A Family Comes Together

February 17, 1990

"Since everything was clearly specified in your sister and brother-in-law's wills, the adoption should go smoothly." The caseworker looked up from her file and smiled at the man seated across from her desk. "I'll forward the paperwork to your lawyer for your signature sometime next week, and then we'll file them with the courts."

Jeremy Phillips sat back in his chair, relieved that everything was going so well. He'd spent the last week finalizing the particulars from Jennifer and Craig's estate, and this was the last, most important detail. He was finally gaining custody of his niece and nephew. "This is going to sound terrible, but… Well, I've lived overseas for the past ten years, and I've never met Molly and Justin. My brother-in-law and I didn't exactly see eye to eye about some things, and unfortunately, I lost contact with Jennifer over the years." He smiled apologetically at the caseworker as he asked, "Could you tell me about the kids, please?"

The caseworker nodded, pleased that Jeremy was expressing interest in his new charges, and consulted her files. "Molly is two; she'll turn three on June 26th. She had some mild cuts and abrasions in the accident but there doesn't appear to be any lingering effects. Justin, on the other hand, suffered more serious injuries and according to the foster mother, has been having nightmares on a regular basis." She glanced up with a mischievous grin. "I've also been instructed to tell you that he's very much looking forward to his eighth birthday on the 15th of March, and that he wants some newfangled toy that's out on the market… a Gameboy™, I believe it's called."

Jeremy grinned back, vowing to himself to make sure that Justin received the specified toy. The kids had been through a lot these past few months. A drunk driver plowing into the Taylors' car last September had killed his sister and her husband instantly. It took the authorities almost four and a half months to track him down, and during that time, Molly and Justin had lived in a foster home.

"So, when can I take the kids home?"

Closing the file in front of her, the caseworker rose to her feet and gestured to the door. "I took the liberty of having the foster mother bring them down to meet you." She glanced at the clock on her desk and smiled. "They should be arriving any time now."

Jeremy found himself on his feet, suddenly nervous at the idea of seeing his niece and nephew. He ran his hand through his hair anxiously and thought, 'What the hell am I doing? How in the world are Robert and I going to raise two kids – we don't know anything about parenting.' Shaking off his doubts quickly, he followed the woman into the lobby.

Three people were seated on the hard plastic chairs near the front door. A flamboyantly dressed redheaded woman was holding a small girl on her lap as a little boy leaned into her side, as though seeking comfort in a nerve-wracking situation. The caseworker sat down on a chair opposite from them and smiled reassuringly. "Mrs. Novotny, thank you for bringing Justin and Molly down to meet their uncle." She turned to Jeremy and motioned for him to sit next to her. "Justin, Molly, this is your Uncle Jeremy."

Jeremy smiled as two pair of identical blue eyes turned to look at him. Molly's gaze was open and interested – she grinned around the thumb in her mouth and lisped, "Hi, Unk Jermy."

Justin, however, moved even closer to his foster mother, who leaned down and whispered something into his ear. He glanced up at her uncertainly before muttering under his breath, "Hello, Uncle Jeremy."

Sighing inwardly at the sight of his nephew's trepidation, Jeremy slid off his chair to kneel in front of the boy. "Justin, I'm not expecting you to be my friend immediately, but I would really like to be yours. Do you think we can try?" An indifferent shrug was his only answer. Jeremy looked up at the foster mother and smiled. "I appreciate you taking care of my niece and nephew, Mrs. Novotny."

Debbie studied the man for a moment, then nodded. "Please, call me Debbie. We came down on the bus since my car is in the shop, so I couldn't bring their things with us. If you don't mind stopping by the house to pick them up, I would appreciate it." She glanced down at the boy clinging to her side. "Besides, it'll give the kids a chance to say goodbye to my son. They've become rather attached in the past few months."

Jeremy rose to his feet and extended his arms to take Molly. She came willingly, and Debbie stood up and clasped Justin's hand. "Of course, Debbie. I have my car here, so we can go right now, if you want."

The drive to the Novotny house was quiet, with only Debbie's softly spoken directions puncturing the silence. Jeremy was surprised to find that she lived only a few blocks from his and Robert's new home. "Well, this is convenient. Our house is only two streets over, on Chestnut."

A small voice piped up from the backseat. "Does that mean we can still see Debbie and Mikey, Uncle Jeremy?"

