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I’m with Chad checking out a new, bigger potential space for Common Grounds when I get the call. I feel my phone buzz and pull it out of my pocket. I’m about to send it to voicemail, but then I see Will’s smile lighting up the screen. I hold up a finger to Chad, gesturing to my cell to excuse myself and Chad lifted his chin in answer, barely pausing in his long line of questions.
I step out onto the sidewalk, already smiling as I hit ‘answer’ and hold the phone up to my ear. “Hey you, you’re not going believe how amazing this place is ―”
“Sonny?”
Just the tone of her voice―the uncertain quiver of impending tears is enough to pull me up straight.
“Ari? Sweetie, what are you doing with daddy’s phone?”
She takes a gulp or air, and suddenly the words are tumbling out of her. A chill runs down my spine when I realize that those are the tears of a very frightened eight year old girl I can hear. “Sonny, you have to come. Please come quick?”
I feel my heart plummet into my stomach. There’s no traffic but I cover my other ear and hunch my shoulders, as if this will make her garbled words more clear. “Honey, slow down. Where are you? Where’s dad?”
“I’m at the hospital” she hiccups.
Any parent will tell you that that is the absolute last thing you ever want to hear from your child. I suddenly have the insane urge to start running to where she is. “Tell me what happened sweetheart, are you hurt? Who are you with?”
“I-I was with a nurse but she went away, I don’t know where she is. I don’t know where daddy is or if he’s okay!” She begins to cry in a way that I haven’t heard in years, and I’m suddenly more afraid than I’ve ever been in all my life. “Sonny, please come quick, please?”
I’ve already stormed back into the empty building, walking straight up to Chad and the realtor, interrupting their conversation. “One second honey,” I pull the phone away a fraction, and speak to Chad who already looks alarmed. “I have to go, Ari’s at the hospital, I think Will might be hurt.”
“Do you want me to―?” Chad begins.
I’m already backing away, fishing my car keys out of my pocket. “No, I’ll call. Can you get a cab home?”
He’s nodding and waving me off. “Go, and call me when you know what’s going on.”
I nod, press the cell against my ear and jog towards the parking lot. “I’m here, Ari. I’m on my way, okay?”
“Okay,” she cries.
“Are you hurt?”
She lets out a quiet sob. “No, I…I was holding daddy’s coat in the ambulance and I found his phone. The lady went away and I didn’t know what to do so I called you.”
“That’s good, baby, you did the right thing.” Trust me to park in the furthest corner of the lot. “Can you tell me what happened? Why were you in an ambulance?”
My questions just seems to upset her further because the only words I can decipher down the line are ‘blood’, ‘daddy fell’, and ‘ambulance’. I want to throw up. “Ari?” I interrupt her.
“Yeah?”
“Are you in a waiting room? Are there other people sitting where you are?”
“A couple.” She sounds unsure.
“Is there a sign that says ‘waiting room’ anywhere?”
She’s quiet for a moment, and I can picture her little head looking around at the doors. “Yes! There’s a sign right there!”
“Alright, honey? This is important. I need you to stay exactly where you are, okay?”
“Okay, but are you coming?”
“I’m coming; I’m getting in the car as we speak.” I say as I struggle to put on my seatbelt with one hand. “But promise me you’ll stay exactly where you are, no wondering off, understand?”
“Okay.”
“And don’t talk to anyone unless they’re a doctor or a nurse.”
“I won’t.”
“Alright, honey, I’m going to call one of your grandmothers and they’ll be there soon.”
“No!” Her voice breaks, along with my heart. “No, Sonny, I need you! Please? I want you!”
“I’m on my way, I promise, I just want someone to sit with you until I get there, okay?”
She sniffles. “Okay, but be quick.”
“I will. I’m going to hang up now so I can drive, but remember that you have to stay put, and do not speak to anyone who isn’t wearing a doctor’s or nurse’s uniform, understand?”
“Okay.”
“Tell me you understand.”
“I understand.”
“Alright, I’m hanging up now, honey. I’ll be there soon, I love you.”
“Love you” she whispers.
I take two seconds to call Marlena, explaining with a minimum amount of words that she needs to get to the hospital and find Arianna in the waiting room. She must have heard the fear and urgency in my voice, because a minute later I’m driving (speeding), and though it seems like forever, it’s only ten minutes until I’m pulling up to the hospital and rushing through its doors.
