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JUSTIN

 

Dinner was all sorts of fun for Nicholas. So much that he begged Brian and me to give him a month before doing it again. I think he was expecting everyone to behave, which, for them, they did. I could have told him about my first time, but I wanted to see how he dealt with the chaos that was Deb's dinners.

 

"Was it weird to find out your father wasn't who you thought he was? I mean, Ma and I went through that, but my father wasn't so bad, for a drag queen. Then again, compared to yours he's father or mother or whatever he'd want to be called, of the year," Michael said as the food was being passed around.

 

"I'm still trying to figure out what makes women look at Craig and forget the condom," Deb commented.

 

"Samuel Hobbs isn't much of a prize either," Lindsay added.

 

"Honey, my dad was nothing to look at, but my mother kept having more Honeycutt's," Emmett told her.

 

"What does that say about my parents, they only had me?" Ted joked.

 

"How long have you know Justin was your half-brother?" Ben asked.

 

"Since...." Nicholas started but was cut off.

 

"I keep trying to see it. I mean you're both blond, but otherwise, I'd have never thought you were related. Of course, you're both yummy to look at," Emmett said, laughing as Drew growled.

 

"I looked just like my father's yearbook picture," Michael added.

 

"Michael looked good in drag too," Deb laughed as Michael blushed.

 

"Do I even need to answer anyone?" Nicholas whispered to me.

 

"I just eat," Gus whispered across me.

 

"Did you really buy a building?" Ben asked me.

 

"It's so crazy. We were just talking and then Justin turned it into a business," Lindsay told Ben.

 

"Nope," I told Nicholas.

 

After dinner, Deb and Carl volunteered to watch the kids if we wanted to go out. Brian started to turn it down, but I managed to convince him, after a visit to the bathroom, that dancing wouldn't hurt the baby. It was funny to watch my brother ignore the men who were hoping he'd look their way. Brian and I spent time between dancing hanging out at the bar with Nicholas. The rest of the guys were all over, at one point Emmett dragged Nicholas to dance and came back laughing when he got pushed out of the way so someone could get to Nicholas. Brian and I left when Nicholas walked out with a guy, telling everyone we could meet for breakfast in a couple of days. Michael yelled to make sure someone told Nicholas too.

 

BRIAN

 

Justin was now eight and a half months along and still trying to act like he wasn't carrying a watermelon in front of him. I'd been getting Kinnetik ready for my absence while Nicholas had kept Justin from trying to help remodel the building he bought. Jen had come back to town to finalize her divorce and managed to get Justin to slow down a little. Molly stayed with her grandparents in Philly, since Nicholas hadn't been more than lukewarm to her. Justin didn't smooth her way, and for once she accepted that her brother wasn't going to help her. She did let Justin know Craig was getting married again, to someone old enough to be Craig's mother. Pop told us the woman also controlled Craig with an iron fist, and let him know that they would be living in England, so the mess here wouldn't be a problem for her. She also told Pop to let her know if Craig caused any issues, and she'd make sure to tighten his leash. That only led to all sorts of comments at the next dinner Deb threw.

 

"Brian, your appointment is here," Janice, my PA, informed me, sticking her head in the door.

 

"Give me a minute," I tell her, finishing up with an idea for a campaign.

 

Claire walked into my office, for once not sneering at me. She had no idea why I asked for her to come here when I never have before. I debated kicking her out just for shits and giggles. Claire sat down, not saying anything and getting more uncomfortable when I didn't help her by just asking how much. Justin and I had discussed how to handle my sister and mother and when Claire called I decided it was time to deal with it once and for all on my turf.

 

"Mother and I..." Claire stopped when I interrupted her attempt to inform me of whatever she thought I owed her now.

 

"You can think, do, and act however you want, because it's your life to live. I don't care if you don't approve of my life. In truth, I never did. What I do now understand is I've led you to believe I wanted your approval by supporting all of you. Which stops now. And before you start on my ‘duty to our family', a duty it seems only I have, I've decided to follow my husband's lead," Brian smirked at Claire's glare of disapproval. "Mother's house has been paid for. All repairs will be made, then I'm done. Well, I have one thing I planned to do for you before I finish. You've spent your life complaining that I got advantages you didn't, I don't see it that way. I got a scholarship, worked three jobs to get through college, while I still sent money home when dad drank up his paychecks, in order to keep you and mother from being homeless. You did nothing to change your situation. Instead, you followed in our mother's footsteps. Yet somehow you think your life is my fault when you didn't get the advantages, as you see it, that I did. I decided it was time you did, and plan to offer everything you want to believe was the reason I owe you and our mother my life," I told her.

