Alex arrives at Britin to take back what is his; as Kaylee begins to recuperate, her two fathers continue to sort through their own feelings for each other.
Alex smiled at the woman warmly, pasting on his most engaging poker face; he stared into her eyes as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world, even though as she stood there in the crack of the door dressed in her pink, princess slippers and a quilted white bathrobe, he thought she looked incredibly silly. "Oh, I'm sure you can tell me enough at least to give me a start," he replied smoothly as the woman blushed at the intensity of his stare. He cast his eyes downward at the two pesky cats; he wasn't very fond of Kaylee's two felines - in fact, he thought they were rather irritating and always seemed to be underfoot right when you didn't want them to be, such as when he and Justin would be making out on the couch - but if he were to enlist this woman's trust and assistance, he would have to act like he was the biggest cat lover in the world. "I see he left Kaylee's cats with you," he told her, forcing himself to smile.
She nodded as she reached down to scratch the back of Picasso's head as the cat purred in response. "Yes," she said as she picked him in her arms and began to rub his fur with her hand; it was all Alex could do not to roll his eyes at all the attention that the cat was getting. "They're such great company for me; I miss my own cat so much. I hated to put him to sleep, but he had arthritis so bad..."
"I'm sure you did," Alex replied, trying hard to mask his impatience; he could care less about her dead cat. "Uh, look, Mrs. Bailey..."
"Call me Karen," she replied, actually batting her eyelashes at him.
Oh, brother, Alex couldn't help thinking. Haven't we already established that I'm gay? He nodded as he continued to smile at her. "Mrs. Ba..., uh, Karen, I don't mean to cut you short, but I'm so anxious to make things right with Justin. Can you please tell me what you know? I don't want to keep you."
She nodded to his relief. "Well, like I said, I don't know very much. But Justin came over a couple of days ago and asked if I could watch the cats while he was out of town for a while. It was kind of strange, though; he didn't really know when he would be back exactly. He just said he had to go back to Pittsburgh to take care of some legal matters and that he wasn't sure when he would return."
Alex frowned. "Legal matters?"
She nodded. "Yeah, that what was he said," she told him, starting to become animated now that she had his undivided attention. "That was about all he said."
"Did he tell you where he'd be staying while he was there?" Alex asked, hoping the woman knew more than this; he knew Justin was from Pittsburgh originally and had family there; perhaps he would be staying with his mother, then, and maybe the 'legal matters' had something to do with her.
To his disappointment, though, she shook her head. "No, I'm sorry." She appeared a little uncomfortable then for some reason, readjusting the somewhat heavy cat in her arms as she added, "I think you need to know that when he left he wasn't alone."
"Yeah, I know," Alex told her. "He had Kaylee with him." Unfortunately; that kid was ALWAYS around, damn it.
"Uh, no, that's not what I mean," she corrected him to his surprise.
"I don't understand. Kaylee wasn't with him? Did she stay here with you?" He tried to peer through the crack in the door, half-expecting her to be standing there glaring back at him like she normally did, but with the woman's rather ample frame he couldn't. It didn't matter, though, when she spoke up again.
"No, she went, too," he told her as she suddenly looked flustered.
What the hell? I don't have time for this soap opera. "Mrs. Uh... Karen. Will you please just tell me what you're trying to say? I really want to get going so I can find Justin and apologize."
"Okay," she said after a few moments. "I'm really sorry, young man, but I think you should know that he had another man with him when he left."
"You mean a chauffeur?" That wasn't like Justin; he was so frugal most of the time that it was a running joke between them, even though he knew his boyfriend was successful enough that he could afford a shuttle to and from the airport easily enough. It always seemed like he was hesitant to engage in such luxuries, however, opting to use his extra money on that bratty child instead.
Mrs. Bailey shook her head as she looked at him sympathetically, causing a feeling of lead to develop in his stomach as she told him, "No. He was riding along with him in the limo."
Alex's eyes widened. "Limo?" He pursed his lips tightly together. "What did this man look like?"
Despite her desire not to hurt this other man's feelings, Mrs. Bailey smiled as she told him honestly, "Very handsome. Tall and slender with dark hair; very snappy dresser, too," she added, priding herself on her powers of observation; of course, with someone as attractive as he had been, it was hard not to take a long look at the man who had been standing a feet away from Justin's door as she had spoken to her neighbor. "He was dressed casually, but you could tell he liked well-made, high quality clothes." She actually sighed a little as she added, "He could be a model in a sort of classic way." She blinked sheepishly as she noticed her visitor's eyes narrowed in what appeared to be anger as she hastily added, "He could have just been a business acquaintance and they were just traveling together."
Alex swallowed the sour taste in his mouth as he forced his voice to remain level and nodded. "How old would you say this man was?" A dreadful thought began to coalesce in his head.
"Oh, fortyish, I'd say," she answered. "But he was still a handsome devil," she couldn't help adding truthfully.
"I'm sure," Alex responded curtly. He had a strong suspicion who the man might have been. He had seen pictures of Justin's ex before in his apartment; once Justin had asked him to go into his extra bedroom that he used as a combination library/office, asking him to help him find his car keys that he had misplaced. Unbeknownst to Justin at the time, he couldn't avoid taking advantage of being alone in Justin's private sanctuary to do just a little digging in his computer desk, coming upon the framed, 5" X 7" photo of Justin with an older brunet man tucked away in one of the bottom drawers under some paperwork. He had taken the photo out of the somewhat tarnished-looking, brass frame and flipped it over on the back, seeing Justin's familiar scrawl indicating it was a photo of him and 'Brian' taken several years ago. He could see some sort of museum perhaps (?) in the background, since there were paintings hanging on the walls as Justin's smaller frame was cradled in front of the other man's body, Kinney's long, muscular, sleeveless arms wrapped around Justin's chest as he rested his cheek against his and they smiled warmly into the camera.
It was obvious by the looks on their faces that they were in love with each other; anyone could readily see that. At the time, he thought it was sickeningly sweet and it had made his blood boil with patent jealousy. Yes, it could have been someone else, but Justin heading back to Pittsburgh unexpectedly, right after they had had that fight? The description certainly matched, and while it might have been jumping to conclusions, he couldn't think of any other alternative that fit as well.
"You didn't by any chance catch the other man's name, did you?" he asked Mrs. Bailey. "If you did, it might help me to figure out where he's staying."
Mrs. Bailey carefully lowered Picasso down to the floor before she rose back up to shake her head. "No, I'm sorry; that's all I know. I saw them walk down to the limo and get in to leave together, so I just naturally assumed they were going to the same place. Maybe he was just giving Justin a ride to the airport? I've never seen him in a limo before."
Alex pursed his lips together tightly in irritation. "No, neither have I." All the more reason to suspect it might just be Justin's arrogant ex. There was only one way to find out. "Mrs. Bailey?"
"Yes?"
"I have a favor to ask."
She eyed him warily, still not convinced about the other man's motives, even though she knew he WAS Justin's boyfriend. "What kind of favor?"
"Well, I have a good idea who the other man was, but I'm not positive. If you could let me into Justin's condo, though, I could show you a photo of who I think it is and you could confirm or deny it."
