BRIAN

My father and I were eating breakfast together. He wanted time with just me. He felt that we hadn't had much time to get to know each other because we were always with everyone else. I wanted to know about him, since he knows so much about me already. We were sitting down when my phone rang.

Cynthia called to ask if I wanted the idiot who was in Kinnetik’s lobby to go to jail, or meet security first, then go to jail. She sounded like she was enjoying herself. I asked, because even if the others hadn’t made an appearance it didn’t rule them out of trying to bring me to heel the way they all wanted.

“Mel seems to forget she's just as unwelcome as the others,” She tells me.

“Call Paul, tell him to meet us. It's time I show Mel what messing with my clients will do to her,” I tell her.

Dad looked up when he heard Mel's name. “Mel’s here?” He asks.

“Yes, but why do you seem like you know her more than by name?” I ask.

“She and Lindsay have been hauled in a lot lately,” He tells me.

“I need to let Paul know, we keep a file on anything that shows they'll never be good mothers to Gus,” I tell him.

“Tell him to talk to Detective Adams, he's the one handling Lindsay and Mel,” He tells me.

“Not you?” I ask.

“I'm your father, and I didn’t want it to look like abuse of my job. Which any lawyer could argue if it was me making the arrests,” He tells me.

“I need to go take care of this, I've left it alone too long,” I tell him.

“Why did you? I got the idea from a friend that you lost a lot of money because of them,” He tells me.

“I wanted Gus. It showed the court that money didn’t mean more to me than my son. Lindsay and Mel were made to seem as if the only reason they wanted Gus was for the money I provided. My lawyer was willing to sue to recoup Gus’s losses, but hearing that I got what I wanted meant more,” I tell him.

“I don’t like how they got away with what they did,” He tells me.

“I needed time to help Gus and Ted, and time for me to get my head straight. I wasn’t in a place to keep fighting, because it led to doubting myself. Just like Ted, I had a hard time seeing myself as anything but the person everyone said I was. Coming here and working with Alex... well it made it easier for me to see I'm not the asshole everyone made me out to be,” I tell him.

“I can deal with Mel for you, I know a couple detectives here,” He offers.

“Mel was never a problem for me. I knew why she hated me, and it was all about her believing that men were the reason she couldn’t get ahead. Lindsay fed Mel's beliefs by putting men before her. It wasn't just me, but comparing Mel to her father and other lawyers who were successful and male. I would've left Mel alone after the custody fight, but she still wants to fight with me. She is going to find out what that will accomplish. I'm going to hit her where she thinks hitting me hurts. Feel free to come see why I'm as successful as I am,” I tell him, getting up.

When Carl and I got to Kinnetik he snorted when Mel was sitting in a chair with two security guards standing in front of her. She looked like she'd aged a few years, but I knew the toll the life she was living would take on you. It's the reason I walked away; to live.

“Until Paul gets here, she stays there,” I tell Cynthia, ignoring the glare Mel threw at me.

“Look asshole, I came here to do you a favor,” Mel snarled.

“Your favors tend to hurt people I care about, not to mention people you claim to care about. So be a good little girl and wait for me to decide if, like Cynthia, jail is preferable to listening to you. I doubt Sam is willing to throw money at you the way he does for Lindsay,” I tell her.

“Are you going to have Daddy protect your ass?” She taunts, when she noticed Carl.

“Why would my son need me when you're willing to risk jail to come here?” Carl asks her.

“Brian, it took a couple minutes to download what I needed for this meeting, but I'm ready. Your office or the conference room?” Paul asks, walking in.

“The conference room, Cynthia will be with us to file everything as it happens,” I tell him.

“Are you afraid of little old me?” Mel asks, thrilled.

“I just like to make sure there isn’t any room for the law to give you a way to wiggle out of the consequences of your actions. I’m still trying to figure out how you got out of law school but still make all the mistakes you’d beat up your clients for making. Of course, that explains why you lost your job,” I tell her.

Mel gets up to lunge at me, which only had her forced back into her chair. “I lost my job because you made it sound like I neglected your fucking kid. No one seemed to remember that I never wanted a kid that came from you!” She rants.

“Yet you didn’t have a problem taking the money I gave for MY SON, and snort it up your nose,” I sneer.

“Brian, let’s get this done,” Cynthia tells me.

