It was the first night that Brian had slept in his bed, and with Justin in almost two weeks. He missed it. He missed holding Justin, and touching him. God, what a fucking lesbian he had turned into! He missed holding someone? But he did miss his bed. He missed his room. But he missed Justin most of all. He didn't sleep too much that night, though. He kept waking up to make sure that Justin was okay. To make sure that he was still there. Justin was talking softly in his sleep. He usually did that when something bad was happening. When Justin was stressed. He shook him a few times when he'd feel him moving around or moaning softly in his sleep. He was having nightmares. Brian knew that was a really bad sign.

He woke up before Justin, and went downstairs to make some coffee. He needed to think. He had to figure out what he had to do. What was his next step. He sat at the counter for a little while, and decided to look at his phone. He had a text message from Teresa.

I didn't want to make a big deal out of this. And I hope you don't get upset, but I was talking with Ava, and she gave me her sister-in-law's number. She's a therapist who specializes in trauma. I think she could really help Justin. She's a total sweetheart, and I think Justin would really like her. Ava talked to her and told her a little of what is going on. And Wendy said you can call her.

He looked at the next text and it showed a phone number. He had to think about who Ava was. His uncle Vance...that was Teresa's oldest brother. His oldest son, Robert. He was the one who was married to Ava. They had three kids, right? Callum, Brennan and Megan. And she was pregnant, wasn't she? He needed to ask Justin. He was the one who remembered every single person in Brian's family. Much better than he ever could. He looked back down at the text message. Ava's sister-in-law's name was Wendy.

He shook his head again. Was that the answer? Was that what Justin needed? A therapist? He scrubbed his face. He had to do something. He sat there for a little while longer, and then picked his cell phone up and dialed Wendy's number. She seemed nice. He figured Justin would really like her. She asked him a few questions about what had happened. He hated talking about Justin's father. But he did it. For Justin. He also had to talk about how he was acting. She wanted to be prepared. He went back upstairs and waited for Justin to wake up. When he did, his eyes were all bloodshot. He looked miserable. He didn't look like himself. "Hey," Brian said. Justin rubbed at his eyes.

"Hi," he whispered. Brian ran a hand through Justin's hair.

"How're you feeling?" Brian asked. He felt a little warm. Justin shrugged his shoulders. "How ‘bout we take a shower?  And then we can go out to breakfast," Brian said.

"I'm not really all that hungry." Justin whispered. Brian nodded his head.

"Well, I'm sure a shower might help you wake up. Come on," Brian said. They took a lazy shower, and they got dressed and went downstairs. Justin ate a little bit of toast, but wasn't up to eating much more. Brian fidgeted around. "Listen. I have something to tell you." Brian said. Justin stared at him, waiting for what he was gonna say. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "You're not okay...and I don't know how to help you." Brian said.  Wait, what the hell did he just say? Oh, God. Justin looked at him, blankly. "I think you need a little more help...than what I can give you," he admitted. He hated admitting that. Since when can Brian Kinney not do something?

"I made an appointment for you. With a therapist. And she comes highly recommended. It's Ava's sister-in-law. Her name is Wendy," Brian said. Justin didn't react. Brian didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He came around the island, and sat down next to him. He squeezed his shoulder. "She deals with trauma. And I think this will be the best thing for you," he said softly. He watched as Justin's eyes slowly welled up with tears.

"I don't want to feel like this anymore," Justin whispered. He looked over at Brian. "I hate feeling like this." Brian nodded his head.

"Then this is a good thing. This is the best thing we can do," Brian told him. Justin leaned his body into Brian, and wrapped his arms around him. They left about an hour later to drive over to Wendy's office. It was a nice little office building, and the inside was warm. It was inviting. It was soothing. It was just what Justin needed. There was a reception desk in the waiting room, and a blonde girl was sitting. She smiled and stood up when they walked in.

"Hi. You must be Brian and Justin," she said. She put her hand out to Brian. "I'm Wendy. I've heard so many nice things about you both." Brian and Justin both shook her hand.

"I deny everything," Brian said. She smiled.

"You'll have to excuse the clutter on the desk. My secretary had a family emergency yesterday and ran out of here, and I've made a total mess of her things," she said and smiled.

"It's fine. Thanks for seeing us with such short notice," Brian said, clearing his throat.

"Oh, it's totally fine."

"Do we need to fill anything out? Paperwork?" Brian asked. She waved her hand and shook her head.

"No, not this time. It's not going on the books. We share family," she said and looked over at Justin. "How about you come with me and we'll talk for a little bit?" she asked him. Justin gulped and looked at Brian.

"I'll just hang out here," Brian said and rubbed his back. Justin nodded, and followed Wendy into her office.

"Please, have a seat," she said. She opened a small fridge and pulled out a water bottle and handed it to him, and sat in a recliner. He sat over on the couch. "Now, before we get started, I do want you to know that Ava and I did talk last night, and she told me a lot of what's going on. But that was the first and last time she and I will talk about you," Wendy said. Justin nodded. "She just wanted me to know what's going. Usually I don't like to do that. But she's my sister-in-law. And it's family. So, I usually let the rules slide when it's family," Wendy said and smiled. "And I talked with Brian a little this morning. He's not a big talker, is he?" she asked. Justin gave her a half smile.

"He likes to talk. He loves the sound of his own voice," Justin said softly. Wendy chuckled. "He just doesn't like talking about feelings or anything like that." She smiled at him.

"How did you meet Brian?" she asked. Justin was taken a little back by that.

"I um...we lived in Pittsburgh. And I went to Liberty Ave. That part of town is mostly where the gay community lives. And I was standing outside a club, and he saw me. And he came over, and picked me up," Justin said. She chuckled again.

"And the rest was history," she said. He nodded his head. "Tell me a little bit more about you and Brian," she said.

Brian waited for over an hour for them. He brought his MacBook with him and did some work. It wasn't his best work at all. He was completely distracted. He wanted to know what they were saying. But he figured that if they were talking for that long, then it was a good thing. Maybe he liked her. Maybe this was the best thing he could have done.

"Justin...I'd like to put you on a few medications," Wendy said. Justin groaned.

"I don't like anti-depressants. I hate having pills be a crutch. I don't want to be dependent on them," Justin said. Wendy nodded her head.

"I understand that. And I don't think you should stay on them forever. But we've talked about how you feel. You feel cloudy, and you can't think. Your emotions have taken control of you. You don't feel like yourself. I want you to be able to take control again. I want you to be able to think clearly, get some clarity. And I think some medication will help with that. And once we get to a place where you're in control again, then we'll start weaning you off," she told him. He sighed. "I honestly think it would help," she said.

"What do you want to give me?" he asked.

"Well I think an anti-depressant would help. I also think something to help you sleep would be good. And something for anxiety. Only to be taken when you need it," she said. He let out a deep breath. He knew she was right. But he hated anti-depressants. He hated feeling like this, though. He couldn't break himself out of it.

Justin and Wendy walked out of the room, and Brian started putting his MacBook away. Justin looked okay. That had to be a good sign. "We made an appointment in a few days already," Wendy said to Brian. He nodded. "Justin, I'm happy I finally got to meet you. And please call me if you start to have any bad side effects from the medications. I don't see anything happening in just a couple of days, but you can still call me if you need to, alright?" Wendy said. Justin nodded his head.

"Thank you," he said softly. She smiled.

"I'll see you in a couple of days. It was nice meeting you, Brian," she said.

"Thanks," Brian said, and led Justin outside. They got in the car and drove off. "Do we have to pick some meds up at the pharmacy?" he asked. Justin nodded his head. "What did she give you?"

"Some anti-depressants, something for anxiety and something to help me sleep," Justin said. Brian nodded his head.

"How'd it go in there? Do you like her?" Brian asked. Justin took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I do. She's really nice. Pretty smart, too," Justin admitted.

"That's good, then," Brian said, rubbing his leg.

"She says they should help snap me out of whatever I'm stuck in," Justin said, looking out the window. He squeezed his leg.

"That's good...you'll be okay, Justin," Brian said. Justin looked over at him, and Brian picked up his hand and linked it through his, and then brought his hand up to his lips and kissed him. They picked up his meds and then went home.

