"He's a very polite young man." Marlena tells Will as they walk out of the dining room.

"Yeah, he is."

"He's attractive, too."

"Very."

"I think he likes you."

Now Will laughs. "He does."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm still deciding. My god, this place is something." Will trails his hands over a wall. "You could drive a car right through these doorways. It almost makes you want to cry, seeing the bad shape it's in."

"Bad shape? I don't know about that. Looks to me like it was just waiting for its rightful owner to come snatch it up. And isn't it just typical for a single man." Marlena comments when they reach the smoking room. "One table and two chair. Bet he hasn't bothered with a real home cooked meal since he moved in here."

Will cocks his head. "Grandma, you can't make me feel sorry enough for him to actually cook for him." Amused, Will goes to the window. "God, the view from here is so beautiful. Just think how it would've looked back in the day. To stand here when the place was in tiptop shape. Vintage cars pulling up in the drive."

"I have no doubt it can be restored back to its former glory. But it needs someone to be there for it-- just like Sonny needs someone to be there for him."

Will fidgets with his key necklace, before responding, "I said I'm still deciding. It's freezing." He adds. "Should get a fire going in here."

"I can start one." Sonny tells him as he shows up armed with a pitcher of too strong coffee, and styrofoam cups.

It's a good hour, Sonny thinks. Not counting Chad and Abi, they're his first real guests.

He likes having them over, their presence in his smoking room but the fire he'd built himself crackling away, late afternoon sun barely shining through the dusty windows.

"I'm definitely coming back. Marlena tells him. "I want to see the kitchen once it's complete."

"Come back whenever you want. I'd really love to show you the rest of the place."

"You can still show Will. I'm just going to head on home."

"I can take you home, Grandma."

"No, that's alright. You can stay." She can deny it all she wants, but there was nothing subtle about her tone. "I'm just going to walk back, then I'll just rest a bit before getting back to work in time before my next patient."

As Marlena starts to get up, Sonny follows, offering his hand to help her up. Which gets her to smile. "You have such polite manners. Come by my place when you're not all wrapped up in this place. I'll make you a proper meal, before you turn into nothing but skin and bones."

"The phones are finally working." He reaches into his pocket for some paper, as well as a pencil, and writes down his number. "Anything you need, give me a call."

"I will be sure to take you up on that." She turns her cheek towards him, and Sonny obliges with a peck. As he walks her towards the door, she lens in to whisper,

"I approve of you for my grandson. You'll treat him right, where most haven't."

"So does that mean my chances with you are over, Marlena?"

Marlena just laughs, patting his face, "If I was a decade or so younger, or if you liked women, he'd definitely have some competition. Now go on and show him the rest of the mansion."

Sonny watches her go past the freshly holy water anointed trees, before he hears behind him,

"You like my grandma Marlena." Will calls from the smoking room doorway.

"She's stolen my heart. She's incredible. But isn't a long walk back to her place? Shouldn't she--."

"She doesn't do anything she doesn't want to, be it walking or anything else. You couldn't stop her if you wanted to." Will walks over to stand next to Sonny by the front door, which prompts Sonny to turn toward him, telling him, "You know, I almost came by your place twice, but chickened out."

"Why?"

"Well to me, there's a fine line between pursuing, and outright stalking." Sonny reaches out to card his fingers through Will's hair. "I figured if I could at least wait until I actually got you here, then you could safely say I wasn't a stalker."

"If I want someone to leave me alone, I can them to leave me alone."

"Are men in the habit of doing what you tell them?"

Will's lips curve upward into that smile again, making Sonny want to bite his lips again. "More or less. Are you going to show me the rest of the place or not?"

"Yes I am." He catches Will by his chin, kissing him

"Of course I am. Oh, just so you know." Sonny adds as he takes will's hand to lead him towards the stairs. "Your grandma Marlena just gave me permission to date you."

"Last I checked, that's up to me, not her."

"Oh believe me, I have every intention of winning you over so completely, you won't even notice we skipped that step. Isn't this staircase incredible?"

"Yeah, it is." Will trails a finger along the banister. "This place is glorious, Sonny. And from what I've seen of it so far, you're not some bigshot CEO at all, are you?"

"Ex-CEO. And I'm not sure I know what you mean by that."

