Last Chapter....

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."

From her place next to her father, Kaylee's eyes widened in surprise at the pet name for her biological father that had slipped so readily from her Dad's lips.  She stole a glance over at Katie, noticing the same sort of reaction on her face.  Sunshine?  She mouthed over to her covertly as Katie shrugged in response.  Kaylee had never heard her father called that before, but she found it quite interesting.  VERY interesting, in fact, she noted as her father's face reddened in reaction.  She resolved to discover later how her father had come by that unexpected nickname; for now, though, she was too swept up in the drama unfolding in front of her and her sister's eyes to delve into it any further as their two fathers locked gazes on each other for the first time in years.

Justin's heart fluttered at the sound of the velvety, sexy voice he thought he might never hear again.  Even with their separation, Brian had managed to occupy his every dream for the past several years without fail, had constantly lingered like some echo quietly in his mind, and, yes, had still held a piece of his heart - even now, despite what had happened.  Up until now, he had managed to file that truth away safely somewhere in a place that was muffled and hidden; a place tucked away that was immune from the fresh, raw pain now beginning to pour through him. 

Amazingly, as he gaped at Brian his daughter just stood there next to his ex-partner as if it were the most natural thing in the world despite not seeing him in years.  His mind whirled at the absurdity of it all.  Just what in the hell was going on?  How long had Brian been here?  Had Kaylee just opened the door and let him slip in, just like that?  And what exactly did Brian mean - he ‘had something that belonged to him?'  It had been YEARS since Brian had seen Kaylee; why would he think she belonged to HIM, then?  His breath came out in ragged, shallow pants as he tried to digest what exactly was going on, his face undoubtedly reflecting his confusion as he tried to make some sense out of this mindboggling situation.

"Kaylee..." he stammered, finally finding his voice; it was difficult to speak clearly, however, with the way that Brian's eyes were boring into his at the moment.  How did he still make him feel like some fucking seventeen-year-old virgin again, even now?  For just a moment, he felt almost younger than Kaylee was.

Just then, he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye, and when he looked toward the piano his heart almost stopped as the whole scene became even MORE bizarre - there wasn't one daughter in the room; there were two.  Two daughters that except for the different clothing they were wearing looked exactly alike... 

As his eyes darted back to the daughter standing next to Brian, she beamed at him with a smile to rival one of his own as she chirped out brightly, "Hi, Daddy!" in a perfect imitation of the same greeting he had received before at breakfast and then he became even more confused; this girl sounded and acted just like Kaylee, but she wasn't wearing the same clothing as before - the one next to the piano was.

Shaking his head as if that might help to clear things up, he realized to his consternation that Brian remained stonily silent; apparently he wasn't going to help him with this conundrum at all.  Sighing, he turned back to look at his daughter standing next to his ex-partner, her arm draped congenially around Brian's waist.  "Kaylee?" he repeated tentatively as he looked at her, this time the name coming out as more of a question than a statement.  His eyes bounced back and forth between both daughters again until finally one of them - the one standing next to Brian - nodded in affirmation, even though his sense of rationality had already given him what he knew the answer would be.

Justin gulped in shock; THIS was Kaylee?  Not Katie?  THIS was the daughter he normally lived with?  Her voice was the same, her face was the same, even both girls' haircuts were the same.  Her clothing appeared to be a little more conservative than she would normally wear, though - too plain-looking.  The other daughter standing next to the piano, however, was wearing the exact same outfit that Kaylee had been wearing earlier at breakfast - a pink, short-sleeved polo shirt and a pair of pink and lime-green striped khakis; but by now it was obvious that this girl he had been living with for the past several days wasn't Kaylee at all; it was Katie.  He mouth hung open in disbelief; despite the incontrovertible truth staring him in the face, his mind still refused to register what he was seeing.

His head felt like it would implode with all sorts of questions as suddenly Picasso and Dali came rushing into the room and made a beeline straight toward Brian and his daughter, both cats meowing loudly for attention; he recognized it as their normal excited reaction to something they eagerly anticipated, whether it was feeding time, receiving a new toy...OR greeting Kaylee when she came home from being gone.  His daughter's face broke out into a delighted smile and he noticed tears in her eyes as she knelt down without hesitation to scoop both cats up into her arms, just like she always did whenever she found them waiting at the door for her.

"There're my silly kitties!" she squealed at them in excitement, a delighted smile on her face; it was her favorite endearment for her cats.  "I've missed you SO much!" she told them as she nuzzled each cat against one cheek at the same time; both cats immediately began to purr in pleasure as she cooed to them softly. 

Justin heard his other daughter - the one next to the piano - snort as he turned to look at her, even though his eyes kept straying over at Brian; he still was having a hard time accepting that he was in the room with all of them and it was making him quite nervous.  Is this really happening?

"No taste," he heard the daughter mutter in disgust.  "They didn't like me at ALL," she informed her sister in indignation.  "We look exactly alike," she countered.  "Why in the world wouldn't they like me, then?" she asked.  Katie was still insulted by that fact, even now; the whole thing was totally illogical to her.

Kaylee shrugged.  "You must smell or sound differently," she maintained.  "Cats are very sensitive."

"Cats are very weird," Katie responded dryly.  "I sound just LIKE you.  I LOOK just like you; what's the difference?  Thanks, but no thanks; I'll take my horses any day."

"Well, your horses are scary," Kaylee informed her sister promptly, her eyes flashing.  "Their eyes are as big as my head; how in the world do you ever get up on their backs to ride them?  They're huge."

It was as if the two men weren't in the room as their daughters continued to carry on a lengthy discussion between themselves about the merits of one animal over the other until Justin finally held up his hands to get their attention.  He had no doubt now which daughter was which; he had quickly figured that out the moment that Kaylee had scooped both cats up and they had reacted to her so positively.  His mind flashed back to the past several days and everything suddenly made perfect sense:  his daughter's change in clothing and food tastes, his daughter's radically-new hairdo, the cats' odd, reticent behavior toward her - their hesitation over being anywhere near her - and his daughter's sudden wish to go running early in the morning instead of sleeping in.  The switch must have happened somehow at the camp, because everything seemed to subtly change when he had gone to retrieve her there.  Even her reaction at seeing him had been overly emotional, even for his tenderhearted daughter; only now did he realize the reason why.

"I don't understand any of this," he interrupted them as he peered over at Brian and addressed him directly for the first time.  "How did they wind up even knowing about each other..?" 

"I think you can thank Mother Taylor for this awkward little reunion," Brian replied dryly, unable to take his eyes off Justin; he couldn't help fixating on his silky voice, the flow of his hair as he moved his head, his eyes that seemed to pierce straight through to his soul, and the movement of those wonderfully full lips that he remembered as being so soft and warm when they kissed.  Say my name, Justin...Please say my name, he silently pleaded as Justin spoke, wanting desperately to hear it again.  It had been so long...so fucking long...He just stood there and drunk in the sight of this man that he had loved - and still loved - like no other.

