DISCLAIMER: QAF and its characters are the sole property of Showtime and Cowlip Productions; no copyright infringement is intended.

Debbie set Carl's breakfast in front of him, since it was her turn to cook today. Carl insisted that she not do all the work around the house all the time; he was going to make their dinner that night.

Placing a kiss on his cheek, Debbie asked, "So, what is the plan for you today?"

Digging into his breakfast, Carl answered dryly, "The joys of paperwork. The part of work TV cop shows fail to demonstrate."

Laughing, Debbie sat across from him, eating her own breakfast. "I know what you mean."

Taking a sip of his juice, Carl asked, "What will you be doing today?"

Swallowing before replying, Debbie said, "Laundry, then going to see Michael in his shop, and I might go check on Brian and Sunshine."

Frowning, he asked, "Why are you checking on them?"

Sighing, Debbie told him, "Brian had a serious bout of the flu, and they thought that the cancer had returned. The doctor prescribed some medicine to help him recover, and thank God they discovered it was just a lipoma with built-up fluid, and nothing malignant. But you can imagine how scared he and Justin were."

Sitting back in his chair, he nodded. "Jeez, I can understand that! Give them my best, will you?" Glancing at the clock and realizing that it was time to leave for work, he rose from his chair to place his dishes in the sink. Kissing Debbie goodbye, he headed toward the precinct.

After washing the dishes, Debbie decided to leave the laundry until later so she could go visit the boys before going to see Michael at his comic book shop.

Brian sat up in bed, pouting with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm doing better, Justin! I can fucking go to work!"

Justin placed Brian's breakfast tray on his lap as he gave him a long-suffering look. "The doctor said you needed bedrest for a couple of days, and NO work for at least another five days after that; it's only been two days so far. So suck it up and take it like a man, Kinney," he ordered. Before Brian could issue a snarky response, there was a knock at the door.

Justin gave a cheeky smile. "Saved by the bell...or in this case, a knock at the door."

Brian stuck out his tongue like a spoilt child.

Opening the door, Justin saw Debbie standing there with a Tupperware full of her famous chicken soup.

Smiling wide, Justin hugged her. "Hey, Deb! Come on in."

Placing the soup on the counter, she smiled back at him as she asked, "So, Sunshine...how is the patient?"

Rolling his eyes, Justin waved toward the bedroom as he responded, "Acting like the immature adolescent that he is."

Shouting from the bedroom, Brian complained, "I heard that! And. I. Am. Not. Sick anymore!"

Now rolling her eyes as well, Debbie grinned at Justin as she made her way toward the bedroom. Hands on hips, Deb stared at her surrogate son who was sitting up in the bed with his back to the headboard. "Are you giving Sunshine trouble, Mister?"

Brian huffed in indignation as he told her, "No, I'm not."

Wagging her finger at him, she asked, "Then why are you fighting like a married couple? You'd swear there was a ball and chain hanging around your ankle!"

Shrugging his shoulders, Brian didn't answer, thinking at the moment that under the circumstances it might be more prudent not to answer that question.

Walking over to join them, Justin sighed as he asked Debbie, "Deb, could I ask a favor? Could you stay with Mr Grumpy for a few minutes? I just have to run to the drug store for the last refill on his medication."

Patting his cheek, Debbie smiled at him. "Of course I will, Sunshine. And don't worry; I'll make sure he stays in the bed. Normally, you can't get him out of it!" she cackled.

Brian rolled his eyes at her. "Hello? I'm right here! And I don't NEED a fucking babysitter!"

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Debbie growled at him, "Then stop being so difficult! Sunshine is doing his best to take good care of you. We all should be so lucky!"

Justin had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the look on Brian's face after that as he promised her, "I'll be right back; I'm sure you can more than handle him, Debbie. And I might even stop at the hardware store to see if they stock any ball and chains while I'm gone."

Debbie laughed at Brian's scowl as Justin left to get the medication.

Now sitting closer to Brian, Debbie took his right hand in hers as she asked, "So, tell me...on a scale of one to ten, how scared were you really when you thought the cancer might be coming back? Because I know you hid that from Justin. And don't tell me otherwise, either."

Gazing into her eyes before looking away, Brian sighed in resignation. Debbie knew him far too well. "I guess it was off the scale," he admitted. "I thought this is it. And then I wondered what would happen to Justin...and to Gus." Just the thought of how sad this would have made his son feel filled him with great relief that he had been wrong after all.

Tears filled her eyes as she held his hand. "I understand fully, Honey. But you're fine, so that's what you need to concentrate on, okay?"

Brian noticed that she started to lightly trace a line up and down his arm with her index finger; her eyes fixed on one particular spot as if lost in a memory. Covering her hand with his to get her attention, Debbie peered over at him as he told her softly, "That's long healed, Deb. You can't even see the scar anymore."

Biting her lip, she wiped a tear away. "I know, but I can still see that day in my mind as if it were yesterday. You were eight years old when Michael brought you in balanced on his bike, because you couldn't walk. You were covered in blood, and when you collapsed I thought my heart would stop. He fucking broke your arm and cracked your ribs, just because you got the wrong beer from the fridge! I still don't understand why he wasn't locked up that day."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Brian then held her hands tightly in his as he told her, "It was a long time ago; it was different then. I never really went back home after that night. You saved my life, you know that?"

Hugging him, Debbie kissed his cheek as she lamented, "I wish I had done more for you."

Looking into her eyes, Brian smiled. "You were the one who hugged me when I needed one. You went to my parent-teacher conferences, and you threw me birthday parties. Joan wasn't my mother, and Jack wasn't my father. You'll always be more of a mother than she could ever be, and Vic was the father I should have had." Shaking his head, Brian told her softly, "Please stop blaming yourself, Deb; I love you."

Holding out one hand to lightly stroke his cheek, Debbie smiled at him as she answered affectionately, "Love you, too, asshole."

Justin came home to the sound of laughter; he was so glad to hear that sound.

Going into the bedroom, Justin observed them quietly for a few moments, smiling, before he spoke. "Hey guys, what's so funny?" he asked curiously. Before they could answer, he held up the object he had kept hidden behind his back. "Look what I found at Brats-R-Us?" he teased, a twinkle in his eye. He held up a toy ball and chain he had found at the toy store located in the same strip mall as the drugstore.

"Kinky, Sunshine," Brian responded with a reluctant grin as Debbie laughed at Justin's creativity. "Don't give me any ideas, though; I'm still incapacitated, remember? At least according to YOU."

Justin grinned. "Oh, I don't think ONE particular part is ever incapacitated, no matter how sick you get," he told his lover as Brian smirked at him.