Deb came home from her overnight shift at the diner, planning to cook breakfast for Carl then getting some much needed sleep. She loved it. Knowing that when she came home, Carl was there waiting at the end of her day. It was why she wanted to ring her son’s neck every time he treated Carl like an intruder in HER house. Just thinking about Michael and the way he’d been acting gave Deb a headache. She wondered when he’d finally see it was time to move on and find a life that didn’t include Brian in the starring role. It was hard for her to watch Michael ruin his life, but there was nothing they could do to fix this for him. Brian couldn’t help to guide him because Michael would see it as proof of what he wanted to believe, that Brian loved him and would always take care of him. The truth was it was time for Michael grow up and find out that sometimes life doesn’t go where you want it to. Deb knew that from personal experience, and it was time her spoiled brat of a son figured it out for himself.

“Hungry?” Deb asked, when she found Carl drinking coffee at the table.

“A little. How was everything last night?” Carl asked.

“Nothing new. What about you?” Deb responded, getting out eggs and bacon.

“No new cases hit my desk, which was good.” Carl answered her.

“What wasn’t?” Deb asked, knowing that he was holding something back.

“The beat cops had a DUI that sort of got out of hand. I got a call this morning that a request came in to have Brandon pulled from the case, which wasn’t how I wanted to wake up this morning.  The fact that Brandon wasn’t even on the case didn’t seem to matter, or that he called in a favor and got the resisting arrest charge dropped.  He did the idiot a favor, and got a complaint lodged against him for his help.” Carl grumbled.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Deb asked.

“The person arrested was Joan Kinney. Brian’s sister is acting like Brandon is the reason Joan was drunk and driving yesterday.” Carl answered.

“She doesn’t like Brandon, so nothing he does would matter to Claire.” Deb told him.

“Brandon should’ve walked away instead of trying to help them, but his loyalty to Brian makes him willing to do anything to help his brother. It’s not hard to see why Brian chose Brandon over the other two. Maybe I’m biased, because I’ve always been proud of Brandon.” Carl told her.

“I know you are, and I also know I should’ve made more of an effort to get to know him.” Deb told her husband, realizing her mistake in the way she ignored Brandon to appease Michael.

“I’m not going to tell you it didn’t disappoint me, but I can understand. You know I’m not Michael’s biggest fan, but in the end he is your son.” Carl responded.

“But?” She asked.

“No buts. You did what was best for Michael and I can understand it. Just like you need to understand that it’s not likely he and I will ever get along. I tolerate Michael for you, but there is going to come a day when he says something about us that I won’t sit back and allow. I don’t give a shit what he thinks or says about me, but I won’t put up with him disrespecting you.” Carl told her.

“I’m done allowing his attitude. He either accepts our relationship or he finds out that OUR home isn’t going to be a place I allow him to disrespect either of us. That includes people we welcome into our home.” Deb responded.

“I’m assuming this is about Brian and his boyfriend?” Carl asked.

“Brian, Ted, Emmett, their partners, and the families of all of them included.” She answered.

“What brought this about?” Carl asked.

“Part of it is the way he treats you and the other part is seeing Jen and Brandon together. When I saw Brandon’s need for someone to give a shit about him, it reminded me of when Brian was younger. I guess it’s also the fact that even when I wasn’t welcoming to Brandon he still respected me more than Michael does. The fact that Brandon willingly tried to help Brian by helping Joan, and that he goes out of his way to help with Gus when the girls need him to shows me what kind of man he really is. He didn’t try to force his way into Brian’s circle, as opposed to the way Michael tries to keep everyone out of it. I know that’s what bothered me the most, seeing that Brian and Brandon turned out better than the son who I did everything for, yet he isn’t half the man they are.” Deb said, sounding disappointed in herself.

“Red, you did everything you could, the rest is up to Michael to do. I’m proud of you for not trying to force everyone else to jump in and act like Michael can treat them any way he wants and get away with it.” Carl told her.

“Brian should be allowed to fall in love with whoever he wants. Michael needs to realize it was never going to be him. It’s something everyone but Michael understands. Plus, from everything I hear about Justin from Jen, Brian couldn’t have fallen in love with someone better for him. Justin is a lot like Brian. They both work for what they want and don’t need anyone to hold their hand. For about two seconds I hoped that maybe Justin might be someone for Michael, or at the very least make it so my son would open up his world instead of clinging to the same people, places, and things. Which was me once again trying to fix Michael’s world.” Deb told him.

