When Will woke the next morning, it was to the muffled sound of Sami and Marlena bickering. Yawning widely, burrowing further into the soft comforter around him, Will pondered for several moments what his mother and grandmother were even doing in his home so early in the morning.

Then he realized the sun was shining, he was in Ari's bed, and he hadn't heard his alarm.

Squinting at the hands on Ari's Shimmer and Shine wall clock, Will panicked.

"Oh, shit, Ari, get up!"

Will practically dragged a groggy, incoherent Ari into her bathroom. Tossed her on the toilet while he struggled to get a comb through her hair. Still puffy-eyed and grumbling, Ari brushed her teeth while leaning against Will.

Will forced Ari into the first outfit he found in her closet – almost forgetting to grab a clean pair of underwear – and shoved her homework folder in her backpack. The two ran to the bus stop in time to see it pull away from the curb without them.

"Great," Will withheld an expletive he really, really wanted to say. When he saw the other parents side-eyeing him, for more than one reason he was sure, Will wanted to curse even more.

"Let's go," Will sighed, walking with Ari back to the apartment, wincing with each step.

He didn't have time to put on shoes.

"What happened?" Marlena asked when they walked back inside.

"Missed the bus," Will said, searching around for his phone, digging through couch cushions and under what looked like every blanket he owned spread about his floor. Ignoring the odd placement, Will added, "I gotta take her to school, now."

"I don't want to go to school," Ari said with a pout, crossing her arms and sitting on the couch. "I wanna stay home."

"That's not happening," Will said, locating his phone on a charger in the kitchen. He didn't remember putting it there the night before didn't have time to ponder it.

He did do a double take when he realized not only were Sami and Marlena over but so were John and Paul. The two were standing in front of the coffee maker as the smell of freshly brewed coffee permeated the air.

From the looks of things, no one left after Will fell asleep.

At least that explained the mystery of the blanket piles.

Sami and Marlena sat on either side of Ari on the couch, Marlena rubbing Ari's back while Sami fixed the mess Will made of her hair.

Ari kept side-eyeing Paul but didn't say anything.

"Why don't I take her?" Marlena suggested, holding out her hand to Ari. "I need to go to the hospital anyway. See if I can arrange what we discussed last night."

Ah, yes, see if the hospital would loan out a few rooms and equipment to take a quick peek at the scrambled eggs inside of Will's brain.

"No," Ari argued, little nose turned up. "I don't wanna go."

"I don't know," Sami said, smoothing out Ari's hair. "I better go with you. You can tell me what present you haven't gotten yet so I can buy it while you're at school. You know, since I missed your birthday party and everything."

"Present?" Ari turned her head to look at Sami.

Sami nodded and smiled.

Ari thawed a little, letting Sami help her off the couch and herd her toward the door. It didn't stop her from glaring at Paul over her shoulder, though.

"I better go too," John declared. "I gotta check out the S-O-N-N-Y situation."

He spelled out the name so Ari wouldn't know what they were talking about.

"Take my car," Paul urged, gesturing toward a small side table near the front door where he left his keys the night before. "You've been using it since I left anyway. It might as well be your car."

"Thanks," John said, giving Paul a less than subtle nod toward Will. "I'll let you two know if anything else happens. But Victor owes me too many favors. He'll keep you-know-who under control."

"He won't press any charges or anything, will he?" Paul wondered, rubbing his sore knuckles.

"Oh, he better not even think about it," John said with a sardonic laugh. "Not after what he did."

Will thanked everyone before they left, kissing Ari several times, and pretending he didn't see the narrow-eyed looks she kept giving Paul.

Once Will closed the door, it was just him and Paul.

"Hey," Paul greeted, not sure what to do now.

"Hi," Will echoed, leaning against the closed front door.

"Oh – uh – Marlena made you something to eat," Paul bustled about the kitchen and pushed a few buttons on the microwave. "We weren't sure if we should wake you and Ari up or not. You both looked really peaceful and I knew you needed the sleep."

