Justin confronts his mother over her duplicity; the girls begin to hatch a plot to force their fathers to deal with their past and to admit their feelings for each other.

Justin took a moment to watch Brian and the girls slowly drive away before he took a deep breath and hefted his art portfolio more firmly onto his shoulder. Grasping the handle of his rolling suitcase, he gazed up pensively at his mother's condo. Even though he had seen his mother frequently in Chicago since his and Brian's separation, he hadn't been back here to her actual condo since then. He found it hard to believe that less than twenty four hours ago he was going about his normal business, totally unaware of the subterfuge that was occurring behind his back, and now here he was back in the city where it had all started so long ago. The primary instigator of that subterfuge, also, was presently inside the brick walls of the building in front of him.

Taking one more deep breath, he slowly trudged up the sidewalk to his mother's residence and pressed the doorbell to the right of the screen door. He could hear footsteps approaching a few seconds later before the interior door was opened a crack and then swung wide open as his mother's face appeared in front of him. Her expression immediately changed from surprise to delight as she exclaimed, "Justin! Honey! I don't believe it!" Jennifer opened the screen door to sweep her son up into a firm hug; Justin hesitated for a few seconds before he, too, reciprocated by wrapping his arms around his mother's slim waist and held onto her to return the embrace. As they broke apart, he could see his mother peering around him as if she were trying to figure out how he had gotten there before she asked, "What are you doing here, Sweetheart?"

Justin eyed her intently. "I would think that would be obvious, Mom," he told her quietly. "Can I come in?"

His mother appeared flustered momentarily before she smiled a little nervously and said, "Of course." She held the screen door open as her son wheeled his suitcase into the foyer and waited for him to be completely inside before she closed both doors behind him. "This is a pleasant surprise..." she began behind him.

Justin turned to face her, barely able to contain his irritation. "Is it, Mom? Is it really a surprise? What did you expect would happen when you took it upon yourself to bring Kaylee and Katie back together without consulting with me and Brian first?" Justin dropped his art portfolio down with a thud to rest it against his suitcase as he asked her, "Do you realize what a mess this has caused?"

Jennifer swallowed the lump in her throat; she knew by the flash in his eyes and the expression on her son's face that he was pissed - royally. When she had conspired to get the girls back together - or at least provide them with the means to do it themselves - perhaps she hadn't thought everything through very well. Her main concern at the time had been trying to right what she had seen as a vast injustice in keeping the girls apart. If it also resulted in her stubborn son and his ex-partner also realizing they still belonged together, that would definitely be an added bonus. She should have known, though, that her fiercely independent, obstinate son might not look too kindly upon her 'assistance.'

"Justin...Can we go sit down and discuss this in the living room?" Her son stood there stone-faced for a moment before she added softly, "Please?"

Justin huffed out an angry breath to try and calm his nerves before he curtly nodded and followed his mother into the living room located to the right of the foyer. As soon as they were inside, he spun around to face his mother, brushing his right hand through his hair in agitation as he asked without preamble, "Mom, what were you thinking? How dare you interfere with mine and Brian's parental responsibilities!"

"Justin..."

"Mom, the courts forbade us to even acknowledge there WERE two children! They were not to be told until they turned eighteen! Do you realize how serious this could be now that they know? Not to mention that I have to deal with Brian again! Mom, I was just starting to finally come to grips with permanently forging a life independent of him and you go and do this! Now I have to deal with not only possible ramifications to the custody agreement, but I have to have everything dredged up from the past again with him as well! What gave you the right to disrupt my life like this?"

Jennifer sighed; she supposed she should have known this would happen. She could only hope that her son would come to eventually realize that this might be the best thing that ever happened to him. Whether that came to be, though, would depend upon her son and his ex-partner. Her son's extreme reaction, though, merely told her that he was not as unaffected by his ex-partner as he wanted her to think; she happened to believe that he still loved Brian deeply, and she suspected Brian felt the same way. There was only so much that she herself could do, however.

"Justin, please sit down and let me try to explain why I did what I did," she told her son with a beseeching look. Her son merely remained standing stoically a few feet away, his feet placed several inches apart and his arms stiffly crossed over his chest. "Justin, come on...You're already here; please sit down."

Justin stared at her for a few moments, all sorts of emotions churning inside him. Everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours was almost too much to contemplate. Sighing heavily, he finally walked over and fell into one of his mother's butter-colored leather recliners, the soft material practically swallowing his slim figure as he glared over at his mother from across the room.

Jennifer wrung her hands as she walked over to sit perpendicular to her son at the edge of the matching couch; only the ticking of a mantle clock nearby over the gas fireplace and the soft, rapid, angry breathing of her son could be heard in the silence as she began to try and explain her actions.

"Justin...I know you and Brian were bound by the agreement set forth by the court. I know you were prevented from telling the girls exactly what was going on. And I know what I did was deceitful."

"That's an understatement," Justin muttered under his breath, his face still furrowed with irritation.

Jennifer leaned over toward her aggravated son, his hands still folded over his chest as he breathed hard. She took a chance and reached over to place one slender hand on her son's knee to get his attention, a little relieved that he didn't do anything to remove it. "Justin, surely you don't believe that it was a good idea to keep each of their identities a secret from each other all this time."

Justin blew out a hard breath between his lips as he peered over at his mother with darkened eyes. "That's beside the point, Mom; the point is that it was not YOUR decision to make, and it wasn't just a matter of disagreeing with the court's ruling. You knew it would cause problems between Brian and me."

"Are you saying there weren't problems between the two of you before the girls found out about each other?" she pressed him. She squeezed her son's denim-clad knee as he met her intense gaze. "Justin, you still love him and he still loves you. Not talking about it all this time didn't make those feelings go away, did it?"

"Mom..."

"No, let me finish, young man," she told her son, reverting to her sternest of maternal voices and effectively squelching her son's attempt at a protest. "Someone has to knock some sense into you and Brian before you two continue to make the biggest mistake of your lives. You've already seen the damage that it's done to my granddaughters."

Justin's eyes flashed, the raw hurt still evident in his voice even now. "Mom, this isn't just about the girls and you know it! You know what Brian did! He lied to me! He had NEVER lied to me before! This wasn't a matter of him forgetting to bring home milk from the grocery or...Or telling some little white lie that I really hadn't gained a few pounds staying home to take care of the girls after they were born. This was about trust! It was about being faithful when he had promised me that he would be and it was about having no more barriers between us." He brushed a hand through his hair as he confessed painfully, "It was all I could think about, Mom; it meant so much to me. It wasn't because of the practical side of it; it was what it represented. And Brian destroyed all that for one fleeting moment of gratification. So don't go telling me everything can just be fixed with a stroke of your well-meaning intervention because it can't!" He could feel the burn of unshed tears behind his eyes as he sighed heavily. "What a fucking mess this is." He stared into his mother's eyes, noting the decidedly uncomfortable as well as guilty look on her face. Well, you should be, Mom...

Jennifer sighed. "Justin...all right; I admit perhaps I shouldn't have intruded." At the look of you think? on her son's face, she continued resolutely nonetheless. "But Honey, you've bottled your feelings up inside you for so long now. You refused to go to counseling after you and Brian broke up..."

Justin rubbed his hand across his face before he growled, "I fucking HATE therapy, Mom, you know that!"

Jennifer nodded, remembering how impossible it had been to get Justin to see any type of psychological counselor after his bashing; how ironic it was now that the man who had been indispensable in bringing her son back from the brink of trouble and loss back then was the same man now who was the cause of her son's sorrow.