 

"You barely did anything for us, other than act like you were better than us," Claire sneered at me.

 

"As I said, believe what you need to, but my offer is the end of anything I do, regardless of whether or not you take it," I told her.

 

"I would rather you buy a new home for me, instead of buying the one I live in now," Claire told me, as if she thought I was going to offer the same as I did for our mother.

 

"I have no plans to buy you a home. What I'm offering is to pay for you to go to any college you can get into. While you work towards a degree I'll pay for everything you need for school, you can work as I did for your expenses, and to take care of your boys. Once you've completed school, it will up to you to make a success of your life the way I did mine. It's all I will offer you, and if you chose to say no, then we're done. If you say yes, you'll be dealing with my accountant, who will pay all the college expenses directly. Either way, you are no longer welcome in my life," I told her, only feeling a small regret at what our lives could have been if she or I even tried.

 

"Oh, so I just work, deal with our mother, my kids, and school. How's that going to do anything for me? I have more than I can handle and your answer is to add to it? Instead, stop being selfish for once in your life and make my life easier. I could use the money now then I'll consider letting you pay for me to go to college. I should get what mother gets, too. I'm tired of doing without while having our mother control everything..." She ranted, and I once again stop her.

 

"If you don't want to take me up on my offer, then like I said, we're done here. So yes or no?" I asked her.

 

"No. But don't think you..." Claire stopped when I got up and opened my door.

 

"I think we're through, and when you walk out of here, you won't be allowed back in. Janice will give you Ted's number if you change your mind, and that means you have registered for school and you stay in school until you finish. You can call him and give him the information on where to send the payment. Now, I have things to finish so I can go home to my family," I told her.

 

Claire got up glaring. "Mother will be hearing about this," She said, as if threatening me.

 

"And like you, she will understand I'm no longer going to listen to her either," I told her, as she stomped by me.

 

Janice rolled her eyes as Claire complained all the way out the door. Once it was closed I managed to get through all the emails I needed to send. Murph came in to talk about hiring another artist; one of the other execs wanted approval for a campaign, and in the middle of all that Justin was texting long winded complaints about not being allowed to do anything. I silenced my phone, deciding he could complain all he wanted later. I'd been ready to pack up when I heard Justin and a few other voices getting louder as they came closer.

 

"I'm fine, just shut up," Justin grumbled, walking into my office.

 

"I told you I would come here and get him for you," Michael said, trying to pull Justin back out.

 

"Justin, this is ridiculous to come all this way when we just have to turn around," Nicholas said, sounding like he'd been over this with Justin.

 

"There's time, now out, both of you. You act like the baby is just going to drop out of me," Justin glared at them, while I was trying to figure out what Justin did that required Michael to come to tell on him.

 

"Since it's trying to, I think we have a valid point," Michael told him.

 

"Trying?" I asked Justin, who won't say a word.

 

"He thinks it's just the normal Braxton-Hicks, but they aren't stopping no matter how much he thinks it's just the whole pizza he ate," Nicholas told me.

 

"I have two more weeks," Justin insisted.

 

"Out. Let me talk to him," I told Michael and Nicholas, wanting to know why Justin was denying the truth.

 

"It will go away, like always, but the mother hens won't let up," Justin told me, once we were alone.

 

Justin grimaced, holding his stomach, which just made his statement less valid.

 

"They won't let up because the baby is coming whether you want to admit it or not. Tell me what's going through your head?" I asked him.

 

"I didn't want to go there without you. You missed everything with Gus, and I wanted you to be there with me through all this. This is our moment and you get to share every minute I want to crush your ball for doing this to me," Justin told me, letting me walk him to my car.

 

"We'll see you there," I told Nicholas and Michael.

 

"Nicholas, please call Molly?" Justin asked before he closed the door.

 

Justin managed to hold it together as the contractions got stronger. He let me deal with everything as we were waiting for the doctor to check him out once we were in the room. Once the doctor was sure Justin was ready, we were taken in while they drugged him up for the C-section to get the baby out. Justin kept asking what everyone was doing through the whole procedure, making everyone laugh as he seemed to think they needed his input.

