Brian eyed Justin warily. He was looking for any signs of post traumatic stress that the young man might exhibit. Justin had suffered a bad night. Brian hoped that making love to Justin, and showing him how happy he was that the young man had survived the catastrophe at the studio, would be enough to give him a decent night's rest, but it didn't happen. He had awakened in the middle of the night screaming out from a horrific dream. It had taken Brian a half hour just to calm his lover down enough for Justin to fall back into another restless sleep. It was obvious that Justin had never faced the kind of hatred it took for someone to do something so vicious ever before in his life. The fact that Brian suspected Justin's dad played some part in the event was the most disturbing of all. If it was true, it would devastate Justin. That thought tore at Brian, but no matter the outcome, he had to try and find out if his suspicions were correct.

Justin could tell Brian was worried about him. He had been more solicitous than ever before, on top of hardly letting Justin out of his sight. It was comforting on the one hand, but disturbing at the same time. It was as if Brian thought that the attack was aimed solely at him, which was a silly notion. Justin knew he had no real enemies...or at least personal ones. The attack was obviously the result of the hatred of the protesters who had been harassing the studio for a while now. Their goal had to simply be to shut down the making of the film. Justin even wondered now if they would continue with the production.

After showering, having breakfast, and dressing, the men decided to try and get ahold of Brett Keller at the hotel that most of the production staff was staying at. Later Brian would swing over to the hospital so Justin could check on friends and co-workers. A quick check of the local news made it clear that the police were still baffled as to who was behind the bombing of the studio, although there was no doubt what the intended target was. Brian could hear Justin's sharp intake of air when it was announced that five people were killed outright... two actors and three staff. No names were given out. More than two dozen had been hospitalized, at least a half dozen with serious injuries. Brian's blood boiled, but he maintained a calm demeanor to keep from freaking Justin out. Brian was anxious to get started on his quest for the truth, but he had to bide his time. He had no intention of telling Justin what he was up to. He still strongly believed that the trail would lead somewhere Justin would not find palatable. First things first.

***************************************

The visit with Brett was filled with sadness. The man was clearly shaken. He had made films in foreign countries that were not that welcoming and yet he had never experienced anything like this attack. By the time Justin showed up with Brian, Brett and the producers had already decided to leave Pittsburgh. They had more than a third of the location shots in the can, but the rest would have to be made back in Hollywood. Production would be shut down for a few weeks while plans were made and new locations to shoot had been secured. The actors and staff would be on paid leave. Insurance on the film would take care of that.

Brett was particularly interested in Brian following them to Hollywood, at least temporarily, towards the end of the shoot in order to be involved directly with the advertising and promotioning of the film. Brian had already planned to do so, just not as soon or for as long as they would now probably need him. But he had found working on the publicity for the movie to be quite interesting, Justin not included, so he had no problem with fulfilling his contract with the production company and doing what they wanted.

It certainly didn't hurt that he would be able to be with Justin either. In truth, he had not taken the time to think about what it would be like when the young actor had to leave and go back to Hollywood. Brian had not been in any kind of 'relationship' before so he had no thoughts about the future... not until now. For the first time ever, he was thinking ahead with only one person in mind. But he knew he couldn't move ahead with Justin until he found out for certain whether he had more to fear for his blue-eyed lover than the young man even suspected.

Brian finally got the chance to put his plan into motion when he let Justin off at the hospital. The young man had decided to spend some quality time comforting several of his friends that were all in the same ward. Brian offered to pick him back up in a couple of hours. The minute he kissed Justin good bye and waved to him as he entered the hospital entrance, Brian gunned it and headed straight for the office of an old school mate of his. Jake Montgomery, or Monty to his friends, had been a cop for almost ten years until a bullet from a traffic offender almost ended his life. For the last couple of years he had been busy checking into people's personal lives and shadowing them as a private investigator. He made a decent enough living at it, and so far no one tried to put a hole in him.

