Brian woke up and knew immediately he was alone in the bed. For a scary split-second he thought that getting the call from Justin, and everything since was a dream. That was until he heard the familiar sound of his husband breathing.

Sitting himself up on his elbows he looked around the room. He found his missing bed partner in the other bed. Justin was in the middle of the bed with both kids on either side of him. Both kids had their little heads resting on Justin's chest.

For a while he just stared at his family. He fought off the tears that threatened to fall. It wasn't until Savage told him that Justin wasn't one of the rescued before he really lost it. He remembered the feeling. The absolute devastation. Gus and Briana were the only reason he didn't off himself that night.

His eyes landed on the little boy. The boy didn't say much of anything last night. Justin said that he was usually a chatty little guy. He hoped that the boy warmed up to them as a family. Brian had always felt like an outcast in his family, and he had been born into it. He didn't want the same thing for any of his children, and Joshua was one of his children now.

Knowing he couldn't fall back asleep he decided to get up. It was a little after eight in the morning, so he called down to room service. After ordering breakfast for everyone he went into the bathroom and got ready for the day. There were still dark circles under his eyes from a month of almost no sleep and lots stress.

Just as he was finishing shaving he got the feeling someone was watching him. That was when he looked towards the open bathroom door. It was then he saw Joshua staring at him.

"Hey little man," he said quietly. He didn't want to scare the little guy.

Joshua just looked at him, not saying a word. It was starting to freak him out. Justin said the boy was smart for his age and had a large vocabulary.

"I ordered breakfast. Are you hungry?"

Nothing. No response at all.

"I hope you like waffles."

Nope, nada.

He wasn't used to trying this hard to get someone to talk to him. It was starting to piss him off.

There was a light knock at the door. It was either the fastest room service on earth or it someone else. He unlocked the door and opened it. He was greeted with the sight of Lindsay's homophobic father. What the fuck was he doing there?

"OPA!" Joshua shouted before throwing himself at the man.

"Joshie. I've missed you so much."

Joshua giggled. "I just seen you."

"Well, I still missed you." Ron looked up at Brian and smiled. Brian did not return it. "I called Lindsay and Melanie. We are all going to meet at the social worker's office. We have to make sure Joshie goes where he belongs."

Before Brian could say anything another person walked up. This was a tall, dark skinned man.

"Izzy!" Joshua shouted again. He went from Ron to the new man.

"How's my little guy?" Joshua giggled. "Where's your papa?" The stranger picked the small boy up and the boy looked extremely happy.

"Papa's sleeping. That man gots food comin," Joshua said pointing at Brian.

Brian forced himself not to wince when Joshua referred to him as 'that man'. He saw the man holding Joshua look at him with suspicion but Ron looked at him with pity. He preferred suspicion. Pity was for losers. Like Ted. Ted deserves pity.

"I would invite you all in but as you heard, Justin's sleeping."

"We're awake now."

Brian turned around and saw Justin still in his sleep clothes and Briana almost hiding behind his leg.

"Justin, morning. I came to see how you and little man are doing," Izzy, as Joshua called him, said.

"Good, I'm starving though."

"I ordered room service," Brian said, and gave Justin a once over. Justin was thin as a rail and not in the good way. This was the smallest he had ever seen him, he looked sick. But then again all of them did, Joshua the least. It didn't take a genius to figure that one out; it was clear the others made sure the boy had food even if they didn't.

"Ron invited me to breakfast with his daughter and daughter-in-law. I'll see you guys later," Izzy said as he set Joshua down on his feet.

"Can I come with you?" Joshua asked, his voice trembling.

Brian was just about to say no when Justin cut him off. "Sure, Opa will make sure to bring you back before we leave for the social worker, right?"

"You bet. Come on, kiddo."

The small boy danced around the two men as they walked down the hall. Brian heard him jabbering on and on. It was clear to see his affection for both men, and that pissed Brian off more.

"Why'd you let him go?" Brian asked.

"Joshie needs familiarity, he knows Ron and Isaiah. Besides that, he wanted to go with them. I didn't have a reason for him not to go."

"What about that he needs to get to know Briana and I."

"That can't happen in a few hours. Hell, I was in a plane crash with him and it still took days for him to let his guard down around me. You just have to wait him out. So, what did I hear about breakfast?"

The next day they were headed back towards Pittsburgh. The last twenty-four hours had been crazy. It turned out no one signed the papers Liberty Air had handed out. When Justin had Mel look them over, she said the papers were bullshit. If he signed, he was saying that basically they didn't mind being in a plane crash. As Brian said 'Fuck that'. Liberty Air, being a client of Brian's was also a problem. He had a meeting with CEO in the morning. Brian wanted to know what had happened. During the time that the plane was lost, apparently they had been sweet as pie but now it was radio silence. Something smelled funny. Justin also had to be interviewed by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It was their job to investigate plane crashes. Since Liberty Air was a U.S. based company, it was theirs to investigate.

