PROLOGUE

Lindsay called Brian and invited him and Justin to dinner. Things had been cordial between them. Brian told Justin about the invitation, and the blond's answer was that he had to wash his hair. Even after she had apologized and made nice, Justin still didn't like or trust her and limited any time he had to be around her. He told Brian he should go to dinner though, at least to see what she wanted. He was sure that there was more to ‘dinner' than Lindsay said. Brian figured they just wanted to either ‘borrow' money or get a donation for the GLC, so he agreed to go out of curiosity.

"Okay lesbian Lucy and Ethel, spill, how much are you trying to get out of me this time?" Brian asks.

Lindsay speaks up first. "We don't want money, Brian. We... we want to start a family and we want you to be the donor. We both want to get pregnant. Having you as the donor would mean that the children would be related."

"Yes. And this way you could pass on your genes, what other chance would you have to do that?" Mel added in.

Brian, looking back and forth between the women answers, "None. Because I'm not doing it,"

"But Brian..." Lindsay began, only to be cut off.

"I told you, Lindz, he's much too selfish to help us," Melanie spat.

"And you want any child I ‘donate' my sperm for to be raised by her? This conversation is over," Brian cleared his throat, before standing up to leave. "If I ever decide to have children, I will be the one to raise them," Brian told them before walking out and slamming the door.

After Brian left their house, Lindsay sat stunned while Melanie seethed. Her hate for Brian Kinney had always been the stuff of legends, but no more than right then. Brian had everything they needed but he wasn't willing to share; telling them, more often than not that they needed to find a way to fix their own lives before trying to condemn him for the way he chose to live his. Lindsay had tried everything, from guilt-laden comments to subtle or high-handed reprimands. Melanie had always called attention to his decadent, hedonistic lifestyle, and to his egocentric behavior.

It always pissed her off how much Brian had while barely working. After all, he had manic minions and pencil pushers to do the heavy lifting within the business for him. Yet she worked her ass off but didn't have half as much. If Melanie really thought about it, she could blame herself for aligning herself with a proper WASP princess, who was used to the finer things in life. It made no sense to her that although she could have been considered well off in her own right, thanks to her inheritance as well as her job, Brian Kinney was working-poor trash, who had somehow made good. The bitterness and jealousy Melanie felt at that small but substantial comparison between her and Brian made her all the more angry that their plan wasn't going to work.

"I'll get it, Mel. I promise," Lindsay whispered to her.

"Lindz, you heard the man. He has his mind made up and nothing and no one is going to change it. Brian Kinney does not do anything that he doesn't want to do. And after the last time we ‘borrowed' money from him under the pretense that it was for the house, I can't say that I blame him. Let's just forget about him. How about we ask Ted?"

"You can't be serious, Melanie," Lindsay scoffed. "Ted? Ted Schmidt, the man who Brian pays to act as the accountant for his company?"

"One and the same. I mean technically, Brian will still be supporting us, but indirectly."

Lindsay shook her blonde locks violently. She wouldn't hear of some other alternative than the one she had originally planned. "I said that I would get it, Mel, and I will. I don't want some neurotic substitute for Brian, I want Brian. His genes mixed with ours would make the most adorable, blood-bound children. Not to mention that they will be intelligent beyond their years and will certainly want for nothing. Brian may not want to be a father, but he would never leave his children to fend for themselves... nor their mothers."

"Lindz, you do realize that what you are considering is morally reprehensible, right? He already said no and all of your guilt-tripping innuendos aren't going to make him change his mind. We just have to come up with another plan."

"We already have one. Brian forgot one very important detail in denying me- denying us- what we want. I do not take no for an answer when I want something. Brian will indeed father children for us, just you wait Mel, and you will certainly see. I will get what I want."

"Lindsay, what are you planning? It's not like you can just steal sperm." Mel told her, shaking her head.

They would have their children and she and Mel would be supported, even if she had to break faith with Brian to accomplish it.

CHAPTER 1

Since Justin didn't want to attend the Muncher's dinner, Brian had gone alone, telling them that Justin wasn't feeling well. It wasn't entirely untrue. Even though things were cordial between the two couples, Justin didn't like to spend any more time around them than necessary. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something not to be trusted about them.

Brian returned from Lindsay and Melanie's within an hour. Justin wasn't expecting him so soon but he knew that his thought of mere moments ago confirmed his suspicions. When he saw Brian he became concerned; his lover looked rather upset. If the girls simply wanted money for The GLC, as Brian had suspected, why would he look like that?

"Hey, what's up? You look strange. Is everything alright? What did they want you to do, give them all your money?" Justin joked, not liking the way Brian looked.

Brian walked over and kissed his lover, not sure how he felt. Taking Justin's hand, Brian headed for the big chair. Once they were holding each other, Brian spoke, "They wanted my sperm,"

"They WHAT?" Justin asked, shocked.

"They wanted my sperm. Both of them. So they could both get pregnant and have kids that are related,"

Justin was concerned about this for multiple reasons. But no matter their private relationship, this would have to be Brian's decision. One thing Justin would not attempt to do was impose his will, or try to change Brian's mind by giving his opinion without being asked for it, although he was tempted to. Brian would have to make up his own mind about this.

"So what did you tell them?" Justin asked, trying to keep his voice neutral so he couldn't be guilty of swaying Brian either way on this. It didn't stop the mantra running through his head though, reminding him that he didn't want Brian mixed up with the lesbians and their sojourn into impending motherhood. He had a feeling that it would do Brian more harm than good in the long run.

"I refused. I told them that if I ever decided to have children, I would be the one to raise them. Azure, you know what my childhood was like. I would never let a child of mine be raised where I could not control how they were raised. I would want them raised with love; to know right from wrong of course, but for those lessons to be taught in a loving and caring way, not have it beaten into them so that they go through life always second-guessing themselves. I'm not saying that would happen with Lindsay and Mel, not at all. But I could never take that chance. Do you think I was wrong to refuse?"

"No, Irish, not at all. I agree with you totally. Honestly, I'm happy you said no," Justin answered, letting out a breath he was holding, relieved by Brian's decision.

"Azure, would you have told me to say no, or refused to let me do it if I had wanted to?"

"No, Irish. That decision had to be yours to make. If you had asked I would have given you my opinion, but the choice still would have been yours to make. Yes, I am your Dom, but that is the kind of decision that would have been strictly up to you. My goal is to enhance your life, not run it."

Brian tightened his grip on his lover. Knowing Justin was there for him, supporting him and his decisions but not trying to run his life- unlike the ‘family'- meant the world to the older man. It felt so freeing to know that he always had someone who would be there just for him. He had never had anyone like Justin in his life before; someone who always put him first.   

Justin breathed a mental sigh of relief. For Brian to be tied biologically to Melanie and Lindsay would have been possibly the worst thing to happen to both of them. No doubt, Lindsay would have used her influence to impose certain rules on what Brian should be doing, fomenting reasons why Brian should be more attentive to her and the children, instead of being with Justin. In his mind Justin could just hear Lindsay, all sweet and persuasive:

‘Oh Brian, your child hasn't seen you for ages. You can play with Justin some other time. I'm sure he would understand and agree that your children need you, and that I... I mean they, should come first.' ‘Brian, do you think you could come over and be with your children? No, I don't want to bring them over to the loft. I think the babies would be most comfortable in our own house. No, Justin can't come along. I'm sure he can do without you for the next four hours, or so. And if I arrive home late, I'm sure I could find someplace for you to sleep. You know father-bonding time is just as important as mommy-time with children. And Justin isn't their father, you are. You should really put their needs before your own; that's what parents do. After all, I do it all the time and you should, too.'

Justin was sure that Lindsay would do anything to make her fantasies of Brian always being up under her, supporting her, and being a helpmate to her, a reality. And Justin was sure that Lindsay wasn't above using Brian's children to accomplish that. After years in the country club set, he knew how the system of suggestions worked, and he would have hated to see Brian fall, sperm first, into Lindsay's trap.

Then there's Melanie and her power-hungry, ego-tripping ways. For her, it would have probably been about putting Brian in his place, not allowing him to see the children unless they needed a built-in babysitter, so that they could go do whatever the hell they wanted. And then there would be child support to consider. Brian made a very substantial living, compared to Melanie. And Justin was sure that if Melanie had her way, Brian would be left with twenty dollars a year, at the most, to live on.

He didn't really know Melanie, but if Lindsay's behavior was anything to go by, he would have bet his last dollar that she was a jealous woman, who was blind to her partner's shortcomings. He wouldn't doubt that she was also fearful of being alone, so she willingly turned a blind eye to Lindsay's bullshit, simply for the sake of having somebody. Justin would never understand women, or people in general, who are like that. They would put up with anything, including emotional abuse, just to keep up appearances. It was all a game of manipulation and control by Lindsay and Melanie, which, from where he sat, were often used against Brian.

The only difference was that the latter probably also used the control as a method to rein in her wayward, whimsical wife, even while inflicting it on the wrong person.

One thing was still troubling him about them asking Brian. Why not go to a sperm bank and request samples from the same frozen ‘Pop' if it was just that they wanted to start an alternative family, where the children were blood-related? Justin shivered as the multitude of answers became all too clear in his mind. No. The best thing that Brian could do for himself and his sanity is to stay as far from Lindsay and Melanie's fantasies of procreation using his sperm, as possible.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The day after the meeting that had gotten her fired, Laura had called Craig Taylor. She knew he would be pissed, but there was nothing she could do.

"Craig, I just want to let you know that there is no way you will be able to get to Justin now. He and Brian Kinney are partners, at work and at home. Brian Kinney is not only very rich but now Justin is also, and he has Harriet Bartier on his side. She was at the meeting. Not only that, but Glenn Bartier was there too, and he broke off our engagement. I'm fairly sure that he will now be dating Daphne Chanders. He also made a comment to Daphne that makes me think they had a previous relationship, not just a close friendship. And FYI, Daphne is working as Justin's assistant."

"Well, we shall just see about that. Daphne just turned eighteen. I think I'll call Daniel Chanders and see what he thinks about his barely-legal daughter going around with that man. If they had a relationship prior to her eighteenth birthday, that is statutory rape. I may not be able to get to that fucking faggot who was my son, directly, but I can certainly cause as much trouble as possible for everyone connected to him. If you get any, and I mean any, information about those faggots or anyone connected to them, I expect to be informed immediately. You have already fucked up enough. You'd better find a way to make yourself useful."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Emmett and Debbie were sitting at a table in the diner while she was on a break, sharing tidbits of gossip as they were wont to do this time of day when the diner was less busy. She had heard all about Brian's new love affair with his Executive Artistic Liaison. By all the accounts she'd heard from the patrons of the Diner, Justin Taylor was no ordinary man and he and Brian were hot together. Although it was nice to hear, that wasn't really what she wanted to know.

"So Emmett, tell me how this Justin Taylor is different from all of Brian's other tricks? I mean from the way everyone is talking about him, you would think he was the second coming of Christ or something. Either everyone wants him or everyone wants to be him is what I'm gathering."

Emmett put down his coffee, dabbing his lips as only a true queen would. He has had the pleasure of actually getting to know Justin and his wonderful assistant / best friend Daphne since they've come on the scene a little while ago. He found them both to be intelligent and humorous in so many ways. Even Vic had fallen in love with the duo. "What exactly are you asking me, Deb?"

"Okay smarty pants, you want direct questions? Well okay... so, rumor has it that he was a hustler at one time. Is that true?"

"Yes it is, but not for the reasons you think," Emmett said, holding up his hand before Deb could add a comment, "Justin's father is a real humdinger and put his son out for being gay, giving him only minutes to gather his possessions and threatening him, along with others- if he dared contact anyone who might help him. I know there is even more to the story, but Justin chose to give me the short version,"

"So how did he come to be an Executive within Brian's company, if he was a mere street rat?" Debbie couldn't help but be intrigued by that. It was almost like a Cinderfella story around here to go from hustler to well-to-do, and usually, it involved becoming someone's kept man. Although it didn't seem to be that way with Justin's story.

"It just so happens that the boy- the young man- is really fucking talented, Deb. He had been hired as an errand and copy boy. At the end of his first week, Brian's art department had totally fucked up some boards he needed. And we all know what kind of rampage the Big Bad must have been on when he looked at them. Brian is nothing if not a perfectionist. Anyway, Justin looked at them and told him immediately what was wrong. Within an hour, Justin totally and perfectly redid the boards that the art department had had for well over four days and still fucked up.

And on a personal note, between his artistic genius and Brian's advertising godlikeness, HoneyGrass Furnishings is doing exceptionally well, since we renewed our contract with Kinnetik. Justin's drawings were unlike anything I had ever seen! In fact, I think that Justin should be displaying at Bloom, or even in New York somewhere; he's that good. The initial drawings he did during our meeting alone should have been hung in a gallery, and that was after only an hour! They captured mine and Vic's passion for the business, and their new and fresh ideas have us all reaping the rewards."

"Well, that's good to know. But I want to know about Justin as a person," Deb huffed. Sometimes Emmett could be really obtuse and wax poetic about everything from cereal to socks.

"Well he's..." Emmett started to say before he was rudely interrupted by the unwelcome whine, which he hadn't missed.

"...a conniving, scheming, ass-throwing little liar is what he is!"

"Michael!" Deb exclaimed, getting up to hug her son, whom she hadn't seen in months. Although she was still pretty pissed at him for the way he had treated her the last time they were together with his new friends, she still missed how close they used to be. "How are you? What have you and Ben been up to?"

"Ben is fine, Ma, but I'm not. That fucking blond boy ass that Brian has ‘working' for him is suing me for Slander and Defamation of Character when all I said was the truth about him."

"What exactly did you say, Michael?" Emmett asked, already knowing the full story, but wanting to hear Michael's version of events. One thing he could always say about Michael was that in his world, everything was always black or white and he was always right.

"I said that he was a liar, a thief, and a whore, all of which is true! Did you know he tried to steal Brian's wallet not too long ago? But I put a stop to that!" Michael smirked, applauding himself for his efforts.

The way he saw it, Brian should be standing with him for his act of heroism alone. He always likened his and Brian's relationship to that of Captain Astro and Galaxy Lad. Michael was Brian's sidekick and was happy to watch his back, whether the man appreciated it or not. He just had to wait Brian out; he'd come around. Michael had no doubt of that... well as soon as he could get rid of that fucking Justin Taylor, he would.

"Ahh Michael," Emmett interrupted the man's introspection. "I thought it was decided a long time ago that Justin was never trying to steal Brian's wallet. In fact, according to Ted, who was standing right there, by the way, Brian had careened into Justin and his wallet had fallen out of his pocket because of the impact. Justin then picked it up and handed it back to Brian. Now based on Justin's lineage, I doubt very much that he would have needed to steal anything."

"What the fuck do you know, Emmett? You haven't even been around lately. How could you take the word of some fuckboy over your friend? God, Brian's boy toy has got all of you snowed, especially Brian!"

Emmett rolled his eyes heavenward. Praying for patience had become his norm whenever he had to deal with Michael Novotny-Bruckner. It was always apparent to him that Michael had both selective memory and hearing; opting to live in his own fantasy world where Brian was concerned. And it was never more clear than now. Fixing a fierce gaze on the man he used to consider one of his best friends, Emmett spoke in a tone so low that both Deb and Michael had to bend forward to hear him.

"Michael, let's get one thing straight right now: Justin comes from money. Not Lindsay's family type of money, but a looooong line of money within the WASP nest, which means he could buy and sell your ass a million times over with pennies to spare. Yes, Justin was a hustler for a time due to a disagreement within his household, but that isn't really any of your business. I only told you so that you could maybe understand how lucky you are to have a parent not kick you out because you like dick. That said, Justin is and will always be more talented, more intelligent, and more suited to work for, with, and on Brian, than you ever will be. So that little contretemps that you and Lindsay caused the last time Justin and Brian were in here having lunch, was entirely your fault. And as a result, Justin has decided to retaliate within the confines of the law.

Long story short: YOU DID slander him, YOU DID defame his character based on what you thought you knew, and YOU WILL PAY for it." Emmett then turned towards a shocked Debbie and kissed her on the cheek. "Sorry to have raised my voice at him, Deb. But it really couldn't be helped. If you take anything away from what I have just said, it's to not let Michael play the victim. Because he isn't one, and as always, Michael's mouth gets him into big trouble. Don't be his fool and try to get him out of it for once, okay?"

Deb nodded, unsure how to take what Emmett was saying, or the hateful look Michael leveled on him when he was through speaking. She had known for months now that her son had not only changed, but in the worst of ways. He was constantly making her question her judgment of people, since of all the folks she had met in her life, she thought that she should have known her child the best. But Michael's mistreatment of everyone around him- friend and foe alike- had caused her to see that Michael was not the doe-eyed innocent that he had always purported to be, and maybe it was her fault that he was allowed to deflect blame onto others so that he could remain squeaky clean in her eyes. That was the subject of many rows she had with her brother Vic for as long as she could remember.

It wasn't that Vic didn't love Michael; it was that he didn't like the person Michael had become. At the moment, even amid her confusion, she couldn't say that Vic's feelings weren't valid. Vic had moved out some time ago, after their last argument about the way Michael had behaved and treated both his mother and his uncle in front of Michael's new more enlightened crowd. Vic had told her that in order to save their lifelong relationship, as both siblings and best friends, he needed to leave so that she could deal with Michael at will and however she saw fit. She and Vic still saw each other every day, but it wasn't the same as when they had lived together. She still missed him.   

"So Ma, are you going to help me or not? I don't give a shit what Emmett says. I mean, what does he really know anyway? Brian owes us his loyalty, not some blond trick who blew his cock right. This isn't fair to me or you," Michael finished his statement with his usual petulant stance of a pouty mouth and folded arms.

Deb sighed deeply. She really wished Michael would learn to fight his own battles, and also learn when to shut the fuck up! But if she was ever going to get straight answers about this entire episode, she knew she needed to go straight to the source- or in this case- sources. "Yeah Michael honey, I'll talk to him." She was rewarded with one of Michael's bright smiles, and at that moment she knew that everything Emmett had told her was right. Yes, she would talk to Brian, but not for the reasons that her dear son thought.

Heading into Kinnetik after her shift, Debbie asked the receptionist if Brian was free and if he had time to see her. Hearing the redhead at the desk, Brian figured that the whiner ran to his mommy, and told her that Brian's ‘hustler' is suing him. He hasn't been at the diner lately, because Justin's cooking is just so much better than anything he has ever had there. His stomach growled at the thought of the scrumptious treats that had caused Brian to forsake the mediocre fare at the greasy spoon where he'd eaten many times before. It didn't hurt that he often followed up dinner with a serving of dessert a la Justin, which made leaving the loft building during off-work hours, both unnecessary and impossible.

So, figuring he might as well get this over with so he could satisfy both of his healthy appetites, he opened his door and ushered Debbie in. "Deb, I suppose you're here because..."

Holding up her hand, Debbie stopped Brian from continuing. "No, Brian, I'm not here to defend Michael, if that's what you think. I did see my son and I heard his side of things, but I also heard Emmett's. I would like to hear what you have to say, and I would also like to meet the young man that Emmett refers to as your ‘other half'. Emmett is quite enamored of the blond, which knowing your usual type, is a shock in itself. I don't think I've ever seen you with a blond. Emmett had quite a few things to say to Michael when he was going off about your partner. And judging by my son's attitude lately, I don't blame Emmett one bit. There was a time when I would have met this young man long ago, but you hardly ever come to the diner anymore. Is he here today?"

Brian was quite shocked by Debbie's comments. Usually, she would have been screaming about how Michael was innocent, hadn't done anything wrong, and that Brian needed to fix this before she heard a word that anyone said. "Yes, Deb, Justin is here in the office, and I will call him in as long as you are willing to listen to what we have to say, which it seems like you want to do,"

She nodded and confirmed that she really was interested in getting the whole story, from a true source. If there was one thing Deb knew within her heart, it's that Brian wasn't a liar. Even if he would stand silently, and never confirm or deny things, he never overtly told an untruth. No. If anything, Brian would simply hold his silence in order to keep the peace. She had to wonder about that.

"HEY, JUSTIN," Brian yelled.

"Yes, Brian?" Justin answered, coming into the office.

"Classy, Brian," Deb said, rolling her eyes.

"Justin, this is Debbie..."

"It's nice to meet you, Debbie," Justin greeted the woman, holding out his hand.

Debbie took the proffered hand as Brian continued, "Michael's mother,"

"Oh," was Justin's answer.

"I can see that Emmett was right. Now, will you two tell me your version of what my son has been up to?"

They took their seats on the sofa while Debbie took the single armchair facing them. Once comfortable, Brian and Justin proceeded to tell Deb everything that had happened from the first literal ‘run-in' that Justin had with Brian when Michael had accused Justin of trying to steal Brian's wallet, all the way up to Justin filing the lawsuit. Debbie sat calmly and listened, loving the interaction between the two men. They spoke alternatingly, without missing a beat and often finished each other's sentences. She could see not only the deep feelings between them but could hear the truth in their words. Once they were finished, she took her turn.

"Well, first of all, Brian, I'm very happy that you found someone. It's about fucking time you did and I wish both of you the best. As for my son, he deserves whatever he gets. Justin, you should be very proud of what you have made of your life; you deserve every happiness you can get. I'm very ashamed of the way my son has treated you. I tried to raise him better than that..." She shook her head in sadness as she let the sentence trail off for a moment. Brian and Justin could tell that she was trying to contain her emotions, even as a single tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. She wiped it away, her resolve to complete her thought assured. "But I've also spent too much time trying to excuse the things that he did. He is a grown man now and will have to accept the consequences of what he has done. I suppose it's about time he takes his own hard knocks and gets back some of the misery he's been putting the two of you through,"

Brian got up from his seat then. Moving to stand in front of the mother of his heart, he met her eyes and opened his arms. When she stood up, her embrace was everything Brian could have hoped for at that moment. It was rare that he would accept or show open displays of affection, but with Debbie sitting there looking lost and a little forlorn at the prospect that she wouldn't be able to save Michael from his own folly this time, he knew she needed his acceptance. "You're doing the right thing, Ma. We both are,"

He felt her tremble within his arms. And although his heart broke for her, he once again cursed Michael for causing this normally-strong woman undue pain. But he would make it so Michael learned that his actions and words have consequences, and in the process, help Debbie to heal as she had done for him so many years ago. Emotional bruises hurt much worse than their physical counterparts, and in Brian's world, Michael would pay for every single one he inflicted onto their mother.

CHAPTER 2

After talking with Laura, Craig took a few weeks to contemplate what he would say when he spoke with Daniel Chanders. He actually couldn't stand the man, but if he could get him to cause trouble between Daphne and Glenn, it would make him feel like he was at least getting to his fucking faggot of a son on some level. He needed some way to make that bastard of a son of his pay for everything he had done to shake up his well-ordered life. He would also look into the faggot, Brian Kinney that Justin was working for. Anything Craig could do to discredit him would make him happy.

Maybe he could even ruin the man's business. He needed to speak with Harlan Bartier. Laura said that the Bartiers had hired Kinnetik to do their advertising. Craig couldn't imagine why. He knew that Harlan was as much of a homophobe as he was.

It must be because of Harlan's bitch of a wife, Harriet. She acted like everyone was equal. Well, Craig couldn't imagine where she had gotten that foolish idea. Maybe Harlan could have her declared unfit, and take her out as head of the company. Yes, Craig definitely had a few phone calls to make.

"Hello. Craig Taylor for Daniel Chanders, please. It's about his daughter." Craig knew that the mention of his wayward daughter would get Daniel's ass to the phone quickly. Although Daniel and the little bitch were estranged, he- unlike Craig- still cared about his offspring.

"Hello, Craig. I would say that it's a pleasure to hear from you after all this time but we both know better. What's going on with Daphne?" The deep voice of Daniel Chanders boomed into the receiver Craig held to his ear.

"I just received some news about her. Can we meet, say at four p.m. to talk about her? I think the club will be the ideal place,"

"That's fine, Craig. Roxanne and I will be there promptly at six,"

"I was hoping that we could leave the wives out of this one,"

"No," Daniel answered sternly. "Frankly, I don't trust you. It was because of you and your machinations that we lost our daughter in the first place. I would rather Roxanne hear the information firsthand, because I may forget something or not notice some underhanded inflection in your voice, the way I didn't the first time when speaking to you about Daphne and Justin. How is Justin, by the way? I heard that the little tomcat has landed on his feet, after all. I can't imagine that fact making you very happy right now,"

Craig clenched his jaw at the mention of his son. This was just another thing for Craig to be pissed about! While his business was barely keeping afloat, that disgusting little faggot had managed to get himself a job and become more successful than Craig could ever have dreamed of being. It was not to be borne!

"We'll talk about him at the club, as well. I need to gather some information and show it to you and Roxanne before you are able to come up with a solution to regain your wayward daughter's person and bring her to heel. That rebellious streak within her so obviously comes from your wife. Had you trained her properly, she would have been at home the way I kept Jennifer all these years,"

"And yet she still managed to leave you, Craig, and now is successful in her own right," Daniel sneered into the phone, before continuing. "Look, I have a few more patients to see and would like to get out of here on time so that we can meet you. If there are any changes, I'll let you know." Daniel hung up the phone without another word.

Craig hung up the phone, fuming at Daniel's dismissive tone and attitude. It made him rethink what he was about to do. After all, he was trying to save the Chanders chit from going down with Kinnetik and its owner, while punishing Justin for climbing up out of the gutter where Craig had intended for his former son to stay. If he was able to get Daphne away from Justin again, it would leave the younger man vulnerable and more manageable to deal with. As far as Brian Kinney was concerned, he was either going to abide by Craig's mandates, or Craig would ruin him.

Word of mouth was a powerful tool in the Advertising business. All it would take would be a few well-placed, well-aimed innuendos and accusations to completely quell Brian Kinney's influx of business and open support within the WASP nest. It was how Jennifer and Harriet had ruined him during the divorce settlement. So why shouldn't the same method work on a weak-willed, easily-influenced man like Brian Kinney?

As he looked over all of the information he'd managed to gather on the computer about Brian Kinney and print out, Craig smiled to himself about what he found. Pictures of a tall brunet, looking drugged-up and fucked-out stared back at him irreverently. Craig looked at him with abject disgust as he saw a picture of another man hanging all over the brunet. This man was just as much of a disgrace to mankind; an abomination to good God-fearing people as Justin was! He would make an ideal example to be held up as a cautionary tale of what happens to homos who dared to try to access the upper echelons of successful hetero people.

He would gladly see that Brian Kinney's fall happened hard and quickly. After all, he, Justin, and all their kind deserved punishment both here on earth and to burn in hell in the afterlife.

Dialing Harlan Bartier to help set his plan in motion, he was surprised to hear the automated operator, stating that the number had been disconnected with no further information available. He would find out the meaning of it when he visited the robust man at his home office. Picking up his findings on Kinney, Craig placed the folder he'd put them in within his briefcase, and went into Catherine's office. With Laura's revelations, he was thinking that it may be time to replace her. While he felt a certain level of devotion to her, being married to Catherine was starting to feel a lot like being with Jennifer.

And Laura was not Molly, no matter how much he tried to guide her as he would a daughter. He would have to call his attorney, again, about getting visitation rights. Although Molly ignored him whenever he was near her, Craig was sure that it was only Jennifer's influence that kept his daughter from showing him the proper and deserved respect. She needed to learn her place! As soon as he got a handle on the Justin situation, he was going to deal with Jennifer, and take control of Molly so that she wouldn't even think she could get away with being as willful as her mother and brother.

A half-hour later, he pulled up to the home of Harlan and Harriet Bartier. Craig saw that Harlan's car was outside, so he was sure that the man was home. He needed to get the man to plan how to wrest control of the company away from his flighty wife immediately. He had warned Harlan years before that Harriet was a loose cannon, and she needed to be dealt with harshly, but did he listen? No, he didn't!

And now, based on Laura's report, if they didn't move quickly, Harriet would continue to champion Kinney and that fucking faggot he's in business with. Nevermind that the ‘faggot' in question was his own son. If he could've gotten away with it, Justin would have been dead a long time ago! Then perhaps Craig's business wouldn't have taken the major hit it had in this past year.

Craig was surprised by who opened the door. "Glenn, it's good to see you again. I didn't expect that you would be here. Is your father at home?"

Glenn eyed the sycophantic little man with a disdainful glare, not bothering to hide his distaste of the man in front of him. "No. My father has taken off for places unknown, or uncared for- you decide the difference. As for my mother, she isn't here right now. I'll tell her you stopped by looking for Harlan,"

Glenn began to close the door, but Craig stopped the motion with a firm hand to the glass. "What do you mean that your father has taken off? He and I have a private business matter to discuss,"

"Just as I said, the words couldn't have been that hard for you to understand, Craig. Harlan Bartier is no longer welcome here. And frankly, neither are you,"

"Look, pal, I don't exactly know what your problem is..."

"You are. And the fact that while I am speaking to you with MY door wide open, I am letting bugs in. So again, good day to you, Craig," Glenn couldn't help the disdain dripping from his voice.

To Glenn, the man in front of him, along with the man he formerly thought of as his father, had put up the many roadblocks to his happiness with Daphne. Because of them, he'd let the woman he loved go her own way in order to not only avoid jail time for statutory rape but so that she could go off and try to find Justin Taylor. An ordinary man would have been jealous that his girlfriend was so close to another guy, but not Glenn. If anything, he was jealous because of the closeness Daphne and Justin shared; something that he was often not allowed the opportunity to have due to his financial status.

When he had found out that Daphne no longer resided with the Chanders, he looked for her just about everywhere he could think of. But like Justin, she hid herself well. Then his father began placing demands on him; ones that it seemed like his mother had gone along with at first, until she sat him down one day and explained why it was imperative that he keep Laura on the hook. He had always trusted his mother to tell him the truth, no matter what it cost her to do so. She divulged that Laura had been fucking Harlan for a time, as a favor to Craig Taylor.

Glenn also knew about the sudden rumors regarding Justin. Rumors that only the most bigoted and close-minded believed. Sadly though, for Glen, until his mother could find a way to break free of the net Harlan was trying to snare her with, she needed his cooperation in helping to keep both Harlan and Craig off balance. Their gamble had paid off since both he and Harriet were now free of Harlan for good. But Craig Taylor was another matter. There was no doubt in his mind that the cretin was up to no good where Justin was concerned. He just hadn't figured out his angle yet.  

This time, before Craig had another chance to protest, the door was slammed in his face. He heard the distinct click of the lock, further preventing his entry into the multi-million dollar mansion. He deserved some answers, and it was clear that his way was blocked by that fucker Glenn Bartier. It further gave credence to what Laura's useless ass had told him.

"This isn't over," Craig shouted, already tired of being thwarted for one day. "You will regret this, you insolent little bastard! And that goes for your reacquired little heifer, too!"

He turned and walked down the stairs, heading back to his car, determined that Daniel Chanders and his bitchy wife Roxanne were going to do something about their offspring and the insolent fucknugget behind the door which had just been slammed in his face. No one got away with disrespecting him like that. NO ONE! And especially not people who sided with his son. It was time to start hitting them all where it hurt the most. He turned at the tap on his shoulder.

He was so lost in thought that he wasn't even aware he was being followed or accosted. "What is it?" he asked sneeringly at the man who he knew to be the Bartiers' Head of Security, Mark Trebeaux.

"Just a word of advice really, Mr. Taylor," Mark began with a smirk on his face. "If I were you, I'd think twice before showing your face here at the Bartier Estate again. The reason Mrs. Bartier isn't here right now is that she is off taking steps to make sure that Harlan doesn't get within five hundred feet of anything she owns, runs, or operates, which includes the Country Club of which you are still a member, for the interim. Those measures will also extend to her and Glenn's persons as well. I would hate to see the same thing have to happen to you, Mr. Taylor. Are we clear?"

Craig swallowed hard at the implications of how far Harriet Bartier was willing to go to ruin him, as she had already done to her now ex-husband. Craig thought long and hard about what he had already endured at the hands of Harriet and that bitchy ex-wife of his own. Jennifer was going to answer for her many slights as soon as he dealt with Justin. But he couldn't solve the problem of Kinney and his former son if he was banned from the places his plans would be the most effective.

So, it was with great reluctance that he looked up at the hulking man, who the sunlight disappeared behind and answered sullenly, "Crystal, Mr. Trebeaux. You may tell your employer that I won't come here again. Now that Harlan is no longer in residence, I really don't see a need for the warning."

"But you have one just the same. Good day to you, Mr. Taylor." Mark commented as he turned on his heel, moving as stealthily across the lawns as he had to come upon Craig Taylor.

He couldn't help but be satisfied that the staff at the estate would no longer have to endure the insufferable man.

The country club atmosphere was a little more manageable to control, as he was with Harriet and thereby Molly and Jennifer Taylor at all times, at his employer's request. By the vicious gleam he'd detected in Taylor's eyes just then, he thought that it would be even wiser to put additional security detail around them. It was clear that the man, who was currently speeding down the road towards the gates, couldn't be trusted on a good day. Especially since he is a man who is fast losing everything, including his most important connections, he's more likely than not to become a loose cannon.

Yes, it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with a man like Craig Taylor.

Once he was back in the house, Mark went to look for Glenn. He wanted to warn him, because he didn't trust Craig Taylor, at all. Hearing Glenn in his office, Mark knocked on the door and was invited in. His employer was on the phone and seemed to be putting in another gift order to be delivered to Kinnetik. Smiling, he waited for Glenn to hang up the phone.

"Yes, Mark?" Glenn asked as he hung up the phone.

"Well, first of all, I certainly hope she decides to date you before Kinnetik needs to put in a gym for the employees," Mark answered, smiling at the man who over time had also become a friend. "But the main reason I was looking for you was to let you know that I think Craig Taylor may be up to something; maybe looking for a way to get back at his son and anyone else who he blames for his dwindling business and personal life. You may want to warn Brian Kinney and Justin that they may need to get some extra security and possibly a restraining order. And also to keep a close eye on their business. I wouldn't put anything past that degenerate,"

"Thank you, Mark. I think that would be a very good idea. I'll call Brian and let him know. It's always better and usually easier to be prepared than to fix something afterward. Now, do you have any ideas about how I can get Daphne to say yes?"

"I wish I did Glenn, or maybe I just wish I owned a delivery company in town. You sure are giving them enough business." Mark laughed as he left the office.

Calling Kinnetik, Glenn asked to speak to Brian.

"Hello, Glenn. The campaign is on track, believe me, your mother is making sure of it,"

"I know that, Brian. But that's not the reason I'm calling. This is something totally unrelated and not anything good either,"

"Sounds ominous, Glenn. What's going on?"

"Craig Taylor was just here looking for Harlan. He was rather pissed when he was informed of recent events, and issued some barely concealed threats. My head of security seems to think he may try to do something to you and your partner, or to your business. Unfortunately, Craig knows a lot of people. He didn't directly name you or Justin, but I wouldn't put it past him to try and hurt anyone who he imagines has ‘disrespected' him. I didn't want you two to be caught with your proverbial pants down if he tries anything. Justin is the best friend of the woman I love and you are both special to my mother. I wouldn't want anything to happen to any of you,"

"Thank you for the heads up, Glenn. I think I will have some extra security put on, at least temporarily. No one is going to fuck with Justin. His piece of shit sperm donor has already done enough to him. I think I may have someone look out for Jennifer and Molly, too. I don't trust that scum,"

"Let me do that, Brian. My mother would never forgive herself if anything happened to Jen or Molly. I'll have someone put with them immediately,"

"Okay, Glenn. And thank you again. We'll talk soon." Brian said, hanging up the phone. He then buzzed Cynthia and asked her to send in whoever was the senior security guard today.

Frank knocked on Brian's door and was granted entrance.

"You wanted to see me, Mr Kinney?"

"Frank, I'm glad it's you on today. I've just been informed of a possible threat; against either Justin, Daphne, myself, or possibly even Kinnetik,"

"Any idea who's behind it, Sir?"

"Yes. Craig Taylor," A strange look suddenly came over Frank's face.

"Are you alright, Frank?" Brian asked, concerned because Frank didn't usually show his feelings.

"I went to school with that son-of-a-bitch. Why in the world would he be after you?"

"A few reasons. First and foremost, because of Justin,"

"Why Justin? He is a wonderful young man and very talented. What could he possibly have against him?"

"Justin is Craig's son. His only son, whom he threw out in the street like garbage when he found out Justin was gay,"

"I knew Justin's last name was Taylor, but I certainly never imagined that someone like him could have possibly been related to that miserable excuse for a human being. I thought the name was just a coincidence. His mother must be an amazing woman to have raised him so well, with a man like that around,"

"That she is, Frank. Well, what I need is more security, and if Justin or Daphne needs to go anywhere, I want someone with them. I won't take chances. They are to be protected,"

"Yes, Sir. You may also want to safeguard your computer system. I'm sure that Craig knows plenty of people who could try to gain access to the system. And considering what happened recently with the firings, he may look to someone that was let go to help him try to sabotage your system. He also has many connections at the Country Club and may try to get to you on that level,"

"Very good points, Frank. Thank you. Well, since we apparently will need some more guards, I would appreciate it if you could get people you trust and know personally. I don't want to take any chances. I will also work on your other insights. Do you know how soon you can get people?"

"I will start making calls immediately, and let you know as soon as I have them here, Sir,"

"Thank you, Frank. I want this done as quickly as you can,"

"Yes, Sir. I'll let you know,"

Next, Brian made a call to someone who he was sure would be willing to help him.

"Bartier Modular Homes, how may I help you?"

"This is Brian Kinney. I'd like to speak to Harriet Bartier if she is available,"

"Yes Sir, hold on please,"

"Brian, dear. Great minds think alike. I was just about to call you," Harriet said sweetly, but with a worried edge to her voice.

