After the emotional day in court, the residents of Britin headed home after having dinner at Debbie’s house. All three kids were spending their days at Debbie’s since Melanie had previously made a compromise with JR and Gus allowing them both to continue online homeschooling for the rest of the school year as long as they kept their grades up. They were each doing very well, better than either of them did when they had previously attended traditional schools. JR was even learning Hebrew in her spare time in preparation for her Bat Mitzvah the following year.

Justin and Brian left Keegan with Melanie, Gus, and JR at the guest house. Justin had been very tense and emotional since Lindsay’s testimony and attempted assault in the courtroom, and Brian wanted time alone with his blond. Justin had barely said anything since leaving the courthouse and allowed Melanie to give Brian the play-by-play of Lindsay’s testimony and meltdown before they went to Debbie’s house.

Brian took Justin straight up to their bedroom and slowly peeled his fiance’s clothes off. He then took him into the shower to help them both relax. Brian loved soaping up his man, as it always felt so intimate, so refreshing.

He remembered the first shower they had shared the morning after he had met Justin and taken his virginity. He had known immediately that there was something different, something permanent about this one, even if he didn’t want to admit it at the time. It partially had to do with Justin being there with him at the hospital after Gus’s birth. The only other explanation was that Justin was… special. Brian had always acknowledged the parallel of both Justin and Gus entering his life on the same day.

After finishing their shower, Brian lovingly dried off the blond and carried him to their bed. Lying on top of his lover, Brian held Justin’s face in his hands, kissing him with all the love he could manage. Justin finally started to relax and respond to Brian’s touch, kissing him back, whimpering and moaning.

Brian moved on to Justin’s neck, licking and sucking on the pulse points. Moving down, Brian sucked on the pink nipples, biting softly and causing Justin to arch his back in response. Continuing on down, Brian stopped to lick the bead of precum leaking out of his slit. He took the large pink head in his mouth and sucked gently, coaxing out more of Justin’s juices.

He reached his long arm up to grab the bottle of lube from under the pillow. Justin spread his legs open further, but Brian shook his head.

“Not this time, Sunshine. I want to ride my man’s hot hard cock,” Brian told him as he squirted the lube onto his fingers before reaching back to prepare himself.

Justin watched as Brian lubed himself, loving how hot he always looked doing it.

Brian got into position and lowered himself onto his fiance’s throbbing cock. Justin raised his knees and reached his hands up, linking their fingers together. He knew that Brian liked to lean back against his thighs, loving how it caused the head of Justin’s cock to scrape across his prostate at that angle.

After adjusting to being filled, Brian started moving. As he moved up and down, he told the blond, “I want you to know that I have never seen you as the woman in our relationship. You are a strong, confident, beautiful man and you are my man. I wouldn’t want you any other way. I love bottoming for you because I love you and you are an amazing lover. Your cock was made to fuck me.”

Justin was moaning loudly and raising his hips to increase the friction. They released their hands so that Brian could put his hands on Justin’s knees to increase the pace.

Justin started to reach for Brian’s cock, but Brian shook his head.

“Don’t need it. Your cock is enough, always enough.”

Brian growled and came all over the two of them. His release triggered Justin’s.

“I love you… so much,” Justin yelled as he released his seed deep inside his fiance.

Brian leaned forward and kissed his blond, turning them onto their sides carefully while they were still attached. Justin’s breathing soon evened out in sleep, exhausted from the day’s events. Brian slowly removed himself from Justin as the younger man slept.

He took one of the hand towels they kept in a nightstand drawer and wiped his cum off of Justin. He then covered Justin up before going into the bathroom to clean himself up.

Brian got dressed and headed over to the guest house to visit with the kids. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Melanie, who was looking upset.

“What’s up? Is the baby okay?” Brian asked, concerned.

“Yes, Keegan’s fine. It’s JR; she went into her room as soon as we got here and won’t come out. She didn’t even want to play with Keegan.”

“Let me try talking to her. Maybe what she needs is a real man,” Brian joked, trying to get a smile out of Melanie.

Brian knocked on JR’s bedroom door and called out, “Hey Munchkin, it’s your Uncle Pop. Can I come in?”

JR opened the door, and Brian saw that she had been crying. He picked the little mini-Melanie up and held her tight.

“What is it Princess, why the tears?” Brian lovingly asked her.

“Oh, Uncle Pop,” she whimpered. “Papa was so upset today. He wouldn’t even talk to me. I know he’s worried about Keegan, and I feel so sad for him.”

Brian knew he needed to reassure his little girl, since she never referred to her “Uncle Sunny” as “Papa” unless she was very upset, usually when they would be saying goodbye after visits to Toronto in the past.