Monty greeted Brian with a healthy handshake and a big smile. He was a couple of years older and fifty pounds heavier than his old class mate, and he had always adored the smart ass Brian Kinney. He envied Brian his ability to be so open about who he was, even when still a young man at school. Monty, on the other hand, had been closeted then and all through his years on the force. He was as butch as a cop can be, so no one ever suspected a thing. It came as quite a surprise to his co-workers when Monty introduced his long time roommate, Eddie, as his boyfriend on the day they threw him a going away party at the precinct. The two bears had been cuddling for over eight years, much to the shock of Monty's closest friends on the force. He had half expected his fellow officers would tar and feather him only to discover that they were only pissed at him for lying about himself all those years. Many of them still stayed in close contact with their old buddy, even helping him on occasion with a job he needed intel on. After the pleasantries were out of the way, Brian got right to the point.

"You've heard about the explosion over at the movie studio on Piedmont?"

"I haven't been in a cave, Brian. So what about it. They say it has to do with that film they're making based on a gay comic book hero. Any truth to that?"

"That's the theory, and I think it's a good one. Look, let me fill you in."

"I'm listening," informed the detective.

"The movie is based on a comic written by my oldest friend, Michael Novotny. You remember him? He used to visit me on campus all the time."

"How can I forget the guy that mooned over you every chance he got. By the way, did you ever satisfy his crush?"

"No, and he has nothing to do with this thing... well, outside of writing the comic book. Anyway, he sold the comic to this movie production team and they decided to film here. Apparently word got out concerning what the film is about and I think I know who spilled the beans, cause they were trying to keep the whole thing under wraps just to avoid such stupidity."

Monty interrupted. "So what is your stake in this whole thing? You have some of your money invested or something?"

"No, I took on the job of promoting the film, using my company for the advertising. The thing is.... well, you see, I met one of the actors and....."

"Don't tell me. You're having a mad hot affair with the dude," Monty laughed, knowing that this was ridiculous being well aware of Brian's reputation.

"You might say that," Brian responded. Monty's jaw dropped. "Look, here's the thing, the kid.... well, he's actually a lot older than he looks, but anyway, Justin wasn't even aware of who he was until we met. I was only supposed to get him used to the idea of playing a gay man, but he ended up teaching me a few things too."

"Like what?" Monty was truly curious. He had never seen or heard Brian talking like this in all the years he'd known the man.

"Like how to care for someone so much it hurts, especially when they are hurt."

"Shit, Brian, don't tell me he was hurt in the explosion."

"No! God, no! No, the truth is that I think it was his own father behind the whole thing and that's where you come in. I want you to find out everything you can about him. I want you to bug him, film him, and help me prove or disprove his involvement. I don't care what it costs. I need to know... for Justin's sake. Oh, one more thing, I suspect the man has a tail on me too and maybe even Justin."

"Do tell." And that's exactly what Brian did, telling Monty everything that had happened between Justin and his father since the blond came out. He told him about the demonstrators and seeing Craig there. He left out no detail, including his eerie feeling of being followed every single day. Monty listened intently and made promises to follow up immediately and report in as soon as he had news. The men hugged goodbye and Brian left to pick up Justin, feeling slightly better. As he walked out of the ten story office building that housed businesses of all kinds, he again felt like someone was watching, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Hopefully Monty would be able to get some answers and put Brian's mind to rest, once and for all.

***********************************************

Justin came out of the hospital entrance and slid in next to Brian. He leaned over and gave his lover a warm kiss. Brian was relieved to see that Justin wasn't quite as stressed as he had been when he'd first let him off at the hospital. Justin relayed the news that Jimmy and several of his other closest castmates had pulled out of danger during the night and were on the road to recovery. Apparently Brett had also stopped by to announce that the film was definitely not being shelved... that instead it would be delayed by one month while arrangements were made and contracts signed on new location shoots. That meant that those that could would have a month to recuperate and still be involved in the film and all the others would have time to deal with the trauma, getting help in dealing if necessary, and to work out any conflicts they might have with other jobs they had lined up. For Justin, who had nothing else on his schedule, this meant a month to stay with Brian and learn to cope. It meant another month of not having to think about the future and where Brian fit into it. That was reason enough to feel slightly better.

