The Aftermath (Part One)

Emmett took one last look around the yard, making sure that everything was like he'd found and nothing important had been left behind. Not that he expected to find anything; his team was proficient. And they'd long worked out the kinks years ago, putting together a flawless taskforce, where everyone knew exactly what the other one was doing and no stone was left over turned.

Nodding with satisfaction, Emmett strode towards the house, smiling when he saw the layettes lined up in a row in the mud room, let there to dry before washing. That had been one of Justin's better ideas, taken from when he and Jenny made onsies for Sunbeam. And from the looks of it, nearly every guest made one, so there was no shortage of clothing for this soon to be spoiled prince or princess.

Stepping into the kitchen, he checked the leftovers one last time, before storing them into the fridge for later tonight, or for lunches and snacks over the next few days. Wiping down the counters one last time, he walked over to the door and turned of the lights before heading up the stairs where Justin was likely sitting and waiting for his idiot husband to get home.

Emmett sighed; he knew he really shouldn't get involved, but he was worried about his Baby; all of this stress and upset couldn't be good for him or Sunbeam. And to have Brian take off after that bit of nastiness with the Queen of Malevolence; well, he was pretty sure that Justin was in no state to be alone.

Passing the nursery, he smiled and waved at Jennifer as he passed by, where she was straightening up and putting away the gifts that the boys had gotten today. She smiled sadly and waved back, pointing towards the bedroom as if she already knew who he was looking for; and she likely did. Frowning as she turned away, her shoulders tense, it took everything that Emmett had in him not to simply walk out the door, find Lindsay and slap her silly for all of the pain she'd caused this family.

But he was better than that, and there was more than one way to skin a cat as his Aunt Lula used say. That uppity, self-entitled termagant may have thought she'd gotten off lightly, but she hadn't how the Avenue reacts when you mess with their royal couple, but she soon would be. Now that everyone important was in the know, he knew that Blake had literally been salivating for the opportunity to have that bitch put into her place, and Emmett didn't doubt for one minute that he'd begun it when he got home tonight.

Emmett walked over to the open bedroom door and peered in, not wanting to wake Justin if he'd managed to fall asleep; and sighed when he found him bundled up in a blanket on a chair next to the window that faced the drive way, staring out it listlessly. Justin frowned as he twisted the ring on his finger, his brow furrowing as he sighed and then pulled the blanket up around him.

And this? This is why he will be right there beside Blake and Jen and Daphne and Lucille, and hell, anyone else that wanted to join, taking that shrew down. Because he hated seeing his Baby fret like this when he should be happy and celebrating this time in his life; this was supposed to be a good day for him and Brian both. And it had been until Miss High and Mighty decided to spread her vileness again.

Sighing internally, Emmett knocked on the door and pasted on a smile when Justin startled and looked up. He smiled weakly in return and waved as Emmett walked in the door and threw himself into the chair opposite of him.

"Hey, Baby," Emmett said, groaning as his tired and aching muscles relaxed. "I just wanted to let you know that everything is cleaned up and the crew is gone."

"Thanks, Em," Justin smiled wanly and twisted his ring again. "I really appreciate everything you did today. It was a beautiful shower and, from what I could see, everyone had a good time with the games. And the food was fabulous."

"Of course it was, darling; it's me after all," Emmett preened, drawing a soft laugh from his friend like he'd been hoping; but Justin grew pensive and looked out the window once more. "What are you doing over here?"

"Just resting," Justin said with a small shrug, his hands gripping at the blanket as a car came down the road; and then he slumped when it passed by.

"Uh huh," Emmett said, a disbelieving smile on his face; Justin bit his lip and looked away from the window. "So this has nothing to do with Lord Kinney storming out of the house in a high dudgeon?"

Justin frowned, but remained silent.

"Come on," Emmett cajoled, nudging Justin's chair with his foot; a small smile flashed across Justin's face, but just as quickly disappeared. "Tell Auntie Em all about it; it will make you feel better."

Justin sighed and looked back out the window; he was silent for a few minutes, but Emmett could tell he was just trying to find the right words rather than ignoring him.

"Brian and I had a fight," Justin finally said, running a hand through his hair. "Well, no; that's not right; it wasn't a true fight. It was more like a heated discussion." Justin huffed. "He left before it could become a true fight."