Mrs. Bailey hedged at the invasion of privacy. "I don't know," she told him. "I was just given the key to go get the cats in case I wanted them to stay with me and to water Justin's plants. I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
"Please, Karen," Alex implored in his most sincerest-sounding voice, making sure to emphasize her first name. "If it's who I THINK it is, it's probably Justin's ex-partner. And from what Justin told me, he was really abusive to him in the past; that's why he wound up leaving him and taking their daughter with him. If it IS him, I'm afraid that he's fed him some sort of cock and bull story about changing his ways so he'll take him back and then he'll wind up hurting either him or Kaylee in the process; you know how those kinds of people are." He pushed back the nagging feeling of guilt in the back of his mind over his outrageous lie, telling himself that it was necessary in order to get back together with Justin. He knew he was the best man for him; not some former partner who he suspected had done something to hurt him. If he hadn't, they would have still been together.
"Oh, my God!" Mrs. Bailey cried out in alarm. "You know, now that you mention it, Justin DID seem a little nervous about going with him."
Alex nodded, secretly delighted that she was buying into his allegations; Justin had never told him any such thing. "Well, you know what they say," he told her. "Even in abusive relationships, sometimes the spouse or partner goes back to the abuser out of some misguided sense of loyalty or guilt, even though it's totally misplaced. Please, Karen, for Justin's sake as well as Kaylee's, you've got to let me in there. I know where he keeps a photo of this man and only you can identify him for me. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Justin after we fought and he left with this man on the rebound."
Mrs. Bailey clutched the front of her robe as tears filled her eyes. "Neither would I!" she exclaimed. "Hold on," she instructed him as she closed the door and Alex heard the sound of the security chain being slid back to release it. "No, you can't go out," he heard the woman saying, no doubt admonishing one or both of the cats as she opened the door and quickly slipped outside, still wearing her robe; in her hand, however, she was clutching a single key on a keychain fob shaped like an artist's palette.
Sensing triumph, he smiled. "Thank you, Karen; I thank you and so will Justin and Kaylee."
Nodding at him, she led him the few feet over to Justin's door and turned the key in the lock to open it.
Five minutes later, they emerged from Justin's condo and Alex had his answer. His face grim, he hurriedly thanked Mrs. Bailey and after finally convincing her that there was no need to call Justin (in case the ex was listening and overheard her warning him), he reassured her that he would 'take care of it' as he hurried toward his car parked at the curb. Bidding the woman goodbye as she reentered her condo, he climbed into the driver's seat and sat there for a moment, seething inside.
"No fucking way," he growled. "I don't know what game you're playing, Kinney. But you are NOT going to just show up out of the blue and whisk Justin away to play house with him again." Starting up the car, he emerged into traffic as he picked up his phone to call his personal assistant at his architectural firm.
"Sheila," he said brusquely without any preamble as she answered the phone. "I need for you to book me on the next available flight to Pittsburgh."
Hospital - Next Morning - 9:00 a.m.
"Brian, I am NOT going to ride down to the lobby in a wheelchair!" Justin huffed as Kaylee was placed into a junior version of the hospital's wheelchairs for her obligatory ride down to the lobby to go home. "I'm fine!" he insisted, bristling at the thought of being treated like an invalid. Yes, his ankle was still bothering him somewhat, but Brian's insistence that he use the combination chair/hospital bed last night to keep his ankle elevated, along with another dose of ibuprofen, had helped to ease his discomfort enormously. It had changed from a sharp, stabbing pain like there were needles in his shin to more of a dull, tolerable ache. In either case, the last thing he wanted was for Kaylee to think he was incapable of taking care of her while she recuperated at Britin or to look like some helpless cripple as someone wheeled him down to Brian's SUV.
He had reluctantly agreed for their daughter to return to Britin to help her recover, but he still felt like the primary responsibility for taking care of her lay with him, not everyone else. He had to admit, though, that Brian had done a spectacular job of playing the doting father role while Kaylee had been with him - and while she was here at the hospital. He suspected that Brian thought he would blame HIM for their daughter's accident, but he knew her well enough to know how headstrong she was and that she didn't do anything she really didn't want to, so he couldn't really shift the blame onto him.
Brian sighed in exasperation, although he suspected that would be Justin's response. "Suit yourself, then, Sunshine," he said sarcastically, noticing the scowl on his ex-partner's beautiful face. He turned to smile down at their daughter, who was clutching a new teddy bear adorned with a frilly, pink ballerina outfit, a gift from him that he had found at the shop downstairs when he had left Kaylee briefly in Justin's care to go fetch some dinner for the two of them. The front of the tutu had the word "Princess" emblazoned on its chest in silver sequins, so he couldn't resist the rather sentimental, stuffed animal; the look of delight on Kaylee's face when he had brought it back to her, however, had been worth any discomfort or awkwardness he had felt initially when he had handed the bear over to the gift shop's cashier to ring it up.
"Ready to go?" he asked their daughter, who nodded, her eyes shining with happiness at being 'sprung' from her confines. Like Justin, she abhorred hospitals, having spent time there on a couple of other occasions when she had suffered a cheerleading mishap and sprained her arm, and one other time when she had fallen off her bicycle onto a pile of rotted wood full of rusty nails and had required a tetanus shot.
"Am I ever!" she replied with a smile, pleased that she was getting attention from both of her fathers; she also had been told that her big brother Gus and her sister were waiting for her back at Britin. She had been ecstatic to learn that she would be going back there to recover; it meant that whether he wanted to or not, her daddy would have to be around her other father even more. The sentimental side of her believed that the more they were around each other, the more their difficulties would disappear and they could be a family again; at least she fervently hoped so.
Brian and Justin exchanged smiles over her reaction; a good sign, Kaylee thought, as both fathers followed along behind her and the hospital orderly pushing her wheelchair toward the elevators.
A few minutes later, Brian pulled the car up to the hospital's semi-circular drive as Justin helped Kaylee into the backseat of the car, opting to sit beside her to make sure she was comfortable on the drive home.
As Kaylee and his ex-partner engaged in lighthearted conversation about what kind of meal she wanted for her 'welcome home' lunch and how she would have to take it easy for a few days, Justin quietly gazed out the side window in the back seat, watching the familiar, pastoral scenery flying by. In a way, it was surreal. Being back in a vehicle with Brian, heading toward their old home they had shared so many good times together, listening to his ex-partner and one of his daughters talking to each other about family matters, he could almost imagine that their lives had been different, that they had all been happily living together ever since the two girls had been born. He could almost believe that nothing had happened to rend them apart, that they had all been co-existing together in contentment for years. But he knew better.
He also knew that the time had come to get everything out in the open, once and for all, to come to a decision that would have lasting consequences for all of them. He recalled Brian telling him that the ball was in his court and that HE would have to decide what he wanted. He knew what his heart was telling him; what it HAD been telling him for years now. Despite his moving away to begin a new life with Kaylee, despite his recent, long-term relationship with another man, he had never truly given his heart away to anyone else, because it had never been his to offer. It had been given away a long time ago to the complex, unnerving, but amazing man currently sitting in the front seat next to him. His head, though, was still warring with his heart. Only talking everything out, laying both their cards out on the emotional table, bare, unfettered and exposed, would provide the necessary compatibility with the two, or at least allow him to do what he was yearning to do.
Brian's confession in the hospital room last evening helped to partially provide him with the encouragement that they could do just that. He knew Kaylee would have to be made comfortable and she was the main priority at the moment; but he was also encouraged that with Gus's and Katie's help with her, perhaps he and Brian could finally sit down and actually talk.
"Justin?"
He blinked as he turned his head to see both pairs of eyes on him; apparently they had been trying to get his attention for some time to no avail. He peered back at them sheepishly as he replied, "Yeah?"
