Michael tapped his fingers on the arm of the wooden chair he was sitting in. What if they don’t let us or Mom take him home? He looks so young and vulnerable in that hospital bed. His mother should be in jail too. No one will convince me that she didn’t know what that fucking animal she calls a boyfriend was going to do after she left.

 

Ben and Deb sat next to Michael anxiously waiting for the child protective services case worker to call them in to the office.

 

“Michael,” they both snapped at the same time.

 

He jumped, “What?”

 

Ben gently took Michael’s hand in his, but the shorter man was too preoccupied to get the hint.

 

“Why did you yell at me?” he asked.

 

“You’re driving us fucking crazy tapping the chair,” explained his mother.

 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize I was doing it.”

 

“It’s okay. We’re all nervous,” smiled Ben.

 

“Mr. Novotny, Mr. Bruckner, Mrs. Novotny please follow me,” said a pretty young woman.

 

She showed them to a meeting room with an oval table and six chairs. She placed a tray with a glass pitcher filled with water and some glasses in the middle. “Please help yourself. My name is Sarah Thomas. I was just given Hunter’s case about two weeks ago. Unfortunately, his mother has more experience avoiding social workers than I have of finding delinquent parents. I scheduled a visit with his mother for the next day, but she wasn’t there when I got there. I also scheduled one with Hunter at the school the day after that.”

 

“So that would have been the day before he ended up in the hospital. Did you see him?” Ben asked.

 

“Yes, we had a brief meeting. Like many teenagers who have had repeated associations with the system, he was very distrustful of me. That made things more difficult.  There were many causing factors to this situation, outdated child protection laws that treat children as their parents’ property rather than individuals with needs and rights, overworked social workers with mountains of unnecessary paperwork or the lack of adequate foster homes, but, the bottom line is this department and more specifically I failed Hunter. I would like the opportunity to rectify the situation to the best of my ability.”

 

“We appreciate that,” offered Ben. “We know how uncooperative Hunter can be. The fact that this happened three days after you got the case doesn’t reflect poorly on you, but the previous social worker.”

 

“Thanks,” she smiled. “I spoke to Hunter’s doctor this morning. He will be well enough to leave the hospital in about five days, so that would be Tuesday. I convinced the doctor to keep him there until Friday so I have more time to straighten this mess out.” 

 

“Finally, someone with some authority that seems to give a shit,” Deb said. I am starting to feel better about this girl even if she looks like she’s about twelve years old. I’m sure I have wigs older than her, she thought.

 

“According to the file, Mrs. Novotny is asking to be Hunter’s guardian. I thought he had been staying with you two?”

 

“He was, and please call me Debbie. We felt that there was a better chance of getting him away from his mother that way.”

 

“Yeah, we wanted him safe. We figured being a gay couple we wouldn’t have much of chance,” explained Michael.

 

“Would you like him to come back to stay with you?”

 

“Of course, but is that even possible?” Ben asked.

 

“That’s what this meeting is about. There are a few options here. He could be put back in a foster home. I think we all know he will run away from that as soon as he gets a chance. Not a good solution. Placing him with you, Debbie, would be much better. We could also fight to have him placed with the two of you, but I agree that might be more of a risk then it’s wise to take at this point. Another possibility would be to have him emancipated and then these decisions would be his. He could decide to stay with the two of you. The problem is he could also decide to quit school or return to his life on the streets. No one would have any authority over him. Do you think he is ready and able to take or make reasonable and responsible decisions for himself?”

 

“That’s hard to say. He was just starting to live a normal life when his mother showed up. What emotional damage  he sustained during his stay with her is hard to determine. I don’t think we’ll know until he is out of the hospital,” said Ben.

 

“The truth is emancipation might be the easiest solution. I am ashamed to say that the state often prefers to write them off rather than help them. My hope would be that he would choose to stay with you and go to school of his own volition.”

 

“I think that we could convince him to stay with us. He made the choice once before,” said Michael.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gathering the few possessions he had in the room that had been his home for the last month, Ted was nervous. How am I going to face everyone? Will I be able to put the pieces of my life back together? Do I even know what those pieces are and where to find them? I want to stay here where it’s safe. I don’t feel the need to take drugs here, but what about out there where the harsh realities of my life are just waiting to pounce on me. I hope I am strong enough. The therapy has helped me to understand that I have to take things one step at a time. The first one is to actually leave this room. Closing his bag, he took a final look around the room. There was a knock at the door and Blake entered.

 

“Good. You’re ready to go.”

 

“I wouldn’t go that far, I’m pretty nervous about leaving.”

