"Mr. Horton?" a nurse asked, knocking on Will's hospital room door.
"Yeah," Will answered. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. But, Will refused to move out of Paul's embrace.
"I brought some ice chips for you," the nurse explained.
The woman held a large cup of ice and a spoon. She made to hand it to Will before thought better of it and gave it to Paul instead.
"Your throat is going to be very sensitive for a while. So, you should stick with liquids for the next day or two or Jell-O," the woman smiled at Will. "Just give us a buzz if you need anything."
Will nodded as the woman left.
"Open up," Paul ordered, getting a spoonful of ice.
Will obediently opened his mouth. The chill of the ice felt soothing on his aching throat.
Paul placed the cup down. He used his shirt sleeve to wipe away the remnants of Will's tears.
"It's OK if you aren't fine," Paul reminded Will. "I don't expect you to be."
Will swallowed the melted ice before replying. "I don't want this to be such a big deal," Will told Paul.
"It is a big deal though," Paul grabbed both of Will's hands. "You pretty much just single-handedly caught a serial killer. You saved god knows how many people. And you almost…," Paul couldn't say the words.
"You single-handedly saved me," Will offered. "Without you, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Don't say that," Paul shivered. "Just don't. I can't think about that."
"You don't have to," Will moved closer to Paul. "You saved me. OK? You saved me."
Paul nodded. He clenched his eyes shut.
"Sorry," Paul sniffled a bit. "I'm fi-,"
"If I can't say it either can you," Will interrupted.
"God, Will," Paul sighed. He blinked away a few tears. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You won't have to worry about that," Will smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."
Will started coughing again.
"Here," Paul gave Will some more ice chips. "This'll help."
Once Will's coughing subsided, Will pulled Paul closer. They each wrapped one arm around the other's neck, huddling close together.
It was almost an hour later that the police finally arrived for their statements.
Paul's head pressed closely to Will's. "You wanna know a secret?" Paul asked.
Will nodded. "Yes," he whispered. His throat felt tired.
Paul traced patterns on one of Will's hands. "It really turns me on that you're so much younger than me," Paul revealed.
"S'not a secret," Will replied, smiling.
"I'm serious," Paul shook his head. "First time I met you, so hot and so young."
Will snorted, coughing. "You're not that much older than me."
"We wouldn't have gone to the same high school, baby," Paul grinned. "I like that."
Will smiled. He knew Paul was just distracting them both but he appreciated it.
"If you knew who your dad was all along," Will teased. "You would have grown up here. Could have taught me baseball."
Paul burst into laughter.
A knock sounded at the door. Rafe, Roman, Hope, and John walked in the room.
John smiled. "It's good to see your spirts up."
Roman nudged everyone else aside to get to Will. He none too gently yanked Will away from Paul and into a hug.
Will hugged his grandfather tightly.
"Damnit, kid," Roman grumbled. "I told you to let the police handle this. But no, you have to have to be like your mother and never listen to me."
"I used your rape alarm," Will pointed out.
"Yeah," Rafe chuckled behind them. "The bastard's still covered in it."
"Oh, sweetheart," Hope reached out to squeeze Will's hand. "We're just so glad you're going to be OK."
"Thanks to someone," Roman said. He stuck his hand out towards Paul to shake. "Thank you for saving my grandson."
"Oh," Paul shook Roman's hand. "Well, I had to. I'd do anything for Will."
John smiled proudly and went to stand next to his son.
"Will," Rafe sighed. "I'm so sorry I got you mixed up in this."
"You didn't," Will assured him. "I knew what I was doing."
"I saw how many missed calls I had from you," Rafe argued. "You knew the truth and we were too busy gloating about Clyde to worry about anything else."
"S'not your fault," Will said, coughing again.
Paul handed Will another spoonful of ice chips.
"I asked you to dig," Rafe insisted. "I knew the killer was after you. I could have done more."
