"Hey, Jus..." Daphne started to say as she answered her phone, only to hear halting gasps and sobbing coming from her best friend.

"He hates... me. Told me... leave... don't come... back," Justin finally managed to get out as he cried into the phone.

"Where are you, Justin?" Daphne yelled as she grabbed her keys and headed for her car.

"Near... the... loft..." he sobbed louder.

Daphne put in her earpiece so she could talk to him as she drove. She needed to try to get him to calm down before he had a full-blown panic attack.

"Justin, listen to my voice. You need to relax and breathe. I'm on my way, just lean against the building and breathe slowly. Try to match your breathing to mine."

She continued to talk, and finally she heard him start to relax and match his breathing to hers. It was something Brian had shown her to do for Justin when the panic attacks started, right after the bashing.

As she drove, she tried to figure out why Justin was so upset. He said that Brian hated him. She and Brian had just been with him a few days before at his mother's condo. They had been talking about his therapy and how they were both going to help him with his exercises for his hand. Something didn't make sense.

When she got to the loft, she saw Justin leaning on the corner of the building. He was still crying and shaking. Getting out of the car, she went over to him. He grabbed onto her and started sobbing as she led him to the car. She sat him in the passenger seat and glanced up at Brian's loft. She thought she saw him move away from the window.

Daphne started to talk to Justin but he said, "Just drive. I need to be away from here."

She stopped at the park near Jennifer's condo, intending to find out what had happened now that Justin was calm enough to talk.

"I hadn't been able to get in touch with him since he left without saying goodbye the other day. He hadn't been answering my calls or texts. I wanted to know if everything was okay, so I went to the loft when I knew he'd be there. I knocked on the door and when he opened it, he looked at me like I was just a trick he'd already had. I reached for him and he pulled back, telling me to go away and not to ever come back. He said he was through putting up with me and my drama," Justin told her as he started to cry again.

Daphne held him carefully since he had a hard time if anyone touched him, not knowing what to say to make him feel better.

"Just take me home, Daph. I want to be alone."

When she dropped Justin off, he thanked her and said he would call her in a couple of days. She sat there for a few minutes, going over in her head the last time she had seen Brian.

They had been in front of the condo tossing the ball when Jennifer came home from work. She had sent Daphne and Justin inside, saying that she wanted to talk to Brian. When Jennifer came in a few minutes later, she looked relieved. Justin had asked where Brian was and Jennifer said that he had to leave.

Now, Justin had just told Daphne that he hadn't been able to get in touch with Brian since that day. Well, something was going on and she was going to find out exactly what it was.

She drove straight back to Brian's, knowing that she would find the answer there. Luckily she had remembered the code for the building, so she didn't have to try to get Brian to let her in. She walked up the stairs since she didn't like taking the elevator alone.

When Daphne got to the landing below Brian's, she could hear him yelling as she continued up the stairs.

"No, Michael, I'm not coming out. I told you I'm staying home, I want to be alone. Leave me the fuck alone and stop calling."

Then she heard Brian slam the phone onto the base. She started to lift her hand to knock on the door when she heard something she didn't expect to hear.

Daphne heard Brian cry out, "Oh God, how the hell am I supposed to live like this? I finally admit to myself how I feel and he is ripped away from me. How can she do this to him... to us? Why can't she see we need each other?"

Then she heard sobbing, which sounded even more brokenhearted than Justin's had been earlier.

Daphne stood there for a minute before she made a decision. She pounded on the heavy metal door.

"Brian, OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW," she demanded.

"Go away, Daphne. Like I told Justin, I'm done with the teen drama," he shouted through the door.

"Brian, I heard what you said to Michael and what came after it. Now open the fucking door! I'm not leaving without answers," she announced.

Reluctantly, he pulled the door back. Daphne took one look at the torn up loft and the anguished look on Brian's tear-stained face and opened her arms.

Brian wrapped his arms around her as he sobbed into her hair. She led him to the sofa where he continued to cling to her like a lifeline as he broke down and told her what had happened.

"Mrs. Taylor told me that she knew I had been at the hospital every night, watching Justin as he slept. Then she said that she wanted her son back and wanted me to stay away from him. She wanted me to let him go back to the life he had before he met me. She said that she almost lost him once because of me and she didn't want to take that chance again. I tried to tell her that I care about him, and she said that if I really care, I should leave him alone so he can have a good life."

"What happened to the loft?" Daphne asked, never having seen anything there out of place except when Justin left it that way.

"I sort of lost it when you two drove away before. I thought I'd never see him again. When I saw him at the door, all I wanted to do was drag him back into our home and hold him. It ripped my heart out to send him away. But she's his mother. I can't take his family away from him," Brian said, still softly crying.

"You really love him, don't you?" Daphne asked, pulling back and looking into the big, wet hazel eyes.

"More than my life," Brian answered honestly.

Daphne helped Brian clean up the loft. While they did that, they talked about ways they could try to convince Justin's mother to let Brian be a part of his life.

Afterward, Daphne headed to Jennifer Taylor's condo, committed to confronting Justin's mother with some hard truths. Jennifer greeted her at the door, telling her that Justin was resting.

"I didn't come to see Justin. I need to talk to you," Daphne said, determined to try to help both Justin and Brian.

"Come in," Jennifer said, leading Daphne into the living room.

"Mrs. Taylor, do you know the hell Justin has been through?"

