Chapter 21

People who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.

J.M. Barrie

Emmett poked his head into Brian's room when he got up the next morning at seven. He wondered that he wasn't surprised to find all three of them sleeping in the bed together. He heard the puppies moving around and gathered them up, carrying them downstairs with him.

Lulah, Lara, and Molly were already in the kitchen so he passed a puppy to Molly and one to Lara as he made the bottles. They were old enough to get into trouble if left on the floor and he didn't want to risk Lulah tripping on one of them as she stuffed the turkey.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" he said to his Aunt, "I told you I would help make the stuffing this morning."

"I didn't make it. It was in the fridge when I got here. There is also a bunch of extra pies, rolls, and various breads in the pantry. I thought you did it." She said.

Emmett shook his head, walking into the pantry and taking in the largesse of baked goods. He also found a pineapple upside down cake, a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and a many layered triple chocolate confection. Walking further he found fresh muffins and a strudel.

Carrying the last two out, he set them on the table as Granvil came in and made himself some coffee.

"I didn't make them, but I'll bet Jane did. I swear, that woman doesn't know when to quit. I don't think she has a single recipe that feeds less than twenty people." Emmett poured himself a cup and bit into a raspberry muffin.

It seemed to be the signal for everyone to dig in and Emmett asked Lulah what still needed to be done.

She shook her head, "After this bird gets into the oven, nothing. It appears that Jane finished up all the prep work last night after we all went to bed along with her baking spree."

Granvil cleared his throat as Marc came in from outside, letting them know Noah was on rounds and would be for the next two hours.

"I don't mean to pry, as it isn't any of my business, but is Mr. Kinney in some kind of trouble?"

They all shared a quiet look, but it was Marc that answered. "Mr. Kinney is a very important man and his life was recently threatened. We have reason to believe another attempt could be made. We are doing what we can to keep a low profile and make sure he is protected until his arm is healed and we have more information on who attacked him."

Granvil eyed all of them, knowing he wasn't getting the full story, but figured he wasn't entitled to one. "I can help with that if you like. Take a turn with the rounds, maybe double up with someone else. Give you more eyes on the ground."

Marc made a snap decision, "I can't give you a gun, but we would welcome the help. Justin and Molly's arrival gave us two more people to watch over. Come with me after breakfast and we will go over what needs to be done."

Granvil nodded, stuffed an oversized muffin in each of his jacket pockets and left to milk the cow and feed the dogs.

Justin woke first, being the one that had had the most sleep in the last twenty-four hours. He lay for a while listening to the other pair breathe and thinking about this new turn of events. Of all the people he and Brian had had in their bed, Jane was by far the most interesting. Not just the fact that Brian wanted her there, but also that her influence had brought the two of them closer together.

Brian's marathon of dialogue last night was a direct result of that influence and Justin could be nothing but grateful to her for helping Brian be able to do it. Brian had related his early life in detail and Justin now understood a great deal more about why Brian was the way he was. It had also revealed how well Brian knew Justin and explained why Brian had treated him the way he did.

Justin still didn't feel that Brian had been right in the way he had treated him in many instances, but understanding where it had come from went a long way to healing old hurts and resentments. It also explained why Brian would never tie him down and would probably continue to push Justin to pursue his goals for the rest of his life even if it meant they were separated geographically and that Brian would still be there when he got home.

All in all, he liked the results. He reminded himself to pull Jane aside later and talk some more about handling the nightmares, then he extricated himself from their sleep pile and headed to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

As soon as she heard the water turn on in the shower, Jane let out the breath she'd been holding.

Brian snickered, "Yeah, me too."

"Does he know he thinks so loudly?" Jane grouched, rubbed her puffy eyes, and sat up.

"I tell him all the time, but he thinks I'm joking." Brian rolled onto his back and stretched like a cat.

Jane realized the time was almost noon and stood up to go through her fifteen minutes of yoga she did every morning. Brian watched, just like every other day, and like every other day he still couldn't figure out how she managed to contort herself like that. He waited until she was done, knowing she liked the silence, then said "When he went downstairs so early this morning for food, the last thing I expected when he came back was for you to be with him. I expected a huge queen scene when he woke up. What happened?"

Jane collected clean clothes while she talked. "We shared a pie and coffee."

Brian teased her, "Sneaking Prozac into the pie is not the healthy way to address this situation Lady Jane."

Jane threw a slipper at him, hitting him in the arm, as he laughed at her reaction. "I did not drug him. Though I did think about it when we were walking back from the car last night."

"You are not going to tell me what you said to him to bring him around are you?" Brian asked.

Jane turned from the doorway to her room, "I didn't bring him around. You did by talking to him. You were right. He would have figured it out on his own, I just gave him a nudge."

She disappeared to take her shower and Brian joined Justin in his. Another one of Jane's playlists filling the bathrooms with music.

