Justin was convinced that Lindsay was behind the strange incident that occurred in Brian's office and was now desperately afraid that she'd take the baby from him. However, Brian didn't want to believe that Lindsay would do such a thing. At the dinner a week previous, he had told her in no uncertain terms that she'd never get her hands on their child, but he was simply trying to keep her from playing mind games with Justin. She was, generally speaking, a passive aggressive person, relying primarily on words to induce people to act a certain way, usually through her ability to instill doubt. This was her WASP heritage. Plot, poke, and prod, all the while smiling and acting like a friend. But never act against someone openly. That would reveal your secret motives, your agenda, exposing you to censure, and burn bridges.

Brian knew that Lindsay was no saint, but neither was he, and, so far, he'd been able to frustrate any agenda she might have regarding him, while still maintaining a good relationship with her. The flipside of her manipulative nature was her deep understanding of people, which Brian found to be quite helpful, as he purposely avoided the messy emotional entanglements that would grant him a better understanding of their nature and motivations. On top of that, Lindsay genuinely seemed to care for him. She was another mother figure, providing him with the love and compassion his own mother wouldn't dream of giving him. Of course, he knew that her affection was based on an unhealthy and unrequited crush, but, until now, that hadn't been a problem. In fact, it had been quite useful. He could get her to do nearly anything with a smile and a look, so he hadn't discouraged her infatuation in the slightest. In fact, he sometimes encouraged it.

Unfortunately, her manipulative nature, her profound understanding of people, and her crush on him were quickly becoming liabilities rather than assets. If she was determined to have Brian's child and Brian wouldn't agree to artificial insemination, she would probably try to induce Justin to give the baby away, presumably to her and Mel. Of that, Brian was certain. However, he wasn't sure just how far Lindsay would take this. She knew a great many secrets about Brian that Brian would rather keep hidden, secrets that might cast doubt on his ability to raise a child. That coupled with Justin's tender age and lack of resources could prove useful to her in court, should she attempt to sue for custody. To make matters worse, the law and the general public were still largely against children being raised by same-sex couples. He would need to prepare for this eventuality, though he hoped it would not come down to this. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and adopted family. He'd hate to be seriously pit against her. On the other hand, there was no way he'd let her mess with Justin's head anymore than she already had or get the baby by other more direct means.

After the debacle of a dinner at Lindsay and Mel's and Lindsay's probable involvement in the office incident, the mother tigress in Justin, awakened by the pregnancy, had very quickly quashed his compassionate nature and naivety when it came to her. He was sure that she had serious plans to take their baby from them; this certainty and fear were further heightened by the pregnancy hormones.

As a result, the boy had been having nightmares all week. Brian needed to do something, but he had no idea what he should do. He couldn't blame the boy for refusing to be in the same room with her, but the nightmares had to stop. He'd already been having trouble getting to sleep that week because of the pregnancy, as he was at the stage where finding a comfortable position becomes difficult. So he'd spend the first few hours in bed wiggling and readjusting his position, and, since he was almost always wrapped in Brian's arms at the time, he'd set about repositioning Brian as well. Then, an hour or two after the boy had finally managed to fall asleep, he'd wake up in a cold sweat, frightened that someone was coming for the baby. Brian would try to soothe the boy's nerves to the point where he could fall back asleep, but Justin was always too freaked out for that.

Brian was a little bit grumpier that week as a result of these developments, but he could live on a couple hours of sleep a night if he must. What worried him was the toll the lack of sleep and anxiety would take on Justin and the baby. Brian had to something and quickly. For the moment, all he could think to do was set up appointments with his lawyer and Justin's doctor.

The doctor had told Brian in no uncertain terms that Justin's stress level must be reduced, that he could lose the baby otherwise. That had Brian thinking of extreme measures. He had to set the boy's mind at ease, whatever it took. After meeting with his lawyer, he was convinced that the best option was for Justin to be emancipated from his parents, even though he was already 17, and then for them to take an extended trip to Vermont, maybe even move there. They would also need to buy a house somewhere, but where would take quite a bit of thought and discussion.

Brian watched Justin from his desk. Justin was lying on the floor drawing, of all things, ducks. He had snapped some pictures the day before at the pond near Ryder and was now reproducing them on paper. Brian wasn't sure how to approach the emancipation/civil union issue. Finally, he decided to simply jump in feet first.