"Yes, I know," she said quietly. "But I also know how much it's always bothered you that you couldn't see Katie growing up and be a part of her life. The problem is, though, Justin, you can't have your other daughter back in your life on an ongoing basis without dealing with what happened between you and Brian, because he's as much a part of her life as you want to be. Be furious with me if you must, but I think you have to admit that it's time you dealt with what happened once and for all between the two of you, no matter what the eventual outcome is if only for the sake of your daughters; I know you want what's best for them. Don't you agree?"

Justin stood up, feeling restless all of a sudden as he walked over to stand near the fireplace mantel. He picked up a silver, 5X7 picture frame displayed to the left side of the wooden mantle depicting Brian and Katie on horseback, undoubtedly taken at Britin. From the age his daughter appeared in the photo, it must have been a fairly recent picture. They were both astride separate horses, their smiles radiant and happy as they looked directly at the camera. His heart ached over all the times he had missed out on seeing his daughter grow up into the young lady she had become; in fact, being with her these past several days had merely made him even more acutely aware of that fact. "When was this taken?" he asked his mother softly as he held it in his hands and stared at the picture of father and daughter looking so happy together.

"About a month ago," Jennifer told him as she rose from her place on the couch and walked over to her son. She smiled wistfully. "It was taken at Britin," she told Justin as he nodded. "Katie had just won a blue ribbon at the local county horse show. She's become quite the equestrian, Justin; she's very confident and graceful when she's riding Eton."

Justin placed the photo back on top of the mantel gingerly as he whispered, "I always thought that was an odd name for a horse. But Brian insisted on it anyway; he said it meant rich. Initially I thought he was making some statement about his financial worth, but I can remember him saying to me, No, Sunshine...It means we're rich in OTHER ways." He ran one long, tapered finger over the profile of Katie astride Eton in the photo before he turned to face his mother from a few feet away. He took a deep breath to try and swallow the emotional lump in his throat. "Mom...I'm afraid to have all those feelings dredged up again," he admitted. "Just being with him again...for only a short time..."

Jennifer digested that piece of information. "You've seen him already?"

"How do you think I got here? Brian found out first what you had done and brought Kaylee back up to Chicago with him to return her. I had had my suspicions ever since we returned from the camp that there was something different about Kaylee, but I hadn't put two and two together yet when he showed up with her out of the blue."

Jennifer frowned. "But I don't understand. If he figured out what was going on, and returned Kaylee back home, why are you here in Pittsburgh then?" She was hoping that meant that Justin had already figured out that she was right; that he DID need to work things out with Brian after all. His demeanor when he had first arrived, though, didn't seem to bear that out.

Justin snorted. "I'm here because of two conniving, scheming little girls, that's why. It seems they take after their paternal grandmother in that regard."

"What do you mean?"

Justin blew out a breath between his lips as he explained, "Brian and I sent the girls up to Kaylee's room so we could talk and have Katie pack for the return trip home. When they came back down, though, they were both wearing some of Kaylee's clothing; now that Kaylee has her hair cut like Katie's I can't tell them apart and they're not talking, either."

Jennifer looked at the frustration on her son's face but couldn't help bursting out laughing; that sounded so much like her self-sufficient granddaughters, especially Katie. Good for you, girls...

Justin huffed, not feeling amused at all. "This isn't funny, Mom! They're just making things harder than it needs to be."

Jennifer placed her hand over her mouth to calm down before she replied, "Well, they don't call them identical twins for nothing. As I recall, they don't even have a birthmark on their bodies to tell them apart." She knew, also, that Kaylee had gotten her hair cut short to look like her sister's. Despite her son's indignant face, she couldn't help remarking, "Reminds me of someone else who would go to all sorts of tricks to get what they wanted when they were growing up."

"Mom, this is serious! This isn't the same as me changing a "D" on my report card to a "B!" Justin was certain that was what his mom was talking about; the only time he had gotten a bad grade in school was back in 4th grade spelling; the teacher at the time, Mr. O'Donnell, seemed to take inordinate glee in finding words no 11-year-old child would possibly ever use in their normal range of conversation. Only later did Justin come to appreciate the vocabulary words the teacher had subjected them to; that is, much later - after he had had to serve a two-week detention for doctoring his grade.

"No, it's not," his mother agreed quietly as she looked over sympathetically at her son. "But I think it does show how badly those girls don't want to be apart any longer - and how much they want their fathers back together again."

Justin sighed. "Now don't you start," he warned her. "I've already made it abundantly clear to the girls that I am merely back here to try and hopefully get the custody agreement changed. Now that they know about each other - however it came to pass - Brian and I will have to petition the court to change the agreement." He looked intently at his mother as he admonished her, "Don't go putting any romantic notions into their brains, Mom; trust me, they already have enough floating around in their little blond heads already."

Jennifer eyed her son compassionately; she could see - and hear - the turmoil in him; it was apparent in his body language and in his voice that he was hurt over what had happened but still harbored deep feelings for his ex-partner even now. For it to have been so long ago, she knew there were a lot of issues that still needed to be resolved between her son and Brian. It still amazed her how her own feelings for Brian had done such a 180-degree turn since the first time she had met him. Of course, Brian had done a lot of maturing and growing up over the years to the point where she had learned to respect - and love - him. She didn't always agree with what he did - his flagrant transgression that one day at work being among the most egregious - but she still knew that he loved Justin and that her son loved him. As the saying goes, though, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. She had succeeded in finding a way for the two of them to at least open up some sort of dialogue again; whether her efforts - and her granddaughters' - would bear any worthwhile fruit as a result would be up to them now.

"I understand," she told her son softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, feeling the stiffness and tension underneath her touch. "But now that you're here - in Pittsburgh - don't you think it's time you and Brian talked about what happened?"

Justin gave her a long-suffering look. "Mom..."

Jennifer raised her hands as if in surrender. "Okay, okay," she murmured with a soft smile as Justin sighed again wearily. "Enough said about it for now. Where are the girls? With Brian?"

Justin nodded. "They wanted to spend some time together and I needed to talk to you alone, so Brian took them home with him to Britin."

His mother absorbed this information curiously. While her son acted like he didn't want to go down memory lane again with his ex-partner, apparently he didn't have an objection to Brian taking the girls home with him, though. Although perhaps she shouldn't be too surprised; there had never been any issue over whether or not Brian was a good father; Justin had never doubted that at least. She nodded. "So they're getting along well together, then? I mean, the girls?"

For the first time, Justin flashed a hint of his trademark smile over the thought of both girls bonding so deeply in such a short time as he nodded. "Yeah. They're very close to each other already." He grimaced. "Maybe a little too close; I kept trying to trip them up on the way home so I could tell which one was which, but every time I thought I had them dead to rights they started whispering among themselves and wouldn't give me a straight answer."

Jennifer had to chuckle at that as Justin grinned at her wryly; even he could see the humor in the situation, despite the circumstances. "Little schemers," he muttered as his mother smiled at him. "Brian's not helping, either. In fact, I think he's enjoying the whole damn thing just a little too much."

"They're very smart little girls, Justin," she told him with just the smallest hint of pride in her voice. She could see a lot of her son in both of them, but also Brian's influence, too. She couldn't really be sorry that she had helped bring them together, even if it HAD been underhanded. If it served to allow the girls to rediscover each other again, as well as perhaps provide the catalyst to bring their fathers together once more, it would all be worth it.

"Too smart," Justin agreed as the room grew quiet.

"You eaten anything yet for dinner?" Jennifer asked her son softly as the silence became prolonged.

Justin shook his head in response; with everything that had happened today food - for a change - had been the last thing on his mind.

"Well, I'm assuming since you're here by yourself with suitcase in tow that you're planning on staying with me tonight? I'll fix us some sandwiches and get the leftover macaroni salad out of the fridge," she told him.

