Justin sat with Brian in the conference room at the police station. He sort of, well, he couldn’t help but feel bad for the kid when Claire placed all the blame on him. Peter told them he felt like Justin was the reason everything in their lives were screwed up. He just sat there with his head hanging down, not denying or confirming anything his mother said. Justin wondered what kind of mother didn’t defend the kid with more than ‘he did it’, then saying that it should be okay since no one was really hurt by it. Both the kids made it sound like Justin lived off Brian, and pretty much was a gold digger. Justin let the comments pass, since he was waiting to see what Carl planned to do before he put his suggestion forth.

“Until HE came into Brian’s life, we could depend on my brother to help the family. I ended up losing my job because I had to come here today,” Claire told Carl.

“Now he doesn’t do anything but screw things up for us,” John added belligerently.

“Is that how you see it, Peter?” Brian asked, ignoring the other two.

“Brian, he was just acting out, can’t you just tell them to leave him alone?” Claire interrupted.

“Brian can’t do anything. What Peter did was waste our time and resources, things that could have been used to deal with real crimes. Calling 911 with false accusations is a punishable crime, and isn’t something we can overlook just because he’s a child. My problem right now is how to handle this without us having to waste even more resources that could be spent dealing with real crimes,” Carl told her.

“I only did what that dork told me and John to do to get HIM out of Uncle Brian’s life,” Peter whispered, nodding at Justin.

“Peter, shut up,” Claire said, glaring at him.

“Who told you what to do?” Justin asked.

“Peter.” Claire growled, as if warning him to shut up.

“You know, the whiny guy who was there when grandma got into trouble. The one who tells everyone he’s your best friend,” Peter told Brian.

“Michael?” Brian and Carl asked at the same time.

“Yeah. He showed up telling my mom that Justin was screwing up all our lives. He and Mom talked about ways to get rid of Justin, and how it would get Uncle Brian back to where he belongs, for both of them. Mom laughed it off, but when she took a call he told John and me everything that happened to Grandma was because of Justin, and so we should want him gone too. I believed him since Mom’s been saying the same thing since we got kicked out of the hospital Grandma’s in,” Peter told Carl.

“Did your mother know what you were doing?” Carl asked.

“I didn’t until he made the last call. I know I should have said something, but I wanted to protect my son,” Claire interrupted.

“I find it strange that ‘protecting him’ now has you here blaming him for everything,” Brian commented.

“She was worried you’d blame her, along with Michael,” John said, glaring at his mother after thinking about what Carl said.

“How did Peter get the phone?” Carl asked Claire.

“Michael gave it to me. He told me we had to keep it a secret since my mom runs her mouth about everything,” Peter told him, as Claire gasped.

“Peter, I understand wanting to protect your mother, but if she and Michael asked or told you to do something like this, they were wrong to do it, and to let you take the blame for them,” Carl told him.

“She really didn’t know until the last call. Then she yelled at Michael for putting the idea in our heads,” John told him honestly.

“Michael made it sound like he’d make sure Mom got in trouble if I didn’t take the blame for it. He said everyone would believe him since the last call came from our house,” Peter told Carl.

“Why didn’t you use the phone Michael gave you?” Justin asked.

“I gave the phone back to Michael, since what I was doing felt wrong. Then Grandma called, telling us how she wouldn’t have been where she was if Justin would have minded his own business, and my mom agreed that Uncle Brian stopped giving a crap about us. I just wanted to make everyone happy, so I called again,” Peter told them.

“What made you say Justin was a drug dealer?” Brian asked, trying not to sound as angry at Peter.

“The guy who runs the place said the only reason my mother wasn’t in handcuffs was because she didn’t bring drugs to the rehab. Grandma said Justin should have to be in prison, the way she feels she is by being there. I just wanted everyone to stop being angry all the time,” Peter told him, looking at the floor.

“What did Michael say when you told him you were going to stop?” Carl asked.

“He said it was fine, but when Uncle Brian came to his senses, not to expect anything from him for giving up,” Peter told them.

“What did he promise before you told him no?” Brian asked.

“That he’d make you see that you owe it to us to support us too, like you do with him,” John told him, pointing at Justin.

“Why didn’t you help if you believed him?” Brian asked John.

“Brian, this is getting ridiculous,” Claire interrupted.

“Do you know what I think is ridiculous? I think it’s ridiculous that we’re even here in the first place. That you also made your kids think that because Justin and I work our asses off for what we have, it’s my responsibility to take care of you and the children you decided to have,” Brian told her, as John snorted. “Something you’d like to say?” Brian asked John.

“Please, all you do is kiss people’s asses and he just plays all day,” John commented.

“Carl, what has the DA said about this?” Justin interrupted.

“He’s leaning more towards community service and a fine Claire will be responsible for paying,” Carl told him.

