Chapter 14

Overcoming Obstacles

Will slowly awoke to the sound of the door to his room opening. He heard the soft voices of his father, the nurse, and the doctor whispering to each other in the corner of the room.

"Being 23 years old, I believe that gives me the right to manage my own health." Will stated with some annoyance. The doctor and nurse quickly looked at each other and then to Bill.

"William, you were asleep. Dr. Anderson just was informing me of your test results. I planned to relay them to you as soon as you awoke." Bill replied calmly.

"I'm awake now." The doctor walked over to Will's side.

"Mr. Turner, the results of you latest CT scan are very encouraging. The bruise on your brain has not increased in size, and it appears the areas that were slightly inflamed on your previous test have now decreased back to normal size."

"When will I be able to be discharged?" Will asked. The doctor looked over to Bill who nodded.

"Tomorrow you will receive some physical therapy, and if you do well I see no reason why you couldn't be discharged on Tuesday." Will nodded and ran his hands through his hair,

"I feel like I have been tied to this bed for weeks." The doctor lightly laughed.

"It has been almost two days, but as active as you are I'm sure it seems longer. I will send a letter to the school on your upcoming absence."

"My absence?" Will questioned. The doctor once again looked to Bill.

"Why do keep questioning him over matters that involve me?" Will declared irritably.

"Will calm down," his father stated, standing to join the doctor, "he merely looked to me to confirm whether I told you the details of your discharge."

"What details? Once discharged I go back to my normal life. What other details are there?" A look of worry appeared on Bill's face.

"Will, I explained to you before your nap, I plan to take you back to New York with me for a few weeks to care for you."

"New York!" Will exclaimed, "What about classes, the team, Elizabeth ?!?" Bill ignored Will's sudden outburst and looked to the doctor.

"Could this injury affect his memory?" The doctor nodded,

"For awhile he may have moments of slight memory loss, but nothing permanent."

"I am not a child!" Will practically shouted, "would you please address me and not my father when discussing my health!"

"Then quit acting like one." Bill stated with force, glaring at Will. Instinctively, Will laid back against the bed and ended the conversation. Bill then looked back to the doctor,

"Thank you Dr. Andersen for all your help today, we look forward to speaking with you more tomorrow." The doctor nodded, and left the room. Nurse Mary walked over to Will and handed him a paper cup with two small pills inside. Will looked at her with eviction,

"No more meds please." Nurse Mary just smiled in response to his short comment,

"It is only ibuprofen…for your headache." Will looked at her with slight confusion, although it felt like his head was literally pounding against the wall, he was fairly certain his headache wasn't outwardly visible. He gently took the pill cup from her hand and swallowed its contents, quickly following it with a drink of water from his bedside stand. Nurse Mary then excused herself from the room. Neither Bill nor Will said a word, both the mirror image of the other, sitting and stewing in their anger. Neither of them good with emotional confrontation. Bill's phone then started to vibrate, he looked at the screen and was not surprised to see who the call was from.

"Elizabeth is calling." He stated plainly.

"Oh, so now even my girlfriend is calling you instead of me." Will replied mockingly. The retort was not lost on Bill though, as he ignored the call and decided to end this conversation once and for all.

"William Tuner that is enough! I excused your behavior before because you have literally suffered brain damage, but now knowing your brain is intact I refuse to let you belittle those who care for you." Will rolled his eyes, which only further irritated Bill.

"Have you lost all respect!" He practically shouted. Will quickly sat up,

"Is it too much to ask that I be placed in charge of my own health!"

"Until you prove that you are able to make proper decisions, No!" Bill replied.

"What decisions have I been able to make!" Will shouted.

"I saw the pictures William!" Bill replied, turning from him in disgust. "First the locker room incident and now this." Bill's voice softened a bit, "does she even know the picture exists?" The look on Will's face clearly displayed the disgrace he felt on the inside. Sinking back into the bed, he placed his hands in his face. Bill looked to him again, his anger slightly rising,

"Does she know William!" Will looked up at his father.

"No." Bill didn't know how to respond; he just shook his head and sat back into the chair.

"I didn't take the picture…" but before he continued Bill interrupted.

