I don't own QAF or Characters.

This is the sequel to The Detective's Son. I'm still writing my other stories but this idea caught me and wouldn't let go. I hope you enjoy this. Just so everyone knows, there is no death of Justin or Brian in this story.

The plane hit another patch of turbulence, and a woman two rows back screamed. If he hadn't been so pissed off at Brian, he wouldn't have even been on this plane let alone in economy. Brian was such a snob he would never fly less than first class. But Justin needed to get away from Brian for a while. After Brian made a smart ass comment about how much the trip would cost, Justin made sure to only spent his personal money. He was still a relatively unknown in the art world so his painting didn't bring in a lot.

He was supposed to leave last night but his flight was overbooked. He was put on the first flight out this morning. He was still too mad at Brian so he stayed at the airport hotel. After that he was going to have to count every penny.

When Brian asked him what he was going to do about Briana, Justin almost screamed at him. The man had spent less and less time with both of them since September.

He thought everything was great, sure they had a fight when he found out Brian lied about the doctor's visit. The only saving grace there was Briana being healthy. Justin decided to tell Brian the truth about having sex with Calvin, his sister's brother-in-law. Brian didn't like it but he got over it, at least Justin thought he did. He was having his suspicions now that he hadn't. He only had a one-night stand with the man. He didn't know at the time that it was Vicky's brother-in-law. He hadn't even asked the man's name. It wasn't until Vicky and Lewis came with his brother, Calvin that Justin found out the man's name.

Calvin hit on him a couple other times, the last was when they all were in Disney World four months ago in June. He almost went to Calvin's room but instead went back to his husband. He thought that was the turning point, but maybe he shouldn't have told Brian anything.

In the past month he had barely seen Brian. The man was putting in more hours at work than he ever had before. He also was staying at his old loft more and more. Justin went to pick up Gus for their weekend with him only to find out Brian already had him. They were staying at the loft. Justin lied and told Briana that Gus was sick and couldn't come.

He didn't know what was going on but he could see the writing on the wall. His marriage was over. That was why he decided to take this trip. He needed the time alone to think. Having Briana always with him asking where Brian was…was starting to get to him. So for the first time in almost five years he only had to worry about his own wants and needs; because even if Brian was going to divorce him he knew he would take care of Briana.

Justin didn't know why his marriage was over but he couldn't fix it alone. Brian refused to say more than two words to him. And when he did it was always because he was busy at work. Justin couldn't stand hearing his little girl ask why Daddy didn't love her anymore. He was glad Brian hadn't wanted another child now. Just the thought of bringing another child into that environment was horrifying. He still wanted another child but he would do it as a single parent. He was never getting married again.

"Settle down, Joshua," the older woman on the aisle seat said to the little boy beside him.

The little boy looked to be about three. He had dark black hair with brown almond shaped eyes. He was a cute little thing but he was constantly wiggling around in his seat.

"Sorry, Nan, but I gots ants in my pants," Joshua said as he wiggled once more.

Justin couldn't help but snort at the little boy's reply. The woman seemed to be embarrassed by the little boy's antics though.

"I'm sorry," she said to Justin. "This flight is very long for a three-year-old."

"No need to apologize. I know what you mean, I couldn't imagine having my almost five-year-old with me. She would be driving everyone mad with her complaining."

"You can't have an almost five-year-old. You're just a child yourself," the woman said.

"I not only have an almost five-year-old but I also have a seven-year-old stepson."

"You and your wife must be very happy with your little ones."

"Husband, actually." He wasn't going to start lying about himself now.

"Oh… that's nice," she said, he could see she was telling the truth though a little surprised.

"You gots a husban?" Joshua asked.

"I do," Justin said before his smile faded, remembering he probably wouldn't have one for very much longer.

Turbulence shook the plane again. Justin heard the little boy next to him whimper.

"It's okay, Joshua. It's just wind. We'll be free of it soon." He hoped he was telling the truth; he was a little worried himself with all the turbulence.

Justin looked out the window and saw the clouds, they were so bright they made his eyes water. They were over the Atlantic on their way to Amsterdam. Then he would have to rush to catch his flight to Rome. He had already flown from Pittsburgh to New York then boarded this flight. He was already tired of airplanes.

"Can I look?" Joshua asked once the turbulence stopped.

"If it's okay with your nan," he told the boy.

