Chapter 32 – Shock Waves

"Dinner was wonderful, Aileen." Lindsay smiled over at the smaller woman as she stood in the brightly lit kitchen drying the dishes. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your putting us up like this." Lindsay loved the new family she'd found in New York.

"Obviously you can, love." Aileen responded with a quirky grin. "You keep telling me over and over again."

Emmett laughed from where he was sitting at the table, sipping a coffee. "She's got a point, Linds. I've heard you say thank you at least twenty times already and I have only been here a couple of hours."

Aileen glanced over at Emmett, smiling at the sight of his chartreuse T-shirt in combination with peacock blue pants. "You can stop thanking me now and just enjoy the visit. I like having family over on Sundays. The kids love Gus and he keeps them entertained, giving us this wonderful moment of quiet."

A panicked scream punched through the moment of quiet. "Daa – dd - ee!"

Lindsay eyes met Emmett's in shock for a moment, before she rushed into the living room where Gus stood pointing at the television, crying hysterically.

Lindsay picked up the panicked child. "Gus, what's wrong?"

Gus buried his face in her neck, muttering. "Da, da, da,…" repeatedly.

Aileen had a moment to look at her own crying children, before feeling the impact of six-year old Sean attaching himself to her in a giant hug. She put a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Angel sat on a chair, curled up into a ball, not speaking, simply shaking silently. Liam stood in front of her, crying. Looking at her oldest boy, Aileen demanded with her heart halfway up her throat. "What happened, Liam?" At Liam's silence, she looked him in the eye. "Quickly, lad. What's going on?"

Liam's voice was soft, broken by hiccups as he tried to stop crying. "The cartoons were over, so we were just playing around." At Aileen's encouraging nod, he continued, "The news came on and Gus saw his dad. We were all watching and then…" Liam's small freckled face was shockingly pale under his bright red hair, "and then he got shot!"

"What!" Emmett exclaimed, watching as Lindsay sank down onto the couch with Gus wrapped around her. He pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call, Lindsay. You hold on to Gus."

After a few moments, he announced. "No answer from Brian or Justin." At Lindsay's horrified gasp, Emmett said sternly. "Don't panic." He gave an encouraging smile, "Something might have come up." Seeing Lindsay calm slightly, he smiled. "That's better." Hitting a different speed dial number, he continued. "Teddy will know what's going on."

He waited a moment, and then sighed as he said. "Busy. I'll try Kinnetic. He mentioned they were all working this weekend. Maybe they stayed late."

A moment later, a strange female voice came on. "Could I speak to Ted Schmidt please?" There was a momentary pause as she responded. Emmett's face paled as he repeated back the response. "He's at the hospital. What's Mr. Kinney's status?" Seeing Lindsay start to cry, Emmett sat on the couches' arm and put his arm around her and Gus. "Could you connect me to Cynthia, please?" He frowned at the negative response, his voice taking on a firm tone. "I am standing here with Brian's family. His son just saw the shooting on the news. I think they need to know what's happening. Put me through to Cynthia right now. I don't care how busy she is."

Moving the phone away from his mouth slightly, Emmett said. "He's in surgery. They're waiting to hear how it went." At Lindsay's terrified look, he smiled reassuringly. "He got to the hospital alive. The doctor's can usually fix it if they get to the person on time. Don't panic."

Hearing a voice come on, he turned his attention back to the phone. "Cynthia? Thank God! It's Emmett Honeycutt. I'm here with Lindsay and Gus. How is Brian?"

As he listened, his face broke into a huge smile. "He's out of surgery! He's going to be okay!"

Gus pulled his tearstained face up from Lindsay's neck. "I want Daddy!"

Lindsay was crying too hard to respond, so Aileen interjected. "Your Daddy's in Pittsburgh, Gus."

"I want to see Daddy." Gus' pulled himself out of his mother's arms to glare at all three adults. "We can fly."

Emmett stared in shock as Gus transformed into a miniature Brian. He'd always looked like Brian, but this was the first time Emmett saw the attitude. Looking over at Lindsay, he asked, "What do you think?" At her nod, Emmett continued on the phone. "Gus wants to see his father. Can you arrange for a flight back for Lindsay and him?"