They were by themselves for the next few days. Everyone had let them get settled back in. The only one who really saw them was Gus. He hung out with them, and the puppies. Brian knew that the meds were making Justin feel weird. Every couple of days he went back to Wendy to talk with her. The first two weeks were the hardest for Justin. He was miserable on his medication. They had a few pages' worth of possible side effects. He had a hard time concentrating. Figuring out what he wanted to say. He said sometimes his body felt numb. He had a few mood swings, which for an hour one day he sobbed uncontrollably. Brian had no idea what to do then. But it passed. And they got through it, together.

So what was it that caused Justin to start crying uncontrollably? He realized how long it had been since they had had sex. Justin's meds made him numb almost. He couldn't get hard. And it just went downhill from that one realization. So needless to say, Justin was hating the medication he was on. But Brian encouraged him to stay on it for a while.

Near the end of two weeks, Sawyer and Sam had come to visit. It was about a week before Thanksgiving. Brian hadn't brought it up to Justin, but he knew that Justin had wanted their first Thanksgiving in Britin to be a big one. But Justin hadn't said anything again.

"PUPPIES!" Sam cheered as Fred and George went running towards her. She bent down awkwardly to see them. "Oh, my goodness, you've gotten so big!" She talked to them in a high voice. It made Brian cringe.

"How can you still bend down like that? You're so fucking fat," Brian said. She looked up and glared at him. And then she picked her hand up and flicked him off. Sawyer chuckled as he pushed in her suitcase.

"Where's Justin?" she asked. Sawyer stepped forward and hugged Brian quickly.

"He's getting dressed. He just got out of the shower. I need you to do something for me," Brian said to Sam. She reached her hand up to Sawyer, and he helped pull her up. Brian went to say something, but she held up her hand.

"Fuck off with the fat jokes. Now what do you need me to do?" Sam asked, rubbing her very pregnant belly. Brian was disgusted with a pregnant woman. Mainly just women in general.

"Justin. He wanted Thanksgiving here," Brian said. Sam looked at him.

"Yeah. And?" she asked impatiently.

"Well, I need you to help him figure out what he's doing. He hasn't said a word. But I know him. It was all he could talk about for a while, having the holidays here. So, I need you to help him...figure out what the fuck he's doing," Brian said. She smiled at him.

"I just love Thanksgiving, Sam said dreamily. Sawyer laughed.

"Don't get her started. She gets food crazy for Thanksgiving food. Now with her being pregnant, it's bound to be a million times worse," Sawyer joked. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this. And just so you know, I'll be attending this holiday dinner here. Josh, my mom and dad will come, too," Sam said, smiling and walking into the kitchen. Brian and Sawyer looked at each other.

"You had to know she'd invite herself," Sawyer said as he pushed their suitcases towards the stairs. "How's he doing?" Sawyer asked as they started walking towards the kitchen. Brian shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. The meds make him all wonky. I can't wait till they make him start feeling normal. Wendy said it would feel better any day now," Brian said as they walked into the kitchen, to see Sam making herself right at home, and started making herself a sandwich. "God, don't you ever stop fucking eating?" Brian asked. She rolled her eyes.

"For a whole fucking seven months all I've done is eat. This baby is gonna be so fucking fat. But I'm just gonna love her fatness," Sam said all dreamily again, as she dipped a spoon into the peanut butter and put it in her mouth. Sawyer chuckled at her.

"Her hormones have made her all happy and whimsical. It's like she's high on happy pills. All the time. She's in love with rainbows and unicorns," Sawyer joked.

"I honestly can't help it-" she said, and stopped when she saw Justin's iPad. "Here we go," she said as she started going through it.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked.

"He has a recipe app. He has a file on here that's saved a whole bunch of Thanksgiving recipes he wants. Found it. This is perfect," she said. She started getting all giddy and looked up at Brian. "Do we have a final head count yet?" she asked. Brian glared at her and held out his hands.

"Does it look like I do?" Brian asked. She went to say something, but then something caught her eye.

"Hey, Sunshine," she said, and wobbled her fat self over to Justin to give him a hug. Sawyer got up and hugged him, too.

"You're looking good," Sawyer said.

"We've missed you. I'm sorry we had to go so suddenly. But we had a ton of stuff to do with the house renovations and some doctors' appointments. And a surprise baby shower," Sam said, all giddy again.

"It's okay. Everyone's allowed to have a life. It doesn't have to revolve around me. What are you making?" Justin asked, looking at the counter. They all walked back over to the island, and Justin sat next to Brian in Sawyer's seat. Sawyer sat on the other side of Justin, and Sam went around towards the fridge.

"Just a sandwich. But I'm really in the mood for Chinese food," she said, and bit into her sandwich. "Do you want one?" she asked. Justin shook his head.

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry," Justin said. It was true, he never really was hungry. These meds made him never even want to eat. But Justin and Brian figured out right away what his body would do if he didn't eat. So, Justin made himself eat. But because Justin was so nauseous, he only ate what was necessary. He ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Brian had convinced him to eat something with enough protein to make his body last till the next meal so he wouldn't get all shaky and develop low blood sugar. He would get fatigued if he wasn't eating or drinking enough. So, after the first couple of days they figured this out, and came up with a eating routine.

Brian couldn't stop from being a little sad by this. It was one of the things Justin did that was humorous. He could eat more than a whole football team. That Sunshine smile would always appear when he was eating something or cooking something. Food for the past week had become a job.

"Well, don't worry. With Thanksgiving a week away, I'm sure we'll fatten you right up," Sam said, taking a huge bite of her sandwich. She put it down and looked in the fridge for something. She pulled it out and smiled. Some of Justin and Gus' strawberry syrup. "Oh, this is gonna be so good," she said, pouring some onto the plate and dipping her ham and cheese sandwich in the syrup. Brian was disgusted. Behind the numbness, Justin looked amused. Sawyer was used to her eating weird things, and became amused. "It's orgasmic," she said.

"That's it. Get her out of my fucking house," Brian said. Justin smiled while Sawyer laughed.

"Shut up, Brian," Sam said. She turned Justin's iPad around and pushed it towards him.

"Oh." Justin said. Brian and Sawyer looked at each other. "I forgot about Thanksgiving," he said.

"I could help you get it all organized. And we can go out shopping today for decorations. The house will look totally beautiful just the way you wanted it. And we'll go in the next few days to get all the food. We'll have a blast cooking it all. It'll be so much fun, I promise! Your first Thanksgiving Day is gonna be beautiful in your new house. It'll be so much fun. You're going to love every second of it," Sam said. Brian watched as something changed in Justin's face. He looked up and smiled. A bigger smile then Brian had seen in a while. It was closer to his sunshine smile.

"I really did want to do this," Justin said. He looked over at Brian. "Do you think we still could?" Justin asked.

"Sunshine, if you wanna host it, then let's fucking do it," Brian said. Sam squealed and clapped her hands, and Justin smiled at him. His sunshine Justin self was smiling at him. It was popping through. He was hopeful that after a couple of hours of shopping for their house with Sam, that he would be starting to feel more like himself. That when he got home tonight, he'd be more like Justin.

Sam ended up calling Emmett, Jennifer, and Teresa, and they both met them at a mall close by. They'd be gone for hours. "Well, hey there, puppies! Come see me," Sawyer said to Fred and George. George was running better now. But that cast was still big, and it made him trip and run into walls. He got caught on the corner of the wall and fell on his side, but got back up to go see Sawyer.

"That fucking thing makes so much noise. He's making all the marks all over my walls," Brian grouched. Sawyer chuckled as the puppies jumped into his lap and kissed him.

"You seriously still haven't made friends with these guys yet?" Sawyer asked. Brian scoffed.

"I fucking hate animals! Especially that one," Brian said, pointing to George who had his cast on. "He's fucking loud and obnoxious, and follows me everywhere and gets into all my shit," Brian bitched. Sawyer just laughed at him.

"It's good to be back. I've missed you guys," Sawyer said, putting the dogs back down. But they didn't leave him. They stayed by his feet.

"How's work?" Brian asked.

