“So will your squad be alright without you for a few days?” Brian drawls once he gets back downstairs from putting Lily to bed.
“I think they’ll manage,” Eric answers over the phone, “It’s only for the weekend.”
“Shhh,” Brian shushes as he lies down on the couch, eyes closed, “Don’t remind me how short it’ll be.”
“Oh, so you do miss me,” Eric chuckles.
“Sure. And that ass. Celibacy is not my thing. You know that.”
Eric lets out a laugh, “I can’t wait to break your sentence tomorrow night.”
Brian shakes his head, “You’re sucking me off at the very least before we go to the appointment. We’ll dodge Lily if we have to. Maybe send her to do some errands or lock her in a closet.”
“I want to spend time with her though,” Eric sighs, “I miss her so much. How is she?”
“For the ten-thousandth time, she is fine,” Brian confirms, yet again, “She’s driven me up the wall with her sleeping schedule and pulling that disappearing act at Whole Foods but other than that we’ve been having an okay time.”
“I saw your daddy/daughter day pictures,” Eric teases, “And the video of Sous Chef. You’re having a blast with her and you know it.”
“Still doesn’t mean she isn’t driving me insane from time to time,” Brian mutters.
“But she wouldn’t be our Lily if she wasn’t,” Eric says softly, “I called Justin yesterday to thank him for finding her.”
“Again?” Brian asks, eyebrows raised.
“It deserves to be said more than once.”
“Guess his shitty date was good for something,” Brian yawns.
“It’s good that he’s starting to put himself out there again though,” Eric comments, “If he’s ready, then I think that’s great. I chatted with Nathan about a week ago. I think it’ll take him a lot longer. But he’s so busy that I don’t know if he’d have the time anyway.”
“I walked by the theater yesterday. I had that meeting with the developer I was telling you about. The line wrapped around the block. I guess it’s sold out for the next two weeks,” he tells Eric.
“That’s fantastic, especially when they have been on Broadway for a few months. When is their contract up?” Eric asks.
“November. They’ll probably be asked to extend. Not sure if that will be the best move for The Accidental Natives’ career. It depends on what their prospects are by September.”
“Well, whatever the case is, I think they’ll go far,” Eric says kindly, “He’s coming over for dinner on Sunday, by the way.”
Brian groans, “That’s your last night in.”
“I just want to see how he’s doing,” Eric tells him defensively.
“Whatever,” Brian sighs, “Just make sure he leaves by 8. I need my time with you. Alone. With my dick in your ass.”
“Stop,” Eric warns, “I have to go to bed soon. I need to be at the airport at 4:30 am. I can’t get horny now.”
“But don’t you want to imagine me trailing my hand down your chest, toying with you waistband of your jeans, reaching inside and-”
“No phone sex,” Eric interrupts.
“It might help you fall asleep,” Brian reasons.
“Yeah, it relaxes me a lot when one of us is away. But it takes us hours to stop.”
“It’s not my fault you’re addicted to coming.”
“Yes, and you just barely put up with it,” Eric snorts.
They’re silent for a few moments, listening to each other breathe as they wait for one of them to take the plunge by saying goodbye.
“Goodnight, Brian,” Eric tells him softly, “I love you. See you in the morning?”
“Yeah,” Brian answers, clearing his throat, “See you then...and you too.”
With one last goodbye, Brian hears the line click and he takes a deep breath. He knows he should get to bed as well. Eric should be at the airport a little before 9 and Brian would like to get there at least half an hour before to stay safe. He’s driving for the first time in almost a month so at least he’ll avoid worrying about a taxi or the crowds the subway will undoubtedly have in the morning. It would save them a little time as well. Eric could come back home, relax (or fuck) for a few hours.
And then, they would go to the ultrasound clinic and find out if they were having a boy or a girl. If everything went to plan. Lily had been stubborn in the womb and it took a couple of tries before they found out what she was. Since Eric is making a trip back specifically to find out, Brian can’t help but hope that the kid decides to spread its legs, even if he doesn’t care what the baby turns out to be.
He ends up closing his eyes for a while and, before he knows it, it’s nearing 2 am. Dragging himself off the couch, groggy from his unexpected nap, he goes upstairs, brushes his teeth, and lets himself fall back on the bed.
Looking over at Eric’s empty place beside him, he can’t help but feel anxious for him to be home. It isn’t the same without him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“PAPA!!!!!”
Brian is on Lily’s heels as she runs over to her father. Losing her may have him a little paranoid and, yeah, he kind of wants to hug Eric as much as he does.
But unlike their daughter, who is clinging onto the man and kissing him all over his face, Brian can reign it in a little better.
“I missed you too, Lily,” Eric laughs as he takes the little girl’s kisses.
“I missed you so much, Papa,” Lily tells him, “I just gotta let you know how much!”
“I bet I missed you more,” Eric teases.
Lily shakes her head, “No. I missed YOU more.”
“Alright, if you say so,” Eric surrenders, before trying to put her down.
“Papa, I want you to hold me!” Lily insists, clinging onto Eric’s thighs.
“I just want to give your daddy a proper hello,” Eric answers, smirking at Brian.
Lily hesitantly lets go and Brian and Eric walk over to each other with purpose. There is no hesitation when they wrap their arms around each other and kiss passionately, as if they have gone two years without seeing each other rather than two weeks. There are a few whistles from the travelers passing by and an exasperated, “Daddy! Papa! Stop.” from Lily but it’s only when they need to come up for a breath that they finally part.
“Hey,” Eric says first, breathing heavily and grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey, yourself,” Brian answers, tilting his head forward to press it against Eric’s.
“Daddy, Papa!” Lily huffs, putting her hands on her hips, “You’re wasting my time!”
Brian looks down at her and raises an eyebrow, “Really? How so?”
“You just keep kissing and kissing and there’s important stuff we gotta do!” Lily reminds him, “Like play!”
“I know I want to play with your Papa,” Brian smirks right before Eric pinches his side.
“Alright,” Eric sighs, straightening up, “You’re right. We better take off.”
Lily nods her head seriously before taking Brian and Eric’s hands to lead them out of the airport. Well, she tries. Brian ends up having to pull on her arm to get her to go in the right direction.
Lily keeps them occupied on the drive back, chattering away and asking questions both about Eric’s time in New Orleans and about life in general.
“Why do kitties go ‘Meow! Meow!’ all the time but rats go ‘Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!’ only sometimes?” Lily asks curiously.
“Ask Vernon and Bianca,” Brian suggests, getting tired of the constant questions, “They might know.”
Eric snorts at that and takes Brian’s free hand into his own. Brian bites his lip to hold back a smile but laces his fingers with his husband’s hand, liking the feeling of Eric’s wedding ring touching his skin more than he would ever admit.
