Justin is already outside of the funeral home when Gus makes his way over the group. He had taken his time leaving the building and seems distraught, but won't talk about what he's feeling, not like he had at the cafe. He is standing by Hunter and Jr, with Ben, Michael, and Lindsay on the other side of him while Justin stands with his mother, Nathan, and Petra, trying not to give into his sudden need to comfort Gus. Gus doesn't need that. He has his mother and his sister. Justin just needs to step back, even if he desperately wants to know if something is going on with Brian, who has yet to come outside. It's not his business.

"Did Brian talk to you much?" Justin asks his own mother quietly, contradicting himself immediately.

Jennifer shrugs her shoulders sadly, "A little. Not a lot. He would redirect the conversation back to me whenever he could. He's not...Oh no, are those reporters?"

Justin turns his head and feels his heart sinking into his stomach at the sight of a few men and women with cameras and microphones. Jesus Christ. Brian can't see this. They can't see Brian. Justin fucking won't let them. Justin knows a few journalists, those who are committed to their craft and respectful to their subjects. These aren't journalists.

These are fucking vultures.

But before Justin can think of a strategy to get them away or create some sort of human shield to make sure Brian and his grief don't end up as one of the headlines, Gus apparently has other plans. Plans that include storming over to the vultures in a rage after shaking his mother's hands off of his shoulder and dismissing her attempt to stop him.

"Fuck off!" Gus yells, snarling as he makes his way over, "Seriously, get the fuck out of here!"

Justin finds himself following Lindsay and hears one of the reporters huff, "Public property, kid. Besides, one half of a prominent couple getting murdered in a terrorist attack, only to have a huge funeral service in the city? That's news, whether you like it or not. So back off, unless you want to give me a sound byte."

And yeah, as soon as Justin hears the reporter's response to Gus, Justin wants to punch the guy in the face. The fucker deserves it. But he isn't going to do that - end up with an assault charge or start a fist fight at a funeral, no matter how much he wants to. He has to be above that.

Gus apparently doesn't feel any need to be. Before Justin can even blink, Gus is grabbing the man's camera and hurling it out into the street before bellowing "Bite this!" and throwing a punch so hard that it instantly gives the reporter a bloody nose.

Justin rushes over and grabs a wild, struggling Gus around the waist in order to keep him from punching the reporter again. The reporter takes the opportunity to try to retaliate, as if punching a grieving fifteen year old could ever be justified, whether said fifteen year old threw the first punch or not. Justin is contemplating whether to toss Gus behind him or off to the side in order to fight the guy himself. He suddenly doesn't care about his decision to not engage in a fist fight at a funeral. He'll fucking do it. He suddenly doesn't care.

But before Justin can act on his rabid thoughts, both Hunter and Ben make their way between them and face the guy head on.

"Oh, you're not going near him," Hunter says, pushing the guy back.

The reporter attempts to shove Hunter but Hunter back stands his ground. Even if he hadn't been, Ben is right behind Hunter and would probably go from keeping the peace to something a bit more out of character fast if his son was hurt right in front of him.

"Oh, is that what you think?" The reporter snarls, rubbing blood off his face as he gestures out into the street, just as a taxi hits his camera, "That teenage piece of shit ruined thousands of dollars worth of equipment! He probably broke my nose! I'm doing my fucking job here and he's committed property damage and assault! So step out of my fucking way or I'll-"

"Or what?" Hunter asks, stepping closer, "You'll hit me while you are on the clock? Fine. Take a swing. I'm sure your rival stations that are arriving now will love to plaster that all over their stations. It will probably beat out the headline you're trying to get."

The reporter clenches his fists just as Justin sees a reporter from a different station turning their camera on to film the rest of the exchange, "I'm pressing charges against that little fucker-"

"Do it! Looking forward to getting the papers, bitch!" Gus calls out, hitting a second wind that has Justin yanking him into his hold again and taking a few more steps back, all while Lindsay whispers urgently, "Gus, calm down!"

