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Justin wandered around with Gus, wondering what was going on with Brian. It wasn’t like he wasn’t still the man Justin was in love with, just that he was trying to hide that he was worried about something. It was just that when Justin asked about it, Brian distracted him with sex. Which left Justin thinking he needed to stop waiting until they were in bed to ask about it. Brian left his phone at the hotel when he went to the last meeting he needed to go to, and Justin snooped, feeling like an asshole but hoping it would tell him something. He saw a lot of missed calls from Pittsburgh and hated that Brian was ignoring everyone for him. He didn’t care if Brian helped his friend, as long as it didn’t hurt him. He planned to tell Brian it was okay if he wanted to deal with whatever was causing his voicemail to fill up. Brian came in and kissed Justin then sat on the floor with Gus, who was coloring.

 

“You left your phone here, sorry but I sort of looked,” Justin told him, handing him the phone as it rang again with the same number.

 

“I was planning to deal with this when we got done here. It’s easier not to answer because they expect me to jump when they call.” Brian told him.

 

“He doesn’t need to answer it. Blake and I will take care of it.” Ted told them.

 

“Why is Deb calling?” Brian asked.

 

“I don’t know but when I get back I’ll find out,” Ted told him.

 

“Thank you for wanting to help, but Justin and I should go to the Pitts for other reasons,” Brian said, answering Deb’s call.

 

“What reasons?” Justin asked, but didn’t get an answer as Deb had started talking to Brian.

 

Brian almost wanted to kick his own ass for answering, but it wasn’t like he didn’t expect what Deb would call him about. Deb was asking him to come back to Pittsburgh. Apparently, Michael was completely out of control. Justin could tell Brian was torn about what to do, and Ted wanted to kill Deb for once again dragging Brian into Michael’s mess. Ted and Blake tried to do what they could to keep Brian from having to deal with Michael. Only they weren’t Brian, and Michael, no matter how many times anyone told him, wanted to believe Brian wouldn’t want the kind of life he was building with Justin because it wasn’t with Michael. Deb had been doing well staying out of it, cleaning Michael up when he showed up looking like a drunken bum. For the most part, she didn’t ask any of them to do anything, so Ted prayed whatever it was warranted once again asking Brian to help.  

 

“Michael needs to know you aren’t going to be there to save the day,” Ted told him.

 

“I could meet my stepmother and see my family,” Justin told him, trusting Brian to do what he had to.

 

“I don’t plan to go there and save the day. Deb can’t do what she’s asking me to do...” Brian commented.

 

“She was doing good not asking,” Ted told him.

 

“When you’re a father you see things differently. If I thought someone could help my child, I’d do it without caring what it did to someone else.” Justin told him.

 

“Michael’s thirty-three, which means it’s time for him to grow up,” Ted told him.

 

“Yet you keep trying to help him.” Brian reminded him.

 

“Only because I want you to have a chance at a life that doesn’t have you at Michael’s beck and call,” Ted told him.

 

“I won’t be, but if it’s as bad as Deb says then someone needs to make him listen,” Brian told him.

 

“What did she tell you?” Ted asked.

 

“He ended up in the hospital where they had to pump his stomach because the drugs and alcohol in his system could have killed him,” Brian told Ted.

 

“Why does Deb think you being there could help him?” Justin asked.

 

“I still have his POA and can have him committed to a clinic. That’s all she’s asking of me.” Brian told Ted.

 

“We also need to talk to Mel about Gus’s adoption, so we can do both while we’re there,” Justin told Brian.

 

“Justin, if Brian shows up there Michael will take it the wrong way. He wants to believe Brian can’t want to live the life you and he are living together. Brian showing up will make him believe it. Blake might be able to do this without you getting involved.” Ted told them.

 

“Even if Blake could, Michael would fight it. He needs to know that unless he does this it’s the end of the road for all of us.” Brian told him.

 

“If you want me to be there so Michael doesn’t get the wrong idea I will,” Justin told Brian.

 

Ted still thought it was a bad idea, but knew Brian would do what he wanted anyway. Ted didn’t find out until Justin and Gus fell asleep on the plane to Pittsburgh that Brian wanted to know what Craig offered to get Lindsay to go. Reese called Brian to tell him Lindsay agreed to leave them alone and that Craig offered to help convince her. Brian didn’t want Craig to pay for the problem that came from his friendship with Lindsay, and her abuse of the friendship. He also wanted to talk to Lynette and explain he wouldn’t hide the fact that they were trying to buy Gus, and if they helped Lindsay, he’d make sure everyone knew all their secrets. He hated that it was taking as long as it was to get the adoption done, but suspected Ron and Nancy were trying to placate Lindsay’s tantrums by calling in favors to make this harder. They didn’t give a shit about Gus but saw him as a way to hopefully change the way Randolph felt about their family. Mel called Brian with updates and told him about the problems she’d been having with the paperwork. Brian didn’t want to worry Justin, and it might have been a mistake on his part, but his past was causing the bullshit and he wanted to be the one to solve it so Justin never had to worry about the son he loved.