"Harriet, I just had an interesting conversation with your son and I'd like to get your take on what I heard,"

"Brian, I just got off the phone with Glenn. I totally agree with what he told you. He is already getting guards to be with Jen and Molly. I definitely don't trust that hateful bastard. What is it I can do for you?" Harriet asked

"Well, I just spoke with my head of security. We are adding extra security and there will be someone with Daphne and Justin at all times. I won't take chances with either of them. Another thing Frank brought up is that Craig has a lot of connections at the Country Club, and could try to plant some seeds to try and cause trouble for Kinnetik through his contacts there. Is there anything I can do to out-maneuver him if he tries that? I'm not necessarily ashamed of my past, but there are things I have done that definitely could be looked on as less than stellar. I built this company up from nothing and I would rather not have that scum ruin me,"

"Brian, let me see what I can do at the club. I certainly have much more clout than that piece of shit... Hold on one second, Brian. I'm getting a call that I think I need to take," Harriet tells Brian, putting him on hold.

"Yes Daniel, my secretary said you needed to speak with me immediately?"

"Oh, I see. Yes, please do take the meeting. Yes, I would appreciate that very much. Thank you. Yes, I'll be waiting to hear from you,"

"Brian, thanks for holding. I'm glad I took that call. It was Daphne's father. It seems a certain bastard has asked him to the club for a meeting this evening. A meeting which will be recorded. I will call you after I hear from Daniel. And if you need me for anything else before then, please don't hesitate to call."

"Thank you, Harriet. I'll look forward to your call. You're an angel."

Brian was finally able to relax a little. At least, after Craig's meeting with Daphne's parents, he might have a better idea of what he is up against. Realizing he better tell Justin what's going on, he starts to call out when he sees his blond, looking rather annoyed, walking into his office. Justin turns to the man following him and tells him to stay where he is, as he shuts Brian's door in the man's face.

"Brian, would you like to tell me why I have a guard following me around and why there is one lurking outside of Daphne's office?"

"I was just about to let you know," Brian said stepping up to the annoyed-looking blond and taking his hands. "I just finished with all the calls. I received a call from Glenn Bartier earlier. Craig showed up at the Bartier Estate and was rather perturbed when he was informed that Harlan is no longer around. Apparently, your sperm donor has issued some veiled threats against you, Daphne, me, and Kinnetik, hence the extra security. I have also just spoken to Harriet. Craig is going to be meeting with Daphne's parents at the Country Club, this evening. Somehow, I don't foresee that as a problem though, since her father called Harriet to inform her of the meeting and to tell her that he was planning on recording the whole conversation,"

"Shit, Brian. My mom... I need to warn her. What if Craig tries something?" Justin said nervously, taking out his phone.

"Don't worry, Justin," Brian said, taking the phone from him. "Glenn has already sent guards to both your mom and Molly. Craig won't be able to get near either of them,"

Justin shook his head and went to sit on the sofa. "He's doing all this because of me. If he can't hurt me, he will hurt anyone I care about," Looking dejectedly at the floor he continued, "I just wanted to have a life. I should have known he would find a way to ruin it... Maybe I should just disappear, then he will leave everyone alone,"

"Oh no, you don't. You're not going anywhere. Justin, we are together and we will take care of this together,"

"Brian,... Irish, I know how vindictive Craig can be. If I stay, he is going to try to ruin you and Kinnetik. I can't let that happen, not if I can stop it. You built this company from nothing. You don't deserve to lose it because you helped me,"

"I'm not letting you go. We will handle this together. As we speak, our computer system is being monitored for any hacks. We have guards everywhere, and we have Harriet Bartier watching our backs. She is going to call us after Craig meets with Daphne's parents. If you try to go, I will just follow you anyway, and I will tell Daphne and Emmett too. Even I wouldn't want to piss them off. Daphne looks like she packs a mean punch, and I know for a fact that Emmett gives fisting a whole new meaning when applying it to someone's face. So no, you can't go," Brian told the blond, wrapping the smaller man in his arms.

Justin chuckled a little before turning serious again. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life, besides, you are my Master and I need you," Brian answered, kissing the soft pink lips.

Justin looked into the beautiful hazel eyes of his sub and knew that whatever happened, they were in this together. He smiled, knowing that they were both exactly where they belonged.

After work, they headed home and tried to relax while waiting to hear from Harriet.

"Irish, I'm sorry,"

"For what?"

"The trouble Craig is causing, having to get extra security; all of it. If you hadn't saved me and I hadn't come to work for you, none of this would be happening,"

Wrapping his arms around the younger man Brian answered, "Azure, we've already been over this. You have done nothing wrong. Before you came along, I was existing, now I'm living and happier than I ever knew I could be, and I wouldn't give that up for anything. Believe me, you saved me just as much as I saved you. This problem will be taken care of, and quickly. Because of you, we have Harriet on our side and she has much more clout than your sperm donor could ever begin to have. Daphne's parents are recording the meeting with Craig, and Harriet will call as soon as it's over. I can't imagine not having you in my life, and I don't intend to find out what that would be like," Brian told his lover, placing their foreheads together.

"In fact, why don't you let me show you one of the reasons I never want to let you go. Sir," Brian said, lowering his eyes and dropping to his knees.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One thing Lindsay Peterson could never be accused of lacking was determination. She had discussed with Melanie possible ways they could obtain what they needed from Brian. Even though Lindsay attempted to beg, guilt, and cajole him, Brian continued to steadfastly deny her request despite every effort she made to even get him to consider the possibility of fathering children for her and Melanie. She managed to stop short of outright accusing Justin of being the reason that Brian refused. Although she was sure, in her mind, that he was the major reason Brian hadn't given in to her repeated attempts.

Lindsay decided that she would carefully watch the loft until she figured a way to get in and obtain what she needed. She was well aware of their schedules after having seen them come and go every day for several weeks. And she was even more hateful of the fucking blond hustler when she realized that he was the J. Taylor who lived on the first floor and had refused to let her and Michael into the building when Brian was probably there with him each and every time they had come by looking for him.

She also knew that the maid came by on Mondays at 10 am, and cleaned both Brian's and Justin's apartments. She had met Maria before, so there was no way that bitch would let her into Brian's loft. Maria had firmly refused to let her in when she had tried to get into Brian's loft a few weeks after he had taken everyone's keys away. Brian had decided that he'd been walked in on one too many times. Then, to add further to her initial annoyance, and for some reason only known to him, Brian had the landlord replace the key lock on the front door with a code lock. It was so fucking inconvenient!

Why was Brian being so fucking difficult?!

It was only after watching the building that she realized Brian and Justin seemed to be the only ones living there. She hadn't seen anyone else coming or going in all the times she had been watching the place. As far as she was concerned, that little tidbit of information worked to her advantage. There would be no witnesses, once she finally managed to get inside. She just had to be patient. She smiled to herself, thinking she had learned to cultivate that particular virtue long ago. She would eventually get what her opportunistic little heart desired, no matter how long it took, And all of the stake-outs wouldn't be in vain.

CHAPTER 3

SIX PM AT THE COUNTRY CLUB

"Good evening, Mr Taylor. Dr and Dr Chanders are waiting at their table for you. Follow me, sir," The waiter informed Craig as he led him to the table, which was set so that the Chanders would see him as he approached the table.

"Daniel, Roxanne, nice to see you both,"

"Craig," they both answered tersely.

"Just water for now, please," Daniel requested from the waiter. "This is not a social occasion, Craig. So just tell us what you have to say," Daniel announced curtly once the waiter had left.

"Fine," answered Craig, taking out the folder from his briefcase and handing it to Daniel. "These are the degenerates with whom your barely-legal daughter is now associating. I doubt that you would want your friends, and others, to know the kind of people she is fraternizing with. I also have it on good authority that she is planning on dating Glenn Bartier, again. As you already know they had a previous relationship BEFORE she graduated from high school. Since he is twenty-four years old now, he was definitely over twenty-one when they were together before. The drunk man in those pictures is Brian Kinney, owner of Kinnetik Advertising and a fucking faggot like Justin. He is thirty years old and has a horrible reputation as a drunk and a drug user. Are these the kind of degenerates you want your daughter to be associated with and working for? Just think of the backlash if your patients found out about this."  

Roxanne rolled her eyes as did her husband. "So basically, you're saying that based on some pictures and hearsay, by you- of all people- we should dictate where Daphne goes and with whom she associates or you will slander us, as well as Mr. Kinney? Daniel, we aren't seriously going to submit to this clown a second time, are we? If it wasn't for his threats and mistreatment against his own son, we wouldn't have lost our daughter in the first place."

"Daniel, if I were you, I would learn to control the accusations flying out of my wife's mouth. This is why I didn't want her included, since it's obvious she is unable to keep a civil tongue in her head, while we fathers talk. Women are far too emotional to comprehend the firm hand it takes to lead a family, and therefore should remain silent until asked for an opinion dealing with feelings and the like," Craig said scathingly, glaring in Roxanne's direction.

He never did like the bitch. She held too much equality in her marriage. He had told Daniel that regardless of his wife's medical degree, he should have turned her into a housewife as other successful men of their set did. The fact that Roxanne made too much of her own money gave her the opinion that she didn't need a man to guide her. As a result of her very overt willfulness, she raised her daughter to be as fiercely independent as herself. Well that backfired, since instead of going to college and then med school, Daphne was now working for two faggots and getting involved- again- with a child molester.

"Roxanne, honey, even though I may or may not agree with Craig's bigotry, I still think we owe it to ourselves to hear what the ass has to say," Daniel coaxed his wife, subtly reminding her of their ulterior motive.

Truth be told, he was ready to pick up the table and beat the shit out of Craig Taylor with it. But hearing what this cretin had to say was too important, and a cooler head needed to prevail. Roxanne was always quick-tempered when she felt that an injustice had been committed. It was one of the things that Daniel loved about her, but Craig was right, although not for the reason the smug slug thought. He would rein in Roxanne, at least long enough to get the information they needed, but then he would allow her to do what she did best... pop the top on a mean can of verbal whoop-ass.

If anyone deserved it, it was Craig Taylor.

"Craig, I would like to hear what you have in mind for us to regain control of Daphne while protecting our reputations within the community in the process. Please understand, we are only concerned for our daughter's safety and well-being, not your personal vendetta against Mr. Kinney, Justin, or Kinnetik. But since I suspect you have a plan to bring our wayward daughter back into compliance with our wishes for her, I am willing to hear you out, just this once,"

"Why don't you instruct your wife to go sit at the bar, and we can discuss this plan as men," Craig rolled his eyes at Roxanne, who sat at the table with her arms folded.

"My husband doesn't need to instruct me to do anything," Roxanne answered before Daniel could. "The only thing I have to do is stay black, pay my taxes, and die. So you and your chauvinistic opinion can kiss my educated, independent, overachieving ass. And since this involves MY daughter, I'm not going anywhere. So deal with it,"

Before Craig could say anything to refute her, Daniel told his wife, "If you continue to be a good little woman, I'll do that for you later. In the meantime, let's just hear what Craig has to say, okay?" At her curt nod, he turned back to the man sitting across the table from them. "Okay, Craig have your say. But I have to warn you, if you make one more disparaging remark about my wife, I will get up and punch you in the fucking mouth. As it is, you're walking a chalk line in us even agreeing to hear you out. So let's get on with it so that we can go our separate ways already. I have an angry Diva on my hands and would like to get her home to bed as soon as possible for obvious reasons," He chuckled at the confusion on Craig's face. Apparently, the prudish bigot has never had angry sex before. Well, Daniel had with Roxanne, many times over the years. It was an event he wasn't inclined to forego or miss.

"Based on what we know about Brian Kinney alone, it would be enough for businesses from the Country Club set to stop going to him. Many of us use or have used Vanguard in the past. So it isn't like there isn't an alternative to going with Kinney's company, and not turning over our hard-earned money to a man who basically embodies the gay agenda. Once Kinnetik is ruined, not only will Brian Kinney be out of a job, but my pansy-assed son will be back out on the street peddling his ass again, which is all he's good for anyway. It would serve his faggot-ass right for trying to be more than he ought to be. These hedonistic fairy fornicators have no business making a living off the backs of the decent, God-fearing, moral citizens of Pittsburgh.

As for getting your daughter back from the clutches of Glenn Bartier again, I suggest that, using Laura, we fabricate photos and date them for a few days from now. Since we aren't sure where Daphne lives as of yet, it would be easy to have a courier service deliver them to her office within Kinnetik's halls. We can certainly implement this plan over the course of several weeks. By the time Harriet and Glenn figure out what caused Daphne to back away from him again, it will be too late for them to reel her back in. And if all goes according to plan, she will be anxious to bring herself back home and do your bidding, especially if it means a full, free ride to Penn State which is where she was accepted before she disregarded your wishes by choosing to run after my son instead,"

Daniel was quiet for several moments, trying to absorb the viciousness wrapped in faux-morality that Craig spouted. Like many of the ‘God-fearing' judgemental bigots, Craig forgot to read the New Testament, where he isn't supposed to judge anyone's life choices. Daniel was having a tough time absorbing all of the hypocrisy he had been witness to. Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor were ‘hedonistic fornicators?' REALLY? Considering how and when Craig began fucking Catherine on a daily basis, Craig really had no right to speak about anyone else. And Daniel told him so.

"So let me get this straight: you want to punish Mr. Kinney and Justin for being more successful than you could ever hope to be? Not only that, but you are calling them hedonistic fornicators, while you're an adulterer since you cheated on Jennifer with that tricking trollop you've recently married. Pot meet kettle much, Craig? It must be wonderful to live inside your head with all your delusions of grandeur, making you think more highly of yourself than you ought. Then, you want to ruin my daughter's happiness by basically ruining her renewed friendship with Justin, who is a decent young man despite having you for a father, and the rekindling of her relationship with Glenn Bartier. I regret my part in their original break-up as it is,"

"What? How could you regret saving her from a child molester?!" Craig asked incredulously, reeling from every word that spewed from Daniel's mouth.

"Glenn Bartier is far from a ‘child molester' as you put it. First of all, he used to be at our house all the time and was like a son to me, until he started seeing my daughter. I wasn't against them having a relationship per se; just the timing of it all. You and Harlan convinced me that he had a bet going with his other peers that he could have my daughter's cherry before she graduated high school. I was a fool to listen to the two of you. Whereas it may have been true that he could have, there was no bet with any of his friends about it. I asked around after Daphne left to look for Justin. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you and Harlan had been paying off people to corroborate your story.

And I also heard about your disgusting plans to have Harlan's mistress marry his son so that your new bitch of a wife could have a higher rank within the WASP nest. When are you going to get it through your head that no one wants to associate with her low-class ass, or yours for that matter? Jennifer married down, gave you a place within this community, and you repaid her by cheating with a cunt that has been used so much you could probably run the Brooklyn Bridge from inside her twat and charge a toll fare, too. So you can take your plans and try to fulfill them yourself. Roxanne and I want Daphne back, it's true. But we love her enough not to sacrifice her happiness to accomplish that goal. Roxanne, do you want to add anything?"

Roxanne looked at her husband in amazement and lust. She had heard Daniel be forceful before, but it was the low baritone of his voice telling off the grimy excuse for a man in front of them with a mixture of WASPy ghetto that turned her on. She had never been more proud to be his wife as much as she was at that moment. "No, Love. I think you summed up our thoughts on Craig the Cunt-Slayer very well. Let's go home. You owe me an ass-kissing, and I'm going to give you the ride of your life afterward," She rose gracefully from her seat, looking over to the glaring man, who was regarding them with disgust and not a little bit of envy. Craig would never have the passion and love with Catherine that Daniel and Roxanne Chanders weren't afraid to display openly.

"I would wish you a good evening, Craig, but I try to make it a point to never say things that I don't mean. For that same reason, I also won't tell you to get home safe. I would much rather the earth open up and swallow you whole now. But I guess we'll have to wait for judgment day for that to happen. In the meantime, I will say that it has been my pleasure- or it will be soon- to have met with you this evening. Night."

Daniel chuckled at his wife's parting comments, noticing that she deliberately left ‘Good' off before saying ‘night'. As they left the seating area, they could both hear Craig Taylor grumbling about them being misguided fools, and how he would make them pay for their insults to him and Catherine. Daniel fumbled with his phone once they were in the lobby. "Give me a moment Roxie-babe. I'm just sending this to Harriet. It's a pretty large file so I'm converting it to multimedia and emailing it to her so that she won't have to open multiple files to hear the entire conversation. I think she will be replaying it just for the laughs you provided,"

Roxanne laughed. "You had some pretty comedic moments as well. I mean, if you called my wife's twat as wide and well-used as the Brooklyn Bridge, I might have taken umbrage. But something tells me that Craig knows everything we said was the truth about him and his so-called wife,"

"Well I'm done sending this, so I guess it's time for your ass-kissing," Daniel announced a few moments later.

"You bet your ass it is. And don't worry lover, I'll be happy to return the favor," Roxanne purred at him as they made their way to the car so that their good night could really begin.

Many mutually satisfying hours later, they both decided to ask Harriet's advice on the best way to approach Daphne. Their last parting was anything but amicable, and they really missed having Daphne around. If anything good came out of meeting with the disgusting degenerate, Craig Taylor, it was that they could officially stop fearing the worst had happened to their baby girl. She was safe, sound, gainfully employed, and reconnected with her best friend. Most of all she was happy. They both drifted off to sleep, at peace for the first time in many months and secure in the knowledge that the ever-resourceful Daphne had once again landed on her feet. They had no doubt that she was about to be swept off of them again by Glenn Bartier and that they would be using Daphne's untouched college tuition money as a wedding present in the very near future.   

After Harriet heard the recording that Daniel Chanders made, she called Brian and Justin so that they could hear it too. Once they were finished listening to the recording, Harriet told them that she also had a printed copy of the meeting. She then asked if they would come to dinner at the Bartier Estate on Saturday. Daphne's parents would be there and she thought Daphne would be more comfortable if Justin and Brian were there too. Harriet explained that they also wanted to speak to Justin.

AT THE DINER

Michael sat in the booth he used to share with his friends, waiting on the results of his mother's talk with his best friend. He still couldn't believe how Ben had reacted to this entire situation when he'd told him of the Twink falsely accusing him of spreading vicious lies. Nothing Michael said was a fucking lie! Ben told Michael that he was going to have to find a way to pay the judgment on his own because he wasn't there and he wasn't taking responsibility for Michael's continued immaturity where Brian was concerned, nor the sanctimonious pronouncements he'd taken to making over everyone else's lives. He sat there replaying the entire conversation with Ben in his mind, frowning into his cold cup of coffee.

"Michael, I can't remember how many times we have had this conversation. You cannot dictate how others live their lives. Remember how it felt when your mom tried that with you? You didn't like her telling you that she didn't want us dating, now did you?"

"Ben, that was different and you know it. Besides she was only saying that because she wanted to keep seeing that fucking homophobic cop, and I was putting my foot down. She's my mother, for fuck's sake. Why would she need to ‘date' anybody?!"

"There's nothing wrong with your mother wanting- needing- companionship, Michael. She devoted her entire life to raising you and half of the gayborhood. So how dare you begrudge her a social life with whomever she chooses to spend time with? But this isn't about her; it's about YOU,"

"Me? What about me, Ben?"

"Ever since we've moved here, all you have done is make these judgments on everything that no longer fits into you wannabe-WASP image. You used to be one of the most understanding and caring people I knew... or I would like to think you were. But now I'm not so sure,"

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you used to be a man I thought I could respect and spend my life with. Now you're just a mean-spirited busybody, who thinks you are better than everyone and everything that doesn't fit into your ‘new' self-image. Well, I'll tell you what Michael... you either clean your shit up, beginning with this fucking lawsuit that you brought on yourself with your foolish actions and ill-advised words, or we're fucking through!"

"You're my husband, NOT my father, Ben. You can't tell me what the fuck to do!"

Ben sighed, resigned. "Then I guess there is nothing left for us to discuss, Michael. You've obviously made up your mind about what's more important to you,"

"What are you talking about? Why are you being so unreasonable?!"

"I'M NOT," Ben yelled before taking a deep breath to regain his control. Lowering his voice, he continued, "I'm not being unreasonable, Michael. In fact, I think for the first time, I'm seeing and thinking more clearly than I have been in years. And I realize that I can no longer tolerate what I'm seeing in you. So I'm making a conscious decision to change the view right now. Good luck, Michael. My attorney will be in touch,"

"But Ben..."

Michael didn't get to say anything else to his husband. Ben walked over to his car hurriedly, got in and drove away without looking back or even glancing Michael's way as he tried to pull Ben's door open just as the car began moving. He kept trying to believe that Ben wasn't serious after returning home following his argument with Emmett and seeing that his mother was informed of Brian's betrayal in favor of Mr. Blond Boy Ass. But Michael discovered just how serious Ben was. The house they shared, was an empty testament to a former life combined. It fucking hurt that Ben had left the marriage, without even giving Michael the chance to try and stop him. Just another thing Justin Taylor was responsible for.

Kiki came over to Michael then, and let him know that Deb was taking the rest of the week off. He got up, paid his bill, and headed to her house. He really needed her shoulder to cry on. Monty, Eli, and Tannis were all less than sympathetic to his husband's defection and he felt that they were more than likely laughing at him, instead of being his friends. He called Emmett, only to be hung up on and even his Uncle Vic was coarse in his speech to Michael about ruining the best thing that had ever happened to him in favor of minding Brian's business instead of his own.

Why couldn't anyone see that he was just looking out for his best friend?

Vic had told him that there was a difference between being a best friend, who looked out for the other, and trying to live vicariously through said best friend while trying to run their life. Vic said that he fluctuated between trying to live through Brian and trying to tame the man who was the human definition of uncontrollable. Again, Michael brushed it off as if no one understood anything about his and Brian's relationship.

Arriving at his mother's house, he leaned on the doorbell until he was faced with a very irate Emmett, wearing a towel and a shower cap.

"Your mother is not here,"

"Well, where is she?" Michael narrowed his eyes at the taller man, who he would really rather never speak to again.

"She's gone away for a few days,"

"Gone?! Where the fuck has she gone off to?!"

Emmett smiled wide at the man. "I'm not sure, but Carl surprised her with a little getaway. Isn't it romantic? While your love life is falling apart, your mom's is taking off big time. Oh, and don't bother trying to call her Michael, because the very first thing Carl did was hand me her cell phone. He wanted her to have a week of relaxation and rest since she's been working nonstop for the last two months; not that your self-absorbed ass has noticed. But hey, I guess you'll have time to notice a lot more now, won't you? Well, I have a date, so toodles," Emmett said cheerfully as he closed the door in Michael's stunned face.

When Michael realized he was still standing there, staring at the closed door, he turned on his heel, stomping down the stairs muttering about irresponsible mothers, unreasonable lovers, and fickle fair-weather friends. His life was falling apart, and no one seemed to fucking care! Talking aloud to no one in particular, Michael vowed to find a way to get even with the little blond usurper, who was stealing away all of the most important people in his life. Even if he hadn't paid as much attention to them lately as he had in the past, they were still his family. They should be there for HIM, especially since the breakdown of his own marriage. Fucking Justin Taylor should be the one alone, not him!  

"I swear I will make that fucking blond pay for causing all this. Hmph... enjoy your ride on the high horse for now, Justin, because I'm going to find a way to knock you down."    

CHAPTER 4

The next morning Brian had started to wake up, and out of habit reached out for his blond. Finding nothing but cold sheets, he was immediately fully awake. Climbing out of bed, he walked into the living room to find Justin with the curtains wide open and frowning at his easel with a paintbrush in his hand.

"You look annoyed. What is it?" Brian asked, kissing the cheek of his lover and running his hands down Justin's arms. He hated to see a frown on the normally smiling face.

"I'm going to have to buy special lights. I like the daylight to paint by, but at this time of year the other buildings block too much of it for me to get it right. I'll have to go to the lighting store before I can do much more on this,"

"Azure, if it's because of the other buildings, you can do your painting upstairs in my loft. This is the tallest building on the block and my loft is on the top floor. Let me get something on and we'll take the easel upstairs and see if the light is sufficient for you to paint by before you go spending money on special lights," Brian answered, as he went back into the bedroom and slipped on some sweat pants.

"Are you sure? I know how particular you are about your space," Justin asked, not wanting to push Brian into anything he didn't really want to do.

"Don't you know that I'd do anything for you? Come on, you carry the canvas and I'll grab the easel. We can put a dropcloth down, in case you decide to start getting sloppy with your masterpieces," Brian answered him with a smile.

Walking into the loft, Brian set down the easel and pulled back the heavy drapes. Justin set the canvas down on the easel and adjusted the angle. Sunshine smile in place, he turned to Brian, "This is perfect. Are you sure you don't mind me working up here, Irish? I don't want you to feel like you have to let me work up here. This is your place,"

Wrapping his arms around the smaller man, Brian hugged him before heading to the coffee pot to start the much needed brew and checking the fridge to see what he has for breakfast, he told Justin, "You are part of my life. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't welcome up here. I guess I just got used to being at your place. All the good cooking happens down there and then we usually end up in bed. We should try doing more things up here,"

"Oh really? What kind of things should we try doing up here?" Justin replied in a raspy voice, as he licked his lips.

Hearing the erotic tone of his lover's voice, and seeing the him lick his lips, caused Brian's cock to instantly harden. Justin stalked over to the older man, gripped the back of his neck and stood on his toes, bringing their mouths together in a possessive kiss. Taking Brian's hand Justin led him up to the bedroom.

"Where do you keep your toys? I'll look for what I need while you strip,"

"They're in the drawer under the bed," Brian answered as he stripped off his sweatpants, pulled back the duvet, and climbed on the bed.

Justin looked through the drawer, very interested in what kind of things he would find and deciding what he would use on his sub. Finding several interesting items he tossed them on the bed. Justin stood up and looked at Brian, who was laying on his back looking at the ceiling. He hadn't even glanced at the items that had been thrown on the bed next to him.

"Irish, you didn't even look at what I put on the bed, why?"

"Because it's your choice, not mine, and I trust you completely,"

Justin answered Brian with a kiss. Taking the silk ties and attaching them to Brian's wrists Justin looked to see where to attach them to the platform bed. Once he had the ties attached he checked to see that Brian was comfortable then tied the third tie around the brunet's eyes.

"Lift up. I need to raise you up on a pillow,"  Brian immediately complied, wanting Justin to touch him.

Lubing the anal beads Justin slowly started pushing them into Brian's ass. Brian was moaning at the feeling of being stretched by the beads. "Please touch me, Azure... oh God... this feels so good,"

"I am touching you, Irish,"

"My cock... oh, please... touch my cock,"

Leaning down, Justin licked the precum leaking steadily out of Brian's cock as he continued to insert the beads. Once Justin was finished filling Brian, he moved up and kissed him deeply.

"Now Irish, you're going to need a lot of patience because you are not allowed to cum until I say you can. You need to tell me if you get too close because it's going to be a while. I'm going to see how well you can hold off,"

Justin started to slowly stroke Brian's hard cock while he licked and tasted the older man, biting and then soothing his nipples with his tongue. Brian was trying to think of anything but what his beautiful blond Dom was doing to him. Every time Brian moved, the beads in his ass would shift, making him moan. When Justin would lean up to kiss him, Brian would suck on the soft pink tongue and stroke it with his own. Justin kept up the slow stroking of Brian's cock which made it almost impossible for Brian not to move because the sensations felt so good. He had always prided himself on being able to stave off his orgasms, but between the pressure of the beads and the dexterity and rhythm of Justin's hand Brian was finding it almost impossible. Whenever he felt like he couldn't take it any longer he would tell Justin to wait, a few times he had to yell for Justin to squeeze him. Finally, after what to Brian felt like hours, but in reality had only been about forty five minutes, Justin told Brian that he could cum.

As Brian started to climax, Justin slowly pulled the beads out, causing Brian's orgasm to be prolonged. When the last bead was out Justin quickly pushed his sheathed cock into the still spasming channel and started thrusting hard. He was so close from watching Brian that it only took about a dozen strokes and he was shooting hard into the condom. As Justin collapsed onto the older man, he pulled the ties and released Brian's wrists. Justin's nimble fingers languidly massaged Brian's wrists, making sure there were no marks, bruises, or abrasions made during the intense session. After reassuring himself that Brian had felt nothing but pleasure throughout the experience, Justin settled back down atop Brian, still feeling the aftershocks within Brian's body as strongly as his own. In the moments of silence that followed, both sated men waited for their breathing to return to normal as they each relished the prolonged intimate contact with the other.

"Azure, I don't think I've ever cum that long and hard in my life. I feel like I just melted," Brian spoke softly, still amazed at the peace he felt after being edged for so long.

"You were great Irish, you held off well. Maybe next time we'll see what else we can add," Justin said, smiling at his lover.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin was worried about Daphne. Ever since the big shake-up, she had seemed distracted. He figured that she and Glenn would start seeing each other, but she seemed reluctant. Justin had tried to ask her about what she was feeling but she would just brush him off, saying she wasn't sure if she wanted to get involved with someone right now. He figured that she would come to him if she needed to.

It had been two weeks since the deliveries started. At first, it was just little things, like a small plant, something you could just set on the window sill. Then there were gifts, like baskets of muffins, fruit, snacks, cookies. Sometimes it would be chocolates, like really delicious, expensive chocolates. Then came the flowers. Not the occasional small bouquet, but the dozens of roses, carnations, daffodils, and other exotic flowers, causing Justin to constantly sneeze because of his allergies. Which meant that the flowers were being distributed to the offices farthest from Justin's. Finally, Brian had had enough. He called Daphne into his office,

"Daphne, who the hell is sending all this stuff to Kinnetik?" Brian demanded.

"I'm sorry Brian, it's Glenn. He is trying to get me to go out with him," She answered quietly.

"Well, will you please at least give the guy a chance? If you don't, I'm going to have to put a gym in here and buy stock in kleenex and allergy meds for your best friend. I like him a lot better without all the sneezing, snot, and runny eyes. Besides that, this place is beginning to look like a funeral parlor," Brian begged.

"Fine, I'll go on a date with him. But if I have to get rid of him, I'll need your help. Deal?" Daphne answered, smiling.

"Deal. Now, go call him and tell him to stop with the gifts,"

"Hey, I like the stuff he sends. Well, except for the flowers," Justin said, coming into Brian's office with a plate of muffins and fruit.

"Azure, one of these days your metabolism is just going to say ‘fuck you' and you're going to blow up like a balloon. Did you ever see ‘Willy Wonka'?" Brian answered, grabbing some fruit from Justin's plate and shaking his head as he kissed his blond.

Brian, not willing to wait for Daphne to call Glenn, called the man himself.

"Glenn, Brian Kinney. You need to call Daphne and ask her out. I just had a talk with her because my offices are beginning to look like a funeral parlor and my blond partner is either going to sneeze his head off from the flowers or blow up like a balloon with all the food you keep sending over here. I convinced her to give you a chance, don't fuck it up,"

"Brian, I'll call her right now, and thank you. I'm sorry about the flowers, I didn't realize Justin was allergic. As for the food, I'm sure you can find a way to work that off,"

"Fuck off, Bartier. Just call Daphne," Brian laughed as he hung up the phone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lindsay and Melanie seemed to finally accept Brian's decision and didn't seem to act any different when they saw he and Justin out anywhere. Which happily, in Justin's eyes, was very seldom in the last month. Justin would definitely keep an eye on things however. Something just didn't sit right with him about the whole thing. It was one of the reasons Justin often declined their invitations, except on those rare occasions that Brian would remind him that he needed to socialize. After his year of not being in any social situations that Justin wanted to remember, being around Lindsay gave him a much needed refresher course in the art of double-entendres and backhanded compliments.

Sometimes she tended to forget that although Justin was much more honest than those in the WASP nest, he was still a higher rank within that vaunted society of sycophants and also well-versed in how to insult and issue veiled threats all with a mischievous countenance and a bright smile. But as long as Brian was kept at ease, Justin behaved himself accordingly.

The other reason he had taken to declining any invitations to be away from home was because they started spending most of their weekends in the top-floor loft. Justin loved all the available bedroom toys and extra kitchen gadgets Brian had for preparing food. He couldn't help commenting on Brian's state-of-the-art kitchen on their first official weekend up there.

"You know Brian, I don't understand. You don't cook, but you have everything that you could find in a gourmet chef's kitchen up here,"

"Maybe I was just preparing for when my own personal gourmet chef moved into my life," Brian answered, wrapping his long arms around his delicious blond as he kissed his temple.

When Justin started doing more cooking upstairs, he got Brian interested in helping out more. The older man was turning out to be quite a good sous chef. They started looking up more complicated recipes. They found that they enjoyed cooking and just being together. They still enjoyed going out but usually only went out a few times a month.

It was all very normal and uncomplicated but both were happy. And after what seemed a lifetime of living in Limbo, that was all that mattered.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Brian and Justin had gotten to the Bartier's early. Brian wanted to go over a few things on the campaign. Harriet had agreed to meeting at her house because it would save her a trip into Kinnetik. She loved to go there, but hated being treated like royalty by the staff. She didn't feel like she was better than anyone else. Having money didn't make you better, just luckier. She always felt you could tell more about a person by the way they treated others than by how much money they had.

Glenn and Daphne were taking a walk on the grounds. Glenn was trying his best to calm her down. She had not seen or spoken to her parents for over a year. He was worried, but hoping this went well. She had listened to the recording that her father had made of his meeting with Craig Taylor and realized that she should have given her parents a chance before going off on her own to try and find Justin. Things had come to a head at home when her parents had told her that they didn't want her seeing Glenn anymore. That, coupled with losing Justin, just sent her over the edge. That night, she waited until her parents were asleep, packed up what she could and left.

Eventually it was time to go back to the house and face her parents.

Glenn held the face of the woman he loved in his hands and spoke quietly to her, "Daphne, you know I love you, and no matter what happens, I will still be there for you. But please give your parents a chance. They do love you and were worried about you. You heard the recording. I really think that everything will be fine,"

Once Daniel and Roxanne arrived and Brian had been introduced, everyone got comfortable in the living room and drinks were served. Roxanne decided she would be the one to speak for them. "First of all, I would like to speak to you, Justin. Daniel and I wish that you had felt that you could have come to us when that horrible bigoted excuse for a man threw you out. You need to know that we never believed what Craig said about you. We were so worried about you. We have always loved you as a son, and as Daphne's best friend."

She then turned to her daughter, "And Daphne, we wish you had come to us instead of running off and trying to find Justin on your own. You, my darling daughter, were always a great judge of character. You and Justin have been inseparable since you were in nursery school. You could never have been involved with someone who would do what Craig accused him of doing. Another thing we would like you to know is that we are thrilled about you and Glenn. As you heard on the recording, Craig is the reason that we insisted you stop seeing him. We realize that we never should have listened to that piece of trash. Glenn, we also owe you an apology for ever thinking that you could have had any improper intentions toward Daphne. We should have trusted that you always had her best interests at heart. We are thrilled that you two are together again."

After that, dinner was served and most of the conversations were happy and light. Daniel and Roxanne asked Daphne where she was living and she made the mistake of saying that she had recently moved into a condo in Ted's building. When they asked where she had been living before she told them honestly that she really didn't want to get into that. She explained that once she had found Justin, Brian had immediately moved her into somewhere she would be safe.

Hearing this, Daniel turned to Brian and said, "Thank you Brian, not only for what you did for Daphne, but for taking care of Justin. We wish we had been able to do something for them, but apparently fate needed for all of you to meet. You will always have our gratitude for what you have done for our kids,"

"You're welcome, Daniel. But believe me, I'm just as grateful that the two of them have come into my life. They are both very special to me," Brian answered sincerely.

After they had all finished it was still very early and Harriet asked if everyone would like to go to the club for dessert. She also wanted to show off Glenn and Daphne as a couple and make sure Brian and Justin would be treated well there. It was decided that Brian and Justin, and Daphne and Glenn would take their own cars. Harriet would ride with Daniel and Roxanne. Once they were all in the parking lot, Harriet told Brian and Justin to go ahead in, holding hands. She wanted to see how they were treated if she wasn't with them. When they got to the gate, they were greeted warmly. The guard noticed that they had new memberships and asked if they needed a map or directions.

"No, thank you. We have been here as guests before, but thank you for asking," Brian answered.

Brian and Justin walked around a little, and then headed to the lounge where they were to meet the others. At the lounge entrance, they waited for the maitre d' to be seated. Coming back to his podium, he apologized for the wait.

"Harriet Bartier is expecting us," Justin told the man, who nodded and started to lead them to the table.

Holding hands and speaking quietly to each other, neither man noticed when someone stepped in front of them.

"Who the hell let you two deviants in here?! This is a place for families and decent people. Get the hell out of here, before I have you thrown out!" Craig Taylor screamed. He had seen the couple as they were being led into the room, but had failed to notice either Harriet or the Chanders as they had come in.

Brian moved in front of Justin, not wanting Craig to be able to get to him. The maitre d' looked toward Harriet's table, while trying to step between Craig and Brian. Harriet, Daniel, and Roxanne had gotten up as soon as Craig started yelling. Harriet got to the group first and grabbed Craig by the arm.

"Thank you, Craig. I now have a reason and witnesses to ban you and yours from this club for a month. One more incident, and the ban will be for life. Get the rest of your ‘family' and get the hell out of here, immediately,"

"Well you old biddy, then Justin is banned too, since he is unfortunately my son. So tell him and the other deviant to leave now!" Craig yelled, trying to reach for Justin.

Harriet and the rest of her group surrounded Justin and Brian, and Daniel spoke up, "You gave up any right you had for this wonderful man to be any part of your family when you spouted all manner of falsehoods about his character to cover up your own misdeeds. He belongs with us now, and unlike you, we take care of our own. So as Harriet said, all of you get out, now," He told Craig and the rest of his party, who had all joined him.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyer, BITCH!" Craig yelled. As he turned to Catherine, Justin walked up to the man who had impregnated his mother and punched him straight in the face.