"Oh, doing really well. My team totally loves when I'm not there. If I work on a campaign with a team and pitch the idea, I not only make my money from the profits, but I get more when I'm actually involved. So, they love when I'm not involved, because they make all the money. So, they told me to go and not come back." He chuckled. "So, how're you doing?" Sawyer asked.

"I'm fine," Brian said.

"Come on! You can tell me. With everything you've been through, it's gotta be hard. You're allowed to not be okay," Sawyer said.

"Well, I am okay. I'm not dead. All I fucking care about is making Justin feel normal again. I don't fucking care how I am," Brian grouched. Sawyer nodded.

"Well, I do. And so does Teresa. And so does everyone else, for that matter. We all care about how you are," Sawyer said. Brian nodded his head.

"Thanks." Brian said softly.

It was hours later before Justin and Sam came back. "The bags are in the car. You two can go get them," Sam said as she came in with two bags and plopped them down on the kitchen island and sat down. Justin came in loaded with bags.

"You have more than this?" Brian asked. Justin chuckled.

"So much more," Justin joked.

"He went shopping with my little sister. There's less out there in the world, and more wherever she is, because she fucking buys it all," Sawyer said. The three boys made countless trips out to Justin's SUV. They had stuffed the car full, even folding the backseat to cram more in. Sam was eating again. Brian rolled his eyes.

"Fatty's at it again," Brian said. It looked like she had a takeout bag on the counter that she was eating out of. Justin laughed.

"She ate at practically all the Food Court places." Justin chuckled. She rolled her eyes.

"That's an exaggeration," she said as she pulled a cookie out of a bag. Brian just shook his head. "Okay," she said and pulled out her phone. "So far I have a guest list of who's coming to Thanksgiving. I have 19 adults and two kids," Sam said.

"Why is there that many fucking people coming over?" Brian grumbled. Sam just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Because your whole family wants to be with you on the first Thanksgiving that they found you, blah, blah, blah. Just fucking suck it up already, and quit your bitching," Sam told him. The three boys stared at each other and smiled.

Later that night Justin was in the bathroom at the sink, and Brian came up behind him and squeezed his shoulders. "You seem like you had a good day," Brian said. Justin smiled and nodded his head.

"It's the first time in a while that I felt more like myself," he said and leaned back into Brian.

"I told you it would get better," Brian said, kissing Justin's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his chest and softly kept kissing his shoulders. Justin closed his eyes and moved his neck so Brian could kiss him. His hands went down Justin's chest slowly, and dipped into his underwear. Brian squeezed his cock and massaged it with his balls. He did this for about a minute until Justin pulled away. Angry. Brian knew exactly why. He never got hard.

"I had a good day. I started feeling more like myself. But I can't get fucking hard! I've never in my life ever had that problem," Justin said angrily. Brian stepped forward and put his hands on his neck.

"Listen to me. Are you listening?" Brian asked. Justin nodded. "It takes time. You know what the side effects are for these meds. And it's worth it. You'll be fine. It'll happen. But if you get fucking angry like this, and stress yourself out, it's not gonna happen and you know it," Brian said. Justin looked down. "It'll happen. And when it does, you can give me one mind-numbing blow job," Brian said, making Justin look up and chuckle. He moved his hands and squeezed his shoulders. "Well, maybe I'll give you the fucking mind-numbing blow job first. But then we can get out of here, and go somewhere hot and fuck all day and all night to celebrate," Brian said. Justin chuckled and leaned into him.

The next day, Sam had helped Justin figure out his menu, and how much food he'd need. "I feel like this is way too much food," Justin said.

"You have to send everyone home with leftovers. That's like the rudest thing. You invite all these people over for Thanksgiving, so they don't have to cook, and you can all be together and blah, blah, blah, but then they don't get to enjoy the rest of the food that week. Whenever I host Thanksgiving, everyone leaves with bags full of food. Which reminds me, we forgot Tupperware containers. We're gonna need A LOT!" Sam said. He shook his head and pinched his nose.

"We don't have enough oven room for all of this," Justin said. He was feeling overwhelmed. How was he supposed to pull this off?

"Hey. Will you take a deep breath? Have I ever led you astray? Do you not think I have all of this completely under control?" She asked, calmly. Too calmly. It kinda frustrated him. He knew she was doing it to help him. But it made him mad that people felt they had to handle him more cautiously.

"With the turkeys and everything that goes in the oven, there just won't be that much room," he said and sat next to her. She smiled.

"First of all, the turkeys don't go in the oven. Not in our family." She chuckled. Brian happened to walk in at that point.

"You just eat them raw like the animals that you are?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Sawyer's all excited. We fry them. We get those big fryers and put them in the garage. You know, to be honest I've never actually cooked a turkey before," Sam said.

"You're not doing that shit in my garage! You're not getting oil splattered all over the place," Brian warned her. She rolled her eyes.

"We place shit down to cover the floor. We'd do it out on the back porch, but it's too fucking cold. Anyway, Melanie and Emmett are actually really excited to help him. Oh, and Daphne and Jayden are gonna be here, too. So, we have two more guests. Jayden knows how to fry a turkey. God, it's the best turkey! It's so juicy and buttery," Sam said all dreamy.

"Will you stay focused?" Justin asked. She shook her head.

"Sorry. It's the baby. Anyway, all the desserts we'll make the day before. And actually, even some of the food we can put together the day before. As for the oven situation, we also have Melanie and Lindsay's oven across the street. And Teresa said she can make stuff at her house, too, so the oven situation is taken care of, my dear," she said and patted his hand.

"You're gonna trash my fucking kitchen again, aren't you?" Brian groaned and rubbed his face. She just laughed.

"Once Teresa gets here, we'll get going. We have lots and lots of shopping to do," Sam said excitedly and got up and started walking to the fridge.

"Oh, great! Fatty's gonna eat something again!" Brian said. She glared at him and opened the fridge and pulled a water out.

"I'm getting something to drink, you asshole," she said and sat back down. "You know, you're really lucky that my hormones haven't made me sensitive. Because you've called me fat way too many times. My pregnancy has, on the other hand, given me total pregnancy brain," Sam said as Sawyer walked in.

"No fucking shit it has. You do know that I'm your brother and not your husband, right?" Sawyer asked as he tossed a bag at her.

"What's that?" Brian asked.

"She keeps sending me on errands for her. Way too personal errands," Sawyer said. She smiled and pulled a box out and opened it to reveal a tube. Brian read it and burst out laughing. It said Preparation H.

"The baby has totally given me hemorrhoids," Sam said. Justin covered his face, and Brian burst out laughing. "It's not funny! You see how much I eat. It's gonna come out. And when it does, it fucking kills," Sam said. All the guys groaned.

"Okay, that's too personal," Justin said. Sam looked at Brian and Justin.

"So, you can talk about your assholes, but I can't talk about mine?" Sam asked. Sawyer groaned again.

"Oh, Jesus."

"It's not the same," Justin said.

"You're talking about a dick going in your ass. I'm simply talking about something more natural. I'm talking about-" Sawyer covered her mouth.

"That is not something we talk about, unless it's a child or a complete sexual reference to it," Brian said. Sawyer took his hand off her mouth and she rolled her eyes. They heard the front door shut.,

"You're beyond hypocritical," Sam said. Teresa walked in at that point.

"Who's hypocritical?" Teresa asked as she came in. Sam pointed at both Justin and Brian, who were on opposite sides of the kitchen island.

"These two."

"Don't ask her why," Sawyer warned Teresa before she could ask. But that wasn't gonna stop his little sister.

"Because they talk about ass fucking all damn day long. But the second I talk about what assholes are really used for, they get all crazy and grossed out." Sam said.

"What did I just walk into?" Teresa asked.

"I warned you," Sawyer told her.

"Will you take her now?" Brian asked. Sam rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I have to go upstairs and get my shoes. And to put this on my hemorrhoids, which are inside my own asshole," Sam said and walked out of the kitchen.

"I begged my parents to give her up for adoption. They promised me she was sweet and innocent," Sawyer said. Teresa took Justin and Sam shopping, and they were back in a few hours; the kitchen was filled to the max with all the Thanksgiving ingredients. And Sam and Teresa helped Justin decorate the house. Sawyer had gone to the airport to pick up his parents and Josh. His house was fucking full again. He hated it. He remembered a time when only Justin could stay with him because he had one bed. One bathroom. One couch. Now it was a fucking hotel!