"Well, that was obvious from the look on his face when he stormed out," Emmett snorted; because yes, he loved Justin, but he had a way of stating the obvious sometimes. "We're all well acquainted with the 'I'm beyond fucked off, get the fuck out of my way' sneer. Although, I do have to admit that it hasn't been seen for a while."

"Yeah," Justin murmured unhappily; he looked down at something in his lap, but as it was covered by the blanket, Emmett couldn't see what it was.

"So what happened?" Emmett prompted, knowing that it would better if Justin got it off his chest than to sit here and stew.

Justin sighed again and then quickly began his tale.

Justin chewed on his bottom lip and slowly followed Brian into the study, his heart sinking when he walked through the door in time to see Brian pouring a glass of Beam. Fuck. He was really upset; this was so not the way that Justin had wanted him to find out. Although, if Justin were being honest with himself, he never wanted Brian to find out the lengths that Lindsay had gone through to separate them.

It just never seemed to be more important than making sure that things ran smoothly for Brian and Gus. He hadn't wanted Lindsay to use the inevitable blow up as a reason to take Brian back to court again; because even though he knew they'd win, it would be stressful for both Brian and Gus.

Plus, he knew that learning this information would break Brian's heart; because, while Peter had finally grown up and left Never Land, he would always need his Wendy. Or so he thought; he wasn't so sure of that now.

Justin sighed and came into the room as Brian looked down at the swirling liquid in his glass, as if trying to decide whether he wanted to drink it or not. Brian looked up, his expression unreadable as he stared at Justin, and that made his heart sink further into the pit of his stomach. Nothing good happened when Brian built up his walls.

"Brian…" Justin said, reaching out hesitantly; but then he let his hand fall back to his side as Brian looked away, his jaw twitching as if he were holding back his words. And then he tuned back to Justin, his eyes suspiciously bright, which just made him feel worse.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Brian asked in a rush, his lips automatically clamping shut as if he hadn't meant to ask that question, but his voice had gotten away from him.

Justin swallowed thickly.

"About what?" he asked; and while part of it had been a stalling tactic, it was still a legitimate question as he and Lindsay had covered quite a bit of ground in their argument; and he wasn't sure which part Brian was asking about.

Brian scoffed and began ticking off on his fingers. "About Lindsay. About Simon. About Sap. Any of it, Justin."

Justin took a deep breath; of course, it would have to be all the hard issues. Truthfully he had known that before asking, but he really didn't know how to answer any of those implied questions to Brian's satisfaction. So, he didn't.

"What good would it have done?" He asked, knowing that this wasn't the answer that Brian sought, but the only answer that he could give at this point in time.

"What good would it have…" Brian spat incredulously; he slammed his untouched drink onto the desk, making Justin flinch; and then he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and began to pace the length of the room. "Are you fucking serious right now, Sunshine? It would have done a world of fucking good; at the very least I would have…"

"Tracked Simon down and beat the shit out of him? Justin asked, his mouth set into a thin line; because okay, he got that Brian was upset about not knowing. He should have said something, but he wasn't going to allow Brian to treat him a naughty child. "Like you did, Sap? Don't think that I am unaware of how and where he got that split lip and the bruised ribs from, this on top of the bruises I left behind."

"What bruised ribs?" Brian asked in confusion; and well, that was interesting news to Justin. "I only hit him once." Brian huffed and waved the question off as unimportant. "Not that it matters, as that's neither here nor there. Would I have tracked down that fucker and hit him, hell yeah! No one fucks with my partner and gets away with it…"

"And then, you would have gotten arrested," Justin huffed; and this was part of why he'd never said anything. Brian was always coming to his rescue and, while he appreciated his support, sometimes a man needed to fend for himself. "Because unlike Sap, he had nothing to hide; he wasn't drugging them and then putting them in a swing against their will. He just let it be known that if they wanted favors from him, he expected favors from them. He used good old-fashioned coercion and extortion. Illegal? Yes, but difficult to prove when your only witness refuses to talk because they know on what side of their bread is buttered. These kids are well aware that if they had talked, all those so-called contacts and opportunities would vanish in a puff of smoke."

"It would have been worth it," Brian spat, his eyes a wall of whiskey-colored flame; Justin inhaled sharply at the sight, even knowing that his husband's anger wasn't really directed at him, but at Lindsay and Simon; and likely a bit at Sap as well.

