Chapter 24

After the trial against Lindsay and Michael was over things finally quieted down for Brian and he was finally able to focus on his 'normal' life again or at least what he had considered normal since Luke had been born.

He had finally been able to focus more on Kinnetik again, using the times when his small son was asleep or happily keeping himself occupied with one of his toys to focus on some work. Every once in a while Jennifer or Blake would come by and offer their babysitting services, so Brian could take part in important business calls and meetings at Kinnetik. He didn't want to admit to himself how much he had missed the hustle and bustle of his company. As much as he enjoyed spending time at home with his son, he also enjoyed being a business man. With Jennifer and Blake both only being too eager to take care of Luke every once in a while, Brian had found the perfect mix or so it seemed.

Watching Luke grow up had been an incredible joy this last year and especially the last few months had been amazing as far as Brian was concerned. Seeing his son crawl for the first time, hearing him speak his first words or at least make attempts at recognisable words and then seeing him take his first steps had all been incredible milestones. Watching as Luke met each of these milestones, Brian only regretted that he had never been as involved in Gus' early years and had never really cared much about him reaching those milestones. Of course he had cared and had been proud of his son, but it had been different. He had been different back then. Back then he could have never imagined being a full-time father and raising a child and actually loving every minute of it. At times he was still amazed by how he had adapted to his new life. In the beginning he had always told himself that he had adapted because he didn't have any other choice and there was nothing else for him to do, but change and grow up, but the more he watched Luke and saw his milestones, the more he realised that he wanted to be there. He wanted to see his son take his first steps, he wanted to be the proud father that drowned his son in kisses after he had accomplished that large feat.

Many times he thought about how easy it would have been to just hire a full-time nanny and have someone else take care of Luke. Many business owners did that, especially in the WASP nest it was quite common to not raise your kids yourself, but have the help do it, but looking at his smiling son, Brian was glad he had decided against that. He would have missed so many incredible moments with Luke. He would have missed so many happy smiles and ecstatic laughs from his sonny boy, smiles that were addictive and infecting and made him laugh too.

A year and a half ago Brian would have never expected to be as happy as he was now with his new role as a father, but looking back at the last year, he could confirm that he was indeed happy and wouldn't change a thing.

Well, that wasn't quite true. If he could change something, he would make sure that he would spend more time with Gus and he would also try to change things between him and Debbie. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, but he missed the boisterous redhead, he missed her motherly advice and also her hugs that would crush his bones and make him short of breath. He missed having her on his side, he missed their pot sessions when they would get high together and talk about life, but those times were definitely in the past. Ever since Michael's sentencing he had only seen Debbie once and it hadn't been pretty. She still hated him for Michael going to prison and blamed that on him and Brian just didn't feel like letting her get away with that. Yes, he missed her, but not enough to let her get away without accepting Michael's part in everything that had happened. For too many years he had taken the blame for Michael's actions, had protected his friend from having to face the music, but not anymore. Michael was history and sadly so was Debbie. At least until she would see and accept reality and what Michael had done to him.

Brian sighed in relief when he heard a car pull up and knew that Ted and Gus were there. Gus was due for one of his scheduled weekend visits and Brian was looking forward to spending a whole weekend with just his two boys. Between Gus and Luke there was just no time to think about the bad things in his life and he could only focus on the good with those two around.

Picking up Luke from where he was carefully taking a few wobbly steps along the sofa, Brian went to the door.

“Are you ready to say hi to Gus?” Brian asked cheerfully and smiled when Luke's face broke out into a huge grin and he happily clapped his hands, calling for his “'us”.

“Yeah, Gus will be with us for the weekend. You like that, don't you?” Brian chuckled as Luke was still clapping in his arms, chanting “'us” again and again.

Brian opened the door and looked out for Ted's car, frowning when it was only Ted walking up to the main door, but no Gus in sight. Usually Gus would be running towards him as soon as Ted opened the backdoor.

“'us?” Luke asked, seemingly looking around for his older brother.

“Yeah, I am confused, too, sonny boy,” Brian agreed as he left a small kiss on Luke's forehead, before he addressed Ted.