I head straight to the waiting room, and when I spot them I’m hit with this insane relief. Ari’s sitting in Marlena’s lap. She lifts her head from Marlena’s shoulder and looks right at me, as if she senses my presence, and then she’s up, out of Marlena’s lap and running at me. Her face crumbles just before she reaches me and practically throws herself into my arms. I lift her and she curls herself around me, I gently cradle the back of her head and sway her in my arms. I only open my eyes again when I feel Marlena’s hand on my arm. I offer her a shaky smile.
“Hey, you.” I say gently to Arianna. “Who’s my brave girl, huh? Who’s my brave, smart girl?”
She shakes her head against my shoulder and I can hear her breath hitching. I rub her back, and look at Marlena. I don’t even have to ask…
“Will was climbing into the attic and missed his footing, he landed badly. The doctor said it was a compound fracture and his leg needs to be set, so they took him into surgery about a half hour ago.”
She levels me with her most reassuring grandmotherly look. “He’s going to be fine, Sonny.”
I could cry with how relieved I am, but the little girl in my arms doesn’t understand any of those words, all she knows is that her dad fell, there was blood, and now he’s having surgery. I rub her back. “Ari? Look at me…” I wait until she looks at me. “Daddy is going to be just fine, okay? He’s getting his leg fixed, that’s all.”
She nods her head, but those gorgeous, familiar blue eyes still fill with tears. “It was all my fault.”
She says in a small voice.
I frown. “I doubt that very much.”
“I kept asking if we could go skating because I wanted to show him my new trick that mom taught me, h-he was getting my skates...”
“Sweetie, it was an accident. It’s not your fault at all, not one bit, I promise.”
“Will he be angry with me?”
I give her a gentle smile, and press a kiss to her forehead. “Absolutely not.”
“I think he should be.”
“He’s going to be worried about you, and that’s it. You did nothing wrong, in fact you were such a good girl today, you called me when you didn’t know what to do, and that’s exactly what I always want you to do if you’re scared.”
“She called for an ambulance all by herself.” Marlena provided while stroking a hand over Arianna’s hair.
I wipe away the dampness on her baby-soft cheek. “I am so proud of you.”
She watches me, looking at me just like Will does when he’s making his mind up about something. It’s uncanny and wonderful at the same time. Evidently I said the right thing, because she rests her head back against my shoulder, and there’s definitely something calmer about her, now that I have her in my arms.
I look at Marlena. “Thank you for coming.”
She squeezes my arm. “Of course.” She gestures over to the seats. “We may be here a while, why don’t you two sit down and I’ll go find her something to eat?”
“Thanks, did you tell anyone else?”
She nods as she rummages through her handbag for her purse. “Lucas is on his way.”
For some reason this comforts me. Lucas and I may have had a rocky start, but now he treats me like his son-in-law. A son-in-law he actually likes. It’ll be good for Will when he gets out of surgery to have his family around him, and his favorite family at that. Don’t get me wrong, he loves all of them. But given a choice, I know his first port of call would be his grandmother Marlena and his dad.
I might just hold back on telling Sammy for now, I’ll see how Will feels about it when he’s out of surgery and awake. To call Sammy now would only worry her when there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s out of town with EJ, last I heard. So is Gaby, for that matter, but for different reasons―she’s spending a weekend away with her boyfriend, and she deserves a break, to be honest, so I’m hesitant to call her too.
I settle in for a long wait, holding my little girl, and try not to worry too much about Will.
Four hours later…
Arianna desperately wanted to talk to Will, but it was long past her bedtime and she was desperately tired after such an upsetting day. Will wasn’t awake yet, but it was enough for her to see that he was alright. She went home to spend the night with her grandma Marlena, and after a brief visit from Lucas who had promised to return in a few hours, this left me to sit alone beside his bed.
His leg is raised, not yet in a cast, but he’s bundled up and resting peacefully. He won’t be happy about having to stay in the hospital for a week, though. In fact Will hates it if he misses a single day at the gym. A week in the hospital and six weeks minimum in a cast is going to drive him crazy.
He makes an undefinable grumbly, moany sound, and his hand twitches in mine. I instantly lean closer ―my hand gently brushing the hair from his brow. “Will?” I say gently.
He frowns, and slowly his eyes blink open. “What…what’s…?”
“Shh.” I brush my thumb against his cheek. “You’re okay. You just had a little accident.”
