn't complain."

"Go take a shower," Will ordered around a laugh.

"Just think about how I'll look extra beautiful," Ari giggled as she ran up the stairs.

"Damn it," Alex said as soon as she was out of sight, "We're gonna end up buying one of these, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah," Will nodded, "Now we just have to decide which one."

"By the way," Will told Alex, "Mom scheduled the cleaners to get started tomorrow."

"Why exactly do we need everything cleaned?" Alex wondered as he looked the pictures over.

"So it looks nice," Will rolled his eyes, "She also has them scheduled to come in after we leave."

"Good, the less I have to do the better," Alex said.

"And you still aren't telling me where we're going?" Will double checked.

"Nope," Alex gave Will a lewd smirk, "Just pack you and some sun screen."

Thanksgiving

"I've got everything covered for tomorrow," Sami told Will as he helped her wash the dishes after their large meal.

"I knew you would," Will told his mom as he handed her another plate. "You've been fantastic this whole time. Don't be mad," Will gave her a sad smile, "But I'm kind of shocked. You haven't done one selfish thing the whole time."

Sami bumped Will with her hip, "You're lucky you're kind of getting married tomorrow or I would smack you so hard."

"You haven't done that to me in a while either," Will teased.

"Yes, well," Sami tossed her hair over her shoulder, "You haven't done anything bad either."

"I guess we're both evolving," Will smiled. "But seriously, thank you."

"Of course," Sami told him. "Are you nervous?"

"No," Will shook his head. "Not at all. Is that weird?"

Sami pulled her hands out of the water, dried them off and put her hands on Will's shoulders, "I think that means you're doing the right thing."

"Can you finish these up?" Sami asked after Will gave her a hug.

"Sure," Will smiled.

Sami, grabbing two beers out of the fridge, headed over to the front room.

"Alex," Sami called, "Get your ass in here!"

"So," Alex sat next to Allie and Sydney on the couch. "I'm giving Johnny a camera so he can take pictures tomorrow. Will and I thought of something we need the two of you to do for us."

"What do you need us to do?" Allie questioned.

"Think you can memorize this by tomorrow?" Alex wondered as he handed each of them a sheet of paper with some phrases on it.

"Yes," Sydney excitedly guaranteed.

When Sami started screeching for him Alex told the girls, "That's what I thought you'd say."

Sami and Alex sat outside on the patio.

"Did you know," Sami started explaining to him after a few minutes of useless chitchat, "That every time I've gotten married I've always been just a little nervous."

"No," Alex answered before taking a sip of his beer.

"Well, I was," Sami said, "Each time. Every time. I've always had that little thing in the back of my mind that questioned if I was making the right decision."

"Is this going somewhere?" Alex knew it was but still felt like he needed to keep up his appearances.

"Yes," Sami stated pointedly, "The point is that Will isn't nervous, not even a little bit. Are you?"

Alex shrugged, "Not really. It's not like I'm doing anything I don't want to do. It's not even like I'm going to say anything I haven't already told Will or Ari."

"Good," Sami nodded. "I think that's important. Both of you are one hundred percent certain you're doing the right thing. I happen to agree with you."

"Really?" Alex glanced at her with a slight smirk.

"Of course," Sami insisted. "I know, more than I've ever known anything that tomorrow is exactly what the two of you need."

"Did you think this was gonna happen when you met me?" Alex asked.

"God no," Sami admitted. "First time I met you? Thought you were going to run out my front door and never look back."

"For a while there," Alex confessed. "I did too."

"But you wised up," Sami smiled. "And here you are. Off to kind of marry my son."

"I guess that kind of makes me your son too," Alex said quietly not even sure if he said it out loud or not.

Sami gave Alex a sincere smile before standing up, "Come here."

Alex rolled his eyes before letting her hug him tightly.

"I think at this point you are more than kind of my son," Sami told him.

"This just going to make it official?" Alex questioned wrapping his arms around Sami.

"It was official a long time ago," Sami informed him. "Now? Now is just a bonus."

"Thanks," Alex smiled before resting his cheek on the top of Sami's head.

"I love you," Sami said decisively. "And I know you love me too so you don't have to say it back."

"Good," Alex whispered. He knew he loved Sami, felt closer to her than he had with any other maternal figure he had in his life. But he still wasn't quite stable enough to tell her yet.

"Now," Sami pulled away from the hug, "I'm taking Ari for the night so don't screw anything up before tomorrow, got it?"

"I'll do my best," Alex promised.

"Night before the big day and we spent it with my mom and some kids stuffing ourselves," Will said as he collapsed backwards on the bed.

"Sounds about right," Alex sighed as he lied down next to Will.

"Not disappointed?" Will wondered.

"Nope," Alex declared. "It's nice being around a group of people that want me around all the time."

"You love us and you know it," Will smiled as he rolled over onto his stomach.

Dragging Will against him Alex agreed, "Yeah, I really do."

"Good," Will ran his fingers through Alex's hair gently. "I love you too."

Day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday

Commitment Ceremony

"Will, Alex," Sami yelled as she came into the house, several bags of dry cleaning over her arm. "You better be dressed. We've got one hour."

"We'll be right there," Will called down.

"OK," Sami threw their clothes on the couch. "Alright, let's get all the last minute things set up so once the ceremony is over everything can be ready."

"Is everyone really coming?" Allie asked.

"That's what they said," Sami responded. "Now we've got absolutely no time to talk."

"We would have been here earlier but someone," Sydney gave Ari a dark glance, "Took forever at the beauty salon."

"She didn't get my hair right," Ari defended as she helped get everything ready.

"That's because you wouldn't stop moving," Sami explained. "Quit freaking out."

"I'm too excited," Ari said as she started wiggling around. "Is it time yet?"

"No," everyone said at once having heard this question too many times over the past day.

Will and Alex called out for Ari to come into their bedroom minutes before the ceremony was going to begin.

They heard Ari before they saw her.

Ari, wearing a white dress of tulle and lace so fluffy she could barely walk in it, slowly came into the room.

Will smiled widely seeing his daughter looking so beautiful.

"Do you like it?" Ari lifted the edges of the dress up and turned her cheek close to her shoulder.

"You are the prettiest little girl in the entire world," Alex promised as he took her hand and spun her around once.

"Really?" Ari looked at her daddy for confirmation.

"Yes," Will grinned, "Oh my goodness, baby girl. You are gorgeous."

"The only thing that would make you look any better," Alex said as he walked over to their dresser and picked up a long black jewelry box, "Would be this."

"Gimme, gimme, gimme," Ari made grabby hands.

Will and Alex leaned against each other as they watched her mouth drop open.

Gasping loudly, Ari stared at the necklace, "It's like the one I wanted."

"Almost," Will agreed as he picked it out of the box and put it around her neck. "We figured since you love stories so much we would get you one that had a good one."

"What's the story?" Ari asked eagerly as she moved to stand in front of the mirror and gently touched her necklace.

The necklace was a delicate silver chain with a large ethereal gemstone. Will and Alex purposely picked something that would grow with Ari.

Alex cleared his throat as he explained, "It's called a moonstone. It's believed to have fallen from the sky. Apparently," Alex put his hand on Ari's shoulders, "If two people see the stone during a full moon they'll fall in love."

"Also," Will told her as she focused entirely on him and Alex, "A lot of people say if you wear the stone you'll feel healthier and happier."

