When Hunter got to the sidewalk outside a house he'd actually thought of as his home for a short time, he had no idea where he was going. He knew that his old hustling buddies had a flop some where near Liberty Avenue. He had just talked to them a few days before. Back when Michael and Ben had seemed to care. Had wanted him to stay with them. Now, he was adrift. Alone. And, he had no idea where to go or what to do. He turned in the direction that would take him to Liberty Avenue and started to walk slowly away from the only real home he'd ever had. Away from the only two people he'd ever known who actually acted like they loved him. He sniffed and wiped angrily at his eyes. He was not going to fucking cry, Goddamn it. "Crying's for babies." He said to himself and hurried on his way refusing to turn around. Refusing to even think about what he was leaving behind. -- Justin raised his head from his pillow. He was pretty sure he'd heard a noise. Brian turned over also awake. "Was that someone at the door?" Brian asked. "I don't know." Justin said yawning. "I heard something, though." "Shit." Brian swore as he got up pulling on a pair of lounge pants. "Get the phone and follow me." Justin pulled on his own lounge pants then picked up the cordless phone off its base and followed Brian. John was standing at the door to his bedroom when Brian and Justin opened their bedroom door. They all jumped. "Fuck!" Brian said his heart racing. "Sorry." John said. "I think someone's knocking on the front door." "You heard it, too?" Justin asked. John nodded. "Go back in your room. We'll take care of it." "We will?" Brian asked giving his lover a doubtful look. "Come on." Justin said nudging Brian as they headed for the stairs. They were half way down the stairs when the knocking came again. Brian stopped trying to see anything through the windows on either side of the door. He though the caught a glimpse of a familiar looking down-filled jacket and frowned. He walked down the last half of the steps and looked out the peephole. Sure enough, there was Hunter standing on the other side of the door. "What the fuck?" Brian said ripping open the door startling the teen. "Hunter?" "Hey." He said trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably. "Hunter?" Justin said staring at the teen as if he'd never seen him before. "What are you doing here?" "Can I come in?" "Yeah, yeah." Brian said stepping aside. "Come on." He motioned the teen inside and then had a terrible thought. "What's wrong? Why are you here by yourself? Is something wrong with Ben? Michael?" He grabbed Hunter's arms and spun him around. He stopped short when light from the stairs hit the boy's face. His nose was trickling blood and he had cut on his bottom lip. "What the fuck? Who did this to you?" "It's nothing." Hunter said turning away. "I just got into a scuffle, that's all." "With who?" Justin asked stopping him from moving away. "Jesus, you're cold as ice and your clothes are wet." "And, you still haven't explained what the hell you're doing here at," Brian checked the clock over the fireplace, "three fucking o'clock in the morning?" "They didn't want me." Hunter said softly. "They don't need me. They've got her, what the hell would they want me for?" "What are you talking about?" Brian asked. "Who doesn't want you? Ben and Michael? What the fuck?" "I just wanted the shit at school to stop." Hunter said his voice cracking. "And, they have so much else to deal with they don't need me and my bullshit." "Did you run away?" Justin asked. Hunter shook his head no tears welling in his eyes. "Come on. You need to get warm and I need to check your face. There's a first aid kit upstairs in our bathroom. Come on." Justin led Hunter upstairs while Brian closed and locked the door. When he got to the landing, John was at his bedroom door again. "Why's Hunter here?" John asked. "I don't know." Brian said. "Hopefully he'll be able to tell us what's going on. You'll hear about it in the morning. Go back to bed." John nodded and closed the door once again. Brian waited 'til he saw the light under the door go out before heading into his and Justin's bedroom and then into their bathroom. Hunter was sitting on the closed toiler seat with a blanket wrapped around him most of his wet clothes lying on the floor by the tub. Justin had the first aid kit out on the counter and was applying antiseptic to Hunter's split lip and had packed his nose with cotton to get it to stop bleeding. Brian could tell by the discoloration around Hunter's left eye that he'd have a pretty impressive shiner in the not too distant future. "Hold your head back a little." Justin