“You’ll always want that for your child. I want the same for mine, but there’s a point where you have to let them spread their wings and fly or fail. All we can do is love them, which isn’t the problem for you.” Carl told her.

“Do you think Brian will want support today when he deals with his mother?” Deb asked, changing the subject.

“You know both of them better than I do, but maybe let Brian decide if he needs your support and take it from there. Brandon will be there no matter how Claire feels about it.” Carl answered.

“Which means Joan and Claire will try to make both Brian and Brandon miserable for helping Joan out of what she did to herself.” Deb told him.

“All drunks blame everyone but themselves when they get caught. Joan got lucky that Brandon made it so she could stay in the hospital instead of the cell that she would have been in last night. I think a little time in the drunk tank would have been better.” Carl told her.

“Where is she now?” Deb asked.

“On her way to the station, then booking.” Carl told her.

“Let me get breakfast in you, before you have to deal with that dragon.” Deb laughed, as the front door opened and Michael walked in like he still lived there.

Michael had been sitting outside listening to them talk, not liking the way his mother didn’t defend him. He almost came in ready to ask Carl what right he had saying shit about him. But when he heard about Joan, he knew Brian would be happy to have his ‘best friend’ at his side, so he figured he’d wait and deal with the rest of the shit Carl convinced his mother of later when he was alone with her. Plus, he needed to get his mother to host the dinner, since the idea of bringing Ben should work to get Brian to see that he wasn’t going to wait around forever for him to get his head of the blond’s ass.

“What are you doing here?” Deb asked.

“I came to see you, what else?” Michael answered, sounding petulant.

“I don’t know son, what else?” Deb asked.

“I sort of invited the guy from the shop to have dinner with us, and wanted to make sure I didn’t make an ass out of myself if you weren’t having one.” Michael told her.

“Is there a reason you wanted to include him?” Deb asked, hoping this meant something.

“We sort of hit it off when he was at the shop, and well, I thought maybe it was time for me to at least see if it could go anywhere. I mean with everyone else meeting new people, I’m tired of sitting around by myself waiting for things that aren’t going to happen the way I want them to.” Michael told them.

“I can call the guys and see if they’ll come, but I’m not going to make them think they have to. You’ve treated them all badly and for once it’s up to you to show them you can accept their choices.” Deb told him.

“I know. It’s just that I’d like if they would at least try to welcome Ben, and maybe they’ll understand why I was upset about the way everyone acted like I wasn’t one of their best friends anymore.” Michael told her, as Carl rolls his eyes.

“Or you could see that when you start a relationship, friendships aren’t what should be important.” Carl told him.

“Whatever. Anyway, I’ll bring Ben, so make sure everyone comes.” Michael told her before hurrying out the door. He wanted to be at the station when Brian got there and make sure he saw how his ‘best friend’s’ support was what Brian needed. 

“What are you going to do?” Carl asked Deb.

“Pray that Ben does what no one else ever did for Michael; then nicely ask if they’ll come to dinner. I promise not to guilt them.” Deb answered him.

**************************************************

Brian smiled as he woke up smelling Justin’s hair and the feeling of his blond sprawled on top of him. It was strange, how normal it felt, and the fact that Brian didn’t feel boxed in with Justin on top of him. He didn’t want to move and deal with his mother but it wasn’t like they’d leave him alone if he just didn’t show up. He agreed with Mel that maybe it was time to let his mother face the shit she brought on herself. Which was why he wasn’t going to hire a lawyer. He would let her deal with an overworked public defender. If he hired someone she’d likely get off with a slap on the wrist, which wouldn’t solve anything. He also liked what Justin brought up, which was to see if Blake could convince her it was time to clean up her act. Brian didn’t think that by ignoring what his mother’s problems caused last night it would change much between him and St Joan. 