Brian looked at him in the rear-view mirror; actually, he HAD been looking at him for some time through furtive glances while his ex-partner had been preoccupied, wondering just what Justin had been thinking about. Hopefully he had been mulling the same issue HE had been engrossed with; an insatiable need to talk things out FINALLY between them to clear the air and hopefully steer them back on track toward an eventual reconciliation. He found that idea both exhilarating as well as anxiety-producing.
"Kaylee was asking if she could sit out back on the patio in one of the chaise lounges rather than in her room when she gets home. I think that would be okay as long as it's warm enough, don't you?"
"Please, Daddy," she whispered fervently as she stared over at him with those baby-blue eyes that always made him cave in.
He sighed, knowing he was being ganged up on. "Well, as long as you stay put, I guess it would be okay," he finally answered. "And provided you rest and don't overexert yourself," he hastily advised as his daughter's eyes lit up with delight.
"I won't," she promised with a smile. "If I need anything, I'll have you, Dad, Gus, and Katie to help me."
Justin nodded as his eyes met Brian's in the rearview mirror; he found his face warming over his ex-partner's stare, not sure why, as Brian turned his attention back to the road.
Thirty Minutes Later - Britin
The moment her father's SUV rolled up the driveway, Katie threw open the heavy, wooden, leaded-glass door and ran toward the vehicle, barely giving it time to come to a stop before she flung the back door open. "You're home!" she squealed as she leaned in to tightly hug Kaylee around the neck.
"Easy, Katie," Brian cautioned her as he opened the driver's side door and got out, observing Gus walking up to join them. "Remember, she just got out of the hospital and needs to rest."
"Dad," Kaylee huffed softly as Katie nodded and let go of her sister. "I'm not made out of glass."
Justin had to hide a smile of amusement over his daughter's minor queen out as he emerged from the other side of the vehicle, his expression sobering a little as he noticed Gus watching him intently; it was almost a suspicious sort of stare, leaving him wondering if Gus was questioning his motives in coming here. Truth be told, he was wondering the same thing.
"Sonny Boy, how about giving your sister a hand into the house?" Brian asked his son, providing Justin with enough time to divert his attention back to his daughters.
"Dad..."
"Don't argue with me, Kaylee Marie," Brian told her gently but firmly. "Remember, your father and I agreed to let you sit out on the back porch, but only if you took it easy. We can easily change that to your room..."
"No," Kaylee hastily replied as Brian exchanged an amused look with Justin.
"That's better," he told her as he nodded at Gus to indicate it was okay to pick her up.
Kaylee looked up at her tall, handsome older brother, the sibling she really didn't know at all and suddenly she felt shy. Her brother smiled at her warmly, however, and she couldn't help returning his smile.
"Hey, Sis," he greeted her softly, thrilled that he could finally talk to her at last. "You look just like someone else I know," he teased her. "Haven't I seen you before?" he asked as she giggled. Kaylee unbuckled her seatbelt as he reached to scoop her up into his arms, her own arms sliding around his neck for balance as he easily lifted her from the car.
"You and I have a lot of catching up to do," he told her as she smiled at him, feeling just a bit more at ease; the fact that her brother looked so much like her Dad, also, helped make her feel more comfortable as he turned around and began to carefully walk with her toward the door.
"Coming?" Brian asked Justin with a cock of one eyebrow in an eerie recreation of that day so long ago at his loft; the day that he had first met the man who would have such an impact on his life.
He nodded, unable to avoid thinking of how odd the entire situation was as he watched Gus carry Kaylee toward the door, followed by Katie and Brian, who had his arm around her shoulder as he hugged her to his side. Stopping for just a moment to soak in the entire scene - it was the first time he could recall seeing all of them together in, well, he didn't know how long - he proceeded to follow them up the sidewalk.
"Gus, go ahead and carry Kaylee out back, would you?" Brian requested as he let go of Katie. "And, Katie, would you go get your sister one of those lightweight blankets from the linen closet upstairs?
Katie nodded as she turned to head toward the steps.
"Thanks, Chiquitita," Brian told her softly as Katie smiled over at him before rushing up the stairs. As Gus walked away with his precious cargo, Brian turned to peer over at his former partner, who was quietly standing off to the side near the foyer entrance.
"What did you just say?" Justin asked, startled, from his place near the door.
"I asked Katie to go get a blanket for Kaylee."
Justin shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. Before."
"Before what?" Brian asked, weary from spending all night in the hospital with only a few minutes here and there of sleep; perhaps that was why nothing Justin was saying at the moment was making much sense to him.
Justin eyed him intently. "Before - when you thanked her. You called her Chiquitita. "
Brian nodded, suddenly feeling exposed; it was an emotion he wasn't used to, and he found that it left him feeling vulnerable, especially in front of his ex-partner. "That's right," he replied simply. But of course, Justin couldn't just let the subject drop.
"Why? I've never heard you use that name for her before. You never used it when we were living together here."
Brian shrugged, trying hard to appear nonchalant; inside, though, his heart was hammering in his chest over his slipup. "It's just a nickname, that's all," he told Justin, trying to dismiss it.
"No, it's not just a nickname; it's the name of a song." Justin insisted softly as he tried to catch Brian's attention, but his ex-partner's eyes were averted away from him. "The same song that you and I danced to once." It had been a night he would never forget. It was the night after the Pride parade, something he hadn't even been sure he wanted to participate in with his mother, especially after running into Chris Hobbs doing his so-called penance at the hospice house. What an ironic bunch of bullshit that had been! It had freaked him out, seeing him there and hearing Hobbs telling him that he wished he would get AIDS and die. Only Brian's ability to comfort him later at the loft and his urging him to attend the parade as a big 'fuck you' to Hobbs had convinced him to go, and to his surprise he had wound up feeling strangely vindicated in a way as he had walked proudly in the parade with his mother, who had become such a large supporter in his life.
He remembered walking away from Brian at Woody's that evening, telling his partner to 'go find a stud' to help him alleviate his feelings of frustration over being hit on by every lesbian wanting his sperm donation along the parade route earlier; he had been stunned a few minutes later, though, when Brian had, indeed, gone searching for a stud and had found HIM instead. The street had been filled with half-drunk, rowdy, boisterous partygoers that night - nelly bottoms, bears, drag queens, tall men, short men, blondes, brunettes, even straight people, no doubt, who had been caught up unexpectedly in the celebration. It was flashy, it was blinding, it was noisy, and it had been packed with wall-to-wall people. But as they had slowly danced together to that insipid, mushy, Abba song, it had been as if they were the only two people on Earth at that moment. And the looks that Brian had given him as he held him in his arms, that soft smile as he stared down into his eyes almost bashfully; well, it could have only been one thing, if he had just opened his heart to see it: Brian Kinney had fallen in love with him, just as he had done, only he had lost his heart the first night he had met him. And as much as he might not want to admit it, he had never bothered to get it back. Truth was, he couldn't even if he wanted to.
"Was it?" Brian asked softly as he finally turned his head to stare over at Justin. "I guess I forgot."
Katie stood at the top of the steps, listening raptly to every word; she knew her father was lying. He had told her exactly where her nickname had come from, and her Daddy was absolutely right. That was one of the reasons why it had become one of her favorite songs on her MP3 player, because it helped to remind her of how much in love they had been back then, and how much they were STILL in love. It was time to start straightening out this mess, she decided. And they thought SHE was stubborn!
