Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since an update. Family drama, and then PRIDE got in the way of my ability to sleep, so I haven't felt rested enough to attempt another chapter. But now I'm rested and ready to go. BTW, UPMC is apparently a hospital in Pittsburgh. Comments make me shriek with delight.

"What about her," Brian instantly demanded as I felt Justin approach from the side. I didn't have to look over at either of them to know what I would see: pale faces, nervous eyes. Debbie was like family to so many of the patrons of Liberty Avenue, moreso to Brian and Justin. After all, it was she who had cared for a young Brian when no one else did, and taken Justin in when his family hadn't been willing. They both loved her more than anyone else could understand.

"She fell down the stairs at her and Carl's," Hunter answered hurriedly. It was hard to miss his raw fear, and I had to fight back the urge to throw my arms around him. "My dads took her to the E.R. and the doctors said she just broke her wrist, and she's going to be fine, but Michael's-"

"Queening out?"

Hunter gave a shaky smile. "Yeah, pretty much."

Despite the seriousness of the situation I had a sudden mental image of Michael at the hospital, shrieking at the top of his lungs about the care of his mother, and it lifted my spirits. At least she was going to be okay, and I was certain Michael would ensure she was being taken care of by the professionals.

"Where are they now," I asked him.

"They're still at the hospital." He shot Brian an imploring look. "My dad wants you to meet him there, if you can. He said he tried to call you but couldn't get through." Considering the loud music and eight million people, that wasn't hard to believe.

Brian nodded, his eyes moving searchingly over the dance floor. "I gotta find Owen," he muttered to no one in particular.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Hunter beat me to it. "I'll find him," he offered quickly, and maybe it was something in his voice, or the way he was rather determinedly avoiding my eye, but I found myself examining him a little more closely. And while, yes, there was legitimate concern in the lines of his face, it occurred to me that there was a good chance that he might be exaggerating the story a little bit. Though I couldn't begin to guess why.

At first.

"Hey, Daph, why don't you drive them," Hunter suggested, and now that I'd moved from fear to suspicion I could see a tiny speck of amusement behind his eyes. "Owen and I will meet you guys there."

I glanced at Brian and Justin to see if they had noticed anything, but of course their thoughts were with someone else. "I can," I agreed in confusion. I turned back to them. "If you guys want."

Justin gave a distracted nod and took a step towards the exit as Brian pulled on his coat.

"I'll meet you guys outside," I told them. "Just give me like 30 seconds." As they walked away, I turned back to Hunter and fixed him with an angry glare. "What the fuck are you doing?"

He widened his eyes innocently. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Debbie may be hurt but if the situation is as dire as you're making it seem then I'm going to eat my fingernails." He recoiled in disgust but didn't deny my allegations. "Hunter!"

"I'm trying to help," he finally snapped. "Obviously this is out of your league."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, fuck if I'm going to pay Michael fifty bucks."

"This is about the bet?"

Okay, see, this is what happened.

Truthfully, I was a little closer to Hunter than I had let Justin, or anyone, really, know. I mean, I probably made it sound like he and I only went out a few times, but truthfully we were together six months. And it was a serious six months. There was really no logic behind it, but when we were together we just fit, you know? It worked. We were happy.

But, like every other good thing, it came to an end, and an end of my own choosing, so I really had no one to blame but myself. We stayed close friends because I couldn't really function well without him in my life, and at the very least, we could see each other. It was sort of like . . . being out of cigarettes. I found myself edgy and tense without a daily dose.

Anyway, yeah, we were close. And so when Justin told me about his plans to return to the Pitts, I had mentioned it to Hunter because, when it comes to scheming, we actually do have similar thinking. I had figured he would be of assistance, hoping he could feed me ideas when I started running out. Plus, he was Michael's kid, and it wasn't exactly a secret that Michael had some issues with my best friend. I had hoped that Hunter would run interference.

Except he had to go and blab to Michael what Justin was planning, which resulted in Michael insisting that there was no way, after everything, that Brian would ever consider Justin again. And you know, Hunter really couldn't care less about Brian and Justin being together, but I guess there was something about Michael's defiance that got under my ex's skin and lead to an argument that ended with a wager.

I told Hunter I wanted no part of any stupid bet, but regardless of our different reasons, he and I were on the same side.

"Of course it's about the bet," he returned, giving me a slightly incredulous look. "What the fuck else?"

Really, I could have lunged at him, but ultimately decided that I had more important matters at hand. "I don't need help. Brian and Justin belong together. They know it. I know it. Even Michael knows it. And if you keep interfering with my plans, there's a good chance that I will rip your hair out by its roots."

"I thought you wanted my help."

"With ideas. Your execution leaves a little to be desired."

He gave me a smug grin. "At least I got them into the same car. What have you accomplished?"

The drive to the hospital was quiet. Justin and Brian were obviously wrapped up in concerned thoughts about Debbie, and I passed the ride by counting the number of times that Brian glanced at Justin in the side-view mirror (16, for those wondering). It wasn't until we were five minutes outside of UPMC that someone finally spoke.

"Are you alright?"

I jumped a mile at the sudden, gentle words, and slid my eyes over to Brian, who was watching Justin in the mirror again. Justin, luckily, wasn't crying or anything (if he had been, we would have had to turn the car around so I could beat the crap out of Hunter for scaring everyone), but the clenched jaw, and tight eyes spoke volumes about his concern for his surrogate mother.

"I'm fine," Justin answered, though it was a little hard to believe.

Brian sighed. "You heard Hunter. She's going to be fine. If there was really something to worry about, Mikey wouldn't have wasted time calling - he would have sent someone right away. He knew I was going to Babylon."

I wanted to jump in and agree, but I knew Brian would be able to reach him better than I could.

"I know." But Justin continued to stare out the window.

Try harder, I silently urged. I could see the wheels turning in Brian's mind, and then he spoke again. "I bought one of your paintings, you know."

It was clearly a distraction technique, but that didn't matter. I was completely floored, and if Justin's expression was any indication, he was too.

"You did?" Then his tone changed to skepticism. "Which one?"

Brian's lips turned up into a small smile. "The one you did of Babylon. It was hanging in the show in April."

"You didn't have to buy it," Justin said softly, visibly touched. He knew which painting Brian was talking about. "I would have given it to you. I mean, I owe it all to you."

"Bullshit."

There was silence again as Justin considered this information, then he looked up and stared at Brian in surprise. "Wait a second. You were at my showing? Why didn't you find me?"

Brian blinked, and I, for my part, tried to hide the disbelief I felt. "I didn't go to your showing," Brian answered after a long moment. "I have a boyfriend."

"So, not only were you at my show," Justin said with a wide, slightly accusatory smile, "but now you're lying about it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How'd you get the painting?"

I stole another glance at Brian, who looked, well, more than a little guilty. "I got it off your site," he said, but the words didn't really reach his eyes.

Justin grinned, even more self-satisfied than before. If that was possible. He met Brian's eyes in the mirror. "You know, I didn't really plan to even sell that piece, until my agent told me the buyer was offering a small fortune. It was going to be part of a series." He paused, I supposed, for dramatic effect. "So it wasn't on the site."