Chapter 22

A week after their talk Brian and Justin sat in Melanie's office, looking at her nervously. Brian had just gotten through telling her that he and Justin wanted to go ahead with the case and wanted to fight for Brian's freedom.

Justin was holding onto Brian's hand and had been squeezing it in support while Brian had informed their friend of their decision.

After their talk the night Gus had been staying with them, Brian and Justin had talked some more in the following days to cement their decision and to come to terms with what it would mean for them and their friends. Once they had been absolutely sure that they wanted to go ahead, they had made an appointment with Melanie.

Justin had been so incredibly proud of Brian for having come to the decision to fight and had shown him several times in recent days by being even more tender and gentle in his affections than he had already been anyway.

He knew that Brian didn't always like talking about his feelings and that at times it was easier for him to show what he was feeling instead of saying it out loud, so Justin had decided to not force Brian into conversations he knew the older man wouldn't like having and to show him instead how proud he was and how much he supported Brian's decision.

They had had some amazing nights in recent days if Justin might say so and he knew that Brian had received the message that Justin was there to stay and would be by his side no matter what and even more so, Brian's tender lovemaking had shown Justin that Brian appreciated the silent support Justin was offering.

Justin knew that at this point they could only hope for the best, but no matter what would happen and what would come their way, he had made a vow to himself that he would be by Brian's side through it all and that he would support his boyfriend no matter what. And he had every intention of keeping that vow, no matter how hard it might get.

Yes, they had already made it through hard times before, but Justin knew that none of what they had been through so far would even come close to what they were facing now. They both knew there was no way to say if they were ready for it or not. Saying they were ready, would be a lie, because they didn't know what was coming their way and there was no way to know how to face it. All they knew was that they would be together and whatever storm they would be facing, they would be facing it together. At this point in time that was all that mattered.

“I... I don't know what to say. Brian. That's amazing! I am so glad you came to this decision,” their friend exclaimed happily in front of them.

“Yeah, we'll see about that when the going gets tough,” Brian sighed, but smiled gently when he felt Justin's hand squeeze his in support.

“We are aware this is going to be tough and we've... we've talked about what you told me. What we should expect from the other side and what might be coming our way,” Justin silently added.

Melanie nodded, the expression on her face quickly sobering up. She had been so happy for her friend for having made this decision and on a professional level she had also been quite excited as this could be the case to make or break her law firm, but she knew that on a personal level there would be some rough times ahead for her two friends, for their whole family really.

“We'll all be supporting you, Brian. Lindsay and I are gonna be there by your side the whole way, don't you worry. And once the family finds out, they'll support you as well. Debbie will probably rally all of LAAS to be there in support.”

“Yeah,” Brian sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We want to wait until after your wedding,” he announced next, surprising Melanie by that.

“Why? We can go right ahead. Why waste time?” Melanie asked in confusion.

“We don't want to take anything away from your wedding. This is yours and Lindsay's big moment and you should be able to enjoy it in all its glory. Same for your honeymoon. When...when we go ahead with this,” Brian explained quietly, taking deep breaths to calm himself. “... there will be things... we'll need to tell the family about. Things they shouldn't find out during the trial or from the press,” he finished and was glad when Justin took over for him, knowing how hard it was for Brian to talk about this.

“There are things... we don't necessarily want to talk about, but we know will be brought up by the other side and... we want to prepare the family ourselves for what they will hear. However... we don't want to do that before your wedding or honeymoon. We want you and Lindsay to enjoy your big day and … a couple of weeks more or less won't make a difference to us at this point.”

Melanie nodded in understanding, looking at Brian from gentle eyes, feeling for the man sitting opposite her. She didn't dare to imagine what they would be told and what would come up during that conversation. “I understand,” she said quietly and Brian just nodded at her when his gaze met her gentle one.

“We just wanted to let you know that we want to go ahead with the case and whatever you'll need from me, just let me know once you're back from your honeymoon. Then we can talk about the next steps and Brian and I can figure out how to best let the family know. For now... we'd like to keep this between us until after the wedding, if possible,” Justin informed her.

“Of course. Don't worry about that. I'll just let Stephen and Mike know, so they'll know to go ahead with the preparation of the case and so they can plan on making time to come to Pittsburgh.”

At the mention of her two colleagues from New York and Washington, Brian frowned. “You won't be my... I mean Justin's lawyer during this?”

