Chapter 7: Firelight

Nico never did get to take Will out to see the meteor shower that night. In fact, he had declared he needed to head on home as soon as they were finished with dinner and flipped through the final few pages of the photo album. (Will still felt mortified about the whole ordeal, but he did his best to just sit still and take the giggles that came from his daughter and Nico with a straight face.)

Clara was immediately dismayed at Nico's words and begged him to stay for a little while longer. It was hardly seven, after all! But Nico stayed firm with his decision as he made his way to the door, gently telling her that Will needed rest so he could recover swiftly, and that he couldn't rest with Nico around. Clara cried out in frustration as Nico accepted his leather jacket from Fenwick and opened the door to leave.

Clara grasped the Italian's hand a few steps out in the winter chill, stopping him.

Nico knelt before Clara and took her hands in his. His eyes were warm, soothing, but they did nothing to calm down Clara. "It'll be fine, Clarina," he assured her.

"You'll come back soon, right?" Clara demanded.

Nico's eyes flickered over to where will was leaning heavily against the doorframe, crutches set aside. He looked back at Clara. "I don't know if I can, caro," he said slowly. "I have no means of communication with you two, and I really must return home."

Clara's eyes filled with tears. She tugged him back, and he stumbled to his feet, closer to where Will was standing. "Daddy!" she called, fighting to keep her tears from spilling over. "Tell him he can come back!

"Of course he can come back," Will said to his daughter. He felt exasperated, but he did the best he could to keep the feeling masked. "But if he doesn't want to, Clare, then I can't stop him."

Clara sobbed and clutched onto the man's ripped jeans. "But you have to come back!" she said through her tears. "You have to!"

Nico ran his hand down the girl's hair. "Clarina, darling. I know you're lonely." Those words struck Will like a blow. He was brought back to their earlier conversation. Clara is lonely, Will. "But I can't stay forever, dear. I never could. It's up to you two to figure out where to go from here."

Clara shivered from the cold, sniffled, and nodded against the man's jacket. "I know, but…"

"Do you have someone to get back to, Nico?" Will asked wearily.

Nico turned to Will. "I do, yes. My son."

Clara looked up. "You could bring him over next time! We could play together!" she suggested, brightening a little.

When Nico shook his head, Will's daughter looked heartbroken. "He lives far away from here, caro. I haven't been able to see him in a very long time, what with the business I dealt with here and staying to visit the two of you. He's certain to be worrying right about now."

Will looked at Clara and, for an instant, felt the pain that she was dealing with. Nico had been right—she was lonely. Because she had a father who was rarely home and had no other parent to speak of. That thought raced through the man, and as the gears turned in his head, he slowly gained resolve. He didn't want Clara to feel lonely.

"Nico," he said.

The man looked up. The expression that was on Will's face made Nico drop his head and sigh. "Even if you wanted me back," he said as though reading the man's mind. "I have no clue when I'd be able to return."

"But you'd still come back?" Will asked anyway.

Nico looked troubled. "I could. It would be difficult, but…"

"Then come back," Will said. He nodded at Clara. "We had a lot of fun today. I doubt we would complain if you were to drop by again. Even if it were unexpected."

Nico followed Will's gaze to Clara, who was looking up at him hopefully.

Nico sighed again. "It seems that my words of motivation have backfired, haven't they? Alright. I'll do what I can."

Clara squealed with joy and gripped Nico tighter. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Nico chuckled and patted her on the head. "Go on back to your father, caro. It's cold out here. Let's not have you catch something."

He kissed the top of her head and ushered her back inside just as snow began to drift from the clouds.

He walked closer to where Will was standing. His gaze was still troubled, but there was now a gleam of amusement in his eyes as well. "You're not trying to do what I think you are, are you?" he murmured too softly for Clara to hear. She was standing just behind Will, standing on her tiptoes so she could try to catch what they were saying. Without much luck, Will guessed by her disappointed huff.

"I don't know what you mean," Will whispered back, but his smile gave him away. "I just don't want Clara to feel lonely, is all."

Nico's gaze softened. "And she won't. Not for now, that is. Take care of her, Will. She's too precious for you to forget about her."

"I know. I wasn't planning on forgetting her," Will assured him. "But don't you forget her either, you hear?"

Nico chuckled softly. "I'll see you both again, idiota. Just remember what I told you."

Nico held Will's gaze for a long moment. And then Will killed the suspense by asking, "Are you going to kiss me or something?"

The black haired man burst out in laughter that echoed against the howl of the growing wind. "You already got one, remember?" he teased. "You're not really going to ask me for another one. Are you?"

Will flushed. He had figured the kiss was a hallucination from the morphine in his system. Apparently not.

