JUSTIN

I watch Lindsay walk stiffly towards the exit of the gallery. She wasn’t going to get away that easily. She really thinks she can just walk away from this without confronting the truth. I smile as the rest of the people in the gallery start looking at the art offerings and forget the drama, until they can be catty together without the possibility of it being reported by the press. Lindsay stopped in the lobby and stared at Mel who had just come in with Ted and Blake. Lindsay walked towards Mel. 

“Mel, it’s so good to see you. Do you think we could talk? I want us to be able to be friends again.” She tells Mel.

“I don’t have anything left to say to you. You destroyed every drop of love I had for you when you betrayed everyone, for what, to live like your parents. Even then I was stupid enough to sit around wallowing in misery, because the woman I thought I loved turned into someone who I could never see myself with. I’m going to look for someone who doesn’t have an agenda for everything she does.” Mel walked past her and into the gallery.

I was going to follow her outside but Brian came up behind me and wrapped me in the strong arms of the man I loved.

“Let her run to Michael and Deb. It’s time for this to be over and for us to start planning the rest of our life” He tells me.

“Should we send them invitations to the wedding?” I ask him jokingly.

“Lets just send them a copy of the wedding pictures.” He tells me.

We turn and head in so I can do my job and sell paintings to the masses. Max seem to be feeling okay but he was complaining about the healthy food. I walked into his office and sacrificed my chocolate silk pie to make Max quit bitching.

BRIAN 

We were staying in New York long enough for Justin to wrap up the show and finish with his business concerns. Max was a walking ball of misery, he couldn't seem to kick the virus that was causing him to get sick at all times of the day. I finally got tired of waiting for him to figure it out. I waited until Emmett and Justin were occupied with the kids in the indoor pool. I walked over and sat in the lounge chair next to him.

“Max, you know condoms have a failure rate. It's the only way Justin could have gotten pregnant by me.” I tell him. 

“I'm glad you weren’t playing Russian Roulette with Justin back then.” He tells me. 

“I'm glad that even with all the men I was screwing around with I didn’t end up giving him something. Although that's not what I was talking about.” I tell him. 

“Get to the point Kinney before I die.” He groans. 

“Did Emmett suddenly decide to top?” I ask him. 

“And that is your business, how?” He asks me. 

“Just answer me and I'll give you a present I picked up last night on the way home.” I tell him. 

“I'm verse so of course he's played top a few times.” He tells me. 

“Then here, take my present and pray for whatever you want the answer to be.” I tell him, handing him a gift bag, and get up to join my kids.

I come up behind Justin and tell him to go help Max. 

“Help him what?” Justin asks me.

“Find out if Emmett and he need to have a shotgun wedding.” I tell him.

MAX

I looked in the bag and thought Brian has a sick sense of humor. Jay got out of the pool and yanked me up and into the bathroom. 

“Take the test Max.” He tells me. 

“I'm not pregnant.” I tell him. 

“How do you know, unless you take the test.” He tells me. 

“Jay, Eric and I tried for two years before he finally left me for someone who could get him pregnant.” I tell him. 

“Eric got pregnant, not got someone else pregnant. He might have been shooting blanks.” He tells me. 

“He and the other guy had more kids.” I tell him. 

“Who had them?” He asks me. 

“I didn’t ask, I was to busy wallowing in shitty relationships.” I tell him. 

 “It won't hurt to pee on a stick, just so you know for sure.” He tells me. 

“I already know, and peeing on these sticks is how I tortured myself every month for two fucking years, before my ex finally told me he'd been fucking his best friend behind my back.” I tell him. 

“Emmett isn’t Eric, he isn’t going to shit on you if you aren't pregnant. Eric is and was an asshole for cheating on you.” He tells me.

“I know that, I just don’t want it to tell me ‘not pregnant’ again.” I tell him. 

“I’ll look for you, and if it’s no we just throw it in the trash.” He tells me. 

I grab the bag and walk in the bathroom. I stared at the box that caused me to hate taking a test that told me I wasn’t having a child of my own. I wanted to be the carrier, because I wanted to feel a child growing in my body. Watching Jay absently rub his stomach and smile when Aidan kicked was amazing. I wanted to experience that at least once. I ripped the box open and wanted to just dunk it water so I could at least pretend it wasn’t me not putting a plus sign on the device. I finally just pissed on it and put it on the counter. I walked out feeling the shitty feeling I used to get when I did this every month.  

