Grand Gesture
By: Julesmonster


Brian was getting restless; life was just too predictable. It had been three years since his last grand gesture. Three years since he had needed to put his unique skills and talents to work to get his way. Three years since he had found a way to keep both Justin and Gus from leaving him. Since then, he'd been busy the first year putting together his and Justin's wedding and decorating the house and moving in. The last two years, Brian had spent a lot of time making Kinnetik one of the top agencies in the country. They had even had to expand their offices, taking over the three-story building next to the old bath house to make room for their expanding staff.

Lately, however, Brian was starting to get an inkling that it was time for another plan. Not that he did these things just because he was bored. He did them to get his own way when he wanted something. And Brian was realizing slowly that he did want something more. This desire was becoming magnified as the boredom set in. He'd been contemplating what was missing for some time, and he thought he finally understood. And with that understanding came a new set of plans to make.

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Justin knew Brian was up to something. Things had been moving along just nicely for some time. Their wedding had been exactly what Justin had always dreamed. Their friends and family had surrounded them in a small but formal ceremony held in the garden at Britin followed by a party only Brian could arrange at Babylon. The house had taken more effort to complete than the wedding, but it was worth it. The house was warm and welcoming and truly fit their personalities.

Justin's career had taken off over the last few months as well. The agent Brian had arranged had been working hard to get Justin's work out into the world, and they had recently made a trip to New York for the opening of Justin's first solo show at one of the nation's top galleries. Along with the steady sales he'd had from Taken Gallery, he was actually making a profit from his work for the first time in his life. Not that the money was really the point, though it did make him feel better to be contributing to their household finances.

Things between him and Brian had been going just as well. In fact, Justin couldn't remember a time when they had gotten along better. Justin was secure with his place in Brian's life and his heart, and so wasn't threatened when Brian felt the need to go out tricking. And Brian, though he could still pull any man he set his sights on, rarely felt the need to prove that anymore. Justin liked to think that he was keeping his husband satisfied.

But several weeks ago, just after their second anniversary, Brian had started getting quiet. Not that Brian was ever very talkative when it came to his feelings or needs, but this was quiet even for him. Justin knew him well enough to know that this meant that Brian was thinking about something. Justin's own insecurities had him chomping at the bit to ask what the matter was, but Justin had been with Brian long enough to know that asking wouldn't help anything. Either Brian would bring it up when he was ready, or he would do something about it and Justin would figure it out then.

That didn't make the waiting any easier.

So when the first catalogue arrived, Justin was relieved. He was also confused.

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"Brian?" Justin said tentatively over dinner that evening.

"Yes?"

"I got a catalogue in the mail today," Justin said, watching Brian's reaction closely.

Brian gave nothing away. "We get catalogues all the time."

"Not for children's furniture," Justin replied.

Brian shrugged. "Maybe we got on some mailing list because of Gus."

Justin considered that. "I don't think so. This is furniture for infants and toddlers. Gus is eight."

"Well then, I'm stumped," Brian said and when back to eating, the subject closed.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Two weeks passed. Brian dropped Justin off at the studio each morning before going into work himself. There was no more talk of catalogues and Justin thought that maybe it really had been some sort of mistake. Then he noticed that a new photographer was being displayed in the gallery. This photographer specialized in portraits of children. Suddenly, Justin was surrounded by children everyday.

A week after that, the brochures for daycares and preschools began arriving. They came in the mail one or two a day. These were accompanied by email newsletters on raising children. Articles about the pros and cons of preschools versus daycares. Articles on alternative families. Articles on helping an older sibling adjust to a new baby in the family.

Justin was a smart man, and he knew his husband well. This was just like when Brian had started giving hints that he didn't want Justin to go to New York. Brian was sending him a message. The message Brian was sending, however, was one that Justin had never imagined Brian would send. Justin stopped telling Brian every time one of these little articles or brochures arrived. He knew Brian wasn't going to talk until he was ready. And honestly, Justin wasn't ready to talk about it either. Just like the move, he needed time to think over the consequences of a decision this big.

Justin knew that Brian already had a plan in place for getting this child, though Justin couldn't be sure exactly what that might be. He also knew that whatever it was, Brian wouldn't go ahead until he had Justin's okay. So what Justin had to decide was if he was ready and willing to become a parent. Not a weekend dad like he and Brian were to Gus, though that didn't diminish their love for the boy.

