Willow took in a deep breath as she stood in front of the front entrance to the Quartermaine mansion, trying to find the courage to knock on the door.

She didn't know why she was here, really. Maybe it's because she still loved the boy who lived there despite him not being her true son. Maybe it's part of the healing process that her therapist and Nina (Willow still couldn't believe that her former enemy had become such a staunch supporter of hers, but she was grateful nonetheless) told her she would experience. Or maybe she was a glutton for punishment, finding ways to make herself feel worse for the situation she was in.

She was starting to think that it was the last out of all of those possibilities because as she stood there, hands moving up and down as she tried to decide if she should even be doing this, she had never felt so helpless or uncertain as she did in this very moment. Not even the day she found out-

"Don't go there," Willow muttered, shaking her head. "Don't go back to that place."

"Don't go back to where?"

Willow jumped, a gasp escaping from her lips as she whirled around, eyes wide and hand clasped to her chest in shock, to see Michael Corinthos III, the father of the very boy she had been thinking of, standing there, watching her.

"M-Michael," Willow stammered. "You scared me."

"I can see that," Michael replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm confused. Why are you standing at my front door?"

Willow tried to speak, to answer him like a normal person, but she couldn't. Not when her eyes finally focused on the baby boy held close to his chest, strapped securely in a blue baby harness.

'Has he been here this whole time?' Willow thought, unable to tear her gaze away. 'Why didn't I notice?'

Michael noticed the direction of her eyes, and his own softened. "Did you…" he began, trying not to startle his grieving friend as he took a step closer to her, his hand coming up to gently rest on his sleeping son's head. He didn't finish his sentence, but he knew she got the message.

Willow wanted to take a step back, but found that her back was already pressed to the front door. Instead she swallowed nervously and looked up at Michael. "I-" she trailed off, unsure on what to say. Part of her wanted to say yes, to see the little boy she thought was hers for so long, but the other part of her wanted to run and never see him again.

"Do you want to come in and talk?" Michael asked, still with that gentle tone of his.

Willow hesitated, but found herself nodding. Her friend smiled and walked past her to unlock the door and lead her inside.

"I was visiting Mom and Dad, letting them see Aaron," Michael began as soon as they were both inside, taking off his coat and unstrapping his son from his chest.

"Aaron?" Willow asked, confused.

Michael turned to face her. "I, uh, changed his name. Jonah didn't feel right anymore because it reminds me of that night and Wiley was your son's name, so I changed it to Aaron," he explained, placing his son carefully into the playpen that his grandmother Monica had set up for him the other day.

"It's nice," Willow commented.

Michael smiled. "Everyone else thought so, too," he replied.

It was quiet for a few moments, save for the sounds of Aaron's babbling, before Michael broke the silence, "Willow, I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to come right out with it: I want you to still be in Aaron's life."

Startled, Willow's eyes, which had been looking down at her clasped hands, darted up to meet Michael's. She let her hands fall to her sides as she stared at him, too stunned to speak.

Seeing that he captured her attention, Michael continued on, talking quickly as if afraid that if he gave her a chance, she'd deny him, "You can still be you with him. The wonderful, sweet, loving, caring you. Aaron needs that, and…" he trailed for a second, almost as if he didn't want to say it, but then pushed out the last bit, "and to be honest….so do I," he stopped then, staring at her, anxiously awaiting her response.

For a moment Willow couldn't speak, gazing at Michael with an indecipherable expression on her face. Finally, with a voice that quaked with emotion, she told him, "I love Aaron so, so much," she clasped both of her hands on her chest and over her heart to let him know the sincerity in her words. "Which is why I have to let him go."

The words were chalky and bitter in her mouth, wrong, as if just by saying them she was abandoning her own baby all over again.

'But he's not my baby,' she thought sadly. 'He never was.'

'But I loved him as if he were my baby,' the other part, the maternal part of her that loved Aaron just as fiercely for a year and a half as she had loved Wiley for the nine months that she carried him, replied. That part of her yearned to hold him in her arms, to continue to be his mother.

'But he already has a mother,' the rational side of her spoke up. 'She's a psycho and a lunatic and a liar, but she's still his mother.'

'She doesn't deserve to be his mother,' maternal Willow snapped.

Neither side of herself could argue against that.

Willow looked up at Michael to see him take in a deep breath at her words, a thoughtful air forming around him. She watched with growing anxiety as he turned around and walked over to the fireplace, leaning against it slightly with one arm as he stared at the wall before him.

