The four men sat around the table at Woody's and continued to sip the last of their drinks. They were still feeling the thrill of the grand opening of Jason and Tom's new company. ‘Creative Visions Architectural Designs’ was officially open for business as of Monday, and they had already pulled in their first client. They had received a commission to design and build a new Community Center for a philanthropist who wanted to set up a place for lower income families to visit for a variety of needs. The Center would be quite extensive, including areas set aside for legal assistance, job placements, and adult education. Part of the complex would include a clinic for medical assistance and even an area set aside for children with lots of healthy activities available.  Also available was a large gymnasium complete with exercise equipment. It would be a daunting project, but one that the men were sure they could handle.

Their partners, Gus and Marcus, were extremely proud of their men. They had spent the last few months working their butts off to get everything ready for the big opening. They had hired competent staff and found the perfect location for their offices. They already had plenty of contacts that would be invaluable once the real work started. Their new offices were now fully functional, and they were able to welcome their first client. Samuel Dowd was already aware of their work after hiring them while they were still with Breyer to build a new luxury hotel for him downtown. He had been terrifically impressed with their work then and was happy to give them his newest job once he heard they were going out on their own.

Both Gus and Marcus were looking forward to spending a lot more time with their mates now that the start-up procedures were completed. Gus was particularly anxious to spend more quality time with Jason. It had been several months now since his sister had given birth to Melody Linn, and now Jason's sister, Gidge had also delivered a little girl. Both of the uncles loved their nieces with all their hearts, including Gidge's young son, but for Gus it had only increased his longing to have a child of his own. Jason still avoided too many mentions of them expanding their own little family, but he had quite obviously taken to being an uncle for the third time. Every time that he and Gus went to visit one of the sisters, or both since they spent a lot of time with each other, Jason seemed less and less stressed over it. Gus hoped this was a sign that Jason was finally ready for some real conversations about their future.

The hour was late and all four men were feeling the exhaustion that was setting in. They finished their drinks and left the bar together, acknowledging good-byes from a few friends they met as they exited the building. The couples passed around hugs one last time, and then each couple headed for their own cars. Gus took the wheel, knowing he had only had two glasses of champagne and the single drink at Woody's during the entire evening. Jason, although not really drunk, was slightly more on the intoxicated side than sober. As Jason settled back in his seat, he closed his eyes and felt the vibrations as Gus turned the engine over. Jason sighed deeply and laid his hand along the length of Gus' thigh. Life was good! He had Gus and his own company now. What more could a man ask for?

As Jason began to slowly drift off, he unwittingly thought to himself that there was one thing missing from his life. He loved Gus more than life itself and couldn't imagine a day passing by without Gus being in it. But there was one thing that Gus couldn't give him that he really wanted badly. Jason wanted a child of his own. Even as a child himself, he had loved taking care of his baby sister. He had always been the one that the younger kids turned to during the many Summer camps that he attended all through his youthful years. He was born to be a parent. He knew that without a single doubt. What was more, he knew that Gus was meant to be a parent too. But, of course, he could no more give Gus a child than Gus could do it for him. Their genes would never be combined to create a gift to each other based on their deep love for one another. It was simply the price one had to pay for being in love with someone of their own sex.

But then again, Jason thought to himself just moments before drifting off completely into a restless sleep, they could still have a child together if they were willing to take a gamble once again. Gus felt Jason's hand slipping off his leg and knew that his husband had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself. Jason was like a baby sometimes... if you wanted to get him to fall asleep, all you had to do was take him for a ride, especially late in the evening. Gus couldn't help chuckling out loud when he thought of all the times that poor Jason simply couldn't keep his eyes open, which was why Gus usually did the driving when they were together after dark. He hoped that Jason would get a really good night's sleep after they arrived home this evening, because he had every intention of bringing up the subject of trying for a baby again and he wanted Jason both refreshed and alert. It had been long enough for mourning their failures and they weren't getting any younger the longer they waited.

*********************************************************************

The backyard of the Tyler house was as noisy as it could get, but that was to be expected when you had a party filled with rambunctious two and three-year-olds.  It was young Timothy Tyler's birthday and his parents had gone all out to give him one for everyone to remember.  Gus stood on the porch with his arm draped lazily around Jason's waist.  He knew how much Jason loved his nephew, but it was only because of that strong love that he was willing to come to parties like this.  They were fun, but they also served to remind the couple of what they didn't have for themselves.  But at least there was now a ray of hope.

