Marshall Inn Suites – East side of Pittsburgh

Tony lay on Fin's torso, his own chest heaving as he tried to control his furious heartbeat and will his ragged breathing to slow down. He and Fin had always been quite "compatible" when it came to their sex life – he had certainly never had any reason to complain all these years – but after what they had just engaged in, he decided this particular little romp would definitely have to rank up near the top.

He smacked his lover's chest as he heard – and felt – Fin's chuckle. "What is SO funny?" he groused.

Fin twisted his lips as he looked down into the indignant blue eyes. "Nothing…Just a little gloating."

Tony glared up at the mischievous hazel eyes peering down at him. "Gloating about what, Senator?"

Fin smiled. "Oh – about how much of a stud I am," he announced proudly, his hand idly rubbing small circles on the blond's shoulder.

Tony's breath hitched at the affect the other man's seemingly innocent action had on him; damn, how this man could affect him after all this time, even now… "A stud, huh?" Tony said breathlessly, gulping in a large swath of fresh air to try and regain his normal breathing. "And how do you figure that, oh Great One?"

"Well, I'M not the one having trouble getting air back into my lungs, now am I?"

"Oh, really?" Tony growled throatily as he suddenly turned to pounce on his startled lover, straddling his chest before the man could say filibuster. "Let's just SEE who's best at holding their breath, shall we?" he purred huskily as he swooped in for a deep kiss from his partner and they proceeded to engage in a heated "wrestling match" for the next several minutes.

"Okay, okay, you win," Tony finally conceded later as they again lay, bodies entwined on the large, king-sized bed after their second bout of fucking. "I hereby crown you the official King of Stamina," he pronounced charitably as he heard Fin laughing softly. "So what's brought on all this additional energy besides my being your inspiration?"

Fin stroked the blond's hair as he whispered fervently, "You'll always be my inspiration, Counselor." As Tony blushed slightly, Fin went on to admit, "I guess part of it's relief that Brian invited me to his wedding; it must have just filled me with extra energy," he said, his eyes twinkling as he waggled his eyebrows playfully. "You just happen to be the lucky recipient."

Tony smiled. "I certainly am," he readily agreed. He idly caressed his partner's chest for a few seconds in silence before he softly said, "Fin?"

The brunet looked down into the thoughtful blue eyes, readily hearing the concern in his lover's voice. "What, Baby?"

"Do you think there's going to be a lot of fallout tomorrow due to the press conference?"

Fin continued to play with Tony's soft hair as he considered that question. He was done trying to withhold the truth from his partner. "Probably," he softly said. "I pretty much expect some, I guess. I'd say it's unavoidable."

"You're…not sorry you went through with it, then?"

Fin shifted in Tony's embrace to look directly into the blond's eyes; he reached down to cradle the man's chin in his hand as he said firmly, "No, Tony, I'm NOT sorry….not one bit. The chips – and my political career – will just have to fall where they may. I knew that was a possibility when I decided to go through with it."

"But….."

Fin's eyes flashed as he pressed a little more firmly on the man's chin to quiet him. "Listen to me, Mr. Cassinelli – I don't know if you intended it, but when you told me you wouldn't remain in the background silently any longer about our relationship, it definitely helped to crystallize for me what was important and what wasn't." He smiled a little self-deprecatingly as he added, "I guess I just decided I rather enjoyed having your tight little ass and warm body in bed with me."

Tony smirked. "Oh, now the real reason comes out," he teased. "You were only after my hot body all this time."

Fin pulled the blond's head up to his to deliver a brief kiss before smiling. "Yeah…..something like that," he said tenderly, leaving no doubt that that was only a small part of it. His face became more serious as he added somberly, "Tony…..I know it's not going to be easy persuading some narrow-minded people that my being gay has nothing whatsoever with my ability to run this state efficiently. My challenge, then, will be persuading those that don't give a shit about my sexuality to get out and vote for me."

Tony reached up to gently brush some errant hair away that had fallen into his lover's eyes. "Are you prepared to lose if it comes down to that, Fin? I know how much you've always wanted this." From practically the first moment they had met, it was all Fin could talk about – at least in between the times he was persistently pursuing him and fucking the shit out of him.

Fin stared into the mesmerizing blue eyes he knew so well – and loved so much. "As long as we're together, my love, I can get through anything," he said with conviction; the intense look he gave his partner made the other man's heart race and left him with no doubts that he meant every word.

Tony smiled up at his partner. "You'll never get away from me easily, Senator…Remember, I didn't get to be such a good attorney by backing away from a challenge."

Fin twisted his mouth up. "Good…because something tells me we're about to take on the fight of our lives, Counselor."