A part of him thought he was too young. He was still only twenty-five. Then again, Brian was thirty-seven. If they waited much longer the kid would still be in college when Brian was retiring. Another part of him loved the idea of having a child around the house. It was such a huge house that it sometimes felt empty even with two of them living there. He thought that they could offer a child a lot, both emotionally and financially. Brian may have difficulty expressing his emotions to adults, but Gus had never once doubted his father's love for him.

Justin knew that much of the daily responsibilities for raising a child would probably end up falling on his shoulders. Brian had always tried to get out of changing Gus if Justin was around. He still didn't really know what Gus liked to eat. But at the same time, Justin had never minded taking care of those things for Gus and he couldn't imagine that would change with a new baby.

All in all, Justin was starting to lean in the direction Brian was pushing.

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"This isn't the way to the studio," Justin said a couple weeks later. "Where are we going?"

"We have a doctor's appointment," Brian said.

"We do?" Brian just nodded. "What kind of doctor's appointment?"

Brian glanced at Justin and scowled before returning his attention to the road.

"Brian?" Justin said. Brian stayed silent. "Brian, does this have something to do with all the hints you've been sending for the last two months?" Again Brian didn't acknowledge Justin. "We are going to have to discuss this before we actually do anything about it, you know."

Brian finally sighed. "Fine. We'll talk about it. But not this morning. This is just for preliminary tests to make sure you are able to father a child."

"Me?" Justin asked. "But I thought…"

Brian sighed again. "After the cancer and radiation treatments, the doctor told me there was a good chance I wouldn't be able to father any more children. Besides, I already have Gus to carry on my genes. I suppose if we have to talk about this, I should tell you we have an appointment at the surrogacy agency on Friday to go over potential surrogates and egg donors."

"Jeez Brian!" Justin said with exasperation. "We are going to discuss this before Friday."

"Yes, dear," Brian smirked.

"So what does this testing today consist of?" Justin asked.

"Oh, just you and a little cup," Brian leered.

Justin chuffed. "Well, you better be volunteering to lend a hand."

BJBJBJBJBJ

The contractors showed up to start work on the nursery the next day. Brian had said he was working from home that day, but hadn't given Justin a reason for the unusual choice. Now he understood and Justin went in search of his husband. He found him working in the den.

"The contractors are here," Justin said as he leaned against the doorway.

"Did you show them upstairs?" Brian asked.

"No," Justin said. "I wasn't really sure where I should take them, since WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IT!"

"Well, the bedroom across the hall would make the most sense," Brian said calmly. "Since it's closest to ours."

"What exactly are they doing?" Justin asked.

Brian stood and walked towards Justin and then past him. "They are putting in an intercom system with a baby monitor function that will let us hear the baby from anywhere in the house. It can also just be used to communicate without shouting. They are putting in some cabinetry as well: bookshelves, storage cabinets for toys and such. And when we've decided on a color scheme, they'll paint."

Justin followed behind Brian and waited for him to show the contractors where he wanted the intercoms to go throughout the house and then the bedroom he had designated as the nursery. When he was finished, Justin dragged Brian into their bedroom and shut the door.

"Justin, I need to get back to work," Brian said.

"Not until we discuss this!" Justin said. "Did you really think a few brochures and articles were going to be enough to convince me to make a decision this huge? You have everything all planned out and set in motion, but you haven't even asked how I feel about all this! At least when you pulled this shit before I knew what I was getting into, and I knew how you felt about all of it." Justin sat heavily on the bed and stared down at his feet.

The bed shifted as Brian sat beside him. "Okay. Let's talk."

"Why do you want this so bad?" Justin asked. "Why now?"

"Because this house is too empty," Brian said. "And you are such a great father to Gus. I thought you'd want a child of your own."

"I do," Justin sighed. "But this is a huge decision. One that we need to make together. I don't want you to do this just because you think I want it. To be honest, if you had never brought all this up, I probably would have been happy to be Gus' other dad for the rest of our lives."

"Well, if you want me to say I want a child," Brian huffed, "I think I've been saying that for a while now."

"Not just for me?" Justin said. "Because you haven't said that yet."

"Not just for you," Brian clarified. "I think this house was made for kids. And I think you were made for kids. And I love Gus. I'm pretty sure I'm over the whole fear of becoming my father thing. I missed so much of Gus' life because he lived with the munchers. I'd like a chance to try again. Just you and me this time."

"And an anonymous egg donor," Justin chuckled, feeling much better.

