Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Family Guy or the characters. The only piece I do own is this story idea.

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It had been several weeks since Stewie's therapy session and as much as he wished, life for him didn't exactly go back to normal. When the therapist had died, there was some speculation as to how it happened; it seemed few were aware of the good man's heart condition. Though no one would ever think that a baby had something to do with it, school faculty and students began to wonder why shit just happened around Stewie Griffin. From that point on, the young boy watched as his fellow classmates and teachers began to drift away from him. It was rather ironic, really. Stewie hadn't really known loneliness until he realized just how isolated he was becoming in his school. If he were lonely then, he surely was now.

Though he tried to not let the notion bother him. Instead, he focused on more recreational means to cope. He continued as he did, playing alone during recess in the sandbox, eating alone during snack time, and taking refuge in the corner when it was nap time. He figured that if he continued to act as he normally did, then life would follow suit. He held onto that premise obsessively and much to his dismay, nothing felt the same and he didn't know what to do about it.

Going home wasn't the highlight of his day, but he couldn't wait to leave the day-care center so he could focus his attentions on what really concerned him. He didn't have time to think over his insecurities. He was a genius, after all! There was plenty of other activities he should be doing. When it was time to leave, Stewie waited with one of the volunteers. A young woman who perhaps was in her mid 20's. Stewie never thought too much of it. Though she seemed to like him and would talk to him when he was one of the last kids to be picked up. In a way, Stewie was grateful, but he couldn't help but fight himself. The whole situation was complicated and it was driving him crazy to think he was having such difficulties rationalizing with himself of all people.

"...Your mom or dad are awfully late today, Stewie." She mentioned quizzically.

"So it seems."

"Is...is everything okay at home, hun? You know you can talk to any of us if there are problems."

Stewie didn't say anything. He just remained silent for the rest of the wait. He didn't feel as though he needed to discuss his problems with someone else. It always led to trouble, anyway. Besides, he liked this girl...and it would be a pain if he grew close to her. "Perhaps I'd have to push her, too." Stewie couldn't help but snicker at the thought as he shifted a little on the step of the walkway entrance. Both waited for another 10 minutes until the blonde got up from her seated position and began to head back inside, "I'm going to call your parents." Stewie didn't bother acknowledging her. By a stroke of luck, however, Stewie suddenly heard a car approaching, but it wasn't the fatman's and Lois' car, it sounded like Brian's.

Stewie smiled a little, seeing Brian's prius coming and he hopped to his feet and ran to the car once it came to an abrupt stop. The woman smiled towards Brian and approached the car as well, helping Stewie get in, much to his annoyance. "You must be Brian." The woman began and Brian nodded, slightly smoldering towards her. In case of situations much like today, it would stand to reason that Lois would mention Brian to staff since he was the one who normally took Stewie to day-care and then would pick him up, so of course...of course they knew who Brain was. If anything were to happen during Stewie's visit for the day, they would definitely tell Brian because Brian...took care of him. In a way, it made Stewie uneasy. "Yeah, that's me. I'm sorry I'm so late picking Stewie up. Lois and Peter had some errands they needed to take care of and I didn't realize it had gotten so late. I hope he wasn't too much of a handful." The boy in the backseat just scoffed, sending a menacing glare the dog's way.

The woman just nodded, seeming to understand the circumstances before she chuckled. "He's always an angel, so it's no problem." Hearing that made the boy in the back almost burst into laughter. If only this simpleton of a woman knew half the shit the boy got up to. "I'm just glad someone is here to get him. Though I needed to mention something important, so perhaps you could relay the message to his parents?" Stewie's eyes then went wide. He knew exactly what she was going to tell Brian and he didn't like it. Brian did a sideways glance to Stewie before he turned to focus on the young woman, smiling at her in a charming fashion. It made Stewie sick to his stomach, watching the dog practically emit his obvious sexual interest to this young girl. "Sure, I can do that. Would it better if I came in and we talked in private?" Stewie rolled his eyes. "You're so stupid, Brian."

It looked as though the woman was thinking over his proposal, but she eventually shook her head and chuckled. "No, this isn't anything Stewie hasn't already heard. I was just...I'm a little worried about him. He mostly isolates himself from his classmates. Now, that usually isn't cause for alarm for someone his age, but ever since the death of his therapist, he's been acting more reclusive than usual. I just want to make sure he's okay."

