They stood outside Justin's studio, each looking at Justin.

"What are we going to do?" Daphne asked, looking toward Brian for an answer. 

Brian wished he could just go hunt the man down, knock him around a bit and the whole fiasco would be over, but he knew it wouldn't work that way. Justin was a celebrity of sorts, at least in the art world and Brian was a well-respected businessman in the area.  The last thing they needed was negative publicity.  If Brian acted as he wanted, Justin's fears would probably come true and he would be left with no career and Brian with no agency.  Brian needed to think, but right now his first priority was Justin and getting him out of his studio.  Brian went over to him and tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"Justin, Justin, it's me, Brian."

Justin looked at Brian and shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs.

"Brian? When did you get home?"  Looking around the studio, he asked, "Why am I sitting in the dark?"

Brian was thrilled to see Justin responding to his presence, but he was still going to go slow on the explanation.

"It's late.  I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go find some dinner." Brian led Justin out of the studio and they both laughed when Justin's stomach rumbled loudly.

"I'll meet you downstairs, I need to go to the bathroom first," Justin said as turned toward the bathroom.

Brian and Daphne went to the kitchen and gathered the leftovers in the fridge and heated them on a plate for Justin. They sat at the large oak table that was big enough to seat six.  Jennifer had called the area where the table was placed a breakfast nook, but Brian regarded a nook as an area tucked in a  corner and this was anything but tucked away.  Brian and Justin often sat down to regular meals, sharing dinner as they discussed their day and their lives.  He remembered a few days ago when Justin shared the news that his last painting had been sold.  He talked about his latest inspiration for new pieces and was eager to return to his studio.  Now Brian looked at the photos and the notes, hoping that Justin could be convinced his career wasn't over and he should continue to paint.

Daphne looked around the large kitchen with its stainless steel appliances and white cabinets.  The area reflected Brian's taste; sleek and modern but the beautiful small framed pictures that were hung on the walls added whirls of color and a personal touch.  Justin affected everyone with his warmth and personality as well as his talent.  She was saddened to think that he would retreat and never paint again for fear of his latest stalker. As a counselor, she knew that the man was delusional and she hoped they would be able to find him soon.  Both her friends needed their life back and she wanted Justin to consider having a child as they had discussed.

"He worried so much about losing his chance at that first show and Carol and I convinced him it wouldn't make a difference.  The critic, I don't even remember his name now, assured us that it wouldn't make a difference and he was true to his word," Brian said as he rehashed the previous events.  Brian ran his hands over his face and pinched the brow over his nose.  The clock ticked in the background, but he didn't hear the noise.

"Obviously it's not him, Brian. He has nothing to gain."

"True, ....but if it isn't him, it could be a thousand other guys.  How are we going to find him?"  Brian said as he frowned and deep lines of worry crossed his forehead.  He could now understand the reality of people aging from worry.

"I hadn't thought about that.  We'll have to wait until he reveals himself.  Justin will be so vulnerable.  I just hate that," Daphne said as she thought about her friend looking over his shoulder everywhere he went. A brief glimpse of Justin kidnapped crossed her mind, but she pushed it immediately out.  Justin would be smart about his safety.

"Shit!!!"  He banged his hand on the table and looked toward the stairs hoping Justin didn't see or hear the outburst.

"So you have a plan?"  She asked, relieved that maybe Brian was going to take charge of this scary situation.

"That's easy.  Get the bastard.  There is no way I'm going to let anyone get Justin down.  He's so talented and the world needs his paintings."  He glanced toward the small picture hung directly in front of the island.  He remembered when Justin hung it and he had commented on the ability of Justin to put so much feeling in such a tiny picture.  Justin had given him a large megawatt smile and helped Brian hang the picture.

"Don't you think Justin should have some say about what to do?"  Daphne said as she saw the lines deepen on Brian's face. 

Before Brian could answer, Justin came down the stairs wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeve blue Henley. He had changed from his painting clothes.  Sitting at the table, he saw the tension between Brian and Daphne and tried to remember why Daphne was here.  He looked at Brian and Daphne watching him and glanced at the table and saw the envelopes for the first time.

