TROUBLE IN TORONTO

Original poster: _alicesprings

Title: Trouble in Toronto
Written By: richmondhillgal
Timeline: Winter 2007
Rating: R for language
Summary: Family is everything.
Inspired By Icon:

Brian’s POV

“CYNTHIA!! Get your ass in here!” Brian yelled into the intercom while tossing storyboards around the room.

“What’s up, boss?” Cynthia said as she came through the door. She tried to act like there wasn’t a problem when obviously Brian was on a rampage.

“Where the fuck are the new Brown storyboards,” Brian growled in her direction, “they were here on my desk when I left yesterday and I have a meeting in 15 minutes!”

“Don’t get your panties in a knot, they should be right here,” Cynthia said trying to sort through the mountain of boards and papers on the oversized desk. “I haven’t been in here for two days and besides I know how you feel about your shit.”

Brian glared at her as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He sat heavily in his chair and rubbed the spot between his eyes that had been throbbing for an hour. It wasn’t even noon yet and he was ready to leave. He stared at Cynthia from half closed eyes. “I have to go out for a while so just reschedule the meeting, find the fucking boards and no calls!”

“Not even if Justin calls?” she said knowing now the reason for his foul mood. Justin apparently hadn’t called and it always pissed Brian off when he couldn’t reach him.

“I SAID NO CALLS!” Brian yelled as he grabbed his coat and stormed out of the office.


Brian walked into the Liberty baths with one item on the agenda. He needed to blow off some steam or better yet, get blown until the image of a certain blonde was temporarily erased from his mind. As he was walking from room to room checking what was available, he looked at his cell again and contemplated trying to call Justin again. As he passed one room he noticed a tanned, upraised ass just waiting to get fucked. He looked at the phone and the ass, “Fuck it,” he said and turned off the cell and entered the room.

^^^


Lindsey’s POV

“I’m starting to get really worried, Dr. Schwartz, his fever hasn’t gone down, he keeps throwing up and it’s been nonstop for four days”, Lindsey said into the phone while tugging on her hair. Gus had been sick for several weeks and he couldn’t shake this latest bout with the flu.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing and he should be fine in a few days,” the doctor said sounding distracted, unconcerned and slightly bothered by the call. “His fever should break in the next day or two and if it doesn’t you can always bring him in. Frankly, I think you may be overreacting,”

Lindsey couldn’t believe what she was hearing and then she realized that she was listening to a dial tone. “I don’t believe it! That asshole hung up on me!”

Melanie came into the room with a very upset Gus, crying and squirming in her arms. He was wearing his latest dose of Tylenol on his pajama top. “What did the doctor say, should we bring him into the office for a shot or something?”

“No, the jerk said to just keep an eye on his fever and call the office in a few days. He’s an asshole. Maybe I should call Brian and let him handle things.” Lindsey whined as she took Gus from Mel.

“Fuck that, we can handle this without calling that asshole and getting him involved. We can hardly get him on the phone for Gus to talk to when he’s sober much less get him to handle anything long distance,” Melanie sneered. She hated the way Lindsey always called Brian for every little problem. If she had her way Brian would be totally removed from their lives permanently.

“Well, I’m gonna take Gus upstairs and try to get another does of medicine in him and put him in a cool bath, maybe I can get his fever to go down and we can get some sleep tonight. I am exhausted and I can’t keep missing work, we can’t afford it right now,” Lindsey said as she walked away from Mel.

“Tell me something I don’t already fucking know, “ Melanie muttered under her breath. She would never admit that moving to Toronto had been a huge mistake. Leaving a secure job behind to start over here. It wouldn’t take much more for Linds to pack up their shit and move back to the Pitts to be near her precious Brian. “I won’t let that happen,” Mel thought.” No fucking way!”

Lindsey sat in the rocking chair holding Gus after his bath as he continued to cry for his daddy. As she tried to quiet him with soft murmuring and patting his back, she thought back over the last year and a half and for the millionth time, questioned their move to Toronto.

Initially right after the bombing, they were both in a panic, worried for themselves and for the kids but they didn’t really take the time to think things through. At least that is the way Lindsay saw it. Melanie saw it as a way to finally get Gus away from Brian once and for all and she had accomplished that goal. Only problem was she had just started at yet another law firm because the last one wouldn’t let her do any pro bono work and with Lindsay not being able to find full time work, things had been really tight.