"You have plenty of money to do anything you want with the place, even keep it-- are you going to keep it?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then you're a step up from rich. You're loaded. Am I right?"

"If by that you mean is money an issue, the answer's no. But it's not just about all the money I'm putting into it."

Will stops at the top and laughs. "Oh wow. If you honestly think that, you're clearly not shopping in the right places."

"Hey, if you want to give me a lesson on shopping, I'm all ears."

"Maybe." Will looks down at the foyer from over the banister. "You'll be needing furniture eventually. I have a few good places in mind."

"You have family here?"

"Here and there." Will lifts his eyebrows at the noise, as well as the cursing down the hall.

"Just the plumber." Sonny explains. "Had him start in the master bathroom. It was a complete eyesore. If you know anybody who likes ugly bathroom fixtures, I'm your guy."

He starts to pull Will away from the door of what he's started to think of as the haunted room, but Will turns the knob anyway, opening it. Sonny holds his breath as he watches Will go in.

"Chilly in here." Will hugs himself, which does nothing to make him stop shivering. "Might want to think about saving the wallpaper. Pink and blue flowers.

He's halfway to the doors to the veranda when he suddenly stops, and the shivering turns into a full on shudder. In the next moment, he's overcome with this unbearable grief. "It's kind of depressing, huh? It needs some light in here. Put some life back into it."

"A ghost lives here. A woman. I think she might've been murdered in this room."

"Do you now?" Will turns back to him. His face has gone pale, eyes wide, "I don't think it's...angry. Just sad. Lonely and sad."

WIll's voice is thick, and without thinking, Sonny goes inside to stand right next to Will. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Just really cold."

Sonny reaches over to rub Will's arms, and the second he touches Will, it's like being shocked with static.

Will steps back, a half chuckle on his lips. "I don't think that's what my grandma meant by dating me, Sonny."

"No, it's the room. There's something really weird about this room."

"I'm not worried about any ghosts, and neither should you. It's not like they're gonna hurt you." But Will still goes back to the door, fighting the need to quicken his pace.

He wanders through the other rooms, but in none of them did he feel that same sadness that forced him out of the first one.

At Sonny's bedroom door, he smiles, "Well, it's not so bad in here. You have good taste." He sticks his head in the bathroom, where several people are banging and cursing. "Which is more than I can say for whoever designed your bathroom."

Will leans on the doorjamb, chatting with the plumbers for a few minutes, while Sonny chooses to hang back and watch Will.

This is ridiculous, he chides himself. A very silly crush he seems to have developed.

And when Will looks at Sonny from over his shoulder, the jolt hits him right in the gut and spreads all the way to the bottom of the soles of his feet.

"Let me show you the ballroom. It's going to be the main attraction."

"Sure, I'd love to." But once they start to go, Will gestures to the stairs. "Where do they lead?"

"Just more empty bedrooms. Storage, mostly, along with the rooms for the help."

'Let's go look."

"It's nothing interesting." Sonny makes a grab for Will's hand, but Will's already moving.

"Can you get to the belvedere this way?" Will asks. "I've always looked up at it and pictured myself standing on it."

"It's easier from the-- no, don't!"

Sonny's barked order has Will's hand freezing on the doorknob of the makeshift nursery. "What's the matter? You got a sex dungeon in there? You have your skeletons in this room instead of a closet?"

"No, I just..." Sonny can feel himself panicking, feels it rising up and choking him. "There's something really wrong with that room."

"Isn't that the case with all of them?" Will teases, then opens the door.

Sonny's right. Will feels it immediately, the same overwhelming grief and sadness and loneliness. He sees walls and and floors and windows, dust and neglect. It literally feels like his heart is breaking.

Even when Will tries to speak, the cold blasts him. It settles over his skin, like a cold breath, brushing through his hair like a hand.

"This is the heart." He announces, despite having no idea why he's saying it, or how he knows this. "You feel it too, don't you?"

Sonny sways slightly in the doorway, fingers clinging tightly to the doorjamb. His fear is irrational, stabbing him like millions of little pinpricks. This is his mansion, he reminds himself bitterly. His motherfucking mansion. He takes one step inside, then takes another.

The room spins. He hears someone scream, sees Will's face take on a look of alarm. Sonny thinks Will's lips might be moving, saying his name. Then everything goes dark, white spots dancing across his vision.