"Yeah, sure," Hunter says, shrugging, "What he said. Do it. But you'd be pressing charges against Brian Kinney's son. Smart move. He probably gives your station practically all of its advertising revenue. So not only will he have one of the best lawyers available to annihilate you in court, but he will also threaten to pull his business from the station you work for unless they fire your ass for crashing his husband's funeral and being a fucking dick to his son."

For the first time since the conversation started, the reporter man actually looks nervous. His face turns white and he takes a step back from Hunter, who only continues to walk toward.

"You know what?" Hunter muses, pulling out his phone, "I want to help you a little, avoid all of that. Let's just call the station now, let them know what happened, tell them that you were rude to a teenage boy outside of his step-father's funeral, so he threw your camera out into the street and punched you. What happened next? Oh, that's right. You threatened to fight him while on the clock, then threatened to press charges against the son of Brian Kinney, the CEO of the biggest and most successful advertising agency in the nation...hey, where are you going? Do you not want to clear the air?"

But apparently the reporter doesn't want to 'clear the air'. He's already walking quickly away towards their news van, his small crew falling in line behind.

"I suggest you all do the same," Hunter says to the two rival news crews on site, his tone and suddenly extremely commanding presence leaving no room for argument. They do it without a word.

"Fucking leeches," Hunter says, while Ben and Michael look at their son in awe. Justin is pretty sure he's looking at him the same way, "Brian's gone, right? I saw him come out with Melanie out of the corner of my eye. They get in the car waiting for them? I tried to keep that going on for as long as I could to distract them."

Justin looks around, as does Gus and everyone else who had witnessed the incident. There is no Brian in sight and Melanie can't be seen either. Justin honestly didn't notice either of them come out and he doesn't think anyone else did either. Hunter had apparently been multitasking in his efforts and had done so well that no one saw Brian leave at all. If Justin's heart weren't pounding and grief weren't still swirling around in his body, he might go as far as to say he finally gets why Molly is so attracted to Hunter. But Justin still has some of his sanity left so he won't say that at all.

"You shouldn't have held me back," Gus mutters as Justin lets him go, "You should have let me push him in front of a taxi."

Before Justin can say a word, Lindsay gives her son a disapproving look, "Gus, you have never gotten into a fight in your life. I'm not saying that man wasn't awful, but-"

"I don't care what you have to say," Gus cuts her off before walking towards the subway station. The rest of them have no choice but to fall in step behind.

"I don't know what to do with him," Lindsay says softly, causing Justin to look at her, "I know he's a teenager, but I have never seen his moods so out of control. He apologized to us the other day for how he's been but now...I don't know."

Justin nods and glances at the back of Gus. Even his walk looks angry.

"He's a kid," Justin says, keeping his eyes on him, "And he's going through something terrible. From what I understand, Lily is acting out too? It may come out different, but it's the same concept."

Lindsay nods and lets out a breath, "Ironic, considering Gus is upset by how Lily has been acting the last few days."

Justin feels his chest ache at the mention of the little girl, "How has she been doing?"

Lindsay briefly closes her eyes and lets out a breath, "Not well. I feel so awful for her. She's throwing tantrums frequently, yelling at people over nothing, having terrible nightmares, and clinging onto Brian to an extent I have never seen from her before. She can usually deal if she knows he will only be gone briefly and is left with certain people. But if she doesn't know exactly when he will be back or if she deems the time he will be gone as too long, she is hysterical and can be hateful. From what I understood from Emmett, she told Brian she hated him last night right before he left. Drew said she was still mad at him this morning and said she never wants to see him again."

Justin bites his lip, "It's normal for kids to say stuff like that, especially when they are going through something they can't process. I know I did. I was older, but I said shit like that to both of my parents when I was twelve or thirteen and to my mom after I woke up from the bashing."

