"Co ... Come in." His voice was trembling. That couldn't be real.
The girl stepped inside.
"Thank you Mr. … ?"
"Kiriakis. Sonny Kiriakis."
"That is a weird name."
She smiled at him and Sonny's heart jumped. Even the smile had this resemblance.
"It's short for Jackson."
The girl laughed.
"I would've given myself the name Sonny then, too."
Sonny nodded not able to do the same kind of composed smalltalk.
"Will?" He shouted to the kitchen.
"I can't. I'm busy cutting the peppers!"
"Well, if he doesn't come to us, we have to go to him, right?"
Sonny's voice still stumbled. He had a hard time pronouncing the syllables each after each.
He lay on hand on that girl's shoulder guiding her to the kitchen.
Will obviously hearing the steps turned around and everything fell out of his face. His eyes were wide opened, his mouth stood open, the knife fell out of his hands.
"What … What are … What the heck?" Will's voice was shaking.
As the attention of the girl was now focused on Will Sonny felt free to talk.
"That is Ariana Grace Fallon. She's here to get to know the truth."
Slowly Will reached his arm out.
"I am William Horton."
"A part of that I already know. I am Ariana."
The girl took his hand, shook it. Suddenly she sneezed.
With that Sonny and Will realised how she was dressed. Sonny wanted to say something but he was interrupted by Will. Strangely his voice came out quite strong.
"You must be cold. Let's get you something to wear. Maybe you also want to take a shower."
Ariana looked at him thankfully.
"Only if you put razor blades away."
Her voice was cold but Sonny understood the irony.
"Very funny." He said but he didn't laugh. "Let's get her dry, Will." He smiled at his boyfriend.
Dressed in a jeans, a t-shirt and a grey jacket Ariana got down after William. She saw Sonny looking at her but she felt strong now. She felt less vulnerable dressed in something she felt comfortable in. She knew that good girls don't go into strangers' houses. Good girls don't get into strangers' showers and they certainly don't intend to stay and to talk. But she had no intention of being a good girl.
"Do you want to talk over dinner?" Will pointed to the set table.
Ariana nodded. She was so hungry and she couldn't wait to get something else to eat than the hospital food. The took greedy two slices of bread, putting butter and cheese on them.
"Do you say a prayer or can I just start to eat?"
Sonny and William looked at her and Sonny nodded with the head.
"Just start. I know what hospital food is like."
She smiled though she wondered how he knew. But right in this moment she didn't care.
But after a few bites and a few sips from the herb tea, William had given her reality caught up with her. She wasn't here to eat and definitely wasn't here to talk some smalltalk. This wasn't a casual smalltalk.
"So how do you guys wanna do this? Do you want to answer to question or do you just want to talk straight ahead?"
The words came out of her mouth before she knew what she had said. Regretting what she said, she tried to soften it a little.
"Sorry about that 'guys'. I don't even know you. And sorry about that 'straight'."
Sonny looked at William. First Ariana thought they would kick her out but just as she put her fork aside William and Sonny bursted out laughing.
William looked at Ariana.
"Don't worry about both. 'Straight' is just a word. Even for gay people. And that 'guys' is just okay. You are calling the shots here. It was you who looked for us."
"I am looking for the truth. Not for you."
William chuckled.
"The truth might lead to us, I guess you are aware of that?"
Ariana nodded. She had this feeling. This feeling indicating that there was more to Sonny and William than she knew so far.
"Might if I ask what you already know?"
Sonny's voice cut through the short moment of silence that had established after that last question.
"Ehm ..." Ariana thought back to all she discovered over the past few weeks.
"I know that I am not the daughter of my parents. That is what I definitely know. The rest is just what my mom told me. She told me that my dad isn't my father … "
She sensed that Sonny and William got tense with the last words she had spoken. Just as they indeed knew somebody about her father.
"My mom also blurted out the name 'Will' telling me that is the name of my father and that he died in a car crash."
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Sonny and William exchanging a look she couldn't interpret.
"And then you show up in the hospital, having to save my life cause you also happen to have the same blood group as me. The same rare blood group."
Ariana stopped there. That was everything she knew about the stuff that was going on in her life.
William looked at her.
"Come one there's one connection you can make. On more connection. I know you are smart enough to do it."
She didn't know what he was on about. Was this just the teacher in him? But as she was thinking about all the things she just said it clicked.
"You're name is William..." she said straight to William. "Don't tell me, you are called Will."
"I would normally lie for your sake but you came here for the truth, remember?"
Ariana dropped her second slice of bread on the plate.
"You are Will? You are freaking Will. That Will? My father who supposedly died in a car crash!?"
Sonny nodded.
"Except Will never had a car crash."
Ariana couldn't join the dots. That explained the feeling she had for so long. Explained why she felt save whenever Will was around. That explained everything. Everything that was messed up in her life fell back into place. She finally found on part of her family.
"So you are my father. No kidding?"
She still couldn't believe it. That was nearly to easy.
"I would never kid about that."
"Well, obviously fatherhood was a joke to you … "
