Not trusting the fake manager, Brian stayed with the little boy until the police arrived.

“Hey, Bri, little young for you ain’t he?”

Brian inwardly cursed. “Officer Daniels, didn’t know you’d be gracing us with your glorious presence.” Ken Daniels was Eric’s first partner on the job. He was a homophobic prick that made Eric’s life hell until Carl put Eric with Dana, an older but kind woman who has been trying to set Eric up with her son since meeting him. The few times Brian had the displeasure of meeting Ken, the ass was always talking like Brian was some sort of child molester. He didn’t know why but he suspected Ken had been around the time he had been questioned when he was wrongly accused of child molestation by his horrible nephew and bitch of a sister.

“Sorry, Eric is out getting his dress cleaned. You’ll just have to put up with me. So, what’s going on?”

As much as he hated Daniels it wasn’t about him. “I found this boy wondering around alone. We’ve been in the same place right here by this tree for almost an hour, no one has come looking. Not only that, look at his face, he’s got a fading handprint on the left side.”

Daniels knelt down, getting eye level with the boy. He was standing now, trying to hide behind Brian.

“My name is Officer Daniels, but you can call me anything you want,” Daniels said, his voice gentle. Brian almost asked if that was an open invitation. He had some names he’d like to call the man. “Do you know your mom or dad’s names?”

The boy shook his head, his shoulder length red hair falling in his eyes.

“Can you tell me your name?”

Another head shake. “I don’t know,” the boy said quietly. When he spoke, Brian thought he was wrong on the age, the boy sounded older than three, maybe four almost five.

“Is there anything you can tell me?” Daniels asked. As much of a prick the man was, he was gentle and patient with the boy.

“Ms. Anna.”

“Who is Ms. Anna?” Daniels asked.

“She’s my worker.”

“Your worker?” Daniels asked. “Do you mean your social worker?”

The boy’s eyes lightened some. “Yes. Can you call her? I don’t want to go back.”

Daniels looked up at Brian, they both could pretty much piece some of the story together. Either he had abusive parents or abusive foster parents.

“You want to ride in a police car? I’ll turn the lights on if you want,” Daniels said.

The boy shook his head frantically. “I don’t want to be arrested. I’m sorry.”

Brian then bent back down, looking the boy in the eye. “He’s not arresting you; you did nothing wrong. He needs to go back to the police station so they can call Ms. Anna. Will you tell us your name?”

“A-Adam,” the boy said slowly.

“And your last name?” Daniels asked.

“Hobbs.”

Justin couldn’t wait until he was back at Brian’s. He had first taken the kids to the Diner. Then they visited his mom who had been ecstatic that he was leaving Jake for good. She had offered to go to Nantucket with Tucker to collect his things. Even Tucker had been happy that he had left Jake. It was weird when he was there, it all made sense for him to stay. But now he didn’t know why he stayed so long. He wasn’t in love with Jake anymore, if he ever even was, maybe it was just settling like Daphne had told him once. He had been so angry with her he had stopped talking to her for months.

That was until Jake broke his jaw and he ended up having to reach out to her because his jaw was wired shut and could only eat through a straw and to punish him for making him angry Jake had thrown out his blender and his food processor. Daphne had come over and stayed for two weeks, using some of her very little time off to help him. Jake had been very angry but would never do anything while Daphne was there. That had been before he adopted Mark. It had been incredibly selfish of him to bring a child let alone two into that house. He just hoped with time they forgave him. His only peace of mind was they got out before Jake started taking his anger out on them.

It was late, almost the kids’ bedtime by the time he pulled in the driveway. He would have to ask his mom if her or Tucker, maybe even Molly could take his car by ferry off the island. It was in his name, there was nothing Jake could do to keep it. When they got married Jake made sure he signed a prenup, anything they bring into the marriage they take out. He didn’t know why Jake would want to keep a fifteen-year-old sedan anyway.

“We’re hungry,” Mark whined as Justin ushered them inside, the snow started to come down on the drive from Pittsburgh. They were calling for record breaking snowfall in the next few hours. Justin noticed Brian’s car wasn’t in the garage when he parked. He hoped he would get back soon.