"Hey, at least we know she won't try to take our kid away to Canada," Brian teased. "Are we good? Because I have a conference call in five minutes, and I thought you were taking the car into the studio."

"We're good for now," Justin smiled. "But we are going to have to talk more. I want a say in this, Brian. If we're going to have a child together we need to work out a few things first."

"We'll talk tonight," Brian said. "I promise."

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"All of our surrogates have been mothers in the past and have decided to give back to society by becoming surrogates," Matthew, the agency director, told them on Friday during their initial interview. "We involve their partners as well, since they will be almost as affected by the pregnancy. They both go through a rigorous screening process to insure that they understand what they are getting into and receive continued counseling throughout the pregnancy. That way everyone can be sure of a happy outcome. I understand that you have opted to use a separate egg donor?"

"We just want to be sure that there are no future legal issues," Brian said. "I have a son and there have been custody issues in the past."

"Understandable," Matthew said. "The process is a bit more expensive. The cost of egg harvesting is one consideration. The process for fertilizing the egg is also more complicated and adds to the cost. On top of those costs, there are the contract fees and support fees for the surrogate as well as health care costs."

"Money isn't a concern," Brian told him. "Our primary concern is having a healthy child that we can call our own."

"Well, Mr. Taylor's tests came back with a high rating for efficacy," Matthew continued and Justin couldn't help the blush that crept up his face. "There should be no problems there. What we need to do now is begin looking through donor profiles as well as surrogate profiles and find the two who match your needs. Once you choose your surrogate, we'll arrange a meeting. Not all meetings go as well as we would hope, so having a second or even third choice would be wise."

"We'll go over the files this weekend," Justin said.

"We understand that this process takes time, but we're eager to get moving on this," Brian told the man.

"I'll have Catherine get you a flash drive with our current lists," Matthew said before rising and shaking their hands. "Good luck gentlemen."

"Thank you."

BJBJBJBJBJ

"What about this one?" Justin said as he read through one of the many donor files on his lap top. "She's got brown hair, brown eyes, is five foot six with an athletic build. She's working on a PhD in psychology."

"No," Brian said. "I want a blond. Like you. Better chance of a blond child."

Justin rolled his eyes. "There's no guarantee even if the mother is blond. But okay, fine. Here's one. Blond, blue eyes, five foot seven, slim build. Oh, and she's an artist; she does freelance graphic design. Smart too. Graduated with honors from PIFA. Her medical history is good and pretty good family history as well."

"That's the one," Brian said decisively as he turned his attention back to his own laptop. "Now, listen to this. This surrogate has three children, no medical complications with any of the births. She's a runner, and physically healthy. She and her husband are active in several social organizations, including PFLAGG. They own a small athletic goods store in Squirrel Hill. Her brother is gay and she's doing this to help other gay men become parents."

"Sounds like one to add to our list," Justin said. "That makes two. Should we look for a third?"

Brian shook his head. "No, I have a feeling about this one. I think she's the one."

"Okay," Justin smiled. "So we're really going to do this?"

"Yep," Brian smiled.

"When do we tell people?" Justin asked. "My mother and Debbie are both going to flip out."

"We don't say anything until she's pregnant and we're sure everything is progressing well," Brian said. "That way we don't get anyone's hopes up too early."

"I've been reading up on this since Monday," Justin said. "You do realize that there is a higher possibility for multiple births with this type of procedure? Because they have to fertilize multiple eggs to make sure that one takes."

"Yes," Brian said. "But this is the best way. If we get two for the price of one, I'm not going to complain."

"We'll need to wait until we know for sure before we decorate," Justin said. "We might need more than one crib."

"We'll wait," Brian said. "We'll know in plenty of time."

Justin leaned against Brian and laid his head on the taller man's shoulder. "You know, this time next year, we could have a new baby sleeping upstairs."

"Are you sure you want to use a nanny instead of a daycare?" Brian said. "I wasn't sure you'd be okay with having someone else taking that much of a role in his or her life."

"Just for the first year or so," Justin said. "And we have the apartment above the garage. We can get an Au pair. That way we'll have a live-in babysitter as well. Besides, I like the idea of having them home for a while."

"I'll plan to take a few weeks off right after the baby is born," Brian said. "You and I will have a time of it until the baby's sleeping through the night."

Justin looked at Brian with a mixture of surprise and adoration. "I love you, you know."

Brian smirked. "I did know that."

