THAT SPECIAL TOUCH - chapter 11
THAT SPECIAL TOUCH - 11
Title: That Special Touch
Written By: shadownyc
Timeline: Autumn 2015
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Some angst
Beta: None at this time
Summary: Sonny returns home with a sadness he can't imagine; can anything help?
“Are you sure you don’t want me to take Ari to the babysitter’s house? I’m going to be working at Basic Black all day and, after what you told me during breakfast this morning, Will may not be ready to deal with a chatty toddler when he wakes up.”
Sonny smiled at Gabi. “I know you’re trying to do what’s best for Will, but I think he needs some time with Ariana, especially now that the hardest part of the trial, for him, is over.”
“What does your dad think? Did Will’s testimony do the trick? Did his account of what Ben did to him move the jury? I’d hate to think after putting himself out there, Will’s emotional roller coaster didn’t pay off.”
“My dad called me late last night, after Will had fallen asleep.”
Gabi’s eyes widened. “And?”
“And he told me Will’s testimony was so damning that Ben’s attorney approached him, requesting the discuss the options for a plea deal.”
“So does that means Abigail won’t have to testify? She seems so fragile at this point.”
Sonny shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t. And considering Abigail’s almost finished with her eighth month of pregnancy, that’s probably a good thing.”
“I agree. I can still remember feeling out of control and exhausted near the end of my pregnancy.”
Sonny looked directly at Gabi. “Uhm, Gabi, that was probably your instincts telling you something wasn’t right.”
“I know.” Gabi bit her lip. “I try not to think too much about Nick and his manipulations, but inevitably my disastrous judgment where he’s concerned comes back to haunt me every now and then.”
“I’m sorry to have brought it up.” Sonny wanted to kick himself for being so thoughtless.
“It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. I really hope Justin can work out a plea deal so no one else has to deal with being in the same room with Ben again.”
“I’m with you.”
Sonny watched as Ariana played with her blocks on the floor while intermittently cuddling and kissing the little stuffed elephant she had been given by Sami - the one that had once been Will’s when he was a baby. Sonny wondered just how much Ari would remember Will’s extended absence, as well as his own, as she grew up. He hoped, not for the first time, that Ariana would be too young to have it register as she got older.
“I’ll be heading out.” Gabi bent down to give Ari a kiss goodbye. “See you later, my little angel. Bye, Sonny.” Before he could respond, Gabi was out the door.
Sonny was pleased Kate had finally convinced Gabi to model again. Strong-arming wasn’t always a bad idea. Gabi was so happy and seemed genuinely content for the first time since Sonny had known her.
Walking over to the sofa with his cup of coffee, Sonny sat down and directed his attention to Ariana. “Well, honey, it’s just you and me until Daddy wakes up.”
“Daddy wake up.”
“He will soon.”
Ariana shook her head, then patted Sonny’s knee. “Daddy Sonny wake up.”
Relieved to still be considered a parent to his little girl, Sonny grinned from ear to ear. “Yes, Ari, I’m awake, but your other daddy isn’t up yet.”
“Daddy sleepy?”
“Yes, Daddy was very sleepy last night but unfortunately he had some trouble falling asleep. If he doesn’t wake up soon, I’ll get him.”
Before the conversation with Ari could go any further, the bedroom door opened. “No need, I’m awake.” Will walked out, with a formidable case of bedhead and a few circles under his eyes, yet Sonny could tell the nervous edge Will had carried with him for weeks seemed to have significantly diminished. “Any word about when Abigail will have to take the stand?”
“She may not have to at all.”
“What do you mean?” Will’s brow furrowed. Sonny quickly filled him in on the possible deal his father was making.
“We should hear from Dad soon.”
“Daddy wake.”
Will sat on the floor next to Ari. “You bet, sweetheart. Daddy’s awake and ready to spend quality block-building time with you.”
“How about if I spend some quality kitchen time getting you something to eat?”
Will looked at Sonny. “Thanks, but I’m not really hungry.”
Although Sonny didn’t want to nag, he had no intention of letting Will go without putting anything in his stomach. “How about if I heat up an English muffin for you, put a little butter on it and get you a cup of coffee? Then you won’t have to leave Ariana’s side.”
Nodding, Will smiled at Sonny.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out Will wanted to be with his daughter and start making up for lost time in any way he could. Until Ben tried to kill him, Will had been the one true constant in Ari’s life and Sonny was sure the two missed each other in so many ways.
