Justin, having been fired from the diner, had begun to work longer hours at Kinnetic, and at his studio at school, finishing up the projects due before he graduated in December. In between his work at the advertising agency and his time at the studio, Justin also made sure he was available for most of the weekend, wanting to give Gus some more stability during the youngster�s time with Brian. Justin also was helping Brian get the loft ready for sale, the two men having found a house that they had agreed to purchase together, even if Brian was paying for most of it at the moment.

Brian and Mark met a couple more times, usually with Justin present; to discuss what was going on with the case. The three men had met with the girls and their new attorney to see if an agreement could be reached by all concerned, but that meeting had ended quickly when Melanie and Lindsay both stated that the only thing they would agree on would be allowing Brian to have one night a month with Gus. According to Lindsay, while she understood that Gus was feeling left out and wasn�t happy with the family situation at their house, she didn�t feel that things would get any better if he wasn�t living with them. If anything, she said, that would just alienate him even further from his mothers. Brian stated that, anything short of a continuation of the current custody order was out of the question, and the girls promptly left. Since then, he had heard that Melanie and Lindsay had begun fighting, although being very careful to put on a united front, about Mel�s treatment of Gus and her favoritism of Annie. It made Brian and Justin feel hopeful that maybe things would finally begin changing for the better.

Brian looked around his new home, taking in all the differences between that house that he and Justin would share, and the loft that had been Brian�s home for so long and wondered once more at the changes that his life had gone through in the years since he had met Justin. The fact that he met Justin on the same night his son was born had caused Brian to wonder at the kind of fate that would bring the two most important people in his life into said life in the same night. He would be the first to admit that, in regards to both Gus and Justin, Brian had fought admitting that he did love them. He didn�t want anyone thinking that the great Brian Kinney might actually have a heart. He had done his best to chase away the boy that insisted he was meant to be in his life, actually driving him away at one point, but in the end all Brian�s fighting his destiny did was bring him closer to the man he loved. And now he was the owner of an actually house. A house with a huge backyard, complete with swimming pool and a gym set that would make any kid happy. All he needed now was for his lover to return home so that they could christen a few more rooms in the house.

Thinking of Justin made Brian wonder if this weekend would finally be the one that saw Justin return to his side fulltime. Justin had said that one of the reasons he didn�t move back in with Brian was the fact that the loft held too many memories of all the times the blond had walked in on Brian with one of his tricks. He also said that, while he enjoyed spending time at the loft and did so often, the loft would always be Brian�s home and Justin was tired of living in someone else�s domain. When Brian pointed out that Justin currently inhabited Daphne�s apartment, Justin countered with the fact that, while small, the apartment he shared with his friend showed both personalities of the people that lived there. Brian had bought his home, and asked Justin to help him in furnishing and decorating it, in the hopes that it would give Justin that same sense of home that he seemed to have at Daphne�s.

A pair of arms wrapping their way around his waist brought Brian out of his musings. A pair of hands snaking their way down his chest brought out a moan. �If you stop there, you are going to be one sorry little boy,� Brian threatened when the same wanderings hands stopped at the top of his pants.

�Promise?� Brian turned, smacking Justin�s ass as he own arms circled his lover�s waist.

�Twat.�

�But you love me anyway,� Justin stated, sure of the brunet�s feelings for him. Instead of the silence that would have greeted that statement a few months ago, or the teasing from when they first met, Brian just smiled and kissed the blond in his arms. �Mmmmm, I�ve been looking forward to that all day.�

�Glad I could please you,� Brian smirked.

�Oh, you definitely know how to please me,� Justin smiled, leading Brian over to the couch. He pushed Brian onto the couch and straddled his lap. �And I think you�re going to please me right now.�

�Really?�

�MmmHmmm,� Justin moaned, grinding his ass over Brian�s hard on and kissing him hard. Then, just as the two men were beginning to lose themselves in their lust, the phone rang. Justin broke off the kiss, looking down at his lover. He knew that, no matter how lost in each other they were, Brian had the tendency of stopping if they were interrupted, and prepared himself for the break.

