It was hard dropping Kai off at day care. Justin had tried to keep a "happy face" for his brother's sake, but inside he was raging. He was angry at Craig, he was angry at the system, and as much as he hated to admit it, part of him felt angry at Kai for not looking at that damn book Lisa kept trying to show him. In fact, watching Kai run off time and time again made Justin feel like a failure as a brother: that maybe his priorities were wrong. What was he doing wrong?

Justin knew it was a pointless blame game he was playing, and yet he couldn't pull himself out his own web. He arrived late to class, and thankfully no one batted an eye. Not that it mattered, Justin could barely concentrate any ways. His second class breezed by him the same way. In fact, when class ended, Justin stared at the notes in his hands and wasn't sure if he was the one who wrote them, because nothing looked familar. Stuffing the papers in his bag, Justin slowly walked out of the classroom and wandered through campus. He felt numb.

Sighing, Justin wasn't in the mood for lunch, and he wasn't in mood to look for a studio he could paint in. Somehow Justin found himself at Kinnetic, sitting in Brian's office, staring at the ceiling...

                    -----          -------                -------

The sound of Brian typing lulls him as he stares at the emptiness above him, wondering what Kai saw when he stared at ceilings that didn't have fans.

"Bad day?" Brian finally asks. He was only momentarily surprised to return from a meeting to find his partner sitting on the chair in his office, staring at the ceiling. It was obvious that the blond had noticed his presence, and yet he didn't say a single word to him. Taking that cue to heart, Brian gave him his needed silence and continued with his work. But after twenty solid minutes of silence, Brian decided that silence was over-rated.

Justin sighs longingly, "Brian.... it was complete shit." Looking away from the ceiling, the blond forces a smile as he looks at his lover. "First, to say that my estranged father is an asshole, is a complete understatement."

Brian leans back on his chair, saving the file on his screen before giving Justin his complete attention.

"When I got there, Kai was still in his pajamas, he hadn't had breakfast yet... and when the woman got there, Craig didn't bother coming down the stairs... he yelled all the answers from upstairs!!!" Justin waves his arms dramatically, "Can you believe it?! He didn't even have the report from the doctor that says Kai has autism... and this was just an intake, Brian, do you know what that means?"

Brian opens his mouth, but Justin answers the question for him.

"It's an interview. She just wanted to know questions... questions I couldn't even fuckin' answer, like, when did Kai roll over... and then she was all, like, 'does he point'? No! Everything was No... No this, No that... and she tried to have him look at a book and he fuckin' screamed like she was going to kill him or something! And then I tried to hold him and hold the book... Jesus Christ, Brian, it was horrible! It was fuckin' horrible!!!" He stops to take a deep breath, "And then she left!!"

Brian is confused, "What do you mean 'she left'?"

"She got the information she needed," Justin explains with exasperation, "so now she's taking it back to her team and someone will call me to set up a time to do the assessment. And it's not until the assessment takes place that they can decide what services he even qualifies for!" Closing his eyes for a moment, he takes another deep breath.

He gasps in surprise when he feels Brian's hand on his shoulder. "Shit, you move fast," Justin comments, and then forces a smile.

Brian smirks, "So how long until the assessment?"

"About two weeks... and get this, Craig doesn't want to take more time off, but the county requires a parent or legal guardian to sign off on everything for services to begin!" Justin shakes his head. He can't believe that the man he was talking about could even be related to him.

"So what happens now?" Brian asks, his mind racing as he begins to think of alternatives and contact information.

"Craig is going to talk to his lawyer to see if there is a way for me to sign the paperwork." Justin answers with an exhausted sigh. Getting up, he walks over to the window, wrapping his arms around himself. "I fuckin' hate him."

Walking carefully behind the blond, Brian slowly wraps his arms around Justin's torso, resting his chin against his partner's shoulder. "What's his lawyer's name?"

"I don't know." Justin closes his eyes again.

"Did you ask Craig about taking care of Kai over the weekend?" Brian asks, his mind still formulating a plan as he wonders who Craig's lawyer is.

"Honestly, it didn't come up. And the thought of calling that asshole right now is farthest from my mind." He confesses. Fuckin' asshole...

Brian nods, kissing Justin's cheek. "Come here..." pulling Justin backwards, the two stumble clumsily into Brian's private bathroom.

Closing the door behind him, Brian kisses Justin's soft lips, and comments, "You need to relax."

"No shit..." Justin agrees.

Brian continues kissing the blond, as his fingers work on unzipping and pulling down Justin's pants.

"Brian..." Justin attempts to scold, but really, knew it was pointless since he really wanted whatever the brunette had in store for him.

"Just shut up," Brian whispers before going down onto his knees, "and relax..."

It's amazing how relaxed a person can be after a blow job and nine minutes of rimming.

"Jesus Fuck..."

Fixing Justin's outward appearance, Brian smiles, "Much better."