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Jessica and Tim Morrison were every thing that Brian and Justin had hoped for. The meeting went great, and they all decided to go for lunch together after the meeting. Justin found out that Jessica's brother had actually worked for Emmett as a waiter when he was in college. Brian, thankfully, had never fucked the guy.

"He used to talk about Emmett all the time," Jessica said. "And Emmett's friends. I think he worked at your wedding a few years ago. I always suspected that he had a crush on Emmett."

"Emmett's still single," Justin smiled. "If you wanted to play matchmaker."

"Christ, Justin," Brian muttered.

"Please don't encourage her," Tim added.

"Oh, pooh," Jessica said. "Like I have the time for all of that. But, if Emmett happened to come with you for a visit sometime, and Gary just happened to be there…"

"I think I could arrange something like that," Justin laughed.

"I'm so glad we decided to do this," Jessica said. "I'm so glad you and Brian are going to get to be parents."

"Thank you," Justin replied. "I'm glad we found you and Tim."

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They went to the fertility clinic for the procedure to implant the fertilized eggs two weeks later. All of the necessary contracts had been signed and the legalities finalized. Justin had made his donation two days before and his sperm was added to the eggs. There were now six eggs ready to be implanted. Currently, they sat in the waiting area, not really needing to be there, but wanting to be, all the same.

Tim was in with Jessica, holding her hand. It wasn't a difficult procedure, but it could be uncomfortable. When Tim came out smiling, they both gave a sigh of relief.

"Everything went well," Tim said. "The doctor should be out in a minute, but she said that it looks good."

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Brian and Justin were back at the clinic four weeks later to see how many of the fertilized eggs had attached to Jessica's uterus. They couldn't tell for a few weeks how many had attached, but the test a week after the procedure told them that Jessica was indeed pregnant. Tim was there, and this time they let Brian and Justin in as well. This would be their child's first sonogram.

Justin watched in fascination as the doctor ran a wide sensor over Jessica's still flat belly. There was a lot of lubricant smeared there, which had made Brian snicker, but Justin elbowed him and he stopped. Of course they all stopped breathing when the doctor stopped and said ah ha.

"There we go," Dr. Tucker said. "I found them."

"Them?" Justin asked breathlessly. "There's more than one?"

"Two of them," the doctor said without looking away from the screen. She pointed to two small blobs. "See right there?"

"That looks like a couple pimples," Brian said.

"Believe me," the doctor chuckled. "Those are your babies."

"Two," Justin smiled.

Jessica smiled back at him. "Two for the price of one."

"Given the inception date, I'd say they'll be here just before Christmas," Dr. Tucker told them. "Although I'd be ready any time after Thanksgiving. Twins are notoriously early."

"We'll be ready," Justin vowed. "Oh god. We have so much to do!"

"And we still have seven months to do it all," Brian reminded him.

"Right, right," Justin said. "We're going to have our babies for Christmas!"

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Justin was at all of Jessica's appointments. At first they were only once a month, but he went whether Brian and Tim were there or not. Brian made it to a surprising number of the appointments, though, and Justin was pleased.

Justin and Jessica also made a point to get together weekly, so that she could keep him updated on the babies' progress and what she was going through. They even went shopping together for maternity clothes. Surprisingly, Brian also made time to meet with Tim. Justin sympathized with Jessica's bouts of morning sickness and swollen ankles. Brian sympathized with Tim having to deal with Jessica's moodiness. The two couples were becoming friends.

In June, they ordered all the furniture for the nursery and had it all set up by the 4th of July. They had invited all their friends and family over for a cookout. Justin made sure that Jennifer and Debbie made it to the house ahead of the rest of the gang. When they arrived, Brian and Justin left Carl and Molly watching TV in the family room and took the two ladies upstairs.

"We recently had a little work done on the house," Justin explained. "We thought you'd like to be the first to see it."

"What did you do?" Debbie scoffed. "Add a workout room?"

"No, but that's not a bad idea," Brian mused. "Won't have much time to get to the gym soon."

Before either of the women could respond to that, they arrived outside the nursery and Justin flicked on the light. The ladies went inside and looked around.

"Justin?" Jennifer asked once she'd taken in the two cribs, the matching changing tables and dressers and the few toys Justin had already brought home. "Does this mean…?"

"We hired a surrogate," Brian said.

"We're expecting twins sometime before Christmas," Justin added.

They didn't get a chance to say anything else because both men were engulfed in hugs by two crying women.