“Why are you on your own?”

“I think we should sit down for this conversation, Brian,” Ted said hesitantly and it was obvious to Brian that the older man seemed almost scared.

“What is going on? Where is Gus?”

“'us!” Luke excitedly yelled again, looking from his father to Ted and back.

“Brian, I think we should really sit down for this,” Ted urged once more, giving Brian a meaningful look.

In the end Brian relented and went back inside the house, leading Ted towards the living-room where they sat down on the sofa, Luke already being distracted by his toys on the floor.

Brian made sure with one last look that Luke was okay and distracted and then turned to Ted angrily. “What the fuck is going on? Why isn't Gus with you?”

“Brian, I... Melanie refused to let him come to Pittsburgh.”

“What do you mean refused?” Brian hissed. “We have a custody agreement with a court ordered visitation schedule. She can't refuse.”

“She said with Lindsay in prison now, she's Gus' sole custodian and without Lindsay having a chance to interfere, there was no reason for her to play nice with you. She...,” Ted took a deep breath as he held Brian's gaze. “She said she wants to file for sole custody, Brian.”

“That fucking bitch! How dare she?” Brian exploded and Ted wasn't surprised when Luke immediately looked over at his father and eyed him warily, his voice timid when he spoke. “Da da?”

“Brian, stay calm,” Ted said quietly with a pointed look at Luke, before he went over and knelt down in front of the boy, handing him one of the blocks that had fallen away when the tower he had been trying to build had collapsed. “Da da is fine, honey. Don't you worry,” Ted smiled brightly at the small boy who immediately seemed assured by Ted's words and then turned back to his blocks.

Ted returned to his seat and eyed Brian warily. It wasn't hard to see how angry his boss and friend was and as far as Ted was concerned rightfully so. As Brian had said, they had a court ordered visitation schedule. As far as he was concerned Melanie needed to abide by that.

“How dare she?”

“I don't know,” Ted said solemnly. “I haven't understood her in a long time.”

“Why didn't you do anything?” Brian hissed at his CFO and Ted looked at him from wide eyes.

“Like what? Call the police and cause a huge scene in front of Gus and JR? Is that what you had in mind?” He angrily replied, not ready to accept any blame from Brian for Melanie's actions.

Brian sighed and flopped back on his sofa. “No, I... I don't know... I just... She can't do that. There is no way she can get through with this. Right?” The last word sounded so insecure that Ted's heart almost broke for his friend.

He knew how dedicated Brian was to his sons and he knew how Brian had turned into a great father over the last years. He wondered if Brian would ever be allowed to just enjoy being a father or if there would always be something to thwart his happiness. First his relationship with Justin ending because of the pregnancy, then Lindsay's and Michael's machinations which had ended in Luke's abduction and now Melanie refusing to let him see his son.

“I don't know,” Ted replied honestly, even though he knew that Brian would want to hear something else.

They stayed quiet for several minutes before Brian got a hold of himself and turned his mind to the matter at hand.

“I need you to make an appointment with Watson first thing Monday morning. I will not let her get through with this. I have a right to see Gus and if she wants me to fight for it, then I will,” he announced determinedly.

For a second Ted felt relieved. He had been scared that Brian would just up and leave upon hearing the news and would fly to Toronto himself and create a huge scene, but hearing that Brian wanted to go the legal route and wanted to have his lawyer handle this, made him glad. This was probably the best way to handle the situation.

Upon hearing the name of his older brother, Luke crawled over to where his father and Ted were sitting and pulled himself up by holding onto Brian's long legs. The small boy stood in front of his father and looked at him from bright, blue eyes. “'us?” He asked once more, having heard his brother's name and wanting to see him.

Brian picked up his son and hugged him close. “Not this weekend, sonny boy. I am sorry.”

As if sensing Brian's mood and as if understanding the meaning of Brian's words, Luke started to look incredibly sad and leaned into his father for comfort. Brian hugged the boy close and held on for dear life, taking comfort in the presence of at least one of his sons.

***

Watson had filed for an emergency hearing right away on Monday morning after Brian and Ted had met with him, Ted giving a detailed account of what Melanie had said and what had happened when he had come by to pick up Gus.

