Brian was impressed with the progress they had made on the Coca-Cola campaign. Two late nights on Monday and Tuesday equaled out to being ahead of schedule and that was always a good thing in his book. Ted and Cynthia had arrived days earlier than he expected and had gotten in first thing Monday morning. They worked from early in the morning to late in the evening planning the budget. Ted made the charts to show how much they could spend on everything. Cynthia made calls to start inquiring about filming permits in various locations. Brian spent hours in the art department, assigning his visions to his best people, and overseeing the storyboards soon after those visions were clear. He contacted different directors, photographers, and cinematographers to figure out scheduling and availability. He threw different big names around with Cynthia and Ted and planned on talking to Kent about them to see what he thought about those faces endorsing the popular soda.

However, he felt guilty about the lack of time he had spent with his daughter the last two days. Their nanny, Jess, had been working more the past couple of days due to Eric working extra hours in Bensonhurst and Brian had been even worse than him. At least Eric had been there to take her to preschool and got home by 8 o’clock at the latest. Brian hadn’t seen his daughter awake since Sunday. He would always get in past her 8:30 bedtime and leave before she woke up. He would go in to kiss her goodnight even though she slept through that. She had called him yesterday afternoon to talk to him and he stayed on the phone with her for a little bit. She missed him and talked and talked like Lily does and it had brightened his day. He was worried about her today though. Eric had called to tell him Lily was sick this morning and stayed home from preschool. Jess had been nice enough to come in at 8 and, even though he knew Eric wanted to stay with Lily when she was feeling bad, he had a few meetings today of his own and had to oversee the construction of the synagogue for a while. Eric assured him it was just a stomach bug and that she had put on a brave face and insisted that she was going to be fine. Lily’s well-being was lurking in his mind though, even with everything that was going on at Kinnetik.

It was a good thing that his main job today was to oversee his employees’ progress and consult different departments on the various projects Kinnetik had taken on. He didn’t have anything to present nor did he need to kiss ass today. But Kinnetik had several big projects lined up and it was hard for him to pull away. But when his cell rang and he saw Jess’s number, he picked up in a heartbeat. He knew it was probably nothing but Lily being sick always made him nervous.

“Brian? It’s Jess. Sorry to be calling you but Lily was very insistent on talking to her daddy.”

“That’s fine, Jess. You know I’ll talk to her any time.”

“Lily? You still want to talk to your dad?”

He could hear Lily’s voice in the background confirming Jess’s assumption and soon he heard his daughter on the line.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, baby. How are you feeling?”

“I don’t feel good. My tummy hurts.”

“I heard. I’m sorry you are feeling sick. Have you been able to do anything today?”

“Jess and I made some pictures. I made one just for you. I almost threw up on it but Jess got a trashcan.”

Brian winces at his daughter’s bluntness, “I can’t wait to see it. Are you feeling any better than you did before Papa left?”

“Not really. It really hurts. Daddy, I miss you,” Lily starts to whine.

Brian lets out a sigh, “I miss you too. I’m sorry that we haven’t seen much of each other the last couple of days.”

“We haven’t seen any of each other at all,” Lily points out.

Fuck. His kid knew how to guilt him.

“Daddy, I want you to come home. I miss you. I want you at home with me,” Lily whimpered.

“Honey, I want to be there but I’m busy with work.”

“Maybe you could work here. I will be good, I promise. I won’t be loud.”

Brian doesn’t know what to say to make her accept that he needs to stay in the office. All he can come up with is, “I’ll be home before you go to bed. I’ll read you a couple of bedtime stories and tuck you in.”

Lily doesn’t say anything and Brian’s guilt goes up a notch.

“You mad at me?

Lily makes a sound that tells him she’s trying not to make a big deal out of it.

“So what else did you-”

But Lily interrupts him by retching. He hears Jess’s soothing words and eventually Jess grabs the phone.

“Brian? Sorry, Lily’s throwing up again. She made it to the wastebasket though. I’m going to give her more Kaopectate and hopefully that will make it so she’ll feel better.”