Nico smiled at the flustered look Will had on. "Don't worry about it," he murmured. He leaned up and pressed his mouth to Will's cheek. "And thank you, Will," he whispered in the man's ear.

Nico di Angelo turned away and wandered into the snow.

~ΨΩΨ~

It was a week later when Ghosty returned home.

Clara had been worried sick and was hardly able to sleep at night, but she had begged her father to not ask about his whereabouts. Or to post reward signs in town. He would come back in his own time, she reasoned. They just had to be patient and wait for him.

Will wasn't certain that she would be right. The wolf had been acting antsy ever since Will had returned from the hospital. It was only a matter of time that he would go to wherever he came from.

In a way, Will was relieved. He knew that the wolf had to go back into the wild soon anyway—his wounds had faded nicely with hardly a scar to remind them of what happened. This way, he told himself, he didn't have to argue with Clara about when the wolf would have to leave. He had promised to keep the wolf, but only until his wounds had healed. Well, they were healed. And now the wolf was gone.

So when the week ended and Will was sitting on the sofa in front of a crackling fireplace warming the room, he was not expecting for Clara to hop into the room and exclaim "He's back, Daddy!"

Not a heartbeat later, Ghosty lumbered in behind her looking a tad miffed at her loud voice. He grumbled, bumped his nose against her leg and trotted into the room.

Will sat up, setting aside his book. All he had been able to do the weeks of recovery was read, and it was driving him crazy. "He's back?"

Ghosty looked up at Will, considering him. Then he jumped onto the sofa beside the man and curled up next to him, pressing his flank against Will's leg. The wolf smelled of pine needles and wet dog, which was an odd combination to Will but not all unpleasant.

Clara petted Ghosty's fur, earning a soft grunt from the wolf. "Judith found him scratching at the door when she was about to take out the trash!" she said, looking far too excited at the prospect. But then again, she had been pacing around aimlessly earlier, unable to play with the wolf to get rid of some of her excess energy. To her, this would be like a friend coming back over to spend the night.

Will frowned down at the wolf. Well, so much for not having to worry about you any longer, he thought. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was also relieved. At least the weird cave men people hadn't gotten him or something. He was safe.

"He looks tired," Clara said, stroking the fur along his neck. "Did you run a long way?"

Ghosty sighed. He seemed to be struggling to keep his head up and his eyes open.

Will touched the wolf's head. "What time is it, Clare?" he asked as the wolf leaned into the touch, eyes fluttering closed.

"Almost nine," Clara answered.

"Well, no wonder he's tired," Will said, shocking. "And shouldn't you be getting ready for bed, Clare?"

"But—But Ghosty!"

"He'll be here when you wake up."

Clara pouted and curled her fingers in Ghosty's fur. "I have a couple friends over, though…" she mumbled. "You always let me stay up late when I have friends over." She seemed to come up with an idea. "I know! Why don't I move the sleepover in here? So we can play and I can be near Ghosty?"

"Won't that disturb him?" Will asked. "He looks like he really needs sleep. You playing with your friends and being loud won't do him any good."

"We'll be quiet, I promise!" She clasped her hands together and gave her father a pleading look. "If we get really loud then I'll take them back to my room, I swear! I've always wanted to show them Ghosty! Could I please?"

Will sighed. "Only if you're really quiet," he allowed.

Clara squealed before clamping her hands over her mouth and casting a worried glance down at the wolf. "Thank you, Daddy," she whispered, and she ran off.

"What am I going to do with her?"

Ghosty seemed to laugh. His head was still held up, watching her leave, but his eyelids were almost completely closed by then. It was pretty warm in the room in the orange-red glow from the fireplace, and he seemed to grow drowsy the warmer he became.

Will reached over and scratched the wolf behind the ears where he liked it. "I'm surprised you decided to come back," he murmured. "I figured you'd get sick of us, no matter how territorial you've become over Clare."

The wolf nudged Will with his head and huffed.

The tumbling of feet raced down the hall, and Clara came with two of her school friends in tow. They were two girls even Will remembered meeting once before, though he couldn't recall their names off the top of his head.

"It's a wolf," the brunette of the trio said, thankfully keeping her voice low. She crept up to the sofa where Will and Ghosty were, eyes focused on the wolf. "Can I—Can I pet him?" she asked weakly.

"Of course you can," Will said, still scratching the wolf behind the ears. "Try right here, just below his ears. He loves it."

The girl—Jennie, Will recalled—did as Will suggested. Ghosty closed his eyes.

"I wanna pet him next!" the other girl asked in a volume that was just over a whisper, bouncing on the balls of her feet just like Clara did every time she got excited.

Jennie stuck out her tongue at her. "Nuh-uh! I was here first!"

"But Jennie," she griped.