The hearing had been scheduled for the Thursday of that week and Brian hoped that by the next weekend the situation would be resolved and he would see his sonny boy again.

Brian hadn't been surprised when Melanie hadn't appeared at the hearing herself, but just her legal representation had shown up. For a moment he wondered if she knew that what she had done was wrong and that she would lose, but then he realised that she probably just had to stay in Toronto with the kids and couldn't just up and leave for a hearing on such short notice.

“Please present your case, Mr Watson,” the judge ordered Brian's lawyer and Watson described the previous custody issues, the previous hearing and the court decision which granted Brian visitation. He also presented the visitation schedule as had been approved at the time and presented how the visitation usually worked with Ted picking up Gus and bringing him back to Toronto. In the end he described the events of the previous Friday in great detail and pointed out how Melanie had broken the custody agreement by not handing over Gus as agreed previously.

The judge listened to everything and then demanded that Melanie's lawyer present their side of the story.

Her lawyer pointed out how the situation had changed since the previous hearing, how with Lindsay's long prison sentence the circumstances had changed dramatically and how Melanie was now the sole guardian of Gus and wanted to file for sole custody of him, making sure that Brian would no longer have access to him. To support that point, the lawyer presented papers in which Melanie demanded sole custody for Gus without visitation for Brian. Brian was fuming when he was handed the papers, but he knew better than to make a scene right then and there. Watson had warned him that he would need to stay calm under all circumstances as anything else would hurt his chances of seeing Gus.

The judge looked at the papers and frowned. “You are asking to refute Mr Kinney's visitation on the grounds of him being an unfit parent?”

“Yes, your honour. Mr Kinney is a well known guest in different establishments on Liberty Avenue and he even owns a gay night club himself. It is well known that he drinks a lot and takes drugs and his sexual prowess is well-documented. Mrs Marcus doesn't feel like a person like that is the right influence for her son.”

“Your honour, Mr Kinney is a dedicated father to his younger son and hasn't visited any of these establishments in over a year. Yes, he owns a gay night club, but he is a business man. Owning a night club is not a crime and local police will confirm that the club has cleaned up its reputation since Mr Kinney has bought it. Clearly we can't revoke visitation on the grounds of a wild past. We should judge a person by their present behaviour.”

Melanie's lawyer contradicted. “Your honour, Mr Kinney has been under investigation from Child Protective Services before for child neglect and endangerment. Clearly a dubious character like that shouldn't be allowed around an already traumatised boy who has lost his mother recently.”

“His mother is serving a long prison sentence and yes, that would be traumatising for any child. Especially under these circumstances we should make sure that the constants in Gus' life don't change. He is very close to his father and loves him a lot. Shouldn't we ensure that Gus doesn't lose another parental figure? As for the Child Protective Services investigation, those have been confirmed to be incorrect claims by Mrs Peterson and Mr Novotny, who in the meantime have been sentenced to long prison sentences for the abduction of Mr Kinney's younger son Luke. The investigation cleared Mr Kinney of all doubts and declared him to be a fit parent,” Watson fired back, glaring at Melanie's lawyer.

The judge listened to both sides for another half an hour, before he ended the hearing. “I won't be able to make a decision right away. I'll have to take a look at the report from Child Protective Services and I also demand a psychological evaluation of Gus Peterson Marcus. I want to know how the boy would be affected by whatever decision I am going to make. We'll reconvene next Wednesday for a decision,” the judge announced and then the meeting was over.

After everyone had cleared the room and it was just Brian and his lawyer left, he turned to Watson with a confused look. “Is that good or bad?”

“I think it's good for us,” Watson declared.

“Why?”

“The psychologist will probably declare that Gus can't lose another familiar parental figure at this point in his life and because of him constantly visiting you in the last year, that's exactly what you are. He knows you as his father and as such he can't lose you so shortly after losing his mother. Every psychologist will attest to that, I am sure.”

“What about the things they said about my past?” Brian frowned, not liking that his old lifestyle might cost him the chance to see his son regularly.

