Brian spent an hour at the office and left with his files and some new slides to review.

"Is Justin up to some visitors?" Cynthia asked as Brian started to leave the office.

"He'd like that. I'm sure it's going to be very boring watching endless daytime TV. I may be there with him, but I can't keep him entertained. I have a business to run," Brian explained.

"Good. Maybe I'll courier the work myself later this week, instead of sending the service. I could kill two birds with one stone," she announced.

Brian smiled for the first time in what seemed like a long time. "You do that. See you later this week, Cyn," Brian said as he walked to his car, carefully putting the items in the passenger seat.



Chapter 8

He'd been gone three hours and turned the car around to drive to Britin. He pulled the ‘Vette into the garage and came into the house. Rosa was cooking dinner and the smells wafting from the kitchen made his stomach growl.

"Mr. Kinney, would you like a sandwich or a salad? You must be hungry," she asked.

"A turkey sandwich would be fine. I'm going to find Justin and I'll be back."

Brian left the kitchen and went to the media room, but Justin was not there. He went upstairs and looked in their bedroom and it was empty also.

He called out, "Justin. Justin," anxiously waiting for the reply.

He heard a muffled "In here" from Justin's studio and went in there. "What the fuck are you doing in here? Don't tell me you're trying to paint with your broken arm!" he questioned loudly.

"No, I'm not trying to paint, but I wanted to see if I could use the stylus on my paint program. After the bashing, I couldn't hold the brush for shit, but I could use the stylus. So I thought I'd try," Justin explained with a smile on his face.

"And... what did you find out?" Brian asked hopefully.

"I don't have very good range because of the collarbone, but I can do a little sketching. I've been in here for about half an hour and I'm doing okay."

"I see. Well, I'll leave you to your creativity. Did you get up by yourself?"

"Yep. I think I finally figured out how to maneuver out of my chair. I told you my injuries wouldn't be so bad," Justin explained.

"Be careful. I don't want to have to call the ambulance again," Brian warned. He turned around and returned to the kitchen to eat his sandwich.

Brian was pleased that Justin was able to draw, if only for a little while. He went to his office, pulled out his work and began to look at the slides. He was glad that Justin didn't question the length of his absence.

Brian worked for another two hours, looked at the time and returned to Justin's studio. Justin was asleep on the futon he kept there. Brian lay a throw over him and started to leave, but Justin woke up from the movement.

"Hey," Justin said sleepily.

"Hey. You fell asleep," Brian stated quietly, not wanting to wake Justin up fully.

Justin threw his legs over the side of the futon and arched his back. "Yeah, I guess I did. Been working all afternoon?"

"Yes. I figured you were busy, so I could work too. Got a lot done. Maybe I should work from home more often," Brian stated.

"No, I don't think so. If I wasn't in this cast, you'd be after me all day long to fulfill your every fantasy,' Justin teased. "Speaking of fantasies, why don't you come over here and kiss me. It's been all day since I had one of your kisses." Justin gestured for Brian to sit on the edge of the futon.

Brian walked over, leaned down, and gave Justin a kiss on his forehead, but did not linger. "Come on, let's see what's for dinner. Do you need help to get up?"

Justin frowned at Brian's lack of affection, recognizing Brian's withdrawal, but said nothing. "I think I can do it myself, but stay there in case I need you," he replied. Justin got up with little fanfare, blowing out his breath as he pushed up. "The trick is to blow gently when I get up so I don't push on the ribs. It's a great trick." He demonstrated the tactic once he was standing.

They ate dinner and retired to the media room.

"Netflix delivered several new DVDs today in the mail. We have the first three discs to Bonanza or we could watch Star Wars. I know you said that was one of your favorite movies," he said as he held up the two DVDs.

"Let's go with Bonanza. Mikey loves Star Wars and it would feel wrong to watch without him. We've watched the movies so many times, it feels like I'm part of a Rocky Horror cast with all the lines we shout at the characters," Brian explained.

"You've seen Rocky Horror? Did you dress up?' Justin teased.

"Of course I've seen Rocky Horror. It was a big thing when I was in college." Brian took the DVD from Justin and put it in the player. Justin had sat down on the couch and Brian joined him, but kept his distance. Justin moved closer to Brian and Brian reluctantly allowed him to sit near him. Justin tried to lean into Brian, but Brian gently pushed him to sit up.

Justin scooted over to the side of the couch, but he gently scooted himself closer to Brian every few minutes. When he finally reached Brian's side, he leaned in and started to kiss Brian, but Brian pushed him away again.

"Justin," Brian said, the frustration evident in his voice. "What part of ‘No' don't you understand?"

