Will glared at his phone when he still didn't have any messages. 'OK, now I'm getting pissed.'

"Alright," EJ announced, "I'm heading back to the hospital. I want to escort my father to the mortuary."

"I'm coming too," Sami announced. The kids had gone with Marlena for the rest of the evening. Sami didn't get a chance to talk with her mother much but she definitely knew she was another person relieved by Stefano's death.

"Can you take me home on your way," Will questioned an angry wrinkle to his brows.

"Of course," EJ decided as they all started towards the car. He knew his relationship was still strained with William, knew they hadn't even started to repair the damage EJ had done. 'Right now I'd do just about anything you wanted.'

As he pulled into William's apartment complex EJ turned in his seat to look at William before he could leave, "Just remember that if you need us, either of us, you can call us, anytime."

"Yeah," Will gave them both an awkward smile. "I know."

"Call me tomorrow," Sami requested. "So we can start talking about the whole inheritance thing."

"Right," Will nodded, still confused about that, before getting out of the car wobbling awkwardly on his sock covered feet. 'I am never going to take shoes for granted again.'

EJ made sure William was walking up the stairs before he backed out of his spot and headed towards the hospital.

"I don't like this," Sami stated turning to look at EJ. "Nothing is making any sense with those three anymore."

"I just want to make sure that William is happy," EJ proclaimed, "After everything that's happened I just want him to be happy."

Will hobbled up the stairs wincing when his foot caught on a stray rock. He didn't know if Sonny or Paul were even going to be home but he hoped they were. 'But if they're home that means they're purposely ignoring me.' Frowning slightly Will leaned his head against the front door, 'I don't have my keys someone better be home.'

Paul answered the door immediately upon hear a loud knock. He bit his lip when he looked through the peep hole and saw Will. Swinging the door open Paul said, "Hey."

Will, eyes narrowed, pushed past Paul and moved to the bar stool, pulling off his socks and rubbing the bottom of his foot. Gazing around the room Will took a deep breath when he saw Sonny sitting on the couch. 'So they were ignoring me.'

"Why didn't either of you answer my message today," Will questioned without hesitation.

Sonny, back facing Will, sighed, "I had a lot on my mind after work."

"So did I but I still took the time to send you a text," Will crossed his arms, "Seeing as how it took me less than a minute."

"Right," Paul didn't know what to do, how to talk to Will now.

Dissatisfied with their responses Will rolled his eyes before picking up his socks and going into the bedroom to put them in the hamper. Will really wanted to take another pill, head throbbing right behind his eye. 'But if I take one now I'll fall asleep and screw up my sleep schedule again. Just hold out a few more hours.'

What Will really wanted was for his boyfriends to come into the room and explain their weird behavior. 'They spent all of last night trying to convince me everything was going to be OK and today they ignored me completely. What are they even doing?' Will waited a few more minutes as he grabbed a new pair of clothes and underwear hoping at least one of them would come to him.

Finally giving up Will took his clothes into the bathroom with him refusing to glance at his boyfriends when he walked past them. 'Why won't they talk to me? What did I do?'

Starting the water, making sure it was almost too hot to stand, Will stepped inside the shower. As he started washing his hair Will's emotions began vacillating between anger and terror. When his eyes started watering Will clenched them closed tightly. 'No, you're not crying. You're not crying.'

"What do we even tell him," Sonny asked Paul quietly. "How are we even supposed to explain this?"

"We just tell him the truth," Paul closed his eyes, "That we're a little confused as to what we want."

"He isn't going to understand," Sonny shook his head, "He's going to think we don't love him anymore."

"We just have to convince him that we do," Paul tried to sound reassuring and confident but the truth was he was terrified. 'I don't know if this is the right thing to do.'

Will came out of the bathroom over a half hour later. He stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out. Then he sat on the toilet lid trying to convince himself that nothing was wrong. 'They're just being weird. Nothing is wrong.'

Sitting down on the couch Will immediately started picking at a loose thread on his knee. He didn't want to be the one to say something first. 'They wouldn't talk to me before maybe I don't need to talk to them now.'

Sonny couldn't stand the silence anymore. 'We have to talk about all of this now,' Sonny decided, 'Before it gets any worse.'

"Will," Sonny cleared his throat, "We need to talk, about us."

