“Chris?”  Justin asked as he knocked on the door.  

Justin had one hell of a hangover.  He had to stop drinking to forget his problems.  He tried the door and found out that it was open.

“Chris, where are you?”  Justin asked as he closed the door not really seeing the room.

“Jus.”  Chris choked out.

Justin turned around and saw the blood and Chris’s body.  Chris had tried crawling to the phone, but hadn’t made it.  

“My god.”  Justin said rushing to his friend. 

Justin got on his knees and took Chris hand on his.  He took out his phone and dialed 911.  After that he put his phone away.

“Are you alone in here?”  Justin asked.

Chris nodded.

“Can you move?”  Justin asked.

Chris shook his head.

“You will be okay.”  Justin told him.

“I love you.”  Chris choked out.

“Chris.”  Justin whispered as he pushed Chris’s hair back.  “You will be okay.  You’ll see.”

Justin hoped that he was right.  He couldn’t believe that someone had tried to kill Chris.  Justin looked at Chris’s wound and saw that it was pretty serious.  Whoever had shot Chris thought they had killed the man.

***

Miller looked at the address once again before he knocked on the door.

“It looks like you and me now, buddy.”  Miller said to Justin.

Justin nodded as he took a drag of his cigarette.

“Hopefully, we won’t get killed.”  Justin said.

Miller nodded and knocked once again on the door.

“What?”  The guy that opened it said.

“Are you James Montgomery?”  Justin asked.

“Call me Hunter.”

“Let us in, Hunter.”  Justin said as he pushed Hunter inside and walked in.

Miller closed the door behind them.

“Are you alone, Hunter?”  Justin asked.

Hunter nodded.

“Who are you?”  Hunter asked them.

“Don’t worry about it.”  Justin said pushing Hunter into a chair.

“What do you want?”  Hunter asked angry.

Miller started looking around the apartment.  He came back with a couple of papers and a book before he left in search of something more.  Justin opened the book and started going through the names and numbers.

“That’s personal.”  Hunter spat out.

“Too bad for you.”  Justin said looking at it.  “So, you are the guy that called Daphne and threatened my family.”

“I didn’t call anyone.”  Hunter said getting up.

Justin pushed him back down and kept going through Hunter’s telephone book.

“Here.”  Justin said when he found the number he wanted.

Hunter looked away.

“Look at what I found.”  Miller said.  

Hunter looked at the gun and opened his eyes wide. 

“That’s not mine.  You put that there.”  Hunter shouted.

“Do you think they will believe you?”  Justin asked as he sat down in front of Hunter.

Hunter glared at them.

“Now, maybe we can help each other out.”  Justin said.

“I don’t know anything.”  Hunter told him.

Justin smirked.

“I’m going to make this real easy.  Do you want to go to jail or do you want to be a free man?”  Justin asked raising a brow.

Hunter licked his lips.

“Do you think they are going to care about you once you are inside?”  Miller asked.

Hunter took a deep breath.

“What do you want to know?”  Hunter asked.

“Who told you to call?”  Justin asked.

“I don’t know.  Susie came and said that someone had contacted her.”  Hunter told them.

“Who is Susie?”  Miller asked jotting it down on his notepad.

“My girlfriend.”  Hunter told them.

Justin nodded.  

“Did they pay you guys?”  Justin asked.

“We owe them money.  They took some of that off.”  Hunter said.

Justin nodded.

“Who do you work for?”  Justin asked.

Hunter swallowed.

“He will kill us.”  Hunter said.

Justin just stared at him not caring one bit.

“One night in jail it is.”  Justin said reaching for his cuffs.

“No wait.  He will kill me there even faster.”  Hunter said.  “I work for Cody McGuire.”

Justin nodded. 

“How do I find him?”  Justin asked.  “It seems like he doesn’t exist.”

“I don’t know how to find him.”  Hunter said.  “I swear.”

“Okay then.”  Justin said pulling out a card.  “Next time he does.  You find me.”

Hunter took the card and nodded.  Justin and Miller left him alone.

“You think he is going to call you?”  Miller asked.

Justin shrugged.

“I don’t really care.”  Justin said.  “But we will keep an eye on him no matter what.”

Miller nodded and they left the building.

***

Brian stared at his food and took a deep breath pushing the plate away.  Debbie was watching him from behind the counter.  She decided to take a ten minute break and go sit with him.

“Hey, kiddo.”  Debbie said.

Brian looked up at her and smiled a little.

“Hey, Deb.”

“Not hungry?”  Debbie asked.

“Not at the moment.”  Brian told her.

“I hear you and Sunshine are having some trouble.”  Debbie said.

Brian snorted.

“It’s normal that every relationship has them.”  Debbie told him.

Brian took a deep breath.  He didn’t want to talk about his problems.

“It doesn’t matter how bad things get, always keep in mind that he loves you, Brian.”  Debbie said.  “And I know you love him back.”