Jeremy glanced into the rearview mirror and grinned at his nephew's hopeful expression. Obviously, the boy was very fond of his foster mother. "I don't see why not. Provided, of course, that Mrs. Novotny agrees."

Debbie turned her head to look back at Justin. "You know you can always come over, Justin. What would I do without my Sunshine raiding the cookie jar all the time?" The two adults laughed at Justin's whoop of joy.

As soon as the car came to a stop in the driveway, Justin was out and racing toward the door. He burst into the house, calling out, "Mikey, are you home?"

Entering the house at a more sedate pace, Jeremy was treated to the sight of his nephew being tossed into the air by a dark-haired teenager. Justin giggled merrily as he was set down on his feet. The teenager turned to Jeremy and thrust out his hand. "Hi, I'm Michael. You must be Jeremy."

"Nice to meet you, Michael. I understand that you've been helping to take care of Molly and Justin. I just wanted to tell you thanks." Jeremy shook the proffered hand firmly.

"Brian, you're home!"

Jeremy turned to see his nephew flinging himself at another teen, who had just come down the stairs and was standing at the foot. The teenager huffed out a soft 'oof' as Justin wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Geeze, Justin. Take it easy, brat, okay?" Brian grinned down at the boy affectionately and ruffled Justin's bright blond hair. "Yeah, I'm home for the weekend."

Justin bounced up and down on his feet. "Great. Do you think we can…" He suddenly sobered. "Oh, never mind. My Uncle Jeremy is here. Molly and I have to go live with him now." Bursting into tears, he glanced over at Jeremy then ran toward the back of the house. A second later, a door slammed loudly, the echo reverberating through the house.

Jeremy stepped forward to follow his nephew, only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his arm.

"Let him go for a minute. He'll calm down soon enough." Debbie placed Molly on the floor and asked, "Michael, can you watch Molly while Jeremy and I gather the kids' things?" When Michael nodded, Debbie went upstairs, with Jeremy right behind her.

Jeremy watched as Debbie silently moved about the room, packing the children's clothing. She finally turned to him and said, "I'm glad you're going to allow Justin and Molly to come over. They're good kids."

"Well, Robert and I don't have any experience, so I'm sure we'll be over asking for advice."

Debbie cocked her head. "Robert?"

Jeremy braced himself as he replied, "My partner. We've been together almost eleven years." He raised an eyebrow challengingly, deciding to find out if the woman had a problem with his lifestyle.

Nodding, Debbie grinned at his expression. "Oh hell, you won't get any shit from me about that. My brother Vic's gay, as well as Mikey and Brian." She snapped the suitcase shut and handed it to him. "Your family is always welcome here – in fact, I insist that you join us on Sunday for dinner."

Jeremy looked down at the suitcase in confusion. "Is this all they have?"

Debbie shrugged sadly. "Actually, they had less than this when they showed up. I don't know what happened to the rest of their stuff."

Grimacing at the thought of his partner turned loose in a toy store, Jeremy sighed. "Guess a shopping trip is in order."

"Jeremy…" Debbie bit her lip as she considered what she wanted to say, then continued, "I want to warn you about Justin's nightmares. He wakes up just about every night, remembering the crash. Don't be surprised when you hear screaming, okay?" At Jeremy's grim acknowledgment, she opened the bedroom door to go back downstairs.

Jeremy asked curiously as he followed, "So, who's the other kid? Brian, I think it was?"

"Ah, that's Brian Kinney. He's Michael's best friend, they've known each other for years. He's a freshman at Penn State, attending on a scholarship. He's studying for an advertising degree."

"Justin seems to like him."

Debbie snorted as she went into the kitchen. "They hit it off the minute they met. It's kinda funny – Brian's normally standoffish around people, but he took to the boy immediately." She held up an empty cup and asked, "Coffee?"

"Sounds good." Jeremy sat down at the table, saying softly, "I'm glad Justin found people who care for him. I'm sure it's been rough."

Setting a cup of steaming coffee down in front of Jeremy, Debbie took the other chair. "Yeah, it has been." She fixed a stern look at the man and warned, "The kids are part of our family now – you and Robert are too. I don't want to lose contact with them."

Jeremy picked up his cup as he grinned and replied meekly, "Yes, ma'am."

