Chapter Two
News had a way of traveling fast in Salem.
And gossip even faster.
There was an old joke about Salem that if a tree fell in the forest and no one was around to hear it, all of Salem Place would know about it anyway.
It hardly mattered that they were in Los Vegas, with nearly half the town present everyone was talking about the fact that Austin Reed had stormed out of the chapel just moments before he was supposed to marry Sami Brady, and the whispering made it clear they all knew who was to blame.
"Sami never changes, does she?"
"I feel so bad for Austin. Did you see his face?"
"I wonder what she did this time."
A small smirk tugged its way onto his lips, and Lucas shook his head, never failing to appreciate the fact that Sami was always to blame in the eyes of Salem.
And in the eyes of her family.
As Lucas wove his way through the crowded chapel looking for Will, he spared a glance over at the Bradys and Blacks, who had congregated together in the center of the room, all frowning and talking lowly amongst themselves.
"Shouldn't we go check on Sami, Mom?" he heard Belle ask.
"I think Sami needs some time alone to regain her composure and think about everything that's happened, sweetie-girl," Marlena replied, patting her arm absently.
Lucas rolled his eyes, not surprised.
Marlena always had prepared the "hands-off" approach when it came to Sami.
Basically she liked to avoid her oldest daughter's problems until she couldn't avoid them any longer, and then tell Sami how she'd brought it all on herself. Marlena, like the Bradys, just didn't want to deal with any of the drama that inevitably followed Sami like a shadow.
There's definitely going to be some drama here today, Lucas thought, chuckling to himself.
He couldn't wait to see the looks on all their faces.
It was still hard for him to believe it, to realize that Sami Brady was his wife.
His heart was pounding in his ears, his mouth was dry, typical reactions for a newlywed male, he supposed. But his nerves came not from excitement, but rather a strange mix of dread, amusement, fear and anticipation.
Surviving a year with Sami wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it when his mother found out.
It was no secret that Kate Roberts loathed and despised Sami Brady, or that the feeling was entirely mutual, there was no one his mother detested more.
And so marrying Sami was his perfect revenge.
Lucas had escaped the burning mansion with his life, just barely, but he suspected he would never be able to escape the fire all together. His dreams were haunted by memories of smoke and searing heat, of his lung screaming for air amidst a fiery inferno. The dreams had been present from the moment he first woke from the coma, but they had intensified as of late.
Ever since he learned the truth about that fateful night.
Now when sleep claimed him, and he writhed fitfully underneath the covers, sweating and convulsing, he saw his mother's face as she lit the house aflame.
Laughing, smiling, relishing her victory.
Blissfully unaware that Victor was not the only one being consumed by the flames.
A small shudder crept its way up his spine, and Lucas swallowed, staring down at his hand, which trembled violently of its own accord, with a scowl. His mind wasn't the only thing still battling the aftermath of the fire, every part of his wretched body was failing him these days.
He'd thrown his entire heart in his rehabilitation, for his son's sake, but it wasn't enough.
No matter how hard he worked, no matter how he tried to hide it, his body just wasn't what it used to be.
His reflexes were shot, and his muscles still weren't fully under his control, he never knew when a spasm would develop or when muscles would lock tight or give way, and it made him feel weak and useless, made him dread getting out of bed.
If not for Will, he probably wouldn't have.
His son was the only ray of light in his world of shadows these days.
"Hey, buddy," Lucas called, as he approached the fish pond in the lobby, where Phillip was ostensibly keeping an eye on his son while playing with his cell phone.
"Hi, Daddy," Will said absently, too occupied with the fish to look up.
Daddy.
He would never get tired of hearing that.
It hadn't been easy, reconnecting with his son since awakening from his coma.
While he was drifting and comatose, Will had continued to grow up in his absence, and had grown closer to Austin at the same time.
It was, Lucas conceded begrudgingly, only natural.
Things had been confusing for Will, he hadn't understood why his father didn't just wake up, he'd even tried to wake him up with a kiss on the cheek from what Lucas had been told by his mother, and Austin had been there to act as a father figure to Will during that difficult time.
