They drove toward Babylon and both men were quiet for a few minutes, but Justin broke the silence first.

"Did you get a hold of the guys?  Are they going to join us?  It's always more fun when there's a group of us."  Justin bounced in the seat as he turned the radio on and heard the DJ announce the call letters for the station.

Brian smiled at the eagerness of his partner.  "You do realize that we haven't been to Babylon in a long time.  Just a few times since..."  Brian stopped short of completing the sentence when he realized that Justin might not remember the bombing, the rebuilding, or any of the other significant events that happened at Babylon.  Shit!  What did I agree to?  Is this really a smart thing to do?  There are so many memories tied up with Babylon...

Justin picked on the unfinished sentence.  "Since.... Since what, Brian?"

Brian eyed the parking lot where he often parked the car and pulled in, turning off the car and undoing his seatbelt.  Scenes and events swirled through his mind and he stopped to think what it would be like for Justin if he remembered even half of those memories. 

"We went to Babylon a lot.  I'm sure there are a lot of memories there.  I worry that they'll be overwhelming," Brian said, hoping Justin wouldn't push him.  He said as he turned off the car and pocketed the key.

Justin looked at Brian, reading his unspoken words just like he had for years. "You're not telling me stuff again, right?"

"Justin...." Brian said the tone in his voice showing his hesitancy.

"Ok.  I get it.  Sort of, but....  Let's go inside.  I want to dance."  Justin unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.  Looking around the somewhat familiar parking lot, he spotted the street and started walking in the direction of the front door.

Noticing the street light, he smiled and turned to Brian.  "You said, ‘Where you headed?  And I said,  ‘No place special' and then you said, ‘I can change that.'

"Twat."

"So, I did say that?"

"Yes.  It sounds familiar, but I don't keep track of every conversation that we ever had." Although Justin could tell from Brian's trademark smirk that that's exactly what was said.

As they walked closer to Babylon, they could feel and hear the thumpa thumpa of the music emanating from inside. The music resonated through Justin's body and he could feel his body moving to the vibrations.  Brian watched as Justin unconsciously moved to the music and Brian smiled at Justin's natural inhibition.  The door man recognized Brian and pulled up the rope, allowing them inside.

Justin looked around the club seeing the dance floor filled with gyrating men.  Looking toward the back wall he noticed the curtain leading to the back room and the men going in the area.  Noticing the bar as his second look around the room, he saw that Michael and Emmett were there.  Pulling Brian toward the bar, he steered them toward the familiar faces.

"Baby.  How are you?"  Emmett asked as he gave Justin a hug.

Brian allowed the hug for a few seconds then gently removed Emmett's hands from around Justin's neck.

Justin smiled and said, "I'm okay.  My memory is improving."

"Want to dance?  I haven't had a decent dance partner since you left."

Laughing, Justin followed Emmett to the dance floor and they enjoyed each other's company.

"How you doing?" Michael asked his best friend as he finished his drink.

"Okay.  He seems to be remembering more all the time.  He knows we're together and that's probably the biggest relief.  I don't think I could have handled things if he didn't remember us.  Ironic, isn't it?  I used to deny that he meant anything to me and now I practically shout to the world that he's mine."  Brian picked up the shot of Beam he ordered earlier and downed it quickly as he stared at the sea of beautiful men.

Michael knew better than to comment on the last statement, so instead, he just nodded.  "Ben said he'd be here later; he's got to prepare for tomorrow's lecture."

Looking toward the entrance, Brian spotted Ted and Blake as they walked toward the bar.

"Brian," Ted said in way of greeting. 

"Theodore."

"Where's Justin?  I thought you said that you were bringing him."

Brian turned his head slowly and nodded toward the dance floor where Emmett was doing his imitation of "praise Jesus" and Justin was dancing with his eyes closed as men gyrated toward him.  Brian watched as Justin allowed himself to get pulled into the music, apparently forgetting his current problems.  If only life were that easy.  Dance your troubles away.  Shit!  Dance your troubles away.  I wonder if being at Babylon will bring back the whole stupid birthday stripper?  How can I explain that to Justin when I don't understand it myself?

After a few dances, Justin returned to the bar and gave Brian a kiss on the lips.  "This is fun."  Turning toward the bartender, he said, "water" and the bartender gave him a bottle which he promptly downed in a few gulps. 

He looked at the dance floor and pulled Brian toward it.  "Let's dance."