Later, they got a chance to explain everything, and then, when Gus arrived with his two moms, Brian and Justin took him aside to tell him he was going to be a big brother again. Of course, after that, the secret was out, because Gus ran out to the back patio and promptly announced the news to his moms at the top of his voice. All the others stopped dead and looked at Brian and Justin. Brian just smirked and left Justin to explain.

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Tim and Jessica had brought their kids to the cookout after the big announcement, dragging Gary with them. Justin was pleased to see that he and Emmett spent a great deal of the afternoon and evening catching up. And Jennifer and Debbie spent a lot of time talking to Jessica about how the pregnancy was going. Tim and Brian spent time talking about cars. And Justin was left to field questions from Lindsey and Mel.

"So how in the hell did you talk him into this?" Mel demanded. She simply couldn't comprehend Brian agreeing to have children. "It was hard enough talking him into having Gus and he wasn't expected to be a full time parent then."

"It was easier than you might think," Justin smiled. Brian wouldn't appreciate it if Justin told everyone that it had been his idea, so Justin let them think what they wanted to think. "Having Gus has proved to him that he doesn't have to be like his father, so he was more open to the idea this time."

"So are you going to take time off to be with the babies, or will they go into daycare right away?" Lindsey asked. She suspected there was more to the story, but she knew Brian well enough to know that he wouldn't appreciate her prying.

"Actually, assuming they come on time, we're both taking off in December," Justin said. "Then Brian will go back to work full time and I'll go back to the studio a few days a week in January and go back full time in February. We're hiring an Au pair, though. At least for the first year and a half. I'd rather have the babies here for a while. Then they can go to preschool."

"Have you looked into any of the preschools yet?" Mel asked. "We had a hell of a time getting Gus in. Some of those places have waiting lists for years in advance."

"Yeah," Justin chuckled. "We found that out. We're down for two slots starting in September two years from now. We've already been through the whole screening process and have our spots guaranteed."

"That's great," Lindsey said. "Which school?"

"It's the Community Academy over by Debbie's," Justin said. "They go from preschool all the way through high school at the same campus."

"I remember reading about that when we were looking for preschool for Gus," Mel said. "Their curriculum combines academics, athletics, appreciation of the arts and community service to help students develop their own gifts and talents. It sounded great, but we knew we wouldn't keep Gus in the program beyond preschool, so we opted for another school."

"It's pretty intensive," Justin agreed. "Brian and I had to agree to a higher level of involvement than most schools require. In fact one of us has to help out in class once a week for half a day. They think that parent involvement in the educational process is vital."

"Which means you'll be the one going to school every week," Mel said knowingly.

"Actually," Justin smirked. "Brian agreed to take one day a month to be classroom parent. Of course, the once a week rotation only lasts until they are in first grade. After that, it's every other week. The adult to student ratio is very low. There are a maximum of twenty students per class, and each class has a teacher and either a student teacher or an aide, plus the parent helpers."

"And they have that great campus," Lindsey said wistfully. "I remember thinking it was nicer than most colleges."

Justin nodded. "A building for the pre-k and kindergarten kids, a building for first through fifth, a building for sixth through eighth, and a building for the high school. Then there's an athletic building and a building for specialized subjects. Lindsey, they have a pottery studio, textile studio, and a painting studio. Then there are the music classes and language classes. They start learning French in preschool. They say that children who go all the way through the program can learn as many as five languages before they graduate."

"I didn't think you would be open to the idea of a private education, considering your history," Lindsey said carefully.

"I wasn't at first," Justin shrugged. "But the Community Academy is very different from the sort of school I went to. They teach the children to accept all religions and lifestyles from preschool on up. They aren't passing their bigotry on in the guise of religious dogma."

"They wear uniforms, don't they?" Lindsey asked.

"Not until first grade," Justin said. "And even then, they have dress down Fridays. I think uniforms are good for teenagers, but Brian hates the idea. He likes the school otherwise, though so he's learning to accept that."

"Well, it sounds like you have these babies' lives all planned out," Mel teased. "Have you gotten them into college yet?"

Justin stuck out his tongue. "My kids will go to whatever college they want. And become whatever they want to be. I'm not my father any more than Brian is his."

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"We need a second car," Brian said one Saturday in October.

"I assumed we would since the Corvette doesn't have much of a back seat. Hell, Gus barely fits back there," Justin said as he ate his breakfast. "What did you have in mind?"

"No minivans," Brian said adamantly. "I was thinking a big SUV. Like a Suburban."

"Too big," Justin said with a grimace. "I'd feel like I was driving a tank. What about the Mercedes SUV…the M class?"

