The next morning, Brian was the first to stir, and decided to let Justin sleep in for as long as he could. With the holidays approaching, and Jennifer joining them later that morning, it was likely that the following days would take on a much earlier start.

Brian contemplated trying to go back to sleep himself, but found he just felt restless, so rather than risk waking Justin -- even if it had the potential to result in some morning extracurriculars -- he decided to head down to the kitchen, allowing his nose to lead him in the direction of coffee.

"Morning," Melanie greeted him when he walked into the room. She was still in her pajamas and a bathrobe, reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. "Help yourself."

"Morning," Brian replied, walking to the counter and pulling down a mug to fill from the pot of freshly-brewed coffee. Once his drink was prepared to his liking, he joined Melanie at the table.

"I'm sure you're used to Starbucks, but we figured you should start your day with something inherently Canadian," Melanie teased, watching as Brian took his first sip and let the coffee sit on his tongue for a few seconds as he surveyed the taste.

"Can't go wrong with Timmy's." Brian shrugged, obviously recognizing it. "This is good. The shit I drink most days is more like jet fuel, just so I can keep up with everything at work."

Melanie laughed. "I'm sure. I know the feeling. It's nice, though, having you guys up here for a change, at this time of year. Gives us all an excuse to slow down for a couple of days." She paused, taking a sip from her own mug. "Speaking of which, did you sleep well?"

Brian nodded. "Yeah, much better than my last 'first night' staying here," he joked, alluding to the twenty-four hours of gastrointestinal pyrotechnics he'd experienced during his previous trip to Canada. Strangely, for as miserable as that initial period had been, he was grateful for it, because, had that not occurred, their current holiday plans never would have come to fruition, especially not the part where they were houseguests at the Muncher estate. And as much as Brian had never imagined a scenario in which Melanie Marcus would be the first person he'd actually care to see in the morning, he appreciated that she carried an air of quiet calmness about her, far removed from the slightly frenetic energy that Lindsay possessed, especially when she was playing hostess.

"Definitely glad to hear that," Melanie said. "Lindsay is getting ready, but she has breakfast plans in mind, so--"

"What a surprise," Brian said, his lips quirking with amusement.

"I know." Melanie smirked, grateful that Brian understood Lindsay without any additional explanation or justification necessary. "So, anyway, our understanding is that Jennifer's flight arrives soon, and Gus was asking if he could be involved with picking her up, but we're not thrilled about him driving out to Pearson alone--"

"I'll go with him," Brian offered easily, eager for the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with his son. Plus, if Justin slept in as late as he was sometimes prone to do after a long work week, there was a good chance they could get out to the airport and back with his mom before he even woke up.

Melanie nodded. "Just one thing -- if he wants to drive, please take my car. I know he thinks he's a hotshot driver now, but I'd rather not see him trying his hand at a Porsche just yet."

Brian laughed genuinely, making a mental note to call and cancel the car service he'd originally scheduled for his mother-in-law's pick-up. "You and me both."

Sitting and having coffee with Melanie actually turned out to be enjoyable, in spite of what Brian might have thought of the idea in years past. Mostly, they just sat and enjoyed the quiet, sharing the newspaper and occasionally exchanging a few words here and there about work and life in general. Lindsay joined them after about thirty minutes, clearly pleased to see her wife and her best friend getting along so well.

"Morning," she said, greeting Brian with a kiss on the cheek and Melanie with one on the lips. "It's so nice to see the two of you talking instead of sniping at each other all the time."

Brian opened his mouth to say something, but Lindsay kept right on talking, as she started opening cabinets in the kitchen and pulling out cooking implements, clearly about to get started on breakfast.

"Why don't you sit down for a few minutes?" Melanie suggested. "Have coffee with us. Then we can do brunch after Jennifer gets here. I'm sure she'll be hungry after being in airports and on a plane all morning."

Lindsay willingly acquiesced, making herself a cup of coffee and joining them at the table. That surprised Brian, though he noted that Lindsay did seem to be quite a bit more low-key than she had been the previous day, so perhaps she and Melanie had had a talk after they all went to bed. Brian wouldn't know; he'd been a bit… preoccupied.

"So, I was thinking I'd make quiche lorraine," Lindsay said. "Simple but elegant."

"What, no homemade cinnamon rolls?" Brian teased, raising an eyebrow.

"That's for Christmas Day." Lindsay smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "And don't worry, I'll make something low carb too. Maybe a broccoli cheddar frittata."

"Thank god," Brian said, bringing his own almost-empty mug to his lips. "I was starting to think you were trying to fatten me up."

"Well, it is Christmas." Lindsay paused and poked Brian playfully in the stomach through his t-shirt, causing him to reflexively swat her hand away. "Though really, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

If Lindsay was being honest, Brian looked just as good in his late forties as he had in his early twenties -- maybe even better. But she wasn't going to comment on that out loud in front of Melanie, lest she reignite the rivalry that had once been the norm between her wife and best friend.

"I swear, it's like you and Justin think it takes no effort at all to maintain this physique," Brian said indignantly. "It's hard work."