“I wanna talk to daddy please,” Gus cried. “I want to go to daddy’s house.”

‘I know you want to talk to him sweetie, “Lindsey said as she held a cool cloth to his forehead. “How about we try to call him again?”


Justin’s POV

“Man, my feet are killing me,” Justin moaned to his coworker, Jason as they put the chairs on the tables. It was after 1am and he was supposed to be working on a canvas for a client but there was no way he would get to it tonight, he was totally exhausted. The restaurant had been busier than usual for a Tuesday but his pockets were full of cash from his tips.

“You wanna hit the club and check out the tricks before we head home?” Jason said as he took off his apron. “I could really use a drink and if I’m lucky a blowjob and when was the last time you got laid,” he said with a smirk. They had been roommates for a few months and got along fairly well so far but he noticed that Justin never went out. Hell, it seemed he had no social life at all. All Jason ever heard was Brian this and Brian that, you would think this Brian was some kind of God or something, not just a fucking guy from Pittsburg.

“No, you go and fuck a hot guy for me. I have too much shit to do and not enough hours to do it,” Justin said with a grin. “Besides I have to talk to Brian about something and I forgot my cell at home, again!”

“You, Justin Taylor forgot your cell phone?? Why did you even buy the damn thing, you never carry it and even when you do have it you forget to turn it on. What’s the point?” Jason said with a smirk.

“I didn’t buy it, Brian did and I can’t help it if I forget to turn it on,” Justin laughed as he threw his apron on the bar.

“Okay then, I’ll see you later. You lock up, huh?” Jason said and he was gone.

“Yeah, no problem.” Justin didn’t tell Jason that he hadn’t spoken to Brian in more than a week and how concerned he was. Jason would just call him a pussy and a housewife and he was tired of hearing it.

Justin was walking up the stairs to his apartment when he heard the phone ringing. He hurriedly ran up the last few steps and had just stuck the key in the lock when the ringing stopped and the answering machine clicked on, “Justin this is Lindsey, I’m trying to reach Brian and can’t find him anywhere. I don’t suppose he is there with you, is he? Please call me as soon when you get in, I’ll be awake. Bye.”

Justin grabbed the receiver but Lindsey had already hung up. “Oh well,” he thought, she didn’t say it was an emergency and he needed a shower first. He would just jump in and out quickly and then call her back. Once out of the shower though, Justin lay across his bed and closed his eyes for just a moment and then he was in a deep sleep.

“Justin…JUSTIN!! Wake the fuck up and answer your phone! It’s been going off for 30 minutes!” Jason said as he slammed the door to his bedroom.

Justin grabbed up his cell phone as he looked at the clock. Fuck! “Hello.”

“Justin, it’s Lindsey. I’ve been calling you all night. Is Brian there? I need to talk to him right away. It’s an emergency!”

“Lindsey, I haven’t talked to Brian in over a week. Actually I’ve been trying to myself to reach him and he won’t answer. Maybe I should call Cynthia and see if she knows what’s going on. Why do you need him?” Justin asked as he sat up. “Is something wrong with Gus or J.R.?”

Brian’s POV

“It’s time for you to go now,” Brian said to the trick as he walked towards the bathroom, “your replacement will be here in 15 minutes and I need a shower. Shut the door on your way out.”

“You’re an asshole, Kinney,” the trick said. “Oh, by the way, some chick has been calling here all night for you. She sounded pretty freaked out to me.”

“Yeah, thanks for delivering my messages but I have a machine for that, now get the fuck out!”

Brian turned on the shower and went over to the machine to check his messages. It was probably Cynthia calling to remind him about the rescheduled meeting with Brown. So much for his parting words of no calls.

“Hey, Brian, it’s Lindsey. I know it’s late and Mel didn’t want me to call but I thought you should know. Gus has been sick for the last several days and if his fever doesn’t break in the next few hours we are heading to the hospital.” Call me when you get this.”

“Brian, it’s me again. Gus’s fever has spiked to 104 and he’s pretty sick so we are on the way to the hospital. If you can, please call my cell. Gus has been calling for you and I think he would calm down a little if he could talk to you. Call my cell. I left a message on Justin’s cell phone too.”

“Brian, where the fuck are you? Lindsey is having a fit and Gus is crying for you, asshole. You could pull your dick out of Justin long enough to call her back!” Melanie sounded pissed. “We’re at the hospital if you care.”

