"Okay Will. I have to go. I think I can hear my Mom coming into the solarium. Just remember what I said. I know you'll do fine. Okay. Bye."

Sonny ended his call with Will, and got ready for the inquisition that he knew was coming. Sonny was supposed to be resting and he was sure that his mother had heard him on the phone. He really hoped Will kept up his courage and things went well for him but right now he had his own problems, namely, a nosy mother.

Adrienne, for her part, was seriously annoyed at her son at the moment. It was the beginning of May, so it wasn't as if it was snowing or anything, but it could still be cold.

Sonny was in the sun which was another thing that annoyed Adrienne. At least one of the drugs in the combo made Sonny photosensitive, and that meant Sonny could burn easily.

And then there was the phone call. Adrienne knew perfectly well to whom her son was talking. She did not approve. She had tried to talk sense to Sonny; she tried to make him see that even a friendship with Sami Brady's son was a bad idea.

Sonny's chemo treatment was tomorrow and Adrienne was bound and determined to be the one to accompany her son. It was her husband Justin's turn, but she wanted to be able to run interference. And if Sami was there, Adrienne wanted to keep her far away from Sonny; because with Sami, anything could happen.

Sonny knew that his mother wanted to be the one to take him to the hospital tomorrow and he knew why. She didn't want her son to associate with Sami Brady's son. Well that was too bad. Will needed someone in his corner. Sonny knew, from Will, that Will had Dr. Evans in his corner but Sonny knew that the more people in your corner the better off you'd be, and he wanted to be there for Will.

Sonny remembered the little talk he had with his mother, or perhaps a better word for it would be his mother's soliloquy because Sonny barely had a chance to say anything. It went something like this: Sami Brady and Lucas Horton were complete disasters. They juggled poor Will Horton around from one situation to another, basically using the kid as a pawn in their war against each other. Will had been involved in so much drama it was a wonder that he was still alive.

Sonny recalled that his mother went on and on about how Will was damaged goods and when Sonny pointed out that Will couldn't be all that bad since he worked hard enough, and was smart enough, to be attending Harvard, on scholarship, Adrienne indicated that it was probably a sign of how ruthless he was, just like his parents.

Sonny had given his mother the excuse that he was tired, that he needed to rest and that ended the conversation, but not before Adrienne practically forbade Sonny from associating himself with Will.

Sonny decided it was wise to stop his mother from producing another soliloquy. He stood up from the chaise-longue on which he was sitting and walked past his mother saying: "Mom, I know you heard me talking again to Will, and I know what you think of him. I happen to think differently. Will needs a friend. I intend to be that friend. Now I'm going upstairs to lie down. I've had enough…sun…for now."

Adrienne had different ideas. She had seen how Sonny had acted around Will Horton. The whole hand-on-knee thing, for her, was a dead giveaway; and she didn't think that starting a relationship with anybody, but especially with Will Horton, was a good idea. She decided to say as much to Sonny:

"Honey, I know you think I'm being hard on you. But I can tell Sonny. I am your mother. You like Will. And not just as a friend. You should stay away from Will; not just because I think he isn't good enough for you. He isn't by the way. But because you need to concentrate on yourself right now, instead of expending energy on someone else."

Sonny did not like what he was hearing. He could certainly believe that his mother would say something like that, but he certainly didn't have to like it, Especially since she was totally wrong:

"Mom, you are wrong about Will. You don't know him. I don't really know him either, but I want to get to know him. He is a great person. We just met, mom. It's not like we are getting married. Will is in need of support and friendship right now. I want to give him that. It makes me feel good. It gives me energy; it gives me a reason to fight my own battles. Can't that be reason enough for you to stop bugging me about this?"

Sonny left his mother knowing that her mouth had popped open in surprise. He had given her something to think about. She may never come around to liking Will, but at least this might mean she would leave him alone…both of them alone...at least for a while.

Will ended his call with Sonny. And headed to the living room where his grandmother, and probably a bunch of others, were waiting for him. He felt like crap. He felt agitated and squirmy all over. He felt achy especially in the hips. He was short tempered one minute and way too happy the next. He'd be in a conversation with his grandmother and forget what he was talking about. And all this was from taking prednisone for only two days.

He enjoyed talking to Sonny. Somehow, with all that was happening to him, Sonny was able to get him to focus and get him to calm down. He wished Sonny could be with him when he talked to his family, but he knew why Sonny couldn't; too many people with too many germs. Even though Sonny had offered to be there for him, Will declined the offer and simply said that he would call him back or see him the next day. He did have his Grandma Marlena, and he knew that he could count on her support. He was still dreading this though.

Part of the conversation that Will had with Sonny was that Will still was not sure if he made the right choice. Marlena had asked him how he would like to handle telling his family about his cancer. Will told Sonny that his grandmother was of the opinion that anything else that Will wanted to tell his family could wait, but the cancer thing shouldn't. Sonny was of the same opinion as the illustrious Dr. Evans. And Sonny had not changed his opinion during their latest conversation. Will finally decided that he would decide what to tell his family when the time came, which was very very soon.

Another decision Will had to make was who to tell and when. Marlena had told Will that he should do what was most comfortable for him, taking into consideration who he would be telling and what he perceived as the likely reaction.

During several conversations with Sonny, Will came to the conclusion that no matter how he told his mother, she was bound to react badly, most likely rather selfishly, because that is what she does. Therefore, telling the whole family at once would take less energy, and be less stressful, in the long run.

Marlena then took over and arranged a family meeting. No kids would be present, at least no one under fifteen. Marlena told Sami and Jennifer and Eric, Hope, Kate, Roman and Caroline to gather everyone they thought would like to hear an announced, from Will. They would meet in Marlena's apartment. There were a few people, such as Will's father Lucas who would need to told later.