Paul shook his head. "No offense, detective," Paul began. "But Will was going to figure it out either way. There's nothing you could have said or done that would have dissuaded him."
Will nodded, agreeing with Paul.
"Yeah," Rafe clapped Will on the shoulder. "You're a good kid."
"Of course he is," Roman stated. "That's my grandson you're talking about."
Hope smiled. "But we still have to take your statements."
"I know," Will responded.
"We saw the recording you made," Rafe told Will. "But can you tell us how Ben got into your hotel room?"
Paul listened intently. He hadn't thought about it earlier. He was too distracted.
'How the hell did that asshole get in my room?' Paul wondered. 'How did he know which room was mine?'
"I had room service come to clean the bathroom. Ari had an accident. I opened the door for the cleaning lady to leave," Will explained. "I turned around once she left. Then I realized I didn't hear the door close. I looked and Ben was standing there."
Paul shivered. He didn't know if he wanted to hear this or not.
John put his hand on Paul's shoulder and squeezed. John knew Paul needed this. That the questions and the what if's would haunt him.
Will slowly explained his harrowing experience. He only stopped to cough a few times and to take a few shaky breaths.
"I couldn't breathe and I passed out," Will finished. "When I woke up Paul and Eric were over me. I knew I was safe."
Roman covered his face with his hands.
"Good job, kid," Roman praised.
"We have your laptop," Rafe told Will, visibly shaken. "If you wouldn't mind bailing us out once again, I'd like it if you would show us everything you have."
"OK," Will agreed. He took the laptop and easily showed Rafe how to access everything he had on Ben Weston.
"There's one thing I don't understand," Hope said. "Why did B-um, Weston, frame Chad DiMera?"
Will chewed his lower lip. He didn't know if he should betray Abigail's confidence. Then he remembered everything Ben shouted while strangling him.
"Abby cheated on Ben with Chad a while ago," Will replied. "When Ben found out she didn't know if the baby was his he snapped."
"Oh," Hope blinked several times. "I see."
"So," Rafe made the connection. "Zoe happened because…?"
"Because Ben saw Abby kiss Chad in the parking garage," Will answered.
"Right," Rafe sighed. "And he went after you because Chad's name got cleared and Clyde was arrested."
Paul frowned. 'Will almost died because of them, because of those people.'
Just then Ari came running back into the room.
"Daddy," Ari cried, climbing into his bed. "I missed you! And I brought you Jell-O."
Sami, Marlena, and Eric walked back into the room.
"We tried to distract her as long as we could," Marlena offered. She handed Paul a tray of food.
Sami, shoving her father out of her way, sat next to Will's bed. She brandished a spoon and some Jell-O, insisting on hand-feeding Will.
Will rolled his eyes but secretly relished in the attention. It wasn't often Sami's maternal instincts manifested in such a loving way.
Paul looked at the tray of food and realized how starving his was.
'I was going to get us lunch before everything,' Paul thought. He eagerly tore into the sandwich.
"I ate pizza and cake and a cookie and ice cream," Ari explained to Will. She kicked off her shoes and crawled underneath Will's blanket with him.
Will frowned at Sami and Marlena.
"Don't mess with me right now," Sami threatened. She reached over and covered Ari's ears. "Someone tried to kill my first born. No one and nothing is getting in my way."
A panicked expression crossed Will's features.
'Dear god, no one tell her about Abigail,' Will thought desperately.
Lucas knocked on the door.
"Hey," Lucas said. "Um, is it OK if I talk to Will alone for a second? I mean alone with Sami."
Everyone began clearing out. Ari clung to Will, refusing to let go.
Paul thought about doing the same thing.
"Son," John called. "You can give your statement outside."
Will glanced at Paul. He didn't know if he wanted Paul to leave.
Will and Paul stared at each other for a few moments before nodding.
"I'll be on the other side of the door," Paul promised Will. He kissed Will's temple and slowly backed out of the room.
