"I'm really sorry Grandma," Will looked at Caroline sympathetically. "I just, it's been really hard for me adjusting." Moving the salt shaker in his hand methodically Will sighed, "I just hate doing this to you so close to the holidays."

"Will," Caroline put her hand over his, stopping the shaker from tilting over, "You're my great grandson and I love you. Your health is more important than the business."

"But still-" Will tried to say.

"No," Caroline patted his hand before letting it go, "I understand completely. Besides, I'm sure I'll be able to hire someone easily enough. College kids are always on the lookout for part time jobs."

"If you say so," Will knew his decision to work with EJ was for the best. He still felt like he was letting down Grandma Caroline though.

"Now," Caroline caught Will's eyes through his lenses, "Have you happened to talk to your grandfather?"

"No," Will hurriedly looked to the side, watching a few of the patrons eat, "I haven't."

"I tried to talk some sense into him," Caroline shook her head. "I don't know what he was thinking. But Will," she grabbed his hand again. "I don't want you giving up on him. I know he loves you and he'll accept you one day."

"That's the thing though Grandma," Will told her confidently, "I don't want to wait around for one day. I only want people in my life that support me now."

Sonny set a cup of tea down on the table in front of his mother. "OK," he said while sitting down, "What's with that look?"

"What look," Adrienne questioned, sniffing the tea and smiling. "Thanks by the way."

"You're welcome," Sonny replied before taking a sip of his own drink. "And that woe is me look. You look like someone kicked your puppy."

"I wouldn't say my puppy exactly," Adrienne mumbled looking up into Sonny's bright eyes. 'I don't know if I should say anything or not.' Deciding to take the easy route Adrienne asked, "Are you happy, Sonny?"

"What," Sonny blinked surprised by the question. Swirling his latte around Sonny waited for his mother to elaborate.

"Just, are you happy," Adrienne leaned her elbows on the small table, leaning in close to her youngest son. "When you wake up are you in a good mood? Do you smile throughout the day? Do you laugh?"

Giving his mom a strange look Sonny nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm happy, Mom." Looking down at the table, small smile on his face, Sonny added, "I'm happier than I've ever been Mom."

"And," closing her eyes, dreading this, Adrienne said, "If something or someone was threatening your happiness would you do anything to stop it?"

"What are you talking about," Sonny shook his head slowly, swallowing loudly.

"Exactly what I said," Adrienne told him firmly. "Would you do whatever it took to protect your happiness? To protect Will or Paul?"

"Yes," Sonny answered resolutely, "Of course I would."

Staring at Sonny sadly Adrienne wanted to cry, "Sonny," she tried to say before her voice caught in her throat.

"Mom," Sonny reached out to grab her hands, "What's the matter? What's going on?"

"Sonny, I," Adrienne shook her head, trying to focus and center herself. "I'm worried about you."

"About me," Sonny smiled slightly, "Why would you be worried about me? Everything is fine."

"I saw you," Adrienne looked around the coffee house, seeing the many occupants she lowered her voice. "I saw you in here with EJ."

Feeling his insides freeze Sonny steeled himself, giving nothing away, "So? EJ and I were talking about Will."

"I don't think that's all of it," Adrienne desperately hoped Sonny would tell her the truth. "I saw the look on your face. And I think you're getting in over your head." When Sonny pulled his hands away from hers she darted back out to grab them, "He is dangerous Sonny."

"Mom," Sonny yanked his hands away, "We talked about Will's headaches and his therapy. EJ promised to make him an appointment with his doctor." Leaning back in his chair, Sonny lied easily, "We both promised each other we would look out for Will. That's it."

Wanting to believe him, wishing she could believe him Adrienne pressed, "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Sonny smiled at her reassuringly. "I know he's dangerous. Paul and I have been trying to establish that we're the ultimate authority when it comes to Will, not EJ."

Wrinkling her forehead Adrienne looked at Sonny oddly, "What does that mean?"

"That EJ isn't going to be butting into our lives," Sonny announced confidently. "That Will is ours."

"Yours," Adrienne repeated finding the whole thing strange. "Sonny I don't understand."

"You don't need to worry Mom," Sonny stood up quickly. "I've got everything handled. It's like you said, I'm not going to let anything ruin my happiness."

Watching Sonny walk behind the counter and start taking orders Adrienne grabbed her purse and her coat. She didn't want to do this but she felt she had no choice. Pulling out her phone once she walked outside Adrienne dialed and waited for an answer, "Henderson, it's me. Is Victor still at home?"