They get lucky and don’t run into any traffic on the way back home. Eric looks to be at peace once he steps through the front door. The man makes his way over to the couch and Lily perches next to him, on her knees with her arms around him. Brian sits on the other side of Eric and just watches the two of them interact. It’s so damn heartwarming to see Eric in person after two weeks and to see Lily so happy and excited that her papa is home. He knows Eric is trying to stay enthusiastic and interactive with their little girl, but he can also tell that Eric could use a nap and even offers to keep Lily occupied so the man can do so.
“I’m not using this free weekend to sleep,” Eric informs him as he shakes his head, “I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”
“Just don’t get like Lily does when she doesn’t get her rest in.”
“Naps are for babies,” Lily reasons, “Papa isn’t a baby and neither am I! No naps!”
“Chill,” Brian reminds her before looking at his phone, “It’s 9:30 and Lily and I haven’t eaten breakfast. You want to go down the street to eat?”
Lily gasps, squeals, and claps her hands. Sometimes Brian wonders what it is like to be her. Overly excited over the simplest things. It seems exhausting.
“Park Plaza, Papa! We could go to Park Plaza!” she says breathlessly, as if they were about to go to Disney World.
“Well, I guess I can’t turn down an offer like that,” Eric admits, standing up, “Let me just take my things upstairs and change into different clothes.
“Papa, you look fine,” Lily insists, rolling her eyes at her father’s vainness, “You can always change later.”
“Lily, shush,” Eric tells her, “How about you put away your toys? They’re scattered all over the living room.”
“But we have to leave-”
“Just put them away,” Brian interrupts, “I let you get away with not doing it yesterday since Duncan and Emmett left later than planned but you can do it now.”
Lily pouts and grumbles as she gets up before turning around.
“Papa, you should wear shorts. That way, we can be twins,” Lily requests.
“I don’t think I have white shorts with black polkadots on them,” Eric points out to her.
But Lily has already tuned them out, picking up her toys to put in the box in the corner. That’s when Brian and Eric make their escape for upstairs.
They know they can’t do much, settling for hot kisses and mutual handjobs to tide them over until Lily takes a nap later. But it’s better than nothing and Brian would be embarrassed over how quickly he comes if it wasn’t what he is aiming for. Besides, Eric isn’t showing off his stamina either. Brian finds himself cumming into Eric’s hand and letting his forehead rest on the man’s shoulder before Eric does the same thing.
“We need to wash our hands. I need to get changed,” Eric says with a deep breath, “If we aren’t downstairs in a few minutes, you know she’ll be knocking on our door.”
“Such a pest, our child is,” Brian sighs, finally standing up straight, “Go get changed. God forbid you go out in your sweatpants.”
“Like you would,” Eric shoots back before sliding the pants and boxer briefs in question completely off right after taking off his shirt, giving Brian a fantastic view in the process.
“You’re a fucking tease, you know that?” Brian glares yet can’t help but lick his lips at Eric’s naked form.
“So you have told me multiple times before,” Eric smirks before searching through the drawers, “Did I leave my blue shirt here? The light blue one.”
Brian peeks over his shoulder, “Check in the laundry room. There’s a basket with some of your stuff down there that you left in the dryer.”
Eric gives him a look, “Thank you so much for putting those clothes away for me, darling.”
“You know I’d never make you lift a finger,” Brian teases before sighing with a touch of guilt, “Would you like me to get your shirt?”
“No,” is all Eric says, “I guess I’ll just have to wear this shirt. I’ll get my clothes myself when we get back.”
Eric pulls a pair of briefs on before putting on his shorts and his shirt and steps past Brian.
“Oh, so you’re wearing shorts?” Brian comments, slightly disapprovingly.
“Just because you are too insecure to wear shorts when you aren’t swimming doesn’t mean I am,” Eric shrugs, “And these were in the July edition of GQ. They’re in.”
“Well, if anyone looks good in delta shorts, then I guess it’s you,” Brian sighs.
But Eric leaves the room with a slightly bitchy demeanor anyway, one that is most likely caused by a lack of sleep and probably their bickering. But his experience with Eric is that, if it is over something stupid, then to just let the subject go and he’ll be fine within three and a half minutes.
And he’s proven right when they’re walking down the street and Eric holds Lily’s hand with his left hand and put his arm around Brian’s waist with his right. Lily is pretty chipper, with her father being back and they fact that they are twins now. In what way, Brian doesn’t know, since their outfits are completely different. With Eric’s black t-shirt and dark gray delta shorts and Lily’s polka dot short shorts and light pink tank top with the picture of a weird big black mustache on it and the words, ‘la moustache,’ Brian is really concerned that their daughter may be blind.
They make it to the restaurant in less than 10 minutes and Rocko is there and he greets Lily with enthusiasm as usual.
“Hey, Josè!” Rocko exclaims, accepting her hug in the process.
“Rocko!” Lily groans, “That’s not my name! I’ve TOLD you that! Josè is a boy’s name. My name’s Lily!”
“Oh, I forgot. I’m awfully sorry,” Rocko answers with a gleam in his eyes, holding back a laugh.
“Well, try to remember for next time, okay? You’re always getting it wrong,” Lily sighs before perking up, “My papa’s back home for the weekend!”
“I see that,” Rocko answers, nodding to Eric kindly, “That’s exciting, huh?”
Lily nods her head vigorously before jumping up and down.
“Can we sit by the window?” she asks him hopefully.
“Only the best for my favorite customer,” Rocko bows before leading them to a booth of Lily’s choosing.
“This is perfect!” she exclaims as she often does, bouncing down in the seat before pulling on Eric’s hand to get him to sit next to her. Brian sits across from them and it’s really fucking hard to keep himself from smiling at the sight of them together.
The three of them look at their menus with small talk here and there. He’ll have to mention how small the fucking font is on the new menus to Rocko. Why have so many choices if you can’t read what they are?
“You need to get your eyes checked,” Eric says out of nowhere, studying him, “I think you need glasses. I’ve been thinking that most of the summer.”
“No, I don’t,” Brian growls, forcing himself not to squint and trying to not be as obvious when he adjusts the distance of the menu from his face.
Lily pouts and looks at Brian before focusing on Eric, “I need glasses too!”
Brian scoffs, “Why are you even jealous over something like that?”
Before Lily can deny that she’s jealous and claim that her need for glasses is absolutely genuine, the waitress comes by to take their orders.
“Hi, I’m Vanessa. I’ll be your server this morning,” a girl, around 17, says sweetly.
“You’re new,” Lily accuses, studying her suspiciously.
“Lily,” Eric softly reprimands before sending the waitress a wink, “Sorry about that. She’s here a lot and is cautious when it comes to change.”
Vanessa stays friendly, nodding along as Lily says her order slowly.
