March 31 (Part Two)

Brian shuffled into the diner, still feeling a bit peeved with Justin and his attitude that morning. It wasn't that he didn't understand the desire to minimize the coddling. After all, he was less than a peach to be around himself when he was sick and he fully admitted it, often hiding his own illnesses unless it reaped in delicious rewards.

Like an irritated, but fucking adorable Justin waiting on him hand and foot. He had to admit that a part of him had played his helplessness up a bit just to ruffle his husband's feathers in December. But it had seemed hardly fair that Justin had gotten off with barely a sniffle, while Brian had been feverish and achy and had the whole gamut.

But he digressed.

He got why Justin was irritated with everyone hovering over him; Brian was no better than he was when it came to coddling. What he hadn't appreciated was the way his husband had went all drama-princess over something as minor as him staying home and ordering him out of the house like a dog. That had annoyed him. After all, it wasn't as if Brian had planned to hover over him all day; he'd just wanted to be there in case his symptoms had gotten worse and he had to be taken into the hospital.

In fact, the only reason he'd left was he'd known that expression on Justin's face, and there was no way in hell that the little twat would actually listen to him. It was better for Brian to concede and leave rather than have Justin get even more worked up and stressed out by staying. Plus, he had a secret weapon in the form of Anna that was more than match for a disgruntled, tetchy Justin any day.

Sighing, Brian dug his fingertips into his eyes, trying to stave off the headache he felt building up behind them. It was for the best anyways; he really did want to be present for the Hell's Half Acre Brewery meeting since they were in final approval for the commercials and the magazine ads and he'd prefer to be on hand if they wanted changes or had any questions.

Looking up as Kiki came up to the counter, Brian smiled weakly as she instantly poured him coffee without even having to be asked. He put in an order for a sandwich for him, Yasmeen, Cynthia and Ted since they would be working right up until lunch time and they only had thirty minutes before they had to go into a phone conference with Nebula Cosmetics. There was no way any of them would have time to grab food. And this was the least he could do since he planned to work their asses off today.

"What are you doing here so late, kiddo?" a voice asked, startling Brian out of his thoughts. He looked up and smiled at Deb.

"Hey Ma," Brian said, stirring some much needed sugar into his coffee; Christ, how they managed to burn perfectly good coffee nearly every time he had no idea. He sipped his coffee and then met Deb's eyes with a small frown of confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought it was your day off?"

"I only came in to work on the coming schedule," Deb said; and come to think of it, he had noticed that she wasn't wearing her typical uniform. "Jen is supposed to meet me after she's done showing a house. We want to go to this little baby boutique that we heard about from Anna and Linda."

"Oh, God," Brian groaned; just what they needed, more fucking clothing and stuff for Sunbeam. "I never thought I would say this, but please stop buying my kid clothing; Sunbeam has for more than will ever be needed."

Deb just stared at him as if he had grown another head; and he had to admit that he didn't blame her. But Christ, they couldn't fit everything in the dressers as it was; they definitely didn't need anything more. And then Deb threw her head back and laughed at his pain, obviously thinking he was joking.

"Oh hush," Deb huffed, dismissing his pained groans with a wave of her hand. "There is no such thing as too much; isn't that what you always say?"

"I do always say that…" Brian agreed, his eyes sparkling with mischief and his tongue firmly planted into his cheek. "Just not in that context."

"Yeah, I know exactly what context you meant it in," Deb snorted; but she did drop the topic of baby clothing. Not that Brian didn't expect yet another haul of clothing and toys coming his way in the next few days if she and Mother Taylor had any say in it. "You didn't answer my question; what are you doing in here so late?"

"I have a busy day ahead of me and won't be able to stop for food," Brian said with a bland smile; no need for her to know that Justin was sick and had tossed him out on his ear. "I figured I'd order something now for all of us and take it back to the office. Plus, Justin is out of lemon bars; I want to head straight home after work."

"Uh huh," Deb hummed, looking at him suspiciously. "Why couldn't Yasmeen pick something up?"