"My mother?" Justin replied, his brow furrowing in puzzlement.  His mind drifted back to how his mother had prodded and encouraged him so strongly to enroll Kaylee at Camp Pineland.  It'll be a new experience for her; it will open up her horizons and give her more self-confidence.  You'll be doing her a big favor.  Only now did he realize just what she had meant by that, because apparently he wasn't the only one who had received the same suggestion.  "Shit," he murmured as all the pieces fell into place.

Brian smirked as he realized Justin had finally put two and two together; raising his fingers to pretend he was shooting off an imaginary gun at Justin, he replied, "Bingo.   Your well-intentioned mother came to me a few weeks before camp started with a brochure, telling me that it would be a wonderful experience for Katie to go to the same camp where she had sent you when you were young.  Only at the time she neglected to mention that she was recommending that Kaylee go there, too.  Jennifer can be quite persuasive, you know." 

Justin sighed.  "I'm going to kill my mother," he muttered softly as everything made perfect sense now.  "She encouraged me to send Kaylee there on purpose," he said, rolling his eyes upward in irritation.  "Damn it."   He sighed in aggravation; he and his mother were going to have a talk soon about parental interference, but for now he had more urgent matters to worry about.   He turned his gaze to the daughter that he now knew was Katie who was awkwardly standing near the piano and all of a sudden it hit him.  This was Katie; this was the daughter he had dreamed about seeing again for such a long time, the daughter whose childhood he had experienced only through anecdotes and photos from his mother, the daughter he had never stopped loving and had regretted letting go so long ago. 

He slowly approached her, noticing Katie eyeing him nervously now; their previous easy camaraderie of earlier seemed to have disappeared.  "Katie," he murmured as he walked up to her and placed his hands on her cheeks to look into her eyes.  He smiled tenderly at her as he whispered, "All this time, Sweetheart?  All this time it was you?" 

Katie nodded through sudden tears as her father leaned in to nuzzle her cheek gently and his arms wound around her slim little body.  He swallowed hard as his own eyes filled with tears - tears of remorse and guilt.  None of this had been either girl's doing; they had been made to suffer and stay apart through no fault of their own.  As he relished in holding his daughter, he realized at that moment how utterly inane his and Brian's agreement with the judge had been.  Despite the great pain that Brian had caused him back then - the pain and betrayal he STILL felt even to this day - he never would have been able to deny him from seeing either of their daughters, because he knew that Brian loved them just as deeply as he did.  Why, then, had both of them decided it was best to separate their girls and have then grow up apart just because an uncompassionate judge had decreed that it was for the best?  He huffed out a soft breath of disgust.  How mature.  He knew now what a huge mistake that had been as his heart ached with regret for both of his daughters.  Why was it that children were always the ones that caused the adults to see things in their true light and that they always seemed to be the ones to suffer the most?

"Honey," he said softly as he pulled back to look into her eyes that were so much like his own.  "I'm so sorry that you had to grow up not knowing about your sister.  I realized now that that was a big mistake.  I want you to know that I am SO happy to see you again at last; SO very happy.  I don't regret that at all."  He knew it was important to make both girls aware that no matter what happened, they were not at fault and he was not sorry that they had met.  In fact, he was secretly ecstatic about it.

Katie blinked as she stared at her father and the tears began to trickle down her pale cheeks; Justin reached out and gently brushed the tears away as she let out a hiccup.  "So am I, Daddy," she told him, her eyelashes wet as her eyes shone.   "It's been so wonderful to be with you again."  She sniffled a little as she told him, "I like to draw, you know...Just like you."

Justin smiled warmly at her as he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.  "Yes, I know.  Your Grandma Jen showed me some of your work.  I think it's great."

Katie sniffled as she smiled up at him in surprised delight.  "You do?"

Justin nodded as his hands lovingly stroked her slender shoulders.  "Yes, I do.  It's nice to have another artist in the family; Kaylee can't draw worth a hoot."

"Daddy!" Kaylee protested from across the room in exasperation as Justin laughed at the predictable response; Brian thought Justin's laughter was one of the most wonderful sounds he had heard in a long time.  "Well, it's true," he told her as he looked over at her and grinned.  He turned back to look at Katie as a sudden idea occurred to him. "We'll just have to paint something together, then, won't we?  Would you like that?"

Katie's tear-stained face broke out into a wide, beaming smile of delight as she nodded excitedly and Brian's heart skipped a beat at the tender father-daughter exchange.  He hadn't really understood just how important it was for Katie to get to know Justin again until just this moment; seeing the two of them back together felt right - it felt complete, like the missing two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle had been located and put back into their rightful place.  The two of them were so alike in so many ways, he knew now how terribly wrong it had been to keep them apart from each other.  Both girls needed their fathers - both of them.  And no matter what occurred between him and Justin, he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that happened - the judge be damned.  It wasn't as if they could take this discovery away from them now anyway, not since they knew about each other; nor would he want to.  The judge would just have to accept it, that's all.  As he watched Katie smile back at Justin in adoration and get swept up into a fierce hug, his heart melted as his eyes met Justin's from across the room and he knew at that moment that both of them were thinking the same exact thing. 

Justin's heart clenched as he looked over at Brian; his ex-lover's face was a mixture of emotions as their eyes locked, but what exactly did he see there?  Sadness, regret, relief...Perhaps love still?  A long time ago he could have read Brian's emotions quite easily; to him the man had never really been that much of an enigma anyway when it came to what he was feeling, and it had become even less so by the time they had parted ways.  Brian had become even more comfortable at verbalizing his feelings to Justin once Kaylee and Katie had entered the picture; it was as if the birth of their daughters had caused him to relax his borders, to let down his guard even more.  Even now he could remember the amazing, open look of joy on Brian's face as he had looked at their two daughters for the first time in the hospital, and the gentle, almost reverent way he had picked each daughter up to cuddle them to his chest and softly coo to them, his face a picture of contentment and wonder.  What had happened to make it all go so horribly wrong, then?  With his own thoughts in a jumble and his emotions in turmoil at the moment, though, he couldn't even be sure of his OWN feelings, let alone Brian's. 

No longer able to bear looking into Brian's eyes any longer, he tried hard to concentrate on his daughter instead as he closed his eyes and held Katie tightly to his chest; he memorized the way her arms felt around his back as she snuggled against him, the way her hair smelled as he nestled her head under his chin, and the soft sighs of longing and contentment that escaped from her lips.  Or were they from his, instead?  He only knew as he held her how much he had missed this; how much he had missed her.