"Please, Nan. I want to look out the window."

"Just for a little bit."

Justin traded seats with the small boy and smiled at the woman.

"So where are you headed?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"Away," she said sadly.

"That sounds far."

She looked Justin straight in the eyes and said, "You have no idea how far."

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business. I shouldn't be prying," he said guiltily.

"It's alright. It's just a long story."

"I've got the time if you want to tell me."

The woman looked down at her wrinkled hands before looking back at him. "Joshua is my daughter Jackie's son. Jackie was my only child." He caught the use of past tense when she spoke about her daughter. "When Jackie was four, I married a very bad man. I didn't know that until much later. Because of that, my daughter had a lot of problems. I didn't see it until it was too late." She looked at Joshua, making sure he was still enthralled with what he was seeing out the window.

"You don't have to tell me," he told her.

"It's been eating at me for years; I feel if I don't tell you, I'll never tell anyone. I don't know why but it feels right, maybe it will be cathartic. Anyway, as I was saying because of things that happened to her, she turned to drugs. By the time she was eighteen her addiction had taken over her life. She ran off but came back three years later. She was pregnant and had nowhere to go.

"She was able to get clean during her pregnancy; she loved him, I know she did. A day after she and Joshua came home from the hospital… she was gone. It was two days after I made the missing persons report that they called me. I had to take a seven day old baby to the morgue. The kind woman in front held him so I could identify my child's body."

Justin reached over and grabbed her hand. Both his dad and Brian had told him about the horror of going to see if a baby in the morgue was Briana. They had been lucky and it wasn't her. But some other family had been unlucky and that had been their baby. It still made him sick just thinking about it.

"I'm so sorry."

"It is what it is. I have Joshua now; we only have each other. Jackie didn't know who his father was; she didn't have a good memory of the prior three months before she found out she was pregnant. I don't really know why I decided on this trip. I guess I just wanted to see the world before I leave this world."

Justin gasped. "You're dying?" He slapped his hand over his mouth, not believing he just said that.

"They said I'd have a ten percent chance, if I took the treatment. Treatment means I wouldn't be able to care for Joshua. He's so young, he probably won't remember me."

Justin felt a little sick. He didn't know her; she was just a woman on a plane with him. That didn't matter though, he felt like he was going to cry for her. For her and for Joshua.

"Do you have family that is going to take in Joshua?"

The woman sadly shook her head. "No, I don't have anyone."

"What are you going to do?" He was nosy, he could own that.

"I'm a big believer in signs. I believe when the universe finds the perfect person to raise Joshua, I'll know. I just hope it's before I get any sicker."

They sat there for a few awkward moments. He thought about what she told him. He had Brian to raise Briana if something happened to him. Then they had his dad and siblings as backups. Hell, they even had Brian's sister if everyone else died. Claire had been much better since marrying again.

"Listen to me, just going on at the mouth. You don't want to hear an old woman's problems. I don't even know your name."

"I'm glad you shared your story with me. My name is Justin."

"I knew a Justin once. He stole my garden gnomes." She looked at him suspiciously.

"I promise; I've never stolen a gnome in my life."

They both laughed. "Barbara Carmichael," she introduced herself.

"Look sky," Joshua said when they broke out from some clouds.

The plane shook again, this time the it rolled to the left slightly. The fasten seatbelts indicator came on and the flight attendants quickly made sure everyone was buckled. Because they were still in turbulence Justin quickly moved Joshua back to his seat in the middle and helped buckle him up. He had to wave off a flight attendant as he got into his seat by the window again.

"Nan, are we still in the sky?" Joshua asked with a slight panic to his voice.

"Yes, but don't worry about that. The pilot will fix everything."

Just then the pilot's barely masked panicked voice came on the loud speaker telling staff to buckle up. What happened next seemed to be the slowest few minutes of his life. The plane went into a nosedive; the pilot was back warning about the possibility of a crash landing.

Justin was surprised the man said crash landing, not water landing. He looked out and saw a bit of land, it seemed the pilot was trying to get to the island.

Panicked screaming filled the cabin and Justin closed his eyes. He thought about Briana and Brian. He thought about his parents, siblings and his friends. He thought about never seeing them again.