"I need her in the meeting," Brian shrugged. "She won't have time to go pick up something today and I don't want to waste time on delivery. Plus, lemon bars. If I don't bring some home, I'll find Justin knee deep in Twinkies."

Deb arched her brows at that, obviously not believing a word he was saying; she opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Emmett took the stool next to Brian. Shaking her head she walked off, muttering something about checking on his order; but Brian didn't doubt that she'd back, demanding answers.

He just didn't know what to tell her without her catching wind that Justin was ill.

"You need to lay off the boy and his Twinkies," Emmett huffed, smiling as Kiki walked up and set a glass of water in front of him.

"I need the boy to lay off the Twinkies," Brian huffed; he was well versed in this argument. Everyone kept telling him to leave it be; that eventually Justin would get sick of the Twinkies and move onto something else. Of course, that had been months ago and the twat was still hoarding them like a squirrel getting ready for winter. "It can't be healthy to eat that many of the fucking things."

"I thought you got him some sort of organic, all-natural, healthy Twinkie alternative," Emmett said; he took a sip of his water before flagging Kiki down. "Hey Kiki; my usual."

"That doesn't mean he should be eating twelve in a week," Brian groused, and then he grimaced as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Now you're just exaggerating," Emmett said, rolling his eyes.

"You think so?" Brian challenged, arching a brow as he turned to his friend. "You do remember that I had enough fucking Twinkies to put one in each favor box and still have plenty left over for the twat. There were fifty of those fucking things."

"Point," Emmett conceded with a wrinkle of his nose; and then he did something that had Brian wanting to hit him upside the back of the head Deb-style. "Well, I doubt you have to worry about that at the moment. I doubt he'll be up for eating much of anything other than soup and cracker."

He turned to Emmett, certain that his eyes had widened to the size of saucers as he stared in mute horror. He frantically shook his head, praying to any deity available and listening that Deb hadn't overheard that little tidbit. But, of course, since his life is absolute shit some days, the Fates were against him. Deb, with her bionic hearing, shuffled over and gave Brian a worried look.

"Sunshine's sick?" She asked, her eyes bouncing between Brian and Emmett.

Brian glared at a rapidly paling Emmett, who was staring right back with an apologetic look. Brian huffed and fixed Emmett with a 'fix this right the fuck now' look, because no way in hell was he going to deal with a queening Justin when he found out. Emmett swallowed thickly and turned to Deb with a less than convincing, bright smile.

"No, not at all," Emmett reassured hastily; Brian snorted because really, he'd told lies better at four than Emmett was now. Something that became evident as Deb narrowed her eyes, making Emmett squirm. "It's just the sniffles, nothing to worry about, Deb."

"Is that so?" Deb huffed, sending Brian the evil eye, as she likely realized why Brian was late this morning. She turned back to Emmett and rested her hands on her hips. "You wouldn't happen to be lying to me would you Emmett Honeycutt?"

"No, of course not, sweetie," Emmett chirped, fluttering his hands all around his face and chest as he tried to shake off Deb's scent. Brian rolled his eyes, because really, that was the worst fucking acting job he'd ever seen. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

"Uh huh," Deb said, staring at Emmett with a gimlet eye, waiting for him to crack. She didn't even bother asking Brian as he was mostly immune to her interrogation methods for the most part. "We'll just see about that then, won't we?"

And then she stalked off. Emmett slumped in his seat, cowering under Brian's accusatory glower and then flinching when Brian began a slow, sarcastic clap.

"Nice going, big mouth," Brian huffed, wondering if he should call Justin now and warn him that he had incoming; and then he decided against it because it wasn't his fault this time and Emmett could have the hours of explaining to the drama princess. "Now she's going to run straight over there and do you recall how pissy Justin was yesterday? That is going to be nothing compared to how pissy he's going to be if they show up?"

"They?" Emmett asked a bit timidly.

"Yes, she's supposed to meet up with Mother Taylor to go shopping," Brian said; giving Emmett an evil smile when the other man thumped his head on the counter a couple of times. "Three guesses as to where they are going to head once Deb informs Jen of your completely unconvincing explanation."

