Last Chapter....

Brian turned to his daughter to say softly, "See…there's nothing to be afraid of, Katie. Or should I say...Kaylee."

Kaylee’s eyes widened.  Did her father just call her by her real name, or did she just imagine it?  She chose to pretend that she hadn’t heard him right.  “What…what did you just say to me?” she whispered as her father’s eyes bore into hers from a few feet away.  She watched as her father wiped his hands on the thigh of his jeans, almost as if he were nervous himself.

Brian rolled his tongue around in his jaw as he repeated softly, “I said…there’s nothing to be afraid of, Kaylee.”  Brian stared over at his daughter and somehow, despite how incredibly identical she appeared to her sister, he could see it now; this WAS Kaylee, his other daughter, the child he hadn’t seen in so many years but had never stopped thinking about or loving.  It had to be.  Her difference in eating habits, her fear of the horses that Katie loved more than anything, and her unexpectedly emotional reaction to seeing him at the camp when he had come to pick her up; so many little things began to coalesce in his mind into one indubitable conclusion…This was his daughter, all right, but it wasn’t Katie.  It was all beginning to finally make sense to him at last.

The pieces fell into place like some intricate, outlandish jigsaw puzzle.  He had no fucking idea how it had happened; no idea how his daughters had found out about each other, but somehow he knew that they had.  This was Kaylee.  If he had had any residual doubts at all, they were promptly washed away by the transparent, guilty look that was presently on his daughter’s face. 

He slowly walked over to her until he was only a few inches away and stared intently into her eyes, memorizing every feature on her pale face, swallowing hard as he saw a miniature version of Justin staring up at him.  He reached out and softly cupped her cheeks with his hands as long eyelashes blinked in response to his touch.  “My God, it’s been way too long, Kaylee Marie…Way too long,” he murmured as he promptly swept her up into his strong embrace and hugged her tightly.  He heard a soft whimper from his daughter as she wound her hands around his waist and nestled her head against his lower chest in reaction.  He slowly stroked his daughter’s back soothingly as he simply continued to hold on tightly to her as if he were holding her for the first time.  In a way he was; now that he knew it was his other daughter he was embracing, he felt like he had been given a second chance and he didn’t want to ever let her go again.

At last, though, he reluctantly pulled back enough so he could stare into her eyes once more.  The wide-eyed orbs peering back at him were an expressive, soft blue, so like the man he had fallen irretrievably in love with so long ago.  “Kaylee,” he murmured as a flood of memories came rushing back to him.  Giving her a bath in her plastic bathtub as she used her chubby little hands to splash the water in his face and chortled at her antics, scrunching up her face until it was red from displeasure every time he tried to put a frilly little hat on her head, holding out a piece of milk-soaked Cheerio’s for him to eat at breakfast, and those little, soft whimpers of bliss she always made whenever he was rocking her to sleep at night in a rocker-glider in the nursery at Britin.  As she peered up nervously into his eyes, his own filled unexpectedly with tears – tears born of regret and sorrow over what they had lost all these years and could never get back again.  He still had no idea how this had happened, but he did know one thing; he wasn’t ever going to let her get away again, not without being in her life consistently now. 

Kaylee looked anxiously into her father’s eyes, afraid what she might see in them now that he knew who she really was; there was no point in trying to deny it now.  The hazel eyes intently boring into hers, however, weren’t reproachful or scolding; instead, they were kind and loving, just like she remembered they had been so long ago. 

She bit her lip and swallowed hard. “How…How did you know?” she whispered back at last as she found the courage to speak.  She thought she and Katie had been so careful not to expose their secret, but somehow her perceptive father had discovered their subterfuge anyway. 

Brian smiled down at her as he slowly stroked her back reassuringly.  “It wasn’t one thing by itself,” he explained to her softly as he continued to drink in the sight of her.  “It was a lot of little things; how you didn’t like junk food, how you seemed to hate the clothes you were wearing, how you seemed unsure of your surroundings.  Most of all, I think it was your reaction to Cerus and Eton and your hesitation in going for a ride with me.  Normally I can’t pry Katie away from them; if it was up to her, I think she’d even move her bedroom out here to the stables,” he told her with a grin.  “Then earlier today when you turned around to let me see your new outfit, I saw a filling in your mouth and it all clicked.  Katie’s never had a cavity in her life; I knew at that moment that you couldn’t be her.  The only other explanation was that it had to be you instead.”  He stared into his daughter’s eyes.  “How did you even find out about your sister, Kaylee?” he asked her curiously.  “We never told you about each other.”  He noticed his daughter seemed worried for some reason.  “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me the truth, Honey.”

She nodded; she trusted him.  “We met at camp,” she explained simply.  “We were both there at the same time and ran into each other.”

Brian frowned.  “You mean Camp Pineland?”  As Kaylee nodded, it all came into instant, clearer focus as he thought about the way in which she had wound up there in the first place.  “Shit,” he couldn’t help replying.  “Jennifer,” he muttered under his breath.  It all made perfect sense all of a sudden.  His ex-partner’s well-meaning but scheming mother had apparently set him up with that brochure and her insistence that sending Katie there would be ‘good’ for her.  Despite his aggravation, he had to hand it to her, though; she had managed to do something that he had longed to do but could never carry out due to the damn custody agreement.  “It’s okay,” he told Kaylee as he noticed her concern regarding the somewhat unreadable look on his face; his expression softened as he explained, “I just realized how you and your sister met and found out about each other.  I’m sure we can thank your Grandma Jen for that happy little coincidence,” he told her dryly.   “Did she by chance suggest to your father that you go to camp there, too?” 

Kaylee’s face blushed in response as she nodded in confirmation.  “Yeah, Daddy told me that Grandma Jen used to send him there when he was a kid all the time, and she thought I would like it, too.”

Brian huffed.  “I’ll bet,” he told her with a slight grin.  Conniver, he thought to himself.  He loved Jennifer and had always respected her, but she sure had mucked up everything thanks to her ‘suggestion.’  But perhaps this might just work in his favor, though; in fact, he might just eventually owe her a huge debt of gratitude someday. Perhaps…The word reverberated in his mind as he nodded back at his daughter in understanding.

Brian lightly caressed Kaylee’s cheek to reassure her that he wasn’t mad before he finally released her and turned around to place his hands on the weathered, wooden split-rail fence; Cerus peered down at him curiously and whinnied softly, no doubt wondering why he and ‘Katie’ weren’t going for their customary ride.  He sighed as he gazed out onto the several acres of pasture framed by softly rolling hills, wondering what to do now.  Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kaylee inching over to stand next to him, still keeping a respectful distance from the strong, massive horse looming over them.  Placing a hand on her shoulder, he murmured, “You know we’re going to have to tell your father what’s going on, Honey.”  That thought filled him with both trepidation as well as anticipation.

Kaylee turned her head to peer up at him and nodded.  “I know,” she told him softly.  She was surprised to find that she wasn’t overcome with joy, though, now that her father had figured out what was going on; didn’t that mean that at last both of her fathers could be together again?  Wasn’t that what she and Katie had been wanting all along?  Would this turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing for her family, though?  She knew deep in her heart that both of her fathers still loved each other; she could feel it.  Katie had told her she believed the same thing, and her father back in Chicago had already admitted he still loved her Dad.  But how exactly would her other father react to what her and her sister had done?  Would he be glad or would he be angry at them?  As she peered into her father’s eyes, however, she knew that at least he wasn’t angry with her, although she couldn’t quite tell what he was feeling at the moment.  He seemed to be lost in a world of his own.  “Dad?”

“Yes, Kaylee?” Brian responded softly as he looked down at her, thinking how wonderful it felt to hear his ‘other’ daughter calling him that; he thought it would be a long, long time before he ever heard that word come from her lips again.  Actually, when she was very young – before the break up – she used to call him ‘Da,’ not Dad; for some reason, the second ‘d’ was always impossible for her to pronounce.

