Chapter 9 – A Twist of Fate

Justin had been back in the Pitts for almost four months. Miranda came three or four times to plan the upcoming show. Brian and Justin went to New York for the opening and it was wonderful. Justin sold most his paintings the first night of the show, and this time Brian didn't buy any of them.

Miranda was happy, Justin over the moon, and Brian was proud.

Justin had regained all of his weight; he also solved his insomnia problem by getting some counselling once a week.

During the few days they were in New York, he went to his doctor who renewed all of his prescriptions, and changed his sleeping pills to something more natural.

The headaches were almost gone, and now he could get rid of them with a simple aspirin. He kept the hard stuff, Imitrex and Apranax, for the bad ones.

Every morning, they ate their breakfast together; Mrs. Stevenson poured a glass of guava juice for Brian and two pills for Justin, one was magnesium, the other calcium and a glass of orange juice. Justin's doctor had taken Justin off almost all drugs.

They spend they third anniversary at the mansion. It was just a little dinner with friends. Daphne, Matt, Mrs. Stevenson, Mel, Corinne, Gus and JR were there. No one spoke about the occasion, and dinner went smoothly.

Daphne finally announced that she was pregnant, in fact she began her fourth month. She was already pregnant when Justin showed up unexpectedly, and decided to stay in Pittsburgh.

Once Brian and Justin knew that Daphne was pregnant, they put her medical schedule on both of their calendars.

They were both there at the first ultrasound. Daphne's doctor was about to ask Justin to stay out of the examination room, when Daphne told her that Justin was the father and Brian was Justin's partner.

The baby and the mother were in VERY good shape. Daphne had gained the weight she needed. They didn't have to worry, with Matt now living with her she was under good care.

At the office, some things had changed too; Kevin was now more involved in TJay's Art, and Justin had more time to paint.

Brian agreed that Justin had made a good choice by hiring Kevin. He had proven to Brian that he didn't have to check with Justin on an idea, because his ideas were as good as Justin's.

Justin decided to split his days in two. He spent the morning at Kinnetik and then he went to pick up Gus and worked on his art in the afternoon. Miranda had negotiated a big show in Philadelphia for April, and he had some orders to finish.

The help that Michael was getting had helped him a lot, and he had gotten over some of his anger against Justin.

Corinne had moved in with Melanie and they were now a couple.

The results of Melanie's cancer test were good. She had not had a relapse, and had no sign of new tumors. The same was true for Brian he too was still cancer free.

Jennifer was still with Tucker.

Over the last months, Carl had convinced Debbie to let go of her wig from time to time, and he took her to the hairdresser. The result was wonderful. They opted for a natural blond color.

The change pleased not only her husband, but also all her friends. They loved it, and Gus found her 'absolutely gorgeous for a grand mother'.

Over the last few months, Gus occasionally called Justin Pa or Papa. He tried to cover it rapidly by calling him Justin just after. No one said anything; even Mel found it better that way. They never corrected the boy; it was his choice, not theirs.


January 2009

Daphne was, almost seven months pregnant. She was glowing; the pregnancy fit her. She wasn't as big as she thought she would be, she gained just enough weight. The baby was healthy and she was still working at the hospital in Matt's department.

Daphne was over the moon; the deal she made with Justin about the baby was just great for Matt. He didn't want children now, because of his career.


Brian and Justin were in a meeting with another big account of Kinnetik's - the 'Aventis Group' a French firm, which had some of their offices in the US, specifically in New York, Chicago and Boston. They came to Kinnetik, recommended by Remsen Pharmaceutical.

They were talking about the number of layouts and the colors when Justin's phone rang.

"Sorry."

Brian threw him an icy glare. He hated any disturbance when they were in a meeting. That hadn't changed over the years. He was about to explain something to the campaign director when he heard a noise. He looked over and saw Justin's phone on the floor.

Brian saw Justin's posture and frowned, "Would you excuse me please?" he said to the client. A nod from the client, and he headed to the other room. Justin had moved to the desk and leaned against it, staring blankly at nothing.

