Justin giggled to himself as he sat poised with his cell phone in hand, ready as he called out, "Brian, can you come out for a second, please?"

Brian ducked his head out of the bathroom, asking, "What?"

All Brian saw and heard was Justin holding his phone and then the recognizable click of the phone's camera shutter.

"Well, you little asshole!" Brian laughed as he chased Justin around the loft, clad only in a bath towel and his face covered with shaving cream.

Justin ran around the couch, laughing, "I just wanted a cute picture of you; you always look sexy covered with shaving cream."

Brian stood behind a chair, calculating the best way to capture his prey. "You just wait until I get my hands on you!"

Wiggling his eyebrows, Justin giggled again, "Is that the best 'punishment' you can come up with?"

Laughing even more, the chase resumed for several minutes before Brian finally managed to grab Justin around the waist and pin him to the bed as he leaned over him. Brian leered at him. "Now that I have you, you are so going to pay." Brian then gave Justin a deep kiss, leaving his lover's face covered in the shaving foam.

Pulling back, Brian looked down at Justin and smirked. "Now look at you, dirty boy. I think you need a shower." Pulling Justin up by the hand to stand, Brian led him into the bathroom, stripping him quickly before stepping into the wonderful heat and steam of the shower, making their already heated bodies even hotter.

Lindsay and Melanie's Home...

Gus sat huddled under his desk, his knees pulled up to his chest as he did his best not to cry again.

They were at it again, screaming at each other, and it was getting worse and worse. Worst of all, he could hear his mama Mel saying very bad things about his daddy. He didn't understand; his daddy was very good to him and his sister JR. They both loved him very much, so why couldn't she see that?

The sound of a glass shattering made Gus jump, and finally the tears that had threatened to fall fell from his eyes. Then and there Gus knew that he needed to do something; he needed to get away and save his family. He needed to be brave, just like his daddy would be.

Crawling out from under the desk, Gus took his Captain Astro/Rage backpack that his uncle Mikey had made for him. He began gathering his clothes: PJ's, underwear, socks, and a mix of other stuff that he thought he might need.

Looking around his room, he spotted his money box. Yes, he decided, he would need money, so he emptied the change he had from the box and placed it in the pocket of his backpack.

He bit his lip, worried over the sounds of his mommies fighting still raging on. Picking up his favorite teddy bear, he made his way quietly to his sister's room.

JR smiled upon seeing her brother; she loved Gus very much.

Smiling back at her, Gus lowered the side of her cot. Using the step stool, he stood on it so he could reach her. "Hiya, JR. I have to go away for a while, but I'm going to get us help. I'll get your daddy to come get you," he promised, placing the bear by her. "Here's your Jussie Bear. He will look after you until I see you again," he reassured her as the child cooed back at him. Leaning over, he kissed her little cheek as she smiled back at her brother. Making sure the side was back up and the foot stool put away, Gus went back to his room to collect his bag.

Standing in his room, Gus donned his coat and hat, and with the backpack now slung over one shoulder, he crept out and softly trod down the stairs. The sounds of fighting getting louder and louder,the two women never heard him leave. His little five-and-a-half-year-old heart beating loudly, he was surprised that they didn't hear it as he opened the door and then carefully closed it behind him.

Somewhere in Pittsburgh...

Gus felt scared and nervous, but he wanted to find his daddy, and nothing was going to stop him. He loved his mommies very much, but he just didn't want to live with them any more, and with their fighting it was getting scary as well.

They lived in a lovely, safe area, so he didn't feel nervous walking down the street alone. But when he arrived at the busier main roads teeming with strangers, his fear and anxiety grew.

Gus didn't know how long he had been walking but he knew he was getting tired and hungry. Looking up at the sky, he could see that it was going to start snowing very soon.

Biting his lip and shivering slightly in the cold, Gus stood frozen in place before turning around only to bump into a pair of legs.

Gus immediately blurted out, "Sorry!" as his tears fell once more.

The man he bumped into crouched down, and in a friendly, soothing voice he tried to calm him. "It's okay; don't cry."

Gus wiped his eyes, hiccuping through his tears. "I'll try, mister."

