==I know I know it's been FOREVER! But school finals and life in general has been kicking my butt, but it's here now.

== I wrote about 5 versions of this so please tell me what you liked and what you didn't so I can deal with it. And I don't own anything, again. Please review! I heart you all just for reading.

Justin scrubbed his face with his hands as three weeks into the coma showed little signs of improvement. There was some brain activity, which was encouraging, but not enough to give anyone the confidence that Brian was going to be ok. Justin's eyes were in a permanent state of burning from crying so much, and he knew they were also always red, though Brian had once told him he thought it was cute. Justin wasn't just scared and worried about his husband, he missed him too. He missed the way Brian could turn any conversation into one about sex. How with one look he could tell Justin what he was thinking. How Brian would stop him from working on his art when Justin's hand would start hurting. Justin never knew how Brian knew that his hand was hurting. Sometimes he wondered if there was a certain time that he had to continuously paint for the old injury to flare up and Brian was just the only one who knew how long that time was. Justin shifted his hand that was holding Brian's tightly, and brought it up to kiss his knuckles lightly.

"You always knew what was best for me, even when I didn't." Justin murmured, holding the back of Brian's hand to his cheek. "Except when you told me I was just a fuck after that first night. It was best for YOU that I leave, not best for me," Justin told him with a soft chuckle. "Aren't you glad I'm a stubborn twink? Otherwise you wouldn't have married the hottest man on Liberty Avenue, and as the second hottest man, that would be unfair." Justin smiled sadly, hating that he could make these jokes without Brian rolling his eyes and saying some smart remark in return. It was unnatural and lonely. Justin knew how many friends he had, he knew they would be there at some point that day, and he could always rely on his mother. But Brian was his husband, his best friend, the one person he trusted with everything important. He told Brian things he hadn't even told Daphne. And there were times when they would sit on their couch in Britin, not talking, not telling the other anything, they would just feel and absorb, and love each other.

"It's the second door right there," the nurse, Christy said from down the hall. Justin looked up, everyone already knew where Brian's room was, why would she have to tell anyone. And her voice had been different, not the soft, caring, sweet voice they were used to, this time it was unsure and tight. Justin glanced back down at Brian who looked tired, he had dark circles under his eyes and he was slightly pale. But he was still beautiful, just was beautiful as he was the first night Justin saw him.

Someone in the doorway cleared their throats, bringing Justin out of his trance. There were two women, one clearly older than the other, hunched over, she had course, white hair. The other was younger but had the look of someone that didn't want to be there, that didn't care what was happening to the man in the bed.

"NO! You get the FUCK out of here," Justin growled, releasing Brian's hand so that he could move to the other side of the bed, to put himself between the people in the doorway and his partner.

"We are his family," Brian's mother claimed as though that somehow made her perfect and wonderful. Justin had to keep himself from lunging at them and manually making them leave. No, his husband deserved better than this, Brian was sweet and loving and giving, despite what his mother and father had done to him. And Justin had held his tongue around these people long enough.

"Family! Only when it's convenient, right? Only when it helps you, when you need money, or a babysitter, or sympathy!" Justin growled, knowing that the woman across the hall had cancer and didn't need a screaming match going on when she was trying to sleep. "I am his family! Debbie, Michael, Ben, Lindsay, Melanie, Emmett, Ted, Blake. THEY are his family! We love him rich, poor, selfish, hurt, sick, healthy, gay, and YOU lost the right to call him family when you told him GOD gave him cancer to PUNISH him for being gay. I have been sitting here for three weeks and have read that," he pointed at the Bible that had been in the hospital room drawer. "And you put God in a box, so small that he has no room to move. Maybe we will go to hell for loving each other, but that is up to GOD, not close minded bitches like you! And then you accused him of molesting you shit of a son, even though there was no proof other than that stupid little fucker's word." Claire and Joan stared at him as though he was a foreign alien that had just revealed his plans to slaughter all of man kind. "I have been hoping for THREE FUCKING weeks that he'd wake up, but now, I hope he stays asleep so he doesn't have to know that his bitch of a sister and krone of a mother waited this long to come visit him." Justin reached back and touched Brian arm, almost as if just to assume himself that he was still there. "And another thing, when he does wake up and this is over, don't you DARE come near him. He doesn't need you anymore, your approval or your need for money, so just stay the fuck away from my husband and our kids. And see if I don't take a restraining order out on you if you don't." Justin couldn't take it anymore, he had watched how these women had flittered in and out of Brian's live always taking a little more of Brian's self-worth, especially Joan, who for some reason still had power over Brian. Maybe if Justin could insure that Brian never had to see her again, he could completely release the woman that never treated Brian like she should have as his mother.

"You can't keep him from seeing him. I am his mother, I have a right as the woman who gave birth to him." Joan said, and Justin had the urge to punch her.