“Shit, what the fuck is going on?” Brian turned off the shower and picked up the phone to call Lindsey.

“Hi, you’ve reached Lindsey Peterson. Please leave your name and number and I will call you back shortly. Have a great day!”

“Fuck! Lindsey, what the hell is going on with Gus? I have all these messages and then I call and your cell phone isn’t on? OK, well I’m getting in the shower. When you get this, call me back and tell me what is going on with my son. DON’T let Melanie call me again, I don’t need the drama.” Brian sneered into the phone and then disconnected the call and threw the phone on the counter.

He was stepping out of the shower when he heard the phone ring. He made it to the kitchen and managed to grab it before the machine picked up.

“What?” he shouted into the phone.

“Thank God, Brian. Where the hell have you been? We’ve been calling you for hours.” Lindsey sounded totally stressed out and on the verge of tears.

“Stop, slow down Lindsay. Take a breath and tell me what the hell is going on? Gus is sick? Why the hell haven’t you called me before now?”

“He’s been sick for weeks Brian, but he got significantly worse over the last several days and I couldn’t wait any longer.” Lindsey sighed. “Mel didn’t want me to call you yet.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me, the bitch! If he was sick why didn’t you just take him in to see the doctor?” Brian said with a little irritation.

“The doctor kept telling me to wait a few days and see if the fever broke but it hasn’t and Gus hasn’t been eating and we haven’t had any sleep. I didn’t want to wait any longer and the doctor seemed so unconcerned, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Where is Gus now? What have they done so far? ” Brian asked as he put her on speaker phone so he could dry off although now most of the water was on the floor.

“He’s in the lab with Mel getting blood drawn. I couldn’t listen to him crying for you any longer and Mel is immune to it by now.” Lindsey replied trying to sound happier than Brian knew her to be.

“Well, as soon as I hang up with you, I’ll call Cynthia and get her to book me the next flight to Toronto. Oh, another question totally unrelated. Why would Mel assume Justin was with me? He’s in New York and I haven’t talked to him in more than a week.” Brian said as he threw the towel in the hamper and grabbed his jeans. In fact, he felt like Justin had been avoiding him.

“I didn’t know that she had already tried to call you and I was the one who called Justin. I couldn’t get in touch with you so I assumed that you were with him for a visit and didn’t want to be bothered. I just didn’t know what else to do”

“Are you going to be okay until I get there, can you keep it together? At least wait until I get there before you kill the wicked witch, I’d like to watch,” Brian said with a smirk.

“Briaannn, don’t be hateful. We’ve been getting along a little better lately.” Lindsey said trying to convince herself that all was well with Melanie but Brian could tell by her tone that Lindsay was hanging by a thread.

“Okay, well I’m going to call Cynthia now and I’ll call you back with the flight info as soon as I have it. If you hear anything before then, call me back. I’ll keep my cell on and I’ll answer it.”

“I will, thanks Brian. I appreciate you dropping everything to come up here,” Lindsey said, sounding better than she had at the beginning of their conversation.

“I’m not a total asshole,” Brian replied. “I do take a few hours off every other year. Talk to you soon.”

Gus’s POV

“Momma, where is daddy? I want daddy, I want Justin!” Gus was whining and crying at the same time and squirming in Melanie’s arms. He saw the nurse coming towards him with a needle and he began to scream in Melanie’s ear.

“God dammit! Where the hell did you learn your nursing skills, Attila? It’s gonna take me an hour to calm him down now. Get somebody in here who knows what the fuck their doing!” Melanie said as she glared at the nurse.

“We have to get this lab work done. He won’t remember a thing, I promise,” the nurse said with irritation in her voice as she advanced on the screaming child.

“Daddy!!, Justin!!! Gus screamed and escaped from Melanie’s grasp and began to run down the hall, his gown flapping behind him. As he rounded the corner he ran right into his favorite blonde.

“Justy, Justy!’ Gus cried with tears streaming down his face and a frazzled Melanie catching up the rear. “Where’s daddy, is he here with you? There is a woman trying to stab me with a giant needle! I need daddy!”

Justin looked from Gus to Melanie in confusion, “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere Gus. Let’s go find mommy and then maybe daddy will turn up,” Justin said in a soothing voice that seemed to calm the child a bit.

“Jesus, where the fuck is that asshole? Please tell me he’s with you,” Melanie said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “We’ve been here for hours and Gus won’t let anyone touch him without screaming bloody murder.”