"Tell him the truth, Daddy," Katie scolded him as she walked down the steps with a lime-sherbet colored fleece blanket held in her arms. "Tell him he's right."
"Katie..."
"No, Dad!" she cried out, her voice rising. "Hasn't there been enough lying already? Just tell him the truth! Why is that so hard for both of you to do?"
"Katherine Elizabeth," Justin began sternly, for some reason feeling like his daughter was overstepping her boundaries with her impertinence.
"No, she's right," Brian said quietly as Katie stood there defiantly next to them, clutching the blanket like some piece of armor against her chest. "That IS where her nickname came from," he confessed as he stared over at Justin. "I didn't forget," he admitted. He paused for a moment before he added, "I remember every minute of that night."
It had been almost magical, that evening. Justin had survived his beating at the hands of that fucker, Chris Hobbs, and had recovered, albeit slowly, to the point where at last the two of them could start having sex again. That prio night at the loft when they had made love again for the first time had brought out such tender feelings toward his younger lover that they had both scared and exhilarated him, but he found that Justin had a way of doing that to him over and over again. That night after Pride when they had had the chance to dance again, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. And as he had gazed over into those expressive, blue, trusting eyes and they had swayed together in that hectic street to that incredibly schmoopy song blaring, all the other sights and sounds had promptly been pushed away, and it was just him and Justin; nothing and no one else mattered, and while it wasn't the same as the night of the prom, it had brought back a lot of the same emotions for him. It had also cemented in his mind that he did, indeed, love him, was IN love with him for his bravery, his courage, his passion, and for just being HIM. And yes, after what Justin had been through, he no longer looked at him as some pesky little kid. No, Justin was a full-fledged man in every sense of the word.
Justin stared over at Brian, Katie temporarily forgotten. "You do?" he asked him softly.
Brian didn't see any point in denying it, especially after their daughter had just called him out on it. "Yeah, I do."
Katie couldn't help grinning like a goofy loon. Score one for me and Kaylee, she thought silently as her father turned to look at her. "Aren't you supposed to be out on the patio, Katie?" Brian reminded her, one eyebrow arched upward in question; there was no animosity in his voice, though, as he spoke.
"Yeah," she said as she turned to go; just as she walked by her father, though, Brian reached out with his hand to affectionately ruffle her hair. Winking at her, she grinned over at her other father as she proceeded to walk down the hall toward the back of the house.
Justin sighed as Brian turned to smirk at him; something told him he was facing an uphill battle against both Brian AND the two girls. The question was, though, did he want to fight any more? He was very lonely lying in his cold bed of righteousness at night. Why did his ex-partner have to look so smug about it, though? It was almost as if he could read right through his mind.
He shook his head in resignation. "I'm going to go check on Kaylee," he muttered as he started to walk by his ex-partner; Brian, however, wasn't quite done with their conversation. He reached out to grasp Justin's upper arm, feeling the heat of his skin practically burning through the fabric.
"What, Brian?" he asked softly, not feeling particularly combative at the moment; his ankle, while much better, was still aching somewhat and they both had an injured child out on the back porch.
"Justin, I meant what I said at the hospital," he reminded him as he stared into his eyes. "We need to have a talk, a real talk. Don't you think it's about time that we settle this, once and for all?"
Justin felt his heart pound in response, recalling Brian's heartfelt words spoken to their daughter at her bedside. Should he tell him that he had heard everything he had said? He wanted to, but he was also afraid that Brian would be angry if he thought he had been eavesdropping on him, however unintentional it had been. "What happened to the 'ball being in my court,' Brian?" he quietly reminded him.
Brian sighed. "Justin, aren't you tired of this game we're playing? I know I am. We both know you're going to have to stick around for a while until Kaylee recovers; and we both agreed that we need to work on readjusting the custody arrangement. So what harm would there be in trying to talk things out? That is... unless you don't want to." He pressed his tongue into his cheek, suddenly feeling apprehensive over what Justin would say. He knew what he thought he had seen in some of the looks Justin had been giving him lately; there seemed to be a definite 'thawing of the ice' between them, but could he be sure? He heart dropped when he heard Justin reply softly, "No."
But then Justin added, "I'm tired of fighting with you, too." He lifted his eyes to stare over at Brian's as he explained, "I... I want to try and work things out. For the girls' sake."
"Shit, Justin!" Brian growled as he gripped both of Justin's shoulders to turn him to face him, resisting the urge to shake some sense into the man. "What about you? Like Katie said, can we stop dancing around everything and just be honest with each other for a change? Are you happy with the ways things are between us?"
Justin's eyes flashed; this man could get him more worked up than anyone. "Of course I'm not happy with the ways things are!" he replied stiffly.
Thank God, Brian thought silently. "Well, prove it, then," he dared him.
Justin was finding it hard to concentrate at the moment with Brian holding him by the arms; it was almost as if he were on fire. "How?"
"Let's go somewhere private where we can talk," he suggested, his voice low and smooth.
"Talk," Justin repeated suspiciously; he knew what normally happened when they 'talked.'
Brian let go of his ex-partner's arms as he huffed in insult. "Yes, Justin, talk. I AM capable of doing that vertically at times."
"Good to know," Justin murmured in amusement as Brian glared over at him. "So where do you want to talk?" he inquired, hoping Brian would not suggest the master bedroom. Just walking back into this house was enough to surround him with memories, powerful ones of their former life together, and he needed to try and keep as clear a head as possible if he were to come to the correct decision; he had to consider both him AND his daughter this time.
Brian surprised him then by suggesting, "You always liked to ride Eton and Ceres; let's take the horses up into the mountains like we used to."
Justin pondered that idea; he always did love to wander up into the mountains on horseback, both before and after the girls had been born. There was just something so peaceful about being away from all the hustle and bustle of the Pitts. Not to mention that the two of them invariably found other 'temptations' to enjoy after their picnic lunch was consumed and the girls were fast asleep taking their afternoon naps...
Justin bit his lip in indecision as he reconsidered the wisdom of such a venture. "I don't know..."
Brian rolled his eyes, immediately seeing through him. "Don't worry, Mr. Taylor; I think I can keep my hands off you for a couple of hours. Or are you afraid of what YOU might do?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Justin told him with a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay. Fine. We'll take the horses up into the mountains and talk."
Brian nodded, secretly pleased; he knew Justin would take the bait. "Good. Now what do you say we go see about our daughter first?" As anxious as he was to finally sit down and try to explain to his ex-partner his mindset so long ago, he knew it would have to take at least a temporary backseat to more pressing matters.
Justin nodded back at him before a sudden thought occurred to him. "My clothes... They're all back at the house."
Brian eyed him up and down so intently it made him flush. "You look like you haven't gained any weight since I saw you before," Brian observed, unable to keep from casting an appreciative gaze on his partner's lean body. "You look like you might have picked up some more muscle, though," he couldn't help adding. He smirked as his eyes met Justin's and he noticed the pink tint to his cheeks. He was silently happy that he could still evoke that sort of reaction in him.
"I try to exercise," Justin said just a little defensively as if he thought Brian figured he was incapable of such a regimen.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Brian told him quietly, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden; he was just trying to help and obviously Justin misunderstood. "I just meant that I still have some of your old clothes upstairs, in the master bedroom closet. You could wear some of those for our ride."
Justin's mouth gaped open. "You what? Why would you keep my old clothes in the closet? I would have thought you had cleared those out a long time ago to make more room for yourself."