“What are you going to do now that you know?  Are you going to call Daddy to tell him?”  Silently she prayed that he wouldn’t do that; if he merely talked to him on the phone, that wouldn’t accomplish anything.  No, they needed to SEE each other, especially if her and her sister’s plans were going to work.  Something told her that once they were physically in the same room again, the pull between them would be impossible to resist or ignore.

Brian pondered that question; what WAS he going to do?  Take her back to Jennifer and tell that she needed to fix things since she had created this mess in the first place?  Put Kaylee on the next Greyhound to Chicago with a note attached to her jacket addressed to Justin that he needed to send the other daughter back in exchange?   He could see it now:  Sunshine – Don’t look now, but you have the wrong daughter there.  Send her back and we’ll call it even.  Yeah…Right…

Hardly, he thought firmly.  Even though Jennifer had been downright devious in her actions, it had accomplished something he had wanted to do ever since Justin had left with Kaylee; he had an excellent reason for seeing him again now.  Justin would surely understand that he had to take care of this personally, and if he didn’t, too damn bad; this was too good an opportunity to pass up.  It was time to start rectifying some mistakes.

“Well,” he finally said to his daughter with a soft smile, “As much as I’m enjoying getting to know you again, Kaylee, I think your father has a right to know what’s going on right under his nose.”  He smiled in recollection.  “Actually, I’m surprised he hasn’t already figured it out yet; he’s a very smart man.  But then again, he always did think with his heart a lot more than I did.”  Maybe that was where he had made his biggest mistake, though; if HE had thought more ‘with his heart,’ maybe the two of them wouldn’t be in this big mess right now and they wouldn’t have been apart all these years. 

Making up his mind, he stood up just a little straighter.  Placing a hand on Kaylee’s shoulder, he told her, “Let’s take a walk; you and I have a lot to talk about.” 

Kaylee beamed at him in a warm, delighted smile that made his heart lurch in reaction; it was so much like another smile he hadn’t seen in years now.  As they turned and slowly walked back toward the house, he couldn’t help thinking that soon, though, he might be able to see it again. 

Ten Minutes Later

“This is so different than back home,” Kaylee murmured as the two of them sat side-by-side at the edge of the built-in, kidney-shaped swimming pool.  She and her father had both taken off their shoes and socks; in a perfect imitation of each other, they had rolled up their pant legs and were dangling their feet in the warm water.

Brian peered over at her.  “What’s it like living in Chicago?” he asked her curiously, wanting to know everything about his daughter’s life.  “You live in an apartment?”

Kaylee nodded.  “It’s an old brownstone; a duplex.  There’s an older lady that lives next to us – Mrs. Bailey.”  She smiled.  “She’s very nice; likes to bake me cookies all the time, but I always give them to Daddy instead because they’re his favorite and they have too many calories and fat for my taste.” 

Brian grinned knowingly; apparently some things never changed.  “Peanut butter?” he ventured.

Kaylee stared at him in amazement.  “Yeah…how did you know?” 

Brian stared out into the water, lost in another time.  He had a faraway sort of look on his face as he smiled in recollection.  “That always was his favorite cookie – as far back as I can remember; actually double peanut butter chip to be exact.”  He turned to grin at Kaylee as he explained, “Your father loved to cook, and once the two of you were old enough to eat solid food, he would bake some of them for you and your sister as a treat.  Personally I think it was just so he could have an excuse to eat some of them himself.  We never did need three dozen of them baked at one time, but for some reason there never seemed to be a problem getting rid of them.” 

Kaylee stared at the wistful look on her father’s face as she told him, “He still loves to cook.  He’s got more cookbooks at home than Rachel Ray, and he’s always trying out new recipes on me.”

Brian smiled at her.  “How are they?”

She grinned.  “Not bad – usually.  Sometimes he messes up, though.  He found out he’s not very good at making soufflés, for example – unless you like ones that are flatter than a pancake.” 

Brian chuckled softly, not surprised that Justin still liked to cook.  He remembered how he used to kid him sometimes about how he felt like some food experiment whenever he tried out an exotic recipe on him, but more times than not the food that Justin prepared that he couldn’t even pronounce usually turned out to be pretty damn tasty. 

"You have a lot of friends there?”

Kaylee shrugged.  “Yeah, some,” she told him.  “My best friend who lived down the street from me moved away a few months ago to California,” she said a little glumly.  “Her father got transferred there.  But I have some friends that I hang out with at school when it’s in session.” 

Brian slowly swished his legs in the swirling water and stared down at the sparkling reflection.  “That’s good,” he told her.  He paused for a moment, unable to look at his daughter directly as he asked about the subject he really wanted to know more about. “What about your father?  Does HE have a lot of friends, too?”

Kaylee peered over at him, unable to keep herself from asking him, “Just friends…Or boyfriends?”  By the way her father averted his gaze she knew she really didn’t need an answer.  The thought that her father could be jealous of potential competition made her feel warm and happy inside; it was a good sign to her – a very good sign. 

Brian sighed almost imperceptibly; was he that transparent, even to a daughter who barely remembered him?  Should he deny that that was exactly what he had meant?  He decided there had been enough deception in their family.  “Yeah,” he admitted quietly as he turned to lock gazes with her.  “I guess that’s what I meant.” 

Eyeing him curiously and deciding to test Katie’s fervent belief that their father was still in love, she responded casually, “There has been this one guy for the last few years.”  She didn’t tell him that Alex the Asshole was apparently out of the picture, though – at least not yet.  “Katie told me he took Daddy on a trip to Canada and asked him to marry him while we were at camp.”

She mentally chided herself over her father’s reaction to her statement, but her heart pounded with hope as she noticed the look of distress flitter across her father’s face before he quickly hid it from her.  “Oh?” he said as he picked at an imaginary piece of lint on his shirt.  Brian plastered on his best neutral expression – having honed it perfectly over the years – but inside his heart felt like it had just been crushed with a sledgehammer.  Justin was serious enough with someone to marry him?  What did he expect, though?  Justin always had wanted that – along with the commitment and monogamy that he had promised him and promptly thrown out the window in one fell swoop. 

“Yeah,” Kaylee told him.  She continued to stare over at him to gauge his reaction before she added the most important part.  “But he didn’t give him an answer.  Actually, I guess he did in a way, because Katie told me they broke up last night.”

Brian let out a pregnant breath as his heart began to beat regularly again; he hadn’t even realized he had been holding in a breath until then.  He turned his head to gaze into his daughter’s eyes, unable now to hide his relief as she smiled back at him.  “They did?”  She nodded her head as he couldn’t help asking, “What happened?”

Kaylee reached down and slowly swirled her hand in the water as she told him, “I’m not sure yet; Katie texted me last night long enough to tell me that they had broken up, but I haven’t heard all the details yet.  I’m dying to know, though.”  Her eyes flashed as she added, “But in a way I don’t care WHAT the reason way; I’m just glad he’s finally gone.” 

“Why?” Brian asked her curiously, concerned over the tone of voice Kaylee had responded with; even though he had no real claim on Justin, he couldn’t deny that he was happy about it, too.  “You didn’t like him?” 

Kaylee snorted as she straightened up.  “No, I didn’t,” she told flatly.  “He was two-faced.  Whenever Daddy was around, he was sweet as pie to me.  But as soon as Daddy was out of the room, he either ignored me or was a real asshole and practically bit my head off.  His true colors came out.”  She pursed her lips together firmly as she thought about the man who had almost fooled her father into making a big mistake before she told him, “I’d LOVE to know what happened last night; something tells me that Katie had a lot to do with it.”

Brian grinned over at her.  “Knowing your sister the way I do, I have a feeling you’re right.”  His expression sobered as he added, “If he WAS acting that way toward you, then I’m glad he’s gone.  Your father would not have put up with him treating you that way if he had known.  Why did you never tell him?”

Kaylee bit her lip pensively before explaining, “I thought he made Daddy happy; he seemed okay at first.” 

“But if he started treating you like shit, Kaylee, why didn’t you tell your father?  He would never want to be with someone like that, and he would have never put up with it.” 

Kaylee swallowed hard before she said simply, “He seemed lonely.  And I didn’t want him to be.” 