The man frowned slightly as he looked around their general surroundings and didn't notice anyone who seemed to be with the little boy. "Are you by yourself?" he asked the child softly.

Gus hesitated for a moment before he nodded. "But I'm going to see my Daddy," he explained.

The fuzzy hood of Gus's coat obscured his face somewhat as the man took a closer look at him. His eyes widened slightly in recognition as he realized who it was. "My name's Dave, by the way, and I think I know your daddy. Is your daddy's name Brian Kinney?"

Gus's head snapped up as he looked with relief into Dave's eyes, smiling now as he nodded. "Yeah, that's my daddy. Do you know him?"

Nodding, Dave replied with a smile, "I sure do. My brother Alan works for him."

A huge smile broke out over Gus's face. "Alan is your brother? I love Alan! He's so funny and is always telling me jokes. And he buys me candy bars and Coke."

Feeling proud of his brother about his kindness but not surprised by it, Dave confirmed, "He's a wonderful brother to me." He looked curiously at the little boy as he asked, "Gus, why are you out here all by yourself? Are you lost?"

Ducking his head, Gus sighed. "I just need my daddy," he sniffled.

Frowning in concern, Dave asked, "Is something wrong?"

Chewing on his lip, Gus nodded, his eyes beginning to fill up with tears again. "Yeah, my mommies are fighting real bad. So I'm going to get daddy to help, and I couldn't carry JR, so I tell Uncle Mikey to go get her, too."

Dave thought for a moment before he decided, "Okay, I'll take you to your daddy. But first we are going to get you something to eat. I'm sure you must be hungry. How does that sound?"

Continuing to sniffle and fighting off more tears, Gus smiled as his tummy rumbled. "Yes. I have my money from my money box in my bag," he told Dave. "We can use that."

Smiling over the boy's thoughtfulness, he placed his hand on Gus's shoulder to guide him toward a diner nearby. "That's very nice of you to offer, Gus, but I'll buy; it's okay," he told him as the hostess led them over to a booth and handed them their menus, Gus selecting the kid's meal of chicken fingers and fries, while Dave chose a more healthy meal of a grilled chicken sandwich with Cole slaw.

Ravenous, Gus dispatched his meal speedily before Dave drove him him to the Kinnetik Offices. On the way, Dave called his brother to advise him of who his passenger was, asking him to meet him at the door.

Kinnetik Offices...

Alan did as Dave asked, waiting by the entrance as he pulled up to the curb; Gus ran right up to him, giving him a huge hug as he exclaimed, "Alan!" Your brother Dave found me, and he got me some food before he drove me here. He's just like you! He's so nice!"

Alan looked over at his brother as he still hugged Gus and smiled at him warmly. "Yeah, Dave is a very good guy. Come on now, let's go find your daddy, okay?"

Alan and Dave each took one of Gus's hands as they led him to Brian. Dave wanted to explain how he found his son, because he could feel a major storm brewing for this family.

Just before they arrived at Brian's office, Dave called Cynthia's extension, asking her to warn Brian that his son was here, but that he was fine, so he wouldn't freak out and scare Gus.

Thankfully, Cynthia - after having known Brian for years - knew just what to say to keep him calm enough as he walked into her boss's office to explain face-to-face about his little visitor.

Brian looked at her with concern, asking, "What could be happening that he is here without Mel or Lindsay?"

Patting his arm, she wisely advised, "Give him time to tell you. I know that you can handle anything when it involves your son." She knew how much he cherished his little boy, and would do whatever it took to take care of him.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Brian sighed as he responded, "I hope so; I really do."

Hearing familiar footsteps and chatter, Brian turned to see his son holding Alan and Dave's hands and talking up a storm, but as soon as he spotted him his eyes lit up. Letting go of the two men's hands, he ran full pelt into his dad's arms. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" he exclaimed joyously.

Lifting his son in his arms and hugging him close, he murmured against his cheek, "Sonny Boy! Are you okay? Where are your mommies?"

Pulling back to look into his dad's eyes, Gus's lips began to tremble as the tears fell onto his cheeks. He buried his face in the crook of Brian's neck as the sobs took over, making his tiny body shake.