instructed. "Your nose is still dipping." Hunter did what he was told his gaze meeting that of the somewhat angry looking man in the doorway. He tried to divert his eyes from Brian's and lower his head, but Justin pushed his forehead back again. "Stay put." He said firmly looking over at Brian, too. "You ready to tell us what's going on?" Brian asked quietly. Hunter shrugged then shook his head no. "Well, when you wake up in the morning, you'd better be. Got it?" Hunter nodded. "You can stay the night in the guest room. It's usually made up for Gus, so don't mind the Winnie the Pooh sheets." "There." Justin said checking his work one more time. "That ought to do it." He yawned in spite of himself. "Sorry." Hunter shrugged. "Best to keep the cotton in until morning. It should stop completely by then. I'll take the cover off the pillow and wrap it up in a towel just in case." He threw all the wrappers and stuff in the bathroom trash can then pulled off latex gloves he'd pulled on before he started taking care of Hunter's wounds and tossed them into the trash can, too. "You can't leave that there." Hunter said softly pointing at the trashcan. "I mean -." "I know." Justin said nodding. "I'm going to wrap up and throw it in the fire pit out back in the morning." Hunter nodded looking relieved. "Don't worry." Hunter nodded. "Come on." Hunter wouldn't meet Brian's gaze as he walked out of the bathroom. He followed Justin to the guest room where he shrugged the blanket off his shoulders and handed it to Justin. Justin laid it across the bed as Hunter crawled under the covers in just his underwear. Justin pulled the covers up to Hunter's chin. Hunter rolled over to face the wall. "Good night." Justin said softly. Hunter didn't respond. Justin walked quietly out of the room and shut the door. "I'm calling Mikey." Brian said heading back into their bedroom and picking up the phone. "Wait." Justin said. "Let him sleep. Call Michael in the morning." Brian nodded and set the phone back on its hook. "What the hell do you think happened?" "I have no idea." "You don't think Michael or Ben did that to him, do you?" Brian asked making a face. "No way." Justin said. "They'd never do that. Would they?" Brian held up his hands and shrugged. "Well, we'll get to the bottom of it in the morning." "Yeah." Brian said doubtfully then pulled off his pajama bottoms and climbed back into bed. Justin followed suit and soon they were spooned together, tired, but unable to sleep. Their minds on the teen across the hall. -- The next morning Justin was in the kitchen making breakfast and Brian drinking coffee when Hunter finally made an appearance. He was still sleep ruffled wearing a dark green robe he'd found draped over the footboard of the bed. Justin nodded toward Brian as the teen entered the kitchen. Brian walked over to the cupboard then looked over at Hunter. "You want some milk, juice, or coffee?" He asked. "I would really like some coffee." Hunter said softly sitting down at the table trying to look a lot more calm and collected than he felt. Brian pulled a cup from the cupboard and filled it half way with coffee. He set in front of Hunter then sat down across from him. "So." He said in anticipation. "Would you like to explain how and why you ended up at our door this morning beaten up like that?" Hunter didn't speak at first. "Did Michael or Ben hit you?" "Fuck no." Hunter scoffed. "How could you even think that?" "Well, then, you need to tell us what happened." Justin said sitting down at the table with them. "Why aren't you at home?" "That's not my home anymore." "Why the fuck not?" Brian spat. "They don't need my bullshit." Hunter began. "They don't want me. Why the fuck would they want to deal with all my shit?" "Hunter that doesn't make any sense." Justin interjected. "Ever since the kids at school found out about me being positive," Hunter said softly sniffing back tears, "I've been nothing but a royal pain in the ass to them. And, I can't go back there. Not anymore." "To school or home?" Brian asked. Hunter shot him a look of complete despair. "Both." He managed. "I can't keep being a problem for them. I won't" "Calm down." Justin said soothingly. "So, who beat you up?" "That was just stupid." Hunter said. "I went back to the place I used to hustle. Thought I could at least get a little money so I could skip town. But, there was this guy. He told me that I couldn't stay there unless I paid him rent." Hunter rolled his eyes. "Like that was gonna happen. He didn't like my attitude, so he sucker punched me then he kicked me a few times for good measure." "We really should take you to the ER