"It's okay," Will said, following after Paul into the kitchen.

This was the first time they'd been alone without Will being an emotional, hysterical mess or bleeding everywhere.

"I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to stay or not," Paul added, rambling as he waited for the microwave. "I know Ari isn't too happy with me right now. But – well – I wasn't ready to leave you. I've never been ready to leave you."

Will wasn't sure if it was the words or Paul's expression while he said them but he closed the distance between them, falling into a hug so easily.

The two held each other for a long time. Well past the microwave beeping and past the time Will should have left for work.

Screw writing, Paul was more important. When they pulled apart, Will sent a few messages to people at work, passing off his stories to others. Something almost unheard of for him but he earned a break.

After several long minutes, Will and Paul sat on the couch. Facing each other with their knees touching, sharing the breakfast Marlena left for Will.

"When was the last time you slept that well?" Paul asked after swallowing a bite of food.

"I don't know," Will answered. "Months probably. Where did you even sleep last night?"

"Oh, on the floor," Paul said. "Marlena and Sami shared the couch. Dad and I slept on the floor. No one wanted to go in your room. It didn't seem right."

"It doesn't even feel like my room," Will admitted. "Nothing in here feels like it's mine, except Ari."

"I thought the same thing when I brought you home the other night," Paul said. "It all looks like Sonny."

Will nodded, eyes on the plate. He stayed quiet out of habit maybe, so conditioned after months with someone who had no interest in anything he said.

Then he remembered, he wasn't with Sonny. He wasn't ever going to be with Sonny again. Will was with Paul. Sweet, gentle, protective, encouraging Paul who never made Will feel like anything less than wonderful.

Will didn't have to stay quiet anymore.

"Sonny never asked to move in," Will confessed, not even sure why he wanted to explain but needing Paul to understand. "He just brought all his things one by one until he was all moved in. Started decorating, taking pictures I had up down. Moving whatever he wanted wherever he wanted it. He didn't even ask. He just did it."

Paul moved even closer, squeezing Will's knee, and giving him an encouraging smile.

"By then, I was so used to doing everything Sonny wanted I didn't even question it. I just kept my mouth shut and dealt with it like I dealt with everything else."

"Like what?" Paul asked. "What else did you deal with?"

When Will gave him a questioning glance, Paul added, "I want you to tell me everything, Will. I wanna know everything you've gone through these past months."

After taking a deep breath, Will told him. He told Paul everything. All the months of paying bills he didn't accumulate. Doing all the housework and cooking and shopping on top of writing too many articles and not spending enough time with Ari. Of dreading coming home and dreading the nights Sonny wanted them to be intimate. Of feeling so overwhelmed and alone because no one was there for him. How John and Brady wouldn't even look at Will. How Marlena told him he had to live with his choices and Will couldn't do anything else in light of such a direct order. How Will didn't recognize himself in the mirror anymore.

Paul listened, really listened. He listened in a way no one had in ages.

"And I missed you," Will said as he started winding down, voice raw from speaking nonstop for so long. "I missed you every minute of every day and I didn't understand. I couldn't understand how I could ever hurt you when I loved you so much. I never wanted to leave you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Paul. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Hey, no, I know that," Paul tried to reassure Will.

Will's plate of food was moved a long time ago. The two were sitting even closer on the couch, Paul holding tight to Will's hands.

"No, no you don't know," Will shook his head. "I hate myself for what I did to you. I knew you were hurting and it was like I couldn't stop myself."

"You couldn't, Will. I get that, now. When it was happening, yeah, I'll admit, I was miserable and angry and hurt. But, I knew in my gut something was wrong. I knew you loved me. I did. I let my insecurities take over, though. I let my fear over your past with Sonny interfere with my confidence in our relationship. If I had more faith in you, if I was stronger, I would have figured out something was wrong a long time ago. You wouldn't have been forced into this life you never wanted."