"Yeah, I'll bet it's hard work… in more ways than one," Melanie teased.

Brian was about to make a sarcastic remark of his own when a fully-dressed Gus rounded the corner and came into the kitchen. Brian wasn't sure he'd ever seen Gus up and dressed that early, given that he mostly saw his son on school breaks, and Gus -- who took after Brian in his tendency to be a night owl -- was normally prone to sleeping in even later than Justin.

"Going somewhere?" Brian asked innocently, even though he already knew the answer to his question, after talking with Melanie earlier.

Gus slid into the chair next to Brian, clearly trying to play it cool even though his excitement was palpable. "I was thinking, if it was okay with you, maybe we could go pick up Gigi… You know, as a surprise," he said, obviously trying to sound casual. He looked expectantly at Brian, and it was all Brian could do not to laugh, because Gus' eagerness reminded Brian of when Gus was a little boy and the three of them would go to Jennifer's house during the holidays that were spent in Pittsburgh. Gus loved Jennifer, and Brian knew that the feeling was mutual. Even though they weren't related by blood, Jennifer definitely thought of Gus as her grandson, and likewise, Gus counted Jennifer among his grandmothers -- even giving her the nickname he'd called her since he was a little boy.

"Sounds good to me, Sonny Boy," Brian said, keeping his poker face firmly in place so Gus wouldn't know this plan had already been made. "And you can drive, too."

"Really?! Awesome!" In that moment, any intention Gus had to remain nonchalant appeared to go out the window. "Can we--"

"You're taking my car," Melanie interrupted, without even looking up from the newspaper.

"But…" Gus let his voice trail off, looking to Brian for help and obviously hoping Brian would argue with Melanie to let them take the Porsche.

However, Gus' hopes were quickly dashed when Brian said, "No buts. If you want to drive, we're taking the Subaru."

Gus looked disappointed for a moment, but it was short lived and soon overshadowed by his excitement about being able to drive at all. Brian glanced at his smartwatch, realizing that he'd better go get dressed if he and Gus were going to make it to the airport on time, given that Jennifer's flight was scheduled to land in a little over an hour. He left Gus at the kitchen table, chatting with his mothers and probably still trying to plead his case to drive the Porsche, and went upstairs to quickly brush his teeth and change into a pair of jeans and a sweater. Finding Justin was still sound asleep in the guest bedroom, Brian tried to be as quiet as possible, though he knew it probably didn't matter, since Justin usually slept like the dead and could even flop over to practically bodyslam Brian in his sleep without waking up. At one point, when Brian was carefully closing the closet door, Justin stirred a little, but he rolled over and seemed to settle back into a deep sleep quickly as Brian left the room.

On his way back downstairs, he called to cancel the car he'd previously booked for Jennifer, hanging up the call just as he went back into the kitchen, where he found Gus pouring coffee into a travel mug, looking suddenly very grown-up. Brian still found it hard to believe it had been more than 17 years since he'd stood in Lindsay's hospital room, high as a kite after making his way through the disco pharmacological alphabet, with Michael taking pictures to document the moment and Justin acting every bit the teenager that he was. Things had certainly changed since then, but Brian wouldn't give any of it up for the world.

"Ready to go, Sonny Boy?" Brian asked.

Gus flashed the keys to Melanie's Subaru, while Brian wondered to himself if it was possible for Melanie to be any more lesbian. Though, looking at her plaid flannel pajamas, perhaps not.

After saying goodbye to the Munchers -- and Gus having to promise three separate times that he'd be careful -- father and son made their way to the car. Once he'd started the engine, Gus immediately changed the station from CBC Radio to some sort of rock station that didn't sound half bad at first listen -- perhaps Gus' musical tastes were improving and starting to move away from the top 40 shit that Brian swore would make your ears bleed.

Brian could see Lindsay peeking out the front window of the house as they pulled out of the driveway. Clearly, she was hovering at least a little. But as they got farther away from the house, Brian saw that Lindsay really didn't have anything to worry about, because Gus was actually a good driver. Much better than Brian had been at that age, though Brian figured a good portion of that was likely due to the differences in how they'd each learned to drive -- Brian having no choice but to learn "on the job" at 15 when his father started forcing Brian to drive him home from the bars, and Gus having attended some fancy driving school that Brian had paid for.

Sometimes Brian wondered what it would have been like to have a "normal" childhood -- whatever that was -- but he also figured that was water under the bridge. No sense worrying about it because he couldn't change it. He'd gotten out of there and made something of himself, and that was all that mattered. Still, that perspective often left him in awe as he watched Gus, this miniature version of himself that shared half of his DNA, grow up. For as much as Gus was Brian's mini-me, the life Gus had at 17 was very much different from the life Brian had had at the same age.

When Gus was born, Brian had misgivings about what life would be like for his son, being raised by a same sex couple in a world that wasn't always accepting. But in the end, it didn't matter. Gus was raised by an entire village who loved him dearly -- two moms, two dads, two "half dads" in Michael and Ben, four uncles in Ted, Blake, Emmett, and Drew, and two loving "grandmothers" in Debbie and Jennifer. Of the group, only Brian and Lindsay were related to Gus by blood, but the others all loved him just as much.