Ghosty groaned and leaned into Will's hand, pulling himself away from the girl that was petting him. Will took that moment to speak up. "Let's not fight over him, girls," Will scolded them. "He's very tired and wants to sleep. You can come and pet him a little, but don't overdo it, alright girls?"

"Yes sir," they muttered.

The little blonde who hadn't pet Ghosty yet stepped up, feeling the wolf's neck fur. "He's not very soft," she whispered, disappointed. She dropped her hand almost immediately. "My cat's fur is really soft. So is my dog's. Why is his so rough?"

Will frowned. He rubbed the back of his fingers against Ghosty's fur, and couldn't find what she was complaining about. His fur was rough? It felt pretty soft to him. "I don't know why," Will answered truthfully. "Perhaps because he was raised in the wild?"

The girl seemed to not hear him, turning away from them and skipping to Clara and Jennie. They were setting up some kind of board game that Will couldn't recognize. It looked sort of like Candy Land.

Once they were situated in the middle of the carpet in front of the fireplace, Ghosty's tensed form relaxed. He leaned more into Will's hand as he ran it down the wolf's neck fur. It was a habit that Will had picked up from Clara. As he sat on his bed or the sofa and the wolf curled up beside him, his hand seemed to form a mind of its own. Petting once, twice, thrice…until either Will or the wolf would wind up asleep next to the other, snoring in soft little puffs.

It looked like it would be a close call to who fell asleep first that time. Even if the wolf had been exhausted before, the warmth of the fire and the wolf fur against Will's side was starting to make the man sleepy as well.

Will watched the girls as Jennie won the first round, boasted for a few seconds before clearing the board for another game. Ghosty exhaled and laid his head on Will's broken leg, adjusting himself so he was laying in a more comfortable position.

"About ready to sleep, are you?" Will whispered to the wolf despite himself.

Ghosty grunted as the man moved his hand to the top of the wolf's head. The wolf yawned and adjusted himself again, pressing closer to Will's side.

"I'll take that as a yes," the man said with a light chuckle.

The wolf made no other sound.

Will gently brushed his fingers over the wolf's forehead, watching the crackling fire die as the girls grew tired of their games and laid out their sleeping bags to sleep on the middle of the floor.

The whole situation Will was in felt surreal. He had never stayed at home long enough for the feeling of warmth to settle in him, and the emotion felt almost foreign to him. It reminded him of what happened before Katherine…

Will shook his head and looked down at the wolf snoring on his leg. The warmth that came from him was different from Katherine's, just as the warmth that came from Nico—a man Will barely knew—was. And Clara. And Kayla. What happened with her…Will really did need to take Nico's advice and move on from it. He wasn't going to be able to bring her back just by willing it to happen.

Perhaps finding someone was a good idea after all.

Will gazed down at the wolf he was petting. Squinting was more like it. There was a tiny scar over Ghosty's eye that was bothering the man, tugging at his memories. Why was a scar so important that—

Wait. The scar was over his right eye. Just like Nico's. If Will tilted his head, he might even say that the scar was shaped the exact same, too. But that would be stupid, wouldn't it? Why would Nico and the wolf share identical scars?

Will didn't get a chance to think about it. A soft knock on the living room door made him look up from the sleeping wolf.

"What is it, Fenwick?" Will whispered, trying not to wake up the wolf or the girls.

Fenwick fidgeted and dabbed his temple with his handkerchief. "Forgive me, Mr. Solace, but… You've received an urgent phone call. Might I transfer it to your cellphone?"

"Who called?" Will wondered. "It's a bit late for it to be about work."

Fenwick fidgeted again. "Erm, it was Mrs. Stoll calling, Mr. Solace."

Will's blood ran cold.

"Mr. Solace?" Fenwick whispered.

As gently as he could, Will nudged Ghosty's head off of his leg and reached for his crutches. The wolf grunted and raised his head at being shifted, shooting the man a groggy glare.

"Sorry bud," Will murmured, patting Ghosty on his strangely familiar scar. "Stay here with Clare and the girls, okay? I'll be right back."

He turned and quietly made his way over to Fenwick, his gait awkward with the crutches. The butler handed Will the landline phone when they reached the dining room, out of earshot from everyone, and walked out to give Will some much needed privacy.

A warm flank pressed against his calf, and Will glanced down and saw that the wolf had followed him. Unable to scold Ghosty in his current state, Will sat down at the table with the wolf by his side and held the phone to his ear. He was regretting not telling Fenwick to just claim that Will was asleep. He swallowed. "Hello?"

"Ah, William. I thought you'd never answer. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

It was the voice he'd been expecting, but his gut still twisted painfully at the sound of it. It was only the solid press of the wolf's flank against his leg that kept him grounded. Kept him from saying things he would regret later. Kept him from begging, pleading, to start over.

He opened his mouth and spoke only one word, one name:

"Katherine."