Walking over to him, Willow began to further explain the words that contradicted so heavily with her feelings, "I know that you're trying to keep me in Aaron's life for my sake as well as his and I appreciate that, Michael, I really do, but Aaron isn't...mine," her voice trembled slightly as the word fell from her lips. "He never was, and now, knowing the truth about my son, that within hours of being born he stopped breathing, that Nelle used him as a weapon to hurt you, that she and Brad used my baby boy like some prop," a furious undertone came into her voice at this and Michael looked down at the floor as if he were somehow guilty of Nelle's and Brad's deception. "It's all I can think about, Michael, especially when I see Aaron," her voice broke slightly at the end.

"I'm sorry," Michael instantly apologized, kicking himself for being so careless to her grief. "You're dealing with all this and here I am…."

Noticing Michael beginning to spiral into self-loathing, Willow quickly jumped in, "You were thinking of your son, what he needs, it's okay," she waited for him to look at her, to see the truth in her words. "I would love to still be part of Aaron's life, but children are sensitive to everything around them and I don't want him to pick up on everything that I'm feeling."

It was true; she was a mess. She was angry, depressed, bitter, and alternated between lying in bed crying and working to the point of exhaustion. Aaron was such a sweet little boy; he didn't deserve to be damaged by her emotional baggage. She'd be more like the woman who gave birth to him if she decided to stay in his life when she wasn't mentally stable.

'You sound like his mother,' maternal Willow whispered.

Both Sad Willow and Rational Willow promptly shut her down, unwilling to listen to that side of herself.

"I don't think it would be good for either one of us," Willow finished.

Michael sighed heavily. "I wish that me getting my son back didn't mean that you have to lose yours all over again," he told her, staring at her with sympathetic eyes.

Willow stared back at him, her eyes vulnerable and grief-stricken as her heart thudded hollowly in her chest. For a moment she felt like she couldn't breathe, that the walls were closing around her. The worst part was that she thought the same thing at first: Michael got his son back, why couldn't she have hers?

Then the guilt came, and she felt ashamed of herself for thinking that way. Michael was just as much a parent to his baby as she was to hers and he suffered the way she did when he believed his son to be dead; it was wrong to even think that the grief would be less intense if it had been her baby who had survived and not Michael's.

"I didn't know my son was gone. I never mourned him and it haunts me," Willow began, moving her hands up in the direction of her chest as if that would rid her of her heartache. "A big part of me feels like I should have known, that the mother in me should have been able to take one look at that baby and say, 'that's not my child,' but I didn't know the difference," her hands dropped to her sides again with a smack, a sudden self-hatred overtaking her, a self-hatred so strong it nearly took her breath away. "What kind of mother doesn't know her own child?" It was devastating to her that she didn't know that Aaron wasn't Wiley. She held him once and looked into his eyes before she gave him up to Brad and Lucas, she felt a connection, so how could she fail to recognize that he wasn't hers? Was she really such an awful person and an awful mother that she couldn't tell her baby apart from someone else's?

"What kind of father doesn't?" Michael countered, feeling the same self-doubt and self-loathing for himself. "I spent the last year and a half loving Aaron without even knowing that he was mine. We were lied to, Willow, it wasn't our fault," he stared into her eyes so she could see that he meant it. "You loved Aaron the best that you could and I loved your little boy the same. I grieved for your son as my own and you fought like hell to protect mine. I guess in a way that kind of makes them brothers, doesn't it?" He smiled at her.

During his speech, Willow had leaned her arms against the fireplace. Now she crossed them as if to protect herself, tears forming again in her eyes as she thought about Michael's words. It was true in a way: Michael loved her son like his own and fought for him when Shiloh was demanding custody, and she still felt such a strong protectiveness around Aaron that those bonds created something akin to family.

"Look, just please don't shut Aaron out," Michael pleaded desperately. "If anyone deserves a place in his life, it's you."

Suddenly Aaron began fussing, catching their attention, and Willow watched as Michael instantly rushed over to pick him up just as Sasha, his girlfriend and Willow's best friend since she came to Port Charles, walked in through the door.

"Hey, Willow," Sasha smiled.

Willow nodded at her, not trusting herself to speak. Sasha frowned at her, hurting for her friend.

"Okay, this little guy needs a nap, he's getting cranky," Michael laughed, holding the sleepy baby on his hip.

"I can do that," Sasha volunteered, taking Aaron from her boyfriend and giving the two a brief smile before climbing up the staircase to Aaron's new nursery.

"She's good with him," Willow commented as Sasha disappeared from view.

"She is, but she doesn't think so," Michael replied.

"Why not?" Willow asked.