Emmett set the big table in the dining room with Aunt Lulah's Irish linen tablecloth and napkins. A gift he had sent her three years ago for her birthday because she had always wanted them. He added her good dishes and the antique silver utensils she had found at a yard sale.

Lara was cursing her lack of artistic ability as she removed the flowers from the centerpiece for the sixth time.

Justin came in to find her jabbing the flowers into the vase willy-nilly and gently removed the next hapless stem she picked up. She stomped off and he made the arrangement himself.

"Thank God you came down here. She was trying so hard I didn't have the heart to tell her she sucked at it." Emmett stage whispered.

Justin laughed and joked back, "Yeah, but I don't think I could go fishing around in someone's insides for a bullet, so we can call it even." When he was done with the flowers he set the squat, round bowl in the center of the table. "What time is dinner? I'm starving."

Emmett snorted, "Baby, you are always starving. Dinner is at five. I'm going to take Granvil into town and help him with the extra food Jane made last night. We are giving it to the homeless shelter there."

"What extra food?"

"Jane made a big salad, homemade breads, three side dishes and a bunch of extra desserts last night. You want to help me pick which desserts to take?"

"So long as you leave one of her apple pies here, I'm game." Justin had had dreams about that pie last night and wanted another piece.

They were still arguing about what to take and what to leave when Brian and Jane met up with them in the kitchen.

"Boys, boys!" She pretended to get onto them like children and used her mom voice when she said, "If you can't play nice, then I will have to ground you and I will send all of the desserts into town and you will go to bed without."

They both gave her dirty looks and starting talking over one another about the merits of each dessert and why they didn't want to send it. Granvil came in and heard the bickering, stepping into the pantry to see what the fuss was. It was clear in less than a minute and Jane saw a way out. She held up a hand for silence and when it was granted, pronounced that the Sergeant would be choosing which desserts went to the shelter and which stayed. Granvil puffed with pride and made a great show of deliberating each one before making the final choices. Emmett and Justin stewed halfheartedly and when all the food was in the truck and driving away, Brian turned to Jane.

"Lady Jane? Do you think you could teach me to make another pineapple upside down cake later in the week, dear?"

Justin stared at him as if he had two heads. Brian didn't usually eat sweets let alone ask for lessons in making them.

Jane saw Justin's expression at Brian's feigned domesticity, not picking up on the joke, and rubbed it in, "Sure thing, Honey. How about Saturday afternoon? We can send the kids to the park and have the whole place to ourselves." Her saccharin tone gave it away and they laughed when Justin figured out they were playing with him.  

The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon going over the grounding techniques that Brian was learning and the best way for Justin to help him overcome an attack if one happened and he was present.

Regardless of the reason for it, Brian found himself enjoying their company in general and Justin's budding respect for Jane in particular.

Brian spooned mashed potatoes onto his plate and as he passed Justin the bowl he leaned a little closer than necessary and said under his breath, "Watch this."

Justin served himself and handed the bowl along when Brian said, "So, Marc, you up for a game of cards later?"

"What's your poison Kinney?"

"Poker."

"Sounds good, anyone else want in?"

Jane nodded as she swallowed and Lulah raised a glass indicating she was in too. Brian slipped his hand into Justin's lap and pointed across the table at Jane. "Hey, Jane? Who was the guy that won the World Series of Poker last year?"

She thought about it for a second, her brows drawing together, "I believe that was Jamie Gold and the prize pool was 85.5 million. He took home 12 million for the win. I think that was the highest pot ever in the WSOP."

Justin wasn't sure what he was supposed to be watching for but continued to eat. Brian gave Marc a raised eyebrow and Marc picked up the thread. "Jane? I haven't given you a gun yet, do you know which one you want?"

Jane set down her wineglass, "I'll take a Sig P220 if you have it. But a Glock will do if you don't."

"I have both, so the Sig is yours. I have a rig for it, but you will probably need to spend some time adjusting it."

"I'll get it after dinner if that is okay with you."

"No problem." Marc said and passed the ball to Emmett.

Emmett smiled like he had a secret. "I'm still upset with you Granvil, for letting that beautiful carrot cake leave this house. Jane? How did you get the frosting to hold up so well unrefrigerated?"

"A little bit of cream of tartar and cornstarch. It was a trick my grandmother used for years."

Brian squeezed Justin's thigh and when the blonde turned to him, he noted the glint of mischief in Brian's eyes. Justin checked out everyone else and realized that the conversation was a game. A game where they all tried to find something Jane knew nothing about. He considered for a moment and decided to give it a try.

"Brian sent me some of the stuff you all have been working on. I have to say Tempest is a very intriguing heroine. The juxtaposition of the futuristic and antique in her costume are perfectly balanced as are her use of modern weapons while riding an old world war horse. I should probably check with Michael and see if any other female superhero has a similar theme before we introduce her."

Brian interjected, "I don't think I ever saw anything quite like it when I went with him on his countless trips to the comic book store."

