Part Four

Brian looked over the plans and drawings from the designer and nodded in approval. "Have you given any thought to where you want to have your studio? I noticed that there was nothing in these plans for your work space. I thought you were going to use the sun room?"

Justin nodded. "I thought about that, but I'm not sure that either of us could deal with the arguments that would result."

"Arguments?"

"Brian," Justin sighed, "you are a neat freak. I can live with that. But when I work, things tend to get and stay messy. How are you going to feel about seeing that mess just off the living room everyday?"

"Okay, point taken," Brian said. "So where do we put your mess instead?"

Justin hesitated. "I was actually thinking that the pool house might be the perfect solution," Justin said. "There are lots of windows and space. And it has heat and air conditioning and it's well insulated. It even has a work sink and bathroom, so I wouldn't have to traipse back and forth to the house all the time. Unless you had something else planned for out there?"

Brian grinned an easy grin and said, "It's all yours, Sunshine."

Justin grinned back. "Good, because I already started moving my equipment out there."

"You brat," Brian scolded. "Why ask if you've already decided?"

"Because I like to let you think you're in charge," Justin said saucily as he gathered their dinner plates to carry to the kitchen. He was just setting them down on the counter when a twinge of pain shot through him from his stitches. "Fuck!"

"You okay?" Brian asked from the doorway, already coming to help.

Justin leaned against the counter and nodded. "I think I might have overdone it today."

"Let me see?" Brian commanded and Justin dutifully lifted his shirt so Brian could see the sutures. "Doesn't look like you ripped anything open. Your appointment is tomorrow?" Again Justin nodded. "I'm going with you. I'll leave work early and pick you up here, alright? No more lifting shit until the doctor clears you, okay?"

Justin sighed. "I just wanted to paint."

"Well, then ask the guys to help you get things set up," Brian said. "I'm sure Ben, Michael and Hunter wouldn't mind. Or I should have some free time this weekend. Now, come on, let's get your pain pills and go to bed." "But it's still early," Justin complained.

"And you overdid it today," Brian said. "Besides, you know those pills always knock you out."

Justin gave in and walked up to the bedroom and stripped off his clothes. Brian had his pills and a glass of water for him by the time he climbed into bed. Justin dutifully took the pills and laid back on his pillow. "I wish I was healed already," he muttered sleepily.

"Why's that?" Brian asked as he brushed the hair back from Justin's forehead.

"Because I want you to fuck me," Justin said, stifling a yawn.

Brian smirked. "I want that too, Baby. But it will wait until the doctor gives you the okay."

Justin frowned but nodded. "I missed this. I missed you."

"I missed you too," Brian sighed. "Now go to sleep."

BJBJBJBJBJ

"Well, Justin," Doctor Montrose said without looking up from the chart he was reading. "It looks like everything is healing the way it should. I'm going to remove the exterior stitches today, but you'll still need to take it easy for a few more days. The interior sutures are still healing."

"When can he have sex?" Brian asked bluntly and Justin groaned in embarrassment.

The doctor finally looked up at the two men before him with some surprise. "As long as he is careful, he should be okay now. But Justin, if you feel any sort of discomfort, you need to stop what you are doing, no matter what it is."

"Good to know, doc," Brian smirked.

"Justin should be fine to resume all normal activities within the next week," The doctor continued. "But while I have you here, I want to discuss your eating habits, Justin. You are well below your ideal weight and your latest blood tests show slight anemia. You need to start eating regularly, and add more iron to your diet. I'll give you a diet sheet to help you get started. And I'm going to schedule a follow up visit for a month from now, and I want to see you put on some weight between now and then."

"I told you that you are too skinny," Brian scolded his partner.

"And I didn't disagree," Justin muttered before turning his attention to the doctor. "I will follow your recommendations, Doctor Montrose. Eating is not usually a problem for me, but the last few months have been unusually stressful."

"Normally, he can eat his weight in food in a day," Brian drawled.

"Then I'm sure he won't have any trouble getting back up to a healthy weight," the doctor said. "Now, shall we see about those stitches?"

BJBJBJBJBJ

"No red wine," Brian scolded when Justin tried to order his drink at dinner that evening. "It inhibits your iron absorption rates. White wine only." Brian turned to the waiter, "And he'll have the mussels and clams with lentils and a side of broccoli, not a steak."

"Brian," Justin sighed in exasperation. "Steak has iron. And so does the baked potato."