As Sonny prepared Will’s light breakfast, he watched Ari climb into her daddy’s lap. It was heartwarming watching the two of them playing together so naturally. Sonny couldn’t believe he was stupid enough to think he could live without either of his loves in his life. What had he been thinking, leaving them to work nearly halfway around the world!
Sonny carefully walked back to the sofa, holding the plate with Will’s English muffin with one hand and the cup of coffee with the other. After he handed the plate to Will, who took it willingly and moved away from Ari to lean against the sofa to eat, Sonny tried to take his place so Will could be comfortable.
“No.” Ari pushed Sonny’s hand away when he picked up one of the blocks. “Daddy back. You go.”
Surprised after Ari’s earlier reference, indicating he still had a place in her life, Sonny was momentarily rendered speechless.
“Ariana, Daddy Sonny can play with you while I eat.” Will took a bite of his muffin and looked at Ari then Sonny.
Sonny moved closer to Ari again. “Can Daddy Sonny help you build something?”
“No. Daddy back. Daddy Sonny can go bye bye.” Ari didn’t even look at Sonny as she returned to building with her blocks while sitting near Will as he ate.
“Okay, honey. I’ll leave you alone.” Sonny stood up and walked back toward the kitchen. He knew deep down this was his fault. He had become too much of an absentee parent. Ari had probably had more interaction with Gabi during the time she was in prison than Sonny had when he went to Paris. He looked at his beautiful daughter and, for the first time, Sonny felt like he was the step parent.
“Don’t let her get to you, Sonny. She doesn’t realize what she’s saying?” Will tried to force a smile, but Sonny could read between the lines.
“Please don’t make excuses for her. Ari’s right. I screwed up and now in her innocent and honest way, Ari’s making me face a mess of my own making.”
Will worked his way next to Sonny and put down his plate. Wrapping his arm around Sonny, Will leaned in and tenderly kissed him. “She just needs to feel sure of your place in her life again.”
Sonny felt better feeling Will’s warm, loving gestures. “She’s not the only one I neglected.”
“You’ve been making it up to me ever since we reunited.”
“Not nearly enough.” Sonny drew Will in and hoped the depth of his kiss would send the right message.
“You do remember Ari’s in the room?” Will chuckled.
“I promise to keep this PG.” Sonny smiled, ghosting his fingers over Will’s cheek. “I wish I could tell you how much being your husband means to me.”
Will smiled again.
“You need to know something, Will.” Sonny looked directly into Will’s eyes. He wanted to make sure Will knew he had never stopped loving him.
“Should I be worried?” Will glanced at Ari who was playing contentedly.
“No, I should be.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I want you to know that I accept responsibility for being the one who ran away from our problems. I know that now, but you need to know I never considered taking off my wedding ring while we were apart. Whenever I thought about our future, I looked at my wedding band and knew I could only imagine my future with you. I’ve always known you were my destiny from the moment I met you.”
Will wore a beautiful smile as he remained silent, clearly listening with undivided attention to Sonny.
“I never stopped loving you, Will. It took me a while, but I do recognize I should’ve told you about Paul the minute you came back from California.”
Shaking his head, Will interjected, “I should’ve told you what happened in California. I was stupid and got completely lost in my feelings of inadequacy. If I ever feel like that again, I’ll talk to you. Hiding my insecurities only leads to trouble.”
Sonny nodded. “I hope this means we’re a team again, in every sense of the word.”
Will hugged Sonny and whispered in his ear. “Oh yeah. In every sense of the word.” Will pressed his lips firmly against Sonny’s then opened his mouth, allowing Sonny entrance. The two became lost in the heat of their kisses.
“Daddy, can I have a bite of your muffin?”
Sonny quickly separated from Will.
Will huffed. “I guess she’s still pretty comfortable with us together. At least that hasn’t changed.”
Sonny was confident he and Will would continue to rebuild their trust in one another, as Ari would have to rebuild her trust in Sonny. The one thing Sonny was sure of was that he wouldn’t let anyone, or anything, get in the way of their happiness again. Just as he was about to share his epiphany with Will, their was a knock on their apartment door.
Will was the first to stand. “I’m truly beginning to feel like myself again, for the first time in ages.”
Smiling, Sonny watched Will approach the door, assuming, after the previous day’s courtroom drama, it was one of their dads on the other side.
After opening the door, Sonny noted Will freeze in place for a moment. He swung the door open all the way. “Look who’s here.”
Sonny wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or scream at the timing. Once again Paul picked the least appropriate time to drop in unannounced.
