Jennifer looked over at Brian who was asleep in the chair, head on the bed, next to Justin’s. God only knew he needed it. She was starting to see just how much Brian would do for Justin and she knew she had to accept him now. After all, Justin was going to do what he wanted to do anyway, no matter what her opinion was. So she found it better to support him than to push him away. She couldn’t imagine her life without him, and not accepting Brian was a one way trip to losing him.

Jennifer smiled gently as Brian unconsciously reached out for Justin in his sleep. She knew that what she witnessed earlier was a privilege. No one got to see that side of Brian, and that’s why everything that was said in here this morning was going to stay between them. The fact that Brian had made such a strong, heartfelt declaration of love. How could she not give her support?

Did she blame him for what happened last night? No. She couldn’t. It wasn’t Brian who held the bat. It was Chris Hobbs. It wasn’t Brian that made Chris do it. It was Chris and his… attitude she guessed she could say. Brian didn’t make Chris a homophobe. Chris made Chris a homophobe.

Jennifer didn’t know Brian that well, but she could only imagine the guilt the poor guy was going through. The ‘if I didn’t go it wouldn’t have happened’ attitude. But that was wrong. Because it may have still happened. Perhaps not last night, and perhaps not Chris. But someone at some point in time would have hurt Justin. And after all, perhaps they all owed some kind of thanks to Chris. Because without him? They may have found the tumour too late. If it wasn’t already.

Tumour. Cancer. Justin was 18 years old and had just been diagnosed with cancer. What kind of sick joke was this? How long had it been there? What stage was it at? Was it operable? Justin was supposed to be starting his life now. School was over. He was supposed to be going out, having fun with his friends, finding his way in the world. Not battling cancer. He had been accepted into PIFA for crying out loud. One of the best art schools in America.

Jennifer stood and traced her hand across Justin’s face, wanting to push his hair back. But it was all gone. They had to shave it last night to operate. But hair could grow back. She couldn’t get her son back if anything happened.

As quietly as she could, she walked over to the door and opened it. Pausing to look back, she smiled a watery smile to see Brian still holding Justin’s hand, slouched over the bed, with his head next to Justin’s on the pillow. She could tell that at least subconsciously he was aware of the wires that were connected to everything, because every time he moved he never once agitated the wires.

She stepped out of the room and quietly shut the door. Leaning against it she took a deep breath, willing herself to hold it together. Looking up, she saw Debbie sitting on the chair opposite with containers from the diner and her stomach rumbled. She realised that apart from the coffee Mikey brought this morning, which now seemed so long ago, she hadn’t had anything else since she got here.

Debbie wasn’t sure what to say -- what was appropriate. She just placed the containers on the chair next to her and stood. She smiled slightly and opened her arms allowing Jennifer to seek comfort if she needed. Turned out, Jennifer did.

Jennifer gave Debbie a hug, and that’s when she broke. Again. It felt like every time she hugged someone in the last few hours all she did was cry. She cried for what happened, she cried for what still had to happen, she cried for Justin and Brian, she cried for the unknown, she cried just because she could. Debbie was fantastic and just held her, rubbing her back soothingly in a sign of comfort. Jennifer was lost.

Debbie had brought in the food from work after leaving the morning shift because she knew that no one had eaten, and if she knew that little asshole -- wherever the fuck he’d run off to now -- probably refused to eat until he knew what was happening. Of course, having an empty stomach helped the body absorb alcohol quicker. Made it hit quicker, and harder. Mikey had said that Brian was still here and had been keeping vigil at the bedside, but he had probably left now that Jennifer was here. Running away from his problems, again.

She was surprised when the door opened again and out came the devil himself.

“You okay mother Taylor?” he asked gently, placing his hand on her back. Debbie was quite surprised when Jennifer turned and wrapped Brian in a hug, but was shocked speechless when Brian actually hugged her back. Well, there you fucking go, miracles do happen! Debbie took a small step back, but still close enough if Jennifer needed her. Debbie watched on as a whispered conversation was spoken, directly into the other’s ear. Her heart was bursting with pride for Brian. He had really stepped up to the mark this time. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but she noticed the little watery smile Jennifer gave when she looked up at Brian along with a pat on the cheek.

Maybe, just maybe Debbie thought, some good could come from this. After all, it seemed Brian was already changing.

Brian sat in the corridor nibbling the turkey on rye, no mayo that Debbie had brought, lost in thought. He was going through the mechanics of eating -- not really tasting it -- just biting, chewing, swallowing, and repeat. It was at this time Neil walked up the corridor with another doctor, an odd look on this face. Fuck. This didn’t look good.

“Ahh Brian. Just the man I was looking for,” the doctor started. “This is my colleague Kylie. She is another neurosurgeon here in the hospital and I’ve called her in on the case. Why don’t we go into the room and talk about the results from the tests we did?” Nodding silently, Brian stood and walked to the door, pausing as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Sorry, I just need to get Jennifer back here, is that okay?” Brian asked.