Justin nodded. "Okay...Thanks." Trying to sound unaffected by it, he advised her casually, "By the way, Brian's invited you and me for dinner tomorrow night at six; at Britin." Just the mention of his and Brian's old home that he had named and where so many memories had been forged made his heart flutter. He had to admit to himself silently that part of him was looking forward to seeing their home again, but an even larger part was dreading it because of everything that would bubble up to the surface as a result of being there once more. There had been a lot of happy memories created there, though - between him, Brian, and the girls; how he would feel being back on their old, sentimental turf again was uncertain to him at the moment.

Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise; for someone who had been so upset about being forced to relive old memories, her son's agreeing to return to Britin to have dinner with Brian and the girls seemed to be a contradiction. Perhaps Justin's heart was ruling his decisions a little more than his head presently. In either case, she was happy that he had at least agreed to visit Britin. "Sounds good; that should work out fine," she told him, careful not to let any hopefulness enter her own voice. "I have a couple of house closings to attend, but they should be done well before then. You want me to drive us out there?"

Justin nodded. "That's what I told Brian I would have you do, if that's okay." His mother nodded in agreement and turned to go, but Justin reached out and grabbed her forearm to stop her. She looked at him curiously as he informed her, "Mom, I still don't agree with the way you handled this; I understand WHY you did it, but I don't agree with how you went about doing it. But now that the girls know about each other, it can't be undone...And I realize how important it is that they remain part of each other's lives. That's the main goal I want to accomplish while I'm here - to try and petition the court to change the custody agreement. I think Brian and I can put aside our differences long enough to accomplish that. But that's the only reason why I'm here; okay? As soon as the girls have a chance to spend a little more time together, and as soon as the court issue is resolved, I'll be going back to Chicago where my life is now. The girls can continue to see each other on a frequent basis throughout the year. I won't let them stay apart like they were before."

Jennifer gazed into her son's beautiful face; it was an older face now, still attached to a fiercely independent soul. She knew there was a lot of hurt buried deep inside, though, so she didn't buy that story for a second. He might want to believe it, to make things easier on himself. But she knew deep down that it was not going to be as cut and dried as he might lead her to believe; something told her that Brian would see to that - and the girls. She didn't feel that now was a good time to call him on it, though, for fear he would just get more upset with her. So instead she nodded her understanding as she tenderly smiled back at him and said, "I'll go get us some dinner, Sweetheart. Why don't you take your things up to the spare bedroom and wash up in the meantime?"

Justin nodded as his mother reached over to give him a quick peck on the cheek. As she watched him heft his art portfolio up onto his shoulder and begin to wheel his carry-on over toward the hallway, she couldn't help gazing after him thoughtfully, knowing that her son was about to confront some long-ago emotions that he had suppressed but also realizing that it might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to him, the girls, AND Brian.

Same Time - Britin

"Girls? Come on down - I've got your dinner ready!" Brian called up the steps as he stood with his hand grasping the smooth, curved hardwood knob of Britin's staircase, hearing the rapid footsteps approaching a few seconds afterward. He smiled as two giggling girls hurried down the steps almost at a full run, noting that Katie had on more typical attire now than before. She was wearing a plain, light-blue, short-sleeved tee shirt with a photo of a horse and the words Let's Horse Around scrawled across her chest in flowing silver script and a pair of her favorite, slightly threadbare jeans. He knew his daughter wouldn't waste time changing into her own clothes once they had arrived back home and Justin wasn't around to discern the difference, and it seemed his hunch had been correct. He would have to continue cautioning them, however, to be extremely careful once Justin was back or their attempt to thwart his efforts to tell them apart would disintegrate.

"Slow down, girls!" he cautioned them, afraid one or both of them would slip on the smooth surface; both were in their stocking feet at the moment, making the hardwood steps even slicker. Brian shook his head in amusement as both girls came to a flying stop at the bottom of the steps right next to him.

"Hi, Dad! What's for dinner?" Katie asked him, her blue eyes peering over at him curiously. "Tell me it's something fattening and sinful," she implored dreamily, missing her favorite food terribly while she had been gone. That - and her horses, and her father, of course - had been the worst part, even more than having to dress up like some real-life Barbie doll in Kaylee's prissy clothing while she had been in Chicago.

Brian grinned, knowing how much his daughter had probably been deprived of 'real' food. "How about a double-decker cheeseburger, thick-cut steak fries, and a Coke float?" Katie's eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite meal; Brian turned to Kaylee, noting her nose crinkling in distaste at the thought as he advised her, "I fixed you and me a turkey burger instead on a whole-wheat bun and some sweet-potato fries; I hope that's okay." He was rewarded with a grateful smile from both girls as they impetuously hugged their father around the neck and gave him a kiss on each cheek.

"Come on," he told them in mock gruffness, feeling emotion bubbling inside him at the knowledge that he had both girls back with him again. It felt surreal to him, but also wonderful; it felt right. Now if only they could find a way to place the one, vital piece of the puzzle back into place where he belonged...

He tamped down the morose thought and forced himself to turn his mind away from Justin for the time being as he let go of both girls and said softly, "Let's go eat before dinner gets cold." He placed a hand on either of his girls' shoulders as they all walked down the hallway toward the expansive kitchen. "I thought we could eat out on the back patio," he told them. "Katie, will you get the ketchup, paper plates and napkins down from the cupboard? Kaylee, I could use a hand with the iced tea pitcher and the glasses."

A few minutes later, the trio was sitting companionably at the round, glass-topped patio table, observing the quickly-setting rays of the sun lowering over the horizon beyond the stables at the back of the estate. Katie had insisted on visiting Eton and Ceres as soon as they had arrived back home; Kaylee had watched warily from several feet away at the time, wondering whether Katie had missed the horses more or the horses had missed her sister more. Of course, the large, shiny red apples Katie had held out to each of them might have influenced how much she had been missed, because she apparently spoiled both horses terribly, but the smile of delight on her sister's face revealed that she didn't care either way.

Kaylee had hung back just far enough to feel safe with her father's arm comfortingly around her shoulders; the massive size of both horses still tended to intimidate her somewhat. She thought longingly of her cats back home, missing them just as much as her sister had missed her horses but knowing that their neighbor, a big cat lover herself, would take good care of them while she and her father were gone. How long she would be away from her beloved Dali and Picasso would be determined in large part by how successful she, her sister, and her father were in convincing her stubborn daddy that they all belonged together again. She refused to think of any other outcome.

Now as the three of them polished off their burger and fries, Kaylee turned to catch her father's gaze, blushing a little at the tender smile he bestowed upon her. It was still just a little hard to believe that here she was, sitting next to the father she had dreamed of being with for so long and with a sister she had only recently become reacquainted with.

"Something on your mind, Princess?" Brian murmured as he watched his daughter bite her lip in thought; he was still learning all the nuances of Kaylee's body language, but he had learned enough to know that her mind was preoccupied with something.

"I was just thinking about tomorrow," she admitted as Katie nodded in agreement a few feet away from her; the two of them had been unable to concentrate on practically anything else ever since they had dropped their other father off at their Grandma Jen's house. The two of them had been discussing the situation upstairs in Katie's room, trying to come up with ways to help bring both of their fathers back together. They had brainstormed several possibilities as to how to force more communication between them, eventually coming up with one that would involve getting some outside help. That was where tomorrow's visit to the diner would come in handy, they decided, because they both knew that their Grandma Debbie would know just what to do and how to contact their co-conspirator. The two girls, however, had sworn themselves to secrecy for now, even around their father. They had decided that while their Dad was solidly in their camp, they also figured their shroud of secrecy was more important; at least if their father didn't know their plans they figured he couldn't be blamed for any backlash that might result, so it was really for his own good. They didn't want their Daddy accusing him of any more deception.