Justin looked down and scooted away from Brian. While Brian watched the DVD intently, Justin tried to figure out what Brian's problem was.

After the DVD ended, Brian announced, "I'm going to bed. Do you want any help getting ready for bed?"

Justin opened his mouth to confront Brian, but realized he wasn't up to it. "You could put some toothpaste on my toothbrush." he said quietly.

"Okay. Are you coming?" Brian yelled as he climbed the stairs, his feet heavy against each step as if he had a large burden to bear.

"I'm coming." Justin got out of the chair and followed Brian up the stairs. He used the toothbrush Brian had prepared and completed his evening routinue. Walking over to the bed, he used the technique Brian had shown him to get off his shirt and pushed his lounge pants down with his good hand.

Brian turned toward him as he finished kicking off his pants, pulling the duvet open for him to climb in. Justin got in, laying on his back. Brian got out of bed and turned off the light on Justin's side, and then made his way over to his side of the bed. He climbed in, pulled the duvet over himself and Justin and scooted to the edge of the bed, far away from Justin. He closed his eyes and practiced his breathing.

It took a long time for Brian to fall asleep. He could smell Justin and feel the tension in his partner's body, yet he could not bring himself to lay his arm protectively across his body. Exhaustion came over him and his body relaxed.

"I should kick your ass from here to Timbuktu and back," Vic said as he walked into the room.

"Christ! Doesn't anybody knock anymore?" Brian said as he looked at the older man. "Haven't seen you in a while," he casually remarked as if talking to a dead man was a normal occurrence.

"I thought my work here was done, but..."

"I don't fucking need a lecture, Vic. I screwed up," Brian attempted to explain.

"One screw up would not be reason for me to come back and kick your ass, Brian," Vic explained.

Brian looked at Vic as he walked around their bedroom, admiring the furnishings. "Nice place you have here, Brian. Phillippe Starck bed, and lounge with pristine walls adorned by Justin's artwork. Everything in its place. But, is everything in its place, Brian?"

Brian held his head in his hands as he softly answered, "No."

"Things happen, Brian. Are you going to return to drinking, drugging and sex?" Vic questioned.

Brian did not answer.

"That was the old Brian Kinney. The one who used alcohol, drugs and sex to run away from his problems. I thought you had learned."

"I caused this. If I had stopped the night before instead of being in such a hurry to get my dick sucked..." Brian didn't finish his statement.

"So this is your fault?" Vic asked, although he knew the answer.

"Of course, it's my fault," Brian responded as his eyes drilled into Vic.

"You made the car run the red light and hit you?" Vic questioned, hoping that Brian would see reason.

"No. Why would I do that? He was a jackass wanting to get somewhere fast."

"Tell me again how you were at fault," Vic urged.

"If I had gotten the milk the night before, we wouldn't have been in that intersection when the jackass came through," Brian explained, a little exasperated that Vic couldn't follow his reasoning.

"I'm so glad that you cleared that up for me, Brian. I always thought that accidents were named that because they were not premeditated actions," Vic remarked. He walked over to Brian, pulling his chin up, making Brian look him in the eye. "It was an accident, but you still didn't answer my question. Does your drinking, drugging and sex solve the problem?"

Brian looked down, despite Vic's continued hold on his chin. "No," Brian said softly.

"Good. I'm done here. Take care of Justin." Vic smiled and exited the room.

Vic was only gone a short while before Brian's internal clock woke him. Glancing around the room, he took in the bed and the lounge chair as well as the pristine walls with Justin's paintings. Fuck, I didn't imagine Vic in my dreams. Quietly, he crept out of bed, careful not to wake Justin. The last few days he had been helping Justin shower in the evening; however, he'd been preoccupied last night and had not offered. He didn't want to face Justin this morning, so he allowed him to sleep instead of offering to assist him in the shower. He quickly showered and finished his morning routine. He went to the kitchen, where he poured a cup of coffee in the insulated cup, sipping it while he located his briefcase and keys. He punched the garage door opener and got in his car. After putting on his seat belt, he backed out and drove to Pittsburgh.


He parked his car and walked to the diner, where he sat in the back of the restaurant.

Debbie came up to his booth, smacking her gum as usual. "You're awfully early today. Who's taking care of Sunshine?" Debbie questioned him with only a slight doubt in her voice.

"He's a grown man, Deb. He can do almost everything for himself. I have a business to run and I can't be at his beck and call. Now can I get some coffee and an egg white omelet? I have a conference call at 8:30," he snapped.

"You better be taking good care of Sunshine, Brian," Debbie reminded him.

"My food," he repeated.

Debbie placed the order and left Brian alone. Unfortunately, Ted and Emmett showed up a few minutes later.