Brian also remembered joking with Lindsay all those years ago that if their parents could fuck up, they could too, but he'd really only been half joking. At the time, it was a legitimate fear. However, that fear also proved to be unfounded, and any "fuck ups" on their part when it came to Gus had been extremely minor by comparison.

Mostly, Brian was grateful that Gus had the opportunity to have a "normal" childhood, and was growing up to be a well-adjusted young adult. Brian still wasn't sure exactly how much of a role he'd played in that, but he hoped he'd had at least some positive influence, and he was starting to have a bit more confidence in his ability to do that.

"Earth to Dad!" Gus' voice pulled Brian out of his thoughts and back to the present moment again. "Is my driving so bad that you have to disassociate to get through it?"

When Brian's vision came back into focus, he realized they were on the highway, and he probably should have been paying more attention, but thankfully, Gus was going exactly the speed limit and had both hands on the wheel.

"Is everything okay?" Gus asked, glancing over at Brian, but making sure to also keep his eyes on the road. "You've been kind of quiet."

"I'm fine. Just had a long travel day yesterday." Brian smiled at Gus, hoping his answer would satisfy Gus' curiosity, since Brian didn't particularly want to share the specifics of what he'd been thinking about, and he was equally sure that Gus had zero interest in hearing him say anything that would qualify as "mushy."

Thankfully, Gus changed the subject and they spent the rest of the drive to the airport talking about much more neutral topics, with the majority of the conversation centering on their shared interest in soccer. Brian was grateful that they had that connection, especially after hearing so many of his employees at Kinnetik complain about how they felt like their children lived in a different world and they had nothing in common. He'd also heard plenty of stories that made his employees' children sound like holy terrors, which made him even more glad that Gus had never been that bad. Gus had always been a pretty good kid, and Brian knew they were lucky. Jenny Rebecca, on the other hand, seemed to be more of a handful, who often tested her mothers' patience as well as Michael and Ben's.

Traffic seemed relatively light for a weekday morning, though Brian supposed that was likely because there were only a few days left before Christmas, and a lot of people probably had the day off from work, much like himself. He'd actually had a spurt of holiday generosity and decided to close the office for a few extra days, which also meant that no one would be calling or emailing him with stupid shit they could have and should have taken care of themselves, since no one would be working. It was a genius idea, if he did say so himself.

Once they arrived at the airport, Brian helped Gus navigate the confusing series of signs and ramps that surrounded almost every airport Brian had ever been to, making sure they ended up headed in the right direction. They parked in the express garage near terminal 1, where Jennifer's flight would be arriving, then proceeded inside the terminal. Since they still had some time to kill before Jennifer's flight actually arrived, they located the Tim Horton's at Gus' request, where Gus polished off what Brian deemed to be an excessive amount of TimBits while Brian had more coffee, electing to save his food consumption for Lindsay's planned brunch -- though he did steal a couple of TimBits, earning himself some good-natured teasing from his son. Gus had just finished the last of the doughnut holes when Brian got the text notification that Jennifer's flight had landed.

Knowing that she'd still need to clear customs -- which Brian figured might take a bit longer since many people were likely traveling with gifts -- they took their time making their way back over to baggage claim, which seemed to be the best place to surprise Jennifer. Once her flight had been assigned to a carousel, Brian and Gus waited nearby. Gus was still trying to act casual, even though it was obvious that he could hardly wait until Jennifer walked through the doors.

When she finally did, Gus rushed toward her, nearly bowling her over before sweeping her off her feet and spinning her in a circle, then setting her back down again.

"Oh my goodness!" Jennifer exclaimed, laughing. "I wasn't expecting you!"

Gus was beaming from ear-to-ear and wasted no time taking her carry-on bag and slinging it over his shoulder, leaving her with just her handbag to manage. "I'm so glad you're here!" he said, starting to walk back in the direction from which he'd come.

As Jennifer began to follow him, she finally noticed Brian standing a few feet away, watching the reunion between his son and mother-in-law with an amused smile on his face.

"Mom," he greeted Jennifer fondly, wrapping her in a warm hug once she was near enough.

"Brian! What a surprise!" she said, laughing into his shoulder as she rose onto her tiptoes to meet his embrace.

"It was Sonny Boy's idea," Brian admitted, releasing Jennifer and gesturing toward Gus. "I think your visit might have been more anticipated than Santa's."

Brian saw a slight flush creeping up Gus' cheeks as he put his head down and scratched behind his ear -- a nervous habit of Justin's that Gus seemed to have picked up.

"Well, it was a great idea," Jennifer said, putting her arm around Gus' waist and pulling him close to her. "I'd much rather get to spend 45 minutes in the car with my favorite grandson than with a stranger."

"I'm kind of your only grandson," Gus laughed, his color and countenance starting to return to normal.

"You're still my favorite." Jennifer smiled and leaned up to kiss Gus on the cheek.