In an awed voice Ari said, "I think it's working."

"Oh yeah?" Alex mused. "That fast?"

"Yeah," Ari nodded, the braids and bun pinned to the top of her head almost falling down.

"Now," Will took Ari's hand, "Are we ready to go?"

Ari nodded enthusiastically, "You two look nice too. Not as nice as me," Ari smiled widely taking in her daddy and Alex in their freshly pressed dress pants and colored shirts, "But still good."

"How generous of you," Alex laughed as he took Ari's other hand.

The three made their way down the stairs, through the meticulously cleaned home and outside where the sun was setting.

There were white lights wrapped around all the trees and strung between them. The pool had candles floating around inside of it. Sami, Allie, Sydney and Johnny were all standing between two trees with an arch in between them waiting for the three of them. Instead of an aisle there were a few old-fashioned wooden buckets with flowers in them guiding the way towards the arch.

Will and Alex, holding Ari's hand the entire time, made their way to the arch and turned to face Allie and Sydney who were holding their sheets of paper.

Sami, beaming and feeling teary eyed, kept her eyes rotating between all of her children. Johnny snapped away with the heavy duty camera Alex gave him to use.

Having practiced a little bit during Thanksgiving yesterday, everyone knew what to do.

Allie cleared her voice and began, "Love is the greatest thing that we can give to one another for love is a wondrous gift; no other can take its place, but it can take the place of all the rest. When two people entrust one another with their innermost feelings, their hearts, their lives, the bond between them strengthens and surrounds them until each becomes a part of the other. This closeness cannot be measured by time, words or circumstances. It is a wholeness of the soul, a silence and the highest form of intimacy."

Taking a deep breath she continued, "We are here today because love gathers us and especially because love has found Will and Alex and woven them together. We are gathered to remember and rejoice to recount with one another, that it is love, always love, that leads us to our true destination and to celebrate that Will and Alex have finally arrived."

Allie finished with, "This is the Commitment Ceremony of Will and Alex. We are here to listen, with love in our hearts, and to share with them, their celebration of love."

Will and Alex stared at each other the entire time, squeezing Ari's hands.

Sydney, smiling shyly, said, "To love is to remember and keep alive forever all those unique qualities that drew you to one another in the beginning. Those fist halting phrases, the thrill of discovery. That wonderful feeling of oneness when your eyes met."

Continuing on, Sydney added, "To love is to constantly search for new ways to bring each other to happiness, to make the most of every moment you share together and marvel at how your feelings for one another keep rising to new dimensions."

"To love is to create an oasis of tranquility for one another and a quiet place, apart from others, where you need not pretend, where you can be yourselves and know within your hearts, you will be accepted by one another," Sydney looked at her brother and Alex brightly.

"To love is to greet each day with anticipation, always eager for another opportunity to share new adventures and gather up new memories together. To love is to follow the rainbow through the rain, to be able to laugh at yourselves and be willing to say, 'I was wrong, I'm sorry.' To forgive, and more importantly to forget, and to always believe and trust in one another," Sydney continued.

"To love is to watch with wonder all the miracles of creation, to find beauty in all the simple things of life and to find, within ourselves, a deeper appreciation and a new awareness of how wonderful it is to be alive. To be happy, to be together," Sydney beamed.

"To love is to come together from the pathways of our past and then move forward. Hand in hand, along the uncharted roads of our future, ready to risk, to dream and to dare. And always people that all things are possible with faith and love," Sydney finished finally.

Alex, knowing his part was up, took a deep breath and desperately hoped that his vows weren't stupid. He had thought long and hard about everything Will would want to hear, "Today I give you my hand so that you will never be alone. I give you my laughter so that your happiness may always be my happiness. I give you my friendship to support and encourage you. I give you my heart for it belongs to you."

Will blinked away tears and smiled. He could see that Ari and his mom were losing that battle themselves.

Clearing his throat Will said, "I promise to give you the best of myself and to ask of you no more than you can give. I promise to respect you as your own person and to realize that your interests, desires and needs are no less important than my own. I promise to share with you my time and my attention to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship."

Alex kept his eyes locked on Will but couldn't keep the smile off his lips.

Sami, wearing both of their rings on her thumb, wiped her face with her hands and took the rings off.

Holding up the rings Sami said, trying to keep the tears out of her voice, "These rings are seamless circles of joy, symbolizing the love that lives deep within this couple's heart and soul. A sign of their willingness to share life's journey with each other and the seamless circle of joy that surrounds them both."

Sami turned to face Alex and said, "Alexander, you will give this ring to William, as a symbol that love lives deep within your heart and soul, that you are bound to him always, with your love, soul and heart."

Alex took the ring from Sami and told Will, "Will, accept this ring as a symbol of the promises we have made to each other today. It is a token of my love that lives deep within my heart. As I choose to share my life's journey with you, I pledge to you the joy of all my days. With this ring I commit to you my love, soul and heart."

Alex slipped the ring on Will's finger and gently caressed the ring afterwards.

Sami faced Will to repeat, "William, you will give this ring to Alexander, as a symbol that love lives deep within your heart and soul, that you are bound to him always, with your love, soul and heart."

Will took the ring and promised, "Alex, accept this ring as a symbol of the promises we have made to each other today. It is a token of my love that lives deep within my heart. As I choose to share my life's journey with you, I pledge to you the joy of all my days. With this ring I commit to you my love, soul and heart."

Will slowly pushed the ring on Alex's finger.

Ari, jumping up and down while still holding onto their hands, practically squealed.

Sami felt tears sliding down her face again. Allie and Sydney weren't even trying to hold back their sniffles. Johnny, meanwhile, was glad the camera was in front of his face.

Sami, clearing her throat, said, "Will and Alex, may God bless and keep you, may the sun of many days and years shine upon you, may the love you have for one another grow and hold you close."

Sydney, quietly crying stated, "May the good true light within you guide your way together. May your dreams come true and when they don't may new dreams arise."

Allie, linking arms with her mother and sister, completed everything with, "And long, long years from now, may you look at one another and be able to say, 'Because of you I have become the person I longed to be.'"

Alex slowly licked his lips as he heaved a deep breath and exhaled slowly feeling everything wash over him.

"Now," Johnny said, pointing the camera yet trying not to look, "Just kiss already."

Finally letting go of Ari's hands Will practically threw himself into Alex's arms and kissed as if no one was watching him.

Taking a few minutes to be alone in their room, Will and Alex sat with their foreheads pressed together.

"I love you," Will murmured, eyes shut.

"I love you," Alex said clearly. "I love you so much."

"Everyone's going to be here soon," Will replied. "And we won't get to be alone for a while."

"Doesn't matter," Alex responded. "This moment, earlier and right now, this was entirely for us."

"Everything else is for them," Will nodded before kissing Alex slowly.

The guests started arriving in small increments. The first were Will's friends from California. Next came Alex's friends. Lastly, were the citizens from Salem.

"Wow," Joey whistled as he stepped into the backyard. "This is a much fancier party than I was expecting."

"Agreed," Vic nodded. "The food I get but a dance floor?"

"It's a party," Sami said as she walked over to them. "What's a little party without dancing?"

"Hello, gentlemen," Sami greeted, smile never leaving her face. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Vic was a bit surprised when she pulled him into a hug.

