"I wish they would hurry up." Daphne exclaimed impatiently; looking to the closed door of the sterile exam room for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I'm so excited, I can't wait."
"The waiting room did seem more crowded than before." Justin noted as Daphne laid down on the loud, white paper that covered the exam table. That was the fifth time she had completed the revolution from sitting to laying down in the 10 minutes they had been waiting.
"They make you wait so by the time they get here you are so stressed out they can prescribe you more medication, for high blood pressure or some shit, and funnel even more money in to the pharmaceutical companies." Brian grumbled from behind the magazine he was not even reading.
"Something stuck up your ass? And…" Justin laughed when Daphne chimed in to echo "…not in a life affirming kind of way. Besides, I believe one or two of those pharmaceutical companies have passed through the walls of Kinnetik over the years, have they not?" Justin challenged with a smirk.
Brian glared between the two as a short knock sounded from the door before it opened quickly. Justin turned towards the door to see Chrissy, the nurse who had been with them from the beginning breezed in, somewhat frazzled.
"Please forgive me, we are booked to capacity and, regrettably, understaffed today. Our ultrasound technician is, ironically, on maternity leave, so I am pulling double duty." When she saw the skeptical look pass between the two men, she smiled genuinely with a flick of her wrist. "Don't worry, dear. They don't trust just anyone to these pricey machines. I'm a fully certified Ultrasound Technician. Don't you worry your pretty little heads; I know what I'm doing."
Daphne leaned forward on her elbows, studying the woman thoughtfully. "Your name is Chrissy, right?"
The nurse fluttered, stunned by the woman's recognition. She was used to being the unseen warrior that flitted from patient to patient largely unnoticed. "Bless your heart, that is correct. The name's Christina Lennox, but everyone calls me Chrissy."
Daphne reached out to shake the woman's hand, relieved to be on a first name basis with the woman who had seen pretty much all there was to see of her over the past few weeks. "Daphne Chanders."
Chrissy shook her hand with a warm smile before turning expectantly towards the two men in the room. Justin reacted first with a slight blush. "Justin Kinney and this is my husband, Brian Kinney."
Chrissy smiled brightly at the two men. With the introductions out of the way, she set to work getting the machine working as she plugged cords in to various outlets and flipped various switches. "I'm so glad to see your little group back on this side of the process. I always worry, given the odds. Though it looks like you've got the system beat so far."
Justin's eyes lit up. "You remember us?"
"Of course, dear. You three are a hard lot to forget." Chrissy laughed heartily.
"I just figured you must see many different patients every day." Justin shrugged his shoulders.
"The occasional gems are hard to forget." Chrissy exclaimed with a wink as the blonde smiled widely.
Pushing a few buttons, the group waited while the machine came to life. Taking the opportunity, Chrissy directed her interest to the brunette in the corner, hiding behind the magazine. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it you do for a living? That's an awfully sharp suit you're wearing."
Justin pushed his leg against Brian's when the brunette didn't reply. Pulling his focus back to the present, Brian did his best to recall the question at hand. "I own my own advertising agency."
"Would I have heard of it?" Chrissy asked, with blind interest, as she pulled the monstrous contraption towards Daphne, who lay fidgeting on the table.
"We're based out of Pittsburgh, but you might have seen some of our work. Kinnetik?" Brian ventured as he sat up in his chair. This he could do. Talk about business, especially the business he had worked his ass off to make successful; this was comfortable territory.
"Can't say that I have heard of it, but take no offense, I get so caught up in everything going on here, I don't watch much TV when I get home." A quick frown took over the woman's face. "By any chance did your company have anything to do with that commercial with the squealing pig in the car with the pinwheel?"
"Fuck no!" Brian shot out appalled.
"Good, I hate that damn commercial. Gets under my skin like nothing else." Yes, Brian liked her, he definitely liked this woman.
Turning her attention back to Daphne when the machine was ready to go and the computer screen was waiting, Chrissy instructed Daphne as she pulled on a pair of sanitized gloves. "I just need you to lift your shirt up to just above your stomach. The gel will be cold at first, though I'm sure you remember." Daphne did as she was told.
Moving the machine around to the other side of table, she motioned towards Brian and Justin. "You boys are more than welcome to come over. This is when the fun really starts."