"Fuck me," Emmett groaned; and Brian was tempted to comment that he'd leave that honor to Drew; but, frankly, he was a bit more concerned about his husband and the absolutely foul mood he'd be in tonight. "You have to warn Justin."

"Oh, hell no," Brian huffed as his order was set down in front of him; Kiki shook her head and sent a pitying look Emmett's way before she went off to help another customer. Brian stood and grabbed his bag; he patted his friend on the shoulder and then threw over his shoulder as he left. "You created this mess; you clean it up."

… … … … …

Brian sat as his desk, staring at the computer; he had just finished the video conference with Nebula Cosmetics and was briefly considering saying fuck it and heading home to head off the mother hen brigade. It would be the nice thing to do; but at the same time, he did have another conference call to make, although one not as pressing as the Nebula account and he had the stack of paperwork from hell.

Sighing, Brian dragged the pile of folders towards him, completely unenthusiastic about this aspect of his job; but it was a necessary evil. Especially if he didn't want any surprises creeping up on him later on. Flipping the first one open, he'd gotten about halfway through the report when his cell phone rang.

Pulling it towards him, Brian frowned when he recognized the number from the local precinct. Sending a silent pray that everything was fine, Brian hit the send button and answered the call from a far too familiar number with the tiniest bit of dread

"Kinney-Taylor," Brian answered brusquely, his pinching when a familiar voice came over the line.

"Brian, this is Tak," the detective succinctly said in his typical no-nonsense tone. "I wanted to call and let you know that something happened over the weekend and…"

"Please, tell me you caught the asshole," Brian demanded impatiently; yes, he knew he should wait for the other man to state his business, but he also couldn't help hoping that the stalker had been caught and this was all over.

"No," Tak said a bit regretfully; Brian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn't expected that to be the case, but again it would have been nice if this were all over. "But we did get a break in the case and I wanted to…"

"What happened?" Brian demanded again, his voice tight; and he grit his teeth when Tak sighed over the line.

"Brian," Tak said with no little exasperation. "Will you please let me finish?"

Brian grunted impatiently, but remained otherwise silent. Tak huffed, although luckily he sounded more amused than irritated with Brian's antics.

"I'd rather not get into the details now," he said, his tone sobering as he continued. "Do you and Justin have time to talk in the next few days?"

"Justin has a cold," Brian said, humming under his breath; part of him wanted to say that he would be happy to meet up with Tak and fill Justin in afterwards; but there was also the issue of Simon and Justin would be the best source of information when it came to that asshole. "But he should be fine in a couple of days; so, maybe we can meet up on Wednesday or Thursday? I'd rather not cut him out of this again." Brian paused, wondering if he should mention Simon; and then decided to keep it general. "Plus, we too have some information that may or may not be a lead in the case. And Justin would be the best person to tell you since he knows the person it involves."

Tak hummed thoughtfully. "Thursday would work for me." He paused; and then Brian sat up at the vicious glee in the other man's tone as he continued. "It's not like our guest will be going anywhere, anytime soon."

Brian swallowed, his throat suddenly dry at the implications behind that statement; there was only one other person that would make the other man react in that manner.

"You have Blaine," Brian said softly; he hadn't meant to say it out loud, but now that he had, he waited, hoping for a confirmation of his suspicions.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Tak said; Brian snorted at the other man's hedging, a small triumphant smile spreading across his lips. "You know that. And I'd really rather leave it at that for now given the circumstances."

"It's not a denial," Brian stated a bit smugly; they did have Blaine. He could feel it.

"It's not a confirmation either," Tak said dryly, but it was only lip service as far as Brian was concerned. He could hear it in the other man's voice; the detective was far too relieved, to relaxed for it not to be true. "But nice try."

"How early can you meet?" Brian asked, now wishing that Justin wasn't sick so that they could meet with the detective sooner. But as always, Justin and Sunbeam and their health came first. "Justin can drive in with me in the morning and then either take the car service back or spend the day here at Kinnetik."