Brian let out a tense breath.  Just the thought that Justin was lonely for company – this amazing man who was beautiful both on the inside as well as the outside – made him feel both guilty as hell as well as shocked that someone hadn’t grabbed him up long before now.  Was it wrong to hope that perhaps he had never committed himself to another man because he still felt something for him?  He knew that HE had never stopped loving him. 

“Dad?”

He turned to look over at his daughter’s face, seeing Justin there once more in the way she eyed him so intently as he said, “Yeah?”

“Do you think it’s too late?”

He squinted at her as the sun emerged from behind a large cloud and blinded him with its brightness. 

“Too late?” 

She nodded. 

“For what, Honey?” he asked, even though he knew precisely what she was talking about.

Kaylee’s heart warmed at the nickname; she liked being called that.  She decided to bare her soul as she revealed her most desired wish and responded softly, “For you - and Daddy – to get back together.  For us to be a family again.” 

Brian scooted closer to his daughter as he reached over to place his hand lightly around his daughter’s neck.  “That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?” he asked her quietly.  “You and Katie didn’t just switch places to get know us better again.  You hoping for more than that, aren’t you?”

“What about you?” she countered evenly, surprising herself with her boldness.  She couldn’t keep the hopeful tone out of her voice as she said, “You told me you still love Daddy, and now that he’s broken up with that stupid Alex…”

Brian sighed; he figured as much.  When you were Kaylee’s age, the answers seemed so simple; if that could only be the way it really worked…

“I’m going to take you back and explain what happened,” he told her, hastily adding before she got too hopeful, “but that’s all I’m promising, Kaylee.  That’s all I CAN promise.  Some things aren’t easily fixed.  Can you understand?”  How he wish he could start all over again and wipe out what had happened.

He smiled at her gently as he saw the telltale signs of protest welling up in her eyes.  “It’s been a long time,” he tried to explain.  “You can’t go back and undo things, you can only move forward.”  He dropped his hold on Kaylee’s neck to stand up and extend his hand down for her to grasp as he slowly pulled her up to a standing position.  He couldn’t help sweeping her into an embrace as he wrapped his arms around her slender body and held onto her tightly.  “No matter what happens, Kaylee, I WILL promise you this; I won’t ever let you out of my life again.  I will always be there for you.  Do you believe me?”

Kaylee sniffled against his chest as she nodded silently, her tears dampening her father’s shirt as she held onto him like she’d never let him go.  It wasn’t everything she wanted and she still didn’t really understand, but it was a start.  She knew her and her sister had their work cut out for them, but despite what her father was saying, she wasn’t giving up.

Same Time – Justin’s Brownstone

Justin glanced up in surprise as he watched his daughter come waltzing into the kitchen as if she hadn’t a care in the world; it was quite a departure from the pasty-looking, ill child he had seen yesterday. 

Katie smiled; it was a good day.  “Hi, Daddy!” she greeted her father as she plopped down beside him at the kitchen table.  “I’m starving!  What’s for breakfast?”

Justin studied her carefully; it was almost as if this were a totally different child from the one he had nursed last night.  “You’re feeling a lot better,” he observed as he cupped his hand around his coffee mug, the heat almost burning his fingers.

Katie nodded.  “Much,” she confirmed.  Alex was gone for good and she was feeling great now.  Yes, things were definitely looking up!  She couldn’t wait to tell Kaylee all the juicy details.  She had actually tried to call her earlier up in her room, but the phone was going straight to voicemail.  After a couple more tries, she finally had to settle for sending her a quick text to tell her she would try to call her tonight at their normal time of 11:00 after her father had sent her off to bed. 

Justin stood up and walked over to the stove.  “I have some bacon and scrambled eggs cooked up,” he told her.  “But it’s regular pork bacon, not turkey bacon.  And it’s real eggs, not the egg-white kind.”  He had fixed too much for himself a little while ago, holding off on preparing anything for his daughter since he wasn’t sure how she would be feeling this morning.  He thought she would likely sleep in later than normal, in fact.

“That’s okay,” Katie told him to his surprise, secretly relieved that it wasn’t some weird sort of veggie bacon and egg substitute; she hated the taste of both of those things, even though she knew her sister was supposed to be a healthy eater.  After the bout with the cheesecake, she knew she would have to be more careful, but there were still limits to what she – and her  stomach – would do.  “Since I puked up everything last night, my stomach is totally empty, so I’ll take whatever I can get.”  There…That sounded plausible, she thought. 

Justin nodded as he opened the oven door and took out a ceramic dinner plate with the warming food on top.  He brought it over and set it down in front of his daughter as he walked back over to the built-in bread drawer and pulled it open.  Taking out the wheat bread, he popped two pieces in the toaster nearby.  “Marmalade or the no-sugar apple butter?” he asked as he turned around to study his now robust-looking daughter, the whisper of suspicion beginning to emerge.  Had Alex been right after all?  Had Kaylee been faking her illness somehow in an attempt to try and get him to stay home with her and cause difficulty between them?

He knew she had indicated before that Alex wasn’t always that kind to her out of his presence; before, he had chalked it up to typical pre-teen melodrama.  Now after listening to Alex’s rant last night, though, he wasn’t so sure.

“Uh…Daddy?”

“Yeah, Sweetheart?” he asked as he held the refrigerator door open, waiting for an answer.

“Do we have any strawberry jam instead?”

Justin frowned as he experienced yet another surreal moment with his daughter; lately it was almost like they were living in another dimension or something.  “Kaylee, we don’t have any strawberry jam – or any kind of preserves for that matter,” he reminded her.  “You always told me you hated jam because the seeds got in between your teeth.  That’s why you hate microwave popcorn, too.” 

Katie looked away in mortification; once more she had slipped up.  This was much harder than she would have ever realized; how was she supposed to know all this?  “Uh…I forgot,” she responded lamely as she turned her gaze back to her father who had a decidedly confused look on his face.  “I had some seedless jam at camp and it was really good.  I’ll just take the apple butter, then.”

Justin stared intently at her, feeling once again that something was off but not quite sure what it was before he nodded in acceptance and reached for the jar of apple butter.  Walking back over to the kitchen table, he placed it down next to her plate and picked up his coffee cup to take a sip, eyeing her over the rim of it and wondering just what in the hell was going on. 

Finally, as his daughter enthusiastically turned her attention to her meal, her head down and focused on her plate, he shook his head, deciding it was just a pre-adolescent phase she must be going through.  “Well, I’ll be in my studio if you need me, Kaylee; any plans for the day?”

Katie finally looked up at her father and smiled; apparently she had yet again escaped detection.  “Not really,” she said.  Secretly she wished there was a swimming pool somewhere; back home she enjoyed taking a swim most days, especially after she and her father had ridden the horses and she was really missing her typical morning ritual.  She didn’t dare ask about something like that now, though, especially after her latest slip up.  “Maybe just listen to music for a while up in my room and play on the computer?”

Justin nodded as he turned to leave.  “Just don’t forget to feed the cats first, though, okay?”

Katie winced; she and her sister’s cats weren’t exactly buddy-buddy, but she supposed she could handle putting their food down – that is, if they didn’t try to claw her eyes out in the process.  “Okay, Daddy,” she replied as Justin walked out of the room.

Katie breathed out a huge sigh of relief as she took her empty dishes over to the sink and rinsed them off before placing them in the dishwasher.  She quickly grabbed a can of cat food for each cat from the pantry, noticing them suddenly appearing at the doorway out of nowhere as she pulled the flip tops back to open them. 

“Don’t worry, cats,” she said defensively as she glared over at them.  She was a huge animal lover, and her two horses back home adored her, so she couldn’t understand why these particular felines still hadn’t warmed up to her yet.  She huffed indignantly as the cats continued to stare at her warily with their luminous, oval-shaped green eyes.  “Well, don’t count on me sneaking YOU any tuna behind Daddy’s back,” she told them, clearly miffed as she picked up both silver food dishes and plopped a can into each.   Dali and Picasso held back just long enough until she had placed the food down and stepped away a few feet before they both meowed softly and tread on silent paws over to their respective food dishes and began to enthusiastically gobble their food up.