in case you have broken or cracked ribs." Justin said starting to get up so as to check. "No." Hunter said defiantly. "No fucking hospital." "All right." Brian said touching Justin's hand and shaking his head. "No hospital. So, why did you come here?" "I thought I'd be okay, you know." Hunter said nodding his head. "But, the pain started getting worse and I coughed a couple times and there was blood, so I figured I needed to find some help. I couldn’t go home, so I thought maybe you guys could help me. So, I came here." "We're going to have to call them, Hunter." Justin said. "No!" Hunter said standing suddenly and pushing away from the table angrily. "Where are you going?" Brian said quickly following him to the door blocking his path. "Where are my clothes? I need to get out of here." "Stop it." Brian said following the teen to the stairs. "Stop." He said grabbing Hunter's wrist. "You aren’t going anywhere right now. You’re going to sit down and eat some breakfast. Then you're going to let one of us check your ribs. If there is a problem, I'll call my doctor. He'll probably even come here. No hospitals." "And you won’t call Michael or Ben." "No." Brian resigned. "Not yet anyway." "Okay." Hunter said walking back to the table. "I thought I'd make some eggs and sausage this morning." Justin said standing up and heading over to the stove. "How do you like your eggs?" "Scrambled's okay." Hunter mumbled. "Scrambled it is." -- "So, what's the verdict, Doc?" Hunter asked as Justin poked and prodded his chest and abdomen. "I don't think anything's broken." Justin said. "But, there's a pretty bad bruise on your right side. I really think a doctor should look at it. It could be some kind of internal injury." "I'll give Mark a call see if he can come by." Brian said. "Is he gonna ask a whole bunch of questions?" Hunter asked. "Probably." "Then I'm not gonna answer." Hunter grumped. "Just tell him you got in a fight at school." Justin offered. "He's a good guy. He'll take care of you and ask fewer questions than they would at the hospital." "Fine." Hunter huff. "Whatever." Brian disappeared into the kitchen to call his doctor while Justin wrapped Hunter's ribs. He returned a few minutes later frowning. "Mark's pretty busy today." Brian said. "He said we'd have a better chance if we came to his office." "I'm not going." Hunter snapped. "Yes you are." Brian stated firmly. "You could be injured worse than we know and I'm not going to take a chance." "Fine." Hunter said angrily pulling his sweatshirt over his head. "God, you're worse than Michael." "Thanks." Brian huffed. "You can borrow some sweats. I think mine'll fit you." Justin said. "Come on back up and I'll look." -- The wait at the doctor's office seemed interminable. Hunter almost managed to bolt twice. Brian was beginning to think he was going to have to sit on the kid just to keep him still. It wasn't much easier when they were called back. Hunter refused to answer any of the doctor's questions deciding instead to be a complete asshole. Mark looked to Brian and Justin on several occasions for answers. They answered the best they could. Explaining things without really explaining anything. Mark was undaunted. "Well, if you'll go with Lisa, Hunter." Mark said finally. "She'll set you up for x-rays. You can go with him if you want to Justin." Justin nodded and followed Hunter and a short brunette nurse out the door. "One of your disciples?" Mark asked Brian with a slight smirk. "Hardly." Brian said rolling his eyes. "Then what's his story?" Mark asked suddenly all business. "If he's being abused, I'm required by law to contact the police. You know that." "It's not abuse." Brian stated flatly. "He got into a fight." "Right." Mark said unconvinced. "And, you know him, how -?" "He's the son a friend." "And, he's with you because -?" "Because he was spending the night." "Brian." Mark said a frustrated edge to his voice. "Look, I just need you to help him medically so that I can take him home and figure out what the fuck is going on." Brian managed. "It's complicated. But, I had to make sure he's alright." Mark nodded. "Is he?" "Yes, he is." Mark sighed. "His wounds are non-life threatening. He has a couple of bruised ribs, but I didn't find any broken. The bruise is a concern, but I don't think it's due to any internal injury. The x-rays should confirm that." He walked over to sit down at his desk and motioned for Brian to sit as well. "There are no signs of concussion." He handed a slip of paper to Brian. "That's a prescription for pain killers if he needs them. Be sure to ask if he's on any other medication before he takes it. It could