Hi. This is a short three part story. Second part will be up tomorrow. I love knowing what you think, so please comment.

PART ONE

He was anxious. The slow progression of the cab through downtown traffic enhancing the butterflies dancing around in his stomach. He hates surprises. Yet here he was about to deliver one of his own. Will looks over at the meter on the cab's dash board then starts to remove bills from his wallet. He likes to have the cash in hand before he steps out of the cab; a necessary move he picked up from having to travel with a two year old. As if on cue, Arianna starts to get restless in the back of the cab. He's not the only one that's anxious. She wants to see her dad.

It's amazing how nothing every goes according to plan. He figures that's the slogan for his life and it was high time that he started flying that flag above his head. He left Salem with the intention of helping his mom and siblings and, let's be honest, he wanted a chance to shine in his career. His writing meant a lot to him and he wanted to succeed in something that wasn't tied to Sonny. Will wanted his husband and everyone he loved to be proud of him, to recognize that he could get things right on his own.

The plan was for six months, and it worked out perfectly. Will got the opportunity of a lifetime and he did not waste it. The movie about his mother was a success and it was amazing to see his name flash across the big screen under the title 'Writer'. It was a dream come true. His dream come true. Overnight he went from an unknown screen writer to one with a successful movie under his belt. Six months turned into a year, a year turned into eighteen months and before Will know it he was calling LA home. His mom found a really nice house in the Hollywood Hills; Will and Ari stayed with her to keep the family together. Sonny came out to visit when he could, but with a business to run, that did not turn out to be as frequent as they would have liked. They tried to make the best of the situation; even if they both secretly hated it.

The cab pulls into the town square and Will can already see the sign for Sonny's club. Salem looks just the same as the day he left. There was a slight fear that everything would be different, but the familiarity of the scene brings him a little peace. This was home; he wasn't even going to complain about the heavy snow on the ground. The cab turns into the club's parking lot and Will is ready with his cash before he exits the vehicle. He removes their bags and the stroller from the trunk. He could really use Sonny right now. It takes him less than a minute to have the stroller up and a very alert Arianna securely fastened in. He registers the look of excitement in her face, despite the long day of traveling.

He manages to make it to the club with a help of a kind stranger who helps him carry the bags inside. Will thanks the guy and sets the luggage just inside the entrance. It's a busy day for Club TBD and T doesn't notice him walking in. It gives Will a chance to look around. Some things have changed, but for the most part the club still looks the same. He skirts out of the way of traffic inside the club and finds enough room to kneel down and remove Arianna from the stroller. She is squirming with excitement and Will smiles because he is excited too.

His marriage to Sonny has not been easy during the time that he was gone. They have gone through numerous ups and downs in the past twelve years. Arguments over the phone, days without talking to each other and sometimes just painful silence, even when they were together. Will acknowledges that he got really caught up in his work in LA and maybe he neglected his husband a bit, but this was his big break and if anyone should understand how much that meant to him it should be Sonny.

When the movie premiered two months ago everyone was thrilled, including Sonny. He told Will how proud he was of him and happy for all his success in LA, but at that point they were like strangers. It wasn't until the world wind of the movie promotion and premiere was over that Will took notice. Actually not even then, he finally took notice when a huge mistake was made.

Will walks with a wiggling Arianna towards the counter where a very surprised T greets them with a huge smile before dashing around the counter to share a hug and tickle the little girl that had changed so much since he last saw her. They catch up on what was going; T congratulating Will on his success and Will finding out that T was getting really serious with the latest girl he was dating. The conversation was good and it was nice to see his friend again but all Will really wanted was Sonny.

"Is Sonny around?" He finally asks T and Will registers the melancholy look on T's face.

"Ahh Sonny. I'm not sure where he is." T was fidgeting and the eye contact that was there before is now gone. "Sonny was here earlier but he must have gone over to the south side club or making a delivery."

"T, you're looking for Sonny?" One of the other barristers chimed in. It was first time Will was seeing the guy so he must have been hired in the time that Will was gone. "He left about an hour ago with Paul, you know the baseball player, said something came up and he had to go."

T looks like he wants to strangle the guy. He's so tense that Will is surprised that he could squeeze words from his lips. "Thank Garret. Really helpful." Will doesn't like what is happening or the way his friend looks guilty.

"T, what's going on?" Will adjusts Arianna in his arms. He doesn't even realize how fast his heart is starting to beat.

"Look…just give him a call. I really don't know where he is. I have to go unload the supplies."