Justin grins impishly, his eyes still somewhat glazed, "I love you...."

"I know."

"No, I really, really love you."

"Good. Now go call that asshole and get the name of his lawyer." Brian directs as he pulls Justin's cell phone out and hands it to the blond.

Justin stares at the phone for a few seconds as his brain tries to catch up.

The brunette chuckles, "Did you forget how to dial?"

Looking up at his partner, Justin asks, "What makes you think Craig will give me the guy's name?"

"I'm sure you can find a way to get that information, Sunshine... I have no doubt about that," Brian says confidently, knowing that Justin could lure information out of the mafia if he wanted to.

"Brian," Justin begins, "Why?"

"We all know that Craig is an asshole, Justin." Brian explains, "I just want to make sure that he and his lawyer don't try anything..." he pauses, not sure the best way to offer an explanation without sounding like a protective mother-hen.

"Without fucking me over?" Justin asks with a knowing smile.

Brian gives his usual trademark tongue-in-cheek expression. "Something like that."

"You soooo love me."

"Shut up and get out of my bathroom."

Laughing, Justin walks out of the bathroom and out of Brian's office. He doesn't stop until he exits Kinnetic and stands by the entrance. Calling, he's surprised when Craig actually picks up. It's apparent that Craig is equally surprised and had probably picked up without checking his caller id.

"Did you think I was someone else?" Justin asks innocently, knowing full well that he's right.

Craig clears his throat, "Actually, I was expecting a call from someone else."

"Your lawyer?" Justin asks, wondering if this call would end quicker than they both hoped.

"No, someone else." Craig answers, clearly uncomfortable,

"Oh, right, your blonde fuck buddy, right, okay, I'll be quick then," Justin begins with a smile, knowing that he just pissed his estranged father off, but quickly continuing before Craig would retort with a comeback. "I was thinking of watching Kai for you this weekend." He waits.

A moment of pause, then a surprised, "Pardon?"

"Well, I just feel that I need to get to know him, I mean, he's my brother, and I want to spend time with him... so... I was thinking maybe I could pick him up on Saturday, like, after breakfast or something? And then I could bring him back to your place on Sunday... maybe by dinner? What do you think? Then you could get whatever work done you need to do... you know, since you're always so busy." He adds, and is sure that Craig is wondering if he's being sincere or sarcastic with his ending statement.

More silence.

"Are you still there?" Justin asks.

"Um, yes... Justin... um, yes, that would be great. But, make it after dinner instead of Sunday."

"Sure, that sounds fine with me!" Justin replies with a smile, trying to keep his emotions at bay. fuckin' asshole.... "Hey, by the way..."

"Yeah?" Craig asks, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Is it Mitchell?"

"Who?"

"Mitchell... wasn't that the guy's name? I remember you used to play golf with a guy named Mitchell... he was a lawyer, right?" Justin asks innocently.

"Oh, right, him, no, he wasn't a lawyer, his wife was." Craig explains.

"Oh, is she the lawyer you're talking to about having me sign the stuff?" Justin asks, leaning against the brick wall and watching the traffic pass him by. Brian was right, this was easy.

"No, Mitchell and I haven't spoken in years, Justin," Craig replies.

"Oh, that's too bad. So is it another one of your golfing buddies?"

"I don't play that often anymore," Craig answers.

Of course not, you're too busy fucking idiots with low self esteem "You aren't a member of the country club anymore?"

"I'm still a member, I just don't go as often as I used to." Craig admits, then clears his throat, and Justin knows that his time is about up.

"So your lawyer friend is the one who helped you in the divorce, huh?" Justin asks, knowing that finding the person's name would be as simple as asking his mother.

"Yes, Carlton Stratford," Craig answers, and then says something more quietly to someone else. Justin can hear papers rustling.

"You're busy, huh?" Justin states the obvious, ready to end the call since he got the information he needed without a second phone call.

"Yes, I am, Saturday will be fine. I'll see you before noon." Craig confirms.

"See you then," Justin replies, hanging up before he has to endure another word from the older Taylor.

With a smug smile, he returns to Brian's office, "Piece of cake."

Brian smiles back, leaning against his desk, "And?"

"Carlton Stratford. He's the same asshole that helped Craig in the divorce." Justin didn't bother hiding the bitterness in his voice. Carlton fought against everything his mother wanted, and in the end Jennifer felt satisfied, but Justin felt she deserved more than she received. And though Brian never commented, Justin knew that his partner felt the same as he did on the matter.

Pulling Justin against his own body, Brian smiles, "Piece of cake."

Just then, Justin's stomach growls. Scrunching his nose, Justin looks down at his stomach and then up at Brian's amused expression. "Speaking of cake... that sounds pretty good right about now."

Chuckling, Brian pushes the intercom, "Hey, Cynthia?"

Justin grins, feeling much better than this morning. Wrapping his arms around Brian's neck, he whispers, "You sooo love me."

"That I do, Sunshine, that I do."