He walked over to the couch and said, "Sunshine, come here. We need to talk."

Justin rolled over onto his back to look at the man, studying him for a moment before joining him on the couch and replying, "Ok. What's up?"

As Brian was thinking about what to say next, the boy automatically climbed into his lap, throwing his arm around Brian's back and nestling his head snuggly in the crook of Brian's neck. Brian couldn't help but chuckle. These days, they didn't sit on the couch any other way.

Brian asked slowly, "How would you feel about us making our relationship official?"

Justin's head shot up at that. He looked at Brian in astonishment, his eyes wide. "What?"

Brian responded, "You heard me."

Carefully, Justin asked, "Official how?"

Brian paused for a moment, but then replied, "We'd need to enter into a civil union…and the only place anywhere near here that grants them is Vermont."

Justin's eyes grew as large as saucers. "You want to move to Vermont?"

Brian shrugged. "We'd kind of have to or at least stay there until after the baby is born. Vermont grants all the same rights to people with civil unions as those who are married, but Vermont civil unions aren't recognized anywhere else just now."

Justin smiled brightly. Then, hesitantly, though he was still smiling, he asked, "Brian…are you basically asking me to marry you?"

Brian was about to say no (because, at the moment, nowhere but the Netherlands had any same-sex marriage law on the books, and even there, it wouldn't go into effect until the next year), but, observing the hopeful look on Justin's face, he thought better of it. Instead, he answered, "Sort of, as much as the law permits."

Justin turned in Brian's lap so that he was straddling him, kissed his lips gently, and nudged his nose. He whispered, "Then, yes, Brian, I'll sort of marry you."

Brian berated himself internally for the surge of happiness the boy's answer caused him. But still, he smiled. Then, Justin kissed him passionately and started grinding against him. When Brian squeezed Justin's ass, Justin moaned softly in Brian's mouth. In one swift movement, Brian laid Justin on the couch and pulled off his pants. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that the boy was going commando. Justin just smiled a very naughty smile. When Brian moved to prepare the boy and found that the boy had already done so, stretching himself with a butt plug, Brian's body trembled with desire and his eyes glazed over with lust. When the boy then winked at him, he divested himself of his jeans and wife beater in a matter of seconds and growled, "Get on your knees."

Justin giggled as he moved onto his knees so that he was bent over the couch.

Brian moved behind the boy and sheathed his cock. He pressed against the butt plug until the boy was panting and moaning, at which point he removed it. The boy whimpered in response. Then he slid his hands along the boy's smooth creamy white back and arms until he found the boy's hands, threaded their fingers together, and thrust his cock all the way inside Justin. They both moaned loudly.

Justin moaned, "Brian, fuck me hard," which set Brian on fire. He started thrusting hard, aiming for Justin's prostate. Justin met his thrusts and arched his back so that his head was nestled in the crook of Brian's neck and he could feel Brian's skin against his. In short order, they both came, still holding hands.

After they'd cleaned up, they were lying on the bed, Justin snuggling Brian.

Justin asked, "So where in Vermont would we go?"

Brian replied without hesitation, as he'd been thinking about it quite a bit, "How about Burlington? It's only about 4 hours away from Boston and New York City. It's the largest city, has a relatively large gay community, and four colleges, though I think you'd have to go to Burlington College. But Burlington College's fine arts program looked good, well, from a layman's point of view anyway, and it's a very selective school. Once you earned your BFA, you could go to the Vermont Institute of Fine Arts. With that school, you only have to be on campus once in a while…so you could live anywhere and work from home, well, assuming your studio was at home, and the faculty is filled with practicing, award-winning artists and writers."

Justin smiled against Brian's chest. "That sounds good. Really good, in fact."

Brian ran his fingers through Justin's silky blond hair, as he said, "Well, we have a little time to figure it out. The first step is getting you emancipated, which requires a short hearing."

Justin tensed up. He asked quickly, "My parents don't have to be there, do they?"

Brian chuckled. "Nope. You'd just need to prove to the judge that you're independent, you know, that you live on your own (well, away from your parents), that you have a good job, and that you've already graduated from high school."

Justin smiled again. "That sounds like a snap."