Chapter 5

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"Brian!" Teddy began, he was very agitated.

"What is it, Schmidt?" Brian raised an annoyed brow.

"John's in trouble," Ted hastily explained. Brian immediately stood up as well as Bobby.

"Bri?" Justin began.

"Stay with the kids," Brian answered quickly, then took off out of the reception hall with Ted and Bobby in tow. Seeing their friends rushing out, Ben, Drew and Allen followed.

"Take your hands off of me!" They could hear John's voice coming from the men's room.

"What's the matter with you, Kinney? Dick whipped? Come on, Kinney, let's see that infamous snake of yours. It's been what, ten, fifteen years? You are still one fucking hot bastard. And that snow on the roof makes you even hotter."

John was doing his best to fight off the bathroom attendant without resorting to violence when Brian, Bobby, et al pushed through the door. Seeing his man being accosted, Bobby jumped in and was about to take a swing at the guy with his pitching arm.

"Whoa! Easy there, counselor." Drew put himself in between the fiery red head and the idiot who had mistaken John for Brian. "Take your hubby back to your son. This is obviously a case of mistaken identity. We'll set this joker straight."

Ted and Allen led John and Bobby back to the reception, taking it slow so that they could get themselves under control and their clothing smoothed out. The hapless bathroom attendant found himself surrounded by three very large, angry homos including the real Brian Kinney. He apologized profusely, begging Brian not to get him fired, promising to behave until his relief came to take over. Satisfied, the friends went back to the reception.

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"What happened, Daddy?" Patrick asked as he saw John appear near their table. He slid off his chair and ran over to his father to hug him around the waist.

"I'm fine," John stated ruffling his son's hair.

"Good, Unca John," Bree said also making her way to John for a hug of her own.

They all sat down and Ted and Allen went back to their table.

"What happened?" Justin asked.

"Um … It was nothing," John said.

"It was something," Bobby corrected him.

"I'll explain later," John said quickly, eyeing the children.

Justin got the message. "Where's Brian?" he asked.

"He's still in the restroom," Bobby supplied. "He should be back soon."

"Maybe I better go make sure everything's all right," Justin said, standing up.

"I'm sure Brian's fine," Jennifer said reassuringly.

"I want to see that for myself," Justin declared.

"Justin, I don't think Brian…" John began.

"I'm going," Justin said in a tone that meant his decision was non-negotiable. "Keep an eye on Bree."

"I come too, Daddy," Bree stated.

"No, sweetheart, you stay with Grandma, and your Dada and I will be back soon."

Bree frowned, but her Daddy didn't sound like he was going to let her go with him. "'Kay," she said.

Justin hurried through the room, dodging waiters carrying the large trays of main course dishes. He left the ballroom and walked briskly along the hallway to the restrooms. As he neared them, the door to the men's room opened and out came a man looking rather downcast. He was dressed like an attendant would be, but he scurried away down the hall refusing to even meet Justin's gaze. Immediately Ben, Drew and Brian also exited the restroom.

"Brian?" Justin said wanting to know what had been going on.

"We better get back to our tables," Ben said quickly. He and Drew hustled off towards the ballroom.

"What's going on?" Justin asked.

"This must be my day for former tricks," Brian said as he opened his arms allowing Justin to walk into a hug.

"Another one?" Justin groaned.

"It's not safe to take me out in polite company," Brian sighed.

"I can take you anywhere, big guy. You know that, don't you?" Justin told him, smiling up at Brian. "So what happened?"

"John went into the restroom, and that fucking attendant that I guess I'd done somewhere along the line, thought John was me. He started hassling John, so Ted came to get me."

"What? He wanted to fuck you … I mean, John."

Brian nodded. "We set him … straight in a hurry."

"Good, but … um … are there going to be any more instances like this?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

"I guess it's to be expected when you've slept with most of Pittsburgh," Justin sighed.

"Only the male half," Brian tried to joke. He gave Justin a tighter squeeze.

"They keep coming out of the woodwork."

"I guess I could get a disguise," Brian suggested with his tongue in his cheek.

"And just who do you think you would be deceiving with that?"

"Former tricks, of course," Brian replied with a frown. It wasn't like Justin to be dense.

"And what are the other guests going to think when I reappear with a different man on my arm?" Justin chuckled.

"They'll think you've finally come to your senses."

"I've had my senses all along, thank you very much."

Brian had to smile at that. "I suppose we should get back to our daughter and the other socially acceptable guests and former tricks."

