So, yeah. Remember those weekly updates I was talking about? Don't pay any attention to me, I am a liar of the worst sort.

So, tentatively, I'm gonna say I'll try to get this up next week. But once again, I am a liar of the worst sorts, so no lynch mobs if it doesn't happen!

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me, and to those of you who are just now joining the party.

Disclaimer: I do not own Queer as Folk. Nor do I own any of its characters. I also do not own any of the songs used in this piece, for I am not that talented. I also don't have that kind of money.

L is for Lullaby

Brian laid with his ear pressed against the wall, listening to the quiet hum of his mother on the other side, singing hymns. He could picture her kneeling at the edge of her bed, her hands tied up in her rosary and her head bowed as she rocked to the rhythm. He heard her hiccough between some of the lines, and he quickly added her shoulders shaking and a bruise lining her eye to his mental image.

He heard footsteps in the hallway, heavy and unsteady. The humming stopped. The footsteps continued on, past the bedroom doors and down into the living room. The loud creak of the recliner filled the house, then the quiet static of the television. The humming picked back up, more tentatively than before.

His head ached, and his muscles felt stiff. His mouth was swollen, and when Brian pressed his tongue to his lip, he felt a sharp sting that made him hiss quietly. His mother's hymns regained a steady stream.

Brian curled an inch closer to the wall, clenching his eyes shut when his whole body protested the movement. But this way, he ear pressed more firmly to the thin barrier separating him from his mother's soothing song.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. Amazing love, now flowing down from hands and feet that were nailed to the tree, as grace flows down and covers me. Amazing Grace."

Brian fazed in and out, eyes slipping open and closed. He didn't know how long he laid there, in a sort of half-sleep, but his eyes opened fully when the singing stopped. He heard his mother's choked breath, and then he heard the footsteps in the hallway once more. They stopped outside his door, and Brian let his eyes fall shut, even as his heart stuttered.

The door opened, and his father stood in the doorway. Even while Brian whimpered and cried, he could hear his mother's voice start to sing again, loudly enough to fall between the walls. He imagined she had her hands covering her ears as she sang.

"Savior One, Holy One, slain so I can live. See the Lamb, the great I Am, who takes away my sin. Oh the blood of the Lamb, the precious blood of the Lamb, what a sacrifice that saved my life. Yes, the blood. It is my victory."

xXx

"Justin, it is bed time, how many times do I have to tell you?"

Justin groaned, flopping back onto his bed with his arms splayed wide. He glared up at his Mom. "But Mama," he whined. "I don't wanna go to bed; it's too early!"

His Mama sighed, running her hand through her hair. She pulled Justin's Power Rangers blanket over him, despite his squirming. "Not for little boys who have Kindergarten tomorrow," she said. "Now scoot over, or I won't sing to you tonight."

Justin tried to figure out if it was worth it to keep fighting sleep. If he did, his Mama wouldn't sing to him. He'd probably have to stay in his room, too. But if he laid down and was good… He'd get a song.

Justin scooted over, but he scowled while he did so.

His Mom smiled at him, tickling his side, making Justin giggle. "Good boy. What do you want to hear tonight? And only one song, Justin. And then it's bedtime."

Justin thought long and hard about what he wanted his Mama to sing to him. He bit his lip and stared at his ceiling, where his glow in the dark stars and planets were.

"How about Wild World?" His Mama suggested gently. Justin considered this, then nodded eagerly. He rolled over onto his side, his back facing his Mom. He felt her hand brush through his hair, and he closed his eyes as she started to sing.

"Now that I've lost everything to you, you say you wanna start something new. And it's breaking my heart you're leaving, baby I'm grieving. But if you wanna leave, take good care, I hope you have a lot of nice things to wear, but then a lot of nice things turn bad out there. Oh, baby, baby it's a wild world…"

And like every other night, Justin fell asleep before his Mom could even get to the second verse.

xXx

"Okay?" Papa whispered, and Gus nodded, smiling softly. His Papa sat right in front of his lamp, and it lit up his hair like an angels. Gus nuzzled closer to him until his Papa rubbed his back.

"Where's Daddy?" Gus whispered back.

"He'll be home soon. But we have to get up early, and it's time for you to go to bed." His hand paused. "Why are we whispering?"

Gus giggled, and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. 'Cause it's bedtime?"

His Papa let out a soft laugh. "Okay then. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Gus cuddled in closer. "Are you gonna sing the one about ice cream castles?"

"Sure, kiddo. I'll sing that one." And in a hushed voice, his Papa sang and Gus let his eyes wander over his room. "Rows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air. And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way. But now they only block the sun. They rain and snow on everyone. So many things I would have done, clouds got in my way. I've looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow it's cloud illusions I recall. I really don't know clouds at all."

Gus smiled, and heard the front door open. He sighed happily when he heard his Daddy putting his keys on the table, and his Papa never paused in rubbing his back or singing.

"Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels. The dizzy dancing way that you feel as every fairy tale comes real, I've looked at love that way. But now it's just another show, and you leave 'em laughing when you go. And if you care, don't let them know. Don't give yourself away. I've looked at love from both sides now, from give and take, and still somehow it's love's illusions I recall. I really don't know love, really don't know love at all."

His Daddy's footsteps came up the stairs and toward his room. When his Daddy opened the door, Gus smiled tiredly and waved his hand at him from where it was resting on his Papa's knees. His Daddy propped his shoulder against the doorframe and folded his arms, waving his fingers back at Gus slowly. Gus saw his Daddy smile at Justin, who never stopped singing.

"Tears and fears and feeling proud. To say "I love you" right out loud. Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way. Oh but now old friends they're acting strange, and they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed. Well something's lost but something's gained in living every day."

Gus' eyes slid closed, his mind getting fuzzy and his Papa's words more muffled as he finished and Gus slowly fell asleep.

"I've looked at life from both sides now, from win and lose and still somehow it's life's illusions I recall. I really don't know life at all. It's life's illusions I recall, I really don't know life, I really don't know life at all."

xXx

"Hey there, baby," Deb whispered, perching her hip in the side of his bed. Vic smiled softly at her in greeting. He felt her fingers wrap around his hand, and hold it softly.

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes kind but her smile sad. "You tired?"

That was a word for it, Vic thought. Exhausted. Bone-deep weary. But tired was a word. So he nodded slowly.

They were both quiet for a long few moments, neither of them saying anything and simply letting the stillness of the room speak for itself. When it just felt as if it were getting to be too suffocating and Vic was considering trying to squeeze his sister's hand, Deb spoke.

"Do you want me to sing for you?" She asked softly. Vic, having not heard anything he would like more than that for too long, nodded again. "The one Mama used to sing?" Another nod. When Deb sang, her singing voice was just as rough as her speaking voice, though much more quiet. To Vic, he'd never heard anything sweeter.

"One day you'll look to see I've gone. For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun. Someday you'll know I was the one, but tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun. And now the time has come and so my love I must go, and though I lose a friend in the end you will know, oh. One day you'll find that I have gone but tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun. Yeah, tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun. And now the time has come, and so my love I must go. And though I lose a friend in the end you'll know, oh. One day you'll find that I have gone, but tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."

Vic closed his eyes to the sound of his sister's voice, and with her hand clasped in his.

Songs Used:

Grace Flows Down

Wild World (Cat Stevens)

Both Sides Now (Hayley Westernra Version)

I'll follow the Sun (The Beatles)

See you guys next week! (Hopefully)

:)