Bringing Justin with him was going to be interesting. His mother and sister might know Brian was gay, but they’d never had to see it. In the past it wasn’t an issue since no one was important enough to him to expose them to his family. As the days went by Justin was becoming more important, to the point where Brian felt like he couldn’t breathe without him. Shit, he was turning into a lesbian, and the fact that he was okay with it said a lot for Justin. It also meant a lot that Justin wanted to be there to support Brian; hell he wanted to slay dragons for Brian, which was something he wasn’t used to anyone being willing to do for him.

“What time do we need to get going?” Justin asked, kissing Brian’s chest.

“If it was up to me we wouldn’t be going at all, but we need to get up. Just promise me, no matter what they say you won’t let them see they bothered you.” Brian told him.

“Are you still going to use the public defender?” Justin asked.

“At first I wasn’t, but I saw what Mel was saying. If Blake is going to be able to make her do what we talked about, she needs to see she won’t have a choice.” Brian answered.

“Do you think it will change anything between you and her?” Justin asked.

“I doubt it. There’s just too much bad that I can’t get past. I wish I could say I don’t give a shit, but she’s my mother.” Brian told him.

“I feel the same way about my dad.” Justin commented.

“Is that why you haven’t talked about him?” Brian asked.

“Not much to say since he and I don’t talk to each other anymore. He doesn’t like having a gay son and I don’t like having a hypocrite for a father.” Justin answered.

“Explain.” Brian asked.

“He acts like I owe it to him to be who he wants me to be when my mother was the one who raised us, was there for everything, and stuck by us when he bailed on the family. Which he blames on me, since according to him we were happy until I decided to be gay. He expected my mother and Molly to shut me out of their lives but he forgets he wasn’t really there for any of us. Instead he was busy being everywhere but home.” Justin answered.

“If it was him in jail would you help him?” Brian asked.

“I’d love to say no, but for Molly I’d at least do what your doing.” Justin told him.

“Is he close to Molly?” Brian asked.

“He pays for her to go to college. For him that’s being there.” Justin answered.

“How does Molly feel about him?” Brian asked, knowing he was avoiding getting up.

“Pretty much the same way I do, but that has more to do with Dean than me. My dad isn’t happy that Dean supports Molly in her art and pretty much loves how independent my sister is. My dad loves to remind Molly that he pays for her ‘hobby’.” Justin told him.

“Why does she let him?” Brian asked.

“I offered and so did my mother, but Molly thinks my father should have to do it since he fucked my mother over when they got divorced. Which at the time sucked, but now Mom makes more than my dad does, so I think it’s more that Molly likes pissing him off that she isn’t joining sororities and planning her future as a housewife. I really don’t even try to understand the way Molly’s mind works anymore. Now get up and let’s deal with Joan.” Justin told him, getting up and heading to the shower. 

As Brian washed Justin’s hair he decided to tell him more about Joan before he met her.

“Blake is going to have to work to get her to willingly go to rehab.” Brian told him.

“He won’t. If she won’t agree, he’ll walk. It’s something we have talked about. It’s the reason he would turn down clients even when they offered to pay him more to be their coach. He wasn’t willing to waste his time with someone unless they were going into it willingly.” Justin told him.

“For her, drinking is like eating a meal. In fact, liquor is sometimes the only thing she consumes in a day. I grew up being taught not to take out all the empty bottles at once. We had storage where the bottles stayed, only bringing out a few at a time for garbage runs. She didn’t have a problem with dumping Jack’s bottles, since he didn’t hide his drinking from the neighbors. When I lived with her she’d go through two to three bottles a day, and now I’m sure it’s worse since she’s living alone. For a while I drove her around, but I just didn’t have the time for it with Gus and work.” Brian told him.

“I don’t have it in me to forgive her for letting you get hurt.” Justin commented, pulling Brian down for a kiss.

“I lived. And each day since we met I’ve found more reasons to believe love doesn’t mean being hurt.” Brian answered.

Brian laughed when Justin’s posse decided they were all coming, Ted shrugged and told Brian he’d bring everyone in his car. Brian was happy to see Ted at the suite when they showed up to pick up Blake. Brian left them outside the station when people stopped Conner for autographs and told Justin and Blake he wanted to talk to his mother first, then Blake could come in. He walked into the station, not having any problem finding Claire since she was complaining loud enough for all of Pittsburgh to hear hear her. What he didn’t expect was to see Michael standing there with Claire as if he had some reason to be there. Brian almost walked out, but saw his nephews, who looked like they’d rather be anywhere but here. Brian planned to ignore the devil’s spawn, but had to wonder why Claire would bring them with her. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Brian asked, ignoring Claire’s glare that he didn’t go straight to her. 