Justin practically jumped to his feet as Brian followed at a slower pace, laughing slightly at the blonde's enthusiasm. They took their place beside the table and Justin grabbed ahold of Daphne's hand as he had before. She gripped his hand tightly with a hiss as the gel came in to contact with her exposed skin before relaxing as the wand glided over her abdomen.
"Just takes a second to find…" Chrissy replied; focusing completely on the computer screen in front of her as she reached over to push a few buttons, switching the view on the monitor.
A few tense moments followed as Justin grabbed a hold of Brian with his free hand, before a rather loud thudding sound filled the room. Justin's hand became a vice around Brian's but he didn't pay any attention, he simply stared transfixed at the screen.
All coherent thought escaped him. This was, without a doubt, the most thrilling thumpa thumpa he had ever heard. No synthesized and overworked beat found in Babylon could ever compare to this.
In that short moment, Brian regretted having never experienced this with Gus. Another casualty of his misguided philosophy all those years ago. But maybe it had less to do with his age at the time and more to do with the blonde standing beside him now. Whatever it was, this foreign sensation was wreaking havoc on his senses.
Justin and Daphne locked eyes in a brilliant cast of emotional bliss as they listened to the rapid, healthy beat.
Brian realized, however, that something wasn't right. In that instant his vision seemed to blur slightly while his mind repeated the silent chanting of ' no' he had only once before verbalized. He contemplated not asking the question that hung behind his lips. A question he knew none of them were prepared to have answered. "Only one." He whispered to no one in particular.
"Excuse me?" Chrissy asked.
Justin and Daphne turned to the brunette, their eyes wide with amazement, not yet having grasped the reality that lay before them.
"Heartbeat." Brian clarified, clearing his throat impatiently. "There's only one heartbeat."
Chrissy frowned as she flipped through the papers on their chart and remembered back to their last visit during the egg transfer. Her heart sank when she looked back to the screen; realizing the brunette was right. "I am afraid you are correct."
The water that had been collecting in Daphne's eyes finally broke free, followed closely in kind by Justin's own watery emotions. The air seemed to physically escape Brian's lungs. After a moment, Justin turned to his husband with a soft smile; leaning up, his kiss ghosted over his lips as he leaned back with a quick nod of his head.
Brian almost wanted to laugh. In what universe would it turn out that Justin would be the one trying to silently reassure Brian that everything would be ok? Justin had never been weak by any stretch of the imagination, but Brian was used to being the one who did the reassuring when it was necessary.
Daphne's eyes remained glued to the tiny, almost untraceable little blob on the screen. Her hand shook in Justin's grip, but a smile tugged at her lips.
Chrissy watched as the group processed and then pulled themselves through the saddened revelation at the bittersweet turn of events; a small sense of pride washed over her at their resolve. Though she suspected that the brunette was struggling. She was all too familiar with the strong stoic types who tried to carry their entire family on their shoulders without ever asking for help.
"Listen to the speed and weight of that heartbeat. This little one is strong." Attempting to ease some of their anxiety, Chrissy added her own observation with a knowing smile. "My boys had strong heartbeats and I'll tell you, there isn't a thing on this planet that could hold them down, now."
As she pressed a few buttons, allowing the machine to print out a reading while the computer printed out copies of their baby's first picture, Chrissy let the silence surround them as the others in the room were lost in their own thoughts.
Helping Daphne clean some of the gel off her stomach, Chrissy was startled when the woman started speaking. "How many children do you have?"
"Pardon me?" Chrissy asked, confused.
"You mentioned 'your boys' a minute ago. I was just wondering how many children you have." Daphne corrected as she finished wiping up the remaining gel and lowered her shirt.
"I really need to work on watching what I say when I start rambling. My boys are my nephew's. Never had any children of my own, though those boys are about as close to my own as I suppose anyone can be." Chrissy smiled lovingly at the thought of her much-missed family.
"I'm sorry to hear that about you not having any children."
"Don't be sorry, dear. While I wish they lived closer…they are all the way out in Chicago, I see them as often as possible either flying out to them or wrestling them to come out here to visit. I always got the best of both worlds with them. I got to spoil them rotten and rarely had to dole out the punishments." Chrissy noticed that the two men had made their way back to their seats and were huddled together, speaking to each other so softly she almost wondered if they were speaking at all, if not for the slight movement of their lips. They must have sensed the shift in the atmosphere as they turned towards their friend and Chrissy.
"You know," Chrissy walked back around the exam table to take her seat between the table and chairs, fixing her attention to Brian. "You remind me a lot of my Ryker."