"Dad," Will greeted once Paul was gone.
Sami shoved another bite in Will's mouth.
"You know what I've been thinking about?" Lucas asked Will. He sat down next to Sami.
Will shook his head.
"I was thinking about how I bailed on you the last time you suggested a basketball game," Lucas revealed.
"That was months ago," Will commented.
"I know," Lucas practically shouted. "Months and you've been through so much since then. Just like that stupid game, I've bailed on you. I haven't been there for you. I didn't support you the way I should have when you got divorced. I didn't know you moved. I didn't even know you had a boyfriend."
"I could have lost you," Lucas shook his head. "I could have lost you for good."
"But we didn't," Sami grabbed Lucas' hand. "Will's here. And we both are going to be better parents and better grandparents."
"Daddy not lost, grandpa," Ari said shaking her head. "Paul save Daddy!"
"He did, didn't he?" Lucas smiled at Ari.
"Paul superhero," Ari grinned. "Paul superhero boyfriend."
"You should tell him that," Will suggested. "He'd like it."
"Will," Lucas stated firmly. "I'm going to do everything I can for you. I promise."
"Thanks," Will smiled.
Marlena and Eric went to talk with Adrienne near the coffee station. Paul and John stood with the police.
"What do you need to know?" Paul asked outside Will's door. He made sure he could still see Will through the sliver of glass in the door.
"How did you know there was something going on at the hotel?" Hope questioned Paul.
"I took Ari to her and Will's apartment to get some clothes," Paul explained. "I figured I'd get lunch for us on the way back. When Will didn't answer his phone I knew something was wrong."
"OK," Rafe nodded. "Then what?"
"Sami and Eric showed up," Paul said. "I left Ari with Sami and ran the whole way to the hotel. I went into my room and saw that monster with his hands on Will's neck."
"I was so angry and scared," Paul confessed. "I didn't even realize I was beating him until my dad stopped me."
"We had to bring a medic to the police station to patch him up," Roman commented. "Will broke his nose. You sliced him up pretty good with your fists. Knocked out a tooth."
"Good," Paul and John said at the same time.
"Will got you enough evidence right? For everything?" Paul demanded suddenly.
"He did," Hope confirmed. "Both Clyde and Ben are going away for a long time."
"Clyde knew," Paul said. It just dawned on him. "He knew about Ben."
"How do you know that?" Rafe questioned.
"Clyde had no idea Will was digging into his past. But he knew Will was reporting on the Necktie Killer. He had to have known it was Ben. Why else would he have threatened Will yesterday?" Paul asked.
"We'll have to look into it," Rafe suggested. "See if there are any more charges we can tack on him."
The elevator dinged open and out rushed Kate. Spotting everyone, she cried out.
"Oh my god," Kate panted. "I just saw on the news. What the hell happened to my grandson?"
Roman put his arm around Kate and led her past the officers standing guard by Will's room.
Paul huffed a bit.
"What?" John asked him.
"All these people coming to Will's room," Paul shook his head. "A few months, weeks, hell even a day ago hardly any of them cared about him. Where were they when Will was getting divorced? Or a few months ago when our secret came out? Why do they care now?"
"Grief does funny things to people," John told his son. "Sometimes we take people for granted. We expect that they'll always be there. I'm sure this was a wakeup call for a lot of people even you."
"What does that mean?" Paul wondered.
"I think you know," John smiled. "I gotta say William Robert Narita kind of has a nice ring to it."
Paul laughed, putting his hand on his forehead. "Can you just let me process this and not try to marry me off?"
"Of course," John patted Paul's back. "Paul Horton could be good to."
"Oh my god," Paul marched back to Will's room.
"Horton-Narita is a viable option as well," John chuckled.
Kate pushed Will's hair away from his forehead.
"I've spent too much time out of my life looking at you in a hospital bed," Kate told Will.
"Sorry," Will offered.