"I said 'I hate you' to Michael and Ben some," Hunter says, appearing on the other side of Justin and falling into step, "More than just some at first. I was testing them. I wanted to see how long it took before they kicked me out because I was fucked up in the head back then and they were safe people that I cared about. I never said crap like that to Rita and James and that wasn't because I loved them more. I legitimately never trusted them or felt comfortable enough to test them out like that. I was scared of them and what they would do to me or - with my mom - make me do. Lily is acting that way towards Brian the most because she trusts him the most. It sucks for him, but he needs to know it weirdly comes from Lily's love and respect for him. She feels abandoned by Eric, scared of being abandoned by her other dad, and wants Brian to prove her wrong."

Justin thinks on Hunter's words as they walk down the steps, then turns to them as they wait for everyone to catch up at the turnstile, Gus waiting on the other side of it stubbornly.

"You know," Justin starts, turning to Hunter to catch his attention, "You may have been a shit when you were a teenager - for the understandable reasons that you mentioned - but you are very perceptive, capable, and mature now. I'm glad Ben and Michael proved you wrong and stuck it out. You grew up to be pretty awesome."

Hunter takes a step back and puts a hand on his chest, already causing Justin to roll his eyes, "That is by far the nicest thing you have ever said to me. I don't know if I like it."

Justin huffs out a laugh, "Don't make me take it back, I already want to. I'm uh...I'm going to let it stay out there though, after what you managed to do, intimidating that reporter into backing down and getting those news crews to leave like it was nothing. I was impressed."

Hunter shrugs, "Used my hustling skills to get them to believe in whatever I was saying, even if some of it was bullshit. Plus, my job literally requires me to manage camera crews. They sensed the cinematographer in me and knew they had to listen."

"That…" Justin starts, then shakes his head, "Hunter, that literally makes no sen-"

"Are we talking about how much of a boss my son is?" Michael asks, looking a strange combination of sad and proud as the rest of the group catches up. Justin only winces slightly at leaving his mother, Nathan, and Petra behind, "There is a reason he is the best DP under thirty, managing them and getting them to just fall in line like that."

"You know what? Whatever," Justin says, already losing interest on the topic as he watches Nathan go through the turnstile to stand next to Gus, "Sure, Hunter's managerial and creative skills carry across all camera crews, regardless of whether he is affiliated with them or not."

"That's the conclusion I came to, yeah," Michael agrees, the rest of them following Hunter through the turnstile to wait for the train to Brian's.

--------------------------------

"This one is named…" Lily starts, inspecting the sewn together monster puppet closely, "Papa."

Molly holds back a sigh and tries to think of a way to get Lily to reconsider. She wouldn't be against it normally. If imaginative play helped Lily process, then she would usually be for it.

She just doesn't know if Brian would be, and she isn't going to step on his toes when he's grieving.

"I don't know," Molly says, looking at the puppet as well, "Your papa was a lot better looking. He didn't have green skin either. Maybe someday we can make a puppet that looks like your Papa, but we should probably make something completely new up today."

"Why?" Lily asks, her expression hardening.

Molly can't think of any bullshit that will dissuade her, so she tells her the truth, "Because we are putting on a play for your daddy, right? So we can cheer up and your Daddy can cheer up. Your Daddy had a really rough day. He's going to be sad when he gets here. It might make him more sad to see a papa puppet."

"So sad that he'll cry?" Lily asks, sounding fearful.

Molly shrugs, "Maybe. I don't know. It's okay for him or anyone else to cry, but we want to try to make him smile today, right?"

Lily watches Molly for several seconds with big eyes, then nods slowly, "Yes. I want Daddy to be happy when he gets back. I wasn't nice to him yesterday. I want to be nice today. When I think about saying mean stuff to Daddy, my heart hurts bad. I just-"

Lily breaks off and sniffles, causing Duncan to scoot in closer, "I was nice before but now I'm mean. Yesterday after lunch, Gussy said I was mean. It hurt my feelings. I don't know why I am mean now. I just get so mad and I don't know why."