It's not the greeting or warm homecoming that he was expecting when he made the split decision to get on a plane and come home to his man. A disappointed and worried Will makes the phone call but is immediately redirected to Sonny's voice mail. He smiles a little when he hears the familiar voice telling him to leave a message but then the worry comes back. "Hey baby…" he's not sure why he just used that endearment and the word sounds loaded with all his fears. "…please give me a call as soon as you can. Love you."

A few minutes later Will and Ari are in another cab, this time heading to the apartment. Will thought about dropping in on his dad or his grandma Marlena or Kate, but not seeing Sonny is deflating for both him and his daughter. The stress of traveling catches up and they are both exhausted when they enter the apartment.

It's been a little over a year since Will saw this place. His departure at that time had been hurried and exciting, yet filled with all sorts of fears that Will wasn't aware he had. Like the rest of Salem, the apartment is pretty much the same as when Will left. A few things have been moved around and there is the noted absence of Arianna's toys or blankets, but nothing that detaches him from the feeling of being home. Sonny's added a few recent pictures of Arianna around the apartment and it's amazing to see the changes that a year can make.

Will gets Arianna ready for a nap and doesn't complain when she refuses to stay in her room. Everything left the same to Will but for his two year old daughter this was major change. Arianna wasn't use to this space anymore; it was new and strange and did not want to navigate it alone. He ends up taking her into his and Sonny's room. Everything there is the same as well, but the bedding is new. It has Sonny's signature grey but it's mixed in with light blues and yellows; very on Sonny like. Will can only guess that someone else picked it out, maybe Adrianne.

The bedding may not look like Sonny, but it smells just like him. He tries calling Sonny one more time but again he get voice mail, this time he does not leave a message. The fall asleep in the cozy bed with his scent all around them and Will really feels like he is home. This is exactly where he wants to be; its where he needs to be. If only Sonny was beside him and Will did not have to content himself with just a shadow of his man. Will doesn't want to think about the look on T's face or the mention of someone name Paul who Sonny left with. He doesn't want to think about what may have been going on in Salem during the time he was gone. Will hates the thought that Sonny may have secrets and hates himself for coming home with one of his own.

Will wakes up and it takes a few seconds to register that he is not in LA; in fact he is in the bedroom in Salem, the one he shares with Sonny. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and slowly climbs from the bed so as not to wake a sleeping Arianna. She was so disappointed that he didn't get to see her daddy Sonny. He just hopes Sonny get here soon. Maybe he is here now. Will has no idea how long he has been asleep so he dashes out of the room in hopes that he will find Sonny waiting patiently in the living room; choosing to stay there because he didn't want to wake them. He encounters the empty room and a clock that tells him he slept for almost eight hours. It's two in the morning and Sonny hasn't come home.

There is a slight wobble to Wills knees and reasons for Sonny not being home flood his mind. He pushes at them, wrestles with them until he has strength enough to make himself a cup of coffee. He checks the regular coffee spot but comes up empty. Will goes through the cupboard until he locates the dark roast that Sonny really likes. It shouldn't bother him that Sonny moved things around, but it does. Even the mugs are in a different place and Will's favorite one, that has a quote from Hemmingway 'There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed', is now relegated to the back of the cupboard. Sonny bought him that mug after he attended that writer's workshop in LA during his last semester in college. Will would use it so often that it never made its way into the cupboard. It makes him feel like he was gone, which doesn't make sense but he indeed was gone, for over a year.

Will drinks a cup of coffee and the rich taste of the freshly ground beans reminds him of kissing Sonny. How many mornings did he wake up to Sonny sitting at the table drinking coffee and working on his tablet? He would slowly wake over and kiss his husband good morning. Sonny always tasted like the coffee. Sometimes the innocent morning kiss would turn into more and Will would spend the whole day smelling like Sonny's coffee.

Will tries calling Sonny again but once again he was instructed to leave a message. It's very unusual for Sonny to have his phone turned off, especially because he is running a business and he has a child. Will is trying his best to worry but he is desperate so makes a phone call. A groggy T answers the phone with what Will assumes is an attempt at hello. Will hates doing this, hates that someone will know that Sonny hasn't been home and that maybe things are not so great between them.

"Hey T, its Will."

"Will? Is everything okay man?"

"Yeah, I just…have you heard anything from Sonny?" Will is embarrassed to ask the question and T sounds equally mortified.

"Aww, no Will. I'm sorry man. He never came back to the club."

"It's okay. Thanks T." Will hangs up before his friend can say anything else. He wanted to ask about Paul, the baseball player, but he didn't. For a few more hours he could pretend that things weren't that bad in his marriage.

to be continued...