Brian listened carefully before he looked to Stewie with concern written on his face. Stewie once more rolled his eyes and began crossing his arms. He wanted to leave this god forsaken place and tend to his inventions. Perhaps he could invent a machine that would take him away from this place and erase whatever existence he had without the consequences. He suddenly felt solemn, leaning in his car seat. "I want to go home," he simply said. Brian cleared his throat and gripped his steering wheel, taking his attention from Stewie and back to the woman. He smiled gingerly and nodded. "Okay. I'll let them know and thanks for telling me. I'll...I'll have Lois talk to him."

Saying their formal goodbyes, Brian began to drive away and like he usually did whenever he came to pick Stewie up, he turned the radio onto the jazz station. One of his favorites and one of Stewie's. He even rolled the windows down since he knew how much the boy loved it. Though this time, nothing seemed to perk the kid's gloomy atmosphere. It made Brian feel guilty...seeing his confidant in such a way. He didn't bother bringing in any conversation until he couldn't stand the silence They were perhaps 15 minutes away from home before Brian turned down a dirt road that led to a park. Stewie sat up his in car seat, despite the buckles and gripped the window ledge.

"What are we doing?" Stewie asked.

"I just thought you'd like to be away from home for a little bit longer, get some fresh air." Brian replied.

Stewie sighed a little. It wasn't as though he didn't appreciate Brian's attempts to cheer him up, but he felt uncomfortable. He knew what the dog was trying to do. If he didn't wish to talk about his problems, then why should he? Surely Brian of all people understood that when he felt like talking, he would come and talk. Now approaching the park, Stewie leaned back in his car seat, watching the trees with little interest. "Lois and Peter are going to wonder where we are." Stewie found himself saying, but he honestly didn't care what they thought. He knew that he could be gone for hours and hours at a time without eliciting any kind of alarm or concern from either of his parents. "I'll tell them I took you out for ice cream." The faithful canine replied.

Brian then found a parking spot and turned his car off, but he left the windows down and reached to unbuckle Stewie from his car seat. The tyke didn't bother leaving, but when he saw Brian exit his car, the boy knew he'd have to leave as well. With reluctance, he left the, metaphorically speaking, safety of his car seat and followed Brian to a bench and table that overlooked the lake. He knew this visit wasn't going to go well for him and he'd look back at this memory of the park without fondness.

The dog climbed onto the table and sat watching the lake for a brief moment while Stewie sat on the bench like a civilized individual. Both were quiet for what seemed like a good while and for a moment, Stewie was contemplating perhaps nothing would come out of this abrupt visit. He was beginning to feel relieved until he noticed Brian shifting so he could look at Stewie and then address him with a sudden, "Your therapist died?" Stewie immediately felt himself sink into a pit of insecurity, but he tried to keep his up appearance of superiority and so he simply shrugged and then slightly chuckled. He didn't take notice to how it almost resembled a cackle. "Yeah. So what? Everyone dies eventually, you know, Brian." The dog remained silent before he carefully began to speak once more. He did so calmly and patiently which irked Stewie for an unknown reason. "That's true, but...I don't know, kid...it just seems strange circumstances happen around you all the time and this feels strange. Listen, I know there are some aspects about yourself that you don't wish to talk about and that's fine, but you have to understand you can only go so far until the inevitable happens."

"And what is the inevitable, Brian? Hm? Please do tell me."

"Well...you'll find you can't keep up with the facade anymore. You're world and all the stability around it will come crashing down."

"What the deuce are you talking about, dog?"

"Stewie, I'm talking about you. I'm talking about your...whatever your coping mechanisms are. I'm talking about how they can only go so far to protect yourself. They will eventually no longer hold and you'll be forced to confront your fears."

"..." Stewie didn't say anything. Instead he just glared at Brian before he stood up on his legs and faced his faithful dog head on. He didn't know if he felt angry or not, but what he knew was that he was feeling many things at that moment. Just none of them were pronounced and none of them out weighed the other. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He didn't know if he wanted to hit Brian, run back to the safety confines of his car seat, or simply bolt. He didn't like feeling cornered like this and he desperately didn't like feeling pressured by Brian. Other people he didn't care for, but Brian was different. Brian was special. Brian was everything to Stewie.