“I want,” Lily enunciates, “A brown bagel. With cream cheese. Spinach. And tomato.”
“She means whole wheat,” Brian clarifies.
“And juice!” Lily remembers, “Cranberry and orange. Mixed together. More cranberry than orange. Are you writing this down?”
“Uh...Yes?” Vanessa answered, looking a little offended as Eric goes beet red.
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes as Brian chokes back laughs at Eric’s embarrassment, “She...She’s a character.”
“I can tell,” Vanessa nods, finally looking slightly amused at the trying four-year-old.
“Since Lily already ordered her food, I guess I’m ready too,” Eric chuckles, “I’ll have a coffee with cream and sugar to drink along with a glass of water and an omelet with sausage, peppers, onions, American cheese, and hot sauce. And hash browns.”
“Pig,” Brian mutters before clearing his throat for his own order, “I’ll have the Primavera Omelet and guava juice.”
“Health freak,” Eric shoots back after hearing his choice.
“I’ll...I’ll take your orders back to the kitchen,” Vanessa finally says before she leaves the table.
“She thinks we’re weird,” Eric mentions as his eyes follow the waitress’s form.
“Yeah, but that’s pretty normal for you two, isn’t it?” Brian smirks.
“I am not weird,” Lily insists, “I am smart and nice and beautiful.”
“You are,” Eric agrees, “But you weren’t very polite to her.”
Lily tilts her head, “What do you mean?”
“You acted like she was dumb,” Brian re-words.
Lily rolls her eyes, “Nuh uh! I was telling her how to do her job. She’s new! She needs to know how to do that!”
“Try not to do that though,” Eric argues, “You should assume the best in people.”
“But expect the worst,” Brian drawls.
“Brian,” Eric warns.
The bickering dies down after a minute or so and they’re laughing at the shit Lily says once the food arrives at the table. Lily’s eyes her bagel with glee and looks at the waitress with relief.
“You did it!” Lily gasps, clapping her hands, “You got it right!”
“I’m filled with surprises,” Vanessa laughs as she puts all the plates down, “Need anything else?”
“We’re good,” Eric smiles, “Thanks.”
“Thank you so SO much,” Lily adds, chowing down on her bagel sandwich, before leaning over once Vanessa leaves, “You have to give her a big tip, Daddy. She got it right the first time! You just HAVE to.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Brian waves off, “She’ll get a good tip. Now eat your breakfast.”
They eat their breakfasts without incident, except for some tomato dripping onto Lily’s shirt, before heading up front to pay. Brian leaves Vanessa a twenty dollar tip on his card because Lily reminds him to leave her the ‘hugest tip that there ever was’ before taking the little girl’s hand and following Eric out the door.
They relax on the couch for a couple of hours, biding their time until the appointment. He gets Lily to settle down by watching a movie, Lily on one side of Eric and Brian on the other. Eric dozes off half an hour in, head resting on Brian’s shoulder. Lily surprisingly, doesn’t wake him up. She just glances over and sees that her papa is asleep before nestling into his side to watch the rest of Finding Nemo.
Lily knows nothing of the appointment. He and Eric questioned taking her just in case something may be wrong. But, with some words exchanged in a call Eric made to the clinic a few days ago, it had been decided that Rachel, their surrogate, would go in first with Brian while Eric and Lily waited outside. That way, they could be sure nothing upsetting was going on and could bring Lily in without worrying.
“Eric,” Brian says softly into his ear once the credits rolled, “Babe? Time to wake up now.”
Eric’s eyes flutter open before he rubs them tiredly. Lifting his head to look around, he seems to realize that he fell asleep for an hour.
“You should have woken me up,” Eric sighs, “I didn’t want to sleep through today.”
“You weren’t asleep long,” Brian argues before getting a gleam in his eyes, “I need you awake for tonight anyway.”
“And don’t worry, Papa,” Lily comforts, “You didn’t snore at all. If Daddy had fallen asleep, THEN we would have been in trouble!”
Eric chokes on his laughter and falsely assures Lily that Brian is just kidding when he tells her to go to time out for 3 hours.
“Let’s go change your shirt,” Eric tells her, “You have tomato and cream cheese stains on it.”
Lily looks down at her shirt sadly, “I really like this shirt. I try to eat without spilling stuff but I always do it wrong.”
The little girl looks down at the floor, dejected, and Eric picks her up.
“You didn’t mean to, calm down,” Eric chuckles, “You’ll get better at it.”
With that, Eric takes her upstairs and Brian walks over and grabs his Nikon camera bag. He knows Eric will want quality pictures of Lily finding out and, to be honest, he would like to have memories of the moment too.
“Where are we going?” Lily asks, now donning a teal top with the words ‘I don’t wanna taco bout it! It’s nacho problem.’ that Debbie gave to her on their last trip to Toronto.
“We’re going to the doctor’s office,” Brian tells her as he ushers her out the door.
Lily lets out a cry before turning around to hug Brian’s legs, “D-Daddy, I don’t w-want to go to the doctor!”
“Why not?” Brian asks, looking down at her.
“Be-Because! I don’t want a sh-shot!” Lily hiccups, two tears falling down her face.
“You’ll only have 6 or 7 of them and then it will be all over,” Brian teases, just to be an asshole.
He does feel guilty about it when Lily screams and tries to rush back to the front door.
“Lily, he’s teasing you!” Eric calls out, rushing over to pick up their daughter and glaring at Brian through the process.
“Pa-Papa! I don’t want even one shot!” Lily cries.
“You aren’t getting any shots, Lily,” Brian sighs, taking her from Eric, “I was teasing you.”
Lily sniffles and wipes her eyes, “That’s n-not nice, Daddy. You’re not nice.”
“Way to guilt me, kid,” Brian mumbles.
Lily gathers herself and calms herself down, “Where are we really going?”
“To a clinic. It’s not for you though,” Brian is quick to tell her, “It’s about something else. You’ll have fun, I promise.”
Lily hesitates to believe him, breathing harshly and whining at the thoughts racing through her head the whole way to the train.
“I’ll have fun,” Lily whispers to herself, rocking slightly back and forth, “No shots. I won’t get shots.”
“Look what you did to her,” Eric scolds over Lily’s head, “She’s traumatized.”
“Think we should tell her why we’re really going?” Brian tries not to fret.
Eric thinks on it then shakes his head, “She’s smart. She’ll figure it out.”
“Wanting to keep something a surprise over our child’s emotional welfare?” Brian tsks, “Eric. I’m disappointed.”
“Don’t reflect your guilt back onto me,” Eric retorts before putting his arm around Lily, “It’s okay, baby. I promise this is going to be a great day. Daddy wouldn’t have brought his camera if you were getting shots, would he?”
“...No,” Lily answers uncertainly, “I don’t think so.”