"How many times was that?" Paul asked coming back inside. He took his seat behind Will on the hospital bed.
Kate watched as her grandson's eyes lit up.
"Let's see, after I drove us into a tree," Lucas stated. 'God, I was a horrible father.'
"When Will and Carrie almost drowned at the pier," Sami replied.
"That time when he had the flu and had to be treated for dehydration," Kate reminded everyone.
"When he broke his wrist when he was 7," Sami added.
"When I was shot," Will said lastly.
Will glanced down at Ari and was pleased to see she was dozing peacefully.
'She doesn't need to hear any of this,' Will thought.
"And now," Paul shook his head. "You aren't allowed anymore injuries, baby."
"Oh, yeah?" Will smiled.
"If I have to I'll keep those police officers on retainer," Paul threatened. He pointed at the police standing outside the door. "Follow you everywhere you go."
Sami smiled approvingly.
"I'm just glad you're safe," Kate told Will. She finally left his hair alone. "And I've postponed your photoshoot. When the both of you feel up to it we can reschedule."
Paul nodded at Kate gratefully.
"Photoshoot?" Sami lifted her eyebrows.
"Will's going to be in my next cologne campaign," Paul proudly answered.
"Really?" Lucas spat out, eyes wide. He didn't know how he felt about his son in what was sure to be a racy ad.
"Yeah," Will covered his blushing cheeks. "Although I doubt anyone is going to find this," he gestured to his neck, "Sexy."
"That's debatable," Paul argued.
Sami's phone began to ring.
"That's the nanny," Sami said before answering.
After a few moments Sami passed the phone to Will. "They want to talk to you," Sami informed him.
Paul watched as a large smile graced Will's face. He grabbed Will's hand and kissed it again.
'I can't believe I came so close to losing this,' Paul thought. He rested his head next to Will's.
Paul could feel stares from Sami, Lucas, and Kate. He didn't care.
'They better get used to me,' Paul smiled. 'Because I'm not going anywhere.'
Once Will finished on the phone, everyone began telling Paul embarrassing stories.
"Stop it," Will whined, covering his face.
"Aw," Paul pulled at Will's ear. "I need to see some of these baby pictures."
"No," Will smacked away Paul's hands and covered his ears. "Leave my ears alone."
"But they're so cute and elf-like now," Sami grinned. "You so grew into them."
"Mom," Will complained.
He knew everyone was just trying to distract him. But he was sensitive about his ears.
"Excuse me, Mr. Horton," one of the police officers standing guard interrupted. "There's a woman named Charlotte Murphy to see you."
"Oh, uh, yeah," Will replied. "Let her in."
"Who is that?" Lucas questioned.
"My new boss," Will responded. 'Why is she here?'
"Will," Charlotte greeted walking through the door.
"Hi," Will sat up straighter on the bed.
Charlotte nodded to everyone else in the room.
"I just wanted to check to see how you were," Charlotte informed him. "I saw on the news your terrible tragedy. I wanted you to know I never intended for anything like this to happen to you."
"I know," Will said, voice scratchy.
"Also," Charlotte moved closer to him. "I've been truly impressed with your work. You have far surpassed anything I had dreamed of when I brought you on."
"When you're up to it," Charlotte presented. "I and the rest of our readers would love for you to write an account of what happened. And," Charlotte took a deep breath. "I'm prepared to offer you a full time position at The Salem Chronicle."
"Wow," Will blinked. "That's great."
"We'll talk financials at a later date," Charlotte instantly said. "But I am aware of your value and am prepared to compensate you for it. Speaking of," Charlotte pulled an envelope out of her long coat. "A bonus for your exemplary work."
"Do let me know when you are available to meet again," Charlotte nodded at Will. "Oh," she said once she reached the door. "I've taken the liberty of charging your hospital stay to the company. I thought it only fair since you were injured while working."
With that Charlotte walked out the door.