"Shit!" he said as he picked up the second one and peered inside.  After looking at the note, he placed the envelopes on the table and placed his head in his hands and sighed.

"I'm sorry, so sorry Brian.  You were right. I should have listened to you and taken your help, but ..." Justin started crying, unable to finish his thoughts.

Brian hated seeing anyone cry, especially Justin.  He felt helpless and Brian Kinney did not ‘do' helpless.  He was the fixer, the one everyone came to when they got in trouble.  Everyone came to him, but Justin, who was still the most stubborn man in the world, besides himself.  Justin wanted to prove he could take care of himself and while most of the time this was absolutely true, there were a few times that his stubbornness resulted in great harm. 

One of those times was a few years ago when he wanted to support himself and turned to erotic dancing.  Unfortunately, when he was leaving a gig he grabbed a taxi and the taxi was hit, leaving him with amnesia. He had to remember much of his life for the last 7 years, including his relationship with Brian.  Luckily for everyone, his memory returned, basically intact, but it took a lot of work and much heartache on Brian and Justin's part to get them back to their pre-accident relationship. 

During that time, Justin had stopped painting, deciding that his erotic dancing would be discovered by the critics and his agent and they would drop him due to the potential for scandal.  Carol, his agent,  had convinced him this was not an issue and he returned to painting and had garnered great success.  Now it appeared that his erotic dancing was threatening them again.

Brian had seen the envelope in today's mail and wondered how long Justin had the other one.  It wasn't important; what was important was resolving this problem so that Justin could return to painting.  

"Sorry's bullshit.  Haven't you learned that by now?" Brian said the anger in his voice kept tampered by his distraught partner. 

"But I am sorry.  I'm dragging you down again just because I insisted on supporting myself.  You were right.  A smart man knows when to ask for help and I guess I'm not smart."

Daphne came over to where he was sitting and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Shhh.  You did nothing wrong.  The guy is delusional.  Thinking you guys are together," She said, not hiding her anger at the unknown person causing her best friend so much pain.

Justin continued to cry and was inconsolable.  He laid his head down on the table and gulped air as his silent tears coursed down his cheeks.

Brian walked over to him and lifted his torso off the table and kissed his tear-streaked face.  Grabbing a towel from the rack, he wiped the tears and laid the towel back on the table. 

"I love you and we'll figure this out."  He pulled Justin up from his sitting position and wrapped his arms around his back, giving him a huge hug.  He kissed his hair and mouthed ‘thank you' to Daphne and watched as she grabbed her purse and let herself out the back door.  "Let's go to bed."

Justin was exhausted; evidently sitting in the dark with your mind whirling all afternoon was tiring.  He allowed Brian to lead him up the stairs and undress him.  He got in the bed and waited for Brian.  Brian finished in the bathroom, foregoing his nightly shower and curled around Justin, offering the solace of his embrace and hoping that would lull him into sleep. Soon Brian heard the familiar short breaths that announced Justin was sleeping.  Brian held Justin and he was lulled into sleep by Justin's breaths.

The alarm woke Brian and he cursed himself for not shutting it off.  Luckily, Justin barely roused from the noise.  He went into his office and booted up his computer to review his day, trying to determine if there were meetings he had to attend or could he delegate his work day.  There was a conference call at 9:00 that he could take from home, but the remainder of the day could easily be handled by Cynthia or Ted.  Justin was his priority and he was determined to nip this latest problem in the bud before Justin fell down the rabbit hole.

Going downstairs, he switched on the coffee maker and grabbed the newspaper off the front stoop. Quickly glancing at the headlines and deciding that there was no earth-shattering calamities, he turned to the business section where he read the headlines and looked at his stocks and mutual funds.  Then he made the first of many phone calls.

"Hi, Carl."

"Brian.  I assume this isn't a social call this early in the morning.  What can I do for you?"

Brian explained the situation and asked Carl's advice.  It was good to have Carl in their family, but he wished that he could stick to being Debbie's significant other and not quiz him regarding the legal information.

"Let me talk to Melanie," he said as he dialed the next number on his list.

"Well hello to you to, Brian.  I'm fine."

"Linds, I don't have time for niceties this morning, let me talk to Mel."