"You need to learn some respect. You don't speak to a woman like that," Justin told the disgusting man. Craig probably would have hit Justin back, but he was too busy grabbing his broken nose. One of the waiters had gotten an ice filled towel for Justin's hand, as two guards dragged a yelling and bleeding Craig Taylor to the entrance, quickly followed by the rest of his group.   

"Remind me never to piss you off, Azure," Brian said as they watched Craig being carted off, his red-faced wife following behind him.

"Oh I would never hit you, Irish... well unless you ask me to, really nicely,"

Brian turned to Justin, bending his head before he was stopped from kissing the plump upturned lips. "Alright you two..." Harriet interrupted, "Brian, unhand Justin immediately. You are not fooling anyone, young man,"

"What? Me? I'm innocent. Now Justin here... he's the naughty one," Brian did his best to look as innocent as he was purporting to be.

"That may be true and you can spank him later, though I suspect he would enjoy that form of discipline,"

"Harriet!" Justin exclaimed, his face flaming, causing the entire group to snicker at his expense.

"Uh-huh. Just as I thought. Well Justin, let me just disabuse you of a notion that you and Brian seem to have. I used to have a nanny until I was just a little younger than you. I remember a time when I decided that I wanted to know what it seemed all the ‘fast girls' in high school seemed to know. You know what I mean Justin... the stuff considered locker room talk. Only the girls are a lot worse, let me tell you! Anyway, Madeline, my nanny, took one look at me and knew that I had acquired an itch only a man could assuage. When I asked her how she knew, do you know what she told me?"

Brian was actually fascinated with this part of Harriet, something that he would have never expected of the multi-million dollar businesswoman. During college he had always heard of Lindsay's take on growing up WASP, but Harriet was from a much different time. So it was definitely interesting to hear it from her point of view. "What did she tell you?"

"She looked me square in the eye and said, ‘Young lady, I may be old but I ain't cold!' Needless to say the same applies to me young men. I may not do what you do, but I know lust when I see it. So keep Johnson in your pants and let's go get that Beam, shall we?"

Both Brian and Justin flanked Harriet on either side, even as they heard the outright laughter of the rest of their party. Roxanne and Daniel were regaling the family of other ‘southern sayings' from their ancestors, much like Harriet's old nanny. All thoughts of the troublesome troll named Craig Taylor were momentarily forgotten.

ONE MONTH LATER...

"Finally, all that fucking watching and waiting is going to pay off today!" Lindsay said to herself as she actually fist-pumped the air when she noticed the young lady opening the door to Brian's apartment building.

On this particular Monday she was supposed to meet a friend for lunch, so she was dressed in a suit. She drove by the loft and saw a different cleaning woman, getting out of the car in front of the building. Parking behind the other car, she quickly walked up to the door as the woman was putting in the code. Acting like she was looking for something in her bag she said to the woman, "I'm from Mr Kinney's office, do you have the key to his place? He needed me to pick up a paper for a meeting and I seem to have forgotten to bring the key with me. Please, I just started there and I don't want to lose my job, can you please help me?"

The woman looked at the neatly dressed blonde, and figured she would be nice and help her out. Taking the elevator to the loft, Lindsay continued to act sickly sweet and nice to the woman.

"I'm so sorry about this. I don't know how I could have forgotten to bring the key with me. I will be out of your way as fast as possible, I promise,"

Once they got into the loft, the woman went over to the closet to get out the cleaning supplies. Lindsay said to the woman that she needed to use the restroom and headed into Brian's bedroom. Looking into the trash container by the bed, she saw a bunch of full condoms all carefully tied. Grabbing the plastic bag she carried in her purse she grabbed a handful of condoms and slipped them into her purse. She slipped into the bathroom, carefully watching what the cleaning woman was doing as she shut the door.

Much to Lindsay's pleasure, the woman wasn't even paying attention to her. After staying in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, Lindsay flushed the toilet and washed her hands. Then thanking the woman profusely, Lindsay grabbed a blank sheet of paper off the desk and put it in her purse, leaving the loft quickly. Once she was back in the car she called Melanie, "Mel, meet me at the house. I got what we need,"

"How?"

"Different cleaning woman. Just get home fast,"

They both pull up to the house at the same time and head upstairs. Quickly undressing, they grabbed the syringes and emptied the condoms into a cup. Getting the syringes ready, they inseminated each other and hoped for the best. Although Melanie tried not to gag at the thought of the sperm of a man she despised being inside her, she hoped to get pregnant this time and not have to do this again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that afternoon, Brian was feeling very stressed. One of the accounts he had handed off to one of the other executives had called him because they were not satisfied, and wanted Brian to take the account back. After a thirty minute conversation, he had finally managed to convince them that he would have a meeting with them and the assigned executive at the beginning of the following week to see if he could help to resolve the problem. Justin had come in near the end of the conversation, and Brian had signaled for him to stay. Once he was off the phone and had given Justin the jist of the problem, Justin had decided that kneeling under Brian's desk and helping him calm down would be the best plan.

Brian was leaning back in his chair and enjoying Justin's relaxation technique when Daphne came barging into his office without knocking, looking frantic.

"Brian, do you know where Justin is? I've looked everywhere and I need him,"

Brian tapped on Justin's head. Justin pulled off of his favorite cock and popped up to see what his best friend was so frantic about.

"What is so important, Daph? I was busy," Justin asked with a smirk.

"What the hell were you doing...? Sorry... Well, I need your help. I have a date tomorrow night with Glenn. He's taking me to a fancy restaurant, and I have nothing to wear,"

"Daph, what do you want me to do? You know I hate shopping," Justin answered dismissively, wanting to get back to what he had been doing.

"Don't you have any girlfriends you could ask, Daphne?" Brian asked, trying to help and wanting to get her out of his office so Justin could get back to administering his favorite method of stress relief.

"Not really. Besides, most of them hate to shop. Hey! I'll call Emmett; thanks for helping me work that out. I'm going to leave a little early today. I have a lot to do before tomorrow," Daphne answered as she headed for the door.

"Please lock the door on your way out," Brian asked her.

"You know, Azure, it would be really nice if the people I pay to work here actually stayed and worked," Brian quipped.

"Well if you will lean back, Irish, I'll get back to work immediately," Justin purred, slipping back under the desk.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

All too soon, Craig's month long ban was over. He was busy back at the club, trying to discredit both Brian and Kinnetik to anyone who would listen to him. He had even gone so far as to leave pictures of Brian, looking drunk or high, laying around anytime he was there, along with comments on them about trusting someone like that. Unfortunately for him, Harriet was informed by some of the busboys about the pictures. Brian and Justin were well liked and respected around the club, unlike Craig who treated everyone rudely and as if they were beneath him.

She had a couple of them start following Craig around anytime he was within their vaunted halls. Two weeks later, she showed up at Craig's office with papers, banning him from the club for life. When he tried to protest, saying he would call his lawyer, she handed him a copy of the by-laws with all the pertinent passages highlighted, along with copies of all the evidence she had against him.

"Did you really think you would be able to get away with this smear campaign against Brian Kinney and Kinnetik, Craig? You seem to forget that I have a ranking far more superior to yours within the WASP nest. The only business that will be smeared because of your stunt is yours! It is already circulating among the most chatty gossips in the club, what you tried to do because of your hate for Brian- who you don't even know- and his partner, your son Justin, whom you disowned. You seem to have forgotten that Justin has always been a favorite around the club. Good luck trying to get any business from the club members after that stunt!

"Oh yes, and just so we are crystal-clear on this, the ban from the club extends to any functions of the club that may be held in any other venues, and includes your wife and your slut of a stepdaughter. If any of you are seen at the club or at any club functions, you will be arrested. This is a lifetime ban. Your pictures are all up in the security office, and at the gate, and will be posted at any off-site functions as well. Good-bye and good riddance to you and yours, you nasty, homophobic pig!" Harriet said before turning on her heel and leaving his office, slamming his door on her way out.

Just as Craig was about to toss the papers, Catherine walked in. "What was Harriet doing here, Craig? I hope she was coming to issue an apology for the way she treated us,"

"Catherine..."

"No, Craig. Your association with Harlen Bartier was supposed to serve a purpose, higher than furthering your own career goals. Also, supporting Laura has... well it has simply become an untenable situation. She is a spoiled fucking brat, and I need her out of our house and into her own, IMMEDIATELY! You need to do something, Craig,"

Like mother, like daughter, Craig thought. He was a hairsbreadth away from telling her to join her daughter in the gutter, where they both came from. Part of the reason things were going so awry in his own life, happened the minute he'd taken up with the redhead-turned-blond. If Justin hadn't found out that he'd been fucking Catherine, not only at the office but in the bed he shared with Jennifer, he would have just been able to disown Justin quietly, instead of trying to discredit him while covering his own ass. Well Catherine was just going to have to make some fucking changes, for once.

"Cat, Harriet came by to tell us that we are no longer welcome at the club, or any functions associated with it,"

"What? But why?!"

"Because of your slutty offspring,"

"Surely, Laura's past behavior isn't the only reason. Especially not since the intercom was pressed from my end the entire time she was in here, Craig. Your own behavior regarding Justin, and all subsequent events has also been deplorable! I'll tell you this though, Craig, you either straighten this colossal fuck-up out or..."

"Or?"

Catherine furrowed her brow, thinking what she could use against her husband. Their marriage was nothing like she thought it would be when she spread her legs for him while he was still married to that insipid little bitch, Jennifer. She was envious of all she thought the other woman had: the house, the cars, the two children who doted on their mother, and the well-to-do husband who took care of everything while she ran the house. Instead, what she received was alienation at the highest levels within the WASP nest, a ne'er-do-well husband whose schemes were now backfiring on them, a daughter who would rather relegate her to a past better left forgotten, and more bills than Craig could account for! Add to that a stepdaughter, who has no qualms about being as bitchy as her mother is, and who now refuses to have anything to do with her father because of his misdeeds.

Who would want to live like this?!

Pursing her lips, Catherine spoke the words she knew would light a fire under Craig Taylor's ass. "The price of divorce is really expensive these days, isn't it, Craig?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"I wouldn't dream of threatening you, darling. I make promises and trust me, Craig... I keep them." She turned and left the office, leaving her husband to stew in his own juices.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Emmett and Vic were surprised to hear the bell over the door in the furniture store. It wasn't that they were having a slow day. They always seemed to be busy nowadays, but that was usually reserved for the hours between twelve and closing. He and Vic were standing at the counter, discussing the possibility of expanding the store's current inventory which was based in high-end items and antiques. By Emmett's calculations, they were more than ready to become a source for all things concerning the home, including dishes, place settings, curtains and other fabrics. It also helped that Emmett had just completed the college courses necessary to branch out into interior decoration. Hmmph, and Michael said he had no head for business when he and Vic first started? Well, Emmett was fixin' to prove the know-it-all little ingrate wrong.

Speaking of the little pissant, Emmett and Vic watched the patron who had just come in browsing around, wondering what he was really doing there. In the few years they had been opened, Ben Bruckner had only been within the store four times. And it was usually only when his uppity husband was out of town, at some comic book convention or another. Their curiosity was killing them, so Emmett decided to saunter over and find out what the hunky professor was doing there.

"Nice to see you, Ben. What's going on? Are you thinking of redecorating?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Ben nodded his head. "I've decided that Michael and I need some distance. I'm sure you know of some decisions he's made in the last few months."

Emmett didn't have to guess what Ben was referring to. Michael had been warned, time and time again, that his mouth would get him into trouble one day. The funny thing is, that orifice was being used to slander and defame the lover of the one person who, at one time, would have protected him to some degree. Now Michael had no one to cloak and cover for his careless actions. Emmett couldn't say that he was sorry about that. And he doubted that Vic was either.

"Ben, do you want to sit and talk about it? I've just brought in some lemon butter crunch cookies, and Em just bought us a new Keurig for when we have specialty clients come in," Vic offered, already placing the platter of treats on the granite countertop and pulling out three coffee cups of fine china.

Emmett brought the well-built man over to the counter, which had three cushioned high-back stools strategically placed in front of it. In their world, presentation was everything, and Brian had suggested the placement back when Vic and Em decided to go into business together. After serving the three of them, Emmett turned slightly towards Ben as did Vic, and asked, "So I take it that this is not a temporary living arrangement?"

"What makes you think that?" Ben asked, the wariness in his voice reaching both Em and Vic.

"Darling, people do not come in here to even browse around, without an eye towards permanence. And based on Michael's previous comments and criticisms about this business venture of ours, I think we can all safely assume that whatever you buy today, tomorrow, next week, next month or even next year, would definitely not meet with the recently high-and-mighty Michael's approval," Vic said.

"He's right, you know," Emmett chimed in. "It's like since you both moved to the other side of town, it's almost as if Michael has been channeling his inner-Lindsay. Everything and everyone on Liberty Avenue has become beneath him, except for Brian and Ted, which I find a little funny since he neither has their money, or business acumen. He thought that his comic book business has been failing simply because people are becoming disinterested in the reading material. It isn't. It's because they are becoming- have become, really- disenchanted with his attitude. Before, Brian's presence used to at least make up for it. But ever since that day in the diner, when he and Lindsay confronted Brian about Justin- who is well-known and respected, despite his humble beginnings on the avenue, or perhaps because of them- people have decided to give Michael a dose of his own spiteful medicine. Instead of discrediting Justin, as was his intention, he managed to make himself look like a bigoted bully. And you know how we all feel about those people."

Vic and Emmett waited in silence, while Ben took in all the information they gave him about Michael's behavior when he wasn't there to smooth things over. For a long time, he'd been watching the man he thought he fell in love with morph into the person he now loathed. Many arguments happened because of Michael's inability to let Brian go. It was both funny and humiliating to him now, as he sat there with Emmett and Vic, replaying all of the verbal sparring regarding Brian Kinney. Like Melanie, Ben blamed Brian for everything that was going- had gone- wrong in his relationship.

Now it occurred to Ben that Brian had removed himself from Michael's orbit long ago. And yet, the same problems he'd blamed the tall brunet for, still existed. Unlike Mel though, Ben wasn't willing to be a coupled causality anymore. There wasn't any way to repair the catastrophe that was once called the Novotny-Bruckner relationship. "I think you're both right, and that I was just being too willfully blind to really see what was happening. So now I've made some decisions of my own."

"Are you doing it to spite Michael, or to save yourself?" Vic asked.

Ben smiled for the first time since entering the building. Snatching up another butter lemon cookie, he said, "A little of both, I suppose," and then he bit into it, causing laughter.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to put the house on the market. I've already found a three-bedroom apartment just off campus that I've already moved into. It's why I came here to furnish it. It's time to officially part ways, and move on,"

"What about Michael? I thought you two bought the house together,"

"No. Michael's credit was shot, and he refused to sell any of his collectibles to come up with the down payment. He also never seemed able to come up with any of the mortgage payments. So technically, the house is mine,"

"Do you have a realtor in mind?" Emmett asked, giving Vic a wink. There was no denying that he was enjoying Michael's downfall, even if his heart was breaking for Ben. He was a good man, and definitely deserved better than Michael Novotny-Bruckner. No... not Brucker any longer; he's back to being just plain Michael 'mean ass' Novotny. His little judgmental ass is sure to burn behind that realization. Emmett thought evilly that he would make it a point to remind Michael of that fact, every single time he saw him.

"No, I don't. It was just an idea I was toying with for a while, so I havn't bothered to look for one,"

Emmett pulled out a card from behind the desk. "If you call her, she will definitely help you. And you can get a little of your own back, if you'd like,"

"What do you mean?" Ben looked at the card, noting the elegant purple script on the soft yellow background. This business card screamed another one of Emmett's elegant creations. "Why would Jennifer Taylor jump at the chance to help me get rid of my house?"

Vic and Emmett smiled at the question, even as Ben narrowed his eyes. When Emmett answered, his voice was smooth and soft, almost conspiratorial. The little twinkle in the blue eyes, mischievous as well as gleeful, and Ben wondered what he had just set himself up for.

"Because she's Justin's mother,"

Daphne and Glenn had been seeing each other consistently for a while now, and getting very close. But they were still more than willing to take things slowly. Glenn often showed up at lunch, just to spend time with her. Brian enjoyed it immensely, because it gave he and Justin private time where they could lock themselves in the office and relieve stress or just be together.

A couple of months later, Daphne showed up at Justin's apartment in a panic one night. Seeing a frantic Daphne, Brian decided to head up to his loft to escape.

"What's wrong, Daph? I thought things were going great for you and Glenn,"

"They are, Jus. It's just that... well I think we are almost ready to... you know,"

"You know... What?"

"S-E-X,"

"What are we, twelve?" He joked until he caught the full implication of what she said. "You mean, you two haven't...?"

"No. And that's what I'm worried about! I mean, what if I'm no good at it?"

He could see the mass hysteria about to take over his best friend at any moment. He ushered her over to the couch, and after physically having to sit her down, headed to the kitchen to grab some coffee. Knowing Daphne as he did, he knew that she needed something in her hands to redirect some of her anxiety into a useful action. Settling himself down next to her and pressing the mug into her hand gently, Justin told her, "Daph, calm down. He knows you're a virgin, right?"

"Well, yeah he knows," She took a sip of the hot beverage, closing her eyes to savor the taste. It continued to amaze her that Justin always knew just what she needed. She couldn't have asked for a better best friend to have right now.

"If he knows that, then why do you think he would expect you to be perfect at it the first time? He loves you, and he is probably thrilled to be able to be your first. You just need to relax and ask him to go slow. You know the mechanics of sex, and if you want to see what it's like you can go on the internet and watch some porn. It will at least give you some idea of what to do,"

"Don't you have any porn I could borrow?" She looked slyly at Justin out of the corner of her eye. She owed him for that ‘twelve' comment he made when she spelled out sex. Yeah, she knew that as long as they lived, he would never let her live that one down. So, to her it was fair to get her jab in with a topic she knew would disgust her best friend.

"STRAIGHT PORN???!!! What the hell would I have straight porn for? Porn is supposed to put you in the mood, not make you want to run screaming into the street!" Justin answered, shocked that she would even ask.

She giggled at Justin's reaction. "Fine, but you aren't much help, you know," They both laughed a bit more before she sobered. "I just hope you're right about what he will expect,"

"Trust me, Daph. Glenn loves you, which means he will take his time and make sure you are satisfied. The fact that you are a virgin will assure that," He hugged her close, feeling the remnants of tension finally leaving her slight frame.

Once Daphne had left, Justin headed up to Brian's loft. Walking in, he stood there and glared at his lover, who was playing solitaire on his computer.

"Thanks a lot for running out on me, Irish. Do you know what she wanted?"

"Sorry, Azure, but frantic females are not my forte. What did the princess want?"

"She wants to sleep with Glenn, but she's a virgin and is worried she won't be any good,"

"So what did she want you to do? Show her how it's done?"

"OH MY GOD, IRISH, NO!! How could you even joke about that? What is it with you and Daph, are you trying to make me impotent tonight?" At Brian's questioning look, Justin told him, "She asked if I had any straight porn she could borrow,"

Brian mock shuddered, and then burst out laughing. "See? I knew I did the right thing coming up here. I can just about imagine your reaction,"

Shaking his head, Justin headed back down to his apartment. Brian followed a few minutes later once he had shut everything off. He was pretty sure Justin wasn't mad, just exasperated. Once he got downstairs he saw Justin looking through his DVD's trying to decide what to watch. Brian went into the kitchen to make some popcorn for them to share while they watched the movie.

They settled into their familiar positions on the sofa, Brian sitting in the corner and Justin stretched out between his legs with Brian's arms wrapped around the smaller man. This had gotten to be one of their favorite ways to relax, other than sex.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Both Melanie and Lindsay missed the immediate periods following their in-house inseminations, and were cautiously optimistic that they had both conceived on the first try. They decide to wait a few weeks before taking pregnancy tests to confirm. When they finally do take the tests, both of them are positive for pregnancy. They decide to keep it quiet for now, since it's not really any of the family's business. It didn't help that they hadn't even decided what to answer about who fathered the babies.

They do agree that they will call Brian after the babies are born though, to tell him that he is a father. And they have also come to the conclusion that if Brian doesn't readily accept his responsibilities to them all- kids included- they will sue him for support, if they have to. Brian will have no way to prove that he didn't agree to father the children, so it shouldn't even be an issue. But even if he were to take them to court over this, and Justin backed him up, the babies would be here already. So to their minds, he would still lose and end up paying anyway.

Even though everyone knows the girls are pregnant and due within days of each other, no one in the family has questioned who the father or fathers are, assuming that they went to a sperm bank. Over the following months, Melanie reminded Lindsay that she had to really make nice with Justin. They even invited Brian and Justin to dinner several times, and were usually refused. On one such evening, and after turning down numerous dinner invitations, Justin finally decided to grace the girls with his presence. Although wary of why Justin decided to accept this particular extension of the olive branch, Melanie decided that it was time for Lindsay and Justin to bury the months-long hatchet.

It was obvious to her that Justin wasn't going anywhere, despite Lindsay's continued protestations. If all went well, within a few months time, they would be linked to Brian Kinney by blood, so it was important to Melanie to start building a relationship with Justin. Apparently- and it shocked her to even have the thought- Brian really seemed to value the young man and his opinions. So it would behoove her to have Justin on her side, if for no other reason than when Brian would get stubborn over opening his checkbook. A good blowjob from Justin should be able to go a long way to help their bank account.  

Looking at him sitting on her sofa, Mel couldn't deny that the younger man was, in a word- beautiful. She could instantly see why her wife would be jealous of the man. Seeing him only a few times over the past few months, Mel hadn't really taken the time get a good look at him. But with Lindsay finishing up dinner in the kitchen, she took the opportunity to study Justin.

The soft and longish blond hair framed his face, which had a smooth peaches and cream complexion. Blue eyes, that sparkled when Brian looked at him, peeked out intelligently from between long lashes, which she and Lindsay could both envy. The cute little button nose sat atop a set of lips that were undeniably natural and that women- and in all fairness, some men- usually pay a fortune for collagen implants to have. Yes, Brian was indeed a lucky man! But then again, looking at them together, maybe they both were.

Brian absolutely flourished in Justin's company. He smiled more than she had ever seen him do, in all the years she had known the man. Admittedly, whenever they were in the same room together she and Brian had very little to smile about. They usually either ended up arguing or ignoring each other. After being with Lindsay for ten years, one would think that she and Brian would get over their rivalry for Lindsay's affections.

But with the advent of Justin in Brian's life, Mel was starting to think that maybe she was imagining Brian's monopolization of Lindsay's heart. She brushed off the feeling that she may have been wrong, thinking that maybe it was the fact that she was secretly carrying Brian's baby which softened her feelings for and about the asshole. Which was just another reason she couldn't wait for the invader in her uterus to enter the world; it was changing everything!

As they sat around the table to eat, with each couple facing their partner, Melanie couldn't help but notice that Lindsay had moved her chair a smidge closer to Brian. She tried not to scowl about it, but it was increasingly hard to do. When she looked over at Justin for his reaction, she noticed the younger man had a calmness about him that must have been inbred. Mel could tell that he didn't feel threatened, or disheartened by her wife's blatant attempts to gain Brian's full attention. She secretly wished she could be so secure of her place in Lindsay's life, and wondered how Brian had managed to reassure Justin of his.

Applying herself to the chicken cutlet in front of her, Melanie decided to tune out Lindsay's clinginess, and start a conversation with Justin. "So Justin, how are things at Kinnetik? It must be interesting working for Brian," Justin continued to chew and swallowed, before taking a sip of wine to clear his palette. Melanie recognized the inbred mannerisms of her wife in the young man seated next to her. Another WASP, she mentally shook her head.

"Work is fine, Mel, thanks for asking. It is definitely interesting working with Brian. Not only am I learning a lot about him through the process, but he is learning about me as well,"

"Hmmph, I'll just bet he is," Lindsay muttered from across the table, glaring at Justin.

"Something wrong, Lindsay?" Justin asked politely, returning her stare without batting an eyelash.

After a few moments, Lindsay cleared her throat before lowering her eyes. "I just meant that it must be interesting to work and live together all the time. I know it would drive Mel and me crazy to be around each other 24/7 like that. There is a such thing as too much togetherness in a relationship, you know? But then again, you couldn't possibly know that, since you're so young. Brian is probably your first relationship, isn't he?"

Justin smiled at Lindsay, but Melanie noticed that there was no sparkle in his eyes as there usually was. More like an icy coldness.

"That's true, to an extent. Brian is my first serious relationship, just as I am his. But we manage to separate business from pleasure just fine. When we are home, we spend an hour talking about anything work related, but after that..."

"We're fucking," Brian stated bluntly.

Lindsay frowned, but Mel noticed the sparkle return to Justin's eyes as he regarded Brian. The heat between the two of them, when their eyes met was palpable. So much so that she had to wonder if she and Lindsay had ever looked at each other like that. It was just one more reason to envy Brian fucking Kinney.

"So I guess the next logical thing would be for you to attend college, huh Justin?" Mel asks, trying to break the tension emanating from Lindsay's side of the table.

"Yes, I suppose you should look into attending college, Justin. Brian has told me that you were up for several scholarships before... well, why not pursue them now?" Lindsay said, pointedly looking at the blond.

Again he smiled, and this time Mel definitely felt the frostiness of the action. His eyes were cold and steady as he glared at Lindsay. So Mel was even more unnerved when he spoke with such cold calm, even as the inflections from him were as mundane as if merely discussing the weather.

"You're correct that I had my pick of Ivy League schools, Lindsay. But I had also been accepted to the Art Institute of New York, and the Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts as well. I was also being courted by Carnegie Mellon's Accelerated Business Program. In fact, I've been doing some checking, and the offers for full ride scholarships to all of those universities still stand, if I choose to take advantage of them. 1500 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, in addition to a 4.0 GPA from St. James Academy, tends to open a lot of doors,"

"You...you went to St. James?" Linday asked breathlessly.

"Yes, I did. Which as you know within our circles has the college track program, beginning from Pre-Kindergarten. Didn't you graduate from there yourself?"

Lindsay swallowed hard before she muttered, "No. I went to St. Mary's,"

Justin nodded. "A respectable school, without a doubt. Was this before they had the college-track program?"

"They didn't have one," Melanie blurted out before she realized the implications of what Justin was really asking, or pointing out to Lindsay, depending on one's perspective of the situation.

Brian remained quiet during the exchange between Justin and Lindsay. He knew exactly what Lindsay was trying to do, and was secretly pleased that Justin had discerned Lindsay's game as well. He couldn't tell what Melanie's angle was beyond mere curiosity about the man who had caught and held his attention when thousands before him hadn't even registered as a blip on the Kinney radar. Melanie didn't seem all that interested in trying to find ways to separate Brian and Justin. She was content to sit there and analyze his and Justin's interaction. It was kind of fun for Brian to witness Mel's reluctant fascination, while trying to reconcile who she thought Brian Kinney was versus who he is with Justin.

It suddenly occurred to Brian why, after months of avoiding being in close quarters with the Munchers, Justin- with a longsuffering sigh- decided to accept this invitation. Justin had obviously overheard Lindsay's insulting comments about him not measuring up to Brian's usual standards, except within the bedroom. Brian had then listed every single one of Justin's attributes, stating that his insatiability when it came to lust almost rivaled the way his brain soaked up knowledge that had nothing to do with sex. Of course, Lindsay scoffed at the notion that the beautiful young man might appeal to more than the hedonist in Brian. Like Michael, she had the amazing and annoying ability of having selective hearing, and belief.

In her mind, Brian agreed that Justin was nothing more than a big butt and a killer smile. She just couldn't- or really in Lindsay's case, wouldn't- acknowledge the fact that it took more than a willing ass to keep King Kinney content. He was enjoying the act of Justin proving the disapproving bitch wrong.  

"Well Justin, if you can get into art school in New York that could be a great opportunity for you, and honestly would probably be the best place for you. You could get your degree, and then possibly work in a gallery there; maybe even get them to show some of your work. Yes... I really think that would be the best decision for you," Lindsay announced, as if her opinion on the matter was the only thing that should be considered.

"It might be, if that is what I wanted to do with my life. But I will be going to school right here in Pittsburgh. I already have the job I want to have, and if I want to paint and show my work, I will do it when and where I decide. New York has never been my dream. If it's yours, then perhaps that is where you should go and bite it... I mean, take a bite out of the Big Apple," Justin answered, making it clear that he would do what he decided with his life, and would not be taking her opinion into account.

Mel smiled to herself at the contretemps between the blonds. Justin was great at putting Lindsay in her place, all the while being so polite and at the same time seeming so innocently ingenious, that he could never be accused of being outright rude. She had caught his ‘bite it' comment, before he made reference to the catchphrase of New York, and was hard-pressed not to laugh out loud. Mel glanced at Brian out of the corner of her eye, and noticed his reaction was the same as hers. She guessed Lindsay had finally met a WASP with a sharper sting than she bargained for.

Mel also realized that it would not be a good idea to get on his bad side. Brian now had a partner, and it looked like her partner was just going to have to accept it, or all the plans to do with the little intruder in her stomach and the monster in Lindsay's, would all be for naught. And Melanie Marcus would be a Brian's bitch before she let that happen!

Dinner was pretty quiet after that, except for the mundane- or safe- topics that would keep both Lindsay and Justin away from anything contentious. Mel worked hard to keep Lindsay on an even keel, sighing with relief when the evening was over. As soon as Brian and Justin said good night, leaving her alone with Lindsay, the blonde started in.

"Who the hell does that little bastard think he is?!" Lindsay screeched.

Melanie shut her eyes, taking a deep breath, dreading the conversation she had to have. "He doesn't think he's anything Lindsay; he KNOWS that he's Brian's partner,"

"The fuck he is! He is NOT Brian's partner! His fuck toy? Well yes, maybe! But nothing more than that!"

"Are you blind, Lindsay?"

"What the fuck are you talking about, Mel?"

"Again. Are. You. Blind?" Melanie asked between clenched teeth.

"Of course, I'M NOT FUCKING BLIND!"

"Well, apparently you ARE, if you can't see the heat between them. Or is it that you are just so frigid a bitch that you couldn't see them eye-fucking every time they looked at each other?! I think you had better open your eyes Lindsay-love, and understand just how important it is to have Justin as an ally, instead of an enemy,"

"Justin doesn't have what it takes to control Brian," Lindsay sneered.

Melanie laughed. "Well neither do you. You'd best wise up, Lindsay, and realize that although Brian holds his own purse strings, Justin holds Brian! I'll leave you think about that,"

And Melanie made her way upstairs, as the intruder in her stomach kicked her abdomen hard. She giggled softly. Well at least I seem to have your approval, little one.

When they got home Brian pushed Justin into his apartment and headed straight for the bedroom.

"You were so... strong, tonight. I need... please," Brian asked, not knowing how to explain how turned on he was by how Justin responded to Lindsay's comments.

"Strip and lay on the bed, face down, arms out. I know what you need, Irish," His Dom answered, making Brian smile.

Once Brian was in position Justin tied his hands, and attached them to the bed. They were tied together so that Brian could turn over when Justin was ready for him to, without having to untie him.

"You won't be allowed to come until I decide. Do you remember your safeword?"

"Yes, Sir,"

Justin ran his hands over all the spots that he knew drove Brian crazy, then followed with his tongue, biting and sucking on his lover's skin, making him squirm and moan. Sometimes Justin wondered who was being denied more. The sounds Brian made drove him crazy. Once Justin was finished marking Brian's shoulders and back he moved between the long legs that he was looking forward to have wrapped around him. Grabbing Brian's ass, he spread the cheeks and blew lightly on the tight pucker, causing Brian to moan and raise his ass, wanting more contact.

"Ass down, or I'll stop." Justin commanded, causing Brian to whimper and lower his ass, knowing very well that Justin was more than capable of making him just lay there and wait.

"Good, now I can get some of my favorite dessert," Justin said as he lowered his face to his favorite ass, getting his tongue very wet because that was going to be the only lube tonight. Justin knew that Brian needed it rough tonight so he would only use his tongue to open him and his spit for lube. Justin rimmed Brian until he was as wet and open as he could get him. Once he knew Brian was ready, he climbed to the side.

"Turn over, I need to see your eyes." Justin told him.

Brian turned on his back and Justin climbed between the long legs and pulled Brian's ass onto his thighs. Lining himself up and wrapping Brian's legs around his back, he slipped slowly into him, watching the older man's eyes for any hint of discomfort. Brian's smile told him all he needed to know. Justin loved being inside of his lover raw, the sensations were amazing and in this position the head of his cock dragged over Brian's prostate every time he pulled out. After stopping several times to prolong their coupling, Justin reached up and untied Brian's hands, it was the only way Brian could lean up far enough for them to kiss. For them, kissing was always very erotic, especially kissing while they made love.

"Please Sir, may I come?" Brian practically begged.

In answer, Justin leaned down and said, "Yes," as they started to kiss. As their tongues mapped out each others mouths, Justin slammed in hard and unloaded his cum into Brian, and Brian exploded all over their stomachs.

"Thank you," Brian told his lover as Justin slowly slipped out. Justin reached for the clean towel on the nightstand to wipe them off, before Brian pulled up the duvet as they spooned together and slipped into sleep.

Michael couldn't believe that the house was sold already. It had only been a few months since Ben had told him, in the presence of that nasty blond hustler's mother, that he was selling the house.

"But Ben.... this is OUR house; it's OUR home!" Michael replayed his protestations in his mind and the resulting conversation.

"It was never OUR anything, Michael. I am the only one who paid anything toward this house. And besides that, you've made it abundantly clear time and again that you would rather be elsewhere, or rather that you would prefer to be with someone else. So consider this as me giving you your freedom. Oh but wait... the person that you would like nothing better than to be with is actually involved in a BEAUTIFUL, LOVING RELATIONSHIP with SOMEONE ELSE. Fancy that..." Then he began talking to some woman that Michael hadn't noticed, until Ben ushered her up the steps and onto the front porch.

"What? Are you suddenly playing straight now, Ben? I thought you were over that phase of your life! And besides, isn't she a little old for you?" Michael sneered.

"I have long since passed the stage of denying who I am, Michael. Perhaps it's time for you to grow up and do the same,"

"Oh, and just who do you think I am, Ben? Huh? What does the almighty Professor Benjamin Bruckner supposedly know about ME?"

Ben smiled nastily as he answered, "That you never progressed past the age of fourteen, and are content to chase fantasies and live between the pages of a comic book, instead of embracing real life. I mean, look at the way you dress, Michael. If that isn't a clear indication that when you look in the mirror at yourself, you still see the child you still are mentally, I don't know what is. As for the rest of who I think you are- I see a manchild, one who's now reaping all of the unfortunate results of a rash tantrum; an overgrown teen, who can't understand that his former best friend has grown up and needs and desires A MAN, instead of the feeble-minded, helpless, thoughtless little boy you are. Not only that, but the man in question is not only beautiful and talented, but able to comport himself in public with all the grace and stature of a man Brian's equal, even though he's considerably younger in age than we are. Stunning, doesn't even begin to describe the reality of the fantasy you will never realize. You think it should be YOU on the arm of Brian Kinney? What for? Unless things are put in terms of a comic scenario, you don't understand important issues. So why should a MAN as intelligent and self-assured as Brian have to negate his wants and needs for someone who is clearly NOT his equal?"

"I was good enough for you; I'd be BETTER for him! I'm his BEST FRIEND!"

"Do you even hear yourself? His best friend? Let me tell you something, Michael: Brian's enemies have more compassion for him than you and the other so-called best friend in his life have, combined. The both of you are vicious and malicious, selfish in the extreme, and a host of other adjectives that I can call both of you, including pieces of shit. I pity him for ever meeting either of you! But most of all, I pity Mel and myself for aligning ourselves with the likes of Lindsay and you. But unlike Mel, I know when to cut my losses.... And honestly, Michael, you are no great loss! Now if you'll excuse me, Ms. Taylor and I have an appointment to look at MY house, so it can be put up for sale. I will make sure that all of your belongings get shipped to Red Cape Comics,"

"No! I will get them right now!"

"No, Michael, you will not. What you will do is get in your raggamuffin car, and leave my property. Ms Taylor, may I use your phone for a moment, since I left mine in the car? I think the police may have to be called,"

Michael looked at the man he considered his husband with something akin to shock, dismay, and anger. He couldn't believe how unreasonable Ben was being, and all because he spoke the truth about Brian's blond boy ass!

"So this is it, then? And all because of Brian's trick that wouldn't leave? Because I spoke the truth about Justin fucking Taylor, the blond boy ass WHORE, you're turning your back on me, your own husband?"

Michael would have said more except that he was suddenly doubled over, holding his face in pain.

"Speak one more word about MY SON, and I'll make sure you have to suck your food through a straw for the rest of your miserable life," the woman he'd only known as Ms Taylor said.

"Your... your son? I don't know your son, lady!" Michael whined as he straightened up, glaring first at Ben and then at the blonde, still standing menacingly in front of him.

"Sure, you do," she sneered. "I believe you just called him Justin Fucking Taylor, except that his middle name is Cole, not Fucking. As for you, you little shit, consider yourself warned that if any more harm comes to my son because of your loose lips, I'll find you, hit you again, and then make sure to snatch your larynx out with my bare hands. Lord knows I'd probably be doing all of mankind a favor, so that no one would have to listen to that whining voice again," With that, she and Ben turned and entered the house.

Michael drove to his mother's house, looking for sympathy. Deb turned when she heard the front door open. Seeing the large bruise forming on her son's cheek, she took out a bag of frozen vegetables and pressed it to his cheek. "What happened?" she asked him, waiting for a sob story.