Brian took a deep breath.

“He needs you.”  Debbie said.

“He was…with another guy.”  Brian said rubbing his face.  “God.”

Debbie put her arms around him.

“It doesn’t matter.  He wants you.  Justin has been with tons of guys, could be with tons of guys and he would only love you.”

Brian looked at her and gave her a small smile.

“Why don’t you talk to him?”  Debbie asked.  “It would be good for you two.  Maybe he would stop moping around.  He made a mistake.  I’m sure he’s learned his lesson.”

“He’s moping around?”  Brian asked.

“Of course he is.”  Debbie told him.  “He misses you terribly.”

“How do you know?”  Brian asked raising a brow.

“Jennifer tells me so.  She spends most of the time with him and Gus.”

“God.”  Brian said.  “I don’t know how Gus is doing.  I been staying with Mikey and it was best if Gus stayed home.  I tried to see him a couple of times, but I had to turn back and leave.  I just couldn’t see Justin.  I’m such a terrible dad.”

“No, you’re not.  You left him with his father.”  Debbie assured him.  “Plus he’s has been staying with Jen.”

Brian looked at her and smiled.

“You can go see him if you want.”  Debbie said and kissed him on the cheek.  “You guys will be okay.”

Brian smiled and watched Debbie go.  He just wanted her to be right.  He missed Justin and Gus like hell.  

***

Justin was at home about to go out when someone knocked on the door.  He stood to the side with gun in hand.  He wasn’t going to take any chances.  It was one of the reasons why he had taken Gus out of the house even thought he missed the boy.  He had to at least go see him before it was too late in the night.

“Who is it?”  Justin asked.

“It’s me.”  Ethan said.

Justin took a deep breath and opened the door.  He put his gun on his holster and looked at Ethan.

“What do you want?”  Justin asked as he let Ethan in.

“I just wanted to talk to you.”  Ethan told him.

“What about?”  Justin asked.

Ethan shrugged.

“Nothing in specific.  How you been?”  Ethan asked.

Justin licked his lips.

“Okay.”  Justin told him.

“Where is Brian?”  Ethan asked.

“He’s in his way.”  Justin said.

Ethan nodded.

“He will be here soon.”  Justin lied as he looked at his watch.  “Any moment now.”  

“Maybe I should go.”  Ethan said.  “I don’t want to cause any problems.”

“Right.”  Justin told him.

“Can I come back some other time?  Maybe when Brian isn’t around.”  Ethan suggested.

“I’ll let you know when that happens.”  Justin said.

Ethan smiled and moved forward kissing Justin on the cheek.

“I’ll see you then.”  Ethan told him and left Justin’s house.

Justin was pissed.  He wanted everyone to just fucking disappear and only be left alone with Brian.  He missed Brian like hell.  He hoped that Brian would calm down and come to talk to him or at least accept his calls.  He was feeling so fucking miserable without the brunet.

***

Brian knocked on the door and George opened it.  George smiled and let Brian come in.  Brian looked at Molly that was sitting down and watching the news.

“Evening, Brian.”  Molly said.  “How are you doing?”  

Brian shrugged.

“Do you want something to drink?”  George asked him.

Brian shook his head.

“I’m okay, thank you.”  Bran told the man.

“Do you want to see Gus?”  Molly asked smiling as she stood up.

Brian nodded and walked behind her.  He could feel his cell phone vibrating, but he would call whoever it was later.  They went out into the back where Jennifer was in the back porch playing with Gus.

“Daddy!”  Gus said running up to his father.

“Hey, Sonny Boy.”  Brian said as he picked up the boy.  “How you been?”

“Great.  I like grandma.  She smells pretty and we play a lot.”  Gus told him.  

Jennifer and Brian smiled.  Molly laughed as she went back inside.

“She said you were with dada having an out time because daddies need time for them.”  Gus informed him.

“A time out.”  Brian said looking at Jennifer and smiling.  

“Yeah that.”  Gus said smiling.

Brian was thankful that Jennifer hadn’t told their son that they were fighting.  He didn’t want Gus to suffer through all of it.

“Where is dada?”  Gus asked.

“Dada is working.”  Brian lied; he had no idea where Justin was.

“I’m going to show you what auntie Molly got me.”  Gus told him happily and ran to the living room once his father released him.

“I’m sorry about all this, Jen.”  Brian told her as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Please, Brian.  Don’t worry about it.”  Jennifer told him.  “Have you talked to him?”

Brian shook his head.  Gus came back running with the teddy bear that Justin had given him and a new teddy bear.

“This is Brian the bear.  He’s friends with Jussy the bear.”  Gus said smiling showing his father the two bears.

Brian smiled and picked his son up again.

“They are great.”  Brian told him.

Gus smiled widely and nodded.

“Are we going home?”  Gus asked.

Brian took a deep breath.