"That's all you ever did for him. How he turned out as wonderful as he is I'll never know. Because I know it wasn't how you and Jack raised him, maybe it was Debbie, or the fact that he just refused to become like you." Justin spit and Claire took a step back as though Justin had burned her with his eyes. Justin looked back at his partner, his face nearly healed, it was still a bit yellow, but it was Brian. "It takes him a long time to let people in, he doesn't trust as much as he should, he doesn't see how amazing he is, because of you. And you've always told him that God doesn't accept him for being gay but you know what, I believe God created him to be exactly who he is, and it's YOU that doesn't accept him and it's YOU that makes him feel like a piece of shit every time you are around." Justin inhaled deeply, making sure his voice didn't rise. "Well no more. Get out now. And don't ever come near him again." Justin said firmly, pointing down the hall, if he thought about it he sort of reminded himself of the 13 year old self that told his sister to get out of his room, pointing a lot like he was now, his legs shoulder length apart, set immovability on the ground. And much like his sister Joan and Claire pouted, pathetically,

"But we have every right to see him." She was starting to sound like a broken record, a really, bitchy, snobby, whiny record.

"No, actually, you don't," a new voice joined the conversation. Christy stood behind the women, looking furious at herself and Joan and Claire. "Justin is Brian's husband, legally you have no say what so ever in Brian's life, or who gets to visit him. So please leave as Justin has requested or I will call security." Justin deflated slightly in relief and squared his shoulders when they turned back to him. He nodded to the door, waiting for the women to say something else. But they didn't, Joan gave one last longing look towards Brian's bed, and Justin shifted so that he was blocking Brian's face from her and she and Claire turned and left but then Joan turned back.

"I always wondered why he was with you. Why he would be with someone almost half his age." Justin scowled but waited, "You are far beyond your years. I'm glad he found…someone that loves him as much as you do." Justin wanted to snap back, wanted to rebuke her, but he couldn't, there was nothing to say to that. So he just watched them leave, not calling them back, not saying thank you, in fact his eyes didn't even leave the spot she was standing. Christy paused, looking at him for a moment,

"I'll be right back, hon," she promised, making sure Joan and Claire left. Justin turned slowly back to Brian, who had slept through that.

"She may be a selfish bitch, but she's right. I love you more than anything." He leaned down and kissed Brian's lips gently, silently scolding himself for being disappointed when they did not kiss him back. He kissed them again, gently brushing Brian's hair back with his fingers. "Please, don't go without me." He whispered, going back over to where he had been sitting before he'd been interrupted and taking back the hand that he'd had to release. Several painfully silent minutes passed as he wondered how different of a person Brian would be without having been raised by his parents. Part of Justin knew he never would have met Brian without his hell of a childhood, Brian probably never would have even met Michael.

"Justin?" Justin looked up at the owner of the voice, though he knew already who it was. "Christy told me about Joan and Claire," Justin got a small sense of satisfaction at the distain in Michael's voice. Michael had seen what Joan, Jack and Claire had done to Brian more than Justin, Justin had mostly gotten the aftermath, but Michael had been forced to pretend he didn't see his best friend's bruises, or the redness around his eyes that comes from crying. Michael sat down next to Justin, who had looked back down at Brian. "Christy also told me some of the stuff you said to them." Michael paused and Justin looked back up, Michael smirked, looking at Brian, "I wish someone had said it 20 years ago." Justin smiled softly and sighed,

"Better late than never I suppose." Michael took Justin's free hand in his own, Justin looked at Michael surprised.

"Do you know why I hated you so much when we first met?" Michael asked, causing Justin to chuckle,"

"Because I took away any chance you might have had to get with Brian?" Justin replied, Michael smiled shaking his head.

"I really am transparent," he said, before nodding and releasing Justin's hand, "Yes, that was part of it. But another part of it was that from the moment he saw you, you were different, and I HATED that." Michael suddenly had Justin's full attention. "I met Brian when we were 14, there was nothing we didn't share with each other and nothing we didn't know about each other. I had seen Brian in every situation imaginable, including every way you can find someone having sex." Justin laughed softly, kissing Brian's hand. He loved this man more every moment and part of Justin loved that he too had seen Brian in every sexual topping position possible, and that was just what he'd done with other men. "And that also meant that I have seen every single look he has to give. There is the 'I'm going to pretend to be mad at you but I'm not really.'" At the same time Michael and Justin imitated the look, narrowing their eyes slightly and raising one eyebrow. They laughed once they realized they were mirror images of each other. "Then there's 'I'm really mad at you,' and 'You drive me crazy but I don't know what I would do without you,"

"Ooh I got that one the day before…" Justin cut himself off, looking down at Brian who still didn't look like he was sleeping. Michael didn't really know what to say, so he continued,

"And the 'I want to fuck you' 'I want to blow you' 'I want you to blow me' And then there's 'I want you' and the one only me, Emmett, Lindsay, Teddy, and sometimes Mel gets, the friendship love look. But you." Michael stopped, watching how Justin was looking at Brian in that moment. The 27 year old looked more broken and helpless than Michael had ever seen him, even after his own bashing, Justin hadn't had this look. It was as though his very soul had left. It took Justin a couple of seconds to realize that Michael hadn't finished.