Brian moved toward him, pressing his hand onto Justin's lower back. As he picked up the phone, he noticed there was still someone on the other end trying to get Justin's attention.

"Justin, Justin …"

"No, it's Brian, Matt what is it?" asked Brian, still pressing his hand into Justin's lower back.

"I'm at the hospital, Allegheny General. It's Daph. We were driving and we had a little accident, nothing major, but she went into labor, and … and … "

Brian was breathless this couldn't be good. Matt sounded upset. Brian breathed in, counted to ten, and said, "We're on our way." He closed the phone, before Matt could add anything else and thought, 'Please no, not her, tell me she's fine'.

Brian looked at Justin, put the phone on the table, and looked in his office toward the client. "Justin, can you wait a minute?"

A simple nod from Justin, and Brian moved into the conference room, spotted Ted and moved directly to him, leading him out the room while speaking to the client, "Gentlemen, would you excuse us."

They moved out of the room so the client couldn't hear. "Ted, you'll need to finish the meeting, Matt called its Daphne …"

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't know. Matt just said that she went into labor and they are at Allegheny General"

"Ok, Ok, what will you say to the clients?" asked Ted.

"Nothing. You tell them that I had an emergency with my child, and that I'm leaving it up to you to finish. And if they don't agree, tell them we'll need to reschedule the meeting for next week, not before. And before, you say anything, you can do it, you know the music, the case, I have confidence. Do your best Ted."

"Well – huh – thanks," muttered Ted as he turned around and looked from Brian to the clients. After a second, he walked into the conference room.

Brian locked fingers with Justin and walked out of the building.


After thirty minutes of a silent and long ride, where Brian ran every traffic light, they arrived at the Emergency entrance.


Brian POV

Matt was waiting for them. He was a mess.

Before he could say anything, a seven-year-old memory resurfaced. Brian remembered the first time he stepped into the ER. It was 7 years ago, after the best night of his life. That night he had planned to tell Justin that he was more important to him than anyone else in his life. He had planned to tell him, tell him that he loved him.

He remembered the moment the paramedics came and they put him into the ambulance. They said Brian couldn't ride with them. For the first time in his life, he told a complete stranger, "I'm his partner, I'll go with him." They had no other choice, and nodded their agreement. He never left Justin's side, until they got here: the ER.

God he hated this place.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and took a deep breath.


When he opened his eyes, he saw the nurse smiling at him, an old acquaintance.

"Brian, long time, no see."

"Yeah."

"Justin, how are you?"

"I, I'm fine, thanks," answered Justin, recognizing the night nurse who was on duty the whole time he was in rehab. He looked from Brian to her in confusion, "You know Brian?"

Smiling at him, Casey told him the truth that had been hidden for so long, "Yes, he was here every night when you were in rehab."

Justin shuddered against Brian, and looked up at him, "You never told me."

Shifting uncomfortably, Brian looked into those blue eyes. "Yeah I came every night." Looking up at Casey and Matt he finally said, "Uh, we're here for Daphne, Daphne Chanders."

Casey smiled and led the three men to a waiting room and asked them to sit. She disappeared into room 3 and came back with a doctor.

Assuming Matt was the father, he began to explain Daphne's condition. Matt pointed to Justin and said, "He's the father."

The doctor explained that Daphne was brought into the hospital after the accident. Labor had begun and she was bleeding. It was too early for the baby but it was in respiratory distress, and they had to deliver it as soon as possible.

They had to find a way to stabilize both of them or they might not be able to save either of them. Brian suddenly felt dizzy, and Justin clutched at his hand like a lifeline. Matt sat down on a chair; he understood that they would have to make a choice.

Justin swallowed hard, turned around and finally asked, "What can we do?"

The doctor seemed uncomfortable, looking at the three men, "Tell me which one we should save first, if we have to choose."