"I went by my house, and Ben was heading inside with some woman. I said one thing about that blond hustler of Brian's and she slugged me," he whined, fully into his ‘fingernails on a blackboard' voice.

"Why would she hit you, Michael? There had to be a reason,"

"I said that Justin fucking Taylor is a blond boy ass whore. After she hit me, she said she's his goddamned mother, and then she threatened me!"

Grabbing the bag of vegetables from Michael's face, Deb told him to leave. "If someone said something like that about you, you would expect me to defend you. Wouldn't you, Michael?"

"Of course. You're my mother!"

"Well then, I'm sure when she heard what you said, she must have felt she had good reason to hit you that hard. So I'm quite sure you deserved it. You won't get any sympathy from me, so you can just leave," Deb told him, turning back to the stove to finish cooking.

"But... but... that's different. Everything I said was..."

Deb walked toward her son, "GET OUT NOW, before you have a matching bruise on the other side. Justin is a wonderful young man and you are a vindictive brat! Brian will never be yours, so get over it!"

"Ma! How can you say that? You're supposed to be on MY side!"

"Do you really want me on your side, Michael?" Deb narrowed her eyes at him, gratified when his eyes widened in response.

At that moment, Deb was having some decidedly un-Ma-like thoughts of her own, which would have scared her if she had not been so angry. She honestly couldn't remember a time when she felt like being so vengeful, and never towards her own flesh and blood before. But Michael had crossed a line in maligning Justin Taylor's character, and what's worse is that he couldn't see that what he's done and said was dead wrong. Deb was always a person who couldn't stand injustice of any kind. So the fact that Michael was standing there trying to justify his wrongdoing and expecting her to automatically side with him, made her furious!

"You listen to me, Michael... what you did and said was mean and spiteful, not only to Justin, but to the man you've often said was your best friend. And you're right, Brian WAS your best friend, but you are clearly NOT his! Honestly, I'm not sure you ever were. I can see now just how much you've abused him, and his kindness towards you. You are like a fucking parasite- just taking and taking, never giving anything back but pain! Well, like Brian, I'm through defending you. You are not to come here again until you get some fucking sense in your head and make this right! For once, think of someone other than yourself! Think of the man you supposedly love, and realize that you CANNOT make him happy." She pushed him out of the entrance to her home, back far enough to slam the door in his face.

At first, Michael stood there stunned. He couldn't believe the things she had said to him... his own mother! How dare she defend and side with anyone but him? But she did, just like Uncle Vic had before her. Why couldn't anyone understand that he had Brian's best interests at heart, and that little blond bastard was certainly NOT it?!

"Well FINE, Ma!! I don't want to talk to you either!" Michael yelled at the door and then stomped off back down the steps to his car.

He'd driven around for a bit, trying to figure out where he could go and who he could talk to. The answer came back to him that there was absolutely no one left in his life, who would talk to him. He had tried to talk to Lindsay, but Melanie put a stop to that. She took great pleasure in telling him that he was not allowed to call or come by the house while she wasn't there; that she would not allow Michael to involve Lindsay in further schemes which could jeopardize their home life. Michael could kind of understand since they were both pregnant and tensions were already high between the two of them for whatever reason.

So Michael thought about the things that Brian used to do to clear his head, and that was how he ended up with the first of many midday trips to Woody's.

Three months after the incident with his mother had not changed his current outcome. Everyone else had gone on with their lives without him, but no one seemed to care. There were days when he would just stand outside of the Diner, watching the people he used to call his friends and family laughing and socializing, as if they didn't have a care in the world. And maybe they didn't. No one was concerned for how he was getting on.

Michael had to sell many of his collectibles to pay off the blond usurper, so that he wouldn't be held in contempt of court for nonpayment. After explaining to the judge that he would have to suspend the remaining balance for the payment until he could find a permanent place to stay and secure employment, what was left was now being used to pay for Michael's long-term stay at the "No-tell Motel" for the next two months and his bar tab at Woody's. He knew he needed to figure out his life, and what he was going to do for work soon since the money was just about gone. But the truth was that he wasn't sure he even cared anymore. Michael had lost everything that had once mattered to him; how the hell could he even think about coming back from that?

Craig had now been banned from the country club for life. Never one to take the blame for his own actions, he blamed the whole thing on his former son and that deviant bastard, Kinney. As far as he could see, all the work he had put into discrediting that bastard and his company had all been for naught. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for his own business dealings. He had seen a marked decline in customers, especially the ones that knew him from the club.

He assumed the bitch, Harriet, had something to do with that. And if he could find a way to prove it, he would gladly sue the bitch for everything she had! He'd had to let some of his salesmen go, and cut others down to part time hours. One of the benefits of that to Craig was that he no longer had to offer health insurance to most of the employees. At least that saved him some money, but he still needed a way to increase his business.

But right now, he had to find a way of getting even with Justin. That sucker punch delivered to his nose- which still hadn't fully healed- was completely uncalled for! Sure, he knew that he could have had Justin arrested for assault, and Justin would have probably been convicted. But when he'd ranted and raved about the idea for two days after the incident, Catherine had told him that he had already drawn enough attention to himself, and taking Justin to court would make him look even more petty and pathetic than he already did in the eyes of the Country Club set. Craig had fumed in impotent fury, but still had not come up with a solid plan as of yet to get even with the people that, according to him, had tried to ruin his life.

If there was one thing fucking Catherine while he was married to Jennifer had taught him, it was how to be patient. Catherine had stuck it out with him, even as he kept promising to leave Jennifer, which was something he really hadn't planned to do. But Justin had ruined all his plans simply by finding out about the affair. So Craig had gotten rid of Justin, then made sure that no one would believe him, even if he was telling the absolute truth. Well, that was another thing Justin needed to pay for!

Craig had kicked him out of the their lives, thinking he hadn't the street-smarts to last beyond a week. It rankled to know that while Craig was doing everything in his power to discredit Justin, the younger man was rising out of the ashes of his life like a fucking Phoenix! And Craig had found out about it too late to take action to knock his ass back down again. Well, he would find a way to make Justin pay, and in turn that fucking bastard, Brian Kinney, too. In fact, he would systematically destroy all of them, including his ex-wife and his daughter, both of whom continued to side with the faggot.

He just had to watch and wait for Justin to slip up, or let his guard down, and he would pounce. He'd take all of Justin's newfound family and fortune, thereby taking away his hope for good. Keep thinking you're untouchable, Justin. That false sense of security is about to be snatched away, and there won't be a fucking thing you can do about it! Craig chuckled to himself.

Sometimes patience really was a virtue.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Getting together for one of their gab sessions, Harriet, Emmett, Ted, Ben, Vic, Deb, and Carl were sitting at the Diner, talking about all the latest gossip when Jennifer came in, excited to see Emmett and Vic, especially. She had stopped by their store to see them only to find a note on the door that said they could be found at the diner. "Vic, Emmett, I'm so glad to find you here. Remember how you asked me to look for a larger building for you, so you could expand?" She told them.

"Yes, we really do need more space. We want to add more speciality pieces, and are thinking of getting baby furniture, too," Emmett answered for both of them.

"Well, I just got the best news. The store next to yours was just put up for sale this morning," She told them excitedly.

"I'm not sure we have enough capital to buy right now. Would they consider leasing?" Vic asked.

"They'll take it," came a voice from the next booth. "Ted, set it up; whatever they need."

"Brian, you don't have to..." Vic started to object.

"I know I don't HAVE to, but that doesn't mean I'm not GOING to. Ted, get the numbers from Jen and make it happen," Was the only thing he said as he got up, pulling Justin out of the booth with him. "We're taking the rest of the day off. See you tomorrow," Brian told them, both of them staring at each other, and looking like they'd better find a bed soon.

"Hey, Mom. Bye, Mom" Justin said as he kissed his mother before the couple, who only seemed to see each other, walked out of the diner.

"What's with them?" Jen asked.

"They just get like that sometimes. It's like no one else exists," said Ted, smiling at the departing couple.

"Well who wouldn't want to have someone look at them the way those two look at each other?" Emmett said wistfully.

"Hey Emmett, you said you want to carry baby furniture? Is there a lot of call for that on Liberty Avenue?" Jen asked, curious.

"Actually a lot more than you would think. Lately, I've noticed a lot more pregnant women wandering Liberty than ever before. It used to be only once in awhile, but since Mel and Lindsay, I've seen a lot of them around here." Emmett answered

"Speaking of Mel and Lindsay, did they intend to have babies at the same time and did they use the same donor?" Jen asked.

Looking around, Emmett finally spoke. "Well, I don't know the answer to that, but what I do know is that they tried to get Brian to father kids for them, so they would be related. He refused though, no matter how much they badgered him. He said that if he had kids, he would be the one to raise them. They haven't said, but the general consensus is that that they went to the sperm bank, and the kids will have the same father."

"Well hopefully those kids will be more even tempered than their mothers," Deb says, shivering. "A more volatile pair I've never met. Although they seem to be doing a little better, since they got knocked up."

"I don't know. Maybe they are just learning to hide the turmoil better, Sis. We know how Melanie and Lindsay are; each always thinking they are right, without a gray area. Their home is a battlefield. And I just fear that they went into this thinking it was going to fix the shit they either don't say or constantly argue about."

"Well I guess we'll have to see what we will see, won't we? If there is one thing I learned from being married to Cunty Craig, it's that the truth will out at some point. It's insidious and permeates throughout every thought and action. Mel and Lindsay may hide the truth from us, but they won't be able to hide from themselves much longer," Jen advises, shaking her head.

All of them nodded their agreement, while thinking that World War Munchers might be closer on horizon than Mel and Lindsay thought. All they all knew was they already felt sorry for the kids of that union. Sheesh!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Things were progressing nicely between Daphne and Glen, much to her relief. She had actually thought that since her defection from all things WASP over a year ago, she and Glenn had grown apart. So it was a welcome bit of news that they were just as silly and crazy as they were when they had first gotten together... back when she was still technically, a kid.

Sitting on the sofa in her apartment, they were having what she termed another "Netflix and Chill" night, just watching reruns of Jane the Virgin and of course, getting into a spirited debate over the two male leads of the show. Glenn wanted Jane to stay with her fiance, while Daphne thought the rich guy was a much better fit for Jane- a separate issue regarding the child in her stomach. According to Daphne, chemistry was just as important as having stability in a relationship, and she didn't think Jane really had that with her current fiance. As the credits rolled, the debate continued until Glenn decided that he wanted to do more than test Daphne's theory. He wanted to live it.

Yanking her lithe body across his lap, he captured her lips, which opened like a flower beneath his own. Never one to waste an opportunity, Glenn took full advantage of Daphne's compliance and deepened the kiss. Taking note of the change in her breathing, signaling her burgeoning arousal, Glenn continued his oral assault, pleased that for once she wasn't pulling back. He loved her skittishness, but he was also tired of going home with blue balls and gaining callouses in his left palm. It wasn't that he wasn't still going to be patient with Daphne- he loved her and would never do anything to hurt her- but he knew that until she faced the fear of the unknown head on, Daphne would remain a virgin.

"Glenn... I... I want..."

"Shhh... I know what you want, what you need. Do you think you're finally ready to trust me?" He pulled his head back, reluctantly ending the kiss to stare deep into her eyes. He could read every emotion there: fear, lust, love, uncertainty. His hand reached up to caress the side of her face, needing the contact even more than the woman in his arms could possibly understand. "Daph, I want you; I won't deny that. But only if you're ready."

"I..." Daphne regarded Glenn, who was letting every emotion play in his eyes and across his handsome face. She had no doubt that she could trust him to take care of her. The doubt was within herself. She would never delude herself into thinking that Glenn Bartier was a monk or inexperienced in fucking; she had known him too long for that. But what if she didn't measure up? She remembered what Justin had told her of the act, but... "What if..."

"No, Daphne. No. Don't compare yourself to whatever others there may have been. There is only us, will ever only be US; I don't want anyone else. I didn't even back then. Haven't you figured out by now that I love you? And whether you are a virgin, or the biggest freak in bed once we take care of that whole neophyte issue you have going on here right now, that won't change. So what do you want to do?"

Daphne bit her lip, before forcefully pulling Glenn's head down to hers again. Attacking his lips like a woman dying of thirst, she let all of her desires be known through the kiss. No more words were needed as Glenn launched himself off of the couch, while gripping her in his arms at the same time. Carrying her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, Glenn headed towards Daphne's bedroom, where they were about to experience a lot of firsts together. While he was her first lover, Daphne would be the first woman- the only woman- he'd ever made love to. And he spent the rest of the night proving it.    

CHAPTER 8

Brian was sitting in his office, relaxing and waiting for Justin to finish up so they could go home when his cell rang. Looking at the display, he saw that it was Lindsay. "Hello, Lindsay. And just how are the pregnant munchers today?"

"Actually Brian, that's why I'm calling. Mel and I had the babies this morning. I was wondering if you could come to the hospital. I'd like to talk to you. You can even bring Justin, if you want," Lindsay smiled, thinking to herself, Well if this doesn't split them up, I don't know what will. It's time that Brian forgets that disgusting little hustler anyway. He's a father of two now, so he'll have very little time for playing with the ‘other kid' in his life.

"Why do you need to talk to me?" Brian questioned.

"It's not that I need to per se. But I would like to show you the babies,"

"Let me check with Justin. I don't know if he has plans. I'll call you back,"

Heading into Justin's office, Brian watches him cleaning up his workspace as he usually does before leaving. Walking over to the blond, Brian wraps his arms around the smaller frame from behind and kisses his neck. Justin reaches up and caresses Brian's cheek, and turns to the taller man for a kiss. Kissing the blond almost makes him forget why he came into his office. Once they break apart, Brian remembers exactly what he came in for.

"Hey, Lindsay just called. Apparently, both munchers have let out the prisoners. She asked us to come to the hospital. Actually she asked me, and said I could bring you if I want to. She wants to talk to me," Brian frowned in confusion about what Lindsay actually wanted with him.

"How about I drop you off at the hospital, and then I can go home and start dinner? I'll come pick you up before I put the steaks on,"

"That works. I know you still aren't thrilled to be around them any more than necessary. I wouldn't go either, but I'm wondering what the hell she wants to talk to me about,"

"I know!" Justin holds up his finger, as if having the most marvelous idea. "She wants you to marry both of them, and then you can all be one big happy family,"

"You come up with some of the most crazy ideas in that gorgeous blond head of yours," Brian laughed, and kissed his blond lover again briefly. "But that would not be happening in this, or any other lifetime. I already have the person I want in my life,"

Dropping Brian at the hospital, Justin tells him, "I'll get everything together for dinner and marinate the steaks. Just call me when you want me to come get you,"

Brian walked into the hospital, and asked for directions to the Maternity floor. Heading to the elevators, he is still confused about why Lindsay wants to talk to him. His and Lindsay's friendship is not nearly the same as it was before everything blew up... back when Justin came into his life and stayed. Well, he figured he'd find out soon enough why she wanted to speak to him.

Stopping at the nurses station, Brian checked the room number and headed to the room the girls were sharing. Knocking on the door, he heard Lindsay tell him to come in. Walking over he gave her a side hug, even though she tried to pull him in for more. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she suggested that they go for a walk.

"Come on, Brian. Walk with me, and I'll show you to the nursery so you can see the babies,"

Shrugging, Brian followed her out of the room. "Babies? Oh, that's right. You and Smelly Melly both had kids, and on the same day too,"

"Brian, before we get to the nursery, I have something I should tell you. Please don't get mad that I didn't tell you about this before, but I wasn't sure how you would take it," Lindsay announced.

Not liking the way Lindsay was sounding, Brian hit record on his phone before he asked, "What the fuck are you talking about, Lindsay? You didn't know how I would take what, and why would I be mad?"

"Well, before I tell you, please remember that we are in public and what we really mean to each other,"

"Lindsay, I'm not liking where this conversation is going, so you better spit it out right now,"

"Well Brian, remember when I asked you to be the father of our children, and you refused?"

"Yes, I remember. It would be hard to forget, considering how many times you asked, or rather badgered me, and the results were still the same. So what about it?" By this time they were at the nursery, and the girls' babies were right in front. Brian looked into the bassinets and saw two blond, blue eyed babies.

"Well, I snuck into your loft and stole a couple of condoms, then used them to get Mel and I pregnant," Lindsay shifted from foot-to-foot nervously as she finished her statement.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Brian, please keep your voice down," Lindsay said, looking around to see if anyone was watching them.

"Let's go back to your room, Lindsay. We'll definitely talk there," Turning, Brian heads for the girls' room as he sends a text to Justin.

Get your ass to the hospital, Room 465. NOW!

Back at the loft, the steaks are marinating in the fridge, and Justin is cutting up the vegetables for the salad, when he gets Brian's text. From the tone of the text, Justin knows something is going on, and it's certainly nothing good. So he sticks everything he is working on in the fridge, and heads to the hospital. Parking in the lot, he heads up to the room, where Brian is waiting. Walking into the room, he sees a very pissed-off Mel bitching at a furious Brian.

"You know damned well they're yours, and we expect you to support them!"

"I need a minute to absorb all of this. I'm going to take Justin to see the babies. We'll be back,"

Taking Justin's hand, Brian leads him down to the nursery as he explains what Lindsay told him when she took him to see the babies, and what Mel had been saying when he walked in. Once they are standing in front of the nursery, Brian points out the two babies, both of whom are lying there with their eyes wide open staring in the direction of the window. Looking at each other, Brian and Justin start laughing hysterically.

"Brian, instead of telling them, you should just demand a paternity test. I'll go to the lab and have them run one on me, too. We just won't tell the girls that part yet,"

Brian leaned forward and kissed his little genius. "Perfect plan, Azure,"

Walking back into the girls' room, Brian smiles before he starts talking. "I want a paternity test. I don't think they look like me,"

"Asshole! You know they're yours! Did HE put you up to this?!" Lindsay asked, pointing at Justin.

"You want me to pay, prove they're mine. No proof. No money. Your choice," Brian told them with a shrug and a smirk.

"Fine! We'll get the test done right now," Lindsay said, pushing the button for the nurse.

Once Lindsay explained what they needed, the nurse went to get the DNA kits. The kits were now kept on the floor as it had become easy to do it there. After the nurse took the sample from Brian, he and Justin left the girls room and went to the nurses station. Brian asked that Justin be checked too, and requested that the girls not be told about it, until the results were in. Then they asked to be called, so they could be present when the results were given to the girls.

The nurse advised them that since they were the potential fathers, they would need to be present when the results were read. They were told the results would be ready the next morning. Telling Lindsay and Mel they would see them in the morning for the results, Brian and Justin left. Once they were in the jeep, Brian turned to Justin. "Azure, what do you think will happen when they find out?"

"I don't know, Irish. I think it will depend on why they wanted you to be the father, in the first place," Justin told Brian as he laced their fingers together.

Meanwhile, back in the girl's hospital room:

Melanie had the most puzzled look on her face, before addressing her partner. "Lindsay, why the hell did he insist on a paternity test?"

"I don't know, Mel. Oh my God! You don't think maybe he was having an orgy, do you? What are we going to do? If he's not the father, he won't pay support!"

"This may sound harsh, Lindsay. But if he's not the father, I suggest we give them up for adoption. The reason we had them was so that we could get Brian to support them, and in turn, us. If that's not going to happen, then they would just be an added and unnecessary expense, stretching our already overextended finances. This is the business side of having kids people rarely think of. Yeah, they need to go up for adoption if that irresponsible shit is not the father."

Lindsay was shocked by what Mel said, and just sat there thinking for several minutes. She realized that she wanted Brian's baby, just as much as she wanted his money. It was something that would tie him to her permanently. If her child was not his, she lost on both fronts. But she couldn't voice that to Melanie. They already had enough problems between them as it was. Having the kids was supposed to give them everything they had schemed for: an automatic way into Brian's coffers, stability, an easier life, and most of all -in her mind, at least- a way to keep Brian tied her, no matter what happened between him and that blond pain in the ass slut. With the current mess with Michael, having Brian's child would guarantee that Brian would never ditch her in favor of Justin... the way he had done with his other ‘best friend.'

"I agree, Mel. If they are not Brian's, we'll give them up for adoption," Lindsay said, resigned.

"But if they are, Lindsay, he's going to pay through the nose for putting us through this anguish. I swear if it wasn't for the fact that one child support check from him could wipe out most of our joint debt, I would have told you to go to hell when you suggested him fathering our kids. The idea of some stranger's sperm, wriggling around inside my body for nine fucking months..."

"I know, Mel, I know," Lindsay said through clinched teeth. The last thing she needed to hear was a whole fucking litany from Melanie about Brian's hedonistic lifestyle. "Well, regardless of anything, this should teach him a lesson about letting strange men into his loft,"

Melanie frowned at her. "Moreover, it should teach you to not go sneaking into Brian's loft in the first place,"

"Oh, so now this is all my fault?"

"I'm not saying that it is all your fault, Lindsay. But you should have expected that there was a possibility that the sperm wasn't his in the first place,"

"Well how was I to know that he would turn the loft into the backroom of Babylon?"

"You always claim to be such an expert on all things Brian Kinney, and you've been watching the loft for months. Surely in all your surveillance, you would have known that there were some nefarious activities going on. No one goes over to Brian's just to watch a fucking movie,"

"No. No, I never saw anyone else there except... Oh my God!"

"What? What is it?"

Lindsay shook her head, trying to dispel the other possibility from her mind. "Nevermind. I know that the sperm samples were Brian's,"

"Oh? How do you know?"

"Because Brian is the ultimate top. He would never let that little ingrate that lives there, fuck him,"

Melanie smiled in agreement with Lindsay, but she suddenly had her doubts. She had seen Brian and Justin out together on more than one occasion. And while Brian may have been wary of other people, he was always so relaxed and free around Justin. One would only have to look at the two men together, to know that their dynamic was not the norm for Brian Kinney. They were always kind toward and respectful of, each other; the trust between them was implicit, indicating that there was more to that short-lived relationship than the one she had developed over the years with Lindsay.

If anyone was going to top Brian Kinney, it would be Justin Taylor.

Melanie began to pray that, for once, her sudden suspicion was incorrect, and that the babies really were Brian's. From all she'd seen firsthand, and heard about Justin, he was the one blond whose bad side she didn't want to be on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian and Justin were relaxing on the sofa after getting home and having their dinner that evening, when someone started leaning on Justin's doorbell.

"Who the hell? I thought that shit was behind us," Justin said, getting up to answer the bell.

"Yes?"

"Mr Taylor, it's Jessica. Jessica Moretti. I'm not sure you remember me, but I really need to find Mr Kinney. I... I have to tell him something; it's really important! Please, do you know where he is? I've been all over town trying to find him!"

Neither man had seen the former intern in almost a year. Due to her involvement spreading the rumors about Justin, she had not been hired at Kinnetik once her internship was finished. Hitting the buzzer for the front door, Justin looked at Brian, confused. Brian shook his head and opened the door. She came into the room, looking around as if someone was after her.

"What is it, Jessica?" Brian asked, curious as to why she would be looking for him. He hadn't been happy that he couldn't keep her after the internship. She was a very good artist and well liked, but because of her part in unwittingly aiding the bitch, Laura, he felt he had to let her go.

"Mr Kinney, I'm sorry to bother you, Sir. But I'm so glad I found you. I was visiting a friend who just had a baby earlier today and well... you remember the blonde woman, your friend, who used to come by the office?" At Brian's nod she continued, "Well, she and another woman just had babies, too. They were talking about you and I'm not sure why they were saying this, but they said if the babies aren't yours, they are putting them up for adoption, because if you won't support them, they don't want them because that's the reason they had them. I know it's not my business, but I still feel really bad about what happened at Kinnetik, and I wanted you to know about this. I thought it might be important to you," She finished in a rush, relieved that she had found him.

"Did they say anything else?" Brian asked, furious, but very curious about this latest revelation.

"Just that if they are yours, they would make sure you paid enough child support to wipe out their debt. Then they started arguing about how the blonde woman was supposed to be the Brian Kinney expert, and that's when I left and came to find you." Turning to Justin, she said, "And Mr Taylor, while I'm here, I just want to say again how sorry I am for my involvement in the rumors about you while I was interning at Kinnetik."

Justin walked over, and put his arms around Brian. Looking at each other, they spoke with their eyes. Nodding at each other, Justin turned in Brian's arms and leaned against the taller man as Brian spoke.

"Thank you for finding me, Jessica. I'm not going to get into why, but I am glad I know about this now. Are you working?" Brian said to the nervous girl.

"I'm working at a grocery store. I had been working at another advertising agency, but it was so different than Kinnetik. It seemed like everyone was just out to get each other. Everyone was so spiteful and it was much too stressful; I just couldn't work like that. I went home and cried every night. I quit after two weeks,"

"Well, if you want a better job, I could use you in the Art Department," Justin told her.

"Really? You would hire me, after what I did?" At Justin's nod, she continued, "Thank you! That would be just wonderful, Mr. Taylor, and I promise, you won't have any trouble from me. I would really like to give two weeks notice at my job, though. Would that be alright?"

"That will be fine, Jessica, and call me Justin,"

"Thank you so much... Justin. Well, I'll see you in two weeks," Jessica said, smiling as she left Justin's apartment. Once Jessica had left, Justin sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands, trying to hold back his tears.

"What the fuck, Brian? They just did this for money?! And now they are just going to throw them away?!"

Brian couldn't stand the devastated look on his lover's face, knowing that the babies' mothers were doing the same thing to them that had been done to Justin by Craig. "I'm calling my lawyer. Don't worry, we'll take care of this. And don't forget, I recorded the conversation where Lindsay told me how they conceived the babies," Brian told the younger man.

Brian called his attorney, and explained what he knew about the babies, including telling him about the recording, and what Jessica had told him. He wanted papers drawn up so that Justin could get the babies, without a problem. The lawyer explained to Brian that if it was proven that Justin was the father, he would have to sign the termination of rights papers too in order for the children to be put up for adoption. If Lindsay and Melanie had already signed their rights away, and especially in light of how the children came to be, Justin would be able to legally take the babies as soon as they could leave the hospital. Brian was also told that Justin was under no obligation to tell the girls about the possibility of him being the father before they signed the papers.

The following morning, Brian and Justin headed to the hospital after calling Cynthia and telling her that they would probably be in later. Walking into the hospital room hand in hand, Brian and Justin just looked at the two women.

"Brian, this has nothing to do with Justin, so why did you bring him with you?" Lindsay asked snippily, glaring at Justin all the while.

"He's here because I want him here," Brian answered, giving nothing away as he laced his fingers with Justin's.

The doctor came into the room carrying the results of Brian's paternity tests, followed by the nurse, who had a clipboard with her. Brian had already asked the doctor to only bring the results of his test in, for now.

"So, I have the results of Mr Kinney's paternity test,"

"Well, tell us already," demanded Melanie.

"It appears that Mr Kinney is not the father of either of the babies," announced the doctor.

"You son of a bitch!" Melanie yelled, looking right at Brian, like this was all his fault. "Nurse, give us the papers,"

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" The nurse asked as she handed Melanie the clipboard.

"Yes, we're sure," Melanie answered as she and Lindsay signed the papers, giving both babies up for adoption. Handing the papers back to the nurse so she could witness and notarize the papers, Melanie turned to Brian, furious, as she sneered, "All that time wasted. I hope you're satisfied! This is all your fault!"

Going out to the nurses station, Justin asked for his papers. The doctor looked at the papers and handed them to Justin, "Congratulations?" the doctor said to the blond.

"What the HELL?! Brian..." Lindsay said plaintively, having followed both of the men out of the room. She was utterly shocked by what she was witnessing. Why had Justin asked the doctor for papers? And why was the doctor congratulating him? What papers was he talking about? Surely not...

Brian had noticed the play of questions and emotions flit across his former friend's face. It served Lindsay's ass right that all her plans were backfiring right before her eyes, and she had just signed over any power she may have had to stop it. "Yes, Lindsay. Justin is the father. Looks like you don't know me as well as you think you do. I would wish you and Melanie both well, but well... now I really don't give a shit what happens to the two of you. Sure hope you both like that cold, hard and lumpy bed you've made for yourselves." Then, turning his back as if the two women sharing the hospital room no longer existed, Brian asked, "So Doc, when will OUR babies be able to leave the hospital?"

"In three more days,"

"Can we hold them now?" Justin asked the doctor.

"Of course. Come with me, and I'll take you to the nursery now. They will need to put bands on the two of you, so you can be let into the nursery whenever you come,"

"Can we make sure that Lindsay and Melanie can't come and try to take them?" Brian asked.

"The papers they signed, giving them up, means they no longer have any rights to them," The doctor answered. "Because of the unusual circumstances, your lawyer called me this morning, Mr Kinney, just to be sure. Normally there is a waiting period, but in light of what you were told about the reason they wanted these children, and how the pregnancies happened, your lawyer has already filed papers with the court to permanently terminate Melanie Marcus' and Lindsay Peterson's parental rights immediately,"

Brian and Justin went into the nursery, and after washing their hands, walked over to the isolettes. Justin put each of his hands into the isolettes, touching the cheeks of his children.

"Don't worry, you two. I'm your Daddy and I'll always take care of you,"

Brian put his hands near each of the babies, and they each grabbed onto a finger. Smiling, he blinked back tears, already starting to fall in love with Justin's children.

"It's almost time for them to be fed, so you can do it if you would like," The nurse told the two men with a smile. Looking at each other, each of them picked up one of the babies and sat in the rocking chairs to feed them. Both men smiled as they looked down at Justin's children, each vowing to themselves that they would make sure these babies knew nothing but love. Brian didn't care that genetically they were not his; they belonged to the man he loved, and he wanted to be their father too.

Lindsay walked back into the hospital room she was sharing with her wife, shaking her head. Seeing the look on Lindsay's face, Melanie got concerned. "What is it, Linz? You look like someone just killed your puppy,"

"It's... it's... I don't fucking believe it. It can't be true!"

"Linz, you're scaring me. What the hell are you talking about?"

"That fucking blond piece of shit hustler! He's the father!"

"WHAT? Justin is the father?"

"That's what I just said. They just went down into the nursery to see the babies,"

"That motherfucking son-of-a-bitch! He is going to be so fucking sorry," Melanie yelled as she grabbed her robe, and put it on before leaving the the room and heading for the nursery to confront Brian and Justin.

The nurse at the desk had overheard the conversation and called ahead to the nursery. When Melanie arrived, she was met at the door by security and told that she was not allowed into the nursery and would be brought up on charges if she didn't return to her room immediately. Knowing that she had no choice, she left the area, vowing to herself that this was not over and she would find a way to make Brian Kinney pay for this!

Back in the room, she told Lindsay to get dressed. They were signing themselves out immediately. Furious and still in a state of shock, Lindsay obeyed Melanie, without question. Not only had she lost her child to that fucking blond, but she just lost her best friend, too. Somehow she knew in that moment, she had become her worst nightmare. She had just become as expendable as Michael had become to Brian. Well, unlike him, she wouldn't just roll over and take Brian's rejection up the ass! No, she would find her way back to him. If only she could find a way through that one fucking roadblock called Justin Taylor, she knew she could make Brian take her back.

"You ready, Linz?"

Outwardly calm, but panicked and still simmering on the inside, Lindsay nodded her head in the affirmative, a plan already forming in her mind. Yes, Brian would take her back, and no boy ass whore would stand in her way!    

CHAPTER 9

Later that night, Brian walked into Justin's apartment to find the younger man staring at the blank tv screen with tears in his eyes. Crossing over to him, Brian gathered the blond into his arms. It had been such an emotional day for both of them. Brian still couldn't wrap his brain around the depths of depravity to which Lindsay had sunk. The woman he formerly regarded as ‘Wendy' was truly gone.

And although he said he didn't give a shit about her anymore, it still hurt him that she had deliberately done this. He would have loved to blame this entire situation on Melanie. They were never really friends, so he would have expected her to strike out at him in some way. But deep within himself, Brian knew better than to believe that of her. There were just some lines he couldn't see her crossing without an enormous amount of pressure placed on her by the partner with whom she lived.

Well, now he could only hope that his life would return to some semblance of normalcy, with Michael and Lindsay no longer being a part of it. But right now, he had other more important matters to attend to, namely the upset blond currently snuggling into his arms.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

"I'm a father,"

"And is there something particularly wrong with that?" He felt Justin shrug, the action bumping into his ribs.

"Not so much that it's wrong, but... I'm a father, Brian. I never thought about being one; never even allowed myself to think about having a child, let alone two of them. What the hell am I supposed to do with them?"

Brian pulled Justin into him even further, hoping to ease the younger man's discomfiture. "Admittedly, our experiences with fathers are tainted, and limited to the extreme. So my instinct would be to do the opposite of what our fathers did, and show them all the love we can,"

"Craig was a good father, for the most part... well a good provider anyway. He would have occasional temper flare-ups, but that was considered ‘normal' within our set sometimes. The occasional smack or tossing of furniture never resulted in the police needing to be called, and Craig took it upon himself to enroll in anger management classes when he felt himself getting too out of control. It wasn't until I found out about his affair and he found out that I'm gay that things took a turn for the worse and everything went to hell,"

"Then follow the good examples and disregard the rest," Brian said. "We'll do fine, Justin; I have every faith that we'll do fine,"

"You're really going to stick around for this?" Justin asked, looking up into the hazel eyes he'd come to love. He didn't want Brian to feel trapped by what he was still trying to come to terms with. It would be a big adjustment to how they were used to living their lives. He didn't want Brian to come to resent him or the children later on. It was better to just cut his losses and move on now if this wasn't where Irish wanted to be. And Justin loved the man too much to let him shortchange his life based on some misguided notion of loyalty.

"As long as you want me, there isn't anywhere else I would rather be, Justin. You... and the babies, are mine to enjoy and protect. I'm not about to give you or them up based on those bitches and their schemes to entrap me. So you can just get all those notions of abandonment and entrapment out of that little blond head of yours right now. Instead, there are a few other things I would really like to speak with you about,"

Justin smiled at the man. All the while he had been sitting there thinking about what he was going to do. When Brian had dropped him off earlier, he wasn't really sure what to think. He had never let himself assume that Brian was in this for the long haul. Sure, things were great between them. Brian was relaxed around him, and he knew that the older man had feelings for him, just as he had them for Brian. Although they were always together, they had decided early on that if one of them thought this relationship- for lack of a better term- wasn't for them, they would split up without any hard feelings, while maintaining a solid friendship. But this was different.

Having children literally thrown into the mix, made everything different. The idea that those two bitches were prepared to toss his children away because they weren't Brian's hurt as much as it rankled. The babies didn't ask to be conceived. They didn't deserve such callous treatment from anyone! And Justin would see that they never received it either.

"Okay, so what do you want to talk to me about?"

Brian laughed. "Well first, names for them. We can't keep referring to the babies as ‘Boy' Taylor and ‘Girl' Taylor, so I was thinking..."

"What? YOU want to name them?"

"If that's not a problem for you. I mean, I know they're your children..."

"Stop that, Brian. You just said that they are yours, too. So that means they are not my children unless we're in an argument, and I'm trying to make a point," They both snickered at that, knowing already that there will be times when that it happens. Justin continued, "They are OURS. In fact, I think we should have the papers drawn up immediately to make them legally as much yours as they are mine, so that this particular conversation doesn't have to happen again,"

Brian nodded, giving Justin one of his brightest smiles. That was one of the things he had wanted to discuss with Justin. After calling his lawyer, he had gone to see him after dropping Justin back home. He had detailed for him everything that had happened at the hospital, letting the lawyer hear- in person- the conversation with Lindsay about how the babies were conceived, which Adam Donaldson had gotten transcribed by his secretary. Brian had also asked that certain changes be made to his personal effects, in case of his death. When it came time to add the children's names, that's when Brian realized that Justin hadn't picked out any.

"Actually, I already had the papers drawn up in case you felt that way, along with some other papers I signed for them, as well as for you,"

"Oh? So tell me what names you have picked out,"

"If you don't like them we can always change them, but..."

"Will you just spit it out already. I'm sure that I will love them. You are a great ad man, after all," Justin finished with a smile, noticing Brian's eyes sparkling.

"I had college funds set up for Tiffany Carolina Taylor and Christian Armani Taylor..."

Justin laughed. "I should have known that you would name our children after your favorite designers,"

"We can change them if you want," Brian answered, concerned that Justin thought he was being too presumptuous, naming the children without asking him.

Justin looked over at the uncertain countenance of the man he had been considering his partner for a while now. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that he was in love with Brian Kinney, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet and his mighty big heart in between. There was nothing about Brian that turned Justin off: from the sparkle in his eyes, to the passion with which he lived his life, to the way he thought, or the ferocious temper he displayed when a situation called for it. He loved his wicked and wry senses of humor in equal measure; the fact that Brian just ‘got him' without even trying; the way he thought things through and then followed through with his promises to clients and the people in his life, alike. Most of all, Justin just loved Brian with everything he had- not because of what the man had done for, and given him- but because throughout it all, Brian was real. He was a man with purpose and courage; a man that Justin was proud to call his lover and friend, and now, the other father to his children.

"I love the names, Brian. Precious, rare, and expensive. All the things our children will be. You've done extremely well, and I already predict that their names will suit their personalities. But I would like to make one tiny little change, if I may?"

"Okay," Brian answered, not sure what Justin wanted to change.

"I think that we should talk to the attorney about making a minor addition to their last names. Since we've already agreed that we're in this together, come what may, I propose adding their other father's last name behind ‘Taylor.' Besides the fact is that they may look like me, but they already have your demanding temperament. I mean, did you hear Tiffany yell when I had to switch her around to continue feeding her?"

Brian laughed. "Or Christian's protests when we were getting ready to leave? Yeah, I suppose he does have my lung capacity to get people to do what he wants already. We sure marched our asses back over there fast,"

"Yeah, we did," Justin smiled in humor and amazement. "This is some adventure we're embarking on, isn't it?"