Rubbing his son's back, Brian tried to calm his son as his worry mounted. "Shh, it's okay, Daddy's here now," he whispered. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" he asked, but Gus remained quiet except for an occasional sniffle. Brian frowned; this was so different from his normally happy little boy. "I tell you what...why don't you run down to Uncle Ted's office to say hello, and I'll tidy up here so we can go home. Justin's there too. We can talk about what's bothering you. Would you like that?"

Nodding into his shoulder, Gus pulled back, his little face all wet and red from crying, as he nodded. "Okay, Daddy. I like Ted. But promise you'll wait for me."

Brian smiled affectionately at his son as he slowly lowered him to the ground. "You bet, Sonny Boy. You go visit him, and I'll be right there. I'll have Cynthia go with you."

Gus nodded as - giving his dad one last kiss on the cheek - he watched as his father called for Cynthia to come to his office; holding his hand and smiling down at him a minute later, she held the little boy's hand as she led him down the hallway toward Ted's office.

Once Gus was out of sight, Brian released a deep breath while rubbing his face. Turning to the men now who had been quietly observing from a short distance away, Brian shook Dave's hand. "I believe a huge thank you is on order for finding Gus and bringing him here safely. God, if it had been someone else, who knows what could have happened?" He shook his head at the thought. If anything ever happened to his son, he would be absolutely devastated.

Dave nodded, "I know what you mean; I have a young son of my own. When he bumped into me on the sidewalk, I figured out who he was pretty quickly. I got him something to eat to calm him down before bringing him here." He smiled. "He wanted to use own money to pay for his lunch, but I wouldn't let him, of course." He paused before surmising, " I suspected it had been awhile since he had last eaten anything."

Sitting on the edge of his desk, Brian frowned, not liking the sound of this at all. "Did he say why he was there all alone?"

Nodding, Dave hesitated for a moment before he explained, "He said that his mommies were fighting again and breaking things, so he wanted to find you so you could let his Uncle Mikey know that he needed to go get...JR, I think he said?" Brian nodded as he added, "He told me he wanted to make sure she was safe, and he was upset that he couldn't bring her with him because he couldn't carry her."

Feeling full of fear as well as anger, Brian slammed his fist down on the desk, startling both men slightly. "What the hell are they doing, fighting with the kids in the house? You never do that! Fuck! Just wait until I get my hands on them!" he snapped. "They better have a good lawyer." He took another deep breath to calm himself down as he peered over at Dave and Alan. "Listen...thank you again for helping. I'll call JR's father as soon as I get home. I'm going to teach those two bitches a lesson they won't forget."

Dave and Alan nodded, both men silently glad that they were not going to be the object of Brian's fury. They could just imagine what might lie ahead for the two women, but they also agreed with him; both mothers had behaved horridly if what Gus had indicated was true, and they could see no reason why he would lie about it

Gus sat in the chair next to Ted as the man explained all about the numbers he was using to help his dad keep track of how much money was coming in, and how much was going out in the most simplistic of terms he could manage.

Gus looked at one of the ledger pages as he pointed to an entry and stated nonchalantly, That should be a five, not a four, Uncle Ted."

Ted looked down at the page, frowning in disbelief. But Gus was right; he had added up the debit column incorrectly. He inwardly cursed Brian for being someone who always wanted the accounting done the manual way, rather than using some accounting software that automatically calculated it, but it matched his boss's style of 'hands-on' management. He shook his head, impressed, as he told the little boy, "Wow, Gus, you're right. It should be a five. Well done. You just might wind up coming to work for your dad one day. Thanks for noticing that."

Beaming with happiness and glad that he did something right, Gus replied, "You're welcome, Uncle Ted."

"Better watch out, Theodore; Sonny Boy here may wind up not only coming to work for me, but replacing YOU," Brian replied from his place in the doorway, having overheard the last few lines of conversation.

"Daddy!" Gus chided him. "I would never take Uncle Ted's job!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Don't worry, Uncle Ted. I would still let you be the boss."

"I was just teasing him, Gus," Brian revealed. "But after you get out of school, and you want a job here, there will be one waiting for you."

"I'll think about it, Daddy," Gus told him. "But first I'd rather just play."

