ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE All Grown Up Chapter 12 NADIA Hey, if you say so... Y'know, I can't believe you missed rehearsal again It isn't all about you! It affects the rest of us, what you do Look, what's wrong with you? IVY Nothing NADIA Poor Ivy, stuck wanting the one thing she can't have IVY You think you know me... NADIA Yeah, you know what? I am so sick of you moping around when you've had The world handed to you because you're pretty IVY I'd trade places with you in a fucking heartbeat Remember back in 7th grade Endless games of truth or dare Double dates in dark arcades When I close my eyes I’m there I think my mother took this picture Back when were all just friends Memories that fade and flicker Burn again when I pretend Life is short and life is strange Trouble now and troubled past Times have changed they rearrange And little girls grow up so fast Feel it how it grows inside me Swirling ball of anguished cries Haunted daunted so unwanted Feel its anger in me rise Dream a dream then end another Life is there to interrupt Someone out there call me mother Look at me mom all grown up Good Catholic girl, her soul is saved And now of course it comes to this If only Ivy had behaved Or ever stopped at just a kiss It hits me paralyzing shudder Face the music take a bow Just another unwed mother One more sad statistic now Dream a dream then end another Life is there to interrupt Someone out there call my mother Look at me I’m all grown up Look at me I’m all grown up Little lies and big decisions Who to tell and where to go Follow someone else’s vision Or trust my own ‘cause I don’t know Am I suppose to love this child? Is it just that simple then? Tell me how this change will happen Tell me how and tell me when Tell me how and tell me when Dream a dream and end another Life is there to interrupt Someone out there tell my mother Look at me I’m all grown up Story ends in total damage It’s an unforgiving world 17 how will I manage How can I I’m just a girl Justin was lost, thinking about his past. The cruel harsh realities he had lived with. The guilt and pain that ate at his soul. Made him almost inhuman. Just a dancer, nothing more. The daughter he had lost? Could she really be alive? Or was it just a coincidence. His mind couldn't handle the questions, he felt himself falling into misery. "What!!!" Brian gasped, jolting Justin out of his heartbreaking trip down memory lane. "Me and Hart's secret club!" Gus said again. "Now you too can join! It will be so much fun!" Gus climbed into the middle of the bed and started to jump up and down. Brian and Justin’s minds were running away from them. Did that mean that Hart was theirs? Some how the daughter that Justin lost may be alive? If what Gus said was true, and Hart did indeed have the birthmarks that were an inherited trait from both Brian and Justin, she had to be theirs. But then why would someone tell Justin that his child had died? "Daddies, Daddies!!!" Gus broke his fathers out of their thoughts. "So do you want to join the club daddies?" Justin was forcing himself to hold back his tears, his thoughts. He didn't want his imagination to blow things up and give him hope, but this seemed like too much of a coincidence. "Brian." Justin's lip was trembling; he looked to Brian for help. "Yes, Gus. Justin and I would love to be in your secret club.” Brian smiled and hugged his son. "So that means we have to go see Hart. But we need you to keep a secret until Daddy says it’s okay to tell." Brian said in a very serious tone. Justin looked at Gus and Brian. Their features so similar, but that face that Gus was making in that moment was one he had seen himself make many times. He couldn't stop from crying now. Tears once again spilled down his cheeks. Gus was his little boy, and it seemed, that possibly Hart may be his and Brian's little girl. "What is the secret Daddy?" Gus asked. "Sky Club Honour I won't tell." Brian nodded his head. "Well, I need you to not tell anyone that Justin is your other Father just yet." "Daddy." Gus said pouting. He wanted to tell everyone that he had met his other daddy and that he was going to have a baby. "Brian, maybe..." Justin wiped his tears. He wanted to shout from the rooftops that he had a little boy. After last night’s fiasco at the ABC, he doubted that he had any kind of career left with them. He wanted to be a family with Brian and Gus, and possibly, a new baby, and Hart. "Hey Boys." Brian pulled both of them close to him. "It's not that I don't want anyone to know. I want to tell everyone too!" Brian said smiling. "But there are some things that Justin and I need to figure out before we do. The first thing we need to do is to call Lindsay and see if you Gus can stay the afternoon with them