"And besides that," Justin barreled on. "This was my battle, Brian. I love you, but I don't need you running to the rescue every time some bully tries to rattle my cage. I had his mark from the beginning; I knew something was off by the way he looked at me at that first show. I knew to stay clear of him when I got there. Not to mention the fact, that if I wouldn't even ask you for your help, someone that I love and trust implicitly, why the hell would I ever take a perfect stranger who I can't stand's help?"

"But you didn't; did you?" Brian asked quietly, a self-depreciative smile on his face.

"Didn't what?" Justin asked, trying to figure out what Brian meant.

"Trust me, Justin," Brian said, a grimace twisting his face as he looked at the ground. "Because if you had, Sunshine; you wouldn't kept this a secret. You would have told me everything years ago!"

"Oh my God," Justin huffed, feeling a little exasperated with his husband, because it always came back to this; God, he'd love to go back in time and get his hands on Jack and Joan and show them what it felt like to have your worth questioned each and every day of your life. The bastards.

"Brian, how can you even say that? This had nothing to with not trusting you, and everything to do with protecting you. Because again, what could you have done? Simon was a non-entity from the start. Trust me, he didn't get away with anything; not only have I foiled his plans time and again, but so have other artists and gallery owners once I'd whispered in the right ears."

"Simon wasn't the only issue though, Justin," Brian said, sending a pointed look Justin's way; Justin had to look away because he really didn't want to address this. Because, whether he liked her or not, Lindsay was family and that complicated things.

"You mean Lindsay," Justin said, running a hand through his hair; he supposed he should feel bad that he hadn't said anything about it, but he couldn't; Brian and Gus' happiness were far too important to him to ever trly feel remorseful for keeping quiet.

And he said so.

"I stand by what I said earlier; what could you have done? She's the mother of your son, and a member of the family. And you know what she was like then, dangling Gus in front of you, only to yank him away whenever you stepped a foot out of line; withholding visiting rights until you complied with whatever mandate she'd made! Like hell was I going to put you through that for something that was easily solved!"

"What could I have I done?" Brian spat, walking towards Justin, his eyes flashing with anger. "I'll tell you what I could have done, Justin. I would have dragged her rapacious ass to court a whole hell of a lot earlier, sued her for custody, and then when I won – which I would given everything I had on her – I would have booted her ass out the door a long ass time ago! Do you honestly think I'd want that viperous bitch in my life had I know that? In our son's life?"

"Brian…" Justin said, but he was quickly cut off by Brian.

"Do you think I'd give her the opportunity to further warp Gus' into…" Brian demanded, his cheeks red with anger as he started pacing once more.

"She wouldn't have done that," Justin said, but it was a weak argument at best; because he could definitely see the Lindsay that he'd grown to know since Simon's unwitting confession would use Gus in that way. "She wouldn't have done anything to hurt, Gus."

"But she did, Justin!" Brian growled as he walked back over towards Justin, getting up in his face. "Every time she used him as a bargaining chip, do you really think that he didn't know; and it that it didn't hurt him? Every time she used him as a meal ticket, do you really think that our son, as intelligent as he is, wasn't aware of that? Do you think that every time she bad mouthed you or me, that it didn't affect him? Because let me tell you something about my Sonny Boy, Justin. He saw, and heard, everything; I know this, because when I was his age, I was in his position and I saw and knew everything going on between my parents, even if I didn't understand it fully at the time; but I certainly picked up on the vibes and it fucked me up for years."

"Brian…" Justin stammered, his heart sinking at the anger in his husband's eyes; he'd never wanted Brian to feel like he wasn't protecting Gus due to his actions; and while, he knew that most of what Brian was saying was him just venting old grievances, it still struck hard.

"I will not let that happen to Gus," Brian spat. "I will not let Lindsay's envy, animosity and bitterness that her life didn't turn out the way she'd always fantasized put Gus in that untenable position of being stuck in the middle, walking on eggshells to please her, yet wanting to be with me and you. Do you know that he actually asked me if he could live with us the last time he visited? Had I known any of this, that's not a question he would have had to ask; because he would have already been here!"