"Wow," Joey blinked at Sami several times, "That's some dress."

"Right?" Sami nodded before walking off.

"Sami," Kate called out as soon as she walked outside with Justin on her arm, "Oh, my. This place cleans up well."

"It certainly does," Justin agreed suspiciously. "What's the occasion?"

"Ari wanted a big party," Sami shrugged. It was practically killing her having a secret this huge and not being able to talk about it yet.

"Speaking of our little princess," Kate said, "Where is she? And my other little angels?"

"They're all outside somewhere," Sami informed them, "Ari will be the one that looks like a marshmallow."

"Where's Alex and Will?" Justin called to Sami as she walked inside.

"They'll be out soon," Sami waved her hand dismissively. 'I've got some people I need to ambush before they get inside.'

The second Lucas opened the door to Will's house he knew he was in for a big night. 'Nothing good can happen to me when the first thing I see is that look on Sami Brady's face.'

"Sami," Lucas sighed deeply before pushing the door further open and allowing Adrienne, Sonny and Paul inside.

"Lucas," Sami nodded politely keeping an eye on Sonny's face.

Sonny didn't know what he was expecting to see when they arrived but it wasn't exactly this. He still had a hard time imagining his brother living in a house of his own. He definitely couldn't picture Will or Ari being there too.

If he tried to picture it at all he could only see Will and Ari in Salem and Alex off on his own, alone.

'But,' Sonny thought as he took in the house, 'Here's the proof they're all together.'

"I just want to make one thing clear," Sami said loudly enough for them all to hear. "If any of you do anything to piss off anyone I will not hesitate to kick your butts out of here."

Paul, having never met Will's mother before, found himself oddly intimidated.

Adrienne opened her mouth to say something defensive when Lucas put his hand on her arm in warning.

"No one is going to do anything to anyone," Lucas assured her.

Will and Alex, both heading down the stairs with their hands linked, paused to eavesdrop on what was happening.

"I hope not," Sami uncrossed her arms, "Don't mess with me today."

"Is there any day someone should do that?" Alex questioned loudly as they finished down the stairs.

"No," Sami acknowledged before turning to smile at Will and Alex again. "Food got here while you were upstairs."

"Good," Will nodded at his mom. He really did appreciate all the hard work she put into this day.

Finally acknowledging everyone else in the room Will said, "Hey, glad you guys could make it."

Everything was tense and awkward until Will lifted his free hand and gestured towards the backyard, "Shall we?"

Alex pulled Will outside, their arms and legs brushing together, not wanting to let Will go.

Sonny watched the way Alex was looking at Will. Even when Alex was talking to Sami he kept his eyes on Will.

'I've never seen them stand that closely to each other,' Sonny realized. He didn't know why but something seemed off about them.

When Will lifted his hand to wave everyone outside Sonny instantly saw something glinting off his finger.

'His ring finger,' Sonny noticed. Sonny stopped before he could get outside. The backyard looked gorgeous. Sonny could hear Ari's carefree, happy laughter.

Paul put his hand on Sonny's lower back and pushed him outside. He understood that everything was still weird for Sonny and he had tried to be accepting of that.

Sonny followed Will and Alex as they walked over to Joey and Vic.

"Hey," Will said to Joey and Vic. Looking over at his friend Brittany dancing around with Ari, Will smiled, "I think there's someone that wants to meet you."

Will tried to walk off by himself but Alex refused to let go of his hand, so he trailed after Will.

"Brittany," Will called out having her come over. He laughed as Ari twirled herself around and around on the dance floor.

"Brit," Will said, "This is Joey and his brother Vic. The one I was telling you about."

Brittany flirtatious tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled enticingly, "Hello, boys."

Joey grinned, 'I might finally get my own hot blonde.'

Vic looked Brittany up and down, 'Hello, beautiful.'

Sonny, watching as Alex's left hand stretched for a few seconds as Will pulled him along, saw a matching ring on Alex's finger. Sonny knew. He knew what Alex and Will must have done.

Staring around at the backyard, the food, the people, Sonny knew.

"You OK?" Paul asked as he pulled Sonny slightly to the side.

"I, um, I," Sonny shook his head, "Look at their rings."

"Rings?" Paul shook his head, "Who are you talking about?"

Sonny pointed over towards Will and Alex, "Rings."

Paul squinted his eyes and finally saw them. Two identical rings on Will and Alex's ring fingers.

"Oh," Paul nodded. "I see."

Paul didn't want to admit it right away but he felt like pulling Sonny onto that dance floor and forgetting every care.

'Will is officially, completely with Alex,' Paul couldn't stop grinning. 'This is the best thing I've heard since Will came back in our lives.'

Paul knew that his reasons for being happy were a bit selfish but he couldn't help it. For so long Paul was so confident that he was all Sonny was ever going to need. But the second Will came back into their lives Paul had doubted that, doubted himself.

'But here Will is,' Paul shook his head, face split open in a smile. 'He's never going to come between my relationship again.'

"Should we say something?" Paul finally asked Sonny.

"I-I don't know," Sonny swallowed. "Um, can we go get a drink first?"

His throat was unbelievable dry all of a sudden.

Paul and Sonny headed over to a beverage station that was set up so the children couldn't reach anything alcoholic.

Johnny, moving around the party, snapping a picture of everyone he saw, frowned when he saw Sonny Kiriakis in his viewfinder. A part of him wanted to turn away but a strong, loud voice demanded he confront him. A voice that annoyingly sounded like Alex.

"You," Johnny said as soon as he was within earshot. "What are you doing here?"

Sonny looked over Johnny, eyes widening comically. 'Oh my god, when did he get this tall?'

"Alex and Will invited us," Sonny explained carefully, unsure as to what was going to happen.

Johnny, wishing his mother hadn't confiscated his ketchup-filled toy gun, moved in real close and prodded Sonny in the stomach with his finger, "I'm watching you. Always watching."

Lifting up his camera Johnny snapped a picture of Sonny's confused face. Johnny turned on his heel and walked away. He passed Will and Alex on his way and held out his fist for Alex to pound as he nodded knowingly at him.

"What was that?" Paul asked staring at the kid walking away from them.

"That would be my brother," Will answered as he and Alex moved to get some drinks.

Alex, having watched from afar, commented, "He's protective. If he asks you to follow him somewhere I wouldn't do it."

"He's not that bad," Will laughed.

Will thought it might be exceedingly awkward and uncomfortable to have Sonny and Paul at his home but it wasn't.

'Maybe it's because I literally don't care about anything right now,' Will thought dreamily as Alex still held his hand firmly. 'All I care about tonight is spending the evening with my family.'

Sonny nodded, "Johnny is, um, really big now."

"Yeah," Will beamed, "He is. He really likes that camera too."

"Good thing that's his present then," Alex replied wanting to do something schmoopy and kiss Will's nose.

'Pull yourself together,' Alex ordered.

Sonny stared between Will and Alex. He could almost literally see a difference in them. Alex had always looked at Will like he was the only thing he could see but this was different. Now it was like Will was something precious to Alex, something that needed to be held and worshipped.

'And Will?' Sonny thought. 'Will's looking at Alex like he has every answer written on his face. God,' Sonny knew it had to be true. 'They got married. I know they did.'

Sonny didn't know how he felt about it all. A part of him was horrified. Despite the way it turned out for him, he thought of his marriage as something sacred. He thought that was always going to be something that was just for him and Will.