while Daddy and me work some things out." Justin looked up at Brian with pleading eyes. He didn't want to be separated from Gus for a minute! He'd already missed so much of his young life. He didn't want to let him go. Brian could read the look in Justin's eyes. He understood where the man was coming from. It was still a shock to him that Justin was real after all and was his dream mystery man. He didn't want to let HIM out of HIS sight. But they had so much to discuss. "I know that you guys want to spend some time together. But there will be time for the rest of our lives. But today..." Brian turned his gaze to Justin's and spoke in a low tone. "We have to find out." ####################################################################### After Justin had calmed down, he decided that he needed to take control of at least a few of their problems. One, being the fact that his car was still at the ABC, another being that neither one of them had any clothes and he really didn‘t want to waste time by stopping by Brian‘s apartment or his dorm. Also, they didn‘t want to have to call any of Brian‘s family or Justin’s friend‘s because they needed some time alone to process everything before all the questions started. While Brian helped Gus shower, Justin called one of his admirerer's at the ABC and asked him to bring him his car. He knew that he had a basket of clean folded laundry in the trunk. Even though Brian was tall, Justin was sure the man could fit into one of the pairs of jeans that Justin wore long. For Gus, Justin went down to the gift shop and bought a sweatshirt and sweatpants outfit donning the hospitals name. He figured it would be good enough until they got hot home. But Justin wondered where home would be. He and Brian hadn’t discussed any of this. Justin assumed that he would go and live wherever Gus and Brian did, but what he would do once there was another story. Justin resigned himself to not think about it. Today, he was going to find out if Hart was his child. That thought made him extremely nervous. By the time Brian and Gus were officially released, Justin had his Black BMW SUV at the front of the hospital. Justin had won the car through a ballet competition earlier that year. Four out of six rear seats folded down and out into a child’s seat. One of which was filled with his little boy, conked out napping as Justin drove Brian towards Lindsay’s house They parked the car in Lindsey’s drive way. Immediately Hart and Jenny Rebecca came running out the front door, bundled in matching pink fluffy winter coats, hats and mittens. A golden retriever came out behind the girls. Both were so exited to see the now wide awake Gus. Lindsay and Melanie came out the door after the giggling girls. They were in wonder as to why Justin and Brian were together and what in the world they wanted to talk to them about. It all seemed very weird. Brian noticed the look on his friends’ faces. They were more than surprised. Brian hadn’t dated or been interested in the same sex at all since Gus was born, and Justin was equally the same, claiming responsibility to the ABC. But now, in one night, could the eternal bachelors they both knew and loved, actually have fallen in love? Last night’s fiasco was all over the news. Lindsay and Melanie were all too aware that Justin had been suspended. And today he was here, with Brian and Gus. She wondered if maybe Justin had decided to settle down with a teaching gig. Mel had told her not to get her hopes up, but neither woman was blind to the bond between sponsor and child. Maybe now, Lindsay hoped, Justin would go for the adoption of Hart, like she knew he’d wanted to since he first saw her. Seeing Hart was like seeing the little girl for the first time. Both Brian and Justin got out of the car, Gus already beating them to Hart. They watched with new eyes as the two children smiled together and kissed each other’s cheeks. Brian stood next to Justin and took his gloved hand within his own. Lindsay was busying herself attaching the leash to their dog for Jenny Rebecca to walk him. She didn’t notice the closeness of the men until Melanie started to call her name. “Lindsay. Lindsay.” Melanie prodded. Helping her wife stand and look across the yard to the drive where Brian was holding Justin close to him. Hart and Gus started talking to one another a mile a minute. Their matching expressions sent chills down all four adults’ spines. Yes, it had been noticed before, they had all commented on it. But this was different. Lindsay and Melanie didn’t know how, or why. But somehow, Justin Taylor and Brian Kinney had a little more in common than the ABC. And that’s when it all clicked. The women couldn’t tear their eyes away as the saw the happy expressions on Brian and Justin’s faces, yet