Brian studied his daughter carefully. "You mean dinner - with your father?" he asked her softly as his fingers idly played with Kaylee's more coarser waves of golden hair, the texture different than Justin's but still reminding him of her father.

Kaylee nodded, her heart beginning to beat a little faster simply by thinking about tomorrow night.

Brian thought it was important to reassure her of something. "Kaylee, you know that no matter what happens tomorrow between your father and me, he loves you, just like he does Katie."

"And he loves you, too," she pointed out quickly, not wanting to waste an opportunity to mention it again.

Brian sighed softly as he dropped his hand away from his daughter's head, knowing exactly what his daughter was trying to say. "We've covered this before, Princess; sometimes simply loving someone isn't enough to fix things." If it were, none of this would have happened...

"Dad, can we ask you something?" Katie asked her father as she walked over to join them, knowing that Kaylee would be hesitant to broach the topic, even though it had been uppermost on both of their minds earlier in her bedroom upstairs.

Brian nodded with an affectionate smile. "Of course, Chiquitita," he told her. "What do you want to know?"

Katie paused for a moment as she exchanged a look with her sister, who nodded at her slightly as a sign of encouragement for her to continue. "Back in Chicago - when you told Kaylee and me to go upstairs?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...We didn't go to her room at first," she admitted to her father, staring at him unflinchingly with those insane blue eyes that were a carbon copy of someone else's.

Brian nodded solemnly as he swallowed hard, not quite liking where their conversation was heading. "I see...Why?"

Katie looked over at her sister again for a moment before she took a deep breath to steel herself and told her father, "We wanted to know what the two of you would say to each other."

Brian's pupils rapidly shifted from to side to side; a gesture he always did when he was nervous about something. "And what exactly did you hear, Katie?"

Katie bit her lip briefly before she let out a breath between her lips. "We...We heard you talking about why you broke up. About what happened to cause it."

Brian pursed his lips together in awkwardness; he should have known his two intelligent, inquisitive daughters wouldn't have gone straight up to Kaylee's room as they had been told to do. Why hadn't he and Justin had enough sense to close the door to the living room before they had rehashed what had happened between them? Just like with the fact that the girls knew about each other now, though, it was way too late to put the genie back into the bottle about his and Justin's conversation in Chicago. He would have to tell his daughters something.

Brian sighed in resignation as he stared over at both wide-eyed girls, trying to formulate just the right thing to say. He felt guilty enough about what had happened; now he had to try and explain what he wasn't even sure he understood himself to his and Justin's impressionable daughters. "How much did you hear?" he asked both of them cautiously.

Ceding to her sister, Kaylee nodded at Katie to continue as she responded with a choked up voice, "Enough. Enough to know that you cheated on Daddy." Her eyes filled with tears of disappointment as she asked Brian forlornly, "Why would you do that, Dad? Why would you do that when you loved him? When you loved us? Is that why he left? Weren't we good enough for you?"

Shit. Talk about stabbing my heart with a knife and twisting it afterward. Brian swallowed hard in response to the hurt, accusatory tone of his daughter's voice. He had tried more times than he could count since then to answer that question himself; just exactly what was wrong with him? Why HAD he done what he had done? Did he have such little confidence in his own advertising acumen back then that he had had to resort to some more 'primitive' form of persuasion to win over a client? Yes, he could try and blame it on his fucked-up parents at the time - they were always good for several rounds of convenient excuse creating when need be - but he knew deep down that wasn't the reason. Was he that screwed up and indifferent that he couldn't keep his pants zipped up in deference to being faithful to the one man who deserved such a commitment?

He inhaled a deep breath and let it out as he looked over at his daughters, pondering just how to respond. He finally replied softly, "I'm sorry you two had to hear that, Katie. That is definitely an issue that your father and I need to hash out while he's here." He reached over to take the hands of both girls as he told them firmly, "but there IS one thing I never want either of you to doubt; there was never any question of whether you were ever 'good enough for me.' I've loved both of you from the first second I saw you and that has never changed; it will never change, no matter what happens. I will always be your father, just like Justin is." He let out another breath before he told them, "As far as why I did what I did...You want the honest truth?" Both girls nodded, mesmerized by the conversation, as he explained honestly, "I ask myself that same question every day since it happened. And the God's honest truth is that I still don't really know why."

He let go of both girls' hands to stand up and turn around to stare out over the gently rolling hills of Britin in an attempt to try and calm his rapidly-beating heart, suddenly feeling embarrassed and ashamed over his previous actions. "I'm not proud of what happened," he told them, his hands clasped behind his back. "And I would take back what I did in an instant if I could. I know I hurt your father deeply that day." Even now the expression on Justin's face at Kinnetik when he realized what he had done haunted him still; to have disappointed Justin was one of the worst failures of his life.

He turned back around to face his daughters. "I know you both are still young, but you're also both very mature for your age; I guess you've had to grow up fast because of what happened to you. I won't go into all the details, but let's just say that before you were born my lifestyle was a lot different than it is now; I handled stress and competition much differently back then. And when I was feeling especially anxious that day I reverted back to that old lifestyle. Do I regret what I did to your father? You know that I do; every single day. But you know what hurts most of all?" Both girls shook their heads silently as Brian let out a heavy breath. His voice stumbled a little as he told them, "Thinking that I've disappointed both of you or that you're ashamed of me."

Katie stole a glance at her sister before replying hastily, "Dad...We both love you no matter what happened. And look at it this way; now you have a chance to fix what you did."

Brian bestowed a tender smile of gratitude on both his girls at the rather simplistic response. "It won't be that easy, Katie; your father can be very stubborn."

Kaylee snorted at her sister's side as she rolled her eyes knowingly. "That's for sure!" Brian couldn't help chuckling at that statement as Kaylee added earnestly, "But he still loves you, Daddy; he told me so. You'll just have to work hard to make up for what you did. Katie and I know you can do it, though. You're not going to give up on him, are you?"

Brian swallowed to gain some self-control before he reached down to tenderly cup each daughter's cheek with one of his hands as he vowed, "Give up? Not on your life! We're all in this together, remember?" Somehow he knew - this would be his one big chance to right the wrongs he had committed before with Justin; there was no way he was backing down now, not without a hell of a fight.

Both girls beamed at him in relief as they nodded. Brian pulled each girl to his waist and hugged them tightly, closing his eyes and silently feeling blessed that his two daughters loved him still despite his past transgressions.

"It'll be okay, Dad," he heard Kaylee murmur soothingly as both girls wound their arms around his waist. "We're going to make sure of it."

Brian pulled back to stare down into Kaylee's eyes curiously; she was beaming up at him with a confident smile that made his heart lurch at the similarity to someone else's smile. "What are you and your sister up to, Kaylee Marie?" he whispered.

Kaylee glanced over at her sister, sharing the same look of conspiratorial certainty.

"It's best that you don't know, Dad," Katie told him mysteriously. "That way Daddy can't accuse you of being in on it."

"Katie...I'm not so sure after what happened between your father and me that it's a good idea to sneak around behind his back. Maybe you'd better tell me what you two have in mind first."

But Katie shook her head firmly; she and her sister had had a long discussion earlier up in her bedroom and one thing they had agreed upon was that this was the best way to handle it. If things went the way they hoped, maybe, just maybe, their Daddy would be thanking them later for what they did and wouldn't care whose idea it was originally, but for now it was best to tread lightly around him.