 

“That is completely understandable. You have made the most of your time here Ted. The techniques and life patterns that you learned here will serve you well as you face your new life. I am very proud of you.” Blake said giving Ted a hug.

 

“Thank you. I just hope I can do it.”

 

“I know you can.”

 

“Can I still see you?”

 

“Of course, I am your sponsor. I will always be just a phone call away.”

 

“I wish you could be more than that,” sighed Ted.

 

“You have a lot of things to straighten out in your life. Not the least of which is Emmett. You know that new relationships are not a great idea for a newly sober person for at least six months. Remember the most important relationship you have right now is with yourself.”

 

“Thank you Blake. I really appreciate how good you have been to me here. I guess I better go or I never will.”

 

Blake watched Ted leave the room and go down the hall. Just before he was about to turn a corner, Blake rushed to him. “I just want you to know that I am interested in exploring a relationship with you if that is what you still want when you are ready.” With a last hug, Ted turned the corner to see Michael waiting for him.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“You are one of my best friends and you need a ride home. Where else would I be? You look so great. Are you ready to go?”

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Ted said, with a weak grin.

 

“Great, let’s go.” Michael placed a comforting hand on Ted’s shoulder as they made their way out of the building.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Justin walked up to the brownstone and smiled at the freshly painted sign that hung from the porch railing.

 

ADvantage Designs

 

Brian was right it’s the perfect name. It’s better than anything I came up with, he thought.

 

Opening the door, he could still detect the faint odor of paint.

 

“Hey!” Brian said in an unusually excited voice.

 

“Hey.”

 

“So, how was it?”

 

“Pretty good, I guess.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing. You know I get overwhelmed when I don’t have a plan.”

 

“I know. You are more of a perfectionist than I am. So how many credits are you going to lose?”

 

“It turns out my professors didn’t agree with the Dean suspending me for my political views. They all offered to let me make up the work I missed. Since they technically aren’t allowed to do that, they said it could be extra credit. I could end up with a better grade point average in the end.”

 

“That’s great! What can I do to make it easier or help you manage your time?”

 

“I am going to set up a schedule or I guess it will be more like a timeline. If you could put the accounts you know I’ll have to work on in it even if it’s months in advance. That way, I can keep an eye on when I am going to be busy here, so I can get school stuff done ahead of time when possible.”

 

“That’s a good idea. I want you to keep a copy of it here and put your school assignments on it too. Cynthia and I will know when you have more time available and we’ll try to work things around your schedule.”

 

“I know that won’t always be possible and that’s okay. I’m in college. I’m supposed to pull some all-nighters.”

 

“Oh, you’ll be pulling some all-nighters, but we’ll try to make them unrelated to work,” smiled Brian, pulling the blond to him.

 

“I can think of something I can pull all night,” responded Justin, with a lustful look.

 

“Let’s christen our bathroom.” Brian suggested as he trailed kisses from one side of Justin’s neck to the other.

 

“We already did that.”

 

“Yes, but then we defiled it, so it needs to be redone. I think it’s a vicious cycle but what can we do but keep trying.”

 

Cynthia watched them make their way upstairs and sighed. This job is going to make me hornier than hell. They are both so beautiful but together they are hot!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Later Justin sat at his office computer of the brownstone looking over his schedule. He had entered the accounts he knew would be coming up and his regular school assignments onto it. Shit! He thought. It’s already pretty full and I haven’t added the extra credit or Rage stuff yet. I better get to work, I guess. He sent a copy of the schedule down to Cynthia.

 

Noticing a new message, Cynthia opened the new email and looked over the new schedule. Good, she thought, I was afraid Justin would have too much on his plate. Considering his energy level and intelligence, this should be okay. It won’t leave much time to enjoy college life, though. I’ll double check that he has the timeframes of the accounts right.

 

“I got another account,” smiled Brian.

 

“The pizza one?”

 

“Yes. Pia’s Pizza Pies. I wonder if we can talk them into changing the name?” He sighed. “At least it’s a statewide franchise, so it could help us establish a name for ourselves.”

 

“I doubt they will want to change the name,” she laughed. “When do you need Justin to work on it? I was just looking over the schedule he sent me.”

 

“Their current campaign isn’t up for two more months, so it’s not a big hurry. We won’t launch our campaign for at least ten weeks.”

 

“Okay, let’s see,” she said, looking at the screen.

 

“Get out of the way. I want to make sure he’s not spreading himself too thin.”

 

“If he’s in art school, why is he taking so many difficult classes you would associate with other schools?” Cynthia asked.

 

“He loves his art, but he is very smart and wants to be challenged. He actually signed up for the most difficult academic courses they have and is still a little bored with it. He got fifteen hundred on his SATs and was accepted at several Ivy League schools.”