"What about us," Will asked immediately fingers curling into fists. 'That can't be good.'

"Paul and I were both thinking today," Sonny started to say, trying not to look at Will's face, knowing if he did he wouldn't be able to get through this, "And we both had the same thought."

'That you apparently talked about while you were ignoring me,' Will didn't know what this was about.

"And, um, we think that it would be best for everyone to maybe take a bit of a break," Sonny rushed out quickly.

Will stared at Sonny uncomprehendingly almost certain that he must have misheard. Blinking a few times Will whispered, "What?"

Paul adjusted on his seat, "We just think that it would give us all some time to think about everything."

"Think about what," Will demanded, blinking back more of those stupid tears, "I don't understand. You said yesterday, you said you loved me. What's there to think about?"

"Think about the fact that all these horrible things keep happening to you," Paul pointed out. "About the fact that we keep hurting you."

"But, but that's not, that doesn't matter to me," Will insisted, "I don't need time to think about this."

"Maybe we do," Sonny said quietly. "This isn't, not everything about our relationship is about you."

Feeling wounded Will moved away from Sonny on the couch. "I don't, I didn't," Will tried to explain but he couldn't. 'Oh god I am that selfish aren't I? I do make everything about me.' Beginning to breathe a bit harshly Will curled his knees towards his chest, 'Oh, oh my god.'

"You aren't really thinking about what happened are you," Will questioned, feeling something in his chest begin to snap, "You're thinking about if I'm worth it. If being with me is worth it."

Paul didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to make this better for Will. How to get him to understand. "It's not that," Paul stated, "Not exactly. Everything happened so fast. Then one disaster after another. And we never talked about the important things."

"But you explained it to me," Will argued, "You said you two wanted to be with me. You said I could rely on you to take care of me."

"And we've done a horrible job," Sonny added, "All the things that happened to you Will-Paul and I didn't do anything. You were being held at gunpoint and we didn't do anything. You were locked in a room and some psychopath was going to kidnap you and we couldn't do anything. There isn't anything for us to do."

"But that wasn't your fault," Will fired back, "I don't understand." Putting his head on his knees Will sniffled, "You said everything was going to be fine. How did that all change in a day?"

"None of that changed," Paul told Will, "We still love you but even you have to admit that things are different."

"It's different because you're making it that way," Will practically yelled.

"It's different because of our actions," Sonny didn't want to hear Will sound this way, so confused and hurt, but he had to get through this. "We lied to you Will. And I have no idea what I'm doing anymore."

"But you did that a while ago," Will shook his throbbing head, "Why does it suddenly matter to you?"

"Because now it's real," Sonny growled, beginning to get frustrated, "Because I didn't think about the consequences. I didn't think about what I was doing. I didn't think about what that made me."

"But you're still you," Will replied in a low voice.

"Well maybe I don't like who that is now," Sonny crossed his arms, "Maybe I don't like who I am with you." Ignoring the pained sound Will emitted Sonny continued, "I've alienated my family for you. I haven't seen any of my friends because I've been so busy with you. I had someone killed for you."

"I didn't ask you to do any of those things," Will muttered, closing his eyes, "I didn't tell you to do any of that. How am I supposed to know I'm doing something wrong if you don't tell me?"

"Sometimes it would be nice if you figured things out for yourself," Sonny admitted. "It's exhausting having to do this Will. Having to take care of you and deal with your family and your friends and all the crap that keeps happening to you. It's exhausting."

Will felt his shoulders quaking, "But I didn't mean for any of that to happen. I didn't plan for it."

"We know you didn't," Paul sighed. He knew the only way they were going to get Will to understand was by being honest. "But it's still hard. And we love you Will but it's a lot to handle. You're a lot to handle."

"And you don't know if you want to be with me anymore," Will uttered feeling completely dejected. 'Every single fear I've ever had is coming true.'

"We want to be with you," Sonny stated, "We just have to decide if it's what's best."

"Best for who," Will sat up, looking between Sonny and Paul. "For the two of you? Were you even going to ask what I thought about this? Or did you decide amongst yourselves?"

"Well," Sonny started saying, "I guess we already decided before you got here."

"Then I don't understand what you're talking about," Will sneered, "You were just complaining that you have to do everything for me and yet you didn't even include me in this conversation."

"Because you'd never think of this," Paul argued, "You'd rather we keep everything the same and run into the same problems over and over."