Britin – Late Evening

"Daddy! Jus'n!"

Brian had barely opened the front door of their home before he scooped up the flash of mischief that ran full tilt into his arms. "Hey, Sonny Boy!" he cried out affectionately, smiling as he leaned down to plant a quick kiss on the little boy's head. He wasn't totally surprised Gus was still up at this relatively late hour, at least for his son. He knew his little boy could be a pretty determined little fellow when he didn't want to go to sleep at his normal time. "What have you been up to today, little man?"

Justin reached over to give the little boy a hug while he was still cradled in his fiancé's arms. "Hey, Buddy," Justin greeted him, smiling. There was always something about this little version of his fiancé that made his burdens and worries always seem so much lighter, at least for a while.

"Gus! What did I tell you about opening the door to stran….." Lindsey smiled in relief as she walked into the hallway and noticed who their "visitors" were. "Thank goodness," she said. "We've been trying to break him of that habit. Sometimes he gets a little carried when he thinks there's company at the door and just comes barreling over there. Somebody's supposed to be in bed," she said, eyeing the hazel eyes staring back at her innocently from his father's hold.

Brian nodded, smirking, as he gently placed his son back down on the floor. "Just wait until later when he finds out what ELSE you can do in bed," he teased, looking over at Justin, who blushed slightly in embarrassment. "He'll never want to get out of it, then….."

"Brian! Please!" Lindsey said in mock horror, smacking her friend briefly on the arm. "Give the boy time to grow up first!"

Brian smiled back at her as he asked his son again, "So what did you do today, Sonny Boy?" His eyes twinkled as he peered down intently at the miniature version of himself. "Did you go see the horses today?" Brian had told Lindsey it would be okay to visit the stables as long as they stayed away from Samson, his rather rambunctious horse; instead, he had directed her to let Gus pet one of their more tamer horses, and maybe if he was comfortable enough tomorrow, he and his son could take a ride together (on the same horse, though…..).

Gus bounced lightly up and down on his feet excitedly as his eyes lit up. "Yeah, Daddy! Mommy took me to see them! They're big…..and really, really hairy!"

Justin and Brian exchanged amused glances. "Yeah, they sure are," Brian agreed. "Did you get to feed one of them an apple?" Britin was heavily wooded near the stables with a variety of both nut and fruit trees, including several types of apple trees; every time Brian walked down there lately, the horses automatically knew he would be bringing them an apple to eat and they had promptly become spoiled as a result. If he forgot to pick up some for them, he swore to Justin that they actually pouted when he showed up empty-handed.

His son nodded his head vigorously. "They took it right out of my hand…they tickle, Daddy!" he proclaimed, giggling at the memory.

"That's great, Sonny Boy!" Brian exclaimed, smiling that his son had apparently immensely enjoyed his experience today. "Tomorrow we'll take a ride together, okay?" He peered over at Lindsey to make sure she was all right with the idea – when he had first broached the possibility, she was less than enthused by the idea of her son being on a 10-foot-tall beast until Brian hastily explained he would be on the same horse with him.

Lindsey still didn't look too thrilled with the idea, but she knew Brian dearly loved his son and would make sure nothing happened to him. Besides, now that he had let the proverbial cat out of the bag, there would be no stopping his son from forging ahead. Sure enough, upon hearing that, the little boy began to jump and down in excitement. "Can we, Daddy?" he asked, his eyes alight with the idea of riding one of the magnificent creatures. "What time do they get up? When does it get light out?"

Justin chuckled. "Looks like the two of you got a date first thing tomorrow, Dad," he said, smiling at Brian's slightly pained look. He knew his fiancé was taking the rest of the week off prior to their wedding, mainly to spend as much time as he could with Gus and also to help with any last-minute preparations, but Brian had been hoping he could sleep in just a little later than normal, also – and sneak in some extra fucking time to boot with a certain blond. It appeared his plans, however, would not be succeeding in quite the way he had hoped.

"Be careful, Mr. Taylor, or you'll have to get up early and go with us," Brian warned his partner in return.

Justin tried to shush him, but it was too late. Upon hearing that idea, Gus immediately thought that was a great suggestion. "Yeah, Jus'n! You have to come, too, okay?" He peered up at his "second" daddy with those pleading, hazel eyes that were so reminiscent of someone else's and Justin was powerless to resist.

He sighed as he glanced over at Brian with a you are SO going to pay for that look before smiling down at Gus and confirming, "Sounds good, Buddy."

"Yay!" Gus cheered. "We're going for a horsey ride tomorrow, Mommy!"