"You thought I hurt you. I did hurt you. Just because I didn't want to doesn't mean I didn't. I hurt you. I let you think I didn't want you anymore. I could have tried to stop it. Maybe if I fought harder when I got my memories back none of this would have happened."

"No, this isn't your fault."

"You keep saying that, Paul, but it is. If not all my fault, at least, partly. You didn't want me to take the serum because you thought it was dangerous. I should have listened to you. I should always listen to you. Hell, part of this whole mess is I don't listen to anyone and now, I have to."

"Neither of us had any way of knowing anything could go this wrong, though. And it isn't your fault. I knew there was something about the serum that didn't sit right with me just like I knew you leaving me for Sonny wasn't right. I ignored my instincts both times and I'm not doing that anymore."

"Even so, I hurt you. I did. You've spent the past few months – well – I don't know and I probably don't want to know – but I know you've been hurting. And I did that to you. I don't deserve you."

"Will," Paul shook his head, moving his hands up to grasp Will's face and lean in close. "I don't care. I don't care if you hurt me. I don't care if you think you don't deserve me. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because I love you. I loved you then and I love you now and it's never going to go away. I am in love with you and if you agree, I want to be with you again."

"What if I hurt you again?" Will whispered, covering Paul's hands with his own.

"You probably will. Just like I'll hurt you. It's what happens in relationships. There are no guarantees. But I know it's worth it. I know you're worth it."

"Your mother hated me before. What's she going to think of me, now?"

Paul let out a small, surprised laugh.

"I spent time with my mom while I was gone, Will. She understands more than anyone how much I've wanted you back. How much I would have given for this opportunity. If she can't be happy I've finally got it, well, then she wouldn't be my mother."

"Your brother hates me."

"Brady does not, come on. He wouldn't be so upset with you if he didn't see how amazing we were together. And don't even say anything about my dad. You saw him yesterday."

"Ari hates you."

Paul winced.

"I can deal with that. We can deal with that, together."

"She saw you hit Sonny."

"Okay," Paul paused. "That'll make things worse but it still doesn't matter. I love you and that includes your mini-female counterpart."

"She also heard Sonny call me a lot of bad things. So, I don't know, maybe she'll come around."

"She's going to Will. She's just like you. Stubborn and loyal and as soon as she gets to know me, as soon as she sees us together and how good I am for you, she'll figure it out."

"And if she doesn't?"

"I can deal with her hating me. If that's the price I have to pay to have you, I'd let the entire world hate me."

Will shook his head. Face a mixture of too many emotions at once.

"I'm a mess. I'm not like I was when you left."

"That doesn't matter either. You're still you and I am going to be here for you. If you don't want to jump into a relationship again, that's fine. I can wait until you're ready. I'll do whatever you want. I won't tell you what to do. I'll let you have a choice, Will. But, I'm not going to leave and I'm not going to give up on you, on us. I did that before and these past months have been the worst of my life."

Will took a few deep, steadying breaths.

"You really love me still? After everything I did? Everything I've done?"

"Yes, Will."

"What if they can't find a way to fix me? What if I'm like this forever?"

"Then we'll find a way to deal with it, together."

"Okay," Will nodded, eyes closed.

Paul waited patiently for Will to open them again.

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you love me too?"

Will held Paul's gaze, eyes wide and earnest.

"I love you. I've never stopped loving you. It feels like I'll always love you."

"Good," Paul grinned, eyes flickering toward Will's lips.

Going slow, giving Will plenty of time to pull away, Paul kissed him. Soft and sweet and full of meaning, love, trust, and the start of something new.

Will and Paul spent the rest of the morning and afternoon talking. Hands entwined, naturally gravitating toward one another the way they always had.

They both decided to start things slow, let their relationship develop the way it had before: with mutual respect, friendship, and honesty.

Will listened to Paul explain how he felt when Will left him. Listened to Paul's struggles to move on, how he tried to bury himself in other men but they were never quite right. Despite a little bit of nose wrinkling, Will didn't react much. He knew how amazingly gorgeous Paul was inside and out. He didn't blame Paul for wanting to move on, for being with others. It's not like he was in any position to judge considering his own actions.