His frown doesn’t disappear, and he wets his lips. With what looks like great effort he manages to keep his eyes open, and turns his head against the pillow to look at me. “Sonny…”
“Yeah,” I whisper, and inexplicably I can feel tears stinging in my eyes. I suppose it’s a delayed effect from all the worry, from seeing the man I love hurt and vulnerable…
“I think I fell,” he croaks.
“Yep, you big uncoordinated dweeb.” I tease him, swallowing hard. “You were in the attic looking for Ari’s skates and―”
“Ari?” He’s instantly more alert, even attempting to sit up until he gasps and then looks down at his leg.
I still him by pressing my hand against his chest, easing him back against the pillows. “Easy, don’t try to sit up just yet.”
“Where’s Ari, is she okay?”
“She’s fine, she―”
“Did I fall on her? Is she hurt?”
I almost laugh. “You didn’t fall on her. She’s the one that called the ambulance, remember?”
His brow furrows as he tries to remember. “Sort of.”
“Maybe you hit your head.” I joke, clearing my throat when my voice wobbles alarmingly. “Luckily our hardwood floors broke your fall, so…”
He looks at me, blinking in that dazed way again. “Hey,” he says groggily. “You’re all upset.”
“I’m fine.”
“You look like you’re going to cry.”
“Am not.”
“You’re cute when you sulk.”
I laugh softly and quickly blot the corner of my eye with the heel of my hand. I clear my throat. “How do you feel?”
He frowns at that. “I’m not sure. I think…I think I hurt like hell.”
“Will,” I whisper harshly, feeling stupid, and then quickly cup his cheek to kiss his brow, his eyes, his entire face because now that the initial panic has worn off, I realize that this clumsy idiot scared the shit out of me today.
“Hey now, what’s all this?” He says softly, and it irks me that he’s concerned for me when he’s the one lying in a hospital bed. “I’m not dying.” His gentle smile falters slightly. “Am I?”
I choke out a laugh. “No, idiot. You had a compound fracture.”
“I do seem to remember hearing something snap, and then…” he winces. “Oh God…”
“What?”
“Please tell me I didn’t cry in front of my daughter?”
“If you did, I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“I think I may have cursed in front of her. A lot.”
“Baby, your bone was sticking out of your skin. I would have been speaking in tongues.”
He groans. “Oh fuck.” He rubs a hand over his face. “She must have been so scared. Shit.”
“Hey.” I pull his hand away from his face and hold it in my own. “She was shook up, sure, but she’s fine now. As soon as she saw you after your surgery she calmed down.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s with Marlena. Marlena will bring her by tomorrow; your dad will be here too.”
“Okay, goo―” He pauses a second and looks at me. “Surgery?”
“Well, they had to shove the bone back in.”
He practically shudders. “Great.” He gripes. “How long a hospital stay am I looking at?”
“About a week.” I bite my lip. “And then six to eight weeks in a cast.”
His head snaps up, and big, sad blue eyes stare at me. “Please be joking.”
“Nope. And you will rest; I’ll make sure of it.”
“Two months without exercise? I’ll go crazy!”
“You may even get some adorable love handles.” It’s a mean thing to say, but the look on his face is priceless.
“That’s not funny.”
“And don’t worry; I’ll be there to nurse you back to health. I’ll give you sponge baths; help you to the bathroom…”
“Oh, well isn’t that just sexy as hell.”
“Will,” I chastise him. “I’m your partner. You’re supposed to lean on me when you need to.”
“Forgive me for wanting to keep the romance alive.”
I brush my knuckles against his cheek and press a soft kiss to his lips. “The romance is still very much there for me, don’t worry.” I bite my lip. “Can we just take a minute to talk about the fact that you broke a bone in preparation for ice skating? No actual ice involved. Just you and your so-called sensitive equilibrium.”
Instead of glaring at me like I expect him to, he blushes. “I’m such a klutz.”
“Yeah, you are. Usually―when you’re not breaking bones―I find it a turn on.”
He cracks a small smile and shakes his head, shifting against the pillows. “Whatever, man. I hate ice skating and everything to do with it.”
“Were you actually going to take her? Without me there to prop you up?” I laugh softly. “We’ve discussed this. You. Can. Not. Skate.”
There’s the glare I was after. “I was…” he sighs, and looks sheepish. “I was going to tell her that I couldn’t find our skates.” He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “I thought you could find them and play the hero when you got home, then you could take her and I could just watch, or something.”