“Just as I said, that's the past. The judge shouldn't focus on that too much. We'll get a couple of statements from your family and friends to confirm that you've changed your life and are a dedicated father and together with the results from the Child Protective Services report, we should have this in the bag.”

“Are you sure? I mean... Melanie is a family lawyer herself. She wouldn't have gone down this road if she wasn't sure she could win,” Brian pointed out, knowing that he was right. Melanie had always been a good lawyer.

“Brian, let me ask you something. How far are you willing to go with this?”

“As far as I need to go to get to see Gus again,” Brian declared hotly.

“This might get nasty, next week. Are you prepared for that?”

“What do you mean nasty?” Brian asked, not quite sure that he was following.

“If they are bringing up your past, they might actually present a body from your basement or two. We can't say for sure, but that's what I would do if I were them. Make you look so bad that it doesn't matter how much you have changed. Destroy you completely and that's how they will win.”

“But, what can we do?”

“Brian, we destroy her as well.”

“How?”

“How is she financing her life in Toronto? She can't practice law, the best she can do with her law degree is work as a paralegal. I doubt that she has already passed the Canadian bar. I did some research and she would have to take classes for at least a year and then pass the bar. How would she pay for those classes if she is not working? She has to raise two children. Now on her own without Lindsay to help financially. Children are expensive, especially toddlers like her daughter. That is our way to destroy her,” Watson explained quietly.

“I... I don't know,” Brian stammered, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go down that road.

“Brian, this is only our last resort. I have a pretty good feeling about our case without going down this road, but whatever they will present at the hearing next week, I need to know how far you're willing to go to get Gus back.”

“I will do whatever needs to be done, but only if needed,” Brian said determinedly. In the end this was about Gus and what was best for him and Brian agreed that it couldn't be good for the boy to lose his father at the same time as his mother. That had already been hard enough on the boy and Gus had been quite distraught at times during his last few visits when he had particularly missed Lindsay. He would do whatever he could to make sure that his sonny boy wouldn't also lose him at the same time.

“Alright. I'll schedule a meeting for Tuesday, so we can prepare for the hearing then.”

Brian nodded and then left the courtroom. Damn, how much time had he spent in courtrooms recently?

***

Brian was fuming as he listened to what Melanie's lawyer was presenting to the judge. He couldn't believe she had really gone that far to discredit him.

“We have a sworn testimony from Kip Thomas that Mr Kinney demanded sexual favours from him as payment for a promotion he has promised to Mr Thomas.”

Thankfully Brian had been honest with Watson from the very beginning and had mentioned all possible angles they could aim for and they had been prepared for this case.

Watson immediately got up to defend his client. “Mr Thomas has been fired from two other jobs for accusing superiors of sexually assaulting him in exchange for promised promotions. In Mr Kinney's case he even rescinded his claims and the case never made it in front of a jury. It is obvious that Mr Thomas was using Mr Kinney to get ahead at Vanguard Advertising. We have sworn statements from Mr Kinney and Mrs Cynthia Moore, who was Mr Kinney's assistant at the time, confirming that a sexual encounter took place, but that it was a mutual decision and the offer of a promotion had never been on the table. The case is that Mr Kinney told Mr Thomas that he wasn't ready yet for a promotion and needed more time in the company to get ahead and it is quite obvious that just like in his other two jobs where he was fired for the same behaviour, Mr Thomas was not happy about not being promoted.”

The hearing went on for another half an hour and Brian couldn't tell if it was going well or not. He had a feeling that it was going okay, that Watson had been able to fight back against all claims from Melanie's lawyer, but he was no judge and couldn't be sure. He hoped that Watson was right and that the report from Child Protective Services would work in his favour. He was grateful for Ted and Blake and Jennifer for once again giving statements on his behalf and hoped they would help his case as well.

As the hearing was nearing its end, Watson asked for a couple more minutes which the judge granted.