Finally, they broke slightly apart as Katie smiled up at her beautiful, kindhearted father.  He was very different from her other father in physical appearance and his talents lay in different areas than his, but she decided they weren't so different after all.  They both loved her and Kaylee equally, and she felt the same way about them.  "I have my sketchbook upstairs," she offered shyly, finding the idea of fulfilling one of her most heartfelt wishes actually within reach now.

Justin smiled, his hands lightly linked around her back.  "You do, do you?"  Katie nodded as he advised her, "Sounds just like ME; I can't go anywhere without a sketchbook, either, just in case I see something I want to draw."  He couldn't help looking over at Brian as he murmured, "You never know where you'll get your inspiration."  He had long ago lost track of just how many times he had sketched and painted his ex-partner; by now it must be at least in the hundreds, if not thousands.  Noticing Brian observing him, he quickly averted his eyes, feeling he was giving too much away.    

He sighed as he reluctantly released her, turning now to address his other somewhat recalcitrant daughter who was still standing by Brian's side near the door.  "As for you," he chided her softly.  "Now I understand why you agreed to have your hair cut - only now I realize it wasn't really YOU I was talking to about it."  He shook his head in disbelief as Kaylee placed Picasso and Dali down on the floor.  "I still can't believe you agreed to do that; you loved wearing your hair long."

He heard Brian snort softly from next to her as he added, "That's for sure; when you were a baby, you wailed the first time we tried to trim it; the way you carried on, you would have thought we were going to give you a buzz cut.  You never would let us do anything but cut an inch or two off the ends, but you sure loved having pretty barettes in your hair, though.  We always had to have those handy for bribes."  He looked over at Justin, who nodded with a wistful sort of smile; his eyes seemed unfocused as if he were reliving some of the same memories that he was.  They were simple times back then about insignificant, everyday events, but they were very happy times, too.

Kaylee looked from one father to the other, noticing the intense stares both were giving each other before she explained, "I had a really good reason this time - and it looks like it might have worked."

The hopeful way that his daughter was looking at him made Justin's heart ache; he had a good idea what she was hoping - what both their daughters were hoping - would be accomplished by this stunt, and he knew he had to nip that in the bud right now.  He wanted badly to walk over to Kaylee, take her in his arms and gently tell her that nothing had really changed between him and Brian, but he found that he couldn't bear the thought of being too physically close to his ex-partner; one look at him for the first time in so long and he knew he didn't dare come any closer to him.  Brian was almost like some irresistible magnet and he just couldn't risk getting swept back up into his pull again.  So he chose instead to remain safely rooted near Katie as he softly told his other daughter, "Kaylee...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy that you and Katie finally know about each other, even though your Grandma Jen went about it the wrong way.  But that doesn't change anything else, Sweetheart."  He kept his gaze on his daughter, forcing himself not to move his focus anywhere else.  It was too dangerous, too risky...

"But..."

"No, Kaylee," he told her more firmly, his voice rising slightly.  "Nothing else is different; you live here and your sister and father live in West Virginia.  That is not going to change."  Justin let out a tense breath at the sorrowful, disappointed look on his daughter's face.  He knew that look by now, and he knew she was devastated inside; he always hated to see his little girl hurting and he knew this must be a major disappointment to her. 

"But, Daddy..."

Justin sighed as Katie chimed in now.  It was bad enough having one daughter pleading her case; now he had to contend with two? 

"That's not fair, Daddy!" she cried out.  "I...I know how you feel about Dad," she told him bravely, her voice breaking slightly with emotion.  She looked over at Brian to add, "How you both feel!  Why can't you work things out, then?"

"Katie..."

Despite his own silent wish to do just that, Brian still felt a need to defend his ex-partner.  He knew that Justin would never do anything intentionally to hurt either of his daughters.  "Katie, Kaylee, we talked about this," he pointed out.  "And I told you things aren't that simple in life."  He gazed over at Justin as he couldn't help thinking, If only they were...

He let out a breath and paused before he added truthfully, "I did tell Kaylee that I wanted to keep in contact with her now, Justin.  I don't want to go back to the way things were before...With her, I mean."  He squared his shoulders, prepared to do battle if necessary as he told his ex-lover, "I've missed enough of my daughter growing up; I want to be a part of her life again...and I'm sure that Katie wants the same with you."

Justin nodded; that was what he wanted, too, although it wasn't quite that simple.  There were legal ramifications to what had happened, although both he and Brian couldn't be blamed for this mix-up.  He had to admit - he was still angry with his mother for her interference, but at the same time he was secretly thrilled, too, that at last he had a chance to be back in Katie's life again.  Ever since the separation, he had felt this hole in his heart for the daughter he couldn't see or interact with; now that he had both girls back in his life one part of his heart felt complete again; the other part - the one that had been broken when Brian hurt him - was still in disrepair and was likely to remain that way. 

"Daddy?" Katie called out to him in concern, breaking his reverie.

Justin turned to place his hands on her face as he told her softly, "You know that's what I want to, Honey.  But I can't lie to you; that doesn't mean we can all live together like some big, happy family.  Too much has happened for that.  But you and I can still see each other all the time."  He leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead before he let her go, noting with dismay the look of sadness on her face.

"But it won't be the same, Daddy," she persisted as she sniffled.  "How can we see each other all the time if you live in one state and we live in another?  And how can Kaylee and I grow up together that way?"

"She's right, Daddy," Kaylee chimed in to back up her sister.  "We've missed out on being sisters for so long; how can you keep us apart now?" 

"Girls, that's not fair," Brian scolded them gently from his place across the room.  "Lots of families have to deal with separations like this and they find a way to work things out.  Katie, you know we can fly up here anytime you want with the jet.  And you'll be able to talk and text on the phone and Skype.  And I'm sure your Grandma Jen will be thrilled to have both of you stay with her as much as possible."

Kaylee's lip curled under into a distinctive pout as she applied the emotional screws.  "It's still not the same; we haven't seen each other in years!  Why can't you both be adults and just figure out a way to make things right?"

Justin's eyes flashed; how many times did they have to go through this?  "Kaylee, that's enough," he scolded her, his voice hard.  "I told you - I have no objection to you and your sister seeing each other on a frequent basis now; your father and I will find a way to work it out with the courts.  But that has nothing to do with your father's and my relationship.  That is two different issues; end of discussion." 

Brian's arm quietly tightened around Kaylee's shoulder as he gave it a comforting squeeze.  "Don't worry, Princess," he murmured to her, "I'll make sure we talk and see each other a lot, you'll see." 