He thought Will didn't love him anymore or didn't love him enough. Paul had no way of knowing Will felt the opposite.

Will berated himself for not doing enough, trying enough. Maybe he could have resisted harder or found a way to get Paul to understand.

Paul assured Will all those months ago, he wouldn't have understood. How could Will have explained he got his memories back and lost his will to think for himself?

It was hard to grasp even now.

"I spent a lot of time with my grandfather," Paul told Will. "Traveling all over Japan. We went to this one temple where – oh."

Paul deflated a bit.

"What?" Will asked, brows furrowed, eyes examining Paul's face.

"Are you sure you want to hear about all this? I was out traveling the world and you were trapped, literally, here?"

"No, I wanna hear," Will insisted, moving even closer to Paul.

Paul extended his legs in front of him, feet on the coffee table. Will, though, leaned his head against Paul's chest, Paul's arm around Will's neck.

Will grabbed Paul's hand, linking their fingers.

"I wanna hear everything. Tell me everywhere you went."

Will closed his eyes, smiling as Paul painted a picture of each new city he visited and all the exciting things he did.

A little before it was time for Ari to return home, Will told Paul what he wanted to happen. He just wasn't sure how to explain it to a six-year-old.

"I want to get all of Sonny's stuff out of here," Will said as the two ate lunch.

Paul had a pizza delivered and the two ate it on the couch, using napkins as plates.

"It's a good idea. I don't blame you. If it was up to me, I would have hauled all his shit to the dumpster already."

"I just," Will paused, trying to think of what he wanted to say. "I just don't want to make this harder on Ari. She's the only thing that's kept me going all these months and I can't completely screw her up. I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea if I had Ari help me pack his things. You know, take them out of our apartment and have her help me take them to wherever Sonny plans on staying next. Just to see that he isn't completely gone even if I don't want to be with him anymore."

"That sounds like a good idea," Paul acknowledged. "Do you think that'll help her?"

"It would have helped me when I was a kid," Will shrugged. "I bounced from one parent to the other. Between both grandmas and my aunt and uncle. No one ever really took the time to explain to me you can love your child without having to love each other. And Ari already has to deal with a flake for a mom and two dad's and she's got a warped view on me as it is. Sonny must have been feeding her lines about you because she doesn't want you around but she sure didn't care that I kissed Isak."

"How does she know you kissed Isak?" Paul asked with a perturbed expression.

"She heard Sonny say I fucked him yesterday, apparently. Then she heard me say it and she asked what it meant and I panicked. So, I told her he kissed me and she thought I meant on the cheek. Yeah, my daughter has a crush on a man I slept with and she thinks it makes total sense that he kisses better than Sonny."

Paul couldn't stop from laughing at the absurdity of it all. His laughter got Will going too until they both couldn't stop.

"I'm sure he does 'kiss' better than Sonny," Paul said with a snicker.

Will nodded and said, "oh, yeah. So much better."

Paul laughed loudly again even with saying, "hey."

Will shrugged with a wide grin.

Paul cupped Will's cheeks, pulling him into a soft kiss.

"I'm sure whatever you decide to do with Ari will be the right decision. You're a fantastic father."

Will beamed, wrapping his arms around Paul's neck and yanking him closer.

Ari was less than thrilled when she saw Paul in the apartment after Will picked her up from the bus stop.

"Daddy, why is he still here?"

"Because I want him here," Will said. He still didn't know how to handle her apparent hatred of Paul.

He thought back to his own childhood and his own severe dislike of EJ. In the beginning, it wasn't so much Will hated EJ. He feared EJ destroying his family, tearing apart his parents.

Ari must have felt the same way about Paul. Will didn't have any idea how to make it better.

Will cleared his throat, getting Ari and Paul's attention.

"Ari, baby, I know you have some thoughts about Paul. Maybe it would be best if we all talked about it, how you feel and everything."