[TBC]
Title: That Special Touch
Written By: shadownyc
Timeline: Autumn 2015
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Some angst
Beta: None at this time
Summary: Sonny returns home with a sadness he can't imagine; can anything help?
“Are you sure you don’t want me to take Ari to the babysitter’s house? I’m going to be working at Basic Black all day and, after what you told me during breakfast this morning, Will may not be ready to deal with a chatty toddler when he wakes up.”
Sonny smiled at Gabi. “I know you’re trying to do what’s best for Will, but I think he needs some time with Ariana, especially now that the hardest part of the trial, for him, is over.”
“What does your dad think? Did Will’s testimony do the trick? Did his account of what Ben did to him move the jury? I’d hate to think after putting himself out there, Will’s emotional roller coaster didn’t pay off.”
“My dad called me late last night, after Will had fallen asleep.”
Gabi’s eyes widened. “And?”
“And he told me Will’s testimony was so damning that Ben’s attorney approached him, requesting the discuss the options for a plea deal.”
“So does that means Abigail won’t have to testify? She seems so fragile at this point.”
Sonny shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t. And considering Abigail’s almost finished with her eighth month of pregnancy, that’s probably a good thing.”
“I agree. I can still remember feeling out of control and exhausted near the end of my pregnancy.”
Sonny looked directly at Gabi. “Uhm, Gabi, that was probably your instincts telling you something wasn’t right.”
“I know.” Gabi bit her lip. “I try not to think too much about Nick and his manipulations, but inevitably my disastrous judgment where he’s concerned comes back to haunt me every now and then.”
“I’m sorry to have brought it up.” Sonny wanted to kick himself for being so thoughtless.
“It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. I really hope Justin can work out a plea deal so no one else has to deal with being in the same room with Ben again.”
“I’m with you.”
Sonny watched as Ariana played with her blocks on the floor while intermittently cuddling and kissing the little stuffed elephant she had been given by Sami - the one that had once been Will’s when he was a baby. Sonny wondered just how much Ari would remember Will’s extended absence, as well as his own, as she grew up. He hoped, not for the first time, that Ariana would be too young to have it register as she got older.
“I’ll be heading out.” Gabi bent down to give Ari a kiss goodbye. “See you later, my little angel. Bye, Sonny.” Before he could respond, Gabi was out the door.
Sonny was pleased Kate had finally convinced Gabi to model again. Strong-arming wasn’t always a bad idea. Gabi was so happy and seemed genuinely content for the first time since Sonny had known her.
Walking over to the sofa with his cup of coffee, Sonny sat down and directed his attention to Ariana. “Well, honey, it’s just you and me until Daddy wakes up.”
“Daddy wake up.”
“He will soon.”
Ariana shook her head, then patted Sonny’s knee. “Daddy Sonny wake up.”
Relieved to still be considered a parent to his little girl, Sonny grinned from ear to ear. “Yes, Ari, I’m awake, but your other daddy isn’t up yet.”
“Daddy sleepy?”
“Yes, Daddy was very sleepy last night but unfortunately he had some trouble falling asleep. If he doesn’t wake up soon, I’ll get him.”
Before the conversation with Ari could go any further, the bedroom door opened. “No need, I’m awake.” Will walked out, with a formidable case of bedhead and a few circles under his eyes, yet Sonny could tell the nervous edge Will had carried with him for weeks seemed to have significantly diminished. “Any word about when Abigail will have to take the stand?”
“She may not have to at all.”
“What do you mean?” Will’s brow furrowed. Sonny quickly filled him in on the possible deal his father was making.
“We should hear from Dad soon.”
“Daddy wake.”
Will sat on the floor next to Ari. “You bet, sweetheart. Daddy’s awake and ready to spend quality block-building time with you.”
“How about if I spend some quality kitchen time getting you something to eat?”
Will looked at Sonny. “Thanks, but I’m not really hungry.”
Although Sonny didn’t want to nag, he had no intention of letting Will go without putting anything in his stomach. “How about if I heat up an English muffin for you, put a little butter on it and get you a cup of coffee? Then you won’t have to leave Ariana’s side.”
Nodding, Will smiled at Sonny.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out Will wanted to be with his daughter and start making up for lost time in any way he could. Until Ben tried to kill him, Will had been the one true constant in Ari’s life and Sonny was sure the two missed each other in so many ways.
