Chapter Text
"It's just a cold, but I feel like someone is pounding my head with a sledge hammer," Will sighed, sitting on the couch while Adrienne felt his head.
"You don't feel like you have a fever," Adrienne said, "You might be right about it being a cold. You probably picked it up being out in the snow with Ari yesterday."
"She isn't sick," Will commented.
"Well, she had on gloves and a hat like we told her to," Adrienne said, "And who was the one who didn't put on gloves and a hat?"
Will laughed quietly, "I'm a grown man and I had a scarf on."
Adrienne rolled her eyes, "I don't think you should be going outside anytime soon."
"We have the tree trimming tonight," Will sighed, running his hand through his hair, "I have to get Ari ready and make Sonny put on a tie and you know how difficult that is when it's not some kind of meeting-"
"See, it will stress you out," Adrienne said, "It's too cold to late Ari out anyways. I don't think it will hurt to miss one."
Will bit his lip, "You don't think they would be mad? I mean...things are already pretty tense around Salem because of the current battle going on over coffee."
Adrienne laughed quietly, "Will, things are always tense in Salem," she smiled, "Don't worry about it, sweetie."
Will pursed his lips, "I think you're right. It won't matter if I cancel. It's just a tree trimming."
"If you want to hang a bulb on a tree that badly, there's a tree in here," Adrienne smiled at him, "I have to get back to work...I'm sure Sonny will call to check on you soon. There's Tylenol in the medicine cabinet," she called, walking out.
Will sighed, lying back on the couch.
It wasn't a big deal...was it?
"Are you sure you don't want to come downstairs to the party?" Sonny sighed.
"Sonny, I can't breathe out of my nose and I sound horrible," Will said, "My head hurts and I just want to sleep," he sighed, "Tell Ari I'm sorry."
"Sweetie, she's six," Sonny laughed, "I'm sure she won't hate you for the rest of your life. Uncle Vic is already giving her so much candy she hardly realizes you aren't there."
Will just sighed, closing his eyes, "Your brothers aren't here, are they? They're hardly ever here and I don't want to-"
"No, their flight got delayed, they aren't going to be here until tomorrow," Sonny sat down on the edge of the bed, "Don't worry, okay? I just want you to get better."
Will pursed his lips, "You don't think my family will be mad, right?"
"No, it's just a tree trimming," Sonny told him and kissed his head, "I'm going to head downstairs. Do you want anything?"
Will shook his head and closed his eyes, "Just a nap."
"Okay," Sonny smiled, "Get some rest, you're supposed to take another Tylenol in a few hours, so I'll wake you up then."
Will nodded and closed his eyes.
It wasn't a big deal.
Will woke up and checked the clock. It was an hour before he had to take medicine again and he could hear people downstairs now. He grabbed his phone and looked at it.
(3) Unread Messages
Will sighed and grabbed it.
Mom: Merry Christmas, sweetie! I'll be video chatting you tomorrow but I just wanted to make sure you're having a good time. The kids say hi and they love you.
(1) Attachment
Will smiled as he clicked the attachment and a picture of his siblings and his mother on a couch, smiling, appeared. They had a tree behind them and Johnny was waving at the camera. He quickly typed back that he was having a good time and that he loved all of them too, so he didn't worry her.
Abby: Will, where are you?
Abby: I can't really hold the tree trimming off any longer.
Will sighed and saw that the message was from an hour ago and typed back.
Will: Sorry, Abbs, I got sick and decided to stay home. I haven't really left the bed today.
A response came a few moments later.
Abby: I hung your bulb and Ari's.
Abby: The least you could do was send Sonny over so I could see my goddaughter on Christmas Eve since you're already keeping her from us on Christmas Day.
Will gritted his teeth and typed back.
Will: I am SICK, Abigail. My head HURTS. I'm not going to get dressed up, get Ari dressed, and then go out in the cold to put a damn bulb on a tree!
Will: And Ari is staying with her PARENTS on Christmas. Me and Sonny. Period. Then we're going to take her to see Gabi. I'm sorry, but you're her godmother, not her mother.
Abby: Are you seriously doing this right now? After you just missed a tradition that we do every year?
Will: Abigail, I am SICK.
Abby: Yeah, right.
Abby: Why don't you just admit that they're your family now and not us? With all the trash you've been writing lately, you're basically a Kiriakis.
Will sat up in bed and typed back furiously.
Will: Don't act like this family is full of horrible people.
Will hesitated before typing out the next message quickly.
Will: At least I haven't slept with a married man. You're obviously attracted to horrible people.