When he caught sight of his Grandmother, she was sitting patiently on the couch. He thanked her for waiting for him while he talked to Sonny and then he said: "I'm ready Grandma…Let's get this show on the road."

Marlena stood up and got everyone's attention. Everyone Marlena called was there. They all seemed intrigued by Marlena's summons. Sami Brady was pacing. She had not liked the way she had been summoned by her mother. Her opinion was that if Will had something to tell her, then he should come to her. She certainly didn't understand why Will would need to have this kind of a family meeting. She had to postpone meetings to be here. This had better be good.

Will saw his mother pacing and everyone staring at him and he almost bolted. He then remembered something Sonny said:

"Will, they are your family. They love you. If things go as badly with your mother as you think, then you still have Dr. Evans. And you'll still have me."

With that memory filling his head, Will took a deep breath and began:

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming. As my Grandma Marlena might have told you, I have some news. Two pieces of news actually…"

He was interrupted by his mother who shouted: "Oh for God's sake Will! Just say that you flunked out of College…or you lost your scholarship or both…But get on with this! I have meetings I need to go to!"

Before Will could react, Marlena stood up, walked to Will and put an arm around him. She had noticed that Will was starting to fidget and shake, probably as a result of his medication and the stress of the situation. With his grandmother's protective arms around him Will found the courage to continue:

"Mom? Why do you always think the worst of me? The last time I had news…you thought I'd flunked out of High School. When I actually got admittance to Harvard...But you are right Mom, this time it is different. I have two pieces of news…one is bad news and one is okay news…I'll let you all decide which is which…"

Will was interrupted yet again, this time by Marlena who simply asked those present to not react until Will had finished saying both pieces of news…Will turned his head towards his grandmother and smiled, and then concentrated on the group as he said:

"I'm gay…that's one thing…" Will looked across to his mother and he scanned the faces of everyone else. No one reacted. Will wasn't sure what to think of that. He continued:

"I also found out officially, yesterday, that I have a type of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I've already started a chemo regimen. I'm going for a treatment tomorrow. So my return to Harvard might be a little delayed. And before anyone asks, the cancer isn't related to my being gay. I've been tested. I have no STIs including HIV"

Will looked around the room to see people's reaction. He could feel his Grandma Marlena's arm tighten around him. This made him feel better; although there was a very quick and funny thought that crossed his mind: He wished that arm was Sonny's.

Sami Brady reacted first. She scoffed. Will could see his mother's anger flaring. She always got this exacerbated look on her face before her emotions blew sky high:

"Will, why do you say these things? First, you can't be gay. I would know these things! I'm your mother and I didn't have a clue! And then to top it all off…you lie about dying! So you can get sympathy! I'm leaving! I don't have to listen to this!"

Will knew that his mother was most likely not going to take what he had to say very well. He expected her to yell, at the world and at him. He didn't expect her to run out of the apartment yelling and crying. But that is exactly what she did.

The rest of the group was stunned more by Sami's reaction than anything else; but the room became rather unbearably silent until Will's Grandma Caroline stood up and walked to Will, opened up her arms and gave Will a big hug:

"Will, I love you. Gay or straight, you are my great-grandson and I know you to be kind, and generous, intelligent and sometimes far too selfless for your own good. Those are the things that matter…you being gay is just a newer part of you that we get to know…your…your cancer on the other hand…"

Will squeezed his Grandma Caroline tightly, letting her cry on his shoulder: "Grandma Caroline, I'm so sorry…I know you were counting on me to work at the Pub this summer…"

Caroline looked up at her great-grandson: "To hell with that Will. You will not feel bad about being sick or getting well. The Pub will manage. The important thing is that you get better. And you better get better young man or you'll have to answer to me."

Caroline was followed close behind by his Uncle Eric, in his priest uniform. Will still hadn't gotten used to that. Eric iterated what Grandma Caroline said. He told Will that God loved him, no matter who Will fell in love with, and that he would pray for him. Eric also stated that he would be coming around more often, even if it were just to talk.

Will's Grandma Kate also came up to him and hugged him: "I notice that you are getting tired Will…So I'll just say this. I knew you weregay…probably before you did. I'm so glad that you figured yourself out and that you are being true to yourself. As for the cancer, we will all help you fight this. I will be calling you…You can tell me about any boys you have your eye on…"

The others were a bit more stand-offish, including Will's Grandpa Roman, but everyone wished him well and would help in any way they could. All Will wanted right now was to sleep and maybe talk again to Sonny.

Will was lying down. He was feeling nauseous. He felt tired and also unable to stay in one place, all at the same time. Sonny told him to expect this. He also said that Will would probably not be able to sleep for much and so Facebook, Twitter and online games would be very good tools to help him stay sane.

Will knew that another way for him to stay sane, to help him not crack open, was to talk. He had his Grandma Marlena, and he appreciated her so much. But he had an overwhelming urge to talk to Sonny, and so he did.

Sonny answered his phone and he could tell right away that Will wasn't exactly okay. He simply had to say: "Will?" and Will began to flood him with information: about his mom; about his Grandpa Roman. About his aches and pains:

"And I really haven't even gotten started on the real chemo stuff…how am I going to get through this? How are you getting through it?"

Sonny, as he too was lying in bed, feeling seriously uncomfortable, smiled:

"Will, I'm getting through it by being surrounded by love. Also, talking things out with you, helping you, really helps me…so thank you for opening up to me…I won't tell you everything will be just fine…I will tell you that I will help you fight like hell…"

Will smiled: "And Sonny…I'll help you…You mean more to me than I can say…"