"You okay?" Brian asked later that night. Justin shrugged.

"I picked out all the recipes I wanted to use. Everything on the menu is what I wanted. The house looks just how I wanted it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel so fucking overwhelmed," Justin admitted. Brian squeezed his shoulders.

"Sunshine. Everything's going to be fine. The house is all pretty, and you get to do all that baking and cooking you girls love so much. Just take a deep breath. I wouldn't let Sam ruin your Thanksgiving," Brian told him. But Justin just looked stressed.

"I know all that's in my head. But I can't help how I feel," Justin said. It was like he was going crazy after a stressful day at work. He had noticed that Justin snapped a couple of times at Sam that day. Or he just got super quiet with her. But Sam didn't act like she realized that he was snapping. The next day they went into the kitchen, there was so much food spread out.

"What the fuck are you doing now?" Brian demanded.

"We're baking all the desserts today. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, chocolate pie, coconut cream pie, pumpkin cheesecake," she said all dreamily. Josh shook her shoulders and she shook her head. "I don't know how I'm gonna get through this day. I'm already having anxiety about not eating the food till tomorrow. It's starting to make me sweat in places I didn't know I could sweat," Sam said, fanning herself. Her mother huffed.

"Samantha June, I'm not gonna listen to your dirty mouth all day long," Cynthia said. Sam turned to argue with her mom. Brian looked over at Justin, who was looking irritable again. He was having mood swings. This was gonna be a long day. He had no desire to hang out at the house today. Sawyer, his dad Mark, and Josh were actually leaving the house all day. They were taking Teresa's dad Robert with them, and they were gonna go to the movies and go out to some sports bar and eat and drink...what straight guys do. Emmett's boyfriend Calvin was going, and what Brian had just found out the night before was that Ben was feeling a little better and was invited, and he and Hunter were tagging along. Michael and Carl were working. Although he knew Carl had been invited, he didn't think anyone asked Michael. Ted and Blake had also been invited, but they had planned a last-minute trip to his mother's the other day, and were actually just driving back today in time to make it to Britin for Thanksgiving the next day.

Tucker was watching Lilly, who had a cold the previous week, but had been feeling better, but Jen didn't want her to leave the house just yet. She wanted her to give her one more day. Gus was with one of his cousins, and Jenny Rebecca was with Debbie.

Justin, Sam, Teresa, Lindsay, Melanie, Emmett, Daphne, Jennifer, Molly, and both his grandmothers were gonna be in the house cooking all day. Debbie had been invited, by pretty much everyone, to not only come and help them today, but to come the next day. She had respectfully declined, going on and on about cooking for Carl, Michael, Ben (who she was so happy was starting to feel better, and was excited he was coming over and going to eat), Hunter, and Jenny. She did, however, sound relieved, and much happier when she found out Ben and Hunter were going with the group for the day.

Brian could easily go out with all them. But he declined on the fact that he had major work that needed his attention, and he would be working on his computer the whole day. This was half true. Yes, he'd be working on his computer, but it was all stuff that could wait if he wanted a true vacation on a holiday. But he was choosing to do this work as an excuse to stay in the house and keep an eye on Justin. His mood swings kept Brian on his toes. The weirdest things would set him off. Brian was literally gonna be in his office with the door open, on standby, waiting to jump and rescue him.

Brian scoffed. "Christ," he muttered.

"What's wrong with you?" Teresa asked. He shook his head as Justin walked away and closed the bathroom door down the hall. "You can go out with the guys, you know. We can keep an eye on Justin," Teresa said.

"I'm fine," Brian said.

"You know, we understand what it feels like getting used to the different medications," Cynthia said. Brian looked over at his mother and Sam and glared.

"What? I didn't say anything," Sam defended herself.

"No one told me he was taking medication. I may be old, but I'm not senile. I've had family members on anti-depressants," Cynthia said, looking at Sam. "You're fine one minute, the next you're sobbing because the bear on the Snuggles commercial just wants a hug," Cynthia said, slowly looking at Sam. Brian looked over at her, and her mouth fell open.

"You cried at a fucking commercial?" Brian asked.

"I can't believe you just used that against me," Sam said to her mom. "It was the meds. I wasn't used to them. They make you act weird,," Sam said and pouted. Brian chuckled at her.

"The point is, we understand. So, you don't have to hang out here today. We can take care of him. He'll be fine," his grandmother told him and patted his hand. He trusted her. He's never had grandparents that were nice. He dared say that he actually loved her. He smiled at her.

"Thank you. But I'm still gonna catch up on some work," Brian told them. It was just in case. He felt they were perfectly fine handling Justin if he had a freak out. But nothing helped Justin more than Brian. He wasn't gonna leave on the off chance that Justin had a total meltdown. So, he went into his office, and was surprised to see Justin sitting on the couch. He looked pissed. Brian shut his door behind him.

"You okay?" Brian asked as he walked over to the front of his desk and leaned on it and crossed his arms.

"I'm angry. For no fucking reason," Justin said. Brian snorted.

"Well, I think you have plenty of fucking reasons to be angry," Brian said. Justin looked up at him. He was leaning forward on his elbows which were placed on his knees.

"But I'm angry at Sam. For no reason. We talked for hours and hours about how I wanted our first Thanksgiving to go. How I wanted to decorate to the recipes I wanted. She's doing it all exactly like I wanted. She's taking over for me, because I'm such a fucking mental case that I can't do anything myself. Everything is perfect, and all I wanna do is fucking scream at her," Justin said angrily into his hands. Brian went over and sat next to him, leaning back into the couch. He reached forward and squeezed the back of Justin's neck.

"You're not a mental case. Mental people don't know what they're doing or feeling. You do," Brian told him. He leaned forward so their shoulders were touching. "It's just your meds making you feel like this. Just give it some more time, and you'll start feeling more like yourself."

"I don't want to give it more time. I feel totally out of control of myself. I can't control my emotions. I can't control my body. I want a fucking hard on, and can't even get one," Justin ground out and rubbed his face. Now that was something Brian completely understood. Wanting a hard on and not being able to get one. He leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"Do you remember what you said to me when I couldn't get one?" Brian asked. Justin nodded his head.

"Something about giving it some time for your body to heal itself." Justin muttered.

"Everything will be up and running in no time," he joked, making Justin look at with a grim face. "Stop fucking freaking out about a hard on! It'll happen when you least expect it. Hopefully, it's when you're in front of your mother. That'll be super enjoyable for me." Brian smirked, making Justin roll his eyes and lightly slap his chest with the back of his hand. Brian chuckled and pushed him off the couch. "Now, get out there and have fun using your Easy Bake Oven," Brian said. Justin smiled and walked out.

Brian rolled his eyes as he heard Sam giving out instructions for making the homemade crust. He purposely just listened for Justin. He was quiet. He'd pipe up every once in a while, or laugh. Some moments he was more talkative. It felt like he was living with a different person. It was hard to watch Justin struggle so much. He was struggling to be himself, and it killed him to know he couldn't do a fucking thing to help Justin.

"So, where did you learn how to cook?" Lindsay asked Sam. Everyone had been mixing, and rolling out dough, and cutting apples. Sam wiped flower on her face as she scratched her nose, and then flicked her fingers at Cynthia, who was standing next to her.

"My mom is the best cook. She taught me everything I know. Well, most everything I know," Sam said and smiled.

"Well, this recipe for the crust came from Genevieve. I stole this one from her," Cynthia said. Teresa's mom Genevieve laughed.

"It's my mother's recipe. Passed down to all her girls, and all my girls. And Cynthia's girls. But the chocolate pie is all Cynthia's. I stole that from her," Genevieve said.

"My aunt Lula used to make a fabulous pecan pie. It was best fresh out of the oven, and she'd scoop up some vanilla ice cream, and we'd sit there and eat the whole thing in one sitting. I'm surprised I don't weigh 600 pounds from all the food she fed me." Emmett laughed.

"My mother never let me cook. It was a maid's job," Lindsay said.

"We had a cleaning lady growing up. But my mom didn't boss her around like other people we knew," Justin chimed in.