"Huh," Kate hummed. "I like her."
Will opened the envelope she gave him and felt a bit faint.
"That's a lot of zeros," Paul commented, looking at the check.
Sami snatched the check out of Will's hands. "Damn," she mumbled.
"Someone wants to make sure the competition doesn't steal you away," Lucas agreed with a long whistle.
"I don't think you're going to need to worry about any bills for a few months," Paul told Will.
"I think you're right, puddin' pop," Will agreed.
"At least something good came out of this," Paul kissed the top of Will's head again.
"Will," they heard a loud, panicked voice call from outside the room.
"That's Chad," Will said unnecessarily.
The same officer as before said, "Chad DiMera for you, Mr. Horton."
"Let him in," Will responded.
"Holy crap," Chad called rushing into the room.
Chad hurried to the bed and yanked Will into a bone-crushing hug. "I saw on the news. Holy crap. Are you alright?"
"Fine," Will stated. He made sure Ari was still asleep.
"Oops," Chad frowned noticing Ari on the bed. "I can't believe this," Chad shook his head.
Paul glared at Chad. All he could think about was Chad and Abigail's role in everything. He didn't care if they weren't directly responsible for Ben's behavior. Paul didn't care about being fair or rational.
'Their actions, no matter how unintentional almost killed Will,' Paul thought angrily.
"The news didn't say what happened or why but, but you have to know, right? Who did this?" Chad questioned.
Will bit the side of his cheek.
'Do I really wanna open this can of worms?' Will thought. 'But it'll come out sooner or later. And Chad has a right to know who tried to frame him.'
"Chad," Will said catching his eyes. "It was Ben."
Chad's face dropped. "What?"
"Um, yeah," Will licked his lips. "Ben killed those women and framed you. He came to Paul's hotel and almost k-killed me."
Paul wrapped his arm around Will's waist. He hate, hate, hated those words.
"Oh my god," Chad backed up until he hit a wall. "Oh my god."
"So, so this all happened because…," Chad trailed off. "What happened to poor Zoe was because…oh god."
"Yeah," Paul grunted unkindly. "Because you fucked Abigail."
"What?" Sami frowned, eyebrows furrowing.
Will grabbed Paul's forearm in warning.
"Oh my god," Chad's voice and knees shook. "This is, oh god."
"Chad," Will said softly.
"No," Chad shook his head. "This is my fault. Maybe not all my fault but it happened because of me."
Chad looked at Will. He saw the bruise on his forehead and the marks on his throat.
"You did everything you could to keep me out of jail," Chad realized. "And you almost got killed because of it. Because of something I did."
"That's not your fault," Will tried to say. "You didn't know what Ben was going to do."
Chad shook his head.
Just then the door opened again, this time revealing Jennifer, JJ, and Abigail.
"We just saw on the news," Jennifer stated.
Sami and Paul both got to their feet.
"Out," Sami shouted immediately.
"Chad?" Abigail asked, zeroing in on him.
"Get out," Paul ordered as well.
"Stop yelling," Will complained.
"What are you even talking about?" Jennifer wondered.
"You and the psycho demon spawn you're cooking," Sami hissed pointing at Abigail. "Get out!"
"Mom," Will covered Ari's ears again but it was too late. She startled awake.
Ari began crying loudly.
"Shh," Will hushed her, pulling her against his neck. He winced in pain, forgetting it was sore.
Paul felt trapped between wanting to get Abigail and Chad out and wanting to check on Will and Ari.
"I don't understand," Abigail said, eyes watering.
"How are you this stupid?" Sami seethed. "Get out, no one wants you around!"
"Sami," Lucas sighed. "Do you have to…?"
Everyone's voices blended together, arguing.
Chad shook his head again. He pushed through the crowd of people towards Will.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Chad whispered to Will. He kissed the side of Will's head and touched Ari's hair. Then Chad walked out the door, refusing to look at Abby at all.