Jay opened his arms and I let my best friend hold me while we waited for me to find out I wasn’t going to have a baby.

“Even if Emmett ends up having the baby for you, it will still be yours Max.” Jay whispers.

“I promise to be happy, even though I wanted to feel what you did when you were pregnant. I just want it to be me for some reason. I can’t explain why it’s important to me, but it is.” I tell him.

“I understand because I want to do it again, in a few years.” He tells me.

“Brian could sacrifice his amazing abs to the cause.” I tell him.

“He could, but I like the idea of all the other preggo’s salvating because I have that to go home to every night.” He tells me.

“I also don’t see Brian as a very happy preggo, bet he would bitch at every pound if he gained more than baby weight.” I tell him.

“Designers haven’t really come out with great male pregnancy fashion and until they do, Brian would rebel at stretch pants.” He tells me. I start to laugh and feel a little better but not perfect yet.

Jay looks at his watch and turns to walk in the bathroom. I stop him and decided to face the results on my own. I walk in the bathroom and look down at the test. Staring at it I put it back in the bag and walk out of the room. Jay follows me.

“Max it doesn’t matter.” He tells me, trying to wipe the tears on my cheeks away.

“I’ll be right back, just give me a minute okay.” I tell him.

“Okay, but if you need me then ring my phone.” He tells me.

“Can you ask Emmett to come find me?” I tell him.

“I’ll go get him.” He tells me.

“Just give me about five minutes.” I tell him. Jay smiles and tells me yes.

I go to my bedroom and pull the ring box out of my top drawer. I want to make sure that Emmett wants to really marry me. I light the candles I set up earlier in the room, because I wanted to propose to him in a way that he would want to remember. Scattered the rose petals on the bed and set out the champagne for us to drink when he told me yes again. I sat in my club chair and pulled the test out of the bag, and stared at it some more. When I heard Emmett knock on the door, I put the test back in the bag and dropped it behind me, it wasn’t as important as asking Emmett the right way.  

“Come in.” I tell him.

“Hey, Justin told me you needed me, so here I am.” Emmett tells me and smiles as he looks at the room.

I lead Emmett to the bed and sit him down. I kneel in front of him and begin my proposal.

“Emmett, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as I can. I know you said yes already but I wanted to give you a proposal that you would tell our grandchildren about one day. You're the person who is my one, because I don’t want to spend a day without you in it to make me smile when I feel like crying. You can make me happy, even when my day went to shit, just because you're here with me. Emmett Honeycutt will you do me the extreme honor of marrying me.” I ask him.

“Again yes Max, because you're who I want to spend my life with too.” He tells me. 

I pull his ring out of my pocket and slip it on his finger. “I want you to read what is on the inside the day we get married.” I tell him.

“Do you know how hard that is going to be? I mean all I have to do is slip it off while you're sleeping and see, or in the shower, or anywhere you don’t happen to be, because…” I stop him.

“I trust you never to do it, because it will be more special on the day I make you my husband.” I tell him.

“You know you suck right, because now I have to wait.” He smiles.

“Do you want to wait to have children, because I want to be a father.” I tell him.

“I’m ready when you want to try.” He tells me. It’s all I needed to hear. I uncork the champagne bottle and fill a glass for him. He smiles and sips it and waits for me.

“I can’t drink it.” I tell him.

“Still not feeling well?” He asks me.

“No, I just think it would be bad for the baby.” I burst into tears, the fucking hormones are going to kill me.

“Baby. Max wait, you mean that… shit I knocked you up… seriously, because no one is going to believe I topped you. Well obviously I did, and… wait are you okay with this, because I really want us to have a baby.” Emmett asks me.

“I couldn’t be happier.” I sniffle and let Emmett hold me. Emmett and I stayed in the bed and I finally get Brian telling me that your partner needs to be the first person in your life. I didn’t tell Jay, who is normally my go-to person. I waited for Emmett because he is the most important person in my life. Just as Brian and the kids are more important to Justin Taylor.