“Grandmother needs us.” John said, as if repeating what he was told to say.

“I’d rather be at school.” Peter mumbled.

“Brian, get over here and tell them this is bullshit.” Claire ordered.

“Brian will deal with it now that he showed up.” Michael commented, standing next to Claire.

Michael was glad to see that Brian hadn’t brought the blond with him. What he didn’t expect was that Brian would ignore him, focusing his attention on Claire.

“Is there a reason you brought John and Peter?” Brian asked his sister.

“Brian, we need to deal with Mother. It’s not like it matters where John and Peter are.” Claire answered him.

“Since I’m the one you expect to deal with it, you and the boys don’t have any reason to be here. So do everyone a favor and take them to school, where they belong, and leave me to deal with it.” Brian told her.

Brian knew the second Justin walked in, because Michael stopped whatever he was going to say to glare behind him at the blond. Only, instead of saying anything to Justin, he targeted Blake instead.

“I can’t believe you have the nerve to come around us.” Michael snapped at Blake.

“Still the same old Michael I see. I’ll go deal with what we discussed.” Blake told them, walking off.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Michael asked Ted as he walked in.

“Whatever he wants Michael, so butt the fuck out of it.” Ted answered him.

“Who the fuck are you?” Claire asked Justin, when he walked over to Brian.

“I’m your brother’s fucking boyfriend.” Justin said sweetly.

“No you’re… Whatever. Brian, why don’t we go help your mom.” Michael said, barely refraining from screaming at the idea that Brian didn’t say a word at being called the blond’s boyfriend.

“Justin and I are planning to, so I’m not sure why you’re here.” Brian told him, looking unimpressed and annoyed that Michael was even there.

“I wanted to help you, like I have always done in the past and always will.” Michael told him.

“By doing what?” Justin asked.

“Let’s go.” Michael said to Brian, ignoring Justin.

“I can’t believe you. Mother needs you and you purposely want to cause a scene.” Claire said, wondering what the hell Brian was doing by bring his ‘boyfriend’ with him.

“Because I brought my partner with me?” Brian asked.

“You know how Mother feels about this bullshit.” Claire whispered.

“If she or you have a problem with Justin, then we can just walk out of here.” Brian told her.

“Brian, it would be better if I was there since your mother knows me.” Michael commented.

“I’ll ask since you ignored Justin. By doing what?” Brian asked.

“By being there for you, like I always am. I mean, what the hell is he going to do, other than wanting to show off that he’s with you?” Michael asked, dismissing any reason Brian would need Justin.

“I don’t need you to hold my hand, since I have someone who not only will, but also planned to actually help me deal with my mother. Go to work. And Claire, take the boys to school. I’ll call if I can think of something either of you could do other than be in the way.” Brian told them, walking over to where Brandon was standing talking to Blake.

Justin stopped before following Brian, ignoring Michael to talk to Claire. “ ‘Pissing off the entire police department isn’t going to help your mother’ is what Brian was trying to tell you.” He said, since Claire still hadn’t moved.

“I don’t need Brian’s fuckbuddy telling me what to do.” Claire said, talking down to Justin.

“And he doesn’t need a sister who only bothers with him when it’s time to clean up the messes you made of your own lives. You should be thankful he came, yet all I see is you thinking he owes you something for being unfortunate enough to be related to you. So do him and your sons a favor by doing what he asked, because he isn’t kidding about letting you handle this by yourself if you continue to piss him off.” Justin told her.

“Brian needs us, not you.” Michael told him.

“So what’s it going to be Claire? Are you going to do what Brian asks or do I go over there and tell him you plan to handle everything?” Justin asked her, not answering Michael.

“He better make sure Brandon understands we aren’t happy with him getting involved.” Claire told him.

Ted walked over to get Justin to go to Brian before he came back. Ted could deal with Claire and Michael, but he couldn’t stop Brian from killing them. That was something Ted thought only Justin was likely capable of doing. “I think you better get over there with Brian.” Ted told Justin.