"But me, what?" He asked, his voice tired and sad.

"When he saw you under that lamp post," Michael inhaled, "That was a look I never seen before, not on Brian." Michael thought back on that night, how still Brian had gotten when he first saw the blonde. Not still in a honing in kind of way, but in a nervous kind of way, like something unfamiliar had happened and Brian wasn't sure how to deal with it. But the next second it was over and the look appeared, that most people would view as an 'I want to fuck you' look, but it wasn't. It was calmer than that, less desperate, more unknowing. "It was the 'I need you' look." Justin looked at Michael, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"He'd never given anyone the 'I need you' look before?"

"Oh please," Michael said, "Brian made it his mission in life not to need anyone. I mean fuck, he didn't even need me, he loved me, but when we fought, he would have had no problem going on with his life. Maybe not at first but eventually. But from the moment he saw you, you were not a want, you were a need, something that pulled at him so strongly that he couldn't fight it. And we both know how hard he tried to." Justin smirked,

"And you tried to stop it too." Michael smiled, nodding,

"Yes, well maybe I was as selfish back then as Brian was, I just wasn't as much of a prick."

"Oh I don't know, you could be a pretty big prick yourself," Justin teased, laughing when Michael swatted at him.

"Smart ass," Michael muttered but couldn't deny that it was nice to see Justin laugh, at least a little. "Oh and another reason I didn't like you was that you weren't his prey." Justin looked at him again, confused. "When Brian saw a man he wanted, he became the lion and the other guy became the antelope," Justin rolled his eyes,

"What is this animal planet?" Michael glared at him,

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Justin waved hand for him to continue, "thank you." Michael said, looking down at Brian, "Like I said, lion and antelope, and once Brian decided he wanted that prey, he took his down, no hesitation, no regrets." Justin nodded, having watched Brian "hunt" countless times. "But from the moment he met your eyes, you weren't an antelope, you were a lioness." Justin would have normally made so comment about being the girl, but he couldn't, he just stared at Michael, his mouth open slightly. "You were always his equal, his mate, never the prey and as a lesser lion in the pride, that pissed me off. I felt like you hadn't earned your place to be by his side, I mean of course it took me about a week to realize that you were his equal, if not over him at times, and that pissed me off even more." Michael looked down at Brian, Brian wouldn't have approved of how pale he was," But it was always you, Justin, you were always going to be the one he was going to give up his childhood ways for, the one he was going to settle down with. You were always the one he was going to spend the rest of his life with, in one way or another." When Michael looked back at Justin he was alarmed to see tears streaming down the younger man's face. "Shit, I'm sorry…" though Michael wasn't completely sure what he was apologizing for.

"Oh God no, I spend more time crying these days then not." Justin explained, wiping his eyes, only to have more fall. "It's just…" Justin paused, "I can't lose him, Michael, he is it for me too. He always has been." Justin began to sob softly and Michael pulled Justin into his arms,

"Brian isn't going anywhere." Michael promised, blinking back his own tears. "The doctors say there's more brain activity right?" Justin nodded into Michael's Captain America tee-shirt, "See, Brian is going to fight until there is nothing left. And he certainly wouldn't leave without your permission, so you tell him to hold on and God himself couldn't take Brian away from you." Justin couldn't help but smile softly at Michael's words and pulled away.

"Thanks, Mikey,"

"Did you really call Joan Kinney a krone?" Emmett burst into the room, a look of pride and a bit of giddiness on his face. Michael looked at Justin, surprised,

"Yeah well…" Justin trailed off, but Emmett cheered,

"Oh Baby, I've been wanting to tell that bitch off for over a decade." Justin smirked as Emmett hugged him tightly.

"I was debated on just calling her a hag, but krone seemed more original." Justin joked and suddenly he almost felt normal, sitting around, laughing with two of his best friends, Brian's hand in his, the only thing missing was Brian kissing his neck, or nibbling his ear, or any number of things to distract him from the conversation. Still it was the closest to being ok again, he'd been in three weeks.

Ok that's it for this chapter. Now I have a question for you all, how would you feel if I had Ethan show up at the hospital? Just to be nice and see how Justin is doing, he's not going to be an ass and claim his undying love for Justin. I just thought I would be interesting. Let me know, if not, I have another idea. And review! Thank you.