"Oh God, no …" Justin turned his body against Brian unable to face the reality and give an answer. Brian ran his hand along Justin's back giving him his support and searching some comfort for himself in the touch. He looked at the doctor, and then at Matt, inhaled deeply, and with a low voice while looking at Matt, asked, "What are the chances."

The doctor looked from Brian to Matt, and answered, "Well, considering Daphne's health, which is pretty good, and the baby's difficulties since she got here, I would say 40 for the baby and 80 for the mother. I can't give you any better information."

Justin pressed his body even further against Brian, trying to escape the moment. Brian was silent for a few minutes. He looked at Matt, who looked up helpless; even though he was living with Daphne he had nothing to say about the baby.

Then he heard Brian say in a low voice, "Do everything in your power to try to save both of them."

Justin tightened his grip on Brian's back trying to hold back his tears.

The doctor disappeared into the surgery room, as Brian led Justin to the chair along the wall, "I'll be right back," Justin nodded.

Matt took the seat near Justin. He took Justin's hand in his, two men praying for the same woman, but not for the same reason. - one because she was his love; the other, because she would be the mother of his child.


Brian desperately needed a smoke, but he also needed to make a few phone calls. He went outside to do both.

First he called Justin's mother. She was showing a house to some clients. When she heard that they were at the hospital, she became frantic and asked Brian if Justin was all right. Once Brian cleared up it was Daphne that was in danger. She immediately said that she would be there as soon as possible. Brian told her that he would call her back if they had any news.

The second call was to Ted, to tell him that he wouldn't be coming back to the office and that Cynthia should move his appointments for the next few days. Ted told him that he didn't have to worry about Kinnetik, and that he would contact the rest of the family.

Finally Brian called Corinne, because he remembered that Melanie had a tough case to work on, and asked her if they could pick up Gus at school, and maybe stay at the loft.

He lit his cigarette and saw Matt coming over to him, a blank look in his eyes. He looked at his watch, and realized he had been gone for over an hour. He hadn't realized he had been gone for so long. His thoughts were interrupted by Matt's broken voice.

"The surgeon came out a few minutes ago. Daphne's asleep; she'll be out for awhile." Brian nodded. "She's all right," continued Matt, "They took the baby into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Justin followed them."

Brian nodded again. He stubbed the cigarette butt out with his boot. He stopped near Matt, put his hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it. Then he walked back into the hospital.

Before he went to the NICU, he checked on Daphne. She was sleeping, dried tears on her face. He then took the elevator to the NICU floor.

Once there, a nurse stopped him before he got past the first doors. She asked him for his name and his relationship to Justin Taylor. Once all the information was given, he had to change into a sterile gown in a locker room. Then the nurse led him to the sink and told him to wash his hand. Once he was finished, she opened the door to the NICU.

A nurse greeted him, and led him to an incubator, where Justin already stood.

In the incubator was a little bundle, a boy. The tag on the incubator said "Tyler A.C Taylor." Brian smiled; they couldn't find a name that everyone liked. Daphne told them she found a way that would satisfy everyone. If it were a boy, she would like to call him, Tyler Alex Chanders Taylor and if it was a girl, Grace Keira Chanders Taylor and Kinney if they told anyone about their commitment.

But they hadn't said anything about the commitment yet, so the last name was only Taylor.

Brian looked at the little boy. He had cafe-au-lait skin and dark blond hair. He was hooked to enough tubes and machines to know that his state was more than critical.

"Hey."

"Hey," answered Justin without looking up, his eyes still on the baby.

"Daphne's fine, she's asleep in the ER or ICU I don't know. Matt only told me that she will be out for the next few hours."

Justin nodded, "He's so small, he … they don't know if he's going to make it, his lungs haven't developed properly."

Brian nodded - he had figured out that much.


The NICU was dimmed, only the lights above the incubators were on. After two hours, the staff from the NICU brought a chair for Justin and Brian. Brian told them that he didn't need it, he needed to move.

When he stepped out, Matt was waiting in front of the door. Brian looked at him, and Matt told him that Daphne was all right, that she was awake and in a few minutes she would be up to see the baby.

