Chapter 16 – Secrets, Secrets Everywhere

Hospital food sucked.

Brian sat in the cafeteria, sipping a hideous coffee, listening to Justin and Molly talk. The two of them appeared to be able to ramble endlessly about nothing in particular. Brian had known about Justin's irritating habit of babbling, but with two Taylors it looked like it could go on for hours. As Brian pondered the issue, Justin's face broke into a huge smile at something Molly said. At the sight of the smile, Brian couldn't help but smile back. Brian focused in on the conversation as Molly asked Justin what his plans were.

"I'm heading to New York in the morning," Justin explained. "It's going to be tricky finding two places together that suit Lindsay and Gus and Brian and me, so I want to start looking."

"Lindsay trusts you to find her a place?" Molly asked incredulously.

"She gave me a detailed list of requirements," Justin said ruefully. "The hard part is finding something she can afford in the same neighborhood as something Brian would like."

"What?" Brian interjected. "Lindsay and Gus are not going to live in a dump. We'll help her pay."

Justin's face lit up at Brian's words. "That's what I told her, but I don't think she believed me. Talk to her, okay?" Brian nodded. Justin smiled and continued discussing his plans. "I called up Ari, my roommate, and Emmett's going to move in there when I move out, so that gives me less than a month to figure it all out."

"When are you moving?" Molly asked Brian.

"I'll be travelling back and forth for a few years," Brian said. "I am planning to go out next weekend, though."

Justin grin widened. "John talked you into coming to Marc's dinner? What excuse is he giving his brother?"

"He simply said that they hadn't seen each other in a while. He plans to ask to bring his business associate along at the last minute." Brian smiled back. "I don't think he trusts you, Sunshine."

"He probably shouldn't. Marc's hot." Justin raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I'll be sad when we have to break up."

"I think John's planning the break-up fight now."

"Who's Marc?" Molly asked.

"A friend from New York I'm pretending to date," Justin answered.

"Why?"

Justin opened his mouth to answer, realized he didn't have a good explanation and started to laugh. "I don't really know. It just kind of happened. One little lie and it grew."

"Tell me about it," Molly said, thinking back to everything she had learned about her father. "Why didn't anybody tell me about you and Dad? I feel like you've all been lying to me for years."

"When most of it happened, you were eight years old." Knowing blue eyes met the same blue, laced with innocence. "You loved Dad. Nobody was going to take that away from you."

"I guess I understand, but I'm not eight anymore." Frustration leaked through as Molly asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We don't talk about it. Even last year, when Dad had me arrested, you were only twelve years old." Justin's eyes drilled into Molly's, willing her to understand. "You didn't need to know about it. You still loved him."

"Only because I didn't know any of this!" Molly's raised voice drew glances. She paused, glaring at Justin. "Wait a second. He had you arrested?" Her incredulous volume garnered a "Shh!" from an elderly lady at the next table.

"Shit!" Justin looked disgusted with himself for letting that out. "Don't tell Mom you know everything."

"I'm going to have to - she's going to want to know why I'm not visiting Dad anymore." Molly shook her head, still in shock. "She divorced him. She'll probably be relieved when I don't want to see him." Molly took a deep breath in an attempt to focus. "Why did he have you arrested?"

"I went to the store to protest an anti-gay bill he was supporting." Justin face darkened at the memory. "He had me arrested to get rid of me."

"There are too many secrets in my life," Molly protested. "No more, okay? Tell me when stuff happens." Molly glared. "I still think you should have told me everything when I was bugging you to come see him."

"Don't worry about it, Molly." Justin reached out and touched Molly's hand. "I would have gone to see him even without you. He's dying."

"Justin!" The voice sounded from immediately behind Justin, and he turned to see who it was. The familiar face of the night shift nurse who had cared for him five years earlier smiled at him. "I can't believe this. " Her face lit up as she looked at Justin. "You look amazing. How's your hand?"

Justin got up to give Sarah a hug. She had been one of his favorite nurses. "It's doing great. I'm painting again. It still hurts at times, but it's not slowing me down."

"It's great to see you, and Brian." She beamed at the latter. "You're looking good, too. I bet it took you five years to catch up on the sleep you missed, didn't it?"

Brian smiled ruefully. "It wasn't that bad." Brian looked at Justin, waiting for the penny to drop.

"We all wondered what happened after you two left. I can't wait to tell the others that you're still together." Brian and Justin had been the topic of many conversations at the nurses' station.

Justin speculative look caused Brian to return a deadpan glare, one eyebrow raised. "We're still together." Justin continued to stare at Brian as he responded to Sarah. "I'm living in New York and Brian's going to move there soon."

Sarah's smile lit up her face, "That's amazing. And here we wondered if you'd ever actually talk to each other." She laughed with delight. "I'd love to catch up, but I was done my break when I spotted you, so I've got to run. It's great to see you two." Giving a light wave, Sarah exited the cafeteria.

Justin sat back down, his expression speaking volumes. Brian's responding stare challenged Justin to say anything.

"Amazing how well she knows you, given that you never visited." Justin's sparkling eyes belied his flat tone as he struggled not to grin at Brian's predicament.

"It's sad when a nurse becomes delusional," Brian's teeth clamped into a tight smile, "maybe she shouldn't be nursing."

Molly's eyes widened a bit at the turn of the conversation. She made invisibility her goal. She had to hear this.

"You are so full of it. You were here, and more than once, judging by how well she knows you." Justin's face broke into a huge smile. "Spill it. When did you come?"

Sliding his eyes away from Justin's, Brian responded, "It doesn't matter now. It was ten years ago."