“And then you fell on your ass.”
“Yeah. That’s what I get for trying to lie to our kid. Talk about karma.”
“Maybe we should just quit while we’re ahead and burn those skates?”
“Maybe” he grumbles, and it’s adorable until I notice his breath hitch when he attempts to shift against his pillows.
“Are you in pain?”
“Uh…yeah, actually. This kind of…shit. Sonny, this really fucking hurts, like…wow.”
I squeeze his hand. “Okay, baby, I’m going to go find a nurse, hold on.”
I quickly track down a nurse, and once a doctor has checked over his leg, they pump him full of painkillers. And just…holy mother of God. Will on morphine? Hi-larious. For the past hour I’ve been sitting quietly, leaning against the side of the bed with my chin in my hand and just grinning to myself as he rambles on.
“And so for your last birthday I was all like: Abi, I can’t get another dude flowers. And she was like: Will, this isn’t just some dude, this is Sonny. And so finally I was like: yeah, yeah you’re right, it’s Sonny. But I’m not giving him any shitty daffodils, I’m getting my guy roses, you know? So then I gave you roses and you laughed at me. Jerk.”
I can’t help but chuckle at him. “I liked the roses, Will.”
“Took you to a fancy restaurant, too. I surprised you with roses, I wore a suite, and then I shoved you into my car, blindfolded, and took you to that Tai restaurant you’d always wanted to go to.”
I rub his arm, and I’m aware that my face aches from smiling so much. “I remember, it was a great birthday.”
“And you looked so incredible, too. God, I totally remember just being smug as all hell because my boyfriend was hands down the hottest guy in the room. I mean, you always are, but you were wearing that grey pants suit and just…argh, so hot.”
I shake my head, leaning my elbows on the side of the bed and hiding my face in my hands. “I love you, Will.” I laugh.
There’s a knock at the door and we both look up to see my mom peeking her head through. “Mom?” I ask, looking at my watch. “It’s past eleven at night, what are you doing here?”
Foolishly, I’d been worried about even getting in to see Will, being that I’m his partner and we’re not legally married―the usual bullshit. I’d clear forgotten that the surname ‘Horton’ has some clout in this hospital, hence my staying the night.
“Hey,” my mom says, closing the door behind her. “How is he?”
Before I can say anything, Will answers for me. “I’m supercalifrag….fragilistical…supercal―I’m good, thanks.”
I look at my mother and mouth ‘morphine’ to her, and she presses her lips together to smother a smile. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. Mind if I sit for a minute?”
“Sure!” Will beams, and then looks at me. “Aw, your mom’s so nice.”
I laugh, and shake my head. “He’s in a good mood.” I say, looking at my mom as I brush Will’s bangs off his forehead.
“Painkillers will do that,” she says softly, looking at Will as if he were one of her own.
“It’s so nice that you came to see me,” Will gushes, lifting his hand and then flopping it back onto the bed. He looks at me. “I mean, she doesn’t really like me, but she still came to see if we were okay. That’s so cool.”
I look at my mom with a wince, and I snort to see that her mouth is hanging open slightly.
“What? I like you, Will!”
The way he blinks at her―almost owlishly―is adorable, and I can practically see my mother soften right up in front of us.
“Oh, Will,” she says, leaning forwards and squeezing his hand. “Of course I like you, I love you.”
I sit back in my seat, feeling smug, and reach for the water jug beside the hospital bed to pour myself a drink.
“You do?” Will asks, sounding suddenly very young. “I thought you were always kind of disappointed that Sonny settled down with me.”
I watch my mother, lifting my eyebrow in an ‘I told you so’ gesture; because this was a conversation we’d had a few times but had never come to fruition. God bless morphine. I watch as she bites her lip, and then scoots closer to the bed and rubs Will’s arm.
“Maybe I was reticent about your relationship to begin with, but now that I see how right you are together, and what a wonderful little family you are, I couldn’t be more pleased with the choices Sonny has made.”
Will lets out a deep breath, and then gives her one of his truly disarming smiles. “Phew! I’m really glad you said that.”
“You are?” She smiles at him; completely charmed by how utterly forthright and unfiltered he is right now.
“Yes, now I know you’ll be okay when I ask him to marry me.”
I choke on my water.
Her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline and she freezes. “Um…” she begins to say, trying to not laugh at what I’m sure is a stunned expression on my face. “You…you’re going to ask him to…?”
