Justin was outside bringing in the morning paper for his mother. He had hoped to spend the day with Brian but duty called the police Detective away and his hopes for a bit more loving were dashed. His mom had always been an early riser so she was already up not long before Brian dropped him off in order to head out for the scene of some terrible crime. He had been incapable of hiding the sheer joy he had felt over the previous night's events and ended up telling her bits and pieces of his evening with Brian, being careful to censor just how much detail he went into. His mother sat at the kitchen table and shared a cup of steaming, hot coffee with her first born; hiding the angst she was feeling at how quickly he had grown up right before her eyes. The boy who had left her house to attend his Senior Prom only the night before had come back home a man, and it had little to do with the obvious sexual experiences he had enjoyed the night before (she wasn't naive enough to believe that her son and Brian only held hands all night). Something more than sex had occured between Justin and his boyfriend last night that had given her son a sense of pride and responsibility that only a man would feel.

As Justin bent to pick up the paper he saw Brian's now familiar Jeep pulling up in the driveway. He felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn't expected to hear, much less see, Brian for most of the day. Maybe the case had solved itself. Justin felt almost giddy thinking that Brian couldn't wait a minute more to come back to him. His face lit up with one of his patented smiles and he ran over to the Jeep, leaving the paper where it lay in the damp grass. Justin stopped just short of the driveway when he saw Brian emerging from the driver's side. Brian had turned when he noticed Justin and the look on his face, although not exactly a scowl, was far from the happy greeting that Justin had expected. Brian almost looked angry, or at least disturbed about something.

A second later Justin decided the look on Brian's face had to have something to do with the case he had just become involved in. He certainly didn't have any reason to be upset with him. He put the spring back into his step and closed the gap between them by running around to the other side of the Jeep. He gave Brian a quick hug and peck on the cheek. Brian closed his arms around Justin and pulled him close against his body. It was more than enough to reassure the young man that Brian's scowl had nothing to do with him. He lifted his face and Brian brought his lips down hard, capturing Justin's mouth and devouring it as if he was afraid it would be the last time he tasted those lips. Justin parted from the kiss, confused. He hadn't expected such open affection from Brian right in front of the whole neighborhood.

Brian finally released Justin but the strange look on his face hadn't faded. Justin was confused. He tried to ask Brian what was up but Brian only murmured something about 'not here' and began leading Justin towards the house. At the last minute he remembered the discarded newspaper and ran back to get it. He ran back to join Brian just as he reached the front door. The two men entered the house, closing the door behind them. It was quiet inside. Jennifer Taylor was in the kitchen preparing to fix breakfast for her family. She had the feeling that her son would have a healthy appetite this morning and her daughter always did. She got busy, blissfully unaware of the drama that was about to unfold in her living room.

Brian led Justin to the living room and sat down on the large sofa, indicating a spot next to him for the young man to sit. Justin was quickly becoming afraid of what was on Brian's mind. It was very evident that it wasn't good news. Brian cleared his throat, and as gently as he could he passed on the bad news about Billy.

"Justin, do you remember when I came to the Prom to see you last night?"

Justin laughed. "Well of course I do. It was only last night Brian. I mean, I know a lot has happened since then but how in the world could I ever forget even one minute of one of the happiest nights of my life."

Justin smiled at the memory of discovering Brian waiting for him outside the hotel. It had been so unexpected and yet so incredibly wonderful. He couldn't understand why Brian didn't seem as happy at the memory as he was. Had he done something wrong that he had no knowledge of, he wondered? Before he could ask Brian any questions the man spoke up first.

"It was very special, Justin," Brian sighed, his face softening just a little. "What you didn't know was that I was at the Prom for a while before you even left there. I have to admit that I couldn't resist the chance to see how it was going for you. You really did look beautiful in that tux. Anyway, I saw you dancing with your friend, Daphne, and then I saw you ask a rather cute boy to dance with you too. Do you remember that?"

