Prologue

Aiden’s Plight

Brian got off the plane.  He hadn’t been in Seattle for a while.  He didn’t have to wait for any luggage so he went out and grabbed a cab. He gave the driver the address and sat back in the seat.  He pulled out his phone and checked for emails from Mel. As angry as he was at her and Lindsay, he needed her right now.  As soon as he had gotten to the terminal at the airport in Montana, he had called her.

“What the fuck do you want, Kinney!  I don’t understand how you can even have the gaul to call me after what you did at your….”

“Don’t go there, Marcus.  You both have been acting like children while our son is trying to be the mature one.  He is great by the way.  Two months away from the two of you….” Brian stopped and took a deep breath. “Mel, I don’t have time for this.  We can spew at each other another time but right now it’s about Aiden.”

“Aiden? Oh, Brian, he isn’t sick again, is he?”

“No, actually he is doing very well but Justin’s ex is causing issues.  He is going to fight us for shared custody or at least visitation.  Mel, what can we do? We are not letting him have our boy, no matter what.”

They had talked until he had to board the plane so now he was seeing what she had found out. Her message said, ‘I reviewed your custody paperwork.  I found his attorney’s name but his office just opened.  I will call you as soon as I have contacted him and know what he is planning.’  It went on and said, ‘Why did you go to Seattle? What do you think you could do?  Don’t do something stupid and screw this up for all of you.’

Brian reread her short email and realized he wasn’t sure what he was going to do but he couldn’t sit back and let that asshole try to take his son. The cab stopped in front of an upscale townhouse and Brian got out and paid the driver. He stood there watching the car drive away before turning toward the walkway and he made his way to the door.

Brian pressed the doorbell and waited.  He could hear steps from inside.  The door opened quickly and Daklin said, “Yes, can I help you?” Daklin looked at the gorgeous man standing in front of him and as he looked at him from the top of his head with that thick, dark hair all the way to the toes of his brown Ferragamos, he had a feeling he should know who he was. 

Brian looked at the shorter man in front of him, “You definitely can.” Brian had decided he was going to try to make this a business deal.  He stood straight and offered his hand.  “My name is Brian Kinney.  I am the man married to your ex and who is the father of the boy you had with Justin, and,” Brian pushed his way past Daklin, “I am going to tell you why you will never have any right to our son!”

Chapter 1

Justin had a bad feeling the whole flight from the cabin to Pittsburgh.  Aiden had spent his time with Victor learning french and Ted had been catching up on some work but eventually he put his computer away and sat next to Justin across the aisle.  “I thought you might need a little time.  I could hear you thinking.” 

Justin leaned against Ted for a moment.  “Do you know what he is up to?”

“Not really.  I am sure you are thinking the same thing I am.”

“I am thankful he loves our boys as much as I do but we both know he can get carried away.”

“I emailed him a bit ago and told him to think before he reacted.  I told him Mel wouldn’t bail him out and our senior lawyer at the office is out of the states right now.” 

“Did he respond?”

“No, and he should have landed over an hour ago.”

“Ted, you’ll tell me if you hear from him, won’t you?”

“Justin, he is my boss but I promise if I think he is out of control, I’ll let you know.”

“And you’ll let me know when he heads home?”

“I’ll make sure he contacts you.”

“I hate that our best friend works for him!” Justin said and then smiled at Ted.  “I know you’ll do what’s right.”  

The men hugged and Ted stood.  “I need to stretch.” He wandered to the back of the plane.

“Daddy, is everything alright? Where did Big Daddy go?”  Aiden asked as he crawled onto the seat Ted had vacated.

“He had something he wanted to take care of in Washington.”

“Isn’t that where I was born?”

“Yes, it is, Aiden.” Justin changed the subject, “Did you learn any new words in French today?” Aiden talked the next five minutes and then he fell asleep with his head on Justin’s lap.

“Get the hell off of my property,” Dak shouted as he tried to slam the door shut. “You can’t threaten a man in his own home.”

“The hell I can’t, especially since you are threatening to take something I would give my life for you and you threw away like a piece of trash.”