Just a couple of days earlier, Gus had finally gotten Jason to sit still long enough for a very serious talk about their futures together.  Gus was actually surprised that Jason was not more resistant, but he explained how he had been inching towards the idea of trying for a baby again for sometime now, but just hadn't been able to find the right time to broach the subject.  With his business finally launched, he felt he could relax enough now to give the matter a lot more of his time.  He admitted that he knew Gus had already been ready to move ahead long before he had.  They spent the rest of that morning discussing their options like they had done before.  The one thing that they still felt was important was a newborn baby of their own blood.  They had nothing against adoption, but they decided that would be their last resort. 

Gus and Jason spent the rest of their weekend after the launch party for Jason's business mapping out plans for where to go and what to do next to achieve their heart's desire.  They thought about calling Rachel Anders again to see how she would feel about going for a third try as surrogate, but in the end they dismissed the idea.  They didn't want to put her through the pain she would inevitably feel if a third pregnancy miscarried.  They decided it was better to try someone new.  They still had a number of viable frozen embryos waiting for implantation.  Now all they needed was their surrogate.  In the meantime, they played their roles as doting uncles to Timothy, Melody Linn, and Gidge's brand new baby, June.

After the party was over, and the couple had dutifully praised Gidge for its great success, so as not to tick her off while she was still enduring hormonal changes from the recent birth of her daughter, Gus and Jason left to return home.  They both had to be back at work in the morning, but they could still spend some of the day online researching future surrogates.  They had barely walked in their front door when their phone rang.  Jason went to the kitchen to grab a couple of beers from the fridge while Gus picked up the phone.  He recognized his dad's voice instantly.

"Hey Dad, what's up?  We just got home from Timothy's birthday party.  Tell me again why we have to attend a party with a hundred pre-school kids running all over the place?"

He could hear the laughter in his father's voice.  "It's good training for when you have your own someday, Sonny Boy.  And besides, you boys want to earn the merit badge for best uncles on the planet, don't you?  Besides that, it's not all that bad.  I...ahhh...I can still remember your first birthday party as if it was yesterday, even though you were too young to remember any of it."

Gus noticed a slight change in his father's voice just as he mentioned his birthday party.  There was a slightly different tone to it, but Gus couldn't put his finger on it.  He had no way of knowing that that was the day Justin suddenly re-lived his bashing while watching Gus playing with a toy baseball bat.  Brian seldom talked about that dark period of their lives.

"Well, I doubt whether Timothy will remember any of his either, but you'd never guess it by all the things Gidge set up for the kids... like having a pony for them to ride, although half of the kids were scared to death of it, and having a bouncy house and slide for them to play on.  She even hired a clown, who also scared half the kids to death.  And you should have heard JR talking about all the things she was going to do for Melody Linn's first party.  I'm telling you, Dad, I'm not spoiling our kid with all that stuff.  A few balloons and a cake are more than enough."

"Scrooge," laughed Brian.  "But I didn't call you to check on the birthday party.  I got a call from an old friend of yours and I promised to pass on the message since she had misplaced your phone number."

"She?  Who is that?"

"Heather Riverside."

"I don't remember a Heather Riverside."

"Oh, I'm sorry Gus.  That's her married name.  She was your best friend back in Toronto.  Do you remember now?"

"Oh man!  Of course, I remember Heather.  We used to stay in close contact for the longest time, but it kind of petered out after I finished college.  I haven't heard from her in years.  I think the last time was when she sent me a beautiful card and flowers just before I married Jason.  Did she say why she called?"

"No," Brian answered, "and I didn't ask.  I mind my own business.  Anyway, she gave me her number and asked me to pass it on to you so you could call at your convenience.  Now I've done my duty.  Time for me to get back to Justin.  He let me take a little break, but he has me posing for another painting.  I'm telling you, son, that man just can't get enough of drawing your old man."

Gus laughed out loud.  He knew his dads.  More than one posing session ended in horseplay.  Despite the fact that they were middle aged now, he doubted if the fooling around had tapered off much, and now they had the house all to themselves again.  Yeah, he knew where the evening would lead for those two. 

"DJ knows a stud when he sees one, Dad.  Okay, thanks for the heads up."

Brian proceeded to pass on Heather's number and got off the phone as quick as he could.  He was still draped in the rich purple velvet material that Justin had convinced him to wear to pose as a wealthy Roman Senator on his lounge while nibbling on grapes.  There was nothing else under the draping.  Now it was time to get back to the studio.  He had every intention of seducing Justin before the poor man knew what hit him. 