He was pulled out of his thoughts of hopelessness by Joshua crying out. Justin looked over at the little boy to see him crying and shaking in his seat. The boy's nan looked like she was in shock; she wasn't saying or doing anything just letting her body be jostled by the plane's rapid decline. Justin grabbed Joshua's small hand.

The oxygen masks dropped, and just as he was reaching for Joshua's mask he felt more than saw the plane breaking apart. Justin was able to get Joshua's mask on him just the plane lurched again, Justin banged his head into the window- and everything went black.

"Daddy, can we go to the park?" Briana asked him.

Brian couldn't believe Justin left on such short notice. If he would have given him one more day, the blonde would have dissolution papers. Their 'marriage' had been over since Justin started lying to him. He could handle Justin's one off with Calvin but seeing someone behind Brian's back was something completely different.

They still had an open marriage but they had rules. No kissing, no names and no repeats. He had followed those rules perfectly. But Justin, the one who made the rules, had been the one to break them.

It had been a month since he learned that his 'husband' was running around on him. Sex he could handle, hell he had his share of conquests but this was more. This guy was calling Justin morning, noon and night. Brian had been suspicious from the first time Justin mentioned that he had something to do on Thursday nights. Not wanting to seem like that kind of husband, Brian didn't ask what he was doing.

The calls started soon after, Justin would look at his phone and who was calling then he would go to another room. Because of who he was, he never asked Justin who he was talking to. It wasn't until last week that he had his suspicions confirmed. It was past midnight when Justin's phone started ringing. Justin got up and answered it. Then he put his clothes on and snuck out like a thief in the night. Once Justin came back while he was in the shower Brian checked his phone. The call was from a man named Clay. When Brian asked him where he went, Justin told him that he had somewhere he needed to be. That was it, no explanation…no nothing.

"Please, Daddy?" Briana asked again, interrupting his thoughts.

"Not today," he told her.

"Why don't you love me anymore, Daddy?" she asked, tears running down her face.

Brian sighed. This wasn't how he thought his life would be after marrying Justin. He had known Justin was young but had convinced himself that as long as Justin got to sew up his wild oats maybe he wouldn't leave him or find someone younger. But he seemed to be wrong on that count.

The worst part was that he was letting Briana down. He just didn't know how to fix it. He was so angry with Justin for his cheating on him that he was taking it out on her. It wasn't a conscious decision but it just happened. He didn't know if it was because she looked so much like Justin or he didn't want to hurt worse when Justin took her away from him.

There was no way the new guy was going to have Briana call him daddy though. Brian would make sure of that.

"Daddy," Brian cried, shaking him once again out of his reverie.

"You didn't do anything. I still love you so much. You'll always be my princess, right?"

He watched her as she sniffled and used her sleeve to dry her eyes. "Yes."

"Don't do that, it's not sanitary. Why don't you go get cleaned up and we'll go to the diner for lunch?"

Her eyes lit up like he just offered her the moon. "You haven't taken me there in forever. Do you think Gus and J.R. will be there? I miss playing with them."

Brian cursed himself for letting his insecurities mess with his relationship with his daughter. And she was that, he adopted her right before her second birthday.

"I'm not sure, but if not this weekend we can ask Lindsay and Mel if they can come over. How does that sound?"

"Yes, It's going to be so much fun. Gus and J.R. are so lucky to get to live with each other. Sometimes, I wish I lived with them. But then I wouldn't be able to live with you and Papa and that's never going to happen. I love living with both of you. I just wish you were home more and we did more family things, you know… like you used to do."

The guilt started eating at him again. He really was an awful father this last month. It was just so hard to be home and pretend that life was the same when it wasn't. Justin had taken their life together and thrown it away. He treated Brian like a fool, and that was inexcusable.

"I promise; we'll do more things together. Just you and me, okay?"

"Yay."

It was an hour later when they tumbled into the Diner. The snow had come early and covered the ground. He helped Briana unbundle then shed his leather jacket.

"Can I get a milkshake?" Briana asked, she was looking up at him with those big blue eyes.

"After lunch, not with," he told her, promising himself to be a better father.

Gus and J.R. were upstairs playing. Lindsay finally had a moment to herself. She loved both of her children but sometimes she just wanted a break from them. Usually Michael would take J.R. and Brian would take Gus for the weekend. Lately though it had been tense, Gus had told her that Brian was taking him to the loft to stay instead of his home. She had known for the better part of a month that Justin and Brian were having problems. She just had no idea what it was that bad.