“That is not true.  Your lawyer didn’t give me a choice and at the time I didn’t have the money to fight you but that has changed.” By now Brian had pushed his way into his apartment and the men stood toe to toe.  Daklin looked up into Brian’s face. “Damn, you are as tempting as Justin

used to say, but at the time, he said there wasn’t an ounce of warmth in your heart although he did say that in bed…”  Dak looked at Brian, “And Justin, damn, his body is so amazing…”

Brian reached for his shirt and said, “If he was so hot why did you find someone else to fuck?”  Brian took a deep breath.  “Justin isn’t the issue right now.”

“You’re right!  Aiden is the issue and I can give him what he needs.  I can now afford fancy doctors like you can and nannies and…”

“You can let others raise your son? Aiden has a family that loves him and that he loves.  He doesn’t know you.  He won’t feel safe with you.  When he ends up in the hospital, and he will many times with NTDT, are you going to hold his hand? Are you going to kiss him when they are drawing blood for the third time that day?” Brian looked at Daklin who had stepped back a bit. He would swear he wasn’t listening to him but undressing him with his eyes.  “So are you in a relationship or do you plan to play super dad and do it yourself?”

“I…”

“You have no idea what you are going, do you?” 

“Mr. Kinney, I am going to ask you once more to leave or I will call the police.”

“Who’s your lawyer? He or she might as well start talking to my lawyer.  We cannot drag anything out.  Every minute of this will hurt Aiden.  When he is stressed, he gets sick.”

“Who is your lawyer? Give me her number and I will have mine contact yours.”

“Fine!” Brian dug through his wallet and tossed Mel’s card out on the floor.  “If she doesn’t get a call, you will!  And trust me, you don’t want to deal with that vindictive cunt.”

“Why is she your lawyer if you don’t like her?”

“Because she can make almost anyone cry.” With that he turned and walked out, leaving the door wide open.

Brian realized he didn’t have a car.  He crossed the street to a park and then called for a cab. He sat on a bench, watching kids play in the playground.  He got a message from the cab company stating there would be a delay due to an accident on the freeway.  Brian read his emails and found the one from Ted.  He would text back soon.  He had to figure out what was going on.  Brian glanced up and saw a little blonde and Aiden came to his mind.  He had often told himself that all of this was for Justin.  He knew how Justin would be devastated but who was he kidding, he watched the boy slide down a slide, just the thought of losing him, made Brian die a little inside.

“Sir,” Brian heard a voice.  “Sir!” he felt a hand shake his shoulder and Brian snapped out of his stupor. His first reaction was to yank his shoulder out of the man’s grip and then he saw it was a policeman.

“Oh, is something wrong, officer?”

“Well, that depends on why a 40 something year old man is sitting on a park bench staring at a  group of children.”

Brian hadn’t thought about what that looked like. “Oh, sir, I’m waiting for a cab.” He showed the message on his phone from dispatch. 

“Do you mind if I join you for a couple minutes?” The man, about 10 years older than his 46 years, sat down on the other end of the bench.  “You seem like a man with something on your mind.”

“What are you, a psychologist?” Brian said, smiling at him. 

“Well, actually, I used to be one of the counselors for the department. I got shot during a hostage situation so now I work part time doing foot patrol in the parks as a safety officer. I happened to be walking by and a mother stopped me.”

“I’m sorry.  I hadn’t even thought about how this looked.” Brian glanced back and the boy was no longer there. And then Brian did something he never did.  He started sharing. “I came into town to talk to my son’s father.  He is threatening to take my boy away.”

“And let me guess, your son is about seven years old and blonde.”

“Yes. So do you work this park often?”

“Actually, almost every day.  I live close and I volunteer here after they had a couple close calls before we arrested a pedifile.”

“Thank god you did.  Do you know people in the neighborhood?”

“I know a good share of them.  We investigated anyone that fit the profile.”

“Did you investigate a man named Daklin?”

“Yours son’s father?”

“Yes, he lives right…”

“I know where he lives.  I know I shouldn’t be telling you this and I don’t even know your name but Daklin, although not the most pleasant man in the world, was thoroughly investigated and cleared.  He shared a lot of physical similarities to the man convicted.”

