AU-  Cancer arc-  Brian doesn't take Justin back

Brian decides he wants his parental rights back where Gus is concerned. Sequel to "Kidnapped".

Brian and Justin are still madly in love. They have been married over 7 years and have been together for 18. Their children Gus and Brinn are the light of their lives but things are never easy for their family. Drama follows them from Pittsburgh to California but their love will never die.

When you're married to Brian Kinney, you learn to expect surprises.

***

Brian surprises Justin with an anniversary gift that far exceeds expectations.

When Justin came home from his studio and found Brian in the kitchen making dinner, he knew something was wrong.

Brian didn’t cook. Even after 15 years of knowing the man and spending most of them in a relationship with him, Justin could count the times Brian had made them dinner on one hand. Apparently, tonight he was adding one more to the tally.

***

Fifteen-year-old Gus is spending the summer with Brian and Justin in New York. He decides to test the limits of Brian's relatively lenient parenting style, with unintended consequences.

Brian and Justin are enjoying life.   They are splitting their time between Britin and their vineyard in California.  But trouble starts when Kinnetic's NYC office needs Brian's attention just as the family is ready to go back to the West Coast.  When Brian misses Gus' 20th Birthday party Justin is furious.  It takes a death in the family for Justin to realize we all make mistakes.

I was in Atlanta when I first started noticing the strange, intermittent numbness and tingling in the fingers of my right hand. I was finishing up some paperwork, and I was having a hard time holding onto the pen, though at the time I thought it was just because I couldn't feel my fingers in the way that I was used to. I knew I'd been pushing myself too hard, spending too much time working on my laptop and not enough time doing yoga, so I thought it was probably just stress. I needed a break, although I wasn't sure when I was going to get one, because I was only scheduled to have two days at home before I had to leave again to travel to Dallas.

***

Rob has a health scare that leads him to reevaluate his life. Brian helps support him along the way.

New take on Episode 301. What would have possibly happened if Justin had been the one to punch Michael instead of Brian? Thank you Deb Tanner for the idea involving Justin hearing Michael's rant at the Anniversary Party!

The year is 2014. Just before gay marriages are voted as legal in the State of Pennsylvania, Brian runs a campaign pro-gay marriages. The aftermath lands him in a lot of trouble. The appearance of an old friend and their quick thinking saves him from prison. Is marriage worth it to save himself from prison? Especially when Justin is back in town after many years of absence.

On Gus' seventeenth birthday, he has a conversation with his father, which makes Brian realize he's lost track of what's most important.    

I know what Brian is doing -- he’s being protective of me, the same way he always has been. That’s just his nature; he’ll do anything for his friends, and he never wants to see anyone he cares about get hurt, physically or otherwise. But I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself.

***

Cynthia and Brian are more than just co-workers; they're friends. Family, really. But how will they support one another when push comes to shove?

This story fits into the "Changed" verse.

Sometimes you have to be willing to stand in the light for people to really see who you are.

Life had changed a lot for Justin Taylor in the past year.