"I'm in at seven," Tak said as he flipped through some papers. "So, eight? It will give me a chance to see what's happening and also reschedule if I need to before you leave."

"I'll be leaving at six as usual," Brian said; and then winced at the idea of trying to pry his husband from his bed at that hour; but hopefully the knowledge that they had Blaine in custody would be enough of an incentive. "So, don't delay on our parts; but eight would be fine. Justin might even be mostly awake at that point in time."

"I know how that is," Tak chuckled. "I'll talk to you then."

"See you on Thursday," Brian said as he hung up his phone; he sat back in his chair and felt some of the weight lifting from his shoulders. It wasn't completely gone, and wouldn't be until the stalker was locked away without a key, but at least this was one less worry.

… … … … …

A couple of hours had passed, and Brian had, not only made a significant dent in the paperwork, but he had also done his last conference call and was again considering leaving to go home for the day. He glanced at the clock; it was four o'clock now, and if he hauled ass, he might just miss most of rush hour and could be home before five.

He looked at the pile of folders on his desk; he really should finish that before he left for the day, but there was at least another two to three hours of work, and he really didn't want to leave Justin at home alone for too long. Tapping his pen against his lips, he nodded and grabbed his briefcase, and began stuffing the files into it.

Done with that, he began clearing off his desk and stood to go tell Yasmeen, Cynthia and Ted that he was leaving for the day; which was why the latter decided to walk into his office with an uncertain look on his face. Groaning, Brian sat back down in his chair and wondered what had happened now.

"Theodore," Brian greeted blandly as he steepled his hands in front of him; Ted grimaced and then came in and sat down. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, that all depends," Ted hedged, looking everywhere but at Brian; and Brian felt his heart sink into his stomach. This wouldn't be good. "I have some news to deliver."

"And?" Brian asked, arching a brow; Ted blew out a heavy breath.

"Do you want the good news, the annoying news or the bad news first?" Ted asked, meeting Brian's gaze for the first time since he'd entered. Double crap.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this?" Brian sighed as he leaned back into his chair, crossing one leg over the other.

"Because you know that things are going too smoothly and it was only a matter of time before people pissed you off again?" Ted deadpanned; looking relived when a faint smile flickered over Brian's lips at his weak joke.

"How about instead, I'll go home," Brian proposed, knowing full well that there was no way in hell that it was going to happen, but remaining hopeful nonetheless. "And you and Cynthia can deal with it all."

"Well, that is one option," Ted conceded with a nod of his head. "But you'll have to deal with the annoying news when you get there."

"Why do I have a feeling that I know where this is going?" Brian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; the headache from earlier came back full force.

"Because you were in the diner today when Emmett fucked up," Ted quipped with a peppy smile that was frankly terrifying. Brian eyed him warily.

"Let me guess," Brian huffed, a mirthless smile on his lips. "Emmett either chickened out or he couldn't get in touch with Justin, and Deb and his mother are over at the house right now, bringing out my husband's more charming side."

"I don't know that they felt that it was very charming," Ted snorted.

"That was sarcasm, Theodore," Brian said, rolling his eyes. "I'm very well aware of what a tetchy brat Justin is when he's ill."

"I figured," Ted shrugged, a faint smile on his lips. "But I did want to drive home the situation you'll be walking into tonight."

"Great." Brian closed his and leaned his head against the back of his chair; he was exhausted already just imagining how much of a snit Justin was likely in right now. "So what is the bad news?"

"Michael will be home for a visit this coming weekend," Ted stated hesitantly, wincing when Brian snapped his head up and stared at him incredulously.

"Fuck me," Brian cursed under his breath; like he fucking needed this now. Ben promised he'd keep his wayward waif with him. "Why?"

"Jenny told him on no uncertain terms that he was not to show up at her birthday party on the twenty-sixth," Ted said a bit unhappily; he didn't look anymore enthused at the thought of seeing Michael than Brian felt. "And they worked out a deal where he and Ben would come to see her this weekend instead."

"And how long as this been in the planning?" Brian asked sourly, his lips twisting into a sneer at the thought. "And why haven't I heard of this before now?"