Brian puts a hand over his forehead, “Alright. Try to get her to drink some water so that she doesn’t get dehydrated. Call me if she is still feeling bad in a couple of hours. Keep Eric updated too.”

“I will. Eric called about half an hour ago to tell me he’d be home around 4:30 since he decided to have Lewis oversee the construction today. It’s only 6 hours away but you know kids. She wants her parents here.”

Brian scoffs a little, “Now the nanny is guilting me too.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that she loves her parents.”

“Okay. Just keep me posted. I’ll try to leave a little early too.”

“I will. I’m going to get off the phone so I can try to get Lily’s stomach to settle.”

Jess hangs up and Brian tries to get his mind off of his sick child at home wanting him to be there with her so that she could be comforted by her daddy.

He lasts for half an hour before he puts his coat on.

He might have lasted longer if it weren't for Cynthia urging him to go be with their baby before informing him that she would come over this evening to spend some time with her. She and Ted assured him that they would keep everyone working and everything ahead of schedule.

So, with their blessing, he leaves the office at 11 and gets on the train. He gets off at his stop around 11:25 and quietly lets himself into his home to be with his daughter.

"Brian! I didn't expect you back this soon," Jess says as she comes down the stairs.

"Things were under control at work and I wanted to come back to spend time with Lily. Where is she?"

Jess nods over to the direction of the living room, "Over on the couch. She's dozing on and off but never stays asleep for more than ten or fifteen minutes."

"What are her symptoms?"

Jess sighs and counts them off, "Fever of 100.8, nausea, vomiting. She had a brief bout of diarrhea just about half an hour ago so I'm worried that will kick into full force as well."

Brian nods, "Thanks for doing so much extra work, Jess. I will pay you for the full day but go ahead and head home. I don't want you getting sick and taking it back to your husband and daughter. If you do, well...sorry."

Jess smirks, "She isn't the first child I have nannied, Brian. My immune system is pretty strong but if it does happen it wouldn't be the first time. Although Ruby doesn’t need it with her cello recital coming up. She’s a teenager though so she tries to avoid me anyway. Are you sure you don't need an extra hand around here? The stomach virus can get messy."

"I should be alright. I feel bad for not being here yesterday or the day before. This can be a bonding experience. I'll wait on her hand and foot while she whines and throws up."

"It sounds like a great time. I wouldn't worry too much about the whining. She's been a trooper, all things considered. You being here will lift her spirits. Call if you need anything."

"I will. Have a good day, Jess."

Jess gets her things and kisses a sleeping Lily's forehead before she heads out the door. Brian walks over to Lily and sits on the other end of the couch to get a good look at her. Poor baby. She was clammy, pale, and had dark circles under her eyes. Her curls looked wild and were tied up in a ponytail. If she wasn't feeling better by tomorrow he was taking her to the doctor, his workaholic schedule be damned.

Lily stirs and crosses her arms over her stomach. Brian gets up and reaches down to put his hand over her forehead. Lily looks up and smiles at him through her pain.

“Daddy? You came home?”

Brian nods and sits back down on the couch, “I guess I couldn’t say no to your charm.”

Lily sits up, crawls over, and curls into his lap. Brian lets his head rest on her hair and rubs her back as she sits there.

“You feel sick?” he inquires, looking down.

Lily nods, “Uh huh. Daddy, I feel really bad.”

“I know. You need anything?”

“I need to go to the bathroom. My tummy hurts really bad!” Lily tells him, starting to get frantic.

Shit.

Brian tries not to jostle Lily too much as he gets up and carries her to the toilet. His heart goes out to her, it really does. Especially when it is coming out from both ends and he has to put the waste basket in front of her. It definitely took becoming a full time dad in order to not get grossed out by this.

“Daddy, I don’t like feeling like this!” Lily moans to him.

“I know, baby. I know,” He says as he makes sure all her hair is away from her face.

“It hurts!”

