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danrdarrenc · 7 years

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The Four Of Us A Family

This is way AU but was started when it was a possibility. Gabi doesn’t get out of prison on a technicality, but instead rides out her sentence. Only smatterings of canon after Gabi’s incarceration. Paul exists as John’s son and Sonny’s ex , but there was no infidelity on anyone’s part, and Will and Sonny are happily married with three kids.

At first, Will and Sonny try to bring Ari to visit Gabi once a week. but they have a hard time adjusting to life without a third person around to juggle Ari��s schedule, and once a week quickly becomes once every two weeks.

It’s more manageable for a little while, going to the prison only twice a month, but then Will starts school again in the fall. He’s busier with classes and really in full-swing writing his book, and Sonny’s club picks up again, as the hot weather slowly turns cold, more people coming for coffee and hanging out longer, buying meals. So by the time Halloween rolls around, Will and Sonny have only taken Ari to visit her mother twice in the last two months. They become more conscious of it, even make it out to the correctional facility a couple weekends in a row in early November, but then it’s holiday season and their time is so constricted with Will’s deadlines and Sonny’s overwhelming amount of customers that they barely see even each other, except at night when they fall into bed together, exhausted and stressed.

They make a point of it, when they realize how little they’ve taken Ari to the prison, to send Gabi tons of pictures and videos and letters describing all of Ari’s firsts and how much she’s grown. Just after the New Year, they even send her the New Year’s resolution Sonny’s made this year (and which happens to be the first in a few years he won’t manage to succeed): 2015: Take Ari to see Gabi at least once a month.

But by the time Ari’s second birthday comes rolling in, and Gabi’s been in prison for a year, Will, Sonny, and Arianna Grace have not stepped so much as a toe into the facility since Christmas. The pictures and videos and letters have come less frequently and by August have stopped altogether.

Once in a while, as the years progress and Gabi marks each of Ari’s birthdays on the calendar she is allowed to hang on the wall of her cell, Rafe brings her pictures and photos, but it’s not enough and she’s not convinced by Rafe’s platitudes that Arianna knows of her or understands why she did what she did.

So when she is paroled for good behavior four years shy of her 20-year sentence, Gabi debates with herself over whether to seek out her daughter. In the end, a week after her release, Gabi walks slowly down the Salem street where Will, Sonny, Arianna, and the twin boys Rafe had told her they had had with a surrogate live.

After standing outside the house for five minutes staring at the door, she finally gathers her courage and rings the bell. There is no answer for a minute and she’s about to leave when the door opens. A little seven-year old boy stares up at her from the doorway, his big brown eyes so much like Sonny’s full of curiosity.

"Who are you?" he asks in a squeaky voice.

"Uhh, umm, is your dad home? Can I talk to him?" Gabi asks, not caring if it’s Will or Sonny she speaks to, but she must speak to one of them before she loses her nerve.

"Lu?" a girl’s voice asks from another room. "Who’s at the doo-" Arianna stops dead in her tracks. Gabi nearly faints. "Lucas, go do your homework with your brother." He scowls but walks into the other room, defeated.

"Ari," Gabi whispers.

"You’ll want to see my dads. I’ll call them and tell them you’re here. They’d heard you’d gotten out. You can come in and wait," Ari responds flatly and follows her brother back into the room from which she had come, her blond hair swinging against her shoulders.

Gabi steps into the entryway of the house, closes the door behind her, and slowly follows Arianna into the sitting room where Ari’s on the phone and the twin boys are sitting together on the floor in front of a coffee table, doing homework.

When Ari gets off the phone she turns to Gabi and says, “Dad’ll be home in ten minutes. He was already on his way home from the library when I called.” She pauses for a minute and then asks awkwardly, “Can I get you something to drink?”

Gabi is about to respond when one of the twins announces, “I’m thirsty. Can I have a soda?” He looks up at his big sister, a devilish glint in his eyes.

Ari smirks. “How about a glass of water, Justin? You know how Papa gets about sugared drinks.” He pouts but nods his assent. “G-mo-Gabi,” Ari struggles. “Did you want something to drink?”

"Water’s fine. Thanks," Gabi answers with a small smile.

Ari nods incomprehensibly and disappears into a room off to the right of the sitting room, which Gabi presumes is the kitchen. As soon as Ari is gone, one of the twins - Lucas, Gabi thinks - asks curiously as only a seven-year old can, "Who are you?"

Gabi realizes he's the one who had answered the door and she'd never given him an answer. "My name is Gabi. What's yours?" She smiles down at him kindly.

"I'm Lucas and this is Justin. We're twins," Lucas answers.

Just then, Arianna comes back into the room, two bottles of water in her hand. She hands one to Gabi and one to Justin.

"What do you say, Justin?" Ari asks, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Thank you," Justin responds. Ari nods at him as she grabs a book from the side table and he returns to his homework.

Gabi and Ari sit in awkward silence for a minute until Gabi finally asks, "How are you?"

Ari looks up from her book. "I'm really good," she answers kindly.

Gabi smiles a little sadly and is about to ask another question when they hear the door open and close.