"Well, to be honest," Ted said, looking beyond peeved. "I wasn't even aware of it until earlier today. Emmett filled me in after you left this morning. And then you've been in meetings all day and I didn't have the chance to fill you in until now."

"Well fuck," Brian cursed again; he leaned his head back again and stared at the ceiling. There had to be a way to avoid this. Maybe he and Justin would get away for the weekend. He cocked his head thoughtfully, warming to the idea as it germinated. "Well, I know where I'll be this weekend."

"And that is?" Ted asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Anywhere but fucking here," Brian stated emphatically, smiling when Ted snorted. "Maybe Justin would be up for a trip up to New York."

"Are you sure he should be traveling?" Ted asked, his brow pinching with worry.

"He should be fine," Brian said, already planning the trip out in his mind. "The doctor doesn't have him on any restrictions, his cold should be mostly cleared up by then and he's only 29 weeks. New York is only an hour and a half flight. It should be fine."

"Well, you might want to get started on planning in that case," Ted said as he stood.

"Luckily, we still have the loft there; and it should still be unoccupied," Brian said mostly to himself. "I'm pretty sure the last tenant moved out a couple of months back and I haven't bothered to find another yet. Plus, Daphne and Liam are there; Justin will love to spend some time with her."

"And if you can find the time to get in a little revenge on a certain art writer, all the better?" Ted asked a bit slyly, smirking when Brian tipped his head to the side and arched an impressed brow.

"See, Theodore," Brian smirked, a vicious light filling his eyes. "You do know me."

"Just don't do anything that will force me to bail you out," Ted snorted. "I do not want to deal with a ranting when I inevitably have to call him to let him know you're in jail for rightfully smearing the insect into the ground."

"Trust me," Brian said as he sat up and began the process of getting ready to leave once more. He had a trip to plan and he needed to talk to Justin about what they should and should not tell Tak about Simon. "He'll never be able to trace it back to me."

"Famous last words for 200 Alex," Ted huffed. "Anyways, Michael will be arriving late Friday afternoon/evening and leaving lat Sunday. Just in case you want to avoid that."

"I think it will be best," Brian said, his lips compressing into a thin line; he really wanted to know why this was the first time he was hearing about this. He really hoped that it wasn't a ploy by Deb to get him to forgive Michael again. He'd be seriously pissed off it that was the case. "No doubt he'll try to talk to me, thinking that I actually missed him or something, and that would be very bad for all involved. Besides, this should be about Jenny; not me and Justin."

"Agreed," Ted nodded as he headed for the door; and then he paused. "Should I have Yasmeen book tickets for you and Justin for early Friday afternoon?"

"Nah, I'll talk to Justin and we'll take care of it ourselves," Brian said, waving the offer off. "Thanks for the heads up, Theodore. Oh, wait; what was the good news?"

"Oh; Justin managed to lock himself in his studio before he was tempted to kill Deb and Jen," Ted snickered. "So, at the very least, you won't be going home to a bloodbath."

"What does it say about my life that that is the highlight of my day?" Brian asked no one in particular. Seriously, how the fuck was this his life?

"You need a vacation?" Ted suggested with smirk.

"I think I should just pack Justin up and move us to some remote, deserted island," Brian huffed as he stood and grabbed his briefcase.

"You'd never survive," Ted deadpanned. "It's much too far away from an Armani store."

"Theodore?" Brian huffed, giving him the evil eye.

"Yes, Brian?" Ted asked dutifully.

"Get the fuck out of my office before I fire you," Brian said, shaking his head when Ted just smirked and headed out of the office. Some days, he really wished that Ted was still just a little bit afraid of him; it made life so much easier.

… … … … …

Brian sat in his car and stared at the black SUV in his driveway with no little amount of irritation. And then he looked up at the windows to Justin's studio. He couldn't see the little twat, but he had no doubt that he was there on his futon and staring out at the driveway in the hope that Deb and his mother would hurry up and fucking leave already. But Brian had no doubt that the two women were in the house, fretting at Justin's not-cold and wringing their hands over their Sunshine.