“Princess, your Papa will be fine,” he whispered in her ear. “I helped him relax and now he’s taking a nap. I’m sure he didn’t mean for you to get upset. When he wakes up, I’ll ask him to come and talk to you. I know he wouldn’t want you to worry; it’s just grown up stuff. Just know that we both love you. Now, Ima is worried about you, so why don’t we go out in the living room and play with your little brother?”

JR smiled and gave Brian a kiss on his stubbly cheek. “Yeah, let’s go play with Keegan.”

********************

Everyone was in the courtroom the next morning when the bailiff announced, “All rise, court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Jeremiah Dennis presiding.”

The air in the courtroom was thick, with Lindsay’s breakdown still being fresh in everyone’s minds. After the judge told everyone to sit, he advised both sides that outbursts such as the one they had seen yesterday would not be tolerated in his courtroom. The attorneys assured the judge that nothing like that would occur again.

Turner’s next witness was Brian, who was dressed in his “lucky” Armani suit.

Turner wasted no time with pleasantries and asked, “Mr. Kinney, were you physically present when my client and his wife asked Mr. Taylor to provide his sperm to them, in order for them to have a child?”

“Yes, I was,” Brian confirmed. “Daphne had called and asked if she and Curtis could come to speak with my fiance Justin about something.”

Justin smiled after Brian had called him “my fiance,” the words sounding like beautiful music to his ears.

Brian continued, “Curtis and Daphne came to the home that my fiance and I share, and we had a lovely brunch. Daphne asked Justin to father her child after they told us that Curtis was sterile.”

“What were the exact words that were spoken?” Turner asked.

Brian chose his words carefully. “It was over a year ago, so I don’t remember theexact words. Daphne said that she wanted to be artificially inseminated with my fiance’s sperm. If she got pregnant, the baby would be raised by Daphne and Curtis, and my fiance would give up his parental rights so Curtis could legally adopt the baby after it was born.”

“Was there a discussion over whether there would be a written contract?”

“Yes there was, but as we know, no written contract was ever made,” Brian said, a tinge of deprecation in his voice.

“We know that, Mr. Kinney,” Turner replied, giving Brian the stink eye before asking his next question. “Was there any discussion about what would happen if Mrs. Anderson was unable to care for her child, if she were to pass away before Mr. Taylor signed over his rights, for instance?”

Brian shook his head. “No, there wasn’t. That probably wasn’t a discussion that my fiance would have wanted to have, since Daphne was his best friend and he loved her like a sister. He wouldn’t have wanted to imagine a world without her, where she wouldn’t be alive to raise her child.”

Turner looked visibly irked by Brian’s answer, knowing that he was trying to pull at the judge’s heartstrings. “Mr. Kinney, isn’t it true that you voluntarily signed over your parental rights to your biological son, Gus-”

“Objection,” Al interrupted before Turner could finish his question. “That issue is irrelevant to this case, your honor. Counsel already knows why this took place, that it was not done out of neglect of the child, especially since he still voluntarily paid support to the child’s biological mother.”

The judge sustained the objection, meaning that he agreed with Al and Brian did not have to answer.

Turner took a few seconds to think about his next question, his game plan obviously disrupted. “Mr. Kinney, have you ever used illicit drugs before?”

“I must admit that I have, but it’s been a long, long time ago,” Brian said. “I was quite a partier in my younger days, but I have moved past that life. I went through a bout of cancer back in 2004, and I started taking better care of myself after that. It’s been at least five years since I’ve smoked marijuana. I don’t even smoke cigarettes anymore. I want to be around for my family for a long time.”

“What about alcohol?” Turner said, trying to pin something unsavory on him.

“I doubt I drink any more than the average person,” Brian said, giving Turner a smile. “We’re all allowed at least one vice, right?”

Turner looked dissatisfied with that answer too, but continued. “Mr. Kinney, is it true that you plan to adopt the child currently known as Keegan Mercury Taylor if this court denies my client’s petition for custody?”

Brian smiled at Justin. “Yes, it is. My fiance and I are getting married on September fifteenth, and we will raise Keegan together. Over these last four months of his life, I have grown to love Keegan very, very much. I couldn’t love him any more if he were my own child, and I am looking forward to watching him grow up. I didn’t have the best childhood, and I want to give Keegan everything that I didn’t: unconditional love, support, safety, and two parents who love each other.”

It appeared to everyone that Turner regretted asking that question, and he sighed before saying, “I have no other questions for the witness.”

Melanie was given the opportunity to cross-examine, but saw no reason to do so, being very impressed and satisfied by Brian’s answers.

“No questions,” she simply stated. “Mr. Kinney will be recalled for my direct.”

The judge called for a short recess, and Justin and Brian stepped outside in the hallway.

“You were so great!” Justin said as he practically jumped into Brian’s arms.

“I know,” Brian agreed before planting a big kiss on his fiance’s plump lips.

