24

The sound of the coffee brewing sent Sonny into a bit of a trance as he sat at the kitchen table waiting for it to brew. He scratched at the edge of the kitchen table and fumbled around with his shirt cuffs. He sat staring down at the table and felt the silence envelope around him. The apartment was eerily quiet. Deathly quiet. No birds were heard to be chirping outside this morning on account of the brutal cold outside.

Sonny looked across at the new January 2014 Calendar on the fridge and back to the now redundant 2013 Christmas tree still barely attempting to keep itself propped up in the corner of the apartment with gifts underneath. Still unopened. The silence was broken sometime later, how much later Sonny was not sure. Ari was bellowing out from the bedroom and the sound managed to bring a small smile to Sonnys face. Only a small one. He went about the routine – as he had put it lately to others – and prepared her for the morning.

She was now fed and watered and warmly wrapped up. Sonny hadn't managed to feed himself. He hadn't much at all lately and his out of character weight loss paid testament to that. He did however manage the now cold coffee that had finished brewing some 45 minutes ago. He spat most of it out as he drank it. He'd never felt so low – so alone, but wee Ari being with him helped.

As he prepared for Ari and himself to leave the apartment on the now very familiar journey he glanced at the lines of 'Best Wishes' and 'Thinking on your during this time' Hallmark cards as he was pushing the stroller out the door. He felt a bitter pang of resentment followed with a bit of guilt for resenting the card. His mind went back to when he was enjoying a walk in the park with Will, Ari and Marlena after their last meeting at the Brady Pub. It was starting to feel like a lifetime ago now. In reality it was only about three weeks. To be strong for Arianna he wiped the tear that was trickling down this cheek and closed the apartment door behind him.

Driving to his destination with little Ari in the back was particularly hard and had been so for the last few weeks. Sonny felt a constant empty void in the car and in his heart – in fact, all the time – and of course there was. There was a piece of this puzzle missing.

He avoided the regular route that he and Will would usually take to the center of town and with good reason. Completely bypassing the direction of the Brady Pub he pulled to the left swiftly and took a different road. The sudden jolt startled Ari who grumbled a little bit.

"I'm sorry sweet heart. Dada wasn't thinking. He'll drive slower just for you, kay'?" Sonny said into the rear view mirror. Not really understanding a word Sonny had just said but calmed by his voice she ceased her grumbling and continued to gnaw into her dummy and fondle her stuffed lion. Ari was around about eight months old now and only really understood the word Dada and although he knew this he found it comforting to talk to her. To her and the part of her that was undeniably Will.

The detour had as usual added a bit of time to the journey but Sonny and Arianna had arrived at their destination. Sonny parked up and turned the car off. He undid his seat belt and after closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths he spun around and looked at the now wide-eyed Arianna. With the best smile he could conjure up from the utter depths of his broken heart he beamed a beautiful smile in her direction.

"He baby girl. You OK? Huh?" He tickled her little leg and she giggled. It gave Sonny some comfort to see her happy. Mostly because he was really struggling to keep his shit together and had been for the last three weeks. He and Ari managed themselves out of the car and entered the pearly white building that he had recently become so accustomed to visiting.

Sonny had kept his cell phone turned off a lot lately. He couldn't bare the phone calls. His mailbox was full of warm and loving messages. His text message inbox had over flowed several times and despite his appreciation of all the love that was being thrown at Ari and himself they all sort of seemed to blur into one message and he simply had to delete them in bulk. Chad had been absolutely amazing and taken the reigns of the club to leave Sonny to take care of himself and Arianna.

Sonny unconsciously wheeled Arianna in her stroller down the hallway. As he approached a desk tucked away in the corner he was greeted by a familiar and friendly face. Her name was Sarah. When she smiled she was all teeth and gums but oddly enough she pulled it off without looking alarming or overly happy. Sonny had had a lot to do with Sarah over the last few weeks and today she noticed him looking particularly overcome. They were on a first name basis now of course.

"Oh good morning Sonny" she said as she walked around the desk to hug him and squee at little Arianna in her stroller. He embraced her back with as much appreciation as he could muster and took a step back to let her goo and gaa with Arianna. Sarah seemed perkier than normal to Sonny but his head was so fuzzy he couldn't really analyze it too much.

Sarah stood upright and began to walk toward Sonny at the very moment Sonnys cell phone began to ring. It was Sonnys mom, Adrienne.

"Hi mom. You okay?" Sonny asked looking down at the floor. Adrienne was crying and clearly distressed. Every conversation he'd had with Adrienne was like this lately. Through hysteria Adrienne tried to communicate with Sonny.

"Son … I … is he … I … is he … how's he do …" was all Sonny could hear through his phone before it went dead. Flat battery. A result of keeping his phone off most of the time and not remembering to charge it. Sonny felt a little uncontrolled and lifted his arm to throw his phone to the floor.