He briefly considered starting up the car and driving away, leaving Justin to get the fuck over himself and deal with their mothers as he so didn't want to deal with this today. But then, he figured if he did it, he'd be facing drama princess on steroids and he might end up killing his husband himself.

How long were these fucking mood swings supposed to last?

Sighing, Brian opened the door and climbed out of the car; he'd worry about pulling it into the garage later tonight when he was certain he wouldn't be leaving again. Shutting the door, he walked into the house through the garage and toward the living room, where he could hear the low hum of voices. He set his brief case on table just outside the living room and then walked in, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Do I want to know why you're here?" Brian asked, even though he knew damned well why they were there. Both Jen and Deb looked up in surprise; well, he could see that given that he was about two hours early.

"We came over when we heard that Sunshine was sick," Deb said, jutting her chin out stubbornly; and Brian barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"That must have gone over well," Brian said dryly; he leaned against the entry way. "So, where is my wayward husband?"

And again, Brian was pretty sure he knew the answer to that; or, at least, he k new where had been about forty-five minutes ago. That could have changed while he was in route and he didn't feel like searching the entire house for the stubborn twat.

"He told us to go away and locked himself in his studio," Deb huffed, looking highly offended by that; and Brian did roll his eyes then. Well, of course he did; he didn't know why she was acting so surprised by that it was typical Justin behavior. He arched a brow and looked a Mother Taylor, who flushed and looked away. "But that was four hours ago; shouldn't he be out by now? What if he collapsed in there?"

"Are you kidding?" Brian snorted, shaking his head at both of them; Deb and Jen looked back, completely bewildered by his question. "He has a stocked mini-fridge, a microwave, a coffee machine, a futon with blankets and sheets and a bathroom with shower in there. He could camp out in there for a week or two depending on how low his supplies are. Trust me; he's not coming out until you're gone."

"And how would he know that?" Deb demanded, while Jen looked torn between amusement and irritation.

"You do realize that the walls of his studio are mostly windows, right?" Brian said slowly, arching a brow when Deb's mouth dropped open. Brian smirked. "He'd know."

"Is it so wrong that we want to check up on him and make sure he's okay?" Deb demanded; and Brian would have snarked 'yes' if it weren't for the small flash of hurt he caught in her eyes. Instead, he sighed and prayed for patience. "Having a cold is no laughing matter when you're pregnant; a fever could harm the baby."

"No, there isn't," Brian agreed; and then he walked in and sat in a chair across from them as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "And if it were just you two showing up to see how he was feeling, it wouldn't be an issue. But you do have to admit that you both tend to take over and end up smothering him every time he's sick."

"But…" Jen protested, and then fell silent as she grimaced and thought about it.

"Mother Taylor," Brian began, and then he paused as again he considered his words. "Look, I get it; he's your baby and you want to solve all his problems for him. That's natural. And it's especially bad because he's always been fiercely independent. But you need to let him make his own mistakes."

Brian sighed; that didn't quite come out the way he'd intended, but it was true nonetheless. Over the years, a lot of the problems that had stemmed between Justin and his mother was her need to protect him from the ugly things in the world. But the sad fact was, just by being a beautiful, young gay man, Justin was always going to be exposed to them and no amount of sheltering was going to shield him from it.

But that was a matter for another time; right now, he had to make them understand that, while they have good intentions, and they just want to help and be involved, Justin needed some autonomy. There was so little that he could control about the events in their life at the moment, that he was feeling stressed and overwhelmed, and the way he was coping with it all was by, well, micromanaging his pregnancy for lack of a better way to put it. He was trying to control all aspects of it because he had no control elsewhere.

"Is he being bratty and selfish?" Brian said; he shrugged and cocked his head. "Yes, absolutely; it's his first pregnancy and instead enjoying a stress-free, happy one, he has been hospitalized, has had the constant threat of health issues due to his blood pressure, has had people interfering with our relationship, is dealing with a stalker, and has been so busy putting up with others telling him what he should be feeling and what he should be doing, that he can't simply enjoy it."