Brian shrugged. "I just never had the need for the extra space," he replied, knowing that was a bald-faced lie. He still was quite meticulous in his dress and enjoyed trying out the latest fashion styles just like he always did; and he knew he still struck quite a sharp image by the reactions others gave him whenever he was at Kinnetik or in the Pitts. He could always take advantage of extra closet space.
But he had long ago ended his tendency to possess every new item of clothing that struck his fancy. He had more important concerns now - the care of his daughter who he loved more than life itself; well, her and three other people: Gus, Kaylee, and Justin. And the truth was, in the back of his mind he thought if he kept Justin's old clothing in their closet, right where it had always been, then perhaps one day Justin would be back in his bed and in his life, too. The only thing he regretted was that somewhere along the way the scent that he always used to smell on Justin's clothing that had provided him with just a bit of comfort on several cold, lonely nights had gradually dissipated. Perhaps that was why when he had first been physically close to his ex-lover again it had been his smell even more than the sight of him that had affected him so deeply.
Justin stared at him in disbelief; he didn't buy that excuse for one second. The only other logical explanation, however, was hard for him to acknowledge. All this time the picture he had held in his mind of his ex-partner was quickly being swept away to be replaced with a man he really didn't know all that well anymore. But he was rapidly coming to realize that he would like to get to know this Brian Kinney very much.
Brian shuffled his feet. "Anyway, you can wear something up there for our ride, if you want." Trying to lighten the mood that had suddenly turned a little too serious for his taste at the moment, Brian added, "You must still have a high metabolism, Sunshine, even if you DO work out, because something tells me that you haven't changed your junk food habits all that much; at least based on what Kaylee has told me."
Justin huffed, even though Brian was absolutely right; he DID still love to imbibe in sweets and high-calorie foods. "Maybe," he conceded reluctantly as Brian grinned over at him in triumph. "I'll be right back," he told Brian as he turned to head up the steps.
Wanting fervently to follow his ex-partner up to the bedroom, if only to see him back in their most sacred of private places, he forced himself nevertheless to remain where he was at the bottom of the steps as he nodded. "I'll wait here."
Justin turned his head to nod before he continued his ascent up to the second floor, feeling his heart beginning to pound as he turned and walked down the familiar hallway toward the spacious, master suite. It had been a long time since he had dared to enter that room; in some ways it seemed like an eternity, in others it seemed like just yesterday.
As he arrived at the doorway, he stopped to peer in, curious to see what sort of changes Brian had made once he had left. To his surprise, he found that it was quite similar to how it had been before: the same drapes, same furniture, even the same works of art on the walls: HIS works of art. They were just as he had left them when the two of them had separated. But as he walked into the room that haunted so many of his memories at night, he noticed a few slight changes. There were two pencil sketches on the walls that he didn't recognize: one of the front of Britin in what appeared to be springtime, and one of their two horses (he grimaced; funny how he still thought of Ceres and Eton as 'their' horses), their heads held high as they galloped around the paddock. Walking closer to the sketches, he noticed a small scripted name in the lower right-hand corner, and couldn't help the swell of pride that bloomed inside him as he recognized Katie's signature. He knew she had inherited his talent for art, but it still filled him with happiness to know that she, too, enjoyed his passion. He silently resolved to make sure he spent time with her, no matter what happened, encouraging her love of art.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he turned and walked over to the closet, noticing instantly that Brian had, indeed, kept his clothing hanging up in its normal space on the right-hand side. Each item was carefully hung and spaced out almost as if it had been done with precise measurements; something he would never have cared about, but he could certainly see Brian doing it. Even his jeans and khakis were hanging from specially-made pants hangers, all of the clothing arranged by type and then by color. Brian had obviously taken great pains to ensure that his clothing was well taken care of; it was yet another surprise of many that he had been encountering ever since he had returned.
Quickly donning a pair of beige khakis and a soft, cotton, candy-apple red, V-necked tee shirt (not stopping to consider that it used to be one of Brian's favorites on him), he slipped back into his worn but well-loved sneakers and turned to leave; clutching his worn clothing in his hands, something made him walk over to the master bathroom and open up the hamper to place his soiled clothing in with Brian's before he turned and headed toward the door.
Brian glanced up as Justin appeared at the top of the landing, and his breath caught in his throat; did Justin realize he was wearing one of his favorite tops for him? The one that complimented his pale complexion perfectly and somehow made his blue eyes pop even more? Was he trying to test what little amount of self-discipline he had left? Or was it just some wild coincidence? He swallowed hard as Justin walked down the stairs, forcing himself to plaster what he hoped was a neutral expression on his face as his ex-partner joined him at the bottom of the steps.
"After you, Mr. Taylor," he intoned formally as he swept his hand outward. Justin stared at him for a moment until Brian looked away and he nodded, leading the way as Brian used the circumstances to secretly admire one of Justin's most intriguing assets. Well, I'm glad to see that ONE thing hasn't changed, he thought to himself as they headed toward the back doors leading out to the patio.
"Grandma, will you let me get a word in edgewise?" Gus groused at Debbie over the phone as the fathers slid open the door and moved to join him. He looked over at Brian and Justin helplessly. "I know I was supposed to call you last night, but something came up. I'm fine, and the car's fine." He rolled his eyes as the two ex-partners clearly heard the grating, loud female voice on the other end when Gus punched the speakerphone button so they could hear her part of the conversation.
"Yeah, I bet I know exactly WHAT came up," Debbie retorted on the other end. "I thought you were more responsible than that, Gus; otherwise, I wouldn't have let you borrow Vic's old car."
Gus huffed in indignation. "Grandma, I was NOT out having my dick sucked, if that's what you're implying! Remember, I was with Justin, anyway. Do you seriously think that's what I would do with him in the car with me? Shit." He shook his head while both girls giggled nearby as they looked at him in amusement over his embarrassment; both sisters were currently reclining side by side on identical chaise lounges, clearing enjoying their brother's discomfiture.
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised," Debbie replied, "looking at the role model you had." Debbie realized that wasn't quite fair, though; she knew that ever since Justin and Kaylee had left, Brian's previous, promiscuous lifestyle had taken a dramatic turn, at least that's what she had discerned through the grapevine. Not that Brian was the kind of person to announce such matters, but from everything she had heard and seen, he was not the same type of person he had been after they had left. Never again, for instance, did he come into the diner looking spaced out on E or with bags under his eyes after spending way too much time at the baths or Babylon. And she never heard anyone discussing their one-night stand of bliss at the hands of Brian Kinney, the sex maestro. No, from everything she could tell, Brian's normal response to being stressed out or in emotional turmoil hadn't taken its normal path; from all intents and purposes, he had actually become a caring and, dare she say it, responsible father to Katie.
Brian walked over and motioned with his hand for Gus to give him the phone. Taking it from him, he brought it up close to his mouth to speak. "Deb, it's Brian, the former cock sucking champion," he wisecracked; Justin had to place his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing as he stood nearby.
Everyone could hear a huff on the other end. "I guess you heard what I told Gus. I take it you're together? Where? Britin?"
"No, Deb," Brian told her, clearly aggravated now. "I decided to instruct him in the joys of having foursomes, so we stopped at the loft; the bed was bigger and it was more convenient to the baths where we picked them up."
"Brian..." Justin warned him, not wanting the girls to receive any more 'educating' than they already had.