The meeting with the social worker had gone a little better but not by much. They didn't like that Brian and he were a couple. Already having Briana and Gus did help though. As did Brian's money, Ron's support and Mel's knowledge. They walked out of there with temporary custody. They were going to see a new social worker in Pittsburgh. He hoped this one would be a little less homophobic.

Then there was the elephant in the room. Hate, all-encompassing hate. Briana hated Joshua and it looked like Joshua returned her feelings. As it stood they were glaring at each other in the backseat at the moment. He never thought they would hate each other.

"He's looking at me again," Briana snapped. She sounded like Brian when he was annoyed.

"Well, you're looking at him," he reasoned.

"Why can't he go to his home?"

"Our home is his home. Remember, we told you we want to adopt him. He'll be our foster son until they get done looking for another living relative. After that we'll be able to adopt him if everything checks out."

"Papa?" Joshie asked.

"Yes, Joshie?"

"Briana is mean."

"I am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Stop it, both of you!" Brian shouted, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel.

"Briana, can you tell me why you are fighting with Joshie?"

"You like him better than me and Gus," she whined.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"You went away and didn't let me come because you had him."

Justin thought about telling her that if she were with him he would have gotten first class, because the trip was so long. First class had been all but obliterated. The only ones to make it was Ron and Nancy, and they had been in the very last seats. But he knew not to tell her any of that.

"Honey, I met Joshie on the plane. I'm glad I did, because I got to meet his grandmother. She was an amazing woman, she wanted your daddy and me to raise him. If I didn't meet him he might not be in our family, and I couldn't imagine my life without him. Just like I couldn't imagine my life without you or Gus."

Strangely he heard his daughter giggle. "And Daddy?"

Justin lightly laughed. "And Daddy."

"Can I call him Daddy?" Joshie's small, timid voice asked.

"I would be honored if you called me Daddy," Brian said. His death grip had lightened up on the steering wheel and a small grin was on his face.

Justin wouldn't say the rest of the trip home was harmonious but it was less tense. Every so often he heard Briana and Joshua quietly chatting. She was telling him about the room they made up for him. Brian obviously made her aware of what was going on, she just was too young to really understand the words.

Both kids were asleep when they arrived home. Brian was happy when he pulled into the driveway and no cars were there. He had to threaten the family not to come over. It had been hard because Carl and Justin's brother were desperate to see him. But Brian had told them that because of Joshua they needed to cool their jets. The boy needed to adjust to the house and them before being bombarded with that brand of crazy.

Brian picked up Briana from her boaster as Justin got Joshua. They carried the sleeping children into the house after Brian unlocked the door.

"I want to lay them on the couch. When Joshie wakes up from his nap I don't want him scared," Justin said.

Brian nodded and put a sleeping Briana on one end of the couch. Justin followed and did the same.

"I want to be alone with you," Brian said, needing to hold, touch and feel Justin.

"I know; I need to be with you too…but we have other priorities right now." Justin's eyes shifted to the small children on the couch.

"Careful there, Sunshine. You might start sounding like a respectable adult if you keep talking like that."

Justin huffed a laugh before sitting down on the loveseat. He wasn't surprised when Brian sat beside him. Brian put his arm around his shoulders and brought him in closer. It felt good to be this close to his husband again. They hadn't talked about all their problems but it could wait. They had all the time in the world now.

"Only you could get yourself in a plane crash and come back with a kid," Brian said into his ear.

"You'll love him; I know you will." Justin hesitated for a second but continued anyway. "We need to talk about what happened before I left. Why I left to be more specific."

"Do we have to talk about that now? Can't we just enjoy being together before the family descends on us."

Justin laughed. "When did you tell them they could come?"

"Tomorrow. We're going to have a cookout."

"It's too cold to have a cookout," Justin pointed out. It was early November after all.

"You don't expect me to let all of them in my house do you?" Brian asked with his devilish smirk.

"You're evil," Justin said as he kissed Brian on the lips.

"I'm sweet."

Justin couldn't wait until tomorrow. He missed his dad and siblings. He also missed his friends. Nerves had him a little on edge because he was worried about how Joshua would take everything. He had faith in Briana, she was strong-willed just like Brian. Josh though was so lost. After losing his grandmother along with the crash, and now being thrown in with people he barely knows. Justin just hoped he would be okay. He hoped they all would be okay.