Lindsey smiled. "Oh, that sounds like fun, Sweetheart," she told her son. "Why don't you go let Momma know what you'll be doing tomorrow? I think she has your bath ready by now."

Gus hesitated briefly, torn between the excitement of telling his other mom what he'd be doing tomorrow, and his feeling of reluctance about taking a bath. Finally deciding the pros outweighed the cons, he nodded his head. "Okay, Mommy," he said, as he looked over at his father. "Will you be up to read me my story, Daddy?" he asked.

Brian smiled tenderly at the little boy. "You bet, Sonny Boy," he said. "As soon as you're done with your bath." His eyes softened as he gave his son a small pat on his butt and watched him promptly scamper away to run up the stairs and tell Mel what adventure he would be undertaking tomorrow.

The three adults were finally left alone, giving Lindsey an opportunity to speak to Brian privately, as the three of them walked down the hallway and into the study. As Justin and Brian sat down together on the couch with Lindsey facing them from a nearby chair, she asked, "Did you see your father's press conference this morning, Brian?"

Justin glanced over at Brian to gauge his reaction to her prying. No, it wasn't really prying, he decided, just inordinate curiosity. After all, until a few days ago, no one except him even knew Brian HAD a different father. He really couldn't blame Lindsey, who had known Brian for so long and shared a child with him, from being interested in knowing Brian's reaction to what his father had said this morning.

He wasn't sure how forthcoming Brian would be, though – just the idea of this prominent man being his real father still took some getting used to by his fiancé – but he noticed his partner didn't seem too affronted by her question. He noticed Brian inhaled a soft breath before replying simply, "Yeah, I saw it on my laptop."

She and Justin shared a mutual look between them as if Justin was cautioning her to proceed carefully before she asked, "What did you think?"

"Well, he seemed to have all the politically-correct answers," Brian responded. He glanced over at Justin before adding, "I told Justin it did take a certain amount of balls to do what he did, I guess. I'm just not a hundred percent convinced he did it all for the right reasons."

Justin sighed inwardly; after Brian had actually invited Fin to their wedding, he had been hoping – maybe a little too optimistically – that Brian was finally beginning to accept Fin at his word. Apparently, however, there was still going to be some hard work ahead of them to get Brian and his father to arrive at the same crossroads regarding their relationship.

"Did YOU see him?" Brian asked his friend, interested in knowing what her impression had been. He knew that Lindsey would be straight with him, no matter how unpleasant the opinion might be. He knew when it came to his father, he definitely needed the unvarnished truth. He trusted Justin totally, but he also knew how badly his partner wanted things to work out with him and O'Connor, so for that reason he wasn't sure that Justin could be totally impartial regarding the man's motives.

Lindsey was silent for a few seconds, gathering her thoughts before she said, "I was actually impressed with the man and his responses, Brian. I really thought he was being straightforward about his reasons. I mean, what "hidden motives" would he have? I can't really see what possible advantage he would have by telling a mainly conservative audience that he's gay. If anything, it's bound to LOSE him a lot of votes, not gain any."

Brian noticed Justin giving him a look that said, See – I told you, before he shrugged a little at his partner in concession. "Maybe," he said, still not totally convinced. "Time will tell, I guess," he said philosophically. Brian unexpectedly revealed to her softly, "I did tell him he could come to the wedding."

She started. "You…..invited him to your wedding?" she said, astonished. "When?"

"Earlier this evening. He and his partner showed up at the loft unannounced – and at a most inopportune moment, I might add." He glanced over at Justin, who averted his eyes to avoid Lindsey's knowing look. There was no misunderstanding just what sort of "moment" Brian's father had no doubt "interrupted," knowing Brian.

She frowned, however, as a thought occurred to her. "He showed up – in Pittsburgh? What was he doing there? And how did he know where to find you?"

"You can blame Sunshine's mother for that." Justin looked over at him with a who, me? sort of look and shrugged. "He and Cassinelli decided to grab a bite to eat at the diner, of all places, and Mother Taylor happened to be eating there at the same time. He overheard her and Debbie – God help me – talking to each other about the wedding, and put two and two together. The only lucky part was that Debbie apparently was too busy waiting on other customers to stick around long enough to see them, or else he would have no doubt been on the gay gossip circuit within the hour."

Lindsey pursed her lips in amusement. "Wow! So Jennifer knows about him now, too?"

"No, she doesn't, at least not THAT part," Justin supplied for her. "Fin told us she probably noticed a resemblance between him and Brian, but he just gave her some sort of story that he needed to speak with Brian regarding some business they had, and he hadn't been able to reach him at Kinnetik or by phone. He managed to talk her into giving him the address to the loft. It seems both father and son have the same affect on men AND women." He glanced over at Brian, who simply shrugged now himself as if that was a given.