Melanie shook her head and looked at her two friends from sad eyes. “Not the major one to go to trial on this case, unfortunately. I will be part of the legal team that will be working this case, but they will handle the majority of the work.”

“Why?” Justin asked, not sure if he liked that. When he had met the two lawyers, they had been nice enough, but Melanie was their friend and he had somehow expected to have her represent them in court.

“It's quite common procedure really,” she started to explain with a smile, trying to calm down the fears she knew both men had to feel right now. “With a case of this size and the possible media attention it will have, it's normal to have a whole team of lawyers work on it. In addition Stephen and Mike have a lot more experience in these types of big cases than I do and they'll do a way better job than I could ever dream of doing.”

When Brian was about to interrupt her, Melanie waved away his comment and went on explaining. “I am not putting myself down, I am just being a realist here. We have never done something of this size from the Pittsburgh office and we'll need help. We don't have experience with this and we'll need the support and the pull the Washington and New York office can offer us. In addition, I am your friend and Gus' mother. That would not make me a good lawyer to represent you.”

Justin frowned at that, but figured it kind of made sense. “The press would have a field day when they find out that the lawyer representing us is the mother of our son.”

Melanie nodded, as there was nothing more to say to that. “When we first talked about a possible case and the chances for winning a case like that, Stephen, Mike, the partners and I agreed pretty early on that I would be involved, but only in the background. I will be there to support you as your friend and as a family member, but... in my capacity as a lawyer it's best if I only work on the legal team in a capacity that might not be known to the public to avoid further press attention.”

Brian nodded as well, not able to find any fault in her logic. He didn't necessarily like it, but he knew that they didn't really have any chance to change anything about that and at the end of the day, it was not a reason to stop fighting for his freedom. They had been prepared and knew they would meet bumps along the road, so they might as well accept that they would be facing them from the very beginning.

“Will you be okay with that, Brian?” Melanie asked quietly, her gaze once again meeting the gaze of the man sitting opposite her.

“Yeah... whatever you think will be best. You definitely know more about this than we do,” the brunet replied and turned to his boyfriend at his side. Their eyes locked and Justin nodded in agreement.

“We'll do whatever you need us to do to make this case go ahead and to win it,” Justin exclaimed seriously and both Brian and Melanie could hear the fight in his voice. Justin was ready to go ahead and take on the status quo and to fight for Brian's freedom and once again Brian could only be amazed by the strength his boyfriend seemed to have. He was proud of the man Justin had become ever since he had met him as a young boy and had started being his tutor, then his friend and later his lover.

***

After everyone had celebrated Melanie's and Lindsay's wedding and had enjoyed the romantic ceremony and festivities afterwards, the two girls had flown off on their honeymoon to Hawaii and Justin and Brian had taken care of Gus for the two weeks his mothers had been away.

They had enjoyed the two weeks with the small boy and had taken him on many trips and had done many exciting things with him, knowing that these two weeks might actually be the last quiet weeks before the case would go ahead and their lives would be turned upside down.

Both Brian and Justin had tried to make the most of those two weeks and had tried to enjoy them as much as was possible. They had allowed Gus to infect them with his happiness and carefreeness and had allowed the small boy to distract them from the chaos they knew their lives would be turning into soon enough.

Once Lindsay and Melanie had returned from their honeymoon, Melanie had invited them to her office and they had met with the lawyers from New York and Washington and had been introduced to what would be the legal team working on their case. They had been shocked to see how many people would be involved in working this case and for a moment Brian had felt panicked about how Justin was going to pay for all of that. He knew that law fees were crazy and even though he knew that Justin's company was successful and doing really well, he wasn't sure it was doing well enough to support a law team like that.

Melanie had quickly calmed Brian and had explained to them that yes, Justin would be charged a fee for the firm representing him during this case, but that a lot of work would be covered by the firm itself as they expected quite the press coverage from it and expected to get many new anti-slavery clients by going ahead with this case. Melanie explained it to them as a kind of free PR and free advertising for the firm which would hopefully make up for the money the company was investing into their trial. Of course a positive outcome would help even more with that, so the law firm didn't hesitate to send their best lawyers to work this case for them.