Justin swallowed hard as he watched both daughters' faces cloud over in sadness; this was so damned difficult to endure.  He never could stand for his daughters to be hurting and this was about the worst form of pain he could think of - for both him AND his daughters.  This was the only solution, though; as bad as he felt at the moment, he couldn't dare let Brian creep back into his heart again.  "Your father's right, Kaylee.  We'll both make sure that happens." 

"But you and Dad..."

"No," he told Kaylee quietly as he shook his head firmly.  "That won't change."  He took a deep breath, knowing he and Brian had to talk about their daughters, but finding the prospect of being alone with his ex-partner almost too overwhelming; all Brian had to do was look at him like he was doing right now and it was all he could do to merely breathe.  It had to be done, though.  "Kaylee, why you don't you take Katie up to your room for a while?"  He dared now to look at his ex-partner in the eyes as he added softly, "Your father and I need to discuss some things."

Katie finally moved from her spot near the piano to walk over to Brian and Kaylee, giving her father a look that clearly told him she was still hopeful that something promising would come out of their ‘talk.'  Brian took a moment to give her a quick but tender hug and kiss her on the cheek before he drew back and whispered, "Go on, Princess.  It'll be okay."  She nodded, unconvinced, her eyes wide and wet with tears and her shoulders drooping as she took her sister's hand and together they slowly walked out of the room toward the hallway leading to the stairs.

Justin watched them go, making sure that they were, indeed, doing as he requested before he let out a ragged breath and brushed his hair back with his right hand to face his ex-lover.  Now that he and Brian were finally alone, he found he wasn't sure how to start.  What should he say?  How do you begin a conversation with a man who had been out of your life physically for years, but had never disappeared from your life emotionally? 

He was spared having to speak first as Brian began instead.  "This is awkward," he told Justin in a major understatement.  "I had nothing to do with this, you know."

"I know," Justin reassured him softly.  "I'm...I'm sorry you were put in this situation." 

"I'm not," Brian said flatly to Justin's surprise as he slowly began to walk toward him, making Justin's heart begin to pound in reaction as he stepped back a couple of inches, almost for his own protection.  "I never should have allowed that damn agreement to take effect in the first place; neither one of us should have."

"Brian..."

At last, Brian couldn't help thinking as his name finally escaped from Justin's lips; he couldn't help lingering on that full, talented mouth as he thought, At last you said my name.  It was like a sort of healing balm being applied to his soul.  "Justin, surely you realize now how ridiculous it was?  How hurtful it was to both of our daughters?"

Justin held his hands up in a silent plea for Brian not to come any closer; to his vast relief, Brian seemed to understand as he stopped a few feet away from him.  "It wasn't just about our daughters, Brian, and you know it; to insinuate that is unfair.  It was never just about Katie and Kaylee."

Brian sighed; were they going to pick up precisely where they had left off all those years ago?  "I know that," he said just a little more brusquely than he meant to.  "But this is NOW, Justin; we have a chance to right some wrongs and do right by our daughters.  They deserve to grow up together."

"Now wait a minute; if you're suggesting that we could all live together happily ever after..."

Brian huffed out an exasperated breath.  "No, of course not; I know this isn't some fairy tale!"  He smirked briefly at the double entendre before he added more seriously, "But we need to make sure that they have every opportunity to see each other as much as possible now that they know about each other's existence.  Surely the court can understand there needs to be a change to the agreement in light of what's happened now."

"I agree," Justin conceded.  "My mother never should have taken it upon herself to reveal their identities to each other, but what's done is done."  He sighed as he admitted, "I don't agree with how she went about it, but I'm actually glad they know about each other; I fucking hated having to keep that a secret from them in the first place."

Brian nodded as he gazed into Justin's eyes before his own swept downward to take in the whole picture; God, he is so beautiful - even more than the last time he had seen him.  Justin had grown into a classic beauty of a man - his skin still had that sort of alabaster glow that complimented his blue eyes perfectly, he still was slender and lean but with a little more muscle definition in his upper chest, still had the trim waist and flat stomach.  He deliberately didn't go any lower for fear his strong desire to crush him to his body and kiss the living daylights out of him before he fucked him senseless would be too overwhelming.  He lifted his gaze to notice a slight pinkish tint on Justin's cheeks as he couldn't help saying softly, "You look wonderful, Justin.  Chicago's been good to you." 

From their place on the stairs nearby, Katie and Kaylee listened raptly to their fathers talking.  They looked at each other hopefully as they overheard their father's compliment; that was a good sign, a very good sign.  Despite what both fathers had said, they still weren't giving up hope; at least the two were talking civilly to each other, and they both knew how much these two stubborn men still loved each other.  "What's Daddy saying?" Kaylee asked her sister anxiously in a whisper as they heard Justin responding.  Katie put her finger up to her lips as she shook her head firmly.   "Shh..." she cautioned her, not wanting to miss one word of their revealing conversation.

"Brian, please..." Justin was saying, silently cursing himself for his juvenile reaction to Brian's compliment; he was not going to allow this man to worm his way back into his life again.  "Let's stick to talking about our daughters, okay?" he asked him curtly.  "This has nothing to do with us."

Brian pursed his lips together in frustration.  Justin may not think so, but he wasn't giving up quite that easily.  "I disagree," he told him to Justin's consternation.  "This whole situation has festered enough, Justin.  Haven't you meted out enough punishment by now for what I did?  Are you never going to forgive me for it?" 

Justin's eyes darkened with anger.  "Punishment?  Is that what you call it?  What about the punishment I went through when you broke your promise to me!  Brian, you had never done that before!" 

Brian smirked.  "What...Fucked another guy?  You're not that senile, Sunshine!" 

"Damn you, Brian, you know exactly what I mean!" Justin fumed; as hard as he might, he couldn't help the tears that glistened unshed in his eyes as he said in a choked voice, "You never broke a promise to me before, not in all the years we had been together; but you sure picked a hell of a time to do it when you did."  He huffed out ironically, "I really shouldn't have been surprised, though; you never did do subtle or understated very well." 

"Justin, it was one mistake!  One!  I never counted all the mistakes that YOU made!"  Brian knew it was wrong to throw the whole ‘Ian' fiasco back into Justin's face, but he was hurt and he was pissed.  It seemed there was a double standard here; it hurt like hell that Justin wasn't willing to bend at all over his one indiscretion, despite how arguably major it might have been in his eyes.  He knew by the look on Justin's face that he had made a big error in throwing that back at him, though, because his ex-lover's face seemed to instantly redden in anger. 

"You talk about forgiveness, Brian?  Well, that works both ways!  I told you when that happened that I would never do that to you again, and for as long as we were together I kept that promise!  I never so much as looked twice at another guy; not one time once we committed to each other."  He placed his hands on his hips as he added sadly, "I wish I could say the same for you." 

Brian sighed heavily.  It was the same old merry-go-round and there didn't seem to be a way to get off.  "Justin...I never said you did.  I know you were faithful to me - to us." 