Brian nodded and walked away. As he went into the waiting room, he could see that almost the whole family was there.

As he stepped toward them, Debbie was just about to jump up and hug him, but Carl pulled her down and Brian nodded.

"Daphne's fine, she's downstairs." He sighed, Ted handed him a cup of coffee. "Thanks," whispered Brian, "and the baby is fighting."

He stood there among his family, not knowing what else to say.

When he looked over Ted's shoulder, he saw a nurse pushing Daphne in a wheelchair. She looked up and smiled sadly at Brian.

"Hey."

"Hey," he whispered back, kissing her head, "I… huh… Justin's in there if you want to…" as he gestured toward the NICU door.

"Thanks." She nodded and the nurse continued to push her wheelchair toward the NICU, Brian watched her go.

He sat in a chair next to Ted, then Michael knelt near him asking, "Are you all right?"

Brian slowly shook his head.

"Maybe you should, take a break, and …."

Just then the door open and Matt yelled, "Brian?"

He barely finished saying his name when Brian was standing and walking back into the NICU.


As Brian stepped back into the NICU, he could see activity around the incubator. He spotted Justin and Daphne in a corner clutching their hands together, Matt joined the doctors around the baby. The machines where beeping, the doctors were shouting orders, when suddenly a strong calm voice resonated, "Stop."

They all stopped and looked at Justin; he was standing between the incubator and Daphne. A doctor looked over at him, stunned, "What did you say?"

"Stop, you're hurting him."

"No we're trying to save him."

Justin turned toward Matt, "Daphne told me. I want you to stop, please."

Daphne wheeled her chair near Justin, "Me too."

"We could…" began the doctor.

"We said no, stop."

"Daphne…" began the doctor in charge, but Justin stopped her, "We said no, no need to make him suffer, if he survives, he'll need constant treatment, and maybe even…" Justin's voice faded.

"He may not even be normal," added Daphne.

Matt moved to her, and put his hand on her shoulder; she took comfort in the touch. The doctor turned around and said just one word, "Stop."

The nurses around the baby, began to shut down the machines, the last one was the respirator. Justin moved closer, and Matt helped Daphne to stand up, Brian stood by, watching the whole scene.

The nurses finally cleared the room, Brian moved behind Justin. With a last glance, the doctor shut down the respirator.

The baby's chest rose slowly once, twice and then slowly went down and stopped. The machine began to beep, but was turned off by the doctor. Daphne ran a hand over the baby's cheek; she took his little hand, bent down, and kissed it slowly.

When she turned around, she fell into Matt's arms and began to weep. Justin moved passed her, giving her a squeeze on her hand.

He walked to the incubator, bent down to place a kiss on his son's forehead, "Sleep well my little boy. Sleep well."

He turned around and looked up at Brian; he tried to smile but failed, and finally, walked to the door. Brian cleared his throat, watching Justin walk away, what could he say?

He looked over at the retreating form and then looked back at their son. He closed his eyes, fighting his tears. He ran his hand over the baby's head, stopped, and rubbed his thumb over his forehead. "You would have been a wonderful boy… I'm sure you would have been a real stud." He cleared his throat, bent down, and kissed the boy softly on the forehead.

As he turned around, he saw that Matt and Daphne had left the room. He was alone. A nurse walked in and smiled sadly at him. He didn't return the smile.

"Did you say goodbye?"

Brian nodded.

"I'm sorry."

Brian nodded again, and finally walked out the room. He steeled himself before he stepped into the waiting room, when he heard a commotion in the hall.

"You're sorry, for what?" he heard Justin shout. "It's not you who just lost a son! It's not you that will have to see the face of his mother tainted with pain. It's me, you fucking cowboy."

"Justin…" he heard Debbie's soothing voice.

"What!"

"It was just a twist of fate, something no one could have imagined."

Justin huffed at Debbie's comment.

"So much for fate."

"I'm really sorry, Sir, I didn't mean to …"

"Fuck you! Fuck you! You should have been more careful. The roads were slippery enough, you should have been more careful…" Justin's voice trailed off in an effort to stop the sobs from emerging.

