The Nature of Things

Chapter 39

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Ben tucked Michael into the bed they used to share and turned out the light before going to the guest room to spend the night. He wasn't sure that this was the best thing for any of them but he couldn't leave the man he still loved to fall back into the abyss.

He'd explain it all to Hunter in the morning and as a family they would come up with a solution that benefited them all. He only hoped that it would be the right decision.

Ben slept restlessly that night, his thoughts focused on how to help Michael. The next morning he found Hunter eating cereal in front of the TV before classes and filled him in on what had happened the night before.

Hunter felt that they should help Michael, but he wasn't sure that his other father would want or accept the help offered. They agreed they would talk to Michael when he woke.

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Justin woke to find Zoey tucked into Brian's side of the bed sleeping peacefully. Rolling his eyes he got out of bed, took a quick shower and went downstairs.

He found Brian and Jennifer in the kitchen. Jennifer was holding her granddaughter and feeding her a bottle while Brian fixed breakfast. For a moment Justin thought he was dreaming and pinched himself to make sure it was all real.

He'd never dreamt that this would be his reality. He'd always assumed that Brian would never give in and let him be part of his life. It all felt so good that Justin was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Brian handed his partner a steaming cup of coffee and turned back to the eggs on the stove. Molly joined them just as the phone rang. After answering it, she handed it to Brian.

"Teddy's having a meltdown about something."

Brian took the phone from her and handed her the spatula. Molly took over cooking breakfast as Brian dealt with Ted.

"Calm down, Theodore, and tell me what has your panties in a bunch this morning."

"Did you see today's paper?"

"No."

"Well you should. There's a feature story with your brother and he's talking about how you stole his inheritance to start Kinnetik."

Turning back to Jennifer he asked for the morning's paper and flipped to the story on Casey. "That fucking son of a bitch."

"Cynthia's been on the phone since six trying to calm down the clients and keep them from pulling their accounts. So far we've had two pull out."

"Who?"

"Pool Boy and Fireside Grill."

"Anyone else we are close to losing?"

"Brown demanded a meeting first thing today. You're scheduled at ten with their CEO. EyeConics new PR person has been demanding your home phone number and threatened to pull tomorrow's ad in OUT."

"Ok, I'll be there in half an hour. Do you think you can handle things until I get there?"

"I can try."

"Well if you want to keep your job, you'll do more than try. For every account that pulls out I'm docking your pay."

"Just get here soon. Cynthia's ready to quit and I'm not qualified to do her job."

Brian hung up and motioned for Justin to join him upstairs. He explained what was happening while he dressed and shaved. He made Justin promise to not leave Molly alone and to stay home with Maya today.

By the time he was in the car on the way to the office he'd gotten four more calls from Ted. He roared into the office shouting instructions at Cynthia. Within ten minutes a team of lawyers were holed up in Brian's office trying to make decisions on what to do about the story.

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Molly read the news story and worried about Brian. Justin had promised her that Brian was handling things and she shouldn't worry but she couldn't help it. She tried to occupy her time by playing with the baby and helping Justin with the laundry. She was folding baby clothes when she decided that she had to go talk to Casey.

She told Justin that she had a headache and was going to lie down. Once upstairs she snuck into the master bedroom and took the back entrance out of the house.

She stood just inside the visiting room holding her breath as they brought Casey up from lock up. Molly was visibly shaking and desperate to remain strong while she confronted the man who'd changed her life.

There was so much she wanted to say to him, but today she was here to try to protect Brian. He'd done so much for her over the last year that she wanted to try to make his life a little easier.

The guard led a swaggering Casey into the room and told Molly that he'd be right outside the door if she needed anything. Looking back at Casey he reminded him of the rules and closed the door behind him.

"Well, well, looky what we have here."

"Can the bullshit, I'm here to warn you."

"You, warning me? Isn't that just the cat's meow, little girl. How's my son?"

"You don't have a son, you filthy bastard. I want you to leave Brian alone."

"I don't take orders from you. Besides I only want my brother to love me."

"Right, just like you wanted me to love you. Guess what, your life doesn't mean shit in here. Leave Brian alone or I'll see to it that it means even less."

"Go back to your little faggot and get out of my face."

"I'm going to be in your face for as long as it takes. Back off of Brian or I'm going public with what I know about your little stunt with my brother."

"I didn't do shit to your brother."

"We'll see who the press believes then, won't we."

Molly banged on the door and left the room.

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Craig was shocked to come home and find Molly sitting in his living room with his new girlfriend. He'd never introduced Molly to Angela and he wasn't sure he liked the idea of his daughter spending time alone with her.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Craig kissed Molly's cheek and waited for an answer.

"I needed to talk to you and Angela was kind enough to let me wait."

"I'm glad you're here. Give me just a minute to get cleaned up and we can go to my office to talk."

"Thanks, Dad."

Angela followed Craig down the hall while Molly looked around the room. She could hear the argument that her father and his girlfriend were having. Molly helped herself to a soda out of the fridge and decided to wait for her dad in his office.

After trying several doors she found the right room and let herself in, leaving the door open. She was sitting at his desk when she spotted Casey's name written on a piece of scrap paper. Picking it up she found a check written out to the attorney that had defended him.

Molly was still holding the incriminating check when her father joined her in the room.

"How could you?"

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Cut the fucking concerned father act. You paid for that son of a bitch's lawyer. You helped him try to get away with raping me. Why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Molly."

"And I can't believe you'd do this to us. Do you hate Justin that much?"

Molly threw a lamp at her father and left carrying the proof with her.

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An hour later she stormed into the house screaming for Justin. When she finally found him out in the new studio she showed him the check.

"It was Dad. He paid him to do it all."

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