Justin groaned loudly. "Yes, we should." He reached up and kissed Brian softly and sweetly. "Just remember who you're going home with."

"As if there's any doubt." Brian placed his arm around Justin's waist. They began their walk back down the hallway to the ballroom. They were staring into each other's eyes, wishing that the fucking reception was already over. It was all Justin could do to refrain from asking Brian to take him back to the restroom and fuck him. Finally they let go of each other and entered the ballroom.

Craig Taylor stepped out of the alcove where he had been standing watching his son and Kinney. "Fucking pervert!" he muttered. He had come out of the ballroom to see what was going on when Justin had left so hastily. He was hoping something was wrong with Brian, but instead he had found them in each other's arms standing in the hallway.

There truly was no justice in the world, he decided. Kinney got to have his perverted family, and had the sweetest little girl as his daughter. Craig's family was in a shambles, and all he had tried to do was stand up for what he believed was right. At least he and Susan had made up since he had come to the wedding and walked Molly down the aisle. He decided he better get back to Susan before he screwed that up too. With a shake of his head he went back into the ballroom.

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The remains of the soup had vanished and a new place setting mysteriously appeared as Brian and Justin sat down. Feeling the tension, Bree raised her arms for her Dada to lift her from her seat.

"Bree, we're going to have dinner soon," Brian softly explained to his daughter.

"Please, Dada," Bree batted her eyes at Brian. Brian sighed; he could never resist those Taylor eyes.

"Only for a little while," Brian said as he lifted Bree from her seat and sat her on his lap. "When dinner comes, you go back to your own chair."

"Yes, Dada."

Briana absentmindedly played with Brian's cufflinks as she gently patted his hand and arms. Brian found her gentle touch soothing and the tension began to slip away. Justin subtly leaned up against his partner, offering his silent comfort. The Taylor contingent of the Taylor/Kinney family had rallied.

Brian took a chance and raised his embarrassed eyes toward his brother and brother-in-law. 'I'm sorry,' Brian mouthed to them both, taking full responsibility for the incident. John shrugged it off. He had gotten accustomed to the ribbing and the offers when he was working on the clinic project. Bobby, on the other hand...

Bobby had chosen chicken breast medallions, arranged in concentric circles on a plate. Colorful root vegetables also cut into medallions garnished the plate as well as complimented the grilled fowl. Bobby took one bite, put his utensils down, threw his napkin on the table then stormed out of the ballroom. John immediately stood up to follow.

"I'll go." With one swoop, Brian placed Bree on Justin's lap then followed his angry red-headed brother-in-law out.

"Red, wait up!" Brian sprinted toward Bobby who was at the nearest elevator punching buttons. "Bobby, please, I'm sorry." The doors opened and they stepped inside. Bobby slapped the emergency stop button.

"Like that's supposed to change anything!" Bobby turned, angrily facing off with the taller man. "Do you think this is a joke? My partner, my husband, can't go anywhere in this city without some fag hitting on him thinking he's you. I don't know how he puts up with it. What is it about you, Kinney, besides the obvious? You're an arrogant son of a bitch. You're inconsiderate, vainer than the highest paid model and...GOD...if I didn't love you so much like a brother, I'd beat you senseless."

"Bobby, I love you and John, I would never do..."

"I know you wouldn't, you couldn't, you big fuck! You'd die before you'd let anyone hurt any of us. Jeez, Bri, when will it end?"

Brian dared to look into the grey blue eyes of his brother-in-law. He gently swiped a red lock away from his face.

"Do you want out?"

"What?"

"Do you want out? Out of the cottage. Separate yourself, your family from me. Justin was weaned on me as the asshole. He's learned to look away, to ignore the looks I get. The ones he doesn't are the ones we discuss and I make up for."

"Yeah, I've witnessed the way you make up," Bobby snorted.

"You're right. You shouldn't have to put up with this shit. What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. I love my life at the cottage. Our lives, the six of us and the hundreds of family members that insist on barging in at any time on any day. Hell, my life has never been this exciting until I met you and John. Now I know why Justin eats so much; he needs the energy to keep up with it all."

"Red, I'll take out a two-page spread in the papers stating I don't do tricks anymore and that John Anderson is so not Brian Kinney."

"Don't bother; no one would ever believe it."

"You still want to beat me senseless?"

"Yeah, but I'll let Justin do it for me. He's had more practice at it."

"That he has. Bobby, I mean it, I'll do anything to make you feel safe, to make John and little Red feel safe."