Justin picked it up again. "I don't even know if there were female heroes in comics before the fifties." He sat back to wait.

Jane finished her last bite of sweet potato, "Actually, I believe the first female in comics was a character named Fantomah in 1940. I think there were about a dozen more debuted in the next two years but the one that stuck and became the most famous was Wonder Woman. Did you know, she was created by a psychologist and his wife along with their mutual lover?"

"No, I didn't know that." Justin said as Brian grinned like a cat that caught the canary. So Justin tried again. "Did Brian tell you I'm an artist?"

She refilled her wineglass, "He did. He showed me some of your work on his computer. I was very impressed. It is powerful and emotional, and the piece Brian bought for Kinnetik is one of my favorites."

"One of? What other artists do you like?"

The other occupants of the table listened with rapt attention.

"In general, I lean towards the artists of the Dutch Golden Age."

"Like Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Aelst?"

"They are all good of course, considered masters, but I actually prefer Rachel Ruysch. She was apprenticed to Aelst at fifteen years old and I find her attention to detail, like the insects in her floral pieces, to be both whimsical and realistic."

Before Justin could say anything else, she continued. "Outside of the Dutch and their captivating use of light, I also like Waterhouse's The Lady of Shallot, for its vibrancy and subtle/not so subtle symbolism. I like your work because it vaguely reminds me a bit of Giovanni Boldini. He spanned the spectrum between realism and impressionism and I particularly like when he used both in the same work like Spanish Dancer at the Moulin Rouge."

Justin was gobsmacked. Brian reached over and used one finger to close the gaping mouth of his partner and Justin pushed his hand away playfully.

Conversation flowed around the table but Justin only participated when he was asked a direct question. He watched Jane, very much like Brian had at his first meal with her, and he had to admit that Brian had been right. She worked the room like a pro. Both confident and easy with her knowledge without being condescending or superior. She handled topic changes and hot subjects with equal aplomb.

There was a mystery there, and he was determined to find out what it was before he left.

Lulah, Emmett, and Justin handled the clean-up while the others set up the table for cards. Brian helped himself to a very large piece of the triple chocolate cake while Justin was distracted and was delighted to find a layer of cheesecake in the middle. Marc did his best to hide the grin when Brian went back for a second piece, but Brian caught him and swore him to secrecy.

As the poker game progressed, it became apparent that it would come down to Brian and Jane, again. She had been drinking wine all night and Brian was steadily eating his way through the desserts.

When Lulah went all in and lost, Jane's face lit with an avaricious gleam. Marc stayed on as dealer and Lara started taking bets on who would win. Justin learned that the card game was a weekly endeavor and that the two of them had been known to play far into the wee hours as they were so evenly matched. They kept a running total between them for real money and Brian was only slightly in the lead by six thousand dollars.

Justin sat at the far end of the table, talking with the others, only peripherally paying attention to the game. Jane and Brian both had excellent poker faces and as far as he could see, neither had a tell that he could pin down. They both bluffed well and the lead wavered back and forth for well over two hours.

Marc's voice cut into the conversation and everyone stopped talking to pay attention to the game. "Brian is all in with fifteen thousand and change. The pot is now twenty-two thousand plus. Jane?" He made a note on the paper next to him.

She didn't even bother to look at either of them, kept her eyes on her cards and nodded that she would see the bet and said, "Call."

Brian sat up straight and flipped over his cards, showing a full house of Aces over Queens. Leaning forward on his elbows his expression fairly taunted her. He was gloating and the deadpan look she gave him made an uneasy feeling roil through him. He narrowed his eyes at her and she held his gaze, no noticeable change in her eyes as she flipped over her cards one by one.

When she turned over the last one, Marc uttered "damn" under his breath and Brian looked at them. She had a straight flush, 2 through 6, in spades. He deflated. Jane's expression still hadn't changed, making him say, "Shit, Lady Jane, you could be a stone cold killer and no one would suspect. I haven't caught a tell yet."

Her face finally changed and the resulting look sent chills down spines and fine hairs to stand on end. No one could speak until she smiled a genuine smile and set everyone at ease again. They all laughed off their disquiet.

All of them except Brian. For the first time, he recognized something she had kept to herself. Brian was sure, in that moment, that she had indeed committed murder the same as he had. He was equally sure the bastard had deserved it.

Jane rose from her seat while Marc worked the numbers and the others went back to talking. She stretched the kinks from her back and moved to stand behind Brian's chair where she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and leaned in to whisper into the ear the others couldn't see. "Yes, I did. And I will never speak of it."

She barely brushed her lips over his cheek and let her hand glide up his arm as she walked away.

To:BAK@KinnetikKorp.com

From: LinSaP@SBGal.com

Attachment 1

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this message finds you happy and doing well. I miss our chats, especially now that I have big news.