"It is, but that brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about. I think it's time to look for a house,"

"Irish..."

"No. Hear me out, Azure. Please," At Justin's nod for him to continue, Brian said, "I don't want our children to grow up this close to the city. I did and... well, it wasn't something that I was proud to do. I know that you grew up in the suburbs. I want our children to have the opportunity for the best schools, and a good neighborhood. Although with the new mayor, crime is at a low, I still don't want them exposed to it anymore than they have to be. I just want them to be safe and happy children, for as long as they can be. We can still keep this building, since we own it and it will still save on the hotel fees when we have clients visiting from out of town.

"I also asked Ted for specs to begin a daycare at Kinnetik, so that we won't have to sacrifice much time with the babies as they grow up. I didn't tell them about Tiffany and Christian yet, but I wanted to know how we should proceed with the idea. From what Cynthia tells me, it would be a welcome change among the staff too, as many of the parents are working flex shifts, so that they can spend time with their kids after school before coming back into the office at about seven in the evenings to meet deadlines and such. If we open up the daycare, parents who work for us won't have to choose between being at work and being at home, especially the single parents. It's a win-win for everyone,"

"I can see you've thought this through. How long have you been thinking about this?"

"The daycare idea, I've been toying with for a while now. Seeing you with Tiffany and Christian just solidified the idea. As for the house, I've been thinking about it since last night. I knew as soon as Lindsay told me that she had gotten the sample from the loft upstairs, that they were your children. I haven't topped you up there yet,"

Justin detangled himself from Brian and stood up. Reaching down, he pulled the taller man up, pressing his body firmly to Brian's in the process. During their conversation about Tiffany and Christian and all the steps Brian had taken just this afternoon to protect and nurture them all, Justin felt himself falling deeper and deeper in love with the enigmatic brunet- the man who ruled Kinnetik with an iron fist in a velvet glove most of the time, but allowed Justin to be his true self all of the time. It was time Justin showed Brian just how much he loved and trusted him, in the place where their new adventure together truly began.

"I think it is time we rectify that lapse, Irish, don't you?" Leading Brian to the loft upstairs, Justin made sure that Brian topped him over and over again, until they both collapsed in an exhausted heap, ready to face whatever challenges their new life would bring.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Leaving the loft in a great mood the next morning, Brian and Justin are confronted by a still irate Melanie, standing there with her arms crossed, still fuming from the revelation the day before at the hospital. Glancing at each other, they turned their attention to the brunette lawyer, who had apparently been waiting for them.

"It's about fucking damned time you came out, Asshole! You are going to be so sorry that you did this. You intentionally tricked us, and you are not going to get away with it! I will make sure you pay for what you have done!" Melanie shouted at Brian.

"What exactly did I do? And how did I trick you? Your wife entered OUR LOFT, under false pretenses, I might add; stole something that clearly and in no possible way belonged to her, and used it to knock the two of you up so that you could bleed me dry. So how exactly do you plan on making me pay? Do you plan on suing me because I got fucked without your permission?" Brian asked caustically.

"You're going to be so fucking sorry! Everyone is going to know that you are a fucking hustler's bottom boy! Just wait until everyone on Liberty hears that ‘Brian Kinney, Ultimate Top' rolls over for a fucking rent boy! Your reputation will be shit!" Melanie shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Not that it's any of your fucking business, but my fiance and I are monogamous, so my prior reputation really doesn't matter. In fact, you were lucky you got the condoms when you did. If you had waited another couple of weeks, there wouldn't have been any. So you can go and tell anyone you want. I really don't give a flying fuck," Brian answered, pulling Justin to him and kissing the soft pink lips.

"Oh Melanie, just in case either you or your wife have any thoughts about having anything to do with our-  as in mine and Brian's- OUR children, you had better think again. Neither of you will have anything to do with them; we have already taken care of that. Both of you were willing to just throw them away when you found out that they wouldn't be the paychecks you were expecting them to be, so you are not going to get a chance now. As for the rest of your insinuations, accusations, and attempts of extortion, I think I can honestly speak for Brian as well as myself when I say, go fuck yourself on a diseased dildo. Have a nice day," Justin told the still fuming Melanie, wide smile pasted upon his face.

Turning away from Melanie, Brian and Justin got into the Jeep and headed to the hospital to feed their children before heading to Kinnetik. Once they were on their way Justin spoke, "Irish, when we get home tonight, I think we have a few things that we need to discuss,"

"Azure, I..."

"Not until we get home," Justin said, in a voice he knew would be obeyed.

"Yes, Sir," Brian uttered as he smirked, not taking umbrage with Justin's forceful tone. He figured that Justin was still annoyed with the confrontation they had just left back at the loft.

Melanie had balls to think that she could just show up and issue a couple of measly threats to cover up her and Lindsay's misdeeds. He couldn't help the mental snicker he had when viewing the shock which registered on Mel's face when he told her that he and Justin were only doing each other. No doubt she would run back and tell Lindsay, ensuring that another of Lindsay's powder-puff and fluff dreams of heteronormalcy will finally have been doused with a healthy and unalterable dose of reality.  

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile, Melanie was still fuming as she got into her car and headed home. Once there, she slammed into the house. "Lindsay, where the fuck are you?!" she yelled, wanting to take out her frustrations.

Hurrying into the livingroom, Lindsay looked into the furious face of her wife. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what the fuck happened. You and your stupid fucking ideas! Not only does your ‘perfect' Brian have the children, he is monogamous and he and that fucking hustler are getting married! And I wouldn't put it past either of them to try and sue us for support of those bastard kids! What the hell, they, or more precisely that fucking hustler, is already suing Michael, why not just add on another suit?!" Melanie continued with her rant. "We just had to have ‘Brian' and now because of some fucking fluke and misinformation, we're going to pay through the nose to support that fucking hustler's kids!"

"Wait, Mel... let's think about this rationally for a moment, Love. Remember, we signed our rights away when we decided to give the children up for adoption. Isn't there usually some waiting period before that's fully legal?"

"And there's the problem right there, Lindsay. We're past the three day period to regain our rights, without having to go to court to request they be reinstated. Add to that the fact we were in the presence of the doctor and nurse who advised us of the DNA findings, and asked us if we were positive we didn't want to retain our rights. We can't plead coercion, of any kind. In fact, if we try to take this further, Brian and Justin have grounds to have you arrested for breaking and entering, along with stealing the sperm- although that issue is still debatable in court.

"It doesn't help that the maid is a witness to the lie you told in order to gain entry to a building which no longer uses a key. How did you get in if you didn't know the code? That is just an example of what you'll be asked, if we try to fuck with them on this. Maybe the fact that we signed our rights away will keep them from asking for child support from us, but if we push it, it won't be what stops them from pressing charges against both of us," Mel told Lindsay, flopping down on the couch in exhaustion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm excited about seeing them this morning, Irish. Now that they have names and we are making plans that include them, it just seems more real," Justin announced smiling at Brian.

"I know what you mean. I always knew that if I had kids, I would want to be the one to raise them. I want to make sure they always know they are loved and wanted. This certainly isn't the way I would have picked to have my own children. But now that they are here, I can't wait until we can bring them home," Brian answered, with a smile of his own. Justin reached over and laced their fingers together, happy that he and Brian were together in this.

When they got home from Kinnetik that afternoon, having decided to take the afternoon off to visit with their children, Justin ushered Brian into his apartment. Brian went straight to the big chair, knowing that was the best place to talk. All morning he had been trying to figure out how to say what he was feeling, knowing exactly what Justin was referring to when he said they needed to talk. He had been hoping that Justin wasn't listening too closely, when he made that comment to Mel. Not that he was sorry he said it, but he had wanted to ask Justin first, not just blurt it out in front of that bitch, Melanie.

Taking off his jacket, tie, and shoes, Brian sat in the chair and waited for Justin to join him. Justin went over to the fridge, and taking out two waters he set them on the counter. Then he turned back to the appliance, looking inside and deciding on dinner. He knew Brian was nervous, sitting in the chair and waiting. Finally after having stalled as long as he could, Justin took off his jacket, tie, and shoes, and joined his lover in the chair.

"Well Irish, I suppose you were hoping that I missed that comment you made to Melanie this morning. I didn't,"

"Azure, I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that. I really did want to ask you first," Brian answered, lowering his eyes.

"What was it you wanted to ask me? Because if that was your idea of a proposal, I have to tell you, it really sucked,"

"First, I wanted to tell you that I love you; I have for a long time. And well, I wanted to ask you, if you would do me the honor of marrying me. I think our children deserve to have parents who are married," Brian answered, biting his bottom lip in a way he knew drove Justin crazy.

Smiling a blinding smile, Justin replied with tears misting his eyes, "I love you too, Irish, and yes I would love to be your husband," Justin buried his face in Brian's chest, practically sobbing against him. This was the life he wanted; the life he wanted with Brian, and for Brian. Never in his wildest dreams could he remember ever thinking this feeling was even possible.

"Azure, what is it? What's wrong?" Brian was getting very concerned, he couldn't understand why Justin seemed so upset.

"I'm sorry, Irish. All day long I've been thinking about how, a year ago, I was homeless and starving. And now I'm a father of two, who is going to be married to the man who saved my life in so many ways, more than just the physical, and who I love more than anything. It just doesn't seem real.  

"Well it is real. We are in love, we have our children and we're going to be married. You should be smiling and happy, and calling Daphne and your mom and telling them,"

"OH SHIT, my mom! We need to go and tell her about the babies, before she finds out some other way," Justin said, climbing out of the chair and pulling on Brian's hand to get him up.

"So call her and tell her,"

"Brian, this is not something I can just call her and tell her. We have to go over there and tell her,"

"We? Why we? They are your babies," Brian smirked, thinking back to Justin's comment last night about proving points to each other. He almost laughed aloud at the incredulous look on Justin's face.

"First of all, Irish, they are OUR babies. Second, those bitches were trying to have YOUR babies, not mine. Third, we are engaged. Therefore, you are coming with me,"

"Can we at least get changed before we go?" Brian asked, stalling for time.

"Hurry up! I want to get over there, and then go say goodnight to the babies and tell them that their daddies are going to be married," Justin said with a smile, making Brian just as excited to get going and spread the good news, even though he was a little worried how Jen would take the news about being an instant grandmother.

In the Jeep heading to Jen's, it was decided that they would start off with the news about being engaged and then they would inform her that she was the grandmother of two. Once they were parked outside Jen's condo Brian asked again if Justin was sure that he needed to be there.

"Irish, we are together, in everything. You know my mother loves you. What are you so worried about?"

"I don't know, Azure. I just don't want her to be upset by all of this. She has been so great about everything; I just hate to disappoint her,"

"Irish, it's not like you knocked up your teenage girlfriend. She is getting grandchildren. Isn't that supposed to make women happy?"

Brian's phone rings and he answers without looking at who is calling. "Kinney,"

"I put on a pot of coffee when I saw you two pull up. Are you coming in or should I bring it out to you?"

Brian started laughing and hung up the phone. "Well, Azure, I guess we'd better get inside. That was your mom; the coffee is ready,"

Walking around to Justin's door, Brian took his hand and threaded their fingers together. As they made the short trek up the walkway, Jennifer was standing and waiting with a huge smile on her face. Taking a seat on the sofa, they both reached for coffee that was now waiting on the coffee table.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see the two of you, but it looks like you are here for a reason. Would you please tell me already? The nervous looks on your faces are getting me worried,"

"Well, Mom, Brian asked me to marry him,"

"That's wonderful, Honey... Isn't it?"

"Yes, Mom, that part is wonderful,"

"Okay, then what's wrong? You're scaring me, Justin. You two are okay, right?"

"Oh God, Mom, I'm sorry. Yes. YES, we're both fine. It's not that, it's... well..." Justin started, not really knowing how to get to the point. He looked at Brian, hoping he had an idea of how to broach the subject.

"Jen, how do you feel about being a grandmother?" Brian asked directly, figuring it was better to just get it out in the open.

"Huh... um... how?" was the only response from Jen, who was looking back and forth between the two men, totally confused by the question.

Justin just looked at Brian, and shook his head. "Mom, I'll explain. Just let me get through this before you say anything, okay?" Jen just nodded, more confused than anything else. "Lindsay and Melanie wanted Brian to father children for them. He refused many times; telling them that if he ever had children, he would be the one to raise them. Finally they seemed to drop the idea, or at least we thought they did, because they stopped asking. We saw that they were both pregnant, and assumed that they had done as he suggested, and went to a sperm bank. One of the reasons they had given for wanting him to be the father, was that they wanted the children to be related. He told them they could do that at a sperm bank, too. So the babies were born two days ago.

Lindsay called Brian to come to the hospital and when he got there, she told him that the babies were his. He demanded a paternity test. It showed that the babies were not Brian's. Well, he had called me down to the hospital when he saw the babies, and without telling Lindsay and Melanie, I was also tested. They're mine. So, in short, you are the grandmother of two beautiful babies," Justin told his mother, looking at her from underneath his lashes.

"But... I don't understand. How did this happen? You didn't go to a sperm bank, did you, Justin?" Jen asked, possibly even more confused than she had been before.

"NO, of course I didn't," Justin answered, looking at Brian, silently asking for help.

"Jen, this is how it happened, according to Lindsay..." Brian then proceeded to give Jen the details of how Lindsay went to the loft, and stole the sperm to impregnate the two of them.

"Oh my God! And now those two bitches are going to raise my grandchildren?!" Jenn was incandescent with rage. Justin didn't think he'd ever seen his mother so angry.

"No, Mom," Justin was quick to reassure her. "In fact, when they found out that Brian wasn't the father, they signed papers giving up all rights to the babies. They wanted to put them up for adoption, since Brian wasn't going to provide financial support for children that are not his. Mel and Lindsay found out, after they signed the papers, that they are my children. So Brian and I are going to raise them,"

"I have so many questions; I don't know where to start. Where are they? What are their names? How big are they? When can I see them?" Jen rapidly fired off her questions to them, already fidgeting in anxiousness and excitement. She was still pissed, but she wanted to see her grandchildren more.

"Still at the hospital. Tiffany Carolina Taylor-Kinney and Christian Armani Taylor-Kinney. Six pounds ten ounces, nineteen inches and seven pounds six ounces, twenty inches. Whenever you want to. Anything else?" Brian asked.

"I love the names, especially the last names. When are they coming home?"

"Tomorrow night. Which means we need to go get everything we need for them tomorrow, because we have nothing. And another thing, Mom. We want to get a house and need you to check and see if you have any listings. We have made a list of what we want in a house, and really want to start looking right away. We don't want to wait until they are moving around, and then have to rush to find something suitable," Justin explained, handing Jen a list of specs for the kind of house they were looking for.

"Don't you two need to work tomorrow?" Jen asked.

"We took the day off, since telling you was paramount to our continued survival upon earth," Brian said wryly.

"Will you let me do this for you? I'm off tomorrow and I would love to get Christian and Tiffany's things for you,"

Justin and Brian looked at each other, communicating with their eyes. "Okay, we do have some things we need to do so that we can stay home for a couple of days with the babies," Brian told her, handing her his credit card, the code for the loft building, and a master key to the apartments. "If you have any problems using the card, have them call Ted,"

Jen took the card, code, and key, not wanting to argue, even though she didn't plan on using the card. "Well, for now I think we all need to get going with all that needs to be done. I'll meet you two tomorrow at your place. I have more questions but they will wait. But just so you know, I'm thrilled to be a grandmother," Jennifer told them, kissing them both goodbye.

As they left Jen's house, they heard her on the phone. "Harriet, you're never going to believe what's happening. I'M A GRANDMOTHER OF TWO! Oh my God, I have to get shopping! Are you free for the day tomorrow?"

Brian and Justin smiled at each other as they closed the door behind their departure. "Well, Azure, that went a lot better than I expected. But, I have no doubt that between Harriet and Jen, we'll be flat broke by tomorrow night,"

Justin laughed. "Me too. I hope you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because if I remember my mom's shopping habits, that's all we'll be able to afford for awhile. I just wonder what else she wants to ask us. Well, we better get whatever we can done tomorrow, so that maybe we can take off the next couple of days and get used to being parents,"

Brian noticed that Justin was looking nervous on the way to Kinnetik the next morning and reached over to take his hand. Justin smiled and squeezed his fiance's hand. "Not to make you any more nervous, Azure, but we need to tell Cynthia and Daphne as soon as we get there. And we need to get Ted to put Tiffany and Christian on the insurance. Also, what do you think about having Ted and Cynthia and Emmett and Daphne as Godparents for them?"

Smiling, Justin answered, "I think that is perfect and also the safest thing to do, because it will keep them from bitching too much about not being told before now. I know that Deb is on a day-cation with Carl but if Vic's around, he should be told today too,"

"That's what I was thinking, too. So we'll invite them all to the office. There's a lot of plans to be made, starting with the daycare,"

As expected, Vic, Cynthia, Daphne, and Emmett were thrilled. Ted nearly passed out at the news, and was no less pissed at the Muncher Faction- as he'd taken to calling them- but extremely happy for Brian and Justin. Tiffany and Christian would probably be the closest thing he would get to having a family of his own, so his heart was filled with gratitude that Brian would honor him this way. He would make sure that the Taylor-Kinney family had every financial advantage he could find for them. Brian told him and Cynthia to start work on the day care for the Kinnetik staff immediately. He wanted highly qualified staff, including teachers- both general education and special needs- a social worker and a school nurse. Brian had always believed that it was never too early to start learning, and if he applied that theory to his children, his staff would be afforded the same opportunities.

Emmett would provide lunches and snacks for the entire Kinnetik staff as well as meals the children would love. He would oversee that personally, until such time as he and Vic could find suitable staff to take over those duties. In the meantime, they would hire outside help for the store. Ted had looked into the budget and Kinnetik was more than able to accommodate all of Brian and Justin's stringent requirements. The talk had turned to possibly making Kinnetik into a corporation since Vic and Emmett would be hiring staff of their own and would need to extend benefits to their full-time employees. The unique philosophy of Kinnetik was that not only full-time employees had full benefits including medical, vision, and dental, but part-time employees did as well. So teaming up and growing their respective businesses in the process was a win-win for everyone involved.  

Around seven that evening, in the company of a newly-crowned Grandmom Jen, honorary Grandmothers, Deb and Harriet, and Auntie Molly, they all arrived at the hospital. Deb, Carl, and Ben, along with Ben's new beau, joined them after being filled in on all of the events of the past few days. It took Carl and Ben to keep Debbie from marching over to Mel and Lindsay's house, to use one bitch to beat the other bitch- her exact words! As always, Deb's colorful words and euphemisms were both a delight and educational for Harriet, Jen, and Molly, who laughed hysterically at Deb's threats of bodily harm to the Muncher Faction.

Brian and Justin went into the nursery to hold them up to the windows for their family to see, and to tell the babies that their fathers were going to be married. Tiffany and Christian didn't seem to care, but the nurses had tears in their eyes and were happily congratulating the new daddies, who had become favorites amongst the hospital staff within a relatively short time. The family continued to laud about the new era within their dynamic for them all with exuberance. Their love, respect, and commitment to preserving and protecting each other was renewed, and with Molly, Jen, and Harriet gained. Deb had officially embraced the three ladies as ‘one of them.'

So, whereas the family had lost three members in Mel, Michael, and Lindsay, they still felt no lack among them. And no one was more pleased about it than the two men whose lives were most changed by the advent of two little blond bundles. Brian and Justin kissed over their children's heads, wishing that the peace and contentment they now felt would last for a lifetime.

Michael headed into Woody's for his daily fix of booze. He'd spent most of the past two days at the Diner. His mother, if anyone could call her that, was once again off work. She was having a series of day-dates with Carl, and according to rumors, wouldn't be back at the Diner until tomorrow afternoon. Kiki refused to wait on him, so they sent a newbie who was less than hospitable with him, and even less forthcoming about where he could find Debbie.

Michael was told by the waiter that he'd already been warned about his tendency to try gleaning information that was really none of his business. He added that the self-preservation of keeping his job was more important to him, than what Michael demanded to know about his mother. It seemed that Liberty Avenue had closed ranks around Debbie and the people he used to consider his family. It was becoming more and more apparent that Michael was officially shut out.

Yesterday, Michael encountered yet another issue with his mother not being at work, where he felt she belonged. Under the watchful eyes of Kiki, Michael had to actually pay for his meals and drinks, just like everybody else. Kiki told him that the Diner was for paying customers only, not loitering; that if he wasn't going to eat or drink, he had to move along to make room for others who were. So, because Michael had nowhere to go unless it was back to his motel room, he chose to sit there, ordering every half hour so Kiki couldn't kick him out, while he waited to see if any of the others would show up. They did, after he'd been there for about three hours, but they might as well not have with the way he was being ignored.

Vic, Emmett, Ted, and Ben had come in with three newcomers. They were greeted warmly by Kiki and some of the other staff, including the new guy. Apparently, Vic and Rodney were hiring Emmett to plan their anniversary dinner. In addition to running the furniture store with Vic, Emmett and Darren had started a party planning business. It was still on a small scale, but they were hoping to grow. Ted was doing the budget for the new building, and he was now dating Blake again- another twink Michael really couldn't stand. As for Emmett, he was hugged up with some hunk, who looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember from where. That was until he overheard his uncle's boyfriend, ask about the man about his team.

"So any luck with you guys making it to the big show this year, Drew? Although Vic isn't into football, I'm actually looking forward to the season. Training camp starts in a week, right?"

"Yeah. It's going to be a trial and a relief, Rodney. After last season, the injured list has been cut down considerably, and now that David Cameron has moved back to Pittsburgh, that should help. He and his partner are both in sports medicine, and have been hired full-time by the team. Old Duffy retired, and suggested that the higher ups do whatever they can to secure Cameron and Estes. Whereas David is the chiropractor, Sean works with everything else. I hear they are also bringing one of their neuro friends along, too. That said, our special teams should be back in business and in great shape for the season. I don't know about the big show, but that's always the ultimate goal."

"Don't you just love it when he talks football?" Emmett gushed. "How long have David and Sean been together? I remember when Dr. Dave was dating ‘he who shall remain nameless.' My God, what a mismatch; I don't know how he did it. Hell Ben, I don't know how you did it!"

Ben smiled at Emmett, thinking of how many days he asked himself the same thing. "Alas, the question I've always asked myself is why, but the how is actually pretty easy to answer. Meditation. Lots and lots of meditation. But John and I are having a better time of it."

"Yeah, we are," the smooth tenor of John Bates spoke. He was a fellow Literature professor at the college, where Ben taught.

He and Ben had known each other for a number of years, having been roommates at Penn State. Ironically, it was John who had tried to talk Ben out of being tied permanently to Michael. Not because he wanted Ben for himself, but because he could see that Michael didn't really want Ben as he ought to. To Michael Novotny, marriage was a way to lord it over all his friends and family that he was better than them, despite the fact that all of them had been to college, had lucrative careers and were- if not happy- then at least content with their lots in life. John had no doubt that Ben was just a placeholder for the one Michael really wanted, and had warned his friend of what he was getting himself into.

John also knew Brian Kinney, and had defended the man to Ben for many years about his friendship with Michael. It was then that Ben had began to open his eyes to his ex-husband's many faults, and started to look for a way out of the mess he'd created by being willfully blind. The lawsuit from Justin Taylor was the last straw for Ben. For John's part, he couldn't have been happier that Ben was finally putting his own happiness ahead of Michael's, for a change. The two had only officially been together for three months. And although they were taking things slow, neither one was sorry that they had moved things from platonic to romantic. "Ben is a good catch and I just got lucky."

The guys all awwed as the blush creeped up Ben's cheeks. But the screech from the end of the table, disturbed the sweet peace each couple had been enjoying. "I knew it! I knew you were fucking him!" Michael screamed.

"Not until recently, I wasn't. But why should that matter? You and I certainly weren't fucking," Ben said honestly, having just noticed Michael sitting at the counter of the Diner at all.

"Because you kept on with the we're just friends bullshit! I should have known you were lying, especially about all those faculty meetings! You're as dirty a whore as..."

"Say one disparaging comment about Justin, and I swear to God I will punch you in the mouth," Emmett gritted out.

"I can't believe you are still taking that whore's side instead of min... OW!! Emmett, what the fuck?!!!"

"You were warned! You still haven't learned your lesson about running your mouth, have you Michael?" Ted yelled as he moved to stand by Emmett's side, shielding Ben from Michael's view. "It's not enough that you lost everything, but you have to take away everyone's peace of mind, too. And for the record, you reek!!"

"He should, Ted. No amount of coffee or soap could effectively cover the smell of booze, you know that. It's coming through his pores. Plus, I would bet that he's sniffing, too," Blake offered, still seated in the booth with the others. Although he had been a meth head, he had picked himself up after hitting his ‘rock bottom' and gotten clean a little over two years ago. He had recently graduated from college with a double master's in Social work and Psychology, and was currently seeking employment that would allow him to support himself. "The veins on the surface of his nose are telling the story. So what is it? Coke or Black Tar?"

"Shut the fuck up, you tweaked-out Twinkie! You don't know shit!" Michael screamed before he whined and clutched his jaw again.

"I know enough to know a substance abuser when I see one. A word of advice Michael: check into rehab before your mother sees you. You seriously need detox."

"Fuck you!" Michael spat before he looked around the table. "Fuck all of you! You're dead to me," he said, as he moved towards the door in anger and in tears.

As Ted and Em resumed their seats, Ted asked, "You think he's going to be okay?"

Blake shook his head. "Honestly, no. Michael isn't built for the addictions he's fighting. Black Tar heroin alone is hard as hell to fight. Heroin goes straight into the brain, unlike meth and coke which, even though sniffed or smoked, goes through your system before dulling your senses. All types of heroin are that way, whether sniffed or taken intravenously. Michael was coddled and has never seen the real ugly side of life. Even Brian, a functional addict- at least in some way- was better off than Michael, because he knew the score in the streets. Hell Ted, even you were better off dealing with Meth than Michael is, and you were probably the least prepared for the realities associated with getting high. But you also know that you can only offer the solution; you can't fix the problem. And Michael is his own problem."

They all sat there, each absorbed in their own thoughts as Michael looked in through the Diner window at them. He'd heard what Blake said about addiction, and him being his own problem. But what the fuck did that twink know? Michael wasn't an addict; he just needed the stress relief a good high could give him so that he could sleep again. Fucking Justin Taylor! Now HE was the fucking problem! He needed to concentrate on getting rid of that blond hustler, so that he could reclaim his life. He would find a way tomorrow, but for now he needed a drink.

Brian's former dealer had passed him just then, and Michael bought a twenty-dollar bag of the white powder he'd been missing like a long lost friend. Walking into Woody's, he headed to the bathroom and opened up the bag, then poured a little of the contents onto the back of his hand. Looking at it, he contemplated Blake's words again, noticing how the crystals called to him. Something inside of him was telling him to throw it away, but fuck it! He'd just spent twenty dollars on it and he couldn't return it.

That would be like trying to return used underwear.

Michael laughed at the imagery that thought created in his mind. So shrugging his shoulder, he decided that he might as well make good on his purchase. Putting his hand up to his nose, he snorted the powder, enjoying the lethargic feeling beginning to suffuse his body. He preferred to feel this rather than all the anger and pain he'd been carrying, and all because of the advent of a whore who'd caught the eye of the man he most loved in the world. A man who should be his, and would be; he'd make sure of that!

Going back out to the bar, Michael ordered a double Beam while scouting out the selection of men. He needed to get fucked! Getting high always increased his sex drive, and he was determined that he wouldn't spend another night like the previous one, with only his right hand for company. He smiled at the bear, looking at him from the corner, motioning for him to come and join him for a drink. He did and three hours later, Michael wasn't feeling any pain. The bear, whose name Michael didn't get, took him back to Michael's room and upon Michael's explicit, drugged-up instructions, roughly fucked him. After the fifth coupling, Michael finally passed out, never hearing the trick leave.

Waking up the next morning- or what he assumed to be the next morning- was a trial, but he had to. His body was sore as fuck, and the bed was wet. He knew instantly that he'd never made it to the bathroom during the night. And with all the liquor he'd consumed, there was only one answer for what had happened as he slept. Carefully alighting from the bed, Michael walked at a snail's pace over to the bathroom in the corner of the room.

Turning on the shower, he stepped in, wondering why the hell he felt as if he'd been hit by a thousand trucks. Soaping himself carefully, he noticed the bruises covering his torso and legs, even while the water stung his back as if he had lashes across them. Michael looked as if he'd been on a battlefield, instead of alone inside the no-tell motel room with a pissy mattress, and a battered body. Drying himself off, Michael walked to the door of the room and opened it. Looking at the ground, he was happy to see the morning paper.

He knew that he needed to find somewhere permanent to live, now that it was more than obvious he and Ben would never reconcile. Michael wasn't sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, he was happy because that meant when Brian finally dumped the twink, he could pursue his dream of being Mrs. Brian Kinney. But on the other hand, it was like a slap in the face that Ben had moved on, while he couldn't. He shook himself of that thought, and decided to get out of the room.

Michael decided to take a look at the latest edition of Pittsburgh OUT, while having his coffee at the coffee shop right next to the motel. Michael finally noticed that somewhere along the line, he had lost time. It had actually been two days since he'd last set foot out of his room, instead of the ‘yesterday' he had thought in his head. He shrugged off his mental blip, thinking that since he had pissed off just about everyone, it didn't matter. He would stop in and see his mother later, since she should be back to work.

And maybe for a change, she would finally see reason and understand that I am the wronged party.

He had started reading the paper, so that perhaps he wouldn't look so pathetic, always having to eat alone. After the confrontation at the diner yesterday, he refused to go there when he knew there was a good possibility of running into them. A cooling off period was definitely needed. Opening it up to what was essentially the town gossip page, he saw listed under the section of Birth Announcements: Justin Taylor and Brian Kinney welcome home their children, Christian Armani Taylor-Kinney and Tiffany Carolina Taylor-Kinney. Along with the announcement was a picture of Brian and Justin, each holding a baby.

Just looking at the babies, anyone could see that Justin was the father. "That fucking gold-digging hustler!" Michael yelled as he shoved away his coffee and stormed out of the place. Angrily clutching the paper in his hands, he stormed down the street towards his former store, trying to figure out what he could do to get back at that fucking hustler for this. The former Red Cape Comics was always the place where Michael's mind would clear, even back when it had belonged to Buzzy. As he got near it he saw a delivery truck from Taylor Electronics go by.

He fished his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing a number he knew he would never in a million years forget. "Kinney here... or not here, since you have to leave a message. Go to it..."

"Brian!!! Briannnnnnn, WHAT THE FUCK has that fucking twink been doing behind your back?! He's a fucking father?! Oh I KNEW he'd been playing you! But don't worry. I'll be there for you Brian. I know you're hurt by Justin's betrayal, but I'll make you feel better. Call me."

Then he called Lindsay, but received no answer. The same went for Melanie. He called Kinnetik and got hung-up on by that bitch, Cynthia, as soon as she heard his voice. He would make sure she was fired when Brian called him back! He was tired of being disrespected by Brian's staff.

And the more he thought about it, the more he knew just how he was going to get back at the most disrespectful of them all!

He thought about that truck again. Could that ‘Taylor' really be related to the twink? He remembered that Lindsay had said Justin was from the same country club set she was born into. No wonder he thought he was better than everybody! He probably even lorded it over Brian, since his best friend was considered working class poor, when they were growing up.

Sure Brian had risen above it, but as his mom taught him, one never forgets their roots. What if Justin is related to the owner of the electronics store? He remembered hearing Emmett say that the twink got kicked out because he was gay. He wondered what his father would think of being the grandfather of his gay son's bastards. Yes, that's perfect, he thought to himself as stopped inside the post office near his former store to purchase an envelope and a stamp.

Looking through his mail, Craig saw a handwritten envelope with no return address. Opening the envelope, he pulled out a newspaper article and a handwritten note. The note, written in childish scrawl, said Look at what your disgusting spawn has done now! Taking out the article, Craig felt nothing but fury looking at the picture of Justin and Brian, holding their children, right before he crumpled up the paper.

"What the fuck is this shit?!"

Catherine came running in when she heard her husband yelling. "What is it, Craig?" she asked.

In answer, he throws the crumpled up article at her. "Did you know about this?!"

"Why would I have known anything about it? And how did you get this?"

"Someone sent it to me; there was no return address. Probably the fucking faggots, trying to rub my nose in their disgusting lifestyle," he muttered before slamming his hand down on the desk. "Well they are NOT going to get away with this! I'm calling my lawyer to see what I can do about it!"

"Craig, there is nothing you can do,"

"There has to be something!" He stilled for a moment before making his big pronouncement, smiling evilly in his wife's direction. "I'll take those children away from those faithless faggots, and then we will raise them the right way,"

"We who? I am NOT going to be raising any more kids. I'm done with that bullshit!"

Catherine didn't like children at all. The only reason she had the one she did was because by the time she realized she was pregnant, it was too late to do anything about it. She certainly wasn't willing to raise someone else's kids, just because Craig  got a wild hair up his ass and wanted to take them away from his son. If he did manage to somehow get them, he would just have another bill on his hands because she would divorce his ass and demand alimony!

"So I'm supposed to leave my grandchildren- one of whom is a boy- in the hands of those deviants?!"

"Craig, you need to make up your fucking mind! First, you don't have a son named Justin Taylor, which if we're being honest here, you really don't. But now that there are children involved, you do. Unless..." She laughed bitterly with her realization. "So you are thinking solely of child support, are you? You're planning to take Justin's children away from him, but fix it so he'll still have to pay you support? On what grounds?"

"Catherine, the idea has merit. Although that is not my main goal..."

"No, your main goal is to ruin Justin's life like you are claiming he ruined yours, which he didn't! You threw him out to fend for himself because he was gay, But most of all, you tossed him to the curb because he knew you were cheating on Jennifer with me! He would have ruined your Rich Man fantasy: you know- the wife and the mistress with 2.5 kids. And I let you do that to him, because I thought you were different; thought that you really loved me.

But I'm getting a much clearer picture of you and your motives, and I have to admit that I am a poor judge of character where men like you are concerned. I can't understand how I could have married a man so fucking spiteful! If I had known that you were more avaricious than even Laura or myself, I wouldn't have chained myself to you for better or worse. I may be a whore, Craig- I'll own that- but I'm an honest one. And yes, I've used my daughter for personal gain, but she was old enough to understand the whats, whys, and wherefores.

What you are planning on doing is not only greedy and spiteful; it's downright atrocious! If it was against the law, I would suggest that you be locked under the fucking jail to keep your venom contained. You are probably the most despicable human... No, I won't insult humans that way... You are the most misguided, hateful creature to ever walk the face of the earth. I hope the God you're always using to suit your own ends forgives you, because if you're hellbent on doing this thing, I sure as fuck WON'T!!"

Craig sat there stunned by Catherine's outburst. Those were happening more and more lately, and were really unacceptable! If she wouldn't fall in line with his plans for Justin's children, then she needed to be replaced. But time was of the essence, and he needed to file the papers immediately if he was going to take custody of those children. He would have his attorney file temporary restraining orders until the court date, while also ordering Justin to support his brats.

That money would go a long way in securing Catherine's replacement. Hell, Laura might even be willing to side with him on this. He could marry her, since she wasn't a blood relation. Besides, she was better than her mother in bed; her pussy was young, fresh, and still tight, no matter how many other dicks it entertained. Yeah... he just had to stay married to the bitch, who had one foot out the door already, long enough to secure his meal tickets, and then Catherine could go fuck herself.

Craig chuckled at the thought of Catherine's shock when he took Laura for his wife, while ditching the bitch who was making his life miserable. Justice would definitely be served on all sides. But first it was time to put in a call to an old friend. "Hello. Craig Taylor for Judge Roy Russo please..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Brian was in his office, waiting for Daphne and Justin to return with lunch when Cynthia buzzed him. Lindsay was there asking to see him, and saying it was very important that she speak with him immediately. Knowing this was probably nothing he wanted to hear, but nevertheless curious, Brian opened his door. Glancing back down the hall, Lindsay entered. She reached for him, but he stepped back behind his desk and stood there, waiting for her to speak.

"What is it, Lindsay? Make it quick, I'm busy,"

"Brian, please don't be like this. I... I just need to talk to you. I've been thinking. I know Mel and I signed papers giving up the babies because they aren't yours, but I've been thinking it over and I came up with a solution that would benefit both you and I,"

"Really? And that would be...?"

"Well, Mel really doesn't want her child, and well, Justin is so young, and really, his past is not what you would want for a child," Lindsay rambled, before taking a deep breath, and continuing conspiratorily. "True, he has a job, but technically you're still the one who is supporting him. But if you fire him, he'll once again be peddling his ass for a quick buck. So I was thinking, since you are listed as a parent, you could go to court and take them away from Justin, using his past as a hustler as the reason. And then you and I could raise them together," Lindsay smiled and nodded, as if she had come up with the perfect solution, and he should just bow to her wishes and agree to do what she wanted.

When Mel told her of the run-in with Brian and Justin earlier that morning, at first Lindsay was furious. How dare Brian enter into any relationship- monogamous or not- without talking it over with her first?! It was unheard of; it was unspeakable; it was downright wrong! As she listened to Melanie outline their next plan of attack on Brian and Justin's lives, Lindsay decided that it was time for her to make her own demands of Brian. She could always plead that she was forced to sign away her rights, citing emotional abuse from her overbearing partner. That would take Mel out of the equation entirely, leaving her pathway to Brian clear.