"No, Dad," she told him as she gazed up into his soft hazel eyes, hoping he would understand. "Let the two of us handle it. It'll all work out; you'll see. You'll just have to trust us on this."

Brian studied his daughter's face and noted the conviction in her voice. If only he were that sure things would work out for the best, but just having both his daughters' support and unwavering love despite his shortcomings meant more to him than he could express and did give him hope that he could somehow get Justin to listen to reason. Enough's enough, Sunshine, he thought to himself. It's time to come off your high horse...

"Okay, Princess," he finally agreed as he pulled both daughters closer to him in a vise-like grip. He grunted as he gave them both a squeeze. He peered down into Kaylee's eyes to tell her, "I must admit - it is nice to have a co-conspirator in crime that has been around your father all this time."

Brian let his daughters go as Katie nodded. "That's what I told her," she said. "With her background knowledge and my creativity, Daddy won't know what hit him before it's too late."

Brian chuckled in spite of his worries as he told her, "Katherine Elizabeth - if I didn't know better I would think you're my biological child instead of Justin's. I think I've definitely rubbed off on you."

Katie beamed at her father. "I like that," she decided with a smile. "You're still taking Kaylee and me to see Grandma Debbie tomorrow while you're at work, aren't you?"

"Hmmm...Well, the idea sort of scares me now, but yeah, that's still the plan. This scheme of yours doesn't have something to do with her, does it?" While he loved Debbie dearly - she was certainly more of a mother to him than his own biological mother had ever been - the thought of his daughters co-conspiring with her to win Justin back sent chills down his spine.

Katie and Kaylee giggled at their father's look of dread. "No, Daddy," Kaylee assured him. "Not really, anyway."

"Not really? Kaylee..."

"Just leave it all up to us," Katie reassured him; Kaylee's cell phone ringing made her pause as she looked over at her sister. "Who is it?"

Kaylee reached inside her lightweight, light green jacket to pluck out her cellphone. "It's Daddy," she whispered to her sister and to Brian, whose heart skipped at beat at the statement. Why was it that Justin had that effect on him, even from a distance?

"Hi, Daddy," Kaylee chirped to her father brightly as she answered the phone and brought it up to her ear. She walked over and plunked herself down in one of the patio's chairs to get comfortable.

"Hi, Honey," Justin responded affectionately, his heart melting at the sound of his daughter's voice; at least over the phone Kaylee apparently felt no compunction in disguising which daughter she really was...Or did she? "This is the owner of the phone to which I'm speaking, isn't it?" he teased her formally.

Kaylee giggled. "Daddy...Of course it's me!" she told him with a gentle scolding. "You can't see me over the phone!"

"Good point," he told her with a wry smile. "Are you and your sister having a good time there?" Even with the less than auspicious circumstances surrounding the reason why he had returned to Pittsburgh, he was still thankful that his two recently-reunited daughters could spend some more time together. If anything, he was glad that they had bonded so quickly, that fact cementing his firm belief that they deserved to remain a constant in each other's lives, no matter what happened between him and Brian.

Brian. He couldn't get his ex-partner out of his mind, no matter how much he tried. He was uppermost in his thoughts as he lay there on his mother's guestroom bed, staring up at the ceiling. Just what were he and Brian going to do? Did he really think he could just have the custody agreement modified, whisk Kaylee away back to Chicago and simply ignore all of the intense feelings still churning inside him? If nothing else, he could expect to see Brian again from time to time as their two girls visited each other; he wasn't naïve enough to think that all he and Brian's paths would never intersect again once he returned home. No, he knew the two of them would have to come to some meeting of the minds; but was his heart telling him the same thing as his head? At the moment, he didn't even want to consider that; he knew things would be tense enough once he returned to Britin tomorrow. For now, then, he merely wanted to concentrate on the sound of his two daughters' voices.

He smiled as he heard Kaylee tell him, "Yeah, Daddy; we're having a good time. Katie had to go to the stables as soon as she got back to give Ceres and Eton some apples; have you seen how big they are?"

Justin's heart clenched; yes, he knew exactly how big they were. He and Brian had spent many a day riding them up into the gently rolling, wooded hills and pastures around Britin before the girls were born. They would pack a light picnic lunch and a lightweight blanket, stored in one of Eton's saddle bags, and depart in the early morning hours just after daybreak for a day of privacy and relaxation. Before the girls had arrived, those outings were one of the few occasions when he could convince his ambitious partner to leave his work behind him - it was a firm rule he had established to ensure he would have Brian's full attention; no laptops, no cellphone. It was just the two of them. Brian would always pretend he didn't notice when he would silently slide one of his sketchpads into the other saddle bag to use later in the day after they had trekked to one of their favorite spots - a small waterfall set deep into the woods that poured over gray, flat sheets of rock from above, worn smooth over years of erosion. They had discovered it merely by accident one day after a few hours of exploring their new grounds, and it had quickly become their favorite little secret hideaway from the rest of the world. As their horses grazed peacefully nearby on some grass and a couple of apples that Brian had pretended to slip by without Justin's noticing, they would make love over and over again to the sound of the rushing water nearby, worshipping each other's bodies and affirming their deep love for each other. Later, Brian would indulge in his whim to pose for some new sketches of him - some clothed, some not. Back then he thought he could never get enough of admiring Brian's magnificently bronzed, firm, long and lean body.

Now after seeing Brian again after so long, he had realized to his chagrin that he still felt that way. Brian may have aged somewhat just like he had, but time had merely served to make him even more sexy looking in a distinguished, classic sort of way. Right now, in fact, his palms were sweaty and his heart was thumping madly merely at the thought of seeing him again tomorrow at their home. Their home...Why did he still think of it that way, even now? He hadn't lived there in years. So why was he so apprehensive about returning there, then, and why did it continue to have such a hold on his emotions? He didn't have to answer that - he already knew the reason why.

"Daddy? Did you hear me?"

Justin sighed softly in melancholy and blinked his eyes, realizing he had zoned out into the past. What had his daughter been asking him? Oh, yeah...The horses. "Yeah, Sweetheart, I heard you," he told her softly. "Yes, the horses are pretty massive. But they're also very friendly. You just have to not show a lot a fear around them - they can sense that sort of thing and there's nothing to be afraid of with them. They're actually quite gentle."

Kaylee was skeptical of that, despite her father's reassurance. She had been up close and personal with them and they seemed like virtual towering giants to her. "You've ridden them before?" she asked him.

Justin couldn't help smiling wistfully in reaction. "Yeah...Brian used to ride Eton - he's the larger one. And I would ride Ceres. Back then I didn't know anything about riding horses, either, but I learned before too long."

Kaylee nodded. "Well, if it's all the same I think I'll just walk around the grounds."

Justin chuckled. "I'm sure that'll be fine, Honey. Is your sister nearby? I wanted to talk to her for a minute, too."

Kaylee nodded. "Yeah, she's right here. We're out on the back porch with Dad; he fixed us dinner all by himself," she told her father. "You need to talk to him, too?" she asked hopefully.

Nice try, Kiddo, Justin thought to him silently. "No, not right now, Kaylee; let me talk to Katie for a moment."

Kaylee sighed in defeat. "Okay, Daddy. What time will you be here tomorrow?"

"About six like we had decided," Justin informed her. "I just wanted to call before you went off to bed and make sure that you were doing okay...And to tell you that I love you."

"I love you, too, Daddy," Kaylee responded softly, suddenly finding that she missed her father's sweet presence. She knew that both her sister and her other father missed him, too, which just made her determination all that much greater to help bring them back together. "Here's Katie."