�Fuck,� Brian said, reaching over to get the phone. �What?� When nothing but silence greeted him Brian frowned in annoyance. He could hear someone crying and recognized the sound. �Gus? What�s wrong?�

�It�s dark,� came a small voice. Brian looked over at Justin, whose own face showed concern.

�I know its dark, Sonnyboy. It�s night time,� Brian said. �Why don�t you ask your mommies to turn on a light?�

�Not here. All alone.�

�What do you mean you�re all alone?� Brian nearly shouted, only keeping his voice down because he didn�t want to scare Gus anymore than the little boy obviously already was.

�Brian, what�s going on?� Justin asked.

�I don�t know,� Brian answered, pulling the phone away for a minute. �Gus says he�s all alone.�

�Where are Mel and Linds?� Justin asked, going with Brian as the brunet made his way to the front door, grabbing the keys to his jeep as he went.

�I don�t know,� Brian hissed, �but I�m going to kill them both if something happens to Gus. Do me a favor and call Mark and let him know what�s going on. Tell him we�re on our way over to the house now.� Justin nodded his head, taking his cell phone out of his backpack as Brian turned his attention back to his son.

�Daddy, I scared. I don�t like the dark.�

�I know, Sonnyboy, but Justin and I are on our way over,� Brian tried to reassure his son. �Gus, do you know where you mommies are?�

�Not here.�

�I know they�re not there, but do you know where they went?�

�Uh uh. I woke up and they gone,� Gus informed his father, causing Brian to swear under his breath, not wanting to upset Gus any more than necessary. In the background he could hear Justin talking to Mark and letting him know the situation. He was also telling the attorney that they were on their way over to the house to see what was going on.

�Daddy, why they leave me?� Gus�s little voice asked. �Not my fault I came home? I wasn�t bad, I promise.�

�I know you weren�t bad, Gus, and what do you mean it wasn�t your fault you came home?� Brian asked, confused. �Why would you think you coming home was a bad thing?�

�I supposed to play at Joey�s house but his sister got sick,� Gus explained. �Told momma that I was going to play in my room. Fell asleep and woke up and no one here. Daddy, why don�t mommy and momma love me anymore? Was I a bad boy? I promise to be good if they love me again.�

�Shit,� Brian cursed. �Gus, your mommies love you very much, even if it doesn�t look like it right now.�

�Why they leave me then?�

�I don�t know, Sonnyboy, but I promise you that I will find out.�

Earlier that afternoon

Melanie sat at the dining room table, surrounded by legal briefs and law books. A playpen nearby held Annie, who was taking her afternoon nap. While normally Melanie would have been at her office working, she had taken the day off wanting to spend some quality, quiet time with her daughter. She hoped that the day working at home would help relax her, something that she hadn�t been able to do since Gus�s birthday and Brian suing for custody of her son. Mel and Lindsay were constantly fighting over the case and how they thought it should be handled. Lindsay wanted to work out an agreement with Brian, where everyone would be able to spend time with Gus, even if that meant Gus continuing to spend the weekends at his father�s. The blonde woman had been impressed with the fact that Brian was so willing to change his lifestyle, including buying a new home, in order to give Gus the best living situation that he could. She saw it as Brian finally growing up into the man that she had thought he could be.

Melanie, on the other hand, didn�t think Brian was growing up at all. It didn�t matter what Brian did, she was positive that Brian�s only motivation was to make himself look good in front of the judge. She had no doubt at all that everything was a front and that he was just doing what he could to get between herself and Lindsay. In fact, she was waiting for Brian�s ultimatum that Lindsay choose between Gus and Mel. She conveniently forgot that Brian had given up his parental rights to Gus in the first place to get Mel and Lindsay back together. The way she figures it, any good will that Brian Kinney might have felt towards his son�s second mother disappeared around the same time that Annie was born.