“Sorry Mel but he isn’t with me. I’ve tried to call him a few times with no luck. I didn’t see Linds in the lobby, where is she?” Justin asked while Gus laid his head on Justin’s shoulder and relaxed a bit.

“Excuse me but we have to draw this child’s blood. I have other patients that are waiting too,’ the nurse whined as she looked at Justin.

“Hey Gus, wanna show daddy what a big boy you’ve become? Justin asked the little boy.

“That’s the mean woman with the big needle, Justy. She made momma say some bad words,” Gus said big tears starting to form in his eyes.

“Well, what if I go with you this time and I won’t say any bad words and I’ll make sure she’s not mean?” Justin said with a smile.

“But it’s gonna hurt… alot ,” Gus said starting to cry.

‘It’s gonna hurt a little Gus, but it will be over before you know it and then we can try to find daddy. Will you try, for me?” Justin asked as he looked over Gus’s head at Melanie. He mouthed the words, “try to call Brian again.”

“I guess I can try,” Gus said, “as long as you will be there with me.”

The nurse led Justin and a weary child back into the lab while Mel went to find Lindsay and call Brian. Again.

Brian’s POV

Brian was grabbing his carry on and his laptop from the overhead bin as his cell began to vibrate. He looked at the number and hesitated before he answered.

“You just can’t wait to talk to me, can you Mel,” Brian said with sigh.

“Your son has been crying for you for hours, you selfish asshole. Do you think you might get here before he graduates high school?”

“I couldn’t make the plane fly any fucking faster, besides we’re at the gate now. I need to rent a car and then I’ll be there. Where is Gus, in the ER, already in a room? Have they found out anything yet” Brian asked as he waited for the door to open.

“No, we are still in the ER, apparently whatever this bug is, it’s all over Toronto and the hospital is overloaded. Just get the fuck over here!” Melanie said as she disconnected the call.

“Bitch,” Brian muttered as he slipped his cell in his coat pocket. Thank God for first class. He was off the plane and headed straight for the rental counter the minute the door opened.

Brian tried to call Justin a few times before he boarded the plane in Pittsburg to tell him about Gus but he was either too busy to answer or he forgot to turn his cell on. The latter was more likely knowing Justin. Brian didn’t want to leave a message because Justin had a tendency to queen out, besides Brian couldn’t really tell him anything yet.

Brian parked the rental in the parking garage and started to walk towards the entrance to the emergency room. He was talking to Cynthia on his cell trying to rearrange his schedule when he saw what he thought was a mirage walking near the entrance. As he got closer and he could see more clearly he realized it wasn’t a mirage after all.

“Hey there sonny boy, how are you feeling? Brian said softly.

Gus lifted his head from Justin’s shoulder as Justin turned to that familiar, sultry voice.

“Daddy, daddy! I’ve been waiting for you, where have you been? I got stuck with a really fat needle but I was a big boy and didn’t cry at all, did I Justin?” Gus was beaming up at his daddy with dried tears still on his face. He reached his arms out to Brian and Justin released him to his father.

“Hey, when did you get here?” Justin asked as he tried to straighten his clothes and look somewhat presentable after the fiasco with the student nurse.

“I just got here, sunshine. How the fuck did you get here before me and how could you afford a ticket?”

“I had some money put away.’ Justin said a little offended that Brian wasn’t at least a little happy to see him.

“You should have saved your fucking money,” Brian said.

“Well, no one could reach you and I figured one of us should be here to keep the peace. Forgive me for caring. I’ll go say my goodbyes to Mel and Linds and be out of your way,” Justin said and started to turn away to go back into the emergency room.

“You should have saved the money because I would have paid for your ticket,” Brian said with a smirk. “I couldn’t get in touch with you to tell you that I was going to have a ticket waiting for you, twat.”

Justin turned back towards Brian and at the same time Brian pulled him in for a kiss. Gus had fallen asleep in Brian’s arms so he took advantage of the free time and focused on kissing Justin.

“Why haven’t you been answering you phone?” Brian asked trying not to sound like he cared.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Justin asked with a smirk.

“Busy,” they both replied at the same time and then they burst out laughing.

‘C’mon, let’s go find the lesbians,” Brian said grabbing Justin by the shirt, dragging him into the hospital.