Brian raised his eyebrow.
She knew better, however, than to list her reasoning's for the comparison. Like her nephew, she sensed that this man didn't like having his qualities, good or bad, listed to him. "Ry is a beautiful boy, inside and out." She sighed heavily as she smiled buoyantly at the two men. "I just hope, one day, he'll find a man who will look at him the way you two look at each other."
[o][o][o][o][o]
Knocking on the front door for the third time, Brian frowned when he didn't hear any movement inside the rather large house that Emmett and Drew had bought a few years back. It was a respectable mix between the mansion Emmett had always dreamed of having and the country cottage he had always yearned to call home.
They had called when they left the clinic; the man knew they would be arriving soon. Where the hell was everyone? Brian tried the doorknob and found It to be unlocked. Turning the handle slowly, he peeked his head in to the foyer before opening the ornate door all the way to allow for Daphne and Justin to follow him in. Brian shook his head when he looked around. No matter how many times they had been to the house, the eclectic and downright fucking odd mixture of Emmett's love for everything loud and bold and Drew's brawny lack of style when it came to home décor, always left the brunette slightly horrified. The combined effect fit the couple, no doubt, but it was still hard for Brian to swallow.
A chorus of squeals and shouting sounded from the indoor sporting area; the one thing that Drew had insisted on having put in place before they moved in. By and large he let his flamboyant boyfriend take charge, not really concerned either way with what the house looked like; as long as he had his big screen TV and the year-round cable sports package, he didn't much care if they sat on beanbags.
Following the noise, the three stopped when they turned the corner and saw what the cause of the commotion was. All the gym equipment had been pushed aside so the middle of the large room was open. Crouched down low on the black mat, Drew looked as if he had never left the football field. One hand, knuckles down, steadied his weight as he instructed Suvi on how to start a play. The little girl, wearing a bright pink layered dress, lime green stockings and fuzzy pig slippers, adjusted the much-too-large helmet that hung all the way to her shoulders. Peering through the open front of the helmet, she mimicked his posture as best she could. She toppled forward once, but that was largely attributed to the helmet that made her top heavy.
Everything became silent before Drew yelled out an incomprehensible stream of numbers before the two jumped to action. Drew allowed the ball to fall from his hands so Suvi could recover it. Letting the child slip past him, he started running after her as the girl giggled to the point of losing her sense of direction as she turned to run right for the large man. Shrieking with laughter she ran wide around him.
Off to the side, and with his back to the group, Emmett hadn't realized they were standing there as he started yelling towards the two. "Stay in the end zone! No wait, run to the outfield." Emmett shouted excitedly.
Drew stopped to stare at the screaming man as he began to laugh loudly. "Outfield is baseball."
Emmett thought for a moment before he waved the other man off. "Screw it. Run baby, run!"
Drew took off once more after the girl as Suvi held on to the ball with all her might. Finally, realizing she could never outrun the much-faster man, she went for plan B and took off running right for Emmett. Throwing his arms wide, Emmett caught the girl mid-air as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet in cheer. "You did it."
When Drew started walking toward the bouncing pair, he noticed the trio standing back in the house. With a smile, he motioned to Emmett who was spinning the excited child around.
Daphne cleared her throat loudly causing the man to stop abruptly. Smiling brightly, his face slightly flushed from the excitement, Emmett bounded towards the group; Suvi bouncing on his hip. "I must not have heard you knock. We got a little carried away."
Justin laughed at his friend.
Daphne grinned as she stole her daughter away and showered her with unwanted kisses. Now that the helmet had been removed, you could see her glittery cheeks and randomly braided and curled hair. Pink lipstick colored her lips awkwardly while green eye shadow was heavily applied to her eyelids.
Emmett laughed nervously. "We were playing dress up." He conceded.
As the brunette was now in full-view, it seemed as though he hadn't escaped the same fate. His face was a mess of glitter and eye shadow, though his lips were a darker shade of red.
Knowing Brian would have field day with this revelation, Justin turned towards the man, only to find him staring unfocused in to the distance. Shaking his arm slightly, Justin noted the odd behavior but decided not to address it at the current moment.
Brian shook his head slightly before smiling down to the blonde. Returning his attention to the rest of the group, he took in first Suvi and then Emmett's appearance. Smiling, though his eyes seemed dull and his voice almost tired, Brain consented. "Emmy Lou, you're looking particularly ravishing today."