Yes, Melanie was willing to admit, at least to herself and maybe her wife on a good day, that maybe she had been favoring her daughter a bit. Then again, she wondered, who could blame her for that. She certainly hadn�t been the only one. And she was the one that had had to take the last three months of her pregnancy off of work because of her health. She was the one who had been in labor for almost two days before the doctor�s finally decided to do a caesarian to ensure that both mother and daughter survived, even so Annie�s health had been touch and go. It wasn�t until almost a week had passed that the doctor had told them that everything would be okay and that the women could take the newest addition to their family home. It was only because they had all come so close to losing Annie that she, and Lindsay, wanted to make sure that they spent so much time with their daughter. It didn�t mean that they loved Gus any less.

The thought that Bran Kinney found her to be unfit to be Gus�s mother made her angry. What made her furious, though, was the fact that some of their friends seemed to be agreeing with him. Justin she could understand, even if she didn�t like it. The young man was so in love with Brian that he was more than willing to support the man in anything that he wanted to do. But the others that had thrown their support Brian�s way surprised her. Ben and Emmett had been sticking up for Brian since they had found out about his filing for custody, saying that they could see where the ad exec was coming from. Vic, the man that was like a father to everyone in their group, had even gotten into a fight with his sister, Debbie, when he told her that he thought that maybe Brian was right. That everyone was favoring Annie over Gus. Michael, for once, hadn�t automatically stuck up for his best friend, which had to be a first. But, Melanie couldn�t help remember, Michael didn�t come out and say he supported Lindsay and herself either. Instead, the store owner said he was going to stay in the middle. Ted and Debbie were the only ones that were behind Melanie and Lindsay�s bid to keep Gus for themselves and it hurt both women to know that their friends didn�t think they were good parents.

�Mama, I home,� came a shout from the front door. Melanie barely looked up as Gus came in the house. She wasn�t expecting him home and so had immersed herself in her work. �Joey�s sister got sick and I had to come home.�

�MmmmHmmm,� Melanie said, distracted, only half listening to her son. Gus could tell that his mother was paying attention to him and frowned. He didn�t know what he did to make his mama not love him anymore and he wished that she would pay attention to him instead of just work or play with Annie. He missed the stories she used to tell him and how she would sing to him when she was getting him ready for bed.

�Can I play in my room?�

�Sure, Gus, go ahead.� Gus waited to see if his mama would at least turn around and look at him but then, when she didn�t, he slowly made his way up to his room, a place he had been spending a lot of time in. Gus lay down on his bed, tears silently rolling down his face as he once again cried about the fact that his mothers had no time for him. Melanie and Lindsay had explained to him that he had to share them now with Annie, and he didn�t really have a problem with that. What he didn�t understand was why they didn�t ever seem to want to spend any time with him. Before he knew it, Gus cried himself to sleep.

An hour later Lindsay came home, excitedly greeting her wife with a kiss and picking up Annie and giving her the same. Melanie couldn�t help laughing, enjoying the sudden attention. The past few weeks had been tense between the two women and this was the most affection that she had gotten from her wife since Gus�s birthday.

�Wow, what�s all this about?� Melanie asked, curious as to Lindsay�s mood.

�I just made a huge sale and got a great commission for it,� Lindsay told her.

�What kind of commission?�

�The five figure kind,� Lindsay told her shocked wife. �I just sold seven different paintings to some out of town business executive. I couldn�t believe it and I couldn�t wait to get home to celebrate with you. I thought we could do something special.�

�Well, we both have the day off tomorrow for the holiday, we could always go out of town for the night,� Melanie suggested. �It�s been awhile since we�ve had some time to ourselves and it might do us some good to get away for the night.�

�Hmmm, I like that idea,� Lindsay said, kissing Melanie again. �But what about the kids?�

�Well, you know Mrs. Aberson next door loves watching Annie and Gus is staying at Joey�s tonight,� Melanie replied, forgetting that Gus was now upstairs in his room. Actually it wasn�t that Melanie had forgotten that Gus had come home, it was that between her trying to get some work done and her thinking about what was going on with the custody case, she simply hadn�t been paying attention to what was going on around her, but something in the back of her mind was telling her that she was forgetting something.