'But that's so selfish,' Sonny knew. While he was backpacking on his trip, with only his thoughts for company, Sonny realized many things. One of those things was that he had to let Will go.

'Will was mine for a time. We both lost our way and made mistakes. If I ever wanted a chance with him again I should have chased after him. But I didn't and there has to be a reason.'

Sonny closed his eyes tightly, 'Now it doesn't matter. Will is happy. He's found someone that can understand him in a way that I can't. Someone that can love him in a way I can't. And so have I.'

'Maybe things could have turned out different,' Sonny opened his eyes and saw Will beaming at Alex, 'But I think we're exactly where we need to be.'

Clearing his throat, Sonny quietly gestured to both of their left hands, "I guess now the party makes sense."

"Hmm?" Will wondered as he finally tore his eyes away from Alex.

Sonny looked pointed at their rings and back up at them, "Well?"

"Well, what?" Justin asked as he and Kate walked over.

Ari, taking a break from dancing, swished over and jumped into her grandpa's arms, "I missed you!"

Justin easily caught Ari, even with the extra bulk from the dress, "I missed you too. Don't you look like a little princess?"

"I am a princess," Ari nodded, giving Kate a hug as well before wiggling her way over to her daddy and Alex.

"Now, what exactly were you all taking about?" Justin questioned. He desperately hoped that everyone was going to get along at this party.

Leaning against Alex's stomach, Ari smiled angelically and played with her necklace, "Probably that Daddy and Alex are going to be together with me forever."

"Is that so?" Kate mused looking at Will quizzically.

Adrienne and Lucas, seeing a group forming, headed over as well. Lucas moved Adrienne over so she wasn't near Sami who was joining everyone too.

"Yeah," Ari nodded enthusiastically, "There were rings and promises and we all cried a lot and lots of kissing and Alex didn't even touch Daddy's butt once!"

Adrienne choked on the appetizer in her mouth.

"Excuse me?" Justin clarified. 'There is no way in hell,' Justin caught sight of the rings.

Alex shrugged, "Come to your own conclusions."

"Did you marry my grandson and not even invite me?" Kate demanded as she angrily put her hands on her hips.

"Not exactly," Alex answered as he squeezed Will's hand.

Lucas, patting Adrienne on the back, caught Will's eyes and nodded. He knew he had been a lousy father to Will for a long time. Things had slowly been getting better between them.

'But not good enough,' Lucas knew. Seeing how happy Will and Ari looked Lucas decided he didn't care.

'Whatever makes them happy,' Lucas promised himself. 'As long as they're happy.'

Joey, stomping over, "Wait, wait, wait. Who got married without me?"

"No one," Will laughed. "Not really anyway."

"How do you not really get married?" Vic asked casually walking up with Will's friend Brittany following behind him.

Ari, jumping up and down excitedly, said, "It's better than getting married! It's just for them and me. And I got to plan almost everything. Do you want to see my binder? I'll get it."

Ari skipped off to her room.

"So?" Justin looked at Alex expectantly.

"So," Alex said, "We did our own thing."

Sami went to stand next to Alex and put her hand on his back, "So, they had an extremely beautiful commitment ceremony."

"You were there?" Adrienne couldn't stop herself from asking.

Allie, Sydney and Johnny with his camera came to join the group. "We all were there," Sydney explained.

"We had speeches," Allie told everyone.

"I took pictures," Johnny informed them all.

"And I gave them their rings," Sami smugly told Adrienne.

Alex, seeing Adrienne and Sami staring each other down, couldn't stop himself from putting his arm around Sami's waist.

"And why the hell wasn't I there?" Joey cried out. "I can take pictures and give speeches." Looking indignant Joey turned to Alex accusingly, "Why did Will's siblings get to go and I didn't?"

"Because they aren't annoying like you are," Alex told him. "And because we only wanted the people that were there for us in the beginning."

Everyone else in the group started shuffling their feet and staring at the ground.

"We decided," Alex explained further, "To only invite the people that have supported us the entire time we've been together."

"But," Will tried to lighten the mood, "We wanted the rest of you here to help us celebrate."

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," Kate praised before walking over to Will and hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Grandma," Will whispered.

"Son," Justin stuck out his hand, "I don't think I've ever been prouder of you."

"Thank you," Alex responded before ignoring the outstretched hand and pulling his father into a hug.

Kate shoved Justin aside so she could hug Alex as well.

Justin, cautiously hugging Will, told him quietly, "Thank you for making him so happy."

"Thanks for not giving up on him," Will replied.

Lucas walked over to Will, "I'm really happy for you, son."

"Thank you," Will nodded before rolling his eyes and hugging his father.

Alex looked up, assuming Adrienne was following Lucas, only to see her slinking off into the house.

"So," Will whispered to Joey as he got a big hug, "How do you like Brittany?"

"She seems nice," Joey responded. "A little slow but nice."

Will smacked Joey on the stomach, "Behave."

Vic hugged Alex on patted him on the back, "Congrats. I know how happy you must be feeling right now."

Alex exhaled slowly, "You have no idea."

Once Will and Alex had a moment alone Johnny, Allie, Sydney, Sami and Ari all called the two of them inside.

"What's this about?" Alex demanded not trusting that look in all of their eyes. 'Crazy Brady eyes,' Alex decided.

"We have something for you," Allie told him as they handed over a fancy looking bag for him.

"Oh," Alex was surprised, "Huh. Well, Will and I have stuff for you guys too."

Will, walking over to the front closet, got their presents out.

The girls were too excited and ripped into their boxes right away. They each got earrings that matched Ari's necklace along with a note telling them how much they loved them.

Johnny was very enthusiastic about getting to keep the camera he had been using.

Will and Alex wanted to wait until they were alone for Sami to get her gift.

"This is for you," Ari handed her daddy a small package.

Alex nodded at Will indicating he should open his present first.

"OK," Will pulled off the lid and lifted his eyebrows in surprise, "Wow, it's beautiful."

"It was actually Johnny's idea," Sami explained as Will picked up a leather bound book with Will's name on it. "We took all of your articles, blogs, even some poems and essays I had saved when you were in school and had them printed in a book."

"It's your first one," Johnny informed Will. "But not your last."

"This is great," Will started leafing through the pages. "I love it."

After hugging everyone tightly Will moved back over to Alex. He couldn't wait to see his reaction.

Alex, feeling slightly unsettles with everyone staring at him, opened his surprisingly heavy gift.

"Oh," he whispered as he pulled out a copy of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and a small stuffed Pooh bear. He almost couldn't even believe that Will remembered this.

"Look on the inside," Sami ordered feeling her eyes tear up again watching Alex. 'Good thing I brought waterproof mascara.'

Inside Sami had written the date and a quote from one of the stories, "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and loved more than you'll ever know."

Every one of them signed their name underneath the quote.

Alex stared at the inscription while he squeezed the stuffed bear in one hand trying his best not to cry. As soon as everyone saw him take a deep breath they all came in close and threw their arms around him in a deep hug.

"Why do you people always try to make me cry?" Alex complained.

"Because we love you," Sydney giggled, "And it's funny."

They all stayed huddled together closely until the door behind them opened.

"This looks like a family hug I should be a part of," a voice came from the front door.

"Uncle Chad," Allie squealed as she finally saw him.

