The front door burst open and a blond blur ran down the hall before charging up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door.

Molly looked at her mom with concern. "Was that Justin?"

Looking toward the stairs, Jennifer sighed, worry creasing her forehead. "I think so. Stay here, sweetheart, and I'll go check."

Biting her lip, Molly nodded. "Mom, he looked upset. What happened, do you think?"

Smiling in an attempt to try and reassure her daughter, Jennifer tousled her hair affectionately. "Try not to worry, I'll be back down as soon as I can."

She nodded at her mother in acknowledgement, even though her worry was still great; she loved her brother, and hated to see him in pain.

Making her way up the stairs, with each step Jennifer became more and more nervous, wondering what had upset Justin. Since the bashing, it seemed that everyday something different could set off a reaction in her son.

Justin paced his room, tears streaming down his face and his breathing erratic. Running his fingers through his hair, he pulled it in frustration. The anger he felt was building and he felt like he was ready to explode. How could his mother ask Brian to stay away from him? How could she blame him for what had happened? The thought of being with Brian was the only thing that was keeping him going.

Hearing his mother's footsteps coming up the stairs set off the hurt and anger; trashing his room and seeing her face as she entered made it even worse. The betrayal he felt was too much, and when she put a hand on his shoulder he reacted by pushing her away and knocking her over.

Jennifer sat there, stunned that Justin would do such a thing. She knew why, and didn't blame him, but it shocked her all the same. Stiffly rising to her feet, she could see in his eyes that he was sorry.

Talking gently, Jennifer stood a few feet away, knowing why he was angry with her. "Justin, I'm sorry," she told him softly. "I...I thought I was doing the right thing. I will fix this, I promise."

"Fix this, Mom?" Justin cried out. "I'm not some toy that you can glue back together! Leave me alone!" Her son shouted. Tears springing to her eyes, Jennifer tentatively reached out a hand toward her son before silently turning and heading back out into the hallway.

Molly stood up when her mom came back down. "What's wrong with Justin? I heard shouting and banging. What's going on?"

Standing by her daughter, Jennifer took her hand in hers to explain, "Justin is just upset with me over something that I did. There's something I need to do. Will you look after him until I get back? Nana is next door if you need anything. Can you do that for me?"

Smiling proudly at being asked to look after her brother, Molly nodded. "Yeah, I can look after him; don't worry, mom."

Kissing her head gratefully, Jennifer left to try and mend her broken son. Justin was right; no 'glue' would fix this situation, but perhaps someone could.

Going to the kitchen, Molly took down a tall glass and filled it with cold milk and placed cookies on a plate. Smiling, she made her way up the stairs to Justin's bedroom. He loved milk and cookies, so she hoped they would cheer him up. Finding the bedroom door open, she softly walked in, noticing her brother lying on the bed, his face stained with tears.

Approaching him closer, her heart sank as she observed the desolate look on his face. It broke her heart to see her brother in such pain.

Hearing footsteps and sensing someone near his bed, Justin opened his eyes to see his sister standing there, holding milk and cookies on an oval tray. Sitting up, he wiped his eyes; despite his extreme sadness, he couldn't help giving her a tiny smile, "Hi Lolly."

Smiling at the nickname her brother had given her years ago due to her love of lollipops when she had been just a toddler, she handed him the tray. "I brought you these to cheer you up. I know they always make you feel better whenever you have a bad dream."

Justin placing the tray down beside him, taking a sip of the milk and a bite of a cookie before giving her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Loll. You always know how to make me smile."

Biting her lip, Molly hesitated for a moment before asking, "Justin, what happened? Why are you upset?"

Patting the bed so she could sit beside him, she curled into his side as Justin explained it to her.

Tears stung her eyes after hearing the story. Hugging her brother, Molly spoke softly, her voice full of emotion. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. it's not fair. I like Brian; he was really nice to me."

Looking at Molly confused, Justin asked, "He was? When was this?"