Shaking her head in exasperation, she rinsed the cans out and threw them into the recycle bin before walking back out of the kitchen and toward the stairs, hoping that perhaps she might still have a chance to speak to her sister about Alex; she couldn’t wait to give her all the juicy details. 

She had barely reached her sister’s bedroom and closed the door behind her when she jumped at the sound of her sister’s phone ringing.  Rushing over to the dresser and flipping it open, she beamed.  “I was hoping you would call me!” she told the caller.  “Wait until you hear what I did!” she told her sister smugly.

Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest, however, when she heard a voice she didn’t expect.  “Nice of you to answer your sister’s phone, Katherine Elizabeth,” said the familiar, velvety voice dryly.  She licked her lips nervously, her breathing shallow and rapid as she debated what to say if anything.   “I can’t wait to hear about your latest exploit.”

“I know you’re there, Katie,” Brian said to her in amusement a few seconds later as he glanced over at Kaylee who was sitting in the leather chair next to him in the living room; so far all he could hear was breathing on the other line.  “The jig is up, Princess.  I’m on to you; I’m on to both of you.  Are you alone right now?”

Katie finally found her voice to whisper back, “Yes.  Daddy’s painting.”

“Good,” was the unexpected reply as Brian smiled over at his daughter.  “Because the three of us have a lot to talk about.” 

“You…You know?”

Brian snorted.   “I know that you and your sister managed to switch places with help from your Grandma Jen and you’re pulling the wool over your father’s eyes as we speak.  You always were such a wonderful little actress, though.  He still has no idea?”

“Well, I think he knows something’s not right, but he hasn’t figured out what it is just yet.”  She walked over and plopped down cross-legged on the bed before asking, “Dad?”

“Yeah, Katie?”  It still felt weird speaking to his daughter over the phone when he thought he had been living with for the past several days, only to find out it wasn’t her after all. 

“You think he’ll be mad at us when he DOES find out?” she asked worriedly.  She hadn’t really thought about that possibility; her and her sister had been too busy thinking about how wonderful it would be to see their other father again. 

“No,” was the reassuring reply.  He knew it had been a long time since he had seen Justin, but his compassion and his love for his daughters could not have changed regardless.  “I think he’ll be surprised as hell, but once it sinks in I think he’ll react just the way that I did.”  He looked over at Kaylee as he told his other daughter, “He’ll be secretly thrilled about it, no matter what the court said we could or couldn’t do.”  He wasn’t quite so sure how he would react to HIM, though, but they were all about to find out.  It wasn’t as if he had instigated this anyway, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t try to secretly take advantage of it.  Forcing himself not to get too carried away about the possibility, though, he informed Katie, “I’m taking Kaylee back home.”

Katie couldn’t hide the beaming smile that lit up her face.  “You’re coming here?  With Kaylee?  When?”  The words tumbled out in an excited torrent. 

“Now don’t read too much into that, Katie,” Brian warned her, hearing the eagerness in her voice.  “I’m just returning your sister back where she belongs, that’s all.”    Yeah…Right.  You keep telling yourself that, Kinney. 

Yeah…Right, Katie said to herself with a smirk.  We’ll just see about that.  A worrisome thought crossed her mind, though, as she stubbornly told her father, “Well, I’m not just going to come back with you and forget about Daddy.  Now that I have him back I’m not saying goodbye to him again.  You won’t make me do that, will you?”

Brian paused over that question; just how WERE they going to handle this situation?  This wasn’t just a personal issue between him and Justin; there was the court to consider as well.  They could be in some legal trouble for allowing this to happen, even if it WASN’T their doing.  He DID know one thing, though; now that the girls DID know about each other, there was no way he could keep the two of them apart.  Apparently in the relatively short time they had been reunited, they had ALREADY managed to form a close bond between them.  Not to mention that Katie had already become attached to her father again.  No, no matter what happened between him and Justin going forward and no matter what legal repercussions may ensue, they would have to find some way to allow the two girls to continue their newly-forged relationship.

“No, Katie,” he assured her.  “I’m sure your father and I can find a way so that won’t happen.”  Thinking that may be easier said than done, though, he shook that thought from his mind as he added, “Just be prepared for when we get there.”

Katie frowned.  “Prepared?  You want me to tell Daddy you’re coming?”

“Hell, no,” Brian told her firmly.  “I don’t want him getting all queened out on me before the time comes.  Besides…he likes surprises.”  He snorted inwardly, knowing that was pretty much a bald-faced lie.  He wouldn’t exactly call either the hustler he had presented him with, nor even Britin a much-anticipated and welcome surprise. 

“Are you sure?” Kaylee whispered by his side, knowing that normally her father didn’t like to be kept in the dark about things; despite what he had said about her Daddy not being bothered over them keeping this secret from him, she wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t resent the fact that he wasn’t told as soon as their subterfuge was out in the open. 

Brian covered the mouthpiece part of his cell phone with his hand as he looked over at her and whispered, “It’ll be okay, Honey.”  At least he hoped so – he figured with their lack of communication, their situation couldn’t be much worse than it was at the moment anyway…

“Fine by me,” Katie told him with relief.  It seemed safer to let her father talk to him rather than admit to her part in their little scheme.  And besides, she decided that anything that helped to bring the two closer together and force them to communicate was a good thing.  “Will you be taking the private jet up here, then?” 

“Yes,” Brian told her.  “As soon as I can get it gassed up and get the pilot out to the airport, we’ll be leaving.” 

Kaylee’s eyes widened; it was possible that before the day was out, then, she and her father might be back in Chicago, which meant that at last her two fathers would see each other again after so long.  What exactly would be her other father’s reaction, though, when they DID arrive?  She could hear the barely-disguised emotion right now in his voice while he was speaking to her sister; he was trying hard to keep his emotions on a level keel and appear unaffected, but she could hear a hint of excitement in his voice as he talked.   She knew she was just now getting to know him again, but it didn’t take an expert to know that he was anxious to see her other father again.  She could only hope that her Daddy would feel the same, too, when they arrived back in Chicago.

Katie couldn’t help the wide smile that appeared on her face.  Yes!  This couldn’t be working out any better.  “Will you call me when you’re almost here?” 

Brian frowned, worried that he maybe hadn’t planned for every parameter.  “Why?  Is your father planning on going out somewhere tonight?”  He realized that just because that asshole boyfriend was apparently out of the picture – thankfully – that didn’t necessarily mean that he wouldn’t be sought after by someone else.  Just the idea made his stomach uneasy. 

To his relief, however, Katie told him, “No – not that I know of.  He didn’t mention any plans for later today, other than painting.  I got a look at what he was working on earlier, and it didn’t look like he’s gotten too far with it yet.  I think he’ll be in there for quite a while.  You know how he can be when he gets caught up in a project.”  In the short time she had been with her talented father, she had quickly realized that he could be quite focused on his work.   She had gotten glimpses of how single-minded he would become on his painting.  There had been some times when she hadn’t seen him for hours at a stretch, in fact, even though she knew precisely where he was.

“Yeah,” Brian told her softly.  “I know exactly how he can be.”  Memories of the past – when Justin would escape to his painting to either mask his true feelings, or more commonly, to express his anger or frustration over something that had occurred in his life came flooding back to him.  He recalled how violent and angry his ex-partner’s Rage sketches had become during that God-awful Pink Posse time, and how he had become so upset after the bashing when he couldn’t draw the traditional way; how he had immediately gravitated to his art after that horrible, horrible bombing, wanting to paint something, anything, to help forget about it.  He closed his eyes briefly as the pain washed over him again from just thinking about how close he had come to losing him for good during that time, as well as right after the prom.  In a way, he thought their current situation of being separated from each other wasn’t too far removed from death.  The biggest difference, though, was that this could be changed.  It didn’t have to be final and irrevocable, at least he hoped so.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Katie.  Just don’t give anything away in the meantime.” He smiled as he added teasingly, “Don’t act like your real self and shoot your mouth off too much or he WILL figure it out ahead of time.”