"Hey," Chad greeted as he was bombarded with children as they all broke away from the hug.

"Mine," Ari declared as she practically climbed on him until she was in his arms.

"Sorry, babe," Chad laughed, "You have to share me."

"That's a terrible idea," Ari declared.

"So," Chad chuckled while looking at Will and Alex and giving a nod of his head to Sami, "I'm guessing this isn't exactly a party, party?"

"Uh no," Will replied as he wiggled his hand around.

"Damn," Chad grinned. "Look at you. Any name changes happening in the future?"

"No," Will shook his head. "It was just for us and her," Will smiled at Ari.

"Daddy and Alex are going to be with me forever," Ari assured Uncle Chad. "There were vows."

"Oh, good," Chad smiled, "I'm glad to hear that."

"Come on," Johnny grabbed Chad's hand, "You have to see."

Before they knew it all the kids were dragging and pulling Chad away.

Alex was glad everyone left. He hated having big emotional scenes in front of too many people.

"So," Sami bumped her hip with Alex's, "Did you like it?"

"Shut up," Alex complained, "You know I did."

"Well it's true," Sami laughed. "Every single word."

Alex ignored Sami as Will handed over her gift.

Sami, not even bothering to pretend to have any patience, ripped right into the box and smiled when she saw it was jewelry.

Inside was a necklace with a glass see-through locket with little diamond studs around it. The back of the locket had the word Mom written in cursive. Inside of the locket were tiny little gemstone charms symbolizing everyone's birth stone including one for Ari and one for Alex.

"I hate you both," Sami promised before pulling them both into a hug.

"Aw," Will laughed, "We love you too, Mom."

"I know you do," Sami stated, "Obviously."

"Obviously," Alex repeated.

"Daddy," Ari screamed from outside. "Come here!"

Will pulled away from Alex and his mom and said, "I'll be back. Why don't you put these upstairs?"

"OK," Alex nodded before kissing Will and watching him walk away.

"You're so cute and sappy," Sami cooed. "I love it."

"Shut it, woman," Alex urged as he started going upstairs with Sami following behind him.

Alex pushed the door to his bedroom open and frowned when he saw someone inside of it, "What are you doing in here?"

"I was, um," Adrienne slowly put down Alex's planner that she had found, "Just looking."

"Snooping would be a better word," Sami stated following Alex inside.

"Yes," Adrienne admitted sadly.

As soon as everyone started going towards Alex and Will, Adrienne slipped away inside. She couldn't stand to be around everyone.

'My son practically got married and I didn't know. I wasn't there,' Adrienne thought. She had been trying to make everything right with Alex but it wasn't working the way she wanted it to.

'No matter what I do,' Adrienne knew, 'It's not enough. No matter how I treat Alex he still won't open up.'

Looking around the house Adrienne took note of every picture hanging on their walls. Even though she had been here before she had never taken the time to really and truly look.

'There's not a single picture of me,' Adrienne realized. She found one of all four brothers together but not a single one of her.

'Why won't Alex let me in? What do I have to do?' Adrienne wondered.

She was moving up the stairs when she heard Sami, her kids and Alex come inside. From the staircase Adrienne watched as the children and Sami Brady enveloped her son into a hug. She watched as Alex tried to fight back tears over some stupid gift that Adrienne didn't even understand.

'How is he so close to them but it's like pulling teeth to get him to acknowledge me?' Adrienne moved further up the stairs when she saw Sami opening a present and dragging Alex and Will against her. 'Why is she so different to him than me?'

Adrienne found her way into Alex and Will's room. The place looked like them so much it almost hurt. Before she knew what she was doing Adrienne was going through their things. Looking at their pictures and whatever was on top of the dressers.

Adrienne found a planner lying on a bedside drawer. She picked it up and began to look it over, realizing it was Alex's.

Over today's date was a big heart. She saw names and appointment times written.

'Oh god,' Adrienne felt something inside of her catch. Every single week Alex had the same thing written down for Wednesday, "Lunch with Sami 12:30."

'Oh my god,' Adrienne closed the book with a snap.

When Alex and Sami found her Adrienne didn't even bother to pretend she wasn't spying.

"Why are you in here?" Alex asked again as he gently placed his and Will's presents on the bed.

Alex and Adrienne had slowly been working on their relationship. Alex knew things weren't going as fast as Adrienne anticipated but there was almost 30 years of damage to repair.

'And she still won't try to get closer to Will,' Alex reminded himself. 'Even fucking Lucas has tried to get to know me but Adrienne doesn't try with Will at all. All she cares about is being close to Ari.'

'It feels like all she wants is the perfect family image without the perfect family,' Alex decided.

"I just wanted to get to know you better," Adrienne whispered teary eyed.

Sami was unimpressed. "And you thought the way to do that was to sneak into his room and look at his stuff?" Sami huffed.

Adrienne, inexplicably angry all of a sudden, faced Sami, "Shut up."

"No," Sami argued. "You are not barging into this house, today of all days, and throwing a pity party!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Sami," Adrienne insisted. "You have no idea what I'm feeling."

"Oh, I have no idea?" Sami mocked. "I have no idea what it's like to have a child you don't even recognize anymore? A child that you've spent so many years trying your best and still failing? I don't know about that?"

"Sami," Alex wasn't sure if he should stop this or not. 'Uh,' Alex looked back and forth between them just in case he needed to break up a cat fight.

"Don't," Sami ordered, keeping her eyes locked on Adrienne. "I know everything there is to know about that. I know better than anyone. And you want to know how I fixed it? How I'm so close to Will and Alex? Because I fucking tried."

Adrienne didn't know what to say to that.

"I listened to Will," Sami ranted heatedly. "I let him talk and I didn't judge him or ridicule him. I listened. And he let me. He came to me. And the same thing happened with Alex. I took the time to get to know him. Him! Not what I wanted out of him, him."

"If you want a relationship with my sons," Sami hissed, "Then stop whining and do something about it! They are a package deal. You want one, you get both of them."

Sami turned on her heels and went to storm out of the room. When she reached the doorway she turned and looked back over her shoulder, "If you do anything to upset either of them as god as my witness I will end you."

Alex watched Sami walk away and nodded proudly. 'Damn,' he thought, 'That was good.'

"She's right, you know," Alex told Adrienne. "You can't just expect things to get better overnight. And I might actually be willing to give you more if you realized that my life is Will and Ari."

With that Alex turned around and left the room too. He figured Adrienne might need a moment alone.

"How is it going with Joey?" Will asked Brittany as she was getting something to drink.

"So good," Brittany gushed. "He's so cute and charming. I swear I haven't had someone this interesting actually interested in getting to know me in such a long time."

"Oh," Brittany saw him waving at her, "I better get back."

Will's eyebrows knitted together, 'What? That doesn't sound like…' Will watched as Brittany walked over to someone. 'Wait,' Will looked over to where Ari was standing on someone's shoes and dancing around.

'Oh my god,' Will's eyes opened widely, 'Brittany is with Vic, not Joey.'

Before Will could decide what to do Alex came up to him again.

"Your mom just verbally eviscerated Adrienne," Alex informed him. "It was the second greatest part of my night."

"Second?" Will wondered turning to face Alex.

"Maybe the third," Alex admitted with a small smile. Taking Will's hand Alex guided him over to the dance floor.