"Not as much as the shellfish," Brian said. "And all that red meat isn't good for your cholesterol levels."

"I don't have a problem with my cholesterol," Justin muttered and turned to the confused waiter. "Forget what he said. Forget what I said. I'll have the linguini in clam sauce with a side of broccoli, and the white wine he ordered."

The waiter rushed off before the two men could change their minds again.

"Do you know how much fat is in clam sauce?" Brian asked, shaking his head.

"Did you forget that I'm supposed to be gaining weight?" Justin asked sweetly. "Which means I want dessert too."

"The doctor didn't say you should double your weight," Brian groused.

Justin sighed, "I know. But you can't control my diet like you control your company. I read the suggestions too. And I'll avoid caffeine and any other food that is on the do-not-eat list. I'll look for ways to incorporate the good foods into my diet. I'll take care of myself. But you are going to make me crazy if you look over my shoulder the entire time."

"You ordered red wine," Brian said accusingly.

"By mistake," Justin admitted. "I got the red and white confused for a minute. I thought that red was the good wine."

"It is, for the heart," Brian shrugged. "Just not for iron absorption. Okay, I'll back off."

"Thanks," Justin smiled. "Now, I want to enjoy this meal and look forward to celebrating the doctor's other recommendations when we get home."

"I don't know," Brian teased. "I'm not sure we could do that without causing you some sort of discomfort."

"The discomfort has been building for days because we haven't done that," Justin complained and leaned seductively over to Brian. "And I'll be very careful while I ride your cock..." Justin trailed off as he looked up to see their waiter, face flushed in embarrassment, holding a bread basket and plates.

"I'll just leave these, shall I?" The waiter muttered and practically dropped the basket and plates before walking quickly away.

Brian and Justin both laughed before sharing the bread.

They ate in silence for a time before Justin brought up a subject that had been bothering him for a few days.

"Brian," Justin said. "Speaking of needing to gain a bit of weight, when Michael and Ben came over the other day, Ben was looking a bit..."

"Thin and pale?" Brian nodded. "He's not been doing well lately. The doctor's aren't sure why, but his body isn't responding as well to the cocktail as they would like. He's been in the hospital twice in the last six months."

"Oh," Justin said and sighed. "I wish I had known."

Brian looked up with concern. "There isn't anything you could have done."

"I know, but..."

"I know," Brian said. "Mikey's been handling it remarkably well, all things considered."

"What about Mel and Lindsey?" Justin asked, attempting change the topic to a slightly lighter subject.

Brian raised a brow and said, "Lindsey hasn't called in a while. Gus still calls me at least twice a week, but it's difficult getting any real information from a seven year old. I worry about them. Mel had to give up practicing law when they moved to Toronto and I know that things haven't been all that great for them there. The last few times I talked to Lindsey, she was increasingly stressed out over finances and their marriage. Same old shit, but now they don't have friends and family to fall back on." Brian shook his head. "I don't know why they ever decided to leave."

"They were scared," Justin said. "We all were after the bombing, but..."

"But they had unrealistic expectations about an ideal life," Brian criticized. "And when reality reared its ugly head and bit them in the ass, it was too late."

Justin shook his head and stared at his half-empty plate. "They aren't the only ones who made stupid decisions."

Brian looked at Justin and said, "No, they aren't. But you've taken steps to get your life back. That takes courage and strength. You need to find a way to put that asshole behind you and move on. Because you are better than that shithead."

BJBJBJBJBJ

It took almost three weeks for Britin to be completely decorated, but eventually, the time came for Brian and Justin to move. Justin had spent almost every day out at the house, helping Jan and working in his new studio while Brian worked. The two men spent their weekends together, often shopping for items the new house would need. But once the house was complete, the time for packing had arrived, a task that neither man was anticipating.

"Do we need to bring the espresso machine?" Justin asked in a muffled voice, his head stuck in a lower cabinet in the kitchen. It was late on a Saturday evening and they were hoping to have everything packed for the movers to pick up on Monday.

"We bought that new one last week, remember?" Brian called back. He was sorting their music and movies. "We need the blender, though. I haven't been able to find another one with as much power as the one we have. Can we leave the club music here?"

Justin popped his head above the counter. "No, I paint to that. I'll need it in the studio."

Brian shrugged and dumped several discs into the box he was packing. "This would be easier if we just bought duplicates."

"Or decided to just live in one place or the other," Justin said before he went back to sorting through the kitchen cabinets.