“Of course I wouldn’t,” Brian sighs, bending his head down to kiss Lily’s curls, “I was just being-”
“A buttface?” Lily finishes.
“Sure,” Brian snorts, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say that word but that’s what I was being. I was teasing you.”
Lily nods, finally taking her parents’ words as truth, “Okay. So we’re going to go play at the doctor’s?”
“I wouldn’t say play,” Eric smiles, “But it’s about something good, don’t worry.”
The three of them get off at 34th Street in Manhattan and walk down 5th Avenue to 31st to Goldenview Ultrasound, a chic alternative to a hospital that offers packages, some of them including a stuffed bear with your child’s heartbeat. Of course, Eric got the second most expensive package that included the bear, a DVD and digital download of the whole appointment as well as livestreaming so that friends and family can tune in. God knows who Eric gave their link to. It also included multiple 2D, 3D, and 4D ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy and printouts. That part is kind of cool, even though Brian knows the kid will probably look kind of gross in 4D at 18 weeks. But hell, it will be a learning experience for Lily and, going by the look in Eric’s eyes, he can see that his husband is excited about it.
They sign into the building and take the elevator upstairs to the fourth floor and see that Rachel is already there, standing outside the door. He has kept up the habit he and Eric started by continuing to visit her once a week and go to her appointments. She’s showing more and it’s undeniable that she’s pregnant. Whenever Brian sees her, it makes him realize that this is real. He’s having another kid.
But Lily hasn’t met her yet. The timing hadn’t been good up until this point and they knew introducing Lily to her would bring on so many questions, ones that Brian still isn’t ready to answer. Their situation is more complicated than what most straight couples face. He knows that she will probably know that he isn’t her biological father within the next year or so. He just hopes it doesn’t make her see him differently.
“Lily, we want to introduce you to someone,” Eric says softly, taking her hand and leading her to Rachel, “Lily, this is Rachel. You know how Daddy and I explained that when we wanted you we had to grow you in a lady’s tummy?”
Lily nods her head, eyes wide, as she stares at the woman’s abdomen.
“Well, Rachel is growing your little brother or sister,” Eric reveals, “We’re going to wait in the waiting room while she has a check-up to check on the baby.”
“Is my little sister okay?” Lily asks softly, looking at her fathers.
“Your sister or brother should be fine,” Eric tells her, “But sometimes things can happen and we have to be cautious. But as soon as we get the okay, we’ll go in with her.”
Lily nods, understanding, before looking up at Rachel.
“Did you grow me too?” Lily asks.
Rachel glances at the men before shaking her head, “No, sweetie. Your fathers just asked me to grow this one.”
“How come?” Lily asks.
“I just met them a few months ago. I didn’t know them when they wanted you,” Rachel smiles.
“Who grew me?” Lily asks, looking at Eric then at Brian.
“A nice woman in Pittsburgh,” Brian tells her, “Maybe you can meet her sometime.”
Lily gets excited at the idea but surprisingly reigns it in, “I would like that.”
Eric smiles at her and Brian puts a hand on Lily’s back to lead her into the lobby. It’s very serene, painted with comforting colors and furnished with plush sofas and armchairs while soft and soothing instrumental music plays faintly throughout the room. It kind of makes Brian want to crack a joke but he’s able to contain himself as he takes Rachel to the front desk to sign her in and briefly fill in the secretary on what they plan on doing.
It doesn’t take long until Rachel’s name is called. Brian helps her up and he swears that he heard Lily whisper ‘Good Luck!’ to Rachel’s tummy. With one last look at Eric’s happy but anxious expression he gives the two a casual wave before heading back to the room.
They wait there for a few moments, pretty silent. Brian has trouble talking to pregnant women, especially ones he doesn’t know that well. He’s been getting to know Rachel. He knows she’s 32 years old and has three sons, one who is 8 and a set of twins who are 5. She was a surrogate for another gay couple 2 and a half years ago and decided to go through the process again. She claimed she always had easy and uneventful pregnancies and thought it would be nice to provide for the children she has a little better as well as give another couple a child.
“Mrs. Blackwell?” the sonographer asks, peeking at the clipboard as she comes into the room, “I’m Vera, I’ll be doing your ultrasound this afternoon.
“Call me Rachel, please,” Rachel insists as she shakes the woman’s hand.
“And you’re the father?” Vera asks.
“One of them,” Brian confirms, “Rachel agreed to be a surrogate for me and my husband. He’s waiting outside with our daughter. We wanted to make sure everything was alright with the baby before bringing her in.”
“Of course, that’s not a problem,” Vera smiles, “I bet your little girl is excited.”
“Oh, she is,” Brian smirks, “Won’t shut up about it.”
“We shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer than we have to then,” Vera laughs, “Rachel, if you would lift up your shirt for me, we can get started and check to see if everything is in order.”
Rachel lifts her shirt up, exposes her belly, and hisses a little once the cool gel touches her skin. The monitor comes to life and Brian can immediately hear the heartbeat from the machine.
“Heartbeat’s good. 148 beats per minute,” Vera comments as she slowly rolls the stick on Rachel’s abdomen, “That sounds high but it is in the normal range for a child in the 18 week development stage. Size and positioning look normal. There are no abnormalities that I can see. The baby is active as well. Everything looks great.”
“...Good,” Brian answers, letting out a relieved breath, “I’m glad everything is okay.”
“You want to go and get Eric and Lily now, Brian?” Rachel asks softly.
Brian nods and stands up from his chair, glancing at the baby in the 2D monitor before heading back to the waiting room. It may be stupid, but the sight of the kid makes him feel...happy.
He spots Eric and Lily outside, Lily in her father’s lap as he reads her a book that he put in her backpack. Lily spots Brian first, gasping and tapping Eric on the shoulder to alert him. Eric looks up and Brian nods to relay the message.
“Everything’s fine,” Brian says to him. That immediately puts a wide grin on Eric’s face as Lily jumps up and lets out a cheer.
“My little sister is doing great, you guys!” she exclaims to everyone else in the waiting room, “She’s perfect!”
“Or your little brother,” Eric reminds her as he stands up to lead her over to Brian.
Lily rolls her eyes at the idea of the baby being a boy but just follows her parents to the back.
“Hello, you must be Lily!” Vera calls out as soon as they enter the room.
Lily nods her head, “Yes, yes that’s me! It’s nice to meet you!”
Lily holds out her hand for the woman and Vera holds back a laugh as she offers Lily her gloved hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” she says kindly, “Ready to get started?”
“So SO ready,” Lily confirms as she sits in the chair next to Rachel before pointing at Rachel’s tummy, “That’s my baby sister in there, you know.”
Eric sighs, “Or your baby brother.”
