The Nature of Things

Chapter 31

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The headbut caught Brian off guard and sent him hurling backwards into Molly, who'd run from the witness stand to try to keep Brian from doing something that could harm her chances of winning. She hit the floor with a loud thud.

Justin ran for his sister as the blood started to seep to the floor.

Casey watched with glee as Brian stumbled to his feet and charged him. Brian's only thought was revenge for the hell Casey had put Molly through. His fist connected with Casey's jaw just as Justin called his name.

"Brian," Justin said weakly.

Brian picked up on the fear in Justin's tone and turned to find him holding his sister in a pool of blood. Screaming for an ambulance, Brian scooped Molly up and ran the three blocks to the hospital before anyone could get help to her.

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Jennifer and Craig followed Justin out the door behind Brian. When they reached the hospital they were advised that Molly had been taken back to an exam room and that Brian was still with her. Craig demanded that Brian be removed from Molly's room but was told that Molly had identified him as the father of the child.

"That son of a bitch is not the father."

"Sir, Ms. Taylor has named Mr. Kinney as the father of her child and unless you have DNA proof that you are the father, shut up."

Craig continued to rant and rave in the waiting room until security escorted him out at Jennifer's request.

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Casey demanded that he be taken to the hospital to check on his child. He yelled until his throat hurt, but the judge continued to ignore his requests. He was taken back to the holding room to await word on whether the trial would continue that day.

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Brian held Molly's hand as she was examined, whispering words of comfort to her. He knew that she was just as scared as he was and he tried his best to keep her from worrying too much.

"So, I guess I have to buy a crib now, huh?"

"I guess so. What made you change your mind, Bri?" Molly watched him closely.

"Your brother can be persuasive."

"Justin?"

"Yeah, Justin. He came to the house this morning and woke me up by throwing all my clothes at me. Then he forced me to come to that court and tell you that we're going to adopt your kid. I had no choice in the matter." Brian tried to keep a straight face, but lost it when Molly started laughing.

"Yeah, right, like you'd ever give in that easily to my brother. You two really are sick and twisted, you know."

"Yep, I know."

"Thank you Brian."

"For what?"

"For agreeing to adopt this baby and for giving me the chance to be part of her life."

"You are and always will be her mother, Molly. Justin and I are just a temporary fix."

"No, you will be her parents and you will be the ones to guide her through life. I'll be the one to worry from the sidelines and watch her grow. I want to be part of her life, but I don't want to undermine your authority as her parents. She needs to know that you are the ones who she belongs to."

"The only way this will work is if you are her mother. This child deserves the truth, Molly. There will be no secrets in our home. Gus knows his parents and so will this child."

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Justin frantically paced the waiting room, going to the nurses desk every few minutes to try to find out any information about Molly and the baby. After the tenth time of getting the run around he started demanding that he be allowed back to check on his baby.

The nurses continued to ignore his ranting and went about their business. He was just about to break down the door and head back when Brian came through the double security doors.

Justin and Jennifer rushed over to him, expecting the worst.

"How is she?" Jennifer asked hesitantly.

"Molly's fine," Brian started.

"And the baby?" Justin held his breath as he waited for an answer.

"The baby's fine too, but Molly is going to need to stay here in the hospital for the next few weeks. She started having contractions and they have her on medication to stop them. They are going to try to keep her on the meds for the next few months, but it isn't going to be easy on Molly."

"She's only four months along. Can they save the baby?"

"Actually, Sunshine, she just made it to her fifth month, which is a good thing. The doctors are optimistic that the baby can hang in there for at least two more months. Anything before that and the chance of survival goes down greatly."

"Can we see her?" Jennifer asked.

"They're going to move her to a room soon, but until then I'm sure she'd love to see you Jen. Just remember that she can't have any kind of stress and she has to rest."

"What about me?"

"Well, I think we should give your mother and sister a few minutes alone. Why don't we go get some coffee, it'll give us a chance to talk."

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Brian and Justin sat outside in the garden, sipping coffee and avoiding the real issue. Brian knew that Justin was worried about the baby and Molly, but he also knew he had to keep his mind off of them for a bit.

"So when did you decide that you wanted to adopt the baby?"

Justin stared at Brian like he had two heads, taking a moment before answering. "When I realized that a part of my family would be out there in the world with strangers and could grow up to hate me. Not just me but all of us. I couldn't bear to think that one day it could be him attacking Gus or JR."

"So it has nothing to do with you having always wanted a family of your own?"

"Well that too, I guess. This may be my only chance."

"You have Gus."

"Gus is your son, Brian. I'm just Uncle Justin. I'm not his parent."

"You are just as much his parent as I am, Sunshine. The kid loves you, sometimes more than he loves me."

"That's cause I let him eat candy when you aren't around."

"Yeah, I know."

Justin took Brian's hand and held it tightly. "Brian, what the hell did Casey mean back there in the courthouse?"

"I don't know, Justin and I really haven't thought about it much. I've been so worried about Molly."

"What if it's true? What if he's Jack's son?"

"Then I guess we'll deal with it."

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