Lindsey smiled. "Apparently so," she said, agreeing. She looked at Brian intently. "You definitely get your genes from your father; he's a very handsome man."

Brian snorted. "Well, I'm glad he was around when it counted most," he grumbled. "If you don't mind, though, I'll think I'll reserve judgement until I decide for myself which side of the fence he's on." He looked over at Justin as heard the blond sigh softly. "What?" he growled defensively.

"Nothing." Brian continued to stare at him intently, one eyebrow raised in a silent challenge, until Justin let out a deep breath and capitulated. "I just hope the two of you can come to an understanding eventually," he said softly.

"This isn't a contract negotiation we're talking about here, Sunshine," Brian told his fiancé. "Everything isn't black and white and can be sealed over a couple glasses of Beam and a written document. Although a document is what got me in this situation in the first place," he growled.

Justin bit his lip a little apprehensively. "Are you saying you're sorry I ever found it?"

Brian reached over to take Justin's hand reassuringly. "No, Sunshine, that's not what I'm saying," he said more tenderly, gently rubbing the pale hand with his thumb. "Although it certainly would have made my life a lot less complicated."

Justin nodded. "Yeah, I guess it would have," he conceded. "But since when was your life so simple, anyway?"

Brian pondered that statement before admitting Justin had a point. "Yeah….but something tells me it may about to get even more complicated."

Lindsey silently agreed, but she also knew her friend would somehow manage to get through it, just like he always did. Except now, he had Justin by his side. Since he had met his partner so long ago now, Brian had slowly evolved into the more complex man he was now. He wasn't so reticent about displaying or voicing his emotions as much as he used to, and Lindsey attributed that partly to their son, but mainly to the man her friend was about to marry.

"I'm sure you'll persevere just like you always do, Brian," she told him as she stood up. "But speaking of complications, though, I'd better go upstairs and make sure a certain little boy is behaving himself in the bathtub. Despite what you might think, Mel always seems to let him get away with more than he should. I think you and Senator O'Connor passed your persuasive charm on down the genetic line."

Brian smirked. "Well, it IS hard to contain," he agreed, evoking a rolling of the eyes from Justin.

She smiled back at her friend as she prepared to leave. Her face turned more serious, though, as just before she left she said, "Just go with your instincts, Brian. You've always had a knack for doing the right thing – I have confidence that you will this time, too." She reached down to give her friend a kiss on the cheek before, smiling at Justin, she turned and headed out of the study to go upstairs.

The two men were finally left alone in relative privacy; for once, the house was relatively silent as they sat together in companionable silence. Brian continued to gently caress the blond's hand for a few seconds before he eventually said, "You really do trust him?"

Justin gazed at his partner tenderly, noting the almost vulnerable, fragile tone to Brian's voice. For someone who was normally so self-assured and confident, finding out he had a different father had turned Brian into an unsure, hesitant man, at least when it came to this subject. He was grateful, though, that his fiancé was asking his opinion and valued what he had to say. "I…guess you really can't be one hundred percent sure," he admitted. "But my gut feeling is that, yes, you can. He's changed his position tremendously since he first found out about you, even at the possible cost of giving up his dream to be Governor. That takes a lot of courage to do that, Brian. He sounds resolved to accept the consequences, whatever they might be."

He squeezed his partner's hand. "I don't think you should turn down the chance to at least get to know him better and find out what sort of relationship you can have with him. I know he has Tony's support he can count on, but I think he's going to need whatever additional support he can get. I don't envy what he's going to be up against, but I admire him for going through with it." He smiled softly. "I would expect nothing less, though, from Brian Kinney's father."

Brian gazed back at his own personal, fierce supporter and curled his lips under. "You would, huh?" he asked.

Justin smiled as he nodded. "You bet," he said softly. "Like father, like son."

Brian reached out to ruffle Justin's hair at the back of his neck. "I'm not sure if I should be flattered by that statement or not," he mused as he gazed back at his partner.

"Just give him a chance, Brian," Justin implored quietly. "Maybe it'll turn out to the best thing that ever happened to you."

"No, Sunshine," Brian immediately corrected him, gazing back at him intently. "YOU are."

"Brian," Justin murmured in a choked voice, touched by the unwavering and unexpected declaration. He pulled Brian toward him to bestow a kiss on the willing lips. As they finally pulled back several seconds later, he whispered, "Ditto, Mr. Kinney."