"That's because you told me if we had problems we would talk about them," Will sighed. "Why did I believe you?"

"We are talking about them," Sonny swallowed, "That's what this is."

"No, no it's not," Will shook his head, "This is the two of you telling me there's problems. This is the two of you telling me that I'm the problem and that you don't know if you want to be with me. Even though you already told me those things weren't my fault and that I was worth it." Taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes Will said, "I don't understand where this is coming from. Why you're doing this?"

"We all need to step back and decide if this is what we really want," Paul bit his lip, he hated seeing Will so upset.

"I thought when you said you wanted to be with me you decided," Will shoved his face back against his knees, "I thought when you said you loved me you decided. Why didn't you talk to me today? Why did you ignore me after everything from yesterday?"

"I didn't know how to talk to you," Sonny explained in a weak voice, "I didn't know what to do. I still don't know what to do."

"What does a break even mean," Will wondered sullenly.

"Um, that we'd spend a few days apart and then come together again and see where we're all at," Paul told Will fingers itching to touch Will and comfort him.

"We all have things to do," Sonny maintained, "We'll see if we can make things work even if we're all busy."

"Is this because I was upset the past week," Will questioned, "Because I was just confused. It won't happen again."

"That's the thing Will," Paul gently said, "It shouldn't happen at all. If we're all in this together and are serious those types of problems shouldn't happen."

"We should all be able to have lives outside of the three of us and not have you freak out that we aren't there," Sonny stated knowing it was a little harsh.

Sucking his bottom lip into his teeth Will yanked on the material of his pants, "I wasn't used to it. I'm not used to any of this."

"That's why we need to do this," Paul encouraged, "Because we jumped into everything so quickly. What if this isn't what's best for us anymore?"

"It's not forever," Sonny promised frowning at the dejected slump in Will's shoulders, "It's just for a little bit."

The three of them sat in tense silence for a few minutes. Will tried to steady his breathing. 'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, you can do this.'

When he finally felt stable enough Will stood up and walked into their bedroom. Looking around Will wondered if it really was going to be his room anymore at all. He wasn't as naïve as they thought. He knew this break they wanted wasn't from the two of them. 'It's just me. They just want to see what life is going to be like without me.'

Grabbing a duffle bag Will packed a few bits of clothing, socks and underwear. He wasn't even thinking about what all he would need. What he would even want. Shoving on a new pair of socks, and making sure he was wearing shoes Will felt a bit empty. As he walked back over to the bathroom Will had tunnel vision. 'Get your things, get out, then you can decide how you feel.'

Shoving whatever toiletries he had in the bag, barely getting it zipped afterwards, Will almost left before he turned and grabbed his medicine. Rushing into the office to grab his school things Will hitched his heavy backpack on his shoulders. Setting his jaw, determined to be strong, Will entered the living room once again.

Sonny and Paul sat in complete silence. They had decided that a break was something they wanted to try, needed to try. It was just even harder having to see Will react to their request.

Sonny held his head in his hands, 'This is going to work out in the end. You'll figure your head out and everything will go back to normal.'

Paul wanted to get up and follow Will so badly. He couldn't stand seeing him so confused and defeated. He knew they didn't explain everything the way they should have. He knew Will was feeling hurt and lost. Seeing Will come back into the room Paul stood up and rushed over.

"Will," Paul said reaching out his hand to touch him.

"You know," Will started saying in a strange voice, making Paul's hand pause mid-stretch, "This is going to be the fifth time I've stayed somewhere in the past month. That's got to be a record for me."

"We're not making you leave," Paul tried to explain, "It's just temporary."

"Right," Will's eyes trailed across his face, "You just told me you weren't sure if I was worth the trouble but you're not making me leave."

Sonny, standing next to Paul shook his head, "That's not what we meant to say. It's not just us thinking about you. You need to decide if we're what you want."

"I didn't think I needed time for that," Will shrugged helplessly, "I already knew what I wanted."

"Will, please try to understand where we're coming from," Sonny begged.

Will shook his head, "I don't have to understand anything right now. Maybe I'll try later when I have all the free time in the world to think. In between dealing with every other thing in my life that I thought you would support me with."

Paul had to keep his eyes near Will's throat. He knew he would give in if he looked into Will's eyes. That he'd see how sad they looked and he'd stop and give Will everything he wanted.

