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"Hey."  Justin answered his phone as he was leaving the restaurant.  The traffic was steady but had slacked off since the beginning of the lunch rush and the noise was not too loud.  "How'd lunch go with Lindsay?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing.  How was lunch with your mom?"

"Good. She seems supportive of us having a child.  I think she really likes the idea of being a grandmother."  Justin smiled as he thought of his mother holding a tiny infant.  Her reassurance that the decision was his and Brian's helped solidify their plans.  He knew that his mother's approval was important, but also understood that he and Brian would ultimately be making this journey themselves.

"Lindsay was her typical self, thinking of her needs first.  Her first reaction was to try and tell me it wasn't a good idea since she was just getting her career established and it would not be a good time for her to get pregnant."  Brian walked toward his car in the adjacent lot to the restaurant.  Unlike Lindsay, he'd chosen to spend the money to park close by instead of hunting for a free parking spot.

"Oh, wow.  I hadn't thought about that angle. Do you want Lindsay to carry the child?"  Justin asked the question, already dreading the possible answer.  Brian's relationship with Lindsay was difficult and at times, he wished she were not so prominent in their lives.  But as the mother of his child, they were bound forever.  He looked both ways as he stepped off the curb, assuring himself there were no incoming cars. 

"Hell no! It is difficult enough with her being Gus' mother.  I provided the sperm when they wanted a baby, but this time it would be our child.  I can see major roadblocks in that scenario." Brian clicked his key fob opening his door.  Closing the door, he placed the key in the ignition, but did not start the car. 

Justin let out a sigh of relief.  He wasn't particularly fond of Lindsay carrying their child, but if Brian had wanted it, he would have agreed. "I'm glad you think that's a bad idea.  I understand that finding a surrogate will be hard, but I really can't see going forward with a member of our family as the biological mother."  He walked the few blocks toward the gallery, pleased that Brian and he were on the same page. 

"Where you headed?  Don't you have to be at the gallery this afternoon?" 

Brian didn't respond to the statement, knowing that it was superfluous.  They'd beat that idea to a dead pulp.  He had a sour taste in his mouth from Lindsay's abrupt departure but he didn't feel the need to let Justin know this.  Lindsay was his problem, mostly and he made that decision when he agreed to father a child for her and Melanie.  Outside a robin was building a nest in a nearby tree.  He watched as the bird flew several times back and forth to the tree adding little bits of twine and twigs to build the future home for its chicks. 

"Yeah, but I think I'll stop at Daphne's first.  I told Rosa to fix dinner for both of us.  You don't have any late appointments, do you?" He looked in the shop windows as he walked, enjoying the changing displays as a harbinger of the new season.

"I'm headed back to the office.  I promised Cynthia I'd look at the boards for the new Remson campaign before the weekend.  I should probably stop by Michael's shop and tell him about the baby.  The gay grapevine works pretty fast and I don't want to hear about he didn't hear about the baby first hand.  I should be home by 7:00.  Later."  Brian watched the bird for a few minutes, thinking that even birds prepare for their young.  He and Justin had certainly put a lot of thought into having a child.  So many breeders just got pregnant without a thought.  At least this child would be wanted, unlike himself.

"Later."  Justin put the phone in his pocket, a warm feeling washing over him as he heard the familiar closing remark.  Even after all these years, Brian still never said goodbye.  The restaurant was close to the gallery and since the day was mild, he'd chosen to walk instead of taking his car.  He enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face and the feeling of spring in the air.  Spring was a time for renewal and it seemed appropriate for them to be contemplating a renewal of their relationship by adding a child.  He inhaled the air filling his lungs, but started sneezing from all the pollen.  He arrived at the gallery where he finished working on the latest arrangement of the upcoming exhibit.

Brian drove to Kinnetik where Cynthia was waiting for him in the conference room.  She had the boards set up on easels for Brian to review.

"How was lunch with Lindsay?" she asked, knowing the reason for the lunch in the middle of the week.  Usually Lindsay had to entice Brian to dine with her and this was surely a surprise for Lindsay.

"Fine.  She's as self-centered as always."

Through the years Brian and Cynthia had developed a close relationship and he shared a lot of personal things with her.  She knew about Justin's difficulties in the last few years, first with his head injury and later with the stalker.  Brian had shared with her their desire to have a child and she had been very supportive of the plan.

"Self Centered?"

"Evidently her first response was to tell me we shouldn't do this as she was at a place in her career where she couldn't get pregnant.  We never asked her to carry the child, nor would we want to.  I love Gus more than anything in the world, but there are so many times her fantasy of the three of us being a family is just too much."  Brian walked in front of the first board and eyed it critically.  He stepped back to view it from afar, trying to get the impact from both angles."

"Do you have anyone in mind to be the biological mother?"  Cynthia asked.

"No.  It's more like who we don't want to be the mother.  Justin and I are going to start interviewing tomorrow.  I'm not really keen on the idea of interviewing a potential incubator for my kid, but there really isn't an alternative.

"I might have a solution."

Brian stopped reviewing the latest boards and looked at his long-time assistant and friend.  "Care to share?"

"Maybe," she said.

"You offering?"

She colored a little but nodded yes. "I've thought about this a lot since you told me you wanted to have a child with Justin.  I'm 34, still young enough to safely have a child.  I love both of you.  There wouldn't be any weird stuff about who is the parent or mind games like Lindsay plays.  You know me and could watch the pregnancy up close and personal.  I don't want to be a parent at this point in my life, but this way I could easily be a favorite aunt and help you guys out."