"I know he had a few problems at school. But it's because of Brian-"

"A few problems?" Daphne mocked before she could rein in her anger. "Are you kidding me? Did you know Justin had been pushed down stairs and shoved into lockers almost every day for the past two years? For your information, since Brian had been dropping him off and picking him up, Justin had mostly been left alone. Do you want to know why? It's because someone mouthed off to Justin, and Brian heard it and got in the kid's face. Brian told him that he would be sorry if anything happened to Justin."

"After that, most of the jocks left him alone, because they were afraid of Brian following through on his threat. What happened ‘because of Brian' is that Justin stopped being covered with the bruises you never saw. And if you were referring to the bashing, let me ask you this: Why did a football player have a baseball bat in his trunk? Hobbs hated baseball. No one knew that Brian would show up at the prom. But Hobbs did have the bat and he used it."

"If Justin had been alone in that garage, he would have been dead! Brian is the one who put pressure on the gash on Justin's head. Brian is the one who called the ambulance. Brian is the one who held Justin in his arms and cried to a God that he doesn't even believe in to save him. And Brian is the one who insisted on riding with Justin in the ambulance, holding his hand and willing him to hang on. So if anything is ‘because of Brian', it's that Justin is still alive and here."

"Do you know why Justin pushed so hard to get better? Well, I'll tell you! It's ‘because of Brian'. Even with all their problems, they do love and care for each other, so all you accomplished by what you said to Brian is that you made your son and the man he loves miserable. By doing what you did, you hurt Justin as much as his father did. Good day, Mrs. Taylor," Daphne said before walking out of the condo, not even waiting for a reply.  

Meanwhile, Justin had cried himself into a fitful sleep.

Jennifer was making dinner and thinking about what Daphne had said to her when she heard screams from Justin's room. She ran up the stairs, and as she approached Justin's room, she heard him sobbing.

"Brian, please... I need you... I'm so scared... Please help me... Please don't leave me... Brian..."

She rushed into her son's room and tried to hold him, only to have him pull away.

"Don't touch me. Get away!" Justin screamed as he scrambled to the corner of the bed to get out of her reach.

Jennifer backed out of Justin's room, realizing that she had made a terrible mistake. She had demanded that the one person her son needed the most stay away from him.

She shut off the stove and grabbed her purse, hoping that the man her son loved above all others loved him just as much. She drove straight to the loft, hoping that Brian was home and that she could convince him to help her take care of Justin.

Brian had been looking at menus, trying to decide what to order for dinner, when there was a knock at the loft door. When he pulled back the door Jennifer Taylor was standing there looking upset.

"What happened?" Brian questioned, worried about Justin.

"I need to talk to you," Jennifer said.

"Mrs. Taylor..."

"Jennifer."

"Whatever... What do you want? I'm staying away from him. He came here earlier and I sent him away, just like you asked."

"Brian, I'm sorry. I was wrong. You are the one Justin needs and trusts."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" Brian asked.

"He came home very upset earlier and went to his room. He was crying and eventually fell asleep. Then Daphne stopped by and left me with some hard truths. A while after she left, I heard Justin scream. He was having a nightmare and calling for you, begging you to help him, and not to leave him. I went to him, trying to comfort him and he pulled away from me. He was terrified and told me not to touch him."

"So what did you do then?"

"I left and came here..." Jennifer answered.

"You left him alone like that?"

"I didn't know what else to do. You are the only one he wants or trusts near him right now. After what I said to you, what I accused you of, I really don't have the right to ask. But please, will you help him?"

"Jennifer, don't you realize that I would do anything for him? I left because I thought that maybe you were right, that maybe I was the cause of what happened to him. More than anything, I want him to be happy and safe, and if I had to stay away for that to happen, then so be it. I figured I'd just have to get over him," Brian stated sadly.

"You really love my son, don't you?" Jennifer asked, finally seeing the truth.

"Why is that always a woman's first question?" Brian replied as Jennifer stared at him, waiting for an answer. "Fine. Yes, I love him. Satisfied?"

"Yes. Now, as the two people who love him the most, what are we going to do for him?" Jennifer asked seriously.

"He's going to live with me. We will work on his therapy and I will work on his ability to be around people again. I want him back to the brave, beautiful man that I fell in love with."

At Jennifer's smile, Brian added, "Don't look at me like that, and those words never leave this room."

Brian got his keys and wallet and escorted Jennifer to the elevator.

"Does Justin know how you feel about him?" she asked.

"If you mean have I told him, no, I haven't. But I'm pretty sure he knows, at least he did that night..." Brian trailed off.

"And he will again... and I'm not going to tell him."

They took separate cars so that Jennifer wouldn't have to drive them back to the loft. When they got to the house, everything was quiet. They went up to Justin's room and knocked softly. When there was no answer, Brian opened the door.

Justin was asleep again, whimpering quietly. Brian walked over to the bed and sat down, reaching out and softly brushing his hand along the blond's arm.

Justin instantly pulled away, crying out.

"Justin, it's Brian. Wake up."

"Brian!" Justin shouted, grabbing the man and holding on. "What are you doing here? You said..."

"I know what I said, but your mother and I had a talk. She thinks that maybe you would be better off if you came to live with me for a while. I can help you with your therapy and with your nervousness around people. Would that be alright with you?" Brian asked with a knowing smirk.

Justin jumped into Brian's arms in answer to the question, hugging and kissing him.

Jennifer watched from the doorway, realizing that even though she was losing her little boy, because of Brian she was also gaining something. Her son was becoming a young man. A young man in love with an older, very caring partner.

She shut the door and went down to the kitchen to finish cooking the dinner that she hoped they would stay and eat before they headed home.