JUSTIN 

I called Daphne and asked her meet me at the bagel shop. I needed a car and someone who knows Pittsburgh better than I do. Brian was still sleeping, so I booked my ass out of there before he figured out I was gone. I also thought that by now Max would be checking up on me. I got to the bagel shop and went in to buy some bagels and bread, I figured by the time I got back they would all be trying to figure out what I was up to. Daphne drove up just as I finished getting some baked goods, I wanted to at least be honest when I lied about where I went.

“What did you need?” She asked as I got in the car.

“I need you to drive to Deb’s house.” I tell her.

“Why are we going there?” she asks me.

“I want to talk to her.” I tell her.

She didn’t ask any more questions, just drove us to the house, one that I think would look great after being demolished. 

“That's the house, but are you sure you want to talk to her?” She asks me. 

“I just need some answers.” I tell her. 

“Promise me that you aren’t going to get arrested.” She tells me.

“I can’t promise, but I wasn’t planning on it.” I tell her.

“Just make sure someone will bail us out.” She tells me.

She parked across the street and we got out and walked to the front door. I rang the bell and waited to meet either of the people who wanted me gone. Deb opened the door.

“Oh my god, Sunshine, where did you come from?” She asks and I can see she’s not as happy to see me as she is pretending to be.

“Hi, I came to see you, aren’t you glad?” I tell her.

“It’s so sweet of you to think of me. I was so glad when I heard you came home. Come in and we can talk.” She tells me.

Daphne and I follow her into the house and she tells us to take a seat on the couch. She tells us to give her a minute and goes upstairs. 

“What are we doing here?” Daphne whispers to me.

“I need some answers.” I whisper back.

“So Sunshine, it's wonderful to see you again.” Deb tells me as she sits on the chair next to us.

“Is it really?” I ask her. 

“Sweetheart, I was worried about you, you were like one of my sons. So knowing that you’re home is a weight off my mind.” She tells me.

“It’s just that I have been trying to get to know my child and for some reason you are giving Brian a hard time. Which has caused a lot of stress for my daughter. I came to talk to you about it because I think it’s time for the shit to stop.” I tell her.

“I refuse to stop until Michael and I get treated fairly. All I wanted was for us to be a family, and to help in raising my granddaughter.” She tells me.  

“You think that Michael deserves to be treated fairly?” I ask her.

“Michael is her father, it isn’t right that Brian is keeping Jewel away from her flesh and blood. She’s not Brian’s child and she should be raised by her real family.” She tells me.

“Family should take care of each other, you're absolutely right.” I tell her.

“See I knew you would understand, but Sweetheart you need to get away from Brian. If it wasn’t for him kicking you out, we wouldn’t have lost you.” She tells me.

“I think you and I have different ideas of what happened that day.” I tell her.

“Don’t let Brian twist the facts.” She warns me.

“Let me see if I’ve got the facts right. Your son and Lindsay came to the loft and took something that didn’t belong to them, then left the door open. That’s a fact. Your son stood in front of me while I was being accused of leaving the door unlocked, and let me take the blame. That’s another fact. Now the most interesting fact that I found out was that your son followed me to New York and was there the day I was injured, don’t you think that was interesting? I certainly do.” I ask her.

“Who told you that? If it was Lindsay, don’t listen to her, she is trying to cause trouble.” Deb tells me. 

“What if I told you it was the detective Brian hired who told us, is he causing trouble too?” I ask her.

“The detective is a liar. Lindsay’s been fucking him to keep him silent about you.” Michael yells at us from the top of the stairs. 

“Michael, I told you to stay out of this.” Deb tells him.  

“Yes Michael, be a good boy and stay out of this.” I tell him.

“Fuck you Justin, if it wasn’t for you I would have had it all.” He yells at me.

“Really, because from what I see, you need mommy to wipe your ass for you. I’m surprised you made it all the way to New York without her holding your hand. Get a good lawyer because when mine gets through with you, your mommy can visit you at the prison if she gets time off for good behavior.” I tell them.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Daphne tells me.