"And I usually was the one to cook dinner. It was my favorite part of the day cooking dinner for my family," Jen said.

"I completely enjoy cooking now. Mel and I love cooking in our kitchen for the kids," Lindsay said, smiling at Mel.

"You're actually one of the few families that I know that actually have a family dinner at the table every night," Sam said as she licked some chocolate off her finger.

"Kids nowadays have no idea what it used to be like. Having to stop everything you were doing to come inside for dinner. Every night. At the exact same time," Teresa said.

"Kids nowadays are so attached to their electronics. They can't be away from Netflix for five minutes," Jen said. Molly suddenly laughed, and they all looked at her. She had her iPad sitting on the counter, and she had her earbuds in. Justin looked over to see what she was looking at.

"Pretty Little Liars," Justin said. Sam snorted.

"Case in point," Emmett joked.

"My mom would never have let me watch tv at the dinner table," Daphne said.

"We don't let Gus play with his iPad, either. Mel and I have started keeping our phones on the counter. We'll look at it, and only answer it if it's important. But then we let each other know why we need to take the call. We wanna teach Gus that family dinners come first. But sometimes we have to deal with our jobs, or friends, and needs to be taken care of right then. Because they're important. But then we'll also tell him the reasons why we ignore them. Or Aunty Em is just sending a funny text. Well read it after dinner, "Lindsay joked. Emmett put his hand to his heart.

"You ignore my text messages?" Emmett asked, hurt. The group laughed. Brian was actually happy to hear that after a while Justin's bad mood turned into a good mood. He was talking and laughing more with the group. He sounded more like himself.

The next day, Justin got up long before Brian did to go downstairs to help start their fancy dinner. Sam was sitting at the counter, eating of course. "Good morning," Sam said as she stuffed her face with pancakes. Justin chuckled.

"How are you not a thousand pounds by now?" Justin asked. She chuckled and wiped her face.

"I'm actually questioning that myself. But like I said, all this baby wants to do is eat. For the most part I will eat healthy. I've eaten a shit done of fruits and veggies. See?" She said, pointing to her eggs that looked all colorful with vegetables, and a bowl of fruit. "But this happy, happy day. It's all about the turkey and chocolate pie," she said dreamily. Just laughed and shook his head.

"Hey, um...I wanted to apologize for the past couple of days. I've been really snappy with you. Everything you've done is exactly how I wanted our first Thanksgiving in Britin to be, and it never would have happened if you weren't here. So, thank you. And I'm really sorry," Justin said to Sam. She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

"When did you snap at me?" She asked.

"Every time I've talked to you for the past few days," Justin said. She gave him that blank stare that Brian gives him when he has no idea what Justin's talking about.

"Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about," she said and looked down at her breakfast.

"Are you serious? I've been snapping at you the past few days about anything you've said. How have you not noticed?" Justin asked.

"It's this whole pregnancy. It's really fucking with my superpowers. If you're not a cheeseburger, I'm really not paying that much attention to you," she joked. He shook his head in amazement. "Well, it's true. It's totally thrown me off my game. It's really inconvenient," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"Thank you," Justin told her and went back upstairs. Sawyer came in and sat next to her, and just looked at her.

"What?" She asked, her mouth full of food.

"Have you really not noticed that he's been biting your head off?" He asked his little sister. She rolled her eyes and swallowed her food.

"Please. I'm not stupid. Of course, I have," she said.

"And you let him off the hook," he said. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Paying it forward. I'm never an easy person to be around when I start on medication. And you all let me snap at you, because your tie was offensive to your upbringing," she joked. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

"You're kind of amazing sometimes. You know that?" He asked her. She laughed and sat up, making hand movements to her stomach.

"It's the power of the fetus," she said in a deep voice. Shortly after that, the house was abuzz with everyone in the kitchen. Molly was running around with Gus, Lilly, and the puppies. Sawyer was in the garage with Josh and Emmett, who were cooking the turkeys in the deep fryer. Brian was pissed about that one. But Sawyer had taped down a tarp and cardboard, so no oil would splatter on his precious garage floor.

Some of the guys were watching the football game in the living room, some of the ladies were cooking. Justin was happy. It was exactly what he wanted for his first Thanksgiving in this beautiful home he had created with Brian. With all their family and friends enjoying the day with them. "How're the turkeys looking?" Jennifer asked Josh as he came into the kitchen to wash his hands.

"So amazing. You should go out there and smell it," Josh told her.

"Smells all turkey and butterish. Mmmmmm," Sam said. They laughed at her.

"Butterish isn't a word," Brian grumbled. She rolled her eyes.

"You know, I hope Sawyer spills some oil all over the garage. Serves you right for always calling me fat," she said as she scooped something into her mouth and moaned. "Lindsay. this is soooo good!" Sam said.

"Look at you! You ARE fat! All you've done since you've been knocked up is fucking eat," Brian said. Her mouth fell open. Josh stood next to her and looked down, and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm okay with her being fat. I get a kid out of it, so eat all the food you want," Josh said. She kissed him and then smiled smugly at Brian. He just rolled his eyes.

"You must have that weird fetish where you like to keep feeding your wife till she gets all big and fat," Brian joked. Justin smiled and laughed at him.

"Didn't Ted date someone for a minute who was like that?" Justin asked. Brian laughed, remembering when Ted had gained weight, and that weirdo was turned on by him eating.

"Hey, we made Brussels sprouts," Sam told Josh. He looked at her and shook his head. She chuckled and nudged him.

"Why am I afraid to ask why you're laughing?" Justin asked. Sam looked around, and the rest of their family wasn't even paying attention to them, so she leaned in.

"She has some crazy theory about the offensive vegetable." Josh chuckled.

"Do you both like Brussels sprouts?" Sam asked.

"Actually, yeah. My mom makes them, and they're really good. You like ‘em, too, right?" Justin asked. Brian nodded, and Sam just started laughing. Josh just shook his head. Teresa came into the kitchen.

"What are you laughing at? That laugh doesn't sound good," Teresa asked.

"Brussel sprouts," Josh told her. She rolled her eyes and brought some plates out of the kitchen.

"I have it on good authority that gay guys and straight women like Brussel sprouts, because it's like having balls in your mouth," she whispered. Justin's mouth dropped. Brian laughed.

"You laugh. But she's gone out of her way to prove this theory. About 90% of the time she's spot on with it." Josh chuckled. Brian tuned out of the conversation, and just leaned his elbows on the kitchen island. It was nice to hear Justin talking and laughing and making jokes. He missed that Justin. He was carefree.

By the time the food was all ready, everyone was starving. Justin looked at the long dining room table, and was surprised by how much food there actually was. If it were up to him, this wouldn't have happened. It wouldn't look as perfect as it did. And it was perfect. This was exactly what he had wanted all along. For his and Brian's first Thanksgiving in their house as a married couple to be perfect. He was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone sitting in the dining room. He was truly blessed to have this many people, plus so many more, to care about something so simple as him wanting a perfect holiday. Everyone was laughing and passing around food. It was truly perfect.

Sam tucked her napkin into her collar and was only putting sides on her plate, minus turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. She was piling her plate very high. "You guys are all about to witness something truly beautiful," She said. Brian snorted.

"Oh, these are so good, Jennifer!" Emmett said. Sam whipped her head to look over at Emmett. He was chewing on a Brussel sprout.

"You like those, Em?" Sam asked. He groaned in ecstasy.

"Oh, they're fabulous!" Emmett said. Sam was smiling. She turned to look at Melanie and Lindsay.

"Are you two gonna have some?" She asked.

"I've actually never been a fan. My mother forced me to eat them when I was a kid, and I've hated them ever since," Lindsay said. Sam, Josh, Justin, and Brian were all enjoying the private joke. Sawyer and Teresa were chuckling. Oh, the irony!

"I've loved Brussel sprouts since I was a kid," Sam said as she put one into her mouth. "Tucker, I bet you like them, right?" Sam asked. Tucker looked at Jen.

"Actually, no. I've never really liked them. But I'm sure Jennifer makes the best," Tucker said and kissed her cheek. Sam was proud of herself.

"My mom used to make them twice a week. I love them," Ted said. Sam was just laughing.