They were still kissing when they heard the courtroom door open, and Curtis walked out. He scoffed at them loudly before walking down to the restroom at the end of the hallway.

“Fuck him,” Brian said.

Since Brian was going to be recalled as a witness later, he wasn’t allowed to go back into the courtroom. Once court had resumed, Turner called Justin as his final witness.

Justin sat down on the witness stand and took a slow breath to relax. He reminded himself that he was fighting for his son and the promise he made to Daphne.

“Hello, Mr. Taylor,” Turner said, not sounding very happy to be talking to him.

Justin nodded once, trying to maintain a cool facade despite the butterflies in his stomach. “Hello, Mr. Turner,” he replied respectfully.

“I’m just going to cut right to the chase here,” Turner began. “Was there ever a discussion about what would happen if Mrs. Anderson were to die before you signed over your rights to the child you conceived with her?”

“The possibility of Daphne dying and what would happen in the aftermath was never discussed,” Justin simply stated. “As my fiance stated during his testimony, I never imagined the possibility of Daphne not being alive to raise her child.”

Turner narrowed his eyes at him a bit. “Okay… during the nearly twelve months in between the time you agreed to provide your sperm to the Andersons and the date of Mrs. Anderson’s death, did you ever discuss with her about what would happen to her son if she died?”

Justin leaned in closer to the microphone and spoke slowly so Turner would hear and understand him. “No, sir. We. Never. Talked. About. It. Ever. Daphne was a young, healthy woman, and we never thought she wouldn’t be alive to raise her son. We never assumed or foresaw that she would die in a car accident or anything like that.”

“Okay…” Turner said, pausing for several seconds while he thought about his next question. “If Mrs. Anderson had died after you signed your rights away and after my client had adopted the child, would you have sought custody?”

“Objection,” Melanie said. “Calls for conclusion.”

Before the judge could rule on Melanie’s objection, Justin raised his hand and looked over at the judge. “Um, I would like to answer that, if I may.”

“Go ahead, Mr. Taylor, but next time I suggest letting your attorneys decide whether or not you should answer a question,” the judge said.

Ever the WASP, Justin smiled at the judge. “I’m sorry, your honor, I will do that. But to answer Mr. Turner’s question, no, I wouldn’t have sought custody of Keegan, or whatever his name would have been, if Daphne had died after Curtis adopted him. I would have already given up my rights at that point. Keegan would have already been Curtis’s son, but I would have offered to help Curtis in any way he needed. I would have still wanted to be in Keegan’s life in some capacity, if Curtis would have allowed it, but I wouldn’t have tried to get my rights back.”

“Would you have wanted to raise the child if Mrs. Anderson hadn’t died, such as seeking visitation or reneging on your promise to give up your rights?” Turner asked.

Instead of objecting again, Melanie looked at Justin to see if he wanted to answer.

“No, I wouldn’t have,” Justin said to Turner. “Before Daphne died, I never intended to be a father to her child. I had every intention of keeping my promise to them that I would sign over my rights. However, if Daphne had left Curtis before having her baby and needed help raising him, I would have been there for her in every way she needed, no question. Even if she hadn’t been pregnant and had split from Curtis, I would have been there for her. She did the same for me in the past.”

Turner took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Mr. Taylor, why did you initially refuse to sign a written Donor Agreement?”

“Very soon after I said that I’d give Daphne my sperm and before she even became pregnant, I met with a lawyer who specializes in family and adoption law. She told me not to sign anything until after the baby was born, because I couldn’t agree to sign away what wasn’t legally mine yet, which were my parental rights. I called and spoke to Daphne about it later that day, and she agreed and didn’t think it was necessary to have a written agreement. She later told me that Curtis was fine with us proceeding without a written agreement.”

Justin looked over at Curtis, who looked like he just smelled something rotten.

“Did Mrs. Anderson decide not to have you sign a written agreement because she trusted that you wouldn’t break your word?”

“Yes, that’s exactly why.”

“How do you think she’d feel now, if she knew that you broke your promise?” Turner asked accusingly.

“I didn’t break my promise,” Justin nearly yelled. “My final promise to Daphne, after her car accident, was to raise our son with Brian and to keep him away from Curtis.Curtis was the one who broke his promise to her. She trusted Curtis to love, honor, and cherish her for the rest of her life, but he obviously didn’t because-”

“Thank you, Mr. Taylor,” Turner said.

“-he cheated on her!” Justin finished, speaking over Turner.

Turner addressed the judge. “I have no further questions for the witness at this time.”

“Ms. Marcus?” the judge said, inviting Melanie to cross-examine.

Just as she had with Brian, Melanie said, “No questions. I will call my client during my direct.”

The judge asked Turner to call his next witness, and Turner said that he had no further witnesses. With the plaintiff’s case in chief completed, the judge recessed for lunch.