"Ok.  Is everything ok?" Lindsay asked when she heard the impatience in his voice.

"No, everything is not okay.  I need to talk to Mel.  Are you going to keep talking or do I need to come down there?"

"Okay.  I'll go get her." Lindsay frowned at Brian's impatience and worried that something bad had happened.

"This better be good, Kinney.  It's fucking 7:00 in the morning."

Brian explained the situation and told her what Carl had suggested.

"Shit!  How is Justin?"

"If Justin were fine, would I be calling you?" Brian said feeling a little calmer now that he was doing something to solve the problem.

"Right.  I'll be in my office at 10:30. Sorry, I have court first thing this morning.  I'll get right on the order.  As soon as you know who you're dealing with, I can file it."

"Good.  I'll keep you updated."

He had saved Carol for last and dreaded making the call.

"Carol please," he said as he willed himself to put on his professional demeanor.

A few moments passed before another voice came on the phone.

"This is Carol's assistant, Nikki.  How may I help you?"

"I need to talk to Carol.  This is Brian Kinney, Justin Taylor's partner.  It's very important."  Brian ran his hand through his hair and pinched the space between his eyes.  He didn't have time for assistants this morning and really wanted to finish all the phone calls before Justin got up this morning. 

"I see.  I'll let her know you called."

"Tell her.... I need to talk to her right now.  Please go see if she can be interrupted," Brian said, hoping that the urgency in his tone would encourage Carol's assistant to find her.

"Hold please," she said and placed the call on hold.

Brian listened to bad Muzak and hoped Carol would actually come to the phone instead of her damn assistant.  He hated repeating all the information and each time he told someone else, the angrier he got.

"This is Carol.  How can I help you, Brian?  Is Justin okay?"  Carol asked, knowing that Brian calling her meant that things were probably not okay.  She took comfort in the knowledge that Justin finished a show and didn't have another one for 6 months.  The owner of the gallery was a good friend of hers and she could probably get the show pushed back a little if need be. 

"We have a problem," Brian started the conversation and told Carol about the notes.

"Oh.  Poor Justin.  I'm sure he is distraught.  He was so sure that we would drop him when we found out about his dancing and I assured him it wasn't an issue and now it has come back again. What are your plans?"  Carol picked up her calendar on the desk and quickly looked through it.

Brian filled her in on the suggestions from Carl and Melanie.

"Is there anything I can do?" Carol asked, hoping this did not mean the end of Justin's painting.  She knew he was a sensitive man and would never put his family or partner in jeopardy.

"I would just like you to continue to tell him that this isn't a big deal.  It isn't, right?"

"Of course, Brian.  As I told him several years ago.  Many artists support themselves in a variety of ways before their success.  We only are concerned with their work, not their private lives.  I will continue to show Justin's work.  I could come out to visit if that would help.  I've never seen Justin's studio and this would be a good excuse."

Brian smiled. "Thank you.  I might take you up on your offer, but I just hope I can convince him to continue to paint without your intervention."

"Anything I can do, let me know.  But I must get back to my meeting. Thank you for letting me know," Carol said as she hung up the phone.  Before she returned to her meeting, she made another phone call to Tim Callen.

He called Ted and Cynthia asking them to take his meetings for today, but explained he would take the conference call from his home.  He'd phoned Daphne and Jennifer, sharing the information from Carl, Mel, and Carol.  After his flurry of phone calls, he went upstairs to shower and get ready for his conference call at 9:00. Hoping Justin would sleep until he was finished, he gently closed the door to their bedroom and made his way to the study.

The call finished at 10:00 and Brian opened the door to their bedroom slowly, hoping to not disturb Justin but found him sitting up in bed staring at the room. 

"Hey," he said quietly, hoping to not startle Justin.

"Hey," Justin said, not adding to his greeting.

Brian looked at Justin and a feeling of protectiveness washed over him.  He looked so young and innocent just sitting there in bed.  But Brian knew better than to coddle him as Justin would rebel and be very angry.  He might put himself in precarious positions just to spite Brian's protective nature. He had to tread carefully. Sitting on Justin's side of the bed, he gently kissed his hair above his ear.  Justin didn't respond to the gesture and Brian repeated it.