The comment was there, but the normal snark-filled remark fell flat.
Emmett, for his part, looked almost appalled at the brunette's lack of remark. Looking between the three, he noted that Daphne seemed exceedingly happy while Brian appeared almost robotic in his actions. Justin looked damn near perplexed as he studied the man he knew too well, though he found himself unable to pin point the problem. Emmett was dying to know what happened with the ultrasound but gauging between the radically mixed expressions he was viewing, he took hold of a moment of self-awareness and decided not to pry. He would find out soon enough.
Justin took over as Daphne thanked the men many time for looking after Suvi for them. Brian followed the duo silently out of the house as Justin promised to call Emmett later, wordlessly promising to fill him in on the details the blonde knew he was itching for.
[o][o][o][o][o]
Leaning back in to the thick, tightly stretched brown leather, Brian's seemed unable to stop his thoughts from twisting around the information they had received the day before. Daphne was pregnant, which was supposed to be good news. Yet all Brian could see was what that really meant.
Brian had kept an eye on Justin ever since they found out; waiting for the reactional surge to hit but so far he hadn't seemed to stop smiling long enough to process any other emotions.
Was he not grasping what this really meant?
Did he not care?
Or was he simply hiding behind a mask
Brian couldn't even laugh at the irony of those thoughts. He simply wasn't used to being the one with all the nagging questions floating around in his head. He never thought that this would be his point of contention, either, he had to admit.
Brian was pulled from the onslaught of thoughts berating his mind by a tiny pair of hands that were currently patting his knees. "Uncle Bri, look what I made."
Looking down to the small girl, confusion initially clouded Brian's mind before he was brought back to reality…to the dimly lit den in which he currently sat, nursing a glass of Beam. His eyes focusing and unfocusing on the flames within the fireplace that seemed to taunt him with their noisy crackling.
"What do you got there, Suvi?" Drawling the question in forced cheer, Brian pulled the small girl up on to his lap. She settled on his thighs with her legs bent under her small frame before she shoved a piece of paper towards him.
"For you." She stated simply as Brian took the paper and studied it.
Recognizing the yellow vinyl raincoat, shoes, and hat she wore whenever she painted with Justin, the corner of Brian's lip twitched as he remembered the first time he had seen the little girl in her painting gear.
"Look at what Uncle Juss got me, Uncle Bri. Now I can paint with him and mommy won't get mad." Suvi yelled as she ran in to Brian's home office, a virtual flash of yellow and curls. Justin soon entered the room with Daphne close behind.
Launching herself in to the brunette's lap, Brian held her at arm's length to appraise the ensemble. "Did you shop in the Paddington Bear isle or something?" Brian laughed when Suvi looked at him questioningly.
Justin grinned widely. "Bite me. The material won't stain and she won't ruin anymore clothes when we paint." Justin announced triumphantly as he turned towards Daphne who nodded in approval.
Tiny hands found either side of his face as Suvi implored the older man to place his focus back to her. She looked to him with raised eyebrows, a look Brian had seen countless times before directed at him by her mother. "Looks like you are all set, Suv. How about you go put that outfit to work and paint me something."
Just as she had entered, the child was gone in an excited flash.
Brian studied the girl's latest creation as Justin entered the room wiping his hands on an old rag, leaning down to place a quick kiss to Brian's neck as he passed the pair on the couch.
"For me, huh? It's beautiful," Brian exclaimed as he twisted the paper from side to side, not finding rhyme or reason to the unconnected colorful forms on the paper.
Settling down further in to his lap, Suvi took the paper from him. "It's the babies in mommy's tummy. Mommy said they put two babies in her belly and soon they will be here."
Brian's stomach churned at the girl's innocent interpretation of the very complex situation.
"That's right, babe." Justin laughed as he reached down for the girl and settled her comfortably on his hip. "There's a baby growing in mommy's belly right now, but only one baby, not two."
Justin noticed out of the corner of his eye as Brian downed the rest of the dark liquor in the glass he had clutched in his hands; his jawline strained against the tension.
"Oh, okay. When will the baby get here? Can I keep it?"
"How about we all share the baby, would that be alright?" Justin asked, smiling as the girl seriously considered his question, before she nodded her head in concession. "And the baby will be here in about 8 months."
"That long?" Suvi whined in obvious distaste.