They made their way toward the dance floor and Justin unbuttoned his shirt, throwing it toward their friends who had moved to the edge of the area.  Justin gently touched Brian and moved Brian's hands over his slick torso.  Brian's hands moved around Justin's neck and kissed him gently.  Justin backed away, swaying to the music and teasing Brian as he played with his naked nipples.  Brian smiled at the gentle teasing, but when Justin started stroking his cock through his pants, Brian had enough and grabbed his hand leading him to the back room. 

Swiftly undoing Justin's pants and then his own, he grabbed a condom from his pocket and put it on.  Quickly preparing Justin with the lube he had stashed there as well, he plunged into his partner and grabbed Justin's hips as he controlled their joining.  Justin grabbed his own cock, pulling it in time to Brian's thrusts and soon both of them were coming.  Brian grabbed a towel from the basket on the shelf and cleaned up Justin, and then pulled his pants up.  Tucking himself back in after discarding the condom, he kissed Justin's neck and then turned him around to kiss him on the lips.

"Let's go out there.  I hear they're announcing a contest and I want to see."  Justin turned and walked toward the club, eventually joining their friends at the bar.

"Ladies and ladies, put your hands together for Caleco Jack, the daring Pirate from the  Seven Seas." 

On the stage, a well-muscled man dressed as a pirate came out and begun gyrating to the music, his ruffled shirt billowing.  He untied the wrist strings of his sleeve and in one swift move pulled the shirt over his head, showcasing a well tanned six-pack and biceps that had obviously seen the inside of a gym. 

"Yeah"

"Woah"

"Sweet"

"Captain can sit on by plank anytime."

"Wowzah"

The man strutted across the stage and his boots clicked on the wooden floor.  Grabbing the whip attached to his belt, he pulled it out and flung its tails several times, the sound barely audible above the catcalls coming from the audience.  He flailed the whip around his torso several times and the crowd appeared even more frenzied.  Taking the whip, he took one hand to his back and the other in front of him and slid the hard stick underneath his crotch, sliding the device back and forth along the sensitive area.  The men in front could see the slight bulge that formed in the front of his pants. 

The tempo of the music changed and he threw the whip to the back of the stage as he walked to the pole in the center of the stage and climbed it as if it were a mast on the ship.  Sliding down, he swung around the pole as he placed his feet on the edge and his arms stretched out.  The audience looked on as his body made a V shape as he made several rotations.  Letting go of the pole, he continued his intimate dance with the music and yanked his pants off in a forceful pull, leaving him with a small G-string for coverage. 

"Take it off."

"I'll come swim in your sea."

"Woot."

"Yeah."

"I love sweaty pirates."

He reached back behind his head and took off his pirate "head rap" releasing his long shoulder length chestnut hair.  His hair tumbled over his shoulders and then as the song wound down, he shook his head, letting the hair fly. 

"Let's hear it for Caleco Jack.  Captain of many ‘semen'."

"He's very talented. I bet he could make a lot of money doing that gig," Emmett said as he looked at his friends.

"Yeah.  I wonder where he got the whip," Michael said.

"Why, Mikey, I didn't know you were into whips?  I would have thought you and the professor were too vanilla for such things,"  Brian said, the teasing evident in his statement.

Michael blushed but didn't say anything. Ben walked over to the group as he saw the blush and asked, "What did I miss?"

"I'll tell you later," Michael quickly answered, hoping that his "friends" wouldn't say anything. 

Justin was barely paying attention to the conversation as he was mesmerized by the man on the stage dancing to a familiar, very familiar song.  Cindi Lauper.  That's Cindi Lauper.  Emmett just loves her. She sang the night of the benefit.  The benefit.  Oh my god.  The bomb.  That's why it doesn't look that familiar.

"Justin.  Justin!!" Brian shook him slightly when he didn't respond right away.

"They bombed Babylon.  The smoke.  Michael was hurt."  Justin looked around, verifying for himself that Michael was actually there in their little crowd.  "You came looking for me.  Told me you loved me."  He looked at Brian, not really seeing the concern in his eyes, but rather seeing the familiar eyes and face.  "Took a fucking bomb for you to tell me you loved me. You asked me to marry you.  Fuck!"

"Yes."  Brian placed his hand on Justin's arm, hoping to ground him to the present time.  For the first time since the accident, he wasn't sure that Justin regaining all his memories was a good thing. "Let's get you a drink."  He steered Justin toward the bar and ordered a Beam.  Placing it in front of Justin, Justin blindly kicked back the shot and placed the shot glass on the bar, indicating he wanted another one.  The bartender complied and Justin drank that one quickly as well.

Justin glanced back toward the club and saw the elevated platforms, but this time saw a vision of himself with wings on, accepting dollar bills as he danced. But then his mind played a trick on him.  He saw himself in a restaurant accepting tips from men as he danced.  What the fuck!   

