Sigh. Well, I'm evil. I can't think of how Gabi would be kidnapped instead of Ari, so…heh…
Sonny went over the payroll for the club. Victor had offered a CEO position at Titan, and he's seriously considering it. He needed a change of scenery. Chad came into the office looking upset.
"Hey, Chad." Sonny greeted. Chad slumped on the couch and exhaled sharply. "What's wrong?"
"Ben escaped from the psych ward." Chad announced.
Sonny's heart sank. "What?!" He pulled out his phone.
"What are you doing?" Chad asked, warily.
"What do you think? I'm calling Will." Sonny replied.
"Oh." Chad replied, relieved.
"Hey." Will answered, sounding a bit freaked.
"Hey. I assume you heard about Ben." Sonny said.
"I did." Will sighed. "Just when I thought all our troubles are over."
"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Sonny said reassuringly. "I'm just finishing up some paperwork, then I'll be home."
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you, too. Bye." Sonny hung up and focused on Chad. "How'd Abigail take it?"
"I didn't tell her." Chad admitted. Sonny looked shocked. "I couldn't. She's already been through so much, and-and…I didn't want to ruin her wedding."
"Don't you think she has a right to know so she can be on the lookout?" Sonny asked.
"I will keep her safe. Then I will tell her as soon as we get back from our honeymoon." Chad assured him.
Sonny was hesitant. But, Chad did have a good point. "Okay. I don't like this, but I won't tell her. I'm not sure about Will, though. He's extremely loyal to her."
"Is that why he added her name in that scathing article he wrote about Sami?" Chad raised an eyebrow.
"Sami added her name, not Will." Sonny said defensively.
Chad raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Sorry."
"Thank you."
XXX
Sonny entered the living room where Will was reading. "Hey."
"Hi. I texted Abigail, but she hasn't responded." Will said.
Sonny stiffened and sat on the chair. "What did you say?"
"Just that I'm here for her if she needs anything." Will replied. "Why?"
"Abigail doesn't know Ben escaped yet." Sonny admitted.
"What? Why?!" Will asked, bewildered.
"We think it's a good idea for her to have a little worry-free happiness before the bomb drops." Sonny replied.
"'We'?"
"Chad, JJ, and I." Sonny answered.
Will just stared at his husband, appalled. "Don't you think that the person Ben terrorized the most has a right to know that he escaped and might come after her?!"
"Of course I do! We just think that she also deserves a little happiness- her wedding." Sonny argued.
"She may not have a wedding!" Will exclaimed. "Not if Ben's on the loose and she's completely oblivious! She may be dead before she walks down that aisle."
"You're getting a little too paranoid about this." Sonny said calmly.
"And you are getting a little too nonchalant about this!" Will snapped. "This is our cousin we are talking about. She has a baby to think about. We've already suffered so many losses over the last six months, and not telling her about Ben escaping will only make things worse and bite you in the ass!"
"Don't you think I know that?!" Sonny exclaimed. "I am very well aware of the consequences. I just don't think we should tell her just yet."
Will exhaled sharply and threw his head back. "I really don't like this, Sonny."
"I know." Sonny said gently. "I don't either. But, if she gets a happy wedding and honeymoon…won't it be worth keeping it from her?"
Will scoffed and shook his head. "You really are a Kiriakis. Okay. Fine. But if they come back from their honeymoon and Chad still hasn't told her, I will."
"Great. And I'm really sorry it had to come to this." Sonny said sincerely.
"Yeah…" Will turned away. Sonny left the room, and Will called Chad. "Hey, Sonny just told me everything."
"Okay."
"Chad…if you don't tell her sooner rather than later, and if she finds out another way and something bad happens, she'll never forgive you. You better think about that." Will said.
"I am." Chad promised. "Everything's going to be fine."
"They better be." Will said. "If anything happens to my cousin because you didn't warn her of the danger, I will hold you personally responsible."
"Nothing will happen, I promise."
"I'm holding you to that." Will hung up and sighed. His phone buzzed with a text from Abigail.
"Hey. Sorry. I was working on wedding stuff. What did you mean by you're here for me?"
Will couldn't help himself. He typed "Ben escaped from the psych ward." He was about to send it, but thought against it. He erased the text and typed "Just your wedding and I'll babysit Thomas while you're on your honeymoon if you want."
"Thanks." Abigail replied. "Isn't this great? We both have our happy endings. I'm thinking Disneyland trip in the next few years!" She added a smiley.
"Yeah!" Will replied, also adding a smiley. He sighed again in defeat. "Sorry, Abigail…"
He just hoped nothing else will happen.