Molly nods and rubs Lily's shoulder, "You have had a bad week. No one expects you to be happy all of the time. Sometimes, we say things we don't mean when we feel too much. It builds up more and more and then we say stuff we don't mean, sometimes to the wrong person. It just happens. What's important is what we do after. It's important to say sorry, talk to them about why we were upset, and to try to make the person we yelled at smile again."

Lily nods and looks at the puppet again, "I want to make my daddy smile. He tries sometimes but it doesn't look right, not like before."

Lily lets out at a breath and holds the puppet up, "Shlorgashnoff. That's his name. It's 'cause he's an alien, so his name isn't like other names because he's not like other people."

Duncan looks at the puppet incredulously, "Shornashgoff?"

"Shlor-gash-noff," Lily enunciates before both children burst into giggles.

----------------------------

Brian has never felt out of place in his own home. But ever since coming back from Philadelphia, he doesn't feel welcome within it and the anxiety building over people invading the space doesn't help either.

His mother-in-law is bustling around the kitchen moments within arriving with the rest of her family, as well as Emmett and Drew. From Brian's limited understanding of Spanish, she's muttering about what dishes need prepared first. Everytime Emmett steps in to help and insists she take a break, she snaps at him and forgets to switch back to English.

"Mrs. Davisson," Emmett says nervously, holding his hands out in a placating manner, "You just seem tired. I don't think you should overwork-"

"I cook better than any of you!" She snaps, throwing a spatula down on Brian's counter, "I will cook!"

"Let her do it," Brian says tiredly, rubbing his eyes, "She cooks when she's pissed off."

"I just…" Emmett starts, looking around the room then seems to look defeated, "I will find something else to do, I suppose. Do you need anything done?"

"No," Brian says, his voice sounding dead.

"Well, I'll…" Emmett starts, "I will just go help Drewsie, your father-in-law, and Melanie with moving the chairs. Make sure everyone can be comfortable."

Brian doesn't really care what Emmett does to keep himself busy. Although now he wishes that he had cared enough to keep him in the kitchen with him. Because now? He's with Louisa alone. That hasn't happened in a long time and it definitely hasn't happened since his in-laws arrived for all of...this.

But he should try to be around her, try to be here for the woman who just lost her son, no matter how much fucking pain he is in and no matter how much he wants to walk down to the promenade, climb over the railing and walk down until he hits the river and can force himself to drown. She might be thinking the same fucked up, selfish shit he is and Brian honestly doesn't want her to be in pain. He doesn't want anyone to feel the pain that he is feeling and if she is feeling that way, then it is his fault-

"I think…" Louisa starts, pulling Brian from his thoughts as she turns around to look at him, "I think Lily should stay with us once she's doing better."

Brian blinks and he doesn't even know what to think or say because he isn't even comprehending what Louisa is trying to talk about with him, "For a visit? You want me to bring her down to see you for a week or two?"

Louisa's mouth turns into a grim line, "No, not like that. I think she needs to be with her family."

Brian's heart begins thumping more quickly in his chest as his mouth goes dry and he tries to stay calm, "She does need to be with family. I agree with that. It's why I have barely left the hospital."

"Her blood family. She should primarily live with them," Louisa clarifies, "So that she can stay connected with her father and his heritage-"

"I'm her father!" Brian snaps, standing up and slamming a hand down on the island counter, "She will stay connected to Eric through me!"

"You don't know Spanish and it was important to Eric that his kids speak it. She knows it now but if she doesn't use it she will forget it-"

"Then I will get Lily, the baby, and even myself a fucking tutor!" Brian hisses, taking a few deep breaths before trying to will himself to calm down, "Look, I get you are concerned. I want Lily to be close with you all and I think we should start working on that so things are smooth between us. I know you don't care for me, but -"

"You would still see her. You would be able to whenever you want," Louisa says abruptly as she cuts up peppers, "I'm not heartless."