“We don’t know,” Lily explains, gesturing with her hands, “But I think it’s a baby sister.”
“Would you like to find out?” Vera asks them, “I actually am getting a clear view.
Lily’s eyes go wide and she nods her head, “Yes. I would like to know right now.”
Vera glances at Brian and Eric and Brian shrugs while Eric nods his head as well.
“I’m working in New Orleans for a month. It’s one of the main reasons I came back for the weekend,” Eric elaborates, “I didn’t want these two finding out without me either.”
Vera chuckles, “Alright. I will just explain what I already told Brian, show the positioning on the 2D monitor, and, if you’d like, switch it to 4D so we can all get a better look.”
Brian rolls his eyes as Eric seems to hold back a squeal before nodding his head.
“That would be great. I can’t wait to see the 4D scan,” Eric says excitedly.
“Just a bit of a warning, at 18 weeks the babies still look a bit scrawny and underdeveloped,” Vera tells them, “When you do another at around 25 weeks or so, the baby will look a lot plumper and more like...well, a baby.”
“I’m still excited to see the stage though,” Eric smiles, eyes bright, “Brian is too. He likes the scientific parts of the baby books.”
Brian rolls his eyes and flicks Eric in the ear, “Would you quit channeling your daughter by yacking so much and let the woman do her job?”
Eric sends Brian a playful glare but listens intently as Vera goes over the information she told Brian just a few minutes before. Lily is also quite tuned in, asking questions in response to practically everything Vera says.
“How big is the baby?” Lily asks in awe.
“Around five and a half inches long from the head to the bottom, about the size of a bell pepper,” Vera answers.
To Brian’s shock, Lily’s eyes fill with tears and she lets out a cry.
“I don’t w-want a pepper for a sister!” Lily cries, putting her face in her hands.
“Lily,” Brian interjects quickly, crouching down next to her, “She was just comparing it for size to give you an idea. The baby is not a bell pepper.”
Lily sniffles and nods her head, finally understanding, “Good. Because I can’t play with a pepper, Daddy.”
The whole room tries not to laugh at the little girl’s words and Vera clears her throat.
“I’ll get the 4D scan up now,” Vera finally manages to say.
Brian is expecting it to pop up on the monitor but it doesn’t. Instead, it gets displayed on an overhead projector. He finds himself watching in awe, along with Eric and Lily, as the baby comes into view. Fuck, technology is incredible. The fact that he thinks he just saw the baby yawn is blowing his mind. He doesn’t fully focus on Vera’s words as she explains what is going on in the womb but three words do filter through and go straight to his brain and his heart.
“It’s a girl,” she tells them softly, a smile playing on her lips.
The next sound Brian hears is a loud and excited squeal from Lily.
“I told you, Papa!” she exclaims, jumping up and down, “I TOLD you I was going to have a baby sister!”
“You did,” Eric answers distractedly, yet doesn’t take his eyes off of the unborn baby.
“I can’t believe it!” Lily says with wonder, “I can tell the future!”
“I’m sure that’s it,” Brian can’t help but laugh.
The rest of the appointment goes smoothly. Lily talks to Rachel’s belly about all of the fun stuff they are going to do once the baby comes out.
“And I’ll share some of my toys, okay?” Lily confides, “But not my Elsa doll or my stuffed Nala that purrs. You have to get your own.”
“You better share with her,” Eric teases, “You want to be the best big sister in the world, don’t you?”
Lily looks conflicted, “Yes, but I can do that without letting her play with Elsa and Nala.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible,” Eric answers with a dramatically grave tone, “Sharing Elsa and Nala is the quality all of the best older sisters have.”
“But I need some toys for myself. And I don’t want her using my iPad,” Lily frets.
“You mean my iPad that you took over and claimed as your own,” Brian reminds her.
Lily nods but says nothing else, then gets a worried look on her face.
“What’s up with you?” Brian asks her.
Lily looks at the still picture from the 3D scan a few times before wincing, “She’ll...she’ll get prettier, right?”
A stifled laugh can be heard from Vera and Eric rolls his eyes.
“Yes, Lily. She’ll get prettier,” the man confirms, “She’ll be just as pretty as you.”
Lily grins, “So she’ll be so SO pretty then.”
“That’s right,” Brian drawls while he gets his camera ready to take another picture, “So SO pretty. Now say cheese.”
And, once they have all had any questions they could ask answered, they’re on their way. They are handed a small album with a few pictures from the scan and Eric is told he should be able to get the personalized DVD of the baby moving by the next appointment as well as the stuffed bear.
“I’m not sure why a grown man has such a strong need for a stuffed bear,” Brian huffs but puts his arm around Eric’s shoulders anyway.
“It sounds so cute and adorable,” Eric defends himself, “I have to have it.”
“It can go in my room!” Lily exclaims, “That way my baby sister can be with me even when she’s not yet.”
Eric’s eyes fill with hearts as he coos and picks Lily up, “Oh, sweetie. That’s so beautiful.”
With two saps at his side, they make their way back to the train.
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After finally managing to put Lily down for a nap, something that took over an hour to do due to her excitement, Brian and Eric fall into bed together. Fuck, he missed fucking Eric’s tight ass. They can’t keep their hands off each other for an hour before finally settling down enough to lay side by side.
“We’ll have to decorate a nursery soon. Buy baby clothes and toys,” Eric says out of the blue.
Brian smirks, “It’s another girl. We can just give her hand-me-downs of Lily’s and call it a day.”
Eric sits up quickly and stares down at Brian, “Hand-me-downs? Hand-me-downs? If this is your way to try to talk me out of a major shopping spree, then it’s not going to work.”
“I didn’t expect it to,” Brian laughs, “I remember how much you bought for Lily. And Julian. And Carlos. And Duncan-”
“And now Pippi Piper Davisson-Kinney,” Eric can’t help but laugh.
“Lily isn’t allowed to name our child,” Brian interjects harshly, “And if she has kids when she’s older, I don’t think we should let her name them either.”
“She can’t even let the baby have her own middle name,” Eric tsks, “Although ‘Ashley Madison’ was a contender.”
“I don’t know how I kept a straight face through that one,” Brian sighs, putting a hand over his eyes, before peeking through, “What do you want to name her?”
Eric looks at him for a second, then slowly lies back down, “I don’t know. I didn’t really think of girl names as much as boy names.”
Brian raises an eyebrow, “Really? How come?”
Eric blushes a little and Brian lets out a laugh.
“You wanted a boy, didn’t you?” Brian concludes.
“I did but now I feel awful since we’ve found out it’s a girl!” Eric groans, “What if she finds out and doubts the love I have for her?”
Brian shakes his head, “You’re ridiculous, I hope you know that.”
“I’m aware,” Eric says with a put-upon sigh, “I don’t know...I’ve always liked Nina.”