Justin angrily brushed away some tears from his cheeks as Brian yearned to reach out and do it for him; he almost ached with the need to touch him, to hold him, to comfort him.  But his stubborn pride wouldn't let him, no matter how much he still loved him. 

"Then why couldn't you do the same for me?" Justin whispered, not realizing how deep the pain still cut into his heart even now.  "Why did you have to do it, Brian?" 

"Justin, that was so long ago..." Brian struggled to explain; truthfully, he wasn't even sure he could properly explain it to himself.  He couldn't back then and he still couldn't.  "It was a spur of the moment thing...I don't fucking know why I did it!" he admitted.  "It's always been the way I've always handled those sorts of things," he finally said lamely.  That reasoning sounded totally absurd to him, though.

Justin nodded tersely, his lips pressed tightly together.  "Well, that's the first halfway truthful statement you've said so far," he told him.  "Why did I really think you could change?"  He sighed in resignation, all the fight and anger slowly dissipating to be replaced with weariness.  "Just forget it," he told him curtly as he scratched his head nervously.  "Just go back to Britin and leave me alone."

Kaylee and Katie stared at each other, both girls' faces wide eyed and anxious.  They were young, but not so young that they didn't understand now what had happened.  Apparently their father had been unfaithful to their Daddy.   They had to agree with their biological father; that would have been a terrible thing for their father to have done, and neither girl could possibly comprehend how he could have cheated on their father, why he would want to cheat.  It was obvious they still loved each other and that they had been extremely happy once.  Why would he have risked losing all that for a one-time fling? 

Kaylee whispered, "Katie...Why?  Why would Dad do that to him?  What are we going to do now?"

Katie shook his head, her eyes filled with tears of sadness for their biological father.  No wonder he had been so upset; no wonder they had broken up.  She was sad to hear what her father had done, but she also knew how much he was still hurting over his actions.  Wasn't there something that could still be done, then?  Or was it really too late to fix everything?  Was all that they had done to finally see this day happen going to go up in ruins now? 

"I don't know," she murmured painfully to her sister, a lump in her throat over this unexpected revelation.  "I don't know."

Brian stood there, feeling uncharacteristically helpless.  It was an odd feeling, but then again Justin always made him feel emotions he had never felt with anyone before.  "Kaylee..."

Justin stared over at him, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.  "I told the girls I wouldn't object to them getting to know each other and spending more time with other, and I meant that," he told him.  "That doesn't have to apply to us, though.  Kaylee can fly down to stay with you and Katie; or she and I can come down and stay with my mother periodically.  Katie is always welcome to come here and stay anytime she likes, too."

Brian noticed his own presence being left out of the equation; so was that how it was going to be?  He and Justin were going to shuttle their daughters back and forth from place to place while they remained apart and distant?  Is that what he really wanted?  He knew it wasn't what HE wanted.  "Justin, they're still little girls; they shouldn't be flying alone." 

"Fine," Justin snapped in irritation, realizing Brian was right; he wouldn't want either girl flying by themselves.  "You can afford it; fly your fancy private jet back and forth, then, and pick them up.  But just leave me the hell out of it, though." 

Brian had had enough; they had been apart for far too long - it was time to start repairing what had been done.  "I can't do that," he told him firmly as he walked closer to his ex-lover; he was near enough now to smell Justin and it filled him with intense nostalgia and longing as he inhaled the familiar, unique scent.  "I won't do that," he growled as Justin began to back up slightly in an attempt to create more space between them.

Unfortunately for Justin, however, he soon found himself with nowhere to go as his back came up against the hard, unbending edge of the grand piano; he was effectively boxed in as Brian took advantage of the situation to place both hands on either side of Justin's body and brace them against the top of the instrument as he loomed over him. 

"Don't," Justin warned him, his voice breaking as he struggled to ignore the feelings coursing through his body; Brian was inches from him now and he could feel Brian's warm breath on his face.  How many times had he and Brian been just like this at Britin, playfully teasing each other mad with desire by the fireplace, the couch, the kitchen counter, the stables, everywhere, before they ultimately wound up making nonstop, passionate love?  It would be so easy to do that again right now as his body craved Brian's touch, if only he could forget the past and what had happened, but sadly he couldn't.  This time he was determined the outcome would not be the same as it had been countless times before.

Brian leaned over him as Justin bent his upper body backward as far as he could in an unsuccessful attempt to remove himself from Brian's grasp, but he knew it was no use; he had nowhere to run.

"Don't what, Justin?" Brian murmured, his voice like velvet as he stared intently into the blue eyes.  He reached to grasp his ex-partner's upper arms as Justin gasped involuntarily at the initial contact, wanting to resist but still savoring the familiar warmth under his touch.  Brian noticed his ex-lover trembling slightly as he asked, "Don't touch you?  Don't hold you?  Don't tell you I made the biggest fucking mistake of my life that day?"

"Brian, please..." Justin pleaded almost desperately, knowing he was fighting a losing battle; he struggled feebly in Brian's firm embrace, feeling his skin practically on fire from Brian's touch.  It instantly became clear to Justin how worlds apart his feelings were for Brian as opposed to those he had felt for Alex.  Alex's touch, while pleasant enough, had NEVER made him feel like this.  As he looked into Brian's expressive hazel eyes, somehow he knew what was coming next and it scared the shit out of him.

"Don't kiss you?" Brian whispered as his eyes lowered to take in the full lips almost begging to be ravaged. 

"Yes!  I mean, no..." Justin whispered back, his thoughts in turmoil; Brian's lips were like a heat-seeking missile honing in on its target as his face came closer and closer to his.  He knew one kiss from this man and as usual he would be lost in a sea of desire for him, unable to resist.  But he was not the young, inexperienced twink he had been that first night; he was not some toy to be manipulated, used and discarded.  He was not another one of Brian's conquests like that nameless fuck had been so long ago...

"What do you think's going on?" Kaylee whispered anxiously from her place on the steps; one minute their two fathers were shouting at each other and the next things had gone oddly quiet.  "I don't hear anything anymore."  An encouraging thought suddenly occurred to her, though, and her face broke out into an optimistic smile.  Maybe, just maybe...Could it be...?

Her sister had the same thought as she turned to look at Kaylee and grinned.  "Do you think they're kissing?"

Kaylee's initial look of delight at that thought promptly melted away, however, as they heard Justin's indignant voice coming clearly from the living room and their hopes came crashing back down again. 

Thoughts of just what had caused them to be in this mess in the first place provided Justin with just enough strength to turn his head away as Brian's lips brushed against his cheek instead; it also allowed him sufficient fortitude to forcefully push Brian away from him with the palms of his hands, despite his body warring against his determination.  "Don't touch me!" he hissed at Brian, his eyes a darkened shade of steel blue.  "You can't resolve everything with sex!" 