“He should just leave, we can help Brian.” Michael announced.

“Ted asked me, not you, so I’d say he doesn’t think either of you can.” Justin said as he walked over to Brian. 

Michael glared as Brian once again held onto Justin like he needed him. He started over to him, only to be blocked by Brett. “Is there some reason you don’t get hints?” Brett asked Michael.

“I don’t give a shit what you say.” Michael told him.

“You don’t give a shit what Brian said either, which was that he doesn’t need you. So I’m going to tell you again, leave so Brian can deal with it.” Ted told both Michael and Claire.

“I’m here for Mother, and to make sure Brandon doesn’t fuck us over even more.” Claire told Ted as Michael nodded like a bobble-head doll.

“If Brandon hadn’t gotten involved, your mother would be dealing with more than a DUI, and would have spent last night in the drunk tank. Granted, maybe he should have let you handle it, since you’re impressing everyone here with your hysterics. If you two plan to help pay the bail or for a lawyer then I’ll personally lead you both over to where Brian is to help him, but since neither of you are doing that, do what Brian asked and go.” Ted told them.

“I don’t see a lawyer.” Claire replied.

“And I don’t see you offering to pay for one. So what’s it going to be, stay and figure this out or go and do what Brian asks?” Ted asked.

Claire shifted, pissed that they were all ganging up on her, then flounced off, yelling at the boys to get in the car. Ted turned to Michael, waiting.

“I hope you’re not stupid enough to get involved with meth-boy again.” Michael said, hoping it would get Ted to expect Blake to leave.

“What I do with Blake, let me say his name again so you don’t forget it. BLAKE, B-L-A-K-E. What I do with him isn’t really any of your business, any more than Brian’s relationship with Justin is. Which, since you can’t seem to get it through you head, Brian isn’t playing around when it comes to Justin. Just like I’m not going to overlook anything you say about Blake. If our relationships are a problem for you, let me help you by telling you that we don’t give a shit how you feel about them. Now, like I just said to Claire, unless you're actually here to do anything but try to prove to Brian that he needs you, which he very obviously doesn’t, then follow in the footsteps of Claire and go somewhere other than here.” Ted told him.

“Brian doesn’t need some guy he barely knows pretend to help him. Shit Ted, it’s not like the blond… Justin, can understand things the way I can.” Michael said, trying to sound concerned.

“The fact that Brian brought Justin tells me different, and the fact that he didn’t call you says all I need to know. Since I don’t plan to be here all day arguing with you, I’m going to do what Brian asked me to do.” Ted told him, walking over to Carl.

Michael sat on the bench crossing his arms, making sure everyone in the station knew he wasn’t happy to be left out of everything. 

Brian and Justin followed Carl to the room his mother was sitting in waiting for him to appear. Justin wasn’t really sure what he expected to see, but he wasn’t surprised at the black eyes since she broke her nose. Joan’s sour expression when Brian walked in made Justin want to remind her that Brian was the one dealing with her fuck-ups. Joan was fidgeting and looked ready to crawl the walls, which reminded Justin of Blake as he had dealt with detoxing. It said a lot that Joan was already having issues from less than one day without alcohol.

“I can’t believe you didn’t show up at the hospital last night.” Joan snipped.

“I didn’t see the point since the only reason you were there was in hopes to sober you up before you embarrassed yourself at the police station.” Brian told her.

“Why is HE here?” She asked, sneering at Justin and ignoring what Brian said.

“He wanted to be here.” Brian told her.

“This is family business.” Joan tells him.

“If you want my help then you deal with the fact that my partner isn’t going anywhere.” Brian told her.

“When do I get to go home?” Joan asked, not wanting to piss off Brian when she needed him.

“As soon as the public defender gets here. Right now he’s talking to someone to decide on how to proceed.” Brian told her.

“What do you mean a public defender?” Joan asked.

“I don’t plan on paying your way out of trouble this time. Even if I hired a lawyer, he wouldn’t be able to change the fact that your blood alcohol was over twice the legal limit when you got in your car and drove. The only help I’m planning on offering you is rehab, and someone to help you once you’ve completed rehab. It’s time to get out of the sherry bottle.” Brian told her.