XXX
The next morning, Will got a text from Chad. "JJ caved and told Abby. Just so you know."
Will exhaled sharply. "Good. She's on her guard, then."
"Yeah. Also, apparently Ben hopped on a plane, so he could be anywhere."
"Oh? Even better. He won't come near Salem."
"Hopefully."
Will went back to finishing up his editorial on the rising crime in Salem when Gabi texted him. "Will, call me. It's an emergency!"
Will called Gabi. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Have you heard from your grandma Marlena?" Gabi asked, slightly frantic.
"Um, no, why?"
"She's babysitting Ari and she said they'd be in the park off the square, but they're not there and I can't get ahold of them!" Gabi exclaimed.
Will started getting a little worried by that. "Have you called the hospital?"
"Yes, and they said they haven't seen her all day!" Gabi exclaimed. "Oh, Will, I'm getting really worried. I just know something bad happened."
"Okay, just calm down. Did you tell Rafe?" Will asked.
"Yes. JJ and I are heading to the park to look around."
"Okay. I will call Sonny and everyone in my family to see if they've seen them. I will also drop by the house. Maybe they stopped there." Will replied.
"Okay. Keep in touch." Gabi said.
"I will." Will replied. He let his boss know that there was a family emergency, then headed to his house. He called Sonny. "Hey, have Grandma Marlena and Ari stopped by TBD today?"
"No, they haven't. Why?"
"Grandma is babysitting Ari, but now we can't get ahold of them." Will replied.
Sonny exhaled sharply and looked around the restaurant. "Where are you?"
"On my way to the house to see if they stopped there." Will replied. "Listen, I'll keep you updated, but if they come into TBD will you please call me?"
"Of course."
"Thanks. Love you. Bye." Will hung up and pulled up to the house. It didn't look like anyone was home. He walked inside and called for Marlena, but no answer. This was getting more worrisome by the second. His phone rang again. "Gabi, did you find them?"
"No." Gabi sniffed. "We found Ari's stuffed toy that's on her stroller- the one that she talks to laying on the ground."
Will took a deep breath and ran his free hand through his hair. His heart started pounding and his stomach dropped. "Okay, but that doesn't mean anything. They could have just dropped it and didn't notice."
Gabi sighed. "I hope so… JJ and I are going to look everywhere they might have gone."
"Okay. I'll start making calls." Will replied.
"Okay. Bye."
Will called everyone in his family, but no one has seen or heard from Marlena and Ari. He relayed the message to Gabi, who told him to meet her at the station.
XX
Sonny couldn't get his mind off Marlena and Ari. He could barely focus on work. His phone buzzed with a text message from Will. "No one we know have seen or heard from Ari and Grandma. Come down to the station, ASAP."
"I'm on my way." Sonny replied. He turned to one of the bartenders. "Terry, I have to leave. Family emergency. Cover for me?"
"Sure thing."
"Thanks." Sonny flew out of the club and almost knocked Paul over. "Paul!"
"Sonny!" Paul exclaimed, half-jokingly, then noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"
Sonny sighed heavily. "Have you seen or heard from Marlena in the last six hours?"
"No." Paul shook his head. "Why? What's wrong?"
"She's babysitting Ari, and they're missing." Sonny said. "No one can find or get ahold of Marlena."
"What?" Paul exclaimed. "Does my dad know?"
"I don't know, but I have to go." Sonny said, then rushed off.
Paul pulled out his phone to call his father. "Dad, hey. Have you heard from Marlena in the last six hours?"
"No. Why?" John asked.
"She's babysitting Ari, and no one can find them." Paul replied. "I just ran into Sonny. He sounds really freaked."
"I know that Marlena and Ari are missing. Eduardo and I are trying to find them." John replied.
"Dad, what's going on? Do you know why Marlena and Ari are missing?" Paul asked.
"Don't worry about that, all right? Just...be careful. I'll talk to you later." John hung up.
Paul scoffed and shook his head. "Okay, fine. I'm sure I'll get dragged into it one way or the other somehow, anyway."
XXX
Sonny and Will rushed into the bullpen/waiting area of the police station where Gabi was pacing and crying silently.
"Anything yet?" Will asked.
"No." Gabi said tearfully.
Will pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. We'll find our daughter. Grandma Marlena is with her. She'll take good care of her."
"I hope so." Gabi replied, sniffing.
Hope walked into the bullpen/waiting area. "Hey, guys." She noticed their expressions. "What's going on?"
"Ari and Marlena are missing." Sonny announced.
"What?!" Hope asked.