"That's not fair," Justin said; he swallowed heavily and blinked back the tears burning at the back of his eyes. "I get that you're angry and hurt, but saying that is not fair; you don't get to lay that at my feet because you damned well know that I would never…"

Justin looked away, partially because he couldn't look at Brian at the moment, and partially because he didn't want Brian to see his reaction; God, these fucking hormones would be the death of him, making him cry at the drop of a fucking hat. He took a deep breath and looked back once he got his emotions under control, only to find Brian shutting down, his face going blank and unreadable once more. Fuck!

"I…" Brian said hoarsely, swallowing thickly on whatever was meant to follow; he looked over Justin's head and cleared his throat before trying again. "I have to go; if I stay here, I will say something that I regret and you're right, it is hardly fair of me to take my anger out on you."

"Brian…" Justin said, walking up to him to stop him from leaving; but Brian just held up a hand and walked around him and headed swiftly for the door.

"Later, Sunshine," he said as he walked out the door.

Justin stood there, stock still, and stared at the door in disbelief, almost expecting Brian to walk back in so that they could continue their discussion. But he knew that wasn't to be as he heard the front door slamming in the distance. He flinched and then pressed his fingers to his eyes, barely holding back the press of tears behind them.

Fuck! Fuck that interfering, vituperative, avaricious bitch and the broken-down horse named Simon that she rode in on.

"Well, tell us how you really feel, Baby," Emmett drawled, drawing a weak smile from Justin when he'd finished his story; and then he sighed, because Big Bad was really his own worst enemy sometimes. Not that Justin was any better. "You know that he didn't mean that, Baby; he knows that you love Gus like he was your own. And you know that he wasn't even really angry with you, right?"

"Yes, I know, Em," Justin said, tiredly waving his hand. "While I know that he's hurt that I never told him about Lindsay, Simon and Sap, I'm also very well aware that it's not me that he's really angry with, and that once he cools down, we'll talk it out."

"So, why the long face?" Emmett asked, knowing that there was something more going on here; a feeling that was proven correct when Justin exploded with a torrent of information.

"I just hate when he leaves like that," Justin huffed, running a hand through his hair as he stared out the window. "It's not safe for him to be driving when he's this upset!"

Emmett nodded, because he could agree with that; not that he could get a word in edgewise as Baby just continued to babble out his worries and fears.

"And then where exactly is he going to go? Is he going to the loft? Woody's? Babylon? And if it's one of the latter two, is he going to drink too much, necessitating a stay at the loft? I hate when he stays there. Not only do I hate sleeping out here by myself, thirty minutes away from everyone, and a half-mile from our nearest neighbor, but the loft was already broken into once. And even if we have changed the locks and the codes, we don't even know how the guy got them, so who's to say they won't get in again. And if he's drunk and out of it, and unaware of his surroundings…"

Justin shook his head and cut himself off, obviously unable or unwilling to express his deepest fears out loud. Emmett swallowed and wanted to hug his friend and tell him everything would be all right. But, not only was Justin putting off 'don't touch me' vibes, but Emmett couldn't be certain that nothing would happen to Brian when he was off by himself. God, he was going to kick some Kinney ass for this.

"I'm sure that's not the case," Emmett reassured. "He probably went for a drive…"

Justin just snorted and shot him a disbelieving look. And, okay, yes, Brian was likely doing one of the things that Justin mentioned before, but he had hoped to calm and reassure his friend; but Justin was far too wise to him for that.

"Okay, so he's likely headed to Babylon to sulk in his office," Emmett conceded with a grimace; and that just cemented his desire for Kinney ass kickage. "But if push came to shove, he could stay there if necessary. You know that he's done it before."

"I know," Justin sighed, looking back out the window morosely.

"Plus, the kids are here," Emmett said, trying to perk his friend's flagging spirits up. "So, you won't be by yourself."

"There is that," Justin said, just as listlessly as before; and then he smiled wanly. "I'm sorry, Em. You're probably exhausted and want to go home; I'll be fine. Gus and Jenny are here and will keep me company."

"If you're sure, Baby," Emmett asked, hesitant to leave Justin; but at the same time, he had an idiot to track down and drag back home.

"I'll be fine," Justin assured, and then turned right back to look out the damned window; oh, yes, Kinney; your ass is going to be black and blue for this.

Emmett stood and pressed a kiss onto the top of Justin's head and then turned on his heel, already messaging the bartenders at Woody's and Babylon to track down his intended target. He looked up and frowned when he spotted Jenny and Gus hovering hesitantly near the door; Jenny holding a book in her arms.