“Nina,” Brian says slowly, testing it, “It’s alright.”
Eric gives him a light slap on the shoulder, “Alright, what are your ideas then?”
Brian thinks on it and just begins listing names that aren’t terrible.
“Lenora?”
Eric shakes his head, “People will think we want to name all of our daughters with L names.”
“Good point,” Brian agrees, “Rosalie?”
“Which can be shortened to Rose and that’s a flower just like-”
“Lily,” they both finish.
Brian lets out a sigh, “Julia?”
Eric shakes his head, “I don’t feel it.”
“Ava?”
“Eh,” Eric shrugs.
“Well, aren’t you enthusiastic about my choices?” Brian grumbles, “Alice?”
“I actually like Alice,” Eric starts, “But it’s gotten really popular.”
“Irene?” Brian sighs, deciding to just say the names of random characters from books now.
“Irene,” Eric tests, “Irene. I like that. You don’t meet a lot of Irenes.”
Brian is actually surprised as Eric considers the name but then the man shrugs.
“That can be her middle name,” Eric decides before standing up, “I need to get dinner started. Emmett and Drew will be here around 6, right?”
“So they say,” Brian waves off before rising into sitting position to pull his clothes back on, “What do you plan on making?”
“What do we have?” Eric asks.
“There’s chicken in the freezer. Vegetables in the fridge.”
“I’ll go look,” Eric tells him, fixing his hair in the mirror as he does so, “If I can’t find anything, I’ll run down the street and get a few extra things. Maybe I can grill something and we can eat in the sunroom or outside. I should go to the fish market on Court Street and get swordfish, grill the vegetables, and make sweet potato fries. Ooh, and I could make pico de gallo with mango to top the fish with-”
“Fucking still works up an appetite for you, I see,” Brian smirks, “But how you can be hungry after eating the breakfast you ate, I’m not sure.”
“It’s a gift,” Eric jokes, before turning around. “I’ll be gone 45 minutes tops. If I time everything right, I can have dinner done by 6:30. Can you double check with Emmett and Drew on what time they’ll be here and wake Lily up?”
“I can do that,” Brian tells him as he makes sure he looks presentable, “Grab some beer while you’re out.”
“I planned on making Sangria,” Eric informs him, “But if you and Drew are going to bitch about ‘girly’ drinks, then I guess I can get you Boston Lager.”
“Yeah, he’s going to want domestic,” Brian sighs, “I’ve tried to teach him the magic of European craft beers but it has yet to sink in with him.”
“He’s butch, what do you expect?” Eric shrugs before kissing his cheek and brushing his shoulder against his, “Be back soon.”
Eric leaves the house and Brian texts Emmett to make sure they’re still on for tonight. He gets a prompt text back from his friend, telling him that they’ll be leaving in 20 minutes and that Emmett can’t wait to buy dresses for the new baby. That gives him one person off the list of who tuned in for the appointment. The congratulations texts from Lindsay, Michael, Ben, Ted, and even Mel also tell him that word has gotten around. A facebook message from Debbie, just consisting of the word ‘EEEEEEEEK!!!!’ is also telling.
It’s Cynthia’s text that makes him feel a little guilty for not checking his texts until now.
Cynthia:
A girl?
He owes her a call. He should have called as soon as they left the appointment. She had wanted to be here for it and he knows that to be the case. But Eric is only going to be in for the weekend and there are a few big accounts they just landed in Chicago. It just isn’t the greatest time. So he’s not going to put off calling her. This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for her.
It takes two rings for Cynthia to pick up but when she does, Brian can tell she’s been anticipating his call.
“It’s a girl,” he confirms, “Another one.”
Cynthia, in a manner that’s out of character for her, lets out a sound. Brian can’t tell if it’s a laugh or a sob.
“Cynthia?” Brian prompts cautiously, “You alright?”
“...I’m fine,” Cynthia tells him, shaking it off, “I’m great. I...I’m really happy for you guys.”
“Hey,” Brian tells her softly, “You’re a part of this too. You know that, right?”
“I do,” Cynthia says hesitantly.
“And you know if you want to have a bigger role, to tell Lily that you’re her mom...that’s an option on the table.”
Brian’s telling the truth. Yet the conflicting feelings that it brings does make him relate to Mel more, see where she used to come from in her possessiveness of Gus after he was born. He knows he would be a cunt if Cynthia tried to disregard his place in Lily’s life. He never tried to do that to Mel but there were times where he had been a dick and said things to her that weren’t true. Cynthia chose to take a step back, become Aunt Cynthia instead of Mommy or Momma. But Brian isn’t dumb. He can see the times where the fact that she isn’t just that bothers her.
“Maybe...maybe when Lily starts asking questions we can sit her down and tell her,” Cynthia decides, “Because those questions will probably come soon, especially with another baby coming along.”
“I know,” Brian answers, “And she deserves to know.”
Cynthia is silent for a few moments before clearing her throat, “Do you think...do you think that if Lily knows who I really am to her by the time the baby is starting to talk...maybe…”
Brian waits for Cynthia to finish her sentence but she doesn’t.
“Maybe what?” Brian asks softly.
Cynthia sighs, “Forget it.”
“Cynthia, come on.”
“...Do you think that maybe our second daughter could call me mom? I know I told you that I wanted Lily to call me Aunt Cynthia. That was the truth at the time and I promise you that. I just...I didn’t know what it was going to feel like. I didn’t know how much I was going to love her.”
There is silence between them once more. Brian has worried about this. Why? He doesn’t know. He loves Cynthia. The relationship she has with Lily seems to work for them but, even more so, it works for him. But he gets why she would want this, he really does.
Brian purses his lips, “I get it. You know that I understand that. You’re in the same position that I’m in with Gus more or less.”
Brian searches for his words and tries to figure out what he exactly wants to say.
“So if you want the new baby to call you Mom or any variation thereof, then I think that’s fair. And if Lily wants to follow suit, then that’s okay with me too.”
“Good,” Cynthia answers, a little choked, “I’m...I’m glad you are okay with it. Thank you, Brian.”
“Mm hmm,” Brian hums, not one to dwell on sentimental moments.
“So another girl,” Cynthia comments, finally sounding more like herself, “You’re going to have your hands full if she’s anything like Lily.”
“If she’s not initially, I’m sure Lily will taint her soon enough,” Brian laughs.
“I don’t think you’ll have too much to worry about, whether she’s like Lily or the complete opposite,” Cynthia drawls, “With my genes, she’ll be perfect.”
“Oh, is that it?” Brian murmurs.
“Well,” Cynthia gives in, “The people raising her will probably make her pretty great too.”
“...You really think that?” Brian asks.
“Yeah, Brian. I really do.”