Mel and I both got jobs in Boston and Gus was accepted for the spring term. Hopefully, we will be moved and settled in by Christmas. I hope you will be able to visit us for that holiday. Gus misses you terribly. I scanned a picture he drew for you and attached it to this email.

Please call me when you have the time. Gus would love to talk to you and so would I.

Love,

Lindsay

To:BAK@KinnetikKorp.com

From:Zephyr@LibertyComics.com

Happy Thanksgiving! I haven't heard from you in a while, so I thought I would drop you a line. Did you hear the news? The Munchers are moving to Boston! Mel told me that Gus is going to attend some fancy-shmancy school there. Lindsay's new job means she will have to travel and Mel got in with some big-time firm. She mentioned a nanny and I have to say, I'm not too keen on the idea of a stranger watching my kid. Think you could talk them out of it?

Dinner at Ma's was unusually quiet. Something is up with her and she refuses to talk about it.

Look for me and Ben on the news on Saturday. The grand opening is being covered by two different networks. What the hell am I gonna wear?

Always Have,

Michael

To:BAK@KinnetikKorp.com

From:CinTAK@KinnetikKorp.com

La Perla is on for Jan. 6

It was the only day available, so if you are not going to be here, I suggest you fill me in pretty quick as I had to do a dancing act to get the appointment.

As you requested (in the middle of the fucking night), the house/van/education fund, have been set up. She should be notified tomorrow. I am not even going to ask. I know your secret identity. I just wish you had these urges during regular business hours.

As you can imagine, Justin has given Everett a run for his money and he is none too pleased about it. He's been storming the halls, giving hell to everyone involved and is setting up new procedures for security details and monitoring.

Justin has had quite a few deliveries in the few days he has been gone and I have had to let several workmen into the studio for them to complete the work he ordered. You can tell him for me that if something is missing when he returns, it is his own fucking fault.

I am not going to ask how you are doing, since it has been confirmed he made it all the way to you. I can just imagine how you have spent your time since his arrival.

I am glad you decided to talk to Jane about it. If you are smart, you will tell Justin too. You have kept it to yourself long enough and I think it will do you some good to get it out.

As you know, I don't keep things from you, so I will admit to telling Everett our history. He had already intuited some of it and I felt it necessary for my well-being to tell him the rest. I figured, if he could keep government secrets, he could keep ours.

I think I am already in love with him. What the fuck am I going to do now?

C

To:BAK@KinnetikKorp.com

From:TSchmidt@KinnetikKorp.com

Some interesting expenses came across my desk. Since when is Kinnetik in the habit of buying houses and setting up funds for strangers?

Are you sure you are feeling okay? Cynthia said it was at your request. I would appreciate a confirmation of that.

So far, everything is quiet on the home front. Debbie seems a little out of sorts and Carl has pushed off his retirement. Michael has been kept busy with the store and their foundation, but once that distraction is past, you can probably be expecting his usual daily calls and emails.

Get Well Soon,

Ted

Brian closed his laptop and set it on the coffee table when Jane declared herself the winner of the Scrabble game she and Justin had been playing. She commended Justin on his word skills and announced she was heading for the shower, leaving him to pick up the pieces since he was the loser.

It was ten-forty-five and everyone else was in bed, with the exception of the two of them and Marc out on rounds with Granvil. Brian picked up the score sheet and was not surprised to find that Jane had only won by eight points.

"Looks like Jane might have some competition." he said, turning on the couch and placing a leg on either side of Justin as he sat on the floor. Sliding a hand under Justin's chin and tilting his head back until he could kiss his lips. Justin let him in immediately and took advantage of their privacy by reaching a hand back and caressing Brian's crotch until he elicited a moan from his partner.

Brian broke away from the lip lock long enough for Justin to turn around and kneel facing him. Justin tugged him closer to the edge of the couch until their cocks ground together. Then the kissing started for real. It was heated and passionate. Wet tongues dueling, noses pressed to cheeks and hands finding their way under clothing to stroke and stoke the fire.

Neither heard the politely cleared throat and it wasn't until Marc said their names that they even knew they weren't alone anymore. Brian came to first, his raised eyebrows and look of shock bringing Justin around to see what had caused it.

It was indelicately rude of them, but neither could help staring at the newcomer setting his bag and large metal case on the floor as Marc closed the door behind him.

"Tate, this is Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor. Fellas, this is Tate. Jane's husband." Marc kind of enjoyed their speechlessness. It was obvious that both men were admiring Tate and liking what they saw. He wondered, briefly, what Jane's reaction to their perusal would be. The way he saw it, she would either be fine, or she would go ballistic. Glancing around the room and not finding her, he thanked God that he wouldn't be finding out tonight. He quickly excused himself, rather than press his luck, and went back outdoors.

Brian and Justin looked at each other, then back at Tate. Justin's first reaction was a clenching of his right hand to control the urge to draw. His second was to remember Tate belonged to Jane.