But that didn't make it sting any less to see how much Will adored Austin.
For the first time, Lucas had a moment of doubt about his plans.
It was true, Will had always wanted him and Sami to get together, wanted them to be a real family like all the kids at school had, but Will had been looking forward to having Austin as his stepfather.
What if he wasn't as happy about this turn of events as Lucas had expected him to be?
Stop it, Lucas told himself. Of course he'll be happy.
After all, it was only the one thing Will had wanted most his entire life.
"Hey, buddy," Lucas cleared his throat, and lowered himself to kneel at Will's level, wincing as his joints ached in protest. "Your Mom wants to see you, so how about I take you back to her, okay?"
Will looked up at him, innocent features blank. "Why did Uncle Austin leave?"
Lucas drew a sharp breath, knowing he should have been prepared for that question, but he wasn't. Phillip put his phone back in his pocket, apparently deciding this conversation was more interesting, and raised his eyebrows, as if daring Lucas to tell the truth.
"Uh, well, you see, pal, Uncle Austin is pretty mad at your Mom right now," Lucas said carefully.
"Did they have a fight?" Will asked.
"Yeah," Lucas replied gently. "Yeah, buddy, they did."
"What about?" Phillip inquired, and Lucas shot him a glare, to which his kid brother just rolled his eyes. "Like we won't all find out soon enough, anyway, man."
Will was watching him closely, waiting for an explanation.
"Uncle Austin and your Mom..." Lucas began, then trailed off, swallowing. "Your Mom made a choice that Uncle Austin didn't agree with, Will, and sometimes when adults can't agree, they realize that maybe they aren't supposed to be getting married."
"But they love each other," Will said softly.
Rather than share his opinion on that, Lucas ruffled his son's hair and slowly rose to his feet, his legs creaking a little at the strain.
"Come on, buddy," he said. "I think your Mom could really use a hug right now, don't you?"
Will nodded, and lifted his arms to be picked up.
For a long moment, Lucas stared down at him, his heart breaking, and he wondered how he could explain to his son that he couldn't carry him right now, but thankfully Phillip came to his rescue. "How about I give you a piggy back ride, kiddo?" Phillip asked, scooping Will up with such ease that it pierced Lucas' heart, making him curse his body's weakness even more. "Your dad can lead the way."
Giving his brother a grateful look, Lucas did just that and wove his way back through the crowd inside to the bridal chambers door.
Phillip put Will down, and made his excuses, slipping away.
Little hands grabbed the doorknob, and Will ran into the bridal room at full-speed, so Lucas followed, shutting the door behind him, and turned around just as Will flung himself at Sami.
"Mommy," their son cried, then frowned. "Are you okay? You're crying."
Peering at her from across the room, Lucas found their son was right- Sami's face was red and damp, tear tracks glistening under the lights overhead.
For a moment, her gaze flickered up at him, and their eyes met, then she turned to Will.
Forcing a smile, she wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Of course I'm okay, sweetie," she assured their son. "I'm crying because I'm so happy, that's all."
"Happy?" Will echoed, confused. "But Uncle Austin..."
"I know you really had your heart set on me marrying Uncle Austin, Will," Sami said softly, with a faint hitch to her voice. "And I'm so sorry, sweetheart, but that's not going to happen anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because I... I..." Sami looked up at Lucas, eyes pleading.
"Because, buddy," Lucas said, placing a hand on Will's shoulder and smirking at Sami over their son's head. "Your mom realized that she'd rather marry me instead."
Sami's whole face lit up with indignant fury and her lips parted, nasty retort on the tip of her tongue, and Lucas raised his eyebrow.
She glanced at their son, reigned in her outrage, and swallowed it back.
Will, for his part, only stared.
"Yeah, right," their little boy said softly, solemnly.
Bitterly.
And it broke Lucas' heart to see how jaded his son was, at such a young age.
We did this to him, Sami, he thought, his heart sinking.
All those years they'd spent engaging in ruthless custody battles, all the angry shouting and the hateful words they'd slung at each other... in the end it had been their son who they hurt the most, just like Maggie had always warned.
"Will," Sami whispered, but seemed unable to find her voice after that.