"Ari? Gabi? Are you here?" Will's voice floats to them from the entry hall.

"We're in the sitting room, Dad!" Ari calls back.

A split second later, Will appears in the doorway. His face splits into grin when he spots Gabi. "Oh my god."

Gabi stands up and grins back at him.

"Gabi, oh my god you look great!" Will says in a rush. He hurries over and pulls her into a tight embrace.

Gabi laughs as she returns her oldest friend's hug. "So do you. And happy. You seem so happy."

"Of course I'm happy! You're free and you're here!" He laughs and hugs her again.

"Daddy, can we have pizza for dinner?" Justin asks, looking up from his homework.

Will looks down at him and realizes the twins have no idea of the reunion that is going on. "Uh, we'll discuss it later, buddy. Why don't you and your brother go finish your homework in your room?"

"I wanna stay here," Lucas chimes in.

"I know," Will says. "But I'll explain later why you need to leave right now, okay?"

"Come on, Lu," Justin says, gathering up his books. Lucas dutifully follows suit and they head upstairs, leaving Will, Gabi, and Ari alone.

"You know they're just gonna play video games, right?" Ari asks.

"Of course they are." Will chuckles and sits down on the couch in between his daughter and her mother.

"Okay. So really, how are you?" Will asks Gabi seriously.

"I'm, uh, a little overwhelmed. You know, Nick lied about a lot of things but the weirdness of getting reoriented to life outside of prison wasn't one of them. Salem's pretty much the same though. So that helps."

Ari remains silent but Gabi can tell she’s listening and not paying attention to her book.

"Where are you living? Have you seen Rafe?" Will asks.

"I have seen Rafe. I've been crashing in his guest room."

"You're welcome to stay here," Will offers. "We have room."

Gabi doesn't answer right away but instead carefully watches Ari. "If it's alright with Ari, I'd like to stay here. Rafe's kind of smothering me. I think he still feels guilty for not doing enough about Nick."

Ari looks startled that Gabi is asking for her permission. "I, uh, yeah. You can stay here. I, um, I'd actually like it if you would."

Will's face beams with pride. "I'll tell Sonny to stop by Rafe's place and bring home whatever stuff you have there." He pops off the couch and disappears into the kitchen.

"I should go check on the twins. Make sure they're not playing video games even though I know they are." Ari stands up and moves towards the stairs.

"Ari." Gabi hesitates. "Can I hug you?"

Ari blinks at her and then walks over to wrap her arms around her mother.

Gabi returns the gesture, one arm around Ari's waist and one hand in her hair. "I love you. I hope you know that," Gabi mumbles over Ari's shoulder.

"I know," Ari says when she pulls away. "I hope I can say it back to you soon." With that, she turns and heads upstairs.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Dinner that night is a quiet affair. Lucas and Justin are unusually somber, having been told that their guest is Arianna's mother, the one they've heard about but only ever seen in pictures. Ari picks at her pizza, barely eating, and Will, Sonny, and Gabi talk softly together, Will and Sonny alternately filling Gabi in on events that have occurred in Salem over the last decade and a half.

Throughout the meal, Gabi sneaks glances at Ari, trying to catch glimpses of herself in the daughter she barely knows. It surprises her how little she sees of herself in Ari; with her long blonde hair and lean body, Ari is the spitting image of Sami. Only her brown eyes mark her Hernandez heritage. At one point, there's a lull in the conversation she's having with Will and Sonny, so she turns her head towards Ari. Ari is watching her carefully, almost sizing her up like she's not sure if this woman who she's been told is her mother is trustworthy or not. But when Ari realizes Gabi's eyes are on her, Ari smiles sincerely and it's like Gabi is looking into a mirror.

When they're done eating their main course and Ari has gone into the kitchen for cookies she'd baked earlier in the day - a skill, Gabi realizes, she picked up from Sonny - Gabi turns her attention to the twins sitting next to her.

But before she can say anything to them, the one closest to her asks, "What's prison?"

"Justin!" Sonny reprimands and glares at his son.

"It's okay, Sonny," Gabi laughs. "It's a place people go sometimes when they've done something bad." She knows immediately there's another question coming and she waits for it, amused.

"Does that mean you did something bad?" Lucas asks.

"Yeah. I did something pretty bad a long time ago but the people who put me in prison for it said I've apologized enough so they let me out."

"What did you do?" Justin looks at her with wide brown eyes.

Unsure whether she should answer, she glances at Will and Sonny who both nod a bit, encouraging her to respond.

"I killed a bad man," Gabi says simply because she can't think of any way to sugarcoat it.

"Oh," the twins say together and Gabi thinks they sound almost disappointed.

"Don't mind them if they sound disappointed," Ari says as she comes back into the dining room. "They play video games for hours on end every day. Murder doesn't faze them. They thinks it's a normal part of life. Especially living in this town."

"Ari!" Will chides this time but he's got a small smile on his face and Sonny's shoulders are shaking with silent laughter.