Wiping her eyes, Molly explained, "He called one day when you were asleep and Mom was next door at Nana's. I was sitting on the steps when he arrived. He sat next to me, and asked if I was okay, and if I needed anything. He said that if I wanted to talk or something that I could call him any time. He gave me a card with all his numbers written on it, and a bracelet that he said would keep me safe whenever I got scared."

Hugging his sister, Justin sighed as tears threatened to fall again. "Brian is really a good guy," he told his sister softly. "He cares about us all in his own way."

Her voice was small when she spoke again. "Do you love him?" She asked. "He loves you; I can tell. I don't care that you like boys and not girls. It doesn't matter who you love. I love you, Justin. You really are the best big brother anybody could have."

Tears did fall now from his eyes as Justin replied, "I love you, too, Lolly. "And yes, I do love Brian. Very much."

Placing the tray down on his bedside table, both brother and sister fell asleep, hugging each other and looking after one another as they had done so many times while growing up.

Jennifer made her way toward Brian's loft, doing her best not to break down and cry. Seeing her son lose it so painfully broke her heart into a million pieces, and knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it made her feel so helpless.

Maybe what she was about to do would be a step in trying at least. What she was about to do might be called an act of desperation, but she had to do something to try and help her son return to some semblance of normalcy.

Parking outside the building, Jennifer noticed it was one of the best loft buildings in Pittsburgh and the most expensive. Sighing, she made her way into the building and up to Brian's floor.

She could hear muffled moans and grunts coming from behind the door as she neared it, causing her to rub her forehead and wonder if should she turn around and walk away, but she was determined to help her son no matter what.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand knocked decidedly on the steel surface, hoping she was doing the right thing.

Thankfully it didn't take long for the door to open. But while she expected Brian would be the one to answer the door, she wasn't prepared for him to appear totally nonchalant - and totally naked.

Gasping softly in shock - her eyes unable to avoid raking down his body briefly - she quickly raised her eyes to maintain eye contact with him above the waist before finding her voice to explain, "I need to talk to you about Justin"

Nodding, Brian bid his trick goodbye as he gestured for her to come inside.

Pulling on some sweatpants, Brian finally spoke, "What is it about Justin you want to talk about?"

Glancing around the loft before speaking, she met his gaze as she stated, "I need you to take him."

Looking surprised, Brian asked, "And do what exactly? Do you want me to fuck him?"

Holding his gaze and ignoring his crude response, Jennifer pondered that statement before finally nodding in resignation. "Do whatever it takes to make him better. He's not doing well at home, and he...he..."

Brian noticed she kept rubbing her shoulder. Frowning, he asked, "Are you in pain?"

Sighing deeply, Jennifer nodded, "Yes, just a bit, I um, I fell against a closet."

Walking over to her, Brian was blunt. "Did Justin lash out at you?"

Jennifer's voice shook as she tried to defend her emotionally distraught son. "He didn't mean to hurt me. He was having a meltdown, and I got in the way. It was my fault. I...I thought I could take care of him. I'm his mother," she tried to explain, her eyes welling with tears. "But I...he needs more help than I can give him. I...I need your help."

Pulling out a stool for her to sit on, Brian went to the fridge and brought her some water and a painkiller out of a pill container on the counter. "He still shouldn't have lashed out at you," Brian told her, his voice surprisingly soft. Sighing, Brian bit his lip as he considered her words. He knew this would not be some easy fix for Justin...or a short-term commitment on his part. "Okay. I'll do what I can," he told her, hearing Jennifer sigh in relief. "I'll follow you back home and pick him up."

Sipping her water as she tried to compose herself, a tear escaped her eye. "Thank you, Brian." Taking a breath, Jennifer continued, "Please tell me what happened that night. Justin can't remember, and I need to understand why he's acting this way." Daphne had told her what she could, but she knew that apart from her son, only Brian could supply the missing pieces of the puzzle regarding the Prom's aftermath and what happened in the garage that night.

Closing his eyes and gripping the countertop so tightly with his fingers that they turned white, Brian took a deep breath before telling her, "You don't want to know. Justin is lucky that he can't remember." He sucked in a ragged breath. "I wish I could forget."