“I’m glad to know that anyway,” Brian said.

“About a year after that case, I saw his name in the papers.  He had made a windfall in some business deal.  He had his place completely remodeled and I have to admit I kind of watched that place.  I just didn’t like the guy.  Obviously I didn’t hold that against him and I am not saying he does anything illegal.”I’m Cal, by the way.”

“Brian Kinney.” Out of habit he reached in his pocket and handed the man his card.

“So you and your wife are raising his son?”

“Not quite.  I am married to his ex husband but I have raised that boy since he was a year old.”

As he said that a cab pulled up to the curb. The older gentleman said, “Looks like your ride finally made it.  I’ll keep an eye on the place and let you know if I hear anything.”

Brian smiled at him and extended his hand and they shook, “Thanks, nice chatting with you.” Brian waved at the cab and strode away.  That guy doesn’t have nearly enough to do, he thought as he got into the vehicle.  “Just take me to the airport.”

While on the road, Brian looked for a flight home, hoping he could crawl in bed with Justin before sunrise. 

“Hey Dad, have you heard from Dad?” Gus asked as they rode home from the airport.

“All I have heard is that he landed safely.” 

Gus glanced over at Aiden and when he was sure he was asleep he said softly, “Is he being stupid? What’s he doing in Seattle?”

“I hope he isn’t.  My ex is threatening to take Aiden. He thinks he can get custody.”

“The hell he can.  He isn’t taking my brother across the country.  I promised Aiden I would always…” Gus started getting upset now.  “I could have gone with him.  I….”

“Gus, your mom is working on it already.”

“She is so screwed up.  Are you sure she can actually do anything?”

Justin reached over Aiden’s car seat and squeezed his shoulder, “Gus, you know their relationship is over and hopefully, they can find someone that makes them happy.  Mel loves you and he knows how much you love Aiden and she loves him, too.  She will do whatever it takes to get this case dropped.”

“Ya, I guess I am still kind of screwed up because of all their shit but I do want them to be happy.  I just hope they don’t try to drag me into it.”

“Son, if you feel that pressure let your dad and I know. We won’t let them drag you down again.”

“I won’t, Dad.”

“And Gus, if…”

“Dad, I promise I will come to you if  I am feeling shaky.” The van pulled into the circular drive. “You take Aiden in. I will make sure the bags get in the house.”

Justin took Aiden out of his seat and gave Gus a quick kiss on the cheek.  “I love you, Gus.”

“I love you,too, Dad.  Now, go take care of Aiden.”

Justin put Aiden down in his room.  He knew how hard traveling was on Aiden, even if he didn’t admit it. By the time he came downstairs he found all the bags sitting in the entry and Gus coming from the kitchen with a soda in each hand.  He gave one to Justin.

“I'll bring the bags up in a few minutes.”

“We can bring them up later.” Justin dropped on the sofa in front of the TV, “Sit with me?” As Gus dropped down next to him and within a few minutes Gus and Justin had both drifted off.

Brian texted Justin from the airport.  He had tried to get a flight but was told there was no way he would make it home tonight and he let Justin know he had a flight early in the morning which would get him home mid afternoon tomorrow. As Brian thought about Justin and his boys he noticed an airline worker watching him.  He smiled at her and raised the glass of wine he had in his hand and before he realized it she was sitting across from him. He ordered her a soda and they chatted for a few minutes. 

“I saw you talking to Jill, at the ticket desk.  You seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere.” She gave him her sweetest smile. “I’m Marcia, by the way.”

“Brian. I was trying to get home to my family.”  He watched Marcia sag a bit.

“I should have known a man that looks as good as you either had a wife and kids or was gay.”

“Well, close.  I have a husband and kids.  All I want to do is get home to Pittsburgh and be with them.”

“Let’s see what I can do for you.  Finish that wine and follow me.”

Brian downed the last of the wine and followed Marcia into a back office. “So, Brian, how much are you willing to spend?”

“I always fly first class.  I understood that I could get out of here but would spend the night in Omaha or Detroit. Neither are at the top of my list to spend the night alone in an airport.”