He turned pale as he allowed his brain to see the entire scene. I'm in a restaurant and in a private room.  The music is playing but there wasn't a sound system, more like a boom box.  I'm dressed in a tuxedo and started dancing and that's when I saw Brian.  It couldn't be Brian.  Brian was with a client and I'm in a restaurant, but the man sure looked like Brian and I can feel the man's eyes on me.  After the show, I'm talking with the guests and Brian showed up to talk with me.  It was Brian. Shit!!! I'm in trouble.

Brian watched as Justin zoned on a memory.  He recognized that look as he'd seen it multiple times during the last few days.  Justin was remembering another event, but he looked confused.  He was frowning.

Turning to his friends, he said, "I think we better go."

Looking at Justin for the first time, his friends saw the pale look on his face.  "Okay.  Talk to you tomorrow."

"Baby, take care of yourself.  Call me when you can."

"Don't worry about anything, Bri.  Cynthia and I have everything under control."

Brian nodded but didn't respond to any of the comments.  Instead, he led Justin toward the entrance and out the door toward the car.  Justin continued to look around the area, trying to push new memories toward the surface.

After getting in the car and heading toward the street, Brian asked, "The Loft or the House?"

Justin didn't answer, too lost in his memories to acknowledge Brian's question.

"Justin!"  He paused, making sure that he had his attention.  "Do you want to go to the Loft or the House?"

"Oh, sorry.  I don't care.....   The Loft, I guess I'm tired."

Brian drove the short distance to the Loft and parked the car, but when Justin didn't immediately undo his seatbelt to get out, Brian reached out and touched him on his arm, hoping to bring him to the here and now.

"Ok.  You have officially got me worried.  You are very quiet and you've obviously remembered something.  Want to share?"

"Brian...."

"Oh, so this is what it's like to play 20 questions.  I can see why you don't like it."

Justin laughed, thankful for the humor.  "I was watching the guy on the platform.  Men were stuffing dollar bills in his pants."

Brian smiled at the memory; the guys tonight were good, reminding him why he had rebuilt the platforms.  "And...  That happens all the time.  Nothing new there.  It gives the guys that are in the back a chance see the dancers.  Spreads the entertainment out." The streets were empty and he didn't like sitting in the car.  "Can we finish this discussion in the Loft.  I'd really like to have a drink while we play your version of twenty questions."  He moved to open the door and looked out the corner of his eyes to see if Justin was following.

"Okay.  If we go inside, I can watch your face better."  Justin opened the door and walked around the side of the car, joining Brian.

Brian walked into the Loft, moving toward the bedroom.  "I'm taking a shower."  He pulled the shirt over his head and threw it in the hamper.  Undoing his button on his pants, he quickly divested those as well.  Justin walked in a few minutes after and also quickly undressed. 

Following Brian into the bathroom, he waited while Brian adjusted the water temperature in the shower.  They stepped into the shower and Brian grabbed the shampoo as he turned Justin toward the shower head. After pouring some in his hand, he washed Justin's hair.

"Nice, but this hasn't made me forget."

"I didn't think I'd get that lucky," Brian said, a little tongue in cheek.

"Brian...."

"Justin.  I'm glad you're remembering things so quickly.  Those doctors really don't know what they are talking about.  I know you'll be fine."  Brian moved his fingers and let the water rinse the shampoo out of Justin's hair.   "So you were saying you saw the guy dancing on the platform, is there significance in that memory?   As I said, guys dance there every night."

Justin turned Brian toward the shower head and grabbed the soap, beginning to soap his body.

"I had a flashback.  I was wearing wings and guys were putting bills in my pants."

"Okay."  Brian wasn't sure where this was going, but he was willing to be patient. That did happen when he was dancing to pay for school but that only lasted a few days.  Thankfully he came to his senses.

"But then the lines blurred and I saw me stripping in a restaurant and guys were putting bills in my pants. And I saw you in the audience.  Was that real?  Were you watching me do a strip in a restaurant?  Why would I be doing that?  Did I really do that?"

Shit!!! I've been so focused on him regaining his memory.  How could I have neglected to figure in the damn stripper?

 The silence was palpable as they stood in the shower as the water grew cold.   "Brian..... Did you hear me?"

"Yes." 

Brian said as his mind raced to figure out what he would say next.  Knowing Justin, he would want an explanation of why he was doing that.  Maybe going to Babylon wasn't the smartest thing in the world or maybe it was.

"Yes, what?  Yes, you heard me or yes it happened?"

TBC