Song: I Can't Live If Living is Without You. M. Carey

You know I can't forget this feeling

Or your face as you were leaving

But I guess that's just the way the story goes

You always smile

But in your eyes

Your soul shows, yes it shows

Will sat on his balcony, allowing the cool trickle of night air envelop him, creating a desirable contrast with the actual warmth of the night. It was verging on summer, he knew it, the weather knew it, but he wished with all his might that he could return to Winter. Winter seemed to be the fitting surrounding to complement his disposition. His brain raced over the nights events. How can everything run smoothly one second, then hit a big ass ditch the next? Well I suppose something had to go wrong…since when did ANYTHING in the history of my entire existence work without a glitch?

He pulled a leaf off one of the plants and started to pull it apart, piece by piece as he traced back in his mind what the hell went wrong tonight.

"Jack, relax, you have met my family hundreds of times…why is it such a big deal now?" Will yelled at the bathroom door.

"Because I was never your boyfriend then. Slapping the word 'boy' in front of my introduction opens up a whole new nightclub of comparison!"

Will was flattered that Jack was nervous, but also highly amused. He knocked on the door again, his mind packed with all the possibilities of what could perhaps be taking Jack so excruciatingly long to get ready. Makeup? Shaving? Plotting? He needed to be at his mother's house in twenty minutes for the family dinner which consisted of his mother, his once - estranged brother Sam (yes, the one Grace slept with) and his new girlfriend Anna and his annoying brother Paul and his wife Peggy and their baby…Fun for all!

Truth was, he had never really brought a man (since Michael) to his place for dinner, in dreaded fear of them being scared off and fear of his family feeling uncomfortable by the whole scenario…but Jack knew him and his family better than anyone else, except for Grace of course.

"Jack please just throw on something and get out of there! You'll look great either way…I hope"

The lock clicked and the door swung open.

"You hope? What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Jack screeched, his hand resting on his hip as he lingered in the doorway. He was wearing black pants and a light blue shirt, covered with a charcoal vest. Will grinned.

"It means that ow, don't do that near my ear ever again and that I am extremely thankful that the door didn't just open to a sequin dress and pumps."

Jack squinted his eyes angrily and tried to storm past Will, but Will quickly caught on and blocked the doorway, not allowing Jack through.

"Just relax, ok sweetie? They love you already." Will said tenderly, scooping Jack's face in his palms and kissing him briefly.

Jack rolled his eyes, pulling Will's hands down into his own. "Well I don't blame them, who could hate this killer smile?" He said, providing an example.

"And you know, even if they don't adore you, just remember that I do, and you're ten times the girl that Sam's girlfriend is anyway…she's a buffed up swimmer, with shoulders that look like natural shoulder pads." Will replied, mumbling quickly and rushing off to grab their jackets before Jack could respond.

Jack opened his mouth wide and stormed out after Will.

Grace put down her pencil and looked over at Karen who was contently pouring her chosen quantitiesfor the creation of her martini. Grace watched the process in awe as Karen pulled out the vodka bottle from under her chair and added it to the bottle of dry Vermouth.

"Hey Karen?"

"Yes honey?" An uninterested Karen responded.

"Can I ask you something?"

Karen's concentration was focused heavily on the amounts of drink she was pouring into her glass. "If it's about your skirt being too short then yes, it is Skanktastic."

"That's enough Karen, I'm trying to ask you something serious."

"Whoreright."

"Karen…"

"Hoe-kay, Hoe-kay."

"KAREN!"

"Yes?"

"Good. Ok..." Grace sighed. "What…what would you do if I errr…went away for a little while?"

Karen looked up and stared at Grace for a minute. Before a knowledgeable look painted itself across her face and she nodded, grinning and tapping her nose.

"Ah…away. I understand.You never struck me as the type. Then again, they never do. Wow, my little Gracie in rehab and I never noticed it." Her face crumpled. "I think I'm gonna need some fresh air…in my limo. I'll get Driver to put the air con on. Oh Lordy!"

Karen rushed out of the office leaving a confused and unfulfilled Grace behind. I needed to tell SOMEONE! I need advice! I need…that's it! I'm telling Will and he is gonna be happy for me because I am excited and even he can't bring me down. Grace thought to herself as she slammed her pencil down on the desk, and to her surprise the pencil broke.

"Whoever thought I could do that?"

"Well, I suppose dinner went alright?" Will said to Jack when they had finally stolen a minute alone together in the lounge room of the house.

"Alright? I was so nervous that I missed my mouth with the soup and I was shaking like a junkie! And then your mother asked stupid questions like 'are you taking care of yourself Jackie? So, is my Will romantic?' What the hell could I say?"

"Nothing at all." Will smiled, wrapping his arms around Jacks waist. "People like you better that way."

"Hey hey hey! Don't get so grabby at the Mother Lion's den!" Jack laughed nervously, shoving Will off him in embarrassment.