"I'm afraid so, but it will go by quicker than you think. We want the baby to be nice and healthy, don't we?" As Justin spoke, Brian pushed himself brusquely off the couch, shaking his head as he practically stalked out of the room.
Scrunching his nose in confusion, Justin turned back to the little girl in his arms. "Let's go find mommy, I think she went for a swim while we painted. Want to play in the pool for a little bit?" Justin asked as he walked out of the den and towards the back patio towards the enclosed area of the indoor pool. Not one to enjoy freezing his ass of in the winter to enjoy even the heated variety, Brian had insisted after their first year at Britin, that they have the pool area enclosed so they could use it year round.
Setting the girl down on the stone floor surrounding the pool, he removed the paint splattered garments as Daphne swam towards them. "Done painting with Uncle Juss?" Daphne asked as she placed her arms on the edge of the pool, her chin resting on her hands.
"Something's up with Brian. I need to go talk to him." Justin motioned back towards the house as Daphne climbed the latter on the side of the pool. Taking over, Daphne located a bathing suit and floaties for her daughter before she waved Justin off to the house.
Walking purposefully back in to the den, Justin stopped for a moment to see if he could figure out where Brian was by sound. After a few seconds, and just before he gave up in favor of simply looking in each room, a loud crash came from the direction of Brian's office. Sprinting towards the room, Justin stopped abruptly in the doorway when he saw the mess the normally spotless room was in.
Books lay haphazardly all over the floor with papers covering nearly every inch surrounding his desk. Most alarming, however, was the heap of plastic and metal on the floor that was once Brian's laptop. Brian had treated that laptop like it was made of pure gold because of all the information he had accumulated over the years concerning his business and other various interests of his. It was obvious he had emptied the top of his desk on to the floor, but what Justin couldn't figure out was why?
"Brian?" Justin cautioned as the brunette whipped around to look at him, his face a mixture of rage and…confusion perhaps. "What's going on?"
"It's nothing." Brian clipped tersely as he leaned against the edge of his now-empty desk, his hands gripping the wood like a vice.
"Really?"
Brian noticed the way that Justin was slowly approaching him like a man would approach a caged animal in hopes of coaxing it out of the confined space. It both saddened and infuriated him all at once.
"Look, the art department keeps fucking up the boards for the Lightwell campaign and if we don't have something by 10am tomorrow morning, they're walking." Brian lied.
Justin's head tilted to the side, his eyes flashing as he stopped a few feet from his husband. "Don't you dare fucking lie to me. I'd rather you tell me to mind my own fucking business than to lie."
"Fine." Brian shouted, pushing himself off the desk as he walked to stand behind the chair. "Mind your own fucking business." With a short nod towards the door, Brian bent down to retrieve a piece of paper from the floor, as if it were suddenly the most interesting thing he had ever seen.
Justin stood rooted to the ground, floored by this sudden outburst. True, this came out of nowhere, but what worried Justin even more was the fact that this wasn't a typical Kinney tantrum. Justin was used to the way Brian would get in his face when they argued; he was used to the physical aspect of their confrontations…not abusive, but physical none-the-less. This time, however, Justin couldn't mistake the way Brian was deliberately distancing himself, putting even more space between them than already existed.
This outburst was an entirely new beast, Justin knew this instinctively. Deciding to give Brian the space he apparently needed, he would let Brian approach him if or when he was ready. Nodding his head sharply, his lips pinched together until they were nearly white, Justin spun on the heel of his shoes and walked back towards the door.
Closing his eyes at the sound of glass crunching beneath his feet, Justin reached out to close the door behind him.
"Justin…wait!" Brian sighed heavily.
Justin stopped but didn't turn around. Searching the recesses of his mind, he still couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.
"The art department really is fucking up this campaign. That is the truth. I might even need to enlist your help in straightening this mess out if you are up for it." Brian laughed nervously, his eyes raking over the back of his husband's frame. Justin finally turned around to face him but hadn't stepped back into the room, yet. "Unfortunately that is not what caused…all of this." Brian exclaimed as he motioned around the room.
"Either tell me what's wrong, or don't, but do not lie to me." Justin stated firmly.
His resolve broke with the anger; his voice rose dramatically, causing his husband to flinch. "Why is there only one?"
As much as he tried not to, Brian's anger flared at the blonde's ultimatum. Ten years later and he still had moments of reversion back to his old ways. That anger mixed with all the nagging questions and the bitter truth to push at his stubborn nature in a way that felt almost comforting in its familiarity.