 

The minute she cried the room was silent for a second before the doctor handed us our daughter. Justin kissed her finger and toes. While they finished with him I carried her to where they were waiting to weigh her and test her. I didn't want to leave her alone but I wanted to know Justin was okay too. Justin was asleep when they finished, and Nicholas was there to walk with Justin to the room they were taking him to, so I could stay with our daughter.

 

I left the nursery when they told me they'd bring her to the room and said I should go talk to Justin since we'd not really decided on a name, wanting to wait until we saw her. Justin was awake, just watching Molly and Nicholas ignore each other. Gus just sat with Justin, excited to meet his sister.

 

"She'll be here in a second," I told Justin.

 

"Pop and Nana are bringing Mom," Molly told me.

 

"There are a lot of people out in the waiting room, too. I think the hospital is worried about where to put all the people coming," Nicholas jokes.

 

"They can wait until Brian and I name our daughter," Justin insisted.

 

"Do you want us to go?" Nicholas asked.

 

"No. I want us to figure out how to be a family. Because my daughter doesn't need to grow up feeling the way we all did. She deserves to know what a family that loves each other is like." Justin told them as the nurse came in with the baby.

 

"I thought you were going to stay out of this?" I asked as I sat next to him and Gus.

 

"I was. But it's different now. I want my sister, who hopefully now knows what a total shit she was and learned it got her nowhere, to know that if she wants to be in our lives she can't be the center of mine anymore. I want my brother to have the family he never did and feel wanted in our lives. But most of all I want our daughter to have them both in her life, getting along," Justin told them.

 

"Uncle Nicholas is really nice Aunt Molly," Gus put in.

 

"I want to name our daughter," I told him.

 

"What you want always comes first," Justin told our daughter as the nurse hands her to him.

 

"Any names come to mind?" I asked, rubbing down her soft cheek.

 

"I want her to have the names of the people who cared about us," Justin tells me.

 

"Vivian?" I asked Justin.

 

"Nana would be happy," Molly told him.

 

"What about you?" Justin asked.

 

"Victoria was one that would honor Vic, who like Deb was there for me," I told him.

 

"Vivian Victoria. It's a big name," Gus told us.

 

"Do you like it?" Justin asked him.

 

"At least it not Jenny Rebecca," Gus laughed.

 

"Well, can you to try to act like we're family and welcome your niece?" Justin asked Molly and Nicholas.

 

Nicholas nodded, not taking his eyes off Vivian. Molly cried before nodding and standing next to Nicholas.

 

After that, they sat together talking as each person came in to meet the newest member of the family. Justin had a few visitors who showed up later. One being Keegan, who sketched Justin holding Vivian as a present. I walked Vivian back to the nursery as Justin talked to everyone who came by. I looked up when I saw a flash and saw Michael at the window with Ben, recording the moment like always. Emmett and Drew waved as they took the bags they were carrying to Justin. Ted and Blake looked in before heading to Justin's room. Lindsay and Mel brought Gus to see Vivian again before they left. I stayed for a little longer to stare at what Justin and I created. As I was leaving I saw my mother standing there. I walked out. I was not going to allow anything to ruin this day for me.

 

"She's beautiful. Love her. I still can't approve but then, you never really needed it," Joan told me, before walking away.

 

I expected less, but for once she managed to surprise me. Justin was alone when I got back.

 

"Where did they all go?" I asked.

 

"They all wanted to celebrate at the diner. Nicholas managed not to cringe," Justin laughed.

 

"How did everything go with Molly and him?" I asked as he yawned.

 

"I did what I could. They have to decide it themselves. I think Nicholas was more interested in Keegan though. That's going to be all kinds of fun, watching Nicholas try to keep Keegan in one place," Justin told me.

 

"I managed it with you," I reminded him.

 

"Because no matter how hard I fought it, we belong to each other. But next time you do the whole 'baby' thing," Justin joked as he fell asleep.

 

 


 








Chapter End Notes:

Thank you for reading this and all the comments encouraging me. I'll be working on the two I have left to get them done too. There is a new one I'll post soon too, now that I've finished this.

The End.
starlight is the author of 43 other stories.
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