“Ha, ha,” Katie retorted.  “Very funny, Dad.  I know how to keep quiet when I need to.”   

He huffed lightly.  “I highly doubt that,” he remarked.  “I know you too well.  And speaking of which – that reminds me.”  He licked his lips a little nervously as he tried to ask as casually as possible, “I understand the little boyfriend is out of the picture now?”

Katie snorted.  “You mean Alex the Asshole?” 

Brian smiled.  “Yeah, I heard that’s his full name.”

Katie grinned.  “It fits – believe me.  But yeah, I’m happy to say that he’s no longer an issue.  You are free to come here and win Daddy back.”

“Katie…”

“Come on, Dad!” Katie pressed.  She lowered her voice as she glanced over at the door.  Even though she knew her father was several doors away in his studio and her sister’s bedroom door was firmly closed, she still didn’t want to take the chance that he could somehow overhear any of their conversation; there was too much riding on this.  “You know that’s what you want,” she insisted, not willing to accept any other alternative.

Brian sighed softly.  “Maybe…,” he conceded.  He took a deep breath and let it out.  “Okay, yeah, I would like to somehow find a way to get to make things right again.  To get him to trust me again.  And before you ask, Katherine Elizabeth, no, I’m not going into any more detail than that.  Maybe one day I will.  But not now; right now it’s not important.  What is important is that I get up there with Kaylee before this all blows up in both of your faces.”  He smiled.  “Something tells me your father won’t be too happy with what your grandmother pulled off.  But I think he will understand the reason why.” 

Kaylee nodded her agreement as Brian glanced over at her; he reached over to squeeze her hand lightly before releasing it.  “Just keep your father busy until we can get there.  Either Kaylee or I will send you a text just before we get to your apartment, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,” Katie told him, her pulse racing at the thought.  “Oh, and Dad?” 

“Yeah, Chiquitita?"

“I’ve enjoyed being with Daddy again…But I’ve still missed you – and the horses.”

Brian smiled.  “Well, I’m glad I came in ahead of Cerus and Eton,” he teased her.  “It’s okay,” he told his daughter as he heard her typical huff of protest on the other end.  “I knew what you meant.”  He paused for just a second before he added softly, “I’ve missed you too, Princess.  I’ll see you real soon, okay?” 

“Okay, Dad,” Katie said softly as suddenly a lump formed in her throat.  She had been so busy getting to know her other father that the realization that she had been apart from the other father that she loved so deeply had temporarily evaded her.  Now that she was hearing his voice again, though, she was finding herself unexpectedly feeling homesick.  Why did everything have to be so hard, though?  Why couldn’t they all be together again as a family instead of apart?  “I can’t wait to see you and Kaylee again.”

“We’ll be there soon,” he promised her tenderly, pausing for a moment before he added more softly, "I love you."  He still found that hard to say, even now.  “Bye.”

“I love you, too, Dad.  Bye,” Katie said as she softly closed Kaylee’s cell phone.  Placing it down next to her on the bed, she scooted over to the side of the mattress and, picking up Gus who had become her newest best friend and comfort, walked over with him to the window seat – her favorite place in the whole room.  Sitting down, she bent her legs as she pressed Gus against her chest and rested her chin on top of his frayed head.  Sighing anxiously, she gazed out the window at the street below, so different than her real home.

It had been so wonderful getting to know her other father again, and she loved him for all the wonderful qualities he had – his gentleness, his caring nature, his wonderful gift of creativity that she, too, had inherited from him; he had been everything that she had hoped he would turn out to be.  She loved getting to know where he lived and how he lived.  But she also longed for her familiar bedroom back at Britin and the wide open space that surrounded it.  She missed the freedom she always felt whenever she rode one of the horses over the nearby countryside and trotted up into the rolling, forested hills nearby, always marveling at how much cooler it was under the canopy of trees.  As she watched several cars passing by the window now, though, she silently prayed that the next time she rode one of her horses her other father and her sister would be by her and her father’s side, too.  “It has to work out,” she murmured softly.  “It just has to.”  She simply wouldn’t believe any other outcome was possible.

Same Time – Justin’s Studio

Justin slathered a thick stripe of dark red onto the unpainted canvas almost violently, his thoughts in a confused and roiling muddle as he relived what had happened last night with Alex.  He was still quite angry with him over his belief that he could simply overlook the fact that his daughter was so sick, but after seeing Kaylee earlier at breakfast, appearing so chipper and ‘normal,’ he was beginning to wonder if Alex may have been correct.  WAS it possible that his daughter had been pretending to be ill, just so he wouldn’t go to the awards dinner with him?  He had heard enough from her to know that she apparently didn’t care all that much for him; and she HAD informed him that Alex could be less than cordial around her when he wasn’t around.  HAD she made it all up?  But how could he explain the vomit in the toilet or the hot feel of her forehead, then?  He wasn’t so naïve as to not realize she could have somehow rigged the thermometer to indicate a nonexistent fever, he supposed, but if she HAD been faking, she had done a damned good job of it.  She had certainly APPEARED ill to him.

He sighed as he placed his brush down into a smudged, plastic cup nearby and picked up a smaller, narrower brush to place some navy paint onto the fabric in a cross-pattern counter to the dark red one.  He shook his head silently.  In a way, it really didn’t matter, because whether the illness had been real or imaginary, Alex’s reaction had spoken volumes about how he felt regarding Kaylee.  His true colors had definitely been revealed as she had said, and they showed a man who apparently had no love for children – at least not HIS child.  So in the long run did it really matter if Kaylee had been faking her illness or not?  At least not from THAT standpoint, but it DID bother him if she was being dishonest with him.  If there was one thing he hated, it was duplicity.  He had seen more than his share of that quality, and each time it had caused him nothing but heartache.  Noticing he had zoned out over thoughts of Brian again and realizing he was just standing there holding his quickly-drying paintbrush in his hand, he shook his head in disgust as he plopped it down in the water cup.  Wiping his hands off on his paint-spattered work smock, he turned and headed toward the door. 

Same Time – Kaylee’s Bedroom

Katie was sitting once more on the window seat after walking back over to the bed to retrieve her sketchbook hidden under the mattress; concentrating on her sketch she was currently working on of her, her sister, and her two fathers now gathered around Britin’s living room near a huge Christmas tree, she started almost violently as she heard a knock on the door.  She scrambled furiously to find a place to hide her sketchbook, finally electing to stash it behind the pillow currently supporting her back as she called out, “Come on in.”

Her father poked his head through the door as Katie smiled back at him in reaction.  He returned her smile as he opened the door wider and walked over to her side.  “Decided not to play on the computer after all?” he asked, noticing she didn’t have her I-pod with her, either.  His daughter had apparently been merely sitting at her window seat people watching instead. 

Katie nodded.  “Yeah,” she confirmed softly, her heart still thumping rather wildly in her chest from her close escape from detection; she would have been hard pressed to explain to her father how she had suddenly acquired such artistic talent.  “I wasn’t in the mood.”

Justin eyed her intently.  “You’re not starting to feel bad again, are you?”  Perhaps he had been wrong about his suspicion.

“No,” Katie hastily assured him, not sure if that was a good answer or not.  “I’m fine now.”

Justin nodded as he walked over and sat down next to her feet.  He lightly placed one of his hands on her ankle as he quietly began, “There’s something I want to talk to you about, Kaylee.” 

Uh, oh, Katie thought with slight apprehension.  “What?” she asked softly as she slowly lifted her gaze to stare into eyes that mirrored her own.  “Is something wrong?  I really am okay,” she added, hoping he was merely exhibiting parental concern for her supposed illness last night.

Justin gazed into her sapphire-blue eyes, noting a look of concern there – or was it guilt?  “No, not really something wrong per se,” he told her as he stared into her eyes and lightly caressed her ankle in a soothing-type motion.  “But it does have to do with last night.”

Katie licked her lips nervously as she replied barely above a whisper, “What about last night, Daddy?”

“Kaylee, I want the truth,” Justin told her, deliberately keeping his voice level and un-accusing.  “Were you really sick last night?  Or was it all a ruse done in hopes of putting a wedge between Alex and me?” 