 

“You can’t keep it from Justin. Trust me, it only causes problems when they find out you did it to protect them.” Ted whispered.

 

“I had hoped to just deal with it and be able to tell him Gus was ours,” Brian whispered.

 

“Brian, you keep forgetting that you’re in a relationship. It means dealing with everything together. Justin’s family could take on the Petersons and win.” Ted told him.

 

“Only if you tell me what’s going on,” Justin whispered, looking down at a sleeping Gus.

 

Brian didn’t want this to become Justin’s problem, but Ted had a point, he was in a relationship, something he really had no experience with, and Ted did. Instead of trying to solve everything himself it was time to let his partner help him.

 

“There’s been problems with the paperwork. It goes missing or gets filed wrong. Mel thinks Lindsay is likely blackmailing her family so they’ll call in favors to fuck with us. Your father also helped by getting rid of Lindsay for as long as she’ll disappear, which he shouldn’t have had to do.” Brian told him.

 

“And you didn’t tell me?” Justin asked.

 

“My life is the reason all this is happening to us,” Brian told him.

 

“That’s just it. It’s happening to us, not just you, which mean we deal with it together.” Justin told him.

 

Ted chose not to smirk and kept the ‘I told you so’ in his head. Not that Brian didn’t know, and he gave Ted the look that said to make sure that thought was never voiced. When they landed, Blake was waiting for them. Ted loved coming home because Blake was there to show him he had a home. Brian watched them and knew it was time he took a lesson from Ted. 

 

“I want you to come with me. Michael needs to see us as we are now.” Brian told Justin.

 

“What about Gus?” Justin asked.

 

“I think Grandma and Grandpa would love to spend time with him,” Brian answered, happy that Gus would have the family Justin grew up with.

 

“Can you let me ask my father what he did?” Justin asked.

 

“Why?” Brian asked.

 

“I want him to know that I believe he really wants me in his life. When I was younger this was the father I grew up with, and I think he thinks he owes me for not being that father when I came out. I want him to know I don’t care anymore, I’m just happy that he’s trying to be the father I loved.” Justin answered.

 

“I want to pay him back,” Brian told him.

 

“Too bad, because he won’t let you. Just let our father do something for us. He needs to show you too, it’s just how he is.” Justin told him.

 

They let Ted take Gus to Grandma’s since they were planning to go to Craig’s house after. Brian sat next to Justin in the back of the car, preparing himself to deal with Michael once again. He kept promising himself he’d leave Michael to deal with his life, but Deb’s call scared him. He didn’t want Michael dead, but he also didn’t want him to see things the way Ted pointed out.

 

“Brian, it might be good to put him in lockdown until we clean his ass up. He really doesn’t need anyone visiting him, which includes Deb. Michael uses all of you as a crutch, and in the program I think would be good for him, no one will listen to him blame anyone for what he did.” Blake told him.

 

“How long before he could have visitors?” Brian asked.

 

“A month. And that’s only after he actually participates.” Blake told him.

 

“How long has he been like this?” Justin asked.

 

“The drugs started pretty much the minute you left. I doubt there’s been one day Michael’s been sober since he went to the loft and found it empty. Ted and I should have told you, but until Michael hit rock bottom I didn’t think having you involved would do more than convince him what he was doing was working to get you to come back.” Blake told them.

 

“See why you shouldn’t have tried to keep things from me?” Justin the smart ass asked.

 

Brian ignored him and spoke to Blake. “Deb is going to have a hard time with this.”

 

“It's better than her son being dead. Which he would have been if Todd hadn’t seen him on the floor of the bathroom and dragged him to the emergency room.” Blake told him.

 

Blake followed them in and Deb was sitting in the waiting room crying her eyes out. Brian could tell she was blaming herself, which she did if she couldn’t blame anyone else for Michael’s actions. Justin, not knowing what to do, offered to talk to the doctor about it. 

 

“If they give you any problems, have them come here to me and Deb,” Brian told him.

 

Deb looked up at Brian and practically strangled him with a hug, only noticing Justin as he started to walk off. Brian tensed when Deb let him go and headed straight to Justin. 

 

“I’m sorry my son’s shit made you and Brian have to come here. I didn’t know what to do. Michael told the doctor only Brian was allowed to make decisions for him and ordered me out.” Deb told him, standing there looking lost.

 

Justin smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s not a problem. You did what you could for him. Just understand Brian is doing what he has to in order to help Michael.” Justin told her.

 

“He needs help, something he won’t take from me,” Deb told them.

 

“Deb, Brian and I talked about it, and the plan is to have him transferred to a lockdown rehab. What that means is that he can’t have visitors or calls until he does what he needs to do to clean himself up.” Blake told her.

 

“I can’t see him?” Deb asked, looking horrified at the idea of not seeing Michael.