"I know you're hungry.  Go grab a shower and I'll make you some breakfast."  Brian didn't want to give Justin time to think, instead, he gave him a directive so he could put himself on autopilot. 

Justin turned toward Brian and gave him a half smile.  Recognizing Brian was in protective mode, he knew he would not win any argument and got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.  He turned on the shower and waited for the water to get the correct temperature before he got in.

When Brian was sure Justin was moving, he returned to the kitchen and gathered eggs and bacon to cook.  He finished his preparations as Justin entered the kitchen.

"Right on time, but then you're rarely late when it comes to the beast," Brian smiled and joked as he placed the plate of food in front of Justin.  Justin had put on the same jeans and blue Henley from the night before. Brian doubted he would be dressed in his painting clothes, but he had hoped that maybe Justin would ignore the situation and paint.  He poured some orange juice for Justin and a cup of coffee for himself and then joined Justin at the table.

Justin picked up the fork and took a small bite of the eggs.  He added pepper to them and ate a second bite.  He looked at his plate pretending interest but mostly moved the eggs around with his fork.  Brian was patient and didn't say anything while Justin pretended to eat.  He wished he could read Justin's mind, so he could address all the fears, but he knew Justin wasn't going to volunteer anything.

Brian finished his coffee and got up to refill the cup. 

"Justin we need to talk," Brian said as he put down the cup.

"Go ahead and say it.  I screwed up yet again."  Justin said without looking at Brian.  He got up and dumped his food in the trash and put the plates in the dishwasher.  He grabbed a water from the fridge but didn't sit down at the table.  He looked out the window above the sink to the stark landscape and thought how fitting the barren land matched his situation.

"I talked to Carl and Mel this morning," Brian started the conversation, refusing to respond to Justin's accusation.

"You did what?  There you go again, Brian Kinney to the rescue.  Helping out poor little Justin.  I'm almost 30 years old and I don't need your help," he said as he hit his hand against the counter.

Brian understood his anger and normally he would have let Justin deal with the situation, but in this instance, he knew that Justin needed help.  "The sign of a mature man is recognizing when you need help," he said softly, making sure that Justin heard his words and had to concentrate to process the message.

"Justin," Brian said, hoping that his love and respect for his partner would come through in his voice.

Justin returned to the table and reached out to grab Brian's hand, squeezing it tightly. 

"I know."  Justin looked at Brian and nodded his head for him to talk, acknowledging his readiness to listen this time.

"I saw the envelope in your office.  You were holding it when I found you yesterday.  Another one arrived yesterday in the mail. When did the first one arrive?"

"Two days ago.  I found it when you were taking a shower after we watched <i> The Hobbit </i>.  I sat in the office for a long time trying to figure out what to do."

"Did you?  I mean did you figure anything out?" Brian asked, trying to give Justin some ownership of the problem.

"No.  I was too caught up in the guilt. You and Carol said it wouldn't matter, but now this guy seems to think ...." Justin couldn't say the words, they were too painful.

"Carl said we need to find the guy.  He might be dangerous."

"You talked to Carl and Mel and Daphne knows too.  I guess you called Mom.  Tell me you at least didn't tell Debbie," he said, the resignation evident in his voice.  Justin sipped some water from his bottle and took a deep breath.

"I didn't tell Debbie.  If Debbie knew we'd never catch the guy.  The word would be on the street and you'd be forever looking over your shoulder."  Brian smiled when he saw his words brought a slight bit of laughter to Justin's face.  "We'll find him and he'll go to jail for stalking."

"Brian, I'd love to think that all the bad guys are going to get caught - just like on TV and the movies, but you and I know that isn't always the case.  Look at Chris Hobbes. Community Service, for fuck's sake.  Even if we catch the guy, how can we be sure it won't happen again? I was working for several months and I know there were lots of photos." 

"You're right.  Right now, we just need to catch him and stop him."

 A cold chill ran over Justin's body at the thought of sharing his story.  He remembered his conversation with Daphne regarding a child.  If he shared his story, that dream would be gone and he wasn't ready to close that door.  He couldn't think of the consequences right now; he had to stop the current nut job and then he'd decide what to do.