He scooted over closer to his fiancé and pressed his body up against his side as Brian continued to hold his hand. The crackling of the fireplace's flames was the only sound they heard for quite some time until the stillness was broken by the ringing of Justin's cell phone. He looked over at Brian apologetically as he straightened himself up slightly and reached over to the coffee table to retrieve his phone.

"Hello?"

Brian didn't have to listen in to know from the rambunctious sound coming from Justin's phone that the caller was their friend and erstwhile wedding planner, Emmett.

"Hey, Emmett, how's everything going?"

As Justin listened to Emmett providing an update on their upcoming nuptials, Brian noticed a slight furrow flicker across Justin's brow.

"Uh, Emmett…..is it too late to add a few more guests to the rehearsal dinner Thursday?" He looked over at Brian warily for his reaction. As Brian shook his head slightly in confusion, he turned back to the phone to ask, "Em….can you hold on for just a second?"

As he placed his hand over the speaker part of his cell phone, he turned to Brian but didn't have to verbalize what he was thinking – it was written all over his hopeful, somewhat anxious face.

"Justin…"

"Come on, Brian! Don't you think it'd be a good idea for them to come?"

"Kathy and Sean, maybe, my father and his partner, no."

Justin sighed. "Why not? Wouldn't it be easier to introduce them there rather than waiting the day of our wedding to get up and say, by the way, here's my long-lost, up-until-now unknown gay father who just happens to be running for Governor, and his long-time partner?"

Brian stared back at the blond in exasperation. "Why does my father have to be introduced to everyone at all? Why couldn't he just be another acquaintance who's a guest for the day?"

Justin shook his head. One step forward, two steps back….. "Come on, Brian! You think everyone's going to believe that someone who's an almost exact duplicate of you is just an acquaintance? They're not going to buy that. I've got two words for you – Debbie Novotny."

Brian sighed; Justin was right – he had already committed himself to letting O'Connor and Cassinelli attend their wedding. There was no way that Debbie wouldn't get one good look at the man and instantly figure out there had to be a connection there, no matter HOW outlandish. The resemblance was just too striking. It was one thing to bamboozle Mother Taylor; it was quite another thing to deceived Eagle-Eyed Debbie.

"All right, all right," he finally acquiesced grudgingly. "Tell Emmett we need to somehow squeeze in another four guests for the rehearsal dinner. Maybe if we're lucky, he'll have some other commitment that night." At the rate I'M going, I'LL be the one needing to be committed…

Justin beamed at the concession. Turning his attention back to the phone, he said, "Em – we'll need another four places for the rehearsal dinner – you think you can find the room? It's really important." Justin was relieved that Emmett seemed to realize it must have something to do with Brian's father, because after hesitating a few seconds, his friend simply told him, "I'll take care of it somehow, Baby," before reminding him of the time they needed to be ready Thursday and disconnecting the call.

"Maybe we should have had the dinner here at Britin all along," Justin commented as he flipped the phone shut. They had discussed it preliminarily, but had ultimately decided, instead, to hold it at a swanky banquet center near downtown Pittsburgh so it was more conveniently located. "At least we would've had plenty of room out on the back patio."

"Yeah, maybe, but most people wouldn't have wanted to drive out here twice in one week – to them, West Virginia is in another country." He glanced over at his little mischief maker before pointing out, "It wasn't too long ago that you felt the same way."

Justin smiled. "Yeah…well, I've since warmed up to the idea," he said softly. "The added benefits were just too good to pass up."

"Yes, I am," Brian quipped, his lips curled under in amusement.

Justin rolled his eyes at him before he flipped his phone back open. "You want me to do the honor?" he asked. He knew it would probably mean more coming directly from Brian, but somehow he didn't think Brian was comfortable yet extending more than the cryptic invitation that he had already given out for the wedding.

"By all means – that sort of assignment normally falls on the bride's shoulders, anyway," he told his fiancé solemnly.

"Ha, ha," Justin retorted. He started to look up the number of Brian's grandparents before his fingers stopped and he turned to look at his fiancé. "You think I should ask Sean and Kathy first how they feel about Fin and Tony coming here? They haven't seen him in a long time, and it's bound to bring up some memories of your mother. Do you think I should ask if they mind?" Another thought suddenly occurred to him. "They don't even know he's gay, Brian! How do you think they're going to feel about that?"

Brian hadn't thought about that, either. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I mean, that was so long ago, Justin. Surely they've come to terms with it by now. I don't think they would begrudge him the opportunity to be here." Inwardly, though, he realized this could prove to be awkward; how would they feel about the man who had impregnated their daughter suddenly waltzing in with a male partner that he has been together with for almost ten years now? Would they resent it?