"Too small," Brian said. "But the Mercedes GL would be good. It seats up to seven. And it doesn't look like a tank, so it probably drives better than a Suburban. You about finished? We should get going before the dealers get busy."

"You mean you want to buy a car today?" Justin asked.

"Yes," Brian said with a roll of his eyes. "Why else would I bring it up today?"

Justin shrugged and took his plate to the dishwasher. Ten minutes later, they were on their way to the row of dealerships on the edge of town. Brian insisted that they stop at the GMC dealership before going on to the Mercedes. Just as Justin had feared, the Suburban drove like a tank. Yes it was safe, but it was huge. The Acura MDX they drove next was better, but it wasn't what Brian wanted. So they went to the Mercedes dealership. The salesman tried to show them the M class and the GLK class before Brian insisted that they wanted to see the GL 550 and only the GL 550.

An hour later, they were back in the showroom signing the paperwork to make the purchase. Brian had let Justin choose the color—Capri Blue—but he'd insisted that they needed all the bells and whistles, including the entertainment package, the heated rear seats and the upgraded leather interior. It came with a navigation system and a six-CD/DVD changer. Justin simply shook his head and let Brian do what he wanted. It took about two hours to complete the paperwork, but they drove off the lot with Justin's new SUV.

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"Gary told me he and Emmett are dating," Jessica told Justin and Brian at lunch in November. They had just come from her bi-weekly check-up where they finally found out the genders of the twins. Normally they should have been able to see much sooner, but the twins were always blocking each other, making it impossible to tell from the sonograms. This time they had finally cooperated.

"Good for them," Justin grinned. "Emmett has seemed a bit more cheery lately."

"How can you tell?" Brian snarked. "That queen is always cheerful."

"That's an exaggeration," Justin said.

"Alright," Jessica laughed. "I'll change the subject, but Justin you can call me later and we'll gossip."

"You're on," Justin grinned. "Only two more weeks until Thanksgiving. And only five weeks until the due date. Are you ready?"

"More than," Jessica sighed as she rubbed her swollen belly. Justin reached over to touch where he could see one of the twins pressing his foot and rubbed soothingly. "I've carried one each time I've done this. I didn't realize how much harder it would be with two. The extra weight and the crowding of my kidneys started earlier, and I get tired more easily this time. Are you ready?"

"Well, we've got the room ready, and all the necessities that books say we can't live without," Justin said. "But now that we know the genders, we'll go shopping for clothes and more personal items."

"We picked up the car seats last month and had them installed," Brian said. "And the matching dual stroller is already in the back of the SUV. Justin has been ready for a while now. I swear we have enough diapers to outfit an entire daycare for a year."

"I can promise you that you don't" Jessica laughed. "But I thought you decided to go with a diaper service."

"We are," Justin said. "They dropped off the first week's worth and the accessories and showed us how to take care of everything. The only thing besides clothes that we still need to do is find the au pair. We've connected with an agency, but we haven't found one that we like yet."

"There's no real rush," Brian said. "We have until January."

"I know," Justin sighed. "But I'd like to have whoever we get in place before you go back to work."

"We've got another appointment next week," Brian said. "Maybe we'll get lucky this time."

BJBJBJBJBJ

"This one's from France," Brian said. "They could start learning French early."

Justin laughed. "Like learning it at two isn't early. Yeah, okay, let's see what her file says."

"She has an international license, so she can drive the kids," Brian said. "And she speaks fluent English. She graduated from college with a teaching degree but wants to see America before she settles down in her career. She's been approved for a two year work visa, which works out perfect for us."

"But she's still in France," Justin said. "We can't even meet her first. And how long will it take for her to get here?"

"Good questions," Brian said. "Why don't we ask the placement counselor?"

They called Janine back into the room where they were looking through files and asked Justin's question. Janine smiled. "We can set up a video conference if you would like to see her, and not just talk over the phone. And I know for a fact that Juliette has been ready to move for the last three weeks. She's just waiting because she has no place to go once she gets here."

Janine called Juliette, and it was only a few minutes later when they were sitting in front of a screen talking to the girl across the Atlantic.

"I have six younger siblings," Juliette explained in her lilting French accent. "I have helped care for all of them, even while attending University. The two youngest were twins, so I do know how difficult that can be."

