Brian and Justin arrived at Melanie and Lindsay just before six. Both were in very good moods and ready for a weekend of Gus-filled fun. Melanie opened the door and actually smiled. Brian looked at her suspiciously. "What?" He asked giving her a sideways glance. "You look - happy." "I think the phrase you're looking for is 'well-fucked'." Brian corrected. Melanie rolled her eyes and motioned them into the house. "Daddy!" Gus squealed as he hurried down the steps. "Hey, there Sonny-Boy." Brian said scooping the boy into his arms. Gus wrapped his arms around Brian's neck. Brian couldn't help but hug the boy back. "We gonna have the whole weekid together, Daddy." Gus said. "Weekend." Brian corrected. "And, you bet we are. I'm sure Justin has about a million things planned for us to do, huh?" "Yeah." Gus said giggling. "We're gonna watch Nemo, too." "You betcha." Brian said nodding. "Come on, Daddy." Gus said grabbing Brian's hand and pulling him toward the door. "Just a second, Sonny-Boy." Brian said pulling the boy back. "Don't you need things like, oh, I don't know, clothes, and toys and jammies?" "They're all right here." Lindsay said handing Brian a duffle bag and a drawstring mesh bag full of Gus' favorite toys. "Spongebob?" Gus asked looking for his beloved stuffed toy. "It's in your bag, sweetie." Lindsay assured him. "Would Mommy pack your bag without Spongebob?" Gus shook his head smiling and Lindsay shook her head and said, "Noooooo." "What time will you guys be back Sunday?" Justin asked. "We should be back here around the same time, 5 or 6 o'clock." Melanie said. "Don't rush on our account, right Sonny-Boy." "Yeah, we're gonna play inna pool." Gus said smiling. "Gus?" Lindsay began, but Brian stopped her. "It's okay." Brian said. "I'll straighten it out when we get home." Lindsay nodded and smiled. "You guys have a great weekend." Justin offered. "And drive carefully." "We will." Lindsay said. "Mommy and Momma will see you later, Big Boy." "Yeah, bye Mommy. Bye Momma." Gus said as Justin tried to get his jacket on him before he got out in the snow. -- Gus looked at the covered pool with a deepening frown. Brian had tried to explain that they couldn’t use the pool in the winter, but Gus had been adamant about it. He'd even shown Brian and Justin his new pair of swim trunks he'd managed to finagle out of his mommies. They were blue and orange with a picture of Nemo on one leg and Dory on the other. He'd wanted to put them on as soon as they walked in the door, but Brian had stopped him telling him that he needed to see something. "But, I wanna swim." Gus whined. Brian huffed out an angry breath. "How about you swim in the tub tonight before you get a bath?" Justin offered. "Can I weared my new swim trunks?" Gus asked looking hopeful. "Of course, you can." Brian said smiling. "You can play in the tub to your heart's content before you actually get a bath. Okay?" Gus nodded solemnly then turned to follow his father back into the house. "Want some hot chocolate, Gus?" Justin asked when they got to the kitchen. Gus nodded happily and climbed up onto the bar stool to watch Justin make cocoa. "You want some, too, Frosty?" Justin said looking at Brian who gave him a tongue in cheek smile. "Is it the sugar-free stuff?" Brian asked. "Yes." Justin grumped. "As if Lindsay or Melanie would ever let me give Gus anything with actual sugar in it." Brian snickered and nodded that he too would be having cocoa. "Wif marchmallows?" Gus asked. "What would cocoa be without marshmallows?" Justin said conspiratorially. Brian arched his eyebrow. -- The phone rang during dinner. Brian excused himself to get it. "Hello." Brian grumped. "Well, hello to you, too." Michael said. "What do you want, Mikey, I'm trying to eat dinner." "I just got a visit from Congresswoman Edelstein." "So?" "She wants me to speak at a 'Stop Prop 14' press conference at the GLC." Michael continued. "Since the explosion at Babylon, the support for Prop 14 has declined rapidly. She thinks that if one of the survivors of the bomb speaks to the public it'll help defeat it all together." "That's great." Brian said liking the sound of Prop 14 disappearing forever. "When is it?" "A couple of days from now." Michael said. "They're going to write a speech for me and everything." He paused. "You gonna be there?" "Why wouldn't I be?" Brian asked. "Well, I know what happened between us -." "Forget it." Brian said dismissively. "I behaved like an asshole. You behaved like a bigger one. It's over." "Okay." Michael said and Brian could hear the smile on the other man's face. "I'll call you with the details later." "Great." Brian said smiling himself. "Who was that?" Justin asked when Brian returned to the dinner table. "Michael." "Yeah?" "Yeah, he's going to be speaking at a 'Stop Prop 14' press conference at the GLC." "Really." Justin said impressed. "Since he survived the bombing, that congresswoman thinks people will listen to him better." Brian said. "Can I have some more tatos, Daddy?" Gus asked. "What do you say?" "Please." Brian took Gus' plate and heaped on a generous portion of mashed potatoes. Gus smiled when Brian set the food in front of him and dug in. Brian chuckled and wiped mashed potatoes off of Gus' nose. "I guess Proposition 