“I can’t afford to pay a fine. I was barely managing since my mother isn’t available to take the kids, and now I have no job. It’s why Peter got in trouble, I had to let that idiot Michael help me. So it’s really all your fault this all happened,” Claire said, glaring at Justin.

“Would the DA agree to let them do community service through Brian and me?” Justin asked, ignoring Claire.

“There’s still the fine,” Carl told him.

“Can I talk to you outside for a second,” Brian said, dragging Justin out of the room. “Why would you even suggest this?” Brian asked.

“Because those kids need to see that our lives aren’t just fun and games. They only know what they hear from Michael and Claire. They need to see the truth. I can also see that the way they see me bothers you, but we can’t change that if all they know is what their being told by Claire, Michael, and your mother. Right now they’re set to fail as they get older because their only examples are people who act like the world owes them for existing. They need to see you didn’t get where you are in life by waiting for someone else to give it to you. Whether you admit it or not you care about those kids. And they need to see the world outside of what Claire makes them believe,” Justin told him.

“By letting them work with us, you really think that would do any real good?” Brian asked, willing to see where Justin was going with this.

“I think it will make them question what they’ve been told about us, and possibly make it harder for Michael and Claire to get them into trouble when they see our lives as they really are. Hopefully it will get them to see what should be important, like education and working for what they get,” Justin told him.

“So we’re going to pay them too?” Brian asked.

“We’re going to make them work off the fine, since it will only give something else for Claire to blame you for if she has to pay it. I have a lot of things that either of the kids can do in my office, and the IT guys are always thrilled to have a new mind to corrupt,” Justin told him.

Carl came out of the room, shaking his head. “The DA isn’t happy with Claire right now, since in the end she’s responsible for what her minor child did.” 

“Tell him I’ll make sure she works off the fine, and that Justin and I are willing to make sure the kids don’t cause any more problems,” Brian told him.

“He suggested Claire have to do community service too. Unfortunately, he can’t really do anything about Michael’s part in this,” Carl told him.

“I think what Justin suggested to me could solve that problem for us,” Brian told him.

“It makes it so the kids won’t need Michael to babysit them, but it doesn’t really solve the Claire problem,” Justin told him.

“I’ll let Cynthia help me with that one, but you have to tell her. I value my balls,” Brian joked.

“Um, what am I telling Cynthia?” Justin said, looking wary.

“That she’s about to get a new slave to put through her paces. Claire thinks I owe them something, well then, I’ll give her a job that pays better while Cynthia runs her ass off. YOU get to deal with the brats,” Brian smirked, as he went back into the room.

“He really thinks the kids are worse,” Justin snorted, following Brian and Carl into the room.

“Can we go yet?” Claire asked belligerently.

“After I explain what is going to happen tomorrow,” Brian told her.

“I have to look for a new job now, to pay for this bullshit,” Claire told him.

“Justin and I decided you were right,” Brian said, pausing as Claire perked up at the idea Brian would get them out of this. “After school the kids will get taken to Justin’s office, where they are going to be working for him to pay the fines and work off their community service. You, my dear sister, will be at Kinnetik at eight AM and report to Cynthia, who will be training you for your new job. Before you get hopeful, it’s not going to be you sitting around all day complaining. There are also going to be a few things you’ll have to agree to in order to get the job. Number one is that Michael isn’t welcome around your kids, since your lapse in judgement caused us to be here in the first place. Number two is that this isn’t a free ride, and you will lose the job if you don’t work up to the standards I expect of ALL my employees. Number three is that Michael isn’t privy to anything that has to do with me or Justin or I’ll throw you out on your ass immediately and let you figure out your own life for once. When I say that, it means you can’t come to me for ANYTHING anymore,” Brian told her.

“What are we supposed to do for him?” John sneered, as if implying something.

“Right now my IT guys are working on the new Brett Keller film. So you’ll be doing whatever they need help with while they work,” Justin told him.

“You’re working on a movie?” Peter asked, trying not to sound impressed.

“It’s one part of what my company does, we also work on Ad Campaigns,” Justin told him.

“Would they teach us what they do?” John asked.

“If you’re respectful, willing to listen, and don’t get in their way. They love to show off what they do,” Justin told him.

“While I slave away,” Claire complained.

“Or, you can look for a job and solve this on your own,” Brian told her.

“Why are you doing this?” John asked, suspicious.

“Justin seems to think we should be punished alongside you,” Brian told him, getting up. “Claire, don’t be late, and understand one thing, Cynthia’s word is law in my office. She is going to expect you to work as long as she does and won’t listen to any excuses from you. I think you’ll figure out pretty fast that I didn’t fuck my way to the top the way Mikey told you I did. If you aren’t at the office at eight then I’ll assume you’ve decided to deal with your life and the DA on your own,” Brian told her, dragging Justin out behind him. “You owe me unlimited blow jobs for this,” Brian told him, once they were out of the room.

“I can start in the car,” Justin said, kissing him.