This wasn't about pride or hurt feelings, this was about a loss; one that could never be recaptured.
And Brian wanted to know why?
Why the fuck was their happiness always contingent on tragedy?
And why couldn't he stop the anger and vitriol that flew out of his mouth, directed squarely at the one person he never wanted to hurt?
Confused by the brunette's words and the anger behind them, Justin waited for him to continue. When it appeared he was stuck in thought, Justin ventured forward. "One what?"
Brian took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. "Baby. Why did one make it and not the other? I knew the statistics and odds going in, but it still doesn't make sense in my mind."
"I don't know why only one made it, Brian. Is that why you are so upset?" Justin asked as he stepped closer.
"I…I liked the idea of there being two. A part of me and a part of you, bound to each other for life. Nothing would be able to break that connection." Getting a far off look in his eyes, Brian began to speak more rapidly. "It doesn't matter to me which one made it, whether technically it would be my child or yours, but…maybe it was because of the cancer? Maybe it was weaker because of me?"
Justin all but closed the gap between them upon hearing the brunette's last statement. "Brian, we don't even know which one made it and which one didn't, but the clinic knew all about your cancer. Besides, you passed the 5 year mark almost two years ago; you are considered cured."
"Yeah, technically." Brian cut in bitterly.
"Listen, I would have loved to have both babies." Justin nearly cooed as he stepped forward; bring his body flush against Brian's. He wrapped his arms around the taller man's waist, leaning back to look him deep in the eyes. "The idea that they would be biologically related, if only as half-brothers, was the reason we decided to only try two. Of course I am upset, but I am also so incredibly glad that we are still getting one. Whether this baby is biologically mine or yours, they will still be ours no matter what."
Brian still felt uneasy as the picture he had in his head of two little boys flashed alive once again; one with blonde, curly hair and the other a seemingly younger version of Gus with straight, nearly-black hair. Every time, however, when he would close his eyes, one of the little boys would vanish as the other reached out helplessly for his brother.
Before Brian could respond, he heard Suvi's little footsteps growing closer, squealing with delight as her mother implored for her to stop running. "Your uncles are busy. Stop this instant, Suvi, or bedtime will be directly after dinner. You are dripping wet, let me dry you off."
Daphne's threats proved useless as the slippery girl managed to evade her grasp once again.
Realizing they had only seconds before the girl descended upon the thrashed room, Brian's eyes grew large as he quickly looked to all the shattered glass that spread across the floor. Crossing the room in record time, he managed to catch the little girl just before she entered the room, reaching his hand out to stop Daphne from entering as well, noticing the woman's bare feet as well as her daughters.
Alarmed at the site before her, Daphne looked between the two men, her heart racing. She remembered Justin's earlier assessment that something was up with Brian and this was proof positive that he had not been exaggerating. "What's going on?"
Letting the air out of his lungs in a heavy rush, Brian held Suvi a little tighter to his chest; thankful the little girl hadn't been hurt by his neglectful actions. Ever since they had brought the little girl home from the hospital after she was born, Brian had always remained mindful of the little eyes, ears, and feet that roamed the house.
"Everything's okay, Daph" Justin said brightly as he walked over to stand beside Brian, nodding his head in affirmation.
Each crunch of broken glass under Justin's steps were like a punch to Brian's gut.
"Won't happen again." Brian attempted to reassure her, inwardly cursing himself. He promised long ago that this house would always be safe for Daphne's daughter. A promise he broke in a moment of weakness. A promise that he hoped to restore both now, and in the future. Between Suvi and the new baby that would soon be here, he could not afford to lose control, ever again.
Handing the damp child back to her mother, Brian found he didn't care if his clothes were ruined or if his shoes were damaged from the glass. "If you will excuse me, I have a mess to clean up." Brian replied as he looked back into the room before he turned around once more; a small smile forming on his lips. "How about we go out to eat for dinner? I suddenly feel the need to celebrate."
A/N – Fair warning, this might be the last chapter until after I am settled in, in Florida, but I will try my best to work on more before I fly out next Wednesday. But if it is a bit longer before the next chapter, I am hoping that this chapter (the longest yet) will make up for it. The last section with Brian's blowup has been my favorite part to write for the story and was actually the first scene I typed up and the basis for which I've written this story around, so this chapter has been a long time coming.
Reviews are wonderful and help speed up the process, so please let me know what you think!