“I’ll make you a sandwich, do you want PB&J or ham?”

“PB but no J,” Mark said.

“Ham,” Emma said at the same time.

“Do you want cheese?”

She nodded. “Blue cheese please.”

“With ham?” The thought turned his stomach.

“Please.”

Thankfully, he knew Brian had blue cheese in the fridge. “Alright, go get into your pajamas and come back down, I’ll have your food ready by then.”

“Alright,” Mark said before they left the kitchen. A moment later a shout came, “DAD! COME LOOK!”

Justin was worried something was wrong, so he rushed into the living room where he heard the kids’ voices. His jaw dropped at the scene. There was a tree that had to be at least ten-feet tall, it was beautifully decorated. Over the fireplace were five stockings. Brian, Justin, Gus, Mark, and Emma. There was a little Santa’s village figurine set laid out on the piano top. Brian had outdone himself.

“Dad look we have stockings,” Emma said. Justin could tell she was trying not to cry. This would be her first year with him, her first year knowing she was with family that will always be there for her, at least he hoped she knew that.

“We’ll have to thank Brian in the morning. Hurry and change so you can eat and get to bed. It’s been a long day and we’re all tired.”

There were grumbles but they went on their way. They were good kids; both had some behavioral issues, but they were dealt with as they went. He would have to get them new doctors here. They both saw a child psychologist to help deal with the traumas in their lives.

Justin had known Brian would give in about the tree but had no clue he would go this far. It was beautiful and something Brian would never do when they were together. When they broke up it was because Brian was changing and giving things up for Justin. But now it was more natural, it was like Brian wasn’t forcing himself to be someone, just evolving on his own. Justin likes to think he’d evolved too but maybe not for the better.

Shaking his head, he went about making the kids’ sandwiches and after they all ate the kids went to watch a movie before bed. The later it got the more snow piled up outside and the more worried Justin became. He had tried to call Brian several times with no answer. He refused to call the others mostly because he didn’t want them to worry. Brian was probably at Babylon and decided to stay at the loft.

Brian couldn’t be happier that Michael and Ben had kept up with their fostering. If they hadn’t, Adam would have had to go to a new place and Brian wouldn’t know what happened to him. Right at this moment he was settling in at Michael and Ben’s as an emergency placement. They had moved a few miles away from Brian’s house, wanting to be out of the city. At the police station they found out that Adam had wondered away from his new foster home after his father found him. His father, none other than Pittsburgh’s number one homophobe. The man’s rights had been terminated for abuse and neglect. They had tried several times to make it work with Hobbs, but the last chance was a few months ago. Hobbs had gotten drunk and forgot where he had left the boy. When he was found he was freezing and hadn’t eaten in days. They had an extra cold October this year.

The fading bruise on his face was from Hobbs trying to kidnap the boy after his rights were terminated. He had found his newest foster home and tried to take him. Adam had run and hid but Hobbs found him, pulled him out of his hidey hole and hit him. The foster mother, a single woman with two other foster children hit Hobbs over the head with a broom. The police had come and taken him away. He was out on bail until his newest trial date. But sadly, just like in the past, his parents were just paying his way out of trouble.

The boy’s mother had run off and there was no other family besides Hobbs and his parents. His parents had refused to take the boy because then he wouldn’t be allowed in their home, they picked their psychotic son over their innocent grandson.

Brian knew the fear that Adam was going through, at least some of it. He never got taken away from his father, now he wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or not. His life had been horrible, but it could have been worse. In the morning he would go about finding out what he needed to do to become a foster parent. He was already in luck that Adam was a resident of West Virginia, barely, Hobbs lived just over the state line but still it was a good thing. Adam’s foster family had been visiting relatives when he wondered off, they hadn’t even cared to look for him.

The snow was making driving home a bitch. He wished he still had his jeep; it could drive through anything. After an antagonizing drive home, he was finally pulling into his driveway. He could see the Christmas tree lights from the window. He was glad that Lily hadn’t been busy, he had her meet the tree guys and she went shopping for the decorations. It cost a small fortune, but he hoped it was what Justin wanted.