Lindsey’s POV

‘Where is Gus?” Lindsay asked feeling suddenly woozy. “I don’t feel so good,’ she said and then she threw up all over Mel’s shoes.

“Oh, shit! Dammit Linds these were new,” Mel said as she got up to walk to the restroom. “Why didn’t you say you were about to toss your cookies.”

“Ohhh, mommy made a mess on the floor, just like I did” Gus said as he ran over to her side. Brian and Justin were following closely behind and managed to barely grab him before he slipped into the mess.

‘What the fuck, Linds? Is the whole damn City sick? I never thought I’d say this but maybe I need to go back to the Pitts,” Brian said tongue in cheek.

Lindsey looked positively green. She tried to stand up and when she did, she started to see stars and then the lights went out. Brian just barely caught her before she hit the floor.

Melanie came out of the bathroom just as Brian was following a stretcher with Lindsay and Gus into the patient care area of the emergency room.

“Where the hell are they taking my wife? What the fuck did Brian do to her?” Melanie screeched towards Justin.

“Calm down Mel”, Justin said. “She stood up and passed out. Brian managed to grab her before she hit the floor. They called for Gus to go back and Brian said she was going too. How long has she been sick?”

“She hasn’t been sick, at least not that I’ve noticed.” Melanie said looking at the floor. “Things have been really crazy the last few weeks. I guess I was so occupied with work and Gus that I wasn’t paying attention to Lindsey.”

Lindsey’s POV

Lindsey opened her eyes and looked around the room. “What the hell happened? Where am I? Gus?”

“I’m right here with daddy, momma. He did too come just like you said. Mommy said he wasn’t coming but I knew he would.” Gus said beaming up at Brian.

“What the fuck is going on in your house, Lindsey? Gus is sick as hell and so are you and Mel doesn’t even notice? Brian asked.

“It’s not like that Brian. It has been very hectic here. Mel has been getting most of the grunt work since she’s the newest employee and since I’m only working part time right now, I have been handling everything. It’s just been really hard on all of us,” Lindsay replied as her head fell back on the pillow. “I’m just tired.”

‘Well, as soon as we find out what’s wrong with you and Gus, I’m going to have a little talk with Melanie. If life is so hectic here and my son is being ignored, maybe I should take him back to the Pitts with me.” Brian said just as the elderly doctor came into their room.

“Dr. Schwartz, this is Brian Kinney, Gus’s father. Do you have the lab results back yet? What is wrong with Gus?”


“Ms. Peterson, as I told you on the phone, this is totally unnecessary. Little Gus probably has a stomach virus that will clear up on its own. All these expensive tests are just going to bear that out.”

“What the fuck do you mean, probably,” Brian said as he put Gus in the bed with Lindsay and stood up, towering over the old man.

“I could give a shit how expensive the tests are. Something is wrong with my son and his mother and I want to know what’s wrong NOW!” Brian was reaching into his back pocket and the doctor backed up as if Brian was about to draw a weapon.

“Now, now Mr. Kinney, there’s no need for violence, we are in a hospital and there is security near by,” he said as he backed towards the door.

Brian pulled his hand back out from behind him and opened his wallet. “Do you take Platinum Am Ex, Gold MasterCard, what?? I have all the best cards. Which one will get my son the care he needs?” Brian said with venom in his voice.

“Brian!! I’m sure that’s not the reason that Dr. Schwartz has been putting me off, is it Doctor?” Lindsey said warily.

“Now, now please calm down. Let me find a nurse who can locate both your and Gus’s lab work and I will be back shortly,” the doctor said as he hastily left the room.

“Where the fuck did you find him, Lindsey, and old folk’s home? “ Brian sneered as he looked over at Gus, lying next to Lindsey sleeping and snoring louder than a child should.

“We haven’t had the time or the money to afford a private physician so we had to go through the clinic and he was the only one available.”

“Fuck that Lindsey,” Brian said as he walked towards the door. “Gus is my goddamn son and I don’t want some geriatric whose about to kick the bucket taking care of him! I’ll pay for a private doctor, you find him or Gus is coming home with me.”

Brian’s POV

“Hey, scoot over Sunshine,” Brian said as he sat next to Justin in the waiting room.

“Hey yourself, any news on Gus or Linds?” Justin asked.

“Huh, where’s Gus, Linds!” Melanie had fallen asleep next to Justin and Brian rudely shouldered her awake when he sat down.