Brian paused; Deb still looked a bit put out, but Mother Taylor looked thoughtful. Well, Brian figured out of the two of them, she'd be the one to understand. After all, it was her son and she had run into his neurotic behavior many a time.

"He's allowed to feel a little selfish," Brian continued, not about to apologize for his husband attitude lately; he didn't feel they needed to. "And it's going to come to the point that he's going to start cutting you out of even the fun stuff so he doesn't have to deal with the stress. Be honest; how did you react when your mother did the same? Justin is a lot like you; I'm sure you chafed against the overwhelming helpfulness as well."

"Well, not so much my mother," Mother Taylor said a bit ruefully. "But definitely my mother-in-law. I couldn't do anything right in her opinion."

"And showing up here without even calling likely didn't help," Deb said softly, a bit of understanding on her face, even if she still looked hurt.

"Not really," Brian agreed. "Look Deb, I get that your house has an open door policy; you love the noise and having everyone around."

"But…?" Jen prompted softly.

"But Britin is Justin's sanctuary," Brian said; he needed for them and the others to understand this part.

Justin was feeling more and more threatened with every day that passed with the stalker at large. To come into his sanctuary and demand that he act a certain way, or do things a certain way or to even just allow them to take control was going to put his back up. This was his safe zone; it was the place he shouldn't have to worry about interference.

"And having it breached by a bunch of people without invitation is just going to irritate him," Brian continued. "Plus, he grew up with a certain set of etiquette rules, which I know you instilled in him yourself, Mother Taylor; showing up and taking over is only going to set him off, especially when he's already feeling bad."

"We just wanted to help," Deb said with a frown. "Sometimes it's as if he doesn't want us around."

"Sometimes it's as if he doesn't even want me around," Brian huffed. "Cut him some slack; he's been through a rough and highly stressful time. It was only two weeks ago that he and I were nearly drugged at the opening. And then that was followed by the incident with Lindsay at the shower, and our fights and the rest of the fallout. This is on top of the fact that there is someone out there dogging his every move."

Brian sighed; that weekend getaway was sounding better and better all the time. He couldn't imagine dealing with Mikey on top of all of this would make for a very happy Justin. He wished that they could take more than a weekend, but with Kinnetik gearing up for the summer campaigns and the baby coming in a couple of months, traveling for an extended period was going to be difficult at best.

"He's stressed," Brian said with a small huff. "You know what Justin is like when he's stressed; he internalizes and wants to do everything himself. And this is the one thing he can control right now. I'm not taking that away from him. It's nothing personal."

"Well, when you put it that way," Deb said; and then she sighed.

"Once he's less stress," Brian smirked. "And starts hitting the 'oh-my-god-we're-really-doing-this' phase, I guarantee that you'll have trouble getting rid of him."

"You seem calm about it," Mother Taylor said, arching a brow.

"I kind of went through it a bit with Gus," Brian shrugged. "Granted, it was more of 'oh-my-god-why-did-anyone-think-making-me-a-father-was-a-good-thing matter. But very similar in reaction." Brian paused and turned to them with a smirk. "Now, I'd say that I hate doing this, but…"

"You really don't…" Deb snorted, getting up from the couch she was sitting on.

"Not really," Brian admitted as he stood. "I have a drama princess to deal with and that is going to be tough enough without you hovering over us. I'll have him call when he's stopped sulking."

"You do that, dear," Mother Taylor said as she walked over to him; she paused and pressed a kiss on his cheek and then patted him on the other. "And I'll try to keep the guilt-tripping to a minimum."

"Oh, do feel free to let him have it," Brian disagreed, shaking his head in annoyance. "He's been a complete brat the past two days and fully deserves it."

"Later, kiddo," Deb said, patting him on the cheek as she too walked out of the living room and towards the front door. "Be good to that boy."

"Always am, Ma," Brian said softly; and then his lips twisted into a wry grin. "When he lets me."

"Isn't that the truth?" Deb snorted as she closed the door behind her.

Brian blew out a breath and then loped up the stairs; he needed to change and then grab the studio key so he could beard the lion in his den.