“I got what I needed anyway.” I tell her.

Daphne and I start walking to the front door. Deb grabs my arm and turns me around when I am almost out the door.

“What do you mean you got what you needed?” She asks me.

“I wanted to know why a detective couldn’t find a clue. Thanks for telling me, and before I go, if you cause Brian one more sleepless night because you want to play games, then be prepared for the games I can play. The dumpster was just for shits and giggles.” I tell them, with a smile.

We left Deb standing there and got in the car.

“We need to get back to the loft.” I tell her. 

“What were you trying to find out?” She asks me. 

“Who all the players are, because I knew we were missing something.” I tell her.  

BRIAN 

I let Justin go in that house because he needed to do it. He would have done it no matter what we did to stop him. I don’t like it, but I understand it. As soon as they were out the door, I pulled out and headed back to the loft. I want to know if he trusts me enough to tell me the truth about where he went, because if he can't, then we will never make it.

Max was waiting when I got to the loft.

“He took off didn’t he?” He asks me. 

“He needed to do it.” I tell him. 

“He better be willing to explain what he was thinking.” He tells me. 

“I hope he will, but not to you.” I tell him. 

“Excuse me, what do you mean ‘not to me’?” He asks me. 

We stop talking when we see Justin pull up with Daphne and get out of the car. He tells her something and she pulls away. He stands and watches me and Max. It’s time for Justin to decide where he wants to be.

“If I have any hope that Justin and I are going to work, we need everyone to let us do it. It means not having everyone hovering over him like he's a child. Including you.” I tell Max but look at Justin. 

“Jay and I look out for each other, I don’t care what you think, I will always look out for him.” He tells me.

“I’m not saying you can’t, but you need to let him find his way Max. Jay and Justin are fighting to figure out who he is. Can you understand what having to stay in both worlds is doing to him? He wants to keep you in his life but wants a life with me. He and I can’t work on anything as long as you’re stepping in and not allowing me to be there for him.” I tell him.

“I’m not going to give up on him.” He tells me.

“I’m not asking you to do that. I’m asking you to respect my place in his life. As his partner and maybe someday his husband. I need to be the person he runs to when he needs help. He can’t do that with you riding shotgun in our relationship. You can be there, but know when it’s time to back off and let me do the work.” I tell him. 

“Max, listen to Brian.” Justin tells him.

“Will you?” Max asks Justin.

“He doesn’t need me to tell him what to do. He just needs to know he can talk to me. It’s where we went wrong, we didn’t talk. I made it impossible for him.” I tell Max.

“Max, we’ll come to the house but Brian and I need to make some decisions.” Justin tells Max.

Max at first looks like he wants to stay, but in the end he smiles and walks back to a waiting Emmett in the car.

Justin and I walk up to the loft and he puts a bag on the counter and sits on the stool.

“I went to see Deb.” He tells me.

“Was it all you hoped it would be?” I ask him.

“I found out why your detective didn’t seem to find anything, Liddy was fucking him.” He tells me.

“I needed to fire him anyway.” I tell him.

“That’s all you're going to say?” He asks me.

“That’s all I’m going to do, my lawyer will deal with it. I want you and I to go get our children and start trying to be a family. Let the others do the work and we can watch the fireworks.” I tell him.

“I’m good with that, but before we go be adults, can we do one last childish thing?” He asks me.

I raise my eyebrow and wait for him to tell me.

“I need to use your computer, I have a note to send.” He tells me.

Justin typed up a note and pulled out a big manila envelope from the bag. I watch as he pulls out a comic book and tears it into four big pieces and crumbles them into the bag, giggling while he did it. Then put the note in with it.

“Do you have someone who can deliver this to Michael?” Justin tells me.

“Can you tell me how you got his First Edition Captain Astro comic?” I ask him.

“He left it on the coffee table, I swiped it on the way out.” He tells me, grinning like a fool.