“Go back to sleep rumplestiltskin, we’re still waiting on the lab work and they are both sleeping right now. Better yet, why don’t you just go back to work, seems that’s all you care about nowadays.” Brian said as he leered at her.

“Fuck you, asshole. Someone has to earn a paycheck or we’d all be standing in the soup line! Since Lindsey’s job is part time at best, I can work overtime which doesn’t pay a hell of a lot but what the fuck do you know or care. You’re rolling in it, Daddy Warbucks!” Mel said as she stood up.

“Both of you need to calm down,” Justin said as he stood between them. “Gus and Lindsey need us right now. You two can fight any time so sit down and shut up.”

They both looked at him and then they both sat down.


“Family for Lindsey Peterson? Lindsey Peterson family please report to the reception desk” was heard over the intercom.

Brian, Melanie and Justin stood at the same time. They all walked over to reception and stared at the nurse.

“Mr. Peterson? the young receptionist said looking from Brian and Justin.

“No,” they replied at the same time.

“I’m her wife,” Melanie said. “I want to go back there to be with my wife and son now.”

“Wait a minute,” Brian said, “that’s my son back there.”

“Just hold on, you two.” Justin said as he looked at the young girl, “would it be at all possible if they could both go back to be with Ms. Peterson and their son.”

“Well, usually it is just the mother or father. I think I should ask someone.”

“Okay, we will just stand over here while you check. I see by your name tag that your name is Jennifer. That’s a really pretty name,” Justin said as he heard Brian sigh loudly beside him and then saw his eyes roll.

“Oh, well I’m sure it would be ok for them both to go back. Do you want to come back too, because I could sneak you in,’ Jennifer said as she flirted with the blonde.

“Sure,” Justin said flashing that famous sunshine smile, “but only if you won’t get into trouble.”

“Fuck me,” Brian muttered under his breath as they were led back to Lindsay’s room.

“I could probably work on that too,” Justin said with a grin and a wink.

Gus’s POV

“Momma? Where did daddy go? Where’s mommy, where’s Justy? Gus had woken up and was cooler to the touch and seemed a bit better.

Lindsey took a deep breath and was about to answer when the receptionist knocked and entered the room, followed by Melanie, Brian and Justin.

“Yay,” Gus said and clapped his hands together. All of the adults couldn’t help but smile.

“Daddy, I want to go home now. Can I go home with you? I want to go play.” Gus said as he held his arms out to Brian.

“We’ll see sonny boy. We have to wait for the doctor first okay? Brian said as he held Gus away from him and stared at his son.

‘Why in the hell is he purple, Linds?” Brian asked holding Gus away from his body, “and sticky?”

“That mean woman came in, the one who stuck me and she stuck mommy this time and then she gave me a Popsicle!” Gus grinned.

“Ahh, well let’s go clean you up, shall we?” Brian replied.

“Has the doctor been in yet, Linds?” Justin asked as he stood beside the bed. Melanie had taken the only chair and had fallen back to sleep.

“Not yet, but I am hoping soon. I want this IV out.” Lindsay replied.

“You’re looking better than you were a few hours ago. The lobby is packed. There must be some major shit going around.” Justin said with some concern.

“There’s no need for all this worry,” a deep voice replied.

Dr. Schwartz walked into the room as Brian came out of the bathroom with a cleaner version of his son.

Melanie opened her eyes when she heard the doctor’s voice.

“It’s exactly what I assumed it would be” the doctor said, “a common viral bug that should respond nicely to antibiotic therapy.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you just start the antibiotics before, better yet,” Brian said as he handed Gus off to Justin, “why didn’t you get this lab work done days ago so my son could have been treated more quickly? What kind of place are you running here?”

“Excuse me, Mr. Kinney, but we don’t like to just hand out antibiotics randomly for every cold or sniffle, especially to small children. They can become immune and then when they are older, should they really need antibiotics for a resistant infection, there will be nothing to give. I do know what I’m doing even if I am about to kick the bucket,” he said with a grin.

“So what do we do now,” Melanie asked standing next to Lindsay.

‘We will put them both on a round of low dose antibiotics for 10 days and then they should be as good as new. Melanie, I would like you to force fluids on Gus and the same goes for you, Lindsey. We don’t want any dehydration. You need to take better care of yourself Lindsay.” The doctor said as he pulled out a prescription pad and began to write.