Katie looked down at her lap momentarily, providing Justin with sufficient cause to believe he had hit the nail on the head.  He didn’t have to wait very long for confirmation as his daughter unexpectedly raised her gaze unflinchingly to look into his as she simply stated, “Maybe I did.” 

Justin stared at her agape.  The look on her face was almost…Defiant.  Even smug.  This was his daughter? The one who tried to avoid confrontation and controversy?  The same one, he thought silently, who had managed to entangle herself in yet another confrontation with her roommate at camp?  What exactly was happening here?  Was it a pre-teen, hormone-type thing or something else?  He mouth hung open as he finally managed to reply, “I suspected as much.  But I’m still surprised you would do that.”

“Daddy,” Katie told him, sounding almost like a parent speaking to a child.  “The man was a total asshole.”

“Kaylee, watch your language,” Justin told her sternly, flabbergasted.  His daughter might use the word ‘jerk’ or even ‘moron’ at times, but asshole?  He had never heard that caustic word come out of her lips before. 

“Well, he was,” she insisted, just getting warmed up.  “He treated me like shit as soon as you were out of the room, like I was lint on his coat or used bubblegum on the bottom of his shoe; I bet he couldn’t wait for me to go to camp, could he?  I’m sure he thought that was his big chance to make his move.  What a shame it didn’t work out that way,” she told him sarcastically, unable to help herself even though her father was staring at her in obvious shock.  She quickly closed her mouth then, hoping she hadn’t been too over-the-top.  As she looked over at her father, though, she wondered if she had finally revealed her true self. 

“I…I’m not sure what to say,” Justin stammered after a few seconds, working feverishly to concentrate on what she was telling him rather than the words she was using to say it with.  “I know you said you didn’t like him…But he really treated you that badly?”  As Katie nodded, partly in her own defense as well as her sister’s, Justin’s eyes filled with tears of regret and remorse.  He was no longer worried that his daughter had taken matters into her own hands to the extreme or that she was using such uncustomary language to express them; he was angry that his so-called boyfriend would do that to his child.  “You’re right,” he finally choked out, not necessarily approving of how his daughter had forced Alex’s true colors to rise to the surface, but thankful that she had succeeded. Instinctively he knew she was telling him the truth and it made him furious.  His eyes flashed with righteous fury.  “He really WAS an asshole then.” 

Katie laughed softly at his response; partly out of relief but also in amusement over her father’s statement.  “Yes, he was,” she said again.

One side of Justin’s mouth curled up as his daughter twisted her body to sit up beside him and he pulled her into his arms for a tight hug.  “I’m so sorry, Sweetheart,” he murmured against her hair.  “I’m so sorry he put you through that.  And I’m sorry that you didn’t feel comfortable telling me about it.  I wish you had; then maybe some of what he had done to you could have been avoided.” 

“So you don’t care that I just pretended that I was sick?” she asked as she wound her hands around her father’s back and held on tight.  He felt and smelled so wonderful, she couldn’t help thinking.  Like the outdoors after a spring rain and an orchard of oranges combined into one; like the softest, most comfortable blanket of warmth.  She sighed in pleasure as she snuggled deeper into his arms.

Justin closed his eyes and just relished in holding his daughter.  All these years, she had been his constant supporter and companion, through good times as well as bad, through his doubts and fears for the future.  She had been staunchly behind him, enthusiastically applauding his artistic efforts and his every decision, whether it was to remodel his brownstone so he could accommodate his studio, transfer her to a private school that was more in tune with his erratic schedule, or maintain a presence at the small art galleries in town rather than at the large, more impersonal ones.  No matter what he decided to do, she had been beside him, rooting him on.  And this time, she had done it again; she had managed to succeed in preventing what could have been a major mistake – marrying a man who was a hypocrite and, yes…a child-despising asshole. 

“Well, I don’t like it when you lie to me, Kaylee,” he whispered against her head.  “But I hate it even more when someone does something to hurt you.  And I love the idea that you wanted to protect me.”  He reluctantly pulled back enough to be able to look Katie in the eyes as he added, “But the next time, Kaylee Marie, you come to ME when someone treats you badly and you let ME take care of it.  You got that, young lady?”  The words were meant to be stern, but they certainly didn’t come out that way. 

Katie nodded as she reached up to kiss her father on the cheek.  “There will be someone come along who will treat you – and me – the way we deserve to be treated,” she whispered.  Yes…Hopefully VERY soon, she couldn’t help wishing. 

Justin smiled down at her.  “My little sentimental matchmaker,” he teased softly.  “Let’s not rush it, okay?  I want you to have plenty of time to interrogate them for me first.  Deal?”

Katie grinned up at him; God, she loved him so!  “Deal,” she said as Justin hugged her briefly once more before letting her go to stand up. 

“Good,” he told her.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some more painting to do.  I’ve woefully behind on my current commission.  No painting…No groceries,” he told her with a grin.

Katie nodded as she watched him turn and walk out of the room.  She sighed in relief as soon as he was out of earshot, knowing that had been another close one.  She was grateful she wouldn’t have to put up with the deception much longer.  Briefly considering sliding her sketchpad back out from its hiding place, she finally opted to leave it where it was and not risk detection before she flipped open her sister’s cell phone and sent a quick text:  Hurry up – can’t wait!  Daddy’s getting harder to fool.  Let me know when you get here – K. 

 Several seconds later she looked down as she heard the familiar chime; her heart hammered in her chest as she read: Will be there in about an hour – getting ready 2 leave airport now.  Don't worry. K

Katie’s eyes lit up with eager anticipation and a smile broke out on her face at the wondrous news.  Jumping off the window seat, she hurried over to the door and rushed down the hallway toward the downstairs, Dali and Picasso quickly leaping out the way as she hurried past them.  Soon…Very soon.

On board Kinnetik’s private jet – thirty minutes away from Chicago

Brian ran the palms of his hands up and down his thighs in a slow rubbing motion as he sat in the plane’s leather chair, getting more and more nervous the closer they came to Chicago – to Justin.  He had hoped for an opportunity to do this for so long – had dreamed about it from the moment Justin and Kaylee had left Pittsburgh.   It was on his mind constantly, in his dreams almost nightly, in everything he did, whether he was at work or at home with Katie.  He saw his ex-partner in every personal touch Justin had made at Britin – from the pots and pans hanging overhead from the copper carrousel, to every single one of Justin’s paintings that still hung on the walls of the home they had shared and in his own personal office at Kinnetik.  He felt his presence every time he went to the diner, on the occasions he had a need to stop at Woody’s to meet a client or to go to Babylon to check on business there.  He saw him and his daughter every Christmas in the twinkling, sparkling, wonder-struck eyes of every young blond girl, eyes aglow at the decorations that hung in the department stores, eyes the exact color of the daughter he hadn’t had the chance to see grow up, and in the slender arms of the girl’s father who held her so tenderly, just like Justin used to do with Kaylee. 

He had loved that first Christmas together with Justin and the girls. He had never been one to celebrate any holiday, seeing them as mere commercialized contrivances – but Christmas was the worst, because all the time he was growing up his family had treated it as more of a chore than a pleasure where he was concerned.  They would lavish his older sister Claire with gifts galore and shower her with attention Christmas morning while handing him a few perfunctory presents with the enthusiasm of a zookeeper picking up elephant dung at the zoo.  Invariably the gifts would wind up being something he totally detested anyway, such as a gaudy plaid sweater two sizes two big or binoculars, although that particular gift had come in handy later to spy on the hotter-looking neighborhood boys when he had gotten older and had come to grips with his sexuality.  He had a suspicion, though, that Jack Kinney had never intended for him to use them in quite that manner.

With Justin and their daughters, however, they had given a whole new meaning and purpose to celebrating the holidays.  Justin seemed to glow with happiness that first Christmas; his joy had rubbed off on even him as they had taken Kaylee and Katie to see Santa for the first time.  Katie had promptly crawled up into the surprisingly authentic, rounded belly of the mall Santa and proudly posed for a photo for Justin, while Kaylee has taken one look at his flowing beard and his big, chubby cheeks and had burst out crying in hysterics.  Later Brian couldn’t decide whether he liked the beaming photo of a laughing, giggly, fearless Katie more or the anguished, beet-red look of dismay on Kaylee’s face.  But the memory still remained a wonderful one, even to this day.