And, until that moment, Brian hadn’t realized how important it was to hear that from the mother of his daughters.
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Eric proves to be a total liar and is gone for an hour rather than 45 minutes.
“I got more than I planned on getting!” his husband defends himself.
But other than that, everything goes smoothly. Lily helps them get the food outside and gets excited over the idea of swimming with Duncan at night rather than the early afternoon.
“But you have to eat first,” Brian reminds her, taking some of the vegetables from her grasp.
Lily opens her mouth, probably to start a debate, but gets excited and wide-eyed.
“Duncan!” she squeals, running over to hug her boyfriend, “How did you get back here?!”
“Yeah, Honeycutt,” Brian barks, “How did you get back here?”
“Pulled a Michael and used my emergency key,” Emmett shrugs, dangling the key Brian had given him months before, “What? We rang the doorbell nine times and didn’t get an answer.”
“We didn’t hear you!” Lily frets, slapping her hand against her forehead, “I would’ve got the door!”
“You would have gotten it?” Eric asks her with a raised brow before going over to give Emmett and Drew a hug, “I missed you guys! Thanks for coming over.”
“Oh, we just had to come to see you and celebrate the great news!” Emmett exclaims, “We’re so excited for you! I even made chocolate cupcakes with raspberry icing. I would have done blueberry if it were for a boy, but I do have to admit that when I heard you were having a baby girl, I had a squee moment because raspberry is my fave.”
Brian stares at his friend in bewilderment before glancing at Drew.
“Don’t look at me, I know he’s strange,” Drew sighs.
“Well, I think it’s sweet,” Eric beams, “I’m guessing you put them in the kitchen?”
“Yep! On top of the refrigerator and OUT of reach from our little ones until after supper.”
“We can find a way,” Duncan points out, “We always do.”
Lily nods in agreement and Emmett sends them a glare.
“You better not. Or no swimming,” Emmett warns.
The kids seem to take the threat to heart as they gasp at the words in horror. But they seem to get over the risk, as they go in and out of the house and play ‘Explorer’ as Eric starts to grill their fish and deep fry the sweet potato fries. It’s not until Brian goes in the kitchen to get the Sangria out of the fridge that he sees Lily standing on Duncan’s shoulders, trying in vain to get to the cupcakes.
“Boo!” he snaps behind the kids, snickering as their tower starts to collapse.
He’s not a complete dick. He keeps Lily from falling on Duncan’s face as he quickly puts an arm around her middle and keeps Duncan from falling to the ground by steadying him with his left arm.
“You were both told to wait on the cupcakes until after supper,” he reminds them.
“I’m really sorry,” Duncan mumbles, looking down at his feet in shame.
Lily must take after Brian when it comes to ‘no apologies, no regrets’ because she just shrugs her shoulders.
“We just wanted a cupcake,” Lily explains, “Just one.”
“After dinner,” Brian reminds them, before ushering them away from the fridge. Why don’t you take a couple of plates out to the table and pretend like you are good children for a few minutes?”
“We are good!” Lily argues, offended.
“We are!” Duncan confirms.
“Then show me.”
With a sigh Lily takes the three plates he gives her and Duncan takes the other three and they go outside. Eric commends the four year olds on setting the table and Lily and Duncan beam with pride. If he only knew.
The food turns out great, as it usually does. Brian realizes that he’s a lucky man. Eric’s a good cook and, if Eric is away, Emmett usually comes over and makes something or invites him over. The fish is thick, meaty, and filling and they end up splitting a single fillet in half for the kids. Duncan eats pretty much everything on his plate while Lily has to be prodded a few times to try the fish, yet does eat a little over half of what she is given once she doesn’t fight trying it anymore. Despite claiming she is full, she does jump at the word ‘cupcake’ and eats one before trying to sneak a second one.
The adults watch the kids play and splash around in the pool as they sit around the patio table, sipping on their drinks. Emmett and Eric with their sangrias and Drew and Brian on their beers. They don’t overdo it, even though Brian sometimes misses the days when he could drink as much as he wanted, whenever he wanted. It wasn’t healthy when he had done it but the freedom to do so had been nice.
But sitting here, with his husband and two people he really cares about as they watch their kids laugh with happiness in a kiddie pool at sunset…
That might be even nicer.
“So how do you think Lily will be with a little sister?” Drew asks them, grabbing another beer from the ice bucket.
“Well, she’s excited now,” Eric smiles, “But I can almost guarantee that she’ll be jealous after a while. But I think she’ll take the responsibility well once the baby is older and can interact more.”
“What about names?” Emmett leans in, “Have you thought about those?”
“We talked about them for a bit today,” Eric informs him, glancing at Brian, “We’re clashing. I’m hoping for one name and he likes old lady names.”
Brian rolls his eyes and takes a swig of his beer, “We’ll have it figured out...eventually.”
“Well, I for one can’t wait,” Emmett sighs, “She’s going to be gorgeous. I can’t wait to hold her and see Lily with her.”
Brian bites back a small smile over Emmett’s enthusiasm and happiness before clearing his throat.
“You ever going to give Duncan a sibling?”
Emmett and Drew glance at each other.
“We’ve been thinking about it,” Drew admits, “Not now. Duncan has only been living with us for not even 8 months. We want him to settle in more. Pay attention to his needs and figure out if that would be a good step for him.”
“We would adopt again if it does happen,” Emmett tells him, “It would have been domestic but after visiting Africa and only seeing a fraction of what was going on in a few places...it was eye opening. There were beautiful areas and stable villages, developed neighborhoods. It’s diverse. But some areas are very run down. There are toddlers accused of witchcraft and abandoned on the streets. The thing that upset me the most is what is happening to the people with Albinism, especially the kids. There are a lot more people there who have it than here. There are babies that are kidnapped from their homes. They’re taken to places in Tanzania to have their limbs chopped off. Witchdoctors use their arms and legs because they think it can create spells for good luck. It’s heartbreaking. Drewsie...Drew donated a lot to try to help out. The ones that escape or make it out of the situation alive often go and stay in these safe houses. They’re heavily guarded, pretty much living in prisons. It’s for the best. They are in a lot of danger. Infants to adults live there. The buildings are just so...cold. Drew is doing what he can financially to build a larger and more welcoming place, with recreational things to do as well as sources for the kids and adults to seek an education. So if we do adopt, with Drew’s connections there and the crisis going on in some of the countries, we’ll probably take in a child from down there.”
There are a few moments of silence due to the heaviness of the subject before Brian lets out a sigh.
“Thanks for being a Debbie Downer, Honeycutt.”
Eric glares and slaps his husband’s shoulder, “Brian! Shut. Up.”
“It’s a sad situation,” Drew agrees, “And it’s hard to talk about it. For the week Emmett was down there, he really seemed to be affected by that issue the most. He’s extremely passionate about it.”
