Father's Rights

A stunned Lindsey, and Melanie looked at each other. "Did you year what Gus called us? Our son just called his mothers stupid cunts. Now tell me where he got that language from Linz. He certainly didn't hear it in this house." Melanie was livid.

"GUS-MARCUS-PETERSON-KINNEY YOU COME DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE!" Lindsey ordered.

"NO!" Gus shouted back from behind the closed door of his bedroom.

"Now do you see why I don't want our son around Brian?" Melanie began. "The little faggot has never had any respect for women, and he never will. I told you it was a bad idea to have a child with Brian, but nooooo…you had to dip into the Brian Kinney gene pool. Now we have to contend with this because YOU wanted a kid with hazel eyes."

"Are you going to harp on that every time there's a problem with Gus? You know that's not true. We needed a donor, and Brian was there for us. I didn't see YOU bringing in any other potential fathers." Lindsey said.

"I wanted to use a professional sperm donor." Melanie said.

"I noticed you didn't choose a professional sperm donor when you selected a father for Jenny Rebecca." Lindsey reminded her.

"And I didn't choose the whore of Babylon either." Melanie looked up the stairs toward the loud sounds coming from Gus's room. "What the hell is he doing up there? GUS!"

"GO AWAY, I HATE YOU!" Gus yelled back.

Lindsey hurried up the stairs, and turned the knob of Gus's bedroom door. "Gus what have you got behind this door? Open this door right now young man, do you hear me?" she demanded.

"No, you can't come in!" Gus yelled back at her, then looked around his room in search of more support for his makeshift barricade. So far his desk, and toy box was holding up, but he knew it was just a matter of time before his mommies would come crashing in on him.

Melanie reached the top of the stairs, and pushed her shoulder against the door. "You're going to be in a lot of trouble young man if you don't open this door!" she warned.

"You go away. You're not my mom, I want my pop!" Gus picked up the chair from his desk, and placed it on top of the pile.

"Did you hear that? Did you hear what he just said to me?" Melanie turned to Lindsey.

"He's just upset Mel. Let me talk to him." Lindsey tried again. "Sweetheart, please open the door. You're not in any trouble. Your mommy Mel, and I just want to talk to you."

"No! You lied to me, you said I could stay until Saturday. I want to go back to Tony's house with my pop, and Justin." Gus said.

"You have to stay here with us Pumpkin. I need you here with me." Melanie tried.

"No! I'm waiting for my pop!" Gus began to stack his stuffed toys on top of the heap.

"Brian isn't coming Pumpkin. This is your home. You belong here with us, now open this door." Melanie pushed against the barricade.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT!" Gus pushed back with all his might. The last thing his pop had said before the police, and Melanie came to take him away was that he was coming to get him. Unlike his moms, his pop had never lied to him. It was just a matter of time before Brian would come and rescue him from these stupid cunts.

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Back in Chicago a very animated Anthony Massey paced the floor of his living room. "I can't believe you Brian! How could you just give away your kid?" he said.

"I didn't just give Gus away. I gave him to his mother, and Melanie to raise." Brian attempted to defend himself.

"That's what I said. You GAVE him away!" Tony repeated. "You signed Tiger over like he was a used car!"

"Excuse me!" Brian took offence.

"That's right, just like he was a goddamned used car! How the fuck could you do that Brian?" Tony still couldn't understand.

"Stop it, both of you!" Justin intervened. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere. We have to figure out how to get Gus back."

"Now you want me to get him back. Let's not forget that YOU were the one who talked me into signing over my parental rights to Melanie in the first place." Brian reminded him.

"Justin, you listened to Justin? He's just a kid himself." Tony pointed out.

"That's funny, you didn't think I was just a kid last night." Justin hissed. "And who are you to condemn Brian for his decision? You weren't anywhere around. Brian was a different person then. He wasn't ready to be a father."

"And he let YOU to make that decision for him?" Tony asked.

"That's right." Justin said.

"That's not exactly what happened." Brian cut in. "Mel, and Lindsey wanted a baby, and they needed a sperm donor. The agreement was that I would knock Lindsey up, then back out of the picture, and let them raise the kid."

"And you agreed to that bullshit?" Tony couldn't believe his ears.

"That was the deal." Brian said.

"DEAL? What kind of fucking deal is that? You don't make deals, that give away your kids Brian. Goddamn you!." Tony turned, and stormed out of the room.

No truer words had ever been spoken. Tony was right, children were not meant to be made deals with. If only Brian hadn't listened to his long-time gal-pal's intriguing suggestion six years ago. Lindsey had appealed to Brian's enormous ego. How nice it would be to have a miniature mirror image of the hottest guy in Pittsburgh running around town. Lindsey was certain that hers, and Brian's genes would produce arguably the most beautiful child the world had ever seen, and she was right. Gus had his mother's perfect teeth, Lindsey's pouty lips, and her killer smile. From his father he inherited Brian's deep auburn colored hair, his haunting hazel eyes, and that cocky Kinney attitude. Yes, Gus was a heart-stopper who wheeled his charm like his father on everyone he met. One bat of Gus's long lashes could stop old ladies, and queens dead in their tracks, and a flash of his dimpled smile was like a magnet that drew all who came near him under his spell, including Brian who fell in love with his beautiful baby boy the moment he laid eyes on him.

Justin walked over to where his troubled lover now stood gazing out of the window, and wrapped his arms around Brian's waist. "Everything will be alright when we get back to Pittsburgh on Saturday. You can go to Lindsey, and ask her if you can spend more time with Gus. I'm sure she'll understand." he said.