****************************************************************

Gus looked at the strange number he had written down on the notepad.  He hadn't heard or seen Heather in several years.  They had kept in contact all through the years, but mostly just with an occasional connection over the internet and a phone call every few months or so.  He knew he had broken her heart when he left Canada, but they had somehow managed to remain friends.  She was one of the few people that he had trusted with his secret once he and Jason became a couple.  In a way he had the feeling that it hurt less when she knew that it wasn't just her that he didn't feel romantic towards... it was females in general. 

The last he had heard from Heather, she had fallen in love with a married man and was struggling to decide whether to give their relationship a chance to continue or to end it.  The first text about it came from Heather just weeks before his wedding.  In the text, she even confessed that she had been seeing the man for months.  That explained why she had acted so strange when he had invited her to attend his wedding.  Gus had been certain that it might have something to do with her still feeling an attraction to him despite everything, but her disclosure cleared that up. 

Heather had hinted that she would try to attend the wedding and maybe seek his advice on how to handle her precarious relationship.  She had then gotten cold feet and sent the flowers, card, and apologies instead.  She had lost her parents quite a few years earlier in a boating accident, so she had no family to turn to.  At the end of the message she told Gus that the more she had thought about it the more she knew she would have to solve her problems herself.  Gus had written her back after returning from his honeymoon, letting her know that she could come to him with anything and reminding her that he would never judge her, but she never wrote back.  He tried calling, but her phone was no longer in service.  Gus had been quite concerned so he contacted some old friends that they both knew.  That was when he learned that she had quit her job and moved away.  Every attempt to make contact via the internet proved futile. 

Gus had sadly chalked it all up to a friendship that was no longer wanted by Heather.  It saddened him, but his father reminded him that people often come and go from your life and there was nothing he could do about it.  It wasn't like she had mysteriously disappeared without a word to anyone.  She had obviously chosen to start a new life in a new place and Gus was not going to be a part of it.  He reluctantly had to agree with his dad.  Their communications had slowed down a lot up to the wedding anyway.  But now, here she was again trying to reconnect.  Of course, he had every intention of calling her number.  He had been curious as to what had happened to her in the last few years.  Now he had the chance to find out.

He had just picked up his phone when he felt Jason's strong arms circling his waist from behind.  He looked down and saw a bottle of beer in each hand.  He took one from Jason and turned around in his arms, laying the phone back in its cradle.  They kissed and each took a big gulp of their beer.  Gidge had geared the entire party for her son towards the young ones and lemonade was the strongest drink available.  After enduring several hours with nephew, Timothy, and his countless hordes of friends, the two uncles needed that beer. 

The couple separated and plopped down on the sofa.  They took a few more gulps and set the bottles on the end tables.  They lay back simultaneously against the back cushions and looked over at each other.  Suddenly they both broke out laughing. 

"Remind me again why we want to have our own baby instead of just adopting a teenager," Jason laughed. 

 "You don't fool me, Jason Tyler.  You love it every time that little boy wraps his arms around your leg and says, 'lift me up, Unkie Jase'.  Now admit it, or I'll have to make you cry 'Uncle’," Gus answered, giving his husband a half-menacing stare.

"I'm not admitting a thing, Gus Peterson/Marcus/Kinney/Taylor, and you can't make me," taking up the challenge.

There was a moment of silence as the two men weighed each other and their next move.  Without warning, Gus used his long legs to spring onto Jason and pin him to the back of the couch.  His legs straddled Jason's body.  His arms rested against the back of the couch, alongside both sides of Jason's head.  Jason had far more physical strength than Gus, but he was in no hurry to dislodge the man.

"Confess that you love being with the little ones or I'll have to torture you," Gus ordered.

"Do your worst, Gee.  You'll never get it out of me."

Gus fell forward and clamped his lips tightly against Jason’s.  He worked those lips until they surrendered and opened up to allow entry for Gus' tongue.  Gus began to probe.  He explored inside and connected with Jason's tongue.  They played a little tongue hockey and savored the familiar taste.  It didn't take much for Jason to feel a painful swelling in his groin.  Gus, who was always in perfect time with Jason, felt it too.  Jason knew he wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer, not that he wanted to.  He had to give token resistance, but that lasted all of two seconds.  He pushed Gus away and looked him straight in the eyes.  He recognized the lust that had sprung up in Gus' eyes and knew that his own reflected the same thing.

"I confess, Gee...I confess!  What more can you do to me?" he cried out.

Gus knew what Jason wanted.  He slid off his husband and grabbed Jason by the hand.  He pulled him up and they hurried off to the bedroom.  Jason wanted to know what more Gus could do and Gus was more than willing to show him.  As they hurried away, all thoughts of calling his old friend slipped from Gus' mind.  First things first...he would contact Heather later on.

To be continued.........................