“I miss dada.”  Gus said to Brian with a pout.  “How long is daddies’ time?”

Brian smirked.

“It would be over pretty soon.”  Brian told him smiling

“Okay.”  Gus said smiling too.

Jennifer looked at them and smiled.  There was no denying that Brian was Gus’s father.  They looked so much alike.  Justin was a lucky guy to have such amazing guys in his life.  She just hoped the boys would get back together pretty soon.

“Are you taking him home?”  Jennifer asked.

“Yeah.”  Brian said. 

Gus smiled from ear to ear.

“I need to go talk to Justin.”  Brian said.

“Yay!  I want to see dada.”  Gus said and clapped his little hands, one of his bears falling down.

Jennifer smiled and picked the teddy bear.

“Justin is in the hospital. He called me and said that as soon as he got out, he was going to come see Gus.”  Jennifer informed him.

“What?”  Brian asked shocked.  “Why is he in there?” Brian asked as he put Gus down.

Brian then took out his cell phone not sure who wanted to talk to him so urgently.  The phone wouldn’t stop vibrating.  He didn’t recognize the phone number so he just shrugged and ignored it for the moment.  He would get back to them later.

“Someone hurt Chris pretty badly.”  Jennifer said looking at Gus.

Brian looked away from her, not sure what he was feeling.  It could have been Justin that got hurt.  Yet it had been Chris and Justin was with him.  

“Brian, look at me.”  Jennifer told him.

Brian did.

“He is there as a friend.”  Jennifer said.  “And he needs his partner now more than ever.”

Brian nodded.  He had to find Justin and see what was going on.  See if his blond was okay and if he was still needed.

***

Justin watched Chris for a while.  He didn’t know what to do.  He wanted to ask so many questions.  He wanted to know how Chris had found Cody in the first place.  He wanted to know where he had hid Billy and if he had made copies of the tapes he had with Cody’s voice.  And most importantly he wanted to know if Chris was going to make it.

“Get better, Chris.”  Justin whispered before he moved away. 

Justin had to go to his sister’s house to see Gus.  The kid had been caught in the middle of the whole ordeal between his father and him without having a clue as to what was going on.  Brian had walked out mad as hell and he had just pushed Gus towards his mother and hadn’t even explained to Gus what was going on.  He came out of Chris’s room to find Brian sitting outside.

“Brian?”  Justin asked shocked to see the brunet there.

Brian looked up and smiled at the blond.  He got up and walked over to him.

“Are you okay?”  Brian asked.

Justin nodded.

“What are you doing here?”  Justin asked.

“How is he doing?”  Brian asked.

“He is hanging.”  Justin told him.  “Brian, what’s wrong?”

Brian took a deep breath.  Justin caressed Brian’s face.  He knew Brian was probably as miserable as him, but there was something else.

“Tell me.”  Justin said.

“They called me and said…that I should convince you to stop this.  Or…or…they would…they threatened our family, Jus.”

“Oh god.  Brian, I’m sorry.”  Justin said.  “I…I just…I don’t know what to do anymore.”  Justin told him.

Brian nodded.

“We will get them.”  Brian said.

“But…no!  I won’t put Gus in danger.”  Justin said.

“I know someone that can take care of him.”  Brian said.  

Justin bit his lower lip.  He nodded and wanted to hug Brian so badly.  He looked at the brunet and could tell that Brian was still mad.

“I don’t know.  What about Angel and Daphne, Jessica and everyone else?”  Justin asked.

“We will be really quiet.”  Brian told him.  “Let the case slip, Justin.  Pretend like you are not getting anywhere.  We will search it in our time.  We will.”  

Justin took a deep breath.  He gave him a little smile.  He knew he had to be as careful as possible because he couldn’t lose Brian or Gus.  He couldn’t live without the brunets but he knew that he had to do something to stop Stockwell.  Brian pulled away from him and looked at the blond.

“I know who it is, Brian.  I just need to gather the evidence all over again.”  Justin said.

“Who is it?”  Brian asked.

“Stockwell.”  Justin said.

“You are joking, right?”  Brian asked. 

Justin shook his head.

“I won’t let him get away with threatening our son, baby.”  Brian promised him.

They stared at each other not sure what to do next.

“We should go.”  Justin said.

“We have to pick Gus up.”  Brian said.  “And we have to go home.”

Justin smiled.

“You are coming home?”  Justin asked.

Brian nodded.

“We need to talk.”  Brian told him.

“Okay.”  Justin said.

“Brian.”

“What?”  Brian asked.

“I love you.  You know that.”  Justin told him.  “I was an idiot.”

Brian pouted and nodded.

“Yeah.  You were.”  Brian told him.

The two of them walked out of the hospital.  They wanted to touch each other but they both kept their distance.  Justin knew he had to let Brian come to him when the brunet was ready while Brian was too scared thinking he was going to get hurt again.