“What are you thinking about?” was the unexpected question as he realized he had a wistful smile on his face.  He turned to gaze across the plane’s interior at Kaylee, who had a curious look on her own face. 

He looked over at her tenderly, the memories of that day fading slowly away as he replied honestly, “I was thinking about the past.  About our first Christmas together with you and your sister.”  Our ONLY Christmas with you together, he thought sadly, the smile also disappearing at the sobering thought. 

Kaylee was disappointed that she couldn’t remember any of it.  “How was it?” she asked softly. 

Brian’s face broke out into another smile then.  “It was great,” he told her simply as she smiled back at him.  “One of the best days of my life.”  And he meant that, too; it HAD been.  Of course, every day with Justin and the girls back then had been wonderful; how could he have thrown that all away? 

“It can be like that again,” she said hopefully as if reading his mind. 

Brian held his hand out to her.  “Come here,” he entreated gently as she rose from her place and walked over to him.  She gripped his outstretched hand as she sat down next to him on the leather bench seat, curling her fingers around his much-larger hand as they twined them together.  She stared up at him with those big, expressive blue eyes as Brian’s heart went out to her.

“Kaylee…I would like for that to happen as much as you do,” he admitted to her honestly, realizing it was the truth.  “But please don’t get your hopes up too much; it’s been a long time, Honey.  There’s no guarantee your father won’t take one look at me and promptly tell me not to let the door hit my bony ass on the way back out.” 

Kaylee bit her lip pensively, unable to produce so much as a smile over his inaccurate comment – smaller than her other father’s butt?  Yeah – but definitely not bony.  “Was it that bad, Dad?  Was what you did that terrible?”   She couldn’t imagine anything her father could have done that would have been so bad that both of her fathers would wind up not speaking to each other for years and years – this man was too kind, too loving with her for her to ever think that.  But the cold, hard truth was that it had happened – he had broken some sort of promise to her other father that had been so bad that years of separation had resulted from it.  That was the reality.  Now the question was…How do they fix it?  Or CAN they fix it?  To her there could be no other answer.  It was written in her normally confident father’s anxious eyes and in the emotional timbre of his voice.  He still loved her other father, and her Daddy still loved him, even after all these years; that was proof enough that it would work out, no matter WHAT had happened.

“To your father it was,” he answered her as he looked away, unable to keep from focusing on the memory of that fateful day when he had thrown everything they had worked so hard for away in exchange for one fleeting moment of sexual satisfaction.  And the ironic part of it all?  It hadn’t been that good. It NEVER could have been as good as he had had it with Justin.  Stupid…Stupid.  The words echoed in his ears back then and they continued to this day.  He felt a slight squeeze of his hand as he turned to look over at his daughter’s sympathetic face.  Would he ever see that same look on Justin’s face as well?  Would he ever see anything but the pain, sorrow, and disappointment he had seen there that day? 

“Well, I’m not letting you or Katie leave that brownstone before you and Daddy settle whatever happened between you,” she told him firmly.  “You both still love each other; that can overcome anything, no matter WHAT it was.” 

Brian smiled at her tenderly.  “I hope so, Kaylee.  I hope so.”  As he pulled her against his side and laid his head against hers, he closed his eyes and hoped it would, indeed, be true. 

Thirty Minutes Later – Outside Justin’s Brownstone

Brian glanced up curiously at the rather narrow, brown brick building that Kaylee had instructed the cab driver to slow down in front of.  It was three stories tall with identical doors on both sides and a green-and-white awning hanging over each entrance.  Two rectangular plates in black with gold letters spelled out the building’s address:  1402 and 1404 respectively.  He eyed the façade intently, trying somehow to ascertain which side held his ex-partner’s whereabouts.  Eventually his scrutiny gazed upward to the left side and he had to smile in realization; perched in front of the widest and tallest window located on the top floor and bare of any curtains was the unmistakable profile of a large artist’s easel.  That told him all he needed to know. 

Reaching inside his wallet and retrieving enough bills for cab fare and a tip, he slid over to join Kaylee by the side of the taxi as the cabdriver emerged to retrieve their luggage.  A few minutes later, both of them were standing at the sidewalk, bags in hand as they quietly walked up the short cement path that led to the entrance on the left - # 1404.  Brian silently wondered where Justin was inside; the closer they came to the front door, the more his heart began to pound in proportion.  What would be Justin’s reaction?  What would he look like?  Would he still be as slender as he remembered?  Would his hair be short and cropped or long and silky?  Would he look at him in disdain and anger even now?   Kaylee had assured him that Justin was still in love with him.  He held onto that hope as they approached the solid, wooden door.  The enormity of this moment came to him as he whispered, “You did text her to come to the door?”

Kaylee nodded.  “She said this was a good time; Daddy’s in the kitchen fixing some lunch – that’s at the back of the house.  She promised to keep him there until we could arrive.”

Brian nodded in understanding; Kaylee had texted Katie about ten minutes ago as they neared the off-ramp for their neighborhood, alerting her they were getting closer and to be ready for them when they got there.  What the plan would be from there, however, was very much up in the air.  It all depended upon on one thing – or should he say one man – Justin. 

He held his breath as the door slowly opened and he saw his other daughter peering out between the partially-opened crack.  Katie’s face broke out into an excited, delighted smile at the sight of them as she quickly opened the door wider and came outside, shutting the door back softly behind her.  She immediately swept her sister up into a firm hug as they celebrated being reunited once more. 

“I’m so glad to see you, Kaylee!” Katie gushed out; she had to say it quietly, though, not wanting to spoil the big surprise.  They hugged for several seconds until finally they heard their father clear his throat from behind.

“What about me?  You go off to Chicago for a few days and forget what I look like already?” he teased.

Katie rushed into his open arms as he kissed the top of her head and stroked her back lovingly.  “Dad,” he heard his daughter whisper against him, and his heart swelled at the thought of finally having both daughters with him again.  He refused to consider just how long it would last, though, not wanting to dwell on that.  There was something much more urgent that had to be done first. “Where’s the little housewife?” he asked Katie as they finally pulled back from their embrace.  “Still puttering around in the kitchen?”

She nodded as she giggled at her father’s statement; somehow she didn’t think her father would appreciate being called that, but she also had a feeling that at least in the past this man would have been the only one who could have gotten away with using it.  “Yeah,” she confirmed with a grin.  “Kaylee suggested that I ask him to make his chicken enchiladas; she told me it takes him a while to make it and it would give us the time we needed.”

Brian quirked one side of his mouth up, impressed, as he gazed over at Kaylee.  “Good thinking,” he told her as she grinned back at him.  “He always did get caught up in his cooking – in more ways than one,” he added, remembering how his kitchen at the loft tended to resemble a disaster area by the time Justin had finished with his latest ‘cooking masterpiece.’  He had transferred that unfortunate talent over to Britin, too, once they had moved there; it was nothing to see an entire armada of pots and pans, bowls, measuring spoons and various other, unidentifiable utensils strewn all over the massive, professional-sized gourmet kitchen.  At least Justin no longer threw salad all over the floor like he had that one time, though.  His cooking was still much too ‘enthusiastic’ for HIS taste, but at least it had improved in quality over the years. 

“Well, let’s get this show on the road,” Brian told them, returning to the present as Kaylee and Katie nodded.  “Katie – you go in first and check things out for us.”  Now that he was so close to seeing Justin again, he was beginning to feel like a fucking schoolgirl or something; his hands were sweaty and his stomach was tied up in knots.  He wasn’t going to let Justin see that, though, as he watched his daughter quietly open the door back up and slip inside to do a little scouting for them.  A few seconds later, she opened the door back up and gestured urgently with her hand for them to follow her.