Paul sat down on the couch and took a deep breath, 'OK, you can do this. You are going to do this.' Unlocking his phone and dialing his mother Paul shook his right leg nervously as he waited.

"Paul," Tori answered brightly. "It's nice to hear from you so soon. And here I thought you were too busy for that."

"Well I made some room," Paul told her weakly.

"How have you been son? How is your shoulder," Tori thumbed through the folder in her hand lightly.

"Uh, it's OK," Paul said reaching across and rubbing it slowly. "I kind of keep overusing it."

"What did you do," Tori threw her folder on the table with a huff.

"Lifted something," Paul answered quickly, 'A hot blonde something,' Paul remembered when he lifted Will up in the club.

"Paul," Tori shook her head, tone disappointed, "You should know better than that."

"Right," Paul whispered. Looking over at the wall at a picture of Sonny, Will and himself Paul took a deep breath, "Actually Mom there's a reason I called."

"Oh," Tori made a questioning sound in her throat, "What is it?"

"It's about Sonny and me," Paul licked his lips, rubbing his shoulder slowly, 'Fuck I need to make another appointment with the physical therapist don't I?'

"Actually son now that you mention it," Tori butted in, turning towards her large bag and rummaging through it. "After Thanksgiving I'm going to be taking a few days off and I was hoping that maybe you and Sonny could come and visit."

"Uh," Paul stopped, "Wait, what?"

"You two haven't been back in a long time now," Tori admitted slowly. "I want to see you." Swallowing, feeling uncomfortable, Tori added, "And I know I wasn't as accepting of your engagement as I could have been when you first told me but I'm ready to now. So, if you come, we can talk about setting a budget and seeing where I can help."

Not knowing what to do or say Paul choked out, "Um, I'm not sure."

"Of course," Tori laughed easily. "You'll need to check with Sonny first. He has his own business to be running." Sighing slightly Tori, in a low, quiet voice said, "I can't tell you how pleased I am that you found someone so mature and dedicated. He has his life together completely. He's exactly the type of person I wanted you to be with."

"Mom-," Paul opened his mouth.

"Do you know that someone at work the other day actually had the gall to ask me about that ridiculous article," Tori snorted. "They tried to show me some pictures but please. Like my son would ever be with someone like that. I simply explained that you would never be with anyone other than Sonny. You would never be tempted by some blonde child even if they were photographed in your jersey."

Feeling sick to his stomach Paul cleared his throat, "Mom I really need to explain some things to you."

"Oh," Tori blurted out suddenly, "Sweetheart I have someone on the other line. I've been waiting for an important call so I have to go. You talk to Sonny and see about coming to visit. Call me once you know, goodbye."

"No, mom wait," Paul yelled into the phone. "Fuck," he shouted when she disconnected, tossing his phone to the floor. Turning his head, seeing the picture from before, Paul felt as if Will's luminous eyes were staring at him accusingly. Standing up and picking up his phone Paul grabbed his coat and left. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck.'

"I thought you were teaching me to cook," Will asked trailing Brian and Neil as they walked into the large store. "Why are we here?"

Grabbing a shopping cart Neil answered as he continued walking, "Well we figured the best way to teach you would be to start small. So we're buying the easiest thing in the world for you to cook with."

"Huh," Will questioned blankly.

Leading everyone to the cookware section Brian gave Will a judgmental look, "A crockpot. God, sometimes I can't even tell if you really are that clueless or not."

"Hey," Will defended crossing his arms and stopping in the middle of the aisle. "I'm not stupid."

Neil, giving Brian a harsh look, stopped the cart, walked backwards a few steps and yanked on Will's arm to get him to keep moving, "He didn't call you stupid. He said clueless. And you know he's just teasing."

"I don't like being called that," Will whispered lowly, putting his hand on the red shopping cart, fingers fitting through the holes.

Watching Will closely, figuring it must be a sore subject, Brian apologized quickly, "Alright fine. No dumb blonde jokes. Sorry."

Smiling at Brian, linking their hands together, Neil said, "So do you know what a crockpot is Will?"

'I'm not stupid and I'm not dumb,' Will thought to himself, lost in his own little world. 'I'm not a slut and I'm not a whore. I'm not any of those things.'

"Will," Neil asked louder feeling slightly concerned.