Brian shakily exhales and waits for Louisa to meet his eyes, "Taking her from her remaining parent would be pretty fucking heartless, Louisa. Taking her from her sister who is going to fucking be here in roughly six weeks-"

"She would come with us too," Louisa says quietly, "If she's Eric's blood, then she should be with us too."

Brian stares at the woman and feels insane. He feels legitimately insane. He feels like screaming at her. He briefly fantasizes of stabbing her with the fucking knife she's holding. He doesn't feel in control, yet he somehow doesn't manage to scream or commit murder.

"And if she's not?" Brian rasps out, walking closer, "What if she turns out to be mine biologically, huh? Are you still going to try to fight me in court for both of them? Or are you just going to be set on ripping Lily away from me and her sister, make her feel like she's less to me than that baby? You think that would be fucking healthy for her?"

Louisa sniffles and turns back towards the food, "You aren't capable right now. You are in a lot of pain. I know I would be if James passed. We would be doing you a favor. So you can focus on yourself and move on."

"Move on?" Brian chokes out, "Move on? You are telling me to move on from my husband today? You want me to move on from my daughter? Fuck you, Louisa! Fuck. You."

But Louisa doesn't say another word. Tears are in her eyes and she just continues to cut up the peppers stubbornly, making it clear that the conversation is over for now. It makes Brian feel angrier and it makes him feel guiltier. Angry that she said it at all and guilty that she might be right. Maybe Lily would be better off living somewhere else, with Eric's family and not with him. He thinks about ending it several times a day. He could wait until Lily has gotten over him and moved on herself. She's young. She could probably do that, grow up a little and no longer think of him as a father. He would only act on it after that.

The thought is selfish and it makes him feel sick. But keeping Lily when he's thinking shit like this probably isn't healthy either. It's definitely selfish too.

He can't do this. He can't fucking do this. Not now. He doesn't want to be around everyone.

He wants to be alone.

--------------------------------

Brian is noticeably missing from the dinner. He isn't there when Justin arrives and he isn't there when everyone sits down to eat. He's not there for the inevitable seconds Louisa forces upon everyone. The food is wonderful but not a lot of people are in the mood to chow down, except for Debbie and Ted, who are probably stress eating.

"Is Brian even here?" Hunter asks, either reading Justin's thoughts or happening to wonder the same exact thing.

"I haven't seen him," Justin says quietly, pushing the food around on this plate. He stares at his plate for several moments, then stands up to walk away from Hunter and towards Emmett instead.

"Hey," Justin says quietly to get Emmett's attention, "Do you uh...Do you know where Brian is? I haven't seen him since leaving the funeral home."

Emmett purses his lips and glances at the steps, "He's upstairs. I couldn't find him once I realized he wasn't here when the food was ready. Scared me to death and I thought I looked everywhere in the house. He wasn't answering his phone and I thought he might have…anyway, he's in one of the guest rooms. I think he's tired. He said he didn't want to come downstairs, declined me bringing him a plate, and that he just wants to be alone. He wouldn't talk about anything. I think he's just waiting until everyone leaves."

Justin nods and looks at the stairs as well, "Would it be okay if…forget it, if you can't get him out of his head-"

"Go ahead and try, baby," Emmett says, then turns pleading eyes to him, "You haven't really talked to him since everything happened, right?"

No, he hasn't. But even as Justin finds himself walking up the stairs, he isn't sure what he can talk to Brian about. He needs to tell him how sorry he is about Eric. He knows he needs to say something on the matter, since he really hasn't yet. He doesn't know why he is struggling so hard with that. It wouldn't be a lie. He is sorry. He's so fucking sorry. Justin's heart is breaking for Brian right now. But sorry sounds so meaningless and it won't make anything better. If anything, it could make Brian feel pitied and Justin knows from experience that Brian doesn't like feeling pitied, that even this grown and changed Brian doesn't want people feeling sorry for him since the life this man cultivated had been one to be envied.

