All the Rage

Chapter 5

Justin woke with a start. He had slept fitfully trying to find a comfortable position for his injured ankle. Brian had been awake most of the night too, giving Justin pain pills and kisses to try to comfort him. Justin turned to the side and realized that Brian was gone.

"Brian?" he called softly not wanting to wake the rest of the house. It was still early.

"Did you call me?" Brian asked coming into the bedroom and closing the door behind him. "I brought you some juice and another pain pill."

"You're taking such good care of me," Justin smiled as he downed the pill and the juice.

Brian slid onto the bed beside him. "How do you feel this morning?"

"A bit better. Did I keep you awake all night?"

"That's okay. I wanted to be sure you didn't need anything."

"I need to pee," Justin grinned.

"Ah, bodily functions. Want me to carry you to the potty?"

"I'm not a baby," Justin said with a glare at his husband.

"I know, but I don't mind carrying you," Brian smirked.

"Oh?" Justin looked fondly at the man who meant so much to him.

Brian nodded and scooped Justin up into his arms. He carried Justin into the bathroom and sat him down gently on the toilet. "I'll be back in a minute," he said and left.

Justin wriggled out of his sweats and sat back down. By the time he was finished and wondering how he could get back to bed without his crutches, Brian reappeared in the doorway.

"Ready for me to deliver you to your bed, sire?" Brian chuckled.

Justin shook his head, but couldn't help but smile at how solicitous Brian was being. He felt himself being picked up once again and carried back to bed. Before Brian could set him down, he said, "Can I sit in the living room? I'm sick of being in bed."

Wordlessly Brian carried Justin into the living room. He set Justin gently down on the sofa and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned to a puzzled Justin a moment later. In his hands was a tray with fresh coffee and a toasted bagel. He set the tray down on the coffee table and smiled at Justin.

"You cooked," Justin giggled.

"Hey, any disparaging remarks and I'll eat that myself."

"Sit with me?" Justin asked patting the sofa beside him.

Brian shook his head and scooted in behind Justin so that he could keep his leg extended and up and Brian could wrap his arms around him from behind. Justin sighed as he leaned back against the strong chest.

"Comfy?"

"Yep. It was almost worth hurting my ankle to have you look after me like this," Justin whispered.

"Shut up and eat your bagel while it's warm."

Justin smiled as he knew Brian didn't like to be complimented on things like how well he looked after him. He picked up the bagel and nibbled at the edge. "Good," he said.

"Glad you like it. I thought I'd make us a salad for lunch."

"You did? But I should go in with John and check out the rest of the theater."

"You can't walk without crutches and you still have pain. You're not going anywhere," Brian stated emphatically.

"I guess it could wait for a day or two," Justin conceded as he munched on his bagel. Brian handed him his coffee as Justin finished licking his fingers. "Yum, that was good."

"I'm glad you have your appetite back. You had me worried last night when you went right to bed."

"Too bad I didn't sleep much," Justin said with a yawn.

"You've got all day. Oh, there's Bree," Brian said squeezing himself out from behind Justin. He grabbed the throw and covered Justin with it. Justin smiled affectionately at the big lug who had stolen his heart so many years ago. Brian hurried off to get Bree. He returned carrying a smiling Bree and a sleepy Patrick trailing behind them.

"I'll take her," Justin said and Brian deposited their daughter in his arms.

"Patrick? Do you want to go wake up your sleepy fathers?" Brian asked.

Patrick nodded and Brian opened the door to the sun porch. Bobby and John were sleeping in the big brass bed. After two seconds Justin and Brian heard the squeals and laughs as Patrick attacked his fathers in bed.

"Kids make the best alarm clocks," Justin grinned as he bounced a giggling Bree on his thighs.

"Take it easy with that ankle," Brian warned him.

"You're such a worry wart."

"I want you mobile as soon as possible," Brian stated. "Then you can ride my cock," he mouthed to Justin. Justin laughed and Bree giggled some more. "Ready for breakfast, Squirt?" Brian asked.

"Hungy, Daddy," Bree said.

"Okay, okay," Brian sighed dramatically. "A house husband's work is never done."

Justin laughed out loud at that ridiculous statement coming out of Brian Kinney's mouth. "You are so full of shit," Justin couldn't resist saying.

"Shit," Bree repeated and then giggled along with her father.

"Now you've done it," Brian said.

"Shit," Bree repeated with a big smile.