It wasn't her any of her business but she couldn't lie and say she wasn't curious. The last time she saw Justin he seemed sad. Brian always just seemed angry nowadays. She longed for the snarky asshole he used to be.

Her phone rang bringing her out of her thoughts. She rolled her eyes when she saw it was her sister.

"Lynette, how are you this evening?" she answered as primly as she could muster.

"Lindsay," Lynette said, Lindsay could tell she was crying.

"Lynny, what's wrong," she asked worriedly.

"Turn on the news, it's Mom and Daddy," she said brokenly.

Lindsay ran over to the TV and turned it on. There was breaking news over the normal broadcasting. On the ticker on bottom it was talking about the loss of Liberty Airlines flight 530. They lost contact with the plane two hours ago over the Atlantic.

"I don't understand."

"That's the flight Mom and Daddy were on. They were going to Italy, they had a layover in Amsterdam."

Just like that Lindsay's life started to spiral out of control. She had to catch herself before she fell to the ground. This couldn't be happening. They had just started to come around and accept that her and Mel were together. They had even invited her, Mel and the kids to brunch at the club. Dropping the phone to the ground she let the panic overtake her.

Brian had just dropped Briana off at Debbie's for an overnight when his phone rang.

"What?"

"Daddy, something's wrong with Mommy," Gus cried. Instantly, Brian's mind turned to what awful things could befall Lindsay and his son.

"Gus, what's wrong?"

"She's just sitting on the couch watching TV. It's the news about a plane. Mommy won't move away from the TV. I tried to call Mama but she's not answering her phone."

Mel always turned her phone off if she was with a client. With everything going on with Justin he was less involved in knowing what was going on in Gus's life.

"I'm on my way," he told Gus.

When Brian arrived at Lindsay's he was greeted at the door by Gus. His son had tears running down his face and his eyes were puffy. J.R. was behind him and she looked just as upset. He followed Gus into the living room where Lindsay was staring blankly at the TV. The TV had been switched off.

"I turned it off because it made her cry harder," Gus said as if he read Brian's mind.

"Thanks, take J.R. and go upstairs. I'll take care of her." Gus looked like he wanted to argue but turned and followed his father's directions. Once the kids were upstairs he turned to Lindsay.

"Linz, what's going on? You're freaking the kids out." She continued to stare blankly at the dark screen. He knelt in front of her and kissed her lightly on the lips. It always had worked on Justin when he would shut himself down.

Lindsay pulled away from him and blinked a few times. "Brian."

"Linz."

"What are you doing here?"

"Gus called me. What's going on?"

Lindsay's eyes seemed to clear of the fog she was in. Her expression changed to one of pain. "They're gone."

"Who's gone?"

"My parents." She reached for the remote and turned on the news.

Brian looked at the screen stunned. He realized what Lindsay was saying. He never liked her parents but she loved them dearly, even when they treated her like garage.

"They were on the plane?" he asked to verify. He had heard the news report on the radio on his way over.

Lindsay nodded her head, silent tears running down her face. "Lynette called, they were going to Italy, with a stopover in Amsterdam. It's their flight number. Liberty flight 530."

For a second Brian worried about Justin but then remembered Justin's flight was last night. He may be pissed as hell at Justin, but he would never get over it if he died. Briana needed both of them, even if they weren't living together anymore.

Once they were finally able to reach Mel he left to take Gus and J.R. to spent the night at Deb's with Briana. After he did that he went back to Lindsay's, everyone but Deb and Carl were there. Emmett was fluttering around trying to make sure everyone was comfortable. Mel was wrapped around Lindsay as they watched the ongoing coverage. Ted was making calls on Lindsay's behalf to see what the airline was telling families. Blake, who Ted just started to date again, was in the kitchen making some kind of stew. Ben and Michael were silently sitting on the floor, they both looked like they just arrived shortly before he had.

"Anything new?" he asked Mel, Lindsay was too engrossed in the coverage to hear him.

"No. They can't find a fucking thing from the flight. It's like it disappeared into thin air."