Will wrapped his arms around Alex's neck, "Is that so?"

Alex nodded. He heard the music suddenly change to a slow song. The song that he and Will had chosen as their official song.

Will moved closer to Alex and rested his head on Alex's shoulder.

Alex could hear Will humming along to the song and softly sang under his breath, "Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be. Take my hand, take my whole life too for I can't help falling in love with you."

Will and Alex danced by themselves for a few songs. They danced with Ari for several as well. They took turns with Will's sisters.

When Alex saw Sami lingering near the dancefloor talking to some people Alex waltzed over and dragged her into a dance.

Will beamed as he saw his mom and Alex dancing and talking to one another.

Before Will knew it he was being swept into a dance with one of the last people he would have expected.

"Oh," Will gave a surprised smile, "Paul."

"Hi," Paul said as he kept a safe distance between his body and Will's. "You look really happy."

"I am happy," Will responded easily.

"It's a good look on you," Paul told him. "I just wanted to say I'm glad that you're so happy now."

"I'm glad too," Will nodded. "I hope you get to be this happy too."

"Yeah, me too," Paul agreed. The two danced quietly for a few moments, "Did you ever think when we first met this would happen?"

"Dancing with you at my almost-wedding to Sonny's brother while you were dating Sonny?" Will clarified. "No, never in a million years did it cross my mind."

"Me either," Paul admitted. "Well, I thought about some parts."

"I bet you did," Will teased. He didn't know why it felt so easy to talk to Paul now but it did.

'I guess I really have let go of everything from the past,' Will praised himself.

"Mind if I cut in?" Sonny asked.

Will moved aside assuming he wanted to dance with Paul. Therefore, he was surprised when Sonny took his hand and started to dance.

"I'm really sorry I was such an asshole to you the past few months," Sonny revealed. It felt familiar dancing with Will and yet completely different at the same time.

"I wasn't exactly the nicest to you before I left," Will said with a shrug.

"You and Alex didn't deserve it," Sonny assured Will. "And Ari didn't deserve what I did to her either."

"No, she didn't," Will agreed. "But she's getting better, now."

"And today helped?" Sonny wanted to know.

"Yeah," Will nodded. "Today was just as much for Alex and me as it was for Ari. She wanted the reassurances that Alex and I were as committed to her as we were to each other."

"I'm glad," Sonny said. "I don't want to be the reason she can't move on from the past. I'm so sorry for everything that happened."

"It's a process," Will stated. "But thank you for saying that."

Ari, watching her daddy dance with the boys she didn't like, stomped away from Joey and tapped his brother on the hip, "Excuse me?"

Will and Sonny both stopped moving to see Ari glaring.

"My turn," Ari shoved Sonny aside. "Get lost."

Sonny smiled slightly. That was, surprisingly, a better greeting than he was anticipating.

"Having fun, baby girl?" Will asked as he lifted her and her monstrous dress into his arms.

"The best," Ari nodded as she hugged Will close. "This is the best day ever. Thank you, Daddy."

"Anything for you," Will promised.

"Hey," Chad said as he came over to Will and Ari. Dancing with the two of them both he said, "Congrats on everything."

"Thank you," Ari replied. "It took a lot of hard work but it was worth it."

Will tried not to laugh, "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," Chad nodded. "I'm just glad to be invited."

Chad nervously scratched the back of his neck, "Actually there's something I need to tell you guys and I'm not really sure how."

"What is it-," Will asked before getting cut off by his mom's loud yells. 'Oh god,' Will thought.

Sami and Alex danced together for several songs.

"Feeling any last minute regrets?" Sami wondered already knowing the answer.

"Nope," Alex said decisively. "I know I made the right choice."

"That's right you did," Sami agreed.

Alex laughed loudly when he saw Ari kicked Sonny to the curb.

"I'm surprised either of you let that even happen," Sami sighed.

Alex shrugged, "Will can take care of himself. Besides it's a little hard to feel jealous or resentful tonight."

"You shouldn't feel any of that anyway," Sami rubbed Alex's shoulders. "He loves you completely. They both do."

"Still kind of hard to believe," Alex admitted. "That I have them. You, the kids, my own family."

"Well you deserve it," Sami squeezed Alex against her. "You deserve having everyone on your side."

"Now," Sami grabbed Alex's hand, "You're getting me a drink."

Before Alex and Sami could reach the drink station they encountered Lucas and Adrienne arguing.

"I know it's hard," Lucas rubbed his hands up and down Adrienne's shoulders, "But if we really want to be a part of our children's lives we need to face facts. It's not going to be easy."

"I just don't understand how she," Adrienne glared at Sami, "Has them and we don't."

Lucas was trying not to lose his patience but it was hard.

"Because she worked for it," Lucas reminded Adrienne. "We have to earn them, remember?"

When Alex and Sami, holding hands, came near them Adrienne couldn't stop herself from saying.

"It looks like Sami earned Alex in a different way than I can," Adrienne grumbled loudly.

Sami and Alex both paused when they heard that. They both knew exactly what Adrienne was hinting.

"What is the matter with you?" Alex demanded angrily.

He knew he had a reputation but to suggest that he's only close to Sami because they were sleeping together was insulting. 'And disgusting,' Alex thought, 'She's like my own mother.'

"Adrienne," Lucas hissed under his breath.

"Well, I'm sorry," Adrienne shrugged. "But that's how it looks."

"Adrienne," Sami called no longer able to hold it in any longer, "Shut the hell up."

Sami let go of Alex's hand and marched up to Adrienne. Smiling bitterly, Sami used all her strength to shove Adrienne backwards right into the pool.

Adrienne, flailing, managed to grab Sami's arm and drag her in too.

"Mom," Will shouted as he finally made his way over.

Sami and Adrienne were each grabbing onto the other and yanking.

"Adrienne," Lucas yelled.

Alex crossed his arms and watched, amused.

"For god's sake," Will complained as he went to get the pool skimmer.

"What the hell is your problem?" Sami shouted as she pushed Adrienne under the water.

"Me?" Adrienne gasped as she surfaced. "You're the one trying to steal my son."

"Get over it," Sami urged.

"Go mom," Johnny yelled while taking some more pictures.

"Woo," Allie cheered.

"Grandma, grandma, grandma," Ari chanted encouragingly.

Will, back with the pool skimmer, prodded the both of them apart.

Finally getting out of the pool, shivering in the chilly November air, Sami declared loudly, "I hate this woman."

Without another word Sami stomped into the house.

"Yeah," Alex nodded calmly, "I think we got that."

Justin went to stand next to Alex.

"Two blondes fighting over you," Justin commented, "And it's not even in a sexual way for once."

"You can't fight destiny," Alex said mockingly.

"God," Will came over to Alex. "What the hell was that?"

"I'm apparently sleeping with your mom," Alex put his arm around Will, "Hate to break it to you."

"I'm so sad," Will quipped.

Seeing Vic talking to Brittany, Kate gossiping with some of Will's other friends, the girls all back to dancing on the floor, Will remembered Chad needed to talk to him.

"Hey," Will waved him over. "What were you going to say?"

"Um," Chad thought it over. "It can wait a minute. Let the excitement die down. I'll be right back."

Chad walked over to a secluded section of the party and pulled out his phone.

"Weird," Will said out loud before leaning into Alex, "Well, what's a party without a little excitement."