“Marry me? Make an honest man out of me? Yep!” He looks at the door, and then leans closer to her. “But don’t tell him” he whispers.
She looks at me with confusion, and then I slowly close my eyes, shaking my head.
He’s forgotten I’m in the room.
I fall quiet for one minute and he forgets I’m in the room. I meet my mother’s eyes, and I think that right then neither of us could love this ridiculous, injured man any more than we already do.
“I already got him a ring. Actually I got it two years ago, I’ve just been waiting for the laws to change, you know?” He gets this endearingly annoyed look on his face. “I kind of wish they’d hurry up with that. Me and Sonny…we’re one of those meant to be couples. I was always meant to love him…marry him. Stupid laws, all I want to do is make him happy, and they won’t let me.”
My mother’s smile, partially hidden behind her fingers is both tender and sad. She flashes me a quick look.
“I hid it away in a shoebox under our bed. It’s just this plain, white gold band, but it’s all sort of…I don’t know, elegant? Like him.”
I can see my mother’s eyes begin to glimmer with moisture, and I swallow hard when she leans forward and kisses Will’s cheek.
“Oh,” Will says, surprised by the kiss. “Thanks.”
“Thank you” she says.
I can tell he’s confused, but he still has a goofy smile on his face. “Okay.” He shrugs. He looks in my direction, and then does a comical double take. “Hey, you’re back, finally!”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m back.” I say softly, wondering when exactly I was supposed to have left. I clear my throat as I lean forwards and take his hand.
I barely contain my laughter when he turns to my mother and says don’t tell him in a ridiculously loud whisper. He looks back at me. “I’m glad you’re back. You make the room nicer.”
I open my mouth to say something, but then close it again, not quite trusting my voice. Instead I lift his hand that is cocooned in both of mine, and press a kiss knuckles. I look at my mom when she clears her throat.
“Well, it’s late and I should get going, I just wanted to check that you were alright. Are you staying here, Sonny?”
I keep my eyes on Will who is presently tracing an invisible pattern on the bed sheets with his finger.
“Wild horses couldn’t pull me away” I say gruffly.
I let go of Will’s hand only to stand and hug my mother. “You take care of him” she says to me needlessly. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Marlena’s bringing Ari back in the morning, you should come then. I know Ari would love to see you.”
“I’ll do exactly that.” She turns to Will. “And you, you make sure―”
“Hold up one second!” Will says, pushing the bed sheets aside.
We both look at him, waiting for an explanation. “What?” I ask.
Will looks at me, his eyes wide. “Have I been wearing a dress this entire time?”
I bark out a laugh, shaking my head, and my mother rolls her eyes before leaning over Will to kiss his cheek.
“You are ridiculously charming when medicated, young man.”
“Sonny?” He asks, and oh my God, he actually looks distressed. “You let them put me in a dress?”
“It’s a hospital gown, Will. Relax.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Good luck with him” my mother says sarcastically.
“Wait, so…so is there no back to this dress?”
“It’s a gown.”
“Then where’s my tiara?”
I bark out a laugh. “Will, just…shush.”
“So there’s no back?”
“No, Will. There’s no back to your hospital gown.”
He looks between my mother and I, and then narrows his gaze and points at me. “Okay, listen you, I know I probably look super sexy right now, but you’re just going to have to restrain yourself. I have a broken leg.”
I suck in a quick breath and cover my eyes with my hand, mortified. “Will! My mom is still in the room!” I look at her and can see that she is quietly dissolving into giggles. I’m pretty sure I’m slowly turning red.
Will smiles widely at my mother. “Did you know that when we’re alone, your son refers to me as his Cutie McBooty?”
She laughs out loud at that and I simply groan, shepherding her towards the door. “Goodbye, mom. See you tomorrow.”
“He says it ‘cuz he thinks I have a cute butt!” Will calls from behind me, and I wince, glancing at the nurse’s station that, wouldn’t you know it, is full of nurses who look conveniently busy and like they’re trying to not laugh.
“Goodbye, sweetheart” my mother says, and as soon as I close the door, there’s a quiet eruption of muffled, female laughter behind it. I level Will with a glare that travels completely over his head. He’s lying there, his hair ruffled, with big, innocent blue eyes, and the sweetest Goddamn smile you can ever imagine.
“Hey,” he says. “You’re back, finally!”
I settle in for a long night with my adorably dazed and confused boyfriend.