Brian sighs and continues to comfort his daughter. When she is finally done with the toilet and the wastebasket, he cleans her up, scrubs out the wastebasket, then takes her downstairs to the kitchen and gets her a ginger ale and some saltines to settle her stomach. She resists and cries at first, saying it will make her feel sick but she finally believes him when he tells her it will hurt more if she has nothing in her stomach at all.

“Sip on it,” he reminds her gently as she drinks some ginger ale.

Lily nods and does what she’s told, “Can I have water too?”

“Of course. But sip on that too.”

Brian goes over to get her a cup of water and puts it in front of her.

“I hate being sick,” Lily pouts after she rehydrates herself.

“I hate when you’re sick too.”

“How come? You aren’t sick. I’m sick.”

“It hurts to see your kids not feeling well. It makes you wish that you could trade places and be sick instead just so they can feel better.”

It’s an honest statement, one that Brian didn’t expect to make. As soon as it comes out of his mouth, he knows it’s corny. Lily doesn’t make a big deal out of it though. In fact she does the opposite.

“You’re crazy then.”

Brian smirks at her, “I’m crazy? You’re crazy.”

Lily shakes her head so enthusiastically that it moves her body from left to right in her seat, “Nuh uh! I’m not crazy. You’re crazy!”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m crazy. I’m perfectly normal. You’re a nut.”

Lily giggles, “No, you’re a nut!”

Brian lets out a dramatic sigh, “I suppose you had to inherit your insanity from somewhere. Let me fill up a couple of sippy cups for your water and ginger ale so that we can go be nuts in the living room. You can pick out a movie we can watch.”

Lily shakes her head, “I don’t want a sippy cup. I’m not a baby.”

“You’re sick and it’s in the living room. Your strength and coordination isn’t up to par right now and I don’t want you spilling drinks all over the couch. You’re the princess for the day but you are using the sippy cups.”

“But I don’t want to,” Lily pouts.

Brian gives her a look and Lily stays defiant. He would be annoyed but he’s hoping this means she is feeling a little better. But he knows better from his own experience with this kind of virus. You feel better for maybe an hour after throwing up before getting nauseated all over again.

“Lily, no one is here to watch you drink from a sippy cup. It’s fine. You can pick any movie you want to watch. Even Frozen.”

“I’m sick of Frozen.”

At those words, Brian feels like he’s in Heaven.

“Can you say that again? Slowly and clearly.”

“I’m. Sick. Of. Frozen,” Lily enunciates.

“Honey, if you weren’t suffering from projectile vomiting I would throw you up in the air right now and take you out for spaghetti and ice cream.”

Lily holds her stomach and whimpers, “I never want food. Ever again.”

“I know. Now come on. Go get on the couch.”

Brian turns on the television and goes to Netflix so that Lily can pick something out. She ends up choosing Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Brian changes into some sweats and a T-shirt then sits down next to her. She’s watching the movie intently, wrapped up in a huge, warm, soft blanket with a trashcan in front of her and her sippy cups and crackers on the coffee table. Within 20 minutes he’s rushing her to the bathroom to throw up. Fifteen minutes after that, he’s rushing her back for the other reason as to why she’s so sick. He starts getting worried and gives her pedialyte and more medicine to keep her hydrated. She ends up curling up in his lap again. Working so much these past couple of days has caught up with him so he lies down and lets her fall asleep on his chest as the movie plays. After it’s over, he carries Lily and the wastebasket upstairs and takes her to his and Eric’s bedroom. He lies down next to her and they both fall asleep. She doesn’t wake up once.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brian feels a kiss on his forehead before he opens his eyes to see who the perpetrator is.

He looks up at Eric before he stretches and yawns.

“How’s she feeling?” Eric asks him, worried.

Brian looks over at Lily, “She’s been better. She’s been asleep for a while though. What time is it?”

“About 4:15. When was the last time she threw up?”

“She threw up a little less than three hours ago and had diarrhea about 15 or 20 minutes after that. I think she’s feeling a little better but I wouldn’t be surprised if she woke up feeling sick again either.”

