Peter Linde hid behind the dumpster just as his brother and his friends ran by. He really hated John and his loser friends. They thought it was funny to pick on those who were smaller than them. Peter being two years younger fit that description.

He had broken his arm a couple months ago playing soccer and got a small reprieve. His mother had actually seemed to care about him for once. He loved his mother but she was stretched too thin. After she left his dad, she had gotten a full-time job. Then Grandpa Jack got sick and she started to take care of him, and Grandmother Joan started drinking more. When Grandpa Jack died his grandmother started drinking even more.

His mom told him that his grandmother wasn't feeling well. He knew the truth though; his Uncle Brian had told him so. Uncle Brian had also told him that if Grandpa Jack or his dad hit him to call him. Grandpa Jack hit John once. It was only once because it was in front of Uncle Brian. John was eight and he was six at the time. They were playing in the house, he accidently spilled Grandpa Jack's beer.

John took the blame and the punishment, it was the last time they seemed to get along. Uncle Brian had just walked in the door, bringing Grandpa money when he saw the hit. John fell to the ground and Uncle Brian lost it. He told Grandpa Jack that if he ever hit them again he would be eating through a straw. It was after that Uncle Brian told him to call if it happened again.

After that their grandfather did his best to ignore them, which was a lot better than him yelling at them. But it seemed like after that John wanted to take out his anger on Peter. John had been their father's target too. It didn't matter how much John seemed to hate him, he always took the hit from their dad for him. He thought John was a lot like Uncle Brian. Uncle Brian didn't seem to like them and called them names but he always was there if they needed him.

He was about to run home when he heard something. It sounded like a whimpering dog. Looking around he spotted a box with a closed lid. He thought maybe a puppy was in there. Maybe his mom would let him keep it. He always wanted a dog, his dad didn't like them.

He opened the top of the box and his eyes widened. What he thought was a puppy was a baby. It wasn't very big but it wasn't small either. It looked familiar too, she was in a small pink dress. The dress looked familiar too.

"Oh my god," he whispered. He knew who the baby was. His mom had taken him to Uncle Brian's two weeks ago. She had found a pretty pink dress at a thrift store and wanted to give it to his uncle. She had told him that Brian's boyfriend had a little baby girl. His mom told him never to tell Grandma Joan about Uncle Brian being with a man.

His mom met Brian's boyfriend when he broke his arm. She dropped John off with Brian and Justin. John said that he kept making mean remarks to see what Uncle Brian would do. John said Brian got real mad but Justin, Brian's boyfriend sent him away. After that John got to help take care of the baby. Peter being jealous asked his mother to let him see the baby.

He had to wait until his cast was off though. So he finally got to see her two weeks ago. Justin let him hold her and he walked around their place with her. She liked him a lot. She giggled when he tickled her feet. He was smaller than most of his friends but was still able to pick her up with no trouble.

She was wearing the same dress his mother had gotten her, but it was dirty now. When he picked her up he could smell she needed a diaper change. He didn't know how she got out here all by herself but he knew his uncle must be beside himself. He was closer to his uncle's place than to any other place he could think that was safe. He started walking towards Tremont.

When his mother was at work they were supposed to stay at home. He never did because that was John's time to beat him up. He really hated his brother, but he knew that John would protect him from others like he did with Grandpa and his dad.

He softly talked to the Briana while he walked. She seemed upset when he first picked her up but then she calmed down.

Maybe she remembers me.

Carl had dropped him off at the loft and told him to rest. Brian curled up on the bed hugging Briana's stuffed alligator to him. She loved the damn thing, he was surprised the toy was still at Michael's after he let her go. It seemed all he had left of his family now. Justin was still missing and Briana was kidnapped.

He heard the intercom buzzing. Almost everyone he cared about had a key to the building. They didn't have one to the loft but they could get into the building with their key. He thought about ignoring it but became worried that it was Justin, running away from whoever took him.