Emmett smiled over at Lindsay as he heard Cynthia's agreement, but then turned more serious as he responded to her question about Lindsay's state of mind. "She's pretty shook up."

Emmett started to laugh at the response. "You're right. We'd both be dead if anything happened to them. I'll go along and make sure everything's okay." Emmett's face softened. "Thanks, Sweetie. I'd really like to come home right now and make sure everyone's okay."

A moment later, Emmett returned his phone to his pocket and gave Lindsay a hug. "Cynthia kept apologizing. She said it never occurred to her that Brian's shooting would make national news. She's booking all three of us flights home. Why don't you two go and get packed. I'll go do the same thing, and call you as soon as I hear back from her."

Gus looked over with an extremely determined gaze. "We'll be ready."

Brian opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the light before closing them again and attempted to speak. "Close the fucking blinds." Scratchy, weak and not at all clear, he started to wonder what the hell he had taken the night before.

"He's waking up," Justin's voice sounded off in the distance, almost eager. What the fuck was going on?

"It's a bit early, but within normal parameters," a strange voice replied.

Brian tried to speak again, but ended up coughing instead. His throat hurt like hell. He managed to open his eyes and saw white all around him. The memories flooded back the next instant followed by an intense wave of worry. "Justin!" Brian immediately tried to get up to find Justin, panicked.

"Shh! Stay still." A blond head moved into Brian's vision as a hand touched his shoulder, holding him down. "I'm right here. I'm fine. You're a fucking mess, but you'll be fine too."

Brian collapsed back onto the bed, relief coursing through him. He stared into Justin's face, noting the blood stains and tear tracks. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Justin's voice hitched slightly. "You were in surgery a long time getting the bullet out."

"How bad?"

"It hit your lung, but they say you're going to be fine." Justin paused for a moment, remembering the scene on the street. "Asshole."

Brian watched as Justin's eyes filled, then cleared as he fought back the tears. "What did I do?"

"Took a bullet that was aimed at me," Justin sighed dramatically, faking a smile. "Didn't you know Rage is supposed to be fiction?"

Brian snorted softly. "I had to do something. Everybody knows that mind control doesn't work at long distances."

Justin leaned down and gently touched his forehead to Brian's. "You're going to have to be more careful. I want you around for a long time."

Brian smiled at the memories the phrase evoked. "Don't worry. I plan to be. Too much to live…"

Brian's voice drifted off as the anesthetic kicked in again and he fell back asleep.

Justin's looked over the nurse with obvious concern. "What's happening? Why is he passing out again?"

A reassuring smile came back. "It's normal. He'll be drifting in and out for another few hours. We'll move him into the ICU in a couple of hours. He'll be in a regular room tomorrow morning."

Justin leaned over to kiss Brian's forehead. "I'm just going to go let everybody know he's okay. If he wakes up, tell him I'll be right back."

"Don't worry." The nurse smiled reassuringly at Justin, "I'll take care of him for you."

Justin entered the hospital waiting room and had to smile at the sight of his make-shift family. His smile faded slightly at the sight of Brian's mother and sister, whispering, separated from the group. Taking a deep breath, he announced loudly. "He's going to be okay."

Debbie responded first, with a bright smile of relief, a quick laugh and tear-filled eyes. "We knew he had to be. You can't keep Brian Kinney down." Her eyes took on their usual twinkle before continuing "- unless it involves bondage."

Michael shook his head at his mother as he got up and walked over to Justin to give him a hug. As he pulled back, he demanded. "When can we see him?"

"Not for a couple of hours yet. He's still feeling the anesthetic and he'll be in Recovery for a while."

Ted stood up with a huge smile of relief lighting up his face. "In that case, I'd better get back to work." He gave a small laugh. "I'm not sure Brian would think his getting shot is a good enough reason to take a Sunday afternoon off." Walking over to Justin, he gave the blond a quick hug. "Give him my best and tell him I'll be by when he can talk business." He paused for a moment. "If you get a chance, drop by the office, Justin. I have some paperwork on your new company for you. There's also a new Kinnetics campaign we need some input on."

Justin looked startled at the request. "Why me?"