Marcia’s fingers were flying over a keyboard. “This is a little crazy but, do you have any luggage?”

“No, Justin took that with him.” 

“How fast can you run?” Something was printing. “You need to sprint to gate 27.” She walked at a fast pace next to Brian,  “Don’t stop until you are in a seat on that plane. Once you are settled,   you can read through the rest of this stuff. You are switching airlines and your flight is supposed to leave at the same time this one lands but I have it on good authority that they will be delayed.  It will get you home around midnight. I put my phone number on there.  If you miss your flight, call and I will see what I can do.”

“Marcia,” Brian took both of Marcia’s upper arms and kissed her loudly.  “I love you!” he called over his shoulder as he sprinted through the terminal.

“Daddy, you ok?” Aiden crawled up on the sofa between Gus and Justin.

Justin wrapped his arms around Aiden and kissed his cheek. “I guess we were all just tired.” 

From behind them, Gus moved and soon his arms were around both of them. “Can I get in on this love fest? And by the way, I am STARVING!” 

“Well, you two continue the love and I will order pizza, they promise it in 30 minutes.” Justin ordered.  “I’m going to throw the one load of wash that we brought home dirty.”

“Gus?”

“Ya, bro?”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Is it something serious?” Gus smiled at his brother as he pulled him onto his lap.

Aiden straddled Gus’ lap and looked into Gus’ eyes, “I just wanted to tell you that I like this Gus so much more than the old Gus.  I always loved you, but there were times it was really hard to like you.”

Gus held onto his little brother, “I am so sorry I was mean to you.  I promise I will never do that again.”

Justin’s phone rang on the coffee table near the boys and Aiden leaned back snagging it off the table.  “It’s Big Daddy!” Aiden answered,  “Big Daddy, are you in Pittsburgh?”

“Aid, I only have a minute.  Where’s your Dad?” 

“Daddy, Big Daddy’s on the phone. He is doing laundry, Daddy. Gus is giving me a hug.”

“Aiden, please let me talk to Gus.  I only have a minute.”

“Daddy it is so good….”

“Aiden, I need to...shit, I have to go. Let your dad know I’m coming home.”

Gus looked at Aiden, “What did Dad say?” Gus started tickling him and Justin walked into the squeals of giggles from Aiden and then the doorbell rang and both Aiden and Gus yelled, ‘PIZZA!” And the call from Brian was forgotten.

Justin and Aiden walked up the stairs and they sat on Aiden’s bed and took turns reading the first book and then Justin read him one more book. As Justin tucked the nearly sleeping boy in, Aiden mumbled something about Big Daddy calling.  “Brian called? Aiden?” But Aiden was sound asleep.

Justin walked over to Gus’ room, knocking. “Come in,” Gus responded.

“Hey, Gus, Aiden just said something about Brian calling.  “Was he just talking in his sleep?”

“No, I forgot.  Just as the pizza got here, Aiden had answered a call from Dad.”

“What did he say?”

“Aiden was the only one that talked to him.”

“You didn’t hear any of the call?”

“Sorry, no.  He did say something about when he was coming home. He was probably just going to give us the flight number and stuff.”

“Ok, I’ll see I can get him.  It is three hours earlier in Washington.  Goodnight, Gus.  I think I will just read in bed for a while and try to get a hold of him. Did JR have a good time?”

“Ya, he said it was one of the best times he ever had.”

“Love you.  I will see you in the morning.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

After several tries, Justin gave up getting Brian on the phone and finally he just texted him. ‘Bri, I know you talked to Aiden but if you told him anything, he didn’t pass it on.  Let me know when you will be home tomorrow and I will meet you at the airport.’  He hit send but then typed in one more thing. ‘I love you, Brian. The bed is too big for one.’

Brian’s plane landed at 12:27 a.m. and by 12:35 he was in a cab.   He told the driver there was a $100 tip if the driver got him home by 1:15 a.m.  The driver would have to speed but it was doable this time of the night.  Brian debated whether  to text Justin but he decided he would just slip into bed.  He wouldn’t wake him up. 