Brian continued to sit in his spot, watching the boy with curious eyes. Just from that, the kid could feel a tinge of respect towards his canine friend. He being the only person that wasn't afraid to stand up to Stewie or give his utmost honesty. For that, Stewie knew he could rely on Brian with everything...except for this. The boy finally let out a shaky sigh he didn't realize he was holding and took a seat on the bench once more, frowning while he folded his hands. "I don't know what you want me to say, Brian." Nothing was said for a while until Brian crawled from the table and he took a seat beside Stewie, looking down at him. Stewie too looked at him and from what he could read in the dog's eyes...it was clear the dog was gravely concerned about his little friend. Stewie almost had to look away, but he forced himself to continue staring. By doing so, he figured Brian would let the matter go. "Kid, I can see it written in your eyes like no other." Stewie frowned and immediately looked away, biting his bottom lip. "Oh…? And what is it that's written in my eyes that's so profound that you need to look at me this way? What is it that makes you feel as though you needed to take me here when I was perfectly content on going ho-"

"You're sad, Stewie."

Silence.

Stillness.

At that moment, something inside Stewie broke and he began to shake. He teeth sunk deeper into his bottom lip until he could taste beads of blood drip to the tip of his tongue. "Sour…" he thought. Brian watched him almost as if he were observing the boy. Observing how he'd react in a situation like this. Of course that made things worse for Stewie, being on display where it was clear his vulnerabilities were being pushed to the forefront. He reached up to furiously wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his yellow shirt; the stinging sensation in his eyes was becoming unbearable. "Fuck you, Brian…" he finally whimpered, "how dare you do this to me. I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend," Brian quipped...not at all phased by Stewie's harsh tone and accusation. He knew better than to take Stewie's threats seriously. He knew how much he meant to the boy and the tyke was well aware of how much he meant to the dog. There was definitely a mutual understanding between the two. They could be as unfair and unjust to each other all they wanted. They still came back together in the end, perhaps stronger and perhaps in a tighter bond than before. "Then why are you doing this to me? Why are you making me feel obligated to talk to you when I clearly don't want to because I don't like when you talk like this."

Brian couldn't help but smile a little at the boy's last choice of words. I don't like when you talk like this. The dog sighed, his smile growing, but it wasn't meant to be condescending, it wasn't meant to hurt the boy's feelings. It was sincere and sweet and Brian reached to wrap a paw around the small boy's shoulder, pulling him closer. "I'm sorry, kid. It's in my nature to feel strong loyalty to the person I care about most. You may not care or perhaps you were too sure I wouldn't take notice, but I know when you're upset. I can sense these things...but obviously I respect your space and want you to feel comfortable coming to me when you want to, but Stewie...with how intelligent and perceptive you are, I'm really stunned that you could be so foolish to think you could hide for as long as you have without there being repercussions."

Stewie didn't budge, didn't say anything. He felt Brian's warmth cascade over him, enveloping him in a sense of security. It then suddenly dawned on Stewie that his best friend wouldn't always be around like this. There would be a time when Brian would be gone and what would Stewie do at that point? Why was he thinking about that now? It was clear to him now...that he would feel regretful if he at least didn't confide in the dog. If he could trust anyone, it was Brian. Though he clung to this childish fear of Brian being disappointed in him. As he said to the therapist before he let him slip into the arms of merciful death, "No one will ever know the real me. I want to be special. I don't want to be like everyone else." The boy wanted to remain special in Brian's eyes and for some reason, he held onto the idea that the dog knowing who he actually was...would jeopardize that foundation. What would Brian think if the boy were to be completely honest? Stewie swore to himself he'd never let this happen to him again, but Brian was such a selfish bastard that the boy was given no choice. So he took an uneasy breath and turned to look up at the dog, a few tears rolling from the corners of his eyes to his cheeks. "...Brian...I did something awful…" Brian remained quiet, feeling nostalgia hit him from that night Stewie had asked him to sleep in his crib...after his first and last therapy session. He had said the same thing to him then.

"You want to talk about it?" Brian asked softly, squeezing Stewie's shoulder.

"...Yeah…"