“Your honour, we have one last thing we'd like to point out before you make your decision. As we've previously established Mr Kinney is a business owner. He doesn't only own the gay nightclub called Babylon, but he also owns Kinnetik, the city's biggest and most successful advertising agency. An agency that is in the top five in the country at the moment. Mr Kinney lives in a mansion on the border between West Virginia and Pennsylvania and has a huge property there. As for Mrs Marcus, after her move to Toronto, she hasn't been able to work as a lawyer. She would have to take the Canadian bar which would require her to take legal classes. At best she can work as a paralegal at the moment. Without Mrs Peterson adding to the family income any longer, we would like her representation to explain to us how Mrs Marcus intends to raise two children on her own. How is she going to pay for clothes, food, school supplies and everything else Gus and her daughter will need? So far Mr Kinney has provided a substantial amount of alimony for his son, but if Mrs Marcus intends to raise Gus on her own, that alimony money won't be available to her any longer. My client is concerned about Gus' standard of living and we'd like representation to explain to us how she intends to finance her life in Canada.”

Brian eyed Watson warily, wondering if he had felt that their case was going that badly that he needed to go down this road. After all Brian had only agreed to this line of argument if needed. Did Watson really feel that it was needed?

“Very well,” the judge agreed and pointed to Melanie's lawyer. “Please inform us of your client's means to support two children.”

Melanie's lawyer looked quite shocked and baffled for a minute and was eagerly looking through some of his papers.

“Is that a problem?” The judge asked after a couple of minutes.

“Uhm... no, of course not.” The lawyer stammered before he handed a paper to the judge, hanging his head as if in defeat. “Here is my client's latest bank statement, your honour.”

“I see...,” the judge nodded and perused the statement with a frown on his face.

“Mr Kinney has been transferring 5000 US Dollar a month in alimony?” The judge asked and when Melanie's lawyer stayed quiet, it was Watson who replied.

“Yes, your honour.”

“Alright,” the judge sighed and frowned at Melanie's lawyer. “To be honest, I don't quite see how your client wants to support herself and two children with her income and without the alimony money from Mr Kinney.”

“Your honour, my client is in the process of working on taking her bar and would then be able to work as a full-time lawyer again.”

“Full-time? And who would take care of the children?” Watson asked, feeling his chance come.

“Well, there is daycare and school,” Melanie's lawyer replied vaguely.

“Your honour. Mr Kinney owns two businesses. As the owner of these businesses he can make his own schedule. For the last twelve months he has been working from home while raising his infant son. Seeing how Mr Kinney is clearly better suited to take care of Gus than Mrs Marcus would be, not only financially speaking, but also concerning the time that either parent could actually spend with the boy, we are actually filing for sole custody for Gus Peterson Marcus. Mr Kinney is Gus' biological father, his only available biological parent at the moment. He has been very involved in Gus' life in recent years and Gus has spent considerable time at Mr Kinney's mansion in West Virginia with him and his younger son whom Gus rightfully considers to be his baby brother. Everyone Gus considers family lives in Pittsburgh, while Mrs Marcus doesn't have any family in Toronto and would be raising Gus without him being close to his family. We ask you to take all this into account when you make a decision, your honour, but at this point I am sure we can all agree that Mr Kinney would be better suited to raise Gus than Mrs Marcus.”

Brian just gaped open-mouthed at Watson, wondering what had just happened. They had not talked about that. They had talked about how far Brian had been willing to go to see Gus, but going for sole custody? Brian couldn't help but wonder if this bold move wouldn't turn out to be absolutely crazy and bury all his chances of ever seeing his son again. He could only hope that Watson knew what he was doing.

“Is there anything else you'd like to add?” The judge directed at Melanie's lawyer, who seemed just as surprised by Watson's move as Brian did.

“Your honour, Mrs Marcus might not be the boy's biological mother, but she has raised him all his life. She is his sole guardian at the moment since Mr Kinney signed over his rights to Gus to her years ago. As his mother, we feel that she will always be best suited to raise Gus and taking into account Mr Kinney's lifestyle, we ask you to grant Mrs Marcus sole custody of the boy.”

The judge nodded as the lawyer had finished and announced a two hour recess so he could come to a decision.

After he had left the courtroom, Brian turned on Watson. “What the fuck was that about?”

“Don't worry, I know what I am doing,” Watson just replied calmly, putting some files in his briefcase.