cause dangerous interactions." "Did you forget who I live with?" Brian smirked, "Justin has so many drug allergies, he won't even pop Tic Tacs without reading the label first." Mark smiled. "I'd like to follow up with him in about a week." Mark said doubtfully. "Or, at least have him see his own doctor." Brian nodded. "Other than that, you can leave as soon as the x-ray tech is done." "Thanks, Doc." Brian said teasingly. "I mean it. Thanks." "Just get whatever is it straight and soon." Mark said. "If I haven't heard anything from you in a few days, I'll be calling you." Brian nodded and walked out in to the hallway. Hunter and Justin were just coming out of the exam room. "Can we please leave, now?" Hunter huffed. Brian nodded and the teen brushed past him and stalked out into the waiting room heading toward the door. -- Hunter rushed into the house and headed toward the stairs. Brian gently grabbed his shoulders and steered him toward the kitchen. "What the fuck?" He asked trying to shrug Brian's hands off his shoulders. "Walk." Brian said firmly walking Hunter into the kitchen and pressing him into one of the chairs. "Now." Brian said crossing his arms across his chest. "Spill." "Fuck off." Hunters spat and started to stand up. "Nope, no good." Brian said pressing him back into the chair. "I want to know why your aren't at Ben and Michael's, why you think they don't want you, and what you thought your were doing going back to hustling?" "They don't need me there." Hunter shouted. "Michael never even wanted me to stay in the first place. And, now he has his 'little honey-bun' and I don't fucking exist anymore." Brian frowned. "Ben tried. But, in the end he just handed me cash and watched me walk out." "What?" Brian asked in utter astonishment. "You're telling me that Michael and Ben know you're gone?" "Yeah, so." Hunter said feigning indifference. "What do you mean, so?" Brian shouted. "They just gave you money and said, have a nice life." Hunter gave him a 'well duh' look. "That is so fucked. What the fuck is Michael thinking?" Brian looked at Justin who was just as shocked as he was. "It's not like they're the first one's who didn't want me." Hunter said in a low sad voice. "I never got to stay too long anywhere I went. So, I never got comfortable." He sniffed. "Until now. I let myself think that it was going to be different this time. That'd I'd be able to stay." He wiped angrily at tears that had started to slip down his face. "But, nothing ever changes. Nothing." His shoulders slumped as though he had lost the battle for good. "That's bullshit." Brian said through gritted teeth causing Hunter to look up. "You can stay here as long as you want to." Hunter looked doubtfully at him then over at Justin. "Sure." Justin said. "We have plenty of room. It's no problem at all." "Won't I be in the way?" Hunter asked. "No." Brian said. "Like Justin said, there is plenty of room. You and John get along okay, so that shouldn't be a problem either." "Are you going make me go back to school and shit, too?" Hunter asked dreading the answer. "No." Brian said flatly. "Brian." Justin began. "He has to finish school." "I'll hire a tutor." Brian said with a shrug. "No reason he should have to go back to that crap. You can learn just as easily here. Justin and I can help, too." "Why would you want to do this for me?" Hunter said. "You guys don't even like me." "Says who?" Justin asked shocked by this new revelation. "Well, you don't act like you do." "Well, when you aren't being a total pain in the ass," Brian began, "you're an okay kid." "Gee thanks." Hunter said then winced. "Why don't you take some of your pain meds and go take a nap." Brian said noticing the teen's discomfort. "Sure, okay." Hunter said tiredly. -- Once Hunter was tucked back into the guest room bed, Brian began to pace the length of the kitchen counter. Justin watched him for several minutes before finally saying something. "What's on your mind?" "How could they do that to him?" Brian asked. "How could they act like they care for him and then let him just walk away? Like he's shit." "I don't know." Justin said shaking his head. "Michael's been so preoccupied with JR and the custody bullshit." "That's no excuse for letting that boy hurt the way he is." Brian snapped "I'm not defending him. I'm just saying." "It fucking bugs the hell out of me." "You identify with him." Brian looked as him confused. "Hunter. You're seeing how your life could have turned out if you hadn't had the balls to change it. To fight back." "Yeah." Brian said thinking about the last time his father had ever hit him. "I fought back all right." He pulled