“Really?” Brian asks, confused, “You haven’t said much on it.”
“If you got on Facebook more, you would know that he’s shared several articles on it,” Eric points out.
“I don’t talk about it a lot,” Emmett explains, “I didn’t think you’d be interested anyway.”
Brian feels kind of offended by that. Not that he’d admit it, but he and Emmett are pretty fucking close now. It’s also annoying that Emmett still thinks he’s heartless about certain things, whether it be about other people’s interests or about some crisis.
“Who do I write the check out to?” Brian asks, “I’ll pay for artificial limbs or something.”
“Brian-”
“You think I’m not serious?” Brian challenges, “Watch me.”
“I’ll give you the information before we leave,” Drew interjects, “If you’re that set on it all of the sudden.”
Brian shrugs and looks off into the distance, “I am. That’s just the kind of guy I’ve always been.”
Emmett bursts into laughter, “Yeah, right.”
“Pa!” Duncan shouts, bursting out of the water like The Little Mermaid, “Watch this!”
Duncan does a flip as Lily applauds, enthusiastic over her friend’s accomplishment.
“Wow, buddy!” Drew calls out, getting up to walk over to the pool, “That was great!”
“I know!” Duncan answers, grinning from ear to ear, before splashing his father.
“Thanks,” Drew mutters as the two four-year-olds laugh hysterically, taking his wet shirt off before sitting back down at the table.
Brian gives Drew a once over, licking his lips appreciatively. Emmett gives him a pointed look and Eric leans in to whisper into his ear.
“You trying to make me jealous?”
Brian turns his head to smirk at his husband before kissing him on the cheek, “You know you’re my one and only, sweetheart.”
“Gross,” Eric gags.
Emmett and Drew leave with Duncan around 10. Poor kid is exhausted, half asleep in Drew’s arms, as they take him to their SUV to strap him up into his car seat before taking off for the night. Lily isn’t much better. They opt to give her a bath in the morning instead, since she can barely keep her eyes open as she brushes her teeth.
And, once Lily is asleep and Brian and Eric make it to the bedroom, they can’t keep their hands off of each other for hours.
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They end up having a good weekend, even though it goes by a little too quickly for Brian’s liking. They ride out to Coney Island on Saturday with Lily and get lunch at Nathan’s Hot Dogs while they spend a few hours at the beach, going into the ocean and riding on rides with Lily. They go to the Sideshow, which makes Lily decide she wants to be sword swallower when she grows up.
“Your papa has a lot of expertise in that area,” Brian comments.
“OH MY GOD,” Eric bellows once the words are out of Brian’s mouth as Lily shakes her head.
“Papa’s never swallowed swords. I bet he’d make lots and lots of money if he did!” Lily quips.
“Yeah, Eric,” Brian drawls, “World renowned architect just isn’t cutting it.”
Sunday is slightly more relaxed. They sleep in, Lily longer than either of them for once. They take advantage of the time to the best of their abilities before quickly making sure they are dressed when Lily comes knocking on their door. She puts on a show later in the afternoon, showing them her routine from Flamenco at least three times, before they take her out to Prospect Park. They go out and find a few of the hidden waterfalls of the park, which excites Lily greatly. She takes out a tourist map and makes them gather around to stake out their approach to finding them, often pointing to the wrong place completely. But Brian gets some pictures in and a few great ones of Eric smiling at their daughter.
Nathan comes over that evening. Brian can still tell the kid isn’t in the best of shape emotionally but is trying his best. His eyes do become brighter when he talks about the show and the opportunities popping up left and right.
“You think you guys will stick with the show for the extension or branch off?”
Nathan shrugs, “We’re not sure. We might do a three month extension. Make sure they get a good band to replace our parts and have steady work until after the new year. But it doesn’t really seem like it would be the best move to do more than that.”
“I agree,” Brian tells him, “The show was a stepping stone in your career. It’s time for the four of you to move on. None of you are aiming to become Broadway stars. Broadway was just a means to get you coverage.”
“But I doubt they’ll find as great of a band as The Accidental Natives,” Eric adds, “Or as good of an actor as you are.”
Nathan scoffs, “Stop.”
“The New York Times was impressed with you,” Eric points out, “They said you outshined Rebecca.”
“And that didn’t add tension backstage at all,” Nathan says, sarcasm lacing his voice, “Jesus, that was an awkward couple of weeks.”
“Time Out only mentioned your name when they talked about shoo-ins for the Tony’s,” Brian throws in, “Too bad the show opened after the cut-off date for 2015. Hopefully, they’ll still remember you next year.”
“I don’t really care about that. Even if I did, Rebecca has been nominated three times so I doubt she’ll get looked over,” Nathan laughs, finally loosening up a bit.
Eric lets him feel like a third wheel for a while. Brian’s prepared to kick Nathan out if he tries to stay past 8 o’clock but the kid leaves by 7:45, accepting a hug from Eric and Lily before walking out the door. They let Lily stay up a little later than normal, just so she can spend time with Eric before he leaves tomorrow.
It’s hard to not let Lily sleep in their room. She knows Eric’s time home is limited and sniffles a bit when they tuck her in.
“Daddy’s taking you to come see me next week,” Eric reminds her, pulling the blanket up to her chin. You’ll get to see all that I’m working on and explore New Orleans. It won’t be much longer.”
“Y-Yes, but Daddy is coming back h-here,” Lily whimpers.
Eric sighs, “He’s staying with us for a couple of days. He has to come back up here to work. We’ll just be down there for a week and then we’ll all be home. Together.”
Lily nods, wiping her face, “Because we’re a family.”
Eric’s eyes go soft as he kisses her forehead, “Yes, baby. Because we’re a family.”
And, even though the words get Lily’s tears to stop, they surprisingly make Brian’s eyes become moist. Because, for as long as he can remember, that’s what he always wanted. Even if for a good 15 years he would have lied through his teeth to say he wanted no such thing, that was always a silent truth. Although he always had a mother in Debbie, brothers in Michael, Emmett, and Ted, a sister in Lindsay, and, most importantly, a son in Gus, he used to force himself to hold them all at an arm’s length for so long. The lack of blood relation had made him hesitant to believe the feeling was mutual and, with Gus, the lack of legal relationship had sometimes made him feel worthless as a father. He had some rights now that a few laws have changed and that really helped him stay close with his son.
And then there was Justin. Brian had found a family in him and, at one point, he thought that was going to be forever. Sometimes he wonders what would have been if things had worked out. But even though his relationship with him didn’t last as long as he hoped for it to, he is grateful that Justin is back in his life again and is becoming a close friend and confidante.
But this? What he has with Eric and Lily? It feels permanent. And until he experienced it first hand, he never realized how great it would feel.