"Is Papa J okay?" Jenny softly asked, peering into the room.

"He'll be fine, sweetheart," Emmett said, smoothing back her hair. "He's just a little upset by an argument between him and your momma."

"And Dad," Gus said, a stoic expression on his face that so reminded Emmett of his father in that moment. "We didn't hear anything, but it was pretty obvious that he was upset when he left earlier."

"He just needed to cool off," Emmett sighed; he could already feel a headache blooming behind his eyes. "You know that Kinney temper." Gus snorted and Jenny giggled. "Why don't you go in and read to you Papa J. I'm sure he'd like some company."

"'Kay," Jenny said as she and Gus scrambled around him and head into the door, cheerfully engaging Justin about whatever plot they were reading now.

Emmett pinched the bridge of his nose, already exhausted and he hadn't even dealt with the more troublesome of the twosome. Sighing he looked up into Jen's sympathetic face and tried to smile, but he knew he'd failed when she just huffed.

"How is he doing?" Jen asked, nodding towards the door.

"He's justifiably upset with everything that is happening," Emmett said noncommittally as he wasn't sure just how much Justin wanted him to share with his mother.

"I don't blame him," Jen sighed, running a hand over her hair, smoothing it back as she tiredly stared into the room. "Every time I play it back in my mind, I just want to strangle that petty, conniving, repugnant bitch."

"Now, now, Mother Taylor," Emmett teased, even if he knew exactly how she felt; but Lindsay's downfall was something to worry about at a later time; after he dealt with His Surliness. "Tell me how you really feel."

"I'm afraid that's not fit for anyone's ears," Jennifer quipped, smirking when Emmett arched his eyebrows in surprise. "Child or adult."

"Yeah, I feel you," Emmett said, a scowl on his face. "I sent the kids in; they should be able to distract him for a while. Are you going to…"

"I'll stick around until Brian shows up," Jen said, walking back towards the nursery and leaving the kids to work their magic on Justin.

"Good," Emmett nodded. "I'm sure that having his mama about will help Baby keep his mind off things. I'm off to track down the Kinney half of this partnership."

"Good luck," Jen snorted, knowing full well the task Emmett had before him; she paused at the door to look over her shoulder. "And Em, try to go easy on him. While I may not be happy with the way my son-in-law is handling things at the moment, he has had a nasty shock today."

"We'll see," Emmett huffed. "No promises; sometimes, with Big Bad, you have to yank his head out of his ass for him; and I am just the girl to do it."

With a wave, Emmett hurried down the stairs and went to find his husband so that they could find Brian; as, he was certain that once he'd found His Surliness, and forcibly removed his head from his ass, he was likely not in any shape to drive home himself.

… … … … …

Emmett knocked on the door at Babylon and waited to be let in has the club wasn't open for business yet; this was exactly where he thought that Brian would be. After gathering up Drew and explaining the situation, they'd driven – well actually, Drew drove while Emmett played phone and text tag with various friends, trying to track Big Bad down – back into town as quickly as they could. And they had nearly reached the city limits when finally his work had paid off in the form of a call from Babylon's doorman, Kyle.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Emmett studied the streets inhabitants, and couldn't help wondering why anyone would be here so early, before the real fun started. Blowing out a pent up breath, he hummed and turned when he heard the door opening and smiled as Kyle poked his head out and then ushered him in.

"He in the office?" Emmett asked, pointing towards the stairs that would take him to the VIP lounge and the offices.

"Yup," Kyle nodded, firmly closing the door behind them. "Stormed in here not twenty minutes ago and locked himself in. Wouldn't talk to anyone and hasn't been responding when anyone dared knock."

"Thanks for the call," Emmett sighed, sharing a long suffering look with Kyle.

"Anytime," Kyle said as he walked back towards the box office to finish getting ready for the night. "Good luck prying the bear out of his lair."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Emmett muttered, ignoring the cackling laughter behind him as he headed up the stairs. "Fuck my life."

Taking the stairs to at a time, he pulled out his secret weapon – a copy of the office keys that he'd filched from Brian's desk at Britin. Yeah, Brian would be pissed when he learned of it, but Emmett knew his friend well and he wasn't going to play the 'open the fucking door' game with Brian. Not tonight.