"Blondie," Brian shouted, reaching across the cart and poking Will's arm, "Hey!"

Jumping into the air, nearly backing into a display of pots and pans Will bit his lip, eyes wide and panicked.

"Whoa," Brian held his hands up. "I did not mean to do that."

Not wanting to touch Will, having an idea what this was about, Neil stepped closer, "Will."

Closing his eyes, feeling a headache coming on, Will shook his head slightly. Opening his eyes and seeing Neil and Brian's freaked out faces Will meekly replied, "Sorry."

"It's OK," Brian told him gently. "We're almost there then we can go back to your apartment." Sharing a look with Neil Brian walked them over to the correct display and stopped. Figuring Will wouldn't want them to make a big deal about what happened Brian cleared his throat, "OK Blondie which one do you like?"

Smiling gratefully at Brian Will looked at the options he had. "I don't know," Will bit his lip. "I guess I'll just take the cheapest one."

"Yeah," Neil leaned against the cart and observed Will, "You just need a basic model anyway."

Brian stretched his arms up and easily reached the box Will wanted. Plopping it in the cart Brian announced, "Come on. Let's go see if they have a cookbook easy enough for you."

Chad walked into the mansion hoping to find EJ. He had searched for Gabi all over the place and had yet to find her. 'How am I supposed to explain things if I don't know where she is?'

"Ah, my youngest," Stefano, walking down the stairs, announced. "I've seen you more in the past few weeks than in your whole life."

"I think there's a reason for that," Chad uttered under his breath. "Father," he nodded at him. Chad never knew where he stood with his father.

"To what do I owe this visit," Stefano clapped his hand on Chad's back and guided him to the front room. "Come, sit."

"Actually," Chad told him as he was pushed into the couch. "I was looking for EJ. Is he here?"

"I do not think so," Stefano answered quickly, not looking at Chad. Walking to the bar despite the early hour Stefano grabbed two glasses, "Perhaps I can be of assistance in his stead."

"Well," Chad shifted awkwardly. "I was trying to talk to Gabi about the Will thing but I couldn't find her."

"The William thing," Stefano mused, rubbing his chin. "Yes, I have been wondering about that myself."

"What's to wonder about," Chad asked feeling like he was missing something.

"I know that we are not so very close," Stefano waved his hands as he spoke, gesturing wildly. "But I had hoped you would not be afraid to tell me your true feelings."

Chad looked at his father uncomprehendingly, "What?"

"I did not see this coming," Stefano chuckled. "But I must say that it is a blessing in disguise." Smiling widely Stefano poured some Scotch into both glasses before walking over to the sofa and handing on to Chad.

Taking the glass, completely confused, Chad said, "I don't really understand what you're talking about."

Disregarding Chad Stefano stated, "As soon as you get his boyfriends out of the way William will be all yours. And my family will be as strong and vibrant as it ever was. Although I do not understand why you and Elvis would have kept this a secret from me."

"As soon as what," Chad demanded realization dawning on him.

"Now," Stefano faced Chad, lifting up his glass, "I am certain in no time at all you and William will be as one."

'Oh for fucks sake,' Chad gritted his teeth and clanked glasses with his father. Throwing back the Scotch, throat burning, Chad thought, 'I am going to regret this.'

"Hey," Brian asked from the front passenger's seat, "Did you hear about that body they found in the dorm?"

"Yeah," Will sighed, "I know him, knew him."

"You did," Neil asked quickly, mind whirling.

"We grew up together," Will admitted sadly. "We were friends for a really long time until…"

"Until," Neil repeated wanting Will to continue.

"Until you came out," Brian guessed turning to look at Will sitting by himself in the back.

Will nodded at Brian, "He turned into a real jerk. Even before I came out he was always saying crap to or about Sonny." Biting his lip Will told them, "The last time I saw him was in the park," knowing Neil would know what he meant Will added, "He told me I was disgusting and he couldn't be my friend because he wouldn't sleep with me."

Brian snorted, not understanding the importance of what Will was saying, "This friendship would be a lot more interesting if you did sleep with everyone you knew."

"He also," Will swallowed, not sure if he should say it or not, "We found out he was helping Ian." 'I can trust Neil and Brian.'

Almost making the car swerve Neil tried to slow his racing heart. 'Oh my god that's what EJ was doing in the dorm.'