Brian asked her a few questions about her background, her feelings about same sex relationships, and her religious beliefs. Justin asked questions about how she would handle certain situations, how she would feel about living where she worked, how she would feel about using cloth diapers. She answered them all satisfactorily. In fact, her mother had always used cloth diapers for her siblings she was quite comfortable with having a separate apartment over the garage.

They went over schedules and duties briefly, noting that they could talk more once everything was finalized. When everything had been said, Brian looked to Justin and the blond nodded.

"We'd like you to fly over as quickly as possible," Brian said. "I understand that Christmas is coming up, and we will pay for you to return home for a week over the holidays, but the babies are due in four weeks, and the doctor thinks they could come any time. We'd like to give all of us a chance to get things worked out before they arrive: make sure you are comfortable getting around the city, give you time to sightsee, give you time to settle in to your home for the next two years."

"We'll also provide two weeks paid vacation a year, so you can travel around and see America," Justin said. "And if we travel with the babies, you'll go with us then as well. And we'll provide your transportation home for a week each Christmas that you are here."

"That is quite generous," Juliette said with a wide smile. "I will be ready to leave as soon as you have the ticket arranged."

They ended the call and made the arrangements with the agency for the contract to be settled before the week was out. Brian called Cynthia and had her arrange the flight before they left the agency, and called Juliette back to give her the details. She would be in Pittsburgh on Friday.

They were walking back to the car when a thought occurred to Justin. "We have to furnish the apartment!"

"Actually, I took care of that," Brian smirked. "I had Cynthia arrange to have the decorator come out last month. The apartment is furnished and has everything Juliette will need for the next two years, including linens and towels."

"Did she replace the appliances?" Justin asked with a frown. "Because the refrigerator and oven that was out there were pretty gross."

"A new dishwasher was installed," Brian said. "And new microwave too. The cabinets were replaced, the bathroom remodeled, the plumbing repaired, and the whole place repainted."

Justin sighed with relief. When they got home, Justin went directly from the garage to the outside stairs that led to the apartment. It was basically one room bachelor apartment with a walk-in closet and a bathroom. The decorator, however, had used a curtain wall to separate the living area from the bedroom area. The furnishings were simple and serviceable, but comfortable. The kitchen in the corner of the living space had been completely redone, as had the bathroom. All in all, Justin thought he would have been more comfortable there than he had in some of his old apartments.

"You approve?" Brian asked from the doorway.

Justin, who was checking the cupboards and drawers to make sure Juliette would have everything she needed, smiled at his husband. "I do. Cynthia and Sheila did a great job. Thanks. I can't believe I forgot all about this."

"You've been focusing on the babies," Brian said. "So I took care of it. That's why we're a team."

BJBJBJBJBJ

The day Juliette arrived, Brian drove to the airport to pick her up. They went straight from there to the agency to finalize the contract and legalities before Brian began the drive out to Britin. They were only half way there when Brian's phone rang.

"What's up?" Brian asked as soon as he turned on the hands free device.

"Jessica's in labor," Justin said. "I'm about to leave for the hospital right now."

"Wait ten minutes for me to get home and get Juliette settled in and we can go together," Brian said.

"But she's in labor!" Justin exclaimed.

"And she will be for several hours," Brian said. "We have plenty of time, Justin. I'll be home in ten minutes."

Juliette smiled at Brian. "Looks like I'm on my own for the evening."

Brian grinned. "Looks like. We have the television set up with cable, and the housekeeper stocked your fridge and cupboards with food. There's also wireless internet hooked up, so you can use your laptop."

"I'm sure I can entertain myself," Juliette laughed. "It sounds like you're going to have your hands full keeping Justin calm."

Brian snorted. "Fucking twat. But he's mine."

BJBJBJBJBJ

Eight hours of sitting in a waiting room later, Brian and Justin were escorted into a small room to wash up and put on disposable scrubs, gloves and booties over their shoes. Then they were led to the room where Tim was coaching Jessica through the birth. They waited behind a partition, where the neonatal nurse was preparing to receive the babies. She looked them both over and then asked who would hold the first baby. Brian nodded at Justin, so the nurse had him hold his hands out and draped some towels over his arms.

Justin and Brian listened intently as the minutes ticked by. They knew right away when the first baby was born. Between Jessica's yell and the baby's cry, it was obvious. Then another nurse carried the squirming mass of baby, still covered in blood and other unidentifiable fluids and laid the bay in Justin's arms. Brian saw the look of awe on Justin's face and smiled. The blond didn't even seem to realize that the baby was covered in muck. Brian stroked a gloved finger over the baby's cheek.