"You're a partner in the company, and Brian's in the hospital. I'd rather not bother him with this one right now, but we need some decisions made." Ted grinned, not noticing the impact of his words as a sudden silence settled over the group. "Brian's told me more than once that he'd make you head of the art department if he thought you'd take the job. I agree with him."

Justin looked stunned for a moment and then a slow smile started to grow at the thought of Brian's confidence in him. "I'll come in when I get a chance. Thanks, Ted."

"Partner?" Michael arched an eyebrow, grinning. "How many blow jobs did that take, Justin?"

Justin chuckled, thinking back to Tilda Avery. "About ten million."

"Is that what that place is worth?" Ted gasped in surprise.

"You haven't gotten the appraisal yet?"

Ted shot Justin a sardonic look. "It may seem like years, but you just signed all the paperwork on the church two days ago. It hasn't even gotten to me yet. I'll start on it on Monday. The partnership papers were finalized only last week. I work fast, but figuring out the financial implications of all this isn't going to happen overnight."

"Sorry, Ted. I didn't mean to dump everything on you."

Ted started to laugh. "Don't apologize, I work for Brian Kinney. I'm used to it. Besides, my bonuses are based on Kinnetic's bottom line. Anytime you want to throw another ten million at the company, feel free. I can handle the paperwork." Ted gave a final wave before leaving.

Jennifer stared at Justin in shock. "Where did you get ten million dollars, Justin?"

Joan Kinney's voice broke in before he could answer. "Young man." Justin heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes at his own mother before turning to Brian's.

"Mrs. Kinney." Justin gave a cautious nod at the older woman. "What can I do for you?"

"Did I hear correctly? Brian is going to be all right?"

"Yes. He came through surgery and he'll be fine."

Joan looked off to the side for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning back to Justin. "I'd like to apologize for my earlier behavior - hearing on the news that my only son was shot. I…" Joan's eyes glistened with tears as her voice started to fail her. "I knew we didn't get along, but I didn't realize just how much…"

Justin leaned in, encouraging her to continue. "Didn't realize what?" he asked softly.

Debbie moved in as well. "What is it, Joan?"

Joan's chin came up, a bitter look on her face as she choked back tears. "It doesn't matter. I'll be leaving."

Justin could feel pain radiating from Brian's mother. His hand came out to grab her arm lightly. "Wait. What didn't you realize?"

Joan stared at Justin's hand for a moment before staring him in the eyes. "I didn't know that my son hated me so much that he wouldn't want me notified if he was hurt."

Justin shook his head as he realized what she had been thinking. "That wasn't Brian's fault. It just didn't occur to me to call."

Joan shook her head in disbelief. "You called everyone else. They were all here when I arrived. Brian must have…"

"No, he wouldn't, Joan," Debbie interjected. "My grandson Hunter heard the news and he called everyone. He's never met you, so he didn't know to call. I'm sorry it didn't occur to me to contact you." Debbie frowned thoughtfully. "Is that why you were so angry when you arrived?"

Joan dashed a tear from the corner of her eye. "How would you feel if Michael had been shot and no one even bothered to call you?"

"Fucking awful," Debbie commiserated in response.

Justin spoke up, pulling Joan's attention back to him. "It's me that needs to apologize. Brian was shot right in front of me. I wasn't thinking clearly." Justin radiated sincerity as he promised, "I'll do better next time."

"I certainly hope not." Joan's firm statement caught Justin by surprise. "I'd rather there wasn't a next time."

Justin gave a small smile as Debbie burst out laughing. "Definitely a better idea."

"Young man." Joan's face softened slightly before continuing. "Justin. I may not approve of all of Brian's choices, but I still don't want anything to happen to him. He's my son." Looking over at her still blubbering daughter, she snapped out. "Claire, it's time to go." She turned back to Justin, arching a brow commandingly. "Call me when he's able to see visitors." With a rueful smile at Justin, she added. "I know that might take a little longer when he knows the visitor will be me. Take care of him. I'll be praying for him." She patted Justin's arm in encouragement before turning to go.

Justin stood in shock as Brian's mother left the hospital, relieved the encounter was over and overwhelmed by the knowledge that Joan Kinney might prove human after all. His sense of relief vanished when he heard his mother's voice.

"Justin," Jennifer demanded. "I still want to know where you got ten million dollars."