"Would you watch the road," Brian barked. 'Judging by Will's tone of voice and Neil's reaction Ian must be the guy that kidnapped him and escaped.' "Do you think that Ian guy killed him?"

"No," Will said weakly. He knew without a doubt he couldn't tell Brian and Neil about Ian. "It must be a coincidence. The police said Ian's long gone."

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Neil thought to himself scab on his back beginning to tingle. 'Son of a bitch, Will must not know about EJ.'

Adrienne sat on the sofa next to Victor, "And I don't know what else to do!"

"You did the right thing," Victor reassured her. He was sitting down, back completely straight. "I knew getting involved with the Dimera's was going to come back to haunt us. Even if Sonny still isn't speaking to me I won't allow any harm to come to him."

"I just," Adrienne slumped on the sofa. "I'm scared. He doesn't know what he's getting into." Shaking her head sadly Adrienne whispered, "I wish he never met Will Horton."

"Adrienne, Victor," Justin announced, walking into the room, looking between them suspiciously. "What's going on here?"

"We're doing what we should have done a long time ago Justin," Adrienne told him firmly standing up and meeting his eyes, "We're going to protect our son."

Paul threw himself into the chair at Common Grounds with a loud sigh, immediately putting his head in his hands. 'Fuck, Sonny is going to be pissed.'

"What happened," Sonny dropped into the chair opposite, feeling déjà vu from this morning. "Paul, what is it?"

"I talked to my mom again," Paul admitted, looking up at Sonny pathetically.

Narrowing his eyes Sonny shook his head, "You didn't tell her did you?"

"I tried," Paul insisted, "Sonny I swear I did."

"Well you need to try harder," Sonny ran his hands through his hair.

"I called her and I was all set to tell her the truth but she started talking about you and me and visiting her and giving us money for the wedding," Paul told him with an odd tone.

"Paul-, "Sonny gave him a look.

"You know how weird she was when I came out and said I was marrying you," Paul whispered, head still on the table. "And she said she was finally ready to accept me, accept us."

"Except it isn't just us anymore," Sonny pointed out softly. "We aren't engaged anymore either."

"I think she hates Will already," Paul confessed, "She was talking about some of the pictures that came out and the things she was saying. I know she's going to freak out on him if she meets him."

"Paul this is a mess," Sonny shook his head. "And it's only going to get worse if you don't tell her the truth." Sonny was trying to understand how Paul was feeling. He knew Tori was standoffish about their engagement. 'She always cared more about Paul's image to the world than about if Paul was really happy. And now this.' "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can," Paul lifted his head up, eyes sad and face desperate.

Licking his lips Sonny really didn't want to ask this, "Were you ever planning on telling your mom?"

"I-I don't know," Paul said softly, "I never really thought about it."

"Because you had no problem telling my family or Will's," Sonny told him, "You have no problem with literally everyone in the entire world knowing we're with Will except your mom."

"I know," Paul didn't know what to do. "I should be able to tell her but I just can't."

"Are you going to keep Will a secret," Sonny asked breathlessly.

Biting his lip Paul shrugged, "I haven't decided yet."

"Paul," Sonny couldn't believe this. "Paul, you can't do this."

"I don't know what would hurt Will worse," Paul confessed. "Keeping him a secret and making him think I'm ashamed of him. Or my mom finding out the truth and treating him horribly."

"You need to figure out what's worse," Sonny informed him before standing up and walking back to the counter, "Your mom hurting him or you hurting him."

"Alright," Neil said as he flipped through the cookbook they got Will specifically made for crockpots. "First we need to work on some basics I think."

"Right," Will was standing in between Neil and Brian in the kitchen. "I can do this."

"It's not rocket science," Brian rolled his eyes. "This is going to be easy." Ripping the book out of Neil's hands Brian handed it to Will, "Now find the one you picked earlier."

Opening to the correct page Will pointed to it, "OK you'll help me right?"

"Yes," Neil chuckled, "That's kind of the point of us being here, Will." Pulling out a pan and the ground beef they bought on the way over Neil said, "Get over here."

"Why are you using that," Will asked quickly, "I thought we just put everything in the crockpot and walk away."

Patting Will's back gently, Brian said, "Blondie, you have to brown the ground beef before you put it in. Now watch and learn."

A few minutes later Will watched as Brian chopped an onion with exact precision. "I can't cut like that," Will insisted blankly.

"No one cuts like that," Neil laughed, "He's just showing off."