Brian just wanted to lick the man from head to toe and back again. He could have easily just stepped off the page of The Last of the Mohicans with his long, straight, black hair and deep brown eyes. His sun-bleached denims fit as if they had been painted on and the oval, silver belt buckle did nothing but emphasize the package below it. What skin that was showing on his face and hands was unmistakably Native American in its dusky red-brown hues. His sharply chiseled features and slightly fuller lips confirmed his heritage. Brian guessed him to be in the neighborhood of six foot four and a long, not-quite-lanky two hundred-ish pounds.

Justin was the first to remember his manners, standing to offer a handshake in greeting. Tate accepted, saying, "Sorry to interrupt."

Justin blushed to the roots of his hair and fumbled for something appropriate to say. Brian grinned like a madman and stood to offer his hand as well. "Forget about it. We are glad you could make it."

Tate nodded, his eyes scanning the room and all other places he could see.

Brian unlatched his radio from his pocket and turned the knob to Jane's channel. "Lady Jane?"

Tate smiled at the endearment, baring perfect white teeth. When she didn't answer, Brian tried her two more times. He was just about to go up and get her when Tate put out his hand palm up, asking for Brian's radio. Brian relinquished it and returned to the couch, towing Justin along behind him.

Tate spoke into it in a language they didn't understand. His voice low and smooth, like silk sliding over velvet. Blonde and brown eyebrows rose at the undeniably sexy tones and both heads jerked to the ceiling when they heard a thud upstairs. It was followed at once by a door hitting the wall and the sound of running feet.

Tate set the radio on the coffee table and stood about four feet from the base of the stairs as Jane ran, tripped, and slipped her way down as fast as she could and launched herself bodily at him a third of the way from the bottom.

He caught her up as she wrapped herself around him, dripping soapy water, her towel barely covering her ass-ets. With her limbs locking him to her and each of his hands gripping just under her butt, they engaged in a ferocious lip lock that rivaled the one of a few moments before. She tangled her hands in his hair, latched her ankles behind his back and made no objection when he retraced her wet footprints to her room.

The door slammed again, Brian and Justin grinning at each other like fools.

It was barely light outside when Brian and Justin both suddenly awoke to cheering outside. Brian rolled over, Jane's scent still on her pillow from where she had climbed in with them around two in the morning. Jane, however, was missing.

The hoots and hollers came again and he walked to the window to see Tate and Jane engaged in some kind of martial arts battle. Tate was wearing only jeans and Brian nearly swallowed his tongue at the picture the native made. Every single muscle was defined. Ripped, cut, laser etched in rippling fluidity as he moved. He wasn't body builder muscular like Marc and the effect was that much more impressive because it was evidence of an active and thorough discipline.

Jane ducked a punch and feinted to the left, swiftly moving back to the right and bringing her left leg up, sending her knee into his kidney. Tate had managed to block some of the force but was left with a reddening welt for his efforts. He grappled her with his free arm around the neck and she didn't hesitate to step back into him and use his superior height to her advantage by bending and flipping him onto the ground in front of her. She seized the opportunity to pounce and drove her bare foot into his stomach.

Justin came up behind Brian at the window just as Tate grabbed Jane's foot and yanked her off balance, toppling her to the ground with him, where he rolled onto her and pinned her in the grass.

The cheering came again as Brian and Justin left the bedroom to join the others on the porch. Emmett fetched them each a cup of coffee and settled in to watch. Brian's stomach rolled over. It was apparent that neither combatant was holding back and after about an hour, Tate had a minor cut on the bridge of his nose that was bleeding and Jane had a fat lip. Both would most likely be sporting bruises by the end of the morning. They were both tiring and their movements were coming slower and less precise. Tate wiped at his face and in the process, smeared some blood on his cheek. Jane's posture went languid and Brian knew the battle was over.

He glanced at Justin and noticed his drawing hand clenching and unclenching. Taking it in his own, he massaged the palm and the big muscle at the base of his thumb. Justin thanked him with a big smile, leaning into Brian's side, and saying "I guess I should be grateful I didn't deck her. She would have wiped the floor with my ass."

Brian laughed and kissed him playfully, "Your talents lie elsewhere Sunshine and I for one, am appreciative of that fact."

Tate went into the house only to return a few moments later with the metal case he had been carrying when he arrived. Jane squealed like a school girl and danced in place with excitement while he opened it and retrieved her crossbow. Within thirty minutes the group had managed to set up some targets on stacked bales of hay and she was happily firing bolt after bolt across the yard while they watched. Justin meandered off the porch and joined in the group as they stood arrayed around her learning how to fire the weapon. She gave everyone the chance to fire it after instructing them on its use, engrossed in her teaching.