The phone rang and Brian, grateful for an excuse to stop packing, went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Brian, is that you?" a desperate sounding Lindsey was on the line. "You have to help me Brian!"

"Lindsey? Calm down. What's going on?" Brian asked.

Justin heard the concern in Brian's voice and came over to him to listen.

"They're gone, Brian," Lindsey sobbed. "She took my babies and they left me here."

"Mel took the kids?" Brian asked. "Where did she take them?"

"I don't know," Lindsey cried. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. They're gone, gone, gone."

"Lindsey, you aren't making sense," Brian said. "I need you to calm down and tell me what's happened."

"Mel left me here," Lindsey whispered. "She made me come here and left me here. No babies. No Mel. Soon...no Lindsey."

"Where are you Lindsey?"

"I'm here. Come and save me Peter Pan."

Justin could tell that Brian was becoming frantic. Lindsey's voice, what Justin could hear of it, sounded manic, childish one minute and filled with despair the next. Justin rubbed Brian's back to try and keep him calm, but he could feel his partner's tension mounting.

"Lindsey! Where the fuck are you?" Brian yelled after listening to Lindsey chanting for a while. "Where is my son?"

"Gussy's gone," Lindsey sobbed. "Mel took him away from me."

Brian turned to Justin. "I can't make any sense of what she is saying. Can you see if you can get Mel on her cell phone and find out what the fuck is going on, and where the hell my child is?"

Justin nodded and went to retrieve his cell, but was waylaid by the door buzzer. He walked over and pressed the intercom. "Yes?"

"Justin?" It was Melanie.

Justin's eyes widened. Mel was here? "Come up, Mel. Lindsey's on the phone and she's not making sense. I was just about to call you." Justin opened the door for Mel and went back to Brian. "Mel's here. She's on her way up."

"Lindsey," Brian said. "Listen to me, Mel is here. She's here with me. Where are you?" Brian turned to Justin and shook his head. "She just keeps saying they're gone."

"Is that Lindsey on the phone?" Mel asked as she walked through the door.

Brian nodded and held the phone out. "Maybe you can get more sense out of her."

Mel took the phone and Brian and Justin listened to her end of the conversation. "Lindsey, baby. What are you doing? ...No, I didn't leave you... I told you. I had to bring the kids to Pittsburgh... Yes, I'm coming back for you... Yes, I still love you, baby... No, we'll work this out. Haven't we always found a way before? ...Lindsey, where is the nurse? I need to talk to her... No, you aren't in trouble, honey... Yes... Okay, I'll see you Monday, just like I promised."

There was a pause, presumably while Lindsey went to get the nurse. "What happened? How did she get a phone? I thought she was being closely monitored? ...I understand that, but... No, I'll be there Monday. Just make sure she knows I'm coming back. She was extremely agitated when I got on the phone with her... I will. Tell her I'll call in the morning. Alright, thank you."

Mel hung up the phone and dropped her chin to her chest. Her eyes were closed and she was taking deep breaths. "I need to go get the kids."

"You left them in the car?" Brian asked. "Alone?"

"I..." Mel couldn't finish. It was obvious that she was at her breaking point

"We'll go get them," Justin said and grabbed Brian's hand. Now was not the time for accusations. "Come on, Brian."

Brian glared at Mel for a second before turning and hurrying out the door. Justin followed him and took the stairs quickly. Their neighborhood wasn't a safe place to leave a seven-year-old and a three-year-old child alone. When they reached the car, Justin was relieved to see that Mel had at least locked the minivan's doors. Brian was coaxing Gus into unlocking them.

"I kept us safe," Gus said proudly when he opened the door and rushed to Brian's arms. "Mama said I should keep us safe and I did."

"You are a very brave little man, Sonny Boy," Brian said. "Now let's get you and JR into the house where it's safe and warm."

"Uh, Brian?" Justin was standing beside the open door and staring inside.

"What is it?" Brian asked looking up in concern. He picked up Gus and carried him back to the minivan. Inside, JR was sleeping in her car seat, but that wasn't what had caught Justin's eye. Beside her were two baby carriers. Tiny infants, no more than a few weeks old were snuggled up and sleeping peacefully. "Hey Gus? Who are they?"

"My brothers," Gus shrugged. "That's Sam and that's Eli. Mommy brought them home from the hospital a few weeks ago. Then Mommy had to go back to the hospital. Mama said she's not feeling well."