But if Brian was willing to discard Justin and take both of the kids with him, he would not only need help raising them, but he would need a mother-figure for them since he still had to work to make a decent living. Lindsay immediately discarded the notion of a nanny, since she was raised in that kind of environment. She still found it distasteful, not to mention wasteful. Their money could be spending on the better things: like a huge manor house in which to raise the children and for Brian to come home to; a fine car to drive herself and the children around in, of course they would need the latest designer wardrobe, since Brian didn't believe in buying anything but the best. She wanted that kind of life.

She was raised to live that kind of life... and no fucking blond boy ass should be the cause of her NOT getting that life!

Brian nodded, pulling his lips into his mouth. "So, let me be sure I'm getting all of this right. You think I should take the children away from Justin, their biological father, because of his past. Mel doesn't want her child anyway, so she doesn't matter. And you think you and I should raise the children together, as a couple, maybe even get married so it would look even better when we go to court. Do I have all of that right?"

"Yes, Brian, oh yes! See? I knew you would agree that the children would be so much better off with us. They could be raised in a traditional home. Plus with your career and financial stability, we- I mean they- would never want for anything. I knew you would understand," Lindsay said, standing up and walking toward Brian, arms outstretched.

Backing away, Brian yelled, "You conniving, fucking cunt! I would cut off my dick before marrying you! The person that I am madly in love with, and that I AM going to marry, is JUSTIN. Did you honestly think I would go along with what you are suggesting? Are you out of your fucking mind?! Furthermore, I wonder how your wife is going to feel about what you are suggesting,"

"She won't believe you; you have no proof! You need to seriously reconsider what I'm offering, Brian. That fucking whore is going to walk out on you, and leave you with his two bastards to raise! Then what are you going to do?!" Lindsay screamed, furious that he was refusing to even consider what she was offering.

"Get the fuck out of my office, and out of this building, and out of my life! If you ever try to come back here, I will file a restraining order. GET. OUT. NOW!" Brian bellowed.

"You'll be sorry, Brian. Mark my words, you'll be fucking sorry! I'll make it my life's mission to ruin you if you don't give me what I want! Kinnetik will be a thing of the past. I wonder if your whore will still stay with you then!" Lindsay spat as she flounced towards the door of his office. Opening the door, she saw Justin, Daphne, and Cynthia, all standing there glaring at her, before she rushed past them as if her ass was on fire.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Walking into Brian's office, Justin turned towards the two women, "Leave us alone for now," he announced, looking at the two women as he walked into Brian's office, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Brian was standing in front of his desk, just staring. Walking over to his lover, Justin took Brian's hand and led him to the sofa.

"Sit with me, Irish," Justin told the older man, wrapping his arms around him.

Brian just shook his head, incredulous of what had just happened with the woman he had considered a friend for so long. "Did you hear any of that?" he asked Justin.

"The first thing we heard was ‘she won't believe you'. What happened before that?"

Brian took out his phone, "Here. I recorded the whole thing. I had a bad feeling when she showed up seemingly out of the blue, right after you left. It was like she was waiting for an opportunity, when you wouldn't be here. So I turned the recorder on before I opened the door to let her in."

"Good thinking," Justin answered as he started the recording. Listening to everything that had been said, Justin sat there fuming, but he knew that Brian needed him to be strong. The man he loved had been betrayed again, by one of his oldest friends.

After Justin listened to the rest of the recording, he kissed Brian softly and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make a copy, and send it to Mel. I don't give a damn about the bitch, but at least I can get some satisfaction for myself, and cause some major trouble for the blond cunt,"

Make a copy for the lawyer, too. I don't want either of them to be able to get anywhere near Tiffany and Christian. In fact, I have an idea of my own," Pulling out his cell phone, Justin made a call that no one would ever expect, but was no less effective. Winking at Brian just as he ended the call, he murmured, "Sometimes, it pays to be a WASP," Then he chuckled at his still silent partner.

Kneeling between Brian's legs, Justin reached for his zipper. Brian moved his hips forward and laid his head on the back of the sofa, letting Justin's mouth soothe him as only he could. When Brian was relaxed, Justin went out and asked Cynthia if there was a reason either of them needed to stay for the rest of the day. She told them there was nothing they were needed for. Since the rest of the week was now cleared, Brian and Justin left instructions for the staff and headed home.

CHAPTER 11

Lindsay was on the verge of screaming. But if she started, she didn't think she'd be able to stop. From beginning to end, it had been the day from hell! First, the meeting with Brian, which was supposed to persuade him to her way of thinking, had backfired. Brian was as belligerent as always when he dug his heels in about something.

But this particular something was the most troublesome, fucking infuriating blond, she ever had the displeasure to meet! She had tried to be nice; she really had. But admittedly, her mistake was in underestimating Justin fucking Taylor. He wasn't biddable at all for all that he looked like a pushover, or someone she could make cry with mere words. She tried that and it hadn't worked!

In fact, if truth be told he took her veiled insults, threw them back in her face and issued one of his own that quickly cut her to the core. But this... Well she had a right mind to march back into Kinnetik and smack the fuck out of him! Not only for his interference with all of her plans to get Brian well and truly planted by her side where he belonged, but the little bastard had the temerity to call the two people who would make her stop trying altogether!

After leaving Brian's office, she headed further into downtown, crossing the bridge into an area she'd known all her life. The Sewickley suburb of Pittsburgh was one of the most affluent areas of the city. In fact, it had a good mix of both old and new money. About a half mile into the neighborhood, she made a left into the residential area, parking in front of the Colonial house of her youth. She was surprised when both of her parents met her at the door, almost as if they were expecting her.

"Lindsay, what brings you by?" her father had asked, a frown marring his brow in a way she hadn't seen since she brought Melanie home for the first time.

"What makes you think I had a reason? Perhaps I was just in the neighborhood, and wanted to have a bit of a visit with my parents," She simpered as she looked to her mother, who wouldn't meet her eyes for some reason. Usually that only happened when her parents had a disagreement of some sort. "Is everything alright? Did I come at a bad time?"

"Perhaps if you had called first, as you've been taught, we would have told you not to bother. You see, I've already had an interesting phone call regarding you today, and honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about it right now," Her father answered testily.

"What do you mean?" Lindsay asked, genuinely confused, but unable to stop the wary feeling which settled in the pit of her stomach all of a sudden.

"How are the babies, Lindsay?" Nancy asked, speaking for the first time. The hard glint in her eyes reminded Lindsay of shards of glass, cutting and intense.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about. Wh-what babies?"

Her father blew out an exasperated breath. "We know all about Tiffany and Christian. Or are they so new that you've forgotten that you and that she-wolf had them less than a week ago? What the fuck were you thinking, Lindsay?!"

"Can we please go inside and talk about this? I doubt that the entire neighborhood needs to know our business," Nancy asked.

"No we cannot, Nancy. Lindsay is not welcome here anymore, and before you ask Lindsay, the bank of Mommy and Daddy, and all of their connections into this vaunted community, are ALSO closed."

Lindsay gasped in response to Ron Peterson's decree. "What? What are you talking about? Why? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Haven't you though? I know all about your involvement in attempting to defame a young man's character; the same young man who is part of the most influential family in this community. It was bad enough that his own father spread vicious rumors and lies about him, but to think that you, OUR daughter, had the temerity to do the same... you aren't fit to walk the same ground as Justin Taylor!"

"Justin? What does Justin have to do with this?!"

"Everything! And before you deny anything he's said, you need to know that we've heard the recording of you in Brian's office, trying to coerce him into slandering Justin so that you could have the man, the money, and the kids. So don't you stand there and act like you didn't!"

"Oh alright, I did! So what?! He doesn't deserve Brian, I DO! I've stuck by him and guided him; I've helped nurture his talent in advertising and introduced him to all the right people. Besides what's the big deal? It's not like you were happy with me being involved with Melanie. I thought the fact that I was, once again, turning to cock would please you,"

"Oh, we are pleased," Nancy said, "but not for the reasons you think, Lindsay. It's funny. We thought that Melanie was too low-bred for you; a bad influence, which caused you to forget your upbringing. But with this latest turn of events, and the personal call we received from Justin Taylor, it just confirms what Lynette and others within this small circle have said about you over the years. My only regret is that I didn't see what a manipulative little bitch you've grown to be, while it was still correctable. The fact that you stole sperm to get pregnant on purpose after the man specifically told you no, is beyond appalling! It is along the lines of something Catherine Taylor, Justin's stepmother, although he doesn't claim her as such, and her harlot offspring are more apt to do. You have proven that you are cut from the same cloth. To use innocent children to entrap a man- a gay man- who clearly does not want you, is despicable and I'm ashamed of you!"

Nancy turned to go into the house, tears slipping out of her eyes for more reasons than she could count. Not the least of which, were the promises Justin Taylor made while he was on the phone, as to what would happen if they helped Lindsay in any way. She honestly couldn't blame the young man for his anger. She had always known him to be a kind and gentle young man, with more talent in his pinky finger than most people had in their whole bodies. While she and Ron sat there listening to what Lindsay had been up to, she not only felt ashamed of her offspring but angry on Justin's behalf. He didn't deserve the spite and vindictiveness of Lindsay, simply because she wasn't born with a cock.

Unbeknownst to Lindsay, her stunt with Brian Kinney was exactly how Nancy was conceived- through trickery and entrapment- and Nancy had paid the price for it with a less than stellar homelife. The only difference was that her mother had slipped her father a little powder, one which worked as a date rape drug back in those days. It temporarily paralyzed him, even while it allowed the erection, and ultimately the sperm needed for her mother to conceive. What followed made it easy for her mother since being a single mother was frowned upon, especially in their circles. Knowing that she needed to play the victim was the only way to save herself from social obscurity.

Virginia Foster was determined to have Jacob Nielsen- whose family was even more well off than her own- marry her. She told of the event over and over again to both sets of their parents, making Jacob out to be the aggressor. Jacob had denied it all, especially as he was engaged to another woman whom he loved with his whole heart. Nancy believed that if the young woman hadn't been directly told by Virginia what she planned to do, and as a result killed herself, Jacob would have told the Nielsens and the Fosters to go fuck themselves and their fortunes. So Nancy grew up with one parent who punished her for not gaining and keeping her father's attention, and another parent who barely acknowledged her until she met and was ready to marry another wealthy young man, who would be a great contact for the business he'd thrown himself into in order to escape Virginia. But that wasn't his only reason...

The night before her wedding, her father had invited her out for dinner- just the two of them- to apologize to her, and to tell her the entire story of his and Virginia's lives together. He asked her to promise him, that she would never do such a thing to Ron Peterson. He asked her to consider if she really loved Ron, even if it meant letting him go if there was someone else. Nancy assured him that she did; that she would always want his happiness, even if it meant that he was no longer hers. Jacob had smiled at her then, saying that he was proud of the woman she had become.

He also surprised her telling by advising that when he'd spoken to Ron earlier in the day, and her fiance had told him the exact same thing in regards to Nancy. Jacob assured her that he was absolutely positive that Ron and Nancy's marriage would last, no matter what life threw at them. And that they wouldn't put their future children in the middle of a warzone, the way he and Virginia had, for which he apologized to her again. So much had become clear in those few heartfelt moments with her father. Nancy was actually glad, and relieved to be getting out from under Virginia, not only for her sake but for her father's as well.

Jacob would be free to divorce the bitch, and marry the woman he'd been in a relationship with for nearly twenty years. The affair with Nancy's future stepmother began when Nancy had started the first grade, and had been going strong ever since. She even knew her half- brothers and sisters, although she didn't know that they were related at the time. When the divorce was final, Nancy felt no sympathy for her mother, or the fact that she was barely left with anything. And although she and Ron had their share of problems over the years, that long-ago promise she made to Jacob Nielsen was always at the forefront of her mind. It played a major part in how she treated her husband, whom she really did love.

As she looked at her daughter through the window, again Nancy couldn't help wondering to herself how she could have given birth to such a malicious bitch. She watched Ron as he continued to converse with the harridan Nancy used to regard as her own flesh and blood. It was kind of pathetic and sad that although she had known Lindsay all her life, she never realized just how much her daughter looked and acted like Virginia Foster-Nielsen, until now. The look of avariciousness was written all over the tall blonde with the ‘Earth Mother' appeal that her own mother had possessed at one time. And Nancy now knew, it was all a crock of shit.

"Well Lindsay, you've heard your mother. And I agree with her, wholeheartedly. You've decided to mix it up with some powerful people,"

"What are you talking about, Daddy? Justin has no clout within this set; he's just some idiot kid," Lindsay scoffed.

"Wrong again! My God, don't you ever just shut up and listen?! No you don't, do you? Not only is Justin's family from old, old Pittsburgh steel tycoon money, unlike us, but his new money already equals ours,"

You mean Brian's money..."

"NO! I mean HIS! God, stop thinking with your cunt and open your ears!" Ron exhaled a frustrated breath and shook his head, understanding for the first time that Lindsay will only hear what she wants to hear, unless it involves money. Well she will damn sure hear him now! "To make it all clear to you, Lindsay, you are cut off. You're on your own. Whatever you have in the bank is it. The well of Peterson has run dry; there is nothing left for you here."

"You can't do that!"

"Can, did, and am, Lindsay. Nancy and I will not allow our continued association with you to jeopardize all that we've worked for all these years. You've forgotten the very first rule of the WASP nest,"

"What's that?" Lindsay folded her arms over her heaving breasts, frustrated and angry tears in her eyes.

"The law of self-preservation. If your ship is sinking, drop the dead weight. You ARE dead weight, Lindsay. We wish you well, but do yourself a favor and don't darken our door again. You'll be arrested, if you do," With that last warning, Ron turned and followed his wife into the house, shutting the door for the last time on his scheming daughter.

Lindsay stood there, debating if she should march to the door, and lean on the bell until they answered her. What kind of parents left their child in their time of need? How dare they do this to her?! Just as she was about to follow through with her initial thought, the police stopped in front of her car. As the officers approached, she was advised that the homeowners asked that they escort her off the property.

She went willingly, since she didn't have any choice, only to be faced with her parents' attorney who handed her an envelope. Tearing it open, she read the restraining order that her parents had put out on her. She is not allowed to be within 2000 feet of them at any given time. She couldn't believe that her life was literally being snatched out from under her like this, and all because of a fucking blond nobody. A blond nobody who apparently has more clout than you ever will, her mind taunted her.

It took everything in her for her not to start screaming aloud. No doubt with the police standing there, she would have been taken directly to Three Rivers Psychiatric Hospital. No, what she needed to do was get home to Melanie. Surely after the woman heard what kind of day she's had, Mel would be sensitive to her needs... for once.

Getting back into her car, she pointed her car in the direction that would take her out of Sewickley and away from her parents... permanently.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The first thing that Lindsay noticed when she arrived in her driveway was that the house was dark. Mel's car was in the driveway, so she couldn't help thinking that maybe the shorter brunette was in there waiting for her. It was a relief to actually come home to someone waiting for her. Seeing as how Brian had left her behind for some blond boy ass, and her family had officially abandoned her, it was a welcome turn of events. Alighting from the car and climbing up the five steps leading to the front door Lindsay suddenly felt exhausted.

The last few days of giving birth, fighting with Brian, then with her parents, was truly taking their toll on her. She had lost everything. Her job was basically non-existent, since she was teaching at the college and they decided to fill her position permanently when she applied for her maternity leave. Which was now unnecessary. She chuckled at the irony of that. She was on maternity leave for children that she will never hold or see or know, and all because she got pregnant by the wrong man.

She still couldn't believe that Brian bottomed for Justin, but that was neither here nor there right now. The fact is that she's officially lost her best friend because of it was the real issue. Brian would have supported her; he would have taken care of her; he would finally have loved her as more than a friend, if she had been able to give him his son. Now she wasn't even relegated to the ever-present friend zone anymore. Instead she was in the eternal social pariah sphere, courtesy of the father of her child, Justin Taylor.

Oh, how she wished there was some way to get back at him! But she was honest with herself in finally acknowledging that the man is untouchable. Not only does he have money, he has connections that could keep her and Mel unemployable for a long time. She didn't need to piss him off further. He'd already proven just how far his reach could go when he had her parents cut her off with his threat of social annihilation.  

Taking a deep breath, Lindsay unlocked the front door and went inside, hoping beyond hope that Mel would have a solution to their ever-growing list of problems. That was one thing she'd always appreciated about Melanie. She was quick-witted and tart-tongued, able to think and come up with solutions in the spur of the moment. The problem was, that often when she did, Lindsay would disregard the advice, waving it off as ridiculous or ignoring it altogether. Had she heeded Melanie's counsel- first in regards to Michael, and now about not going after Brian's sperm in the first place- they wouldn't be in this situation now.

"Mel?? Mel, I'm home," Lindsay called out, shrugging when she didn't receive an answer.

Moving through the house, Lindsay headed to the refrigerator and pulled out the last of the wine she'd opened last night. Flicking the light switch, and reaching for the cabinet where the wine glasses were kept, Lindsay gasped at what she saw before her. The antique glass cabinet which held all of their heirloom dishes, glasses and china collected over the years was busted, shards of glass and porcelain everywhere. The chunks of china were barely discernable among the rubble.

"Melanie!! Mel! Fuck! What the fuck are you doing? Don't you know we've been burgled?!" There was still no answer.

Going over to the phone, Lindsay was stopped by a note saying ‘Play Me!' next to the flashing answering machine. Against Lindsay's better judgement, she touched the button to access the voicemail. She gasped again for what seemed like the millionth time that day, while she listened to her whole conversation with Brian within his office at Kinnetik being belted out over the speaker of the machine. She listened as she detailed her plans to leave Melanie, if only Brian would agree to take Justin to court to gain custody of the kids; heard Brian's loud and firm rejection of her advances, once again. It was ego-crushing and embarrassing to hear the desperate, needy, and plaintive tone of her voice as it rose and fell with every suggestion she made, and the rejection he rebutted with.

The screech she released when he continued to disregard her wishes that he leave Justin, issuing threats and warnings before she left, made her cringe. She seemed to have been channeling her inner-Michael. But what really brought it all home for her, was the message following her epic temper tantrum at the corporate office of Kinnetik:

"Lindsay, I fucking quit! I have tried to be there for you, to understand you, to stick by you, to love you despite the fact that you are a selfish, self-absorbed shrew. I couldn't believe that you said all those things in Brian's office, at first. But the longer I thought about it, the more I heard your voice speaking the hateful words. There was just no way I could deny what I knew deep within my heart, any longer. You are a fucking bitch, Lindsay, and I hope to God that you die alone! I wouldn't wish YOU on my worst enemy. Loving you is like a fucking plague- so easy to contract, but so hard to get rid of! I've been trying to figure out why I stayed with you all this time, and the only reason I could come up with is fear of being alone.

"Well, listening to you spout your wants at someone who would NEVER want you has freed me of that particular fear. You are such a toxic bitch! Just to be clear, you and I are over. You have twenty-four hours to remove your shit from MY house. Leave my car, which used to be your car, but I PAID FOR, and put the house and car keys in MY mailbox. Anything not removed will be donated to whatever charity I choose.

All of my things are already locked up, so don't even think you can ruin anything of mine out of spite. Also, there are cameras all around now, so anything that you manage to do, like commit vandalism for example, will be caught on tape and believe me sweetheart, I have no qualms about having your sour ass thrown in jail. Perhaps Michael has an extra bed for you wherever he is staying. I hope so for your sake, but as for me, there is no longer any room in my life for you. Good Luck, Lindsay. I really do wish you well, but more importantly, I wish you the hell away from me!"

The tape cut off, even as Lindsay sat there in stunned shock. Melanie was kicking her out?! Melanie was kicking her out?!!! No fucking way, except that it really was fucking true. Lindsay's name wasn't on anything that mattered- not the house, the cars, or the bank accounts with the most money in them. All of the bills were in Mel's name since Lindsay's credit was as bad as Michael's, a testament of misspent youth and lack of responsibility. She was well and truly fucked. What the hell am I going to do?

She looked around at her meager belongings, boxed up in a corner. She hadn't even noticed them when she walked into the living room to use the phone. She remembered the first time she had seen this house, back when she was starry eyed enough to believe she and Melanie could be happy and successful together. She talked Melanie into buying it, and had planned to clean up her credit so that Mel could add her name to the mortgage at a later date. Unfortunately for Lindsay, there was always just one more thing she needed to have, something that in retrospect, she hadn't needed at all; something she would now always regret buying, since in essence it was costing her a home of her own.

Mel tried to tell her many times over the years that instead of concentrating on what she wanted, to focus and begin working for what she needed. Those lessons had never been more prevalent than they were now as Lindsay sat staring at the boxes. While Mel was able to have her dream career- even though she didn't make a lot- Lindsay was left without a job or home. She had depended on Mel to take care of everything, the way she always expected Brian to. Brian... The man she had once considered her best friend and confidante, had betrayed her in the worst possible way.

There was no way Mel would have known what was said within the confines of Kinnetik offices, if Brian hadn't told her. But no! He didn't only tell her, did he? He recorded the conversation and sent it to Melanie. He owed her an explanation!

How dare he do this to her?! This untenable situation was all HIS fault... his and his hustler's!

Well Lindsay didn't know what she was going to do, but she would get even. She would get even with all of them! And they would rue the day they ever decided to cross Lindsay Peterson. Fanciful notions of revenge flittered through her mind at such a rapid pace that she almost missed the sound of the doorbell ringing. "Hello. May I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to speak to Lindsay Peterson please," the stranger spoke to her, eyeing her critically for a reason which made her self-conscious.

"I'm Detective Carl Horvath with the Pittsburgh P.D. Ms Peterson. I need you to come down to the station,"

"What is this about, Detective?" The warning bells in Lindsay's head begin to sound immediately, telling her that this was not a social call.

"We'd just like to ask you a few questions in regards to an unlawful entry accusation being made against you,"

"Really? Who would say such a thing about me? Unlawful entry? Isn't that like breaking and entering?" She'd watched enough crime shows with Melanie to know that.

"It is. But the term also has a much broader use in this case,"

"Oh? How so?" Lindsay was stalling for time. She knew exactly what the detective was implying, but she was determined to make him spell it out.

"In this case, the term also covers gaining entry to a home or business under false pretenses."

"Well then, I've done no such thing,"

"We have proof that states otherwise, Ms Peterson. But this is a simple matter which can be cleared up at the station," It was then that Lindsay noticed the two officers behind him. "I don't want to arrest you, but I will if I must,"

By the implacable look in the blue eyes regarding her, Lindsay inwardly sighed, resigning herself to what had to happen. "Fine. Let me just grab my purse and cell phone,"

"No problem. Officer Rodriguez will accompany you. The sooner we get our questions answered, the sooner you can return to your... packing?"

"Y-yes. My partner and I are separating. I'm moving out," Lindsay's eyes teared up. She was grateful for learning to cry on demand years ago. It was her hope that he would just go away and leave her in peace.

"Sorry to hear that. It's always difficult when a relationship ends. So let's just get this inquiry done, so you can continue closing this chapter of your life,"

Rats! Fucking insensitive cop! Lindsay thought to herself, even as she turned into the house to retrieve her things. The female officer Horvath brought with him was hot on her heels as she treaded to the kitchen. Taking a final look around at the damage, it dawned on her what Melanie had said about her things being all packed away. Lindsay's eyes narrowed as she continued to regard the former antique cabinet which once held all their heirloom pieces, china and glassware. Bending to pick up on of the shards within rubble, Lindsay nearly screamed when she saw her family's crest elegantly scrawled in silver on what was supposed to be an onyx plate.

Anger radiated from her as she stood up. But remembering that there was a woman with a gun standing awfully close behind her, Lindsay schooled her features to appear serene when inside she felt anything but. Once outside, Officer Rodriguez and her partner, introduced to Lindsay as Officer Llewelyn, escorted her to the back of the patrol car while the detective got inside a dark sedan parked in front of it. Looking back once more at the house she shared with Melanie, she vowed once again to get back at the she-bitch. After this ridiculous questioning was over, she would ask about filing charges against Melanie for vandalism and seek restitution for every glass, cup and plate the bitch broke.

She would make sure that if she had to be broke, busted, and disgusted, than Melanie Marcus would be as well. But first she had to get through this. If she was going to try to find another job, she knew she could not have a criminal record, especially within her fields of Art History and Education. This shit was a fucking liability! As soon as she was cleared, she would definitely be hiring and lawyer and issuing a few civil lawsuits of her own.

And she would start with Brian fucking Kinney, using Alienation of Affection as grounds. She laughed quietly to herself. That would chap Blondie's ass but good. Brian ruined her relationship with Melanie, so it was only turnabout. All's fair in love and war... and Lindsay is determined to win the war!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   

Brian and Justin pulled up to the loft to see Jen and Harriet unloading bags and hurried to help the women. Parked in front of Jen's car was a van from a boutique baby store. Loaded down with bags they all headed inside to see two men assembling cribs in Justin's apartment. They also noticed that one of the other apartments was open. Looking inside they saw boxes and bags from the same boutique.

Before they could ask anything Jen spoke up, "We are only having the cribs assembled for now. I checked and found two listings, that met all of the requirements you are asking for. If you would like we can go see them now. Both homes are empty and move-in ready, so if you like either one everything can just be moved there. Oh and here is your credit card, Brian. There are no receipts because these are gifts from Harriet and me."

"Jen, we can't let ..." Brian started to say, only to be stopped by Jen's raised hand.

"Brian, they are my grandchildren. And if I want to spoil them, please let me," Jen stated pleadingly.

"And I don't know how long it will be before I get grandbabies, so I want to be able to spoil them, too," Harriet chimed in, smiling sweetly.

Brian and Justin just looked at each other, shrugged and went to hug their babies' grandmothers.

"Thank you, both. Mom, if we could go see the houses now, that would be great. We are due to pick the babies up in about four hours."

"I'll stay here and get things set up for the babies. The clothes and blankets need to be washed before they are used. I can do that. Do you have an empty drawer, where I could put their things for now?" Harriet asked.

Justin showed her where everything she would need was located, before he, Brian, and Jen left to see the properties.

The first house, while it had all the things they wanted, just didn't give them the right ‘feeling'. But when they pulled up to the second house, both men got a very warm, happy feeling. Looking at each other, they knew that if it had what they needed inside, they were home.

Stepping inside, the house had been beautifully maintained. The hardwood floors gleamed, the rooms were huge and clean. The living room had a beautiful fireplace and mantle. Walking into the kitchen, Justin knew this is where he wanted to be. Everything about the kitchen showed it was designed for someone who loved to cook. Justin walked around the space, touching everything and checking the cabinets and drawers, the beautiful appliances, and the view of the yard beyond the french doors. Brian gently reminded him that they should check out the rest of the house, before they had to go get their children.

Upstairs, there were five bedrooms, in addition to the master suite. Two of the bedrooms had a bathroom between them, while the others all had small ensuites. The master suite included a sitting room, a room-sized walk-in closet, and another attached room that could be used as a nursery or a dressing room. The master bathroom was huge and included a jetted tub and a separate large shower with a bench seat. There was also a beautiful balcony, overlooking the yard.

Jen saw the looks on the faces of her son and his fiance, and left them the paperwork to look over while she looked around. Both men knew that this is where they wanted to raise their children. A few minutes later, Jen came back in the room after calling the owners of the house. She had called to tell them that they may have a buyer; that her son and almost son-in-law were very interested in the house for themselves, and their two new children. The men, who owned the house and had always wanted to have children were so happy for Jen that her son and his fiance had given her grandchildren and were able to get married that they told her to cut the price in half if they wanted the house.

Jen quickly went to tell Brian and Justin about the new offer. She saw them holding each other on the balcony and told them about the offer.

"Why would they do that? We can afford the house at the original price, Jen."

"Because they are both very happy that you can be married, and that there will be children in the house. When they first bought this house, it was with the hope that they would be able to have children and raise them here. They always hoped that attitudes would change and gay men would be seen as viable parents, and not as pedophiles. So what do you say, is this where you are going to raise my grandchildren?"

Looking at each other, the men smiled and turned to face Jen. "We'll take it," they announced together. A week later, all the paperwork was finished and the new family was getting packed and ready to move into their beautiful new home.

Once they were settled in their house, Brian and Justin decided to hire someone to help out with the babies while they were not sleeping through the night, and until they could get the daycare fully set up at Kinnetik. They put ads in the local gay papers, not wanting to have to deal with homophobes. Two days later they had interviews set up with four seemingly promising candidates. Two were older women, one was a female college student and the fourth was a man who had recently graduated college. Brian and Justin decided that they wanted to conduct the interviews together. They would both need to be comfortable with whomever they chose to care for the children, for as long as they needed someone. 

They were having breakfast before the first interview, and discussing the questions they wanted to ask. The interviews would be conducted in the living room, where they had set up the bassinet to hold the babies. Having the babies there would give them an idea of how the potential nannies reacted to the children. After all, this person would be left alone with them without supervision. They didn't want any mishaps.

The first woman arrived right on time. She was a very sweet, grandmotherly type. She answered all the questions well, but when Christian cried she made no move to even look at him. Brian and Justin thanked her and told her they would be in touch. Once she was gone, Justin picked up his son and held him.

"Well, that one is out," Brian said shaking his head.

Twenty minutes later the second woman rang the bell. Looking into the bassinet, she remarked, "Are they boys or girls?"

"One of each. Why?" Justin asked in return.

"Well then, why are they in the same bed? That's disgusting!" she answered.

"And this interview is over. GOODBYE," Brian said, opening the door and wishing he could throw her out bodily.

Looking at Justin standing there with his mouth open and shaking his head, Brian walked over and wrapped his arms around the smaller man. "Don't worry. Not everyone is that stupid," Brian told his lover.

They had time to relax and talk before the next interview. Shari was a college student and seemed to be enamored with Brian. She answered everything he asked, but pretty much ignored Justin's presence. She also barely glanced at the babies.

After she was gone, Justin remarked, "Well if we needed a babysitter for you, she'd be great. You'd get constant attention."

"Yeah. Not sure if she even noticed the kids, or that we are a couple. Hell, I'm not sure if she noticed you at all," Brian answered, smirking.

They were both laughing when the doorbell rang again. Opening the door they saw a cute, clean cut, preppy-looking blond.

"Hi, I'm Blake," The young man said extending his hand.

Shaking the proffered hand Justin answered, "I'm Justin Taylor, and this is my fiance, Brian Kinney,"

Shaking the young man's hand, Brian remarked, "You look familiar. Do you go to Babylon?"

"Not anymore. I used to go there quite often though. I stopped going there a little over two years ago. I was an addict. I hit bottom and went into rehab. I've been clean and sober for two years. I just graduated college with a Double Masters, in Social Work and Psychology. I love kids, and haven't been able to find a job in anything I'm trained for. So when I saw your ad in Pittsburgh OUT, I decided to apply. I was the oldest of five and loved to help out with the younger ones," Blake answered, handing them a letter from his rehab counselor, not wanting to hide anything about his past. When he finished speaking, Tiffany started crying. Looking at Justin, Blake asked, "May I?" Justin nodded, and Blake picked up the baby. She immediately quieted, and snuggled into his arms.

Standing up, Brian said, "Will you excuse us for a minute?" as he took Justin's hand, pulling him into the next room.

"What do you think, Azure? Tiffany never quiets that fast for anyone,"

"Irish, as you have shown me, a person's past is just that, their past. Babies can sense goodness in a person. I say we've found our manny,"

"What the hell is a manny?"

"A male nanny, duh,"

Walking back into the room, they saw Blake rocking Tiffany and softly singing to her. "Blake, if you want the job, it's yours. Our daughter never calms that fast for anyone, and they say babies are great judges of character," Justin said, smiling.

"Thank you, Mr Taylor, and Mr Kinney. I promise, you won't be sorry,"

"It's Justin and Brian. Mr Taylor and Mr Kinney are, and were homophobic assholes and that's not us," Brian commented.

"And Blake, you're okay with this being a live-in job?" Justin asked.

"That's perfect. I've been living on my brother's couch since I graduated. He and his roommate are great but they tend to get a little loud with their girlfriends and well... ick,"

"Say no more. I'd like to be able to get it up again," Brian mock-shuddered before asking, "Do you need something bigger than your car to bring whatever you have? Your room here is fully furnished, unless you have something you'd rather bring. You are welcome to check out the room and we can get anything else you need. We can do that now. Your room connects to the babies'. Our room is around at the other end of the hallway. Up till now, they have been staying in a bassinet in our room. It was easier than running to the other side every time they cried," He led Blake, who had relinquished Tiffany to Justin, up to the second floor to see his room.

Opening the door to what would be his room, Blake looked around. "Wow, This is twice the size of the room I shared with two others in the dorms,"

"Well, look around and make a list of anything else you will need and we can get it for you right away. We want you to be comfortable here. I'll leave you to do that. Come down when you are ready, and we'll do what's needed to get you settled," Brian told him, leaving to join Justin when he heard Christian starting to cry.

Brian walked into the living room to see Justin trying to feed both babies at once and not doing very well. Just as he started to take one of the bottles, Blake came into the room.

"Let me do this?" he asked them. At their nods, he kicks off his shoes, and he curls up in the corner of the couch. Setting the babies with their feet together and their heads on his knees, he then took a bottle in each hand. Both kids started happily drinking as he rocked them with his legs as they are. "When they're this small, it's easier to do it this way. No one has to wait. And by moving them while they eat, gas bubbles don't get stuck as easily,"

"Damn, you really are good at this. I would never have thought of doing that. Would you like us to get an extra wide chair or love seat for the nursery to make feeding time easier?" Justin asked, awed by the way Blake seemed so at ease with taking care of the babies.

"That would be great. With two of them, it's kind of hard to feed them together in a rocking chair."

Brian figured this would be a good time to work out a schedule for Blake. They certainly didn't expect him to work 24/7. Brian and Justin had discussed this earlier and had pretty much figured it out, but wanted to go over with Blake what they needed. While Justin put together some snacks and drinks, Brian started speaking with Blake.

"Blake, we need to work out a schedule with you. Are there any definite times you need to be off?"

"Well, either Friday or Saturday evening would be good. I've been seeing someone and would like to be able to go out and dance and hang out with him and his friends. He's an accountant for an advertising firm. I'm trying to get him to loosen up and relax a little,"

As Justin came back in the room, he heard Brian laugh. "You're dating Theodore? So I guess you are what has put that relaxed smile on his face lately,"

"You know Ted?" Blake asked, shocked.

"Justin and I own Kinnetik. Ted works for us. Small world... well, seeing as we have known your boyfriend for quite a while, if he wants to hang out with you here, that would be fine. Especially since he's Christian's godfather. I wonder why he didn't tell us you were applying for the job,"

"I didn't tell him where, just that I had an interview. I had no idea he knew you. I figured if I got it, I would take him out to dinner and tell him then," Blake answered.

"I have an idea. Blake, give Justin your car keys. Justin, put Blake's car in the garage. Now everyone be quiet," Brian said as he took out his phone. "Theodore, I need a favor. I need you to bring the Brown Athletics file out to the house for me. Something's come up, and I need it right away. And bring it yourself, I may need you here to go over some things... Okay, see you soon," Brian smirked as he hung up the phone.  

"Brian, what are you up to?" Justin asked.

"You know I like to keep him on his toes. I just figured I'd give him a happy surprise," The older man said with a smile.

Justin looked at Blake and shook his head, "You'll get used to him,"

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Justin got up to open it, "Come on in, Ted. Brian's in the living room, instructing the new nanny," Justin told him as he led him into the room.

"I brought the file, Brian, is there a prob.... Blake, what are you doing here?"

"Surprise, Theodore! You are apparently dating our nanny," Brian said, smirking. "And you two have reservations for 8 o'clock tonight at Hyeholde Restaurant, on us,"

"Thank you both, that is really nice of you," Blake said, thrilled that he'd answered the ad in the paper.

"It was worth it, just to see Ted relax and smile like that. Oh, and Ted, is that a twinkle in your eyes? Brian, you never told me Ted has such expressive eyes like that," Justin gushes.

Brian answered gruffly, "Never bothered to look that closely. It must be all that elusive twink power floating around here lately,"

Justin and Blake laughed, even as both Ted and Brian blushed- even if the latter would never admit to such a thing. "Don't worry, Irish, your secret vice will remain safe. Besides you and Ted have the novelty of having the Wonder Twinks under the same roof."

"The Wonder Twinks?" Ted asked bemusedly.

"Surely you've both heard of the Wonder Twins from Super Friends? They were a part of the Justice League. I think you were around in the stone ages, when it was still on television and not in the rerun status. Besides, I would be surprised that you wouldn't have had them crammed down your throat since you both had been friends with ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named' for any number of years before we two fabulous twinks came along to rescue you," Justin said, with a twinkle of his own.

Blake had caught on to the diatribe and began to laugh. "Well in that case Justin, Wonder Twink Powers ACTIVATE!! Here to save our men from too much work and not enough play!"

"If that's the case, then Azure, you are falling down on your job," Brian said, pulling his own Wonder Twink to him. "Ted, once Tiffany and Christian finish getting acquainted with Blake, feel free to show Blake around. I'm sure you two have lots to talk about. Also, I want him covered under the Kinnetik Executive package since that will give him the same benefits package as you have, but under his own steam. If he's anything like his Wonder Twin over here, independence is extremely important. And as I can attest, happy wife- happy life,"

"Fuck you, Brian, I'm not the wife," Justin said as he tried to move away from the brunet.

"Oh I don't know about that, Azure. You cook like a gourmet chef, take care of me better than anyone has in my life, and have given me two amazing, beautiful children. If I were a hetero- and thank fuck I am NOT- you would have made me an excellent wife. So..."

"Nice recovery, Boss," Ted snickered as he watched the blond's face go from thundercloud to sunshine, proving that Brian Kinney could sell anything to anyone, including himself.

"Well, we'll see who's going to get fucked right now..." Justin smirked as he began to drag Brian caveman style to the stairs.