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Justin huddled into a tight ball when he heard the screen door slam behind him. Refusing to turn around, he surreptitiously wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. It was probably Miss Debbie, wanting to tell him to be nice to his uncle.

"Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

Glancing around in surprise, Justin scooted over on the step at Brian's gentle nudge. "Yeah, I guess so."

Brian sat down next to the upset boy and pulled a cigarette out of his jacket pocket. Rolling it between his fingers, he teased, "You don't sound too sure."

Justin looked down at his hands as he twisted them nervously in his lap. "I just miss Mom and Dad." He peeked up at his friend, blue eyes serious under his blond bangs. "I'm scared a bit, too. I don't know Uncle Jeremy – what if I don't like him?"

"I'm sure he's alright." Brian rolled his lips inward thoughtfully then shoved the cigarette back into the crumpled pack. "He seems like a nice guy, Justin – you and Molly will be taken care of, and you still have Mikey and me, as well as Miss Debbie."

"We're still friends, right, Brian?"

"You bet, brat."

"Always?"

Brian smirked and punched Justin lightly on his shoulder. "Always."

"Justin, it's time to go." Debbie stood in the doorway, holding the screen door open.

Brian and Justin stood up to go back inside. Justin swiftly hugged Brian, his arms tight around Brian's body. "I'm glad you're my friend." He darted up the stairs without looking back.

Watching as the small figure disappeared into the house, Brian said softly, "I'm glad we're friends too, kiddo."

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Jeremy walked into his house, holding Molly in one arm and setting the suitcase down in the foyer. "Robert, we're here." He put Molly down, steadying her until she found her footing. Justin hung back shyly, looking around the elegant room with wide eyes.

A tall, blond man came out of the kitchen. He crossed the living room and crouched down in front of the kids. "Hi, my name's Robert Swenson. You must be Molly and Justin." He smiled gently. "Welcome home."

Justin contemplated the man in front of him. He seemed to be as nice as his uncle. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought. "Hi," he softly responded.

Robert stood up and announced, "You two must be hungry. Your Uncle Jeremy can show you where the bathroom is, so you can wash up for dinner. We're having my personal favorite – cheese and pepperoni pizza."

Jeremy grinned down at the children. "The bathroom's upstairs. Take your sister on up, Justin – I'll be there in a minute." He shooed them away then turned to his lover. "Pizza? You hate pizza."

"Maybe so, but I bet Justin and Molly don't." Robert leaned over and kissed Jeremy quickly on the lips. "Hurry up, it's going to get cold."

Starting up the stairs, Jeremy paused for a second. "I'm sure you're going to hate to hear this, but we have to take the kids shopping. They don't have much of anything – clothes or toys."

Robert chuckled as his partner rolled his eyes. "See, I told you this would work out. The kids and I will have a wonderful time at the toy store, just you wait and see."

Jeremy muttered under his breath as he went to find his niece and nephew. "That's what I'm afraid of." He'd be lucky if they got out of the store without buying every single thing in there.

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Brian opened the front door of his parents' home quietly. It wasn't late, barely past eleven, but he hoped his mother and father were already in bed. He crept past the living room on his way to his bedroom, but was halted when a cold voice called out, "Where have you been?"

Cringing slightly, Brian entered the semi-dark room. His mother was seated in an armchair, a glass of sherry cradled in her hands. A half-empty bottle sat on the table next to her elbow.

"I was over at Michael's house, Mom. I told you where I was going before I left."

Joan Kinney waved a hand dismissively. "I met one of our new neighbors today. What a disappointment, I must say."

Brian perched on the edge of the couch. He knew it was better to let his mother rant for a few minutes – that way she might not start in on him. "Why is it a disappointment, Mom?"

"It seems he's some sort of artist. What's worse, he's a homosexual." Joan took a sip of her drink before continuing. "And his partner is a famous writer."

"Why is that so bad, Mom?"

Joan looked at her son and replied icily, "Their moving here ruins the neighborhood. Imagine – two homosexual men, living here on our street, flaunting their sinful ways for everyone to see." She tossed back the rest of the sherry in her glass. "It's disgraceful."

"Hmm."

"I want you to stay away from them – heaven only knows what sort of horrible affect they will have on the area. I don't want you influenced by their perverted lifestyle."

Brian didn't respond as he went upstairs to bed. 'If you only knew, Mom. If you only knew.'