Brian placed his hands on his hips, his face a mixture of both surprise and hurt as he felt the profound loss of no longer holding Justin in his arms.  "Is that what you think this is?" he asked. 

Vivid thoughts of that awful day so long ago still uppermost in his mind, Justin replied, "Why not?  It would be the typical way that you handle things," he told his ex-partner, knowing that wasn't really fair to Brian but at the moment not caring.  "It always got you what you wanted before."

"Before, Justin!  That was fucking years ago!  I've changed since then!" Brian growled.  He sighed audibly.  "What is it going to take to get you to give me a break?  How long do I have to be punished for one stupid mistake?"  He rubbed his face with his hand in frustration. 

Echoes of another man saying something similar to him caused Justin to turn his back to Brian and look out onto the street below as he tried furiously to still his pounding heart, his aching heart.  He hated being at odds with Brian, had always hated being angry with him; it made him sick inside.  He took a deep breath to try and calm himself before he said in a deadly quiet voice, "It wasn't just a fuck, Brian, and you know it; it meant more than that." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Brian snapped at Justin in spite of his effort not to escalate things.  "I broke a promise!  Yeah, we've been through all that before, Justin!  Why can't we move on from it?  Why do you have to be so damned obstinate?"

Justin whirled around to face his ex-partner.  "This isn't about you and me, Brian; this is about our daughters!   What happened between you and me isn't relevant here."

"That's your opinion," Brian told him tersely as he peered into Justin's eyes.  "I'm as concerned about our daughters as YOU are.  Do you think they would want us to be at odds like this?  Have you thought about that?  Why do you think they were so determined to switch places?  Obviously it was because they wanted to get to know us again!  How is it going to work if we keep fighting every time they spend time together?  Is that what you want, Justin?" 

"No, of course not!" he retorted, bristling at the insinuation.  Trying fervently to calm down, he let out a deep breath between his lips before he said, "Look, we've both decided we want the girls in each other's lives from now on.  We're both adults - we can still be civil to each other for their sakes, even if we're not together. Can't we?  If not, this isn't going to work."  He was surprised at how painful it felt to say the words not together, even now; he had always thought that he and Brian would be soul mates forever.  The truth was he had never stopped loving Brian and probably never would; he just didn't think he could risk having his heart broken all over again, though. 

Brian stared over at Justin, once more noticing how beautiful he still was even in righteous anger, before he finally nodded in agreement.  He could go along with that; at least it was a start.  That didn't mean, though, that he was going to give up on winning Justin back.  He wanted it and both girls wanted it; hell, apparently even Jennifer was in favor of it.  Now all he had to do was convince Justin of that.  "Okay," he told his ex-lover.  He wanted so badly to tell Justin that he wasn't planning on just settling for civility, but he felt it was best he kept that to himself for now.  "So where do we go from here?" he asked softly.

Justin shrugged.  "We can work out some sort of regular visitation schedule between the girls, I guess," he offered tentatively. 

Brian restlessly brushed his hand through his hair; that wasn't quite the arrangement he was hoping for. "That seems so formal."

Justin pursued his lips tightly together, Brian's eyes lingering on his.  Gathering all the strength he could, he told him, "I think it's for the best; that way there's no question about our agreement and responsibilities." 

"No entanglements, Sunshine?"  he asked softly, knowing that Justin would know exactly what he meant by that.

Justin swallowed hard before he replied, "Brian, please...Don't make this harder than it is.  And quit calling me Sunshine."  Every time Brian called him that it simply made things that much harder.  He paused to collect his thoughts.  "It's been wonderful being with Katie again these past few days and I have every intention of continuing to see her, but until we get the new visitation arrangements worked out and get the official okay from the courts...I think it'd be best if you and Katie return home for the time being."  Not only best for them, but for me as well...

From his place near the couch, Brian idly brushed the leather fabric with his hand, his eyes averted downward as he countered, "Is that what you want, Justin?" 

Justin didn't trust his voice to speak the truth so he merely nodded as Brian lifted his gaze to peer over at him. 

"Okay," he told him, "I'll play this your way."  But if you think you're getting off that easily, Sunshine, you're sadly mistaken.  Now that he knew where Justin and Kaylee lived, there was no fucking way he was just going to drop everything and go back to the way things were - not without one hell of a fight first.  "I'll go get Katie, then, so she can say goodbye to you - and I can do the same with Kaylee." 

Feeling unexpectedly vulnerable, Justin folded his arms across his chest and nodded as Brian turned to go find Katie.  Just before he left the room, however, he turned to Justin to say, "For what's it worth, Justin, I have changed.  And I've really cherished the past few days with Kaylee; she's just as great as Katie is."  His voice softened as he added, "You've done a hell of a job raising her alone; she reminds me so much of you." 

Justin nodded again, not trusting his voice before he turned around to stare back out at the street; his thoughts were awash with memories of a time long ago as he heard Brian leave the room.

"Shit!" Katie hissed out as they heard their fathers speaking about her leaving.  "We can't let this happen!" she cried out defiantly to her sister in a whisper.  "We have to do something!" 

Kaylee nodded vigorously.  "Come on!" she told her sister as she rose quickly to her feet and began to pull her sister frantically up the steps.  "I've got an idea!"

Brian slowly trudged down the hallway toward the steps to go upstairs, torn between abiding between Justin's wishes for now and stomping back into the living room to tell him there was no fucking way he was letting him go this time.  That tactic might have worked in the past when Justin was inexperienced and totally besotted with him as a teenager; but something told him it would take more than that this time, however, to accomplish what he so fervently wanted to do.

At least his ex-partner had agreed to allow the girls to see each other, which meant that THEY would have to see each other, too; that was a beginning.  As soon as he returned to Pittsburgh, the first thing he was going to do was look up the judge who had issued their tentative custody agreement and work toward getting it changed.  As soon as he could do that, he could work on the rest of what he wanted to accomplish.

"Katie?" he called up the steps as he stood at the bottom landing.  He frowned when he called his daughter's name again and there was no response; Justin's half of the duplex couldn't be that big.  Why wasn't his daughter answering him?  Of course he wouldn't put it past her not to answer just on the hope that it would buy her and her sister more time to do some more scheming, but he knew that wouldn't sit too well with Justin at the moment; it would merely place suspicion upon him being the instigator and he had done nothing - at least not yet - to interfere.

"Katherine Elizabeth!" Brian called out a little more forcefully.  "I need to talk to you; come down here now!" he told her in his most commanding voice.  Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Justin appearing in the hall as he looked back at him to explain, "I guess I'll have to go get her; she's not answering me."