Instead of asking who it was he just pushed the button for the lobby door release. Walking over to his fridge he pulled out a water bottle and drank half in one gulp. He knew he was dehydrated from all the vomiting. He waited and waited for the knock on the door. It didn't come, that made him wary.

Opening the door to his loft he looked out. The lift wasn't in use; it was still on his floor. Since Justin wasn't here it would stay there until someone visited him.

Just as he was about to shut the door, he heard footsteps on the stairs. He waited for the person to appear, he knew it wasn't Justin now because the man hated taking the stairs from the first floor.

The first thing he saw was a coat with thin arms wrapped around it. He blinked a couple times when his youngest nephew came into view.

"Peter?"

What the hell was Peter doing there?

The boy's face was red, and he looked tired and out of breath. Whatever he was carrying was too heavy for him to carry up all those stairs.

"Uncle Brian," the boy said, panting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he questioned.

"I. Found. Briana," he panted.

"What?" he yelled. His yell startled the thing under Peter's coat. Then he heard something he thought he'd never hear again. Briana's wail.

He rushed to his nephew and practically ripped the crying bundle from his arms. Quickly, he removed the coat from her, needing to see her face. As soon as he saw bright blue eyes blinking up at him he thought he could breathe a little better. He wouldn't be able to fully breathe again until Justin was home with them.

Hugging her to him, he started to cry. An hour ago he was in the morgue getting ready to see her body. Now he had her in his arms, alive and well.

"Where did you find her?" he asked hoarsely.

"I was hiding from John behind the dumpster behind Morgan's Hardware. She was hidden in a box; it was beside the dumpster. I almost didn't recognize her but I remembered the dress."

Brian looked down at the dress and barely contained a laugh. The dress was hideous but Justin thought Claire had been very nice to get it for her. Justin had picked out the dress for her to wear yesterday but it was too cold. This morning Brian put it on her to make Justin happy when he came home, then everything went to hell.

The sound of her wheezing brought him out of his thoughts. It hadn't been as cool today as it was yesterday but the later it got the cooler it was. Deciding that she needed one of her breathing treatments he took her into his loft. He heard Peter follow him and try shut the door. It looked like the boy carrying the baby had sapped all his strength. Walking back over by the door he slid it closed.

He set up the breathing machine and put her medicine in.

"I think she needs to be changed first," Peter said. He was standing behind Brian looking at the machine.

"Right." Brian took her to her changing table and laid her down. He stripped her out of the ugly, filthy dress and took her diaper off. It was waterlogged and dirty. It looked like they hadn't changed her all day. Once her bottom was clean he noticed a rash. The diaper rash cream was almost out; he would have to get some from Justin's loft later.

After she was changed and her breathing medicine given to her, he fed her. She ate with gusto showing that she hadn't been fed either. It was then he noticed the time, almost eight at night.

"Where does your mother think you are?" he asked his nephew, who was lying down on the couch.

"She works until eleven, John won't dare call her. He'll be too scared to get into trouble for inviting his buddies over while she's at work. They're not very nice so I left for a while. I'm glad I did now," Peter said, smiling at Briana as she started to fall asleep. "I did good didn't I, Uncle Brian?"

Brian looked at the hopeful face of his nephew. The boy's face showed his want for approval.

"Yes, you did really good. I need to make some calls then I'll drive you home."

"I can walk."

"It's eight at night, your mother will castrate me if I let you walk home."

"She doesn't have to know."

"Ahh… and here I thought you weren't as much the devil spawn I thought you were." Brian sighed when the boy's face fell. "It was a joke, Peter. We both know it's John that is the devil spawn."

His nephew giggled and that strangely made him happy. He had never been close to Claire's kids. It was mostly because Claire wanted to keep in contact with their parents. He had walked in once to see his old man hit John when he was eight with a closed-fist. It took everything in him not the kill the man. He would be damned if his father's abuse went to another generation. After he had threatened his father, he told Claire that if he found out about that again he would call the cops.

