Part 4

“Christ, Brian, considering what you’ve already told me, and what little I’ve been able to find out on my own in just the week since you first talked to me about this, I don’t even know where to start with my questions,” Mark sighed, trying to take in everything his old friend was going through in regards to his son. “Especially considering what I remember of Lindsay from back in school.”

“But are you willing to help me?” Brian demanded, wanting to know if the lawyer would be able to overlook his history with Lindsay and help him gain custody of Gus.

“Tell me everything, and I mean everything, and I will do all that I can to make that we get the best for Gus.” Brian and Justin both released the breaths that they didn’t even realize they had been holding. Brian looked over to Justin, signaling his young lover to bring over the boy in question.

“Well I guess the first thing I should do is introduce you to this guy here,” Brian said, taking Gus into his arms, kissing his son on the top of his head. “Mark Cavanaugh, this is my son, Gus. Gus, this is an old friend of mine, Mark.”

“Hello Gus.” Gus looked over at the other man shyly, at the same time as he tried to hide within his father’s arms. Mark couldn’t help but smile at the little boy, and then looked back up at Brian. “He’s certainly a heartbreaker, Brian.”

“Just like his father,” Justin added.

“Daddy want to go to park,” Gus demanded, causing everyone to laugh.

“I can see he’s just as demanding as his father too,” Mark chuckled.

“I can’t go to the park, Gus,” Brian told his son, hating to disappoint the boy but not knowing what else to do. “I have to talk to Mark about some things.” As soon as Justin saw the tell tale signs of an upcoming pout on Gus’s face, he knew he needed to do something.

“Hey, Gus,” Justin began, taking him out of Brian’s arms, “how about me and you head over to the park while your Dad talks to Mark, and then maybe when he’s done he’ll come join us.”

“Daddy come later?” Gus looked up hopefully at his father.

“Yes, Gus, Daddy come later,” Brian promised, kissing his son before handing him over to Justin. Brian watched as Justin grabbed a few things to keep Gus occupied at the park before going over to Justin, taking him into his arms.

“I’ll meet you guys as soon as Mark and I are done here.”

“I know,” Justin said. Brian watched as Justin and Gus left the loft, wishing that he could have joined them but knowing that his meeting with Mark was more important.

“You’re a lucky man, Brian Kinney,” Mark broke into Brian’s thoughts. “Gus seems like a great kid.”

“He is,” Brian agreed. “That’s one of the reasons why I hate what’s been going on with Mel and Linds. He deserves so much more than to be treated like the unwanted sibling, especially by his own mother.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Mark said. “To make sure that Gus gets everything that he deserves.”

“So what do you think my chances are of at least regaining my parental rights?” Brian asked, getting back to the reason that Mark was there in the first place. “I know that’s we have to take care of that before anything else happens.”

“Actually, we don’t have to worry about that so much.” At Brian’s look of confusion, Mark continued. “It seems that you actually still have legal rights to Gus.”

“How is that possible? I signed that paper that Mel had made up so that she could adopt Gus.” Brian didn’t understand what Mark was telling him. After everything that the two women had put him through, making him feel guilty for not signing over his rights in the first place, not to mention how many times they had thrown it in his face that he no longer had legal rights towards Gus, here was his lawyer telling him differently.

“When you first called me about gaining custody of Gus, I told you that I would start doing some digging to see what I could find out,” Mark began. “First thing I did was check the public records to find a copy of the adoption by Melanie, alone with trying to obtain a copy of the papers signing over your parental rights.”

“And,” Brian tried to keep his voice low, but Mark knew that Brian was barely holding his patience in.

“And while I couldn’t find any record of the first, I did find the parental rights papers. They were marked denied.”

“What the fuck do you mean by they were denied? How the hell could they be denied? I signed them in all the right places, didn’t I?”

“Yes you did sign them correctly, so I looked up to see which judge heard the argument for the papers. Luckily it was a friend’s of Tonya’s, so he was a bit more willing to give me some information, even though he shouldn’t have.” Brian smiled at the mention of Mark’s wife, one of only a handful of straight women that he could stand. She reminded Brian a bit of himself, even if she was a civil court judge.

“Nothing like having friends in high places,” Brian quipped.

“True, true, especially in this case. Anyway, Judge Thomas was the judge who heard the case and he is very much in favor of father’s rights.”

“Is that why he denied the papers?”

“In a way. When Melanie and Lindsay should up in court for the motion hearing, Dennis, that’s his name by the way, asked them a series of questions.”

“What kind of questions?” Brian asked, his curiosity aroused.

“Basically about your relationship with Gus. How many times did you see him. Did they ever leave him in your care. Did you provide them money for Gus’s care. In essence, he wanted to know if you behaved like a father towards him,” Mark told him.

“Of course I behaved like a father towards Gus,” Brian almost yelled. “I am his fucking father, for Christ’s sake.”

“I know. The thing is, what Melanie and Lindsay were trying to do with the motion was say you weren’t a father to Gus. Unfortunately for them, their answers to Dennis’s questions only proved that you were. He even asked if you were going to continue acting as a father towards Gus and the answered in the affirmative. That’s what was the deciding factor.”

“What, the judge decided that because I was actually in Gus’s life as a dad, he wasn’t going to let me relinquish my paternal rights?”

“Exactly.”

“That makes no fucking sense. What was the purpose of me signing those fucking papers then if they weren’t going to be any good?”

“Usually they are good, but Brian, this case isn’t exactly the norm,” Mark explained. “You are a part of Gus’s life. You had been supporting him. And even the girls admitted that you would continue acting as a father figure towards Gus, even after the papers were filed. Dennis saw no reason why he should approve the motion.”

“Which means?”

“Which means that you are still Gus’s legal parent and it will make your case for custody stronger.”

“Then let’s get to work.”