Justin frowned from his position several feet away as he told Brian, "Kaylee's bedroom is the first room on the right; she shouldn't have any problem hearing you calling for her, even with the door closed."

Brian smirked.  "Come on...we're talking about pre-teen girls; they all have selective hearing."  He actually saw Justin smile a little in agreement at that statement before he turned back to prepare to ascend the steps to go find Katie.  Just as he placed his foot on the first step, however, he heard a noise from above and lifted his gaze to observe both daughters slowly walking down the steps.  To his surprise, both of them had on different clothes than the ones they had been wearing previously.  From the sherbet-colored tones they had selected, though, it was obvious the clothes all belonged to Kaylee.

He glanced over at Justin, both of them wondering what was going on as he turned to address his daughter - or should he say daughters; at the moment he had no idea which was which. 

"Katie?" he asked, his attention swinging from one girl to the other.

"Yes, Dad?" both girls answered simultaneously like they had one voice; it was like looking at a fucking mirror - they even had the same exact facial expressions, both with one eyebrow cocked upward at him in question, just like he tended to do at times. 

Brian wasn't sure where to look as he chose to take turns peering over at both girls to say, "I need to talk to you, Katie; it's time for us to go."

"Why?" they both answered together perfectly.

Brian sighed in exasperation.  "Because I said so, that's why," Brian replied; he scrutinized both girls' faces, hoping one of them would give themselves away, but to his consternation and their credit, neither girl flinched.  "Look, I don't know what game you two think you're playing, but this isn't funny; now which one of you is Katie?" 

"I am," they both said with a bright smile as they looked at each other and grinned.

Justin and Brian shared a weary look between them as Justin replied sternly, "This is serious, girls; Brian has responsibilities back home and we need to straighten out some of the legal issues involved with the custody agreement before the rules can be revised."  His voice softened as he told them, "I promise, though, that we won't keep you two apart again for long; and you can both talk on the phone and on the computer as much as possible.  Now quit this childish game and tell us which one of you is Katie." 

This time, though, both girls just stood there in identical poses, both with their lips pursed together and their hands clasped in front of them.  Justin thought he heard an amused snicker come from Brian next to him and he turned to glare over at his ex-partner for his lack of support. 

"Oh, come on, Justin!" Brian replied.  "You have to admit this is pretty funny." 

"No, I'm sorry; I fail to see the humorous side to this," Justin told him curtly.

"Since when did you become such a fuddy-duddy, Sunshine?" Brian countered as the girls looked at each other with a smile; they liked their father's nickname for their Daddy, although sunshiny wasn't quite the word that would come to mind at the moment to accurately describe the pained, aggravated look on their biological father's face. 

Justin harrumphed at the insult.  "I am not a fuddy-duddy, as you so eloquently put it," he responded.  "I'm just tired of all these games, that's all.  And I told you NOT to call me that!"  He sighed as he turned to look at his daughters who were remaining strangely silent; it was a far cry from the normal chatter he was used to hearing in his apartment.  "Okay, girls, the jig is up; I mean it.  Now, Katie - whichever one you are," he said, studying both girls intently but failing miserably to tell them apart - "I want you to go upstairs this instant and get your things."

To his irritation, both girls stepped down obediently from the stairs and stood next to each other as they eyed him smugly. 

Brian chuckled now outwardly at their antics as Justin rolled his eyes.  "This is ridiculous!" he growled.  "There must be something different about them!"  He thought for a moment before he said, "I know!  I'll go get my sketchbook and have each of them draw something; Kaylee couldn't sketch her way out a paper bag."

Kaylee's eyes narrowed imperceptibly at the baited statement - no matter how true it was - before she quickly plastered a neutral expression back on her face before Justin could see it.  Did her father really think that would work, anyway? 

"Justin, what makes you think either girl would actually draw you something?" Brian pointed out.  "It's not that easy to draw as well as you and Katie do, but it's not hard at all for anyone to draw a stick figure." 

Shit.  Brian had a point, Justin had to concede.  You couldn't force someone to draw the way they normally did if they didn't want to.  He sighed as he looked over at his ex-partner.  "Well, there must be some way to tell them apart!" he growled in frustration. 

"What?  DNA test?  I think that's a bit much, don't you?"

"That's NOT what I meant, Brian!"  The word asshole was *this* close to escaping his lips instead but he bit his tongue for the girls' sake.  "Think of something else!  Do they both have pierced ears?" He craned his neck to look at both girls, finding to his exasperation that they even had the same type of stud earrings on.

Brian glanced over at the girls as the three of them exchanged a conspiratorial look; neither girl was saying anything, but their plea was written on their faces nonetheless.  Please don't give us away, Dad.  Both of them had to know that all he had to do was have the girls open their mouths and their game would quickly be shot to pieces.  Of course, only HE knew that subtle difference, and he sure as hell wasn't going to tell Justin. 

He shrugged.  "Sorry, Sunshine," he replied, just a little too brightly for Justin's benefit; he covered his mouth as if he were saying ‘oops' for addressing him by his nickname again.  "I'm at a loss here.  You wanted to have a nice little chat with Mother Taylor; here's your chance now to do it in person."  What had seemed like an unfortunate turn of events a few minutes ago had promptly started to look a lot more promising.  He - and Justin...Having to both be in the same city?  Yeah...things were definitely looking up. 

Justin looked helplessly from Brian and then back to the two girls, who merely smiled innocently at him in reaction.  Feeling distinctly like he was being ganged up against, he tried one last, feeble counterattack.  "You think I can simply up and run back to Pittsburgh just like that?  You don't think what I do is important?"

Brian huffed out an exasperated breath.  "I didn't say that, did I?"  God, the man was so annoying sometimes; he still was a total twat.  "Admit it; it's a hell of a lot easier for YOU to pack up your shit and bring it with you than it is for me to uproot Kinnetik and everyone who works there; besides, your studio is still set up at Britin, so you wouldn't have to bring much extra with you at all during the time you would be there."  Of course, he was secretly hoping that his ex-partner's time there would be quite lengthy, but for now he would be happy with whatever he could get.  "And it would give the girls here a chance to get to know each other better while they were staying together at the house." 

"Who said I would be staying - or painting - at Britin?" Justin countered as Brian's words sunk in and he found his defiant attitude faltering just a bit.  "You said you still have my studio set up there?" he asked softly.

Brian's face dissolved into something a little more awkward as he admitted, "Yeah...I do." 

Justin nodded as the two girls watched with rapt fascination at how their fathers' voices and faces changed as they spoke to each other; they could see a lot of hurt and pain there, but love and caring, too.

"You left it up so Katie could use it," he told Brian, trying to rationally explain why his ex-partner would do that.