"Christ, Brian, get her some breakfast and maybe we can take her mind off it before she says it anymore."

"Shit!" Bree repeated bouncing up and down in Justin's arms.

Brian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You're not helping," Justin said.

"Shit," Bree said once more before a laughing Brian disappeared into the kitchen.

*****

"You're being an ass, you know that?" Bobby said to his stubborn husband who was stiffly attempting to get dressed.

"Hey, I don't have the luxury of working from home like some of us in this family," John groused back in a whisper. He almost envied Brian and Justin's ability to work from home when they pleased.

"John, you don't mean that as it sounded. Justin's an artist; he doesn't punch a time clock. And Brian has earned his right to work from home. His employees probably prefer it that way. I have it on good authority that he bellows quite loudly. And you know with Justin temporarily legless, Brian is not straying any further than the garden shed. Now, stop being so stubborn and stay here. I brought my laptop and I can work up in Brian's office. Someone has to apply the antibiotic ointment to your back and ass, unless of course, you and Gordon have a very special working relationship."

"Uh, uh..." John stuttered with embarrassment and with shock; he couldn't believe that Bobby would think that he and Gordon had anything but a professional relationship. John was trying to find the right retort when it dawned on him that Bobby was only pulling his leg, but he was also right. The wounds on his back were supposed to be cleansed and dressed at least three times a day. They also needed to be examined for signs of infection, something that John couldn't do all by himself. John sighed loudly with resignation then went to call Gordon. Gordon ordered John to stay put for the remainder of the week to heal and reassured his boss and friend that all was going well with the theater and bowling alley work. John and Bobby joined Brian and Justin in the kitchen for breakfast.

"So, did you convince him to stay here?" Brian asked as he pushed a heaping serving dish of waffles in their direction. Bree was happily munching away on her own waffle as well as Patrick. At least someone appreciated Brian's cooking.

"Yes, I did. He's so pig-headed at times." Bobby brought a pillow for John to sit on at the cozy kitchen table. Brian had rearranged some chairs so that Justin could sit at the table with his leg propped up.

"He's sitting right here, ya know!" John grumbled. He was feeling uncomfortable and in need of strong coffee.

"I'll get you some coffee," Brian said as he got up to fix his brother a large mug of java.

"I'll get your pain pills." Bobby got up to retrieve John's prescription.

The hapless and temporary invalids traded looks.

"Just go with it, John," Justin advised. "This is a battle you're not going to win. Let's face it; we're loved by two very stubborn men. I, for one, am going to relish every minute of it." Justin's eyes sparkled with amusement and with love. John realized Justin was right and resigned himself to go with the flow.

After breakfast, John decided to take 'first watch' with the kids. They set Justin up in the sun porch on the chaise lounge with plenty of snacks, beverages, sketchpads and pencils. John's injuries were more annoying than anything else. He took the kids outside to explore the garden and surrounding forest. Bobby and Brian were up in the attic office working quietly at their computers. The balcony gave Brian a view of Justin. Brian relaxed as he noticed the pain medication do its magic, allowing Justin to get some sleep.

The clear glass of the sun porch afforded Bobby an unobstructed view of the countryside. He could see John with the children as they followed him closely and listened as he told them about each tree and flower.

Bobby and Brian were satisfied that their family would survive this latest drama.

*****

"Debbie? What are you doing here?" Brian answered the door, surprised to see the artificially red-headed waitress standing at his door. Over her shoulder was half of Liberty Avenue all holding bags, boxes and containers brimming with food and beverages.

"We're here to make sure those sweet children are being properly fed. Now, are you going to let us in, asshole? This stuff is getting heavy."

Brian shrugged then stepped aside to allow Debbie, Carl, Emmett, Lindsay, Jennifer and Ben through the door. He was about to shut the door when Steve's truck pulled up and he and Claire got out carrying more food.

Bobby, hearing the ruckus, came down from the office to see what was going on.

"I didn't know we were having a party," Bobby whispered to Brian.

"Neither did I," Brian replied. "Don't fight it. Just smile and be prepared to eat." Bobby nodded then both men turned to face the crowd. They each wore a sweet smile as they helped to unpack the food and haul it all out to the porch.

Soon they were all sitting around in the sun porch nibbling on food that had been brought. The freezer was stocked and everyone was content that the injured parties were being well taken care of. John had returned with the children and Bree was ensconced on Justin's lap and Patrick was sitting on the floor in front of his fathers. They each munched happily on a hot dog that had been brought especially for them.