His phone started ringing just as Briana started to nod off. Grumbling he got up and grabbed his phone off his bedside table. Taking Briana and laying her in the crib while he answered.

"What?" he said, annoyed someone was calling.

"Brian, I was calling to see how you are doing," Carl said.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'd be better if Justin was here but at the moment I'm okay."

"Brian, we'll find both Justin and Briana," Carl said like he was talking to someone who had lost their damn mind.

"I know we'll find Justin. As for Briana, I'm holding her in my arms right now."

"What!" the shout came.

"Someone found Briana and knew who she was, so they brought her back."

"Are you sure this person isn't working for Daphne?"

"I'm positive, it's my ten-year old nephew."

"I'm eleven," Peter said from the couch.

"Excuse me, eleven-year old," he said rolling his eyes.

"I'm on my way to see her now. I'll need to question him."

Great. There was no way Saint Joan wasn't going to hear about this now.

"Fine," he snapped.

"Looks like you're stuck here for a little while more."

Peter smiled to himself, he liked it at Uncle Brian's. When he grew up he was going to be just like him. He was going to be rich, that way he could help out his mom. He was going to have a big place just like this and someone to love him and babies of his own. Really, he was going to have such a good life. All he had to do was get big enough to be able to fight John so he would stop beating him up.

Justin looked up when someone knocked on the door. Ethan and Tevye had left a little while ago. His heart was hammering in his chest when the door opened.

"Son-of-a-bitch," he growled.

"Now, Justin, is that anyway to talk about your dead mother," Craig Taylor sneered.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"We're going to make a little arrangement, you give me my money, and I let you out of here…alive." The man he once thought was his father stalked closer to him. The man was much older than he remembered and not as intimidating. At one time in his life he would be cowering but that was the old Justin.

"I'm not making any kind deal with you. Fuck off."

"You fail to see the big picture here. You don't have a choice."

"That's where your wrong. I do have a choice. I'm not going to give you a dime. For one, I don't have the money and I won't for years. For another, I fucking hate you."

"Hate is such a strong word. I haven't even seen you in person since you were four."

"When you left me and my baby sister in a park known for drugs users and criminals."

"Stop being so dramatic. I just want my money."

"FUCK YOU!" Justin screamed. Every emotion he had kept bottled up for sixteen years was spilling out of him. Hate. Fear. Anger. Sadness.

He couldn't figure out what Ethan and Tevye were doing working with him. How they even got involved with him was a wonder. It all seemed so crazy. He pulled on the handcuffs again, wishing not for the first time that he wasn't naked.

"Well, I hoped I wouldn't have to do it this way. Getting my hands dirty really isn't my style. I asked dumb and dumber to bring you here after I found out you had been given money already from father's estate."

"It was money for school. It's nowhere enough that you will be happy to get. I don't get that money for years, just like I told you."

"Then you leave me no choice. I'll have to kill you. I'll get what's rightly mine then."

He wouldn't, it would go to Molly; he wasn't going to say that though. He wasn't going to have this crazed man go after his sister.

"Oh, and don't worry about your brat of a sister. Our friends Ethan and Tevye are taking care of her as we speak. You're old enough to sign your money over, she's not. It's easier just killing her."

"You touch her, and I'll kill you," he screamed, renewing his efforts to get out of the handcuffs.

"I'm shaking in my boots," Craig mocked.

Justin was about to start screaming again when he saw something being lifted over Craig's head. It crashed down, dropping the man to the ground. Justin couldn't see him but he suspected he was out cold.

His eyes locked on his savior. "How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"I've done something terrible," Daphne whispered.

"Get me out of these, we have to get Molly," he yelled.

"It's too late. It's all too late." Her look on her face was vacant of all expression.

"Daphne, get me out of here. I need to find Molly and Briana. Ethan… he and that psycho did something to Briana and are planning to kill Molly. I need to get out of here," he begged.