“Of course, tell her to take her time.” The doctor smiled. Neil could tell that Brian didn’t want to do this alone, and to be perfectly honest, he didn’t blame him. Brian may have been 12 years older than Justin, but Neil was professional enough at first to not judge. It didn’t take long to see the love that Brian held for the young man in the bed. Neil could see that he could do anything for Justin. Brian sent a text to Jennifer saying that the test results were in and the doctor needed to talk to them.

Brian felt, not weird but odd, about relying on someone else as well. All his life it had been him against the world. For a short while he also had Justin on his side, but now Sunshine wasn’t there. But Mother Taylor was. And while it may not have been the same, it was helpful, to not have to do this on his own. Because if he did, he wasn’t sure what would happen. The old Brian -- which really was Brian of a few days ago -- would be fucking, sucking, rimming and ramming his way through the gay population of Pittsburgh that he hadn’t already had, while drunk and high off his head to try to forget this nightmare. But he couldn’t leave Justin. Brian felt partially responsible for Justin being in here, even though one tiny part of him knew it wasn’t. But if he hadn’t have gone to his prom, they wouldn’t be here.

Brian was brought out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps running up the corridor and turned to see Jennifer running towards them. They shared a small smile, and Brian walked into Justin’s room, followed closely by Jennifer and the two doctors. Brian walked over to the side of the bed furthest from the door and grabbed Justin’s hand. Jennifer stayed on the other side.

“Mrs. Taylor, this is Dr. Kylie, one of my colleagues.” He introduced them. “We got the results back from all the tests we did and I’m sorry to say that we were correct. Justin has got what is known as Glioma, a tumour that occurs in the brain. We could be very lucky and caught it early enough. Has Justin been experiencing any symptoms such as headaches, irritability, or visual difficulties in the last year?” Neil asked.

Brian thought back over the time he had known Justin to see if he ever complained of anything like that.  

“He’s been a tad more irritable, but he’s also had a lot going on in his life and that’s what I put it down to,” Brian mentioned. He hated being open with anyone -- it went against everything he knew -- but he had to push his insecurities away to help Justin. This was all for Justin.

“He also complained of headaches here and there but again, I put that down to everyday life. DAMN IT!” he yelled, frustrated that he didn’t see the signs.

“That is why Glioma is usually diagnosed too late, because the symptoms can just be put down to everyday occurrences. Please, don’t feel bad Brian. It’s a common misconception and misinterpretation. It is definitely not your fault. Thankfully, we think we’ve caught it early enough that the prognosis at this stage is positive,” Neil explained.

“The type of the tumour is commonly known as Ependymoma and as far as we can determine, it is a low grade, meaning slow growing tumour. It is situated in the cerebellum so it is easily accessible by surgery. Both Neil and myself feel confident that we will be able to remove the majority of the tumour. The rest will be dealt with post operatively with radiation and chemotherapy. At this stage, and please remember things can change, but his chances of survival are high at 98%.” Kylie gently explained. It was never easy to explain to a patient and their family about the diagnosis, but looking at the young man on the bed, she pushed forward.

The look of pure relief on both Brian and Jennifer’s faces was palpable. Jennifer had started crying as soon as the word tumour was said. Brian held it together, right until he heard the statistics. He bent down and kissed Justin’s forehead.

“Hear that sunshine? You’re going to be alright,” he muttered, relief evident in his voice.

“It’s not going to be easy, but you are correct. He is going to be alright,” Neil commented with a smile. “It’s the next step we’re unsure about, which is why we wanted to talk to you both. We’re unsure if we operate now while he’s still in a coma, or we start to wean him off the drugs keeping him under and wake him up. It is of course up to you guys, and we’re both willing to answer any questions you both have.”

Jennifer looked at Brian and nodded, already knowing what he was thinking.

“Which would be safest?” Brian asked.

“Well, either is safe. It’s just a matter of how you think Justin will take the news in both courses of action. If we operate now and then wake him, how will he react to finding out not only about the attack, but the cancer? We’re also unsure of the extent of the damage done by the attack and so will have no baseline to go off of afterwards. We recommend waking him up first and letting him recover slightly from this ordeal before onslaughting him with another surgery. We can hold off on the operation for another week or two, due to it being a low grade tumour,” Neil offered as an explanation.

“When can you start waking him?” Jennifer asked, not looking up from Justin’s face. She would do anything to see his sparkling eyes and his smile. She never realised how much she would miss it, until it was gone. Brian nodded in agreement.

“We can start weaning him off them now and by this time tomorrow he should be awake.” Neil made a mental note to alert the nurses.

“Then let's do it doc. Let’s get my --,” Jennifer paused and looked over at Brian with a shared smile, “-- our sunshine back.”