"Did you do something to them?" Jen asked Sam. Sam's mouth fell open, and the others laughed.

"Samantha June, you are NOT making that disgusting joke again," Cynthia told her sternly. Sam ignored her.

"I have this theory about Brussels sprouts. Blake, Calvin, do you like them?" Sam asked.

"You don't have to answer her," Cynthia told them.

"Actually, I do," Blake said.

"Me, too," Calvin said. Sam smiled brightly again.

"Molly?" She asked. Molly warily nodded her head. "My dad doesn't like them. Neither does Robert," Sam said, referring to Teresa's dad. They all knew what was coming. "My theory is that gay guys and straight women all like Brussels sprouts, because it's like having a ball in their mouth," Sam said. A lot happened at once. Brian and Justin burst out laughing. Cynthia yelled Sam's full name. Mark just shook his head. Emmett spit out his drink all over Tucker, then Emmett burst out laughing, banging the table with his hands. Jennifer had dropped her fork on her dish, making a loud noise. And Ted started choking on his turkey. Blake hit his back, and a chunk of turkey went flying onto Sawyer's plate, who was complaining.

"What the hell did we miss?" A voice said. Everyone stopped and looked over to see Debbie, holding a pie in her hands. The room was silent as they looked and saw that she wasn't alone. Carl, Ben, Hunter, and Michael were all there. Michael was holding onto J.R.

"What are you all doing here?" Lindsay asked. It was awkward. No one wanted to ask the question, so she did, in her sing-songy voice.

"I called and invited them this morning," Justin said. Everyone turned and looked at him. "It's just not Thanksgiving without one of Debbie's pies," Justin said. He looked over at Brian, and Brian smiled.

"Well, everyone move over and grab some more chairs!" Sam said as she moved her chair to the right. Everyone started moving, grabbing more chairs and a booster seat for Jenny. Hugging Debbie and the rest of them, Michael stayed silent. It wouldn't have been awkward had the rest of them showed up. But Michael in Justin and Brian's house again? That was something that Brian didn't think he'd ever see again.

"What made you do that?" Brian whispered to Justin.

"Someone had to," Justin said softly. Brian smiled and squeezed the back of Justin's neck. It was true. Someone had to fix their Liberty Ave family. It had been Michael on one side, and Brian and Justin on the other. It wasn't something he had ever wanted to happen. He had never wanted all the stress in his life involving Michael like this. He wondered when it really just fell apart between them. Between Michael and everyone.

Everyone was passing them food and filling up their plates. "Emmett, pass the boys some Brussel sprouts," Sam said. The room went quiet. Ben took a large spoonful, and then handed the bowl to Michael.

"Did Jennifer make those? I can never make them taste as good as you do," Debbie said.

"Would you like some, Carl?" Blake asked.

"I'd love some. They're my absolute favorite at Thanksgiving," Carl said. That was all it took for the laughter to erupt again. Debbie and her family just stared around at everyone laughing.

"Okay, what did we miss?" Ben asked. It had cut the tension. And for just a little while, it was like things were back to normal. Michael was quieter. But Brian supposed that was for the best. There was tons of laughing and dirty sex jokes flying around. Sam was pretty much who everyone was watching. She had piled her plate full of the side dishes, and then got seconds. Then she filled her plate with sweet potato casserole. She claimed that she didn't like some of her foods to touch.

Everyone was pretty much done eating by the time she made it to the turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. "I've been waiting all my life for you. Baby, you're about to experience what Thanksgiving is all about," Sam said, rubbing her belly. She took a bite and moaned loudly.

"That baby's gonna come out fat like her," Brian told Josh. After she finished, she ended up getting a second helping.

"How do you have any more room?" Brian asked her, disgusted.

"Can you please make him shut up? He's ruining Thanksgiving for me," Sam told Justin. He just smiled and leaned into Brian.

A little way into dinner, Sawyer cleared his throat and held up his glass. "I'd like to make a toast." Before he could say anything else, a roll hit him in the face. Everyone looked over at Brian, who just groaned.

"I'm so tired of the fucking speeches already. I already know what you're gonna say. How excited you are to be sharing this holiday with your son, blah, blah, blah, how special this Thanksgiving is, crap, blah, blah. We get it already, for God's sakes!" Brian said and rubbed at his face. "Can we please stop with the damn speeches already?" Justin's shoulders shook with silent laughter. Everyone else sat silent. Sawyer put his glass down and cleared his throat.

"Well, I was happy to be here until that crabby ass opened his mouth," Sawyer said. Justin snorted and started laughing out loud. The rest of the table started laughing.

"God, could you be any more self-centered?" Sam asked.

"It's Brian. It's what he does best," Melanie joked.

"Your poor parents want to make a heartwarming speech, and this shit head ruins the whole God damned thing," Debbie said, shaking her head.

"Do you ever notice nowadays that everything always centers around Brian and Justin?" Emmett joked.

"That's because this story is about me and Justin. You guys are just extras," Brian said. Emmett took a green bean and tossed it at him.

"And me to daddy," Gus piped up.

"Of course, Gus. It's all about you, me, and Sunshine," Brian told him. Sam picked up her glass.

"Well I'd like to raise a glass to Joan Kinney," Sam said. The room became quiet and everyone looked at her. "If she didn't need a liver transplant, Brian wouldn't have accidently found out that he was adopted. And then we wouldn't even be here. So, it's a good thing Joan Kinney got sick and died," Sam said. Her mother dropped her fork, making a loud crash as she covered her face.

"I'm gonna go with pregnancy brain with that comment," Josh said. Sam shrugged her shoulders and took a sip. She looked up a minute later and smiled at Brian and raised her eyebrows. Pregnancy brain my ass, Brian thought.

After they were done eating, they started clearing dishes and brought out the million pies Sam made them make the day before. "Alright, we have apple, pumpkin, sweet potato, pecan, chocolate, and then I lost track after that." Jen chuckled. Everyone was picking different pieces. Justin had set up a long bar along the wall, and everyone was just picking their own pieces and then sitting back down. Sam was on her third helping of turkey, and was the only one still sitting.

"So, Debbie, have you finally picked a date yet to get married?" Jen asked. The room quieted down with that question. Emmett answered for her by snorting.

"No, she hasn't. I keep telling her to pick a date, for God sakes! By the time she gets married, Gus will have grandchildren," Emmett joked.

"I keep trying to tell her if she doesn't want to pick a date, then let's just go to the courthouse and get it over with," Carl said.

"That is not how I want to get married," Debbie told him.

"Are you still planning on getting married here?" Lindsay asked. Her face had said it all. That was why Debbie was stalling because of all the fighting with Michael, and she was supposed to get married at Britin. That wasn't fair. The woman who had practically raised him. Loved him when she didn't have to. She deserved to be happy. Brian pulled out his phone and looked at his calendar, and tossed it across the table at her. It made everyone jump.

"Asshole," Debbie growled at him.

"Pick something in spring, summer or fall. We'll have the yard looking beautiful for your big day," Brian said.

"I think our little family here is due for another gay wedding," Justin said and smiled at her.

"Can it even be a gay wedding if they're straight?" Molly asked.

"Debbie's an honorary gay man," Emmett told her. Debbie was teary eyed.

"Thank you, boys, so much," Debbie said.

"God, that was so good." Sam moaned, ruining the moment. "I'm so ready for dessert," she said, rubbing her huge belly up and down.

"How are you even able to shove any more food in?" Brian asked her, disgusted.

"Please, I prepare all year for this dinner! I usually just wear sweat pants, but these maternity pants work just fine. Sawyer, cut me a small piece of apple pie," Sam said. He turned around and started cutting. "Bigger," She told him. He moved the pie cutter. "Bigger," she said again. He moved it again. "What, are you afraid you're gonna run out? Cut me a real piece!" She said. The group laughed.

"She's so fucking fat." Brian said, making Justin chuckle and hit his shoulder. Sam made her way through the different pies. Brian figured between it all she ate a whole one by herself. But it made dinner fun. It was a few hours later that they started cleaning up, and Sam ordered everyone around in the kitchen for what leftovers everyone was taking home. And she made sure Carl got plenty of Brussel Sprouts.