"But that's part of the problem isn't it," Will supplied, "You don't want to deal with any of it. You don't want to deal with me."

"That isn't true," Paul insisted, "We just want to take a step back and decide if we can keep this up. We've hurt you and lied to you and, and all the other things that happened. It's a lot to cope with."

"Yeah," Will nodded, "It is especially when I have to figure out what to do about it all on my own." He started walking towards the door when Sonny called out to him.

"It's not like that," Sonny pleaded, "This doesn't change the way we feel about you."

"Yesterday I might have believed you," Will admitted before mocking them slightly, "Don't worry I'll use my alone time to decide if I want to deal with you or not."

"Wait," Paul followed after Will stopping when Will started put his bags on the ground and started putting his jacket on. "Just let us explain everything better."

"No," Will ignored Paul, ignored the horrible pain lacing his voice. "You wanted your break you're getting it."

"Can we at least kiss you before you go," Sonny asked anxiously. He didn't think he could stand it if he had to go that long before he got to kiss Will.

"No," Will informed them, lips trembling slightly, "No. Yesterday was awful for me. You both lied to me. You made me feel like I was embarrassing for you. You, you hurt someone and didn't even tell me. On top of everything with Stefano. Then today you ignored me all day only to tell me that you weren't sure you wanted me at all."

Picking up his bags Will opened the door before saying, "I don't know what you expect me to get out of this break but right now all I see is the two of you hurting me and sending me away."

Will walked outside and closed the door behind him. Blinking a few times Will didn't know where he was supposed to go or what he was supposed to do now. Taking a deep breath Will hurried down the stairs to his car.

Sami and EJ walked into the mansion after a long depressing day. They had successfully moved Stefano's body to the local mortuary. EJ scheduled a cremation for the next day. Stefano's will didn't stipulate if he wanted a burial or not. EJ wasn't taking any chances though. He wasn't taking any chances that this might be a cruel jape.

In lieu of a funeral EJ was holding a private gathering for just the family. He didn't want to deal with any possible protests or public tirades. He wanted everything to be settled.

"I'm just saying you don't have to keep the ashes in an urn," Sami explained as they began walking up the stairs. She was only talking to fight off the chilling silence in the mansion. Without the children running and playing the mansion was too empty.

"What else would I even do with them," EJ rolled his eyes and smiled at Samantha fondly. The two still needed to work through their own issues but she had been a source of constant support the entire day.

"I heard you can use the ashes to make a diamond," Sami pointed out, elbowing EJ slightly in the stomach, "I think that would be a wonderful use."

"Oh yes," EJ laughed, "The perfect way to be reminded of my father as a giant ring on your finger."

Perking up at the mention of a ring Sami smiled as she opened their bedroom door, "See I knew you'd see it my way. There's also boring things like trees but who wants that."

EJ swatted her on the bottom playfully, "Actually I think he'd prefer it if we gathered all his enemies in one room and threw his ashes in their face."

Sami was about to respond when she noticed something. Immediately dropping her smile Sami rushed to the bed, "Will? What are you doing here?"

"Head hurts and I don't want to be in my room," Will explained groggily.

EJ, instantly concerned, sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on William's forehead, "What happened?"

"They made me leave," Will whispered, eyes closed tightly together, "I didn't know where else to go."

"Hey," Sami shared a look with EJ, "It's OK." She noticed the bottle of medicine on the side of the table. "We told you if you ever needed us we'd be there."

Will rolled himself over so his head was in his mother's lap. He held onto her legs tightly, "I don't know what I did."

"I'm sure it's not your fault, William," EJ assured. He was suddenly filled with an intense desire to smash Narita or Kiriakis's faces in. 'But not right now, checking on William is more important.'

"They said they needed a break from me," Will explained, "That they didn't know if I was worth it."

"Well they're idiots," Sami hissed, "You're worth everything and if they're too stupid to see that then you don't need them."

"How could they do this to me after yesterday," Will asked weakly chest beginning to heave. "They didn't even talk to me. I didn't see it coming at all."

"Shh," EJ hushed, "Just breathe." 'They're going to regret this.'

"Did they break up with you," Sami asked gently, running her fingers through Will's soft hair.