When he arrived at 1:10, he paid the fare and handed him the $100.  Brian let himself in the house and punched in the security code.  He expected GC and then remembered Molly was bringing him back tomorrow. He grabbed a bottle of water and poured himself a shot and after drinking it he took his bottle of water and moved upstairs.  He looked into Gus’ room and found him playing a video game.  

“Dad, you’re home!”

“Trouble sleeping?”

“Ya, I’m still on mountain time I guess.”

“Did Aiden tell you I was coming home?”

“Dad, three seconds after he got off the phone with you, pizza was delivered and when Dad asked what you said, all he could say was you were coming home.  Dad said he would call you in the morning and find out when he should pick you up.”  

Brian walked over to Gus and kissed his forehead.  “Get some sleep pretty soon.” Brian walked to the door and turned, “Gus, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Dad. Glad you got home.”

Brian looked in at Aiden and pulled the blankets up a little higher and then he moved on to his Sunshine.  He slipped in, not wanting to wake him if he was deep in sleep. He dropped his clothes in a chair, drank a bunch of his water, and slipped into the bathroom to piss before getting into bed.

Justin came out of a deep sleep.  He noticed the thin slit of light coming from under the bathroom door. In his haze he said, “Brian,” under his breath.  A second later Justin was out ofbed and looking for a weapon.  In the dark, he grabbed a heavy crystal vase and moved behind the door as the light was shut off in the bathroom and the door opened.

Brian’s eyes adjusted quickly and he could see Justin was no longer in bed.  As Justin lifted the vase above his head, Brian called out softly, “Sunshine, where did you go?”

Justin’s arms were on their way down when he realized it was Brian.  Mid Swing he turned his body and ended up hitting the wall behind him shattering the vase in a million  pieces.

“What the hell?” Brian yelled.

“Oh, god, Brian!  I could have killed you.  I didn’t expect you!” He took a step toward Brian and then cried out.

“Don’t move.  Let me get slippers on and I’ll turn on the light.” Brian took a big stride away and then flipped on the light before slipping on his slippers.  He looked back and saw Justin leaning against the wall holding up one foot.  Brian saw blood dripping from it. He scooped him up and carried him around the glass, setting him down on the bed. “I’m going to grab towels from the hall closet.”  He was back in a couple minutes with towels and a first aid kit.

“Brian, it isn’t bad, really.”  

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He went down on one knee and lifted Justin’s foot up.  It really was a very small spot that was bleeding but there was a piece of glass sticking out. “Can you find a tweezer in that kit?” Justin looked and handed Brian a large  tweezer.  “I need to take a piece out before I can wrap it.  Scoot up and lay down.” Justin’s foot was now right at the edge of the bed so it was much more steady.  He took the tweezer and carefully pulled it out. Justin yipped like a dog who got his paw stepped on.

“Dads, I don’t know if I even dare ask but are you two alright? I heard one of you yell.”

“Hey, Gus, could you go get a broom and dustpan. Oh, and put shoes on before you come in.”

Gus came back and started sweeping up the glass.  “What happened?”

“Sunshine didn’t realize I was home and was going to nail me with the vase.  Instead it hit the wall and…”

“I got the picture.” He looked at Justin, “Are you alright, Dad?” He looked at Brian.  “Is it bad?”

“As long as I got all the glass out, he will be fine.”

“I can’t promise I got all the glass but I tried. Is it Ok if I go to bed?” 

“Go, Gus,” Justin smiled at his son.

Gus walked over and kissed Justin and then kissed the top of Brian’s head, “See you in the morning.”  Gus left, shutting the door to the hall.  

While they had been talking Brian had taken some gauze, went around the foot several times and then put tape on it.  Brian stood and put away the first aid kit before turning off the light and then joined Justin in the bed.

“Damn, am I glad you are home.” Justin pulled Brian into his arms.  “Did you tell Aiden you were coming?”

“I did but I wasn’t sure if he had that straight.” Brian’s mouth covered Justin’s and Justin wrapped a leg around Brian’s hip. They kissed and touched for several minutes. They rocked back and forth rubbing their pelvis together. 