Katie opened her mouth to answer him, forgetting their trickery as Kaylee quickly reached over to squeeze her hand in warning and she quickly pursed her lips back together, grateful that her sister had caught her just in time.

"No, Justin," Brian told him sincerely, his eyes boring into his ex-lover's.  "I don't allow Katie to use your studio." 

Justin frowned.  "Why?  She's an artist and the studio was incredible for painting.  It always did have perfect lighting in the morning and it had so much room..."  For a moment, he was transported back in time to a much happier era when he and his ex-lover had set up a comfortable daily routine of Brian going off to work in the morning and him taking both girls upstairs, one cradled in each arm, to have them happily play while he painted.  He and Brian had set up one end of the loft space on the top floor studio as a portable play area for the girls while Justin worked on his latest piece.  It had a playpen, a couple of swings, and two baby walkers the girls could ride on along with a box full of toys.  The two of them used to kid around that their little girls would wind up being Indy 500 racecar drivers when they got older, because once they had gotten the hang of their wheeled toys, they could run around their part of the studio faster than Mario Andretti.  Partly for that reason, they had even placed a glider rocker in the corner alcove to help soothe the two girls to sleep when they got tired from all their rambunctiousness.   Justin could still remember how happy and fulfilled he had felt whenever he took both girls in his arms and slowly rocked them to sleep as he gazed into their peaceful, cherubic faces.  There was still no greater feeling in the world than relishing in the sight of them as they slept.

"Justin?  Did you hear me?"

He started as he blinked his eyes and looked over at Brian, realizing he had been preoccupied with the past.  "No," he admitted a little sheepishly.  "What did you say?"

Brian wondered briefly if Justin had been thinking of the same moment in time that he had been thinking of as he repeated, "The studio is off-limits; I didn't see the point of heating and cooling an unused space, and Katie prefers to paint in her bedroom near the light from her window.  That's more than sufficient for what she needs."  He didn't want to tell Justin the real truth - that the room simply brought back much too painful memories for him to allow even their daughter to use the studio; every time he tried to go in there after Justin left it had felt like a knife slicing through his heart.  He hated the idea of making it into some sort of abandoned shrine to his ex-partner - it seemed sort of morbid in a way - but perhaps that was what it had become; the room looked precisely like it did on the day Justin and Kaylee had left for Chicago.  That day he vowed to leave it that way until they returned.  Perhaps now there was a chance, however slim, that he might just get his wish.  He realized they were a long way away from the reality of that happening, however; first he had to convince Justin to return to where it all began.    

Justin looked over at their two daughters and then back at Brian; it was obvious that neither girl was going to budge and what Brian had said did make sense.  It was easier for him to work there than for Brian to work here in Chicago.  And he had to admit that the thought of the two girls getting to know each other better appealed to him, even though they would have to do some fancy footwork with the court system to change the visitation/custody arrangements.  And finally, he definitely had some choice words he needed to say to his mother about well-meaning - but unrequested - parental 'assistance.'

He sighed in resignation.  "All right," he finally agreed.  He saw both girls' eyes light up as he held up his hands.  "But that doesn't mean I'll be staying at Britin; I can stay with my mother.  If Kaylee really wants to stay at Britin with you, though, for the time being, I guess I have no objection." 

Brian nodded; it wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he would take it.  At least Justin would be in Pittsburgh; that would give him a much better opportunity to work on rectifying his mistake.  And he knew a couple of little girls who would be more than happy to help him with that.

Both girls rushed over to Justin, squealing in triumph as they practically tackled their father in delight.  Brian watched, a lump forming in his throat as he watched Justin wrap one hand around each girl's back and hug them tightly to his body as he closed his eyes to cherish the feeling of being with both girls again.  He never thought he would see this moment happen, at least not until their daughters were a lot older.  It was obvious how much Justin loved - and needed - both daughters.  They needed both of them, too - and he needed Justin.   Would he be able to convince Justin to give their relationship another chance, though? 

"I can have my jet ready immediately," Brian told him, keeping his voice neutral but feeling his heart hammering rapidly in his chest at the thought of being together again in such close quarters.  The last thing he wanted was to scare him away somehow, though, so he would have to tread gingerly.  "Just tell me when you want to leave."

Justin loosened his hold on both daughters, looking down into their identical, happy faces; he knew he should be angry with them for being so deceptive, but there was no way he could possibly stay upset with them.  He knew they meant well; only time would tell what sort of ramifications this would have on all their lives.  He didn't know which daughter to look at, so he randomly chose the one on the right as he said, "Well, Kaylee needs to go pack some clothes first and so do I.  Plus I need to ask our neighbor to watch Dali and Picasso.  Give me a couple of hours, then." 

Brian nodded.  "Okay, I'll contact my pilot to give him a heads up.  And I'll arrange for a shuttle to pick us up in two hours." 

Justin nodded back at him in agreement, wondering if he was out of his mind to agree to this; his feelings were so close to the surface and raw, even after all this time.  Frankly he was nervous as hell.  "I'll go pack some things, then," he told him as he turned to head upstairs.  He paused for a moment on the steps, feeling strangely like he was the butt of some unspoken joke, before he turned his attention to their daughters.

"You'd better go pack, too," he told them, unable to direct his statement to anyone specifically.  He shook his head as both girls acknowledged his statement and nodded their heads like two bobbing-head dogs before he finally turned and slowly ascended the steps.

As soon as he was sure Justin was out of sight and earshot, the girls turned to Brian who told them quietly, "I hope you know what you're doing." 

"You didn't tell him about the cavity," Katie whispered to her father.  "You could have given us way, Dad, but you didn't.  You do still love him."

Brian couldn't deny that statement; God, yes, he did.  Would their scheming backfire on them, though?  Deception had gotten him into this trouble in the first place.  Would this whole thing blow up in their faces, too?  He only knew he had to try; somehow he knew this would be his last chance to make things right with Justin again.  He sighed as he nodded at them.  "Yeah, I do," he told them quietly as both girls eyed him excitedly, their blue eyes twinkling in glee.  "But just don't get your hopes up, young ladies.  Tricking your father into coming home with me isn't going to guarantee you'll get what you want; what I want, too," he conceded to them.  "Just keep that in mind."

He brushed his hand through his hair before he playfully swatted the nearest daughter on the ass.  She squeaked in surprise, just like Justin used to do as he told them, “Now get your butts upstairs and get packing before your father changes his mind on us.”

Both girls impetuously reached over to kiss their father on his cheek as Brian’s lips turned upward in amusement; a few seconds later, they were both gone like a whirlwind as they excitedly rushed up the steps to get ready for their return to Britin.  Impressed with the ingenuity, he laughed softly before walking back into the living room to make some calls, somehow knowing that the next few weeks would be the most important ones of his and his daughters’ lives.