Brian felt a sudden wave of emotion come over her. This was one of those moments of clarity that every absentee, sperm donor father regretted facing. What was he suppose to tell his son if Gus asked why his father needed permission to spend time with him? Would Gus understand why Melanie had the right to come, and take him away from his pop? How sad it was that only now Brian was realizing the magnitude of his mistake. Signing his father's rights away to Melanie was an irreversible regret that would haunt him for the rest of his life. "Dear god, what have I done? I want my son back." Brian uttered through his tears.

"Then let's go get him." Tony reappeared in the doorway.

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By five o'clock Gus was tired and hungry, but still insistent that his father would come for him, while Lindsey and Mel had all but given up hope of any peaceful end to this stalemate. Having failed at numerous attempts at pushing their way through the blockade, and coaxing Gus to open his bedroom door, the frustrated moms decided to appeal to their son's more basic needs. "Gus, aren't you hungry sweetheart? I made your favorite peanut butter cookies." Lindsey tempted him from the other side of the door.

Gus sat on his bedroom floor with his back propped against his barricade. Hummm, he inhaled the sweet aroma permeating from underneath his door. No doubt this was just another trick to get him to come out of his room, and Gus wasn't buying it. His pop was coming to get him soon, and they would go out for steaks with Justin, and Tony. Gus massaged his growling, empty belly. "I don't want any cookies!" he lied.

"Why don't we just break the goddamn door down?" Melanie whispered.

"And ruin the original antique door that came with the house? No way." Lindsey tried to keep her voice down.

"How long are you going to let him stay in there?" Melanie was fresh out of patience.

"For as long as it takes. Now will you please go downstairs, and let me handle this?" Lindsey insisted.

Melanie begrudging gave up the fight, and went downstairs, leaving Lindsey alone to continue the negotiations. The wily mother sat the plate of cookies down on the floor near the door, and took a seat beside it. "I wanted to talk to you about your time at Tony's. Did you have fun?" she asked.

"Tony has a big backyard with lots of flowers, and a place to sit. Mary made us breakfast every morning, and we ate outside." Gus said.

"Who's Mary?" Lindsey asked.

"Mary is Tony's housekeeper. She takes care of Tony's house when he's away, and she takes care of him when he's at home. She took care of me, and Justin, and my pop too." Gus said.

"Mommy Mel, and I missed you while you were away." Lindsey said. "We both love you very much Gus. Do you know that?"

"I know." Gus said.

"That's why we need to have you near us. Now that Jenny Rebecca is gone, you're the only baby that we have now." Lindsey continued.

"I'm not a baby anymore." Gus said defiantly. "I'm a big boy. I'm almost a man. I can ride on the big-boy rides. I can cut up my own food. I don't have to order from the kiddie menu, and I can use the men's toilet. My pop says I'll be shaving soon, and I might even have hair on my chest like Tony. I'm not a baby mom, so stop treating me like one."

Lindsey felt a sudden wave of emotion come over her. This was one of those moments of clarity that every mother waited for, but regretted facing. Gus, her precious baby boy, the tiny toothless wonder that had pushed his way into her life, and claimed his position as the most important person in the world was declaring his independence. "No sweetheart. You're not a baby anymore." Lindsey smiled through her tears.

A loud commotion at the front door interrupted Lindsey's revelation. "What are you doing here Brian? Get the hell off my property before I call the police!" Melanie's voice rang out from downstairs.

Brian ignored her warning, and pushed his way inside. "Gus!"

"POP!" Gus immediately began dismantling his barricade.

"Oh my god! What's happening here?" Lindsey started down the stairs.

"I've come for my son." Brian said in passing on his way up the steps.

Lindsey didn't know which way to turn first. By now Melanie had reached the telephone in the living room, and was dialing 911. Lindsey watched as Anthony Massey came through the front door, and went after her. He snatched the receiver from Melanie's hand, and gently placed it back in its base. "We didn't come for any trouble. Brian just wanted to spend the remainder of his weekend with his son." Tony said.

"Hi Linz. Hi Mel." Justin brought up the rear.

Thank God for Justin. Lindsey breathed a sigh of relief. "Justin will you please tell me what this is all about?" she asked.

"It's very simple. Brian loves Gus, and Gus loves Brian. They want to be together, and as Gus's father, Brian has a father's right to spend time with his son." Justin smiled.

"Father's right my ass!" Melanie growled. "Brian didn't even want Gus, now all of a sudden he's father of the year because he took his kid with him to visit his latest trick?"

Tony ignored the insult. "Hello Lindsey! You're looking as beautiful as ever." he smiled.

"Hello Mr. Massey." Lindsey said.

"Please call me Tony, especially since we're going to be family."

"Family?" Melanie's eyes widened.

"Family?" Lindsey echoed her disbelief.

"That's right, family." Justin made the clarification for everybody then walked over to Tony, and wrapped his arms around his partner's waist.

The loud rustling upstairs became even louder as Gus continued to move the clutter away from his blockade. "Stand back Sonny-boy, I'm coming through." Brian gave a brief warning before placing his shoulder against the door, and pushing his way inside.

An ecstatic Gus leaped into his father's arms. "I told them you would come for me." He wrapped his arms around Brian's neck, and kissed his father's face.

"Thank you for waiting for me son." Brian smiled. Gus wasn't the only one who had come into his manhood over the past few days.

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NEXT WEEK : Kinney vs. Marcus

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