"What? It's true," Ari mumbles, shrugging her shoulders, and hands two cookies each over to Gabi, Will, and Sonny before the twins grab the plate out of her hands and devour the rest between them.

When the cookies are gone and they've all resettled themselves in the family room, Will and Sonny curled up together on the couch (Gabi smiles to herself; even after fifteen years of marriage they still sit this way.), the twins on the floor, Ari on the couch next to her fathers, and Gabi in the armchair next to the couch. A game show plays quietly on the TV and Gabi relishes in the comfort and familiarity of home. In prison, she'd often imagined nights like this, their little family spending evenings together the way they used to when Ari was just a baby.

"We, uh, we usually play a board game after the show's over," Ari says into the quiet, breaking Gabi's reverie. "It's the twins' night to choose. I'd like it if you'd play with us."

Gabi blinks back sudden tears and answers, "Sure. I'd love to."

Ari flashes her a smile and turns back to the TV.

* * * * * * * * * *

Gabi manages to fit herself seamlessly into the Horton-Kiriakis family for a little over a week. During the days, she explores the parts of Salem Will and Sonny had told her were new since her incarceration. In the afternoons, she greets Lucas and Justin and helps them do their homework; one day Will even asks her to pick the twins up from school. They eat dinner together, the six of them, watch TV, and play board games, as if they’ve been doing the same routine for the last fifteen years. But when Friday rolls around, and Arianna Grace has plans with a boy, it all goes terribly wrong.

“She has a boyfriend?” Gabi asks Will and Sonny while Ari is upstairs getting ready for her date.

“I don’t know if I’d call him her boyfriend,” Will says. “They’ve only been on a couple of dates.”

“Weren’t you two boyfriends after, like, one date?” Gabi asks with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s different. We were dating before we knew we were dating,” Will answers defensively.

Gabi snorts at the exact moment Ari appears at the top of the stairs. She’s dressed in a black leather skirt, a bright red midriff top, and black leather boots and jacket that match her skirt. Her hair is tied back in a long plait with a black headband smoothing back the top.

“Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” Gabi asks as Ari makes her way down the stairs.

Ari looks down at her outfit, says, “Yeah,” shrugs, and continues past her parents.

“You’re going to let her go out like that?” Gabi turns angrily to Will and Sonny.

Before either of them can respond, Ari says, “We’re going to a club. What would like me to wear? A nun’s habit?”

“You shouldn’t be going to a club at all! You’re sixteen!” Gabi argues.

Unnoticed, Lucas and Justin creep to the banister to watch the argument.

Will opens his mouth but Ari cuts him off. “Where do you get off telling me what I can and I can’t do?”

“I’m your mother!”

“No. You’re not,” Ari says shortly and dangerously quiet. “You gave birth to me. You’ve seen pictures of me. But you don’t know me. And I certainly don’t know you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date.” She grabs her purse off the table. “I’ll be back by eleven,” she says to Will and Sonny and slams the door behind her.

She rounds on Will and Sonny. “How could you let her talk to me like that?!”

“First of all, she didn’t give us a chance to intervene. She got that from my mother,” Will answers. “Second of all, I’m sorry, Gabi, but she kind of has a point.” It’s not meant to be mean.

“What?” Gabi asks quietly, hurt.

Will sighs. “Look, Gabi, you’re her mother. I will never deny you that. But you’re not her mom. Not yet. Let’s be real here, you’ve only known her for a week. I know it may feel like longer to you because she was all you thought about when you were inside, but it’s the truth.”

Will turns his eyes to Sonny, pleading for help and support.

“Gabi,” Sonny says gently, and takes her hand. “You couldn’t really have expected to come back into her life after sixteen years and be her parent?”

“If you two had stuck to the plan, maybe I could have been!” She pulls her hand out of Sonny’s.

Will’s face goes ashen. “We didn’t stop the visits to be malicious. Our lives just got crazy.”

“You could have made time to bring her to me at least once a month if you had really wanted to,” Gabi says, her voice dangerously deep. “The real truth is that you two got comfortable in your routine and there was no room in it for me.”

Will swallows thickly, Gabi’s words more truthful than he’d like.

“Gabi,” Sonny starts gently. “Even if we had continued the visits, and you had seen her once a month, or twice a month even, do you really believe that you would be able to be her parent any more than you are now? For fifteen years, Will and I have raised Ari in all the ways a parent does. We have been with her day in and day out. Wiped her tears when she got a scrape. Talked to her teachers when she got in trouble at school. We rocked her back to sleep when she had bad dreams. We’ve taken her to baseball games, watched her play soccer, signed her up for Girl Scouts. I’m not blaming you for doing what you needed to do to Nick, or for confessing, god I am so not. But the fact of the matter is that the second you went to jail, you stopped being her parent. Just by the nature of the situation, you can’t be. Not yet.”

Gabi stares at Sonny, her mouth drawn into a tight line.

“Gabi, please think about it,” Will says. “If your dad had suddenly come back into your life when we were sixteen after having been gone for fifteen of those years and started telling you how to live your life, how would you have reacted?”

Gabi doesnt’ respond but Will and Sonny see the tension in her body subside.