they also saw tears falling down them too. They watched quietly as Justin turned to Brian. “She, she’s ours. There is no doubt in my mind.” Justin whispered. The wind carried his soft whisper to Mel and Linds’ ears. Brian squeezed Justin to him and nodded his head. He then took a deep breath and took Justin’s hand as they walked to where Gus and Hart were standing and both crouched down to be at their level. “Hello Brian. Hello Justin.” Hart greeted them. Both men were speechless. She rolled her eyes in a very Justin way and launched herself into both of their embraces. Soon Gus was in on it and they began rolling around on the grass, tickling one another and laughing. Still Melanie and Lindsay stood to the sidelines. Questions ran wild through their heads. If Hart was their child then how did they not know where she was? How did they find out who she was? Brian and Justin untangled themselves as Jenny came up begging for Gus and Hart to go up the ladder into the tree house with her for just a few minutes. It was actually one of the warmer days of winter and they liked to give their kids’ some out door time if they could, it helped them run off the steam and sleep soundly at night. Brian and Justin waved to them and kept their eyes trained on their children as first Jenny, Gus and finally Hart started to climb the long ladder. Just before they looked away they saw Hart loose her footing and fall the 12 feet to the ground. Hart let out a heart wrenching wail. She wasn’t hurt too bad; she just hit her head pretty hard in the sandbox below. It had scared her more than anything. But she was still crying and in need have comfort. Justin, Lindsay and Melanie took off running to see after Hart. By the time they got there Jenny and Gus surrounded her making sure she was alright. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” She said through hiccups, choosing to hold onto Justin. Justin rocking her small body closes to his. Feeling the connection they had always shared and now, suddenly knowing why. Justin looked for Brian and saw the man walking towards them in a daze. Hart’s cry still echoed in his ears. “She’s fine Brian.” Justin said as Brian stared at the little girl. Brian sat down beside them. Gus plopped himself on Brian’s lap and hugged him. “The sand saved her Daddy!” Gus told him. “I heard her cry.” Brian said staring at Justin. “I know Brian. But she’s fine.” He smiled at Brian; a little worried at the man’s behaviour and then looked down at his daughter. “You are going to make it Hart, right?” Justin said at the now smiling girl. “I am sure am.” She then smiled at Brian and traded Gus spots. Brian caressed his child’s beautiful blond hair. Melanie and Lindsay stood speechless watching the intimate moments. Brian’s eyes sought Justin’s. “Her cry matched the one I heard in the hospital when I woke up after giving birth.” He whispered. “What?” Justin said. “I was sure I had a girl Justin, and I did.” “But, but, what about Gus?” Justin said hugging Gus to him. Brian just stared at him prompting his lover to say what was in his heart. “He, he’s mine, I had a little boy.” Melanie and Lindsay gasped. And Brian and Justin held tight to their children. Wondering how in the hell all of this could have happened. All this time Justin thought he had given stillbirth to a little girl. And all this time Brian had been raising his baby and poor Hart, had been stuck in the system up until Lindsay and Melanie had adopted and Justin sponsored her. It seemed the more they learned the more questions Brian and Justin would have. It was obvious that The Montgomery’s had lied to Justin about his baby, but what for money? It had to be more than that. And doing this to Brian? Why would someone do this to him? And then Justin remembered that Daniel Montgomery was who he had overheard Brian on the phone with so long ago. Daniel had lied to Brian about so many things. Brian and Justin grasped hands and looked into one another’s eyes. The world seemed so scary. But now, Brian and Justin weren’t alone, they were not children. They were all grown up. They would figure it all out in time, as a family. AN: Hey, everyone, thanks so much for you reviews all through out this story. This is my favourite that I have ever written and I would really like your feedback on this one. I am ending All The World's A Stage right here for now. Please, still badger because I have already started on the sequal. It will have the same title, with just a part two. As you can probably tell I wasn't sure where to end it with this one. I am going to concentrate on getting a few of my other stories updated and within a month I will have the new All The World's. Did you all see that coming? Let me know. Love you all, Forever and ever Folked, Rory