Brian couldn't help listening in on his daughter's part of her conversation as she spoke with Justin; nor could he mask his own disappointment over the fact that his ex-partner had apparently declined their daughter's offer to pass the phone onto him. Well, he still didn't know what exactly the two girls had in mind to try and 'persuade' Justin to help clear the air between him, but if his ex-partner thought he would just go slinking away with his proverbial tail between his legs, he had another thing coming. Now that he had seen him again, he knew he couldn't just let him walk away again - modified custody agreement or not.

"Hi, Daddy," Katie was saying to him as Brian turned his attention back to the conversation; Katie had walked over to sit down next to her sister and take the phone from her. He watched from his place leaning against one of the patio's support beams as his daughter's face transformed into a smile as she began to animatedly tell him about her past few hours back home, including how excited she had been to see their horses again. At one point Justin must have made a joke or said something funny, because his daughter giggled at his response. He couldn't help smiling at that, so thankful that his daughter was quickly bonding with Justin again. Although he wasn't really surprised; Justin had a way of making anyone feel at ease, and there had never been any question of how much he loved both daughters.

"No, Daddy," Brian heard Katie saying now with a laugh. "I did NOT eat another Portobello burger for dinner. Yuck!" Katie covered the phone a couple of seconds later as she turned to Brian to say, "Daddy wants to know what's for dinner tomorrow. He says he's not coming unless he knows the menu first."

Brian snorted. Little shit. At least Justin could kid about something. For just a moment, a wisp of optimism bloomed inside him as he retorted, "Tell His Majesty that I promise not to serve him anything healthy while he's gracing us with his presence tomorrow."

"Dad says that he promises that whatever we have tomorrow, it will be fattening as all get out."

Justin laughed on the other end of the phone, thinking that Brian's response might have been paraphrased just a bit. "Sounds good, Sweetheart," he told his daughter. His voice softened a bit as he told her, "Your Grandma Jen and I will be there tomorrow around six, then. We love you both - very much."

Katie's heart swelled as she told Justin, "I love you both, too, Daddy."

"I hope you have a good night, then; we'll see you soon."

Before Justin had a chance to say goodbye, Katie blurted out one of her heart's most fervent wishes, "Daddy?"

"Yeah, Honey?"

"One day...Can you and I paint something together up in the studio? Just the two of us?"

Brian's heart ached a little over his daughter's plaintive request. Silently he hoped that Katie wouldn't tell Justin that he didn't allow her up in his old studio; he didn't want his ex-partner reading too much into any resemblance of sentimentality on his part. Plus there was the added consideration that if she did paint with her father, it would shatter the mirror image she and her sister had so cleverly crafted.

Justin pursed his lips tightly together for a moment; he would like nothing better than to paint with his daughter by his side. How much should he promise her, though? Yes, he was definitely going to remain a part of Katie's life from now on; of that much he was certain. But he also knew that every trip back to Britin would make him confront feelings he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with. There was always his studio back in Chicago, though; they could paint there without Brian's 'ghost' hovering over them or the memories the two of them had created back in West Virginia. Although he had to admit the memories of his and Brian's lives at Britin - before and after the girls had been born - weren't bad ones; they had all been happy ones; very happy ones. That's what hurt the most. He inhaled a shaky breath and let it out slowly, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt before he finally responded, "Sure we can, Sweetheart. I would really like that. The next time you come up to Chicago to visit Kaylee and me I'll make a point of us collaborating on a father and daughter original. How's that?"

"Okay, Daddy," was the half-hearted, somewhat disappointed reply; Katie had really been hoping that she and her father could create something together here at Britin, not when she eventually came back to visit them; that sounded so far away and temporary. But she also knew painting with her father really wasn't possible, at least not as long as she and her sister were striving to be matching bookends. To Katie, though, it didn't really matter all that much in the long run, she finally decided, because it was cut and dried - there were no 'shades of gray.' She and her sister would maintain their shroud of duplicity for as long as it took their stubborn father to reconcile with their other father - and it would happen. Then she and her father could paint together - here at Britin, because to her there could be no other 'home' - as much and as long as they liked. "We'll see you and Grandma tomorrow then."

Justin bit his lip, reluctant to say goodbye for some reason but needing to distance himself for now from what he knew would be an emotional journey tomorrow. He felt so tired, so exhausted, more mentally than physically at the moment. He breathed in another calming breath before he assured her, "We'll be there, Honey. Sweet Dreams."

"You too, Daddy," Katie told him before her father quietly disconnected from their conversation. She lowered the cellphone to her lap and closed it before turning to look over at her father's face, not quite sure what she saw there but knowing what was uppermost on his mind. She took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders before she said, "We have a lot of work to do."

Brian looked at her confident face and had to laugh at her declaration. He grinned over at both daughters who were wearing identical expressions - a mixture of both youthful optimism as well as almost down right cockiness. It gave him just a little more hope that perhaps all was not lost. He knew in his heart that was his wish as well as his daughters; now all they had to do was work a little magic on his obstinate ex-partner. Three against one - or should I say four with Jennifer? I like those odds...

"Oh, we do, do we?" Brian teased his daughters who nodded back at him. "Well, I think the first order of business, then, is for two young ladies to get a good night's sleep. Kaylee - you can sleep in the guest room next to Katie's room, but no staying up until the early hours chatting."

"Daaaaad," Katie whined, elongating the word for emphasis. "We're not little kids anymore," she pointed out.

"No, you're not" Brian conceded. While they might be pre-teen age, he couldn't say that either girl hadn't had to do a lot of growing up over the years. But physically they were still quite young - and they were still his responsibility. "No, you're not little kids. But you're still my daughters and I need to take care of you. And no matter what age you are - or how mature you might be - you still need a good night's sleep if you're going to be productive tomorrow." That was probably the only persuasive argument Brian could make to get the girls to follow his instructions, and it proved to be successful as both girls looked at each other for a moment before Kaylee nodded at her sister.

"Okay, Dad," Katie told her father. "But only because we want you and Daddy back together. Like you said - he's a smart man. We'll need to be on our toes tomorrow."

"Not just for tomorrow," he warned them. "It won't be that easy, girls. Your father is a very compassionate and forgiving man, but one thing he expects me to always do is keep my promises." He sucked in a regretful breath as he told them, "And I messed up really bad in that department; big time."

"Yes, you did," Kaylee told him with uncharacteristic frankness; her more tender nature made her naturally protective when it came to her Daddy's feelings, and she could imagine how hurt he had been. "But I know you love him. And I know he loves you. So you will work it out...Won't you?"

Two pairs of topaz eyes peered back at him intently for an answer. How to answer that question? He finally settled on telling them, "You both know that's what I want. I'm going to do my best," he promised them. "I'm not going to let him go back to Chicago without a fight."

Katie put her hands on her hips and nodded in satisfaction. "Well, I would certainly hope not!" she told him, her eyes flashing like a school teacher scolding a recalcitrant child. "Kinneys don't back down!"

Brian laughed at the look on his daughter's face and the tone of her voice; things certainly weren't dull with both daughters around. If the situation with Justin wasn't so serious - and the result so pivotal - he would be enjoying the circumstances immensely. "No, they don't," he told them both. "Justin may be your biological father, but I'm YOUR father, too; and Kinneys come from very persistent stock."

He walked over to place one hand on each of his daughters' shoulders. Giving them an affectionate squeeze, he told them, "It's getting late, girls; time for bed. We've all got a big day tomorrow." Maybe the most important day of our lives, he couldn't help thinking as Kaylee and Katie pushed back from their chairs to join their father.

"Let's go in," he murmured as together the three of them walked over to the double French doors and entered the home.