"Damn it" Sonny yelled as he nearly threw his phone to the floor. Sarah caught his arm just in time.

"Sonny. I have some news. Actually. The a new doctor has some news – about Mr Kiriakis. She's been called into Salem especially, overnight actually! She also has some news about … oh ya' know what … I'll let her tell you!" She said seeming a little too happy for Sonnys liking. "Why don't you let me take this little one and she'll be right with you to talk .." She asked as she took hold of the stroller. Sonny was exhausted and was in no position to argue. He knew Ari would be safe with Sarah. Nurse Sarah.

Sonny took a seat as he watched Nurse Sarah roll Ari off out of sight. Several minutes passed until Sonny finally heard the pitter-patter of high heels walking his way. Walking towards Sonny was a petite woman wearing a white coat and cream colored heels with a jade green top under the coat. She was holding a clipboard and bared an enormous smile.

"Mr Kiriakis?" She questioned as she extended her hand toward Sonnys. "I'm Nisha. Dr. Nisha Patel. I've been brought in from New York just this morning to oversee everything." She finished shaking his hand and took a seat next to him. Sonny was clearly still distressed and now confused to boot.

"Hello Dr. I'm Sonny Kiri…" She cut him off.

"I know, Sir. Sonny Kiriakis. Now let me tell you. I have some amazing news for you. Now you must understand this news comes in two parts. Firstly. You're father has awoken from his coma. He is clearly lucid and seems well for now. We are running all the appropriate tests. I assure you sir, that this is very, very good news" Dr. Patel said as she rested a hand on Sonnys knee briefly. Sonnys mind froze for a moment and he felt some pressure lifted from his heart.

"Oh my god, really? You're sure? He's going to be OK? He's OK?" Sonny managed eventually.

"Yes, Sir. Your father – Justin Kiriakis - is going to be just fine! You may want to contact your mother about his news ASAP. Now, to the second part of the good news. The other patient. He …." Dr. Patel rummaged through her clipboard. Sonny looked hopeless, hopeful, worried and confused all in one. "Oh yes! Now, as you know the injuries to Mr Kiriakis were severe. He was put into a coma deliberately for his own good. He woke up overnight and many tests were carried out, however he is very confused. We have sedated him for now but he is definitely now, awake and very, very much alive. Are you following me Mr Kiriakis?" Dr. Patel asked, noticing Sonnys eyes widen.

Sonny breathed in deep and looked the Dr. directly in the eye.

"They're both going to be OK?" He asked somewhat fearfully. His hands very visibly shaking.

"Yes. Yes Sir, your father is going to be just fine … as is your brother" She replied. Sonnys eyes widened further.

"I'm sorry …" he shook his head.

"Like I said Mr Kiriakis. Your father and your brother are going to be just fine. More tests will need to be run on your brother and he will be staying in hospital for some time yet but …" Sonny cut her off.

He was over the moon about the news just given to him. Clearly now was not the time to be politically correct and Dr. Patel was new to this particular situation as she'd just joined the medical team. Sonny stood up tall and proud and took a deep breath. He spun back around to her.

"Dr. Patel. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you! But, I'd like to make something VERY clear. Yes. Mr Justin Kiriakis is my father. However … the other Mr Kiriakis is not my brother. He is my husband. William Kiriakis is my husband. Not my brother.

Dr. Patel clearly felt embarrassed. She clearly hadn't been given the full story which was no fault of her own.

"Mr Kiriakis! I apologize profusely! My dear man, I've clearly not been given all the case notes. Please accept my apologies for any misunderstandings?" She pleaded.

Sonny took to his seat again and with his hands in his head be began to cry. Dr. Patel took a seat next to him and wrapped her arm around him. She bent her head down and attempted to make eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry … Sonny. I wasn't aware that William is your Husband" She rubbed his back. That statement snapped Sonny out of his outburst and he looked up to Dr. Patel with his beautiful brown but red rimmed eyes. He cleared his throat a few times and tried to shake his tears away and ground himself a little better. "Is it OK if I call you Sonny?" She asked. He raised his head and his expression clearly said yes.

"Of course … and thank you … thank you for giving me the best news of my life! Me and our daughter … for weeks I'd thought we'd lost him …" Sonny said.

"You're parents?" Dr. Patel asked. He nodded. Her face simply filled with love. "Can I ask you something Sonny?" She asked.

Sonny sniffed and started to rub his face. Will was going to live and that's all that mattered right now.

"Sure …." He responded with a small laugh – a laugh of relief.

"When did you get married and how did this whole horrible situation happen?" Dr. Patel asked kindly. Sonny leant back in his seat and continued.

"About a month ago now we left ago for New York to get married and it was the most amazing day of my life …