Will gave Paul a pleading, pouting expression.

Paul nodded. "Sounds alright with me."

"Okay, good," Will tossed Ari's backpack on the coffee table and manhandled her into sitting on the couch.

Ari on one side, Paul on the other, and Will in the middle.

"Right, well," Will didn't know how to get anyone to talk. "Ari, why don't you like Paul?"

"Because he's stupid and mean and wants to take you away from me forever," Ari spat with her arms crossed and a harsh look on her face.

"Why do you think that?" Will pressed, turning to face her.

"Daddy said so," Ari replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "He said Paul only wanted you for himself and you wouldn't want us if Paul was around."

"Is that how you feel, though?" Will pressed. "Do you think Paul's mean and going to steal me away?"

"When you were with him before you were never around," Ari insisted. "You stopped living with us and only lived with Paul."

"I wasn't around as much because I didn't remember everything yet, not because of Paul. I wasn't – I mean I was – but I didn't feel -" Will took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I wasn't ready to be the type of father I should have been. But, as soon as I got my memories back, I was there. Wasn't I?"

Ari gave a reluctant nod.

"And that wasn't because of Paul," Will added. "Mommy and Sonny didn't want me to be around as much if I wasn't ready. They didn't want me to hurt you. But I got my memories back and I haven't gone anywhere, have I?"

Ari shook her head.

"And that isn't going to change if I date someone that isn't Sonny. I know we talked a bit last night about Sonny but you can love Sonny as much as you want. I want you to love him. You should love him. But you can love him and he can love you and I'm not a part of that, baby. He's always going to love you even if he's not with me. Just like I'm always going to love you even if I'm not with him. And you can love both of us without having to love one more and one less or anything like that. How we feel about you is not dependent on how we feel about each other."

Will grabbed Paul's hand, making sure Ari could see it.

"If I'm with Paul, it's because I want to be with him. I would love it for the two of you to get closer someday but I'm not going to force you. I want you to try to get along with him, though, even only a little bit. Because even if Paul wasn't here, I still wouldn't want to be with Sonny anymore."

"Why?"

"Because he was mean to me," Will reminded her. "He called me bad names and he was always mad at me. He never helped me at home and I never wanted to kiss him."

"You like kissing Isak. Date him instead."

Paul grimaced and squeezed Will's hand tight.

"I like Isak, Ari, but I don't want to date him. He's a nice friend but not a boyfriend."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm in love with Paul."

"Why?"

"Because I like the way Paul treats me. I like the way he kisses me. He never calls me bad names and he always makes me happy. He always helps me and makes sure I don't get in trouble. He's always nice to me even if I don't deserve it."

"Why?" Ari asked, glancing at Paul.

Paul shared a small look with Will.

"Because when you love someone, you aren't mean to them or try to make decisions for them. If you love someone, you're kind and tell them the truth and want to be around them all the time. And I love Will. I always have."

"But you left," Ari pointed out

"I left because I thought Will was better off with Sonny," Paul confessed. "But, now, I know he isn't. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he's happy and smiling all the time."

"Why?"

Will smiled even though his daughter was exasperating and exhausting.

"Because if you love someone, you don't make them sad. You want to help make them happy. And Paul makes me happy and I hope I make him happy. Just like I hope I make you happy."

Ari eyed them both suspiciously before leaning her head on Will's bicep.

"You do make me happy. I just wish you could be happy with Daddy."

"I tried," Will told her, resting his head on top of hers. "But, you know I'd never keep you and Sonny apart."

"Okay, Daddy."

"Now, if you want to, I was going to start taking some of Sonny's things to him. Do you want to help?"

Ari thought about it before heaving a great sigh.

"I guess."

A little more than an hour later, Will and Ari packed all of Sonny's belongings. Paul supervised. He bought some boxes and put them together, even labeled the outside. He kept his hands off Sonny's things, though.

Baby steps with Ari. Baby steps until Paul no longer had to earn his place in her life.