Daphne walked over to him, she looked like she was in a trance. She leaned down and pulled a key from Craig's hand and uncuffed him.

Searching the room, he finally found his clothes shoved into the closet. He was unable to find his shoes but that wasn't going to stop him. He needed to find his sister and daughter.

"Come on, Daph. We got to get out of here."

"I can't go."

Swinging around to look at her he noticed she hadn't moved. "Daphne?"

"I messed up."

"We can talk about that later; we need to go."

"I kill her, Justin."

"WHAT?"

"I killed Briana," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way this could be true. No. Briana wasn't dead. She was just a baby. Who would kill a baby? Especially her own mother.

"No, you couldn't."

"I did. She didn't seem real. I couldn't think of her as a she or a baby. She was just this thing. This thing that I had to get rid of. I also killed Logan Jennings but I don't feel that bad about that. He was the one that actually broke her neck and got rid of her body."

Bile rose in Justin throat as he listened to her. He shook his head begging her to say that she was lying but one look at her he knew it was the truth.

"Why? Do you hate me this much?" he sobbed.

"Nothing makes sense anymore. I thought what I was doing was revenge. I thought you had left me there in that hell for over six months because you didn't care."

"I didn't know you were missing. You told me you needed time. I loved you and trusted you…more than anyone else in this world. How could you kill our daughter?"

"I just wanted to hurt you," she said brokenly.

"You succeeded. I would let you kill me now but I have to save Molly. Come back later and I'll let you, or just save you the trouble and do it myself." He felt numb.

"You can't," she sobbed. "You can't kill yourself."

"You've already killed me; you just don't know it. She was my world; I don't want to live in a place she's not."

"I'm sorry, she didn't seem real," she said again.

It was then Justin realized how truly sick she was. Her illness was so bad she saw Briana as a thing. Something that could be thrown away and that would be it. She was Daphne but she wasn't, her sickness had taken over.

"Let's go," he said, grabbing her arm. "Do you have your car?"

She nodded and handed him the keys. A groan from the floor made him remember Craig. Grabbing the handcuffs, he grabbed Craig's arms, and handcuffed him so he would have to lift up the leg of the bed to get away.

As he was picking up the phone he started to hear sirens. He didn't realize until they were right outside the door that they were coming to him. He had no idea how they knew he was there.

He opened the door just as the police started to get out of their car. He saw his father leading the pack.

As soon as his father was within reach he threw himself at him. He cried. Cried like he never had before. His daughter was gone. His life was over; he didn't want to live anymore. It was only his worry for Molly that calmed him.

Sniffling he tore away from his dad. "Molly's in trouble. Ethan and Tevye are going to kill her. They were working with Craig. It was all a set up. I don't know who all is involved but there must be a website or something because they were all working together."

"Molly's fine. Ethan and Tevye won't be a problem anymore," his father cooed.

"What? How?"

"Michael left Molly in charge of the comic book shop. They waited until they thought she was alone before they attacked. What they didn't realize is Michael got worried that he left her alone at the shop while everything was going on. He came back to see her fighting them off. She just got Ethan down when Tevye got the upper hand. The self-defense classes her and Debbie took paid off. Michael jumped over the counter and put the man in a headlock. He saved Molly. She returned the favor a minute later when Tevye got out of the headlock and tried to smash Michael's face in. She hit him in the head with the register. After a quick check at the hospital they were sent to the precinct."

Justin nodded his head, he was glad that Molly was safe. He felt better that his father would have Molly after he was gone.

Everything started to happen fast after that. Craig came around and started talking. Especially, when they started talking about the dead body of Logan Jennings. His dad was so busy he didn't notice Justin slipping out of the crowded hotel room.