"So how the fuck did you two manage to injure yourselves?" Debbie demanded.

Justin looked at John and shrugged his shoulders.

"How did you find out about this?" John asked.

"Hunter saw the ambulance and was told by someone named Gordon that you two had been injured. He let me know last night," Debbie explained.

"And you didn't call?" Brian snarked.

"Gordon told Hunter that neither of you were seriously hurt or I would have been at the hospital," Debbie replied with a glare at Brian. And then she added, "Asshole!" just for good measure.

"We're all extremely happy that you rushed right out here," Brian continued.

Justin gave him a warning look. "We're glad you wanted to help. Thank you all," Justin said graciously.

"And here I thought you all were checking out whether I could take care of two children by myself," Brian said tongue in cheek.

"What's he talking about?" Emmett asked.

"Brian was going to stay home all this week and look after the kids while the rest of us went to work," Bobby explained.

Several sets of eyebrows went up immediately.

Brian scowled. "I knew nobody thought I could handle it. But spraining your ankle and impaling your butt on shards of wood are pretty extreme measures to keep tabs on me."

"I'll vouch for you, Brian," Claire laughed. "He and the children were doing a fine job of working on the gardens when I got the call about the accident."

"Sure, put the little tykes to work!" Emmett laughed.

"There has to be some reason to keep them around," Brian laughed in spite of himself.

"All of you were having so much fun that I had to join in," Claire continued. "Brian is perfectly capable of handling Bree and Patrick on his own."

"And that's why you were here, Claire?" Lindsay asked with a wry laugh.

"Bitch," Brian mouthed at her. "I can handle two toddlers."

"I'm not a toddler," Patrick said. He was four and didn't appreciate being lumped into that category.

"You tell them, Patrick," John stated giving his son encouragement. "You're a big boy."

Patrick nodded and grinned as he polished off his piece of hot dog. Bree was having more trouble with hers and Justin was breaking it up into small pieces for her. She was not at all happy with the way things were going as she watched Patrick eat his hot dog.

"You two should be more careful in those old buildings," Jennifer said looking first at John and then at her son.

"We were careful, Jennifer," John assured her. "There were some rotten boards in the stage and we went through before we had time to think of anything."

"John got the worst of it because he broke the boards and then I landed on him," Justin explained. "The only problem was that my leg got caught underneath us. Otherwise John made a good cushion."

John smiled and winked at Justin. "Hey, I'm the only one who's supposed to use you for a pillow," Bobby said leaning over and kissing his husband.

John winced as he leaned into the kiss and sat more heavily on one side of his injured ass. "Ow," he cried.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Bobby said stifling a laugh.

"Such sympathy," John griped. "Justin and I are injured and all we get is ridicule."

"Bree," Justin said as his daughter took that moment to throw the remainder of her hot dog as far as she could. It hit Emmett in the side of the head. "Bree, that is a no no," Justin said in his strict voice as he looked at his daughter.

Bree stared into his eyes for a moment while Emmett picked crumbs out of his hair. "Shit!" she said to the startled gasps of all assembled.

"Oh my God, what have you been teaching her?" Lindsay demanded of Brian.

Brian opened his mouth to react but then decided they wouldn't believe him anyway.

"Trust Brian to incorporate foul language into a baby's upbringing," Debbie laughed. "However, far be it from me to criticize. I do have a potty mouth as Carl keeps telling me."

"Brian didn't teach her that," Justin said defending his husband.

"Then who did?" Steve asked.

"It was me," Justin admitted.

"Quit trying to take the heat off the big guy," Ben laughed. "Brian can take it."

"But…" Justin tried to continue.

"It doesn't matter, sweetheart," Jennifer interrupted. "But both of you will have to try to be more careful about the language you use around Bree. I don't want my granddaughter swearing like a trooper."

"Mom!" Justin reacted.

"I'll try to be careful," Brian stated looking sympathetically at Justin and trying to get him off the hook by taking the blame.

"Shit!" Briana said forcefully and then laughed. Everyone in the room had to chuckle. She looked so pleased with herself.

"It may not be so easy to stop her," Justin admitted.

"Shit," she said again and everyone in the screen porch had to laugh.

Brian groaned inwardly. Bree liked being the center of attention and saying "Shit" was certainly getting her that attention. Brian scooped up his daughter and carried her from the room.

"Shit!" she said as she was hustled away.