Encouraged, Will takesGabi’s hand. “Continue living here, spending time with her, and you’ll get there. Someday, hopefully soon, she’ll start thinking of you as her mom. But until then, you need to let me and Sonny be her parents, okay?”

Gabi nods. “I’m sorry. I just - I just missed her, you know? And I missed so much of her life.” Her voice was small and sad.

“I know,” Will says, wrapping his friend in a hug.

After a beat of silence, Sonny says, “Give her some time, okay? Maybe start by trying to be her friend and then work your way up to being her mom.”

Gabi nods and buries her face in Will’s shoulder.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next day, Gabi decides that she will move in with Rafe, give Arianna some space.

“You really don’t have to do that,” Ari says when Gabi tells her. She looks sheepish and small, perhaps ashamed at how she had lashed out at her mother the night before.

“I do,” Gabi says simply. “You were right, what you said last night. I’m not your mom and I have no right to act like I am. But I hope you’ll allow me to be your friend.”

Ari blinks, and nods.

Gabi lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. Because I really enjoyed movie and game night.”

Arianna laughs and it feels like a good first step.

* * * * * * * * *

Now that she’s on her own, Gabi focuses on finding a life outside of her daughter and her two best friends. It’s not easy for a convict recently released from prison to find a job, even in a town where everyone knows the circumstances of the incarceration. Rafe has insisted she doesn’t need to pay her rent, but she explains she needs something to keep her busy.

“When you’re inside, your whole life is structured, planned out for you,” Gabi tells her brother over breakfast a couple of weeks after moving in with him. “I tried puttering around, with Will and Sonny, and these past couple weeks, but I feel lost without anything to do. I need a job to give me something to focus on.”

Rafe nods and kisses her hair.

In the end, she finds a job two hours later. She bumps into Kate in Horton Town Square, where they have a coffee and Kate offers her a modelling job for Countess Wilhelmina.

“You want me to be a model? Why? That can’t possibly be good for the company’s image?”

“On the contrary,” Kate says, her eyebrow raised and a smirk playing at her lips. “Helping a mother who went to prison for protecting her daughter to regain her life is exactly the kind of image I think the company needs. Besides,” Kate adds with a smile, “You’re the mother of my great-granddaughter.”

Gabi smiles gratefully and accepts the job.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“I got a job,” Gabi announces at Friday night dinner the following week. All the paperwork is signed and it’s a done deal, so she feels she can tell her friends.

“Gabi, that’s great!” Will says, flashing her a smile.

Sonny squeezes her hand on top of the table. “What is it?”

“I’m - uh - I’m going to do some modelling for Countess Wilhelmina.”

“Modelling? Is that something you wanted to do...before?” Arianna asks, the first to comment on Gabi’s news.

Gabi turns to her, thoughtful. “Oh. Um, not really. It wasn’t something I ever considered doing, if I’m honest. But I was still a kid in college when I had you and then I went - well, I didn’t really have too much time to really think about what I wanted to do with my life.”

“Grandma Sami was a model,” Ari says as an answer. “That’s when her and Grandpa EJ first realized they liked each other.”

Lucas and Justin make faces at each other from where they sit opposite Ari.

“I don’t think that job lasted more than a photo shoot,” Will laughs. “Let’s hope Gabi lasts longer.”

“I was just saying,” Ari mumbles and Gabi grins.

“Do you know who you’ll be working with?” Sonny asks.

“Kate said something about covers with her lead male model? Peter or something?”

“Paul?” Will and Sonny ask simultaneously.

“You know him?”

Will and Sonny share a look.

“What?”

“Kate’s lead male headliner is Paul Narita. My ex,” Sonny explains.

“Wait, what?” Gabi’s brow furrows in confusion as she looks between her friends.

“From before I met Will,” Sonny clarifies. “He was my first love. He was a Major League Baseball player and in the closet when we were together. It didn’t work out between us, so I came here. Met someone else,” Sonny says, twining his fingers with Will’s. “Paul showed up a few months after you went away. Came here for surgery and found out he was John’s son. He couldn’t pitch at a professional level anymore so he stayed. He models for Kate now and helps John with detective stuff.”

“So...he’s your,” Gabi squints, thinking. “Step-uncle?” Gabi asks Will.

Will thinks, then says, “Yeah. He’s our friend, though, too. We actually set him up with his husband a while back.”

“Can we be excused?” Lucas interrupts, clearly bored of the talk.

Sonny turns his attention to the twins, eyeing their plates. They’re both clean and empty. He nods but says, “Movie’s in a hour.”

They scrape their chairs back a second later and rush upstairs. Arianna chuckles.

“So, Ari, if you don’t mind, I’d like to hear how school was this week,” Gabi says cautiously.

Ari hesitates and Gabi sees Will nod at her encouragingly. “I got a week’s worth of detention,” Ari blurts out, the only major part of her week that stands out.

“Is that normal?” Gabi asks, eyeing Will and Sonny.

Sonny shakes his head but he has a small smile on his face. “Tell her why, Ari.”