After the initial meeting with their legal team, many more meetings had followed during which Brian and Justin had been prepared by different lawyers for what would happen next. It seemed like the law firm had people for everything. They met with people who explained the legal side of things to them, they met with people that explained time lines and time frames to them, they met with people that explained to them what would happen in case they won or in case they lost and what chances they would have to take this to the next level in a case like that and last but not least they also met with media advisors who tried to prepare them for the media attention they would be getting once the case started. Both Brian and Justin had hated that meeting the most because the guy who had the meeting with them didn't pull any punches. He had given them examples of possible headlines that could be coming their way and none of them had been nice. Brian hadn't said a word during the meeting and had pretty much shut out Justin for almost two days afterwards.

At first Justin had been scared that Brian might actually change his mind and would pull out of the case as he didn't want to face the kind of headlines they had been shown in the meeting, but with time Justin realised that that wasn't it. When Justin had flatout asked him if he wanted them to pull out, Brian had just shaken his head, but had still not spoken to Justin.

It had taken Justin some time until he had realised that Brian had just needed time to come to terms with the kind of media attention that they would be facing and that he didn't know any better way than to pull back and into himself to cope with it. Justin tried not to feel hurt by Brian shutting him out like that and deep down he knew that Brian wasn't doing it on purpose. Brian had never really learned how to deal with bad news any differently than dealing with it himself as he had mostly been on his own all his life, so Justin couldn't really blame him.

Once Brian had worked through it, he had talked to Justin and had asked him if he really wanted to do this and go ahead with the case. When Justin had answered in a resolute “Yes”, Brian had just nodded and pulled him close, kissing him like he had never been kissed before.

Justin knew then that they would be okay, no matter what. They would make it work and they would work through whatever was coming their way.

After they had had the meetings preparing them for the trial, they had met with Stephen and Mike to take their testimonies that would be included in the formal statement of case outlining their argument.

Stephen and Mike had argued that it was important to include the abuse that Brian had suffered from to show how according to the law it was okay to be treated like that by an owner, but how it was not okay for Justin to grant him his freedom.

The day the testimonies had been taken had been hard on both Brian and Justin, but especially Brian. While it had been hard for Justin to relive the day his father had found out about him and Brian having sex and the events that had then followed, Justin knew that it had been even harder on Brian to detail the abuse he had suffered from at the hands of Justin's father and later on Gary Sapperstein. Justin had insisted on being by Brian's side when his testimony was taken and several times Justin had wanted to stop the interview, seeing how hard it was on Brian to go through all of that again in his mind, knowing how much Brian was suffering, but Brian had just gently shook his head and had pleaded with Justin to let him finish.

Once their testimonies had been recorded, they had wordlessly headed home and had curled up together on their bed, neither of them talking, just being together, trying to work through all the thoughts and feelings that day had unearthed.

It was Brian who had broken the silence after what had seemed like hours, pulling Justin even closer than he already was. “I love you for wanting to make them stop asking me those questions today, but... but I knew if I stopped... I wouldn't be able to start talking about those days again. I... I needed to get it done in one go, you know?”

Justin just nodded quietly. He could understand what Brian was saying.

“I... I have no idea how to tell our family. To see their faces... Today, when I answered their questions... I could see the pity on their faces and... I am not sure I can take it from our friends and family. I don't want them to look at me with pity every time they see me,” Brian whispered and Justin felt his heart break for his partner. What was he supposed to say to that? Was he supposed to lie and say that they wouldn't? He didn't know how they would react and he couldn't make that promise.

Thankfully his thoughts of a possible answer had been interrupted by the doorbell ringing and both Justin and Brian frowned, not having expected any visitors that day. When they got up and Brian headed to answer the door, while Justin went to the kitchen to prepare a snack for them, none of them having eaten anything all day, but knowing that they had to, they both frowned when they heard an unexpected voice on the intercom.

“Daddy! Jus'sin! Le' me up!” An excited Gus nearly yelled and Brian frowned when he pressed the button to open the door. He turned to Justin with a questioning gaze.

“Did you call them?”

Justin just shook his head in confusion. He had not called the girls and hadn't talked to them in the last two days. “No, I didn't. Maybe Lindsay was just in the area with him?”

It wouldn't be the first time she had been in the area with Gus and had stopped by for a spontaneous visit, though she couldn't have chosen a worse day as far as Justin was concerned. Neither Brian nor he were in the mood for small talk or visitors after the day they'd had.