“Bri, I’m going …. Oh, god.” Brian moved down Justin’s body and took his cock in his mouth. It was only moments before Justin arched and Brian, after taking all he had to offer, moved up and pulled Justin into his arms.

“I should have known Aiden wouldn’t let you know. He’s too young to be responsible for something like that.”  Brian told Justin about the flight attendant and all her help getting him home.

“Are you going to tell me what happened in Seattle?” Justin curled up against Brian, feeling content now.

“I know it was stupid.  I just needed him to know that he couldn’t win.  It took me almost 35 years to learn what love really was and I will never give up anything I love. The stupidest thing I ever did was let you leave. It will never happen again.”

“Mel is working on it already.  We may not be happy with either of them but we know both Mel and Lindz love Aiden.”

“Yes, we do,” Brian said as his hand grazed Justin’s cock but he moved past it and pulled up the blankets.  “Does your foot hurt?”

“It throbs a bit but I don’t think there is more glass in there.”

“Ted and Victor are coming over tomorrow so Victor can look at it, just to be sure.”

“Does he have to? I would rather he doesn’t go poking around.”

“I know but I would rather you don’t get an infection.”

“Are you willing to negotiate this?” As Justin spoke he ran his tongue along Brian’s jaw and then moved down Brian’s lean body and now, as Justin took Brian’s cock into his mouth.

“This is not fair.  Oh, fuck, I hope Mel negotiates as well as….” Brian couldn’t talk any more as he felt Justin’s lips on the base of his cock and the tip of it was rubbing the back of his throat.

“Big Daddy, you made it home!” Aiden stood next to the bed. “And you and Daddy are naked, aren’t you?”

Brian lifted Aiden up and set him down on top of the blanket. Aiden kissed first Brian and then Justin.

“Aiden, did you forget to tell me Big Daddy was coming home?”

“I told you, Daddy.  You were washing some clothes and I told you he was coming home sometime soon.”

Justin wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him down.  “How are you feeling today?

“Je suis un peu fatigué.” Aiden rattled off in French.

“So you’re tired?”

“I didn’t know you spoke French, Daddy.”

“I really don’t but I knew the word fatigue. You are amazing. When did you learn that much?”

“Uncle Victor is a good teacher.”

Brian leaned over Aiden and kissed Justin. “Aiden, I think you should take it easy today.  In just a couple days you will be off to first grade so I am afraid you really need to rest.”  

Aiden lost the sparkle in his eyes and snuggled against  Justin. “I wish I didn’t get sick all the time.”

“Oh, son, we wish that, too, but we are going to do our best so you don’t get very sick. I’m sorry you miss out sometimes.” Justin held his son tightly.

“Well, this weekend your dad is going to be sitting with you.” Brian said.  “How is your foot?”

“What happened, Daddy?” Aiden looked at Justin with true concern.

“It is nothing serious, Aid.  I just got a little cut on my foot last night so it will probably hurt to walk for a day or two.”

Aiden looked at Brian, “Big Daddy, you need to call Uncle Victor.  He can make anything better.  Call him now!” 

“Well, they will be here in an hour so I will ask him to bring his doctor bag with him. Why don’t you go get dressed while we take a quick shower and we will meet you down in the kitchen in a short while, Ok?” Brian lifted Aiden up and set him on the floor. 

“Ok, can I get a juice box if I get down first.”

“Of course you can. And we promise it won’t be long.”

Aiden waved at his daddies and walked out of the room.

“Now, let’s see if you can stand on your foot.”  Brian said as he walked to Justin’s side of the bed.

Justin set his feet on the floor and with Brian to balance against he stood on his good foot and tried putting pressure, “Fuck!” 

“How bad?”

“Not good, but with you to lean on… I do need a shower.”

“I could give you a sponge bath,” Brian lifted an eyebrow. 

“You just promised our son we would be right down.”

“A shower it is.”

Fifteen minutes later they walked downstairs, Justin leaning heavily on Brian. To their surprise, Gus was standing at the counter making something.