“My poor baby,” Eric frets as he strokes her hair, “Thank you for coming back, Brian. I know how busy you’ve been.”

“Out of the two of us, you were the one with the busiest day today.”

“Yeah, but you have all these new accounts-”

“Eric. She’s my kid too. Of course I’m going to come back when she calls and asks for me to come home.”

Eric nods then takes Brian’s face in his hands and kisses him.

“Still. Thank you.”

Brian smiles then looks at Lily again.

"You think we should keep letting her sleep? She might not sleep well tonight."

"Let's wake her up around 5. If she goes to bed a bit later then so be it. She probably won't be up for school tomorrow since her symptoms just started this morning so she can sleep in and I will stay home with her."

"You sure? You're pretty busy too, especially since you got your office set up."

Eric shrugs, “Lewis is capable of overseeing construction for one more day and the construction workers are a good team. The meetings I had today went well so I will be designing when I’m not taking care of her. I have Roger, Lucy, Tom, and Veronica in the office so they can cover anything that comes up. If there’s an emergency, it’s not that far to Red Hook. The only reason I may need you or Jess would be if something would happen in Bensonhurst.”

“Alright. If you think you can handle it, then by all means. I’m just worried that both of us might get sick.”

“I’ll hold your hair back if you hold mine.”

“You’re fucking weird,” Brian mutters as he gets up and walks past his fiance.

Brian walks downstairs and Eric follows. Brian sits down in the barcelona chair and grabs an unsuspecting Eric then pulls him into his lap.

“Mph, Brian-” Eric says before he’s interrupted by Brian’s kiss.

“Lily will be asleep for a while longer and she’s taking up our bed. It’s too early to start making dinner. We should fuck to help the time go by more quickly.”

Eric laughs, “Oh, we should? And if Lily walks down?”

“Then we’ll say we were exercising, I’ve told you this. Come on. We haven’t had sex for-”

“17 hours?” Eric mocks.

“Oh, you’ve kept count too.”

Eric shakes his head in amusement but catches Brian off-guard by quickly turning around and straddling Brian.

“You want to see me fuck myself on your cock?” Eric whispers into his ear, grinding his ass into Brian’s hard-on.

“Ugh, fuck yes. Do it.”

Eric doesn’t keep him waiting. He quickly gets up and yanks Brian’s pants and boxer briefs down in one go.

“Stay here.”

“Eric, do not fucking leave me like this.”

“I have to get the lube. We don’t keep any down here.”

“How idiotic of us,” Brian replies as he watches his partner run up the stairs.

Luckily Eric is quick and comes back down in good time. he holds his ass above Brian’s lap and lets him stretch him just enough to make sure the intrusion is somewhat comfortable. As soon as Eric says, “I’m good, I’m good. I just want your cock in me” Brian pulls his fingers out and watches Eric sink down on his cock.

Eric’s the one that decides on the speed and Brian’s just along for the ride. He starts out slow and sensual, pressing kisses down his face and neck as he slowly lifts himself up and sinks down again. Brian tries to muffle his groans as he quietly begs Eric to go faster. Around the 10 minute mark, Eric gives in and is bouncing on Brian’s lap at just the right speed. He tries to hold on for longer but soon enough Brian is coming in Eric’s tight hole and Eric follows soon after. Eric collapses onto his chest and breathes into the crook of his neck. Brian puts his arms around his back and they sit there for a minute before moving and getting dressed again.

Eric starts making homemade chicken noodle soup so that Lily might be able to keep it down and won’t be bothered by any aromas of other foods she would usually eat. Brian goes ahead and wakes her up then carries her downstairs to the couch. She seems to be doing a little better but she still feels warm.

“You feeling any better since your nap?”

Lily shrugs, “My tummy still hurts some.”

Brian sighs, “I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, Papa’s in the kitchen making us all some soup.”

Lily gasps, “Papa’s home?!”

Lily jumps up and Brian reminds her not to run as he walks her towards the kitchen so that she can greet her father.