Less than an hour later, both girls had showered and changed into sleepwear - Kaylee in a long, cotton, mint-colored gown with butterflies and Katie wearing a matching set of pajamas with a short-sleeved, red knit top and matching pajama shorts. When Brian checked on them after accessing his e-mails from Kinnetik, he had found both of them sitting Indian style on Katie's bed; he noticed that when he stuck his head inside the door they immediately became quiet. Assuming they were conjuring up all sorts of scenarios for tomorrow, he walked in and sat down with them on the edge of the bed. Despite what he had told them earlier, he couldn't be angry with them defying his orders to retire to bed. He was actually grateful over how close they had become.

"I thought I told you two to go to bed," he gently chided them with a soft smile. "What are you up to?"

"Just talking," Katie told him, her blue eyes peering over at him curiously. "Dad?"

Brian sighed. "You're stalling, Princess. I already know the game you're playing, remember, and it won't work."

But Katie was persistent. "No, no, it's not that, Dad," she assured him. "We were just wondering something else."

"Katherine Elizabeth..." Sometimes Brian forgot how exasperating pre-teen girls could be, and now he had two of them to contend with.

"Just one question, Dad," Kaylee chimed in in support of her sister.

Brian let out a breath as he looked at both girls' pleading expressions. He never could resist those blue eyes on Justin when he looked at him that way, and it was the same with his daughters. "One question," he repeated in reminder. "What?" Brian eyed both girls curiously as they actually giggled softly to themselves, wondering what in the world had brought on that reaction.

Katie glanced over at her sister before she satisfied their father's curiosity. "We were just wondering...Why do you call Daddy Sunshine?"

Oh...That. Brian should have guessed that would come up in the course of their conversations at some point; he had expected that one or both of them would pick up on that eventually. He smiled a little as he responded dryly, "You noticed that, did you?" He WAS a little surprised, though, that they couldn't already figure out the reason why. Didn't Justin still flash his trademark smile from time to time around them? "You really don't know why I would call him that?" he asked them as they shook their heads.

"Well, I actually didn't come up with that nickname on my own," he told them softly, his mind going back in time to when he and Justin had first met. "You can thank your Grandma Deb for that."

"SHE came up with it?" Katie asked, both girls listening in rapt fascination as their father nodded. "Why?"

Brian's eyes clouded over as he thought back to that time so long ago - a time when things seemed much less complicated. "It was because of his smile," he explained. "When your father is happy - when he smiles that certain smile of his - it makes his whole face light up. Your grandma noticed that from the first day she met him, and she started calling him Sunshine. After a while, the name stuck and I started calling him that, too, at times." One side of his mouth curled up as he brought his attention back to his daughters to admit, "Normally when I called him that it was more like I was teasing him with it." His voice softened, though, as he added truthfully, "But not always. Sometimes I wasn't kidding when I called him that." Normally back then it was when he was feeling particularly emotional about something or especially grateful to Justin for something he had done, but sometimes - on rare occasions - he called him that in the throes of their lovemaking because it seemed natural and he adored seeing the look of happiness on Justin's face when he said it. Now, though, he knew he was using it as more like a taunt, and he knew Justin probably didn't appreciate it. He just couldn't help it, though; his ex-partner could be so downright pig-headed at times.

"Dad?" Kaylee called out to him softly, noticing the faraway look that had come into her father's eyes; it was obvious how deeply he still felt for her other father.

"Yeah, Kaylee?"

His daughter verified his suspicions when she told him, "Daddy doesn't smile like that anymore."

Brian swallowed the painful lump in his throat as he replied, "He doesn't? Ever?"

Kaylee slowly shook her head as Katie did the same, both girls confirming it. "No," she said. "Not like that. I don't think he's been that happy since you broke up."

Brian nodded, feeling both guilty and inexplicably relieved in a way, relieved because Justin's asshole boyfriend hadn't apparently meant as much to him as he had if he couldn't generate that radiant smile from him. He gazed into his daughters' eyes resolutely as he told them firmly, "Well, in that case it will be up to us to put that smile back on his face, then, won't it?"

Both his daughters smiled back at him in pleasure - still just a ghost of the smile that Justin would give him - as they nodded in agreement. "Yeah," they both said in unison as Brian chuckled softly.

"Okay...Well, Operation Sunshine will commence tomorrow, then," he told them as he rose from the bed and the girls scooted over enough for him to pull the covers back. He gazed fondly at both girls who emitted identical yawns as he made a spontaneous decision. After all, Katie had a queen-sized bed and plenty of pillows. "You can both sleep in here tonight," he told them. "But the operative word is SLEEP. I don't want to hear giggling and more spy plans being discussed an hour from now, understand?"

Both girls giggled again as Brian smiled down at them. They both lay down on the bed as their father pulled the light blue sateen sheet and matching, lightweight fleece bedspread over them. Kneeling down on the mattress, Brian leaned over to kiss Kaylee's cheek and then Katie's. His voice choked up with emotion all of a sudden at the sight of both his daughters back at Britin together after so long. He stood back up to whisper to them, "Sweet dreams, girls. I love you." It was amazing how easily those last three words escaped from his lips now, but it seemed so natural to say them.

"Good night, Dad," Katie told. "Love you, too," she said with a smile.

"Night, Dad," Kaylee added. "I'm so glad to be here," she told him, her eyes filling up with tears of happiness. She was still concerned that things might not work out between her two fathers, but she was hopeful that it would. She knew how much they still loved each other; that had to count for something.

Brian smiled over at his daughter - his beautiful, tenderhearted daughter; his daughter who was so like her biological father. "Not as glad as I am," he told her sincerely. "Good night, Princess."

Kaylee smiled back at him. "Good night, Dad," she said again. Just after Brian turned out the night table lamp, he heard her add softly, "I love you, too."

I love you too, girls, he repeated silently. And your father, too...

Early the Next Day - Jen's Condo

Jennifer smiled from her place at the stove as her tousled headed son shuffled sleepily into the kitchen and sat down at one of her wooden dinette chairs. Silently she retrieved one of the mugs in the cabinet over the sink and poured some coffee from the coffeemaker before walking over and placing it down in front of him. "Good Morning, Sleepyhead," Jen teased him softly. It was almost like the old days back when she, Craig, Molly, and Justin were still a family and she was trying to rouse her son for school, except that she and Craig were no longer together and Justin most definitely wasn't a hormone-driven teenager anymore. It seems that some of his habits were still the same, though. She grabbed a mugful of coffee herself, along with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon she had kept warming in the oven before joining him at the table. "Did you sleep well?" she asked as she placed the plate down in front of him; she had already placed some creamer and utensils at the table earlier, anticipating her son would awaken soon.

"Do I look like I slept well?" he grumbled at her, hastening to curb his harsh words by admitting more softly, "No, I slept like shit. My mind was racing too much to really get a lot of sleep." He took a quick gulp of his coffee, gasping a little at the hot temperature; the overly hot liquid, though, somehow seemed appropriate considering his current temperament.

Jennifer eyed him sympathetically as she reached over with her free arm to grasp her son's wrist. He lifted his gaze from his coffee to stare at her as she replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, Sweetheart, but I'm not surprised; you've had a lot on your mind."

Justin snorted. "You have a knack for understatement, Mom; even if my brain was twice as big it couldn't fit everything swirling around in my head right now." He sighed heavily. "I have no idea where to even start. I'm not sure how easy it's going to be to get the custody agreement changed prematurely, and I still have to deal with seeing Brian later tonight - at Britin. Not to mention I know the girls will be disappointed when they have to part again, even if Brian and I are intending on letting them see each other a lot more now." He brushed one hand through his hair restlessly as he added, "And I fucking hate the idea of saying goodbye again to Katie, too."