"What is going on here?" John demanded coming into the room. Marlena, Eric, and Adrienne followed after him.
"Get her out," Sami insisted.
John, knowing immediately who Sami meant, called one of the police officers over. "I'm sorry, Abby," John said. "But you aren't wanted here. In fact, I think you might need to go to the station."
"But, but," Abigail cried as she was escorted out.
Lucas got up to explain to Jennifer and JJ the situation.
"Sorry," Sami huffed sitting back down.
Will flashed her an irritated look.
"I'm sorry but what do you expect from me?" Sami demanded. "She tried her best to ruin my family and now almost got my son killed!"
Before Will could open his mouth Paul cut him off.
"No, Will," Paul argued. "Your mother's right. You had to face the consequences when you cheated. Now she needs to face hers."
Ari settled down and Jennifer and JJ rushed after Abigail to the police station.
Will closed his eyes. He really didn't want to deal with this anymore.
"Can we just talk about something else?" Will pleaded. "Anything else."
"Whatever you want, baby," Paul assured him.
"Sorry again, Mr. Horton," the same officer called.
Will sighed and threw his head back dramatically.
'I think I liked it better when everyone forgot they were related to me,' Will thought.
"Hey," Belle greeted.
Belle, Shawn, and Claire came into the room with bags of food. Following them were Brady, Theresa, and baby Tate.
"My baby," Ari cheered. She extended her hands out and giggled when Tate sat on her lap.
"We just came from the Pub," Shawn explained. "And figured everyone would still be here."
Eric and John went to get more chairs for everyone. Marlena helped pass out food ensuring that Will got the soup.
Paul looked around the room. He startled a bit when he realized that it wasn't just Will's family visiting. It was his family as well.
'These are my siblings,' Paul recalled looking at Brady and Belle. 'And my dad and my extended family.'
Sometimes Paul forgot. Forgot that he had a father now, a brother and sister.
'And step-siblings,' he thought seeing Sami and Eric splitting a burger. 'And a niece and nephew,' he stared at Claire and Tate.
'Even if I wasn't with Will I would still be connected to them,' Paul realized. 'But it wouldn't be as nice without him, without Ari.'
Will's lips curled into a half smile when he caught Paul's gaze.
'Being with Will makes me feel like I'm actually a member of the family,' Paul thought happily.
"So, wait, what?" Paul scrunched his face together. Everyone laughed good-naturedly.
They were all attempting to teach the complicated family history to Paul.
"Let me try," Paul chuckled. "Marlena and Roman," Paul began. "Had Sami and Eric who are twins. But Roman has another daughter who isn't here."
"Yes," Will nodded with a smile.
"Who is married to Kate's other son," Paul tried. "Who you thought," Paul looked at Will. "Was your dad but it's actually Lucas."
Everyone applauded. Even Adrienne and Kate smiled.
"My turn," Brady encouraged.
"OK, geez," Paul huffed. "Brady is Dad's from some lady named…" Paul rolled his hand in a circle having no idea.
"Isabella," John fake coughed.
"Right," Paul snapped. "Isabella. Who has Tate with Theresa whose mom is Roman's…"
Paul shook his head at a loss.
"Sister," Theresa snorted.
"Sister," Paul continued. "Right, I knew that."
"And Belle is John and Marlena's. Who is married to Shawn whose father is also Roman's brother. And Brady and Shawn share a grandfather. Whew," Paul proudly finished.
Everyone cheered again.
Paul adjusted his grip on Will's waist. "How do you people keep that straight?" Paul wondered.
"It's hard," Will admitted. "But you get used to it. Pretty much everyone is related or connected somehow. That's not even the half of it though."
"That's enough for one night," Paul shook his head. "I am all family history-ed out."
"Remind me to tell you all about who used to be married to whom once everyone leaves," Will chuckled.
Paul grinned.
'Anything that distracts Will and makes him forget about all this crap,' Paul thought.