"Five," Justin corrected with a smile. "Brian, it matters. When did you come?"

"Frequently." Brian's face moved into the sneer he got when embarrassed. "Fuck it." He leaned back in his chair, staring into Justin's eyes. "Every night."

"Every night?" Justin's voice shook. "I was here for months. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Only the nurses on the back shift knew," Brian scowled in the direction Sarah had left, "and that was obviously a few people too many."

"You were here every night for weeks and no one saw you?" Justin's raised voice caused Brian to wince. "When did you sleep?"

"I didn't." Brian's discomfort vanished, replaced with a raw look. "I couldn't."

"Why didn't you come in?" Justin asked quietly.

Brian hazel gaze filled with pain. "You know why."

Justin's hand moved until it touched Brian's arm. "It wasn't your fault. You saved my life."

"That's what they all say," Brian quipped.

"Because it's true," Justin asserted. An awkward silence reigned as Brian ignored Justin's comment.

Molly, stunned by the pain in Brian's face, decided to help lighten the mood. "Like I said - too many secrets. I read that if your boyfriend tells you a secret, you have to tell him one back to even up the scales." She grinned evilly at her older brother. "So Justin, do you have anything you want to tell Brian?"

Brian chuckled at Justin's dilemma, watching the expressions cross the younger man's face. "Don't worry, Molly. Widdle Justy doesn't have any big, bad secrets, do you?" At the look on Justin's face, all humor drained out of Brian's. "Shit. You do. "

"Just because Molly's read some stupid hetero teen magazine doesn't mean we have to follow her advice." Justin's refusal surprised Brian.

"What are you hiding, Sunshine?" Brian's face went stony as he watched Justin's fake look of innocence. "There's something you really don't want me to know."

Justin's face paled. "It's nothing. This is ridiculous."

"Who'd you fuck?" Brian asked baldly.

"I didn't …" Justin faltered, remembering how close he had come to fucking.

"The fiddler?" Brian asked harshly.

"NO!" Justin yelled, drawing the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. "I haven't seen Ethan in years." At the look of disbelief on Brian's face, Justin repeated it, "I haven't gone near him since I walked out on him."

"Then what's the secret?"

Justin looked around desperately, trying to find an excuse to avoid answering Brian. He looked into Brian's accusing eyes and saw pain. Whatever Brian was thinking, it wasn't good. Justin knew he couldn't leave it like this. Unconsciously mimicking Brian, Justin sat back on the chair with a muttered "Fuck it." Justin's eyes bored into Brian's, daring him to say anything. "It was Kip."

It took a second for it to sink in. "You fucked Kip!" Brian yelled. Brian got up, unable to sit as fury overtook him. "Why did you go near that son-of-a-bitch?"

Justin stood and got in Brian's face. "You idiot. I didn't fuck him. I just let him think I would and then I blackmailed him."

"You're the reason he dropped the harassment lawsuit?" Brian started to laugh for a moment before he made the connections and reverted to being pissed off. "What did you blackmail him with?"

"My age and my father," Justin shot back. "I got naked and then pointed that I was underage, talked about Dad's violent tendencies, and threatened jail. Then I asked him for a favor."

"You were alone with Kip, naked, and you threatened him! He could have killed you." Brian's voice carried past the doors of the cafeteria where Jennifer Taylor stood looking for her daughter. She closed her eyes briefly at the sight of Molly caught in the middle of an infamous Justin-Brian flame out.

"Unlike Hunter, I didn't fuck a murderer. Kip's an ineffective little cunt, and I knew it when I left Woody's with him." Justin stood toe-to-toe with Brian, glaring.

"You were seventeen! You didn't show shit," Brian's frustration with Justin screamed out of him. "I told you how to be careful and you went off with Kip?"

"He wasn't dangerous and you know it. What I can't figure out is why you wanted him in the first place. He was disgusting."

Molly's stunned "Hunter fu… slept with a murderer?" caused Justin and Brian to turn in shock at the reminder that they weren't alone.

Justin looked into eyes less innocent than they had been moments ago. He swallowed convulsively and swore under his breath. "Molly, I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear all that."

"It was pretty interesting." Molly gave her brother a wicked little grin, watching as her mother came up behind the two men.

Justin closed his eyes in remorse. "There's no excuse. I have no idea why I started channeling Brian and just let everything spill out."

"You should be so lucky." Brian smirked before turning serious. "Justin. Every time you see your father he throws you off balance. Father's can do that."

Jennifer's eyes softened sympathetically for a moment.

"Christ," Justin muttered, looking at Molly. "You cannot tell Mom you know any of this." Jennifer's eyes lost all sympathy.

"Too late," Jennifer announced. Justin and Brian whirled around to face her. "Not only do I know everything, but so does everyone else." Her glacial look took in both shamefaced men. "Thanks so much for sharing." Her glance around the cafeteria's stunned patrons highlighted the public nature of the fight. "Molly, we're leaving." With that, she turned and walked away.

Molly stood up, looked at her brother and grinned. "When you get your new place in New York, make sure it has a guest room." Justin rolled his eyes, causing her to reach over to give him a kiss on the cheek. She repeated the gesture with Brian. "See ya!"

Justin watched his sister hurry after his mother before turning to Brian. "You feeling a little exposed, too?"

Brian smirked. "Not as much as I'd like to be." He pulled Justin in for a lengthy, demanding kiss, then grabbed him around the shoulders and headed toward the exit. "We are not done with this conversation."

Justin closed his eyes as applause followed them out.

*A/N - Please review. I love getting them and have been known to edit & change course based on them. Let me know what you like and don't like about the story.