"You were there when I asked Billy to dance? Why didn't you let me know? You know I would have much preferred dancing with you, don't you?"

"Is this Billy someone special to you, Justin?"

"What? I mean, why would you ask me that? You're not jealous, are you?" Justin ask quizzically. Brian had never struck him as the jealous type, although it would have been flattering to think he was.

"Don't be silly," Brian snapped, bringing Justin up short with shock. Brian actually sounded angry now.

"Brian, what have I done? Why are you getting so mad? You were fine when you left me just a couple of hours ago and now all of a sudden you're acting like I've gone out and cheated on you or betrayed you or something. I don't get it at all. Didn't you tell me how much I had proven you could trust me and shown how much I trust you? Please tell me what is bothering you so badly," Justin begged.

Brian didn't say anything for a moment as he forced himself to calm down. He wasn't angry at Justin for anything but he realized it might look like that. He was simply scared. He still couldn't shake this uncomfortable feeling that Justin was in some kind of dangerous situation. He finally continued on, hating the look of anxiety on Justin's face that he couldn't conceal.

"Justin, no...no, you haven't done a thing wrong, although I really think there is someone out there that wants to make it look like you did. Look, I just need to know what kind of relationship you and Billy Simpson had....have."

"How did you know his name was Simpson? Brian, what's going on? Please tell me. You really are scaring me now."

"Okay. Look, I'm sorry to tell you this but the case I was called away to involves your young friend. Billy Simpson was the victim in the park...the one that got bashed. He's still alive right now but barely. He was bashed so badly that it was hard .............."

Brian stopped when he heard the sharp cry of pain and fear that came not from Justin beside him but right behind him. Brian turned and saw Jennifer standing in the doorway, her face suddenly drained of color. Justin looked up too and saw his mother sway. He jumped up and closed the distance between them, wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her. Wordlessly he walked her over to the easy chair across from the sofa and sat her down. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and turned back to Brian. 

"My gawd, Brian, are you telling me that Billy was attacked by the same people who have been going after gay men for the last few months? But why him? Billy is just a nice, timid kid who wouldn't hurt a fly. Why would he even be out in a park late at night in the first place, and alone? That doesn't sound like the Billy I know at all. I can't see him doing something like that....ever."

Brian faced both mother and son and cringed at the stricken look on their faces. This thing with Billy had hit too close to home. He knew instinctively what mother and son were thinking. They both realized it could have been Justin if he had paid a visit to that same park at the wrong time. He gathered his thoughts and reined in his own fears so that he could talk calmly to the two Taylors.

"We've talked to his family and they have no clue as to why their son would go out into the park so late and without telling anyone he was leaving. Even his sister knew nothing about it. We have some clues but nothing concrete right now."

Brian steeled himself for what he was going to say next.

"We do have one clue that may or may not explain why Billy went to the park alone last night. We found his cell phone nearby and there was a final message on it. It was an invitation from someone to meet him at the park to talk about what had happened that night. We're presuming they are talking about the Prom Dance right now for the sake of argument. Anyway, it was signed JT. We haven't traced it yet but we asked his family if they knew of any JT's in Billy's life. His sister mentioned you, Justin, but didn't know of any other guys by those initials."

Justin interrupted. "But Brian, you know I never sent Billy a message of any kind. I was too busy with you and I certainly wasn't planning on meeting Billy anywhere. We are just casual friends. The only thing we have in common really is that we're both gay."

"I know. I know! I told my partner the truth about you spending the night with me. We know you had nothing to do with Billy being in the park, or at least knowingly, but the truth is that I'm concerned that someone may have lured Billy there thinking that he was going to see you."

Jennifer interrupted this time. "But why would anyone think that? Justin told you that he and the Simpson boy were just casual friends. They never hung out together. I certainly would have known if they had," she announced with a slightly belligerent tone to her voice, mixed with anxiety. 