"Marlena was babysitting Ari and they never showed up at the pickup spot or maybe they did and they dropped this." Gabi held up Ari's toy. "They just vanished."
"What do you mean vanished?" Hope asked in cop mode.
"They're gone." Gabi replied. "No one has seen them or heard from them. JJ and I looked everywhere, Will called everyone in his family, Rafe made tons of calls."
"Where's Rafe?" Hope looked around.
"I don't know." Gabi shook her head. Hope pulled out her phone to call Rafe. "He went off to make some calls and he said he was going to handle it."
"Rafe, I'm at the station with Gabi, Will, and Sonny. Call me ASAP." Hope hung up. "Come here." She pulled Gabi in a hug.
Will got a text from Abigail. "Hey, did you find Ari and your grandma yet?"
"No."
"Chad and I will postpone our wedding until they are found."
"No, no. That won't be necessary. I don't want to ruin your day. Besides, Ari and Grandma will be found by the time your wedding starts. We'll be there."
"Okay. If you're sure."
"I am sure."
Hope's phone rang. Will and Sonny jumped up, hopeful, then deflated when it turned out that Ciara called Hope. She talked for a minute, put her purse together, and stood up. She noticed JJ. "JJ, I have an emergency. Will you stay with Gabi and your cousins?"
JJ nodded. "Sure. Rafe didn't call?"
"No." Hope turned to Gabi. "I have to go, but JJ's gonna stay here." She turned to JJ. "Call me if you hear from Rafe."
"Will do. Thanks." JJ walked around and leaned against the desk.
Gabi grabbed JJ's hand. "Hey, did you hear anything?"
"No. But Rafe is on it." JJ replied, taking her hand in his.
"JJ, I thought nothing could make me feel more hopeless than being in prison, but I was wrong." Gabi lamented.
"Look, Arianna is with family." JJ said gently. "Marlena will look after her."
"How do you know that?" Gabi lamented.
"Are you kidding me?" JJ raised his eyebrows. "Anyone would throw themselves into oncoming traffic to keep her safe. She's the sweetest little girl."
"That's what I keep telling her." Will spoke up.
"Yeah. She likes you, too." Gabi said to JJ.
"Well, she's a heartbreaker, that's for sure." JJ said. They chuckled.
"Hey, we're gonna find her, right?" Gabi asked, unsure.
"My gut? Ari's going to be safe." JJ replied. "We'll find her."
XX
A while later, Rafe walked into the bullpen/waiting area. Gabi, JJ, Will, and Sonny walked up to him.
"Did you find her? Did you find Arianna?" Gabi asked.
"No."
"What? Then what's going on? What…?" Gabi asked, frantically.
"Okay," Rafe grabbed Gabi's shoulders to calm her. "I do not know where Ari and Marlena are, but John and Eduardo are calling other contacts to find stuff out."
"What does that mean? What other contacts are you talking about?" Will asked.
"Well, from their work." Rafe said.
"What work?" Asked Sonny.
Rafe glanced at JJ. "Can you give us a sec?" JJ nodded and walked off. "Thanks."
"What?" Gabi asked Rafe.
"Someone took Ari and Marlena okay?"
"What?!" Gabi and Will exclaimed.
"And our father, our father thinks it might have something to do with his work. Something he did in the past, okay?" Rafe replied.
"Wait, someone did this to get back at Eduardo?" Gabi asked.
"And John." Rafe deadpanned.
"And they're using my baby and Marlena to do that?" Gabi asked, aghast.
"Well, yeah, 'cause they knew that's exactly where it would them the hardest." Rafe explained.
"Rafe, are they gonna hurt her?" Gabi asked, worriedly.
"No, Gabi…"
"Rafe, what is it that they want? I will do whatever it takes."
"Do they want money? We have money. We can pay…" Will spoke up.
"I highly doubt this is about money." Rafe replied.
"Then what is this about?!" Gabi exclaimed.
"Gabi, listen, shh…" Rafe replied. "They know what they are doing, they know the people they are dealing with, and they are going to bring everyone home safe."
"Yeah, well, what if they can't?" Gabi asked.
"They will, all right? They will." Rafe pulled Gabi into a hug as she sobbed.
XXX
Will sat on a chair against the window, his head in his hands. This was the second time in one month that his daughter was kidnapped and used as leverage. This has got to be a record! How long must they all be put through tragedy? Sonny sat next to him.
"When was the last time you ate?" Sonny asked. "Or had something to drink?"
"I can't think about that right now." Will replied, his voice shaking.
"Will, you're pregnant. You can't skip meals." Sonny said. "You have to think about the baby and what they need."