"She thinks she doesn't have a very maternal side, which is ridiculous because Aaron loves her and she helps out whenever she can," he answered.

Willow hummed.

It was silent for a while, then Michael spoke, "He loves you, too, you know. Aaron."

"I love him, too," Willow replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

"You are the best mother for him, Willow," Michael told her.

Willow sighed. "Michael…"

"This isn't me trying to force you into doing anything," Michael amended quickly. "I just want to let you know that. Aaron may not be yours biologically, that's true, but he is yours emotionally. You've been caring for him, loving him, protecting him all this time before you found out he wasn't yours. He deserves a maternal figure who actually loves him and won't use him for a revenge scheme."

Willow's lip trembled slightly and she looked away for a minute before returning her gaze to him. Just before she could reply to him, Sasha came downstairs, catching their attention.

"Hey," Sasha smiled and placed a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Am I interrupting anything?" She asked, her smile dropping when she noticed the tension between her boyfriend and best friend.

"No, not at all," Willow said quickly, jumping at the chance to finish this conversation and leave the Quartermaine mansion.

"Are you sure? I know you two have a lot to talk about," Sasha stated.

"And we did," Willow nodded before turning to Michael. "Thank you, Michael," she said.

"Yeah, well, I don't necessarily think we're finished, but…" he gave her a smile before turning to look at Sasha. "Is everything okay?"

Sasha looked a little sheepish. "You know that conversation we had earlier about training Aaron to sleep through the night, especially after having a day out?" When Michael kept his gaze on her, she admitted, "Well, I am a pushover because he woke up after a few minutes and so I picked him up, thinking I could get him back down because he wanted to be held, but he's having trouble. I guess he just doesn't want to sleep."

While she was explaining, Michael smiled fondly and Willow watched her with the ghost of a smile upon hearing about the baby she had come to love as her own (because you did think he was your own all this time, and you loved him like he was, that traitorous maternal side whispered).

"Okay," Michael said. "I'll go check on him."

He turned to Willow again and hesitated for a second before telling her, "Look, Willow. I support whatever choice you make to help yourself heal. I just want you to know that you will always have a place in my family and that Aaron will always be your son, regardless of who gave birth to him."

Willow nodded at him, silent but the slight pull upward at the corners of her lips were every indication that Michael's words meant something to her.

With that said, Michael left to tend to his son while Sasha stepped closer to Willow, a kind smile forming on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"No, not really," Willow shook her head, giving Sasha a weak smile. "But I'm doing better than I was."

"I heard that Nina was helping you feel better," Sasha commented. It surprised her when she heard about Nina's new friendship with Willow, given all of the complaints she had heard about Willow from her back when she and Valentin were still running their con, but it pleased her, too. Willow needed someone else beside Chase to stand by her through this difficult time, and she was happy that it was Nina.

This time Willow's smile wasn't so pained. There was a warmth on her face that had never been there prior to that day in the cemetery, back when she and Nina were always at odds. "She has been very supportive through this," she confirmed. "I can only assume that the reason for that is because she had her twins taken from her, but I'm grateful. Having Nina as a friend is much better than having her as an adversary."

"Don't I know it," Sasha replied. She definitely didn't want to go back to the months after it was revealed at Valentin and Nina's wedding that she wasn't Nina's daughter. Nina had treated her coldly, with good reasoning, of course, but it still hurt to see the woman she had begun to consider as a mother be so angry and unforgiving with her.

"It looks like Michael is adopting to fatherhood quickly," Willow commented.

"Oh, don't let him fool you," Sasha replied. "He is constantly doubting himself. He's not sure he can make the transition from 'fun uncle' to 'Dad.'"

"Somehow I don't think that that's going to be a problem," Willow retorted, a fond smile stretching her lips as she moved away from Sasha, towards the coffee table where a baby monitor and several baby toys littered the smooth surface.

"Nope, it's not, but it's really adorable watching him think that it is," Sasha laughed as she followed Willow, who had knelt down in front of the coffee table.

"Aaron couldn't ask for a better father," Willow claimed, picking up the few toys that were on the ground and placing them on the coffee table with the others. When she was finished, she turned to her best friend and, rising, said, "He's really lucky to have you in his life, too."

"Thanks, but as much as I cheer Michael on and pitch in to help with Aaron, I am not his mother," Sasha responded, revealing her insecurity to the brunette standing in front of her.

Willow looked away. "Yeah, well, as it turns out, neither was I," she murmured, her heart twisting painfully at yet another reminder that the baby she loved so much wasn't hers.