"I don't know," Will gasped out, feeling a bit faint, "I don't think so. I don't know. I don't know."

"OK, OK," Sami sighed, sharing a dark look with EJ. "It's OK."

"Why do these things keep happening to me," Will beseeched his mom and EJ. "Why can't I just be happy?"

"I don't know Sweetie," Sami didn't know what to do. How to make this better for Will. "Just close your eyes and relax."

"They said they loved me," Will whimpered, finally letting the tears he'd been holding in since yesterday fall, "Why isn't that enough for them?"

Sami held Will closely as he sobbed into her lap. EJ rubbed soft circles against William's back with a remorseful expression on his face. 'I keep contributing to the mess that is William's love life. I keep interfering.'

As Will's breathing mellowed out and he finally fell asleep EJ gently pulled him off of Samantha and leaned him against the pillows in the middle of the bed. Standing up and running his fingers through his hair he held in a deep groan.

Sami slipped off her shoes and gestured with her head for them to leave. She pursed her lips together as she stomped down the stairs. They headed for the front room and Sami couldn't help from snarling, "What the hell is their problem?"

EJ shook his head, "I honestly don't even know anymore, Darling."

"We need to do something," she started pacing. "I am not letting them do this to him again."

EJ agreed but something was holding him back. "No, we can't do anything until we talk to William first."

"EJ did you not just see him," Sami pointed her finger towards the stairs, "That is the second time we've had to comfort him while he's cried over those assholes. I am not putting up with it anymore."

"I agree," EJ reached out to grab both of her hands, "But we have to be smart about this. William is already upset with me for going behind his back trying to protect him. He won't be any happier if we do something damaging now."

"So what," Sami shrugged, "We do nothing. We continue to let them just string my son along. I am not going to let that happen."

"Our son," EJ reminded her, "We're a family now and we're not going to do anything to jeopardize that." Pulling Samantha with him to the couch EJ said, "Maybe this is the best thing for William. Some time away from his boyfriends. We can keep an eye on him here. Maybe he'll finally see that they're not good for him."

"Right," Sami started really thinking about it, "OK. Right. This might be what's best after all. I hate the idea of Will hurting and us not doing anything to fix it though."

"Oh we're going to fix it," EJ promised her, "We're just going to be smart about it. We're going to show William that he doesn't need Narita or Kiriakis to be happy."

"Good," Sami nodded coming around to the idea. "And imagine how confused Paul and Sonny are going to be when we don't do anything."

"They'll start to question their decision if they figure out we approve of it," EJ admitted with a small smile. "We're only focusing on our family from now on."

"Speaking of that though," Sami said as she settled underneath EJ's long arm, "Are we finally going to talk about what happened with Will's friend?"

EJ closed his eyes, "Friends. William's friends."

"Friends," Sami asked feeling completely confused. "What do you mean friends?"

"I might have had a hand in what happened to Gabriella Hernandez," EJ admitted quickly. 'Oh god she's going to pierce my eardrums.'

"What," Sami shrieked at the top of her lungs. Scrambling away from EJ Sami demanded, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rubbing against his ear EJ turned to face her, "I can explain."

"Why would, EJ, what the hell were you thinking," Sami shook her head at him. "Our children like her. She used to babysit them. What is the matter with you?"

"She was assisting Ian," EJ told her plainly. "She admitted to Chad she was the one who informed him where William was staying. And William and I found out that she was in communication with my father. That's why he was so suddenly obsessed with the idea of William and Chad."

"What," Sami screeched again. "EJ, what?"

Inhaling and exhaling loudly EJ reached out to grab one of Samantha's hands, "Apparently she didn't exactly know who Ian was at first. She thought he was some sort of reporter but she told him facts about William. Facts that just fed into his crazed belief that he needed to fix William."

"But if she didn't know," Sami started to say.

"No, even if she didn't know she still ran her mouth," EJ argued, "And she was there that night when Ian was pointing a gun at our son and threatened to kill him. Threatened to kill all of our children. And she never said anything."

"But, but I knew her," Sami whispered feeling lost. "She wouldn't-"

"She did," EJ insisted, "She never told anyone the truth about Ian. When she started seeing Chad he said she was too clingy and was always suspicious of William. She got it into her head that Chad wanted him and she visited Father. She was unstable and asked my father to deal with William. He might never have gotten the idea in his head about William and Chad without her."