“Why don’t we. I’m sure after he listens to me he’ll wish he didn’t waste all this time,” Mel tells us, as if she knew something we didn’t.

The guards led her in and sat her in the seat at the end of the table. I sat at the head of the table, knowing it would piss Mel off. Paul started pulling out all the emails and the financials he and Ted were able to get through legal channels on everything Mel owned. By not being the friend Ted thought she was, she made it to easy to get what I needed for this.

“This is a waste of time. I just wanted you to know that Lindsay is filing to get Gus back, and we’ll win this time because we plan to use the best family lawyer in the business. I was giving you a chance to still see Gus, but only if you agree to our terms.” Mel tells me, smug.

“I’m sure when Gus’s new lawyer gets the paperwork, we’ll worry about why you seem to think blackmailing my client was the way to go about it. I’m here because of the lawsuit Brian is filing against you; for slander and potential harm to his business with malicious intent. I guess I could add the blackmail, but we can leave that to Gus’s lawyer. I already have enough that we can seize all your assets,” Paul tells her.

“What are you talking about?” Mel asks, looking confused.

“The emails that you sent to all of Brian’s clients. It made me wonder where you got your degree, you left a trail of breadcrumbs that put you in the position to lose everything you own. Although it made it easier for me to have proof, so thank you,” He tells her.

Mel looks even more confused, so Paul hands her copies of all the emails that were sent. She looked through them, turning a shade a gray that did nothing for her. “I didn’t write these,” She mumbles.

“They were sent from your personal email, and given time I could have it traced to the actual computer, which really wouldn’t help your case,” Paul tells her.

“I didn’t send these. I don’t care if the asshole dupes people into believing he’s worth the money they pay him to be the whore he’s always been,” She tells me.

“You would have to prove that, but everything points to you,” Paul tells her.

“Then prove all you want, I know I didn’t do this,” She tells him, sounding confident.

“Not a problem, I’ll go ahead and file to get the information about where to find the computer that sent these files,” Paul tells her, not really worried.

“Do whatever you want. I was only here to keep Brian here,” She tells me, getting up to leave.

“What the hell are you up to?” I ask.

“Mel sit down, I’m not through with you. I think it’s time to tell you what you stand to lose,” Paul tells her, shaking his head at me while he deals with her.

“It’s bogus, so I lose nothing,” Mel sneers at Paul.

“You stand to lose the money your grandfather left for you, the house you kept in your name, and I can take the car you and Lindsay own, even though it’s really not worth the money it would take to get it here,” Paul tells her.

“Only if you prove anything, which like I said, I’m not worried about,” Mel tells him.

“Did I forget to mention the account you thought no one would find, with, from what I can tell, is almost as much as you took from Gus. Only that account was set up after the custody suit. Was that money Ron Peterson gave you? Not that it matters, the slander in those emails could have lost my client more than you have in all, but we’ll settle for what you have and call it even,” Paul tells her, as Cynthia slides a note to him.

“Thank you. I guess we can check this IP address against your computers, or you can do it for us after you make bail,” Paul tells her.

“Why would I need to make bail?” Mel asks, getting nervous.

“Did you not pay attention to the letter I sent?” Paul asks her.

“I never got anything,” Mel tells him.

“When Brian moved here, he got the same restraining orders for him, Gus, and Ted. I made sure you, Ms Peterson, and the Novotny’s, were informed. Which means you coming here means being in violation, and we have enough people who saw you walk in here on your own to show you didn’t care that you were doing it. Cynthia, go ahead and let the officers in to arrest Ms Marcus,” Paul says, putting his files away.

“You fooled the court into thinking it was about Gus, when it’s all about the money!” Mel yells at me, as the officers come in.

“None of this has to do with Gus, because you meant absolutely nothing to Gus. It's about understanding my business wasn’t another thing you could treat as carelessly as you treated your career,” I tell her.

“Or as carelessly as you treat your responsibility,” She tells me, as she's being taken out.

“What do you think she meant by that?” Carl asks.

“Ted,” I tell him, calling Ted on the way out.

TED

It was idiotic to sit here thinking Blake was serious at all, but I at least got to listen to some music. It's the reason I gave myself for coming, not the off chance he'd show up.

“Hi, I'm not running today, but wouldn't mind sharing a seat,” Blake tells me, sitting down. “I saw you and figured lunch wasn't that big of a deal,” Blake tells me.