 

“Who would have thought, Brian Kinney showing pride in someone other than himself.” Cynthia smirked.

 

“That’s because he’s a better person than I’ll ever be.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Walking into the house, Lindsay’s mouth watered at the aroma that filled the hallway. In the dining room she found Mel sitting at the table with a delicious looking meal set out before her. Gus was strapped into his booster seat, playing with some pasta shaped as letters.

 

“What’s all of this?” Lindsay asked.

 

“I thought it would be a change to have a nice sit down dinner for just the three of us. We can relax.”

 

“Where’s Emmett?”

 

“He and Vic are setting up the kitchen today. The new oven was being delivered this afternoon.”

 

“That’s great! I am so happy for him, for all of them really. They must be so excited to start new businesses.”

 

“Yeah, professional satisfaction can be very fulfilling,” Mel sighed.

 

“I had almost forgotten what it felt like,” laughed Lindsay, leaning in to kiss her wife. Then she went to her son.

 

“I missed you soooo much, sweetheart,” she cooed.

 

Mel watched Gus’ face light up and wistfully wished she would have the same bond with the baby. I only hope it will be easier after the baby is born, she thought rubbing her belly.

 

“I swear he grows an inch every time I go to work, he’s growing so fast. I spend half my day wondering what he’s doing. I love working, but I miss him so much,” Lindsay explained, completely unaware of Mel’s feelings and fears about becoming a mother.

 

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that,” sighed Mel.

 

“Why?”

 

“This staying home all of the time is about to drive me insane.”

 

“I understand that this is a big change for you, but it’s important for you to take it easy. You are still working half days so it’s not staying home ALL of the time.”

 

“I know and I am taking it easy, but I am starting to think that might be easier if I was at work or at least brought some home.”

 

“This chicken is amazing. I know you are a little bored here so maybe you could bring home some files to read, but looking after Gus and some light housework is enough until the baby is born.”

 

“God, I can’t wait until then so I’ll be able to get out and feel vital and alive again. I feel so useless. I didn’t accomplish one significant thing today,” Mel vented.

 

“There is so much about that statement that I want to discuss that I don’t know where to start.”

 

“What?”

 

“First of all, taking care of and nurturing our son is THE most significant thing either of us will ever do. It will be the same with the baby. Second of all, what makes you think you will be able to get out and feel vital and alive again. Take it from someone who has been there, there will be days when you won’t even get enough personal time to take a shower, let alone anything else. Newborns are needy almost all of the time. You will be so sleep deprived. All you will want to do is sleep.”

 

“I know that is what it will be like in the very beginning and I am actually looking forward to the bonding time, but after that I will go back to work.” Mel said matter-of-factly.

 

“What do you plan to do with the baby, drag him or her to court with you?”

 

Fuck, I just assumed that Lindsay would care for the baby like she did Gus. She is such a natural mother. How do I convince her that is what is best for our family.

 

Oh. My. God. She thinks I am going to be the one to stay home with the baby. How did we get this far and be so far apart on what we want. I guess I just assumed that she wouldn’t want to go back to work right away. I didn’t.

 

“Mel, you seem to think that I will be the one to stay home with the baby. I am working at a job I love and I have no intention to give that up. I told you how I felt when you wanted me to have another baby.”

 

Gus started to fuss as his mothers’ voices rose with every exchange. He started to cry and tried to break free from the confines of his booster seat. He couldn’t understand what was happening. My mommies don’t shout. What is happening? He wanted to hide.

 

“Of course, I assumed you would stay home. I make more money and the expense of a new baby is going to tighten things around here. Michael can’t afford to help much and since Brian is starting a new business he won’t be contributing much either. I had been counting on those payments he used to give us to keep us going a little.”

 

“You are unbelievable. There is no way in hell we are accepting another penny from Brian for Gus. I have returned all his money for the last three months. We can’t force Brian to sign over his parental rights and then continue to expect him to pay for things. Especially since Michael isn’t signing OR contributing. Also, what I do, no matter my income, is important to me and shouldn’t be dismissed so lightly. How would you like it if I did that to you. You are acting like a man.”

 

“What the fuck do you mean you returned the money? What made up the difference?”

 

“Our line of credit on the chequing account. He needs the money more than we do right now, anyway.”

 

Gus was crying loudly and banging on the table. He wasn’t used to his mothers fighting and didn’t like it at all. It scared him.

 

Mel was pacing around the room. “GUS, that’s enough.”