 

“No. But it makes it so Michael has to face his problems. I know you’ve been good about letting Michael deal with his problems, but this time he needs to know all his crutches are gone.” Blake told her.

 

“I thought I was doing the right thing, but look at where he ended up because I backed off.” She told them.

 

“He did this, not you. Trust me, I was where he is now, and in the end, the program helped me see what I was doing hurt everyone I said I loved. Michael needs a place where no one will let him pass the blame for his mistakes.” Blake told her.

 

“Why can’t I see him?” Deb asked like she couldn’t get past it.

 

“Because you and I are the reason Michael never had to take the blame for what he did. We spent all his life covering for him, and by you or me being allowed to see him, he won’t do what he needs to help himself.” Brian snapped.

 

“I thought I was being a good mother,” Deb said, crying.

 

“You did the best you could. We all know you tried, but Michael needs something to fix what’s broken in him. I came from a good family who loved me but didn’t know how to deal with a gay son. Drugs became my way of coping with my father not knowing how to deal with me. Then it became the real reason my parents kicked me out. If they had done what Brian is willing to do, maybe my life would have been different.” Blake told her.

 

“Michael will fight it,” Deb told them, giving in.

 

“Then he shouldn’t have given me the power to do it to him,” Brian told her.

 

Justin talked to the doctor while Brian spoke with Deb, letting her know he’d pay for this for Michael. She objected, saying he shouldn’t have to, but relented when Brian told her he wasn’t going to let her kill herself working. Blake showed her the cost of the facility he planned to call as soon as Brian signed the paperwork, and Deb cried again at how much her son was costing his best friend. The doctor had already ordered an evaluation of Michael and told Justin they all agreed Michael wasn’t capable of making sound decisions. Which meant Brian could take over until Michael could. 

 

Brian didn’t go in to see Michael thinking he agreed that Brian needed to make the decisions in his life because he couldn’t. He knew Michael did this in order to try and get Brian back. Which was Michael’s mistake, because Brian was going to do what Michael needed, not what Michael wanted. Michael’s smile fell when Justin came into the room behind Brian, but he ignored the blond and focused on Brian.

 

“I knew you couldn’t leave me,” Michael announced.

 

“I’m here to get you help,” Brian told him, walking to the window instead of the bed.

 

“He didn’t need to be here, I wanted only you,” Michael told him, upset when Brian wouldn’t come to him.

 

“Where I go, my partner goes. Understand that, because it won’t change because you fuck up your life.” Brian told him.

 

“All I did was relive our fun days before Lindsay fucked your life up,” Michael told him.

 

“Are you not getting that you almost died?” Brian asked, trying to get Michael to see what he was doing.

 

“Would you have missed me? Or is HE more important than the friend who stood by you?” Michael asked.

 

“I haven’t seen that Michael in a long time. I mourned him years ago when you couldn’t let go of the friend you wanted me to be and see the man I am.” Brian told him.

 

“I’ve been here the whole time, but you let your obsession with that bitch drag us apart,” Michael told him.

 

“I wanted to know my child was safe, but you couldn’t support me, so it changed us. I never wanted to lose you, but Gus was more important than a friendship to someone who didn’t see that my child had to come before anyone.” Brian told him.

 

“I planned to help you with Gus. You didn’t need to act like you were in love with the man who took your kid and kept him away from you,” Michael told him.

 

Justin didn’t let Michael’s words do what he seemed to want them to do. He let Brian know he wasn’t affected and it was all Brian needed to do what he knew would hurt Michael.

 

“No acting required, because I do love Justin. If he didn’t have Gus it wouldn’t have changed me wanting to be with him. You weren’t going to be anything but the friend I had since I was fourteen, but unless you do what I ask of you now, you won’t even be that to me.” Brian told him.

 

“You can’t throw away our friendship that easily,” Michael argued, now worried.

 

“It’s because I can’t that I’m doing what Blake suggested. You need time to figure out how to live your life and how to stop letting drugs rule it.” Brian told him.

 

“Rehab. That’s your answer? I need my friends to help me.” Michael told him.

 

“Unless you do this you won’t have any friends left,” Brian told him.

 

“You can’t make me,” Michael said, like a child.

 

“I couldn’t, but you made sure every doctor you saw knows you're not competent to make decisions. Which didn’t work out the way you thought it would because it means I control where you go. Do yourself a favor and actually work to clean yourself up.” Brian said, walking to Justin, taking his hand and walking out, as Michael screams for him to come back.

 

“I’ll deal with the rest,” Blake told him.

 

“I’m sorry,” Deb said, not just for calling Brian but for everything that she did that led to Michael’s codependency on him. 

 

“Don’t be sorry, just do as Blake tells you and hope it changes Michael,” Justin told her.

 

“If you need to get away call me and I’ll be there as always,” Brian told her.

 

“How about I just call and hear about your new life instead?” Deb asked, wanting to change their relationship.

 

“It’s everything I once dreamed of, and more,” Brian told her, kissing Justin’s head.

 

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