Walking inside with Kaylee, Brian at last had a chance to see the place his ex-partner called home; it was decorated profusely with several samples of Justin’s artwork, which he recognized immediately – everything from small, 12” pieces scattered on the living room walls to a large, imposing, purple and dark red painting hanging over the mantel of the wood-burning fireplace in the center of the room.  What occurred to him quickly, however, was the somberness of the pieces – none of them had the characteristic tones of happiness or lightness that Brian had seen in some of Justin’s earlier works, or the tender, candid sketches he had loved to draw.  These works all seemed angry and frenetic, almost disillusioned – much like he supposed Justin must have felt after they had broken up.  Broken up because of what HE had done…

He swallowed a hard lump of regret in his throat as he studied the rest of the layout.  A hallway led down the center of the room, presumably toward the rear kitchen where Kaylee had indicated Justin was located.  To either side of the living room, which was open to the second floor and provided a sense of spaciousness despite its relative narrowness, were two short hallways that apparently led to other rooms or perhaps a rear garage, since out front there had only been on-street parking available.  Various knick-knacks, along with sleek, curved sculptures and clear, crystal bud vases holding glass flowers, were resting on shelves and side tables next to a butterscotch-colored leather couch.  Books of all sizes, some hardback and some paperwork, rested vicariously on several bookshelves located along two of the far walls, some standing up while others were lying flat. 

The most dramatic object in the room, however, was a large baby grand piano resting in a small alcove in a corner of the room.  He noticed several framed photos propped up on top of it and couldn’t resist sauntering over to take a peek. 

From their place nearby, the two girls watched their father’s movements intently, Katie keeping an astute ear out for any sign that their other father might walk in unannounced.  Brian walked over and stopped in front of a series of photos depicting Kaylee as a child.  In the photos, taken at various stages in her preschool years, his daughter seemed happy and well-adjusted enough. He couldn’t help picking up one 5X7 photo, apparently taken on Kaylee’s second birthday – the first birthday after he and Justin had broken up.  She was seated in front of a pink and white cake shaped like a Cinderella’s castle complete with turrets and sparkling jewels framing the windows.  It was surrounded by a blue icing moat with a round-shaped, filigree-gold carriage resting in front of the massive, imposing, stone double doors.  Two candles were perched on top, one attached to each turret.  Whoever the photographer was had captured Kaylee wonderfully as she had attempted to blow out the candles; her cherubic, rosy cheeks were rounded into an “O” shape as she blew out a huff of breath.  Several other children who appeared to be around her age were grouped around her, watching the activity avidly.  Justin was standing right beside her, bent over with his hands on her shoulders lovingly as he tried to help her blow out the candles.  She was dressed in a pink, sleeveless, corduroy jumper and a white, short-sleeved, puffy-collared shirt with pink, sparkly barrettes in her hair, and looked positively adorable.

He carefully placed the photo down as he studied the others, depicting Kaylee through the past decade:  Visiting Santa, posing for apparent school photos with the typical fake tree or water in the background, eating a meal with Jennifer at some restaurant, hugging one of her cats, sitting proudly on what looked to be her first bike with training wheels.  There were other photos of her cheerleading dressed in her school’s colors, as well as several with Justin that seemed to indicate they were hiking – both were wearing khaki shorts and polo shirts and had a backpack strewn around their back, water bottles in their hands while they were standing shoulder to shoulder in front of some mountainous backdrop. 

As he slowly inched his way down the line of photos, he came at last to one at the far end of the piano and his heart stopped.  It was immediately identifiable to him as a photo taken at Debbie and Carl’s wedding approximately six months before the girls had been born.  In the picture, he and Justin, both dressed in navy-blue Armani suits, were dancing at their friends’ reception, their bodies melded together intimately as they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes and slowly swayed to the music.  The looks on their faces mirrored each other’s – they looked totally in love, deeply in love.  And they had been.  It had been less than two years later that he had committed the ultimate betrayal and Justin had broken things off with him.  He sucked in a sorrowful breath at the thought even now.  To him, things hadn’t changed.  He still felt the same way about Justin, perhaps even more so despite their separation.  The only question was whether or not he could do anything to rectify his mistake now. 

Katie shot her sister a knowing look as they noticed their father’s fingers slowly sweeping over Justin’s part of the photo in the frame.  They didn’t have to voice what they were both thinking; this situation had to be fixed before any more time slipped away.  Lost in thought, she started as she heard her father’s voice filtering through from the kitchen.

“Kaylee?  Lunch is almost ready,” Justin called out.  “Go wash up, okay?” 

At the sound of Justin’s voice after so many years, Brian’s heart raced.  God, it sounds so wonderful to hear him speak again.  He would recognize Justin’s voice anywhere.  But until now, until he had heard it again, he hadn’t realized just how much he had missed hearing it. 

He hastily placed the photo back down on top of the piano as he glanced over at his daughters and placed a finger against his lips in a silent gesture for them to be quiet.  They both nodded their understanding, unable to keep the grins off their faces as Brian walked back over to join them near the front door.  Placing a hand on Katie’s shoulder, he leaned down and whispered something in her ear as she nodded and walked over to stand behind the piano, just out of sight from anyone coming from the rear of the brownstone.  As Brian hoped, a few seconds later he heard Justin’s voice once more calling out from the kitchen. 

“Kaylee?  Did you hear me?”  Justin sighed in exasperation when he received no response again.  Where was she?  A few minutes ago, she had been downstairs in the living room, curled up in one of their leather overstuffed chairs, playing a video game displayed on the television.  She could run off faster than anyone he had ever met, though, he decided, as he wiped his hands on a nearby kitchen towel and, placing it on the counter, decided he’d have to go find her apparently before their lunch got cold.  “Kaylee?” he called out again a little more loudly this time as he began to walk out of the kitchen and down the short hallway connecting the back of the apartment from the front.  “Are you still down..?” 

He never got to finish his sentence as he emerged out into the living room; the question promptly died on his lips as he spotted the hauntingly familiar man standing by the front door next to his daughter, his arm placed companionably on her shoulder.  His heart pounded against his chest in surprise, the adrenalin racing through his veins as he locked gazes with Brian.  Was his ex-partner, the man he had never stopped loving and had preoccupied his dreams nightly, really standing here in front of him?  If it was a vision, however, it was the most amazing one he had ever seen.  He was unable to look away from the magnificent man standing before him, because time had definitely been good to his ex-partner.  Brian’s tall frame, still trim and toned, was clad in a black leather jacket, form-fitting back cotton shirt, and a pair of dark-blue jeans that hugged his long, lean legs.  He was wearing a pair of black leather boots and an enigmatic expression on his face as he stared intently over at him, making his body flush in reaction just like it always had. 

Brian’s pulse raced as his heart fluttered in his chest at the first sign of his ex-lover.  His immediate thought was how beautiful he still was.  He was still slender with the wonderfully pale skin that he had caressed and worshipped more times than he could ever count, but underneath the long-sleeved, sage green tee shirt and the snug blue jeans he was wearing he could see just the hint of more muscle definition there now.  He was thrilled to see that Justin’s silky, golden hair was still on the long side, the bangs falling gently into the azure-blue eyes that were staring back at him, wide-eyed and shocked, into his own.  At that moment, Brian found himself falling deeply into love all over again as he drunk in the sight of his ex-partner and re-memorized every inch of him. 

Justin’s mouth fell open in astonishment.  He tried furiously to get his voice to work but he was failing miserably; no sound came forward.  This was the last thing he expected to see, the last person he ever expected to see.  As he stood there agape, his body trembled in response and all the years seemed to melt away to a time so long ago.  The fingernails of his clenched hands deliberately dug into the flesh of his palms as he tried to create physical pain to convince himself that this was real, this wasn’t a dream, as he stood there frozen to his spot unable to move.

He soon discovered that his attempt to try and speak was unnecessary as the voice he had longed to hear again spoke to him at last, washing away any residual doubts from his mind that he was merely imagining everything.

Brian’s lips slowly drew up into their old, familiar smirk as he greeted his ex-partner with the name Justin hadn’t heard in years.  “Hello, Sunshine,” he drawled softly.  “I believe I have something that belongs to you.”