"You can take the girls out of Salem," Justin said, "But you can't take the Salem out of the girls."

"I'm really so sorry," Lucas told Will and Alex ardently. "Congratulations and again, I'm so, so sorry."

"I got in a fight at your wedding," Alex shrugged. "Adrienne got in a fight at mine."

With that being said Lucas and Adrienne left.

Sami, sopping wet and dripping all over the floor, stormed into Will and Alex's room and slammed the door.

Joey, who was morosely lying on the bed in the dark, jumped up when the door burst open. Confused as to what Sami was doing completely wet Joey looked at her strangely.

'Stupid, stupid Adrienne,' Sami thought as she yanked open Will's drawer of clothes and yanked out something that might fit her.

Reaching behind her to unzip her dress Sami turned around and screamed when she saw one of the twins on the bed.

"Ahhh," Joey screamed back in surprise.

"Jesus," Sami put her hand over chest, "Joey, what the hell are you doing in here?"

"Bemoaning my existence," Joey sighed before throwing himself back on the bed.

"Huh?" Sami questioned as she slowly started calming down.

'I can't believe that idiot tried pulling something like that tonight of all nights,' Sami thought.

"Will tried to set me up with his friend, Brittany," Joey explained, "And she left me for Vic."

"…Right," Sami said trying not to laugh.

"She couldn't tell us apart," Joey added crossing his arms indignantly. "Then she decided she liked him better. Who would like him better?"

"I'm the good one," Joey mumbled under his breath.

Sami, smiling slightly, stated, "Not that it's helpful but I like you better."

"You do?" Joey asked hopefully.

"Of course," Sami shrugged, "Also, personally I think Brittany is an idiot."

"She is kind of stupid, huh?" Joey felt a little bit better.

"Besides that dumb bitch was driving when Will was in that accident and didn't even make him go to the hospital. He could have died because of that," Sami huffed as she started shivering.

Joey, noticing Sami was freezing, "Oh, I'm sorry." Joey scrambled off the bed, "You should get changed."

Sami tried to reach behind her for her zipper once again but couldn't quite grasp it. "Wait," she called before Joey walked out of the room.

"Hmm?" Joey turned back around and tried not to stare at the way the dress was clinging to her.

"Little help?" Sami asked turning around so her back was facing him.

"Uh, OK," Joey replied. Pulling the zipper down Joey wrinkled his brows, "Exactly why are you all wet?"

Sami, figuring it might not be a good idea to say she got into a fight with his mother, responded with, "I got pulled into the pool."

"Wow," Joey licked his lips when he realized Sami wasn't wearing a bra. Shaking his head, Joey said, "I mean that sucks."

"It's not the worst cat-fight I've ever been in," Sami informed him before looking over her shoulder at Joey.

"I miss everything," Joey complained before catching Sami's eyes. "Oh," Joey pressed his lips out, "Your eyes are really blue."

"I'm aware," Sami smiled enjoying the way Joey was looking at her. It had been a long time since someone had looked at her like that.

"Uh, I'm gonna do something that's probably going to get me slapped," Joey put his hands on Sami's arms and turned her around.

"That's a risk you're just going to have to take," Sami answered before grabbing Joey's collar and pulling him into a kiss.

Before either knew it they were lying on Will and Alex's bed.

"Should we be doing this here?" Sami wondered out loud as Joey wiggled out of his clothes.

"Alex had sex with my girlfriend in high school," Joey told Sami seriously. "We're having sex on his bed."

"Uh, OK," Sami decided before Joey kissed her again, pressing his naked body against hers.

"I better go check on my mom," Will told Alex as he slipped inside and up the stairs.

Opening the door Will immediately closed it as he backed away in horror.

'Oh my god, what the fuck did I just see?' Will thought as he rushed downstairs. 'Which twin was that?'

Running back to Alex Will stared at him completely panicked, "Have you seen Vic and Joey?"

"Vic's over there," Alex pointed to him, "I'm pretty sure he's gonna go home with Brittany. Don't know how that happened." Looking over at Will, Alex frowned, "What's with you?"

"I want a new bed," Will urged Alex holding onto his arm desperately.

"What?" Alex questioned wrinkling his nose.

"We're buying a new bed," Will repeated. "Right away."

"What are you-?" Alex asked before thinking back to Will's earlier question. "No."

"Yes," Will started nodding frantically.

"No," Alex said in a deep voice, nostrils flaring.

"Why do I always walk in on my mommy having sex?" Will asked pathetically before hiding his face in Alex's chest.

Alex wrapped Will in his arms, "He is fucking dead."

Later, Joey walked back outside with a swagger in his step.

"There you are," Vic said as soon as he saw his brother. "I've been looking for you."

Brittany was sheepishly standing next to Vic.

"Um," Vic started to explain, "I know you came here expecting to be with Brittany but I think we really hit it off."

Joey, putting his arm around Vic, said, "Psh, water under the bridge. Besides I found myself a hotter blonde to pass the time with." Looking at Brittany Joey added, "No offense."

Alex, stalking forward, punched Joey hard in the arm.

Sami, having just made it back outside after waiting a few minutes so it wouldn't be too obvious about what she was doing, paused to see what Alex was going to do next.

"Ow," Joey complained putting his hand over his wound.

"That's for scarring Will, ruining my bed and sleeping with my mother," Alex declared in a strangled tone.

"What the hell?" Vic demanded backing away from Joey in disbelief.

Sami, casually eavesdropping, put her hand over her heart, "You think of me as your mother?"

"I-I," Alex looked panicked, not anticipating Sami hearing that, "That's not the point of the conversation."

"Oh, Alex," Sami started tearing up, "You really are the sweetest thing."

Alex tried to fight off Sami's hug until he gave in and stood there with a frown on his face.

Alex turned to Will, who was beaming at them, "You fix this. You fix this now."

"Oh, baby," Will cooed before wrapping both of them into a hug. "You have no idea how happy this makes me."

Joey, smiling at the sight as he rubbed his arm up and down, couldn't help from moving closer and trying to join the hug, "Look what I caused."

"I will kill you if you touch any of us," Alex threatened seriously.

Joey took a step back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Vic asked judgmentally.

"I had the time of my life," Joey bragged, "And none of you can take that away from me."

Will glared at Joey, "My eyes can never un-see that."

"Hey now," Joey teased, "Is that anyway to talk to your step-brother/step-uncle/step-father?"

"Hit him again," Sami told Alex smiling when he followed her directions.

"I'm kidding," Joey said loudly as Alex started chasing him down. "I know it was a once in a lifetime experience."

"Stop talking," Alex ordered.

"I changed the sheets," Joey added unhelpfully.

"I swear to god you little bastard," Alex threatened.

"Why do things like this always happen to me?" Will asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, sweetie," Sami patted him on the back.

"When I told you to start dating again," Will turned to face his mother, "I did not mean him."

"Relax," Sami rolled her eyes. "Joey is like when you jumpstart a car. It's a momentary fix before you find out what the real battery problem is."

"I am so disturbed right now," Will shook his head.

"Daddy," Ari wandered up to them, "Why is Alex beating up Joey?"

"He did a bad, bad, thing," Vic answered for Will.

"That no one else is talking about, got?" Sami ordered menacingly.

"No one is talking about what?" Chad questioned as he came over. "What the hell?"

"Nothing," Sami replied before anyone else could. "Nothing happened."