"Hi Brian," Ted said as he scooted in the booth.

"Morning. It's lovely outside. The sun is shining and I hear it will be in the 40's today. I sure hope that winter is almost over. The cold weather really dries out my skin," Emmett said with a flourish of his hand to his cheek.

Debbie walked over to the booth and poured each man some coffee. "What'll be Ted? Em?"

"I'll have the cheese omelet and hash browns," Ted ordered and then took a drink of his coffee.

"I think I will have the Sunshine special. Two eggs-sunny side up, two slices of bacon and two pancakes. Drew got back in town last night and we burned a few calories. I have to rebuild my strength," Em boasted casually.

Brian grimaced. "I do not need to know the specifics of your love life, Honeycutt," he chastised Emmett.

"Oh, honey. I'm so rude. With Justin's injuries, I'm sure..." Em started to place his hand on Brian's, offering comfort.

Brian snatched his hand back quickly. "Justin and my sex life is none of anyone's business!" he stated firmly. "Now if you don't mind, I have a conference call in twenty minutes and I need to review my notes." He took out his folder from his briefcase and reviewed the file.

Breakfast arrived, and Brian put the file back in his briefcase. He ate in silence. "I'll see you at the office, Theodore. The boss frowns on employees who are late to work." After throwing money on the table, he walked to Kinnetik.

"Morning boss," Cynthia greeted him as he walked in the door.

Brian did not return to the greeting. "I need the files on the Ice Mountain account. I want to look them over before my conference call," he bellowed.

Somebody's a bear. "Sure Brian."

The day flew by and Brian snapped at everyone who entered his office. He finished reading the last of the file on the Liberty Air account, and had picked up the file for Brown Athletics when he heard a knock on the door.

"It's after 8:00, Brian. I'll see you in the morning," Cynthia informed him as she barely stepped in his office and then retreated before he could comment.

Brian looked at the clock on the computer, verifying that it really was 8:00 p.m. He stretched and thought about working for a little while, but decided he wanted a drink first. Shutting down his computer and locking the drawer, he grabbed his coat and walked into the lobby. He armed the alarm and walked to his car.

He threw his briefcase into the back seat and drove to Woody's. He left his coat and tie in the car and made his way to the bar. Ordering a shot of Beam, he drank it down in one gulp, and then ordered another. After three shots, he went to the pool table, picked up a cue, and shot a few balls. A tall brunet came up behind him.

"Wanna play?" he asked, the double-entendre evident in his voice.

"Sure. Rack 'em up," Brian smiled.

They shot a quick game, Brian winning despite his three drinks. Ted came in shortly after the second game started and made his way to the table to watch.

"Good shot, Bri," Ted commented after Brian shot his fourth ball in a row into the pocket.

Brian looked around, spotting Ted. "Theodore, where are your co-patriots?"

"Blake has group tonight and Em is out of town with Drew," Ted explained. Ted looked at his watch. "How's Justin?" Ted asked, knowing that asking Brian if he should be at home was a bad question.

"Justin's fine. Now if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of a game and I would like to finish it in peace," Brian snapped.

Ted recognized Brian's words as a defense mechanism and stepped back to watch in silence. He had become very fond of his boss, their tight friendship surprising him at first. Brian had always been the one he envied, but as he came to know the man, he realized that Brian's facade to the world was just that. Behind the mask was a man who had a rough childhood that left him with many scars. It was only now, after he had found Justin and had become a father to Gus, that he showed the caring side to his personality. Still, he had difficulty showing that side of himself, except to his closest friends. Ted was fairly certain that Brian was here at Woody's because he was hiding from something; He just didn't know what that something was. He hoped that it had nothing to do with Justin, as he felt that Justin had a grounding effect in Brian's life; without him, Brian was truly lost. He vowed to keep an eye on his boss and friend, and intervene if needed. He realized that Michael would recognize Brian's needs and attend to them; however, Michael was injured and unavailable to "his best friend". As he sipped his seltzer water, he watched Brian play two more rounds of pool and drink at least three beers. After the third round, Brian turned toward Ted.

"I'm leaving, Theodore. Go home to your wife. I'll be fine," he announced as he tipped the bartender and walked out the door.

Ted followed him and ran to catch up. "You okay to drive, Brian?"

Brian stopped walking, looking at Ted. "Better call the service. Justin will be pissed enough as it is," he responded as he ran his hands over his face.

Ted called the service and waited with Brian until they arrived. "See you tomorrow," Ted called out as Brian got in the car.

Brian nodded his head and shut the door. "West Virginia," he commanded and closed his eyes as the driver took him home.