Part Thirteen



The wedding was being held at a private resort outside the city. Normally used for corporate retreats, the place was perfect for their purposes. They ceremony was being held down by the small lake on the property in a meadow that was ringed with wildflowers of every shape and size. More than two hundred people were in attendance, a testament to both Brian and Justin’s likability and the fact that Kinnetik was really taking off.



Once the guests were all seated, Brian and Justin entered. They hadn’t bothered with a wedding party, though Mel, Ted, Ben, Michael, Charlie and Dan had acted as ushers for the guests. The two men walked up the aisle together to the Unitarian minister who was waiting under the arbor for them. There was more than one person who commented about how happy and content the couple seemed as they kept their eyes trained on each other. The vows were exchanged and then Gus brought the rings up to his Daddy and Papa. Rather than sending him back to his seat, Brian scooped the boy up into his arms and he stayed there for the rest of the ceremony.



The reception was held inside the nearby lodge with the guests spilling out onto the large deck which overlooked the lake and the mountains. Emmett had outdone himself with the food and the décor. There was dancing and toasts and plenty of laughter and fun. Brian even deigned to eat a small piece of cake, despite his no carbs past 7pm rule.



As the party began to wind down and those guest who weren’t close to the happy couple began to disperse, Brian and Justin said their goodbyes before escaping, leaving the old gang gathered around one of the tables to discuss the event.



“Leave it to Brian to have more than two hundred people at his ‘small ceremony,’ Michael said with a laugh.



“He wasn’t exactly given much choice,” Ted said. “Once the clients found out they were getting married, most of them wanted to come. And Jennifer was shooting for a wedding of more than 500 guests. This really was a compromise on everyone’s part.”



“Well, Emmett and Jennifer did an amazing job,” Ben said.



“I just wish Ma would have come,” Michael said quietly. “I just don’t understand why she’s being so stubborn about all this.”



“She blames them for what you did,” Ben reminded him. “She’s never been able to accept any of your faults. Before, she could blame Brian. This time, she blames Brian and Justin.”



“I know,” Michael said sadly. “I just wish she wouldn’t. It took almost dying for me to face up to my responsibility for my actions but I finally have. And it’s so much better than blaming other people. I can’t change the things I don’t like if I don’t accept that I’m in control of my life.”



“Wow, Michael,” Mel said. “You really have grown up a lot.”



“Blame Ben,” Michael chuckled. “And therapy. It’s made a huge difference in how I see myself and my relationships.”



“I wish Lindsay had been more willing to really commit to therapy,” Mel said sadly.



“How are you adjusting?” Ben asked. “You and Lindsay were together for a long time.”



“It’s been hard,” Mel admitted. “But Brian and Justin have really made a huge difference. Not just with Gus. At first, when Gus would spend time with them, I sat at home alone and was miserable. But Brian and Justin both went out of their way to invite me to come down whenever. It took some time to get used to a Brian Kinney who actually can stand my presence, but they both keep me from feeling alone and overwhelmed.”



“Who would have guessed that Brian Kinney would not only settle down with one man, but become a pretty good friend to boot?” Emmett asked. He had ditched his catering duties momentarily to joint heir discussion.



“Justin did,” Michael pointed out. “He saw something that none of the rest of us would or could.”



“I suppose that’s the real reason we’re here today,” Ted said. He lifted his almost empty glass of champagne. “To Justin Taylor-Kinney, seer of things unseen and worker of miracles.”



The others laughed and sipped their champagne.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The phone rang in the middle of the night and Justin groaned. They had just returned from their trip to Paris, hadn’t even been in the country for six hours, and were exhausted. Justin tried to roll over and simply ignore the intrusion, but when the house phone stopped ringing, his cell phone began. Then Brian’s cell phone. Then the house phone again.



“Answer the fucking phone,” Brian muttered, his face buried in Justin’s shoulder.



Justin groaned again, but reached out to pick up the phone. His voice was gravelly when he said, “Hello?”



“Thank god.”



“Melanie?” Justin said, now a little more alert. “What’s going on?”



“My water broke,” Mel said. “We need to go to the hospital but I don’t know what to do about Gus.”



“I’ll call my mom,” Justin said. “She can bring Molly here or Brian can drop him off over there. We’ll be up in a minute and I’ll get you to the hospital.”