Brian punched the phone to disable the speakerphone option. "Deb, hold on for a minute," he told her as he covered the lower part of the phone with his hand and turned to face Justin. "I think she needs to know what happened to Kaylee," he told him. "You know she's going to be pissed if she finds out later, not to mention she'll probably wallop Michael up the side of the head if she knows he's been keeping it from her. And your mom will be angry, too."
Justin sighed; he knew Brian was right. He also knew that both women would probably STILL be angry even after they told them the truth, but better to divulge it now rather than later. "Okay," he told him softly as Brian nodded.
Turning back to the phone, Brian held it up to his ear to say, "Deb, there's a good reason why Gus couldn't call you last night..."
Brian blew out a deep breath between his lips as he pressed the disconnect option on Gus's phone and handed it back to him and brushed his right hand restlessly through his hair. "That went over well," he deadpanned as he shook his head. Just as he thought, Debbie had been furious with them over not letting her know that Kaylee had been injured, despite Brian's reassurances that she had gotten help immediately and was never in great danger.
Justin sighed as he walked over to him. "My turn now," he said with dread as he reached inside the pocket of his jeans to retrieve his own phone. "Wish me luck."
At least after Justin's mother had gotten over the initial shock, she had actually been quite reasonable about the whole matter, especially when he had assured her that Brian had been with Kaylee the whole time and Michael had been there as well. She sounded almost pleased to hear that he and Brian had spent the night together, standing vigil over their daughter's bedside. He suspected it was because his mother was reading far more into it than was warranted, but at least she hadn't threatened to cut him a new one before they disconnected. Of course, if she DID want to, she would soon have the chance to do it in person.
As he hung up, he turned to Brian. "I think I should warn you - my mother has taken it upon herself to invite both her and Debbie out here today to make sure Kaylee really is okay. She said they should be here by lunchtime."
"Lovely," Brian replied dryly. "All the more reason for us to get away."
"Get away?" Katie asked, picking up on her father's statement immediately as her ears perked up. "Are we going somewhere?"
Brian and Justin exchanged a look as Brian told her, "No, not we as in all of us; your father and I are going to take the horses up into the mountains alone for a little ride - if that's okay with you and your brother - and you, too, Kaylee," he added as he looked over at his other daughter. He paused for a moment before he explained, "Your father and I are overdue for a long talk and we thought it might be best to discuss some things in private."
The girls' eyes lit up as they secretly grinned at each other; this was the best news they had heard in a long time! "No, we don't' mind," Kaylee hastily reassured them from her place over on the chaise lounge, hardly able to keep a straight face as she looked over at their fathers. "I'll be fine; I'm feeling much better now. You go ahead, right, Katie? Right, Gus?"
"Yeah, Dad, we'll be just fine," Katie assured Brian. "Gus can take care of anything we need, and I'll help with Kaylee," she told him eagerly. She didn't even try to hide her happiness as she grinned over at him and Justin like a fool. "And our grandmas will be here soon. So you go ahead. Take all the time you need."
Brian rolled his eyes at Justin, both knowing exactly what Katie was implying. Would she wind up being correct, though? Brian knew what HE wanted to come out of their 'talk,' but he still wasn't convinced what Justin wanted. He thought back to the promise he had made to himself earlier at the hospital; he wasn't about to let either Justin OR Kaylee go without a fight. Then, if Justin DID decide to return to Chicago, at least he would know that he did everything he could to make them stay.
"Well, thank you for your approval, Katherine Elizabeth," he told her wryly as he looked over at Gus, who didn't appear quite as excited about the idea. He frowned. "Something wrong, Gus?"
Justin noticed Gus's expression and couldn't help thinking that the boy he used to regard as a son was still suspicious of his motives; he supposed he couldn't really blame him, though. He had heard two parts of a story; how could Gus know which version was true? Even HE didn't really know the whole story; not yet, anyway. He was hoping by the time he and Brian were done, though, he finally would know the entire explanation. More importantly, he hoped it would be a plausible, convincing one, because he now knew that his heart wanted nothing less.
Gus eyed Justin intently for a moment and glanced over at the hopeful faces of his two sisters before finally he shook his head. "No, Dad," he told Brian quietly as he turned his attention to his father. "I'll be glad to watch out for both of them; it'll give me a chance to get to know Kaylee better, too." He turned to flash her a soft smile as she nodded at him in agreement.
Brian nodded. "Thanks," he told his son as he turned to look at Justin, his tongue planted firmly in cheek; he knew what they needed to do was important, but that still didn't mean he couldn't have just a little fun at his ex-partner's expense. "Ready to do a little riding, then ... Sunshine?"
Justin glared at him, unwilling to let himself slide back into caving simply by looking at Brian's face; he made himself recall the reason why they were doing this in the first place. He turned to peer over at his daughters, who seemed to be watching their every move with rapt attention. Walking over to both of them, he leaned down to lightly caress Katie's cheek as she smiled up at him lovingly before he turned to lean down and repeat the gesture with Kaylee.
"You sure you're okay with us leaving you for a while, Sweetheart?" he asked softly, feeling a little guilty about leaving his injured daughter despite her reassurances.
Kaylee nodded as she reached up to clasp his hand. "Yes, Daddy. I want you to go." She crooked her index finger with her other hand as he leaned in so she could whisper in his ear. "I want you to make up with him. Forgive him, Daddy; he loves you so much, and I'm sure he really is sorry."
Justin swallowed hard and blinked, trying furiously to keep the stubborn tears he felt prickling his eyes from falling. He merely nodded silently, not trusting himself to speak as he stood back up and let go of his daughter's hand. With one last smile at his other daughter, he turned to go just as the front doorbell sounded.
He frowned as he looked over at Brian. "There's no way that could be my mother already," he stated.
Brian shook his head. "No, there's not been enough time. I'll go see who it is."
"No, Dad," Gus interjected from his place near the back door. "I'll get it; I was going to go get Kaylee a better pillow anyway."
Brian nodded, grateful for his son's thoughtfulness. "Okay, we'll wait here until you find out what they want before we head to the stables."
Gus nodded back at him as he pulled the sliding glass door open and entered through the kitchen. Walking down the hallway to the front door, he pulled it open to see a dark-haired, blue-eyed man standing there dressed informally but immaculately in a lightweight, beige jacket, dark-blue jeans, and a dark green polo shirt. The man smiled at him as he opened the door and peered over at him.
"Yes?" Gus inquired somewhat impatiently, thinking that any man dressed this nicely out here in the sticks must be some sort of salesman; only someone that persistent would normally show up out here.
"Hello, is this the Kinney residence?" the man asked politely, only adding to Gus's suspicions.
"Maybe," Gus responded somewhat brusquely. "Who wants to know?"
Alex tried hard not to glare at the tall teenage boy eyeing him so warily. Cheeky little shit; must be Kinney's obnoxious kid, he couldn't help thinking, remembering that Justin had told him that his ex-partner had an older son, and this slender, lanky teen bore an uncanny resemblance to the version of Brian Kinney he had seen in that photo in the desk. Obviously, he had the right house; that much was obvious.
Deciding that it was perhaps not a good idea to be totally upfront with this kid, he impetuously opted to weave a different sort of tale based on some previous information Justin had given him. Keeping the smile on his face, he replied, "I'm so sorry to intrude, but my name is Sidney Bloom; perhaps you've heard of me?" He saw a slight frown appear on the boy's face as if the name rang some sort of bell, but he wasn't sure as he plodded onward. "I'm an owner of several art galleries in the Pitts, and I heard that one of my former artists, Justin Taylor, was back in town visiting temporarily and was staying here with Mr. Kinney. I was hoping to talk to him and convince him to display some of his works in my studios again before he returns to Chicago."