"I can't help that I have steady hands," Brian put his nose in the air and sniffed. "Anyway just hold it like this and push down."

Will, copying as best as he could, asked, "So, you never really told me how you two actually met."

"At a school thing," Neil said, slapped his hand along Brian's butt playfully. "We have a lot of the same friends so we started hanging out."

"That's cute," Will told them trying to concentrate on working the knife.

"What about you," Brian questioned, "How did a cute little thing like you end up with two older men?"

Rolling his eyes Will explained, "Well I met Sonny first. My cousin introduced us. He started hanging out with my group of friends when he first got here."

"And the other one," Brian gestured to Will to put the onions in the crockpot.

"Technically Sonny introduced him to me," Will rushed out to explain. "You know, since they were engaged."

Throwing his head back and laughing Brian snorted, "That's amazing."

Not sure how to respond Will just ignored Brian. "I met Neil at a party Sonny and Paul took me to."

"Oh my god," Brian continued to snicker, "How does this get even better?"

"Sonny caught me making out with him," Will smiled at Brian in amusement. Reading over the recipe once more, head aching slightly, Will got out the remaining ingredients.

"Alright it's not that funny," Neil crossed his arms. The topic of his relationship-that-never-was would always bring about mixed feelings in him. But looking at Brian Neil could admit that things had indeed worked out for him in the end.

"And then we got set up together by Sonny's Mom," Will finished. "And we've come full circle."

Still chuckling Brian wiped at his eyes, "Oh man, this is so fucking weird." Working through the last of his laughter Brian stated, "But speaking of things that are weird let's talk about your relationship."

"My relationship isn't weird," Will argued lightly as he started chopping more vegetables carefully. His cuts were not as precise as Brian's but for his first time he felt pretty darn good about them.

"Blondie, get real," Brian said bluntly. "They talk about you like you're a thing they own and not a person."

"What," Will looked up from his cutting and turned to Brian. "What are you talking about?"

"It's always, 'Will's mine stop looking at him or thinking about looking at him,'" Brian imitated Paul poorly. "Or 'We're here for Will because he needs two keepers and he's not allowed to have friends or be out in public.'"

"They did not say that," Will gave Brian a scathing look pointing his knife at him.

"That's exactly how they talk," Neil insisted. "Plus did you not notice what they did to you on the dance floor?"

Face slightly pink, holding his breath, Will quickly mumbled, getting back to chopping, "I wanted them to do that."

"Regardless," Brian shook his head, "I don't like the way they talk to you or about you."

Throwing the rest of the vegetables in the pot Will retorted, "There's nothing wrong with the way they talk to me. I'll admit that they're possessive and protective but I've already talked to them about it."

Opening a can for Will Neil rolled his eyes, "I know you like being dominated but that doesn't mean they get to decide everything for you."

"They don't," Will argued, taking the can from Neil quickly and dumping it in the pot. "Look I know that you're trying to be helpful but you don't need to."

"If Sonny or Paul overheard this conversation would they be mad," Brian asked bluntly. "If they knew we were in your apartment, alone, without them would they be pissed off?"

Knowing the answer to that Will kept his head down refusing to meet their eyes, "That doesn't mean anything."

"It kind of does," Brian sniffed looking at Will sadly. "They should trust you to be around other guys."

"They do trust me," Will stirred his food and put the lid on it, turning around and hoping it turned out.

"Let me guess," Neil followed Will out of the kitchen. "They don't trust other people."

"Well as we established earlier," Will huffed as he sat on the middle of the couch. "You and I have a history. Brian and I have a history. It's not that unreasonable that they feel weird about this."

"And are we the only ones they act like that around," Brian questioned sitting down next to Will and putting his feet on the coffee table.

Sighing deeply Will looked up at the ceiling, taking off his glasses and putting them on his lap, "No."

"Why do you put up with that Will," Neil questioned bluntly. "Why?"

Closing his eyes and rubbing above his eyebrow Will told them, "Because I understand them and they understand me. That's how we are and I'm dealing with it. You don't have to make me feel like crap about it."

Putting his hand on Will's forehead, trying to feel if he was warm, Brian said, "That's not what we're trying to do. We're looking out for you. We don't want you getting into something you can't handle."

"I know my relationship isn't perfect but I like it," Will looked at Brian and then at Neil, "I love them and I don't need you telling me we're weird or they're bad for me."

"OK," Neil conceded, "Maybe we could have been nicer about that but we're just concerned."