"Do you think you can get all my stuff from the hotel?" Paul asked his father. "Or see who can?"
"I can make a few calls, sure," John decided. "Why?"
"After what happened there I am never going back," Paul stated firmly. "Ever. Not to mention I want to find out how Ben got access to my room and the damn press."
"Hmm," John frowned. "That is troubling. I'll look into it for you. I take it I'll be sending your things to Will's place?"
"Just until I can move into the condo," Paul said. He glanced at Will, "Is that OK?"
Will nodded. "Was gonna make you stay anyway," he replied, half asleep.
"Good," Paul smiled. He brushed his fingers through Will's hair.
After that everyone began trickling out to leave Will to rest.
"Stay with Daddy," Ari sleepily argued.
"Aw," Sami pouted. "But we're gonna have a slumber party at your house."
"A party?" Ari tilted her head.
"Yeah," Sami nodded. "Uncle Eric's gonna come."
"What 'bout my baby?" Ari narrowed her eyes.
Theresa quirked her lips, impressed. "Yeah your baby can come too," Theresa replied with a soft smile.
'This whole family thing is kind of nice,' Theresa thought.
"Uncle Brady's joining the party," Brady called out. He started doing a pretend dance to make Ari laugh.
"I'll see you tomorrow, baby boy," Sami whispered to Will. "I love you," she pledged.
"Love you, Mama," Will responded. "Take care of my baby."
"Always," Sami told him.
"Love you Daddy," Ari kissed Will all over his face. "I go have party now with my baby."
"Don't stay up too late," Will asked. He hugged his daughter tightly, inhaling her perfect scent.
Next, Ari hugged Paul. "Superhero boyfriend Paul, watch Daddy," Ari ordered.
Paul smiled when Ari stuck out her pinky for him to link.
"You got it, princess," Paul promised.
"Son," Lucas touched Will's cheek. "I'll be with you tomorrow."
"Thanks for being here," Will yawned.
"Get some sleep," Lucas ordered.
Soon enough Will and Paul were alone.
"My mom's making friends with Theresa," Will chuckled. "Victor's head might explode."
"Brady looked a little freaked out," Paul agreed. "What can I get you?"
"A toothbrush?" Will asked eyes half-lidded.
Several minutes later Will and Paul were freshly cleaned and ready for bed.
Paul and Will both adjusted until they were comfortable. Will's head rested on Paul's chest.
"Today was probably the best and worst day of my life," Paul declared.
"Best?" Will frowned.
"For a few horrible seconds I thought you were gone," Paul revealed. "I didn't know if you were breathing. I thought I was too late."
"Then," Paul continued. "You opened your eyes and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped."
Will smiled. "You've been perfect today."
"I've done my best," Paul confessed. "But it's been hard."
"You distracted me all day," Will realized. "Made sure someone was always talking to me, made sure I couldn't think."
"That was as much for you as for me," Paul replied. "I didn't want to think about it either."
Will closed his eyes tightly.
"Did I thank you, puddin' pop?" Will asked.
"You don't have to thank me," Paul insisted.
"Yeah," Will opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "I do, for a lot of things."
"For not throwing me away," Will listed. "For putting up with me. For respecting me, supporting me. Making me feel like I'm worth something."
"You've been saving me for a long time now," Will finished.
"You're worth saving," Paul answered, blinking rapidly.
Will pushed off of Paul so he could look in his eyes.
"Thank you," Will sighed, voice shaky.
"You're welcome," Paul replied.
Paul kissed Will for the first time since that morning. Both relished the familiar feeling.
Will pulled away and laid his head on Paul's chest.
"Don't let go," Will requested.
"I'm not going anywhere," Paul assured.
Author's note:
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes with this story. It went from being just a smutty little thing to something serious seemingly without my knowledge. I'm glad that so many are on board for it.
Please let me know what you thought.
Thanks for reading!