"I didn't think the car would…"

"Shut up." Justin roared before he lunched himself toward the man who ran into Matt and Daphne's car, provoking the premature labor and the death of their child.

He was stopped by Ben, who had great difficulty. Brian decided it was time to intervene. He stepped into the hall, walked behind Justin and whispered in his ear, "Stop."

Like magic, Justin stopped struggling against Ben, and raised his hands in surrender. Ben released his grip, and walked back to Michael, leaving Justin in Brian's arms.

Brian looked over at the man who caused Justin's anger. The man walked toward him, but stopped when he saw the icy look Brian was giving him. He only mouthed, "I'm sorry."

Brian felt Justin tense, so he simply turned around so the man was out of his sight.

Justin struggled against Brian, but stopped when he heard Brian's voice, "Justin, please, stop."

Justin stopped struggling and Brian released his grip, but not before he checked to make sure the man was gone.

Once Justin was calm, he turned around and looked at the whole family gathered in the waiting room.

He looked up and saw Matt. "I put her in her room," Matt whispered as he passed by Justin, who nodded.

Justin looked up again and faced the people there, and saw sorrow and pity in their eyes. Michael stood up and walked over to him, "Justin, are you all right?"

Justin nodded.

Awkwardly, Michael tried to show Justin his support, "It's sad, but maybe, maybe it wasn't time. She's young. I'm sure she'll get better soon."

"Hey, you're talking about my friend here," Justin answered coldly.

"Yeah, but like I said, I'm sure she will get better soon."

"You don't know that. You don't know what …" Justin said softly.

"It will get better, you'll see, maybe it wasn't time, maybe it was for the best, you know," Michael said calmly.

Justin looked at him then at Brian who shook his head sadly. Michael wanted to show support, but he only brought more fuel to Justin's anger.

Justin grabbed Michael by the elbow and turned him around, "Maybe it was for the best? The best for who, Michael? Me? Daphne, Brian, Matt or the baby? Tell me Michael." Justin released Michael and began to pace in front of him, swatting Brian's hand away when he tried to reach for him.

"Do you think that I didn't hear what you said, what all of you said, when Daphne told us she was pregnant the first time? Wait, let me recall. Lindsay said that we were too young to know anything about children, that it wasn't a good idea because of Brian's business… Well, no one asked me if my business would suffer or not. Oh yeah and you said, the baby wasn't a good idea, because Gus already had a sibling, and he didn't need another one. Wait you even made a bet with a reluctant Hunter on how long it would take for Brian to be back in the backroom."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to…"

"You didn't want to what? Bet on our happiness? Like that time we were at Deb's and Ted began to bet on our relationship, and you bet on us. You didn't stop anyone from betting on us, did you? No, you just increased the bet."

Michael looked shocked, he remembered that night, not his finest moment.

"Do you think we didn't hear you? All of you? What do you think we did when we left? Fuck? We don't do that 24/7; it happens that we actually like to talk."

"I…" began Michael.

"Don't even say it, Michael, because you don't mean it."

"Justin," Brian said, reaching toward him.

"What, do you think I didn't hear them? Do you think I didn't hear you two when he tried to tell you that it wasn't a good idea, that the baby would put a stop to your lifestyle? That…"

Justin stopped when he heard someone walking really fast toward them. It was Jennifer. She didn't need to ask to know what happened. Brian had called her and told her everything.

She walked right to Justin.

When Justin looked up and saw the look of pity on her face, he backed away. When Jennifer tried to reach for him he whispered, "Don't touch me."

"I just wanted to …"

"No, don't," whispered Justin, pushing past her and walking down the hall to Daphne's room.

Jennifer looked at Justin walking away and sighed deeply. She turned around and hugged Brian awkwardly, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Brian didn't return the hug, but nodded once they parted. He cleared his throat, and looked over the family.

Mel moved over and hugged Brian too, "I'll be home if you need me, with Gus and Corrine. All right?"