himself away from that line of thought and turned toward the door scooping his keys off the counter as he went. "Where are you going?" "I have to talk to Michael." "You said you wouldn't" "I said I wouldn't yet." Brian said. "Now, I need some answers." "What should I say to Hunter?" Justin asked. "Nothing." Brian said. "I'll talk to him when I get back. When he wakes up." He hastily pressed his lips to Justin's and hurried out the door before Justin could say anything else. -- Brian stood on the porch of Ben and Michael's house for a moment or two before raising his hand to knock. The door suddenly opened starting him. "Brian?" Ben said surprised. "Shit." "Sorry, I was going to knock." "Sure." Ben said getting the mail out of the mailbox. "Michael here?" "In the kitchen." Ben said still not making a move to invite Brian in. "I'd like to talk to him and to you, too." Brian said trying to sound as matter of fact as he could. "All right." Ben said moving to the side and motioning Brian in. Brian walked through the living room and into the dining room. Michael was sitting at the table stuffing envelopes. Brian noticed only peripherally the words 'Stop Prop 14' on one of the flyers before Michael noticed him. "What are you doing here?" Michael asked. "I need to talk to you." "Well, I hope there's apology attached to this." Michael scoffed. "Why?" Brian asked confused for a minute then realized Michael was still on about the custody meeting and his involvement in getting Lindsay and Melanie a lawyer. "This has nothing to do with your daughter." Brian said rolling his eyes. "Well, then maybe you should leave." Ben said making a motion toward the door. "Fuck you." Brian yelled. "This isn't about your daughter, it's about your son." "Hunter?" Ben said all the anger draining from him. "So, you remember his name." Brian said sarcastically. "That's nice." "What about him?" Michael said. "He left. He didn't want to be here anymore." "Right." Brian said as if talking to a small child. "He ended up at my front door at 3 o'clock in the morning because he wanted to be there." "He's at your place?" Michael asked angrily. "What the fuck is he doing there?" "Well, to hear him tell it, you gave him some money and the old heave ho." Brian said angrily. "That's bullshit." Michael spat. "Is he all right?" Ben asked suddenly. "Fine time to start worrying about him now, Professor." "You don't know anything about it." Michael shouted. "I know that you don't give up on your kid." Brian said leaning in closer to Michael. "I know that no matter how much of an ass he is or how much trouble he may seem to be that you don't hand him a twenty and a fucking road map." Brian dropped his hands to his sides. "What the fuck, Michael? You flaunt your other kid in front of him like she's some kind of amazing prize that you won. Forgetting all about him. Hoping that somehow all his problems will, what, disappear if you don't think about them." "He was determined to go." Michael shouted. "What were we supposed to do? Hog tie him to a chair." "If it would've stopped him, hell yeah." Brian said then shook his head. "No child ever deserves to be abandoned - physically or emotionally. Hunter's been abused and abandoned by just about everyone who ever claimed to love him and now you can include yourselves in that ever growing list." "That's not fair." Ben breathed. "Oh no, professor?" Brian said turning on the other man. "I would have thought that you of all people might have had a better understanding of Hunter. He's your blood after all." Ben's mouth snapped shut. "You're a God damned college professor, right? Ever heard home schooling, tutors." He looked back at Michael. "The two of you ever heard of counseling? Ever heard of a little thing called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?" Michael's head snapped up. "I have. I live with it every fucking day. Have for almost 4 years." "That's different and you know it." Michael muttered. "Right." Brian said. "I saw the man I love nearly killed with a baseball bat to the head, which couldn't possibly be anything like your own fucking mother forcing you to suck cock and take it up the ass for money, oh no." Brian snorted disgustedly. "That's completely different." Brian pressed his lips together and tried to reign in his temper. "You two are fucking pathetic. Maybe Hunter's better off exactly where he is. And you know what?" He leaned in closer and whispered, "At least, he's going to know that I will never ever give up on him." Brian pushed past the two stunned men opening the front door and slamming it so hard the glass in the front windows rattled. End chapter one.