Abby: Would you let that go?
Will: No.
Abby: That's the past, what you're doing is in the present.
Will: My nose is plugged up, my head hurts, I can't even taste any food, and I sound like crap, Abigail!
Abby: Right.
Will: Merry Christmas, Abigail.
Abby: Same to you.
"Bitch!" Will yelled before he could stop himself and then put his hands over his mouth quickly. The noise downstairs didn't stop and he sighed in relief.
Someone knocked on the door hesitantly.
"Will?" Sonny asked quietly, "Are you awake?"
"Maybe," Will mumbled.
Sonny looked confused as he walked in and shut the door, "I just told everyone you must have tripped or something...that's why you yelled. I said I would come up and check on you...are you okay?"
"Abigail's a bitch," Will said bluntly, "I've tried to keep my mouth shut all these years, honestly, I've tried to like her. Because she's our cousin and Ari's godmother and we're supposed to love her because she's family but...Sonny, she's a bitch."
"Will, don't say that," Sonny sighed, "What makes you say she's a bitch?"
Will gritted his teeth before handing him his phone, "Read through the wonderful conversation."
Sonny went silent before looking up at him, "Seriously?"
Will just shrugged.
Sonny shook his head, "We'll talk to her when you're better and get this sorted out, okay?"
Will snorted, "I don't care if we do," he said simply, lying down in bed.
Sonny just sighed and kissed his head, "Sorry she's being..."
"A bitch," Will supplied.
"Please stop wording it that way," Sonny groaned.
"A royal bitch," Will mumbled.
"I'm going to go back down to the party," Sonny laughed quietly, "Need anything?"
"Abigail to stop being a bit-"
"Goodnight, Will," Sonny rolled his eyes, walking out.
"Well, that was entertaining," Will laughed as he helped Sonny clean up all the wrapping paper.
Ari had taken her new toys up to her room already and hid away with them in a blanket fort she made.
"Here, let me get that," Sonny said, trying to take it.
"Sonny...it's a cold and it's wrapping paper," Will laughed.
Sonny rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around his waist, "Merry Christmas."
Will grinned and kissed him before pulling back quickly, "I'm going to get you sick."
"Don't care," Sonny pointed up, "Mistletoe. We have to."
Will smiled when Sonny kissed him again.
"Wow, you're sure sick, aren't you?" someone asked suddenly.
They pulled away and saw Abigail standing there with boxes in her arms.
Will gritted his teeth.
Bitch, Will thought in his head.
Sonny walked over and helped her with the boxes quickly, "What's all this?"
"Ari's presents...a few other things," Abigail said simply, "There's some cookies in there too and the top box is breakable, be careful."
Sonny nodded and put them on the coffee table.
"Thanks for coming by," Will said simply, "And yes, I'm still sick, in case you can't tell by my voice, but I still wanted to see my daughter open her presents."
"Whatever," Abigail shrugged, "The top one is for you, the second one is cookies, and the rest is Ari's," she said before going to walk out.
Will looked confused and walked over, opening the box. He froze when he saw what was in it, "Are you kidding me?!" he demanded, his voice cracking because of how raspy his voice was.
"I figured you should have it," Abigail said, "It belongs here, with your real family."
"Will, just calm down," Sonny sighed, walking over, "What is it?"
"My ornament for the tree!" Will yelled, "You have no right to just...kick an ornament out, Abigail! That's not your job! You didn't make this tradition! Alice did!"
"Well, I'm in charge of it now and I say you're kicked out!" Abigail yelled, "Be with your real family."
"Oh my God, that is rich!" Will yelled, "Nick still has an ornament on there after he tried to rape Gabi and steal our baby! Your father has one on there and he did rape someone!" "
Don't talk about him like that!" Abigail yelled.
"Why does no one face the truth about that?! Seriously! Somebody tell me!" Will yelled, "You look down on this family, yet yours isn't exactly full of saints either!"
"Shut up, Will!" Abigail snapped, tears in her eyes.
"No, you shut up, Abigail!" Will snapped, tears in his eyes as well, "Take your stupid stuff, I don't want to be in your family anyways if this is how I'm going to be treated," Will yelled, shoving the box into her arms.
Abigail dropped the box and the ornament shattered.
They all fell silent.
Will stared at it for a moment before running upstairs quickly.
"That was out of line, Abby," Sonny shook his head, "We're all a family here...you can't just kick him out."
Abigail took a deep breath, "He kicked himself out."