"OK, I get it," Sami raised up her free hand to silence EJ. "But the news report said it was an accident. The police said it was an accident."

"The police in this town are a joke," EJ immediately responded. "You know that. And it was kind of an accident. I asked one of my men to stage it so that she would be alone."

"Right," Sami shook her head, looking at the couch. She didn't know what to think. Suddenly hit with a disturbing thought Sami asked, "And you, you dealt with her because of what she did to Will, right? Not, not for any other reason?"

EJ blinked at Samantha before pulling his hand away from hers, "I didn't kill her because of who her brother is if that's what you're asking. I am not that petty." EJ crossed his arms, deciding to be honest, "It didn't exactly stop me from doing it either. But I swear to you that I only did what I had to do for William."

"OK," Sami wanted to believe EJ. But she wasn't sure. She knew how high the animosity between EJ and Rafe was. 'At least now I know I certainly can't go anywhere near Rafe about this. Not now that I know the truth surrounding the circumstances.'

"What about T," Sami questioned, "What happened there?"

"Jackson Kiriakis overheard him on the phone with someone at Common Grounds," EJ explained quickly, "He was talking to someone, who I now know was my father, about staying out of Will's business. That he wasn't going to hurt him anymore. I confronted him and he admitted he was involved with Ian too."

"T," Sami gasped, "But he was, he's been Will's friend for ages. They played t-ball together for god's sake!"

"And he hated William being gay," EJ pointed out, "He didn't understand it, he wouldn't. He found Ian on the internet and they got to talking. They never officially met but he did enough damage."

"He was at the hospital," Sami frowned, "He came with Lucas. He talked to the police. How could, how could he have done that?"

"Hatred makes you do all sorts of things you wouldn't regularly do," EJ told her gently, moving closer and pulling her back in his arms. "I knew that I had to do something about him. And I'm glad I did. In my father's files he offered T a large amount of money to lure William somewhere. He rejected him at first but my father was a resilient man. He would have found a way."

Sami rested against EJ's chest. 'How could this all have happened? How could they have done that to Will?'

"Wait," Sami said suddenly. "There's still something I don't understand. How exactly is Sonny involved with this?"

"He was the one to learn about T first," EJ explained, "And then he asked me to take care of him. So I did."

"Sonny asked you to kill someone," Sami demanded incredulously. "Sonny?"

"Not in those words but we both knew what he was asking," EJ admitted. "It was perhaps the one time I actually felt like he and I were in agreement. I thought he had potential."

"EJ he wanted someone dead," Sami said blankly, "Why would we want our son with someone like that?"

Lifting his eyebrow, a bit offended, EJ stated, "I want William with someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure his safety and happiness. Just like you and I would do anything for our children."

Sami hated it when EJ was right. "OK, fine, so I can understand why you did what you did. And maybe I can even appreciate Sonny asking you to. But I do not approve of you keeping it a secret from me," Sami told him honestly.

"I didn't want to get you involved," EJ reasoned, "I didn't want to implicate you in case something went wrong. I was trying to protect you as well."

"That's not how we do things," Sami argued, "You know there is nothing you could do that I wouldn't understand. You know I would keep whatever confidence you needed me to. So don't even try to pull that bullshit on me."

Rolling his eyes, wondering why he had to be in love with someone so stubborn, EJ sighed, "Fine OK I just didn't want you making things worse. Happy?"

"No," Sami's face was pinched in annoyance. "I would not make things worse."

"You know I love you but yes you would," EJ patted her on the arm, "Not to mention with your newfound friendship in Adrienne Kiriakis I didn't think it would be wise for you to keep such a secret from her. Eventually you would have caved and told her. And she would definitely make it worse."

"I would not have blabbed," Sami put her hand on her chest completely offended.

"Besides the more people that knew the greater the chances of it getting out," EJ explained. "I still need to destroy all the evidence and talk to William's friends about it."

"Sonny and Paul," Sami asked feeling a bit confused, "Didn't you say we're not talking to them?"

"Not them the other idiots," EJ waved his hand, "Neil and whatever that smarmy looking guy's name is. They saw something they shouldn't have. I have to make sure they stay quiet."

"Well good," Sami nodded, "We can get them to help us with Will." Seeing the annoyed look on EJ's face Sami added, "What? They dislike Sonny and Paul as much as we do."