Brian watched her with a critical eye. Tension that he had not even realized she had been carrying was gone. In its place was an easy, carefree, demeanor. She literally shone with happiness. Her eyes were bright and even with the fat lip she was prettier in that moment than he had ever seen her. She preened when her husband complimented her skills and blushed when he made an innuendo. She was yet another incarnation of herself and Brian wondered that one person could be so much.

Tate caught him staring, touched Jane's arm, and whispered something to her. She smiled at him and returned to instructing Justin. Tate climbed the steps on the porch and sat next to Brian in the swing.

"There is no polite way to bring this up so I'm just gonna spit it out." His voice was loud enough for Brian to hear him clearly but not loud enough to carry. "Last night was the first time she let me make love to her without one of those fucking gowns on. From one guy to another, whatever you did to bring that about, I'm grateful."

It was the absolute last thing Brian expected to hear and the incongruity of the statement with their quasi domestic setting had him uncharacteristically blushing. He didn't know what to say. Especially since Jane had still ended up back in his bed.

Tate must have read his thoughts because he chuckled a bit and said, "I already talked to Marc. I am going to take the night shifts from midnight to six. I don't have a problem with where she sleeps."

Brian rubbed a knuckle over his lip. He wasn't usually embarrassed about his sleeping arrangements, but given that one of his bed partner's husband was sitting next to him, he felt obligated to explain. "We aren't...ah...doing..." he really didn't know how to finish and simply shook his head at his confusion.

Tate let him off the hook. "It's fine. Really. Jane is Jane and if she feels that she needs to be there, then there is where she will be."

Brian nodded again and leaned forward to brace an elbow on his knee. He didn't know where it came from, but it spilled out of his mouth anyway. "I've never met anyone like her. She's smart, funny, accomplished and the most compassionate person I've ever known. Her mind is like a steel trap and she doesn't take shit from anyone. How the fuck, do you keep up with that?"

Tate let out a rolling laugh and replied, "I can't. So I don't. I used to try, but I have found our relationship works best when I let her be herself. She wants me to be who I am and so I just return the favor. We have different interests, so we make the time to do something neither of us knows about and learn together. Like the archery, and pottery, and heaven help me, needlepoint. Though this year has been particularly tough to get her to stop working."

"How do you mean?" Brian asked, genuinely curious.

"Generally speaking, she only takes two cases a year. With the way she invests herself in the people she helps it can be emotionally stressful and draining which can lead to her having an episode. The time she takes to work with each of them can vary from a few weeks to several months. The longer it takes, the more serious the illness, the more emotionally invested she becomes. When Dr. Anders called about you, she had just come back from a hard case that didn't end well. That was the third one this year. The other two weren't so bad, but she was already one over our agreed limit. We had an argument about her coming here. She was adamant that she could help and I argued that she had already done enough, the cost was too high given the last case she had. That she was putting you first over her own well-being pissed me off and scared the shit out of me at the same time. She slapped your file on the table between us and pointed out the systematic abuse you suffered as a child."

Brian looked away, rubbing his fingers through his beard, uncomfortable that Tate knew something so personal.

"It was then that I realized no argument I could make would stop her from coming here. The similarities in your histories was too close for her to even consider not coming. She has been sending me emails and talking to me on the phone, all the while telling me she is fine, but I worried anyway. Now that I am here, I can see that I had nothing to worry about. She is doing well. Happy even. It's been too long since I have seen that particular smile on her face."

Brian said, "It's the first time we have seen it. I didn't even know she could look like that until you showed up."

"Be that as it may, being here with you seems to be doing her some good. I owe you one for that." Tate stood to leave, but Brian called his name, halting him.

"Would you like to see? What we've been doing, I mean?" He offered. When the tall man nodded, Brian led the way to the workroom and set up the computer to show Jane's husband what they had accomplished together. Brian showed him which files he needed then left him in solitude.

Justin joined Brian in the shower a few minutes later and they spent the next while enjoying each other's bodies then talking about what they wanted to do for the rest of the day.

Brian pulled Emmett aside in the yard as they all finished up their chores. "Is there an art supply store in town?"

Emmett said he didn't know but would find out. Noah wandered over, pulling his work gloves off and tucking them into his pockets. "You two conspiring over here?"

Brian sent him a charming grin, one that was guaranteed to disarm the dark man, and said, "Sort of. I want to get Justin some supplies so he can draw while he is here and Emmett is going to find out where we can get them from. If Marc thinks it is safe enough, I think Justin should go to town and pick out what he needs himself."

"I don't think Marc will have a problem with that so long as he has security with him. I'll go talk to Marc now and see what we can do about it."

Brian thanked him and sat on the back porch playing with the puppies as Lulah drank iced tea and gave him pointers on training them.

Emmett dug through the shed, moving things out of the way until he cleared a path to remove what he had come looking for. Granvil helped him drag the large metal frame into the sunlight and after checking to make sure it was still sound and hosing off the dust, they set it in the shade of one of the trees. Emmett went back into the shed and came out with the hammock bundled in his arms. He hosed it off too and together they hooked it onto the frame.