"What about my first? Huh? What does our daughter need?" Will snapped and stood up. "Because she is missing. Probably in some dark room with a gunman right outside."
Sonny stood up and put his hands on Will's shoulders to calm him. "What Arianna needs is for her dads to be strong and have faith that she will be returned to us." Will swallowed and nodded. Sonny pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back soothingly. "We'll find her."
XXX
Sonny finally got Will and Gabi to eat. Gabi tried contacting her mother, but couldn't reach her. Then she got a call from Rafe.
"Oh my God, Rafe! I love you so much. Thank you so much." Gabi sniffed and hung up and turned to Will and Sonny. "They found Marlena and Ari. They're at the hospital getting checked out."
"Oh, thank God!" They rushed out of the station to Sonny's car.
Will's phone rang. "Dad."
"Where the hell are you? The wedding's about to start!" Lucas asked urgently.
Will sighed and closed his eyes. He'd almost forgotten about that. "I'm on my way to the hospital."
"Hospital?! Why? What happened?!" Lucas demanded.
"Long story short: Ari and Grandma Marlena were kidnapped earlier today."
"What?!"
"They escaped and they're at the hospital to get checked out." Will assured him.
"Why the hell haven't you said anything?!"
"It was a weird situation. Plus it was over just as soon as it started." Will explained, shrugging. "Look, I don't want to ruin Abigail's day. Will you please just tell her that Sonny and I won't make it and that we're really sorry?"
Lucas exhaled slowly. "Fine. But I'm coming to the hospital as soon as the ceremony's over."
"Thank you. See you later."
XX
Will, Sonny, and Gabi rushed through the waiting area and scared the head nurse half to death.
"Excuse me, has Marlena Evans and Arianna Horton checked themselves in yet?" Will asked, hurriedly.
"Yes, they're getting checked out- oh, they're right behind you." The nurse pointed behind them. Marlena walked towards the group smiling and holding Ari.
Gabi started crying and laughing and hugged her daughter close. "My baby, my baby."
Will and Sonny both hugged Gabi and Ari. "Oh, sweetheart."
Will pulled away and hugged Marlena. "I'm so glad you two are safe. Thank you for taking good care of my daughter."
"Aw, you're welcome." Marlena replied.
Gabi sighed. "I was so worried. And I was afraid she'd be hurt…"
"I know. I know." Marlena replied. "The pediatrician gave her a clean bill of health."
"Was, um….was she…?" Gabi was too afraid to ask.
"Oh…no. There was some awareness, but I don't think she knew what was going on." Marlena replied.
"Oh. Thank God." Gabi replied, relieved. "And thank you so much."
"Oh."
"Thank you." Gabi said again.
"Are you kidding? Of course." Marlena smiled. "Look, I wanna go back there and-and find out what's going on with John."
"Okay. We're gonna head home and have ourselves a tubby time." Gabi said to Ari.
"Oh, good." Marlena replied.
"Excuse me," They turned around to see a police officer approaching them. "I just got off the phone with Detective Hernandez, he wants you two to stay right here and I'm not to let you out of my sight."
"What?" Gabi asked.
"Where's John?" Marlena asked.
"We don't know. He disappeared." The officer said simply.
"Disappeared? What do you mean?" Marlena asked
"We don't know where he is."
Sonny's phone rang. "Abigail, hey. This isn't a good time."
"I know. I heard what happened." Abigail replied. "Is Ari and Marlena okay?"
"Yeah, they're both fine."
"Okay, listen…I am going to postpone the wedding-"
"Abigail…"
"But only by one hour." Abigail replied. "I want my two favorite cousins, brother, and best friend all at my wedding. I called JJ and he's on his way to the hospital to pick you guys up."
Sonny sighed. "Okay. Um…Gabi can't leave, though. I'm not sure if Will can, either. One hour, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, we might only stay for the ceremony and leave right after, though."
"I understand. See you soon!"
"Bye." Sonny hung up and explained the situation to Will.
"Guys, I can't leave." Gabi said.
Marlena turned to Will. "Go on. We'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Will asked.
"Yeah. Go, go to your cousin's wedding." Marlena insisted.
"Okay." Will nodded. He turned to Ari. "Sweetheart, Daddy and Dada need to go somewhere, but we'll be back real soon, okay? You be good."
"Take pictures." Gabi requested.
"We will." Will and Sonny rushed to the elevator. JJ was waiting for them by the curb. Will was already in a suit, so he didn't need a change of clothes. They got into the car and drove off for the mansion.
Siiigggh! The kidnapping/rescue mission and wedding had to happen on the same day… -