Ari sighs but looks Gabi in the eyes as she talks. “I punched someone. There are these football players who think they’re better than everyone, y’know? Because the team is good. And, well, they like picking on people who are...different. It’s nothing new, they do it all the time. Not to me, but I see them do it to other people. Anyway, there’s this new boy, he’s in my year, but he’s shy because it’s almost the end of the year and he doesn’t know anyone. New kids are fresh meat for these guys.”

Gabi notes the way Ari’s voice goes harsh with bitterness.

“They’ve been knocking his books out of his hands for a few days, nothing that hasn’t happened to any one of us, but yesterday it was like they were on the warpath or something. Maybe they had to run extra laps in practice or something, I don’t know. But they were knocking everyone - and I mean everyone - down yesterday, literally and figuratively. Even their cheerleader girlfriends weren’t immune to their wrath. So they cornered the new guy - his name’s Chris, by the way - at the end of the hallway and everyone was just watching. They were calling him all sorts of names. I guess they found a picture he’d put in his locker, a picture of the boyfriend he left behind when his parents moved him here, and they snapped. Well, so did I.”

Ari juts her chin out, proud and defiant. She looks like Sami more than ever, Gabi thinks.

“I was so tired of watching. So I stepped out of the circle and I punched the quarterback right in the nose. Now, I knew they wouldn’t hit me - they’re those idiots who feel it’s not fair to hit a girl or whatever - so I punched the other guy too.” She shrugs. “Everyone was cheering and teachers came to see what was going on. They sent me to the principal and I got detention for fighting. But they got suspended from the football team for all of next season. So I win,” she finishes, flashing a smile.

Gabi blinks back tears. “I’m so proud of you, Ari,” Gabi says and hopes it’s not too much.

Ari turns away, twists her fork in the remainder of her spaghetti, but she says, “Thanks.”

Gabi’s about to ask Will a question when Ari asks, “Is that why you shot Nick?” It’s so quiet Gabi almost doesn’t hear her.

“What?”

“Is that why you shot Nick?” Ari asks, louder, bolder. “Because you were tired of not doing anything?”

Gabi stares at Arianna, blinks, really thinks about the question. “Yes, I suppose, in a way.” She pauses, then, “Nick was a very controlling man. He tried to take you from your dad - dads - and he was blackmailing all of us, even Sami and Kate. He wanted to control our lives and raise you the way he wanted, as his own, without Will and Sonny’s influence, I think that was his word. It got to the point where I was afraid of what he was going to do. I couldn’t let him hurt you. So I hurt him first.”

No one speaks for a long minute. Then Arianna asks, “Was it hard for you? Inside?”

Gabi feels Will and Sonny’s eyes on her but her focus is on her daughter. “It was at first. It’s hard getting used to someone telling you how to live every minute of your life. But I picked up tricks and made some friends and I learned to keep my head down, not get into trouble. After a while, I got used to it. It became normal, honestly.” A beat. “The hardest part was being away from you. But I knew you were being cared for by two people who loved you as much as I did. So that helped.”

Ari bites her lip, unsure of herself, as Will did at her age. Then she pushes her chair out from the table and rushes past her dads so she can embrace Gabi.

Gabi returns the hug tightly and glances at Will and Sonny over Ari’s shoulder. They’re both smiling broadly.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Ari says into Gabi’s shoulder.

“Don’t be sorry, baby,” Gabi responds, stroking Ari’s hair.

There’s a crash from upstairs and Ari pulls away, her head turned to the ceiling.

“We’ll go check on the twins,” Will says. “Ari, why don’t you help Gabi clean up and pick a movie?”

“Sure,” Ari says, a small smile on her face.

Gabi stands up, piling plates in her hands, and follows Arianna into the kitchen. It feels like a large cavern has been crossed in their journey to a relationship.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Gabi’s first day at Countess Wilhelmina coincides with Ari’s first day off from school for the summer. She finds Gabi at Rafe’s apartment far too early for a teenager who has nowhere to be.

“Ari? Everything okay?” Gabi asks, concerned at her daughter appearing on her doorstep like this.

“What? Yeah. I just came to ask if you wanted to walk to the studio together?” She has an earnest and bright-eyed look on her face and Gabi’s heart swells.

“You’re going to Kate’s?”

Ari nods. “I intern there during the summer. I have for the last couple of years. I take pictures.” She emphasizes her point by pulling a camera out of her bag. “Plus, I get to spend time with Grandpa Lucas. He usually oversees the photo shoots.”

“Sure, of course. Let me just get my purse. You can come in.”

Ari closes the door behind her. “Where’s Uncle Rafe?”

“The station, I think. He didn’t come home last night.” Gabi rummages in one of the half-emptied boxes she’s retrieved from storage and finds a purse she wants. “Has he been dating at all?” Gabi asks, returning to the sitting room where Ari is waiting for her. “I can’t get him to talk about his love life.”

“He was with Grandma Kate for a few years,” Arianna offers as they leave the loft. “They had a bad break up though. I don’t remember too much of it because I was little, but Dad says it was bad. After that, he was with Hope for a bit but that didn’t last long either. I don’t think he’s seeing anyone right now. Personally, I don’t think he ever got over Grandma Sami. What about you? Do you miss being with someone?”