Brian laughed. "Okay. Sounds like a good plan."

Ted shook his head in amazement. "He's right, you know. He DID find a mistake," he admitted. "You have one smart kid there."

"Was there ever any question?" Brian asked as Gus beamed over the praise. Lifting Gus up off the ground, Brian spun him around as he exclaimed, "Way to go, Sonny Boy!"

Laughing now, Gus squealed, "It's fun, Daddy! I love numbers!"

"I know! Well, it's no wonder you and Uncle Ted get along so well, then," Brian told him as he stopped twirling him around and gave him a hug while he held him. "Thanks for keeping an eye on him," Brian told Ted, who nodded.

"Any time, Brian," Ted responded. "Especially now that I know my job is intact, at least for another 10 years or so."

With a grin, Brian turned and headed out the door with his son still held in his arms; for some reason, he felt the need to hold onto him just a little more tightly than normal.

Britin...

All was quiet on the drive home, but when they reached the house Gus ran straight into Justin's waiting arms. "Hi, Daddy Justin!"

Hugging the little boy tightly, he replied, "Hey, Gus." He could feel himself blinking back tears as he looked over Gus's shoulder and saw the worry etched clearly on Brian's face.

As they settled in the living room on the couch a short time later, it took ten minutes before Gus began to tell them everything. "My mommies, they're...they're always shouting all the time, and they throw things and break things. It scares JR and me. Mama says really mean things about you, Daddy, and it's not fair. Mommy hit Mama, and her lip was bleeding," he disclosed as the two men gaped at him in stunned disbelief. Gus paused to wipe a tear that fell before he pleaded with them, "I don't want to live with them any more, they are not nice. I love my mommies, but they are mean. Daddy, you have to get Uncle Mikey to go get JR. I couldn't carry her, so I gave her Jussie bear to watch over her, because Jussie bear looks after us all, just like Daddy Justin does...don't you, Daddy Justin?"

Tears stung Justin's eyes from the words Gus had spoken; he felt helpless at the moment to stop the boy's pain. "I try, Gus. I love looking after all of you."

Gus hugged Justin, "I love you, Daddy Justin."

Brian wrapped his arms around them both, kissing the tops of their heads, his own heart breaking over his son's words. "I'll call Uncle Mikey...and I'll call your mommies, too. I'll make sure you stay with me. It might take awhile to straighten everything out, okay? But I will do everything I can to make it happen," he vowed, his lips pressed firmly together in resolve. It was all he could do to keep his fury in check over what his son - and his sister - were having to endure. After the childhood he had experienced, it was especially painful to hear.

Gus wrapped his arms around his dad now. "Thank you, Daddy. I love you so much."

Kissing the top of his son's head again, Brian closed his eyes as he murmured, "I love you, too, Sonny Boy."

Gus was worn out from all his adventures so far that day. So after getting a promise from his father that he would call Uncle Mikey, Brian accompanied his son up to one of the spare bedrooms so he could take a much-needed nap.

Once Gus was settled in and fell asleep - mainly due to exhaustion - Brian made his way back downstairs with fury now on his face, his hands clenched into fists.

It was only Justin's calming touch that kept his anger in check. Wordlessly, Justin reached out and gently but firmly opened up his hands to grasp them.

Kissing Brian's cheek and pulling him into his arms to hold him close, Justin spoke reassuringly, "Everything will be fine. Take a deep breath, then make the call to Michael. Then call the girls or the other way around, whichever you think is better."

Leaning back into Justin's embrace, Brian did as Justin suggested, taking a deep breath before deciding, "I think that I'll call Michael first, and tell him not to do anything until I give him the go ahead...after I talk with the girls."

Turning around in Justin's arms, Brian leaned his forehead against his as he whispered, "Thank you for always being here for us, Sunshine. I'm not sure that I could do this without you."

Kissing Brian deeply and returning his love, Justin pulled back to look into his eyes. "I'm here forever," he promised him. "I love you...and Gus."

Kissing the tip of Justin's nose, Brian smiled. "I love you, too, Sunshine," he whispered back. He sighed. "Now I'd better go make those calls. Wish me luck."