At that moment, Peggy came running in, carrying her baby daughter. She hurriedly thrusted the baby into a shocked Jack's arms and ran out of the door. Paul came into the room after her and faced Will and Jack.

"We have a meeting to go to, do you mind just putting her to sleep for us? We'll be back in an hour."

"Put her to sleep? You mean put her down? That is disgusting! I don't kill things, its bad karma, sorry Paul."

Paul wasn't sure whether Jack was serious or not, but he gave a quick laugh and sprinted out of the door, leaving Jack to sit down with the crying baby in his arms.

"You do know he meant putting the baby to bed…right?" Will asked, a little unsure.

"Of course! What kind of an idiot do you take me for!" Jack laughed. Thank God! I don't have to kill a baby. Relief!

"Just hold on, I'm gonna go talk to Mom, I'll be back in a few minutes ok?" Will said, highly amused at the fact that Jack was so annoyed at having to look after a child.

"Be quick, Truman."

Jack felt really uneasy with the baby, and sat her on his lap. He stared into her crying face, and as a shock to himself, he felt his heart cry too. His face suddenly softened as he held her more gently to support her back.

"I know, I know. I cried when I saw Will's outfit too." He said to the child.

"Who dresses you? Because this shade of pink looks fabulous on you!" He giggled, playing with the pink jumpsuit the child was wearing. The baby eventually stopped crying, relieving Jack.

Oh God Oh God Oh God what do I do now?

He cursed Will in his mind for bailing on him and the kid, and decided that he had no other choice but to sing to her. So he did softly….and he swore he saw her give him an appreciative, contented smile. He grinned at the baby as she began to doze off, cradled in his arms. He felt himself beginning to doze off too.

"You're not so bad a kid when you shut up, you know that?"

Will had been watching the past few minutes from the doorway, and felt a whole new admiration and adoration for Jack flow into his heart. He's great with children, why on earth wouldn't he ever want them?

He couldn't help but allow a smile stretch across his face as he walked over to his boyfriend on the couch. He leaned over the back of it and kissed Jack on the cheek.

"What was that for, Will?"

"I think she likes you." This is exactly what I want. Maybe not now…but eventually. Can't we be like this? Can Jack ever adapt to this?

"Of course she likes me, William. Girl intuition. She told me that she thinks you should never ever let those pants venture away from the closet ever again."

No I can't forget tomorrow

When I think of all my sorrow

When I had you there but then I let you go

And now its only fair that I should let you know

What you should know

Later that night, Will lay down in his bed, reading a novel when a frustrated Jack entered his room and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Monster under your bed? Did you have that nightmare about naked women again? Boogey man in your closet?" Will questioned unenthusiastically, refusing to look up from his book.

"You are so funny. Wait for it…did you hear that? That was the sound of my side splitting from laughter."

Will put down his book and faced his lover.

"What's wrong then?"

"I was bored. That's all. And there was nothing on Tv, nothing to read, nothing to dance to, no one to call…so I came to my last resort."

"I'm touched." Will said. He pulled Jacks arms, so Jack was laying half on top of him, his head resting on his boyfriend's chest. Both of them closed their eyes.

"Glad to see you can touch yourself" Jack giggled, knowing that he was only funny to himself.

Will could not remove the image of Jack and the baby girl from of his mind. Every time he thought of it, a new wave of warmth pulsated through his veins, creating tingles throughout his whole body. He breathed in deeply, before kissing top of the head of his love.

"New shampoo?" Will asked.

"How'd you know?"

"Smells different…I think I have been around you too long." Will chuckled.

"God, I know. I even know your daily work schedule." Jack replied.

Will shook his head. "I know your daily underwear choices. Monday - blue, Tuesday - red, Wednesday- white, Thursday - black, Friday - boxers, Saturday - commando and Sunday-hearts. Is that crazy?"

"Not as crazy as the fact that I know how many ties you have and the specific order you put them in. God! That's dreadful! It's a hop, cache and a jazz split away from marriage!" Jack joked lightly.

Will thought quietly for a moment before impulsively mumbling.

"Then why don't we?"

"What?"

"Get married?"

Jack bolted upright, fear pounding at his chest and his brain. He quickly stood up and pounced over to the other corner of the room, his eyes and mouth gaping open at Will from across the bedroom. No! He did NOT just say that. Please don't tell me he just said that! No! Why?

Jack's mouth suddenly became dry, before exclaiming, "Katie Holmes – Cruise!…What the hell did you just say?"

To be continued…

GracieAdler: It's awesome to know that you are still liking this...theres about 5 chapters or so to go now. How were the Dorieto's? Thankyou so much for your review!

LJstagFlower4e: Thankyou! I'm so happy that you like this storyline! Thanks a billion for the review hun!

Next Chapter: Jack tries to overcome the shock of Will's proposal the only way he sees fit: With a shocking proposal of his own. Grace wimps out and tries to avoid telling Will about her job, as Jack spends some good old quality time with Karen.