"Hey, Justin! Did you want to give Gus and J.R. that ‘thing' we talked about?" Lindsay asked.

"What thing?" Michael asked.

"WHAT THING?" Gus asked excitedly.

"What thing?" Brian grumbled.

"Well, it's actually in the family room on the table. It's something for us to do at both our houses. Why don't we go in and find out what it is?" Justin told Gus, who was so excited that he picked J.R. up and went running with the toddler. Lindsay and Mel instantly followed with Justin behind them. "Brian, come on," Justin said as he left. Brian rubbed his face.

"What stupid fucking holiday thing did you get him into now?" Brian groaned, looking at Sam. Her mouth dropped.

"Me? This one had nothing to do with me. It's really cute. It'll be worth it when they're older with all the fun it is," Sam said. Brian noticed that Michael had crossed his arms and was mad that he didn't know what was going on. He left the kitchen, and figured that Michael went to follow, but he heard Debbie and Sam call Michael back. Sam was rambling about what leftovers she was sending to his house.

He walked into the family room and they were all sitting on the couch. His son was jumping up and down by the box that was wrapped on the coffee table. Brian sat down next to Justin. "God, what are we doing now?" Brian complained.

"Alright, Gus. You guys can open it," Justin said. No sooner were the words out of his mouth that Gus grabbed the box and put it between him and Jenny, pretending that she was helping, but really he just ripped the shiny Santa Claus wrapping paper off the box and opened it. Brian didn't get what he was seeing. It looked like a book, something in a decorative envelope, and two ugly looking dolls all dressed in red.

"ELF ON THE SHELF!" His son cheered, making Justin, Lindsay, and Melanie laugh.

"Look, Gus! There's a boy and a girl." Melanie said.

"How hetero," Brian said.

"Gussy, there's a letter in here for you and Jenny," Lindsay said as she pulled Gus to sit in her lap so he could sit close to Justin, who was opening the letter. Melanie pulled J.R. into her own lap; her daughter was holding the ugly looking elves close to her.

"Gus, I think this came from Santa," Justin said. Brian couldn't help but smile at Gus. The boy was just so excited. He scooted closer to Justin. The letter was a work of art. Justin could make anything beautiful, even a Christmas letter from Santa.

"Well then, Daddy should read it already," Lindsay said.

"Dear Gus and Jenny Rebecca," Justin read, looking at the two excited kids. "You two are so very special. I wanted to send two of my most special elves to spend the holidays with you, and watch to make sure that you're always being good," Justin said as he eyed the kids. They were hanging onto his every word. "The boy will stay at your dads' house, and the girl will stay at your moms' house...." Brian snorted. "And I want you to name them!" Justin said.

"SWEATER!" Gus yelled. The adults laughed.

"You want to name one of the elves Sweater?" Brian asked.

"Broccoli!" Jenny yelled.

"Okay...so we'll help you," Justin said and looked back at the letter. "These elves are no ordinary elves. They have special Christmas magic. Every single night, as soon as you're asleep, both elves will come speeding back to me at the North Pole, and they're gonna report back to me all about your day. Whether you've been naughty or nice," Justin said. Gus gasped, and then Jenny gasped, not really understanding. "Part of the Christmas magic is that you must never, ever touch your elves after today. You have to pick a spot for them to spend their first night, and then you can't touch them again," Justin said.

"But what if our elves fall?" Gus asked.

"Well, it's okay, sweetie. If something were to happen, all you have to do is get one of us, and we can put them back," Lindsay said. Gus made a face.

"But Sweater and Broccoli will lose their Christmas magic," he said, horrified.

"They won't lose their Christmas magic if one of us helps them. Santa understands that some things happen," Justin said. Brian leaned forward.

"Please pick a different name. Santa's trusting you to pick the perfect name. You don't want to disappoint him by naming him Sweater," Brian said. Justin and Lindsay shoved him back.

"Why don't we finish the letter and then decide on names?" Lindsay said. Justin looked back at the letter.

"Make sure you listen to your mommies and daddies. And remember...I see you when you're sleeping, and I know when you're awake. And I'll know if you've been bad or good...so be good for goodness sakes! Merry Christmas! From Santa Claus," Justin said.

"So how about we come up with a name, and we'll find a good spot for them to stay tonight," Lindsay said.

"How about we do a fun Christmas name?" Melanie said. Brian chuckled.

"Does a Jew even know Christmas words?" Brian asked. Melanie rolled her eyes.

"What about Mistletoe, Jenny?" Lindsay asked. Jenny squished her nose.

"What about Peppermint?" Melanie asked her. Jenny hated any name they said. She didn't know what mistletoe or peppermint was. Brian rolled his eyes and sat up.

"Name her Snowflake, for Christ's sake!" The three adults glared at him. But to their surprise, J.R. clapped her hands.

"Snowflake!" She cheered and hugged the girl elf.

"Well. Snowflake it is, then," Lindsay said.

"You should name the other one Snowball, Gus," Justin said. His held his elf up and tilted his head, thinking about it. "What about Eggnog?" Justin chuckled. Gus gave him a half smile. Brian suddenly felt his heart melt. He saw his own smile, smiling back at him. It was the first time he realized that Gus looked just like him. This little person, who he cared so deeply for, looked like him. It made him smile. Gus looked to Brian.

"I like Eggnog...but..." Gus tried to say. Something was missing.

"I think this elf needs a first and last name, Sonny Boy," Brian said. Gus nodded. Brian turned the elf around. How were these stupid ugly things so popular? "He looks like an Elfkins Eggnog," Brian joked, turning him back around and leaning back against the couch. Justin laughed.

"Where the heck did you come up with that?" Justin laughed. Brian shook his head.

"I have no idea." Brian watched as Justin and Gus decided to hang him up on a picture frame. Gus hugged the elf, and then Justin hung him up. Lindsay and Melanie got the kids to go across the street to hide the other one. That was when Brian noticed Michael, who was all red in the face.

"Where did they go with Jenny? It's my night with her," Michael demanded. Justin eyed Brian, and then walked passed Michael. Brian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Relax. They're not staying. They got the kids two of those stupid elves on the fucking shelves," Brian said, pointing behind him to Elfkins hanging on the wall. "They're hanging up the other one," Brian said.

"They got two of them?" Michael asked. Brian nodded his head.

"They're in two houses. They wanted them to have one in each house," Brian explained.

"But this isn't J.R.'s house! I should have been told, so she can have one in my house!" Michael said. Brian stared at him.

"It's a fucking ugly toy. Your daughter doesn't even understand. It's more so for Gus. He'll be the one looking around every day to see where the damn thing moved to," Brian told him

"I should have been consulted. It's not fair to leave my daughter out," Michael said. 

"What's the matter?" Debbie demanded as she walked in.

"Go get Hunter and Ben. We're leaving," Michael said. At hearing his name, Hunter came over. "Go get your coat," Michael said as he started putting on his own.

"I don't want to leave," Hunter said.

"Why are you so upset?" Debbie demanded.

"Because they're all doing Christmas things for the kids, and not including me in it," Michael said.

"What are you talking about?" Debbie asked. The girls came back over with the kids, and Michael yanked Jenny out of Lindsay's hands.

"It's not your night with her. It's mine. You can't just take her over there. Hunter, go get both our coats now. We're leaving," Michael said.

"What the hell is your problem?" Melanie demanded.

"You're acting like fucking baby over a goddamned toy." Brian gritted his teeth.

"Teresa, can you please take him?" Lindsay asked Brian's mother. He stepped forward into the hallway, and could see her as she pulled Gus forward.

"Jenny needs to go with her, too," Mel said as she pushed passed Lindsay to take her from Michael, but he yanked back.

"Like hell she is! She's my daughter! And we're going home," Michael said. Jenny started crying.

"Michael, I have warned you to not start in front of her. You're not taking her with you now," Melanie said, standing her ground. Her lesbian lawyer voice was booming.

"Michael, you promised you wouldn't start anything," Debbie said as she started getting emotional.

"What's going on?" Carl asked as he and Ben came down the hall.

"We're leaving. Now!" Michael told Carl.