�Where do you want to go?� Lindsay asked.

�Someplace quiet, romantic and where the two of us can have some quality adult time,� Mel suggested, leering at her wife. Lindsay leaned over and kissed Melanie once more.

�Sounds perfect. Why don�t you call Mrs. Aberson and see if they�re willing to take Annie while I go upstairs to change and start packing.� Melanie nodded her agreement and Lindsay turned to go upstairs. As Lindsay passed by Gus�s bedroom door, she noticed that it was closed. She paused wondering why, since usually unless Gus was home they left the door open. She reached to open it, but before she could, Melanie came up behind her.

�They said they would love to keep Annie for the night,� she told the blonde. �So all we have to do is pack up some of her things as well as our own and then we can drop her off and be on our way.�

�Then let�s get started,� Lindsay replied, moving towards their bedroom. She stopped when she realized that Melanie wasn�t following her. �Hun, what�s wrong?�

�I don�t know,� she replied. �I just got the sudden feeling that I was forgetting something.�

�What?�

�I�m�I�m not really sure. All I know is that it�s something important,� Melanie looked over at Gus�s door a minute, lost in thought, trying to remember whatever it was that she needed to before shrugging and joining Lindsay. �Oh well, I�m sure if it�s really important I�ll remember it,�

The two woman went about packing what they figured they would need for a nice, romantic getaway, both hoping that the time alone together would help get them back on track. While Lindsay put their things in a suitcase, Melanie was busy packing up a bag to take over to their neighbors with the things that were needed to take case of Annie. She was grateful that they didn�t need to bother with the portable crib since the Abersons often took care of their young grandchildren and had one already. It took them a little under an hour to have everything ready. Melanie had already dropped Annie off at their neighbors and Lindsay had their bags in the car. They had decided to go to Hershey and treat themselves to a night and day at the spa at the Hershey Hotel. Lindsay had already called and made the arrangements.

�Ready to go?� The blonde asked as Melanie got into the car.

�Yes. I just wish I could think of what it was that I�m forgetting,� Melanie answered.

�It�ll come to you,� Lindsay assured her. �Trust me.�

�Always.�

Present Time

Brian and Justin made the best time they could to Lindsay and Melanie�s and yet the police were still there waiting for them. Justin had told Brian that Mark was going to call them, as well as the social worker in charge of the case, that way there would be some official proof of what was going on. Brian pulled into the driveway and a police officer made her way over to his jeep.

�I�m Officer Jenson, can I help you?� The woman asked.

�My name is Brian Kinney. My attorney is the one who called you guys about my son being in the house by himself. He lives here with his mother.�

�How do you know that he�s inside? We can�t hear anything.�

�He called me,� Brian said, holding out his cell phone, where he still had Gus talking. �My partner and I taught him how to do it in case he ever wanted to talk to either of us. He�s still on the line.� Brian put his attention back to the phone.

�Gus, Sonnyboy, where are you right now?�

�In Mommy�s room. Daddy, where are you?�

�Justin and I are right outside. Can you make your way downstairs?�

�Uh huh.�

�Okay, can you do that now?�

�Kay.� Brian listened until he heard Gus put down the phone, without hanging it up. He and Justin, as well as the two police officers made their way over to the front porch. They could hear Gus coming down the stairs.

�Gus, are you okay?� Justin called out to the young boy, wanting to make sure that he knew they were there.

�I okay,� came the small reply.

�Sir, do you have a key to the home?� The officer asked. Both Brian and Justin shook their heads no. �Do you know who might have one?� Again two headshakes were the answer.

�Damn, looks like we might have to break in,� Jenson�s partner, who had introduced himself as Kendall, stated.

�Excuse, but what�s going on?� Someone asked from behind the group. The group turned around and Brian recognized the older man as Lindsay and Melanie�s neighbor, although he couldn�t remember the man�s name.