“Alright,” Mel said quietly. “But please hurry? This fucking hurts.”



Justin hung up the phone and immediately called his mother while Brian rolled out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes for both of them to put on. By the time Justin had Jennifer’s agreement to watch Gus at her house, they were both dressed and headed towards the interior door.



“I’ll drop Gus off and meet you at the hospital,” Brian said as they rode up the elevator together.



Justin was so distracted by thoughts of Melanie and their baby that he hardly heard Brian. The door opened before they could even knock. “Thank fuck. I want this kid out of me.”



Brian snorted and went to Gus’ bedroom to get him ready to go. Justin was left with Melanie, who looked like she was about to burst. “Um…”



“Just get me to the hospital,” Mel said.



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Justin paced the hall in front of Mel’s room while he waited for Brian to arrive. They had planned to do this together. They had planned for both of them to be Mel’s birthing coach, but it was taking Brian longer to get there than Justin liked and Mel was just about ready to deliver. Justin wasn’t sure he could do this alone. But he couldn’t leave Melanie to face this without him.



Strong arms wrapped around him from behind. “Hey Sunshine, take it easy.”



Justin relaxed into Brian’s arms. “Thank god you’re here. The doctor said she’s almost ready to deliver. I thought we’d have to do this without you.”



“Not a chance,” Brian said and kissed Justin’s temple. “Now let’s go take care of Mel.”



An hour later, Brian and Justin both wished they had found someone else to be Mel’s birthing coach.



“Wow, that’s gross,” Brian said with detachment.



“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Mel swore between gritted teeth.



“One more push and I think your little girl will be ready to join us,” the doctor said. “Wait for the contraction, and then I want you to give me everything you’ve got.”



“I already gave you everything,” Mel growled. She was tired and cranky and just wanted this to be done with.



“Just one more,” Justin said encouragingly. “Just one more and we can hold our little girl.”



The contraction hit and Melanie growled as she pushed. Brian and Justin were on either side of her and she gripped their hands as she gave it everything she had. At last, the doctor was able to pull the baby the rest of the way and Mel sagged back into the bed, exhausted.



“Wow,” Brian said again, but his voice was filled with wonder this time.



“Yeah,” Justin agreed. He watched as the nurses cleaned their baby off and then wrapped her in a blanket. When they handed the baby to Mel, he was right there, looking over her shoulder at the precious little girl they had made together. “She’s beautiful.”



“She is,” Mel said with tears in her eyes. “She’s so fucking beautiful.”



“You did good, Mel,” Brian said from her other side. Then he surprised them all as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You did real good.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Zoe Jennifer Taylor was able to come home from the hospital with Mel the next day. Gus adored his new baby until she started crying and then he promptly decided that she should be returned to the hospital until she was old enough to be more fun. For the first few weeks after the birth, Mel stayed in the guest room beside the nursery at the loft. The arrangement allowed them to help each other with late night feedings and gave Mel time to fully recuperate.



When Mel finally went back to her apartment, taking both Zoe and Gus with her, the loft seemed suddenly empty.



“They’ll be staying here all next week,” Brian said when Justin chose to mope around the loft rather than fuck.



Justin sighed. “I know. I just miss her. I mean, I always miss Gus when he’s gone, but I’ve gotten used to it.”



“They’re right upstairs,” Brian reminded him. “You can go up and see Zoe anytime you want. In fact, why don’t we go visit now and get it out of your system. Then we can come back here and do some serious fucking. We’ve had to be considerate of little people and Mel for weeks. We finally have the chance to fuck as long and as loud as we want and you’re moping.”



Justin laughed and kissed Brian’s cheek. “Admit it, you miss Zoe too.”



Brian curled his lips between his teeth before grinning. “Of course I miss my little Moonbeam. Now let’s go see her and Gus and get on with the marathon of fucking.”



Justin chuckled, but followed Brian to the interior door. He still couldn’t get over how much Brian seemed to dote on Zoe. He was the one who had come up with the nickname for the baby. Her dark hair and pale, perfect skin had earned her the moniker. Brian had said that she couldn’t be a sunbeam with hair that was almost black and porcelain skin. The muddy blue that her eyes had been at birth had begun to brighten, so that they truly stood out in contrast to her complexion. In all, she was a beautiful baby and would surely be a beautiful little girl.