"Maybe they saw the news conference," Justin offered. "If they did, that would certainly save us from doing a lot of explaining."

"Yeah, it would, but we can't count on that." Brian had actually grown fond of his grandparents during the relatively short time he had known them, and didn't want them getting a major shock when they showed up for the rehearsal dinner and discovered his long-lost father there with a male lover. He realized what he needed to do. "I'LL call them, Sunshine," he told his fiancé, deciding it was time for him to get personally involved in this aspect of their wedding plans. "I guess I owe them that much at least."

Justin was somewhat surprised by Brian's willingness to call Sean and Kathy, but in a way it made sense. He HAD noticed that both Brian and Gus had seemed to enjoy being with them and his grandparents certainly had been welcoming to both of them as well. He was glad, then, that at least Brian was definitely warming up to the idea of having a cordial relationship with his maternal grandparents. He just hoped that they would not only continue to encourage their bond, but also provide Brian with the encouragement to seek the same type of relationship with his father.

Handing his phone over to Brian to use, he watched as the brunet dialed the number and waited for them to pick up. "Sean?"

"Brian?"

"Yeah, it's me." His tone of voice at the moment was more like a hesitant, little boy rather than a confident, self-assured businessman.

Justin wanted urgently to hear both sides of the conversation; Brian must have intuitively figured that out, because he pressed the speakerphone button on Justin's cell phone and Justin heard the ebullient voice of Brian's grandfather responding.

"Brian, it's so GREAT to hear from you!" Sean enthused sincerely. "How are you and are little roustabout great-grandson, the champion fisherman?"

Brian smiled at the moniker – it certainly fit his son well, at least the roustabout part anyway.

"We're both fine, Sean. How are you and Kathy?"

"We're both great, Brian," the brunet heard Kathy saying. He smiled – he knew from past experience how they both liked to listen in on two different extensions at the same time; this was apparently no exception.

"That's great," Brian told them. He hesitated for a second as his grandparents waited with a pregnant pause for him to continue. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes, dear?" Kathy urged him.

Brian glanced over at Justin, who nodded his encouragement for him to continue. "I…..was wondering if you were free this Thursday evening."

"The 17th? Uh…..let me think. Kathy, when are our tickets for the musical?" Sean asked his wife.

"They're not until NEXT week, Honey," Kathy told him through the phone; Brian couldn't help smiling at their form of an "intercom."

"Oh, yeah, that's right – they're for the 24th," Sean reminded himself. "Looks like we're free as a bird, then," he told his grandson. "Why?"

"Uh….I'd like for you and Kathy to come to my and Justin's wedding rehearsal dinner that night. It's at 7:30 in downtown Pittsburgh at the Wellington Banquet Center. I'm sorry about the short notice, but do you think you could make it?"

Either Sean and Kathy spoke for each other all the time, or they were standing nearby in sighting distance, because Kathy immediately exclaimed excitedly, "We'd LOVE to, Brian! Are you sure?"

"Of course," Brian responded with certainty. "Justin and I both want you there – after all, you ARE part of our family now." And he really DID mean that – he was even a little surprised himself to realize just how important they were quickly becoming to both him AND to his son.

He thought he heard Kathy sniffle a little as she replied more softly this time, "We'd be thrilled, Brian. Thank you. We'll be looking forward to it all week!"

Brian took a deep breath before plodding on. "That's great, Kathy. But there's something else I need to tell you and Sean before you commit to coming. Did you by chance watch the morning news about Fin?"

Kathy and Sean shared a mutual look of curiosity. "No," Sean answered for them. "We were actually both at a dentist appointment until close to noon – why?"

Brian hesitated briefly before explaining, "Well, he held a press conference this morning to formally announce he was running for Governor," he began.

Sean nodded at his wife as he said, "I'm not surprised by that – he's been wanting to do that for a long time."

Justin reached over to lay a hand on Brian's arm for support as the brunet continued. "Yeah, well, that wasn't the biggest surprise he announced." Brian inhaled another breath before letting the words fall out in a rush. "He also introduced his partner to the press this morning."

Kathy and Sean exchanged a shock look. "You mean his…..business partner?" Sean asked tentatively, even though somehow he knew that wasn't going to be the case. How could this BE?

"No," Brian confirmed quietly. "His name's Tony Cassinelli – he's a rather influential attorney in Harrisburg. He and Fin have been partners – LIFE partners – for almost ten years now."

Kathy sucked in a shocked breath at this revelation as Sean reached out with his free arm to steady her. The man who had pursued their daughter, had a relationship with her, and impregnated her, was GAY? "I don't understand, Brian," Sean finally said in confusion. "How is that possible? The man was positively infatuated with our daughter in high school! How could this happen?"