Squeezed Brian's hand to make him look at her, Jennifer pleaded, "Please, Brian. Tell me. Was he happy at the prom? I need to know it all."

Brian sighed with a nod. Moving over to the couch, Jennifer followed, sitting down next to him at an angle so she could look into his face.

He took a deep breath before beginning. "Justin was shocked when I showed up. I had told him that I was not going to come." He shook his head. "I'm still not sure why I did," he admitted. "But when he saw me, his face broke out into this huge smile, and I could feel everyone's eyes on us when I walked over to him and Daphne. I complimented Daphne on how beautiful she looked, and she blushed." He smiled slightly in remembrance as he told Jennifer, "I asked if I could borrow her date, and she nodded. When I pulled him onto the dance floor, they changed the music to some hokey song, and all of a sudden there was this spotlight on us. I felt like we were the only ones there," he revealed to her as Jennifer listened in fascination, but also some dread, because she knew the night had not ended the way it had begun. We had the dance floor to ourselves. Justin's face...God, he was so beautiful that night," Brian recalled, his eyes taking on a faraway look on his remembered how magnificent Justin looked in his tux; he had taken his breath away. I led him around the room...and then we kissed right there in the middle of the dance floor," he told her, inexplicably feeling a little awkward talking about this in front of Justin's mother. But she wanted to know it all. "I'd never seen anyone so happy," he told her, taking another deep breath.

"I led him back to my Jeep after the song was over to say goodbye." He could see it all again in his mind's eye as he stared straight ahead. "We were both kind of goofing off, dancing in circles and singing that stupid, old song until we got to the Jeep." Brian paused, licking his lips that were suddenly quite dry. "He told me it was the best night of his life. I joked about how ridiculously romantic it all was before I kissed him goodbye." He remember how oddly hesitant he had seemed then. How he had felt things he had never felt before.

"He started to walk away...but then he turned around and smiled at me, and I told him later that I knew right then why Debbie calls him Sunshine." Pausing again, he squeezed his eyes shut, wondering how he was going to get through what he had to tell her next. Even now, it was like reliving it all over again. "I got into the Jeep, and glanced in the rearview mirror to see him walking away. I...I saw Hobbs coming up behind Justin with a bat in his hand." He swallowed hard. "I jumped out of the Jeep and yelled at Justin to try and warn him, but I wasn't fast enough." He winced as the pain lanced through him as he recalled that horrible time. "For as long as I live, I'll never forget the sound that bat made, or seeing Justin falling down onto that concrete floor."

Jennifer's water-filled eyes reflected Brian's horror as he took another deep breath before telling her, "I hit Hobbs with the bat, hoping to keep him from leaving the scene, then I held Justin in my arms and just kept screaming 'no' over and over again. Brian's face crumpled as he spoke almost in a daze now. "His blood was everywhere. I don't even remember getting into the ambulance with him. But when he flatlined on the way to the hospital and they had to revive him, I thought my own heart would stop, too." He closed his eyes briefly; when he opened them again, they were glistening with regret and guilt. "I wasn't fast enough to prevent it. I failed him."

He shook his head as Jennifer reached over to grip his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "I should have never come...or I should have stayed there with him until it was over. But he came with Daphne...and I didn't want to take away that." He laughed in irony. "I thought I was coming there to make a point. But it ended up being a lot more than that."

Looking at Jennifer now, the tears fell freely from his eyes as he vowed, "I promise you that I won't fail him again; I'll help anyway that I can."

Jennifer still wasn't convinced that Brian was the best person for her son, but as she looked at the pain clearly showing on the older man's face, she couldn't help feeling sympathy for him. She pressed her lips firmly together. "Brian, it wasn't your fault; I realize that now. I...I'm sorry I ever said that. It was Hobbs and his twisted mind and his hatred, plain and simple. Okay?"

Grateful for her understanding, but not quite sure he still wasn't at least partly at fault, he nodded silently at her before the two rose from the couch to head out the door to go find Justin and bring him back to the loft.