Stalking down the hallway, he came to a well known door and deftly inserted the key into the lock and unlocked it, swinging the door wide as he stepped in with a bright, fake smile. Brian looked up from where he was just getting ready to toss back a two-finger measure of Beam and frowned, utterly annoyed at the disturbance.

"There you are, honey," Emmett chirped, his smile stretching so far that it actually hurt as he rest his hands on his hips. "I have been looking all over town for you."

"I doubt that," Brian said, his tone as dry as the Sahara. "After all, I'm well aware that someone probably called you as soon as I stepped foot in the door because no one on this fucking street can mind their own damned business."

"Be that as it may," Emmett said as he stepped in and shut the door, his smile instantly dropping as he stared hard at the glaring man. "The fact is that I shouldn't have had to come looking for you."

"Not now, Honeycutt," Brian muttered, dismissing him with a careless wave of his hand; and oh, no, he didn't. That was not going to fly at all. "I am not in the mood for your histrionics."

"My histrionics?" Emmett asked incredulously, placing his hand on his chest as he stared at his stewing friend in utter disbelief. Excuse him, but Emmett wasn't the one storming out of the house and tearing off in his car in a pissy mood. "Oh, you did not just go there." Brian rolled his eyes, which just irritated Emmett further, and the only reason he hadn't turned on his heel and left the sot to rot was his Baby was sitting at home worrying about the asshole. "Just what the fuck were you thinking, Brian?"

"It's none of your fucking business, Honeycutt," Brian spat, his eyes on fire as he looked over at Emmett; and then he defiantly tossed the drink back, as if he were expecting Emmett to snatch it away from him. But like hell was Emmett going to save him from his poor decisions. If he wanted to get rip roaring drunk and then go home to face Justin's wrath that was all on him, honey.

"Stop calling me, Honeycutt," Emmett hissed, returning glare for glare with the obstinate ass that he unfortunately called friend. "And it is too my fucking business when you storm off leaving, not only your pregnant, upset husband alone in the house when there is fucking stalker loose; but your two confused children behind as well."

"What are you talking about?" Brian asked, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Did you forget that tidbit in the midst of your little temper tantrum?" Emmett asked sarcastically, not at all cowed by the warning look he received. "That Mel left Jenny and Gus to spend the night; and that, while they may not know what's happening, they do know something has everyone upset; and as you said yourself, your Gus is a bright boy. He can easily put to and two together and get four."

"Of course, Justin talked to you," Brian huffed, turning back to his drink, but Emmett could tell that he had forgotten that fact, and was feeling guilty about it.

"Yes, Justin did talk to me," Emmett huffed, rolling his eyes when Brian scowled; he didn't want to stay and talk it out, but God forbid Justin talk it out with a friend instead. For someone that doesn't do jealousy, Big Bad sure did a great approximation of it. "But he shouldn't have had to; he should have been talking to you; but instead of facing it, you're in the club pouting."

And oh, that got him going, didn't it; good, Emmett would rather deal with pissed off Brian, than closed off, brooding Brian.

"Are you seriously saying that I shouldn't be pissed that," Brian said incredulously as he staggered out of the chair. "One – not only has one of my friends betrayed me; but two – my husband never told me about it? Instead, he shouldered all that responsibility, when he should have been letting me share the burden?"

"Not at all," Emmett huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "But leaving? Yeah; that I have issues with, Brian. You should have known better than to get into your car and drive while you were pissed off. Not only could you have caused an accident, but you could have sent Justin into early labor worrying about your ass."

Brian reeled back at that and the fight slowly drained out of him; he looked away, a troubled look on his face. "If I hadn't have left; I would have ended up saying hurtful things that I couldn't take back; especially when those hurtful things were not meant for Justin's ears, but for someone else."

"Then you go into another room," Emmett said, not about to let that go. "Or out to the stables. Or fuck, go for a walk on that fucking huge ass property that you bought. You can't tell me that with a house that big and the anchorage around your property that you couldn't have found a secluded place to calm the fuck down."

Brian hummed and shrugged, but otherwise remained silent.

"What you don't do, is get into your fucking car, tear out of your drive way like a bat out of hell, scaring your already exhausted and stressed PREGNANT partner," Emmett pointed out. "Stressing him out further and worrying him to a degree that he is sitting in your bedroom, staring out a fucking window, watching for your return."