Brian had received several anxious calls the previous night from his circle of friends, wanting to know that Justin was alright, so he suggested that he and Justin pay a few visits to relieve everyone's minds and then head out to his country house. He didn't have to ask twice. They went back to the loft to pick up a few things and then headed for Debbie's house. Brian had called ahead of time and was pleased to see that Deb had gathered the troops at her place. The only ones missing were the girls and his son. During the next hour they reassured everyone that Justin was sound as a dollar and dealing with the trauma remarkably well. Brian kept his suspicions about the bombing to himself.

The next stop was Mel and Lind's house. Luckily, Justin had already dealt with a couple of hysterical women when he received frantic calls from his mother and Daphne while at the hospital just before Brian had arrived the day before. He had been almost in shock himself but somehow convinced the women that he was fine, and that it was unnecessary for them to come running to Pittsburgh. They finally let him off the hook when he promised to see them at the first chance. Now Justin had to calm the fear of Gus' mothers. No one had mentioned a thing to Gus, so he happily spent the visit pulling his newest, bestest friend into a game of make believe with his train track set given him at his birthday party. As the threesome watched Gus and Justin together in a corner of the living room, they each wondered at how controlled Justin was and whether it was a facade. Brian promised to take care of the young actor, thus relieving the girl's minds. Mel was still surprised at how solicitous and caring Brian obviously was with Justin. She still found it hard to believe that this was the same Brian she had grown to dislike because of his self-centered cocky attitude. But then again, he had changed a lot since Gus' birth, and now even more so since Justin entered his life.

Eventually the hour was getting late and Brian remarked it was time to hit the road. He stepped into the guest bathroom for a moment while Justin said his goodbyes and placed a quick call to Monty. The detective assured Brian that he had enlisted some of his best assistants to take on the task of shadowing Craig Taylor and was already digging into the man's recent activities. Brian gave him a heads up as to where he'd be, and Monty promised to report in as soon as he had some news worth passing along. Brian thanked his old friend again and went to join everyone on the front stoop. He scooped up his son and planted a big wet one on his wavy brown mop of hair, which earned him a giggle. He promised his boy that the next time they went to the country house, Gus could come too. It was enough to bring a huge grin to the little spitting image of Brian Kinney. Lastly the boy threw his arms around Justin's legs and squeezed. Justin bent down and shook the boys hand in a grown up way.

"See you soon Gus-Gus." This brought out another giggle.

Soon the men were on the move out of town. Once they were well on their way, Justin, who had been quiet for some time, spoke up.

"Brian, I've been thinking. Don't you think you should give your country place a name?"

"I told you Sunshine. I don't do names. I'll leave that up to you. So, what do you have in mind?"

Justin grinned crookedly. "Oh, I don't know. Something like Gee's Britin sounds good."

"Gee's Britin? Where in the world did you come up with that?"

"G e e for Gus and Bri...."

The light dawned. "Ohhh, Bri....tin. Aren't you the clever duck?" Brian laughed.

"It's brilliant," Justin bragged.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Brian grinned, "However, it does have a nice ring to it. I have the feeling Gus will like it." Brian paused. "Okay, Gee's Britin it is." He laughed out loud. "I certainly did pick myself one very clever young man to get involved with, didn't I?"

Justin placed his hand firmly on Brian's thigh. "Clever and horny," he laughed. "Are we there yet?"

Brian laughed out loud again. It felt good to see Justin's spirits rising. As soon as he could, he intended to see some other things rising too. They rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence, the fears and anger of Pittsburgh left behind them even if only temporarily. At least for a short while they could keep the rest of the world at bay. Brian gunned the motor of his Jeep. Gee's Britin was waiting for them.

To be continued......