"It doesn't matter who took the picture. The responsibility still falls upon you. The love of your life now faces the risk of irreparable public humiliation, and if the press gets a hold of this it could devastate both your futures. How do you expect to teach your children responsibility one day when you so blatantly disregard it yourself?" Will swallowed hard, knowing the truth in his father's statement. He should have known better, they were in a hotel room with a roommate for heavens sake.

"Whatever happens I will stand beside her." Will replied softly.

"God forbid this picture comes into public, " Bill bellowed, "you are to contact whoever is behind this and clear up this mess!" Will nodded and started to rub his head with his hand again, wishing his throbbing headache would subside. Bill noted his son's distress and felt a twinge of guilt for getting him so agitated.

"William, all will be well." Bill let out a long sigh, "I apologize for getting so upset with you. I know you see the error in your ways; I just wish you would stop making the same mistakes." Bill stood and went over to Will's side, replacing his hand and running his fingers though his hair. Trying to imitate what he saw Elizabeth do earlier in the day. Will softly laughed,

"It feels weird with you doing it." Bill lightly laughed in response,

"I won't even pretend to have the same effect on you as she does." Will smiled,

"It is her effect on me that continually makes me forget my better judgment." Bill outright laughed at Will's statement.

"I can't say that I was any different with your mother. I sometimes forget how beguiling women may be." Bill paused for a moment, "You know you will have to tell her about the pictures." Will nodded,

"I will tell her tomorrow." He took a deep breath in, "What of New York?" Bill took his hand and gave it a light squeeze before returning to his chair.

"New York stands, you need your rest." He noticed the look of sheer disappointment on Will's face. "Besides," Bill continued, "I thought while I had you alone in New York we could stop by and visit John at Cartier." Will's eyes shot open,

"Really?" A huge smile spread across his face, "I have your blessing?" Bill nodded and slightly laughed,

"You've had my blessing since you first introduced me to her. Now your only challenge is to get a moment alone with Weatherby. His blessing is the only obstacle left between you and happily ever after." Will smiled at his statement and closed his eyes again; suddenly his trip home to New York took on an entire new meaning.


Elizabeth paced her living room as Bill's phone continued to ring then eventually switched over to voice mail. She dropped to her in knees in despair, trying to control her emotions as they whirled out of control. Suddenly there was knocking on her door and her anguish rapidly turned to fear. She took the picture she was holding and quickly stuffed it under her couch. Standing, she brushed herself off and walked over to the door, wiping the remaining tears off her face before she greeted her father and Ronald. Opening the door, she was taken completely off guard when Anna's hands wrapped around her neck and practically pushed her over backward.

"Anna!" Elizabeth exclaimed, tightly embracing her friend back and thanking God for her sudden appearance. Anna pulled back and looked at her apparently frazzled friend. Elizabeth's hair was half pulled up into a bun, but most of it was falling down around her shoulders. It was apparent she had been crying by the puffiness around her eyes, and the red blush of her cheeks.

"Liz, Will is going to be ok." Anna reassured, as she lead her friend back into the living room. Elizabeth oddly laughed as she dropped herself onto the couch.

"Oh, he better enjoy his respite now because when I get a hold of him there will be hell to pay." Anna looked at her friend in utter disbelief, only a day earlier she was so consumed with the thought of losing Will, and now she was threatening to kill him herself.

"Liz, when was the last time you slept?" Anna asked concerned. Elizabeth quickly reached under the couch and pulled out the picture, handing it to Anna. She then pulled her legs to her chest, and placed her head on her knees while Anna examined the portrait.

"Good Lord Will has a phenomenal arse!" Anna exclaimed. Elizabeth quickly grabbed the picture and started to rip it up. After tearing the picture into shreds she then stood and walked over to the trash can, opening the lid and shoving the paper shreds deep inside, and then slamming the lid down. Anna watched as Elizabeth stood by the trash can, staring blankly at it.

"Liz, it's only a picture." Anna quietly added.

"It came with a note." Anna looked at her confused,

"What do you mean it came with a note, where did you get it?" Liz took a deep breath in, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"It was taped to my door…with a note that read- you deserve to know, love a friend."

"Deserve to know what? It was you in the picture! And who is this friend?" Anna exclaimed, standing and walking over to her friend.