As Sonny prepared Will’s light breakfast, he watched Ari climb into her daddy’s lap. It was heartwarming watching the two of them playing together so naturally. Sonny couldn’t believe he was stupid enough to think he could live without either of his loves in his life. What had he been thinking, leaving them to work nearly halfway around the world!
Sonny carefully walked back to the sofa, holding the plate with Will’s English muffin with one hand and the cup of coffee with the other. After he handed the plate to Will, who took it willingly and moved away from Ari to lean against the sofa to eat, Sonny tried to take his place so Will could be comfortable.
“No.” Ari pushed Sonny’s hand away when he picked up one of the blocks. “Daddy back. You go.”
Surprised after Ari’s earlier reference, indicating he still had a place in her life, Sonny was momentarily rendered speechless.
“Ariana, Daddy Sonny can play with you while I eat.” Will took a bite of his muffin and looked at Ari then Sonny.
Sonny moved closer to Ari again. “Can Daddy Sonny help you build something?”
“No. Daddy back. Daddy Sonny can go bye bye.” Ari didn’t even look at Sonny as she returned to building with her blocks while sitting near Will as he ate.
“Okay, honey. I’ll leave you alone.” Sonny stood up and walked back toward the kitchen. He knew deep down this was his fault. He had become too much of an absentee parent. Ari had probably had more interaction with Gabi during the time she was in prison than Sonny had when he went to Paris. He looked at his beautiful daughter and, for the first time, Sonny felt like he was the step parent.
“Don’t let her get to you, Sonny. She doesn’t realize what she’s saying?” Will tried to force a smile, but Sonny could read between the lines.
“Please don’t make excuses for her. Ari’s right. I screwed up and now in her innocent and honest way, Ari’s making me face a mess of my own making.”
Will worked his way next to Sonny and put down his plate. Wrapping his arm around Sonny, Will leaned in and tenderly kissed him. “She just needs to feel sure of your place in her life again.”
Sonny felt better feeling Will’s warm, loving gestures. “She’s not the only one I neglected.”
“You’ve been making it up to me ever since we reunited.”
“Not nearly enough.” Sonny drew Will in and hoped the depth of his kiss would send the right message.
“You do remember Ari’s in the room?” Will chuckled.
“I promise to keep this PG.” Sonny smiled, ghosting his fingers over Will’s cheek. “I wish I could tell you how much being your husband means to me.”
Will smiled again.
“You need to know something, Will.” Sonny looked directly into Will’s eyes. He wanted to make sure Will knew he had never stopped loving him.
“Should I be worried?” Will glanced at Ari who was playing contentedly.
“No, I should be.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I want you to know that I accept responsibility for being the one who ran away from our problems. I know that now, but you need to know I never considered taking off my wedding ring while we were apart. Whenever I thought about our future, I looked at my wedding band and knew I could only imagine my future with you. I’ve always known you were my destiny from the moment I met you.”
Will wore a beautiful smile as he remained silent, clearly listening with undivided attention to Sonny.
“I never stopped loving you, Will. It took me a while, but I do recognize I should’ve told you about Paul the minute you came back from California.”
Shaking his head, Will interjected, “I should’ve told you what happened in California. I was stupid and got completely lost in my feelings of inadequacy. If I ever feel like that again, I’ll talk to you. Hiding my insecurities only leads to trouble.”
Sonny nodded. “I hope this means we’re a team again, in every sense of the word.”
Will hugged Sonny and whispered in his ear. “Oh yeah. In every sense of the word.” Will pressed his lips firmly against Sonny’s then opened his mouth, allowing Sonny entrance. The two became lost in the heat of their kisses.
“Daddy, can I have a bite of your muffin?”
Sonny quickly separated from Will.
Will huffed. “I guess she’s still pretty comfortable with us together. At least that hasn’t changed.”
Sonny was confident he and Will would continue to rebuild their trust in one another, as Ari would have to rebuild her trust in Sonny. The one thing Sonny was sure of was that he wouldn’t let anyone, or anything, get in the way of their happiness again. Just as he was about to share his epiphany with Will, their was a knock on their apartment door.
Will was the first to stand. “I’m truly beginning to feel like myself again, for the first time in ages.”
Smiling, Sonny watched Will approach the door, assuming, after the previous day’s courtroom drama, it was one of their dads on the other side.
After opening the door, Sonny noted Will freeze in place for a moment. He swung the door open all the way. “Look who’s here.”
Sonny wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or scream at the timing. Once again Paul picked the least appropriate time to drop in unannounced.
[TBC]