"OK," Chad didn't believe that, "Well since you and Will are both here there's something I need to-,"

"Ahhh," Joey ran back over and picked up Ari like a shield, "I won't do it again, just leave me alone."

"You stay the hell away from Sami," Alex hissed through his teeth.

Will grabbed Alex's arm and comfortingly touched him. "Relax," he purred.

"Uh," Chad looked between Joey and Sami slowly before closing his eyes, "Right."

"When do we get the dessert?" Ari demanded. "I want it now."

"I'll go set it up," Sami offered before getting the hell out of there.

Alex made another threatening motion towards Joey before letting Will walk him away.

"Good thing Adrienne isn't here," Will finally said, not able to hold it in any longer.

Alex tried not to laugh but he couldn't stop himself. He wanted to stay mad but the situation was almost too much.

"Don't think she would have anticipated this happening after her fight with mom," Will giggled.

"Hurry," Ari whined as she stood next to the dessert table.

Will and Alex both weren't big on cake or cupcakes. So, instead, they decided to have an entire display of various desserts. There were cookies and candies and ice cream.

After they both filled up a plate the two sat down closely together and ate.

"So, all in all, not a bad day," Alex decided. "I could have done without Sami and Joey but at least I didn't have to see it."

"Right," Will rolled his eyes. "Well, ignoring that, I'd say we did pretty good."

"Yep," Alex decided to be cheesy and lifted a piece of fudge up to Will's mouth.

Will indulgently took a bite before offering Alex part of his cookie.

"Way better than a real wedding," Alex declared.

Will pulled Alex into a chocolatey kiss.

The guests started slowly leaving, Brittany with Vic, Justin and Kate, a few of Alex's friends hooking up with a few of Will's and Joey making sure to steer clear of Sami.

Soon enough the only guest left was Chad.

"Alright," Sami shoved two suitcases at Will and Alex while they were standing inside. "You two need to get to the airport. Your flight leaves in a little over two hours."

"Are you sure?" Will asked, "We can fly out later and help with this mess."

Sami waved her hand, "Oh please. This isn't my first rodeo. I'll take care of the mess here. You guys enjoy your honeymoon."

Chad, distracted with the kids, didn't realize that Will and Alex were getting ready to leave.

"And you're sure it's not too much trouble watching Ari the next few days?" Will made sure.

"Yes," Sami insisted impatiently, "I think I can handle it. I know when to take her to preschool. When she goes to art class and when she goes on play dates. It's for a few days. We will be fine."

"I know," Will sighed. "I'm just nervous about leaving my baby."

"Don't be nervous, Daddy," Ari came up to him and made grabby hands. When she was safely in his arms, Ari added, "I'll have fun. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"Is that so?" Alex hummed smiling at Ari happily.

"I feel better," Ari nodded. "I know you'll come back for me."

"Just like we know if we don't you'll hunt us down," Will teased.

"I would," Ari said seriously before making a fist and waved it in their face.

"But you'll still miss us, right?" Alex pouted his lips.

"Duh," Ari replied before kissing Alex's pout away.

"You better miss us," Will replied before accepting a kiss as well.

"Every day," Ari promised.

"You don't mind that we're going on a strip without you?" Will double checked.

"No," Ari shook her head. "I heard Grandma say you were going to have s-e-x the whole time," Ari nodded, "I don't know what that is but she said you do that all the time."

"Oh god," Will said out loud while looking up at the ceiling.

"That's pretty much exactly what I have planned," Alex confirmed.

Will gave Alex a look.

"What?" Alex shrugged. "It's true."

Sami hurried back over, "OK, get moving. You're going to be late."

"Fine," Alex said, "Try not to fuck anymore of my brother's on my bed."

"I'll buy you a new one," Sami rolled her eyes. "Now get out of here!"

"Bye, Daddy, Alex," Ari yelled over everyone else's goodbyes.

Practically being shoved out the door Will and Alex got into their car and drove to the airport.

Sami, exhausted after everything, made up the couches for the kids to sleep on. 'We can just have a sleep over,' Sami decided.

After everyone was fast asleep Sami made her way over to Chad who was patiently waiting for her to talk with him.

"OK," Sami whispered, "What is so important?"

"I really wish Will was with you for this," Chad said as he shook his head.

"Well he's not," Sami shrugged, "So just tell me."

Glad to see that Sami hadn't changed, Chad revealed, "I found something out."

"What?" Sami wondered.

"It's about EJ," Chad told her. "I don't think he's dead."

The Next Day

Private Island, Florida Keys

"Why are you still sleeping?" Will whispered in Alex's ear, "Wake up, baby."

Will rubbed up and down Alex's chest. The two were lying outside near the beach. The hot sun was beating down on their warm skin.

"You wore me out this morning," Alex praised as he grabbed at Will's naked waist.

"I wanna wear you out again," Will laughed as he settled himself on top of Alex's hips.

"I think I could get used to this whole married thing," Alex decided.

"Not married," Will reminded him.

Alex nodded, "We're whatever we want to be."

"What I want right now," Will said as he started touching Alex, "Is for you to be inside me."

"Your wish is my command," Alex groaned, bucking against Will.

With the waves crashing against the shore, Will and Alex touched and caressed each other over and over again.

Will and Alex carefully walked upstairs.

"But-," they could hear Ari complaining, wanting to follow after them.

"They want to take a few moments alone," Sami explained. "Now come help me get some of these things out."

Will sighed happily once they closed the door to their room.

Alex didn't know what to say now that they were alone. He almost felt like there were no words he could say. Nothing was big enough to describe what he was feeling.

"We did it," Will whispered as he sat down. "Ceremony is over."

"I guess technically we had one of those before," Alex murmured.

Will nodded before reaching over into the side drawer and pulling out a piece of paper.

"Doesn't mean much though," Will admitted as he looked it over.

The thick bluish paper read State of California, County of Los Angeles, License and Certificate of Marriage: William Robert Horton and Alexander Neil Kiriakis.

"This," Alex took the marriage certificate from Will, "Is legal mumbo jumbo. It was just easier than having to go through everything else."

"I know," Will replied as he took the paper back and put it in the drawer. "It doesn't mean anything to me." Sitting back on the bed Will took Alex's hand, "What we did downstairs means everything."

Alex cupped Will's face and kissed him gently.

They pulled away from each other and leaned their foreheads together.

"I love you," Will murmured, eyes shut.

"I love you," Alex said clearly. "I love you so much."

"Everyone's going to be here soon," Will replied. "And we won't get to be alone for a while."

"Doesn't matter," Alex responded. "This moment, earlier and right now, this was entirely for us."

"Everything else is for them," Will nodded before kissing Alex slowly.

Author's note:

Technically the two are legally married. However, Will and Alex do not think of themselves that way. The certificate was purely for legal reasons. The commitment ceremony was for them. Also, partially inspired by my uncle and his partner of 15 years who got married last year for a green card and told exactly 3 people.

I wish I could say I wrote the words from the commitment ceremony but I did not. They were a sample from a website called . I changed a few things so they fit but they are definitely not my own.

Also their song was "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You," by Elvis.

Pardon any mistakes. I didn't edit as much as I usually would.

Please let me know what you thought.

Thanks for reading this monster!

Dedicated to my good friend iluvh0rs3s. I hope you enjoyed it.