"We don't need William involved with another couple," EJ felt like he was going to scream if he had to deal with that.

"They're just friends, I'm almost positive," Sami waved away his concerns. "Besides Neil is still afraid of you remember?"

"That's true," EJ commented feeling a bit appeased. "Fine, we can talk to them sometime." Squeezing Samantha closely EJ asked, "Now are we at least a little bit better?"

"A bit," Sami conceded, "But from now on I know everything. And the next time you think of doing something idiotic I'm going to be the one to help you not anyone else. Got it?"

"Yes," EJ confirmed, "One hundred percent." EJ clenched his fists together and squinted slightly, 'I have to tell her don't I?'

"There's one more thing," EJ said quickly, "When you originally asked me to look out for Narita I found something out and wouldn't tell you? Remember?"

"Yes," Sami replied instantly, 'And I remember accusing Will of sleeping with you after that,' Sami frowned. "What was it?"

EJ put one hand over his face, "You must promise me you will do nothing with this information until I deem it necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sami dismissed EJ, "Now tell me."

"No," EJ looked into her bright blue eyes, "Say that you promise."

"EJ," Sami asked gently before seeing how serious he was, "OK I promise."

EJ took both of her hands again, "I found out that John Black is Paul Narita's father."

Sami's mouth dropped open and she made a weak squeaking sound in her throat.

"Now do you understand why we must wait until it's absolutely necessary to use this information," EJ questioned.

Sami closed her mouth and nodded, "My mother is going to flip." Frowning slightly Sami shivered, "We named our son after John and now we find out this."

"If it makes you feel any better, Darling," EJ said, trying not to smile, "That makes you and Narita step-siblings."

"Oh my god," Sami burst out, mouth wide open as her head shook back and forth. "Why would you say that?"

Chuckling slightly EJ shrugged, "It's a little funny when you think about it."

"It's horrifying. Oh my god, Will is dating his uncle," Sami said blankly, eyes wide.

"Father wanted William to marry Chad who would technically be his step-uncle as well," EJ reminded her.

"Ugh," Sami wriggled her shoulders. "Oh my god, we have to talk about something else. I can't think about this."

"OK," EJ smiled widely, enjoying Samantha's dramatics, "What else do we need to talk about?"

"Oh I remember something. Now why haven't you gotten rid of the evidence," Sami demanded, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

"I was waiting to talk to William," EJ told her as he stood up and towered over her. "That way he could watch and would know I wasn't going to use it against his boyfriend."

"That's sweet," Sami smiled slightly, "But how about we don't let Sonny know that, OK? Leverage is always a good thing."

EJ reached out for Samantha's hand and started walking to the kitchen, "This is why I'm in love with you."

Paul and Sonny sat next to each other on the couch. The TV was blaring some crime show but neither were paying much attention. Ever since Will had left they didn't know what to do. They both believed that taking a break was the right thing but once again they had managed to hurt Will.

'Why can't we ever get this right,' Sonny thought as a car commercial came on the TV. 'Every time we try things just keep getting worse. Why didn't we at least wait before we told Will what we were thinking? He's right. We didn't talk to him at all. We just sprung it on him.'

Paul was playing with his fingers nervously. 'Will is going to understand eventually. We'll explain it to him again tomorrow. We shouldn't have been so harsh earlier. We should have tried harder to get him to understand. He'll see that it isn't him it's Sonny and me. We can't stand hurting him anymore.'

For the rest of the evening Sonny and Paul sat quietly, only talking when it was strictly necessary. As they fell into bed for the evening they both tried to sleep despite the fact that all they could focus on was Will's missing presence splayed in between them.

Author's note:

Sonny and Paul are kind of dumb. They have very nice intentions with Will but somehow always manage to make it blow up in their face. I think a break between them is very warranted at the moment but they really should have found an easier/nicer way to explain it to Will without you know traumatizing the kid.

Anyway hopefully everyone is still on board with this story. It's all going to work out in the end. I wouldn't have written almost 80 chapters about the three of them if I intended to keep them apart forever.

Thanks for reading and please review. Whatever you're thinking of the story now please let me know.

Up next- Will has some family bonding time while Sonny and Paul try to figure things out.

PS Super early update today because for once I'm going out on a Saturday night. It's a miracle.