“Oh. I don’t know,” Gabi answers as they turn into Horton Town Square. “I didn’t exactly have the best track record with guys before I left,” she says with a laugh. “I guess I’d like to have someone. Yeah.”

Gabi burns to ask Arianna about the boy she’s been seeing, but she doesn’t, too afraid it’s still a sore subject that will break the tentative ice they are walking on. Instead, she says, “What are your other plans for the summer besides working at Countess W?”

“I help Dad and Papa out with the twins, take them to soccer practice, keep them occupied. Hang out with some friends, mostly Thomas.”

“Thomas?”

“Abby and Chad’s son? He’s a couple years younger than me but we grew up together. We’re close.” Ari pulls the door open to the Countess W studio and lets Gabi in first.

“Hi, Carmen,” Arianna greets the woman who Gabi presumes is the secretary.

“Hello, Arianna Grace. Your grandfather’s not here yet but you can go through if you’d like.” The woman turns her attention to Gabi. “You must be Gabriella?”

“Gabi’s fine.”

“You can go through too. Your partner is already here.”

“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” Ari says excitedly.

Gabi follows Arianna through a door off the reception area. It leads to a large backstage area full of racks of clothing and dressing tables.

“Uncle Paul? Are you here?”

“Is that my favorite photographer?” an Asian man who Gabi realizes must be her partner, Paul Narita, says, poking his head out from around a rack.

“Hi,” Ari trills, making her way over to give him a hug. “Paul, this is Gabi.”

“Of course! Kate told me we’d be working together.” He holds out his hand, which Gabi shakes. “You’re Ari’s mother, right?”

“Yeah,” Ari says before Gabi can.

“Nice to meet you,” Paul says with a grin. He holds out his hand, which Gabi shakes. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Only good things I hope,” Gabi jokes.

“I promise. Will and Sonny are very kind when they talk about you.” Gabi smiles. “Listen, Lucas isn’t here yet and we usually don’t start without him. Can I get you a cup of coffee and we can get to know each other a little?”

Gabi looks at Ari who nods encouragingly. “Go. I have to set my stuff up anyway,” Ari says and disappears down a hallway off backstage.

“Come on. I’ll show you where the kitchen is.” Paul gestures to the hallway opposite where Ari went and Gabi follows him.

“So, I don’t know how much Will and Sonny have told you about me,” Paul says, leading Gabi into a kitchen area and pouring coffee from a pot into a cup.

“Just that you used to be a baseball player and date Sonny,” Gabi replies, accepting the cup of coffee Paul offers her.

Paul huffs out a laugh. “Yeah. Sounds about right. For awhile after I bumped into Sonny here I hoped we might be able to have something again, but I quickly realized he and Will were the real deal, so I let him go. I’m glad I did, though. Otherwise I wouldn’t have met Derek. Or rather Will and Sonny wouldn’t have set me up with Derek,” Paul clarifies with a grin. “He’s the love of my life.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Gabi says genuinely. In the five minutes that she has known Paul, she has already taken a great liking to him.

“Thanks. You know, Arianna’s a great kid.”

Gabi’s smile falters. “I didn’t have much to do with that.”

Paul’s eyes search hers for a long minute. “I don’t think that’s entirely true. She’s got a fierceness that she didn’t get from either Will or Sonny. Don’t get me wrong, they can be scary when they need to be and Sami, of course, runs through her veins. But from what I hear you killed someone to protect your family. I’m not saying Ari’s going to do that,” Paul says quickly at Gabi’s somewhat horrified expression, “but she’s got a streak about her that I can tell is entirely down to you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“Uncle Paul? Gabi?” Ari pokes her head into the kitchen. “Grandpa’s here. He wants to get started.”

Paul takes the empty coffee cup from Gabi and they follow Ari out to the backstage area where Lucas is waiting for them.

June and July pass by in a blur of uneventfulness. Gabi is honestly surprised at how normal Salem seems these days; no one has yet been kidnapped or murdered in the three months since she’s been back, and no one has come back from the dead. In fact, the biggest news of that summer seems to be Ciara Brady and Theo Carver’s wedding.

“I remember when they were kids,” Gabi says one evening at dinner with the Horton-Kiriakis family. It’s the middle of July and they’re eating outside on the deck in the house’s beautiful backyard garden. “Sami bought Ciara a pair of like a thousand dollar earrings.”

“Hope was angry with Mom for about a year,” Will says with a laugh. “So was Allie for that matter, since Mom wouldn’t buy her a matching pair.” Sonny grins and Ari laughs.

“How are Allie, Johnny, and Sydney?” Gabi asks.

“They’re great,” Will replies. “The twins just finished college. They graduated just before you got out, actually. Syd’s got two more years. I think she wants to go traveling the world after. Sonny’s bad influence.”

Sonny throws his head back in laughter.

“They’re not here, right? That’s why I haven’t seen them?”