Brian hurried to explain. "Some people who are gay don't realize it until their adulthood; they experiment around during high school, or act the way they think others THINK they should act, until they finally feel free enough to be the person they were meant to be. Apparently my father falls into the latter category, because he's definitely gay."

"My God," Kathy murmured in shock. "I don't know what to say. To think all this time, I thought he might still be carrying some torch for our daughter, and now this….."

Brian closed his eyes, afraid this was going to happen. "Look….I just wanted you to know ahead of time, because I told Fin and his partner they could come to the wedding." In a moment of weakness, he thought silently, even though he knew that wasn't totally the truth; no one had forced him to do it, although Justin was definitely pushing for it. "I was considering asking him to come to the rehearsal dinner, too – I thought it would mean there would be less questions at the wedding itself. But if you don't want him there, I will certainly respect your decision."

In a way, Brian was hoping that was exactly what they would do; for some reason, he was almost afraid of seeing his father again. The man managed to conjure up some feelings he didn't even know he possessed any longer; he had thought that any hopes and dreams of having a real father had died a long time ago, even before the horrible man masquerading in that role had died. Apparently, though, they hadn't ALL been vanquished just yet.

"Hang on a minute, Brian, okay?" Sean asked his grandson. He placed his hand over the mouth of the phone and turned to his wife. "What do you think, Kathy? Can we handle running into Fin again, knowing what we know now?" Somehow it almost seemed like a betrayal of their daughter's love for this enigmatic man to turn up at the man's son's wedding, even if Brian WAS their only grandchild. But on the other hand, was it fair to Brian? They really DID want to get to know him as well as they could, and attending his rehearsal dinner would be a good start to that wish. Could they put their resentment aside for the sake of their grandson?

Kathy finally nodded. "I don't think we have a choice, Honey. We're going to have to face him sooner or later. It would probably be better in a more intimate setting, rather than at a grandiose wedding." Besides, Kathy didn't want anything to take the chance of ruining her grandson's wedding to the young man who had impressed them with his concern, passion, drive, and persistence.

Kathy nodded her head at Sean, who returned to his phone to say, "We appreciate your concern, Brian, but it's okay. Go ahead and invite him – I think we'd rather see him again there first, rather than at the wedding. It'll be okay," he reassured his grandson firmly. As he glanced over at the worried face of his wife, he only hoped that once they DID see Fin again, their plan to be civil and courteous to the man didn't fly out the proverbial window at the first sight of him.

Brian turned to look at Justin as he hung up with his grandparents. "I don't know, Sunshine," he said warily. "They didn't exactly sound wildly enthusiastic."

Justin stared back at him, not quite sure how to respond. He actually agreed with Brian – Sean and Kathy seemed somewhat hesitant about meeting Fin again, especially after what Brian had just told them. He certainly hated to see something come between Brian and them; things had been so well for the three of them lately, and Gus seemed to really like his new great-grandfather, especially.

"They just need some time to adjust to the idea, Brian," Justin told his partner. "They'll come around – they accepted our relationship initially – they'll learn to accept Fin's, too, you'll see." He tried to sound optimistic for Brian's sake, but truthfully, he was a little nervous about the first reunion between Brian's grandparents and his father. It had been his idea to invite them; if everything blew up in their face, it would be HIS fault.

Brian cradled Justin's head in his left palm, stroking his cheek lightly as he whispered softly, "I hope so, Justin." He handed the phone over to his partner, telling him, "You're turn now, Sunshine. I'll let you take care of THIS one." He had already gone beyond what he ever thought was possible by inviting his father to the wedding; he wasn't up yet to playing the congenial host by inviting him to their rehearsal dinner as well.

Justin nodded as he flipped the phone open and dialed Tony's number; the two of them had bonded so well lately over their mutual woes regarding two particularly obstinate, independent and moody men, Tony had given Justin his number and told him to call any time he needed to either simply vent or "compare notes," in the attorney's words.

"Tony?" Justin said, as heard the familiar voice of his counterpart.

Sitting up with his torso against the headboard, Tony glanced over at Fin to get his attention as he responded, "Justin! This is sort of a surprise. Did we forget something earlier?"

Fin eyed his partner curiously as he recognized who the caller was. Was his son backing out of his somewhat less-than-enthusiastic invitation to attend his wedding? It wouldn't surprise him – his son was still obviously unconvinced that his motives were straightforward.