Melanie grabbed Lindsey’s hand and said,” don’t worry doctor. I will make sure that they are both taken care of, from now on”. She bent over and kissed Linds on the cheek.

“Lesbian love, so is there a cure for that?” Brian asked with a smirk.

“Fuck you, Brian,” Mel said as she grabbed the prescriptions from the doctor.

“You’d have to stand in line, Mel and besides you are so NOT my type,” Brian said as he pulled Justin in for a long kiss.



Gus was playing with his blocks on the living room floor while Mel and Linds were on the loveseat. Brian had Justin in his lap and was busy nuzzling his neck.

“Jesus Christ, Brian, do you ever give the kid a break?” Mel asked.

“Sunshine works best on a structured schedule and besides, I don’t hear him complaining. However, your constant cackling is driving me to drink,” Brian said as he slid Justin from his lap, stood and walked to the kitchen for a beer.

Brian and Justin were flying back to the Pitts together. Justin called his boss and got a few days off. Brian called Cynthia and had her clear his schedule for the next 3 days. Brian’s only plan now that Gus was okay, was to take Justin back to the loft, bolt the door and fuck him into the mattress until he couldn’t speak, or walk. It was going to be fun to see which happened first.

“What is that evil grin for,” Justin asked as he came in the kitchen and saw Brian standing at the refrigerator door.

“You’ll find out soon enough, sunshine” and he grabbed Justin for a deep, long kiss.


Melanie’s POV

So, you two are spending the night here, right? Lyndsey said as she put a sleeping Gus on the couch next to Brian.

“Fuck, no are you crazy? This place is overflowing with bacteria. I want no part of it. We are heading over to the Hilton and then back to the Pitts in the morning. But I think we need to discuss Gus first,” Brian said as he placed his empty beer bottle on the table.

“What do you mean, discuss Gus,” Mel said with a smirk. “Gus is fine, Lyndsey is fine and I’m fine, like you give a fuck so you can just go back to Pittsburg with a clear conscious.”

“First of all, Melanie, things aren’t fine,” Brian began, “this place is a dump, your cupboards are damn near empty and it’s cold as a fucking tomb in here. Turn on some damn heat!”

“Things just look like this because we’ve been really busy. Lyndsey usually has all of this under control, “Melanie said trying to defend what she knew was the truth.

This place was a dump. They had gotten it sight unseen and there just never seemed to be any time to try to fix it up like they had planned. Hell, even if they had the time, there was no money. Things had just been overlooked for so long, that letting them slip even further was easier.

Lyndsey sat there and let Brian and Melanie stare each other down. She waited for the mountain of Melanie to erupt.

“Okay, I agree that things don’t look real good right now,” Melanie admitted “but I’m trying as hard as I can. Lyndsey knows that, she knows I’m doing the best I can.

“Why don’t we just admit that we made a mistake, Mel, a big mistake in leaving our family and friends and coming here?” Lyndsey said not hiding her distress any longer. “I don’t want to do this any longer. We’ve given it a shot and I think we need to discuss moving back home where we belong.

“Wow, I didn’t think you would fold this easily, Linds, but I guess since you have Brian here now, you’ve gotten your courage back and you just want to bail out on me. Is that your definition of marriage? To just throw up your hands and be done?” Melanie said and then she started to cry.

“Marriage is about love and compromise and adjustment, Melanie and I’ve tried to do all those things here but it’s not working. You can’t keep a job, I can’t even find one. We aren’t giving up. We need to be around our family, other people who care about us and can be there for us when we need them.” Lyndsey tried to keep her voice calm but she was about to lose it.

Melanie just looked at Lyndsey feeling defeated but not wanting to admit that her spouse was right. It was time to go home but she didn’t want to admit it to the asshole in the room.

“Are we going home now, daddy?” Gus had woken up and was rubbing his eyes.

“I’m not sure Gus. Are we going home mommy?” Brian said looking at Melanie with raised eyebrows.

“I have a lot of shit to do before we can just pack up and move back to that hellhole.” Melanie said but she was smiling.

“We can help you Mel, just tell us what to do,” Justin said putting Gus in his lap.

Mel looked at Lindsey and then to Gus and replied, “Okay, okay I guess it’s time for us to go home.”

“You hear that, sonny boy?” Brian said with a smile, “You’re coming home!”

“Yay,” Gus said as he clapped his hands. “We finally get to go home!”

~fin~