“Look who’s up,” Brian says to Eric, who has his back to them.

Eric turns around and immediately comes over and crouches down on Lily’s level, “Hey, baby! You feeling any better?”

“A little bit. My tummy is feeling funny,” Lily informs him, “I missed you lots and I wanted you here with me.”

“I missed you too,” Eric tells her sincerely as her picks her up for a hug, “You were on my mind all day.”

“I called Daddy since he hasn’t been home in days and he came home to take care of me.”

Brian frowns and Eric tells her, “He’s been home, honey. He has been working really hard and just stayed at the office late. He would go and kiss you goodnight when he got back even though you were already asleep.”

“My daddy loves me,” Lily beams.

“You bet he does. Your papa loves you too. You are a very lucky girl to have such doting parents.”

“Uh huh! What kind of soup are you making?”

“Chicken noodle soup. That okay with you?”

“I don’t know. I’ll try to eat it.”

“As long as you try. We can’t have your stomach being empty or you’ll just feel worse.”

“That’s what Daddy and Jess said.”

“Then you know it has to be true.”

Eric sets Lily down on a bar stool and let’s her watch while he cooks their meal. Brian stays close by to keep an eye on her and makes sure she sips on her ginger ale. She does end up feeling sick again and Brian takes her to the bathroom but Lily claims that it’s a false alarm and she feels better.

And she does seem to be feeling better. She does have some bathroom issues after dinner and throws up once more but by 8 she seems like she’s done for the day. She’s very happy when Cynthia stops by for about an hour before heading back to her hotel. They let her stay up later than they usually would on a school night only because Eric is staying home with her tomorrow. When they do put her to bed, Brian stays true to his word and reads her a few bedtime stories until she falls asleep.

Brian and Eric end up hanging out downstairs for a while. They fuck two more times before going up to bed and fucking once more. After they are spent and Brian is lying in Eric’s arms, they talk about their days and meetings planned for the next week.

“You’re sure you have time to stay home with Lily tomorrow?” Brian asks.

“Yeah, it’s fine. My schedule wasn’t that heavy anyway. She’ll probably be okay but I don’t want to risk sending her to school sick or her passing it along to another child. If she’s feeling better, I’ll just work with her here.”

“I’ll try to come back earlier than I have been. She’s been upset that I haven’t been around the last couple of days and I know that now. Damn, she had to wonder why I wasn’t at the house since I wasn’t out of town on business or anything.”

“Brian, I explained things the best I could. I think she logically understood that you were really busy at work but missed you immensely regardless.”

“I missed her too. And you. I guess.”

"Be still my beating heart!" Eric proclaims before he smiles and kisses him. Then he sobers up.

“Take whatever time you need tomorrow but try not to work yourself to the ground. And try to be back before Lily goes to bed. She feels better about her day when she sees you.”

“Alright.”

There’s a silence for a minute before Eric breaks it, “Shit, at the rate we’re going it will be impossible to have time to plan the wedding.”

Brian rolls his eyes, “I still don’t see why we can’t do something small and do it sooner.”

Eric glares, “I plan on only getting married once, Brian. Let’s make it count.”

Brian smiles, “Hamptons it is then.”

“You better be saying that since you are the one who put down the deposit at Solé East without asking if I wanted to chip in on that.”

Brian shrugs, “You can pay for the Honeymoon.”

Eric laughs, “Okay, deal. Will we even have time for that?”

“We’ll make time.”

“Where will Lily stay? She could stay at Lindsay and Melanie’s but it’s sort of a hassle to send her up to Toronto and get her from up there."

“Emmett and Drew are willing to take her for a week or so. Maybe that way she’ll get sick of Duncan.”

“Wait, when was this even brought up?”

Brian looks at him then looks away.

“Brian...have you been planning our wedding without me?”

Brian chooses his words carefully, “I’ve been seeing a lot of Emmett and we did hire him to plan it. I wanted to surprise you with something beautiful.”