Ted laughed aloud. "Get used to it, Blake. There's never a dull moment around those two. Never a dull moment indeed,"

CHAPTER 12

Roy Russo sat there in silence and deep thought, after hanging up the phone on a most distressing phone call. An associate of his was calling in a favor. Judge Russo had offered the associate almost everything he could think of at the time, in order that the debt be repaid and he could move on with his life. With this being an election year, he wasn't thrilled that the thought of that long ago favor could possibly surface, and ultimately bite him in the ass.

"What's the problem, Roy?"

He jumped a little, just remembering the presence of his friend and closest confidant within the confines of his chambers. Jamison Alexander had been Roy's best friend since they were both vying for the top spot within Harvard Law School's graduating class. Their friendship had grown during the years since graduation, spanning decades of easy camaraderie and companionable competition. In the years since Roy's wife died and Jamie's wife divorced him while she was going through uterine cancer treatments, they had only grown closer. Jamie's divorce was the very reason that he had asked a certain favor from the associate, who was now calling in.

"Hypothetically Jamie, what if you were responsible for a young man's ostracization at the request of an asshole, for the sole purpose of making the young man's life hell?"

"I would do whatever I could to make it right. But then, you know that, Roy."

"But if... would you still do it if it could cost you your position on the bench?"

Roy watched as Jamie rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. He knew how much the other man loved the law; they both did. But there was a certain amount of morality one had to have to stick to the law, without injecting personal opinions or personal gain into the mix. Jamison was one of those people that Roy wished he could be, especially now.

"Why don't you just tell me what's going on? In reference to your question, you and I both know I have no basis for comparison, since people know not to tempt me that way. Right or wrong, the law is often open to interpretation, so it's often best to just stick to the text written, even if you personally don't agree with it. So why do you think your bench seat is about to be threatened?"

Roy swallowed hard. He knew he needed to tell Jamie what he did, even if it ruined the many years of friendship between them. He wished he'd had the balls to tell Taylor ‘no' years ago, because if he had, he wouldn't be in this messy situation now. Taking a deep inhale and releasing it just as quickly, Roy began to tell his deepest secret. "A few years ago, around the time that Jocelyn divorced you, I needed a favor from Craig Taylor,"

"That asshat? Roy, what was so important that you would ask something of him? Why not ask me? You know I would have helped you,"

"I couldn't... not that time, Jamie, since it involved you," Roy released another breath before continuing. "Jocelyn had come to me, and asked me to help her leave you,"

Jamie looked closely at Roy. He could see the truth of the matter written in the brown eyes of the man he considered his best friend. Although he was tempted to punch the fuck out of him, Jamie decided that he would hear Roy's reasoning before it came to that. But he was still sorely tempted. "Why did she come to you? And why would you help her to break my heart?"

"I know it was selfish, Jamie. I know that! But she wanted to leave. Jocelyn loved you- loves you still- but she knew you were suffering. She was tired of having to fight the disease. But she was also tired of watching you run yourself ragged, trying to do your job and take care of her. She asked me to help her, and I didn't have the heart to tell her no, since I was watching you both suffer. The favor I asked of Taylor helped to get you to let her go,"

"The ‘friend' in Europe?"

"Craig's brother. He's a decent man, and it was easier to let you believe that they were having an affair. They didn't become involved until we knew for sure that she was in remission. He was sterile, and with uterine cancer, she knew she would never be able to give you children. It's why I agreed to help her, Jamie. She only wanted your happiness, even if it meant that you had to be miserable for a time to achieve it. Anyway, Craig arranged for Jocelyn to go to Harrison in Amsterdam as soon as she filed the papers and said goodbye to you. I pushed the papers through which is why the divorce was granted so quickly. When I tried to give him the money, he asked me for two favors: one to perform immediately and one to be determined at a later date. I never would have agreed if I had known what he had in mind from the onset."

"What was the original favor?"

"At the time, he was still married to Jenn. He wanted papers filed immediately, along with papers forged, to make sure that his son was left destitute, after finding out that the young man was gay. Strangely, and although I don't agree with Justin Taylor's preference, I still couldn't understand how Craig could do that to his son. But that wasn't the only fish he was trying to fry. Catherine, his mistress at the time, was pushing for Craig to divorce Jennifer and to have her daughter marry a young man within the upper echelons of our world,"

Jamie held up his hand. "I know the entire story of Justin Taylor, and all of Craig Taylor's machinations,"

"What? How?" Roy asked, shocked that Jamison would know all of the details, when he himself didn't know everything.

"Aside from hearsay and the current gossip at the club, I've met the young woman in question. Laura and I have decided to take things slow, but we really like each other,"

"You don't think she's using you for personal gain? You do know there is a Defamation of Character lawsuit pending against her, don't you?"

"Yeah I know, and I also know why. Laura, courtesy of Craig and Catherine, has some serious self-esteem issues,"

"And some narcissistic psychological issues and some control freak tendencies..."

"Yeah, although I disagree on the narcissistic psych issues, Roy. The young woman is deeply scarred. Like I said, we've been talking for awhile; we were friends even while she was fucking Harlen on a regular basis. Her apparent self-centeredness stems from a facade she wears to keep from being hurt further. She learned early that the best way to keep from being hurt is to strike first,"

"But why strike out at Justin Taylor? That young man is as much a victim as Laura purports to be,"

Jamie nodded. "That's true. But watching him rise out of the gutter where his father put him to become a major player within Kinnetik, and so quickly, burned Laura's ass. It was like she couldn't get a break from Justin. At home, she had to hear of how smart he was and how intelligent he was; that he would have been perfect, if he didn't like dick as much as she did. Then at Harlen's house, she would hear that the only thing she's good for is what's between her legs, and how if she wanted to be someone within the community, she had better learn to play the game of fuck or be fucked. So, whereas she was being used for her mother's gain, Laura was also looking for a way out of Craig's clutches,"

"But did she have to be a bitch and continually burn bridges while doing that?"

"It was a reaction to how everyone treated her, especially after Jennifer Taylor's divorce. I'm not sure if you know it or not, but Justin kept a journal, which made it possible for Jennifer to file the papers against Craig first. So what exactly was the second favor that Craig asked you for in exchange for Jocelyn's defection?"

"To plant certain rumors, and prepare papers for the Chanders' to read in reference to Glenn Bartier,"

Jamie closed his eyes. How could his friend be so idiotic? This was not the man who stood for justice. "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you agree to it after you found out what Taylor was planning?"

"He was threatening to tell you everything. You were already in a bad way, drinking too much and a host of other things while you mourned the demise of your marriage. Jamie, I couldn't add to that, so I did what I thought was best at the time,"

"So now what is the fucker asking you to do?"

"Justin has recently become a father of two,"

"What? How? I thought he was gay,"

"He is, and I don't have all the particulars. But what I do know is that Craig wants custody of the children. I think he said their names are Tiffany and Christian. Well apparently, Justin and his partner Brian Kinney, appeared in some newspaper's vital statistics section. According to Craig, someone sent him a newspaper clipping, showing the couple smiling wide for the camera, while holding the children. Craig wants to remove that smile from Justin, and then he plans to keep trying to ruin Kinnetik's reputation,"

Jamison could feel his fury rising at Craig Taylor's callousness in reference to his son. He would have given his arm to be able to have children, let alone a son to carry his legacy into the next generation. Yet, Craig Taylor took his son for granted, and not only that, but desired to ruin him, all because he didn't like women sexually. It was beyond ridiculous! "Don't help him, Roy,"

"Jamie, I don't think I have much choice in the matter. He's threatening to produce all the evidence of our alliance to the board, if I don't comply with his wishes,"

"Roy, don't do it! You're not only allowing him to ruin your career, but his son's life, too! I suspect Craig is jealous of Justin's success. Did you know that in just under three years, Kinnetik has become a multi-million dollar company while Taylor Electronics is barely scraping by? Not only that, but Jennifer's real estate company has also reached the million mark, while he is bordering on bankruptcy. Everyone he threw away and everything he took for granted or tried to destroy is flourishing without him and in spite of all of the hindrances he's been trying to throw their way. Don't allow him to destroy you, too! I think you should talk to Laura. I think she might be able to give you a bit more insight into the vindictive mind of Craig Taylor,"

Roy was quiet for a time, before agreeing to meet with the former mistress of so many within their circle. "Let me know when she's available,"

Jamie rose from his seat. "I will, but it probably won't be until tomorrow evening. I'm due in court early tomorrow for the Peterson case,"

"Peterson? As in Ron's daughter?"

"One of them. The one that is generally spoiled and unhinged. I don't have all of the information yet, but her partner is going to be in her own brand of deep shit,"

"The lawyer right?"

"One and the same. See, Roy? You're not the only one who crossed the line of the law when faced between morality and love. Remember that, okay? And for the record, I forgive you,"

Jamie left Judge Russo's chambers, but not before he noticed a tear slip out of the corner of his friend's eye. He wouldn't let the machinations of cunty Craig Taylor strip him and Roy of a forty year friendship. And he wouldn't let anyone connected to Taylor- directly or indirectly- get away with hurting Justin Taylor again. It was time that Judge Jamison Alexander start blurring a few lines of his own...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Marry me,"

Daphne looked up from her Business Administration textbook at the sound of Glenn's voice. The look on his face as he sat in the chair opposite her, told her that whatever it was he said was important. Although, she didn't register the words. "What did you say?"

Glenn took a deep breath. The words had just slipped out when he'd spoken, just a brief moment ago. He was tempted to take them back, but they had just felt... right. Daphne was bent over her book, her elegant eyebrow furrowed in concentration on a lesson. He was helping her to study since he'd already taken the course, graduating at the top of his class so that he could take over the family business. He'd given her a particularly difficult scenario to work out, and she was researching every possible outcome.

When she had decided to pursue her degree in the Accelerated Program at Carnegie alongside Justin, he and Brian were concerned at first. Justin and Daphne were still holding high powered positions within Kinnetik, so Brian and Glenn thought that the course load and full work schedule would be too much of a strain. But the best friends had taken to the challenges like a ducks take to water. Maintaining a perfect GPA, while effortlessly balancing work and family obligations, made it clear that Daphne and Justin were not only overachievers, but had a quiet determination about them and strong work ethic that couldn't be beat or put under subjection. Since most of the coursework was done online, Daphne and Justin could work at their own pace, but they were determined to finish completely within three years instead of the customary five years it normally took.

Also fortunate was that their employment with Kinnetik counted towards their degrees. To that end, Brian and Glenn allowed them to have their heads, working out scheduling where they would still have enough time to sleep and unwind when they needed to. When Blake wasn't on duty, Brian and Glenn traded off with Christian and Tiffany, so that Justin wouldn't worry so much or feel like he was slighting the children in favor of success. It also helped to have a few doting grandmothers named Debbie, Harriet, and Jennifer, and amazing aunts named Molly and Roxanne, and an uncle named Daniel who spoiled them mercilessly when Brian and Glenn needed some ‘special handling' of their own from their partners. So Glenn knew once the words passed his lips that the time was right, and he wouldn't take the words back even if he wanted to... which he didn't.

"Marry me, Daphne?"

She watched the usually self-assured man fidget under her intense scrutiny. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was going to say yes. She loved Glenn- had always loved him- and had known that they would've taken this step before, but things went to hell because of the machinations of his father and Craig Taylor. She remained silent for a time, before he started speaking again.

"I know that right now our plates are so full. I mean, you've just started school and you're working so hard at Kinnetik. It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow; next month, next week, or next year. But please, Daph... Angel... love of my life and Mistress of my heart... Marry me?"

She could feel the tears welling behind her eyes as she watched him rush through the proposal, as if he was unable to stop the words from tumbling out from the lips she'd kissed what seemed like a million times and would never tire of doing so. She had fallen in love with Glenn that long ago day, when she was eight years old and had fallen off her bike in front of him. He was the only one on the playground, besides Justin, who helped her up instead of laughing. Their friendship had grown from that moment. When she thought back, there always seemed to be an air of inevitability about her fate with him.

"Yes." The slow smile which brightened his features was everything she could have hoped for. Glenn was her past, her present, and her future- one she would always be grateful for and never willingly take for granted again. "I don't want to wait though,"

"But... right now there is so much going on, Daph. There's no rush,"

"I know that, but I've already lost you once because of the idiocy of others,"

"You won't lose me again. I promise. You have to trust me, Daph,"

"I do, Glenn. But this isn't about them. It's about me locking down and protecting what's mine. And you are mine, Glenn Anderson Bartier. You always have been. It would be my honor to be your wife tomorrow,"

Glenn laughed. "As much as I would love for it to be tomorrow, I would not like Roxanne coming after me for whisking her baby off for a shotgun wedding in Vegas. Meat cleavers are not a fashion accessory, and neither are handcuffs. And I doubt your mom would love the color orange as much as Emmett,"

Daphne snickered, acknowledging the truth of Glenn's words. "Fine, next month at the latest. I don't want a society wedding, Glenn. Too much of my life- of our lives- have been public fodder for far too long. If I could, it would just be us, along with Brian and Justin, as witnesses. But something small and elegant with those of our nearest and dearest is enough for me,"

"How about a few months out? After the semester is over and just before the busy season at Kinnetik for the holiday rush. We could fly off somewhere- make it a destination wedding. I have a feeling that we will all need the break after the drama. Mark called, and Lindsay's officially been booked and taken into custody. After Mark delivered the transcript of the recording from Lindsay's impromptu meeting in Brian's office the other morning, Melanie had gone to them and admitted the situation surrounding Tiffany and Christian. Of course, there is going to be an evidentiary hearing regarding her own involvement, one that could result in her being disbarred. The only saving grace Melanie may have is that she threatened Brian with the exposure of the fact that Justin topped him, which is a moot point considering Brian and Justin are monogamous and the kids are clearly Justin's. Lindsay's threats though, and attempted extortion included Brian's financial status, which makes it a federal crime."

"Holy shit! Does Justin know?"

"I think he does by now, since Carl was the arresting officer. But back to our upcoming wedding..." They both smiled at that. "Where do we want to go?"

"Let's think about it later, but first... well I think we should celebrate, don't you?" Daphne licked her lips, letting her eyes caress the length of Glenn's body not hidden by the desk between them.

Glenn felt the slow methodical actions, as if she had actually touched him. The tightening of his jeans due to his growing erection was undeniable. Daphne had always had that effect on him. He watched as she brought her left hand up to her hair to loosen the clip pinning her luxurious locks, even as her right began to undo the sleeveless button-down shirt she favored within the confines of the condo. As she shook her hair out, one wayward curl slipped down to mold itself around the curve of her breast. Glenn pushed up from his own chair in that instant, unreasonably jealous of that tempting tendril teasing the supple flesh beneath it. Without a word, Glenn moved around the furniture to grab ahold of the woman he loved.

It was definitely time to get that private party started...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lindsay sat behind the glass partition, alongside other criminals. She refused to think of herself as one of those people. What she did couldn't possibly be considered unlawful entry, after all, she went in via the replacement maid. It wasn't her fault that the woman didn't know that Lindsay wasn't allowed in; Brian should have told her. This should be over soon and then she would deal with Brian, his boytoy, and Melanie.

Melanie... That BITCH! As soon as she was free, Lindsay would deal with her. She told the court-appointed schmuck the State hired that if she was being made to go to jail, then Melanie should too, since she knew of Lindsay's plans. She was still fuming that he wouldn't listen to her and arrest Melanie.

{Flashback to Lindsay's first full day in police custody}

"Did she try to talk you out of it? Was she with you when you entered the apartment?" he'd asked her.

"Yes, Melanie said that she didn't think it was a good idea. But after I acquired the sperm, she spread-eagled just as I did. So why shouldn't she be held responsible?"

"Ms Peterson, Ms Marcus is the one who came to the police, so I have to tell you it looks favorably upon her. It shows, at least a degree of remorse- an emotion that you don't seem to possess,"

"Why should I have any remorse? I want my child, regardless of who the father is. Brian would still be taking care of us,"

"And you wonder why you are in this predicament and Ms Marcus isn't, Ms Peterson? It is my recommendation that you plead guilty, and accept the sentence. If you plead not guilty and this goes to trial, you will be looking at a lengthy jail sentence,"

"I don't see that I've done anything wrong, so I'm not accepting any plea. I love Brian- have always loved him- and would have considered it an honor to co-parent with him. The fact that he prefers that dumb blond over me is of no consequence,"

"It is because said ‘dumb blond' is the father of your child, and based on the evidence, you tried to use your position as Brian's friend to separate Mr Kinney and Mr Taylor, but you made one fatal error..."

"And what's that?" Lindsay sneered.

"You mentioned Mr Kinney's finances. That means your intention to have his child was not out of any romantic feelings, or even those of a platonic nature. It was cold and calculated, without thought or regard for Mr Kinney's feelings on the matter. In short Ms Peterson, not only did you unlawfully enter Mr Kinney's loft, but you did so with every intention of extorting money from him. You used your knowledge of Mr Kinney's troubled childhood to ensure that he would take care of you financially. So again, I advise you to plead out. Your chances of escaping this without a jail sentence is a little less than nil, even if some miracle occurs,"

"Let me talk to Brian. I'm sure that I can get him to drop the charges,"

He laughed at her and shook his head. There was always one who thought they were above the law, even when all of the evidence points to the contrary. "Even if you did manage to get him to drop the charges- which I assure you, he will not- it's no longer his decision. The state District Attorney office is involved, and let me assure you, they don't give two mother fucks about your motive for breaking the law. They care about winning cases and putting criminals, such as yourself, away for the maximum amount of time allowable under the law."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Lindsay spat angrily. She couldn't believe the temerity of the man to lie to her like this.

"Believe whatever makes your heart feel lighter, Ms. Peterson. But keep in mind, I am on this side of the table with a legal degree while you're... well you're on that side of the table without one, and wearing handcuffs and prison orange. I will tell you this though, the judge you are going to face is a real ‘by the book' kind of guy. He will not be swayed by pleas and tears, but will rule based on cold hard facts and what can be proven. Based on the evidence, I would say to make yourself comfortable in that orange jumpsuit. You'll be wearing it for a long time." He left the small interview room with Lindsay still seated, handcuffed to her chair.

{End of flashback} 

"All rise!" The bailiff called out as Lindsay struggled to her feet behind the partition. "The Honorable Jamison Alexander is on the bench."

She had been instructed to keep her eyes on the judge, but Lindsay was never one to follow instructions she didn't feel applied to her. Her eyes narrowed as they scanned the crowd, committing faces she had known for a long time to memory. Debbie, Emmett, and Ted were all sitting with that traitorous bitch, Melanie. While directly in back of them, Brian sat with his arm draped over Justin's shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but then fixed them upon Brian, willing him to look her way.

Instead, he was turned fully towards Justin, speaking softly into the man's ear. She felt her ire grow as a blush crept up from Justin's neck to his settle upon his cheeks, his bright smile blinding in its intensity to any and all who dare to look upon it. She was working herself up into quite a lather, the anger she'd been carrying since that day in Brian's office about to erupt its full-blast. But it wasn't until she heard the warning in her ear from one of the attending officers, for her to face forward and cool her jets before she ended up in the hole, that Lindsay brought her overt antipathy for the young man under subjection. Settling the WASP mask of cool indifference over her face, she did as she was instructed, all the while counting the minutes until she was a free woman.

Brian would fucking hear her thoughts on his abandonment in favor of his little fun-sized fuckbuddy! They had been friends long before Justin fucking Taylor was even a blip on Brian's radar. How dare he abandon her like this?! He owed her an explanation! And she would see that she got it, and there would be no one to intervene this time!

"The State versus Lindsay Peterson," the bailiff called out.

Lindsay lumbered awkwardly to her feet, the ankle shackles not making for the easy mobility and glide she was used to. Instead her steps were measured yet clunky, the chain beating a staccato rhythm with every step she took.

"Mr. Brady, is your client prepared to enter her plea?"

"She is, Your Honor,"

"Does the state have anything to add?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Claire Fallon, the ADA on this case stated. "We request that bail be denied, as Ms Peterson is considered a flight risk. She is from a well-to-do family, and her former partner is an attorney of some note. According to the bank records that were subpoenaed, Ms Peterson has a substantial amount of money, which if allowed access to, could aid in her disappearance indefinitely, and well beyond the length of time for the statute of limitations on these charges under the law,"

"Lindsay Peterson," Judge Alexander looked her in the eye. "The charges against you are for Unlawful Entry into Mr Brian Kinney's residence at 6 Tremont Street apartment 4A and for an Extortion Attempt made after you had given birth to Christian Armani Taylor-Kinney. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, Your Honor," Lindsay gasped, forcing the tears to come into her eyes.

Jamison looked at her, disdain clouding his eyes, which he wasn't even trying to hide. He knew Lindsay Peterson from the time he and Roy were young college men; knew the lessons she'd learned at her mother's knee like every other WASP Princess he'd ever known. He and Roy often used to joke about how learning to cry on command was part of the girls' etiquette curriculum the female students were required to attend in school. He was from that same WASP world as was she, so if Lindsay Peterson thought she was fooling anyone, it certainly wasn't him.

"You can feel free to stop the waterworks now, Ms Peterson. The evidence against you is as overwhelming as your performance is underwhelming. Trial date, for which I am the officiating judge, will be in two weeks from today. Please return the prisoner back to her cell; Bail is denied," He slammed his gavel down on the desk, signaling an end to Lindsay's hearing and called for the next case.

The gasps around the courtroom weren't only those coming from Lindsay, but from the other occupants as well. Although fair, no one in or out of the courtroom had ever heard Judge Jamison Alexander be so harsh in his speech. It was surprising because there seemed to be no empathy within him for the accused. Even while delivering sentences to hardened criminals, or even return offenders, there was always a level of compassion with which Judge Alexander meted out justice. But today, it was notably absent. It looked like it was going to be a long day in court.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At recess, an officer had come up to Melanie, advising that the judge wanted to see her in his chambers, along with Justin Taylor and Brian Kinney. All three were kind of confused by the order, but obeyed nonetheless. Arriving within the judge's chambers, Melanie heard the gasps from both of the men standing beside her.

"Laura? What the fuck are you doing in here?" Melanie heard Justin spew. In all the time she had known the young blond, she was always amazed at his poise and ability to keep his cool, even under the intense scrutiny and insults hurled by Lindsay.

"Justin, it's not what you're thinking..." the young blonde woman answered.

"Not what I'm thinking? Not what I'm thinking?! Well tell me Laura, what am I thinking right now?"

"That's enough, young man," Judge Alexander said. No one had heard him re-enter the room or the other man who was with him, who looked vaguely familiar to both Justin and Melanie. "Please, all of you have a seat. I'd like to introduce my colleague. This is Judge Roy Russo. Roy, I believe you know Laura Wright and Melanie Marcus, but have not formally been introduced to Justin Taylor."

"Taylor? As in Craig Taylor's son?"

"It's my unfortunate reality to be one and the same, I assure you," Justin said. The glib tone belied the abject truth of Justin's words, and they all knew it.

"Well, although I hate the circumstances in which we are meeting young man, it is most certainly an honor to meet you. I apologize for any role I played in allowing your father to denounce you, but it really was for a good cause,"

"Really? How could you say such a thing when Justin was allowed to be kicked out and maligned by his sperm donor, in exchange for position and power?" Brian, who had been silent up until that point, asked. His ire was even more apparent than his partner's.

"We'll get to that in moment. I assure you both that you will have your answers before you leave here today, but there are a few more things we need to address, including hearing Laura's side of things. I brought you in here so that we could go ahead and settle the Defamation of Character lawsuit as well as the one for Slander. Laura acknowledges what she did was wrong..."

"It was fucked up! Forgive my language, but wrong doesn't even begin to describe what she, her mother, and the man I once considered my father have done to me," Justin's voice cracked.

For Melanie's part, she sat there in silence, shocked at the display of high emotions from the usually calm and well-mannered Justin. Also affecting her in a profound way was Brian's responses and body language towards the younger man. "That explains why they are in here, but why am I exactly? I wasn't there for Michael and Lindsay's part in his DOC suit and most certainly not at Kinnetik when this... person tried to do damage to Justin. Admittedly, I've done him wrong while trying to hurt Brian. But that's different,"

"Yes it is, Ms. Marcus. But then again, it's not so much. What you've done to Mr. Kinney over the years has merit for his own suit, especially in terms of your constant character assassination, much like Craig Taylor's. In fact, Craig Taylor received much of the information he found out about Brian Kinney, Ms. Marcus, by way of information given from your own lips. Granted, you weren't privy to being overheard and recorded when you were out and about with Lindsay. But as you well know, as long as one of the two parties knows they are taping, anything recorded can be admissible in court," Roy explained.

"So then what do you want from me?" Melanie asked warily. She knew all of what the judge said was true. But how was she to know that both scolding her wife in public, and lamenting Brian's constant bad habit of breathing, would result in this kind of chastisement?

"Not so much what I want, as much as I want to tell you what is going to happen," Jamie told her, looking around the room at all of the occupants. "Although your license is in jeopardy because of your collusion with Lindsay Peterson, whether it is going to be suspended or permanently revoked is entirely up to you. Do I know that you were basically coerced into keeping the peace within your home? Sure, I do. But that doesn't excuse you from knowing of illegal activity which, as an officer of the court, you should have reported at the time it happened, instead of almost a year later and not out of decency, but reeking of spite and self-preservation.

Melanie, I won't lie and say that I am not disappointed in you. You were, and still are, a brilliant attorney. But you have managed to let that harridan change you into a vicious, backstabbing, underhanded, low-down, calculating cunt. But because you were only an accomplice- complicit or not- I have decided to handle this personally, as opposed to sending you to the review board. Since you employed tactics of emotional extortion when confronting Mr Kinney and Mr Taylor, I shall do the same of you.

"You will bear witness to Laura's tale, and you will have your license suspended for two years, which will be contingent upon you taking some courses in anger management and being demoted down to file clerk here within my office. You will vacate your partnership at your firm immediately, so that this will not become public knowledge. Should you decide that you do not want to do these things voluntarily, I'll wish you much success taking your chances with the review board where there is a very miniscule chance that you will not be disbarred. I'll warn you though, based on your testimony and admission of guilt to collusion with Lindsay, I doubt you will walk away with your job or even probation. No, they are going to jail you. Perhaps you can share a cell with your former lover,"

Melanie paled further and further as Jamison laid out the reality of her situation. In all honesty, she hadn't thought much about the repercussions to her career; only about winning against her nemesis, who really wasn't an enemy at all. All she could see was shutting Lindsay's mouth, and paying the bills so that she could stop feeling like a mack truck was crushing down on her every month. She just wanted a little bit of ease. But now, all of her passivity within her and Lindsay's relationship within the last two years had come at the ultimate price... her career.

Who was she without it?

Melanie couldn't even answer that question anymore. Or if she did, she was fucking afraid of the answer. Afraid that the answer would uncover the scared woman she had become, instead of the young lioness she used to be before Lindsay. It might reveal the emotionally abused creature who was more prone to shy away from confrontation behind closed doors than to stand up for herself, except on those rare occasions where Lindsay's actions were legally questionable. Well now it was time to take herself back, no longer willing to be Lindsay's live-in puppet instead of a woman in her own right.

"Okay Jamie- Judge Alexander- I accept your terms. But first, I owe Brian and Justin an apology. I know it doesn't mean much, but I truly, TRULY am sorry. I won't claim complete innocence of scheming against you Brian, but you were changing and you deserved the chance to change with and for the man you clearly love. I see now that this was Lindsay's last ditch effort to claim a foothold in your life. I can't say that I blame her, only because of the current state of affairs between you and Michael. But that doesn't excuse what I did to you. I think I wanted to make you pay, simply because you were Lindsay's dream and I was nothing to her but a consolation prize. It's not your fault as I had believed all these years, but it lies within Lindsay. I know that we will never be friends, Brian and Justin, but I hope that someday you can find it in your hearts to forgive me,"

Justin tightened his hold on Brian's hand, blue eyes focusing on the swirl of hazel regarding him. The communication in them was clear: anger, hurt, consternation, and contemplation. After a few moments, Justin saw the one thing he needed to see there... acceptance. Clearing his throat, he spoke directly to Melanie.

"I think that I can safely speak for Brian and myself when I say that what you did was beyond reprehensible. It was selfish and cruel. But ultimately, you and Lindsay also gave us a gift- two of them. Tiffany and Christian are well-loved and will be cherished always, despite their reasons for being or how they got here. I want you to know, that we forgive you, Mel, but we will never forget this duplicity, or the part you played in it. So regardless of everything, we wish you well in whatever road you decide to take but be smart, be cautious, and never allow yourself to be used so callously again. The next person or people, may not be so forgiving,"

"Well said, Justin," Jamison praised him. "I think Christopher Earle would be proud of you, for you embody the very quote of being humble in victory. Now onto the other matter. Your father..."

"Consider me an orphan," Justin said, short in his delivery.

Jamison smirked at the young man's quick wit. "Very well. How shall we refer to him for your benefit?"

"Asshole, ignoramus, Cunty Craig- which I hear he's called at the country club, or anything else you choose to call him, as long as it's not my father. As far as I'm concerned, I haven't had one since I was seventeen, and I don't need one now,"

"Fair enough. So are you willing to hear what Laura has to say?"

"I'm more interested in what Judge Russo has to say,"

"We can certainly address that, but I think you will find her tale sheds a different light on all of your interactions to date. Also it would answer a few questions that Roy had going into this as well,"

With a long-suffering sigh, Justin waved for Laura to begin her story. Honestly, he couldn't imagine that there was even one thing she had to say which would remotely hold any interest for him. As far as he was concerned, she was a jealous, spiteful whore with dreams of having his life prior to being kicked out of his childhood home. But it all backfired on her, and she must have finally figured out that being linked to Craig Taylor in any way, shape, or form wasn't in the best interests of sane people, let alone those who could be termed criminally insane.

"Justin, regardless of everything I have done, I really didn't set out in this to cause you harm, but to help my mother and me. You know some of the story, but not all of it. There were some really evil people that my mother was mixed up with just before meeting your father. She saw him as our savior. He paid off our creditors; gave us a place to stay and gave Mom a job. She didn't even know that he was married at the beginning of the affair. It wasn't until your mom arrived at the store because she needed Craig's insurance card for Molly, which he had in his wallet. I know that you know how controlling your father was. Well that even extended to taking you and your sister for basic medical appointments. That was the day your sister had to be hospitalized for a few days because of her allergic reaction to peanut butter,"

Justin nodded. "According to Mom, Molly had basically developed the allergy overnight,"

Well, Craig had basically yelled his head off about Molly landing in the hospital, although it wasn't anyone's fault. My mom kept him from hitting Jennifer when she happened up in the office unexpectedly,"

"Well okay, Catherine played a saint, for once. Although I am grateful, since every now and again Craig decided that his wife and his children needed heavy-handed discipline, it still doesn't explain how you ended up trying to destroy me,"

"That was two-fold really. From the outside looking in, you had a charmed life, Justin. You went to the best school, had a well-to-do, two-parent household with folks who loved you for yourself, and not for what was between your legs. The day you and that guy were found in your bedroom was the happiest day of my life- or at least, I thought it was. With him kicking you out, that meant it was my chance to take your place even though I am a few years older than you. So I started trying to make myself invaluable to Craig. Mother was pushing for him to divorce your mom, which I suspect he never would have done had she not found out the truth about your disappearance. Daphne went crazy looking for you, so it made it easy for Craig to manipulate her parents into placing ultimatums on her, which included breaking up with Glenn by starting rumors about what he was planning, which was a lie, but it worked. Getting the job at Kinnetik was the icing on the cake for me.

At first, I was to look for you. Once I found you I was to report to Craig how bad you were doing. He knew the area you were in, and since I got a job at Kinnetik, I would be in the same area. It took both of us by surprise when you showed up at Kinnetik, at first as an errand boy and then working your way up to Executive Liaison. I was ordered to destroy you again, before any of your friends and family found you. After they did, I was ordered to discredit you so that if you even thought of seeking legal restitution for what Craig had done, you would already be deemed a liar and as street trash looking to get rich quick.

What none of us counted on was you and Brian falling for each other. When Craig found that out, he became irate- angrier than I had ever seen him- but I couldn't figure out the reason why, since he put you out without support and expected you to have to sell your ass to be able to survive. It wasn't until I asked that question- or more to the point, Harlen asked- that we discovered that he wanted you dead, but didn't have the balls to hire someone to do it. If you died on the streets, he couldn't be held accountable for your bad decisions, which were really his underhanded tactics.

When your mom divorced him, she brought up the prenup which is why she got everything with the exception of his electronics store. Even though she could have taken that, too, if she wanted it. He blamed you for giving your mother the ammunition to leave him with limited funds. And when she found out about your bank account, and what he was using your money for, there was no recovery for him, socially nor financially. People think that it's strictly because of my mother that she and Craig are not allowed within the upper tier of the WASP nest. But in actuality, it's because of what he'd done to you. Judge Russo helped him pay off some people to give credence to his claims, although no one believed it. But there was little any of us could do,"

"That's bullshit! You both could have come forward and told my mother everything," Justin stated.

"That's true, but we had our own things going, too, Justin," Roy stated. "For my part, Craig helped me get a dear friend away from her husband, so that she wouldn't have him suffering uterine cancer alongside her. She didn't want Jamie to spend his life taking care of her,"

"Oddly, that makes a sense to me," Brian said.

At Justin's stunned look, Brian continued, "Hear me out, Azure. Had this been a few years ago, I would have done the exact same thing. She loved him enough to let him go, whether he wanted his freedom or not,"

Turning to Jamie, Brian asked, "How is she?"

"Alive and well, remarried and living in Europe," Jamie smiled. "We still speak regularly. In fact, Laura and I are supposed to visit her in the next few weeks,"

"You and Laura?"

"Yes. After Harlen left, she and I have been taking things slow. They pulled a ‘Daphne' on her where I was concerned, after my wife left. But that was okay, because Laura was still my friend throughout it all. Everything else was just what it was. But now I have to warn you that Craig has found out about your children somehow,"

"WHAT?" Justin sat up, fully alert with a look of abject horror and terror across his face.

"He called me to start proceedings to take them away from you and Brian," Roy confided. "I told him that I would think about it, even though I have no intention of doing any such thing,"

Brian and Justin relaxed marginally. "So what happens now?"

"He'll probably seek out a lawyer, to be ready when it's time to present his case. I would suggest you do the same, in case Craig gets some other asshole- who just happens to be a homophobe- to hear his case, when I tell him I won't do it.

And with that last bit of information, Brian and Justin said their goodbyes and got up to leave. It was time to preserve the Taylor-Kinney's in every way that mattered. Opening the door, Justin was surprised to see not only Harriet, but Deb and his mother as well.

"What are you three doing back here?" Justin asked, directing his question to on one in particular.

Harriet answered, "As for me, I needed to speak to Jamison and Roy. I just found out that Laura was back here. Amazingly enough, I just received a call from Catherine Taylor informing me that Craig was now in a meeting with his lawyer about taking the children away from their fathers. So I'm here to appeal to your good sense- that is if you have any left." She directed her narrowed eyes at Roy, who squirmed in his chair under her scrutiny.

Justin thought that it must be fun to wield that much power with a simple look, to even make judges tremble. He would have to ask Harriet to teach him that. He turned to his mother.

"Well that explains Harriet's presence, Mom. But what about you?"

Jennifer remained silent, but moved into the office. Looking at each of the occupants, her eyes squinted when she regarded her prey, standing there as a spider would in the middle of a web. Jennifer placed her purse on the edge of the Jamie's desk, taking off her rings and placing them alongside it. Then, donning a pair of black leather gloves, Jennifer moved stealthily over towards the end of the couch. Before Brian or Justin fully realized her intent, Jennifer reared back her balled fist and sent it flying forward into the jaw of Melanie Marcus, who, caught off guard, didn't have time to deflect the left hook or move out of the way of it. The former bull-dyke attorney slumped forward, being caught from hitting the floor by the blond young woman who was sitting quietly beside her.

"I remember what that feels like," Laura muttered as she leaned Melanie back against the arm of the chair.

"Good! So the next time you decide to fuck with me and mine, you'll know what's coming and know to run and hide," Jennifer told her, removing the leather gloves and checking her hands over to make sure she didn't bruise her delicate knuckles as she had months ago when she had knocked Laura out with the same left hook.

Justin shook his head before turning back to a chuckling Harriet and a cackling Deb. "And why did you come back here, Deb? To check on us?"

Deb quieted long enough to answer him. "Not at all, Sunshine. I knew you and Brian were perfectly capable of taking care of yourselves. No, I came to watch the fireworks! You were right, Harriet. That left hook of Jennifer's is a thing of beauty! That gal should really hold a class."

And the belle dames of his heart left as quickly as they came in, still talking as if his mom hadn't just pulled a Mike Tyson in the middle of a judge's chambers.

"Damnnnnn," all three of the remaining men exclaimed, before Jamison said, "Melanie is going to wake up with a helluva bruise and a possible concussion. I think she got off easy."

"I think we have all learned what happens when you piss a ‘J Taylor' off. First Jennifer, then Justin, and now Jennifer again. What is the world coming to?" Roy asked.

"How about we all just not find out," Brian offered as he ushered himself and Justin toward the heavy oak door Jennifer's posse just went through. "Good day, Gentlemen, and Laura. And good luck if you get on the wrong side of those Belle Dames. Oh, and tell Mel to take two Advils to reduce the swelling and calm the headache, and ice packs for the first twenty-four hours and then moist heat. She's going to wake with one helluva bruise," Brian chuckled as he closed the door, signaling his and Justin's final departure from the courthouse and the munchers. "I've wanted to do that for years. Remind me to thank your mother,"

"Well, jewelry always works. Just don't get her a set of boxing gloves." Justin's droll response caused Brian to laugh even harder.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael was walking along Liberty Avenue when he heard a group of queens gossiping. When he heard Brian's name, he slowed down to listen. Apparently, they were party planners and were planning a wedding for Brian and Justin. Feeling even lower than he had been previously, he turned around and headed for Woody's. To hell with looking for a job; the motel manager will just have to wait another fucking week for payment.