"Except that you were," Sasha commented, waiting for Willow to meet her gaze again before she continued. "You were more of a mother to Aaron than a lot of…" she trailed off.

"Real mothers," Willow finished, closing her eyes and nodding her head.

"Biological moms," Sasha amended, watching Willow look back up at her. "Look, two of the greatest mothers I have ever seen in Port Charles have been Nina with Charlotte and you with Aaron. No biology and all of the love."

"That is very kind of you to say," Willow managed through the lump in her throat.

"I'm just calling it like I see it," Sasha replied kindly. When Willow continued to stare at her, Sasha went on, "And while I've gone this far, I might as well go all the way. Aaron is not the only one who needs you. Michael does, too."

Willow stared at her friend in surprise. Michael needed her? How could Michael possibly need her?

'Probably because you're the only other true parent he knows that Aaron has,' that annoying maternal side of her whispered in her ear.

'Shut UP!' Rational Willow hissed, sick of that voice.

Mercifully, that voice went silent.

Willow saw that Sasha was watching her, expecting a response, and just like with Michael earlier when he wanted her to remain in Aaron's life, she blurted out, "As much as I love Aaron, it's just too painful to be around him. It's not good for me and I don't think it's good for Aaron, either."

"Okay, I'm just going to level with you," Sasha sighed. "After all that you've done to fight for Aaron, to give him the best life possible, why stop now? Aaron deserves to have someone as fierce and selfless as you are in his life and in return, you deserve to have him in yours, too," as she said this, she placed a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder.

"Thank you for saying that, Sasha, but I can't," Willow stressed. She appreciated all that her friend was saying, she really did, but it didn't help her when all she could think about when she laid eyes on Aaron is how much she wished that she could have her own baby, alive and safe in her arms.

"How do you know if you haven't even tried?" Sasha's rebut was passionate. "Isn't Aaron important enough to try, Willow? You have so much love to give to children. It showed when you were with your students, anyone could see it. Even Charlotte came around. And when you thought you might be pregnant….the love that you have to give….I don't know how to describe it, it's profound, I guess, is the word," she stared at her friend with awe as she realized once again just how loving the other brunette really was.

"Which is your way of saying that I should share this profound," despite her best efforts, a twinge of bitterness laced her voice at the word. "Love with Aaron."

"Yes, it is," Sasha said emphatically. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to strong-arm you, but…"

"Yes, you do," Willow interrupted. "And it's okay. You're just looking out for Michael and for Aaron, and I'm just glad that they have someone in their life that cares about them so much."

Sasha began speaking as she watched Willow turn away to retrieve her coat. "Turn yourself off from Aaron. Maybe that's what you need right now, but it's still going to hurt. Not just Michael and Aaron, but you, too. Don't you think you deserve better?"

Willow's expression remained carefully blank, although her eyes spoke of a pain so deep and raw that anyone could see the wounds on her soul just by looking at her. "What I deserve is to know that my child is alive, that he wasn't used to hurt someone I care about, that he was meant to be more than someone's means to an end," her voice was weak and small, causing Sasha to almost have to strain herself to hear her. She felt like she was going to suffocate underneath the sheer agony, the primal grief, that had become normal for her within the last few weeks. Saying the words aloud, those damning words in which her precious baby boy, the child she carried within her womb for nine months, the one she gave birth to with the intention for him to be raised by two loving parents, to give him the life that she never had, never had the chance to experience that true love, that security of having a family who would do anything to keep him safe, made her so terribly sick that she felt bile rising in the back of her throat. She swallowed the bitter substance down, unwilling to expose herself any more than she already had.

Sasha began to tear up slightly as she heard the pain in Willow's voice. Before she could have reply, Michael's voice drifted in from the staircase, "Hey buddy, you want to go see your friend Willow? Let's go say hi."

Terror crossed Willow's face and she instantly scrambled to grab her purse. "I get what you're saying, but I'm sorry, I can't."

And with that, before Sasha even had a chance to stop her again, she was gone.

As Willow stood against the door, in the cold, she could hear Michael and Sasha, talking, laughing, with Aaron, and her heart tore itself apart once more.

Unable to stop herself, she turned her head to see through the wooden blinds, watching her friends sit on the couch, Michael's son between them, the picture of what a normal, happy little family looks like without jail time and cult leaders and toxic relationships. Tears pricked her eyes and before she could catch herself, one salty droplet dripped down her cheek, making a path until it fell off of her chin and onto the cold ground.

"It's for the best," she whispered, wiping her face and walking away from the Quartermaine mansion, away from her problems, and especially….

….away from Aaron.