Brian nodded.

She turned around, and walked out.

Debbie walked over and patted his cheek, making sure he knew that he was welcome anytime if he needed her. Brian only nodded; he never opened his mouth, when his 'family' finally left.

The last one to go was Carl. He told Brian that because of the death of the baby, they had to talk to Matt and the other driver, and take it from there.

Horvath was on his way out, when he turned around and walked back to where Brian was still standing.

Carl put his hand on Brian's shoulder, jolting him back to reality. "I'm sorry son," he whispered extending his hand to shake Brian's.

Brian shook Horvath's hand a little longer than usual, and Carl instinctively pulled him closer into an embrace.

It was the first time that both men were that close. The first time that Carl thought he maybe could help this man, because he knew the pain, he knew what Brian felt.

"I know words won't help you, son, but I'm sorry, really."

Horvath was about to release his embrace when he felt Brian shaking. He didn't say anything, just held him close, bringing him the comfort the man needed at that moment.

After a few minutes, Brian regained hold of his emotions and stood back. He opened his mouth to say something, but Horvath beat him, "Your secret's safe with me, and I won't judge you. If you need me, just call me, all right?"

Brian nodded and Horvath finally went.

Brian rubbed the remaining tears away from his face, breathed deeply and went in search of his missing partner.


Brian found Justin sitting in front of Daphne's room, a tear making its way along his cheek. Without a word, Brian sat near him, wrapped his arms around him and kissed his forehead. What could he say? Justin shook in his embrace, muttering, "She will hate me, she will hate me."

"No she won't hate you," Brian ran his hand through Justin's hair, "She loved you before, she loved you today, she will love you tomorrow."

He stood up and pulled Justin with him. He opened the door and walked toward Daphne's bed. As soon as she heard the door, she turned her head, looked at the two men, and tried to smile at them.

Matt left the room, saying that he would stay in the hall until they finished talking.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself, sleeping beauty," Brian tried to be casual with her, but failed. His voice was filled with pain, concern and worry.

"Don't say, "I'm sorry" to me, Brian. We knew from the beginning that this pregnancy would be complicated. I just hoped I could make it for both of us."

"Daph…" whispered Justin, "I…"

Daphne lifted her left hand, caressing Justin's cheek, "Justin, we knew, we were prepared for this eventuality, we spoke about it." Justin leaned into her touch, "I know, but …" he frowned.

"You feel responsible?" a slight nod from both men in front of her made her more concerned. "I chose to be pregnant despite all the warnings. You knew because of the Hepatitis that I could have lost the baby anyway, it was always a possibility. I had a chance that the pregnancy would go well. And it wasn't your fault that … this… well, that driver rammed into us." She sighed. "I don't want you to feel responsible because I chose you," looking toward Justin, "to father my child." She tried to smile at the two men who meant so much to her.

"Come here," she extended her hand pulling Justin against her so he sat on her bed. Carefully she took him into a big hug, than gesturing toward Brian "You too". Brian sat behind Justin, and wrapped his arms around both their shoulders.


Matt backed away as he saw this touching scene. He resumed his place in the hall, and waited for both men to leave his lover.

When Daphne told him from the beginning, that she would mother a child for her best friend, he never thought he would like both men. He never liked the idea, but after Daphne brought him to the family dinners at Deb's, he began to understand the underlying love that passed through everyone, and when he finally met Justin, he liked him immediately.

So after almost a year together, he had no choice other than to assist his partner to fulfill the promise she made to Justin so long ago.

Things were going so well until that fucking driver ran into them. He still couldn't believe what happened. Thank god the man never came clean with his story when he told Justin he was sorry. The weather was pretty cold but the ice on the road wasn't that bad. If he hadn't been in a hurry and on the phone, maybe then the baby would still be where he should be, in Daphne's womb.

He looked up and saw Ben and Emmett coming toward him. They had decided to stay, to drive Brian and Justin home, Matt having said that he wouldn't leave Daphne's room.