Carl decided not to tell Justin about Briana at the moment. It would be better to tell him while he was holding his baby girl that she had been kidnapped. Looking around he saw that Justin wasn't there. Not that he blamed him. He was surprised when Daphne confessed to killing Logan. It wasn't until after Justin was gone that she started to confess to the murder of Briana. That was when Carl found out that Justin knew about her kidnapping and now was walking the streets thinking his child was dead.

Fuck.

Hours earlier

Logan walked out of the hotel room with the brat. She had told him to break her neck and dump her body…close so someone would find it soon. As he made his way from the hotel his conscious started to eat away at him. There was a lot of things he had done in his life that he regretted. Smacking Rachel around when she got mouthy. Letting her take away Samantha. He knew he wasn't a good person… but killing a baby. That he couldn't do, he had known that when she told him to kill it. That was why he said he was going to kill her where he dumped her. He had to get the baby away from Daphne.

When she first found him he thought it was a perfect solution. They had fun for the few days they were together in Florida. With Rachel gone he needed something busy to do. He was shocked when she told him about the baby. Allowing himself to hope he filed for a paternity test. But as the days went by he started to worry Justin would run with her.

The kidnapping went off without a hitch, but she wasn't his. It was clear when he looked at her. He remembered Justin from meeting him in Florida. That was when everything started to fall apart. Daphne didn't want to hold the baby; she didn't even acknowledge it was a baby. That was his first hint something about her wasn't right. Then she started going on about getting rid of the baby…as in killing it. So he played along, maybe after he dumped the baby he could get her into bed again. After that he was gone though, she was too crazy for him.

"Hey, loser!" someone shouted.

He looked up to see a bunch of kids taunting a smaller boy. He walked away towards the back of the building where the dumpster was. Just as he was contemplating what to do next he heard running coming at him. He quickly put the baby in a box by the dumpster and ran in the opposite direction than the footsteps. He just hoped going back to Daphne didn't bite him in the ass.

Brian was officially going out of his mind. First, he had been so relieved after Peter brought Briana back to him. Then he was able to worry about Justin. Not long after Carl came over to question Peter he got a call about a lead on Daphne and her car. He wanted to follow but he wasn't letting Briana out of his arms.

Claire left work early to come and get Peter. She was seething that Peter was out that late but actually happy that he was able to save Briana. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he thought. He gave Peter all the cash in his wallet and told the kid to hide it away for a rainy day. It was only four hundred dollars but to an eleven-year-old it was a fortune. If he was smart, he would make sure his brother never laid hands on it. John was king of the troublemakers.

He had been lucky when Claire needed someone to watch him that Justin had been there. Brian took off until the kid was gone, apparently John was okay with Justin as long as he could watch TV and drink soda. Justin did say that he helped out with Briana some, so maybe he wasn't all bad. He knew a lot of John's problems came from having an abusive father and grandfather. John had made it his responsibility to take the hits for his little brother.

It was something Brian knew a lot about. Any time he could he would be able to spare Claire a slap or punch. He wasn't always successful and that was where some of his guilt came from.

The worst punishment dear ol' Jack handed out wasn't to him. It wasn't to his mother either, and it had all been Brian's fault. It was one of the reasons he didn't get along with Claire anymore. Guilt. Every time he looked at her he saw what their father had done to her.

Brian was thirteen and Claire was fourteen. Joan had been out with her church group and Jack was off at the bar. They thought they were clear of both of the parents for most of the night. They were still at their old house; it was a two bedroom so they still had to share a room. Because they had the night free they decided to watch a movie together.

He had let Claire pick, and pretended to be mad at her choice. That was a total lie though because he liked some of the teen girl movies she picked out. He had never saw Blue Lagoon before, Joan didn't approve of that movie. Claire had borrowed the rented movie from her friend though. He was in his jogging shorts and t-shirt. Claire in her plain baby blue pajamas.

The movie started and he quickly started drooling over Christopher Atkins. He barely paid attention to Brooke Shields' almost nude body, it wasn't his thing. They munched on popcorn and enjoyed the movie. Unfortunately, halfway through he started to enjoy the movie a little too much.

