Witness

Part 7

Brian and Justin returned to Pittsburgh the following day. Justin was uncharacteristically quiet on the flight home. Brian new their meeting with Jack McCoy had taken a lot out of his lover. Justin spent the short flight curled into Brian's side as he slept. It warmed the detective's heart to know that the younger man trusted him so implicitly.

Brian had been on virtual auto-pilot since he went to see Justin in the hospital. Even though Justin claimed to not blame Brian for his attack, Brian blamed himself. He couldn't believe that he had been so stupid to leave Justin alone. The demons of his past plagued him so deeply that he almost lost the only person that he had ever loved.

Having spent his entire life escaping the demons of his childhood, growing up Jack Kinney's son had taught Brian a thing or two about survival. He had spent his adult years shying away from any emotional attachment. Brian believed that if he didn't allow himself to develop feelings for someone else then he couldn't be hurt. The problem was he couldn't feel either.

His walls had started to come down the night Gus was born. This innocent little boy looked at Brian with such love and trust that his heart had started to thaw. Justin looked at him the same way, and he almost threw it away.

The moment that Justin professed his love in the hospital, Brian swore he would never try to keep the artist away again. He was so thankful that Justin gave him a second chance. He ignored the nagging voice in the back of his mind that reminded him that Justin could go away after the trial. Justin assured him they would be alright and for the first time in his life Brian took a leap of faith.

The two men arrived back at the loft and Justin went right to bed. Brian expressed concern but Justin swore he was alright. Brian puttered around the loft while Justin slept. He wondered what Justin was going through. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like to love a parent only to be betrayed by them.

Brian briefly wondered what it must have been like for Justin. From what he knew, the Taylor family had been your typical Christmas card family. The file contained no details about what prompted Jennifer Taylor to contact the FBI about her husband. Brian wondered if they would ever know.

Brian heard Justin begin to stir in the bedroom. He made his way up the stairs and found Justin sitting up in bed. The blue lights framed the blonde like a halo.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah."

"You really freaked me out."

"I'm sorry. Talking to Mr. McCoy just brought it all back. I haven't thought about that night so completely in years. Whenever the memories would surface I just pushed them away. I guess that was pretty stupid."

"You did what you needed to do. No one wants to relive a night like that."

"I feel better though, just wiped out."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

Justin's voice was husky, "No … come here."

Brian walked the short distance to the bed and sat beside Justin. He gently placed his hand on Justin's cheek. The blonde leaned into Brian's caress.

"Brian …"

"What baby?"

"Make love to me."

Brian hesitated a second. They hadn't been together since before Justin's attack. Brian knew that Justin was aware of his detachment in the weeks prior. It had been weeks since they made love. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Brian lightly captured Justin's lips in a soft kiss. The artist was naked in the bed and Justin fumbled to find the buttons on Brian's shirt. Moving in to help Brian was quickly divested of his clothes. Justin lay back on the bed, his cock was standing erect. Stretching out over his lover and he began raining kisses down Justin's body. His lips found Justin's hard cock. Placing a soft kiss on the leaking head and sucking the pre-cum into his mouth, Brian enjoyed savoring the taste of his lover.

Brian ran his tongue down Justin's shaft and heard his lover moan in response. Brian took Justin's engorged organ in his mouth completely. Justin arched his hips to go deeper into Brian's mouth. The detective stimulated Justin's sac while he sucked his cock. Justin came quickly in his lover's mouth and Brian swallowed every drop.

Brian deposited a kiss on Justin's lips, giving him the last drops of his own cum. "Bri …"

"Tell me what you want baby."

"I want you inside me."

Brian reached over to the nightstand to grab a condom and a tube of lube. He handed the condom to Justin, "Put it on me."

Justin grabbed the condom and quickly sheathed Brian's cock. He took the lube and generously coated the engorged shaft. "Please Brian."

"You're not ready yet."

"I need you inside me … NOW!"

Brian recognized the need in Justin's voice and slid inside. Justin gasped at the intrusion but quickly relaxed. Once Brian was fully embedded, he looked into Justin's eyes and saw that his lover was ready. He took Justin's hands and entwined their fingers as he began to thrust in and out of Justin's hole. Nether man lasted long, and they came together.

Brian started to pull out, but Justin stopped him and pulled him in for a searing kiss. The two men fell asleep wrapped in each others arms.

Justin awoke a few hours later and found himself alone in bed. He wrapped himself in a sheet and went to look for Brian. He found the older man sitting on the couch looking at a picture of Gus.

"You need to go see Gus, I'm sure he misses you."

Brian looked at him with tears in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you alone again."

"I'll be fine; I promise I won't go out alone. Gus is a little boy who doesn't understand what is going on. He needs to see his daddy."

"I never planned to be a father." Justin heard the anguish in Brian's voice. He knew a little bit about the circumstances of Gus's birth, but Brian had never fully confided in him.

"You're a great dad."

Brian snorted, "Wonders never cease."

"You love Gus, that's all that matters."