Minutes later, the nurse was back, this time draping a towel over Brian's arms before taking the first baby from Justin. Justin kept his eyes on the baby the entire time the nurse gently washed, weighed, and measured the baby. She put a band around each of the baby's ankles, listing the parents and the birth order. Then she diapered the older twin and swaddled the baby in a blanket and gave the baby back to Justin.

What seemed like seconds later, the next baby was handed over to Brian. Justin, still holding his baby, came over to see this squirming infant, to count toes and fingers, to see if everything was okay.

"They are much cuter without all the gunk," Brian commented dryly. The nurse seemed to take that as her cue, and took the second baby to be cleaned.

"We should call my mom," Justin said, his eyes darting back and forth between the two babies. "And Debbie."

"It's almost two in the morning," Brian said. "We'll call in the morning." Brian accepted the baby back from the nurse just as the curtain partition was pulled back and Brian and Justin could finally see Jessica and Tim. Jessica had obviously had her own nurse to clean up, because, though she looked exhausted, she was in a fresh gown and her face was dry.

"Can I see?" Jessica asked.

Justin smiled and carried a baby over. "This is Evelyn Jessica Taylor-Kinney. Evie for short." Jessica accepted the baby into her arms and smiled down at Evie.

"She's beautiful," Jessica sighed and hand her back. "Thank you."

"And this is James Anthony Taylor-Kinney," Brian said as he handed the baby to Jessica. "Jamie for short."

"Hello Jamie," she cooed at the baby boy. "He's smaller than Evie."

"Just a few ounces," Brian told her. "The nurse said Evie was six pounds seven ounces and Jamie was six pounds two ounces. He's longer, though, by half an inch."

"Jessica, I don't know how we can ever thank you for this…" Justin choked out.

The nurse came back then, and broke up their little moment. Jessica was taken to a private room to recover. She would have to stay for twenty-four hours to make sure that everything was fine. The babies would stay that long as well, though—unlike with most newborns—they wouldn't be in their mother's room most of the time. Brian and Justin would stay with the babies in a special room that had been set aside for cases like theirs. As long as the pediatrician okayed them, they would be able to go home right away.

Justin and Brian took turns dozing on the cot provided, Justin was too keyed up to really sleep much, and Brian was too easily awoken by the babies and the staff who came and went as they liked. They fed the babies their first bottles about an hour after being taken to the room, then the nurse showed them how to change their diapers, while being careful of the clipped umbilical cords. At some point, they were given immunization shots in the heels of their feet. It was a very busy night for all of them. The doctor came to check on them around seven in the morning and cleared them to leave after their next feeding.

Justin called his mother and Debbie and told them that they would be bringing the babies home by lunchtime.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Not surprisingly, their drive was filled with cars when they got home at twelve thirty. There was a banner hanging between the porch columns announcing the birth and balloons were tied to the hand rail.

"I think Emmett might have had something to do with this," Justin said with a grin. He was carefully removing the car seat from its base so that he could carry Jamie into the house while Brian worked on Evie. "I thought this was just supposed to snap out."

"It is," Brian said. "Oh wait. There's a red latch on the carrier behind the baby's head."

Soon they had the two babies and the various accoutrements that the hospital staff sent in two small baby bags, and walked to their front door. They were all inside, including Juliette, who must have heard the commotion and come over. Gus and JR ran up to Brian and peeked into the carrier.

"Is this my baby sister?" Gus asked. Brian smiled and nodded.

"And this is your baby brother," Justin said as he untucked the blanket from around Jamie.

"A boy and a girl?" Jennifer asked.

"James Anthony, or Jamie, and Evelyn Jessica, or Evie, Taylor-Kinney" Justin told the group.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Many hours later, after they put the twins down for the night, or as much of the night as the two would sleep at this point, Brian and Justin stood over their cribs and watched the babies in silence. They were still a bit red and their skin was a little blotchy, but everyone said that would clear up in no time. But even with blotchy skin, they were beautiful.

"I think they are the best grand gesture you've ever pulled off," Justin whispered as he leaned up to kiss his husband. "Thank you."

Brain wrapped his arms around Justin. "Nothing to thank me for. I told you the last time, I make these plans to get what I want. All I need from you is a little cooperation."

"I think I cooperated pretty good this time," Justin teased. "I cooperated right into that cup."

"You certainly did," Brian said. "Now, let's go do a little more cooperating together in our room before these two wake up looking for a bottle or a clean diaper."

The End