"Hey, hey," Lucas said lightly, taking his son by the shoulders. "I mean it, buddy. Would I lie to you?"
Sniffling, Will shook his head.
Sami pursed her lips, but thankfully stayed silent.
Lowering himself down to their son's level, Lucas grunted as his legs strained to support his weight, and grabbed onto the couch to steady himself.
Will didn't notice, but Sami's eyes narrowed sharply.
"It's true," Lucas began quietly, touching Will's hair affectionately as he ignored Sami's stare. "Your mom and I haven't always gotten along, we've been real jerks to each other for a long time and that wasn't fair to you, but that's all gonna change now. Things will be different from now on, we're gonna be a family, the three of us."
"Why?" Will demanded with an innocent frown.
"Because, it's what's best for us right now," Lucas answered. "For all of us."
Will gazed at them skeptically. "Why couldn't we be a family before?" he demanded, pursing his lips in a manner that was so Sami it rendered Lucas speechless.
Thankfully Sami finally decided to pitch in.
"Sometimes, little man," she said slowly, intently straightening his little tuxedo jacket to buy herself time. "Mommies and daddies make mistakes. They hurt each other's feelings without meaning to, and they need time to cool down."
"Like a time-out?" Will asked.
"Yeah," Sami replied, with a faint but sincere smile. "Just like that. And your daddy and I have really hurt each other's feelings, so we've been in a really long time-out."
"Time-outs are no fun," Will informed them.
"No," Sami agreed. "They're not."
"But the important thing, buddy," Lucas cleared his throat. "Is that we learn from them, right?" When Will nodded, he smiled. "Well, your mom and I are slow learners, but we finally figured out that we were being mean to each other for no reason."
Sami's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline at that, but she didn't dare comment with Will present.
She'd blow up at him later.
"You mean you fight because you love each other?" Will asked.
Over their son's head, Sami's face went pale, and Lucas swallowed hard. "Uh, something like that, buddy," he managed to croak out, the muscles in his face twitching in protest as he smiled at his son. "But neither of us could ever love anyone as much as we love you." He looked at Sami pointedly. "Right, Sami?"
"Right," Sami responded. "You're our whole world, Will."
Together, they smiled at Will with identical overdramatic smiles that hurt, until their son melted.
"You're really gonna be married?" he asked, lower lip trembling.
"Actually," Lucas coughed. "We, uh, we already did."
"We wanted it to be a surprise, sweetie," Sami added, as Will's little eyes got big. "That's why Uncle Austin was so mad, because we didn't tell him."
Nice, Sami, Lucas thought, rolling his eyes.
"Where are we gonna live?" Will inquired hesitantly, still not ready to buy it.
"I'm going to lease out my apartment," Lucas answered immediately. "And move in with you and your mom."
A small choking sound escaped Sami's lips.
"You okay there, sweetheart?" Lucas asked her, unable to hide his smirk. "I guess you're just so overcome with happiness, it took your breath away, huh?"
"That must be it," Sami replied sweetly, through gritted teeth.
"Well, get used to it, Sami baby, because we've got the rest of our lives."
Sami opened her mouth to reply, but before she could Will fell onto them, like a marionette puppet whose strings had been cut, and it took Lucas a long, bewildered moment to realize his son was crying.
"I love you, Mommy," Will cried, burying his face into Sami's dress. "Love you, Daddy."
Swallowing the lump that rose in his throat, Lucas looked at Sami.
Their eyes met, as their son's small body trembled between them, the only sound in the room Will's sobs, and Lucas saw his own guilt reflected in Sami's icy blue eyes, a swirling mist of grief and sadness, of regret and heartache.
And just enough anger to make him bristle.
"Oh, honey," Sami whispered, pressing a kiss to Will's hair. "We love you, too, so very much."
"It's true, buddy," Lucas said thickly. "We'd do anything for you."
Even spend an entire year playing house.
"Anything, Will," Sami murmured, holding him close even as she leveled a fierce glare in Lucas' direction over his head. "Don't ever forget that, okay? Everything we do is for you."
Somehow, Lucas suspected it was going to be a very long year.