"Why does your head hurt," Brian asked quickly. He turned Will to the side so he was facing Neil. Using his hands to drag around Will's skull Brian pushed against certain spots, testing to see if they were tender.

"I don't know," Will shrugged, closing his eyes, "I had a concussion. It still hurts from time to time."

"Is that why you got your eyes checked," Brian asked quietly. "Neil, can you turn off the lights?"

Immediately following Brian's directions Neil flipped off the lights and closed all the blinds. He walked to the kitchen and got a bottle of water too.

"Yeah," Will relaxed slightly. "It's easier to see now anyway though."

"Does this hurt," Brian poked at Will's head repeatedly, waiting for Will to respond to a certain spot.

When Brian jabbed near Will's temple he pulled away slightly.

"Let me see," Brian pulled Will back, moving to sit on the coffee table. Lifting up Will's slightly too-long hair Brian rubbed over the area that was still a slight green color.

"I got hit there," Will watched as Brian worked. His touch was clinical and his close presence didn't concern Will.

"Will," Neil sat down next to them, handing Will the water. "I told him about it."

"Oh," Will swallowed looking down understanding what Neil meant. "Then you should understand why Paul and Sonny act the way they do."

"Do you have any medicine left," Brian questioned ignoring Will.

"In the bathroom," Will slumped against the couch.

EJ gestured for Chad to come into his office as he spoke on the phone. "For the both of us yes. Mmm hmm, alright. Excellent. Thank you very much." Turning to face Chad EJ smiled, "Well I made the appointment to check over William and myself."

"Right, about Will," Chad told EJ while shoving his hands in his pockets. "So something weird happened earlier and I don't know if I did the right thing or not."

"What," EJ asked flatly smile dropping off his face. "What happened now?"

"I was looking for you at the mansion," Chad rushed to explain, feeling antsy, "And I saw Father instead and he wasn't making any sense and then when he did I just went with it. But I think that this could help us figure things out."

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about," EJ demanded slamming his hands on the desk. Feeling his heart pounding in his chest, 'That appointment cannot come soon enough.'

Licking his lips and frowning slightly Chad explained, "He actually thinks that I broke up with Gabi for Will. He wants to help me break up Will's relationship so he can be with me and we can all be some creepy perfect family."

Sitting in stunned silence and blinking several times EJ pinched the bridge of his nose, "How in the world is that going to help anything? Why did you not just tell him the truth?"

"Because now I can be around our father and try to understand what the hell he was thinking about with Ian and Will," Chad answered.

"The only problem with that," EJ pointed out with a sigh, "Is that you'll have to pretend to be interested in William."

"Not necessarily," Chad shrugged, "I thought about it on the way over and I just have to spend some time with him. I'll tell him the truth and Father will think that I'm pursuing him."

"And what are you going to do when Father wants to do something extreme," EJ looked at Chad judgmentally. "How are you going to get out of that?"

"I don't know," Chad admitted, "I'll just say that I got over him. Or that he wasn't interested in me and I'll move on to someone else."

"If Father brought this up to you," EJ shook his head, "Then it must fit in with whatever plan he has. He won't let up so easily."

"Which is why we have to do this," Chad leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk, "And if worse comes to worse Will and I can pretend to be together or something. He used to like me, right? It won't be so hard for him."

"I don't want William involved in something like this," EJ stated firmly. "And I don't want you playing with his emotions." EJ didn't know exactly how over his little crush William was. "Not to mention his idiotic boyfriends."

"We'll explain things," Chad waved his hand; "If it's to keep Will safe they'll do anything. Not to mention Will would have to spend a lot of time with me or you instead of them." Looking at EJ knowingly Chad raised his eyebrows.

"I don't like this," EJ insisted, crossing his arms.

"Well it's a little late for that," Chad crossed his arms as well.

Paul followed Sonny up the stairs to their apartment sheepishly. Sonny hadn't spoken to Paul since their conversation when Paul arrived at Common Grounds.

Sonny, ignoring Paul, stomped up the stairs. 'If I don't talk to him Will will ask questions and Paul will have to tell him the truth. Plus I'm pissed as hell.' Unlocking the door, taking off his jacket and tossing his keys nearby, Sonny looked at the strange scene on the couch, "What the hell?"

Closing the door behind him Paul, startling at Sonny's yelling, turned around and frowned, "What the fuck?" Sitting on the couch was Neil and Brian with a sleeping Will cuddled in between them.