 

“Don’t yell at him,” said Lindsay, lifting her son from the chair and trying to comfort him. “We are scaring him with our voices.” The boy was too uncomfortable and squirmed away from his mother. Freed, he started searching for his teddy in the living room.

 

“How could you make a financial decision like that without discussing it with me? Well, there is no choice now. I have to be the one to go back to work. We are going to need the money.”

 

“You say there is no choice. It is not up to you to tell me what is going to happen, I make the decisions for my life. All of this is why I said I didn’t want to have another baby right now. You didn’t listen to my reasons because at the time you were too busy trying to make all my decisions for me. Now, you are trying to do that again. It’s not going to work. You wanted another baby now, so you will be the one to care for him or her.”

 

Emmett stood on the front porch of the Marcus-Petersen house and could hear the raised voices. That’s weird. They never fight. Damn! I really need to get that envelope I forgot. I’ll try to sneak in and out unnoticed. Then, he heard Gus whimpering from inside. Shit! He doesn’t need to hear this. I have to go in and get him. Quietly opening the front door he gathered the boy’s things, starting with his coat and adorable little work boots. The diaper bag was on the floor so he checked to make sure everything he needed was in it. Thank God, he thought. He went into the living room as the argument continued in the dining room and grabbed the envelope he had forgotten on the coffee table. He found Gus sitting in his favorite hiding spot behind an armchair. He got the boy dressed for outside and then went to talk to his mothers.

 

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt.”

 

Both women stopped instantly and looked more than a little embarrassed at being caught in mid-fight.

 

“Don’t be embarrassed. All couples have to clear the air from time to time. However, I don’t think Gus needs to listen to it so I thought I would take him out to dinner at the diner.”

“Thanks, Em.” Lindsay said. She then went into the living room and gave her son a kiss. He fussed at her touch and ran to Emmett. Emmett picked him up and carried him out of the house, leaving the women to resolve their disagreement. Or so he hoped.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emmett opened the door to the diner and struggled to get the fussy toddler and a bag of his things inside. Ted froze as he sat at a table with Michael, Ben, Justin, and Brian. He hadn't seen Emmett since his release from rehab.

 

Shit! Michael mentioned they were having dinner with Ted tonight but I forgot, thought Emmett. Fuck! I don't have time for this. I have to get this envelope to the bank before it closes. I can't do that with Gus whimpering on my shoulder.

 

"Sorry to interrupt, but Brian I need you to watch Gus while I run to the bank. He's already upset and standing in line isn't going to cheer him up."

 

"Sure, what happened? Why is he upset?" Brian snapped.

 

Gus' eyes grew wide, his lower lip quivered, and he once again buried his head in the crook of Emmett's neck. Why is everybody so mad, he thought to himself? I want to stay with Em.

 

Emmett sighed. "It's okay, Little Man. There's no reason to be afraid," he said, trying to soothe the boy. "Could you please calm down? Gus has had enough of parents with raised voices," Emmett said in a cheery tone despite the stern expression on his face.

 

"What do you mean?" Brian asked evenly.

 

"I forgot one of my deposit envelopes at the house. When I got there, the girls were arguing so I told them I would take Gus with me since he was becoming upset by the fight."

 

"Well, was it an argument or a fight?" Justin asked.

 

"I'm not sure, but it made me cringe before I even opened the door."

 

"You could hear them from outside? Must have been Mel, she's moody enough when she's not pregnant," smirked Brian.

 

Actually they were both getting quite vocal. I was going to sneak in and get the envelope and sneak out unnoticed. But once I got inside, I could hear the little man whimpering. I found him in his favorite hiding spot with his teddy so I took him with me."

 

“Secret hiding spot?" Brian asked.

 

"Yeah, you know behind the big chair and under the window. He loves to sit there and play quietly."

 

"Oh, right," answered Brian, once again saddened by the fact that Emmett knew his son better than he did. "Do they fight in front of him a lot?"

 

While the others discussed the girls, Justin walked behind Emmett so he was facing Gus. He played peek-a-boo. Slowly he got the boy to participate. 

 

"No, I don't think so. I have been there over a month now," he paused and looked at Ted. "With the exception of a little bickering or small disagreements that seem more good-natured than anything. I've never heard anything like what is happening over there now."

 

"What are they fighting about?" Michael asked, concerned at the stress it would put on Mel.

 

"I didn't hear the whole thing so I'm not comfortable discussing it. It wouldn't be right. They didn't even know I was there."

 

Everyone remained quiet knowing any sustained silence would get the man to reveal what he knew.

 

"Okay. I guess you guys should know, anyway," he reasoned, looking from Brian to Michael. "They were fighting about the new baby." 