When they heard the elevator arrive on their floor, Brian pulled open the metal sliding door and laughed when his son nearly crashed into him, running into his arms in obvious excitement. “Daddy!”

“Hey sonny boy, what are you doing here?” Brian smiled as he picked up Gus and held him close, giving him a kiss and receiving a wet one in return.

“Mama vi't,” the boy explained what was probably supposed to mean that his mama had taken him over for a visit.

When Brian looked up from his sonny boy to the elevator he saw Melanie standing there, not coming any closer. And instantly Brian knew why.

“You've seen it?” He just asked, closing his eyes, pulling Gus closer and inhaling the scent that was so uniquely Gus, drawing some invisible strength from having his sonny boy in his arms.

“Yes,” she quietly answered, before slowly coming over. “I... I thought you might like to spend the day with Gus,” she added helplessly and Brian appreciated the gesture.

He knew that Melanie had probably been handed a copy of his and Justin's testimonies and had read them and that that was probably the reason she had come over with Gus, thinking that the small boy might be able to cheer him up. And he was thankful for that.

Brian just nodded, then turned around to walk into the loft, helping Gus out of his jacket and watching as the small boy ran off towards his toy chest the second Brian set him down on the floor.

Melanie entered the loft after them and gave a small nod in greeting to Justin.

“Brian,” she started, but was waved off by Brian when he turned around to look at her.

“Don't,” he just said and she just nodded.

When neither of the adults knew what to say, Melanie decided to take actions into her own hands. She wordlessly walked over to Brian's side and took him into her arms, giving him a tight hug.

“You're one of the bravest people I know,” she said sincerely, kissing his cheek, before she pulled back and their gazes met.

Brian was relieved when he didn't see any pity in her eyes. He saw pain, sadness, but most of all he saw love and friendship. Maybe the family would be able to deal with what he had to tell them in the same way. He could only hope.

When he didn't reply with words, just their gazes meeting, Melanie ran a hand over his shoulder, before squeezing it. “We'll win this for you. We'll make those motherfuckers pay for what they did.”

Brian just nodded, then turned away. He wasn't good at dealing with his emotions and he didn't want Melanie to see how much her words and her support meant to him. He watched as Gus started playing with his wooden toy train and quietly made his way over, sitting down next to his son and started to play with him, enjoying his laughter and happiness.

Melanie watched them for a couple of minutes before she turned to Justin who had been quiet all throughout her exchange with Brian.

“Is he okay?” She asked quietly and when Justin nodded, she frowned.

“As okay as he can be under the circumstances,” Justin amended, watching Brian and Gus play. “Thanks for bringing him over,” he said sincerely as he saw Brian smile at his son and chuckle at something the boy had said. Maybe Gus had just been what they had needed that day.

Melanie just nodded, then gave Justin a gentle smile. “I figured you could do with some Gus time. It's the best medicine in the world and always manages to cheer me up.”

“Yeah, he's good at that,” Justin agreed, then turned away from Brian and Gus and eyed Melanie. “Do you think it would be okay if... if we kept him overnight? I... I just think Brian might really like to spend some time with him.”

“Of course. I've packed a bag for him just in case. Just let me get it from the car.”

Justin gave her one of his sunshine smiles and thanked her.

“Justin... if you or Brian... if you ever want or need some time with Gus... just let us know, okay? Lindsay and I want to help in any way we can.”

Justin nodded, then asked the question he feared the answer to. “Does she also know?”

“No, I haven't told her anything. I can't... Attorney-client privilege and... in any case... it's not for me to tell,” she sighed. “But I think she knew that something was off when I came home and she could see how I was all agitated and I think she knew something was wrong. She didn't even ask when I asked her if it was okay for Gus to spend the night here.”

“We'll tell them soon... I... I just don't want to pressure Brian any more than necessary. He already has enough on his plate as it is,” Justin sighed and Melanie could easily hear the concern in her friend's voice.

She gave Justin a hug as well, before she spoke again. “I... I always knew that you two were incredibly strong to make this work, but... until today I had no idea how strong... We'll win this for Brian, Justin. We'll make this work.”

Justin just nodded, hoping that she was right. He hoped and prayed that this would work out and that all the pain would be worth it in the end. Brian deserved it. Hell, they deserved it as a couple as well.