Justin and Noah left for town and Lara took the opportunity to give Brian his weekly checkup. Jane stayed through it and when the Doc was finished she closed the door of the bedroom behind her and sat cross legged on the end of the bed.

"We haven't really had a chance to talk. How are you feeling?" she asked, taking his cigarette from him and smoking it.

He lit another and took the time to really think about his answer. "Aside from wishing I had a healthy dose of Walker Black, I think I'm doing okay. I haven't had a nightmare or an attack in over a week, so yeah, I'm okay."

"You know you can't have the liquor with your meds, but I'm glad to hear you are all right. There has been a lot of change in the last couple of days and I worry that it will do more harm than good." She stretched her legs out and placed one bare foot on his thigh. He immediately started playing with her toes and she used both of her hands to massage his foot nearest her. "I won't lie and say I wasn't pissed that he showed up here. Though I can't say I'm surprised. If nothing else, he is persistent."

"Yeah, you've said that before. He's a good man. I think if you continue to keep him in the loop, he will do his best to support you."

Brian tapped the ash from his cigarette, wincing at her choice of words.

"That's the real problem, isn't it? You think he's too good to spend the rest of his life supporting you." Jane pushed his pant leg up and massaged his calf.

"It would deprive him of the future he is meant to have." Brian said it quietly, convinced of its truth. Feeling in his soul, that Justin was meant for better, brighter, things than constantly supporting Brian's emotionally stunted turbulence. "I can't do that to him. Even after talking to him, telling him everything about myself, I would still feel like I was holding him hostage. Forcing him to choose a future or me, and fearing the results either way."

Jane certainly understood those feelings. Right or wrong didn't come in to play. Feelings were feelings and no one could help which ones arose from specific circumstances. They didn't even have to make sense. They just were what they were. The trick would be to get Brian to understand the difference between reality and fear.

"Do you love him?" she asked.

"You know I do."

"Answer yes or no please."

"Yes."

"Do you believe he loves you?"

"He says he does."

"Yes or no?"

Brian huffed a breath and put out his cigarette. "Yes."

"When you were twenty-four, would you have allowed anyone else to make decisions about your future for you?"

"Of course not."

"Would you have not done something, simply because they told you it couldn't be done or that you shouldn't do it?"

"No."

"Not even if they told you they were doing it for your own good? That they had your best interests at heart and knew that eventually you would understand the reason?"

"No."

"Then why do you persist in making decisions for him? He is a man full grown, capable of making them for himself. Good or bad, they are his to make. If he chose to give up art and travel around the world as a man of leisure, you would support that. Why is it so hard for you to let him choose to stay with you and support you? We all need love and companionship Brian. Yes, he will hurt you again, just as I am sure you will hurt him. But you love each other and that means working it out. It means understanding that there will be bad days, months, and even years. But it also means that he will still be there in the middle of the night after a nightmare and in the morning he will still love you enough to pretend it didn't happen because that is the way you want it. You supported him when he came out to his family, you supported him after he was hurt, you supported him through college even when you weren't together. Is it really so hard to believe that he would want to do the same for you? That he would love you so much that he would risk everything to help you? Give up anything to be with you? I told you once before that love is precious. None of us is so rich that we can afford to squander it when it comes. Grab onto it with both hands Brian, we know how short life can be. Grab onto it and hold it for as long as possible and maybe, just maybe, it will be the best experience of your life."

Brian sat at the kitchen table eating a turkey sandwich, contemplating his earlier discussion with Jane. Emmett puttered around, cleaning this or that, making trips to the cellar for the things they would need next and Brian finally came to the conclusion that Emmett wanted to talk to him but didn't know how to approach him about it.

When Emmett ran out of busy work, Brian nudged the chair across the table from him with his foot until it was pushed back far enough to sit in, inviting Emmett to join him.

"Something on your mind, Honeycutt?"

Emmett pulled a face but otherwise ignored Brian's use of his last name. "We're friends, right?"

Brian shrugged, ate another bite, waiting for Emmett to make a point.

"Well, it's just, you know, isn't this whole thing with Justin and Tate being here...awkward?"

Brian considered how much to divulge of Jane's marriage then answered honestly. "It could have been. But, oddly enough, it's not."

Emmett frowned. "I'm just concerned, I guess. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Their feelings I mean."

Brian nodded. Emmett's heart was in the right place and he was correct. They were all friends and his little group had come to love and appreciate Jane even if she was bossy and high-handed at times.

"Tate seems to understand her very well. I already talked to him and he pretty much told me she does whatever she wants and he doesn't interfere. It is what works best for them."

"They have an open relationship?"

"Not the way you are thinking, but in simplest terms, yeah." Brian shrugged again, went back to eating.

"And Justin is okay with it too?" Emmett seemed skeptical.