And now it's been shattered.

When he knocks on the guest room door, it inches open. He had thought if he had knocked and Brian hadn't answered, Justin could say that he tried and leave Brian alone if that's what the man wanted or needed. That should be coming first right now anyway. But even though Brian doesn't invite him in, the door opens freely with the minimum force of Justin's knocks, causing a gap just wide enough to reveal Brian completely. He isn't lying down like Justin thought he might be. He's sitting on the side of the bed, clutching a pillow that's balanced on his lap and he's hiding his face into, as if he is exhausted but refuses to lie down or he's trying to smother himself in his sleep. But Justin realizes that Brian isn't asleep when the man lifts his head, his eyes only slightly bloodshot from with exhaustion, crying, or both. Justin opens his mouth to offer his condolences but something else comes out instead.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

-------------------------

Justin manages to get Brian out of the house without people noticing, except for Drew who doesn't say much about it when he sees the two of them at the front door. He just sees that they are putting their coats on and silently holds out the keys to his SUV and says, "Let me know where you want to meet tonight so that I can get them back to take Duncan home."

It's easier to drive Brian, or at least that's what Justin had thought when they initially got to the car. In some ways, it's true. Driving Brian makes it so there are no strangers in the mix. No foot traffic or people bustling in and out of train cars. No uber or taxi driver trying to make conversation. In that regard, it makes things better.

On the other hand, it makes the ride completely silent. He doesn't know if Brian feels uncomfortable with the silence or if he simply doesn't care. All Justin knows is that he doesn't quite know what to say now, so he just drives Brian around until he's over in Williamsburg.

"I know you probably aren't hungry," Justin says quietly, finally breaking the silence that has been persisting since leaving the house, "But you should eat something. Maybe get some food that's easy on your stomach. This ramen place I know is good. Has sushi and stuff too-"

"Fine," Brian says and Justin shuts up until they get to the restaurant and Justin ends up ordering for the both of them since Brian simply doesn't seem to care about looking at the menu to choose for himself. They don't talk as they wait and they don't talk as the food is put in front of them. Justin digs into his while Brian doesn't touch his own bowl. It should be the other way around. Brian hasn't eaten and Justin is fucking full from the dinner back at the house. But eating gives Justin something to do other than sitting there because just sitting silently with Brian is starting to get nerve-wracking and-

"Louisa wants Lily to live in North Carolina with them."

The words stab through the silence like a knife and Justin forces himself to swallow the remaining noodles and broth in his mouth before answering, "Well, tough shit. If she wants to see Lily, then she can come to see both of you or invite you both down to visit. She can't fucking take her just because she wants to."

Brian nods absentmindedly, staring at nothing for a moment before responding, "She...She made some good points. She would be more connected to Eric through them and I'm uh...I'm not fit right now. To take care of a kid."

Justin's heart feels like he's sinking in his chest at the words. He feels the need to reach out and take Brian's hand but he holds himself back, keeps himself from giving Brian any physical comfort because he has no idea how he'll respond to it, but he must hesitate too long because Brian looks away and seems almost ashamed for admitting what he's been thinking.

"Brian," Justin says, clearing his throat, "Brian, hey, look at me."

Brian hesitates too, but Justin waits him out. Fuck appropriate social timing.

"You have plenty of help here," Justin says softly, "You don't have to feel on top of things right now to continue being Lily's dad. A lot of people want to help you. The right way, not the way Louisa is proposing. You might feel alone right now, but I promise that you are not. Don't let that woman get into your head. Please. I feel for her and I know she's hurting. Maybe in some weird way, she's trying to make up with Eric. But he would not want Lily with anyone else but you. You know that. And Lily would not want to be with anyone else but you. You know that too. Her living with someone else would end up hurting both of you. You are her dad. Fuck genetics. You're more her family than her grandparents are, you're the closest family she has."