Brian listened and bit at his lip as he digested her logic.  It did make perfect sense.  It was someone they both knew and trusted and she wouldn't be changing her mind at the end of the pregnancy. 

"I'll have to talk to Justin, but I think it is a good idea."  He turned back to the easels and started critiquing them; the remnants of the previous 10 minutes locked in his brain for safekeeping.

"I think these will work.  Let Byron know I've signed off on them.  I'll see you tomorrow.

Brian drove to their home, barely noticing the traffic.  He loved living in West Virginia but he often complained about the drive to and from the city.  Sometimes, like today, the drive allowed him time to think, and he couldn't stop thinking about Cynthia's offer.  As he pulled into the garage he saw Justin's car was already parked.  It was early and Rosa would not have dinner ready; therefore he would have an opportunity to talk to Justin before dinner.

As he entered the Tudor mansion, he eyed Justin sitting in the media room watching the big screen television. Walking closer, he recognized Justin's favorite movie, Yellow Submarine playing on their system.  Leaning down, he bent over the back of the couch and kissed Justin on the head.

"What's bothering you?  You seemed so happy this afternoon.  Problems at the gallery?" Brian walked to the front of the couch, sitting next to Justin.

Justin turned toward Brian and gave him a quick welcome kiss on the mouth.  "I love you."  Justin loved that Brian knew when he was upset without him having to tell him so.  He wondered sometimes how others in their little circle didn't recognize Brian's natural intuitiveness but he was happy that he got to see it every day.

Brian nodded his head, choosing not to respond as he thought this was just a prelude to the issues at hand.

"I've been thinking about the conversation with my mom all afternoon.  I guess I'm second guessing our decision."  He rubbed his hands over each other in nervous tension.

"My mom asked about the biological mother and I told her we were going to use a surrogate.  Your comment about Lindsay being the mother made me stop and think.  Maybe we should use someone we know.  So much can go wrong." He took a deep breath and hoped Brian wouldn't be too unhappy.

Brian took Justin in his arms and held him tight, kissing him lightly on his face and head.  Releasing him after a few moments, he sat back with a huge grin on his face.

"I have the perfect solution.  We can use someone we know but she isn't part of our crazy mixed up family."

Justin sat for a few minutes thinking about Brian's words and looked at his partner with confusion, a slight frown on his lips.  "We can't use Molly- unless you are the father and I know that you wouldn't even consider Claire.  We already know we don't want to use Mel, Linds or Daphne.  Who else do we know?"

"Cynthia,"

"Cynthia? Like in your assistant, Cynthia?"  Justin looked at Brian like he'd lost his mind.  "True, we both know her very well and she is a friend to both of us; but carrying our baby- that goes beyond..."

"She offered," Brian said softly.

"She offered?  When?  How?  Why didn't you tell me?  Are you sure?  Was she serious?"  Justin rattled off each question in such quick succession that Brian didn't have any time to respond.

"When I returned from my lunch with Lindsay, we talked."

"You didn't ask her, did you?  I know she's your employee and I think she would do a lot of you, but that is going beyond normal call of duty."  Justin remembered the fiasco with Kip many years ago and while this was very different, it still had some traipsing's of sexual harassment.

"No, I did not ask her.  She volunteered.  Now let me talk and be quiet. I know you can keep your mouth shut for a few minutes, even when you aren't eating or giving me the most fantastic blow job in the Pitts,"  Brian said tongue in cheek.  He knew he needed Justin to be quiet and he needed to convince him that this was a reasonable sound idea.

"I told Cynthia about our plans for having a child a few weeks ago.  She told me she was happy for us and thought this would be a great next step.  That was the end of the conversation.  Today when I came back from lunch she asked how the lunch with Lindsay had gone.  I told her about Lindsay's crazy response about it not being a good time for her to get pregnant, as if she were the only one who could carry a child for us.  She's seen first-hand all the crazy manipulations and games Lindsay has played with Gus and us and understands that Lindsay being the mother of this child would be a bad idea for everyone.  As we were talking, she said she would be the biological mother, but only wants to be an aunt to the child.  Her clock is ticking and she wants the opportunity but doesn't want to raise a child."

"She'd do that for us?"  Justin practically was bouncing on the cushions.

"If she offered, she was serious.  What do you think?"

Justin only had to think for a moment before his megawatt smile filled his face.

"Perfect.  We know her and could be a part of the pregnancy without intruding on her life.  Well, sort of... pregnancy is an intrusion.  We trust her and wouldn't have to worry that she'd decide to keep the baby.  Oh, this is such great news.  When can we start?"  Justin reached out to hug Brian and searched for his mouth to give him a loving kiss.

"Soon.  Even though we know Cynthia, we still need to protect both of us.  I'll talk to the lawyer tomorrow and the three of us will meet in a week or so to sign the contract."

"Contract?  You didn't sign a contract with Linds."  Justin looked at Brian with concern.

"No, but it would have probably been a good idea.  I was doing a friend a favor and really didn't think I'd be involved as a parent, but we all know how that turned out.  I'm not sorry that Gus is here nor am I sorry that I provided the sperm, but I think things would have been easier if there were some legal protection involved."

"Brian.  When you did that for Linds you didn't think you'd want to be a part of Gus' life.  Back then I bet you would have just signed away all your rights.  I'm glad that it worked out the way it did."

Brian thought for a moment.  "You are the smart one."  He eyed Justin in his pale blue shirt and washed denim jeans.  "I think a celebration is in order. Dinner won't be ready for at least an hour."

"I like the way you think."  Justin followed Brian up the stairs and they celebrated the next step in the long process to having a family.

 

 

TBC

 

 

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