"I know that, big guy. I overreacted. John once told me that it's an awesome responsibility to be Brian Kinney. I don't envy Justin. He's a stronger man than I am."

"You're just as strong as he is. He's just learned to ignore it."

"Must be the red hair; I can't back down."

"I envy my brother. You must be sizzling in the sack." Brian waggled his eyebrows at Bobby, making the redhead laugh out loud. Bobby started up the elevator. They got off at the next floor then walked back up to the ballroom.

"Damn, I hate cold chicken," Bobby said sadly. Brian slung his arm across Bobby's shoulder.

"No problem, I'll order you a fresh plate," Brian said confidently.

"Yeah?" Bobby looked up and smiled.

"Sure, I got connections. Me and the chef are just like that," Brian said as he held up two crossed fingers.

Bobby was still giggling as he sat down and a fresh plate of the succulent dinner was placed in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked his spouse.

"Yeah, we're good," Brian answered as he kissed Justin's temple. "But I think we should reconsider me wearing that disguise." A fresh dinner plate magically appeared in front of Brian. He wisely placed his napkin on his lap and quietly ate dinner.

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"What do you think that was all about? I hope it has nothing to do with the entree." Sarah leaned over to Sharon to discreetly whisper into her daughter's ear.

"No, probably had gotten cold while they were out in the hall," Sharon offered her mother a logical explanation.

"I wonder why they were gone for so long?"

"Who knows, it was probably business. The red-headed man is a lawyer."

"Really? Good looking, young and successful. I wonder if I should introduce him to Cecily? You know, since she got her divorce, she's been hanging around all these strange women and wearing the most awful masculine looking clothes. I think she needs a new man in her life," Sarah commented innocently.

"Uh, mother, I think we should let Cecily figure this one out all by herself. Wouldn't want her to think we were trying to interfere, now would we?"

"Maybe you're right. These young women, nowadays, too assertive for my taste. Speaking of taste, dear, can you pass me another one of the pear and blue cheese canapes. I can't seem to stop eating them."

"Of course, mother, enjoy," Sharon said, as she slid the three tiered dish closer to her mother.

Sarah smiled brightly as she bit into the treat. Sharon wondered if Bobby Morrison realized what a narrow escape he just had.

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Bree was eating her main course diligently following her Dada's instructions. She took a small bite of each root vegetable, deciding that she liked the yams and roasted potatoes. Some of the other stuff she wasn't sure about. She had never had it before. She ate a carrot knowing that was safe. She jabbed a white circular piece of vegetable. Holding it up, she examined it carefully.

"What this?" she asked.

"It's parsnip, sweetheart," Jennifer told her. "Try it. You might like it."

Bree took a tentative bite. It was slightly sweet, but she wasn't too sure about the texture. She continued chewing on it, deciding that it was definitely not something she liked a lot, but it wasn't terrible either. She took another piece of carrot. Those she did like. Next she spied a pale yellow vegetable cut in wedges. She skewered a piece with her fork.

"What this?" she asked.

"That's rutabaga," Justin told her.

"Rubabeggar?" Bree asked, as she giggled. "That's funny, Daddy."

"Are you going to taste it or just look at it?" Justin asked.

"I try it," she decided and popped it into her mouth. She was immediately sorry. Her face screwed up in distaste. She wanted to spit it out, but her daddies had told her that it wasn't polite to spit … ever. Except in the sink when she used the pretty blue mouthwash.

She looked at her Daddy who was calmly eating his chicken and talking to her Uncle Bobby. She looked at Grandma Jenn who was staring sadly at the empty chair beside her. Her Dada was staring off into space as he chewed on his chicken. She didn't know what to do.

Suddenly her eyes fell on Uncle John who was watching her with a little smile. He took his hand and placed it over his mouth. He put his other finger underneath and then showed her a piece of potato that he had taken from his mouth. She understood immediately that that was what she was supposed to do. She raised her hand and covered her mouth. With her free hand she quickly plucked out the offending vegetable that she had stored in her cheek where she could hardly taste it. She looked at Uncle John. He took the piece of potato and placed it at the back of his plate where there was no other food. She did the same.

When she looked back at her uncle, he mouthed, "Good girl!" and she smiled happily at him. She would have to remember how you got rid of food you didn't like. That was something valuable to know too. She had learned a lot today.

"Did you like the rutabaga?" Justin asked directing his attention back to his daughter.

"Don't like rubabeggar," she declared.

"Then eat your chicken."

"Yes, Daddy," she said as she snagged a piece of chicken with her fork.