"What about Brian?" Jennifer couldn't help asking as she gazed at her son's troubled face.

Justin feigned disinterest as he took another sip of his coffee and averted his eyes before he responded, "What about him?"

Jennifer sighed now as she replied, "Justin...Do you really think it's going to be that easy to say goodbye again to him, too?"

"Mom, we've already discussed this," her son replied curtly as he turned his head to look at her, his blue eyes flashing in irritation. "Brian and I are ancient history. We've both moved on."

"Bullshit," was Jennifer's unexpected reply as Justin's eyes widened in surprise. "You are no more ancient history than the girls meeting at camp was. You two still have a lot to resolve - one way or the other. Tonight's your chance to do that, Justin. Until you can figure out where you and Brian stand, neither one of you can move on."

Justin huffed in exasperation. "Let's just drop it, okay? We've been down this road so many times before now; this is between Brian and me. You've 'contributed' enough already, Mom; please stay out of it, okay?" His heart hammering in his chest, he suddenly lost his appetite as he pushed back abruptly from the table. Taking one more swig of his coffee and feeling smothered all of a sudden, he dropped it a little too roughly down onto the table as he told his mother, "I have to get out of here. I'm going to go for a walk."

"Justin..."

Her son held up his hands in a silent command for her to stop as he said, "Drop it, Mother. I'll be back in plenty of time for dinner later; I'm still not sure it's a good idea, but I promised. And unlike someone else I plan to KEEP my promises." Snatching up his jacket from a nearby chair, he exited the kitchen and reached the front door in record time.

"Justin," Jennifer murmured sorrowfully as the door closed hard a few seconds later and the condo was bathed in silence. She felt so sorry for her son - she knew how much in turmoil he was. She didn't buy his "I've moved on" speech for one second, and she knew that Brian hadn't, either. At least he was still intending on driving out with her to Britin for dinner later.

The ringing of the phone jarred her from her morose thoughts as she walked over to the cordless wall phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Grandma?"

Jennifer couldn't help the soft smile on her face at the sound of her granddaughter's voice; which one was it, however? "Kaylee?" she ventured.

"No, Grandma, it's Katie. Is Daddy there with you?"

"No, Sweetheart, your father just left for a walk. Do you need for me to have him call you back when he returns?"

Katie sounded relieved as she replied, "No, I'm glad he's not there, because I need to ask you a favor."

Jennifer furrowed her brow curiously. "A favor?" After Justin had scolded her so angrily over her part in reuniting her granddaughters, she was a little hesitant to offer any more 'assistance.' "What kind of favor, Katie?"

"Tonight - when we're all together for dinner?"

Jennifer walked over with the phone and sat back down at the kitchen table as she said, "Yes?"

Katie glanced over at her sister who was listening in through the speakerphone feature; both of them had hurried upstairs to get dressed to accompany their father into Pittsburgh and were taking advantage of him being in the shower presently so they wouldn't be overheard. "Tonight before dinner Kaylee and I need for you to get our fathers alone so you can ask them something."

Now Jennifer was really curious. She was worried about meddling again, but she was more concerned with not taking advantage of what might be her and her granddaughters' one and only opportunity to get her son and Brian to open up some sort of cleansing dialogue between them. "What exactly do you want me to ask them, Katie?"

Katie took a deep breath before advising her, "We need for you to ask each of them to go downstairs to the wine cellar to get a bottle of wine before dinner. But they need to be alone when you ask them so each one doesn't know the other one has been asked. And you need to have them do it before the other one has a chance to come back up. I'll give you a vintage and year for a bottle that's located at the back of the wine cellar so it will take them a little longer to find it."

Jennifer shook her head warily, not bothering to wonder how her young granddaughter knew anything about wines, much less vintages; she knew that Brian certainly wasn't giving his daughter wine, so how did she know so much? "Katie...Exactly what do you and your sister have in mind?"

Katie winked at her sister before replying, "I think it's better that you don't really know, don't you? Please, Grandma. Can you do it? For us?"

Jennifer bit her lip pensively, torn as to which allegiance to side with. She sighed in resignation, knowing her decision had already been made. "I...I suppose so," Jennifer finally replied, her wish to see the girls - and fathers - happy again overriding her son's agitation should he find out she had a part in yet another scheme.

Katie glanced over at her sister before adding urgently so they could finish before their father got out of the shower, "There's one more favor we need, Grandma. Can you call Dad and tell him that you want to be the one to cook the meal for us instead of him? You won't really have to do it, but I need for you to act like you're going to anyway."

Jennifer's scrunched up her face curiously. What a strange request. "Let me get this straight, Katie; you want me to send Brian and Justin down to the wine cellar separately while the other one is still down there and you want me to offer to prepare dinner tonight, even though I won't have to actually do it?"

Katie nodded through the phone. "That's right. Can you do it, Grandma? Please? It's really important."

"Katie...Honey...this doesn't make sense at all. Just what are the two of you up to now?"

Kaylee motioned with her hand to give her the phone as she put it up to her face to say, "Grandma, it's Kaylee. I'm with Katie up in her bedroom."

Jennifer couldn't help noticing that both girls were apparently conspiring together; she was so thankful that they had bonded so quickly in such a short time. "Hey, Honey," she greeted her. "You and Katie enjoying yourselves?"

Kaylee smiled over at her sister. "Yeah, it's been great. Listen, Grandma, we really need your help tonight. Will you please do it...For us? We have to get off soon so Dad doesn't hear us; he's in the shower right now. Please, Grandma; this is soooo important." Kaylee turned the figurative screws perfectly, knowing just what pleading tone of voice to use to persuade her grandmother to help them. It had always worked before; would she be successful this time as well?

Jennifer let out the breath she had been holding. She never could say no to either of these vulnerable girls that reminded her so much of her son. "I still don't understand why," she said at last. "But okay; I'll give him a call a little later and offer to cook for us tonight. Won't he wonder, though, why I'm not bringing any food with me?"

The girls had already thought of that. "You won't need to," Kaylee told her. "If you and Daddy can get there a little early before we do, the dinner will already be made. You'll just have to heat it up and put it on the table. Dad will never know the difference."

Katie reached for the phone to retrieve it as she advised, "Grandma, it's Katie again. You do still have your emergency key to the house, don't you?"

Jennifer frowned; this was getting more and more peculiar. "Yes, I still have it," she confirmed to her. Brian had entrusted her with a house key to Britin for use when she needed to enter the house, either to take care of things while he and Katie were out of town on vacation or during the occasional times when Jennifer wanted to pick up Katie right after school to take her back to Pittsburgh to come stay with her. Sometimes she also took her to after-school events when Brian was unable to. "Katie...What am I supposed to tell your father? He will know that I didn't cook the meal. What if your Dad says something to me about it and he hears?"

Katie looked over at her sister apprehensively; they hadn't thought of that contingency. Kaylee shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "If Dad says something about how good it smells or something like that, just agree with him. And we'll try to keep Daddy away from him at first." She bit her lip anxiously. "Please, Grandma - will you do it? Will you take a chance on love for us?"

Jennifer had no way of knowing that her granddaughter was repeating the same words Brian had said to his 'prince' there at Britin when he had finally convinced Justin to accept his marriage proposal; Justin had never told her the specifics of that day and what Brian had said to persuade him that his intentions were real, preferring to keep that intimately personal moment to himself.

If she had known, though, perhaps she would have taken that as a good omen. In any case, she couldn't say no. She wasn't sure what her granddaughters had in mind, but she did know that it might be their best chance to make these two proud, stubborn men realize how much they needed to reconcile. "Okay, girls," she told them. "I'll do it."

A/N: Thanks to Boriqua522 for checking this over for me.:)