 

"What about the new baby?" Michael asked, his concern growing.

 

"I might be misinterpreting things, but I think Mel thought Lindsay would be the one to stay home with the baby and Lindsay has no intention of doing that."

 

"Why would Mel think that? Lindsay just went back to work," wondered Brian.

 

Justin quietly took Gus from Emmett and went to an empty booth.

 

"From what I heard, it seems Mel thinks it will have to be that way financially. I'm not sure that is her only reason, but it does make sense. She earns more. I have been paying rent for my room, but I plan on getting another place as soon as possible. They'll need more room for the baby, anyway."

 

"I wondered why they wanted to have another kid, when they can't afford the one they have," said Brian, smiling at his son at the other table.

 

"What do you mean? Do you still give them money for Gus?" Michael asked.

 

"I was up until they decided that you didn't have to sign the papers. Lindsay said she didn't feel right about it. I told her I didn't care and that I wanted Gus to have whatever he needs. At least they have that infamous five grand. I didn't find out about it until later but I already have a tuition account for both Justin and Gus. So they didn't have to worry."

 

"Don't you mean had," said Michael. "You said you drained everything to pay for the air time for the commercial."

 

"Everything, but that. It's not my money, it's Justin's and Gus'. Thanks to Mr. Schmidt's fine choices, it is still doing rather well despite the current state of the economy.”

 

Ted smiled.

 

Michael quietly played with his food. I can't afford to give them much for the new baby. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to be the father. Then, there's Hunter. I was hoping Ben and I could spoil him a little when he gets home from the hospital. What am I going to do? Michael sighed.

 

Brian noticed Michael lost in thought. "Don't worry, Mikey. This baby won't be as expensive. They have all the stuff already."

 

"Right and if it's a boy, they'll even have the clothes," offered Ted.

 

"They'll work it out. They always do," assured Brian. "You said you thought that Mel might have another reason for wanting Linds to stay home. Except being a controlling bitch what could it be?"

 

"I don't think that's the reason," corrected Emmett.

 

"So what is?" Ben questioned.

 

"Mel is finding it very difficult to stay home. I know no one discusses it, but Mel is a lot like Brian in a lot of ways," said Emmett.

 

"What the fuck?" Blared Brian.

 

"I have often wondered if that's why Lindsay was attracted to her. She's sort of a female version of you, but really, I think that's an avenue best left alone. Anyway, Mel staying at home makes her about as happy as Brian would be being a stay at home mom, or dad. She is happier when she is working."

 

"Mel told me awhile ago that Lindsay would be the one to care for the baby after she went back to work when the baby was about six weeks old. I know she hated giving up that big case,” said Michael.

 

"That's not fair to Lindsay," suggested Ben.

 

"I just hope they work it out soon," said Emmett glancing at his watch. "I really have to get to the bank. It closes in twenty-five minutes."

 

"Here," said Brian, tossing him his key ring. Emmett caught it and looked at Brian with wide eyes. "The corvette?"

 

"Yeah, consider it thanks for looking out for Gus. Go! Before it's too late."

 

"Thanks," said Emmett, looking over to the other table, he smiled. "Good, Justin's getting him to eat. I don't think he finished his dinner before the fighting started."

 

The others looked over, but couldn't see anything. "Where did they go?" Brian asked.

 

"Look," said Emmett, pointing under the table where Justin had set up a picnic with a now beaming Gus.

 

Everyone smiled as they watched the two boys laughing as they shared a plate of fries.

 

Turning to sit down, Ted bumped into Emmett.

 

"Sorry."

 

"You look better."

 

"I am much better," answered Ted.

 

"Good," Emmett smiled, but tears threatened to fall so he rushed out.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Brian returned from taking Gus back to Lindsay and Mel’s to find Justin asleep on the bed, having fallen asleep while studying. He’s working so hard to make sure everything goes smoothly. The older man gently took the book from the teen’s lap and placed it on the night table. He covered him and then went to shower. Half an hour later, he returned and slid into bed. He watched the young man sleep until he fell asleep.

 

Several hours later, Justin woke with a start. He looked at the clock and quickly got out of bed. He looked around the dark room until he found his book and went to the computer table.

 

“What are you doing? It’s two o’clock in the morning!”

 

“I have a test first thing tomorrow and I’m not prepared. Go back to sleep.”

 

“You won’t do well if you’re tired.”

 

“No, I won’t do well if I don’t read this chapter. I will come back to bed in a bit. Just go!”

 

Brian rubbed the back of his head as he walked back to bed mumbling something about the activities he liked to do in the middle of the night and fighting with a teenager about his homework wasn’t one of them.

 

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