“I didn’t expect to see you up already.” Brian said as he helped Justin sit next to Aiden, who instantly curled up next to him. When Brian turned and looked at Gus he had worry run through him.  He walked over to stand next to him. He slipped an arm around his son’s waist.  “What is it, Gus?”

Softly Gus said, “JR texted me all night. He is so worried about his little brother.”

“What’s happening?”

“His little brother called him last night and he could hear Ray’s dad shouting in the back.  He called the police when the phone went dead and, well, now no one answers at his brother’s house.”

“He told Ted and Victor, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but they had to wait until this morning to find anything out. When are they supposed to be here?”

“In about 40 minutes.  When I texted Victor he didn’t mention it.”

“Dad, JR will feel horrid if anything happens to him.  He never trusted Ray’s dad.”

“We will help in any way we can. Did you talk to your mom?”

“Ya, she and Uncle Ted have already talked. I’m going to put sausage and bacon in the oven. I need to do something so I figured making breakfast was the best I could do.”

Brian kissed his son’s curls, “Molly and her crew should be here soon with GC.”

“Yeah. I have missed my puppy.” Aiden called as he laid his head in Justin’s lap.

There is a knock on the front door and Aiden heard GC yip.  In a flash he was up and at the front door. He opened it and both Tasha and GC rushed in. Tasha, Molly and Spencer's daughter, hugged Aiden while Aiden hugged GC. Molly dropped down next to her brother, having heard about the injury already in a text. 

“Daddy,” Aiden ran up to Justin.  “Can we go play with GC until breakfast is ready?”

“If one of your dads will sit out there with you,” Justin said.  “I don’t want you out there alone.  Aiden isn’t feeling 100% after our busy day yesterday.”

“Well, Spenc, do you want to be suis chef for Gus or go out with the other kids?”

“I’ll help Gus.  Molly says I'm not half bad helping in the kitchen unless Gus has a preference.”

“You can start chopping some peppers and onions to go in the scrambled eggs.”

“So how exactly did you hurt your foot, Justin?” Molly looped her arm in his.

“I dropped a vase last night in the dark and stepped on a piece. Please don’t tell Brian, but it is killing me.  Victor will look at it when he gets here. Speaking of Victor, I am surprised they aren’t here yet. Gus, have you heard from JR?”

“Not for an hour. Spenc, throw the vegetables in that pan and add a little more butter.”

Just as Justin pulled his phone out, a message came in.  “They’ll be here in ten minutes.  Hear that Gus?”

“Yep!  I’ll start mixing the eggs.”

“Justin,” Molly laid her head on his shoulder, “Aiden looks a little pale this morning.”

“He’s fine.  Jet lag ala Aiden.  We will make him take it easy this weekend and he will be ready for school on Tuesday.”

Soon the doorbell rang and Molly got up, “I’ll get it gimpy.”

“Haha,” Justin said deliberately. 

JR walked in the door with a small boy next to him.  The small boy hung onto JR’s hand and when Molly smiled and said, “You must be JR.  I’m Molly, Justin’s sister, and who is this?” Molly kneeled down so she was at the young boy’s level but he moved further behind JR. JR picked him up and smiled at Molly, “It’s nice to meet you, Molly. This is my brother, Raymond. He’s had a rough night.” With that said, JR smiled at her and carried Raymond into the kitchen.

Ted and Victor both hugged Molly and the three walked into the great room. Victor walked directly to Justin and sat on the other end of the sofa and put his hand out.  Justin turned and laid his foot in Victor’s hand. “So I have two patients today. Do you think the glass is out?”

“I did but this morning it really is tender.”

Victor pressed around the injured area.  “I can’t be sure if there is more in there but it feels warm.  I think it might be infected, nothing serious but we will keep an eye on it.  I am going to clean it out and bandage it but, from the smell of that food, it can wait until after brunch.”

“Uncle Victor!” Aiden ran into the man’s arms.  “Did you look at Daddy’s sore foot?”

“I did and after we eat I will take care of it but your brother’s food smells a lot better than your daddy’s stinky food.” They both laughed.  “Aiden, I have a favor to ask. See the little boy JR is holding?” Aiden nodded.  “That is Raymond.”