"I believe you Mrs. Taylor....I mean Jennifer...but I guess Justin didn't tell you what he did at the Prom yet."

"We haven't had much chance to talk. So what didn't you tell me Justin?" she asked, looking up at her son.

Justin knew what Brian was referring to immediately. He didn't hesitate to tell his mother about that single dance with Billy. He had been proud of himself, and Billy seemed happy about it too once he got over his initial nervousness. As Justin re-lived
the dance for his mom, he couldn't help wondering if their bold statement in public had caused this terrible thing to happen to a really nice guy. Maybe he shouldn't have taken such a big risk. His mother's reaction said she felt the same way. It took several minutes to calm her down. 

Eventually Brian got around to saying what he had been thinking in the back of his mind ever since he realized that there was a slim chance Justin was somehow connected to the bashings or at least the bashers. It was only a remote chance, since there had to be plenty of other explanations for this choice of victim and the mysterious cell phone message, but Brian didn't intend to take any careless chances...not with Justin's life and health. He had finally found someone that made him feel alive inside all the time, even when the blond wasn't around, and he had no intention of losing him.

Brian explained his concerns carefully and without raising any more fear in Jennifer than she already felt. His assurances that Justin would be safer staying with him until this case was resolved was the clincher and Jennifer gave her blessing for Justin to move out of her home and into Brian's, if only for a little while. Of course Justin was on Cloud Nine. Any threat that might be looming on his horizon was dimmed by the prospect of spending every night with Brian. 

It didn't take Justin more than ten minutes to have a large backpack, like the one he used to take on camping trips in the Summer, stuffed with his essentials and favorite clothes. He kissed his mom goodbye and promised to keep in close touch. On the way back to the loft Justin was buoyant but he couldn't miss the fact that Brian was still uneasy, even though the older glanced over at his passenger several times and shared a smile at the young man's exuberance. He only wished that Justin was coming to his place under happier circumstances. It was more important than ever to solve the gay bashing cases, or at least Billy's case if no other. He knew in his heart that this would be the only way to keep Justin safe in the future and he wanted that more than anything right now.

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

As Brian and Justin drove by the Hobbs' residence just a short distance away from the Taylor home, they were completely unaware of the burly young man inside who had finally fallen asleep after his busy night. Chris had barely drifted off when he was rudely awakened by his mother. She was not privy to her grown sons nocturnal activities. All she knew was that he had a part-time job on Saturdays and was supposed to show up within the next hour and a half. Chris was a hard kid to awaken so she began bugging him as early as she could so she would be able to get a good breakfast into him before he left. 

Chris was harder to wake up this morning than usual and it bugged his mother that she had come in at least three times already just to try and get his lazy ass up at last. Finally, just as Brian and Justin were settling in at the loft, Chris had given up and let his mother's nagging force him out of bed. He was exhausted but he felt he had gotten somthing accomplished the previous night and that made the exhaustion easier to deal with. Over breakfast, Chris mulled over what he was going to tell his motley gang of school chums about his solo deeds last night. He knew some of them wouldn't be too happy with him for putting all of them at risk of discovery, not that it really mattered to Chris, but he still felt he needed to give them an explanation that would sit well with them. 

Chris had a meeting with his gang after work today, but he also had some other plans for the day that didn't include his companions. He had every intention of keeping a close watch on Justin Taylor. He was tired of going after other men when the truth was that it was Taylor he wanted to punish. He was going to get that fag if it was the last thing he ever did. He made that vow to himself as he shoveled another spoonful of cold cereal into his mouth followed by his mother's less than perfect cup of coffee. He then hurried off to the construction site where he helped out his uncle during the Summer months. He didn't bother to turn on the tiny TV set his mom had in the kitchen near the breakfast nook. He missed the first reports of the bashing in the nearby park that were shown on the news. Didn't matter, since Chris Hobbs already knew all the details.

To be continued..............................