Brian shakes his head and sniffles, "She fucking hates me. She told me last night-"

"And if you weren't in the headspace you are in right now, you would have thought she was being dramatic," Justin finishes, "She's hurting and she took it out on you because she feels the safest around you."

Brian blinks several times then covers his face for a few moments. Just as Justin is preparing himself for a potential breakdown, Brian puts his hands down and takes the napkin off his lap, "I should go back to the hospital. I told her I would be back tonight. I already have a bag there. Can you give me a ride?"

Justin nods then gestures towards Brian's untouched meal, "As long as you take that back with you and eat it when you feel like you can."

The ride to the hospital is silent too, but it's a lot more comfortable than before.

-------------------

"Are you still medtating, Duncan?"

Molly looks up from her book at the sound of the whisper and rolls her eyes when she sees Lily peeking out from underneath her cucumber slice.

"I'm still medtating," Lily lies in a soft voice when Duncan doesn't answer from the loveseat, "I like medtating. I like it because you get to put cream on your face and vegetables on your eyes and you listen to weird music."

"Lily," Molly whispers, redirecting her attention away from the actually successfully meditating little boy, "Relax. Five more minutes. Clear your mind, which means no talking inside of your head or outside of it. It calms you down, remember?"

"Yes, yes it does," Lily agrees, then settles back down.

It's quiet for three and a half minutes. Molly is honestly shocked that they are able to stay quiet for as long as they have, Duncan more so than Lily since Lily keeps breaking every few minutes to check on her surroundings but even she is more successful than Molly thought she would be. She might have made it the full five minutes if Brian hadn't walked in. Justin too.

Brian doesn't break Lily's concentration immediately and Molly watches him closely as he takes off his winter coat before watching his daughter. His expression changes from deeply depressed to incredulous to almost amused.

"You going to start chanting a mantra soon?" Brian asks, causing Lily to flip the cucumbers off of her eyelids in excitement. Molly watches her closely as Lily opens her mouth, likely to give Brian her typical squeal of joy, but seems to second guess herself or feel self-conscious. Lily studies Brian closely, looking as if she's yearning for him but is worried about something.

"Hi, Daddy," she says softly, trying to smile at him hopefully before biting the inside of her cheek, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was very mad and I don't know why. I am really, really sorry."

Brian sucks in a breath and Molly is instantly worried he might get emotional over Lily's apology. She couldn't blame him. He's obviously had a rough day. She just knows Lily wouldn't be able to read into that and would probably get upset too.

But Brian manages to rein it in and tries to smile at the little girl, "It's okay. I'm not upset with you. I know you didn't mean it. You were having a hard day."

Lily nods seriously and looks down at her blanket, "Really hard."

Brian slowly walks over and sits on the side of Lily's hospital bed, where she instantly scoots over to lean against Brian, getting her face mask on his suit jacket in the process. Brian doesn't seem to care, Armani or not.

"You have a better day today?" Brian asks softly, his arm around her.

Lily nods, "Yes. Duncan and me wrote a book! It's in Spanish! I transdavid. And we made puppets and built a puppet stage and we wrote a play! We made galaxy jars and a board game too! And now, we are medtating because that's what I do now."

"Duncan actually might be asleep," Molly notices in amusement, considering he hasn't reacted to Brian and Justin coming in at all.

"That sounds like a good day," Brian smiles, "I'm really happy you had a good time."

"Molly is the best," Lily says insistently, "She's so smart and so pretty. I asked if she could do my makeup and she said not today but she did my nails and put stuff on my face to make it all soft and nice. I got to wash it off now. I was keeping myself occpeed while I waited by medtating but now it's time to wash it off. Will you help me?"