�You�re Mr. Aberson, right?� Justin asked. Brian smiled. HE should have known his partner would remember something like the name of Lindsay�s next door neighbor.

�Yes. And you�re Justin and Brian, correct.� Mr. Aberson said. He took in the scene in front of him, especially the police presence. Lindsay and Melanie had told him and his wife how they were fighting for custody of Gus and he was wondering what was going on that would require the police to show up. �What�s going on? Is there a problem?�

�Do you know where the residents of the home are?� Officer Jenson asked. �Or how to contact them?�

�The girls went away for the night. I�m not sure where they were going. My wife probably does though. I wasn�t home when they dropped off their daughter for us to watch.� The older man explained.

�Wait a minute,� Brian exploded. �They made sure that Annie was taken care of but they didn�t think of maybe doing the same for Gus. Fuck.�

�Gus?� Mr. Aberson asked. �What about Gus? Has something happened to him?�

�Daddy, what�s going on? Why you still outside?�

�Oh dear God,� Mr. Aberson exclaimed. �Don�t tell me that little boy is inside.�

�That�s why we�re here,� Officer Jenson explained. �You wouldn�t happen to have a key to the house, would you?�

�As a matter of fact, I do. Melanie gave it to me and my wife in case we ever needed to get anything while we were watching Annie. Let me go and get it.�

�And yet they won�t even give you a key,� Justin murmured.

�That�s not important right now,� Brian admonished his lover. �What�s important is making sure Gus is okay and seeing that something like this never happens again. If that means we have to go through the munchers� neighbors then I really don�t give a fuck.�

Brian and Justin waited with the two officers for Mr. Aberson to come back. The entire time both men made sure to keep talking to Gus so that the young boy would get any more scared than he already was. Just as he returned with the keys, two cars pulled up, one carrying Mark and the other the social worker that was dealing with the custody case, Dana Parker.

�Brian, what�s going on?� Mark asked as he joined the others already on the porch. �Where�s Gus?�

�He�s still in the house,� Brian told his attorney. �We were waiting for Mr. Aberson to bring over the key he had for the front door. He�s the girls� neighbor.� He turned to the older man. �Can we please have the key? I want to get my son.�

Aberson handed over the key to the officer, who promptly opened the front door. No sooner was the door open than Brian was through it, picking Gus up in his arms and holding him tight. Justin joined his lover in holding onto Gus, wrapping his arms around both Gus and Brian.

�Its okay, Gus, I�m here,� Brian reassured his son. �Justin and I are here now. Everything will be okay.�

�I was so scared, Daddy,� Gus said, his voice trembling, but he knew he was safe now that his daddy was here. He always felt safe in his daddy�s arms. His Daddy Justin said that he felt the same way when he was being held by Brian.

�I know you were, Sonnyboy,� Brian rubbed his hand up and down Gus�s back. �But you don�t have to be scared anymore. We�re here now and you�re not alone anymore.�

�I go with you and Daddy Justin now,� Gus wanted to know, resting his head on Brian�s shoulder. Brian shared a look with his lover.

�Yes, Gus, you�re coming with me and Justin. You can finally see the new house,� Brian told the toddler. Brian turned to the social worker. �That�s not going to be a problem is it?�

Dana Parker didn�t mistake the hostility in Brian�s voice for anything other than the challenge that it was. A challenge that she had no intention of taking up. �Normally Social Services would take the child into custody and place him in a temporary foster home. But,� Dana held up her hand, stopping Brian from commenting, �this is anything other than normal. I think the fact that you have joint custody already, and are suing for full custody, is good enough to allow you to take Gus tonight. I can tell you now that an emergency custody order will have to be issued tomorrow so that Ms. Peterson and Ms. Marcus can�t accuse you of kidnapping Gus.�

�I don�t want him left alone with them,� Brian told the woman. �Before it was just little things that showed to me that they weren�t doing their best for my son, but this is an entirely different story. Anything could have happened to Gus while they were away.�

�I understand and, while I can�t speak for what the judge might decide, I can tell you that I am going to recommend that you gain full custody of your son,� Dana assured a relieved Brian. She looked over at the family of men, holding onto each other. �Right now I would suggest you get that little boy home and make sure he understands that you love him and will always be there for him. He�s going to need it after this. I�m sure he thinks it was his fault his mothers left him alone.�

�Fucking cunts,� Brian swore, one of the only times he did in front of Gus since his son had started talking. �So help me, when I see them its not going to be pretty. And it�s going to be a cold day in hell before I let them hurt my son again. Ni child deserves to think his parents don�t want them.� �Good luck,� Dana said, taking her leave. The two police officers, as well as Mr. Aberson, had already left once they knew everything was under control.

�Brian, I know you just moved into your house today, and I�m sure that you�ve got a lot of unpacking to do, but are you going to be okay having Gus this soon?�

�Yeah, we�ll be fine. Gus�s room already has a bed and some other furniture,� he assured the attorney. I�m just going to go up to his room and pack some of his stuff.�

�Here, give me Gus,� Justin said, taking the little boy into his arms. Gus went reluctantly, afraid that his father was going to leave him too, but once he realized that it was only Justin taking him, he went willingly. �Hey, little man, how about you and I go get something to drink while your daddy gets your things together?� �Want to come upstairs with me while I pack?� Brian asked Mark, not turning to face the attorney. He just began that walk up the stairs sure that his old friend would be right behind him. �Make sure I don�t take anything I shouldn�t?�

�Somehow I don�t see you really wanting to take anything from here,� Mark quipped, taking in the home of his old crush.

�So, after this, what�s our next step? What do I have to do to make sure something like this never happens again?�

�Well, like Dana said, I�m going to file for an emergency custody hearing tomorrow,� Mark explained. �I don�t see that as being a problem. Especially with what happened tonight. I have copies of the police report and Dana said she�ll give me a copy of her own report when she�s done with it in the morning. That should go a long way in proving that, at least for right now, it would be in Gus�s best interests to live with you full time.�

�What about visitation with Mel and Lindsay?�

�I don�t know,� Mark admitted.

�I don�t want Mel left alone with Gus.� Brian held up a hand when it looked like Mark was going to interrupt. �From what Gus said, Lindsay wasn�t home when Gus got here so it�s entirely possible that she didn�t know he was here. It was Mel that is responsible for what happened. She�s the one who forgot that my son was in his room. There is no way in hell I want that bitch near my son again.�

�That might not be a possibility,� Mark told Brian. �Because Melanie is Lindsay�s partner, and Gus�s other mother for the first four years of his life, the judge might not be willing to order her to keep away from Gus.�

�I fucking know that. But I don�t want her left alone with Gus,� Brian adamantly repeated as he grabbed Gus�s backpack and began to put some of his son�s clothes in it from a basket nearby. �I don�t want to get another call like the one I did tonight. Shit, Mark, my heart was pounding through my fucking chest when Gus called. I couldn�t get here fast enough. He should have never been left alone.�

�I�ll do my best to make sure he�s safe. You just make sure that you make that little boy know how much you love him.� Brian turned to his lawyer, zipping the backpack.

�Trust me, that won�t be a problem. Like I said before, I don�t want my son growing up the way I did, and if that means I have to become a full time dad, I will.� Brian led Mark out of Gus�s bedroom and they made their way downstairs. Just as they reached the lower landing, the front door flew open and a panicked Lindsay and Melanie flew threw the door.

�Gus, Gus,� the both screamed stopping short when they saw Brian and Mark in front of them. Then their attention was drawn to the side when Justin came out of the kitchen, Gus still in his arms. Both women rushed to their son, who cringed and burrowed his head into Justin�s neck.

�No,� the little boy shouted, refusing to be taken from his second father. Lindsay again reached for him, but Gus refused to let go of Justin.

�Gus.�

�Leave me alone,� the little boy ordered.