"We're not going anywhere, Michael," Carl said. "The day isn't over. We're spending a nice holiday, with our family. And we have no intention of leaving just yet. We're all enjoying ourselves," Carl told him calmly.

"Then we'll leave. Come on, Ben," Michael said. Ben shook his head.

"I haven't spent any time with everyone lately. This is the first day in a long time that I've felt good. I'm not leaving. And neither is Hunter," Ben said. Michael's eyes flared. Jenny continued to cry.

"I'm not going to be treated like this. We're leaving," Michael told him.

"Do you hear yourself? All of this over a fucking toy?" Brian asked. He walked over and grabbed the elf and threw it at Michael's face. "Take it if it's that fucking important to you! All of this shit over a fucking elf! It's for the fucking kids! None of this was about you! It was about my son! It was about doing something fun for my kid! Because he's old enough to understand fucking Santa Claus and Rudolph and Frosty the fucking snowman. It was for our family to do for the fucking holidays, and you fucking ruined it! It wasn't about you. And I'm not going to allow you to ruin it for these two kids! So, give me the goddamned baby, and get the fuck out of my house!" Brian said harshly, but calmly, only for J.R.'s sake, who was still crying in Michael's arms.

"You can't take my daughter away from me! It's my weekend with her!" Michael argued.

"Well, your privileges have been revoked," Brian told him, swallowing down a memory of a Jewish lesbian saying that to him at one time.

"You can't..." Michael didn't get to finish the sentence, because Brian got right in his face.

"I can," Brian gritted through his teeth. "I can do that and a lot more, and you know it. So, give me the baby, and get the fuck out of my house," He said sternly. No one could move a muscle. Brian took J.R. from Michael's hands, and then Michael stormed out. Mel jumped to Brian to take Jenny into her arms.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Melanie said and kissed her face. She looked over at Brian, trying not to smirk.

"Don't fucking say it," Brian told her. He walked passed everyone and into the kitchen. The room was silent. Justin was sitting at the kitchen island with his head pointed down and his eyes closed. He had ear buds in.

"He's listening to Bon Jovi. ‘Livin' on a Prayer' is the perfect song to drown out whatever the hell that was. He's just been doing better today. I didn't want anything to ruin that. So, I stuck those in his ears," Sam said who was sitting next to him, eating another piece of pie. Brian nodded and walked over and pulled on one side of the ear piece. Justin looked up. Brian smiled at him, and Justin took the other one out and smiled back at him. Everyone had filed back into the kitchen.

"Sooo...someone wanna clue us in on what that was?" Sawyer asked. Brian pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

"Fucking Elfkins Eggnog," Brian said.

"Is that like a Christmas sex position?" Emmett asked. It broke the spell, and everyone in the house started laughing. The house was magical again, as they forgot whatever had just happened and enjoyed the day. When everyone started leaving, Brian walked into the kitchen to see Sam putting two bowls on the floor, and calling Fred and George over to it. She looked over at Justin.

"See? They love it! Puppies should get their own Thanksgiving bowl, too. Don't you two just love it?" She asked the dogs.

"Did you give those damn dogs fucking people food?" Brian bitched. She rolled her eyes. "What did you put in there?" Brian demanded. She sat in a chair.

"Will you relax? Just some turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, a roll, corn, sweet potatoes, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, squash, and some macaroni. It's not like I gave them some pie," Sam said.

"Yeah, because you wouldn't want to share that," Sawyer said. She smacked him.

"When they puke, you're cleaning it up," Brian told her.

"What the big deal? They love it," Sam said.

"They lick their own crotch. And the lick their own ass. Of course, they love that food," Brian said. Sam just looked at him like he was crazy.

"You're gay. You lick guy's dicks and asses," Sam said.

"Aww, come on! That's my son! I don't want to hear that," Sawyer said. Sam rolled her eyes. Justin covered his face.

"I don't lick other guy's dicks and asses. Only his," Brian said, pointing to Justin, who was even more embarrassed. Josh just laughed.

Later that night, Justin and Brian were walking up to bed, and Brian had just closed the door behind them when he lightly pushed Justin to a sitting position on the end of the bed. "What?" Justin asked. Brian got on his knees and started pulling off Justin's shoes and then his socks. "Brian," He whispered. But Brian ignored him. He unbuttoned Justin's pants and pulled them off his hips, and reached into his underwear and pulled out his cock. It was soft. But Brian was bound and determined to change that. He reached up and unbuttoned Justin's shirt and pulled it open and started licking his nipples, making Justin hiss. That was a good sign.

He softly kissed and licked and gently bit his nipples for a while before he started his way down. Once he got to his belly button, he felt Justin's stomach twitch. That was always a good sign. That was a sensitive spot for Justin for some reason, on both sides of his belly button. He kissed his way down to his pubic hair, and down to his cock. He was hard! It wasn't super hard. But that was enough. He kissed his way down Justin's length, and softly sucked on his head, swirling his tongue around it.

"Brian...mmmmmmm," Justin whispered. He threw his head back in ecstasy, and held tightly to the mattress. Brian pointed his tongue, pushing it into the slit on the top of the head before he drew him into his mouth, sinking all the way down until his face was buried in Justin's pubic hair. Justin let out a gasp and then a loud groan. Oh, yeah. Justin was finally gonna get that hot blow job that Brian had promised him, and Justin frustratingly had to wait for. He fondled his balls with his hands before switching his mouth to suck on them and move his hand to stroke him.

Justin's balls were heavy and full of cum. He knew he was dying to burst. He knew he wouldn't last long, so Brian started sucking him again, up and down until Justin practically yelled and started cumming. It wasn't powerful like it should have been. But Brian knew that was the medicine. But he came nonetheless. And Brian sucked on Justin's cock, drinking all of his cum that he gave him.

It felt damn fucking good to be doing something sexual. He was a fag, for fucks sake! He missed sucking on a cock. And not just any cock. Justin's cock. He missed burying his face in the blond man's crotch. He looked up at Justin, who was panting and then stood up. "I did promise you a mind-numbing blow job. Was it everything you'd hoped for?" Brian asked, tilting his head. Justin smiled up at him. A sunshine smile. Not a super strong one, but it was a start. He felt Justin's hands on his zipper.

"Let me return the favor, stud," Justin said, and Brian was suddenly lost in the moment, feeling Justin's mouth on him. Oh, it felt so fucking good. It also wasn't a full Justin kind of blow job. But he didn't fucking care. Justin's mouth was on him. And that was all he fucking cared about. He tangled his hands in Justin's hair and moaned. God, it felt good! But he didn't last long before he was cumming, too. Justin stood up and Brian kissed him, tasting himself and Justin mixed together. The best taste ever.

Brian suddenly heard a strange noise. He looked around and spotted what it was. It was one of the damn dogs. Gagging. And then puking all over the floor.

"Oh, George," Justin said sadly and went running over to him, struggling to pull his pants over his ass and zip them back up.

"I knew it. I fucking knew it!" Brian said, stomping over to the door and kicking his pants aside.

"Brian, get me a towel please," Justin said, petting George. Brian ignored him and threw open his door.

"SAMANTHA! GET YOUR FUCKING PREGNANT FAT ASS IN HERE NOW!" Brian screamed loudly.

"Brian, you're..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sam asked. She had changed into her pajamas, and had a robe on that wasn't tied. Josh followed her out. She covered her eyes, as did Josh. "God, Brian!  Put some fucking clothes on," Sam said. She suddenly threw her arms up. "Don't come down here, unless you want to see your son butt-ass naked! I'm already scarred for life; I'm trying to save you from it, too," Sam told Sawyer, who stayed in his doorway.

"That fucking dog puked all over the floor, because you gave him people food! Now you can fucking clean it up!" Brian told her. She crossed her arms.

"Brian, please, I'll clean it, just get me something. I don't want George moving," Justin said.

"I'm not fucking cleaning up anything! You scream for me to come down this fucking hall when I was trying to get laid, butt naked so I have to see your dick, which, mind you, I didn't want to see because we're related, and I do draw the line somewhere, just to have me clean up dog vomit out of your shoe? No fucking way!  Clean it yourself and go fuck yourself!" Sam said. Brian whipped his head around.

"He puked in my shoe? Which shoe?"