Brian nods and briefly goes to the bathroom, only to come back out with a couple of wet washcloths. Lily waits patiently as her father washes her face.

"Is it soft?" Lily asks, taking her father's hand to put it on her face. Brian strokes her face a few times before pressing a kiss to Lily's forehead.

"Softer than a baby," Brian says and Lily does a double take.

"I am not a baby," Lily reminds him, but then gets excited, "You want to watch my play?"

"Of course," Brian says, then glances at Duncan, "But your costar is down for the count. It might have to be postponed for now."

Lily looks at Duncan and lets out a sigh, "I 'pose. Another day. Soon. Maybe tomorrow. We can read my book tonight though. In English, if you want. I can do both, I don't mind. Don't worry, Daddy. It's not a sad book. It's a funny book. So, SO funny. In Spanish and in English."

Brian nods, "We can read it both ways. I'm looking forward in seeing what you came up with."

"It's so good," Lily says confidently.

"I got a text from Drew," Justin says, causing Molly's head to turn, "They said they didn't mind meeting us back at the apartment. To get Duncan and the car. Brian...do you uh...do you want one of us to stay?"

Brian looks at Lily for a long moment and doesn't take his eyes off of her when he says, "We'll be fine."

Justin gets Duncan up and washes his face before picking the half asleep boy up, along with his backpack. Together, Molly, Justin, and Duncan make their way down the hall. They are almost to the elevator when Molly feels a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around.

"I wanted to give you this," Brian says, ripping a check out of the book, "I know Drew is paying you too but you...Lily's my kid and you made her…"

Brian doesn't finish his sentence and hands the check over instead.

Molly looks down at the check and gapes, "Brian, I don't want this."

"It's a fair payment, I think," Brian says, "Unless you want to negotiate for more."

"More than a thousand dollars for watching two kids for the day?" Molly says incredulously, "You know that's a ridiculous amount, right?"

"I make a lot more a day," Brian shrugs, "You managed to do something that I couldn't. So please, just take it. And cash it. Don't let it sit there."

Molly lets out a breath, "Okay, if you really ins-"

Before Molly can finish her sentence, Brian yanks her into an impulsive hug before letting her go and walking back towards Lily's room without another word.

------------------------------

"You did good, Molly."

Molly turns her head at the sound of Justin's voice and accepts the glass of wine he hands her before sipping it briefly while she pets Katniss and glances at the door every so often as she waits for Hunter to come back with Archimedes. Apparently, he chose a long walk tonight.

You good? she texts him, only to quickly get a response back.

Not dead in a back alley.

"I'm serious," Justin says softly, "Brian...He was not doing well today. At all. He didn't go to dinner. He got into a fucked up argument with his mother-in-law. For him to come back to a relatively happy Lily? He really fucking needed that. It was like-"

"She saw," Molly interrupts, making herself look at Justin as she says it as Justin looks confused.

"She saw what?" Justin asks, confused.

"She saw something," Molly says, "I don't know how much, but she saw what happened to Eric. She talked about how he should have ran away from the bad men. She didn't want to say anything else. But she saw."

Justin's face goes pale and he shakily exhales, "...Fuck. Mol...Molly, no."

"I know Brian needs to know," Molly continues, looking away, "But I couldn't bring myself to do that to him today. I thought...I thought maybe I can tell Emmett and Drew and they can let him know, or at least let him know with me. Apparently, Duncan remembers his biological dad getting killed. He says he's never said anything to his dads and he only brought it up because Lily was talking about a bad man hurting Eric. So that needs to be discussed with Emmett and Drew too."

"Jesus Christ," Justin says, standing up and putting his hands on his head, pacing slowly around the room before turning around, "Why the fuck are you so easy to confide in?"

"My sunny and non-judgmental disposition," Molly says in a deadpan voice.

"Damn it," Justin chokes out as Hunter walks in with the puppy, the only being in the apartment who is truly happy and carefree at the moment.