Rolling his eyes Brian answered, "We're having sex, get out." Will's head was in Brian's lap, over a pillow, while Brian held an ice pack to the side of his head. "What does it look like we're doing?"

"Why are you here," Sonny growled frustrated with everything. Moving over to stand in front of the coffee table Sonny looked at Will, "What happened?"

"We were hanging out and his head was hurting," Neil told them quietly not in the mood to apologize for doing something anyone would have done. "He took his medicine and passed out. We didn't want to leave him alone."

Paul, hating to see someone else taking care of Will, stood next to Sonny, "Why are you holding that?"

Checking the time on the cable box, taking the ice pack off and tossing it to the table Brian told him slowly, as if he was stupid, "You know that bruise on his head? It was for that."

Sensing that Paul and Sonny weren't in the mood for this Neil spoke before they could, "Why haven't you been watching him?"

"What are you talking about of course we have," Sonny, offended, looked at Neil oddly.

"Are you kidding me right now," Brian couldn't believe what he was hearing. "His head still hurts. His eyes were so bad he had to get glasses. He doesn't sleep very much. You let him go to school and work. You let him do school work and spend time in the sun. You let him drive. For god's sake he's been doing absolutely everything you aren't supposed to do after a serious concussion."

"What," Paul asked quietly.

"Most people recover from a concussion within hours or days," Brian explained. "It's been a few weeks and he's still like this. He probably has postconcussive syndrome."

"Which is what," Sonny inquired sitting on the coffee table and looking at Will. "He said he was going to the doctor again soon."

"It's something that happens sometimes after a concussion if it jars your brain enough," Brian told them gently, realizing now wasn't the time to argue. "Most of the time stress related to the event causes it."

Paul sat next to Sonny and bit the side of his cheek, "That sounds about right."

"Look, I know I'm not exactly a doctor yet," Brian reassured, "But I know some things. And Will's been pushing himself too much. If you really want to take care of him you need to be focused on his health and not who he spends time with."

"Alright," Sonny nodded. "You're right. We've been worrying about the wrong things."

"We know how you feel about him," Neil stated, "But you need to figure out some things before you hurt him. And I know you don't want that."

"Fine," Paul set his teeth, holding in a snarl.

"We're gonna go now," Brian carefully stood up. "Make sure he calls one of us before he goes to bed."

Not exactly thrilled but knowing he owed Brian and Neil Sonny nodded, "Yeah sure. Thanks for looking out for him."

"So you're worried about that Ian guy," Brian asked as he sat next to Neil on his bed.

"Yeah," Neil put his arm around Brian. "I just have a bad feeling. I don't trust the police if they think he left town."

"And," Brian rolled his hand around knowing there was more.

"And EJ Dimera would never let Ian leave town. So Ian must have help somewhere still," Neil held Brian closely not wanting to let him go.

"Do you think he'd go after Blondie again," Brian held onto Neil just as tightly. "He's got enough issues he doesn't need that."

"I think so," Neil whispered. "We'll just have to see if there's anything we can do to help."

"Why the hell didn't we see this," Sonny asked watching Will nap on the couch.

"We did," Paul reminded him, "The other day when we thought it was just a cold."

"But we never followed up anything," Sonny argued, "We're supposed to be the ones protecting him and we aren't doing a good job."

"We're trying," Paul put his arm around Sonny, "He's not going to blame us for this."

"Well I blame us for this," Sonny shook his head, "If we would have been paying better attention than this wouldn't have happened." 'If I was more worried about Will's health than getting rid of any loose ends.'

"We'll just try harder," Paul told Sonny, squeezing gently. "As much as it pains me to admit Neil was right. We need to focus on Will and not the things we can't control."

"I knew we shouldn't have let him go back to school," Sonny slumped against Paul. 'I knew that I wasn't being too protective.'

"We'll fix this," Paul promised. "We just need to ensure that nothing else goes wrong." 'And I'll make sure he doesn't find out about my mom.'

Author's note:

To recap: Neil doesn't know about what Ian did after Will got out of the hospital so he still thinks he's alive. Just to clarify.

Please review. Things have started going in a different direction and I'm interested to see how it's working.

Thanks for reading!

PS I was talking to a friend of mine and she told me if Freddie Smith and Christopher Sean had a baby it would be Guy Wilson. Now I can't un-see it. Made writing today uncomfortable lol