14 has lost a lot of steam since the bombing." Brian continued. "To maintain the momentum, I'm sure Congresswoman Edelstein wants to use Michael as an example of gay society." He shook his head. "What?" Justin said. "That's good, right?" "Yeah, I guess." Brian said chewing the bite of food he'd put in his mouth thoughtfully. "It's just, well, kinda one sided don't you think?" "How so?" "Well, there are all types of people in the gay community." Brian explained. "Not just families. You know they'll focus on what they consider 'real families'. The house and the 2.5 kids. No drugs. No drinking. No clubbing. And, regardless of how many fags are doing the whole domesticity thing, they aren't the only ones. Does that make sense?" "Yes it does." "I mean, do we have to give up our unique identity to be accepted into mainstream society?" Brian asked. "That's pretty much what I've been saying. The 'Stepford Fag' thing comes from members of our society trying to act as straights want us to. It's the reason I fought the whole idea so hard." "But, you don't consider us 'Stepford' material?" "We aren't." Brian said. "We aren't married. We're committed, yes. And, we love each other, but we don't need straight society's permission to be together. Now, I'm rambling." "You make perfect sense to me." Justin smiling. "I've always understood what you were talking about, what you believed. You've been at little harsh about it at times, but I always understood." "I doubt Michael would." Brian said. "I still don't think he sees our relationship as being as real as his and Ben's. He can be a total asshole about the whole thing, too." "Well, it's not like he's ever really taken either of us or our feelings into consideration before ragging on everything we have together." Justin said handing Gus another piece of chicken. "And, you've taken most of the brunt of it." Brian said thoughtfully. "I'm sorry about that." "Sorry's," Justin looked at Gus then spelled out, "b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t, and you know it." "What's that spell?" Gus asked. "Nothing, Sonny-Boy." Brian smirked. "Finish up your dinner and you can eat ice cream while you watch 'Nemo'." Gus smiled and dug back into his food with gusto. Brian couldn't help smiling at his mini-me's antics. -- The GLC auditorium was standing room only when Brian and Justin arrived for the meeting. Brian saw some of the front seats were reserved and figured they were for Deb and Carl along with others in the family. "Sir?" A woman called walking over to where Brian stood with Justin and John. "Sir? We'd like to fill up the front row with families with children. Would you and your boys like to fill in some of the seats?" "My boys?" Brian asked shocked. "This is my partner," Brian said indicating Justin, "not my child. What the fuck?" "I'm sorry, sir." The woman said turning a bright shade of crimson. "Would you and your partner like to move to the front with your son." "He isn't my son, either." Brian corrected enjoying watching the woman squirm. "He's my nephew." "Well, perhaps your family would like to move to the front, then." She said backpedaling. "No, I think we're fine right here." Brian said dismissively. Justin sat down looking smug. John was trying not to laugh out loud. "The fucking nerve." "She's just trying to pad the audience in the congresswoman's favor." Justin said. "I know, but assuming you're my kid." Brian said rolling his eyes. "Fuck that." "Well, if Justin looked more 21 than 12," John teased, "you wouldn't have problems like this." "Wise guy." Brian said shaking his head. "Maybe I should grow a mustache." Justin said seriously. "I think not." Brian said. "I like you just the way you are. Fuck them." Brian leaned down brushing his lips against Justin's. Justin blushed and turned around looking at the people around them embarrassedly. Brian saw Debbie, Emmett, Kiki, and several others walk up to the front of the audience and attempt to sit in the reserved seats. After watching a hushed conversation between the congresswoman and one of her assistants, the assistant walked over to Debbie's group and seemed to instruct them to move. That pissed Brian off even more than being mistake for Justin's father. "Where the fuck is Debbie going?" Brian said aloud. Justin shrugged. "Excuse me." Brian said stopping the assistant. "Why did you tell those people to move?" "The front seats are reserved for couples with children." She explained. "What about the mother of the man who's going to speak?" Brian asked. The assistant just smiled pleasantly and shrugged. "That is fucked up." Brian said. "I'm going to go get Debbie so she can sit down." He said to Justin who nodded and draped his leg over the seat to save it. Debbie was standing with Kiki and several other people he recognized from the diner. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey, Kiddo." Debbie called giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I saved you a seat, Deb, come sit down." Brian said motioning fro her to follow him. "I'm fine, Sweetie." Debbie said. "I can see Michael better from right here." "You sure?" Brian asked. Debbie shrugged and nodded. "Okay." "Come by the house after." Debbie called after him. Brian nodded as he headed back to where Justin and John were sitting. "Good Afternoon and welcome." Congresswoman Edelstein said as she approached the podium. "I'm Congresswoman Edelstein. The Committee for Human Rights has called today's press conference in response to the unconscionable act of violence that took the lives of seven and critically injured dozens of others at a recent benefit to stop Proposition 14. We express our sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones and vow to continue fighting for equal rights for all Americans - straight and gay. Now, I'd like you to meet one of the survivors of that senseless tragedy, Michael Novotny." Brian smiled as bemused Michael walked over to the podium. Michael had never been very good at public speaking. "Thank you Congresswoman." Michael said then unfolded a piece of paper he was carrying. He cleared his throat and began to speak. "Thank you Congresswoman." He repeated. "Oh, I already said that part." Brian couldn't help but chuckle, as did many in the crowd. "It's an honor to stand here today." He continued. "Considering a few weeks ago the doctors weren't sure I was going to make it. But, I was one of the lucky ones. I'm here. And, as terrifying as that evening was, I would be there again to defeat a bill that would deny rights to Americans just because they're gay. I have a loving partner and two great kids, a home, a small business. The truth is I'm just like you." Michael stopped abruptly. Brian knew that look on Michael's face. He looked like that whenever he tried to pull something over on someone. It was the reason that Michael could never lie to Brian. "Actually, that's not the truth." Michael said finally. "Sure, in a lot of ways I am just like you. I want to be happy. I want some security. A little extra money in my pocket, but in many ways my life is nothing like yours. Why should it be? Do we all have to have the same lives to have the same rights? I mean, I thought diversity was what this country was all about. In the gay community, we have drag queens, leather daddies, and trannies, and couples with children. Every color of the rainbow. My mother, who is standing way in the back with some friends," he pointed toward Debbie and all the camera turned to face her, "my friends, once told me that people are like snowflakes. Everyone is special and unique, and in the morning you have to shovel them off the driveway." Debbie smiled and a wave of laughter washed through the crowd. "But, being different is what makes us all the same. It's what makes us family." Michael's comments were met with thunderous applause. Brian was one of the first to stand up and clap followed by just about everyone in the room. Justin wolf whistled and John was yelling 'yeah' at the top of his lungs. Michael, still looking bemused, nodded a thank you and went to sit down next to Ben and Hunter. -- When Brian, Justin, and John arrived at Debbie's house, the celebration was in full swing. Everyone was talking and laughing. Brian opened the door without knocking and walked in. "Daddy!" Gus shouted hurtling himself toward his father. "Hey, there, Sonny-Boy." Brian said picking the boy up. "We gots cake and ice cream, Daddy." Gus said excitedly. "Want some?" "Maybe later, Big Guy." Brian said. "Okay." Gus said then looked at Justin. "Come on, Jusin." He said sliding out of Brian's arms. He grabbed first Justin's hand the John's pulling them toward the kitchen. "Come on, John." "He's got you pegged, Sunshine." Brian teased as they hurried off. Michael walked over to where Brian was standing watching his son, nephew and partner walk toward the table a lop-sided grin on his face. "Hey." Michael said to get Brian's attention. "Hey, Mikey." Brian said hugging Michael. "Great speech." "Thanks." Michael said seeming embarrassed. "Ma already wants me nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize." Brian chuckled. "I just told the truth." "You did." Brian said. "You really did." "I got kinda pissed when they moved Ma all the way to the back." Michael said looking over at Debbie who was in the process of telling some story or another while those around her listened and laughed. "Me, too." Brian agreed. "It was bullshit and they wanted me to say stuff I don't believe, you know." Michael said. "I do know." Brian said. "Saying that you are just like everyone else is bullshit. None of us are alike. Your relationship with Ben may be different than my relationship with Justin, but that doesn't make yours better or any more real, right?" Michael cocked his head at Brian. "Right." Michael said tentatively as Brian watched him start putting all the pieces together. "I guess you're right." Brian nodded and turned toward the kitchen in time to hear Gus squeal at Justin who was now wearing frosting on his nose. "I'd better go referee." Brian said with a knowing smiled. "Help me, Daddy." Gus called as Justin scooped him up and started to tickle him. Brian moved in to save the day by disentangling Gus from Justin and 'helping' him hide from Justin as the other man tried to insinuate his hands around Brian's arms to continue tickling the giggling boy. Brian could feel Michael watching him as he crossed the room. Maybe this time, Brian thought, he'll actually figure it out. The end.