Eric stares at him with a twinkle in his eye and flips Brian on his back to press kisses all over his face, “You romantic, controlling, sneaky, loving man. I love you, Brian.”

Eric kisses him a few more times and Brian holds back laughs at the silliness of the situation before Eric stops, “But I’m picking the menu and the music.”

“Oh? And what will they be?”

Eric thinks, “Hmmm. For the menu, there will be a choice between Steak, Chicken, Salmon, or vegetarian whatever-the-fuck they eat with sides of sautéed vegetables, red skin mashed potatoes, and a salad. I also want those cream cheese pastries that Emmett makes. And cake.

“Whatever you want.”

“I want all of them. Maybe I should design the menu when I’m not hungry. That soup didn’t fill me up at all.”

Brian snorts, “Want me to go down and make you something?”

Eric thinks about it and shakes his head, “No. I need to fit into my tux for the big day. No carbs after 7.”

“You have never went by that rule. Ever.”

“It’s never too late to start.”

“Whatever, princess. Who will be doing the music?”

“Well, I’m not taking Lily’s suggestion by hiring Taylor Swift. She'll be disappointed but so be it."

"Can you imagine Michael's face though? He'll think we went nuts," Brian laughs.

Eric puts on his best Michael impression and says, "Brian, are you sure you are feeling alright? Do you even want this? Brian!"

"You'll always be young and beautiful but that doesn't mean she has to be here!"

They both laugh and settle down so that Eric can tell Brian his idea of musical entertainment.

"I was actually thinking of hiring Nathan's band to play."

Brian doesn't have anything to say about that.

"So? What do you think about that? You think they are really good too."

"Yeah, but they're busy-"

"Previews don't start until May. The wedding is on April 18th. They'll have time to plan what they are going to play and it won't interfere with the show."

"You have this all planned out, don't you?"

"No. If you have a problem with it we don't have to hire them. I just figured that since we've been hanging out with Justin and Nathan it would be something nice to do."

"Don't you mean it would be weird to do? You really want my ex's boyfriend performing at our wedding?"

Eric shrugs, "I didn't think of it like that. I just thought it would be courteous to do for a friend.”

“Oh, I forgot that you and Nathan are all buddy buddy now.”

“I wouldn’t go that far but I do think he’s a good kid and we’ve had some good conversations. Same goes with Justin. Maybe you can ask Justin how he feels about it tomorrow when you go have lunch with him.”

“Yeah, about that…are you okay with that? I only offered because he needs someone to talk to about his dad.”

Eric lets out a sigh, “Brian, you know I don’t have a problem with us hanging out with him or with Nathan. I’ll admit that when you told me you were meeting him for lunch alone, I wasn’t thrilled and I may have been secretly pissy over it. But I did see him when he came over here. He was distraught and he needs a friend close by who really knows the situation. And the fact you told me straight out that you asked him to meet for lunch means something. You didn’t try to hide it or put a spin on it.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Brian mutters.

“I know that. You are honest and I appreciate that. Most of the time. The fact that you are so honest makes me a little more comfortable with you meeting up with him. You were comfortable with telling me so that tells me you are comfortable enough not to...you know.”

Brian glares, “No. I don’t know. What do you think I am going to do with him?”

“Are you even listening? I said that I don’t think you are going to do anything and I trust you. Jesus, Brian.”

Brian knows he’s being unfair and he needs to stop being a dick but sometimes the mention of Justin makes him get so fucking defensive.

“Sorry.”

“Hmm.”

“But just so you know...I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t do anything with him. I wouldn’t do that to you. I never want to lose you."

Eric isn't saying anything. Brian is afraid to look at him but the curiosity gets the best of him and he glances over to his partner. And there Eric is, looking back at him. Brian leans his head forward lets his lips connect with Eric's. After the soft kiss ends, Brian lets Eric lay his head on his chest and they fall asleep like that. He feels content having Eric in his arms, just like he always does. The last waking thoughts he has are that he was telling the truth. He never wants to lose this. He also really hopes that he was telling the truth when it came to the other part of his promise as well.