"Tell me again why this is a good idea," Ted said, walking out of the conference room at Kinnetik with Cynthia. "Because," Cynthia responded. "Brian has got... a lot of shit on his mind. Having this account sealed by the time he gets in tomorrow will really make life a lot easier for all of us." "And the world will be a better place for ad execs everywhere," Brian said, entering and walking passed them into his office. "The world can sleep soundly tonight." "Brian..." Cynthia and Ted followed him. "What are you doing here?" Brian looked around. "Kinnetik, right?" he said. "Last time I checked, I owned the fucking place." Ted stammered. "We just assumed that with Mel and Linds coming in..." "What... have I always told you, Theodore?" Brian plopped down behind his desk. "We all know what happens when we ass-ume." He flipped through the pile of papers in front of him. "What the fuck is all this?" Cynthia stood before him. "This is all the stuff for your new campaign with Brown," she said. "They’re gonna be here... tomorrow morning." "Reschedule them" Brian said. "But Brian..." "I said... reschedule them. I have too much shit going on tomorrow to have to worry about Brown athletics on top of it all." "I’ll... reschedule," Cynthia said. "Good idea," Brian watched Cynthia leave the office. He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened them, Ted was still standing there. "What, Theodore?" "Nothing. You just... well you seem on edge." Ted pointed out. "I don’t pay you to be observant. I pay you to crunch numbers. So why are you still standing in my office?" "You’re supposed to be off today, shopping for Gus, getting ready for Mel and Lindsay..." "I think Debbie and Emmett have that under control. I would much rather be here, taking care of all the shit that I don’t want to do tomorrow." Brian sighed. "I have too much to worry about. There’s the fucking Brown account, a pitch on Monday for Calco Pharmaceuticals. Babylon’s got it’s official reopening tomorrow night and we just lost the fucking entertainment. I’m tired, I have a motherfucker of a headache, and I more or less feel like shit. Is there anything else you want to know?" Ted went to speak, but Brian stopped him. "And if you’re gonna ask me when Justin is coming in... don’t." "Got it," Ted nodded. "We have everything under control here. Cynthia’s rescheduling Brown, the pharmaceutical pitch is set. Why don’t you go home... focus on just the Babylon party. Take some asprin or something." "Did Ryan and Angela put together the boards?" "Early this morning," Ted replied. "And they changed the font and color of the text." "Orange Modern." "And the pitch is..." "Set. It’s all taken care of. Go home. The world... won’t come crashing down if you take a break." "Thank you for that... profound declaration, Theodore." Brian said, crossing back towards the door. "But I’m fine right where I am. And I have a job to do. So do you." He swung the door open. "So why don’t you scamper off if you want to keep it." Ted sighed. "Right..." he said, watching Brian sink back into his chair. "Sure thing, Bri." >>>>>> "Son of a... bitch!" Michael cursed, dragging Gus’ bike into the house. He inspected it carefully to make sure he had put no dents or dings into it. "OK..." he continued. Michael stepped further into the home, stopping with raised eyebrows at the sight of Hunter, hovered over the sofa in a pair of red, plaid pajama pants and a gray tee shirt. "What are you doing?" Michael asked, crossing in front of him to grab the mail off the table. "Collecting money for my college education," Hunter replied. "In the couch?" Michael flipped through the endless bills. "You should be in bed, getting rid of that fever." "It’s fucking boring in there." Hunter said. "A guy can only watch so many reruns a day. They had that episode of Maury on today where you gotta pick out the real chicks from a group of like twenty." He continued looking under the cushions. "Hey a tic-tac!" "Don’t even think of putting that in your mouth." Michael sometimes thought he was dealing with a child. "What are you looking for?" "Ten bucks." Hunter replied. Michael looked at him, questioningly. "I’m serious." "Well it’s not going to just materialize out of thin air." "It is if this is where I fucking lost it." Hunter rolled his eyes. "Hey. Watch it smart ass." Michael said firmly. He paused. "What do you need ten dollars for anyway?" "Because it was mine," Hunter took a seat on the sofa. Michael shook his head. "I got that part" he said "But why the frantic search right now?" "I am not frantic" Hunter defended. "I’m just one of those last minute people. Like Brian." Michael laughed. "Nobody is like Brian." "Look. I wanted to get Gus something... for his birthday. The kid is only gonna be five once, right?" Hunter paused. "It’s the coolest fucking thing ever. But I was ten dollars short. I know I had the money." "I’ll... I’ll give you the money" Michael said. Hunter had been working hard at the diner after school. He had seen the boy saving his money. "On one condition." "What?" "Get back in bed and get rid of that fever." Michael said. "If you go around those kids like that, you’ll get them sick too." "Nobody has ever gotten me into bed for ten bucks." Hunter said, watching Michael fold his arms across his chest, shooting him that look that only a parent could give. "Alright, I’m going. Christ." Michael watched Hunter drag his feet back upstairs to his bedroom. He tossed the bills down again, falling back on the sofa. He leaned his head back, shutting his eyes for what felt like just a minute, hearing a sound in the kitchen which jolted him Michael opened his eyes, rubbed them to bring them into focus. "Hello?" he said, clearing his throat. "Hello yourself," Ben smiled, coming out of the kitchen. You looked so beat when I came home, I didn’t have the heart to wake you." He sat down on the sofa beside him, giving him a deep, lingering kiss. "Rough day?" he said gently after pulling back. "Not so much rough as it was long," Michael said. "Bike shopping with Brian... was interesting." "Did he find something?" Ben asked. Michael nodded, motioning towards the door. "It’s nice. It’ll be a great gift." "Seeing Justin is going to make Gus happier than anything." Ben watched Michael sigh. "What?" "We’re not all too sure that Justin is coming." "What?" Ben didn’t believe it. "Why not?" "Brian says.... Brian says that Justin is really... fucking busy." Michael paused. "He’s not sure Justin is even coming." "Michael...." Ben began. "Can you honestly... tell me that you think that after everything, Justin won’t come in to see the kids, Mel and Linds... to spend some time with Brian." "Brian misses him. He really misses him a lot." "I know that," he said. "But... there is nothing we can do. It’s something Brian and Justin have to talk about. Something between them." "Maybe you’re right," Michael sighed. "I’m right," Ben said gently. There was a pause. "We’ll be there tomorrow when the girls come in. You’ll get to see your daughter. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to that." "More than anything." "If you could see your face..." Ben smiled. "Come on. I made dinner." "It smells good." "It’s dumplings, dumpling," Ben kissed him softly. "Save it for later, please." Hunter said, padding down the stairs. "I’m fucking starving." He passed them, walking into the kitchen. Michael and Ben exchanged glances. "Where did we go wrong?" Michael joked. "I heard that!" Hunter called. Ben shook his head with a smile, allowing Michael to enter the kitchen ahead of him.