"You know I always found it funny," Sonny shook his head, "That everyone got an ornament on that tree except me. The first year I went, yeah, I accepted it, we weren't married. But then Gabi got one...and I sat there awkwardly while everyone went up and put it on there. Then the year after that...I know we were having problems but still...nothing," he crossed his arms, "Want to explain that?"
Abigail shook her head, "Nothing personal, we just forgot."
"You forgot?" Sonny laughed, "You forgot that I married Will? You forgot that Nick Fallon and your father still have an ornament on that tree and I didn't?! You just kicked Will out of your family, Abigail! What the hell is the matter with you?"
"I knew that you were going to end up like Victor," Abigail blurted out before she could stop herself, "I knew you would just end up fighting with Chad and causing nothing but trouble so I just...we never brought up making you an ornament. Your family is nothing but trouble, Sonny-"
"Get out," Sonny snapped.
"Excuse me?" Abigail demanded.
"You aren't a part of my family, get out," Sonny said, "Now."
"I wanted to see Ari open her gifts-"
"Seriously, get out," Sonny pointed at the door, "You've upset my husband on Christmas, you've tried to kick him out of his own family, and you've insulted mine. Get. Out."
Abigail stared at him before shaking her head and walking out.
Sonny ran upstairs and stopped when he heard talking.
"And then he can be friends with Mr. Bear," Ari giggled.
"Good idea, sweetheart," Will said, his voice still sounding slightly plugged up as he helped her put all the new stuffed animals on her bed.
"Will," Sonny said, leaning in the doorway, "We should talk."
"Not in the mood for a lecture, I'm busy," Will said simply, "Okay, so what should we name this guy?"
Sonny sighed and walked in, "He looks like a Tommy to me."
Ari giggled, "No, Papa, she's a girl!"
"Hey, she can have a boy name!" Sonny defended himself, "Let her live her dream, Ari!"
Ari burst into a fit of giggles.
"Ari's asleep," Will announced, walking downstairs, "Where is everyone?"
"Christmas thing at St. Lukes," Sonny shrugged, "I figured you wouldn't want to go."
Will just shook his head and finished cleaning up the wrapping paper, "We made a mess of the place," he mumbled, putting it in the garbage bag.
Sonny sighed, helping him before tying the bag shut, "Yeah, Henderson is with his family, we got him a plane ticket so he could go there. Man, Uncle Vic doesn't even know how to take his own coffee cup out. I've had to take it out for him the last three days."
"Oh, poor baby," Will said sarcastically.
Sonny elbowed him in the ribs playfully.
"What happened in here?" Victor demanded as he walked in.
"I was denounced," Will shrugged.
"Excuse me?" Victor demanded.
Sonny sighed, "It's a big misunderstanding-"
"Abigail thought I was faking being sick so she said something along the lines of that I just wanted to be with my real family anyways," Will cut Sonny off, "So she showed up here with Ari's gifts and cookies and then she had my ornament from the tree and said it should be with my real family."
"Well, she's a bitch, isn't she?" Victor asked bluntly.
"Uncle Vic!" Sonny scolded.
"I told you so," Will said simply.
"She isn't a bitch," Sonny sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "She's just angry and she'll get over it."
"I don't want to be in her stupid family anyways," Will mumbled.
"Hey, don't talk about Maggie's family like that," Victor said, "But, you're welcome to our traditions in our family," he said simply.
"Pass," Will said, "I don't understand Greek traditions."
"You've been married to him for how long? Teach him something," Victor told Sonny, "And we'll start our own tradition with a tree if it makes you feel better, Will," he said before walking out.
"I like your uncle, he's cool," Will mumbled, sitting on the steps and looking down at the broken ornament.
"Will," Sonny sat down beside him, "Don't give up on this so easily. You're really calm about this and I think that maybe you should just talk to- oh," he said when he saw tears start to go down Will's face.
"My family isn't stupid," Will choked out, "I love them."
"I know," Sonny said, pulling him into a hug.
"They think I'm a horrible person and none of them love me now," Will whispered, hiding his face in Sonny's shoulder, "It's over."
"It's not over," Sonny rubbed his shoulder, "They can't exactly make you change your last name or who your dad is, Will."
"I could change my last name...be a part of your family," Will mumbled.
"I thought we agreed we weren't doing name changes?" Sonny asked.
Will just shrugged.
"Will, you can't just forget your family," Sonny sighed.
Will swallowed, "I like to forget my problems until they go away."
Sonny sighed, putting his arm around him and rubbing his shoulder, "I'm sure this will all blow over soon enough."