Hours passed and Ted didn't have any luck with the airline. Lindsay's sister and her new husband were at the airport demanding attention. Mel took Brian to the side and asked if he had anything that would help Lindsay sleep. He didn't because he had stopped the drug use after his cancer diagnosis. But he called one of his tricks, a doctor, who owed him a favor. He called the prescription in and Michael and Ben went to get the meds. After Lindsay had screamed at Emmett for his chattering, Emmett decided to leave. Blake had left when the emotions started running high.

Brian was sitting on the ugly green chair that she found at a second hand store when his phone rang.

"Kinney," he answered.

"Brian Kinney," a feminine voice said.

"You called me," he said gruffly.

The person on the other line sniffled. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. My name is Clay Lopez, I'm a friend of Justin's. I was wondering if there is anything I can do for you and your family in your time of need."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" The voice he had mistaken for a female was a man. And to make matters worse it was Clay. Clay- Justin's boyfriend.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, I thought you would have seen the news. The plane going missing." The man was rambling.

"How do you know Lindsay's parents were on board?" he asked suspiciously. Had Justin called him? Which one of Brian's so called friends called him?

"Who's Lindsay?"

"What? If you didn't know about Lindsay's parents, then why are you calling?"

"Because Justin. Because him and his whole flight is missing."

"What are you talking about? Justin's flight was last night."

"No. His flight last night was overbooked. He got the first flight early this morning. He called me last night to tell me that he had to get all his flights changed. The airline was able to move his flight from Amsterdam to Rome. I keep hoping that he didn't get on the plane in New York today but I know he did."

"I need you to come over here," he told Justin's boyfriend and then gave him Lindsay's address. He needed more information before he called Carl. Justin was safe, he had to be; anything else was unacceptable.

He didn't tell anyone else about Clay coming over. In fact, he didn't talk to anybody at all since he got the call. He could see the questioning looks from Mel and Ted but he did his best to ignore them.

Michael and Ben arrived soon after and gave Mel Lindsay's medicine. Mel was able to get Lindsay upstairs to rest. Brian noticed when Michael figured out something was up. He ignored his bugging him to tell him though.

Twenty minutes later someone rang the doorbell. Brian beat everyone to the door. He was expecting someone like Vas, Justin's ex. Someone tall, built and gorgeous. That's not who he saw though. The man at the door could barely be called a man. He was seventeen if he was a day. He was also smaller than Justin with dark tanned skin. He had a blue fauxhawk.

"Clay?"

"Are you Brian? God, Justin wasn't kidding, you're hot." The boy blushed deeply, a feat with his skin tone.

"Yes, I'm Brian. Can I ask you a question before I let you into the house?" He couldn't explain why he needed the details, maybe because his anger would help him get through the next few hours.

"Sure." The kid's eyes were red and puffy but he was holding himself together well.

"How do you know my husband?"

"Oh… I… I met him in group. He has been a godsend. He's been the big brother that I used to pray for."

"Group?"

"Yeah, Sexual Assault Survivors. I met Justin a little over a month ago. A friend made me go, that's how I met him. He gave me his number and told me to call if I ever needed anything. I think he knew how close I was to the edge. He let me call him and just sob on the phone. I know some of those times he was exhausted from everything else he had in life going on. I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for him. Last week, I lost myself. I called Justin just to tell him goodbye. He talked me into telling him were I was. He came and let me cry on him. I was a mess. Then he drove me to a treatment facility. I just got out two days ago. The Dandelion House has accepted me. I'm supposed to move in tomorrow. I know that Justin did something to get me in." The kid sniffled again.

"The Dandelion House?" he asked, processing what he just heard.

"It's a teen shelter for abused teens. It has real doctors; I haven't been able to see real ones. For the first time in a long time, I see light. I wouldn't be able to do that without Justin."

"You said he's on the missing flight. How do you know?"

"Justin called me last night to tell me about his flight change."

"Why didn't he call me?"

"I don't know. He sounded really sad when I talked to him. I think he was just so tired. Justin never told me any of his worries or problems. I think I overwhelmed him with mine. I was so fucking selfish, it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault. You say here with us until tomorrow."

"I'm not going to off myself."

"I'm not taking that chance. Justin didn't do all this work with you for you to end it now."

Brian was talking and acting calm but on the inside he was dying. Justin hadn't been cheating on him. No, Justin had been helping someone. And he wasn't running off and having fun on Thursday nights, instead it was going to group counselling. One thing was for sure, when Justin comes home he has a lot to answer for. The secrets almost cost them their marriage.