This was more important!

After several hours at the bar, he thought about going home. Thinking about how to get there, he realized his car was around the corner. Once he got in his car, he thought about going home and decided he would drive around for a while first and think about his life. The one thing he knew for sure was that everything that had gone wrong in his life had been caused by that fucking gold-digging hustler, Justin Taylor. Before that whore came around Brian spent time with him, his mother protected him and did what he asked her to do, and Ted and Emmett were his friends.

Thinking back to his last time he'd seen or spoken to his mother got him even angrier:

Michael headed to his mother's house on a day he knew she was off. He was getting tired of her defending that little whore and was going to straighten her out once and for all! He put in his key to unlock the door, twisting it he wondered why there wasn't the ‘click' of the sketchy lock as there always had been since his youth. He tried again and... nothing happened. He leaned on the bell until she answered. When she opened the door, wearing her ‘lounge around the house' outfit, he glared at her.

"Why doesn't my key work?" He asked, accusingly, pushing past her and walking in.

"Because we changed the locks. Carl lives here now, and we don't want everyone just walking in," Deb answered.

"Well you can get me one later. For now, you need to get dressed so we can go to the bank,"

"I don't need to go to the bank, Michael,"

"Uh, yes, you do. You need to take out a new mortgage on this house, so I can finally finish paying off that bullshit lawsuit to the fucking hustler! And I also need money for either a big down payment on a house, or enough to put down for a lease and several months rent on an apartment," Michael told his mother, folding his arms and waiting in expectation for his tersely-worded order to be followed.

"And who is going to make the mortgage payments?" She asked, stunned at the audacity of her son.

"You and Carl, of course. I figured since he wants to play stepdaddy, he could help my Ma in supporting me. Besides, you're both working so I can't see why not," Michael answered, looking at Deb like she was some kind of idiot for even asking the question.

"So, let me make sure I have this straight: You want me to take out a mortgage on MY house, and pay it off myself, to pay for a lawsuit against you because of something YOU DID. And I- or WE- should also pay for a place for you to live. Do I have that right?"

"Yes, at least you were finally listening. Now get dressed so we can go," Michael announced, tapping his foot and pointing toward the stairs.

"NO! You can sell off the rest of your fucking collectibles! And then you can get off your ass and get a job, you childish little shit! Why do you think I should be held responsible for paying a judgement against you because YOU shot YOUR fucking mouth off at the WRONG person?!"

"Because you said you would to talk to Brian, and obviously you weren't persuasive enough. You were supposed to get him to get that fucking hustler to drop the suit, and you didn't do it. So it's you should pay for the lawsuit," Michael answered, shrugging like it was the most logical solution to his problems in the world.

"I've got news for you, Michael. Justin is a wonderful young man. You had absolutely no right to say what you did about him, and you deserved what you got in court. I WILL NOT take out a mortgage to pay Justin. Like I said, you can sell your collectibles, get a loan, sell your ass and mouth to the highest bidder; do whatever the fuck you have to do, but YOU will pay Justin yourself! Stop blaming other people for what is wrong in your life. Everything bad that is going on in your life right now has been caused by you, and you alone. The only thing I am guilty of is letting you get away with things and blaming others, especially Brian, so often and so much that it became a way of life for you. But I've already taken measures to correct my wrongs; and have made amends to the people I have used to make your life better out of misplaced guilt and anger with myself. So I'll advise you to do the same. Take a good look at your life, Michael, and you will realize that you have brought these things on yourself. Now I have plans to relax and watch movies today, so please leave and do what you need to do to pay Justin what YOU owe him." Deb answered him as she sat down on the couch and picked up the remote.

Michael left, slamming the door as hard as he could on the way out of his mother's house and had not spoken to her since.

Continuing to drive, the more he thought about what Justin had done to wreck his life, the more agitated he got and the harder he pushed on the gas. He was in such a rage that he didn't even notice that he had crossed into the oncoming lane. He heard a car horn but it was too late, then there was nothing... Nothing, but darkness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Craig and Catherine were driving home, still arguing about Craig trying to take the babies away from Justin and Brian. She was trying to convince him that it would be a waste of money; money that they didn't have because business was down since Craig's outbursts, and getting thrown out of the Country Club. In addition, he still had to pay alimony and child support, which cut into their available cash even more.

"If we need to pay a lawyer for anything, it should be to get rid of the alimony you are paying to that fucking bitch of an ex-wife of yours. She has a fucking job. You should not have to support her at all! And as I've already told you, I have no intention of raising two more fucking brats. So unless you would like to start paying another alimony bill, you will give up this stupid notion of yours to get those kids!"

Craig backhanded his shrew of a wife. "Don't tell me what you will and will not do! You will do as you're fucking told!"

They were so busy arguing that neither one was really paying attention to the road. Suddenly Craig was blinded by headlights coming straight at his car. He leaned on the horn, but the car continued to careen toward him. There was nowhere for Craig to maneuver his vehicle unless it was off the bridge to the right of the lane. He knew that death was imminent, but whose he was unsure of.

The last thing Craig could hear and feel was the horrible sound of crunching metal, the caving in of his chest cavity as the airbag deployed against it, the re-breaking of his nose as the car pitched forward, causing his entire face to not only hit the airbag a second time, but also the driver side window. There was no denying the sound of breaking glass, as the windshield exploded on impact. Where once there was a screaming and shouting match spewing forth from the passenger side of the vehicle... there was now only silence. Where a few moments ago there were blinding white lights heading towards him, now there were two mangled cars steadily falling over the side of the bridge, which Craig had been trying to avoid. The last sound heard anywhere was a splash and then sirens off in the distance, after being alerted to the trouble. And as for the occupants in either of the cars involved in the crash... there was nothing.

CHAPTER 13

Michael's car landed near the shore, where a bunch of kids were hanging out. One of the kids called the police as soon as he heard the cars crash and a couple of others swam to the car to see if they could help. They managed to pull open the door and drag an unconscious Michael out of the car, then to the shore before the car went under the water. Unfortunately, the other car had landed upside down in deeper water and because the windows were smashed it had submerged immediately. The paramedics, police with divers, and fire department were there within two minutes, and even though the divers jumped right in they were unable to find the other car since the sun was setting.

Soon it was too dark, and they had been forced to call off the search until morning. In the meantime, Michael had been taken to the hospital, while the police started their investigation of the accident. One of the first officers on the scene was a friend of Carl's, and recognized Michael on sight. He called Carl right away, so that he could tell the man's mother. Deb and Carl arrived at the hospital right after the ambulance, each worried, but for different reasons.

Michael was with the doctor, and had obviously regained consciousness. As was his wont lately, he was yelling and being belligerent. Neither were sure they wanted to deal with the man just yet, but knew they needed to gather as many facts as they could before having to deal with Michael.

"Carl, Michael sounds drunk. I hope he didn't hurt anyone else. He may be my son, but he has made some stupid decisions lately. I know you're off-duty, but can you see if you can find out anything about the accident?" Deb asked, concerned that Michael may have done something that could have long lasting consequences.

While Carl made the call to see if he could find out the details of the accident, the doctor came out to speak with Deb. "Ms Novotny, I'm Dr Harrison. I've examined your son and it appears his spine was severed in the accident. He also appears to be drunk and possibly high. He is very hostile towards the both the staff and me. At this point, we have had to restrain him. Would you like to come speak with him before we take him upstairs?"

"Yes, I would like to see him. Does he know what's happened?" Deb asked, as the doctor walked her back to see Michael.

"I told him, but I'm not sure he has really taken it all in yet. That's a normal response under these circumstances though,"

"Do you happen to know if there was anyone else involved in the accident, doctor?"

"I do know that two cars were seen going off the bridge, but I have no idea about any other victims. I do know that your son was the only victim brought in so far,"

Seeing her son restrained to the bed, Deb starts to cry, "Michael, what happened?"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT! YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE KEEPS PISSING ME OFF! That fucking hustler took Brian away from me, Ben is off fucking someone else, Ted won't talk to me, and Emmett hit me when I made a comment about that slut. Now you're too busy with that damned cop to do anything for me and YOU WON'T EVEN HELP ME PAY THAT FUCKER OFF! You and the rest of them can GO TO HELL! Get the fuck away from me UNLESS YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHAT I WANT!"

"And exactly what is it you want, Michael?"

Michael smiled, his inebriated mind reveling in the fact that he had her right where he wanted her. It's about fucking time she remembers that I'm her son; that I'm the ONLY important person in her life!! He thought as he began to make his demands. "You are to get rid of that fucking cop! You are to give me the money I want! You are to talk to Brian again and make him understand that I COME FIRST! And you are to refuse to serve or help anyone who doesn't want to be MY friend! Now, you have five minutes to decide,"

"I don't need five minutes. Goodbye, Michael. Have a nice life!"

With tears for her lost son, Debbie walked out of the emergency room to find Carl. She could hear Michael screaming for her to return to his side. She knew that she's shocked him; knew that he didn't expect her to choose herself, and finally put her wants and needs before his own. Although it hurt like hell to do, Deb knows within herself that she just made the best possible decision. Oh, but it fucking HURTS!

Carl saw Deb coming out of the back crying and opened his arms to the woman he loved. He hated to be the one to have to tell her what he had found out, but she deserved to know.

"Hey, Beautiful. Why don't we sit down?"

"No, Carl, I just want to get out of here. Let's go home and talk,"

The ride back to the house was quiet, with both occupants of the car lost in their own thoughts. Once in the house Carl led Deb to the couch, not looking forward to what he needed to tell her.

"Deb, I did as you asked and spoke to the crew investigating the accident. The news is not good. According to witness accounts, and what they are discovering about the accident, it looks like Michael was totally at fault. Two cars went off the bridge, the other one hasn't been recovered yet. The divers went right in, but couldn't find it. Now they have had to suspend the search until morning," Carl told the woman he loved sadly.

"Oh my God! Carl, I feel horrible for the other driver. Well, Michael has really done it this time! The doctor said that he was clearly drunk and possibly high, too. In addition to that, his spine was severed in the accident," Deb told Carl, then she went on to tell him about Michael's demands and her answer to him. He then held her, trying to comfort her in her grief.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two weeks after Craig and Catherine's funerals, Jen stopped by the house to visit her grandbabies and speak with Justin. Justin happily let his mother in and sees a smirk on her face.

"What's up Mom? You look like you're about to burst,"

"Well, I have something for you. You know that Craig's estate was settled. Well, he had insurance policies in both yours and your sister's names. They were started when you were born,"

"I figured he would have let that go, when he decided I was no longer his son,"

"I guess he forgot that he had them. When we divorced I made sure they were still in force and continued to use some of the support money to make sure the premiums were kept up. Well, I have your check for the policy that was in your name. Here it is," Jennifer told her son as she handed him the check.

Taking the check from his mother, Justin looked at the amount. "WHAT THE FUCK?! Mom, this check is for ten million dollars,"

"Yes, because Craig was killed in an accident the policy paid double,"

"Mom, I'll sign this over to you. You should use this for you and Molly,"

"No Justin, this is yours. Molly and I also have policies, both for the same amount. I made sure I kept up the one that he had for me, too. I figured you might not want to take the money, but just listen to me. You could use this money to do something that would make that homophobic asshole turn over in his grave. I will not take this from you, Justin. After what he did to you, he owes you. I've already contacted Ted about investing the money for Molly and me,"

That night Brian and Justin had a long talk about what to do with the money. They both liked Jen's idea of doing something with the money that would be totally against anything Craig would ever want.

"You know, Justin, there are a lot of kids that are thrown away by their families for the same reason you were. What do you think about a place- maybe like a boarding house- where they could live and learn how to do something? You could teach art classes and maybe even open a gallery. Craig always hated that you were an artist. That could be the perfect FUCK YOU to him,"

"I like both those ideas, Irish. Especially opening a gallery. We could showcase art done by LGBT teens and young adults. I even have a name for it. ‘THE RAINBOW CONNECTION',"

"If you want, you can have Ted take care of investing some of the money, while we keep the rest as cash on hand. He's good and he could make sure there would be enough to keep up with both your projects. He'll also find self-sustaining investments so that they will never be without funding. If anyone else wants to invest, by all means they can. But we should come up with a board, so that a private investor won't be able to bully any one person into making a self-serving decision to glorify, or further their own personal agendas," Brian told him.

Turning in Brian's arms, Justin kissed the man he loved with all his heart. "I am so lucky to have you, Irish. And it's OUR money, not just mine. You and our children are the best things that ever happened to me,"

"I'm the lucky one. The three of you have made my life complete. I love you, Azure,"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Carl and Deb showed up at Kinnetik, needing to talk to Brian. They needed a favor and were hoping that Brian, and the others, would help them out. Brian had seen that he had an appointment with his mom and her detective, and was curious. Getting up to greet the couple Brian asked, "Is everything alright? I was surprised to see I had an appointment with you two,"

"Everything is fine. We are hoping that you and the boys would help us with something. Deb and I want to get married," Carl announced.

Getting up, Brian embraced Deb and then Carl. "That's wonderful! What do you need?"

Carl spoke first, "Well, I'd be honored if you would be my best man,"

Then Deb added, "After you give me away,"

Brian was thrilled and couldn't help the tears that were threatening to fall. "I would be honored to be there for both of you, and to be a part of your wedding. Would you like to do it at our house?"

"That would be wonderful. We'd also like the rest of the gang to be a part of the wedding," Deb told him.

"Deb, why don't you go talk to Justin? I need to talk to Brian for a minute," Carl said.

After Deb went into Justin's office, Carl and Brian sat on the sofa. "Brian, I'm also hoping that you can find a way to help me convince Deb to retire from the diner. I will be retiring soon, and I have enough between savings and my pension that she doesn't need to keep working,"

"Carl, I have an idea, but I need to go over some things with Justin tonight. I will give you a call in the morning. I do agree about Deb getting out of the diner though. Too many memories, for all of us. Let me see what we can come up with,"

"Thanks, Brian. I'm so glad Deb has one son that cares,"

"Don't worry about it, Carl. And really, she has five,"

LATER THAT EVENING

"Azure, Carl asked me today to help him convince Deb to retire from the diner. Carl is also planning to retire from the police department. What do you think of asking them to run the Sunbow Safe House?"

"I think that's a perfect idea, Irish. You know that Deb needs to be needed, and this would certainly be something she would be good at. But I'm thinking we should do something for them first. See if they can come to Kinnetik in the morning,"

NEXT MORNING AT KINNETIK

Sitting down in Brian's office, Justin hands Carl and Deb an envelope. Opening the envelope Deb starts crying and Carl looks confused. "Boys, we can't let you do this," Deb says, handing the paper to Carl. Carl looks at the page and shakes his head. On the page is the itinerary for a three month honeymoon cruise on a private yacht with a full crew.

"We want to do this for you. If you want to change any of the ports, just let us know and it will be changed," Brian told the stunned couple.

"We also want to tell you about a couple of things. One is I will be opening a gallery called The Rainbow Connection. I want to showcase work from LGBT youth. Another thing we will be doing is opening what will essentially be a boarding house and training center for LGBT kids that can't live at home because they have parents like Craig. The best part is that all of this will be financed by Craig's insurance policy that he had in my name," Justin announced.

"And Deb, we would also like to ask you something. Would you be willing to retire from the diner, and run the center for us?" Brian asked, smiling his best ‘puppy dog' smile. "You wouldn't be doing it alone. There will be counselors, and teachers. And hopefully a retired detective..." 

"You don't need to answer right away. The building still has to be remodeled, and we need to get a lot of things set up. It's just that you are the two people we thought of first for this. Please think about it," Justin added, hoping that they would decide to take the positions.

"What building are you remodeling for this?" Deb asked, wondering where they found something big enough to do all the things they were talking about doing.

"The old Catholic school, two blocks off Liberty. It's been closed for a couple of years. It's huge and the Archdiocese decided to put it up for sale, so we bought it. It has an attached convent that we will probably use for the offices and whatever else we need," Brian answered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brian and Justin sent the couple out for a special dinner, hoping that they would talk and see that this would be a good thing for both of them. They ate and enjoyed dinner, deciding to think over the offer later. They would rather discuss their honeymoon that they were looking forward to so much.

Later on in bed after ‘relaxing' for an hour, they started to discuss Brian and Justin's proposal to work together at the Sunbow Safe House.

Carl started "Well I'm already planning on retiring, so it is something I would have plenty of time to do. I like the idea of being able to help these kids."

"Honestly, the only reason I've never wanted to retire is because I worry about these kids. I always try to look out for and help kids that stupid people have thrown away, for no other reason than the way they were born. Being able to help kids like this makes me feel good. What happened to Justin should never happen to any child. I just thank God that he and Brian found each other. Those two are so perfectly matched. I think I'd like to take the boys up on the offer. I was also thinking about what he said about the convent. I've been there; it's huge. Maybe we could take one floor to live on and then Vic and Rodney could move in here. They rent and this place is paid for, all they'd have to do is pay the taxes. It would save them money. What do you think?"

"I think I'm marrying the most wonderful woman in the world. I love you, Deb. We'll call the boys in the morning and talk to them,"

"I really hate that I did such a horrible job with my own son that he ended up where he is. I feel like I failed by protecting him so much. He thought he had the right to do anything he wanted and that I would always be there to fix it for him. It was only after he and Ben moved into the house that I saw how selfish and nasty he had really become. He suddenly acted like he was so above everyone else. No matter what I said to him, he felt he had a right to demand and get everything he wanted. Maybe doing this will help to make up for that,"

"Honey, you have nothing to make up for. Michael was an adult; he made the decisions he did as an adult. He decided to act like that all on his own. He knew better. You taught him better,"

Deb let the matter rest as she snuggled into Carl. She knew deep down that he was right, but she still felt the weight of responsibility. Because of her son, people were dead. Granted, they weren't nice folks, but they were still family to somebody. A lot of people were hurt repeatedly by Michael, but none more than Brian and Justin. If she could atone for the part she played in that by raising that egocentric little monster, she was prepared to spend the rest of her life doing that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Calling Brian in the morning, Deb told him that they would like to accept the offer and also asked what he thought about them moving into one floor of the convent so she could give Vic and Rodney the house. Justin and Brian loved that idea, and asked Deb to come to Kinnetik for lunch so that they could discuss the renovations for the convent. Once all the plans were set for the renovations, Brian found contractors and the work started on their dreams.

EPILOGUE: Two years later

Daphne and Glenn -

After a destination wedding in Aruba, they were given a month long honeymoon by Brian and Justin. Two weeks after they got home, Daphne found out she was pregnant. She had a wonderful pregnancy, and gave birth to twins, Aiden and Cole. They are making plans for their twins first birthday in a month. Tiffany and Christian were thrilled that their ‘cousins' have finally started walking.

Harriet -

Harriet decided to retire from the family business, Glenn and Daphne would be taking over. Loves her four grandchildren equally. Volunteers at Sunbow Safe House and hires most of the kids to work at the country club. A Belle Dame in every sense of the word, Harriet still rules the WASP nest, alongside Jennifer, with an iron fist in a velvet glove. The new addition to their group keeps both women in stitches with her no bullshit approach to life in general. Amazingly enough, Deb has fit right in, teaching them all not to judge books by their covers, or based on a checkbook. Carl is also well-liked, but prefers to let Harriet, Jennifer, and Deb shine.

Ted and Blake -

Blake moved in with Ted once Tiffany and Christian turned two. Ted is still Brian's CFO and right hand at Kinnetik. Blake works at Sunbow and is the head counselor. Ted also volunteers there when his hectic schedule allows. Although still not parents themselves, Ted and Blake spend as much time with Tiffany and Christian as Brian and Justin will allow. Every now and again, they will call in the Belle Dames for reinforcements, knowing that Brian and Justin will reluctantly give in. It's all done in fun and love, and for the two men who were searching for acceptance in a very wrong place- at the rock bottom of their addictions- they found each other and keep each other on the road to recovery. More importantly, they keep each other sane and secure in themselves and each other.

Emmett and Drew -

They are still together and looking into adopting. Drew retired from football and works at Sunbow as the athletic director. Emmett and Darren's catering business took off and they opened a small bakery on Liberty Avenue for people to come in and sample their creations.

Most of their employees come from Sunbow. Emmett and Darren also have apprentice cooks that they get from Sunbow.

Vic and Rodney -

Followed along with everyone else and got married. Vic took some interior design classes and now does room designs for a lot of the country club members. Rodney now runs the furniture store with Vic. Rodney realized he had a knack for woodworking and makes custom pieces for the store along with teaching woodworking to his apprentices from Sunbow.   

Michael - 

Michael was having the worst time of his life in prison. The shock of being sentenced to 40 years in prison was minimal compared to the reality. It didn't help that when the toxicology report from the hospital was submitted, it revealed Michael Blood Alcohol Content to be four times the legal limit. Coupled with the heroin he had taken earlier that night and remnants of cocaine still present in his system, Michael should have been arrested simply for walking to the bathroom. It was determined that he knowingly got behind the wheel of the car, which killed Catherine Taylor on impact.

Although Craig Taylor officially died of asphyxiation due to a crushed thorax, it was determined that the deployment of the airbag during the initial collision is what caused it. Therefore, Michael was held one-hundred percent responsible for his death. Michael then tried to sue the people who rescued him from his car, saying that if they hadn't moved him, he might have still been able to walk. The case was thrown out under the Good Samaritan Law, although if Judge Roy Russo had his way, he would have sentenced Michael Charles Novotny for being the biggest asshole to ever enter his courtroom. Alas, there was no law against being an ungrateful idiot.

As for Michael's own condition following that crash that irrevocably changed his life, he was living with a severed spinal cord, causing paraplegia of his lower limbs. After the second attempt to reattach the nerve endings, Dr. Harrison informed Michael that his condition would have to remain permanent, as a third surgery would kill him. Michael lived in a permanent state of mental agony. Asleep, he would dream of the days when he shuffled his feet in imitation of dancing and get hard watching live porn when he walked in on his 'best friend', but would wake up to the reality that he would never feel anything below his waist again.

The officers and prisoners alike would have felt sorry for him if Michael had given them a chance to. Instead he whined, complained, and aggravated everyone until the Warden had decided that a time out for everyone was needed. Within three months of his incarceration, Michael was placed in Solitary Confinement for weeks at a time. His second stint in the box was when Deb had gone to see her son to tell him that she no longer worked at the Diner, and to give him the new number for where she would be. He became so irate when she mentioned that she was working in one of the boarding houses that Brian and Justin had began shortly after Michael began his forty year sentence that he was mandated to spend three weeks in Solitary in hopes that he could learn to show his mother the respect she was due.

Michael replied that as far as he was concerned his mother was dead. If she couldn't get him out, she was absolutely useless and that there was no point even remembering her name. When the officers and the Warden looked back to see the heartbroken woman, and after returning from situating Michael in confinement with strict instructions to the attending officer, they all told her to not let his bitterness affect the sweet woman she is. As a result, she gained lots more sons and daughters to replace the one who so callously threw her away. Debbie sends them goodies from Vic and Em's catering service twice a month, and in return every time they're able to make it to Pittsburgh, they visit Deb and Carl, volunteering at the boarding house and doing whatever they can to help the population that so many had turned away simply because of the way they were born.

Michael overheard many of their adventures in passing, and now wished that he was still a part of Deb's life. She never visited him again.  

Ben and John 

Both finished out their contracts with the college and now teach at Sunbow.

Ben has never been happier. Sure he and John fight, but they vowed never to go to bed angry. On the day of Michael's sentencing, Ben cried. Like Debbie, he felt a little responsible for Michael's downward spiral, and like Carl, John told him that Michael's decisions were his own and he was not to blame. Together the two began seeing Alex Wilder to help Ben get over the grief and guilt of his first marriage, so that it would not continue to affect his new relationship.

It took some time, but Ben finally saw that he was indeed trying to help Michael all along, even at the risk of his own sanity. He began to understand that although he loved Michael at the time, he was also being suffocated by Michael's expectations, instead of remaining true to himself. He still sees Alex on occasion, when the old doubts and fears try to creep up, like after the first time Michael called him collect from the correctional facility. Michael had caught Ben in a particularly vulnerable place that day, where the man couldn't help but hear all of Michael's grievances against him. John had walked into the house, taking only a few moments of observing Ben to catch the full gist of the situation.

It was then that John took matters into his own hands, beginning with changing the phone number to an unlisted one and requesting that their address also be stricken from the phone book. Those quick actions, and continued therapy restored Ben's faith in himself and in people in general. And John was never more thankful for that.

Melanie - 

Melanie was still thanking her lucky stars that she wasn't in any worse shape than what she was. Sure, it was hard to watch as Lindsay received the maximum sentence allowed by law for Breaking and Entering, along with Extortion. But all in all, Melanie was happy it wasn't her.

Because of her reputation within the law community, and because of the support of both Judge Alexander and Judge Russo, Melanie was given a suspended sentence providing she completed the court-appointed therapy sessions with Alex Wilder, and didn't practice law for the period of two years. That included not giving legal advice for any reason. Most of the family understood; Lindsay and Michael had not. But she couldn't and wouldn't jeopardize herself for a lost cause again. Loving Lindsay had taught her that lesson very well.

But never far from what she's always wanted to do, Jamison gave Melanie a gift when he allowed her to become a law clerk in his library. He even arranged it so that she could be paid for her work while serving out her sentence. No it wasn't what she was used to making as an attorney, but it did allow her to maintain her independence.

It had taken a while, but Brian and Justin had finally been able to be around her again without all the animosity. She even had to admit that both men were loving fathers to Tiffany and Christian, who referred to her as Ms. Mel. It was during the times when they were in close proximity that Mel realized that Brian Kinney was not the big evil she had always made him out to be. When Mel had flat out asked him why he refused to father the children with her and Lindsay, Brian responded by telling her that he was trying not to be used as the tool that came between her and Lindsay. He said that if they weren't going to be together, it wouldn't have been because Lindsay would keep trying to use him as her shield, while she kept taking emotional jabs at Melanie.

She pondered Brian's reasoning long and hard before discussing it with Alex, who agreed with Brian one-hundred percent. It amazed her that her former nemesis was able to see the deceptions and machinations of Lindsay so much clearer than she could, when she lived with Lindsay for so long. So, armed with information and fortitude, Melanie decided to embark on a new life, beginning with the sale of her house. She loved the place, but there were just too many memories of her and Lindsay darkening the hallways for her to ever feel happiness there again. Fortunately, a condo in an upscale community had just been listed, and surprisingly Jennifer Taylor had been right there to offer it to her.

It was one of the buildings that the older lady had acquired, using a portion of the insurance settlement money. After Melanie toured the building, which had top-of-the-line appliances and an on-site gym, Melanie signed on the dotted line, never looking back. Thanks to her hard work, the house she shared with Lindsay was nearly paid for so the new mortgage wouldn't be so much. Amazingly, the house sold relatively quickly. So Mel took the proceeds from the sale, and immediately paid off the condo, while saving the rest of the money to replenish the rainy day fund Lindsay had wiped out with her extravagant spending.

Melanie's future was looking even brighter when she discovered that her three nearest neighbors were all ex-girlfriends; two dated her before Lindsay and the other during one of their breakups. Leda, Marianne, and Christine were all too happy to renew their acquaintance with Melanie Marcus. Oh yes, things were definitely looking up!!

Lindsay - 

Lindsay was on the second year of a twenty year sentence. It would have been fifteen, except that within the three weeks of being incarcerated, Light-fingered Lindsay, which the inmates had dubbed her, had stolen one of the officer's charge cards, ordering a thousand dollars worth of merchandise for her and her cellmate known as Big Bertha Nielsen. Bertha's real name was Virginia and she had been in jail for the better part of fifteen years for killing her second husband. When Lindsay told the woman her story, imagine both of their surprise to find out that they were blood related through Nancy Peterson. Lindsay decided to stick close to her grandmother, who was the oldest inmate, thinking that if she had to stay in there, it couldn't hurt being related to the hardened woman for protection purposes.

After it was discovered what Lindsay had done, she had gone before the disciplinary board and was given an additional five years to her already lengthy sentence. She tried to get Brian to write a character witness letter for her, feeling that he owed her for all the times she supposedly bailed him out. Also it would be a way to get back into her good graces, since Brian had chosen Justin and his ass over her friendship. Brian did indeed write a letter to the Warden, but it wasn't to laud Lindsay in any way. The letter requested that she be given the maximum sentence under the law in lieu of her history of taking things that didn't belong to her: the first instance resulted in his children, whom he doesn't regret, but some of the purchases which she had shipped to him at Kinnetik, he did.

After reading the letter, the officiating judge granted Brian's request and added to her sentence.

All was not fun and games for Lindsay, despite the fact that she had her grandmother with her. Lindsay learned the hard way about what it meant to cross Bertha, or be insubordinate to the woman. A few months after the hearing, Lindsay was tending to her duties in the laundry room when several of her grandmother's young friends entered behind her. Her smile of welcome quickly turned to worry as they told her that they were ordered to make Lindsay understand that there was only ONE queen within the prison sector, and it wasn't her. Lindsay was beaten mercilessly, having little or no chance of defending herself, even as the guards looked the other way.

To say that Lindsay had made enemies amongst the staff and prisoners alike due to her entitled attitude would be an understatement. That would have been fine, except that it was making things bad for Bertha in the process. After the beating, Lindsay was ordered to clean herself up, and be ready for an afterhours party that was happening in the cell. Lindsay did as she was told, but whatever questions she had were silenced with a look. When the time came, Lindsay was offered up in payment for the drugs that were being smuggled in during the party by a few corrupt corrections officers.

It was then that Lindsay discovered that Bertha ran a large drug and prostitution ring from inside the prison walls, and Lindsay was going to be a part of it whether she liked it or not. In Lindsay's case, she didn't like it and was again beaten for saying so. After she healed, Lindsay learned to keep her mouth shut, and go with the tide. She was fucked by both men and women, at the whims of her grandmother. She often found herself wondering if her own mother had endured such maltreatment at the hands of Virginia Nielsen, as well.

The most disheartening day of her stay in Chez State Prison had come in the form of a newspaper, which featured the opening of the Rainbow Connection Art Gallery, a subsidiary of Kinnetik Corporation. She teared up seeing Brian in the company of Justin and Mayor Deekins with broad smiles on their faces. But it was the two little children- a boy and a girl- who looked just like their father dressed adorably in Armani Kids with necklaces from Tiffany & Co. The caption under the photo read:

"Mr. and Mr. Brian Taylor-Kinney with their adorable children Tiffany and Christian in front of the Rainbow Connection, which showcases Art predominantly from the LGBT community. Also a featured artist, Mr. Justin Taylor-Kinney, will be showcasing a collection of ten award-winning paintings titled "Rebirth" at the Warhol Museum next month. A recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon Master's Degree Program for Business Administration, Justin is the co-founder of several foundling houses and co-CEO of Kinnetik Corporation. Kinnetik's newest clients, Pepsi and the Ford Motor Company, are pleased to sponsor this event alongside Brown Athletics and Remsen Pharmaceuticals, whom Brian and Justin have worked with on a yearly basis since Kinnetik's inception."

As Lindsay continued to read about all that had happened in the last two years for the Taylor-Kinney family, she wished that she could have been a part of it. Instead she was trapped in a web of her own making, due to selfishness. When Bertha found Lindsay, she was told to suck it up, and that she was due in the Warden's office. Lindsay chuckled sardonically in her mind. She had wanted a powerful man to protect her; wanted to be the center of attention always. She had gotten what she had always wanted, and now all she wanted was to get away. Life was full of ironies that way.     

Jessica Moretti -

Still working at Kinnetik and was now Justin's right hand. Their styles mesh so well they have won awards for the campaign artwork they design together. She also volunteers at Sunbow, teaching art classes with Justin. She's now dating Blake's younger brother Jared. They met at Kinnetik's Christmas Party and have been together for over a year. Blake and Justin are helping Jared to plan a proposal very soon.

Laura Wright -

When her mother died along with Craig, she inherited Taylor Electronics. When she found out, she immediately called Justin and told him she was going to sign the store over to him, Jennifer, and Molly. She didn't feel like she deserved to profit in any way. Because no one wanted to have any connection to the store, it was sold and the money put into Sunbow. Laura then married Jamison Alexander and they were expecting a son in two months.

Deb and Carl

Married in a beautiful ceremony at Brian and Justin's home. It was attended by most of Liberty Avenue. After their three month honeymoon, they both retired from their jobs, gave their house to Vic and Rodney and moved into the convent. They run Sunbow for Brian and Justin. Because of Carl's connections in the police department, instead of the police chasing or picking up the kids who have nowhere to go, they will either send or bring them to Sunbow. Deb does most of the cooking along with teaching cooking to any of the kids who want to learn.

Deb still thinks about Michael sometimes, but it is mainly about when they only had each other. Vic lived in New York back then, and Carl wasn't even a glitch on her emotional radar. Those were amazing times, when she was his hero and he was her savior in ways that no one- including Michael- could possibly imagine or think of. But those days were over. When Michael had finally broken her enough that she would never return to his side, she had no idea that she would gain an entirely new family of sons and daughters because of it.

Those who were witnesses to Michael's cruelty rallied around her to offer her comfort. Afterward, word had spread throughout the staff, including from the Warden's lips himself, of how evilly Michael had treated his mother. So the corrections officers had decided to take her as their own. Some had mothers still alive and well, whereas others had lost their mothers due to abandonment and death. But Debbie Horvath was still their ‘Mom'.

They came around and filled the void that Michael's damning words had left behind to overflowing within her heart. They would come and help out at Sunbow and other Kinnetik Corporation businesses, simply to be close to Debbie and by default Carl, whom was well respected by his fellow officers. As a result, Deb didn't have much time to miss and mourn Michael when she had gained so many loving and love-filled adult children in the process. She still wished that Michael would grow up and change for his own sake, but she wasn't going to hold her breath waiting for it to happen. These men and women had taught her that she was special, and that anyone whose love you had to beg for was not worth the effort.

And Michael Charles Novotny was one of those people.

The Taylor-Kinneys -

The past two years had been a whirlwind for Brian and Justin. They got married at their house surrounded by their family and friends then honeymooned in Hawaii, taking Blake and Ted with them to take care of the kids. Neither man had wanted to be separated from the babies for a week. Upon their return, they opened Sunbow Safe House which houses up to one hundred LGBT youth a year and provides on-the-job training in the fields of their choice while finishing their education. Kinnetik Corporation also holds a partnership with the Board of Cooperative Education Services to assist with post-graduate studies such as nursing, medical assistant, and CNA classes for those who have expressed interests in the medical field, dance for those who want to try their luck in the entertainment industry, and a host of other directions a student may take in their self-directed journey towards success. The Rainbow Connection Art Gallery is one of the most successful galleries on the east coast, showcasing predominantly LGBT art.

Thanks to Brian's idea and Justin- alongside Cynthia- hiring excellent staff for the daycare, all of the children were excelling. The parents were thrilled when Early Intervention specialists were also brought in alongside Early Childhood Education Teachers to assists all of the children. As a result, many of the children were far more advanced in their speech and language skills. The older kids, those of general education and special needs- were also improving in their academics in all facets. Justin also added a Life Skills curriculum to the program, when some of the older children expressed interests in other subjects, like cooking.

His philosophy was to never stunt a child's growth based on age. It had become the motto of the daycare, and the key to their success.

As two year olds, Tiffany and Christian, were well loved by everyone they met, and the true darlings of Kinnetik Daycare. Daddy and Papa spent a lot of lunchtimes sitting on the floor, playing with them. Their fathers were quite surprised when, as they started to grow, they both just looked more and more like Justin and each other, neither one looks anything like either of their egg donors. Most people, other than the family, who of course knew the truth, thought they were twins.

Now, at nearly three years old, it became more and more clear that although they looked alike, Tiffany and Christian Taylor-Kinney's personal styles couldn't be more different. Daddy and Papa explained to them that Uncle Blake was going to go live with Uncle Ted and they were going to get to have their own rooms and get new furniture at Uncle Vic and Uncle Rodney's store. Daddy and Aunt Jessica took them to the store to pick out what they wanted because they would be repainting and decorating the rooms. Tiffany wanted a ‘Starry Night' room to match her favorite painting. She had always loved the swirls of color and would stare at the picture and smile.

Christian wanted a lavender canopy bed and trees and a fairy garden painted on his walls. Justin painted Tiffany's room to look like Starry Night while Jessica transformed Christian's room into a fairy woodland, complete with fairies who resembled all the members of their extended family. The ‘twins' spent their last few nights together sharing one of the spare rooms, while their new rooms were being completed. The morning after the spaces were completed, their fathers woke up to find each of them sitting patiently outside their ‘new' rooms. Brian reminded Christian that he needed to wake up Aunt Jessica because she wanted to see if he liked his new room.

When all the adults and cameras were ready, the doors were opened for the big reveal. Both children were thrilled with their new, very own rooms and the transition from sharing a room to getting their own space went perfectly.

For their first anniversary, Justin had a secret D/s room built in the basement. He included a special bed, benches, a swing and plenty of toys. One of Brian's favorite things though, is the pole Justin put in. Brian loves to watch Justin dance on the pole just for him. Even with two children, the room gets plenty of use, thanks to all the aunts, uncles, and grandparents willing to have the adorable, well behaved kids for overnight visits.

So, between the kids, Kinnetik, The Rainbow Connection, and the Sunbow Safe House, they are very busy, but always make time for themselves. They know the reason things work so well for them is because of the deep and unconditional love they have for each other.

What fate brought together, an indestructible bond of love preserved.

THE END