“Johnny went to Oxford. He’s staying there for the summer to get a jump start on his graduate degree. Sydney weaseled her way into staying with him until school starts up again. She’ll be back in a couple weeks. Allie’s visiting Uncle Austin, Aunt Carrie, and Noah in Switzerland for the summer. She’ll be back in the fall, I think. But she might stay longer. She’s got a business degree but I don’t think she really knows what she wants to do. I know Dad offered her a job at Countess W but she doesn’t want favors.”

“I told her she could shadow me for a bit at the club and coffee shop but I think she wants something completely separate from her family,” Sonny adds.

“None of them are coming in for the wedding?”

“You know what? I think they might be.”

“Well, then maybe I’ll see them when they’re here. How’s your mom? I haven’t seen her around either.”

Will’s smile fades and Sonny gets a strange look on his face. Ari and the twins go quiet as they look between their parents.

“Mom and EJ went into Witness Protection a few years ago,” Will answers. “It’s almost five years now. I still don’t know entirely what happened - Rafe won’t tell me - but EJ got into some mess with bad investors or something and Mom went with him. Sydney lived with Chad and Abby for the few years while she finished high school.”

“So you haven’t seen your mom in almost five years?”

“I see her usually once a year. Rafe takes me to meet them in some secret place. Usually somewhere different each year. The guys who are after EJ are still out there so they’re still in hiding.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Will says with a wave. “How’s work? Are Dad and Paul alright?”

“Oh! Yeah. Your dad really knows what he’s doing. He’s got such an eye for this stuff. I never really thought of Lucas as that kind of person.” Gabi chuckles. “But I guess he’s been doing it a long time now. And Paul is so nice. He’s a great partner. He’s always so helpful if I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“He was always like that,” Sonny says. “I remember he was always helping rookies when they were brought up from the minors. I mean, he only played for a few years but he was respected as a veteran. I know kids looked up to him.”

“I know you told me he was in the closet when you were together,” Gabi says, almost carefully. “You said things didn’t work out between you. What happened?”

Sonny shrugs. “I wanted to marry him. He wouldn’t come out of the closet because of his career. I was tired of having a relationship in hotel rooms. He couldn’t give me what I wanted or needed anymore. So I left.”

“And nothing happened when he showed up here?”

“Are you calling me a cheater?” Sonny asks, affronted.

“No!” Gabi’s eyes go wide. She’s forgotten how quick Sonny can be to anger. “It just seems like there might have been unresolved stuff between you when he popped back into your life.”

Will laces his fingers with Sonny’s on top of the table. “There were,” Will answers for Sonny. “Sonny was a little...tense for awhile. But I made them sit down and talk about things. Paul realized Sonny loved me and we had a family and he didn’t want to come between us. He stayed out of our way as much as is possible in Salem and eventually we built up a slow friendship. When he realized his career was over, he came out, started dating around. And when we set him up with Derek, things clicked for him, them. They’ve been together almost ten years now.”

“What about you?” Sonny asks.

“What about me what?”

“You’ve been out for a few months now. Any plans to start dating?”

Gabi laughs. “No. No. I think I’m going to fly solo for awhile. Focus on modelling.”

“You know, my English teacher is really cute,” Arianna chimes in. “I could get in trouble when school starts so you could meet.”

“Ari!” Will chastises, but he’s smiling.

“Don’t think I haven’t seen you two ogling him at Parents’ Night,” Ari retorts, waving her fork at both Will and Sonny.

Gabi giggles.

“Can we get in trouble too?” Justin asks excitedly, the point of the conversation blowing over his head.

“No, you can’t,” Sonny answers sternly. “Ari was only joking.”

The twins pout simultaneously and Gabi’s giggles turn into genuine laughter. Suddenly, they’re all laughing together, the sound ringing loud through the garden.

“Hey, do you guys have any plans with Ari tomorrow?” Gabi asks.

She and Will are sitting on the couch in Sonny’s new coffee shop on the South Side of town. (In reality, Sonny had opened the shop five years ago. But it’s new to Gabi and reminds her of Common Grounds.)

The windows and door are perched open, the beautiful early September air filtering into the shop. It’s a perfect end of summer day, the kind of day Sonny misses about being in San Francisco.

“No, why?”

“I know tomorrow’s her last day of summer vacation. I thought I might ask her if she wanted to do something with me.” Gabi picks at her bagel, not looking at Will.

Will grabs her hand, stilling it. “Hey, look at me. I think that’s a great idea.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen the way she is around you. We haven’t talked about it, but I think she’s starting to feel close to you. Or already does.”

“You really think that?” Gabi’s eyes shine, with hope or tears Will doesn’t know.

“I never meant to take her away from you. We really did try to keep up the visiting schedules. In retrospect it’s easy to say, but we should have tried harder. I’m sorry. I want you and Ari to have a relationship. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I did ask her a few times when she got older if she wanted to visit, but at that point it was too late.

“But you’re here now and you’ve spent so much time together over the last four months. Sonny and I feel like you’re part of our family again. Our family was never just supposed to be the two of us with Ari. It was supposed to be you too. And I think Ari sees that and wants it.”