Fin held his breath as his partner continued to speak with Justin. "Really?" he heard Tony said, his face registering great surprise. "This Thursday evening? Hold on a second, Justin – let me check my and Fin's calendars, okay?" He placed the cell phone temporarily to ask Fin, "Any idea if you have plans this Thursday evening? Anything on the docket that day?"

"Why?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity as to why he was asking. "What's going on?"

"Quit hedging, Senator, and just answer the question," Tony said somewhat impatiently; he wanted to answer Justin before somehow Fin's son had a chance to change his mind.

"Well, excuse me, Mr. High and Mighty Attorney," Fin responded a little testily. Nevertheless, he internally racked off his appointments for the coming week before saying, "No, I don't think so – nothing in the evening, anyway."

Tony nodded, returning to the phone. "Sounds great, Justin – we'll be there. Yeah….I can just do a GPS for it, don't worry. And tell Brian thanks." Fin watched while his partner's face turned serious as he listened to something Justin was telling him. "Oh….really…..yeah, I'll make sure he knows – I'm glad you told me ahead of time. We'll see you then." Tony slowly closed his phone, turning to Fin thoughtfully.

Fin did a double take at that last statement – just what was going on? "What's going on Thursday? The wedding is on Saturday."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, but the rehearsal dinner is this Thursday."

Fin's eyes widened. "Justin invited us to their rehearsal dinner? That must have been HIS idea – it couldn't have been Brian's."

Tony titled his head. "Well, maybe, but the way Justin said it, he said THEY wanted us to come, not HE did. And I doubt that Justin would go out on such a limb and invite us to the rehearsal dinner without Brian's knowledge – that'd be a good way to end their marriage before it even started."

"I don't believe it," Fin murmured in disbelief. "I was shocked enough when Brian threw in that invitation to their wedding. I wonder what possessed him to invite us to the rehearsal dinner, too?"

Tony reached over and placed one hand on his partner's chest. "Not sure, Fin….maybe, though, Brian's shell is cracking just a tad."

Fin reached to grasp Tony's hand and cradle it against his body. "Well, I'll wait until I see proof of that," he said skeptically. "I get the distinct impression that Brian doesn't open up to a lot of people." He looked away from his partner and over to the gas fire currently blazing. "I don't think growing up with such a shithole of a father was much help, either."

"Fin….." Tony knew exactly what his partner was thinking and he was determined to undermine that negative feeling immediately. "Don't you dare lay a guilt trip on yourself because you weren't around when your son was growing up. You didn't even know about him! Don't let yourself get caught in that trap – I know if you had known about him, you would have been there for him."

Fin shook his head, unable to adequately express in words just how important this man's love and support was to him. He chose instead to try and show him. He tenderly reached down to softly rub his fingers across the full lips he knew so well. Finally finding his voice, he said, "I can't believe I almost gave this up." He leaned in with the intent of giving his partner a kiss, only to have Tony put his hand against his chest to stop him. Fin frowned in concern. "What, Baby?"

"There's one more thing you need to know, Fin." He took a breath before he divulged, "Justin said Brian's grandparents are going to be there, too."

"Sean and Kathy?"

Tony nodded, watching a play of emotions spread across his lover's face.

"It's…been a long time since I've seen them," Fin answered softly. "I wonder how they'll react to seeing me."

"Not just to seeing you, but seeing you with ME." Tony reached up to play with a lock of Fin's hair. "Fin, maybe you should go alone to the dinner."

Tony shuffled his body against the headboard so he could stare intently into his partner's steel-gray eyes. "What are you talking about? Why?"

"Because it's going to be hard enough seeing the man who had an affair with their daughter so long ago and in essence never looked back since then." He hastened to add, "I'm sure they don't blame you, Fin, for what happened. But it's bound to be hard enough seeing YOU without having your gay partner thrown in their face on top of it."

Fin shook his head – that was NOT an option. "No, Tony, either we go together or not at all. It took me long enough to figure out how insane it was to keep our life together a secret – I'm not going to push you back into the shadows now. We're in this together, remember? We're a team – where I go, YOU go. You got that, Mister?" he said forcefully, reaching over to grasp Tony's chin for emphasis.

Tony's eyes misted over as he whispered, "Yes, Sir, I got it," before Fin smiled in relief and leaned in for the kiss he had been craving for the past several minutes.

The older man asked, "Now that we have that settled…..how about we engage in a little personal cross-examination, Counselor?"

Tony smiled broadly as their two bodies slowly slunk back down onto the mattress. "Sounds like a solid plan, Senator. I have a lot of probing I'll need to do – this might take all night long."

Fin smirked, rolling his lips under. "I was hoping you would say that."