“JR’s brother?”

“Yes.  He is going to live with us for a while.  He is a bit scared right now and he hasn’t been talking to us yet but maybe after we eat you could invite him to play or something.  He doesn’t have to but maybe because you are about the same age….”

“I love new friends.  Does that mean he will go to my school?”

“We aren’t sure yet but I am glad if he does, he will already have a friend.”

Gus and Spencer flipped pancakes and Gus, JR, and Raymond went to the patio to eat while adults sat at the table and Aiden sat with Tasha by the counter.   

“What happened with Raymond?” Brian asked once everyone was eating.

“The poor little one hasn’t said a word.  His step mother just wanted him out because ‘he stirred up her husband’. We aren’t sure we want to know what that means but Raymond looks scared of his own shadow and he won’t come near either of us.  We are afraid the man…” Victor had to stop.

“You got the picture,” Ted said. “We are hoping they will let him stay with us.  He obviously feels comfortable with his big brother. We need to get in touch with the school when we can and, Brian, until we figure out what we are doing, I might need time off. I know that isn’t good timing.”

“We know you will do what you need to do.  We can work something out with Cassandra, too.  She will be back tomorrow and she has college, of course but some of her courses are online.  I am sure she would be happy to help us both out.” Justin put his leg up on Brian’s lap when he finished talking.

“Oh, that would be amazing.  He obviously has a fear of men and for good reason, but Cassandra shouldn’t be threatening at all. I hadn’t even thought about her.”

“You two have had lots going on.  We will make this all work.”

Molly stood, “Ok, Tash and Aiden, I think it is time for you to go watch a movie.”

“Aunt Molly, can I go ask Raymond to join us?”

“I think that would be very nice, Aiden. Tasha and I will be in your room and find a movie.”

“Ok.” Aiden walked out the back door.  Raymond was sitting next to JR. He had eaten his meal and was leaning against his brother. 

“Hey, Ray, this is Aiden,”JR introduced them.  He is just a little younger than you.  He will be in first grade and you will be in second.  Raymond whispered something to JR.  “Aiden, Ray was just saying you look a little smaller than most six year olds.”

“Ray, I have a funny named disease that messes up my blood sometimes and because my blood isn’t always healthy, I don’t grow as fast.  My cousin and I are going to go watch a movie in my room.  Would you like to watch it with us?” He held onto JR’s arm.

“That’s very nice, Aiden.  Is it alright if he comes up later, if he feels like it?”

“Sure.  Ray, I hope you will come and watch with us.” And with that Aiden moved back into the house.

“He didn’t want to come?” Ted asked.

“Not right now but JR said he might come up pretty soon.”

“Go enjoy your movie.” Brian said and Aiden ran upstairs.

“Now, Justin, it is time for me to play doctor.”

“Victor Gerard, you said I was the only one you would play doctor with.”

They all laughed, “Come on, Ted, why don’t we start cleaning up the kitchen and let our husbands do what they need to do.”

Victor took a large roaster and filled it with warm water and put several different things in it.

“It’s going to hurt isn’t it,” Justin said as he cringed.

“It will only hurt until it doesn’t.”

“For some reason that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Justin commented as he slowly put his foot into the roaster of water.

It wasn’t long before Gus and JR came in with Raymond between them.  “Ray decided he would like to watch some of that movie.  He will be in Aiden’s room and we will be in Gus’ room.”

When they got upstairs, JR explained he would be just down the hall in Gus’ room and Aiden and Tasha immediately made room for Raymond on the bed but instead he sat on the floor next to the bed and the kids immediately were all watching the show.

JR and Gus went into Gus’ room.  “Do you want to play something?” Gus asked.

“Sure, sounds good,” JR said as he dropped into one of the gaming chairs.

Gus started going through some of the games, “What do you want to play?” JR didn’t respond. “JR? Ok, what guy are you thinking about this time?”

JR, doubled over and put his head in his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Gus reached over and touched JR’s shoulder.  “Is it Raymond?”

When JR lifted his head tears were running down his face.  “I don’t know if we got him soon enough.  I hope he didn’t do to him what he did to me!”