Gabi blinks away tears.

“It can’t hurt to ask her,” Will says kindly, bumping his shoulder against Gabi’s.

* * * * * * * * * *

Will and Sonny are curled up on the couch together watching baseball when Ari sits down silently in the armchair next to them.

“It’s quiet. Where are the twins?” Ari asks.

“They’re with Lucas,” Sonny answers. “Something wrong?”

Ari bites her lip. It’s a mannerism she got from Sonny. “Don’t be mad, but I’m going to spend tomorrow with Mom.”

Will and Sonny’s eyes both bug out of their heads.

“What?”

A grin spreads across Will’s face. “That’s the first time you’ve called her ‘mom’. And why would we be mad?”

“I don’t know,” Ari mumbles, not looking at Will.

“Hey. Come here,” Will says, disentangling himself from Sonny and holding his arm out.

Ari pulls herself out of the chair and plops down next to Will, who wraps his arm around her shoulders.

“We want you to spend time with Gabi. She’s your mom. We never meant to deprive you of that. We wanted her to be a part of our family, even if not physically.”

“I love our family,” Ari says quietly, turning her big blue eyes to Will.

“So do we, but Gabi is a part of that family now that she’s free. It’s still your decision, Ari, but you never have to feel guilty about spending time with her. Or loving her.”

Ari doesn’t say anything.

“Why is this upsetting you?” Sonny asks gently.

Ari sighs and shrugs. “We’ve got such a good thing going. I don’t want to ruin that.”

“Why would Gabi being a part of our family ruin that?”

“It’s just been the five of us for so long.”

“And we don’t have room for another person?” Will asks, tucking a stray lock of hair behind Ari’s hair like he did was she was small.

“I hope so,” Ari admits quietly. “I like having her around.”

Will grins and kisses Ari’s hair. “Good. Now do you have plans for tonight? Or do you want to watch the rest of the game with us?”

“Can we have ice cream and cookies?” Ari asks, a grin spread across her face.

Sonny laughs. “Sure, Sweet Pea. I’ll be back.”

Ari smiles at Sonny and Will hugs her closer.

The next morning dawns bright and early and Arianna Grace is knocking on Gabi’s door before the clock strikes nine o’clock.

“Hi!” Ari says brightly when Gabi answers.

Gabi smiles at the sight of her daughter.

“I don’t know if you had anything planned but I thought we could have breakfast and then go shopping,” Ari says.

Gabi laughs. “Sounds perfect.”

“Good. Because, you know, I love my dads but they really hate shopping for clothes. Also, they have terrible taste.”

Gabi’s shoulder shake with laughter. “I’ve seen Sonny’s horrible paisleys. Trust me, I know.”

Ari’s grin lights up her face.

“Maybe after we could get manicures and pedicures?” Gabi suggests.

Ari nods. “That sounds great.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“I really enjoyed today,” Gabi says, as they walk up the driveway to Will and Sonny’s house.

“Me too. We should make it a thing,” Ari says. “It might be a little difficult with school starting up but it’s my senior year and I have a light schedule, so we should be able to make it a weekly date.”

“Yeah? That’s something you want to do?” Gabi asks, not daring to believe.

“Yeah. You’re my mom,” Ari says shyly. “We missed a lot of time together and I kind of want to make up for that now.”

Gabi blinks away tears. “I want that so much, Ari. You have no idea.”

Ari’s lips turn up in a small smile.

“Come here,” Gabi says, holding her arms out for a hug.

Ari maneuvers herself around the bags in Gabi’s hands and her own, and returns the hug.

“I love you so much, baby,” Gabi says into Ari’s hair.

“I love you too, Mom.”

They stand like that for a long minute, embracing each other, until Will and Sonny walk up to them, the twins in tow.

Will clears his throat. When Ari and Gabi look around, Will has a soft, affectionate smile on his face and Sonny has his arms around the twins.

“Today went well, then?” Sonny asks.

Gabi and Ari both nod, Gabi wiping away tears.

“Are you staying for dinner, Gabi?” Will asks as Sonny unlocks the door.

“Yeah, she is,” Ari answers.

Will’s smile spreads across his face and he drapes an arm around Gabi’s shoulders as they walk into the house.

“I told you she’d come around,” Will whispers.

Gabi grins at him and knocks their shoulders together. “Today was the best day I’ve had in a long time.” After a beat, she says, “You guys did a great job with her. I’m so glad she had you both.”

“And now she has you too,” Will says, taking the bags from Gabi and dropping them on the floor next to where Ari had put hers. “The four of us a family just like we planned from the second she was born. Plus two little monsters.”

Gabi pulls Will into a tight embrace. “I love you.”

Will returns the hug. “I love you too.”

“Mom, Dad, you coming?!” Ari calls from the kitchen. “We’re ordering Chinese!”

Will and Gabi smile at each other and walk arm-in-arm to their family.

#will horton #sonny kiriakis #gabi hernandez #dool #wilson #my fic #mydoolfic #mywilsonfic

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