“You realize that we moved back up here to get away from your hovering,” Mel teased as she opened the door to her condo.



“You might have,” Brian said as he snatched Zoe from Mel’s arms. “But Zoe and Gus love for us to hover, isn’t that right my little Moonbeam.”



Mel rolled her eyes. “She’s going to think that’s her name.”



“It is,” Gus said as he practically threw himself into Justin’s arms. “It’s Daddy’s special love name for her. Like I’m Sonny Boy and Papa is Sunshine. Uncle Ben explained it to me.”



“Uncle Ben is a very smart guy,” Justin said.



“You guys want anything to drink?” Mel asked as she went to the kitchen.



“We’re fine,” Brian said. “And we aren’t going to invade for long. Justin was going through withdrawal, so I told him we could come up for a few minutes.”



Mel returned with a warm bottle of formula and smirked at Brian. “Which is why he was the one to take her as soon as the door opened.”



Justin took the bottle from Mel. “Well, I’m going to take her now. I’ll feed her and then we’ll get out of your way.”



“Brat,” Brian murmured in Justin’s ear as he took Zoe from Brian’s arms. “Come on Sonny Boy. It’s just about your bedtime, isn’t it? Why don’t I help you get ready and then we can read a story.”



Once the two Kinney men were out of the room, Mel flopped down onto the couch beside Justin. “I really don’t mind you guys coming up to see the kids.”



Justin smiled at her before turning his attention back to Zoe. “Thanks. We didn’t get to be a real part of Gus’ life when he was this age, so it’s all pretty new for both of us.”



“I know,” Mel said. She leaned her head on Justin’s shoulder and looked down at Zoe. “Even though I was there for Gus’ early days, this is new in a lot of ways for me too. Lindsay was always the one who insisted on doing everything for Gus back then. I’m learning as I go, too.”



They sat quietly and watched Zoe eat. By the time Brian returned, Zoe was finished and already sleeping in Justin’s arms.



“Ready to go?” Brian asked.



Justin sighed. “Yeah.” He gave Zoe one last kiss to the top of her head before handing her back over to Mel. “Thanks, Mel.”



Mel smiled at him. “Anytime.  I mean that. Part of the reason I got this place was so that we could all come and go when we want or need to.”



“Goodnight, Moonbeam,” Brian whispered before leaning forward to kiss the baby’s head.



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Once back in their loft, and after several rounds of that long and loud fucking that Brian had promised, Justin and Brian lay in bed together. Only the light from the full moon outside their window was lighting the room. Justin lay with his head on Brian’s shoulder and his leg hooked over top of Brian’s. Brian had one arms wrapped around Justin’s waist, holding him tightly to his side.



“Do you know what tomorrow is?” Brian asked.



Justin frowned and lifted his head to look at Brian. “Not a clue.”



Brian smirked. “Tomorrow it will be exactly two years since we lost everything. Two years since I lost my job and we gave up every material possession we had to take down Stockwell.”



“That was a pretty tough time,” Justin agreed as he laid his head back down.



“Followed by more tough times,” Brian said. “Finding out Michael stole the money,  having the family divided. Lindsay acting like a bitch. And then Michael almost killing himself.”



“And yet, things have turned out pretty great for us,” Justin said. “Kinnetik is doing great. The gang has come back together for the most part. Debbie even sent us that congratulations card after Zoe was born. We’ve made two pretty great friends in Dan and Charlie. We got married. Gus is ours officially now. And we have Zoe too.”



“Yeah,” Brian said and Justin could hear the grin in his voice. “Seems like a lot of good shit came out of the bad shit. I wonder if that’s a karmic requirement. You have to survive the bad shit to get to the good shit.”



“I don’t know,” Justin said thoughtfully. “But I do know that surviving the bad shit makes me appreciate the good shit even more.”



Brian snorted. “Yeah.”



“And as long as we’re together, the bad shit doesn’t seem quite as bad,” Justin said softly.



“Then I guess we’ll just have to stay together forever,” Brian said.



“You can count on it,” Justin told him and then leaned up for a kiss.



“I am,” Brian admitted into the darkness of the night and pulled Justin a little closer and held him a little tighter. “I am.”



The End



“Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache, carries with it the Seed of an equivalent or greater Benefit.” Napolean Hill