“I’m not a drunk, and I’m sure the test they did was wrong. I don’t have a problem.” Joan told him, angry he’d said that about her in front of a stranger.

Joan got further upset when Blake came in the door, and wasn’t happy when he sat next to her.

“We have something to discuss, because I’m not going to waste my time if you aren’t going to agree to what the DA is willing to agree to.” Blake told her.

“Brian, I’d like to talk to you alone.” Joan said, not liking where this was going.

“There’s nothing for us to talk about.” Brian told her, nodding to Blake.

“Mrs. Kinney, while this is your first DUI and you won’t do any jail time, it’s better to show up in court willing to help yourself. Which is what I’m offering to help you with, but I need you to want the help or we’re both going to be wasting our time.” Blake told her.

“I’m not a drunk, so I don’t need rehab, or anyone else telling me I have a problem.” Joan told him.

“Then you can deal with this on your own, because you don’t have a problem, Mother.” Brian told her, getting up.

“Which also means you’ll be here for a few days until your bail is set. And since Brian won’t be paying it, then you will need to have your daughter pay it.” Justin told her.

“And until that happens you’ll be here, dealing with what happens when you can’t get to a drink.” Blake told her, watching her shake and seeing the fear in her eyes. “Right now it’s not as bad as it’s going to get.” He told her.

“I’m just cold and tired.” Joan commented, brushing him off.

“I can’t do anything for you if that’s what you plan to stick to.” Blake told her, getting up.

“Good luck.” Brian told her, turning to follow Blake.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” Justin told him, hoping Brian would trust him. Brian leaned down, kissing Justin before walking out.

“It’s not going to work. Brian wouldn’t do this to me.” Joan mumbled.

“He isn’t going to back down from this Mrs. Kinney. It’s time to pay the piper for your sins.” Justin told her.

“I don’t have to listen to a sodomite.” Joan sniped at him.

“Nope you don’t, but then a couple days without a drink shouldn’t be an issue since you don’t have a problem, right? And since Claire can afford to get you out, then you don’t have to worry about what Brian is willing or unwilling to do. Here’s the thing, nothing I know about you makes me think Brian should help you, but he’s still willing, which says a lot about him and not much about you. And you don’t have a drinking problem, so in my book it doesn’t excuse you for anything you didn’t do when he was being hurt by his father.” Justin told her.

“Jack disciplined him.” Joan corrected.

“Is that what Christian people do, beat the shit out of their kid and call it discipline? Was getting drunk while it happened just your way of celebrating that Brian needed discipline, or was it your way of drowning out his screams?” Justin asked.

“I don’t like what you're implying.” Joan warned him.

“I don’t like what you did either. And I wonder how you can sit here trying to pretend you don’t have a problem. I don’t like that Brian suffered because of you, but then you don’t see it that way do you? You want to know what I saw when Blake was talking to you? Fear. Not at the DUI, but at the idea your next drink wasn’t going to be for days. If you’re not an alcoholic two days here won’t be problem.” Justin said, getting up.

“You don’t understand what my life is like. Just because I take a sip now and then doesn’t mean I have a problem.” Joan told him.

“No, a sip isn’t a problem, if that’s all it is. A problem would be not being able to get rid of the empties because then you’d have to admit it wasn’t just a sip anymore.” Justin told her.

“It’s really none of your business.” Joan told him, not liking the truth.

“But Brian is, and while I say let you rot the way you left him to, he’s a better man than I am. If you don’t have a problem, then rehab should be a piece of cake.” Justin told her.

“It would be a waste of time and money.” Joan told him.

“Brian and Blake are willing to do both, and you can prove them wrong. It would be a win for you.” Justin told her.

“Why are you trying to convince me?” Joan asked.

“Because right now Brian wants to help you, even if you did nothing to help him all his life. If you decide to stick to not wanting his help I think you’ll finally give him a reason to be done with you. I’m voting for you to refuse, since I don’t like you and probably never will.” Justin told her.

“I’m going to accept, and once I prove I don’t have a problem I expect an apology from my son.” Joan demanded, more worried that Brian would finally really give up on her.

Justin walked out, hating that she agreed, but doing what he did, for Brian. Michael wasn’t the only one who could play games. Justin knew just how to get people to do what he wanted them to do.