Brian actually looked abashed at that information; and Emmett was happy to see that his anger was winding down, even if he still looked unhappy.

"That is something that I would expect from the man I knew ten years ago," Emmett said quietly. "Not the man that you've become." Emmett paused to let that sink in, and knew it had hit its mark when Brian winced. "Tell me, what did Justin do that was so wrong that justified this little tantrum of yours?"

"He didn't trust me," Brian snapped, still visibly annoyed. "He knew that Lindsay and Simon were poison, that they what they are doing is tantamount to rape; at the very least it is a violation of, not only himself, but these other young artists that fell into Simon's trap."

Emmett squawked and frowned at those words; that had sounded far too close to Brian blaming Justin for his and these artists' fates. Brian looked up, a confused look on his face and then waved Emmett off impatiently.

"I'm not in any way, shape or form implying this is Justin's fault. But he knew this and he kept this to himself for years, when I could have…!" Brian trailed off and frowned, his eyes troubled. "A lie by omission is still a lie. He should have come clean!"

"You mean like you did with 'Blaine'?" Emmett asked, stopping Brian in his tracks; because they have been having this conversation for days now. "Correct me if I'm wrong; but you've known about his connection to your life for years as well, and never told Justin. A connection that is now causing you nothing but pain because the guy is, at the very least, an accomplice to the stalking; and yet, you still haven't told Justin about him. And it's been almost two weeks since you found out."

"I told you I was waiting until after the shower…" Brian said, chagrinned as if he knew just how weak that argument sounded to his own ears.

"All I am saying is this – hypocrisy is not a good look on you, my friend," Emmett said, arching a brow and further annoying Brian, because the other man knew he was right.

"I don't know what to do," Brian said, blowing out a breath.

"Well, you're not going to figure that out here, Kinney," Emmett pointed out, waving his hand to encompass the office and club.

"It's Taylor-Kinney," Brian reminded him without heat.

"Then fucking act like it," Emmett groused, his headache coming back full force because that's what talking to Brian did to him sometimes. "And get your ass home where it belongs; because let me tell you something Big Bad, if Baby goes into labor from all the stress because you're too busy sulking to calm his ass down, I will beat you down just like I did Sap all those years ago."

"What?" Brian asked, his brows arched in surprise.

"Those bruised ribs?" Emmett said, reminding Brian of the conversation he had with Justin. "That, along with the other bruises that Justin likely doesn't know about, that was my handiwork. You weren't the only one to hear the rumors and put two and two together. There was a reason that he stopped his parties, and it wasn't that he'd suddenly seen the error of his ways. I heard that something important ruptured down there and he hasn't gotten an erection since. What a shame."

"Jesus Fuck, Honeycutt," Brian gaped, awe and a touch of fear shining in his eyes.

"No one fucks with my little brother," Emmett stated firmly, cracking his knuckles as he did, just to see Big Bad blanch. "Now, you have a husband to get home to; and I need a fucking drink before going home to my husband and having him fuck me until I don't have the energy to fly to New York and take out another would-be rapist bastard."

"Oh, fuck, Honeycutt," Brian grimaced, scrubbing his hands over his face as if trying to erase it from his mind. "Don't tell me shit like that; I don't need anymore fucking nightmares."

"Pour me a drink, and then get the fuck out of here," Emmett demanded, even while knowing full well that Brian would tell him to fuck off. "Drew is waiting with the Hummer to drive your ass back. I'll take the SUV and bring it back tomorrow."

"Pour it yourself, you bitchy queen," Brian snorted, grabbing his jacket and holding his hand out for his office keys. Emmett exchanged them for the SUV keys. "Do I look like your fucking servant?" Brian walked past, bumping Emmett's shoulder as he passed; he paused at the door and looked back with an discomfited smile. "Hey, Em…thanks for…"

"Yeah, yeah," Emmett huffed, waving him off. "Just go home and fix this; that's thanks enough for me."

Emmett watched as Brian exited the office and headed down the hall; and then he turned and looked at the beam sitting on the desk and grimaced. Like hell was he drinking that nasty shit. He walked over and capped it, put it away and left the office. There was a big, fat Cosmo waiting for him at the bar and he intended to drink, and then head home to wait for his man. He so deserved a reward for putting up with this shit.