"When Lindsay and Renee asked me to be the father I freaked out. They swore I wouldn't have any responsibility. I could be a drop in dad. Then Renee died. God … I didn't know what to do. Lindsay and I were both operating on autopilot. She lost her partner and I lost one of my best friends. We both swore that we would give Gus the best life we could."

Justin stroked Brian's hair and lightly kissed his face. "You have. Gus is a wonderful little boy who is very well loved."

"He loves you. What is he going to do when you have to go away?"

Justin heard Brian's unasked question. "Everything will be ok."

"How can you say that?"

"I asked you before if you trusted me. I'm asking you again to trust me."

Brian looked into Justin's eyes. He turned away from the love that was shining from the sapphire eyes. Justin gently grabbed Brian's chin and turned his face so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Trust me."

"I do."

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"Brian just called. he's coming up to see Gus tomorrow."

Deb was irate. She didn't understand why she and Gus had to be relocated to some out of the way farm house in Millvale. "Well, it's about fucking time. I don't know what that asshole is up to …"

Carl was used to dealing with his wife when she was like this. "Debbie … you know there are times when we can't tell you what is going on. Gus needs to be safe and that's what we are doing."

Debbie huffed a loud sigh, she hated being out of the loop, even though she knew her husband was right. "Well, you guys had better have a good reason for this."

At that moment Gus wandered into the kitchen. "Grandma … can I have a glass of water?"

"Sure sweetie." She glared at Carl while she got Gus his water.

Gus jumped into Carl's lap, "Hi Grandpa!"

Carl was making the trip from Pittsburgh to Millvale every night. He loved the little boy and swore to keep him safe. "Hi bud! Guess what? Your dad is coming tomorrow!"

Gus was ecstatic, "Yay!!! Is Daddy J coming too?"

Carl was taken aback. he hadn't realized that Gus had become so attached to Justin. "I don't know kiddo."

Deb looked over at Carl, "Who is Daddy J?"

Carl refused to meet Deb's questioning eyes.

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Brian and Justin left Pittsburgh early to get up to Millvale. Brian tried to fight Justin about going, but the blonde was adamant. He knew that Brian needed to see Gus, but he also knew his lover would refuse to leave him alone. They compromised and decided that both of them would make the trip.

Justin was a little nervous. He knew that he would be meeting Brian's surrogate mother. From everything that Brian had told him, Debbie Novotny was solely responsible for Brian surviving his childhood. Justin wanted to make a good impression.

Justin knew that Brian was uncertain about their future. That was why his lover had pulled away so dramatically in the weeks before. Brian was preparing himself for the time when Justin was gone. Justin did everything he could to assure his lover that everything would be alright without tipping his hand.

They pulled up to the farmhouse around ten in the morning. Brian cut off the ignition and got out of the car. The door swung open and Gus flew out.

"DADDY!!!"

Gus leapt into Brian's arms. Father and son clung to each other and Justin knew that the trip had been the right thing to do. Gus turned and saw Justin standing at the other side of the door. Gus wiggled out of Brian's arms and ran to Justin. "Hi Daddy J!"

"Hey buddy!"

Deb and Carl were standing on the porch watching. Debbie was thrilled to see her "son" so at ease being a father. She wondered about the beautiful blonde that was Brian's companion. The fact that Gus seemed to know the other man confused her even more.

The three men made their way to the porch. Justin was carrying Gus and watched as Brian embraced the red-headed woman. He turned from the embrace to introduce Justin. "Deb, this is Justin. Justin, this is my mother."

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Deb, Carl, and Justin were in the kitchen. They watched Brian playing with Gus in the backyard. It warmed Deb's heart to see Brian with his son. It looked like the curse of the Kinney family may have finally been broken.

"So Sunshine … how do you figure into all of this?"

Justin looked over at Carl, who shrugged his shoulders. "Umm … it's a long story."

"I have all day."

Throughout the day, Brian, Justin, and Carl filled Deb in on the situation. Debbie adopted Justin right away. She recognized the love between the men and was thrilled that Brian had found someone to love.

"So what happens now?"

Justin chose to answer Deb. "Well, we head back to New York next week. The trial is starting."

Brian was worried about Deb knowing about Justin. "Deb, you can't let on that you know anything about this. Justin has already been threatened."

"What?"

Justin placed his hand on Brian's arm to calm him and the gesture did not go unnoticed by Carl and Deb. "My father sent one of his goons after me, but I'm fine. I'm not afraid of him anymore."

"Good for you Sunshine."

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Justin drove them back to Pittsburgh. Brian had drunk too much while they were visiting Carl and Deb. The older man slept on their drive back to Pittsburgh. Justin was glad he had insisted on the trip. Brian really needed to see Gus and Justin wanted to meet members of Brian's adopted family.

When they arrived back at the loft Justin helped Brian upstairs. He led Brian to the bedroom and prepared the detective for bed. Justin began to tuck Brian into bed when the older man wrapped his arms around Justin and pulled him down.

"I love you Justin."

Justin blinked back tears at Brian's admission. He knew what the words cost Brian and he vowed that everything would work out between the two of them. "I love you too, Brian."

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