"I don't know!" Elizabeth replied frustrated, "who ever it is I'm sure they have more." Anna stood and thought for a moment.

"You couldn't see your face in the picture…" she placed a hand to her chin, "I bet they didn't know it was you." Elizabeth's arms flew up as she walked back towards the couch.

"How couldn't they know, they were obviously in the same room as us." A look of disgust crossed her face, "Probably watching us." Anna came and sat next to her,
"Knowing you and Will, they were not in the room long otherwise you would have noticed them." Elizabeth looked to Anna,

"What do you mean by that?" Anna looked at her slyly,

"Remember our road trip to New York with Will and Jack last fall for Thanksgiving." Elizabeth nodded, trying to get what her friend was getting at. "We stopped right across the state border in that little town and shared a hotel room." Elizabeth thought hard, trying to remember the events of that evening,

"Yes, we went to that quaint little town bar and got completely snookered. I don't remember much of night to be honest." Elizabeth replied warily. Anna laughed,

"Well Jack and I certainly do! That night Jack and I challenged you and Will to a drinking game and needless to say you both miserably lost. By the time we got you back to the hotel room, you were both all over each other."

"We did not!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her cheeks now a shade of bright red.

"Yes you did!" Anna laughed, "Jack and I were trying to ignore the two of you and enjoy the hotel room ourselves but after you and Will kept changing positions every two minutes and making so much noise, we finally had to leave the room." Elizabeth's mouth was agape in shock,

"You mean we were stark naked having sex in front of you and Jack." She exclaimed in horror. Anna was laughing so hard at her statement her eyes started to water.

"No, no my friend. You both had your clothes on, you were hard core all over each other though, and by the way Will was grinding on you it was only going to be a matter of time. So we left," Anna then started to calm and flashed Elizabeth a sly smile,

"But no worries, Jack and I quite enjoyed our long walk. You know how we like to experiment with location." Anna revealed. Elizabeth, still slightly embarrassed, lightly slapped her friend's arm and focused back to the task at hand.

"So you think Will wasn't aware the picture was being taken?" She asked. Anna looked at her incredulously,

"Liz, that man doesn't even like other men to look at you from across the room let alone naked in a hotel room." Elizabeth acknowledged the truth to her statement.

"So who would do this, and why?" Anna shrugged her shoulders,

"I don't know, but they obviously think that the woman in the picture is a stranger and not you. They believe Will is cheating on you, and are trying to expose him."

"But why tape a photo to my door, and not confront me face to face." Anna thought about this statement,

"They must have a hidden motive…" She looked straight at Elizabeth, "they felt like they needed proof to show you, or you wouldn't believe them." Elizabeth was thoroughly confused,

"But why?" Then it hit Anna,

"They must be a he, and he likes you." Anna smiled at her genius conclusion. Elizabeth looked bewildered,

"What? How did you come up with that?"

"Just think about it Liz, the only person who had access to Will's hotel room was his roommate."

"Eric?" Elizabeth questioned, remembering him leaving the room shortly before she entered.

"Yes! But I doubt it was Eric who took the picture, he gets way to nervous around girls when just speaking to them, it's highly unlikely he could get up the nerve to take the picture."

"Then who?" asked Elizabeth.

"I don't know, but we will definitely find out!" Anna promised. Suddenly Elizabeth's apartment door opened, and her father and Ronald strolled in carrying bags of Chinese food.

"Anna, what a lovely surprise!" Weatherby exclaimed as he set down one of the bags on the table. "Would you please join us for dinner, we have purchased enough food to feed an army." He finished, as Ronald began to remove the boxes from the bag. Anna smiled,

"I would love to, thank you Governor Swan!" Anna looked at Elizabeth and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Please my dear, you are my daughters dearest friend, call me Weatherby." The pair stood from the couch and went to join them in the kitchen. Elizabeth's mind was racing, what was the motive behind the picture and more important who was trying to frame Will? She let the troubling thoughts subside slightly as her father handed her a box of chicken lo mein and she decided to confront Will on the matter tomorrow.


I just wanted to say thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! I truly appreciate your input and find your reviews inspiring. Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines day! Smiles : )