“You shouldn't miss lunch,” I tell him.

“Sorry, maybe I presumed the wrong thing,” He says softly.

“I didn’t mean to sound like I wasn't interested, shit I'm just bad at this. Can we start over? I'm Ted,” I tell him.

“It's nice to meet you, and if you're worried I'll  starve, then how about we have lunch together?” He asks.

“You don’t waste time,” I tell him, getting up and walking with him.

“Why bother, if I like something or someone, I go for it,” He tells me.

We were sitting at a café ordering when Brian called. I let it go to voicemail, because I wanted to get to know Blake.

“If you need to get that, it's fine,” Blake tells me.

“My friend's family is in town. He's probably calling to invite me put up with all of them. I'd rather spend time with you,” I tell him.

“Tell me about you,” He tells me.

“I'm work with my friend Brian at Kinnetik. We started it together,” I tell him.

“Have you always lived here?” He asks.

“I lived in Pittsburgh until last year. My two best friends and I needed a change from there. What about you?” I ask.

“I've traveled a lot, not really ready to stay in one place, but so far New York hasn't given me a reason to move on yet,” He tells me.

“What do you do?” I ask.

“I work as a nanny for couples who have special needs kids. I help get the kids ready for school so the transition is easier for everyone,” He tells me.

“It allows you to travel?” I ask.

“I'm only there until the children get through their first year, then I move on. It’s always hard to leave, but there are so many others that need my help,” He tells me, showing how much he loves what he does, by beaming when he talked about it.

“I guess you'll move on again when you're done,” I tell him, disappointed.

“My sister lives here, and I like the city, so I'm thinking of staying here. I have a lot of local people calling, asking for when I'm next available. Plus I recently met a reason to stay,” He tells me, flirting.

We ate lunch, and I invited him to the opera outing we were planning. I didn’t expect a yes, so I was prepared to tell him it wasn’t a big deal.

“It sounds interesting, I've never been. You can introduce me to something new,” He tells me.

“I think you'll do the same for me,” I tell him.

When we were done, it felt like time had flown by. He told me he had to get back, but wrote down his contact information for me. I turned to go when he grabbed my arm and kissed me.

“I've wanted to do that since I saw you the last time,” He tells me, running off.

Pulling out my phone, I put his number in and decided to text him.

“Thanks for sharing your day,” I sent.

“Here's to sharing many more!” He sent back.

I walked back, thinking about Blake and how he didn’t sound like what he did was a big deal. He made people’s lives easier and almost made it sound like they were doing him the favor by allowing him to help them. He was so different from Michael that I started to worry again. For the first time, I made myself stop doubting a guy could want me, Blake made that obvious. It might be too soon, but it felt good that he did.

I pulled my phone out because Brian had called a few times and he normally doesn’t do that without a reason. I looked up and saw the reason standing outside the house, being bitched at by Emmett. I didn’t walk up, but stood back looking at Michael, trying to see why I thought my world was over because he treated me like shit and made me think I had to earn his love. He wasn’t the person I’d built up in my head. Other than the fact that he was okay looking, everything he’d done made him less attractive.

I didn’t bother to let him talk to me, he wasn’t worth destroying my day over. So I did what I couldn’t and Brian had to for me. I used the restraining order that Brian made me get, and called to have Michael Novotny removed from my life. I walked right past him and pulled Emmett with me into the house. Michael tried to come in but I blocked the door, this was the home for the family we were making, not the people who wanted to tear it down.

“Ted, I’m here to tell you I’ll take you back,” Michael tells me, acting as usual, as if I should be falling at his feet for a minute of his time.

“Why would I want a life that was only to pay for yours?” I ask.

“You love me,” He says, as if that’s the reason I owe him.

“No. I made the mistake of believing you could love anyone. I don’t plan to do that anymore, I’d rather live,” I tell him, when the squad car arrives. “Hey, but I got you a ride, that was thoughtful wasn’t it,” I tell him, shutting the door.

“When did you decide to come home?” Emmett asks.

“I had lunch with a new friend, then came home,” I tell him.

“I mean when did my Teddy come home?” Emmett asks me, smiling through his tears.

“It took a while for me to find him, but I finally did,” I tell him, letting him hug me.