Gus hesitated as he held the door partially open. The name did sound familiar for some reason; perhaps his mom had mentioned it at one time or another? He peered at the handsome, confident-looking man standing in front of him curiously; he certainly didn't sound like a salesman; after all, he was looking for Justin, not his father. If he was a salesman, how would he even know that Justin was here? "How did you know Justin was back home?" he asked curtly.
Alex's heart leapt at the disclosure; so Justin WAS here! It made him both excited as well as angry to think that his boyfriend, the man he had asked to marry, would agree to come back home and stay with his ex-partner! What was he thinking? He shrugged, quickly reaching for a plausible explanation as he told the boy, "You know how it is in the art world; word gets around quickly. One of my business acquaintances found out and let me know; he knew I would want to see him. Please...I won't take up much of his time. Could I speak with him?"
To his delight, Gus finally nodded his head as he opened the door wider for him to enter. His initial amazement over how opulent Kinney's residence appeared from the outside gave way to utter astonishment as he entered the foyer and had his first look at the grand interior; it was all dark, expensive hardwoods, leather furnishings and quality artwork, including a couple of impressionistic sculptures and what appeared to be an Andy Warhol sketch of an angel hanging over the fireplace mantel of the study that led off from the main hallway. He also recognized to his disgust several works of Justin's hanging up, both in the study and other rooms; by now readily able to identify his style. Apparently Kinney still held his paintings in high regard. Well, that's ALL you're going to hold onto, you asshole, he thought with disdain as he allowed the boy to lead him toward the back of the house. He wondered exactly where they were going, but figured Kinney's kid knew what he was doing.
Finally, they walked into a gourmet, professional-size kitchen with two, six-burner stoves and a built-in, stainless steel refrigerator as he followed the tall teen to a set of double glass doors; he noticed several round, glass-topped tables outside with chairs on the other side, assuming that Justin was out there, no doubt with his ex-partner and Kaylee. He had already decided that he didn't care if he found him alone or not; it was time to stake his claim and take back what was his, Kinney and Kaylee notwithstanding. All it would take was some reasoning with Justin on his part, and he was sure his boyfriend would see the wisdom of returning with him. He would have to decide what to do with the brat later.
"He's out here," Gus told Alex as he swung the door open; four sets of eyes immediately trained themselves on their new visitor as Alex followed Gus outside.
"Justin, it's for you. Sidney Bloom." Gus said as he walked outside and waited for Alex to follow.
Justin frowned in confusion until he saw just who Sidney Bloom was; as soon as he did, his eyes widened in shock and anger, following by two little girls who immediately rose to their feet, even though one was still not completely healed.
Alex's pulse accelerated as he saw the object of his desire staring back at him; even with his eyes flashing in anger and his face furrowed with annoyance, he still thought he was the most incredible sight he had ever seen. "Justin, I can explain," he began softly as he held his hands up in supplication.
"Alex," Justin murmured in shock; he was the last person he expected to see here.
"Daddy, what is HE doing here?" Kaylee cried out in disgust as Katie held onto her arm for support. "Make him go away!"
Alex looked over at the source of that statement and his eyes almost bugged out of his head; two, identical little blonde-haired girls were glaring at him. Everything about them - their expressions, their rigid stances, their haircuts, were the same, except for the clothing. "What..?"
Brian's face darkened with fury; he knew full well what Sidney Bloom looked like, so he immediately knew the man was an imposter. But when he heard Justin mention his real name, his puzzlement rapidly turned to hostility. "Get away from him, Gus," Brian warned his son in an oddly calm tone of voice as he started to walk toward their visitor.
"Brian..." Justin implored quickly, feeling the aggression almost pouring off his ex-partner in waves and recognizing that tone of voice as being even worse than Brian screaming at someone; his ex-lover was pissed. No, make that angry - very, very angry. "I'll handle this; please," he pleaded as he grabbed Brian's sleeve and held on tightly, hoping it would be enough to stop him. "Let me take care of this."
Brian glared at the other man, feeling himself boiling inside. He tried to tell himself it was because he was merely being protective of Gus and his daughters, but he also recognized it for the truth that it was: jealousy. His daughters had told him about this man - this person who had the gall to ask Justin to marry him. To him, that meant the man was his No. 1 Enemy, and while he would never admit it to Justin, the thought of him having serious competition for his ex-partner's affections scared the hell out of him. Knowing he was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, though, he finally curtly nodded as Justin let go of his arm slowly to make sure he would, indeed, stay in place like he promised.
Justin let out a shaky breath as he left Brian to walk closer to his ex-fiancé. "What are you DOING here, Alex? I thought I had made my wishes clear before when we said goodbye."
Alex, however, was still having a hard time adjusting to TWO identical girls staring back at him icily. "There're... There're two of them?" he whispered as he turned at last to look back at Justin, his mouth hung open in shock.
"Yes," Justin said stiffly as he wrapped his arms around his body and stood in front of him rather defiantly; feeling every bit the protective father as he deliberately placed himself between Alex and the children. "Twins. You already know Kaylee; the other one's Katie."
Alex shook his head, perplexed. "How...?"
Justin sighed, not really feeling like the man deserved an explanation but deciding to give him one anyway in hopes he would just go away for good. "After we split up, Brian received custody of Katie, and I got custody of Kaylee. According to the court agreement, they weren't supposed to find out about each other until they turned eighteen, but they happened to meet at camp and decided to switch places with each other."
Alex's mouth hung open in realization; his eyes narrowed as he peered over at the two bookends staring back at him almost smugly. "At camp? You mean when I went with you to pick up your daughter, it wasn't...?"
"No," Justin admitted. "It was Katie instead; only I didn't know that until Brian figured out what had happened and brought Kaylee back up to Chicago with him to switch them back." He turned around slightly to peer over at his daughters in amusement as he told Alex, "Only they had other ideas; they refused to tell us which one was which, so I had to come back home with Brian until we could get them sorted out. And I wanted to change the custody agreement going forward anyway so Brian and I could spend time with both our daughters."
Standing next to his father, Gus eyed the man warily as Justin and Alex conversed. He still didn't quite know what was going on, but he could tell whatever it was, his father was NOT happy; he could actually see a vein bulging out of the side of his neck as he stood next to him. Obviously whoever this person was, he was NOT Sidney Bloom; not after he just mentioned going with Justin to his sisters' camp to pick up Kaylee, although it had actually been Katie at the time. Almost subconsciously, he reached to squeeze his father's shoulder, feeling the tenseness beneath him. His father was very angry; of that there could be no question.
Alex's face darkened. "How convenient," he commented as he glared over at Brian, who matched him with an identical expression.
"What's that supposed to mean, Alex?" Justin replied as he continued to stand there with his arms hugging his chest and his feet spaced apart as if in a fighter pose.
"Come on, Justin!" Alex cried out in disgust as he locked icy gazes with his rival. "Can't you see that he set all this up? He wanted you back, and apparently he's found the perfect tool to do that! How blind can you be?"
"Why, you son of a..." Brian snarled.
"Dad," Gus called out as he noticed his father about to make his move. "It's okay; let Justin handle it." He now knew who this person must be; Katie had tipped him off to the moronic ex-boyfriend once she had returned to Pittsburgh. So this character was Justin's ex-boyfriend and would-be fiancé. Yep, he thought to himself. Katie was right; he IS a Grade-A asshole.