Before he could cover his crotch with a pillow Claire saw. Being the older sister she was she started teasing him.

"Gross, Brian," Claire said giggling.

"I wasn't looking at him," Brian denied, praying that the floor would swallow him up. "I wasn't."

Claire looked at him funny before her face turned somber. "You can't tell Dad," she warned.

"I wasn't looking at him. I'm not a faggot," he said, repeating the word their father said with such hate.

"Brian, it's okay. You just can't tell Mom and Dad. Soon we'll both be out of here and then they can't hurt us."

"I wasn't looking at him. Shut your lying fucking mouth!"

She reached for his arm but he jumped up. In his haste he fell into the wall, knocking down Grandpa Kinney's Purple Heart and the case it was in off the shelf. The glass case shattered and the medal spilled out.

"Oh fuck," they both said in unison.

"I'm dead. He's going to kill me. He really will this time, Claire," he said trying not to panic.

"We'll clean it up. Maybe he'll be too drunk tonight and we can talk Mom into getting a new case tomorrow," Claire said, her face pale.

Just then they heard a car pull into the driveway. They knew it wasn't their mother's car, it was Jack.

"Go to our room and get in the closet. Don't come out," Claire ordered him.

He was torn, he didn't want Claire to get into trouble but he was scared his dad was going to kill him. He never hit Claire as hard as he hit him.

"I'll be okay, I promise." They heard keys in the door. "Go now," she hissed.

He did it, he ran like a coward and hid in the closet. It was a small house so he heard Claire take the blame. Then he heard as he beat the living hell out of her for disrespecting her dead grandfather. He silently cried in the closet long after the screaming and shouting stopped.

Once he heard his father's car start back up and drive away he left the tiny closet. He found Claire on the kitchen floor. Her entire face was bloody; her pajamas were covered with blood also. There wasn't a part of her that didn't get hit. What scared him the most was she wasn't even crying. She was just lying on the ugly linoleum, staring into space. He didn't touch her because he was scared he would hurt her worse.

When their mother got home she looked at Claire and demanded she clean herself up. Later his parents pulled them out of school and they moved. He found out later it was because her teachers started asking too many questions. Claire was never the same after that but he supposed he wasn't either. He never wanted that to happen to his nephews, no matter how much he disliked the older one.

He was dragged out of his head by the sound of the loft door opening. Daring not to hope he looked up. There stood Justin, he looked like death warmed over and didn't have shoes but there he was alive. He had been worried he would take drastic lengths because he thought Briana was dead.

"Justin," he said as he rushed over to the blonde.

"I only came here to tell you goodbye, you deserve that much," Justin said, brokenly.

"Where are you going, Sunshine?" he asked quietly. Afraid that Justin would disappear right in front of him.

"She's gone. I can't go on living without her."

"Justin…" he started to say before a loud baby's wail sounded through the loft.

Justin seemed to snap out of his daze and ran to Briana crib where she had been sleeping.

"What? I don't understand," he said as he scooped her up and covered her in kisses.

"You left before Daphne made her confession. It seems Logan had a little bit of a soul because he couldn't kill a baby. He left her outside behind a building but she was luckily found by a kid."

"I thought you were gone," Justin whispered to his daughter, they both were crying. Him out of joy and her because of the heaviness of her diaper.

"When you're ready I would like to hear about all what happened to you." He had heard a lot from Carl but wanted to hear it from Justin.

After Justin changed and fed the baby all three of them laid down on their bed.

"I never want to leave here," Justin said.

Brian knew he was talking about the bed and because of his exhaustion but he said what he had been thinking for a while. "Then don't. Move in."

Justin looked at Brian and saw the sincerity in his eyes. He knew his answer but he was unable to keep his eyes open any longer. He would just have to tell Brian yes tomorrow.