�Sweetie, I�m so sorry,� Melanie said, her heart breaking at the scene in front of her. She couldn�t believe that she hadn�t remembered that Gus had come home. Her mind had been on so many other things that it hadn�t registered. Then, when Lindsay agreed to go away for the night, it completely slipped her mind. It wasn�t until they were well on their way on the turnpike that she had remembered that Gus had come home. The two women had immediately turned around at the next exit and come home.

�Justin, why don�t you take Gus out to the jeep,� Brian suggested, handing his lover Gus�s backpack.

�You�re not taking Gus anywhere,� Mel said, her anger at herself finding an outlet in Brian. While she was grateful that Gus was okay, she was upset to see that it was his father that made him feel safe.

�Justin.� The blond nodded, stopping by Brian so that his lover could give Gus a kiss. �Be out in a minute, Sonnyboy.�

�Kay.� Brian waited until Justin and Gus were outside, the door shut behind them. He turned to Lindsay and Melanie, angrier with them than he had ever felt towards anyone before and he was grateful that Mark was still there to stop him from doing anything that he might regret.

�Brian,� Lindsay began, �you have to know that we would never do anything to hurt Gus.�

�Linds, there was a time when I would have known that,� Brian said, �but not anymore. Fuck, when I picked up that phone and heard Gus crying into it. Shit, Mel, where the fuck was your head that you forgot my son was even home. You fucking left him alone while the two of you decided to go away for the night.�

�I didn�t mean to,� Melanie defended her actions, although she knew that there really wasn�t any defense she could make that would help her. She had screwed up and badly. She just hoped that, in the long run, it wouldn�t affect Lindsay�s and her�s chances of keeping Gus. �It was just when he came home; I was so absorbed in my work and thinking of some other things that it didn�t register in my mind that I had heard him. Don�t tell me you don�t ignore him when he�s over your house.�

�Actually, I don�t,� Brian smugly informed her. �Unlike you two, I put Gus first, so that when he�s with me and awake, he�s what I pay attention too. And now I�m going to take my son home and make sure he knows that he�s not alone.�

�When will you bring him home?� Lindsay asked, knowing that it would be better for all concerned if Gus went with his father that night. She already knew that she and Melanie would probably end up fighting for most of the night. It would be a contrast to how they spent the drive back, which had been in silence, both women concerned with their son.

�I�m not,� Brian told them, heading towards the door, Mark in tow.

�Brian, we have custody of Gus during the week,� Melanie reminded him. �We don�t even have to let you take him now if we don�t want. We could have you arrested for custodial interference.�

�Call the fucking cops, Mel. I�m sure they would love to have a little talk with you and Linds. I think they mentioned something along the lines of child endangerment, but I could be wrong.�

�What do you mean?� Lindsay asked, scared. She had a really bad feeling about what Brian was saying and she wasn�t sure if she wanted clarification.

�It means that, until an emergency custody hearing can be held, which could be as soon as tomorrow, Brian has sole custody of Gus,� Mark informed the shocked women.

�No,� Lindsay denied, sitting heavily on one of the steps.

�You�re lying,� Melanie said.

�It was either Brian or foster case, and everyone agreed that Gus going home with Brian was a better choice,� Mark explained. �Especially considering the fact that he has partial custody now. You�ll be contacted about the hearing.� Mark turned to Brian. �I�ll give you a call tomorrow and let you know what�s going on.�

Brian watched Mark leave and turned once more to Melanie and Lindsay. �Just so you know, I honestly didn�t want it to come to this. I figured that once the way you were treating Gus was brought to you attention, you two would do something about it, instead this happens. Lindsay, you�re Gus�s mother and I know you love him. I won�t stop you from seeing him but know this. There is no way in hell I want him to ever be left alone with Melanie. Never.�

�I�m his fucking mother,� Melanie shouted. �You can�t fucking tell me when or if I can see my kid, you bastard.�

�Actually I can because Gus isn�t your kid. He�s mine and I�m going to do everything I can to make sure you don�t fucking hurt him again.� With that said, Brian left, slamming the door behind him.