"Jesus, Em, it's not like she and I are up there having some kind of fuckfest. We sleep and talk about...things."

Emmett colored a bit, "I didn't think you were ‘sleeping' with her. God, give me some credit, will ya. It's just obvious the two of you care about each other and when I said I didn't want anyone to get hurt, what I meant was, I don't want you to get hurt when she leaves. I really like Jane, but eventually she will go home. You are my friend. I care about what will happen to you when she isn't around to pick up the pieces. I want to help you."

Emmett's statements were heartfelt and genuine. Brian's first instinct was to reply with a snarky comment on lesbianism, but he bit it back. He didn't want to hurt Emmett, even if the big queen understood he meant it in jest. After all, it had been Emmett that had stayed with him during one of his episodes, and it had been Emmett that arranged for their current housing. Emmett took care of all the household chores including his laundry and most of the meals. Most especially, it had been Emmett he had trusted to help him with Jane.

"If you want...you could talk to Jane. She would be the one to best tell you how to help. She's already doing it with Justin, but having a backup might come in handy."

Emmett beamed at him. "I can do that."

Emmett stood up to leave and Brian stopped him before he could change his mind about what he was going to say next. "Uhm, thanks. You know...for everything you've done." He gestured, casually implying their surroundings, yet the meaning was so much bigger than that.

Emmett brought both hands to his own cheeks and shaking his head, heaved a happy sigh. "It was nothing. Anything for a friend right?"

Emmett tried to move away again.

"Em?"

He sat back down. Brian's tone had been very serious.

"Yeah?"

Brian's mouth pulled into a tight line, then a frown. "You loved Drew, right?"

Emmett's face was a little sad even though he was smiling. "I did, yes."

"Why'd you break it off?"

Emmett had no idea where this conversation was going, but Brian obviously needed something from it so he answered. "It was best for Drew and to a lesser degree, myself. He needed time to find who he was and what his place in the world is as a gay man. He just wasn't ready for the long term. So I let him go."

"Didn't that hurt?"

Emmett's head bobbed sharply, "It hurt like hell, but it felt right too. Sometimes I wonder what I would do if he came back and asked to get back together. I know it just makes me seem like and even bigger silly queen to you, but I've spent entire days thinking about it."

Brian's mouth pulled to the side, his dimple peeking out for a second. "It's not silly."

He could have laughed at the shock on Emmett's face but asked another question before he lost the nerve. "Would you do it? Take him back?"

Emmett didn't even hesitate, "God, Yes! I would jump on that roller coaster and ride it for the rest of my life if I could. I don't think I will ever love anyone else the way I loved him and I'm not even talking about the sex. It didn't even make sense, the jock and the queen, but we connected. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

By three in the afternoon both couples were in the workroom in a heated discussion about the introduction of Tempest. They watched all of the footage Brian had shot including the stuff he hadn't included in the video or slide presentation. Justin and Tate were blown away with the sheer amount of work that had gone into it.

Justin had told Brian about his ideas for the special editions and his plans to move Rage online. Maybe do an animated feature in the future. The fact that he had yet to talk to Michael about it was both good and bad. Not even Brian could predict what his reaction would be, let alone with the addition of a new female superhero.

"I don't think he will have a problem introducing her in an issue of Rage," Brian was saying, "but I don't want him writing her on a regular basis. Tempest belongs with us and I want her to have her own series."

Jane nodded along, in complete agreement that she didn't want a stranger handling what was essentially her life story.

Tate interjected, "I don't have a part in this, so you can tell me to butt out if you want, but what if you went ahead with the introduction, then issued a stand-alone graphic novel? Something like The Crow by James O'Barr. It did really well even though it was entirely black and white. The only color in Tempest's costume is her makeup. You could leave that as the only color in the novel as well, making it different than what I have seen in comics before."

This sparked a new round of discussion and Brian took notes on everything from possible layouts, to length, to issue pricing and the cost of publication. From there they talked about advertising and promotion, even going so far as to contemplate if a real movie could be made.

The excitement level was high, and as Justin did quick sketches by the dozens, Brian came to the conclusion that he, himself, was looking forward to this project more than any other he had worked on in the last few years. Jane seemed just as positive about it and liked that they had no intentions of sugar coating her experiences. It would be just as dark and harsh as it had been in reality.

Justin still didn't know her story, and when he asked about it so he could draw some panels, her lips pursed. "You ever hear the song, Sweet Lady Jane by Dakota Moon? Came out a year or so ago."

Brian's eyes darkened at the reminder. Justin said, "Had kind of a bluesy jazz sound right?"

Jane replied, "That is my story. Or close enough anyway."

Justin made a mental note to look the song up later and listen to it again to refresh his memory of the lyrics. He was just about to ask her another question when Lara knocked on the door and told them dinner was done and they should come eat.

Justin stored his questions away for another time, then joined in the game of "Who can stump Jane?" at the dinner table.