“Sole custody? Are you crazy? He will never go for that.”

“Brian, trust me on this, okay? I saw an opening and I took it. You'll be thanking me when he grants you custody.”

“How can you be so sure? What if you just totally blew my chances of ever seeing my son again?” Brian lamented, not liking what Watson had done.

Watson looked at the man by his side imploringly. “Brian, this is my job. I've been doing it for a long time and just like you are good in your job, I am good in my job. I know what I am doing. I know when a chance presents itself and I went for it and took that chance. Don't worry, we will win!”

Brian only hoped that Watson was actually right.

***

Two hours later the judge arrived back in the courtroom on time and started to announce his decision.

“This hasn't been an easy case. There have been many different angles to look at and for many reasons this case has been quite unique. I have read all the evidence, statements by witnesses and files from Child Protective Services. Most of all however, I have read the report from the psychologist that sat with Gus and talked to him. His report makes it quite obvious that Gus has a strong bond with Mr Kinney and that not being allowed to see Mr Kinney will harm his development in more ways than one.

Based on that report, I was ready to reinstall Mr Kinney's visitation. However now petitions for sole custody have been filed from both involved parties, which only made the case harder to decide. We are talking about the life of a small child here, a child that is dependent on the adults in his life to take care of him in the best way possible.

I have taken a look at the financial statements, at the living arrangements and the professional lives of both parties and in the end could only come to one decision: I will grant sole custody of Gus Peterson Marcus to Mr Brian Kinney.”

Brian just shook his head in disbelief, not able to grasp what the judge had said. “Sole custody for Gus?” he whispered and eyed Watson, who just smirked at him in an 'I told you so'-way.

Seeing the dejected look on Melanie's lawyer's face, the judge went on to explain his decision.

“I have no doubt that Mrs Marcus loves Gus very much. That is out of the question. However, looking at her current financial situation it is obvious how much she relies on the alimony money from Mr Kinney. Without that money, I can't see how she can support herself and two children. As for her taking classes and then becoming a full-time lawyer again, I admire her for taking that step, but under the current circumstances where Gus has already lost his mother, he needs a parent that is there and can take care of him and his needs. Working as a paralegal and taking classes at the same time, wouldn't leave much time for raising two children, one of whom is still a toddler. I fear that Gus would end up with less attention than he would if he were to live with Mr Kinney who is working from home and can make time for his sons whenever he wants.”

Brian saw Watson nod and still couldn't believe that this had actually worked out.

“The new custody arrangement will come into effect starting next week. Mr Kinney will be Gus' sole custodian, however I hope that you'll find a way to figure out a visitation schedule for Mrs Marcus. It wouldn't do to have Gus lose his second mother either.”

Brian nodded, seeing the sense in that statement and vowed to himself that he would work something out with Melanie. If only for Gus' sake. Gus. Gus would come and live with him and Luke at Britin. Wow! Brian couldn't believe it.

The judge ended the hearing and Watson and Melanie's lawyer exchanged some papers and agreed to meet the following day to work out the details of the new agreement.

“Oh my god, Brian! This is wonderful!” Ted exclaimed and engulfed Brian in a tight hug. “I can't believe it!”

Brian frowned and felt utterly confused. Ted? When had he gotten there?

“I got here about half an hour ago. I wanted to know what the judge decided and wanted to be here in case you needed some comfort... you know?” Ted blushed, feeling ashamed that he hadn't trusted in Brian to win this. But he had just thought that the judge would decide in Melanie's favour. Didn't judges always decide in favour of the mother? “But wow, this is amazing. You must be so ecstatic!”

Brian only nodded and then a smile broke out on his face as the news finally sunk in. “Yeah, yeah. It's amazing. Sonny boy is coming home.”

Ted clapped Brian's shoulder and then announced that they needed to celebrate this. “Jennifer will be so ecstatic. And I can't wait to tell Blake. He was hoping so desperately for a good outcome.”

“Okay,” Brian just agreed and allowed Ted to lead him out of the courtroom. He seriously hoped that this would be the last time he would have to be in a courthouse for a long time to come.