Justin and Brian were walking into the diner. Justin asked cheerfully, "So what are we doing here?" (they had just eaten dinner at a nice Italian place).

Brian shrugged. "I just want you to meet some of my friends."

"Oh okay." Justin smiled brightly. It didn't occur to him then that he might have met them before. But it should have. After a year with Brian, it would have been strange if he hadn't met Brian's friends. It certainly never occurred to him that he might currently "know" one or more of them, but in a different context. So his smile disappeared (to be replaced by a shocked expression) when he saw that Brian was directing him to a booth at which his coworker Emmett was sitting (Emmett and Michael were sitting in one side of the booth, and Ted was sitting in a chair next to them). Justin turned to Brian, a confused look on his face. He asked hesitantly, "Brian?"

Brian didn't respond. He just sat down in the empty side of the booth and pulled Justin along with him. They had been holding hands the whole time, their fingers entwined, a fact that was drawing surprised looks from both Ted and Michael (the look on Michael's face was more like horror). Emmett just smiled. This was simply an extension of the change he'd seen in Brian that first day at Torso. Once Justin was seated, Brian said, "Justin, you know Emmett (that drew more surprised looks), so I don't need to introduce him; this is Ted and that's Michael, but I call him Mikey. He's been my best friend since I was 14."

Justin smiled, but it was an uneasy smile. Softly, he said, "Hi."

Ted and Michael had no idea what to say or how, so their greetings matched Justin's in tone and content.

Emmett alone seemed comfortable. He exclaimed sunnily, "Hi, Baby!"

Justin's smile brightened a bit then. "Hi, Em." Then he furrowed his brow. Everyone looked at Justin nervously. After a few long moments, he inquired softly, "Wait, when you first saw me, you called me Baby. Is that because you'd known me before the… (Justin still had trouble calling what happened an attack, though he now knew that that's what it was) the incident?"

Emmett's eyes dimmed. He just nodded. Suddenly, everything was falling into place for Justin. He continued, "And…and when you said that you knew how precious life and happiness were because someone in your circle just disappeared one day…you…you were talking about me?"

Emmett frowned a little and nodded again. As Brian watched this scene unfold, he was becoming increasingly agitated. He was desperately afraid that Justin's doctor had been right, that bringing Justin to the diner without any kind of explanation and just springing the gang on him might hurt him. But what the psychologist had said made sense. And Brian didn't want Justin to have more severe panic attacks or to become a shell of a person. Brian desperately needed Justin to be whole again.

Justin's eyes suddenly filled with tears. He exclaimed, "Oh God! I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean to forget, to just disappear like that."

Brian stiffened and Emmett, concern evident in his eyes, shook his head and patted Justin's free hand, which was laying on the table. He countered, "Baby, it wasn't your fault. We know that."

Brian squeezed Justin's hand, the hand he was still holding. Justin looked over at Brian and smiled (though his eyes were still glistening with tears). Then Brian released Justin's hand and threw his arm around the boy, pulling him closer. Justin sighed in contentment, relaxing into Brian's warm embrace. For the moment, all his anxiety had disappeared.

*********

Now that the ice had been broken, Justin was happily eating a sundae, and everyone else was drinking coffee. Brian was glad he'd chosen a night when Deb wasn't working. Deb would probably have been a bit overwhelming for Justin. When Justin had finished scooping up the last bit of melted ice cream at the bottom of the glass dish, he pushed it to the side for the waitress to pick up and smiled. Then he asked, "So you were all my friends, too?"

Michael couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes (though he did feel bad for Justin). Brian frowned at Michael and sent him a wordless warning, and Emmett and Ted exchanged an uncomfortable look. Strangely, Ted was the first to speak. He said, "We liked you better than Brian." Everyone (even Michael) burst out laughing. He emended, "Well, except for Michael, but he's Brian's best friend."

Emmett added, "We used to spend a lot of time here at the diner and at the clubs."

"Clubs?"

"Yeah, Babylon and Woody's."

"How did I get in?"

Brian chuckled. Then he explained, "You're hot."

Justin flashed him a shy smile. His eyes wide, he asked, "That's all it took?"

Brian nodded. "Some bartenders wouldn't serve you, but when that happened, someone would buy you drinks."

"Cool. So what are Babylon and Woody's like?"

Ted replied, "Woody's has a pool table and a dart board, and Babylon is a dance club."

Justin's eyes brightened then. He loved dancing. He suggested brightly, "We should all go out sometime."

Brian responded nonchalantly (or apparently so), "Sure."

But Emmett couldn't help but notice Brian's eyes darkening then. He thought he understood why. Brian was clearly trying to have a different kind of relationship with Justin. Justin didn't seem to have any idea about what things had been like between them before. Brian was probably hoping that Justin never remembered that part.

Seeing Brian's extreme turnaround and his discomfort, Emmett decided then and there that he would do what he could to help (not necessarily trying to prevent Justin from remembering, but he would do what he could to prevent people from saying unpleasant things, from forcing Justin to remember. If he remembered on his own, that was another thing altogether.) So he suggested, "We could try some new clubs. We were always stuck in such a rut. The diner, Woody's, and then Babylon. But I've always wanted to branch out a little. Maybe start going to Boitoi or Pistol."

Brian quirked an eyebrow, but he smiled, too. And Emmett thought that he looked relieved, even grateful.