Brian continued to seethe inside as he watched Justin talking to the man who had the audacity to try and take him away from him. Just the thought of that man touching him, making love with him, made him sick to his stomach. He grudgingly had to admit the guy was attractive, he supposed, in a dark, brooding sort of way, but he obviously had no manners - or respect - for either his ex-partner or his daughters. And what man would lie his way in just to see an ex-lover? A man he had no respect for, that's who. He was going to give him two more seconds before he took care of him himself. He soon found out, though, that Gus was right; Justin could be quite feisty when he wanted to be.
Justin's eyes flashed with insult. "He did NO such thing, Alex! He was as surprised by what they did as I was! Stop trying to insinuate things that aren't true! How did you even know I was here?"
For once, Alex's confidence faltered as he admitted, "I found out from Mrs. Bailey; she identified him as the man you left with the other day."
"How would she even know who Brian was?" Justin pressed him. "I never introduced them."
Alex rolled his eyes. "If you must know, Justin, I found a photo of the two of you together in your desk drawer that day when you misplaced your car keys."
Justin's face darkened in dismay. "You went through my personal things in my desk?" He pursed his lips tightly together and subconsciously clenched his fists as he replied, "I can't believe you did that." He huffed out a deep breath as he told Alex then, "You know, you're right; I guess I WAS blind!" Alex began to smile in triumph over at Brian before he heard Justin explain, "I was blind to think that you and I could actually be partners! You have no respect for me, my daughters, or Brian - or his son who you lied to! Now GET... OUT!"
To Brian's surprise, he watched as Justin reached over and actually shoved the other man as Katie yelled out, "Get him, Daddy!" He snorted in amusement over his daughter's prize-fighting call of encouragement until he watched as the other man reached out to grab Justin's hand and pull his body tightly against his.
"You don't mean that, Justin!" Alex told him firmly as he wrapped his hands around Justin's body and held him against him like a vise. "Think about what you're doing! I LOVE you, damn it! He's just using you! Wake up! Even your own daughters are conspiring against you! Leave them with HIM and come back with me where you belong!"
"That's it!" Brian roared, unable to take anymore as he wrenched himself away from his son's grasp and rushed over to Justin's side, Gus hurrying to catch up with him; both girls' eyes widened in alarm as they watched their father hurry to their Daddy's defense. It wasn't that they didn't think he could take care of himself, but having their Daddy in the middle - literally - as well as their brother in the thick of the melee frightened them.
Brian walked up to within inches of Alex's face as he pulled Justin away from him and cocked his fist.
"No, Brian!" Justin yelled just as the fist hit its mark; only, Brian didn't manage to strike Alex, however; his fist impacted with Justin's jaw instead as his ex-partner vainly tried to intercede between them. Justin flinched as the fist made contact with the right side of his face and Brian looked over at him in dismay.
"Justin..." he murmured, his face instantly contorted with regret.
"I'm okay," Justin reassured him quickly as he turned his attention back to Alex; at least the mishap had served momentarily to distract him, because his ex-boyfriend was standing there gaping at him. He used the brief interlude to tell him, "I'm only going to say it one more time, Alex - get the hell out of here! I never want to see you again, do you understand? Get OUT!"
But Alex was as dense as he was deceptive; he continued to stand there as he pleaded now, "Justin, listen to reason; I'm trying to help you here."
Gus snorted; he could only take so much drivel himself. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he yelled as he reached over and grabbed Alex by the scruff of the neck as the shorter man yelped in reaction. "The welcome mat has just been rolled up, pal; you're out of here!" he commanded as he used his larger stature and strength from bodybuilding at the high school weight room to grasp the man by his shoulder with his other arm and proceed to drag him toward the side of the house. "I'll be right back, Dad!" he called out to Brian as he walked toward his two sisters with his captive. "I just have to take the garbage out to the curb FIRST!" He continued to drag a struggling Alex toward the edge of the patio, right past where the girls were now standing near their chaise lounges. As they neared Katie's, she promptly stuck her foot out just in time for Alex to trip on it; he would have promptly fallen flat on his face, straight onto the concrete, if not for Gus still holding onto him by the arm.
"Katie..." Gus scolded her as he walked past her, still dragging an unwilling, sputtering Alex toward the side yard. "Play nice now," he said as he twisted his head around just long enough to wink at her and smirk, just like her father would do. Both girls giggled as they watched a totally undignified, ruffled Alex being forced to retreat toward the front of the house toward his parked car.
Within a few seconds, Gus and Alex had disappeared around the side of the house, leaving the surroundings surprisingly quiet.
"That was FUN!" Kaylee cried out suddenly as she clapped and Katie grinned over at her. "It was almost worth going to the hospital, even!" she decided.
Justin sighed in relief as he walked over and sat down on one of their patio's white, metal chairs. Brian walked over and scooted a chair next to him, cocking his head sideways in an attempt to see what damage he had inflicted. He felt like shit for hitting Justin, even though it had been unintentional; but he had been so mad and yes, so fucking jealous of that prick, he had reacted on instinct. Unfortunately, his fist had made contact with the other side of Justin's face that was presently hidden from him, so he couldn't really see the damage. He knew from the sound, however, and from Justin's reaction that he had hit him a good one.
"Justin? Do you want me to get some ice?" he murmured as his ex-partner hung his head in his hands and let out a heavy breath. After a few seconds, Brian watched him mutely shake his head no. "Tell me what I can do," he said softly, feeling terrible about what had happened. He wasn't sorry that son of a bitch was gone, however; surely this time the man had gotten the message. His eyes widened slightly as he watched Justin raise his head and push back from the table to stand up.
He eyed his partner with concern as he noticed the beginnings of a bluish-black mark on his light-colored cheek. "Fuck; I'm sorry, Justin," he whispered as he stood up next to him. "Just tell me what I can do to help make you feel better."
To his surprise, Justin smiled a half smile. "You can take me for a ride like you promised," he told him softly. Holding his hand out toward his former lover, he held his breath for a second until Brian reached over to firmly grasp his hand in his and nod.
"Let's go, then," he replied as he gazed into his eyes. Noticing Gus returning alone, Brian's son nodded in confirmation that he had taken care of their 'problem' before, hand in hand, the two men turned and began to walk toward the pathway leading to the stables.
Gus walked over and plopped down on the edge of the chaise lounge belonging to Katie as he let out a deep breath. "Well, I haven't had this much fun since I got expelled for smoking pot," he decided as his two sisters' eyes widened in surprise.
He looked over at them sheepishly. "Whoops! Forget I said that, okay?" Both girls nodded with a smile as he grinned up at them. "Okay, little sister, time for you to get some more rest; you've had enough excitement to last a lifetime now. The wrestling match is over." He watched as she nodded and carefully climbed back onto her chaise lounge as Katie sat down next to him on the other one.
"I'll go get us some iced tea; I saw some in the fridge earlier," he told them as he rose to leave; Kaylee, however, pulled on his arm as he looked down at her curiously. "You need something, Kaylee?" he asked softly.
She nodded with a sort of shy smile. "Yeah; don't go just yet... tell me some more about Dad - and about you. Did you really smoke pot?"
Gus laughed as he sat back down. "Well, it all started when I was thirteen..."
A/N: As always, thanks to my beta, boriqua522, for looking this over and for her encouragement. Thanks, my friend.:)